ONE Good Thing about Bakersfield: Handel's Ice Cream
Mar. 15th, 2026 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #6
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 8pm.
I groused in my blog earlier today about Bakersfield being a shit-hole. Actually every time I've stayed in Bakersfield I've groused about it being a shit-hole. For example, I used the term "shit-hole" during my last stay here a few years ago, during my previous stay a few months before that, three stays ago, etc. Basically you can just click the "Bakersfield" tag below and find a shit-history. But this evening we found one— one!— redeeming thing about Bakersfield: Handel's Ice Cream.
Handel's is apparently a southern California ice cream chain. There's one location here in Bakersfield. We found it this evening when Hawk was jonesing for ice cream and searched around to find something better than the usual suspects of Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, and whatever Michoacana paleteries/neverias popped up on the map. Reviews on Yelp raved about Handel's home-made ice cream. It was on the far side of town but we had free time since the hotel's hot tub was out of service (whaddaya expect in a shit-hole town?).
We arrived at Handel's to find a large store that just makes ice cream. Like, there's no stupid espresso machine taking up space or employees' time. Just several rows of freezers. And lots of combinations of ice cream flavors you don't see at every other ice cream shop.
The portions were huge. While a single scoop at BR is now just that— literally one single scoop of ice cream— a small cone at Handel's is 3-4 scoops. Such generous servings aren't cheap... but they're also not way more than BR.
And Handel's ice cream was delicious. The flavor combinations were rich. Just the ice cream itself was thick and rich. You can tell they used full-fat milk and cream to make their ice cream.
Our ice cream high lasted long enough for us to almost get back to our hotel. We fell short by a few blocks when we stopped at a gas station around the corner. Then we remembered that we were back in a city where every part of town looks, smells, and sounds like the wrong side of the tracks.
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 8pm.
I groused in my blog earlier today about Bakersfield being a shit-hole. Actually every time I've stayed in Bakersfield I've groused about it being a shit-hole. For example, I used the term "shit-hole" during my last stay here a few years ago, during my previous stay a few months before that, three stays ago, etc. Basically you can just click the "Bakersfield" tag below and find a shit-history. But this evening we found one— one!— redeeming thing about Bakersfield: Handel's Ice Cream.
Handel's is apparently a southern California ice cream chain. There's one location here in Bakersfield. We found it this evening when Hawk was jonesing for ice cream and searched around to find something better than the usual suspects of Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, and whatever Michoacana paleteries/neverias popped up on the map. Reviews on Yelp raved about Handel's home-made ice cream. It was on the far side of town but we had free time since the hotel's hot tub was out of service (whaddaya expect in a shit-hole town?).
We arrived at Handel's to find a large store that just makes ice cream. Like, there's no stupid espresso machine taking up space or employees' time. Just several rows of freezers. And lots of combinations of ice cream flavors you don't see at every other ice cream shop.
The portions were huge. While a single scoop at BR is now just that— literally one single scoop of ice cream— a small cone at Handel's is 3-4 scoops. Such generous servings aren't cheap... but they're also not way more than BR.
And Handel's ice cream was delicious. The flavor combinations were rich. Just the ice cream itself was thick and rich. You can tell they used full-fat milk and cream to make their ice cream.
Our ice cream high lasted long enough for us to almost get back to our hotel. We fell short by a few blocks when we stopped at a gas station around the corner. Then we remembered that we were back in a city where every part of town looks, smells, and sounds like the wrong side of the tracks.
Trancing with the Stars: JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #27-28 (JLI 70)
Mar. 15th, 2026 06:03 pmtcampbell1000 posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
scans_dailyThese two issues will be Giffen, Jones, and Sears’ last collaboration, though we’ll see a bit more of Sears in JLA. I think the brutal paranoia of this arc plays to Sears' strengths.
Last time out, the JLE repaired the dying Starro’s vessel to send him home. It blew up before reaching the stratosphere, and the JLE-ers think they’ve accidentally killed an old League foe just after he mended his ways. Miles away, starfish began to rain on London.
The Leaguers slink back toward their headquarters, still mortified at their apparent failure, unaware that anything more serious might be wrong with London since they left it.
( Imagine sleeping through Brexit. )
Last time out, the JLE repaired the dying Starro’s vessel to send him home. It blew up before reaching the stratosphere, and the JLE-ers think they’ve accidentally killed an old League foe just after he mended his ways. Miles away, starfish began to rain on London.
The Leaguers slink back toward their headquarters, still mortified at their apparent failure, unaware that anything more serious might be wrong with London since they left it.
