More on the Page Museum.

On the left is a pic of the same lagoon of which I showed pictures yesterday. What I want to show here is the frequency of bubbles coming up. Every few seconds. The ring of tar on the lower right of the picture are the remnants of bubble past. Like most bubbles they are ephemeral. On the right is a picture of the skeletons of a mother and calf mammoth.
All of the skeletons at the museum are of animals which had been trapped in the local tar pits. There are several tar pits scattered around the property. Sort of like slow motion quicksand (Slowsand?). Everything from birds to wolves, mammoths and sabre tooth tigers. A real collection of both predators and prey. Removing the fossils from the still active tar pits and cleaning them is a dirty job, done by budding paleontologists.
Seeing these long dead animals brought to life reassures me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

This is the 393rd entry to the blog.

Yesterday I drove up to LA to attend an auction of natural history stuff. In the center of the floor was a 7 foot grizzly bear skeleton. Awesome. There was also a poorly taxidermied stuffed male lion. But the really interesting things were meteorites and crystal collections. There was also a fascinating bunch of fish fossils.
Having perused the natural offerings, I started home when I realized I was minutes from the Page Museum at the La Brea tar pits, always a fun stop. The left most image shows an active tar pit with Wilshire Blvd a stones throw away. Wilshire is one of the most heavily trafficked roads in LA and is a center of commerce. That close! Bubbles of natural gas pop up regularly all over the lagoon. The mammoths are not real, just a depiction of ordinary events at the tar pits. PETA would not allow real mammoths to remain trapped in the tar. But that's the way LA started!
Over the next few days I'll show pictures from inside the museum.
Ordinary days made extraordinary show that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

What a conundrum.

This picture was taken of the mellow crowd at the Chino Airshow.
Last week when I complained to brother Bob that I can't keep track of the day of the week since I've retired. He suggested that when the funny papers are in color... it's Sunday. A generous and noble offer. However there is a paradox here. Since time runs in only one direction, I must have the funny papers before I note that the day is Sunday. However I frequently don't get a paper since must walk around the block to get one. How can I tell whether or not it is Sunday before I leave the house in order to see if the funny papers are in color? What a conundrum. And I don't think Quantum Mechanic's will help here
Conundrums are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The business end of a retired SR-71.

The picture is the business end of a retired SR-71 taken at one of our cal museums.
Here was a politician that I could admire. Gov Mark Sanford of South Carolina disappeared for few days leaving the paparazzi with nothing to do but speculate. Alone, by himself to contemplate his navel if that's what he wanted. then it all came down. An affair! How mundane. Being a Republican, the only surprise was that it was with a woman, not a boy.
I just finished a book that discussed multiple universes and the possibility of life thereon. Then I came across a site that pictured creatures from the deep ocean. Here were pics of animals that could be from an alien planet. Copy and paste this one:
http://izismile.com/2009/05/14/unbelievable_creatures_from_the_underwater_depths_31_pics.html

Lastly I came across a discussion of dark matter and dark energy in our Universe. It turns out that everything we see and imagine in our Universe represents only 25% of what is really out there. All the protons, electrons, birds, buildings.... everything. the rest is dark matter and dark energy about which we know zippo. We have no idea. Well, one idea is that the stuff is real but in different, undetectable dimensions. Detectable only by its gravitational effect on our world. Another possibility is that it represents virtual particles and the energy resulting from the 'froth' of virtual particles at the quantum level.
Quantum froth is further proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

This is a drawing made by Patti White.

This is a drawing made by Patti White (Leslies niece). She gave it to me when she was about 6 years old. It's been on my fridge ever since with a few overlays.
It's hard to believe what interests people. A pedophile who sings and dances with a herky jerky motion dies and the world acts like it's going to end. At least Farrah Fawcett was worth looking at. Even at 62.

I've never been arrested.

