Silicon Palms

Category: Places

  • Why I love Great Britain by Jordan Peterson

    Why I love Great Britain by Jordan Peterson

    The freedoms Britain granted the world are the most precious gift of all. We must preserve them – an important message from Jordan Peterson

    Jordan Peterson: In early December 2021 asked by a major British newspaper to write some words reflecting on my recent two-week visit to the UK. I had been invited, then disinvited, to Cambridge University in 2019, when I had planned and made arrangements to participate in a seminar on the Book of Exodus, to help me prepare a series of public lectures on that story. I was invited back to Cambridge this year, and visited, with my wife, in late November and early December, and I wrote about the experience for The Telegraph, a major UK newspaper. That link is here: Telegraph UK

    Below is an excerpt of Jordan Peterson from “The Telegraph” 14 December 2021:

    The power of free speech

    And what would the world be without the recognition of those rights? A stifling web of intrigue; a system of archaic dynasties; a tribal mess of clans, steeped in nepotism, warring with one another for access to the short-term exigencies of power. I realise that there are other lights in the world, apart from the UK and its subsidiaries and once-dependents, although I would argue that even the European countries that profess respect for freedom of speech and thought (in reality, fealty to the divine word, both secular and inescapably religious) have done so in no small part because of the influence of that great land. 

    And the fact that Dr Dawkins and I came armed, so to speak, with radically different viewpoints and conceptions was a spur to our very productive conversation, and not an impediment. And the fact that such discussions and their dissemination are possible throughout so much of the world (rather than positively forbidden and fatally dangerous) is another one of the reasons I love Great Britain.

    My talks at both Cambridge and Oxford appeared uniformly welcomed by faculty and students alike (with a single exception: a rather courageous and comic young woman, dressed in a full-body lobster suit, who popped in during my most public talk at Cambridge to shout “feminism” and dance briefly about). 

    Why was that reception so positive, uniform, and manifold, when I was apparently ignorant and malevolent enough to be banned from the campus only two short years ago? The students at Cambridge remained seated when I entered the hall just prior to my first talk, although they had lined up down the block for most of the day beforehand, while the Oxford crowd, anxious as they are not to be outdone, gave me a (overwhelmingly moving) standing ovation before I spoke there.

    I say that not in triumph, I hope, as that would be the sort of pride that deservedly invites a fall, although I might need to confess occasionally harbouring at least a quizzical smile about such things. Such a public response seems at curious odds with the idea so invidiously insisted upon that I was and am a fundamentally malign person, characterised by literally unacceptable political opinions. 

    The same mode of interaction made itself evident in what were many dozens of encounters with individual students on the streets and in the colleges at Oxbridge: no fear, no disgust, no contempt, no hatred — just a series of extremely inviting, pleasant, and often surprisingly deep and intimate individual encounters with fine mostly young people, striving with all due effort upward and onward, informing me forthrightly that they were doing so.  

    Perhaps an inquiring and curious journalist could discuss, among other issues, the fact of my fellowship revocation, the Regent House vote, and the positive response to my presence at Cambridge with the soon-to-depart Vice Chancellor (another Canadian — we are a pesky and intrusive lot), Prof Stephen Toope, whose precipitous retirement from the glorious UK academic and cultural scene was somewhat synchronistically timed, given the aforementioned vote and my subsequent re-invitation. Or, perhaps it could all be discussed with the tiny number of individuals, still meddling madly and unrepentantly behind the scenes, who orchestrated the whole false thing in the beginning. 

    And the fact that a journalist could inquire about such things is yet another reason why I love Great Britain, with its profound commitment to the idea that the curious have the right to interrogate and investigate those who have been granted authority or usurped power.

    The people of Great Britain have granted the world a gift

    After our university sojourn — after having been granted access to the original writings of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, after attending the most beautiful imaginable choir-accompanied services at the magnificent chapels gracing both institutions, after walking down the hallowed historical halls of higher learning in a setting constantly overwhelming and remarkable for a mere colonial, accustomed to history on a much more minor scale — my wife and I were privileged to tour the British Parliament, accompanied by one of the peers of the realm.

