Thursday October 6, 2011

GUILFORD — for the past 20 years, Robert Gorman’s spot along the Green River has been his refuge.

There he lived in a refurbished Airstream trailer, splitting his time between the banks of the river and his nearby shop where he handcrafted bamboo fly-fishing rods.

At one time, Gorman was an architect living in Richmond, N.H., but he began making the bamboo rods and eventually he found a new calling. His craftsmanship was so refined and exquisite that he eventually had customers from around the world.

Over the course of just a few hours on Aug. 28 his friend, the Green River, washed that all away when, swollen by the rain of Tropical Storm Irene, it flooded his workshop and destroyed his machines, tools, supplies and all his works in progress.

“It was the perfect setting for a rod maker and now it’s gone,” said Gorman. “My favorite place in the world is gone.”

Like many others in similar straits around Windham County, Gorman didn’t have flood insurance. He received some money from FEMA to replace his Airstream, but most of that has been spent on cleaning up his property, which was covered in mud and debris.

And at 78, he doesn’t have a way to pay back any low-interest loans that are being offered by the Small Business Administration to help people rebuild after the flood.

Gorman is staying with a friend in Bellows Falls but hopes to find a way to return to his land in Guilford.

“The future? I have no idea,” he said. “I’m still kind of in shock.”

Walking through his small shop on the river, seeing the damage, the moldy walls, the destroyed equipment and drawers filled with tools and supplies accumulated over the years is hard for Gorman.

“My shop was my home … my center,” he said.

Sasha Gorman, his son, said his father is an incredible craftsman who’s been “twiddling away” in the woods for many years making bamboo fly rods, building a reputation and receiving well-earned recognition from anglers.

Gorman, who lives in Madison, Wisc., said he hopes his father can pick up the pieces and start over.

“We’re trying to figure out how to help him,” he said. “But there’s not enough resources.”

Other than recovering his life, Robert Gorman said he is concerned about the future of the Green River. Just upriver from his land there is a large debris dam that has rechanneled the water’s flow.

He hopes the town and the state can figure out a way to remove the debris dam before the next big downpour makes it worse.

Though Gorman lost his livelihood, he recognizes that he still has his life, and for that he owes a great debt to a Guilford volunteer firefighter named Chris Laflam.

When Gorman realized how high the river was rising, he grabbed his dog, Eloise, a Tibetan terrier, and tried to wade through thigh-deep water to get to the road.

The current swept his feet out from under him and he found himself clinging with one hand to a tree and to Eloise with his other.

Laflam and fellow firefighter Ryan Snow were checking on people on the Green River when they found Gorman holding on for dear life.

Laflam was able to grab Gorman and drag him and Eloise out of the river.

For his part, Laflam, who’s been a firefighter since 1994, said his rescue of Gorman was “no big deal.”

“It’s just one of those things,” he said. “You just do it.”

“That’s the norm for Chris,” said Guilford fire Chief Jared Bristol. “When something needs to be done, he figures out a way to do it.”

Former Guilford fire Chief Dan Stoughton said Laflam is a no-nonsense kind of guy.

“He’s the kind of guy who puts other people first,” said Stoughton.

Herb Meyer, Guilford’s emergency management director, said pretty much the same thing about Laflam.

“He doesn’t say much but he’s there and he does things,” said Meyer.

Laflam said he and Gorman didn’t trade many words that night, but Gorman was thankful.

“He definitely was tired,” said Laflam.

“That guy was a hero,” said Gorman. “He was here when I needed a hand.”

Now Gorman needs a different kind of hand, but he’s a proud man who doesn’t want a handout.

“I don’t want money,” said Gorman. “I have had everything taken from me but I don’t want to be a mendicant, too.”

He just wants to get back to making fly rods again.

Gorman was infected with the fly fishing bug in the 1960s but didn’t know it at the time.

During his honeymoon, he and his wife Judy, who at one time wrote for the Reformer and died last year, were visiting Yellowstone National Park and were driving along the river in the early morning.

The mist was rising over the water and he glimpsed what he thought was a man practicing Tai Chi in the river.

It was more than six months later that he realized the man was actually fly-fishing.

He said he was drawn to fly-fishing because of what he witnessed that morning, because of its “aesthetics” and the attention it demands to do it properly.

