Skip to main content

Griffith's Glory and Electric Glee

In this episode, Griffith's Glory and Electric Glee . . .

 

Welcome back to On the Fly, Lori asked me if I wanted to do something special for my weekend birthday (August 16th, 2024). My thought: Hmmm–It’s been over 35 years since we’ve had one of our Friday night dates at the Griffith Park Observatory.” What if we spent the weekend in Los Angeles, had dinner at a historic diner, visited the Observatory, and hiked Griffith Park the following morning?”

This was a regular occurrence when I lived in Glendale, CA., and Lori lived on Los Feliz Blvd; she could walk to the Observatory. So, we did.

Now, don't get me wrong. We've been to LA many times since moving to Carlsbad for various reasons like Dodger games, my memorable 60th birthday trip to Guitar Center, our visit to Norman's Rare Guitars, the trip to Exposition Park to see the Space Shuttle, and yearly trips to pick up Lori's Mom for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. My blog is filled with such adventures, not just Griffith Park.

The Griffith Observatory is more than just an iconic landmark. It's a portal to science, history, and the cosmos! Built in 1935 and remodeled from 2002 to 2006, this architectural gem perched in the Hollywood hills offers stunning views of Los Angeles at night and incredible astronomical insights.

As a young instructor at GIA in 1988, trips to the observatory gave me key insights into ideas that allowed me to teach the Science of Gemology. One of my first classroom presentations as a trainee was on Light Theory. My training instructor, Diana Moran, was very complimentary, "That was the best presentation of Light Theory I've seen at GIA.” After that, I was hooked. The interactive displays at Griffith Observatory became my go-to place for additional information as I prepared my classroom presentations.

One of my favorite exhibits is The Tesla Coil. The Tesla coil, a marvel of electrical engineering, was the brainchild of the visionary inventor Nikola Tesla. It's a high-voltage transformer that produces spectacular displays of electricity. It creates a resonant electrical circuit, where energy is transferred efficiently between two coils. Tesla coils can produce output voltages from 50 kilovolts to several million volts for large coils. The result is very impressive, crackling sparks you've probably seen in videos.

While Tesla coils are renowned for their dazzling displays, they were initially conceived as a means for wireless power transmission. Tesla dreamed of a world where energy could be beamed without wires. Although this vision has yet to materialize fully, his work laid the groundwork for today's wireless technologies.

On the weekends, we would hike Griffith Park. This sprawling urban oasis, founded by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith, covers a whopping 4,210 acres. Imagine a place (In Los Angeles) where you can hike, ride horses, visit a zoo, or escape the city bustle. That's Griffith Park!

This year, on Saturday morning, we started at Ferndale and hiked to the Observatory—a 3.67-mile loop in about two hours with a 703-foot elevation gain and a temperature of 71 degrees. It was spectacular.

However, be warned: Los Angeles is extremely busy with tourists in the summer, and traffic can be defeating. The swarms of people are overwhelming, but once you're there and hiking Griffith Park, it's as if you were transported to a different world—enjoy!

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

A Mother’s Day Reflection

With Mother’s Day here and the world bustling with cards, brunches, and busy schedules, I find myself reflecting on something a bit simpler: taking a moment to remember the person who helped shape my earliest sense of home. Mauricette Elaine (Bontemps) Ball. My Mom. We arrived in Cuba after leaving La Rochelle, France, in 1959—a transition whose enormity I only fully appreciate now. My mother, barely in her mid-twenties, stepped into Midwestern life with remarkable courage. Her smile could warm the coldest Illinois morning, and her hugs lingered long after she let go—quiet reminders that you were deeply loved. Born February 16, 1934, the third of four children, she grew up in Nazi-occupied La Rochelle. As kids, we listened wide-eyed to stories of soldiers patrolling her streets and fear shadowing everyday life. Yet she carried none of that darkness forward. What endured was resilience and an unwavering devotion to family—qualities she carried across the Atlantic and planted firmly in C...
1 comment
Read more

Time Travel, Roving Mics, and Muscle Memory

In this episode, the 2026 Sinkankas Symposium. Let’s get one thing straight: I didn’t arrive in a DeLorean. No flux capacitor, no dramatic lightning strike—just a Saturday parking pass and a name badge. And yet, somewhere between the rotunda doors and the first handshake, it happened anyway. This past Saturday, April 25th, I was transported—effortlessly and completely—back in time at the 20th Annual Sinkankas Symposium on the GIA campus in Carlsbad. Walking into that magnificent main campus rotunda early with my colleagues, Paul Mattlin and Glenn Wargo, felt like wrapping myself in a familiar, gem-encrusted blanket. It was less a building, more a family living room where nobody ever really forgets your name. The halls were quiet (a rare and beautiful thing), and the soft echo of our footsteps on the polished floors sounded exactly as I remembered it. For a moment, it wasn’t 2026—it was April 1997, my first time walking onto the beautiful, brand-new GIA campus as Director of Alumni. Som...
Post a Comment
Read more

Freedom 7 - 65th Anniversary

Podcast - Freedom 7; 65th Anniversary . "Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates, 500 B.C. May 5, 2026, marks the 65th anniversary of Freedom 7's launch. Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space. A 15-minute sub-orbital flight, a day for the history books; the entire world was watching. NASA and the world had witnessed many trial runs explode violently on the launch pad. The space program was in its infancy. Unlike today, there were far too many unknowns. This prompted me to pull out one of my favorite books from my office library,  Light This Candle , by Neal Thompson, copyright 2004. Light This Candle is a biography of Alan Shepard, Jr., you won't be able to put down. It's - "Story-telling at its best . . . every page is alive," says David Hartman, U.S Naval Institute. In the opening pages, you read endorsements fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ode To Gemology

For over 80 years, students of gemology have struggled with spectrums, bewildered by birefringence, and simply plagued by pleochroism. The following sonnet is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, a glow to your heart, and a simple reminder that students of life and gemology rediscover nature's gifts every day.  Ode to Gemology , by a GIA on-campus student. Dispersion, fire, adventurescence. Orient, sheen, or iridescence. Refractive index, high or low. The luster should indicate that, you know. Polarization, double or single. What to do now, they intermingle. Pleochroic colors you really should see. Was that only two, or actually three? Birefringence should help you a lot. Use your polarizer and watch the spot. Now, did it jump most on low or high? Sure, you can get it if you really try! Your liquids should be an aid, I think. Does it float, suspend, or slowly sink? Just use your imagination now. (He doesn't see me wiping my brow.) Solid inclusions or only bubbles? Huh, th...
Post a Comment
Read more