After over 1 year without a kitchen, it sure is nice to finally have it done. In the above photo is a 1949 Kelvinator fridge, which we got for $20 bucks– and i rebuilt and painted it. The stove is a late 1940′s Wedgewood (built in the Bay Area.) Above the stove, i hung a AllClad stainless steel pot rack to hold the matching pots/pans. Behind the stove, i did the cement backer board and then Anissa installed the white subway tile. I installed the flooring– which is 0ld style Marmoleum, and redid all the trim work. Next to the fridge is a pass that opens up into a built-in in the next room.
Walls are painted yellow and all the wood trim is white. The final drywall “body work” and wall paint is the only thing in this project i hired out. I did the rest, with Anissa doing the tile work and my dad came up and during the electrical and plumbing phase. We redid 100% of the electrical, plumbing and gas piping. I took out all the windows and had them rebuilt– then recorded them and put back.
We found our late 1940′s kitchen set at an estate sale for a good deal, and it’s in pretty darn good shape. Has a leaf if we ever need to make the table bigger. Still need to find the right napkins for the dispenser.
This was a lot of work. We got the steel cabinets off ebay, and i had to fully strip them to bare metal and repaint them. I built the counter top from two layers of plywood and laminated with old styled “dogbone” Formica. Then i applied stainless steel trim. The sink is also stainless steel and the faucet is an old Kitchenmaster– which is cool cause it has a pot scrubber wand w/ soap squirter built in. I’ve got my dishwasher hidden away as much as possible to the left, below. Found the cool old German wind up clock (ebay,) seasoning rack (estate sale,) toaster (estate sale) and flour/sugar/coffee/tea canisters (hawaii antique store.)
This is a rear counter i built in the kitchen– to put use to the area, which has stairs going into the basement from the rear porch underneath. Old fan and blender is estate sale. Found shake maker at Alameda Antique Fair. Espresso machine is new.
I restored the built in and it’s in the original location. We’ve got a cool glassware collection– and some of it is in the built in. I still have to put doors w/ leaded glass on this section. Our dishware the old Iroquois collection from Russel Wright.
I relocated the built in ironing board from another wall to here. We found the stool at the Alameda Antique Fair.
This is a neat US WWII era recruiting poster to encourage women to go work in the factories, while the men were away at war. We had this framed.
This picture, above the counter, is 1940′s patriotic hand embroidered (signed by person who made it on the back) that we had framed. Late 1940′s was a patriotic era, with WWII not easily forgotten.
Above the stove i mounted this cool old NuTone kitchen exhaust fan.
By the way…… Here is what the kitchen looked like BEFORE:
Lot’s of work. I dig it. This room is the newest era room in the house. Did it late 1940′s style, as earlier (house is 1907) would have been impractical for use. Yes, i do have a new dishwasher and a microwave hidden away– and as out of site as possible.
-scott noteboom
April 30th, 2011
Every year i compose a note to myself listing my yearly goals. For 2010, i succeeded in some and failed in too many. Here are the goals with the results:
1. GET A BOOK DEAL AND WRITE IT.
Result: Well, i landed a book deal, and then had to back out due to my schedule becoming too intense as i adjusted to succeeding in goal #3 below. **PARTIAL SUCCESS, AND THEN FAIL**
2. NEW PATENT AWARD.
Result: Filed a couple related to new technology. Successfully granted one so far, with several still pending. **SUCCESS**
3. PROMOTION AT WORK.
Result: Promoted up into a bigger challenge, with a new boss that i like. **SUCCESS**
4. COMPETE & WIN US OPEN JIU JITSU TOURNAMENT.
Result: Huge fail. I basically stopped training early in the year, as i was buried in the house project and mainly the new challenges at work. **HUGE FAIL**
