I’d had this nagging question about the imminent introduction of the new single stream recycling bins here in Austin.

So, if we are going to dump all our recycling into a single bin, including lots of stuff previously not accepted, where is all this stuff going to get separated for recycling?

Having been to a few less than glamorous locations in China, and seen some of the hard hitting documentaries on electronic waste, I wondered, where will ours get sorted? I read through the cities single stream recycling FAQ(thats easy questions, with obvious answers to all you non-IT types) and couldn’t see anything. So this morning in the break before my next work call, CONTACTED THEM.

I asked “How and where will the stuff get recycled?” The how question was answered by machine and some people. I asked again “Where, overseas or here?” - “here” came the response. So, thats all right then. Unless you know better?

Although sort of tangential, for an insight into some of the the issues of electronic recycling, see this short video from Good Magazine. Although, if you’d seen women and childern working on their knees for 8-10 hour sessions, hand sorting garbage outside their homes, this is just an extreme illustration to make the point.

When it came to choosing the photo to accompany this post, I resisted the various pictures of children sat amongst foreign waste in developing nations, too easy. The picture above is a scrap heap pile in the town of Skagastrond, Iceland. Population 650. Skagastrond is the music capital of North Iceland(I’ve been there too, Iceland that is, there is a north??).

Photo by Wendy Crockett, licensed under creative commons, some rights reserved.

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For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

On Monday I attended the Austin City Councils’ Street Event Closure Task Force meeting. I wrote much of this post during the meeting, but decided that reflection was called for. It seems others would have done well to do the same.

I learned about the taskforce from a widely circulated email, that must have gone to almost every runner, cyclist and triathlete in Austin, and probably a lot wider afield. You can see a copy of the email here on Brandon Marshs’ Get out and do something blog. The problem is something near 100 people turned up to speak, and as per city rules, only the first 10 to register got to speak. The rest left frustrated, not understanding the process, and not understanding what to do next.

What’s clear is that the city is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to events. They need events, we need them. Events(not just races, triathlons and crits’) form a core than binds and attracts many people to downtown Austin. The current rules, and city staffs ability to implement them, is a wash. 60-days, 30-ways, waivers, Police costs, road closures, City council overrides - these are all a fact of life for the events than run downtown.

The city has a process for coming up with new rules and processes; the task force is part of that. However, mob rule doesn’t work, unless applied at the time a decision needs to be made. Monday’s performance wasted an opportunity to get some valuable input from the stakeholders, not just a reason for people to speak passionately about their introduction to running.

Lobbying works. You might not like it, but it does. Witness members of the task force, many are effectively lobbyists for special interests groups. Lobbying has only become a dirty word since the bribery and payola cases from the 80’s and 90’s. My fellow Austinites had better get used to this. If we waste the next 4-5 meetings of the task force, each arriving increasingly earlier to sign-up and speak for their allotted 3-minutes. We need to elect a spokesperson, we need to have solutions to offer, not just complaints, and opposition.

I attended with a tongue in both cheeks, a foot in each running shoe, and splitting my time between T1 in Bouldin Creeek, and T2, a downtown race course for an event I want to take part in. Having been an organizer of some 10-domestic events in the UK, and part of the team for two major international triathlons, I can assure the neighborhoods that a race organizer that doesn’t care about them won’t be a race organizer next year. I can tell the runners and triathletes the same.

All parties need to recognize that the only solution IS compromise. We have to work together. On Monday, there was much discussion about events clashing on the same w/e and the problem this causes, for example closing all possible roads leading to a Church or business. Nothing was said about the week-in, week-out closure of the same roads for different events.

One solution postured is having a set of graduation courses away from downtown. Imagine, for four of eight weekends in April/May next year, the city will grant permission to close the access road you need to drive down to Ladybird Lake for your run, or to go meet with your cycling group to ride. It’s disruptive, it effects your planning, it breaks your routine. That’s how the Churches, businesses and public feel about your events. No matter how much that downtown 5k changed your life, you had no more right to run in it downtown, than a business does to have it customers come and buy that life changing couch(ask me about mine from Your Living Room!)

Sports participants need to also accept that the neighborhoods and business suffer in non-obvious ways. You’d never consider urinating on someones lawn first thing on Sunday, yet it regularly happens; you’d never throw your used gel packets on the ground when you get back to the car, but it regularly happens; no one minds as you discard your old top on S1st during the marathon, but we do; you always go to downtown restaurants after the race to refuel, but in reality, it doesn’t happen much, everyone else gets in their car and goes home.

This years Bat Fest will go ahead, despite the protestation of my neighborhood. We got no notice that the Bat Fest would be moved from South Congress to South 1st for this year only. Nor did any of the businesses or others affected. How can you plan around that? It’s not unreasonable to ask what is going on down at City Hall and demand change.

