I should have known it when I bought that blasted box cheese grater. I didn't even want a box grater, I wanted one of those rasp graters but they didn't have them sitting next to the box graters and the Sur La Table employee wasn't being very helpful and I was tired and cranky and just wanted something to grate cheese, at home, where I wished I was. (I have never made a purchase I have not later regretted in this emotional state.) No, it took a while before I brought home my first hard cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano, that I knew without a doubt that I was going to grate my hand. And I did. Not badly, but that box grater is going to be violently expelled to the curb, grumble grumble ouch.

A list of creative reuse shops popped up in the comments from yesterday, I had heard of the ones in San Francisco and the East Bay, but turns out there are even more: East Bay Depot in Berkeley. (A new site is in the works.) Scrap Action in Portland. SCRAP (Scroungers' Center for Re-Usable Art Parts) In San Francisco. Not clear if they sell materials as well. A whole big list of places all over the US. Thanks to everyone who gave links!

The last time I flew I mysteriously lost the ability to keep my ID and my sets of plane tickets in one place. It seems I was always squatting on the floor of and airport searching through all the pockets of my luggage in a panic. So, I grabbed a Loop NYC Transversion envelope bag yesterday which, I hope, is the right size to hold plane tickets. It has a wrist strap so I can attach it to myself and avoid future freak outs. And, it is considerably less expensive than the pink and orange leather one I was looking at in Flight 001.

Occasionally I get an email from someone asking about the double-sided crepe paper I used for the pumpkin favors. The crepe is heavy, colored differently on each side, and, I suspect, perfect for making flowers. I bought that at Flax in San Francisco, but last time I was there the paper was gone. Someone even tracked some down in a shop in England and had them ship it to her. So, the question popped up again recently and I realized I wanna know too. Google searches turned up a few crepe paper brand recommendations from this page on a now-dead site. Further Google searches on those brand names didn't turn up much. So, does anyone happen to know where to buy double sided crepe paper? (Online preferably, but regular shops are fine too.) Some quick research turned up something completely unrelated whch may be of interest - Impress Rubber Stamps is carrying these flat clear resin domes, 1.25" across. Perhaps good for large marble magnets or jewelry?

All about the soda siphon (formerly known as the seltzer dispenser thingy) - We're going to keep it. I suspect that if it were just me I would have returned it, but Scott likes it. Besides, the pile of recharging cartridges is a lot smaller than the grocery bag full of empty plastic bottles. The thing is that it is small, only a liter, and I didn't realize how quickly we can go through a liter. However, the two liter siphon is expensivo. As a result, we refill the thing at least daily. But we can get the cartridges at our local family owned wine and liquor shop. And it is a nice orange color. By the way, this one which Crate and Barrel sell is the iSi brand, which seem to be the most common sold in the cookware shops I researched.

The Summer Knitty is here baby!

Yesterday on Invisible Ink Radio I heard about a zine and DIYed clothing shop called Needles and Pins Pens which just opened in the Mission in San Francisco, 14th and Guerrero. I was driving The Dread 880 at the time and couldn't write anything down, and now I can't seem to find any information via Google, anyone know about this place?

This kept Scott and I entertained for an entire Saturday morning. It's from Penn & Teller's How To Play With Your Food, which is, sadly, out of print. Take a box of cornstarch and add a cup and a half of water. If you play with the mixture gently it's all oozy, if you, say, punch it, it turns into a solid. The book recommends that you pat some of it into a ball and toss it to an unsuspecting someone, it will then ooze through their fingers. It's hard to explain, but seriously, try this. A bit of scientific info from the book: "You'll notice right away that your mixture is viscoelastic. The cornstarch forms really long-chain molecules. When the gunk is diluted or deformed gently and slowly, these honking chains can rearrange themselves and stay liquid. But, when there's enough of these molecules crammed together and the impact is fast and hard enough, they don't have the time or room to rearrange their big old selves. They stay all tangled, and the viscosity becomes enormous. With violence all around it, the slime cops to a solid." Cool huh?