Becoming a U.S. Citizen

Every time an election comes around my hubby has always voiced his opinion about how he thinks I should vote. My reply has always been if he wants an opinion he should become a U.S. citizen and cast his own vote.

Inside the Campbell Heritage Theatre

Originally from Canada, he has lived in the U.S. for well over a decade paying taxes but having no say in how his tax dollars are spent. So, imagine my shock when he told me he had secretly been studying to take the citizenship test! He was very diligent about learning the answers to the 100 questions about U.S. history and civics. He would be asked up to ten questions five of which he would have to answer correctly to pass the citizenship test. I'm happy to report he passed with flying colors!

So, a few months later on a beautiful summer day we headed over to the Campbell Heritage Theatre where he would take his citizenship oath of allegiance.

There were dozens of people there from all over the world. They had to line up in 4 rows in front of the building. He was way back in the far left row. You can't really see him unless you click to enlarge the picture above. If you do you can spot his blue shirt three quarters of the way back behind the man in the white t-shirt in the white shirt.

It was easier to spot him inside. Can you see him waving at me? I was up in the balcony with other family members and friends had to sit.

The ceremony took about 2 hours with several speakers, videos, the singing of our national anthem and the oath of allegiance.

Everyone rose to take the oath.

It was official. Everyone below was now a U.S. citizen! Hubby had asked me if I thought people would cry during the ceremony. I said maybe, especially if the person was from a war torn country like Iraq, Darfur or the Sudan. Turned out the man sitting beside him was from Iraq. But immigrating from Canada? Tears of joy might be a bit much. Life just isn't that rough for most people from Toronto. LOL

The entire ceremony was very inspiring. It was a formal reminder about how fortunate we all are to live here, especially for those of us who were fortunate to be born here.

The whole reason hubby wanted to become a citizen was to vote. He was so excited to vote Tuesday for the first time as a U.S. citizen that I even followed him to the polling place to take his picture.

Voting is something I've always tried to make the time to do because of the sacrifices made by our past veterans ensuring our freedoms. I think voting is one of the most significant rights we each possess because while voting may be a right, it and many of the daily freedoms we enjoy, are also privileges when compared to the way many people in other countries live with the fear of being persecuted, jailed or executed because of their political affiliations, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. Other are forced to accept they have no freedom to make decisions, speak their minds, be educated, work at certain types of jobs and that there is no guarantee they will receive a fair trial if criminal charges are ever brought against them... The list goes on and on.

Hubby's first "I Voted" sticker.

So vote. Don't passively sit back and let others make all of the decisions for you. Sure your candidate may lose or a proposition may not pass or fail the way you had hoped but making sure your voice is heard is as American as a hamburger, a Coke®, and a slice of apple pie. Which by the way is the dinner I took hubby out for to celebrate the night of his citizenship ceremony. He skipped the apple pie because he hates fruit pies but he had a hamburger, Coke® and a slice of chocolate silk pie :)

CLICK HERE to learn more about how to register to vote on the United States Elections Assistance Commission's website.

Maker Faire 2010 • San Mateo, CA

Have you heard of the Maker Faire? It's an annual event created by Make Magazine that celebrates arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. I read in a news story that estimates were that 95,000 people would attend the two day event. WOW!

I was invited by my friends Keith and Loretta who have and work on public access tv shows (Keith Explains and What's Up Wit' That?) at KMVT in Mountain View, California to attend as "media" to take pictures and create a blog post, mainly so that Loretta wouldn't have to. LOL

There were a lot of sculptures and even vehicles that were lit by fire. There were so many I couldn't possibly show you all of them in this blog post. Apparently a lot of the items displayed here are also shown at Burning Man which explains the pyrotechnics. There were also a lot of "kinetic" sculptures which means the sculptures include movement.

It was truly a challenge narrowing down the 374 pictures I took that day to present the best of them here for you in this post to try to show the uninitiated what the Maker Faire is all about.

I expected the Maker Faire to be predominately super high tech and geeky exhibits. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there really is great diversity at the fair that included cool art items like these one-of-a-kind, lit, water filled, kinetic, UFO abduction sculptures by Santa Cruz artist Jason Dietz.

There were all kinds of whimsical vehicles and sculptures... So many I couldn't possibly include them all. The snail car threw flames from it's eyeballs!

There were many robots, some familiar like these R2-D2 robots built by Astromech.net.

I was really looking forward to seeing Greg Solberg's electric, motorized, cupcake and muffin cars. And I wasn't disappointed. I saw them almost as soon as I arrived. They were on display near the front gate and I saw them zipping around the fairgrounds all day long.

