Vacuum

Michigan strawberries are early in 2012

2012-05-15T16:28:36-04:00

The early reports from strawberry growers that send out periodic newsletters to their perennial customers is that Michigan strawberries will be early this year. If you normally plan to pick on Father's Day, you may be too late for the crop.

None of the places I track are yet announcing opening dates for picking, but I'll share those when I have them; it's looking more like Memorial Day as the beginning of the season, with peak picking dates typically 7-10 days after the first opening day.

Some likely opening dates:

Whittaker's Berry Farm, Ida MI: May 25th or 26th.

Rowe's Produce Farm, Belleville MI: "Call us after May 20 for an update".

Michigan Lyme disease and black-legged tick map

2012-05-14T00:21:01-04:00

This map is from the Michigan Department of Community Health and was last updated in 2009; it shows counties with confirmed and with risk for Lyme disease based on populations of Ixodes scapularis (Black-Legged Tick), the vector species for Lyme disease.

More details from Michigan.gov.

In the groove

2012-05-11T22:37:37-04:00

Do you ever get into a groove where everything is easy and you can just work on things because the next thing in front of you is the next thing you need to do?

I love it when that happens.

Power Outage Mapping

2012-05-10T11:15:45-04:00

One of my most popular posts on this blog - especially in times of widespread severe weather - is a list of power outage maps that are available for utility companies across the nation and across the world.

There's a lot of talk about a "smart grid", and how improvements in technology will lead to more reliable power and other innovations in energy delivery. But the truth of the matter is that sometimes the power does go out, and it's not always obvious why it did or when the systems will be back online.

To support a continuing interest in this field, I'm looking at starting up a new blog to capture news articles, collect new maps and applications as they appear, and generally keep up with the world of smart grid mapping efforts. Look for this on a new Power Outage Mapping weblog.

I voted; this year's Automark trial and error

2012-05-09T00:51:24-04:00

I used the Automark machine to vote today, as I did in 2010 (AnnArbor.com story) and in 2008 (Vacuum post).

This year's voting excursion was harder, because the poll worker initially told me that I could not use the machine and that it was reserved for the handicapped. That was wrong; any voter in my precinct could use that system. The issue was resolved quickly.

For the first time, I used the audio interface and had the (one) issue on the ballot read out to me. Since I can see just fine, I wasn't able to tell if the audio instructions were perfect, but they seemed pretty good and straightforward.

After my encounter with the poll worker, I went to city hall to give the election officials a report on what had happened. The person I talked to at city hall pulled out a guide to poll workers (from 2008) and did not immediately find specific instructions one way or the other about using the Automark, but we didn't read every page.

The election results: Ann Arbor's school technology millage passed (AnnArbor.com), Ypsilanti's two tax proposals failed (Ann Arbor Chronicle ticker), and Democrat Felicia Brabec won a special election to retain her seat on the Washtenaw County Commission after being appointed to take the place of Kristen Judge (AnnArbor.com story).

On public art in public places in Ann Arbor's City Hall

2012-05-08T00:11:11-04:00

Tonight's Ann Arbor City Council meeting discussed at great length the expenditure of some sizable sum of money for art that would be installed in the secured lobby of the Justice Center part of City Hall, where would you have to go through a security check to visit it.

What I have noticed from visits to City Hall is that the art that's there is quite accessible is a tile mural that you can not only see without going through a checkpoint, but is even so ready to hand that you can touch it.

A proposal was put forth to not spend the money on art and to renovate some bathrooms in the building instead. This left a missed opportunity to instead ready-made art as part of that installation. (photo: wikimedia commons, from the original photo by Alfred Stieglitz).

Off I Go To The County Board - David Bloom, inspired by Mary Morgan of @a2chronicle

2012-05-02T22:30:58-04:00

David Bloom holds forth in song in Off I Go To The County Board, one of the few songs written about the process of covering public meetings.

Off I Go To The County Board,
inspired by Mary Morgan

Off I Go To The County Board,
To hear the rabble bray,
Of taxes met, infractions scored,
On this harumphing day.

Oh Washtenaw, brave Washtenaw,
Of eighty-three, the best.
The other counties hold in awe,
Your credit-worthiness.

There's more verses (oh, so many more) - in fairness to the author, I commend you to view and listen to them directly.

