Just wanted to share two images from earlier today. A friend and I went out after work. Such a lovely summer day, all the colors in nature were so fresh and strong.
In my spare time I like to make Bad Science Videos for YouTube. I also write music and sometimes make music videos of them. Here's one I just completed, called Worst Christmas Song Ever.
I'm working on taking photos of some of the better agates..... Fairburn Agate, South Dakota, with natural wind polish. 53 mm x 39 mm x 11 mm 42 grams
No, I grew up in Detroit, but since I was a kid, these stones held a fascination for me, and I began collecting in earnest in 1966. I now live in California (actually since 1979.)
Here's a little more "eye candy". This is an old surface agate from Chihuahua, Northern Mexico. This state is renown for its classic locations, often associated with the gigantic ranches along Mexico Federal Highway 45, which was constructed immediately after World War II. This example came to me by way "Doc" Taylor, who owned Doc's Rock Box in Southgate Michigan, just south of Detroit, back in the late 60's. It is a surface agate that weathered out of the host rock, and exposed to the elements for thousands of years, hence its intense colors, colors, by the way, that can never be replicated in the same stone by artificial means. This agate, which cost me $2.50 at the time, was sold to me as a Laguna agate, named after the famed ranch near Ojo Laguna, Chihuahua. Most of the specimens from that ranch have been mined for over 50 years, and the colors can vary greatly from one mine to the other. Generally speaking, the finest mined agates came out of Northern Mexico from the 1950's to the mid 1960's, and then again with renewed mining activity in the mid to late 1990's. This specimen measures 75 mm x 50 mm x 30 mm The weight is 175.8 grams
I collect presidential campaign items from 1789 to date. That overlaps with the coins since many of the 19th pieces were tokens. In the 20th century, pin back buttons won the day. They were cheaper to produce and the use of paper and ink opened up infinite possibilities for colorful designs. Here is one of my rarer pieces, a 1912 "juget" which pictures Teddy Roosevelt and his running mate Hiram Johnson who ran on the Progressive or "Bull Moose" Party label. I also have a model train set in the back room. And there is a coin connection, of course! Here is my version of the first United States Mint Building.
One of my hobbies is collecting what I consider interesting prints and paintings: The first is what appears to be a European opium smoker being attended to by a demonic looking Oriental guy. I'm not happy w/ frame and may reframe it. The second is an original pen & ink by Debbie Zwiebach. Several years ago, I noticed the colors were fading I had it reframed using museum glass. It's based on an American prototype of a monument that was to be erected in NYC a hundred + years ago. I don't remember the details but it's a very strange story.
Still taking pics of the collection. Here's a Lame Johnny Fairburn agate from South Dakota. I've had this one since December 1968. Purchased from Scott's Mineral Industries, Custer, South Dakota. Approximately 95 mm x 70 mm x 35 mm. 308 grams.
Two weeks ago, I revisited an old hobby: Sailing. It’s been 20 years since last time I sailed with my old bandmate Jørgen. We used to do it a lot, but fell apart when we quit playing together and started working and parenting instead. I was afraid I would get seasick, because we had quite a lot of weather, but it seems that moving in a careening way falls naturally to people from the west coast, if it’s at sea or in town on a Saturday night. I know that few of you are familiar with the geography here, but along our coast, the mountains extend all the way to the sea, creating a dramatic landscape. Outside the coast, there are lots of islands, many of them uninhabited, or inhabited by a very small population. Such an island is Ytre (outer) Sula, a quite large island consisting mainly of grey rock: After this, you’re in the North Sea. On the eastern side of the island, there is a small village. Very cozy. The day after rediscovering Ytre Sula, we headed for the mainland, to another village called Eivindvik, close to where the first court of the vikings was situated. I’m too lazy to not use wikipedia here: Gulating (Old Norse: Gulaþing) was one of the first Norwegian legislative assemblies, or things, and also the name of a present-day law court of western Norway.[1] The practice of periodic regional assemblies predates recorded history, and was firmly established at the time of the unification of Norway into a single kingdom (900–1030). These assemblies or lagþings, were not democratic, but did not merely serve elites either. They functioned as judicial and legislative bodies, resolving disputes and establishing laws. At Eivindvik we could look at the early signs of Christianity in Norway around 1000 AD. According to the local historians, this cross in Celtic style was unique: I really got hooked on sailing again. This year the route was pretty easy, and mostly sheltered from the great ocean, but we’re planning to sail to Shetland next summer. That will be an adventure! This years route:
Loved the science videos, and I wholeheartedly agree that this was the worst Christmas song ever. <3 (Perhaps with the exception of those that Christpher Lee recorded with his metal band when he was 92)
I have acquired the hobby of old book collecting. Here’s my oldest from 1728. It’s by Johnathan swift under a pseudonym.