( Imagine sleeping through Brexit. )
Paul R. Ehrlich is dead
Mar. 15th, 2026 10:31 pmjames_davis_nicollFinally.
Interestingly, although he died a couple of days ago, I couldn't find a news article to which I felt comfortable linking.
Interestingly, although he died a couple of days ago, I couldn't find a news article to which I felt comfortable linking.
Done Since 2026-03-08
Mar. 15th, 2026 10:37 pmmdlbearNote: I haven't had more than a short nap in over 36 hours. So this is going to be a really short and possibly incoherent post.
The main thing this week was my (short) trip to the US -- first solo transatlantic flight. Far easier than I'd been afraid it would be. The bank errands didn;t get run, but I got to the Wednesday grief group gathering in Third Place Commans, got my driver's license renewed (and had a nice long chat with MG from the Tuesday group, while she drove me down to the DOL in Tukwilla), and had lunch with my kids on my (79th) birthday. The sushi place was closed, but we went next door and had ramen and pork buns.
I took Lilac, and got everything done that needed to be done, but it was a struggle. Some scattered commentary below. There are links below but you'll have to dig them out yourself -- I'm going to bed. With my cats.
Abnett's back writing Guardians!!!
Mar. 15th, 2026 08:20 pmshakalooloo posting in scans_dailyYeah, Cosmic Ghost Rider's in the team, but we do have Amadeus Cho to make up for it! And Marvel generously allowed the use of Gamora. And Abnett can get back to what he had been doing with Darkhawk.
Of course, a return to Abnett Guardians also means a return to after-action video logs!
( Read more... )
Of course, a return to Abnett Guardians also means a return to after-action video logs!
( Read more... )
Thursday Adventure Wrap-Up. Bakersfield.
Mar. 15th, 2026 09:32 amcanyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #5
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 6pm.
It's 6pm and we're settled in for the evening at our hotel in Bakersfield, California. Yes, it's a move from where we stayed last night. Yes, it's not that far away if you look at the map below. Yes, we could have just stayed at the other hotel two nights and kept things marginally simpler. Yes, I hate Bakersfield because it's a shit-hole. But I wanted to try this hotel tonight because they have a hot tub. Except when we got down to the hot tub about 30 minutes ago, we found it was out of service.
I hate Bakersfield. It's a shit-hole.
Ah, but what did we do today? It was a flowers road trip!
We started the morning up in the Grapevine at 4,000'. We then made three stops/scenic drives for wildflowers, particularly the California poppy, which is at the height of its seasonal bloom right now. One was a bloom we spotted from the road west of the Poppy Reserve, the second was at the Antelope Valley Antelope California Poppy Reserve State Park, and the third was a very scenic dirt-road drive east of the park.
It's ironic that, of these three areas, the state park devoted to poppies was the least bloom-y. But that's part of the nature of wildflowers: it's unpredictable from season to season exactly how well they'll bloom in a specific area at a specific time. When we visited a few years ago we also found that an area just outside the park had superior blooms (2022). Though when we visited during the 2019 superbloom the best views were in the park.
After visiting three wildflower spots today we were wildflower-ed out. The next stop we made was an attempt at rock-hounding for Hawk. Alas the spot her online guides took us to is marked as private property with "No Trespassing" signs. We're not the sort of people to ignore such signs— we respect private property—so we called it a day. We then drove the scenic, back-roads route to Tehachapi for an early dinner.
After dinner we drove down the mountain to Bakersfield, which is where we are now.
Bakersfield, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 6pm.
It's 6pm and we're settled in for the evening at our hotel in Bakersfield, California. Yes, it's a move from where we stayed last night. Yes, it's not that far away if you look at the map below. Yes, we could have just stayed at the other hotel two nights and kept things marginally simpler. Yes, I hate Bakersfield because it's a shit-hole. But I wanted to try this hotel tonight because they have a hot tub. Except when we got down to the hot tub about 30 minutes ago, we found it was out of service.
I hate Bakersfield. It's a shit-hole.
Ah, but what did we do today? It was a flowers road trip!
We started the morning up in the Grapevine at 4,000'. We then made three stops/scenic drives for wildflowers, particularly the California poppy, which is at the height of its seasonal bloom right now. One was a bloom we spotted from the road west of the Poppy Reserve, the second was at the Antelope Valley Antelope California Poppy Reserve State Park, and the third was a very scenic dirt-road drive east of the park.
