As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, it is interesting to see how the locals adapt. Mostly, they put on a sweater.
Really, that's about it - it hovers around the freezing mark for most of the day, but people continue to ride bikes all around town, start road construction work and run their outdoor kiosk businesses like it was a balmy August day of 60 degrees.
It is something to see the bikers - mostly they bundle up like slightly more fashionable Michelin men, with the comical addition of flashing lights attached to their helmets (Like modern-day propeller beanies) and other various parts of their bikes and their gear. But there they are, riding off to their various destinations in the dark of the morning and the dark of the evening... I am told you can get studded snow tires for bicycles, but possibly the person telling me that was teasing. I am notoriously gullible about things like that - I believed for an entire month that the second Van Halen lineup was going to be called Van Hagar. (Well, it sounded reasonable!) Anyway, this is all fine now that the flurries we have been getting aren't really accumulating, but it will be interesting to see what they do when it really starts snowing - as a rule, Anchorage doesn't shovel its walks and it's illegal to ride bikes in the street. Although, as I believe I've mentioned before, people basically do what they want regardless of petty impediments like laws.
Also, the kiosks. You would not believe how many coffee shacks and hot dog stands and BBQ sheds and God knows what else are situated around this city. There is a stunningly excellent Greek kiosk up the street from my work - Zorba's- no, I am not making this up. I expected these places to start shutting down when the average temperature dropped, but not so much. There they are, working away in the dark of the early morning and the dark of the evening. I would have thought the workers would be freezing in there, after all they can't be that well insulated, and they are constantly opening and closing the little windows. Then you look in, and the place is staffed by a stick-thin girl who is fortified against the cold with a sweater.
As for the road construction, well, when Art started his job, he was told Alaska has two seasons - winter and construction. As it is turning out so far this year, there's just construction. People at work have been bitterly complaining, because now they have to watch out for moose and construction workers far past when they feel this should be the case. Well, they could always just ride their bikes.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
We got some wild, wild life
Another moose sighting today! This one was maybe 100 feet from our apartment building. We were going out to do our grocery shopping, pulled out from our parking lot and ..."Moose!" There he was, walking along the road like he was heading for the health club down the block. We watched him meander down the street, then went on our way too. Sadly I did not think to get a picture.
I just recently read an interesting article in Alaska magazine (yes, there really is such a thing, and people really do read it) the gist of which is that moose are not really that scary. This was news to me, and I approached it with some skepticism. However, the facts back the author up. Up here, you get warned of the dangers of moose with some regularity. There are warning signs in all the parks, brochures in the tourism centers, all warning about the hazards of moose and what you can do to protect yourself (get behind a tree - they can't get at you because their horns get in the way, apparently.) For all this, guess how many people have been killed by moose in the past 30 years? 2! I will grant you, it sucks for those 2 people, but still, that's not bad odds. Also, this figure does not include traffic fatalities, but only cases where people were actually attacked in person by a moose.
I had actually been wondering about this, because for the past few months I have been seeing occasional stories on www.adn.com ( that is the Anchorage Daily News site) concerning some person who went up to a moose and petted it or rode it around town or some such nonsense. And you know what? Although that person's dumbness is universally remarked upon, that person never got hurt. Now, that's not to say you should be cavalier* around them (the moose). A moose is a big dumb animal that could lay a real hurt upon you. According to the pamphlets, it's not the horns you need to worry about, but rather the hooves, which are sharp and with which they can kick the bejesus out of you.
(* Art's Commentary: Ironically, we drive a chevy 'cavalier')
All of these elaborate warning have started reminding me of something. When we lived in Pa., Art and I had a minor hobby of going to commercial caves - Lost River Cavern, Crystal Cave, Indian Echo - we saw almost every one in Pa and a good percentage of the ones in Va. as well. And in almost all of those caves, the tour guide would tell you that if you touched the living part of the cave at all (the living part is where flowstone is actively creating new parts of the cave), the place where you touched it would be dead and no new flowstone would form at all and you could get fined by the federal government. Then a little later, they would tell you how the ignorant tourists of an earlier age - like about 40 years ago - would touch all over the cave and break off stalagtites and stalacmites and take them home for souvenirs. And they'd show you how much new stuff had formed over the broken bit since then. So clearly they were lying (if touching the cave kills it, why had new stuff formed over where it had clearly been touched...you see what I'm saying). And when I first figured this out, I was kind of resentful. But then I could see it. The two alternatives to their benevolent lie were: 1) let people do whatever they want, in which case they break off all the pretty bits and soon the cave is ruined and no one will come, and 2) try to enforce this impossible rule where they can touch - just touch! not break off bits - some parts of the cave, but not other parts... In which case, the tour guides, who are surely not paid enough to deal with this nonsense, will have to watch up to 30 people at once, which they will in no way be able to do, and people will do whatever they want, meaning they will break off all the pretty bits, and, well, see #1.
