Well, my final draft presentation didn't go so well. There's data issues and communication issues, and I'm distinctly worried about my graduation possibilities. This is why it's been radio silence on the blog for a while.
Sorry I'm so lame. I'll know if I'm graduating or not by Dec. 4th, so I'll probably be 404: Not Found until then.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
School Update
My first final draft (oxymoron, I know) is due November 4th, so most of my work will be done by then. That's in two weeks. Two weeks!!! Yikes. I am both excited and nervous. Is it actually possible that I might be graduating?
My other class is done the week before Thanksgiving. Is it actually possible that I might be graduating?
Fingers will remain crossed through the rest of the semester.
My other class is done the week before Thanksgiving. Is it actually possible that I might be graduating?
Fingers will remain crossed through the rest of the semester.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Parental Advisory: Language
I've been listening to Ethan's iPod lately, and it has some music on it that I don't usually listen to. I find though, that a lot of it is pretty good. Well, at least to our (apparently shared) tastes.
Today I just heard this awesome song by the Reel Big Fish. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to say just this thing to some idiot who is spouting off some obnoxious opinion. But of course, I keep my mouth shut.
You Don't Know
Well first of all I'd like to say f*ck off
If you don't get it why don't you
Go shove your head back up your *ss
And don't waste my time
I don't need your opinion
'Cause you don't know what it's like to be like me
You don't know, so keep your mouth shut
This may come as kind of a surprise
I don't like you and I don't care
What you think about what I do
And most of all, I don't need your opinion
You don't know what it's like to be like me
You don't know, so keep your mouth shut
Well finally that's the way it is
I like somethin' you don't
And you're tellin' me it's sh*t.
It's a waste of time
We can't change our opinions
I don't know what it's like to be like you
I don't know, so i'll keep my mouth ---
Today I just heard this awesome song by the Reel Big Fish. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to say just this thing to some idiot who is spouting off some obnoxious opinion. But of course, I keep my mouth shut.
You Don't Know
Well first of all I'd like to say f*ck off
If you don't get it why don't you
Go shove your head back up your *ss
And don't waste my time
I don't need your opinion
'Cause you don't know what it's like to be like me
You don't know, so keep your mouth shut
This may come as kind of a surprise
I don't like you and I don't care
What you think about what I do
And most of all, I don't need your opinion
You don't know what it's like to be like me
You don't know, so keep your mouth shut
Well finally that's the way it is
I like somethin' you don't
And you're tellin' me it's sh*t.
It's a waste of time
We can't change our opinions
I don't know what it's like to be like you
I don't know, so i'll keep my mouth ---
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Harvest Time
Okay, I promised no gardening posts for a while, but I also promised Kelly some orchid pictures, so I figured this was as good a time as any to brag about my harvest.
I didn't get anything from my garden this year except for carrots, but I did get a lot of those! Here is a picture of my harvest -- cleaned and dirty.
Total amount of carrots: 3 lbs! Not too bad for a teeny 3 x 5 ft garden.
And, now, the orchid. All the blooms are open and will probably remain so for a while. It truly is spectacular.
I didn't get anything from my garden this year except for carrots, but I did get a lot of those! Here is a picture of my harvest -- cleaned and dirty.
Total amount of carrots: 3 lbs! Not too bad for a teeny 3 x 5 ft garden.And, now, the orchid. All the blooms are open and will probably remain so for a while. It truly is spectacular.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
7th Annual Crow Pass Hike
About a month ago, Ethan and I did our annual Crow Pass hike. The trail goes from Girdwood to Eagle River, and is 22 miles of pure hellish fun. Every year, we do this hike on one day in the fall and we always invite a bunch of people, although some years we get more people to come along than others. This year was one of our best; we had 8 people on the trip, 2 dogs, and the weather was spectacular. Pictures taken by me, my friend Erica and her coworker Brian.
We learned early on that it was better to start earlier rather than later, so we always start literally at the crack of dawn -- about a half hour before sunrise.
Looking back the valley toward the trailhead.
The first 4 miles of the trail is a steep uphill to the pass. That's actually a good thing, because the next 18 miles are all downhill.
At the pass, we get a great view of Raven Glacier. It's usually pretty cold and windy in the pass, but this year it was actually rather pleasant.
One reason to do this hike in the fall is for the spectacular colors. Look closely in the picture above (click on it); there are sheep on the far mountain, just below the clouds.
On the other side of the pass, the terrain is alpine tundra for quite a ways and you get some spectacular views.
Raven Gorge just past the waterfall.