“The things that aren’t relevant fall away,” said Gorman.

Tom Dorsey, of Thomas & Thomas, which makes bamboo fly rods in Greenfield, Mass., said he’s known Gorman for at least 20 years.

“He was a customer,” said Dorsey.

He loved the Thomas & Thomas rods so much that he often stopped in the shop just to watch them being made, said Dorsey.

“He learned a lot,” he said, and when Gorman took up the craft, he became a skilled rod maker.

“He makes beautiful stuff,” said Dorsey. “It’s really sad that this happened to him.”

Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com, or at 802-254-2311, ext. 160.

Which costs less over the long run: a hybrid car or an electric car? One of those extended-range electrics like the Chevy Volt?

Energy economist Doug Tiffany did what economists do: He crunched the numbers. now, the assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Extension Service in St. Paul has developed a free tool that anyone can download and use themselves to weigh the total costs of ownership as well as the greenhouse gas emissions of four different car types.

The tool – available at bit.ly/u970at – compares conventional gasoline-powered cars, hybrids, electric cars and extended-range electrics, which have small gasoline engines to go with their electric motors.

Often, a hybrid or electric vehicle will cost more off the lot, Tiffany said. But with his tool, people can look at the expected 15-year life of a car and figure out the total costs of such things as maintenance and fuel, he said.

The spreadsheet allows users to plug in how much they expect to drive each year, comparable prices of models they’re considering, rebates for electric vehicles, if any, and – a real wild card – what they expect prices will be for gas and electricity in their area.

A good rule of thumb is that if you expect to drive a lot every year, a hybrid or electric car becomes a better deal, the economist said.

If you don’t drive a lot, a conventional car actually might be more economical, he added.

That surprises some of his green friends who want an electric car, he said.

“They might be motivated to look at an electric, but it might not be the right choice for them,” Tiffany said.

But if you expect gasoline prices to skyrocket again, it might look like a smart choice.

“Some people buy a hybrid car and say, ‘I feel more security because I can get by with less gas.’ It’s a highly personal decision.”

For some, greenhouse gas emissions are more important.

Even measured against electric cars that depend heavily on coal-fired power plants in the Midwest, electric cars tend to come out ahead over time, Tiffany said.

His model assumes people will buy a new car with monthly payments spread out over five years. He also anticipates they’ll have to buy new batteries for their hybrid or electric vehicle after about seven or eight years.

In a hypothetical model already set up on the site, it takes about eight years for the cost of a hybrid or electric to even out with that of a conventional car, but Tiffany wants users to play around with the variables.

“They should find the vehicles that serve their needs, ask themselves what do I want to accomplish and finally, what can I afford,” he said.

Tiffany drives a Grand Caravan minivan. He said he’ll be looking for a new car soon.

“Sometimes, it’s a style statement,” he said of American car-buying habits.

After a pause, he added, “I guess a minivan is not a style statement.”

Leslie Brooks Suzukamo can be reached at 651-228-5475.

Japanese newspaper Nikkei is reporting that Nintendo is expected to post losses of approximately $1.32 billion for the first half of 2011.

It’s been a bit of a rough year for Nintendo. the 3DS’ somewhat mixed reception, the growth of the smartphone and tablet markets and the strong yen have all contributed to the company’s current financial woes. Nintendo is expected to post a recurring loss of about 100 billion yen (approximately $1.32 billion) during its announcement of its July-September earnings tomorrow morning, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei (via Reuters).

The 3DS has so far failed to set the handheld market alight in the same way that its predecessor the DS did, though August’s price drop has helped contribute to a boost in sales. a lack of quality titles is holding the system back, however, and many more casual gamers are turning to devices such as the iPhone and iPad rather than dedicated gaming handhelds. Nintendo is counting on its holiday lineup to help revitalize the system, but has also announced a DSi XL bundle for the holiday season, suggesting it doesn’t want to completely leave behind the 3DS profitable predecessor just yet.

Nintendo’s expected loss is almost double the 55 billion yen loss the company originally forecast. Nikkei reports that the company has incurred 40 billion yen simply in foreign exchange losses, mostly against the Euro. Shares in the company plummeted by around 7.5% to 10,800 yen following the newspaper’s report.

