Within CODeDOC, Whitney Museum’s ‘net art project that takes a look at the coding side of software art, this Java project was especially mesmerizing. From the source code comments: “This code reads in its own source and displays it in a tiny font, then moves three points in ‘code space.’ It essentially comments on itself. The white Insertion Point traces the code in the order it was written. The amber Fixation Point traces word by word as someone might read it. The green Execution Point shows a sample of how the computer reads it. The code lines themselves gradually get brighter as they execute more.” More on the author’s related projects at TextArc. (thanks Succa)

At the Weber Grill Restaurant, everything is cooked over charcoal on those familiar Weber kettles. Heat is heat, but there’s something about food roasted over coals, and this is a gimmick that makes some sense.

Late one evening I heard a scrabble scrabble on the roof (and I don’t mean two copies of the word game). The cat raised her eyes upwards and her ears followed suit. I knew what this meant, I had read about it in the home inspection reports for other houses and heard the experiences from fellow new homeowners: roof rats. Well, we roof rat hosts are in good company, with the rich and famous of Beverly Hills fighting an infestation of “Rattus rattus”, past carrier of the Plague, chewer of metal, wood and concrete, eater of vegetables, flowers, and fruits. The citizens of southern California are debating the balance between feral cats versus dirty rats. It seems the rats got worse when the cats were trapped. Hmmm. But the good people of 90210 are unlikely to want scrappy cats running around their neighborhoods even if it does solve the rat problem. Meanwhile back in Silicon Valley, we’re blocking any holes we find into the attic … but those little guys can fit through holes the size of a quarter.

Steven Pinker has a new book out, “The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature.” Edge has a lengthy interview with him. Pinker’s book fights the “blank slate” view of mind, that we are all formed by parenting, nurturing, society. His ammunition is the results of studies in the field of behavioral genetics. Although the brain has a great capacity to learn, “research is showing that many properties of the brain are genetically organized, and don’t depend on information coming in from the senses.” So the old nature versus nurture arguments get some weight on the nature side from the dominance and persistence of our genes. (Thanks Skot)

Connecticut makes nearly $600 million annually in gambling revenues. It’s a staggering amount considering the small size of the state (about 3.2 million population). The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at New England casinos, pointing out the shift from traditional Puritanical views to a new view of entertainment and profits. Other states are considering opening casinos as well, with Native American tribes promising large revenues and thousands of jobs. Casinos do take a toll, however, with bankruptcy and crime created by “problem gamblers” which then costs the state money. Groups who are fighting the casinos are even comparing the gambling industry to the tobacco industry, predicting that lawsuits could arise if they don’t acknowledge the problems. It seems unlikely that a state that allows gambling will be sued, after all they allow tobacco to be sold (with sin taxes of course), so that won’t stop them from creating new revenue streams. What will be interesting to see is how much money there is to spread around. Will Connecticut’s revenues decrease if neighboring states open casinos?

In peeking at Alton Brown’s Dannon deal, I noticed that Stonyfield, my favorite yogurt company, has formed a partnership with DANONE (French parent of Dannon). DANONE acquired 40% of Stonyfield in October 2001 and has the option to acquire a majority holding in 2004. Stonyfield management didn’t change, but the deal may have interesting consequences in the future. American consumers continue to seek out healthier foods and become more aware of what is truly bad for them, so I hope Stonyfield’s ingredients don’t change over time to match what some big exec believes will attract more customers. Also, I assume they wouldn’t want to cut into Dannon yogurt’s profits, so the Stonyfield niche may be safe.

I’ve driven by Sunset Magazine‘s offices in Menlo Park many times, but never considered visiting them. Little did I know that more than 100,000 visitors make the pilgrimage each year to see the buildings and gardens of “The Magazine of Western Living.” I also did not know that the magazine was concieved as a promotion for Southern Pacific Railroad and named after the Sunset Limited train which went from New Orleans to Los Angeles. Its original subtitle was “Publicity for the Attractions and Advantages of the Western Empire” so you can see that the premise of its founding was far away from the current audience of people who already live here and want to know how to keep their (hopefully drought-resistant) plants healthy, correctly cook their nutritious farmer’s market produce, decorate their Craftsman bungalows and ranches, and properly visit the plentiful national parks.

Alton Brown’s Slashdot interview of 10 questions is up. Also, he’s got a new bit up on his site discussing his upcoming product endorsements. Soon you’ll see him on 32 ounce containers of Dannon Plain Yogurt with an AB recipe under the lid. And he has a short term spokesperson deal for Hunt’s new Perfect Squeeze ketchup bottle. Great to see him cashing in finally!

The NY Times’ Moscow Journal reports that regular inspections for radioactivity are made on produce and meats. Moscow is 415 miles from the Chernobyl nuclear-power plant which blew a reactor in 1986. Inspectors seized 3,050 pounds of radioactive produce last year and expect a 10% increase in 2002. The problem arises not with farm-grown produce but with the wild goods harvested by folks looking to supplement their incomes by selling berries and mushrooms. Open-air produce markets have labs busy with inspectors checking goods. It’s now forest mushroom harvest time, but Cesium 137, easily absorbed by mushrooms, has a half-life of 30 years. Russians love their wild mushrooms, but they must remember that those grandmas selling produce on the street corners haven’t had their mushrooms probed with a spectrometer.

Although you can buy sectioned watermelons at the grocery store, somehow it’s not quite the same as lugging home the whole enchilada (as it were). Now there’s a smaller watermelon for you to carry home, weighing in at 3-6 pounds and with a thinner skin. It’s been named PureHeart and was created using cross-pollination, so there was no new-fangled genetic modification. They’re much more expensive than the big guys, but sound perfect if you want to feed a couple people or perhaps just yourself. And you can store them easily in the fridge too.