Meanderings

Christmas Cactus

2012-01-19T20:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's after Christmas. But this is the time that our Christmas Cactus has chosen to bloom. The blooms did actually start developing before the holiday. I will be adding pictures every few days. The porch is chilly, but it gets good light. The plant seems to be happy there!

Changes in North Korea

2011-12-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

When I heard of Kim Jong Il's death the other day I first thought of how strange North Korea is. One report said it was a "hereditary communist" state. If that is not an oxymoron, I don't know what is. Perhaps is is more appropriate to think of it as a paranoid, super-nationalist state.

I couldn't help but think of the all the American soldiers who fought in the Korean War and patrolled the border over the years. Both my father and father-in-law fought in the war. No one was ever the same after that. While I am happy that South Korea is free, it seems like unfinished business with North Korea still in an isolated deep freeze. Perhaps they will thaw out some day.

Tinariwen

2011-12-05T20:40:00.001-05:00

I am listening to the latest Tinariwen CD, Tassili. It's great. I saw the band last week on the Colbert Report. It's a very mellow sound. When I lived in Burkina Faso we used to see Tuaregs begging in the streets of Ouagadougou. They had been forced to leave the desert because of the drought. I'm glad to see some of their culture!

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Return to A Space Odyssey

2011-12-04T21:04:00.001-05:00

I finished rereading 2001 and 2010 A Space Odyssey after many years on my Nook. I guess it's appropriate to read it on an ereader. I always enjoy Clarke's optimistic view of the future. There are no true villains. The characters struggle, but reason through problems. It doesn't mean they will be happy, just that they will do the best that they can.

I did prefer 2010 the book over the movie. The movie introduced a silly USA vs USSR controversey at one point, where the two crews separate. It was never very believable. Here the unknown schemes of the advanced beings bring the true unknown mystery.

I like how HAL was redeemed in 2010. It was fitting that Bowman chose him to accompany him before the Discovery was burned up.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Chopping Wood

2011-12-03T22:05:00.001-05:00

Today I helped out with the Forestry Club/Woodsmen's Team cutting wood. We went up to the Watershed to split oak pieces with mauls. I haven't done that in years and years! I am feeling the effects of all that work. I really need to get in shape.

Later, we cut other oak logs by campus with a hydraulic splitter. It's much easier than a maul, but less satisfying. It's still not easy, though!

All in all, I'm glad that I don't rely on wood for fuel. I am happy with oil.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

A Close CAll

2011-12-02T22:27:00.001-05:00

This morning our dog Gus found an old packet of rat poison. By the time my wife found him he had ripped open and spread it all over the couch. We had no idea how much, if any, he ate.
The vet said we should make him vomit by giving him two teaspoons of salt. After he was done we took him to see the veteranirian.

They ended up giving him an antidote shot. We have pills to give him over the next few days. I personally don't think he ate any. But we are covered in case.
It just shows that amyuthing can happen.

Dogs are worse than children in some ways. They never grow up!

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

World Aids Day

2011-12-01T21:29:00.001-05:00

Today is World Aids Day. The news I have heard is really mixed. There are new medical advances, but the funding is limited during the economic downturn.

I remember the first World Aids Day back in 1988. I was in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. I was coming home from a short visit for the University of Maine. There was a possibility of getting involved in a development project, that never panned out. I had seen a few articles on Aids in Ouaga throughout Burkina. Sitting across from me on the flight was an American doctor, who had lived next to us when we lived in Bobo Dioulasso. He was there as an epidemiologist for USAID, studying Aids. He told me that the disease was much more widespread than anyone thought. That was an understatement! It's good that there are so many anti-virals available. And soon we may see the end of this terrible disease.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Personalities of Map Projections

2011-11-28T14:24:00.001-05:00

Amazing!
Permalink to the original.

We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People

2011-11-13T22:40:00.001-05:00

As someone who worked in foreign aid in Africa in the 1980's I was eager to reader Peter Van Buren's memoir of his time in Iraq, We Meant Well. Although there was neither so much money to spend in Africa nor the political push to spend it quickly, the same American mentality of not really understanding the local culture held true. It takes years to even begun to understand another culture, time that the American system of government and administration doesn't allow.

I was sorry to hear that Van Buren has been disciplined by the State Department, but I wasn't surprised. No organization wants to see the inside story, warts and all, aired for the world. This is a highly readable book. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who thinks the US should do another military intervention.

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The Daily Nightly - What happens when a 1,500-year-old tree falls?

2011-11-03T21:56:00.000-04:00

The Daily Nightly - What happens when a 1,500-year-old tree falls?:

'via Blog this'

When I visited the parks with redwoods I noticed that fallen trees were very common! In some of the parks, California State Parks, they tended to leave the trees. But they did cut the dangerous branches and built trails around them. The downed tree is part of the scenery. There really shouldn't be any controversy at all.

Closeup

2011-10-12T21:46:00.000-04:00

I bet that Gus really wants food. He usually does.

In the forest

2011-09-23T23:23:00.001-04:00

P1110835, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

You never know what you will find in the forest. Last week I found these two signs on the same tree in the Michaux.

Here's a closeup of the ATTENTION Sign.

We did hear the gunshots of the military reenactors. But we never saw them, fortunately.

When New Technologies Become Ordinary

2011-08-27T23:18:00.001-04:00

I still get excited about using a GPS in the field. Whether to record a waypoint or navigate to a point, I am still amazed that we can do this. I grew up using paper maps and a compass to navigate in the field.

For those who have grown up when there was always GPS, it is only normal that they take it for granted. A few days ago, at the start of one of my forestry classes, I was quizzing the students on the UTM coordinate system. I asked if any of the students had used GPS over the summer. Two of the students did, but they never bothered to read the coordinates they were following. Instead they just followed the blue dots. Someone else programmed the coordinates into their GPS receivers.

Good practice calls for users to know what they are doing, what coordinates they are following. It's good to have a system that is so reliable that we can take it for granted. Yet it is not that good yet, even if it seems so.

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The Fall of the Qaddafi Regime

2011-08-23T21:22:00.001-04:00

Watching the events in Libya and the rapid fall of Muammar Qaddafi, I keep remembering the situation in Burkina Faso back in 1983/84. The coup of Blaise Campaore and Thomas Sankara had a very strong African nationalist, anti-colonial feel. Their revolution was strongly supported by the Libyan strongman, who even back then was known for his radical tendencies. At one point there were rumors that after curfew, cargo planes were flying in from Libya loaded with weapons, at the Ouagadougou airport.

The weapon of choice of the Burkinabe government was the Kalishnikov, with many presumably coming from Libya. The guns were handed out like seemingly like candy. Within a few years they were collecting back the guns, as they proved to be too dangerous to leave around!