Also Read: Nintendo killed These Three Kirby Games

Intertainment’s Ortsbo Continues Growth Achieving 15% Increase

of Unique Users To Over 20 Million in first half of October

NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES / SAN MATEO / TORONTO – October 24, 2011 – Intertainment Media Inc. ("Intertainment" or the "Company") (TSXV:INT / OTCQX: ITMTF / FRA: I4T) announces that its social media, real time, experiential communications platform, Ortsbo.com (ortsbo.com) continues to accelerate growth in October, achieving up to 15% growth of the measured key performance metrics over the same calendar period in September 2011, with over 130 Million Minutes of User Engagement, 63 Million Page Views, 26 Million Online Sessions from over 20 Million Unique Users, from over 170 countries and territories during the period of October 1st to 15th, 2011. Mobile metrics are not reflected in these results. With the recent launch of Ortsbo’s iPhone app, O2O for the iPad, available at iTunes, its Windows Phone 7 app, available in the Windows Marketplace and the release of its Android mobile app, users are now spending time both on Ortsbo via mobile smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop based computers. the Company expects to begin reporting mobile metrics in early 2012 as its initial rollout of apps is completed. Trials of Ortsbo’s translation solution for sending and receiving emails through Microsoft Outlook, “O4O”, have been completed and commercial solutions will be available shortly. Record Results for October 2011 Ortsbo’s social media offering continues to accelerate achieving record results with substantive month over month growth in October 2011. Ortsbo has found that as new users become more adept with the site, the number of page views diminishes per user, as they do not require any of the support pages to use the site.

Oct. 1 to 15 Sept. 1 to 15 Period % Increase

Online Sessions 26,568,449 24,446,899 +9% Page Views 63,113,119 58,433,724 +8% Unique Users For Period 20,214,417 17,628,423 +15% Minutes of User Engagement 130,751,343 126,538,779 +03%

Ortsbo 040 Commercial – Ortsbo is preparing for the launch of its commercial version of Ortsbo for Microsoft Office based on a successful beta trial and excellent user feedback. October 30, 2011 – Stocks 2011 Vancouver, BC – David Lucatch, CEO of Intertainment Media Inc. will be a guest speaker at Stocks 2011 (stocks2011.ca). Stocks 2011 is an investment conference featuring expert insight into the stock market – from specific sectors and stocks to macroeconomic trends that affect the market. Small cap and emerging growth stock situations will be highlighted, with resource, clean & green tech, technology and industrial issuers offering upside potential to private and professional investors. – 2 – To become a Facebook Fan of Ortsbo, sign up at facebook.com/ortsbo Follow Ortsbo on Twitter For the Company’s corporate blog, please visit intertainmentmedia.com/blog about Ortsbo Inc. ortsbo.com Ortsbo (ortsbo.com) enables real-time conversational translation in over 50 languages and seamlessly integrates with today’s most popular social media platforms. Ortsbo Inc. is a subsidiary of Intertainment Media Inc., a Rich Media Applications leader, focused on delivering leading edge technology and marketing solutions enabling clients with power enhanced branding, loyalty initiatives and consumer engagement. Selected as a Microsoft Global Agency Initiative partner, Intertainment has joined an elite group of interactive agencies worldwide that Microsoft recommends to its Partners and Customers. Ortsbo’s flagship product for social media (ortsbo.com) supports global communications with instant translation capability, real time multi-lingual social media chat connects to PC and Mac computers, mobile browsers, as well as all major search engine chat platforms including Microsoft, Google and Yahoo!, along with Facebook, iChat, AIM, ICQ, Gadu-Gadu, Ovi, Lotus Sametime, LiveJournal and Tencent QQ and QQ International, China’s largest chat platforms and Twitter. Ortsbo allows users to communicate with family friends and colleagues around the world, providing users with the ability to break down language and cultural barriers through its easy to use, language centric interface. User demographics have continued to favor the BRIC countries with China remaining the number one usage country for Ortsbo. International rock legend, accomplished global entrepreneur and one of the world’s most recognized personalities, Gene Simmons has endorsed Ortsbo.com, having signed on as a business partner and to serve as Ortsbo’s official spokesperson. the personification of today’s globally connected, multi-cultural citizen, Simmons is fluent in five languages, including English, Hebrew, Hungarian, and German, as well as some Japanese and he’s working to add Mandarin to his repertoire. Simmons will lend his legendary personality to help spread the word about Ortsbo’s unique, translator experience platform that integrates seamlessly with the most popular social media platforms to enable users from around the world to instantly send and receive messages in their native language. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash to become an official spokesperson for Ortsbo. Leading Ortsbo’s global sports fan program, Nash will present and participate in a number of online fan chats with international athletes from a number of sports disciplines. Intertainment Media owns and operates a number of key properties including Ad Taffy, itiBiti, Ortsbo and Magnum. For more information on the Company and its properties, please visit intertainmentmedia.com Headquartered in the Toronto, Canada region, with offices in new York, Los Angeles and San Mateo, CA, Intertainment Media Inc. is listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the symbol “INT” (TSXV:INT) and in the US on the OTCQX under the symbol “ITMTF”. Intertainment is also traded in Europe, on XETRA under the symbol “I4T”.

neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain certain forward-looking information. all statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, is

forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. there can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. a description of assumptions used to develop such forward looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the company’s disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at sedar.com. the company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

This release may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of US laws. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward looking statements. Intertainment Media Inc. does not assume any obligation to update any forward looking information contained in this news release.

For Ortsbo / Intertainment Media Inc.:

Tel: 800-395-9943 / 905-763-3510

To learn more, visit: ortsbo.com

To learn more, visit: intertainmentmedia.com

Public Relations / Media Inquiries: SS | PR

Soft starters

ABB has released the new PSE soft starter family with two-phase torque control. Additional features include built-in class selectable electronic overload, built-in bypass and a LCD display. The starters are ideal for any application where space is limited but advanced functionality is required. The PSE features an efficient, compact design, and is suitable for all common applications including centrifugal pumps, fans, blowers, chillers, compressors and conveyor belts. ABB, abb.com

Oil, gas water quality monitoring

The CEL/890 Oil & Gas Water Quality Laboratory from Hach Co. provides the tools to produce real-time, consistent results in the field. all required equipment and accessories are included in a rugged carrying case for easy transportation. with the widespread adoption of hydraulic fracturing, the Oil & Gas industry is increasingly recognizing the impact water quality has on both the efficiency of the fracturing process and long-term production rates of the well. Hach Co., hach.com

Steam generator

Miura has achieved 9 ppm ultra-low NOx emissions performance for its new zero-side-clearance LX-300 on-demand steam generator. this new innovation brings the company’s entire line of LX boilers into the Ultra-Low NOx emissions performance category. The on-demand performance of the modular boilers makes a multiple boiler installation particularly well suited for larger-scale facilities and district-energy plants seeking improved thermal energy management customized for their specific demand profile. Miura Boiler, miuraboiler.com

Tank-washing nozzle

The New HydroWhirl Poseidon™ (HWP) from BETE is a Clean-In-Place (CIP) rotating tank-washing nozzle that combines a slow moving rotation and high-impact spray pattern for more efficient cleaning. It is ideal for tanks up to 22’ in diameter often found in the food, beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical industries where superior cleaning with reduced cycle times and low water, energy and chemical consumption are important considerations. The bearing-less design provides a slow, nearly constant rotation speed over the operating pressure range. BETE Fog Nozzle, bete.com

Mixers

The design of the Series F Mixers from Neptune Mixer Co. allows them to be inserted into the 2” bung of standard 55-gallon steel drums and then clamped to the drum’s lip for mixing of water-like solutions. The key to the design is the mixer’s folding propeller. When closed, the propeller can be inserted into the bung. Once inserted, the propeller, which is constructed of 316 stainless steel, opens to a diameter of 3 ¾”, at which time mixing operations can be performed at speeds up to 1,750 rpms. Neptune Mixer Co., neptune1.com

Equipment repair

New DFense Blok™ Quick Patch from ITW Devcon® is a ceramic bead-filled wear and abrasion epoxy formulated for emergency repairs to processing equipment, even in severe conditions. with a working time of four minutes and a fast cure time (functional cure in just 30 minutes), the material is ideal for the emergency patching and repairing of holes, leaks and cracks. by protecting against wear, abrasion and corrosion, it extends the equipment’s service life and minimizes downtime. ITW Devcon®, devcon.com

