Our storm was weaker than expected!

October 14, 2009

As a Pacific storm descended Tuesday night on Southern California, residents waited nervously to see whether rainfall would trigger mudslides in wildfire-ravaged areas.
People stacked sandbags and positioned heavy concrete barriers against hillsides, transforming their homes into fortified bunkers.

The storm system was first expected to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain in wildfire-charred areas in Los Angeles County. But the National Weather Service said that the system had weakened Tuesday afternoon after battering Northern California with heavy rainfall, and that L.A. County mountain areas would receive up to 4 inches of rain. About half an inch of rain was expected in valleys and along the coast.
By Tuesday night, less than two-tenths of an inch of rain had fallen in coastal and valley areas in L.A. County, and about 1 1/2 inches had fallen in the Angeles National Forest, according to the weather service.
Still, officials and residents had prepared for the worst.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department said Tuesday that it had beefed up stations in the foothill areas with additional firefighters to staff two-person units that would patrol areas prone to mudslides.
Big Tujunga Canyon Road was closed 1 1/2 miles north of Mount Gleason Avenue to Angeles Forest Highway. And Aliso Canyon Road was closed in the Angeles National Forest, the California Highway Patrol said.

The Pacific storm was being pushed by strong winds blowing from the south, which were expected to intensify rainfall on south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the 160,000-acre Station fire that broke out in August.
Winds were expected to reach 35 to 40 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph, according to the weather service.
More than 30,000 customers were left without power in Los Angeles. By Tuesday night, power had been restored to about 20,000 people, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said.
In the Bay Area, the storm caused power outages and flooding. Officials in Santa Cruz County, meanwhile, ordered homes evacuated in mountain areas where summer wildfires had burned.
The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electricity grid, declared an emergency Tuesday afternoon after strong winds knocked down a major transmission line in Moss Landing, in Monterey County. The amount of electricity flowing on the line, a major north-south connection, was reduced by about one-third.

In Southern California, flood watches were extended to areas burned by the Sheep fire near Wrightwood as well as areas burned by the Sayre and Marek fires last year in the San Fernando Valley area.
In Glendale, Paul Dutton worked amid a steady rain, unloading sandbags from his blue truck Tuesday afternoon near the corner of Boston Avenue and Markridge Road.
He hoped the bags would help protect a friend's home from potential mud flows. As Dutton worked, dull gray clouds hung low in the shadow of Deukmejian Wilderness Park, an area that has been pegged as a prime location for mudslides. The park was almost completely burned by the Station fire that broke out in August in the Angeles National Forest and spread to adjacent foothill communities.
"There is no vegetation left to hold back any soil. In a normal rain year, we have slides. Now we have rain without the benefit of vegetation," said Russ Hauck, a senior park naturalist who has worked for the city for 17 years. "We're anticipating that we'll definitely get some sort of slide."
He said crews have placed tiered levels of concrete K-rail barriers throughout the park in hopes that they would slow any debris flows.
"The hillside behind the nature center looks like a defensive lineman waiting for the ball to be snapped," he said.

Looks like those folks living in the burn areas dodged a major bullet.

Oh, and by the way, my crazy neighbor, Charlotte, is watering her lawn!!  Guess it didn't rain in her yard!!!

Coming storm brings mudslide risk to Southern California

We all knew this was coming, just not so soon…

October 13, 2009 |  9:21 am

As the first storm of the season moves into Southern California, the National Weather Service is issuing flash-flood watches for mountain burn areas from Santa Barbara to San Bernardino counties.

Officials said residents in burn areas should prepare for possible mudslides, rock slides and debris flows "even during periods with little or no rain falling."

The powerful winter storm started moving into Southern California on Monday, combining the force of a storm from Alaska with the moisture-laden remnants of a typhoon from the western Pacific.

The National Weather Service issued the flood watches for areas burned by recent fires in Santa Barbara, as well as the massive Station fire in Los Angeles County and the Sheep fire near Wrightwood. The watch also covers areas burned in last year's Sayre and Marek fires in the San Fernando Valley area.

"This storm is expected to tap into subtropical moisture, giving it the potential to bring moderate to heavy rain," according to a weather agency statement this morning. "This heavy rainfall may create significant hazards in and around recent burn areas, with a threat of flash flooding and debris flows over the burn areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties."

A high wind warning is in effect for all L.A. County mountain areas from noon today to Wednesday morning, accompanied by winds of 35 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.

The storm system is wetter than normal for October, when the average rainfall for the entire month is about half an inch, weather officials said. The rains are being driven by strong winds blowing from the south, intensifying rainfall on south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the 250-square-mile Station fire that broke out in August.

The U.S. Geological Survey released a grim forecast last week for communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides are likely during the winter rainy season. The locations most at risk for mudslides are La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and a few areas of Pasadena against the San Gabriel Mountains, geologists said.

The California Highway Patrol has closed some mountain roads because of the coming rains, said Officer Francisco Villalobos, a spokesman for the agency. Big Tujunga Canyon Road is closed 1 1/2 miles north of Mount Gleason Avenue to Angeles Forest Highway. Aliso Canyon Road was closed in the Angeles National Forest.

Authorities said they were seeing an increase in the number of accidents this morning and advising drivers to watch out for slick conditions.

"It's the first significant rainfall of the season," said Rich Thompson, a weather service meteorologist. "So the roads can be slicker than you might expect because of all the oil coming up."

With 3 to 6 inches expected Tuesday night and the USGS mudslide warning fresh in their minds, L.A. foothill residents hope the sandbags and debris diversions work. Some are evacuating just in case.

As news of the coming wet weather circulated Monday, residents in charred foothill areas scrambled to fill sandbags or pack their belongings and flee areas prone to flooding. Officials also worked to place huge concrete mudslide barriers along roads in areas including La Cañada Flintridge.

