Month: March 2009

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Get a free Zagat guide

A reminder for foodies: If you participate in a Zagat Survey by rating restaurants or other venues on their website, you get a free copy of the corresponding printed guide when it comes out, usually a few months after the survey period.

The San Francisco restaurant survey is now open through next Sunday, March 29, and the New York and L.A. restaurant surveys are also open. In order to vote, you need a Zagat account, but it’s free to register. I’ve done this for a few years now, and while there is always a lot of info out there on the web for restaurant research (hello, Yelp), it’s sometimes handy to have the little red Zagat guide.

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Pin shadowbox

Recently I started to collect Disney pins, and while it hasn’t turned into a full-on obsession (yet), I wanted to somehow display the ones I do have, which up to now have been in envelopes or small plastic bags. A display case with a door and everything would have been too much for now, so it occurred to me to try something more small-scale: a shadowbox.

I hesitate to call this a “project,” since it’s basically ready-made, but I will take any craftiness I can get. At Target today I got a shadowbox frame ($19.99) and a pack of cork tiles (four-pack $5.69, but you only need one tile), both 12 inches square. (To my surprise Target actually does carry a pin board, hinged to a photo frame. It’s a nice solution, and I might also get one at some point, but it would’ve been less area for the pins, so I didn’t go for it.)

Pin shadowbox - materials

I thought I’d have to adhere the cork tile to the backing board of the frame, but the shadowbox has an inner frame that nicely keeps everything against the back, so securing it wasn’t completely necessary.

Pin shadowbox - assembly

Setting aside the pin backs that come with the pins, I arranged the pins on the cork tile. The tile is thinner than the prongs of the pins, but they seem to go in far enough to stay put. (For now.) Then the frame gets reassembled.

Pin shadowbox - complete

Granted it’s not as convenient as a hinged display case for accessing the pins, but I’m really happy with how it turned out! I could even paint the frame or cover the cork with felt or some other fabric to make it all schmancy and less … bulletin boardy.

Pin shadowbox - complete

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Prius preview

On Sunday we went to Fort Mason in San Francisco for a preview of the next-generation Toyota Prius. The event was a nice little shindig, where we had a light brunch and got to take a look at the redesigned 2010 model, which the Toyota folks tentatively said would be available this May.

We also got to take a test drive but were asked not to share any “driving impressions” until after March 25. Photos and video were otherwise allowed; I have a few photos up on Flickr, and I put together a video showing a demo of one of the new features, “Intelligent Parking Assist”:

I’m lukewarm over the new exterior, but it does look sportier and sleeker. The new features like parking guidance and the redesigned interior information displays make this model very tempting! We’re thinking we may get one eventually. (I say quietly so as not to make Thom’s current Prius nervous.)

It was a gorgeous day out, so afterward we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and parked at the vista point on the Marin side. We walked partway onto the bridge and took in the sights.

More photos from the Golden Gate Bridge here.

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Marriage déjà vu

Yesterday morning the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case challenging Prop 8, the voter initiative that amended the constitution to eliminate same-sex marriage rights in the state. Thom and I went to Civic Center in San Francisco to watch the hearing on a giant screen arranged by the marriage-equality organizations. (We ran into Julie there; here’s her pic of us and her whole set.) I didn’t feel like the hearing shed much new light on the case, since most of the arguments were ones we’ve heard before, but it was good to get a feel, slight though it was, for the justices’ thinking by way of their questions.

Gathered outside there were a lot of people on both sides of the debate, and though both crowds got loud especially after the hearing concluded and the attorneys emerged from the court building to make public remarks, the event was more or less peaceful.

Prop 8 hearing

Just last year at around this time, on March 4, 2008, I remember watching the webcast of the case that eventually led to the recognition of same-sex marriage rights a few months later. I’m trying to remain optimistic. This time around I guess I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, or rather, something in the middle. The buzz I’ve been reading is that the court may uphold Prop 8 as a legal amendment to the state constitution, but also uphold (rightfully so, I believe) the validity of the same-sex marriages entered into between June and November 2008.

The court must give its decision within ninety days. Whichever way it goes, we have to keep fighting for our rights.