    And she was great, if I might be so bold to say so: everything a hopeful outsider uncorrupted by the pervasive cynicism that corrupts our time might have wished for — kind, charitable, engaging, unpretentious, articulate, elegant, and possessed of that wonderful accent, bestowing upon its possessor the immediate impression of high intelligence. 

    In the Palace of Westminster I stopped for a moment at the precise centre of the heart of that remarkable building and lifted my eyes upward directly under the immense chandelier suspended under the beautiful and ornate domed octagonal ceiling. I perceived then that I was standing at the base of the realisation in stone, wood, and the air itself of the Cosmic Tree, Yggdrasil itself, the liana joining heaven and earth, the object of the most ancient of sacred visions and religious transports, the very lifeline between the skies that beckon forever above and the suffering and fallen ground we tread upon. 

    If I could have asked for something more to befall me at that moment it would have been the music of the divine to accompany that vision, perhaps Bach’s great third Brandenburg Concerto, although I would have settled for the British national anthem, God Save the Queen. That lobby is most certainly not the untrustworthy, corrupt and damnable site of power, dominance and oppression, but the very place where the practical redemption of a great people is continually undertaken, governed by the transcendent and necessary principle of the unalienable right to express the Logos as conscience, soul and rationality itself dictate. 

    That lobby, enshrined in that Palace — that cardinal Castle of the Word — has been a very light unto the world, concretised and embodied there simultaneously in stone, tradition and living action. It is the very place where the sovereign voice of the people meets the voice of its representatives, to be carried forth into its eventual incarnation into the body of laws we separately and jointly accept, adopt and act out. 

    We are all carriers of the temptation to resentment and the desire to compel and force those who disagree with our presumptions that poses an eternal threat to the integrity of our souls and our societies. We are all possessed by the attributes of the Auschwitz capo — the Gulag trusty: the willingness to turn away and to consciously deceive, and the capacity to delight in oppression and cruelty. We are each and all of us tainted by the blood that soaks our soil.

    But the people of Great Britain have granted the world a gift whose power stands in permanent opposition to our most appalling proclivities as individuals and societies. That gift is the political expression of the sanctification of the word — freedom in speech, imagination and thought: freedom to engage in the very process that builds and rebuilds habitable order itself from the chaos that eternally surrounds us. And that freedom is expressed in many ways, small and great, in the British Isles: in the wit of its people, in the effectiveness of its institutions, in the beauty of its art and literature, in the political and psychological presumptions that guide private discourse and public conception and action. 

    And that is most particularly why I love Great Britain. And that is why, people of that realm (and not only of that realm), you should love her too, despite her sins, with your eyes lifted upward, your hope to the future, and the word of truth and faith on your tongues.

    I love your country.

    By Jordan Peterson

    Source: Telegraph UK

    Photo by Serena Repice Lentini on Unsplash

  • Wild Coyotes of Vancouver

    Wild Coyotes of Vancouver

    coyote

    Wild Coyotes co-exist with humans and share a one thousand acre natural habitat. A couple of nights ago I went to see Bikini Beach in Stanley Park, on the edge of the city of Vancouver. I like to walk the sand on low tide and witness the changes made recently by powerful winter storms.

    It was a dark and stormy night about one a.m., when I was passing by the back of the lawn bowling club and I saw in the mist first one coyote and then another. Two wild coyotes were crossing my path as they also came up from the beach. They both looked healthy and stealthy, one even boldly stopped to size me up, then they both ran off into the night.

    Coyotes in Stanley Park

    I was so happy to see the coyotes because it meant they had survived the culling, you see the city had to close the park for 6 weeks this past summer to cull the coyote pack of 35, the Park Rangers said. I occasionally would hear them howl at the siren of ambulances coming over Lions Gate Bridge and onto Georgia Street which crosses through Stanley Park.

    So it was me howling at the moon (in happiness) when I saw the pair of marauding canines. It makes the park all the more wild and free to me. The other thing that’s critical about the coyotes is that they catch and eat the wild rats that live in the rocks along the seashore. If it weren’t for the wild coyotes our precious Bikini Beach would be infested with rats.

    Wild Coyotes are essential to the balance in nature, every critter has a place and a purpose. Every day I see wild animals in Stanley Park, the reason I love Vancouver is nature in the city.

