Cafe Med customers using iPads to order wine and the Wind Wolves Preserve gets some recognition

 * ... CAFE MED: It was bound to happen, and now comes word from Meir Brown that Cafe Med has converted to an iPad wine list. That's right, the popular Stockdale Highway eatery is now offering iPads so customers can select wines, make notes or even connect to the winemaker's website to learn more about what they are ordering. "They can even email the information and selections to themselves or their friends, all from their seat in the restaurant," Brown told me. "We are the first in Bakersfield to have these and are very excited about it! We look forward to feedback from our customers." 

* ... UNWED MOTHERS: My earlier post about the large number of children being born out of wedlock drew this response from reader Phyllis Smith.  "In regard to your piece about unwed mothers, I feel the press never lets up on announcing the celebrities who are pregnant, but unmarried.  No one seems to care and young people see this as being ‘just part of life.' I always remember how Ingrid Bergman was sent out of the country and her career was nearly destroyed because she was unmarried at the time of one of her pregnancies. Now it seems to be accepted more and more. How sad!"

* ... AWARD: Sunset magazine has singled out the Wildlands Conservancy for the "Best Education Program" in running the Wind Wolves Preserve in Kern County. The magazine said the preserve, which covers 95,000 access where the San Joaquin Valley meets the Transverse Ranges, boasts an excellent educational program for both families and students who come from families who live below the poverty line. (photo courtesy of Sunset magazine)

 * ...  BAD FORM: Steve Montgomery spotted my piece about a local businessman finding a diaper on his doorstep and added this: "To add insult to injury some jerk dumped a mattress in the alley behind my house Sunday morning while I was in church.  Of course the holiday made me wait until today to report the nasty thing."

 * ... OVERHEARD: A young professional woman complaining about her recent car accident. "So this car runs a red light and it hits me. The driver has no license and no car insurance and she leaves before the police get there. Just drives off! How many more people are out there like this?"

 * ... GAS PRICES: So are we ready for $4 a gallon gas? How about $5 a gallon, which is what many experts are predicting by the summer? How will prices this high affect your life?

 * ... FULLER BRUSH: How many of you remember the Fuller Brush salesmen who used to make calls at your home? I had no idea the company was still around until I read in the Wall Street Journal that the company has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company still employs 180 full-time people and some 10,000 independent contractors.