Life in Florence's Fire Hose

The folks in New Bern, NC are getting the worst of it. Not only is there the powerful storm surge to deal with, but the storm's most powerful rain band is sitting right on them, and isn't budging. It's like trying to live in a gushing fire hose.

Protest on Thursday Against Joe Arpaio in Carmel Valley

Siobhan gets air time regarding the protest she's organized tomorrow in Carmel Valley. If you are down that way, stop by, boo America's most-dangerous sheriff, and celebrate freedom:

Carmel Valley resident and mom Siobhan Wolfe helped organize the “No Arpaio” protest via Facebook.

“Joe Arpaio is a criminal and he's a racist. And Carmel Valley is all about love. He has a right, his First Amendment right to speak, but we also have a right to say, ‘yeah, your message does not resonate with Carmel Valley’,” said Wolfe.

According to the “No Arpaio” Facebook page, more than a hundred people will attend the protest outside the luncheon venue at Carmel Valley’s Palo Corona Regional Park.

[UPDATE] Siobhan got some air time on the NPR affiliate!

A Strange Security Mystery in Sunspot, NM

John brings this to my attention:

SUNSPOT, New Mexico - The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot New Mexico has been closed since last Thursday.

The post office near Sunspot also remains closed. Its employees have been temporarily transferred to the post office in Cloudcroft, a USPS official told ABC-7.

ABC-7 has confirmed the post office in Sunspot will not be re-opened until further notice, and cannot be re-opened until approved by local law enforcement officials.

...The FBI did speak with local law enforcement about the length of the observatory closure.

"They spoke with my sergeant initially and they said that they would be down for a few days so that could be anywhere from a few days to months, from my past experience," said Sheriff Benny House.

The FBI did not tell Sheriff House the reason for the closure.

Sheriff Benny House did tell ABC 7 that his local law enforcement did not have anything to do with either the observatory closure, or the Sunspot post office Closure.

A spokesperson for the United States Postal Service told ABC 7 that they were given specific instructions. "We were told on September 6th that we would be evacuated along with the surrounding area, we were not told why," Rod Sturgeon said, "We were told just to be out of the area."

Dyer notes:

Hmm, Sac Peak been mostly closed for more than a year. NMSU is still operating the Vacuum Tower Telescope and the post office has been closed for a couple of years, I think.

[UPDATE] I agree with this article, that espionage is the most-likely issue:

But given AURA's statements and what else we know about the situation, there is a distinct possibility that "security issue" is actually related to espionage or a similar operational security concern. The National Solar Observatory's site enjoys a wide and largely unobstructed view of both the U.S. Air Force's Holloman Air Force Base and the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range, both of which regularly host a very wide array of U.S. military research and development programs.

Hurricane Florence Drives For The Coast

The hurricane-path forecasts have been remarkably stable, showing Florence's initial landfall in North Carolina, with enormous storm surges along the coast, even into Virginia. Then, Florence stalls, and wanders a bit, perhaps wandering into northeast South Carolina, with accompanying heavy flooding.

Initially, forecasts showed Florence moving back over the Atlantic, and heading northeast, but more recent forecasts show Florence staying inland, creating a punishing flood event in the Appalachians in southwest Virginia, and heavy rains throughout Virginia and Maryland, before heading northeast.

Some, but not all, weather forecasts show there is a possibility that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Isaac might divert from its current western path, start moving northwest, and follow Florence's path into the coast. It's still unclear how likely that change in path might be.

There's also a developing tropical low that may afflict Houston with rain over the next week.

A rather complacent Pat Robertson counsels prayer for Virginia:

“In the name of Jesus, you Hurricane Florence, we speak to you in the name of Jesus, and we command the storm to cease its forward motion and go harmlessly into the Atlantic. Go up north away from land and veer off in the name of Jesus. We declare in the name of the lord that you shall go no farther, you shall do no damage in this area.”

Medallion Trees of the Sandias

Historical perspective:

Have you seen them? By some counts, there have been as many as 88 documented medallion trees, maybe even twice as many more once, scattered along the trails throughout the Sandia Mountains like secret little jewels of history.

At present, the locations of 84 medallion trees are known.

Each medallion – an aluminum or brass or steel washer about 1½ to 2 inches in diameter – is screwed into the tree over the hole where a core sample was taken to determine the tree’s age. A historic event that corresponds with the germination date, or GD, is stamped on the medallion.

Buried Treasure!

Cool!:

Archaeologists are studying a valuable trove of old Roman coins found on the site of a former theater in northern Italy.
The coins, at least 300 of them, date back to the late Roman imperial era and were found in a soapstone jar unearthed in the basement of the Cressoni Theater in Como, north of Milan.