Imagine how many other countries were harmed by the Libyan interference over the years. It' time for the Great Instigator to leave the stage.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Changing Textbook Scene

2011-08-13T22:24:00.000-04:00

The switch to digital textbooks is happening much faster now. I was checking on the GIS text that I use in my spring class. The author, Paul Bolstad, is now offering an ebook edition of his GIS Fundamentals book. It's offered at a significant discount to the printed, which isn't that expensive as far as books go. Click here to see the book's page.

My alumni magazine from the University of Maine had an article about two professors (sociology and german) who are writing books for flat world knowledge. Students can read the book for free online, buy chapters in pdf, or buy the whole book in a print on demand format.

I'm still not totally on board with ebooks, especially for something like a textbook. But if digital screens get better I can see that they will become the default means for publishing. This will certainly be true if traditional publishers keep jacking up the price by the usual means!

Robin Babies Update

2011-07-08T21:30:00.002-04:00

P1110307, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

On July 4th, I noticed the babies had stuck out their heads. If we walk under the nest and the mother flees, the babies freeze in position sticking their heads out.

And here they are resting the night before.

The Last Shuttle Flight

2011-07-08T21:23:00.002-04:00

The last shuttle launch has been on all the news stories today. Many of the stories have been nostalgic about the shuttle program. Others interviewed people who had come to see the launch. One talked about the economic impact of all the discoveries made through the shuttle missions.

I remember how it was originally sold as a space truck that was supposed to go up regularly with minimum maintenance. The difficulties of the system proved to be be much more difficult than anyone expected.

I wonder if our society will every invest the resources to do a massive project like this again. There has been talk about a private sector rocket, but what company would every put so many resources into such a risky project?

This evening one of the crazier radio talk show hosts ( I won't mention his name.) claimed that the end of the shuttle program was a plot by President Obama and his allies to subvert the U.S.A.'s space dominance. Renting space on the Russian Soyuz until there is another American rocket is just proof of the plan! Of course, the military is continuing with its own space program.

I just hope that our future includes more space exploits!

I got the photo from NASA, which I assume means it is legal to post here.

Embedded Excel

2011-06-22T16:00:00.002-04:00

This should show an embedded Excel spreadsheet.

Robin's Nest

2011-06-20T16:15:00.004-04:00

P1110244, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

The second group of eggs has been laid in this nest in the eaves of my terrace.

Here are the three remaining eggs. We found another one fallen on the ground near the nest.

Following a bird's nest.

2011-06-20T16:07:00.003-04:00

While pruning this tree we noticed a bird's nest inside. When you think of it, this is an ideal place to put a nest. We stopped doing the pruning so as not to disturb the nestlings inside.

P1110162, a photo by P_Linehan on Flickr.

Here is a look at the babies on June 8.

And on June 19. They have grown quite a bit. I want to get a picture of the parents at some point.

Stranger in a Strange Land

2011-06-17T22:29:00.002-04:00

I just finished rereading Robert Heinlein's masterpiece Stranger in a Strange Land. I haven't read it since high school. I hadn't even thought of it in years. I think the story has held up very well. There are some anachronisms that ring strange today. The curmudgeon, Jubal Harshaw, seems to treat his secretaries with 1950's condescension. But in the end we learn that he really loves and respects them.

Heinlein has a reputation as a libertarian. I expected more anti-government diatribes. There are some there. But compared to today's conservatives, he is respectful of government and politicians. After forcing the leader of the Federation to accept Michael, the man from Mars, he asks him to take control to manage Mike's immense fortune.

Of course, no one has really enacted the free love family relationship of the book. Yet, the message of tolerance and respect for people and the differences between people is so strong. This book has had a really important influence in my life, especially in the way I understand religion. It's an important aspect of human life and understanding, even though not factually correct and prone to exaggeration. We can only try to grok the universe and wait patiently.

I was surprised to learn that there is a full-length original version that was published by Heinlein's widow. I want to get that now.

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Senegal tour highlights soil conservation and reforestation problems.

2011-06-15T11:53:00.002-04:00

SudOnLine - Le Portail de Sud Quotidien SENEGAL | La problématique de l'eau et du reboisement au cœur du Débat

This article describes a tour of international experts around the Thies and Kaolack regions of Senegal to talk with local farmers about soil conservation and reforestation. Led by the Senegal Eaux et Forets, there were forestry experts from Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Tunisia, and the USA. Curiously, the article didn't give any names.

I have been on and even led many such tours during my time in Africa, including this area. I wonder where they went to eat afterward?

It seems that not much as changed in the nearly 25 years since I worked there. They were talking about spreading peanut shells over soils degraded by salt encroachment. But the village had treated only 290 of 1850 hectares affected. I wonder how much time it took to do this?

At least it was encouraging that people seemed to know what the problem was and how to go about fixing it.

Digital Archaeology

2011-06-14T18:06:00.001-04:00

Today is the first time I ever heard the term "digital archaeology". I was listening to a podcast of On the Media. The reporter was visiting a museum exhibit where old computers had been loaded with original versions of various web pages. Even thought the web is only twenty years old, it changes so fast that time is accelerated. Can we save it all? Should we save it all? We'll have to see what happens. I know that this isn't the last we shall hear of this term. Here is a link to the story.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Fill your bird feeder.

2011-06-01T14:28:00.001-04:00

We hadn't filled the bird feeders in several weeks. After providing a new supply of sunflower seeds, these baby cardinals came to sampel the menu.

Baby Robins Fly Away

2011-05-23T21:14:00.001-04:00

I had been noticing this robin's nest at the edge of our terrace. The mother was coming to feed the babies quite often. I didn't see them poke out until Saturday.

This may be the mother foraging on our lawn.

Yesterday, one of the babies flew away. I didn't have my camera nearby to see it try its first flight. Here is the second baby, before it, too, flew away.

South Mountain Speakers - Conserving Treasured Landscapes in the Chesapeake

2011-05-13T22:34:00.004-04:00

Last night I attended the South Mountain Speakers event in Getttysburg on the Chesapeaker Landscape Initiative by Jonathan Doherty of the National Park Service. Lo and behold, I found the presentation on Slideshare! It was a very well crafted PowerPoint, with some beautiful images and transformations. Chesapeake Landscape Initiative

View more presentations from Choose Clean Water
As for the NPS program, it is an advisory effort to help states and local communities in the Watershed conserve their important faces. Although there are goals, such as increasing public access to waterfronts, there are few federal funds available. Those will depend on Congressional action.

There are plans to create an online, interactive map of conserved areas in the Chesapeake Watershed.

Sharing Skydrive Files

2011-04-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

I am looking for ways to share content in files, mostly for my classes. Here is an embedded One Note file.

