"What's the point of living . . ."

 Here are a some pictures from recent bike rides.  

This is a tunnel under a road I go on my main bike ride.  As I ride into the dark it takes a second for 
for my eyes to adjust and I have to be careful because sometimes there's someone sleeping in there.  The first graffiti, if it's hard to read, says, "What's the point of living if there isn't any fun?"  The second one says "I don't want to die without any scars."   (You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

Goose Lake, from this point, changes every day.  

Across the parking lot from Goose Lake is a ball field.  This morning as I came by people were carrying their folding chairs for what looked like church services.  They seemed to be sitting distanced, but I didn't really want to get closer to find out details or check on how many had masks.  

After I got home I made the frittata and as I sliced the mushroom, I loved the pattern.  

There's so much to write about, but I don't seem to have the time to say something that hasn't already been said.  This sort of post is probably better for people's mental health anyway.  

Blogging During A Pandemic [Updated]

Trying to keep current on the State's COVID-19 statistics has consumed a lot of space on this blog and time.  June 1 I added a tab up top and am doing briefer updates along with updating numbers on the chart.
Also trying to get things done around the house - almost have our taxes ready to go to the accountant.  Trying to get out early - or on rainy days - so I don't pass too many people on the bike trail, and balancing that with a knee that acts up has been tricky.  Late Netflix watching makes getting up early harder.  We have managed to limit that too evening.

Zooming with my granddaughter - never know when I'm going to get a text "May I please zoom with you and Bubbie? Now?"  followed shortly after by "I'm waiting" - takes precedence over everything else.  And my son and I are working out how to play games with my SF grandson.  He really likes things like DinoTrains on PBS Kids.

Our garden brings joy.  It's green and sitting on the deck is like being out in the woods almost.

The COVID-19 updates on the tab are like a mini-post every day already.  Plus there are so many things to post about, things important enough that I need to think carefully and do some research.

Like what does "Defund The Police" mean in practical terms?  I love the idea of focusing on the reducing the long term causes of crime rather than on militarizing the police.  And it seems like when the police presence faded away in the last few days, the protests were much more positive.  And what happens to the police let go, particularly the bad apples?  In Iraq, when Saddam Hussein's army and police were disbanded, those highly trained officers became an anti-government force - the insurgency.  I don't think we need to add more folks to white supremacist groups here, so there needs to be a plan for what to do with the old police.

And how are the 2020 elections going to work?  While Republicans cry voter fraud, the real problem seems to me to be Republican election fraud and voter suppression.  Ideally, the folks out in the streets and those supporting them in isolation will all vote and crush Trump so badly that no amount of election fraud will matter.  But I don't know that we can count on that.  

Then, there's redistricting coming up next year after the census numbers are in.  I spent three years of my life reporting on Alaska's Redistricting Board ten years ago.  I didn't intend to, but no one else was covering it.  And the tab on top of this blog on Redistricting has been getting a constant flow of visitors.  It's basically the only real serious source of material on what happened.  And since the state's redistricting website has been dismantled, many of my links to maps don't work any more.  Are we going to have mapping software this year that everyday people will have free access to so that they can make their own maps?  Will there be legislation that will make the new Board's website something that won't disappear so only those who had sway with the Board can use the information on it now?  Lots to think about.

And I've got a birthday book I'm trying to create for my grandson.  I got one done for his cousin when she was two years old and hoped he would get one too for his second birthday.  Life and an errant muse got in the way.  He's going to turn six now, so I'm way behind schedule, but I do have a number of pages in draft form.  Just getting the story to match the pictures now and then get it printed.

And I picked up Philip Caputo's Hunter's Moon this weekend - Barnes and Noble brought it out to the car - and I have to read that before my next book club meeting.

Isolation really hasn't been that great a change in my life.  Just don't see our friends at all, or go out to eat, or hike or camp.  We missed our annual May trip to Denali National Park and our grandkids won't come visit this summer.  But there's plenty to keep us busy.  Another crimp in our lives is our upstairs carpet.  It was supposed to be replaced last fall.  (It's about 25 or 30 years old now and it shows.)  But we also had the kitchen linoleum replaced with a bamboo floor.  They wanted the floor in first because it makes it easier to connect the wood to the carpet that way.  But the bamboo was delayed until November and by the time they got it in we headed out for Thanksgiving, then December again with family and then again January and February Outside with family.  By the time we got back and were arranging the carpet, COVID came.  I was sick (but couldn't get tested for COVID) and since then we've been wary of someone in the house for two days.)
The crimp comes from us having started last fall to move things downstairs so they could do the carpets.  So lots of stuff is in temporary storage downstairs, things we would like to use, but are having trouble finding.

