California

CHP to Buy New Guns

For about $700 each, the California Highway Patrol will acquire nearly ten thousand new American-made Smith and Wesson semi-automatic weapons to replace aging armament; some of these aging weapons having delivered over one hundred thousand rounds.

CHP will buy 9,700 new guns – sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol is buying 9,700 semi-automatic pistols from gun maker Smith & Wesson Corp. in a deal the CHP says is worth $6.6 million. Delivery of the .40-caliber firearms will start in June and be completed over the next 18 months, Smith & Wesson Vice President Liz Sharp said. The new firearms will replace older Smith & Wesson pistols that CHP officers have carried as their primary service weapon since the 1990s, Sharp said.

Leland Nichols, Smith & Wesson’s chief operating officer, said the Springfield, Mass.-based company was “honored” that California’s premier law enforcement agency had decided to stick with his company’s guns.

“They are happy with the brand and happy with the reliability and durability,” Nichols said. “They have some units that have fired over 100,000 rounds.”

We’re happy to see that the CHP is buying American and buying much needed replacements for our first responder patrolmen and women.

The Truth About Labor Unions

We’ve been seeing this TV spot ad for a few weeks now, and I finally found it on-line thanks to GOP Bloggers who referred us to UnionFacts.com. Unions universally cripple employers, but tragically, here in California, they have brought public education down to the lowest levels of functionality. This not only hurts the taxpayers, but the students. It’s time for competition in the learning system and to run racketeering teachers unions out of power.

Check out this ad and the UnionFacts.com website:

The Center for Union Facts | UnionFacts.com

Running nationally this week, our new commercial asks what you love about your union: is it the forced dues, political spending, discrimination, or corruption?


My opinion? The only difference between organized labor and organized crime is the way the second word is spelled.

A Tale of Two Saplings

Today we had good ol’ homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We prepared it using freshly ground beef (i.e. ground in our kitchen from top round), pork sausage, freshly chopped savories and a great meaty marinara sauce. Very good, if I do say so myself.

After dinner, the Cap’n and I went for a walk as usual. We pass these two trees that the city planted (on the same day) in the parkway in front of neighboring homes. We think its funny that one of the neighbors seems to water his tree and the other seem not to.

Clean Air and Light Traffic

Yesterday, we enjoyed a nice quiet day without handbills on the door, light traffic and good air quality. What happened?

Ex-Liberal in Hollywood Clark Baker has some answers:

A Day Without Illegals

Congratulations Democrats!

LA’s May Day was a huge success! The leaf blowers were silenced, the air was clear, emergency rooms were empty, and the smoke-belching clunkers driven by millions of unlicensed and uninsured illegals were safely parked for much of the day, unclogging our usually-constipated freeways for speeds not seen since the 1984 Olympics! Crime, collisions, and classroom sizes were all down, and commuters returned from work with enough time to mow their lawns and clean their homes before dinner. For one day, Americans caught a glimpse of life without illegals and saw that life wasn’t so bad.

[Read more].

Botanic Cactus Garden

Last weekend we visited the South Coast Botanic Garden, Located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County, California. One section of the garden is completely dedicated to various and sundry cactii. I took this shot of some hairy-looking cactus with blossoms.

Cap’n Bob also took a picture of the garden in 3D:

(Click for a larger image – you will need a pair of red/cyan anaglyphic 3D glasses to view in 3D)

Another Phalaenopsis Orchid

I last sent you a picture of this orchid plant on March 4th. Since then, the orchid plant produced several beautiful flowers which just seem to last and last.

Phalaenopsis

Known as the “moth orchid” due to its resemblance to some tropical moths, the phalaenopsis is native to the Asiatic tropics, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. This lovely and delicate plant is now a welcome adornment to our kitchen counter under the skylight.

Alligators in the Sewers Part VII

Here’s an update on our reclusive crocodilian neighbor:

Sun’s out, and so are trappings of spring

The latest in the arsenal to try to catch Harbor City’s renegade alligator, an 8-by-3-foot metal trap, has been left at the shore by Los Angeles recreation and parks officials in recent days, carefully positioned on the far side of Machado Lake amid the thick, floating vegetation.

The trap sits in an area where the alligator, a former pet named Reggie, was last seen in October and is camouflaged, mostly hidden from public view.

[more]

Read our previous alligator articles