All hail the arch

A picture I took on my way to mapping training in Missouri, from which I returned just a few days ago. The arch was indeed very arch-like.

Absolving themselves of their carbonated responsibility?

It's been happening more and more over the past few years: fast-food restaurants are rearranging their interiors so that customers are handed a cup at the counter and then pour their own drinks at a drink "station."

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that you're more likely to get a "flat" soft drink, or a drink that's mostly soda water and little syrup, at these do-it-yourself drink stations?

I wonder if, when restaurants move these drink thingees out to the customer area, the staff is less watchful of when the Coke taps need to be changed out so that they give out the right mix of syrup and carbonated water. As I encounter more and more of the do-it-yourselfer places, I get fewer and fewer soft drinks that actually taste right.