My Yard, Home To Rufous Hummingbirds

I am happy to announce, that after years of trying, I was finally successful in hosting a viable hummingbird nest in my yard.  At first, I thought it was an Anna's hummingbird, but then upon closer inspection and observation I found the female was a Rufous hummingbird, native to Southern California.

not zoomed in

The nest was in a low hanging branch, about 8 feet off the ground, and less than 15 feet from my hot tub.  I noticed it one evening while enjoying an adult beverage during a hot tub soak before dusk.  I couldn't figure out at first, why there was a female hummingbird nervously watching me soak, and then sheepishly ducking into the dense tree foliage and not re-emerging.   She had already built the nest, out of spider webs and bits of plant matter.  I was delighted to see her sitting in the nest when I got out of the hot tub.  She sat there each night, and intermittently through the day between feedings, for the 16 day incubation period.  When the chicks hatched, I was out of town, but upon my return, I was amazed to see two young hummingbird chicks As Big As Their Mother, sitting motionlessly in the nest, waiting for mom to return.

Mama Rufous hummingbird trying to be a decoy "Don't Look to the left, there's no nest there!"

Close observation through my 10X binoculars from inside my home, I could watch mom come and go and regurgitate nectar and small insects into her children's open mouths and throats.  The whole nest is no bigger than a small tea cup - one Cartman would perhaps use for a tea party with Polly Prissy Pants and Clyde Frog.  Smaller around than a baseball, mom would fill the nest when she sat on it.  After hatching, the 2 chicks dominated the nest as they grew so quickly.  Mom could barely perch on the side of edge of the nest to feed them before they finally fledged.

Dr Desert Flower and I were heading out of the house in late April, when I saw a very small and young Rufous female sitting on our driveway in the sun.   I was concerned that some predator would come and devour the resting hummingbird, so I grabbed a post-card sized piece of paper, and gently slid it under the little female, to pick her up and place her on a higher branch of a palm about 5 feet above the driveway.   About 6 inches above the driveway, she got enough energy to fly away on her own, off the paper, and perched on a deciduous tree about 20 feet in the air.  I was glad that she was sticking around the house where she had just fledged.

I hope she continues to visit the 4 feeders I have out, and next mating season she and her sister and mom can each build nests of their own in the foliage around my yard.

The Anemone Is Not Your Enemy

My lovely wife, Dr Desert Flower, used to say to me "The anemone is not your enemy"... but anemones can pack a painful sting, and do eat things that are smaller than themselves.  Not your enemy, if you're bigger than a crab and are smart enough to stay far enough away from them to not get stung. Ok.

The Headlands tide pools at Dana Point have no shortage of anemones,  Big ones, little ones, all sorts of sizes and shapes.   I've seen them in the water, as well as exposed to the air at low tide.   Fascinating creatures.

No (R)egrets, No Longer

On Friday, after a 60 hour work week, I checked the tide time tables, packed up my Camelback backpack, and headed on down to Dana Point on my bike to parkour across the rocks, look in the tide pools, get closer to nature, and try and decompress.  My first 50 feet into the boulder hopping, I saw this stunning egret, and I paused to take a few photos. (not far from the star fish I saw here)

While the egret might not look too large, keep in mind that each one of those rocks ranges in size from "as big as your head" to "as big as a 1960's wooden framed RCA television".  I tried to stay a good 15 to 20 feet away from the hunting egret, but the bird was rather skittish.

And kept flying westward as I tried to parkour past it.  Not far from where I first sighted the egret was a female rufous hummingbird snatching gnats out of the air, flitting about, chir-chir-chirping in rapid stacco as I approached a mass of rotting seaweed that was host to 100s of gnats and flies.  I've seen egrets before (in SC, AZ [near the Roosevelt canals], and in CA) but never this close, and never this tolerant of my presence and photography.

It was very cool to see, and an experience I will not soon forget.

I am not sure exactly what the egret was hunting, as I've never seen any fish of an appreciable size in the tide pools.  Yes, there's all sorts of fry, and tiny immature fish, and no shortage of barnacles, hermit crabs, seaweed, and mussels, but actual fish that would satisfy an egret?  I've not seen them.  I don't have visual acuity as keen as an egret's though  =)  ...and if it was larger crab that the egret was patiently hunting, then I am sure that at high tide that was a happy hunting ground, as violently as the surf was crashing onto the rocks.

Gotta Hand It To Nikolaj

If you're a follower of Game Of Thrones, and you did not watch last week's episode "Walk of Punishment", then STOP READING THIS NOW, and come back after you have had a chance to catch up on your DVR-ing or DVD-ing.

If you have watched last week's episode, and you enjoyed the end of it as much as I did, then perhaps you'll enjoy this post.  Il faut voir.

So you see, in the world of the fictitious Game of Thrones, there's "Seven Noble Houses" who are vying for control of the world.  The Lannisters, who most people love to hate, are the insanely wealthy 0.01% of the top 1%, but even they have been borrowing from over-seas to pay for the running of the kingdom.  Their poster child of wealthy arrogance, is Jaime Lannister, played by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Straight women and many gay men swoon over Jaime Lannister, and I frankly never understood the appeal, but I am as far to the right of the Kinsey scale on heterosexuality as a person can be perhaps.  I've just never been a fan of the pretty boy who gets everything he wants, never having had worked a hard day's labor in his life, and who everyone thinks is the most awesome, most amazing, most desirable human specimen ever.  His little brother Tyrion, played by the little person Peter Dinklage is far more interesting, intelligent, cunning, and likable.

So when the men of House Tully make sure that Jaime can never become "the hand of the king" (so to speak) I thought it was a great ending of the episode.

And immediately after this 'truncated' scene ends, the credits roll with a Loud playing by "The Hold Steady" of the folk song "The Bear and the Maiden Fair", which earlier in the episode, the Tully men were singing on horseback as they rode through the woods.  I found this to be a fitting ending, as Karma can be quite rough sometimes.  It'll be hard to handle a sword with just his left hand, in future episodes.

No Squared or Quartic Options?

On the fridge in the house we're renting, there's these options on the freezer door:

No Squared button, nor Quartic button?  I've never had a freezer door water / ice dispenser before, growing up or as an adult, so this new technology confuses this modern Neanderthal.

