WALL STREET JOURNAL – Imagine using your phone to move a couch around your living room. Or put false eyelashes on your face. Or open a wedding cake to see the filling Small firms are giving customers the chance to do just that and more—using augmented reality. Big businesses, of course, are starting to use the technology, as well. But the tool can be especially powerful for smaller firms on tighter budgets. Augmented reality lets them avoid producing lots of sample items or renting large showrooms to show off goods. With augmented reality, digital images can be placed over real-world images or live video on a phone or another device. People can manipulate images on-screen, such as moving a 3-D image of a couch around a real-world room to see how it…

WALL STREET JOURNAL – After retiring from football in 1984, Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, whose “Immaculate Reception” is a highlight-reel regular, had no idea what he wanted to do; he just knew he wanted to work. “I told myself that no matter what, you can’t be idle,” he recalls. Mr. Harris had no debt and some career earnings socked away. But in the 1970s and ’80s, star athletes didn’t earn multimillion-dollar salaries and often needed second careers. At Pennsylvania State University, Mr. Harris majored in food service and hotel administration. “I never thought I’d actually end up playing pro football,” he says. “I figured I’d just end up managing a hotel someplace.” Instead, he was drafted by the Steelers, and he helped them win four Super Bowls.…

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Despite his Ph.D. and scholarly authorship, Brian May’s rock and roll is thankfully still intact. During a recent lecture at the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Auditorium at the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, May — the former Queen lead guitarist turned lettered astrophysicist —  walked on stage wearing a black coat, tails and white sneakers, signature curly mop sitting atop his head. His appearance pleased the many Queen fans in the audience. Day was joined onstage by Elena Vidal, the co-author of “A Village Lost and Found,” his book on Stereoscopy. (The title refers to the village scenes depicted in the stereo cards of 19 century photographer T.R. Williams.) Stereoscopy is a kind of 19 century 3D photography that documented the everyday lives of people, typically in rural settings.…