Thunderstorm & Wildfire in 12 Frames

This afternoon in the midst of the most potent heat wave California has experienced thus far this year and perhaps in a few years some monsoonal moisture from Mexico leaked over the border. Numerous electrical storms ensued which caused new wildfire starts over various locales across San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. For a time I monitored one of these incidents via an HPWREN north-facing webcam atop Mesa Grande, a mountain in San Diego County. The two smokes you see in the images are two lightning-started wildfires in close proximity to one another that are predicted to burn together if they have not already. The storm that started them rapidly weakened and dissipated but that allowed drier air and sunlight to get to the fire and its fuels and combined with wind and heavy fuels and accessibility issues for firefighters allowed these fires to escape and become established. As of this evening the two fires (christened the Chihuahua Incident) have charred 900 acres which is nearly 1.5 square miles and is predicted to get much larger. At one point this afternoon while one of these two fires was bumping hard against Chihuahua Valley Road a fire whirl developed which spun across the road and established the fire on the opposite side of the road which firefighters had been vainly attempting to use as a control line. Note the pyrocumulus clouds building up out of the drift smoke at times (but not directly over the main convection column). Below are twelve frames edited from the 29-frame sequence of frames I saved and they are shown in chronological order.

Courtesy of the U.C. San Diego High Performance Wireless Research & Education Network.

Vagina Stones Revisited

I am in the process of shipping a USPS flat rate box of conchas (chalcedony roses) from New Mexico to my friend Ben Halpin of Halpin's Rocks up in Chico, CA. I acquired them from Charlotte Gastineau of Saugus, CA, at last weekend's Nipomo rock show. Charlotte and her husband collect them on an almost yearly basis from a volcanic deposit in Western New Mexico near the Arizona border.

A year ago yesterday I posted A Vagina Stone Monologue on this blog in regards to the visual and structural similarities between this beautiful and odd form of chalcedony and that most beautiful and mysterious part of a woman's anatomy that has oft throughout history been compared to in some floral analogy or another and continues to be thus referred. In seeing these beauties and whilst handling them it has been impossible for me to not make that connection myself. As I prepared Ben's order this morning I put out a few for display in the sunlight for your edification. 

Both photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

You Got To Go

I am of the opinion that 2011's "You Got To Go" by Above & Beyond is one the most beautiful trance song and music video combinations ever produced by any artist, period! Please pardon my hyperbole and feel free to disagree with me. I have heard a lot of musical pieces from this genre and likewise seen many accompanying music videos and have many favorites but this takes the cake. This tune is transcendent trance and as close to modern musical perfection as one can attain in this age of electronica. The structure of the song is clearly top notch compared to so much of the mediocrity that is out there and even by A&B's high standards it stands out. Add to this  hauntingly beautiful lyrics capturing the hope and innocence of youth combined with the goose-bump inducing vocals of Zoe Johnston and a music video that is dreamy and beautiful and captures the spirit perfectly of the song's lyrics and one has a masterpiece. I have placed the lyrics below. Try to play this song through your home entertainment system's speakers and crank it up but be sure to watch the video below.

Dream on little dreamer

And this is how it all begins

Move your feet

Feel how sweet it is

Dream on little dreamer

Follow all of your own signs

You got to gather what you need

You got to choose a direction

And when the moment is right for you

You got to go

[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/above-beyond-you-got-to-go-lyrics.html ]

You gotta keep your ideals high

You got to know that the sky belongs to no one

And you know you got to go

Keep on little dreamer

Keep hold of all that you earn

Move your feet

Feel how sweet it is

Dream on little dreamer

Follow all of your own signs

You got to gather what you need

You got to choose a direction

And when the moment is right for you

You got to go

You gotta keep your ideals high

You got to know that the sky belongs to no one

And you know you got to go

Lyrics courtesy of lyricsty.com

Pearls of Knowledge Or Knowledge of Pearls?

Last night I attended the August 2012 meeting of the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club. I had missed most of the meeting this year and last so it was not to reconnect to my SLO rockhounding "peeps". This month's program was a presentation by San Luis Obispo resident Pat Howard Harkness and her son Mason. Pat is a partner along with her son in her brother's Tahitian black pearl production and import business based in Tahiti, French Polynesia. The two of them gave an interesting and instructive presentation which included a display of a variety of their pearls (sizes, colors, shapes, etc.) in various forms from individual beads to bead strands to finished jewelry. The duo also explained the process by which these pearls are cultured inside oysters in underwater farms 100 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

The club much enjoyed and appreciated the program which was made possible by member Leslie Nelson. Anecdote of the day: pearls are one of several biogenic gemstones; others include amber and ammolite and ivory.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

A SoCal Quake Doublet

Last night at 11:23 p.m. a M4.5 earthquake rattled Southern California epicentered 1 mile north of Yorba Linda, CA. This morning at 9:33 a.m. another M4.5 earthquake rattled the same region epicentered 1 mile north-northwest of Yorba Linda, CA. This by definition is an earthquake doublet. Given the level of seismic activity at this location at present this qualifies as an earthquake swarm. Watch this activity unfold below on the interactive map which updates regularly.

Las Pilitas Fire Quilt

Today I was dining for lunch with a friend in the east room of The Porch in Santa Margarita, CA. Over an hour into my visit there I finally noticed hanging high on the west wall was a most remarkable quilt. This classic example of modern textile folk art clearly shows an ominous scene of wildfire all over a line of hills with a burn area below that which  features a chimney left over from a burned house. Adjacent to the burn area are unburnt areas plus a body of water representing Santa Margarita Lake I assume. Upon surveying this quilt I concluded that it either represented the quilter's perception of the 1985 Las Pilitas Fire or the 1994 Highway 41 Fire both of which directly impacted this town. As I left the establishment I asked the proprietor what this quilt memorialized and she confirmed it was represented the Las Pilitas Fire and that a customer and member of the community had donated it to the restaurant to adorn its wall. I neglected to attempt to find out whom quilted this item but will update this posting if I acquire that information. Oh, and the food at this establishment is rather good. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Great Quack, er, Quake Prophecy

I feel so left out since God didn't reveal this directly to me and I live so much closer (the area code given is for most of New Mexico). I suppose this person could end up being right if the old adage "even a broken clock gives correct time twice a day" comes into play.  Courtesy of the San Luis Obispo Tribune Friday, August 3, 2012, edition.