There's also no "slow ice" button, so whether I am in a hurry, or taking it at a leisurely pace, crushed, cubic or "quick ice" are the 3 available options.  Ironically, the "cubic" are actually rounded secant segments from the ice maker, and are in no way, shape, or form, cubic in shape.  Unless the fridge manufacturer was trying to differentiate it from hexagonal ice structure and instead make sure it was crystalline "cubic ice"... but I Highly doubt this is the case.  At least it is not Ice Nine.  =)

Science Is Cool

Comedy Central: A Hit, and a Miss, and a eh, sorta hit

This programming season (whatever the hell that is, now that there's no longer a Spring, Fall or any other TV season), Comedy Central put out three new shows.   The Jeselnick Offensive.  The Ben Show. And Nathan For You.   Jeselnick is abrasive, offensive, harsh, insulting, similar to "The Burn", but more caustic in a sense that Don Rickels would be proud.  Jeselnick is VERY cocky - "Welcome to another perfect show".  And he thinks he's better than he is, but he is very funny.

The Ben Show, is just dumb.  It's random, and has people read things off of papers handed to them out of the blue.   It has stupid rap liaisons and vignettes that appeal to those who like Workaholics and other inane shows.  Dr Desert Flower and I tried to watch it, and were annoyed.   We will not be watching it again and wasting another minute of our lives.  We are not the target audience, obviously, and I hope The Ben Show goes away quickly.

Nathan For You is a mixed bag.  Partly funny, partly painful, he sometimes beats a dead horse way more than SNL could ever beat a dead horse.  I don't think painful comedy is funny, I just see it as painful and hard to watch.  When Nathan is on his game, he's very funny.   When he's pummeling a premise and painfully trying to guide someone he is "helping" it is more than cringe-worthy, it is just wrong and painful.

So Viacom has a mixed bag.  One very funny, very caustic, very intelligent show - The Jeselnick Offensive.  One dud aimed at duds - The Ben Show.  One mixed bag - Nathan For You.

From the Comedy Central commercials I was forced to watch in the gym this evening, without a DVR, I see that Gabriel Inglaises (Fluffy) is coming back, and he is very very funny.

Frozen Seat 29F, 757-200

I flew 4 hours on Tuesday afternoon, in row 29, seat F, in a 757-200.  It was a Delta aircraft.  Well, I cannot recommend anyone sit in seat 29F who are not Heat Miser, or who have both their legs and feet.  If you're Heat Miser, you'll do fine.  Lemme explain.

On a Delta 757-200 rows 27 and 28 are the exit rows.  Row 26 and 27 have limited recline, and I had HOPED that row 28 would also have limited recline, but the enormous caucasian man who sat in 28F insisted on Fully Reclining his Exit Row seat to impinge upon my much more limited space - but that's fine.   Not everyone can be a good person and be respectful of others' space around them.  So I was somewhat 'crammed in' with the seat in front of me fully reclined into my space.  I opened my "Philosophy of Stephen Colbert" book and read quietly, through loading, taxi, and take off.

After we reached 30,000+ feet, I noticed my feet getting very cold.  No matter what position I placed my feet under the 28F chair, they were freezing cold.  I could see the edge of the emergency exit door even with the arm rest of 28F, but that was Not where the cold was originating.   The cold was coming form under the floor.  When we began our approach to land, and the main landing gear was extended, I could hear and Feel it move under the floor beneath my feet.  The land gear doors must not have been sealed well, and the -20F to -40F air at 30,000 feet conveniently refrigerated my feet.

How cold were they?  Well, 2 hours after landing, walking, and driving, and walking some more, I was just above to start feeling my big toes again.

So if you are Heat Miser, or you suffer from Chronic Near Flammable Feet Syndrome, then seat 29F on a 757-200 is The Seat for you.   As we were disembarking, I asked the man sitting in 29A if his feet were cold, he was shocked, and said "Yes! freezing!" - nature loves symmetry (as does Boeing).

2/3rds of a Hand Per Cube

3 Rubik's cubes, 2 hands, one helmet cam, 6 minutes.  This makes my head hurt.  Not even Sheldon Cooper could do this.

Coastal Parkour

Over the last week, I've been spending a great deal of time down at the Dana Point tidal pools.  They are some of the most pristine, diverse, dynamic, and well preserved tidal pools in California, and according to the rangers with whom I have spoken, the best in Orange County.

My son had taught me that it is always better to hop rock-to-rock when we've been out hiking in remote Arizona, than it is to try and place your feet between the rocks on shifting sand or loose gravel.  So on my treks out to The Headlands of Dana Point and back, I've begun doing what I call "Coastal Parkour" - hopping from rock to rock, to make my way along the shore line.

It's a combination of Parkour, mountain climbing, and the child's game "hot lava", except in the case of the tide pools, the "lava" is sea water the closer you get to the ocean, or wet sand the closer you get to the cliffs.  I give myself extra 'bonus points' if the rock onto which I am leaping is actively being splashed by an incoming wave.  It's more than a kilometer each way, of rock hopping.  And I look at it this way: someday I am going to be old and feeble, or blind or lame, and unable to attempt Coastal Parkour, so I might as well enjoy it now, while I can.  My left knee's cartilage gets a little unhappy with me if I do too many extreme impacts where I land too hard or push off too forcefully, but over-all it is an exhilarating endeavour.

And I do it while carrying a back pack full of binoculars, camera, yoga mat, bottle of water, sun screen, bed sheet to lay down under the yoga mat, whisk broom to whisk away little rocks if necessary, hat, cell phone, wallet and car key (or bike lock, if I ride the 29 inch Diamondback down there, as I have twice already).  Double bonus points are awarded for using wet rocks.  Points are deducted for standing on mussel beds, sea weed, or algae - as these are all living things, and the public should not be damaging them.  Penalties involve removal of skin by barnacles and sharp rock faces when slipping - so far only my right palm got skinned and I was clumsily wearing sandals that day.

When there are young men around, I've started saying "Parkour!" when I jump, and several of the young lions try to mimic me or keep up, but mostly they just laugh at the old man jumping from rock to rock past them.

Sadly, the abandoned sea lion pup below died the next day... and is now decomposing on the trail near the foot of the cliff (Spring High Tides are +5 feet, carrying things that float, high up onto the shore).  I did call the Marine Mammal rescue hotline... but either the pup was not viable, or it died before the rescue truck got there.  There's over 100 sea lion and seal pups, abandoned by their mothers, in shelters in Southern California currently.

