East Pole Journal V. II, No.4: Nuthatches

Notice it has a seed in its beak.

 This year I realized an interesting facet of bird behavior. It has been in front of me for as long as I have been coming to the East Pole, I simply never noticed it before. It’s mysterious. 

    Every year Chickadees come to the feeder in significant numbers. Other species show up as individuals or in small groups. It seems though, every year there us kind of a dominating second species, not dominating in physical sense but showing up in numbers only slightly fewer than the Chickadees.

            They two that stand out are common redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks. One year so many redpolls showed up they almost overwhelmed the Chickadees. Other years I don't see any or only one or two at a time. Then there was the year of the Grosbeaks, not large numbers, larger birds and maybe six at a time. Redpolls are known to move around in what are called irruptive migrations. That essentially means they go different places irregularly on their migrations. They have been seen as far south as Nebraska but mostly stick to the North, though gathering in different places each year.

            There was a year when two hairy woodpeckers spent a large part of the winter around the feeder.

This year it’s redbreasted nuthatches. Maybe half a dozen have been coming to the feeder regularly among the Chickadees. I’ve seen them one at a time in previous years, but never more than one. Just had a flash of a thought. Maybe that single visitor was an individual male or female and this past summer another one showed up and the resident found a mate and they raised a family. I've seen a couple of little brown birds I think are either Pine Siskins or Brown Creepers.
Who knows? But I haven’t seen a redpoll or a grosbeak yet.

The invasion of the redpolls

More about Alaska birds

East Pole Journal Vol. 2 Episode 3: There IS a mountain out there

Moonset on Denali just before dawn December 29, 2020.

 The common knowledge is Internet posts with a picture get more hits than simple words. Let's see if it's true. That picture has nothing to do with what's below. It only stands out as the only time I have seen Denali since I came out here almost three weeks ago, so I am sharing it. (It's also pretty obvious I need to relearn my camera.

Memories are made of this:

As I’ve grown older, I’ve found there are lots of pundits out there willing to advise me or let me know what’s coming. Each of them thinks he or she is the only one who knows this stuff or is telling me something the writer just discovered. One thread that runs through most of them is the admonishment to get rid of your stuff, your kids don’t want it. With my life in such flux this past year, I took that one to heart. I still managed to fill one of U-Haul’s larger storage units and that doesn’t count what’s in this cabin

So, today in the process of a different chore I came across my collection of nautical charts. Earlier I had tried to sell them, no takers. I tried to give them away, still no takers. Mind you this is easily more than a thousand dollars’ worth of charts, covering most of the west North American coast from Seattle to the outer Aleutians, many of them laminated thanks to the generosity of a skipper from the Gulf of Mexico who didn’t expect to return to Alaska after the first summer of the Exxon Valdez spill cleanup efforts.

            I asked a friend who also has a nautical background and his suggestion was use them for wallpaper. I like the walls in this cabin but the ceiling is covered with shiny foil-faced insulation and has been waiting for years while I try to think of a covering for it. Here’s what happened to that idea.

         I brought out all the charts and all kinds of glues for the project. I even bought some moveable scaffolding. The first day I found the laminated charts would not stick to the slick foil surface. In the process of wrestling with it I stepped back off the scaffolding and landed with my back against the corner of a heavy coffee table. As I laid there taking inventory of my battered body, I decided this was not going to work. Once I regained my wits I dressed and headed out on the snowmachine to the trail head, managed to drive my truck to a health clinic 12 miles away and learned I was lucky. I had a bruise that was covering the lower right quadrant of my back, but no damage to internal organs.

I stayed with some friends overnight, then came back the next day. The first thing I did was put the charts behind the couch and never look back.

            Then today I was cleaning back there and came across them. The first thing I thought about was “your kids don’t want your stuff. The second was a memory of a story I read once about a guy who was preparing for his boating season. He had taken out his charts with the idea of cleaning them, erasing all the course lines he’d plotted over the years, all the position fixes, and many of his calculations. He stopped, though when he realized every one of the scribblings on his charts represented a good time spent on the water and he was getting lost in the memories. In the end he decided to leave them on the charts.

            I thought of that as I looked at these charts of mine today. Many of them have the same kind of scribbling, the same memories and the collection stands as a reminder of one of the happiest periods in my ife. So I rolled them up and put them up in the loft with the storage containers I had put up there yesterday, where they will probably stay until they come to haul me off. Unless I discover them again some times and try to live my storms at sea. And then some.

East Pole Journal

East Pole Journal Vol. II, No. 2 Christmas Day 2020

Thank you Judy. Now it's all clear.