5. FINISH NEW GARAGE AND MAKE PROGRESS ON HOUSE.
Result: Garage is done. Made decent progress on the house. **SUCCESS**
6. GREATLY REDUCE COST OF LIVING.
Result: Well, costs are lower. However, i’ve been spending a boat load on the house, and we eat out way too much (nope, i haven’t finished my inside kitchen yet. I did, however, make huge progress during this winter break.) **A WASH**
7. BUILD A NEW CAR.
Result: Didnt get the garage done until later in the year. Made decent progress on the model A, but not even close to being considered “built.” **FAIL**
8. GO CAMPING WITH FAMILY AT LEAST 4 TIMES.
Result: Haven’t done anything fun in regards to travel this year. Too much work and house work. **HUGE FAIL**
9. AUSTIN TX, SAN FELIPE, MX and JAPAN TRIPS.
Result: See #8 above. **HUGE FAIL**
10. BEGIN TO LEARN TO PLAY A NEW INSTRUMENT.
Result: Discovered a great cigar box slide guitar at a garage sale, and have strummed around on it a bit. That said, not nearly enough. **PARTIAL SUCCESS**
11. MAKE SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN LARGE SCALE UTILITY COMPUTING CONSTRUCTION / OPERATIONS.
Result: Plan to rewire our whole company approved by our Board of Directors. Executing plan around the globe. **SUCCESS**
12. PUBLISH NEW MATERIAL.
Result: Lots of press, interviews, speaking engagements, magazine articles, big grant award, patents, etc this year. **SUCCESS**
—————-
Lessons learned for 2010:
- I worked too damn much, at the expense of my entire personal life. I went through some tough adjustments in having to deal with more “executive” items. Closing out the year, i think i’ve been adjusting well– through working with a coach, etc. Thus, I see (and am hoping for) blue sky ahead for 2011.
- This house project is a fucking killer. I love the fact of living in something built with your own hands. That said…… never again. I’ll stick with cars.
- All work and no play is tough.
- All that said, with the economy and the state of the world……….. things could be way worse. Thus, i’ll shut up.
Over the coming days i’ll be working on 2011 goals. I’m not giving up on the jiu jitsu, fitness, health, family, cars, motorcycles and fun…… no promotion goals in 2011 for me!
-scott noteboom
December 30th, 2010
Nothing like sitting on the front porch for Halloween, passing out candy to the neighborhood kids, and enjoying the final version on the Zombie cocktail that i’ve been working on perfecting. After lots of research and experimentation of old recipes, i finally dialed in making a Zombie that i think is pretty damn good.
The Zombie was supposedly invented by Donn Beach of “Don the Beachcomber” fame in 1934. First I experimented with what i believe is Donn’s original recipe. Over time, Don’s modified his original recipe several times. It’s the 1950′s recipe that i used as a base for my favorite Zombie (i like the cherry liquor that was added by Don’s in the ’50s.) Here’s it goes, with exact booze that i used, as well as slight modifications:
- 3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed pineapple juice
- 1/4 oz. Nut Tree Falernum#1 (my own recipe described here: http://www.notebooms.com/blogger/?p=844 )
- another 1/4 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice, because i don’t put it in my falernum, because of fermentation.
- 1 1/4 oz. Havana Club Cuban Anejo Anos Dark Rum
- 1 oz. Havana Club Cuban Anejo Especial Gold Rum
- 1 oz. 151-proof El Dorado Guyanan Demerara rum
- 3/4 oz. Heering cherry liqueur
- 1/4 tsp. Scrappy’s Syrups Grenadine
- 2 dashes Fee Brothers West Indian orange bitters
- 6 drops Kubler Swiss Absinthe
Don’s original recipe recommended putting all ingredients in a blender with ice for 5 seconds, but i really prefer it shaken in a metal shaker with ice and then poured into a favorite tiki mug (tonight i used the Frankenstein tiki mug we got from Otto’s Shrunken Head in NYC) with a fresh pineapple and a mint sprig garnish.
