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Needles Hotel
Thursday, March 23, 2023
One from Wicki Van De Veer
Good morning Robert…I just finished this painting of Mt San Jacinto and wanted to share it with you after seeing a photo of that beautiful mountain in your blog. It is a view from Dorland. Hello to Leslie too….it sure looks like you had a good time on this last trip. Aloha, Wicki
Fast melange
I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I don't quite understand the Fed chairman Powell raising interests rates after a week of bank collapses. It seems like he is doing his best to destroy the economy in the name of taming inflation.
A friend smarter than I am believes that he is purposely doing it to harm the Biden administration. In any case or whatever the motivation, the timing is terrible.
Was saddened to hear that two of my favorite candies might be on their way out in California, Skittles and Hot Tamales.A first-of-its-kind measure, Assembly Bill (AB) 418 would prohibit the manufacture, sale, or distribution of any food product in California containing Red Dye No. 3, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil, or Propyl Paraben. Each of these chemicals is currently banned in the European Union (EU) due to scientific studies that have demonstrated significant public health harms, including increased risk of cancer, behavioral issues in children, harm to the reproductive system, and damage to the immune system.
I am a serious skittles abuser and sort of bummed out by the news. Could it be that what I like is what is worst for me?
Jennifer J. sent this pic over. Looking west from De Luz rd.
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Leslie and I have a recent neighbor from I believe Arkansas that likes to drive his big truck really fast and dust all the rest of us out in our driveways. I don't really understand the behavior.
When we were driving to Palm Springs from DHS a big truck with liberty and gun maga stickers and Arizona plates careened through traffic at breakneck speed, ultimately cutting in in front of us. There was a deep river crossing people were carefully plowing through and this nimrod decided to drive on the shoulder and spray everybody patiently waiting in line.
What is it about big trucks and anti social behavior? Is it fashionable in some right wing circles to be a complete asshole?
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Rainbow picture from Joel.
*We got home from the desert with our new/old Le Creuset dutch oven and immediately made braised short ribs, well, after a three hour slow cook anyway.
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Speaking of Le Creuset, I stopped by Ron and Lena's place after my bird shoot yesterday.
They have just returned after a three month plus trip to Asia.
Lena blogged the trip here.
Anyway, she has been a long time collector and broke out some of her pieces, including her lovely new wok.
Leslie wants me to take some cooking classes, get a better handle on my spices. She was worried about a thyme overload the other night but I think it tasted fine.
But probably not a bad idea.
My niece Rachel thinks I am channeling her father, Buzz, who was a restauranteur and an excellent chef.
Not sure why I am starting to cook at 65 but I am definitely enjoying it.
But look at those weeds!
Going to have to attack them soon...
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I have the most beautiful morning and afternoon drive in all of Fallbrook. |
The whole Santa Margarita River valley is really greening up.
Finally, I am not a big car sticker guy but a man named Steve created this nifty avocado yin yang and I had to stick it on my car.
I was selected to be a new Google Bard trial user. It is their AI machine.
I honestly don't need a machine to help me write but thought I would try it out yesterday.
I asked it to write a blogpost for me. This is what I got:
Talkin' Candy Bar Blues
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Eponymous Interlude
I had to check out an estate in Rancho Santa Fe this morning.
I saw some cool stuff, buffleheads and pie eyed grebes, a few other things.
I also saw a nice cattle egret in breeding plumage.
Will try to process them tomorrow.
I had my easy travel lens with me and took a few shots.
I don't have time to process everything but I think this blue heron sequence is decent.
I didn't know he was going to take off and had the shutter speed set woefully low at 800mm but it still did an adequate job that I don't feel the need to apologize for.I love blue herons, don't you?
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Hawks and doves
My friend Paul was funny at coffee the other day. He calls himself a recovering democrat, missed Vietnam on a medical deferment. Paul says, "Hey, I remember when you dems were the peace and love party, now you are just a bunch of warmongers."
It is funny how the labels have changed. And how so many of the GOP are content to let Russia swallow up their neighbor. What was it that Trump said a while back, something on the order of, "Putin loves his country and he just wants to make it bigger."
DeSantis had said that "becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" was not "vital" to U.S. interests. Of course, seven years ago, he was singing a different tune:
"We in the Congress have been urging the president, I've been, to provide arms to Ukraine. They want to fight their good fight. They're not asking us to fight it for them. And the president has steadfastly refused. And I think that that's a mistake," DeSantis said in a 2015 radio interview with conservative talk radio host Bill Bennett.
In any case, I spend too much time writing about GOP stupidity and ignorance. How about liberal stupidity and ignorance for a change?
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© Robert Sommers 2023 |
Cohen has contributed more than $1 million to a group campaigning to turn the U.S. public against President Biden’s military support for Ukraine.
Approached about his role in backing the group, Cohen told The Daily Beast: “I think the U.S. should use its power to negotiate an end to the war, not prolong the death and destruction by supplying more weapons.”Step away from the bong, Ben. Whether coming from a liberal or a conservative, this sounds like absolute bullshit to me.
Wild and wet weekend
The last few days have been a whirlwind, frankly. Big aztec basketball win against Furman, now on to Alabama! We will shock the world, or at least cover... Leslie went out to a woman's retreat Saturday with a pal and made friends with a cute kid.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
A couple from you
Terry Dewald offers some sweet wildflower captures from the Phoneline trail in Sabino.
Nice to see the desert in bloom.
And we also get a shot of his pretty peach blossoms.