Chernobyl

2011-04-25T23:43:00.002-04:00

I have been hearing on the news that this is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Chernobyl disaster. At the time we were living in Senegal and heard all the news through the BBC World Service. It was all on the radio. Our only pictures of the disaster came from news magazines, no TV.

A few months after the accident we started to notice frozen turkey wings going on sale in the market and grocery stores all over Dakar. They were also available in Dakar. When I saw some of the boxes I noticed that they were from North Carolina. They were certainly a good deal. An American turkey wing could be as big as a normal African chicken's whole leg. I remembered buying them quite often.

I didn't realize, thought, that the Senegalese were mystified by this item for sale. In Africa, pretty much all poultry is bought live and whole. Even the well off people buy whole birds, even the already slaughtered ones, in the grocery stores. Selling parts, like we do in the USA, is almost unheard of.

At one point, a friend I worked with, asked me if there was anything wrong with the turkey wings. He said that there was a rumor going around that they came from Chernobyl! Maybe people thought they were all that was left. It took me a while to explain that in America, agriculture was industrialized and that it was very common to buy poultry parts. He understood, although I got the idea that he still thought we were crazy in America. You can never underestimate the power of cultural differences!

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Spring Color

2011-04-25T19:38:00.001-04:00

These tulips in the Mont Alto 9/11 Memorial Garden were are real standout, today! I guess all those rainy days paid off.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Buds coming out.

2011-04-03T19:21:00.002-04:00

P_Linehan's photostream on Flickr.

This past week has been unseasonably cold. We even had some snow! But now the buds of the plants around the yard are ready to burst out.

Blackbirds at dusk

2011-03-30T21:52:00.001-04:00

Blackbirds at dusk, a set on Flickr.

Every evening I hear these birds squawking as they all come to perch in the oak trees up the hill. It's a little like Hichcock's The Birds

Gold Finches

2011-03-30T21:40:00.002-04:00

March2011
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.
The gold finches really enjoyed the thistle from the feeder this morning. Several nonbreeding adults also came by. Below is my favorite image. It's hard to get both birds to look at the camera!

See the rest of the pictures here.

iPad test

2011-03-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

I am testing an iPAD 1. It took some getting used to since I am not familiar with the operating system. It does work pretty well with a keyboard. I think I am so used to using a keyboard that typing on the screen seems weird! I will be taking this to a meeting tomorrow to take notes. It should certainly last longer than a laptop, as far as batteries go.

I do really like the graphics and the sound. More to follow.

Flowers in a Tire

2011-03-23T21:51:00.003-04:00

I don't remember planting any flowers in this tire. Maybe we did?

We planted these shrubs last summer. this particular one was a replacement that went in late in the season. I hope they make it this spring!

Spring Flowers

2011-03-22T20:48:00.000-04:00

As the days are getting warmer the flowers around the house have started to bloom. The previous owners had beds of bulbs everywhere. We have been trying to rein them in, but they seem to be spreading even more. So here are some pictures as they evolve. These pictures are from today, 3/22.

A Russian Journal

2011-03-05T21:31:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I heard about a writer who tried to trace the route that Steinbeck traveled for his Travels with Charley. I never read Travels with Charley, aside from an excerpt that was in a high school literature book. But the new book made me think of another Steinbeck book I had read, A Russian Journal. I decided to reread the book that I fortunately found in our library.

It's a short book, detailing Steinbeck's trip to Russia with photographer Robert Capa in 1948. Their goal was to get to meet ordinary Russian people, just as the cold war was getting underway. This was a time when Russia was very much closed off from the world at the height of Stalin's rule. In addition to Moscow, Steinbeck and Capa visited Kiev, farms in the Ukraine, and several cities and farms in Georgia. They also participated in the 800 year anniversary of the founding of Moscow.

The book has no political commentary on the differences between the USA and Russia, apart from humorous descriptions on dealing with Russia bureaucracy. Instead, we are shown how the Russian people were trying to recovery form the devastation of WWII. The description of the Ukrainian women dancing together after a hard day working on the farm because there were no young men, was particularly poignant. The book really the lives of the people. Steinbeck acknowledges that he didn't see the prison camps or the sensitive areas. Instead he excels in his sympathetic descriptions of the people he met.

This was the era where heavy drinking seemed to be expected, especially among the expatriate journalist community. Those were the days! Reading this book makes me want to go back to reread the Steinbeck classics.

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Guinea Bankrupt?

2011-02-21T20:21:00.001-05:00

I just read this article from the BBC. President Alpha Conde says that the military junta that has ruled the past two years bankrupted the country. When I visited Guinea at the end of 2006 I couldn't believe how poor and mismanaged the country was. Yet Guinea has enough mineral resources that everyone in the country should be well off. I really hope this new democratic regime can fix things!

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Any Human Heart

2011-02-14T21:35:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed the first night of Any Human Heart on Masterpiece. It was a little disconcerting at first when the show switched to different times in Logan's life. I did get used to it as the story went on. Logan is remarkably selfish. I wonder if he will develop as a person by the end. I am thinking about getting the original book by William Boyd. Maybe after this is over.

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New Deicer

2011-02-02T21:14:00.002-05:00

I put in a new deicer for the koi pond. It's a 300 watt model in the shape of a rock. (I got it from Foster and Smith Aquatics, who were running a sale. They had great service, too.) When our old flat one stopped working, I put in the 1250 watt one for a while, but I was afraid it would use too much power over the long run. With the ice and rain storms we've had it also warmed up enought to melt all the ice. The fish like to line up like this for some reason.

The high power heater

2011-01-23T10:26:00.001-05:00

After a night with the high power heater there is open water near the well intake, but an ice layer formed underneath. the fish are swimming slowly around, too.

My Tropical Aquarium

2011-01-23T10:19:00.000-05:00

12/30/2010 I scooped out all the gravel, which was covered with some kind of white filaments. I cleaned it by rinsing with fresh water, then replaced it. I also cleaned the filter. The fish is doing well. I think I would like to get some kind of scavenger, like a catfish, to see if they could keep this under control.

01/03/2011 Today I got two new fish: a catfish and a pleco. I was hoping the catfish would eat some of the filaments. when I had a pleco before it grew very big. I am hoping this one will last a long time.
The catfish is hard to photograph as it moves so fast.

The pleco is hiding behind the heater. They always look for a place to attach.

And my old fish.

Jan. 4 and 5. The catfish didn’t make it. On the morning after I bought him he had white fluff over his eyes and behind some fins. That seemed to diminish, but he went downhill and died that evening.
I brought him back to the pet store as I was within the 48 hour guarantee. They tested the water and found that the pH was 6.0, which is really low!

