Friday, July 16, 2021
This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Sigh:
The California Highway Patrol responded Thursday morning to a car fire in Truckee that the driver reportedly started to try to scare away bears.
According to CHP Officer Carlos Perez, officers responded around 5:30 a.m. to reports of a car fire alongside Interstate 80 near the Farad exit. When officers arrived, they found that a man had lit a fire on the hood of his car in an attempt to “keep bears away,”
Perez said. No bears were found in the area and responding officers determined that the man was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Officers were able to extinguish the fire before it spread beyond the hood of the car, but Perez said there was shrubbery in the area and the incident could have ignited a wildfire.
Fourth of July, 2021
Jasper At Sierra II, Where The Dogs Gather
Today, Jasper got freaked out by a bigger dog and escaped through the bars of a fence in the corner of the park. A little dicey getting him on a leash again!
Trip The Hose Fantastic
Mixed feelings….
I was tending to the front yard, and laid a hose across a public sidewalk to water a tree on the other side.
I wasn’t terribly worried about the hose as a tripping hazard. Most walkers, cyclists, and skateboard enthusiasts are experienced enough to spot hoses and adjust as necessary.
Just then, two inexperienced girls, ages about 4 & 5, came hurtling down the sidewalk on scooters. They hit the hose and went flying, landing on the cracked sidewalk just across the property line in front of the neighbor’s place. The girls started to cry, got up, and ran back to their grandmother, whom they had outpaced.
I came down my steps to accept blame for the hose, but never opened my mouth. Instead, grandmother patiently explained the dangers of cracked sidewalks to the little girls. And because grandmother said it, the girls accepted it, without analyzing their own experience. No one said anything about the tripping hazard of the hose.
Feel like I dodged a bullet, but missed an accountability moment. Fortunately the girls were all right - possibly some scrapes.
The World Of Fake Vaccine Cards
Paying real money and taking real risks to avoid a minor inconvenience:
I did a dive into what is advertised for sale on Telegram, and it turned out that it is possible to buy almost anything—from pizza to travel packages, to vaccine cards as well.
It only took me several seconds to discover three channels—essentially, streams of information and updates that anyone can search for, and subscribe to—advertising fake vaccine records in English. One of them, “Covid19 vaccine cards certificate” has more than 400,000 followers. I reached out to the channel owner pretending to be a buyer and figured out that the CDC vaccine card, filled in with my information, would cost $200.
Why salad bars may never come back
Once common; now endangered:
Grocers and analysts say a combination of factors has kept stores from rushing to bring back their salad bars: Customers are now buying more groceries online and working more from home than they were before the pandemic, reducing the need for quick mid-day trips to salad bars. Some customers have also moved away from them out of sanitary concerns.
Prior to the pandemic, salad bars and other prepared foods were becoming more important for grocers because they drove customers to shop in person, said Scott Mushkin, a retail analyst at R5 Capital. For salad bars to work, though, customers need to quickly use them or the food quality will deteriorate or spoil.
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Opera Wednesday - Virtual Concert V // May 2021
I recently posted about how one DMTC YPT alumnus, Nora Unkel, was doing in her movie production career. Here is another such alumnus, Lisa Parente, in her chosen career, in opera. Here she sings the 'The Silver Aria' from "The Ballad of Baby Dow." (I was surprised to bump into her dad while I was walking Jasper - John's dentist is down the alley from me.)
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
Antelope Valley Earthquake - 07/08/21
This quake really shook things up in the Sacramento area:
I certainly felt the rolling waves pass through the house. My house is unusually sensitive to shaking: In the past, I've felt distant offshore quakes at the Triple Plate Junction near Eureka that otherwise escaped notice in Sacramento.
An earthquake jolted Central California on Thursday afternoon, shaking up residents of the Sierra Nevada foothills and the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
The shaking struck at 3:49 p.m., revised to a magnitude 6.0, and was centered in the Little Antelope Valley about four miles south of Coleville in Mono County, about 150 miles east of Sacramento.
Seismologists dubbed it the Antelope Valley earthquake, during a 5:30 p.m. briefing.
As of 7 a.m. Friday, more than 100 aftershocks have struck, including temblors as strong as 5.2 and 4.6, have shaken the area near the epicenter, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“It’s a region with known active faults,” USGS researcher Austin Elliott said, referring to the remote area on the back side of the Sierra. “This is a classic place geologists go to study.”
There have been about two-dozen earthquakes of this magnitude in the region in the past 50 years; Thursday’s was the largest in the vicinity since a 6.1 quake in 1994.
Dozens of people across California — in Sacramento to as far south as Los Angeles, north to the Oregon border, the Bay Area and beyond — reported feeling the quake to the U.S. Geological Survey. By 7 p.m., over 23,000 self-reported responses were given to the federal agency’s website.
There was some confusion in the first few minutes. USGS reported a second quake near Stockton just seconds later, but quickly decided the second quake was a mirage - a reflection of the first quake.
The experimental ShakeAlert network apparently sounded off, and even though the information the system was working with was incomplete, people appreciated the warning:
Preliminary reports indicated two earthquakes had struck 25 seconds but 100 miles apart — but the U.S. Geological Survey revised the shaking and removed the report of a magnitude 4.8 quake in in San Joaquin County.
Elliott and other seismologists said the glitch is not uncommon as seismic waves cause reflections as they propagate. One of those reflections just happened to center in the community of Farmington, about five miles southeast of Stockton.
