short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2005-08-19
other voices
Gerard Van der Leun comes at us with an apocalypic vision, this segment the atomic destruction of San Diego |
San Diego, California. August 6th, 11:36AM
THE TECATE TRUCK was just like all the other Tecate Beer trucks that went back and forth daily at the border crossing, except that it was not owned by Tecate. The driver of that truck spoke fluent Spanish and the truck was always loaded with Tecate. In time the US border guards got used to it. The difference was that this truck had, at its center, a narrow, hollow space shielded with thin sheets of lead so that no ambient radiation would escape.
It had cost The Base over $150,000 to convert the truck at a garage in Ensenada a year before. That was little enough when it came to securing the device which had cost the same group more than $10 million in Russia in 1997. In any event, the truck did its job and passed without incident over the border and into the United States at Rancho Cucamunga on August 6th. Dates were important to The Base, and this date was especially significant. After all, what could be more significant than the day on which Hiroshima was destroyed?
After clearing the border the Tecate Truck followed Highway 94 north to Highway 8 at La Mesa, California, and then drove west to Highway 5. It pulled off the road at a rest stop where it picked up a technician in a Tecate uniform who was carrying a case with the necessary electronics and a couple of weapons. After that, the two men followed 5 to the coast and swung down into San Diego. It got off the freeway in downtown and quickly made its way to the intersection of North Harbor Drive and West Broadway. It's total travel time from the border to downtown San Diego was just over an hour. It was running close to schedule. It was about 11:30 in the morning. | read the rest of the story... |
Gerard Van der Leun comes at us with an apocalypic vision, this segment the atomic destruction of San Diego | San Diego, California. August 6th, 11:36AM
THE TECATE TRUCK was just like all the other Tecate Beer trucks that went back and forth daily at the border crossing, except that it was not owned by Tecate. The driver of that truck spoke fluent Spanish and the truck was always loaded with Tecate. In time the US border guards got used to it. The difference was that this truck had, at its center, a narrow, hollow space shielded with thin sheets of lead so that no ambient radiation would escape.
It had cost The Base over $150,000 to convert the truck at a garage in Ensenada a year before. That was little enough when it came to securing the device which had cost the same group more than $10 million in Russia in 1997. In any event, the truck did its job and passed without incident over the border and into the United States at Rancho Cucamunga on August 6th. Dates were important to The Base, and this date was especially significant. After all, what could be more significant than the day on which Hiroshima was destroyed?
After clearing the border the Tecate Truck followed Highway 94 north to Highway 8 at La Mesa, California, and then drove west to Highway 5. It pulled off the road at a rest stop where it picked up a technician in a Tecate uniform who was carrying a case with the necessary electronics and a couple of weapons. After that, the two men followed 5 to the coast and swung down into San Diego. It got off the freeway in downtown and quickly made its way to the intersection of North Harbor Drive and West Broadway. It's total travel time from the border to downtown San Diego was just over an hour. It was running close to schedule. It was about 11:30 in the morning. | read the rest of the story... |
THANKS TO: James Wolcott for spotting this |
¶ 00:20 1 comments
2005-08-16
indulgences
Bored at the job site? | Don't mind your coworkers wondeirng what that noise is coming from your cubicle? | Go ahead, enjoy yourself | Snap some Bubblewrap | A public dis-service brought to you by the folks at Non-Stop Fun
¶ 09:19 0 comments
Bored at the job site? | Don't mind your coworkers wondeirng what that noise is coming from your cubicle? | Go ahead, enjoy yourself | Snap some Bubblewrap | A public dis-service brought to you by the folks at Non-Stop Fun
¶ 09:19 0 comments
2005-08-15
blips + updates
A great deal has happened since last entering in the blog. Obviously, I suppose some droll wit would opine. MassPIRG has agreed to use one of my pictures of Mt. Greylock in their annual report.
I got commissioned to do a 4'x5' oil painting "with canoes and dark and brooding" and not one but both vehicles are in or just out of major repair.
tragedy on the water
Last weekend, the neighborhood had another tragedy. Folks that don't even live here were the victims. Around midnight three men were boating out on the river, hit a bouy in the dark which flipped the boat up, tossed the men into the river and shortly afterwards crashed on the river bank without its passengers.
Two of the men made it to shore, one swam himself, another rescued by
neighbors Ed and his son Bill. The third man, John Riley, and the driver of the boat, could not be located.
The media vultures arrived in the middle of the night and by 6 a.m. were banging loudly on people's doors wanting a story. Bruce was wakened when a female talking head persistently hammered our door until he answered in his skivvies. Camera and microphone thrust rapidly in his face "Were your scared?" she started, then asked to talk to me. Bruce refused. I was just as glad, happy not to have been a part of the rescure attempt this time.
