Signs at the Sacramento Earth Day Science Walk - Part 1 - The Walk

The best signs I've ever seen at any demonstration! Biggest rally I've seen since the Occupy UCD rally in 2011. The Sacramento Bee estimated in advance that 15,000 were expected to attend. At the march, they announced police estimated between 18,000 to 20,000 people were in attendance.

Checking After The Health of the 17th Street Alley Murals

The fire at Japanese Automotive damaged the murals on that building, but largely left the other murals alone.

MS Walk Setup at the State Capitol

Busy Saturday Overview

Busy day, after a busy opening night, last night, of "Peter Pan," with two - count 'em! - two visits to the State Capitol!:

1.) Go to State Capitol in the morning for Zumba Flashmob at the Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser and walk.
2.) Pass through the alley with the murals that were recently damaged by fire.
3.) Attend Zumba class.
4.) Attend Earth Day Science Walk, and head back to State Capitol.
5.) Take a nap.
6.) Be a pirate again for second performance of "Peter Pan."
7.) Attend Tylar Traum's birthday party.

Not Fresno

And so, not Fresno. Instead, Neverland, tonight, as "Peter Pan" opens!

"Peter Pan" Opens This Friday at DMTC

And I'm in it!

Our Brilliant Leader Had No Idea Where The Ships Were

Shit like that gets called:

An aircraft carrier strike group that the Trump administration had warned was headed toward North Korea in a powerful show of force has instead spent the last week thousands of miles away — and heading in the opposite direction.

The Pentagon’s disclosure on April 8 that the Carl Vinson carrier strike force was being diverted to waters near North Korea had contributed to rising global tensions over a possible U.S. conflict with the nuclear-armed regime in Pyongyang.

...It was widely assumed that the carrier group was patrolling somewhere within range last weekend, when U.S. officials feared Kim Jong Un’s military would conduct a sixth underground nuclear test, or would try to test launch an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.

...The Navy’s admission that the Carl Vinson and four other warships were, in fact, conducting exercises in the Indian Ocean last week and were still in Indonesian waters as of Saturday has raised fresh questions about the credibility of the White House, which has frequently come under attack for making false claims.

Officials said Tuesday that the false narrative about the Carl Vinson resulted from mistakes and miscommunication up the military chain of command to the White House, and was not part of a deliberate military attempt to psych out North Korea’s leaders and mislead the public.

2016/17 Rainy Season is Fizzling

The California rainy season continues in the mountains, but at least in the Sacramento Valley, it's fizzling out, according to its customary schedule. Clearing skies, with maybe some light rain later this week, but after that forecasts don't show any more rain for the immediate future.

Hail, Satin!

And *Poof* Goes The Dog!

Worrisome:

A Pescadero family had a very rude awakening early Monday morning when a mountain lion came into their home and took the dog.

A woman reported that she and her child were sleeping in a bedroom with their 15 lb. Portuguese Podengo at the foot of the bed and the dog started barking aggressively at 3 a.m., according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.

They had left the French doors slightly ajar to give the dog outside access, and the woman saw the shadow of an animal enter the room, take the small dog from the bed and leave, deputies reported.

Accordion to Trump

Nit Picking

California's Drought is Over

But plenty of problems remain with the aquifers.

Ostrich Fantasy

This Would Make a Nice Quilt

This Is How I Roll

The Interconnectedness

Jevus and Buddhead

Liking the "Useless, Unsuccessful, and/or Unpopular Memes" Facebook Group:

'Preach quieter, dillhole! I was about to achieve like total oneness with the universe and stuff'

Big Fire In Midtown

And those fine murals were damaged:

The fire at the Japanese Imports Service & Repair, at the northwest corner of 17th and J streets, left much of the repair shop a charred hulk. Much of the roof was completely destroyed, and firefighters were quick to hose down vehicles that had been stored over the weekend for repair.

