Damp England

This is Tewkesbury, about an hour South of Bromsgrove, after the Great Floods of 2007.

Meanwhile, the BBC has mashed some of their current flooding information onto Google Maps. See:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=51.507033,-0.942078&spn=0.363271,0.925598&z=10&om=1&msid=110697284745114202648.000435deadb5810139523

(cut and paste)

Learning How To Drum

This is fun. (Speakers up high.)



See what I mean? Some proud father, apparently, started filming his son at age two (notice the lower left corner) and kept it up until age 11.

Fortunately, the kid had natural rhythm, great learning potential, and loved to make a lot of noise.

Cathedral of Christ The Light, Oakland

Listen up. ,This is important.




On the shores of Lake Merritt is arising the new Cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland.



The Bishop's new house has been designed by Craig Hartman, with structural engineering by Bill Baker, both of SOM - San Francisco. The structure is the architecture, and it all will be highlighted by the glass skin. It's a stunner!



Forget the funny-looking eccentric stainless-steel off-balance jokes currently being designed and built around the world. They are nothing.

This Cathedral may well be the first significant building of the 21st Century.

Read all about it at: http://www.som.com/content.cfm/into_the_light

(Click the images for larger views)

Now, We'll Look For A Bandmaster

(a short one, perhaps.)



And a small band for him to master.

Where The Grass Is Greener

I have no idea of what the significance of this unusual map is. I don't even know why otherwise intelligent adults would admit to spending their time compiling the necessary data.

But, here it is. . .a map of grass lawns in the United States.



Some say that we Americans have more acreage devoted to lawn than to corn. I doubt that.

Comments are invited.

God Bless America

This one is tough. Only in America?



A Hmong couple weeding the corn field in the Midwest...July 2007.

Think about it.

The Queen Mum

A bit overly dramatic, don't you think? With her right hand halfway inside her tunic, perhaps it would be more appropriate.

(An american photographer, no less.)

Camouflage!

Can you spot the large, long-eared, rodent?



(HT: http://ninacamic.blogspot.com/)

Domination Dominates!

UPDATE! Ichiro was selected MVP for the AllStar Game. A Hybrid Suburban is his!

Well, the All-Star game is over, and the American League beat the National League (think A's beat Giants) for the 10th time in the last 11 games! And the other game was a tie!



This one was 5-4, and the ninth inning was kind of suspenseful. That's baseball. It's sometimes beautiful.

One highlight was an inside-the-park home run by Ichiro Suzuki of that Mariner team from the soggy city North of here. First inside-the-park homer in All-Star history.

Here's the ball that Ichiro hit for his homer. I just bought it on EBay:


The National League is saying "Just wait 'til next year."

Heh

Next To My Wife -

I love the fog in San Francisco Bay:



It's about 10 p.m. Friday night. Last night it was 90F at this time. Tonight it's 61F.

Speaking of Famous Paintings. . .

Here's a version of Grant Wood's "American Gothic" that you may not have seen before.

At The Creation . . .

There was coffee?

(who knew?)

Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

It's a beautiful, unusual, midweek vacation day in California today - cloudless skies, mild westerly breeze, mid-90's temperatures. The A's lost, but otherwise, not bad. Not bad at all.

On the other side of the pond, however, the Brits have been having a go. Here's London, for instance:



Is it Global Climate Disarrangement? Who knows? The elected-but-uninaugurated President, Mr. Gore, surely thinks so, and is holding global-excess concerts all over the world, jetting from one to the other leaving carbon in his wake. Back on Earth:



But Algore's son, Algore III, got picked up in a drug-filled PRIUS for going over 100 mph! Who knew a Prius could go 100 mph? Algore III got kicked out of St. Albans School for smoking pot a few years ago, I seem to recall.



That London Lady looks chilly. It's early July. I feel confused.

Happy 4th of July!

231st

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AMERICA !

Does Granddaughter II Have An Attitude?

d'ya think?

APOD!

It's the "Astronomy Picture of the Day" and it's from NASA, daily, compiled from vast image collections of space from sources all around the globe. Really interesting, artistically-fascinating pictures. Pick one or two and download them to your computer wallpaper...it sure beats green hills and clouds!

