Destination Descanso...

Larry Himmel (a local TV reporter) just filed this brief report that mentions one of our favorite places: the Descanso Junction Restaurant.  Two people we know well (Tammy and Joanne) are seen in the video.  Fun!

Opportunity's Latest Panorama...

The Opportunity rover, still working hard on Mars, took 817 photos between December 2011 and May 2012 (the latest Martian winter).  These were stitched together to form a panorama that stretches nearly 360°, showing incredible detail around the site where Opportunity spent the winter.  Awesome!  Be sure to click to see it full size (original image here).

The Greeley Panorama...

The Gate Rule...

Peggy Noonan's lead this week:

There's something Haley Barbour reminded me of called the Gate Rule. The former Mississippi governor said it's the first thing you should think of when you think about immigration. People are either lined up at the gate trying to get out of a country, or lined up trying to get in.

It says something about the health of a nation when they're lined up to get in, as they are, still, with America. It says, of course, that compared with a lot of the rest of the world, America's economy isn't in such bad shape. But it says more than that. People don't want to come to a place when they know they'll be treated badly. They don't want to call your home their home unless they know you'll make room for them in more than economic ways.

It's a rather upbeat and hopeful piece – read the whole thing...

Big Bay Boom...

The “Big Bay Boom”...

By now you've likely heard about the “Big Bay Boom” – the big malfunction at the July 4th fireworks display in San Diego.  I didn't personally witness this, though I sure wish I had – I think I would have greatly enjoyed it!  The gist of it is this: a malfunction of some kind (whether human or equipment is not yet certain) caused all the fireworks that were to be used in a 20 minute long show to be fired off all at the same time, roughly five minutes before the fireworks were scheduled to begin.  The entire show was over in something like 15 seconds.  The image at right is destined for glory, I think – one of the most awesome fireworks photos ever.

The backstory to this has a slight personal connection.  It turns out that the firm responsible for both the equipment and the operation of the fireworks show was Garden State Fireworks, of Millington, New Jersey.  I hail from the state of New Jersey, growing up on what was once a farm east of Trenton, but which now is the parking lot for a Walmart store.  I left (or fled) New Jersey in 1971, and after discovering that nearly everywhere in the world outside New Jersey was a better place to live, I never returned.  My wife and I settled in the mountains of San Diego County, California, where we've lived for almost 15 years.  Poking fun at my “homeland” of New Jersey has been a sort of hobby of mine for a long, long time.  This incident makes it almost too easy: the New Jersey firm wins the contract for the San Diego fireworks display, then screws it up in a spectacular and very public way – and because they won all the key aspects of the contract, there is utterly nobody else to blame.  Ah, yes...New Jersey has covered itself in glory this time  :-)

Iconic Trees...

The “baobab” tree of Africa...

This Smithsonian article describes seven iconic trees of the world, like the one at right:

Its bark is fire resistant. Its fruit is edible. It scoffs at the driest droughts. It shrugs, and another decade has passed. It is the baobab, one of the longest-living, strangest looking trees in the world. Several species exist in the genus Adansonia, mostly in the semi-deserts of Africa and southern Asia. They can grow to be nearly 100 feet tall—but it’s the baobab’s bulk and stature that is so astonishing; many have trunks 30 feet in diameter. The Sunland Baobab of South Africa is far bigger still and is reportedly more than 6,000 years old. Its trunk, like those of many old baobabs, is hollow and—as a tourist attraction—even features a small bar inside. Baobab trees are leafless for much of the year and look rather like an oak that has been uprooted and replanted upside down. Numerous legends attempt to explain the bizarre and awesome appearance of the baobab, but if you visit the great Sunland Baobab, just let your jaw drop—and go inside for a drink.

I was disappointed to see that the author left out the koa tree of Hawai'i, one of my personal favorites. The koas at altitudes of roughly 8,000 feet and up on Mauna Kea (the middle volcano on the Big Island) are amongst the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. But despite this omission, it's an interesting collection...the tallest, strongest, and most iconic trees in the world.