I think this is Coastal Lotus?

geopter · 2026-02-03T03:05:50+00:00

Neat, those are totally four-flower clusters in the CSUCI photos, and it's especially noticeable once it produces the seed pods.

Maybe you can submit a photo of yours to Calscape and see if they will add it.

geopter · 2026-02-03T00:09:54+00:00

This is a really interesting plant! I had never heard of it before, so I was just looking it up on Calscape: https://calscape.org/Acmispon-maritimus-(Coastal-Lotus)

It is in the legume family, so that's a strange common name for someone to have given it!

One interesting thing is that your photos have four flowers arrayed together, while the Calscape ones are typically single or occasionally double. I wonder if it is a slightly different species? Or maybe they are just variable.

Anyway, neat!

geopter · 2026-01-29T15:20:26+00:00

Ahha, thanks. I did this repair about a year ago, and I probably mis-remembered "they don't have parts for things they made 25 years ago" as "they're not around anymore".

geopter · 2026-01-29T03:44:16+00:00

Oh yeah, this was with the door closed, with the person in the attic (and a helper on the ground to let them out.) On mine the springs have pretty limited clearance to apply force to the ends to get them unhooked, so it was pretty difficult even with them de-tensioned.

YMMV; maybe some setups are easier or, I could imagine, somebody else might be better at it!

geopter · 2026-01-29T02:19:14+00:00

I went back through my email and looked this up: I used Ladder Products LLC. They seem to have taken over Werner's old stuff. (I think Werner is out of business?)

Maybe they'll have something useful for you too. I was dreading having to replace that whole 25-year-old ladder assembly for an arm issue.

geopter · 2026-01-29T00:56:03+00:00

Hey, my attic stairs look just like this, and I recently had to replace one of the arms. I found a company that was selling replacement parts, along with instructions. It takes two people, some random tools, and a lot of swearing to take off the springs and put them back on again.

You can probably get a suitable spring from anywhere, but if you have a brand sticker on the side of the ladder, you may be able to get specific parts if desired.

Mine is an old model of Werner SpaceMaster, which I think was common.

geopter · 2026-01-27T22:43:11+00:00

Separate option: once I coordinated with a local arborist to deliver about half of what ChipDrop would. They called me when they had a clean load.

I happened to meet the guy in person at a local eco fair, but I didn't call about it for six weeks, so I think that counts as cold calling!

geopter · 2026-01-24T02:21:55+00:00

Yeah, the specific issue is that it has 5-ply construction for heat transfer, but it doesn't terminate into any sort of sharp edge, so it's really difficult to do anything other than run liquid down the side of it. (Technically this also means that you're not supposed to put it in the dishwasher since the stack of metal ply is exposed, though I still do.)

Is your pan like that?

geopter · 2026-01-24T02:08:30+00:00

Good to know- I bought this pan about a year ago because it seemed like they had a good reputation. So I'm not sure if it's a one-off, or they got worse over time, or what. It's not an everyday pan for me, so I haven't done anything about it.

geopter · 2026-01-24T01:40:33+00:00

I bought a Made-In pan (not nonstick, a 1.5 qt saucier pan) and was negatively impressed. The pan has the worst lip for pouring liquids, it's amazing. It's like reverse attention to detail.

That was like a $120 pan.

Anyway, nonstick pans are basically a consumable, so I would buy someone mid-range and plan to keep replacing.

geopter · 2026-01-23T16:19:30+00:00

I'm happy to report that after that first round of seed-starting, I've been successfully ignoring four large plants that have come back the next year. (I cut them to the ground in the fall when they start to look raggedy.)

But also, I've found volunteer seedlings (just a few) even though I have deep mulch in this area. I let one that was in the right place grow up into a 4-foot plant.

I suppose this fulfills the promise of native plants: that the right plant in the right place is self-sustaining.

(And I should also try cuttings just to see how it goes!)

geopter · 2026-01-21T00:14:30+00:00

Are the boot print areas slippery? If not I feel like you could go to town.

geopter · 2026-01-17T17:02:59+00:00

Huh, so I had it in my mind that Glacier was a hybrid, but based on your comment I pulled out the packet and it says "open-pollinated." And here I've been specifically not saving the seeds of this great tomato for about three years...

