Pardon the lull. We're busy with a new addition to the Hacker Household...

Born 9/17/2004. Mom, Dad and baby are doing great.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004

A Lego Store opened in our local mall and will be opening soon in two malls near where we used to live in CA. In both areas it's likely you'll see some geeks thrown in amongst the usual families with kids (or families of geeks, which is even better). The store has a wall of bins with loose Lego bricks in various colors (I noticed purple was plentiful) which you can pack into different sized cups for purchase. And when you walk around you must be careful not to trip on the bricks that are scattered about on the floor. Someone needs to make a Lego-sweeping-up robot out of Lego.
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When department store chain Bon Marché was transitioned to Bon-Macy's, I figured it was only a matter of time before the "Bon" was dropped as well. Parent company Federated Department Stores has now given a January timeframe for moving over completely to the Macy's name. Federated stores in other parts of the country are also being renamed: Burdines, Goldsmith's, Lazarus, and Rich's will join the big Macy's named family. Longtime residents lamented the loss of Bon Marché. Being new, I confess I am mainly happy that they will stop trying to sell me the Bon-Macy's credit card when I already have a plain Macy's card that works just fine there, thank you.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2004

The "Great Sphaynx" hay bale sculpture.
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The Seattle Public Library Book Sale is coming up: Sept. 17-19. We went in April and it was huge.
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It's not "The Document Company" anymore. Xerox has a new "capabilities line" of "Technology. Document Management. Consulting Services." for its corporate signature. The company is also no longer using the single "X" logo with the boxy pixels. The NY Times goes into more depth on the changes with mostly positive responses from the analysts.
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Monday, September 13, 2004

The Wackier World of Japanese Ice Cream and The Original Wacky World of Japanese Ice Cream. You can expect the wasabi and miso, but chicken wing? (via Bifurcated Rivets)
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Statistics on the images gracing those new customizable stamps: "40% babies and children; 25% adults or families; 10% pets, with the remainder business logos, landscape images, and wedding photos." About 1,000 images rejected in the first 3 weeks.
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Amongst the bad news from numerous airlines, the SF Chronicle has printed a long, interesting interview with JetBlue Airways CEO and founder David Neeleman. This airline that I was still considering a tiny upstart is now the largest carrier flying out of JFK in New York. Neeleman sees success in the various airlines concentrating on home hubs instead of the branching out that the big ones had begun. He talks about continuing to maintain the loyalty of his employees, something he believes sets JetBlue apart from the other companies. And he's excited about the Embraer 190 aircraft from Brazil which fits their market and entertainment offerings. Neeleman also discusses his family and background.
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Friday, September 10, 2004

A region of the brain, the anterior cingulate gyrus, helps plan future actions and it exhibits different activation in people who are easily hypnotized. The researcher theorizes that under hypnosis a person can no longer effectively evaluate the emotional outcome of their actions, so public embarrassment is not a barrier to suggested behavior.
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An interesting question posed to Ask Yahoo!: What's the ratio of introverts to extroverts in the human population? "According to several sources, extroverts make up 60% to 75% of the population."
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San Francisco Chronicle food writer Kim Severson is moving to the NY Times Dining section. "She expects to pine for the Chronicle's luxe test kitchen -- which she helped set up -- not to mention its herb garden and 20,000 bottle wine cellar." This week at the Chronicle she revealed a surprising sustainably raised veal crusade from the folks at Niman Ranch.
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Thursday, September 09, 2004

I hate cleaning grout and must get a Clorox Bleach Pen.
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A interesting lawn tidbit from this week's gardening Q&A, concerning my ongoing research on how to maintain our lawn with no effort and water...A reader asks about growing a clover lawn since that is what their lawn is doing on its own anyway. Part of the response: "The first lawns were planted in Dutch clover. Then changing tastes turned it into a lawn weed. Now, with the effort to conserve water, drought-resistant lawns of clover are no longer overlooked."
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Ahhh nostalgia. The slides rules of 200 Purdue University alumni are on permanent display at the university’s engineering center. Slide rules of all shapes, materials and sizes sit behind glass in a historical layout. Neil Armstrong's is there along with three other astronauts'.
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Wednesday, September 08, 2004