Hope everyone else is surviving reasonably well.  I hope all the demonstrators are getting COVID tests and taking appropriate actions to minimize bad health impacts of the demonstrations.

[UPDATE June 8, 2020 12:20pm:  I totally forgot to mention blog subscriber problems.  That was one of the reasons I was doing this post.  I've had two folks contact me to let me know that they are no longer getting their email notifications of new posts.  I then realized I'm not either.  I've been trying to figure out the problem.  I'm not sure if this affects all subscribers or just those using the subscription option in the upper right hand column.  I'm working on it, but it's just one more of the many leaks I'm trying to plug in my life right now.  None serious, but just irritating and time consuming.]

Keeping Busy - The Bike, The Yard, The Granddaughter, And The Spanish Lessons

When I'm not posting about COVID-19, I'm doing other things.

There's bike rides.  Here are a couple of mergansers at the lake at the Alaska Native Medical Center.  I thought they were building a nest, but it wasn't there when I went by a few days later.

Sweeping from the deck the catkins from (I think) the aspens and the leaf bud scales from the cottonwood trees two or three times a day.  

The leaf bud scales are particularly pesky because they stick to the bottom of your shoe.  

But after reading The Overstory I think about them very differently.  In one sense they are a form of tree communication.  I'm still struggling with that concept.  Whether it's intentional or not, the catkins and the leaf bud scales are a signal to other plants and creatures.  Who reads the message and how it affects their behavior I have no idea.  At the very least it's like a seasonal clock.  And these add to the pile of organic material that feed the trees that drop them as well as other trees.  When the cottonwood cotton falls, it's

another story for me.  I'm not interested in letting them spread their seeds all over the yard, so I'll try to collect them and get rid of them.  I still think there are potential uses for the cotton, but I'm not the person who is going to exploit them.

I am, on the other hand, exploiting the dandelion leaves to cook up in my frittatas.  They're full of vitamins and there are no other greens I can get as fresh. 

I've finally attacked the Cateye Micro Wireless my wife gave me last year.  And I know why it's taken me so long.  I've figured out how to get it on the bike, but it's not sending the signal from the spinning wheel to report speed and distance.  Did I put it on wrong?  I don't think so.  Maybe the battery in the sensor isn't working.  I can switch the one from the computer that reads it to see if it works on the computer.  And then there are these instructions.  The editing on my iPhoto doesn't 'stick' so even though I turned it right side up, it still came out sideways.  There are things that you fix and then the problem is solved.  And there are things you try to fix and they keep spawning new problems.  And during a pandemic I'm not willing to go to the bike shop to ask for help.  

The bleeding hearts are up and unfolding.  You can't really say they are budding, because they are out, but they aren't quite yet into their full display.  

And then there are the wonderful chat messages my granddaughter sends me when we zoom.

And I do a daily 20-30 minutes of Duolingo Spanish.  If I ever get out to a Spanish speaking country again, I won't be as tongue-tied as last time.  It's a reasonably good program, free, and it has lots of positive reinforcement sounds.

If you click on these images they get bigger and easier to read

You have some really simple questions where you pick the write word of three choices.  They even have pictures so it's hard to get them wrong.  Others you fill in the blank with one word.  Then there are those where you translate from Spanish to English.  The one above I had to translate from English to Spanish.  If you get it right, the message on the bottom is in green.  But if you get it wrong it's in read with the right answer.

The hardest ones are when you have to listen to someone saying the sentence and you have to write what you hear.

The big blue speaker says it the way someone would actually say it.  Often this is impossible for me to understand.  But I know in English we also don't pronounce things quite as they are written, or we mumble over syllables.  I'm getting better at hearing what they are saying.  If you can't understand it, the turtle button says it slowly, word for word.  

