Looks Like We Made It

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

President Barack Obama
Inaugural Address January 20, 2009

Well, seeing as the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors made it official, we felt we should do our part and attend this year's Maker Faire. The first ever Maker Faire was held April 22-23, 2006, and this year has grown to approximately 80,000 attendees.

Being the frugal Faire attendees, and trying to lessen our carbon footprint, we decide to ride our bikes to the Faire. We were able to get a $10 discount for bicycling, plus free bike valet, and we got in about a half hour earlier than the rest of the driving crowd (although I think that had more to do with the general confusion of the volunteers in charge of the bike entrance.) (the blue arrow is pointing at our bikes amongst a sea of bikes)

Wandering around the grounds I could just feel the creative vibes all around me....it made me want to run home and knit something, or sew something, or weld something (oh, how I wish I could weld!) You got the sense the place was just pulsating with ideas.

We were quickly overwhelmed by everything there was to see; we took some pictures, but they hardly do the Faire justice. Here's a short video clip of a few of the really cool things there were to see

Maker Faire 2009 from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

Let's see if I can help explain some of the things in that video:

To start, the moss covered creature was a Swamp Kirin from Seabat Studios

Swamp Kirin from Sarah K. Moore on Vimeo.

The Obama Robotic Solar Electric Chariot with another video here.

A Lego Train Town and Village by Bay Area Lego Users Group

R2-D2 Astromech Droids by Artoo-Detoo Dot Net

Robot Band by moonmilk

Lev the thereminbot plays "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley

Make your own shrinky dinks

The Rope Squirter from the Exploratorium

Monkey Bike Light from Monkey Electric

Soda Bottle Wave Installation by Reuben Margolin

Rotating Light Sculpture by Applied Kinetic Arts

Holiday House 2009 from Light Up Xmas

Muffin Cars from Acme Art

Radio Controlled Robot Tanks by Bay Area Tankers

And here are a few of our pictures...
The Solar Human Hybrid Vehicle


The Bumble Bee Ride by Cyclecide

Tesla Electric Car

My "Birth-Make-Death" bag that I silk screened at the Provo Craft Booth using the Yudu Screen printing system

Lego Jeep

My next car (or dessert!) by Acme Art

My finished Shrinky Dink for Pinky

Shark Truck

Red Wagon Hot Rod Art Car

The Bazaar Bizarre was amazing... so much talent....Recover Your Thoughts , Chicks & Frogs , Piperoids to name just a few...

I wish I had done more research before, because I would have loved to participate in Swap-O-Rama-Rama . "Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing." You can see some of the results of their efforts here.


Gerard's Paella caught the attention of some of us...

...and some of us were taken by Handknit Heroes

There were also representatives from Etsy, Craftzine, Make Magazine, Crafsters and Instructables.

One of the more intruguing sections of the Faire was the one devoted to Steampunks, Steampunk Magazine and Neverwas Haul built by the Academy of Unnatural Sciences for Burning Man in 2006.

We were in absolute awe of the creativity and inspiration of the Maker Faire. There truly are some creative geniuses among us, and they've expanded my interpretation of the word "craft".

Now, I'm off to try to figure out how to insert blinking LED's into the vest I'm knitting for Steve.....

A Word that Means the World to Me

This year for Mother's Day I participated in Code Pink's A Radical Act of Knitting in Honor of Mother's Day. Code Pink was asking for knitters and crocheters everywhere to contribute squares knit in pink and green to help create a "cozy" for the fence in front of the White House. Green letters on a pink background would spell out the phrase

“We will not raise our children to kill another mother’s child” inspired by the words of Julia Ward Howe who wrote Mother's Day Proclamation

I knit a 4" x 4" square for my two kids and all the Moms in my life....

I attached a tag to each square (the Code Pink Organization hopes to be able to tell people where their squares will end up on the quilt....I'll update this post as new information comes in.)
Edit: here are some pictures...and this



Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere!

You Made Me Love You

O.K., I'll try not to bore you with the details....

I did not intend to like these cookies.

I was perfectly happy with the old cookie recipe. I found the "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe and was committed to it. It was good enough. I never looked back.

But, I saw the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe and I took the bait. I accepted the challenge to bake a "perfect" chocolate chip cookie, as daunting (read: fussy) as this recipe appeared.

Firstly, you needed to brown the butter...not all the butter, but five-sevenths of the butter

then the remainder gets stirred in to the now browned butter.

Here it is all melted and stuff.

