Jan
30
2006
There is a bill going before the Virginia House of Delegates (HB1288) which if passed, would allow independent wineries and vineyards to sell their wines to local establishments (Restaraunts, Bed and Breakfasts, Bars within Virginia) directly, rather than having to sell to Large Corporate distributors for distribution in state. This is important. When was the last time you went to a Wine Festival put on by a corporate distributor? Music, culture, entertainment, and a sense of community are the by-products of Virginia Wineries. The buzz can be nice as well…
Simply stated - this is a David vs. Goliath situation, where the heavily funded Corporate distributorships are going to try to defeat this bill with lobbying and whatever other tools they have at their disposal. I certainly do not discount that some of those “tools” may include your legislator. Please - get in touch, get involved. Find out how your Delegate intends to vote on this issue. Urge them to Vote Yes to HB1288. This is a very important piece of legislation for the local and family owned vineyards and wineries in the area.
Not sure who your Delegate is? Check it out here. Know who it is or what district you are in? Here is a page listing their names and phone numbers - with links to a personal page which also inlcudes their email addresses.
Below is the summary of bill HB1288 before the House:
Summary as introduced:
Alcoholic beverage control; small wine producer distribution license. �Creates a new small producer distribution license that authorizes the licensee to sell and deliver or ship by common carrier the wine produced by the licensee, in accordance with Board regulations, in closed containers, to (i) persons licensed to sell the wine at retail for the purpose of resale, � 4.1-326 notwithstanding, (ii) the Board, and (iii) persons in Virginia to whom alcoholic beverages may be lawfully sold. The bill also provides that shipments of such wine by common carrier to a retail licensee shall be (a) made in containers marked �Contains Alcohol,� (b) paid by the retail licensee in advance of the shipment, and (c) accompanied by an invoice in a form prescribed by the Board and that is available for examination by the common carrier. All deliveries of such wine by the licensee to persons in Virginia to whom alcoholic beverages may be lawfully sold shall be performed by the owner, or any agent, director, shareholder or employee of the licensee. The bill provides that, for purposes of � 4.1-234 and Chapter 6 (� 58.1-600 et seq.) of Title 58.1, each delivery or shipment of wine by such licensee to a consumer or a retail licensee shall constitute a sale in Virginia. Licensees are required to collect the taxes due to the Commonwealth and remit any excise taxes monthly to the Board and any sales tax to the Department of Taxation. The bill defines “small wine producer” as any winery located outside the Commonwealth and licensed as such in the state where the winery is located and that is eligible for the federal tax credit pursuant to 27 CFR 24.278. The bill also grants these same privileges to certain winery and farm winery licensees. The bill sets the state license tax for this new license and requires the ABC Board to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill.
Jan
25
2006
While still a work in progress, this is the garden wagon / wheelbarrel dillio that I made. I rushed to get it into a usable state over the weekend - and have been using it to cart compost to my garden plot. Lots and lots of compost. It works great.
I still have to stain and coat the wagon - but I think that there may be a few structural changes yet to come… So far I have been letting it get a weathered patina - leaving it out in the rain Sunday and Monday, and in the snow flurries this morning. I also want to round off some edges and fix up some spots that need a bit of work. In terms of the stain - I was thinking that a colored stain - or even multi-colored stains may be in order… Another thought - the ‘lees’ from my wine making ventures can be used as a pigment… I think I will probably go that route - a wine colored wagon. Good stuff.
Jan
23
2006
This is the Ultrasupergenius 1.0, a pinhole camera that I made sometime last summer. It accepts normal rolls of 35mm film, and takes some pretty neat pictures. Well I was out at the garden yesterday, using my newly created wheelbarrel/garden cart (pictures coming soon) to load up great quantities of filth, and carry them from the big main pile of filth over to my own personal pile of filth at my garden plot. (Filth = really good leaf compost). While I was diiging around in the big pile of filth, another gardener came by who was using his truck to cart the filth from the big main pile of filth to his little pile of filth - and he struck up a conversation. We talked about filth, and garden plots, and about taking filth from one pile to another pile… and then about how long we have had garden plots. I explained that I had been waiting for a year to get my plot, and in the meantime had been coming over to the gardens and taking lots of pictures and whatnot. His face instantly lit up and he said “You’re the guy who made a camera out of wood!”. Heehee. “Yes, I said. Yes, that is me” and while we were talking, his eyes drifted over my shoulder to my rather homely looking wooden cart… It was at that moment, by looking through his eyes, that I became aware of a fact that I think most people who know me have come to take for granted. I am more than just a little bit crazy… but luckily for me (and for those who know me) I am crazy in a way that is equal parts cute, endearing, fascinating, and frustrating. I am, however, growing more and more into the that which I have always been meant to be: a tinkerer.
