Author: cgu-gitiz

This week I have been mainly scanning documents. In my opinion, tif files require special care as completing the excel file is by far a more daunting task. But of course one learns from experience.

This week I have worked on scanning the Bear Valley Mutual Water Company Reports. Thus far, I have opened box number 13, which may not mean much to some – except if 13 makes you nervous! For me, everything has been going well so far and I am hoping to finish scanning the content of this box before the end of the week. After all in Italy, 13 is considered to be a lucky number. Fare tredici! It means to do 13 and hit the jackpot!

I have started to work on the Bear Valley Mutual Water Company files and as I was going through the documents I noticed the word, “Bluff Lake.” As usual my imagination ran wild visualizing a lake which really did not exist. Or did it?

It turns out Bluff Lake is one of the best lakes in Big Bear! It is open from the beginning of May until the beginning of November. The lake was the filming location for Dr. Dolittle 2! It is an ideal spot to spend a day far from the madding crowd.

What’s really interesting is that in 1921, James S. Edwards, trustee of Pomona College, bought the property for $1,100. Edwards sold the property four years later to Pomona College for $10! Pomona College owned the Bluff Lake until the 1940s.

References

Big Bear Vacations: https://www.bigbearvacations.com/experience/bluff-lake-big-bear/

I have always been fascinated by abbreviations. Abbreviations are kind of cool; they are like placards with a touch of flare. I got this one thrown at me the other day: HMU. At first I didn’t know what to make of it but thanks to Google I was able to get down to the bottom of it. It says Hit Me Up! As I was scrolling down pages of the San Antonio Water Company History, Inventory and Appraisal report, I came across a list of abbreviations which I found to be really cool. Try to see if you can get them right. The correct answers are in the image below.

In the meantime, DFTBA! (Don’t forget to be awesome!)

What I am about to share is not a Hollywood movie script but a true story. If you remember my post from last week, you will know that John Rains married Maria Merced in 1856. The marriage led to five children, three murders, and reportedly the juiciest scandal of the time (Maria married Rains only a day after her father’s death). Was the marriage a love-filled haze?

It is reported that his relationship with Maria was stormy but was a love match! The couple lived in a beautiful fired-brick home (the house is still standing today on Vineyard Ave. north of Foothill Boulevard). But was he a cowpoke? Maybe. But he was also described as gallant and impulsive. This love story reminds me of one of the most memorable lines from the classic movie Casablanca, when Rick tells his former lover; “We’ll always have Paris.” In this case, maybe John and Maria will always have Rancho. After all, he purchased Rancho Cucamonga for $16,500.

Rains was ambushed, lassoed, shot, dismembered, and tossed into the bushes along today’s Arrow Highway. Thus, Arrow Highway is the silent witness of the unsolved mystery of John Rains’ final moments! May he and Maria have a happy Valentine’s Day wherever they may be. 

References:

Today I had the opportunity to skim through the San Antonio Water Company-Local History, Inventory, and Appraisal. I admit that this book is one of the hidden gems I discovered while working on the CLIRWater Project. As I was skimming through the pages, a name caught my eyes, “John Rains!” No family relations and not because it has been raining for the past 5 days but due to the fact that John Rains was murdered rather mysteriously.

According to The Press-Enterprise, he came to California in 1847 as a sheep and cattle herder but married up and became one of the wealthiest men in SoCal. Reportedly, “he convinced the girl he was interested in to ignore the sheep poop on his boots and agree to the marriage.” What a charmer?! Maybe this story will brew into a real love story right in time for Valentine’s Day! I will keep you posted as I read through the history.

Civilization as we know it depends on a widespread belief in the notion of free will. Benjamin Libet and many other scientists, however, have repeatedly demonstrated otherwise. If there is no free will then the problem is not choice. This notion would solve a lot of problems and may create new ones.

The most beautiful scientific theories are also the most parsimonious. Therefore, I will refer to a dialogue between C. A. Swan and Tony Wendice in one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. How does Wendice know Swan will agree? “For the same reason that a donkey with a stick behind and a carrot in front always goes forwards and not backwards.”

Yesterday I enjoyed an elevated level of comfort in working with the scanning equipment. My ability to produce clear scanned images coupled with a highly courteous, interpersonal and cheerful disposition renders me a strong candidate for any scanning position. For all those on the market for a scanning gig, I highly recommend building a strong reputation in producing high quality digital copies of data while keeping track of destination folders. For those of you scanning enthusiasts, I endorse hours of practice with Apple’s document scanner inside the Notes app.

Last week, I had the audacity to question Mr. Frankish’s third highlight, an “abundant water supply,” to describe the “Model Colony of Southern California.” Ever since, it has been raining cats and dogs. I stand corrected once again.

On a side note, my tip of the week is as follows: Please hack in your email address in your umbrella handle. I know chiseling takes effort; but in case you lose it, you’ll thank me later.