Perhaps you didn’t even know you wanted one of these: Cuisinart’s Two To Go. It brews coffee right into one or two travel mugs. I know a few people who could eliminate time-consuming steps in their morning ritual by getting one of these. Just don’t tell Starbucks.

I forgot to mention in my trip summary that I also saw an Amtrak Acela whiz by while we were waiting for the commuter rail into New York. I know that’s not a very interesting report since I didn’t ride one or even see it standing still, but it was impressive nonetheless. It was going pretty darn fast. We could’ve taken it to and from Boston instead of driving, but we had things to do that weren’t easy with public transportation.

Daring Marketers Add Fizz To Fruit, Milk, Cereal, Yogurt. Will this be the new trend in food? Will this encourage kids of all ages to consume more fruit (and burp more afterwards)? FizzyFruit plans to market a device that adds carbonation to fruit so you can make your very own bubbly pears. Texture plays an important role in food and drink, something that most people don’t realize as they are crunching on their new crispy M&Ms; or wondering why they like potatos mashed but not whole. I can’t see myself buying a FizzyFruit device for my kitchen, but I could probably convince myself to buy a fizzy bunch of grapes instead of a smoothie or frozen yogurt when I’m out for a quick nosh. Of course a smoothie or frozen yogurt with fizzy fruit in it is even more appealing (and, sigh, has more calories) (via Follow Me Here)

Via Larkfarm, the Mah Jong Cyber Museum displays tile sets of all sorts, including a lovely white jade set. I’ve only ever played with a modern plastic set, but I do love how those gently click together. When I was little, the green side of the tiles reminded me of yummy pieces of hard candy.

Santa Clara County’s Office of the Clerk Recorder provides PDF versions of their marriage license applications online. Applying for a marriage license in California is painless; probably the hardest part is fitting in time to appear in person with your spouse-to-be during their business hours. San Mateo County has started closing some offices on Fridays to reduce energy use, while increasing their hours other days of the week. Sounds great to me!

Just the other day I was wondering how much more radiation we get exposed to in an airplane, and the NY Times kindly obliged by publishing an article about it. Experts disagree (no surprise) on whether it is a big problem, but they do agree (wow) that “a pregnant woman could be exposed to enough radiation on a single flight to exceed government health guidelines.” The melanoma rate is higher among pilots, but some say that might be from other lifestyle factors. Radiation over the poles can be twice as high as over the equator, so those handy hops over the North Pole may not be a good idea. Only the Concorde carries radiation monitors and it doesn’t fly at high altitudes (or at all currently!).

Here’s a most nifty list of upcoming Broadway shows. Some new possibilites are musicals based on “Little Women”, “Blade Runner” and “Batman”. Yes, I said “Blade Runner”. No, I don’t think Harrison Ford will be in it. There are planned revivals of “Oklahoma” with choreography by director of the moment Susan Stroman, “My Fair Lady”, “South Pacific”, “Into the Woods”, and even “Flower Drum Song” with (probably a good idea) a new libretto by David Henry Hwang. (thanks BrainLog!)

The Federal Trade Commission makes sure that brides know what is legally required to be identified on a wedding gown. Some stores rip off manufacturer’s tags so that you can’t try on a dress and then order it elsewhere, such as the popular online discounters. Tag ripping is not entirely illegal, since the store can replace the label with one of their own as long as they supply four pieces of information: one business in the distribution channel (e.g. the store name, so they don’t have to tell you who made it), fiber content, country of origin, and care instructions.

What I did during my week away (complete with linkage and tiny photos):

Watched lots of PBS: Store Wars (about Wal-mart invading Ashland, VA), Frontline’s Blackout episode (about the California power crisis), and some of a five-part documentary on New York in which I learned about the Triangle Factory fire in 1911 which claimed the lives of 146 garment workers, mostly women, some as young as 14.

Saw the Rose Center for Earth and Space. The sphere in a glass box architecture is striking. Here are two closeups (a side and a corner) of the metal doodads holding the glass together.

Visited the “Make Way For Ducklings” sculpture in the Boston Public Garden. My photo.

Found out that some people think Elizabeth Pain was the inspiration for “A Scarlet Letter” (her grave is at King’s Chapel), though it’s more likely that it was a young woman from Salem, MA who was sent her away to live with relatives in Virginia. (my photo of the headstone)

Discovered that they are building an IMAX theatre at the New England Aquarium. I suppose everyone else has one, so they’re keeping up with the Joneses. I took a photo of the construction.

I don’t know if it’s spoiler info or not, so I’m not saying exactly what it is. The name is also in the URL, so don’t look at that either. I am so thrilled that this person is going to be on E.R. next season that I am bursting with anticipation.