I got a pH adjuster that is supposed to make the pH 7.5. I also got a fungicide treatment, that consists of two tablets. It has turned the water greenish/blue. They did give me credit at the store so I can get a new fish when everything is adjusted.

1/11 The pH is still about 6.5. I added a dose (5mg?) of the pH up solution.

1/22 The pH is staying stubbornly at 6.5. Should I dose it again. The fish are doing great.

Koi maintenance updates

2011-01-23T10:17:00.002-05:00

12/31/2010 Filter running well. I took advantage of the melting ice to scoop out some of the leaves. I also keep checking that the circuit breaker isn’t out. I took the heating pad out. I’ll put it back when it gets really cold. I hope it works. Can’t always tell.

01/03/2011 Even though the cold came back, the ice stayed out except for a small amount. I guess it takes time for the heat to be lost.

01/11/11 pond is almost completely frozen. I have noticed that the water level in the pump well gets low when the ice thickens. I had to add water directly to the well to bring the level up. The heating pad doesn’t seem to be turning on at the right time. I guess it’s all right if the pump is still working. I might need to buy a new pump.

1/22/11 The temperature got down to 7 last night. As the top freezes the water level drops and the pump isn’t getting enough water in the well. I have been adding water about 4 or 5 gallons at a time with the watering jug. I got the level up after three containers full. I hope the cold snap doesn’t last too long. I have been breaking up the ice by the water fall and at the intake.

The heating pad doesn’t seem to be working at all. I will test it on another plug today. I think I may have to buy another one.

1/23/11 The 200watt heater has stopped working. Because the forecast was so low I decided to install the old 2400 watt heater for the time being. I don’t want to use it too long because of the cost!

The Koi Pond

2011-01-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

In December the fish were starting to slow down as the water got colder. No ice yet when these shots were taken on Dec. 4

Goldfish Pond

2011-01-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

I have decided to chronicle the different aquariums that I have going around the house. The goldfish pond is a bump out on the porch. It holds may 50 gallons? I have added an external filter to keep the water fresh for the 20 or so fish.

12/30/2010 Changed the charcoal packet and all the filters in the tank. It took a while to get the flow going. I added more water. The fish are doing well.

1/22/2011 The pump stopped working this week. I got it working but the suction wasn’t very strong. I will have to take the pump apart to get it up to full power. The water is starting to get cloudy.

1/23 The filter of the pump seemed to be plugged with algae. I washed everything and am getting a good flow. The bottom of the tank needs vacuuming. The water is quite cold now and the fish seem to be slowing down.

Mithradates, the Poison King

2011-01-13T22:09:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading the new book about Mithradates by Adrienne Mayor. Mithradates was the king of ancient Pontus, in modern day Turkey on the Black Sea, at the end of the Roman republic. He fought against the expansion of the Romans for forty plus years. Even though he had successes, he could never defeat the Romans. They always had a new general and legions to throw against him. I think there are several reasons why the Romans could always defeat him, even when they were badly outnumbered.

The Romans had a system that was independent of personalities. Mithradates ruled personally. He didn't hesitate even to kill his own children if he felt threatened by them.
The Romans were united even when fighting. All the members of the Roman army spoke the same language and worked together. Mithridates armies were formed from people from many countries and cultures who must have had difficult communicating.
Mithradates had bad luck. Many times he should have won, but fortune swung to the Romans. It even looked as though the gods were against him at times.

This is a fascinating book. Sometimes characters from ancient history can seem remote, like people in marble. Mayor succeeds in making Mithradates come alive. The reader just has to accept Mithradates' behavior on its own merits. We can't judge his murders, poisonings, and plotting by today's standards.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Home remodeling project. Where do things come from?

2010-12-28T17:02:00.001-05:00

I am just finishing a home improvement project. We removed the old wallpaper from the upstairs hall. Then we painted and put in wainscoting. I noticed a web site on the railing and mop board, which is molded MDF. It is a product from Chile. Check out the Truchoice USA website here. Much of their wood is from radiata and loblolly plantations, for which Chile is famous. It's a nice product to work with. The wainscoting, by the way, was manufactured by Georgia Pacific, I assume in the USA. We are truly in a world market now.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Christmas ornaments

2010-12-27T15:38:00.000-05:00

Here are the latest fruits of my wife's crafting. Christmas ornaments! They look like something from Fabergee.

Aerial Campus

2010-12-21T23:45:00.001-05:00

Aerial Campus
Originally uploaded by University of Maine.

My alma mater, three times. The University of Maine on the Stillwater River in Orono, Maine.

BBC - Earth News - Poisoning drives vulture decline in Masai Mara, Kenya

2010-12-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

BBC - Earth News - Poisoning drives vulture decline in Masai Mara, Kenya

It looks like these Kenyan vultures are not being poisoned on purpose, but accidentally as poisoned carcasses are left to eliminate predators. But the effect is the same. As the article points out, vultures are critical for the ecosystem.

When I lived in Burkina Faso we used to watch vultures circling the village. They flew incredibly high came down at the right time to feed. They always seemed to know what was going on. On days when the market was running they were especially numerous. It was cheap entertainment on a hot afternoon.

I hope the poisoning does stop so that the vultures can return to a normal number.

American Picker in PA

2010-12-13T21:47:00.001-05:00

I'm watching American Picker, with the crew working their way through PA. They are now at the Hotel Tidioute in Tidioute, PA. Tidioute is at the edge of the Allegheny National Forest, near Titusville. It's cool to find the exact place on Google Maps!

View Larger Map

Watchung Reservation

2010-12-05T21:13:00.002-05:00

Over Thanksgiving break I was visiting family near Summit New Jersey. After braving the Black Friday mobs for a few hours I took the opportunity to visit Watchung Reservation, a two-thousand acre park managed by Union County. Part of the park is crossed by Interstate 78.

The park has a mixture of hiking trails, horse riding trails, playgrounds, and other resources. In the late afternoon I hiked around Lake Surprise, a man-made narrow lake, about a mile long. Here are pictures of the lake, including the dam:

Follow this link for a tourist map of the park and other sources of information. I also made a map on Flickr of the lake site I visited.

From a natural resources management point of view it was fascinating to see some of the issues in this park. It gets very heavy use as it is completely surrounded by residential and commercial areas. I saw quite a few people enjoying the lake, even though it was a cold, cloudy day. There are a lot of wildlife resources. I saw swans, ducks, and canada geese in the lake. I know the area is full of deer, too.

I noticed that there are three wildlife crossings on Interstate 78 leading into the park. One of the sources I found mentioned the completion of 78 had been held up for a long time by the park until the State of New Jersey built these bridges. Apparently they haven't been successful. It does look odd seeing a forested bridge across the highway.

