Online Journalism Review has A Guide to Indian Earthquake Relief Online. There are online donation sites and communication resources.
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My main hope for this presidential administration is that those of us who became complacent over the last few years about certain (more liberal) rights and issues will get riled up enough to take action again. Taking things for granted is never a good thing.
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Here's a fascinating chart of the history of Unix and all its subsequent varieties. Check for your favorite flavor. Find NextStep, watch it morph into Mac OS X Server. Then follow it back in time to see its strangely connected parentage. The main page has links to more history and other formats for the chart. (via Camworld)
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Tuesday, January 30, 2001

I really appreciate AdCritic.com arranging all the Superbowl ads by quarter so I can watch them in order of appearance. It seems it was no small task for their worker bees to get these up in a timely fashion. At the end of the second quarter list, the description for the Visa:Vacuum ad reads "Girlfriends can sometimes really suck. Ha ha ha. We're tired." Thanks for making it possible for me to share in the true glory of the game without all those bits of football between. Now get some sleep. (that was the Quicktime link; Windows Media is also available)
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Salon profiles Matt Groening, from "Life in Hell" to "Futurama". He has "a father named Homer, a mother named Marge and sisters named Maggie and Lisa." Sound familiar? He named one of his sons "Homer" as well. And the author sneaks in a reference to Groening's life as being "more Quixotic than Homeric." Groening hasn't written for the Simpsons since the beginning. But he keeps his hand in the alternative comic world, still putting out the adventures of Akbar & Jeff, Binky and Bongo. He certainly isn't responsible, I hope, for the terrible Simpsons Sunday cartoon that mercifully disappeared from my paper after a couple months.
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Monday, January 29, 2001

There is a World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. The entries from last year are available for online viewing as well. (via Yahoo's Daily Picks)
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My cat is now the owner of a Crate&Barrel "meow" placemat. At $2.95 each, they are a wonderful way to add whimsy to your decor. Maybe I should get some for the dining room table too.
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Odwalla update: I had complained about Odwalla's bottle redesign and how difficult the new bottles, particularly the quart size, were to pick up. I also sent an email to Odwalla and received a nice response and some free coupons. At Safeway yesterday I noticed that their quart sized orange juice bottles were not in the new bottles, but in a smaller version of their old half gallon jugs (with a handle). What a surprise! I'm not sure what they are up to; perhaps they are testing a few alternatives. The other juices were still in the new bottles.
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Saturday, January 27, 2001

Some days I remember to be thankful for the tolerant culture I live in. Some days I remember how much more tolerant California is. Today I was at the post office. I was waiting to pick up some mail and was standing near the desks where clerks were handling passport applications. A man was getting extremely frustrated about the paperwork and records he would need to fulfill his passport request and said, rather loudly, to the clerk, who was of Chinese origin, "I can't believe this! My family has been in this country for over 200 years!!" He took a quick glance around the room, perhaps hoping for a sympathetic smile. I looked around the room and did smile (not at him) because I was rather proud to see not one other Caucasian in the room. All us "newcomers" just ignored the poor guy, who was obviously just fresh off the Mayflower and didn't know how nice people usually are around here.
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Friday, January 26, 2001

Very busy. No time. Quick links:
Photos of the pandas at the National Zoo (cute of course)
San Francisco Bay Wind Pattern Streaklines. Java applet, very cool (via Larkfarm)
Dan Gillmor on why it's worth saving web pages for posterity (from reader Marc. Thanks!)
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Thursday, January 25, 2001

