“Last year, clients of China’s two state-owned mobile-phone companies sent each other a staggering 15.1 billion text messages, via short-message-service technology, during the weeklong holiday, according to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.” Wow. And that number is expected to jump this week. Happy Year of the Rat.

It hadn’t occured to me yet to think about organic flowers when purchasing bouquets, but it makes perfect sense if you’re being “green.” Organic Bouquet was recommended on a discussion list I’m on. And of course if you can buy something grown locally that’s even better.

Thirteen years ago Nike entered the hockey market with its purchase of Canstar Sports, the parent company of Bauer. Seeking to splash their swoosh across all things hockey, something they’ve done so well with other sports that the Nike name is not needed alongside the logo, the company used some tried and true formulas. They sponsored hockey players and NHL logos, designed some fashionably stylish skates, and moved manufacturing to Asia. But things didn’t boom as they had hoped. The stylish skates were white, like women’s figure skates, not a great idea for a sport that probably has more fight clips than actual gameplay highlights uploaded to YouTube. And worse, their high-end skates were painful, unusually sized, and expensive. Nike improved on the problems but things never took off as they had hoped. Now they’ve put the Bauer unit up for sale. Perhaps it will go back to Canada where all things hockey can always find a good home.

The Anne Frank Fund was sent up by Anne’s father, Otto Frank, to hold the copyright of her diary and the proceeds. He also set up the Anne Frank Foundation to turn their hiding place into a museum and run education projects. The two organizations have been at odds in the past over ownership of the name Anne Frank, with the Fund presumably well off from book and rights sales, and the Foundation claiming it was short on funds. When Rafael Alvero decided to create a musical based on Anne Frank’s life, he approached the Foundation for approval and received their go ahead. But with the musical set to open at the end of February, the Anne Frank Fund has threatened to take legal action to stop the production, saying they did not grant any rights for the musical.

A love of carving led to a need for a better knife which led to a family business that has lasted four generations. At the Warther Carving Museum and Knife Factory in Dover, Ohio they still make knives by hand, tempering the steel hard and grinding it very thin. Ernest “Mooney” Warther, a talented carver who wanted a better tool, founded the knife company in 1902 and 106 years later the operation remains small and family run. (via Serious Eats)

Apparently True Love will soon be obtainable by downloading the Princess Bride Game, coming in the spring for Mac, Windows and Linux. Get your ambidextrous mouse/trackpad practice in now.

The campaign to use compact fluorescent lightbulbs has somewhat neglected the issue of disposal. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and can’t be tossed in the regular trash. Seattle area consumers have found the take-back programs lacking, a few stores will take them but charge a fee and locations for free programs are inconvenient. Local utility Puget Sound Energy announced a disposal plan on Friday that allows bulbs to be dropped off for free at select offices. City Light is trying to work out a program with drugstore chain Bartell’s. But it’s likely people will keep grumbling until that day far in the future when they can simply stick the bulbs into their recycle bin.

I’ve raved about Toscanini’s Ice Cream before. The shop recently made it into the New York Times under unfortunate and fortunate circumstances. The Massachusett’s Revenue Department shut down Toscanini’s a few weeks ago for nonpayment of taxes. Owner Gus Rancatore explained that he had stopped paying taxes for a time when he was undergoing a failed expansion effort. But that has added up to $167,810. Patrons and employees started a fundraising drive to save the store that has netted over $34,000 (like I’ve said, it is amazing ice cream) and allowed Rancatore to set up a workable repayment plan. Critics point out that the money should have gone to charities instead of a for-profit company that had a big lapse in judgement. But Toscanini’s doesn’t just make yummy ice cream. It’s also built a strong community.

I would have guessed that Super Bowl rings were paid for by each individual wearer, but in actuality the NFL pays for 150 rings, up to a $5,000 limit per ring. Jostens and Balfour, well known for their high school and college rings, have both supplied official Super Bowl rings. It is very likely that they charge less than the actual cost to design and customize one, considering the marketing opportunity. ESPN has a nice online gallery of the ring designs throughout the years, illustrating the variation in styles, with a player or coach’s personal ring story for each year. Interestingly, the NFL also buys the losing team jewelry “that can’t exceed the cost of one-half the price set for the winner’s ring.”

The History of Visual Communication. From rocks and caves to the computer. (via xblog)