René Bibaud’s official occupation is “Professional Rope Jumper.” The West Seattle resident performs with Cirque du Soleil and can often be found demonstrating her skills at local schools. Check out her dynamic routine on Youtube.

Madeleine L’Engle, who passed away on Thursday, was the commencement speaker for my graduation from Wellesley College in 1991. Most people don’t remember who spoke at their graduation, even fewer remember what they said. But for a student like me who loved books, loved writing, and always felt outside the mainstream, L’Engle was an ideal speaker, one to remember. I’ve re-read her speech several times over the last fifteen years and as I grow older I find new themes to relate to. She spoke from her experience as an underrated student, a mother, a career woman, a grandmother, and someone who has learned that to grow you have to take risks, to learn from mistakes. “Nothing that’s easy is really worth very much, and just because it’s difficult is no reason not to try.”

“If children are not introduced to music at an early age, I believe something fundamental is actually being taken from them.” -Luciano Pavarotti

Many cities have rolled out 311 for non-emergency calls, a companion number to 911 that hopefully reduces the burden of non-critical calls on the actual emergency lines. Baltimore’s police department was the first to roll out 311 in 1996 and the FCC approved its nationwide use in 1997. As part of its “On the Job” series, the San Francisco Chronicle paid a visit to the city’s 311 customer service representatives. San Francisco’s 311 went live in March and handles more than police calls, taking point on all manner of city service queries. About 6,000 calls come in per day, and a significant portion are about the MUNI bus service. The article of course has prime examples of those off-the-wall inquiries, like “how long does it take to build a cable car?” There’s a serial caller who takes great pride in reporting graffiti, several times a day. Some people call to ask what time it is.

In late 2003 I noted here that an artisan cheesemaker had set up shop in Pike Place Market. Four years later, Beecher’s Handmade Cheese has flourished. Tourists stop in to watch the cheesemaking process and locals clamor for the insanely rich mac’n’cheese. Beecher’s Flagship Reserve, an aged cheddar, was first runner-up for Best in Show at the recent American Cheese Society competition. They’ve perfected their milk blend, using a mix of lower fat milk from Holsteins and higher fat Jersey cows. And now owner Kurt Dammeier is looking into buying his own farm so he can control his product from cow to cheese. Dammeier supports his local competitors as well, carrying Washington cheeses in the shop and envisioning a future where the state is known for artisan cheeses.

Fans of Aardman Animations‘s Wallace & Gromit will recall the humorous sheep herd from “A Close Shave,” in particular Shaun (whose name I always thought was “shorn”, but it is indeed a pun). Shaun has his very own children’s show, “Shaun the Sheep” which has been running in the UK since March. The Disney Channel now shows it in the U.S., typically fitting the 5+ minute episodes between 2 Sunday morning shows. A few full episodes can be found at the usual copyright violation locations; here’s one about soccer on Google video.

I would’ve guessed that the Boeing 747 was the world’s largest airplane, though I never had reason to confirm the superlative. Last Friday the actual holder of that title landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field on a job for Boeing and GE. With a wingspan over 290 ft, the Antonov An-225 has an empty weight of 385,800 lbs. The giant plane was built to carry the Soviet Buran spacecraft, their version of the Space Shuttle (NASA has modified 747s for the same purpose). The one An-225 that was completed now serves as a commercial cargo plane, thus its Friday appearance to pick up four GE-90 engines for the Boeing 777. With six engines and 32 wheels it made for an impressive photo opportunity for the Seattle PI.

At The Vac Shop in Seattle, manager Will Flannery turns discarded vacuum cleaners into robots, fish, clams, pigs, the Space Needle, UFOs. The finished sculptures sit outside the shop, making a convenient landmark for neighbors.

What time is it? The phone company won’t tell you anymore. AT&T; is discontinuing its time service as the equipment and usage runs down. The service has already been halted in every state except California and Nevada. Known as “POPCORN” in the areas where dialing that word would get you a recorded voice of the time, the service shuts off on September 19 in California, and when the Nevada equipment is decommissioned, it’ll be entirely gone. Joanne Daniels, who provided the voice for all those hours, minutes, and seconds for Californians, is enjoying a final 15 minutes of fame as reporters get her take on the disappearing service. The equipment, aptly called the “time machine,” consists of “large drums about 2 feet in diameter, with as many as 100 album-like audio tracks on the exterior. Whenever someone called time, the drums would start turning and a message would begin, with different tracks mixed together on the fly.” (thanks Seth)

Clean-cut, tip-refusing delivery guys, nectarines as big as softballs, and free “complimentary samples” of a dozen eggs and a bag of salad won over a reporter who reviewed Amazon’s new grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh. Somewhere in my office I have a souvenir WebVan hockey puck given out at a San Jose Sharks game.