A few of the speakers on Monday were excellent. But while others might have made you feel good, they didn’t contribute much to the hard job the task force has to do. The time for mob rule, if needed, is at the end of the process. Let’s let the Task Force make their recommendations to city council. Then, Task Force chair Paul Carrozza can get the public meeting that he desperately wanted to placate race organizer and fellow task force member John Connley, whose email drew in the mob.

At that time we will know what is proposed. Under city rules, everyone that signs-up, should get to speak. The best part, is that you can sign-up to speak and donate your minutes to a spokesperson. So, get your thinking caps on.

What good ideas could help the city run events, find ways to enable our fellow citizens go about their lives and routines without undue disruption from us. These are the ideas the task force needs. Next meeting should be August 25, location and time TBC. I’ll be the guy in the sleeping bag outside the day before. If you really have something to add, come along.

If mob rule is needed, then it will be when the time comes to vote. Your council member needs to know how you feel about the final recommendations, given the low voter turn out at city council elections, a decent size group against any specific city resolution or process change ought to be able to gain the support of the council member. This will be especially true when it comes to the council vote of the outcome of the task force.

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We used to buy samosa in fairly large quantities, ones made by Kala’s Kuisine and almost always available at MGM Indian Foods, among other places. Then this tasty item was not to be found; the word was that Kala had stopped bringing this vegetarian treat around and we couldn’t find it anywhere, but we missed it and always kept hoping to find it again.

It must have been a matter of looking in the wrong places or of giving up too soon. We’ve just found Kala’s samosa again, at the Farm to Market Grocery on South Congress. Somebody reports that Kala’s Kuisine is at Wheatsville, too. These days, there’s a samosa trio packed in a clear case along with a tamarind sauce.

This food tastes just as good as it ever did: wonderful! I’m so glad to have noticed it there in the cold case. I find the included tamarind sauce (ingredients listed as tamarind, dates, pineapple, tomato paste, ginger, salt, and spices) a bit too sweet for me and so accompany the samosa treat with mint chutney, but others like the tamarind accompaniment almost better than the samosa itself! Potatoes don’t taste any better than this.

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“I owe the city birthday cake, and thank you cards are due”(1)

It’s been nearly 18-months since I moved to Austin, and many things are making it seem like home, places, faces, events and more. Some events are more memorable than others, good and bad.

One of the surprise things I did last year, and will be repeating this year, is bike to work day. Last year I headed from South Austin up north to work. I do this often, but only in the quickest, shortest, most direct route, it’s an 25-mile round-trip and not particularly memorable if you discount racing the buses, and sometime breakdowns, getting caught in a true Texas downpour,and the occasional car drivers’ abusive hand signals. Mostly though, I’d say the car drivers here are better than most other cities I’ve cycled in!

Bike to work day last year was much more fun than the normal ride to work! I rode the shoulder on 360, up Great Hills Trail to Jollyville Rd and finally coming to rest at Bucks Bikes. Donuts and a quick chat with some other bike to workers including one of Austins tireless(no pun intended) Volunteers @anetmarie, and I was off to work.

This year there is an even longer list of places providing a “free” breakfast for cyclists and the weather is looking good. I’m going to venture a bit further, in fact all the way up to Music City Cycles on W Parmer, where this year @anetmarie is a co-host.

In fact, checking the current list of breakfast stops, if I plan my route carefully, I could end up in a calorie surplus, there goes the waist line!

Bike to work day is part of Bike Month, the Austin Cycling Association usually have a calendar online, but as of writing it’s gone AWOL. Hopefully it will be back in shape soon. In the meantime, the current list of breakfast stations includes the following and official hours are 7-9am:

•Whole Foods, Sixth & Lamar
•City Hall Plaza, 301 W. Second (sponsored by city of Austin employees)
•Texas One Center, 505 Barton Springs Rd. (also sponsored by city of Austin employees)
•Texas Bicycle Coalition, 1902 E. Sixth
•Mellow Johnny’s, Fourth & Nueces
•Wheatsville Co-op, 3101 Guadalupe
•Bicycle Sport Shop, 517 S. Lamar
•Shoal Creek Boulevard at the Far West Bridge
•Music City Cycles, 6301 W. Parmer #504
•Jo’s Coffee, 1300 S. Congress
•Freewheeling Bicycles, 24th & San Gabriel

If you see a big guy cycling on 360 on Friday with a bag over-flowing with donuts, that will be me, make a wide pass please!

(1) Lyrics (c) Steven O’Reilly, Tammany Hall NYC, Ceilings in the sky.

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I certainly hope not. All that would remain would be two routes: one running around the Capitol grounds, going no farther north than 17th Street and no farther south than Barton just off South Congress; the other, circulating constantly west on Sixth and east on Fifth, running only so far as Bowie to the west and Red River to the east. So much for students, southies, and those living and working east of IH-35. What’s obviously a PowerPoint (or equivalent) presentation bills these proposed changes as “improvements.”

There have been rumors about this proposal for months; the April 14 article in the local daily (byline Ben Wear) employs “aims for free ride every five minutes” as part of the print headline (as is usual, the on-line version bears a completely different headline). What good is frequency that’s little better than what already exists if the routes remaining aren’t helpful to Austinites in their daily lives, but exist only to serve tourists?

