Another special day...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss's_Day

Blog Action Day - The Environment

Witch's Hat water tower, Prospect Park Neighborhood, Minneapolis, MN.

Built in 1913 and de-comissioned in 1953.

Today, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

blogactionday.com

I could talk about green building and environmentally friendly materials but I don't know many friends or family that are building or remodeling at the moment. Instead, I'll highlight an issue that we might take for granted: water. Since I was just in Mpls for my brother's wedding I'll deliver this from a MN perspective. In MN, the per capita consumption of water is approximately 731 gallons a day and 1.72 billiong gallons a year (2000 water resources study, MN DNR). Fortunately, MN does not have the acute water resource problems that CA does but it still must manage water resources sustainability to meet population growth and commercial usage for agricultural, food-related industries and breweries (beer!). So, here's a few inexpensive suggestions that will help reduce water usage in your home or apartment by 5- or 20 gallons a day.

• If you live in an older home, retrofit your plumbing fixtures with a faucet aerators - these increase spray velocity, reduce splash and save water and conserve energy. Faucet adaptors are available to retrofit an aerator onto a non-standard fixture.
• The same thing applies for an old showerhead. Newer shower heads can save as much as 25% with features such as "pause" to lower water flow while you're soaping up and internal pressure compensators, to maintain pressure without using more water.
• Leaking toilets waste a lot of water and adds to the water bill! So fix that leaky toilet if you have one. Or, retrofit with a toilet tank water saver (you can buy one for $2 or just put a jug of water in your tank, or replace the throne with a low-flow toilet. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,213021,00.html
• Fix anything that leaks.
• Don't let the faucet run if you don't have to.
• Cut down on using the garbage disposal, they use a lot of water and add solids to the septic system. Start a compost pile instead.
• Try to only do full dishwasher or laundry loads.

Hillcrest is Among Top 10 Neighborhoods in U.S.

*picture from mysandiegolife.com

Hillcrest is 100 years old and it's wearing it's age well! It's been ranked as one of the best neighborhoods in the U.S.. I feel so lucky that I live here!!! Amen to that! Hallelujah, Hari Krishna, Shalom!

Here's the San Diego Union Tribune's paltry, feeble article which is barely worth reading...
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20071003-0710-1bo03hillcrest.html

However, curious to know who decided what we already knew about Hillcrest, I delved a little deeper into the source, the American Planning Association and I found a much more fulfilling and informative piece of writing.
http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/hillcrest.htm

I'm inspired to find that a couple women architects have buildings in Hillcrest and the fact that "more than 1,200 businesses belong to the district, making it a major center of commerce for not just the neighborhood, but the entire city" is phenomenal. The article understandingly does not mention one oddity that occupies a prime spot in Hillcrest - Pernicano's Di Baffi. It's a slowly decaying Italian restaurant that is owned by a stubborn and allegedly sentimental owner, George Pernicano (a guy with a big handlebar moustache, "casa di baffi" means House of Moustache) who just does enough to keep the building legal. Maybe I will post a picture of it later this week.

Here's an article on the remnant restaurant: http://www.hillquest.com/archives/pericano.htm

I've been wondering if he would entertain an anti-development of sorts: an art/architecture project that would take the existing facade and transform it into an expression of the memories and emotions that keep Mr. Pernicano from doing anything with the building. Since he's wealthy enough to not develop and turn down offers maybe an action above the interests of commerce is in order? I wish I could've visited the restaurant during its heyday. I can close my eyes and imagine the atmosphere and the characters and the steaming plates of veal and pasta and bruschetta going by...how'd this post turn to food?

Food

When I first moved here I consumed 157 servings of Lean Cuisine. That's an estimate because I only saved about a third of all the plastic trays. In the early months of residency I had no friends to eat with and had no desire to prolong dinner with myself so 4 min. of heating + 3 min. of eating + 30 seconds of cleanup was drawn out enough. I've since evolved my eating habits and have had much more moving food moments. One particular moment was the first time I was treated for dinner at French Friend's house, yes, quiche that didn't come from a box and salad dressing that didn't come from a bottle. She'd made everything from scratch and it was so good that I don't think any other quiche will come close, in fact, I've had to force down every other quiche I've eaten since that day. Fantastic food experience #2 happened on Swiss National Day: a specific kind of swiss sausage hot off the grill smuggled into the country in a clever way, perhaps hidden in a David Hasselhoff doll or a bust of Elvis. I think the supply has dried up now. I will have to go to Zurich for more. Another great moment was going to Sushi Ono with a friend who's a total regular there. She got the sushi guy "Jay" to make us something unique and special - tuna roll that he seared ever-so-slightly with a small torch. That was the best roll I've ever had. I hope nothing ever happens to Jay. AND, this is the last one, yesterday I had the Zen Breakfast at the Mission Cafe - brown rice, tofu, eggs over easy and a medley of vegetables, it sounds too healthy but the combination was great! I need to stop writing and go eat now.

trying out a new color

Two months ago I finally made the switch to a water pitcher with filter and I bought a shatterproof waterbottle to port my h20 in. I will no longer be giving money to Dasani or contributing as much plastic to the landfill. I also take the bus every day to work and have not had to put gas in my car for almost 4 weeks. I've also stopped washing my hair, showering or brushing my teeth.

(Ok, I'm not that green...or, i probably would be able to grow things on myself.)

This saturday, I'm going to take a self-guided green design tour in San Diego.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070923-9999-lz1h23green.html

http://www.greenbuilt-sandiego.org/

There's also a Women In Architecture meeting next week on how to get involved in the San Diego green scene AND I found out through research I had to do at work that the City of San Diego has a Green Building Ordinance! - meaning, any new municipal buildings over 5,000 SF must meet the LEED Silver rating. Does anyone know if Minneapolis has a Green Building ordinance? Well, Mpls should get one!

The dreaded E50 error

I've had my canon Powershot S400 for less than 4 years. Last week the memory refused to work and it refused to take a picture. This has happened before so I re-format the memory card and voila! It works again! However, this time the re-formatting function in the camera refused to work and the camera would shut itself down and say E50 on the screen and then the overwhelming sense of "the world is against me" sets in. This time I hooked Canon up to my less than 4 year old laptop that's already had it's hard drive replaced and through the WinXP camera wizard, took a picture with the camera using my computer keyboard. I felt like a dangerous hacker! And, I don't know why but it worked! My camera now works again! I don't have to give more money to Canon. So why doesn't my 20 year old toaster oven ever need to be re-formatted? You just turn it on and it puts a nice golden brown on everything (unless you forget and start doing something else). Also, can I control my toaster oven from my laptop? I bet one trip to Ace hardware and some speaker wire and a phone call to my brother @ the U would make it happen.