(NOTE: Fresh squeezed fruit makes a big difference. You’ve gotta be crafty to be able to get Cuban rum here in the USA. For the other stuff, Cask in San Francisco is a great place for top notch ingredients.)
I love to build things. Now i’m ready to make some of these Zombie’s for my pals.
-scott noteboom
October 31st, 2010
Through the years, falernum has been considered a drink in itself, a liqueur, or simply an ingredient. To most, and to me, it’s one in the same.
The earliest years that I found falernum mentioned in print was in the late 1800′s (although it’s believed to have been around as early as the mid 1700s.) The recipe consisted of “one part sweet, one part sour, one part weak and one part strong,” with the ingredients being: simple syrup (sweet,) lime (sour,) water (weak,) and rum (strong.) As the Tiki years came around, the recipe got that much more interesting.
In my quest to perfect the “Zombie” cocktail, I realized i needed a good falernum as a key ingredient. This caused me to go into learning mode and obsess over the history, old recipes, new recipes, as well as the science of flavor infusion and fermentation that goes along with wine and spirits making. In the end, i’ve come up with my own recipe. The reason i call it “Nut Tree Falernum #1″ is because my last name (Noteboom) translates in it’s native Dutch to “Nut Tree” (go figure, haha,) and #1 symbolizes my first version (seems lots of folks number their recipes) that i just started to make today. Hope it goes well:
Nut Tree Falernum #1:
6 oz dark Havana Club single barrel rum
2 oz white Havana Club rum
9 medium sized limes worth of zest only, micro-grated
40 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1/4 cup slivered, dry-roasted almonds
1/4 cup peeled, micro-grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
“Stinger Syrup” consists of:
1 part local honey
1 part mint leaves
1 part Fiji brand water
STEPS / NOTES:
1) Wash the 9 medium sized limes (or more smaller ones– i happen to like the smaller, ripe ones) under very hot water– not just to clean, but to make sure that the grocery snake oilmen didn’t put wax on the fruit to make it look good. If so, get the wax off, as that’s no bueno and will corrupt your falernum. Micro-grate the zest off the limes, getting the green only into its own bowl. Avoid the white behind the green zest, as that’s no bueno either.
2) Peel and micro-grate 1/4 cups worth of fresh ginger, into its own bowl. I haven’t seen anyone else do this, and i think it helps make the flavor pop.
3) Sliver 1/4 cup of whole dry-roasted almonds, without cutting your finger off. Fresh whole almonds is key because fresh= good almond oil. Combine in it’s own bowl with 40 fresh cloves and 2 fresh cardamom pods. Mix these ingredients together and then brown them all over medium heat in a non-stick pan. This allows the oils and flavors to come out of the nuts and the spices. You should smell and see it. Be careful not to burn anything on you or your ingredients.
4) Combine the lime zest, ginger and almond/clove/cardamom mixture into one bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of fresh cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. Mix that shit up good.
5) Add 6 oz of Cuban dark rum (I used 45% Havana Club barrel proof) and 2 oz of Cuban clear rum (I used 40% Havana Club) into a one pint Mason jar (wash that shit out good with hot water beforehand.) Note that smuggling Cuban rum into the US helps continue the tradition of rum running and increases your testosterone level a bit through feeling like an outlaw.
6) Put your mixture into the Mason jar with the rum. Seal that shit up tight. Shake it up good. Let it infuse for 48 hours it in a place where temperature is cool and light levels are dim for a couple days. I keep it in my basement. See, it’s totally being a poseur, with Anissa’s tapa cloth and my turtle shell instrument. (NOTE: infusing is different than fermentation. Nothing is rotting over this 48 hour period. Therefore, don’t let it infuse for more than 4 days or so.)
