I haven’t been taking many fotos – or writing much – unless you count proposals which run into some very high page numbers. Today’s entry is nothing more than a few notes, random fotos at the Farmer’s Market and links really. But maybe there is a morsel or two of interest none the less.

I was drifting around the Internet aimlessly the other day when I came upon a foto of a man I worked for many years ago and who gave me the most memorable working experience of my life. This foto of Ed Powers at the fly-in for Burning Tree in Nevada (taken by someone who attended) was not recognizable to me, but I have no doubt it is Ed (I have a comment from his brother’s daughter, who properly identified him for me). I worked for him and his brother Bob Powers as a restaurant manager at the Nut Tree many years ago, when it was at the peak of its climb as an icon of “concept” restaurants. Bob, Ed, and Mary Helen, and their father and mother, “Bunny”and Helen Powers, were the founders of the Nut Tree. Bob was, in many ways, the creator of the Nut Tree experience..

I will not try to recount the many wonderful experiences I had at the Nut Tree. This is a journal, not a book! I will however, mention one that will never leave my memory: I was working in the management office of the restaurant one day. We had one wall in the office that was taken up by several shelves of cookbooks and food references. In a spare moment, I would often pull one down and read some interesting recipe or story. This time I happened to pull down a small volume that had a couple of letters folded in the front cover. They were from the Lanes, the family that started Sunset magazine, and they were obviously a part of a series of letters discussing what the two families, the Powers and the Lanes, were considering as ways to promote a “Western Lifestyle.” Their discussions centered around the freshness of the foods available in the West, the influences of the Pacific Rim, and the use of a seasonal menu. I was amazed. Here in a few words, the two families had summed up what would many years later be described as “Western Cuisine.” They saw it, in all of its color and flavors, expanding in front of them. And here I was, so unaware of that heritage, managing the restaurant that for a long time symbolized those ideas. It was a grand learning experience for a young man who would end up doing many other things in his professional career and one which I am forever grateful. I have kept a copy of that foto of Ed for myself and resisted the temptation to put it up here. It is not mine after all, and that is not the man I remember—but I am happy to see he is still enjoying his life and flying.

[Enlarge] Blue, Yukon and Red potatoes to decorate your table

A couple of other links—there is a story that is interesting reading for people like me that are interested in technology about a security problem that exists in Cisco routers and what it took to make sure the user base was aware of it. The story appeared in Wired, but the original blog entries of the author are better read here, here, here, and here in order.

I will be returning to Morelia on the 30th, but until then, I have been keeping up on the goings on in town from postings in La Voz de Michoacan—a good way to find out what is going on in that part of Mexico (if you read Spanish!). So, that is all for now. But don’t worry, there will be more.

wp:thumb src=”2005-07-31-2a.jpg” cap=”Sunflowers looking like something out of a Van Gogh…”—> ->