There are some new drawings done by Mason up in the art gallery. You can get to the gallery by visiting the Photos section. I keep meaning to rename it to “galleries” but then forget. I’ll try to do that soon.
We’ve been having a good time with Mason and learning to draw. I read a really interesting chapter about drawing in a book on how babies develop mentally. It provided some good suggestions for prompting children to draw things they are familiar with. We tried it and these new pictures are the result.
It’s very hard not to push Mason toward drawing things a certain way. I have an idea about how things should look and I sometimes try to get him to draw that way. However, once we got him talking about his drawings, it became obvious that he really is already making his own representations of certain objects. It’s very fun and we’re learning a lot about how he sees things.
Stop in and check out these new drawings. My favorite is his portrait of Mommy. Daddy with Banana is fun but the portrait of Mommy was where he used the most detail.
Came back from the tour yesterday with a Microsoft optical mouse, the Microsoft Encarta DVD of reference materials, and a Microsoft coffee mug. Christi of course had to ask the question, “I thought you really didn’t like Microsoft?”
It’s a good question. I mean while I do use MS Windows at work, I tend to stick to the Linux operation system at home. Still it isn’t hard to be impressed with the institution that is Microsoft. The campus is enormous. Bethany, who works in benefits, explained that they have more than 36,000 employees in the U.S. If you include their international subsidiaries we’re talking somewhere over 52,000 employees.
There are buildings devoted to Microsoft Network, buildings devoted to their gaming division, buildings devoted to office application development, buildings devoted to their Xbox home gaming console. I think their WebTV division is based in California. At a certain point while taking this all in, you really do get the impression that Microsoft could take over the world. When you walk into the employee store, you see all the software and hardware Microsoft offers and you see all the clothing carrying their logo, and suddenly it becomes apparent that Microsoft is pushing for products in diverse markets. It’s not just about computers anymore.
I’ve been working on some proposals for the University which talk about how the computer science department at UNL is exploring the idea of pervasive computing—computing so ubiquitous that you don’t even realize you’re using it. What I realized yesterday is that Microsoft is probably the company that is making this idea a reality. Instead of pervasive computing, though, it is more like pervasive Microsoft.
Do I admire the company? Who wouldn’t when presented with the breadth of what they are doing. Do I trust that as a company it will always do the right thing for the computer user? No. One of the most interesting things to me was when I asked Bethany if each project team knew what other teams were working on. She said they didn’t—that it was something they were working on.
I think Microsoft serves a purpose and will continue to serve a purpose. Still, I will continue to enjoy getting my hands dirty trying to get Linux to do everything I want it to do. Computers are still not easy enough for the vast majority of the public. Microsoft might eventually change that but not without competition from the likes of Linux and Apple and Sun.
Walking around Seattle I’ve been troubled by the sheer number of coffee shops I’ve seen. They’re everywhere. Yesterday I stopped in a Starbucks and got a coffee, started down the street, turned the corner and saw another Starbucks. Within the next 10-15 minutes of walking I saw 3 more Starbucks. I guess that wouldn’t be so troubling if I wasn’t also seeing several “Seattle’s Best” and “Tullys” coffee shops, not to mention all the small mom & pop coffee shops. It’s bizzarre. None of these places seemed to be hurting for business—there were always people sitting around sipping “lattes” and double shot “cafe americanos.”
Now, the really shocking thing about tremendous availability of coffee is that it doesn’t seem to be driving the price down. For instance, a tall (which is the Starbuck’s name for small) still costs $1.30. One would think that all the competition would have driven the price down to something on the order of $.20 or $.30 but it hasn’t. The prices are pretty much the same wherever you go. Wouldn’t the law of supply and demand dictate otherwise?
It has me worried about the Seattle economy. There might be a few different explanations for the steady coffee pricing structure.
- There is tremendous demand for coffee in Seattle. This might be possible. The cold dreary weather might cause people to drink inordinate amounts of the hot beverage. If this were the case, though, I would expect to see more restrooms and that doesn’t seem to be the case.
- A powerful coffee cartel is controling coffee pricing structure in Seattle. Even with such an explanation, the sheer number of coffee shops defies reason.
- The operation of coffee shops is part of a pyramid scheme on an order of magnitude greater than that which brought the Albanian economy to its knees. This explanation is the one I am currently favoring. The only way I can see this many coffee shops making any money is if the owners are looking for other people to open their own coffee shops. It really is the only thing that makes sense.
Option 1 makes me fear for renal failure of the entire city. While options 2 and 3 make me wonder if Seattle won’t soon be facing a protracted SEC investigation.
We got into Seattle yesterday afternoon. It was a very long day. The flight was fine although the Omaha to Denver leg started out a little strange. In the flight attendant’s pre-flight instructions she informed everyone that it was a non-talking flight. There was an awkward silence except for a loud guffaw from me which embarrassed Christi. The flight attendant corrected herself and said it was a non-smoking flight but I think the damage was already done. I think everyone assumed her mis-statement was actually a commentary on them.
Christi and I have spent quite a bit of time talking about Mason. This is probably a violation of the first rule for a couple’s vacation but we can’t help it. Right now is a tough time to be away from him as he is learning so much every day. We probably compounded our homesickness with the movie we chose to see last night. We saw “I am Sam” which is about a mentally challenged father fighting for the right to keep his daughter. Anyway, the subject of the movie is a long exploration of what being a good parent is all about.
It turned cold here this afternoon so I might look for indoor attractions more than I would have otherwise. Tonight we are going to the Space Needle. We have reservations for dinner so it should be fun to look out at the Seattle skyline.