Icewind's Ramblings

“I can see myself it's a golden sunrise Young boy open up your eyes It's supposed to be your day. Now off you go horizon bound And you won't stop until you've found Your own kind of way. And the wind will whip your tousled hair, The sun, the rain, the sweet despair, Great tales of love and strife. And somewhere on your path to glory You will write your story of a life.” (Harry Chapin) It seems like this happens more and more these days as I received the call yesterday afternoon that one of my good friends and co-workers had died of a heart attack.   We worked on multiple projects together over the last three years and traveled around Alaska with the shared goal of building water treatment plants and clinics making life better for the communities and villages we worked in. I know this last winter had taken a toll on him with his family but things were working it self out getting back to an even keel.   We talked Friday and now in another instant he...

A vision without action is a daydream. - Japanese Proverb. Sometimes it is great that my late night gremlins stay at bay and allow a relaxed beautiful experience to take over my mind and in the after thought sound sleep sneaks in for just a little while. Ice

It was an interesting State of the Union speech tonight . . . Wrap things in the American Flag, throw in our great military men & women, and add some things about unity and greatness . . . we must be doing pretty damn good right now. I'll probably blog about it but let's see . . . 3 years of promises, out of control spending on borrowed dollars, massive unemployment . . . I thought it was a fairly confrontational speech going after the partisan other side.  It made a direct reference to Mitt Romney’s 15% taxes and used the charisma of his speaking abilities to ask American for a second chance.  It seemed like he was saying I have for the most part pissed away the last three years but hey look, the economy might be in a small rebound so give it another look.  I am sure the young will get all worked up in the same vein that John Kennedy’s speaking did for a nation so many years ago.  The problem is that time period is long gone and the world is so much differ...

On the farm lived a chicken and a horse, both of whom loved to play together. One day the two were playing, when the horse fell into a bog and began to sink. Scared for his life, the horse whinnied for the chicken to go get the farmer for help! Off the chicken ran, back to the farm.   Arriving at the farm, he searched and searched for the farmer, but to no avail, for he had gone to town with the only tractor. Running around, the chicken spied the farmer's new Harley.   Finding the keys in the ignition, the chicken sped off with a length of rope hoping he still had time to save his friend's life. Back at the bog, the horse was surprised, but happy, to see the chicken arrive on the shiny Harley, and he managed to get a hold of the loop of rope the chicken tossed to him. After tying the other end to the rear bumper of the farmer's bike, the chicken then drove slowly forward and, with the aid of the powerful bike, rescued the horse! Happy and proud, the chicken rode th...

The events over the last three days in Japan have brought attention once again to man’s struggles on this planet we call home.   To the people of Japan, I hope all your needs are soon met.   My thoughts and prayers are with anyone who has been touched either directly or indirectly by this horrible act of nature. Take heed world, and know that all men are equal regardless of race or creed.   What can happen to one man or woman, nation or race can happen as well to any other.   We are all brothers and sisters in this struggle filled world and only by coming together of each and every one of us can alleviate the stress and pain of another. Our human hearts all beat the same, and we all suffer the same grief when loved one's are taken . . . to the people of the world, we should all look in our own neighborhoods, and treat everyone . . . everyday the way people somehow do when there is a crisis.   Sadly, too often it takes a tragedy for people to come together! ...

The Race restarted Sunday afternoon at 2 PM Alaska Standard Time (AST) in Willow on the frozen lakebed with another throng of people waving, hollering, and wishing well their favorite musher on to Nome. They ran through the night and into the bright sun of an Alaskan spring morning as the leaders headed into the Alaska Range and climbed their way to Rainy Pass.   Several of the mushers are on a blistering pace to Rohn checkpoint an abandoned cabin which is about 200 miles into the 1,150 mile race to Nome.   Robert Bundtzen with his 16 dogs arrived in Rohn at 5:17 PM with defending champion Lance Mackey arriving just 18 minutes later but after his time check was off again and back on the trail headed to the Farewell Burn. Other events of the day . . . 5 time Iditarod champion Rick Swenson crashed on the Happy Valley River steps leading into Rainy Pass and is considering his options after it was confirmed he appears to have a broken collarbone.   He should decide sh...

