Aerie Report, March 7, 2010

A couple of just fantastic days here at the Aerie with Saturday's temps getting into the high 40s and to Sunday's getting up to 58 degrees! Virtually no winds either day to detract from those warm temps either. Add the plentiful sunlight beneath nearly cloudless skies and it was positively Spring-like. So much snow was melting and water vapor forming that the valley actually had a bit of a haze this afternoon. It looks like we'll have one--maybe two more days just like these.

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The official Restart of the Iditarod took place this afternoon with the mushers leaving Willow at two-minute intervals starting at 2 PM Alaska time (6 PM EST). The dogs are just starting to get warmed up and the mushers to get their sea (sled?) legs for the long haul ahead.

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Speaking of travel. Terry's SAGA classes ended in Baltimore today. Now she's heading to Sumter, SC to visit relatives. She promises to be home by Friday night's church dinner since they are having pierogies. And they do them well. Almost as good as her Mom.

(Besides, she's a member of the ladies auxiliary.)

Sunday is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska.

Susan Butcher was not the first woman to win the Iditarod, that honor belongs to Libby Riddles who won in 1985. Butcher had to pull out of the race that year when, despite her efforts to fend it off, a pregnant moose killed two of her dogs and injured six others. No, Susan Butcher didn't win that race, but she did win in 1986, 1987, 1988 and again in 1990.

She was the first to win the Iditarod in three consecutive years, the first to win it four times in five years, and the second to win it four times. (Rick Swenson was the first to win four races. He has since added a fifth victory.) Starting in 1986, she finished in the top five 12 consecutive years, a feat that has not been duplicated. She flat out dominated the Iditarod for that period.

Sadly, Susan Butcher passed away in August of 2006 having suffered from acute myelogenous leukemia and complications from a bone marrow transplant. She was just 51 years of age.

You can probably walk from Germany to Sweden over the Baltic Sea right now.

A number of years ago, Terry and I went to Nantucket Island with a teaching buddy of mine, Tom, and his wife. We took his car out on the ferry and stayed at a B & B that was a short walk from the center of town. He and I went birding along the coast while the ladies went to town and peeked in the store windows. A good time was had by all and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was a cold, cold winter and there was lots of snow on land and ice in the water. Looking down from the lighthouse on the Atlantic side we could see ice floes with seals on them heading south. Tom got all concerned that if the harbor on either the mainland or the island froze up, we could be stuck for longer than we wanted to be. That didn't happen (dammit!) largely because the Coast Guard ice breaker in the area wouldn't let it and because the frequent movement of the ferries back and forth prevented the ice from getting too thick between trips.

I mention this story because of what's happened in the Baltic Sea:

50 ships stuck in Baltic thick ice

STOCKHOLM, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish Maritime Administration said on Thursday that about 50 vessels are stuck in the thick ice in the Baltic sea off Sweden's east coast.

Among the vessels, there are six large passenger ferries which are in total carrying more than 2,000 passengers, the administration said in a statement.

Two of the ferries, including the large Isabella passenger ferry carrying 1,322 passengers and crew, have been freed.

Four other vessels, including the Amorella, another passenger ferry with 753 passengers and 190 crew members aboard, are still stuck.

I don't imagine there's much in the way of provisions on these ferries. Those who board are not expecting more than a cruise of a few hours, not days. Should they have to remain where they are much longer, I'm sure either food drops will have to be made or evacuation via helicopter and/or hovercraft will occur.

How is this possible in these days of AGW fear mongering? (Remember, the Arctic Ocean is supposed to be experiencing record low ice levels according to the computer models. In fact, the ice extent has increased every year since 2007.)

Sweden has suffered an unusually harsh winter this year, with temperatures across the country almost continuously lying well below freezing since December.

Where's Denmark again? Oh yeah, it's on the northern shores of the Baltic Sea just to the west of Sweden.

I'm betting right about now the folks in Copenhagen are wishing they had never heard of the IPCC and Al Gore.

Heh, they're off, mon!

I've no idea what happened to my brain last night. When I went to the Iditarod musher list not only did I miss #49 Lance Mackey, who has won the last three races, but I forgot to mention a young rookie I will definitely be following: #14 Oswald "Newton" Marshall of St. Anne, Jamaica! (No, not Queens in NYC. Jamaica as in rum and coke, sunny beaches, Caribbean waters, etc. Not exactly a hot bed of dog sled racing.)

Newton has been sledding since 2005 and has done well in several shorter events finishing in the middle of the pack. He finished 13th (out of 29) in the 2009 Yukon Quest--a race that is 1,000 miles long--becoming the first Jamaican to finish the Quest. It looks like he may be ready to make the leap to the Big One. In preparation for the 38th running of the Iditarod, he's stepped up his training under the mentorship of Lance Mackey. It will be real interesting to see how he does.

Aerie Report, March 5, 2010

One fantabulous day here at the Aerie. The kind of day that holds the promise of spring. Bright sunlight all day long and temperatures near 40 degrees saw thin snow on the driveway turn to slush and the thick stuff on the lawn compact another two inches. It'll take many more days like today to get down to bare ground and start the grass growing again, but the forecast is for at least three more just like it or even better so hope springs eternal.

