Mitch Berliner, along with Ann Brody Cove, founded the Bethesda Central Farm Market, the latest addition to the Bethesda’s produce options. When I met Mitch on a recent and beautiful Sunday, he was holding down the fort for the Blue Ridge Dairy representative who’d stepped away for a moment. Mitch has advanced schmoozing technique, and was doing a fantastic job of attracting people to the booth and encouraging them to sample the goods. I can personally vouch for the excellence of the applewood smoked mozzarella. It’s like bacon, but fresh and mozzarelly.

• Here’s my previous post about the wonders therein.

This newest market of the three in my immediate environs has some keen new features. There was a lady sharpening knives and other sharpen-worthy utensils, and I’ve been reading about dinner events at local restaurants. They’ve also got some kind of dealie called Fresh Give!, the gist of which seems to be that each day’s market can be sponsored by a local business that pledges some amount of money to buy up any leftover food at the end of the day’s trading. The goods are distributed to a local food bank or kitchen, the producers make a little extra if they don’t sell out, and the company gets a little attention and a tax benefit.

Anyway, Mitch’s enthusiasm is contagious, and so I e-mailed him a few questions that he was kind enough to answer.

This is the third market in the neighborhood. What need are you trying to meet that the others don’t?

I think that Bethesda was in need of a real, comprehensive farmers market.

Check out their Web site to learn more >>

You told me about (and I enjoyed watching) the knife sharpener who makes twice-monthly appearances. Do you have other services or promotions on the way?

You will see that we are trying to be a real community-building place where folks will come not just to purchase great food from the people that grow or make it, but to have an entire experience. We’ve developed great relationships with Manna Foods and Bethesda Green, and are also trying to connect the local restaurants to the farmers by having them purchase product and host farm dinners.

What was the biggest challenge to getting this market started?

Since we started late in the year, it was difficult at first to get the farmers to commit. But when they heard about the plan, most were able to figure out a way to be here this season and we have a waiting list of farmers for next year.

What kind of response have you had from the community?

I think it has been overwhelmingly positive. We have had so many people come up and say that they are thrilled to have a place like this finally in downtown Bethesda. We are getting many people from Chevy Chase, Rockville, Northwest DC and Potomac as well. The best marker is that each week more people are coming, and more importantly, they are coming regularly to purchase their groceries.

This market is on Bethesda Lane on Thursdays and in a parking lot by Jaleo on Sundays. Why is it migratory?

The parking lot is rented during the week and on Saturdays.

How do you seek out and select participants?

Combined, both Ann and I have been in the food business for over 80 years. We are passionate about food and nutrition, and we have always visited and shopped at markets. We knew who the “A” team would be and we sought them out to join the Bethesda Central Farm Market.

Spouse and I had the good fortune to visit San Diego several weeks ago for some much-needed vacation. Our vacation policy is “Walk Your Legs Off,” and we spent one of our Extreme Walking days at Balboa Park, this incredible urban fauna preserve with 15 museums, a massive organ of much repute (get your mind out of the gutter), trails, clubhouses for every imaginable hobby and free parking.

One of our stops was at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. Spouse was initially reluctant to go in, but I had an uncle who was an avid collector and have run into a couple of other model railroad enthusiasts and knew that this isn’t playing with trains – it’s an exercise in research, detail, and cheerful obsession with a place or a time. Liking trains doesn’t hurt either.

The museum is incredible – the models are enormous, detailed, carefully maintained and lovingly manned by volunteers who seem to never tire of running the trains. Some of the dioramas have little jokes in them, encouraging you to move slowly and look closely.

Presumptuously enough, I wrote to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum’s Executive Director, John Rotsart, who was kind enough to answer a few questions. Here is Part 1 of the interview:

Model railroading is not a casual hobby, I know. What are the phases of creating a new model?

In general creating a new model railroad consists of the following steps:

1. .Assuming you are working in one scale and this is a scale model railroad, and not a toy train, you can research the prototype.

