I don’t remember my Othello board having this much functionality

This is genius. And fun!

(Othello game, aka Reversi, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about.)

Sometimes, girls just wanna have… an air pollution study and a scholarship opportunity

This article about the winners of the Google Science Fair has me seeing red. The story is so inspirational (out of 10,000 entries from 91 countries, three teen girls took home trophies for amazing projects on improving treatment of ovarian cancer, carcinogens in grilled chicken, and reducing reliance on asthma treatment), yet the author ruins it with references to how "cute" the winners are and marvels that despite being girls, they can manage to not mention Bieber! Why do we continue to encourage the idea that girls need to apologize for being smart? It is this type of cultural attitude that keeps young women from pursuing math and science degrees and careers. Fast Company FAIL.

On a lighter note, I am digging the Lego trophies.

Speaking of Google, I’ve been playing around on Google+. So far it is like a vary spare, clean version of Facebook, and similar to Twitter, you can link to people without them “friending” you back. It will be more fun when more people sign up. Email me if you want an invite to try it yourself.

This time, the cheesy prom pose was my idea

Last week I was in NYC for one of the conferences my company produces, and our emcee, for the third time in four years, was Steve Thomas. He is one of the smartest, most interesting, interested people I’ve ever met, and I love working with him. The first time I met him I was a little nervous -- after all, I had been watching him host This Old House on PBS for years, and then Renovation Nation on PlanetGreen… and how often do you meet someone you’ve seen on TV?

As you can see, he knows how to ham it up when the occasion calls for it. I wish I had taken a seriously-posed photo as well so you could better see how handsome he is, but I feel a series of celebrity cheesy prom pose photos will be my legacy.

Happy Mother’s Day

 
Mom and me, the day of her brother’s wedding, 1968-ish.

From my mother I got:

my face
my love for and ability to cook and entertain
my love of reading (although I remember my dad teaching me to read)
my sense of style
my need to make a house a home
my work ethic (she shares that 50/50 with dad)
my ability to be frugal when needed and make the best of a bad situation
my compassion
my ability to be a good sport, especially at card and board games
my preference for British costume drama (and afternoon tea and other British things)
…and my love of nerdy sci-fi.

Mom and me, sailing in Long Island Sound, 1987-ish.

I did not get:

Her way with houseplants. I kill them all.
Her unwavering faith. I question, question, question…
Her patience. Need to work on that.

Thank you Mumsie, I love you. Happy Mother’s Day!

She rocks with paper and scissors

I love stop-motion animation. I love it even more when it is about this sweet book by my friend Julie. This -- or her first Ninja book -- would be a great treat in a young reader's Easter basket (that is your hint to go on Amazon right now and buy one. Or two).

Julie made the stop-motion video herself. She is super-talented. She also paints and makes jewelry, has a kick-ass sense of humor and excellent taste in movies. Check out her Etsy store for more.