Tag Archives: New Mexico

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Make Magazine Interviews New Mexico Artist Christian Ristow

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From makezine “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Things About Christian Ristow“

he’s done animatronics and special effects for a number of movies, including Thor, A.I., and Cowboys & Aliens. Christian also founded and led robotic performance art troupe Robochrist Industries for a number of years. He makes everything from small but fierce sculptures with self-explanatory names like Smashy Von HammersBot and Voracious Mouth (pictured below) to large-scale interactive sculptures like Hand of Man, a 26-foot-long hydraulically actuated human hand and forearm capable of picking up and crushing cars, controlled using a glove-like device that dictates its motions.

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Standing In Line In Rio Rancho

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Rio Rancho Police by Rescuenav, on Flickr

Rio Rancho Police by Rescuenav, on Flickr

On the City of Rio Rancho’s page about “Kamp Out for Kamp Rio” there is about 10 paragraphs on how to stand in line. This is so people can sign up for Rio Rancho’s apparently popular “Kamp Rio 2013” summer day camp for kids.

“Standing In Line” Rules and Etiquette

The Parks & Recreation Department staff makes every attempt to ensure that the registration for summer camp is a fair process for everyone. The summer camp line is nothing unique. Throughout life, we are all subject to “standing in lines”: Black Friday shopping, theme parks, concerts, at the grocery store, etc. As with every aspect of life, there is a protocol that should be followed.

Stay In Line At All Times. Anyone who has claimed a spot in the registration line is required to stay in line with the exception of short restroom breaks. If an individual, who has claimed a spot in the registration line, needs to leave for any reason that person needs to be replaced temporarily by a family member or friend until the person returns.

A Tent Or Chair Does Not Hold Your Place In Line. An individual will not be allowed to place a chair or tent to claim their spot in the registration line. Do not leave for work/school/home/shopping/restaurants or anything else until your registration has been accepted by Parks & Recreation staff or your tent and chairs will be removed by city staff.

Do Not Reserve Or Hold Spots For Others. Think how annoyed you would be after hours of waiting, suddenly and out of nowhere, five friends join the person in front of you making your wait even longer?

Be Patient – Everyone in line is in the same situation. Don’t be come irritated with others in line or with the Parks & Recreation staff.

Restroom Break – If you leave the line for any amount of time longer than short restroom breaks, you cannot expect to come back and take up your old place.

Respect Personal Space Of Others – While there is no need to stand body-to-body in the line, there is also no need to extend your tent/bbq grill/chairs/picnic-tables, etc. amongst a large space. Doing so will only irritate people and heighten tensions.

No Smoking In Line! If you are a smoker, now is not the time to light up – save that until you get home.

No Line Jumping – Quite simply – don’t!

“Standing in line” has universally understood rules and etiquette, but there are still those who break the rules mentioned above. With that said, the above rules apply and everyone’s cooperation and attention to this matter is sincerely appreciated.

Intel Misses New Mexico Hiring Goals

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From the Albuquerque Journal “Intel Misses N.M. Goal For Hiring“:

For the third time in five years, computer chipmaker Intel fell short of a goal set by Sandoval County to ensure 60 percent of the new hires for its Rio Rancho plant are New Mexico residents.

A report presented to Sandoval County commissioners by Intel government affairs manager Liz Shipley this week showed only 35 percent of the 349 employees the company hired in 2011 were state residents.

Under the 2004 agreement, Intel must pay the county $100,000 to be spent on educational initiatives if it fails to meet the hiring requirement.

Two New Mexican’s Lost, 1 Killed Between Chandler And Albuquerque

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I first read the article on December 6th from azcentral.com “New Mexico couple missing after leaving Chandler” where Dana and Elizabeth Davis went missing driving from Chandler, AZ to Albuquerque, NM along US60. It’s something that caught my attention because I have driven that path many times.

On December 9th the news was not good as azcentral.com com followed up “New Mexico man recounts mountain ordeal that took life of wife“. On their way back they took a side trip to a “wildlife refuge near Socorro, N.M” which I assume is the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and in the process got lost and ended up on a forest road in a snow storm and got stuck. They were trapped for 5 days and eventually decided to walk out but Elizabeth didn’t survive the walk out.