Some interesting discoveries around the East Pole

 

About the Poles

Both Pooh and I believe we have been at or near the East Pole; however, neither of us has seen it. That picture of the South Pole my friend Judy Youngquist sent me might hold a clue. When you think about it if the North pole sticks straight up and the South Pole, straight downward, it would fit that the East and West Poles might be horizontal and we have been searching in the wrong direction. Maybe the poles don’t stick up at all, but are lying on the ground somewhere, or at least on short posts in that horizontal position. WE could possibly trip over it and never realize what it was. Of course, if you are looking at a globe instead of a flat map, the poles could be standing up anyway, but would appear horizontal as observed from space. That constitutes a new condition. As there is no up or down in space (Take a little time to ponder that.) and if you were approaching toward the East Pole, it would look like what we call the North Pole. That has about taken us beyond what a bear of little brain can be expected to understand; perhaps past the comprehension of an old man as well. So, as Pooh might say we are close enough to believe it is there, and we can let it go at that.

 

Plans gone awry: I had a plan today. The snowmachine has been stuck at the bottom of the hill since I came in Monday. I stopped before it dug down, but when I started up I didn’t get more than 20 feet and stuck, unstuck and stuck again at another 20 feet. I haven almost everything I hauled up to the house, but it was hand over hand pulling a sled and just about wore me out. I have also been working one plan or another to g4et it unstuck but nothing has worked out so far. To begin with it is on a side hill. The problem has been I have a good hard trail, but it is underneath about two feet of powder and I can’t see it at times. Twice it has slid off to the downhill side burying the rear end. Yesterday, I snowshoed a new trail off the side where it is stuck: That’s mostly downhill and then almost level turning back to the main trail. So, today I was going to use a come-along and either turn the machine entirely so it is heading back downhill on the main trail or turn it enough to get it headed out the new trail. But befpre that came all the daily chores, then this concern about the East Pole and then the storage problem  and after that a solution to my flour shortage in preparing Yorkshire pudding (solved by a couple of friends on facebook) and all of a sudden it’s 1 p.m. Two hours of daylight left on Christmas Day. We are up to almost 5 hours and 3 minutes of available daylight if the sky clears. Today is the first day I’ve seen the mountain since I’ve been here. It all led to this: the hell with working on the snowmachine, taking a day off of hard work. Eat a good meal, take it easy all day, let my aching body heal and attack it in the morning.

 

Domesticity. As I was packing all the new winter supplies into the kitchen I discovered I was running out of storage space. I looked to clear some room and discovered I have one full-sized base cabinet full of empty storage containers: Tupperwear on top of several other brands of boxes and bins. I use them at most two at a time and the rest just sit there taking up valuable storage capacity. Big chore ahead for sure. Merry Christmas.

East Pole Journal

A new one from Joe May

 A baby named Israel

Gleaned from a web conversation with Joe May recently

Used by permission

     When I moved here my nearest neighbor to the west was 27 miles away. All I knew was their last name. One winter day a knock on the door revealed a woman with a baby all wrapped in blankets. She handed me the baby and a diaper bag and said, "I'm Diane...emergency in town...back in 4 or 5 days...his name is Israel...instructions in the bag"... and she ran for her snow machine. I lived alone then and learned a lot in a hurry. We had a good laugh with a cup of tea when she returned. It's how it was here then. 

Israel survived, grew and prospered in the 45 years since.

And there’s a back story:

     These people from my corner of Wisconsin I was to learn later. Long ago when a teen she, with her twin sister went to Africa and WALKED across the continent. At what latitude I don't know. That's kind of the kind of people we had here at one time. Her husband built a steam powered paddle wheeler at their homestead on the upper Skwentna..

 

More from Joe May

The ghosts of Candle's Fairhaven

Two Marines took the first Korean conflict to a whole new level

Memo from the creek, Christmas 1972

Love in the time of Covid

East Pole Journal Volume II 2020-21, Episode 1

December 9, 2020

How I continue to love nature except for one particular moose

I made my first trip to the East Pole this week. I say first because this is a short one. I have usually had problems getting up the hill to the cabin until a good trail is broken out and tamped down in the snow and that means leaving a lot of stuff down in the woods below the hill. Last year I tried something new and came out for only three or four days with a light load. I spent the whole time getting set up and in particular blazing my trails so when I make the second trip with the bulk of my outfit, I will have better luck getting it all to the cabin.

True to form I got the snowmachine stuck about halfway between the main trail and the cabin, that was even after leaving half my load behind. I put on the snowshoes and started trudging up the trail carrying a small knapsack full of vital stuff and my computer briefcase. That was when I discovered exactly what poor shape I am in. After about 20 feet or so I dropped the knapsack and after another 20 feet there went the computer. Still it was trudge 5 or 10 steps and rest, rinse and repeat. I have no idea how long it took but I do know I was whipped by the time I reached the cabin. Always thankful for my foresight, the fire I had left laid in the wood stove took off with one match. That was about all I was capable of for most of the rest of the day from late afternoon. That was Sunday.

Monday not feeling much better I headed down the hill, the only goal in mind to bring the snowmachine tipped right side up and level. A little shoveling that worked. I liberated a couple cans of chili and the next season of Game of Thrones along with that knapsack and computer bag and headed back up hill putting in much the same effort with the same exhaustion as the day before. Come Tuesday I headed down again, my only goal to start the machine and get it unstuck. Again, I took some vitals in the sled and went back up the hill.  Overnight I thought about how I would turn it around. With trepidation I headed downhill, but it took only a little shoveling and I started to drive it out of there.

