Hobo Jungle

[sarge]

It would appear the People's Republic of Maryland and PA don't have reciprocity on all aspects of "camera art". Montgomery County Maryland puts speed cameras up in the little towns up in the north end of the county so they don't have to supply a county police presence (Same taxes, though, I'm sure). They're set to trigger at 6MPH over the posted speed, and a couple times I've forgotten they were there only to see the strobe-flash in the mirror (back when I commuted).

I guess they don't mail out to PA tagged vehicles, for nothing ever came of it. My father got nailed a couple times (in his 80s but doesn't drive like the stereotype "headrest") at $100 a whack.

One thing is there are no points assessed on the license for those or the red-light cameras; they can tell the car but not the driver. The owner is responsible for the use of his or her vehicle so the fines stand. The owner isn't responsible for another's "criminal" behaviour, so points can't be assessed.

They haven't made it into PA yet, like so many other POMO's (Pollutants of Maryland Origin).

[rogruth]

A small town in southern South Carolina,near Savannah,GA,installed speed cameras and a suit was soon filed[I don't remember the basis for it]and the cameras
were removed by court order.

[v8vega]

Mon. 79 Tue. 82 Wed. 84
The brush fire about 30 miles north of me. Started north of the shooting range we go to and burned north, it is clear out to the desert now and also west threatening homes, 1,000 mandatory evacuations. 2,100 firefighters, 9 airplanes, and 10 helicopters, 25,000 acres, 6 homes burned. This area hasn't burned since 1929, a lot of it is in steep rugged canyons, wind

driven often, hot and no humidity. This is the dominate news story here but nothing compared to Oklahoma.
My Rail King Santa Fe Northern won on eBay recently is my favorite engine and I have several scale engines.

[rogruth]

v8,

Sorry to hear of the losses.Hope no one gets hurt or dies.

Could this have been eased with controlled burns over the years?
I am a believer in controlled burns and think many of the fires,
especially in the western states could be eased by that method.
Fort Stewart Army base is just four miles south of here.It is the,
reportedly,largest base in area east of the Mississippi River.They have a
plan that burns off various areas every year to discourage out of control fires.
It does get quite smokey around here now and then but the fire is controlled.

[webenda]

Roger,

It is the chaparral at fault for Southern California burning all the time.

Chaparral is not a plant but a community of plants found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. Chaparral eco systems are what give southern California its "look."

It is commonly believed that fire has been an important component of chaparral communities for at least 2 million years. The vegetation of chaparral communities has evolved to a point it requires fire to spawn regeneration. Many species invite fire through the production of plant materials with large surface-to-volume ratios, volatile oils, and through periodic die-back of vegetation.

Whereas a yellow pine forest may take hundreds of years to recover to its pre-burn state, it may take only ten years for coastal sage scrub to recover following a fire. The recovery of a coastal sage occurs through a succession process in which various sub-communities of coastal sage are present at different time periods following the fire. During the first two years herbaceous annual species dominant the landscape. Fire treats the seeds of these species which flourish in an environment cleared of litter, high in available nutrients, and bathed in sunlight. It is during these years that spectacular displays of wildflowers abound. Species such as California Poppies, Blue Dicks, Mariposa Lily, Fire Hearts, Lupines and many others carpet the post-burn environment.

Among this colorful display is a rebirth of more typical perennial chaparral species such as Chamise, Coastal Sage, California Buckwheat, Poison Oak, and Bush Sun Flower. These and other species, such as Ceanothus, Manzanita, Laurel Sumac, and Sugarbush, begin to germinate from seed as the fire has scarified their seeds coats. Coast Live Oaks and Laurel Sumacs also begin to recover through the process of crown sprouting and stump sprouting.

Fire breaks and other means of preventing spread of chaparral fires have no affect on the fires. Controlled burns almost always result in out of control fires. If you watch the news, you will see chaparral fires jumping the widest highways. Once a controlled burn starts it becomes an uncontrolled burn very quickly.

If chaparral species were eradicated from Southern California, say agent orange the whole place, the place would look as barren as the moon and be subject to floods and landslides. (Floods and landslides are the norm after a chaparral fire.) The best thing they can do is build fire resistant residences in chaparral areas, i.e. tile roofs, no wood on outside of buildings, etc.

