Being Safe, Phone Numbers Saved for Emergencies…
October 29, 2012
While, I experienced a 5.3 earthquake. This was a mild tremblor but it was a reminder to me to make sure all our phone numbers where registered with our County’s emergency telephone alert system. It only took a few minutes to make sure both mine and my familes cell phones were registered in addition to our home phone.
Just a reminder during the times that we are having now. No matter if you live on the East Coast with Sandy, or the West Coast. This really takes just a few minutes. Please make sure your family and you have the numbers with your County. Keep your family safe!
‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ House Was Truly Scary Before Rehab
October 21, 2012
A little history before Halloween!!!
Angie Hill bought the “Nightmare on Elm Street” home in 2006, even though it was not really on Elm Street. This was the house the Freedy Krueger haunted as a real nightmare on “Nightmare on Elm Street”.
Angie Hill lives in one of the most legendary horror homes in movies: the house with the scariest basement in America, where Nancy Thompson faced the sharp-fingered Krueger in the original 1984 slasher flick “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” (Of course, the real home used for filming is in Los Angeles, not the fictional Springwood, OH, and it’s on North Genesee Avenue, not Elm Street.)
It was a delightful suburban cottage when it appeared in the film, but when Angie snatched it up 22 years later, it looked like something out of a scary movie. Neglected by the previous family who owned it, the house was falling apart.
“It was horrible,” Angie said. “It was the only house on the street that looked beaten up. …The pool looked like it hadn’t been touched in 10 years — it was black.
Paint was chipping, and cracks were showing all over the home’s exterior, and the concrete patio in the backyard was breaking apart.
“It had the weirdest vibe,” Angie said. “You could feel the weird energy. There was a really oppressive odor.”
Angie bought the place anyway with the intention of completely renovating it. First, she burned sage to clear the energy in the house, she said. Then, she took apart 90 percent of the entire home — walls, ceilings, the roof — and replaced them. “I ripped off half the house.”
Only a portion of the exterior shell of the house remained intact while she gut-renovated every room. The work was so extensive that it took nearly a year to complete before she could officially move in. But it was all worth it: “I love my house,” Angie said.
The front exterior of the house still looks mostly the same as it did in “Elm Street,” save for a new, striking red door. Cult followers of the classic horror film still recognize it today.
“People stop and take pictures, and there’s a tour bus that goes by three times a day,” Angie said. “Sometimes people come to the door and say stupid things like, ‘Do you know what house this is?’ ”
But, she admits, the home’s fictional history of horror still has a very real effect on her.
“I used to be afraid to go in the basement,” she said.
Free Repair Cafe in Palo Alto Opens
October 12, 2012
I am totally amazed at this new FREE REPAIR CENTER in Palo Alto. Peter Skinner started this Palo Alto Non-Profit where you can bring the toaster, electronic devices all the way to tea pots. This is their endeavor to going green. Teaching people if you can fix something you no longer need to throw it away.
Absolutely fabulous!
This Repair Cafe is at the Museum of American Heritgage. This idea started in the Netherlands and is going strong.
Everything here that is fixed is FREE! Did I say FREE!
