Media
* Pulling Back the Curtain (WNYC's On The Media via NPR). A lively, entertaining story about why radio sounds so polished and how much editing radio interviews undergo. (Listen to it; don't read the transcript!) I always knew at some level how interviews were edited but hearing it explicitly made it much more concrete. I'm generally not bothered by these practices, but I do find the different standards for print and for radio disconcerting. For instance, I appreciate the appearance of ellipses in quotes. Yet radio isn't required to disclose where cuts are made. Another segment, Just Email Me, on the same program discussed why many prominent figures are only doing written interviews. By making a record, it gives the sources a recourse if they feel like they've been misquoted. It's a good follow-up to the first story. It's not surprising On The Media received many letters from listeners about these stories.
* Worst...P.R....Ever (WNYC's On The Media via NPR). I'm only linking to this piece, an interview with the man who wrote a major book on public relations, because a minute from the end he clearly distinguishes advertising and public relations. Previously these two concepts were nearly interchangeable in my mind.
Food
* Food That Travels Well (New York Times). A column that argues, with evidence, that buying food locally to save oil/gas by reducing transportation miles often doesn't make sense. Sometimes it's more energy efficient to import rather than grow locally.
Biology, Psychology, and Neurology
* Broadband Vision (Science News). I was taught in high school biological and college psychology of perception that the inverted structure of the eye (with the rods and cones hidden behind other cells) was a fluke of evolution and that we are lucky some light gets through those other cells. I was taught wrong. It turns out the eye has cells that act like optical fibers, routing light past the frontal cells to the sensing ones. It's a much better structure than scientists previously imagined. The abstract of the source article, Müller cells are living optical fibers in the vertebrate retina (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), is freely available online.
* Face Talk: Babies see their way to language insights (Science News). Babies can distinguish which language someone is speaking by watching the speaker. No sound is necessary. It's too bad we lose this visual perceptual ability as we age. The abstract of the source article, Visual language discrimination in infancy (Science), summarizes the study well and is freely available online.
* Visualizing Cancer: Images of tumors can detect gene expression (Science News). I always like it when scientists discover how to use old data in novel ways. In this case, the data is the result of a CT scan. The abstract of the source article, Decoding global gene expression programs in cancer by non-invasive imaging (Nature Biotechnology), is freely available online.
* Named medical trials garner extra attention (Science News). If, as the research claim, they correctly factored in the quality and funding of the medical trials, that means many studies aren't getting the attention they deserve. An excerpt from the source article, Acronym-named randomized trials in medicine—the ART in medicine study (New England Journal of Medicine), is available online. With a little searching, one can find a copy of the whole article.
Engineering
* Spinning into Control: High-tech reincarnations of an ancient way of storing energy (Science News). Who need fuel cells? Use a flywheel! This alternative needs more attention from the media. You need to e-mail me if you want a copy of the article.
* Carbon Sequestration & Producing Hydrogen (Science Friday). The latter two segments of the program are amazing. The first of this pair describes a new device that'll extract carbon from the atmosphere in an energy efficient manner. Technology for this is much further along than I'd previously thought. Likewise, the second of the pair describes another technological advance: a chemical catalyst that converts water to hydrogen, thus allowing hydrogen fuel cell cars to run without the need for hydrogen filling stations. While it's not a panacea, it's good that there are vaguely plausible ideas like this floating around.
* Tapping out a TAI-CHI tune (Science News). I've seen demonstrations of a system in which a camera is pointed at a surface and that surface can then be used a input device as such a keyboard. This device, however, is new. Rather than using a camera, it uses audio triangulation. The abstract of the talk, Tangible acoustic interfaces for computer-human interaction (Euroscience Open Forum), is available online. The project has a web site.
* Are Computer Keyboards Dishwasher Safe? (NPR's Morning Edition). Wash your keyboard!
Interesting Articles: June and July 2007
Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off
On Saturday, August 18, 2007, after a long day of shopping, I drove to Pleasanton for the Bay Area Barbeque Cook-Off. I arrived at 7:00pm, later than I'd hoped. As soon as I entered the grounds, my nose caught the aromas that told me I made the right decision in coming here.
