Wildfire could burn down historic California observatory

Mt. Wilson, JPL Threatened by Fire | Universe Today: "Wildfires burning in southern California are threatening the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Overnight, the fire size more than doubled, and as of this writing over 85,000 acres have burned. The situation looks better this morning for JPL, but Mt. Wilson, which also is home to several communication towers, is still in danger. Firefighters have vowed to do everything they can to save it. The fires have been fueled by hot, dry weather, but one resident who had to evacuate his home shared with me that the fire has spread with minimal winds, and the situation would be even worse with windy conditions."

Comment -- Mt. Wilson is where Edwin Hubble made the observations that led to the discovery that the Universe is expanding. (Now, of course, we know that not only is the Universe expanding -- the expansion is accelerating!)

You can learn more about the fire's threat to Mt. Wilson by following Peter Plavchan's Facebook page. Peter works for JPL and was in Rory and Vanessa's wedding two years ago.

Mt. Stromlo Observatory in Australia burned down in a forest fire in 2002.

Amazing story about guy who caught two home runs in one game

Man Catches Two Homeruns in One Game at Yankee Stadium - Associated Content: "35 year old Alexander Martinez of Hartford Connecticut, however, managed to beat the long odds and catch two home run balls in one game. He accomplished this feat on August 5th, 2007 at Yankee Stadium"

Comment -- the article says the odds of this happening are 1 in 743 million.

I'm surprised that this happened in 2007 and I haven't heard about it until now.

Giant mech monsters invade downtown Lansing, eat parking ramp. Yum!

Nothing like a tasty snack of concrete and rebar.

I have an entertaining view of the process from my office window. At the rate they are nibbling away, it's going to take them a month to finish.

This was the ramp I parked in for 13 years.

Homrich, the company doing the demolition, is a member of SBAM.

Photos from Vanessa's choir concert

Here's the Stanford Church (on campus) where she performed.

Computer bugs

Green Beetle RealBug Mouse -: "This acrylic USB computer mouse features a green beetle embedded in the clear plastic. The actual specimens add an element of interest and excitement to your daily computer use, while adding some personality to your desk or office."

Comment -- Bleh! Who'd want to put their hand on this? You can also get a spider (double bleh) and a starfish.

Looking up in the world

ZooBorns: Double Giraffe Calves for the Binder Park Zoo: "For 13 years the Binder Park Zoo has been hoping for a baby giraffe. But within 48 hours between August 11th-12th, they welcomed two! The first baby was 6' tall and the second 5' 6', but what's six inches when you're almost two yards tall at birth? Enjoy these tall pictures of these tall 'little' boys!"

Comment -- Got to admit that this is a cute little fella'.

Tasty pork products

One of the highlights of our trip last week to visit Vanessa and Rory in San Francisco was a visit to a barbecue restaurant in Oakland. It was much more authentic than a place like Smokey Bones -- they smoked their own ribs on site!

For the three of us, we ordered a single slab of ribs, which came to the table as a huge pile of meat drenched in sweet barbecue sauce. As you can see from the photo, I was speechless in delight at this pulchritudinous pile of pork.

My quote in Crain's Detroit Business

Southeast Michigan jobless rates hit nearly double last year's levels - Detroit News and Information - Crain's Detroit Business: "In the small-business community, many businesses are “in survival mode,” said Mike Rogers, vice president of communications at the Small Business Association of Michigan.

He said access to capital needs to improve for those businesses that want to borrow money to help operations or expand, but many businesses “are hanging on by the skin of their teeth” and there's no major employment-picture improvement in sight."

Comment -- I hate to be negative with the media, but facts are facts and small business owners out there are really struggling. Not that there aren't a few who are doing okay, even thriving. Still, most of our members are trying to hang in there, at best. Yuk!

Prius progress

Sorry I've been tardy about blogging. It's been a busy week (again.)

Just wanted to update all of you that the Prius has been terrific. It's great to drive and we've been getting 50+ mpg on the highway. On my 9 mile drive to work yesterday I got 63 mpg.

It seems to have plenty of get-up-and-go. Of course, I've been driving the Trooper for a long time so any get-up-and-go is an upgrade.

I've also really enjoyed the JBL stereo system. It gives me a chance to listen to my collection of death metal CDs. Just kidding.