|
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 95 responses total. |
mcnally
|
|
response 50 of 95:
| 
Feb 1 17:43 UTC 2006 |
re #41:
> I've been hearing a lot about the "bridge to nowhere."
> It's sort of become the poster child for pork.
I wonder if that's more because of the gratuitously unnecessary
nature of the project or because Senator Stevens doesn't even
*pretend* to offer any justification for it (apart from "Alaska
needs money.")
|
gull
|
|
response 51 of 95:
|
Feb 2 00:55 UTC 2006 |
I think more the former. It's a tangible thing everyone can grasp.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 52 of 95:
|
Feb 5 05:30 UTC 2006 |
Today was a sunny Saturday (a rarity this time of year) and I've
been flirting with seasonal burnout at work and at home, mostly
due to not having enough time to unwind on the weekends. The house
renovation is making progress but I'm tired of it eating up half
or more of every weekend.. So I chucked most of my house-related
plans for the day, trimming back to just one dump run and a trip
to the hardware store to pick up the click-together laminate
flooring that's going on the floor in the kitchen in the rental
unit.
Instead, I went down to the library to return some books, then walked
around downtown with my camera. Some time ago someone (Mary, I think)
asked for some pictures of what the town looks like and today was a
pretty good day to be wandering around with a camera and no fixed
agenda.
After about an hour of wandering around downtown I'd filled the
remaining space on my camera's memory card but hadn't had my fill
of walking so I strolled back to the car and drove out to Ward Lake
to make the circuit around the small lake in the fading afternoon
light. With clear skies and snow on the mountains it was scenic
enough to make me regret the other Saturdays I've spent indoors
this winter.
Down towards the end of the lake opposite the parking lot I stopped
to admire a trio of trumpeter swans feeding in the shallows. As I
stood relatively motionless on the trail by the lakeside a heron
swooped in and landed on the bank just below me, giving me a splendid
show in the process. Alas, I'd left my camera in the car on account
of the memory card being full, so no photos, but it's quite something
when a bird with a wingspan as big you are, oblivious to your presence,
lands only a few feet away. And I have a soft spot for the herons.
Eagles and ravens get all the attention up here but I think I like
watching the herons best -- they're elegant and poised one minute
and comical the next depending on what they're doing. Anyway I think
they're seriously underrated and I can always spare a few minutes to
admire one but they're pretty vigilant birds and I don't usually manage
to get so close.
Anyway, had a nice afternoon in the sunshine and then stopped at the
grocery store for a bit of shopping on the way home. Consequently I
didn't make it back to the house until a little after 5:00 PM but I
was delighted to note that the last of our twilight this evening
didn't disappear until well after 5:00, which is a vast improvement
over a month and a half ago when things were usually pitch black
not much after 4:00.. Winter is halfway to spring and the days are
getting noticably longer. I keep wondering when the crocus bulbs I
planted are going to show themselves but we're probably due for a
another couple of weeks of occasional frost and cold; hopefully they'll
come in due time.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 53 of 95:
|
Feb 5 10:29 UTC 2006 |
Photos from my walk around downtown Ketchikan today at:
http://www.dfred.net/~mcnally/Around_Town.html
|
slynne
|
|
response 54 of 95:
|
Feb 5 14:45 UTC 2006 |
Nice photos. Ketchikan certainly seems like a town with a lot of
character.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 55 of 95:
|
Feb 5 19:37 UTC 2006 |
That's certainly true of the older parts, which are where I live
and what I photographed. There are some more recently built-up
residential neighborhoods that aren't very exciting architecturally
but even in neighborhoods with 70s-era construction the terrain
still leads to some interesting choices.
|
tod
|
|
response 56 of 95:
|
Feb 5 20:07 UTC 2006 |
Looks like a nice retirment place.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 57 of 95:
|
Feb 5 21:35 UTC 2006 |
re #56:
> Looks like a nice retir[e]ment place.
Not so much, I'd think, for most people, though retirees who can afford to
do so seem to enjoy spending summers in Ketchikan and winters somewhere drier.
|
charcat
|
|
response 58 of 95:
|
Feb 5 22:38 UTC 2006 |
Very nice pictures Mike, you make it seem like I was just there on a
tour of your town! =^o.o^=
|
tod
|
|
response 59 of 95:
|
Feb 6 17:23 UTC 2006 |
re #57
Well, yea. I was thinking when we're not at our chalet in Nice, France. ;)
|
mcnally
|
|
response 60 of 95:
|
Feb 6 18:10 UTC 2006 |
I was sort of picturing you as a mountaintop-castle high in the Carpathians
type..
|
tod
|
|
response 61 of 95:
|
Feb 6 18:24 UTC 2006 |
re #60
Speaking of the hounds of baskerville, did you hear about the japanese
businessman that got killed by the stray dogs in Romania?
|
mcnally
|
|
response 62 of 95:
|
Feb 6 19:04 UTC 2006 |
No. One of the creepiest places I've ever camped was a campground in
Canyon de Chelly (on the Navajo reservation in east-central Arizona.)
