Business & Real Estate

Courtesy of Jenny Huang
Computer science engineers Siva Nattamai, left, and Pavan Kumar aim to advance Telehealth technology through Cocoon Cam, their Mountain View-based startup. Cocoon Cam’s smart baby monitor uses artificial intelligence to track the vital signs and sleeping patterns of infants and toddlers.

Artificial intelligence has helped us navigate our computer searches for work, school and leisure time. It also serves as the basis for efforts in making cars, trucks and drones fully autonomous. What AI can do in aiding what humans cannot do in enhancing various aspects of our lives is fascinating.

I have been amazed with AI in the past few weeks, learning about its history, understanding its current capabilities and where it’s going. To further my perspective on how AI is applied in real life, I recently interviewed employees at two local startup companies that are leveraging AI to transform their respective markets. Their work has motivated me to present this column as one in a two-part series focusing on AI.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

A new restaurant is pulling into the old station.

Built circa 1913, the repurposed train depot previously occupied by Voyageur du Temps at 288 First St. in downtown Los Altos will soon house Bluestone Lane, a cafe with outposts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

Los Altos Hills resident Jean-Luc Kayigire is incorporating personal touches at his new bar, currently referred to as the Amandine Project, in the old Honcho space at 235 First St. The bar is in the soft-opening phase, enabling local residents to note the project’s progress.

Jean-Luc Kayigire came up with a code name for his new Los Altos cocktail bar while it serves as a pop-up with limited, spontaneous hours: the Amandine Project.

Until the old Honcho digs at 235 First St. are remodeled to Kayigire’s liking and he and his staff decide among three names floating around, that’s the only name that will be advertised.

Los Altos

1436 Brookmill Road, Federici Trust to S. & C. Kim for $2,840,000

1161 Lammy Place, Wilson-Chang Trust to Marshall Trust for $3,500,000

Among all the different types of investments available these days, U.S. Treasury securities – and funds investing in them – are the only ones considered risk-free. An allocation to Treasuries helps mitigate overall risk. But there are two different types: Treasury notes/bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). Which should you use?

TIPS and Treasury notes/bonds are issued by the U.S. government in maturities of five, 10 and 30 years (Treasury notes additionally come in two-, three- and seven-year maturities). Both have fixed interest rates that are paid semiannually. The biggest difference between them is that TIPS provide protection against rising inflation. This is accomplished by annually adjusting the principal of a TIPS bond based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Town Crier File Photo

The Los Altos Farmers’ Market returns to State Street on Thursday.

The Los Altos Farmers’ Market is slated to return 4-8 p.m. Thursday along State Street in the downtown triangle.

To kick off the season, the market will host a variety of activities for both children and adults, including kids crafts, sangria tasting, live music and a $100 market basket raffle. A ribbon cutting is set for 5 p.m. to officially open the market for the 2019 season.