Sue Dremann from the Palo Alto Weekly Staff writes the following:
| Silicon Valley entrepreneur starts ‘Repair Cafe’ From headsets to vacuums, volunteers will fix household items to reduce landfill waste |
|||
A new Palo Alto nonprofit organization that aims to help non-tinkerers solve the minor mysteries of repairing broken small appliances and household items will open its doors on Sunday, Oct. 14. Dubbed the Repair Cafe, volunteers armed with hand tools will help people learn to repair frayed electrical cords, non-popping toasters and even luggage at the Palo Alto Museum of American Heritage. Peter Skinner, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and longtime chief financial officer, founded the first such organization in the U.S. after reading about repair cafes in the Netherlands, he said. The small European nation has 30 community-based fix-it cafes. Instead of tossing the broken devices into the Dumpster, people will save money and do something good for the environment while learning a few handyperson skills, he said. Among the items volunteers can help fix are small household appliances, furniture, luggage, some electronics, including personal computers, toys, bicycles and clothing. Palo Alto ACE Hardware will have staff on hand, and Green Citizen recycling company and the city’s Zero Waste program will have booths. There will be information about where to recycle things that can’t be repaired, he said. “The idea appealed to me because of my own dissatisfaction with the prevalence of our hyper-consumer culture where we buy and we toss,” he said. Every time he does that personally, he finds it discomforting, he said. After reading a New York Times article in May, Skinner contacted the Netherlands group to see about using their name and model. They were excited about the idea, he said. With his background as a chief financial officer for Silicon Valley companies, including formerly at Accept Software Corporation, Skinner knew he could fill the role of group organizer. He set about putting together the volunteers and their skills and finding a location for the inaugural event with the help and advice of two friends, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Bob Wenzlau and John Eaton. Skinner admits he is not a fix-it expert. “I have moderate fix-it skills, not refined fix-it skills. I’m the perfect candidate” for the Repair Cafe, he said. He plans to bring an electric kettle with a lid that won’t close and a corroded multimeter electronic-testing device that stopped functioning. Skinner said he hopes to assuage people’s fear of those things that seem imposing — and build in people a sense of the value of repairing. “We are all so acclimated to throwing things away,” he said. That trend has nearly doubled in almost 50 years, he said. In 1960, each person in the U.S. generated 2.68 pounds of waste per day. By 2008, the average was 4.5 pounds per day. About 54 percent ended up in the landfill, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Out of 2.25 million pounds of electronics that were retired in 2007, 82 percent were discarded in landfills nationwide, according to the EPA. The deleterious effects are more than mountains of trash. Landfills are usually located near bodies of water, and plastics can leach chemicals and gases even before they disintegrate, the EPA states. A Zero Waste America study found that 83 percent of landfills surveyed in 2008 had leaks in their protective linings. Incinerators that process landfill materials are also a major source of 210 different dioxin compounds, heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium, nitrous oxide, hydrogen chloride, sulfuric acid, fluorides and particulate matter small enough to lodge in lungs, according to the EPA. Waste incinerators create more carbon dioxide than coal, oil or natural-gas power plants, the EPA notes. Skinner said he is interested in grassroots, community-based solutions to problems. “We have so little appetite for sweeping policy changes,” he said. Eaton, a mechanical engineer by training, said he will volunteer at the event. “I’ve always been a tinkerer and repairer since forever — ever since I was a kid and started pulling lawnmower engines apart,” he said. That first introduction to things mechanical probably led to his career choice, he added. It has also made him popular with his friends and neighbors. “My friends will call and say, ‘John, come over for a glass of wine — and by the way, the dishwasher isn’t draining right,’” he said. Eaton said headphones and earbuds are some of the most challenging items to fix. Tiny coaxial wires, which have a braid of fine wires within them, have to be connected with a soldering iron while looking through a microscope. His stereoscope — a microscope with two eyepieces — is one of his most-used tools. “It’s not something people have a lot. But it’s good when things are broken and you can’t determine why they are broken,” he said. In his arsenal are items one wouldn’t have found in Dad’s toolbox. New tools are used for new technologies: miniature wire strippers, good tweezers and pry tools made out of plastic so they won’t gouge consoles, he said. Skinner said Repair Cafe will start out quarterly, and hopefully it will expand as community interest grows. So far, he’s spreading the news through his neighborhood email list and has posted notices at ACE Hardware and the Museum of American Heritage. “The response I got has been amazing,” he said. People have supplied a list of items needing repair, from DustBusters to luggage. One woman wanted to bring a moped. That brought up a point he wanted to emphasize. The Repair Cafe is for small appliances and items only — things that won’t take too much time to fix. “No cars, no washing machines, no dishwashers. If it takes a truck to move it, it’s probably not a good thing to bring,” he said. Repair Cafe will take place Sunday, Oct. 14, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Palo Alto Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. Also, check out this video with free repairs.
|
|||
San Carlos City Wide Garage Sale
September 23, 2012
The 2012 City Wide Garage Sale will be on Sept. 29, from 9am to 4pm. It is really neat, the city makes a map of all the garage sales and mentions items listed. A great way to support San Carlos and surrounding cities.