I just received word that my daughter is back in the states after her tour of duty in Iraq . Welcome Home to your entire unit who will be looking forward to reunions shortly back home with family and friends, everyone is proud of you! So much to be thankful for, I have always told my children when they left home to “return with honor” as a way for them to not get into trouble. I am now grateful to say to all of you that you have returned with Honor and a job well done. Thanks from a grateful nation. Welcome back. Ice

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my daughter who is far from home serving in Iraq .  She was recently promoted so congratulations and hope you’re home soon! We love and miss you!   I hope you have a great day! Daddy Ice

I work for an engineering and construction division of the Alaskan Native Tribal Health Consortium which is a hospital and medical company here in Alaska . Some of the engineers who I work with come up with some pretty innovative things to make our water treatment plants, medical facilities, and waste water systems do the impossible.  We make things happen in villages across Alaska and we use all kinds of equipment including excavators. Here is an interesting video of a pretty incredible feat using an excavator. It’s pretty amazing. Is it useless time wasted or a pretty amazing mix of technology and guts? Ice

Saturday evening Montana rookie musher, Celeste Davis (Bib #58), made her way under the Burled Arch of Front Street in Nome Alaska with 9 dogs on her team bringing a close to the 2010 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.   The 37 year old musher made the trek from Willow to Nome in 13 days, 5 hours, 6 minutes and 40 seconds, landing her in the Iditarod record books with the fastest Red Lantern in race history! From the Iditarod web site . . . Iditarod Traditions The Story of the Widow’s Lamp During the days of Alaska sled dog freighting and mail carrying, dog drivers relied on a series of roadhouses between their village destinations. Since these mushers ventured out in most all kinds of weather, for safety reasons they found the idea that pilots rely on, known today as the flight plan. Word was relayed ahead that a musher and team were on the trail, and a kerosene lamp was lit and hung outside the roadhouse. It not only helped the dog driver find his destination at night, but...

I was a late comer to start watching the television series Lost but once I started it has been a nonstop joy ride.  The show has a huge cast that is driven with multilayered characters and storylines.  It has been entertaining and fascinating watching the different aspects come into play and focus. The pilot episode introduced us to the main group and in later episodes through flashbacks their stories and dramas unfold before us.  It seems every one of the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 is indeed “Lost” in their lives.  Over the seasons we watch as each face their particular problem and the metamorphosis that transpires. Terry O’Quinn is one of the main forces on Lost and over the years he has appeared in some of my favorite shows, NCIS, JAG, The West Wing, Alias, Star Trek TNG as well as many movies.  He is always a joy to watch as his characters have varied widely.  On NCIS in the episode called “Enigma” he played a Marine Colonel suf...

The last several days since I came back to town it has been somewhat trying to sit down and write my blog as several weeks before I left I started watching the television show “Lost”. I missed the first season and decided I would not worry about another program to keep up with so I did not get into all the rage about how good a show this was at the time.  Since then I have been using HULU to watch programs on my computer or my Netflix to keep up with other shows I might have missed.  Lost was one of them that are much better than I had imagined. I am just starting the 3 rd season and hope to get all the way through season 5 by the time the premier of the final season starts on February 2.  It has been like reading a good Steven King novel that you cannot put down.  There are many characters with intricate storylines being developed and it seems plot twists at every turn giving that great unexpected surprise.  Some may be good and a few that we have not l...

It’s been 40 years tonight that an estimated one billion people either watched or listened to the live broadcast from lunar orbit by the crew of Apollo 8. In retrospect of that flight it fascinates me that all of the engineers and astronauts thought about almost everything on how to blast off from Cape Kennedy Florida , travel across the vastness of space to the far side of the moon but the one thing man had not considered or planned for was something that almost didn’t happen . . . an attempt for the crew to glimpse and record the most moving of sights, as their jewel of a home planet, suspended in the blackness of space, rose from behind the barren lunar horizon. No one had thought about what our world would look like from behind the moon that first time so no scheduled ‘picture taking’ was in the mission plan but by some luck and quick thinking by the astronauts . . . one picture changed how we view ourselves in the world. What I’m talking about is the ‘Earthrise...

Money will buy a fine dog . . . But only kindness will make him wag his tail. I miss my dog Levi who went on ahead back in March and part of me misses those little things when you come home from a hard day at work and I do not find him waiting. There are so many things . . . our time together on Saturdays when we would head out to breakfast regardless of how hard it was snowing or the times seeing Moose in our yard or almost anywhere in town during the winter. He was a great friend who still impacts my thoughts and I as recently found a couple of pictures I didn’t realize I had taken bring back so many fond memories. Ice

America . . . we are going into a big recession. Buy yourself something nice . . . Before it catches up to you. Ice

I watch reality shows for the express purpose of escaping from the demands of my work giving me that needed mental break and an escape to probably my somewhat less than exciting life. The crazy demands of work, raising a granddaughter at this time of life, so many things so I guess I can live capriciously watching The Amazing Race. I have jokingly told my daughter that we should apply as we both enjoy the strange things they do on the show. Now I’ll let that sink in for a second, for those of you who’ve met one or both of us. Now you can laugh right along with me but there has always been that competitive spirit in me . . . the problem solving that goes with the varied tasks on the program fits right into my normal mindset. It would be a hoot to say the least. With our zeal and the associated clumsiness one or both of us would end up maimed in some horrid way. I can just see it before the commercial break . . . trampled by a wild animal . . . maybe the victim of a zip...