If you haven't discovered RSS feeds, to get interesting things from the web quicker, you should try one of the feeders or aggregators. It is more in "real time" and you can focus on your interests so much quicker; the proverbial fire hose vs eyedropper story. I use the free one, Feed Demon. This thread on Optical illusions was a link from a feed. Am I nuts, or are these almonds rotating?



Actually there are a gaggle of illusions here that are worth the loading time to see. Note to Leah: The expanding cushions might be an idea for a Mosaic pattern.

Now for the segue to Segway?

I have to revisit the good ole Segway. Martha and I saw a demo of the thing at a local fair here, it was actually a glorified book signing tour for Steve Kemper, the guy whose book proposal leaked and prematurely exposed "IT" or "Ginger" to the world. My "personal transporter" arguments all started in my mind again.

I keep hearing myself saying what a terrific device it is. It makes you root for Kamen because it is a manifestation of the technology that is supposed to be our savior and master. I have a flash of the personal backpack flying men in a futuretown zooming to work in a kids' book I had in the '50's, and somehow I think if that didn't come to pass yet, at least people could be on Segways.

I overheard someone saying how expensive they are - $5000 on Amazon! Even the new "P" series just announced is going to be under 4K. These are not pocket change prices, but they certainly are not show stoppers if people decide that they need or want them. I have seen ads for racing bicycles for over 4k! We all know people who have sunk multi multi thousands in boats, PC's, pedigree dogs, so if people need or want it, people will but it. There is the rub.

Even the people who believe in it don't seem to be convinced yet that we can adapt our lives to IT, or that it fits a big enough need. Even the author Steve Kemper, while demo-ing the Segway to us at the fair mentioned that he didn't have one, "This belongs to my publisher, who lent it to me". Well this guy knows Bezos and Steve Jobs professionally, was one of the invited first group of people flown in to the Kamen Factory to preview it before it was even leaked to us common people, wrote a major book about the Segway, and doesn't have one. That tell us anything? I still want one.

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P.S. Kamen's Ibot, the fantastic rearing, stairclimbing non-wheelchair, which was one predecessor project for the software and gyros in IT is finally on the market, and deserves to be a success perhaps oven more than the Segway. Actually, I want one of those too.