That was when I learned about this detestable moose. You see when moose go to sleep they first dig down to ground level, hoping for edible grass or maybe a warmer bed. Then they flop and over the course of several hours of sleep pretty much melt a hole in the snow also down to grass level. This particular moose had made its bed right in the middle of my trail, a sure snowmachine catcher. I’d say it was probably six feet by six feet and two feet deep. I know it took me at least half an hour to fill it in and stomp it down so I could drive over it. I didn’t anticipate road work when I signed on for this gig.

With that done I was able to drive the machine to a wider level area where I could turn it around without a lot of heavy lifting. That accomplished I went out to the main trail, picked up what I’d left there and brought it all to one place. Then I tossed some more vitals into a light sled and tried the rest of the hill. I got about halfway up, maybe a couple of hundred feet and stuck again. I unhooked the sled and tugged it up the rest of the hill. Tomorrow I will turn the machine around headed out and hooked up for when I go out Friday. Out for probably a week and then back for the rest of the winter.

COOLERS THAT DON’T

Most people including myself usually buy a cooler to keep the beer and other stuff cold during outdoor summer activities. In addition to that I look at how one might prevent perishables from freezing during winter activities. Last year I bought a very expensive, double-walled, super insulated cooler and it worked fairly well. Tonight I discovered just how well it works. I didn’t bring the cooler up today, but I did bring some of its contents: four bottles of Ensure, half a dozen small juice bottles and a gallon thermos full of milk. That cooler has been outdoors since about 7 a.m. Sunday morning until 3 p.m. Wednesday, about three and a half days in temperatures mostly in the low 20s. Nothing was frozen. And I will tell you cold milk after being without it for several days is one of the great joys in life. I don’t regret the expense involved.

IN OTHER NEWS

Social distancing didn’t work. Just about 24 hours after I filled the feeder, the horde of chickadees showed up.

So, all told I hope this is a prelude to another great winter at the East Pole. Watch this space.

 

East Pole Journal

I'd know how old I am if I could remember the year I was born

Growing old has its moments. Like when you walk into the kitchen and wonder why you're there. I did that once in a one-room 20x24 cabin. You wonder why you're there and then wonder if this is the first sign. Another one, especially for somebody who thinks he's a writer is forgetting a word, unable to find the word you want that's perfect for the phrase you just wrote, only you have to leave a blank space or a bunch of Xes or dots hoping the word will come to you later. I know there are blank spaces on this blog where I hoped to recall the word but moved on to the next subject and never fixed it. One of the most aggravating is when you are working and set a tool down and then can't find it the next time you need it even it's only been a few minutes. The point is, every time some little thing like this happens you immediately panic at another sign of losing it to old age.
     All that leads to what would have been the most expensive one I've ever had to date. It came up last week as I was ordering some DVDs to take to the cabin this year. I realized I was running out of time for anything to be delivered before I left. So, I got on Amazon and ordered the next three seasons of Game of Thrones along with some others. I never received a "your purchase has been shipped message" so I looked it up yesterday and it had turned out Amazon held up the shipment because one of the three was out of stock. They said they would ship by December 28 which is about a month too late. If the Post Office didn't return the package my videos would be here for me in April. 

     Ordering somewhere else is out of the question as nobody would deliver in the next four days. As I thought through it, I expected to have to look for them while I shopped for all the rest of the stuff I was taking. I don't know of anybody who searched for Game of Thrones DVD's, but my experience has been stores have a few seasons but are out of the ones I want. Every damned time! So I began the process of preparing my mind for not having the next three seasons of Thrones this winter.

     However, as all this was going through my mind while I planned my shopping over the next week and part of that was making sure I had noted things I had bought earlier this year. I have a habit of seeing something on my lists in a store and buying it to be tucked away until time to pack. That's when it crossed my mind that I had seen the cover of a Thrones season package. I think seeing one while I swore at Amazon tickled the memory

It took another day of that thought bouncing around in there to realize I might have bought those already. I fought the thought as false optimism for another day. As the fantasy progressed toward reality I finally decided to look so I opened one of the partially packed totes in the living room. There, underneath a bunch of socks, several books, some fittings for my propane lines, other DVDs and a box of lens wipes, there they were: all three seasons. What a relief. My winter was saved. A bigger relief occurred to me when I realized this forgetfulness could have cost me $100 or more.

     So, I now have to add a new action to the supply gathering process; I need to leave early purchases in plain sight. Incidentally that box of lens wipes was another thing on my list to buy that I already had picked up. And now I have to worry if I've turned another corner. Probably next year when I go to view the last two Game of Thrones seasons, I'll mistake them for videos of a family reunion.

Back in the day, an editor's lament

 An opportunity rose the other day that would have proved satisfying to every copy editor who ever
lived—a phrase ubiquitous in the writing world that is unnecessary and redundant. It’s one that has irritated me for years.