Housekeeping note: I've removed the date/time footers from each posting and added a link to the permanent archive location. I've removed the date/time mainly because I've changed my Blogger time settings to the Eastern time zone. This was all done for some silly, but psychologically comforting reasons which I will not encumber you with.
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Many years back, probably about eight, a friend said that his friend (also male) didn't like the new women's shoe styles that were appearing. Turns out he was lamenting the demise of toe cleavage. Yup. He didn't like how the new styles were covering up more and more of the foot, leaving all visions of the space between toes, and indeed, the toes themselves, left to the imagination. This was a revelation to me. Toe cleavage wasn't something I, or anyone else I know, thought of as being a style of the 1980's. We just bought the shoes we liked. It wasn't anything like purchasing a low neckline. I still have a few pairs of flats from that era, and they indeed are much barer on top than anything I wear now. With all reports of the 1980's making a fashion comeback, will shoe tops be cut back as well? I found one article on this phenomenon. Printed in July 2000, it states "toe cleavage is an emerging look for fall, seen on haute couture runways as low-cut pumps, mules and sling-backs." I had no idea we were being so racy! I rebelled and I missed it. Ah well, at least I'm prepared for the next round. Better get those no longer demure flats out for resoling.
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I believe this is the first set of weblog items I've written while experiencing a violent case of the hiccups. Hic. Hic. HIC!
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Garden.com's website says Burpee has "has decided to continue serving Garden.com customers on the Internet." Taking a closer look at the press release, it appears that while Burpee has purchased the Garden.com brand, Walmart has acquired their "major content assets, including editorial, interactive and film content." Which set of assets, I wonder, is worth more? Burpee has essentially purchased a domain name, an essential one for their business. Walmart has purchased the blood, sweat, and tears of a lot of hard work. Getting a domain name is easy (though sometimes expensive). Content is another story. (this article spotted on Anil Dash)
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Wednesday, January 24, 2001

The Holy Order of the Lemon appears to be another example of the absurdely sublime. Or perhaps the sublimely absurd. I think I'd like to form a suborder, perhaps the Diocese of the Meyer Lemon, in order to worship my favorite lemon variety. (via Larkfarm)
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Tuesday was National Handwriting Day, brought to us by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association. They picked John Hancock's birthday to commemorate the declining art of writing things with pens, pencils, markers, etc. In this news article, handwriting identification expert, Emily Will, says "the best protection against forgery is good, skilled writing. No one can write better than their skill level, so the better skill level you have, the less number of people can successfully forge your handwriting." An interesting observation. However, the faithful reproduction of a person's signature seems not to involve skill at handwriting as much as a muscle memory of how you've degenerated the writing of your name into an efficient set of squiggles. (via LTSeek)
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Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Ever wanted to eat dinner in bed? There's a Miami restaurant called B.E.D. where diners recline on mattresses. Business is booming for this great gimmick. Perhaps it is not as awkward as it sounds, but they don't serve soup and food is cut into manageable pieces. Why someone would go out to lie down and eat is beyond me. Haven't they heard of take-out and delivery? I guess it's more permissable to go lie down with a new friend in public than in private. (news article here if it hasn't expired)
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It's getting to the point where I don't remember how I did things before the World Wide Web. How did I get directions, prep myself for shopping trips by doing research and pricing, look up store hours, get back in touch with old friends, learn about something I just discovered, and spy on people? I do know what I used to do with all that time I can waste surfing. Sleep.
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Monday, January 22, 2001

Some years back, a few people told me what I assumed was an urban legend about the wild parrot flock of Sunnyvale. When Marine World moved from the peninsula up to Vallejo, the story goes, a flock of parrots escaped and settled down in Sunnyvale. Residents will often report seeing a group of loudly squawking green birds. And, of course, the story teller always said he or she had actually seen and heard these parrots. I didn't give the tale much thought, but I remembered it today when I noticed Yahoo's Weekly Picks had featured The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. No joke, there's a flock of parrots in San Francisco. Ah ha, I thought, this is the flock of parrots I was told about, they are in San Francisco, not Sunnyvale. But, since the web was at my fingertips, I did a search, just in case. The first item listed a 1998 article from the city paper in which the reporter, having heard the same rumors, made some calls and verified that there is indeed an infamous flock of parrots in Sunnyvale, in addition to the flocks in Telegraph Hill and Palo Alto. There is an urban legend component of the story though. The birds are most likely descendants of escaped house pets, but creative myths have been circled regarding their origins: "they escaped from a sinking ship, a local pet story (sic) burned down, a smuggler lost track of them". I like the one I heard the best, because it also gives you the history of Marine World. Most newcomers don't realize it used to be a lot closer.
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If you're missing the old White House web site already, various snapshots of Clinton White House web sites have been saved by the National Archives. Will the question "Under what administration was the first White House web site created?" be on a future AP US History exam? I suppose it's more likely to pop up on Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
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Friday, January 19, 2001

