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"Most of Our Customers Come on Feet" In an age of malls and superstores, this is not a claim most Madison groceries can make -- at least not if you ignore the literal wording of the sign (most humans are lucky enough to "come on feet" everywhere) and focus on the intended meaning, "come on foot." Of course, if gas prices keep going up, that might change.

Years ago we lived near here and the Norris Court Grocery was our neighborhood grocery store. But it didn't have this wonderful mural back then, nor the cool red stylized bicycle sculpture bike racks. You can see it at the corner of Patterson and East Johnson. You don't even have to come by foot, although locals would probably prefer it if you did.
Posted by Peter Patau at 12:06 PM No comments: Links to this post 
No petunias were harmed in the reconstruction of East Gorham Street 
Hitchhikers by the side of the road These hitchhikers were trying to flag down a ride on Madison's near west side, but the cars just drove right on by. You don't see many standing there with their thumbs out anymore. Must be hippies.
Posted by Peter Patau at 1:21 AM No comments: Links to this post 

Smile! Obama's Campaign for Change is opening its Madison office on Monroe Street this Sunday The Madison office is opening Sunday, August 3, next to the Monroe Street branch of the Madison Public Library. Governor Jim Doyle, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Dane County Exec Kathleen Falk and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz will be on hand.
Posted by Peter Patau at 11:59 AM No comments: Links to this post 

Little Red Dress Meant to post this earlier. I shot the photo from the car on July 12. Seems to be a woman in a red dress walking her bike along Baldwin Street. Or is it? Hard to tell, since this was only a couple blocks from where the Madison Hash House Harriers imbibed heartily after their 15th Annual Red Dress-O-Rama -- and the madcap harriers have never let manhood interfere with the fun of wearing a little red dress.
Posted by Peter Patau at 3:47 PM No comments: Links to this post 

It's not cool to give your Google-killer search app a name nobody knows how to pronounce. It's Cuil.

And Cuil isn't cool -- at least not today, on its much-hyped launch date. Here's a quick test: Go to Google and type in "Google." Then go to Cuil and type in "Cuil." Which one seems to know what it's doing -- or even to know what it is? (And on Google, today you also get a nice drawing of Peter Rabbit, celebrating Beatrix Potter's birthday.)

There's been a lot of hype about the new company started by ex-Googlers . The story in today's New York Times is typical.

In her two years at Google, Anna Patterson helped design and build some of the pillars of the company’s search engine, including its large index of Web pages and some of the formulas it uses for ranking search results.

The makers of the Cuil search engine say it should provide better results and show them in a more attractive manner.

Now, along with her husband, Tom Costello, and a few other Google alumni, she is trying to upstage her former employer.

On Monday, their company, Cuil, is unveiling a search engine that they promise will be more comprehensive than Google’s and that they hope will give its users more relevant results.

Or maybe not. At least today, on the launch date, Cuil seems dreadfully slow and erratic in its search results. Maybe they are just having server problems. When I do an ego search of my own name, it says there are 476 results, but it shows a blank screen. I'll get over it, and I hope they get the bugs worked out. It would be nice to have a good backup alternative to Google, although I seldom seem to need one. But I'll never get over that silly name. Cuil just isn't cool.
Posted by Peter Patau at 12:41 PM No comments: Links to this post 
Photographing a juvenile Great Blue Heron along John Nolen Drive Sunday afternoon We were riding our bikes on the path along the John Nolen Drive causeway across Lake Monona when we came across this beauty. At first I thought it was a Sandhill Crane, but it seems to really be an immature Great Blue Heron. If you're just learning to walk in the water with your long, spindly legs, wings are more than a means of transportation -- they're a way to regain your balance when you stumble. I saw the heron trip, start to fall and then, with one flap of its gigantic wings, regain its balance. Sort of like training wings. As I came closer, the heron was obscured by some landscaping along the side of the road. I lost track of it and wondered if it had flown off and I had missed it, but then I suddenly saw it through a break in the foliage. It seemed to be studying the greenery and pondering the meaning of flowers. Then I realized it was studying me through the break in the leaves. Wonder what it thought? Its direct, piercing look was unforgettable.
Posted by Peter Patau at 12:02 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 

A Night at the Opera Opera in the Park: Thousands of people converged Saturday night at Rosa Road and Mineral Point Road for the 7th annual Opera in the Park. The stage glowed in the gathering darkness as John Demain conducted the Madison Opera Chorus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and four guest soloists. More photos at this Flickr set.
Posted by Peter Patau at 10:52 AM No comments: Links to this post