Arroyo Seco

Today, on our Labor Day day off, we went for a picnic at one of the parks along the Arroyo Seco.

Arroyo Seco translates to "dry stream", which it almost never is, but usually there's not much along this portion. Whenever we're by there, the younger boy wants to go for a hike along the stream.

A couple of posts back, I'd made mention of my latest technology purchase, but never said what it actually was!!! Ipod Touch 4th generation, same as my older picked up, but I got mine as a refurb rather than used with a corner of the screen cracked already. I've been kind of keeping an eye out for a decent but tiny camera at a reasonable price. Most weren't much cheaper than this, and only would take pictures!!! Found out afterwards that the generation 5 has a WAY better camera, and experience a tad of buyers' remorse. My younger boy has been saving for one of his own, and I've agreed to sell him mine at a nice discount when I get myself a gen 5, probably around gravy time. Did I mention that my wife got me a nice case for it for my birthday???

All the pictures here are from my Ipod. The only edit I preformed on them was to use the clarify function in Paint Shop Pro. First shot is by where we entered, he declared it to be dead hobo swag.

Second shot is looking upstream. If I'd had my Pentax with me, you would probably be able to make out the antennas of Mount Wilson!!! That was the shot I was going for. Picture #3 is straddling the stream, and #4 is one of the inlet pipes, probably from the local street drains. I know I've got a shot from a while ago of the stencil they have near storm drains that have the "empties to the ocean" legend on them!!!

The last shot, I'm guessing, was one of the unfortunate victims of the freeway running alongside the Arroyo.

Shaved Pussy

As mentioned in my previous post, our cat had some medical issues. Apparently, tom cats have a rather Hank Hill-esque narrow urethra, and are susceptible to it getting clogged up. We've never had a tom cat before, so this was news to us. Another first, this is really the first time I've ever been in a position to be able to do anything for a gravely ill animal other than having it put down. As also previously stated, 2013 is still an expensive year. Well, he is a beloved member of the family, so I did what must be done. He'd better not make a habit of it.

So there's the shot of his shaved forearm (forepaw???). When we first brought him home, he had a blue bandage around it. My older got a picture of that, it's probably on his tumblr somewhere. On the estimates from the veterinarians they listed Elizabethan collars, AKA the Cone of Shame. For spending more on the kitty than I spent on my wife's latest car, I was looking forward to posting embarrassing photos of that here, but if he ever got one, it was off by the time he was sent home. Likely would not have fit inside the cat carrier with it on. So all I get is a shot of him with the bald spot where the IV was. They said he was rather uncooperative. If you've already got a swollen full bladder and they're trying to catheter your achey urethra, see how cooperative you are!!!

The second shot here is just a cute pose. He was playing one of his favorite games with me when I took the shot, Big Cat in a Cage!!! Bonus, when we got him back, his claws had been nicely trimmed, making the game more enjoyable for the hooman involved.

I have to get some amusement out of this situation. If I don't get it from getting to see him in that cone of shame or from the increased traffic from this posts' title, I'll close with a little joke at his expense:

A cat walks through the double doors of an old west saloon. His front leg is bandaged from the wrist down. He declares, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw!!!"

Island Inland

As usual, I've got a backlog of posts I'd like to do. Yesterday was my birthday, and much happened. The week before our kitty had to go in for emergency surgery, and they saved his kitty bacon. Once again, 2013 is turning out to be rather expensive. He's got a bald patch on his front leg where they had an IV that he kept trying to pull out. Muscle relaxers for a cat, you wouldn't think they'd even make such a thing, huh???

Took the Falcon on a beach cruise, and we went up to the mountains for another vacation. My mom fell in a brier patch. Bought myself another cool little technology device, a month before my birthday, but I'll call it my birthday present to myself. Putting Little Black Submarines on me blog drove up traffic. Hope someone else enjoyed my artwork.

But for now, here's part two from our first vacation, the part where we went on the Inland tour!!!

Last time we were over there, I saw one of the buses they use for the inland tour, 1953 Flxable buses. Actually going out of the Avalon city limits would be a nice change, and going on such an awesome looking vintage bus was a plus!!!

I had to get a few shots of the bus. They ride as good as they look!!!

And a cool shot in a parabolic mirror going around one of the hairpin turns, only marred by a little piece of duct tape!!!