The other day I tripped, took a nice fall and hurt my knee (but saved the precious hands). It wasn't until later in the day that I started laughing because I suddenly realized I had stumbled over the handicap ramp. (On a related note, I once saw an ad for a literary magazine that had a drawing of an old-fashioned iron with a slash through it -- ie. "no irony". I immediately thought "OK, there's one magazine I'll won't bother sending my stuff to!")
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Odwalla redesigned their bottles and it doesn't seem that they gave any thought to ergonomics. And their slogan is "juice for humans"? The quart bottles no longer have an indentation for your hand to rest in; I almost drop them when I grab them from the fridge. The handles on the half gallon jugs are small enough to squeeze maybe three of my fingers in. And the caps are now the "turn 'em really really hard the first time" variety instead of the pull off tab. That is not the best action for my aching wrists. Did anyone try using these bottles before they approved them? Or did the usual marketing tactics happen? "Hey, these are so pretty and distinctive and really stand out from all those imitations that have appeared." Odwalla continues to ship the best tasting juice (I've tried a few other brands), but I can't ignore their lack of consideration for the human factor. I may be adding regular trips to Trader Joe's for their fresh orange juice instead.
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Thursday, January 18, 2001

Ketchup World has an impressive selection of ketchups. I came across the site today when I heard on the radio that ketchup was originally sold as a patent medicine. They bought a Google AdWord, so their link popped up when I did a condiment search. I have been using ketchup with lunch on Mondays (Hobee's Eye Opener: scrambled eggs, chicken apple sausage, hash browns, zebra rye toast) and I know it's got high fructose corn syrup, which isn't the best sugar to consume. So perhaps I should test some other types. There is one made with honey and fruit sweetened varieties.
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Vera does wonderful research (and writes it up, just like you have to in school!) in her weblog. Most recently she enlightens us about butter, guns, and a precursor to the slide rule. You can actually keep track of butter prices online. Which reminds me, the NY Times had an article on the difference between French and American butter. French butter has more butterfat and the premium ones are made with a time consuming process that includes a ripening period and churning in small batches. It makes a big difference for those yummy French pastries. There are some American butters that feature higher percentages of butterfat, and you may also be able to find imported butter at an upscale market.
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Wednesday, January 17, 2001

Good job for Lego-god (LeGod?) Eric Harshbarger! Lego is repackaging his Pixelogo program to sell Lego mosaic kits. Perhaps you would like a Lego portrait of yourself? Perhaps my cat would like to be immortalized in plastic blocks. Perhaps a photo of a Lego sculpture could be recreated in Lego mosaic. That opens up too many odd possibilities so I'll stop there. (via Metafilter)
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Whew... I've been so busy I don't know where I keep finding things to log. And then when I do find something and think it is quite lame, that is invariably the one that generates the most positive email. So goes Murphy's Law. Anyway, this one came up on a mailing list I'm on. The National Arbor Day Foundation has online voting for America's National Tree. Many trees are so symbolic of certain regions of the U.S. that it is hard for me to pick one that makes me think "America". I have loved the dogwood trees of my native New England and gently cursed the imported palm trees in the place I now call home. I've yelled at schoolmates for peeling bark off of white birch trees and gawked in wonder at enormous redwoods up and down the western coast. For a true symbol of American hardiness, and because when I think "tree", it's what appears in my mind, I voted for the mighty oak.
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Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Has the NY Times developed a quirky sense of humor? Or is the author of this article really named Jennifer 8. Lee? The article is about the demand for phone numbers with lucky digits in China. A man paid $2,500 for 8889988 at a charity auction. Cell phone stores advertise their best numbers. Discounted numbers (ending with unlucky 4s) are sold below cost. But there are customers who refuse to pay more for lucky numbers. At any rate, Jennifer 8. Lee is looking for prosperity in her byline, and it seems The Old Grey Lady is happy to play along. It's not so grey anymore anyway with the color photos that still take me by surprise. (Update: Turns out Jennifer just has very cool parents! They wanted to give her a unique name, Jennifer Lee being very popular. So 8. it was. I had done a search in the NY Times archives for "Jennifer Lee" when I wrote the post to see if she usually used the 8, but the search engine was too smart and didn't return any "Jennifer 8. Lee"s, just "Jennifer Lee" in a few places. But I should have searched for "Jennifer 8. Lee" to begin with. Actually I should have remembered I've read plenty of her 8. bylined articles already. Thanks for the info, Seth Gordon!)
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The U.S. Postal Service has announced the Chinese Lunar New Year stamp. The Year of the Snake commences on January 24th. The snake stamp is actually pretty nice looking, considering it's a snake. The cutest in the series was the bunny for the Year of the Hare. Stamp designs in the new 34 cent value seem pretty slim right now, so I'm glad they're getting the Lunar New Year design out. I'm sure new designs are coming down the pipeline.
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Monday, January 15, 2001

