Swan Song

Went out to by the glacier yesterday between rain showers yesterday and took some pics of the Trumpeter Swans on Moose Lake.  The lighting was kinda iffy and I'm not real happy with the results...but here they are...

And the mallards were doing their thing, too.  Love is in the air in birdland..

A couple of Buffleheads asked if they could play through...

.

Time to head to the elder's...dad's got a bit of a medical issue today...

A New Cousin - Maybe

Evolutionary anthropologists are all atwitter over the discovery of hominid finger bones that MAY have belonged to a previously unknown relative of ours who lived between thirty and forty-eight thousand years ago in a cave in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia.  Study of the fossil's DNA suggest that this hominid may represent a whole new branch of our family tree.  Take a look at the article in Spiegel Online:  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,685630,00.html  Welcome aboard, cousin!

It's been a quiet weekend.  Went to the Moose Club for Prime Rib supper with Dougie, Eric, and Stu on Friday night.  The food was OK and the company was good.  But I woke-up in the middle of the night with a seriously upset tummy and had the scoots for about 12 hours.  I was more than willing to blame the Moose; but since it appears I was the only one afflicted I have reluctantly concluded it is more likely I picked-up a Norwalk-like virus at the Club - something that happens periodically.  The signs at the Club remind you to wipe-down the equipment after every use...but it's even more important to wipe-down the equipment BEFORE use...if you catch my drift.

I've spoken with Amanda a couple of times this weekend.  Only ten days 'til she arrives in Juneau.  I'm really looking forward to her visit.  It sounds like she's got some part-time work lined-up at a local gift shop while she's here and she's looking forward to the folk festival.  YIPPEE!

It appears that we're going to have an early spring in Juneau. This morning I heard robins chirping in the woods behind the house.  The skunk cabbage is already coming up and the blueberry bushes are in bloom.  Lots of stuff coming up in the gardens.  Indeed, weather permitting, I will be doing some garden work at auntie's and my folks' places this week.  Mom's going to have crocus and primroses blooming before long.  Another YIPPEE!

Finally, on the drive back from the Club on Friday I heard a very amusing story on NPR regarding the ghost chili - reputedly  the hottest chili on the planet.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125184572

A burger joint in Texas uses them on their burgers.  It is quite the macho thing to order one of these fiery sandwiches.

From the interview with Mr. Joey Prado, owner of Chunky's Burgers in San Antonio:

BLOCK: Is this kind of a bragging rights thing, do you think, for people who come in? They want to put themselves up to the test, see if they can handle the ghost chili?
Mr. PRADO: That's exactly what it is. I guess being here in south Texas, it's a machismo thing. You know, they want to see they think they can handle hot, and if this is the hottest pepper, they want to do it. They want to try to do it, anyway. I would say maybe one out of every 30, 40 people can actually eat that burger because it's just crazy hot.
BLOCK: What do they look like when they're eating it, tears streaming down their face?
Mr. PRADO: Oh, yeah. The tears coming down, the nose is running, the lips are bright red from being on fire. They're just constantly - they're having trouble keeping it down because they just want to spit it out, it's just so hot. It looks like, you know, their puppy died or something because they're just crying, and nose running, and it's crazy.

...

BLOCK: Do you have some kind of warning on your menu?
Mr. PRADO: Actually, if they come in and order the burger, they have to sign a waiver.
BLOCK: Really?
Mr. PRADO: Yeah, they have to be over 18, can't be pregnant, have no medical conditions that may be affected by it because it'll raise your blood pressure. You'll start to sweat. And we have people say their hands start to tingle, their ears start to burn. It's crazy hot. If they don't sign the waiver, we won't make them the burger.

Happy Seward's Day everyone!

Critters in the News

A number of interesting critter-related stories in the news this past week.  Perhaps most interesting is the story in the Science section of the St. Paddy's day New York Times discussing a new study on the genome of man's best friend.  It seems that the Middle East is not only the source of much of the world's mayhem, violence, religion and petroleum; but also the "first association between wolves and hunter gatherers some 20,000 years ago."  Wolves, as it turns out, were homo sapiens' first garbage collectors - the Waste Management Corporation of our nomadic ancestors - and "began following hunter-gatherer bands to feed on the wounded prey, carcasses or other refuse."