    Update: On January 1, 2022 at 1:57 am I was shutting down for the night and looked out the window into a snow storm, with 3 inches of fresh powder piled up, and low and behold I see a big beautiful healthy wild coyote cruising down the middle of the street. Also, saw a pair coming up from the beach a few nights later. The wild coyotes of Vancouver are thriving in Stanley Park (again) and I take it as a really good omen.

  • Yuquat: Nootka Crisis

    Yuquat: Nootka Crisis

    John Webber‘s Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, c. 1788

    In a race with other European nation states to establish colonies, since the 1490s Spain had claimed sovereignty over the Pacific coast of North and South America. The Spanish developed an empire that by the 16th century included much of South America, Central America and Mexico. In the second half of the 18th century Spain became worried about Russian advances into North America, then a Conference was held at Yuquat,

    An illustration of the Spanish establishment at Yuquot at the time of Quadra and Vancouver’s visit in 1792.
    Illustration of Chief Maquinna dancing at feast in his bighouse at Tahsis, held in honor of Spanish delegate Quadra and British delegate Vancouver, in 1792.

    The arrival of numerous fur traders to Yuquot in the late 1700s also threatened Spain’s claims over the west coast of the Americas. In response, in 1789 the Spanish navy sent an expedition under the command of Esteban Martínez to construct a base and fort at Yuquot, with the authorization of Chief Maquinna. Later that year, Martinez arrested some British trading ships, sparking the “Nootka Crisis” that brought Spain and Britain to the brink of war. The “Nootka Convention” of 1790 initially settled the issue.

    A fanciful illustration of a “Spanish insult to the British flag” at Yuquot in 1789 that brought England and Spain to the brink of war.

    Two specially appointed commissioners – George Vancouver (Britain) and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra (Spain) – came to Yuquot in 1792 to oversee the transfer of claimed rights to Nootka Sound from Spain to Britain. However, the two delegates could not agree on differing interpretations of the treaty, and matters had to be finally settled in Europe. As the Spanish ships departed their outpost at Yuquot for the last time in 1795, they watched Mowachaht people tearing down the Spanish fort and other buildings to re-occupy the site.

    Source: The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation

  • Mystic Forest

    Mystic Forest

    Mystic Forest

    Mystic Forest was the name of this photo that inspired me to tell a story, to go with the image. How about comparing your life situation to that of climbing a mountain? Imagine that you have vast experience, the strength stamina and determination. Your objective is to reach the one crowning achievement of your career.

    Next thing you know, weather changes and we must wait. Above the treeline is too exposed to the elements, into the forest is safer and better shelter. Now, here we are in the metaphoric mystic “silicon” forest, and get back thinking and planning for the opportunity to continue upward. When the sun light lifts the mist and drives clouds over the mountain, it’s time to go

    All the great summits require an incredible amount of planning, training and execution. The entire expedition is expertly mapped, marked and laid-out, every stage and step are things that you have done before. Now it’s all about execution, step after step and camp after camp. Upward and upward it gets harder and harder.

    Faith in God and Providence

    The mystical forest is safe and comfortable, once the first step in taken, out of it’s warm embrace, survival becomes tough. The timing must be perfect, or you better stay in the woods. Getting to the base camp is relatively easy, everything after that is more and more of a trudge but your expertise was earned by experience and practice. Determination and a burning desire to succeed, can get you all the way to the top camp.

    In mountain climbing there’s a level called the “death zone” because of the lack of oxygen but also the level of exhaustion for anyone who arrives there. On the most legendary K2 routes, the climbers have to pass “the Bottle-neck” and other extremely technical manoeuvres.

    Virtual flight around K2

    Virtual flight around K2

    The cost of the climb

    No, not that cost. The cost of entry by way of personal sacrifice. What does it cost? The cost to stand where we stand and do what we do. The answer: It’s enormous. (words of a climber)

    The idea of reaching success in life does not need to be as dramatic, as dying on a sub-zero cliff face, in a far away land but if we have no vision of an achievement, then we are stuck in the woods. The forest is home to all creatures great and small but the mountaintop is waiting.

    Timing is everything, when you make your break for the summit, pace yourself and make it happen. Camp 4 is that place where you know you need to take stock of your fuel, get a good rest, wait for the time and then give it all you got!

    Life is a series of summits, my advice is; that it’s better to make them happen, then be forced to wait in the mist of the forest.