Go to: http://apod.nasa.gov/ (Cut and paste)

West Meets East

This is kind of interesting. Photo is taken from Asia looking at Europe, or vice versa. The bridge connects the cultures and the continents.

Yeah, it's the Bosporus, or Bosphorus, whatever, or simply, the Istanbul Straits.

We live in a complicated, but always interesting, world.

Big Brown Eggs

On Hwy 4 heading East from Stockton, between Hwy 99 and Jack Tone Road, stands the Brown Egg stand, a typically 1950's Central Valley food outlet, prior to the advent of Farmers' Markets.

We like the Brown Egg place, because the proprietress goes to the barn, lifts the eggs from beneath the pullets, washes them (without candling, I noticed) and presents them to us. How fresh can you get?

There's also a bunch of in-season fruits and vegetables. If they're not from the owners' fields, then they're from the neighbors'.

Not a bed place to re-provision for a vacation, or for a weekend.

Good California living!

Memories

We enjoyed a sandwich just under the left-most arch pictured. Good food.

This is Cortona, the Hill Town.

(We met no Godfather there, more's the shame. Just a tour guide in a wi-fi-enabled Chrysler van who introduced us to his cousin, the wineseller, who shipped for us a case of chianti, marked (for duty purposes) as library books. We have a few left to read.)

MetroLafayette

Interesting, and needed, venue in Lafayette. The Metro Lafayette is a noisy, trendy, edgy, shopping-center celebrity.

The style is spare, the space is noisy, the service is slow, the only color is brown and black on the servers' outfits, the smiles are genuine, and the food is divine.

(I was in this building about a year ago, when it was a Mexican-Spanish dark doomy failure, with food that fitted that style.)

We dined on the patio, which was only half as noisy, and it was okay. Outdoor space heaters are scheduled for two weeks from now. This place has only been open for a week.

Oyster bar was tasty and very fresh, charcuterie was delicious, and Misoyaki codfish was to die for. These menu items are truly of San Francisco class. (And, the prices are almost so. Oh, well. No Bridge toll.)

I'll be back.

Neighbors

Our neighbors over the backyard lot line have started construction of their new house. Most of it will be behind the oak tree on the right in the view above. That's okay.

However, they've added a property line fence, which closes the patio side of our backyard. We're resigned to, and accepting of, the thing although it certainly changes things spatially. We're thinking either bougainvillea or rose trees to screen the fence.

Opinions are invited. (click to enlarge the photo)

Poignant

Today is Flag Day

British Idol? American Idol?

At least 50% of the populace at HiltonHouse are big fans of the "Idol" TV show. This is 4 minutes of great, classical fun. Please enjoy.

Paris Hilton Rules!

I have checked carefully, and, as far as I can see, her roots are not dark. So, that isn't the medical problem.

If You Want To Tell Someone. . .

that you're truly sorry, try looking like this:

It Seems Like Just Yesterday

But it was 40 years ago today that the world first heard "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

Just go here:

http://www.thebeatles.com/sgtpepper/

70 Years Old Today!

We have all traveled it many times, even today at $5 Southbound.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Anniversary, Golden Gate Bridge. Your first traffic was in 1937.

(photo Emeko Alonso, flickr.com)

Memorial Day 2007

It's time for a brief moment of thought.

And thanks.

Norma Egstrom, May 26 1920 - January 21 2002

Happy Birthday, Peggy!

(Who's the guy in the specs playing the clarinet?)

Praise The Lord

That's Oakland's new Roman Catholic Cathedral under construction down by Lake Merritt. The site is a former parking lot where a veterinarian I know first learned to ride a bicycle. That was a few years ago.

The new cathedral is very feminine in form, unlike traditional Gothic or even contemporary cathedrals such as the one across the Bay in San Francisco. It promises to be an impressive edifice.

Thanks to RMW for the photo.

The Emporium Dome

The Emporium opened on Market Street in San Francisco back in 1896. It suffered from, but survived, the 1906 earthquake. Closed finally in 1996, it was finally bought and refurbished and now houses Bloomingdales in the "Westfield San Francisco Centre." (The misspelling is on purpose, I suppose.) Nordstrom is in the same block. It's a neat location to spend a lot of money, if one is so moved.

