Ron's Log

More And More Again

New acting police chief in Desert Hot Springs. Meaning, of course, old acting police chief gone. Fired. Full story yet untold. Head spinning.

Detroit Bathhouse

A very interesting website on The Schvitz Health Club, a traditional bathhouse in Detroit. You tell me if it's NSFW, I haven't seen it all yet.

Wet Cellphone?

Here is a list of things to do in attempting to save your cellphone which you have dropped into a toilet or other body of water. I can't vouch for any of it, but look, you're going to lose your cellphone, right, so you can't make it worse.

Israeli Wins Mr. Gay

Same as last year, information on the Mr. Gay International competition in Palm Springs this weekend is spotty. Certainly, the website for the competition can't be bothered with posting any up to date information...nor even photos of those from outside North America. There is a large photo gallery, but there are no captions, and I think they are actually from last year's competition.

But The Desert Sun fills the gap, sort of. Nathan Shaked from Tel Aviv won the title Mr. Gay International. They don't say if he was Mr. Gay Israel or Mr. Gay Tel Aviv or what. The shepherd from Chico, Grant Ermis who we posted about earlier, won Mr. Gay USA. And our favorite, Jared Watson from Anchorage won Mr. Gay Congeniality USA. Yes, indeed, a lot of hard work went into that victory. But the International title for Mr. Gay Congeniality went to Robert Tarroza of the Phillipines. I'd like to see a final one-on-one competition between those two for Universal Mr. Gay Congeniality.

Meanwhile, Hungarians are proud that Nándor Gyöngyösi (who is Mr. Gay Hungary and Mr. Gay Europe) won the audience prize at this weekend's competition. "Gyöngyösi's spokesperson noted that the American ideal of beauty was completely different from the typical Hungarian's, and that is why his audience prize was so noteworthy." I guess that means the Hungarian gay beauty industry has learned to pander to the American audience. I'd like to see a page of photos of what is considered typically beautiful in Hungary. Maybe several pages. And some video might help, too.

De Anza Springs Resort

This weekend David and I went camping at De Anza Springs Resort which is California's largest naturist resort. It's located [Google Map here] just off of I-8 at the Jacumba exit, very near the Mexican border, and surrounded by the southern parts of Anza-Borrego State Park. More info on Anza-Borrego here.

The resort is an open and friendly place. There are no rules against single men, and gay people are welcome. The place certainly needs more gay people, if for no other reason than to do some decorating. Other than bear statues (which seemed very popular), a few other lawn ornaments, and little 12-inch high picket fences, the place is a bit dismal. No pink flamingoes, no pinwheels, no strings of colored lights. Not a single disco ball or crystal chandelier in sight. But it's got all the usual amenities: outdoor pool, indoor heated pool, jacuzzi, tennis courts, gym, restaurant, TV room, internet connections and a sauna. But that sauna is a small thing, sort of like this one. It could fit four average naturist adults, or six young ones who exercise. Gotta be the smallest sauna I've ever been in.

David and I camped in a tent (his first time ever!), but most people are in RVs or trailers. Quite a few are year-round residents and live in manufactured homes. I'm pretty sure we were the only gay people there this weekend. Saturday was the Halloween party, which was just about like any adult Halloween party I suppose, except you could be naked.

So I didn't fall passionately in love with the resort itself, but everything surrounding the resort is as beautiful as Joshua Tree National Park. There are a couple of trailheads in the resort. The first day we took the eastern one which opens into Anza-Borrego State Park, a huge, area inviting extended exploration. The second day we explored west, where after crossing a railroad track (with remains of an Amtrak wreck on a spur), and a dry creek, we explored a jumbo rock area where there are pictographs...although we didn't find any.

The resort is up at 2,700 feet. Day temperatures were quite comfortable, but the evening was chilly. But no chillier than many nights at GNI in Pennsylvania in August. One of the staff of the resort claimed that it had been 30°(F) at dawn on Saturday, but I'm dubious about that. It was probably in the 50s before dawn on Sunday. Summer there might be brutal. There isn't a lot of shade, except around the homes of the permanent residents who have planted trees — deciduous trees at that! So we got to see some trees changing color.

The photos are in this Flickr set. As usual, if you are a Flickr "friend" you will see more photos. Some samples:

Newark Airport Wide Open, Come On In!

TSA screeners at Newark airport failed 20 of 22 recent tests, overlooking guns, explosive devices and even bottles of water(!!) being smuggled by undercover U.S. agents.

Reward Up To $500,000

Tom Blixseth kicked in another $100,000 to the reward fund for information on the arsonist that started the Esperanza fire. Blixseth is the fabulously wealthy (you might have guessed) guy who has his own private golf course in Rancho Mirage that I've hiked around the edges of a few times.

On the subject of the fire, I've been surprised to get two phone calls from the east coast to ask if I'm burning up. Nobody called me during the Sawmill fire when the smoke was actually drifting right through Desert Hot Springs. I'm in no danger from the Esperanza fire, as the wind is blowing it away from me. Here, from The Desert Sun:

October 27, 10:08 p.m.
The Esperanza Fire has caused smoke over and ash to fall onto Orange and San Diego counties, according to the National Weather Service.

"(Smoke) has been thick enough to reduce visibility," Meteorologist Steve Vanderburg said.

The smoke is also visible on the weather service's satellites, he said.

Smoke and ash is blowing out to see, over coastal islands, like the Catalina Islands.

Although the fire is close enough for me to be able to evaluate the smoke by just stepping out the back door, last night the air was so clean and clear in Desert Hot Springs the barely-quarter moon cast a quite visible shadow.

Sean Penn To Mess With Traffic

On Tuesday (Halloween!), Sean Penn will be filming on north Indian Canyon, so it will be shut down for something like three hours. The Dessert Sun article initially describes it as "a portion of Indian Canyon Drive on the north end of Palm Springs." Sound like no big deal, we can just drive around it. But further down we see that it is the "portion" between Tramview and the railroad, that loan stretch of road in the desert that connects Palm Springs directly to I-10. A much bigger deal since simply driving around it will mean miles of extra travel. Remind me not to try to get to Palm Springs on Tuesday.

Reward For Murderer Up to $400,000

With $100,000 contributions from Riverside County, San Bernardino County, the state of California and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians the reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of the arsonist who started the Esperanza fire totals $400,000.
Photos of three of the four firefighters killed in action:

The Press-Entrprise provides information on a Yahoo Group where you can get the news overheard by scanners almost instantly. I learned there that the DC-10 is in use. I thought I saw it west of here about an hour ago. The usual firefighting airplanes are too small to see at this distance. Go here to read the messages.

Fire Safety at K-Mart

There are two public, front entrances to the K-Mart in Desert Hot Springs. One is the usual big entrance with automatic doors and a "greeter." The other is a smaller door into the garden section. That door has been broken since I moved to DHS. It opens, but the handles and hinges are in bad shape. It's hard to open, it doesn't clolse properly, and the plastic door glass is hazed with small scratches.

Earlier this week I entered through that door and headed over to the electronics section. After my purchase, when I tried to exit through the garden door I was surprised to find it padlocked. There had been a couple of employees at the nearby cash register when I entered, but they were gone now, and no employees were in sight. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, and the store wouldn't close for hours. There were plenty of customers in the store. It certainly wasn't quite as crowded as a nightclub on Saturday night, but I'm pretty sure it's illegal to padlock a fire exit on a place that is open for business.

My suggestion for K-Mart shoppers is that when you enter the store you immediately head for the hardware section and pick up a fire extinguisher. Keep it with you as you shop, and then leave it at the cash register after you pay for your items.