The Coffee Society also seems to be the best place to hang out with other tech-centric people. Every 2 out of 5 customers were online with their laptops, and socializing with each other about all things tech…..very cool!. I’m not sure when the next meet-up will be, but I’ll most definitely be in attendance.

SV Flickr Meet-Up will be Monday, Oct 29, 2007
Time: 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Location: Coffee Society Campbell (at Pruneyard Shopping Center)
1875 South Bascom Ave., Suite 112,
Campbell, CA, California 95008

The Flagship Detroit made a special visit to San Jose CA yesterday. The Flagship Detroit Foundation which owns the vintage DC-3 makes stops in many stations that American Airlines operates out of as a show of appreciation to the many AA employees system wide who helped contribute to preserve the aircraft.

Manufactured in Santa Monica, CA (year 1937) the Douglas DC-3 G120 is powered by twin Wright Cyclone engines with Hamilton Standard propellers. The engines are rated at 1350hp Model No. 1820-56. The DC-3 has 4 tanks which holds 201 gallons each with a flight range of 1,215 nautical miles. The cabin holds 21 passengers, 2 pilots, and 1 flight attendant, wait I meant “stewardess”…1937 right?

The Flagship Detroit (NC-17334) was the 34th DC-3 out of 82 that American Airlines owned between 1936 to 1947. After 11 years of service the aircraft changes owners a few time, and at one point was used as an agricultural sprayer (crop-duster). The DC-3 was bought by The Flagship Detroit Foundation in 2004 and to this date is still undergoing overhauls, modifications and inspections to return it to it’s original delivered condition.

About $130-$140 got you a seat on the Flagship Detroit yesterday for a 1hr joy-ride in this vintage beauty. She took off from SJC and made her way around the South Bay yesterday. She also went as far south as Santa Cruz before swinging out over the Pacific and back along Hwy1 as it turn and made it’s way back over to the South Bay. When asked, each employee said they would gladly pay again to ride in the Flagship Detroit DC-3. Good times was had by all.

Learn more about the Flagship Detroit

South San Jose will see a brand spanking NEW fire station, scheduled to be fully operational by October 1st 2007. The new 12,000sq-ft station is being constructed with the same style and look of downtown San Jose’s Fire Station No1 and is located on Poughkeepsie Rd between Cottle Rd. and Blossom Hill Rd near Wells Fargo Bank. The new two-story Fire Station 35 will sports 3 bay doors, a hose tower, gear/uniform rooms, dorms, kitchen, landscaped exterior courtyard, and more. The structure is built to the latest earthquake-proof code and will include emergency backup generators to ensure operations in times of disaster. Fire Station 35 will initially start as a single (one) Engine Co. with a 4 person truck along with other support vehicles. Future plans include upgrading to a 2nd Engine Co. and Battalion Chief….date yet to be announced. This project is being paid for by the tax payers who voted yes on “Measure O“.

If you have a hard time remembering things then make an extra effort to remember this: Firefighters are some of the most courageous people on earth. Anyone willing to run into a burning or collapsed building to save “my” sorry-ass, has and will forever receive my fullest support. You’re a bunch of Bad-Asses….welcome to the neighborhood!

When it’s all said and done we should see a clear picture of what the park will look like. Walter Cottle Lester’s vision was to have a park that would pay tribute to the history of farming in the Santa Clara Valley. Along with walking trails, picnic areas, gardens, small agricultural museum and more this could become one of South San Jose’s premier attractions. You can even see a man-made lake sketched-in on the artist rendering….wow!

In Review:
Walter Lester is the descendant of Martial Cottle, a Santa Clara Valley settler and farmer who arrived to San Jose with his parents in 1854 after crossing the plains from Missouri. Martial Cottle and his father acquired the Lester property (a portion of the original Santa Teresa Rancho) in 1864. Martial Cottle (Lester’s grandfather) set up his own farming operation and eventually developed the existing farmhouse by incorporating additional improvements to the original 1878 structure. The farmhouse is listed in the Santa Clara County Heritage Resource Inventory.