Why First Solar Built In Arizona Instead Of New Mexico Or Austin

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First Solar was looking to built a factory in either Arizona, New Mexico or Austin. An azcentral.com article looks at what Arizona paid to get the factory built there.

The factory will employ 600 people in Mesa, but it signifies more than that. The facility, operated by an Arizona-based company that is a major international player in solar-panel production, will make Broome’s job of attracting more alternative-energy companies easier.

Had Arizona lost the factory to Austin or Albuquerque, it might have been impossible to attract other solar companies to Arizona, he said.

First Solar wrangled at least $51.5 million in potential incentives out of the state, county and city, bought its land at a steep discount, and – perhaps the clinching factor – scored a discount on its power bills.

“The incentive from New Mexico was staggering. It was, like, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Broome said. “New Mexico was even offering to finance the construction of the building. Texas was a good $20 million less expensive than us.”

The article mentions that they offered a discount on electricity to First Solar, a similar discount was offered to Intel to build their new factory in Chandler. It’s interesting to note that First Solar President Bruce Sohn is a former manger from the Intel Rio Rancho factory.

Green2V: Non Existence Solar Company To Build Big Ass Factory In Rio Rancho

Governor Richardson was with Mayor Tom Swisstack of Rio Rancho today to announce that Green2V will build a million square-foot factory and headquarters in Rio Rancho. With Advent Solar and Schott AG building solar factories in Albuquerque, I wondered when one would build in Rio Rancho.

I have a number of concerns about this company, primarily that the company doesn’t seem to exist. As far as I can tell the privately owned Green2V doesn’t have any buildings or even a website and Wikipedia doesn’t have a page for them. The companies CEO, Bill Sheppard, is a former Intel New Mexico manager. Convenient since I suspect a large number of Green2V employees will come from the Intel New Mexico site. I don’t know where they are getting their money to build this company, what experience they have or what their business plan is.

The only thing I know is that their ambitious plan involves building in downtown Rio Rancho and that they want to start shipping in 2011. I hope this works out.

Update: Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting this is some sort of scam. I really want this to work out and I may even want to work for Green2V. I’m suggesting it’s a little early to get excited. It could turn out like Tesla, Lions Gate or Signet Solar, all established companies that planned to build in the Albuquerque area and didn’t for one reason or another.

Where Are The Best Hikes In New Mexico?

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Howard sent me a message and wanted to know where are the best hikes in New Mexico. I’ve been on plenty of hikes in NM but I’m terrible at remembering where they are. A few of my favorites has been from the top of the tram, along the East side of the Sandia’s and the Pecos.

Trails.com has a list of New Mexico hikes. So does Explore New Mexico.

Can any New Mexico readers suggest others?

How To Eat A Chicken Wing Video

There is a YouTube video making it’s way around the internet titled “How To Eat A Chicken Wing” by foodwishes.com.

I have been a chicken wing connoisseur since I used to eat 10 cent wings at the Native New Yorker in Arizona (which was supposed to come to Rio Rancho). I now prefer the Wing Basket in New Mexico, specifically the mild original and lemon pepper.

The video describes a way to remove bones from wing without wasting meat. I have used the method for many years and actually prefer wings over drumsticks thanks to this method. Some of the other websites, such as Lifehacker, suggest this can be done with “little to no mess”. Sorry, wings are messy. Plan accordingly.

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50 Layoffs At Intel Rio Rancho

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There were 50 people laid off at the Intel Rio Rancho site on Monday according to New Mexico Business Weekly. They were part of the CS group.

“The new layoffs will affect corporate service groups that have responsibilities for overseeing facilities and operations,” Shipley said. “The layoffs announced last month are more specific to our manufacturing groups.”

These layoffs were announced in November of 2008 before the 100 – 200 layoffs were announced but not widely reported. So far no one I know was let go but I haven’t heard from everyone yet. My thoughts go out to anyone who was let go.

Scorpions Are Back

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The New Mexico Scorpions start playing October 19th. The real live scorpions have started invading my house on August 12th.

Last year I saw my very first scorpion, in my house, on July 31st. I then found a total on 7 of them over the next two month. I then took some steps to find major pathways that could give these guys a way in. Apparently I didn’t get them all.

I know the crickets were coming in around the rear sliding door and the garage is insect central. Lets see how the next two months go.