MetaFilter posts tagged with alaska

How can one evict the homeless?

stinker — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:01:04 -0800

After a spate of recent deaths, efforts to rehabilitate homeless chronic inebriates in Anchorage now include involuntary confinement. Other city-wide efforts include a mayoral decree that established homeless camps should be scattered. In response to increased police activity and the absence of voluntary shelter options for inebriated homeless, John Martin mounted a one-man hunger strike to improve options for homeless in Anchorage (with particular concern for alcoholics), but was removed from his camp when he was found to be a registered sex offender.

Dawson to Nome Winter Bicycle Trek - 1900

ecorrocio — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:20:35 -0800

Winter 1900. You are in Dawson, Alaska. The Klondike Gold Rush is fading. Suddenly... news from Nome - Gold Strike! (on the beach of all things) You are snowed-in at Dawson, and recovering from tetanus. You have to get to Nome before the thousands of other gold seekers. What to do? How about hopping on your bike and riding the 1200 miles across snow and river ice!!! "Max Hirschberg followed a "two inch trail" with his bicycle much of the way to Nome. It was a rough trip. The journey took him about two-and-a-half months, during which time he suffered from snowblindness, exhaustion and exposure. Crossing the Shaktoolik River he nearly drowned. He was in the water for almost two hours, and during that time he lost his watch and his poke with $1,500 in gold dust. He saved his bicycle, however. Just east of Nome on the ice of Norton Sound his bicycle chain broke. A strong wind was blowing and he made a sail with his coat that he rigged on the bike. Hirschberg then sailed across the ice the rest of the way into Nome." In Max's own words. Another article.

Mulder and Scully have been sent to investigate.

SansPoint — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:09:18 -0800

A mysterious black blob of something is floating along the Alaskan coast... and it's biological. According to the Coast Guard, "It's definitely not an oil product of any kind." The strange goop even has a taste for flesh... "[S]omeone turned in what was left of a dead goose -- just bones and feathers..."

The Washington Post welcomes its newest columnist...

zardoz — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:10:54 -0800

"The Cap and Tax Dead End", a Washington Post opinion piece written by soon-to-be-former Alaskan governor and frequent media critic Sarah Palin.

Because Metafilter will Never Be Rid of Her

Weebot — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:07:42 -0800

Vanity Fair recently published "It Came From Wasilla", Todd Purdum's lengthy profile piece about Sarah Palin, her involvement with and the inside workings of the McCain campaign, and her political future. While a lot of the stuff in Purdam's article have been reported elsewhere, they haven't been reported with this much detail or with this context. Purdam documents Palin's meteoric rise in Alaska, her relationship with her fellow Alaska politicians, as well as her icy relationship with the McCain staff.

Redoubt blows its top

baphomet — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:29:21 -0800

After months of pre-eruptive activity, Alaska's Mount Redoubt has erupted 6 times since Sunday night. Telegraphing its eruption with massive shallow earthquake activity in the range of 26 earthquakes every 10 minutes, the volcano, located around 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, spewed an ash column 10km high, and is expected to continue erupting for weeks or months. The last time this massive volcano erupted in 1989 a commercial airliner was caught in the ash column, causing the engines to seize and the plane to lose two miles of altitude before the engines were restarted. That eruption, which lasted for 5 months, produced this spectacular photo. Follow this amazing event at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. Affected local residents and airline industries are bracing for the impacts of a potentially long series of ashfalls, which can irritate skin, eyes, and breathing passages, as well as damage or disable vehicle engines.