Static injection mixer

The Westfall Static Injection Mixer is a fixed-plate that features an orifice pattern which mixes by a combination of alternate vortex shedding and intense shear zone turbulence to achieve > 98% dispersion within 10 diameters downstream. Constructed from titanium, zirconium, or Hastelloy® for use in highly corrosive environments, this in-line fixed plate mixer can be designed for injecting up to six chemicals simultaneously. Westfall Manufacturing Co., westfallmfg.com

Spray evaporators

The new DBE-1000 from Dust Control Technology features Teflon® spiral nozzles for efficient droplet dispersal, designed to minimize fouling and clogging. The long-throw evaporator is engineered to reliably dissipate excess water in large areas. Initially targeted to mining, oil/gas (including coal bed methane), quarrying and water treatment applications, the system offers flexible plume height to adjust droplet drift. The large size and weight of the DBE-1000 typically dictates that it be located on land, and the mobile unit allows easy repositioning to accommodate wind speed and direction. Dust Control Technology, driboss.com

Portable pump

ITT-Jabsco has introduced the new VeraFlex™ Flexible Impeller Pump Cart system suited for use in the food processing industry. The minimal meshing action and low speed capability of the flexible impeller pumps allow both viscous fluids and solid particles to pass through without damage. The system offers up to 60 gpm, with Variable Frequency Drive, while incorporating gentle pumping action to carefully handle thin, viscous, and particle laden fluids. ITT-Jabsco, ittflowcontrol.com

More Industrial WaterWorld ArticlesPast IWW Issues

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AWE Night of Legends: old stars burned out, new starts shining bright. as a sports columnist, I’ve seen a lot of professional sport events in my time. Naturally, when the title "AWE – Night of Legends" flashed across my screen with the subtext "professional wrestling", I was intrigued. Especially considering I wasn’t really aware that other pro-wrestling companies existed other than the WWE and a few other minor leagues. upon further inspection, I learned that some of the wrestlers I grew up watching were part of the show, such as "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Fit Finlay, Kevin Nash, and Ricky Morton (of the Rock And Roll Express). Needless to say, I was extremely interested.However, my passion was soon derailed, as I learned that my former favorites have lost a couple of steps. Finlay could still swing like a champ, but Jim Duggan seemed as though he only attended the event due to having the day off from his day job. it was almost embarrassing.what really shocked me, though, was the amount of passion I saw the younger talent. You could tell they knew the world was watching, as they did not disappoint.One of the young participants, a guy named Jamen Olivencia, was extremely impressive. not only did his pre-match interview really make me hate him (which was likely the intention), but his match really opened my eyes. Like previously mentioned, I haven’t seen much outside the WWE, but Jamen and his opponent, Sonjay Dutt, really went at it like a pair of gladiators. I had no idea that wrestling moved this quickly. Jamen and Sonjay stole the show, period.Other than those two, there was a guy who went against Finlay named Alex Silva that really caught my eye. Finlay doesn’t seem like he’d be a fun guy to wrestle, because he seems like he makes you earn a win, but Silva really earned his spot in the ring. I wasn’t too fond of seeing Sunny out there, but whatever. I was shocked, happily, to see Silva win. Jim Duggan’s opponent also showed a lot of heart, a guy named Mohammed Akbar. he was the perfect opponent for a guy like Duggan, as it was a very big USA vs. the world-type atmosphere. Akbar came across as a seriously evil guy, and seemed a little too comfortable being the bad guy.there was very little otherwise worth mentioning, other than a surprise appearance by DDP and a midget match. Other than the young guys, I was a little disappointed. AWE has a solid roster with their younger wrestlers, so maybe they should stick to having them around.

Yes?

The performances this time will come from The Black Keys and OneRepublic, not Miley Cyrus and Dave Matthews.

The venue will be University Village, not Bellevue Square.

But the M.O. and goal are the same: Generate excitement for the opening of a Microsoft Store, and hope that carries over to the brand and the products in the store.

The latest Microsoft Store — the software giant’s 12th — is to open Thursday morning at University Village, right across the parking lot from an Apple Store.

High-profile events are scheduled, including the opportunity to play on Kinect for Xbox 360 game consoles with retiring Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Kasey Keller and former Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez on Thursday, and performances by The Black Keys and OneRepublic on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The new retail store, with 40 to 50 employees, is the second for Microsoft in the area. The Bellevue Square store, where Cyrus and Matthews performed, opened last year.