Not So Tough As Nails

I've been thinking alot lately about the phrase "Tough as nails".  It makes no sense, in this modern age, today.  Perhaps if I was Amish or a Mennonite and wooden dowels were all I had, "tough as nails" might carry more purport.  Perhaps if I lived 1000s of years ago before bolted joints, hot riveting, brazing, epoxy joining, press-fitting, or arc/mig/tig/friction/and EB welding existed on Earth, "tough as nails" might carry a connotation of "as tough as a bear's nails" or "as tough as an eagle's talon".  But humans today are very disconnected from bears, eagles, or other wild animals (save for their sport teams' mascots).  So just what is "tough as nails" supposed to mean?

Does it mean that it bends easily when not hit precisely square with a hammer, and then it quite difficult to extract without causing damage to the wood in which it was pounded?

Does it mean 'that which should never be used in shear' as the nails under Dr Desert Flower's friend Brook's hot tub were used in shoddy construction where the entire weight of hot tub, water, and drunken revelers was supported solely by three 16D nails into each corner's platform support upright?  (which failed in shear, dumping the hot tub, water, and inhabitants one night in 1997)

Does it mean 'that which if pounded into the wood too close to the edge will indeed cause the wood to Break Out and split'? (Yes, my father and god father are excellent wood workers, a skill that was not passed down to me)


Or is there no construction component whatsoever and instead it applies to mammalian and avian nails?  Bears, eagles, badgers, seals, walruses, hawks, humans, etc?  Most of the quadrupeds and raptors have somewhat formidable nails, composed mostly of keratin, but human nails are fragile, flimsy, transient, ornamental vestiges that break even easier than construction nails.  And the phrase "as tough as nails" has no species qualifier to it.  Humans being as myopic as they are, I think that the phrase must have originally been used to describe human nails.

Un-cut baby nails can claw at their parents a great deal.  And humans who have been pre-maturely buried have tried to claw their way through their coffins, when wooden coffin burials were the custom in cultures who did not cremate their dead.  But I just do not see any resemblance to "toughness" or "durability" in human nails that the phrase "tough as nails" incorrectly implies.

If anyone has any insights as to the rightful origin of "Tough as nails" I would be very interested to hear it.   My "comments box" is always open. - JJP

Not Enough To Swallow

When we first moved here to Southern California, and I realized I was within bike riding distance of San Juan Capistrano, and being named "Joe" and having my relatives always PUSH the celebration of "St.Joseph's day" as a counter-weight to "St.Patrick's day" (in some kind of bizarre Reeguhn-esque ethnic tribal feud) I thought to myself: "I KNOW where I'll be this coming St.Joseph's Day! San Juan Capistrano!"  ...as you see, the swallows return to Capistrano every March 19th (St.Joseph's day) and leave every October 23rd (some other saint's day, I guess).

Since there's So Much hype about it - parades, bands, celebrities, etc -  I wanted to be prepared. When does it happen on the 19th?  Where's the best place to see it in SJC?  Just how many swallows are we talking about here?  How bad would the traffic be?

Well, since there's a Pat Boone / Ink Spots / multiple-cover-band song "When the swallows return to Capistrano" it made googling it a pain.  There's all sorts of "news reports" and promotional videos, one in which a male senior citizen says "there were so many swallows, they blackened the sky".  In this age of "video recording devices are everywhere" I was sure I'd see some kind of actual video footage of a mass of birds, large enough to blot out the sun.  Well, the closest thing is this:



...and in that video, you can count 12 swallows (13, if you count the swallow nest next to the beehive in the eave twice, since it's shown twice).  In other videos you can see a UCLA (some 30 miles from here) faculty office building's 4th floor being flocked to by swallows (and mudded, and pooped upon).  You can see someone's inlaw's home a "a few miles from SJC" being strafed and nested by dozens of swallows.  You can see poorly shot video of swallows "in slow motion".  But I have yet to find any actual footage of the San Juan Capistrano swallows "returning", nor "circling the mission twice and leaving for the winter" as the legend says.

Lack of evidence does not disprove it, it just makes it even less believable, and gives me so much pause as to make me not feel bad for avoiding SJC tomorrow.  I am sure there will be massive traffic jams into and out of SJC.  There's no shortage of entrepreneurs, marketeers, and hopeful capitalists trying to prey upon tourist dollars there.  Since I am feeling rather under-the-weather with some kind of congestive head cold, attempting to ride my bike up there and back is definitely out of the question tomorrow, and even if I did, I'd probably be run over by a out-of-town tourist trying to see a stray seagull or raven and hoping it was a swallow.   And since they are supposed to return "at dawn's first light" it would be a very chilly ride, on a busy Tuesday work morning, when I am already triple booked with simultaneous conference calls.

The video above (or link here) says that SJC Mission renovations and development have decreased the numbers of swallows that return, but 'have not diminished the festive spirit'.  Hazaah, hooray, how fun for you SJC.     =\  I wanted to see many dozens or hundreds or thousands of swallows, digesting every flying insect for miles around, darting to and fro...  but instead, a 1/2 dozen mud nests in the eaves it all you've got?  On the I-10 and 101 in Phoenix there were 100s of such nests on the west side of town's interchange - I used to see them all the time.  

I do not mean to disrespect SJC's swallows or the massive events surrounding their "legendary" return. But I'll be staying home tomorrow.  I am kinda glad my Uncle Joe (the same one who sends me funny emails often) is not coming to co-celebrate St.Joseph's day here tomorrow... we'd both be rather under-whelemed by the lack of natural phenomenon and over-whelmed by the much-to-do-about-very-little.

If any of my SJC neighbors have actual footage of hundreds or thousands of birds "blackening the sky" on March 19th (or any other time for that matter, in SJC), please feel free to share the link the "comments", and I will happily "eat crow" - but I doubt I will swallow.  =)

Higgs Boson Walks Into A Catholic Church

This made me smile, and almost giggle.