I've been from state to state, followers tailgate

cashman — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:31:13 -0800

Journalist Jill Homer writes about and takes media of snow cycling Up in Alaska. Now deputy managing editor of the Juneau Empire, she has written for NPR about being a snow cyclist. From the first cycle tour she went on in 2002 to recently when Jill said "If I don't die or worse, I'm gonna need a nap.", there is no shortage of pictures and video and accounts of scenic places encountered via cycle along the way, all over the country. There are a wealth of stories to read and pictures to look at while you sit out Winter in your home. While her current blog is active, the archive of her previous site is kind of jagged - here is somewhat of an index of that content. Over the Rocky Mountains. Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri. Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio. Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York. Colorado. Utah. Through BC to Alaska. A Realization of the American West: Childhood images of America become a reality. Over the Top: Exhausted cyclists find joy in conquering the Continental Divide. The Stages of Bicycle Touring: Long-distance riding is a progression of steps. Finding Comfort on the Prairie: Adjusting to the ever-changing landscape. Leaving My Comfort Zone: The reasons why cycle tourists travel by bike. Unspoken Divide: At 10 mph, the country becomes enormous. A Definition: Bicycle touring is everything but a once-in- a-lifetime experience. "Rules" of Touring: A few things for bike-packers to remember. Why Bike? Musings on an unconventioneal mode of travel. Leaving Cortez: Simple luxuries of getting away from the city. Art of Camping in a Ditch Making the most of where you stay. Getting Away from the Pack The difference between road bikers and tourists. The Bare Necessities What to take on a long-distance bike tour. Pure Will: Why cycle tourists can keep on riding. The Wasteland Take a ride through an urban ghost town.

Letting It Go, or Not

billysumday — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:49:16 -0800

Prominent blogger Andrew Sullivan develops an unhealthy obsession over the (lack of) details surrounding the birth of Sarah Palin's youngest child. Sullivan really, really won't let it go. Persistent rumors lead the editor of the Alaska Daily News to, "finally decide, after watching this go on unabated for months, to let a reporter try to do a story about the 'conspiracy theory that would not die' and, possibly, report the facts of Trig's birth thoroughly enough to kill the nonsense once and for all." Palin releases press release slamming the paper. Editor of paper publishes email from Palin's office along with his response. Palin complains about "bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie," says episode is, "more indication of continued problems in the world of journalism." She also thinks Katie Couric is bad at journalism, not the center of everybody's universe, and is exploiting Palin. Mike Huckabee disagrees, says Couric was "extraordinarily gentle" with Palin. Political pundits and journalists are left scratching their heads - is she crazy? Or a crazy genius? 2012 is just around the corner.

Trevor Dunbar, frozen two-mile run

jwakawaka — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:43:29 -0800

The new Internet legend. Trevor Dunbar ran a 9 min 1 sec, 2 mile time trial through ice and snow. The entire thing is recorded. And what was once in Alaska can't stay in Alaska. More details.

AP Calls Alaska Senate race for Begich.

daHIFI — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 06:14:05 -0800

One last goodbye for the memories. Theodore Fulton Stevens has lost his Alaska Senate seat.

Something's fishy in this state, too

flotson — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:22:39 -0800

Very, er, unusual voting results in Alaska. This Huffington Post article describes seriously, seriously fishy results in Tuesday's election in Alaska. The Alaska Division of Elections is reporting the lowest voter turnout in Alaska's history, for one. (Despite, for example, large increases in voter registration, primary voting, and the largest ever turnout of early voters.)

Troopergate Update

gyc — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:26:43 -0800

An independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board has cleared Governor Sarah Palin of wrongdoing in the Troopergate controversy. (Executive summary and recommendations of the report). As previously covered in MeFi, the Alaskan legislature had conducted its own investigation and had concluded that Governor Palin had indeed abused her power in dismissing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, but the independent investigator concluded that the Legislature's special counsel used the wrong state law as the basis for his conclusions and also misconstrued the evidence in the investigation.

One closer to 60

jaduncan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:00:36 -0800

Sen. Stevens (R, AK) found guilty of of seven corruption charges. Stevens was behind in the polls before this point anyway, so it looks like a solid Dem gain at this point. Palin has obviously thown him under the bus.

You Betcha

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:00:14 -0800

Legislative panel concludes that Palin abused the power of her office. A Republican-dominated Alaska State Legislative panel voted unanimously this evening to release to the public the results of the investigation into Governor Sarah Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. (Full report PDF here) Among four key points released in the report, the most significant "concludes that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that 'each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.'"

EPIC FAIL: The Astroturf is always greener on the other side.