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We (Terry, Joe and I) were sitting over coffee this morning after the cats woke us early when the sound of the propane truck backing into the drive caught our attention. We hadn't gotten a delivery since around January 20 so I knew we were due, but at 6:45 AM?

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Joe stayed overnight and headed off to Wellsboro this morning to accompany his hired home inspector as they looked under the hood of the property north of that town that Joe and Pat have struck a deal on. If all went well, the deal will go on as planned and there will be two more ex-New Jerseyites soon.

Not long after Joe left, Terry headed down to Baltimore. She ran into some trouble on Route 15 in the town of Liverpool, PA where she got caught in a 45-minute traffic backup caused by a serious accident. She says there were two helicopters on the road which isn't a good sign as it indicates that a medivac was a necessity. She was eventually forced to head back north and seek an alternate route to get down to I-83 south of Harrisburg. I haven't been able to find out anything about what went on via the internet...yet.

Terry will be gone for a week.

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UPDATE: Corrections thanks to Rev. Paul who is on the scene in Anchorage.

Tomorrow Anchorage, Alaska will host the ceremonial start of The Last Great Race--The Iditarod. The first sled is scheduled to leave the start line at 9:30 AM Alaska time (that's 1:30 PM EST). After Saturday's brief jaunt to Checkpoint #1 at the Campbell Airstrip on the Eagle River, there will be an official restart at Wasilla Willow Lake at 2 PM (Alaska Time) on Sunday afternoon.

This year's race will be following the northern route and is listed as 1112 miles. Despite the distance--and God, dogs, and weather permitting--the first racers will reach Nome in 9 or 10 days. Even that time, brief as it may seem, includes mandatory stops of two 8 hour and one 24 hour layovers. The speed record was set in 2002 by Martin Buser. He and his team of dogs completed the race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds. Last year's winner, Lance Mackey finished in 9 days, 21 hours, 38 minutes, and 46 seconds. It was Lance Mackey's third consecutive victory. He will not have a fourth as he is sitting this one out. CORRECTION: Lance is going off at #49 as he looks for a four-peat.

I've been looking over the list of mushers and there are a few well know veterans in the mix this year, but I'll be looking to see how rookies, #4 Wattie McDonald of Stonehaven,Scotland and #69 John Stewart of Aberdeen, Scotland make out.

New Photo Blog

Erica has got a new blog in which she has taken to the camera. Her beat is New York, New York...specifically Brooklyn. Go on over to see what she's up to. It's quite interesting. She's been at it for a while so there are lots of photos to peruse. (Look to the little word "Archive" at the very top of the page to see a gallery of thumbs.)

Erica's Photo Blog.

Heh.

I just Came upon this quote posted over at Maggies:

The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false face for the urge to rule it.

H.L. Mencken

Seems to be right on the money.

Aerie PM Report, March 3, 2010

With just over three inches of wet, heavy snow accumulated on the ground when it finally stopped at 12:30 PM, Terry and I manned the shovels instead of the snow thrower to clear the deck, the driveway and the short trails to the propane tank (delivery is overdue) and the bird feeders. Terry worked for an hour and a half--until she could no longer toss shovels full of snow high enough to clear the mounds ringing the parking area. I was out there for my usual two and a half hours.

Although it fell as a light powder, the snow rapidly compacted as the temperature rose above the freezing mark. As I mentioned earlier, the weather is supposed to approach near spring like conditions during the next two weeks including four days of mostly sun forecast for Saturday through Tuesday.

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Terry prepared a nice broiled lemon-peppered fillet of cod, some mashed potatoes and peas for dinner. A good hardy meal that I could enjoy even with the pulled molar. Dessert was the ever popular Jello in cranberry flavor.

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Tomorrow, Terry takes her Jeep Compass down to Williamsport to have the oil changed and get the 7500 mile service done. I'll be staying home doing some cleaning and straightening up.

Terry's cousin (and my buddy) Joe will be coming out tomorrow evening. He has an appointment with a building inspector set for Friday morning. Joe and his wife, Pat, have had their offer for a home over near Wellsboro accepted and if the inspection doesn't show any major problems, they'll be closing on it some time in April. It will be good to have company even for just the night.

Aerie AM Report, March 3, 2008

Time for some real "hope" and "change"!

If you are one of those fanatics (skier, snowmobiler, student) that likes to "pray for snow" you better not have a bumper sticker to that effect on your car if you drive through the northeast.

And should you--skier or snowmobiler or student (or teacher), be "praying for snow"--please STOP!!!

Terry and I woke up this morning to a fresh inch on the ground and it's been snowing steadily all morning. Close to three inches now at 11 AM. With luck it will slow and stop early this afternoon.

Looking at the 15-day forecast at AccunHunch does hold some promise. First: it will get up to near 50 degrees by this weekend. Second: we are in for four (4!) consecutive days of sunshine starting Saturday. Third: once passed tonight's "flurries" the nasty snow does not appear in the 15-day forecast.

