Ron's Log

Not Missed

N.Y. Times Does Kodachrome

The New York Times goes to Parsons, Kansas. They're getting some interesting last-minute Kodachrome customers:

The first was a railroad worker who had driven from Arkansas to pick up 1,580 rolls of film that he had just paid $15,798 to develop. The second was an artist who had driven directly here after flying from London to Wichita, Kan., on her first trip to the United States to turn in three rolls of film and shoot five more before the processing deadline.

Whose film will be the last Kodachrome to go through their processors?

In the end, it was determined that a roll belonging to Dwayne Steinle, the owner, would be last. It took three tries to find a camera that worked. And over the course of the week he fired off shots of his house, his family and downtown Parsons. The last frame is already planned for Thursday, a picture of all the employees standing in front of Dwayne's wearing shirts with the epitaph: "The best slide and movie film in history is now officially retired. Kodachrome: 1935-2010."

CBS News Does Kodachrome

Kodachrome - It's Done

Photo by e_pics. Only hours of processing remain at Dwayne's in Parsons, Kansas.

Kodachrome group slide show.

Palm Springs Police Chief Dominguez Apologizes For Calling Gay Men "Cocksuckers" "Filthy Motherfuckers"

"The comment 'did not display the utmost professional conduct expected from the Chief of Police and I sincerely apologize to the community at large,' Dominguez said in a statement."

The longest journeys begin with a single step.

Maybe Chief Dominguez will eventually explain why he lied about saying that, and why he accused his accusers of being liars.

UPDATE: The Desert Sun has clarified that what Chief Dominguez said was "filthy motherfuckers." It was another officer who used the word "cocksuckers." The Palm Springs City Manager David Ready said this is an essential difference, and Chief Dominguez should keep his job.

The official report [PDF] of the city's investigation.

Ben Zander

Benjamin Zander is a unique and powerful figure who, among other things, conducts the Boston Philharmonic. The Boston Philharmonic is not the Boston Symphony. The Boston Symphony is that more-than-a-century old organization with James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Erich Leinsdorf, Charles Munch, Serge Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux and Symphony Hall.

The Boston Philharmonic, OTOH, was formed in 1979, owns no hall, and is made up of amateurs, students, and professionals who are dedicated to the love of music. (Not that the Symphony players aren't dedicated or don't love music; but the Symphony players get an adequate salary as well). If you buy a ticket to a Philharmonic concert, you get to attend the pre-concert lecture by Mr. Zander himself. His lectures are several steps above the standard sort of pre-concert lecture you might get from an established, mainstream orchestra. A Ben Zander lecture could work you into a fevered frenzy in anticipation of watching paint dry, if drying paint was going to be the theme of the evening.

Somebody paid him to fly out to California and give a TED talk on music and passion. You can watch it here.

Micro-Wind

If you want really cheap wind power, you can't just keep making a smaller and smaller turbine. At a certain point, the price simply won't go lower due to the technology required. Possible answer: the Windbelt, a small device with no rotary which can be 10 to 30 times as efficient as a microturbine. The goal is only to make enough electricity to power some LEDs and charge up a radio battery - just enough to replace kerosene lighting in third world countries.

Farmers vs. Rail

The multi-billion dollar effort to relieve congestion on route 99 between metropolitan centers Fresno and Bakersfield is running into some resistance. Diana Peck, executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau, says Central Valley farmers will not stand for high speed rail taking agricultural land "as the path of least resistance."

As anyone who has driven on highway 99 knows, the only thing between Fresno and Bakersfield is agricultural land. Well, that and farm roads, some small farm towns, some grain elevators, and maybe a couple of small wetlands. The only route between Fresno and Bakersfield that would avoid agricultural land would be an elevated track above highway 99 itself, which would be pretty damn ridiculous since there's all that agricultural land along both sides of the highway that could be bought up.

I suspect we will see more beating of chests and teary-eyed old farm families until the price offered for that agricultural land reaches the magic sweet point.

What Recession?

Disneyland and California Adventure sold out two days in a row. Disneyland was at capacity at 10 AM today. California Adventure at 1 PM. Ticket sales were halted yesterday and today.

How Your Watch Works

Short, clear YouTube video explaining the quartz crystal that is essential to the accuracy of your cheap digital watch.