Differing States of Emergency

It's very surreal here. I'm in downtown San Diego, half of my office was advised to stay home. Many of our clients either stayed home or had their buildings shut down and were sent home. San Diego residents are advised to stay off the highways and their cell phones. My car was speckled with ashes this morning. The whole city smells like a campfire. Every hour we're hearing of more evacuations: The Wild Animal park evacuated it's most important animals, (but aren't they all important?) the Del Mar racetrack is full of 4 legged refugees, Qualcomm Charger's stadium is at capacity with 10,000 evacuees. The fires to the north and east are encroaching upon coastal san diego. The firest to the south and east are moving into Chula Vista. If the uptown neighborhoods have to evacuate I'll have nowhere to go except the beach. I'll have to find a bunk out on the Midway Battleship in the harbor. The destruction is adding up to tens of thousands of acres. It's such a surreal thing to know that less than 45 minutes away people are losing their homes and spending the night in shelters while here in Hillcrest all are going about their nightly errands: walking dogs, grocery shopping, stopping at the car-wash, etc. It's an uneven state of emergency.

The best part about going home...

Mom's Breakfast - the best!

study on closeness

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?