How Bob Saved His Family Farm...

Interesting sketch work in the Seattle Times...

Sketch by Gabriel Campanario, Seattle Times

Bob Ricci knew what to do with his family's farm after the purebred Holstein cows were sold and the dairy business shut down. He told his dad, a third-generation Snohomish farmer, that he would plant a corn maze and charge people to go through it.
Read about Bob and his innovative ways to make the Family Farm survive. And when reading look at the great Sketches by Gabriel Campanario.

Get rid of that Junk In your Trunk and save $$$

This is a repost of a post I did on Sept. 5, 2008. With gas over $4 a gallon, I think it is as timely today as when I posted it.-Rob



Before- my trunk runneth overLOSE TRUNK WEIGHT, JUMBO-
I found a new way to increase the gas mileage of my vehicles. Unload your trunk. Today's cars are built for very little tolerance of weight.This is a trick from hyper milers- they will not only unload the trunk, they will take out seats and the spare tire, and other things I am just not ready to do. But I can unload the crap out of my trunk. Upon a recent inventory of my trunk, I have a bag of rocks (for landscaping), a bag of top soil, miscellaneous tools,Cans of paint, which weigh in all total approximately 160 pounds or 1 average person. "Hey fat ass, get outta my car!" Anyway with that all removed and a few items from the back seat- (Amazing how one person can get all this into one sub-compact car, but hey when you have talents...). And the next time you have a flat and don't have to spend an hour taking everything out of your trunk to get to the spare, you'll thank me.

What? You don't carry a 60 pound bag of crushed marble in your trunk?

Now it is clean ORGANIZE-

Now some folks like to put organizers in there car to keep things separate. And I have seen these things for sale at ridiculous prices! I say scaaaaaaareeeeeeew that and use what you got. You can put things in plastic grocery bags even. Me- I choose to use all the lap top bags I have. This way you can reuse an item and organize your trunk at the same time. I have also used 1 gallon plastic plant pots(for loose tools), milk crates. Anything that fits.

After- Clean and light! Yes I know it still needs vacumming!

Damn this economy- damn it

I just found out my little day of spring in the middle of winter is about to become a victim of the economy- The Northwest Flower and Garden Show- the second largest in the country, is about to go away. This is the last year of the 21 year old show. According to the press release, they couldn't find a suitable buyer. This will also end the San Francisco Flower show. Just think of how this works- no show means 5 dates in the Convention Center that will go unrented, and all the little restaurants and businesses lose that revenue (The show usually attracts between 60,000 and 80,000 attendees, all who want lunch, the same time I do!). The convention center is full of little cafes and restaurants. And this is probably one of the biggest shows at the convention center. Not to mention the vendors and such that make up a great part of the show. According to the local media, They have had a hard time in finding a buyer- maybe they need to post an ad in Craigslist:

FOR SALE- Seattle area Garden show, and satellite show in SF- One week of prissy landscapers, garden architects, vendors and a few great junk artists. Lots of people- Price $1,000,000. US funds only (unless you have euros which are worth more than US Dollars)