FSP 1.1

Century Building

Saint Louis news: the Century Building is still alive; the petition to
save it from an untimely demolition follows The National Trust's
Indictment in the Crime of the Century. [PetitionOnline.com].

Previously on unbuilding Saint Louis; More Saint Louis blogs.

Bill Clinton: My Life

The other Mr. Bill has a big new book and even better blog.

Bonus: President 42 demonstrates rail safety:

From www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org/photo-gallery.php?theme=portraits&pg=0&i=127.

Gone Racing

Went back to Indy for the F1 USGP.

At the Bridgestone pedestrian bridge between turn 7 and 8:

Approaching Turn 8 under braking (note the Bridgestone / Potenza bridge to right):

Turns 9 and 10, the slowest section of the circuit:

Kimi's McLaren-Mercedes (foreground) exits turn 10; Jaguar (middle) leaps
from turn 9 to turn 10; Toyota (top) enters turn 9:

Ferraris open up a lead over Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams-BMW (Montoya stalled
on the grid, re-started from the pits in his spare car, and climbed up to third place):

Ferrari dominates, as usual in 2004:

Michael Schumacher waves back to fans on victory lap:

Detail:

The track surface is 'zambonied' free of sand, gravel, litter, and misc. car
parts and tire shreds.

Remembering Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan should be pictured on Treasury Bills, Notes, and Bonds,
in recognition of his contribution to the national debt.

BMW iPod control in steering wheel

The first seamless integration of iPod and automobile. Connect with your music like
never before. With the installation of an integrated adapter developed by BMW and
Apple -- now available for the BMW 3 Series, X3 and Z4 -- you can control your
iPod through the existing audio system and multi-function steering wheel. Which
means no loss of power. No loss of sound quality. And no loss of control.

Links: Motoringfile and MacMinute.

The Boulevard Saint Louis (Brentwood)

The Boulevard brings a park-once (or ride a train !) and work, shop, and eat all in one place
development to the Clayton - Richmond Heights - Brentwood I-64 - I-170 edge city.

Compare to San Jose's Santana Row and Emeryville Bay Street.

Seen from LA: Saint Louis real estate market

The LA Times looks at the Saint Louis real estate market and finds
good values in middle class starter homes.

"We're generally a steady-as-she-goes market," said Bryan Kelsey, the chief
executive of Relocation Realtors in St. Louis.

Certainly, local property values are rising. But at a modest 4% to 6% a year.
Bidding wars do occasionally break out, and the best homes can sell quickly,
especially in the older, more exclusive, brick-and-cobblestone neighborhoods
near downtown.

Reported by LA Times and KTLA.

To track the real estate market, read Data Quick News.

Mouring in America

Reagan described America as a driving force through history, leading to the
empire of liberty. He seemed to regard freedom's triumph as a historical
inevitability. He couldn't look at mainstream American culture as anything other
than the delightful emanation of this venture. He could never feel alienated from
middle American life, or see it succumbing to a spiritual catastrophe.

-- David Brooks.

Stanley Cup

Ever the traditionalist, I'm rooting for the Flames to bring home
the Stanley Cup tonight.

[ Vintage Jersey from River City Sports ]

Why it matters ...

Also, today's NYT has a feature on original rockem-sockem tough-guy hockey
commentator Don Cherry.

The Globe and Mail reports:

Some academics have devoted their careers to figuring out what makes sports
fans tick.

Daniel Wann, a psychology professor at Murray State University in Kentucky and
co-author of Sports Fan: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators, has
found that people look for chances to belong to something.

His studies have shown that being a sports fan even contributes to a person's
psychological well-being, that sports fans are healthier, even when the home
team loses.

It's also about creating memories and thinking you're helping the team, Halliwell
said.

Fans really want to believe they are the "seventh man" on the ice and they want
to look back and say they were part of it.

Torrie Salkeld was clad in red and clutching a plastic horn as she waited for the
start of the game that was being shown on the massive projection screen set up
on the ice at the Saddledome for the second game of the final.

"The Flames aren't even here and we're excited, the whole city is excited," the
14-year-old bellowed over the roar of more than 19,000 chanting fans.

Halliwell figures there's an element of national pride involved as well. Hockey,
after all, is thought of as Canada's game, and what better way to prove it than by
beating the United States, he said.

That's what David Baker, the owner of the Victory Sports Bar & Grill in Toronto,
has witnessed since his beloved Maple Leafs lost in the second round of the
playoffs. "A lot of people in here are saying at least there's a Canadian team that
can win."

The final has drawn impressive television ratings. The CBC said the fourth game
attracted 3.45 million viewers, making it the most-watched game of a final since
the seventh game of the 1994 series between the Vancouver Canucks and New
York Rangers. That was the last time a Canadian team made it to a final.

Movable, removable armrest

Continental's Jungle Jets have a good feature: almost all armrests can
be retracted -- armrests beside the aisle, armrests beside the window,
included.

This adjustibility makes an otherwise cramped, uncomfortable space much easier
to move around in, and to find a comfortable seating position in.

Thanks FlyerTalk for this tip.