Later in the day I attempted to chase the vultures away. They were walking across people's private land as if they were in a parking lot; their prey were anxious family members of the one man not yet found. The newscasters took offense at my telling them to move their vehicles so area residents could get to their homes. At least it gave the family members som breathing space from them.
Police divers found John Riley's body in the water 1/2 mile upriver 36 hours after the accident occurred.
That was a week ago. In the week I learned Riley was someone whom my work cohort, Rebecca, had dealings with. He was, by her account, a friendly, thoughtful man who assisted getting property from Corrections for some of our clients at the hospital. His passing is mourned. My condolences to his family.
Finally, after almost month, it started to rain. Last night we had a slow soaking rain for about an hour. It broke the oppressive heat wave of two weeks. Much needed thank you. We still need more rain. The well water is getting low.
But enough of my week. Here's some things I've been following:
• Women in the Outdoors, the event series sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation will be hosting an outing at the Bradford Sportman's Club in Charlestown, RI this coming weekend. I'm doing a presentation for the participants on plein air paint supplies and sketching outdoors.
• Matt and Dave make it to Oregon after meeting a man who told them about "...the ultimate snake bite cure, a bottle of Jack. He offered it to them as something to use to celebrate the end of their journey saying, "I drink this every night and I've never been bitten by a snake."
• Posted on Corrente a quote to think about. Reflections of the Media:
• Options: Christopher Walken for President? Anybody know if this is serious or a fluke? ¶ 08:37 1 comments
A great deal has happened since last entering in the blog. Obviously, I suppose some droll wit would opine. MassPIRG has agreed to use one of my pictures of Mt. Greylock in their annual report. I got commissioned to do a 4'x5' oil painting "with canoes and dark and brooding" and not one but both vehicles are in or just out of major repair.
tragedy on the water
Last weekend, the neighborhood had another tragedy. Folks that don't even live here were the victims. Around midnight three men were boating out on the river, hit a bouy in the dark which flipped the boat up, tossed the men into the river and shortly afterwards crashed on the river bank without its passengers.
Two of the men made it to shore, one swam himself, another rescued by
neighbors Ed and his son Bill. The third man, John Riley, and the driver of the boat, could not be located. The media vultures arrived in the middle of the night and by 6 a.m. were banging loudly on people's doors wanting a story. Bruce was wakened when a female talking head persistently hammered our door until he answered in his skivvies. Camera and microphone thrust rapidly in his face "Were your scared?" she started, then asked to talk to me. Bruce refused. I was just as glad, happy not to have been a part of the rescure attempt this time.
Later in the day I attempted to chase the vultures away. They were walking across people's private land as if they were in a parking lot; their prey were anxious family members of the one man not yet found. The newscasters took offense at my telling them to move their vehicles so area residents could get to their homes. At least it gave the family members som breathing space from them.Police divers found John Riley's body in the water 1/2 mile upriver 36 hours after the accident occurred.
That was a week ago. In the week I learned Riley was someone whom my work cohort, Rebecca, had dealings with. He was, by her account, a friendly, thoughtful man who assisted getting property from Corrections for some of our clients at the hospital. His passing is mourned. My condolences to his family.
Finally, after almost month, it started to rain. Last night we had a slow soaking rain for about an hour. It broke the oppressive heat wave of two weeks. Much needed thank you. We still need more rain. The well water is getting low.
But enough of my week. Here's some things I've been following:
• Women in the Outdoors, the event series sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation will be hosting an outing at the Bradford Sportman's Club in Charlestown, RI this coming weekend. I'm doing a presentation for the participants on plein air paint supplies and sketching outdoors.
• Matt and Dave make it to Oregon after meeting a man who told them about "...the ultimate snake bite cure, a bottle of Jack. He offered it to them as something to use to celebrate the end of their journey saying, "I drink this every night and I've never been bitten by a snake."
• Posted on Corrente a quote to think about. Reflections of the Media:
"The Fuhrer praises the superiority of our system when compared with liberal ones. We educate our people according to a common world-view. With the aid of films, radio and the press, which the Fuhrer sees as the most important tools of popular leadership. The state must never let them out of her hands. The Fuhrer also has a good word for the way our journalists have behaved. The Propaganda Companies have made an essential contribution to this." ~ Joseph Goebbels / diary entry / June 20, 1941 / The Goebbels Diaries 1939-1941.• John Strain gets a letter from Sam. I've gotten letters, and phone calls like this myself. Providing friendships to troubled souls is something the mental health system doesn't do a very good job of. Nor does society. We need to change that.
• Options: Christopher Walken for President? Anybody know if this is serious or a fluke? ¶ 08:37 1 comments
