Museum of Making Music Is For Everyone

Early August was so much fun.  My son David, his wife Tracy and son Calvin, came to visit for 5 days.  So that everyone could enjoy the visit, my mom Dorothy, came down from Los Angeles, as did Tracy's mom Barbara.  Additionally, Brian (son) and Beth (wife) were celebrating an anniversary down here, so we were lucky enough to all get together.  

Still, I wanted a little time alone with Calvin, so Dorothy and I took Calvin to the Museum of Making Music one morning, in Carlsbad.  The morning was delightful, and we all enjoyed our time together, and the museum.  There were a few things that I found especially interesting.

The displays were interactive.  Every instrument was numbered, and an interactive screen would pull up a picture and description of the instrument.  At first Calvin was very interested in the instruments, but as made our way through the museum, it became clear that Calvin's major interest was in NUMBERS!  He would see that a guitar was made in 1956, and he would immediately say "That was 66 years ago!"  He would love looking at the dates each instrument was made, then quickly figuring out how long ago that was.  At the end of the displays they showed several kitchen appliances and household objects from 60 years ago.  Why, I don't know.  Anyway, they had an old toaster, an old phonograph, and a cash register from maybe the 1940's.  At the end of our time at the museum, my mom asked Calvin, if he could take anything he saw home with him, what would it be?  His answer, immediately, was, "The cash register."  I thought he'd say a drum set or a guitar or one of the many beautiful instruments.  No, he wanted the cash register.  Just goes to show that we all see things differently, and we each take away something different from the same experience.  Calvin is definitely a numbers guy!!! 

A Shark That Can Live 250-500 Years!

 Our recent cruise to Alaska was all I expected and more.  One of the great features of the Oceania Regatta was the full time naturalist they had on board.  She knew everything about everything and was so informative.  My mom and I looked forward to her many lectures, college level talks that were presented in a way that even the most uninterested listener perked up.  Goeleta did an entire lecture on sharks and their importance in maintaing the balance of nature.  One shark in particular that she spoke of, that I had not heard of before, was the Sleeper Shark.

Sleeper sharks have a heavy cylindrical body and rough, bristly skin.  Teeth are speak like on the the upper, and slicing lower teeth with low bent cusps and high roots.  They're a uniform grey.  The prefer continental shelves and slopes, and depths of more that 6561 feet.  They live in the North Pacific from Japan to Mexico.  Size wise, the maximum length of an adult sleeper shark is around 23 feet.

Sleeper sharks feed on a wide variety of surface and bottom animals.  Seal remains in their stomach may have been scavenged or taken alive.  They're a lumbering and sluggish variety of shark, and their small mouth and large oral cavity suggest suction feeding.  They are relatively common, yet we don't really know that much about them.  I attribute to the fact that they live their lives at such extreme depths.  And why do they live to be so old?  That question was never answered in my research, but my very unscientific mind thinks it may have something to do with the deep, dark area of the ocean where they reside, and their slow, lumbering movements.  Maybe this keeps the heart rate low, and helps with longevity.  Just a thought.

What Does It Take To Be A Superager?

 The term "superager" refers to people in their 70's and 80's who have the mental or physical capability of their decades-younger counterparts.  Researchers have found that embracing new mental challenges may be the key to preserving both brain tissue and brain function.

Participants in one study of superagers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging, which provides images of the brain at work.  Researchers found that some areas of the brain appeared thinner-an indication of cell loss-in the older people with normal test scores, but not in those that tested more like younger participants, the tissue was still thick.  Who knew that having a thick brain was a good thing?

Physical super-agers measured similar to women decades younger than themselves, especially on aerobic capacity-the amount of oxygen you take in and distribute to tissues.  Some studies indicate that people in their 80's who exercise at high intensity 20-45 minutes per day have an aerobic capacity of people 30 years younger.  

So, if you're not already a super-ager, here are some suggestions that may help you get there.

1.  If you enjoy crossword puzzles, challenge yourself with acrostics or mathematical.  Try doing something yourself that you would have hired someone else to do in the past- assemble furniture, installing software, doing your taxes.

2.  Increase your exercise capacity

3.  Prepare to be frustrated.  Things we used to easily do become harder as we age.  It's ok to take yourself out of your comfort level, both physically and mentally.

Super-agers do not have many role models, but they are role models for the next generation.  That's what my 99 year old mom says to me all the time.  She has no role models to show her how to be 99!  But she's showing me, and many others who are in their 70's and 80's how to stay younger than your age. 

Get out of your comfort zone, try new things, travel to new places, try new activities, read different book genres than you usually do.  These things may help you become a super-ager, if you're not one already. 