The storm, which originated in the Gulf of Alaska, is expected to combine with moisture-laden remnants of a typhoon from the western Pacific, making the system wetter than normal, the National Weather Service said. On top of that, the storm system will be driven by strong winds blowing from the south, intensifying rainfall on the south-facing mountain slopes that burned from Altadena to Acton during the

"We're expecting a pretty good system to come through," said Jamie Meier, a meteorologist with the weather service's Oxnard office. "What's making this so significant is that tropical moisture from the remnants of the typhoon is moving eastward and will interact with this storm system."
For the last 30 years, Meier noted, the average rainfall for the entire month of October has been about half an inch. "This one storm will make it a wet October," she said.
Last week, the U.S. Geological Survey released a sobering forecast for communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides will be highly likely during the winter rain season.
Kevin Schmidt, a research geologist at the USGS, said Monday that the locations most at risk are in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and a few areas of Pasadena sitting against the San Gabriel Mountains.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Brown, who commands rescue units in the La Cañada Flintridge area, said personnel will be monitoring hillsides in the areas ravaged by the Station fire when the storm arrives. He said sandbags will be available for residents at all county fire stations. Some will also have sand available.
Olivia Brown of La Cañada Flintridge had picked up 200 sandbags, which she was hoping to place around her house before the storm arrived. Standing behind her one-story stucco home Monday, she looked up toward the rugged hillside.
"All that is supposed to come down," she said. "There are some big boulders up there. And we've had daily landslides since the fires. This is ground zero right here."
Brown, 44, and her husband had already spent a week staking steel rods attached to wood logs into their backyard to divert debris away from their home on Ocean View Boulevard near Earnslow Drive. But over the weekend, they added an 8-foot-tall chain-link fence reinforced with railroad ties across the back of their house.
"I woke up with an anxiety attack," she said. "We weren't ready to have it this hard, this soon."
In Vogel Flats, meanwhile, Bronwen Aker was busy Monday afternoon packing the contents of her one-bedroom cabin into cardboard boxes.
She said she was notified by the U.S. Forest Service to evacuate her home by Tuesday. Aker worried that if mudslides washed out nearby roads, she might not have another opportunity to gather family heirlooms, including her late grandmother's collection of hand-woven baskets.
"I'm erring on the side of caution," said Aker, 45.
She planned to put up plywood and a plastic tarp against the brick and knotty pine home that she's lived in for 11 years near Big Tujunga Canyon Road. Built in the early 1900s, the cabin has been in Aker's family for decades. It's the same place where she nursed her ailing grandmother, who died last year.
"It's not about losing money -- it's about the memories here," she said. "This is the first time I've been truly afraid of losing the house."

Our burned-out hills can’t handle 1” of rain, let alone 3 to 6 inches.  I’m just praying for the best.

In case you can't access my Media Player, here is today's song.  Brad Paisley

www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/03-brad_paisley-welcome_to_the_future.mp3

I found these guys in my garage the other day!  They scattered when I approached.

Then I saw Mama lurking just out side!  BIG!!

Aren’t they cute??  Heck NO!!  So I reached for my ultimate critter killer.

Ta Da!!!

No, not that!!

This!!

The Rat Zapper!!!  Like an electric chair for rats. 

I simply add some dog food, turn it on  and the next morning, Bingo!!  Runs on batteries and no need to touch them.  Unfortunately, PETA decided that this device was more cruel than a traditional rat trap that snaps their neck.  However, you can still purchase these tings online at Amazon, Ebay, etc.  It really works!!

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Read this very sad story today:

25 dogs die of smoke inhalation in Riverside

Two blazes strike within 12 hours at the same house, where firefighters had difficulty moving around because of boxes and furniture. Fourteen dogs died in the first blaze, 11 in the second.

Riverside firefighters responded twice within 12 hours to two separate blazes in a house packed with debris where more than two dozen dogs died of smoke inhalation, authorities said Wednesday.
In both blazes, which broke out Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning, firefighters had difficulty entering the single-story home and moving around inside because it was jammed with furniture and boxes filled with clothes and other items.
"They were faced with pack-rat conditions," said Division Chief John Martinez of the Riverside Fire Department. "It was bulging at the seams with stuff."
The first blaze was reported Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. The fire was apparently sparked by a wiring problem with a fan in the bathroom, Martinez said. The flames damaged the attic and two bedrooms of the home in the 1800 block of Missouri Street near downtown Riverside.
While firefighters were mopping up the blaze, they found 14 dogs in cages in a bedroom, dead. "They were overcome by the smoke," Martinez said.
The second fire, a rekindling of the first blaze, broke out at 4:17 Wednesday morning. After knocking down the flames, firefighters discovered 11 more dogs dead from the smoke.
"They were huddled in a back room," Martinez said.
Two firefighters suffered minor eye injuries in the blazes.

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Now for some better news…

OKTOBERFEST!!!

I’m doing an Oktoberfest dinner this weekend!  How does this look??

Bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad and caraway cheese!!  Can’t wait!!!

The weather has been perfect here!!  Watching baseball playoffs…. Go Phillies and Angels!!

If enough rain falls, some flows could contain enough debris to cover a football field with about 60 feet of mud and rock, and could reach far into communities along the San Gabriel Mountains. And with an El Nino expected???

