Thursday, July 13, 2023

Monterey Bay Aquarium - July 10, 2023


Suspended fiberglass whale and baby.

Spinning fish, almost all of which are heading to the left.  The fish at the bottom is heading the opposite direction.  The kids called that fish a freethinker.

Cool-looking jellyfish galore.

Green sea turtle and manta ray, plus dolphinfish.

Anchovies spin, and spin.

Spin, anchovies, spin.

Dolphinfish, yellow tuna, green sea turtle, and a hammerhead shark or two, suspended in space.

Crabs, an oceanic delicacy, are safe for the moment at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

A demonstrative puffin, plus a couple of murres, splash in the water.

Seaside, CA, as seen from Monterey, CA.

Looking from the aquarium across Monterey Bay towards Santa Cruz, CA.

Abalone shells.

Touchable sea urchins don't want to touch each other, or touch people, and just want to be somewhere else.

Hermit crabs scurrying across palms in order not to touch anyone.

Pipes in the ceiling, and touchable aquarium guests who don't want to be photographed and look like maybe they just want to be somewhere else.

Rachel looks for the Leopard Shark.

Leopard Shark!

Just look up.

California Moray Eel says, "OK, I'll just look up."

Penguins.

Penguins like the water.

Sea anemone.

Interesting-looking boat in shallow water near the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Deep-sea coral.

Display of a deep-sea submersible touching down.

Waving red fronds shimmer and quake.

Touchable Isopods just want to be somewhere else.

Trip to Monterey Bay - July 10, 2023


Monterey, CA, as seen from Seaside, CA.

The beach at Seaside, CA, not far from the shopping center at Seaside, CA.

The ground squirrel at the beach.

The old shopping cart caked with concrete at the Seaside, CA, beach.

Rachel and her kids begin approaching the log for lunch.

The Emo McDonald's, with its dark arches, in Monterey.

Monterey Canning Co.

Outside Rock and Roll Donuts.

Donuts!

Posing with the donut outside Rock and Roll Donuts.

The slides at Oceanview Park in Santa Cruz, CA.

The amusement park at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk as seen from Oceanview Park.

An African Grey Parrot chills at Oceanview Park.

Rachel with her childhood friend (and fellow teacher) Laura at Oceanview Park.

Sunday, July 09, 2023

Construction Site Theft

I called Sacramento police last night. It seemed like a theft was underway at a construction site for new apartments as Jasper and I passed by at 1:14 a.m. I expected I might see a security guard on-site, but this fellow wasn’t patrolling. Instead, he was digging through reams of plastic of the sort used by painters. He squeezed through a locked gate just as we passed by and wore a kind-of parka to hide features. I could have been neighborly and said hello, but didn’t. My phone completely discharged as I tried to call police so there was a 20-minute delay in calling as I had to return home first for charging. He likely got away, but at least the call got made.

Freedom!

@thecritic2022 #Bettybowers ♬ original sound - TheCritic2022

Fall Out Boy - We Didn't Start the Fire

Picking up again where Billy Joel left off.

 

My Political Viewpoint These Days

@patloller

Here’s a video notionally about nuance but is actually just me doubling down on the same point

♬ original sound - Pat Loller

Grandma at Casino

@lilateezy Grandma die at casino again 🎰 👵🏻 cupid remix freestyle 👵🏻🤦🏻‍♀️ #fyp #laotiktok🇱🇦 #laotiktok #viral #casino #grandma #lilateezy #lilat #fml #asian ♬ original sound - LILA T.

Not Skunked

This evening (July 3rd), about 8:45 p.m., I was walking my dog Jasper and his guest Max along lush Markham Way, among the most desirable streets in Curtis Park, when both dogs suddenly lunged under a bush. It took me a few seconds to understand what they had seen. There was a skunk under the bush, and the entire street reeked of skunk. Both dogs got within a foot of the skunk, and I anticipated both would require baths immediately. 

Yet, when I got home, I noticed both dogs had somehow not been sprayed. When it comes to safety, skunks observe their surroundings carefully and rarely panic. I’m assuming the skunk noticed both dogs were on leashes, and thus weren’t a danger to it at all. The great warrior dogs were beneath the skunk’s attention. Thank goodness!

Crushed the iPhone

Ah, tragic! I ran over my iPhone in the driveway. Camera doesn’t work, and the screen is badly messed up, but it still works! (Although the screen continues to deteriorate.)