On the bottom you can report a problem - "I think I should have gotten credit for that one" for example.  Sometimes they seem overly picky about how you write something in English.  The Discuss option lets you see what other learners are saying.  There are native Spanish speakers which is helpful explaining why it's one way or another.  Or advanced learners who might link to a site that explains the difference between two words, or a grammar explanation.   

I've committed to do 20 points worth a day. That's roughly two lessons.  They keep track.  I'm up to about 70 days in a row.  I was up to 190 days in a row, but when we traveled back to Anchorage at the beginning of March I missed two days.  You can buy (with rewards you get as you go along) 'get out of jail free' cards - in this case, if you miss a day you can use your card to keep your streak.  That's the only way I could have had such a long streak.  But this time I missed two days and had to start over again.  

Socially Distanced Bike Ride - With One Distinctly Unsocial Incident

Went for a bike ride yesterday.  Further beyond the neighborhood this time.  We're still in a serious self-isolation, so I had some concerns about being able to maintain a 6 foot separation if there were others on the bike trail.

Not far from home, I passed the Lake Otis drive by COVID-19 testing site.  Not much activity.

I wanted to check out something on Tudor and as I was getting close to my destination, someone was walking toward me in a spot that had little room.  I detoured into a parking lot to let him pass by.  As we was just past, another guy was coming across the street toward me.  I'm assuming he was homeless and high on something as he came towards me yelling, loudly and menacingly, "Get the fuck out of there" over and over again.

One thing I hadn't worried about was someone intentionally coming at me.  Until then.   There was room for me to bike out of the way and I gave up my original destination and biked back to Lake Otis and headed south.







Here's Campbell Creek from the bridge.










And the playground.  There was yellow police tape at the equipment, but it had been torn down and was on the ground.

There were lots of motorcycles on the road.  The streets are all clear of ice and snow and it was in the low 50s.  The bike path along the streets was also clear and there's enough room for people to pass with SD if both get on the edge or just off the path.  During about the four mile loop, I passed twelve others on my side of the street - four on bikes, two with dogs, and one with two little kids.

I had a neck warmer that I could pull up over my nose as a mask when I passed others.  Alaska's statistics are good, and I'm probably being obsessive, but getting in the bike ride was mentally and physically joyful, and so a little mask wasn't that much effort.

Though the aggressive guy did spook me - more after the fact than at the time.  Is someone coming up to you in a pandemic and touching you, coughing or spitting at your face, like a zombie attack?  He didn't do any of those things, but he could have.  I'm wondering if the building near the parking lot was a space homeless people are using and he just didn't want me nosing around.  I was just using the parking lot to let another pedestrian get past me, but I he didn't know that.  I just have no idea what it was about.


 I turned east at Dowling and then back north at Elmore.  Here's the south fork of Campbell Creek from Elmore.

Just past it there was a green tent hidden in the trees.  I don't like to jump to conclusions, like saying 'a homeless tent' but it's not likely anyone was doing recreational camping in that spot.

Late Spring, Short Bike Ride, Experience With Instacart, And Seeds

This was our front lawn on March 5, 2015.

This was our front lawn on March 19, 2020 in comparison.









And below was our front lawn on March 30, 2020.  (The base of the tree is in the upper left.) Just the beginning of the earth being revealed by the sublimating snow and ice.  We're way behind this year.  At least from the last ten years or so.  We've gotten used to global warming.  But this has been a winter where the temperatures were mostly below 'normal'.

The ice between the sidewalk (that I try to keep clear) and the street is still thick, but the sunny days (even when it hasn't been above freezing), and my ice-chipping are starting to make a difference.



We've been pretty good about self-isolating.  I try and get out in the back or front yard every day and tinker around. J goes for a much longer walk.  There aren't many people out and staying six feet away isn't hard to do.

Yesterday I even got the bike out and it felt wonderful.
I didn't go very far - I saw three people walking abreast ahead of me and knew I couldn't pass them with six feet, so I turned off into a parking lot and looped back home via the alley where there was still some ice and snow on the ground - I was using the bike with the studded tires.