I'm not "producing content", I'm writing

2012-05-01T12:00:00-04:00

For this blog, at least, I want to make it very clear: I'm not "producing content", I'm writing. This may be in order to call out attention to the work of a friend or a client, it may be to scratch some particular itch for words that need to be said, and it may be because someone else's interests dovetail with mine. Generally I try to quote enough of what other people say to be fair to them, and to tell a part of a story that you can find only by chasing through the network looking to connect ideas together at their edges.

One of the peculiar characteristics of writing for yourself and not just creating copy is that you end up finding things from your past that you still own enough to re-edit and rework as needed. A recent discussion on Twitter about paw paws helped me unearth a 2008 collection of scrapbook entries about the fruit, its names, and how it tastes. If I had produced this content for an employer (or an ex-employer), it would be long since frozen and old; but because it's just my writing, I can go back and make it better four years later.

I've been happy with Typepad for a long time. Recently, some of the management changes at the organization that runs it have led to some changes in the marketing around the service, so that the relatively few old-school bloggers like me still on the system seem less and less to be the target audience, in favor of professional media people who have a certain number of words of content that they are obligated to produce before they move to the next task. I guess I can only be hopeful that the sorts of tools that are needed to crank out content on the job can also be used for old fashioned blogging where the deadlines are less definite and the goals more ambiguous.

- 30 -

Thanks to Dinah Sanders (@metagrrrl) for the Typepad commentary. The paw paw discussion came and went on Twitter, as twitter things tend to do, without leaving too much of an obvious trace; Micki Maynard and Dave Askins were at the center of it. I tried to avoid bringing in any mention of "discontent", and failed.

Disclaimer: nothing to disclaim at this time.

Mappy Hour Detroit, Wednesday, May 2, 2012 5 pm at Mercury Burger Bar, Detroit MI

2012-04-30T17:00:00-04:00

Come visit lovely Mappy Hour, happy hour for metro Detroit map nerds. Wednesday May 2, Mercury Burger Bar (2163 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI 48216), Five-ish.

View Map · Get Directions

More on the Mercury Burger Bar from the Detroit News.

Union membership rates by state, 2011 data from Bureau of Labor Statistics

2012-04-30T12:00:00-04:00

From a Bureau of Labor Statistics news release:

In 2011, the number of workers belonging to a union in Michigan was 671,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported [on Monday, April 9, 2012]. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that union members accounted for 17.5 percent of wage and salary workers in Michigan in 2011 compared to 16.5 percent a year earlier. At its peak in 1989, the first year state data were available, Michigan’s union membership rate was 26.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.)

The full news release has lots of detailed data, but the map below is the keeper.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, news release 12-631-CHI

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the University of Michigan, 1962

2012-04-29T22:48:13-04:00

The Michigan Daily story of April 15, 2012 has an excellent set of photos of MLK's visit to Ann Arbor on November 5, 1962, and the story of how they were discovered.

David Erdody, a digital curator at the Bentley Historical Library, discovered a series of 20 photo negatives in early January that feature King giving a speech and hosting a discussion at the University. These photographs, which have never been printed or published, depict King speaking and greeting a crowd at Hill Auditorium, attending a small discussion in the Michigan Union and having dinner at the University on Nov. 5, 1962.

One of the main archives of MLK materials is at Boston University; there's a set of correspondence with the University of Michigan Office of Religious Affairs that would be worth looking at to round out some of the institutional memory of this event.

2012 Water Hill Music Fest: Sunday, May 6th, from 2 to 6 p.m. (rain date May 13th).

2012-04-23T12:00:00-04:00

From Paul Tinkerhess, organizer:

The 2012 Water Hill Music Fest is set to happen Sunday, May 6th, from 2 to 6 p.m. (rain date May 13th). All residents of Ann Arbor's Water Hill neighborhood are invited to play music on their front porches during this unique celebration. Expectations are high this year after thousands of visitors attended last year's inaugural event.

More information: www.waterhill.org and www.facebook.com/waterhillmusicfest .

From last year's event, as documented by Michigan Radio:

Japanese Mitsui chemical plant explosion, monitored via transmissions of NHK World Radio Japan

2012-04-22T02:00:00-04:00

A fire at a chemical plant in Japan killed one and injured dozens, according to broadcasts monitored on international shortwave frequencies and Internet news and trade publication sources.