And, according to Dr. Robert K. Wayne of UCLA, when humans settled down to grow groceries 15,000 or so years ago humans

began intervening in the breeding patterns of their camp followers, turning them into the first proto-dogs. One of the features they selected was small size, continuing the downsizing of the wolf body plan. “I think a long history such as that would explain how a large carnivore, which can eat you, eventually became stably incorporated in human society,” 

Fascinating.

There were also a couple of Woodland Park Zoo stories in the Seattle Times - the first announcing that the meerkats - given the bum's rush 10 years ago to make way for a Komodo dragon exhibit - are returning and will get new digs.  I really like meerkats but am a little concerned to hear that they are going to have to share their new exhibit with a bunch of low-lifes including Rodrigues fruit bats, the springhaas, the two-toed sloth and the semi-arboreal tamanduas.

And in today's paper the sad story of the passing of Gertrude...the 47 year old matriarch of the Woodland Park hippo exhibit.  Gertie suffered from a number of age related maladies including osteoarthritis.  R.I.P. Gertie.   

Meanwhile here on the home front, wildlife has been mighty scarce this spring.  Very few tweety birds.  No deer and no bear (yet).  My assumption is that the winter was so mild that all hands have been able to find plenty to eat in the deep woods -  no need to stoop to hanging-out with people.

Last week I emptied the seeds in my bird feeder in back of the house.  Did not want Yogi foraging on my deck...  I haven't seen a single bird eating the seeds; but yesterday a red squirrel finally tumbled to the free lunch.

A red squirrel helps his or her self to birdseed behind my apartment

Finally, a contribution from sharp-eyed Dougie who spotted a story at Military.com titled "Could Airborne Bears Catch Bin Laden?  http://www.military.com/news/article/could-airborne-bears-catch-bin-laden.html

The Department of Defense has a "suggestion box" which unsurprisingly receives some pretty interesting stuff including the aforementioned para-bears.

"Overnight, Parachute some bears into areas [bin Laden] might be," the innovator wrote. "Attempt to train bears to take off parachutes after landing, or use parachutes that self-destruct after landing."

The bears-in-the-air idea, and scores of others, came from people who clicked on the "contact us" button on the Defense Department's Web site, which allows the general public to ask questions or make suggestions.

...

Another correspondent asked for help with some personal issues.

"I still have people torturing my pelvis and lungs with dispersed sound waves and my eye and stomach, hip, pelvic region with other types of sound waves," the person wrote. "When the secret service came out they had a letter all prepared by my mother to force me on disability and not let me live with her and try to leave me penniless and homeless again."

Have a great weekend everybody...

Anybody Want My Stuff?

A slushy day yesterday...snow in the morning and a cold, cold rain in the afternoon.  Brrrrr.

It seemed like a good day for indoor work and Mom has been pestering me at regular intervals to get a  will drawn-up - so I spent the afternoon outlining the last will and testament of yours truly. It was not an unpleasant task, although the worksheet my attorney sent me didn't lend itself well to my vision.  I ended up with an extensive appendix. I have amused myself of late thinking-up quirky bequests; but in the end it turned-out looking pretty conventional.

I emailed the worksheet to my attorney and suspect I'll see a draft before long.  Does anybody want any of my stuff?  I won't be needing it when I'm dead...although I want to assure all hands that my goal remains to spend every last penny and wear-out all my shit.  Still, it's always possible I will get run over by a beer truck tomorrow and having a will is the prudent thing to do.

Meanwhile fallout from passage of health care reform continues.  The President is taking a well-deserved victory lap and the Republicans continue to bloviate and fume.

I did not watch the final Congressional debate on Sunday - it was a nice day and I had better things to do.  It was not until I caught some of the afternoon talking heads on TV Monday that I realized just how ugly the "debate" was in the House and that a mob of teabaggers had been roaming the grounds of the Capitol spitting on and hurling epithets at Democratic members.  The Palintologists were an ugly bunch - the scene looked like something from the streets of Berlin in the early 1930's.   

