There is something utterly visceral about watching two jet powered cars race. You have to be there to feel it. Last night, these two “cars” spooled up, and took off down the track at over 200 mph. Afterwards, there was a moment of stunned silence in the crowd, like we all couldn’t believe what we just saw and felt. Then, an exhilarated cheer, almost in unison. We all turned and looked at one another as if to confirm “Did you see/feel that too?” I was laughing so hard. What sort of looney-tunes do you have to be to strap yourself onto a ROCKET, and then race somebody?
You think your job is tough. The two track workers you can just see, crouched toward the left of this shot, are literally sandwiched between two plasma plumes of death!
Escapee from Turtle Bay found hiding on our porch
We ran across this hardened escapee from Turtle Bay. Perhaps Turtle Bay is like Pelican Bay, and escapees should be considered dangerous.
We live along the Sulphur Creek watershed, so it was a clear path to freedom for the smelly escapee.
Did I mention that it smelled bad? Don’t let that smiling face fool you.
Trailer Joe's not scared of new competitor Trader Joe's
I checked with the staff at Trailer Joe’s down on Hwy 273 to see if they felt threatened by the upcoming opening of competitor Trader Joe’s up in Redding. There was much laughter and derision when it was pointed out that Trader Joe’s probably didn’t even carry cigarettes or lottery tickets. “How do they even expect to stay in business?”, said one incredulous customer. There was, however, much agreement with having the outhouses in front of the store instead of out back, which might be an innovation worth copying. See below:
Kool April Drags coming up soon
Less than a month to the Kool April Nites car show, and the drag races that accompany the big event. Bob Lidell of the Redding Dragstrip asked me to make an ad for the program, and this is it. I like how it turned out, if I do say so myself. They are my photos too. Click on the ad to go to their website, where I am the volunteer webmonster.
The non-profit Redding Dragstrip brings a fair amount of money into town. The Redding Dragstrip is the longest continuously operating NHRA racing facility in the US. This one event pretty much makes or breaks their whole season, so pray for sunny skies at about 70 degrees. Start praying now…
Flat Stanley visits the Sundial Bridge
I met these folks while out for a walk. They were at the bridge to take a photo of Flat Stanley, with our famous bridge in the background. Turns out Flat Stanley has been on a journey around the world, and this was his latest stop. I’m told that kids all over the world keep an eye on Flat Stanley and where he’ll turn up next. Fun stuff.
Our bridge is a big draw. Not shown, I also overheard couple of gentlemen from Israel touring our bridge, here on a visit, marveling at our river. There is no equivalent river in their country, they said, indicating Sulphur Creek would probably be labeled a river in their region. Here we take great expanses of fresh water for granted.
Sulphur Creek before and after yesterday’s big rain
Seen above, Sulphur creek from the bridge on the north side of the Sundial from Friday. Seen below, the same creek yesterday, Monday, after a big storm blew through.
Also seen, this Rainbow over Redding. No sign of the rumored Irish guy at the end of it with a pot ‘o gold for you, though. A pot o’ debt perhaps. Luck of the Irish. Have a fun and safe St Patrick’s Day!
Odd lifeform spotted on Sacramento River shoreline
Amusing sign spotted on Mistletoe Avenue
Harleys in the Mall
A Black Swan event in Anderson
Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce Greeters was held at the beautiful Gaia Hotel. It’s a lovely property, built with the deliberate use of environmentally conscious materials.
Great turnout, and the food was terrific. The staff was first rate. These movers and shakers of the local business community remain upbeat in the face of the economic downturn. It seemed to me that there was more of an air of grim determination than I had noticed before.
These are 2 of the hotel’s 4 swans. A Black Swan is a metaphor for something that seemingly cannot exist, and then suddenly, it does.
1. Event has appeared by complete surprise.
2. Event has a major impact.
3. Event, after it has appeared, is ‘explained’ by human hindsight.
“The problem Taleb identified with banks and trading firms was that they were very vulnerable to Black Swans and were exposed to huge losses beyond what their defective models projected.”
Greetings from a world where Black Swans do exist.