  • Living in a Parallel Universe and Feeling Groovy

    Living in a Parallel Universe and Feeling Groovy

    Feeling Groovy in the Parallel Universe

    Living in a Parallel Universe called the Couve (rhymes with Groove) and just as I wrote that word, I remembered one of the first black-light posters I ever owned, it was Snoopy dancing; “Feeling Groovy”. What a different world way back in the 1970’s, it was so fun and exciting to be part of the cultural revolution. It’s no wonder I still get happy seeing the words Peace and Love, however now I wonder about the separating timelines. Some of us are living in a parallel universe, the great awakening has planted peace and love only on one of them.

    What are the timelines you might ask? Well, let me explain using the most simple analogy; one timeline is the with a cup half full and the other is with a rapidly leaking cup. Your particular timeline is based upon your belief structure, especially as it relates to United States of America. Yep, the good old USA is either a cup half full, or half-empty. If you believe the half empty scenario, then you may get exactly what you think. This is why the timelines are parting, the peace revolution is a breakaway winner.

    People ask me why I fly a large U.S. flag in my home, since I live in Vancouver, Canada (aka the “Couve”). Why not have a Canadian flag, or even the beautiful British Columbia flag? My choice was to pledge my allegiance the flag of the United States of America, so I made a commitment to use my time and resources to fight for liberty and freedom. The U.S. flag represents the last bastion of freedom and liberty and the Military is being in control is our only hope, in my belief structure.

    In my world view the Law of War Manual written by the Department of Defence and edited in 2016, one year prior to the first post of Q in 2017. The Q Anon program was integral in the overthrow of the Deep State. More importantly a massive covert war against human trafficking has been taking place with the largest military joint task forces ever enacted in history. The fake news media cover story of war games and practice, has kept silent the battles of 10,000 underground tunnel captures, and release of millions of slaves. On every continent and almost every country there was a war happening but we won and it’s almost over. The victory celebration will rock the universe, literally.

    New World Order Lockstep has Been Broken

    Canada is a captured operation and our leaders have lost their right to represent us. They joined forces with the New World Order and now are in lock-step to enslave each and every one of us. We are known as respectful and obedient, even kind and nice by people everywhere around the world. We were most likely to comply but they underestimated our unity with America.

    I am one of a million Canuckos that went all-in for the war against the Cabal. My commitment to sharing truth and exposing lies of FAKE News, makes me a Digital Soldier and a Keyboard Warrior. I accept the risk because I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees. Now my army is winning and victory is ours, for those who would not comply to the edicts of tyranny.

    Make no mistake about it, many people now find themselves on the wrong side of history. Sadly, there will be pain to pay for attempting to steal democracy from an opponent that was waiting for them to do it. For decades at had been lucrative to harvest ballots or whatever fraud that was become normal, who would have ever taken the time to read the Executive Orders, our bother to pay attention to all the warnings: “they’re going to steal 2020”.

    Just as in many famous heists in history, for awhile the crooks get away with it… but guess what? If you steal something so important, from 100 million people who love what you stole, it won’t happen. Furthermore, if the Corona was part of the steal, as it led to mail-in ballots, then Fake News is going down fast, for planned deception. Treason against “We the People!”

    As the timelines continue to split the masses who held the line and stood strong against the New World Order will get to reap the rewards to choosing the harder path. If you are one of us, that dropped what you were doing, rolled-up your sleeves and waded into the maelstrom with all your might and gave it all you got, then your cup will runneth over with abundance of joy and happiness, when the fat lady sings.

    Living in a Parallel Universe, Feeling Groovy and Saluting all Patriots worldwide, for trusting the plan. Be happy and know in your heart, that Jesus loves you for having faith. God Bliss you all!

    P.S. Fauci should have never, ever (under any circumstance) hurt a beagle, or any other dog.

    Trump and Snoopy the Beagle
    Notice the heart in robins egg blue? Source: https://t.me/hsretoucher17

  • Lotus Flower Tower and The Cirque of the Unclimbables

    Lotus Flower Tower

    Nahanni National Park Reserve

    Northwest Territories, Canada

    Lotus Flower Tower is the crown jewel of the Cirque of the Unclimbables and one fine night upon sunset, down on Bikini Beach in Vancouver BC, I met a man that had climbed the Lotus Flower Tower to the summit. This distinguished rock climber shared his captured photos on his phone and told us the most amazing story, that I will never forget because you need to understand how remote this place is.

