THE APPLE OF HIS EYE

Back on June 8, Steve Jobs of Apple Computer made a presentation to the Cupertino City Council for a new office building for that computer company.  And he showed an architect’s rendering of what the building would look like.  Jobs stressed that more trees would be added to the site, and the City Council was most receptive to the idea.

Then Scott Herhold, a columnist for the local San Jose Mercury News, decided to run a contest to pin a nickname on this unusual building.  Herhold had this to say shortly thereafter:

 “When I launched my contest to find a nickname for Apple's new circular building in Cupertino, I wasn't prepared for things to go viral: I got nearly 1,000 emails and calls, with more than 2,000 suggestions from across the world.

The response reinforced my belief that the four-story spaceshiplike building will be an icon (yes, somebody suggested that name, too) in Silicon Valley. The deluge made me laugh and smile and shake my head.”

Scott and his journalist committee winnowed the list down to 6, and then got that down to the final three which has been put to a vote of the Merc readers. 

Here are a few of the entries, though none of these made the final three:

Glass donut        SteveHenge        Apple Saucer       

Appcot            iSite

My personal favorite was Apple Saucer (Apple for the obvious, and Saucer, as in Flying Saucer  -- just look at that rendering!), but it didn’t make it to the final round.

Here are the three top vote getters.  Which would you pick?

Fruit Loop           The Halo            The Core

Of course none of these might stick as people have a tendency to choose their own nicknames for buildings and sites.  We will see.

And you want a joke, too?

KIDS ON ELECTIONS

In January, the president makes his Inaugural Address after he has been sworn at.

Once he is elected, sometimes the president has to work 24 hours a day until he finds out what he is supposed to do.

The nominees are usually called candidates or campaigners although I have heard them called other things.

One of the strictest rules is all dark horses running for president must be people.

Popular votes tell who is the most popular. Electoral votes tell who is the most elected.

Heredity is a bad thing in politics because it gets us kings instead of presidents.