Bee Venom Kills HIV

I know this sounds silly, but it is not.  It is sound science, and honestly, it is freaking amazing.   Joshua Hood, a scientist at Washington University (St Louis), took bee venom, loaded with the natural toxin melittin, and put it in nano-particles (he's a Phd MD, but we won't hold the "MD" part against him).  Link here.  The nano-particles were so large, that the normal cells could not get affected by the toxic melittin.   The melittin couldn't harm the normal cells, because they were TOO BIG.  But HIV is a sneaky little virus, encapsulated, with it's own little defense mechanism.

Well HIV, meet BEES!   That's right, Bees!  And the melittin in the bee venom stung the hell out of the HIV, poking holes in it, rendering it useless, while leaving the normal cells unaffected.  Hood hopes to develop a vaginal cream that is loaded with these nano particles that can be applied by women in areas rampantly affected by HIV - like Africa, Haiti, and other hot spots.

This is Science at its best.   Nano-particles, geometry, virology, immunology, biochemistry.  I bet none of the researchers who worked on this think the Earth is 6000 years old.  This is awesome.   This is - as my long deceased grandmother used to say "the bee's knees".  =)

I've been stung by bees, twice in my life, once between my fingers, and once on my arm.  No fun either time.   I was sorry to see the poor bee die, but she stung me.   I know bee venom is no laughing matter. I am delighted to see it stinging the hell out of HIV.

Nation Of Declining Earnings

Over at Ilovecharts they had a great link to this Atlantic Story.   It's worth a read. (Link here)

Long Awaited Dose of Reznor

If you've missed exposure to Trent over the last few years.... this link should help you recover:

https://soundcloud.com/howtodestroyangels/sets/welcome-oblivion-2013

Mariqueen Maandig's voice is very feminine, somewhat ethereal.   And you still get to hear Trent singing vocals and refrains in the back ground.   The synth and drum tracks are pure NIN.

Enjoy

The Coyote Whisperer

Dr Desert Flower has begun going to bed earlier and waking up earlier, to try and match my schedule a little better.  It enables us to spend more quality time together as a couple in the evenings, and she gets to see the sun rise on morning walks when Southern California weather is pleasant (as it has been this month and last month) while I am engaged in conference calls with Bangalore, Warsaw, Atlanta, and South Carolina.  This morning, DDF was excited to tell me about a coyote who was walking beside her, 5 or 6 feet away, at the park near the top of the hill in our neighborhood, the same park where I've done yoga on the Pacific Ocean vista.

In the past when we've taken walks in Indiana, South Carolina and Arizona, DDF had the nick-name "the cat whisperer" since every cat we encountered on our walk appeared to be inexorably drawn to her.  It appears coyotes are likewise drawn to her as well.  "I was walking at a brisk pace when I thought 'one of the neighbor's dogs must be out without a leash' when I saw what I thought was a german shepherd" as the animal paced her several feet away.  Then she said she noticed the larger ears, the different tail, and distinguishing snout - that was no german shepherd, it was a coyote!  She said the made a jumping motion and waved her hands in the air suddenly to ward off the wild animal, and the coyote took off down the hill and away from her - it was fun to watch her recreate this motion.  ...I think only a shy coyote would have been threatened by it.  =)

If You're Homophobic, You Probably Won't Try Sushi Either

Over at the ever enjoyable ILoveCharts, they posted this gem (link here) from MotherJones.

Now, while I do not love sushi, I have tried it, and I have liked some of the sushi that I've eaten in advanced countries with reliable refrigeration and food safety standards (like Japan, and the Coasts of the US, but not like China or Mexico or most of Africa).  The further from the source - the longer the supply line and 'chain of custody' - the more dubious I am about the quality & safety of the sushi being served.

So Mother Jones published the Pew Research Center's report about the Public Policy Polling that interviewed 500 registered voters across the country, at the end of February 2013, with a error rate of +/- 4.4%.  The correlation - regardless of age -  of refusal to trying sushi and not approving of gay marriage is uncanny.  I'd say that the P value on this (just from my limited experience in looking at non-homogenious data sets, and working with many homophobes over the years in many red states) would be at least 0.01, or smaller.

Now, while this correlation is somewhat disturbing, it is good to know that the older you get - and the closer to the end of your average life span you are today - that you're more phobic about just about everything, and in another 10 or 20 years, after most of the boomers and silent generation are dead and gone, the rest of us can live in a more accepting society that has less fear of raw fish, less fear of gay people, and more accepting of the diversity that is intrinsic to the world in which we all live.

Hiking or Biking Alone In California Can Be Dangerous

When my son was visiting back at Christmas, he and I biked up to the North end of Aliso Canyon on the new Diamondbacks, and as we sat and enjoyed some Marcona almonds, dried apricots, and Nalgene bottle water, we spotted this lovely sign:

Now that's pretty explicit.  That's also about a mile from where Dr Desert Flower works.  There's a primary school that borders this canyon and a high school that is actually IN the canyon farther south.

At my high school, there was the occasional possum (opossum?), raccoon, stray dog, and (from time to time) skunk, but never did we have a mountain lion or need to warn of any apex predator.

Here in Orange County, humans have encouraged upon the edge of the desert where all the critters used to live.  Many of those critters still have canyons, drainage tunnels, dense landscaping, and mountain ranges Very Nearby, where they can sleep, live, raise their young, and thrive.  Mountain lions, bobcats coyotes, red tail hawks, raccoons, rattle snakes, road runners, and of course multiple murders of crows upon crows upon crows all reside here.   The little barking dogs and "outdoor cats" of humans the new comers leave in their back yards over-night become easy-pickings protein supplements for the indigenous predators, helping to keep the predators and their young well fed with sustained populations.

I looked up the recorded attacks of mountain lions on Humans in California (they're all over the web) and they are real.  The more humans hike and bike out in the remote countryside, the more often they get attacked, and sometimes killed.  I don't want to become a protein supplement to a den of hungry mountain lion cubs.   What appears to happen, is that lone hikers, or lone bikers, are attacked by hungry mountain lions.  Rarely do the felines attack a group of 2 or 3 together.  But if one biker or hiker is 100 yards or more ahead of or behind the rest, then they're a prime target to become prime rib.  There's been multiple instances of hikers or bikers getting separated from their group, mauled, and their screams bringing other hikers or bikers to their aid.   Likewise, sometimes a lone hiker or biker is killed, but because of the American obesity epidemic, is too heavy to be carried back to the den by the cougar and instead, is dragged just a few yards off the beaten path into a thicket or patch of bamboo.  Then a 2nd group of hikers or bikers stumbles by (clumsy bipeds that we are) and the mountain lion - not yet done with eating their first kill - defends itself, instinctively thinking the 2nd group is coming to take away all that fat and protein it just brought down.