Meanwhile in Britain David Cameron, the leader of the Tories, is having a bit of a time taming some of his posh colleagues.  Elections are due this spring and one of the few promising electoral dodges available to the rather tired Labor government is branding the Conservatives as elitists.  Fortunately for Labor, some Tory MPs have been more than happy to aid the government in this endeavor as described in the New York Times on March 22nd.

What could be more embarrassing for a party trying to change its elitist image than the existence of someone like Sir Nicholas Winterton? A Conservative member of Parliament for the last 39 years, Sir Nicholas wandered disastrously off message recently when he decided to share his thoughts on why legislators should be allowed to travel first class to avoid exposure to the common man.

“They are a totally different type of people,” Sir Nicholas declared in a radio interview, speaking about the relative ghastliness of people in standard-class train cars. “There’s lots of children, there’s noise, there’s activity. I like to have peace and quiet when I’m traveling.” 

...

Many old-time Tories are leaving Parliament this year, including the unrepentantly first-class-loving Sir Nicholas. But there are more waiting in the wings. Last year, worried about how an impeccably pedigreed Tory candidate named Annunziata Rees-Mogg would go over with hoi polloi, Mr. Cameron suggested that she might want to campaign under the name “Nancy Mogg.”

She refused, although, to be fair, another candidate, the spectacularly named Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, dutifully “de-toffed” himself by downgrading to “Richard Drax” on campaign posters.

Finally, both the Oregonian and the Seattle Times recently ran short articles on the 2010 James Beard Awards finalists.  Best Chef Northwest finalists are:

• Jason Wilson of Crush in Seattle
• Ethan Stowell of Ethan Stowell Restaurants in Seattle
• Naomi Pomeroy of Beast in Portland
• Andy Ricker of Pok Pok in Portland
• Cathy Whims of Nostrana in Portland

In other categories Tom Douglas of Seattle is a nominee for best restaurateur and Portlander Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon for Rising Star Chef of the Year.

The awards are the "Oscars" of food and the awards ceremony will be at Lincoln Center in New York City in early May.

Bon Appetit

Where Does it Hurt?

Well, they did it.  It wasn't pretty and it's not the bill I would like to see passed; but nevertheless it's a huge step forward.  Tomorrow President Obama will sign Health Care Reform Part 1 into law.  Followed within a week by Health Care Reform Part 2 - assuming the Senate is willing and able to keep the commitments of the Democratic leadership.

Sadly, the whole episode leaves a bad taste in the collective mouth of the country.  The "debate" consisted mostly of a partisan shouting match between party spokesmorons and hired-hand political consultants coupled to a parallel bizillion dollar media campaign paid for almost entirely by self-interested corporate shit-weasels.

And while it is my personal belief that the pro-health reform side was both more intelligent and more honest in making their case I, for one, would not be inclined to bestow good sportsmanship medals on any of the players.  Except maybe the President.

Indeed it is clear that the American people remain confused about the whole matter - which is entirely understandable given that the anti-reform camp's message, in particular, was so extreme that it was often hard to believe that the Republicans and Democrats were even talking about the same bill.

Today's New York Times article reiterated the bipolar aspect to the discussion. 

According to various Democrats:

• “This is the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century...” proclaimed the number 3 Democrat in the House.
• “We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests,” President. Obama said. “We didn’t give in to mistrust or to cynicism or to fear. Instead, we proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things.” “This isn’t radical reform,” he added, “but it is major reform.”
• Speaker Pelosi said: “After a year of debate and hearing the calls of millions of Americans, we have come to this historic moment. Today we have the opportunity to complete the great unfinished business of our society and pass health insurance reform for all Americans that is a right and not a privilege.”

 Meanwhile seemingly in a parallel universe, but actually just a few steps away, the Republicans' take was just a tad different:

• Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, denounced the bill as “a fiscal Frankenstein.”
• Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Republican of Florida, called it “a decisive step in the weakening of the United States.” 
• Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, said it was “one of the most offensive pieces of social engineering legislation in the history of the United States.”
• The House Republican leader, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, said lawmakers were defying the wishes of their constituents. “The American people are angry,” Mr. Boehner said. “This body moves forward against their will. Shame on us.” 

