The Sheila Variations

That ice cream cone on the sign was out in front of the Tastee-Freeze in my home town. Were there Tastee-Freezes in New England? Other than in Mellencamp's song, I haven't encountered one in years.

I love looking at old things like that thermostat. It tells so much of a story about the culture that made it. The rounded windows trying to make analog stuff look cool in a Deco sort of way.

I've wondered why so many professionally future-looking scientists (including myself) also are amateur historians. I think those of us who look hardest into the future see what we give up in trade for our advances.

I love old things, too - snippets of the old way of doing things. There are a still a couple of old signs in Hoboken like that one in Lileks' photographs and I keep saying I have to go take a picture of all of them before they disappear forever!

I can't remember if we had Tastee Freez ... I probably would remember if we had it, right?

Dairy Queen was big. And Del's? Fuggedaboutit.