A list of registered sellers will be available online on Wed, Sept 26. Paper copies will also be available at the library.
Called to action in 2005 as part of the “Enhancing the City of Good Living Initiative” San Carlos Together (SCT) is dedicated to strengthening our San Carlos Community. SCT is a non-profit organization. We encourage community building through cultural, educational, recreational, and neighborhood improvement programs & activities. 100% of your tax deductible contribution goes back into the community through our operations and affiliated programs.
Our mission is to support local community enriching groups, volunteers & committees. 
Follow us: 
14 Farmer’s Markets in Santa Clara County
May 25, 2012
Alum Rock Village Farmers’ Market
Hanchett Avenue Farmers’ Market
Julian St. James Farmers’ Market
Kaiser Permanente San Jose Farmers’ Market
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Farmers’ Market
Milpitas Farmers’ Market at ICC
San Jose Downtown Farmers’ Market
Vietnam Town Farmers’ Market, San Jose
8 Farmer’s Markets in San Mateo County
May 20, 2012
25th Avenue Farmers’ Market in San Mateo
Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Farmers’ Market
Kaiser South San Francisco Farmers’ Market
San Mateo Event Center Farmers’ Market
South San Francisco Farmers’ Market
Burton Park Fun in the Sun Hometown Days
May 19, 2012
Enjoy some fun at Burton Park this weekend. Saturday evening with the band, “High ‘n’ Tight, while enjoying dinner from 5-9…
IMG_0197 I would love to try this sometime, only if I wouldn’t get sea-sick! LOL
IMG_0194 A back breaking experience. Oh, what it must be to be young….
IMG_0201 Music is always enjoyable for young and old a-like.
Hot Harvest Nights in San Carlos
May 2, 2012
I am glad to say that we are at the time of year again when our “Hot Harvest Nights” starts. 
Every Thursday night, May 3rd through September 13th, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Downtown San Carlos.
The market features 50 to 60 booths set up in the middle of the street which will be closed to trafficThis will be a chance to stroll, meet your friends and have a leisurely night enjoying the finest San Carlos has to offer. Shops and restaurants on Laurel Street will stay open late for this all-community activity. Don’t miss out!
I have enclosed some information that might be useful for you.
- Hot Harvest Nights Web Site
- List of Bands at 2012 Hot Harvest Nights (Acrobat PDF, 141 kb)
- Merchant at the Market – Booth Application & Details (Acrobat PDF, 170 kb)
( Schedule of City Departments & Council Members – 2012 Hot Harvest Nights (Acrobat File, 71.5 kb) )
Earth Day Free Compost San Carlos
April 21, 2012
The San Carlos and Recology San Mateo County invite San Carlos residents to the San Carlos Compost Giveaway on Earth Day. Each resident is welcome to take up to 5 gallons of nutrient rich compost to enrich their gardens. This will be just in time for all of our vegetable gardens out there.
The event is for San Carlos residents only – no commercial gardeners, please. Bring proof of residence. And remember, it’s BYOB – bring your own bags and buckets.
See you there!
Sunday, April 22, 2012 – from 9am to Noon
Highlands Park, Tennis Courts Parking Lot
2600 Melendy Drive
Farmer’s Market Canada College
April 9, 2012
An all year Canada College Farmers Market which is hosted by the West Coast Farmers Market Association, will be on Sundays from 9 – 1 starting April 15th. We have always had the one sponsored by the Kiwanis, but now we an extra one that we can frequent.
The local Rotary Club will be launching their new evening farmers market soon as well. It will be held at the corner of Broadway and Hamilton streets downtown on Tuesdays, 4-8 p.m., beginning May 1, through September. 
“These [farmers markets] are a great way to get fresh produce and other products, and also to join together with friends and neighbors as you shop,” said Malcolm Smith with the City of Redwood City. “These markets take place on a variety of days, so take a look and get them on your calendar!”
-
-
Subscribe
Never miss any valuable information on Belmont, San Carlos or Redwood City.
Enter your email address to receive blog articles in your inbox:
-
