We went to Cirque du Soleil last weekend. My son had to give up a trip to Knotts Berry Farm with a neighbor, but I'd purchased tickets a long time ago. Seats were nearly perfect: "center court", three rows back from an aisle that gave a straight view down to the stage.
I'd been to an ersatz Cirque a while back ("Cirque Dreams" when the South Bay Civic Light Theater was still bringing in outsiders instead of producing locally) and been disappointed. The real deal was quite a bit better. I guess you get what you pay for.
2007-09-20
2007-09-11
Interior sliding door
I might want an interior sliding door at some point. The Sliding Door Company is local and has some nice pictures on their web site.
2007-09-10
Gardena Willows
To my knowledge of all the South Bay Cities, only Lawndale, Hawthorne, and maybe Lomita don't have a native restoration effort underway*. Gardena springs to mind as one of the impoverished "landlocked" cities, but even they now have a 13 acre restoration effort. See The Gardena Willows.
I keep the Lawndale City in mind as I tend my front yard meadow, which received a haircut this weekend to qwell any querlous old lady neighbors who think that plants going to seed is unnatural: All those seed yarrow seed heads got summarily wacked off. The reason for this is that Lawndale went so far as to cite the Hendersons for maintaining native plants on their property. Lawndale eventually backed down, but only after the Hendersons retained an attorney and fought a pitched PR battle. Huell Howser profiled their garden.
*El Segundo has the El Segundo Blue butterfly habitat and some restored dunes at LAX (maybe not El Segundo proper, but close enough), Manhattan Beach has the MB Botanical Garden, Redondo and Torrance have some restored beachside (though ignorant people complain that it's brown at the end of summer, duh), Torrance also has the Madrona Marsh. Lomita has a small fenced lot around the last vestiges of a vernal pool that I read about at least a year ago. Hmm. Maybe Lomita doesn't have anything. Palos Verdes (all areas) has pays special attention to their "blue line" streams and canyons.
I keep the Lawndale City in mind as I tend my front yard meadow, which received a haircut this weekend to qwell any querlous old lady neighbors who think that plants going to seed is unnatural: All those seed yarrow seed heads got summarily wacked off. The reason for this is that Lawndale went so far as to cite the Hendersons for maintaining native plants on their property. Lawndale eventually backed down, but only after the Hendersons retained an attorney and fought a pitched PR battle. Huell Howser profiled their garden.
*El Segundo has the El Segundo Blue butterfly habitat and some restored dunes at LAX (maybe not El Segundo proper, but close enough), Manhattan Beach has the MB Botanical Garden, Redondo and Torrance have some restored beachside (though ignorant people complain that it's brown at the end of summer, duh), Torrance also has the Madrona Marsh. Lomita has a small fenced lot around the last vestiges of a vernal pool that I read about at least a year ago. Hmm. Maybe Lomita doesn't have anything. Palos Verdes (all areas) has pays special attention to their "blue line" streams and canyons.
Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind
That's the title of a book by Don Silvers that I just downloaded. The book came recommended from the LA Times home repair blog, Pardon Our Dust. Recently I found I've been reading the LA Times blogs more regularly (particularly Pardon Our Dust and LA Land). Don has a separate website as well.
The book starts with a statement that spoke to me.
Most homeowners face an immediate obstacle—the kitchen triangle. What is the kitchen triangle? You won’t find it in Webster’s. You will find it in most American homes, however. For decades, it has been the great bane of sensible kitchen design.
The work triangle has been on my mind since going over my first designs. My intended kitchen simply won't fit into any "normal" sort of triangle. Fortunately Don Silvers has a concept of work flow which promises to untangle my design choices. As I understand it after reading the first chapter, Don likes to design for the maximum (dishes, people, whatever) and then try to telescope that capability into the available space: If you can make a meal for 10 at Thanksgiving then you should surely be able to make a meal for 2 on a weekday night. His approach is kitchen systems engineering, a methodology that I am well acquainted with.
Take the title of the second chapter, "Storage Subsystems" in which one of the first paragraphs starts,
As important as it is, both in terms of style and function, cabinetry often presents a formidable obstacle to good kitchen design. In a properly designed kitchen, it is the appliances that drive the design, and the cabinets work to support appliance placement. But the cabinet industry has long set the standards when it comes to dimensions. In a sort of tail-wagging-the-dog situation, manufacturers create appliances to fit into the cabinet industry’s standardized 22 inch deep European to 24 inch deep American cabinets. Stop for a moment and consider the consequences: Cooktops are designed to fit a cabinet, not to address whether you cook for 2, 6, 12, or 20 people.
What follows are notes from the book that I thought useful enough to give careful consideration to. There's a bunch of ideas that I already have a strong opinion on which are not noted here.
1. Two sinks!! See if you can shoehorn in a second sink, each with a garbage disposal. A second sink is just the type of utility station that can break the kitchen triangle, split the workload, and create separate flow patterns for the different tasks each handles. As such, it is well worth the cost.
2. Built-in food centers are motors set directly into the counter that attach to a food processor, blender, or other appliance. They are worth considering for small kitchens with minimal counter space. These machines can mix, blend, grind coffee, crush ice and perform a dozen tasks in a compact space. A quick Google seach "kitchen appliance built-in blender" or the like turned up the Broan/ Nutone Kitchen Center KC-PWR-1SS Power Base at
http://www.monstermarketplace.com/Home/Landing347a445.html.
It's a bit discouraging that they have only a mixer and blender attachment. I'd like dough kneading, food processor, and juicer attachments to make this a true space saver for a small kitchen, particularly since you'd give up valuable counter top to have it. Maybe another brand will have those or they are available elsewhere. Needs more investigation.
3. A "rolling island" - A kitchen needs to be a minimum of 12 feet wide to accommodate a 24 inch deep island.... So if you don’t have a 12 to 14 foot wide kitchen, you can still very effectively extend your counter space by using what is actually a type of rolling island.
4. 30" deep counters created by furring out standard base cabinets. 15" to 18" recommended counter top to upper cabinets distance If you have sufficient cabinet storage—and you’re tall enough—I would recommend the 18 inch height. This means the bottom shelf of the cabinet will be four feet, seven inches from the floor. This allows stowing small appliances (e.g. coffeemaker) at the back of the counter with plenty of workspace left in front.
5. He personally finds a soap dispenser built into sink indispensable ;-) This could be a nice space saver, but I keep imagining the rusted broken stub of the dispenser marring my otherwise perfect kitchen a couple years down the line. That plastic doesn't last all that long and replacement parts may go unavailable.