A shot I didn't manage to get on last year's trip, a bald eagle!!! Too bad it was in an animal sanctuary, but it made for a good shot.

And buffalo. Originally brought over for the filming of the movie "The Vanishing American" by Zane Gray (who himself lived on the island for a while, heard an amusing story that I again may relate...), and when the movie was done filming, William Wrigley Jr. opted to purchase them. They about overran the island, and now are kept on birth control. One of the offerings by many of the restaurants on the island is buffalo burgers. I had always assumed it was locally raised buffalo, but it is all imported from the mainland, where the USDA can keep an eye on the proceedings!!!

Back side of the island. Kinda makes you want to camp out there for a while, huh???

Another shot of the bus, and my sweet 512 shirt!!!

The famed Airport in the Sky!!! Since my nephew has his pilot's licenses, I always think it'd be cool to have him fly us over there. It is notoriously tricky, as the strip is high in the middle, so coming in, it tends to look too short.

The bus driver told us about the cookies. He was right about the cookies. I've heard about the "$100 burger" at the Airport in the Sky. I could have gotten in on that, but opted for the cookie and a Monster. The $100 burger is when a pilot will fly over and get lunch there.

Outside there was a pretty cool tile mosaic map of Catalina. I jumped up on it and was taking pictures when one of the Air Traffic Controllers stepped out onto the balcony of the tower and told me to get down from there. Of course, after that I saw the sign saying not to get up on it!!!

My wife's sunglasses broke the first day, and she'd looked at one of the shops along Crescent Street in Avalon. They were over $50 there, and these at the airport were only $14, so bargain priced!!!

It was a pretty long voyage, but it was a great experience!!! Even little babies approve!!!

Little Black Submarines

Little black submarines

Operator please

Put me back on the line

Told my girl I'd be back

Operator please

This is wreckin' my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen it glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

Pick you up, let you down

When I wanna go

To a place I can hide

You know me, I had plans

But they just disappeared

To the back of my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen a glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

Treasure maps, fallen trees

Operator please

Call me back when it's time

Stolen friends and disease

Operator please

Patch me back to my mind

Oh can it be

The voices calling me

They get lost

And out of time

I should've seen a glow

But everybody knows

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

That a broken heart is blind

The Black Keys. Amazing tune!!! First time I heard it was partway through the song on my car radio. It was on one of the more "new rock" stations, and my first thought was, "Wow, they're playing Zeppelin on here..." Totally sounds like...

I enjoy most everything I've heard by them. Did I make mention that last time I saw Counting Crows at the Wiltern they played "Gold on the Ceiling" between acts??? I looked up, and it was all true!!!

Crashed Star, Black Star

So last night I was going to log into Runescape for just a few minutes, to swap my 13 bones for bonemeal & ectoplasm and to do my mining for Managing Miscellania, keep my approval rating at %100, you know. When I got there, however, there was a crashed falling star!!! Size 6, and no one had found it yet!!! Tag!!! Not the first time I've tagged one, but every time I do I think to myself that I've got to get over to the observatory and get a screenshot of my name on the noticeboard... then I forget!!!

Last night was no exception. Of course, I was on a world with less than 150 players, so no one else came to help. Six layers to go through with no help. I got a good amount of experience, but it disapeared before I made it to the middle. Oh well. Stayed up a lot longer than I'd wanted to. This morning I remembered I hadn't made it over to the observatory, so I quickly did that and got my screenshot, just in time it would seem!!!

Whenever I go to do a post, I usually get distracted looking at the stats and traffic sources. Apparently having Black Star mentioned on the older's birthday post pulled in several views from Japan. Surprisingly. In a shameless bid for a few more views, here's a few more pulled directly from the WWW!!! Love to Japan, and WTF Japan!!!

One of my favorites from Soul Eater is that crazy moon!!! The sun isn't bad, either.

Never made mention of the time we were at a park, and the younger found a stick with three long branches going three different directions, and a handle branch coming out of the middle. He thought it a great Black Star throwing star!!! Should have had a camera with me... I need a pocket sized that takes good pics like the older has!!!

So, the referring site was a Yahoo image search page in Japanese. When translated, one of the lines was "Black Star do you satisfied with the sound and amplifier rattle change! The free gifts the quick fix of efficacy distinguished" I love translation software!!! An apparent refrence to Black Star tube amplifiers. Never heard of 'em, but I'll bet they sound awesome!!! Another line: "are selling now if this!"

