The Show Notes

Meccano "is a model construction system invented in the UK by Frank Hornby. It consists of re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices. The ideas for Meccano were first conceived by Hornby in 1898 and he developed and patented the construction kit as "Mechanics Made Easy" in 1901. The name was later changed to "Meccano" and manufactured by the British company, Meccano Ltd, between 1908 and 1980. It is now manufactured in France and China. "Erector Sets" currently sold in the USA are actually Meccano sets manufactured by Meccano S.N. of France, part of the Nikko Group of Japan. " Erector Set "is a brand of metal toy construction sets, originally patented by Alfred Carlton Gilbert and first sold by his company, The Mysto Manufacturing Company of New Haven, Connecticut in 1913. In 1916, the company was reor...

Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer commercial (Jeans) McDonald's Makes Its Logo More 'Green' In Europe  (November 2009) McDonald's Israel : "McDonald's Israel is owned and run by Israeli businessman Omri Padan. Padan is President of Alonyal Limited which is local licensee for McDonald's. Currently McDonald's has 160 restaurants in Israel, with 40 of them under Kosher supervision (on December 2011), meaning they are closed on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, have no dairy products (such as cheeseburgers), and for Passover serve the meat on Passover buns . In Israel most branches are non-kosher since they serve cheeseburgers (which are non-kosher, i.e. do not conform to traditional Jewish dietary law) and they serve milk-based desserts (ice cream, milkshakes). Some of the kosher branches serve milk products in a separate section of the restaurant" Chinese School, a great BBC documentary at BBC IMDB on YouTube Bento Single-portion takeout or...

Supervisors deny appeal of SF commuter shuttle fee program : "Today, Google operates 57 shuttles, 4,400 boardings per weekday, with 180 shuttle runs a day. Genentech has the second most with 40 shuttles, followed by Apple with 15." pub clio pas assez chère mon fils Google contracts catamaran ferry for employees Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption "Due to its resemblance to a large washing machine agitator, the cathedral has been nicknamed "Our Lady of Maytag"" SavedYouAClick Orvieto Cathedral Jawbone ICON HD - Bluetooth Headset Salaire de rien: le 13ème salaire, est-ce un droit qu'on peut réclamer? Birdly  "An attempt to fly"

Images from the Geneva ice storm(s)

Apple in the UK July 2012 Apple loses UK appeal, now forced to run ads admitting Samsung not a copycat Apple Forced by UK to Print Public Apologies to Samsung for Design Theft Accusations November 2012 Apple ordered to re-write 'inaccurate' Samsung statement Discuss at lunch Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace Onigiri "also known as o-musubi, nigirimeshi or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (seaweed)"

Whitebark Pine faces an “imminent” risk of extinction In the Greater Yellowstone area, a recent study found that 80 percent of whitebark pine forests there are dead or dying It's one of the first times the federal government has identified climate change--linked to warming and drought--as a factor for why a species could disappear. It's affected by the white pine blister rust pathogen. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey , with Neil deGrasse Tyson Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend Also sold at Costco American ales, books American Sour Beers The Great American Ale Trail Dittmer's , German butcher in Mountain View