There are no guarantees, which was the agenda for Dustin Demers when he began preseason training for his Bishop Feehan High boys' tennis team.
"We have a lot of kids vying for the seven spots," said Demers, whose Shamrocks carded a 12-4 regular season record last year and beat Nauset, on the road, in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament. "We have a lot of depth, so there's a lot of competition for spots."
The one spot that appears to be locked up is at No. 1 singles where senior captain Matt Boland returns as the incumbent, having compiled an 11-7 slate a year ago. Demers then has a pair of players who saw some extensive minutes playing at singles as well, junior Matt Ustas, who played mostly at No. 2 singles and senior captain Josh Loew.
"We have a lot of guys who can play, we're coming back strong," said Demers. A trio of seniors - Matt Miles, Devin Verzillo and Steve Swick - sophomore John Shanley and a pair of freshmen, Josh Scanlon and Jack Lahiff, all have proven to be talented and competitive.
Attleboro High Bombardiers Coach Russ Severs is hoping for improvement from day-to-day, week-to-week - it's going to be a season of learning for the Bombardiers, whose lost their top two singles players and both doubles teams from a squad that posted a dozen wins last year.
"Every team goes through its struggles," said Severs, "but I'm hoping for the best." The lone player with appreciable varsity experience is junior Matt Forrest, who had a tremendous season at No. 3 singles last year, compiling an 18-1 slate. Senior captain Eric Harris, a doubles player last year and sophomore Brian Lussier are also in the singles mix.
Amidst the cast vying for doubles spots are Saquib Thradery, Anil Mahesh and Samir Yusef.
The Falcons shared the South Coast Conference championship with Old Rochester last season, went 16-2 during the regular season and won a round in the Division 2-South Tournament. The Falcons
are hoping to match their ever-improving standards for success. "The freshmen that we have out are good, the sophomores back are improved," said D-R coach Victor Augusto.
Atop the Falcons' ladder is junior Jeff Medeiros, D-R's No. 1 singles player last season, who compiled a 15-5 record. Augusto had better than two dozen candidates for the team and is grooming junior Justin Torres, junior transfer Tim Guimond and sophomore Dylan Jann for singles action.
Seniors Tom Wooten and Neil Caswell are both doubles veterans and could be at No. 1 doubles or share roles with some of the newcomers.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
What's the future of medical mold making in the US?
In large part, the future of medical injection molding in the United States depends on its ability to innovate in leading-edge mold manufacturing. Mold designers and manufacturers must respond to requirements for more cost-effective medical device components, high quality parts, and smaller parts, in addition to other trends.
One of the long-time leading players is Bill Kushmaul, who started Tech Mold in Tempe, AZ in partnership with Steve Uhlman, founder of Tech Plastics (eventually the Tech Group) in 1972. Initial targets included electronics and personal computer markets. Over time, the company began focusing on high-volume, high-cavitation molds for packaging (caps and closures, dispensers), the medical disposable industry and personal care/consumer markets.
Tech Mold is the mold maker of choice for two recent demonstrations in hot runner side gating for syringe molds. Mold-Masters developed Melt-Cube, a linear side gating system that allows 20% higher pitch density than circular systems and is designed for easy tip replacement in the press. Tech Mold built the mold for a demonstration at NPE2012 (April 1-5) in the CBW booth (#3169), where a 16-cavity automated system will be producing a 5-6cc polypropylene medical syringe with IML that integrates graphics with anti-piracy features. Tech Mold also supplied the mold for a Husky Injection Molding Systems demonstration of its Ultra SideGate hot runner at the Fakuma International Trade Fair in Germany last October. The mold was running polyoxymethylene (POM) resin producing a 0.5 gram medical cap with 1.25 millimeter wall thickness.
Plastics Today discussed the future of mold making for the medical market with Kushmaul on the eve of NPE2012 in Orlando, FL (April 1-5). He stresses that he comes from a perspective of a manufacturer of very high-cavitation molds for the medical disposable market, and that the medical market comprises many more opportunities for mold makers including lower cavitation molds for other types of medical devices, durable instrumentation, and other applications. Many opportunities are emerging, for example, in micro molded medical products, as reported by Plastics Today.
Twenty years ago Baxter closed its molding facility in Southern California and put all the work into the Tech Group's medical molding facility. The cycle for this activity tends to be about five years on the short cycle end and 20 years in the long cycle for companies to alter their business model with respect to whether they 'make or buy.' It's a 'make or buy' wheel. The medical OEM has its own molding operation because they feel it gives them control, so they invest in state-of-the-art molding machines and in-house molding. Then they realize that they're giving their molding operations free rent in their facility, and that they'd rather invest in their medical business - designing new products, marketing and selling their products, and that manufacturing takes a lot of resources they'd rather put other places.
So they go to the custom molders, which means buyers get involved and their job is to buy cheaper and cheaper, and ultimately tooling becomes the realm of the custom molder, and the mold maker is left dealing with people at the OEM who might not have engineering expertise to understand the role of the mold maker in the overall success of the product.
Today's trend is to outsource moldmaking from the OEM. However, the OEM is placing more and greater demands on the moldmaker for tighter dimensions and features, with minimal costs.
One of the long-time leading players is Bill Kushmaul, who started Tech Mold in Tempe, AZ in partnership with Steve Uhlman, founder of Tech Plastics (eventually the Tech Group) in 1972. Initial targets included electronics and personal computer markets. Over time, the company began focusing on high-volume, high-cavitation molds for packaging (caps and closures, dispensers), the medical disposable industry and personal care/consumer markets.
Tech Mold is the mold maker of choice for two recent demonstrations in hot runner side gating for syringe molds. Mold-Masters developed Melt-Cube, a linear side gating system that allows 20% higher pitch density than circular systems and is designed for easy tip replacement in the press. Tech Mold built the mold for a demonstration at NPE2012 (April 1-5) in the CBW booth (#3169), where a 16-cavity automated system will be producing a 5-6cc polypropylene medical syringe with IML that integrates graphics with anti-piracy features. Tech Mold also supplied the mold for a Husky Injection Molding Systems demonstration of its Ultra SideGate hot runner at the Fakuma International Trade Fair in Germany last October. The mold was running polyoxymethylene (POM) resin producing a 0.5 gram medical cap with 1.25 millimeter wall thickness.
Plastics Today discussed the future of mold making for the medical market with Kushmaul on the eve of NPE2012 in Orlando, FL (April 1-5). He stresses that he comes from a perspective of a manufacturer of very high-cavitation molds for the medical disposable market, and that the medical market comprises many more opportunities for mold makers including lower cavitation molds for other types of medical devices, durable instrumentation, and other applications. Many opportunities are emerging, for example, in micro molded medical products, as reported by Plastics Today.
Twenty years ago Baxter closed its molding facility in Southern California and put all the work into the Tech Group's medical molding facility. The cycle for this activity tends to be about five years on the short cycle end and 20 years in the long cycle for companies to alter their business model with respect to whether they 'make or buy.' It's a 'make or buy' wheel. The medical OEM has its own molding operation because they feel it gives them control, so they invest in state-of-the-art molding machines and in-house molding. Then they realize that they're giving their molding operations free rent in their facility, and that they'd rather invest in their medical business - designing new products, marketing and selling their products, and that manufacturing takes a lot of resources they'd rather put other places.
So they go to the custom molders, which means buyers get involved and their job is to buy cheaper and cheaper, and ultimately tooling becomes the realm of the custom molder, and the mold maker is left dealing with people at the OEM who might not have engineering expertise to understand the role of the mold maker in the overall success of the product.
Today's trend is to outsource moldmaking from the OEM. However, the OEM is placing more and greater demands on the moldmaker for tighter dimensions and features, with minimal costs.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Designer strikes balance with sparing use of antiques to elicit eclectic charm
When they moved into their Mill Valley home after relocating from the East Coast, Benjamin Dhong's interior design clients had a lot of baggage, both physically and mentally.
They had a house full of things, of course, all of the boxes and furniture that come with any big move. They also brought the sentimental attachments that came with a lot of that stuff.
"The clients were this young, preppy sort of East Coast family from New York," recalled Dhong, a prominent Bay Area designer. "Like a lot of young couples, they were saddled with antiques that they had inherited, and they felt they couldn't give them away because they would feel guilty."
By culling their collection and using only select pieces, Dhong assuaged his clients' guilt and provided them with an integrated living space, blending their belongings with new pieces for a perfect balance.
In the living room, for example, the solid bulk of a decidedly modern coffee table blends surprisingly well with the curves of a rustic antique side board nearby. Just across from the coffee table, two antique wooden armchairs flank a blue marble fireplace with a white mantle. The niche above the fireplace bears a decorative wood cutout design. This simple circle design is played up in the bright blue-and-white pattern of the reupholstered chairs, which are family relics.
"I used a few key pieces, but paired them with new modern ones, creating a sort of high-low, old-new mix," said Dhong, who rose to prominence as a respected Bay Area designer under the tutelage of Martha Angus and quickly struck out on his own, opening his design firm in 2007.
Since then his designs have been featured in "House Beautiful" and "California Home+Design," among numerous publications.
Informed by extensive travel, his interest in history, and the stylized grandeur of classic films he caught on TV reruns as a kid, Dhong's style and taste are highly eclectic and original. Among his style inspirations, he has mentioned Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and John Saladino.
Dhong gives most of the credit, however, to his mother. He laughs today looking back on childhood visits to the homes of friends and relatives with his mom, during which she would spontaneously re-arrange their furniture.
Dhong, whose clients actually invite him to rearrange their entire homes, simply molds and directs his design vision from project to project based on each client's needs. In this case, that meant keeping enough of the couple's most cherished family pieces, but showcasing them in a way that gave them .
They had a house full of things, of course, all of the boxes and furniture that come with any big move. They also brought the sentimental attachments that came with a lot of that stuff.
"The clients were this young, preppy sort of East Coast family from New York," recalled Dhong, a prominent Bay Area designer. "Like a lot of young couples, they were saddled with antiques that they had inherited, and they felt they couldn't give them away because they would feel guilty."
By culling their collection and using only select pieces, Dhong assuaged his clients' guilt and provided them with an integrated living space, blending their belongings with new pieces for a perfect balance.
In the living room, for example, the solid bulk of a decidedly modern coffee table blends surprisingly well with the curves of a rustic antique side board nearby. Just across from the coffee table, two antique wooden armchairs flank a blue marble fireplace with a white mantle. The niche above the fireplace bears a decorative wood cutout design. This simple circle design is played up in the bright blue-and-white pattern of the reupholstered chairs, which are family relics.
"I used a few key pieces, but paired them with new modern ones, creating a sort of high-low, old-new mix," said Dhong, who rose to prominence as a respected Bay Area designer under the tutelage of Martha Angus and quickly struck out on his own, opening his design firm in 2007.
Since then his designs have been featured in "House Beautiful" and "California Home+Design," among numerous publications.
Informed by extensive travel, his interest in history, and the stylized grandeur of classic films he caught on TV reruns as a kid, Dhong's style and taste are highly eclectic and original. Among his style inspirations, he has mentioned Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel and John Saladino.
Dhong gives most of the credit, however, to his mother. He laughs today looking back on childhood visits to the homes of friends and relatives with his mom, during which she would spontaneously re-arrange their furniture.
Dhong, whose clients actually invite him to rearrange their entire homes, simply molds and directs his design vision from project to project based on each client's needs. In this case, that meant keeping enough of the couple's most cherished family pieces, but showcasing them in a way that gave them .
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
At Proenza Schouler: research, technology and a world of difference
Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are jacked up as they talk about the handmade fabrics in their fall-winter 2012 runway collection, with its urban-warrior-trekking-the-Himalayas vibe.
Embroidery that is a takeoff on ancient Buddhist symbols is "sick." Colorful leather biker jackets woven using a technique inspired by baskets they discovered on vacation in Bhutan are "killer." And the tiny plastic beads, which they had to develop their own molds to make, strung together to create a chain-mail effect on tunics? They're "for real."
"Silhouettes have been done, but fabric research and technology, that's the 21st century frontier. That's what's truly modern to us," Hernandez says.
After 10 years in business, the Proenza Schouler "boys" as they are still affectionately called at age 33, are among the most influential designers in American fashion, known for collections that mix arts-and-crafts techniques, such as shibori dyeing and Native American weaving, with a modern, streetwise attitude. Just this month the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced that McCollough and Hernandez once again are finalists in the trade group's prestigious annual competition, a distinction that seems to be becoming routine.
And, thanks to new investors, they are entering a new phase of growth, with retail stores and an even wider range of clothing and accessories on the horizon.
They stand for luxury, but not in the old-world, European sense. It's a cool-girl luxury that resonates with those seated front row at their New York Fashion Week show in February, including budding director Gia Coppola, actress Dakota Fanning, model-designer Liya Kebede and designer Tory Burch, who said of McCollough and Hernandez, "They have a high-fashion vision with commercial appeal."
On the fall runway, they explored the idea of protection with tough-looking, oversize jackets and low-slung, wide-leg trousers in white cotton pique. Fencing, karate, judo and other fighting sports inspired the silhouettes and the padded details. Stiff wrap skirts in woven leather were worn with drapey lacquered lace tunics tucked in the front and left loose in back. Dresses were made from silk brocade, picturing things such as machine gears and eyeballs, and sweat shirts were embroidered with peacocks. Prices range from $175 to $8,850.
The designers met while studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York and in 2002 collaborated on a graduate thesis collection that was so successful it was bought in its entirety by Barneys New York.
"Right out of school, they were doing some of the freshest things on the runway. And they have continued to keep that energy up," Ken Downing, fashion director for Neiman Marcus, says. "They really are like a young Marc Jacobs."
It will be a year in July since a group led by apparel giant Andrew Rosen bought a chunk of the brand to help diversify the product offerings and lead it into a new phase of growth. The president of Theory, Rosen is a major investor in several American fashion brands. But until he invested in Proenza Schouler, his stable was made up of lower-priced contemporary brands such as Alice & Olivia and Rag & Bone, not luxury players.
"I believe in the beauty of what Jack and Lazaro do, the way they combine and use prints, their fabric innovation," Rosen says. "They ooze creativity."
They've just started construction on their first boutique on Madison Avenue in New York, which is expected to open later this year. "For us, it's weird to go to stores and see a watered-down version of the collection," Hernandez says, referring to how boutiques and department stores buy only a few pieces. "With our own store, we'll have the opportunity to show our whole expression of the brand."
Embroidery that is a takeoff on ancient Buddhist symbols is "sick." Colorful leather biker jackets woven using a technique inspired by baskets they discovered on vacation in Bhutan are "killer." And the tiny plastic beads, which they had to develop their own molds to make, strung together to create a chain-mail effect on tunics? They're "for real."
"Silhouettes have been done, but fabric research and technology, that's the 21st century frontier. That's what's truly modern to us," Hernandez says.
After 10 years in business, the Proenza Schouler "boys" as they are still affectionately called at age 33, are among the most influential designers in American fashion, known for collections that mix arts-and-crafts techniques, such as shibori dyeing and Native American weaving, with a modern, streetwise attitude. Just this month the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced that McCollough and Hernandez once again are finalists in the trade group's prestigious annual competition, a distinction that seems to be becoming routine.
And, thanks to new investors, they are entering a new phase of growth, with retail stores and an even wider range of clothing and accessories on the horizon.
