Acknowledgements
I’m taking a break from posting while I become all domestic for Thanksgiving. But first, I want to note that this weblog turned nine last week. Nine years! There are a few people I want to thank whose popular sites I don’t cite here very often: Jason Kottke, Matt Haughey, Andy Baio, thank you for the readership, inspiration, and links. As always, I owe much of this output to my husband and son (who has no idea what mommy stays up doing long after he goes to sleep). Thank you to Seth and Halflab for being marvelous hosts. Thank you secret cabal who shall remain nameless. And a huge thank you to my readers!

At Wellesley College, the carillon housed in Galen Stone Tower was a lovely addition to my day whenever the bells sounded with the alma mater or, even better, a rendition of a contemporary tune (the Sesame Street theme is one favorite). A student organization plays and maintains the 32-bell carillon and they held an open house this past Halloween (featuring the theme song from the Addams Family). The bells for Wellesley’s carillon were made by Cyril Frederick Johnston, an English bell founder. His daughter Jill Johnston has written a biography of his life called “England’s Child, The Carillon and the Casting of Big Bells.” (Bonus link: play the virtual Yale Carillon in your web browser; Yale also has a student guild of carillonneurs)

Last week’s New Yorker Food issue has a profile (reg req’d) of Bob Kramer, Master Bladesmith. I recalled Greg Atkinson had written about Kramer’s knives for the local paper’s Sunday magazine a few years ago. While looking that up I discovered that, perhaps spurred on by the New Yorker publicity, the Seattle Times had just run a short write-up and slideshow of him working at his Olympia shop. Kramer used to be a cook, then turned to knife sales and sharpening, and then to knife making. There’s a long wait for his pricey chef’s knives which are composed of 1,800 layers of metal.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York is opening a skating rink this weekend. It’s made out of synthetic ice (saves energy) and will feature a 17-foot-tall polar bear made out of stainless steel.

Book your spot on the Legoland Inside Tour, the real deal in Billund, Denmark. June 2009, 3 days of Lego insider info, time with the model designers, behind the scenes at Legoland, and of course a factory tour. (via BrainLog)

A cat spent a weekend on a power pole in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. Seattle City Light finally dispatched a two utility crews and two bucket trucks to get him down before someone else risked the 26,000 volts of electricity to do it. Photos.

At Theo Chocolate in Seattle, Andy McShea uses his molecular biology background to make chocolate from actual cocoa beans. Other local chocolate makers are actually chocolatiers who start with purchased chocolate, not beans. He’s truly making chocolate, like the folks down at Scharffen Berger (he doesn’t have nice things to say about their parent company Hershey’s), and he does it with fair trade and organic chocolate beans.

Despite taking multiple precautions for fire-proofing their house, the Haroutounians of Yorba Linda, California still lost their home in the Orange County fires. A barrel tile roof, boxed eaves, brick and stucco siding and clean rain gutters may have helped stop the fire, but an ember got in an attic vent and all was lost. The vent had a mesh with quarter-inch holes. An eighth-inch hole mesh is recommended. Other fire hazards that can set off a house: wooden patio furniture, ornamental plants, mulch, and palm trees.

Growing up in Connecticut, the Mystic Seaport was a popular field trip for social studies class. A maritime museum with an emphasis on 19th century seafaring life, the highlight of a Seaport visit is stepping aboard the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world. At 167 years old, the ship has just been taken out of the water for restoration. The 3 year project actually began 10 years ago with the replacement of the shipyard’s lift dock, needed to haul out the 340 ton Morgan. Wood from oak trees felled by Hurricane Katrina will be used for replacement lumber along with yellow pine scavenged from around the southeast. The N.Y. Times has an article and slide show on the impressive haul out.

2008’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is in place in New York City, ready for holiday festivities. The 8-ton, 72-foot Norway Spruce came from New Jersey. After using it as their Christmas tree in a pot indoors for a few years, the Varanyak family planted the tree outside in the early 1930s. It was bundled up and cut down last week, then taken on a secret route out of town and into Manhattan, via the George Washington Bridge (neither tunnel into the city being big enough). I found a “bird’s eye” view of the tree at its old home on Live Maps as I did with last year’s tree. Popular Mechanics has an explanation of how it was hoisted upright and installed at Rockefeller Center. The tree will be lit on December 3rd.