DanLog the ramblings of Daniel Pettit

So I just watched the cell phone video of Saddam’s execution. I’m not a gore fan so I don’t get my jollies off on stuff like that and normally shy away from real death & carnage footage on the net, but this seemed important. Whether the fact I have no love lost for him, have no personal connection or grudge, or the fact that he had it coming or that it wasn’t Michael Bay filming it -I didn’t have much of a reaction.

I’m sure scores of Iraqi families reveled in his death. Too bad justice isn’t as swift here in the states. No I’m not calling for just one appeal and then death within 30 days. But come on California death row inmates get over 20 years of room and board before they are “cruelly” put to sleep.

There is one guy that I’d love to see swing, John Famaralo , murderer of my friend Denise Huber, hell I’ll provide the rope. Sadly her parents will most likely not live to see the execution of their daughters murderer.

This is from a year or two ago, but I still love it. I wish I had so much free time.

Suddenly it all makes sense, why I’ve never eaten in a school cafeteria that is. I was just thirty years ahead of the times. Student facing charges in condiment deposit.

Being a cheapskate, I had planned my dump trip to fall on the first Thursday of the month as that is free admission day to The Huntington. Unfortunately having a very full day scheduled I only had forty or so minutes to power walk one big loop through the garden.

They have been busy since I was last here or I was very unobservant. The Chinese section lake is well under construction, however it will be another six years before the project is complete. I also noticed a conservatory that I swear wasn’t there last time.

I have a love hate relationship with this place, well more like a love/depressive feeling. I think this place and the Hearst Castle warped my brain as a child. Upon visiting these places I realized that yes this is the way a backyard should be. I want one just like it. Unfortunately I don’t have the A++ personality and drive and mental disorders of Ted Turner or Trump. Of course the Bill Gates route is still an option. (Coming up with a new product at just the right time. Not to put down Sir Bill, he is a smart guy and I’m sure would have been rich anyway just not Uberwealthy due to dumb luck. If IBM hadn’t been under the government microscope I’m sure they would have cut Bill & Paul Co. a check for a few hundred thousand and have owned MS-DOS instead of licensing it any way I digress) It is hard to imagine building a 200+ acre urban homestead today. Forget the $75 million they want for the “Nautilus house” in CDM. Just the cactus garden is probably worth more.

So it is a bit depressing that my Library contains less than 2000 books and my grounds consist of two azaleas, three camellias and four rose bushes. I do have at least one regular vistor to my rose garden and if I every catch the person stealing my roses I just may introduce them to Mr and Mrs Henry Huntington.

All the photos

After leaving the dump I paid the Duarte store a visit, to update my photo collection. The old photos were taken with my now antient Sony floppy disc camera Steve gave me. Being now about 30 minutes behind schedule I had no time to waste, so I was just a little shutterbug and was on my way. To the next stop.

 All the photos

I make the trek to the Azusa Land Reclamation facility today in of all places Azuza to dispose of the asbestos laden popcorn ceiling waste from our library.

After some  initial confusion on as to where I was supposed to go, they weren’t any signs once I entered the complex and I didn’t think the obvious choice of entering the main gate where all these semis kept entering into a gravel jungle. They weighed my truck and then I drove inside the dump to the designated dumpster and tossed my two bags in. The attendants never checked to see what I had in the truck. So body part disposal is definitely a possibility if the need ever arises. Anyway the 2 bags amounted to 60 pounds, they charged me $69. Which is a flat rate for up to something like 6 bags of personal household asbestos waste. Oh BTW my truck weighs 5500 lbs. in case you were wondering.