They stand for luxury, but not in the old-world, European sense. It's a cool-girl luxury that resonates with those seated front row at their New York Fashion Week show in February, including budding director Gia Coppola, actress Dakota Fanning, model-designer Liya Kebede and designer Tory Burch, who said of McCollough and Hernandez, "They have a high-fashion vision with commercial appeal."
On the fall runway, they explored the idea of protection with tough-looking, oversize jackets and low-slung, wide-leg trousers in white cotton pique. Fencing, karate, judo and other fighting sports inspired the silhouettes and the padded details. Stiff wrap skirts in woven leather were worn with drapey lacquered lace tunics tucked in the front and left loose in back. Dresses were made from silk brocade, picturing things such as machine gears and eyeballs, and sweat shirts were embroidered with peacocks. Prices range from $175 to $8,850.
The designers met while studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York and in 2002 collaborated on a graduate thesis collection that was so successful it was bought in its entirety by Barneys New York.
"Right out of school, they were doing some of the freshest things on the runway. And they have continued to keep that energy up," Ken Downing, fashion director for Neiman Marcus, says. "They really are like a young Marc Jacobs."
It will be a year in July since a group led by apparel giant Andrew Rosen bought a chunk of the brand to help diversify the product offerings and lead it into a new phase of growth. The president of Theory, Rosen is a major investor in several American fashion brands. But until he invested in Proenza Schouler, his stable was made up of lower-priced contemporary brands such as Alice & Olivia and Rag & Bone, not luxury players.
"I believe in the beauty of what Jack and Lazaro do, the way they combine and use prints, their fabric innovation," Rosen says. "They ooze creativity."
They've just started construction on their first boutique on Madison Avenue in New York, which is expected to open later this year. "For us, it's weird to go to stores and see a watered-down version of the collection," Hernandez says, referring to how boutiques and department stores buy only a few pieces. "With our own store, we'll have the opportunity to show our whole expression of the brand."
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Build a simple, durable garden path
A pathway will lead you and visitors through your garden, up to the front entry or to those little hidden areas that help make your garden so well designed. Every pathway should be sturdy and made to last through many years of weather and processions of feet. A pathway should add to the garden but not standout like a sore thumb.
For a simple and natural pathway you can use natural materials such as tree rounds. Tree rounds can be made simply and easily. The tree rounds are usually cut from fallen trees. With a chainsaw, cut slices about six inches thick. The tree limb can be a diameter of about six inches to larger ones that are as big as the tree you have. The bark can be left on or taken off.
Each tree round will be placed in the pathway like stones would be placed. Mix and match or just use sizes that are similar in size. You will need quite a few tree rounds. The number will depend on the sizes you cut.
A pathway should reflect the homes style. Curves look more natural and less formal. Pathways should be wide enough for two people to walk down, hand in hand. A good width is about 3-4 feet. Decide where the pathway will lead you and be sure to follow existing travel patterns. Do not put a pathway too close to a fence, hedge or house wall. This will not be comfortable to walk on. Both sides should be free to have planting beds if you wish. For an area that has a slope of more than 10%, then be sure and add steps in several places down your pathway. The pathway ends and curves can be wider than the main pathway to add interest.
The area where the pathway will go should be prepared well. Take out any existing plant material to a depth of 8 inches. Add two inches to the trenched out area and level as much as possible. Place the tree rounds in the sand bed. After all the tree rounds are in place you can fill in between the rounds with good soil and compost for planting plants that like to be stepped on such as some of the thyme plants. You can also use dwarf monkey grass or some kind of spreading plant that will fill in all the cracks between the rounds. Water the plants in well and be sure and walk on them to make root to soil contact.
If you don’t want plants between the tree rounds, you can put small gravel, mulch, more sand or a sand/concrete mix. The edges of the pathway can be lined with metal edging or whatever material you choose to use to keep the pathway edges neat and in line. It is not required that you use an edging for your pathway.
Other materials that can be used for a pathway are bricks and pavers. Flagstone is a popular choice. You can purchase pavers that are whimsical or you can buy molds to make your own pavers. If you choose to mix materials then take into consideration the colors and the styles. Whatever material you choose, use safety when handling heavy rocks or wood.
For a simple and natural pathway you can use natural materials such as tree rounds. Tree rounds can be made simply and easily. The tree rounds are usually cut from fallen trees. With a chainsaw, cut slices about six inches thick. The tree limb can be a diameter of about six inches to larger ones that are as big as the tree you have. The bark can be left on or taken off.
Each tree round will be placed in the pathway like stones would be placed. Mix and match or just use sizes that are similar in size. You will need quite a few tree rounds. The number will depend on the sizes you cut.
A pathway should reflect the homes style. Curves look more natural and less formal. Pathways should be wide enough for two people to walk down, hand in hand. A good width is about 3-4 feet. Decide where the pathway will lead you and be sure to follow existing travel patterns. Do not put a pathway too close to a fence, hedge or house wall. This will not be comfortable to walk on. Both sides should be free to have planting beds if you wish. For an area that has a slope of more than 10%, then be sure and add steps in several places down your pathway. The pathway ends and curves can be wider than the main pathway to add interest.
The area where the pathway will go should be prepared well. Take out any existing plant material to a depth of 8 inches. Add two inches to the trenched out area and level as much as possible. Place the tree rounds in the sand bed. After all the tree rounds are in place you can fill in between the rounds with good soil and compost for planting plants that like to be stepped on such as some of the thyme plants. You can also use dwarf monkey grass or some kind of spreading plant that will fill in all the cracks between the rounds. Water the plants in well and be sure and walk on them to make root to soil contact.
If you don’t want plants between the tree rounds, you can put small gravel, mulch, more sand or a sand/concrete mix. The edges of the pathway can be lined with metal edging or whatever material you choose to use to keep the pathway edges neat and in line. It is not required that you use an edging for your pathway.
Other materials that can be used for a pathway are bricks and pavers. Flagstone is a popular choice. You can purchase pavers that are whimsical or you can buy molds to make your own pavers. If you choose to mix materials then take into consideration the colors and the styles. Whatever material you choose, use safety when handling heavy rocks or wood.
Monday, March 26, 2012
'Master growers' cultivating a higher grade of marijuana
Behind the bolted steel doors of an old brick warehouse, Big Wes meets a nutrient company scientist to see if he can increase his crop yield. Rows of hydroponic marijuana plants soak up solution flowing through plastic troughs and light blazing from high-pressure sodium lamps.
Big Wes has spent more than half his life calibrating his system of growing high-grade marijuana to its utmost efficiency. At 50 years old, he harvests a crop of dozens of plants every week from five rented warehouses scattered along the rutted streets and alleys around the docks of Oakland.
His problem is that OG Kush, the ultra-popular strain he specializes in, produces notoriously low yields of bud per plant. For this reason the scientist has come with a nutrient solution made from deep-sea algae, which he promises will boost the output. Big Wes — who asked that his real name or certain identifying traits not be revealed because his career could land him in federal prison — is going to test it against his usual concoction, and try 15 different combinations of the two.
Big Wes is new breed of cultivator, a "master grower" who produces marijuana that is potent and mold-free, tastes smooth and has a pleasing aroma — the kind of product now expected by ever-more discriminating consumers who frequent medical cannabis dispensaries.
He and others like him have revolutionized weed in recent years, growing sophisticated new varietals with scientific precision and assembly-line efficiency. Their expanding role in the burgeoning industry is shifting cultivation from clandestine rural plots to highly controlled indoor grows in urban centers.
"It's kind of becoming the big leagues now," said Kyle Kushman, a writer for High Times magazine and a grower who teaches organic and "veganic" cultivation classes. "Just like any other industry, as it gets older, the talent gets better."
Pot connoisseurs can talk about the complexity of cannabis like vintners do wine. They detect sweet flavors, and musky ones, and hints of berries, sandalwood, citrus, mint, pine and almond. An array of more than a hundred chemicals called terpenes brings out the taste and aroma.
Dusting the buds like a light snow are resin glands full of 80 or more cannabinoids, most notably the psychoactive one, THC.
According to George Van Patten, a.k.a. Jorge Cervantes, a renowned grower and author of the 484-page "Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible," the many combinations of these chemicals produce a complex range of sensations.
"This explains why certain medical patients find more relief with specific varieties," he said. "The THC molecule is the same in all cannabis plants. It is the mixture of other elements that play a vital role in changing the psychoactive effect."
Two decades ago, most marijuana smokers bought whatever their dealer had. Now, in the retail environment that sprang up with California's legalization of medical marijuana, they can choose from hundreds of strains of high-quality cannabis.
"Consumers have quickly developed a sophisticated palate," said Andrew McBeth, publisher at the marijuana niche Green Candy Press. "Like fine wine, the marijuana must look amazing, have a distinctive bouquet and have the cachet of being a well-known and popular strain."
The title "master grower" is part of the new marketing. The true connoisseurs scoff at the use of the label except in reference to a handful of the best growers in the world, like Cervantes.
But none dispute the high level of craftsmanship going into cultivation these days, both indoor and outdoor.
"All boats are rising," Cervantes said.
Part of this is due to information. In the past, growers didn't admit what they did, much less discuss their techniques. Now they have written dozens of books and penned a steady stream of articles in print and online. They even teach classes at pot trade schools like Oaksterdam University in Oakland.
Wally, in-house grower for a warehouse dispensary in Long Beach, spent years honing his skills on the underground market after realizing pot helped tamp down the tics he suffered from Tourette's syndrome. A 36-year-old native of Santa Cruz, he first worked trimming the marijuana harvest for older hippies.
"I learned everything about growing, and I had a million questions and they were happy to share," he said. "So many little tricks: They would run molasses in the last weeks of flowering to have sweeter buds. Or they went into caves in Santa Cruz to get bat guano and make it into a tea to put in the soil."
He moved to Long Beach in college, and grew indoors wherever he lived. He learned by trial and error, inadvertently burning leaves when lights were too hot, shocking the plants with abrupt changes of nutrients or temperature, watching mold appear in poor ventilation, and fighting aphids and spider mites when he wasn't vigilant about cleanliness.
Big Wes has spent more than half his life calibrating his system of growing high-grade marijuana to its utmost efficiency. At 50 years old, he harvests a crop of dozens of plants every week from five rented warehouses scattered along the rutted streets and alleys around the docks of Oakland.
His problem is that OG Kush, the ultra-popular strain he specializes in, produces notoriously low yields of bud per plant. For this reason the scientist has come with a nutrient solution made from deep-sea algae, which he promises will boost the output. Big Wes — who asked that his real name or certain identifying traits not be revealed because his career could land him in federal prison — is going to test it against his usual concoction, and try 15 different combinations of the two.
Big Wes is new breed of cultivator, a "master grower" who produces marijuana that is potent and mold-free, tastes smooth and has a pleasing aroma — the kind of product now expected by ever-more discriminating consumers who frequent medical cannabis dispensaries.
He and others like him have revolutionized weed in recent years, growing sophisticated new varietals with scientific precision and assembly-line efficiency. Their expanding role in the burgeoning industry is shifting cultivation from clandestine rural plots to highly controlled indoor grows in urban centers.
"It's kind of becoming the big leagues now," said Kyle Kushman, a writer for High Times magazine and a grower who teaches organic and "veganic" cultivation classes. "Just like any other industry, as it gets older, the talent gets better."
Pot connoisseurs can talk about the complexity of cannabis like vintners do wine. They detect sweet flavors, and musky ones, and hints of berries, sandalwood, citrus, mint, pine and almond. An array of more than a hundred chemicals called terpenes brings out the taste and aroma.
Dusting the buds like a light snow are resin glands full of 80 or more cannabinoids, most notably the psychoactive one, THC.
According to George Van Patten, a.k.a. Jorge Cervantes, a renowned grower and author of the 484-page "Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible," the many combinations of these chemicals produce a complex range of sensations.
"This explains why certain medical patients find more relief with specific varieties," he said. "The THC molecule is the same in all cannabis plants. It is the mixture of other elements that play a vital role in changing the psychoactive effect."
Two decades ago, most marijuana smokers bought whatever their dealer had. Now, in the retail environment that sprang up with California's legalization of medical marijuana, they can choose from hundreds of strains of high-quality cannabis.
"Consumers have quickly developed a sophisticated palate," said Andrew McBeth, publisher at the marijuana niche Green Candy Press. "Like fine wine, the marijuana must look amazing, have a distinctive bouquet and have the cachet of being a well-known and popular strain."
The title "master grower" is part of the new marketing. The true connoisseurs scoff at the use of the label except in reference to a handful of the best growers in the world, like Cervantes.
But none dispute the high level of craftsmanship going into cultivation these days, both indoor and outdoor.
"All boats are rising," Cervantes said.
Part of this is due to information. In the past, growers didn't admit what they did, much less discuss their techniques. Now they have written dozens of books and penned a steady stream of articles in print and online. They even teach classes at pot trade schools like Oaksterdam University in Oakland.
Wally, in-house grower for a warehouse dispensary in Long Beach, spent years honing his skills on the underground market after realizing pot helped tamp down the tics he suffered from Tourette's syndrome. A 36-year-old native of Santa Cruz, he first worked trimming the marijuana harvest for older hippies.
"I learned everything about growing, and I had a million questions and they were happy to share," he said. "So many little tricks: They would run molasses in the last weeks of flowering to have sweeter buds. Or they went into caves in Santa Cruz to get bat guano and make it into a tea to put in the soil."
He moved to Long Beach in college, and grew indoors wherever he lived. He learned by trial and error, inadvertently burning leaves when lights were too hot, shocking the plants with abrupt changes of nutrients or temperature, watching mold appear in poor ventilation, and fighting aphids and spider mites when he wasn't vigilant about cleanliness.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Musical memory a powerful thing
It started eight months ago, when the karaoke machine broke.
To fill the musical void, Springfield’s Eaglewood Village placed a 911 call to Pat Day, a woman whose energy level makes her 80 seem like the new 30.
By the next day, Day had wrangled a box of previously owned copper colored gelatin molds from the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
Having previously led a band of seniors in the rhythmic striking of kitchenware, she named her latest group The Coppertones.
Eight were there at 2 p.m. that first Wednesday. Twenty were there last week.
Although most were from the Memory Unit, pleasantries were still exchanged:
“You know I never forget a face ... Hi, stranger ... Hi, neighbor.”
One woman, unable to speak, communicated her joy with a smile that spread slowly across her lips.
Volunteer pianist Donna Parks warmed up the band, asking, “Everybody ready to roll?”
And just before 2 p.m., Day swept in like a tsunami of joy.
“Hot diggity-dog!” she called out. “Lookie here! Lookie here!”
After forks and spoons made their first tentative taps on the metal molds, Parks launched into the chords of “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”
Although the group was stronger on the chorus, some sang every word.
Things were going so well that at the end of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” Day cried out: “Bew-tee-full.”
The group then hit its stride in “76 Trombones,” clinking to the beat with the spirit of the Stanford Band at Mardi Gras or Dead Heads spinning like tops in tie-dye.
In years of volunteering, Parks has seen music draw seniors out of themselves.
While playing at Good Shepherd Village, Parks watched a woman who hadn’t spoken in months “started getting closer and closer” to the piano.
“Then she stared singing,” Parks said.
The woman’s children, who hadn’t heard her speak in months, began to cry.
