Your recycled plastic grocery bags may be part of someone's new deck. Trex is a decking material "made primarily with recycled plastic grocery bags, reclaimed pallet wrap and about half waste wood." It's been rapidly gaining popularity the past few years. The material doesn't need to be painted or sealed (but it can be), works with the usual wood fastenings (nails, screws), and can even be bent for interesting effects.
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Whenever Mr. Rogers showed a film to his TV audience he would hold up a little film container saying that he'd brought something to show us. Then he'd put the container into a little opening in the side of the wall and the film would magically start running. Now of course there was post-production to edit the actual film into the show, but when you're four you don't know about these things. I was savvy enough, however, to decide that there must be something "real" going on in that wall to allow him to stick a film canister in and have the movie come on like magic. So I had a scenario worked out in my head that behind the wall was a guy who would take the film out of the canister and run it into a projector so I could see it on my TV. And then when the film was over the guy would have to quickly put the film back in the canister so Mr. Rogers could take it out of the wall again. It never really dawned on me that this film trick was as make-believe as the land where all those fake puppets and the purple panda were. Mr. Rogers clearly delineated what was real and what was make believe. He would show us how he played the trolley noises on his piano. He showed us the puppets used in the land of make-believe and how he did the voices. Sesame Street, which makes no such distinctions, is pure escapism, educational as it is. Mister Rogers, in some ways, prepared his viewers for his death better than any other children's characters because he wasn't a character. He was genuine.
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Thursday, February 27, 2003

Rob Cockerham, ever-prolifically-funny, gave titles to the California quarter selections.
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I look forward to Wednesdays because it is "food day!" in the newspapers I read. But I was taken aback when I opened up "the merc" yesterday to see a lengthy feature article on instant ramen. Don't get me wrong, I love instant noodles of all configurations. I've had instant udon and instant thai noodles this week for dinner (hey, I've been busy). But doctoring instant ramen into a meal is second nature to me, and I didn't want precious food article space taken up by praise for starch and powdered flavorings in a plastic packet. I need the food pages to be inspirational. I don't need to be told that I can add vegetables and meat to my instant noodles to make a meal. I don't want to know how many times the earth can be circled by the number of ramen packages sold per year. This attitude makes me worse than a foodie snob -- I'm a foodie writing snob. Save me from myself, please!
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Check out the new plates on Ned's WRX. Any idea what Apple product he works on? He also supported arts education and local arts programming by selecting the Wayne Thiebaud designed CAC special plate.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2003

Coca-Cola and Pepsi both announced new soda flavors Tuesday that capitalize on already established brands. Coke brand Sprite will be launching Sprite Remix, a tropical flavor. Pepsi's Mountain Dew will be offering Mountain Dew LiveWire this summer. Their press release terms the flavor "orange-ignited" with the same base ingredients and caffeine content as regular Dew. I'll be sticking to Trader Joe's organic lemonade cut with lime sparkling water.
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A recent NOVA special on the restoration of ancient monastery paintings in Tibet was fresh in my mind when I read an article about the distaste incurred by artificial siding materials. The monastery restoration was achieved with methods and materials true to the origins of the structure. Sections of paintings which had been completely lost to water damage were not initially replaced, but outlined to achieve the wholeness desired by the worshippers of the depicted deities. But the outlines weren't enough; they wanted the entire paintings back, and, the foreign restorers implied, the locals didn't care as much if original materials were used towards those goals. Accustomed to restoring, not recreating, the restoration specialists seemed reluctant, and the discussion was still ongoing at the end of the program. Back in the U.S., where we have much less exhalted, and not ancient, but nonetheless beloved architecture to restore, preservation societies ban the use of "unauthentic building surfaces." Vinyl siding is especially reviled, as it is, after all, plastic, and the worst plastic of all (environmentally unsound PVC). Authenticity isn't as much about looks as it is about materials to the purists of restoration. They happily live with any drawbacks the older materials may have. The Tibetan monks have different, perhaps more relaxed, aspirations in their road to enlightment.
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Tuesday, February 25, 2003