Having lost the battle, the Republicans are now busy recalibrating their message for the 2010 mid-term elections.  According to some Republicans, the mid-terms will be cast as a referendum on health care - with a promise that if Republicans take control of Congress the offending law will immediately be repealed.

Perhaps.  But it's a long time until November. And once the dust settles I'm not so sure that I would want to base my campaign on a promise to take health care away from 30 million of my fellow citizens.  We shall see...

In other news, it was an outdoorsy weekend.  Lots of sunshine.  On Saturday Doug, Alison, Joan and I walked around the Dredge Lake area and yesterday morning I had a nice walk out North Douglas at Fish Creek.  I was sporting my bird lens on my camera - but there was nobody home.  A few ducks on the wetlands in front of Fish Creek.

The only tweety bird action was at my apartment.  I had just got home from my Saturday walk and was enjoying the sun on my deck when this bad boy showed up...

A Dark-Eyed Junco stops by my deck to pay his respects.

As mentioned previously, Friday evening I attended a cocktail party at Thelma Cutlers.  It was quite fun.  Saturday evening was sushi appetizer followed by Chinese entree at the Canton House with Alison and Dougie.  And last evening I met my daughters' good pal, Kira Kiel, for pizza at the Island Pub.

Kira is off on a European vacation this evening.  She'll be spending most of her time in Ireland with a friend from Juneau who is attending school there - with a couple of weeks in Italy as well.  Amanda will be staying in Kira's apartment when she comes to Juneau in April and my assignment was to get the key and otherwise get those arrangements squared-away.  Mission accomplished.

The Walton's are Back...Sort of.....

An interesting story in the New York Times yesterday. It seems that extended, multi-generational households are making something of a comeback. And while it's not exactly a return to the Waltons (many of these households are the result of delayed marriage, job losses and foreclosures due to the recession) it is likely the trend will continue for some time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/us/19family.html?hp

Indeed, I have read several demographic-related articles recently and am becoming very interested in the field generally. It is reasonable to suggest that demographics will be the key factor in the soon-to-be-written story of the 21st century.

The headline, of course, is that the human race is rapidly aging and as the century progresses fewer and fewer young prime working-age folks are going to have to, in some respects at least, "support" a very large number of elderly.

Japan, whose population is already shrinking, has marched off the demographic cliff. Much of Europe is not far behind.

Every country has its own unique set of demographic challenges. The cover story in last week's The Economist read: Gendercide - What happened to 100 million baby girls? It seems that in a number of developing Asian countries the number of male children greatly exceeds the number of female children. This most unnatural selection is largely the result of a cultural preference for boys (heirs) coupled with medical technology that allows for early gender identification as well as governmental policy - most notably China's "one child" law. The evidence strongly suggests that females are frequently aborted, murdered at birth, or die of neglect.

The result is a huge surplus of males now in their late teens and early twenties. China, for example, must now figure out what to do with a huge number of horned-up males with scant marriage potential just entering their prime violence and criminality prone years. The Chinese government's obsession with social stability and jobs is pretty easy to understand when viewed in this light... The fundamental question for China in the 21st century is whether or not they will succeed in getting rich before they get old. Before the century is out China's population will almost certainly be falling.

The good news, I guess, is that the U.S. will remain "younger" than many countries. Our birthrate is somewhat higher than most developed countries and immigration, too, has helped. This is not to say we won't have our challenges, however. Us baby boomers are still capable of wreaking plenty of havoc as we get old which gets me back to the issue of housing.

Boomers are going to need to be very creative in their living arrangements as they age. My daughters cannot afford to support all of us in nursing homes and even what we now call assisted living may be too precious. As sick and tired as we will all be of one another us boomers need to figure out how we're going to live together and care for ourselves.

Pretty scary, eh?

In other news, a most excellent St. Paddy's night supper at Joan's. Corned beef and cabbage with carrots and mashed spuds. Tres yummy. And great company.

