June 2007

Carlsbad iPhone Countdown: The Morning After

by The Editors on June 30, 2007

Iphone Vista

For those following along here’s how it went: we did not make an Apple iPhone purchase, yet. We chose Sue Palmer over standing inline at AT&T. We do, however, have a friend who made a run for the border and pulled into an undisclosed AT&T Store in Vista at 4 PM. After waiting in line for two hours he was able to snap some photos and snag a 4 gig, which immediately sent him into the throws of an inferiority complex. In a late evening email he said: “I have not broken the seal yet. I have decided to swap it for the 8 gig.”

New IphoneBut as anyone knows, it’s nearly impossible to sit with a new piece of Apple technology without opening it. Moments later we got another email. . . “I opened the package and it is not as sleek as it looks in the ads….”

Side Note: the Fashion Valley Apple Store opens at 10 AM this morning and according to the Apple iPhone Availability Page they still have phones (as does every Apple store in California).

Below The Side Note: Our photos from the Plaza Camino Real line were picked up and included in the Gizmodo.com iPhone photo gallery. Two of them.

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Desalination: The Science Behind The Water

by The Editors on June 30, 2007

Desalination-1Depending on how the permitting process goes, Carlsbad could be home to the world’s largest desalination plant. That all sounds fine, but what does it mean? Luckily for us Amy Westervelt has written a comprehensive story for the Sustainable Industries Journal in which she outlines the process, the politics, and the environmental issues associated with removing fresh water from ocean water.

The waste product created by the desalination process is a briny solution that is twice as salty as the ocean water it comes from. A desalination plant produces 50 million gallons of freshwater for every 100 million gallons of ocean water it takes in, according to Cooley, co-author of a 2006 report entitled “Desalination, with a Grain of Salt: A California Perspective.” Typically, the 50 million gallons of brine created by the desalination process are dumped back into the ocean.

That’s part of the reason that The Surfrider Foundation is fighting the Carlsbad plant. As General Electric’s project moves forward it’s important that we all have a better understanding of exactly what this means for Carlsbad and for the Coast.

[Link: Sustainable Industries]

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Jazz On the Eastern Front

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

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We’ve lived in Carlsbad for a while now. More than many, less than some. And it’s rare that we venture in past El Camino Real, let alone all the way out to Rancho Santa Fe.

Img 0181-2Tonight we ventured to Stagecoach Park for TGIF Jazz in the Park and what we found was a warm lawn-covered bowl filled with more Carlsbadistanians than we’ve ever seen congregated. Couples sharing a picnic basket, kids going crazy on the jungle gym, teens making out behind the old Stagecoach Stop, and boys charging through the underbrush on the wilder edges of the park.

Meanwhile, on stage Sue Palmer “San Diego’s Queen of Boogie Woogie” had a quarter of the crowd up and on their feet. After the initial shock of seeing so many attractive Southern California’s in a place that wasn’t sand, surf, or a stadium wore off we realized that these TGIF events are pretty cool even if they have outgrown all our little Village parks and now occur way out on the Eastern Front.

More photos after the jump

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Carlsbad iPhone Countdown: T – Five Hours

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

Iphone Pcr-1

The Plaza Camino Real has been staked out. At 10:30 The Carlsbad Four had grabbed their places in line in front the AT&T store right outside Sears on the lower level. Honz (far right, blue shirt) was at the front of the line. “I got here at 6 AM,” he said. “And walked right in to the mall.” Chris (second in line), who works from home had his Macbook open and was doing work. “If I’d have known the line was going to be like this I would have slept in a little longer.” Allen and Brad (who were bringing up the rear of the line at 10:40) didn’t arrive until 10 AM.

Iphone Pcr2When we asked them how many phones they were going to buy, they said, “They already told us we could only buy one each.”

If each store indeed has 20 Apple iPhones as reported, then there may still be room at the Plaza, or across the street in Oside next to Trader Joes.

Currently, Apple stock is holding at the $121 mark. Damn, we’re going to be bummed not having an iPhone tonight. Forget about what we said yesterday.

[Editors’ Note: Allen, Brad, or Chris, if you can, please update us on your progress in the comments section.]

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TGIF Jazz June 29: Sue Palmer

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

Sue-Redhat-PhotoSue Palmer has been called “San Diego’s Queen of Boogie Woogie.” And this Friday (June 29) she’ll be playing Stagecoach Park with her Motel Swing Orchestra as part of the Carlsbad TGIF Jazz in the Parks concert series.

