Wired has a round-up of the latest forays into designing an electronic pen. The newer devices use various technologies to translate movements into digital ink. One uses infrared and ultrasonic signals, another a tiny digital camera on proprietary paper with teeny tiny dots, and here’s the coolest sounding one which employs a laser: “The sensor in the VPen measures motion in three dimensions using a technique based on the Doppler effect, the phenomenon created by the shift in the wavelength of light from a moving object. The VPen can write on any surface that reflects light, from paper or cloth to computer screens or even skin.”

The memories of Crystal Pepsi come floating back when I read about Ocean Spray’s new White Cranberry Juice Drink. The TV commercial shows a small boy spilling juice all over his white shirt. Maybe Pepsi should’ve thought of that approach.

That Harry Potter movie doesn’t open until November 16, but tickets are already selling briskly at online sites such as Fandago and MovieFone. And in my daily “duh” moment, I realized that since the book has a different title in the U.S. than the U.K. the movie does too. I hope that’s the only difference between the two versions (apparently dialogue that mentions the stone was shot twice).

I first saw Sara Little Turnbull years ago on The Frugal Gourmet when this remarkable woman made a guest appearance and Jeff Smith lauded her amazing contributions to much of the very fabric of American life. As a longtime designer and consultant to the top creators and marketers of products that alter the way we live (Proctor & Gamble, 3M, Corning, Revlon) Turnbull is very likely the least known woman behind the best known ideas in household products. On Frugal Gourmet, Smith mentioned that he had once visited her at work where she was busily taking containers in and out of a strange device. He later realized she had been researching the use of the microwave oven. Turnbull created Corning Ware in the 1950s, guided women through the major cultural changes of the war and post-war era as an editor at House Beautiful, and contributed untold scads of product guidance to top companies. Sitting at the intersection of truly creative design, cultural anthropology, and commerce, she now heads The Process of Change Laboratory at Stanford and influences the next generation to design products for the way people live, not to expect people to conform to products. By teaching them to find the root cause of problems that the products need to solve, she is probably making her most important contribution to the world: more designers who will create items of true value and usefulness to our culture.

There are TV show fans and music fans and fans of fans (and other collectibles). And there are web sites for each of them, which provide educational value for people who don’t know much about the subject that is worthy of fandom. For example, there’s the fan page for intermodal shipping containers. Who knew that there was so much variety to catalog amongst shipping containers? There are all the different styles, materials, and, of course, paint jobs. Whew. (via Lake Effect)

Customizable cell phone ring tones, a fact of life in other countries, are starting to make a big showing in the United States. Consequently, the music licensing battle here is revving up. ASCAP is starting to crack down on ring tone sellers who are using tunes without permission. Some U.S. ring tone sellers are working out licensing agreements. EMI has already sued and settled with one company. The catch in the U.S. is that “performance rights” must also be paid for, in addition to the right to reproduce a song in a ring tone, and no decision has ever been made on whether a cell phone ring counts as a performance. Now, I wonder, what happens if a cell phone ring is used within a movie or theatre performance?

Always scan your master software disks for viruses before duplication and shipping. Otherwise, the PowerPuff Girls will come to your office and make you very sorry that you didn’t.

High security surrounds the next shuttle flight, scheduled for November 29th. Two F-15s accompanied Endeavor’s move to the launch pad, and viewing of the launch from within Kennedy Space Center has been tightly restricted. The shuttle will carry the badges of all 23 New York City police officers killed on Sept. 11 and 6,000 small U.S. flags that will be distributed to the families of those killed.

I once worked with someone who would dress up the concrete goose ornament she had on her front porch. It had a little yellow slicker and hat for rainy days, Halloween stuff in October, Santa clothes for Christmas. You get the picture. I thought she was unique, but it turns out that the Yahoo category for lawn geese is entirely filled with sites that sell clothing for lawn geese. As one item says “everyday, holiday, and special occasion outfits for the fashionable goose.” A-yup.

What’s the most economical living situation? Subletting your rent-controlled apartment and never having to pay rent. Renters who are allowed to sublease their low-rent apartments can profit from the high cost of housing in the San Francisco area. Some earn extra sums of money, but the woman profiled in the article says she only rents out at her cost (leaving herself rent free). And the best part is that she uses the freedom this odd combination of capitalism + government control gives her to do good for the world as an environmental educator. I like that.