BeachHead

He said:

"The rain season is currently the driest to date in downtown Los Angeles since records began in 1877"
-National Weather Service

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070401/sc_afp/usclimateenvironment

 
So, we can look forward to: more dust (ash), great sunsets, constant news coverage, and wall-o-traffic.  Sweet. 

 

Absolutely adorable.

 

 

She said: Here are the pictures I promised from the wildfire on Sunday.

Driving along the 91:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choppers in action:
 

Filtered sunlight:
 

She said: I drove to work this morning ('cuz I could, it's fun occasionally, and I actually needed to today), and the smoke from the fires made the sunrise look like a sunset.  It was eerie, driving north on the 710 at 7am with the 'setting sun' on my right.  At work in downtown LA, I could smell the fire by the time I went outdoors, at noon.  It's another hot day today, and the smell of the fire was that of hot, dry toasted grasses.

She said: Our friend Alie and I planned to go for a hike today.  At around noon, we went online and selected a dog-friendly trailhead to aim for in the Anaheim Hills.  We picked up Brin (her dog) and set out southeast on the 91 Freeway, looking forward to an afternoon hike, canteloupe on the trail, playing with the dog, and a few hours in the sun.  After about 15 miles we started to see some strange cloud formations.  No...wait....it was looking like smoke.  "Huh.  That looks like the direction we're headed," said Alie thoughtfully.  A few more miles, and we were still headed toward the smoke. 

"That's, um....looking just like where we're heading.  That would be a weird coincidence," I said, an edge in my voice.  At this point the smoke wasn't just white and gray -- it was getting orange and black, too.  Quite beautiful, actually.  I fished in the backpack for her camera and started taking pictures.

We kept getting closer to our exit.  "Weir Canyon - that's us!"  The smoke was now billowing orange, black and silver from above the hill that we were aiming for.  We followed the directions: up Weir Canyon, right on Serrano... aiming for Hidden Canyon Road, but couldn't get there because police had barricaded it. The fire was big, and getting bigger.  This photo from today's LA Times (credit: Myung J. Chun) is of a flushed rat crossing the exact road we were aiming for.  If we'd been a few hours earlier and had been hiking in the hills when the fire broke out....who knows what would have happened!  I don't even want to contemplate the possibilities. 

For the pyros among you, dear readers, let me go into a little more detail (and I will upload the photos from Alie's camera soon): the police were routing all traffic at the barricade into an adjacent neighborhood.  I jumped out of the car to take more pictures, and Alie parked.  We met up, and joined a growing crowd of people on the sidewalk and open area adjacent to a reservoir.  The reservoir, in fact, where 3 choppers were filling up with water and making runs to the fire.  One of the choppers had the bucket on the bottom that had to be dragged along the water to fill.  Once full and in the air, the forward force made the bucket swing back like a pendulum stuck at one end of its path.  It would only hang more freely once its load had been dropped. The other two choppers had hoses hanging from their bellies.  These choppers lowered themselves down, almost touching the water, and used the hose to suck water up into their bellies.  They'd then pull out, fly up out of the reservoir, swoop over our heads with their whoppa-whoppa-whoppa and up to the hill where they'd discharge and make a quick return.

This experience reminded me why we call our firefighters heroes: when they show up you know it's because they're there to help -- and more often than not, they're putting themselves in harm's way.  I called Chris & Patti (the firefighters in my family) to ask why the choppers were dropping water upwind and behind the fire, rather than in front of it, in between the fire and the houses.  They said A) the fire creates its own weather system, with updrafts that can be dangerous for the helicopters and B) by closing down the back of the fire and flanking it on the sides, firefighters can narrow the front of the blaze, aim it away from houses, and force it into dead ends (when the wind isn't working against them).

We were standing what seemed less than a mile from the fire, the light was orange from the smoke filter on the sun, and the wind was blowing so straight and hard that we could barely smell the fire -- it was all blowing straight along the ridgetop, headed for a cluster of houses.  The crowd around us was mostly residents of the community next to the reservoir.  They were on their cell phones talking to friends and family, and taking pictures.  They were no doubt feeling some schadenfreude, glad it wasn't their turn to water down the roof and evacuate. 

After half an hour or so, it looked like our end of the fire was mostly contained, and we set about to leave.  I don't know for sure that the houses we were watching were OK, though I'd like to think so.  But that one wasn't the only blaze today -- we saw at least two more strung out along the ridgetops and canyons of Anaheim Hills.  It was a 90 degree day with 5% humidity and high fire risk.  More of the same tomorrow, and any spark could start it right up again.  On the one hand, I wish good luck and safety to those affected.  On the other, I can't help but think that's what insurance is for...you knew the risks if you built or bought a house there...and Mama always wins.  