    A legendary bush pilot owns the camp where the team of 3 rock climbers had to wait 10 days just to get a weather window, then a hair-raising float plane landing and drop-off, to an almost Juraisic Park type of setting. Totally mystical. They had 8 days to summit and return, the most amazing achievement.

    Can you see the climber on the wall? click for full size. Image by Aaron Formella

    The Bush pilot helped the young athletes by letting them stay at the resort and arrived right on time and with a case of cold beer and sandwiches to celebrate the victory, then harrowing, death deifying takeoff against the wind and weather, to fly back to the very remote lodge. It’s the love of the sport of rock climbing that has inspired the legendary bush pilot to continue operating the lodge, which also caters to sports fishermen but it’s the climbers paradise.

    Below is the description from Mountain Project also check out the information about The Cirque of the Unclimbables

    The crazy thing is that the other 4 climbs, since the total is 5 to conquer the complete Cirque of the Unclimbables, which I was told was discovered by Royal Robbins, are beyond the Lotus Flower Tower. To reach the base of the other 4 mountains you must go completely around and past the base of the first mountain, this requires twice the provisions and one of the mountains requires inflatable rafting to approach the base (after days of hiking in).

    Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of boltless, pitonless clean climbing, he, along with Yvon Chouinard, was instrumental in changing the climbing culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s by encouraging the use and preservation of the natural features of the rock. He went on to become a well-known kayaker.

    Mountain Project Provide the Following for Rock Climbers

    Elevation:8,334 ft
    GPS:62.113, -127.696 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
    Page Views:94,502 total · 529/month
    Shared By:Jay Knower on Jan 7, 2007 · Updates
    Admins:Braden Batsford
    Source: Mountain Project

    Description

    Lotus Flower Tower is one of the most distinct pieces of rock geometry on the planet. Since it’s inclusion in the Fifty Classic Climbs book, 9 out of 10 climbers who go to the Cirque are intent on climbing Lotus Flower Tower. And rightfully so, as it’s most popular route, The Great Line, is absolutely that. Other routes also climb the face but no one ever does them.

    Getting There

    From Fairy Meadows, walk to the base of the tower. A snow field must be crossed en route, but it’s not much of an issue. It’s about an hour hike from base camp to route.

  • Lions Gate Bridge under Construction

    Lions Gate Bridge under Construction

    Vancouver Lions Gate Bridge sunset reflection in a tide pool, 2002

    The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938 and officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, is a suspension bridge that crosses the first narrows of Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the North Shore municipalities of the District of North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver, and West Vancouver. The term “Lions Gate” refers to the Lions, a pair of mountain peaks north of Vancouver. Northbound traffic on the bridge heads in their general direction. A pair of cast concrete lions, designed by sculptor Charles Marega, were placed on either side of the south approach to the bridge in January 1939.

    Lions Gate Bridge at Sunset, 2013

    The total length of the bridge including the north viaduct is 1,823 metres (5,981 ft). The length including approach spans is 1,517.3 metres (4,978 ft), the main span alone is 473 metres (1,552 ft), the tower height is 111 metres (364 ft), and it has a ship’s clearance of 61 metres (200 ft). Prospect Point in Stanley Park offered a good high south end to the bridge, but the low flat delta land to the north required construction of the extensive North Viaduct.

    History

    In 1890, land speculator George Grant Mackay wrote in the local paper that he foresaw a bridge over the first narrows. The decision on whether to build the bridge was put to the electorate of Vancouver in 1927, but the first plebiscite was defeated and the idea was put to rest for the time being.

    Lions Gate Bridge from Downtown Vancouver

    Alfred James Towle Taylor, an engineer with a land interest in the construction of the bridge, worked to overcome local opposition to its construction. Taylor was able to convince the Guinness family (of the Irish stout fame) to invest in the land on the north shore of Burrard Inlet. They purchased 1,902 hectares (4,700 acres) of West Vancouver mountainside through a syndicate called British Pacific Properties Ltd.

    Lions Gate Bridge and North Vancouver from Prospect Point in Stanley Park

    On December 13, 1933, a second plebiscite was held, passing with 70 percent in favour. After considerable further negotiations with the federal government, approval was finally granted, with the requirement that Vancouver materials and workmen be used as much as possible to provide employment during the Great Depression. The 1933 bylaw authorizing construction included a provision mandating that “no Asiatic person shall be employed in or upon any part of the undertaking or other works”.

    Lions Gate Bridge under construction, 1938

    The bridge was designed by the Montreal firm Monsarrat and Pratley, which was later responsible for the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge in Halifax, Nova Scotia, using a similar design. Other companies involved in the construction of the bridge included Swan Wooster Engineering, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin Inc., Canron Western Constructors, Dominion Bridge Company, American Bridge Company.

    Construction began on March 31, 1937. After one and a half years and a cost of CA$5,873,837.17, the bridge opened to traffic on November 14, 1938. On May 29, 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth presided over the official opening during a royal visit to Canada. A toll of 25 cents was charged for each car or horse and carriage; five cents was charged for pedestrians or bicycles.

    On January 20, 1955, the Guinness family sold the bridge to the province of British Columbia for $5,873,837.17 – the cost of the original construction. The newly constructed bridge differed from the current configuration of the bridge as it originally had only two lanes. Yet, as had been foreseen, West Vancouver’s population boomed as a result of the new connection. Thus, to accommodate the increased population, the lanes were divided into three with the middle lane acting as a passing lane. Eventually overhead lane control signals were installed, enabling traffic in the centre lane to be directed in either direction, and facilitating emergency vehicle access by closing off the centre lane.

    Lions Gate Bridge from Stanley Park, 2013

    Another difference with the original configuration was that in an effort to recover the expenditure it cost to build the bridge, the Guinness family had toll booths installed. The toll remained on the bridge until April 1, 1963. Changes were made shortly after, as the tolls were removed and overhead lane controls were added.

    In 1975, the deteriorating original concrete deck of the North Viaduct was replaced with a lighter, wider, and stronger steel orthotropic deck with wider lanes. This was carried out in sections using a series of short closures of the bridge; each time, one old section was lowered from the bridge and its replacement was put into place.

    In 1986 the Guinness family, as a gift to Vancouver, purchased decorative lights that make it a distinctive nighttime landmark. In July 2009, the bridge’s lighting system was updated with new LED lights to replace its system of 100-watt mercury vapour bulbs. The switch to LEDs was expected to reduce power consumption on the bridge by 90 per cent and save the provincial government about $30,000 a year in energy and maintenance costs.

    From 2000 to 2001, the replacement of the entire suspended structure of the original suspension bridge was undertaken without interruption of peak-hour traffic – the first time an entire suspended structure of a major suspension bridge was replaced while in daily use. As with the 1975 replacement work, this was facilitated by a series of separate nighttime and weekend closures to replace one section at a time. The old suspended section was lowered to a barge, and the new lighter and wider orthotropic deck section raised into place and connected. The new deck was designed with the two pedestrian walkways cantilevered to the outside of the suspension cables and the three road lanes widened from 3 to 3.6 metres (10 to 12 ft) each. As a result of the 2001 replacement, the 63-year-old “suspension bridge, not designed for durability, was given a new lease of life”.

  • Bikini Beach, Vancouver

    Bikini Beach, Vancouver

    One of the best kept secrets of the city of Vancouver is the the tiny beach at the entrance to Stanley Park, at the start of Lost Lagoon Drive, where the Pacific kisses the sandy log strewn shores. The beach, some say, earned her name because of it’s size, others say because it’s the best place in a city of dozens of beaches, to see women in bikinis.

    The West End of Vancouver has a long history of bohemian lifestyle, where once upon a time Errol Flynn sailed in and brought his legendary crew, the Rat Pack soon followed and other celebs such Audrey Hepburn all walked the same path, that leads to a stone staircase and descends to the smallest but cutest little swimming beach in the world.

    For over 80 years this one little beach has been ocean access for daily swimmers years round and to this day it is purported that two sisters swim each day, both are over eighty years old, still habitually tread those stairs and dive in to the Pacific from Bikini Beach (also known as “Cowabunga Beach”). Surrounded by the embrace of both the forest and Stanley Park on one side, and the West End metropolis of Vancouver on the other.

