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.

Comments

Finding Our Place

In this episode, Finding Our Place: Hope and Humanity in the Age of AI . . . Yesterday, I overheard a conversation that echoed a question many of us are quietly asking: In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, where do we , as humans, truly fit in? My younger colleagues, sharp and driven, were "joking" about AI taking their jobs. Their concerns felt valid, prompting me to reflect. Will machines really replace us? My answer, unequivocally, is No . And here’s why. What makes us uniquely human isn't merely our ability to perform tasks. It's our innate capacity for creativity and our deep-seated need to serve others. These aren't just abstract ideas; they are the very essence of what gives meaning to our lives and work. While AI excels at processing data and automating tasks with incredible speed, it cannot replicate the spark of human ingenuity. It lacks the empathy to truly understand unspoken needs or the intuitive synergy that fosters breakthrough solutio...

Chasing the Magic

In this episode, Chasing the Magic: How the Summer of ’98 Inspired the 'Ball Boys' . . . Do you remember that feeling? The late-summer air was thick with humidity, radios crackling on porches, the smell of fresh-cut grass and barbecue smoke in the backyard. Every evening carried a new kind of suspense—the country holding its collective breath after every pitch. “Did he hit one today?” became more than a question; it sparked a nationwide conversation. For me, and millions of others, the summer of 1998 wasn’t just another baseball season. It was theater, a movement, a time when the game recaptured something sacred. As sportswriter Mike Lupica said so perfectly, “No matter how old you are or how much you’ve seen, sports is still about memory and imagination. Never more than during the summer of ’98, when baseball made everyone feel like a kid again, when it felt important again.” Just four years earlier, the 1994 players’ strike had left the sport bruised...

The Curious Crew

In today's special episode, The Curious Crew . . . Oh, our young folks are ready, with AI so grand, A new era of wonders across every land! With curious minds, vast as Space, full of creative delight, And a zest for exploring, with all of their light! They welcome new tools, with a gleam in their eye, To learn and to grow, way up to the sky! Our thinking's a marvel, a clever design, We make new plans, so fantastically fine! With problem-space maps and memories, too, We build new ideas, quite fresh and quite new! With smiling faces, showing gratitude's grace, We find our own wonderful, human-filled place! Sharing a meal with generosity and love, A warm human spirit, a gift from above! We stand tall together, collaborate, and help with a grin, For with Agentic AI, together we win! Not machines all alone, but with us by their side, We'll create and serve, with nothing to hide! I'm Patrick Ball. Stay curious and ask questions. See you next time.

Beyond June Gloom

Beyond June Gloom: The Milky Way Awaits! ✨🌌 Has the seemingly endless marine layer got your telescope feeling neglected? For us sky-watchers on the beautiful California coast, May Gray and June Gloom have played a persistent game of hide-and-seek with our celestial views. But there's good news tonight: as summer officially arrives, a stunning cosmic spectacle is about to reveal itself, and you absolutely won't want to miss it! We know the drill: that persistent marine layer turning our sunny days into cool, misty ones. It's a hallmark of our coastal climate, and while it's kept our telescopes under wraps, consider it nature’s way of building epic anticipation for the celestial show that’s about to unfold The Return of the Galactic Core! (Photo courtesy of Gemini) As the days grow longer and the summer air warms, those stubborn clouds will begin to dissipate, revealing a breathtaking sight: the core of our very own Milky Way galaxy! That's right, the vibrant heart...

On The Fly

Search This Blog