The weekly gathering doesn’t eliminate the isolation of memory loss. Some Coppertones retreat to their rooms, never to speak until the next week.
But for a golden hour, Day said, the music reminds them “of when they were young and when they sang. It brings back memories.”
To fill the musical void, Springfield’s Eaglewood Village placed a 911 call to Pat Day, a woman whose energy level makes her 80 seem like the new 30.
By the next day, Day had wrangled a box of previously owned copper colored gelatin molds from the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
Having previously led a band of seniors in the rhythmic striking of kitchenware, she named her latest group The Coppertones.
Eight were there at 2 p.m. that first Wednesday. Twenty were there last week.
Although most were from the Memory Unit, pleasantries were still exchanged:
“You know I never forget a face ... Hi, stranger ... Hi, neighbor.”
One woman, unable to speak, communicated her joy with a smile that spread slowly across her lips.
Volunteer pianist Donna Parks warmed up the band, asking, “Everybody ready to roll?”
And just before 2 p.m., Day swept in like a tsunami of joy.
“Hot diggity-dog!” she called out. “Lookie here! Lookie here!”
After forks and spoons made their first tentative taps on the metal molds, Parks launched into the chords of “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”
Although the group was stronger on the chorus, some sang every word.
Things were going so well that at the end of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” Day cried out: “Bew-tee-full.”
The group then hit its stride in “76 Trombones,” clinking to the beat with the spirit of the Stanford Band at Mardi Gras or Dead Heads spinning like tops in tie-dye.
In years of volunteering, Parks has seen music draw seniors out of themselves.
While playing at Good Shepherd Village, Parks watched a woman who hadn’t spoken in months “started getting closer and closer” to the piano.
“Then she stared singing,” Parks said.
The woman’s children, who hadn’t heard her speak in months, began to cry.
The weekly gathering doesn’t eliminate the isolation of memory loss. Some Coppertones retreat to their rooms, never to speak until the next week.
But for a golden hour, Day said, the music reminds them “of when they were young and when they sang. It brings back memories.”
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Unusually warm spring may cause stored grain problems
The warm spring temperatures following a warm winter may lead to stored grain problems, particularly for grain that exceeds the recommended storage moisture content or did not stay cool during the winter.
The storability of grain depends on the grain quality, moisture content and temperature, says Ken Hellevang, the North Dakota State University Extension Service’s grain drying expert.
Grain moisture content must decrease as the grain temperature increases to store grain safely. For example, the allowable storage time of 17 percent moisture corn is about 280 days at 40 degrees, 75 days at 60 degrees and only 20 days at 80 degrees. Even 15 percent moisture corn has an allowable storage time of only about 70 days at 80 degrees.
Allowable storage time (AST) is cumulative, so because some of it was used last fall and during the winter, only a portion of the AST still remains. The goal should be to keep the grain as cool as possible, preferably below 40 degrees.
Due to the nice 2011 harvest season, some farmers only relied on field drying, and some corn was placed in the bin at moisture contents slightly above the recommended level for long-term storage. They either used or plan to use natural air-drying rather than drying the corn in a high-temperature dryer.
“This corn should be monitored and kept cool by running aeration fans at night or during times when outdoor temperatures are cooler than 40 degrees until the corn is dried,” Hellevang advises. “Because grain spoils faster at warm temperatures, air-drying when average air temperatures exceed 70 degrees may result in spoiled grain before it gets dry. Unfortunately, the rate of spoilage increases faster than the rate of drying at warmer temperatures.”
If fans were operated during the abnormally warm temperatures, continue to operate them to cool the grain. Average temperatures in the 50s or 60s are better when air-drying corn in the spring. The required airflow rate increases with warmer temperatures and moisture contents.
Stored grain temperature increases in the spring due to rising outdoor temperatures and solar heat gain on the bin. Solar energy produces more than twice as much heat gain on the south wall of a bin in early spring as it does during the summer. Air temperatures in the bin head space will be much warmer than the outdoor air temperature, which will heat the grain near the top surface.
Grain should be kept cool during spring and summer storage, Hellevang says. Periodically run aeration fans to keep the grain temperature below 40 degrees during the spring.
He also recommends monitoring stored grain closely to detect any storage problems early. Grain temperature and moisture content should be checked every two weeks during the spring and summer. Grain should be examined for insect infestations as well.
Corn needs to be dried to 13 to 14 percent moisture for summer storage to prevent spoilage. Soybeans should be dried to 11 percent, wheat to 13 percent, barley to 12 percent and oil sunflowers to 8 percent for summer storage.
Check the moisture content of stored grain to determine if it needs to be dried. Verify that the moisture content measured by the meter has been adjusted for grain temperature. In addition, remember that moisture measurements of grain at temperatures below about 40 degrees may not be accurate. Verify the accuracy of the measurement by warming the grain sample to room temperature in a sealed plastic bag before measuring the moisture content.
Grain storage molds will grow and grain spoilage will occur in grain bags unless the grain is dry. Grain in the majority of the bag will be near average outdoor temperatures, so grain will deteriorate rapidly as outdoor temperatures increase unless it is at recommended summer storage moisture contents.
Corn at moisture contents exceeding 21 percent should be dried in a high-temperature dryer. For natural air-drying, assure that the airflow rate supplied by the fan is at least 1 cubic foot per minute per bushel (cfm/bu) or the recommended airflow rate for your climate. Also make sure the initial corn moisture does not exceed 21 percent.
Start drying when the outside air temperature averages about 40 degrees. Below that temperature, the moisture-holding capacity of the air is so small that very little drying occurs. Hellevang recommends an airflow rate of at least 1 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 16 percent moisture soybeans. The expected drying time with this airflow rate will be about 50 days.
He doesn’t recommend operating the drying fan just during the day when the air is warm and shutting it off at night because the warm daytime air normally dries the grain to moisture contents lower than desired.
For example, air at 70 degrees and 40 percent relative humidity will dry corn to about 10 percent moisture. The grain above the drying zone will be warmer if the fan is run just during the warm portion of the day, which will cause the grain to deteriorate faster. And even though the warm air may hold more moisture, the drying time is still almost twice as long because the fan is operating only half of the day.
Natural air-drying oil sunflowers also should start when outdoor temperatures average about 40 degrees. Hellevang recommends an airflow rate of at least 0.75 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 16 percent moisture sunflowers.
He suggests an airflow rate of at least 0.75 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 17 percent moisture wheat. Start drying when the outside air temperature averages about 50 degrees. Drying during an average May is similar to drying wheat and barley during an average September.
The storability of grain depends on the grain quality, moisture content and temperature, says Ken Hellevang, the North Dakota State University Extension Service’s grain drying expert.
Grain moisture content must decrease as the grain temperature increases to store grain safely. For example, the allowable storage time of 17 percent moisture corn is about 280 days at 40 degrees, 75 days at 60 degrees and only 20 days at 80 degrees. Even 15 percent moisture corn has an allowable storage time of only about 70 days at 80 degrees.
Allowable storage time (AST) is cumulative, so because some of it was used last fall and during the winter, only a portion of the AST still remains. The goal should be to keep the grain as cool as possible, preferably below 40 degrees.
Due to the nice 2011 harvest season, some farmers only relied on field drying, and some corn was placed in the bin at moisture contents slightly above the recommended level for long-term storage. They either used or plan to use natural air-drying rather than drying the corn in a high-temperature dryer.
“This corn should be monitored and kept cool by running aeration fans at night or during times when outdoor temperatures are cooler than 40 degrees until the corn is dried,” Hellevang advises. “Because grain spoils faster at warm temperatures, air-drying when average air temperatures exceed 70 degrees may result in spoiled grain before it gets dry. Unfortunately, the rate of spoilage increases faster than the rate of drying at warmer temperatures.”
If fans were operated during the abnormally warm temperatures, continue to operate them to cool the grain. Average temperatures in the 50s or 60s are better when air-drying corn in the spring. The required airflow rate increases with warmer temperatures and moisture contents.
Stored grain temperature increases in the spring due to rising outdoor temperatures and solar heat gain on the bin. Solar energy produces more than twice as much heat gain on the south wall of a bin in early spring as it does during the summer. Air temperatures in the bin head space will be much warmer than the outdoor air temperature, which will heat the grain near the top surface.
Grain should be kept cool during spring and summer storage, Hellevang says. Periodically run aeration fans to keep the grain temperature below 40 degrees during the spring.
He also recommends monitoring stored grain closely to detect any storage problems early. Grain temperature and moisture content should be checked every two weeks during the spring and summer. Grain should be examined for insect infestations as well.
Corn needs to be dried to 13 to 14 percent moisture for summer storage to prevent spoilage. Soybeans should be dried to 11 percent, wheat to 13 percent, barley to 12 percent and oil sunflowers to 8 percent for summer storage.
Check the moisture content of stored grain to determine if it needs to be dried. Verify that the moisture content measured by the meter has been adjusted for grain temperature. In addition, remember that moisture measurements of grain at temperatures below about 40 degrees may not be accurate. Verify the accuracy of the measurement by warming the grain sample to room temperature in a sealed plastic bag before measuring the moisture content.
Grain storage molds will grow and grain spoilage will occur in grain bags unless the grain is dry. Grain in the majority of the bag will be near average outdoor temperatures, so grain will deteriorate rapidly as outdoor temperatures increase unless it is at recommended summer storage moisture contents.
Corn at moisture contents exceeding 21 percent should be dried in a high-temperature dryer. For natural air-drying, assure that the airflow rate supplied by the fan is at least 1 cubic foot per minute per bushel (cfm/bu) or the recommended airflow rate for your climate. Also make sure the initial corn moisture does not exceed 21 percent.
Start drying when the outside air temperature averages about 40 degrees. Below that temperature, the moisture-holding capacity of the air is so small that very little drying occurs. Hellevang recommends an airflow rate of at least 1 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 16 percent moisture soybeans. The expected drying time with this airflow rate will be about 50 days.
He doesn’t recommend operating the drying fan just during the day when the air is warm and shutting it off at night because the warm daytime air normally dries the grain to moisture contents lower than desired.
For example, air at 70 degrees and 40 percent relative humidity will dry corn to about 10 percent moisture. The grain above the drying zone will be warmer if the fan is run just during the warm portion of the day, which will cause the grain to deteriorate faster. And even though the warm air may hold more moisture, the drying time is still almost twice as long because the fan is operating only half of the day.
Natural air-drying oil sunflowers also should start when outdoor temperatures average about 40 degrees. Hellevang recommends an airflow rate of at least 0.75 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 16 percent moisture sunflowers.
He suggests an airflow rate of at least 0.75 cfm/bu to natural air-dry up to 17 percent moisture wheat. Start drying when the outside air temperature averages about 50 degrees. Drying during an average May is similar to drying wheat and barley during an average September.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Louisiana Tech Eco-marathon Entry Enters Crunch Time
Our journey to Houston 2012 is well underway! This year our team is bringing three cars: a new gasoline prototype vehicle named ThunderDawg, a new diesel urban concept vehicle called HotRod, and the current American record holder urban concept vehicle – Roadster. We have a great team of over twenty people and over half of these people are new members! It is truly great to see our team continue to grow.
Since two of our cars are new, we have designed and fabricated them from the ground up. Through the summer and the early part of the school year, our team worked on designing the two new vehicles: HotRod and ThunderDawg.
For HotRod, we took the design for Roadster and altered it in such ways to increase fuel efficiency. We narrowed the front end of the vehicle and removed some weight from the body. By decreasing the frontal area and the weight of the vehicle, we hope to achieve great gas mileage.
As for ThunderDawg, one of our team members spent months designing the body of this vehicle. The body, consisting of its curves and shapes, is truly a work of art.
Today is the two and a half week mark until we leave for the Shell Eco-marathon Competition. We have officially entered, as we call it, “Crunch Time.” Our team has been working around the clock to have our cars completed for March 29th, the day we depart for Shell Eco-marathon Americas.
After returning from the competition last year, we have a made a few improvements to Roadster, such as replacing the rear lights. Besides needing to attach a newly designed and fabricated windshield wiper, Roadster is ready to take the journey to Houston for the SEMA Competition.
So far, we have made great progress on our two new cars. In early December, we used our three axis foam router to cut out the body of HotRod. By mid January, we have completed applying the carbon fiber to our body. Also in mid January, we cut out the body for ThunderDawg. By the end of January, the body of ThunderDawg had been completely covered in carbon fiber.
Since then, the engine chassis for both HotRod and Thunderdawg have been designed and welded together. Meanwhile, a few of our team members have been diligently working on the fuel injection system for ThunderDawg. It definitely looks promising this year!
Both HotRod and ThunderDawg have been making great progress. We have been completing the layout of all engine components, the steering system, the brakes, and many more aspects. Our team is making great progress on both cars and hope to have them each to paint in the next week. Our team is very much looking forward to the upcoming competition and will definitely remain in our hardworking “Crunch Time” mode to have our vehicles ready to compete!
We have officially reached our two week mark! Reaching this two week mark entails an exciting yet nervous feeling for all of our team members. We are so excited for the competition to be getting closer, but at the same time we are concerned with how much work must be completed in order for our cars to be up to the Louisiana Tech University standard that we pride ourselves in. Having been making such great strides in progress for both cars lately, we know that completing these cars for the competition is definitely possible.
For the past two days, we have continued to make progress on our vehicles. As for both cars, the windshield molds are in the process of being made. HotRod’s windshield mold was completed today (March 15th), and ThunderDawg’s windshield should be completed by this weekend.
As for ThunderDawg, our team has been working very hard on the steering. This year, we are going with a rear steered vehicle. This is a new adventure for us since all of our previous cars have been front wheel steered vehicles. We hope to have the steering operating by this weekend.
For these two days, many things for HotRod have been in the works. We have officially installed the ignition in HotRod. This is a great step in the right direction to having the car ready for competition. Also, one of our members has been working on finishing the wheel pods, which include being able to attach and unattach them from the car and making sure the tires do not come in contact with them when making a turn. Lastly, we have been working on recessing the rear lights into the body of the vehicle. We are working for a smooth finish in the transition from the body to the cover of the lights and back to the body.
Since two of our cars are new, we have designed and fabricated them from the ground up. Through the summer and the early part of the school year, our team worked on designing the two new vehicles: HotRod and ThunderDawg.
For HotRod, we took the design for Roadster and altered it in such ways to increase fuel efficiency. We narrowed the front end of the vehicle and removed some weight from the body. By decreasing the frontal area and the weight of the vehicle, we hope to achieve great gas mileage.
As for ThunderDawg, one of our team members spent months designing the body of this vehicle. The body, consisting of its curves and shapes, is truly a work of art.
Today is the two and a half week mark until we leave for the Shell Eco-marathon Competition. We have officially entered, as we call it, “Crunch Time.” Our team has been working around the clock to have our cars completed for March 29th, the day we depart for Shell Eco-marathon Americas.
After returning from the competition last year, we have a made a few improvements to Roadster, such as replacing the rear lights. Besides needing to attach a newly designed and fabricated windshield wiper, Roadster is ready to take the journey to Houston for the SEMA Competition.
So far, we have made great progress on our two new cars. In early December, we used our three axis foam router to cut out the body of HotRod. By mid January, we have completed applying the carbon fiber to our body. Also in mid January, we cut out the body for ThunderDawg. By the end of January, the body of ThunderDawg had been completely covered in carbon fiber.