6. Buy a European dishwasher for quiet, speed and efficiency. Claims it's better to not pre-rinse dishes for the dishwasher because dishwasher soap is highly alkaline. Without food residue to work on, the soap works directly on the dish surface, potentially etching it. The soap can also etch glasses and pit silverware. One of the ways you can combat this dishwasher wear and tear is to only fill the main soap compartment of the standard two. As it turns out, the water in the first rinse cycle usually isn’t hot enough to dissolve the soap anyway. Later, If you are right handed, the dishwasher belongs to the left of the sink; if you are left handed, it belongs to the right. All dishwashers come 34 to 34-1/2 inches high, so fitting them under the standard 36 inch counter is no problem. However, if you wish to lower the counter, only European models come with adjustable legs that allow the dishwasher to be raised or lowered two to three inches.
7. Lighting Lamps and fixtures under wall cabinets will light three-quarters of the counter, from the backsplash out. The color of your counter surface will reflect light, so the lighter the counter, the better the light. Your ceiling lamps and fixtures should be placed above the outer quarter of your counter so that, with your cabinet lighting, all surfaces will be lit. Finally, your overhead lighting should cast a balanced light and not leave any dark spots.
8. Consider efficiency of flow: food out, dirty dishes in, groceries in and away, etc
Overall this was a good book for the download price of around $15.00 but wouldn't be tops on my list at the dead trees price ($30 plus $5 shipping if ordered online). Most example drawings showed larger kitchens than mine could ever be: Nearly all had room for an island. In that sense the book was not on target for me. However, it made up for that by validating my sense of dissatisfaction with the work triangle concept and giving me an alternative kitchen design meme, namely flow.
A chapter on "Tools" (meaning pots, pans, and cutlery) seems gratuitous. Perhaps it was added for completeness, but it was redundant for me and most likely for anyone who knows a thing about cooking. The somewhat short length of the book suggests that this is secondary filler material. The photo gallery at the end of the book has nothing but large kitchens.
The book starts with a statement that spoke to me.
Most homeowners face an immediate obstacle—the kitchen triangle. What is the kitchen triangle? You won’t find it in Webster’s. You will find it in most American homes, however. For decades, it has been the great bane of sensible kitchen design.
The work triangle has been on my mind since going over my first designs. My intended kitchen simply won't fit into any "normal" sort of triangle. Fortunately Don Silvers has a concept of work flow which promises to untangle my design choices. As I understand it after reading the first chapter, Don likes to design for the maximum (dishes, people, whatever) and then try to telescope that capability into the available space: If you can make a meal for 10 at Thanksgiving then you should surely be able to make a meal for 2 on a weekday night. His approach is kitchen systems engineering, a methodology that I am well acquainted with.
Take the title of the second chapter, "Storage Subsystems" in which one of the first paragraphs starts,
As important as it is, both in terms of style and function, cabinetry often presents a formidable obstacle to good kitchen design. In a properly designed kitchen, it is the appliances that drive the design, and the cabinets work to support appliance placement. But the cabinet industry has long set the standards when it comes to dimensions. In a sort of tail-wagging-the-dog situation, manufacturers create appliances to fit into the cabinet industry’s standardized 22 inch deep European to 24 inch deep American cabinets. Stop for a moment and consider the consequences: Cooktops are designed to fit a cabinet, not to address whether you cook for 2, 6, 12, or 20 people.
What follows are notes from the book that I thought useful enough to give careful consideration to. There's a bunch of ideas that I already have a strong opinion on which are not noted here.
1. Two sinks!! See if you can shoehorn in a second sink, each with a garbage disposal. A second sink is just the type of utility station that can break the kitchen triangle, split the workload, and create separate flow patterns for the different tasks each handles. As such, it is well worth the cost.
2. Built-in food centers are motors set directly into the counter that attach to a food processor, blender, or other appliance. They are worth considering for small kitchens with minimal counter space. These machines can mix, blend, grind coffee, crush ice and perform a dozen tasks in a compact space. A quick Google seach "kitchen appliance built-in blender" or the like turned up the Broan/ Nutone Kitchen Center KC-PWR-1SS Power Base at
http://www.monstermarketplace.com/Home/Landing347a445.html.
It's a bit discouraging that they have only a mixer and blender attachment. I'd like dough kneading, food processor, and juicer attachments to make this a true space saver for a small kitchen, particularly since you'd give up valuable counter top to have it. Maybe another brand will have those or they are available elsewhere. Needs more investigation.
3. A "rolling island" - A kitchen needs to be a minimum of 12 feet wide to accommodate a 24 inch deep island.... So if you don’t have a 12 to 14 foot wide kitchen, you can still very effectively extend your counter space by using what is actually a type of rolling island.
4. 30" deep counters created by furring out standard base cabinets. 15" to 18" recommended counter top to upper cabinets distance If you have sufficient cabinet storage—and you’re tall enough—I would recommend the 18 inch height. This means the bottom shelf of the cabinet will be four feet, seven inches from the floor. This allows stowing small appliances (e.g. coffeemaker) at the back of the counter with plenty of workspace left in front.
5. He personally finds a soap dispenser built into sink indispensable ;-) This could be a nice space saver, but I keep imagining the rusted broken stub of the dispenser marring my otherwise perfect kitchen a couple years down the line. That plastic doesn't last all that long and replacement parts may go unavailable.
6. Buy a European dishwasher for quiet, speed and efficiency. Claims it's better to not pre-rinse dishes for the dishwasher because dishwasher soap is highly alkaline. Without food residue to work on, the soap works directly on the dish surface, potentially etching it. The soap can also etch glasses and pit silverware. One of the ways you can combat this dishwasher wear and tear is to only fill the main soap compartment of the standard two. As it turns out, the water in the first rinse cycle usually isn’t hot enough to dissolve the soap anyway. Later, If you are right handed, the dishwasher belongs to the left of the sink; if you are left handed, it belongs to the right. All dishwashers come 34 to 34-1/2 inches high, so fitting them under the standard 36 inch counter is no problem. However, if you wish to lower the counter, only European models come with adjustable legs that allow the dishwasher to be raised or lowered two to three inches.
7. Lighting Lamps and fixtures under wall cabinets will light three-quarters of the counter, from the backsplash out. The color of your counter surface will reflect light, so the lighter the counter, the better the light. Your ceiling lamps and fixtures should be placed above the outer quarter of your counter so that, with your cabinet lighting, all surfaces will be lit. Finally, your overhead lighting should cast a balanced light and not leave any dark spots.
8. Consider efficiency of flow: food out, dirty dishes in, groceries in and away, etc
Overall this was a good book for the download price of around $15.00 but wouldn't be tops on my list at the dead trees price ($30 plus $5 shipping if ordered online). Most example drawings showed larger kitchens than mine could ever be: Nearly all had room for an island. In that sense the book was not on target for me. However, it made up for that by validating my sense of dissatisfaction with the work triangle concept and giving me an alternative kitchen design meme, namely flow.
A chapter on "Tools" (meaning pots, pans, and cutlery) seems gratuitous. Perhaps it was added for completeness, but it was redundant for me and most likely for anyone who knows a thing about cooking. The somewhat short length of the book suggests that this is secondary filler material. The photo gallery at the end of the book has nothing but large kitchens.
