The use of a computer coupled with an analog/digital/analog converter along with appropriate sensors (temperature, coffee/water level, etc) to monitor the brewing and operational status of a very cheap coffee-pot that we bought from a Target one weekend.& School got in the way, and we haven't done too much with it lately, but you can see our progress at lumiere.net/~fib/coffeepot.html. The first coffeepot on the net was the Trojan Room pot at Cambridge U.

A skill hardwired into the brains of most of my lab mates. They have the uncanny ability to smell a fresh pot of brewing coffee just after I get it started. They are so proficient at this, in fact, that often the coffee is gone before I return with my empty mug.

See also:

Survival of the fittest