Sheet Pan Meals

There are so many versions of sheet pan meals that you can make, but this is probably my favorite.  Good for an easy weeknight meal, or fancy enough for company, salmon, roasted potatoes and roasted broccoli is a winning combination.  Here's a recipe you will make again and again.

                             Sheet Pan Salmon, Potatoes and Broccoli 

4 salmon filets (skin on) cut into 4 ounce pieces

8 small red potatoes, halved

Broccoli crowns cut into florets

Salt and pepper the salmon fillets, add a little olive oil, and set aside until ready to cook

Salt and pepper the potatoes and broccoli and place on a sheet tray that has been oiled or sprayed with non stick spray.

Set oven temperature at 500 degrees.  Roast potatoes and broccoli for 20 minutes, rotating pan once, or until potatoes are brown and broccoli is golden.  Remove broccoli, cover with foil, and set aside.  

Add salmon fillets to the sheet pan (with potatoes), turn heat down to 275 degrees, and cook for about 12 minutes, or until salmon is 125 degrees internally.

Remove everything, arrange on platter for serving.  

If you need a sauce for the salmon, cut some chives, add grainy mustard and some lemon juice and spoon on top of salmon fillets.

I make this dish often, it's so easy and delicious.  You can change up the veggies, and use sweet potatoes instead of red potatoes if you want.  Other variations of the dish can be made by seasoning chicken tenders and doing the same thing, but don't over cook the chicken.  Enjoy

Fin Whales Are Making A Comeback

 Once hunted to the brink of extinction, fin whales in the Southern Ocean have rebounded, according to a new survey.  This was discovered by a group of researchers, who were six weeks into a nine week expedition near the coast of Elephant Island in the Antarctic Peninsula.  They stumbled on the largest gathering of fin whales ever documented.  The researchers were thrilled at this most spectacular site.  Large numbers of fin whales had returned to the waters that once made up their historic feeding grounds.  This is a glimmer of good news in what is otherwise a worrisome landscape for global biodiversity.

Humans are speeding the extinction at an unprecedented pace, according to the assessment of the U.N.  It is predicted that the continued greenhouse gas emission could trigger a mass die-off of marine species by 2300.  The rebounding of the fin whales population, however, offers a sign that if you enforce management and conservation, there are chances for species to recover.

Recent research has proposed that the rebound in whale population s is good not only for the whales by for the entire ecosystem, through a concept known as whale pump.  Whales feed on krill, they excrete iron, which was locked in the crustaceans, back into the water.  That, in turn, can boos phytoplakton, microscopic organisms that use carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, and serve as the base of the marine food chain.  Great news for the species and marine life in general.

Boyle Heights Has A Colorful History

 As long as we were going to be in East Los Angeles to see the new Sixth Street Viaduct, I decided we should eat dinner in one of the many ethnic restaurants in Boyle Heights.  Boyle Heights is known to have some of the best Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles, especially tacos.  Lots of taco trucks are found throughout the city, but I didn't think my mom would enjoy dinner from a taco truck in Boyle Heights, so we went to Guisano's, on Cesar Chavez Blvd, just a cut above a taco truck, but boy oh boy, was the food good.  The only thing on the menu is tacos, about a dozen different varieties, from nopales (vegetarian, cactus) to chicken mole.  I sampled a few, my mom had a quesedilla.  They also have tamales, and all the Mexican drinks like horchata.  The total for our dinner, with tip, was $15.  I'm not kidding.  The place was spotless, the people friendly.  I was impressed.

Boyle Heights has always been a multi-ethnic enclave.  Immigrants flocking to Los Angeles have often found their way to Boyle Heights.  Over the years it was heavily Japanese, Jewish, Russian, Armenian, African American and more.  Small businesses, houses of worship and organizations helped immigrants feel at home.  Still, the area wasn't immune to the pressures of the outside world.  The neighborhood was redlined by banks and local officials.  They deemed it hazardous to investors.

In 1942, President FDR signed an Executive Order leading to the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans.  This had a devastating effect on Boyle Heights, which had a significant Japanese-American population.  It is estimated that 1/3 of the senior high class at Roosevelt High was incarcerated.  

Activism has always been intertwined with the history of Boyle Heights.  Jewish bakers formed their own union in the 1920's and Mexican-American students at Roosevelt walked out of class in 1968 to protest education inequality.

Today, Boyle Heights is primarily a Latino neighborhood.  It is lively and filled with hope.  Recently new art galleries and coffee houses have sprung up, and the locals don't like it.  They fear it will become gentrified and ultimately lead to the displacement of locals.

