Friday, December 30, 2005

Mount St. Helens Still Oozing Lava

Mount St. Helens Still Oozing Lava: "
Mount St. Helens Still Oozing Lava
By Peggy Andersen
Associated Press
posted: 30 December 2005
01:31 pm ET


SEATTLE (AP) -- For more than a year now, Mount St. Helens has been oozing lava into its crater at the rate of roughly a large dump truck load -- 10 cubic yards -- every three seconds. With the sticky molten rock comes a steady drumfire of small earthquakes.

The movement of lava up through the southwest Washington volcano is “like a sticky piston trying to rise in a rusty cylinder,'' U.S. Geological Survey geologist Dave Sherrod said Thursday in a telephone interview from the agency's Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash."

The road trip from H

The road trip from Hell...

What a last 2 days... Yesterday we left San Francisco fat dumb and happy. Then the trip from hell began...

Northbound on 101 ..early afternoon... Willits, CA. the highway signs light up all over the place. Highway 101 closed 70 miles north at Confusion Hill due to mud slides.. It could be closed for months according to service station attendant... He says if we take Hi-way 20 to Ft. Bragg we can bypass it. Off we go.. narrow windy road  Gas up at FT Bragg..While gassing up I decide to step over the fueling hose to get my coat out of the back of the van. My left foot obeys and steps neatly over the hose. On the other hand my right foot thought it would be great fun to get tangled on the hose and send me sprawling on to the pavement. Limp to the restroom muttering unkind epitaphs. Then hiway 1 for about 50 miles until it hooks back up with 101.On the way out jumps a deer.. massive swerving by Jacky the driver... 101 is closed right there where we come out at Legget ..seems the slide is just a little bit beyond where we come out. Cal Trans guy tells us they just cleaned it up and more slid down to replace it... Has no idea when it may open again.. they have hired it out to a private contractor to fix..

That attendant ... Gahhhh! Back to Willits to look for a motel.. guess what? All the motels are going for top dollar ..wonder why? They are all full to  except for the cowboy roach motel... I get a room. After I bring the stuff from the car in Jacky locks the multiple deadbolts so we will be safe from the Boogey Man. Meanwhile we decide on pizza for dinner but Jacky wants to stay in the hotel.. So we decide to call for one... No pizza delivery. OK so I will go hunt one down and kill it... nothing better than freshly killed pizza. The door won’t open.. one of the deadbolts won’t budge.... Finally I force it and am off for pizza. At the Pizza joint I inquire if they have thin crust as a choice... No they don’t but they just made the dough and it hasn’t risen much so it will probably be thin anyhow.

Next morning it is a complete deluge out there I swear you can see cats and dogs falling out of the sky. Call Cal Trans ..still closed. If we want to get to Oregon we must go back to Ukiah and cross to the San Joaquin Valley to the 5 and go to Ashland... or take the 299 to Eureka and then north on the 101.

Outside of Redding several hours later... Freeway signs are a flashin again... This time 5 is closed at Weed because of mud slides. OK so we go the 299.... toward Eureka ... We go through and are escorted through about 10 mud slides.. takes about 5 hours to go 70 miles. Lakes and rivers all on the rise everywhere and the same deer that jumped in front of us a 100 miles away ran all the way over here to do it again. A rock fell on the car shortly thereafter. Then we were stopped for 2 hours while they worked on another slide. However that was entertaining as by now everyone in our convoy had to “go” with it pouring down rain.. people would turn off their lights and stand in front of their cars for the pause that refreshes in pouring down rain.... Us included.

So we made it to Arcata and they closed down the 299. So we traveled over 300 miles today to go about 50 miles from where we were last night.....

Tomorrow we will leave this state behind and be in Oregon... Who knows what further adventures we will encounter..Maybe the Shadow knows buwhahhah...

QUOTES FROM ALBERT EINSTEIN

Collected Quotes from Albert Einstein

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax."
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
"The only real valuable thing is intuition."