The picture is of a plant outside my front door. There is a plant at the Fullerton Arboretum which blooms very infrequently. But when it does it smells like rotting carcasses. It appears similar to this but this one doesn't stink.
I tried to pick up the thread from yesterday but lost the train of thought. I can still meditate regarding the substantia nigra but in a less directed manner. Could I have picked u p this idea fr m the unreliable Internet?
On this morning's walk I saw no cats, no dogs and no airplanes. Could this be a forewarning of disaster? Probably not.
Brother Bob and Dennis stopped by yesterday for a short visit. When they left I was thoroughly pissed off at the political situation today. Even the waning hope for Obama seemed to have no end as he pursues the same failed policies . It would have been a perfect time for a protest but felt it would be a less than useless use if my time to protest alone. Maybe I should have done it and gotten arrested I've never been arrested.
Getting arrested would prove that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Avogadro's Number?

Today on my walk a grey squirrel rapidly ran front of me on its way to a tree. Surprise! It was of the black variety. Will wonders ever cease?
In order to rebuild my substania nigra (recall this is the origin of Parkinson's) I have to calculate the number of genes to be affected in the substania nigra and the energy required to correct each one. If we estimate the average molecular weight of the molecules which make up the substania nigra to be 500 and the combined weight of the substania nigra to be 100 grams. Using Avogadro's Number (6.028x10^23 atoms per mole), the molecular weight and mass of the substania nigra we find the number of molecules in both substania nigra to be 3x10^24 molecules which we must mysteriously affect in order to rebuild the substania nigra to working condition. More on this tomorrow.
Black squirrels of the black variety are another indication that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A meditation on meditation.

Those of you who follow this blog know that I meditate every morning. As I ponder life through meditation, I perceive two variations on the theme. First is an open or undirected mindset to a allow whatever is appropriate to bubble up. The second is a directed meditation in which specific challenges are to be solved. This seems to have worked holding off my thyroid problem.
Now it seems that the progress I am gaining thorough my daily walks is being overcome by the physical deterioration due to the Parkinson's. So why not direct my daily meditation specifically to the cure of the Parkinson's? Wouldn't that be a reason to publish? Or maybe I could start my own religion. Imagine... The Holy Holographic Church of Dick. With me as the Grand Superior Master.
Sometime over the next few days I will calculate what it takes to physically change an ill subtantia nigra, the little rascal causing all this shaking by being less than prolific in producing the required hormones into my deficient brain into a healthy subtantia nigra.
Sunday Deb and son-in-law Rick (as differentiated from son Rick) drove down and took me out to dinner at Tony Roma's. I will never understand why anyone would name a restaurant after a football quarterback. Thanks for the dinner and good company guys
The possibility that I am totally wrong about everything can show that we're all on this flight together.
Dick

I'll ride the bike around Compton airport.

The picture is from the Meyer's fly-inn last week. I like this one because it appears that the plane is taxiing through the trees at Historic Flabob Airport. This is one of the few airports left at which one can walk right up to see any of the planes. No thanks to Homeland Security restrictions.
The cats continue to rest in odd places. All of a sudden, they spend time on the kitchen counters, which they've never done before this week. If I chase Buddha off, he just gets right back up. He doesn't understand "stay off". That's living with cats.
As soon as I finish here I'll put the bike rack on the car and load the bike. This morning is the monthly meeting of EAA Chapter 96 in Compton. I haven't been there since the incident so it should be interesting. I'll ride the bike around the airport to see what has changed. If the weather is nice I'll take the bike to the beach and ride the bike path for a while.
The progression of the Parkinson's is interesting. Although the shaking of my right arm has increased dramatically since onset, my other extremities seem to be unaffected. That makes certain activities, such as holding a book up to read difficult to hold still enough to read. My balance on the bike is precarious if I ride slowly but seems to be easier to handle as I ride a little faster. I've included the reconstruction of my sustantia nigra to my morning meditation the remote hopes to stop or reverse the effects of the Parkinson's.
Having Parkinson's is an indication that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The hangar at EAA Chapter One at Historic Flabob Airport.

The hangar at EAA Chapter One at Historic Flabob Airport.

Changes in cat activity.

