Sunday, July 5, 2009
Crispy French Toast
This, for Easter breakfast (at 2 PM), compliments of Kat: Ingredients: Eggs Vanilla extract Nutmeg Milk White bread Honey Bunches of Oats or similar cereal (preferably caramel/vanilla flavor), crushed with a rolling pin in a Ziploc bag Beat eggs with vanilla, nutmeg and milk. Place cereal in flat pie pan. Dip bread in egg mixture. Dip egged bread in crushed cereal, coating additionally as necessary. Place cereal-coated bread in pre-heated 325-degree frying pan. Admire the beauty; anticipate the flavor. Voila! Enjoy Easter breakfast at 2 PM (OK, fine – Easter BRUNCH!). Then clean up, laze about for a few hours, and head into Seattle for the traditional family Easter dinner at… the Spaghetti Factory! Why would the Spaghetti Factory be a place for Easter dinner, you ask? Welllll…. many years ago, when the kids were small, we went to “the cousins” house on Bainbridge Island for Easter brunch. By the time we got off the ferry that evening, we were all hungry again, and drove around downtown looking for a place to grab some quick dinner. We drove past our favorite (but always-crowded) restaurant, Spaghetti Factory and noticed unusually few cars in the lot, so we ventured in. NO wait! We had a marvelous time that Easter and ever since then, going back for a no-wait Easter dinner at the Spaghetti Factory has been tradition! Elisabeth and CJ are meeting us there in a few hours and if everyone will put up with my incessant picture taking, I might post a family photo later today. However, if I’m greeted by a chorus of “Mooooooom! No more pictures! Geeeeze!” …well, then we’re out of luck.
A day at the massachusetts library association conference
This morning, I took a trek over to Springfield, MA for the Massachusetts Library Association Conference where I spoke for a little while about some of the programs I did back when I worked at the Bushwick Branch of Brooklyn Public Library. I spoke about focusing the collective expertise of your community, user-generated collections, and a great blog post I found about the innovative corporate culture at Zappos.com.
Lucky for me, I was speaking with these folks:
A great presentation from Monica Harris and Mandy McGee from Oak Park Library (IL). Ive spoken of their awesomeness before on this blog, but do check out their innovative programming for 20 & 30-somethings. Word is theyll be presenting at the ALA Annual Meeting in Chicago as well&.
After a swell lunch with Michael Spelman and Christine Schonhart of Boston Public Library (down in Brooklyn we call that the other BPL), I dropped in on the technology trends discussion where I wisely kept quiet about the New York Yankees. For me, there were two stars of that group. The first was Scott Colford (Web Services, Boston PL), who shared some interesting tools: Prezi as a presentation tool that totally smokes the widely-hated Powerpoint, and Bumptop as a 3d desktop space (if you are on a PC). Also great was Bonnie Pierce of the Dover Town Library. Bonnie is a champion of QR codes and other 2d barcode systems, and she clearly sees the opportunites associated with linking objects and physical spaces with information and virtual spaces. Check out her site. Expect to keep hearing about this technology- Bonnie has something exciting brewing in Dover, and Ive got a QR code project in the works down in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Finally, heres another futurist gem for you. ...
Lucky for me, I was speaking with these folks:
A great presentation from Monica Harris and Mandy McGee from Oak Park Library (IL). Ive spoken of their awesomeness before on this blog, but do check out their innovative programming for 20 & 30-somethings. Word is theyll be presenting at the ALA Annual Meeting in Chicago as well&.
After a swell lunch with Michael Spelman and Christine Schonhart of Boston Public Library (down in Brooklyn we call that the other BPL), I dropped in on the technology trends discussion where I wisely kept quiet about the New York Yankees. For me, there were two stars of that group. The first was Scott Colford (Web Services, Boston PL), who shared some interesting tools: Prezi as a presentation tool that totally smokes the widely-hated Powerpoint, and Bumptop as a 3d desktop space (if you are on a PC). Also great was Bonnie Pierce of the Dover Town Library. Bonnie is a champion of QR codes and other 2d barcode systems, and she clearly sees the opportunites associated with linking objects and physical spaces with information and virtual spaces. Check out her site. Expect to keep hearing about this technology- Bonnie has something exciting brewing in Dover, and Ive got a QR code project in the works down in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Finally, heres another futurist gem for you. ...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Spain: The Latest Episode Of No Reservations Doesn’t Disappoint
Another week, another gazing over at Travel Boyfriend through blurry tears to see a similar reflection staring back. Yes, yes, I know, get over Anthony Bourdain, Travel Betty.
Well, it’s hard.
He started his television career off so irascibly, but has mellowed through the past three seasons like a fine cheese. There’s depth to him. Yes, he’s still cantankerous and that’s one reason to love him, but he’s also sentimental in a very manly and appropriate way.
