Our Record Snow Still Evident at Powerline Pass

We quickly learned when we moved up here 35 years ago from LA, that if you were going to wait for sunshine, you'd never get out for a hike.  The summers gradually got warmer and longer, but last summer and this summer it seems like we've gone back to the old days.  So despite the heavy cloud cover on the hillside, I set out for an evening hike.  Well, it was 9:30 pm when I left.  (At least the light and dark patterns remain constant, even if the weather doesn't.)



But Glen Alps was not socked in when we got there.  While summer is a little delayed there, the wild flowers were out.

The lupine.

The dogwood.

Humor me.  I'm constantly experimenting with photoshop.  I know this looks like a birthday card for an elderly grandmother.  The yellow is a paintbrush, the blue a wild geranium, and I don't know the white [is Valeriana officinalis, Valerian. (thanks Anon in comments)]

Powerline Pass

This landscape never ceases to awe me.  The sweep of greens surrounded by snowy peaks is always breathtaking and just a 20 minute ride from home.

I played with curves in Aperture (and distorted the colors wildly) to highlight the snow chute you have to negotiate to get to the Ballpark.   That's a lot more snow than I've seen there in recent summers, reflecting our record snow fall this past winter and the record cold for the first half July. 

And my walking companion last night reminds me all the time that the powerlines are the most interesting part of the walk.

I guess the clouds and drizzle kept people away last night.  Even in the drizzle it was magnificent.  Here's the parking lot when we got back, almost 11pm.  A stark contrast to the nights when cars are parked down the road because the lot's full.  For those relatively few times in a year, I think it would be cheaper and better to just have a shuttle bus come up from Hillside instead of bulldozing out more parking lots.  After all, the parking lot looks like this, probably 90% of the time.  (I know, there would have to be a parking lot down below.  Just throwing it out there as something to chew on.) 

ReStore - Habitat For Humanity Thrift Shop For Building Supplies

I had to bike to Central Plumbing on International Road Monday and since the sidewalk on International is more theoretical than real I decided to go exploring down side streets on the way back.

I immediately discovered Restore - the Habitat for Humanity's thrift shop for building supplies.  Their website says

The Habitat ReStore is a retail business which sells donated new and used building materials, electrical fixtures, appliances, kitchen cabinets, and more - at greatly reduced prices.
We accept new and used building materials in 100% working condition from remodeling jobs, business closeouts, contractors and builders.  
The income generated from a ReStore is used to support Habitat's mission of building homes for families in order to eliminate substandard housing in Anchorage.  

The part that really caught my eye was this line:

"Since 2004 the ReStore has diverted over 6 million pounds of product from the Anchorage Landfill."

But Monday I didn't know any of this.  As I rode past I decided to check it out.  




There's all this stuff sitting around.  A lot of it had sold stickers.  We're trying to get rid of stuff, not buy more stuff.  It says they will pick up things.  I like that idea a lot.

There was also an inside section.






For someone who wants inexpensive stuff and is willing to refinish or paint, this is a great opportunity.  It's been there since 2004.  Am I the last person to know about this place?

But now I have found it,  all because I was on a bike, not in a car.  

The proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity.

Here's the link to their guideline for donations. (It's a PDF file)







So,

• there's lots of inexpensive stuff
• much of what they have would have gone to the landfill otherwise even though it's perfectly reusable
• you can get rid of stuff here
• it all benefits a good cause

Just so you know, recycling is chic.  Check this page at the New York Times:

At this year’s International Furniture Fair, pieces made of industrial waste contrasted with luxurious items like deep-cushioned sofas that provide infantile comfort.

 After reading the whole article, there's a lot more luxury than landfill in the Milan exhibit.

80s to Teens - LA to Anchorage

Sunday was in the 80s, even at Venice beach.  In this picture it was almost 5pm and was still warm with a lot of people on the beach - some even going into the chilly (55˚F -14˚C) ocean.

People were paying $9 to park their cars at 5pm to see the sunset.  The traffic was backed up for blocks.  The sort of situation when those of us on bikes feel a little smug.  The picture is from the Venice Beach parking lot at the end of Rose right at the Venice Boardwalk.  You can see the shadows are getting long as the sun is getting low.