There’s an on-line map of the existing ‘Dillo routes, serviceable enough, but I love the printed pocket ‘Dillo map and schedule that will work until August 28. There’s a graphic showing each route individually, together with the frequency for each period of the day, and another that makes it clear which route will take a rider to which major destinations. I always carry it with me.

It’s not that the ‘Dillo vehicles themselves are wonderful: they’re tough for older people to navigate, the seats are lacking in comfort and sensible configuration, and the high center of gravity makes them seem precarious. But the imperiled routes are very useful indeed. For example, more than one runs up to the Drag, and often; the Silver route covers an important part of Pleasant Valley and circulates through East Austin, running through downtown, past BookPeople and Whole Foods, on beyond MoPac, and all the way back over east, with very helpful frequencies; and the Orange ‘Dillo runs down South Congress to the precinct offices (and really should go all the way down to Oltorf / Twin Oaks / H-E-B)., and during lunchtime carries people out to the fine dining establishments springing up along Manor. Of these, I think that the Silver route is the most important.

There are to be opportunities for the public to comment (at “informational public forums” scheduled for Tuesday, April 27; 323 Congress; 11:30 am and 5 pm; and on campus at Belmont Hall, room 328, 2100 San Jacinto, at 5:30 pm, on Thursday, April 24; and at a public hearing before the Capital Metro board of directors on Monday, April 28; 2910 East Fifth Street; 5 pm). Capital Metro has announced that those wishing to comment may call 474-1200 or e-mail planning@capmetro.org. ‘Dillos are now free, but they needn’t be; if it would save the endangered routes, I believe that most riders would gladly pay the going fare.

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I tried to perpetuate the rumor that Prince might play ACL this year. As I’m sure everyone is aware by now, the lineup was released today and we got Foo Fighters instead.

I must say that it appears that the ACL organizers are listening to feedback. The festival is the latest in the year it’s been and this is the best mix of bands in the last few years. I’m still just going to buy a 1 Day pass and try to catch some of the side shows this year though. Foo Fighters are a good choice for headliner. They crossed over to arena rock level with the last tour. I’m not that interested in fighting the ACL headliner crowds to see them.

I’m sure you’re dying to hear my opinion so here’s the names that I’ll pull out of the lineup:

Mates of State - Husband and wife duo that I saw at Fun Fun Fun Fest.

M. Ward - I’d check him out though I wish he were with Zooey Deschanel doing She and Him instead.

MGMT - A little too electronic for me, but lots of people dig them.

Man Man - Caught them at SXSW this year. I’d see them again. Crazy stuff. I still need to post a review.

Vampire Weekend - They were the darlings of this year’s SXSW. Now you have a chance to see them.

Against Me! - No doubt to quell the complaints of the lack of harder stuff and the advanced age of most of the ACL artists in past festivals

Silversun Pickups - I’ve heard they’re better live than in recordings.

Gogol Bordello - They also made a splash at SXSW several years ago. You should’ve caught them at Emo’s, but they’ll still be fun at ACL.

Erykah Badu - She’s amazing. Again, glad to see they’re branching out a bit from the typical ACL fare.

N.E.R.D - See above.

Raconteurs - Rocked it at ACL two years ago and we don’t have to worry about Meg White ruining the whole thing and canceling it.

Mars Volta - I loved At The Drive-In and the first two Mars Volta records. They lost me with Amputechture and I haven’t even checked out the new one. Stiil would be worth checking out if you missed them last week.

Beck - Still kicking myself for missing his SXSW performance in, what was it? 1993? 1994? Should be good.

Who’re you going to see?

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Here’s part three of the transcript along with some photos I took along the way.

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Here’s part two of the transcript and another photo (the candidates and the President of UT). I’ll have photos from the media room later tonight.

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Here’s a couple of photos from the debate and the transcript. Check them out after the jump.

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It’s Thanksgiving Day, but Farm to Market Grocery was open until 3 this afternoon, and Central Market South and THE H-E-B (at Congress and Oltorf) were open until 2. Slack’s Chevron was open and the person there before us had bought 57 dollars’ worth of gas; that’s scary, kids. We were happy to discover that our fresh Mary’s turkey from Wheatsville was a better deal than the Mary’s at Central Market South. No turkey could be tastier. At Farm to Market, we found a great apron to be a gift for for a diminutive person, stenciled in red with the FM logo and “78704.” At Central Market, we were happy to replenish the not-too-sweet and very fresh-tasting cider from Fowler Farms in New York State and I was confident that I could pick out the Northern Spy apples (the best pie apple) from all the other unlabeled apples. We were also happy to discover that Rudolph’s Christmas tree stand has been set up and is easily found right next to the Walgreens and Maria’s Taco Xpress complex on South Lamar at Bluebonnet. That makes it easy to slide from today’s holiday right into the holiday season that’s upon us.

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