Hi All,

Don and I decided to make a joint post tonight. I've got him down on his hands and knees begging for mercy. Why should he be on his knees? Well, when you come to help upgrade one's computer, and you crash it instead, down as low as you can go, is the only suitable place. But have no fear, we are up and running! Three days and nights with me is about all any man can take. Between screaming at one moment and crying at another, Don actually went home to get some relief. But he was back with another computer to replace the one that crashed. Oh Thank Goodness. (don't let your mind go there. At night he's relagated to the couch, the front bathroom or the front porch) He says he's a gentleman and I can trust him implicitly, so far so good.

On Saturday we took my daughter and friend up to the RCF for more blackberry picking and even they found enthusiasm for taking a climb up to the top of one of the shutter ridges. I happened to notice the blackberry field about midway up the ridge looked more plentiful than down below, and in the process of taking the gentle climb found a new discovery.

In this relatively small area there are three rock types. Basalt, granite and my newly discovered sedimentary. I hadn't realized there should be such a difference in rock varieties from just 300 feet distance. I climbed just a little above the sag pond where the blackberries were indeed more plentiful than below. While I was there I took some time to observe the shutters from approximately the same level as the ridges and found that at this level they were not visible. Near the top was a very large outcrop, which for Sonoma County is a frequently observed feature.

With the four of us picking blackberries we had an adequate amount to make a new dessert sensation called a 7up cake. For those cooks who enjoy a new favor take four cups of berries of your choice, place them in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Add one dry cake mix, yellow or white. Then top it off with 16oz of 7up. Place the dish in a preheated 350 degree oven, and bake for 30 minutes. You'll find the cake has become a rather large sweet cracker, with the juicy fruit below. Serve as is or ala mode. See, I told you studying faults is fun.

Don and I are working on a new project to determine approximate costs of creating a seismic research non profit foundation. With idea in mind that the foundation requires a very skilled and talented seismologist to take control, he will be assisted by four teams of research seismologists, their PI staff, a computer aided technologist for data streaming and a office staff to handle their needs in travel, payroll, and general expenses. This will encompass a global effort, both inside the US and in three foreign countries. Don's area of expertise in Japan and his abilities to commuicate in Japanese will serve us well. During my trip to Mammoth Lakes last year I had the pleasure of meeting a Japanese vulcanologist who was very friendly and willing to discuss his work with me. As his English is very limited, Don's help in communicating with him, will bring this hands across the sea effort great finesse. We are looking at high seismic and/or volcanic area's to research including Mammoth Lakes, Japan, California in general, Russia and Italy/Greece.

Don and I have been working towards this goal for two years and hopefully someday we will bring it to reality. While it may be sometime before we can have a true realization of the formative stages of a fully manned research foundation, this project to determine the actual costs and those possible candidates for future positions, should prove an interesting research project on its own.

If you have any input regarding cost analysis, research methods, people of talent, please feel free to give us the benefit of your thoughts, either through post or e-mail.

Petra: eaglesflight@hotmail.com
Don: doneck@thegrid.net

If I don't kill him by morning, his e-mail box will still be worthy of the effort to write him! In case you're wondering Don is looking over my shoulder, shaking his head and wondering what he did to deserve this and I keep saying, crash my computer one more time and you're history.

Actually, while he's no longer an officer, he truly is a gentleman and the best friend I've had. Truthfully, he's the only one who can put up with me and still come back for more. Oh well.

From North of the Golden Gate/Hopefully still there tomorrow, so I can send him home/Petra & Don