Eye Level Pasadena

No office hours this Saturday. (I’m working on a big project over the weekend.) I’ll be back online and in the swing of things again soon, though.

Office hours for Saturday, September 15 are cancelled. Sorry for the short notice! One of our family members got sick and we need to take this weekend off.

Office hours for Saturday, September 15 will be hosted by Susan Kitchens of 2020 Hindsight.

Metropolitan Coffee & Tea
(across the street from Vroman’s)
Saturday, September 15
10:00 a.m. – noon

If you want help with your existing blog, help starting a blog, or help figuring out what RSS is and how to use it, come on by. Also, please feel free to come by just to visit!

Backyard fig

Our neighbor has a fig tree, and a few branches hang over our fence. Today some friends came over to pick figs from our side of the fence, and it was discovered that figs dried on the tree (like this one) taste like Fig Newtons.

We have a new bumper sticker.

I hear it increases the value of your car by ten percent.

During the heat wave, we went to Robin’s.

Gavin played Ms. Pacman.

We found Aaron‘s name on the menu. And Steve Haderlein’s name. And Paul Little‘s name.

I wish I had an inflatable beer bottle.

(To go with our inflatable Godzilla.)

Robin was there, and he came over and said hi. By then my camera was put away and I was eating my salad and some of Gavin’s ribs, and I was also feeling a little star struck, so I didn’t get a picture.

Robin’s Wood Fire B-B-Q and Grill
395 N. Rosemead Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
626-351-8885
Robin’s on Google local

Last weekend was the first of the new office hours — the kind where you can come with your blogging or RSS questions and get help and ideas from me and the other bloggers around. (For free!) You can also just come and hang out and drink coffee and meet neighbors.

People came with great questions. We tackled adding badges to a blog sidebar, learning how to resize images, and setting up Google Analytics on a couple of people’s blogs to track stats. Someone was planning a new business blog, and we talked about whether WordPress would be right for it, and about hosting WordPress on your own server versus using the free hosted version. People helped each other, and there was a lot of just hanging out, too.

Susan brought the Economist’s Who’s afraid of Google? article.

Ed Padgett from the Los Angeles Times Pressmens 20 Years Club came to visit and brought us copies of the SGV Tribune and the LA Times, since I’m turning into a paper reader.

Metropolitan opened at 9:45 a.m. that day, which was odd since their posted hours said they opened at 7:30 a.m. It got me thinking, though, that 10:00 a.m. really is a more sensible time to be up and out on a Saturday morning, so next time — September 15 — we’ll start at 10:00 a.m. Come on by with questions, ideas, food for thought, or just your neighborly self.

James Macpherson of Pasadena Now emailed me this weekend (and I’m posting this with his permission):

I wanted to ask you if you know of 2-3 bloggers who are foodies who would agree to review Pasadena restaurants for me… a lot — like WEEKLY.

Advantage: They can get into any restaurant and eat for free!!!

Advantage: Their article in PN will drive traffic to their blog!!!

Disadvantage: They could not post their story on their blog, because: (a) I want to retain exclusivity on stories they write for me; (b) they get to eat for free!!!!!!

I would love to post 3 new restaurant reviews a week, so I am looking for 3 foodies (one person would just explode if they ate that much!!!)

He’s hoping that they can take pictures to go with the reviews, too. Please contact James Macpherson for more information about how to get started.

Someone is organizing free sewing get-togethers at the Couture Gallery in Old Town: Free Sewing and “Sewcializing”!

By way of Wired Women:

If you live in Pasadena’s District 1, there’s a meeting hosted by Councilmember Jacque Robinson on Wednesday, Sept. 12, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Rose Bowl Stadium Press Box. With the theme “Strengthening Our Community,” Robinson will discuss her communitywide initiative, Tina Williams will give a field report, Neighborhood Services Administrator Horace Wormely will discuss a new pilot program for youths, Assistant City Manager Julie Gutierrez will give a report on utility users tax and Police Chief Bernard Melekian will provide a police update. Light refreshments will be served.  The Rose Bowl Stadium is at 1001 Rose Bowl Dr.  Park in Lot F and enter the Press Box through Gate F. For more information call District 1 Field Representative Tina Williams at (626) 744-4444.

*Wired Women is a women-focused email newsletter published by Monica Hubbard. It announces local events and opportunities. To receive it, email monica.hubbard@charter.net.

Rattling the Kettle: Memo