I wondered, too how the park could be maintained in these difficult economic times. New Jersey is having more financial difficulties than other states. How can the county government find the resources to maintain the park. I hope they find a way to keep this important resource going.

Hands or Hands-Like

2010-11-30T18:42:00.001-05:00

My PhotoFriday challenge shot. This black walnut tree looks like a hand with the leaves gone.

Chinese passenger jet C919 takes on Boeing and Airbus

2010-11-20T22:38:00.001-05:00

via cnngo.com

I found these interesting pictures of a new Chinese commercial jet. It will be in the same class as the Boeing 737 and the equivalent Airbus. According to the article, most of the planes will be sold to Chinese airlines. I wonder if it will be sold in the US? I have flown on American, European, Dutch, Canadian, and Brazilian aircraft. It will be fun to ad Chinese to the list. The article said that many of the critical components are made by Western companies. I imagine that it won't be long until they are all Chinese made.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Photo Friday Challenge: Liquid

2010-11-13T20:36:00.006-05:00

Flood in Norlo Park in Guildford Township, PA.

Along the Androscoggin River in the 1970's

2010-10-28T21:53:00.002-04:00

I came across this fascinating collection of pictures of the Lewiston/Auburn Maine area going all the way to the source of the Androscoggin river in New Hampshire. The pictures were taken by Charles Steinhacker for the EPA. At this time, 1973, the struggle was on to clean up the river, which had endured almost a century of industrial and municipal waste. The pulp mills deposited all their waste directly into the river. The towns along the shore did the same. The smell of the river was legendary.
At this time the Clean Water Act had just been passed with high hopes. It would take many years, but the river would eventually be restored. I was a student at Lewiston High School at the and remember the time and the issues well.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Christian America and the Kingdom of God

2010-10-27T18:53:00.000-04:00

It's not often that we get authors visiting at Mont Alto. Yesterday I attended the presentation of Richard T. Hughes, the author of Christian America and the Kingdom of God and a large number of other books on religious topics. Hughes is a professor at Messiah College.

The subject of the talk was how the religious right has misrepresented the true meaning of the Gospel in their effort to make the USA turn back to God and proclaim itself a Christian nation. Hughes showed that although the nation was founded with a strong Judeo-Christian influence, the founding fathers never intended to establish a state religion. They knew too well the problems that had caused in Europe. Instead, they wanted a secular society where all religions would be respected.

Hughes touched on periods where fundamentalist leaders had tried to convince the country to accept their point of view. In the second Great Awakening in the first part of the nineteenth century their message included the plea for social justice that brought about many social reforms and led to the emancipation movement. In the fundamentalist movement in the early twentieth century they ignored social justice entirely. And in the fundamentalist movement that began after the 1960's they reject all claims of social justice that are found in the Bible.

According to Hughes, these lies are causing great harm to our country and leading to the political polarization that we have today. I thought his argument made a lot of sense. The fact that he is a strong Christian himself makes his argument even stronger. He is fighting from within, so to speak. I am eager to read the whole book. I was glad to get an autographed copy.

Bridge on a Sunday

2010-10-25T19:34:00.001-04:00

I made this picture on a Sunday morning with the sun in the tree's crown. I liked the effect.

George Washington

2010-10-21T20:16:00.001-04:00

While on a business trip last week I picked up the new George Washington biography by Ron Chernow. I had previously read his biography of John D. Rockefeller. I really enjoyed it! I have gotten as far as the end of the French and Indian War. The account of Washington as a young man has been very revealing. I didn’t realize that Washington was so ambitious. He never hesitated to grab the advantage. I look forward to reading the rest of the story.

John Lennon, numerology, and 10/10/10

2010-10-10T21:24:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday was the seventieth anniversary of the birth of John Lennon. I heard a really fascinating interview on Weekend Edition Saturday with David Sheff, the journalist who interviewed John and Yoko for Playboy weeks before he was murdered. (I think I read that interview when it first came out.) Anyway, Sheff was a young man of 24 who had pursued the Lennons for months before they agreed to the interviewed. It seemed that his birthday was the ninth, the same as John's. This numerical connection convinced her the interview was a good idea.

Today is 10/10/2010, which is supposed to be a lucky day, and auspicious day according to numerology. I heard a numerologist interviewed on the BBC this morning. She described several other important connections in other cultures, where 10 is lucky.

It's weird that people persist in looking for patterns of meaning in numbers. Yet, there is an infinite number of patterns in the numbers, any one of which could mean something, maybe the meaning of the universe.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

The Passage

2010-09-09T21:36:00.001-04:00

I just finished The Passage, by Justin Cronin. I heard of the book while listening to the author being interviewed on NPR's Talk of the Nation. I was on my way to Walmart, which fortunately had one last copy of the book.

I really enjoyed the story. I enjoyed that the monsters, the vampires, were not totally evil. They were as much to be pitied as feared. Although the story is classified as horror and science fiction, it has very strong, well developed characters. Peter is the perfect reluctant hero. As the miracle girl Amy has enough mystery, yet she is real enough to be believable.

Some reviewers felt the book was too long. But I really enjoyed the length. The author took the time to develop the characters and the situation. It took time to show the life on the colony and then how it came unraveled.

The end was really exciting, not what I expected at all. It really made me think. It will be worth it to read this again in a few months to catch some of the clues I may have missed the first time.

My only disappointment is that the next volume won't be published until 2012.

New Toy

2010-09-08T21:18:00.000-04:00

I just learned about Shuttercal, which is a photo sharing site where you load one photo per day into a calendar. It's an intriguing idea. I still send most of my pictures to Flickr, but as far as I know they don't have a calendar format like this. Here is the lastest picture from the Shuttercal sharing tool.

landscape timbers and wood products marketing

2010-09-05T22:36:00.001-04:00

We have been working on this project to mark the edge of our driveway
with landscapte timbers. Just another course or two to go.

I went to Lowe's to get more timbers and found out they were on sale
at just under two dollars for pressure treated, eight foot timbers.
How can they even make any money selling at these prices? Is it meant
to be a loss leader? Or, is the goal to entice people into the store
and buy other things. Probably, they just have a lot of them to get
rid of. I just don't understand marketing.

These pictures were sent with Picasa, from Google.
Try it out here: http://picasa.google.com/

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

BBC News - Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'

2010-08-17T23:20:00.001-04:00

BBC News - Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans'

I am of course familiar with the story that the mammoths were destroyed by ice-age hunters, who hunted them to extinction. It turns out that the warmup after the ice ages helped the spread of forests, which reduced the grazing for mammoths.

When you think about the old story, there are questions. Native Americans never hunted out the buffaloes or any other game animal they hunted. Why should their ancestors have done that?

