Icewind's Ramblings

Its cold too early in the season for these temperatures so it seems somewhat strange that everyone has pretty much shut themselves inside the home hunkered down to stay warm.   Blankets are about and coffee or hot drinks available. It’s still in November and we have had several days with below zero temperatures and for the last several days’ extreme high winds which lower the wind chill factor and also create many problems with flying debris downing power lines.   There have been many communities without power from the winds. People seem to be staying indoors and not heading out to the normal activities usually seen on a weekend.   The area downtown is mostly barren of the throngs of people who hit the several restaurants and bars close to Town Park.   There are still the few protesters who have a small wind break tent to take turns warming up between carrying signs along 6 th Avenue. Internet activity is quiet tonight as I think many people are just happy for...

This from the Wall Street Journal’s report from tonight’s NBC’s magazine “Rock Center”, Jerry Sandusky says: “I shouldn’t have showered with those kids”. I am one not to rant too much but this really pisses me off to no end.   He states he is innocent but he did do some of those things.   Now I am not sure where you come from or what your daddy taught you but anytime that urge hits you to shower or touch children comes over ones self it is time for you to put a gun in your mouth as God intends for you to be culled from the herd of those of us who never entertain those thoughts.   Anytime there is no major flag or siren going off in ones head as they are about to do something so terrible to an innocent child, you have lost your moral compass and to my way of thinking the compass was never there in the first place or there is no way to redeem oneself to get pointed back on track.   Rehabilitation should not be an option as it has repeatedly shown that more often t...

I saw in today’s paper that there were over 50 vehicles in the ditches around Anchorage yesterday.   It doesn’t surprise me as it seems people making the drive out to the valley do crazy things while making that commute back and forth every day.   It snowed about 3 inches yesterday and again last night.   It lingered into the evening hours but late last night things were getting back to normal when temps started falling again and yes, it finally HAPPENED!!!!. I was shocked to see things had gone crazy here. While out running errands on my day off for Veterans Day this dick in a truck pulled out in front of me on the way home as it has been snowing all day and everything was slick and people were upside down in the ditches.   I was able to avoid and miss this nut but couldn't quite catch up to him to get a license plate number.   Luckily I do keep a camera with me for job pictures so I was able to get a quick picture to help me find him again.   If anyo...

In this place, Alaska, I fondly call the ‘far north’ today is one of those very lucky days that doesn’t come around very often.   I awoke and saw the light dusting of snow from my window as I poured my first cup of coffee.   Winter is finally settling in here in Alaska so it was still dark outside.   A Friday morning like many others, I showered and ready to head out for a cup of coffee. It is Veterans Day and I will take time off from work.   It seems somewhat funny to me now as I think about how things have changed over the years.   We are just working stiffs who proudly served and take the time off remember our brothers in arms who have fallen or are serving this country right now on battlefields across the globe. There is something else we share. We are all military veterans. The purpose of Veterans Day is to honor all veterans. So how does this country honor them? By letting the veterans, the majority of who work in the private sector, spend the day a...

End of October The sleepy brown woods seem to Nod their heads to the winter. Yellows and grays . . . Paint the sad skies today. Woke up one morning The wind through the window Reminded me that Winter Was just ‘round the bend. Somehow I just didn’t see It was coming . . . It took me by surprise again. Lyrics by Dan Fogelberg These last couple of weeks before the snow fell this is pretty much what it felt like here in Anchorage. Ice

There is a funny scene in the Tom Cruise movie, “RiskyBusiness”  where Tom Cruise has his father’s Porsche 928 out for a drive with his “girlfriend” and sinks it in Lake Michigan.   I had an incident Thursday where I felt much the same way as I realized I was not where I thought I was and ended up falling through the ice on an ATV with a passenger, with me.   Well sort of the same way as T.C. minus the girlfriend and the Porsche. It’s quite funny now writing about it but in the darkness, cold, and blizzard conditions it was not.   I would not rank it in the ‘deadly serious’ category as no one was in real danger (or seemed to be) but gives me another reminder that the arctic can be deadly if not prepared or ready for anything. Here’s what happened starting the night before the early morning incident. It was nighttime in Kipnuk Alaska, the coffee pot was almost empty and the conversation between several of us was pretty well finished.   I had arrived earlier...

All you philosophers out there . . . Tell me if you know, Why we have to lose/hurt so much . . . In order for us to grow? Ice

It’s that time again for the Fall classic of America’s pastime, the World Series. Many people from young boys to men collect baseball memorabilia from cards to baseballs and programs from the games.   With some people it may be an obsession in all of the collectables gathered over the years.   There are businesses that swap and trade items and even gatherings for autographs of your favorite players. Some people never outgrow that childhood obsession but I must say . . . If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards, you're probably a loser.   If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols.     If you're a grown man . . . they're pictures of men.   Enjoy the games but be careful of how you display your treasures! Ice

For my friend who is dealing with this issue, lol. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night? Have an Ice Day!

