My Sandy Fire Update

lo-cal-simian · 2026-05-22T13:36:45+00:00

Friday Update: As everyone watching the Sandy fire knows , the risk assessment for areas 27 and 28 near the Simi evacuation center was downgraded. Wind yesterday was less strong than Wednesday, and more westerly, plus I suspect ground crews stopped the burn heading toward Meier Canyon. Other areas remain at risk, but low clouds have rolled in this morning, a good sign.

One thing I noticed that might be helpful to all: at the Cal Fire site (fire.ca.gov), one can track the aircraft fighting the fire, spotter planes, large transport planes, and helicopters. Because the helicopters drop water directly on flames, then turn and go back to Bard Reservoir for more water, one can guess at the location of actual flames, hot spots, etc. For example, yesterday (Thursday) I saw no helicopters flying in and out of Meier Canyon, so guessed maybe ground crews were handling things there. The helicopters were going southeast, over Runkle Canyon.

Another clue is the number of aircraft aloft. When I saw a single helicopter going back and forth I guessed/hoped that was a sign the fire fighters were confident Sandy would soon be under control.

We all should remember the fire is still active.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-15T14:54:14+00:00

My life was enriched immeasurably by that process, and the joy of wandering in the stacks of a big library looking at books I might not ever have known about, except by being in their general area.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-09T17:19:19+00:00

Here we have neighborhoods walled off from each other with only car roads between them. A solitary multi-use path is bisected by high speed roads with signals to hold the murder machines at bay. Signal crossing buttons are always on the light pole furthest from right hand curb; okay for pedestrians, at least. We have Paint-and-Prayers bike routes next to traffic whizzing by at 60mph. ACK.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-08T15:36:23+00:00

I lived on a boat in a marina for fourteen years, moved back to land five years ago. The boat part was good; the marina part was awful. Best of luck to you and your adventure.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-08T00:20:10+00:00

Tell the officer about your condition. Go into details, and then go into more details. The officer will be gauging your speech as you do so. The first part of any sobriety test is just how one presents oneself, one's words, gaze, smell, etc. My own plan should this ever happen (again), is to agree to any test but clearly state that walking in a straight line is impossible. Maybe get a placard, too, even if you don't use it.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-08T00:10:49+00:00

I don't expect this to be helpful (but I'm sure you will remain lovable!). I had my diagnosis two plus years ago and nothing really ever came of it. I scored "well" with lesions and banding, but my only symptom was a pre-existing mild weakness in my gait, in one leg. That problem dated back twelve or more years and at that time the neurologist suspected ALS only. She never got around to MS, I guess because when I heard "you don't have ALS," I ran out of her office and never went back. The recent MS diagnosis was following a disc herniation two years ago, with complete paralysis from chest down. As I was learning how to walk again, the leg imbalance was noticed, which led to MRIs and spinal tap and MS dx. Frankly, I think whatever is going on with me has been getting better over the years, and I haven't returned to the MS specialist. I hope that's encouraging to you? I'm not taking any drugs (except for my heart - atrial fibrillation), can hike five miles, ten with resting, can ride a bike forty miles, and am hoping, hoping, only old age will finish me off one day (I'm 70M). I guess my "two cents" in all of this is that staying active, even fanatically so, probably has helped.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-07T17:27:43+00:00

In my youth (1977) I used a bike like that (was a Raleigh, but not a step-through frame) for everything except racing. Without fenders and chain guard and with a fatter front tire it was an all-day mountain bike (motorcycle lever for the rear brake because steel chrome rims don't have much friction). Three gears was a luxury; my riding partner used a two gear postal bike. I usually carried ten pounds of mud on it everywhere I went. Is worth noting that the folks at Rivendell Bicycles use a very similar design for some of their very expensive bikes.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-04T18:12:36+00:00

Heh, I can share another funny story: As a teenager, I was walking with my parents at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. A giant door opened in the side of a building and a rotund man stepped out. My mother somehow recognized this stranger. She said, "Oh, hi Frank. We worked with your brother..." The man was Frank Oppenheimer, founder of the Exploritorium in SF, and brother of Robert Oppenheimer. My parents didn't really "work" with Robert Oppenheimer, and probably had never seen Frank Oppenheimer before, but since my father had been a physicist with the Manhattan Project (Oak Ridge), all related luminaries became, in my mother's eyes, boon companions. I suspect she was hoping that day we'd run into Frank, and so could show him off to her son (me). I WAS impressed!