Photos of the actual cars or locomotives or the route of the actual railroad that you are modeling increases your knowledge and joy as a successful model builder. Research is very helpful providing details you would want to add. Railway historical societies publish monthly or quarterly newsletters and also describe particular railroads and their practices. Model railroad magazines that are fully indexed (Check our SDMRM Library that is open four or five days a week), the Official Guide published annually and available at our library are a treasure trove of information about particular cars.

2. Purchase hobby tools and invest in a scale rule.

Assemble the kit, or if purchased preassembled make sure the details you researched in # 1 are completed to your satisfaction.

3. Paint and weather the car or loco.

Having a hobby airbrush is almost required to get a decent finish. Weathering with paint or chalk can be fun.  Starting in the 1960s taggers often graffitied the cars, but earlier cars from the fifties or before weren’t tagged by vandals. Railroad cars have a life cycle of at least 25 years sometimes double that. New paint is seldom applied, so very often you have the accumulated life of the freight car layered in dust, mud, oil, rust and grime.

4. Mechanical inspection and testing.

The term “gauge” refers to the distance between the rails; the “scale” refers to of the ratio between the model and actual prototype. A model railroad track and wheel gauge that is the industry standard is provided by the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association. You may join and then purchase a NMRA track gauge for $5). This small metal gauge, which I call the condensed version of the model railroaders’ bible, has so many uses. You may check the track gauge, switch gauge clearances, wheel gauge and flange depth, overall height and width clearances and couplers. All the mechanical things you need to check to make sure your model will conform to international standards, track properly and not derail.

5.Track planning

Track planning is very popular with many How-to books and at least one or two articles on this subject in every issue of a magazine. Features of the prototype railroad you are modeling, including special scenic features that will draw a modeler towards incorporating scenes, backdrops, buildings or other structures such as bridges or tunnels into his/her choice for a model railroad layout.  The limited space of reality such as actual dimensions of a room or garage doesn’t have to be limiting.  Compression, abridging reality to fit your imagination, is a specialty of model railroading.

6. Operation

There are many varieties from looking at the trains go round and round to timetable operation, and even compressing time (using a fast clock) so each operating hour is, say, an actual 20 minutes. Switching cars and delivering imaginary goods is one way a modeler may choose to order cars in a train. It has become a very popular operating scenario to stage a road switcher style op session.

Tune in next time, when we learn about the homeland security implications of all of those aerial photographs!

• Read Part II of the interview!!
  

It was such a pleasure meeting and speaking with Matthew Lesko, that I just couldn’t wait to get part of it online, and so here is Part I of our chat, posted immediately after I transcribed the recording.

I didn’t know what to expect when we met, except that he was very gracious in accepting my e-mailed invitation to be interviewed for this random blog I’ve got here. I’ve seen him around town for years, of course. His clothes and transportation festooned with question marks (something he described as “a lifestyle choice” when we met). In person, he’s gregarious, chivalrous and enormously energetic. He joked that when he was a child, he thought that his middle name was “sit down,” because all he heard in school was “Sit down, Lesko!”

You know him, he’s been on the air and around town for years. His Web site is Governmentmoneyclub.com, and he is well-known for his loud ads and wide smile.

It’s slowly dawning on me that my own calling may be getting people to talk about the things that they love. There is always something to learn, something both profound and portable – that you can take with you. While I’m still piecing together what makes me happy, it seems like these folks can tell me something.

Mr. Lesko can certainly tell me about the honor of failure:

We don’t honor the struggle. We’re all looking for that “Success” magazine, we should have “Failure” magazine. Because that’s what life is all about. You really have to train yourself for failure in anything  you want to do in life. I feel that your loved ones are your worst enemy because they don’t want to see you fail. “Don’t do that, you’re going to hurt yourself, don’t do that, it’s a bad idea…”

Well, yes, I am going to fail. It’s like, if your parents said when you were one year old, “don’t stand up, you’re going to fall.” Well, you’re right, but you have to, you have to fall a hundred times before you can walk. Do you think that once you’re a grownup that failure’s over?

