For What It's
Worth
- 280 days
We awakened
today to a wet and cool Southern California morning, which is a nice change of
pace. In Southern California, for you that don't reside here, it rains
infrequently, but when it does, it can rain for days. Each year when the
rainy season comes around you can be sure the all local news and weather
reports are going to jump on that bandwagon and declare it to be "Storm
Watch 2014 here in Southern California." The first couple of years I
was like, "Okay, it's raining here." When the rains come, especially
after some bad wildfires the season before, there is a strong potential for
mudslides and landslides. The wildfires burn up the plant life and then the
roots die because sunlight cannot keep them alive. Then it rains and supersaturates the terrain
and the land can liquify and become fluid, then all hell breaks loose.
I found this
out when I lived just below the San Bernardino mountain area in 1980 and
mudslides were just rushing down the streets in the foothill streets, plowing
into everything including parked cars, peoples houses, and whatever they ran
into. It can be a frightful event, especially if you are a homeowner here and
severely in debt with your house. The natural hazards here are earthquakes,
wildfires, mudslides and landslides, flooding, and of course tourists and bad
traffic.
I must admit,
that the weather here in Southern California is probably the best weather anywhere
in the world. Less than 30 days of rain each year, no temps normally
below freezing (unless you are at altitude), no super high temps normally, and
snow only in the mountain areas, which is nice. Southern California boasts that
you can go snow skiing in the morning, have lunch in the desert, and have
dinner at the beach, which is all true and very doable. And if you are late
arriving at someplace important, you always have the excuse of bad traffic on
the freeway. Also, here distance is measured in how long it takes you to get
someplace. "Oh Bruce lives about a half an hour away", even if it is
only 10 miles away. Miles is a foreign unit of measurement to us So Cal
peeps. We have no concept of miles or even kilometers, which is used in nearby
Mexico. If the freeway traffic is moving at 40 MPH, we tell everyone, "Oh
yeah, the freeway was wide open this morning!" When your vehicle does not move for a minute
then it is considered bad traffic. "Oh, the 405 was a parking lot for 2
hours last night!"
What really had
me confused when I first got here was, the names of the freeways vary according
to where you are and where you are going. The Hollywood, LA, Ventura, San
Diego, San Bernardino freeways all can be several freeways at any given moment.
The Hollywood Freeway can be the 101, 210, 134, or the 170 at any time,
according to where you are currently at. So when I give directions they are
given with numbers to avoid confusion. "Take the 91 West, then the 110
South to the 405 North transition, then take the 105 West. How far is
that? Oh, about 45 minutes." It can be quite a different language at
times, ya know?
Been playing
with the features of this machine and software lately trying to add more
features to our blog posts and for other uses also. It is kinda hit or miss with the capabilities
I am beginning to learn.
I’ve been drawn
into watching a thirteen part documentary series titled, “Cosmos”. I believe it
may have been broadcasted on PBS way back in 1980, but I would have been in the
US Air Force and attending college full-time as well during that time. Needless to say that back then I did not get
much chance to watch any tv at all. I do recall seeing it sometime later, but I
don’t recall when exactly. This has been reproduced due to the interesting
graphics and all the CGI that has been used. As most of you know, I am kind of
a science geek and I am all over watching this program, originally hosted by
the late great, Carl Sagan and now being currently hosted by Neil deGrasse
Tyson. It is like being back in science
class where I just could not get enough. Catch it if you can!
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2. Alternate
Band Name Game
Clue:
Superior Hobo
Answer:
?
--------------------------------------------------
Previous
Alternate Band Name Game
Clue:
This happens with your eyes when you are sleeping.
Answer: REM
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3. Television
Trivia
Clues:
1970’s
Shaolin Priest
Caine
Martial Arts
Answer:
??
-----------------------------------------------------
Previous
Post’s Television Trivia
Clues:
1960s Comedy
Red Sunbeam
Tiger sports car
Shoe phone
The Cone of
Silence
Agents 86 &
99
Answer = Get Smart
Thanks
to Mike (Dwight) Mattox for playing & answering the TV trivia
correctly! J
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4. How Well
Do We Know Each Other?
Clue: Michael
has to wear eyeglasses. Is he farsighted (just can’t see close to read) or
nearsighted (can’t see far away)?
Answer: ?
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Previous
Game of How Well Do We Know Each Other?
Question: In 1996, what is the smallest country
Michael J ever visited?
Clues:
Mediterranean
Sea Island
Known for lace
and glass artisans
Bogart movie @
a Falcon statue
Valletta
Answer: Malta, an Island country south of Sicily, in
the Mediterranean Sea.
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Snoopy wants to
remind you to, “Bark Less and Wag More!”
Until next
time… Be good!
- cb
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