Since then, the engine chassis for both HotRod and Thunderdawg have been designed and welded together. Meanwhile, a few of our team members have been diligently working on the fuel injection system for ThunderDawg. It definitely looks promising this year!
Both HotRod and ThunderDawg have been making great progress. We have been completing the layout of all engine components, the steering system, the brakes, and many more aspects. Our team is making great progress on both cars and hope to have them each to paint in the next week. Our team is very much looking forward to the upcoming competition and will definitely remain in our hardworking “Crunch Time” mode to have our vehicles ready to compete!
We have officially reached our two week mark! Reaching this two week mark entails an exciting yet nervous feeling for all of our team members. We are so excited for the competition to be getting closer, but at the same time we are concerned with how much work must be completed in order for our cars to be up to the Louisiana Tech University standard that we pride ourselves in. Having been making such great strides in progress for both cars lately, we know that completing these cars for the competition is definitely possible.
For the past two days, we have continued to make progress on our vehicles. As for both cars, the windshield molds are in the process of being made. HotRod’s windshield mold was completed today (March 15th), and ThunderDawg’s windshield should be completed by this weekend.
As for ThunderDawg, our team has been working very hard on the steering. This year, we are going with a rear steered vehicle. This is a new adventure for us since all of our previous cars have been front wheel steered vehicles. We hope to have the steering operating by this weekend.
For these two days, many things for HotRod have been in the works. We have officially installed the ignition in HotRod. This is a great step in the right direction to having the car ready for competition. Also, one of our members has been working on finishing the wheel pods, which include being able to attach and unattach them from the car and making sure the tires do not come in contact with them when making a turn. Lastly, we have been working on recessing the rear lights into the body of the vehicle. We are working for a smooth finish in the transition from the body to the cover of the lights and back to the body.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
A book of ‘Blues’
In “Half-Blood Blues,” Esi Edugyan creates a vivid world of jazz music through an ensemble of characters finding freedom through the blue note. Before its March debut in the U.S., the novel first appeared in print overseas in 2011 and went on to become a Man Booker Prize finalist.
The novel begins in Paris circa 1940. Here, readers are introduced to the narrator, Sid Griffiths, one of the two black jazz members in the trio Hot Time Swingers. The remaining members include musicians Chip Jones, also black, and Hieronymus “Hiero” Falk, the young “half-blood” German with African roots.
There is a great deal of time that Edugyan covers throughout this book and plenty of historical events that bridge the distant past where we begin in 1940, with the more-recent past in the 1990s. Most specifically, two major historical events that are used in the novel include the German occupation in Paris during World War II in the 1940s and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s, thus leading to reunification.
The setting allows readers to be transported back and forth from Paris to Berlin during tumultuous times when Europe and this band of musical brothers are undergoing subjugation from the Gestapo.
Through the differing time periods, readers are given two story lines. While Sid carries much of the narration in those stories, it is Hiero’s character that arguably creates the most interest for the characters and readers.
Even considering the varied locations, the narration remains in English. Readers may at times struggle with the language Edugyan writes for her characters, but, it is important to note that she molds the internal and external dialogue around their use of slang during that given era. The result of which comes across genuine and colorful.
“Couple hours before, we was playing in some back-alley studio trying to cut a record. A grim little room, more like a closet of ghosts than any joint for music, the cracked heaters lisping steam, empty bottles rolling all over the warped floor.”
The title of novel does not just resonate with Hiero but with all of the characters — those who are not defined by their race, but by their passion for music. In essence, that passion becomes a part of their identity.
There is a twist in the novel that initially seems unbelievable. But, by the end of the book, Edugyan proves her wit when she dives into the unfamiliar. She has led her readers through a story of music, love, mistakes and loss to conclude on a positive note with the trio breaking down their own barriers.
The novel begins in Paris circa 1940. Here, readers are introduced to the narrator, Sid Griffiths, one of the two black jazz members in the trio Hot Time Swingers. The remaining members include musicians Chip Jones, also black, and Hieronymus “Hiero” Falk, the young “half-blood” German with African roots.
There is a great deal of time that Edugyan covers throughout this book and plenty of historical events that bridge the distant past where we begin in 1940, with the more-recent past in the 1990s. Most specifically, two major historical events that are used in the novel include the German occupation in Paris during World War II in the 1940s and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s, thus leading to reunification.
The setting allows readers to be transported back and forth from Paris to Berlin during tumultuous times when Europe and this band of musical brothers are undergoing subjugation from the Gestapo.
Through the differing time periods, readers are given two story lines. While Sid carries much of the narration in those stories, it is Hiero’s character that arguably creates the most interest for the characters and readers.
Even considering the varied locations, the narration remains in English. Readers may at times struggle with the language Edugyan writes for her characters, but, it is important to note that she molds the internal and external dialogue around their use of slang during that given era. The result of which comes across genuine and colorful.
“Couple hours before, we was playing in some back-alley studio trying to cut a record. A grim little room, more like a closet of ghosts than any joint for music, the cracked heaters lisping steam, empty bottles rolling all over the warped floor.”
The title of novel does not just resonate with Hiero but with all of the characters — those who are not defined by their race, but by their passion for music. In essence, that passion becomes a part of their identity.
There is a twist in the novel that initially seems unbelievable. But, by the end of the book, Edugyan proves her wit when she dives into the unfamiliar. She has led her readers through a story of music, love, mistakes and loss to conclude on a positive note with the trio breaking down their own barriers.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Gift of Gab, 'The Next Logical Progression'
Half of the songs on The Next Logical Progression, the third solo album by one half of late-'90s rap duo Blackalicious, could be called into service as end credit music. Especially for a movie in which unlikely friendships are made and a Super Soaker battle is pivotal. The audience would take kindly to the lesson it had been taught, watch the outtakes reel for longer than usual and walk out of the theater with more emotions in its collective heart than it was expecting.
This a positive album, and I say that without conceding the trappings that come with the label (corny, naive, not "real") and denying the implications anything not labeled "positive" carries (unconscious, ugly, simple). The Next Logical Progression sounds like it's really nice outside. Brightly colored, major key, uptempo. Piano and organ samples predominate. Harmonica on a Stevie Wonder tip closes out "So So Much."
Gab's stories are not all unicorns and rainbows, but they do go down easy. On "Market & 8th" his verses are deft still lifes—the people he describes seeing at particular intersections in San Francisco are hurting, and the size and direction of the shadows they cast point fingers at us. Still, your shoulders will shimmy. "Effed Up," a song about feeling good when the woman who did you wrong ends up worse than you, is kind of horrific, including as it does the story of a woman who cheats on Gab then turns up pregnant, homeless and maybe mentally ill. At the same time, not one of us hasn't silently, insincerely, wished pain on the people that hurt us.
Gab has never been hugely famous, but he's certainly been widely respected and influential. He's not prolific, but he's been paying attention, so bits and pieces of rappers like Kentucky's Nappy Roots, New York's J-Live and Atlanta's Big Boi bubble up here, just as he does in their songs. This West Coast rapper puts word choice first, then molds his selections' sounds around his rhyme scheme. He is reflexively speedy and, like his California neighbor, E-40, often falls into tones that could double as auditions to voice cartoon characters.
The Next Logical Progression is an album that will cause a rash of people IM-ing about hip-hop "back in the day." It will be erected as a pillar in the well worn argument that hip-hop is better when it's melodic, the lyrics are multisyllabic and the import is feelgood. Even though infectious cheer like Gab's is more rare on commercial radio than it used to be, I don't think he is nostalgic. He's working the lane he knows to be his, exercising the gift that made his name.
This a positive album, and I say that without conceding the trappings that come with the label (corny, naive, not "real") and denying the implications anything not labeled "positive" carries (unconscious, ugly, simple). The Next Logical Progression sounds like it's really nice outside. Brightly colored, major key, uptempo. Piano and organ samples predominate. Harmonica on a Stevie Wonder tip closes out "So So Much."
Gab's stories are not all unicorns and rainbows, but they do go down easy. On "Market & 8th" his verses are deft still lifes—the people he describes seeing at particular intersections in San Francisco are hurting, and the size and direction of the shadows they cast point fingers at us. Still, your shoulders will shimmy. "Effed Up," a song about feeling good when the woman who did you wrong ends up worse than you, is kind of horrific, including as it does the story of a woman who cheats on Gab then turns up pregnant, homeless and maybe mentally ill. At the same time, not one of us hasn't silently, insincerely, wished pain on the people that hurt us.
Gab has never been hugely famous, but he's certainly been widely respected and influential. He's not prolific, but he's been paying attention, so bits and pieces of rappers like Kentucky's Nappy Roots, New York's J-Live and Atlanta's Big Boi bubble up here, just as he does in their songs. This West Coast rapper puts word choice first, then molds his selections' sounds around his rhyme scheme. He is reflexively speedy and, like his California neighbor, E-40, often falls into tones that could double as auditions to voice cartoon characters.
The Next Logical Progression is an album that will cause a rash of people IM-ing about hip-hop "back in the day." It will be erected as a pillar in the well worn argument that hip-hop is better when it's melodic, the lyrics are multisyllabic and the import is feelgood. Even though infectious cheer like Gab's is more rare on commercial radio than it used to be, I don't think he is nostalgic. He's working the lane he knows to be his, exercising the gift that made his name.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Newark company, established 1878, makes cowboy hats that are second only to Stetson
Dean Serratelli puts on what he jokingly calls his "Woody the Cowboy get-up" — authentic cowboy boots, large belt buckle and one of his company’s hats — before he travels for business.
Power suits don’t translate well in Texas board rooms.
Clients usually don’t detect a Jersey twang unless he says "coffee" or "water," words which will forever give him away as a native of the Garden State.
"Our back office is in Texas because it helps to have someone from Texas pick up the phone," he said. "Not someone who sounds like they’re from here."
No matter where he goes, most people have a hard time believing he’s the fourth generation owner of a cowboy hat company on the corner of Central Avenue and 2nd Street in Newark.
Serratelli’s great-grandfather, Pio Serratelli, started importing raw materials and selling them to hat manufacturers in 1878. By the time Dean Serratelli took over, he was one of two main suppliers to big names like Stetson.
"Before I became a brand myself," he said, "I was everybody’s grocery store."
By 1997, Garth Brooks’s popularity, which notably blurred the lines between country and rock music, had given the entire industry a boost. So Serratelli, then in his late 20s, hired people away from his competitors-to-be.
Two of his hat artisans commute from Texas, he said, alternating between four weeks in New Jersey and two weeks at home.
Serratelli, who lives in Westfield, also used his connections with raw material suppliers to keep his production costs low.
"No one will ever pay what I pay and get what I get," he said.
Terry Martin, who owns two West Texas Western Stores in Amarillo and nearby Canyon, said the New Jersey company came onto the market with high quality hats for about 25 percent less than the competition.
The Beaumont, a hat with a low crown, cattleman crease and 4 and 1/2 inch brim, is a Serratelli staple in Martin’s store and retails for $175. One with a flared crown, the Brick style, has always been popular with bull riders and retails for between $209 and $229.
"Used to be everyone wanted to look like George Strait, in our area," Martin said, "but now they want them wide in the front and high on the sides."
Top of the line Serratelli hats sell for between $499 and $1,000. Those numbers may seem steep to New Jerseyans, but Martin said the prices don’t raise any eyebrows in Texas.
Usually it’s a hat’s origin that does that.
"It surprises people out here when we tell them that they come from Newark," Martin said. "They want to know how come a cowboy hat company is in New Jersey. So what we tell them is it’s an old company that used to make just hat bodies for other companies."
His father, Buell Martin, was one of the first people Serratelli hired away from Stetson and put on the road as a traveling salesman.
"He pioneered the line out here in Texas when they first came on the scene," Martin said. "My dad’s territory was the panhandle — San Angelo, Midland and Odessa — the biggest part of the state."
When he decided to start making hats, Serratelli had to completely renovate the second floor of his building to make room for all the different types of steamers.
The steam keeps the felt pliable so it doesn’t tear when stretched. Then the hats are pressed into molds heated to 260 degrees Farenheit, so the fabric stiffens into its signature shape.
Growing up in the hat business, Serratelli said, he’s learned to recognize regional styles.
"If you walk in, I know you’re from West Texas, Oklahoma or Indiana," he said.
His hats are also popular outside the U.S., particularly in Canada and Australia.
Power suits don’t translate well in Texas board rooms.
Clients usually don’t detect a Jersey twang unless he says "coffee" or "water," words which will forever give him away as a native of the Garden State.
"Our back office is in Texas because it helps to have someone from Texas pick up the phone," he said. "Not someone who sounds like they’re from here."
No matter where he goes, most people have a hard time believing he’s the fourth generation owner of a cowboy hat company on the corner of Central Avenue and 2nd Street in Newark.
Serratelli’s great-grandfather, Pio Serratelli, started importing raw materials and selling them to hat manufacturers in 1878. By the time Dean Serratelli took over, he was one of two main suppliers to big names like Stetson.
"Before I became a brand myself," he said, "I was everybody’s grocery store."
By 1997, Garth Brooks’s popularity, which notably blurred the lines between country and rock music, had given the entire industry a boost. So Serratelli, then in his late 20s, hired people away from his competitors-to-be.
Two of his hat artisans commute from Texas, he said, alternating between four weeks in New Jersey and two weeks at home.
Serratelli, who lives in Westfield, also used his connections with raw material suppliers to keep his production costs low.
"No one will ever pay what I pay and get what I get," he said.
Terry Martin, who owns two West Texas Western Stores in Amarillo and nearby Canyon, said the New Jersey company came onto the market with high quality hats for about 25 percent less than the competition.
The Beaumont, a hat with a low crown, cattleman crease and 4 and 1/2 inch brim, is a Serratelli staple in Martin’s store and retails for $175. One with a flared crown, the Brick style, has always been popular with bull riders and retails for between $209 and $229.
"Used to be everyone wanted to look like George Strait, in our area," Martin said, "but now they want them wide in the front and high on the sides."
Top of the line Serratelli hats sell for between $499 and $1,000. Those numbers may seem steep to New Jerseyans, but Martin said the prices don’t raise any eyebrows in Texas.
Usually it’s a hat’s origin that does that.
"It surprises people out here when we tell them that they come from Newark," Martin said. "They want to know how come a cowboy hat company is in New Jersey. So what we tell them is it’s an old company that used to make just hat bodies for other companies."
His father, Buell Martin, was one of the first people Serratelli hired away from Stetson and put on the road as a traveling salesman.
"He pioneered the line out here in Texas when they first came on the scene," Martin said. "My dad’s territory was the panhandle — San Angelo, Midland and Odessa — the biggest part of the state."
When he decided to start making hats, Serratelli had to completely renovate the second floor of his building to make room for all the different types of steamers.
The steam keeps the felt pliable so it doesn’t tear when stretched. Then the hats are pressed into molds heated to 260 degrees Farenheit, so the fabric stiffens into its signature shape.
Growing up in the hat business, Serratelli said, he’s learned to recognize regional styles.
"If you walk in, I know you’re from West Texas, Oklahoma or Indiana," he said.
His hats are also popular outside the U.S., particularly in Canada and Australia.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
MPI Provides Inspection and Re-engineering Services
The Mississippi Polymer Institute (MPI) helps smaller companies in the polymer industry succeed by using an NVision MobileScan laser scanning system to re-engineer or inspect parts to a high level of accuracy. “By inspecting first articles, we help injection molders ensure that their first article matches the design intent,” said Bryan Brister of MPI. “We also re-engineer tools and parts to create a CAD file that can be used to reproduce the object or modify its design.”
