Minnesota’s Nine-Month Winter(?), or, “Oh, No! Not Yet!!” Notwithstanding the gorgeous skies and picture-perfect 75° weather today in the Twin Cities, frozen yogurt seller Yogurt Lab is officially on “winter” hours. Translation: it opens an hour later (noon) and closes an hour earlier (10 p.m.) much of the week. At least, noon is when the...Read More
Nature’s High Tech Factories “Natural organisms have managed to do everything we want to do without guzzling fossil fuels, polluting the planet or mortgaging the future.” –Janine Benyus, “Biomimcry” (1997) In her 1997 book, biologist Janine Benyus speculated about a world where human manufacturers would unlock the secrets of spider silk and abalone shells to...Read More
Old Wine in New Bottles Sneakers “There was an old woman Who lived in a shoe She had so many children She didn’t know what to do” –Mother Goose nursery rhyme From all appearances, the brainstorm came from an upstart shoe manufacturer, not Tyvek manufacturer DuPont. And at $8 million sales total since 2009, it’s...Read More
Hard to argue with the sentiment expressed on this vanity license plate (spotted today near the Lakes, on my lunch break). The only catch: skipping gas and switching to electric will set you back $80k (?), at least if you want a Tesla.Read More
[Family Friend]: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Benjamin: Yes, sir. [Family Friend]: Are you listening? Benjamin: Yes, I am. [Family Friend]: “Plastics.” –“Benjamin,” Dustin Hoffman’s character in “The Graduate,” getting post-college career advice from a family friend. Without giving anything away, suffice to say that “plastic” also figures significantly...Read More
Eat Your Heart Out, San Diego! Happily, this past week would be one of those (ten weeks): highs in the low 80’s, lots of sun, (relatively) how humidity. With more on tap the next several days. Enjoy! (Note: any resemblance between the Lake Calhoun photo (above) and this blog’s masthead (top) . . . is...Read More
