Grid Alternatives

What a great idea! Get funding. Teach people how to install solar panels and then install as many solar panels on low-income housing as possible using free labor.

This Thursday I will participate in a Grid Alternatives training session in Livermore. After that I will be able to help install solar panels on future Grid Alternatives installations.

This sounds like a win-win to me. Photo-voltaic panels for the masses and free training for when I finally want to put PV on my house.

The sun is an amazing burning ball of gas in the sky.

Blue Scholars

The best new hip hop band in America: Blue Scholars.

Camper Shoes

I bought my Camper shoes in June but they have quickly come to love them. They're both stylish and unique. I can wear them to work and to any casual gathering and not feel out of place. I feel unique and cool when I am wearing my Campers. I love them.

They cost a lot so I probably won't be buying another pair for a long time. But a few expensive and long-lasting pieces of clothing in your wardrobe can really set you apart and give you a unique style. My friend Laura does this really well. Probably better than anyone else I know. She's the one who convinced me to go into the Camper store in the first place. This purchase more than anything broke my longstanding aversion to buying goods that were anything but the least expensive.

Campers are a little flat footed for me. But I just make sure that I don't wear them when I will be walking long distances or standing on my feet for super long periods.

I'm wondering if buying some of the clothing items at Nau.com will have the same effect on clothes as buying my Campers did on buying shoes.

The Human Face

Last night I wasn't feeling well. I laid in bed and read a few hundred pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before deciding to watch some genuinely mind numbing electronic medium.

I have Netflix and utilized the Watch it Now function that comes with every subscription to stream a BBC documentary called The Human Face. I've only watched the first episode. But true to John Cleese it is both funny and informative. It even nearly brought a tear to my eye at one point.

I highly recommend it.

USGBC - LEED

I can't say that I love USGBC's LEED system. But it does such a messy job of tying together so many disparate concerns that, in its entirety, it is a thing of beauty.

Everything from infill housing to second-hand smoke is addressed in the LEED certification process.

As a planner I wish they would give more points for compact development - perhaps this will be addressed once LEED-ND is released and buildings will get a whopping 10 points for being in a LEED-ND neighborhood.

And for all of the malcontents out there who whine about certain LEED points being very expensive to implement and others being cheap miss the holistic nature of the LEED system. LEED is not not just about saving energy; that's what we have Energy Star certification for. LEED is about addressing energy, indoor environmental quality, compact development, access to transit, water quality, and reducing GHG through regional sourcing, amongst others.

LEED is not a panacea but the amount of press coverage LEED buildings receive contributes considerably to public's general knowledge regarding the environmental impact of building and development.

Visiting Friends

Kelly and Naomi arrived late Friday night. We had a great day Saturday before they headed off to Portland Sunday morning.

Here is a brief itinerary of a full, fun day in San Francisco.

Wake up around 8am. Cook breakfast of omelets.
Head to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market for fun urbanity, overwhelming diversity and prices, and a good lunch of rotisserie chicken, bread and cheese, and organic peaches.
Catch the N-Judah to Golden Gate Park. Enjoy a stroll into the park to the Tour de Fat. (While I' m not a fan of alcohol in general I will not hestitate to admit that Fat Tire is my favorite beer out there.) Good beer, fun music, tons of bikes and the great people who ride them, and hilarious antics.
A side trip to the convention center to pick up the rental car. Finding the rental storefront closed. Heading to the Castro to soak in the gayness, eat a good dinner of thai food (I love pad kew mao) and some gelato.
A leisurely stroll down 18th street towards Dolores Park and the Mission. Stumbling upon Cinema in the Park at Dolores park while taking in the panoramic views of the city.
Stopping in for the first time at Bi-Rite Creamery for some of the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. [At some point I will make a posting completely dedicated to this amazing creamery].
Home on the BART for a few hours of reading and relaxation before sleep.

A perfect vacation day for all three of us. Gluttonous, exhausting, exhilarating, and filled with a diversity of urban life.

Harry Potter

Friday night Naomi and Kelly arrived in San Francisco for the start of their vacation on the West Coast. They planned to spend a single day with me before renting a car and driving the Pacific Coast up to Portland.

They arrived late Friday night and I picked them up with Flexcar at the airport. After dropping them off at home I ran to Safeway to pick up milk before dropping the car off at Macarthur BART. It was about 1am and there were more people in Safeway than I would have expected. In front of me in line were four late highschool/early college age kids who waited patiently without a single thing to buy. When they reached the head of the line the woman smiled and laughed before heading over to the customer service counter. She returned with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Who know that Safeway was selling Harry Potter books - for $20! On the spur of the moment, remembering the fleeting escape they brought me during my Peace Corps experience I bought one.

