An interesting question posed to Ask Yahoo!: What’s the ratio of introverts to extroverts in the human population? “According to several sources, extroverts make up 60% to 75% of the population.”

San Francisco Chronicle food writer Kim Severson is moving to the NY Times Dining section. “She expects to pine for the Chronicle’s luxe test kitchen — which she helped set up — not to mention its herb garden and 20,000 bottle wine cellar.” This week at the Chronicle she revealed a surprising sustainably raised veal crusade from the folks at Niman Ranch.

I hate cleaning grout and must get a Clorox Bleach Pen.

A interesting lawn tidbit from this week’s gardening Q&A;, concerning my ongoing research on how to maintain our lawn with no effort and water…A reader asks about growing a clover lawn since that is what their lawn is doing on its own anyway. Part of the response: “The first lawns were planted in Dutch clover. Then changing tastes turned it into a lawn weed. Now, with the effort to conserve water, drought-resistant lawns of clover are no longer overlooked.”

Ahhh nostalgia. The slides rules of 200 Purdue University alumni are on permanent display at the university’s engineering center. Slide rules of all shapes, materials and sizes sit behind glass in a historical layout. Neil Armstrong’s is there along with three other astronauts’.

Oregon is enticing California natural food businesses to move north a state. Governor Kulongoski visited Amy’s Kitchen personally to talk up the savings in workers’ compensation and taxes for their planned expansion. Governor Schwarzenegger is fighting back with bills to reform workers’ comp.

Per Se came through its NY Times review with no less than four stars. The vegetarian tasting menu clinched it for new restaurant critic Frank Bruni, who, despite acknowledging that this French Laundry offspring is a “preening, peacock-vain newcomer,” was compelled ultimately by what everyone else is: the sheer perfection of the food. The Thomas Keller trademarked perfectionism struck Bruni’s tastebuds in a consummate rendition of potato salad, more so than the much lauded butter-poached lobster. He still recalls the first “insanely happy” and last “ineffably sad” bite of a truffle risotto. The food left an emotional mark, with mastery, to gain the top honors.

With computer-controlled blinds, a system to capture and use roof rainwater, and 40,000 sensors to monitor and control the inside environment, the Genzyme Corp. building in Cambridge, MA was designed to receive the Green Building Council‘s highest rating. No electricity is used for heating or cooling. Waste steam from a nearby power plant is pumped in and 800 windows actually open and close (!!). The building’s features hiked its cost to about 16% more than a conventional building. Thus despite its efficiencies, it is not a prime example for the more practical measures that can be taken to make a building “green.” But it certainly is state-of-the-art.

“Beware of a conglomerate bearing art.” That’s the warning from those in the art world skeptical of Clear Channel’s arrival in the business of art exhibits. The company has two shows on tour and another launching this month. The exhibitions themselves are not particular points of controversy, so much as Clear Channel’s reputation for controlling the other industries it has large stakes in. Most art museums traditionally have a nonprofit approach to business (being nonprofits of course) so the distaste and fear of Clear Channel’s encroachment into their territory is understandable. However museums do need to stay solvent in a competitive environment where producing appealing attractions is something Clear Channel has shown capability for, though perhaps not fairness.

With lawn care low on my list of priorities, lawn alternatives are high on my list of investigations. I keep seeing mentions of “Eco-Lawn” in gardening articles, but searches always turn up different mixes of that name. This week’s Seattle Times gardening column sheds more light on the subject. These lawn seed mixtures, “sold as Eco-Lawn or Fleur de Lawn,” combine about 80% perennial rye with flowering plants. Strawberry clover, alyssum, white yarrow, and English Daisy are the typical “mix-ins.” Unfortunately, successful conversion to an “Eco Lawn” seems to involve getting rid of the current lawn and fully preparing the soil for the new seed mix. And it still requires water and mowing. So instead I’ll just name our existing lawn “Economy Lawn” with its mix of regular grass, clover, tall and short dandelions, and moss.