The NHK news includes news of a chemical plant explosion at Mitsui Chemicals' Iwakuni-Ohtake facility, which straddles areas in Yamaguchi and Hiroshima prefectures. The Mitsui Chemicals site identifies the site of the plant as 1-2, Waki 6-chome, Waki-cho, Kuga-gun, Yamaguchi 740-0061, and says the following chemicals are produced there:

PTA
PET resin
TPX
MILLION
APEL
Wax
Hydrocarbon resin
LUCANT
Gas pipes
Pelicles
Hydroquinone
Resorcinol
Meta/Para-cresol

ICIS.com, in a story by Tomomi Yokomura, reports that the fire was in the unit which produces resorcinol, an adhesive for wood and car tires.

This safety data sheet for resourcinol, otherwise known as CAS 108-46-3, 3-HYDROXYPHENOL or 1,3-benzenediol, m-dihydroxybenzene, describes that its dust is highly flammable.

Fukushima Diary reports (unconfirmed) nuclear materials on site. This was later confirmed in a Mitsui Chemicals press release.

I'm not able to be up to monitor this (it's late here in Ann Arbor, MI) but there is a YouTube video with a longer shot of the event.

Via the NHK World Radio Japan web site, here is a map of their transmissions on shortwave bands. The "Yamata" site marked is the primary transmission site in Japan.

I was able to pick up the transmission from Canada, marked as (1) here and on the March 25, 2012 frequency and broadcasting chart (PDF). Of course, the sound quality is much better on the Internet, but if you have a new (to you) shortwave set there's some satisfaction in just making contact.

I always find Japanese infographics to be interesting to look at and get ideas from.

- 30 -

Mandatory disclaimer: Nothing to disclaim at this time.

Copyright notice: The images in this article are Copyright NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and are not to be further reproduced.

Also see: NHK World, UPI (quoting NHK), Xinhua (quoting the local press), and Jiji Press (quoted by several, but I could not find the original story).

Message from President Andrew Jackson on the Ohio and Michigan Boundary, January 12, 1836

2012-04-18T12:00:00-04:00

[Doc. No. 54.] 24th Congress, 1st Session. Ho. of Reps. Executive.

Ohio and Michigan Boundary

MESSAGE

FROM

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

TRANSMITTING

Reports from the Secretaries of State and War on the subject of the Ohio and Michigan boundary.

January 12, 1836.

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

To the House of Representatives of the United States :

Having laid before Congress on the 9th ultimo, the correspondence which had previously taken place relative to the controversy between Ohio and Michigan, on the question of boundary between that State and Territory, I now transmit reports from the Secretaries of State and War on the subject, with the papers therein referred to.

ANDREW JACKSON.

Washington, January 11, 1836.

- 30 -

Mandatory FTC disclosure

Promotional considerations for this message were provided by Garrett Scott, Bookseller.

Garrett Scott, Bookseller

http://www.bibliophagist.com

P.O. Box 4561

Ann Arbor MI 48106

ph. (734) 741-8605

garrett@bibliophagist.com

First editions in 19th and eartly 20th century eccentric religious movements, popular entertainments, literature and Americana.

Books and pamphlets bought and sold.

Severe weather expected Sunday, April 15, 2012 for #annarbor area #miwx

2012-04-15T02:59:53-04:00

The 2:40am map from Wunderground is a good marker of things to come for the Ann Arbor area.

As always, for DTE power outage information, the DTE Power Outage map is a place to go. Our old analog meter was replaced by a digital one, so there's one additional point of non-mechanical failure to watch for. The page on DTE outage claims is worth noting.

The 3am forecast from NWS:

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED AFTER 2 AM AS A WARM FRONT
LIFTS INTO THE REGION FROM THE SOUTH. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED
TO BE SEVERE. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING WIND
GUSTS TO 20 MPH AND PEA SIZED HAIL. THESE STORMS WILL MOVE TO THE
NORTHEAST AROUND 30 MPH.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

Ann Arbor Rec and Ed notifies for cancellations on a page worth watching.

Summers-Knoll School open house for Middle and Elementary School, April 22, 2012, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

2012-04-11T23:18:34-04:00

Summers-Knoll School offers students rich academic experiences in an intimate and vibrant environment. Come meet the teachers, learn about our unique approach and tour our new building, located at 2203 Platt Road in Ann Arbor across from the entrance to County Farm Park.

Complimentary childcare for ages 4 and up will be available at our current campus at 2015 Manchester Road from 12:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Directions to 2015 Manchester Road will take you near the base of the Ann Arbor water tower visible from Washtenaw.

