Random and disparate things. I noticed in a manufacturing magazine lying around here that there's apparently a shortage of engineers and other trained personnel in the US; I just thought it was interesting to note that where at the beginning of the industrial revolution, workers were kept uneducated intentionally and as a matter of course, but now in contrast there's a desperate need and call for more education. I'd be curious to see how much of that is societal change and how much is based upon more complex tasks and manufactured goods needing to be produced.

Went to a barbecue this weekend at an apartment complex that dates back to the 1950's; it's interesting, because right after going up the incredibly steep drive to get to where it's hidden in a shallow on top of a hill, it's like you're not in Tucson anymore at all. Well, in one sense there's still a desert feel in the architecture and dirt/log parking lots, but everything - including the overgrown hedges and other vegetation - obviously dates back several decades. For the first time, I found something 'retro' actually appealing, I think because it wasn't something in imitation or simply appealing to older styles, but actually, really was from that era, down to the funny little old-school hot tub. Unfortunately, the only way I have of accurately describing it is to compare it to similar in the movie Mulholland Drive, but it seems the only people who've seen that movie were at the barbecue itself; ah well.