MPI is a resource for polymer-related industries in Mississippi, sharing its expertise in the sciences, computer applications, product design and manufacturing of polymer materials, plastics processors, product designers and manufacturers that use polymer components in their products. It is associated with the School for Polymers and High Performance Materials at the University of Southern Mississippi, recognized as one of the top 10 Polymer Science Programs in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.
MPI was early to invest in rapid prototyping technology, which it uses to produce concept models and functional prototypes for its clients. “We recognized an unmet need to perform first article inspections and to provide CAD files of parts that were designed using manual methods,” Brister said. “We evaluated lasers from a number of companies and selected the MobileScan laser scanner from NVision because it is the most accurate mobile scanner we could find.”
NVision’s MobileScan 3D laser scanning system provides a point spacing of 0.001" and an accuracy of +/- 0.0005" while collecting measurements at a rate of 30,000 points per second. The MobileScan HD sensor has a 2-axis servo controlled swivel head that is integrated with a turntable. The key to the system's accuracy is that it uses only one servo and rotary encoder at any one time and these components are manufactured to the highest specification available. “By minimizing the opportunities for error to be introduced; the highest level of accuracy can be achieved," said Steve Kersen, VP of Sales and Marketing for NVision.
One example of an MPI laser scanning project involved a professor from a dental school who wanted to build posts to mount a number of dental crowns for educational purposes. MPI scanned the crowns with the MobileScan and produced a CAD file. Then they made inverse images of the cavities in the crowns and used them to build the post on a rapid prototyping machine.
In another project, an injection molding shop approached MPI because they had a tool that had cracked but were unable to build another because they did not have a CAD file. MPI scanned the mold, electronically repaired the crack and created a CAD file. The mold shop used the CAD file as the basis for a computer numerical control (CNC) program that was used to build the new mold.
“Our new NVision scanner provides us with an important new capability that we are using to help polymer companies solve technical problems, improve products and processes and train employees so these firms will grow and contribute to the economic development of Mississippi,” Brister concluded.
MPI is a resource for polymer-related industries in Mississippi, sharing its expertise in the sciences, computer applications, product design and manufacturing of polymer materials, plastics processors, product designers and manufacturers that use polymer components in their products. It is associated with the School for Polymers and High Performance Materials at the University of Southern Mississippi, recognized as one of the top 10 Polymer Science Programs in the United States by U.S. News and World Report.
MPI was early to invest in rapid prototyping technology, which it uses to produce concept models and functional prototypes for its clients. “We recognized an unmet need to perform first article inspections and to provide CAD files of parts that were designed using manual methods,” Brister said. “We evaluated lasers from a number of companies and selected the MobileScan laser scanner from NVision because it is the most accurate mobile scanner we could find.”
NVision’s MobileScan 3D laser scanning system provides a point spacing of 0.001" and an accuracy of +/- 0.0005" while collecting measurements at a rate of 30,000 points per second. The MobileScan HD sensor has a 2-axis servo controlled swivel head that is integrated with a turntable. The key to the system's accuracy is that it uses only one servo and rotary encoder at any one time and these components are manufactured to the highest specification available. “By minimizing the opportunities for error to be introduced; the highest level of accuracy can be achieved," said Steve Kersen, VP of Sales and Marketing for NVision.
One example of an MPI laser scanning project involved a professor from a dental school who wanted to build posts to mount a number of dental crowns for educational purposes. MPI scanned the crowns with the MobileScan and produced a CAD file. Then they made inverse images of the cavities in the crowns and used them to build the post on a rapid prototyping machine.
In another project, an injection molding shop approached MPI because they had a tool that had cracked but were unable to build another because they did not have a CAD file. MPI scanned the mold, electronically repaired the crack and created a CAD file. The mold shop used the CAD file as the basis for a computer numerical control (CNC) program that was used to build the new mold.
“Our new NVision scanner provides us with an important new capability that we are using to help polymer companies solve technical problems, improve products and processes and train employees so these firms will grow and contribute to the economic development of Mississippi,” Brister concluded.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Coastal zone hungry for foreign capital
The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone in the eastern coastal province of Jiangsu is one of the 10 development zones in China with the largest investment potential for multinational corporations, local officials say.
Authorized by the Chinese government in December 1984, the zone is located on the southeastern side of Nantong. It covers 147 square kilometers and houses 140,000 permanent residents.
The zone's efforts to attract foreign investment have paid off, with investments flowing in from businesses based in more than 30 countries and regions.
The zone now hosts a high concentration of foreign enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta. More than 700 foreign-owned enterprises have been set up in the zone, about 60 of which are owned by Fortune 500 companies.
Many companies in the zone have achieved the highest international standards in terms of production capacity and technology.
There are six industrial clusters in the zone: modern equipment manufacturing, new materials, new medicine, new energy, modern textiles and service outsourcing.
The zone is strategically positioned along the Yangtze River Delta and it has easy access to nearby transportation infrastructure, such as waterways, highways and airports.
Three bridges pass through it: the Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, the Chongming-Qidong Yangtze River Bridge and the Shanghai-Nantong Railway Bridge, which will be under construction soon.
Thanks to the Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, the world's largest cable-stayed bridge, the zone is one hour's ride away from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and three hours away from 10 major cities in the Yangtze River Delta.
The zone is reachable by three highways: the Shenyang-Haikou Highway, the Nanjing-Qidong Highway and the Jiangsu Waterfront Highway. It is also reachable by three railways: the Xinyi-Changxing Railway, the Nanjing-Qidong Railway and the Shanghai-Nantong Railway, which will soon be completed.
The zone has three airports in its vicinity: Hongqiao Airport, Pudong Airport and Nantong Airport, which will soon be built.
It also has the Port of Nantong, one of China's top 10 ports, which handles 200 million tons of cargo annually.
The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone has facilities and a natural environment that make it attractive to investors. For one, the terrain of the zone is flat, making it suitable for large construction projects.
Streets form a dense network linked with highways to nearby cities. Rainwater is collected in a system separate from sewage water. The main streets are 50 meters in width, and other streets are 25 meters in width. There are rainwater and sewage tunnels at the roadsides.
The supply of electricity is ample and stable. Nantong is one of China's major electricity-generating bases. Electricity is generated by thermal power, wind energy and bioenergy. The zone has three power transmission stations capable of generating 220 kilovolts and nine power transmission stations with a 110-kilovolt capacity.
It also has ample water supply. Two water plants, the Honggang and Langshan water plants, each produce 600,000 tons daily. Water prices in Nantong are the lowest out of all major Jiangsu cities.
There are two sewage-treatment plants, which are capable of processing 260,000 tons daily. Polluted water is released only after being processed and reaching a certain standard.
The zone is equipped with advanced telecommunication technology. Services such as international and domestic calls, broadband access to the Internet, satellite TV services and facsimile are available.
Nantong is rich in human resources as well, housing six colleges and 27 vocational schools. The city has a large supply of skilled workers and professionals. Labor prices are lower than surrounding areas, particularly the southern Yangtze River Delta.
To support the development of industry and business, Nantong has promulgated many favorable policies: administrative fees are reduced or waived; relevant government organs have improved their efficiency; tax policies have been skewed in favor of investors.
Foreign enterprises that have operated in China for 10 years or more are entitled to reward in proportion to their income tax to local authorities. Major science and technology projects are entitled to science advancement awards. The city government is also providing incentives in an attempt to encourage enterprises to expand their R&D investments.
Authorized by the Chinese government in December 1984, the zone is located on the southeastern side of Nantong. It covers 147 square kilometers and houses 140,000 permanent residents.
The zone's efforts to attract foreign investment have paid off, with investments flowing in from businesses based in more than 30 countries and regions.
The zone now hosts a high concentration of foreign enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta. More than 700 foreign-owned enterprises have been set up in the zone, about 60 of which are owned by Fortune 500 companies.
Many companies in the zone have achieved the highest international standards in terms of production capacity and technology.
There are six industrial clusters in the zone: modern equipment manufacturing, new materials, new medicine, new energy, modern textiles and service outsourcing.
The zone is strategically positioned along the Yangtze River Delta and it has easy access to nearby transportation infrastructure, such as waterways, highways and airports.
Three bridges pass through it: the Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, the Chongming-Qidong Yangtze River Bridge and the Shanghai-Nantong Railway Bridge, which will be under construction soon.
Thanks to the Suzhou-Nantong Yangtze River Bridge, the world's largest cable-stayed bridge, the zone is one hour's ride away from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and three hours away from 10 major cities in the Yangtze River Delta.
The zone is reachable by three highways: the Shenyang-Haikou Highway, the Nanjing-Qidong Highway and the Jiangsu Waterfront Highway. It is also reachable by three railways: the Xinyi-Changxing Railway, the Nanjing-Qidong Railway and the Shanghai-Nantong Railway, which will soon be completed.
The zone has three airports in its vicinity: Hongqiao Airport, Pudong Airport and Nantong Airport, which will soon be built.
It also has the Port of Nantong, one of China's top 10 ports, which handles 200 million tons of cargo annually.
The Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone has facilities and a natural environment that make it attractive to investors. For one, the terrain of the zone is flat, making it suitable for large construction projects.
Streets form a dense network linked with highways to nearby cities. Rainwater is collected in a system separate from sewage water. The main streets are 50 meters in width, and other streets are 25 meters in width. There are rainwater and sewage tunnels at the roadsides.
The supply of electricity is ample and stable. Nantong is one of China's major electricity-generating bases. Electricity is generated by thermal power, wind energy and bioenergy. The zone has three power transmission stations capable of generating 220 kilovolts and nine power transmission stations with a 110-kilovolt capacity.
It also has ample water supply. Two water plants, the Honggang and Langshan water plants, each produce 600,000 tons daily. Water prices in Nantong are the lowest out of all major Jiangsu cities.
There are two sewage-treatment plants, which are capable of processing 260,000 tons daily. Polluted water is released only after being processed and reaching a certain standard.
The zone is equipped with advanced telecommunication technology. Services such as international and domestic calls, broadband access to the Internet, satellite TV services and facsimile are available.
Nantong is rich in human resources as well, housing six colleges and 27 vocational schools. The city has a large supply of skilled workers and professionals. Labor prices are lower than surrounding areas, particularly the southern Yangtze River Delta.
To support the development of industry and business, Nantong has promulgated many favorable policies: administrative fees are reduced or waived; relevant government organs have improved their efficiency; tax policies have been skewed in favor of investors.
Foreign enterprises that have operated in China for 10 years or more are entitled to reward in proportion to their income tax to local authorities. Major science and technology projects are entitled to science advancement awards. The city government is also providing incentives in an attempt to encourage enterprises to expand their R&D investments.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Blue jeans lover is in stitches
Everyone has a favorite pair of jeans, that one that fits you just right.
But Andrew Rayl doesn’t have just one cherished pair, he has a thorough appreciation for denim. He notices the details beyond the wash and cut: the rivets on the pockets, the stitching, the fabric, the tab, the hand work. The 32-year-old is a denim junkie, a walking historian of the craft.
It started when he was 18, long before it was common to spend $100 to $200 on jeans. But to him, it was an investment. And he wasn’t into trendy brands. He preferred vintage Levi’s, that selvage denim produced on old and rare shuttle looms.
The jeans start off rigid and hard, but with the wear and tear of life, they become cashmere soft.
“It’s a piece of art,” Drew says of a pair of old jeans. “Raw denim slowly molds to the body, fading out at strain points, slowly becoming an imprint of you. They wear behind the knees, whisker at the thighs. These jeans are a unique reflection of the person who wears them.”
Most pairs feature a chain stitch, which forms a thick woven rope along the seams. The trouble is, it’s not easy to find a tailor to hem those jeans. Over the years, Drew would send jeans to New York and California, to tailors who had the machine. It was an expensive hassle.
Three years ago, he decided to buy his own machine on eBay. At the time, he had a career as a DJ and music producer. He didn’t know how to sew or hem.
But he figured he would teach himself.
“If I like something, I’m not scared to dig deep down the rabbit hole and figure it out,” he says. “I have an undying curiosity. I taught myself to DJ. Why not teach myself to sew?”
After a while, he found himself spending more time with denim than music. He became a regular at Standard Style boutique, owned by Kansas City fashion powerhouse couple Matt and Emily Baldwin.
Matt is also a denim head. He has his own line of jeans designed locally, Baldwin Denim, worn by the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Elijah Wood. Baldwin is a perfect fit for Drew. The collection features selvage denim and the chain stitch. For a denim lover, it’s a jackpot.
Drew talked denim with Matt and over time, they developed a rapport. When Matt realized Drew had a chainstitch machine, he asked him to tailor his jeans.
Soon, Drew had clients. Last year, when Matt launched the Baldwin flagship store at 4573 W. 119th St. in Leawood, he hired Drew to be operations manager and one of two in-house tailors.
Just like that, he went from DJ to tailor. But he still spins records on occasion and curates the music at the store, too.
“I have a habit of manifesting my hobbies into jobs,” says Drew. “I get to geek out on denim and get paid for it. It’s exciting to be a part of something and watch it flourish. It’s a fairly exciting ride, and I don’t see it slowing down. Our jeans are going to be in GQ next month.”
Drew says he didn’t realize how rare it is for someone to just pick up and chase new dreams. He says people shouldn’t waste time being bored or unhappy at work.
“Don’t be scared to follow a dream,” he says. “Pursue it. And don’t do it for the money. Do it because you love it, and it will pay off.”
But Andrew Rayl doesn’t have just one cherished pair, he has a thorough appreciation for denim. He notices the details beyond the wash and cut: the rivets on the pockets, the stitching, the fabric, the tab, the hand work. The 32-year-old is a denim junkie, a walking historian of the craft.
It started when he was 18, long before it was common to spend $100 to $200 on jeans. But to him, it was an investment. And he wasn’t into trendy brands. He preferred vintage Levi’s, that selvage denim produced on old and rare shuttle looms.
The jeans start off rigid and hard, but with the wear and tear of life, they become cashmere soft.
“It’s a piece of art,” Drew says of a pair of old jeans. “Raw denim slowly molds to the body, fading out at strain points, slowly becoming an imprint of you. They wear behind the knees, whisker at the thighs. These jeans are a unique reflection of the person who wears them.”
Most pairs feature a chain stitch, which forms a thick woven rope along the seams. The trouble is, it’s not easy to find a tailor to hem those jeans. Over the years, Drew would send jeans to New York and California, to tailors who had the machine. It was an expensive hassle.
Three years ago, he decided to buy his own machine on eBay. At the time, he had a career as a DJ and music producer. He didn’t know how to sew or hem.
But he figured he would teach himself.
“If I like something, I’m not scared to dig deep down the rabbit hole and figure it out,” he says. “I have an undying curiosity. I taught myself to DJ. Why not teach myself to sew?”
After a while, he found himself spending more time with denim than music. He became a regular at Standard Style boutique, owned by Kansas City fashion powerhouse couple Matt and Emily Baldwin.
Matt is also a denim head. He has his own line of jeans designed locally, Baldwin Denim, worn by the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Elijah Wood. Baldwin is a perfect fit for Drew. The collection features selvage denim and the chain stitch. For a denim lover, it’s a jackpot.