I'll bet another show that'd get me a TON of views is "Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt"!!! Not great animation, but some pretty funny lines!!! They've got a Hummer they've named See Through. The line: "See through always gets us there in style!!!" Interestingly, it seems like if you were doing an image search trying to find actual pictures of panty and stocking with garterbelt, you'd likely be disappointed!!!

The Sweet Suite

As mentioned at some length in the last post the executive suite at our stay in Catalina was awesome. In fact, that whole situation is the one that gets brought up most when telling people about our vacation!!! Thought I'd put together a post on the room we had there.

In that post I had a couple pictures, one of the boy enthusiastic about the room, and the second looking along the roof line, looking out towards the ocean.

Here again we see more of that enthusiasm, and in the background the balcony overlooking the courtyard.

Next shot is the dining area, where I parked my laptop pretty much the whole time we were there.

And there's the wall of kitchen. Last time we stayed here, our breakfast most days was bagels and cream cheese from the restaurant on the premises, to go which we would take back and eat on our balcony. Pretty much the best bargain for breakfast in Avalon. As of yet, I've not actually dined at that restaurant, maybe next time. My wife got in on the nachos one afternoon (during happy hour for the half price!!!) while the boys and I were out either paddle boarding or swimming. Since we had a little fridge this time, we stopped at the Vons and bought a pack of bagels and a couple cream cheeses, juice and milk. The next day the older bought himself a 6 pack of IBC root beer, which he ended up carting around a few of for the rest of the vacation!!! Also worked out for having leftovers.

And there's the balcony on the other side, looking out towards the mountains. There was the butt of a cigar out there when we arrived. Made us consider buying another couple...

Giant two person whirlpool tub...

And giant two person (at least!!!) shower stall. There was a red phone on the bathroom wall right next to the toilet. Just in case you run out of paper, I guess.

And the final few shots are of the courtyard we were overlooking. The two with the pool are actually shots from last time, apparently I didn't get any shots of that this time.

In the second shot you can see the patio area for the restaurant. Not pictured is the gazebo with the hot tub in it. It's all really nice!!!

Final shot was on the morning we were departing. Low cloud cover, and just a touch of drizzle. Good time to get out!!! The shuttle van driver was saying that the island makes it's own weather system, guess that makes sense when you've got a mountain rising out of the ocean!!!

So there you have it!!! The hotel room that all others shall be judged by henceforth... and found wanting!!!

Let's Try That Again...

Once again, back from vacation with many a picture and many a tale!!!

This vacation, due to the financial constraints imposed by the sewer repair from earlier this year, is something of a revisit of two years ago's vacation where everything broke!!! This year came out somewhat better than the last one, but there were a few rough patches along the way this year, too.

The first couple of shots here I'm thinking of entering in my works second photo contest. I entered a couple shots in the first one, and didn't prevail with either. To be fair, there were a LOT of great shots entered!!! The first shot is of Descanso beach, where you go to start the zip line tour. Yeah, we did that again this year, on the first day we were there!!! The price has gone up, but they've improved the course with automatic braking at the end of the runs. They've added night runs, and that was (kinda) what we got. It was actually a twilight run, which could have gone until it was full dark, but the tour we were on only had two other people besides our group. Only had to have our headlights on for the last line. The younger is heavy enough to go on his own now!!! The second shot is from the top floor of the Casino building.

We went paddle boarding & kayaking around the harbor the next day (or the day after??? It's all a blur)... after we'd gone parasailing!!! Another that the younger had wanted to do, but chickened out on last time. He made it this time, though, and thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

A couple of new things we got to do this time were the inland tour (on a 1953 Flxable bus!!!) that made it to the far side of the island with a stop at the Catalina airport, the Airport in the Sky, and the behind the scenes tour of the Casino. Both were very cool, and both could get a post of their own. See if that happens!!! First time I've ever been inside the Casino, even though I've been to the island probably a dozen or more times since I was a kid!!!

I'd meant to put a shot or two of the Airport in the Sky... still could, but if I don't maybe I'll get to doing a post about that trip!!! There's the bus...

And there's a group shot from on the bus!!!