Perhaps I should explain further. What is a copy editor? The job is so misunderstood few people even realize it exists. The owner and editor of a paper where I worked a few years ago actually asked me what a copy editor does. When I told her reads and corrects stories and writes headlines, she said she couldn’t believe anyone would do that. I felt so valued that day.

But, that’s essentially the job. You read stories, fixing spelling and grammar mistakes, try to catch factual errors, even smooth out the writing so it presents a clear, factual account of whatever the reporter is writing about. You are truly the last gatekeeper before a story reaches the public.

There are lots of rules. Basic grammar thanks to E.B. White; usage rules contained in the AP stylebook, the universal bible of newspapers; and then there are usually local usage rules. Example: in Alaska you do not identify a person as a Native in a headline unless it is important to the story. Also, you need to know how to spell Utqiaġvik. To do this job well, a good copy editor is also a fountain of what others would call useless knowledge. Don’t ever play Trivia with a copy editor. (I once won a game in one turn).

But, back to those rules. In addition to all those sources of rules, most of us have our own personal set. Some are already written somewhere and others are our very own and some people take them very seriously. Also, they can evolve or change over the years. For example, when I first turned pro you capitalized President, even when it stood alone if it referred to the president of the U.S. However, after about a 20-year absence the rule had changed to president, lower case, when standing alone. With the change younger copy editors are working with a different set of what can only be called pet peeves than the one I came up with. Another thing that changed over those 20 years was now you only leave one space between sentences instead of the two I had known. How seriously do people take that? One fellow commenting on an Internet post said it made him furious when somebody put two spaces instead of one. Furious. I have mellowed, I commented back that if two spaces made him furious, he was going to die of a heart attack by the time he turns 40.

Of course, there are things that bother me too, not to the point of furiousness anymore, but irritating, nonetheless. 

For instance, is there an athlete or a sports announcer who can say “each” or “every” individually? Nope. It’s always “each and every.” Listen for it.

But that’s not used much in print. Now we are back to the minor victory I alluded to at the beginning. It has seemed to me that no writer or broadcaster can refer to an incident in the past without using the phrase “back in” as in “back in the 70s” or “back in 1950.” “In the 70s” or “in 1950” are sufficient without the extra word which appears almost as much as this construction does.

These days I edit a quarterly professional publication for an organization where almost everyone is a college graduate, and most write fairly well. We have had some discussions about style but not my personal preferences. That guy who hated two spaces would go nuts, so would someone irritated over excessive capitalization. Fixing those is tedious, but it’s their publication, not mine. But when the story I was editing yesterday started out “Back in the 70s …” just try to imagine the glee I took in deleting the excess word.

Not furiously but with great satisfaction, I kept it out of one minor publication one time. Yay. A victory if only a minor one. 

Sometimes this effort feels almost noble, as if we are the guardians of the language, the soldiers on the front lines making sure it is used properly. At others you feel like you are totally ineffective, unappreciated, viewed at times as a hinderance to be tolerated, and an antagonist in the life of a writer. Personally I look at part of the responsibility as helping the people we edit become better writers. Of course it seems the majority of them don't think that's our job at all. I take it one misused phrase at a time.

Now, if anyone cares to go into this further, I have a huge list of phrases we could discuss so, beware of what you ask for.

Sciencing the Covid virus

  COVID INFO FROM JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL

CDC illustration

 This virus is not a living organism. It is a protein molecule (RNA or DNA) covered by a protective layer of lipid (fat), which, when absorbed by the cells of the ocular (eyes), nasal (nose) or buccal mucosa (mouth), changes their genetic code (mutates) and converts into aggressor and multiplier cells.

 
 * Since the virus is not a living organism, but is a protein molecule, it cannot be killed.  It has to decay on its own. The disintegration time depends on the temperature, humidity and type of material where it lies.

 
 * The virus is very fragile; the only thing that protects it is a thin outer layer of fat and that is the reason why soap or detergent is the best weapon.  The foam CUTS THE FAT (that is why you have to scrub for 20 seconds or more, to create lots of foam).
By dissolving the fat layer, the protein molecule disperses and breaks down.

 
 * HEAT melts fat; this is why it is necessary to use water above 77 degrees for hand washing, laundry and cleaning surfaces. In addition, hot water makes more foam, making it more effective.

 
 * Alcohol or any mixture with alcohol over 65% DISSOLVES ALL FAT, especially the external lipid layer of the virus.

 
 * Any solution with 1 part bleach and 5 parts water directly dissolves the protein, breaking it down from the inside.

 
 * Oxygenated water increases the effectiveness of soap, alcohol and chlorine, because peroxide dissolves the virus protein.  However, because you have to use it in its pure form, it can damage your skin.

 
 * NO BACTERICIDE OR ANTIBIOTIC WILL WORK because the virus is not a living organism like bacteria; antibodies cannot kill what is not alive.

 
  * The virus molecules remain very stable at colder temperatures, including air conditioning in houses and cars.  They also need moisture and darkness to stay stable. Therefore, dehumidified, dry, warm and bright environments will degrade the virus faster.