Oregon is enticing California natural food businesses to move north a state. Governor Kulongoski visited Amy's Kitchen personally to talk up the savings in workers' compensation and taxes for their planned expansion. Governor Schwarzenegger is fighting back with bills to reform workers' comp.
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Per Se came through its NY Times review with no less than four stars. The vegetarian tasting menu clinched it for new restaurant critic Frank Bruni, who, despite acknowledging that this French Laundry offspring is a "preening, peacock-vain newcomer," was compelled ultimately by what everyone else is: the sheer perfection of the food. The Thomas Keller trademarked perfectionism struck Bruni's tastebuds in a consummate rendition of potato salad, more so than the much lauded butter-poached lobster. He still recalls the first "insanely happy" and last "ineffably sad" bite of a truffle risotto. The food left an emotional mark, with mastery, to gain the top honors.
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Tuesday, September 07, 2004

"Beware of a conglomerate bearing art." That's the warning from those in the art world skeptical of Clear Channel's arrival in the business of art exhibits. The company has two shows on tour and another launching this month. The exhibitions themselves are not particular points of controversy, so much as Clear Channel's reputation for controlling the other industries it has large stakes in. Most art museums traditionally have a nonprofit approach to business (being nonprofits of course) so the distaste and fear of Clear Channel's encroachment into their territory is understandable. However museums do need to stay solvent in a competitive environment where producing appealing attractions is something Clear Channel has shown capability for, though perhaps not fairness.
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With computer-controlled blinds, a system to capture and use roof rainwater, and 40,000 sensors to monitor and control the inside environment, the Genzyme Corp. building in Cambridge, MA was designed to receive the Green Building Council's highest rating. No electricity is used for heating or cooling. Waste steam from a nearby power plant is pumped in and 800 windows actually open and close (!!). The building's features hiked its cost to about 16% more than a conventional building. Thus despite its efficiencies, it is not a prime example for the more practical measures that can be taken to make a building "green." But it certainly is state-of-the-art.
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Friday, September 03, 2004

With lawn care low on my list of priorities, lawn alternatives are high on my list of investigations. I keep seeing mentions of "Eco-Lawn" in gardening articles, but searches always turn up different mixes of that name. This week's Seattle Times gardening column sheds more light on the subject. These lawn seed mixtures, "sold as Eco-Lawn or Fleur de Lawn," combine about 80% perennial rye with flowering plants. Strawberry clover, alyssum, white yarrow, and English Daisy are the typical "mix-ins." Unfortunately, successful conversion to an "Eco Lawn" seems to involve getting rid of the current lawn and fully preparing the soil for the new seed mix. And it still requires water and mowing. So instead I'll just name our existing lawn "Economy Lawn" with its mix of regular grass, clover, tall and short dandelions, and moss.
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I've always wondered whether dyslexia affects readers of character-based languages. Research on Chinese-reading children with dyslexia show a different part of the brain may be involved in their case than with alphabetic languages. The summary statement, as one neuroscientist put it, is "the neural basis of reading is complex." A person can be dyslexic in one language but not another, and the different basis for recognition in reading the language is likely the distinction. Although the article does not point this out specifically, it follows then that dyslexia is actually the word for the symptoms or result of different brain anomolies, not the term for the physical anomoly itself.
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Thursday, September 02, 2004

Some interesting potential legislation making its way through the California Legislature: People would not be allowed to smoke in cars in which a child is also riding in a child restraint seat. Hybrid vehicles could use freeway diamond lanes, regardless of the number of occupants. Owners of ferrets could apply to California Department of Fish and Game for an amnesty certification that allows the pets to be legally owned (ferrets are illegal as pets in CA). Farms would be banned beginning in 2012 from force-feeding of ducks, geese and other birds to produce a gourmet liver food product.
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Roadside Architecture has photos of those interesting buildings you pass by on the way to somewhere else. The Eateries section is fun, particularly the pages of ice cream stands, including photos of ever-popular Kimball Farm in Massachusetts, which The Boston Globe just ran an article about.
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Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Lots and lots of airline logos. Y'know what's missing? The short-lived Trump Shuttle. The site also has airplane logo designs and specs. In searching for Trump Shuttle info, this site of airline timetables surfaced. They have images of baggage labels as well. (first link via antenna)
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Are San Francisco "reactionaries" holding back progress in architecture by refusing to break the molds of existing looks? In a new book of essays on urban design, the chapter on the "city by the bay" criticizes planners and "NIMBY activists" of sticking to the past, reducing interesting new concepts to merely conform with the existing landscape when they could make futuristic statements. Columnist Carol Lloyd takes the example of the Victorians, the classic symbol of San Francisco housing. Despite their historical glamour, originally "they were tract homes, built with factory-made parts, row after row raised in tribute to mass conformity." Ultimately, a city can settle stubbornly into its old roots or embrace a mix of new visions to balance the preservation.
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