    Bikini Beach makes claim to the warmest water in Vancouver but this is a silly debate because the Pacific is so massive and so ever changing that one day is totally different to the next but please realize the the actual water temperature, called Sea surface by NOAA really doesn’t vary much, over a twelve month period. So the swimming at Bikini Beach can be as pleasant in July as March. Maybe more rewarding the worse the day in the middle of the winter.

    My life in the middle of summer, is complete when I have made the trek, which from my Lost Lagoon pad takes about 7 minutes, to reach the sea. Then I relax, chill out and watch the water. Listen to the waves and cleanse away my random access memory by preparing myself for the moment when I dive in. Everything is both new and the same, instant and ancient, the feeling of swimming in the Pacific renews me.

  • Ziggurat of Ur and the Plan of the Pope

    Ziggurat of Ur and the Plan of the Pope

    BAGHADAD – Pope Francis is due to hold an inter-religious prayer service at the ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur when he visits Iraq next week – an event local archeologists hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of Abraham. (Source: Reuters)

    The father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Abraham is described in the biblical book of Genesis as living in the city before God called upon him to create a new nation in a land he later learned was Canaan.

    Definition of ziggurat

    : an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top also : a structure or object of similar form

    Image by Abdulmomn Kadhim from Pixabay

  • Mar-a-Lago the Winter Whitehouse

    Mar-a-Lago the Winter Whitehouse

    Mar-A-Lago — the Florida estate of Marjorie Merriwether Post, designed by Joseph Urban. Image courtesy of federal HABS—Historic American Buildings Survey in Florida project.

    Silicon Palms was incorporated in Florida on 9.9.99 and the first office was in Palm Beach County. Many times I have passed the gate of Mar a Lago but never entered, although I know it well by having lived nearby and enjoyed all the beaches and waterway surrounding this spectacular estate.

    Living room of Mar-a-Lago, 1967

    Mar-a-Lago (/ˌmɑːrəˈlɑːɡoʊ/) is a resort and national historic landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, built from 1924 to 1927 by cereal-company heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post. The 126-room, 62,500-square-foot (5,810 m2) mansion since 1995 contains the Mar-a-Lago Club, a members-only club with guest rooms, a spa, and other hotel-style amenities. It is located in Palm Beach County on the Palm Beach barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway to the west.

    Living room of Mar-a-Lago, 1967

    At the time of her death in 1973, Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service, hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House, but because the costs of maintaining the property exceeded the funds provided by Post, and it was difficult to secure the facility (as it is located in the flight path of Palm Beach Airport), the property was returned to the Post Foundation by an Act of Congress in 1981.

    President Trump (at the head of the table) and staffers monitor the missile strike on Syria from the SCIF within Mar-a-Lago

    In 1985, Mar-a-Lago was purchased by Donald Trump for around $10 million. His family maintains private quarters in a separate, closed-off area of the house and grounds. Trump frequently visited there during his tenure as President of the United States, referring to it as the Winter White House and his “Southern White House“. After Trump became president in January 2017, Mar-a-Lago was used to host meetings for international leaders, including Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe and Chinese president Xi Jinping. In September 2019, Mar-a-Lago became the primary residence for Donald and Melania Trump, who previously held primary residence in New York City, in spite of a legal agreement Trump signed in the early 1990s that converted the estate from a private residence to a private club.

    Mar-a-Lago in 2009

    It is the second largest mansion in the state of Florida and the 22nd largest mansion in the United States. In 2018, Forbes estimated the value of the estate at around $160 million, having appreciated greatly throughout the past decades since Trump’s purchase due to several factors such as the extensive renovation, lavish features and furniture, the exclusivity of the location, as well as its historic meaning and significance.

    Marine One – January 2021
    President Donald J. Trump walks across the South Lawn as he departs the White House Thursday, Sept. 06, 2018, for his trip to Billings, Montana. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)..

    Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) “Nighthawks”, consisting of either the large Sikorsky VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N “White Hawk”. Both helicopters are called “White Tops” because of their livery. Any Marine Corps aircraft carrying the vice president without the president, has the call sign Marine Two.

    Mar-a-lago Photo credit: wallyg on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND