Wall of American License Plates

License plates have been around for longer than there have been automobiles. They have been a source of interest and fun since the very first ones were issued.


The following funny story really happened to a man named Robert Barbour: He requested personalized license plates from the California DMV in 1979. The DMV form asked to list three possible choices for his plates, and he entered:

1. SAILING
2. BOATING
3. NO PLATE

The third "NO PLATE" option meant, if he can't get the first or the second plate, then he didn't want personalized plates at all.

However,officials at the DMV didn't understand his intentions, so they sent him vanity plates with the words "NO PLATE" written on them.

About a month later, Mr. Barbour started to receive loads of parking tickets, from all over the States. Even from places he has never been to. In total, he received about 2,500 tickets. He alerted the DMV about the problem, and he responded to every citation with a form letter.

Why did this happen? Well, law enforcement agencies usually used "NO PLATE" when citing a parked vehicle that had no plates. And, DMV computers finally found a matching address for a car with the famous "NO PLATE" license plate...

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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Grapes - yummy And healty

Grapes are very popular as snack fruits especially due to their tart flavor, crisp texture, refreshing moisture and attractive color. It is hard to resist a luscious bunch of grapes placed in front of you and the good news is that these fruits are packed with essential nutrients and are almost medicinal due to various health benefits they provide.
Grapes come in black, blue, purple, green, and even pink colored grapes available. Irrespective of the type of grape you eat, you can be assured that they are choke full of essential vitamins like Vitamin A, C, B6, B and Folate, and they are rich in Manganese and Potassium as well as Copper, Zinc, Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron and Selenium. Resveratrol, a compound found in grape skins and seed, keeps the heart muscles flexible and healthy. Grapes also contain a glucose based compound called Saponin which helps reduce the absorption of cholesterol and settles down inflammation path ways thus reducing the risk of heart diseases. There are many more benefits in eating grapes but the most crucial benefit we derive from eating grapes is production of anti-oxidants in your body which helps to prevent cancer formation.
Grapes not only make for a tasty snack but are very benefitial to the human body. And the best thing is: We can consume grapes as fresh fruit, in the form of red wine, grape juice or even as a dry fruit, to accrue its benefits.

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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Autumn - the year's loveliest smile

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."
~ Eric Sloane

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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The stare - Border Collie at work

Watching a working Border Collie manage stock is for many a spiritual experience, and for others a thing of wonder. This smart, intense workaholic lives for order and values employment above all else.
Their instinct to drive sheep back to their master has been helping man manage his livestock for hundreds of years. Bred for working in hill country in Scotland, Border Collies are used to gather flocks of sheep that often are scattered far from each other on hilly, rocky terrain, miles away from the shepherd. These dogs can cover as much as 100 miles in a day and get up the next morning doing it again. They are able to outrun a 200-pound ewe down the side of a mountain, get ahead of her, and turn her back, and they can gently guide a new mother and her lambs back to the barn.
The Border Collie controls the sheep with what is known as "eye". While the dog's stare and focus is a major factor in his control of his livestock, it is only a part of the overall body language of the "eye": Head down, shoulders hunched, tail carried low, each foot is placed with careful attention. Each step is quiet, and careful, eyes always 'locked' on the sheep. The Border Collie's "eye" can stop livestock in its tracks, or force it to move away as the dog approaches and balances the stock between it and the shepherd.
There is a saying: "You can't have a good flock without a good shepherd; And you can't have a good shepherd without a good dog."

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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World-class wine is made in California

The history of California wine began with the Spanish mission system. Wine and brandy were made not only for ecclesiastical use, but were also traded for other goods. The wine industry marked its beginning in 1769, when the the Franciscan missionary Father Junipero Serra planted his first grape vines at Mission San Diego. This black-skinned grape variety, which was called Mission grape, played a significant role in California wine production.
California's wine industry faced a major decline due to National Prohibition (1920 - 1933). A major portion of the industry, which initially had up to 713 bonded wineries, was wiped out. However, by the end of 1933, California's wine industry started to revive gradually.
In 1976, Steven Spurrier, an influential wine merchant and academic, organized a 'Blind Taste Test' in Paris, France. He had long been curious of how well California's best wines would stand up to Bordeaux and Burgundy. This was probably the most important event in the history of wine in California. The Golden State did not disappoint. California has a reputation as a place where anyone can prosper and anything can grow. Today, the Californian wine industry is one among the finest in the world.
While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, California contributes around 90% of the U.S. wine production. It would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world if it were an independent nation. The industry boasts approximately 2,445 wineries, which produce more than 500 million gallons of wines every year. Chardonnay is the largest grown variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and White Zinfandel.