Firefighters said they were particularly concerned about preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent businesses, including the American Graffiti tattoo parlor and Lucca Restaurant and Bar.
ADVERTISING

Chris Harvey, a spokesman for the Sacramento fire department, said firefighters were able to contain the fire and keep it from damaging other businesses. However, the fire did considerable harm to artists’ murals on Improv Alley behind the repair shop.

In addition, Lucca had to cancel Easter brunch because power was cut to its building. The restaurant suffered mild smoke and water damage, and the skylights overlooking a back room were melted, said co-owner Ron Gilliland.

Consumer Confidence is Up but Retail Spending is Down

Consumer confidence is up but retail spending is down. Interesting paradox. People who don't have money to spend are optimistic, but people who do have money to spend are pessimistic? I'm thinking it's all about Trump. But whether optimistic or pessimistic, I think as retail sales go, so does the rest of the economy.

The Honest Oligarch

Congressman Mullin simply revealed what members of Congress have been thinking for a long time, that they DO NOT represent their constituents, particularly if they are rich already. One appeal of self-funding candidates was they'd be able to resist lobbyists, but they can resist others too, including you. Call Mullin an honest oligarch:

(CNN) An Oklahoma congressman is facing scrutiny after a video posted Monday showed him telling constituents at a town hall that they do not pay his salary.

"You say you pay for me to do this? That's bull crap. I pay for myself," Rep. Markwayne Mullin told constituents at a town hall in Jay, Oklahoma. I paid enough taxes before I got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary. This is a service. No one here pays me to go."

"Pays you to go where?" a constituent objected.

"This is a service for me, not a career, and I thank God this is not how I make my living," Mullin responded.

"Oh please, then don't run," a constituent said.

Someone is Always Watching

Al Green's Birthday

Record Levels of Precipitation in the Northern Sierra

The Northern Sierra Precipitation 8-Station Index is in the news. We've set a record regarding the amount of precipitation at these 8 stations. The index started to be compiled in 1922. The index "averages 50 inches per year, gives a sense of how much precipitation the Sacramento River watershed.":

A series of late-season storms has vaulted this winter into the history books, making it the wettest winter for California’s northern Sierra Nevada in nearly a century of record-keeping, according to the California Department of Water Resources.

As of Thursday, an astonishing 89.7 inches of precipitation across a zone of eight stations in the northern Sierra has been recorded since October. That breaks the record 88.5 inches that fell by the in the 1982-83 rainy season.
Sierra Nevada precipitation is significant because the mountain range supplies large amounts of water to the rest of the state.

“When we receive a record amount of rainfall in the north, that translates to everybody who benefits from water down the state,” said Doug Carlson, spokesman for the California Department of Water Resources.
Nevertheless, we haven't set a snowpack record. Some of this precipitation must have come down as rain. As the Sac Bee article notes:

The Sierra snowpack is 176 percent of normal for this time of year. However, the state is unlikely to break the record for snow, which was also set in the 1982-83 season. The snowpack reached 63.6 inches of “snow water equivalent” on April 1, 1983. This year, the snow water equivalent was 45.7 inches on April 1.

"John! John! Oh, John!"

What caught my attention regarding this MOAB device being used in Afghanistan is that the U.S. opponent is ISIL, which entered Afghanistan only very recently - since 2014. ISIL sees an opportunity, and is exploiting it.

So, after 16 years in Afghanistan, we have a new enemy. Some progress. Victory eludes us and the likelihood of defeat grows.

According to conservatives, and folks like Trump, the only thing preventing victory is failure to utter the magical phrase "Radical Islamic Terrorism." We say it all the time now, but it doesn't matter.

The United States is big on magical phrases. Evan Connell writes in "Son of the Morningstar" that back in the days of Custer, whites would customarily address an unfamiliar Indian as "John." At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, an Arapaho named Left Hand accepted a rifle offered by a surrendering soldier, as he sobbed, "John! John! Oh, John!" The magical phrase didn't do any good there either.

Where Are All The Birds?

With this hawk at the end of my driveway, not around here.

Callow Youth