The Santa Catalina Island Company added a new webcam on the famous Casino to the existing Pavillion Cam across the bay. This is the 7AM picture seen today from the new Casino Cam. Typical of the last weeks of summer, harbor moorings are nearly sold out.
Update: Banning House Webcam located at Two Harbors.
Update: Law Enforcement Against Microstamping
Once again, politicians and ill-informed citizens groups attempt to make legitimate gun ownership difficult to impossible.
From Cybercast News Service:
The California Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would require the “microstamping” of semi-automatic handguns — giving cartridges fired from those guns a unique imprint, which according to gun control advocates, would help police solve crimes.
Supporters say microstamping would turn spent cartridges into potential evidence in civil and criminal cases. According the California Million Mom March, “when the police retrieve the bullet casing at a crime scene, they can quickly track down the legal owner of the handgun that fired it.”
Nonsense, say Second Amendment supporters, who view the bill as yet another attempt to burden gun manufacturers and further restrict gun sales in the state. They say that gun makers, faced with the added expense of microstamping semiautomatic weapons, would either stop selling their wares in California or drastically raise prices.
[ . . . ]
The bill’s lead sponsor, Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) acting in tandem with the Coalition to Stop Handgun Violence, has been fighting to pass the bill since last year.
Koretz, from the People’s Republic of West Hollywood, is one of these far-to-the-left politicians who want to disarm all legitimate gun owners in the state. The Coalition to Stop Handgun Violence is an ad hoc front for a socialist group for unilateral disarmament.
But the California NRA Members’ Councils says the microstamping would create false evidence trails.
“Micro-stamped cartridge cases fired and abandoned at government agencies facilities or private shooting ranges could be gathered and used to ‘seed’ crime scenes with the with ‘evidence,’ implicating law enforcement officers and citizens” in crimes they had nothing to do with, the group said in an analysis on its website.
The gun-rights group also said microstamped cartridges could not be recycled because they might implicate secondary users of reloaded cartridges. “Millions of pounds of metals will be turned into scrap and require expense disposal requirements imposed so it will not enter landfills.”
And without the ability to sell and recycle used (microstamped) cartridge cases, the cost of firearms training will increase for government agencies, the gun rights group added.
Second Amendment supporters also note that microstamps can be easily defeated by replacing parts of the handgun that have been stamped; polishing the microstamp with abrasives or modifying the stamp; and in some cases, the stamped markings may be filled in with residue produced by normal firing of the gun.
Criminals who steal guns, smuggle them into the state, sell them on the black market to violent gangs and possible terrorists, will bypass any and all provisions of this measure.
That leaves gun manufacturers, dealers and owners holding the bag on the extra expenses this insane law would require.
Californians, urge your representative to the state legislature to oppose the bill (AB 352). And contact Governor Schwarzenegger, asking him to veto the bill should it ever be passed by both state houses. Since the vote in the state senate was 22-18, that falls well short of the 27 votes needed to override a veto.
Read the whole story.
Really! Since we are trying to flex our power this summer, we don’t run the air conditioner. And instead of lighting the oven in a warm house, we have been cooking outdoors a lot. We can do much of what we used to do in the oven in our outdoor BBQ.
A pizza stone with a layer or two of aluminum foil under it heats up quite nicely in the BBQ with the lid closed. We prepared our pizza dough and transferred to the stone. We then added the rest of the toppings and cheese, lowered the heat and the BBQ hood and cooked the pizza to a bubbly perfection.
Not really — the produce from this vine is called Yard Long Beans — also known as Asparagus bean, dow gauk, Chinese long beans, Peru bean, and Snake bean. The flowers are pale, delicate little things about the size of a thumbnail or just a little bigger. This photo was snapped in our garden this morning. The little beans rising on the left are about an inch long (~3cm), but they will be as long as your forearm (Cap’n says a cubit??) in a couple of weeks when they get picked.
I found this on Farm and Garden:
ASPARAGUS BEAN
History, definition & classification
The asparagus or yard long bean originated in southern Asia and is now grown extensively in Asia, Europe, and most recently, the United States. These unique beans grow on twining, delicate stems with a tenacious root system. The plants bloom in mid-summer with a pair of large white or purple flowers. Once pollinated, the flowers are followed by tiny dark green beans that reach a foot long in only a few days. The beans can grow up to three feet long, ripening to pale green and inflating as the red or black seeds ripen.
Although they resemble pole snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), asparagus beans are more closely related to southern cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata. Asparagus bean, Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, is called dow gauk in China, sasage in Japan, and Chinese long bean or yardlong bean in Europe and the United States.
In stark contrast to Bear, this is Moon. They are both from the same litter but I find it hard to believe sometimes. This one is broke.
Now don’t get me wrong — she is gentle and loves everyone and has a good disposition. Just a few bad habits (or instincts maybe) — she digs up the garden and occasionally eats vegetation that disagrees with her (picture messes to clean up), so she has to stay in the dog run most of the time. Not to worry, though, the Mama (that would be me) spends quality time with both dogs and sees that they get water and treats and (believe it or not) gourmet dog food daily. We save meat scraps in the freezer, and concoct “slump” for them: boiled meat scraps in rice with chicken or beef stock served over the traditional dry dog chow. Oh yeah, they love their Mama.
Update: Welcome to Lorie Byrd viewers! Thanks for the link Lorie!
This is “Bear.” She is a German Shepherd and Labrador mix. Bear is an exceptionally bright girl and is my constant companion at home. Always the protector of the Mama (that would be me), she lets me know when squirrels run the wires overhead or when geese fly by and even if an airplane towing a banner approaches. I guess if there is ever a paratrooper drop in the area, Bear will let me know.
She just got home from the groomer when I took this picture of my pretty friend.
We made a run to the local garden shop to get some home and garden supplies. Today, there were an abundance of orchids on display in the hothouse. I snapped this image of these lovely
Phalaeonpsis Orchids.