Skygazer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:07:09 -0800

Rusty Shackleford over at right-wing anti-Muslim jihad blog The Jawa Report has posted that the Obama campaign, in an effort to portray Sarah Palin a member of the secessionist Alaska Independence Party, is engaged in a smear campaign through the use of viral video and astroturf techniques on You Tube. Shackleford claims the narrator of the smear video has worked previously on ads put out by the Obama campaign. And that “This same voice-over artist has worked extensively with [Obama campaign manager] David Axelrod's PR firm, which has a history of engaging in "phony grassroots efforts.” Shackleford also posits that the haste with which the individual who posted the video on You Tube, “eswinner,” or Ethan S. Winner, an executive for the public relations firm Winner & Assoc., removed the video proves an Obama campaign cover up in the works and that Winner & Assoc. were most likely paid by Axelrod to execute an Astroturf smear campaign against Sarah Palin. Axelrod's PR firm had a brief relationship with Winner & Assoc. from a Detroit Mayor's initiative they worked in separate capacities in 1996. Winner and Assoc, work predominately for big oil and utility companies, but also handle political campaigns and initiatives throught a subsidiary: Winner & Mandabach. Shackleford, although he presents the piece as having a high probability of being correct, admits, as his legal team advises him to, that much of it is "conjecture" and "speculation," Yet in his eagerness to expose Obama as a lowdown Chicago style political operator, he fails to discover, until he reads it here, that there is, indeed, an individual with a suspicious and compelling tie to the Winner & Assoc. public relations firm. That person is Sen. John McCain. In 2002 John McCain worked for Winner & Mandabach, a subsidiary of Winner & Assoc., to convince the people of Arizona to vote “YES” on proposition 202. One of three competing Indian gaming initiatives supported by the 17 Tribes coalition of Arizona. The 17 tribes hired Winner & Mandabach to see to it that there proposition was the one that would become law. McCain was brought in by Winner & Mandabach as a third-party player to lend his name and support to ads and mailings. The proposition was opposed by Arizona Christian groups and denied the state of Arizona $300 million dollars in annual taxes annually or imposing greater oversight and regulation. What compensation was made available to McCain for his services? “While candidates, PACs and party committees are held accountable for political funds, Indian tribes file nothing. … Disclosure only comes from those who file reports indicating they received donations from a tribe. … [T]here is no way to double check the accuracy of the reports.” McCain was twice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, in 1995–1997 and 2005–2007. (On a side note for those who know of him, Prop 202 was also supported by human rights violator and denier of constitutional rights Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Previously on Metafilter.)

from Argentina to Alaska

maurice — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:06:35 -0800

Candelaria and Herman Zapp drove from Argentina to Alaska in a 1928 Graham-Paige. They wrote and self-published a book about their trip and are now planning a similar trip across Asia. An older version of their site with more English language text is here.

Nine vignettes about the Alaskan Secession

homunculus — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:00:36 -0800

Nine Whispered Opinions Regarding the Alaskan Secession. [Via]

The Matanuska Colony: The New Deal in Alaska

merelyglib — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:47:17 -0800

The 'Dirty Thirties' saw farmers hit with the double-whammy of the Great Depression and the ecological disaster of the Dust bowl years. "In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered 203 families from the hardest-hit areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan the chance to start fresh in a new land, in a fertile Alaskan valley with the melodic name Matanuska." "It was heady, fine-sounding stuff on paper. Picked from relief rolls in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the prospective colonists knew their Promised Land was a wilderness, but the Government was going to turn the wilderness overnight into an Eden with running water, radios, a cinema. It was going to set each family up on fine 40-acre farms with every necessity, many a luxury, 30 years to pay." It didn't quite work out as well as they'd hoped.thirties' saw many farmers in the United States Most of the Colonists spent the first year in tents. Fresh food shipped from the Lower 48 spoiled because it wasn't refrigerated, sharpeners arrived before there were axes to sharpen, rifles were in short supply and when 24 carpenters arrived to build a school, hospital and permanent housing they found only four hammers. 67 families left within the first year and by 1939 fewer than 100 of the original Colonists remained. A handful of farms remain. One business begun by the Colonists, state-run Matanuska Maid dairy closed it's doors last year in spite of Governor Palin's attempts to keep it open.

