February 21, 2007

Palo Alto: Secret Mountain Laboratory

I live next door to a Secret Mountain Laboratory. It’s not really in the mountains. And it’s not exactly secret. But what it is, is yet another famous Palo Alto garage where creative things happen.

The mad scientist behind SML is Jan, who on most days wears a white lab coat with “Dr. Technology” embroidered on the pocket. Jan’s “day job” is building ceramic crowns and teeth in his garage lab. Because he’s such an out-of-the-box thinker, he doesn’t limit himself to human teeth. Sometimes he makes elephant tusks. Or cuspids for 500-pound tigers at Marine World Africa.

Living next door to a genius can be both a burden and a blessing. My husband and I might be drifting off to sleep, only to be awakened by the buzz of a TIG welder, the grinding of a jeweler’s wheel, or the snap of aluminum pop rivets. The next day I’ll wander over to see what’s new in his driveway.

Some of his more notable inventions include the Solar-Powered Scooter.

Or the Solar-Powered Street Surfboard.

Here’s the Red Rider Toothmobile, which he uses to deliver gold crowns to local dentists.

And my personal favorite is his Great-Dane-Powered Schwinn with a Bulldog Sidecar.

Jan is a true pioneer in another area - the use of dogs as a fashion accessory. And he’s a guy who has remade himself more times than Madonna. Since we’ve lived next to him, he’s sported a number of “looks,” including the Great Gatsby, the Urban Cowboy, and the Presidente of the Society for the Preservation of Pterodactyls, complete with a leather bomber jacket emblazoned with his society’s logo. Here he is dressed as EcoMan.

Jan is an inspiration to all of us who get mentally trapped in the conventions of the Yuppie Paradigm, and he is yet another reason to live in Palo Alto. With neighbors like these, who needs reality TV?

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