7) Next, make up a batch of my “Stinger Syrup,” by combining 1 part honey, 1 part water and 1 part fresh mint leaves in a pan. Medium heat it all until the honey breaks up and combines with the water. Strain the mint leaves out when you’re done. Bottle what you don’t use for your falernum. (NOTES: I’m using this honey syrup over regular “Simple Syrup” (made of sugar and water) because i think honey’s longer fermentation timeline works better than sugar for this case, and i think that the flavor is likely better suited to the other flavors in the falernum. Think about it: spices, nutty, rum, limey…. better matches honey.)
Now go to the basement and get your mason jar of your 48 hour infused rum mixture. Pour your mixture through a coffee filter (or cheese cloth) from your infusing Mason jar, into a new clean one. It should leave about 8 oz of clean, infused rum. Next add 8 oz of the Stinger Syrup. Put the top on the jar and shake that shit up.
9) You are done, and your mixture should stay good for a month. That said…
IMPORTANT NOTE: your 16 oz of Falernum will still need another 4 oz of lime juice mixed into it before serving. I highly recommend not adding the lime juice until the day you are going to be drinking the Falernum. Otherwise, the lime juice starts to ferment pretty quickly and will quickly destroy the taste you are looking for. We are not looking to ferment the lime juice– we want the original lime flavor.
MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: I came up with this recipe by reading a whole bunch of other Falernum recipes, as well as wine and spirits making tips. I even adjusted the recipe based on feedback from my mom, who is a good cook and advised me to lessen my ginger and nutmeg content. My recipe has a couple unique things about it, but is more based on inspiration than invention. Thanks to everybody that can take credit for influencing me. It’s infusing right now, so i’ll let you know how this tastes in a couple days…..
Cheers,
-scott noteboom
October 24th, 2010
This morning a couple things possessed me to write a new punk rock song: 1) i’m a bit hung over, so im lazy still in bed; 2) i watched an old Circle Jerks video “Letter Bomb“; 3) i noticed that “Fight Club” was on my ipod. So, along those lines, here’s a little jingle about the conflicting new religions of today: Islam and Corporation’ism. I call it “Ali Baba and the 110 thieves.”
its ceo’s versus bearded sheiks
islam and corporation’ism: new religion freaks
in your place and in your face
to define and govern your human race.
in the holy battle a lots at stake
new religion in exchange for your fate
what’s it going to be, pick your side
funeral pics on Facebook or virgins: when you die.
the koran and “what’s on” are all the same
preach, pray, sing the same fucking game
110 stories of falling corporations
110 stories of kid strapped bombs
110 stories of tv reality
110 stories of what’s gone wrong.
now i just gotta get someone to sing it for me. my voice is too fucked up– i lost my beautiful vocal range from being punched in the throat over the years…. haha.
-scott noteboom
test
October 2nd, 2010
1940′s Hamilton Watch Company clock, used for advertising in watch shops.
The Hamilton Watch Company was founded in 1892, growing to operate out of a 13 acre campus in Lancaster, PA. Hamilton was known for creating the highest caliber of quality watches and commonly referred to themselves as “America’s Finest Watch.”
This clock is about 14″ in diameter and is electrically powered. It’s got a great glow to it when the lights are out, and still keeps time perfectly.
This is my shop clock.
-scott noteboom
September 26th, 2010
Second in my new “What’s Old Has Soul” series showcasing (and archiving for insurance and history) my old junk at my old haunted house….
Here’s a couple more pieces of art from my “collection.” By the way, does using the words “pieces” and “collection” make me sound more sophisticated? Don’t worry, I still know i’m really an idiot, haha.
This is a huge piece (5′ tall by about 2.5′ wide) that hung in the original old San Francisco Ferry Building beginning in the early 1930′s. There’s an old note on it that says “Off for the Kloudike. Excelsior leaving San Francisco, July 27, 1897. First steamer to leave for the new goldfields after word had come of the discovery.” So, it’s obviously gold rush related.