Would I go there at night?   Probably not, but during the day it is perfectly fine.  The people are nice, helpful, and the neighborhood is full of flavor.  Speaking of flavor, most people think that Canter's Delicatessen  on Fairfax is the original restaurant.  Not so.  In 1931, Canter's Brothers Delicatessen opened in Boyle Heights, to serve the many Jewish immigrants living there.  Who knew?

I'm a bit adventurous, so a trip to Boyle Heights might not be for everyone, but for those that do go, they will be rewarded with some great food and a chance to meet and see some friendly residents.

The New Sixth Street Viaduct In Los Angeles

 Days after the new Sixth Street Viaduct, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge opened, my mom and I took a drive  downtown to see what $580 million and six years will get you.  What we saw was one beautiful bridge.  It connects the Arts District of Downtown Los Angeles with the Boyle Heights neighborhood.  It spans the Los Angeles River, the Santa Ana Freeway and the Gold State Freeway, as well as Metrolink and Union Pacific railroad tracks and several other streets.  It replace the previous bridge, which was demolished in 2016.

  Originally built in 1932, the bridge was composed of three independent structures.  In 1986, the Caltrans bridge survey found the Sixth Street Viaduct eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.  Serious structural issues and large cracks raised concerns that outweighed its historical status, and it was demolished.  The new bridge opened in July, 2022.

The newly completed bridge was designed by architect Michael Maltzan.  It has green space underneath, that over the next few years, will be turned into a beautiful park.  

The areas of Los Angeles that are now connected are the Arts District and Boyle Heights.  Both areas contain art galleries, murals on buildings, many restaurants, and a diverse population  The city connects community, the cultural capital of the world.  

Check Expiration On Your Covid Tests

 I didn't even know that the Covid tests had an expiration date on them until someone told me a few days ago.  Take a look at your tests.  Most of mine have expired!  I have one test that expires in December, but the others either just expired or expired months ago.  No one told us that we were being sent or given Covid tests that would expire in a few weeks or a few months.  

There is a little squiggly box on the package of your tests, and underneath it has an expiration date, written like this:  2022-12-10.  The government sent me a few tests about three weeks ago, and they all expired yesterday.  What's going on?

Apparently when the tests were originally made and sent out, scientists did not know how long the tests would be effective, so they gave them a very short life.  It turns out that they have a longer life than originally thought, so most Covid tests have a six month extension on their use.  In other words, my tests that expired yesterday are actually good for another six months.

Unfortunately this news has not been publicized, so people may be taking tests with expired kits that are no longer effective.  My friend has tests from December, 2021, that she still has.  She threw them in the trash last night.

I wish the government had done a better job of getting this information out to the public.  They spent all this money on tests that were given away, yet never told the public that they had an expiration date.  I guess we just have to do our own research and find these things out for ourselves.

Is There Any Happy News Anymore?

 I was talking to my mom just after the 4th of July shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, and she was lamenting the fact that every day she reads the newspaper, looking for some happy news.  It's hard to find these days, but she read me an editorial that appeared in the LA Times in early July, that made me smile.

A young boy moved from Brooklyn to LA about the same time that the Dodgers moved west, and  continued loving and following the Dodgers.  He especially loved Sandy Koufax.  The boy, around 10 years old at the time, lived in El Segundo, and did not know any or many Jews.  He heard that Sandy Koufax would not pitch on the High Holidays because of his religious beliefs.  He was so impressed by this act of doing the "right thing," that the boy went on to convert to Judiasm and become a rabbi.  That's not the end of the story.

Many years later, the Dodgers installed a statue of Sandy Koufax at Dodger Stadium.  The rabbi was there with his son for the unveiliing.  It turned out that the rabbi and son were staying at a hotel in downtown LA in order to attend the ceremony, and wouldn't you know it, Sandy Koufax was staying there too.  Was it serendipity that they met at breakfast one morning, and the rabbi told Koufax how his act of "doing the right thing" years ago, had changed his life?  Maybe.  The rabbi picked up the check for Koufax's breakfast and wrote him a note telling him how he had changed his life.  A few weeks later, the rabbi received a thank you note from Koufax, telling him how much his note meant.

Moral of the story:  You never know what your act of kindness or show of character might have on someone.  You may never know.  But in the story I have just recounted, Sandy Koufax discovered how his act of doing the right thing and not pitching on the High Holidays, changed one man's life.

Great Find In Del Mar: Beeside Balcony

 There's a restaurant in Del Mar called Beeside Balcony.  It's been around for a few years, but before it became an established eatery, many restaurants tried to make it.  Finally!  What took me so long to try it?  I don't know, but my lunch bunch enjoyed a meal on the patio on a sunny, summer day.

