Ron's Log

Other's Photos From Burning Man 2008

From the Burning Man 2008 group on Flickr which will include a few videos with audio (maybe you want to turn down the sound if you're at work):

Chiriaco Summit 75th Anniversary

The L.A. Times does a piece on Chiriaco Summit, gas station and home to the Patton Museum east of here along I-10, which was founded in 1933.

The garrulous Huell Howser, host of KCET-TV Channel 28's "California's Gold," showed up with a camera crew and embraced her.

"Margit is a piece of history," he declared. "In a place like this, that seems so empty, you have two people who came out to find their dream. If that's not an example of California's gold, I don't know what is."

Well, what else would he say?

Joseph Chiriaco came to the desert as a surveyor for the Metropolitan Water District during the building of the Colorado River Aqueduct. He recognized that Chiriaco Summit, being the highest point on the highway between Blythe and the Coachella Valley would be the ideal spot for a gas station. Business picked up in 1942 when General Patton dropped in to let them know that Camp Young would be built in their backyard.

Newest Great Nephew

Born yesterday, still unnamed, a Californian.

Paul Krassner

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic convention, the Desert Sun does a little piece on Paul Krassner "of Desert Hot Springs" (as it is their style to say).

[Paul] Krassner had been an important leader of the underground press since 1958, when he founded his seminal alternative magazine, The Realist. People magazine called Krassner the "father of the underground press." George Carlin called him "Funnier than Danny Kaye, more powerful than Jerry Lewis, as important as acid."

Found Memory Card

Travis S. was out in the wildnerness near Denali National Park when he found a 1 Gb memory card. It was full of photos which he has uploaded to a set on his own Flickr account. This violates the Flickr TOS, and some people would say his Flickr account will be deleted, but let's wait and see.

Another Free Market Lesson For Free

Car sales are down, auto dealers are hurting, so the Cathedral City Auto Dealers Association has asked the city of Cathedral City to pick up their advertising tab for August through December: $53,500. The notion has given everybody who's got a complaint about Jessup Auto's service the opportunity to bitch in the comments on the Desert Sun article.

Do you remember when some of the country clubs in the Whitewater wash tried to get a chunk of the disaster relief funds after the floods in 2005? This request is about on par with that.

Jon Stewart Interviews Joe Biden

It was a year and a half ago, but here's Jon Stewart discussing Joe Biden's opinion of Barack Obama:

Extreme Olympic Pics

A big collection of impressive Olympic photos that is as much a testimony to great lenses and fast shutter speeds as it is to the extreme speed and strength of the athletes.

In Case You Got Last Minute Burn Inspiration

This year, for the first time (I believe), Burning Man will NOT be selling tickets at the gate. They have, however, extended ticket sales through Tuesday, August 26. "Will call" tickets must be picked up by noon (at the gate), Saturday the 30th. The man burns Saturday night.

Here you can buy tickets online ($295). Or, you can patronize one of the ticket outlets in Reno, San Francisco, Sacramento, Berkeley, Walnut Creek or Sunnyvale. Come on down! From the Palm Springs area Google says it's a 13 - 14 hour drive if there are no slow VW campers on the road (note: there will be slow VW campers on the road).

National Go Topless Day, August 23

Photo by Sophie Xia.

Tomorrow, August 23, is National Go Topless Day in America. Whether for breastfeeding or just comfort and relaxation, women are encouraged to go topless starting at noon on Saturday.