Here’s a picture of the famous building it came out, which is now the SF Ferry Building Marketplace:
Next, we have two ultra rare original lithographs made in 1908 (same year as our house was built) of the entire WWI fleet in SF Harbor. My favorite part is that the Golden Gate bridge does not exist in these, and the old city looks great:
This piece is about 5 feet wide x 1 foot tall.
This piece is about 3 feet wide by 1 foot tall.
Lastly for today, we have some cool Helck pieces. Peter Helck (1893-1988) was born in NYC in 1893 and studied art at the Art Students League in Manhattan. From the 20s-40′s he was a successful magazine illustrator and advertising artist. In the 1940′s he did a series of paintings / prints for Esquire magazine, in which he recreated the excitement of automobile races from the first decades of the 20th century.
My favorite depicts the 1915 400 mile International Grand Prix held in San Francisco, as part of the Panama-Pacific Exposition. This is Dario Resta, the winner, driving his 5.6L Peugeot (#6:)
We picked up all this stuff from estate sales. The SF Ferry building piece was kinda pricey, but the rest were like “i’ll give ya 10 bucks” or so great deals. Pretty special, rare junk….. that i love.
DISCLAIMER: Come here and try to steal our shit and security will be detected via technological measures and enforced via barbaric measures. Things would not be clean or pretty for either side, so if you’re a crook– please go crookin’ somewhere else. Thank you and God Bless.
Until next time…
-scott noteboom
September 23rd, 2010
OK, the garage is far enough along that i can start working on my cars– a key milestone of turning my life “back to normal” after focus being distracted by house project. The lift is in and i’ve got enough power and lights installed to function.
On the lift is Anissa’s 1940 Ford that i built her a couple years ago– doing some new mechanical tricks to it…. including original Edmunds heads & intake w/ 2×2 Stromberg 97s. Harman Collins ignition w/ dual 6 volt Holley Mallory Master coils. Couple other small asthetic and mechanical things happening. Look is early 40′s Bonneville push truck style– and reliable daily driver…. It’s a truck, after all.
Behind that is the ’29 Model A that i’m redoing. Pre-war street/salt style. Yes, the rear white walls are coming off– they’re just on to roll. Hopped up 4 banger w/ Winfield intake and dual updraft carbs. Old Mallory ignition. Still thinking how i’ll build my header. Body is currently raised off frame a bit, killing some rust w/ new metal in a couple spots on the body and new floor panels. As was typical in such a very early “gow job” era (say 1939 or so,) keeping the mechanical brakes. This car is a drive while working on type project: i.e. low budget fun driver. Had to move seat way back and lower it to floor for 6’6″ goon to drive chopped car. Putting back together rumble seat– cause they are fun. Banjo steering wheel that Stephanie and Romero found for me is on this car.
My timing is so ironic. I’ll have new stuff on the road in perfect timing……. for the rain. All that said, im glad i have a garage again. I’ll have to do some before and after pictures. They’ll be shocking to see– but first i’ve got to paint the exterior and finish my interior walls.
-scott noteboom
September 22nd, 2010
Sitting on a plane today, i just realized that we have a bunch of old stuff that we’ve collected over the years. I kinda think of it like my own little museum, so i figured i would take pictures and document some of the history– that way, if a ten ton truck kills the both of us, you’ll have good info for the estate sale… haha. Anyway– gives me something to do on the blog that doesnt take too much thought; and it serves a useful purpose. So, here it goes….
This painting was originally hung in the historic Cal Neva Lodge, located on Lake Tahoe, during the Adler and Gromer Era’s (1940s-1960.) It’s a larger piece sized about 55″x32″ and we bought it from a private seller. The painting is of Lake Tahoe, by the way. I dig it so much that it’s now hanging above our bed:
This hung in the lodge until Frank Sinatra bought it and remodeled in 1961. Here’s some interesting history of the lodge….
- Built in 1926.
- The founder and first owner died of depression in New Zealand after losing nearly everything he owned in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 (commonly referred to as “Black Tuesday”)!
