Category: all posts Page 5 of 13

I’m ba-ack. Yup. Apparently I’ve been lost in Santa Clarita. And while lost, I came upon this veddy interesting spot near Towsley Canyon. A very popular place to hike or just bring your family to enjoy an outing on the weekend.

On this particular weekend , while hiking, we noticed a noxious smell. While not overpowering, it was not going to be sold in stores as the newest trendy perfume for the eclectic aspiring actor. Or anyone.

Sooooo… we found a path to take us closer, yes, not farther (dumb, I know…) to the source of this wonderful (/s) smell. How many times have you watched a movie only to stand up and shout “THEY’RE BEHIND YOU! TURN AROUND, NOW! RUN!!!” During the part where the mysterious stranger is brandishing a shiny new machete?

This was us. Yup.

For some reason, the Beverly Hillbillies song was going through my head.

“One day they were shooting through the woods and up from the ground comes a bubbling crude” or something like that. Mostly because that’s what was there. Some kind of natural petroleum spring, just bubbling away without a care in the world.

Towsley View Loop Trail leaves the creek and angles out of the bottom of the canyon, passing a few pools of oil and liquid asphalt that seep out from the wall of the canyon. Towsley Canyon was used by Chevron for oil production for over a century before the land was transferred to the public to become a park. Look down off the right side of the trail to spot dark glossy pools of oil that remind hikers of the area’s active drilling history as well as its robust seismic activity.

You can see the full hike here: Towsley Canyon Hike

Overall it was a good hike. About 5 miles or so total. I was of course waiting for the golf cart ride back to the entrance which never came. Sadly…(smile)

Have a great evening y’all!

This was originally posted in a messenger group I belong to. On Thanksgiving, upon arriving home, my power had been shut off by SCE. Mostly because of the Santa Ana winds, which ended up being not so windy. I thought “why not write something whimsical about it?” So here’s all 4 chapters which I pieced together here. (smile)

____________________________________________________

The Days After the Great Power Outage of Thanksgiving 2020…

by Carl.

One Thanksgiving day, not so long ago in fact, was a day that will forever be remembered in perpetuity. A day filled with the potential for love, laughter and the American Dreams of Canyon Country.

Our story begins the morning of  Thanksgiving in which the hero of this fable was none other than Carl, the Prince of Canyon Country Kingdom.

“I proclaim this day as an American tradition”, said Carl the prince. “No naysayers can belittle thy neighbor into believing otherwise. Unless of course you’re from the planet Rzxpyk since they have no days at all, sadly”. Carl said.

This bright and cheery morning, Carl set off into the wilderness of asphalt, lights and wood plaster buildings, heading to his seesters place for a vegan brunch.

“Fair seester of mine, I have picked up the to-go order of Cashew Chykin, String-Bean Shrymp. Which coincidentally resembles neither.’ He said.

“Thank you my most amazing brother in the universe.’ She replied. ‘Perhaps we can begin to eat?”

Unknown to Carl the Prince, a nefarious plot to remove power from his kingdom was taking shape while he was away.

Part II of
The Days After the Great Power Outage of Thanksgiving 2020…

Recap:

The Rzxpykians, which as we know, have no days. But do they have nights? We will probably never know since upon finding out we had 365 of them, the whole planet went completely insane and winked out of existence after being sucked into a singularity point or popularized, a black hole. Sadly.

The Prince, Sir Carl of Canyon Country Kingdom was now on his way back, after having vegan shrymp and chykin with his seester – which bore very little resemblance to either.

End recap.

“What a beautiful day it is” declared the Prince. “To be able to share a meal with family is priceless. I’m going to rename this day – ShrympsGiving” he thought out loud.

Something wasn’t quite right as the Prince got closer to the castle called home. The Prince also wondered if corduroy pants would ever be in fashion again, to top things off.