I curbed my previously announced ginger chew addiction by graduating to crystallized ginger. That's the real stuff; actual chunks soaked in sugar. It's quite yummy and great for traveling. I kept thinking it would be wonderful with chocolate, and now the Ginger People have chocolate-covered ginger buttons. They are dipped in "premium quality dark chocolate" which is, also, the real stuff. Yum.
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More images of the Samsung Matrix phone have been uncovered. "The phone will have 65K+ color TFT LCD screen, 40 polyphonic ringtone, automatic sliding earpiece utilizing piezoelectric motors (opens and closes with one touch of the button on the side)." (via many Matrix fansites)
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Fun with the CHP Traffic Incident Information Page:
Incident: 1946 Type: Traffic Hazard - Loose Animal Location: CAMINO DIABLO AT MARSH CREEK RD Zoom Map: 636 2D Info as of: 2/24/2003 7:01:50 PM
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
6:29PM - AC 1097 - WILL 1023 FOR CHP
6:29PM - CHP ASSIST - ROUNDING UP COW
6:29PM - ANOTHER COW OO THE FENCE
RESPONDING OFFICERS STATUS
6:45PM - CHP Unit Enroute
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Monday, February 24, 2003

On the heels of the Discover 2GO Card comes Bank of America's mini-card. Designed for your keychain, the card has the account number in a small font so it can't be easily read, and they claim you are not liable for any unauthorized use if you inform them when it is stolen. Next up, I'd like a credit card that I can paint on periodically with nail polish. I probably won't lose that and the bottle can stay at home. (via eatonweb)
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A very useful battery handbook, for those who are confused about things like whether you should fully drain before charging and whether batteries should be stored fully charged (never fully charge or discharge Li-ion before storage). I am accumulating too many devices with rechargeable batteries, and I've already worn out my digital Elph battery. Luckily that one's easily replaceable, but the one in my Palm isn't. (via Gizmodo)
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Friday, February 21, 2003

Steve reports that the Joe Jackson Band is back with a new album and tour. They're playing at SXSW. The album release date is March 11th.
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There's nothing like a NY Times food critic to validate an icon of food nostalgia. William Grimes, worried by a report that Times Square's Howard Johnson restaurant may be closing, made a pilgrimage to relive the old times. Grimes reveals the reason why I was so enamored of the mint chocolate chip ice cream under those orange roofs. In the 1920's, long before those gourmet brands we know and love today, Mr. Johnson bought an ice cream recipe from a German peddlar. It contained double the butterfat of the typical ice cream and used natural flavorings. I had thought it was yummy mostly because of the treat of eating out, but now I know the real secret, as do those guys Ben & Jerry. Grimes also mentions that Jacques Pépin, one of HoJo's original consultant chefs, has written a memoir which will include reminiscences of his days at the restaurant. As for the Times Square location, the parent company says it will stay put. But the future for the chain as a whole still seems bleak. The total HoJo's count is down to 11, plus one in Puerto Rico. (What I wrote about HoJo's one year ago.)
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Thursday, February 20, 2003

I spent a good portion of my prime violin practicing years learning a proper vibrato. I had to do finger exercises, retrain my left arm to hold the instrument differently, and waggle my arm up and down over and over until my hand flopped back and forth on my wrist in a graceful undulation instead of a stiff whap. I can now flatten the top joint of my left pinky in a way that my right pinky would fear meant it was broken. All these efforts delayed the advancement of my repertoire, since all else stopped while we concentrated on my vibrato. For without vibrato, a violinist is nothing. Conductor Roger Norrington might disagree, however. He wrote a NY Times article that laments the advent of the modern "vibrato era." From Fritz Kreisler's "gentle shimmer" grew the impressive constant warble that is fashionable today. Orchestras started a shift to continuous vibrato in the 1920s, starting with the French, and reaching the German and Austrian groups in the late 1930s. The implication is that during the lifetimes of the classical, romantic, and even many late romantic composers, vibrato was not a constant feature. Norrington argues for the return to pure tone, stating that "Because the sound is not glamorized, phrasing becomes more important. Nowadays symphony orchestras tend to rely on sound rather than shape." If this belief spreads, musicians will no longer be able to hide poor tuning behind fancy vibrato technique. (andante.com writeup)
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Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Wired News notes that wireless provider Ricochet is still making a go of a comeback under Aerie. With service already rolled out in Denver and San Diego, the company has a long read ahead before they can support the 21 areas of coverage the original company offered in 2001. They are taking a reasonable pace, only planning to roll out 3-5 more cities before the end of 2003. Each new location poses logistical challenges as access to thousands of repeaters located mostly on streetlights will have to be renegotiated with each city. Ricochet hopes to work out deals offering free access to local police officers.
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Was it an inside job? Who had the knowledge and audacity to swipe so many gems from Antwerp's Diamond Centre? 123 of 160 vaults were cleaned out. Ten years ago, five vaults were robbed for an estimated loss of $4.55 million. According to this article on a foiled theft of the diamonds in London’s Millennium Dome, "the Guinness Book of Records says the world’s largest gem theft was carried out in August 1994 by three men who stole items valued at $43 million from a jewelry shop in the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, France." Does the record still stand? A group of diamond merchants in Belgium are hoping so.
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Tuesday, February 18, 2003