Elliott said the mistake happened because “our instrumentation is sparse (in areas) away from the large population centers,” and once officials reviewed the data, they updated it along with the magnitude of the actual quake.
The system initially got the earthquake’s magnitude wrong: called it a 4.8; later, it was upgraded to a 6.0.
The system thought the rupture happened about 31 miles south of where it actually did. And at first it presumed it was detecting three different small earthquakes, rather than one large one.
Such details didn’t matter to some California residents, who welcomed the warning in time to take action.
“It worked. The whole point is to give you a little notice,” said a Lodi-based wine industry consultant who asked that his name not be used. He rushed from his office to the safety of a bathroom when the system’s app issued a startling emergency alert. “It’s really worth it.”
Thursday, July 08, 2021
Many Inspections This Week
Thinking about moving, and so the first step is inspections. There are many deficiencies at current location. Apparently I have termite problems - I did not know this before. The roof is on its last legs. The foundation people aren't pleased. There are some electrical deficiencies too, some of which I knew about, and a few I didn't. So, I'm making some efforts to correct things. On Wednesday, Joe the Plumber removed the toilet and replaced the wax seal there. Since he also had designed and built the back porch, he took the lead in fortifying the back steps - there were immediate hazards there that needed addressing, but probably inadequate for addressing problems noted on inspection. Still, the work needed to get done. I have some painting tasks ahead. Will be a busy few months ahead.
Nora Unkel's Movie Is At Walmart
Nora's movie production career is now at the point where her movies are getting distributed at Walmart! Not bad for a Davis YPT girl! (I wonder if Target is included too?):
Found A Nightmare Wakes at my local Walmart 😱 I hope everyone on the team is as proud as I am. What a crazy, surreal experience. Thank you to @wildobscurafilms @spittingimg @robmenzies @eggplantpictureandsound and @logicalpictures for making this film a reality. This film wouldn’t exist without you. To Eric, thank you for taking the chance on us and I hope wherever you are, you’re smiling. @shudder and @rljefilms thanks for making a bomb ass dvd and bringing this film to audiences all over the world. 🖤🖤🖤 And lastly, thanks to my girls for making this night one to remember.
Flooding in Belen
The premature Southwestern summer monsoon is tapering off right now - it'll revive again later - but it has caused some problems:
BELEN – A monsoon season storm ravaged Belen as between 2.95 and 3.2 inches of rain fell in a matter of two hours Tuesday night, causing extensive flooding.
The downpour caused a breach of the Highline Canal at Delgado Avenue, sending water into Belen, and damaging roads, homes and businesses.
No serious injuries were reported, but the flooding caused plenty of property damage and stranded motorists, according to city officials.
The deluge began around 8:40 p.m., and city crews were immediately out dealing with the emergency.
...At about 9:30 p.m., the city received reports that the Highline Canal at Delgado Avenue near Belen High School had been breached, sending tons of water into the city.
“It busted a huge hole on the east side of the Highline Canal and it took us about seven hours to repair (it),” Cordova said.
While the breach of the Highline Canal caused water to flow into and flood the streets of Belen, other areas were affected directly by the heavy rains.
A new breach was discovered Wednesday morning along the New Belen Ditch on Mesa Road, about a quarter mile from the city’s northern boundary in the county.
A Mountain Lion Named Squeak, and His Journey
A very-surprising Facebook post about a mountain lion born near Albuquerque that migrated up to Mesa Verde National Park: 
For those of you interested in Squeaks, the sub-adult male mountain lion GPS-collared on Tamaya in early February 2020, we are happy to report that he appears to be doing quite well. He was born at the confluence of the Rio Grande and Rio Jemez on Tamaya in October 2018 and dispersed from his natal range in July 2020. His travels took him on a long-distance voyage across two states in search of a new home, and, as of today, his collar has collected 5,146 locations which span approximately 1,380 miles. Our good friends at Mesa Verde National Park recently picked him up on camera--his kitten spots have since faded, but we are glad to know that this nearly 3-year-old male has finally found his home in the beautiful Ute Mountain Ute-Mesa Verde National Park area. From one tribe's land to another, Squeaks' journey exemplifies the importance of maintaining wildlife connectivity across the West and beyond.
Rachel Has a Hospital Visit
Health problems can suddenly take preeminence. From Rachel's Facebook post:
Last night was coming out of anesthesia after emergency surgery finding out my surgeon decides to admit me overnight instead of letting me get the ride that had been waiting for me to go home. So glad to be home tonight.
Thankful for all of the support from my family and close friends, especially for Michael T Norton for giving me a ride to the ER and Marc Valdez being prepared to give me a ride home while Dave held down the fort at home, and to my mom for an early morning ride back home. Also thankful to the nurses, surgeon and anesthesiology team for their work and care
And, again, so glad to be back at home tonight, and to tuck them in in person rather than singing lullabies from a gurney.
Wednesday, July 07, 2021
John Adams - Nixon in China - I am the Wife of Mao Tse-tung - Kathleen Kim
Gabe was watching "Nixon in China" again.
Kathleen Kim is so over-the-top as Chiang Ch'ing!
Kathleen Kim is so over-the-top as Chiang Ch'ing!
Vicky Chow performs Steve Reich - Piano Counterpoint (2011) (arr. Vincent Corver)
Gabe likes this - and I like it too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)