There was a pack of dogs roaming the campground and I really didn't
feel safe going to sleep there. I love dogs, but feral dogs roaming
in packs are definitely *NOT* a good thing..
|
tod
|
|
response 63 of 95:
|
Feb 6 19:17 UTC 2006 |
Yea, that's the Carpathians for you. Plenty of fog and dog. A real
"retreat"! I wouldn't wish that place on any retiree.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 64 of 95:
|
Feb 22 23:34 UTC 2006 |
In a strong early move to cement the coveted "Moronic Legislator of
the Year" award, a Soldotna, AK, state representative has begun
agitating to end ferry service between southeast Alaska and the
southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System in Bellingham,
WA.
From the 02/20/06 Ketchikan Daily News:
"A state representative has sponsored a resolution to
terminate ferry service between Washington and Alaska.
Rep. Kurt Olson, R-Soldotna, says he hopes to put some
pressure on Washington's congressional delegation, which
opposes opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to
oil drilling.
'Certainly we're not going to hold the state of Washington
hostage,' until its delegation members support drilling,
Olson said, The resolution is more of an 'exercise born
in frustration,' he added.
I love the part about not holding the state of Washington hostage.
|
tod
|
|
response 65 of 95:
|
Feb 22 23:44 UTC 2006 |
THINK GREEN
|
marcvh
|
|
response 66 of 95:
|
Feb 22 23:49 UTC 2006 |
My friends in Bellingham are quaking their boots. Maybe we can get
somebody in Olympia to deny Alaskans emergency medical treatment at
Harborview in an effort to refrain from holding the state of Alaska
hostage.
|
tod
|
|
response 67 of 95:
|
Feb 22 23:58 UTC 2006 |
Put a tariff on all LORAN and REI exports to Alaska!
<slams starbucks caramel macciato soy sugarfree hazelnut with room on table>
|
happyboy
|
|
response 68 of 95:
|
Feb 23 02:18 UTC 2006 |
clam down plesco you'll only make things worse.
|
tod
|
|
response 69 of 95:
|
Feb 23 06:51 UTC 2006 |
But its MY ferry!
|
gull
|
|
response 70 of 95:
|
Feb 23 06:54 UTC 2006 |
Re resp:64: I just saw that in the Seattle Times, today. It seems like
a move that's more likely to hurt Alaska than Washington, unless I'm
missing something. Does it have any chance of passing?
|
tod
|
|
response 71 of 95:
|
Feb 23 07:01 UTC 2006 |
Victoria Clipper will fly the Exxon flag while shipping Mexicans north for
oil rig detail.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 72 of 95:
|
Feb 23 07:36 UTC 2006 |
re #70: No, there's no way it will pass. He's a laughingstock
for proposing it.
|
mcnally
|
|
response 73 of 95:
|
Mar 14 18:08 UTC 2006 |
I woke up this morning to muffled scraping sounds coming from the
direction of my next-door neighbors' driveway and realized (after
a few more minutes of lounging in bed) that that meant there must
have been significant snowfall overnight. Where I lived it only
turned out to be a few inches but it's remarkable how pretty this
town looks under a coat of fresh-fallen snow. Roofs look white
and clean and in a landscape bleached of color weatherbeaten houses
look vivid again and everywhere the towering trees, which in normal
weather have a tendency to visually blend into each other on the
hillsides, stand starkly highlighted in pristine white.
And I think I've remarked before on how much I enjoy watching the
snow from the house I moved into this past year. I really like
being perched on the hillside where I can watch the flakes spiral
down and settle on the town and trees below.
Lest I make it sound too idyllic, however, I ought to point out
that it took me about 10 minutes to force my car doors open this
morning; they were iced up pretty thoroughly, and it doesn't help
that they've got these flimsy recessed handles that don't allow
you to exert any amount of real force on the door without fearing
that you're going to snap the latch off completely.
And furthermore I'm suffering some small pangs of regret this
morning, inspired by the fact that I'm too old to benefit from
the local school district's snow day and too conscientious to
simply call in sick or play hooky to go out and enjoy the snow..
|
mcnally
|
|
response 74 of 95:
|
Mar 17 07:34 UTC 2006 |
For photo fans, 12 recent photos of my house and neighborhood
in the recent snow:
http://www.dfred.net/~mcnally/Winter.html
|