2007-09-08
Sandia Peak aerial tram ride
On the 28th I had a few unexpected hours left after a meeting in Albuquerque, so I called friends Michelle and Dave. No answer. Undoubtedly, they were working like most normal people, so I took myself up the Sandia Peak Tramway. For just under $20 (parking and tram ticket) I took the longest aerial tram ride in the world, 2.7 miles. I wish I had taken a camera with me: it was spectacular! Surprisingly, the tramway has only one tower located midway between top and bottom. Passage by the tower is slower than normal due to buffeting by winds which were 12-18 MPH on the day I took the tram. Approach to and passage by the tower is watched through telescope from the base terminus and coordinated by voice with the cabin operator. "Winds are steady and we're moving about a foot from side to side."
You can see about 10% of New Mexico from the peak on a clear day. I don't know if the 28th was exceptionally clear or not, but I could see all the way up to Los Alamos and far into the distance all around. The top has a ranger station with some interpretive information and restaurant which serves as a ski lodge in winter for downhill skiing located on the opposite side of the peak.
You can see about 10% of New Mexico from the peak on a clear day. I don't know if the 28th was exceptionally clear or not, but I could see all the way up to Los Alamos and far into the distance all around. The top has a ranger station with some interpretive information and restaurant which serves as a ski lodge in winter for downhill skiing located on the opposite side of the peak.
2007-09-06
Tomatoes and Onions and Peppers, Oh My!
Overall, my vegetable garden has suffered from my lack of attention this year. Here's how it went.
It's run through the height of tomato production this year, but there's still a few good weeks left. The very best tomatoes were Sweet 100s, which I planted first from a nursery start, pretty early in the season. These have been consistently good in my garden. I've always preferred cherry tomatoes for eating which makes my second favorite this year a slight surprise - it's Green Zebra, an heirloom variety with orange and green zebra stripes that I started from seed about the time I planted the Sweet 100 start. This was planned in order to phase the arrival of my tomatoes over the summer and not peak too soon or all at once. I think I'll do that again, but I don't feel that it was incredibly successful, since growth depends primarily on degree days (days when it's above a certain critical temperature), and once in the ground all the plants see the same number of degree days. Due to cool weather, an early start can idle for quite a while before really getting going - just at the same time as the newly sprouted seeds are ready to transfer into the ground. The effective growth difference at that point is only two weeks or so.
Third place this year was the Sun Gold, which I raved about last year. Why the drop in taste? These are a commercial variety and ought to be consistent from year to year. I started this one from seed as well. Despite my high expectations, they were neither as prolific nor as delicious as last year.
Finally, I had a couple San Marzano tomato plants started from seed well after the others had gotten under way. This is a plum tomato from Italy (the commercial seed pack was hand carried across the Atlantic) which we mostly find as canned tomatoes in the supermarket on account of their thin and easily damaged skins. I had high hopes for this tomato, but as of now the several plants haven't really had a successful crop. One problem has been that I had two of four plants in plastic containers, which baked in the sun while I was away, leading to blossom end rot on their limited production. The two others in the ground are not in maximally favorable spots, but that really shouldn't inhibit them to the degree that I've seen. They seem to be growing better now, so perhaps they prefer a late season bloomer. The one or two that I have tasted were really promising.
Onions didn't do so well in my garden. I had two varieties: a small Italian and a more normal yellow variety. They grew, but perhaps didn't get enough water or have rich enough soil to grow well. They tended to be stepped upon while moving about the garden. I think there's one large onion left.
I grew some Anaheim chili peppers and some Italian bell peppers with a shape that I've never seen before - sort of a hoop skirt like shape; at least that's what the package illustration looked like. So far the Italian bells haven't bloomed, but they look like they're getting ready for a late summer growth spurt. The Anaheim chilies I left on the plants until they were red and sweet - not a hint of hot. As a preparation, I've sliced some up the side, de-seeeded and de-veined, added a slice of mild cheese and grilled these. An early taste of a green Anaheim chili had me convinced these were going to be hot, but it turned out not to be the case for the late harvest fruits.
My berries suffered from low production due to our lack of rain. I didn't water them until too late. I've been I'm hoping that next year will be a bumper crop since I've paid more attention to top surface mulching over the whole garden and specifically to watering the berries as the new canes grow in.
Despite my green thumb shortcomings, I'm trying to figure out how I can grow more next year. Need more space.
It's run through the height of tomato production this year, but there's still a few good weeks left. The very best tomatoes were Sweet 100s, which I planted first from a nursery start, pretty early in the season. These have been consistently good in my garden. I've always preferred cherry tomatoes for eating which makes my second favorite this year a slight surprise - it's Green Zebra, an heirloom variety with orange and green zebra stripes that I started from seed about the time I planted the Sweet 100 start. This was planned in order to phase the arrival of my tomatoes over the summer and not peak too soon or all at once. I think I'll do that again, but I don't feel that it was incredibly successful, since growth depends primarily on degree days (days when it's above a certain critical temperature), and once in the ground all the plants see the same number of degree days. Due to cool weather, an early start can idle for quite a while before really getting going - just at the same time as the newly sprouted seeds are ready to transfer into the ground. The effective growth difference at that point is only two weeks or so.
Third place this year was the Sun Gold, which I raved about last year. Why the drop in taste? These are a commercial variety and ought to be consistent from year to year. I started this one from seed as well. Despite my high expectations, they were neither as prolific nor as delicious as last year.
Finally, I had a couple San Marzano tomato plants started from seed well after the others had gotten under way. This is a plum tomato from Italy (the commercial seed pack was hand carried across the Atlantic) which we mostly find as canned tomatoes in the supermarket on account of their thin and easily damaged skins. I had high hopes for this tomato, but as of now the several plants haven't really had a successful crop. One problem has been that I had two of four plants in plastic containers, which baked in the sun while I was away, leading to blossom end rot on their limited production. The two others in the ground are not in maximally favorable spots, but that really shouldn't inhibit them to the degree that I've seen. They seem to be growing better now, so perhaps they prefer a late season bloomer. The one or two that I have tasted were really promising.
Onions didn't do so well in my garden. I had two varieties: a small Italian and a more normal yellow variety. They grew, but perhaps didn't get enough water or have rich enough soil to grow well. They tended to be stepped upon while moving about the garden. I think there's one large onion left.
I grew some Anaheim chili peppers and some Italian bell peppers with a shape that I've never seen before - sort of a hoop skirt like shape; at least that's what the package illustration looked like. So far the Italian bells haven't bloomed, but they look like they're getting ready for a late summer growth spurt. The Anaheim chilies I left on the plants until they were red and sweet - not a hint of hot. As a preparation, I've sliced some up the side, de-seeeded and de-veined, added a slice of mild cheese and grilled these. An early taste of a green Anaheim chili had me convinced these were going to be hot, but it turned out not to be the case for the late harvest fruits.