- The second owner had a father that committed suicide because of reported mental illness. The son would also commit suicide with a shotgun blast to the mouth nearly 60 years after his fathers tragic death.
- Clara Bow, a famous silent film star of the 20′s and 30′s, lost $13,900 gambling at the height of the Great Depression. It was a epic scandal involving Will Rogers that made national headlines in 1930.
- The Cal-Neva was the site of multiple Prohibition raids which briefly closed the “speak-easy” operating there until liquor was legalized in 1933.
- Baby Face Nelson, a psychotic and ruthless American gangster of the early 1930′s, shot and killed a man who was set to testify at a Cal-Neva owners fraud trial in 1934.
- The Lodge burned to the ground on the night of May 16th, 1937 and was declared a total loss. The then current owners hired the prior owner who erected a new structure in 40 days using 100 men (not 30 days and 500 men as once thought). There are good reasons to suggest that the fire was deliberately set.
- The rebuilt Cal-Neva Lodge was the largest operating casino in the country when it opened in 1937!
- Judy Garland, who first performed at the Lodge in 1935 at age 13, was actually discovered there by a talent agent because she left a hatbox behind the stage and went back to retrieve it. Upon returning to Calneva, she met Al Rosen who eventually convinced Louis B. Mayer, head of M-GM, to audition her. See was immediately signed to a long-term contract without even making a screen test in October 1935.
- It is rumored that Marilyn Monroe almost over-dosed in Cabin #3 a week before she was found dead in her own apartment in Los Angeles.
- Although Sinatra had his gaming license for the Cal-Neva revoked in 1963, still owned the property until 1968!
- A terrorist extortion plot claimed that vials of the Bubonic Plague would be released in the casino if demands were not met in 1972!
Here’s a pic of Marilyn Monroe at Cal Neva the weekend before she died. Note Sinatra sitting down behind her, reading the paper:
LINKS WITH MORE HISTORY:
http://calnevarevealed.com/
http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content/cal-neva-resort-%26-spa/sie0D8C17093E53192D9
We’re lucky to have such a great piece of Western history…. it looks good too.
More to come in this series. We’ve got a lot of shit.
DISCLAIMER: Come here and try to steal our shit and security will be detected via technological measures and enforced via barbaric measures. Things would not be clean or pretty for either side, so if you’re a crook– please go crookin’ somewhere else. Thank you and God Bless.
-scott noteboom
September 21st, 2010
So, i’ve written several times about a relative of mine, Lee Frayer. Lee had his own car company (Frayer-Miller) during the early 20th century, raced in the first Indy 500 and takes credit for several innovations (invented the first V6 automobile, introduced air cooling innovations that companys like VW latched onto years later, invented the first wire wheels, etc.) Being a car guy, im fascinated by the history…
Well, i just discovered that one of the Frayer-Miller cars won an economy race that was held in 1906 between Los Angeles and Pismo Beach (it was mentioned in a June 17, 1906 LA Examiner newspaper.) The race was promoted by Earle C. Anthony, who was an early California Packard dealer, as well as the founder of the well known AM radio station in Southern California, KFI.
In this race, the contest for the economy prize was to demonstrate the lower expense of traveling in an automobile machine, versus other forms of transportation used during those times. The notable means of making this trip would have been via train, which would have cost a tad over $6.00 (that seems expensive to me, being 1906 and all…)
E.H. Howe carried 5 passengers with him in his Frayer-Miller. Took him 2 days to do the trip, at a cost of $1.27 per passenger (everything in connection with the car was considered — cost of oil and gasoline consumed, wear and tear on the car, cost of repairing punctures, and any broken parts of the machine.) Also take into consideration that there really wasnt very good roads then (more like wagon trails,) and broken springs, etc were a big problem with the cars during the race.
Here’s a picture of a Frayer-Miller that would have been similar to the one that won this race:
-scott noteboom
December 27th, 2009
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