There's a new alternative for quickly saving waterlogged books with Super Slurper, the same polymer that has been used in diapers. It could replace tedious, time-consuming air drying and vacuum freeze-drying processes. The actual methods for the book drying have patents pending, so the only information given by the company creating this technique is that the powder never touches the book. A chemical engineer theorized that the powder could be embedded in sheets applied to the book pages. A finished product is a year away.
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Video Learning via Reader Mail

Seth sent in the very nice "How Everyday Things are Made" videos from Stanford's Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing. Chocolate, denim, airplanes, and bottles are among the items created before your eyes in Flash.

Prompted by my link to the online SICP, Jack sent in a link to Hewlett Packard's professionally produced videos of Hal Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman's Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs lectures. These are from 1986 and thus differ from the evolved current course, but the general principles will never change.
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Monday, September 29, 2003

I purchased David Bowie's new album, "Reality," in Vancouver over the weekend (more on that trip at a later date), and was considering also buying the 30th Anniversary Edition of "Aladdin Sane" when I noticed that it was "copy controlled." Bowie has stated in interviews that he is against copy protection, but EMI, who is releasing his back catalogue, decided to put their "Copy Control" feature on all the Aladdin Sane CDs released in Canada (at least, I'm not certain of the extent of their distribution). Information in an Amazon.com user review claims that only the Canadian versions are copy protected and the American ones are not. At least EMI is clearly labeling the ones that are, which is some small solace. I can only hope that their sales figures will reveal that this scheme is not going to help them sell more CDs.
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I always buy Pearl River Bridge Soy Sauce, because that's the brand my parents buy. Thinking I would save a few pennies, I reached for the large plastic jug version at Uwajimaya, which sat right underneath the Pearl River Bridge glass bottles. I hesitated, however, when I noticed that the jug labels did not actually say "Pearl River Bridge" although they were of very similar design and coloring. I wasn't surprised to find brand identity issues with products imported from China, but Google turned up a scary side note to this problem. In 2000 the U.K.'s Food Standard's Agency found certain soy sauce brands contained unacceptable levels of a suspected carcinogen, 3-MCPD. Pearl River Bridge was one of the brands. The manufacturer refuted the claims, stating that counterfeit versions of their product had been used. The FSA released an update in 2001 stating that the products now were within acceptable limits. A study in 2002 showed even better results. The news also spawned a misleading email that was circulated. Pearl River Bridge has taken steps to protect their brand and reputation by implementing strict labeling policies. Since the new label description seems specific to their U.K. importer, I'm uncertain about how to correctly identify the product in the U.S., but I will continue to be on the lookout for obvious imitations. And I'm certain we'll never know if the FSA actually tested counterfeit product or if Pearl River Bridge adjusted their formula.
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Friday, September 26, 2003

On Online Shopping

The beauty of shopping is in the hunt. Stalking shoes on clearance racks and flushing out a purse from the bargain bin is an occupation that many saner individuals can't appreciate. For them, the perfect shopping experience consists of finding the sought after item immediately, and returning home before the ink dries on the charge slip. Those who hate to shop must surely love the Internet. Stick a few words into a search box, and bingo, the item you need is right in front of you, no trolling necessary. Those who love to shop must love the Internet too. It brings you riches you could never unearth at the mall. But one of my favorite live shopping activities has no comparison online, and that is the experience of used book shopping.

The library system of my new habitat has announced that they will no longer be holding their twice yearly used booksales. Instead, they have been shipping those same books to Boulder, Colorado where they are sorted, priced, and entered into a database. That database sits underneath the shopping facade of none other than amazon.com. As we had just missed the large Seattle public library sale, the revelation that we would also miss out on our own library's sale was heart-breaking. How does one duplicate the experience of a used booksale through the Internet? If it were even possible to scan all the pages would that make up for any of it?