It's ironic that, of these three areas, the state park devoted to poppies was the least bloom-y. But that's part of the nature of wildflowers: it's unpredictable from season to season exactly how well they'll bloom in a specific area at a specific time. When we visited a few years ago we also found that an area just outside the park had superior blooms (2022). Though when we visited during the 2019 superbloom the best views were in the park.
After visiting three wildflower spots today we were wildflower-ed out. The next stop we made was an attempt at rock-hounding for Hawk. Alas the spot her online guides took us to is marked as private property with "No Trespassing" signs. We're not the sort of people to ignore such signs— we respect private property—so we called it a day. We then drove the scenic, back-roads route to Tehachapi for an early dinner.
After dinner we drove down the mountain to Bakersfield, which is where we are now.
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
Mar. 15th, 2026 08:50 amjames_davis_nicoll
Hodge would like nothing better than to study American history. Be careful what you wish for.
Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
More Poppies - on the Power Line Road
Mar. 14th, 2026 05:55 pmcanyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #4
Lancaster, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 3pm.
It's been a great day for seeing wildflowers! We've now visited three spots in the Antelope Valley where California poppies and other wildflowers are blooming. First we drove to a field of blooms we spotted from the road. Then we visited the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Park. That was seed (heh) of our plan for today, though it turned out to have the sparsest blooms of the three places we visited. The third is a a drive along a dirt road east of the park we just finished. Here's a video I stitched together:
We've seen so many wildflowers now we're kind of numb to them at this point. We're going to do some rock-hounding next for a change of pace. Then we'll pack it in and head to Bakersfield for the night. Tomorrow will be another day hunting wildflowers!
Lancaster, CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 3pm.
It's been a great day for seeing wildflowers! We've now visited three spots in the Antelope Valley where California poppies and other wildflowers are blooming. First we drove to a field of blooms we spotted from the road. Then we visited the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Park. That was seed (heh) of our plan for today, though it turned out to have the sparsest blooms of the three places we visited. The third is a a drive along a dirt road east of the park we just finished. Here's a video I stitched together:
We've seen so many wildflowers now we're kind of numb to them at this point. We're going to do some rock-hounding next for a change of pace. Then we'll pack it in and head to Bakersfield for the night. Tomorrow will be another day hunting wildflowers!
Performing some traffic maintenance today
Mar. 14th, 2026 01:04 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
mark posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_maintenanceHappy Saturday!
I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!
If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.
Visiting the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
Mar. 14th, 2026 10:00 amcanyonwalkerWildflower Travelog #3
Lancaster CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 1:30pm.
As part of our wildflower trip this... weekend? No, it's kind of midweek. Yay, traveling in retirement!... we're visiting the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Actually it's not just part of our wildflower trip but kind of the main thing we built the trip around... even if we did see better wildflower displays along a random dirt road several miles away this morning and (hint, hint) will see another superior display on another dirt road later today.
The poppy reserve is a state park, so that means paved roads, parking lots, a $10 fee to enter, and a visitors center. We started at the visitors center to get a map of the walking trails and inquire where the best blooms are now.
The visitors center here is low profile, built into the side of the rolling hills here in the high desert. And because it is high desert, yes, those are Joshua trees over on the left side of the photo.
There are multiple loop trails in the park. If you want to walk them all it'd be 20 miles. We stitched together a route the park that hit most of the areas where flowers are blooming and was about 3 miles. That seemed ambitious enough for Hawk having just got the all-clear (and an A+) from her doctor after her foot surgery 6½ weeks ago. Plus, if our energy holds out, we've got anywhere from 2 to 4 more places to visit later today.
We're at probably the height of bloom season this year. The wildflower bloom hits here in March and is weather dependent. The flowers need enough rain in the winter season (Dec-Feb). When the rain stops and the weather gets warm, they start to bloom. The more rain they get before a stretch of consistently warm weather, the bigger the bloom. 2019 was a "superbloom" year because of record (for the high desert) rainfall followed by a gentle spring. When we visited this park in March 2019 the superbloom was riotous. And I don't just mean the flowers were rioting. 😨
The other weather dependency is that when the temperatures get too warm, the flowers burn off. The past several days have been a good amount of warm, with afternoon highs around 75° (24° C). Today it's supposed to hit the low 80s. By next week temperatures will soar into the 90s. That heat will probably cause the flowers to drop their blooms.
But, hey, timing's important. Which is why we're here now. And why we did research, including not just talking to a ranger at the visitors center but also checking other sources, in planning this trip.
Lancaster CA · Thu, 12 Mar 2026. 1:30pm.