Jan
20
2006
I had an old AI zoom lens sitting around, never being used for a variety of reasons - one of which being that it was quite dirty (also the reason I was able to pick it up cheap when I was in college). The glass is of moderately good quality. I decided I should try my hand at opening up the lens and giving it a good clean. After removing 64 screws smaller than a human hair and making little to no progress towards getting to the lens elements, I decided a change in plans was warranted. I stopped worrying about which piece went where and gave up on any chance of putting the lens back into the form in which it had come. It was time to make a new lens. Yay!
The USG DreamLand Lens (which I decided to call it after seeing the first couple of images that came out of it) is a fixed focal length, fixed aperature, fixed focus single element lens with an AI mount. It looks a bit strange - and takes some getting used to - but I LOVE IT! More images will follow…
Jan
11
2006
Mudman Tiki
This impressive little character is standing guard at my new garden in Annandale, Virginia… a 20′ x 30′ plot provided by the park system. Here is your link, if you want to see more pictures of my new garden.
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After being on the waiting list for close to a year, my number has come up and I have been given a garden plot. While it is not 100% completely and totally official (they are sending me the contract to review and sign, and I have to send them a few bucks), I know that I am getting a garden from the Park System right across the street, and even better - I know which which Garden Plot I am getting… I have spent some time there over the last coupla days, developing some ideas for cultivation and trying to get a feel for the place. I love it! It is really quite amazing to have a plot of land available to work with, and my plot is just so darn great. I had the choice of six plots that had been vacated (out of about 125) - and I can honestly say that I probably would have picked this plot had I had my choice of the entire gardens. It already has some makeshift fences surrounding it (left by the previous occupant), and the soil quality (as far as I can tell) seems fantastic. I have been looking forward to getting this garden for quite some time now, and even before signing up to get a plot - I have enjoyed taking frequent walks through the garden - quite often with a camera in hand. I have taken some of my best photos there - and more importantly have really honed my skills. It is great to have easy access to such a photogenic site - to see the changes in light and shadows through time of day, the seasonal changes, and to get the opportunity to revisit shots that did not quite work out - tweak them a bit, and perhaps try them yet again until you get them just right. Now that I have my own garden plot, I will be able to focus in even tighter on the day to day goings on of the garden both photographically, and if all goes well through drawing and watercolor as well… I will of course be getting myself good and dirty on a regular basis - play with garden tools (I am particularly fond of going out and finding myself some good Hoes, although Sarah does not seem to keen on the idea), and what else… Hmmm… Oh, yeah - Grow Veggies! This is so freaking cool, I can’t possibly type it cool enough. Maybe the Mudman Tiki can do the esplaing for me…
Jan
10
2006
I did it. I appeared in an Elvis Look-alike contest. I even performed Elvis Karaoke - singing and dancing “Blue Suede Shoes”. Craziness. I have always imagined death to be somewhat like the end of a scavenger hunt, when everyone gets together and reviews what they have accomplished. I am happy to say that when my maker is going down the list, there will be a big fat check mark next to the entry that says “Performed as Elvis, the King”. Fun stuff. Here are some more pictures of the “Night of 100 Elvises“.
Jan
03
2006
retrievr lets you search for photos on flickr by drawing sketches of them.
This is so darn ridiculously cool I can’t take it. As if I had plenty of time on my hands to be playing around with this stuff. The folks at retriever are a bunch of jerks. Big fat jerks that are going to keep me very entertained for more time than I have available for entertainment. Thanks. Jerks.
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Oh yeah, Sozialgericht Bremen btw… Here is the scoop (Cliff’s notes version - Popular German blogger/small Grocery owner blogs about his work, mentions a huge german grocery conglomerate - and as a result of his large audience who visits and links to his blog, gets the top google ranking for that conglomerate’s name. He then gets a cease and decist order telling him to, ostensibly, stop being the number one google hit for that name.) Google Bombing isn’t a crime.
