Tuesday, August 24, 2010

More Roadside Attractions

Traffic Jam Noodles

Enterprizing people along the jammed road sell food and drink.

Vendors In The Jam


Gridlock spanning 60 miles has been stuck in place for 10 days in China, with traffic stemming from construction in Beijing moving only about a half-mile per day, and vendors setting up shop to profit off the captive audience. Some drivers have been stuck in the jam for five days, China Central Television reported Tuesday, and an official said he wasn't sure when the situation along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway would return to normal.

Meanwhile...
Here In Redding


The only jam for me in this picture, is the music in my head. 8/23/10

After I picked up some new books at the library, yesterday, I decided that conditions were right for some early evening shots of Shasta Bally from Whiskeytown Lake. I turned south on South Market and drove down to Buenaventura where I cut across to Eureka Way. No traffic jams, although there was one slow car that I followed for about a mile.


Along the road by Whiskeytown lake. 8/23/10

The late afternoon/early evening sun combined with the summer haze to give the lake and mountains a soft, magical feeling.


A pair of sailboaters spend some leisure time on the water. 8/23/10

During the time I was taking pictures, I saw two sailboats, one 2-person kayak, one motorboat, and a person swimming in a secluded cove. I am so fortunate to have been born into the life that I have.

Shasta Bally

The snow is gone, but Shasta Bally has transformed beautifully. 8/23/10

Close Up

The top of Shasta Bally in the 7:00p shadows. 8/23/10

15 Year Old Buick


The Buick looks as well designed as the day it was built. 8/23/10

Sometimes the world can seem topsy turvy
, (from tops (plural of 1top) + obsolete English terve to turn upside down). Take for example the word conservative. It stems from the word conserve which means to prevent the wasteful or harmful overuse of resources.

Circumstances favored me
with the Buick LeSabre that I drive. It is second hand, and was carefully maintained, (conserved), by it's first owners. I received the Buick in 2007, and have continued to keep it maintained and in good repair. This, by definition, makes me conservative.

This car has lasted about 125,000 miles, and with good maintainence and repair, it should continue looking nice and running smoothly for at least another 125,000 miles.

Before
the Buick even got to the showroom in 1995, it had already produced significant amounts of damage to air, water and land ecosystems with 26.5 tons of waste and 32,482 cubic feet of polluted air just from the extraction of raw materials to make it. By keeping this car in good repair, I am saving immense amounts of planetary resources that would be required if I were to replace it.
 
I believe in protecting the environment from the damages of industrialization. This, by definition, makes me conservative.

I think you may know already where I am going with this train of intellectual raw material, so I will conserve some words by pointing out that today's corporately controlled media has been defining a conservative person like me, as a tree hugger, eco-nazi, progressive, and whatever the latest catchphrase may be.

Sometimes the world can seem topsy turvy.

Conservative Cream Puffs


Mini cream puffs from Sunset Marketplace Bakery. 8/23/10

When I drive
out to Whiskeytown Lake, I use the trip as an opportunity to stop at the Sunset Marketplace to get organic coffee beans and a couple of mini cream puffs. This way I conserve fuel and calories, by limiting my bakery trips to those times when I go to the lake, and choosing the "mini" cream puffs so as not to engage in gluttony.

Today's Relatively Appropriate Song;
Damn This Traffic Jam
Drive On

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