It's fun to make a little joke about "The Book on the Bookshelf" being on the bookshelf. But it could be great fun to joke about "The Book on the Bookshelf" being on the book bookshelf. Jim Rosenau takes discarded hardback books, replaces most of their insides with salvaged lumber and creates unique bookshelves. (Rosenau, with partner Charlie Varon is responsible for those Salon.com haiku competitions.)
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A new museum devoted to the art of the picture book recently opened in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded by the author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and his wife, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art has a noble mission to "collect, present, preserve, and interpret picture book art from around the world recognizing its importance as an art form." Readers of all ages are invited to view special exhibitions and try out crafts for creating their own illustrations.
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Monday, February 17, 2003

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." --George Washington

"...As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy" --Abraham Lincoln
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Friday, February 14, 2003

Industrial parks can spring up overnight around here, and during the boom times it seemed that you could sprinkle a few concrete seeds in an empty lot, add water, and instantly grow raw square footage ready for the cubicle installers. Tilt-ups are the weeds of which I speak. These rapidly built, but artistically maligned buildings are now prettied up with decorative flourishes and used for museums and churches. Tilt-up construction is just that. After the floor is poured, the concrete walls are formed on-site and tilted-up. It's fast and the logistics are simple. But does easy up mean easy down? The results of Northridge (400 tilt-ups out of 1,200 damaged) and Loma Prieta on tilt-up construction was disturbing. Modern steel-frame buildings have a better safety record. The connectors between the tilt-up walls and roofs are key. Older tilt-ups used nailed wooden connectors. Newer building codes require steel connectors, and even those codes have been recently enhanced for stronger steel. Some tilt-ups have been retrofitted, but not all will be. It appears that we may have to wait for architectural evolution to take its course. (Also check out tilt-up.org with its top ten construction list. Largest square footage? 1,650,000 square feet, Rooms-To-Go Distribution Center, Lakeland, FL. Tallest panel? 91' 7¼" Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Nassau Bay, TX.)
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Reader Marc sent in news and extra links regarding the Leblanc factory fire in the Normandy region of France which destroyed 1,400 clarinets and the entire stock of spare keys. The news item mentioned that the Leblanc Corporation of Kenosha, Wisconsin had taken over the factory which was formerly called Noblet and had been founded in 1750. The history before that acquisition, pulled from various web sources, is fascinating. It begins with Denis Noblet of the original firm granting his family business, as he had no heirs, to Georges LeBlanc, his best employee. The LeBlanc family set up the first full-time acoustical research laboratory for wind instruments in Paris and hired master acoustician Charles Houvenaghel. They produced a wide range of highly regarded clarinets.

Over in the U.S., Kenosha, WI to be exact, a young boy, Vito Pascucci, became interested in instrument design and repair work. Called to serve in WWII, Pascucci took his repair tools with him and worked with the Army Air Corps Band, led by none other than Glenn Miller. Having made plans to visit the famous instrument makers of Paris with Miller, Pascucci pressed onwards despite Miller's death in a plane disappearance. His tour of Leblanc was conducted by Léon Leblanc, son of Georges. The two became close friends and Pascucci continued to visit the factory, learning their manufacturing processes. After Pascucci returned home, he was entrusted by Leblanc to set up distribution for their instruments in the U.S. The clarinets, still manufactured in France, were reassembled in Kenosha after the wood had acclimatized to the different environment. Pascucci grew the U.S. business over many years, acquiring other companies such as Martin Band Instruments. In 1989 he acquired majority interest and management responsibility for his mentor's European business. And that's how a famous French clarinet factory came to be owned by a company in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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Thursday, February 13, 2003

Wander into the Oddmusic Musical Instrument Gallery and take a look at sound-producing contraptions such as the Bikelophone, the Sarrusophone, and the Octavator. (thanks salt!)
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The library of Port Townsend, Washington took ten years (1902-1911) of their local paper's microfilms, had it scanned by OCLC Preservation Resources, and then indexed by library staff and volunteers. The results are online and searchable. What wonderful ads there are: "Mothers who perceive the evidences of functional derangement in young girls should promptly have them begin the use of Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets." and "The Pantorium: Pants Made to Order" or how about "Genuine Syrup of White Pine and Tar for Coughs and Colds." Yummy yum yum. Someone is going to laugh at all our cellular phone ads one day, aren't they? (via larkfarm)
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Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Fish Out of Water
Dr. Tom Lessl of the University of Georgia studies Speech Communication. For three years he studied the fish outlines that people put on their cards. Well, more precisely he studied why people put the fish outlines on their cars, and he especially wanted to know about those who displayed the legged Darwin and evolution fish. He left surveys whenever he spotted one. You can read some of their responses in this news item on the study. Quickly after Darwin came the Truth fish devouring the Darwin fish, and the dead, legs up Darwin fish. Many other parodies followed. As the NY Times put it: "While natural selection drives biological change, the evolution of car fish seems to have been driven by ideological one-upsmanship at first, and then by market forces and irrepressible silliness. The newest species is the Sushi fish, a truly odd symbolic development in which the fish actually represents a fish." (buy 'em here, another fishy article)
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Sign Nostalgia
Let's revisit something I wrote in December of 1999:

One of those questions that often enters my brain as I am sitting in traffic has finally been answered: just how much does it cost to rent a billboard on 101 in Silicon Valley? Apparently ten times more than it did five years ago. Prime spots are going for $100,000 a month, according to an article in the Mercury News [the article is no longer available online]. And if you want one, you'd better plan ahead. There's a waiting list. Or perhaps you'd prefer a sign on a barge floating in the bay by the Stick (yes, I know it's actually called 3Com Park; what an expensive billboard that was!). Those open at $35,000 for two weeks. Nice to know that my eyeballs have such expensive taste.

Three years later, the billboard landscape looks much different. Billboard advertising salespeople are waxing nostalgic over the days when they could make one or two phone calls and spend the rest of the day with their 18 holes. Prices are at $20,000 and $40,000 per month, down by at least half. And there are blank billboards, sitting and waiting. Billboard ads are less about the dotcoms and more about movies, clothing, IKEA, and pharmaceuticals. There are still tech companies in the mix, but the arrival of a new month no longer brings the same expectation I used to feel as I thought "what will they do next?" I still miss the green topiary vines which spelled out garden.com.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2003

The Washington Post has a fascinating, in-depth look at the creative process of writing greeting cards. As most writers know, skillful brevity is the most difficult creative task. For their talents, greeting card writers get ranked below romance novelists by fellow writers, but at least they are on salary. The greeting card business is nothing to sneeze at; the companies have their own lobbying group. Card creators try to respond quickly to tragedies and changing sentiments. Ultimately, the writers want to give people a way to communicate their true feelings. The author learns how successful that can be when he visits his mother at the end of the piece. (via Pop Culture Junkmail)
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Before the new wave there was New Order and before New Order there was Joy Division. According to synth-pop myth, it was a Sex Pistols concert in Manchester that triggered the genesis of Joy Division. It was the same event that eventually led to the formation of Manchester's Factory Records, which signed Joy Division. And it's that journey, taken by Factory founder Tony Wilson, that is "docudrama-ed" in the movie 24 Hour Party People. Directed by Michael Winterbottom, the movie has just been released on DVD. If you lived within the airwaves of Long Island in the 1980s and listened to WLIR (it's back now, by the way), this may be the movie for you. (thanks Mena)
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Monday, February 10, 2003

You want some Steinbeck with that?
What we did not buy at the 36th California International Antiquarian Book Fair:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone First UK edition, signed by J.K. Rowling, $25,000
Atlas Shrugged First edition, signed by Ayn Rand, $12,000
Eloise First edition $800
A few M.F.K. Fisher signed first editions, $400 and up.
I didn't look much at the truly ancient books and maps, but my husband saw prices of $200,000 and up. What did we buy? Nothing. But we thought very hard about a couple of personally meaningful things in the $100-$200 range.
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Pocky, squid, and 50 pound bags of rice
There were a respectable number of non-Asians at 99 Ranch today (I actually call it "Ranch 99"). This west coast supermarket chain carries Asian foodstuffs of all sorts. The SF Chronicle's Rob Morse goes there to marvel at its vast variety, calling it "the supermarket of the new California millennium." I don't go there very often because they bag their produce into family-sized (or perhaps vegetarian sized) portions, but I visit to stock up on Asian pantry staples like soy sauce and rice. The atmosphere can be overwhelming and the Asian culture's tinier personal space comfort zone is apparent as you battle your way through busy areas. But I can see the attraction for non-Asians to come experience 99 Ranch, not just for the availability of interesting ingredients. It's a fascinating place with live fish, exotic fruits and greens, strange snack foods, and foreign smells. It's Chinatown without the touristy facade. Anyone want to split a bag of gai lan?
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Friday, February 07, 2003