Drew talked denim with Matt and over time, they developed a rapport. When Matt realized Drew had a chainstitch machine, he asked him to tailor his jeans.
Soon, Drew had clients. Last year, when Matt launched the Baldwin flagship store at 4573 W. 119th St. in Leawood, he hired Drew to be operations manager and one of two in-house tailors.
Just like that, he went from DJ to tailor. But he still spins records on occasion and curates the music at the store, too.
“I have a habit of manifesting my hobbies into jobs,” says Drew. “I get to geek out on denim and get paid for it. It’s exciting to be a part of something and watch it flourish. It’s a fairly exciting ride, and I don’t see it slowing down. Our jeans are going to be in GQ next month.”
Drew says he didn’t realize how rare it is for someone to just pick up and chase new dreams. He says people shouldn’t waste time being bored or unhappy at work.
“Don’t be scared to follow a dream,” he says. “Pursue it. And don’t do it for the money. Do it because you love it, and it will pay off.”
Monday, March 12, 2012
Hello, Jell-O! Brings Back the Jell-O Mold
When most people think about Jell-O, they think of childhood. If you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, Jell-O was definitely on the table at a family gathering or, if your parents were hippies, the table at your neighbor's house. Finger Jell-O was a favorite of mine, as was my mor-mor's molded lime Jell-O salad studded with crushed pineapples and maraschino cherries. Soon however, like so many processed foods, Jell-O became déclassé. If anyone was going to bring back Jell-O, it was going to be a blogger from Brooklyn. And it was.
Victoria Belanger, aka The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn, began bringing molded Jell-O desserts to dinner parties. They were an instant hit. As se recalls, "In a sea of cookies and pies, Jell-O molds get noticed at the dessert table. If you're adding alcohol, they will get noticed even more quickly." She also loves them because they are cheap and relatively idiot proof. Her blog was a hit, and now she has a cookbook, Hello, Jell-O!, with over 50 recipes for the jiggly creations.
The introduction of this compact book has troubleshooting tips for testing for doneness, unmolding your creation and finding jello molds (ed. note: "Jell-O" is the trademarked packaged food product, "jello" is the generic term.) But as promised, jello molds are pretty idiot proof, so the book dedicates most of its pages to recipes and photographs. The book is divided into chapters on suspended fruit jellos, creamy and dreamy molds, boozy molds, fruit and cream layered molds, vegan delights, Americana, and seasonal holiday molds.
The carrot cake mold looks delicious--shredded carrots suspended in the base layer, and cream cheese combined with gelatin and carrot juice in the top layer. The lime wedges filled with strawberry-flavored gelatin and topped with black sesame seeds to resemble watermelon wedges, are adorable. I tried out the pear and lychee "martinis," which unfortunately were as unattractive as they were unappetizing. Did no one else think chopped lychee fruit would look like chopped clams suspended in the pear juice gelatin? Perhaps it was the addition of tonic water that gave these an off taste.
I'm not giving up on this book though, the prospect of a rainbow layered jello mold, with alternating layers of fruit and cream gelatin, is too enticing. The creamsicle and grasshopper pie recipes sound just as good as the original desserts they are based on. Most recipes in Hello, Jell-O! use gelatin, not HFCS-filled and artificially flavored Jell-O. And isn't panna cotta just a fancy Italian word for Jell-O? I think it is.
Victoria Belanger, aka The Jello Mold Mistress of Brooklyn, began bringing molded Jell-O desserts to dinner parties. They were an instant hit. As se recalls, "In a sea of cookies and pies, Jell-O molds get noticed at the dessert table. If you're adding alcohol, they will get noticed even more quickly." She also loves them because they are cheap and relatively idiot proof. Her blog was a hit, and now she has a cookbook, Hello, Jell-O!, with over 50 recipes for the jiggly creations.
The introduction of this compact book has troubleshooting tips for testing for doneness, unmolding your creation and finding jello molds (ed. note: "Jell-O" is the trademarked packaged food product, "jello" is the generic term.) But as promised, jello molds are pretty idiot proof, so the book dedicates most of its pages to recipes and photographs. The book is divided into chapters on suspended fruit jellos, creamy and dreamy molds, boozy molds, fruit and cream layered molds, vegan delights, Americana, and seasonal holiday molds.
The carrot cake mold looks delicious--shredded carrots suspended in the base layer, and cream cheese combined with gelatin and carrot juice in the top layer. The lime wedges filled with strawberry-flavored gelatin and topped with black sesame seeds to resemble watermelon wedges, are adorable. I tried out the pear and lychee "martinis," which unfortunately were as unattractive as they were unappetizing. Did no one else think chopped lychee fruit would look like chopped clams suspended in the pear juice gelatin? Perhaps it was the addition of tonic water that gave these an off taste.
I'm not giving up on this book though, the prospect of a rainbow layered jello mold, with alternating layers of fruit and cream gelatin, is too enticing. The creamsicle and grasshopper pie recipes sound just as good as the original desserts they are based on. Most recipes in Hello, Jell-O! use gelatin, not HFCS-filled and artificially flavored Jell-O. And isn't panna cotta just a fancy Italian word for Jell-O? I think it is.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Lenore 'Gundy' Costello has taught since 1945
When Caroline Hitchcock and her former Girl Scout pals started getting married in the late 1960s, they received the casserole dishes, Jell-O molds and fondue sets every modern housewife needed.
Lenore "Gundy" Costello gave them hammers, nails and pliers.
"She wanted us to learn how to take care of ourselves," recalls Hitchcock, of Port Orange. "She was very much ahead of her time."
Now 95, the Girl Scout cheerleader everyone knows simply as "Gundy" is a sharp, merry, agile inspiration to the decades of girls she's known and trained in the ways of the woods and the world. In her 67th year in Scouting, she now serves on the board of the development committee for the recruitment of new members, a grand title that makes her chuckle.
It's a volunteer position. She officially retired from Scouting in 1976, but it didn't exactly take.
Through the years, she has backpacked with girls on the Appalachian Trail, taught countless young women how to pitch tents and sing songs around a campfire, and managed decades' worth of cookie sales.
But along the way, she demonstrated by example the value of a college education, the humor and dedication required for a happy marriage, and the confidence that comes from breaking the mold.
"My job as a leader and as a CEO was to instill in girls the skills that would carry them through life and make them solid citizens," she says from her tidy 1920s-era home overlooking a lake in Lake Alfred. She and her husband, George, moved there in the early 1940s. They had no children other than the scores of girls who hiked into their hearts.
"My girls learned courage and self-confidence," she says.
The world was a different place when she became a Scout leader in 1945, before fears of lawsuits and obsessive worries over safety. She recalls turning eight older Scouts loose in the Polk County wilderness to establish a campsite and fend for themselves for a week.
"I thought these kids needed to take a few risks, learn leadership," she says. "They didn't know it, but I checked on the campsite every night. I never turned on my flashlight so they wouldn't know I was there."
The girls did just fine.
Gundy was born Lenore VanGundia in Sycamore, Ohio, then a small town without a Girl Scout troop. She received her nickname while a student at Heidelberg University in Ohio, and graduated in 1938 with a double major in sociology and biology.
She met her husband when she went to work for the Red Cross and he was on its national staff. George Costello was a Boy Scout leader, and when the couple moved to Polk County, the Girl Scout leadership enticed Gundy to get involved, too.
Through the years, George accompanied her on most trips, and encouraged her to take positions of increasing responsibility in Scouting, including acting as CEO for the local council. He died in 1997 at the age of 88, but had been her most vigorous supporter – most of the time.
"Ever once in a while," Gundy says, "I would come home from a tough day and say, 'That's it! That's my last day!'
"George would say, 'Did you tell them that? No? Well, good, because they might have said OK.' "
Humor comes naturally to Gundy; she throws back her head with abandon when she laughs, which is often. She's been known to play good-hearted jokes at her church, embarrassing the pastor. She frequently is visited by her girls, many now grandmothers, serving them lunches of homemade pimiento cheese and Jell-O salad.
Hitchcock, who was a Brownie at age 8 and continued in Scouting through high school, says Gundy taught her to canoe, backpack, knit and enjoy show tunes. She remains an avid backpacker, and her daughter and granddaughters followed her into Scouting.
But, she says, she learned more than nature skills from Gundy.
"She really taught us to protect the environment, before anyone was doing that," she says. "She passed on to us so much information about diversity and bringing people together.
"She was so much fun, always laughing."
In 1956, Gundy was one of the first women in the United States to travel to another country – in her case, the West Indies -- to teach the basics of camping. She later traveled to Switzerland, Puerto Rico and elsewhere for the American Camping Association to help camps worldwide gain accreditation. She remains friends with the women she met.
She continued teaching new generations of Girl Scouts about camping well into her 80s.
She also was instrumental in opening Camp Wildwood, sometimes going door to door to ask landowners to sell their property in Sumter County, about 75 miles northeast of Tampa. The piney woods, palmettos, live oaks and marshlands of natural Florida have been preserved, but Scouts now enjoy a pool, horseback riding and a climbing wall.
Back in Gundy's day, the climbing was a bit more rustic. In the 1950s, she and George took several troops up Mount Le Conte, in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.
Five years ago, at the age of 90, Gundy decided to make one last trek up the mountain. She took "three nice young people" with her, mainly because she was worried she'd get hurt and require a rescue from strangers, a terrible bother.
"When I made it to the top, a man ran up to me and hugged me and kissed me!" she says. "I said, 'Hmm, this is interesting!' I guess people had heard about the old lady on the mountain."
She says Mount Le Conte was much rougher in the old days; nowadays, there are cables to hold onto.
One thing that had not changed was the beauty of the spot. She took a few quiet moments to think about the others with whom she'd shared the view, her beloved George and all those girls who'd come and gone. She allowed herself a bittersweet moment, but didn't dwell on it too long.
Lenore "Gundy" Costello gave them hammers, nails and pliers.
"She wanted us to learn how to take care of ourselves," recalls Hitchcock, of Port Orange. "She was very much ahead of her time."
Now 95, the Girl Scout cheerleader everyone knows simply as "Gundy" is a sharp, merry, agile inspiration to the decades of girls she's known and trained in the ways of the woods and the world. In her 67th year in Scouting, she now serves on the board of the development committee for the recruitment of new members, a grand title that makes her chuckle.
It's a volunteer position. She officially retired from Scouting in 1976, but it didn't exactly take.
Through the years, she has backpacked with girls on the Appalachian Trail, taught countless young women how to pitch tents and sing songs around a campfire, and managed decades' worth of cookie sales.
But along the way, she demonstrated by example the value of a college education, the humor and dedication required for a happy marriage, and the confidence that comes from breaking the mold.
"My job as a leader and as a CEO was to instill in girls the skills that would carry them through life and make them solid citizens," she says from her tidy 1920s-era home overlooking a lake in Lake Alfred. She and her husband, George, moved there in the early 1940s. They had no children other than the scores of girls who hiked into their hearts.
"My girls learned courage and self-confidence," she says.
The world was a different place when she became a Scout leader in 1945, before fears of lawsuits and obsessive worries over safety. She recalls turning eight older Scouts loose in the Polk County wilderness to establish a campsite and fend for themselves for a week.
"I thought these kids needed to take a few risks, learn leadership," she says. "They didn't know it, but I checked on the campsite every night. I never turned on my flashlight so they wouldn't know I was there."
The girls did just fine.
Gundy was born Lenore VanGundia in Sycamore, Ohio, then a small town without a Girl Scout troop. She received her nickname while a student at Heidelberg University in Ohio, and graduated in 1938 with a double major in sociology and biology.
She met her husband when she went to work for the Red Cross and he was on its national staff. George Costello was a Boy Scout leader, and when the couple moved to Polk County, the Girl Scout leadership enticed Gundy to get involved, too.
Through the years, George accompanied her on most trips, and encouraged her to take positions of increasing responsibility in Scouting, including acting as CEO for the local council. He died in 1997 at the age of 88, but had been her most vigorous supporter – most of the time.
"Ever once in a while," Gundy says, "I would come home from a tough day and say, 'That's it! That's my last day!'
"George would say, 'Did you tell them that? No? Well, good, because they might have said OK.' "
Humor comes naturally to Gundy; she throws back her head with abandon when she laughs, which is often. She's been known to play good-hearted jokes at her church, embarrassing the pastor. She frequently is visited by her girls, many now grandmothers, serving them lunches of homemade pimiento cheese and Jell-O salad.
Hitchcock, who was a Brownie at age 8 and continued in Scouting through high school, says Gundy taught her to canoe, backpack, knit and enjoy show tunes. She remains an avid backpacker, and her daughter and granddaughters followed her into Scouting.
But, she says, she learned more than nature skills from Gundy.
"She really taught us to protect the environment, before anyone was doing that," she says. "She passed on to us so much information about diversity and bringing people together.
"She was so much fun, always laughing."
In 1956, Gundy was one of the first women in the United States to travel to another country – in her case, the West Indies -- to teach the basics of camping. She later traveled to Switzerland, Puerto Rico and elsewhere for the American Camping Association to help camps worldwide gain accreditation. She remains friends with the women she met.
She continued teaching new generations of Girl Scouts about camping well into her 80s.
She also was instrumental in opening Camp Wildwood, sometimes going door to door to ask landowners to sell their property in Sumter County, about 75 miles northeast of Tampa. The piney woods, palmettos, live oaks and marshlands of natural Florida have been preserved, but Scouts now enjoy a pool, horseback riding and a climbing wall.
Back in Gundy's day, the climbing was a bit more rustic. In the 1950s, she and George took several troops up Mount Le Conte, in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee.
Five years ago, at the age of 90, Gundy decided to make one last trek up the mountain. She took "three nice young people" with her, mainly because she was worried she'd get hurt and require a rescue from strangers, a terrible bother.
"When I made it to the top, a man ran up to me and hugged me and kissed me!" she says. "I said, 'Hmm, this is interesting!' I guess people had heard about the old lady on the mountain."
She says Mount Le Conte was much rougher in the old days; nowadays, there are cables to hold onto.
One thing that had not changed was the beauty of the spot. She took a few quiet moments to think about the others with whom she'd shared the view, her beloved George and all those girls who'd come and gone. She allowed herself a bittersweet moment, but didn't dwell on it too long.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Colorado State students work for national eco-friendly car competition
A car that runs on water, instead of gasoline, may seem like a product of the future. But, what once seemed a pipe dream, may become reality right here at CSU as a group of undergraduates work to make their mark on the future of auto engineering.
“Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the way of the future and we’re plugging into that future,” said Jon Miksch, a senior mechanical engineering major and one of the 33 undergraduate CSU students participating in EcoCAR2, a nationwide engineering competition.
As one of the 15 schools competing in the competition, CSU will receive a Chevy Malibu directly off the production line in June 2012. The eco-friendly parts CSU students develop and add to the car must be fully functioning in the car by March 2013.
By spring 2014, it must be production-ready, said Dr. Thomas Bradley, an associate engineering professor and faculty advisor for the project.
“All around, it’ll end up being a three-year project,” said Benjamin Geller, a CSU PhD student and team leader overseeing the project. He explained that CSU was accepted as one of the schools in the competition after writing a successful proposal to the Department of Energy and General Motors.
“They were looking for leaders in innovation and Colorado State Mechanical Engineering has demonstrated lots of innovation when it comes to vehicles and innovation,” said Mary Timby, CSU vehicle renovation team’s public relations manager.
