Odds and ends

We rarely see any boats off the coast in this area

A perfect morning with an almost cloudless sky

I literally pointed and shot.  I had no idea whether we would get pictures of the

guitar fish or not.  I am so glad that several of them turned out.

The others were nice shots of the surf at the edge of the ocean.

Removing the wood that is covering the crawl space under the deck.

Potted succulent plants by the pool

Robo #2 cleaning the wall of the pool

The new driveway with all of the vehicles parked on it.

Needless to say we are the last one and barely make it into the drive. 

There is always something interesting at the beach

Looking towards the business district of La Jolla

Behind me is a 'battalion' of junior lifeguards.  They broke up into smaller groups and 

we saw them running or exploring all along the shore.

The rocks here are covered with tiny barnacles.  They are sharp and very uncomfortable to walk on

with bare feet.  As you can see the children have tougher feet than I have or are far 

more determined to get a closer look.

Thanks to shutterstock for this close up look at the surface of the rocks.

Thanks to Kelly Stewart for this close up of turban snails and tiny barnacles.  The snails

huddle together until the tide comes in and the ocean covers them again.

The leader of this 'platoon' of junior lifeguards asked us if we would like to see

what they had found.  It is a sea hare or perhaps better known as a sea slug.  They found it high up on the dry beach so were moving it closer to its home environment. 

Guitar fish

In the past we have almost daily seen shovel nose guitar fish in the shallow water

close to the pier.  This is the first fish we have seen since our arrival last Tuesday.

We are like a couple of little kids.  We get so excited when we spot a fish.

These two pictures are the same but with different lighting effects during editing

Front door

Off and on I have joked that this little Fiat is the type of car I want for driving around town.

And here is one parked right outside our door.  It has not moved since our arrival but

no one has come to give me the keys.

Thank goodness I have editorial rights to this blog.

A sad after note for June 27th at La Jolla Shores:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jun/27/la-jolla-snorkeler-dies/

In the early evening someone in a kayak noticed a person snorkeling who was in distress.  The snorkeler was taken to shore by lifeguards and administered CPR.  However, he was dead on arrival at the hospital.  Probably a health issue rather than water in the lungs.

Not just another posting

Brexit Is Harmful to UK, EU, and US Interests

 In a referendum held on June 23, 52 percent of UK voters decided to
end their nation’s 43-year membership in the European Union.
Unfortunately, this outcome will result in major problems for the UK,
EU, and the United States.

The UK will lose its privileged access to what has been the world’s
largest economic union with 510 million consumers and an annual GDP of
over $18 trillion.  The City of London’s position as one of the two
leading global financial centers will also suffer as its links to
continental Europe become more tenuous.  US companies have long
favored locating in the UK which permits them to continue to operate
in English and still have access to the vast EU marketplace.  That
option will now be terminated, having negative consequences on the
UK’s ability to attract and retain American foreign direct investment.

Within the UK, Scots voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the
EU and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will now push for a
new referendum on Scottish sovereignty.  Northern Ireland also voted
in favor of remaining in the EU and Sinn Fein and its adherents will
agitate once again for the reunification of Northern Ireland with the
Republic of Ireland, a country which remains a stalwart member of the
EU.  Young people throughout the UK also supported continued
membership in the EU, happy with being part of a much larger economic
entity and having the right to seek jobs and travel freely throughout
the 28 nations associated with the European Union.

The UK is the only country to have ever voted to leave the European
Union and the EU will suffer from this divorce.  European integration
has been a noble experiment and over the past 70 years the continent
has prospered economically and enjoyed relative peace, in sharp
contrast to the previous 70 years when three major wars were fought on
European soil, the last two resulting in World War I in 1914 and World
War II in 1939.  In recent years, the EU, especially the 19-member
euro area which uses the common euro currency, has suffered from tepid
economic growth and minimal job creation.  Its demographic conditions
are alarming and it now faces major immigration challenges from the
Middle East and North Africa, ISIS-linked terrorist attacks, and a
growing threat from Putin’s Russia.  Nationalist and populist
movements are gaining adherents, and some opinion polls show
anti-Brussels’ sentiments are actually stronger in some EU countries
than in the UK.  The European Union is going through a very trying
period and the schism with the UK will exacerbate these difficulties.

As for the United States, the transatlantic relationship has been the
keystone of US defense and diplomatic ties since 1945.  The Marshall
Plan of 1947 provided critical aid to a devastated European continent,
helping to rebuild it using a market-oriented approach and keeping at
bay communist threats both from within Europe and from the Soviet
Union.  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a military
alliance created in 1949 with the expressed purpose of dissuading the
Soviets from ever invading western Europe.  Today, Europe is the
leading trade and investment partner of the United States and both
sides of the Atlantic share common perspectives on many leading
political, economic, environmental, and defense issues.