And about doing what you love:

I wrote about 100 books, but only about 10 have done anything. But you know, that’s what life is. How many guys do you date before you find someone worthwhile? I mean, all of life is that way, you just have to keep grinding it out. And that’s why you have to love what you’re doing because you have no idea. You just keep going. And going. And going. And if you don’t enjoy, if you’re doing it only to make some big payday, it’s all a crapshoot and you don’t have any control over it.

I always wanted to be on a big talk show. The Today Show or something… When I finally got on this big talk show I think it was Good Morning America and I went up a day ahead of time and did three or four hours with everybody, and got on it and then you know you’re on for three and a half minutes or whatever it is, then you call your friends and then you have to go to work the next day. Nothing really changes in your life, so if you live for those three seconds?

About the motivation behind his work:

It’s that kind of philosophy of life that I think is more important to anybody’s success than what they’re actually doing. Because that’s what it grows from. I feel my work is to try to help people do that. I can show them a little hope on what that they can maybe do that, you know, there are tools in our society that maybe help you get towards that, and they live on courage. My work is not about giving you a phone number, I hated people like Tony Robbins because they jack you up and then send you outside and now it’s “what can I do, I’m all excited to go out and rule the world, but now what?” That’s why to me, giving you a starting point, to start your own business, here’s a service that can help you think through that idea for free.

About integrity:

I think as I get older now, I don’t have to worry about money and all that stuff… If you have to have all this money to make you happy, then you start working for the wrong things, and then you start making decisions that are about the money and not about what you think is right or wrong. When you start doing that, to me, is when you start giving away part of your soul. And it starts clicking away and then that line keeps moving, that’s how we all get in trouble. Oh, I’ll just put it on the credit card, just a little bit more, I’ll be able to pay, and then it keeps going and then you lose yourself and other people control you. And that for me is the worst fear in life, people controlling you.

And relationships have been that way, you know it’s bad, you know it’s not you, and all day long you suppress it and you pretend its okay, and by the end of the day you rationalize 15 reasons why you’re there and then it goes away and then you wake up in the morning and its there again.

And about art:

I believe that our art is what’s weird about us. That’s what makes us different, so why should we all be trying to figure out how to contribute to life the same way everybody else is? That’s stupid, who needs that? The world doesn’t need that. The world needs what’s special and unique about you, that’s what the world needs.

I feel that’s how we all struggle. God, I used to be so envious of anybody who had an art, a writer, dancer, singer, whatever. And then I thought we all are artists at something. There’s something that we are really good at and we have to struggle in life to find out what it is. So that we can contribute. And that’s why we’re here, it’s to contribute, to give. It’s like to love, in relationships it’s giving. The best thing in the world is to love and to give. Not to be loved and to get presents, but to do it yourself. That’s why I think that’s the most selfish thing is to give.

You know Matthew Lesko, the man in the question mark suit. Bestselling author and media icon, you can subscribe to his Web site, Governmentmoneyclub.com, to learn about government benefits that can help you get an education, start a business or improve your home.

You’ve seen him on TV, online and probably around town (if you’re in the DC area) on his scooter, or in his signature Mini Cooper. I had the great opportunity to meet with him today to talk about business and love and the economy and the KGB, for starters. Our talk was wide-ranging. My part was fueled by cold medicine (it’s not swine flu) and black tea, and Mr. Lesko’s by his natural zeal and energy.