For those of you who just watched the past two weeks’ episodes with him in Japan and Spain respectively, you know what I’m talking about. And for those of you who didn’t, please set your TiVos now. There will certainly be repeated airings.
Next week he explores Egypt. Having spent a good deal of time there last year, I’m curious what gastronomic successes he finds. Besides the koshary, my only memory of Egyptian food involves buffet pap and bread shaped like crocodiles. Not that I didn’t find the latter amusing. It’s just that my gag reflex still engages when I think back to the grit-marinated kebab meal we had on the outskirts of the Khan el-Khalili market.
But yes, okay, I hear you. You get the point. Tony’s show is phenomenal. It’s transcendent. It’s to be seen. And you are going to watch it so I don’t have to keep beating a dead horse into a tender succulent meal prepared by a village-dwelling culinary master like the ones Tony invariably meets weekly in his travels.
Don’t worry, next week is the Season Finale, so you won’t have to hear from me on the subject for a few more months. Until then, tune in. And maybe read Tonys blog while youre at it.
Well, it’s hard.
He started his television career off so irascibly, but has mellowed through the past three seasons like a fine cheese. There’s depth to him. Yes, he’s still cantankerous and that’s one reason to love him, but he’s also sentimental in a very manly and appropriate way.
For those of you who just watched the past two weeks’ episodes with him in Japan and Spain respectively, you know what I’m talking about. And for those of you who didn’t, please set your TiVos now. There will certainly be repeated airings.
Next week he explores Egypt. Having spent a good deal of time there last year, I’m curious what gastronomic successes he finds. Besides the koshary, my only memory of Egyptian food involves buffet pap and bread shaped like crocodiles. Not that I didn’t find the latter amusing. It’s just that my gag reflex still engages when I think back to the grit-marinated kebab meal we had on the outskirts of the Khan el-Khalili market.
But yes, okay, I hear you. You get the point. Tony’s show is phenomenal. It’s transcendent. It’s to be seen. And you are going to watch it so I don’t have to keep beating a dead horse into a tender succulent meal prepared by a village-dwelling culinary master like the ones Tony invariably meets weekly in his travels.
Don’t worry, next week is the Season Finale, so you won’t have to hear from me on the subject for a few more months. Until then, tune in. And maybe read Tonys blog while youre at it.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
ATV SAFETY EDUCATION WORKSHOP
Alachua County Public Safety / 4-HATV Safety Education WorkshopFor youth ages 8-16LEARN ATVSAFETY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLSIN AFUN, SAFE, FAST PACEDCLASSROOM ATMOSPHEREThere is no ATV riding in this workshopJuly 18,2008At Christian Life Fellowship Church19817 W Newberry RoadNewberryFREE PARENTS’ ORIENTATION 9:00-9:45 AMYOUTH CLASSES 9:00-4:00 PMYouth supervision is possible 8-9 am and from 4-5 pm with advance notice.To Register call 352-384-3106 or email lsw@alachuacounty.usRegistration Fee: $ 5.00 payable at the workshopMake checks out to Alachua County 4HBring a lunch, drinks and snacks will be provided.For persons requiring special accommodations to 4-H activities contact Ernie Terry at (352)955-2402 or TDD/TYY (352)955-2406. Please call at least five working days prior to the program so that proper consideration may be given to the request. Upon request, for persons with print-related disabilities, this information is available in alternate formats. 4-H is for youth ages 5-18. Membership is open to all youth regardless of race, creed, color, sex, national origin, handicap or geographic location within Alachua County.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Honda, GS Yuasa JV to make lithium-ion batteries for 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
greencarcongress.com :
The Nikkei reports that Blue Energy Co, the newly-formed joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa will begin mass-producing high-performance lithium ion batteries for hybrid vehicles in the spring of 2011. This 51-49 joint venture of Yuasa and Honda is expected to start building a lithium ion battery plant this month at Yuasa's Osadano plant, in Kyoto Prefecture, at an estimated initial cost of 10 billion yen [US$100 million] or so. The production is expected to begin at a level sufficient for 100,000 vehicles a year. Honda plans to start using lithium ion batteries with the 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid.
- Thanks to greencarcongress.com for the heads-up, though some details are scarce at this point in time, and I'm not quite sure on the date or year (2010? 2011?) of the next version of the Honda Civic Hybrid as well. But it is starting to look like Honda is getting serious about adopting lithium-ion battery technology for its next generation of hybrid vehicles.
I hope to see the questions that need to be raised being answerered in time. Questions on factors such as safety, reliabity, longevity, price, temperature response and so on. Another point to note is that apparently the Japanese players (Nissan, Toyota and now Honda) are going their own way, perhaps on a divergent path from the Americans (A123Systems, Chevrolet) in this nascent field of lithium-ion hybrid batteries. We'll see how things turn out.