While I would love to bike all over the remote wilderness here, the mountain lion density is Much Much higher in Southern California than it was anywhere in Maricopa County AZ.  I don't want to become lunch, and while I think I am in pretty good shape, the American Mountain Lion has a strength to weight ratio in her claws, jaws, arms and legs that is 8 to 12 times more powerful the average human.  As all big cats tend to do, the Mountain Lion goes for the back of the head (severe the spine with incisor bites), the eyes (disable & blind your prey), and the throat (bleed it out) preferentially before going for arms, legs, thorax or genitalia while the prey is still able to fight back.  Once the prey is subdued... well... let the highest amounts of protein and fat be eaten first, before any other competitors approach to try and take your lunch away.

One of my Apple Trainers (Joan) last month told me she saw a Mountain Lion at Crystal Cove State Park - the same park where DDF and I hiked last weekend!  I asked Joan if she was alone or in group when she saw the lion, and she said she was alone - I told her she was lucky, and recommended to her to not hike alone in the future.

Links to:
Mountain Lion Sightings in Aliso Canyon
National Geographic Accounts and Recommendations to survive California Mountain Lion attacks
Recorded CA Mountain Lion Attacks through 2007
Orange Trail Safety Tips
North American Mountain Lion attacks, 2001-2010

The Crazy Busy Apple Store On A Sunday

So Dr Desert Flower needed to return some things to several of the Mission Viejo mall stores, I signed up for a Apple "Open Training" class, so I could work / blog / email in the mall with the free Wifi and not have to hang around various retail Service counters waiting for her.  The Apple store is normally pretty busy, but on a Sunday, it is more akin to Bedlam... or the week-before- Christmas-busyness, compared to the much more tranquil atmosphere during the weekday afternoons.

Now, if I wanted to have total serenity, I guess I could go down to the Windows store, where there are very few customers, tons of employees standing around with not much to do...  but I don't think they'd welcome my AirBook in there with open arms.

The Giant butcher-block-like training tables have equally massive & solid legs on the ends.  While this makes for excellent stability, it also blocks off the end of the table so that only 4 people can crowd around it, instead of 5 using the table more effectively. But it still works pretty well.

I took this photo as I arrived with my Sony camera.  I plopped the card into the USB reader, copied it to my "pics" folder, and then tried to find it with my Google Blogger.  No can do.   Google Blogger doesn't like it.  But if I "open with" Firefox, copy the address, and then cut-and-paste that address into the Blogger "Choose files" then it finds it.

I Just now showed this conundrum to "Shannon" our friendly trainer,and she pointed out the hand Mac feature inside of Finder that lets one sort by date created, date modified, name, kind, application, etc... which is Much More handy than the old PC way of "open in Firefox" or "open in IE8" or wherever, and cut-and-psate.   This picture was 'hiding in plain sight' in the middle of the pack, sorted alphabetically until I toggled the sort-by display setting.

Learn something new everyday.  =)

USBs Unite, For Cthulhu

I want to get one of these... just for fun: (link here)

Me thinks it would be great to plug in at an internet cafe or Apple Store training session.  =P

Only thing that would make this better, was if it was also a multi-gigabyte storage device... or if could double as a "mouse" or "pointer".  Now THAT, would be really cool.

Release the Kraken!  (but make sure your battery if fully charged first)

Greed Zombies

Yes, the creation of fictional wealth, out of derivatives, collateral default swaps, modeled future behaviour, mergers & acquisitions, as well as the legalistic BS, political BS, and promotional marketing that surrounds these imaginary concepts are all far more important than making actual, real, quality products.  Far more important than teaching our young people how to learn to build and fix and improve real things.  Far more important than helping other citizens to improve their lives.   The pursuit of infinite wealth, gained from imaginary & conflated concepts, without any trace of humanity or scruples, has taken over not just the US, but on a global scale.

I used to worry that someday my grand children will inherit a polluted environment, ruled by greedy bastards, who have corrupted the world.  But I've stopped worrying about that, and I've begun to come to grips with the realization that maybe I won't have any grand children at all - a thought that used to depress me, but now one which is perhaps the least sad out-come.

California DMV = OMG!!!!

So today I tried to go to the California DMV.    Sure, the CA DMV has a "make an appointment" feature on their web page.  But the "make an appointment" doesn't work in San Clemente, since they are closed until March 15th.   So I go to the Laguna Hills office.   I arrive at 1pm

1pm - I get in the line, that stretches around the building
1:45, I get a number "B121"  .. there is hope
2:45pm, I get notified that window #20 will see me
I need to register a 2011 Volvo a 2007 Mazda, and get my CA driver's license.   I got to window #20, and talk to Chinese Immigrant "William".   "William" summarily dismisses my application for a CA driver's license, because I do nor have not have passport or birth certificate.  My VALID AZ Driver's License (good to 2031) is NOT GOOD ENOUGH.  No, I need my birth certificate or passport.   Ok....

He makes me pay for my $360Volvo registration, but won't give it to me because
a) it is not PRESENT to be verified (VIN # and mileage)
b) has not been CA smog tested (even though it is less than 2 years old)
C) the odometer cannot be verified
D) the "engine serial number" cannot be verified by a CA state bureaucratic
... okay, so I need to get it smog tested AND I need to have the CIN number checked.  Ok.   I am not a terrorist.

Then, "William" sends me out to "get my Mazda verified".    I WAIT 45 minutes, outside.  I pretend I am a "tomb of the unknown solider" enlisted man, and I pace, pivoting, 90 degrees, at each 8 steps, for FORTY FIVE MINUTES, waiting for SOMEONE to come out to check my VIN number, my mileage, my vehicle ID.   Finally, a nice lady from the temporarily closed San Clemente DMV office comes out to methodically check my vehicle.  "Are you pacing impatiently, or patently?" she asks me.  I reply, WITH SILENCE.     (Yes, I was VERY impatient after my THIRD Hour).