GeekT.org, Geek History through T-shirts. Wish I'd thought of that. I only wrote about my own (oh, so self-centered).
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The Center for Cognitive Sciences at the University of Minnesota created a list of Cognitive Science's Top 100 works. Included are such classics as "The magical number seven, plus or minus two", "The information available in brief visual presentations" (which introduced iconic memory), and "Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects". Other notable inclusions are Piaget's work with children and the development of the mind, and Chomsky's "A review of Skinner's Verbal Behavior" which helped put behaviorism to rest. There are also a couple works that were published after I got my degree, which reminds me that I can't continue to claim expert knowledge with such a new science if I don't keep on top of the latest stuff.
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Saturday, January 13, 2001

Adam clearly describes the economics behind the California energy crisis with helpful graphs. I'm still mulling over whether his tax solution would work out OK, but money does have to come from somewhere to get us out of this. (via Seth)
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OK ok ok... you want to see pictures from my new camera. Fine. I made a no-frills page on my personal site of selections from my Christmas photos. It shouldn't be too hefty of a download since I made tiny little jpegs. The originals are nicely full of megapixels. Perhaps I'll try out Yahoo and Shutterfly's limited offer of free prints.
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Friday, January 12, 2001

RejectionCollection.com is a site for writers to share their rejection slips, letters, cards. After Catherine Wald's novel was turned down by publishers and dropped by her agent, she created the site to commiserate with other aspiring authors. A New York Times article about the site also mentions Rejection Slips, a site I stumbled upon a while ago when I was looking for links for my writing page. It appears that it has also turned into a weblog since I last checked it. My own favorite rejection slip was from the now defunct Story magazine. Someone had taken the time to hand write me a heartening response which made me feel like I should keep trying and one day I could make it. Too bad Story didn't make it. If you haven't seen it, here is the ultimate rejection slip, reputedly translated from Chinese.
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Goodness me, it's the iMac of sewing machines! Singer's IZEK hooks up with a Gameboy and comes with a cartridge of stitches. It was introduced a couple months ago and discussed on Slashdot. Whoever thought you could hack a sewing machine? I suppose that since the original punch cards were used to operate looms, it is not a strange evolution. My mom is still content with her minimal-frills Singer from the '70s. I found an even older model than hers (but strikingly similar) in a dumpster in Incline Village, Nevada. It still works but lacks zig-zag stitch (the big feature on my mom's model). You can do a lot with straight stitches though. Although the Game Boy can channel in even fancier stuff to the IZEK, it still won't cut and sew a dress for you. (spotted on Metafilter)
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Thursday, January 11, 2001

Stephen's Guide to the Logical Fallacies presents faulty arguments and lapses of logic that trip people up constantly. There are fallacies of distraction (If I make an exception for you then I have to make an exception for everyone), causal fallacies (The increase in AIDS was caused by more sex education), and many other categories. Most sounded uncomfortably familiar, perhaps like things I heard during the recent Presidential election. Unfortunately, arguments like this are even more common than that. People use them every day, often without realizing they are being misleading. (via Yahoo's Weekly Picks)
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Glass artworks, especially smooth, curved designs, are a favorite of mine. Josh Simpson makes glass planets and has been placing them in various locations around the world, for anyone to find. With his Infinity Project, you can apply to leave one of his infinity labeled planets in a place of your choosing. It makes me wish I could apply to put one into orbit around the Earth. (via xblog)
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Wednesday, January 10, 2001

