Camping in the rain, and mushrooms on the path

Last night it rained considerably and I listened at various times throughout the night as the rain came pouring down in torrents.   I woke up on two or three occasions wondering if my tent was going to get flooded.  Water puddles formed on the floor of the tent.

I heard drips coming down in various places.


However, I miraculously weathered the whole night without getting the slightest bit wet, and the hard rain coming down off and on throughout the night actually lulled me into a deep and restful sleep.

Late morning the sun came out and I opened up the tent as much as I could to let it dry.  

In California near San Jose, it rains so rarely.  It is officially desert area--dry, and sunny 254 days of the year.  In Iowa where I grew up, it could rain for the better part of a week come April and May.  And we had more than one word for it:  it's sprinkling, its misting, it's drizzling, it's spitting, it's hailing, it's pouring, it's raining cats and dogs.  Sometimes we'd get a steady downpour that lasted all day long.  Other times we'd get scattered and occasional showers--scattered across the state, with brief bouts of rain throughout the day.

So last night with the intermittent downpours and drizzles, and lulls, it felt like Iowa in California.  And I found out the rain made the walking path at the campground wet and the mushrooms on the log that I saw last week, double in number.  As I learned at a mushroom festival I attended once in Santa Cruz, there are hundreds of variety of fungi, and their shapes can be beautiful, funny, and entertaining.

Sobe Bottle has slight edge in Sprouting Contest While Camping

The high today will be 72 F and it will get down to 54 F tonight.  I wake up in the cool morning air cozily warm in my new sleeping bag.

For breakfast this morning I had half a persimmon and granola with water on it. Whoever invented granola should get a special award.  It's not a very sexy food, no Epicurean's delight, but when you are camping and trying to get as much nutrition from the lightest most convenient food, few things compare.  I can go the whole morning without getting hungry on half a cup!

This is Day 4 of my lentil sprouts and they are now perfectly edible and delicious.  It's like eating sunshine.  My body adores them.  I was wondering how they would fare in the various containers I was sprouting them in.  My preference is to use glass, but they were stored raw in the only glass jar that I had.  What did I have?  I had a MacDonalds $1 drink cup, and Dasani water bottle (made from 30% plant material according to the label), and a SOBE Lifewater bottle (Number 1 PETE plastic rating).  Would the sprouts do better or worse in any of these PLASTIC containers?  Well, here's the results...

The answer is no.  The sprouts in all of the various containers seemed to do fine.  It was harder to do the daily rinse in the MacDonald's container because I had discarded the lid.  Also, since I didn't have the lid, I could not shake and swirl as easily to rinse the legumes.  The Dasani water bottle was harder to drain during the rinse, but I eventually learned that one finger was enough to drain without letting individual legumes from escaping.  The Sobe bottle required two fingers to block escaping lentils while draining.  

Consequently, the Sobe bottle is sort of nice because, once sprouted, I could throw the lid back on and carry them around for a snack during the day.  It is very convenient to sprout lentils in a plastic bottle because then you can just cap the container and store them without any transferring.  The width of the Sobe bottle mouth was perfect for convenient draining and pouring sprouts out later when snacking.

The nice thing about sprouting is that it is a good way to have healthy food without cooking.  It does require a container and clean water, and time--about 4 days.  The sprouts can be used on salads, in sandwiches, or for snacking.

Why I Camp

I pulled into the campground late last Friday night.  It was after dark and I was exhausted after the 3rd 30 mile trek of the day.  I 'm not crazy about arriving after dark because setting up the tent takes twice as long.

My favorite campsite by the creek was taken so I went to another one that I like almost as well--far away from the creek beside a grove of trees.   

It took maybe half an hour to get the tent set up using a couple of flashlights.  I worked as quickly as I could thinking mostly of getting it done with and crawling into bed afterward.  It was only when the tent was set up and I looked around in the darkness of the  campground that I realized what a lovely night it was, warm and quiet with the stars shining overhead.  I was exhausted and had planned to go to bed.  Instead, I dragged the lawn chair out and completely reclined it so I could lay on my back and gaze at the stars overhead.  It felt like heaven. Two planes flew over.   I continued to stare up into the darkness until I drifted off to sleep, thinking that everything was perfect.  

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In the stillness of the stars, I find myself.

In the stillness of the tent, I find myself.

In the warmth of my sleeping bag in the cold night air, I find myself.
In the silence of the trees, i find myself.

DISCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF SOLAR ENERGY

Keahole Solar Power installation in Hawaii.  It is the first commercial solar thermal power plant to be built using solar collectors manufactured by Sopogy. The plant contains over 1,000 parabolic trough solar collectors. The power plant uses the sun's heat to create steam.
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In library school, we were repeatedly warned and discouraged from using Wikipedia, and yet I find myself routed there by the internet search engines.  I no longer eschew Wikipedia, and even find myself going there sometimes to receive a quick and easy introduction to a topic.  I think if I keep in mind that the articles may not be comprehensive and the reputation and qualifications of the authors are unknown,  I'm OK.