Soil, rocks and branches like these in the fire-scarred Angeles National Forest could be washed far into foothill communities by winter rains, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday issued a grim forecast for foothill communities hit by the Station fire, saying major mudslides are highly likely during the winter rain season.
Scientists identified Pacoima Canyon, Big Tujunga Canyon, the Arroyo Seco, the West Fork of the San Gabriel River and Devils Canyon as being at particular risk. In those areas, the report said there was an 80% likelihood of flows. Under certain conditions, some flows could contain up to 100,000 cubic yards of debris -- enough to cover a football field with mud and rock about 60 feet deep.
Under the worst-case scenario, in which there would be 12 hours of gentle, sustained rain, the report said thick flows of soil, rocks and vegetation could stream downhill into neighborhoods as far south as Foothill Boulevard in such communities as La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta.
"Some of the areas burned by the Station fire show the highest likelihood for big debris flows that I've ever seen," said Susan Cannon, a USGS research geologist and one of the authors of the emergency assessment. Cannon has been studying debris flows after fires for 11 years.
The Station fire burned 250 square miles in August and September, leaving hillsides barren. There is little vegetation left to prevent water, sediment, rocks and branches from rushing down toward thousands of homes when it rains.

The much-anticipated report, which includes maps depicting the potential paths of destruction, gave communities along the fire-ravaged areas of the San Gabriel Mountains an early and frightening look at what might happen when a heavy rainstorm pounds the area.
"We are very seriously worried," said La Cañada Flintridge Mayor Laura Olhasso. "It's highly possible that some of the homes that were saved from fire will be lost to mud."
Federal geologists used computer models to estimate the likelihood of debris flows in 678 drainage basins in the burned area, as well as how voluminous the material might be and where it might go.
They based their projections on the steepness of the slopes, the extent and severity of the fire, soil characteristics and possible rainfall. The assessment posed two scenarios -- a three-hour, high-intensity thunderstorm, and a 12-hour, gentle rainstorm -- and found high probabilities that each would cause large debris flows in neighborhoods that front the San Gabriels.
If drainage basins in the mountains fill up, Cannon said, debris could stream into neighborhoods.
Triggered by rainfall, debris flows can travel faster than a grown person can run. The rushing water, soil and rocks can destroy bridges, roads and buildings, and seriously injure or kill people in the way.
The goal of the assessment, officials said, is to help guide state and local planners as they work to protect lives and property in the storm season. Foothill communities are beginning to set up sandbags and concrete barriers to divert any mud flows into the streets and away from homes.

But in some cases, where homes directly front blackened hillsides, there is little that can be done.

"We have a couple homes where the county told the property owner, 'Put plywood over your windows and just leave,' " Olhasso said. "The one thing that residents need to understand is that if they have this plan, they need to put it in place now; it can't wait until the 24-hour forecast for rain. By then it could be too late."

In Big Tujunga Canyon, residents still struggling to clear piles of debris and ash from homes destroyed in the Station fire said they fear there is worse to come.

 
"There's nothing to hold that back," said Bronwen Aker, pointing to the charred slope behind her red cabin, inherited from her grandmother, in the canyon community of Vogel Flats. "It's going to come down; it's not a maybe."

Adi Ell-Ad is hopeful the sandbags will work, "if we don't get that much debris flow."
"If it's overwhelming," he said, "then nothing will stop it."

It’s going to be a long winter for those folks.  The forecast doesn’t look good.

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Tomorrow I'll tell you about my new little 'friend' living in my garage and my plan to get rid of him!!!  Here is today's song.  Don't ask but yeah!

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/19/795611/Bellamy%20Brothers%20-%20Old%20Hippie.mp3

Julius Goff, severely burned after taking refuge in a hot tub, says he didn't ignore a mandatory evacuation order but instead stayed behind to warn 10 neighbors who did not receive the order to leave.

This is why we don’t like Arnold!

Julius Goff, right, who was seriously burned after he and a housemate took refuge in a hot tub, hugs Trevor Pullen, who was evacuated before the Station fire descended on their Big Tujunga Canyon neighborhood. "This guy saved my life," Pullen said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other authorities held them up as examples of irresponsible behavior. They were the butt of jokes. But one of the two Big Tujunga Canyon residents who jumped into a hot tub to escape the raging Station fire says they are being unfairly judged.
Julius Goff, who suffered serious burns, told The Times that he did not ignore a mandatory evacuation order but instead stayed behind to warn 10 neighbors who did not receive the order to leave. By the time he reached his own house, with plans to get his housemate and get out, the fire had surrounded them.
Trapped, the men ran screaming through 50-to-100-foot flames to what they saw as their best hope: the only pool of water within reach.
Later, Goff watched in tears from a hospital bed as they were repeatedly castigated on TV. Then he learned that everything he owned was lost in the fire.
"I'm not some idiot who ignores the evacuation order," Goff said Sunday as he surveyed the piles of debris and ash, which are all that remain of the two-story house. "I got a 10-year-old son. I don't want to die."

Goff, known to many as "Jules," describes how he ran through a wall of flames to get to the hot tub, where he received severe burns on his legs, ear and nose. "It was like 20 freight trains running through here," he said. "I had to come out here and face the dragon." He says Vogel Flats residents will need help preparing for the coming rainy season, which authorities fear will bring mudslides and heavy debris flows if nothing is done.

Goff and his roommate took refuge in this hot tub. Goff grabbed a pair of jeans, ripped them in half and soaked them with water from the water heater so they would have something wet to put over their faces. The roommate grabbed their landlord's dog, Roxy. The two men jumped into the pool, where they lay on their backs -- with Roxy on Goff's chest -- for about an hour and a half.

Goff's account of trying to step into the void when authorities failed to reach all of his neighbors comes amid other questions about how the fire was fought in the Angeles National Forest. Reinforcements from Los Angeles County were scaled back early in the battle, and federal officials now say they are investigating the actions that allowed the blaze to rage out of control. The fire, which began Aug. 23 above La Cañada Flintridge, became the largest in recorded county history and killed two county firefighters when their truck plunged off a mountain road.