In addition to the traffic, the gas prices were high.  (We saw $4.09 as we drove home from the airport in Anchorage.) I took this picture from the bus stop Monday (still warm but with clouds) as we waited for the afternoon bus to the airport.  (Yes, you can take the bus, but apparently you can't walk into the LA airport.)

And while there is free wifi in the Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco airports, I couldn't find it in LAX.

Lincoln and Rose

When we got to the airport, the good news was that we had been bumped up into first class.  I mentioned when we went down to LA that we had flown so much last year that we got MVP cards.  This MVP card has more benefits than I realized.  I didn't do anything, they just changed our seats. It also gets us on the plane earlier and gets us into a shorter security line. I'm not a hierarchical person - I don't like it when people are given status that suggests some people are better than others - because most such divisions tend to be superficial or even bogus.  And I don't see why people who have more money or fly more should get to cut in the security line.  Security is required by the US government and money shouldn't give you privilege for required government functions.  But that's a post of its own one day, maybe. 

On the connecting flight to Anchorage they put us in the exit row so we had lots of leg room.  And we checked in some baggage which we don't normally do.   But our 10:20 pm flight left about 40 minutes late and when you're due in at 1am, that gets to be a long day.  Then when we arrived we had to wait for a plane to be de-iced before we could get to the terminal.  Here we are sitting, waiting for 10 minutes, with a bit of snow still coming down. 

One reason we've checked in baggage - other than we were gone 5 weeks and had 2 bags each free check in with the MVP (and as others mentioned last time with the Alaska Club that any Alaskan can join free), is Alaska's 20 minute baggage guarantee. In the past we've waited for an hour for our luggage. Well, it was clearly more than 20 minutes this morning - and it was now 2:30am Anchorage time, 3:30am Pacific time - so I asked the baggage folks and they gave me the coupon for $20 off our next flight (or 2000 miles) that they offer if your baggage is over 20 minutes in coming.  While they apologized over the loudspeakers about the slow luggage, they didn't tell people to come get their coupons.  It does pay to read. 

Then there were no taxis outside.  Another 10 minutes until enough showed up to handle everyone.  And we were home at 3am or so. 

I've got a lunch meeting today, the garage door wasn't working when we got home, and the internet wasn't either. (The Internet I've obviously solved.)  So we have lots of catch up to do after our long absence.  Now I've got to shovel the driveway.  But yes, it's good to be home.

Digging A Hole To Save Energy

Here it is on a sunny day as the dust slowly settled.

It began with  this job listed on our energy audit:

78.0 points

4 Stars

Increase:
2.5 pts, 1 step
Install R-25 rigid foam board to interior or exterior side of wall. Does not include cost of coverings.

Location - Below- (part or all) Grade Wall: Garage masonry, West + North

[I'm reading this laughing because there were several different recommendations about the garage masonry and I see this says R-25, but the others say R-30 and that's what I ended up doing.]


We had the audit at the end of last December.  You have 18 months to complete as much as you can to get a rebate from the state on the work done.  The limit is $10,000, but in our case, since we are starting from an initial rating of 3 Stars plus, our maximum rebate is $7,500.  We didn't feel much pressure.  We went to an Alaska Housing workshop, which we thought was going to tell us how to read the audit chart.  We should have read the notice better.  It was about heating.  It was well done and we learned a lot, but heating was not on our recommendation list.  But they got us to the right place - the Research Information Center at Boniface and Tudor - for the workshop on how to read the audit report.  (All the workshops are free and held frequently, see the links.)

So, I decided to do the garage walls, lower part, which are uninsulated cinderblock.  The choice was interior or exterior.  We went to the insulation workshop.  It wasn't nearly as good as the heating workshop and while it pointed out issues for me, it didn't answer the questions.  But I did decide that since R30 means 6 inches of board, that would take up a lot of space inside, I would do the exterior for the west wall.  We don't go to that side of the house much and there was a long neglected flower bed and a cement path.  (The path is so covered by old leaves and soil you can only see parts of it.)