There wasn't much to the festival besides the eight or so huge barbeque stands. There were about a dozen booths: some selling clothing, others selling jewelry, a few offering services like psychics/palm readers/tarot readers (I wonder why there's a much higher proportion of these here than at most festivals), a booth selling shiny wooden lawn chairs (surprising, as one doesn't often see furniture for sale at these events), and one artist selling paintings. These pictures and one movie capture the sights (but not the scents ;>) of the bbq stands and the feel of the fairground as well.
Held in the nicely green Alameda County Fairgrounds, although there was a musical stage, not many people were sitting in the grass to listen to the band. When I was there, I think it was too windy and a little chilly. Indeed, by the time I got my food, the sun had set and I decided I'd be much happier eating it somewhere without a chill breeze. So, I ate in my car.
My dinner was fairly good stuff. The meats (pork ribs and beef brisket) were not exceptional, though the sauce, dark with chilies, added quite a bit. I enjoyed the sides more: smoky beans (perhaps cooked with bacon fat), and potato salad (with potatoes of a variety of sizes, thus giving it more texture than most potato salads).
San Mateo Country Fair
On Tuesday, August 14, 2007, after spending much of the day at an off-site for work at Menlo College, I headed to the San Mateo County Fair in the evening. I went to watch a performance by a band that a college roommate introduced me to, The Charlie Daniels Band.
It was a typical county fair: a combination of amusement park, carnival (games and such), hokey oddities (pay $1 to see a thousand-pound pig), festival (booths and all), local contests (kids baking cookies and cakes), and food concessions (more places selling hot dogs on a stick than I can count on one hand, plus the usual deep-fried foods and sugary treats such as funnel cakes and cotton candy). There's probably more--I didn't stay too longer before or after the show. I simply wasn't in the mood.
The concert was pretty good, though short (about 75 minutes). But, it was free, so I really can't complain. Because I own the band's best of CD, I recognized a number of the songs they played And even the songs I didn't recognize, I enjoyed. The story-telling aspect of this genre, folk rock, make songs interesting.
Charlie Daniels has been performing since the 50s and has had national fame since the 70s. Yet, many of the current band members (guitarists, keyboardist, drummer) are in their 30s and 40s. These musicians likely grew up listening to Charlie Daniels's music. It must be weird for them to perform with someone they listened to on the radio. They're probably playing songs they used to practice while learning their instruments.
The crowd at the concert was unusual for the bay area: some people wore cowboy hats, and the way the crowd cheered and reacted to Charlie Daniels's comments about Iraq, the troops, and gun control, made it clear the crowd was more conservative than the traditional bay area resident.
I had a pretty respectable gyro at the county fair for dinner: sliced lamb, tomato chunks, a little sliced white onion, tzatziki sauce, and a decent, chewy flat bread. After finishing it at the concert, as I crumpled up the remains, I spilled some sauce on my neighbor's jeans. Embarrassingly, she put her hand in it before I got a chance to point it out and offer her a napkin. She seemed to take it in stride though.
Pistahan (Filipino) Festival and Indonesian Day Festival
Saturday, August 11, 2007, saw me return to Yerba Buena Gardens for the Pistahan (Filipino) Festival. I like living near a Caltrain station; it makes trips to certain parts of the city very easy.
Pistahan (Filipino) Festival
The Filipino Festival was fairly small, smaller even than last week's festival. I explored it in under an hour. As I explored, I took a few pictures. The festival's most appealing aspect to me was the wide, themed food selection: pancit, adobe, lumpia, palabok, menudo, sisig, halo-halo, and more. I'd never heard of most of these dishes. And I'd certainly never seen halo-halo before -- I'd have remembered it if I had.
First, I tried some sisig. It was simply good grilled meat, tossed with jalapenos, and served over (unnecessary) rice. It reminded me greatly of Mexican food.
Later, in the afternoon, I tried some pancit. Basically a Filipino version of spaghetti and tiny meatballs, it was decent and satisfying. There's minor differences between the American and Filipino versions of the dish: the Filipino meatballs are made from pork (American one are, I think, beef); and, the Filipino noodles were rice noodles and hence had a slightly different texture.