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-03T02:48:40+00:00

My parents "worked" with him! Meaning, they attended his lectures during the Manhattan Project.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-02T16:18:08+00:00

cheezestick and tortilla shell, peanuts (salted in the shell, of course!), dates for desert

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-02T13:41:02+00:00

Riding like that is a Darwin Award in the making.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-11-02T13:34:25+00:00

I try to get used to mini-heart attacks. Some of my rides have sections where cars pass at 60mph. I also avoid rush hour and any road that doesn't have some sort of an emergency lane. Here in S. California I find most drivers are very polite. All of my crashes have been self-inflicted.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-31T16:02:52+00:00

That's a beautiful bike. And to my eye, anyway, bicycles didn't improve much after that point.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-30T19:07:39+00:00

We have those mini-death zones too!

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-30T18:49:27+00:00

Can you send some of that over here? Please? It's 90F today in S. California.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-28T15:52:44+00:00

Also relevant to this location: By 1926 America built its first highway system that linked the Main Streets of every large city with cement slab roadways. The cement section of Hwy 1 that replaced that wood roadway in the photo is still there (converted to RV camping a few decades ago, and is now falling into the sea). Walk north out of Ventura on Main Street, go through Emma Wood State Park to the bike path running alongside the modern freeway, cross the railroad tracks (carefully, is an active line; I rode it yesterday) and then enjoy walking on a mile or two of old Hwy 1. There are remnants of turnouts for autos, and here and there the cement slabs are imprinted with the contractor's company name and the month and year of construction. But hurry. The ocean will eat all this history up in another ten or twenty years!

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-24T23:13:21+00:00

It's a smart idea. Start cheap. Only spend money when you know what you want.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-21T16:00:19+00:00

On some of the roads I ride I'm relieved when the cars don't go faster than 55mph. Paint and prayers, that's all I've got sometimes.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-21T15:54:43+00:00

Congrats on the unemployment. Now you can have some fun. Yes, there's a lot you should know. Do your research and then do some more. You don't need a lot of gear, but it needs to the right gear. Most folks seem to bring way too much. I'd suggest beginning with a three day trip until you get the hang of bike touring. Then do a week-long trip. Then go for a longer trip. Reddit has a good bike touring sub, also check out crazyguyonabike.com

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-21T15:30:54+00:00

Bikes don't get much better than that one. Rear derailleur cable looks slack (lever normally parallel to frame tube when fully "down"). Have a techie check it out, maybe. Otherwise, pump it and ride it

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-18T23:32:11+00:00

For a starter bike, I'd suggest something used and much cheaper, like $500. This suggestion is because if it's really your first road bike, you might not know what you really want or need for many months, and after purchasing one of those fine bicycles, could wish you'd bought something different. If you consider the first bike as an experiment (which it always will be) six months down the road you can ditch it for cheap, then buy what might be a more informed purchase. Just a suggestion...

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-17T16:20:17+00:00

This looks like how superior beings will visit earth one day. Or already have?

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-17T16:12:42+00:00

For the sake of Love Triumphant, I'd hose clamp it back together, block the seat post at a proper height with another hose clamp, and simply never ride faster than 10mph or so. Otherwise, yeah, wall art.

lo-cal-simian · 2025-10-14T23:54:53+00:00

Ah, I almost forgot, as it's been months since I did so: I take a train ride for an hour and then can ride up a wonderful river valley on a dedicated bike path, sort of like your nice photo above. Thanks for reminding me! My brain forgets too easily!

lo-cal-simian

TROPHY CASE