A flashback to March 2010 when LA Friday Coffee visited the Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
Last Saturday, while the boy was rehearsing for his school play, Rosanne and I took to the mountains, but we never really left the city. I have been poking around in Google Maps for a while now, looking through the Santa Monica Mountains for small pieces of green that donate public lands. Recently I located two such places, Trebek Open Space, just above Hollywood and just to the west of the much more popular and busy Runyon Canyon — and Briar Summit Open Space Preserve, closer to the Valley side of the mountains above Universal City.
A few photos from our walk
Trebek Open Space is accessible from Nicholas Canyon Road and the up and back route we took was about 1.3 miles in length. You can extend the hike by coming up from Hollywood and/or using streets to create a round-trip route. The trails are decomposed granite covered, yet well maintained fire roads. Briar Summit Open Space Preserve is LA DWP property and also the home to many radio towers on the summit. It is a nice .75 round trip to the top of the mountain and back on a paved access road.
Both locations are quite quiet for being in the middle of the city and both offer excellent views of the surrounding city, too. From Trebek you can see to Downtown LA and beyond and all the way to the ocean in Santa Monica. There were much fewer people at Trebek than the adjacent Runyon Canyon. Where we passed maybe 10 people during our walk the ridge line of Runyon Canyon, visible from the trail, was covered with people.
Below is a slide show from Flickr with shots of the scenery, birds and native plant life.
Click to see all the photos in high resolution on Flickr
Three years ago at the Places LA – Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.
A walk through the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles from February 3, 2010.
We are planning on taking this trip with Friends of the Island Fox, a group I have worked with on social media and podcasting for a number of years. We have always planned to take a trip to the Channel Islands, but never seemed to make it. This event sounds like the perfect excuse. Sign up soon to reserve your space! — Douglas
A Trip to Prisoner’s Harbor - Santa Cruz Island
Saturday, April 6, 2013
That’s right, this spring Friends of the Island Fox educators are leading a day-long adventure to look for both the island fox AND the island scrub-jay.
As the population of Santa Cruz Island foxes reaches recovery it is possible to observe them at more locations across the island. Santa Cruz is also the only home of the rare island scrub-jay. With its newly restored wetland area, Prisoner’s Harbor is one of the prime locations to encounter this unique bird as well as many other species.
On the trip over to Prisoner’s Harbor (about 1 and a half hours) there is the possibility of seeing many marine species as well.
Tickets will be $65.00 per person. A percentage of the fee will go to support island fox recovery efforts.
Read more about this trip on the Friends of the Island Fox web site
We have attended a Metrolink Holiday Toy Train event in the past and it is a great time. The kids especially enjoy it as it has trains (every kid LOVES trains, right?), music, lights and, of course, Santa! Check out the schedule to see when Metrolink Holiday Toy Train is visiting your neighborhood.
From the Metrolink Web Site…
Santa’s glittering train, the Holiday Toy Express®, is once again preparing to travel from city to city to entertain families and collect toys for the less fortunate. This year the Holiday Toy Express will bring joy to all of the communities we serve as it marks its 16th year of operation. This 41 stop tour, which passes through six counties, brings a brightly packaged gift to Metrolink communities – a 450-ton train decorated with holiday displays and 50,000 twinkling lights – and delivers a live musical performance, Santa and community fun.
Join us, ABC7 and Southland Firefighters who will be collecting toys at the station stops as a key part of their overall annual “Spark of Love Toy Drive” in the region.
Here are some photos from the 2008 Holiday Toy Train event at Van Nuys station.
Can’t see the slideshow above? Watch “Metrolink Holiday Toy Train 2008″ on Flickr
A friend of mine with a bit of an obsessive streak…although we all benefit from it! (LAUGH). Ric outdoes himself every year with his Halloween and Christmas light shows.
Can’t see the video above? Click this link to watch it on YouTube!
“Light Show is controlled by the action on the pinball machine. Microcontroller detects Start, Ball Launch, different modes, multiball, game over etc. and triggers custom light shows in a 160 channel Light-o-rama system featuring a giant flying Saucer and 6 martians on the house. Visitors on Halloween night had such a good time that some of them forgot to ask for treats! Pinball is a 1999 Williams Revenge From Mars with game video that was projected on the garage door. Audio was also broadcast on 99.1 FM for viewers in cars.”
Jason Tucker and Megan Enloe (@podcastjunky) at BarCampLA 6 four years ago
L-R: Deborah Shadovitz, Joe Crawford, Steve Riekeberg, Jason Cosper
Looking to get your geek on? What better way than to build you own “third eye” personal proximity detector.
From the Machine Project web site…
Sunday, October 21st
10am to 4pmInstructors: Tim Perkis and Sara Roberts.
Non-Members: $75
Members: $65Register on the Machine Project web site
What if you could see if someone was behind you, feel how close they are to you? Would that change your notion of the borders of your body, change the kind of social interactions you have with people, open up new possibilities for group games and sports?
In the Third_Eye Workshop each participant will build and take home a 3rd_eye, a small device that can be clipped on a headband, hat or cap. The third_eye uses infrared light to sense your proximity to people or objects and buzzes more vigorously the closer they are. (Often people quickly forget they are wearing them and just incorporate them as a new sense, going from thinking “this thing is buzzing on my neck” to simply “someone is behind me” in less than an hour. )
First we’ll build the devices, a relatively simple process in which you’ll learn to solder and do simple electronic assembly. Then we’ll play with these gizmos in group improvisations and games. Participants should bring a headband, hat, or cap so they can wear their 3rd_eye comfortably.
Tim is an electronic musician who has worked for over 25 years with computer networks and improvisation; he is also a filmmaker (Noisy People, 2006)
Sara is into exploring sound and human dynamics with non-expert groups of people. Her best known tool is the “earbies”, a set of 50 handheld loop recorders. She teaches in Experimental Sound Practices at Cal Arts.
third eye ps2020 from tim perkis on Vimeo.
Taken while out watering a few plants in the front garden.
Click for a larger version of “Late Summer Sunset”
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