Even later, I grabbed a few lumpia (not photographed). A fried egg-roll-type dish served with sweet and sour sauce, these were, oddly, more greasy inside than out. Still, I called them good, They were filled with peas, carrots, corn. The contents surprised me because I don't normally think of these as Asian vegetables.
As for the non-culinary aspects of the festival, the ordinary booths were pretty boring. Some promoted tourism and culture. A number offered real estate opportunities or mortgages. Local bay area banks, utilities, police forces, and financial institutions (including those offering money transfers) also had tables. I suppose the festival is a good opportunity to reach out to this community.
As for retailers, they were all themed. Although there weren't many, I'm sure for anything you wanted that's usually sold at a fair, a booth or two carried it.
Also, one booth was devoted to Filipino and Filipino-American history. It displayed Filipino art, old coins, flags, weapons, letters, and military uniforms (for Filipino units in the US army and Filipino troops commanded by the US military in joint operations). Some items had little binders explaining their significant and role. I wish more festivals had museum-type exhibits like this.
Other observations:
- Interestingly, most of the performances (musical entertainment or dance) were in the rap and hip-hop vein.
- There were more cops than I've seen at other festivals. I wonder why.
- I learned pinoy is another term for Filipino.
Indonesian Day Festival
The Indonesian Day Festival was even tinier than the Filipino Festival. Located in Union Square, it had one musical stage and ten booths, half of which sold food and half sold items such as handbags, wooden sculptures, and drums. Since most of the Indonesian food for sale was heavy and I'd already had lunch, I decided to pass. Although I spent less than thirty minutes at the festival, it was a fun excursion--I got to see some Indonesian dancing and to read some interesting menus.
Aloha Festival in the Presidio
On Sunday, August 5, 2007, I fought traffic to get to the Presidio, paid for parking, then circled for twenty minutes looking for a space. After parking, I finally emerged from my car to explore San Francisco's Aloha Festival.
Although the Aloha Festival was themed as much as the Himalayan Festival, it didn't interest me as much. That's probably because the items on display at the Aloha Festival seemed less exotic to me. It could also be because the day was overcast, frequently misting, and therefore much less pleasant than the day I went to the Himalayan Festival. As such, I spent only a bit more than an hour exploring.
There wasn't much artwork on display. Only one booth, with photos of eye-catching skirt-wrapped women, caught my eye. Most booths sold clothing, hand bags, jewelry, jugs, or rugs. A few sold Hawaiian snacks and ingredients. Two booths sold ukuleles. There was even one booth that sold furniture.
The crowd mostly consisted of Asian Pacific Islanders. Judging by the clothes, Hawaiian shirts are for tourists, not natives. (I saw my first Hawaiian shirt only after I was halfway through the festival, and only two booths sold them.) Two people wore amusing t-shirts that reflect the style and culture of this festival:
- We don't skinny dip; we chunky dip.
- Sorry, I don't speak Spanish. I am Samoan.
- some kalua pork: moist. pretty good
- some lomi lomi salmon: I'd describe it as a tangy tomato salsa; I didn't notice any salmon.
- a sashimi salad with onions: lively; quite good; the best item.
- some macaroni salad with peas (!): bland and starchy and not good at all.
These pictures and movies capture moments and sights from the festival, some of which I didn't discuss above.
Presidio Officer's Club
After lunch and two-thirds of the way through exploring the festival, I knew I'd be done with the festival way too soon. (I had evening plans in the city and didn't want to have too much time to kill.) Hence, I decided to wander away, hunt for a real bathroom (not a porta-potty), and see what else was nearby. Eventually, I found myself at the Officer's Club/temporary Visitor's Center, an expansive Spanish colonial building.
After briefly wandering through the gift shop and the exhibits in hall about the Presidio's history, I found a special exhibit of Robert Cameron's photographs. The photographs are mostly of natural scenes, though some are of natural scenes corrupted by human structures. I really enjoyed the exhibit, partially because the prints were impressively large (often six feet by ten feet) and with good detail, and partially because upon entering we were given an interesting booklet. The booklet had commentary from the photographer about every picture. Yes, every picture. Sometimes he describes the message he tried to convey with the photograph; sometimes the text was simply an anecdote about something that happened to him in the process of attempting to take the picture.
