To my parents, “Made in Japan” meant “substandard, shoddy work.” But in my lifetime “Made in Japan” came to mean “really, really good at making thousands of the same thing over and over again.” For some reason in the seventies we had come to accept mass production as meaning crap that would not last very long. Toyota changed all that. Their idea that you do the best you can today, so that tomorrow you might do better again changed manufacturing in America forever.

So how did Toyota get here? For a company that eschewed American automotive manufacturing strategies, today is remarkably reminiscent of the Ford Pinto scandal of the 70’s – in the end it seems Toyota learned all the wrong lessons. But I am not ready to throw Toyota to the wolves (or the Foxes) just yet. I still do not think there is a better example of “incremental perfectionism.” That is what America manufacturing learned from Toyota: “Every single change should make the whole better, and every day you should change incrementally.” This is indeed how you make “Quality Job One.” Incrementally. As designers I think we have forgotten this to some degree – today we most often see current circumstances as something not yet perfect; the future is simply something to be “fixed.” It is nice to be reminded that this is the farthest from the truth; instead we just do the best we can today. And tomorrow we do better. “Perfect” is indeed our goal, but it is by no means our destination.

For my part I provided a couple of loaves of crusty bread. It should be noted that I really enjoy baking, as unlike cooking it is very scientific. In this sense baking reminds me high school chemistry lab – if you veer from the instructions by even an iota, you will most likely get a inedible mess. Occasionally however you will do even worse, like the time in tenth grade when the school was evacuated because we made hydrochloric acid by (sort of) accident. Even more rarely, there is a truly serendipitous moment when you make something entirely new, AND it is edible, AND it won’t kill you. I have only read about these baking moments. Anyway, I did not aim for this rarefied moment of baking, but I did want to try out something that required a couple of days of carefully orchestrated agents, reagents, actions, and reactions to perhaps engender any modicum of success. So I took the weekend and made a some half-whole-wheat rustic bread. From everything that I read about one’s first attempt at baking, I was steeled for abject failure. Surprisingly, my first foray into bread baking from scratch was instead just successful enough as to leave me most likely thoroughly disappointed with my next attempt. We will see soon enough.

After dinner, Margaret, Raigan and Eric introduced the rest of us to a fun card game called “Oh, Hell” “Aw, Shit” “Tarter Sauce” in which you get points by not winning any points, lose points by not winning enough points, and the dinner hostess gets points each round just by virtue of being score keeper. It was an all around nice close to a fun weekend. Like always, click the thumbnail above to see the pics.

Google Calculator
Thanks to Google Calculator, you can use the Google search box for serious number crunching–anything from converting currency to solving advanced math equations. But things don’t always add up the way you think they will with Google Calculator. Try searching for “answer to life the universe and everything,” “number of horns on a unicorn,” or “once in a blue moon” for unexpected computations.

Google Ninja
While using Google Reader, use the arrow keys and type “up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A”  and a little ninja appears on the left of the screen. This is of course a play on the cheat code that worked on early Nintendo video games produced by the Japanese entertainment company Konami.

I’m Feewing Wucky
Google has created a number of “special” versions of its search pages, including one for Klingons, one for pirates, and even one for elmer fudd. The one for the Swedish Chef supposedly gets over a million searches a day…

I’m Feeling Lucky
OK, these are not technically Google Easter Eggs, but there are tons of folks that have gamed Google SEO in such a way as to get the search engine to point to their websites when you type in a particular search string and then hit “I’m Feeling Lucky.”The best ones even spoof Google’s search page to make it look like a real result.  One of my favorite examples can be found by typing “where is Chuck Norris?” and then hitting “I’m Feeling Lucky.” “French Military Victories” is pretty funny too. Juvenile, I know. But still funny.

Street View

Finally – there are countless funny things to be found on Google Maps Street View, but one of the clearest “easter eggs” can be found right out in front of Google’s Mountain View Headquarters. As much as Google tries to scrub out any street view shenanigans and obscure the faces of individuals caught as the camera passes by, this must not count around their campus headquarters. Check out the view along Amphitheater Way – those Google employees sure love their bikes. And hey, there’s Peg Man!