Ron's Log

And Now The Paving Begins

3rd Street got a layer of asphalt today. 1st Street got partially paved, too. It looks like the whole project includes a little widening and curbing on Cactus between 1st and 3rd (a little beyond 3rd, actually) which will be fabulous. I remember my very first night in Desert Hot Springs (it was magical!) and I tried walking down Cactus Drive in the dark. I thought it was nearly impossible, dodging potholes, not tripping on curbs that suddenly moved left or right (like it was Boston, or sump'n), and wondering about the dogs. Now I can negotiate it in the dark quite easily, but I have a good spatial memory. Still, a straightline curb would be nice.

Cut-Rate Marmol Radziner

Marmol Radziner will be launching a new line of prefab homes that will be 20% to 25% less expensive than current models. I never knew the Marmol Radziner was in famed Vernon, California, the industrial city. The linked article has several photos from the factory.

Warning Signs For Parents

Fortunately the parents of 18-year old Ryan Schallenberger had kept themselves fully informed on how to tell when your child may be about to go off the tracks. So, when they picked up the 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate young Ryan had mail ordered they thought it would be a good idea to search his room. That's where they found the cassette tape that he had identified as to be played after his death.

Once law enforcement became involved even more stuff was uncovered and Ryan was arrested. The basic outline of his plan was this:

1. Blow up his high school.
2. Die.
3. Go to heaven.
4. Kill Jesus.

One can readily see that his religious beliefs don't quite match up with any mainstream organized religions.

State Fair Food

I know the food at carnivals and fairs can be bad for you, but even I was shocked at most of the items on this list. Every single one requires deep-frying, of course, except the Kool-Aid Dill Pickles which are probably fat-free. Also, the "Cool Dog" is not deep-fried, and doesn't sound too bad.

A cool dog will quench your hunger for salty and sweet. It's a hot dog that replaces the bun with sponge cake and replaces the weenie with ice cream. The condiments are replaced with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Sounds pretty cool-dog-a-licious.

Barber Shop

On Pierson Boulevard in Desert Hot Springs.

Tea Advance

You probably know that tea is good for you, but we all know that making tea has two gigantic drawbacks:

1. You've got to be aware of how long you've kept it steeping, and
2. You have to lift the tea (the teabag, whatever) out of the hot water.

Oh, groan, my mind and back are already aching just thinking about all that effort.

TeaCube to the rescue! You attach your tea bag to the plastic clip and stick it all into your hot water. In 3 minutes the TeaCube automatically drags your teabag out of the water. I'm sure that future versions will allow you to customize the steeping time.

Of course, some will thank that sticking a piece of plastic into hot water will not help the flavor at all; and that dragging the teabag up and out of your cup is going to leave a mess.

No word on where to buy this or for how much.

New SunLine Bus Bench

Isn't it pretty? A metal bench in that rich blue with zero shade. I'm going to sit there at noon on the first day over 110° and see if I don't get permanently branded.

Dodge Brothers -Detroit-U-S-A-

Photo by shadowplay. Click on the photo to read comments discussing what appears to be a Star of David.

Fire in the San Jacinto Mountains

Photo by bossco. This is the view last night from Desert Hot Springs. This morning the Desert Sun is still saying "near Idyllwild" and only 7 acres. I suppose it depends on your definition of "near."

This morning I can see only smoke and can hear the drone of fire fighting aircraft.

Ricoh G600

Ricoh has announced the G600, a water and dust resistant camera in a shock resistant case. You can even take it underwater as far as 1 meter and it will still work. It's got 10 megapixels with a 5x zoom which is equivalent to 28-140 mm. The lens zooms within the body of the camera, so it never sticks out. It's got a "skew correction" mode to correct for parallax, something I've done a few times in Photoshop. It'd be nice to see how well this works in a camera. Price and availability are not stated.

Official Ricoh page here.