Then you cross over Raven Gorge, which includes a violent 30 foot waterfall. It's really quite amazing.
Once you get past the Gorge, the trail goes through some dense brush and into the trees and gets very muddy. It is interesting to see how the trail changes each year. Our first year, this tree was still alive and the roots were very slick. Now, it is not such a hazard. It is still representative of some of the unpleasant stumbling blocks we come across, though.
On to the most painful part -- the Eagle River crossing. I can't believe I'm actually smiling in this picture. We are a couple of miles downriver from the glacier and the water is probably 33 degrees. It is so cold that it is very very painful. Another reason we like to do this crossing in the fall is that the river is at its shallowest; it's only about knee height at its deepest point. I hear in the summer people cross it up to their chests in the ice cold water. I can't imagine it. That seems very dangerous.
The creek crossing at Thunder Gorge.
After the river, the path goes through the trees a lot more. You still get some amazing views, but not quite as many. For a while it becomes like a little obstacle course, where you have to climb up and down hills with ropes and ladders and balance your way across creeks on logs. It is actually quite fun.
View back up Eagle River toward Eagle Glacier, from the Perch.
Our Crow Pass hike is probably the most awesome thing that we do. It makes me feel more Alaskan than pretty much any other activity. I know whenever we leave this place, the memories from these hikes will be some that I treasure the most.
We learned early on that it was better to start earlier rather than later, so we always start literally at the crack of dawn -- about a half hour before sunrise.
Looking back the valley toward the trailhead.
At the pass, we get a great view of Raven Glacier. It's usually pretty cold and windy in the pass, but this year it was actually rather pleasant.
One reason to do this hike in the fall is for the spectacular colors. Look closely in the picture above (click on it); there are sheep on the far mountain, just below the clouds.
On the other side of the pass, the terrain is alpine tundra for quite a ways and you get some spectacular views.
Raven Gorge just past the waterfall.
Once you get past the Gorge, the trail goes through some dense brush and into the trees and gets very muddy. It is interesting to see how the trail changes each year. Our first year, this tree was still alive and the roots were very slick. Now, it is not such a hazard. It is still representative of some of the unpleasant stumbling blocks we come across, though.
On to the most painful part -- the Eagle River crossing. I can't believe I'm actually smiling in this picture. We are a couple of miles downriver from the glacier and the water is probably 33 degrees. It is so cold that it is very very painful. Another reason we like to do this crossing in the fall is that the river is at its shallowest; it's only about knee height at its deepest point. I hear in the summer people cross it up to their chests in the ice cold water. I can't imagine it. That seems very dangerous.
The creek crossing at Thunder Gorge.
View back up Eagle River toward Eagle Glacier, from the Perch.I never take quite as many pictures on the ER side, because I'm tired and ready to get home. This year, I wish I had taken more because I've never had such great weather for the hike. In particular, I remember the golden trees surrounding Heritage Falls, everything lit up by the sun. I am sure I will never see it as beautiful as I did this year.
This is the final path into the Eagle River Nature Center, probably about 2 miles out. You can see the red currants and high bush cranberries, with the aspens and birches above. When I get here, I know I'm finally almost home.
Our Crow Pass hike is probably the most awesome thing that we do. It makes me feel more Alaskan than pretty much any other activity. I know whenever we leave this place, the memories from these hikes will be some that I treasure the most.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Local Food Film Festival, Part III
Last night, I went to the Local Food Film Fest one last time to see Fresh. It was more like Food, Inc., in that it was better produced, and more formal, but it definitely was more positive. There was some stuff about the feedlots and chicken houses, but it also had lengthy portions talking to sustainable farmers and how they ran their farms. It was pretty cool. One guy would move his cows from field to field every day. After the cows were done, he pulled these "chicken tractors" into the field and let his chickens out to forage in the field. They produced tons of eggs. Then the field would rest, regrow, and the cycle would start again.
I remember learning about crop rotation as a 6th or 7th grader in one of my history classes. We learned how when European farmers started rotating their crops, famine and crop disease went down because the different crops would take different nutrients from (and return other nutrients to) the soil. It never occurred to me that due to the industrialization of our food system, that's no longer happening. We are growing one crop on a farm, whether it's corn or soybeans or hogs, year after year until the nutrients are depleted and the bugs become pesticide resistant. It's not a good way.
It seems like a lot of problems we're experiencing in American society, e.g. farmers going under and needing government subsidies, overuse of antibiotics creating "superbugs", etc. are due to the industrialization of our food system. This film was hopeful though, because it showed people doing something different, changing the system from the inside, and doing it successfully.
There was a discussion after the film again, but I didn't stay because I'm kind of done with talking about local food issues for now. As, I'm sure, are you. So, I'm going to hop off the soap box and I promise my next few posts will not be preachy. I have some ideas for things (and pictures) to post that I think you will find interesting. Til next time, dear readers (and remember to eat local)!
I remember learning about crop rotation as a 6th or 7th grader in one of my history classes. We learned how when European farmers started rotating their crops, famine and crop disease went down because the different crops would take different nutrients from (and return other nutrients to) the soil. It never occurred to me that due to the industrialization of our food system, that's no longer happening. We are growing one crop on a farm, whether it's corn or soybeans or hogs, year after year until the nutrients are depleted and the bugs become pesticide resistant. It's not a good way.
It seems like a lot of problems we're experiencing in American society, e.g. farmers going under and needing government subsidies, overuse of antibiotics creating "superbugs", etc. are due to the industrialization of our food system. This film was hopeful though, because it showed people doing something different, changing the system from the inside, and doing it successfully.
There was a discussion after the film again, but I didn't stay because I'm kind of done with talking about local food issues for now. As, I'm sure, are you. So, I'm going to hop off the soap box and I promise my next few posts will not be preachy. I have some ideas for things (and pictures) to post that I think you will find interesting. Til next time, dear readers (and remember to eat local)!
Monday, October 05, 2009
Local Food Film Festival, Part II
Last night I went to see Eating Alaska at the Local Food Film Festival. This movie was really different from Food, Inc. For one thing, it wasn't as formal, or as uh, glossy. I mean the editing wasn't quite as good. But also, it wasn't as depressing.
The movie wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't really about a vegetarian trying to adjust to her new husband's lifestyle, it was more like a former vegetarian takes a look at what it means to live a subsistence lifestyle, with hunting, fishing and foraging in the Great State. She talks about how dependent we are on wild food, and the benefits and drawbacks of it. It was actually pretty cool, because the movie talks about some of the issues I've mentioned here about living in AK and eating locally. I felt like someone else "got it", you know?
Another neat thing was that they actually had the director there to answer questions, along with the State Director of Agriculture. And you know, there's actually a lot of cool things happening with the local food movement up here. For one thing, the number of farmer's markets across the state has grown exponentially over the past few years. Also, the number of farms has increased, and they are trying to push forward a bill that would allow meat inspections at the state level -- which would increase the amount of locally grown meat that could be sold in restaurants and stores. Our revamped Matanuska Creamery is taking off, and in spite of the fact that some of our farms use commercial fertilizer, AK is better off in the pesticide realm because the bugs can't survive. So that's pretty cool, especially since I feel like I am in the forefront of a (green) revolution!
One more installment of the Food Film Festival tonight, and that's Fresh. It's supposed to be kind of like Food, Inc. but with a more positive spin. I thought I was going to need a positive spin after Food, Inc. and I still think it will be cool to see, even though Eating Alaska was pretty positive (and actually funny in some spots)!
P.S. Kelly asked for pictures of my orchid. I am planning to take some more and post them, probably next week some time.
The movie wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. It wasn't really about a vegetarian trying to adjust to her new husband's lifestyle, it was more like a former vegetarian takes a look at what it means to live a subsistence lifestyle, with hunting, fishing and foraging in the Great State. She talks about how dependent we are on wild food, and the benefits and drawbacks of it. It was actually pretty cool, because the movie talks about some of the issues I've mentioned here about living in AK and eating locally. I felt like someone else "got it", you know?
Another neat thing was that they actually had the director there to answer questions, along with the State Director of Agriculture. And you know, there's actually a lot of cool things happening with the local food movement up here. For one thing, the number of farmer's markets across the state has grown exponentially over the past few years. Also, the number of farms has increased, and they are trying to push forward a bill that would allow meat inspections at the state level -- which would increase the amount of locally grown meat that could be sold in restaurants and stores. Our revamped Matanuska Creamery is taking off, and in spite of the fact that some of our farms use commercial fertilizer, AK is better off in the pesticide realm because the bugs can't survive. So that's pretty cool, especially since I feel like I am in the forefront of a (green) revolution!
One more installment of the Food Film Festival tonight, and that's Fresh. It's supposed to be kind of like Food, Inc. but with a more positive spin. I thought I was going to need a positive spin after Food, Inc. and I still think it will be cool to see, even though Eating Alaska was pretty positive (and actually funny in some spots)!
P.S. Kelly asked for pictures of my orchid. I am planning to take some more and post them, probably next week some time.
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