 
 * UV LIGHT on any object that may contain the virus breaks down the protein.  Be careful, it also breaks down collagen (which is protein) in the skin.

 
 * The virus CANNOT go through healthy skin.

 
 * Vinegar is NOT useful because it does not break down the protective layer of fat.

 
 * NO SPIRITS, NOR VODKA, serve. The strongest vodka is only 40% alcohol, and you need a minimum of 65%.

 
 * LISTERINE  is 65% alcohol.

 
 * The more confined the space, the higher the concentration of the virus there can be. The more open or naturally ventilated, the less.

 
 * You have to wash your hands before and after touching any commonly used surfaces such as : mucosa (mouth area) , food, locks, knobs, switches, remotes, cell phones, watches, computers, desks etc. and don't forget when you use the bathroom.

 
 * You have to MOISTURIZE YOUR HANDS due to frequent washing.  Dry hands have cracks and the molecules can hide in the micro cracks The thicker the moisturizer, the better.

 
 * Also keep your NAILS SHORT so that the virus does not hide there.

 

 

An easy trail to early voting in Alaska

 Make a plan, the TV ads and pundits say. A plan for voting? In the past we went to a local site on Election Day, cast our ballots and that was that. This year so different. As I thought about a plan I considered a mail-in ballot, a dropbox, voting early in person and waiting for Nov. 3 to go to my regular voting place.

I signed up for and received an absentee ballot which would have been good for the first two options. I even jumped through all the hoops to prepare my ballot including chasing down a friend to witness it on the sane day the courts ruled we didn't have to do that.

So here I sat wondering which of the choices would be best. With all the news and charges about voting obstructions flying around, we are faced with choosing where our ballots are safest and free from manipulation. Granted Alaska doesn't seem to have the problems many states are experiencing, but as always caution is a virtue. What I finally came up with was that the choice should be the one where the fewest number of people have access to the ballot. It might be exposed and vulnerable in a drop box. After all, drop boxes have been stolen in some places and in California Republicans were putting up false drop boxes. In the long run, I finally decided I would mail my ballot, but since it was on the way, I would check out the early voting facility, where the ballot would be exposed to the fewest people before it lands on the counting table, making it the best of the choices according to my personal criteria. My fall back solution would be waiting in line Nov. 3.

So, I drove into town yesterday, the prepared mail-in ballot in the copilot's seat, and headed first to the borough office building where the early voting station had been established. My first surprise was the number of empty parking places in the lot. I hopped out of the car and headed in. Then I spotted a guy coming out wearing his mask. Oops. Damn! Back to the truck to retrieve my forgotten one, then repeating the steps to the door.

The first things I noticed were three different places to sanitize my hands. I followed the trail of 6-foot social-distancing notices laid like stepping stones on the floor from the door into the main room. This was seemed about the size of a high school gymnasium. There must have been a couple of dozen polling enclosures at least. I swear only three of us were there to vote. I followed the directions to the tables where a masked poll worker had me sign in after checking my registration card, then gave me the correct ballot for my district, offered me a pen and off I went. Since I had already done my research and filled out a ballot it only took me a couple of minutes to mark this one. Then I went over to where my ballot was slipped into the collection machine, the pen put into a collection cup to be disinfected, I assumed, and headed out the door. I don't think I was in there even 5 minutes.

As I walked across the parking lot toward my truck I encountered a woman heading in the opposite direction. She looked at me and said "Oh, damn." I laughed and told her I had done the same thing as she turned to return to her vehicle to pick up her mask.

Oh crap, Then there's this Covid scare

More political comment

All media is not #fakenews, really

Last week I saw this posted as a meme on faebook by someone on my friends list: "We must recognize “the news” is no longer “news”, but propaganda to change our way of thinking. A few persons a few of whom I know responded emphatically agreeing. I rwrote a quick comment that read " I see Trump has won."

But since then I've been tempted to go back and give them a good talking to. I worked in the media off and on for 50 years in at least seven states with several newspapers ranging from The Wall Street Journal.to the Nome Nugget and still serve as managing editor of a quarterly business publication. I take great offense at the idea that the thousands of honest, hard-working journalists in this country are simply tossed aside with a casual comment that merely shows the #fakepresident has done what he intended, the fascist goal of bringing the public to mistrust the media, the one process that works to bring truth as a check against this very sort of intrusion into the body politic. I have worked with hundreds of journalists whose only thought was to print truth and expose dishonesty and the indiscretions of a complex society all with integrity.