Update #1 : Okay so I missed the earlier announcement with some of the details :
GS Yuasa 6Ah-class prismatic Li-ion EH6 cell ... the new venture will explore modifying the cathode materials and cell structure to optimize performance for next-generation hybrid vehicles. The EH6 ... is a 3.7V, 6Ah cell with a LiNiCoMnO2 cathode and carbon anode. Specific energy for the cell is 67.1 Wh kg-1 ... the cell can provide 10 seconds of boost power at 50% SOC of 1.2 kW (3,600 W kg at 25° C).
Update #2 : Some info about low-temperature response :
It has excellent low-temperature characteristics, maintaining 90% capacity even at -30*C.
Update #3 : And some more info on safety and longevity, and probably a little bit more than you or I have ever wanted to know about SOC measurement, calibration, and data acquisition chips :
The safety of Li-ion was a concern, but new battery technologies like the A123 nanophosphate cell, the EnerDel Spinel-Titanate chemistry, the GS Yuasa EH6 design and others are as safe as NiMh, offer extremely high power (200A peak discharge rates), and last 10 to 15 years with proper charge management. By model year 2012, the majority of hybrid cars and trucks will use lithium battery technology.
It's assuring to see that this Yuasa EH6 battery is being mentioned in the same sentence as A123Systems' nanotech cell. I would like to see more data to be sure, but if this means that the next generation of lithium-ion hybrid batteries from the Japanese could be as competitive as those from the Americans, then I probably wouldn't need to worry about having to switch away from my preferred brand :)
See also :
1. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
2. 2010 Honda Insight specifications released : 41 mpg, 1.3L, 98hp, i-VTEC, CVT
3. 2010 Honda Insight hybrid concept to debut at 2008 Paris International Auto Show
The Nikkei reports that Blue Energy Co, the newly-formed joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa will begin mass-producing high-performance lithium ion batteries for hybrid vehicles in the spring of 2011. This 51-49 joint venture of Yuasa and Honda is expected to start building a lithium ion battery plant this month at Yuasa's Osadano plant, in Kyoto Prefecture, at an estimated initial cost of 10 billion yen [US$100 million] or so. The production is expected to begin at a level sufficient for 100,000 vehicles a year. Honda plans to start using lithium ion batteries with the 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid.
- Thanks to greencarcongress.com for the heads-up, though some details are scarce at this point in time, and I'm not quite sure on the date or year (2010? 2011?) of the next version of the Honda Civic Hybrid as well. But it is starting to look like Honda is getting serious about adopting lithium-ion battery technology for its next generation of hybrid vehicles.
I hope to see the questions that need to be raised being answerered in time. Questions on factors such as safety, reliabity, longevity, price, temperature response and so on. Another point to note is that apparently the Japanese players (Nissan, Toyota and now Honda) are going their own way, perhaps on a divergent path from the Americans (A123Systems, Chevrolet) in this nascent field of lithium-ion hybrid batteries. We'll see how things turn out.
Update #1 : Okay so I missed the earlier announcement with some of the details :
GS Yuasa 6Ah-class prismatic Li-ion EH6 cell ... the new venture will explore modifying the cathode materials and cell structure to optimize performance for next-generation hybrid vehicles. The EH6 ... is a 3.7V, 6Ah cell with a LiNiCoMnO2 cathode and carbon anode. Specific energy for the cell is 67.1 Wh kg-1 ... the cell can provide 10 seconds of boost power at 50% SOC of 1.2 kW (3,600 W kg at 25° C).
Update #2 : Some info about low-temperature response :
It has excellent low-temperature characteristics, maintaining 90% capacity even at -30*C.
Update #3 : And some more info on safety and longevity, and probably a little bit more than you or I have ever wanted to know about SOC measurement, calibration, and data acquisition chips :
The safety of Li-ion was a concern, but new battery technologies like the A123 nanophosphate cell, the EnerDel Spinel-Titanate chemistry, the GS Yuasa EH6 design and others are as safe as NiMh, offer extremely high power (200A peak discharge rates), and last 10 to 15 years with proper charge management. By model year 2012, the majority of hybrid cars and trucks will use lithium battery technology.
It's assuring to see that this Yuasa EH6 battery is being mentioned in the same sentence as A123Systems' nanotech cell. I would like to see more data to be sure, but if this means that the next generation of lithium-ion hybrid batteries from the Japanese could be as competitive as those from the Americans, then I probably wouldn't need to worry about having to switch away from my preferred brand :)
See also :
1. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
2. 2010 Honda Insight specifications released : 41 mpg, 1.3L, 98hp, i-VTEC, CVT
3. 2010 Honda Insight hybrid concept to debut at 2008 Paris International Auto Show
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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