My berries suffered from low production due to our lack of rain. I didn't water them until too late. I've been I'm hoping that next year will be a bumper crop since I've paid more attention to top surface mulching over the whole garden and specifically to watering the berries as the new canes grow in.
Despite my green thumb shortcomings, I'm trying to figure out how I can grow more next year. Need more space.
2007-09-02
A week at the Lair
We're back from a vacation week at Lair of the Golden Bear. I've traditionally been a camp Gold camper, and it was nice to come back after 30+ years had gone by and realize that not much had changed. Camp was touch and go for the first couple days with my 9 year old, but by the end he was loving every minute of it. He'd been a bit taciturn with me but camping had a very mellowing effect on him that continues on through the following weeks. School starts soon, so I expect that will end shortly.
Fishing: We went fishing twice - once hiking over to Pinecrest Lake on our own and fishing from shore, and once with a group of same age kids. We didn't catch anything either time, but on the group fishing expedition the littlest girl with a Barbie fishing pole managed to hook the first fish. The pole exploded when she tried to reel him in and she ended up pulling him in hand over hand.
Hiking: Next year I'll plan to lots of hiking. I managed some unstructured walks this year. There's plenty of real hiking to great destinations.
Swimming: Free group lessons and great private lessons for my son from one of the counselors, a student at UCSB.
Arts and Crafts: clay projects, tie die, and bisqueware decoration. I only drew the line at a lanyard.
Travel time was 9 hours door-to-door, leaving from Santa Barbara (which we'd driven to the day before). That's a long time, but fortunately I have music we can both tolerate, AC, and plenty of kids books. Return time was about the same, despite going a slightly different route, cutting over at Kettleman City.
We stopped at Columbia State Park on the way back and my son was very impressed, despite claimed prior experience with ghost towns and old western theme towns.
My packing list reminders for next year are as follows, augmenting Grace's list over on Bad Mom, and the official list.
Snacks - Just bring enough for the car and a famished kid emergency, though a cooler and juice or soft drinks are quite nice. Food is so plentiful at meal times in camp that it's really overkill to bring more. The water tastes delicious there, so I tend to enjoy a lot of that.
Adult libations - Wine to share at the lodge, after the kids have gone to bed or for the 4PM get-togethers. Beer is surprisingly good too and handy to share.
Knit cap for sleeping - some nights are cold enough to need this. We had some this year, but I was surprised to actually need them.
Aqua socks - for creek crawling. Better than an old pair of tennies.
Exterior lights of some sort - Distinctive lights help you find your way back to the cabin after dark. Some people had novelty Christmas lights, or even the standard twinkly sort.
Your own supply of bisqueware (they have only basic shapes).
Your own garments for tie die.
A+D ointment. It's dry and this is great for chapped skin.
See you next year at the Lair.
Fishing: We went fishing twice - once hiking over to Pinecrest Lake on our own and fishing from shore, and once with a group of same age kids. We didn't catch anything either time, but on the group fishing expedition the littlest girl with a Barbie fishing pole managed to hook the first fish. The pole exploded when she tried to reel him in and she ended up pulling him in hand over hand.
Hiking: Next year I'll plan to lots of hiking. I managed some unstructured walks this year. There's plenty of real hiking to great destinations.
Swimming: Free group lessons and great private lessons for my son from one of the counselors, a student at UCSB.
Arts and Crafts: clay projects, tie die, and bisqueware decoration. I only drew the line at a lanyard.
Travel time was 9 hours door-to-door, leaving from Santa Barbara (which we'd driven to the day before). That's a long time, but fortunately I have music we can both tolerate, AC, and plenty of kids books. Return time was about the same, despite going a slightly different route, cutting over at Kettleman City.
We stopped at Columbia State Park on the way back and my son was very impressed, despite claimed prior experience with ghost towns and old western theme towns.
My packing list reminders for next year are as follows, augmenting Grace's list over on Bad Mom, and the official list.
Snacks - Just bring enough for the car and a famished kid emergency, though a cooler and juice or soft drinks are quite nice. Food is so plentiful at meal times in camp that it's really overkill to bring more. The water tastes delicious there, so I tend to enjoy a lot of that.
Adult libations - Wine to share at the lodge, after the kids have gone to bed or for the 4PM get-togethers. Beer is surprisingly good too and handy to share.
Knit cap for sleeping - some nights are cold enough to need this. We had some this year, but I was surprised to actually need them.
Aqua socks - for creek crawling. Better than an old pair of tennies.
Exterior lights of some sort - Distinctive lights help you find your way back to the cabin after dark. Some people had novelty Christmas lights, or even the standard twinkly sort.
Your own supply of bisqueware (they have only basic shapes).
Your own garments for tie die.
A+D ointment. It's dry and this is great for chapped skin.
See you next year at the Lair.
2007-08-06
To Do list II - revisited, yet again
Last updated
30 Dec 2007 - reprioritized and updated based on new developments and laudable self-directive to finish what you start before starting a new project.
10 Dec 2007 - Called Gene at 1-Stop with MRS number, obtained last week from T. Cross
03 Dec 2007 - Tom Cross of Edison was by last Fri to re-spot new meter location. Called Gene at 1-Stop to update him on progress.
19 Nov 2007 - called for a new bid on electrical panel replacement. Will get bid on 20th.
17 Nov 2007 - demoed low brick planter in back yard.
15 Nov 2007 - newest meter location spotted successfully with Tom Cross of Edison
2 Sep 2007 - completed trellis for front.
14 Aug 2007 - got $30.75 for the scrap metal.
13 Aug 2007 - loaded some of brother's scrap metal and mine for recycling tomorrow
10 Aug 2007 - info on recycling
7 Aug 2007 - more garage cleaning, added some yard items
Updated 6 Aug 2007 - garage cleaning
I've been absorbed in work (upcoming launch, new responsibilities), travel (work, vacation), and family (school, scouts, gf, relatives) and trying to catch up on sleep on weekends since my last major home improvement effort back in May. Those are my excuses. Now it's time to get back to the To Do list with an update and re-emphasis on actually getting things done.
My loyal reader will recall that I've had To Do lists before and even before that. I'm trying not to beat myself up over slow progress and to keep in mind that Home Repair Man is but one aspect of my many and varied super personas and that there's parallel lists of things to do that don't involve hardware stores. Of course the usual rule of cascading home repair / bonus chores applies. If you're too lazy to follow the links for a long definition, bonus chores are the problems that you must fix (because for instance, you've just noticed the alarming fact that your porch is not being supported by its rotted posts) and cascades of home repairs occur when you really want to accomplish C, but need to do A and then B, prior to even thinking about C. Bonus chores and cascades of home repairs can be linked.
House Improvements
30 Dec 2007 - reprioritized and updated based on new developments and laudable self-directive to finish what you start before starting a new project.