Tonight there's a little get-together at Alison's mom's place. It's a birthday gig, of sorts. It was Alison's birthday recently and several folks from the legislative halls also just got older.

I just took a "Sicilian Loaf" out of the oven. It's a meatloaf of beef and veal that is spread out as a big rectangle, covered with prosciutto and provalone, and then rolled-up like a jelly roll before baking. It will be served cold on little cocktail bread slices.

Making meatloaf is fun...smooshing it all by hand...

Have a great weekend everybody.

The Luck of the Irish

Good ol' Saint Patrick - patron saint of novice drunks.

I was just listening to public radio...an Irish gentleman discussing the current state of affairs in the auld sod - much like the state of affairs in the U.S. of A. - only more so. The Irish economic collapse makes ours look pretty tame. Seventeen percent of the housing stock is currently vacant...their housing bubble was one for the record books.

The gentleman chuckled about a number of Irish-American traditions - most of which are unheard of in Ireland. And top of the list was the expression "the luck of the Irish" which flies in the face of much of Irish history...to the extent luck was involved...it was mostly bad.

Similarly, on the Food Channel the other evening I learned that corned beef and cabbage has never been a popular dish in Ireland - the Irish could not afford beef until recently. This particular Irish-American custom can be laid at the doorstep of our Hebrew friends who were often the next door neighbors of Irish immigrants in the tenements of New York, Boston, and other cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

But lest you think me churlish and a spoil sport, I want to assure all hands that I, too, am sporting the green today and looking forward to corned beef and cabbage this evening. And I certainly have nothing against green beer...

In other news, it was a beautiful spring-like day in Juneau yesterday although I did not really take advantage of it. Humped away at the club for about three hours when I should have been walking outdoors. Still, the sunshine is a wonderful tonic even when enjoyed from indoors.

Last night I went to the folks' for supper. My sister Linda cooked Chinese food - oyster beef, sweet and sour pork, and fried rice. It was quite delicious - I told her it was the best meal I've ever had from her kitchen.

Although it was Mom's kitchen, of course... Linda was pleased that Mom restrained herself during most of the day...actually let Linda cook without interference. By the time supper was over, however, mom could not help but make a nuisance of herself while I tried to clean-up the dishes and kitchen.

And I know she's already plotting and scheming about how to get started cleaning-up the yard...

Hah!

Book Learnin'

The Texas Board of Education has just completed their mark-up of the social studies curricula for the poor benighted youth of the Lonestar State. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html?src=me&ref=general

By all accounts the three day meeting was spirited. Needless to say the board did not see any reason to consult with any recognized historians, sociologists, or economists. The board, dominated by conservatives of various stripes, was not about to be led astray by any liberals from the grove of academe.

The board made over 120 fascinating amendments to the proposed curricula including:

• Adding the usual caveats regarding the "theory" of evolution;
• Asserting that Joe McCarthy got it right, after all;
• Removing Thomas Jefferson from a list of individuals who inspired the American Revolution (replaced with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, and William Blackstone); and
• Adding a section describing “the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association”

Fortunately, 21st century digital publishing will largely limit the damage caused by the whack-jobs on the Texas board to children in Texas. Textbooks are now custom printed state-by-state and it is difficult to imagine any board outside of the hookworm and bible belt opting for the Texas version.

Still, one cannot help but feel sorry for young Bubba and Cindy Sue who will enter adulthood with a very peculiar understanding of the world around them. And no doubt some of them will rise to positions of national importance (U.S. Senator, for example) where they will succeed in annoying the rest of us.

In other news, a pleasant yet largely uneventful weekend here in Juneau. Alison cooked a wonderful Saturday supper of prime rib, cauliflower au gratin, and tangy green salad with strawberries. Eric and I were freebooters, as usual, although I did contribute an apple brown betty for dessert.

