Touring the Pasadena Chalk Festival

From 2014 06 15 Pasadena Chalk Festival

While visiting southern California for the Caltech commencement ceremony, Ellen and I took the opportunity to tour the Pasadena Chalk Festival.

It is so amazing what these artists can do with a square of sidewalk and box of chalk that I'll just let the art speak for itself.

More photos after the jump.

Touring the Mount Wilson Observatory

From 2014 06 14 Mt Wilson

While visiting southern California for the Caltech commencement ceremony, Ellen and I took the opportunity to tour the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The mountains are a welcome change from the crowds of the Los Angeles basin. Mostly in the Angeles National Forest, the scenery is magnificent. Even without the observatories as a destination, the ride alone would be worth it. But the observatories are a treasure all by themselves.

More after the jump.

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

IMDB

Dallas Buyers Club (2013): Cad turned hero in struggle against 1980s AIDS epidemic. One-sided movie. Dubious history. Powerful acting. B-

Richardson Lacks Fight Against TxDOT

At the June 23, 2014, Richardson City Council meeting, city staff presented TxDOT's plans for a tolled express lane on US 75 between IH 635 and Allen. Both the staff presentation and the city council reaction were impotent.

After the jump, why.

Touring the Reagan Library

From 2014 06 12 Reagan Library

While visiting southern California for the Caltech commencement ceremony, Ellen and I took the opportunity to tour the Reagan Presidential Library. This added to our growing list of libraries, having previously visited the libraries of Hoover, Truman, LBJ, Bush 41 and Clinton (we'll soon add Bush 43's library too as it's just down the road in Dallas).

The Reagan library's setting is stunning, high in the hills above Simi Valley. The main exhibits are humdrum -- windowless rooms burnishing the achievements of the Reagan presidency and overlooking the not-so-laudatory events. But it's the Air Force One Pavilion that people identify with the Reagan library. Think of the GOP presidential primary debates, with the candidates lined up under the wing of Air Force One. It's a spectacular exhibit, with the plane facing one glass wall, beyond which the California hills form just as spectacular a backdrop.

More after the jump.

Arsenic and Old Lace

Mesquite Community Theatre

Arsenic and Old Lace at MCT: Classic farce still works 70 years later. Laugh out loud at the same show your grandparents did. "Charge!!!"

Unsafe Routes to School

For the last several months, signs have been up all around the Yale Elementary neighborhood advertising street and sidewalk improvements being made as part of a Safe Routes to School program to enable and encourage children to walk and bike to school. Good intention.

I thought the city would be repairing sidewalks and perhaps installing curb-free sidewalk ramps at intersections. That some intersections that already had curb-free ramps were also being torn up was puzzling, but I thought that maybe they were adding those little round bumps to warn you of the approaching intersection. Still, why would they be tearing up the intersection for ten to fifteen feet? Dunno, but that turned out to be the least of the problems.

Houston Richardson, we have a problem. Someone from the city needs to come out quickly and look at the work being done (Mark Solomon, I'm looking at you). Someone needs to stop this before more work is done that will need to be redone. The program advertised as Safe Routes to School is taking already safe routes and turning them into accidents waiting to happen.

After the jump, one example of Unsafe Routes to School.