One of the things I love is getting people talking about what they love, because there’s always something to learn. This was no exception. But let’s let the man speak for himself:

On how I can get this blog thing off the ground and maybe paying its own way:

For someone like us who doesn’t have a gazillion dollars content is king because these big people are always buying content, so if you have content that’s interesting, maybe a model for you is to find other sites that can use your content. If you have the stuff, then you take your stuff and convince these other people that “hey this is neat stuff that you should have on your stuff.” Whether it’s a revenue share, or whatever. But it’s the same ballsy thing – that’s what I find in business. That’s what I had to learn after business school – the idea that the product is only 10 or 20 percent of your creativity, and 80 or 90 percent is figuring out how to sell the shit.

On whether he’s a workaholic:

I just love what I do. I hate work. I always hated everything I was doing, where I was going, and most of your waking life is really working. So for me the goal was to find something that isn’t mindless work. How do you find something that you enjoy every day? I mean, I was a golfer. And when I lived in Scotland, I would play golf in rain like this; it was shitty and it’d be 30 degrees and raining, and we’d go out and play. But at work? Oh, I’m not going to work here unless it’s perfect. But the things you love? You don’t give a shit where it is. And it should be the reverse, because this is what you spend your whole day doing.

More to come…

As advertised, I am proud to present an interview with Gary Clegg, the cozy visionary who brought us the original Slanket. I sent him nine questions so that he’d have the option of skipping a couple, but he answered them all quite delightfully. He didn’t even skip the dreaded Snuggie query, which I would have totally glossed if I were him.

This interview follows last week’s post in which a couple of friends (who shall remain unnamed to protect their privacy) (and dignity) were kind enough to review the Slanket and the Snuggie, and I’m pleased to report that the Slanket is handily the superior product.

To my surprise, I seem to be giving sleeved blankets a great deal of coverage lately. I think this interview is a fine conclusion to the series, and I look forward to moving on. For posterity’s sake, though, here’s the story so far:

• It’s game time: Snuggie vs Slanket
• This Slanket thing is out of control
• Lounge Off: Slanket Vs. Snuggie
  

How did we get from one personal Slanket to the Slanket empire?

A very general question.  I will try and summarize.   I asked my mother to make the first Slanket ever.  There were no other blankets like this that I could find at the time.  I used it through college.  I then moved to Brazil.  I then moved to Boulder, Colorado to write a novel and live with my older brother.

It was then that I started perfecting the specs of the Slanket.  I made prototypes, tried different sizes, lengths, etc.  My brother and I started giving them as gifts to friends and family.  We decided to start a proper business.  We built a site, and launched it with guerilla marketing tactics.  Postings on blogs, and online review sites helped get us off the ground.  We blasted off the ground, and sold Slankets in 15 countries in the first 6 months.  I then launched a PR mailout to radio stations and magazines across the nation, offering to do giveaways and interviews.  This worked.  People wanted to talk about it and we began to gain momentum, all the while growing on the Internet.  New York Times.com, and major newspapers picked up the story.

Additional detail:

• A fierce rivalry of the fleece
• A pair of brothers build a better blanket

We then attended a couple trade shows, at one of which, we became the Cinderella story and appeared on the Today Show and local morning shows in Chicago.  We received orders from QVC, SkyMall, etc. and it really took off.  I began selling on QVC and sold out continuously even breaking a record.  A big deal.  QVC is a monster.  And there you have it.

When did you realize that the Slanket had “made it,” as it were?

A few times.   The first, when it appeared in the Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Toronto Star, etc after the first article.  I knew we had something. The second time: When it appeared on The Today Show in 2007 with Giada De Laurentiis.  The third:  After my first appearance on QVC and we sold out.  The latest, when a very famous comedian did a piece on it, on Rodeo Drive, and when 30 Rock wrote it into a script.

What color was the original Slanket and has the Smithsonian Institution yet approached you about acquiring it?

The original was beige made of Valex material and it is falling apart.  No Smithsonian yet, but I’m saving it for that day.

What is the best Slanket story you’ve heard? Customer or media.