Then, you mix in the eggs and sugars for precisely 30 seconds

then, let it rest for 3 minutes. That's right... you let the mix rest...apparently, it needs a little quiet time because it's just so worn out from all it's hard work. And you do this not once, but three times!
(here it is, catching it's breath)

The rest proceeds pretty much as usual...chocolate chips (but, oh no, not your typical chocolate chips, but Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips...lah de dah)







But then came the taste test. I brought in a perfectly impartial test subject to try each cookie.
First, my everyday cookie....the "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe
then, Little Miss "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie".
The "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" was described as "firm" with "complex flavors" but "salty" with a "not overwhelming chocolate" flavor, and "dry", whereas the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" was described as "moister", "not as hard" with "caramel overtones" and "toasted butter".

Both cookies are good, and better in different ways. They both make great cookies.

The "Thick and Chewy" cookie recipe is great for it's user friendliness that results in a really good cookie.

The "Perfect" cookie is really fussy to make but makes a really good cookie. Depending on the day (and how desperate I am for a chocolate chip cookie), either one could be the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I would call them the same, but different.

Hard to define, but here are some other examples that might help explain my take on it....

Same same but different.

Apparently, Disney animators also practiced this concept...
See more funny videos and Entertainment Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Margaret Roach writes about "same-but-different realities" of "sister experiences" in The Sister Project. Warning: You could get lost here for hours...

I found this cool composite photos taken by the Danish photojournalist Peter Funch. After taking photos on the same street corner for two weeks, he Photoshops the images together to produce a photo that is the same but different. I am so envious of his Photoshop skills...

Lastly, there's this. Same great search without all the calories.

Taxes?! Isn't This The Line For Metallica?

(Sorry. This isn't a real post...the ones I've been working on have really been taxing me. I apologize for the delinquency. I just wanted to file a post before you all forgot about me! Didn't want you to think I was evading the issue. I assure you I am not withholding information. I've been really busy lately, but don't worry; I'm not ready to rollover just yet. I won't bore you by itemizing each and every detail suffice it to say I will return. )

"C" is for Cookie

“Marge, it's 3 AM. Shouldn't you be baking?”
-Homer Simpson

Ahh, nothing like a good Simpson quote to start off a post.

Today's subject: cookies...chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. Cook's Illustrated magazine has no less than 4 chocolate chip cookie recipes, all promising to be better than the last. The particular recipe that I have been using was, I thought, as good as it could get.

Since this particular batch was made however, the May/June 2009 issue of Cook's Illustrated arrived in my mailbox containing yet another recipe, this time touting the be all and end all Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cook's Illustrated has thrown down the gauntlet. The game is afoot!

First, my go-to recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.
(Stay tuned for Chocolate Chip Cookies: The Rematch)

Mix the butter and sugars...

...eggs and vanilla...

...flour...

...chocolate chips....

...measure 1/4 cup...

....and roll into a ball. Sometimes here I roll all
the dough into balls and put them all into the
refrigerator. Then after dinner I'll bake 3 or 4 for
dessert.

When you're ready to bake you take one ball of dough...

...break it in half...

...rotate each piece 90 degrees with jagged sides up....

...then set it on a cookie sheet with the rough sides up

Ready to bake

That's good enough for me!
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, do your best!


Let's think of other things that starts with "C"

Across the street from our house is a trail that runs along the bay. There's biking/jogging/walking trails, a playground, a dog park, a golf course, art sculptures and some really incredible views. Here's some stuff we've seen...

Caution Signs

Cats on the Water

I love the idea of being a "Cat Socializer". It makes me think I should bring tea and crumpets down to the water and have conversations that start with "Have you seen the latest edition of Lolcats?"

California Poppy

Chloe, Danny and Jocelyn's Puppy

("Who's a cute puppy-wuppy? Are you a cute puppy-wuppy! Yes you are! Oh, yes, you are!")

and then there's...
Cake!

I made this Lemon Lover's Cake on Sunday. A yellow cake with buttercream frosting (my first try with real vanilla beans), topped with lemon curd and garnished with sugared lemons and white chocolate curls.

And finally, there's Code Pink. If you have any knitting or crochet abilities, I encourage you to go check it out.

I'll Take "What is Green" for $100.00, Alex

Green Produce bags made out of tulle...

It seemed odd to me to lug all my canvas bags into the grocery store only to fill up plastic bags with produce, so I made these bags from netting bought at the fabric store. I've gained enormous street cred with the cashiers at Whole Foods, and that is one group that is not easily impressed, I'll tell you what...

I'm hoping to put up a tutorial on this soon, so stay tuned!


Then there's


Fiesta Dinnerware teapot in Juniper

with another Kureyon Kozy in Noro Kureyon Color Number 233


Also, there's
Steve's vest which is coming along very slowly. I'd be much further along if it hadn't been for a mistake I made nearly at the beginning and had to rip most of it out (if you look closely you'll see the white lifeline I 've been putting in periodically so I don't have to rip the whole thing out when the next inevitable mistake happens...damn you cursed moss stitch!)


And finally

Irish Soda Bread and

Irish Stew...not exactly green, but isn't everything green on St. Patrick's Day (or something like that)?