Lester gifted the County with 153.3 acres, and sold the State Parks 136.5 acres, where all of which will be preserved and developed into a historic agricultural park called Martial Cottle Park. The land is bordered by the streets Branham Lane, Snell Ave. and Chynoweth Ave. If you drive by you may still see some form of farming, but not much. Back in 1995 the city of San Jose re-zoned the land from residential to parkland. To this date it’s still one of the largest and most significant public donations in the history of Santa Clara.

If the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the County of Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Department stick to the dream that Walter Cottle Lester envisioned as his legacy, we here in South San Jose will receive a wonderful gift.

Read more about the Martial Cottle Park Master Plan here.

B-20 bio-diesel is a mixture (or blend) of 20% bio-mass and 80% regular petroleum based diesel. It can run in any diesel engine car or truck without modifications to the engine or fuel systems. Rotten Robbie sells the B-20 for the same price as regular diesel fuel so don’t get too excited…..it’s no bargain! But if you choose to buy B-20, then you’re taking an environmentally correct step in the direction of global responsibility…..you get a Gold Star!

OK, put on your tin-foil hats…..it’s “big brain” time again!

So what is biomass? Biomass is the organic matter in trees, agricultural crops like corn and other living plant material (look around your back yard). Biomass is normally made up of carbohydrates and other organic compounds that are formed in growing plant life. Biomass is also solar energy stored in organic matter all around us. If you were paying attention in high school then you should remember that as trees and plants grow, the process of photosynthesis uses energy directly from the sun to convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates like starches, sugars and cellulose.

Carbohydrates are the organic compounds that make up biomass. When plants die the process of decay releases the energy stored in carbohydrates and discharges carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, and cycle begins all over again. Biomass as a renewable energy source? Absolutely, because the new growth of plants, trees (and yes corn!) replenishes the supplies needed to produce biomass which allows us to create bio-diesel…….get it?

Tech-lab’s and most offices in the buildings interior were constructed with the ideal that the visual characteristics of the exterior and the surrounding landscape should be included in the overall theme, look, and feel of the site throughout. Large glass exterior/interior walls were common, allowing the outdoor landscape to become part of the interior. With the goal of creating a workplace that was comfortable and stress-free, building designer John Savage Bolles crafted and molded building materials, art, and nature into an award winning site.

Remember the when the dot-com boom was in full swing right around 1998/99? Bay Area tech firm treated employees like royalty. The work place/space was a wonderland of comfort wrapped-up in a stress-free environment. Employees never wanted for anything! I have a sneaking suspicion that IBM may have started that trend in the late 50’s and throughout the 60’s and 70’s. Rumor has it that employees of Building 025 were very well taken care of, but I’ll have to ask my father-in-law who was a chemists for IBM back then. I believe his team was instrumental in the development of the IBM Selectric electric typewriter. IBM Building 025 was named plant of the year by Factory Maintenance & Management back in 1958.

Most notable IBM Building 025 was instrumental in the development of the computer hard drive, earlier know as the “hard-disk drive” or “flying head disc drive”. IBM Building 025 was IBM’s Advanced Research center, and where big-brain people (wearing double pocket protectors) worked all the kinks and bugs out of the first hard disk drive called “RAMAC” (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control). It was debuted on September 13, 1956 with 5 megabytes of storage in a device the size of a refrigerator and weighing in at almost ton. The actual proof of concept for the hard drive was conceived in an IBM lab located at 99 Notre Dame Avenue here in San Jose. IBM opened the new hard disk drive manufacturing plant (and Building 025) at 5600 Cottle Road in South San Jose in 1956. The entire area is now part of a big redevelopment project now underway. Abandoned Building 025 and a few other still occupied by Hitachi are all that remains of the plant.