The photo is of one of the Meyers antique aeroplanes taxiing at historic Flabob Airport. I saw one airplane fly by during my walk this morning. It was headed East in spite of limited visibility and ceiling. Tigger has taken to spending most of the day and night sleeping on the threshold of my bedroom door. I have to be real careful when I get up at nighit in the dark to take care of my needs. And to confuse thing even more, Buddha has started spending time on the kitchen counter. He even sleeps there. This is new. He sleeps right below the stash of cat food. Maybe he's guarding his food supply.
Changes in cat activity shows that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

There are a few things happening out there.

There are a few things happening out there that raised some questions in my mind. First is the info that Cher's daughter Chastity has undergone gender reassignment (sex change). His/her new name is Chaz. Now the interesting thing about this is that under California law, as Chastity, she was not allowed to marry her lesbian lover. With the sex change, he/she is now free to marry the same person. Go figure. Must be some technicality to do with innies and outies.
The second thought was prompted by the millions of protesters jamming the streets of Tehran. Imagine if we had turned out like that after the 2000 election in which GWb was appointed by the Supreme Court with a ruling that could never be used as a precedent, a once only ruling. Imagine..... no war in Iraq or Afghanistan, the apprehension of the criminals who took down the World Trade Center and treated as criminals, no dissembling of our Constitution and on and on. Who among us (other than Darth Vader Cheney) could claim we would be worse off today had the election process been carried to its rightful conclusion? Imagine had that wasted money spent on education or health care? And now we're left with two wars, a third imminent and an economy in tatters.
Innnies and outies soothe me knowing that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

No walk today.

On the left is a pic of the three Meyers biplane trainers flying in formation. On the right is a later model Meyers (not a Ryan as promised yesterday). Designed to outperform the v tail bonanza. And does. A very advanced airplane for its day. All of the very latest for its time. And a great performer.
No walk today. I got up and had my coffee and then meditated. When I was ready to walk a mysterious malady came over my gastro intestinal tract. So I chose to stay in. Instead I'll read the book "Cosmic Jackpot" by Paul Davies. It expounds on why the universe we live in is exactly right for us to be here. A little more or less here or there and the atoms would be unstable and the planets would spiral into the sun. Not the best writer but a good story.
Copy and paste this IP
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ImprovEverywhere&annotation_id=annotation_652916&feature=iv
It is the funniest thing I've seen on YouTube. Improv Everywhere. The concept is fascinating.
When I feel Ill I am certain that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A real old time adventure!

Yesterday I attended the monthly meeting of EAA Chapt One at historic Flabob airport. At the same time a fly-in of airplanes built by Meyers Aviation. Pictured here is a trainer ult for the Navy just after WWI. Fully aerobatic, two of the three antiques present flew from Wisconsin and Illinois. A real old time adventure! Check out the sturdy rotary engine and the fixed prop. These guys flew at about 90 mph in still air. Tomorrow I'll show you Ryan's more recent entry designed to out perform the venerable. V Tail bonanza.
The chapter meeting was ill attended. Very few people. I've been there when the large hangar was full and yesterday there were less than twenty. I suppose attendance ebbs and flows.
Chapter One is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Three cats greeted me this morning.

Another dreary day. Three cats greeted me this morning. All along a stretch of 4 or 5 houses. The dark gray cat with the thick coat was friendliest.
The photo is from an airshow in the past. I hope to get a ride in one of these afore I go to that Great Hangar in the Sky.
It seemed that I had barely enough energy to finish my walkus minmus(extended) in order to get the newspaper. So I'm off to the funnies, a shower and off to Flabob.
Funnies and Flabob prove that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Publish Post

I couldn't find any live Taiko.

Well. Today started with the same altitude but a better attitude. Yesterday I got up to a gloomy overcast. My knees hurt and I didn't give a damn. So I stayed in from my walk. I did get to the library for a while.
This morning I met a dog I had seen before but was introduced to Benjamin. A small furry dog with a loud bark, friendly though.
The walk today was accompanied primarily y anti-war songs. Dolly Parton, a true country singer, sang "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again". And always the tear jerker, with good reason althoug not anti-war, was Deborah Liv Johnson ( a San Diego girl) singing "Daddy, Can I be a Cowboy?" about a cowboy and his son who was blind from birth. Cowboy music right from the heart.
I couldn't find any live Taiko around this week end so here is a young girl doing her thing at a recent Taiko Festival. Ladies and kids make great Taiko music.
Listening to cowboy music makes it clear that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Mushrooms and quantum computers.