And boy was I surprised when I saw a wedding cake at the Maker Faire! Turns out the crafting company Cricut has introduced a cake decorating machine that basically die cuts designs out of fondant or sheets of frosting. You then apply the decorative elements to your cakes or cupcakes. So cute right? The cutter isn't inexpensive listed at $399 on the Cricut website. The pattern cartridges run an additional $69.99 and there are other accessories you would need including cutting blades and mats

There were just so many things to see from a traveling Pinball collection in a trailer to remote controlled "Creepy Crawly Robots" and telepresence robots by Anybot. Basically the Anybot is a robot that allows you to have a clone of yourself in a remote location. It allows you to see and be seen, talk, listen, and basically allows you to collaborate with others, say in a remote office, from the comfort of your own office or home. Cool right?

Also way cool were the 3D printers. This one was built by Eddy Vromen (of MakerBot.com) and prints out 3D models made of plastic. Truly amazing! The interior of the model is hollow so it's very lightweight. The model is comprised of very fine strands of plastic with a honeycomb effect in the interior. Some 3D printers even create models out of various mediums like cheese, ice, chocolate, stainless steel, clay, and cement.

Some of the items I saw that day made me ask "Why?" By the end of the day I realized the only answer was "because someone could." The Egg Bot was one of those items.

Queston: Why would you want to decorate an eggshell with intricate designs created by a robot?

Answer: Because you can and it makes them pretty!

The Egg Bot is an art robot that also decorates spherical and egg shaped objects including ping pong and gold balls and light bulbs.

There were many interactive stations that allowed both kids and grown ups to go hands on to learn techniques and create take home items.

For Lego lovers the Bay Area Lego Train Club and I think some other Lego organizations were there. Kids and adults had a great time checking out the moving Lego Train that circled a city made of Lego buildings. The coliseum and apple lego computer were also really cool.

There were also cool companies like Fabmo, a company that repurposes fabric and is currently removing 25 tons of fabric from waste streams where they would otherwise be discarded making them available to students, teachers, artisans and craft people.

RentalIC is a company where you can rent items for a day or week for a nominal fee. It's cheaper than purchasing an item that you may only need to use once. You can also make money by renting your items to others. Their philosophy is "Rent | Share | Be Green."

There were cute stuffed animals from the Etsy Plush Street Team.

Going to a "fair" I expected the usual deep fried fair food for lunch. Man was I wrong! I was thrilled to spot Tru Gourment Organic Dim Sum amongst the food booths. For lunch I had two kinds of dumplings: Kale and Pea Shoots. They were so fresh and yummy tasting that I want to go have them again. Only bummer is that they are only offered in San Rafael, Tam Valley, Fairfax, Mill Valley and Sausalito. Quite a drive from San Jose but I may have to make it every now and then. Their menu is extensive offering all kinds of dumplings and steamed buns as well as other items.

From the outside where all of the giant sculptures were located (like this T-rex about to eat a woman) I stepped inside the Homegrown Village tent. Though it wasn't very techy or large it was my favorite part of the entire faire. I purchased some locally produced honey and learned about LocalDirt.com a place to buy, sell and feature local food online.

And this was my favorite vendor in the entire Maker Faire "Just Fine Design Build." Their tagline is "Small Scale Projects from Conception to Completion." Their website portfolio showcases some of the various projects they have created.

They designed and built this backyard chicken coop for those who want to own and care for their own laying hens. Definitely a great way to insure that the eggs you eat are humane raised. Turns out most cities allow you to keep 3-4 chickens in your backyard provided they are all female. No roosters allowed.

A major consideration in backyard poultry keeping is the safety of your chickens. If you live where there are raccoons, you have to lock the chickens into a sturdy hutch at night that is screened not with chicken wire but with a stronger galvanized wire mesh as the raccoons will tear or reach through chicken wire to kill and eat your chickens.

Another point to consider. Hens will lay eggs for up to 3-4 years. But they can live for 10 years. Once they are past laying age do you keep them as pets or *cringe* slaughter and cook them? I could never bring myself to cook chickens that I have cared for for 3-4 years. They would most certainly be pets to me by then. But I don't really want chickens as pets, I would want them for the eggs they lay. For now I will refrain from keeping them because this dilemma is beyond me to solve as I don't know that I will be living on a farm 4 years from now so that I can get 3 more younger egg producing chickens to replace my retiring non-laying hens.

And Far West Fungi was there with their fresh, organically grown, specialty mushroom "minifarms" that I've seen at their retail shop in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Personally I don't care for mushrooms to eat because I just don't like their flavor. But I am fascinated by the mushroom minifarms and always make time to go gaze upon them when I visit the Ferry Building.