10 Dec 2007 - Called Gene at 1-Stop with MRS number, obtained last week from T. Cross
03 Dec 2007 - Tom Cross of Edison was by last Fri to re-spot new meter location. Called Gene at 1-Stop to update him on progress.
19 Nov 2007 - called for a new bid on electrical panel replacement. Will get bid on 20th.
17 Nov 2007 - demoed low brick planter in back yard.
15 Nov 2007 - newest meter location spotted successfully with Tom Cross of Edison
2 Sep 2007 - completed trellis for front.
14 Aug 2007 - got $30.75 for the scrap metal.
13 Aug 2007 - loaded some of brother's scrap metal and mine for recycling tomorrow
10 Aug 2007 - info on recycling
7 Aug 2007 - more garage cleaning, added some yard items
Updated 6 Aug 2007 - garage cleaning
I've been absorbed in work (upcoming launch, new responsibilities), travel (work, vacation), and family (school, scouts, gf, relatives) and trying to catch up on sleep on weekends since my last major home improvement effort back in May. Those are my excuses. Now it's time to get back to the To Do list with an update and re-emphasis on actually getting things done.
My loyal reader will recall that I've had To Do lists before and even before that. I'm trying not to beat myself up over slow progress and to keep in mind that Home Repair Man is but one aspect of my many and varied super personas and that there's parallel lists of things to do that don't involve hardware stores. Of course the usual rule of cascading home repair / bonus chores applies. If you're too lazy to follow the links for a long definition, bonus chores are the problems that you must fix (because for instance, you've just noticed the alarming fact that your porch is not being supported by its rotted posts) and cascades of home repairs occur when you really want to accomplish C, but need to do A and then B, prior to even thinking about C. Bonus chores and cascades of home repairs can be linked.
House Improvements
- Clean and organize garage for all the wonderful things I'll need it for. (started 6 Aug 07, continued 7 Aug, 30 Dec major garage overhaul for electrical install) Finish what you start.
- Install attic vent in garage gable end (cut stucco, frame, paper, wire, repair stucco). I've now painted the vent white. Need to cut a few framing members for inside the garage. Finish what you start.
Get newest meter location respotted by Edison.REDONE 30 Nov 2007 when I got Tom Cross of Edison back out to the property- Phone conversations and even a revisit earlier in Nov didn't resolve the issue of where exactly I could put a panel. Turns out the side yard is OK. His only caveat was that the panel might not have enough clearance to the side yard fence (36" required) unless it was mounted in the wall. Since I've wanted that style from the very beginning for aesthetic reasons, no problem. DONE ~8 Nov 2007. Previously: My brother suggested a side of the garage location for the new panel that I like a lot more than where I had placed the meter. Interior access would be facilitated since the interior walls of the garage aren't finished.
Recontact electricians for estimates on service upgrades. Last year's best estimate was $1900 from Gene at One Stop Electric 310-676-4520 for replacement of panel at orig location, but that didn't include trenching the patio for a second ground rod attachment, $2400 over the phone estimate from Direct Electric Inc 310-978-8471 who advised me to get spotted first, at which point they would come by and give me a real estimate. Andrew at Reliable Electric 310-973-1922 / 310-415-8721 gave an estimate of $2400 for a new panel at the garage side of the house, with an additional $75 for a second ground rod.Service upgrades have to be proven or justified somehow in the approval process with a "green sheet". Remodeling a kitchen and a small garage workshop seemed to pass as appropriate justification to Edison. I verified in telephone conversation with T. Cross of Edison that I am on the list for uprated wire gauge to the pole, based on my previous interactions.DONE Gene from 1-Stop starts in the New Year.Specified electrical upgrades.DONE 19 Nov 2007- Install new rear wall / door in garage. Finish what you start.
- Complete electrical install and weather stripping at new French door. All parts at hand. Really, it's embarrassing how long this has gone unfinished. Finish what you start.
Cut porch concrete for ground rod placement. It's starting to look like I should just demo the porch concrete altogether now, before the electrical upgrade.Don't have to do this so urgently if panel goes in on side of garage.- Pick colors and paint some areas on the house in preparation for a whole house paint job. Use Color Preview 2000 from Benjamin Moore to digitally color my house.
- Put in more soffit vents. Maybe add a fan in the gable end of my house? Would be good to do this not on the hottest day of the year.
- Reroute gas supply lines (to kitchen and garage) in preparation for taking my interior wall down.
- Install French door in place of rear-facing window in my room.
- Replace / repair computer room window.
- Repipe house in copper, adding hose bibs as needed for grounding of water lines at new electrical panel location. Will need to review appropriate pipe sizing - could be undersized at present. Start by repiping only the easy stuff, saving the part about cutting into the walls for when I demo the kitchen. Use dielectric unions to couple the new copper to the old galvanized. (PRIORITY DROP - City will accept double grounding rods instead of relying upon water pipes for a ground, so this whole action drops in priority.)
- Don't forget new hot and cold hose spigots
- Install tankless water heater in attic.
Complete front window grape arbor. Side panels are done. Awaiting the muse to strike for the perfect corbel ends on the cross members.(75% done 1 Aug 2007) DONE 1 September 2007. Juli helped with the last bit.Recycle the old copper pipe, galvanized pipe, curtain rods, and lawn chairs that are in a heap in my and my brother's back yards.DONE 14 Aug 2007 at Action Sales & Metal Company, 310-549-5666, 1625 E. PCH, Wilmington. 2 mi. past Harbor Fwy on left side of PCH. Open till 4:30 PM weekdays, 3:00 Sat. I ended up getting $30.75 for my scrap metal. More than half of the dollar value (~$17) was in one large piece of copper pipe. Reimbursement for the scrap ferrous metals was at a rate of $40 per ton - about $9 or $10 in my case. The balance was in aluminum. Still some metal left at my brother's house. Finish what you start.- Get the back yard border installed - new technique with bender board and bricks instead of concrete will speed job and allow changes. (15% done 8 Nov 2007) Finish what you start.
- Do some planning with respect to the native plants in my front yard. Now that I've lived with them a bit, I have a better feel for them. Updated 17 Nov 2007.
- Get morea (fortnight lillies) down to chez frere, but have a succession plan. Replacement ideas: White sage (Salvia apiana), San Clemente Island Bush Mallow (Malacothamnus clementinus), Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica "Mound San Bruno"), sage (Salvia clevelandii X leucophylla "Pozo blue" or "Alan Chickering" or "munzii"), Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum "Thunderbird")
The buckwheat in the front is large. Prune aggressively, leave, or replace with smaller?DONE - pruned. Seems to be fine.- Move the front yard native scheme onto the parking strip (between sidewalk and street) in a way that continues to allow car access from the curb side? Probably use festuca rubra and pavers in the center, low bushes, taller grasses, or other ground cover at the property line edge of parking strip.
