On a late winter Saturday I undertook a series of errands that I hoped would allow me to enjoy the high quality and camaraderie of supporting local businesses.  Done by car, but in short little trips that would take me through some of Baltimore's most interesting historic areas.

I enlisted the company of The Boy, who was reluctant to leave a re-reading of Harry Potter to join, but who eventually brought the book and came along.

"Macaroni Products" is what they used to call pasta

First stop, Trinacria, the Italian deli near Lexington Market that has a wall of fresh breads, good deli items and a unique way of ringing up and packaging your purchases.  Only thing is, it closes at 4:30.
Even though we circled the block twice before finding a parking place, I managed to get to the store by  4:15-ish.  A sense of urgency had me loudly directing The Boy as we crossed the busy downtown streets, and before we went through the door, I told him our strategy was to go straight to the breads then get in line for ham and pepperoni.  I think the people inside heard me instructing him 'cos we got some bemused looks when we entered.  We performed perfectly and soon found ourselves at the counter, having our purchases enumerated and placed into a box for taking home.

The legendary military surplus store H and H Outdoors is right around the corner from Trinacria, and I'd identified a need for a long lighter since we'd woken up with out power that morning.

Jury duty

My summons to jury duty arrived in June, back when I still imagined myself taking a week of vacation!  The summer seemed plenty long enough to entertain a fantasy about getting out of town, to the beach or to... somewhere!  So I didn't fill out the online survey immediately, but waited til the last minute.  And then went and lost the summons.  But I'd put the date in my calendar,  so hop our of bed I did this morning, and head down to 100 N. Calvert street.

I Used to Be Darker Premiere

A planned opening shot for the Inconvenient Car documentary is a sort of "history of transportation" shot.  It is a tracking shot from a car or bike going down the Jones Falls Road, through the park, past the burned out railroad depot, past the trolley museum, with the train station on the other side of the creek, under a railroad bridge, past a bike shop, and up onto Charles Street in the heart of Baltimore.
I used to do this drive every day taking my son to school.

This was the route I took to go to the Charles Theater tonight where "I Used to Be Darker" was premiering.  The film has actually already had a long run here in Baltimore, having had fundraisers, screenings at the MD Film Festival and other special events in its hometown.  But this was the official theatrical open.  I didn't know that Ned Oldham was in the film. He used to be our neighbor here in Roland Park.

The film looked very much like my life.  The Roland Park environs, the music.  It was thoughtful and paced, quirky in its rendering.  There was one shot where a guy dives into a pool and the camera doesn't follow him as he swims, but stays static, showing the water, and just waits for him to come back.  The cinematography was really good, they used a Arri camera, a digital one. Lots of interiors, shots of stairways, people standing on thresholds.

But to return to the drive down the Jones Falls-- there was a shot in an old trolley that sat out by the trolleycar museum.  A pivotal scene, really.

After the screening Ned played a song on guitar, Matthew Porterfield spoke, the set designer and a couple of other guys were there to take questions.

Afterwards, my friend and I retired to the tapas restaurant adjacent to the theater for red wine.  I saw John Waters heading up the street, probably to the Club Charles for the after party.

New WVO Conversion Plant in DC!


Biodiesel magazine reports on a merger between two DC-area biodiesel companies that will enhance their Waste Vegetable Oil collection capabilities.  They'll also have a plant to process the WVO:
"DCB’s (DC BioDiesel's) facility will be a 7.5 MMgy state-of-the-art biodiesel production facility capable of producing ASTM D 6751-grade biodiesel from a wide range of feedstocks and being certified as a BQ-9000 facility, a rigorous standard set by the industry and recognized by its customer base. DCB will be able to blend biodiesel with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel at all blend levels from B2 to B20 for fleet customers on its premises and also supply home heating oil to area residents in winter months. This plant will be operational in late 2013. - 

And, in case you didn't know...
"As the U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have determined, biodiesel made from WVO reduces net GHG emissions by at least 80 percent when compared to the ULSD it displaces, and that reduction is even higher when the fuel is produced from local feedstocks and consumed locally, as the DCB-TSB plan envisions. No other transportation fuel available in today’s market, “advanced” or otherwise, can make that claim." 

Transportation Map of the Roman World

I am casting about to for ideas to organize an interactive graphic that compares biodiesel, petrol, dino diesel, ethanol and Waste Veggie Oil, in terms of greenhouse gasses and what it takes to produce the fuels.
This interactive of the Roman Empire might be a good template.

A nice rundown on Biodiesel

http://www.solarnavigator.net/bio_diesel_biodiesel.htm

Black cat

Before Christmas we take in a new kitty cat who's in need of a home.  Comes with it's own cage & litter box. The friend bringing it over even goes all the way up to Pennsylvania (from Baltimore)  to get it fixed before dropping off.  All black except for two little white spots.

Despite warnings to wear gloves and handle with it care, we found the cat to be friendly and playful.  We quickly let it out of the cage and experimented with integrating into the population.  Even though the large calico we've owned for about 5 years didn't seem crazy about the idea.

Our friend says that the cat's a female, and that's what the papers from the vet reflect.  But the animal doesn't have the tell tale belly incision that indicates cat hysterectomy.  What it does have is a pair  of furry protuberances in a certain spot.   As we pick out names, we think about mythological characters who had both male and female characteristics.  Hermes came to mind.  Someone suggested Pat.  The boy insists on calling him Skipper.

After a couple days of co-habitation, the interloper is driven out.  Or maybe he just escapes.  He leaves our house New Years Day, the day of a big Jamboree party we have every year.  People show up to our shotgun duplex with their instruments to play and the children run in a big gang around and through the house screaming.  Skipper skipps out.

For days we comb the streets and alleys of our neighborhood, Evergreen.  Then we decide to put up posters in select locations.  A few days later, some other poster putter uppers see ours and realize they matched.

The handoff was arranged to be at the neighborhood video store, Video Americaine.  Skipper shows up in a halter and with a leash.  These people have gone all out. They said he showed up on New Years day.  They were having a small party. They think he's great but they don't have a cat lease.

He comes back and the calico is distraught. It's worse than before. Skipper is banished to the boy's bedroom. He escapes, raises hell with the innocent fur ball.  He comes up and bats her with his paw.  He eats from her dish.  He bolts for the front door every time it's opened.

Slowly the cats start to fight less.  Only once or twice a day will the foray of a paw into furball territory provoke the rolling tumbleweed of hiss and claw.  Skipper seems to be bolting for the door less.  He'll take suggestion in the land of food bowls.

Then one day a feral black cat known as Midnight turns up dead in the street in front of our house.  A cat who usually keeps his territory way up the street.  He's just lying there, like hit by a car.  Boys who poke him with a stick diagnose a broken rib. I move him from the street to under a tree.  Then when i come back a litle while later, he's gone.