In his book, Critical Path, Buckminster Fuller discusses the disastrous results of pursuing atomic and petroleum based energy resources and states that the use of solar energy is the only thing that will allow us humans to continue our existence on earth.  This inspired me to learn a little more about solar power.  I had no idea that numerous solar energy plants already existed on the face of this earth nor did I have any idea of how beautiful they are.  Thanks to Wikipedia,  I found a list of power plants along with some pics (see Wikipedia, Solar Power).

Another thing, while reading the Wikipedia article, I glommed on to just three terms I thought I should understand.  They were: solar power, PV, and CSP.   1) Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics  (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). 2) Concentrated solar power systems (CSP) use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. 3) Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.  

The next three photographs are from a solar power plant in Spain.

Solnova Power Plant in Sanlucar la Mayor, Spain.  This photograph shows the first three units of Solnova:  I (right) III (left, front) and IV (left rear). With the commissioning of the third 50 MW unit, the Solnova-IV in August 2010, the power station currently ranks as the largest CSP power station in the world. The two towers in the background are the PS10 and PS20 solar power stations. 

                         Solar Towers from left: PS10, PS20.

The Planta Solar 10 (PS10) concentrates sunlight from a field of heliostats onto a central tower. It is the world's first commercial concentrating Solar power tower operating near Seville, in Andalucia, Spain. The 11 megawatt (MW) solar power tower produces electricity with 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats. It took four years to build and so far cost €35 million (US$46 million). PS10 produces about 23,400 megawatt-hours (MW·h) per year, for which it receives €271 (US$360) per MW·h under its power purchase agreement; equating to a revenue of €6.3 million per year. 

<sup>The Wikipedia article provides two lists, a list of photovoltaic (PV) solar plants, a list of  concentrated solar power (CSP) plants,  and a list of solar thermal power plants. 

In addition to being quite beautiful, I think there are other very compelling reasons to use solar energy.  First, this energy source puts less stress on our fragile environment.  I am convinced that the toxins we are dumping into the air are creating damaging climate changes and health issues among humans.  

Second, coal and petroleum based energy resources are expensive to mine and will eventually run out, while sunlight is clean, free, and available in vast amounts.  

Finally, with improved technology, solar plants are becoming economically feasible.  After the initial cost of building the plant, costs are very low.  I have read that with such low overhead, solar plants can now pay for themselves in just about ten years. 

I posted some of these photographs on Facebook this weekend.  I realize that Facebook is a SOCIAL network and is intended for people to share the pics of their friends. Well, I consider the earth a friend, I really do.  So I just created a facebook album called: This is Facebook, and this is the Face of the Earth I dream about someday.</sup>

Bucky at the MOMA (San Francisco, CA)

 The Buckminster Fuller exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art astounded me.  It introduced me to a man whom I had previously known barely by his iconic name.  In fact it's probably the unusual name that stuck with me more than what I knew about the man.  The exhibit left a lasting impression on me that inspired me to go back to Rich's bookshelf and try again to read, Critical Path, by Fuller published in 1981 by St. Martin's Press.  It's a treatise or overview of the evolutionary course of mankind since the beginning of time--not light reading.

A few months ago, after a brief attempt to read this hefty treatise, I gave up.   His lengthy and bizarre sentence structure tested my concentration, intellect, and reading comprehension to the max.  I After about just a few pages, I couldn't take it anymore.

Inspired by what I learned further about the man at the SM MOMA exhibit, I have succeeded in reading about two-thirds of the book now.  Reading Fuller is like reading a cross between George Eliot and L Ron Hubbard if you can imagine that.   I could comment further on the bizarre length of his sentence and the novel word usage, but I'd rather spend time remarking on the fantastic and profound ideas he presents.

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One of my few poems

 The New Earth

I want to become  a crystalline being
Sail around this planet of blue and green
Have all of my sides be shiny and clean,
Free of my body, a mere sparkling gleam.

My body's evolving, just facets I'll have
A dodecahedron of intelligence and love.
I'll float through the universe just pure consciousness
Never for why and never because.

- M Mosell

APPLE San Francisco

Dear Rich,

While you were in there reviewing for your BAR EXAM, I roamed the Market and Mission area of San Francisco on Sunday. What should I happen upon but The Apple Store, San Francisco! At the front door, I told the greeter I had a question about a problem I was having with I-Tunes. He directed me to the "Genius Bar" at the top of the steps on the second floor. I headed up that way.



But before I made it to the GENIUS BAR--a long service counter with blue-shirted Apple staff on one side and customers with appointments on the other side--my body gravitated as if by laser beam to the amphitheater straight ahead at the end of the room. A young unruly-looking kid (like the pictures I've seen of Steve Jobs at 17) was giving a lecture about the MacIntosh "desktop." I hovered near the back row a minute and then slid into an empty seat.


Well, it turns out that this is only one of two Apple stores in the United States that has an amphitheater that gives ongoing lectures about Mac and I-phone, I-pad, I-pod features continually... seven days a week, all day, drop-in style. I sat in on the rest of the first lecture, went to the Genius Bar afterward, and then drifted back for another lecture on "the newest I-phone features."