Goff, a 50-year-old single father who lives on Social Security, moved into the canyon community of Vogel Flats seven years ago. An elderly resident offered them a free room in his house on Stonyvale Road in exchange for help maintaining the place.
Goff said that when firefighters from Orange County arrived in Vogel Flats the morning of Aug. 26, he was one of two residents asked to show them around as they recorded the number of people in each dwelling and where propane and water tanks were located. Although a voluntary evacuation order was in effect, Goff said fire officials told residents they thought the fire might bypass their community.
"They said don't worry, we are going to put a truck in front of every house," Goff said.
Even so, Goff was concerned about his neighbor, Trevor Pullen, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident six years ago. He went to Pullen's house and advised him to leave. When Pullen's caregiver called to say she was stuck at a checkpoint, Pullen met her to escort her into the canyon. Then she and another aide loaded Pullen, his chair and three dogs into two vehicles, which sped off.
"This guy saved my life," Pullen said Sunday.
By this time, it was nearly noon and flames had appeared on a ridge above the strip of cabins and homes. Sheriff's deputies started banging on residents' doors, telling them to get out immediately. When Goff headed down the road to check on other neighbors, he said the deputies tried to stop him.
"I said, 'But there's more people down there, aren't you going to get them?' " Goff said. "They said: 'We're leaving.' "

 
Members of the Incident Command say they did the best they could without putting the lives of firefighters and deputies at risk. At an emotional meeting with Tujunga residents last week, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Deputy John Tripp said the terrain was too dangerous to make a stand in Big Tujunga Canyon, and officials had no choice but to order crews to pull out.
On Monday, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore emphasized how unpredictable the fire had been.

Goff stands on scorched ground. On Monday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore underlined how unpredictable the Station fire had been. "Sometimes the evacuation orders were given, and you needed to respond instantly," he said. Whitmore said that he was relieved to hear that Goff was recovering.

"Sometimes the evacuation orders were given, and you needed to respond instantly," he said, adding that he was relieved to hear Goff was recovering.
Goff said that when he saw sheriff's deputies and fire crews leave, he made the decision to head deeper into the canyon. He knew his neighbors were still loading their vehicles, unaware that the voluntary evacuation had become urgent. He told them to drop everything and go.
At his house, Goff found the garage and a boat parked in the frontyard already on fire. He kicked open a chicken coop to let the birds out and ran inside the house. Goff's son was safe with his sister, and his landlord was away on a hunting trip. But their new housemate -- a man he knew only by his first name, Peter -- had not evacuated. He found him in tears.
"We've got to get out of here," Goff recalled telling Peter. The fire's heat was melting the window frames. A moose head hanging in the living room burst into flames.
"I'm panicking now," Goff said. "I figure we're dead."

Goff surveys the ruins of the two-story home on Stonyvale Road. Seven years ago, the owner offered him a free room in exchange for helping maintain the place.

For a minute, he considered emptying out two big meat freezers and hiding inside. Then he remembered the hot tub.
Goff grabbed a pair of jeans, ripped them in half and soaked them with water from a water heater so they would have something wet to put over their faces.
Peter grabbed their landlord's dog, Roxy. Huge flames were racing across the yard as they ran for the tub.
"All I could do was scream, it was so hot," Goff said.
As they scrambled across a footbridge, the slats broke and Peter fell. Goff pulled him back up and the two men jumped into the water. There they lay on their backs, with Roxy on Goff's chest, for about an hour and a half.

When the worst of the flames had passed, the men saw two U.S. Forest Service trucks driving down the road. The local firefighters had come looking for them, Goff said, and they were bringing body bags. The two men stumbled across the yard and were hauled into one of the vehicles, which reversed all the way back to the nearby ranger station.
"After all the other firetrucks pulled out, these guys saved my life," Goff said, tearfully.
A Sheriff's Department helicopter flew through thick smoke to bring them to hospital, authorities said.
When Schwarzenegger addressed a news conference the next day, authorities were battling to persuade residents in a number of areas to heed mandatory evacuation orders. Underlining the risks that holdouts could face, Schwarzenegger said: "People got burned and really badly injured because they did not listen."
Goff was still on a lot of pain medication when he heard what was being said. He wandered into the street and walked up to a police officer, demanding to speak to the governor. The officer gently directed him back to his hospital room.
Asked about Goff's case Monday, Brittany Chord, a Schwarzenegger spokeswoman, said: "The governor's No. 1 priority is the safety of all Californians, and he takes the evacuation orders very seriously in any emergency situation."
Goff has not heard from his housemate, Peter, since the man checked himself out of the hospital. Goff left the hospital about two weeks ago. His legs are still bandaged, and he constantly shifts his weight from foot to foot to lessen the pain. At night, he is plagued by terrifying nightmares.
Some neighbors say Goff is owed an apology.
"This man is a hero," said Bronwyn Aker, who lives up the road.
"He saved 10 lives."

There are alot of heroes who we never hear about.  Arnold needs to keep his mouth shut and go back to what he does best... acting!

You remember him… my Water Hound who had his spine replaced a few years ago.  He has more plastic than a Honda!!

The Vet gave us (sold us!) some liquid, aspirin-like stuff called Metscam.  It works well.  He injured it last night and reinjured it when the mailman came.  Right now he is spasming in his bed.  I just gave him his meds so they should kick in soon.

In other pet news, we haven’t seen our desert tortoise, Burt, in 6 months.  No way could he get under the house again so we are stumped.  The AT&T found him last time!

Isn’t he handsome???

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Read this today and thought it was cool!

