SWCAMBORNE

This sign is posted at the lower end of the Mount Wilson Toll Road:

It says below the graffitti “Closed Due To Landslide” which is no longer true. What it should say is: The Toll Road is closed due to the County Board of Supervisors Failure to Clear the Landslide.

If this slide had closed an important trail into the Santa Monica Mountains where the rich people live would it have taken more than two years to reopen?

Cut a safe hiking trail through the slide area before someone dies.

I wrote these Four reason why the trail should be reopened in January of 2006 and sent them to the Board of Supervisors. The reasons are still valid and nothing has been done.

Write an email to Mike Antonovich at fifthdistrict@bos.co.la.ca.us and let him know that you want the trail reopened. Or click on comments below and I will forward your comments to him.

The slide is in county administered land

Help me put some pressure on Mike Antonovich to reopen this important hiking trail.

I am searching in San Diego for a good neighborhood bar near La Jolla. I love going to Lucky Baldwins in Sierra Madre for the Cheers like atmosphere and quality Jutebox, but I have yet to find such a place in San Diego. If anyone has any suggestions on either places to go or ways to find such a place I am all ears.

If you choose a pond that’s small enough you can be a big fish.

Thanks to David B. for this interesting research:

From the Bribane Times: 

Marijuana is not kosher for Passover, a pro-cannabis advocacy group says, advising Jews who observe the week-long holiday’s special dietary laws to take a break from smoking the weed.

The Green Leaf Party announced Wednesday that products of the cannabis plant have been grouped by rabbis within a family of foods such as peas, beans and lentils that is off-limits to Jews of European descent during Passover.

The Green Leaf Party, which has made several unsuccessful attempts to win election to parliament on a platform urging marijuana’s legalisation, said it was issuing its advisory as a service to Jews who don’t want to break ritual law.

But it said the rabbinical ban for the holiday beginning at sunset Monday, during which many Jews eat matzos, or unleavened bread, could be a blessing in disguise.

“Logic dictates that if the rabbis say cannabis is non-kosher for Passover, it is apparently kosher during the rest of the year,” Michelle Levin, a spokeswoman for the party, told the YNet news web site.

I’m training to climb Mt Whitney in September. The Mountain itself is over 14,000 feet high but by driving to Whitney Portal and climbing the Mount Whitney Trail Route the elevation gain is about 6300 feet and the distance is about 12 miles round trip. September is a good time for the climb since the crowds will have decreased substantially. I’m planning to make it a two night three day trip.

Lee Summits Whitney

My friend Lee F climbed it a few years ago as part of his hike along the John Muir Trail.

On the trail

To train I plan to hike in the front range of the San Gabriels a couple of times a week until I can climb 5000 feet in a day with a 15 lb pack. It is a lot harder to climb at altitude but you have to start somewhere.  I’m looking for partners to train with and to go on the climb.

This is a familiar problem at the supermarket.  Everything has a scannable UPC code except the fruits and vegetables.  So when you buy an apple the clerk, or you if you are using self checkout, has to key in the PLU code that is on the little sticker.  It slows evrything down and discourages both use of self checkout and the purchase of fresh produce.

The old sticker

This takes time and is subject to error.  The problem is that the fruit label has to be small enough to conform to the fruit but not wrinkle which means that it is not large enough to print a scannable bar code on.

But what if there were a barbell shaped label with two adhesive patches connected by a polyester strip that was large large enough for a UPC code.

It would scan and therefore would save markets millions of dollars per year in labor expense.

Who could make this happen?  A company with label experience who had the skill set to sell this idea to the entire supply chain, from the market all the way back to the packing house.  I think that it could be a patentable idea if it hasn’t been patented already.

Nurit and I went on a driving trip to Napa for a few days with Missy our dog and then on to Redding to see the Sundial bridge. I’ve posted the best pictures on Flickr.

The mustard was in bloom.

Travelling with Missy gave us far more benefits than difficulties. People who like dogs are always happy to stop and chat with you if you have a dog along so you get to chat casually with locals. This almost never happens when you travel without a dog. We spent a very nice day walking aroung in Sonoma. I wrote postcards in the park and Nurit shopped.

We had some terrific walks stayed at a great hotel in Yountville (the Vintage Inn) which accomodates dogs and ate at some very nice restaurants (Bouchon and Redd in Yountville being our favorites). We did visit two wineries and bought four bottles of wine.
One day we drove to Point Reyes Station to see the Cowgirl Creamery a small cheese maker. The weather went bad as we drove into the National Park so we saw very little but the drive was great and we were able to cross Pt Reyes off our list of possible place to live.

Near Pt Reyes.

On the last day we drove to Redding to see the famed footbridge. it was designed by the guy who built the famous bridge north of Seville. We arrived in Redding just as the UCLA basketball team was losing in the first round of the Pac 10 tournement and it was raining. Not an auspicious start to our visit. The next day it was cloudy and damp and Redding was not a victorian masterpiece of a town. The old building had for the most part been torn down and it felt more like Pomona or San Bernadino than Pasadena. The Sundial Bridge is in a park connecting the arboretum with the museum. Oh well. In the words of an old friend “If you don’t go, you won’t know.” Redding is off the list.

A Great Bridge.

“The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

Oscar Wilde

On Sunday morning Lillian took Paula B and I went to Richard Walkers, a very good pancake place, in downtown San Diego.  It is very popular.  This photo shows the line outside:

We need one of these in Pasadena.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Anonymous