Categories

Merry Christmas

Enough said.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/lifestyle-design/200912/why-ill-be-wishing-you-merry-christmas

PS> this blog is re-starting. But some of the pictures are missing because I did not archive them properly.

My Swiss chalet treehouse: initial construction

(May 24, 2008). I cleared the lower branches of the single fir tree in the back yard. My neighbor says it was one of his live Christmas trees of many years ago. As backdrop, note the fence – my project of two years ago.

I prepared two 4×4 posts forward of the tree, and [...]

Google Maps’ modernist take on downtown Seattle

I really like this picture of the Bank of America building, and how Google maps can’t quite decide which way the buildings should lean:

 

A lock after my own heart

I’ve been a reluctant locker lock user in the past – but this new product, where I can choose my own code, is just what my old brain needed. The wheels are probably easy to destroy, but this is just the right amount of locking for my YMCA.

Master Lock: Residential: School & Campus: Product [...]

Weirdest licensing deal award: Disney French Cheese?

Costco is now carrying Disney/Ratatouille branded “Abondance” cheese  – see Mariannes Motifs: Abondance Cheese and Armagnac. The cheese is a fine hard chesse, somewhat reminiscent of Raclette (but stringy when melted, like Emmental). Someone at Disney but be smiling about that deal…

Apple iTunes Plus still missing international purchases

Apple Launches iTunes Plus

Apple’s iTunes launch of DRM-free purchases has bee rightly heralded as a happy jingle. However, Apple still misses the mark and a golden opportunity with international purchases.

As the holder of a US-based iTunes account, I can visit, but not purchase from, the iTunes store in France. I understand that, with [...]

Target Stores & The Migros School of Retailing

Link to Target : About Target : Our Focus on Design

I must credit my wife for first mentioning this to me: the new Target Stores, and their focus on customer experience, take direct inspiration from the Swiss chain Migros, particularly in the area of store design and product merchandising.

 The telling clue was the recent [...]

Cool Swiss Design II: Swatch Irony Nabab “Black Scepter”

My second Swiss Design purchase this summer was the Swatch Irony Nabab “Black Scepter”. Even though this one was probably designed by Swatch in Italy, let’s count it toward Swiss Design coolness: the Nababs are the heaviest Swatches around, and a great fashion value. This one is available in the US, although it is a [...]

Cool Swiss Design I: Caran d’Ache Frosty Pen and Pencils

I purchased 10 of these in Switzerland this summer. Caran d’Ache high-end instruments can be found in the US, but their “office product” line seems limited to Switzerland. This are the nicest cheap pens ever – shaped like classical fountain pens, built to survive a Swiss army bootcamp, showing just enough of the traditional Caran [...]

Book notes: Hardball

Hardball: Are You Playing to Play or Playing to Win.Read this book if you want to find out what happened to free Eagle peanuts on airplanes.