the incredible beauty and bounty of Southeast Alaska

A friend invited me to join him for an early morning paddle on Mendenhall Lake today, just a couple miles from my house.  I am not known as a morning person, so when the alarm went off at  0730, it was tough to get in the shower and start getting my stuff together, but I am very happy that I did.  

This shot is taken looking north towards the glacier, with the visitor center back off my starboard quarter.  It was a beautiful day, and there were some other folks kayaking or rowing around the lake, but as you got close to some of the big chunks of glacier, you felt like you were the only ones there.

These little Arctic terns fly up here from as far away as Antarctica, where they spend the winter.  They breed here during the summer, and fatten up on lots of salmon fry before heading back south.  There are some incredible pictures of these guys in flight with their freshly caught food that can be found at this link.  

If you are interested in a short video taken during my paddle within the realm of these beautiful birds, please click the link below:

video of terns, glacier, icebergs and Matt

I like how this shot has this incredibly blue iceberg chunk with a lot of dark glacial silt mixed in.  I paddled around a bit to line up the peak of the iceberg underneath that of Bullard Mountain in the background.

If you click here you will see and hear the droplets of melting iceberg hit the surface of the lake.  These icebergs are chunks of the face of the glacier that have broken off as it retreats northward.

The structure on the right is the visitor center, which has a nice circular viewing area that you can see in the middle of the building.  They charge admission during the spring and summer, when busloads of cruise ship tourists get dropped off every day.  In the fall and winter you can get in for free, and they have story nights in front of the big fireplace (gas, unfortunately) and a good lecture series on Fridays.


This video shows you the view from a place you can only access from the water, a small beach just to the east of a waterfall that first appeared in the past few years.  There were reportedly garnets found on this beach, but my eyes were not attuned to those red gems -- I failed to find any.  As we paddled closer to this location, it got much windier and more choppy.  This is generated by the winds coming down the glacier and funneling down the waterfall.


I will miss the community and the beauty of this place, but I am sure that I will love Michigan as well.

The effects of watching too much depressing news about the Gulf of Mexico

  

photo borrowed from  Oiled SeaBirds: To Kill Or Not To Kill? What Is The Ethical Thing To Do?

I have been very stressed out lately from watching too many news related broadcasts about the catastrophe in the Gulf.  The pictures of the birds coated in brown goo have got to be the worst.  This fellow in the picture above may have a good chance of survival, depending on how stressed he is, and how much oil he ingested trying to clean himself before he was caught, but if you want more info on the process, check out the "oiled sea birds" link above.  It has links to a lot of the scientific research on survivability of cleaned birds after spills.  Unfortunately, most of the studies are not from pure scientific experiments, as our desire to extract these resources from under the ground/ocean provides lots of opportunity to clean oiled wildlife.

When I see video of boom that is not properly protecting some of the little barrier islands, and as a result there is oil washing up on shore, I feel personally responsible.  Part of that is due to my overdeveloped sense of Catholic guilt, since I know that the USCG is supposed to verify that booms are protecting sensitive areas from the impact of the spill.  The other part is that I drive my car almost every day, travel quite often in airplanes, and generally participate in the oil economy almost as much as the next person.  (Hubby drives the hybrid to work, while I prefer my trucklet.)

I hope that this disaster will wake people up to the fact that we need to move faster towards making alternative fuel sources an affordable reality for the average american, but I'm not going to hold my breath!

The Blame Game

Everyone is looking for somewhere to point the finger over this huge catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, but they don't seem to be looking in the mirror while they do this.  They want to fault the big bad oil companies and their contractors, or the federal government, but they don't seem to want to accept any personal responsibility for this tragedy.

I am as guilty as the next person (except if that person is my friend Danielle who bikes to work probably 90% of the year here in Juneau) of hopping in the car to run a quick errand when I could have taken my bike, and driving to work because it is much faster (and doesn't deprive me of my much needed beauty sleep).  Time, cost and expediency are very important in this personal equation.

The same could be said for the oil companies who don't want to be regulated any more than the average citizen wants big brother government telling them what they can and cannot do in their lives.  Why would they take steps that are not required by the government agencies in the US which regulate the drilling process?  That would only cost them more time and money, and of course they would pass those costs on to the consumers....   would you like your gas prices to be higher to make it less likely that something like the explosion on Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill might happen?  I would like to think the answer would be yes, but humans don't often choose prevention over cleaning up the mess afterwards.  You don't know for sure that the mess will ever happen, so you gamble that the cleanup won't be necessary, and save a few pennies per gallon at the pump each time you fill up your tank.