And this was a new find for me: CMB Sweets. Made from organic, in season, California fruits, sugar and lemon. I was so tempted by the label for the "Very Vanilla Pear Butter." Doesn't that sound delicious? I haven't tried it yet because I haven't had any bread or crackers in the house. I should go buy some today. I also grabbed their last jar of Olallieberry Jam. I thought their branding was adorable and love to support small businesses like CMB Sweets any day over larger mass produced products full of preservatives at mainstream grocery stores.

What began as a day project to use up some leftover strawberries has turned into a thriving business for founder Carolina Braunschweig. You can read the story about how she created her sweet and successful company by CLICKING HERE.

If you don't live in the Bay Area you can order online or sign up for her Jam of the Month Club.

Odd yes. Kind of creepy cool? Definitely! I really liked this Fishbug "Chimera Sententia" sculpture both in its miniature and walk-in sizes. To be honest, I didn't get the symbolism so I had to go online when I got home to visit the Fishbug website to understand what it was all about...

"Chimera is a symbol of hope for our next step in the evolutionary time line. By creating a sculpture that includes participatory elements within an enticing form we create a space for participants to be, think, play and imagine. "

This only made me like it even more. Now I wish I had bought a Fishbug T-shirt while I was there.

One of the big highlights of the Maker Faire was the tesla coil demonstration by ArcAttack. Seen here the mushroom shaped DRSSTC's (Dual-Resonant Solid State Tesla Coils) acted as separate synchronized instruments, each shooting out lightening bolts in time to the music.

ArcAttack came all the way from Texas to create their 'electrifying' audio visual performance.

The huge coils produce an electrical arc similar to a continuous lightning bolt that would flit toward centerstage striking the metal cage that held random audience members who had volunteered to be inside during each performance.

I wish I had been able to get a better picture of the "Mondo Spider," a 1700 lb, walking, rideable electric vehicle. I was torn. I didn't want to use a flash because I wanted you to see the glowing lit legs...

This daylight image is from the MondoSpider website and shows the form of this bizarre walking, ridable robot.

This sculpture was just WOW! It was huge, elegant and on fire. The piece titled "Soma" is described on The Flaming Lotus Girl's website this way:

"Soma captures the essence of a neuron, and the sensory experience of flowing electricity and energy through a microscopic molecular experience on a monumental scale."

And the group itself is described this way:

"The Flaming Lotus Girls are a female-driven, volunteer-based group of artists who have been making kinetic, mechanical fire art since 2000. Our work stands at the intersection of sculpture, kinetics, robotics, pyrotechnics, and electronic technology. We create interactive large-scale fire installations that engage viewers and invite them to become part of the art. Flaming Lotus Girls’ work is a collaborative process that empowers participants to learn new skills and become experienced, talented and active artists." Click Here to read more...

I don't know who designed this large, burning sculpture but it was difficult to get a photo of it without people posing with it for snapshots of their own. I waited a bit and seized the moment when I was able to take this unobstructed photo.

The sign on his chest directed you to go to Facebook.com/GiantCardboardRobots. This was a real crowd pleaser with lots of people wanting to jump in and have their picture taken with the giant cardboard man. When I first spotted him he was trying to convince a little boy to shake his big hand. LOL. As it turns out the arms can be purchased on Etsy.

There were lots of decorated cars and trucks on display. All were whimsical and laden with sculptural decor.

There was a DIY building where you could purchase books and kits of things to make yourself at home. Having spent the day surrounded by so much unbridled creativity it made me want to "make" something. But what kind of kit to purchase? Many like this one, the Arduino Kit Maker, were simply over my head. Even if I made it I had no idea what to do with it. Others required soldering and I don't have a solder gun. Finally I spotted a project that I had been wanting to take on...

Yup, felted wool, miniature animals. I am going to make this little penguin, someday. The kit comes with everything you need except some foam that is the base that you build the wool around. Why that isn't included in the kit is kind of beyond me. For procrastinators or people too busy to rush out to find some foam that could be the missing crucial kernel that spells doom. But I am inspired and will find some foam and will report back here on the blog no matter how pitifully my first felted wool project turns out. It will be fun and I will be hoping to master the technique so that I may someday make a felted wool sculpture of my dog Kitai.

To summarize there is something for everyone at the Maker Faire. I think it is an especially valuable experience for kids who are still open to new ideas and whose imaginations haven't been squashed by well meaning adults. The faire is full of possibilities that have evolved beyond an idea and have been brought to life.

Read more about the Maker Faire in the San Jose Mercury News by CLICKING HERE

Where Was I?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! A scary, creepy clown that believe it or not ties into a wedding...

