An education without all that pesky reading: Lobster College

For an education you can really sink your teeth into:

After a five-year hiatus, Lobster College is back. Registrations are now being accepted for this most unique learning vacation, organized by the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine and hosted this year by the Kenniston Hill Inn Bed & Breakfast in Boothbay, Maine. Lobster College is an educational adventure designed for people interested in enjoying a fun extended weekend on the Maine coast. It's a chance to learn everything and anything there is to know about Maine's premier crustacean. The event is scheduled for September 18-21.

Kenniston Hill Inn B&B will serve as home base for Lobster College.
Participants will enjoy the gracious hospitality of host, Dianne Ward, at this classic shipbuilders mansion built in 1786 in spectacular Boothbay, Maine. (You can see and learn more about the inn at www.kennistonhillinn.com.)
Various field trips are scheduled throughout the Boothbay Harbor area as part of the curriculum. "Folks who join us for Lobster College will experience hands-on and on-site learning about lobsters directly from lobstermen and lobster dealers themselves, as well as from University of Maine faculty. We've based Lobster College in the heart of lobstering country, at one of the most picturesque areas on the coast of Maine," said Robert Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute.

"We'll be taking a trip out to haul traps, we'll visit a working lobster wharf, and we'll provide lectures on a variety of lobster-related topics. We'll even show you how to bait a trap." According to Bayer, those who enroll in Lobster College will learn about lobster biology and ecology, value-added lobster products, lobster cuisine, stock management and other areas within the lobster industry. "And of course, there will be plenty of lobster to eat," said Bayer. "At our last Lobster College graduation, we counted them up and found that we had enjoyed ten different lobster dishes during the course of the weekend."

Students from the last Lobster College came from as far as California and Arizona. One attendee, Paul Oswald, shared these thoughts at the end of the program, "The words great and excellent are much overused in our society. But these words must be used to describe this program. Five star all the way."

And Jim Starwood added, "We really enjoyed ourselves, and the entire experience completely exceeded my expectations."
In addition to being an educational program, Lobster College doubles as a fundraiser for the Lobster Institute. The Institute is a research and outreach organization with a mission of protecting, conserving and enhancing the vitality of the lobster as a resource, and lobstering as an industry and as a way of life. It was founded jointly by members of the lobster industry and faculty at the University of Maine.

While participants won't need SATs to get in, enrollment for Lobster College is limited to the first 20 "students", and the deadline to enroll is September 5. Information about Lobster College, including cost and how to register, and about other programs and services of the Lobster Institute, is available on the Internet at www.lobsterinstitute.org or by calling (207)581-2751or (207)581-1443.

Not having to pedal is worth $25 to me

From The Maine SWITCH:

New kiosk rents plug-in scooters on Portland waterfront

The eGo may look like a bicycle, but it doesn't require any pedaling.
Instead these lightweight scooters are powered by a battery and an electric
plug for recharging. And as of this week, you can rent one by the hour from
a kiosk near Sapporo Restaurant on Commercial Street in Portland.
Called Scoot USA, the business venture is the brainchild of Jeff Cooper, who
owns H2Outfitters on Orr's Island. For the past four years, the kayak sales
and excursion company has been selling the all-electric scooters. With gas
prices at an all-time high and people in Portland looking for greener ways
to get around, Cooper says the time seems right for expansion.
"The beauty of these things is they're silent and for one penny you get 20
miles," Cooper says, citing the scooter's cost of pulling electricity from
the grid.
On a full charge, an eGo scooter will go about 25 miles, topping out at a
maximum speed of 20 mph. To recharge the battery, the scooters can be
plugged into regular 110 volt outlets. A completely drained battery takes
about five hours to recharge.
In addition to the scooter rentals, the kiosk will sell folding bikes. These
compact machines range in price from $450 to $1,500. Cooper does not plan to
sell the eGo scooters at the kiosk, but they are for sale at H2Outfitters,
with prices ranging from $1,500 to $2,300.
The kiosk will be open daily, with hours still being determined at press
time. And while the kiosk may be small, Cooper is thinking big.
"Our goal is to eventually set up solar recharging stations from Kennebunk
to Edgecomb," Cooper said.

$ Avery Yale Kamila

Scooter rental fees
$25 first hour
$10 each additional hour

FMI call 800-205-2925

Dropkick Murphys concert moved

From a PPH news update:

The Dropkick Murphys concert at Portland's Hadlock Field on Friday has been moved to the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The move, per the band's Web site, came after the band and the ball field realized the stage show had potential to disrupt the conditions of the field. An alternate stage would have set the stage far from the fans.

Hadlock Field tickets will be honored at the civic center. Refund requests must be made by Friday at point of purchase.

Friday's show begins at 6:30 p.m. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones open. Tickets are $32.50. Call Ticketmaster at 775-3331 or the civic center box office at 775-3458. Or Ticketmaster online.

Hey starving artists, Baldy wants YOU

Well, not so much you, but your glorious art:

Governor and Mrs. Baldacci seek to commission an artist to
create an object to give to six fellow governors and six
premieres as a gift from the state of Maine to be delivered
at an event on September 15 and 16, 2008. The piece should
be symbolic of Maine in some way. It should be small, easy
to place, and not exceed a budget of $300.00 for a single
piece with an overall budget of $3600.00.

Deadline is July 30, 2008.

Please submit a resume and 5 jpeg images of your work to
donna.mcneil@maine.gov for review. Mailed submissions can
be sent to the address below.

Donna McNeil, Director
Maine Arts Commission
193 State Street, 25 SHS
Augusta, ME 04333-0025
207/287-2726 Direct Line
donna.mcneil@maine.gov

Bat guano at Bull Moose

As an added value for purchase of the Batman: Gotham Knight DVD release on 7/8/08 (http://www.warnervideo.com/batmangothamknight/) Bull Moose is giving away a few tablespoons of Bat Guano (while supplies last) plus the instructions for use. [They strongly support the harvesting of said organic product as long as there is zero bat disturbance in the process.]

Why is Guano so Good?

Bat Guano has a high percentage of natural living microbic flora. There is a predominance of beneficial fungus, actinomycetes and bacteria in it.
Bat Guano is a nematocide. It destroys the primary stage of the nematodes and thus eliminates them. Eliminating nematodes is equal to protecting the plant's radicular system, which improve nutrition and production.
Bat Guano is a fungicide and competes with disease causing microbes.
Bat Guano contain a high percentage (40% and more) of organic matter.
High content of cationic exchange, increasing the plant's feeding possibility.
Guano has a wide range of chelates (natural organic-mineral compounds with a high molecular weight), which give bat guano great structural stability and produces a high residual effect in the soil and substrate where it is applied.
Bat guano's composition varies according to the animals' feeding habits and the type and form of caves where they live, among other factors.

N-P-K 3-10-1
1% water soluble nitrogen 2% water insoluble nitrogen
Vintage phosphorus material designed by nature as a plant food. Dry-Bar Cave Bat Guano contains the necessary nutrients for promoting root and bud development. Recommended for all fruits, flowers and vegetables.

One or two tablespoons per 8 inch diameter container, one to two lbs. per 100 square feet and rake into the soil.

One to two tablespoons per vegetable transplant hole. Apply with soil before growth and once during early growth.

Very good stuff for Dahlias.
Dry Bar Cave Bat Guano is highly recommended for berry bushes like, raspberries and blackberries