As a forester, I always think of any increase in forest area as something to be desired. But it doesn't seem to be if you are a woolly mammoth!

heirloom tomatoes

2010-08-17T20:06:00.002-04:00

This summer we planted some new variety of tomatoes, that we didn't

know much about. One was cherokee red, pictured here.

When ripe, they are dusky red. At first I wasn't sure they were ripe, but they definitely were, They are very tasty tomatoes that I would definitely grow again.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Willows

2010-08-01T14:58:00.001-04:00

I usually walk in Norlo Park every day, sometimes twice, with the dog. These willows get only minimal trimming. I think they just trim the low-hanging branches. Yet, they always look like they are sculpted. These trees are doing great near by the edge of the stream.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Photo Friday Challenge: Crooked

2010-08-01T14:20:00.001-04:00

These are redwoods in the Arcata Community Forest Park in California. Old redwood forests tend to have a lot of leaning and fallen trees.

Northanger Abbey

2010-07-31T20:31:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. I found it lighter in tone than her other novels. It seemed like she really had a lot of fun with the characters and the plot. I enjoyed the parts, early in the story, where Catherine discusses the value of novels and novel-reading with some of the other characters. She is surprised that men can like novels, just like women, as Henry Tilney does.

I really enjoyed how Catherine works herself up to a frightful state by imaging things in the bedroom where she is staying in Northanger Abbey. Out of thin air she builds up a suspicion that General Tilney murdered his wife, even though nothing like that happened. But in the end, Catharine shows her good sense and sense of humor.

It was shameful how the General sent her away when he realized that Catherine wasn't a rich heiress. The story made me really feel the injustice of having to return home in a public carriage.

There's really a lot of satire in the novel. Mrs. Allen is just an empty airhead, concerned only with fashion. John Thorpe, in addition to being a boring, self-absorbed braggart, was also the source of the General's misunderstanding. He richly deserved to never find a wife!

All in all, this is a great story. I would like to read the text this time. Although audio version was full text, I bet it would be better still to read it.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Arizona Immigration Law Decision

2010-07-29T20:49:00.000-04:00

I have been watching reports of the preliminary injunction barring many parts of the Arizona anti illegal immigrant law. I think the judge ruled correctly. All parts of immigration enforcement has to be a federal responsibility, although the states can assist if asked.

The controversy reminded me of some of the experiences I had living in Burkina Faso and Senegal in the 1980's Both of their legal systems come from French law, through the prism of African culture. Police have the right to stop and ask you any questions. I remember the road blocks. I was always a little nervous. It's as if you had to prove that you had a right to be where you were. Now, we were never hassled and had just a few uncomfortable experiences, especially after the coups in Burkina.

In the US, on the other hand, we are free to do as we wish. The police can't stop you unless they have a suspicion you are doing something illegal. And even then, they have strict limits as to what they can ask. It would be a shame to lose that freedom, the feeling of liberty. If we all have to prove that we have a right to be here, instead of the police having to prove they have a reason to stop us, then we will have lost a great deal.

On the Radio

2010-07-23T21:52:00.001-04:00

I usually just listen to NPR stations at home, at work and in the car. But on an eleven hour car trip (PA to ME both ways) I needed some variety. I found that commercial radio is definitely not what it used to be.

Top 40 radio only plays a limited number of songs. The songs are really juvenile-sounding. The beat, the nursery rhyme lyrics (style not substance) and the overdubbing make it sound like something for very simple, but perverted children.

Sports talk seems totally irrelevant. On a Boston station they were arguing over the details and negotiating strategy of quarterback's contract. Really arcane stuff.

I even listed to some talk radio for a while. Does anyone think Glenn Beck is really serious about his rantings? It's really about him selling his books, plays, speaking events and anything else he can come up with. I avoided Rush at all costs.

I'm beginning to think I should either get satellite or a huge stack of CD's for my next trip!

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Viewing an Eagle

2010-07-22T14:28:00.001-04:00

This young eagle was sitting in a pine tree by Lake Cochnawagon, in Monmouth Maine. He made a tremendous amount of racket. I didn't know that eagles were so vocal. I waited half an hour in the water, but he didn't fly away or move around.

Beans, however, was not interested in eagles!

Carolina Chocolate Drops on Fresh Air

2010-07-05T18:10:00.001-04:00

I just heard a rebroadcast of the Carolina Chocolate Drops interview on NPR's Fresh Air. I heard the first airing a few months ago, but now that I have listened to Genuine Negro Jig several times I can appreciate the interview even more. I was very impressed by the musicality of the band. They have really studied their material and why they liked it. Terri Gross asked them about how as African-Americans they liked this old time music, which has in part racist-tinged origins. They answered well and showed how they are driven by the music. They are also at home in many genres. At one point Terri Gross asked Rhiannon to show her operatic singing skills and she did a great job. Now I would like to get some of their older albums, too.

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

General Petraeus takes command of the Afghanistan war

2010-07-03T20:31:00.002-04:00

General Petraeus takes command of the Afghanistan war
General Petraeus arrived in Kabul today to take over the Afghanistan war effort. Afghans say he faces a limited window to rein in corruption, make the Karzai government more accountable, and create momentum toward peace.

Newly appointed U.S. and NATO forces commander, U.S. General David Petraeus, speaks with Commander of ISAF Joint Command Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez during their arrival in Kabul Friday.
DEU Army Michal Miszta, IJC Public Affairs/Handout/Reuters
By Dan Murphy, Staff writer / July 2, 2010
Kabul, Afghanistan
With the US-led Afghanistan war in its most precarious position since it began nearly nine years ago, Gen. David Petraeus arrived in Kabul today to implement a strategy similar to the one he successfully pioneered in Iraq.
It includes not only removing the Taliban from the villages they have occupied for years, but also overseeing reconstruction, helping create a more accountable government, and building up the Afghan military and police.
The capital of Kabul is an oasis of relative security. But the situation in the south of the country – the Pashtun heartland that gave birth to the Taliban in the early 1990s – is deteriorating, say average Afghans, aid workers, and some diplomats. June was the deadliest month ever for foreign troops here.
“Compared to eight years back, or even three years back, we are really much, much worse off than at any point,” says Danish Karokhel, who runs Pajhwok Afghan News, which has reporters in every city. “The Taliban are on most of the important roads leading to Kabul. The government just looks so weak to people.”
Poppy farmer Dal Mohammed is not a Taliban supporter – far from it, he says. After all, it was partly the Taliban’s fault that he recently had to flee his village in southern Afghanistan with his two wives and seven children for this refugee camp on Kabul’s outskirts.
But it was the joint US-Afghan military response to a Taliban attack that destroyed his home in Helmand Province and drove him here.
Standing amid the temporary brick-and-mud homes, he says the situation in Helmand is the worst it’s been since the war began. As fellow refugees nod, he says peace should be made quickly with the Taliban.
The Afghan government? “We have no trust in them at all.”