The project is part of the senior design program in the Department of Engineering, but all students from different departments are encouraged to apply to help work on the car.
“There are a lot of parts that are technical, but we have a lot of creative parts as well,” Bradley said.
Bradley said he envisions textile majors helping design the interior of the car, art majors helping to make fiberglass molds and communication majors working the public relations aspect.
“The way I see it, we’re in competition with the best schools in the country and we’re doing it all on a national stage so we want to represent all the talent and all the capabilities CSU has to offer,” Bradley said. “The more we can showcase what CSU does, the better we’ll do.”
Because this project has ramifications that effect the automotive industry, the environment and politics, to name a few, Geller said he’s excited about the opportunities that will open up for everyone involved.
“There’s really no other opportunity that allows you to be involved with so many different players,” he added.
As a member of the energy storage team, Miksch is researching and developing the car’s batteries and hydrogen.
“Our team is trying to figure out a clever way to fit another seven battery containers into a car without taking up any interior space,” Miksch said. “The battery cases are made out of carbon fiber to prevent people from getting shocked by the battery charges. We’re also trying to make it 200 miles before you have to stop and recharge it.”
“When you use hydrogen as a fuel, it takes a special engine but the only emission is water vapor. You can breathe air right out of the emission pipe,” he added.
“Hydrogen fuel cell technology is the way of the future and we’re plugging into that future,” said Jon Miksch, a senior mechanical engineering major and one of the 33 undergraduate CSU students participating in EcoCAR2, a nationwide engineering competition.
As one of the 15 schools competing in the competition, CSU will receive a Chevy Malibu directly off the production line in June 2012. The eco-friendly parts CSU students develop and add to the car must be fully functioning in the car by March 2013.
By spring 2014, it must be production-ready, said Dr. Thomas Bradley, an associate engineering professor and faculty advisor for the project.
“All around, it’ll end up being a three-year project,” said Benjamin Geller, a CSU PhD student and team leader overseeing the project. He explained that CSU was accepted as one of the schools in the competition after writing a successful proposal to the Department of Energy and General Motors.
“They were looking for leaders in innovation and Colorado State Mechanical Engineering has demonstrated lots of innovation when it comes to vehicles and innovation,” said Mary Timby, CSU vehicle renovation team’s public relations manager.
The project is part of the senior design program in the Department of Engineering, but all students from different departments are encouraged to apply to help work on the car.
“There are a lot of parts that are technical, but we have a lot of creative parts as well,” Bradley said.
Bradley said he envisions textile majors helping design the interior of the car, art majors helping to make fiberglass molds and communication majors working the public relations aspect.
“The way I see it, we’re in competition with the best schools in the country and we’re doing it all on a national stage so we want to represent all the talent and all the capabilities CSU has to offer,” Bradley said. “The more we can showcase what CSU does, the better we’ll do.”
Because this project has ramifications that effect the automotive industry, the environment and politics, to name a few, Geller said he’s excited about the opportunities that will open up for everyone involved.
“There’s really no other opportunity that allows you to be involved with so many different players,” he added.
As a member of the energy storage team, Miksch is researching and developing the car’s batteries and hydrogen.
“Our team is trying to figure out a clever way to fit another seven battery containers into a car without taking up any interior space,” Miksch said. “The battery cases are made out of carbon fiber to prevent people from getting shocked by the battery charges. We’re also trying to make it 200 miles before you have to stop and recharge it.”
“When you use hydrogen as a fuel, it takes a special engine but the only emission is water vapor. You can breathe air right out of the emission pipe,” he added.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Niche Market | Ice Skates
In six years, Westside Skate and Stick has become a vital way station for those who take gliding, jumping, spinning and chasing a puck on ice seriously in this city.
Part retailer and part machinist workshop, the store is hidden on the fifth floor of a building in the Flatiron District like a secret clubhouse. But as the popularity of ice skating grows in the city, Westside has built a reputation on its skill in sharpening skates for the ultimate grip and glide. Depending on personal preference, weight, height and experience, for $15-$35 the staff will mold the hollow and profile of ice skate blades using a special seven-step sharpening technique called "maximum edge." Many customers bring their skates back regularly to obtain a fine edge for games. The store also offeres skate fitting and "baking," a process that molds a skate to a customer's foot.
Sitting on a bench waiting for his skates to be sharpened by the boys in the back, Larry "Ratso" Sloman dished praise. "They're on a class above anybody else in the city. And if you don't have good sharpened skates, fuggedaboutit. You can't perform," said this avid recreational hockey player, who also happens to be the author of Thin Ice, a book about a year spent with the New York Rangers.
The sound of blades grinding on a stone wheel pierces the soundscape at the store, and for owner David Healy, it's the high pitch of nostalgia. "I always remember it in the hockey shops, as a kid when you walked in you just knew, from the sound, it was like winter began again," said Healy, who spent his childhood in Massachusetts skating on ponds.
With walls lined with skates, bulky protective equipment, sticks, and men on benches tying their shoelaces, Westside Skate and Stick has a locker room vibe, albeit a demographically mixed one. Men who play in recreational hockey leagues into their 60s, like Sloman, amble on the carpeted floor, trying on skates, while eight year olds like Phillip Fuhrman poke at gear. But the two were on the same page when it comes to hockey. "It's aggressive, you're always moving," said Fuhrman, who was wearing a Knicks' Jeremy Lin jersey. The boy's opinion was echoed by Sloman: "It's cheaper than therapy. You go out on the ice and you just forget any of your mundane problems, and then you get to hit people too, so you get all your aggression out."
The testosterone level is tempered by the likes of fifteen-year-old Alana Resnick, a competitive figure skater. She came in with her mother — a professional figure skating coach — to sharpen her edges before the weekend’s competition at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Resnick knew it was time for a tune-up because she had been slipping during her daily practices. "It wasn't sticking and biting into the ice as much as it usually does and I was skidding a lot,” she said.
While the teenager did her homework, Healy dressed his grinding wheel with a diamond and carefully labored over Resnick's skates for 20 minutes, pausing after each pass to examine the blade. A sharp and square edge is even more important for figure skaters, because of the complicated footwork required for jumps and axles.
Part retailer and part machinist workshop, the store is hidden on the fifth floor of a building in the Flatiron District like a secret clubhouse. But as the popularity of ice skating grows in the city, Westside has built a reputation on its skill in sharpening skates for the ultimate grip and glide. Depending on personal preference, weight, height and experience, for $15-$35 the staff will mold the hollow and profile of ice skate blades using a special seven-step sharpening technique called "maximum edge." Many customers bring their skates back regularly to obtain a fine edge for games. The store also offeres skate fitting and "baking," a process that molds a skate to a customer's foot.
Sitting on a bench waiting for his skates to be sharpened by the boys in the back, Larry "Ratso" Sloman dished praise. "They're on a class above anybody else in the city. And if you don't have good sharpened skates, fuggedaboutit. You can't perform," said this avid recreational hockey player, who also happens to be the author of Thin Ice, a book about a year spent with the New York Rangers.
The sound of blades grinding on a stone wheel pierces the soundscape at the store, and for owner David Healy, it's the high pitch of nostalgia. "I always remember it in the hockey shops, as a kid when you walked in you just knew, from the sound, it was like winter began again," said Healy, who spent his childhood in Massachusetts skating on ponds.
With walls lined with skates, bulky protective equipment, sticks, and men on benches tying their shoelaces, Westside Skate and Stick has a locker room vibe, albeit a demographically mixed one. Men who play in recreational hockey leagues into their 60s, like Sloman, amble on the carpeted floor, trying on skates, while eight year olds like Phillip Fuhrman poke at gear. But the two were on the same page when it comes to hockey. "It's aggressive, you're always moving," said Fuhrman, who was wearing a Knicks' Jeremy Lin jersey. The boy's opinion was echoed by Sloman: "It's cheaper than therapy. You go out on the ice and you just forget any of your mundane problems, and then you get to hit people too, so you get all your aggression out."
The testosterone level is tempered by the likes of fifteen-year-old Alana Resnick, a competitive figure skater. She came in with her mother — a professional figure skating coach — to sharpen her edges before the weekend’s competition at Wollman Rink in Central Park. Resnick knew it was time for a tune-up because she had been slipping during her daily practices. "It wasn't sticking and biting into the ice as much as it usually does and I was skidding a lot,” she said.
While the teenager did her homework, Healy dressed his grinding wheel with a diamond and carefully labored over Resnick's skates for 20 minutes, pausing after each pass to examine the blade. A sharp and square edge is even more important for figure skaters, because of the complicated footwork required for jumps and axles.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
American aid missions fall victim to Mexico's turmoil
For two decades, a community hospital in Colorado sent a medical aid mission each year to a remote city in northeast Mexico, treating tens of thousands of low-income residents for free.
Dozens of U.S. doctors and dentists, backed up by even more nurses and technicians, would repair cleft palates, take out gall bladders, treat cataracts, fix abscessed teeth and fit people for custom hearing aids.
"We basically would take over the hospital and run it 24/7 for a week," said Rich Lopez, a former deputy mayor of Boulder.
But then the gangsters arrived. Mante, a city in a sugar cane-growing region of Tamaulipas state, fell victim to the violence roiling Mexico. Last year, for the first time since the early 1990s, the U.S. medical team stayed home. They stayed home this February, too.
As Mexico battles narcotics and crime groups, U.S. medical and religious missions that for generations had come to build houses, tend the sick and conduct goodwill activities have been forced to retreat. The suspension of such missions has cast a terrible, unseen blow on hidden corners of Mexico. It's also been painful for Americans with a desire to help.
"The numbers have really dropped off in terms of people going to Mexico," said David Armstrong, director of operations for Mission Data International, a group in Arkansas that tracks foreign religious missions.
For U.S. citizens in the Southwest, taking part in a goodwill mission to Mexico used to be as easy as hopping on a chartered bus with like-minded people and tooling along highways for a few hours. Suspending the trips has, in some cases, brought anguish.
"You don't know how it hurts," said Tino Hernandez, director of the Austin Diocese Medical Mission in Texas, an outreach of the Roman Catholic Church. "It's going to have a huge impact, and the people who are suffering are the poor."
Hernandez used to organize teams of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses to travel to areas of need in Jalisco and Coahuila, among other states.
"We were doing as many as three or four (missions) a year. We're right next door to Mexico, so we can drive," Hernandez said.
Now that the bishop has suspended missions to Mexico, Hernandez said, "the topic came up of possibly looking into the Philippines."
Few medical missions grew to the size or importance of the yearly Mante Medical Mission sponsored by the Boulder Community Hospital, that city's Rotary Club and its First Presbyterian Church.
"I can spin story after story of the miracles that these surgeries would accomplish," said Jean M. Bedell, a nurse who went on 20 annual missions to Mante.
Girls in Mante used to ridicule one teenager for her huge abdomen, Bedell said, until a Boulder gynecologist found that she had a non-malignant tumor and removed it.
As the years went by, the mission grew to more than 100 medical personnel, attending swelling numbers of patients. In recent years, the group filled a 40-foot trailer with operating room tables, anesthesia machines and disposable medical supplies to take with them and then leave in Mante. Organizers also arranged the donation of a used fire engine and ambulance.
"You can imagine what an enormous benefit that brought to our community. We estimate that more than 80,000 patients were treated over the course of those 20 years," said Dr. David Rodriguez Alvarado, a Mante physician whose father and aunt made the initial appeal at a Boulder church that set in motion the first mission in 1990.
Listening to that appeal in the congregation that day was David Gehant, chief executive of the 200-bed Boulder Community Hospital. He offered to speak with his doctors, leading to the medical missions.
Boulder medical personnel paid their own expenses to take part in the annual missions, working doggedly and returning a week later — exhausted.
"They would do more surgeries in a day than we ever do here in the United States," Lopez said, yet the hard work drew ample personal payoff.
"The doctors say, 'I get more thank you's in one week in Mexico than I do in a year here in Colorado,'" Lopez said. "So in terms of reward, we do a lot for them, but they do just as much for us."
Those who still lead volunteer missions to Mexico say they regularly draw sharp words of concern from relatives.
"Parents called us all kinds of names," said Howard Culbertson, a professor of world evangelism at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma who took 120 people recently to Coahuila state to help local churches in construction projects.
"Our numbers were about half of what they were before, and a lot of it is due to this hysteria," he added, referring to what he deemed alarmist media reports.
At least 50,000 people have died since late 2006, when center-right President Felipe Calderon came to office and launched an assault on drug traffickers.
The State Department this month expanded its warning to U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to all or parts of 14 of Mexico's 31 states. It advised against nonessential travel to the border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, and the central state of Durango, and urged caution on trips to Baja California, Nuevo Leon and Sonora, also border states.
Organizers of missions have grown skittish as such warnings grow more dire.
"Every now and then, I'll talk to someone who says, 'I talked to the U.S. Embassy and they said that if you go, you better bring a body bag along,'" said Armstrong of Mission Data International. "In the media, it's just a blanket 'danger, danger, danger' everywhere."
But those who keep close tabs on the situation in Mante, for example, say the perils are real, even if the city seems "normal during daylight hours," as noted in a report from the Boulder-Mante Sister Cities Committee.
"A 5:00 p.m. curfew has pretty much shut down evening and nighttime activities. Weekly meetings, such as the Rotary Clubs in Mante, have been suspended. The military is fairly prominently in place and seeks to keep order as best they can," the report says.
Tamaulipas, which shares a 143-mile border with Texas, is one of Mexico's most homicidal states. It tallied 1,108 murders last year, 8.5 percent of Mexico's total homicides for 2011.
Dozens of U.S. doctors and dentists, backed up by even more nurses and technicians, would repair cleft palates, take out gall bladders, treat cataracts, fix abscessed teeth and fit people for custom hearing aids.
"We basically would take over the hospital and run it 24/7 for a week," said Rich Lopez, a former deputy mayor of Boulder.
But then the gangsters arrived. Mante, a city in a sugar cane-growing region of Tamaulipas state, fell victim to the violence roiling Mexico. Last year, for the first time since the early 1990s, the U.S. medical team stayed home. They stayed home this February, too.
As Mexico battles narcotics and crime groups, U.S. medical and religious missions that for generations had come to build houses, tend the sick and conduct goodwill activities have been forced to retreat. The suspension of such missions has cast a terrible, unseen blow on hidden corners of Mexico. It's also been painful for Americans with a desire to help.
"The numbers have really dropped off in terms of people going to Mexico," said David Armstrong, director of operations for Mission Data International, a group in Arkansas that tracks foreign religious missions.
For U.S. citizens in the Southwest, taking part in a goodwill mission to Mexico used to be as easy as hopping on a chartered bus with like-minded people and tooling along highways for a few hours. Suspending the trips has, in some cases, brought anguish.
"You don't know how it hurts," said Tino Hernandez, director of the Austin Diocese Medical Mission in Texas, an outreach of the Roman Catholic Church. "It's going to have a huge impact, and the people who are suffering are the poor."
Hernandez used to organize teams of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses to travel to areas of need in Jalisco and Coahuila, among other states.
"We were doing as many as three or four (missions) a year. We're right next door to Mexico, so we can drive," Hernandez said.
Now that the bishop has suspended missions to Mexico, Hernandez said, "the topic came up of possibly looking into the Philippines."