“Why are the lights that guide the way home, unlit?” he thought. Carl, the most wonderful Prince in all of Canyon Country Kingdom was stymied. Belonging to the guild of detectives and having been hit on the head as a child with a radioactive steal frying pan, he had acquired some special powers enabling him to make various soups and also get to the bottom of some conundrums…

“I will discover the treachery behind this” he exclaimed just as he pulled up to the castle doors driving across the alligator filled moat, which of course everyone knows were fed from the same radioactive frying pan, giving them the power of ‘Sneakiness……..’

Part III of:

The Days after the Great Power Outage of Thanksgiving 2020…

(The Final Chapter in this two-part series)

Recap:

The lights were unlit while arriving at Country Canyon Kingdom.

The memorial services for the planet Rzxpyk were cancelled Since there was no one left to attend. Sadly.

The alligators, having the power of “Sneakiness” were giving chase to the Prince’s vehicle. One had ripped through a rear tire and now the Prince was hobbling across the moat, albeit slowly.

End recap.

“Egads!” said the Prince. “My rear has been deflated”, while laughing at himself as he had personally trained the alligators to do just that. But this potential setback was not going to deter him. For his mission was clear. To discover the treachery behind the power outage.

Amazingly, the Wonderful and Smart Prince had made a plan years ago during the Great Power Outage of “Last Summer I Know What You Did, Without Power”

Which was to make a plan. A plan so simple that most were driven mad just thinking about it. “JIC” he called it or for those not versed in kingdom speech – ‘just in case’

The Prince, not one to mill about quickly began setting up his JIC plan. Which for the record did not include a BIC which was of course, a disposable lighter.

The Prince retrieved a generator from a storage shed and began the process of distributing electricity to the electrical appliances in the kingdom. And once his kingdom was electrified, there was only one thing left to do.

Part IV
The Days after the great Power Outage of Thanksgiving 2020…
(The end of this incorrectly named 2 part story)

Recap

Our Prince, Carl, has setup a generator to supply power to critical appliances in the Kingdom. He barely made it across the moat of ‘Sneakiness Alligators’ without becoming a tasty afternoon snack. And all without ketchup as the sneaky Gators mostly prefer hot sauce.

And a huge surprise was finding a lone survivor from the planet Rzxpyk. Apparently, the Rzxpykian had been on a solo mission to discover new life and civilizations throughout the Universe.

Rzxxies, a cult that started when the Rzxpykian returned, in their excitement,  accidentally caused the lone spacecraft to veer into the sun, thus ending the race once again. Which stopped the new memorial as there were no longer any surviving members of the species to attend. Sadly.

The Prince was getting very close to solving the power outage. But time was running out…

End Recap.

“I have so many questions!” The Prince exclaimed. Recently he had been informed  that his math was faulty. That a 2 part story was simply that. Not 4 parts at all! But he wanted so desperately to get to the bottom of this mystery.

His questions were:

1. Who was responsible for turning off the power

2. How long would the generator last on one tankful of gas And finally…

3. Do butterflies really taste with their feet?

“Research’ he cried. ‘I will use some of the power being applied in the Kingdom to connect to the internet!’ With which he patted himself on the back and thus began the search in earnest.

As it turns out, SCE (Sorcery Created Energy) had shut down the power lines to prevent fires in Canyon Country Kingdom because of high winds from downed power lines sparking. Which would have been a noble undertaking if not for the fact they usually caused the fires as old connectors would arc and Spark as power was reapplied.

With the mystery solved, Carl the Incredible Prince of Canyon Country kingdom was relieved. He said on the Kingdoms public address system, “No evil plots here” he proclaimed. And with that last comforting thought, he drifted off to sleep, unknown to him he had left the microphone on and the entire kingdom could not sleep now – because of his snoring.

The End.

Before you dismiss the title, please read this paragraph. It’s enlightening and of course about me. What I believe in. What’s important. Contained within the following paragraphs are an inside/out look at my psyche. Yes, all that and more. First, when I say Democrat, I don’t mean the democrats of today, the liberals, those individuals who claim to be “woke” etc. In fact, almost a 180 degrees from that.