To be sure there are are propaganda writers out there calling themselves news reporters and there is an awful lot of opinionated garble particularly in broadcast media and on line. I have always thought generally people are able to tell the difference between that and responsible journalism. The fact that the president of the United States calls it fakenews is abhorrent. Responsible journalism is all we have and he has created a schism between us and the government. Be discerning about who you listen to and read and learn to tell the difference. Just because we have a president who lies constantly (exposed carefully by responsible media) and in his paranoiac grandiosity thinks anyone who disagrees with him or holds him to the truth is somehow dishonest and simply out to get him. Truthfully he has been given a much wider berth than I would ever have given. He even called one of our most trusted reporters who wrote a book and backs up what he wrote with recordings, a liar when the truth is there in his own voice. Do you trust Donald Trump of Robert Woodward? Do you trust a respected journalist with proof to back up what he writes or a dishonest fascist president who knows no truth beyond what he manufactures in his own head? Here's a quote the #fakepresident made during the 2016 campaign. I believe he was talking about Hillary Clinton during the debates: “Every time I said something, she would say something back. It was rigged. She kept on bringing up things I said or did. She is a very nasty person.”

Here's what I mean about being discerning. I love Rachel Maddow. BUT, I know she's opinionated even if it's my side of opinions. I have seen her make mistakes and I can hear how she reports the news in a way to forward or confirm her view and that of those who listen to her. Sometimes if it's information somehow important to me I look for another source. It's unfortunate we live in this sort of situation. I have never watched a Fox news show though I have seen snippets. All I can say is at least Maddow doesn't tell out and out  lies, but then I see those snippets on shows that point out the lies. The point is understand who you are listening to and take the information accordingly. To find daily honest reporting turn to your local media, Those are the people doing their best to bring you honest reporting and not competing for national television ratings(though many local  outlets are now owned by large national news organizations and thus become suspect). 

An example I would pose to Alaskans is The Anchorage Daily News' recent reporting on sexual violence in Alaska. National awards on a local story held to the highest standards of journalism. Blanket condemnations of distrust for the media insults people like those ADN reporters, and thousands of lesser known journalists across the country who every day work very hard to bring you truthful balanced reports. I believe there is much to criticize in media. But there is a lot to praise too and when you think about it, they are all we have after all and when a government works to build distrust between you and us, distrust the government. If you look back through history in most conflicts between government and media, the media has won. So please, think of those honest journalists working hard before you decide to cast a wide net of distrust across a whole profession.

ADN Sexual violence in Alaska

A venture into football commentary

 I think I  figured out at least one way Patrick Mahomes identifies his favorite receivers as plays develop and 21 other players are flying around in a blur in front of him.. but we'll get to that soon enough.

Travis Kelce (Fundamism.com)

First let's look at the sports pundits. The whole panel I watched before the Chiefs played the Ravens picked the Ravens for a variety of reasons. Result: Chiefs wiped up the field with the Ravens. That was the third such occurrence over the weekend. Thursday everybody with anything to say about football picked Jacksonville over Miami. The Dolphins won. Enough said. Then come Sunday night, a panel of four or five men and one woman almost unanimously had Dallas beating Seattle. Unanimous except for the woman, She picked the winner. Russell Wilson has been amazing this year. I have always wondered why the sports shows think it's important to predict the winners. As Chris Berman used to say, "That's why they play the game." 

A large part of the talk before the Chiefs played the Ravens surrounded the two quarterbacks, each announcer highlighting the pluses and minuses of Lamar Jackson and Mahomes. Generally it seemed they found the two were equal. Only Steve Young pointed out a weakness, saying Jackson and the Ravens had not won a game when the team trailed by10 points or more sometime during the action. Give Young some credit, after Baltimore went down by 10 points they never recovered. But, from listening to the two quarterbacks in interviews I had another suspicion and watched for confirmation during the game.

Tyrek Hill

I suspected a gap of intellect. Over the years I have wondered how at the level of play in professional sports standouts like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and a few others can be so much better. Beyond athletic ability, intelligence and acuity seem to figure into the equation. Here's an example. In a game when he was playing for Kansas City Joe Montana came off the field after he had to throw away a pass out of bounds to prevent being sacked. He was explaining to his coach who had been miced up for the game, so we could hear what Montana said. What he did was point out where each of five receivers had been on the field naming them along with the people defending against them and how they were being covered. All this he had seen and processed enough to remember it in detail while avoiding potential tacklers during the three or so seconds a quarterback's allowed before defenders begin to reach him in the backfield. I have seen what I think is that ability only in Mahomes, though he may remember whole games. Lamar Jackson does not seem to have this ability to much extent.

In pregame interviews, Mahomes is obviously the more articulate of the two, but that isn't always a fair comparison: Still here is a paraphrased version of how the two spoke after the game: 

 Jackson: I ran over there, once I got out of the pocket. I threw that pass, I couldn't get around the corner.

Mahomes: We knew going in our defense needed to step up and they did, getting them off the field. Our offensive line was outstanding with prtotection. The receivers were getting open and that all made it almost easy for me. He went into more detail than that.

Late in the game as it was winding down even the TV announcers picked up on what makes Mahomes different. They marveled at how well a quarterback in his third year was able to read defenses as he approached the line of scrimmage. When the camera allowed you could see how he scanned the whole field in front of him without turning his head. He can change the called play depending on what he sees and often does, and, again, in a few seconds. We know the results.