October 5, 2009

Flo Snyder shares her Dodgers memories

The wild goose chase started with a simple request from an apparently flustered Gil Hodges: Could the young woman please help him find the keys to the batter's box?
They'd been lost, he said.
That was all the recently hired newcomer needed to hear.
Eager to lend a hand but unschooled in the ways of baseball and naive to the childish pranks perpetrated by ballplayers, she ignored the heat and humidity in Vero Beach, Fla., and set off across Dodgertown in dogged pursuit of the missing keys.
Hodges sent her to Duke Snider, who suggested she try Pee Wee Reese, who pointed her toward Don Zimmer -- and on and on, her fruitless search continuing despite her blouse sticking to her back and droplets of sweat rolling down her cheeks.
Finally, her face beet red, not from the Florida sun but from embarrassment, she caught on to the charade.

She'd been punked, '50s style.
Flo Snyder still laughs at the 51-year-old memory. "That," she says, "tells you how much I knew about baseball."
The former Flo Thomasian was the first person hired by the Dodgers after they ditched Brooklyn for her hometown of Los Angeles. And while not well versed in the national pastime when she started, she knew funny stories when she heard them.
Or lived them.
Snyder, 83, has included many of her favorites in a lighthearted, engaging account of her 10 years with the club, "Lady in the Locker Room: Madcap Memoirs of the Early L.A. Dodgers."
The book's provocative title notwithstanding, Snyder actually spent little time in the clubhouse -- except for the time she memorably was duped into the players' lair only to be greeted by a major league mooning by an unidentified perpetrator.
Snyder, a Garfield High and USC graduate, was an assistant to the Dodgers' legendary publicist, Red Patterson.
And thrilled to be involved.
"The arrival of the Dodgers was so exciting," Snyder says from her home in Carmel. "At the Coliseum that first year, the ballplayers would peer out of the dugout and see all these movie stars in the front rows -- and the movie stars would be peering right back at them. They were in awe of each other."
Snyder was spellbound too -- even before Hodges, Snider, Reese and the rest of the Dodgers touched down.
"You could feel the vibration of major league baseball coming to Southern California," she says. "When Walter O'Malley announced he was bringing the Dodgers, the city of L.A. was just going wild with anticipation and I was caught up in that."
So she applied for the job and got it, even though she knew little about baseball and had never seen a professional game.
Later, Snyder traveled the world as director of tourism for the state of California, but she says the most enjoyable time in her life was the time she spent working for the Dodgers.
"Can you imagine a young, single girl -- and in those days, girls did not have exciting careers -- getting this memo from the traveling secretary telling me to be at the airport to board the Dodger plane because I was going to spring training?" she says. "I really think that was the most exciting moment of my life."

In those days, she says, players regularly socialized with front-office personnel. A family atmosphere was fostered.
"We all lived out in the Valley, so we were constantly at each other's houses," says Snyder, who counted several players and their wives among her closest friends. "There were parties and dinners. You know, we all sort of hung out with each other."
So Snyder knew all about it when the famously private Sandy Koufax was quietly dating a grammar school teacher named Marge Zizzi, a supposedly secret relationship.
Snyder writes that one of Zizzi's students, who'd one day been in the crowd at the airport welcoming home the Dodgers, later stood up in class to show off the autographs he'd collected.
Wrapping up his show-and-tell session, the youngster happily noted, " . . . and I saw Sandy Koufax kissing Miss Zizzi."

Snyder says she never dated any players, but notes that just working for the team improved her social standing.
"Suddenly," she says, "I could get any date I wanted because the guy that took me out knew he was going to get great seats to a Dodger game. In fact, one guy I really liked took me to dinner and then to the Coliseum. My seats were right behind home plate and he turns to me and says, 'Will you marry me?' "
Snyder declined but her association with the Dodgers continued to give her cachet long after she left the ballclub in 1968. Whenever she gave speeches on behalf of California tourism, she notes, someone would inquire about her former job.
"That one little line from my bio created such a stir," Snyder says. "I'd be ready to take questions about the tourism program and all anybody wanted to know about was the Dodgers."
That gave her the idea to share her experiences in a book.
"When I'd tell these stories," she says, "people would always laugh. It's a great feeling to think you made people laugh."
In "Lady in the Locker Room," she's done it again.

Nice Story!  Nice Lady!!!

Gotta check on Buzz!  Bye for now.

Yeah,  L.A. is a normal city!!

Sorry for the lame post!!  I'll try to do better tomorrow!!

While waiting for the weekend!!

And finally….

Marital Spite With a Side of Goldfish

A Texas woman, apparently angry at her former common-law husband, fried their pet goldfish and ate some of them, Pasadena police said.

Spokesman Vance Mitchell said police responded to the man’s report of goldfish theft on Saturday.  Officers went to the woman’s home, where they fried found four fried goldfish on a plate.  The woman said she already ate the other three.

Police say it’s a civil matter and no charges will be filed.

Like I always say, God is great, Beer is good and people are Crazy!!

Have a GREAT Friday and weekend!!

Angels in control, even in celebration

I had another post planned and ready to go.  Tomorrow….

They won the West for the third year in a row, due in part to a manager who has kept the young team on a short leash. When they rejoiced, and remembered teammate Nick Adenhart, it was as a team.

Angel pitcher Jered Weaver, after hugging the photo of Nick Adenhart, who was killed by a drunk driver in April, holding Adenhart’s jersey. They keep his locker intact, hang his jersey in the dugout and bring it on road trips.

It was Nick’s first game in in the big leagues and he pitched 6 shutout innings for the win  He was 22 years old.

Jered Weaver and Nick Adenhart, (bottom right) were best friends….

The champagne-and-beer showers, the ear-thumping hip-hop music and dancing, the victory cigars -- all the trappings of a traditional division-winning celebration would have to wait.

Before the revelry came, a remembrance.
The Angels clinched their fifth American League West title in six years with an 11-0 romp over the Texas Rangers in Angel Stadium on Monday night, and after a huge group hug in the middle of the infield, players and coaches quickly retreated to the clubhouse.
But before any corks were popped, Manager Mike Scioscia spoke for several minutes about the fallen Angel, Nick Adenhart, the 22-year-old pitcher who was killed along with two friends in a car crash on April 9, just four days into the season.
"It was definitely very emotional," reliever Kevin Jepsen said. "It was Scioscia saying, 'No matter what happens, everywhere we go, Nick is with us.' He's been with us the whole way, and he's pulling for us. He was a part of this team. He can't be here to celebrate with us, but he's in our hearts."
The Angels got the party started, dousing each other with large quantities of booze, but Adenhart was again in the middle of it, a clubhouse attendant taking Adenhart's No. 34 jersey around the room and players pouring beer and champagne on it.  Nick was killed by a drunk driver on his way home after the game.

Celebration at the wall… Nick’s wall!

 The Angels then jogged en masse to the center-field wall, where a picture of Adenhart in mid-pitching motion has been affixed since the tragic crash. Players bowed their heads, tapped Adenhart's face, and some poured beer over his head.
"Nick Adenhart should be here celebrating with us," center fielder Torii Hunter said. "But the good Lord took him. Now, we're just celebrating in his name. He's a very important part of the team. We're playing hard for him. Trust me, he's here in spirit and in love."
The Angels have gotten used to such celebrations, having advanced to the playoffs in six of the last eight years and winning the World Series in 2002.

In the locker room

"They never get old," said pitcher John Lackey, the Game 7 winner in the 2002 World Series. "You've got to celebrate, for sure. We've been together since the middle of February, it's been a long journey, and a lot of things didn't go as planned."
For that reason, many Angels said, this celebration felt different.
"This one is special because we're one short," pitcher Joe Saunders said of Adenhart. "We miss him. We wish he was here with us. This season is dedicated to him. We're celebrating for him and for his family. We're trying to win this thing for him."
Added Lackey: "He's definitely in our thoughts. This is the first step of our goal. We're going to take him all the way."

Got the fans good!  And they loved it!!

The next step is a likely AL division series rematch with the Boston Red Sox, who eliminated the Angels in the first round of the playoffs in 2004, 2007 and 2008 and need just one victory, or one more Texas loss, to clinch the AL wild card.
"They're going to get a battle," Saunders said. "They've had our number in the postseason. We've got nothing to lose. We're going to give them everything we've got, and hopefully, we'll play until November."
The Angels achieved their first goal Monday night by crushing their closest pursuers in the division, throttling the Rangers with their bats and smothering them with their pitching and gloves.
Ervin Santana, who entered with a 7-6 career record and 6.67 earned-run average against Texas, threw a seven-hitter for his second shutout of the season, and the Angels racked up 12 hits, including three each by Bobby Abreu and Maicer Izturis.
Vladimir Guerrero hit a run-scoring double and Kendry Morales followed with a towering two-run home run to center field in the first inning, giving the first baseman 33 homers and 104 runs batted in on the season.
Erick Aybar hit an RBI fielder's choice in the third, and Izturis keyed a three-run third with a two-run single.
Abreu tripled and scored in the fourth and hit an RBI double and scored on Hunter's single during a three-run sixth.

Ervin Santana pitched a 9 inning, 7 hit shutout.

While the Rangers committed three errors that led to two unearned runs, the Angels sparkled defensively, turning three double plays, two of them started by Morales.
"Honestly, I think there were bigger powers looking down on us tonight," Saunders said. "Everything was going our way. Ervin pitched an outstanding game, we hit the ball everywhere. It was one of those nights where we weren't going to be beaten."
The Angels have six more regular-season games to rest up and gear up for the playoffs. Considering how much they've struggled during a September in which they are 14-12 and averaging only 4.2 runs a game, it is important to gain some momentum going into the postseason.
The Angels won 100 games and clinched the division on Sept. 10 last season, but they did not peak in October and were ousted by the Red Sox in the division series.
"We're going to try to bring [Adenhart's] ring back home for him and give it to his parents," Hunter said. "But first, we've got to get past the first round."

Well, since the playoffs begin next week, there will be more baseball posts.

I'm sticking to my prediction from April.  Philadelphia Phillies  and Anaheim Angels in the World Series.  Let me hear your picks!!

For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you might remember this golden oldie.

August 20, 2008 

The Constant Gardener

I was pretty sure I had posted about this blithering idiot before but I can't find it.  The Vietnamese gardener I used up until the time we decided to get sod.  (Aside:  He asked if I needed him to mow when the yard was DIRT!!!!) 

Nuff said.

He was and still is the laziest gardener I have ever seen!  Does the bare minimum, hardly cleans up and recently raised his fees!  I have fired him 3 times now but he still show's up every other week, leaning on the doorbell at 6:30 AM!  As far as I can remember, our last conversation went pretty much like this:

HIM:  You want mow?

Me:  NO!

Him:  Your lawn look like crap!!

Me:  It's dirt, you moron!

Him:  Next week?

Me:  Go Away!!

Him:  OK!  Next week!!

Me:  I have a gun!!

Him:  See you next week!

*Sigh*

That was like two months ago!  And who happens to show up at my front door this morning at 6:30 LEANING on the doorbell??  You guessed it!!  Ho Chi Minh!!  Wanting to mow!  I explained to him that it was NEW sod and could not be walked on for 3 weeks or mowed for a month!!  He did a few calculations on his abacus and declared that he would be here NEXT WEEK!!  I told him no and that it would be another 3 weeks before I wanted it mowed and also that HE would not be inflicting his brutal tortue on it!!  He replied that he understood about new sod but hoped I would change my mind.  I told him I would think about it.  He then turned around and walked DIRECTLY across the lawn!!  I yelled at him and he said OOPS, but continued walking across the rest of the lawn and the parkway portion too! 

Guess who will NOT be getting hired!!  Jerk!!!

Anyhow, my neighbor Rod and him have a rivalry going on.  Whenever Ho Chi Minh shows up, Rod races out and begins mowing his lawn.  Words are exchanged while I laugh my butt off!! 

Here is Rod:

I’m pretty sure he kicked Ho Chi Minh’s truck!!!

Here is Ho!  (Yes, we are on a first name basis now...  LOL!!)

This is as close as I could get them together

Apparently the fight involved property lines.  I also had a great chance to take a pic of Crazy Lady II but the little switch on the memory card had been flipped off.  Maybe tomorrow.

By the way, there is a one foot line of un-cut grass between the two yards!!  LOL!!  So glad I have a digital camera and a huge picture window!  If I ever see them rolling around in the grass and fighting I’ll be sure to run right over there….. camera in hand!!  Then I’ll turn the hose on both of them!

Have a Wonderful week.  I should be through laughing soon!

*************************************************************************************************************************

Now speaking of crazy,  I'm pretty sure that you all have missed my posts about my crazy neighbors.  So here is a neighbor that you haven't met yet.  We refer to her as 'Crazy Lady II'.  She is really mean and divorced (I wonder why?) so I didn't dare to try to take a photo of her.... Yet!!

Now, she decided to put in a walkway leading to nowhere.  My FIL made one using those molds that you pour concrete into, let it harden and move on until it's completed.  It took him 5 days.  She decided to buy slabs of concrete and chisle out each stone by hand!  She has been working on it for 4 months and she still has a long way to go.  Here is what it looked like this morning:

The city made her put up the caution tape.  I'll keep you updated on this one!!!

I hope you're all having great weekends!

PS:  That roadwork that I blogged about is finally finished.  Now they are on to the NEXT street!!  Oh No!!!!!

Boy, 16, suspected in a dozen arson fires in San Bernardino County

Authorities believe he may have started the Pendleton and Oak Glen fires and others over the last three years.

A 16-year-old boy seen riding a bike away from a brush fire near Yucaipa on Wednesday is suspected of starting a dozen fires that ravaged the area over the last three years, including two large blazes earlier this month.

San Bernardino County prosecutors said they were still weighing what charges to bring against the high school student, who was not immediately identified because of his age.
Authorities said he has been linked to recent blazes, including the 860-acre Pendleton fire that destroyed two structures and the Oak Glen fire that charred more than 1,100 acres.
"It's early in the investigation, but we are looking at him in connection with multiple fires," said Dist. Atty. Michael A. Ramos.

"It's a very serious case," he said. "Our county has had its share of fires in the last decade that have destroyed peoples' property, peoples' homes and peoples' lives."
Investigators would not reveal what evidence links the various fires. The boy was arrested Wednesday when witnesses saw him riding his bike away from a fire that had just started in the Crofton Hills area.
Officials said it was odd to have a large number of fires in a small area, suggesting that someone in the area might be setting them.

"That's a small area to have this intense of a fire siege," said Doug McKain, a unit chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "There were a lot of evacuations. It impacted a lot of people."
The case marks the second high-profile arrest of a suspected juvenile arsonist in less than a month. Last week, a 13-year-old El Monte boy was charged with two felonies in connection with the Aug. 25 Morris fire, which consumed more than 2,100 acres north of Azusa, prosecutors said. The youth is accused of felony arson of a forest and recklessly setting fire to a forest or structure.
In 2005, of 1,467 arson arrests in California, 52% involved juveniles, according to the California Department of Justice. Nationwide, an FBI report found that in 2003, 50.8% of those arrested on suspicion of arson were juveniles; a third of the total arrests in arsons were of children under 15 and 3% were of those under age 10.

Meanwhile, firefighters battling the 16,400-acre Guiberson fire in Ventura County took advantage of relatively light winds Thursday to attack flare-ups emerging on the northeast edge of the three-day-old blaze.
From the tiny Piru community east of Fillmore, a giant column of smoke could be seen throughout the day as air and ground crews worked to halt the flames' advance, said Capt. Ron Oatman, a Ventura County Fire Department spokesman.
But for the most part, the fire has slowed considerably and is no longer posing a threat to Moorpark, Somis and other communities on its southern flank, Oatman said. All evacuations and road closures have been canceled except in one small area near Somis, he said.
"We're right on track," he said. "We had the weather we expected today, hot and dry. And the wind wasn't as bad as it could have been."
Full containment of the month-old Station fire in the Angeles National Forest was expected late Thursday.
Aircraft on Thursday were patrolling the interior of the 160,577-acre blaze to extinguish hot spots that remain in steep and rugged terrain that can't be reached by ground crews.

And as if the wildfires aren’t enough…

Fire burning at Wilmington refinery

A large fire broke out this morning at a refinery in Wilmington.

The blaze started around 5 a.m. at the Tesoro Refinery at 2101 E. Pacific Coast Highway. More than 120 firefighters were on the scene and had prevented the blaze from spreading outside the Tesoro property, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

No injuries were reported, and officials are not sure how the fire started.

What is it with fires and California??

I tried to find some good news but it’s hard to come by these days.

Everyone, have a Great weekend!

The wildfire, expected to grow to 10,000 acres, poses a growing threat to oil fields, power lines and agricultural sites. 

The 9,700-acre Guiberson fire in Ventura County is 20% contained, but firefighters expect the blaze to grow to 10,000 acres before the day is over as it threatens oil production fields, power lines and agricultural sites, officials said today.

At a news conference, fire experts said winds have increased significantly since 9 a.m. and are up to 12 mph with gusts to 21 mph. The winds were calmer than they were at midday Tuesday when gusts of more than 50 mph were recorded.

Flying tankers attacked the flames on the western and eastern flanks of the fire, which is about five miles north of Moorpark College. The fire is threatening oil production fields and five 220-kilovolt power lines that supply Ventura and Santa Barbara with electricity, said Nick Schuler with CalFire. (A previous version of this post erroneously said an above-ground gas line was threatened.)