To register, email Karen Bayoneto at kbayoneto@summers-knoll.org.

summers-knoll.org | 734. 971.7991

From Joanna's "Head of School Blog":

In our new building, paint is going onto the walls. The reading nooks looking out onto the courtyard are warm with color. The sun comes in through the huge windows and skylights, and every way you look there are views to the trees outside. The flexible learning spaces - the common areas, breakout spaces, front porches for the classrooms, the open library space - are everything I hoped they would be. The music and drama studio, the science lab, the art room, the classrooms; they are all spacious, bright, gorgeous places. Soon they will be alive with children and the hum of projects and great ideas.

Disclaimer: my son goes to Summers-Knoll School, and he's looking forward to having more kids in his age range, so I'm particularly eager to recruit 7th and 8th graders.

LoBuPa neighborhood meeting, April 11, 2012

2012-04-03T06:57:34-04:00

The Lower Burns Park Neighborhood Association announces its spring meeting for neighbors in LoBuPa. Please join us, details follow. Thanks go to Nancy Leff for organizing this meeting.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2012
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Buddhist Temple on Packard

1. Jim Kosteva, UM Director of Community relations, A2 city representative(s), and our local city council representatives, Margie Teall & Marcia Higgins will all be in attendance. There are many issues to discuss related to the Athletic department’s current Big House rental agreement with pro hockey and potential rentals for other events and how these events will affect our neighborhood: will parking on lawns be permitted during these events, how will traffic be managed, how will events with liquor licenses mange potentially unruly, intoxicated attendees, and more.

We would like to provide feedback to the city and to U of M on this issue from our discussion at the meeting.

2. Aaron Seagraves, the city of Ann Arbor's Public Art Administrator. Aaron is coordinating the project that will place permanent art work(s) at the Stadium Bridges area once the rebuild is complete. He will talk about his job at the city and give details about the art project for the bridges. Read more about the city's public art dept. here:

http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/Pages/AAPAC.aspx

3. Mike Sivak, our neighbor on Granger, will present the traffic datafrom the his effort to have the city monitor speeds on Granger Ave. and to increase police presence on our streets to stop speeding cars.

4. Graydon Krapohl will be on hand to discuss any issues related to the Neighborhood Watch program and updates on the Stadium Bridges project.

Thanks.

Nancy Leff

For more information contact Edward Vielmetti, 734-330-2465, emv@umich.edu

Insomnia cookies stop work order [with photo]

2012-03-29T23:28:30-04:00

This stop work order on a new Insomnia Cookies store caught my eye tonight as I was walking down South University.

The relevant permits - or the absense of same - can be found in the City of Ann Arbor eTrakit system. As of 3/23/2012, the ones that have been pulled are

COFO12-0037, which I presume is a certificate of occupancy and is "under review".

REOC12-0036, reoccupation, change of use "YOGURT SHOP TO INSOMNIA COOKIES", under review

SIGN12-0032, awning "Insomnia Cookies" approved 3/29/2012

a2b3 lunch non-summary for 4th week of March 2012

2012-03-25T06:55:10-04:00

Name check!

Thanks to +Gyll Stanford, +Steven W. Cornell, +Joel Vergun , +Patrick Haggood , +Dan Romanchik , +Linda Diane Feldt, +John Hritz, +Roger Rayle , +Dan Friedus, and +Brian Rice who made for good conversation at lunch last Thursday.

In no particular order, we talked about the +a2b3 Amateur Radio Club (with Dan Romanchik as the likely point of contact), since we had a couple of people who were online listening to +Skywarn for the last tornado. There was also good discussion of fruit trees and the impact of unseasonable weather on the fruit crops, and at my end of the table some neat talk about underground clay irrigation systems. Joel had a good reception from a Ypsi civic group about his DishFish project.

Events of note for the coming weeks:

Linda Diane Feldt on herbal health for men (Thursday)
Fool Moon
Festifools
Huron River Water Trail meeting
A2A3 Soap Box Derby (Saturday)
Brick Bash (Saturday)
+TedXUofM
+Grange Junior Makers

Thanks to the 11 (of about 450, or 2.5%) who showed up, and to the 97.5% of you who didn't for whatever reason, it would have been crowded!

Ann Arbor Active Against ALS Box Car Derby photos

2012-03-24T13:32:52-04:00

The 4th annual Ann Arbor Active Against ALS Box Car Derby was this morning.

Photos show the new car launch rig, with the very powerful #9 car in the left lane.

The "Green Hornet"; note the plate of food.