Picture of the Day - Super Zac!

Zac son of John of Altamont as Mario of Donkey Kong video game fame ready for Halloween. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Rock Photography Set X

My good friend Lin Kerns played around with the following photos I recently took and have previously shared in this blog. Lin  has improved them markedly by way of the program PhotoImpact with which I hope to likewise become adept. Below is our collective handiwork. By the way, this is the very first installment of this photo series which has been thus edited as well as the first one which did not involve images from my friend David Richter's Rocks & Relics booth.

Lin's clever tribute to the television series Battlestar Galactica as a result of the shape of the piece being reminiscent of a "battlestar". 

Actually a sort of travertine with sulphur and orpiment, this "Bumblebee" Jasper or Agate is from Java.

I do not have even a small one of these in my collection... hint~hint!

California Jade from the Big Sur Coast.

Berber Agate from Morocco.

Big Sur Jade on a custom and monumental pedestal.

Amethyst pendent by Diana March Ensco

Botryoidal jade from the Big Sur Coast of California.

"Cat's Eye" jade from the Big Sur Coast of California.

Ammolite Ammonite pendent Diana March Enscoe

Big Sur Coast jade from Monterey County.

At center is rare Fairfield Variscite, at right is Bruneau Jasper, and at left are various petrified woods. Those details come courtesy of Dan Beck to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.

Volcan jade from the Big Sur Coast of California.

Faux Rose Quart point on base from Madagascar.

Clear Creek Jade carving.

Arizona material.

A great pocket piece of vulcan jade discovered by Ernie Porter.

Another Diana March creation.

Malachite with druzy quartz and a bit of agate.

Biconoid from Northern San Luis Obispo County.

Lin ought to have edited out my belly and in its place put washboard abs.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes and edited by Lin Kerns (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - 2012's Final Veggie Basket

This was my final CSA share half-bushel basket from Kiler Canyon Farm as I first began to empty it earlier this evening. I shall miss all these wonderful organic local veggies I all-too-often ended up not using in a timely fashion and had to throw away. I am personally appalled at how often that happened this year but I had great difficulty making and taking the time to prepare healthy food given my living single and being on the go all the time. Just the same I really enjoyed the experience of being a part of this and learned much from it and did eat some of my veggies and shared yet others. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Sacramento-Area Tornado Touchdown

This image looking south on Garden Highway yesterday near the intersection with Franklin Avenue captured a funnel to the left of center dropping from the dark wall cloud. This storm put down multiple funnels over its lifespan which caused significant minor damage along the tornado damage tracks, to wit, downed lines, poles, and trees, damaged roofs, uplifted boats, sheds, and other lighter structures, etc. This would rate the tornadoes at EF0. Photo by Chris Kaufman - Appeal-Democrat (AP photo)

Picture of the Day - Cuesta Post-Storm Sunset

Sunset earlier this evening at Cuesta College North County Campus in Paso Robles, CA. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

What Woke Me Up Tonight!

Magnitude	5.3
Date-Time	Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 06:55:09 UTC Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 11:55:09 PM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location	36.311°N, 120.856°W
Depth	9.4 km (5.8 miles)
Region	CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Distances	20 km (12 miles) SW (234°) from New Idria, CA 25 km (16 miles) NE (36°) from San Lucas, CA 27 km (17 miles) ENE (65°) from King City, CA 77 km (48 miles) SE (141°) from Hollister, CA 147 km (91 miles) SE (141°) from San Jose City Hall, CA
Location Uncertainty	horizontal +/- 0.2 km (0.1 miles); depth +/- 0.5 km (0.3 miles)
Parameters	Nph= 81, Dmin=7 km, Rmss=0.14 sec, Gp= 68°, M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=5
Source	California Integrated Seismic Net: USGS Caltech CGS UCB UCSD UNR
Event ID	nc71863625

5.3

• Sunday, October 21, 2012 at 06:55:09 UTC
• Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 11:55:09 PM at epicenter
• Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

36.311°N, 120.856°W

9.4 km (5.8 miles)

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• 20 km (12 miles) SW (234°) from New Idria, CA
• 25 km (16 miles) NE (36°) from San Lucas, CA
• 27 km (17 miles) ENE (65°) from King City, CA
• 77 km (48 miles) SE (141°) from Hollister, CA
• 147 km (91 miles) SE (141°) from San Jose City Hall, CA

horizontal +/- 0.2 km (0.1 miles); depth +/- 0.5 km (0.3 miles)

Nph= 81, Dmin=7 km, Rmss=0.14 sec, Gp= 68°,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=5

• California Integrated Seismic Net:
• USGS Caltech CGS UCB UCSD UNR

nc71863625

The Dragon Helispot Wedding Spot

My friend Jeff Auslen and his girlfriend Kate Crosswhite are getting married tomorrow at Lake Nacimiento (a.k.a. "The Dragon" due to the map outline of its shore looking much like a dragon). The ceremony will take place on the helipad at the resort there. Today I was in attendance of the ceremony rehearsal. The weather was hot (perhaps the last hot day we will experience until next Spring) but the entire scene (weather + scenery) was perfect. I took several photos of which the following two are the best.

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