- Demolish back slab behind garage, correct grade
- Reinstall approx 8x10 work area
- Demolish back patio behind kitchen (demo'ed brick planter 17 Nov 2007)
- Install new patio with California native grape arbor.
- Plan for electricity and music in the back yard.
- Plan for hot water in the back yard. Outdoor shower? (see replumb, above)
- Build concrete bench for front arbor area.
- Recycle the concrete in my back yard. There's a local concrete recycling place on Aviation just S of El Segundo Blvd. Yard phone 310-536-9982 which takes clean (rebar & remesh cut at concrete, no bricks, etc) but it's not cheap - $82 for a small pickup load. Ouch. Dump might be cheaper.
- Replace driveway with pavers.
- Use a better design that allows for: separate entry path, driveway adjacent planting, trellis over garage.
2007-08-05
Back from vacation, again
I seem to have a lot of time away this summer. I guess it's my way of making up for the last few years when I've felt that I've had no vacations.
I've just returned from Santa Barbara where I spent the better part of two weeks relaxing. My son attended Zoo Camp and took swimming lessons. I did a lot of hiking: Cold Spring trail - east and west forks, Tunnel Trail to Seven Falls, Romero Canyon trail twice. We had fun at the SB Old Spanish Days, and seeing a movie. Mom cooked her usual great food. I planted some oleander bushes on the property (not my choice, but consistent with pre-existing plantings). Juli visited at the end of the two weeks and we went wine tasting (Stolpman and Andrew Murray were highlights). On the way back we drove down Hwy 154 over Old San Marcos Pass and noticed the prominent plume of smoke from the Zaca Lake fire. Returning to SB, we had a rain of ash and smoky skies; the wind had shifted and breathed new life back into the fire. Hwy 154 is now closed and an evacuation order is in effect for that area. Link. The fire is expected to burn for another month.
We have one last family vacation planned this summer to Lair of the Golden Bear.
I've just returned from Santa Barbara where I spent the better part of two weeks relaxing. My son attended Zoo Camp and took swimming lessons. I did a lot of hiking: Cold Spring trail - east and west forks, Tunnel Trail to Seven Falls, Romero Canyon trail twice. We had fun at the SB Old Spanish Days, and seeing a movie. Mom cooked her usual great food. I planted some oleander bushes on the property (not my choice, but consistent with pre-existing plantings). Juli visited at the end of the two weeks and we went wine tasting (Stolpman and Andrew Murray were highlights). On the way back we drove down Hwy 154 over Old San Marcos Pass and noticed the prominent plume of smoke from the Zaca Lake fire. Returning to SB, we had a rain of ash and smoky skies; the wind had shifted and breathed new life back into the fire. Hwy 154 is now closed and an evacuation order is in effect for that area. Link. The fire is expected to burn for another month.
We have one last family vacation planned this summer to Lair of the Golden Bear.
Blue butterflies and Califonia buckwheat
The Daily Breeze reported on Tuesday of another finding of El Segundo Blue butterflies in an unexpected area. For those who are following along, the bigger story dates back to 2004 when some Redondo Beach and Torrance beaches were rehabilitated with California native plants (including the essential dune buckwheat which is the only food of the ESB). I'd guess that just getting the money and political go ahead for that initial effort was a 10 year effort. However, fast forward to 2007 and we now discover that the El Segundo Blue has spontaneously re-established populations in the native habitat. Scientists had previously thought that the small ESB was not suited for long flights and would remain confined to the areas it currently inhabits, but it proved them wrong. The LA Times covered this story in early July.
One wonders what other species we could bring back by planting appropriately. The Palos Verdes Blue comes to mind - that species prefers yet another kind of buckwheat and was actually thought extinct until a small population was discovered only years ago in an industrial area of PV.
Citizens are of course complaining that the buckwheat looks dead, unlike the sterile and invasive iceplant that was removed. (Like many native plants buckwheat turns brown in the summer in order to survive the heat and dry climate. Think of California's summer as New England's winter and you'll appreciate how our plants are adapted to survive.) An educational sign or two would do wonders here, I think.
I have buckwheat growing in my front yard, but so far no extraordinary butterflies have visited. However, I have seen an increase in butterflies, solitary bees, and honey bees since going native. At least some varieties of buckwheat seem to be resistant to gophers as well. Some bushes that I planted on my parents' hillside last fall are surrounded by many active gopher holes, but haven't yet shown signs of their roots being nibbled. They look marvelous at this time of year, with abundant white flowers, bees buzzing, and lizards darting. The Cleveland sage planted nearby also seems immune to gophers, but the Mimulus (monkeyflower) looks poorly. I don't know if it's due to gophers or just ill health.
Excerpts from the Breeze article:
El Segundo blue butterfly lands again near LAX
Although it's less surprising than the recent find, scientists are pleased.
By Kristin S. Agostoni
Staff Writer
The endangered El Segundo blue butterfly has been spotted yet again this summer on the South Bay shoreline, this time fluttering amid dune buckwheat flowers at Dockweiler State Beach.
It was only a few weeks ago that scientists were bowled over by the discovery of the tiny insect on a roughly 4-acre swath of coastal bluffs in Redondo Beach and Torrance, where volunteers replaced invasive ice plant with native vegetation.
Now, experts say, the El Segundo blue has reappeared on a small strip of land sandwiched between a parking lot and an access road that runs behind Dockweiler Beach.
A fenced-in butterfly preserve sits on the opposite side of Vista del Mar near Los Angeles International Airport, leading scientists to believe the population migrated across the street to the new habitat, said Travis Longcore, a science director with the Urban Wildlands Group that helped lead the Beach Bluffs Restoration Project in Redondo Beach.
The resurgence of the federally endangered species in Redondo and Torrance is even more remarkable, scientists say, because the nearest population exists roughly 1,000 feet away at Malaga Cove.
"This is much less of a surprise because it's less than 200 feet (from the existing preserve) ... but it's more evidence that the restoration works and we're making progress," Longcore said of the Dockweiler discovery.
Excerpts from the LA Times article:
Rare butterfly makes comeback on L.A.-area beaches
The tiny El Segundo blue has returned to two locations where it has not been seen in decades. Scientists are surprised at the resurgence.
By Deborah Schoch, Times Staff Writer
July 9, 2007
Butterflies fight extinction
Butterflies fight extinction
Amid surfers and skaters, a tiny blue butterfly has scored a telling victory in its fight against extinction.
The rare El Segundo blue has returned to two popular beaches southwest of Los Angeles where it has not been seen in decades.
This is no mere academic sighting of a rare species.
Scientists say they are surprised at the resurgence. Dozens of the rare butterflies are thriving, not in some rarefied fenced-off reserve but in public view at county beaches in Redondo Beach and Torrance.
"You could open the car door, and they could hit you in the face," said conservation expert Travis Longcore this weekend, gesturing at creatures no bigger than a thumbnail flitting a few feet away from parked SUVs.