Samsung has a teaser page up for their official Matrix phone (that's Matrix as in that little movie sequel or two being released this year).
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From stationwagon.com, here's The History of the Station Wagon. Ever wondered where the name came from? "They were vehicles that were used as wagons (to carry passengers and cargo) from (railroad) stations." I've owned two and I've only owned two cars. My parents always had wagons or hatchbacks, so it just felt like the right shape to get. Plus, I can comfortably transport an entire string quartet with instruments and non-folding stands. If you're yearning for wood siding, the FAQ describes the best techniques for replacing fake woodtrim. (via a NY Times article about a man who paid a private detective $250 to find his dream car: a 1971 Dodge Monaco station wagon. When he says "I knew I needed professional help," detective was not the profession that first came to my mind.)
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Thursday, February 06, 2003

Good yummy meat. Not for the vegetarians out there, these Bay Area gourmet butcher shops sell the top of the line in aged beef and specialty cuts. I highly recommend Schaub's "Fred's steak" to local red-meat-eater readers for your next cookout. It's a sight to see (black on the outside), and I can't begin to describe the mouth-watering flavor. Make sure you let it rest after cooking to retain the yummy juices.
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Atari dies...again.
The final vestiges of Atari Games were bought by Midway Games from Time-Warner Interactive in 1996. Their arcade games group was gone by 2001 but there were still developers working on console games in Milpitas, CA under the name "Midway West." This group continued using the domain "agames.com" for email, short for "Atari Games." Now, what was left of Atari is going the way of the dodo. Midway is closing down Midway West. The Atari name is still held by Infograms, so that can live on, but the last gasp of a developer group is finally being wiped. (Note: Despite what this Atari history page says at the very bottom, Midway West did survive beyond the 2001 arcade group shutdown.)
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Wednesday, February 05, 2003

On the calendar for this weekend, The 36th California International Antiquarian Book Fair. I think we'll leave the credit/debit cards and checkbook at home.
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The Mercury News takes its turn with hearth cooking expert William Rubel (I posted an SF Chronicle piece about him a month ago). Their profile takes a Valentine's Day spin with a romantic fondue by the fire. Also mentioned are upscale s'mores with gingersnaps, Valrhona chocolate, and hand-cut marshmallows from Whole Foods. Just like our colonial forefathers used to make.
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"Enterprise"'s Linda Park (Ensign Sato) grew up in the Bay Area and attended Notre Dame High School in San Jose.
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U.S. fans of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean series may not know that there was an animated series which aired in the U.K. last year. Better send in those PBS pledges.
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Tuesday, February 04, 2003

AT&T Broadband is finally combining their cable tv and cable modem services into one account, which means one bill. It's about time. Of course this facilitates their plan to offer discounted billing for those who subscribe to both, but I still hail the convenience.
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Happiness is coming home to find your neighbor has put out a huge basket with the sign "FREE LEMONS." Even more happiness is finding out that they are Meyers, riper than the ones in your own backyard (different sunlight placement I suppose), and boy are there a lot of them. One month from now we'll have preserved lemons. Tomorrow I'll buy white vinegar and make pickles. Somehow, experimenting on someone else's free lemons takes away a bit of the pressure for perfection. If something doesn't work out, I've still got our lemons.
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The NY Times declares It's the Season to Stomp Fish Into a Tangy Paste. In Cambodia that is. And the writer makes it sound so appetizing: "prahok - fish cheese, if you will - a Cambodian staple with a smell as piercing and terrifying as the sound of an air raid siren." Later on the words "raw and horrifying" are used. You can tell he's not a food writer.
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Appliance maker Salton continues to improve on their computer for the kitchen ideas while I persist in lambasting the hefty price point of the Microsoft Smart Displays and continue to dream of a thin hardware client terminal that could sell for under $500.
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Monday, February 03, 2003

At an H.M.S. Pinafore performance I played in sometime in the mid-1990s a dear friend of mine, visiting from out of state, brought along a guy who barely made an impression on me. We all went to Denny's afterwards and my friend and I were so engrossed in catching up that I don't recall speaking much to her friend (I am now picturing myself rudely never asking him anything about himself). Months later when she confided that he was courting her most gallantly in old-fashioned Southern style, I couldn't remember his face. And what a shame that was, because I found out he was a most unique and memorable person: an M.D., a varsity gymnast, and a Navy pilot who was accepted into the NASA astronaut program in 1996. Grasping onto my extremely tenuous connection to the fascinating world of actual space travel, I checked in on David Brown's NASA bio occasionally to see when he was finally going to get to go "up." I kept checking even after he was no longer under consideration for Mr. "dear friend of mine." His mission kept getting rescheduled, pushed back, again and again. But it did eventually happen. It ended in great sadness on Saturday morning.
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