Nationwide, Microsoft plans to open two more this fall — in California and Virginia. And Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said earlier this year that the company plans to get to 75 stores in the next two or three years.

The idea is to put a fun and friendly face on a company sometimes perceived as stodgy, and to better position the brand in consumers’ minds — a weak spot for some Microsoft products.

While Microsoft dominates with its Windows operating system and its enterprise operations for businesses, its record with consumers has been spottier.

Console leader

It leads in sales of its game console, the Xbox 360; and the Kinect for Xbox, with its motion-sensing and voice technology, has been popular.

But that buzz hasn’t translated into significant sales of Windows Phone, which lags far behind its competitors.

The company is even farther behind in the market for Web tablets.

That’s why having a way to reach customers directly and give them hands-on experiences with Microsoft products is especially important now, with the expected launch of the newest Windows Phone 7.5 Mango handsets sometime in the next few weeks.

And Windows 8 Web tablets are coming, perhaps as soon as 2012.

“Where else can they showcase their products?” asked Kate Newlin, a new York-based business-strategy consultant. “A number of the classic places have dried up, gone away, like Circuit City. even at the places that are still around, they can’t really do what it is they’d like to do to tell the bells-and-whistles pieces.”

Decade old

A tech-company retail store is nothing new, of course.

Apple opened its first store about 10 years ago and today has more than 300 around the world.

All, or nearly all, of Microsoft’s stores are near Apple stores — no accident since the shopping centers where they’re located are heavily trafficked and generate some of the highest revenue per square foot in the U.S.

When Microsoft decided to open a store a few doors down from the Apple Store in Bellevue Square, the Apple folks worried it would cut into their sales, said Bellevue Square owner Kemper Freeman Jr.

“Instead, the first 30 days of the Microsoft Store, the Apple Store’s sales were up 87 percent for the month,” Freeman said. “I wish my competitors could help me that much.”

What they found out was that having two stores in the same shopping center did more than if only one were there.

“People like to comparison-shop, even if they tend to be a Microsoft fan or an Apple fan,” said Freeman, who added that both stores are among the most successful retailers in Bellevue Square these days.

Stellar sales

Jeff Green, a Phoenix-based retail analyst, says that, in total, both Apple and Microsoft’s stores rank well above the industry average in sales.

Apple’s average sales per square foot stands at about $5,250, he estimates, while Microsoft’s is at $1,500 — still about three times that of the industry average for specialty stores.

Microsoft won’t confirm that figure nor will it disclose whether the stores are profitable yet.

But Mika Yamamoto, Microsoft’s general manager of marketing and customer experiences, said the stores are seeing year-over-year increases in revenue.

She also said the stores’ customer-satisfaction scores, as well as indicators of how likely a customer will recommend the stores to family and friends, are high.

The stores provide a testing ground to see what approaches work best in reaching customers, something Microsoft can relay to its partners who sell its products.

“We hope the entire ecosystem can learn [from what we learn at the Microsoft stores how best] to sell Office or demonstrate Kinect,” Yamamoto said.

Made for testing

When customers walk into the 4,198-square-foot store at U-Village, they can expect to see — and try out — everything from Windows 7 PCs and Windows Phones to Kinect for Xbox 360.

It’s a smart move, according to Newlin, the business-strategy consultant.

As Microsoft develops its flagship operating system — with the upcoming Windows 8 featuring a radical redesign with a touch-friendly, tile interface — and launches its new version of Windows Phone, it has several options to try to reach customers.

It can fly at the “30,000-foot level of advertising, or [go down to] the beg-and-wheedle level, where you hope the sales guy at the big-box store is going to deliver the message,” Newlin said.

Or there’s a third option: “To own the story, own their own narrative,” she said. The stores then become part of Microsoft’s overall communications strategy. “They’d be crazy if they don’t.”

Janet I. Tu: 206-464-2272 or jtu@seattletimes.com

Seems many Google executives have children enrolled in the Waldorf schools in Los Altos where computers are not used until the 8th grade and even then only on a limited basis.

As the New York Times reported, computers “are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home,” and from the number of Silicon Valley executives’ families attending the schools seems this double standard is popular.

While Google executive Alan Eagle may “fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school,” four plus years ago the company joined the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Foundation which sponsored giving laptops to children in third World countries.