I remember reading in the first few days after the explosion, that the Norwegian government requires an extra safety switch (costing $150,000 US) to be installed with each blowout preventer.  I am not saying that if these were installed the accident would not have happened, but the federal government in Norway owns the oil companies, so that puts an interesting twist on this issue.

I have been a member of the United States Coast Guard for 19 years, and I am part of our response community.  If you have read my previous blogs, you might remember that I am about to embark on my second assignment as a Chief of Response at a field unit, or Sector, this time in Detroit.  In this job, I will be the one responsible for coordinating spill response in parts of Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Saint Clair and the rivers between them.  I will have Sector Sault Saint Marie to work with up north, Sector Buffalo to my east, and the Canadians share part of all those bodies of water.  Coordinating does not mean that coasties are the ones actually picking up globules of oil from the beach, or running the skimmers or placing boom on the water.  Coordinating means that we are have oversight of what the responsible party is doing to clean up the mess they have made.

It is true that the government could take over the spill response entirely, but the people with the expertise are the oil companies themselves,  not the federal regulators.  Please see this article in the New York Times which demonstrates the principle of regulatory capture (e.g. - when the agencies who are supposed to be keeping the oil companies honest are basically rubber stamping requests to deviate from the normal safety procedures).    [The picture above of the initial attempts to put out the fire on the rig was borrowed from the same article.]

The part that is most frustrating about this spill is that the source has not been turned off.  With most spills in recent US history (post Exxon Valdez in 1989), the source has been a ship, which carries only a finite amount of product.  I am hoping just like everyone else that British Petroleum is able to cap this well as soon as possible.  Then we can all focus on how to contain the oil that has already been released into the Gulf.

Blockheads Unite!

link to Reuters story this picture is related to, something about Clowns?

Those of you who know me well, or even not so well, realize that I would never consider myself a fashion maven, but REALLY, this is their uniform choice?!?  I am not making fun of curling as a sport (even though I am STILL STEAMED that the International Olympic Committee has gotten rid of softball), nor am I making fun of Norwegians (since I am 25% blockhead - I know there are those of you who might think that percentage is a little low..., but I'm just going with heritage, not general temperament).  My beef is that they are making themselves much less credible as athletes by attiring themselves this way.  

And yes, for all you NASCAR fans, I DO NOT consider race car drivers athletes.  I am sure we could have that debate for hours, so feel free to post some comments if you wish to engage in a discussion on that topic.

Maybe they should have had a little fashion discussion with the snowboard team before they chose their uniforms.  I am not a fan of the pants hanging down so you can see someone's boxer shorts, but something a bit more stylish than Norwegian flag checkerboard motif, PLEASE?  I have never curled myself (unless you count those unfortunate encounters with a curling iron in the 80s) but they do a lot of stretching and throwing (OK, sliding) those big old stones.  Those things look heavier than bowling balls, so I sure hope they have some nice wheeled luggage to transport them around Vancouver.

While I am ranting about the olympics, I really enjoy the snowboard events, but was it necessary to have that giant big screen TV behind the half pipe competitors showing their glamour shots?  I didn't get to see the Flying Tomato win, but when I was watching the women, it really annoyed me to see the glitzy video clips flashing behind them.  Isn't the event interesting enough?  Do the fans have to be entertained by video before the women start their runs?  Is this a sport, or another marketing opportunity?

OK, that was one of those stupid questions.......

Maybe that's it, someone gave the Norge curlers a big bag of money to wear those pants!!!  Or maybe that is what constitutes style in the Norwegian curling scene.  Anyone who knows the answer, please let me know!

The law of unintended consequences

The hubby and I watched this moment on television once we were somewhat settled in Juneau, but we had the good fortune to spend some time in Germany during the last world cup in 2006.  We saw two games, neither of which were played by any of the top teams, but it was an incredible experience, nonetheless.  We also got to spend some time with hubby's relatives, and explore a town where my ancestors had lived before my great grandmother emigrated to New York.

So when the opportunity to apply for tickets to the next world cup in South Africa rolled around last winter, it seemed like a good thing to apply for tickets again.  We weren't planning on moving in 2010, and the summer is the slow season in terms of my meeting schedule.  So I applied for the tickets, and then, because I wasn't getting any e-mails from the soccer (or futbol) gods, other than offers to buy more jerseys which spousal unit says I don't really "need", I figured we would just watch some of the matches on TV (or listen on the XM radio, which we did a great deal of during our Massachusetts to Alaska trip in 2006).

Then some things happened that we were not expecting.  Good things, all of them, but creating some difficult choices....

In late August we found out that I was getting promoted.  Quite a surprise!  This meant that I would have to find a new job at a higher rank, which usually means moving.  None of the jobs that I would have considered asking for in Juneau were open, so we had to cast the net a little farther.  I put in for a great job in Anchorage, but the USCG decided to extend a friend of mine who currently holds that position.