What about those rough patches??? They were both due to online travel sites, or at least so it seems. First one came on the day we arrived in Catalina. We caught the shuttle van up to the hotel, same one we'd stayed at last time, and went to check in. The desk clerk checks, and lo and behold, no reservation!!! She looks a bit further, and finds it... three days later, the day we were supposed to check out!!! Of course, there's no available rooms of the class we'd reserved. The desk clerk was awesome, and it took about 45 minutes and four hang ups on the phone from Expedia, but finally they got them to fax over an overwrite, and they put us up in an open room... the executive suite!!! Awesome room!!! It has a separate master bedroom, full kitchen, huge bathroom with a two person whirlpool tub and a giant shower stall, and two balconies on either side!!! EPIC!!! Better than our home, but a bit smaller. If I win the lottery, I'm moving in there for a few weeks straight!!!

The second came back on the mainland. To avoid any vehicular mishaps, a la last time, I had a rental car reserved. Headed over to pick it up, and, surprise, no reservation!!! Furthermore, no, we don't even have any cars, so you're out of luck!!! This was in Long Beach, so I headed over to my parents house to use their computer and retrieve the reservation information. Half an hour on the phone with Hotwire (much of it on hold) and they finally connect me to Budget rental company: "Oh, I see you've got a reservation with us... yes, we have that and we have your car waiting for you..." Funny how now they do... Needless to say, I'm not much impressed by either of these companies. From this point on, I called ahead on every reservation to verify.

There's the minor outline of the island portion of our vacation, as well as the worser parts. Back on the mainland we hit several parks, but none of them for a full day. We did a night in Buena Park, with an afternoon and evening at Knott's Berry Farm, then the next morning Knott's Soak City water park. Down to Carlsbad (same resort as two years back) and a morning at the Lego water park (which you have to go through the Legoland park to get to) then left for lunch with the thought of returning to Legoland for the afternoon-evening. Both boys were tired out and stayed back, but mom and I had to return to retrieve our stuff from the locker, as well as go on the Dragon coaster and check out Miniland some. The next day we went to Legoland some more, then down to San Diego. We went to Boomers mini golf & fun zone that evening, where we rode the go-carts several times, did the batting cages, rode the world's weakest bumper boats (but with a cool built in water cannon) and played 18 holes. Our last full day we headed off to Sea World until around 2 or so. I know there's a lot more I could tell about, but we'll save that for another post!!!

Saturn Similitude

How's the newest member of the automotive family doing a couple months in, you ask??? Pretty good, still. Of course, there's been a few things. That's why a little follow-up post!!!

First thing that came up of note were the rear brakes. Bought a new set of shoes (they're cheap) & went to work. Come to find out, on the S series Saturns, the access hole on the backing plate lines up with... NOTHING!!! The side that was making the most noise took me HOURS of pounding & levering to remove the drum!!! If I had a clue to how bad it was inside, I may have been a little rougher with it. A new one was in order, and the wheel cylinder was leaking, too, so it started getting a bit more expensive. Finally finished the passenger side, and went to the other side. It went quicker, but the wheel cylinder was shot on that side, too. Took way longer and cost more than I'd wanted, but still a lot less than if I'd taken it to a shop.

Insult to injury, the hoses to the cylinders have a brass sealing washer. The one on the driver's side... didn't seal anymore. A week later I was out there again replacing that. It's all better now, but even though I've thoroughly bled the lines, there still feels like there's more pedal travel to it than on the coupe.

The other major thing was seen to just last weekend, for my wife's birthday. One of the initial questions I'd asked when I first contacted the previous owner was if the windows were tinted. They said no, but soon after getting the family truckster home I realized there indeed was some tint to the back half windows. The passenger rear door window had some interesting streaking on it, as though some solvent had gotten on the weather seal & melted the surface all along the area it rolls up and down. Also, in the bottom corner it was peeled away in a tiny little area. Just the TINIEST hint of color to the windows, and the film was so far to the edge of the windows I thought it was actually in the glass. The tint shop we took it to ended up not being able get it all off in the one day they'd thought they could, but they agreed to drive over for my wife on Monday once it was done, so that worked out. Had them do limo tint on the side windows and for a visor strip, and a shade lighter on the back hatch for easier night time viewing. Pretty good picture of my wife through the back window there!!! Fortunately my younger went with her to pick it up, because he noticed they hadn't done the visor tint. They took another 15 minutes to get that together. I think they should have knocked the price of it off and done it anyway. The pictures don't show it too well, I don't think, but I'm pleased with the results. Compare the side view with the Paint Shop job I did in the original post!!!

