A Lego Store opened in our local mall and will be opening soon in two malls near where we used to live in CA. In both areas it’s likely you’ll see some geeks thrown in amongst the usual families with kids (or families of geeks, which is even better). The store has a wall of bins with loose Lego bricks in various colors (I noticed purple was plentiful) which you can pack into different sized cups for purchase. And when you walk around you must be careful not to trip on the bricks that are scattered about on the floor. Someone needs to make a Lego-sweeping-up robot out of Lego.

When department store chain Bon Marché was transitioned to Bon-Macy’s, I figured it was only a matter of time before the “Bon” was dropped as well. Parent company Federated Department Stores has now given a January timeframe for moving over completely to the Macy’s name. Federated stores in other parts of the country are also being renamed: Burdines, Goldsmith’s, Lazarus, and Rich’s will join the big Macy’s named family. Longtime residents lamented the loss of Bon Marché. Being new, I confess I am mainly happy that they will stop trying to sell me the Bon-Macy’s credit card when I already have a plain Macy’s card that works just fine there, thank you.

The “Great Sphaynx” hay bale sculpture.

The Seattle Public Library Book Sale is coming up: Sept. 17-19. We went in April and it was huge.

It’s not “The Document Company” anymore. Xerox has a new “capabilities line” of “Technology. Document Management. Consulting Services.” for its corporate signature. The company is also no longer using the single “X” logo with the boxy pixels. The NY Times goes into more depth on the changes with mostly positive responses from the analysts.

The Wackier World of Japanese Ice Cream and The Original Wacky World of Japanese Ice Cream. You can expect the wasabi and miso, but chicken wing? (via Bifurcated Rivets)

Statistics on the images gracing those new customizable stamps: “40% babies and children; 25% adults or families; 10% pets, with the remainder business logos, landscape images, and wedding photos.” About 1,000 images rejected in the first 3 weeks.

Amongst the bad news from numerous airlines, the SF Chronicle has printed a long, interesting interview with JetBlue Airways CEO and founder David Neeleman. This airline that I was still considering a tiny upstart is now the largest carrier flying out of JFK in New York. Neeleman sees success in the various airlines concentrating on home hubs instead of the branching out that the big ones had begun. He talks about continuing to maintain the loyalty of his employees, something he believes sets JetBlue apart from the other companies. And he’s excited about the Embraer 190 aircraft from Brazil which fits their market and entertainment offerings. Neeleman also discusses his family and background.

A region of the brain, the anterior cingulate gyrus, helps plan future actions and it exhibits different activation in people who are easily hypnotized. The researcher theorizes that under hypnosis a person can no longer effectively evaluate the emotional outcome of their actions, so public embarrassment is not a barrier to suggested behavior.