Some of the green initiatives that keep coming across the media just don’t make any sense, like the example below:
Maybe the Director of Green should read some of our Global Warming and Climate Resources for some facts about the environment.
Rainbow’s End
Last July, we were on our vacation in Southern Utah near the South Entrance to Canyonlands National Park when this rainbow appeared ahead of us. We had just finished our visit to the park and were en route to our next destination and a relaxing evening in a resort hotel near Canyon de Chelly.
Click for bigger image.
A Legend in His Own Mind
You can get this T-shirt in a shop on Wilshire Blvd. in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica (CA).
And let it be written that He shall be known by many names . . .
- the Big O
- zero
- zip
- zilch
- nada
- nunca
- naught
- nichts
- nothing
- goose egg
- . . . the big donut
Photo credit: Damsel.
Avalon Chime Tower
The Avalon Chime Tower still chimes at fifteen minute intervals from eight o’clock in the morning until eight-thirty in the evening. While the chimes are charming, the tower facility, itself, could use a little tender loving care.
We hiked up to the tower and had an up-close look. The building is missing some roofing tiles although the decorative Catalina tiles look pretty good. The building is cracked in several places, the door on the west side needs repair and the area around the tower is a bit overgrown.
Now, I don’t know how the building gets its financial support nor do I want to take any supporters to task, but it is such a beautiful and historic instrument and it deserves better. From a distance, however, the chime tower is as charming as ever.
I took this photo with my Canon EOS and telephoto lens from the balcony of our hotel room. Click on the thumbnail above for full-size in the viewer.
Range Report
We missed our weekly trip to the shooting range last week since we were out of town. This week, however, we made up for the missed fun last week.
Firearms Inventory
- Glock 30 .45ACP
- Para Warthog .45ACP
- Glock 26 9x19mm
- Smith & Wesson 908 9x19mm
- Smith & Wesson 686 .357 magnum
- Remington 870 20 gauge
- Remington 870 12 gauge
We brought both .38 special and .357 magnum ammo for the revolver. We put up a target and started off with the revolver. We then mixed it up with all the handguns. I think we shot a total of 90 rounds of 9mm through both the S&W 908 and the Glock 26, about the same number of .45ACP through the Para Warthog and Glock 30. We also put 20 rounds of .38 special and 20 rounds of .357 magnum through the 686. At the end of the session, we each put 25 rounds through each of the Remingtons.
The Para Warthog did very well today. Towards the end of the session, she got a little dry and one round failed to feed. A quick drop of oil on the top of the receiver and racking it a few times fixed that problem and she fed the rest of the session without incident.
Plumeria Pollinator
A disappointed Sachem Skipper lights on this plumeria blossom only to discover that the flower’s fragrance is a false alarm – plumerias have no nectar – they use their fragrance to dupe pollinators into landing. Click image for closer-up.
The Catalina Casino – An Art Deco Treasure
The Casino in Avalon, CA. on Catalina Island, is truly one of the world’s greatest Art Deco treasures. The mermaid over the box office (see a closer image here) has become an icon associated with Avalon – her image appears on event posters all over town and on the mainland in the terminals.
Cap’n Bob captured this vertical panorama of the mermaid while standing in the loggia at the entrance to the theater and ballroom. He combined three images to render this top-to-bottom view of the mural and box office. Click on her for the really big version – use the scroll bars to see the entire image.
More about the Casino’s murals from LAMurals.org:
Date
1929Location
The Casino’s Avalon Theatre
1 Casino Way
AvalonMedia Notes
Designed by John Gabriel Beckman. Executed by Emil Kosa. Jr., Aloyous Bohnen, Vyseled Ulianoff, Alexander Kiss, Eugene de Goncz.Description
Nine panels of underwater marine life including a mermaid encircle the loggia’s inside walls. They are painted directly on the concrete.Around the dome, within the auditorium in an Art Deco style, are local flora and fauna, scenes of early California, and abstract designs. They were painted on a burlap-like material with extra-fine ground pigments in a flatene medium (used as a binder by printers). On a seashell carried by seahorses, Venus rises from the the waves. She is the central figure above the proscenium arch. Inside the arch are other figures as well as a map of Catalina.
More about the Casino’s description and history from Away.com: