Thank you, Vic, Esme and Lynn, for the gardening compliments.

Truth be told, our garden looked much better in early June than it does now. We have a severe drought going on here in California. My front yard is bone dry and very brown. My backyard is only marginally greener because I have been using water to grow some vegetables and to keep our fruit trees alive. In early June it was cooler and rain was not a distant memory. Now everything is brown and dying.

It bewilders me that California has not started up their desalination
plants. They were deemed too expensive and were shut down, but
with this drought going on as long as it has, you'd think they'd
reconsider.

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~Sue~

Thank you, Vic, Esme and Lynn, for the gardening compliments.

Truth be told, our garden looked much better in early June than it does now. We have a severe drought going on here in California. My front yard is bone dry and very brown. My backyard is only marginally greener because I have been using water to grow some vegetables and to keep our fruit trees alive. In early June it was cooler and rain was not a distant memory. Now everything is brown and dying.

It bewilders me that California has not started up their desalination
plants. They were deemed too expensive and were shut down, but
with this drought going on as long as it has, you'd think they'd
reconsider.

I don't think all were shut down, the one on Catalina Island still works I think, as does the one at Port Hueneme(similar to the one under construction in Southern California, only smaller), plus there is one good sized one that is a year or so from completion down in either Orange County or San Diego County, this one uses reverse osmosis.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

It bewilders me that California has not started up their desalination
plants. They were deemed too expensive and were shut down, but
with this drought going on as long as it has, you'd think they'd
reconsider.

They are probably too antiquated to run well. California is going to have to invest in cutting edge desalinization technology, or develop it if it does not exist. We are dry, dry, dry out here.

It bewilders me that California has not started up their desalination
plants. They were deemed too expensive and were shut down, but
with this drought going on as long as it has, you'd think they'd
reconsider.

They are probably too antiquated to run well. California is going to have to invest in cutting edge desalinization technology, or develop it if it does not exist. We are dry, dry, dry out here.

:(

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

It bewilders me that California has not started up their desalination
plants. They were deemed too expensive and were shut down, but
with this drought going on as long as it has, you'd think they'd
reconsider.

They are probably too antiquated to run well. California is going to have to invest in cutting edge desalinization technology, or develop it if it does not exist. We are dry, dry, dry out here.

:(

Yep, we have lots of water, though not all of it is fit to drink, yet at least. I'm filtering My water with a Brita water filter now, the carbon/resin filter seems to be removing the calcium carbonate, which I think was causing Me some problems and I can taste the difference too, My fruit punch tasted more tart, I should have installed a reverse osmosis system years ago with a large tank, oh well, that will be for the next place I live at.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Yep, we have lots of water, though not all of it is fit to drink, yet at least. I'm filtering My water with a Brita water filter now, the carbon/resin filter seems to be removing the calcium carbonate, which I think was causing Me some problems and I can taste the difference too, My fruit punch tasted more tart, I should have installed a reverse osmosis system years ago with a large tank, oh well, that will be for the next place I live at.

I have been using reverse osmosis for years but when we moved to the new house, we didn't install one for a while. A combination of the chlorine in the water and plastic pipe in the house gave the water a really bad flavor and messed up my bread making. Before going reverse osmosis, buy a bottle of distilled water and check the taste out, RO water taste a little flat to some people at first, but I like it.

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Yep, we have lots of water, though not all of it is fit to drink, yet at least. I'm filtering My water with a Brita water filter now, the carbon/resin filter seems to be removing the calcium carbonate, which I think was causing Me some problems and I can taste the difference too, My fruit punch tasted more tart, I should have installed a reverse osmosis system years ago with a large tank, oh well, that will be for the next place I live at.

I have been using reverse osmosis for years but when we moved to the new house, we didn't install one for a while. A combination of the chlorine in the water and plastic pipe in the house gave the water a really bad flavor and messed up my bread making. Before going reverse osmosis, buy a bottle of distilled water and check the taste out, RO water taste a little flat to some people at first, but I like it.

I've had bottled water before, I don't have a problem with it, I've been using filtered water for about 2 weeks now, which is touted as being bottled quality and when the water wells were shut down cause of a burst pipe, I had only bottled water here, I rarely drink water by itself, though My cat Grace does.

The pipes here in this mobile home are plastic inside and copper outside, but then My place was completely replumbed before I moved into it.

The only thing that doesn't get any water is My 100 gallon aquarium, but I need a different place to live at before I can fill that up, as where I have it is good during a quake, but will not support it when filled and a location that would support it is not good during a quake.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Yep, we have lots of water, though not all of it is fit to drink, yet at least. I'm filtering My water with a Brita water filter now, the carbon/resin filter seems to be removing the calcium carbonate, which I think was causing Me some problems and I can taste the difference too, My fruit punch tasted more tart, I should have installed a reverse osmosis system years ago with a large tank, oh well, that will be for the next place I live at.

I have been using reverse osmosis for years but when we moved to the new house, we didn't install one for a while. A combination of the chlorine in the water and plastic pipe in the house gave the water a really bad flavor and messed up my bread making. Before going reverse osmosis, buy a bottle of distilled water and check the taste out, RO water taste a little flat to some people at first, but I like it.

I've had bottled water before, I don't have a problem with it, I've been using filtered water for about 2 weeks now, which is touted as being bottled quality and when the water wells were shut down cause of a burst pipe, I had only bottled water here, I rarely drink water by itself, though My cat Grace does.