As a teenager, whenever that was (sooo long ago…smile) when I became of legal age to vote, I, of course, registered to participate in electing the leaders of our amazing nation. HOWEVER, at the time I didn’t realize how truly amazing America was/is. Self-importance was key at the age of 18, along with girls, partying, cars and part time work, along with gas prices of 35 cents. Of course college was somewhere in the shadows as well. There was very little money in my family for furthering my education, which led me to alternative methods of gaining an education, which did include some college. I managed to obtain a small grant to pay for books etc. I believe it was around $800 or so. WOW! Big money. (grin)

Well, it just so happened that there were vote registration tables in my high school. I approached one cautiously, waiting for a hard sell to a recently released prisoner of higher education (Laughing till I stop). School had not prepared me to fill out this complicated document describing how I felt about politics, politicians, our country, our government.

What to do?

Being invincible as most teenagers are, at least in our own minds, I attacked the form with a gusto I had no idea had been holed up inside of my immature brain.

Then came the first question (after filling in the mundane like name, birth etc).

3. What party do you associate with?

In truth, it may have been a multiple choice question. At the time there were very few parties to choose from. Since I had never voted in any election, the respective government parties meant absolutely nothing to me.

So, in a Mr. Know-it-all fashion I said to the voter registrar: “What party are you? And what is the best one?” For the moment, I was stymied, not knowing which party to pick. Once again, the registrar came to the rescue. “You believe in Democracy, right?” she said. I replied, “Of course I do, RED WHITE and BLUE!”

“Then check the box marked ‘Democratic Party’ and continue filling out the rest of the form.” she replied.

Unknown to me, this was my indoctrination into what would later become a national plot to teach teenagers and young adults to hate their country. But wait a minute! I don’t hate my country. I didn’t then, I don’t now. To be clear, the beginnings of our education system indoctrinating children started way before that day in time. I was just clueless.

So, from that day forward I was a good democrat. I voted in the elections, looking for people that had the same affiliation as I did. The “D” next to their name. For years I followed the party lines until one day, the clouds and fog before me lifted. I heard a rumor there was another party. A party that stood for our country and what it was founded on. The very principals I personally believed. I had always wondered what the “R” was next to other names on ballots. In the beginning, the “D” had multiple ideas, platforms that I identified with. Until they didn’t. Strangely, the ideas and beliefs had moved to the “R” platform.

How could this happen? Was I tricked into signing a voter agreement registration form by check marking the “D”? Or was it my teenager lack of knowledge regarding the issues before our great nation. As time went by, I understood that my core beliefs were not aligned with the Democratic party. To be clear, I instinctively understood I was somewhat conservative.

I believe in the USA. Our history is who we are as a nation. God has been a part of this for as long as I can remember. I was baptized, confirmed and completed Sunday school with honors! As a nation, we haven’t been perfect, but there used to be a time when we helped the underdog, lifted the trodden, educated the poor and slowly led the people out of the past growing pains and mistakes that this country has endured.

With the current examples of the “D” such as our Icontrolufornia governor using a crisis to further his quest for power over the people of this great state, the adoption of the top-two candidate voting platform (destroyed the integrity of our elections) the continued erosion of our freedoms including free speech, guns and our homes, I have been saddened by the young of this decade being bamboozled by peer pressure into believing the doctrines of the far Left. Say it enough times, it becomes true, which is the motto of the Left’s education mantra.

Well, where does that leave me? I still have the “D” beside my name. In truth, I vote my inner beliefs, core values and what I think makes our nation stronger. I am a New Democrat. No longer am I represented by the nation destroying rhetoric of the “woke”. I use to be a tolerant person. But I now realize, I can be intolerant and still exist. What’s stopping me from changing my voter affiliation then, hmm? Because most people whom I call friends, know me pretty well. They would say I’m conservative. But for years I have voted and lived with my “D” designation. I am proud to represent America. To be a citizen of a great country, where everyone can start a business, succeed in life through hard work, perseverance and honest hard work. I don’t associate or believe in the “D’s” of today – not in the least.

In conclusion:

I am a New Democrat.

 

Just a quick post to say HEY! I will be updating soon as so much has happened. And with all that is happening, how could I not update, hmm?