I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon last night. The artistic vision of Ang Lee is always perfectly appropriate. The lavish scenes are lush and full of detail. The sparse emotional scenes are shot with sensitivity to the moment. The actors convey much through their eyes, their faces and movements. The storyline was much different from what I expected, and that was a good thing. Jedi Knight duels pale in comparison to these sword fights, even without the fantastical flights. George Lucas take note.
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I knew the newsmedia wouldn't let me down. I wondered a little while ago what would happen to Socks when the Clintons moved out of the White House. Well, I wasn't the only curious one. It turns out that Socks and Buddy don't get along, so Bill is going to try his best to repair the relationship (hey, Hillary got a Senate seat out of their relationship mending, perhaps Socks can go for something cushier). Socks may end up being turned over to Betty Currie or be moved to the Georgetown digs. I'd like to think that since he's Chelsea's cat, she'll take over his care when she leaves Stanford, but if she goes on to graduate school, that will be difficult. So, what furry Republicans are moving into the White House now?
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Tuesday, January 09, 2001

How awkward for the NY Times to be reporting on the layoff of its NYT Digital workers before the employees were informed by management. According to the memo obtained by MediaNews, that wasn't how they intended it to happen. But I suppose that's what happens when you work in news: you try to get to the story first. And for the Seattle Union Record, reporting on its own demise was a happy thing: the Seattle newspaper strike is over!
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Scientists are attempting to create a "unified theory of traffic". Of course the problem is that human behavior is notoriously difficult to model. But the basics of traffic flow have been mapped out and the intricacies that contribute to slowdowns are being worked out. My traffic jam fix, an idea I've heard from other people too, is to put up large obstructing screens when traffic accidents occur. People always slow down to view the scene of an accident. Even if the police are efficient about moving the damaged cars and emergency vehicles to the side of the road, the rubbernecking keeps traffic at a crawl (and it's almost more torturous to be poking along at 5mph then sitting at a dead stop). But if everything is somehow hidden from the passing cars, then things should move along smoothly. Move along people, nothing can be seen here.
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Monday, January 08, 2001

Something different today: restaurant recommendations. I know, I know... you probably don't even live here so these are of little value to you. But I'm trying hard not to burn out on this weblogging thing (especially with it being so suddenly trendy and public, popping up in the media everywhere). And the last (and unfortunately final) time I ever ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant, they sadly told us that they were losing the battle with the deluge of Chinese places that had opened across the street. We said "we'll tell all our friends to come here!" But I never spread the word, not that it would've made much of a difference. The next time we drove by, a sign on the door said "On Vacation". They never returned.

Hammerhead Fish House at 5291 Prospect Rd., San Jose impressed me with their perfectly cooked vegetables. Often the veggies on the side at American restaurants are steamed to death and tasteless. This place knows how to cook vegetables, and if they pay attention to the details, you can imagine that your entree is going to be decent. Real reviewers, of course, have to talk about the fish, so here's a recent Merc review.

Red Tractor 1320 El Paseo De Saratoga, San Jose is where you should go when you think you want to go to Boston Market. When we asked if they had corn and they said "only when it's in season", I knew this was a place that cares about the quality of their food, not just the marketability of their menu. It is true American comfort food (with no-meat meatloaf thrown in because, well, it's California!). Meatloaf, turkey, chicken, yummy side dishes, tangy barbecue sauce (OK, I am not naive enough to call it real BBQ), amazing cheddar biscuits, and fresh lemonade. They claim it's all made from scratch, and it tastes that way.

