10/22/07 smoke and flame


smoke from the fires, as seen from the 55 south at 6:15 p.m.

A friend who was flying into LAX last night remarked this morning on how much LA looks like mordor right now. The orange county fire authority is unintentionally furthering that simile by naming the santiago canyon fire, 'ORC 2536512.' (or some random number like that.) so, I can't help but wonder -- does this orc get special commendation for wreaking utter havoc near my house? Does sauron give this pyro orc a bonus for every thousand acres burnt? he and his 18 hordemates are doing a bang-up job on southern california.

i've been anxious today, waiting to hear if my grandparents will be evacuated from their house, since they live in an area under voluntary evacuation. Embers from the fire are blowing west for miles, and i'm probably going to soak my house and roof (it's wood, ack!) tonight.

winds near my house have been going anywhere from 16 - 60+ mph. Fun times.

yes, traffic in LA really is that bad

Because of the imbalance between road supply and travel demand, delay on urban freeways has nearly doubled from about 262,000 vehicle-hours per day in 1992 to 512,000 vehicle-hours per day in 2002.... Congestion is defined as occurring when vehicles are traveling at 35 miles per hour or less during peak commute periods on a typical work day.... Congestion on urban freeways costs Californians at least $16 million per day (or $5.9 billion per year) in wasted time and excess fuel.

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comic-con preparations

it's been a productive day -- with help from j., i got all my paintings shot and imported, and i'm working on resizing smaller versions of them to post in my gallery. that's a huge load off my mind, and i'm glad to have that hurdle overcome, as it'd been vexing me all week.
also, i bought a camelbak at REI today. j. was getting a small one, and i thought hey… how perfect would this be for the con? i have a serious hiking backpack with a platypus water reservoir, but it's serious enough that it has a metal frame, and is pretty huge -- which means tempting to fill up with crap. in order to function optimally, it needs to have the hip and chest belts fastened, and that's just a bit too much, even for comic-con. it's very tempting to someday upgrade to the military camelbak line. but i think that the one i got will be just right -- enough to carry 2L of water, fill easily from a fountain, and carry a couple of small things. the last three years, i've carried around a shoulder bag, which has left my back in agony by the end of the day, despite switching shoulders periodically. i managed to fit about 50 lbs. in it last year, between all the books, markers, more books, posters, water, portfolio, snack bars, etc. not something i recommend doing.
now, for the comic colorist part of the portfolio. hey, there's always a chance marvel, DC, dark horse, et. al. are in dire need of a new colorist.
and oh yeah… business cards that look interesting.
and the last few touches on the website and gallery.

oof.

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fireworks

there's nothing quite like group pyromania to bring a nation together. last night in santa ana, the entire city, it seemed, had obtained mortars and shells. there was enough sulfur in the air to cause massive clouds of smoke roiling through the city streets.

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homesick

that wasn't what i'd expected at all; i thought i'd see some people i knew in the crowd, and maybe if we bumped into each other we'd politely say hello and move on. but instead, people stopped me and asked how i was doing; wanted to get together for dinner or lunch; and told me how much they missed me. when my professor saw me in the book signing line, he got up and gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek, and he started chattering until his dean came over and reminded him there were other people in line.... everywhere i went, i saw someone i had history with: the religion professor who spotted me as i went to go say hello to the photographer; one of my fellow alumni who was behind me in line; a dozen professors; staff i worked with; trustees.

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