So I GOT THERE at 1.   Got my number "B121" at 2pm.  got called to "Window 20" at 3pm.   Got rejected for my DL at 3:10, and sent out to my Mazda at 3:15, where i waited  for 45 minutes, for SOMEONE to come out and verify my VIN number, mileage, and license plate.   Then, at 4pm, I go BACK IN to Window #20.   BUT no, "William" helped a a woman who had the appearance of a crack whore right before me to get a temporary tag and a handicap tag for her disabled boy friend who "can't walk".   I approach "William" who tells me flatly "I cannot help you, I spent too much time with the last person, and my manager will write me up, please go sit down".

So I go STAND next to the seats (where there ARE NO seats) and wait impatiently.   I talk to a 16 yr old and her mother who confirm that Once I take my written test, later in March, I get to wait FOR AN HOUR for the results of my written test.     It has now been more than 3 hours since I got to the DMV.

"William" finally calls me back up, it is 4:25 pm, almost 3.5 hours after I arrived.   He starts to process my request for registering my Mazda.   After 15 minutes William charges me, takes my money, then tell sme I need to go get an emissions heck.   I walk out at 4:30 with
- no new CA license
- no new CA registrations
- no new CA documents

I drove home (after spending $250 dollars at the liquor store, with no meaningful DMV documents in hand) and began drinking wine.   I am on my 2nd bottle.    I DESPISE CALIFORNIA's bureaucracy.   it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Annoying!!      Someday, I will get my Driver's license, and both vehicles registrations....          government interference and bureaucracy be damned.

Sometimes, I miss Arizona.

Not Just A Bright Dot In The Sky

This evening, the international space station will be orbiting over Southern California: (from SpotTheStation)

"Time: Wed Feb 27 6:22 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 72 degrees, Appears: NW, Disappears: SE"

Frankly, I look forward to each time the station will be passing over-head and the night sky is cloudless.  While some people may think "what's the big deal, it's just a bright spot in the sky?" I see it as much more fascinating, impressive, and noteworthy.  Why?

Well, wether it is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court predicting an eclipse, or Ash Williams in The Army Of Darkness's "boom stick", chain saw and Oldsmobile, or NASA predicting the near-Earth fly-by of an asteroid... these are applications of science and technology that show that some humans actually use their neurons and firing synapses for useful purposes - to gain favor with the king and the fair maiden (Bing), to preserve one's life (Ash), or to avert a possible planetary threat (NASA).  Each time scientists and engineers get it right, it is a victory for the thinking class, the anti-Kardashians, the geeks who otherwise go un-appreciated and often-mocked / ridiculed / pigeon-holed / devalued & who are frequently ostracized, and a rebuke to those who do not value (or "believe") science.

To say confidently "at this time, and this place, you're going to see this man made object that is 230 miles above you, hurtling at roughly 17,250 mph, along a trajectory path from HERE to THERE that will last 6 minutes" ... and that object has scientists in it, who are doing experiments that may change the way materials are manufactured on Earth, how diseases are fought, or alter what we know about the condition of this tiny blue sphere on which we all live... well, that is pretty damn amazing to me.

Yes, it LOOKS like just a little bright white dot in the sky, not much brighter than Venus or Jupiter, moving in a straight line, but it is something that humans - collaborating, working together - created, tested, launched, maintain, and inhabit.  It's not some natural occurring phenomenon over which humans have no control.  Looking up and seeing it is one of the purest manifestations of the evidence that "science matters".  If we all believed that the Earth was 6000 years old, and the Ptolemaic Earth was at the center of the universe, and that eating of a creature that was not of cloven hoof & chewing cud was an abomination, there Would Be No international space station.  We'd be bleeding patients to get their humours corrected and relying upon astrology and alchemists as we tried to kill off or subjugate the rival neighbor tribes for the differences in their beliefs and appearance.

Each time I see this manifestation of successful technology, doing something very impressive, and very useful for all of humanity, it gives me hope.  It helps to remind me that life is not a series of pathetic of reality TV shows, bad news, innocuous fluff producing teen bands, marketing of products we don't need to buy, and mystical beliefs of invisible beings in the sky who randomly wreak random havoc on their terrestrial follows.  No, there's an actual space station, made of steel, titanium, plastic, and aluminum, full of scientists, engineers, and pilots from many different countries, safely flying more than 24X faster than  I've ever flown (an Air France 777 flight I was on once clocked in at 705 mph at 40K feet) at an altitude 32X higher than I've ever been, AND there are humans so smart that they can predict where it's going to be, automatically email me the information to let me know where that will be, so that I can also gaze upon the beauty of that manifestation and appreciate it.

It's something I'll never be able to explain to a tea bagger who wants to cut ALL government spending - without government expenditures, the international space station never would have been built.  It's not something that a quick creationist will ever understand, as they cannot separate the miracles that they believe their deity created from the modern marvels that science and engineering can create.  It's not something that I could explain to an uneducated manual laborer who has worked their butt off since the age of 6 and never even graduated from 8th grade (as my departed grand parents were) because they were too busy trying to stay alive and keep their family fed...  but it IS a thing of beauty that I appreciate.

I'll get off my soap box now.

Cat Logic

This is illustrated in my home, often:

Periodic States

From the geeks over at Ilovecharts.  I always love language intricacies.

Home Office Feline Flatulence Hazard

While it Can Be relaxing and stress reducing to have a sleeping cat in one's home office while working throughout the day and joining one serial conference call after another, when the cat is experiencing digestional distress, it can be more than a disconcerting.

I was minding my own business this morning, at 4:45am, on a call with my boss's boss, when all of a sudden, a fetid stench fills the air.  Has someone opened a sewer grate?  Is a portal to the lower levels of hell been conjured nearby?  No, it was the younger cat (the septuagenarian, not octogenarian) who was sleeping soundly, but passing noxious fumes in her slumber.  It was so strong, I almost vomited, tethered to my desk by my corded telephone head set, I could not escape.  Luckily, after a good 5 or so minutes, the cloud dissipated and I was able to breathe freely once again.  So to those of you who commute to an office, leaving your domestic pets behind, be grateful that you don't have to smell them throughout the day as they get older, and smellier.  =)

Meursault 1993

The final bottle of white wine that we brought in a cooler from Phoenix to Orange County was a Meursault 1993, it's a French Cote de Beaune.  I could not find an exact match for it online, but the prices for a 1993 Meursault range from $60 a almost $500.  It was not only the last of the Phoenix wines, but the last of the Sebastien purchase I made 12 years ago, before my buddy Sebastien had to go back to Europe and could not take his cave with him.