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Three of a kind - The windows in Old Sacramento

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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State Capitol Building Sacramento California

At the State Capitol in downtown Sacramento, the past, present and future of California interact with equal force. Surrounded by a lush green park, the building serves as both a museum and the state’s working seat of government.
The impressive Neoclassical structure was built between 1861 and 1874. A common feature found in many state capitols, including California's, is a portico opening into a central rotunda that rises into a dome. This architectural convention, borrowed from the Romans, creates an inspiring and majestic entrance. The dome is 64 m (210 ft) high, matching that of the U.S. Capitol. At the base of the portico, seven granite archways brace and support the porch above. Eight fluted Corinthian columns line the portico. A cornice supports the pediment above depicting Minerva surrounded by Education, Justice, and Mining. The opulent interior, featuring paintings and murals, a marble floor, massive staircases and a profusion of chandeliers, is more Victorian than neo-classical and clearly shows the mid-19th century Victorian character of the building. The $68 million renovation of the Capitol building in 1976 was the largest restoration project of that time in U.S. history.
The grandeur of this exquisite building is surpassed by the grounds surrounding it. Capitol Park encompasses 40 acres of stunning gardens, groves and memorials. You could spend all day exploring the grounds before even setting foot into the building itself. Symbolic flowers such as the Camellia and the rose are prominently featured in their own gardens.
Whether you want to see the California government in action, walk through this glorious building or spend time smelling the roses, the Capitol Building in Sacramento is a definite spot to spend some time while visiting Sacramento.

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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Bristlecone Pine - A survival expert

The biblical Methuselah, ancestor to Noah, was said to have lived 969 years. The world's oldest living thing, the Methuselah Tree, a Bristlecone Pine in California's White Mountains, has endured almost five times as long. It thrives and survives in conditions that would strike fear into the phloem of virtually all other plants.
In the rain shadow of the mighty Sierra Nevadas, which blocks weather approaching from the west, the average annual precipitation is less than 12 inches, and most of that falls as snow in winter. In summer, which can provide as few as six weeks of warmth for bristlecone pines to generate growth and reserves for overwintering, precipitable moisture ranks among the lowest recorded anywhere on earth. Moreover, the soil the bristlecones cling to is not dirt as most plants know it but dolomite, a limestone substrate with few nutrients. With so little time to get energy from the sun, and so little energy to be had from the soil, growth is grindingly slow. A bristlecone pine may add to its girth no more than an inch per century.
Bristlecone Pine trees (Pinus longaeva) have evolved survival strategies that might make other, less hardy plants, well, green with envy. They put a greater premium on getting by than on getting big. It is an ability that, perhaps more than any other, allows the species, in standout cases, to last longer than most civilizations. The tallest sequoia, a coast redwood also found in California, is 367 feet tall. The tallest bristlecone pine is but 60 feet tall, and most of its kind are much shorter. Clearly, bigger is not better in such a brutal environment as that found at high altitude in the White Mountains.
Some gnarled old bristlecones have only a thin strip of living bark, which sustains a single living branch and its needles. In a sense, these ancients have gone back to being seedlings. Can they still be called a living tree? Well, if reproductive ability is a prerequisite to being considered alive, then the answer is a resounding yes, for even the hoariest bristlecones can generate cones with viable seeds. And however truncated that tree is, it is still the very same tree that was a seedling when, say, King Tut was a boy.