We also tried out Fred Meyer's home delivery.  I think it would have been faster to walk to the grocery, get our stuff, and walk home, than it was just ordering on the app.  We had to look through so many items to find what we wanted.  When I tried searching it didn't find it.  But later it did.  I think you have to be in the right department when you search.    And I'm sure it will be easier next time.  Then when I was going to check out, it had something next to most items about being out of stock and were substitutes acceptable.  For some I said no.  For others I put in conditions.  I really had no idea how it would work.  But I was uncomfortable with someone making substitutes.  As it turned out, it was fine.  The shopper texted when she started and asked about substitutions before making them.  I think there was just one - one brand of yogurt for another.  And she texted about items that weren't there - like alcohol swabs.

The point was to not be out amongst people exposing either of us to the virus since we're in the high risk age group.  And since I couldn't get tested, I have no clear sense of whether what I had (the cough still lingers, but I cough less frequently) was COVID-19.   But when I saw our shopper get out of the car at the bottom of the driveway and then slowly, almost painfully, lug up the two bags to the doorstep, I felt terrible.  If she wasn't also in the high risk age group, she certainly walked like she was.

So that was my introduction to Instacart, which really hadn't been on my radar.  It was just under $10 extra for someone to shop and deliver for us.  A company called Instacart does it.  This is the gig economy and like with Lyft there are upsides and downsides.  In our case, we connected with the market, not Instacart.  And our shopper may have gotten several other people's orders at the same time.  We only live about 1.5 miles from the market.

Gigworker.com did an analysis of Instacart the other day that you can look at.  In any case, there's no the extra hazard pay for potentially getting the virus.  I left more tip than they suggested, but what they suggested was pretty low.  But you also had to add the tip when you ordered, not after the delivery.   And then there's the question of how we deal with the groceries without knowing whether anyone who touched them has the virus.  I brought the bag in wearing gloves and put the veggies that needed refrigerating into an empty drawer to let them sit a couple of days.  When I got everything squared away, I washed my hands thoroughly.

One of the things I was happy to get from the market was seeds.  

I haven't planted too many vegies in recent years because our yard is so shaded by trees.  But it seems like a good idea to have some fresh veggies one can grow oneself this year.  And I do look forward to the early dandelion leaves - an abundant freebie in our yard that can be cooked in stir-fries and omelets.   They're very high in Vitamin A and K, and we don't use any pesticides in our yard.  

With the added part of the deck, we have a little more sunshine and we can use pots.  But I think the broccoli is the only thing I can plant early inside.  The others seem like they should go directly in the ground.  But maybe I can put some seeds in pots inside and then take them out when it's warm enough.  

And here's a last picture while I was sitting downstairs in what we call our greenhouse reading a book with the sun streaming in.  It's getting crowded down there and I've been trying to make room so I can plant some seeds.  

Back Home To Snow And Moose

We left from the D Concourse at SEATAC which has my favorite art piece there - Michael Fajans' High Wire.  I posted about it back in 2008.  (Back then I wrote that it was in Terminal B, but it was definitely in D yesterday.  Maybe the old post was wrong.)

After a couple of gate changes, trying to get in as much of the impeachment hearings as I could, we were in the air above the clouds over Alaska.  It was late afternoon - Anchorage's official sunset yesterday was 3:48pm, but if it's not too cloudy, we have long twilights - and the orange glow was on the western horizon, while out my east facing window there were snow mountains.

And around 4:20pm it was still light enough to capture these exquisite winter scenes with only a slight blur from the long exposure time.  

And as we circled over Cook Inlet to land in Anchorage, the sunset was still painted on the western sky.  

I went out to get our passes for the Anchorage International Film Festival which begins tomorrow night and to pick up some groceries and just on 36th there was a moose crossing the road in the dark.

One of those amazing moments when out of the darkness you realize there's a magnificent

moose and there's no time to react.  Fortunately it was still in the oncoming lane as I passed.  No time to even take a picture, even if I hadn't left my phone at home.  What a great welcome home.




At my dentist this morning this moose was on the wall.  Not quite the same.  But I was sitting still and so was the moose.



















And I'm pleased to say that my studded tires worked like a charm as I rode over to the dentist and back.  I'm getting a little more confident that they aren't going to betray me.  Hoping my trust in them proves warranted.  I won't be reckless, but a little less cautious.









So, let's just leave this post as it is - on light subjects or art, travel, mountains, moose, AIFF2019, and biking in the snow.

Do Bike Studded Tires Really Work?

