This is not your practice blog

Urban Cupertino

There's a nice little new park in Cupertino called Cali Mill Plaza. It's at the corner of Stevens Creek and DeAnza Boulevards. When I moved here 21 years ago to work for Apple, tilt-ups, office buildings, and strip malls occupied most of the area, but one corner of this major urban intersection was an anachronism, featuring the landmark Cali Bros. grain silo. In 1988, this relic of a different Cupertino fell to the wreckers -- it was gone, suddenly, in a single day. Office buildings, a hotel, apartments, and restaurants filled the spot. Over the years, plans to finish development on the corner were made, then fell through: movie theaters, another hotel, more apartments.

Finally, the city and the developer decided to devote the remaining space to a lovely urban park, which was dedicated this week. And of course, they honored the Cali family by giving it their name. That's kind of neat, although isn't it always the way: bulldoze the natives, then name the park after them.

Also: the park has free wi-fi. ;-)

Don Martin sound effects

You know Don Martin, MAD's Maddest Artist. He's the one with the strange characters, bizarre gags, and most famously, insane sound effects. Now from markd comes a link to this incredible obsessive work: the Don Martin Dictionary. Yes, it appears to be a COMPLETE LIST of 30 years of Don Martin sound effects from MAD, along with a description of the event. Brilliant! It makes me want to say BZZZT KLIK-KLIK- KLIK-KLIK-KLIK- KLIK GAZOWNT GAZIKKA (Vending Machine About To Make Change) or perhaps PATWANG, FWEEEE (Branch Springing Back, Then Flinging Baby Tarzan Away).

Dinner with Bill Gates

Every summer, interns working at Microsoft get to have dinner with Bill Gates at his house. There's a tremendous cult of personality around Bill Gates among Microsoft employees, so this is a really big deal. An intern named Jeff Maurone describes his experience and the cool parts of the house the interns are allowed to see. And the security:

The buses then proceeded through Seattle's eastside to an undisclosed location in close proximity to Bill's home.  We then left the buses and were subject to airport-level security.  This included shoe-removal, metal detectors, random screenings, etc.

The house sounds really cool, though, so it's worth the security hassles. Sounds like a fun evening!

World's Largest Tire

While riding in a cab down I-94 on my way from ADHOC to Detroit Metro Airport, I was suddenly confronted by the awesome spectacle of the World's Largest Tire. I stared out the window wide-eyed to get a full view of this 80-foot high monster. Little did I suspect that according to urban legend, the tire had once broken free and rolled across the interstate, crushing all in its path.

And I regret that I wasn't there to see the tire when it was pierced by a giant nail.

The whole experience made me think of a classic Weird Al song, which apparently is based on a true story.

Do other countries have stuff like this, too?

ADHOCracy

"Round here we're never sent to bed early
And nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very, very, very, very late."

-- "Round Here", Counting Crows

The first ADHOC -- the successor to MacHack -- is now over. It was a great conference, although smaller than in the past. ADHOC was a success because it was diminished in size, but not in quality. Smart attendees presented great sessions, the geeky socializing was wonderful, David Pogue and Steve Hayman gave marvelous marathon keynotes, and everybody stayed up very, very, very late. Congratulations and thanks to Carol Lynn, Maurita Plouff, Avi Drissman, and all the other guilty parties.

Water-based computing

When I was a kid, I saw the original Rollerball, which featured a minor appearance by a computer made of water. I thought that was a pretty cool idea. The next day, I read a review panning the movie. Among other problems, the review complained about the use of "the standard science-fiction cliché of the water-based computer". Having thought this was one of the movie's original ideas, I was surprised and disappointed about this. I was just a kid, and this was a movie reviewer, so I figured it must be true.

I hadn't thought about this for years, but earlier today here at ADHOC, the subject came up in conversation with Wolf Rentzsch and Shane Looker (yes, this is a typical kind of ADHOC conversation). Now that I'm, ah, no longer a kid, I still don't know of any other instances of water-based computers. So Wolf and Shane suggested I ask you, dear readers. Ever heard of water computers in science fiction? Or is this Apple's next big secret technology?

(By the way, the original Rollerball is worth watching. There's a good review here.)

The MacHack/ADHOC effect

"What day is it?
Can you please tell me?
What day is it?
I'm confused, you see."

--Brak, "What Day Is It?"

Yes, it's that wonderful time of year: the MacHack conference, now called ADHOC. There's hacking, socializing, "interactive" speeches, junk food, and lots o'fun. Having a great time; wish you were here. (More later.)

Happy Moon Day!

It was 35 years ago today that human beings first walked on another world, fulfilling all those science fiction comics and stories I read as a kid. Happy Moon Day to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and all other humans!

Taking off from Orange County

Have you ever flown out of John Wayne Airport, also known as Orange County Airport or SNA? Planes taking off from there have a noise abatement procedure that's borderline insane (there's a technical description here).

Before the flight starts, the pilot tells you what's going to happen: right after takeoff, engine power will be cut way back for a few seconds so that coastal residents can hear less noise. Oh fun! The pilot explains that this is safe and normal: they practice it and do it all the time. You nod your head, thankful for the warning. And then, when it actually happens a few minutes later, you are still somehow completely unprepared for the disconcerting feeling of the plane's engine power apparently vanishing just when your subconscious brain is telling it to climb, climb, climb.

Only then, after your heart has stopped and your blood has drained to your feet, do you remember that, oh yeah, this is supposed to happen. And then the engine power comes back, your body reactivates itself, and life goes on. It's better than a roller coaster!

(Technical description link from Dennis Cheung.)

Cool free iTunes stuff

Apple is getting clever with some new free stuff in the iTunes music store. There are now 36 sessions of the 9/11 commission hearings available for free download. You can also get a recording of the latest earnings call to analysts.