So I started to dig.  But I still had questions.  Which foam boards should I use?  What adhesive did I need to glue them together?  Against the house?  How deep did I need to go?

I looked on line but couldn't find my specific answers.  I called the Alaska Housing Authority, but they just recommended more websites.  The sites may have had the answers, but I couldn't find them.  I went to Lowe's to see my options.


This board is R-3.9 per inch, so it would need 7 or 8 inches (and boards) to get to R-30.  There was a blue board that was R-5 per inch. I asked about adhesive and the stockman pointed to this foam, but said this wasn't his expertise.

I had an email in to the energy audit rater and called a friend who'd done the same project a couple years back.  He said no glue - the dirt will hold the foam against the house.  And to get a metal cover.  He sent me to Combs Sheet Metal.  But I was going to hold off on that until I knew exactly what the measurements would be.


I took things easy.  No more than an hour a day so as to not mess up my back.  Actually, the digging was like going to the gym and it felt good.  But it took some time at that pace, but it also let me get more information.  The energy rater called me and added some foam on the bottom horizontally.  He said 2 feet, but I didn't have that kind of room, so we settled for 18".  And he suggested 6mil plastic for vapor barrier.  I'd thought some sort of plastic cover between the boards and the dirt was a good idea already.

I decided to check out Home Depot and the prices were about the same as Lowe's and so I got my foam there.  This was R-5 per inch in 2" boards.  The trusty van had room for it all. 





You can see time passing - now there are leaves on the ground.  But the hole is getting deeper.   In the third picture, the horizontal foam is on the bottom - with some dirt on top - and the vertical foam against the wall.  I was starting to have trouble on one end with cave-ins as I dug.  But the foam was down and it was time to work on the 6" foam against the walls.  Lots of measuring and cutting.

The 10/21 shot has the metal cover on it.  That was amazingly easy to arrange.  They just needed to know the dimensions and the color and it was ready the next day.  I have no idea what it should cost, but at $160 didn't seem that much.  But what do I know about sheet metal prices?  Nothing.

In this picture you can see the first panel.  I got the 2 feet X 8 feet X 2 inch panels.  But the hole was 35 inches deep after the horizontal panel went on the bottom.  So I wrapped up three panels here and then I had to cut the others to go on top to fit to the edge of the siding.

Here I've got all the panels - two 8 foot packages of 3 and one 7 footer.  Then on top of those the same thing but only 12 inches instead of 24.  And this picture has one of the pieces of metal to cover it.  There's a lip that goes under the siding.  They come in 10 foot sheets, so I had two of those and this smaller one for the middle.

Now all that is left is to fill in the dirt.  And it hasn't snowed yet.  I got a fair amount in yesterday.  I think I'll just fill it up to where the metal goes and then in the spring I will add some compost and manure.  The sun's just come out so I'll go out and finish this off.  I'll add the pictures to here later.

So now I've got to do other things on the energy rater's list. This was the west wall of the garage, and I still have the north or back wall of the garage. I'll do that on the interior side because it's much harder to dig in that   part of the yard.  And now that I've read more carefully, I only needed 25R, so it won't take up as much room - 5, not 6 inches. And the front is two small panels that I might just do inside as well. They'll be relatively easy. And then there are other things to get us up to the next level.

It's nice to do something you've never done before and get past the obstacles of ignorance.  The only hangups were knowing what I needed to do and what stuff I needed to buy.  And this should save us a little on heating costs and certainly pay for the materials in a couple of years.  And I have a much better understanding of how all this works now.  And I'm pumped to do other projects around the house I have no idea how to do.

UPDATE 9:40pm:  Here's what it looked like when I finished today.  I might leave it like this until spring when I'll put in some compost and manure or maybe I'll even do that now if there's enough time before it snows.

Jobs, Oil Taxes, North Dakota, Norway, Spin, and Redistricting

When Gov. Parnell was pushing (I guess he still is) his $2 billion tax cut for the oil companies I went to the Anchorage hearing on HB 110. 