Few medical missions grew to the size or importance of the yearly Mante Medical Mission sponsored by the Boulder Community Hospital, that city's Rotary Club and its First Presbyterian Church.
"I can spin story after story of the miracles that these surgeries would accomplish," said Jean M. Bedell, a nurse who went on 20 annual missions to Mante.
Girls in Mante used to ridicule one teenager for her huge abdomen, Bedell said, until a Boulder gynecologist found that she had a non-malignant tumor and removed it.
As the years went by, the mission grew to more than 100 medical personnel, attending swelling numbers of patients. In recent years, the group filled a 40-foot trailer with operating room tables, anesthesia machines and disposable medical supplies to take with them and then leave in Mante. Organizers also arranged the donation of a used fire engine and ambulance.
"You can imagine what an enormous benefit that brought to our community. We estimate that more than 80,000 patients were treated over the course of those 20 years," said Dr. David Rodriguez Alvarado, a Mante physician whose father and aunt made the initial appeal at a Boulder church that set in motion the first mission in 1990.
Listening to that appeal in the congregation that day was David Gehant, chief executive of the 200-bed Boulder Community Hospital. He offered to speak with his doctors, leading to the medical missions.
Boulder medical personnel paid their own expenses to take part in the annual missions, working doggedly and returning a week later — exhausted.
"They would do more surgeries in a day than we ever do here in the United States," Lopez said, yet the hard work drew ample personal payoff.
"The doctors say, 'I get more thank you's in one week in Mexico than I do in a year here in Colorado,'" Lopez said. "So in terms of reward, we do a lot for them, but they do just as much for us."
Those who still lead volunteer missions to Mexico say they regularly draw sharp words of concern from relatives.
"Parents called us all kinds of names," said Howard Culbertson, a professor of world evangelism at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma who took 120 people recently to Coahuila state to help local churches in construction projects.
"Our numbers were about half of what they were before, and a lot of it is due to this hysteria," he added, referring to what he deemed alarmist media reports.
At least 50,000 people have died since late 2006, when center-right President Felipe Calderon came to office and launched an assault on drug traffickers.
The State Department this month expanded its warning to U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to all or parts of 14 of Mexico's 31 states. It advised against nonessential travel to the border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas, and the central state of Durango, and urged caution on trips to Baja California, Nuevo Leon and Sonora, also border states.
Organizers of missions have grown skittish as such warnings grow more dire.
"Every now and then, I'll talk to someone who says, 'I talked to the U.S. Embassy and they said that if you go, you better bring a body bag along,'" said Armstrong of Mission Data International. "In the media, it's just a blanket 'danger, danger, danger' everywhere."
But those who keep close tabs on the situation in Mante, for example, say the perils are real, even if the city seems "normal during daylight hours," as noted in a report from the Boulder-Mante Sister Cities Committee.
"A 5:00 p.m. curfew has pretty much shut down evening and nighttime activities. Weekly meetings, such as the Rotary Clubs in Mante, have been suspended. The military is fairly prominently in place and seeks to keep order as best they can," the report says.
Tamaulipas, which shares a 143-mile border with Texas, is one of Mexico's most homicidal states. It tallied 1,108 murders last year, 8.5 percent of Mexico's total homicides for 2011.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Tenant says apartment complex would not deal with mold problem
A moldy apartment has forced a Wilmington man to move. He claims the management company would not do anything about it.
Samuel Nixon is moving out of Cypress Grove Apartments. His lease is up, and it could not come soon enough.
"I couldn't breathe," Nixon said. "I began having shortness of breath, couldn't breathe, ended up getting gagged up, had to go to the hospital."
Doctors gave him breathing treatments and an inhaler. A few visits later they recommended Nixon check his apartment for mold and other respiratory irritants.
Nixon contacted the health department and the City of Wilmington's Code Enforcement office. Both found issues with the apartment. The heat was not working, there was mold in the freezer and the toilet was leaking, which soaked through the carpet.
"The man came up and fixed the toilet and stopped the leaks, but by that time it was too late, and then shortly after that we started having a problem with the mildew and the molds growing everywhere," Nixon said.
Look at the vent in the refrigerator, and you will see mold growing. Nixon says management at Cypress Grove would not change out the carpet and basically ignored his complaints.
"If you ever talk to the management around there, then you'll see what I'm talking about," Nixon said. "She denies everything. Everything is perfect, which nothing is perfect."
We tried to speak with someone at Cypress Grove about these claims. They simply said, "No comment." When we told them we saw mold and would be reporting this, they said, "That's fine."
Nixon temporarily moved in with family. He has also filed a consumer complaint with the state Attorney General's office.
The person we spoke with at Cypress Grove refused to tell us who owned the complex. We researched and found out the owner is Berlin Miles Inc. out of Virginia. We left a message, but have not heard back.
Samuel Nixon is moving out of Cypress Grove Apartments. His lease is up, and it could not come soon enough.
"I couldn't breathe," Nixon said. "I began having shortness of breath, couldn't breathe, ended up getting gagged up, had to go to the hospital."
Doctors gave him breathing treatments and an inhaler. A few visits later they recommended Nixon check his apartment for mold and other respiratory irritants.
Nixon contacted the health department and the City of Wilmington's Code Enforcement office. Both found issues with the apartment. The heat was not working, there was mold in the freezer and the toilet was leaking, which soaked through the carpet.
"The man came up and fixed the toilet and stopped the leaks, but by that time it was too late, and then shortly after that we started having a problem with the mildew and the molds growing everywhere," Nixon said.
Look at the vent in the refrigerator, and you will see mold growing. Nixon says management at Cypress Grove would not change out the carpet and basically ignored his complaints.
"If you ever talk to the management around there, then you'll see what I'm talking about," Nixon said. "She denies everything. Everything is perfect, which nothing is perfect."
We tried to speak with someone at Cypress Grove about these claims. They simply said, "No comment." When we told them we saw mold and would be reporting this, they said, "That's fine."
Nixon temporarily moved in with family. He has also filed a consumer complaint with the state Attorney General's office.
The person we spoke with at Cypress Grove refused to tell us who owned the complex. We researched and found out the owner is Berlin Miles Inc. out of Virginia. We left a message, but have not heard back.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Proper soil is key for starting your seeds
If you're going to start your own seeds for the upcoming gardening season, this is the time of year to start planning. Not only is this a satisfying thing to do, it could save you quite a lot of money.
To begin to grow, seeds need moisture, warmth and aerated — not compacted — soil. A soil mix usually is better than garden soil for seed sprouting, as well as for transplanting seedlings when they outgrow the containers where they were started, because it is free from pests, diseases and weed seed. It also drains readily, holds some moisture and allows air to enter the mix. The texture is fine enough so there is good contact between the seeds and the seed-starting mix, which aids germination.
Several commercial mixes are on the market. They usually contain peat or coir for moisture-holding, sand or other "grit" for good drainage, and perlite or vermiculite to help with aeration. I prefer a mix using coir, which is a fiber from coconut husks, because it is sustainable, or renewable. Peat takes many years to form and must be mined; one of these days, we'll run out of it. You could make your own seed-starting mix using the ingredients listed.
These mixes, you will note, do not contain fertilizers, as everything a seed needs to begin to grow is contained within that seed. As the seedlings grow, they will need to be transplanted to containers that offer more food for the plants. The appearance of the seedlings' true leaves — the ones following the "seed leaves" — signals the time when transplanting can take place.
Transplanting mixes usually will contain peat or coir for holding moisture, pumice or perlite for aeration, and perhaps some ground bark, aged sawdust or sterilized garden soil. There might also be bone meal, kelp or other seaweed, alfalfa meal, blood meal and maybe some mycorrhizae or other soil microbes, all of which help feed the young transplants. These slow-release fertilizers are preferred to chemical ones because they won't burn the roots of the baby plants. Like seed-starting mixes, these transplanting mixtures are designed to prevent the growth of molds, which can kill the young seedlings.
If you want to make your own transplanting mix that includes garden soil or compost that you made, remember to sterilize the soil first. This can be done by putting fine, sieved soil into a baking pan, no more than 3 inches deep, and baking it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Warning: This process smells awful! Or, put the sieved garden soil in a roasting bag and microwave it on high for 10 minutes. Close the top of the bag to prevent the soil from getting into your microwave, but do pierce the bag so it won't explode.
There also are specialized mixes on the market for orchids, cacti, African violets and so on, which contain the special kind of texture and nutrients preferred by those plants. It's a good idea, I think, to use these special mixes, to get the best results from your gardening efforts.
To begin to grow, seeds need moisture, warmth and aerated — not compacted — soil. A soil mix usually is better than garden soil for seed sprouting, as well as for transplanting seedlings when they outgrow the containers where they were started, because it is free from pests, diseases and weed seed. It also drains readily, holds some moisture and allows air to enter the mix. The texture is fine enough so there is good contact between the seeds and the seed-starting mix, which aids germination.
Several commercial mixes are on the market. They usually contain peat or coir for moisture-holding, sand or other "grit" for good drainage, and perlite or vermiculite to help with aeration. I prefer a mix using coir, which is a fiber from coconut husks, because it is sustainable, or renewable. Peat takes many years to form and must be mined; one of these days, we'll run out of it. You could make your own seed-starting mix using the ingredients listed.
These mixes, you will note, do not contain fertilizers, as everything a seed needs to begin to grow is contained within that seed. As the seedlings grow, they will need to be transplanted to containers that offer more food for the plants. The appearance of the seedlings' true leaves — the ones following the "seed leaves" — signals the time when transplanting can take place.
Transplanting mixes usually will contain peat or coir for holding moisture, pumice or perlite for aeration, and perhaps some ground bark, aged sawdust or sterilized garden soil. There might also be bone meal, kelp or other seaweed, alfalfa meal, blood meal and maybe some mycorrhizae or other soil microbes, all of which help feed the young transplants. These slow-release fertilizers are preferred to chemical ones because they won't burn the roots of the baby plants. Like seed-starting mixes, these transplanting mixtures are designed to prevent the growth of molds, which can kill the young seedlings.
If you want to make your own transplanting mix that includes garden soil or compost that you made, remember to sterilize the soil first. This can be done by putting fine, sieved soil into a baking pan, no more than 3 inches deep, and baking it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Warning: This process smells awful! Or, put the sieved garden soil in a roasting bag and microwave it on high for 10 minutes. Close the top of the bag to prevent the soil from getting into your microwave, but do pierce the bag so it won't explode.
There also are specialized mixes on the market for orchids, cacti, African violets and so on, which contain the special kind of texture and nutrients preferred by those plants. It's a good idea, I think, to use these special mixes, to get the best results from your gardening efforts.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Centennial Mall campaign begins public fundraising
Barbara Deweese Day was a seventh-grader at Irving Junior High School when she watched the Sower as it was hoisted from its bed in a train car to its perch atop the Capitol.
Standing on a first-floor parapet, she looked down at the giant lying in the train car and watched as the sculpture was winched slowly up to the top, where it has stood for almost 82 years, looking northwest across the Nebraska landscape.
Day, who will be 93 this month, has a number of Capitol connections and Nebraska stories.
Martin-Day Construction, her father-in-law's construction company, did the excavation work for the Capitol in the early 1920s.
Her grandfather's stately home -- and barn for the horse team and pony -- stood across the street from the Capitol at the northeast corner of 16th and J streets.
Day is among the hundreds of Nebraskans who donated to the Centennial Mall renovation during the early, silent campaign that raised about $5.7 million from government and private sources.
Thursday morning, the Centennial Mall campaign kicks off its public fundraising drive, seeking the rest of the $9.6 million needed for renovation and an endowment for future maintenance.
The redesign of the entire seven-block mall will celebrate Nebraska's legacy of stewardship and will include three fountains, new walkways and landscaping and a pathway of Nebraska names and stories.
The Spirit of Nebraska Pathway will be a series of granite and bronze plaques placed along the twin walkways that frame all seven blocks.
Individuals and businesses can buy tiles or sponsor tiles for notable Nebraskans.
It is envisioned that these blocks will become a "mosaic of Nebraskans" and tell their stories.
Part of the Day contribution, funded through a family memorial fund, will be used for a plaque honoring Day's husband, George, who died three years ago.
George Day loved fountains, his wife said. He thought there should be a fountain in the center of Oak Park for people to enjoy during their drive into Lincoln.
About 20 years ago, a $50,000 gift from the Edith R. Day Memorial Fund honoring Barbara Day's mother-in-law was used to repair the K Street fountain.
The George Day plaque likely will say "He loved fountains" and be placed near one of the new fountains.
Construction on the middle three blocks of the mall from M to P streets will be done this summer, in connection with a separate downtown street rehabilitation project.
The rest of the renovation will begin after the $9.6 million goal is reached.
Donations so far include $1.5 million from private donors, $3 million from the city, $550,000 from Windstream, $500,000 from the Lincoln Community Foundation on behalf of the Sheila Dickinson Dinsmore Graf Fund and $500,000 from the Lancaster County Visitor's Improvement Fund. Other funding partners include the Nebraska Environmental Trust, State Farm, the Cope Foundation of Kearney and the Junior League of Lincoln.
Standing on a first-floor parapet, she looked down at the giant lying in the train car and watched as the sculpture was winched slowly up to the top, where it has stood for almost 82 years, looking northwest across the Nebraska landscape.
Day, who will be 93 this month, has a number of Capitol connections and Nebraska stories.
Martin-Day Construction, her father-in-law's construction company, did the excavation work for the Capitol in the early 1920s.
Her grandfather's stately home -- and barn for the horse team and pony -- stood across the street from the Capitol at the northeast corner of 16th and J streets.
Day is among the hundreds of Nebraskans who donated to the Centennial Mall renovation during the early, silent campaign that raised about $5.7 million from government and private sources.
Thursday morning, the Centennial Mall campaign kicks off its public fundraising drive, seeking the rest of the $9.6 million needed for renovation and an endowment for future maintenance.
The redesign of the entire seven-block mall will celebrate Nebraska's legacy of stewardship and will include three fountains, new walkways and landscaping and a pathway of Nebraska names and stories.
The Spirit of Nebraska Pathway will be a series of granite and bronze plaques placed along the twin walkways that frame all seven blocks.
Individuals and businesses can buy tiles or sponsor tiles for notable Nebraskans.
It is envisioned that these blocks will become a "mosaic of Nebraskans" and tell their stories.
Part of the Day contribution, funded through a family memorial fund, will be used for a plaque honoring Day's husband, George, who died three years ago.
George Day loved fountains, his wife said. He thought there should be a fountain in the center of Oak Park for people to enjoy during their drive into Lincoln.
About 20 years ago, a $50,000 gift from the Edith R. Day Memorial Fund honoring Barbara Day's mother-in-law was used to repair the K Street fountain.
The George Day plaque likely will say "He loved fountains" and be placed near one of the new fountains.
Construction on the middle three blocks of the mall from M to P streets will be done this summer, in connection with a separate downtown street rehabilitation project.
The rest of the renovation will begin after the $9.6 million goal is reached.
Donations so far include $1.5 million from private donors, $3 million from the city, $550,000 from Windstream, $500,000 from the Lincoln Community Foundation on behalf of the Sheila Dickinson Dinsmore Graf Fund and $500,000 from the Lancaster County Visitor's Improvement Fund. Other funding partners include the Nebraska Environmental Trust, State Farm, the Cope Foundation of Kearney and the Junior League of Lincoln.
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