Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Roundabouts

Retired Geezer at Blog Idaho put out this article on a traffic circle being proposed for Nampa County; the Geezer says:

Blog Idaho: Roundabouts: Good or Bad?

A Roundabout is a traffic circle that replaces an intersection. They are popular in Europe, which should be enough to make me question their value.

I don’t remember hearing anything positive about them from friends who had them installed in their neighborhoods. I think their complaint was that when trucks got in the middle, they had trouble getting out safely. Here in I-Dee-Ho, we have trucks pulling 2 and 3 trailers.
Not to mention ungainly farm equipment.

How about all you Big-City-Folks telling us what you think.

Don’t do it! you might wind up with a circle-jerk like this one in Long Beach, California:

Long Beach Traffic Circle – Google Maps

Damsel and I just HATE to drive through that mess, and avoid it if we can. We hated driving in Washington, D.C. for the same reason.

23 Feb 2006 by California Curmudgeon Rants Travel

Stars – Celestial vs. Celebrity

Caving into the almighty quest for capital, a famous London company will shut down a popular planetarium & science exhibit in favor of shows featuring celebrities. In essence, celestial stars are out, superficial stars are in.

From Sky and Telescope: London Planetarium to Close

February 22, 2006 The stars at one of central London’s well-known tourist attractions will go dark for good this July. Madame Tussauds waxworks, the owner of the London Planetarium, has decided to close the facility as the company shifts its focus from science education to entertainment. The planetarium (renamed the Auditorium) will soon replace its shows with programs about celebrities.

Built in the 1950s, the London Planetarium seats around 330 under its green 18-meter (60-foot) dome. Although Madame Tussauds had cut the screenings of its shows to just one 10-minute program called “Journey to Infinity,” the planetarium has remained very popular with local schoolchildren and their teachers.

“The London Planetarium has inspired generations of schoolchildren,” notes Robin Scagell, vice president of Britain’s Society for Popular Astronomy. “Many parents can still remember their first visit to it when they were young. To lose the planetarium now would be a tragedy.”

The Royal Observatory’s new, state-of-the-art 120-seat planetarium in Greenwich Park, about 30 minutes from downtown London by boat or rail, is currently under construction and won’t be completed until early 2007. “The only other planetarium of any size within striking distance of London,” says Scagell, “is the South Downs Planetarium near Chichester on the South Coast, about 60 miles from the capital, which is certainly not readily accessible unless you happen to be in the area.”

“I don’t think the Madame Tussauds management wants to sell or lease out the London Planetarium,” he adds. “It’s a valuable bit of real estate in a very expensive part of the world, and I’m sure they want to hang on to it. The dome itself is not a listed building, that is, not protected as being of historic or architectural value, but I doubt that they would want to pull it down just yet.”

It’s a shame to trade science for sensationalism. Most celestial stars are in their main sequence and will glow for billions of years to come. Terrestrial stars might be compared to final sequence giant stars, which have only a short time left before they collapse into the dwarfs they are all destined to become.

23 Feb 2006 by Astronomy Science

Washington’s Birthday

Today is the 274th anniversary of the birth of George Washington.

From WikiPedia:

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

George Washington was the successful Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783, and later became the first President of the United States, an office to which he was elected, unanimously, twice and remained in from 1789 to 1797. Washington first gained prominence as an officer during the French and Indian War and as a leader of colonial militia supporting the British Empire. After leading the American victory in the Revolutionary War, he refused to lead a military regime, though encouraged by some of his peers to do so. He returned to civilian life at Mount Vernon.

In 1787, he presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the current United States Constitution, and, in 1789, was the unanimous choice to become the first President of the United States. His two-term administration set many policies and traditions that survive today. After his second term expired, Washington again voluntarily relinquished power, thereby establishing an important precedent that was to serve as an example for the United States and also for other future republics.

Because of his central role in the founding of the United States, Washington is often called the “Father of his Country”. Scholars rank him with Abraham Lincoln among the greatest of United States presidents.

22 Feb 2006 by Patriotism People

Medics Delay Morales Execution

UPDATE (19:29): Back to the drawing board. Hopefully, the state will get this fixed. Unfortunately, they will now have to go back to the courts for another warrant.


Fox News reports (via AP):

Calif. Delays Execution of Killer Indefinitely

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — The state on Tuesday postponed indefinitely the execution of a condemned killer amid a court battle over the state’s method of lethal injection and the role doctors may play in the death chamber.

State officials notified the federal courts they would be unable to comply with a judge’s order to have a medical professional administer a lethal dose of barbiturate to Michael Morales in the execution chamber, a court spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

[more]

Morales’ execution postponed until Tuesday night – sacbee.com

SAN QUENTIN — Questions over a physician’s role in the death chamber postponed the scheduled execution early Tuesday morning of Michael Angelo Morales, the man condemned for raping and killing a Lodi girl more than two decades ago. Just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Vernell Crittendon, spokesman for San Quentin State Prison, said the execution was rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

In an unprecedented move in California since executions resumed in 1992, an anesthesiologist was to stay with Morales to make sure the 46-year-old man was rendered and remained unconscious after the first round of drugs entered his vein in a three-chemical lethal injection process. Another anesthesiologist was also to be present, but not in the execution chamber.

But anesthesiologists scheduled to monitor the Tuesday morning execution withdrew from the process in response to language in a district court order regarding their roles.

[more]

21 Feb 2006 by California Degenerates Judiciary Law and Order

SCOTUS Denies Morales Stay

I must say that I’m surprised that Justice Kennedy sent this up to the entire SCOTUS. The appeal had been shown to be without merit to several courts below. However, it now appears that Michael Morales final appeal has been denied and that justice will finally be done for his victim and her family.

Inset: Morales’ victim Terri Winchell.

From the Sacramento Bee:

U.S. high court denies killer’s bid for stay

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the execution of convicted killer Michael Morales, ending his legal battle to avoid the execution planned for just after midnight.

Justice Anthony Kennedy reviewed the case, then sent it to the full court, which denied Morales’ final appeal at 6:29 p.m. EST, according to court spokesman Ed Turner.

“The court entered orders denying the request for stays of execution,” he said.

The Supreme Court was the only legal option left for Morales, 46, who is scheduled to die from lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison for killing teenager Terri Winchell, of Lodi.

20 Feb 2006 by California Degenerates Judiciary Law and Order

Ansel Adams’ Birthday

I’ve always admired the photographic works of legendary photographer Ansel Adams. Today is the 104th anniversary of his birthday.

From WikiPedia:

Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer, known for his black and white photographs of the California’s Yosemite Valley.

Left: Half Dome and Merced River, Winter (Yosemite Valley) by Ansel Adams – Credit Ansel Adams Gallery

Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco, California in an upper-class family. When he was four, he was tossed face-first into a garden wall in an aftershock from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, breaking his nose. His nose was never repaired and appeared crooked for his entire life.

He became interested in photography when his Aunt Mary gave him a copy of “In the Heart of the Sierras” while he was sick as a child. The photographs in the book by George Fiske piqued his interest enough to persuade his parents to vacation in Yosemite National Park in 1916, where he was given a camera as a gift.

Adams disliked the uniformity of the education system and left school in 1915 to educate himself. He originally trained himself as a pianist, but Yosemite and the camera diverted his interest toward photography. He later met his future wife, Virginia Best, in Yosemite. She was known to be particularly camera shy. Adams long alternated between a career as a concert pianist and one as a photographer.

[more]

20 Feb 2006 by Arts People Photography

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