Sunday, July 31, 2016

How fast does a wildfire move?







As we drove out of Los Angeles on our way to San Francisco, we saw a wildfire just getting started. All but the last photo are taken from a moving car. Time elapsed between the first four is roughly 2 minutes each. The final photo is taken about 30 miles and 40 minutes after the first. As you can see, smoke from the fire has spread to cover most of the horizon. Here is how to read the smoke:  the initial black is soot from the burgeoning fire; the white is steam from the plants that still had a bit of moisture but had it boiled out by the flames; the final dirty white/pale gray is the drape of ash spreading over the landscape. This was in the general area of the Sand fire. When we drove back six days later, the fire was only 40% contained. The air made me cough, hard, every time we got out of the car.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

More neologisms: riffing on Brexit and Grexit



I'm not crazy about the neologisms BREXIT and GREXIT, so the least I can do is piggyback on them:

DETEXIT: When Columbo seems to give up on the perp and leaves the room, then pops back in with 'just one more little thing.'


ANOREXIT: counter-protest and work-stoppage by unhealthily thin models.


AMEXIT: the break-up of Costco and American Express....


WREXIT: leaving after invading somewhere and really destroying the country.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

I know I've been gone a while





There was the family vacation with two kids under 4, and my daughter-in-law's mother, whom I adore, but it got to be a lot of people. However, I did teach her the meaning of the word tchotchkes, of which our rented house was full. This is the stag's head, and the wooden sculpture of a hand, that greeted us when we walked in.





Then my computer went mute and dark. Our resident savior, Dr. Bob, managed to save all my files, but I didn't have access to them until yesterday. This with the promise of a book getting published in October, if I could get all the materials in by July 15.

Now the computer is back, as are my files. Now I get to reenter every password and upload every program I use regularly. Yes, I'm complaining. Yes, I'm glad to be back.