The point, however, is that the original Emporium Dome has been exquisitely restored. Please gaze in wonder:



(Click to enlarge. I have turned this image into wallpaper for my laptop, and it looks really nice.)

Noe Valley

This is an unusual photo of a much-photographed city. Very residential. Very sunny.



I owe Flickr for the shot.

(Click to enlarge, as always.)

Arthur Jacob Arshawsky

Born 23 May 1910 in New York, New York




God Bless. Those were incredible days, in between the troubles. Happy Birthday, Artie!

Sierra Foothills

Beautiful weather there this week. Highs about 80F (that's more or less 25C)

Here is where we had miso soup last year, in a room full of the Red-Hat Ladies Club of Murphys. Ah, the memories.



This is my favorite tree on Hwy 4 between Copperopolis and Angels. Sorry about the wires in the background, but I couldn't find a spot that ignored them.

Ooops! This Doesn't Sound Good

LONDON (Reuters) - A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was struggling to cope with basic terms like “Web site” in the trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism via the Internet.

Judge Peter Openshaw broke into the questioning of a witness about a Web forum used by alleged Islamist radicals.

“The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a Web site is,” he told a London court during the trial of three men charged under anti-terrorism laws.

Prosecutor Mark Ellison briefly set aside his questioning to explain the terms “Web site” and “forum.” An exchange followed in which the 59-year-old judge acknowledged: “I haven’t quite grasped the concepts.”

Violent Islamist material posted on the Internet, including beheadings of Western hostages, is central to the case.

Please note, that is not a portrait of Judge Openshaw. I do admire his hair, however.

Cables, Cords, and Connections

H D T V



Now I appreciate even more what Rudy had to go through up in Copperopolis!

Sputter, Sputter, Whoooooooooooooosh!

This is really kind of fun. Your Old Faithful at work, updated every 30 seconds, with an estimated "next eruption" prediction.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm

(cut and paste the URL)

GrandMa's House Is SO Tall!

Happy Mothers' Day

Self-Portrait, May 2007

Please note; I am standing on my ankle once again.

:-)

You're Telling Me What?

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

(
HT to lucianne.com)

Even Roses Have Roses!

Now THAT'S impressive! HiltonHouse is looking like a horticultural garden.

(Click on image for larger size.)

Salad, Anyone?

Mmm, mmm, good.

1,000,000,000,000

This is actually a pretty big deal. Problem is, I can't get my computer to link. So, we'll have to do it by hand.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/more_or_less/6625545.stm

That's the news. The Brits have finally agreed with us that a million is one thousand times one thousand, and that a billion is one thousand times...whatever. You get the point.

Now, here's the history:

The short scale dates back to the 17th century, when groupings of numbers by threes (1,234,567,890,123) instead of the older sixes form (1,234567,890123) became common. However, the older long scale (10^6=million, 10^12=billion, 10^18=trillion) continued to be dominant. Milliard, originally a synonym for 10^12, was then re-appropriated by the long scalers to mean 10^9 (sames as the short scale billion)

France then, in the early 19th century, invented the metric system. They adopted the short count at the same time. The result was a harmonization between number names (every factor of a thousand got a new one), metric prefixes (every factor of a thousand got a new one), and written numeral forms (every factor of a thousand added a new group of three).

The U.S. then immediately adopted the short scale in imitation of the French, while ignoring the Metric system. The Italians followed the lead of the French. The British ignored both. The rest of Western Europe adopted the Metric system but kept the long scale, precisely opposite of the U.S. approach.In the 20th Century, France reverted to the long scale, as did the Italians, while the British adopted the metric system, decimalized currency, and the short scale.

At the moment, the English-speaking world has largely been converted to the short scale under American influence following the British lead; the other major short scale users are Brazil and Russia. (Russia uses milliard for 10^9, but calls 10^12 a trillion, so . . .)

Aren't you glad you asked?

(I truly enjoy this stuff.)

Anyone For Lunch?

A simple luncheon by the sea...



in Brittany, NW France. Time to turn up the wine glasses.

(courtesy, once again, of ninacamic.blogspot.com/ Must be Spring Break at UW_Madison)