Reference: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/fire/ucsbfire.html
http://www.californiachaparral.com/chaparralmyths.html

The California Chaparral Institute (CCI) claims chaparral plant life does not require fire to survive. [misleading] This statement only applies to some of the plant species, not all of them. I call such misleading statements, "True Lies."

Later in the paper CCI says, "Large chaparral fires have occurred prior to recent times and will continue to occur. Southern California has one of the worst fire-prone climates on earth." Well good, the chaparral community of plants is safe, for the time being.

It has been 84 years since your area burned Dennis. The references say 65 years between chaparral fires is average. I hope the fire does not spread into your neighborhood. Fire resistant houses or not, the fires set houses to blaze anyway. And even if your house does not burn there is the disruption of having to evacuate until the fire passes.

I lived in Southern California for 30 years, always in city or suburb areas free of chaparral plants. It was the earthquakes that damaged houses in my areas. I traded fires and earthquakes for 110 degree summers here in Tucson. It was 109.9 at my house today.

[rogruth]

Wayne,

My usual thanks.Did not know that about chaparral.So controlled burns in that situation is not a good idea apparently.
What can be done in that area?Is it useless to try to control chapparal?

By the way,one of my old favorite TV westerns was "High Chaparral".I thought they had good stories and actors but
did not understand why someone did not look up where chaparral grows.I know that you know that it does NOT grow
in the Tucson area or Arizona.

[webenda]

Experts say nothing can be done except to build for fire, like Spanish tile roofs, clear weeds and dead brush from around your property and hope for the best.

Annalee Cannon: Isn’t it beautiful, John? It should have a name.
Big John Cannon: You name it.
Annalee Cannon: What is that bush called — that green one?
Big John Cannon: Chaparral.
Annalee Cannon: That’s it — Chaparral. I christen thee “The High Chaparral” — the greatest cattle ranch in the whole territory . . . the whole world!

There is no plant named Chaparral either. The High Chaparral aired from 1967 to 1971. At that time I did not know what "chaparral" was. From the show, I thought it was a plant.

Trivia: I live less than seven miles from Old Tucson Studios where The High Chaparral was filmed. I often worried, as I bicycled trails between the studio and Tucson Mountains, I might accidently show up in a western movie background. I don't know how they control such things. Maybe block the trails during filming?

[webenda]

One more, from one of my references:

An article in the February 13, 1994, edition of the Los Angeles Times assessed the paradoxical nature of development in the Santa Monica Mountains in the following way:
"Southern California's stored hillsides nurture native vegetation that is literally explosive. Many types of Chaparral plants reproduce only after a wildfire has moved through. But these hillsides also provide what much of the area can't: a rural feel, scented air, scenic views of ocean and city. They are the most desirable, expensive real estate in California. And they burn".

The "stored" typo is not mine, I know the difference between "stored" and "storied." These young reporters spell worse than engineers.

[webenda]

A hobo had a birthday yesterday.
Reference: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6064&start=2880

[Mitch]

A happy belated birthday, Hevman! Just how many birthdays have you had so far?

[The Dirt]

Happy Birthday from the Orangeville Bratpack!!

[Tramp]

Hev, I hope you had a hevy birthday.

Wayne, really enjoyed the info on Chaparrals.

[sarge]

Must have been dozing in the comfy chair again...

Happy birthday, Hev, and many more besides.

Our very best.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

God Bless your good heart, Hev, and may you and your family be blessed with many, many more Happy Birthdays for you. Proud to know you and to be called a friend by you!
Murph the Frank

[hev52]

Hey..............thanks guys. it was a rough one. Spent a half a day in the damn hospital. I was at the doctors gittin' my DOT checkup when the doctor noticed I wasn't breathing right. So he sent me to the ER where they ran tests and told me I had bronchitis. So I guess I'm gonna have a hard time breathing when it gits hot out. So now I got all the inhaler stuff and oxygen when I need it.

Liked the Massey Ferguson Wayne. I almost picked up this one the other day but passed on it. Tori is lookin' for a small garden tractor to build as a puller at the lawn mower pulls at Rough and Tumble...............

This is what we were lookin' at. 1972 MF 12G Variable Speed MC
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