Peter "peter@neibert.com" N.'s Profile

Twitter is now on Yelp - Insidiously
(but in a good way!) Ah, but we're slow to learn:  when Yelpers check the box for simultaneous posting on Twitter (TW) or Facebook, we need to treat the opening line as if it means something, a "grabber" for attention on these other media.

Recent Yelp postings on TW show many  series of  postings with identical openings, such as "I checked in (here, there, some other place...)
One began, "I checked into Children's Hospital..."  Really?  What's wrong with you? How old are you anyway?  Well, maybe that one qualifies as a grabber...

Some Yelp review openers now fit in the first 140 characters.
Yet some of our best cliche openers get cut off in TW, like, "Anybody who knows me knows that I.. (cut to url).  
Perhaps the intended audience is family and friends on Facebook.  If so, you can just check the box for Facebook  and leave TW out of it.
But do you?
Apparently not.

So, the ultimate solution is to bury favorite cliches down further in the paragraph.  Then do something with the opener/grabber.  This of course brings TW onto Yelp, and if you also check Facebook, onto FB, too.

It's everywhere.  Evrwhr.

Got kadomatsu?  
I needed help to cut large diameter bamboo for kadomatsu, so i went to Jackson's Hardware in San Rafael and told them my project:  Jackson's sent me to Hida in Berkeley.
Yes, Hida has the full range of tools to work bamboo and they know where to find large diameter fresh bamboo for kadomatsu.
And, yes, they'll show you how to cut it.

We didn't want College of Marin (COM) to build  it's new Fine Arts Building because too many students come already from nearby, state supported community college districts:  their studentry commute to COM from the East Bay and San Francisco, jamming many intersections on our poor arterial, Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

So, welcome to the neighborhood,  COM's new Fine Arts Building -- like it or not - what did our tax money bring us?  
I've attached several iPhone photos, each of which is easily worth 10,000 words (nonetheless, I stuck on long, wordy captions).

First, they cut down a very old stand of very big walnut trees:  major league demerit for that.

Then they chopped up a wing of the new building to permit an open view of a grove of old Redwoods:  5 stars for the trees, 2 stars for the atrophied wing (you gotta see the picture).

But the rest of the new FAB is probably meritorious.  A semi-circular concrete wall holds the pieces together. Although a little naked concrete goes a long way, COM has used it liberally on its prior architectural generation.  So, the FAB is a good fit with them.
Color of the upper levels is harmonious with the earlier generation of faux Spanish Colonial buildings - including the old Fine Arts Building.

The new FAB, in all its parts, is closely arranged to complement the old building -- a small courtyard links the 2 buildings and lets you take a quick peek at the redwoods as you cross.

Architectonically, the new building would be a disjointed mess if not for the semi-circular concrete wall.  Functionally, the fence houses outdoor work areas (kilns, etc), thus, luckily, its form follows a legitimate function. Whew!

Get used to it. It's ours now.

Good experience with this outfit in the past.
Somewhat offput by recent one and two star reviews.
What to do now with bum oven?
OK, I crossed my fingers and called them again.
Quick response, slightly on the pricey side, but not enuf to complain about.  Hence, 3 stars.

Still waiting for them to come back and fix two burners on my stove top.
waiting.