Yesterday, I did a post about how some lunchtime reading triggered memories. Today’s lunchtime reading has a similar historic thing: What happens to old stuff:
- Soap. When you go to a hotel, do you ever wonder what happens to that half-bar you left in the bathroom. Good news. Some hotels are recycling the stuff.
- Harvey House. Whenever I would visit Union Station in LA, I’d always be fascinated by the abandoned Fred Harvey restaurant. Evidently, it was used only for film shoots. Good news. Under MTA ownership, it’s going to be turned back into a restaurant.
- Biosphere. Back in 1990, when ACSAC was in Tucson for the first time, we visited Biosphere 2 and learned about the science they wanted to do. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out. Good news. It turns out Biosphere 2 is thriving and being used regularly for plant and climate science.
- Friendster. Some of you may remember Friendster. It was the big thing before LJ became the big thing before Myspace became the big thing before Facebook became the big thing before …. Well, Friendster is reworking things, and disposing of all user profile data. Good news. If you really care, you can download it… but do it soon, you don’t have much time.
- Secretaries. Remember Secretaries. The New York Times does, and wonders if they have a future. I remember the days when having a good secretary was key, and being on the good side of a good secretary was even better. Today, they are office professionals, and it is still important to be on their side. Do they have a future? Let’s put it this way: although you can book your own travel and submit your own paperwork, the office professional is the key to getting it done according to corporate procedure, and thus it being done (a) right, and (b) in a way you’ll get reimbursed. They may not be going the way of the typewriter, and you will be seeing fewer of them, but they are still vital in the corporate world.
