Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Damsel Sends You a Chime Tower

This beautiful Moroccan-style chime tower houses the Deagan Tubular Bell Carillon situated above the City of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. The Cap’n and I hiked up to the top of Chimes Tower Road to get photos of the chime tower and of Avalon Harbor. The chimes sound periodically, as well as can be played manually or with piano rolls on special occasions.

About the CHIMES TOWER:

Built in 1925, the Chimes Tower was presented as a gift to the town of Avalon by Mrs. Ada Wrigley. Located up and across from the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel, the chimes have been tolling on the quarter of the hour between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM since 1925. On holidays and special occasions the chimes are played manually and can be heard throughout Avalon.

About John C. DEAGAN:

Deagan was founder, and for many years president, of the Deagan Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of percussion instruments. He was an orchestra leader at Niblo’s Garden and at Tony Pastor’s in New York and was director of the orchestra at the Opera House in St. Louis. He became director of the Catalina Island Band in 1893 and while there was interested in perfecting percussion instruments. Deagan died at the Surf and Sand Club at Hermosa Beach, Calif., April 28, 1934 and was buried in the family vault in Chicago.

09 Feb 2006 by California Photography Travel

No Meme Before It’s Time

Thanks to LinkedinUSAF for the tag on this – Damsel and I had fun figuring out what we would do with it. It took us a while, but we think we’ve accurately answered all questions posed – but not before we gave grave consideration to each item.

I previously equated meme with a chain letter. I was wrong. I now believe it’s a full-blown blogborne pandemic. Anyhow, here’s the way Damsel and I answered this meme:

4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life

Cap’n Bob:
Newspaper delivery – Los Angeles Herald Express – thrown from a bicycle
U.S. Navy Aircrew Radioman
Toy Engineer – I invented Barbie’s Piano (sorta)
Rocket Scientist – I’d tell ya what I do, but I’d hafta kill ya.

Damsel:
Purveyor of Fast Food/Heimlich Maneuver Specialist
Bartender/Psychological Analyst
OEM Component Sales/Grief Counselor
Product Manager/Dispute Resolution Mediator

4 Movies You Would Watch Over and Over

This is more than 4, but we both collaborated on these:
The Replacements
Die Hard (all)
Braveheart
Dragonfly
Fifth Element
The Green Mile
The Kid
Medicine Man
National Treasure
Secondhand Lions
Team America – F*** YEAH!
Transporter I & II
XXX
. . . this list could go on since Damsel has a collection of over 650 DVDs

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch

Same thing (we both collaborated on them):
Mail Call (R. Lee Ermey)
Jeopardy
Fox News Channel (all shows)
Cops
Food Channel (most shows – can’t watch some of the Asian food)
America’s Most Wanted
Anytime Dennis Miller is on

4 Places You Have Lived

Back Home with Mom and Dad
In the Barracks (not Damsel, of course)
In an Apartment
In our own Home
And never in a vehicle

4 Places You Have Been On Vacation

Together:
Denali Village Lodge – Alaska, on the banks of the Nenana River
Hotel Hassler, Roma, Italy
Zion National Park
Hotel Metropole, Avalon, (Catalina Island) California

4 GREAT Places Where You Just Said, “Eh ..”

Memphis
Chicago
Atlanta
Philadelphia

4 Websites You Visit Daily

Selected at random from the MANY sites we read daily:
Steel Turman
Old and Evil
Accidental Verbosity
Demure Thoughts
Yorkie Blog
Garfield Ridge
Jawa Report
Archaeology Blog
Moonbat Monitor

4 Milblogs You Visit Daily

Again, more than four and at random:
LinkedInUSAF
A Female Soldier 2
Camp Katrina
Mudville Gazette
One Marine’s View
Sgt Hook
We Support You
Sgt Lori
Military Outpost
Iraq War news
Argghhh!
Ask the Soldiers

4 Favorite Foods

Cap’n Bob (one from each of the four food groups):
Pizza
Beer
Red Man
Boogers

Damsel (a more discriminate palette):
Sweet & Sour Pork
Chicken Fried Steak
Beef Tenderloin Steak (Fillet Mignon)
Chicken Alla Padulese

4 Favorite “Adult Beverages”

Cap’n Bob:
Red Beer (Bloody Mary mix added)
Butter Beer (buttermilk added)
Corona or Pacifico beer (with Mexican food)
Or just plain old beer in a Red, White and Blue can (Bud)

Damsel:
Margaritas
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay
Mimosas
Bud (cause it makes ya weiser)

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now

Cap’n Bob:
Watching Electrical Storms over Grand Canyon from a cliffside bar
Having a Birra Peroni at a sidewalk cafe in Florence
Living in California as a Red State
In Damsel’s Loving Arms

Damsel:
Watching rocks change colors at sunset in Zion
Listening to the murmur of the Nenana River
Watching sunset and breakers at a cove near Point Arena, California
Sitting on the backyard swing reading with the Cap’n

4 People to Tag

Welcome Aboard to these new sites displaying the Never Forget Tribute:
Moonbat Monitor
Seeing Red
DogsCatsKidsLife
Shelly’s Ramblings

BAM! You guys are tagged! And thanks!