My financial advisor (hubby) was going thru the credit card bills recently, and he asked me, "What is this $748 charge that says world cup something?"  YIKES!  I open up the computer and start searching thru my e-mails.  I don't have any that say, "Congratulations!  You have just bought several hundred dollars worth of sporting event tickets!"  I did find one from last spring that said my application for tickets had been accepted.

I got on the FIFA website and put in the application number from the e-mail, and after a few frustrating minutes trying to navigate to the right information, I found that we got some tickets to all the first round games of Italy!!

So now we have to figure out how to get ourselves to South Africa for about 10 days, or get a refund......

My Review of Radiance Jacket - Women's

Originally submitted at Mountain Gear

Spend more time carving turns and less time warming up in the lodge with Mountain Hardwear's insulated Radiance Jacket, a pre-wired jacket using the Ardica Moshi Power System battery and Technology Connector (both additional) that not only heats your core, but can charge your iPod, phone or oth...

Radiance Jacket - Women's

Too early to tell

By aquagal from Juneau, AK on 2/2/2010

 

3out of 5

Fit: Feels true to size

Sleeve Length: Feels true to length

Chest Size: Feels true to size

Pros: nice features, Comfortable, Lightweight, Good number of pockets

Best Uses: Cold Weather, Casual Wear

Describe Yourself: Avid Adventurer

The jacket is great, but the cover on the battery pack is peeling off after only one charge. Company has offered to send me a prepaid mailer to return the battery, which is great customer service. Jury is still out on how it will work in very cold conditions, as we are having a warm winter here in Juneau, AK.

(legalese)

Moving to Motown

After 19 years of working on the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean coasts, I am about to get orders to a place with no salt water (other than that in our aquarium):  DETROIT, MI.  It will be interesting, challenging and different from everything I have done so far in my career, but I am looking forward to it.  My mother summed it up perfectly, as I could hear her in the background as I broke the news to my dad on the phone, "there's no salt water THERE!"

There will be no federal fisheries for me to enforce, but apparently there will be lots of smuggling problems between the province of Ontario and numerous locations in Michigan.

There will be no marine mammals, polar bears or sea birds to protect from the people, but there could be lots of Asian carp who have worked their way up the Mississippi River and are currently causing trouble in Lake Michigan.

There will also be the all too frequent opportunity to protect the humans from themselves and others as they get into trouble on the water and/or ice.

There will be no yummy Pacific Salmon to catch during my leisure time, but there will be plenty of places where I can explore my new fascination with fly fishing.

There will be no beautiful mountains to admire or snowboard/hike on, but there will be lots of places to snowshoe and cross country ski.

There will be no bears, tsunamis, or avalanches to worry about, and there will be Major League Baseball [and an opportunity to catch the Red Sox and Orioles when they are in town].

There will be lots of new stuff, but the best part is that the most important thing will be the same.  All the people I love best in the world will be going there with me:  Andy, Mittens, Joey, Nacho, Libre, Obi, Nori, Bertie, Pip, Ini, Meanie, Moe, Snuffy, Snails #1-3, and those scary green/red worms inside the live rock.  I am actually not that attached to the red worms, especially, but I hope that they make it safely to our new home in the midwest!

[I wonder if Joey and Mittens (pictured below lounging in the living room, one on the rug from Romania, the other on the soft cotton throw from Mexico) will like being midwestern cats??  They will certainly like being there better than the plane rides to GET there!!]

Land of the unwritten thank you notes

I am very glad to report that the days of January have not yet hit double digits, and I have written my first thank you note of 2010.  I am sorry to report that this is probably the first thank you note that I have written in the last 12 months.  I was trying to tidy up the house before the spousal unit gets back after a long vacation back east, and I came across the box of items that his mom had sent to me because I couldn't* join him on the holiday trip.

* OK, maybe I COULD HAVE gone with him, but since I took two weeks off at Christmas last year, I felt like it was my turn to stay back and run the office while the two bigger cheeses took some well earned leave from their official duties.

I remembered the first time I spent Christmas with his mom, and she had a pen and notepad handy while she opened her gifts, so that she could remember to whom she should write a thank you note.  My mom used to do the same thing with my brother and me when we were  kids, but somehow I grew out of that habit.

I gave the two guys who work for me a modest gift certificate to a local book store for Christmas, and each of them promptly brought in a thank you card.  The one who has kids had them write the message on the inside, which was TOO CUTE.

But it made me think of all the thank you notes I should have written, but didn't, or the ones that I wrote, but never mailed.  [that is the well developed sense of catholic guilt going into overdrive!!]