 

Panspermia Hypothesis

In the link above which explains the hypothesis much better than say, uh, me – is something scholars have been debating since the dawn of, well, debating panspermia. Just what is it and can I get one from Pandera Bread?

Starting with the big bang, which is incredibly magical to the human mind,  the expansion that occurred may have had the beginnings of dna or LIFE particles needed to seed the forthcoming planets. The big question is “how did the dna travel throughout the universe?” Well, that question might be easier than asking how did the dna form in the first place.

Meteors have traveled through galaxies, solar systems and universes, since the dawn of time. Is it possible that meteors carried hitchhikers of dna which survived the almost nothingness of space, the heat of suns and re-entry to planets, the incredible temperatures, both hot and cold? If it did, there are thousands of meteors that came from mars, thousands that came from earth, possibly seeding mars and any planet they struck.

Would that mean that all planets in the universe carry some form of dna to be analyzed? Could that mean that the life that has evolved in the universe LOOKS LIKE US? OR US LIKE THEM?

I need my morning coffee now. Just saying…

 

Friday night once again in beautiful smokey Los Angeles. A suburb of LA to be clear. Did you know there was a war going on? War about what? Suburbs? Have you lost your marbles Mr. Carl Jasper? Maybe. Or perhaps just advancing my current fears on the state of our nation. Suburban fears. It appears there is a disagreement between the two hopefuls running for President of these here United States. Although, that’s not entirely true. The part about UNITED.

But before I get sidetracked, the title of this post “emmetropia” means perfect or 2020 vision. That’s a superpower which in the lifetime of the United States of America, has never been endowed to any politician. One can hope. It’s like the covid joke that’s been going around for months now:

“I’d tell you a killer covid 19 joke, but 99.9% chance you wouldn’t get it”

With fires raging across the western states, smoke filling the air and for some, untenable, wild theories are dancing across the pages of internet widsom.  Here’s a pic or two of lasers possibly igniting them: (for the the record…nah) This was a SpaceX launch I think.

This one below claims the “laser” was actually a grease line on the lens… like the second pic…nah.

California fire conspiracy theories have been around since 2018. They include the ideas the fires are caused by huge lasers, and that aliens or the United States government are igniting them ( here ,  here ). Business Insider addressed these theories  here&IR=T . 

Most if not all of these fires were started by lightning. Although a few were accidental by careless humans, and some on purpose by not-so-careless humans. Before you get excited and think, “well, I’m wearing a mask for covid so cool, I can get double the bang and wear for the unhealthful air quality”. A respirator, or N95, P100 mask are about the only ones that may filter the smoke particles from the air. Those surgical masks are once again, useless. Better to stay indoors. If you have a hepa filtering fan, you’re ahead of the curve.

Me? Well, I’m inside drinking a mushroom coffee, enjoying my pups, watching a few shows, reading and of course posting my ramblings.

What are you doing?

So the other day a friend was over while I was nuking a red potato to mash up. He told me with enthusiasm that microwaves completely changed the structure of potatoes. Which in turn made them dangerous to eat. I looked at him like my dog looks at me when I’m on the phone. My Chupacabra (huge Malinois) turns her head slightly left or right when she hears a familiar person coming out the speaker.

WTF? During the explanation of the microwave danger of potatoes, the timer rang, signifying the cycle was done. Removing the very hot potato (pun!) I started prepping it for the short journey to my stomach. Which is to say, I mashed it, added Miyiko Butter, salt and pepper with some freshly roasted garlic, mashed and mixed into the simmering red potato.

I handed a forkful to my friend to try, wondering if he would keel over after taking a bite – OR NOT. Either way I had my finger on the phone ready to call 911 (uh, nope…) just in case (of what?) the newly changed potato molecules would proceed to decimate the human body at warp speed.

Well, nothing happened (go figure) and the response was “quite good! Yep, Disaster averted from the evil nuking microwave. There are some foods that change for the worse (becoming inedible) like chicken when overnuked ending up with a rubbery elastic texture, grapes that explode and CD’s that display patterns/pulses of lightning across the surface for a 5 to 10 second exposure. (Technically not a food) Please be careful if you put a CD inside your microwave. You could destroy the microwave and also start a fire. But the CD sure is purdy a few seconds.There’s that.