One photo, taken where the Sacramento River flows into the bay, shows a neat effect: one can see a line across the water where the dirtier/siltier river water hits the clearer bay water.
He also has a good photo of climbers on El Capitan.
Some of the pictures are comments on the environment and consumerism: arrays of salt beds, abandoned old strip mines, piles of cars by a landfill, power plants with many smokestacks, and oases of lawns and golf greens in the middle of dessert (photographed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas). Mostly, however, the photographs are of the majesty of nature.
Alemany Farmers Market & Sutro Baths
On Saturday, August 4, 2007, a friend and I realized we needed ingredients for dinner. As it was early afternoon, most farmers markets were already closed. After a bit of research, I discovered the Alemany Farmers Market is open for most of Saturday. Hence, there we went.
The Alemany Farmers Market is a good size. Most in-season fruits or vegetables are carried by at least three or four stalls. The atmosphere, judging by when we went, is more relaxed than, say, the Ferry Building's or Mountain View's market. Perhaps it's the time of day we went. Perhaps it's that the market has fewer certificated organic farmers and thus attracts a smaller crowd. (The smaller crowd could also be because the fruit didn't seem as perfect as at other markets. I sampled many that seemed either under-ripe or over-ripe.) Perhaps it's the setting--the market is located in what appears to be an old bus parking lot. Perhaps it's the colorful murals of produce and of rural scenes on the walls behind each stand.
After the farmers market, we decided to spend some time along the coast. First, we re-acquainted ourselves with Sutro Baths, a cool old ruin I hadn't visited since a Game took me there many years ago. While at Sutro Baths, we discovered something new: puffy plants. On parts of the hills overlooking the baths, there were some bushes, three or four feet tall, with very soft leaves. They're so soft one can sit on them. It's like laying in an easy chair. No part of one's body touches the ground. The bushes are easy to grip, walk through, and climb, as long as one is comfortable taking a step without being able to see the ground due to the density of the branches. The bushes cushion each step, just as they do one's tush when sitting.
After being chased from our recliners by some bees, we finished exploring Sutro Baths, then took a walk along the beach, passing a huge number of resting birds and a small number of very active beach ultimate players.
Two BBQs -> No Weekend Street Fair
On both Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22, 2007, I attended friends' birthday barbecues, one in Palo Alto and the other at Pomponio State Beach along highway one. Both were a lot of fun. Hence, I didn't plan to attend any street fairs this weekend. Indeed, I didn't even bother to see what the schedule looked like. Thus, I was very surprised when I left my apartment on Sunday morning and found a street fair two blocks from my building! Funny, funny things. It might've been there to torment/tempt me. But it failed: I think barbecues with friends are more fun...
Palo Alto Promenade
On Friday evening, July 20, 2007, I went to the Palo Alto Promenade. It was a street fair only in the sense that they closed the street to traffic; otherwise, there wasn't much besides a smattering of stages. There were practically no booths.
When I arrived, I did an exploratory stroll down University. It's nice walking down University Avenue with no cars and seeing what's changed and what's remained the same. I have mixed feelings about change. One part of me says, "there are new places to explore/try!" Another part says, "oy, there are new places that need exploring."
Along my walk, I noticed two big stages, one small one, and two street musicians. None played music I like. By the time I returned to the first stage, it had a new act, Groovy Judy, that appealed to me. I stayed and listened and grooved. The lead singer/guitarist, Groovy Judy, was dressed a flamboyant feathery pink suit and pink top hat; she was fun to watch. Groovy Judy's web page has interesting explanations about what inspired each song. She clearly cares about her lyrics and message.
When a friend arrived, we did another loop. The other big stage had a better band this time, though not good enough to make us stop for long.
I then got the opportunity to try one of those new places I spotted for dinner! :) It was quite good.
After dinner, joined by yet another friend, we did another circuit. We spotted a film projected on a screen, but couldn't hear it because the speakers were so bad. The big stage now had a not bad hip hop band on it.
In the amusing t-shirt category, I spotted someone wearing "my hockey mom can beat up your soccer mom".
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