The Meursault 1993, Le Bastion Des Dames De La Tour Bussiere (XV S), Patriarche Pere et Fils was buttery, smooth, with subtle fruit notes.  Delicious.  Dr Desert Flower and I enjoyed it with cheese and dried fruit in our new Orange County home.

 I look back with a great deal of fondness to the Sebastien stash of wine, savoured over more than a decade, enjoyed with family and friends, and I am somewhat remorse that the supply has ended.  It was a wonderful run while it lasted.

2007 Was As Good As 2006

Back in 2006, I did a posting on Vieux Chateau Grean, mise en bouteilles du Chateau by Danielle et Richard DUBOIS, St. Sulpice de Faleyrens France, a wonderful $12 Bordeaux.  Well DDF and I recently enjoyed a 2007 bottle, and it was just as good.  I actually blogged this twice..  but I am having some serious issues with continuity here on google blogger from the Apple Store, so I am going to make this short and sweet (for the third time).

Château du Bois Chantant 2010

I was pleased to find this new bottle under $10 at Total WIne -  Château du Bois Chantant 2010 (link here).  I think it was $9.  It tasted more like a $15 or $20 bottle.  Very nice on the tongue, pleasing, and superb quality. And for < $10 it is hard to beat!

This is what you get when you hold down the "Option Key" and "Rotate" in iPhoto

Château de Bel-Air Lussac-St. Émilion 2009

We recently enjoyed a semi-fancy Bordeaux at Christmas - a Château de Bel-Air Lussac-St. Émilion 2009 (link here).  DDF bought it at Total Wine for about $20 and we had it with some delicious pork for a holiday meal while our son was visiting.  The bottle has been sitting around my office for far too long, for an over-due blog posting.

It was a good, full bodied, healthily tannin'ed Bordeaux.  No complaints about the wine - it was good, and drinkable, and if you're looking for a nice Bordeaux under $20 that's a step up form the $9 bottles I usually blog about from the bargain bin, you could do much worse than this one.

Lussac-St. Émilion is the "cheaper cousin" to regular St. Émilion.  I always find it a little under-handed when a restaurant lists Lussac-St. Émilion or Lalande de Pomerol as actual St. Émilion or Pomerols.  They're adjacent regions, very similar, but Not The Same, and when a sommelier tries to pass off the cheaper cousin, sight-unseen, grrrrrrr.

So, enough of my rant...  I have 2 more bottles to go in the next 30 mins.

Vegetarian Feline Diet

I got this from my Uncle this morning, in a string of dog & cat images.  If it is not photo shopped, then it is pretty funny.

Poor George!

Les Piliers Syrah 2009

Dr Desert Flower has developed a Petite Syrah proclivity.  She had a good petite syrah when she first moved to Orange County, and now she buys them whenever she sees one.  I saw a Bogel Petite Syrah in the wine rack last weekend, much to my dismay, as I bought a Bogel PS from Costco several years ago in Phoenix, and it was dreadful.  My hope is this newer vintage will be better.

But that posting will have to wait.  This posting is about a French Rhone, Syrah, Les Piliers 2009 (link here).  It was drinkable.  A little sweet (not so dry) and a little bit fruity.  I would not have bought it, as it was more than $12 (my internal hesitancy fulcrum at point of purchase - or rather, point of shelf-to-basket-selection).  2.5 stars out of 5 is "about right" in my perspective.

[this image is also my first attempt at "straighten" in iPhoto... sort of getting the hang of it]

Star Wars Family Tree

Over at Ilovecharts they had a great posting recently on the "Star Wars Family Tree" (link here).  You should check it out, if you're a fan of Star Wars (as I was in Jr High School).

Anakin Solo...  LOL!

Pugsley's Perfect Porter

I picked up a Shipyard Brewing Co (Portland Maine) Pugsley's Signature Series Imperial Porter at my local Ralph's supermarket last weekend.  I drank it 2 nights ago, before dinner, and WOW... it was impressive.  Alan Pugsley is the English master brewer who crafted this amazing porter.  The back label reads:
"Pugsley's Signature Series is named after Shipyard Brewing Company's master brewer Alan Pugsley. Alan is from England where he worked with Peter Austin at the world-famous Ringwood Brewert before moving to the United States in 1986. Imperial Porter is a full bodied, very dark, malty beer with a good roasted character coming from the Crystal, Chocolate and Black Porter Malts used in the mash.  Warrior, English Fuggles, and EastKent Goldings Hops balance the malts with a good hop bite.  The brew has an OG of 1.070, rounding out after fermentation with just a slight residual sweetness and cutting dry at the finish.  To fully experience all the flavours, this Porter is best enjoyed at 55 degrees Fahrenheit."

Well, I didn't detect Any "hop bite"which is good, because I detest bitter, biting, hoppy beer.  I did taste coffee, chocolate, malty deliciousness.   This quote from the Shipyard website says it best:

"The Pugsley's Signature Series Imperial Porter from Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland, Maine pours out jet black in color with no light getting through and a one finger, tan head that sticks around. On the nose aromas of chocolate, coffee, deeply roast grain, nuts and earthiness. In the mouth flavors of creamy bittersweet chocolate, coffee, molasses, smoke and a slight herbal hoppiness. Full side of medium bodied. Nice carbonation. Good lacing. Smooth mouthfeel. Slightly sweet on a long finish that ends with a bitter twang. A wonderful Imperial Porter."

My beer fridge is set at 45F, so somewhere along the 2 hour drinking curve, this Porter warmed to around 55, then 60, and all 22 ounces were consumed before it got to 65F.  I didn't notice any "bitter twang" though - maybe I got a 'bad bottle'?  There were a little bit of gritty residual tannins in my bottle, so it may have been out of the bottom of the vat.  I enjoyed it tremendously, and it will not be my last bottle...  though... my new Californian primary care physician has recommended I cut down from 22 ounces to 12 a day... so I will have to look for this porter in six packs instead!

When I first saw Alan's thumbnailed head-shot on the back of the bottle, I thought "there's some hubris for you" ... but after drinking this fine beverage, heck yes, if I had created this, I'd certainly put my picture on every single bottle too!  Excellent stuff.  I highly recommend it.