Though I don't have an I-phone, I know someone who does! This summary is for you, guy!

1- TEXTING - When your text message is BLUE it means your receiving it free because it's from another I-phone/I-pad user. If most of your friends and colleagues own I-phones, you can save about $7 by switching from the Unlimited Text charge.

2. CALENDARS - If the dot next to your appointments is blue, you have probably never synched you phone to your desktop. Get with it! You have the option of setting up separate calenders for work and home and gym classes...whatever.

WEEKLY CALENDAR - You can see the WEEK VIEW of your calendar by turning your I-phone on its side. It scrolls across over a 7 day period.

If you add ATTENDEES to your appointment meetings, and change the time, the I-phone will automatically send the change to their phones.

CAMERA - You can sort and file your pics into "albums." You can also SHARE them by pressing the arrow in the upper right corner. You can ROTATE, ENHANCE COLOR, FIX RED EYE, and CROP your pictures using the 4 icons on the bottom of the screen.

ZOOM CONTROL - They switched zoom control from a tap to a two finger pinch.

HDR - It means Hyperdynamic Range (barf). With it on, you HDR on it you ge two pictures with different lighting so you can choose the better of the two. Otherwise, you'll get duplicates of everything. He recommended only using it on non-moving subjects because it takes 3 images in succession. (I may have that wrong, otherwise why wouldn't you get three of everything...)

MAPS- You can do category searches like with your Garmin GPS, e.g.: Touch Maps. Touch Search. Touch again to get your keyboard. Type in PIZZA. Maps will drop little pins on the map showing the nearby pizza places. Just Touch the pin or press the Directions button to go there. Oh so cool!

LOCAL WEATHER - You can save weather screens for different locals but you can also turn on LOCAL WEATHER which shows the temp and forecast of wherever you are.

REMINDERS - The alarm for the reminders can be set to go off at a certain time or at a certain location, when you arrive or leave the location. E.g. "Remind me to water the plants when I get home." The location has to be an entry in your address book.

Well, that's what I did part of the day on Sunday. Fisherman's Wharf? Coit Tower? The Comic Book Museum? No... Apple San Francisco!

Later dude!

Mo

Mile High Denver

Last Friday I arrived back in California after going out to Iowa for the holidays. Mom and Curt are doing well. I spent the three weeks pretty much hanging out with them--watching TV, baking bread, talking. The number of bowl games has reached an all time ridiculous high. There were 35 college bowl games this year. Due to Curt and Mom's interest in the sport, I watched ALOT of football.

I also listened to a lot of political campaign ads since the caucuses were due to take place January 3. The Des Moines Register published a handy summary of all the Republican presidential candidates giving their age, education, background, and stand on several important issues. The paper itself has stated that it supports Mitt Romney.

While in Iowa, I printed off part of Stephen G. Bloom's article, "Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life" for Curt and mom to read if they wanted to. It was brought to my attention right before I left for Iowa. I'm probably one of two or three people in all of Iowa that actually liked the article in the Atlantic. Based on the online comments, most Iowans seemed to feel Bloom was excessively harsh and even inaccurate in his description of the state and its residents.
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On the trip back to California, I visited the most interesting museum during my layover in Denver. It was called the Byers-Evans House Museum. The house was so named because it was owned by William N. Byers, the publisher of Denver's first newspaper, and then by William G. Evans, the oldest son of Colorado's 2nd territorial governor John Evans.

I really enjoyed the whirlwind tour the volunteer gave me. This house was built in 1883. It was two stories tall and quite expansive. I had explained to the young woman who opened up the museum house that my bus was leaving in an hour and I wouldn't be able attend the scheduled tour. She conferred with the volunteer who arrived about fifteen minutes later and they decided they would give me my own private tour and cover as much as they could in the time allowed. It was fantastic. The slight, middle-aged woman went into third gear and zipped through every room of that house speaking rapidly but quite coherently.



I think what drew me to the house/museum was the fact that a newspaperman, William N. Byers, owned it. Not just an ordinary newspaperman but a prominent newspaper publisher who had such a significant effect on the area. He drew people to the area by publishing stories about it. Interestingly, I found out later from an Internet search that William Byers lived in Iowa for a few years and in fact married the granddaughter of Governor Robert Lucas, Iowa's first territorial governor. After living in Iowa for about five years, he moved to California, then returned to live in territorial Nebraska and worked as a land surveyor. After that, he moved to Colorado.

Similarly, before finding his way out to Denver, the second owner, Mr. William G. Evans, also had connections to the Midwest. His father, John Evans, was one of the original founders of Northwestern University located in Evanston, Illinois. The city of Evanston was named after his dad. The son, however, was most famous for being instrumental in helping to establish a transportation tunnel, the Moffatt Tunnel, to facilitate train travel between Denver and Salt Lake City.

The stimulating tour in the cozy Byers-Evans House Museum was just what I needed after being on the bus for twelve hours. I returned to the Greyhound station invigorated.