A bunch of people that appeared to be milling and wandering aimlessly about...

And all of the stuffed puppy dogs you can imagine...

I was at the Redwood Belgian Tervuren All Breed Agility Trials. Yup you heard right. I took a personal day off and went out to do something just plain fun related to weddings only because the people who invited me to attend the trial were Dan and Caroline of Tinywater Photography. Two of their dogs were competing that day. That's Caroline competing with her dog Milou, (aka CH MACH 3 Alto Mare Peixes Do Voo RAE NAP NJP MXF) the number 1 Agility Portuguese Water Dog in the country in 2008!

I don't know about all of you but I'd been under the impression that agility dogs were working and herding breeds like Border Collies, Austrailian Shepherds, Border Collies, Corgies and Border Collies. BOL :P

Pictured above in the top left is a Belgian Tervuren and the top right is a Bearded Collie. No surprise for me to see either breed. But then what's this? An Alaskan Malamute? Granted I don't know a ton about them but nothing I've ever read would have made me think that I'd see a Malamute at an agility trial. As a breed I thought they were too laid back for the intensity I thought agility required. And in the bottom right is an agility superstar breed, a Border Collie making quick work of the weave poles.

And I got to meet Apollo, his friends call him Polly, who I was told is the handsomest boxer in the world and just happens to be the #1 Boxer in agility in AKC in the United States. Dang I should have asked for his autograph or a paw print for Kitai to hang on his wall of fame!

And a breed I once considered for myself. A Belgian Tervuren. Known in Europe but not as widely recognized here in the U.S. there are several Belgian Shepherd breeds being the Tervuren, the Gronendael, Malinois and the Laekenois. They are medium to large sized working breeds with the Malinois probably the most well known in the U.S. due to their use as K9 dogs with police and military. Due to their nature they are happiest when with or near their person and absolutely need an outlet for their energy and drive which can make them very suitable for agility.

Another huge surprise that day was to see a pair of Briards. This is a French breed similar to Kotaro my Beauceron I had before I adopted Kitai. The main visual difference is the Briards have a long coat where the Beaucerons are short coated. They are adept herders and are a large protective breed that like the Belgian Shepherds do best with an outlet for their energy.

And there was plenty of jumping! Trevor, a Golden Retriever, soars over the jump with ease.

Above top left: German Wire Haired Pointer, top right: Milou the Portuguese Water Dog, Bottom left: Border Collie and bottom right: Greyhound.

Those aren't miniature Collies, they're Shetland Sheepdogs also known as Shelties. They are stunning. They are an entirely separate breed from the Collie though both are working/herding breeds.

OK this was so cute how could I not take a picture? While it doesn't ever surprise me to see a Retriever of any type walking around with a toy in it's mouth it makes me smile all the more because Kitai will on occasion decide to bring a toy on his walk with him.

Kitai comes from a long line of Miniature Wire Haired Cartoon Retreivers.

And yet another fun surprise. A Bouvier des Flandres! Another European herding/working breed. The Bouvier originated in either France or Belgium. It is a large breed with a longish double coat.

The one thing that I found most striking of all the dogs at the trial was the way they all sat and simply stared at their owners and handlers. Literally stared. To put this behavior into perspective I'd pretty much have to duct tape a steak, Kitai's favorite rubber chicken squeaky toy and a handful of dog treats all to my head to get him to stare at me with the intensity these dogs give their owners.

This Tervuren gets in some play time after competing.

And that's Milou, taking the tire jump.

And that big fluffy Bouvier on the See-Saw. The dogs have to step onto it and walk to the center until it tips the other way, then they walk straight across before moving on to the next piece of equipment.

A Brittany Spaniel takes a jump. If you like to watch equestrian show jumping you might really enjoy watching the dogs jump too. Just like the horses they lose points if they knock the top rail down.

And showing their incredible athleticism check out the air between this Belgian Malinois and the top bar. These dogs are high drive and aren't meant to be couch potato kind of pets.

I thought this German Shepherd Dog was just really beautiful. I think the long coat is more common in Europe then here.

The main thing to consider with several breeds like the German Shepherds and Siberian Huskies is that there are show lines and working lines. Show lines are bred for a certain body "type" or appearance as close to the breed standard as possible and tend to make better house pets. Working lines are bred for energy and drive. I really can't stress enough that dogs from working lines need a job to do.

And that's black and white Sheltie Cash posing for the camera while Gracie, the Tri-colored Sheltie, who's won a gajillion agility championships, plays it more low key.

And there were Border Collies Cassidy on the left and his sister Callie on the right. They look ready to go!