Place Based Influences

The local Fred Meyer (Asylum District) has done something smart, especially in light of how much they stirred the customer base in rearranging where everything gets filed.

I'm talking grocery store here, with other sundries, Supermarket Math.

Freddie's, as the locals know it (a Kroger), has made its Cork & Tap more customer friendly, staffing it with more bartender aesthetics and throwing a great happy hour.  Remember, OLCC does not permit supermarkets to sell so-called "hard liquor" whereas such markets can in many states.  "Do some Cork and Taps in other states serve whiskey?"  I had that question for "Jenni-saurus" (one of the star servers).

This experimental API gives customers a chance to unwind and talk about their shopping experience, not that every conversation need wander to that topic.

Why do you think lawyers step up to the bar and pass the bar exam?  Is that because some ear listens and takes the word back?

Wasn't that also the barber's job?  Not everyone drinks.  The Bertrand Russell thing was not a show stopper in practice.

Have at least two barbers, and then no one has to cut their own hair.  I know that wasn't the paradox but the pragmatist in me doesn't want to bring Westworld to a standstill over some race condition.

Our Bishops offers customers a beer while waiting, just a gift, like you would offer any visitor looking to relax.  The business is all about cutting and styling hair, nothing to do with serving alcohol. Canned low alcohol stuff, sipped for entertainment.

Why not add a cider or two, or even a couple wines?  Wines require glasses and suddenly the world is not so simple.  Actually, Fred's (another name for it) sells wines in their own container, same as canned beer.  Hawthorne already has plenty of the old fashioned cocktail rooms, no need to go overboard.

Coffee Shops Network goes with bar aesthetics some of the time.  Think of Avalon at one end of the spectrum (no alcohol last I checked) and Quarterworld at the other (full bar).  Both feature arcade games, and CSN definitely traffics in those.

The charitable giving games are a hallmark, with the more adult settings borrowing from casino aesthetics.  I'm not against magic shows and other distractions.

I'm less interested in forcing an agenda, than in creating a space in which more agendas might happen.

How will we know which are the good ones without some chance to show off?  Strut your stuff (show us your blend of science fiction).  The "got talent" shows have helped people refine their judgement to some extent, regarding what's worthwhile.

So yes, "bartender" is not a role to make an afterthought.  Design from the inside out, starting from different viewpoints, with bartender one of them.  There's a therapist aspect, as well as pharmacologist.  There's knowing when to cut someone off.  You might need to flag a bouncer.  They say the highest IQ guy in the world is a bouncer (I saw that on an Elon Musk biography).

Some of the most skilled and wonderful people I've met have "bartender" on their resume.

You learn a lot about people, and about the town, in some Westworlds (alluding to the TV series again -- akin to Machine World).

If you're not familiar with any of the establishments I've mentioned and are looking for tourism opportunities, Asylum District is worth a gander.  Eyeball the Linus Pauling House while it still stands (my Unilever plan never went anywhere) and Alpha Helix, in front of the body art studio next door.  Bishops, Fred Meyer, Quarterworld, Avalon... and many more, are all nearby.

Dissections by D.B. Koski

The first image shows the icosahedron within the 5 octahedra The second the rhombic triacontahedron.

The volume of this icosahedron that is within 5 edge 2 octahedra is 20Ø^-4 or 60S+20s3 modules.

The rhombic triacontahedron is 20 (Ø^-4 + Ø^-8) or 60S + 60s3 modules. 

To make the RT we added 120 tetrahedra to the surface of the icosahedron. 

Since the RT is 40s3 larger in volume, 40s3/120 makes each tetrahedron 1/3 of an s3.

Compound of 5 Octahedral is equal to:  8640 (s9 + s12)

s9 = (Ø^-14)/2 

s12= (Ø^-17)/2

Flying to the Moon

David Koski 9 years ago:

This is my favorite. The more I watch it the more I see and realize how much I have missed. I missed too much in my brief encounters with Russell Towle. Truly a multi-dimensional man, and then there is the geometry besides. May this and his other work always be with us.

Another Reverie

Not one of my hypertoons, but in a somewhat similar style and covering some of the same concepts.

Queue for the LCDs?

Every coffee shop is different.  The "design science" clientele expects to be reminded of these memes.

For Tomorrow's Seminar

This is a live "teach in" in front of a live audience, whom you'll hear on the laugh track.

I say "laugh track" because that's mostly what they do (laugh); I don't mean to imply a "laugh track machine" is used.

Fuller has a good sense of timing and gets people chuckling about the darnedest things.

For those of you wishing a little historical context:  the man listening to Bucky was a non-academic practicing philosopher who later gravitated into academia more.  Werner Erhard.  The younger guy is Fuller's grandson.

Erhard had recently discovered Fuller for himself, as another "est person", an idea he'd lifted from science fiction.  L. Ron Hubbard is another figure associated with science fiction, but then where does one draw the line, between scifi and myth, fading over into religion.

For tax purposes, if you filed as a religion, you might be tax exempt.  Philosophies could file as nonprofits as well.  The tax law was very complicated.

Choosing Funds

If I'm really good at playing X, a computer game, does that mean I can send the money willy-nilly, to any charity I please?  Chances are, the answer is no, as the biscuit company committing Good Will through this game has already chosen from a list of vetted charities.

This way, the company has a way to define its reputation, to position itself, based on the charities it supports.

But what if I want to support charity Z and the game I'm playing doesn't list it?  Perhaps another game does?  Perhaps some other brand of biscuit or candy allows you to send Z your funds?

Perhaps there's another Coffee Shop down the street that fits your giving patterns more directly?

Charities may be controversial after all.  Some have racists goals or want to spread a particular religion.  Coffee Shops with a reputation for supporting racism might prove attractive to some, or go out of business thanks to the competition.

Democratizing giving is going to make for rapid change.  Charities will need to think hard about how they want to position themselves, to take advantage of what CSN has to offer them.

Funding Bizmos

What's a Bizmo?  When a Youtube channel takes the show on the road and starts going places, for real, they might use a bizmo, or even several.  A business mobile takes a crew to the "shoot" i.e. the place where recordings are being made.  A refugee camp for example.

Patrons develop an appreciation for a specific crew and the work it does.  Perhaps the crew specializes in digging wells or providing sanitation for small villages.  Perhaps you have an interest in such work as well.  Your company may sell pumps, digging equipment.  Getting your products on the scene and in use could be a form of advertising for you.

A bizmo crew shows up somewhere and makes an assessment.  They need specific medical supplies.  As a viewer, you're able to learn of their needs, and as a player, you're able to win funds to send their way.  Or donate directly.  It's not like you're compelled to play some biscuit company's computer game to send money to charity.  However, if you're good at the game in question, why not be a hero?