"We do not yet know in detail the historical and cultural significance of the find," said Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli in a press release. "But that area is proving to be a real treasure for our archeology. A discovery that fills me with pride."

Whoever placed the jar in that place "buried it in such a way that in case of danger they could go and retrieve it," said Maria Grazia Facchinetti, a numismatist -- or expert in rare coins -- at a Monday press conference.

"They were stacked in rolls similar to those seen in the bank today," she said, adding the coins have engravings about emperors Honorius, Valentinian III, Leon I, Antonio, and Libio Severo "so they don't go beyond 474 AD."

"All of this makes us think that the owner is not a private subject, rather it could be a public bank or deposit," Facchinetti added.

We're the Millers (2013)

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Last Updated: May 30, 2019.

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Comedy about a pot dealer who assembles a fake family as cover for a large shipment of drugs. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms, Thomas Lennon, Jason Sudeikis, and Molly C. Quinn. Filming locations: Albuquerque Sunport, Cerrillos, Jemez Dam Road (Jemez Pueblo), Laguna Pueblo, Rociada, Santa Ana Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo (Border Set on Hwy 22), Watrous, Villanueva, Zia Pueblo.

https://moviemaps.org/movies/mw




Notes on Individual Scenes
-----------------------------

Pender’s Burger, Wilmington, NC?

Albuquerque Sunport, as seen from the Parking Garage at the Albuquerque Sunport, Level 4.

Highway travels – various roads

Fireworks Booth

Fireworks Roadside

Near Cerrillos

Santo Domingo Pueblo (Border Set on Hwy 22), (35.477837°, -106.311818°)

Incidental House

Village (Villanueva?)

Stone Building

Inside Stone Building

Traffic Stop

Stone Building

Walk After Breakdown – Jemez Dam Road (35.383629°, -106.538991°)

Auto Repair

Campsite

RV Park

Hospital (NC?)

Carnival (NC)

Suburban Neighborhood & House

Take A Knee

Doomed

I approached the western end of the I-80 Yolo Causeway as I drove to Davis on Thursday evening. I was driving at 70 mph in the right lane in a close cluster of vehicles including large semi-trailer trucks. Suddenly, I saw something that made my heart sink. A stunned-looking hawk was standing on the white line separating the right lane from the center lane. The hawk was alive, but doomed, absolutely doomed, and there was no way to save it. Could. Not. Stop.

Still, on subsequent recrossings of that patch of pavement, I see no body. I hope that hawk was able to figure out an exit from that horrible place.

Southwestern Amorous Tarantula Migration Starts

Caption: Photographer David Tremblay said he thought about placing his hand next to the tarantula for a size comparison. The spider is about 5 inches across. (David Tremblay/For The Ruidoso News)

Watch out!:

“Male tarantulas live 10 to 12 years. Females can live twice as long,” he said. “Predators of tarantulas include lizards, snakes, spider-eating birds, coyotes and foxes.

“Tarantulas are nocturnal hunters. They feed primarily on insects like grasshoppers, beetles, other small spiders and arthropods, and will sometimes eat small lizards.”

Tarantulas are found worldwide. Those in North America live in the southern and southwestern states, with many other species to the south throughout Mexico, Central and South America.

They are very sensitive to vibrations in the ground that may indicate the presence of prey or danger, Tremblay said. They are equipped with urticating hairs on their abdomen that can be released by kicking with their back legs; these hairs irritate the nose and eyes of would-be attackers.

“I’ve read that they are docile, but they can leap nearly five feet into the air,” Tremblay said.

Venn Diagram

Sometimes You're The Car....

Love Ranch (2010)

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Last Updated: May 30, 2019.

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Drama. A married couple open the first legal brothel in Nevada. Starring Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, Gina Gershon, Bai Ling, Taryn Manning, M.C. Gainey, Scout Taylor-Compton, Bryan Cranston. Main set near San Ysidro; other filming locations: Albuquerque, Bernalillo, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Sandia Park, Zia Pueblo.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/state/282557nm02-04-08.htm



Notes on Individual Scenes
-----------------------------

Love Ranch: Approximately (35.519880°, -106.768653°)

Doctor’s Office: Unresolved

Gym interior: Unresolved

Mobile Home Park: Unresolved

Modern Development: Unresolved

Gypsum Mine: (35.537276°, -106.809766°)

Precipice: (35.537805°, -106.811455°)

Working Out – San Ysidro (35.567184°, -106.770985°)

Dead Coyote: Approximately (35.548294°, -106.824653°)

General Location of Drive (35.571294°, -106.863968°)

Get the Fuck Out of the Car! (35.587090°, -106.883275°)

Junkyard: (35.520570°, -106.770626°)

Boxing Arena: Unresolved

Hospital: Unresolved

View of Sandia Crest, and city as seen from the Crest.

Love Ranch II: Unresolved.