http://www.portigal.com Thu, 08 May 2008 05:36:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Gladwell in The New Yorker issue on Innovation Nathan Myhrvold left Microsoft and struck out on his own, he set himself an unusual goal. He wanted to see whether the kind of insight that leads to invention could be engineered. He formed a company called Intellectual Ventures http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-238/ Biodiesel-fueled coupe made from old semi truck, Half Moon Bay, California Lawnmower Races, Half Moon Bay, California I went to a huge auto and machine show recently at a small airfield down the coast from San Francisco. I really love this kind of stuff, but my machine lust was battling thoughts of ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/rage-with-the-machine/ Job of the future: Cultural Attaché Could bloggers ultimately staff an individualized concierge service to provide interesting or edgy perspectives on stuff in the world? Where do coolhunters meet Xeni meet futurists meet ethnographers meet butlers? Your Mom Is Not A Valid Test Market Finally a hipster-sloganed t-shirt I can get into! http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-237/ Totalizator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The first tote boards were manufactured for the horse racing industry by the American Totalizator Company. totalizator history The history of the automatic totalizator Obituary Straus made a fortune in royalties out of his invention, the American totalizator, a complicated (1,500,000 moving parts) electrical device which automatically calculates the odds in pari-mutuel betting. UNIVAC, Sperry, ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-236/ Boarding Pass Design Imitates Fix by Users This is so great. Boarding pass with the agent circles already printed on 'em. As Jasper points out, wouldn't be it better to design the boarding pass so it's readable rather than reuse a workaround? http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-235/ Ben and Jerry's, San Jose, California, 8:45 pm http://www.portigal.com/blog/worldwide-food-shortage-reaches-silicon-valley/ The Next Speaker » Steve Portigal is de oprichter van Portigal Consulting I'm excited to be represented by a Speakers Bureau in the Netherlands. Now I need to find representation in North America. (If you can make the referral for me, please do so!) http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-234/ Without donuts being part of the plan when I travel, they seem to show up with some regularity. While Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts seek to provide a consistent experience across geographies, there are also very unique experiences available in the very same category. The notion of donut is rather ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/the-donut-world-tour-in-progress/ IxDA SF Originally uploaded by blackbeltjones. Last night we attended an IxDA-SF presentation of Matt Jones on "Playfulness in Design". No full summary to share (although maybe Matt will post the slides eventually) but one great line was the statement that "Mundane is the new fun" which refers to the little ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/mundane-is-the-new-fun/ Ode To A Burrito is a Fast Company profile of Chipotle Mexican Grill and iconoclastic founder and CEO Steve Ells. Chipotle has achieved these impressive stats by spurning fast-food orthodoxy....Chipotle also avoids the frills that pad other chains' bottom lines. "Desserts and other sides are all profit for these chains," says ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/chipotle-different-and-better/ Psych experiments on the role of language in decision making (and other tasks) “By giving us a framework for marshaling our thoughts, language does a lot for us." Interesting examples that look at different languages around the world and how those do or don't frame problem solving. http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-233/ Recently I was invited to ASU in Tempe, AZ, to participate in a Design Research Symposium called From Here To There, a reference (I think) to moving from questions to answers (or, perhaps, more questions). I was pleased to be part of such a great lineup of speakers: Dennis Doordan, Editor, Design ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/from-here-to-there-design-research-symposium-2/ 1994 Silicon Graphics employee recruiting brochure Picked up at the CHI conference that year. http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-232/ Ice Cream Cone Holder, Ben & Jerry's, San Jose, CA Plates on Bumper, Taco Truck, San Francisco, CA Toilet and Sapporo Can, Bar, location unknown http://www.portigal.com/blog/hold-everything/ Years ago on the Simpsons, the family home is destroyed by fire. An insurance agent appears on the scene and the following exchange ensues... Agent: Any valuables in the house? Homer: Well, the Picasso, my collection of classic cars... Agent: Sorry, this policy only covers actual losses, not made-up stuff. Homer: [miffed] Well ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/products-with-fake-benefits/ Hey Hey My My The NYT reports that the use of the term "My" to preface various websites/URLs/online features is significantly on the rise. But I thought this happened 10 years ago, when My Yahoo et. al appeared. http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-231/ It's been a busy-yet-fun few days on the road, from giving a plenary presentation and workshop at ASU's Design Research Symposium (more to come, whenever I get my pictures - Hi, Greg!), to meetings, dinner with colleagues, and helping a client synthesize fieldwork data from China and Russia into product ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/postcards-from-the-road-phx-to-pdx/ Tony da Tiger in da hizzouse Urban-appeal streetwear with licensed Kellogg's characters. Snap, Crackle, Pop, Dig 'Em and more. http://www.portigal.com/blog/chittahchattah-quickies-230/ It used to be that you could take notice at the outset of a poor essay or speech when it began with the dictionary definition for the central topic. The Simpsons referenced this at least once Homer: "What is a wedding? Websters defines it as a process of removing weeds ... http://www.portigal.com/blog/the-google-cliche/ Steve will be giving a keynote address at the Nortel Technical Conference in Orlando, FL on June 20th. http://www.portigal.com/news/nortel-technical-conference/