One late night on my drive home, traffic suddenly came to a standstill on the 405 North. (Read the story here.)
The ambulance arrives on the scene…
After an hour of waiting, many got impatient and started to back out, including this limo.
limo backing down shoulder of highway from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
photo credit: Chris Doolittle
Firefighters in California have adopted a fire suppression policy for over a century now, which works very effectively in the underbrush type fires of Northern California, but do very little to stop the brush type fires of Southern California. In fact, wildfires are still occurring increasingly year after year, with over 99% of the ones in coastal Southern California started by human activity. It’s not just an issue of how we fight the fires; it’s how we prepare ourselves to prevent the fires.
Much of the problem arises with urban sprawl. As our communities push further out into the undeveloped land surrounding us, we not only put ourselves at risk of being in the path of a wildfire, we are more in danger of starting them. Since fires are something humans feel they can control, more or less, there is often a misconception that we can just stop the unwanted ones from happening. However, that is not the case, especially since our homes are teeming with highly flammable materials, including the very palm trees swaying our backyards. Fires are bound to break out, whether caused by humans or nature.
So, we should follow Dr. Jon E. Keeley’s advice: think of wildfires like we do of earthquakes. We certainly don’t go around trying to patch up the San Andreas Fault, and neither should we try to stop all the brushfires from igniting. As a matter of fact, in a study conducted by Keeley and Fotheringham in 2000, they found that chaparrals (native plants in Southern California) need periodic wildfires to help their seedlings grow! It’s actually the smoke and chemicals from charred wood that allow the seeds of chaparral to germinate, otherwise they lay dormant.
Chapparals have adapted to the wildfires that swept the area every decade or two and now need them to continue to survive. That’s not to say that the increased frequency of wildfires is a good thing, though! When fires occur too frequently, native chaparrals die before they get a chance to recover and soon the hillsides are replaced by non-native weeds and dry vegetation. These new plants are far less resistant to burning, increasing the frequency of fires, which spread to kill off even more native plants. And thus the cycle continues, to the point that of the nine megafires (fires that burned more than 100,000 acres) in the past century, half occurred in just the last six years.
So how should we deal with the wildfires? Well, to start off with, it would be smart to NOT build homes and developments in high-risk areas, which experts have identified. Then, for those homes that are already on the fringe of wild land, clear out the vegetation in a 100-yard radius. Also, homeowners should be cognizant of the materials in and around their homes. Palm trees in particular are dangerous because they are extremely flammable. Embers flying from a burning palm tree in your yard could then ignite a fire on nearby structures. Finally, we should accept that wildfires are part of the cycle of life for our local vegetation and have a plan like we do for earthquakes.
To learn more, check out Dr. Keeley’s Oppenheim Lecture Series presentation.
Been a long day, so a quick post for now…
I showed it in my video awhile ago; now here is a picture for posterity. The wonderful cut I got from Panda. 😛
You know you’re at UCLA when the squirrels are absolutely fearless and rather ODD.
fearless squirrel from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
The “near attack” part was far scary in real life, I tell you.
When I was three and a half, I flew from China to meet my parents in Pennsylvania. On the plane ride, I was with a family friend who had been tasked with babysitting me for the trip. The one thing I remember from that time in my life was during the plane ride, when the lady had to go to the bathroom. She took the airplane blanket we were using, opened it up, and draped it over me. Hidden securely underneath, she told me not to move until she came back, or else the big, bad wolf would come and eat me. Obediently, I huddled in my little cave, waiting for her to return.
A long time later, my little toddler self was getting antsy, but I was a good kid, so I stayed under the blanket. As the minutes passed, I began to wonder if perhaps the wolf had gotten her. What was taking so long? When she finally came back, I was so relieved to get my freedom back! Turns out she’d gotten distracted talking to a flight attendant on her way back from her restroom break. And here I’d thought maybe she’d forgotten me there. Thank goodness, we were both safe and the wolf was nowhere to be seen! 🙂
When the rains come to LA, it sure does dampen the place. Check out the dense fog that covered us for a week!
Visibility sucks and drivers get even worse than they already were.
I don't even know how much more of that hill there might be.
The world beyond is veiled...
Oh, dreary days!
As I was getting lunch at Kaya today, I noticed their chopsticks resemble the pair I have in my To-Go Ware set. It reminded me of the day when Panda saw them and asked me why they were warped. Months later, when another friend came back from grad school in the East Coast, he saw them and asked the exact same thing. -____- Whereas I and our other friend, a history major, saw them as artistic, they saw them as warped. Wow. A lesson in the differences between North and South campus majors!
See the gentle curving to give them more character?
I love my alma mater. This is how we get into the spirit for sports games:
1. Get pumped up listening to the UCLA Bruins Marching Band.
how far we’ve come, bruin style from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
2. Go to the Rose Bowl and be entertained as Red Bull parachuters wind their way down from the sky.
redbull parachuters from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
3. Cheer your team to touchdowns (and dance along with Joe and Josie Bruin).
ucla touchdown from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
4. Enjoy a lovely halftime show, including a showdown between some young’uns.
little footballers from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
5. Celebrate a victory where the lights of the Rose Bowl are turned off just so we can do an 8-clap in the dark.
rose bowl dark from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
6. Round off the night with a firework show!
rose bowl fireworks from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Besides travel the world and skydiving, I’d say that running a marathon tops everyone’s “to do” list (or for the more ambitious, perhaps a triathlon). Why? What’s the draw? I don’t quite understand it, because to me, marathons hold no interest. Then again, I’m not as into endurance sports as most people seem to be; rather, I prefer sprinting and strength exercises. Plus, I much prefer being in water than jolting my knees on land.
It seems that marathons have become a rite of passage. Much like the Greek system has a pledging process, during which pledges undergo certain challenges to prove they deserve to become a brother or sister in the organization, marathons (and training for them) seem to be a process people go through to be inducted to an unofficial club of sorts. Ultimately it’s more about bragging rights and being able to say that you’ve run a marathon than just being healthy or running for enjoyment. In fact, most people who run marathons find it excruciatingly painful and just barely finish their first few. But it’s one of those things that’s hard enough that people respect you for doing it, yet easy enough that just about anyone can do it, so long as they set their minds to it.
Running comes pretty easily to just about everyone who isn’t confined to a wheelchair. It’s a natural thing humans do, and though techniques vary, the skill isn’t really hard to pick up. Other things like swimming are harder for people to pick up, which is why I think triathlons are things that only more elite athletes go for. The average Joe finds learning to swim and bike, then having to compete in those on top of running just a bit too hard. That’s my theory on why marathons make the list while triathlons get far less attention. Marathons are a good middle ground between not doing anything physically challenging and going for a triathlon.
I’ve never gotten into them and may never attempt a marathon. That accomplishment just doesn’t mean as much to me. I’d rather be able to hold static exercises for longer, be able to pump more weights, or do endurance stuff submerged in water. I’ve never been a great fan of cardio exercises. I like strength and agility more. So though I’d love to go ocean swimming, I don’t feel the need to prove myself by swimming the English Channel. I guess that’s why I loved swimming the butterfly stroke and doing long and triple jump. There’s a lot more skill involved in addition to the strength and power you need to do those events. I’d also love to become a better shot with a pistol, revolver, rifle, and maybe even a bow and arrow. Oh, and traveling the world and skydiving are definitely on my “to do” list. But marathons? They just aren’t my thing.
Oh the funny things you find while driving…
Whatever was that for?
Good to know, in case I wanted to break in and have some of that...
Such a bright green color!