The UK has been the most stalwart partner of the United States during
the post-World War II period.  It is the world’s fifth largest
economy, the EU’s leading military power, and only one of two EU
nations possessing nuclear weapons.  It has often supported US
policies within meetings of EU decision-makers.  That voice within the
EU will now be lost and may result in more tenuous US-EU relations in
certain issue areas, such as sanctions on Russia and policies toward
resolving challenges within the greater Middle East.  It is not
surprising that the Kremlin has voiced support for the UK referendum
results, as had the Iranian government.  Anything which might weaken
European and transatlantic unity is welcomed by nations which often
express anti-US sentiments.

The Obama administration should abandon its “last in the queue” policy
toward trade negotiations with the post-referendum UK and support a
new US-UK free trade zone.  Most of the work on this issue has already
been completed through the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with the EU.  Obama should also
reaffirm the importance of NATO and stress that both the UK and the EU
nations are of vital importance to the United States, and that
Washington stands ready to assist these countries to overcome major
security threats.

The UK referendum outcome was a step in the wrong direction, but it
should not be allowed to cause long-term damage to relations within
Europe and the transatlantic community.

Written by Earl H. Fry

Ed's comment on Facebook

This is pretty compelling evidence of the dangers of public referendums, ballot initiatives, etc. I understand the mistrust of elected officials, congress in particular, but in my opinion, electing the right people and then letting/requiring them do their job is much better government than leaving our fate to the public, many of whom have no idea what they are voting on, or the implications.

Though of course searches for these questions were dwarfed by the general interest in "Brexit results," the question "what is the EU" spiked in popularity across all parts of the U.K., in this order: Northern Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland.

Google Trends, on Twitter, has highlighted a few local spikes, too, with "what is Brexit" a top search related to the referendum in both Northern Ireland and Scotland. Both of them voted in favor of remaining in the EU.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/24/480949383/britains-google-searches-for-what-is-the-eu-spike-after-brexit-vote?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

Britain's Google Searches For 'What Is The EU?' Spike After Brexit Vote

Google Trends shows that this was the second-searched question in the United Kingdom after polls closed. The first was "What does it mean to leave the EU?"

NPR.ORGNPR.ORG

Saturday morning at La Jolla Shores

Usually on Saturday mornings the beach is busy with people in scuba gear getting ready to dive.

Today there were no divers dressed in black.  We assume it is because of the annual ocean

swim that that took place here today.

A few days ago the ocean was lapping against the exterior wall of the 'castle's' grounds.  Going to the beach close to the same time, we discovered to that the water was out...really far out.

We both admit that we know nothing about tides and have no claim to any knowledge.

Once a year the community sponsors an ocean swim from the pier to the cove.

So many people come to participate.  I saw a woman who had left the race walking on the

beach with 101 written on her shoulder.  

I asked a lifeguard one summer if they had ever had to rescue someone.  

She told me no, but that once in awhile she will get a swimmer on her board who

just needs to rest for a short time.

I am standing in a sea of kelp.  And yes, it has a very definite unpleasant smell as it sits

there rotting.  Fortunately we were able to completely avoid walking on any of it.

Fortunately neither Nemo or Dory got caught in the seaweed and washed ashore.

The water is so far out that the hole in from one side of the rock to the other was calm.

Usually we see a little splash as it hits the rock closest to us.

A critter on the rocks

We did have a man ask us where Black's beach was.  Off in the distance somewhere.  Not our

type of beach; lots of bare naked men who probably look terrible even with their

clothes on.  The link is rated G so don't hesitate to check out a few facts about the beach.

Our first Friday in Clairemont

This mosaic is on the side of the newly rebuilt rest and changing rooms

close to lifeguard station 33 at La Jolla Shores.

Watch out for those rays that bury themselves in the sand under the water.  Step on

one and you will get stung.  They are hiding waiting for prey to swim past.

The firefighters from a nearby fire house frequently come to run or walk on 

the beach.  

A quiet view of the beach

We first saw this truck last summer.  A tall handsome young man was beside the 

truck getting ready to leave.  I could not resist talking to him and discovered that his father

had immigrated to the U.S. from Germany when the young man was a small boy.

A very distant cousin.

We have seen this beautiful old woodie in years past but we are always delighted

to see it again. Wikipedia says that the last car made was in 1950, but that

others have been manufactured using metal that looks like wood in later years.

I announced to the Professor that the next time we see this one parked at the beach, we

are going to check to see if it wood.

Last summer this house was only smooth concrete walls on the sides.  If you look closely

you can see the plants growing over the retaining wall.  Neither of us can remember

what this house was like before the rebuilding began.  There is a second house a little 

south of this one, much smaller.  I didn't take a picture.  It looks as if it might only be getting

exterior work.

The sign at the north lifeguard station taken yesterday.