In a month that has marked the delisting of the American bald eagle as an endangered species, news of the tiny butterfly's reappearance is stirring hope that other species will rebound as unexpectedly and publicly as this one.
The El Segundo blue, one of the region's best-known endangered species, is found nowhere in the world but the southeastern shores of Santa Monica Bay.
Scientists staved off its extinction for years by nursing or monitoring it at three sites off-limits to the public at Los Angeles International Airport, the Chevron El Segundo refinery and on private land in Torrance. They estimate the current population remains low — only in the tens of thousands — with the largest group at LAX...
They used a simple scientific formula: Pull out the ice plant, put in the buckwheat.
Starting in 2004, they stripped thick green carpets of nonnative ice plant from small areas on beach bluffs in Redondo Beach and Torrance. Month after month, they restored the scrub plants that flourished here centuries ago: California sunflower, deer weed, lupines, prickly pear cactus, ambrosia and, of course, buckwheat.
In the old days the butterfly thrived in what was then the region's largest sand dune system, the El Segundo dunes that formed a half-mile-wide band from Westchester south to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Los Angeles River created the dunes centuries ago, scientists say, when it entered the ocean at Playa del Rey.
Builders carved the dunes into pieces with construction of waterfront homes, the Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo, the Hyperion sewage plant and LAX....
One wonders what other species we could bring back by planting appropriately. The Palos Verdes Blue comes to mind - that species prefers yet another kind of buckwheat and was actually thought extinct until a small population was discovered only years ago in an industrial area of PV.
Citizens are of course complaining that the buckwheat looks dead, unlike the sterile and invasive iceplant that was removed. (Like many native plants buckwheat turns brown in the summer in order to survive the heat and dry climate. Think of California's summer as New England's winter and you'll appreciate how our plants are adapted to survive.) An educational sign or two would do wonders here, I think.
I have buckwheat growing in my front yard, but so far no extraordinary butterflies have visited. However, I have seen an increase in butterflies, solitary bees, and honey bees since going native. At least some varieties of buckwheat seem to be resistant to gophers as well. Some bushes that I planted on my parents' hillside last fall are surrounded by many active gopher holes, but haven't yet shown signs of their roots being nibbled. They look marvelous at this time of year, with abundant white flowers, bees buzzing, and lizards darting. The Cleveland sage planted nearby also seems immune to gophers, but the Mimulus (monkeyflower) looks poorly. I don't know if it's due to gophers or just ill health.
Excerpts from the Breeze article:
El Segundo blue butterfly lands again near LAX
Although it's less surprising than the recent find, scientists are pleased.
By Kristin S. Agostoni
Staff Writer
The endangered El Segundo blue butterfly has been spotted yet again this summer on the South Bay shoreline, this time fluttering amid dune buckwheat flowers at Dockweiler State Beach.
It was only a few weeks ago that scientists were bowled over by the discovery of the tiny insect on a roughly 4-acre swath of coastal bluffs in Redondo Beach and Torrance, where volunteers replaced invasive ice plant with native vegetation.
Now, experts say, the El Segundo blue has reappeared on a small strip of land sandwiched between a parking lot and an access road that runs behind Dockweiler Beach.
A fenced-in butterfly preserve sits on the opposite side of Vista del Mar near Los Angeles International Airport, leading scientists to believe the population migrated across the street to the new habitat, said Travis Longcore, a science director with the Urban Wildlands Group that helped lead the Beach Bluffs Restoration Project in Redondo Beach.
The resurgence of the federally endangered species in Redondo and Torrance is even more remarkable, scientists say, because the nearest population exists roughly 1,000 feet away at Malaga Cove.
"This is much less of a surprise because it's less than 200 feet (from the existing preserve) ... but it's more evidence that the restoration works and we're making progress," Longcore said of the Dockweiler discovery.
Excerpts from the LA Times article:
Rare butterfly makes comeback on L.A.-area beaches
The tiny El Segundo blue has returned to two locations where it has not been seen in decades. Scientists are surprised at the resurgence.
By Deborah Schoch, Times Staff Writer
July 9, 2007
Butterflies fight extinction
Butterflies fight extinction
Amid surfers and skaters, a tiny blue butterfly has scored a telling victory in its fight against extinction.
The rare El Segundo blue has returned to two popular beaches southwest of Los Angeles where it has not been seen in decades.
This is no mere academic sighting of a rare species.
Scientists say they are surprised at the resurgence. Dozens of the rare butterflies are thriving, not in some rarefied fenced-off reserve but in public view at county beaches in Redondo Beach and Torrance.
"You could open the car door, and they could hit you in the face," said conservation expert Travis Longcore this weekend, gesturing at creatures no bigger than a thumbnail flitting a few feet away from parked SUVs.
In a month that has marked the delisting of the American bald eagle as an endangered species, news of the tiny butterfly's reappearance is stirring hope that other species will rebound as unexpectedly and publicly as this one.
The El Segundo blue, one of the region's best-known endangered species, is found nowhere in the world but the southeastern shores of Santa Monica Bay.
Scientists staved off its extinction for years by nursing or monitoring it at three sites off-limits to the public at Los Angeles International Airport, the Chevron El Segundo refinery and on private land in Torrance. They estimate the current population remains low — only in the tens of thousands — with the largest group at LAX...
They used a simple scientific formula: Pull out the ice plant, put in the buckwheat.
Starting in 2004, they stripped thick green carpets of nonnative ice plant from small areas on beach bluffs in Redondo Beach and Torrance. Month after month, they restored the scrub plants that flourished here centuries ago: California sunflower, deer weed, lupines, prickly pear cactus, ambrosia and, of course, buckwheat.
In the old days the butterfly thrived in what was then the region's largest sand dune system, the El Segundo dunes that formed a half-mile-wide band from Westchester south to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Los Angeles River created the dunes centuries ago, scientists say, when it entered the ocean at Playa del Rey.
Builders carved the dunes into pieces with construction of waterfront homes, the Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo, the Hyperion sewage plant and LAX....
2007-07-19
Let's green the freeway
I've been idly pondering on local stream re-naturalization, but that requires an absurd amount of planning because there's no accepted process or guidelines for making those sorts of changes. Why not set aside the hard task for a moment and think about re-naturalizing an area for which there is an existing process, guideline, and procedure?
I've been wondering why the triangles of land that are bounded by the freeway, the on ramps, and the off ramps aren't more thoughtfully landscaped. Put some native plants in there and you have an instant green and native fauna oasis in the midst of our drought. (Planted this fall, it would be at most two years and you could probably discontinue all supplemental watering with the right selection of native plants.)
Of course Caltrans is in charge of those areas. But wouldn't it be an easy way to green up the environment? I know that the ones I frequently use are at best covered in ice plant and at worst are parched deserts with nothing growing.
Caltrans has wildflower and tree and shrub guidelines for their Adopt-a-Highway program that call out drought tolerant and native species. There are minimum requirements to receive an Adopt-A-Highway sign, but they are relaxed if you don't want a sign.
In other news, Long Beach City gets it: take out your lawn to save water.
...a three-pronged drought—the lowest rainfall since Southern California started measuring it in 1877, eight years of below-normal precipitation in Northern California and Colorado, and environmental regulations that reduce the Southland’s take of other imported water.
The solution is to replace front lawns—as well as the landscaping around government buildings and the center dividers of roads—with California native plants. They use much less water, replace habitat, reduce pollution, and remind everybody about what Southern California really looks like.
“We can’t tell people they can’t have a grass lawn—at least, we don’t want to be in that position,” says Lyons. “Instead, we want to encourage people to have what we call a Beautiful Long Beach Landscape....”
I've been wondering why the triangles of land that are bounded by the freeway, the on ramps, and the off ramps aren't more thoughtfully landscaped. Put some native plants in there and you have an instant green and native fauna oasis in the midst of our drought. (Planted this fall, it would be at most two years and you could probably discontinue all supplemental watering with the right selection of native plants.)
Of course Caltrans is in charge of those areas. But wouldn't it be an easy way to green up the environment? I know that the ones I frequently use are at best covered in ice plant and at worst are parched deserts with nothing growing.
Caltrans has wildflower and tree and shrub guidelines for their Adopt-a-Highway program that call out drought tolerant and native species. There are minimum requirements to receive an Adopt-A-Highway sign, but they are relaxed if you don't want a sign.
In other news, Long Beach City gets it: take out your lawn to save water.
...a three-pronged drought—the lowest rainfall since Southern California started measuring it in 1877, eight years of below-normal precipitation in Northern California and Colorado, and environmental regulations that reduce the Southland’s take of other imported water.
The solution is to replace front lawns—as well as the landscaping around government buildings and the center dividers of roads—with California native plants. They use much less water, replace habitat, reduce pollution, and remind everybody about what Southern California really looks like.
“We can’t tell people they can’t have a grass lawn—at least, we don’t want to be in that position,” says Lyons. “Instead, we want to encourage people to have what we call a Beautiful Long Beach Landscape....”
2007-07-06
German vacation - Frankonia
I had seven nights in Germany following a business trip and used them to visit a few of the more touristy locations. I had a delightful time with two days each in Rothenberg (medieval walled city, Crime and Punishment museum, Night Watchman's tour, atmosphere galore), Nurmberg (I visited the Nazi Documentation Zentrum, which specializes in the conditions that led up to WWII. It had only a brief clip of a gas chamber but it was enough to upset me, so I'm glad I didn't go to one of the camps), Wurzberg (home of Germany's Residenz - sort of a Versailles equivalent, except that they allow winefests and the like it its gardens, which I was happy to participate in), and the final day in Frankfurt (where I attended a Penck retrospective. Penck seems to have used the stick figure to great effect over his 40+ year career.).
The food was nice, particularly the rotkraut (red cabbage) that I had the first night in Thuringia. I didn't see it on the menus later on my trip, though I had thought it widespread across Germany. Maybe plain old sauerkraut sells better. Fanciest meal was in the small City of Jena, hosted by my business contacts. That meal was something else, with French wine, braised and roasted meats smothered in typical sauces, etc. I didn't treat myself so well.
There was of course lots of beer (my favorite was on the first night - some dark wheat beer(dunkle weissebier, I think, made by Radelberger? I made sure to make frequents comparisons.), some sekts in Wurzberg, some still wein, and apfelwein. My worst meal was in Frankfurt where I ended up with basic sauerkraut (tasted like it was straight from jar) and a boiled pig's knuckle with apfelwien, which didn't quite toot my horn.
A strike on 7/3 resulted in inexplicably (at the time) late trains, but I eventually overcame the problem. Strikes in Germany seem to be polite affairs, contrary to what the news carries of French strikes.
The food was nice, particularly the rotkraut (red cabbage) that I had the first night in Thuringia. I didn't see it on the menus later on my trip, though I had thought it widespread across Germany. Maybe plain old sauerkraut sells better. Fanciest meal was in the small City of Jena, hosted by my business contacts. That meal was something else, with French wine, braised and roasted meats smothered in typical sauces, etc. I didn't treat myself so well.
There was of course lots of beer (my favorite was on the first night - some dark wheat beer(dunkle weissebier, I think, made by Radelberger? I made sure to make frequents comparisons.), some sekts in Wurzberg, some still wein, and apfelwein. My worst meal was in Frankfurt where I ended up with basic sauerkraut (tasted like it was straight from jar) and a boiled pig's knuckle with apfelwien, which didn't quite toot my horn.
A strike on 7/3 resulted in inexplicably (at the time) late trains, but I eventually overcame the problem. Strikes in Germany seem to be polite affairs, contrary to what the news carries of French strikes.
2007-07-05
Google Analytics - results for June 4 to present
I've been using Google Analytics to track the traffic on this site since June 4. If I had a penny for every page view since then, I'd have all of $3.31 jingle jangling in my pocket. That $3.31 worth of visits came from 154 different network locations, all in North America. Of those visits, 273 are identified as "unique" visitors, but only 71 returning visitors. Since I will occasionally look in from work and from home, I'll have to take two away from those figures to account for my double dipping typo-searches.
June 5 was my highest number of page hits, with 39. My most interesting post appears to be Notes on How to Stucco.
Conclusion 1: There's somewhere around 50 of you out there regularly reading my blog, at least on occasion. Hi, Mom!
Conclusion 2: Assuming this blog is typical, the national rate for comments must be around 1-2%.
June 5 was my highest number of page hits, with 39. My most interesting post appears to be Notes on How to Stucco.
Conclusion 1: There's somewhere around 50 of you out there regularly reading my blog, at least on occasion. Hi, Mom!
Conclusion 2: Assuming this blog is typical, the national rate for comments must be around 1-2%.
Back in town; evil lawns in the LA Times
I'm back from 10 days in Germany. I'll try to post some impressions later.
I do notice that one of my favorite topics is in the Home and Garden section of the LA Times: lawns as Public Enemy No. 1.
Edit 11 July 07: I don't hate all lawns, just the sterile, unused, chemical, over watered ones. In the interests of keeping an open mind, I've stumbled upon a turf grass called UC Verde, developed by the University of California for arid climates. I've not seen this mentioned elsewhere, despite its availability since 2003. Obviously, not a native, but perhaps worth investigating.
I do notice that one of my favorite topics is in the Home and Garden section of the LA Times: lawns as Public Enemy No. 1.
Edit 11 July 07: I don't hate all lawns, just the sterile, unused, chemical, over watered ones. In the interests of keeping an open mind, I've stumbled upon a turf grass called UC Verde, developed by the University of California for arid climates. I've not seen this mentioned elsewhere, despite its availability since 2003. Obviously, not a native, but perhaps worth investigating.
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