Oooh, that is a tough one.  We had a customer propose to his girlfriend by sewing a pocket into one and putting the ring in it.  We also had a community that competes every year to see who can be the last to turn on their heat each fall/winter.  We gave the winner a Slanket.  There was also a woman whose husband died, but before he died he had bought her a Slanket.  She didn’t receive it until after his death, and she cherishes it.  We once had a guy in Saudi Arabia order nine Slankets.

On your site, you write about this not being about the pursuit of wealth, but of experience. Have you taken the Slanket abroad?

Of course.  The impetus of the Slanket was not the pursuit of wealth, but of course we will sell the Slanket wherever it is accepted.  It gives us a reason to travel, and share our product with new people and cultures.  Part of the adventure.  We currently are very popular in the UK, and selling all over Europe as well as Japan, and Australia.

Sorry, but I have to: What is up with the Snuggie? Was it a parallel discovery, or was the Snuggie a blatant rip?

Anyone who does a decent investigation will see that we existed and received a lot of press before the Snuggie was even a faint idea.  We began selling on QVC a couple years ago.  We did very well, selling out just about every time. QVC and the world of infomercials exist in the same market.

This company watches QVC closely and takes products from their often.  The QVC community has seen it before and was not surprised.  If you watch one of our QVC pitches, you can see that the snuggie company basically copied and pasted what we said into a commercial format.  It is a free country.  No big deal.  Some people have original ideas.  Some people feed of those people.  Part of existing in society.  We move forward and stay true to our values of Quality, integrity, and customer service.

You’ve got the Slanket for kids, what’s next?

I can’t say here or now, but at least two Slanket related products and one new one.

What is your favorite non-Slanket related Web site?

Hmmm.  Just one.  Maybe theonion.com or livegoals.com (big soccer fans) or nbc.com only because of 30 Rock.  When I need to catch up and am on the road.

Have you considered the carbon footprint implications of the Slanket in terms of people being able to turn down their thermostats by a couple of degrees during strategic months?

Actually, in that broad of a perspective, no.  Obviously, we began using this as part of our pitch on QVC when my parents first told me that they did this in Maine.   We were hoping to save people a few bucks, but you are right, with more and more people doing this, it actually could have a real impact.  Very cool.

As promised earlier this week in A Damn Fine Blog Post, I am thrilled to present to you today this brief interview with Erik and Charles, proprietors of Andrews & Dunham: Damn Fine Tea. I can think of no finer use for this, my 100th post, than telling y’all about this cool new shop, and launching a new format that I plan to feature again.

I’ve long known Erik to have one of the most finely honed aesthetic senses I’ve ever encountered, and so was not at all surprised that a lot of effort went into the presentation of their painstakingly selected teas. In fact, since their launch a few weeks ago, their packaging has been lauded on a couple of design blogs. I know the guys value their ongoing collaboration with Aesthetic Apparatus, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the evolution of the brand.

But don’t take my word for it, read the rave reviews:

• Lovely Package
• TheDieLine

But what about the damn tea, you might very well ask. Well, I like it very much. But if you want a more informed opinion, check out this review at Authori-Tea. I’ve never seen a more beautiful leaf of green tea, and the Nepal and Ceylon are subtle and sophisticated without being snooty or overpowering. Their inaugural collection is a fine one, and they should be proud.

And now, without further ado:

7 Questions with Erik and Charles: Purveyors of Damn Fine Tea

Now, I drink a lot of tea, but it’s kind of a leap from being a fan to starting a business. What compelled you?

Charles: All the usual world-domination schemes. Also, we didn’t (and still don’t) feel like anybody else is doing what we do.We sell tea because it’s cool and tastes great and not because it will heal your soul. Though it might. We’re like a little micro-brewer in a wine town. And that’s fine.

Erik: We have to share the love. We love tea and we love great design. We will share rides in our convertibles if we are successful.

What was the biggest challenge to getting the business running?