As part of our wildflower trip this... weekend? No, it's kind of midweek. Yay, traveling in retirement!... we're visiting the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Actually it's not just part of our wildflower trip but kind of the main thing we built the trip around... even if we did see better wildflower displays along a random dirt road several miles away this morning and (hint, hint) will see another superior display on another dirt road later today.
The poppy reserve is a state park, so that means paved roads, parking lots, a $10 fee to enter, and a visitors center. We started at the visitors center to get a map of the walking trails and inquire where the best blooms are now.
The visitors center here is low profile, built into the side of the rolling hills here in the high desert. And because it is high desert, yes, those are Joshua trees over on the left side of the photo.
There are multiple loop trails in the park. If you want to walk them all it'd be 20 miles. We stitched together a route the park that hit most of the areas where flowers are blooming and was about 3 miles. That seemed ambitious enough for Hawk having just got the all-clear (and an A+) from her doctor after her foot surgery 6½ weeks ago. Plus, if our energy holds out, we've got anywhere from 2 to 4 more places to visit later today.
We're at probably the height of bloom season this year. The wildflower bloom hits here in March and is weather dependent. The flowers need enough rain in the winter season (Dec-Feb). When the rain stops and the weather gets warm, they start to bloom. The more rain they get before a stretch of consistently warm weather, the bigger the bloom. 2019 was a "superbloom" year because of record (for the high desert) rainfall followed by a gentle spring. When we visited this park in March 2019 the superbloom was riotous. And I don't just mean the flowers were rioting. 😨
The other weather dependency is that when the temperatures get too warm, the flowers burn off. The past several days have been a good amount of warm, with afternoon highs around 75° (24° C). Today it's supposed to hit the low 80s. By next week temperatures will soar into the 90s. That heat will probably cause the flowers to drop their blooms.
But, hey, timing's important. Which is why we're here now. And why we did research, including not just talking to a ranger at the visitors center but also checking other sources, in planning this trip.
Books Received, March 7 — March 13
Mar. 14th, 2026 12:21 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Seven books new to me: four fantasies, one science fantasy, one science fiction, and I am not sure how to categorize the Shepard. At least three are series books.
Books Received, March 7 — March 13
Poll #34364 Books Received, March 7 — March 13
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
The Lion and the Deathless Dark by Carissa Broadbent (July 2026)
5 (12.5%)
Teach Me to Prey by Jenni Howell (December 2026)
0 (0.0%)
Heart of Thieves by Jessica S. Olson (September 2026)
0 (0.0%)
The Dagger in Vichy by Alastair Reynolds (October 2025)
17 (42.5%)
Crows and Silences by Lucius Shepard (December 2024)
15 (37.5%)
Engines of Reason by Adrian Tchaikovsky (September 2026)
21 (52.5%)
The Heart of the Reproach by Adrian Tchaikovsky (July 2025)
16 (40.0%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.5%)
Cats!
26 (65.0%)
No More Star Wars?: JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #51 …EUROPE #26 (JLI 69)
Mar. 13th, 2026 02:47 pmtcampbell1000 posting in scans_daily
Warning for some humor that could be read as mocking the mentally ill…though I don’t think they’re the real target here.
By now, the Justice League International era had done plenty of traditional superhero yarns like the arcs spotlighting the Crimson Fox, the Extremists, Despero, even General Glory. But it’d also tried lots of non-traditional subjects: moving, repo jobs, feline violence, membership drives, pranks.
So when Starro…the Justice League’s oldest enemy…came back at the end of JLE #25 but was all “Hey, I come in peace,” you really didn’t know whether to believe him or not.
( I did, but only because I read the issues out of order. )
Thankful Friday March Thirteenth (79)
Mar. 13th, 2026 07:24 pmmdlbearags: thanks, birthday, travel
Picture: turkey
Music: Mongol birthday song, of course
Mood: grateful
Location: the
Today is my 79th birthday. I am thankful for...
- Making it this far, alive and I suppose about as well as can be expected, for someone who doesn't really take good care of themself.
- An uneventful flight to the US, without any of the problems at the border that I was worried about. NO thanks for apparently-current-limited back-of-seat power sockets.
- Having remembered to bring extra-absorbent paper underwear. NO thanks for forgetting toenail clippers and a multitool, among other things.
- Uber, Lyft, and Crown Limo.
- A ride to my DOL (Department of Licensing) appointment, with good conversation.
NO thanks for mid-March snow -- isn't it almost spring now?
One More Reason the Aliens Might Be Avoiding Us
Mar. 13th, 2026 10:06 amjames_davis_nicoll
Is the current location of our Solar System the reason no one's coming to visit?
One More Reason the Aliens Might Be Avoiding Us