08 Feb 2006 by Blogosphere Humor

Damsel Sends You a Damselfish

Well, a Garibaldi actually, which is a type of Damselfish. This is a photograph we took of a Garibaldi during a recent visit to Avalon, Catalina Island, taken from the beach in front of the hotel where we stayed.

From USC SeaGrant:

Garibaldi Territory

If you were to peek under the waters of Santa Catalina Island and areas of the Southern California coast you might see a brilliant orange fish about a foot long, poised by a red algae-covered rocky outcropping, swooping and making loud “thumping” noises and putting on quite a show…for whom and why?

The garibaldi, or ocean goldfish, is the largest member of the damselfish family, and one of the few species that resides in the cooler temperate waters from central Baja California north to Monterey. Almost all other members of the damselfish family are found in tropical reefs around the world and are less than 8 inches long. The garibaldi is the state marine fish of California.

One of the most interesting things about garibaldis is their courtship and mating behavior. Males work hard to attract females and end up guarding the eggs and ‘raising the kids’ by themselves. There are many reasons that this behavior is helpful to this fish species.

08 Feb 2006 by California Environment Photography

Around the World – And Then Some!

Today, Global Flyer departed Florida for a trip around the world – plus. Once completing the circumnavigation, Steve Fossett will head across the pond for the second time, ultimately landing in the U.K.

Man, I envy this guy for the adventure he will get, but not for the Iron-Man endurance of staying airborne for 80 hours. It only takes a four-hour flight before my butt goes to sleep – maybe less.

This is from New Scientist:

GlobalFlyer takes off in pursuit of longest flight ever

The Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer aircraft took off at 0722 EST on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, on an attempt to shatter a series of aviation world records.

The first launch attempt on Tuesday was scuppered by a leaking fuel tank, but everything went smoothly second time around for the dawn take-off. The leak was fixed, and the weather produced light headwinds and a temperature of 8°C (46°F). Above 12°C (54°F) and the air would not have been dense enough to support the fuel-laden jet’s take-off from the 3-mile-long runway.

Before take-off, inspectors from the US National Aeronautics Association placed seals on the airplane’s hatch and fuel tank, to ensure that no landing or refuelling takes place during the expected 80-hour flight.

The journey is expected to cover up to 46,000 kilometres (28,600 miles), which would be the longest aircraft flight ever. Pilot and veteran record-breaker Steve Fossett will make do with occasional 5-minute naps and get by on nothing but strawberry-flavoured nutritional drinks.

[more]

08 Feb 2006 by Aviation

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

While the fires rage in the Cleveland National Forest, Southeast of the Los Angeles area, the offshore upper airflow carries the smoke seaward. The smoke cloud, seen spanning from horizon to horizon, obscures the sky and rains fine white ash all over the area beneath. I snapped this picture of the sun partially obscured in the smoke cloud overhead from Redondo Beach, CA. on my way home this evening.

We pray for the safety of the firefighters and for a quick containment of the blazes.

07 Feb 2006 by California Environment

The Left Coast Illustrated

The San Andreas Fault isn’t the only defining coastal fracture zone in California. Check out the demographic depiction below. Is it something in the seawater that makes coastal residents politically stupid? Thank God that some of us are immune to whatever might be causing the insanity, even though we are only a few miles from the beach.

Excerpt from the Sacramento Bee:

California – Voters reveal true colors: Coastal blue, inland red – sacbee.com
It may not be a seismic split akin to the San Andreas Fault. But politically, it may as well be.

California is increasingly divided between a coastal “blue” state and an inland “red” state, according to a recent study by the Field Poll on state election trends.

And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may want to think twice about spending too much time campaigning among his Hollywood friends. The study suggests he might first work to shore up his Republican base throughout much of the Central Valley.

Coastal voters – in 20 counties from San Diego to Del Norte – favor Democratic candidates by sweeping margins. Meanwhile, California’s 38 inland counties overwhelmingly favor Republicans, according to the Field study, which analyzed 15 years of state political trends.

The coastal-inland divide was demonstrated in the 2004 presidential election, when Democratic candidate John Kerry outpolled President Bush, 59 percent to 40 percent, among coastal voters while Bush led, 57 percent to 42 percent, among inland voters.

Differences between coastal and inland voters don’t end at the ballot box, the study found.

[more]

Read the entire article for some interesting demographics. Also, see the expanded graphic page.

07 Feb 2006 by California Whacko Politics

Tag – We’re It!

Damsel and I have been tagged by LinkedInUSAF to respond to a list of questions in a meme recently seen circulating in the blogosphere. Since the Damsel and I have to collaborate on our answers, it may be a day or two before the meme gets posted here.

Oh, by the way . . . WTF is a meme?

One definition of meme on the Web:

As defined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976): “a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation.” “Examples of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.

A meme is sort of like a chain letter, I guess.

07 Feb 2006 by Blogosphere Entertainment Humor

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