It seems hopeless. The beauty of the used booksale is that you never know what you are looking for. But you know you'll find it. No search term delivers that to you, and no browser matches the tactile experience.
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Thursday, September 25, 2003

Clever people at the University of Rochester have flipped the typical use of RFID around and created a navigational aid for the visually impaired. Radio tags are placed at key locations and a handheld receiver is triggered to play an audio CD track when a tag is nearby. The setup could also be used for self-guided tours. No more punching numbers into museum Acoustiguides. The researchers have applied for a patent.
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Speaking of Acoustiguide, their product information does list "Remote triggering: Optional Radio frequency systems" as an available feature. Other interesting tidbits from their site: Museums can purchase a data collection feature which allows them to download information from the units about what the user listened to (which translates to the route they took) and the related timing. "In general, men and younger visitors prefer headsets, and women prefer wands." And if you've noticed that more museums are offering their audio tours for free, note that "Under this arrangement, all visitors are offered an audio program with a highly perceived value at a minimal cost to the client. The institution may raise the admission price marginally, and Acoustiguide is paid a per visitor fee."
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003

brandchannel.com steps through the history of the Teva sandal. Rafters appreciated the functionality of the strappy footwear enough to overcome any aversion to the odd look. Now sporty sandals are everywhere. Join in my unsuccessful campaign to promote the correct pronounciation of "teh'-vah" (not "tee-vah").
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On the Autumnal Equinox, Astronomy Picture of the Day came down to earth and dispelled the myth of egg balancing.
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Elvis Costello is making the American talk show rounds this week in support of his new album "North." Most notably, he will be performing for two hours on A&E's Live By Request on Thursday. Elvis says of the new album: "It's the only record I've ever made that aspired to beauty as the prime objective."
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Tuesday, September 23, 2003

I had a terrible time finding stores that stocked a selection of good quality flannel sheets in California. This is not a problem in the state of Washington.
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Curious about Itzhak Perlman's recovery from shoulder surgery in February, I did a little searching around. He is back to a "normal" touring schedule, however he has been substituting less strenous pieces. In Baton Rouge he replaced the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with Beethoven. He helped close the Tanglewood season with Mozart's Third Concerto, in lieue of the originally planned Bruch concerto. With his full schedule, he is likely avoiding overworking the shoulder and recovering at a suitable pace.
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As any well-bred letter writer knows, appropriate stationery of high quality paper is essential to proper social correspondence. But even before the advent of electronic mail, society had been reduced to pre-printed "Thank You" cards and floral, bunny rabbit, fruit stationary. The stationery set of the lady of the house used to be stocked with correspondence cards, folded notepaper (with an embossed monogrammed perhaps), and very formal letter sheets. In excerpts from Eaton, Crane & Pike Company's The Etiquette of Letter Writing even more variations are specified such as "stationary for country house use" and "stationary for use on board a yacht" (readers may wish to consult with their own yacht club or clubs as to the appropriate display on banners or insignia).
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Monday, September 22, 2003

Duct tape is silver. Duct tape comes in colors and even camouflage patterns. But, really, duct tape is silver. 3M is stretching the meaning of duct tape by marketing transparent duct tape for "the end of ugly repairs." It's also supposed to last six times longer than normal duct tape. But, it's "not recommended for use on flues, chimneys, mufflers or tailpipes" which I think means you shouldn't use it on ducts. Since it isn't silver, maybe you wouldn't have anyway.
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Fast throughput and economy of space are the differentiators for a brand-new fully-automated parking garage in Hoboken. Parkers drive their car onto a steel pallet, get out, insert a card in a slot and step back. The car is whisked away by Robotic Parking's patented system which uses a separate motor for each direction to achieve better reliability and redundancy, an improvement over older automated garages. A similar parking garage under an apartment building near the White House uses a system by SpaceSaver Parking. While robotic garages cost more to build, there are other savings besides space. Since the engines are never on and people don't enter the garage, there's no need to install a ventilation system, pedestrian elevators, fire doors or emergency staircases. (source: N.Y. Times)
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Friday, September 19, 2003

The easiest mnemonic for remembering locations participating in Intel's Free Wireless Day on Thursday, September 25 appears to be "Starbucks Starbucks Starbucks." There are plenty of other places in the database, but you know how ubiquitous those Starbucks are.
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This exploration into the reasoning behind the differences between the British and American editions of A.S. Byatt's Possession is enlightening and slightly maddening. (via leuschke)
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There's more news on those flavored milks that are hitting the shelves. There was the weblog-infamous Raging Cow from Dr Pepper/Seven Up launched this summer, and Coca-Cola has decided to sell Swerve only in schools. The odd thing about Swerve is that you could call it a "diet milk" as it is sweetened with sucralose (Splenda) and is made with skim milk. It's designed to be palatable to those campaigning against soft drinks sold in schools. Mac Farms Inc. who makes the carbonated e-MOO drink, has another carbonated milk drink it is marketing to schools. The replacement of soda with these milk concoctions is not an improvement in some nutritionists' opinions.
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Thursday, September 18, 2003

Salvage Update: Coincidentally, the Seattle Times also made mention of the RE Store on Wednesday. The Camlin Hotel is undergoing a $7.5 million renovation and it all began with a careful salvage effort. Forty kitchenettes, walled up in 1949, revealed expensive antique stoves. Sinks, doors, and even garbage cans were collected up by RE Store for sale to the public.
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The Broca's area of our brain was originally identified for its role in processing the syntax and meaning of sentences. In 1861, Dr. Paul Broca discovered a patient with specific brain damange who could understand speech but was unable to form sentences. In 2001, researchers in Germany used a special chord progression to prove that the Broca's region is activated when people process music. Last week, Dr. Vanessa Sluming revealed research showing that symphony musicians have an average of 15% more gray matter in their Broca's area than non-musicians. The gray matter tends to shrink with age in most people, but musical endeavors keep this area active.
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Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Shopping for building salvage is an adventure at Seattle and Bellingham's RE Store. With items contributed or traded in by the remodeling public and partnerships with contractor crews, the selection reflects the environmentally conscious community. Items are kept out of landfill, and sometimes projects go as far as "deconstruction" with structures taken apart with enough detail that hinges and drywall can be reused. Nostalgia abounds in the photos for the items salvaged from James Madison Middle School.
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As the N.Y. Times succinctly states "David Bowie Returns to Earth (Loudly)." And it appears he's landed firmly in the heart of New York City, his home of many years. Critics say his new album, "Reality," has a distinct urban feel, a true and harsh rock dynamic. The Times hails it as a great rock album for young and old, but others found only a couple songs of worth. Bowie will be touring the world in support of "Reality" with dates scheduled for Europe and North America and plans for Australia and Asia.
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Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Some of the more exotic scents rounding out the new crop of perfumes: Brazilian jabuticaba fruit, tonka beans, white cedar of Lebanon, nocturnal melati flower (Indonesian jasmine), and Chinese Osmanthus. Men get suede, sage, pepper, and tobacco in their new fragrances.
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For the sheer whimsy of it, I thought I'd see if there were any unusual items to be had in the RV accessories catalog. No, we don't have an RV. But, who knows. It's good to be prepared.

"Soap Gondola" keeps your soap in place.

"Deer warning device" will safely warn most animals up to 1/4 mile away of your approaching vehicle. Pets inside your RV, however, will not be affected. It's wind-activated, produces ultrasonic sound waves, and you get two of 'em for six bucks.

"Pop-A-Plate" mounts under a cabinet and dispenses up to 100 paper plates (there's also Pop-A-Towel and Pop-A-Knapkin).

Hanging hat rack! Keeps 8 baseball caps neat.

"Flyshooter" and "Personal Bug Zapper" kill bugs dead.

The "Copilot Navigation System" incorporates large vehicle restrictions into its directions, avoiding sharp turns U-turns.
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Monday, September 15, 2003

University of Minnesota's Social Hygiene Poster collection is part of their Social Welfare History Archives. (via Memepool)
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While I was watching a chef prepare my lunch in the cafeteria last week, I asked him if there was a restaurant supply store nearby. I was thinking along the lines of the Seattle Restaurant Store, which we haven't been to yet, but sounds intriguing. He directed me to United Grocers' Cash & Carry in Bellevue. It's more a wholesale grocery than a restaurant equipment supplier, but we had a fun time going through the aisles. It can be a little off-putting to see vast quantities of the processed foodstuffs that go into the majority of average restaurant dishes (gallons of lemon pie filling, bags of MSG). But there are many raw ingredients as well, and very cold deli and vegetable rooms. Normal folks planning to feed a large gathering may do better here than Costco, and there are normal supermarket-sized quantities of many products. They carry some restaurant equipment, so we picked up a few plastic storage containers.

