Post 1 LA county unemployment rate at 9.9%
LA county was 1-2% ahead of CA UE rate all year. And that 9.9% is way understated. It counts only those who have filed for and are collecting UE benefits. Probably another 5% of the county population have exhausted benefits or have simply dropped out. Another 10% have had their hrs cut back to part-time status. There is also a huge population of UE/underemployed minority teens and young adults including second gen immigrant siblings who are unable to get work or are marginally employed part time in service or in temp make work gov't job corps programs. There are also huge numbers of independent contractors(including illegal alien yard workers driving jalopy pickups) and commissioned agents who are not eligible for UE insurance and/or are not counted in the employed workforce stats, and who have seen their income disappear or reduced to almost zero.
U-6 UE rate here in LA County is at least 20% and more likely 25%. Both the city & county never had much high paying job sectors to begin with, just a few high tech defense jobs in the south bay, union port jobs and the hollywood industry. These sectors are also hurting from the bad economy and are cutting
A quick tour of San Onofre Nuclear reactor(in San Diego county):
I will provide a detailed description of one Nuclear power plant here in Scal. It is the San Onofre Plant in San Clemenete just off freeway 5 at border of Orange County and San Diego county. It is operated by SCal Edison and is situated next to a verdant lush green protected coastal Belt, where SCE has their administrative and warehouse facilites. Immediately south of the nuclear Plant is San Onofre State Park, a favored haunt of surfers and campers.
I have never heard of any complaints about this plant, and the area around it is practically a protected coastal preserve, as is Camp Pendleton immediate to the south.
I hope this dispels any thoughts of nuclear plants being noisy ,dangerous, environmentally polluting, ugly coastal nuisances.back on labor costs. Only the health industry may stay intact.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Why i do mountain pic's?
The remote mts and desert places i have been to simply scream to be photographed. Photography is simply a way to capture a time, place and scene which the shooter feels memorial in his /her own way. For me, shots of mts, rivers, desertscapes, rock formations, forest meadows, ect have a peculiar attraction. Too bad i was only using a simple point and shoot camera, as i never took to using fancy over priced photo equipment, preferring to focus on more fundamental aspects of hiking/ climbing such as trip logistics/wilderness expedition planning & execution. The photography is just a sidelight, a sort of diversion. More important is to get to the remote scenic spots in the first place and focus on the climbing route.
The famous climber Mallory was once asked why he climbed mts. His reply was: "because they're there". I choose to hike and explore wild regions, deserts and mts because
of a mystic connection, a way for me to be in touch with the almighty creator, or simply because earth, water, forest bring me to the elemental, the basics of existence.
My take on this Great depression II
Part I
The economy is in complete total meltdown with rapidly escalating EU, jobs cuts. Ca Gov't ready to axe and cut out payrolls and services. I go all over and see that the crowds have disappeared in the local shoreline resort areas, even during this past holiday. The consumers wallet has emptied out and credit has dried up. Fear of job cuts is on everyones mind - are U next? Retail is dead. I call this deflation, the worst since the great depression. Most folks haven't a clue and have their heads buried in the sand or get their info from the MSM and TV cable,. which are a bunch of liars or don't know squat. Better get your info on the real state of the economy from unbiased high-level blogsites such as Mish Global Economics and Bens Bubble Blog.
Part II
Ca gov't is completely BK and might as well shutter down for all i care. They can lay the axe on a good % of their useless state employees. As far as i am concerned The state is a hindrince to me though i hate to see such state treasures as our splendid state parks go to rot due to under maintenance and reduced staffing. Ca has bk'ed itself thru massive socialist spending -half of the state population is on the dole and the state will reach out to grab more taxes and wring more $ from the few productive working citizens. Ditto for county and local municipalities-the ruthless revenue collectors( your local police depts) are aggressively ticketing drivers to keep local city budgets afloat-their survival means your financial ruin.
Why redrock canyons fascinate me?
Most folks see the grand canyon at one time in their lives but never immerse themselves in the total canyon experience. I did hike down the canyon to the bottom and back in one day, a long hard hike. Saw the muddy chocolate colored Colorado river and walked along it banks. And the GC is not even near the best canyon experience on my list as i only did two trails -there are 100's of trails in the large GC expanse, and the best one is on the more remote northern rim, the thunder river/ deer creek trail which i have yet to do.
Back to SW canyon hiking. I liked Zion, bryce and capital reef canyons,. Best thing about canyons is to traverse a narrow twisting slot canyon and even wade thru it. The Virgin river narrows in Zion is a great canyon for doing a wading canyon hike . The san rafaell swell is also great for canyon slot hiking. There are also canyons where U can observe anastazi ruins such as johns canyon and grand gulch
Thing is i sold all my Utah/arizona canyoneering books on e-bay as i have chosen to devote all my remaining hiking/ camping years to the Sierras , the grandest best mts in the world.
kayaking off Long beach & OC coast update jan 10th 09
Kayaking around Newport beach marina has this advantage. Launching is very easy as i can park my truck and off load my yak within 50 ft of the water. Beach is mucky and the PCH bridge underpass blocks out sun which makes for a chilly launch and landing but NB harbor is the biggest & best of the 3 marinas to yak around, and Corona Del Mar has a neat clean tidal beach as a destination stop point. Like i said when coming back from a NB outing i need to have warm clothing to get into quickly as i have gotten very chilled coming out of the water at 4-5 pm on a cool day.
NB launch point takes an hr to get to but it is a good all-round kayak zone. Next destination is to launch, stop at NB fun zone and walk around. Another destination is to go around west jetty thru the wedge and stop at NB pier.
Long beach yakking is easy as the harbor is one big smooth lake. I do worry about speed boat racers and need to keep a watch constantly as the racers really go thru the water rather with reckless abandon. I need to get reflective tape and maybe a strobe light to place on my yak as i realy need to make myself highly visible in the harbor. May encounter drunk racers who may recklessly plow right thru me.
The LB Harbor is good for yaking as there are destinations to go to and the Launch point setup is established. It is 3 nautical miles to get to shoreline village marina, about an hrs paddling.
Next destination is the queen mary and the outer harbor areas and even attempt to yak out to the breakwater and beyond. Also want to go outside the breakwater westward along the curve keeping close to the jetty. It will be out in true open sea conditions with bigger waves and a true test of my sea kayak skills. Longest stint in true open seas is 1-1.5 hrs off the corona del mar shore out of the protected NB marina.
Update: since i posted this account on facebook i have expanded my local yak tours such as going well beyond the protected NB inner harbor Marina and really out to the open sea but that is for another post.
NB launch point takes an hr to get to but it is a good all-round kayak zone. Next destination is to launch, stop at NB fun zone and walk around. Another destination is to go around west jetty thru the wedge and stop at NB pier.
Long beach yakking is easy as the harbor is one big smooth lake. I do worry about speed boat racers and need to keep a watch constantly as the racers really go thru the water rather with reckless abandon. I need to get reflective tape and maybe a strobe light to place on my yak as i realy need to make myself highly visible in the harbor. May encounter drunk racers who may recklessly plow right thru me.
The LB Harbor is good for yaking as there are destinations to go to and the Launch point setup is established. It is 3 nautical miles to get to shoreline village marina, about an hrs paddling.
Next destination is the queen mary and the outer harbor areas and even attempt to yak out to the breakwater and beyond. Also want to go outside the breakwater westward along the curve keeping close to the jetty. It will be out in true open sea conditions with bigger waves and a true test of my sea kayak skills. Longest stint in true open seas is 1-1.5 hrs off the corona del mar shore out of the protected NB marina.
Update: since i posted this account on facebook i have expanded my local yak tours such as going well beyond the protected NB inner harbor Marina and really out to the open sea but that is for another post.
How bad is this recession/depression going to get?
It appears that things are worse than appearances. Companies are chopping out workers or cutting back hrs. It is all tied to a drastic reduction in consumer spending which accts for 70% of the economy. No Obama will not turn things around. He says he wiil create 4 mil jobs. BS. There will be agencies set up with all that bailout and stimulus spending to train laid off workers but they just get worthless certificates. Then they wil go out in the real world and try to apply for jobs in a down economy while millions are being laid off.
talk about sailing against a 30 kt wind. Going out to obtain work with your worthless training certificates while companies are shafting experienced staff and putting on hiring freezes. Especially as the majority of the umemployed are barely literate lower class proletariat or youth without any skills or experience.
There will be a host of job training agencys set up especially in the big cities with political connections to the obama adminiinstation and fat cat democratic politicians. This will benefit the administrators who are picked to run these programs, which will put millions into job trainng programs who might get make work or gov't infrastructure projects/WPA work . This will not happen right away and 2009 will be see continued rising unemployment.
These make- work gov't created agency jobs will be temporary stop gaps creating temp job corps WPA work.
I will simply stand back and watch the unfolding destruction of credit, jobs, housing asset declines, local Gov' t BK, small business' shuttering, crime run amok, poiticians & TV pundits spewing BS, athe while i will be on my kayak and go all up and down CA coast camping out in our lovely crown jewel state coastal parks .
talk about sailing against a 30 kt wind. Going out to obtain work with your worthless training certificates while companies are shafting experienced staff and putting on hiring freezes. Especially as the majority of the umemployed are barely literate lower class proletariat or youth without any skills or experience.
There will be a host of job training agencys set up especially in the big cities with political connections to the obama adminiinstation and fat cat democratic politicians. This will benefit the administrators who are picked to run these programs, which will put millions into job trainng programs who might get make work or gov't infrastructure projects/WPA work . This will not happen right away and 2009 will be see continued rising unemployment.
These make- work gov't created agency jobs will be temporary stop gaps creating temp job corps WPA work.
I will simply stand back and watch the unfolding destruction of credit, jobs, housing asset declines, local Gov' t BK, small business' shuttering, crime run amok, poiticians & TV pundits spewing BS, athe while i will be on my kayak and go all up and down CA coast camping out in our lovely crown jewel state coastal parks .
description of a short kayak day trip
Short synopsis : I launch out of Newport kayak rental center and after an hr of paddling i get to Crystal creek park inside the breakwater. I beach my yak and do some bouldering and simple rock climbing exercises on the short low cliff overhangs. Maybe swim out in to the calm beach. Back on my yak and paddle another hr out into the open sea away from the protection of the NB jetty. Then i can land at Crystal Cove State Park(CC) and practice some hairy beach landings and launches on an open sea exposed beach.
I can also continue paddling another mile and get to the rocky cliff headlands of CC and do some yak paddling into the kelp and seaweed beds, and maneuver as close to the wave dashed rocky bluffs as i dare. Can also peer into the clear waters and see the actual sea floor and see the underwater kelp forest and fishes swimming around. No, I do not get into the water to snorkle but will attempt to do so later if can set up my narrow easy- to- tip- over yak as a launch platform for undersea diving.
This is the real scenic part of tour , paddling along the CC rocky coastline . There are rocks and rocky headlands to manouver around, thick kelp, and broad ocean swells to watch for ,and U must be constantly alert and instinctively maintain a tenuous balance with your paddle .
I found an open sandy beach to beach my Yak , a secluded isolated beach . A good rest stop and picnic place and a clean quiet beach to lay back. Did get dunked and flipped the yak attempting the beach landing - always an adventure . Had to dry out all my gear as it was soaked.
A nice secluded beach and away from civilization , and a perfect spot to do beach calesthenics, practice more beach launches and landings, take a swim , and even do hikes along the beach trails.
Updated on Tuesday - Comment
I can also continue paddling another mile and get to the rocky cliff headlands of CC and do some yak paddling into the kelp and seaweed beds, and maneuver as close to the wave dashed rocky bluffs as i dare. Can also peer into the clear waters and see the actual sea floor and see the underwater kelp forest and fishes swimming around. No, I do not get into the water to snorkle but will attempt to do so later if can set up my narrow easy- to- tip- over yak as a launch platform for undersea diving.
This is the real scenic part of tour , paddling along the CC rocky coastline . There are rocks and rocky headlands to manouver around, thick kelp, and broad ocean swells to watch for ,and U must be constantly alert and instinctively maintain a tenuous balance with your paddle .
I found an open sandy beach to beach my Yak , a secluded isolated beach . A good rest stop and picnic place and a clean quiet beach to lay back. Did get dunked and flipped the yak attempting the beach landing - always an adventure . Had to dry out all my gear as it was soaked.
A nice secluded beach and away from civilization , and a perfect spot to do beach calesthenics, practice more beach launches and landings, take a swim , and even do hikes along the beach trails.
Updated on Tuesday - Comment
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