Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air... or at least was in the air.  When I was walking by the park near my place, I noticed a gaggle of yellow flowers and my instant thought was dandelions.. but to my surprise, they weren't.  I thought about laying down in the grass... but then remembered that I'm allergic to grass...hmmm..  I also was strolling by the Palais Theatre on my way to the grocery store and noticed numerous middle-aged folks... many of which were wearing leis.  I thought that these look like Parrotheads... and they were!  Jimmy Buffet was playing on a Sunday night.  I also thought I should include a picture in the suburb where I bought my car.  The train stops on top of a hill with a beautiful view out into more suburbs.  Luckily it cooled down again: my allergies subsided, I didn't sweat on my walk to work, and I could ferment beer outside of my fridge... allowing me to continue using my fridge for food :) 

Anchors Away

I was across the street at the beach, when I saw this funny sight.  There is a yacht club right across from my place and I always have to step over the railroad tracks leading from the club to the abyss.  For the first time, I saw them in use.  I enjoy the man on the ship, captaining his way up the rails.  Since they blocked the road during this procedure, I figured that it was a good time to take a snapshot for your enjoyment. 

Protest

I participated in my first protest.  The Aboriginals were protosting the insertion of a gas refinery on their land in the Northern Territory, so they held ceremonies across the entire coast of australia.  It involved the burning of eucalyptus leaves.  They are concerned about how the refinery would impact the wildlife.  Don't worry mum and pop, I'm not becoming a hippie ;) 


I burned a cigar in the honor of the ceremony.  It was being held just outside my apartment on the beach.  One of the things I found funny was that during the ceremony, the hippie parents that were there would let their children run wild, which was actually a bit disruptive.  While one of the aboriginals spoke, the child would play with the sticks, putting them in the fire, throwing sand at the fire, etc.. I thought it was interesting that the parents would support something, yet disrespect it at the same time.