18 hours later and I'm 200 pages through already. While it's not the best literature I've ever written I cannot deny that I don't feel a guilty pleasure reading them.

Thanks for a fun run Mr. Potter.

Rob Rich

It is difficult for me, as an agnostic/atheist, to believe in angels. A devoutly Catholic friend of mine once described to me how she believed that the wonderful people who came into her life were angels. Those special people who are unique, positive, and exhilerating.

In this hum drum technologically driven world Rob walks amongst us without a cell phone. Is he more free than the rest of us? Probably.

Whether angelic or not is not for me to decide, but Rob Rich, AF Evans construction manager comes as close to anyone in my life right now. Bright, cheerful, joyful about life, sarcastic when it's worth it, humble, open, honest, knowledgeable, logical, forgiving, and friendly.

My experience wold have been completely different at AF Evans if Rob had not been my cube partner. I look forward to seeing him each day and miss him when he is gone.

Tomorrow is Rob's birthday. Happy Birthday, Rob! You make those around you better.

Microsoft Office Excel

I hate to geek out like this but making magic happen in excel consistently brings me joy. I rarely need to make excel magic in my personal life so usually it happens for school or work.

I'm not the most expert excel user in the world but working through the logic of creating a waterfall of excel functions comes close to a flow experience for me.

Today I designed a spreadsheet which compared car-share vs. reimbursement across categories of both distance and time. While it wasn't the most challenging assignment I've ever tackled it was enough to fill me with the spirit.

One another note,

I was unofficially given the nod to keep Mozilla Firefox on my work computer today. Another thing to be thankful for.

This American Life

When I left for Peace Corps I only brought a few mementos from home. One of them was my This American Life decoder pin. I always felt like the story telling on This American Life struck a deep chord with me and not just because I've always wanted to be a story teller myself.

On Maine Public Radio This American Life is presented on Sunday evenings. It is the perfect time for the show. After a long week, preparing for another week, I would make dinner and listen quietly. It was my own secular meditation/worship. Most of the time the stories on the show would make me think beyond myself in a way that was unique. Sometimes I felt revulsion, sometimes reverence, sometimes joy, sometimes sadness.

This past Sunday with the new This American Life podcast (since the show plays here at the worst times of day) I started what I hope will be a new personal tradition. With good bread, mediocre brie, and a glass of white wine I sat back in the cool darkness of my apartment and let the stories wash over me.

Swedish Pancakes

I love Swedish pancakes. For me they are the ultimate comfort food. Can I name one single dinner recipe that we used to eat growing up? I sure can. Swedish Pancakes. Usually we'd eat them when mom was tired and exhausted.

I love that they are not as filling as most pancakes.
I love their flexibility: fruit in the middle, syrup, anything you like. Dress them up, dress them down.

When I'm making or eating Swedish pancakes I am back at home, young, standing on the heat grate next to the oven waiting for the moment when the top is solid enough that the pancake is flippable. That eggy goodness fills my nostrils and I'm transported to a safe, sweet place.

Recipe:

Swedish Pancakes
1 1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
3/4 cup of flower
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt

Beat the eggs and milk together.
Mix the rest in.
I prefer it over medium heat with more butter than most doctors recommend.

Children

Dylan 20 months 010, originally uploaded by mmarano.

I love children!

I think one of the things that has been missing in my life here in California is more interaction with children. I find that many times playing with children shares similarities with other activities that are often flow experiences. I get lost in the play and the challenge of interacting with each child.

Yesterday evening I had the opportunity to baby sit my favorite 20 month old in the Bay Area, Dylan. Dylan and I played with cars, with yoga blocks, in the bath tub, and read together in bed.


Thanks for a fun evening Dylan.

Rope Swings

On Saturday, July 14th. Alissa, Sam, Alex, and I hiked into Bass Lake from the Palomarin trailhead on Point Reyes.

I did this hike in the Spring and passed the lake right by as we headed for the waterfall. The waterfall is well worth the extra mile.

But on a warm, sunny day the Rope Swing at Bass Lake cannot be missed. Warm water. A long fall. A little adrenaline.

The trip was well worth it. I loved it.