The day started out as overcast with drizzle in the forecast. Today I present two pictures. One is of a cat I've seen a number of times recently. He never runs away but never comes to visit either. Aloof but aware. The second is of a new variety of mushroom. Less uniform physically but with a more uniform color. And they all appeared overnight. This raises the question of whether Mother Nature makes some 'shrooms attractive and hallucinogenic and others less attractive and poisonous.

I've been reading a book about the Universe as a computer. This shows the universe as a giant quantum computer which calculates everything at once. Sounds wacky but is scientifically verified. One of the possibilities it raises is that having showed multi universes, the possibility of jumping from one universe into another is there. Lots of questions fewer answers to these questions.
Quantum computers boggle my mine far enough to believe that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

My only living ex-sister-in-law and cowboy music.

The "b" on my keyboard doesn't register so every time I have to copy one from somewhere else. So, if something doesn't seem right, try putting a "b" in it.
Yesterday I received a missive from my only living ex-sister-in-law. She provided the name of the female singer who sang harmony on "Happy Trails" with Michael Martin Murphy(June 6 entry). It was Suzy boggess. Poor Velma thought she stood alone. Nay nay saith I. Here is a photo of a real cowboy singing a real cowboy song. I took this at a cowboy festival at the Gene Autry Museum in LA a few years ago. There is another music fest each year at the Autry ranch. Excellent talent and lots of fun.
The missing "b" on my keyboard reminds me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

"Yankee Doodle Dandy" with James Cagney was televised again.

Yesterday the computer was running really slow so I forewent the blog. I had planned to write about the movie I had seen on the electric TV on Sunday. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" with James Cagney was televised again. A movie steeped in true patriotism, not the go-to-war false patriotism we've seen lately. And the music... "It's a Grand Old Flag", "45 Minutes from Broadway", and "Over There". Music that had the ring of My Fair Lady or The King and I. And other memorable musicals of the 40's 50' and 60's. Great! And they rhymed. Cagney started his career as a song and dance man and ended playing a tough guy. And a collector of fine art.
It's getting harder and harder to keep the Parkinson's shakes down even when I meditate. Progress?
Budda has taken to spending the day perched on the kitchen counters. This is new.
I think I need a new keyboard. The only way I can get a "b" is to copy it from somewhere. The one on the keyboard doesn't work anymore.
The missing letter "b" reminds me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

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This space intentionally left blank.
My computer link is slow as Hell today.

Dick

This space intentionally left blank.

This space intentionally left blank.
My computer link is slow as Hell today.

Dick

The ants go vertical.

* If you study the photo carefully you can see a faint line that runs from the left quarter at the bottom to the right side about where this sentence starts at the asterisk. This is a line of ants the runs UP the fence. It stands out better in real time because the entire line moves. Very eye catching. If I get closer in you lose the perspective of the verticality. Or you can take my word that the line is there. Or I could be faking the whole thing. (I am not). Watching it is like watching an airshow in slow motion.
Yesterday was rainy on and off but not too bad. When I first interviewed for a job in California the personnel manager promised me it would never rain between Memorial Day and Labor Day (useful for planing purposes). And he was right until Geo Bush was elected. Since about 2000 his promise has been broken several times as it rained during the vacation season. But a promise by a company representative that held for 50 years is pretty good by my estimation. Particularly when the change is caused by the environmental policies of a malevolent President.
One cat seen prior and one new shows that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

It's the way you ride that trail that counts.