 

She said: Right now Max is pulling books out of the bookshelf.  *Sigh.*  Bengals.  He's hungry.  I should feed them.

Anyway....When I travel and am away from Long Beach, Geir says he's going to live bachelor-style while I'm gone.  Parties and strippers, right?  Not exactly.  Instead, he hangs out with friends,  and if I'm gone more than a couple of days, he putters around the house in his boxers, lets the dishes pile up, and doesn't eat well.  I chide him for being kind of lame.

Time for some crow. This weekend, Geir's in Boston.  I got up today at 11:15, ate some cereal, did a little cleaning, and took a shower.  Then I fell asleep again.  Woke up again at 4, went emergency food shopping and surfed the web.  Went upstairs, played some Wii with Ali.  Came back down, ate some leftovers.   Watched some TV.  For the last few hours I've been surfing YouTube.  From my own lameness and ooh-that-looks-neat mind, here are some links for your enjoyment.

Do Ninjas need love?  Find out here.  Apparently there are a whole bunch of Numa Numa-inspired videos on YouTube.  This one, for example.  And this one will make you pee yourself.  Cameron even makes a guest appearance. 

Life is so exciting in the L-B-C.

She said: (The rabbit who peed on his foot.) Photograph by Misa, who just returned from a visit to France.  I couldn't resist posting it! 

And as Lynn would say, while pointing and running arms akimbo, "Bunnnyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!"

She said: I joined Freecycle a few months ago, and Geir joined soon after.  We've been loyal Craigslisters for years, but the idea of a community based solely on gifting and a desire to mitigate personal consumption was appealing.  

Here's how it works: Go to www.Freecycle.org.  Sign up to join your local chapter.  Start reading the messages others have posted so you get a feel of how people post OFFER, WANTED, TAKEN, and FOUND messages.  Lurk for as long as you need.  Then, when you're ready, offer your first item.

On Saturday, I was ready.  We'd decided to part with our winerack (it's too hot here to reasonably store any quantity of win!), we don't have muc storage space, and we couldn't think of a better way to do it.  Time to give Freecycle a try.  (below)

Within an hour, I had a response!  The woman said it sounded just like what she was looking for.  Back and forth over email, I made arrangements for the pickup the next morning at 8am.  Yeesh, that would be a little early on a Sunday for me, but I was game.   Sunday morning rolls around, and I'm ready at 8am.  8:15....8:30.  No one there yet.  I give her a call and yes, she's running late and apologetic.  Around 9, my phone rings.  It's my Freecycler.  We go downstairs and bring the rack outside.  She seems happy, and she and her guy put it in their car.  They agreed to commemorate the moment for me by allowing me to take their picture. (right)

Face it - we all have too much stuff.  We spend too much energy figuring out what to do with our crap.  Freecycle makes it easy and fun to part with objects you no longer need or can do without, and if you need something, someone just might give it to you.

I'll continue to use Craigslist because it's, quite simply, an unparalleled and vast resource.  Craigslist is the home of plenty of cranks, though, and one needs to keep an eye open for them. 

I'm sure I'll find annoying, rude, dishonest people on Freecycle too -- but for now I'm basking in the glow of my first OFFER - which quickly became my first TAKEN.  As online communities go, it's all right in my book.

She said: I've explored the cafes of Long Beach, looking for one that could truly measure up to my Somerville favorite.  I've thought about this for some time, and have hesitated to make the call.  But I can't continue to hold out. 

Diesel Cafe, meet your sister city: Long Beach's Hot Java has reliable free wireless, tables, couches, great coffees & teas, nibbles, ice cream, and specialty drinks, is gay-friendly and well-nestled in the community.  On top of that, there's year-round outdoor seating, regular movie nights, a fireplace, live music in the evenings and lots of dogs!  In fairness, though, I must mention that what Hot Java does lack, Diesel has in spades: compelling and provocative art by local artists, the intellectual intensity of the Cambridge-Somerville crowd, and a front wall that in warm weather opens to the bustling streets of Davis Square.

When it comes to home-out-of-the-house, having a favorite brunch place is as important as the right coffeeshop.  And in the interest of comparisons and full disclosure, I must also share what Geir said this morning while we were eating breakfast at the Potholder Cafe: "If this place were in Someville, I'd have a hard time."

"What do you mean?"

"Choosing between this place and Kelly's."

Shall I bring his head on a pike, Walden brunch loyalists?