I imagine that they wouldn't be selling if they didn't work.   Riding on packed snow is one thing.  My winter bike did that fine without studs.  But now that our winters are icier, I broke down and bought a pair of studded tires.

Yesterday was a real test.  It had been drizzling most of the night onto below freezing pavement.  The ice was obvious.  Walking without grippers was a challenge.  Was I going to try out my tires on this horrible day to go to my last Pebble Mine class (there's one more, but we're going south for  a Thanksgiving granddaughter visit.)

The floor had been installed and the electricians were finishing up their second day of converting our house to the 21st century.  I was really skeptical, but Erick, one of the electricians encouraged me.  He's rode on studded bike tires one winter and he was fine.  Never fell off.  Just keep my bottom on the seat.  Skeptically, I decided to try it out on our block.

Let me tell you.  It was amazing.  There was never a dicey moment, except in my head.  I was cautious all the way, checking the brakes as I went down hills and slowing before going around corners, but the bike never wavered.  It never slid, it never let on that it was basically on ice all the way.

My aging body tells me to let up sometimes, and my rebellious inner child says, don't be a chicken, keep moving.   I know this probably isn't the smartest thing for me to do, but if I only did the safest think in life, my life wouldn't have been as interesting.

And now I know these tires are really good.  I also know they aren't fool proof.  But if they worked today, they should be good most of the time.


So, Jacob*, yes, they work.  


*comment #1


Meanwhile we're scrambling to get the house back in order after the disruptions from the workers, get things ready for our house sitter while we're gone, take care of last minute loose ends to tie up (you now have to 'join' the US Postal Service to stop your mail, but you can buy stamps online too and they say they'll let me track the incoming envelopes and packages online), and get packed.

Been Busy - New Kitchen Floor, Not Yet Winter, Fog

It's November 11, 2019.  We haven't had any snow in town.   Friday when I went to my OLÉ Homeless class, it was sunny and comfy and the snow was disappearing on the mountains.

And this yarrow flower is hanging in there outside in the yard.

A few times things have gotten frosty,

like Saturday when I rode over to UAA for the Citizens Climate Lobby meeting.







It was also foggy that day.

Our delayed winter has me not wanting to stop biking and Saturday didn't offer any problems, but I decided to break down and get studded tires for my old mountain bike that I've used for winters.
 I didn't realize how speedy [spendy] studded tires are.  It cost more than the old bike, which I'd gotten at a YMCA auction maybe ten years ago.  But if they keep me from breaking an arm, they'll be worth it.  This bike's old wheels were perfectly fine in packed snow, but as winters have gotten warmer, there are a lot more icy days.  We'll see how often I actually use the bike and how well the studs work.

This morning was probably the coldest this fall - about 27˚F outside.












Meanwhile, inside has been rather chaotic.  Our old carpet is wearing out, very noticeably in spots.
And the linoleum in the kitchen was getting yellow, so we went for a new floor there too.  But they said to do the kitche/dining area first.  And that had to be shipped up from Outside.  We've been waiting for a few months now,  It looked pretty bad from time to time as TK determined that the old floor had to go so the kitchen wouldn't be higher than the carpet with the new bamboo panels.  

But he cleaned everything up pretty well each evening.  But there are tools all over the place.









But we're almost done.  This was actually Saturday night when we put up a temporary folding table up.

This side was finished today, but there's a little more on the kitchen side where a wire to two outlets got cut.  Fortunately, the electrician is scheduled for Wednesday to do some work on our old fixtures and putting in LED fixtures and other trickier jobs.

So we've juggling things a bit this last week.  And I'm working on more film festival posts.  The documentaries look great.  I'm just going through the features and they look interesting too.  My enthusiasm has been renewed and I'm looking forward to the festival which begins Dec. 6.  There's a new AIFF 2019 tab under the header.  Good night.

Come For An October Bike Ride With Me

After snow threats the other day, we have sun again and I chucked my chores to take advantage of good biking conditions.  

I never tire of this view.  Summer or winter.

Going up Stuckagain Heights, this is, I think, north fork of Campbell Creek.

A little further and the view is grasses and trees.

And the north [south]fork from the bridge at Campbell Airstrip.  

And on the way back.  One of the few other bikers I saw today.