“OLPC’s mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education.”

So give them to everyone except their own children? do Google execs know something different about child development? Did they themselves not have them and were drawn to the industry because they missed what others had?

Eagle proudly said his fifth grade daughter doesn’t know how to use Google and his eighth grade son is just learning his way around the search engine. Guess he doesn’t know CEO Larry Page grew up in a house filled with computers and even built a printer out of Legos. Or that Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin got his first computer – a Commodore 64 – at age 9.

Steve Jobs, the founders of Yahoo and many others were early users of computers. Eagle’s stance seems a little harsh and even a little insulting to Google and its users.

“At Google and all these places, we make technology as brain-dead easy to use as possible,” Eagle told the Times.

So who are these ‘brain-dead’ users? The rest of us who cannot afford to spend over $17,000 a year on elementary school? The children in third world countries?

The school backs its methods with high rates of graduates going to college and gaining post graduate degrees – not for an instance thinking it could be the influence of the educated parents who would see this not happening as failure.

Guess the Doodle 4 Google program will be dropped some time soon. The “competition where we invite K-12 students to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign Google’s homepage logo for millions to see. At Google, we believe that dreaming about future possibilities leads to tomorrow’s leaders and inventors, so this year we invited U.S. kids to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, “What I’d like to do someday…”

Guess the Waldorf kids’ answers would be use a computer.

Learn tactics for extending your search marketing initiatives to display, mobile, and social media in time for the upcoming holiday e-commerce season. Register for this free ClickZ webcast, which takes place 1 PM ET/10 AM PT Tuesday Oct. 25.

The funniest thing you could say about a building dedicated to dead European composers is that it could only make sense now, in the age of American hip-hop. but the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, gleaming and screaming on a small hill in a midsize city, represents a big leap into the present for both the fine arts and architecture.

Kansas City’s newest showpiece creates a framework for how dusty old orchestras can survive in a distracted world. The center takes all the micro things needed to put on a good show, like honed acoustics, advanced stage mechanics, comfy seats, and remixes them with today’s macro realities — that arts groups need to work together, look as relevant as the newest Apple Store miracle.

When the hall offered a public preview last month, 50,000 people lined up. all those folks won’t buy tickets for the symphony, or for the city’s opera and ballet companies, which share this complex, but they are touched by what architect Moshe Safdie has given this aging metropolis fighting back hard from decades of decline: irrefutable evidence that Kansas City is a cultured place.

Overshadowing the achievement of the two very fine performance halls inside is the feature everyone is talking about, the building’s exterior north wall; two sets of stainless steel bands that curve upward, outward and then inward, starting at the ground and ending in peaks nine stories high. From a distance, the walls resemble waves, or two identical conch shells set side-by-side.

But this is nature’s symmetry switched up by an architect’s purposeful hand. The bands, separated by concrete panels, have a syncopated rhythm that varies in depth, width and height. If there is a pattern, it is improvised, responding purely to the function of the two very different theaters inside.

A century ago, we might have said the placement of these repeated and reinterpreted lines echoed classical music itself — variations on a theme, if you will. Fifty years ago, we might have compared them to jazz — a phrase turned upside down and inside out.

But the Kauffman Center is too ornery for the orderly world of Bach or Handel, too much of a solo act to trade riffs with Monk or Miles. What you hear at as you pass by 16th and Broadway streets is a contemporary, urban beat, a pummeling, pumped- up, tripped-out mix.

Safide has tapped his inner DJ. his building is brash, its theme is itself. The place calls out its own name again and again, the way Jay-Z does.

Is it appropriate for a concert hall to have a rapper-sized ego? maybe not, though it seems inevitable for the Kauffman Center. A $413 million investment in glass and steel is going to stand out in a city of concrete and bricks. and while its placement, on a hill at the edge of he urban core, allows for killer views from the massive lobby, the siting means it will always stand apart from its surroundings, on the elite side of the cultural rift.

Still, confidence, even cockiness, is a winning trait these days, and that makes this building a landmark product of its time.

Three spaces, one roof

The Kauffman Center’s interior star is Helzberg Hall, the 1,600-seat hub of the Kansas City Symphony. Aside from its blue velvety seat covers, the oval hall is nearly all wood, Douglas fir panels on the walls and floors, sonic-friendly Alaskan cedar on the stage. Mimicking the building’s trademark exterior, panels of stainless steel mesh curve up the back wall and morph into the ceiling.

The space feels a bit sacred, cathedral-like, though it is warmed considerably by the forward-thinking placement of its stage. instead of being at the front of the hall, it protrudes out into about a third of the space. Concerts are not exactly “in the round,” but a considerable 40 percent of the seats are either on the side or behind the stage.

Audience members aren’t forced to stare at the conductor’s back. they can see the fingers of violinists, the pursed lips of bassoonists, and they can see each other’s faces, transforming the sit-and-listen symphony experience into something broader — an old-school form of multimedia.

The other performance space, the 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre, where the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Kansas City Ballet will perform, follows the traditional European opera house shape. It is a more formal affair with a defined proscenium stage. The most notable characteristics here are the cantilevered balconies fronted in crinkled mylar and glimmering gold LEDs and set behind beveled resin. The farthest chair is just 100 feet from the stage.

And the stage is remarkable: 5,000 square feet with fly space rising 74 feet. It can support a backdrop as heavy as 2,000 pounds and as tall as 30 feet.

Neither theater overshadows Brandmeyer great Hall, the facility’s 15,000-square-foot grand entrance and lobby. The exterior wall and the roof are made of a frameless and nearly seamless grid of glass panels held up by an army of 27 hard-working cables and rods that stretch along the interior ceiling right through to the outside, where they are anchored into the ground.

The interior details are ethereal, pale floors coated in Portuguese limestone, curved balconies and stairwells that hang over the room, bringing to mind Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Ambition and art, unbridled

Great buildings don’t come cheap or easy. The people in Kansas City know that. just four years ago, they pulled together to fund the $200 million Bloch Building, architect Steven Holl’s brilliant addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. (Brilliant as in smart, but it also lights up at night).

The Kauffman Center took 15 years to conceive, plan, fund and build. Its main proponent, Julia Irene Kauffman — the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, named for her late mother, seeded the project with a $105 million gift in 2000 — saw the dream through plenty of doubt and the economic fallout that followed Sept. 11, 2001.

Gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals have brought the fundraising total to $380 million. The city has helped, as well, by building a $47 million parking garage on the premises.

There’s a huge bet on the table that this formidable piece of architecture can spark broader downtown redevelopment and bolster the city’s national reputation.

But arts fans are likely to see a return on their investment no matter how things play out. Sophisticated art houses bring out the best in artists; they inspire directors and production designers to try all kinds of things, and not necessarily on the experimental side.

Last weekend, the Kansas City Ballet premiered its three-act “Tom Sawyer,” based on the mark Twain classic. Such a safe, inspirational choice could easily have come off as too traditional, so Midwestern.

But the Kauffman Center gave it cover. Audiences impressed by the building opened their souls to the show. in return, they got a show to remember, a production fueled by not just great dance but by a great setting. Choreographer William Whitener let those Missouri troublemakers dance cute at first, then pushed them toward the edge for Twain’s dark, murderous climax.

It was a long way from hip- hop, but it was no doubt fresh, a dance that could only have happened at this place, at this time. That’s what makes the performing arts competitive.

Check out all the Kauffman Center’s programming on the web at kauffmancenter.org.

Ray mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540 or rrinaldi@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter at @dparchitecture and on Facebook at Denver Post Architecture.

Sights and sounds, by the numbers

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

16th and Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.

Size: 285,000 square feet

Architect: Moshe Safdie/Safdie Architects with offices in Boston, Jerusalem, Toronto and Singapore

Acoustics: Tokyo-based Nagata Acoustics

Total budget: $413 million, including $326 million for the building and $40 million for an endowment, both from private sources, plus a $47 million parking garage, built and owned by Kansas City.

Raised so far: $380 million, which includes donations from 2,100 individuals, corporations and foundations. A $105 million gift from the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation seeded the project.

The performing spaces

Helzberg Hall: The 1,600 seat home of the Kansas City Symphony houses a 5,548-pipe organ

Mauriel Kauffman Theatre: The 1,800-seat home for the Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera of Kansas City has a 5,000-square-foot stage and an orchestra pit large enough for 96 musicians.

Features

40,000 square feet of glass

10.8 million pounds of structural steel

Dressing-room space for 250 performers