Last evening I watched the first episode of the HBO miniseries "The Pacific." It tells the story of three U.S. Marines who fought the Japanese in World War II - from Guadalcanal to Okinawa. If you liked "Band of Brothers," odds are you'll be a fan of "The Pacific." Here's the review in today's New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/arts/television/12pacific.html?ref=television

T's New Friend

It's always a big deal when someone in my family of friends gets a new four-legged friend. The latest arrival is...well, Ms. Harrigan can speak for herself:

His name is Norman. We just met on Saturday, and I can't stop thinking about him. He's gorgeous!

The way he stares adoringly into my eyes... The tender way he pats my nose with his paw...

Oh, yeah - Norman is a kitten. The breed is an Oriental Short Hair. I have a friend who has one, and I fell in love with him. I have never been a cat person but this breed is a feline version of a dog. I guess that makes him a dat. Or a cog. But I digress. They are very affectionate and follow you where ever you go. They are very smart, and I think they are quite handsome. He has adult ears on a tiny little kitten head, which makes him look like a bat right now.

Norman is coming to live with me around 3/26 - can't wait! I am prepared to be totally whipped over the little creature.

You're right! Bat ears...

Ahhhh...

In other news, yet another winter storm warning effective from right now 'til tomorrow morning. And I have a bad feeling about this one... It's snowing like hell and we're potentially looking at 10 inches or so. Oh well, it's March...

Alaska Airlines is not having a good day at Juneau. Sixty One had to shoot a couple of approaches before making it, Seventy Three just missed and is headed to Anchorage, and Sixty Two is holding over Sister's Island... The Sitka airport pie vendors will have a good day today.

Otherwise the usual drill. Bath day yesterday...the ol' coot seems to be doing OK...his edema is actually not too bad at the moment. He's pretty weak though...

Tonight mom's making a pork roast. And last night I made a raspberry cheesecake for tonight's dessert. Never made a cheesecake before...it LOOKS quite wonderful. I will report back...

Happy Gals

Snowing this morning. About an inch-and-a-half or so on the deck. Supposed to be snow, rain, and mixed rain and snow for the foreseeable future. Above freezing during the day...below freezing at night. Could be a mess. March is typically like that...you can get every type of weather imaginable in any 30 minute period.

I've been busy the past couple of days - cookies for the ol' coot. Some house cleaning at auntie's. Baking a coffee cake this morning. And lots of working-out. Mom made meatballs last night...mashed tater's and gravy...strawberry shortcake for dessert. Auntie joined the fun. All the elders were in pretty good spirits. Mom and Auntie played rummy cube while I did the dishes.

On the way up to Auntie's yesterday I spotted crocus blooming in several yards. WAY early for Juneau. Lots of bulbs are coming-up as are some primroses. The blueberry bushes are bright red and look almost ready to leaf-out. There are already a few pussy willows. It could be a very early spring OR it could be that we have a major set-back when stuff gets nipped in the proverbial bud.

I've had several delightful conversations with Amanda and Leah the past few days. They both seem to be in very high spirits. Amanda has a break before she returns to the Paul Newman Hole-in-the-Wall camp in May. She will be arriving in Juneau on April 7th for six weeks or so. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing her...I need a young person fix. She's going to be sub-letting an apartment downtown from a friend who will be spending a month in Europe. Several of her camp counselor pals will be up for a visit too. Cool.

Leah was positively giddy the other day for a variety of reasons including wrapping-up her job at the Washington County Health Department, a pending quick trip to Hawaii, and the prospect of full-time employment. She has a second interview this Friday with an insurance company where several of her pals are employed and she is optimistic that the outcome will be favourable. Excellent.

Finally, I am a tiny bit encouraged by the tentative discovery of Democrats in Congress that they may actually have some brass on health care reform. Perfectly possible they will wimp out, of course, but there's still a chance...

Winter Storm Warning

A winter storm warning...from 18 minutes ago through tonight. It's starting to blow already and last night we got an inch or so of the white stuff. Perhaps it will warm-up earlier than expected and we can skip the snow part. Or not... regardless, this will be remembered as a very mild winter.

A quiet weekend. Lots of workouts. Helped Joan with some errands on Saturday and we went to Zephyr for supper on Saturday night. Excellent company. Mediocre yet expensive food. Could sure use some city dining...