Today it’s a sad sight to see with it’s overgrown weeds, graffiti, trash, and trees that desperately need pruning. I drive by it sometimes on my way too or from work, remembering that “everything” started here. IBM Building 025 has remained in some stalled stage of review by the Historic Landmarks Commission over the last year or so, the question of it’s fate still in limbo. Knock it all down, or keep some of it standing….what will the final decision be? One thing is for sure, Lowe’s big-box hardware store will get built in that spot…..count on it! I’m willing to bet that even-tho IBM Building 025 qualifies as a candidate city landmark under San Jose’s historic preservation ordinance, the lure of big profit will prevail, and Silicon Valleys historical past will have to get out of the way of big business and their shopping carts. At best, all we can hope for is some kind of tribute wall, plaque, or tree planted in honor of the computer industry’s most significant technology, and IBM’s legacy.

So remember all you south San Jose Lowe’s shoppers! As you stand in the New Lowe’s parking lot observing yet another door-ding in your fender, no doubt courtesy of a fellow Lowe’s customer who can’t make use of his/her rear view mirrors on that overloaded SUV…..ha ha! Take time to remember that fancy 500GB hard drive on your desk at home is a direct descendant of the 5MB hard drive created here 51 years ago.

….and be courteous to your fellow Lowe’s shoppers by returning you shopping cart to the shopping cart staging area. Thank You.

I have a few friends who are residents of Los Gatos and when asked, these “Mac-Centric” folks had hoped that the Apple store opening would be timed with the release of the iPhone which is now set for June 29…..that ain’t gonna happen. I put in a call to the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce and was told that the store will open for business mid-August 2007. If you can make it, plan on attending the grand opening of the new Los Gatos Apple Retail Store. These events are a blast, with lots of giveaways, prizes, and plenty of swag for the first few hundred people entering the store. So don’t be discouraged by the look of the exposed frame-work on the upper half of the building, and rumors of issues with the proposed trademark shiny silver & glass store front face. “If you build it, they will come”…..

Also: Apple Inc. is still taking applications for the position of “Mac Genius” at the Los Gatos location. For more info on Apple Retail Stores world wide go here.

Sponsored by Metro Newspaper, Dos Equis Beer, and produced by the San Jose Downtown Association, Music In The Other Park is back with a fun filled line-up of shows. Held every Thursday in June from 5:30pm to 9pm in St. James Park located at First Street. & St. James Street. These mini concerts are the perfect excuse to ditch the home commute, chug a few beers, and enjoy the outdoors with music. Acts include Sugar Minott, Eek-A-Mouse, Malo, and The Tubes w/ Fee Waybill. Everyone loves LIVE music, and when it’s FREE, it’s even better. Get there early, get a good spot, and enjoy the shows. For more information check out San Jose Downtown Association.

When I was a kid many many years ago one of my favorite songs was “Talk To Ya Later” by The Tubes. I first herd the song performed by The Tubes on the late night television show SCTV. Does anyone remember that show? Almost all of the cast from SCTV went on to become big stars. It should be fun to see The Tubes perform on stage. And don’t forget the 19th season of Music In The Park from July 12 to Sept 19 held at Plaza de Cesar Chavez (Market and San Carlos streets). This is a much longer running series of concerts featuring much bigger acts. And once again…..FREE!

The site will also include new parks, recreational open space, greenbelts, and plazas. But what’s most anticipated will be the retail shopping which will include everything from coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores to high-end clothing shops, video rental, Lowe’s hardware, and much much more. In addition to all that, the neighborhood will also get a brand new transit village with buses that connect to the existing Cottle Rd. light rail station and a new CalTrain station over on the Monterey Hwy side of the site near Blossom Hill Rd. And hey!…..how about a San Jose Police Dept. sub-station? Yep!…it’s part of the plan, and in the works.

By the time this is finished, I’m sure it will rival or at least look a lot like Santana Row…..but hopefully without the high prices to shop and play. The information on the Hitachi site needs to be updated, but here it is. And just for the record, the former Hitachi site was previously owned by IBM from 1955 to 2003 when it was purchased by Hitachi. In fact this was IBM’s disk drive manufacturing facility where IBM thrived long before the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area blew it’s first breaths into the “Dot-com” bubble.