This Cash & Carry is part of Smart & Final which also operates Costco-like warehouse stores, marketing to the public as well as foodservice. The company has its roots in Los Angeles, from a grocery business founded in 1871. They pioneered "cash-and-carry" in L.A. in the 1920s; previously customers were served by a clerk who collected their items.
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Friday, September 12, 2003

By now you've hopefully heard the news, but it bears repeating, that Berke Breathed is returning to the funny pages. Sunday comics will soon again feature that particular brand of humor that made a pudgy penguin, who looked more like a puffin with an Airstream for a nose, and a dead, drooling cat the top choice of certain 1988 presidential voters. If you'd like to alert your local media to mothball your least favorite thought-balloon-communicating cartoon critter and make some room for an infomercial-influenceable penguin, Breathed's website has helpfully listed the email addresses of papers across the country.
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While I wasn't paying attention, MIT's Laboratory for Computer Sciences and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory merged into one entity: MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). In recent times, the two labs were not exactly on speaking terms, but it appears that differences have been put aside and similarities, or at least redundancies in staffing and objectives, have been embraced. And if all goes well, they will both be moving into the new Stata Center sometime next year. The characteristically bulgy, Frank Gehry designed building has been plagued by cost overruns and schedule slips. If you've got some spare cash lying around, there are still naming opportunities available. The childcare center can be had for $3.5 million, or perhaps you'd like a boardroom to carry your name for $1.5 million. Laboratories and lounges are a bargain at $100,000-$500,000.
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Thursday, September 11, 2003

Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm that lost 658 employees in the World Trade Center, some from my hometown, had promised 25% of its profits over five years to the victims' families. $120 million has been distributed already. 100% of their revenues for today will go to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund and many employees are donating a day of salary as well.
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Computer science geeks, did you know that Abelson and Sussman's Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs is available entirely online?
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San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, damaged by a 1995 winter storm, has finally reopened. 10,800 panes of glass and 1,500 species of plants make up this "crystal palace" which is 124 years old. The dome has been damaged by fire a few times before and repaired, but that windstorm was particularly severe. $25 million was spent on restorations.
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Wednesday, September 10, 2003

Advertisers would of course love to reach their target markets more effectively. But the demographic breakdowns they have to work with often aren't as tuned as they'd like. Creative market researchers are looking at different ways to slice and dice consumer groups. One somewhat unusual and perhaps controversial method is by weight. Simmons Market Research Bureau has tabulated 'Waistband Segments' for various television shows, dividing viewers into Normal, Underweight, Overweight, and Obese categories. Diet companies and food advertisers take note.
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Pudgy Pets Putting On Pounds, hefty hounds and corpulent cats, Tubby Tabbies, Portly Pooches. The press, or the headline writers at least, are having a fun time with the National Research Council's "New Dietary Guidelines" for cats and dogs. The Subcommittee on Dog and Cat Nutrition issued a 450-page report stating that one out of every four cats and dogs in the U.S. is overweight. Scientists, pet-food manufacturers, and veterinarians are the intended audience of the report, however pet owners may benefit from the updated guidelines for nutrients, feeding and watering, and how to recognize when your pet is overweight. On that last point, the report states "If a cat looks overweight, it is."
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Tuesday, September 09, 2003

IKEA's product names are fun for English speakers (and perhaps most non-Swedish speakers) and sometimes confounding. Transblawg has translated a German article regarding the naming of IKEA items and various readers have added their knowledge into the comments. The popular "Billy" shelf doesn't fit into the supposed guidelines, but they seem to work in most cases. (via xBlog)
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Catching up with Firefly and Joss Whedon: A Firefly feature film is in the works (hooray) with Universal Pictures acquiring the rights from 20th Centure Fox. DVDs of Firefly, including the unaired episodes, are planned for later this year.
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Monday, September 08, 2003

Alton Brown's appearance on David Letterman last week kicked off the publicity for his new book "Gear for Your Kitchen." He had Dave sample homemade (hotel room made, actually) yogurt and salmon smoked in a trash can. Alton is crossing the country on a book tour with a stop at U. Washington's bookstore. His last book won the James Beard book award in the reference category.
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The "foodie" trend of the past few years has created a demand for gourmet kitchens perfectly outfitted with matching, pro-style appliances. But the appliances have for the most part merely changed their exteriors and veneers without huge leaps into creative realms. Maytag's new Jenn-Air Attrezzi line is creating a new niche of artsy kitchen appliances for the U.S. Hitting KitchenAid squarely on its retro-styled jaws, the Attrezzi mixer and blender boldly display their Murano glass inspired flair.