Whalesong and ocean sounds

Upton O'Good — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:26:56 -0800

The Jupiter Foundation and the Whalesong Project are both organizations which record humpback whale songs from floating buoys; some of their archived recordings can be found here, here, and here. (Warning, last two may resize your browser.) DOSITS hosts a more comprehensive collection of oceanic sounds, with seals and fish along with its whales and dolphins. It also has a couple of nice sections on how animals use sounds in the ocean. (Previously.) A few more whale songs may be found here and here.

An Inconvenient Wolf

Brian B. — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:34:04 -0800

Enemy of the State. Wolves in Alaska are gunned down from the air for cash bounties, their orphaned pups often discovered by agency biologists in the field and killed. Alaskans soon vote on proposition 2 to stop the controversial slaughter that serves the interests of large game hunters.

More impressive than the Kessel Run

Cobalt — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:41:10 -0800

All across Alaska, radio operators tore their earphones from their heads, swore under their breath, and ran out to find help. The telegram in their hands read: "AN EPIDEMIC OF DIPHTHERIA IS ALMOST INEVITABLE HERE STOP I AM IN URGENT NEED OF ONE MILLION UNITS OF DIPHTHERIA ANTITOXIN STOP MAIL IS ONLY FORM OF TRANSPORTATION STOP I HAVE MADE APPLICATION TO COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH OF THE TERRITORIES FOR ANTITOXIN ALREADY STOP THERE ARE ABOUT 3000¢WHITE NATIVES IN THE DISTRICT". The call came from Nome, two degrees south of the Arctic Circle, icebound, and completely unreachable, save for a 1,085 km. overland trail that traversed several mountain ranges and seemed too dangerous to even contemplate. The date was 22 January 1925 and, with a mortality rate close to 100%, more than 10,000 people were at immediate risk of dying from diphtheria. 48 hours later, after discarding all other possibilities, a desperate plan was put in place to deliver the serum over that very trail via a relay of dog teams. Over the next 127 hours, 20 mushers and 150 sled dogs braved some of the harshest terrain on the planet to save those lives. They battled gale-force winds, ice fog, severe frostbite, ice storms, null visibility, and temperatures dragged down to -65°C by the wind to achieve what became famously known as the Serum Run to Nome. Some even became heroes in the process. The Iditarod Race was named for that trail and pays homage to the Serum Run. A recreation of the event takes place every February, for those inclined to participate.

We'd lava to stay, but...

greatgefilte — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:41:38 -0800

Stop me if you've heard this one. An Icelandic sea captain, an Alaskan reporter, and a bunch of Russian amateur radio enthusiasts try to get to a remote island in the Aleutians to set up a ham-radio outpost as part of a DXpedition (wiki). From the preliminary report, it sounds uninteresting. They landed on the island, and the resident volcano, Mount Cleveland (wiki), erupted. Solution? Bring on the vodka and big bags of croutons. (WMV or RealAudio)

A Tale of Two Airplanes

kurmbox — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:35:34 -0800

"Once Upon A Time... there were two very special airplanes that lived.... far.... far.... away on a tiny island in the Bering Sea. One was named Rivet Ball and the other was named Rivet Amber. Very few people knew anything about these two planes or the men that flew them. Even family members knew very little. That's because their mission was... TOP SECRET." (some photos and language within are NSFW) [via the wonderful PointNiner]

Around the Country in 121 Days

netbros — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:07:47 -0800

62 year old emergency physician John Hall and his wife Jane took off on a Bike Ride Around America to promote cancer awareness. They started on April Fool's Day, and completed their 12,000 mile journey around the perimeter of the country just today. Along the way they encountered hundreds of towns and thousands of friendly people, and a few not so nice. All in all, a pretty amazing accomplishment in my book.

Blogging from the top of the world

fourcheesemac — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:33:41 -0800

Dispatches from Polar Scientists -- A compilation of blogs "in celebration of the International Polar Year (2007-08), [giving] you an up-close-and-personal look at research in extreme environments through the thoughts and experiences of the scientists working there. We’ll post their photos, videos, and blogs on this site."