Charles: Timing, mostly. I don’t think any one thing was any harder or easier that we predicted, but coordinating a lot of dependent processes, each for the first time, was a real schoolin’. We took a long time to craft our business plan (it was very leisurely process), and we made sure the scope of it fit with our perceived strengths. Also, we have a very realistic attitude about our weaknesses and all the crap we don’t want to deal with, so our strategy takes into account our laziness. It embraces it. For that reason I think it’s been pretty smooth overall.

Erik: The biggest challenge? Getting off the couch. From a tech standpoint, we wanted our site to run independently of shopping cart providers like PayPal and Google Checkout for user experience and financial reasons. Learning to wrestle a shopping system into submission has been the biggest challenge for me. Learning not to refresh the “new orders” in-box has been tough, too.

And what’s been the best part of starting Andrews & Dunham?

Charles: Counting all the money and picking out which convertibles to buy. And getting to work with our designers, Aesthetic Apparatus. Those guys are total pros and the nicest people ever.

Erik: Talking to tea lovers everywhere. It is tremendously gratifying to have a complete stranger purchase our tea. There is a level of trust when they buy. Meeting their expectations through customer service and great tea is very rewarding.

What tea has captured your interest most recently, and what’s your all-time love?

Charles: Lately I’ve been enjoying some fun flavored teas from Kusmi Tea, which is an old Russian tea house that relocated to Paris around the time of the Russian revolution. The blends have a great “old world” refinement that makes me happy. And they remind me of my extensive travels in Europe. My total BFF tea is high-grade black Chinese Yunnan tea.

Erik: I like pretty much any oolong. And senchas. I am rationing a tin of genmaicha from an ancient tea shop in Kyoto. From when I went to Japan. Did I mention I’ve been to Japan?

Can you tell me a little about your tasting regimen?

Charles: It’s not very scientific. We get a ton of samples (which is awesome) and I prepare them just like I prepare the tea I buy. I try them at home, at work, in various mugs, pots, travel cups, whatever. I’m horrible at measuring quantities and timing so I go by instinct. The good ones stick out, and those ones we put through more of a rigorous testing process.

Erik: I let Charles winnow down the pile. I try the teas he’s selected and think to myself, “what the hell?” Then we decide on which teas to feature in a series.

And then how do you make the decision on what teas to feature?

Charles: Special 7-sided tea die.

Erik: WWJB?

What’s the preparation secret to a perfect cuppa?

Charles: Tea always tastes better to me when I’ve had some toast and there’s good music playing.

Erik: Tea is wonderfully analog. It is joyously imprecise. Every cup is different. However, timing is key. Not exact timing, but you want to be in the ballpark. I use a kitchen timer to keep me from over-brewing, but other than that, I just let it fly.

I had the great good fortune to work many years ago with a very talented Web designer who had a very hard couple of years trying to teach an ungrateful nonprofit all about good design. I had the additional good luck to stay in touch with him, and to be notified when he started a new venture – Andrews & Dunham Fine Tea.

Now, I drink a lot of tea. But I was really impressed with the stories of tea drinkery and tea conference attendance that Erik shared. The world of tea? Has a long history, some geeked-out fanatics, and a real penchant for fetishism. What’s not to like?

And when they opened up shop and released their first exclusive collection of fine teas, how could I not order up a batch?

And I did.

And it was really good.

[Full Disclosure just in case anyone's wondering: I paid retail for my order, bought an additional batch for my in-laws who are hard to shop for, and no one asked me to plug them - I just want to because they're that good.]

I’ve taken to calling the Nepal tea “that Yeti stuff,” because it actually tastes kind of hairy to me when I make it too strong. But I also browbeat both Andrews and Dunham to answer a couple of questions for the blog here in a format I just invented that is called: 7 Questions: Because 10 is too many and 5 is not enough.

And I’m going to post it on Sunday.

Oh, and did I mention that their packaging has the most exquisite design? That is being praised all over the design blogosphere? So when you order buckets of the stuff, you can know that you’re supporting quality from stem to stern.

More on Sunday.