Challenges: Corruption, instability, and government accountability
As Gen. David Petraeus takes command of the Afghanistan war, the call is coming in loud and clear: Do something different and do it fast. The common refrain centers on several challenges: Rein in corruption, make the Karzai government more accountable, and create enough momentum toward peace that Afghans will put their weight behind the US-led fight.
To do this, Petraeus will need to resolve tensions between the US military and civilian leaders and President Hamid Karzai. While the US has poured more than $280 billion into Afghanistan to rout Islamist militants, Karzai’s government has been reaching out to the Taliban – a move some say is based on the calculation that the US lacks the ability or political will to stay until the insurgency has been vanquished.
“How can we fight the Taliban when Karzai is making overtures of peace and is thinking about asking them to join the government?” asks Rahman Oghli, a member of parliament (MP) who worries that citizens may be led to believe that turning against the Islamist movement is more trouble than it’s worth. “Our Army would be thinking to themselves, ‘Why should I fight when it’s going to end that way?’ ”
Petraeus is revered by many for having created that crucial momentum in Iraq, successfully recruiting Sunni insurgents to help turn the tide against Al Qaeda.

What Afghan lawmakers want Petraeus to do
Politicians from Marjah and Kandahar, both targeted for key US offensives, charge that two pillars of the counterinsurgency strategy – to protect civilians and establish the rule of law – have largely failed.
Walid Jan Sabir, an MP from Marjah district in Helmand, says the area is at best marginally safer since the US-led offensive in February.
Page: 1 | 2

via csmonitor.com

Today's stories of General Petraeus making his first appearance at a July 4th celebration for the American embassy personnel in Kabul Afghanistan reminded me of the years I spent in Africa. As Peace Corps volunteers we went to several celebrations in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso. Somewhere I have slides of a celebration in Dakar, Senegal where they even had a color guard from the embassy Marine guards.

We always felt our American-ness more strongly in an overseas post. All the things that may divide us at home are not important in another country. There is definitely a special pride being a U.S. citizen, regardless of politics or anything else.

I can only imagine how the Americans in Afghanistan deal with the stress and danger of the security situation. In Burkina Faso and Senegal we only had to deal with petty street crime. We were free to celebrate and share our pride in our country!

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Untitled

2010-06-29T14:37:00.001-04:00

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

Untitled

2010-06-29T14:31:00.001-04:00

Posted via email from Black Gap Road

The Environmental Cost Of Growing Pot : NPR

2010-06-27T11:49:00.000-04:00

The Environmental Cost Of Growing Pot : NPR

I just visited the redwoods in Humboldt and heard a lot about the prevalence of growing marijuana. It is now quasi-legal since it is so easy to get a medical referral. And it is quite popular.

It was interesting to hear about the environmental consequences of public policies towards marijuana. According to the story most marijuana was grown outside with minimal inputs. As policing efforts increased much growing was pushed indoors, which takes a great deal of electricity, up to twenty times more than what a normal home would take.

As production has been pushed to remote areas diesel generators were needed, leading the diesel leak into a stream that the story mentions.

I think the most interesting effect will be what will happen if marijuana is legalized in California. Growers fear a drastic drop in prices that would make it uneconomic to grow indoors. Would the producers then ask for subsidies?

The law of unintended consequences remains in effect. Legalizing marijuana turns it into another farm commodity that works under the principles of agricultural economics. Criminalizing the weed increases prices and might reduce supply leading to even higher prices. The transition is sure to be complicated. Do we really need another drug? An interesting story.

Genetically Altered Salmon Set to Move Closer to Your Table - NYTimes.com

2010-06-26T12:04:00.000-04:00

Genetically Altered Salmon Set to Move Closer to Your Table - NYTimes.com

I don't eat salmon that much. It will be interesting to see if people will buy the salmon with the genetically engineered fast growth. According to the article, the meat is identical. The fish don't get bigger than normal salmon, they just achieve their size faster.

If the meat doesn't have a special label it will be accepted by consumers. If if has a special frankenfish label and their is regular fish along side it then no one will buy it.

New Topographic Map Format Available

2010-06-24T21:41:00.002-04:00

While looking for a map on the US Geological Survey site today I found a new format of topographic maps. Previously it was easy to download a scanned topographic map in pdf format. Today I noticed that for some regions there is a new kind of map called a US Topo. It has a true color aerial photo for a base with all the usual topographic map features on top.

For example, below is a part of the Iron Springs 7.5 minute map showing the Waynesboro Reservoir, which was made in 1995.

Following is the June 2010 version of the same area.

For some maps there is a Digital Maps beta version that doesn't yet have the contour lines. The new maps can be purchased in paper format. Even better is the pdf format. The data in the new maps can be separated in the reader, just like in a GIS. When you install the free TerraGo add-on in Adobe Reader you can make measurements of direction and distance directly on the map. Very Cool! It is all available at http://store.usgs.gov Topographic maps will never be the same again!

Mansfield Park

2010-06-23T20:24:00.003-04:00

I recently finished Mansfield Park, in audiobook format. At first I thought this would be a Cinderella story, where Fanny overcome the adversity of being a near-orphan living with her wealthier relations. As the story continued it became more and more complicated.

I kept wanting Fanny to become more assertive. Instead I started to see her as a blank slate where her total virtue was used to show the shorctomings of her cousins, aunts, uncle, and all the other characters. It wasn't until the end of the book where she goes to visit her family that she showed some reactions of her own.

I didn't understand why Fanny and Edmund opposed the play so much. Was it just too show that it could lead to temptation? After a while I got tired of hearing about propriety so much. I read somewhere that Jane Austen had participated in amateur theatricals with her family. Did she oppose it or did she just use this situation to make the story?

Also it was obvious that Fanny would end up with Edmund. Didn't they worry then about first cousins marrying? And he never seemed to really understand her in spite of all his kindness.

I loved the characters in this book. Aunt Norris and Lady Bertram are fabulous. Henry and Mary Crawford are also great. I have known people like this and will think of these characters when I meet more. I can see coming back to this story again. I think next time I will read it, although I really liked the audiobook version.

"Steller's Jay"

2010-06-22T20:38:00.002-04:00

Portrait - "Steller's Jay"

Originally uploaded by Rick Leche.

While visiting a redwood grove in Humboldt State Park last week we noticed this bird swooping down on us as we walked among the trees. Come to find out it is Steller's jay. Here's a good picture I found on Flickr in the bird guide group.
I got a few usable pictures of my own at the park visitor's center.

The park did have warning out to not feed the jays. They adapt easily to being fed and can overpopulate, which make them a danger to other bird species. They are fascinating to watch, though.

