I’ve always wondered whether dyslexia affects readers of character-based languages. Research on Chinese-reading children with dyslexia show a different part of the brain may be involved in their case than with alphabetic languages. The summary statement, as one neuroscientist put it, is “the neural basis of reading is complex.” A person can be dyslexic in one language but not another, and the different basis for recognition in reading the language is likely the distinction. Although the article does not point this out specifically, it follows then that dyslexia is actually the word for the symptoms or result of different brain anomolies, not the term for the physical anomoly itself.

Some interesting potential legislation making its way through the California Legislature: People would not be allowed to smoke in cars in which a child is also riding in a child restraint seat. Hybrid vehicles could use freeway diamond lanes, regardless of the number of occupants. Owners of ferrets could apply to California Department of Fish and Game for an amnesty certification that allows the pets to be legally owned (ferrets are illegal as pets in CA). Farms would be banned beginning in 2012 from force-feeding of ducks, geese and other birds to produce a gourmet liver food product.

Roadside Architecture has photos of those interesting buildings you pass by on the way to somewhere else. The Eateries section is fun, particularly the pages of ice cream stands, including photos of ever-popular Kimball Farm in Massachusetts, which The Boston Globe just ran an article about.

Lots and lots of airline logos. Y’know what’s missing? The short-lived Trump Shuttle. The site also has airplane logo designs and specs. In searching for Trump Shuttle info, this site of airline timetables surfaced. They have images of baggage labels as well. (first link via antenna)

Are San Francisco “reactionaries” holding back progress in architecture by refusing to break the molds of existing looks? In a new book of essays on urban design, the chapter on the “city by the bay” criticizes planners and “NIMBY activists” of sticking to the past, reducing interesting new concepts to merely conform with the existing landscape when they could make futuristic statements. Columnist Carol Lloyd takes the example of the Victorians, the classic symbol of San Francisco housing. Despite their historical glamour, originally “they were tract homes, built with factory-made parts, row after row raised in tribute to mass conformity.” Ultimately, a city can settle stubbornly into its old roots or embrace a mix of new visions to balance the preservation.

From the Online Journalism Review, an interesting look at why NBC took limited advantage of online streaming video coverage during the Olympics. I’d say it boils down to simple economics. The audience was only on TV unless NBC fully took on the investment of a comprehensive online strategy that would result in more income. The BBC offered live streaming of several events with positive results. I wonder how much will change over the next four years as broadband becomes more prevalent.

Although I wish I didn’t have to be so pleased about it, I’m extremely happy about MIT selecting its first female president. The college has a 42% undergraduate female population and an annoyingly low 18% of its faculty is female. President-elect Susan Hockfield is a neuroscientist, a plus for the necessary future of bridging the disciplines of engineering and the life sciences.

Dairy farmers in various states (California, Vermont, Connecticut, and Idaho) are generating electricity from decomposing manure. Straus Dairy installed a methane digester earlier this summer and also took advantage of the power company’s program to hook into the grid. Their bi-directional meter can now run backwards. Vermont is implementing a similar program.

The Muppets are making their own “Wizard of Oz” movie for ABC television. Kermit will be the Scarecrow, Gonzo the Tin Man, and Fozzie the Lion. Reports have Miss Piggy playing both good witch Glinda and the bad witch. No word on whether Frank Oz will play “the great… and powerful… Oz.” The movie “will feature several music numbers but will not be a musical.” (OK…) In other Muppet news, Jim Henson and the Muppets will be featured on U.S. stamps in 2005 (as expected, Ronald Reagan is on the list too).

They look a little weird now, but maybe they won’t in a year or so. Aluminum beer bottles are debuting this week from the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. It’s a joint venture with Alcoa. Back in 1962 the two companies worked together to introduce pull-tab beer cans.