The pipes here in this mobile home are plastic inside and copper outside, but then My place was completely replumbed before I moved into it.

The only thing that doesn't get any water is My 100 gallon aquarium, but I need a different place to live at before I can fill that up, as where I have it is good during a quake, but will not support it when filled and a location that would support it is not good during a quake.

Bottled water most of the time is RO water with some of the minerals added back in to improve the flavor. Distilled water if anything may have even fewer mineral in it than RO but both are pretty close. RO units include carbon filters to remove the gases that are able to get trough the membrane and flavor the water so the plastic taste is removed by RO.

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This is my Volunteer Cantalope. Only about a month old now. A lot of blooms, but so far no fruit has set.

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Pluto will always be a planet to me.

Seti Ambassador
Not to late to order an Anni Shirt

http://www.atomicempire.com/item.aspx?item=163299

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~Sue~

http://www.atomicempire.com/item.aspx?item=163299

We went to see that movie last night. It was good fun. The talking raccoon did make me think of Angela though. I was wondering she thought her raccoons could be trained to fly space ships and organise prison breaks.

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Reality Internet Personality

We went to see that movie last night. It was good fun. The talking raccoon did make me think of Angela though. I was wondering she thought her raccoons could be trained to fly space ships and organise prison breaks.

My raccoons do not talk, but they certainly communicate. Of course, often what they communicate is "Feed me, feed me, feed me house monkey!!! Toss out the kibble and keep it coming."

As for flying space ships, well there are driverless cars currently being tested on the roads in our area. Silicon Valley is relatively close to where we live and I cannot wait until driverless cars become affordable!!!! So in answer to your question, yes, in the future raccoons should be able to "pilot" space ships as well as any person does.

And finally, regarding prison breaks, raccoons are better at breaking into things (attics, kitchens, containers of kibble) than they are at breaking out of things. I think my raccoons could be more easily trained as international jewel thieves than as organizers of prison breaks.

/off topic/
It just occured to me that automobile manufacturers should be against "driverless
cars." It could possibly affect the number of cars sold. Think about it: Two adults
with two jobs need two cars. But if I have a driverless car, I can just program the
car to go home once I get to work so that my spouse can use it to get to his/her
job. The one car gets programmed to go to whomever needs it next. No need to
buy a second car.
/back on topic/

Raccoons and such.

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~Sue~

/off topic/
It just occured to me that automobile manufacturers should be against "driverless
cars." It could possibly affect the number of cars sold. Think about it: Two adults
with two jobs need two cars. But if I have a driverless car, I can just program the
car to go home once I get to work so that my spouse can use it to get to his/her
job. The one car gets programmed to go to whomever needs it next. No need to
buy a second car.
/back on topic/

Raccoons and such.

The laws in the state of CA currently read the a driverless car has to have a licensed driver in the driver's seat and controls that can be used to drive the car in case something goes wrong with the automatic stuff. I would also like to note that not all roads have addresses mapped well enough for a driverless car to actually get there. For example, my parent's house is in a semi rural area (minimum lot size 2.5 acres). All of the mapping software has their house number near the foot of the lane rather than at the end of the land (about 1/4 mile away). Now imagine a driverless car with instructions to go to that address. It would start looking for the driveway about 1/4 mile away, and would find address #1 rather than address #5...

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BOINC WIKI

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

The laws in the state of CA currently read the a driverless car has to have a licensed driver in the driver's seat and controls that can be used to drive the car in case something goes wrong with the automatic stuff. I would also like to note that not all roads have addresses mapped well enough for a driverless car to actually get there. For example, my parent's house is in a semi rural area (minimum lot size 2.5 acres). All of the mapping software has their house number near the foot of the lane rather than at the end of the land (about 1/4 mile away). Now imagine a driverless car with instructions to go to that address. It would start looking for the driveway about 1/4 mile away, and would find address #1 rather than address #5...

There are always issues that come up with new technology. I am hopeful that by the time the DMV pronounces me too blind to drive all the bugs will have been largely worked out of driverless vehicles and I will be able to file my nails as my magic car zips me along the highway.

And just a reminder - NOTHING is off topic in the Critter Cafe.

The laws in the state of CA currently read the a driverless car has to have a licensed driver in the driver's seat and controls that can be used to drive the car in case something goes wrong with the automatic stuff. I would also like to note that not all roads have addresses mapped well enough for a driverless car to actually get there. For example, my parent's house is in a semi rural area (minimum lot size 2.5 acres). All of the mapping software has their house number near the foot of the lane rather than at the end of the land (about 1/4 mile away). Now imagine a driverless car with instructions to go to that address. It would start looking for the driveway about 1/4 mile away, and would find address #1 rather than address #5...

There are always issues that come up with new technology. I am hopeful that by the time the DMV pronounces me too blind to drive all the bugs will have been largely worked out of driverless vehicles and I will be able to file my nails as my magic car zips me along the highway.

And just a reminder - NOTHING is off topic in the Critter Cafe.

Of course right now no automaker in the US is making a driverless car, nor are they doing R&D on this outside of Nissan. Though the web says Nissan might introduce one, by 2020... But a lot can change in 6 years, so who knows?

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I believe the driverless cars being tested right now are a joint project between Nissan and Google. Since this is a new technology, I am not surprised that American automakers are waiting to see how it plays out.

Car, I want to do some shopping...

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

Certainly impressive.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's