Life and all in Redding California
They say there’s no “bad” publicity in the world of entertainers and celebrities. There’s only publicity. If true, Redding has been getting it in spades over the last few days. MSNBC’s Keith Olberman has been featuring our own Congressman Wally Herger as the Worst Person in the World, and now similarly features Herger’s congressional aide on national TV. Check out the latest:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
There was a good turnout of racers and fans for last weekend at the Redding Dragstrip. I run their website for them, so I went out to get some photos.
The Redding Dragstrip is committed to offering a safe family environment for racers and fans. Having this great race facility provides a safe place for street legal cars and motorcycles (and snowmobiles, apparently) to race one another without endangering themselves (well, not as much) or others on the streets of our community. I’m just a casual fan myself, but you can easily see the work, effort, and love put into the sport. Redding holds car culture as high art, and here we see as fine an exhibition as can be found anywhere.
Spotted this poster at the Holiday Market at the corner of Shasta View and Hartnell.
“Frequents discount sushi bars and polka raves.” But then, who doesn’t?
On the other hand…I love my hometown, but soon I start thinking that seems awfully snarky and clever for a random poster at a Redding supermarket. So I Google “My imaginary Friend Steve” and get 89,000 hits. HERE is the top of the list. So much for originality.
What could it all mean, though?
The Redding Dragstrip is hosting a race for very powerful drag cars with skinnier-than-average tires, which makes for interesting and challenging racing. Also racing will be the street legal cars. Allowing street racers to run their cars at the strip helps keep them from racing the streets, and that’s a good thing. This kind of racing is really fun to watch. First one across the line is the winner. Plus, they’ve added a grudge match between two 7 second dragsters that should be breathtaking. Gates open at 4:30 and racing starts at 6 pm. Spectators pay only $5 each, and that’s an entertainment bargain, by any measure. If you’re a fan, you’ll be there, and if you haven’t been out to the track before, this is an opportunity for an experience you just won’t get anywhere else. The people running the track have made big improvements to the facility over the last couple years. Redding’s car culture has always found it’s full realization at this track since the 60’s. It is the longest continuously operating NHRA dragstrip in the US, and maybe the world. Come check it out. Be there!
We received news that our music is featured on Cool Streams in the Ambient Caverns section.
Cool Stream plays music over the internet that you can listen to while you work. Pretty, uh, cool!
This is our latest release on Lotuspike, Beyond the Portal. Featuring Redding’s ownCraig Padilla, Zero Ohms of Memphis, and me.
This gentleman was waving his sign on Churn Creek Road yesterday. He is a tilesetter apparently.
His sign says:
NO CHARITY HERE. Don’t insult me with money, but respect me with a job offer.
. Thank You. (916) 912 3619 Tilebiters@aol.com Honk for Support.
Considering how hot it was outside, and the fact that he’s wearing overalls, I’m thinking he’s a hard worker. I wish I had a job for him. Perhaps you do?
This little guy (or gal) sat still long enough for me to get in a few shots.
It saw me, but didn’t seem to care much. They seem to me to have quite complex behavior, especially considering how small they are, and how small their brains must be, they seem proportionally brilliant.
I caught one image as it was about to fly off, and thought that was a lucky shot.
So we have these two robots exploring another planet and one of them comes across this big rock lying exposed on a flat plain. Further examination reveals the rock to be a meteor made of iron. There it sits, perched rather improbably. What happened to the crater it must have left when it hit? Did it blow away, leaving only the meteor? It’s genuinely mysterious.
Okay this is not Really Redding, per se. But this is something we did. Are doing. This is happening today. We Reddingites, we Californians got together to send robots to another planet. Try saying it out loud. “We flew these robots to a distant Red Planet, and they wander around looking at stuff, and taking pictures for us.” Words fail, really. It’s amazing and awesome when you think about it. Which is probably not often.
Not often enough. It is still thrilling to me to be part of a species that explores places, and builds elaborate devices out of nothing but curiosity. We humans spend a lot of time talking about the mundane, but magic goes on all around us every day.
This robotic mission to Mars is one of the most magical things ever to consider and learn from. It stands as a complete highlight moment of our entire civilization. Click HERE for more. There is a lot of drama there, even if it’s couched in science terms at JPL. See what’s happening with the other robot. It’s drama and magic. Mostly it goes on unnoticed by the many, like so much of the magic in our lives….
