seasons?! what is this "seasons"? [amy]

I am from the bay area. That means I am a Weather Sissy Pants that freaks out if the temperature is not somewhere between 60-70 degrees. That being said, tomorrow's forecast is really foreboding:

a croissant with a face [amy]

my dad's postmodern yard [amy]

neighbor: so... you're planting a new lawn?

dad: I haven't decided yet! I'm thinking grass up until about here (indicates 4 foot strip), but then all bark for the rest. Conserving water you know.

neighbor: yeah.... that's um... important...


Well the the Grand Yard Plan has been in the works for a awhile now. I'm sure it will be magnificent. Until then, Deconstructivist Yard!




I actually do like the geometry of the dirt clods. Note also flamingo in background:



Next door neighbor's yard: the inspiration or inspired by?

Fun at the Auckland Zoo [Matt]

A quick trip to Wikipedia reveals the true scientific name of the animal to be Alligator mississippiensis, but the alternative is still funny.

where we've been, where we're going, the pitfalls, the possibilities... [amy]

classmate Tara:

The Segway is like Dippin Dots.... representative of the future, but not actually the future at all.

beer..... in Italia! [amy]

(32 cents at Coop)

CUÓCIO ITALIANO [amy]

On the weekends here it's a weird Lord of the Flies style hunt for food in the house, since each weekend isn't really worth buying real groceries, when there will be free food on Monday again.

Today for lunch: NUTELLA TOAST

Ingredients:

(1) packet Nutella
(1) stale roll*

1. cut roll into slices
2. spread Nutella on bread




*"stale" is really only a few days old, but since in Italy no one buys bread with preservatives, you have to eat bread the same day you buy it, before it turns into a cruton.

T9Word Adventures [Matt]

I've been sent back to 1999 cell-phone-wise, which has its own perks and drawbacks. It's strange how the onboard flashlight is far more helpful than many of the functions of a iPhone would be here.

In any case, the old school word predictor is a fun little blast from the past. It brought humor to my evening a few days ago during the following exchange:

Chris texts me: On man date with brian in San jose watching stand up/little bitches. It's as weird as it sounds.

My response: Did you set out a plate for me/my spirit? Also, slip brian a little tongue from me.

Word predictor had a sweet time with this. In addition to the never-gets-old habit of predicting "asian" when the letters for "brian" are typed, it also mistook "plate" to be "slave". When I left off the "e" at the end of "tongue," it came up with "vomit".

Thus, the original predicted message was: Did you set out a slave for me/my spirit? Also, slip asian a little vomit from me.

Gold.

Chairs that look like elephants!! [amy]

Sadly I don't have $300 budgeted for a plastic elephant. What's even more sad is that even if you did have the money to buy one, you'd probably yell at your kids for trying to sit on the $300 plastic elephant (technically they're chairs for children).

Btw, the elephant chairs live here. It's basically an amusement park/zoo for architects, with lots of buildings by famous people, some imported from distant lands. There are also funny souvenirs that only architects buy, like little sketchbooks made of chipboard with form-tie holes in them (it's the Ando sketchbook, har har). Even the professor walked out of the giftshop with a bag, it was a Buckminster Fuller book.

("I'm his biggest fan.")

They also make them little pocket knives, too, but I don't see you doin that [amy]

The highway rest area restroom is quite possibly the absolutely worst place to relieve yourself in the category of permanent-toilet facilities. Paper products are reliably non-existent, and floors are reliably moist.

Behold, a standard issue highway rest area restroom in Switzerland:



a little tour....



1.) The toilet seat is spring loaded. With the default position in up, there is no opportunity for the standing user to defile the seat. If you want a seat, pull the lever (meant only for hands, pure of contact with a stranger's rear end). when finished, release the seat and the toilet automatically flushes. "Flushes" is completely inadequate. The latrine is an f*ing WATER FEATURE. The incoming water swirls around a two foot diameter stainless steel bowl in a way that suggests an oncoming laser light and pyrotechnics show.

Even if you do not use the seat, the toilet automatically flushes upon exiting when you open the door. Unlike its completely incompetent cousin the Sensor-Flusher, it never flushes mid-use, nor does it ever fail to flush upon completion.




2.) Soap.

3+4.) Faucet. One button, automatic shut off, no need to touch again after hands are clean. Not unusual. What puts this one in a class of its own, is that the water stream is engineered to arch into the exact center of the toilet drain. It's beautiful:


(Unfortunately I don't have a photo of the real thing. Trust me it's awesome.)


5.) Push here for hand dryer.

6.) Industrial strength hand dryer. No need for wiping hands on pantleg.

**6a.) I cannot confirm the following personally, but it has been reported by multiple male users. For guys: the hand dryer is at the optimal height to warm you up in all the right places, especially welcome in the Alps in February. This is what I have been told.

Overall, the stalls are clean, free of wetness on any surfaces that should not be wet. No odors. Unisex for ultimate efficiency in wait time. Toilet paper well stocked.

Best Public Restrooms in the Universe.

< almost political thing>

Today our class visited a church, and as we were leaving a man who worked there (I'm not sure who he was) said something to our teacher in Italian. He was reminding us that the inauguration would be on at 6:00 pm.*

I wasn't even positive what time it was on. Wow. (The teacher explained that Italians support Obama, but mainly to see "the other one" leave). I ended up watching the replay on the internet since we didn't get home in time to watch it live. The acceptance speech itself may have been short on real content, but watching the ceremony was really moving for me.

For one, seeing the mall filled with people made me downright emotional. It's a little silly and nostalgic, but when I recall images of the mall entirely filled with people, and there are not that many, it's usually a proud moment in our history. So seeing a similar image at the inauguration brings up a certain set of emotions.

Also, we've just sworn in our first black president. I understand the point of view that race shouldn't matter, that a vote for Barak Obama shouldn't be because he is black, but because you think he is the best for the job. I wholeheartedly agree that voting for someone solely based on race, rather than merit, is foolish. However, at the same time, despite our push for "color blindness" (another discussion) I am proud that we elected our first black president, and our first minority president. Our country has come a long way. Yes, one can argue that Barak Obama's experiences have been different than the "average" African-American, being the son of an immigrant father and white mother, with whatever socio-economic advantages that upbringing may have come with (again another discussion). Some have brought this up as evidence of Obama not being "black enough." Still, we have elected a man who is perceived as black in American society, and the fact that he is now the president of the United States is not a small deal, especially considering that segregation was only 60 years ago, less than a generation.

He might not bring all the changes that we hope for, and considering the last eight years, I would be not entirely disappointed with just getting back to where we were in 1999. (Though I admit I am a little more optimistic than that, despite myself). Just his election to the office makes me optimistic, it shows a change in the way Americans think, it's a positive evolution in our culture. And if this is possible, it makes me dare to be just a little less cynical about our country and our government.

< /almost political thing>

*btw I'm studying in Italy this semester if you didn't know.