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.

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.

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.

University of Minnesota’s Social Hygiene Poster collection is part of their Social Welfare History Archives. (via Memepool)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Computer science geeks, did you know that Abelson and Sussman’s Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs is available entirely online?

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.