Status-Q

It’s sometimes said that Americans have no sense of irony. Rose, who is one, and who does, points out that this is hardly a fair accusation to level against the country that created Woody Allen, or Frasier. I think she’s right.

But, as part of life’s rich tapestry, there are some people over here who will hang signs like this in fabric stores:

What bothers me is not just that someone should actually display such a thing. It’s the number of people who must have been involved in its design, creation, printing, delivery, hanging… Did no one, in this whole process, ever think, “You can’t be serious! Come on, this is ridiculous! Live to quilt?” At which point everybody should have burst out laughing, admitted it was a joke, and sent it away.

I shouldn’t be too cynical, though. Sometimes these in-store displays can really reach out and help those in distress. I’m sure that many of us have lain awake at night, tossing and turning, with the following question spinnning endlessly through our minds:

I’m in San Francisco, staying just off Union Square. It’s a much nicer temperature here than it was in Detroit last week. A cool breeze drifts in through the window, along with the sound of a saxophone in the street outside. Very mellow…

Seb Wills pointed me at a rather different type of museum – this nice chronology of desktop images from different operating systems.

Like John, I’ve been wondering how I’m going to get all my fragile and valuable stuff home – most notably my laptop – when I’m not allowed any hand luggage.

So, yesterday, I treated myself to a Pelican case.

I’ve used Pelican cases before for transporting demo kit, including 17″ LCDs, around the world, and they’re fabulous – it’s almost the only container I’d really trust to survive airport baggage handlers. I’ve always wanted an excuse to buy one, and now I can also use it to bring back some pottery that Rose bought while over here.

Whether it’ll save laptops and vases from the careless unpacking and repacking of airport security personnel, however, is another question entirely…

Amidst the chaff, there’s some really interesting stuff available on YouTube.
I think this is great, for example, and keep asking myself why it’s so compelling:

Matt became quite a celebrity as a result of this trip; see him on Good Morning America, for example. More info on his site.

Thanks to Garr Reynolds for the link.