Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

A big news day today...

No Industry. No Standard: The Industry Standard magazine has filed for bankruptcy. The Standard, which chronicled the rise and fall of the Internet economy is now that economy's latest victim. There was a time when each issue would weigh in at about five pounds, most of which was expensive full-page advertising. Lately, it's been vastly slimmed down, with actual articles taking up more space than cut-rate ads. Personally, I've found it a lot easier to read this way, but then, I'm not trying to run their business.

Dangerous Art: Remember last week I posted about the "SharkByte Art," 100 fiberglass sharks, each designed by a different artist, appearing around San Jose? Well, we knew it was only a matter of time before the city would get in trouble over it. It seems the sharp tail fins and noses of the sharks extend too far beyond the bases and, when placed on busy sidewalks, these become a hazard for blind pedestrians using canes.

Stupid Art: Never mind that anybody who knows about these things says it won't work. Jim Downey still has plans to paint the moon. Jim's idea for this "collaborative work of celestial art" is that everybody on earth gets one of those little red laser pointers and we all shine it at the moon at the same time, thus "painting" it red.