"VIEW FROM JOHN DAVIS PARK TODAY" Posted by Picasa

"STANDING BY AT NEWPORT...IS IT CRAB TIME YET" Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

The Magic Number

We will have 70,000 visits to our website soon. We have averaged about a 150 day lately. Here is the deal... I will be giving away a used pool cue in a case that my son sent home with me to the person who can guess the date and time we will click our 70000th visitor. A coin toss will decide ties. To enter comment with your guess (date, hour and minute-- pm/am) and name.

I haven't got a clue as to what it's worth or its condition. I don't know such things... I needed a prize and this is the best thing I could come up with for nothing. As you know there is nothing grey haired folks like better than the words "free" or "discount".. So here is an interesting contest at least for Pool Club members...

ceb45

Charles Burke has an email address that he invites you to send him comments about anything you want relating to the web page, his pictures and articles. We have posted it on the left side of the page at the bottom of the links where we hope to be posting more new writers for the website soon.
You will be able to click on either his name or mine and an email form with the address will pop up on your computer.

LARGE WAVES ALONG OREGON COAST

"LARGE WAVES"


These past few days we've had some giant waves here along the Oregon coast. It's always a great pass time to drive over to a spot to watch the winter storms and how they create these giant waves, one can never get tired of watching them. Just remember to be safe while watching them and don't get to close to the power of the ocean wave. This is one reason we enjoy living along the beautiful Oregon Coast and there are so many reason.

Self-Milking Cows to Help Aussie Farmers Get More Z's?

Self-Milking Cows to Help Aussie Farmers Get More Z's?: "Self-Milking Cows to Help Aussie Farmers Get More Z's?
Stephanie Peatling in Sydney
for National Geographic News
December 27, 2005

The lives of Australian dairy farmers might become a lot easier thanks to cow-milking robots with laser-guided arms."

Did Early Humans First Arise in Asia, Not Africa?

Did Early Humans First Arise in Asia, Not Africa?: "Did Early Humans First Arise in Asia, Not Africa?
Nicholas Bakalar
for National Geographic News
December 27, 2005

Two archaeologists are challenging what many experts consider to be the basic assumption of human migration—that humankind arose in Africa and spread over the globe from there."

USATODAY.com - Jet with fuselage hole lands in Seattle

USATODAY.com - Jet with fuselage hole lands in Seattle: "Jet with fuselage hole lands in Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) — A 12-inch hole in the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines jet caused the plane to lose cabin pressure, forcing the pilots to make an emergency descent and return to the airport, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident Monday involved an MD-80 jet en route from Seattle to Burbank, Calif. The plane landed safely at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and none of the 140"

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "George Carlin
'Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.'"

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

NUTZ

This Apple won't let me capture the news... Soon Charles will be learning how to do that. He's asked and I will spend some time with him when we get home... I'll try some tricks in the morning

traveling

Jacky are on the road again. We drove from Beaumont CA . today and are at our daughter's home in Sunnyvale. Resting up tommorow and then we will head home. Looking forward to a New Year. I am reduced to using my daughter's Apple computer which gives me fits but will try to get some news up tonight. Did you all read about the Great White Shark that took a bite out of a Seaside surferer? It's below here.

When I worked on Platform Grace off of Ventura, CA we had one come by and grab a seal off of the bouy next to the platform. The next day when we were boarding our boat to go to shore and home at shifts end... He came right under the boat while we were boarding and was turned so you could see his eye... ran chills up your spine. He was around 20 ft long.

Just so you can get a better picture of ,"Boarding The Boat..." When one boarded the boat ..the boat rose and fell with about 10 foot swells. A 1 1/2 inch rope suspended from the platform deck is what is used. The captian holds the boat as steady as he can next to the platform about 4 to 6 ft away from the deck. You grab the rope and wait until the boat goes into the trough of the swell and then swing out using the rope. If done right the boat rises on the next swell to reach you and a deck hand grabs you. You must let loose of the rope before the boat starts down into the next trough or you will be suspended in mid air swinging around like bait... not a good thing with the shark swimming around. Weak of strength and you fall in and then have to contend with the boat getting you smashed against the platform or hungry animals. Fortunately, the learning curve is real quick and I know of only one time someone fell in and another when a friend was left dangling..

