Icewind's Ramblings

I used to give almost every homeless guy or gal I saw a dollar. Then it occurred to me one day that if I keep giving every homeless person I see a dollar, I will need to start asking everyone for a dollar myself. Anchorage has a fairly large homeless community. Even during the winter months there are those out on the street corners ‘pan handling’ at the traffic lights or in front of the malls or stores around town. The weather does not seem to matter much as they wear clothing needed to keep them warm from frostbite. The bunny boots, insulated bibs, and the layered garments worn by most of the homeless would work well up on the arctic slope of Prudhoe Bay or Barrow. I was involved with building a new Brother Francis Shelter several years ago and it turned out really nice. Hydronic heating in the floors and nice showers with great quality equipment and fixtures made the place a comfortable temporary home. I thought it was much better than it could have been bui...

I’ve had this post in my ready folder for a long time now as I had written this last winter during a break from bidding work and slid off for a quiet weekend. It never made it to a post but since I do not have time to write tonight with all of the activities at the hospital I figured I would pull this out of the folder and post it now. I am hoping to get back on schedule with my writing but real life gives us change ups and curve balls that take away from many things. I keep calling it a cabin, but really it was a cottage above the town of Seward , Alaska partly built over the cliff in the wooded hills that stand over the marina and Resurrection Bay . It’s called “Cabin on the Cliff” and a friend that my company does work for owns it and rents it out. Tourists keep it pretty booked during the summer months but in the past I have booked it to take a much needed break, decompress, and rest up from my busy schedule. Everything in it was modern, even the gaz...

Reality TV proves one thing pretty clearly . . . we love to see other people's misery. We take pleasure in it. It's fun for us to see people squirm and interact in sometimes combative ways with each other. If it were a flavor, people would drink it up. That's why I think Starbucks should just come out with a brand of coffee that's not trying to help anyone . . . you know . . . coffee. What a concept! It is hard for me to go into a Starbucks because I sometimes do not know exactly what all that crap is on their menu. There’s double this, latte that, where on their sign board is there just regular coffee? We are in the in-between time for another season of Survivor or The Amazing Race? I can’t wait to see the personal interactions for a new group of people. Yes, and it seems so strange that they both have been on television so long. Not much time to write tonight as I return from the hospital but there may be ...

I awoke this morning much like any other but there were things going on outside my space that had me stirring earlier than normal. My daughter was having a restless night in the hospital and when I turned on the television to see what was happening with the lead up to the Inauguration. There was the spectacle of pomp and circumstance as the crowds gathered from all over the country around the Lincoln Memorial and The Mall. It was a moving sea of people and tonight I learned that there were no incidents in Washington during this celebration so that may be one of the first visible signs of ‘Change’ to come about. There was the gathering of past Presidents and Vice Presidents who have shown the signs of age that has come with the office. They smiled and some seemed to be glad to see each other while others stayed focused on the tasks at hand. Obama`s girls looked great taking in the moment and bringing back younger children living in the White House. ...

I usually hit Costco every Saturday morning after my breakfast meeting with several friends and business associates. I normally will do one time a month that is a bulk buy of most of the things we will need during the month and the other times I’ll hit the local Fred Meyer (Kroger) for a few items to get us by. Standing in line at Fred Meyer I had a revelation. That little plastic bar you put down to divide your purchase from the next person's purchase in front of or behind you is amazing; couldn't we all use that bar in other areas of our life? That is not my stuff, says your bar. I am not buying that, it tells other people. Don't mix your stuff with my stuff. These issues are not to be confused with my issues thank you very much. I can just see it now you are in line for the movies when a guy starts telling you about his colon cancer. Boom, the bar comes down. The ex-wife or girlfriend is explaining how her new boyfriend just doesn't do ...

Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69. His line to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase. One of my favorite programs growing up and “The Robot” was always one of our fun Halloween costumes made out of cardboard boxes and other items found around our neighborhood. I guess this starts to date our lives as more of these actors are sick or have died these last couple of years. Those were simpler times . . . no ipod or xbox to occupy your time, just a stick and your imagination to fight off the bad guys and explore new worlds. Where did those times go as we advanced technology without holding on to the things that made us who we are? It was a stable day at the hospital with my daughter mostly sleeping as her medicine worked and we await more tests. She will see a gastroenterologist hopefully tomorrow for more exams to see ...

Or Neighborhood Hazard: Why the Cops Won’t Patrol Brice Street I do not have time to write today as it was a busy night and day here in The Last Frontier. My daughter spent about 10 hours in the hospital last night getting enough medication to basically knock her out and anti-nausea meds to keep her from throwing up all night. She slept a couple of hours and we returned to the hospital this morning where after another 5 hours in the ER she was admitted. Hopefully this stretch will be quicker to resolve than our six months last year in and out of the hospital and a Medivac flight to Seattle where our mystery seemingly was solved. More tests and time will tell this go round. I needed a laugh today and this story over the years always brings about a smile and sometimes the much needed belly laugh. I first read this several years ago before I started blogging and reading some of his ‘road stories’ has been interesting as well as the adventures in his travels. ...

Breakup during the middle of winter . . . Just sux! But a 50 degree day in the middle of January is pretty nice . . . Except when it is raining hard and the wind is gusting at times over 100 mph. It makes the rain feel like darts hitting you. Melting snow, some flooding in places around town, and still an ice pack on the secondary street is making it dangerous to drive for some people. I was knocked off my feet on the ice as I tried to go from my mailbox across the driveway to soak me good before going into the house. I came home tonight to discover the damage at my house. Lost the fence on one side of the hot tub, parts of the covered side deck lost a few panels and I can’t tell how the shingles fared until daylight tomorrow but as the 16 inches of snow has melted in two days there are probably a few missing now that there is no ‘snow insulation’ on the roof. I had to take several wind chimes down as they were like missiles bou...

I have been following this story in the news as it has all of the ingredients of a good crime drama or even a modern day ‘western’. It has a bad guy, greed, the trophy wife, a horse (the airplane & motorcycle), the good guys (Marshals), and a moral to the story. There are so many funny little things that come to mind and how this could easily be on television. Let’s see, bailout, golden parachute, ‘Financial Crisis: The Movie’, trophy wife for an affair, flashy “red” motorcycle, and most of all . . . poor planning. The financial crisis has led to same very interesting stories that seem ready made for television movies. There is the Madoff mess that continues to bring things to light as each day passes and now for example the case of Marcus Schrenker, an Indianapolis financial manager, who appears to have tried to fake his own death by crashing his Piper PA-46 into a Florida swamp. I’m sure the idea was for the plane to go down into the Gulf of Mexico ...