One down. One to go.

Got a molar yanked this morning. Kind of enjoyed watching the young dentists strain to get the tooth out. ("You've got some good bones there!" he grunted.)

Almost two hours later and there's no very little pain.

Tylenol, soft foods, gargle with salt water, yadda, yadda.

With luck this will heal up quickly and I'll be ready for round two next Tuesday.

What did you say?

The regular use of pain killers can lead to hearing loss in men.

For aspirin, regular users under 50 and those aged 50-59 years were 33% more likely to have hearing loss than were nonregular users, but there was no association among men aged 60 years and older. For NSAIDs, regular users aged under 50 were 61% more likely, those aged 50-59 were 32% more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16% more likely to develop hearing loss than nonregular users of NSAIDs. For acetaminophen, regular users aged under 50 were 99% more likely, regular users aged 50-59 were 38% more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16% more likely to have hearing loss than nonregular users of acetaminophen.

Aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen were all found to increase the chance of hearing loss among regular users.

Age does seem to offer some protection against the effects, however as those over 60 years old were at less risk than those under 59 years of age.

That 99% figure for users of acetaminophen under 50 years of age should be a huge red flag.

One thing not mentioned in the article, however, is the careers of the men involved. I'm sure the doctors running the study considered that in their findings. After all, a guy who's been working around heavy machinery for thirty years or so is likely to A) experience some hearing loss and B) have need of the daily use of one of those pain killers just to get to work.

This is not the kind of thing I like to see especially with my bad back, knees, and assorted aches and pains. Not to mention the forthcoming tooth extractions. Then again, I turned 60 last September.

(h/t to Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds and FuturePundit, Randall Parker.)

I wonder....

Will this story be getting as much play in the MSM as the Toyota recalls?


GM to Recall 1.3 Million Cars for Steering Problems

DETROIT (March 1) -- General Motors Co. said Monday it will recall 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail.

The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

There wouldn't be a double standard for Government Motors. Would there?

Summer's almost here...

....we can now see the deer moving around in the back yard.



Yep, won't be long.

(Terry got this via email this morning.)

Could you repeat that?

Watts Up With That posts a flashback article from 1989 in which scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say that the U.S. Temperature data shows NO WARMING since 1895.

A quote:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25— After examining climate data extending back nearly 100 years, a team of Government scientists has concluded that there has been no significant change in average temperatures or rainfall in the United States over that entire period.

While the nation’s weather in individual years or even for periods of years has been hotter or cooler and drier or wetter than in other periods, the new study shows that over the last century there has been no trend in one direction or another.

The lead scientist was Dr. Kirby Hanson. Of course, he and Dr. James Hansen are quoted as saying that this study does not rule out global warming.

Tying themselves in knots even in 1989.

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Also on WUWT today is another example of twisting in the wind. Spring, sprang, sprung Three weeks ago in the UK's Daily Telegraph there was an article about spring arriving three weeks early, on average. (Three weeks early would be around now.) Today there's another talking about how spring will be late this year.

When you hop aboard a band wagon, it's important to know if it has any finite destination or if it's simply going in circles.

Aerie AM Report, March 1, 2010

Terry made it back to the Aerie last night from Princeton where she had two days of classes with the Princeton Pleaters SAGA chapter. She says she had a fine time visiting with her Mom and daughter in Linden and with the folks she knew in Princeton.

The instructor for the classes she took was from just outside Sydney, Australia. having experienced the near blizzard and two feet of snow, she swears she will not be coming back unless it's 55 degrees and sunny.

Terry took off this morning for more stitching. This time with a local group from EGA.

Friday she's off to Baltimore for another stitching soiree. When that ends she'll head further south to visit for a few days with her aunt and cousin in Sumter, South Carolina.

Have needles will travel, is her motto.

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I finally got the official notice of recall for my Tundra in today's mail. Called the dealership's service department and I'm scheduled for 1 o'clock this afternoon to have the accelerator mechanism "corrected" so I don't accidentally speed off at mach 1 or something. It will take me almost as long to drive to the dealer's as it will to have the service performed. Then, of course, I have to drive home. Figure a 2:1 ratio for travel time: service. *sigh* The joys of rural living. Everything's twice as far as you think.

UPDATE: Just got back. It's 1 hour and 15 minutes each way. It took just 30 minutes to do the repair. The ratio of time traveled to time for repair was closer to 5:1. *double sigh*
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On the positive side, the weather seems to have taken a break. March has entered as a lamb--at least for now and at least for here. Temperatures are going to "soar" into the mid 30s today and there's no more than a snow shower or two on tap. Those two storms AccuHunch was trumpeting last week appear to be either further east or further south than anticipated. Hence, Maine and the Carolinas will get snow but we won't.

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Another "oops!" moment in the IPCC report. Remember how they were saying hurricane frequency and strength were directly tied to Global Warming? How as the earth got warmer we would see more and stronger hurricanes? Well, a recent peer reviewed study (a real peer review, BTW) says it ain't so.