I watched Say Anything on a cable network last night and realized that I had forgotten a lot of details. I almost didn’t watch it because I figured I knew it too well. But I was surprised at all the cool little things I hadn’t retained. Also, I noticed more “known” actors. Bebe Neuwirth has a small role as a school counselor. Chynna Phillips (yes, the one from that singing group you thought you’d forgotten, Wilson Phillips) played Mimi.

Billy Joel owns a patent on a boat hull design and collects royalties for each one built. A NY Times writer spent some time with him on the yachts he helped design. He was inspired by Long Island lobster boats. (One of the quaint, respectable characteristics of the NY Times is its continued use of formal address for Mr. Mrs. and, new in the ’80s and used often now, Ms. Mr. Joel’s daughter, however, gets the first name treatment.)

Someone told me that when he says something to his girlfriend that she doesn’t like, she responds “Undo! Undo! Control-Z! Control-Z!” Silicon Valley: where even the non-geeks say geeky things.

I was, of course, aware that the computer has altered how many professions do their work, but I did not realize the extent of its affect on architects. The NY Times describes how computers are creating a Renaissance of sorts in the field of architecture. It is not only the ability to quickly communicate with suppliers and to cut down on paperwork, but to actually spark the creation of designs beyond the usual right angles and boxes. Architect Greg Lynn says: “Before computers, you’d start designing using shapes of cubes. Now I can start with something like a handkerchief, an object that doesn’t have strong inside and outside boundaries or much closed volume.” That is a superb example of how software can remove barriers to facilitate the creative process.

There’s a Blockbuster video every few blocks up and down El Camino Real, and I never considered that their business model may fail someday in the future. I’ve read various articles about the advent of broadband video on demand and so on, but the public still seems stuck in the DVD/VCR rental mode, even with pay-per-view and satellite availability. The checkout line on weekends seems to indicate no shortage of customers. But, according to this BusinessWeek article, Blockbuster’s stock price is down in the dumps, though their sales are doing OK. “Since 1997, Blockbuster’s revenue has grown about 15% each year, almost all of that coming from video rentals and sales.” But investors don’t expect them to last in the future, which to me seems ironically backwards as those astronomic valuations on ecommerce companies who are actually tanking in their sales. Blockbuster is making serious moves to get on the broadband pay-per-view wagon. I wonder how long it will be before those ubiquitous stores disappear?

Apple has made the tech world more colorful with the iMac colors seeping into peripherals and even non-Mac computer cases and accessories. But one place I did not expect to see a colorful trend was when I opened up my Strings magazine. Violinists can now choose colored shoulder rests, brightly dyed bow hair, and even colored composite bows. That’s a big change from the boring black, white, and wood world of the classics. I assume these accessories are popular for kids learning to play and perhaps musicians in the pop world. I doubt they will become trendy for classical players. I don’t think I’ll take the plunge.

Something scared me at Macy’s today. It wasn’t alive. It wasn’t even undead. It was…a purse. You may or may not remember the Bermuda bag fad in the eighties. It is briefly mentioned with a photo on this eighties fashions page. I grew up in preppy-ville, so I could not escape it and my parents decided that we had better things to do with our money than keep me furnished in expensive, trendy items. The purse consists of wooden handles and a base fabric with buttons to which you can attach covers in different fabrics. The idea is to match your outfit, as exactly as you may wish, with your ever growing collection of cloth covers. It seemed that everyone had one (except me, sniff) along with multitudes of covers to match each monogrammed sweater. I’m over that lack of fitting in now, but, back in the present, I saw one in the purse section of Macy’s and nearly fainted. It was like a bad dream from long ago, coming back to haunt me. And I admit that for a couple seconds I thought “Ha! I can afford to buy this for myself now and my parents can’t say anything!” But, I realized it just wasn’t me (and probably never was me). Someone has posted patterns for making your own bag and covers, a route I never even considered back then! Well, I suppose the eighties retro fad is up next. Where did I put my Official Preppy Handbook?

I received my free Xenote iTag in the mail. This is the device that allows you to “bookmark” when you hear something you wish more information about on the one radio station it works with. I assume it consists primarily of a clock and memory; it doesn’t need to do much more than that. It comes with a serial cable for downloading. The device is translucent blue and has one button on it. It makes a little peeping sound when you press it. I’ve pressed it a few times (actually everyone I’ve shown it to has pressed it), but haven’t actually listened to the station I’m supposed to be using it with yet! It is a decent first pass at an interesting market concept. I could use an easy way to remember URLs of interesting items on the radio, even some of the ads. It’s unsafe to write them down when I’m driving. Usually I try to invent some kind of mnemonic device, but then I forget that I made one to remember it by.

I loved this article about a naturalist in Australia who uses slugs to clean the mold in his bathroom. The unsightly mold is a yummy treat for them. He experimented with various species to determine which ones were most effective. Some would wander off to other parts of the house (squish!) and others would try to go down the drainpipe. Some would do the shower curtain but not the grout. But the best ones would stay in the little house he provided during the day and come out at night to munch and clean all the mold away. (via Rebecca’s Pocket)

There actually are organizations and historians attempting to collect computer devices, from the old Crays and Eniacs to newer items like PalmPilots and iMacs. The LA Times article also describes attempts to archive the constantly changing Internet. Alexa has crawled the Internet seven times since 1996, but there is much web history before then that has been lost. I bet the organizations and individuals who first had web sites haven’t saved their original postings either. There was a project that archived the 1996 presidential sites, which I suppose has some historical value, though I’d rather we kept track of the more nebulous things that won’t be chronicled in history books. For example, what were people first buying off of the Internet (books at Amazon?). And how much email was sent in 1990 vs 2000? The Internet landscape changes so quickly that most data is historical before it even gets tabulated.