Update on the stroller skating news…apparently the guy with the microphone was a radio reporter (that makes so much sense now). They posted the story on their website and it took me a while to realize that the person on the right in the fuzzy photograph is ME. See the blurry Blogger logo on my shirt? You can’t see our little munchkin at all but he’s in there. I guess I’ll keep recording KING news to see if they run their story (yay for Tivo).

A TV news camera man and later on a reporter with a microphone were at Bellevue’s Skate King for the stroller skating session I attended Tuesday. If you’re watching local Seattle news and see someone on inline skates roll by wearing a Blogger sweatshirt and pushing a Graco Metrolite, that’s me. Both KOMO and KING were supposed to show up so I’m not sure who was there and if/when they’ll run a story. They interviewed a few moms and the guy with the mike spent some time holding it near the rink floor, perhaps to capture that rolling sound for atmosphere. Apparently they were there last week but with the holidays only 3 skaters attended so they left (we showed up late last week and missed them entirely, but ended up with a “private” skating session since the few people there left early). I was just happy that they played “Dancing Queen” this time!

Celebrities deserve privacy and celebrity babies even more so, but but but … LOOK it’s a photo of David Letterman and his SON!!! Aren’t they cuuuuuute? OK, let’s leave them alone now.

Harvey Fierstein planned to take a lengthy rest after leaving “Hairspray,” but instead he’s stepping into the role of Tevye, “the ultimate Jewish father,” in “Fiddler on the Roof.” In an interview with the NY Times Fierstein recounts auditioning for the creators of the musical and enduring the emotional turmoil of the role.

Food for thought: Can we ever retire the phrase “how would you explain this to your mom?” when asking technology developers to describe their products in easy to understand terms? How about “how would you explain this to your grandmother?” Is there always new technology that the typical mom or grandma won’t understand? Is this used in other fields? And just how sexist is this question?

Shirley O. Corriher, author of “Cookwise,” is four years late delivering “BakeWise.” The reason (from the NY Times)? “For the last two years, she has been stuck on the cake chapter.” She’s taking her sweet time experimenting with goodies like pound cake and tunnel-of-fudge cake, aiming for the perfect concoction with science as her guide. Fans of Alton Brown‘s “Good Eats” will remember Shirley from many episodes, sitting at his counter holding styrofoam balls riddled with tacks or shopping at the market for the most appropriate ingredients. She (and her publisher, I’m sure!) hope the new book will be available in 2005.

$50,000 plus her previous cat’s DNA == a thrilled woman in Texas. Genetic Savings and Clone made their first sale, a Maine Coon cloned for a woman who greatly missed the cat she spent 17 years with. She claims the kitten is just like her previous one, saying it loves water and jumped right into her bath, not very catlike. However, Maine Coons love playing with water, so it’s a trait of the breed not just her cat. Although I’m a “pick a pet at the pound, fer-goodness-sake!” person, it makes more sense to me to clone a difficult to replicate mutt who happened to turn out wonderfully rather than duplicate a purebred. Then again, cats all have their own unique personalities…all the more reason to find a new character to love — at the humane society fer-goodness-sake!

I don’t know what to make of this trend the NY Times is bringing to light (bad pun), the use of gaslights for outdoor ambience. Talk about nostalgia. I’m gonna go invest in a company that delivers huge blocks of ice to keep your groceries cold. Seriously though, the soft glow and attractive flickering of the flame has made the gaslight a decorative touch for “suburban subdivisions, high-end resort communities and downtown renewal projects.” It’s a nice solution to light pollution.

I submitted the only cool “Trick of the Trade” that I could think of to Matthew Baldwin’s site and it was posted (hooray). Although I titled it “Violinist” it works for violists (in fact the first time I saw it done was by a violist) and probably cellists as well. I tried to think of a programmer trick of the trade, but I figured the Internet is overrun with those and most of them are just fuel for philosophical arguments anyway.

Roller rink Skate King in Bellevue fills Tuesday “dead time” with a session exclusively for parents with strollers. The midday sessions are popular with moms looking for a safe fitness activity without daycare needs, and of course there’s socializing and “oldies” (which now means 80s music, sorry all you 30-somethings!) as you circle the floor. And one woman shows up without a kid, just a stroller (and reportedly she used to add a bag of flour), to practice her skating.