Damsel took a lot of photos last Saturday when the air was exceptionally clear here in Southern California. We spent quite a lot of time shooting photos along the coastline, but when it came time to climb back over the hill to our side, we stopped at a scenic overlook and took this panoramic look back towards the coastline and Catalina Island in the distance. Click for the full-size panoramic image in the viewer.
Our trip to the range today was a lot of fun. When we got there, the place started getting really busy. We were glad to see the activity pick up after the usual summertime slowdown. We saw families shooting together, but not as many kids as we have seen in the past.
Firearms Inventory
We generally start out with the handguns and finish with the shotguns. Today, we just mixed it up with the handguns and switched off between the 12 and 20 gauge. I didn’t count the number of rounds we shot, but it was on a par with our usual, I’m sure. For sure there were 100 rounds of .45 ACP through each of the Para Warthog and the Glock 30. We finished with 25 rounds through each of the shotguns.
As an aside, when I dismantled the 20 gauge shotgun for cleaning, I really hacked myself up getting it back together. Damsel did 4 band-aids of first aid on my fingers and hands. My fingers are just a little big for the 20 gauge – I have no problem with the 12 gauge even though the edges on the receiver are just as sharp.
On a clear, beautiful day on the Southern California Coastline near Point Vicente, I took over two hundred fifty photos. This is one of several that stood out as exceptional. These are California Brown Pelicans soaring in the updrafts over the cliffs on the south side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Santa Catalina Island can be seen across the channel in the background.
Click on this image for the large size.
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 42-54 in (106-137 cm) in length, weighs from 6-12 lbs (2.75 to 5.5 kg) and has a wingspan from 6 to 8.2 ft. (1.83 to 2.5 m).
While the financial fires are distracting everyone from ‘business as usual’ in Washington, House Democrats Push Climate Tax While Negotiating Fiscal Bailout. Never mind the man behind the curtain, Dorothy . . .
From Senator Jim Inhofe’s EPS blog:
During a week where Americans were focused on perhaps the greatest economic challenges this country has faced in over a generation, House Democrats released a set of principles on October 2nd that outline an aggressive plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions. The plan could be even more economically restrictive than the failed Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, which would have cost $6.7 trillion dollars, according to the bill’s own sponsors. That $6.7 trillion cost would have been passed on to families and workers across the country in the form of higher gas prices, higher electricity and heating/cooling bills, more expensive consumer goods, and higher workplace costs.
As we learned during this past summer’s debate on the failed Lieberman-Warner global warming cap-and-trade bill and with the recent victory on offshore drilling, the appetite of the American people to unlock America’s affordable energy resources is very strong. When it comes to being in touch with Americans, the House Democrats need a reality check. The current financial crisis only reinforces the public’s wariness about any climate bill that attempts to increase the costs of energy and jeopardizes jobs.
There is much more, including links to some very interesting information at the EPS Blog.
At the conclusion of our romantic excursion to Catalina Island, we passed the Lane Victory berth which is next door to the Catalina Terminal in San Pedro. We took a day cruise on the Lane, which is a National Historic Landmark; the cruise left San Pedro and steamed across the Catalina Channel and back. Unfortunately, I lost the photographic record when I had a disk crash. We’ll make it a point to take the cruise again so we can get more pictures. Damsel snapped this photo of the superstructure as we passed the Lane. Click for big.
Wikipedia has this historic account of the Lane Victory:
SS Lane Victory is a Second World War Victory ship which is preserved as a museum ship in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, California. As a rare surviving Victory ship, it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
She was named after Lane College, which was established as a high school for black youths in 1882 by Isaac Lane, a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Jackson, Tennessee. The school grew into a prominent liberal arts college.
The Lane Victory was built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation in Los Angeles, California and launched on May 31, 1945. On her first voyage, June 27, 1945, Lane Victory carried supplies in the Pacific. She was operated by the American President Lines.
In 1950 the Lane Victory was used to evacuate Korean civilians and U.N. personnel at Wonsan, North Korea during the Korean War. The ship also saw duty during the Vietnam War. In 1970, she was placed in the reserve fleet. Because of her excellent condition, the Maritime Administration decided to set aside the Lane Victory for preservation.
When we hiked up Avalon Canyon to the Wrigley Memorial, we climbed up the stairs to the top deck and enjoyed the view looking back toward Avalon. It wasn’t a nice sunny day, but the cloud cover kept us cool during the hike and while climbing the stairs. The view down the canyon is very pleasant to see, even on a mostly cloudy day.
You can read more about the Memorial in this post.
Click on the image below for larger view.
I recently got a briefing on Operational Security. The reason for the briefing is to periodically review some of the things that we should consider in our responsibility to keep information safe from unwanted disclosure.
One of the first slides the Operations Security Manager put up on the screen was that of the rear window of an SUV where someone had proudly placed a stick-figure representation of their family, complete with names.
The OSM said “How would you like it if someone who had noticed you and your little kids getting out of the vehicle and going into the store? How would you like it if that person were to entice one of your kids away by calling them by name? ‘Psst, Susie – your mom wants you to come over here with me.’ Sounds frightening, doesn’t it?”
This reminded me of the article Damsel posted on this topic last year which I re-post here.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have your beautiful family depicted in the rear window of your SUV or mini-van? With Dad, Mom, and all the kids’ names? You’ve seen those rear-window decals around.
But I’d think twice before listing my family members’ names for all to see (maybe some sicko predator would like to know your kids’ names). So this is my solution to listing our family members that I want folks to know about . . .
Permission given to copy and use this graphic with link credit to capnbob.us