Palmer is probably most famous for being the musical partner of blues diva Candye Kane who she travelled the world with as Sue “Beehive” Palmer with Candye Kane and the Swingin’ Armadillos.

Sue is a featured artist on all four of Kane’s CDs under the Antones and Sire labels. Sue’s instrumental composition “Beehive” was featured on Kane’s “Diva La Grande” CD, and Sue and Candye co-wrote the title tune on Kane’s CD “Swango.” “Swango” is also featured in the documentary “The Girl Next Door,” a biography of porn star Stacy Valentine produced by National Public Radio’s Christine Fugat in 2000.

No, we’re not missing this one.

[Link: Carlsbadca.gov]

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Buena Vista, Magnolia Wave Good-bye?

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

According to a newly approved facilities master plan for the Carlsbad Unified School District Buena Vista and Magnolia Elementary schools could be closed for good. The North County Times reports that it is being discussed.

Nothing would happen quickly, board President Kelli Moors stressed Thursday as she discussed the planning document that the board approved late Wednesday night. “I think the thing to keep in mind is that both schools will continue to operate in the coming (school) year,” she said.

Click the link for all the details.

[Link: North County Times]

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Carlsbad Threeway Race

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

Triath-LogoWe totally forgot about it until we saw the signs up at the corner of Garfield and Tamarack saying that the road is going to be cloased, but the Carlsbad Triathlon will be swimming, riding, and running through The Neighborhood next weekend (July 7-8, 2007). Which means another parade of jiggling flesh and a morning of no surfing at Tamarack Surfing Beach.

We’re always threatening to enter and compete in the “cruiser class.” Swim in trunks, bike on a beach cruiser, and run in flip flops. The race is only a 1k swim, 25k bike, 5k run, however, as usual we didn’t register in time. We’ll rally for next year and remind everyone in advance so we can have a huge cruiser turnout.

[Link: Carlsbad Triathlon]

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Rancho Santa Fe Bridge Blockers

by The Editors on June 29, 2007

Fixit250The San Diego Union Tribune’s Fix It column recently investigated the new bridge along Rancho Santa Fe Drive where metal bars erected as a railing completely hide oncoming traffic from cars pulling out from the side street.

Steve Verret, who operates a traffic school in an office park along La Costa Meadows Drive, said the railing is a hazard. As cars cross the bridge, he said, they are “totally invisible” from the side street. Black cars tend to blend in, he said.

The City of Carlsbad apparently “referred the issue to the designer of the Federally funded project.” And according to deputy city engineer David Hauser, no additional actions are expected.

Guess we’ll just have to wait for a family to be hit and killed before the the intersection is looked at again.

[Link: San Diego Union Tribune]

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Carlsbad iPhone Countdown: T – 1 Day

by The Editors on June 28, 2007

IplayboyphoneGuess what? We’re over it. Only 20 hours away from the launching of the coolest tech product to ever hit the world. . . and we’re over it. A friend (who has had a Apple iPhone for over a week thanks to some strange Justin Timberlake connection) gave the iPhone the following review:

It’s pretty sweet, but off Wi-Fi the Internet application is slow as a snail. . . And making a phone call is surprisingly convoluted.”

So that’s it. Big countdown to nothing. Of course, it’s late and we’re not really in an excitable mood right now. If you’re interested in following the hoopla check in with Gizmodo’s Brian Lam. He’s waiting online at a San Francisco Apple store and he’s blogging it live. . . IM him if you want to [lnelyiphoneboy30] or you can watch JustinTV live while he waits in line.

Depending on how we’re feeling tomorrow we’ll probably roll by the Plaza Camino Real AT&T store just to see how things are shaping up. If you’re looking for a phone in Coastal North County follow the jump for a listing of all the AT&T Stores in our zone (if you don’t feel like driving to UTC or Fashion Valley).

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Buena Vista Lagoon Bird Watching

by The Editors on June 28, 2007

Tom Troy, an Audubon board member, is leading a walk to help identify birds by sight and sound this Saturday (June 30) at 8:30 a.m. at the Buena Vista Lagoon Landing on Jefferson Street. And believe it or not, birding is fun, especially with good binocs.

[Link: BV Audubon]

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