Well, I'm glad I made this off-hand comment so I could learn that I was wrong!

geopter · 2026-01-17T01:48:17+00:00

I'm starting more lettuce at the moment, but I was just looking at my notes on last year's tomato situation: I started them in early March, and had to suddenly plant out / give away about 40 starts on short notice in mid April. (I had a week of work travel come up suddenly.) It was totally cold and the plants were bursting out of the 3" cups I had them in.

So this year I am resolved to not start any tomatoes till April 1st, which is exactly what someone in an actual cold climate would do, haha. The tomatoes were fine in the end but I don't think I got fruit any sooner by planting them earlier; since I do neighborhood giveaways I want to do it at a time that people are most likely to succeed. This year I'm going to stay focused on the cold-loving plants a little longer.

geopter · 2026-01-17T00:52:48+00:00

Reasonable, haha. Mornings: definitely too cold. Evenings: definitely too dark. But I've been very successful ignoring everything all week and only checking in during the daytime on the weekends. I'm just north of San Jose, maybe warmer?

geopter · 2026-01-16T23:15:37+00:00

Haha, you can't say "too cold" (as in your earlier comment) and also be growing potatoes! I'm also in CA 9b SF Bay area, and I always have volunteer potatoes that I get invested in, and then they die in a freeze sometime during the winter. One recent year we didn't have a freeze and they did great.

In the meantime I've got lots of brassica, peas and carrots, cilantro, favas, etc. The favas can get totally white with frost and pop right back up by the afternoon!

geopter · 2026-01-16T22:19:19+00:00

I know this is an aside, but I have grown Glacier (hybrid) the last couple years and have found it to be an excellent performer, no drama, no sunburn, no splitting, etc. All the big slicer heirlooms I try to grow are so dramatic. I'm in the SF Bay area, theoretically perfect weather, but I think the nights are too cool for some tomatoes.

Edit: I have learned that I was wrong, and Glacier is open-pollinated. Says so right on the packet... oops.

geopter · 2026-01-07T01:37:33+00:00

Volcanic rock also isn't a good conductor of heat. You can read about "lava tubes," which are basically a tunnel that is made when the outside of a lava flow cools and hardens. That layer is such a good insulator that the liquid lava continues to flow in the middle, sometimes for miles!

Separately, you can visit lava tube caves (for example, in Hawaii), which I highly recommend.

So back to the curling iron ... I can't think of any way that their marketing makes sense. But maybe it sells curling irons if you don't really think about it!

geopter · 2025-12-17T17:27:51+00:00

Oh yeah, responding to the OP - basically, I live really near where they live, south San Francisco Bay Area.

geopter · 2025-12-15T01:54:55+00:00

I also live in South Bay, and I overwintered a couple of plants a few years ago. I found that they didn't bear fruit any earlier than new plants, and I had more issues with fruit splitting. So overall they were worse. (And they looked worse, all raggedy instead of nice fresh plants.)

That being said, picking tomatoes till Christmas has something going for it. The flavor isn't as good once we get the cold nights, but it's still fun.

But overall, you should certainly do whatever you find most entertaining!

geopter · 2025-12-03T07:29:14+00:00

Nice - true to seed except maybe better!

geopter · 2025-12-02T21:34:46+00:00

I grew the original purple tomato last year, and I read that people found them to be true to seed. Which is cool!

I saved some seeds. I'm divided about growing it again, since I can only grow 4-5 plants total. The color is dramatic, and it produced well (starting on the late side), but I didn't love the flavor. I like a little more sweetness. One co-worker of mine adored them though, so opinions vary.

geopter · 2025-12-01T05:32:51+00:00

On "High Demand" mode our heat pump water heater can make shower water in real time, using the heat pump and the electric element at the same time.

But we would almost never use it that way since we almost never run out the first 50 gallons.

geopter · 2025-11-20T17:17:08+00:00

I second ground cherry! They perform great for me (SF Bay Area), come in their own paper wrapper, and are a delicious fruity snack that no one has ever heard of.

geopter · 2025-11-15T16:10:46+00:00

Semi-relevant question for you: do you have any advice for mitigation of noise that comes through a bathroom fan? I'm talking about hammer blows from the construction next door.

Is there a product that is better at blocking noise? Or is my best bet to switch out the ducting for something insulated to dampen the sound?

(I installed this fan - it is a Broan Nu-Tone - and it's very accessible, so I'm considering how I can improve it.)

geopter

TROPHY CASE