design of the Wii's forecast channel

There are some cool interviews with the developers of the Wii's Forecast channel. It's interesting to read about why they designed the channel in one way or another. The cultural differences between Japan, the US, and Europe. And universality of icons.

http://us.wii.com/story_forecast.jsp

another newspaper lame thing

I don't want to get into a habit of rehashing newspaper articles -- it's like shooting fish in a barrel. But this stands out as a pretty shoddy news story. I don't understand why anyone thinks it would matter. I guess if you're a beat reporter, if that's the term, maybe you get paid by the article? And this is an easy one to write?

Obama mistaken on name of Nazi death camp
(Obama said his relative helped liberate Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald)

Obama's mistaken mention of the camp on Monday quickly generated Internet chatter, ranging from puzzlement to outrage. The Republican Party demanded an explanation.

"It was Soviet troops that liberated Auschwitz, so unless his uncle was serving in the Red Army, there's no way Obama's statement yesterday can be true," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

flaming rockets

A few years back, quite a few, Peter & I used to build and fire model rockets. They were pretty great. I remember spending a lot of time working on the little rockets and watching them shoot off into the sky (if we were lucky..)

This is a pretty exciting story in the newspaper:

Flaming model rocket shot past cockpit during flight, Continental pilot reports
By The Associated Press

HOUSTON — Federal officials said they are investigating a report from a Continental Airlines pilot who was startled to see what looked like a model rocket with a flaming tail shoot past his cockpit window shortly after takeoff.

"We don't know for sure what the object was. But we think it might be somebody doing model rocketing," FAA spokesman Roland Herwig told the Houston Chronicle on Monday. "The pilot saw the rocket and some people saw the rocket's trail."

on being a defender

Random thoughts on soccer:

• One of the great things about being a defender in soccer, for me, is the one-on-one play with the opponent. I love being at the mid-field and pacing the opponent kicking the ball, watching - timing - the rhythm of the run, the kicking of the ball, and then pouncing on the ball before he has time to touch it again.


• I like having to pay attention to the entire field. To the teammates, it seems like I don't see the people behind me, but they're in my sights. And they're not going to get the ball.


• At least that's what I tell myself before they get the ball. Sometimes my plan doesn't work.


• It seems like I've stopped fewer balls - blocking shots before they get to the keeper - in the past 6 months. Maybe I'm getting lazier at defense. I'll have to work on that. I have a lot of aspects on which to work...

neighborhoods

I don't really like going to Capitol Hill -- it's a little annoying with the lack of parking and the busy-ness and the weird people... But nothing is better than coming back to Ballard, to sea level, and smelling the salty air of the Sound.