So, are microwaved potatoes now dangerous to eat after being nuked? Nah. In fact they can be quite tasty. As my friend found out from a forkful.

 

As I sit here…

Typing away, wondering if I’m the child my parents thought I would be, although in honesty, that thought is fleeting for I care more about reading the next book in the Betwixt series by Darynda Jones. Would I care more if either parent were still alive? And would we still be talking, visiting, enjoying evenings together? I doubt that these questions have presentable answers that might make sense. In one great insight, I am the result of my parents attempt to raise a child that was able to leave the nest, grow into a man (debatable) and carve a niche in the world around him. Perhaps that’s all that matters.

But the shocker is my parents didn’t raise me. Or really even try. They were too busy having meltdowns of their own flavors to care much for us kids. Yes, I have brothers and sisters, although I only count my sisters among the living now. Long story there with no real ending as well. Perhaps another time?

Currently, the RNC and DNC are having/had their online conventions – each trying to outdo the other. “They are liars and cheats” one would say… “No, THEY are the liars and cheats” the other party would respond. While I didn’t watch any of it live, I was able to watch the recorded conventions while snacking on lupini beans (yummy!) and drinking iced tea. Does that factor into this somehow? You betcha! State of mind. I was happy crunching away and therefor more inclined to be less critical. Starting with the completely unbiased search I did on google “night 2 of the dnc” compared to “night 2 of the rnc”.

When I searched for “night 2 of the dnc”, I got how amazing Biden was/is and how well the online convention was proceeding. Totally unbiased search results. Uh, right…(sarc)

When I searched for “night 2 of the rnc” on google, well, what a crock of turtle poo. Ruined my easy going attitude almost immediately. The search returned how everyone was lying, and fact check was needed on Trump and all supporting speakers – and the American public was being used for devious plans by the rnc etc. Trump Derangement Syndrome was in full swing. So, why did the “dnc” search result in glowing beautiful pages to read and the “rnc” result in spiteful, negative reactions across the board? Hmmm…

Absolutely unbiased search results, right? (TOTAL SARCASM)

So, I figured it was time to hear everything from the horses mouth. I watched both nights hoping to understand the algorithm that google was using to display the “rnc” search vs. the “dnc”.

The dnc spent almost every moment in what appeared to be a hatred of America. An intense dislike of everything American and also Trump. Along with removing “god” from places that are part of the history of this great country! From supporting the BLM movement, the riots, de-funding the police, the constant fear mongering about covid cases etc, there didn’t seem to be one positive original thought I could latch onto. Mostly negative and painting America in a bad light.

In contrast, the rnc spent time reinforcing America as a great country, it’s citizens amazing people who help each other in troubled times. Some speakers spoke with their truth, others with emotional reverence, but one thing was clear, “god” was not being removed from speeches to not offend some faction of the American public. How utterly refreshing! Uplifting as well. As I watched the rnc convention, I was humbled. You couldn’t watch it and NOT come away with a sense of pride and hope for America.

So, where does that leave this child of parents who never really raised me, shaped me and helped me to form my current views of the world?

I started reflecting on my problems and what they meant. My sisters, my friends, my neighbors etc… was I alone in the world (yep) and did it matter? And were our lives guided by an external force or are they just reflections that trickle down from decisions made thousands of miles away?

I decided to sleep on it for now (smile) as my head was exploding from the bias presented by google, a company that I had previously respected, admired even. Was I naive to even entertain the idea they would be fair? And how can companies be fair when they are also reflections of those who run them?

So I say, meh.

P.S. you weren’t really thinking I was going to say something clever, were you?

 

AKA Scamdemic. I’ve had enough. The bullshit we’re being put through and enduring is a crime. One that most likely may go unpunished. First a history lesson: (excerpts from WebMD)

Influenza pandemics have struck about three times every century since the 1500s, or roughly every 10-50 years. There was one in 1957-1958 and one in 1968-1969. The most infamous pandemic flu of the 20th century, however, was that of 1918-1919. An estimated 40 million people died in less than a year, and what made it so different from seasonal flu epidemics is that it killed primarily young people, those aged 20-45.