The Walking Dud

Back in the Fall of 2010, I was eager to watch AMC's new series, The Walking Dead.  Then, in February of 2012, my interest sadly began to wane.  Now, this season, each episode bounces between
- poorly written
- laughably dumb
- idiotic choices, made by
- unlikable / un-relatable / unsympathetic characters
I am not saying that writing for a apocalyptic zombie series is easy, but the producers and writers of The Walking Dead have got to stop listening to their focus groups (which lead them to kill off the unlikeable Lori last season) and start writing more logical, believable dialogues, plot lines, and characters.

The awesome Tumblr Ilovecharts once said:

But now the magenta bar has grown to fill more than 3/4rds of each episode.  Dr Desert Flower refuses to watch it with me, as it is medically & scientifically impossible and the characters' speeches are inane.  I Fast-Forward through every scene with 'The Governor' and Andrea, as I could not care less.  Andrew Lincoln's British take on a delusional rural Georgian Sheriff has become strained at best, and when he tries to "dumb down" his accent in an 'I don't know' chain-link fence conversation with the patronly vet  Herschel he comes across as developmentally disabled, instead of borderline psychotic.

One bright spot is Norman Reedus as Darly Dixon, who is surprisingly one of the few redeeming characters in the whole show.  Michael Rooker's Merle just needs to be bitten, and taken out, as does the entire population of Woodbury.  Danai Gurira's Michonne character is being squandered in a deluge of sulking and silence, when (I've heard from my friends who have read them) she plays a MUCH BIGGER role in the comic books on which the series is based.

Leave Lori dead (and eaten, thank you).  If her widow Rick wants to run after psychotic hallucinations of her, have him get bitten and killed.  If 'The Governor' and his band of "deadly marksmen against the national guard, but inept against prison inhabiting civilians" show up, have them be consistent.  They either kill everyone, or they all get killed.  Dodge Ram pickup truck doors can't stop M4 full metal jacketed rounds.  If you're gonna beat the hell out of Steven Yeun, and give him a severe concussion, he needs to act concussed.   While Herschel's amputated leg LOOKS authentically shorter, Merle's hand-in-a-metal-sheath prosthesis isn't fooling anyone.

In season one, the very first zombie Sheriff Rick ever kills, he does so with a face shield (proper PPE) and a base ball bat.   Now, everyone is stompin, punchin, kicking, bludgeoning zombies one after another without any regard to how bone fragments can cut you, how decomp splatter can get in your eyes, mouth, or nose (or Any open wound you've sustained), and every single episode is a cross-contamination farce.

I had high hopes, but they're dashed.  I can watch an episode now on DVR in about 15 minutes.  Oh well.  But like any train wreck...  I want to see how it "ends", so I'll keep fast forwarding until they conclude the series.  Hopefully, with all the main characters getting eaten.

Timing Matters In Still Photography

Hearing about the recent Carnival Cruise debacle (you get what you pay for, Carnival is the cheapest cruise line, taking the most maintenance short cuts, with the fewest redundant essential systems on their floating mini-cities), when I saw this photo it made me chuckle.  It is not directly related to the Carnival Cruise Triumph, but it does seem slightly vacation / cruise related (though the cobblestones sort of detract from that perspective).  [I'm also a huge fan of shoulder-less tops on appropriately proportioned females]

Rockin' Fish's Obsolete Online Menu & Ballast Point

Dr Desert Flower wanted to go to see "The English Beat" on Saturday night, who were playing down in Laguna Beach, about 30 minutes from our house.  Sadly, I was stricken with a severe sinus infection that had turned my nose into a non-stop mucus generator, and my upper respiratory tract into a massive multiple sneeze machine.  I was in no shape to go to any kind of concert, but I agreed - hanky in hand - to try and eat a meal with her at Rockin' Fish in Laguna Beach.  DDF had see Rockin' Fish when we've eaten at C'est La Vie in the past, right across the street, and has wanted to go since we moved here last year.

Luckily my nose stopped running long enough to park the car, walk into the establishment, and order some food.  Because of my aging eye sight, I always try to look online at the menu before heading to a new place.  Rockin' Fish has an very detailed menu on their website, and I was delighted to see the Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter (brewed in San Diego) listed.   I was all set to try a new porter... even with greatly reduced taste bud sensitivity.

The waiter approached, I ordered from memory, and received the response
"we haven't had that for about a year now."
"About a year now? Your website lists it."
"Yes, we have a problem with the website"
Ugh....
Then the waiter piped up "if you're looking for an IPA...." ...I cut him off.
"No, I am not at all interested in a hoppy IPA.  I don't like them.  What do you have that is not brewed by a soul-less, purely-for-profit, no-love-of-the-beer-or-those-who-produce-it, beverage; one that is a high quality, locally brewed beer?"
DDF laughed to try and inject a little levity, since I was coming across as somewhat of an irate ass - cold enhanced and all - and I lightened up.

The waiter offered the "Bootlegger's "Old World Hefeweizen", out of Fullerton California.  Since Franziskaner got corporately bought out, I'd stopped drinking Hefeweizens, but my buddy Matt and I always used to enjoy a good Hefeweizen together back in South Carolina and then in Nevada, so I thought, why not?   It was pretty good - served in a Stone Brewery etched glass even - but it was not the porter I had hoped to sample.  The meal was fine, Rockin' Fish is not a bad place, they just have an obsolete online menu that they truly need to update.

No longer deciduously impinged

So Sunday, on my way back from the Farmer's Market in Laguna Niguel, I stopped at my local Ralph's, who have one of the best grocery store craft beer selections, and much to my surprise, I found a selection from Ballast Point - Amber Ale Calico.  I thought I'd give it a try (they also had a Ballast Point IPA, which I didn't even glance at twice).

After trimming a deciduous tree that was impinging upon a trio palm trees in the corner of my yard, I popped open the cold Ballast Point, and soaked in the hot tub.  HOPPY after-taste, that lingered and lingered, or as DDF put it "like an old sweaty sock" - well... not as bad as a sweaty sock.  It was drinkable, but wow, it was hoppy.  Not what I had hopped for.  I will have to remain on the look out for the Black Marlin Porter.