The beautiful mixing and blending bowls come in pleasing colors and patterns that cause the home decorator to wish for more counterspace instead of an appliance garage. I doubt they will be selling quilted covers for these models. Will other appliance companies rise to the bait and propel the artsy appliance trend past retro and into art glass? Most home cooks get to choose only one of the now almost overwhelming palette of KitchenAid mixer colors. Lovely glass bowls, however, come with that wonderful money-making word: collectible. (NY Times article on the genesis of the Attrezzi line)
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Friday, September 05, 2003

The NY Times looks at high-tech dentistry. New machines have improved diagnostic abilities and greatly decreased the turnaround time for creating a crown. They are expensive, but a dentist interested in a long-term return may benefit from larger margins and time saved. Insurance typically doesn't ask what tools you used; they'll cover the same amount regardless of the techniques employed. Of course this also means that any savings is likely not to be passed directly to the patient.
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NASA has been successful in reducing the sonic boom created by an aircraft. A redesigned skin and nose of a Navy F-5E jet produced a "dull thud" instead of a sharp crack. The hope is that supersonic aircraft will be able to travel over land without noise issues, not only for passenger travel but for stealth military travel as well.
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Thursday, September 04, 2003

With Fry's comfortably ensconced in Renton, I am tempted to track other signs of impending, encroaching California civilization. Of course this means waiting for the arrival of In-N-Out Burger. The California burger joint, which I've witnessed converting strict vegetarians into beef-eaters, is wending its way through California, Arizona, and even Nevada, but hasn't made it further up the coast yet. I'm not aware of any plans for expansion. However, Burgerville, a Vancouver, WA based chain, is planning to expand into the Seattle area. With Northwest beef, Tillamook cheese, marionberry milkshakes, and Walla Walla onion rings, Burgerville puts the spotlight on fresh, local ingredients. Jane and Michael Stern of Roadfood fame have sung its praises (though they seem partial to Dick's Drive-In)
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A treasure trove of Beatrix Potter artwork was brought to Antiques Roadshow (the original BBC version) in Dumfries, Scotland. The owner knew the watercolors and drawings were by the famous artist but had no idea they could be worth an estimated £250,000. The works, which pre-date her Peter Rabbit books, "show small animals like kittens or mice and rabbits set in human settings doing human things." That's Beatrix Potter all right.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Up in Canada the diamond mines are revving up production and HRA Investments Ltd. is gearing up too, with a venture for automating the cutting of diamonds. Computer software examines a rough gem and suggests the optimum cut. A robot can then be programmed to actually perform the cutting, and it can do in an hour what would take a human cutter one day to complete. How long will it be before we have a fully automated system with a diamond making machine attached to a robotic cutting device? Is it DeBeers' worst nightmare or their vision for a sparkly future? (via Gizmodo)
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Pipes, pipes, and more pipes. Zinc pipes, silver pipes, wooden pipes, tin pipes, lead pipes, and chimes too. This is the world of Carl Dodrill, vocation: neuropsychologist, avocation: restorer of pipe organs. Dodrill has founded the Pipe Organ Foundation to help preserve and place these instruments in suitable settings. Donations of organs and their parts are accepted to further their efforts in keeping this instrument alive for future generations.
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Tuesday, September 02, 2003

For a last cooling blast of summertime, visit the digital watergun museum. (via memepool)
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A prominent attraction at this year's Bumbershoot Festival, the "Space Harp" was formed out of 6,000 feet of wire strung from the 200 foot level of the Space Needle. Created by MASS Ensemble's Bill Close, the harp was originally strung onto the Field Museum in Chicago in 1999. Since then, the group has attached this "world's largest" string instrument to buildings across the U.S., the tallest so far being the Prudential Center in Boston at 700 ft. The harp is played by pulling down the length of a string with rosined gloves. The sound is deep and resonant. I spliced together a panoramic photograph of the entire length of the instrument. In this smaller photo you can see the curved wooden structure where the strings are attached in front.
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