It is my sad duty to report that our Homeland Security Team is leaving us (physically not organizationally). The photo is Laura and Joni (and Shadow) who stepped up after my recent incident and made sure everything was in order on a daily basis and took care of Tigger and Budda. We are eternally grateful.
On my walk this morning I started off to cowboy singer Michael Martin Murphy singing the Roy Rogers classic, "Happy Trails". And to cap it off he was accompanied by an unnamed female singing harmony.
Then I realized that there are many people around who have never heard of Roy Roger... or Dale Evans. For the youngsters in the audience, Google "Happy Trails".
Continuing on... the song contains all the elements of greatness. The message is positive,
"It's the way you ride that trail that counts. Here's a happy one for you."
Think about all the Truth that hides in that statement. It's the journey, not the goal that counts in the end. Murphy has a terrific baritone voice, the females voice just gilded the lily. It has the yin/yang of the male /female and the singleness of message. No matter what lesson you are in the process of learning, it has a message for you... and you... and you. Quantum to cosmos. And it rhymes.
I have to start planning the music better before I walk. Johnny Cash's "Ira Hayes" was toward the end. It just got me pissed off. Ira Hayes , who was one of the flag raisers at Iwo Jima, died drunk in a ditch in Arizona. 30% of our homeless are veterans. Is this the best we can do for those who served? And racism always gets my jets going. We miss you Johnny.
Getting real pissed off once in a while is evidence that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A trifling pain in the a**.

This morning's email brought a missive from niece Carole. Too lengthy to reproduce here it points out (repeatedly ) the hypocrisy of those who selectively read religious tracts (the Bible mostly). A quack out to Carole.
The weather is warm and the sun is out already.
The company which picks up our garbage each week has gone to a new system which requires homeowners to use special containers. They provide them at no cost to us. I now have 3 90 gallon trash cans so big I can hardly maneuver them. I don't have 90 gallons total of anything no less that I would throw away times three each week. Another trifling pain in the ass.
Trifling pains in the ass remind me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Scott Roeder should be stoned to death.

OK OK I missed yesterday. I just couldn't get to it. The weather was on again off again with the rain. Not hard. Just enough to wet the cement. Budda, who likes to spend the days laying in the sunshine couldn't figure out whether to come in out of the rain or not. But he has a new location when he is in. See picture. The first time the rain hit him he came inside and looked at me as if to say,"What the hell is going on?" He doesn't see rain very often. He does like that stool, sitting there by the hour.
For the last 8 years I have despised everything about Dick Cheney, that lying, thieving malefactor. In the spirit of brotherly love I have searched in vain for something good about the man. But finally, over the last week end the gods have answered me. In deference to his gay daughter he is supporting gay marriage. Maybe he just found out that gay marriage isn't about him having to marry a gay guy. I could never understand how two goats being married could affect any other marriage. Quantum mechanics says nothing about it.
Scott Roeder, the assassin who killed Dr. Tiller under instructions from the Bible should be stoned to death a true Biblical punishment (After conviction).
On again off again rain assures me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Once again I am meditated, medicated and walkus minimused.

Once again I am meditated, medicated and walkus minimused. No airplanes seen or heard. No earthquakes large enough to feel(fear?). The weather was such that I carried an umbrella in case the mist should choose to get heavier. It could be really depressing if I leaned that way. The mushroom shown is twice the width of the ones I've shown previously. It was taken yesterday. Here today, gone tomorrow.The gray cat sat the door steps of a house and showed no inclination to greet me this morning.
I feel the need for an EAA chapter meeting and some Taiko drums. Perhaps a Google will find something. Or maybe an airshow.
On the other hand if the weather clears, maybe I can get down to the beach with my bike. I've got to find out whether or not I can balance at slow speeds. Otherwise, the only time I can ride the beach is when no one else is around. I don't feel comfortable riding on public streets.
New mushroom varieties show me that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

I inadvertently locked Tigger out.

Cesar is out there taking care of the yard. I'm meditated, medicated and breakfasted. A few nights ago I inadvertently locked Tigger out. The next morning when I let Budda out... guess who came running in with her tail all fluffed out. But the next night I had trouble getting her in for the night. Typical female. The picture is of the cat with the thickest coat I've ever seen. Real friendly.
Friendly cats are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick