Awesome Dragon is Awesome

Hike to Nazi Mountain Hideout in LA

Update December 8, 2013: Did some more research on the abandoned nazi compound in Los Angeles and took another trip there.

Hiked to the old nazi hideout in the mountains of LA with some friends. In Rustic Canyon, it has also been known as Murphy Ranch, named for a possibly fictitious widow who first bought it.

In the 1930s a couple built the mountain compound from which they planned to emerge after Europe fell to the nazis and seize control of the US (which they imagined would have fallen into chaos). After Pearl Harbor the FBI is said to have hauled away the nazi sympathizers, and after later briefly being an artists colony, it has been abandoned.

The $4 million spent to build it in the 1930s may be equal to more than $60 million in 2011 money. Good setting for a movie and there's more exploration to do. Some pictures are below.

view of the Pacific from the trail (click to enlarge):

panorama of stable on the first floor of the barn (click to enlarge):

panorama of loft on the second floor of the barn (click to enlarge):

panorama outside of generator building (click to enlarge):

panorama of inside of generator building, dark (click to enlarge):

panorama of inside of generator building, light (click to enlarge):

panorama on the roof of the generator building (click to enlarge):

the gate of the compound (click to enlarge):

view toward the Pacific from near the gate (click to enlarge):

view of the ocean again from the trail (click to enlarge):

Racecar Driving Physics

What it takes to race cars.

Hold On

Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth. 
Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself. 
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here. 
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go. 
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.

-Pueblo Blessing

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Netflix is Bigger than BitTorrent

Netflix has overtaken BitTorrent when traffic is averaged over 24 hours...the data show that people are increasingly more interested in streaming legitimate paid content than pirating it if the price is right and the delivery is convenient

(from PCWorld). May mean legitimate video streaming is using more bandwidth than not-always-legitimate-streaming. When iTunes was launched years ago it may similarly have begun to catch up to illegal music downloading's use of resources.

Now

Missing Unicorn

I have not heard from my unicorn, Sam, in a few days. If you see him, please let me know he's ok. Thank you for your help in finding him (click to enlarge picture).

Please download the printable PDF of this poster and post it in your area. Thank you.

Ocean and Land

Ad: Bloody Basin

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Arizona, purple mountains majesty, deserts, cacti and some nice people. Actually, as an adult most of the time I've spent in Arizona was at the airport. But somewhere in that state there is a street called "Bloody Basin" which is probably great around Halloween, but may have gotten its name from something that would require a Criminal Defense Attorney Scottsdale, assuming it is somewhere near Scottsdale. I'm not sure, and not curious enough to look it up. Could be the name was chosen as a kind of caution, a warning to keep ne'er-do-wells away, and may be very peaceful. Or it was named before Arizona was a state, and maybe there was no law enforcement. Or it was Halloween and the name stuck. If you crash your car on "Bloody Basin" and hire a DUI Attorney Scottsdale (again assuming the road is near Scottsdale, and discounting the awkward grammar), I wonder if they'd use "your honor, my client was distracted by the awesome name of the street on the street sign" as a defense. I imagine that while the judge may be amused, it likely wouldn't be a great tactic.
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LAX

The Encounter restaurant and bar at Los Angeles International Airport.

Million Dollar Theatre Actor

Actor statue detail on the outside of the Million Dollar Theatre

Yummy

Chocolate fondue strawberry and marshmallows.

Sunset at Red Rock Canyon

Alligator

Real, or was it memorex.

Art - no parking sign for movie location

Finally hung this no parking sign up. It's from a set I worked on, one of my first lead roles.

Different Likes

Contrasting taste (Joint Special Operations Command oversees military operations, like the locating of Osama bin Laden).