We love to share, to get a taste of everything, so Beeside Balcony was perfect for this.  It's mostly Mediterranean food, but they also have burgers and fries (which we did not try) and lots of sandwiches and salads.  We began with a trio of dips, served with the most delicious pita ever.  It was drizzled with olive oil and spices before being heated, and it was wonderful.  I could have just eaten the pita and dips, but we order more.  Next we had a chicken gyro.  Again, the pita was used to hold chunks of chicken, veggies, and a tzadiki sauce that was loaded with dill and so good.  We also had a crab cake, which I didn't eat, but others raved about it.  Finally, an arugula and beet salad topped with burrata cheese.  The dressing had some interesting spices in it, a rather cinnamon taste that we all enjoyed.

Other items on the menu that we didn't try included fried calamari, grilled octopus, mussels, several interesting salads and lots of sandwiches.

The atmosphere here casual and comfortable.  The beautiful view of the ocean makes you want to linger.  Dinner is also served at another restaurant downstairs that they also own.  It is Italian, and I definitely want to try it sometime.  

Try Beeside Balcony for great food in a casual environment.  A winner.

There's So Much To Know About Antarctica

 The 5th largest continent, Antarctica, is quite a mystery to most of us.  We will probably never go there, as it is pretty much uninhabitable.  One reason is that it is the coldest (128 degrees fahrenheit), the driest (valleys have no humidity and no snow) and the windiest (200 mph winds) continent.

Antarctica is 99% covered by ice.  It holds 70% of our planet's fresh water.  The average thickness of ice is about 1 mile.  Imagine that.  There are mountains buried under 15,750 feet of ice, as well as buried lakes and even an active volcano.  Deep Lake is so salty it cannot freeze.

Presently there are 30 countries operating 80 research stations in Antarctica.  During the summer months, there are about 4,000 residents, but in the long, dark winter, there are only 1,000 residents.

The sun doesn't rise from the vernal equinox to the autumnal equinox.  It is dark all winter.  Conversely, in summer, the sun never sets.  In fact, Antarctica receives more sunlight than the equator!  So now you know some cool facts about the coolest place on the planet.

The Museum of Failure

There can be no progress in innovation without failure, and so the Museum of Failure was founded to emphasize this point.  It's a collection of failed products and services from all over the world.  The majority of all innovation projects fail.  The museum showcases these failures to provide visitors a fascinating learning experience.  Innovation is risky business.  Innovation and progress require an acceptance of failure.

The museum has a traveling exhibit that has visited many cities around the world, and now, online, you can take a virtual tour.  They also offer mini pop up museums for corporations to rent.  It's an interesting concept.  Below are just some of the many failures.  Some you will recognize, others you won't.  You will also notice that many of the failures were developed by industry leaders, like Coke, McDonald's, Pepsi, Google, and Apple.  Great companies need to continue to innovate and create new products.  Not every one will be a success.

Failures include:                                                          

Barnes and Noble Nook                                  Rejuvenique electric face mask

Sony Google TV remote                                 McDonald's Arch deluxe (adult hamburger)

Apple Newton                                                 Amazon hotel booking site (lasted six months)

Ayds diet candy                                               Olestra zero calorie fats (Pringles)

Juicero ($700 juicer)                                        Spray on condom (no comment on that one)

Coca Cola Blak

Colgate Kitchen entrees

Heinz purple ketchup

Crystal Pepsi

Theranos

Gerber singles (adult meals in a baby food jar) 

New Research In Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

 I have recently started listening to a podcast called Breakthrough.  It is hosted by scientists from Boston Children's Medical Center, and discusses the various medical breakthroughs that are happening at lightening speed.  I am particularly  interested in this having just read Empire of the Scalpel, about the history of surgery(and medicine).  I determined that medicine is advancing so fast now, compared to what has so far been accomplished.  

ASD is a disorder affecting 1 in 44 people.  That's a lot.  At Boston Children's Medical Center, research is focused on early diagnosis.  Doctors know that the earlier the disorder is diagnosed, the earlier treatment can begin, and results can be vastly improved.  What they are doing is examining 3 and 4 year olds, and looking at their sensory processing.  They are finding that many toddlers with sensory processing issues (don't like bright flashing lights, loud noises, or big crowds) develop ASD.  They are also studying infants as young as 3 months old.  I'm not exactly sure how they determine sensory issues in infants, but they do, and are learning a great deal, that will lead to early intervention and thus greater success in treating these children.

I encourage you to listen to Breakthrough (I listen on Spotify).  The research today will revolutionize the future of pediatrics.  Imagine a future where you receive one flu shot in your lifetime, a vaccine for opioid addicts, and in the not so distant future, a vaccine for cancer.  These are still dreams, but dreams that may soon become reality.