Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, September 29, 2018

MVNews this week:  Page A:8

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FOOD & DRINK

Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 29, 2018 


TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com


If this seems redundant, I apologize, but my 
favorite saying is “feed the masses and you’ll always 
eat with the classes”. Just this week I had the good 
fortune to be a guest on a popular radio show with 
a host that certainly knows his wine. During the 
same show, another guest was on to talk about his 
wine from Temecula (I won’t name the wines; you 
probably haven’t heard their name anyway, as they 
only produce 300 cases a year). The host asked him 
how much his wine sold for, and the winemaker 
said “between $25 to $45”. During the break the 
winemaker whispered in my ear that he has plenty 
of cabernet to sell, and that’s where his profit is. I 
thought “man, that must be a very high mark up; 
wouldn’t be better to sell more at $30?” After all I 
was an econ major in college. The pressure to find 
you a couple of mid-price range cabernets for you 
was no problem at all. First, the Black Stallion 
Cabernet - the winery is located in Napa Valley 
close to the Silverado Trail. My initial meeting 
with this cabernet was at the posh and luxurious 
Langham Hotel (you might remember I wrote 
about their chardonnay some two years ago) - the 
cabernet is fantastic and at around $25 a bottle a 
real value. 

Second choice (another past favorite) the Franciscan 
Cabernet. A few years ago I recommended the 
2011. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is from 
the Franciscan Winery, located in Napa Valley, 
California. The wine is made up of 86% cabernet 
juice plus a bit of merlot, petite syrah and cabernet 
franc. This cabernet goes well with a steak and is 
priced so reasonably that you can bring it to any 
tailgate party, which is exactly how I first discovered 
this wine! As my friend Eddie Morales from the 
Langham says, “if it is ready to buy, it is ready to 
drink.” Being a 2012 you can opt to decant the 
wine for twenty minutes, but my opinion is it’s 
ready to drink now! The color is a deep garnet; you 
might smell red plum or cherry. I smelled a hint of 
berries, but flavors are definably cherry with a hint 
of vanilla. 

Price Check $19

 Tune in every Sunday Night for Dining with Dills 
AM 830 KLAA 5 PM. Website www.peterdills.com


ORIGAMI OPENS UP SMART OPTIONS FOR ARCHITECTURE ON THE MOON AND MARS


Origami and high-performance textiles are 
transforming architecture plans for smart human 
habitats and research stations on the Moon and 
Mars. Initial field tests of the MoonMars project’s 
origami prototype have been presented at the 
European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2018 
in Berlin by Dr. Anna Sitnikova.

 MoonMars is a collaboration between the 
International Lunar Exploration Working Group 
(ILEWG), ESA-ESTEC, research institutions 
and textile architect studio Samira Boon. The 
MoonMars team has incorporated origami 
structure into digital weaving processes to sculpt 
complex forms that are compact to transport and 
easy to deploy through inflatable, pop-up or robotic 
mechanisms in extraterrestrial environments.

 “Origami structures made of textiles can be 
unfolded into a myriad of different shapes. They 
are lightweight. They can be easily deployed and 
re-used in different configurations and sizes for 
flexible spatial usage. Structures remain functional 
in changing circumstances, thereby extending their 
useable life-span,” said Sitnikova, who leads the 
MoonMars project on behalf of the ILEWG.

 In the hostile environment of space, high-
performance textiles and the flexibile nature 
of origami can provide unique architectural 
advantages. The angled facets of origami structures 
mean that incoming micrometeorites are less likely 
hit surfaces at 90 degrees, dissipating the energy of 
potential impacts and the risks of penetration, thus 
protecting astronauts inside habitats. Solar panels 
embedded in shape-shifting textiles can follow 
the Sun to gather more energy through the day. 
Transparent and opaque facets can change direction 
to alter internal lighting and climate conditions.

 Following initial tests of a prototype entrance 
tunnel during the EuroMoonMars simulation at 
the European Space Agency’s ESTEC facility in 
April 2018, the MoonMars team is now planning 
an ambitious series of trials for 2019. In June, the 
IGLUNA project, led by the Swiss Space Center, 
will include tests of an origami habitat in the glacier 
above Zermatt in Switzerland. In September 2019 
the team will travel to Iceland to participate in a 
campaign inside a lava-tube cave system.

 “We’ve just returned from a scouting trip and 
have selected the cave systems of Stefanshellir and 
Surtshellir, which has large galleries and a very 
elaborate tunnel system. We are provisionally 
looking at setting up a small habitat, implementing 
knowledge from previous demonstrations of our 
origami tunnel and woven domes,” said Sitnikova.

 The next design milestone will be a self-
deployable origami habitat.

 Origami, from ori meaning “folding”, and kami 
meaning “paper” (kami changes to gami) is the 
art of paper folding, which is often associated 
with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word 
“origami” is used as an inclusive term for all folding 
practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The 
goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into 
a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting 
techniques.

 “Origami for space architecture promotes cross-
disciplinary approaches and applications, providing 
state-of-the-art production and design methods,” 
said Sitnikova. “Habitats enhanced by such 
structures are temporal and alive as they are able 
to transform and redefine themselves in resonance 
with human and environmental factors.”

Graphics:

http://www.europlanet-eu.org/epsc-2018-origami-
opens-up-smart-options-for-architecture-on-the-
moon-and-mars/ 

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.

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