My point is, the moose warnings are like that. The real truth is that they are wild animals, and their motivations and actions are complicated. For the most part you are fine around them, but there are rules and signs to learn, and trying to explain is too much bother. And the Fish and Wildlife people do not want to go through the hassle of explaining moose to people, only to have them ignore all the complicated stuff after "Moose are fine unless..." All that will lead to is dead and maimed people and moose that will have to be put down because yahoos were nagging them until they finally flipped out.
Now that I think about it...Moose are scary and dangerous! Stay away from them! And I'm telling myself that, too.
I just recently read an interesting article in Alaska magazine (yes, there really is such a thing, and people really do read it) the gist of which is that moose are not really that scary. This was news to me, and I approached it with some skepticism. However, the facts back the author up. Up here, you get warned of the dangers of moose with some regularity. There are warning signs in all the parks, brochures in the tourism centers, all warning about the hazards of moose and what you can do to protect yourself (get behind a tree - they can't get at you because their horns get in the way, apparently.) For all this, guess how many people have been killed by moose in the past 30 years? 2! I will grant you, it sucks for those 2 people, but still, that's not bad odds. Also, this figure does not include traffic fatalities, but only cases where people were actually attacked in person by a moose.
I had actually been wondering about this, because for the past few months I have been seeing occasional stories on www.adn.com ( that is the Anchorage Daily News site) concerning some person who went up to a moose and petted it or rode it around town or some such nonsense. And you know what? Although that person's dumbness is universally remarked upon, that person never got hurt. Now, that's not to say you should be cavalier* around them (the moose). A moose is a big dumb animal that could lay a real hurt upon you. According to the pamphlets, it's not the horns you need to worry about, but rather the hooves, which are sharp and with which they can kick the bejesus out of you.
(* Art's Commentary: Ironically, we drive a chevy 'cavalier')
All of these elaborate warning have started reminding me of something. When we lived in Pa., Art and I had a minor hobby of going to commercial caves - Lost River Cavern, Crystal Cave, Indian Echo - we saw almost every one in Pa and a good percentage of the ones in Va. as well. And in almost all of those caves, the tour guide would tell you that if you touched the living part of the cave at all (the living part is where flowstone is actively creating new parts of the cave), the place where you touched it would be dead and no new flowstone would form at all and you could get fined by the federal government. Then a little later, they would tell you how the ignorant tourists of an earlier age - like about 40 years ago - would touch all over the cave and break off stalagtites and stalacmites and take them home for souvenirs. And they'd show you how much new stuff had formed over the broken bit since then. So clearly they were lying (if touching the cave kills it, why had new stuff formed over where it had clearly been touched...you see what I'm saying). And when I first figured this out, I was kind of resentful. But then I could see it. The two alternatives to their benevolent lie were: 1) let people do whatever they want, in which case they break off all the pretty bits and soon the cave is ruined and no one will come, and 2) try to enforce this impossible rule where they can touch - just touch! not break off bits - some parts of the cave, but not other parts... In which case, the tour guides, who are surely not paid enough to deal with this nonsense, will have to watch up to 30 people at once, which they will in no way be able to do, and people will do whatever they want, meaning they will break off all the pretty bits, and, well, see #1.
My point is, the moose warnings are like that. The real truth is that they are wild animals, and their motivations and actions are complicated. For the most part you are fine around them, but there are rules and signs to learn, and trying to explain is too much bother. And the Fish and Wildlife people do not want to go through the hassle of explaining moose to people, only to have them ignore all the complicated stuff after "Moose are fine unless..." All that will lead to is dead and maimed people and moose that will have to be put down because yahoos were nagging them until they finally flipped out.
Now that I think about it...Moose are scary and dangerous! Stay away from them! And I'm telling myself that, too.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Daylight hours
Today the sun rose at around 9 am and set at about 6:30 pm. I'm hoping for a clear morning tomorrow - meteor shower!
Alaska - the Whatever state
I'm going to pause in my accounting of our day to day adventures here in Alaska to make a few general observations.
1) Alaska is the most multicutural place I have ever been in my life. People from everywhere wind up here - I don't know quite why, but they do. On my last flight in, I was sitting between a guy from Samoa and a Russian lady. They both live here now, and both gave me advice about good places to eat. People move here from all over the world, as well as all over the US. This leads to ...
2) Pretty much anything goes here. As long as you are not hurting anyone else, you can do what you want. Really, pretty much anything is fine. Have whatever opinions you want, say what you want, just be ready to have someone who may not agree say what they want to say. You can pretty much wear anything you want, do what you want with your hair - both of which are good things for me, as I tend to not be the most fashion conscious person around. People routinely wear fur here, which would at least get you hissed at in the northeast, but which is totally fine here. Make whatever domestic arrangements you want - I have heard of just about every arrangement imaginable between consenting adults here, and no one bats an eye.
Whether you thing these are good things or bad things, that's just how it is here. I have to say, I kind of like it!
1) Alaska is the most multicutural place I have ever been in my life. People from everywhere wind up here - I don't know quite why, but they do. On my last flight in, I was sitting between a guy from Samoa and a Russian lady. They both live here now, and both gave me advice about good places to eat. People move here from all over the world, as well as all over the US. This leads to ...
2) Pretty much anything goes here. As long as you are not hurting anyone else, you can do what you want. Really, pretty much anything is fine. Have whatever opinions you want, say what you want, just be ready to have someone who may not agree say what they want to say. You can pretty much wear anything you want, do what you want with your hair - both of which are good things for me, as I tend to not be the most fashion conscious person around. People routinely wear fur here, which would at least get you hissed at in the northeast, but which is totally fine here. Make whatever domestic arrangements you want - I have heard of just about every arrangement imaginable between consenting adults here, and no one bats an eye.
Whether you thing these are good things or bad things, that's just how it is here. I have to say, I kind of like it!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thrilling Adventure!
OK, not really.
In the past week, our two activities of note were to:
a) get our library cards, and
b) go to the museum....
Read this thrilling tale of derring-do only if your heart can take it! A nurse will be stationed in the lobby to help those overcome with fright!
Anyway, Anchorage has a somewhat far-flung library system, with quite a few branches through the city and reaching into a few neighboring towns. We went to the main branch, mostly because it is near Art's job. Inside it is a nice building with a good selection of books and other assorted media. Outside, it is notable for two works of art. First is a statue of Henry Seward that looks as though he is falling...
and also a pink-lit ice scupture/structure in memory of breast cancer victims...
But now we are library-card carrying members of the community, which is more of a thrill than it probably should be.
Sunday afternoon we went to the Anchorage museum to see a display of pictures and artefacts from the Japanese occupation of Attu and the island's subsequent liberation, and of the group that did the liberating - Castner's Cutthroats!
This is the kind of display they have. It is not a big show, but it is pretty interesting. They have a video of an interview with some surviving veterans from the group, pictures from the time, items that either belonged to the guys or were recovered from the island years later. And, inevitably for the Anchorage Museum, an elaborate diorama...
All in all, a good display about an interesting bunch of guys!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Daylight hours 10/14
Today the sun rose at 8:43 a.m. and set at 6:47 p.m. That means it is dark for roughly an hour after I get to work, and stays light for about 2 hours after the workday. ( And yes, it does all revolve around me!) Fortunately there is snow on the ground, which has a high albedo, so there's still something to see by in the morning!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Getting a bead on art
Ha! It's a pun! You'll wish I hadn't written that in a minute.
Saturday I went back to the Anchorage Museum to see a bead art exhibit. OK, not that good a pun, but it was pretty interesting art. The bead art, which is from artists all over the nation, consisted of extremely elaborate jewelry, extremely elaborate purses or bags, extremely elaborate scupltures, and a few beadloomed straightforward pictures-also extremely elaborate. All were painstaking in their elaborateness, and even the things I didn't personally like were interesting to look at.
Also on exhibit right at the moment is a display of photos and artefacts from when the Japanese invaded the Aleutian islands. Don't worry, we drove them back off again! I plan to use this exhibit to lure Art to the museum with me - he is a WWII buff, so it will probably work. Also, we got an annual membership, so hopefully we will be visiting often.
Saturday I went back to the Anchorage Museum to see a bead art exhibit. OK, not that good a pun, but it was pretty interesting art. The bead art, which is from artists all over the nation, consisted of extremely elaborate jewelry, extremely elaborate purses or bags, extremely elaborate scupltures, and a few beadloomed straightforward pictures-also extremely elaborate. All were painstaking in their elaborateness, and even the things I didn't personally like were interesting to look at.
Also on exhibit right at the moment is a display of photos and artefacts from when the Japanese invaded the Aleutian islands. Don't worry, we drove them back off again! I plan to use this exhibit to lure Art to the museum with me - he is a WWII buff, so it will probably work. Also, we got an annual membership, so hopefully we will be visiting often.
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