If you wanted to take a peek inside the digital pen that hit the tech news sites today, OTM Technologies has a page describing “Optical Translation Measurement” which is their core technology, considering they named the company after it. The components are a laser, detectors, and optics. I won’t try to reduce the rest of the technical explanation here.

Are chalkboards going the way of the ditto sheet (aka mimeograph)? The dusty boards in San Jose Unified are going to be replaced with whiteboards. Newer schools have them built in already. Chalk dust is wreaking havoc on computers, but students also complain of headaches from whiteboard markers. Some teachers say that the experience of chalk on a board helps kinesthetic learners better retain the knowledge. What’s next? Perhaps networked computer tablets at each desk so students can write on the “board” without leaving their seats. No chalk or fumes to deal with there. (CORRECTION: Mike Gunderloy has informed me: “Ditto/spirit duplicator is not at all the same process as Mimeograph. The first uses solvents to transfer bits of ink from a master directly to the paper, the second forces ink through holes in a wax-coated stencil on to the paper.” I suspect you may see some relevant links on his weblog soon.)

I’ve seen this linked in many places, but it’s amusing enough to repeat. Washington D.C.’s low-numbered license plates are special and quite elite since only the mayor and 13 council members can bestow them upon worthy car-owning residents. The lower the number, the more coveted the honored plate. I think I’d rather not have that kind of attention. There’s enough politics in D.C.

Miso from Massachusetts? Hai! South River Miso has a little photo tour of their miso production facilities. The navigation is awkward; you have to use the dropdown menu at the top of the page. But make sure you make it to the last step of the process where, to my surprise, the beans are mashed by human feet encased in two pairs of organic cotton socks and plastic (yes, the feet are attached to humans, called treaders).

Dunkin’ Donuts is a New England phenomenon. I didn’t consider how prolific this chain was until I moved away and was confronted by friends who had driven through Connecticut on vacation: “All we saw were Dunkin’ Donuts everywhere!” It never crossed my mind that the “time to make the donuts” company would feel threatened by any competition. But there were people who worried about the effect of one big player: Starbucks. 40% of Dunkin’ Donuts’ business comes from coffee. The Boston Globe looked into it and found nothing to worry about. The two places are catering to a different clientele, at least in the Boston location they researched. Dunkin’ Donuts is getting the fast food style consumers and Starbucks is serving those in need of leisure and luxury. The article also points out that Starbucks’ stronger coffees may be a turn-off for New Englanders’ milder tastes. Tastes can change, though. Another newcomer on the horizon is Krispy Kreme. Will they also be unattractive to customers looking for a fast breakfast? Will tradition hold fast in New England, will the newcomers win, or will everyone peacefully co-exist? A point to ponder: Dunkin’ Donuts just added chai to their menu. Tastes can change. (via Obscure Store)

The Museum of Modern Art is moving to Queens? It’s only for three years during reconstruction of the permanent West 53rd location, but you have to wonder how many tourists with outdated guidebooks or intact memories from past visits are going to be disappointed. Shuffling off to Queens when you were expecting to spend a day in Manhattan is quite a change of pace. Yoshio Taniguchi is the architect for the rebuild which “presents an elegant interplay of stone, metal, and glass in which new spaces combine with the original architecture to form a cohesive whole.” The Queens location is in an old Swingline staple factory and has ample space and its own designers to make sure it is welcoming and worthy, albeit temporary, housing for the ongoing exhibits. (NY Times article on relocation)

If you’re in need of some reading material on a weekend and are in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland, stop by The Book Thing and see what they’ve got. You can take it with you for free. Yup, no charge. The catch? The book is stamped “Not For Resale”, so if you are intending to profit from this venture, you won’t look too good. But otherwise, feel free to browse and pick what you like. As the FAQ says: Q. Is there a limit to how many books I can take? A. You can only take 150,000 per day per person. (From a NY Times article on founder Russell Wattenberg)

Herein lies The Untold History of Flash. I had no idea that Macromedia Flash has its roots in the somewhat fertile soil of pen computing and the long gone Go operating system. Creating graphics software for a pen environment was a worthy endeavor, perhaps more so than trying to convince business people to adopt the platform for work. After the market completely dried up and AT&T; pulled the plug on Go, the SmartSketch team turned the product into animation software, the Internet became an everyday thing, and now the tale is history. (thank you Kathryn!)

I’ve seen plenty of “Work from home!” signs nailed to telephone poles and received my share of similar spam as well. Rob Cockerham actually went out of his way to research what exactly was behind all the signs that were littering the city of Sacramento. The short story is that they are the fruits of labor from people trying to “get rich quick” from the already saturated Herbalife market. His study details what is involved in investing yourself in the scheme, why it probably won’t do you any good, and what it is that you are actually trying to sell (some formulations contain ephedrine and the newer ones probably don’t help you lose weight). Rob would like the sign litter to stop and to get the word out on what is behind it. (Oh, and by the way, he would also like to know how this BART garbage can managed to travel to downtown Sacramento.) (via BrainLog)

Instead of having its components screwed into a case, this homebrewed computer is held together with spray-on polyurethane foam. “Disclaimer: DON’T do this at home kids, any modern CPU or GPU will generate too much heat to remain operable in such tight and highly isolated environments such as a PU-foam case.” Oh, and it’s not upgradeable and difficult to repair too. (via Larkfarm)