Now about that trick. Imagine standing looking out over the field with 21 players flying around in all different directions in front of you while others the size of pickup trucks are bearing down on you with the intention of tearing off your head. Eleven of those players are wearing black jerseys, 10 of them are wearing white. Who's who? Then a splash of bright yellow crosses your field of vision, so out of place in the general surroundings. There he is. React, throw, another completion. That yellow is not a player showing off his fashion sense. Only Mahomes' two favorite receivers wear the yellow Micky-Mouse-looking gloves: Tyrek Hill and Travis Kelce. Kelce even wore bright yellow shoes. That splash of color identifies them, making it easier for the quarterback to find them quickly in a crowd. As the game proceeded even I was able to find them when the camera allowed a wide field of vision. Maybe others have tried this and maybe I am not the first person to point it out, but none of the announcers doing the game mentioned it.

Well there you have it, the first and we can hope the last of my comments on football this year.

And now, from under that desk in the basement office

 

Why is this man smirking?

After a little more than a month into his term as a US senator, I noticed  Alaska's Dan Sullivan rarely if ever showed up in public or in the news. I began calling him the missing Alaska senator and then reduced it to claiming he spent his time hiding under his desk in the basement of the Senate Office Building. The more I used the term, the more I noticed how little he showed up in public or in news of any Senate functions or about issues.

I recall one photograph of him with a display of supposed facts showing what's wrong with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare if you are one of those who, like the missing senator, still clings to that as your only reason for opposition.). He said and pointed out nothing that hadn't been said over the previous two years. Thanks for that. Dan. now back to the basement under your desk.

A couple of times I sent emails to his office with concerns and both times what I got was him mansplaining the issue to me and telling me how I should think about it. A senator works for the people. I really don't want to hear what he has to say, I want him to listen to me and at least act like he listens to a citizen's concern. What I don't want is condescending mansplaining like I am sone ignorant child. I heard the same complaint from others and quit that effort. On top of that, when a group of Alaska women showed up at this office to voice their opposition to the Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court, rather than listen he had them arrested. There went a few votes but at least we know someone found that basement office. 

VIDEO  Arrests of Alaskan Indigenous activists now taking place outside Dan Sullivan’s office. We came here to ask him to #CancelKavanaugh. This is how he’s responded. #BelieveSurvivors   From Women's March on facebook

All along the way when we did hear from him, he expressed his agreement and vote following the #fakepresident in lockstep. He often twisted the facts to make us think whatever that vote was about it helped Alaskans and he had somehow influenced that. He has seldom expressed any original thought on any controversial national issue let alone done anything but  follow his

Fools and suckers, right?

leader. He has had little to say about controversies like 200,000 Americans dead from Coronavirus Covid 19, Black lives matter, climate change, broad medical care, even the Russian bounty on American soldiers in Afghanistan despite his position as a major in the US Marine reserves. And, speaking of his military background, let's not forget "fools and suckers." Hard to take a stand from under your desk in the basement when you have no backbone.

Lately in the middle of a contested campaign for re-election he finally got pushed into having to take a stand on something controversial. Confirming my theory, one of the chief officers involved in developing the Pebble mine in the headwaters of Alaska's richest salmon habitat was caught on a video explaining how the company had decided to handle Dan Sullivan — saying something along the lines of he's quiet, leave him alone to stand alone in the corner and stay quiet. (Explanation: "corner" = "under his desk in the basement") That brought him out into the open to claim loudly and firmly he opposes the Pebble mine. We shall see; that project has a long way to go and the #fakepresident favors it.

So far he has shown little proof he will stand by anything he says. Take this that he said more than eight months before the 2016 election. "The President has the constitutional authority to nominate and the U.S. Senate has the authority to advise and consent. The decision to withhold advancement of Mr. Garland’s nomination isn’t about the individual, it’s about the principle. Alaskans, like all Americans, are in the midst of an important national election. The next Supreme Court justice could fundamentally change the direction of the Court for years to come. Alaskans deserve to have a voice in that direction through their vote, and we will ensure that they have one.

Then a little more than a month before the 2020 election, Sullivan confirmed he supports a vote on the #fakepresident's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Thanks Dan, you were doing better under the desk. And. to repeat you have quite a bit of time to change your public statements about Pebble. One can hope you won't be in the Senate by then and we won't have to worry about it.

To summarize, this is a man who looks down on his constituents with condescension, ducks every controversy he can, cares little about Alaska and Alaska constituents except during election campaigns, fails to follow through on his previous actions, won't even support his comrades in arms, follows a criminal president completely, lies about his opponents in elections, but he doesn't rock the boat. Oh yeah, he did release a pablum bowl of concern objecting to the cuts in the postal system. Native vote, Dan? What about the 62 thousand-some people in Alaska dependent on Social Security and/or Medicare. Haven't heard a peep from you on the #fakepresident's threat to kill it off altogether. Quiet as an Afghanistan bounty.  One thing we can probably be sure of is that he receives his check every payday despite he and his party do little for the people of this country. Want to know how much he makes? His base pay is $!74.000, $14,500 per month plus expense accounts, housing allowances and some others. Want to know how much a worker who lost his job during the virus pandemic is paid? Zero.