The fire also prompted the closure today of Moorpark College and two elementary schools, Walnut Canyon and Campus Canyon.

"We don't want these kids out, especially with those elements," said Mike Mohler, a spokesman for CalFire.

The cause of the fire, which started Tuesday, is still under investigation, but Ventura County Sheriff's Department officials have said it appeared to have been started by spontaneous combustion of manure from a local ranch.

Officials did not disclose exactly where the fire started or how. But spontaneous manure fires are fairly common in farm communities, often occurring during conditions of extreme heat. Temperatures around where today's fire started near Fillmore topped 100 degrees.

In 2005, it took months to fully contain a manure fire that broke out at a feed lot near Lincoln, Neb. A man was killed earlier this year in Texas on a fire later blamed in part on animal waste placed in bags in a truck.

Manure becomes volatile as it decomposes.  Gases, including methane and hydrogen sulfide, are naturally produced as the animal waste breaks down.

As weather becomes hotter, methane becomes highly combustible, which can cause the manure to spontaneously explode and sometimes catch fire.

Since methane is lighter than air, it builds up on top of unvented areas, such as in closed pits.  All areas with manure should be ventilated to prevent explosions.

There you go!!  A fire update and a science lesson in one post!!  Weather conditions should improve tomorrow and by next week the temps should be in the mid-70’s.

Pretty soon I’ll be complaining about too much rain….  NO I WON’T!!

Take care and be safe.

PS:  That Station fire from two months ago is still burning.  Over 300 sq miles so far.

Hope these tips were informative.  I try to be helpful...

Have a peaceful Tuesday.

High winds starting tonight and over 100 tomorrow through Wednesday. Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn.  Our summer is starting right on schedule.  Ironic, huh? 

Santa Ana winds are on their way

Firefighters race the forecast as they try to snuff out the Station fire and a Temecula blaze before the arrival of strong gusts expected by this evening.

Bracing for the arrival of a heat wave and the likelihood of Santa Ana winds, Southern California firefighters rushed this weekend to extinguish the Station fire and a smaller blaze east of Temecula.
A high-pressure system building over the Great Basin area today will bring low humidity and temperatures in the high 90s to the Los Angeles area. While weather at the beaches will remain in the 80s, the mercury is expected to reach triple digits inland and in the San Fernando Valley. A high of 98 degrees is expected downtown Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures surging to 105 degrees in the warmest parts of the Valley on those days. "It's going to be a scorcher," said Jamie Stern of the National Weather Service.
Fire officials are most concerned about Santa Ana winds moving into the region. By this evening, forecasters are predicting winds from the northeast up to 20 to 30 miles per hour in the mountain passes and canyons, with gusts up to 45 miles per hour.

 
"If any fires were to develop or ignite, it could be a situation where the fire could explosively grow," said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. "It's going to be a potentially hazardous situation, so let's cross our fingers."

 
Forecasters have issued a red-flag warning for tonight through Wednesday evening covering the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.
Racing against the weather, crews fighting the Station fire in the Angeles National Forest spent the weekend soaking hot spots north of Mt. Wilson with more than 80,000 gallons of water. Officials hope to contain the Station fire, which has chewed through more than 160,000 acres since it began on Aug. 26, by Tuesday.
After nearly a month fighting the blaze, Fire Information Officer Carol Underhill of the U.S. Forest Service said, officials are relying primarily on aerial surveillance and infrared technology to detect burning embers and prevent the fire from spreading into pockets of untouched forest land within the fire perimeter. Officials used a water tender Sunday to spread fire retardant along the northern slope of Mt. Wilson, while ground crews continued mopping up the fire.

 
"Right now it's smoldering in the duff layer -- the pine needles and dry leaves," she said. "We're taking an abundance of caution just trying to address those hot spots this weekend before we get that windy weather."
Facing similar concerns, firefighters in Riverside County made significant headway Sunday stamping out a 340-acre brush fire that spread across rolling hills east of Temecula after it ignited Saturday afternoon near California 79 and Vail Lake Road.

 
At least 12 structures were destroyed and more than 30 homes were evacuated within a two-mile radius of the ignition point. The fire burned along both sides of California 79, damaging power poles and causing outages. That led officials to close a portion of the highway for much of the weekend as officials repaired power lines and snuffed out hot spots. The highway reopened Sunday evening.
Capt. Fernando Herrera of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the combination of a swift air attack, which included six air tankers and three helicopters, and mild winds Sunday helped them reach full containment of the fire as expected Sunday evening.
"We had two air bases relatively close to the fire and a lot of ground resources were available, so we were able to get personnel up here pretty quick," Herrera said.

So far, so good but those winds will kick up sometime after midnight.  Please pray for our exhausted firefighters.

I have a great, helpful post about cats coming tomorrow! 

And on a Related Note...  EWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

Burger King launches beef-scented body spray

Looking to beef up your mojo this holiday season?

Burger King Corp. may have just the thing. The home of the Whopper has launched a new men's body spray called "Flame." The company describes the spray as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat."

The fragrance is on sale at New York City retailer Ricky's NYC in stores and online for a limited time for $3.99.

Burger King is marketing the product through a Web site featuring a photo of its King character reclining fireside and naked but for an animal fur strategically placed to not offend.

The marketing ploy is the latest in a string of viral ad campaigns by the company. Burger King is also in the midst of its Whopper Virgins campaign that features a taste test with fast-food "virgins" pitting the Whopper against McDonald's Corp.'s Big Mac.

I'm SOOO glad I still read newspapers!!  LOL!!  The 'King' is scarey enough without this!

Hope your weekend is going well.... Easy on the beef!

Rascal Flatts..... 'Nuff Said!