According to a report, one of the most dangerous places on the face of the planet--at least when it comes to running the risk of robbery--is your friendly neighborhood Starbucks. New York City police lieutenant Dan Hollywood (!!!) explains that, since the crime rate in New York has decreased so much, people have to a certain extent let their guard down. When in a Starbucks, people often leave their laptops and purses unattended while they run for a refill. When they return, their possessions are gone.

We sympathize with these victims. There is something about a Starbucks that inspires a sense of security. Probably all the earth tones. And when you're sitting at a table, working on your laptop, and you have to go to the bathroom, you don't want to have to carry everything with you, right? You run the numbers and decide that you can make it to the bathroom and back fast enough to prevent anything from happening. And then you get to the bathroom and there's a line and a combination and no toilet paper and. . . . Well, long story short, you end up on the phone to Best Buy listening to an explanation of how the extended warranty doesn't cover stupidity-aggravated grand larceny.

We wonder, though, if anyone has investigated the executives at Starbucks. They were suspiciously reluctant to go on the record about the rash of thefts. We've heard the company's been having some financial difficulties. Seems an expansion into the slightly-used, no-questions-asked merchandise business would be just the thing to amp up revenue.

Solipsistography
"As the Careless Order a Latte, Thieves Grab Something to Go"
Image from portfolio.com