Here are directions: http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/palomarin.html

Post Secret

I don't think that I will ever get tired of viewing the PostSecret Blog each week. Each week it makes me laugh, some weeks it brings me close to tears, and on certain occasions it shocks me. In this world PostSecret reminds me that we're all normal in our own way. Even if all of our fears, pains, and secrets are different. Finding connections in our electronic world can sometimes be difficult and I'm thankful to PostSecret for helping me feel that connection.

Beckham Mania

No matter how tacky it is Beckham mania makes me smile. As a soccer fan since I was little I am excited to watch the post-Beckham era unfold in the USA. While it is clear that he won't make soccer a top tier sport in the USA overnight - his arrival and short term presence may indeed nudge soccer over an imaginary barrier here.

Of course Beckham's success will not be measurable until near the end of his contract in 2012. At that point if the MLS is not profitable it might well be a bust.

But up until then I am going to enjoy the excitement generated by his arrival - regardless of whether my excitement makes me cringe a little too. The fact that it makes me want to cringe makes me wonder if I am becoming an urban elitist - one of my own personal nightmares.

So basking in Beckham (and soccer)'s glow right now makes me thankful for popular culture and all of its trappings.

KEXP.org & Pandora.com

At work they block internet streaming protocols. Besides saving us bandwidth I'm sure that it cuts down on worker productivity. I know that I am a happier employee, and more productive, when I am able to listen to KEXP. I stream KEXP at home all of the time. I am thankful for KEXP.org. I hope that new rules don't limit its ability to broadcast over the internet. Since I cannot listen to KEXP at work I am stuck with either personal CDs, personal radio, or...pandora.com. When pandora.com first came into being I was an early experimenter. I wasn't a huge fan but in the year or so since I stopped using the service I think they've gotten considerably better in making music suggestions. And since I can't listen to anything else at work it is way better than nothing. I'm thankful for pandora.com.

Clouds

Cloudy days in the East Bay are rare. Walking to work with overcast skies made me feel like it was the first day of Spring after a long winter. Who would have guessed that constant sunshine is as boring and monotonous as constant cold/clouds/anything. I think I miss the hum of the seasons. Sorry Northern California but your perfect climate just isn't my style.

This Year by The Mountain Goats.

From Our Own Correspondent

Next to This American Life the BBC's From our Own Correspondent has quickly come to be my favorite radio program.

Always entertaining, witty, and thought provoking, From our Own Correspondent is a style of journalism I enjoy. It doesn't take itself too seriously and provides insights which one would be hard pressed to find in a 'straight' journalistic undertaking. That's not to say that I would want all of my news this way, sometimes NPR has a little too much chattiness for my liking (sorry, Steve Innskeep), but From our Own Correspondent is not trying to be hard news anyway.

Any day in which I am walking to work listening to my iPod and openly laughing is a good day. I'm thankful for those Brits and how Auntie Beeb has taken me under her wing.

Hiking

Armstrong Redwoods State Recreation Area
and
Austin Creek State Recreation Area

My friend Whitney and I spent Saturday night in the Manning's Flat I campground about 4 miles from Bullfrog pond. We felt lucky to have the opportunity to hike into our campsite and leave the normal hustle and bustle of the family campground behind.

The Gilliam trail along the creekside was my favorite part of the trip. It reminded me of hiking trails in Kuna Yala, where I spent two years in Peace Corps, as the trail criss-crossed the creek a number of times.

I haven't hiked or camped since last September and I felt re-energized by the experience. The details of daily life that one is confronted by when hiking really does take ones mind off the minutia of daily life. I was happy to have my monkey brain quieted for awhile.

We didn't spend too much time in Armstrong Redwoods SR but during my short time there I came to love redwood groves more than I ever have before. Even two trips to Muir Woods didn't inspire me as much as twenty minutes in the Armstrong grove.

Thanks, Whitney for a great weekend. Being as unprepared as we were for hiking made it that much better.

Old Oakland Farmer's Market

The Old Oakland Farmer's Market at 9th and Broadway on Fridays:
This is my favorite local farmer's market. I don't know if I would make a special trip here on Friday's if I wasn't downtown already. But if you're here on a Friday this is a must see. I think it stands apart because it is a safe and friendly pedestrian oasis in downtown Oakland. Monday-Thursday when I leave the office to get some fresh air or buy lunch I am always struck by the seediness of the sidewalks that make up Oakland's urban core. While I like the authenticity of this seediness I must admit that I do not look forward to stepping into it each day - in many ways staying in the office for lunch can be more relaxing. In contract the Old Oakland Farmer's Market is warm, inviting, busy but not crowded, and always has pleasing music and food.