What is the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic?

The CDC’s definition of a flu epidemic relates to the percentage of deaths in a given week caused by influenza and pneumonia. The “epidemic threshold” is a certain percentage above what is considered normal for that period. The normal level, or baseline, is statistically determined based on data from past flu seasons.

There are two main features of an influenza pandemic. First, the virus is a new strain that has never infected people before. Second, it’s on a global scale. Sometimes it’s also unusually deadly.

So, the big question. Are we experiencing a pandemic? The answer is yes and no. Certainly, the virus is worldwide. Unlike influenza epidemics which are worldwide. Get the hypocrisy yet? And Covid is killing mostly the old/infirm, rarely young children – mostly those with existing conditions unlike influenza: (sarcasm)

Seasonal flu epidemics may sicken millions, but those who die are typically a small number of the elderly, very young children, and people with weak immune systems. That’s not the case during the worst influenza pandemics.

While I personally don’t want anyone to get sick or die from any disease, we live in an age where they still exist. Perhaps the future will eradicate all illnesses. But for now they are here to stay. Does covid live up to killing 40 million worldwide? No. Does it stay within the ranges of periodic influenza epidemics? Yes. Currently as of this posting, in the U.S. it’s around 150k total deaths.

us_covid-19_death_toll_is_inflated (opens in new tab)

With a large percentage being those in convalescent homes and those with existing conditions. Which in a few cases the governors of certain states caused by forcing convalescent homes to take infected patients that were being treated in hospitals to make room for the millions of patients that never arrived. What were they thinking?

But not the point of this post. I can continue with all the absolutely stupid health regulations such as: Wear a mask in public, in your car, walking to a restaurant (here’s where it gets tricky…) but inside the restaurant, there’s no chance you can get infected – remove your mask, everyone at one table, it’s OK.

OR: you can’t go to a local business where there’s only a few people at any given moment, in fact they must be shut down completely! But we’re told that if we all go to Walmart (millions of us?) or Target (again millions?) it’s OK, we’ll be safe. And it’s millions because of everyone that went there before you did. Get it yet?

My absolute favorite: This is a smart virus. It knows to hide during a riot to protect itself so everyone doesn’t have to wear a mask.

The point of this post is the other day I was walking down a major street in Los Angeles, without a mask on (it was in my pocket) and there was only one other person within 2 blocks of me walking in the opposite direction – as he strolled by me he said “Wear your mask Fucker, You’re killing my Grandmother” or something like that. I stopped listening at “Fucker”

I turned and said, “Fucker? You’re the problem. You’re why all my friends continue to loose their jobs and businesses are being closed. Fuck You”

He of course, being twice my size with muscles to boot said “I’m going to teach you a lesson, blah blah blah” and he turned and started towards me. I gotta tell you, I was ready regardless of the outcome. In my defense, I kept walking to my destination. He eventually thought better of it, continuing to shout obscenities at me.

In hindsight, I don’t hate the guy for being an idiot and uninformed plus brainwashed. This whole covid mess has everyone on edge. Chances are you know someone who lost their job or a favorite shop that closed down the street. He was wrong to call me out. I am not killing anyones grandmother or even you from reading this post. We do not have millions dead in the U.S. – if we do I will be one of the first to admit I was wrong. For now, nah. Between the Frontline doctors being banned from telling the media how to treat the virus successfully, the MSM telling everyone about the new cases being added everyday (which means nothing by the way) the liberal left has sunk to a new low.

Stay safe. When I am hiking in the mountains and see someone wearing a mask, I am saddened. So by all means, follow the rules and stay away from them. And by that I mean 6 feet away so you don’t catch stupid.

David Horowitz pretty much sums it all –

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/horowitz-wheres-endgame-media-using-viral-lies-stoke-violent-hatred/

I love the end of this post…

…as Henry David Thoreau said: “Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you.”