Here's another take from Percy Notar of The Anchorage Press

More Political Comment

And then there's that payroll tax withholding

Have you wondered how that payroll tax deferment would work? Did anyone besides me look at a September pay stub to see if anything changed. It didn't on mine and probobly not on anyone else's either. Here's what a payroll manager thinks, It showed up on facebook today and she states the problem much better than I ever could.

 Ok I’m a payroll manager. Today I just read about this new payroll tax deferment that trump ordered on August 8th. Please note nobody knew what to do with the thing- there were no directives on how to actually do it - just boom - make it happen starting on Sept 1, 2020. 

On August 28, 2020, the IRS finally got around to issuing a notice that actually told what and how to implement this thing. Please note that was 4 whole days before it was supposed to start, and 2 of those days were a weekend. Wow!

There is no payroll database company that can whip up this kind of very complex order in essentially 2 business days. Every single company in the country is in a free fall state just trying to understand the thing. Their legal teams are still trying to evaluate it because they need to give legal advice to their clients - should it be implemented or not. Nobody knows. It is now Sep 3, three days after it was supposed to be implemented. 

The terms of this supposed payroll tax deferment are a real laugh a minute. Take a gander of just some of the details:

1. The employee has to pay it back in full from Jan- April 2021. If they don’t pay it back, there will be heavy interest and penalties. If they still don’t pay it back, the employers have to pay it. What a deal!!! Sign me up!!

Wait there’s more!

2. It must be recalculated every 2 weeks. This doesn’t seem too bad, but when you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of employees and your database company doesn’t have it working, that is a huge problem. 

Wait there’s more!

3. If the employee opts in for this and qualifies (must make less than $4,000 every 2 weeks), but then gets a bonus or extra wages, then they don’t get the deferment. What? Yes you never know if you got the deferment or not. Always a big surprise every payday. What could be better than that?

But wait, there’s more!

4. It is unclear if companies are required to offer this thing or not. It is also unclear how to offer an option. And it is unclear how the employee is supposed to pay back the deferment. This leads to needing legal advice for a really murky and shoddily put together trump order. Wow! Isn’t that fantastic!!

But you know there is even more too numerous to mention. This thing just keeps on giving. Hey thanks trump. Thanks for nothing I mean. 

What a way to get our economy re-started!! Cripple payroll offices everywhere. I’m so impressed - NOT. 

Oh the final kickers 1 and 2:

1. This doesn’t help the unemployed not one little bit. It is just a stunt meant to amaze everyone. Wow! I am surely amazed all right. 

2. The real reason to pull this fast one is to get us used to not paying payroll tax, so that when he lowers the boom to defund Social Security, we will supposedly think it’s a good thing. 

Think about it. Do YOU want Social Security to go away? Do you really? 

This gem is a real piece of work put forth by a criminal mind. So sayeth the payroll manager.

— Jackie Pick

September 3

She is the payroll manager at Connecticut College

About that mini stroke

 

A recent book described an unscheduled trip the #fakepresident made to the hospital in November 2019. Though it was never mentioned in the book he denied emphatically he ever had a "mini stroke whatever that is."

For what it's worth about those mini strokes: Given the information available about the #fakepresident's experience: I have had one, and mine matches the experience explained in the book: a drive to the hospital, stay a few hours, and back with no apparent damage. The technical name is transient eschemic attack. Basically a clot or other obstruction creates a temporary block of blood flow to the brain. My experience was similar to what seems to be his. I figured out what was bothering me by the STR test (smile, talk, reach). In my case I could not raise my arm above my shoulder and I had trouble with my hand buttoning my shirt or even holding a pen. Of course I didn't have a limousine to take me or a doctor to ride along. And nobody had to engage with a subordinate to have him stand by to take over if something went wrong. I drove myself to the hospital and, reasonably sure I was suffering some kind of stroke, I had it in mind at the first indication of anything stronger I would drive into the ditch and call or wait for help. But I made it, only to stumble stepping into the reception area at the emergency room. Once I had been examined and diagnosed, I think they might have given me a blood thinner through the tube connected to my arm and a nurse watched and monitored me for about three hours. Gradually I regained control of my arm and when it finally cleared, I was discharged and sent home, driving myself again. No greeters there either or nosy reporters. 

While it seems minor with no permenant damage it is taken as a warning of problems that could be more serious. In my case it was the discovery of a carotid artery with 90 percent blockage and took a little surgery. I also have a blood thinner as a permanent part of my life now.

So, given what the #fakepresident admitted by denying, his obvious physical condition and his habit of lying about and hiding any kind of the weakness and the similarities to my own experience I have little doubt he had one of those mini strokes he tried to ridicule out of existence.

Since then I get an examination every year and haven't had any problems until this summer. Just this year another blockage was discovered and I may need another operation to clear it. Watch this space lol. ( I had that operation on the carotid in the right side of my neck and now that's clear, too.)