Tofu House at 3450 E El Camino Real in Santa Clara is Korean comfort food. First you get a selection of fresh, snappy kimchi, some spicy, some sour. A clear tangy broth, sort of a palate cleanser arrives. Soon a big stone bowl of rice is hefted onto your table and they mix in peas and serve it to you in metal bowls. Your main dish is a big, boiling bowl of organic tofu in a broth spiced and flavored as you requested: vegetables, kimchi, mushrooms, or various meats. It's a steamily yummy concoction. And when you're done, you can scoop up more crunchy bits of rice from the bottom of the stone container which they've filled with hot water so you can have a digestive soup. Oh, and their drinking water is purified. Attention to detail wins me over every time.
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Saturday, January 06, 2001

There is an abundance of girls' series books which I was not previously aware of, probably because my hometown library didn't have them. Many are from the same production houses that churned out the well-known Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames series. They all stick to the usual formulas: titles with a set pattern, either a mystery/adventure, or female career to follow, and standard characters (often a dead parent(s) or other interesting family situation for the heroine, always perky sidekicks, sometimes annoying adversaries). The three books I've recently encountered are: "Puzzle in Purple, A Connie Blair Mystery" (thanks Lisa! There's also "Clue in Blue" and "Riddle in Red"), "Betty Gordon at Rainbow Ranch" (a Stratemeyer Syndicate series), and "The Secret of Magnolia Manor, The Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess Series". Reading these books is like watching sitcoms. You know the formula, what to expect from the characters, and there's not much underneath. Since they are all from earlier decades (1920's-1940's), I enjoy them as snapshots of history. I try to imagine what a girl in those times was getting from these books and how women are presented in them. Sometimes it's not as bad as I expect. Many of them were written with the goal of encouraging independent thought. But the social differences are always pretty extreme! And the racism is, unfortunately, often worse than the outdated female roles.
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Friday, January 05, 2001

The Millennial Medley Medals places me in good company. And it reminds me that you can't be afraid of expressing your opinion if you want to be an effective writer.
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The new trend where VCs cut their losses by closing down start-ups that have plenty of money left in the bank is mightily unsettling. I've worked through plenty of low cash situations (some which I probably never heard the worst of thanks to level-headed top management), and can make educated decisions about whether I want to tolerate a shaky financial climate. But you need different gauges for determining if a company is stable when VCs are looking to pull out the plugs when you have plenty of payroll left.
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Before South Park, there was Ren & Stimpy. Yes, Nickelodeon used to have the sophisticated oomph of crass jokes too. It was just a few short years ago that people were bopping around to "Happy Happy Joy Joy" and singing the log commercial jingle. I'd almost forgotten. So what happened to those creative minds behind the behinds of the cat and the dog? Find out in The Completely Uncensored Unbelievably True Ren & Stimpy Story!. In a nutshell, Nickelodeon tried to get the cartoonists to sell out, and eventually decided that the network's image shouldn't be made in the potty-mouth show that gave its big break. (via Kestrel's Nest)
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Thursday, January 04, 2001

Whew... I was away from the log for longer than I expected. But it was good for me to have a break. It helped me to remember that I started this log because I had interesting items and thoughts to share, and that I have them regardless of whether I have to have something to write in my log. Does that make sense? Ah well. Happy 2001 to all!
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I am the proud owner of some amazingly random, stuffed Sushi Seal characters. They are seals in sushi configurations. The seal goes where the rice would be. Don't question it; it's one of those Japanese inventions that I sincerely hope they laugh about too. I have the Tamago-Kids: "They are always togehter (sic)." Indeed they are; they are attached in a pyramid and it would be difficult to separate them. Dad gets to carry around a slice of salmon and Mom is, fittingly I suppose, the roe.
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I got a Digital Elph for Christmas. It came in handy for the foot of snow that blew in a few days later. I never took pictures of snow before because snow wasn't a special event worthy of photography. Now I'm "from California". But I'll always be a Connecticut native. They can't take that away from me.
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I enjoyed this revealing gem of an expose on the amazingly similar Bush + nominees photos. Splice splice splice! Of course, this isn't much better than all those photo-op reenactments of Senator Hillary being sworn in. Seems other people had to settle for Al Gore holding the Bible himself.
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