Man with Cane and Woman with Umbrella

2010-05-29T20:57:00.001-04:00

Right outside Blaine's office at Wichita State University are these two sculptures. The campus has an amazing collection of outdoor sculptures. When I go back for another visit I want to see more of them.

Here is a link to more information on Fernando Botero's work.

Calves by the Park

2010-05-18T22:40:00.000-04:00

These calves came by the fence as my dog and I were walking by in the park. They were curious about us, I guess.

With the Old Breed

2010-05-17T21:37:00.000-04:00

The HBO series The Pacific ended this past Sunday. The last show started as the Japanese surrendered, right after the Battle of Okinawa. It concentrated on how the soldiers dealt with the peace. Robert Leckie returned home to a job at the local newspaper. He got a job in the local newspaper and got up the courage to date the girl he had been writing too during his time fighting. (But he never mailed the letters.) In a really sad segment, Lena Basilone, John's widow, goes to New Jersey to meet and console his parents.

A lot of time was taken up with the return and difficulties of E. B. Sledge. He was tormented by nightmares and had a hard time returning to civilian life. In the past week I read his wartime memoir With the Old Breed. I really enjoyed the book, even though the story was extremely brutal at times. The battles of Pelelieu and Okinawa were terribly difficult battles. Sledge describes the horrors in detail that you don't see in many history books. For example he tries to explain how the odor of dead bodies and human waste in the tropical heat got worse day after day as the battle continued. It's a wonder that any of the soldiers could return to normal life after what they had seen and done. I think our leaders should read something like this before deciding whether or not to go to war.

Now I need to get a copy of Robert Leckie's A Helmet for My Pillow.

Blooming Shrub

2010-05-17T21:19:00.002-04:00

This shrub next to our lilacs is in bloom this week. I wonder what it is? I guess I need a shrubbery book.

The Pacific

2010-04-26T22:01:00.000-04:00

I've been watching the HBO series, The Pacific, which follows the WWII battles through the experiences of US Marines. At the same time I found the companion book in my local library. I have just finished the book. The series has just broadcast its seventh of ten episodes.

The book is written by Hugh Ambrose, the son of the late historian Stephen Ambrose. I highly recommend it as an excellent read all by itself, even without seeing the TV series. It adds two new voices: Vernon "Mike" Micheel was a navy pilot who flew bombers at Midway and continued in several subsequent battles; and Austin C. "Shifty" Shofner who served in the Phillipines, was imprisoned, escaped, served as a guerilla leader, and then returned as a combat commander with the Marines. I can see why the TV series left out the officers to concentrate on the infantry soldiers. It would have needed five more episodes, at least. Their story, however, adds tremendously to the book.

The book leaves out Robert "Lucky"Leckie, for the most part. As Ambrose says, he wrote his own book which told his story very well. I did find an old interview of his on Booknotes on C-Span. I will be adding his titles to my reading list.

I did wonder about Eugene Sledge, from Mobile, Al. Throughout the story Ambrose emphasizes his conservatism and love of the old South. I kept wondering how he did in subsequent years, and especially through the Civil Rights struggle in the south. How did he adapt to all the changes in the world he loved? He did eventually become a biology professor in a college. I really want to read his books to see more about his war experience and his life afterwards.

The Pacific really debunks the Greatest Generation idea. These soldiers were no better or worse than other people. They were forced by circumstances to fight and did the best they could. It diminishes what they did to put them on a pedestal.

Good Show Sir - Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers

2010-04-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

Good Show Sir - Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers

This is an excellent site for sharing outrageous book covers. I will be on the lookout for pictures to submit!

Mystery Bird

2010-04-03T23:31:00.001-04:00

I noticed this bird searching for insects on a brush pile. He seemed to be enjoying himself! But what is it?

Mystery solved thanks to Alex Lamoreaux, who writes "That mystery bird is a hermit thrush, they will be heading north soon to their breeding grounds and be replaced with wood thrushes (who breed here)."

I assume the hermit thrush is not a hermit all year long!

Teabonics

2010-04-03T10:12:00.000-04:00

Everything you need to know about the Tea Party movement is here in these signs.

A Home in the Woods

2010-04-01T22:25:00.001-04:00

I found this hemlock in the forest today. The tree is alive, still. Are these woodpecker holes? I'm not sure.

I want to go to Iceland!

2010-03-14T22:43:00.002-04:00

ICELAND from Gunnar Konradsson on Vimeo.

Awesome Video

2010-03-14T22:32:00.001-04:00

The White Mountain (extended) from charles on Vimeo.
Play it full screen for the best effect.

Nightlife

2010-03-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

The moon, Venus, and Jupiter at dusk. December, 2008

Blog publish 03/09/2010

2010-03-08T19:33:00.001-05:00

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Festival International des Masques et des Arts de Dédougou

2010-03-07T20:59:00.001-05:00

Festival international des masques et des arts de Dédougou
by negro1er

Years ago, when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso I came on a village where the people were celebrating this festival (1981). I took a number of pictures that I have been using in presentations over the years. I will have to get them scanned and pointed at some point. I am glad to see that there is a festival there now. for those of you who read French, here is an article in the local newspaper, le faso. Enjoy the video!

Sunning after a Long Winter

2010-03-06T19:10:00.001-05:00

While taking a morning walk around Mont Alto campus today I came across this groundhog in the soccer field. He was laying stretched out enjoying the sun. I thought he was dead. I let my dog Beans come up to him when up he popped to check us out. I quickly pulled Beans away. The groundhog didn't move much. I guess he was still groggy from his winter sleep! We walked around the field. When we got back he was gone.

Blog publish 02/13/2010

2010-02-12T19:33:00.001-05:00

FORVAL Online - Timberland Investment Calculator
Performs financial analysis. Aimed for forestry investments. Very user friendly.
tags: financial, forestry, financial analysis
Cooperative Extension - Franklin County
tags: franklin, cooperative, extension

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Cardinal in Flight

2010-02-07T22:50:00.004-05:00

Cardinal in Flight
Originally uploaded by P_Linehan.

The cardinals love the bird feeder. This was at the tail end of the blizzard.

House Finch

2010-02-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

The day after the big storm the bird feeder is still busy.

Birds during the Blizzard

2010-02-07T22:41:00.002-05:00

Mourning doves.

As the storm was finishing up on Saturday I got some good pictures of birds taking advantage of the feeders.

Surfaces

2010-02-06T21:14:00.000-05:00

The surface of lawn chairs changed by the snow.

Snowmageddon

2010-02-06T20:58:00.000-05:00

I think we must have gotten over two feet of snow here at home. I remember much bigger storms in Maine, but this one was amazing. We managed to get the cars shoveled out. Tomorrow we will try to drive out. At least the roads are clear now!

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