Well off to the elders and I expect this will be a two workout day...

Amusing News Bits

Another drippy morning in Juneau-town. It's supposed to cool off a bit over the weekend and next week. Perhaps we will have a last bit of winter. Hope not.

Just did the regular news scan for the day...and a couple items struck my fancy.

First, from the Anchorage Daily News an article for my buddy Eric: "Sterling Homebrewer is 'Beerdrinker of the Year'." http://www.adn.com/2010/03/03/1166272/sterling-homebrewer-is-beerdrinker.html

This is a NATIONAL award - no cheap-jack Alaska job.

Howell said he figured his isolation from the larger world of beer culture, relative to the other two finalists, who have traveled and tasted more extensively throughout the world, would be a detriment in the contest. He played up his philosophy that it's more important to contribute to beer culture by educating others about it and getting new people involved than it is to simply sample it without giving anything back.

Eric, I know you're a tad worried about how to keep yourself occupied upon retirement. Perhaps Mr. Howell is looking for an apprentice...

Second, from the Oregonian under the headline "Oregon's Duck is not Disney's Donald"

EUGENE -- The Donald and the Duck are going their separate ways.

In an amicable split, the folks at The Walt Disney Co. have agreed that the University of Oregon's feathered mascot, which appears at sporting events, is not Donald Duck and that the mascot is no longer subject to Disney's trademark.

What really struck my eye was the posted comment from a reader however:

The Duck mascot made an appearance at the Blazer game last night and my young daughter asked if the Duck mascot was going to strangle her and throw her down....and take her computer....I had to explain that its just Duck football players that do that.....not the mascot....yet.....

And last, but perhaps more significant (at least for high school age kids in Oregon), a story on how Oregon educators plan to raise those pesky high school test scores. "Oregon will test 11th-graders using 10th-grade tests." http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2010/03/post_6.html

Needless to say I'm sure that 49 other education commissioners are convening emergency staff meetings this morning...

Whoo Hoo

Did my taxes last evening. Not as bad as I thought. Another vacation hurdle cleared.

Just got back from the elders. Hauled and stacked the first cord of wood of the 2010 season. It's not particularly good stuff...mostly alder. I hope it can cure for at least three months...longer would be better.

It's pretty blustery...blowing and it has now started to rain. Last evening it was quite nice...had visions of a hike today; but it is not to be...

Well, gonna change clothes and head to town for a work out.

Drizzly, Drippy and Dreary

Well, pretty quiet these days. The weather has been wet with the promise of more to come (serious rain and high winds predicted for today and tonight). I have for the most part been confined to quarters with the daily workout the highpoint of the day. Indeed, I have taken to making two visits to the gym on some days.

The elders have given me clearance for a short vacation. I am mulling over the possibilities. This morning I am tending to favor a couple of weeks in the Great Northwest - including looking at properties in Portland. On other mornings I have been enthused with a drive down the coast, a couple of weeks in Hawaii, or even a jaunt to the Florida keys.

My lack of ability to focus on a vacation is a symptom of a much more serious malaise, i.e., the realization that disengaging from Juneau remains extremely problematic and the prospect seems to be becoming more instead of less distant by the day. It is hugely depressing to contemplate.

Mom has now fully recovered from her knee surgery - her commitment to this winter being her last in Juneau long forgotten. And dad, of course, will be more than happy to run-out-the-clock sitting in his chair in Switzer Village. They seem utterly incapable of conceiving of life outside their trailer park ghetto. It's so sad.

Mom has taken to telling me to just leave - get on with a life - which she sincerely means. But of course that attitude will change in a heartbeat the first instant either she or dad has a serious problem.

It seems the very best I can hope for over the mid-term is some sort of commute - keeping my apartment here but getting a place in Portland too.

Such it is as Grandma Newman used to say...

Dad requested more chili...so I made another big batch yesterday. Feelin' the need to do some baking today...but not sure what...

Well, think I'll go have workout #1 and then over to Elderburg for the chores. And perhaps do my taxes which may help me make up my mind about an appropriate vacation...