THANK YOU FOR COMMENTS

"THANK YOU FOR COMMENTS"

Just a few words to say we thank all that read the LVH's web site and hope you get enjoyment out of it, just treat it like a morning or evening paper to get all kinds of great information. We do appricate any comments you make at the bottom of each entry, even if it's negative. If you have suggestions put them in the comments and we will look into them. Thank you once again very much for all those out there who read and enjoy the Long View Hills Web Site. We wish all a very Happy New Year and be safe.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Jackie Johnston
on
December 26th

LVH SNOWMAN XMAS 2005

"MR. SNOWMAN AT LONGVIEW HILLS"



Another Christmas has gone by and hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas where ever you were. It's time now to think of the New Year coming up on us. Like the old saying goes, where did 2005 go. So now we think of put Mr. Snowman away for another year at Long View Hill's and all the other wonderful Christmas decorations. Thank you to all who put decorations either in their yards or in their windows to make Christmas so great here on the hill where we call home. Thank You! Have a great New Year!!! Posted by Picasa

Surfer did as told -- he socked that shark

Surfer did as told -- he socked that shark: "Surfer did as told -- he socked that shark
Attack - Brian Anderson of Seaside fought and got the great white shark to release his leg
Monday, December 26, 2005
SOPHIA TAREEN

After a morning of catching waves, Brian Anderson waited his turn to surf the last set on a Christmas Eve outing with his buddies.

The experienced surfer took a breather and straddled his board, his legs dangling into the gray waters 100 yards from the Seaside beach near Tillamook Head.

He was exhausted and sweaty inside his wetsuit as he looked into the cloudy sky above the ocean about noon."

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "Buck Henry
'We need a president who's fluent in at least one language.'"

Astronomers get first glimpse of new stars

Astronomers get first glimpse of new stars: "Astronomers get first glimpse of new stars

(AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/P.S. Teixeira - Center for Astrophysics) :: This is an image originally released on Dec. 22, 2005 showing the first glimpse of newborn stars clustered geometrically in a newly formed nebula.

By Associated Press
Updated: 12/26/05

TUCSON, Ariz.

Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered a perfectly decorated Christmas tree 2,500 light years from earth.

[Full Story Below ?]
Scientists at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory said the remarkable star cluster gives them the first glimpse of newborn stars acting just as predicted - patterned geometrically and spaced according to density, temperature and gravity.

'If you look at the very young stars in the cluster and the spacing between them, it isn't random spacing,' said Erick T. Young, an astronomer at the Steward Observatory. 'They're all about the same distance apart.'"

Sunday, December 25, 2005

LVH's XMAS POT LUCK DINNER 12-25-05


"LONGVIEW HILLS XMAS POT LUCK DINNER"


There was about 20 or more Longview Hills residents and family members enjoying the pot luck christmas dinner at the Club House this afternoon. The food was good and visiting with eachother is always a joy. It's great when those who can make it get together at our Club House, this is a great way to get to know your neighbors on the hill and their family members.

Phil Knight's charity is billion-dollar secret

Phil Knight's charity is billion-dollar secret: "Phil Knight's charity is billion-dollar secret
Foundation - The Nike chairman and his wife are preparing to donate a fortune, but they aren't saying where
Sunday, December 25, 2005
HELEN JUNG

Nike Chairman Phil Knight has sold more than $1 billion worth of stock this year as he and his wife, Penny, prepare to donate some of their massive fortune to charity."

Web Edition - NewsGator Online

Web Edition - NewsGator Online: "William G. McAdoo
'It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.'"

FLAMINGO OUTSIDE LVH'S GATE XMAS 2005


"MERRY CHRISTMAS"


The Flamingo outside LVH's main gate is always in the Holiday spirit all year long. Here is it's christmas dress and just wants to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Bet you didn't know we had Oregon Coast Flamingo's. This flamingo, plus it's young one hangs around here year round. It dresses up for every holiday and even put's on rain gear at times. I will try and update pictures of this famous Oregon Coast Flamingo as time goes by. Hope all have are having a Merry Christmas. Enjoy!