Tacoma, WA had a job opening for a new meter reader. 1,400 people applied and 1,300 of those met the minimum requirements for a civil service position and could take the necessary test. The city’s human resources analyst had to rent out the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall to accomodate so many applicants. Half of them passed the test and the top 27 were interviewed. Ultimately the top scorer, Scott Hoover, ended up getting the job. He’s been a temporary meter reader for ten months and is happy to be moving to a position with benefits. Hoover carries both dog treats and pepper spray but has only had to use the treats so far.

It’s hard to believe I could feel so nostalgic about a road, but I am especially fond of Connecticut’s Merritt Parkway. It’s scenic, has lovely bridges (which I wrote about in 2003), prohibits trucks, and is not entirely equipped to handle the load of modern traffic (which I think may keep some of the idiots away). Travelers driving through the state (as most typically do) breeze by on I-95 and miss the scenic journey. The Parkway turns 70 next year and The Merritt Parkway Conservancy is working to keep its charm intact. For me the Merritt will always be the way home.

Jones Soda‘s Earth Day undertaking is impressive. They are taking their office off the electrical grid and powering it with bicycles. After consulting with local physics and cycling experts, they gathered supplies and built a prototype. They worked into the night to get ready for today (ok, so they burned extra nighttime electricity getting themselves off daytime energy, but it’s still a noble effort). All systems are go, according to their latest tweet.

It’s free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s!

Before the First Dog officially arrived at the White House, the President and First Lady received a gift of two porcelain dog bowls and an orthopedic dog bed and mattresses during their trip to Prague. Lillibed, the European company who manufactured the canine accoutrements, has taken full advantage of the situation, putting up firstdogbowl.com (and firstdogbed.com which redirects there). One of the bowls is decorated with Swarovski crystals. The other is plainer but is dishwasher safe. Both are plated with 24 karat gold and all items feature a special First Dog seal. Mirek Topolanek, EU President and outgoing Czech Prime Minister, made the presentation.

Random Friday YouTube Tom Lehrer links just for momentary diversions (he turned 81 last week):
The Elements song
Silent E
LY song
The Hound song

Two rather ridiculous luxury food items, as reported by Luxist: A real cupcake topped with a 2 carat Asscher cut diamond surrounded by eight round brilliant diamonds. It’s yummy P.R. for D.C. area Mervis Diamond Importers. And for the upcoming Kentucky Derby, distiller Woodford Reserve is offering a $1,000 mint julep. Made with frozen water from Norway, hand-picked and crushed sugar cane from Reunion Island, mint from Turkey, and of course super-premium bourbon, the drink is served in a sterling silver cup plated in 24k gold. Proceeds go to charity.

Boston area independent bookstores are hanging in there, weathering out this Amazon-age and economy, assuming this article isn’t overly optimistic. They’ve added unique services, gift areas, and tailored their inventory to their clientele and economy. Brookline Booksmith survived the opening a Barnes and Noble in 1993 which has recently closed. Harvard Book Store offers bicycle delivery. The stores know that community involvement and author events help build customer loyalty.

Lot 898 in the (canceled) Michael Jackson auction is a Mills Violano Virtuoso (on page 130 in this auction catalog). Henry Sandell invented this self-playing violin at the beginning of the 1900s. Metal “fingers” controlled by electromagnets set the notes and electric rollers play the strings. Many other mechanisms complete the device, keeping it in tune and even producing vibrato. There’s a player piano in there too for accompaniment. There are many YouTube videos of the Violano; here’s one of the double violin model playing Edelweiss.

There’s a huge auction of movie memorabilia at the end of the month run by Profiles in History. Lot #876 is Deckard’s hero blaster from “Blade Runner.” It’s been in a private collection for 25 years, is one of a kind, and has an estimate of $100,000 – $150,000. They’re calling it the “holy grail ” of sci-fi weapons. Several other items from the movie are also going on the block, including a Voight-Kampff machine operating manual and the costume Harrison Ford wore when administering the test. (Random trivia: the #2 ranked cat in America is named “Blade Runner.” He’s a Russian Blue.)