I can honestly say that I DO remember the person who thought enough of us to provide the gift, when I use items around the house, or my gaze passes them at work in my messy cubicle.  Does that positive energy count more than a card which someone opened, then (I hope) immediately recycled once they shared it with their family, because there really isn't room in anyone's life for boxes of old stored thank you notes?

I guess it would depend on who you talked to, and what else you did after fondly remembering that person, but I am going to count the positive cosmic energy as a virtual thank you card!

Attack of the Spider Protestors!!!

(picture borrowed from http://ukdf.blogspot.com/2008/10/that-camel-spider-urban-mythand-answer.html)

This story is not about camel spiders, but since I have a friend who is about to deploy to Umm Qasr (stay safe Jim!), and I couldn't find any pictures on-line to explain this situation graphically, I decided to share with you these scary, hairy arachnids.  I have no idea what the two pictured above are doing.  You have to read the blog I found the picture in to get more details.  Yikes!

I seem to be in a Seattle mode lately, and this story is one from 1997, when I first returned to Washington State to attend graduate school at the Univ. of Washington's School of Marine Affairs.  While I was looking for a place to live, I stayed with my friend Lynn in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle.  She has going out with a local Seattle-ite (there really aren't too many of these, but lots of pretenders...) named Noel.

It seemed like in the first week or so I was in Seattle, several Greenpeace protesters attached themselves to the Aurora Bridge and rappelled down until they were suspended only a few meters above the water.  They did this to prevent 'wasteful' (their term, not mine) factory trawlers from departing Seattle for the Bering Sea.  They had a net that they attempted to  string from one person to the next, intending to block the entire width of the waterway.

Noel was a former sailor on some of the NOAA ships which travelled to the polar regions, and he had purchased a surplus skiff from NOAA.  He proposed that the 3 of us get underway in his boat and see what was going on.  I rarely turn down a boat ride if the weather is good, so ......

Once we got on scene, I started to have second thoughts.  There was a Seattle PD officer on the north side of the channel, shouting things like, "you are in violation of a U.S. Coast Guard security zone!"  And, "you are subject to arrest for blocking the channel!"  The first statement made my heart skip a beat, as I didn't want to be a Law Enforcement case for my own agency.  The second statement just made me laugh, as the only two vessels in the channel were us (in a ~20 foot small boat) and one guy in a kayak.  If you click on 'the channel' link above, you will see that there is a lot of territory for navigating among the spider protesters.  They were able to turn back two trawlers, then their net malfunctioned, and a third trawler got through.

We talked to a few of the spider people for maybe half an hour, with Mr. SPD yelling at us the entire time.  Since he didn't have a boat, and no Coasties were showing up, I hoped for his sake that he had some throat lozenges in his pocket.  There was a rigid hull inflatable boat at a floating dock on the south side of the channel.  He was the support boat for the 'spiders', throwing food up to them, and presumably receiving bags full of soiled Depends products that they were using to deal with processed foods and liquids.

I admire their dedication to their cause, but apparently it wasn't important or successful enough to record for posterity on their web site.  [Or maybe my searching skills just leave something to be desired.]

Mascot Hockey Memories or (mascots + skates + sticks = trouble)

I was discussing one of my favorite subjects, sports jerseys, with an acquaintance the other day, and I recounted the story of a crazy hockey inter-period mascot game I had seen several years ago.  While I was attending graduate school in Seattle, some friends and I went to see a minor league hockey game on mascot night.  I cannot remember whether we knew the mascots would be playing hockey between periods, but it was so hilarious, it would be worth a $500 R/T plane ticket to Seattle on a key weekend to catch this game in 2010.

All my favorites were there:  Shneedle the Space Needle; the Mariners' Moose;  and the Husky Dawg (of course).  A few were just silly, like a giant blow up owl from Hooters, and another blow up cell phone from AT&T or some other such concern.  Those blow up ones had a hard time moving around on the ice.  My favorite was the poor woman dressed up as the Ivar's clam.  I couldn't find any photographic evidence of the clam's exploits on the ice, but in doing some research I found that Ivar's has some cool old clam mascot TV ads on their web site.

If you check out the link above you will see that the clams have no arms, so you can imagine that made holding a hockey stick somewhat problematic.  I don't think she could see very well thru her costume, and she spent most of the time skating aimlessly around the rink, trying to get out of the way of the more out of control mascots on skates.

If you take the time to look at the youtube link below, you will find that by 2009, they discovered that mascots + skates + sticks = trouble, and they decided that broomball was a safer option.

And no, I do not have, nor do I need, a Seattle Thunderbirds Jersey, however............

Latest mascot hockey at Seattle Thunderbirds game