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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San Francisco City Hall - Beaux Arts at its best

The Beaux Arts City Hall is the crown jewel of San Francisco’s Civic Center and a monument to the brief City Beautiful movement that epitomized the high-minded American Renaissance from 1880-1917.
The trees of Civic Center Plaza that lead toward City Hall from the east and the War Memorial and Fulton Street that lead toward the City Hall from the west are similar to East Seaton Park and E. Capitol Street leading toward the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. However, San Francisco's City Hall central dome is almost a foot taller than that of the United States Capitol.
During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the old City Hall crumbled into rubble. It took three years and $3.5 million to build a new city hall. St. Peter’s in Rome was the inspiration for the splendid dome of City Hall, which actually consists of three domes layered on top of each other. Accidentally damaged during a renovation, the embellishment is now gold plated, glittering in the setting sun. The architects constructed the building with lighting in mind. The two light courts left and right of the entrance hall flood the area with warm daylight. The giant upper floor windows fill the area below the rotunda with a wonderful soft light. The meaningful decorations depict the age of discovery, human endeavors, and rights and mythology. The clock, lamps, figures, inscriptions, carvings, windows, and busts, beautiful stuccoed walls and ceilings, marble floors and a monumental marble staircase flanked by elegant lanterns, all tell a story.
On October 17, 1989 an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 hit San Francisco, damaging the City Hall again. Its dome had moved 4 inches (10cm) and cracks appeared in the wall. A thorough renovation, completed in 1999, not only repaired the damage; it also restored the building to its original splendor and made it seismic-proof. Its grandeur is a reflection of the growing importance of the City of San Francisco.

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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Alcatraz - No escape

Sitting like a beacon in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, between San Francisco and Oakland, California, is Alcatraz Island.
Long before Alcatraz became home to some of the most notorious outlaws in the country, it was known as a place to be avoided by Native Americans who believed it to contain evil spirits. The first Europeans to visit the island were the Spanish in 1769, who named it "Isla de los Alcatraces," or "Island of the Pelicans," for its large pelican colony. Later the name was shortened to Alcatraz.
In 1848, after the end of the Mexican-American War, California, along with the island, came under the control of the United States Army which built a fortress atop the sandstone outcropping. In 1861, 10,000 muskets and 150,000 cartridges of ammunition were sent to Fort Alcatraz and the island became the most powerful fort west of the Mississippi River.
Alcatraz was designated as a military prison. Like most prisons of the time, the conditions in the cell house were terrible, with men sleeping on the stone floors, side-by-side. With no heat, running water or sanitary facilities in the cells, sickness became common among the prisoners. By 1933 the army decided that the island was too expensive to operate. Its location was the biggest problem, with the high costs of importing water, food and supplies.
At this time, America's gangster era was in full swing. Alcatraz was the ideal solution to the problem. The army transferred the island to the Bureau of Prisons, and a "super-prison' was created that would instill fear in the minds of would-be criminals, offered no means of escape, and a place where inmates could be safely controlled. On January 1, 1934 the process of upgrading Alcatraz to an "escape-proof" maximum security prison began. It became the legendary prison that seemed both necessary and appropriate. No prisoner was directly sentenced to Alcatraz from the courts. Instead, they "earned" their transfer to the island from other prisons by attempting to escape, exhibiting unmanageable behavior, or those that had been receiving special privileges, like Al Capone. Alcatraz became home to the worst of the worst criminal elements in the nation. Life was hell for the prisoners on "the rock", and in no time it was dubbed "Hellcatraz." It was so forbidding that it was eventually nicknamed "Uncle Sam's Devil's Island."
Primarily due to rising costs, its isolated location, and deteriorating facilities, and after prison operating philosophy had changed to reinstitution and rehabilitation, rather than the wholesale warehousing of inmates, the doors of Alcatraz closed on March 21, 1963. Though one of America's most escape proof prisons, Alcatraz served as an experiment that would never again be repeated. Segregation on this scale had never before been seen and would never again be practiced.
In 1972, Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the island became part of the National Park Service. The park opened in the fall of 1973. Since then, Alcatraz has become one of the most popular of the Park Service sites, with more than a million visitors every year.

© CT-Graphics - Christine Till

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