Some of the best things about life I learned from Lonesome Dove. Great movie, excellent characters, and tells a story about how to live life. Augustus McCrae “It ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living.   I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live.” I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less. “Yesterday’s gone and we can’t get it back.” “I'm sure partial to the evening,' Augustus said. 'The evening and the morning.   If we just didn't have to have the rest of the dern day I'd be a lot happier.” Hat Creek Cattle Company Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is . . . he's hard to stop. Biscuits “I never knew you to get excited about anything except biscuits maybe . . . and whores!”    Captain Woodrow Call to Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. Whores L...

It was one of those mixed days here with it starting out early this morning with a cold dark sky out as I left for work.   The day progressed with the usual things of ordering items for several different projects and coordinating between people, tools, and materials. Lunchtime brought with it a quick trip to Peggy’s Place a local eatery which is not up on my list of ‘good’ places to eat.   When we left there and drove by Merrill Field I could see the production crew which is in town right now making a movie, “Frozen Ground” based on the 1980’s serial killer Robert Hansen.   They were preparing two helicopters for a scene in the movie.   One was a police helicopter and the other was the camera platform copter.   About an hour later I went to our shipping and receiving yard and the film company had just taken off in front of me.   The two helicopters flew in close formation with the camera chopper trailing slightly and to the left of the “police” helicopte...

One survey found that 10% of Americans thought Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. Have an Ice Day!

As I enter the bathroom and lift the toilet seat I notice the intense light entering through the window projecting from the sun.   The light shines upon the toilet illuminating its presence as if it were a work of art.   As I begin to urinate I focus on the inner side of the toilet in order to decrease the amplification and splashing of my pee.   As I watch the pee enter the toilet I also notice an abundance of off-spray collecting upon the toilet’s seat underside, hinge, outer bowl sides and floor.   How disgusting I think to myself, all this pee everywhere.   From this moment on I began to wonder about all the pee from myself as well as my co-workers, glazing itself to the toilet. Cleaning and disinfecting the toilet may be one of the ickiest exercises of the home or apartment and one never knows who is cleaning these at work.   Someone must because there are new rolls of toilet paper there every morning.   For many of us, this can be quite disgu...

The Small Bus does not go that far down this road. That’s a great line, especially if you deal with people.   It is a Southern term that sometimes brings smiles to some faces or possibly frustration to others.   I guess it depends on the situation and how much exposure you have with the other person.   Sometimes you come in contact with someone . . . it may be at the mall or in a social gathering and possibly a co-worker or other individual you observe over a period of time from which an opinion is formed. You cannot quite put your finger on it but something about the person is just not exactly right.   The elevator has left the basement but has not reached the top floor . . . and may never reach it. I’ve said many times over the years . . . “He or she is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.”   It goes along those same lines. “The lights on, but no one is home” is another way to express the frustration of dealing with someone who cannot understand what you...

I was thinking about this the other day while sipping on a Corona out at the lake cabin. Scott and I had several and it was not long before the empty bottles were scattered here and there as we worked getting things ready for winter. It was not long before it was time to clean up and start gathering up our trash and the empty bottles.   It dawned on me that there really is no 'away' to throw things.    No matter what you do or which way . . . away does not exist. When you throw something 'away', you are actually throwing it away from yourself . . . but towards something else.   Think about the concept of “away”.   Away from who or what we might ask?   Away from you maybe, but closer to me.   Away from me maybe, but closer to someone else.   Away from what . . . a ‘thing’ or object?   You can't throw things away, because away does not exist. So don't let me hear you say you are going to throw it away, because you can't.   And you ...

My best friend went through a divorce just over a year ago and at the time there is that feeling of trying to get it right with how you respond to the news. The traditional way upon hearing that word, “Divorce” is the response, “I’m so sorry” . . . But sometimes depending on the people’s circumstances divorce might just be a happy occasion . . . after all, no one hears of a happy marriage ending in divorce.  Leading up to it might have been bad for a time but it’s over now so is it a happy occasion?  Different people probably look at it from many vantage points. Here it is a year later and I am going through it after many years together and it comes with many strange and sometimes challenging expectations. I’m older now so the prospect of getting into the ‘dating’ mode comes with mixed feelings.  The mind plays strange things with one’s self . . . you see that pretty lady and the ‘ego mind’ quickly jumps on your shoulder and whispers (or shouts) in your ear . . . You...

They are starting to take flight all over Anchorage signaling colder weather to come. It’s September now and in the parks, lawns, and bodies of water all over town the Canadian Geese are scrambling for that last meal before they take flight and head south.  When I returned to work at lunch time it reminded me of several scenes from the movie Fly Away Home . The resident geese are taking over the skies around here and are they noisy!  There they were several hundred in various groupings in their awesome “V” formations.  You can’t help but look up as they pass overhead (hoping they won’t crap on you or your car as there are so many of them).  You can see the white turd bombs falling from the formation it is an almost funny sight as long as it is not zooming earthward towards you.  These Canada geese have begun their journey southbound from the farther north land locations for the coming winter.  It’s amazing how they use the “V” shape formation so they c...