What else??? Things I like about the newer one:

The key doesn't have to be turned to run to roll the windows. The SC2 has that, and if you don't have your seat belt on, it does the ding ding. Irritating.

The daytime running lights don't come on until you put it in gear. The SC2 lights them when you release the parking brake.

The tint shop managed to knock off this little access panel below the hatch on the inside. It has three along the edge. Behind the panel is a nice thick steel tie down hook!!! Nice touch, my dad's Durango didn't even have that, he had to add in some eye bolts.

My wife drives her mostly around town, but even so she seems to get not as good mileage as the SC2.

Things yet to do:

I need to replace the lock switch on the driver's door. Interestingly, that was the first thing I had to replace on the SC2!!!

Duplicate the exhaust system I made for the SC2.

The actual throttle body goes straight down on the SW2, as opposed to horizontal on the SC2. I'll have to look, but I think I might be able to get the cowl scoop that Subaru has on their cars. I'll bet doing a straight shot instead of the twisty duct from the air cleaner back would do her a world of good. I've been thinking forever that I should shorten up that duct on the SC2 and flip the air cleaner box over, modifying it into a scoop.

The Broken Screen

When the main event of this post occurred, my youngest exclaimed, "I know you're going to use this on your blog!!!" With that kind of set up, guess I have to!!!

Pictured above is something I rigged up a while back. On my last recliner, the cat always loved to lay about on the foot rest portion. (As i searched for the post on the recliner, I realize I've not made mention of it's demise. It was an excellent chair, but unfortunately somehow the mechanism for the footrest broke, so it was permanently extended, making the sitting down and rising up difficult... but providing a ready resting spot for the feline!!!) Around my birthday of last year it was replaced by a smaller recliner, which fits the room nicely, but the footrest hits me mid-thigh, and it's vinyl skinned. But, it's in good shape and the recliner portion works well.

So, as the old one was on it's way out, I detached the footrest portion. Knowing that kitty was already accustomed to it, and knowing that one of his favorite places in the house is looking out of the window over the washer and dryer in the laundry room, I devised something I knew he'd like. I already had a couple of shelf brackets, but to span the distance I had to add a piece of wood under the footrest. All I had around was a 2x2, which I screwed to the bottom. Naturally, I had to mount the whole rig far enough out to clear the old school louver windows. He took to it right off!!! The first hiccup happened a couple days later. The shelf brackets are of stamped steel, and the 2x2 is on the very end. In other words, not near strong enough to support the mighty girth of wonder cat. It twisted around and probably dumped him off, or at least made him do the awkward struggle to maintain composure as it rotated around. I added in a couple aluminum brackets running up higher on the window frame, and it was back in service. As the weather warmed up, I finally got the chance to open up the window, affording him not only the view, but also the multitude of smells his kind so enjoys!!!

A couple weeks back, my wife, being the first one up, explains, "The screen is out!!!" There's another phrase that has taken on a whole new connotation!!! First thing I was wondering was if it was a computer screen, a TV screen or a phone screen!!! Of course, when I found out, I wasn't as concerned as I'd started. A little miffed that I was going to have to replace a screen, but that was about it. I mean, there wasn't any way our giant cat could get out between those little four inch slats... was there??? I did my morning routine, but I did notice that he wasn't around... so I told my wife to try and locate him. He eventually answered back... from directly below the window!!! Now his tuxedo markings are that of the Great Houdini!!! Oh, and the window is now closed.

Next up is some of the most intricate whiteboard art yet, the older's rendition of the Mobius Double Reacharound (Virus??? will putting virus references on my blog make it a restricted site???), another reference to Homestuck!!!

Found the original image. I know I had issue with it before, but now it looks like blogger posts GIFs without issue!!!

And finally, a little cup art. The only part I did was the 512. Below it is one of the new line stickers from work, which one of the girls did my nickname on. Now if you wondered, you have a clue to my real identity!!! Last week I'd worn my Karkat shirt, and ended up having to explain it several times. Did an image search for Karkat for one of the girls, and she says, "Awww, he's CUTE!!!" Haha!!! I was working with her again the next day, and she added in his shirt logo. I noticed shortly thereafter that it was actually a mirrored image. I theorized that it was because she's left-handed!!!