Okay, so, maybe this blog thing that's so popular with the young people today could work for me. It seems like an attractive format for presenting some of the interesting stuff going on.
So I'll try this for a while, and see how it goes. Enjoy...
(Later... registered comments are now set up.)
A photo of Scout, taken on last night's walk. This is the hill behind Amherst Street, looking northwest, overlooking Palo Alto, the San Francisco Bay, and the east bay hills about 20 miles behind.
Yay, Ann Althouse has returned to Madison, Wisconsin. Ms. Althouse is a well known blogger and law professor there, and the Althouse Blog is a hoot. 'Highly recommended for the local Madison atmosphere, photography, clever writing, law issues, politics, and cultural references. She's been on a sabbatical in New York for the past two semesters, and while her New York posts were fascinating, it's the Madison material that I really like.
I went to school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, many years ago. And while I haven't been back to the place since 1983 (possibly 1985? I can't remember), and I still have strong feelings for Lake Mendota, Lake Menona, Lake Wingra, the university, the capitol, State Street, the Vilas neighborhood, the local folks, the natural beauty, and all the midwestern charm.
When I get lonely for the place I can watch the Lake Mendota Webcam; it's a live view from the turret of the King Hall Soil Sciences building, across the street from the Lakeshore Dorms where I lived in 1978. And that camera is a short distance east of where Joni Mitchell shot the cover for the Hejira album (and it showed up again on the more recent Songs of a Prairie Girl compilation).
Google Maps has recently added Street View images to most of Wisconsin, including Madison and Milwaukee. Which strongly suggests that one of the Google Maps developers is from there.
Also the web tech biz seems to be surging in Madison:
Wisconsin Technology Network: Google joins Microsoft in opening Madison office
And here are some more Madison links:
The Capitol Times / The Wisconsin State Journal
Please enjoy the "Pre-Taped Call In Show" from Mr. Show.
YouTube: Pre-Taped Call In Show
This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
Jay Leno test drives the Tesla Roadster and provides this report.
A recent New York Times article describes some of the solar power work going on in Silicon Valley:
The New York Times: Silicon Valley Starts to Turn Its Face to the Sun
Can Silicon Valley become a world leader in cheap and ubiquitous solar panels for the masses? Given the valley's tremendous success in recent years with such down-to-earth products as search engines and music players, tackling solar power might seem improbable. Yet some of the valley's best brains are captivated by the challenge, and they hope to put the development of solar technologies onto a faster track.
The valley is amazing. On a related note...
Besides efficiency and price, there's one additional problem with solar panels that absolutely needs to be solved before they're used in any appreciable quantity: I'm talking about the ugliness. Solar panels are simply too ugly to install on someone's home. The current models look all the world like a billboard blew over in a storm and landed on the roof. That's just not good.
Yeah, I know there are photovoltaic "shingles" available, but those are more expensive, and hand wiring each shingle is awkward and unreliable.
I think the solution will be along the lines of making the leap from considering a solar panel as "something you bolt on up there" to an integral part of the house construction. I'm imagining something like actual roof sections that are designed to be pretty and functional as roofs just as much as they're designed to be solar panels. They would replace the roof, instead of being tossed on top of the roof.
Here's an idea for any of the local Silicon Valley (or anywhere else, I don't care) solar energy statups: a photovoltaic panel and a solar water heater combined into one unit.
Photovoltaic panels generate electricity, they're dark colored, and they heat up. Solar water heaters are dark colored, they heat up, and they warm the water piped through them. There's no reason you couldn't do both functions at once, effectively doubling the efficiency of the system. (Especially if you normally have an electric hot water heater.)
It's a freebie, go for it.
Here's Bill Cosby on the Dick Cavett show in 1973, describing what it's like to play with Sonny Stitt:
YouTube: Bill Cosby on Sonny Stitt
I've become a big fan of Flight of the Conchords, the comedy folk duo from New Zealand. I discovered them on YouTube, and have been enjoying NetFlixing the HBO series.
These are my favorite FotC clips on YouTube:
The Hiphopopotamus vs. The Rhymenoceros
Boom! She's So Hot
Jenny
1972 David Bowie
The Humans are Dead
Enjoy!
It's that time of year again... the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) has come and gone, and Barry Wood provides us with yet another delightful summary in:
It Came From NAMM
Thank you, Barry. This is great.
