Stormy's Corner

Outdated laws: living with people of the opposite gender.

Wow!  Did you know that in seven states it's illegal to live with a person of the opposite gender if you aren't married to them?  I think that just goes to show how much our society is changing ... I had a male roommate one summer in college.  It was no different to me than having a female roommate and I would have been quite upset if the government interfered in my private business.

Yahoo! News - Woman Sues Over N.C. Anti-Cohabitation Law.

Email Cultures

This article talks about how email styles and habits vary between Europe and the US,  Euromail - What Germans can teach us about e-mail.  One thought sums it up: In the States email has replaced the phone; in Europe email has replaced the business letter.  Maybe some day we can find a happy medium ...

A Moving Alarm Clock!

MIT has come up with a new product called Clocky.

Clocky is a clock for people who have trouble getting out of bed. When the snooze bar is pressed, Clocky rolls off the table and finds a hiding spot, a new one every day.

Personally, I think everyone just needs to get more sleep.

12/3/06: You can buy your moving alarm clock here for $49.99.

Quote

I saw a quote in the New York Times today that I like.

Herbert Hoover who said: "You know, the only trouble with capitalism is capitalists. They're too damn greedy."

Interactive Books

I've talked several times about one of my favorite books, The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson.  The reason I like it is because there is an interactive book that changes and adapts to a little girl as she grows.  It's her teacher, mentor, friend and protector.  I want one of those books.

Well, I can almost have one.  A company called LeapFrog makes a product called LeapPad. LeapPads are interactive books.  They give kids interactive feedback while they are learning to count, read and write.  For example, it might say, "Find the monster with one horn."  If the child touches the wrong monster, it might say "Find the red monster with one horn."  If the child makes a mistake again, it will say, "Let's move on.  Find a red monster."  If at any point the child gets it right, the LeapPad cheers, applauds or makes some other funny noise. 

I know one 4 year old who loves his LeapPad.  He especially likes to play with it while I'm busy on my laptop.  He has his own book/laptop.  Now I just have to wait for LeapFrog to make one for adults.

New note: I did find something similar for adults: an io2 digital pen!

Also, I'm looking at a LeapPad like toy for my 15 month old because he loves his older brother's LeapPad!