Words of Wisdom 2

Ask not what a Higher Power's will is for you first, but, what a Higher Power's will is NOT for you first.

Any means to an end is self robbery.

The only absolute freedom is under the Law: freedom to change.

If you truly love what you do in that moment, it's the best, most fulfilling, and joyous moment for you. It's imperative to find what we DON'T love to do and, in so, what we love to do. One man's junk is another man's treasure.

Cooks Canyon

This smaller canyon is one of a dozen or so that feed into the Crescenta alluvial plain. They are often dotted with alder, maple, bay, sycamore, pacific live oak, big cone spruce and a variety of small oaks. Ferns may be seen dotting the canyon bottom.

Mt. Lukens 2/18/09

Some pics of the recent snow. February the rainiest month thus far to 7 inches of rain. Snow level down to about 3600 feet.

Misc storm photos (larger size)

Here's the sequence of hurricane Andrew. This was a category 5 hurricane...meaning winds elevate to 175 MPH at times and rip off rooves of buildings and blow ships onto the land. A good pix of a Kansas tornado...maybe an F4 with winds above 200 MPH in cyclical fashion. These will cause a lot of damage in their pathway. Tornadoes may touch down for 10 minutes or move for 200 miles (3-4 hours) before they retract back into the anvil cloud. In the large Ohio tornado of 1974, supposedly 60 tornadoes touched down in a 24 hour period...and they were in 3 different states. Included is a dust storm. These often occur in desert areas and can wipe a car's paint job clean off. Here's the anvil cloud...super cells may be 60000 feet above the Earth's surface...with temperatures near the top 100 degrees below 0 farenheit.

Ball Lightning and large hail

Some times in a thunderstorm, ball lightning can strike out. Weirdly, it strikes in a horizontal fashion. Might be 2 feet in diameter to 10 feet. And maybe 5 blocks (2800 feet) to 100 feet long.

Tornadoes and hailstones

Some pix. The hail can be from .25 inch to the size of a softball.

Joke

A customer comes to the doctor to buy a new brain. 4 types are available. The post doctor brain is worth $200. The ex scientist brain is worth $250. The ex attorney's brain is worth $150. And the alcoholic brain is worth $10000. The customer ask the doc, "Why is the alcoholic brain worth so much?" He replies, "Because the alcoholic brain has never been used!"

More thunderstorms

These double tornadoes in upper Indiana may have be "transparent." That is, they glow at night.

Thunderstorms

Various pix of these. They most often form in tropical regions of the planet. In the U.S. the most seem to hit Florida and up north in the South. In the desert southwest, they often occur in August and cause the "monsoon" which is quick flash flooding. They can also rotate and cause tornadoes. Sometimes they drop large hail stones. A supercell may emerge 60000 feet above the Earth's surface.

Waterspouts

These often occur off the coast and form like tornadoes. Spurs start hanging down; some grow and touch down thousands of feet below. The wind swirls around in circular motion. They can occur with coming rainstorms or thunderstorms with unstable air.

Pholcus Phalangioides

This is the spider that leaves cobwebs in the house after months. It also eats a variety of bugs that enter the house. They like to make a web near the shower but can also be found behind furniture at lower levels. It's small to .3 inch but very long legs. With a cobweb. It's a weak silk but very sticky. Another word for this spider is "daddy long legs spider." They are also found in temperature climates under fences, near logs, in house eaves and love enclosed sheds and dark areas.

Filistatid

This spider one finds usually under logs or in rock crevices. About .5 inch long yours truly has seen them in black, black blue or tan color. Have one in captivity and it likes to start moving at dusk and adding on to its tangly and sticky web. It flings its back leg in a quick flicking motion to add to the draglines of the web. Supposedly they may live to 5 years. Mine has lasted 5 months thus far. Here are a couple of pix.

Horse Fly and eye close up

These bugs have maybe a 1000 eyes clustered into one. The horsefly has a blood love and will go after people and livestock searching for the next meal.