Two of the key mantras recited by those testifying in favor of HB 110 (and nearly all of the pro folks identified themselves as working for oil companies or oil industry support organizations) were:

1. We need this for jobs for Alaskans (variation:  I want my children to be able to find a job here and stay in Alaska)
2. All the jobs are moving to North Dakota where the tax environment is much better for the oil companies.

This was pretty suspect at the time - everyone seemed to be reading from the same cheat sheet.  Now we're getting more information that suggests things are a lot less black and white than those who told us it was crucial for Alaska's (perhaps they just meant their own) future.

Jobs for Alaskans Mantra

Back in April already, Patti Epler reported at the Alaska Dispatch that Parnell's Labor Commissioner said jobs were increasing and that a large proportion of the jobs were going to non-Alaskans.  Of course, anyone who has flown to Anchorage from Seattle on a Saturday or Sunday knows those planes are full of Outsiders flying back to their oil jobs.  You can't help but overhear them discussing the hassles of commuting between the Lower 48 and Alaska.

The Anchorage Daily News had an article last week on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee hearing in Anchorage recently where the Senators expressed:

"dismay over a state Labor Department finding that more than half of the new hires in Alaska oil and gas jobs during the third quarter of 2010 weren't state residents."

The oil companies quoted in the article claim that most of their employees are Alaskans [possibly they are now, but were they when they were hired?] and the problem is with contractors.  But the point is the claims were about how important the tax cut was to preserve Alaskan jobs - they didn't distinguish between oil company and contractor jobs back at the hearings.

North Dakota's Tax Environment is Taking All Our Jobs

The reason people gave for the oil boom in North Dakota was a more favorable tax structure. They didn't say anything about the fact that it's a lot easier to get oil from North Dakota to the other Lower 48 states. But I noticed recently an article that suggests North Dakota's low unemployment level and general good economy has a lot to do with their state bank.

In a response to a New York Times blog article that claims North Dakota's low unemployment is based on oil, Ellen Brown in Yes! magazine compares North Dakota to other oil states:

Oil is certainly a factor, but it is not what has put North Dakota over the top. Alaska has roughly the same population as North Dakota and produces nearly twice as much oil, yet unemployment in Alaska is running at 7.7 percent. Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming have all benefited from a boom in energy prices, with Montana and Wyoming extracting much more gas than North Dakota has. The Bakken oil field stretches across Montana as well as North Dakota, with the greatest Bakken oil production coming from Elm Coulee Oil Field in Montana. Yet Montana’s unemployment rate, like Alaska’s, is 7.7 percent.

She goes on with further comparisons and points out that North Dakota has weathered the housing crisis better than other states.

North Dakota is the only state to be in continuous budget surplus since the banking crisis of 2008.

To my knowledge, Alaska has also been in 'continuous budget surplus' during that time. So that does suggest we need to check Brown's data carefully.


But she finally concludes

If its secret isn’t oil, what is so unique about the state? North Dakota has one thing that no other state has: its own state-owned bank.  [emphasis added]

Access to credit is the enabling factor that has fostered both a boom in oil and record profits from agriculture in North Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota (BND) does not compete with local banks but partners with them, helping with capital and liquidity requirements. It participates in loans, provides guarantees, and acts as a sort of mini-Fed for the state. In 2010, according to the BND’s annual report:

The Bank provided Secured and Unsecured Federal Fund Lines to 95 financial institutions with combined lines of over $318 million for 2010. Federal Fund sales averaged over $13 million per day, peaking at $36 million in June.

 This is a point that the strongly 'anti-socialist' supporters of the $2 billion tax cut haven't mentioned about North Dakota.

Talking about 'socialism' the supporters of HB 110 never talked in much detail about Norway.  But a gaggle of Alaska legislators went there this summer to study their oil policies and there's a long Alaska Dispatch story on Norway's oil policies, including this:

In addition to depositing all of its oil and gas-related tax revenues into its savings account, the Norwegian government owns 67 percent of the shares of Statoil, a publicly traded oil and gas company based at Stavanger, just north of Oslo at the center of the nation's petroleum industry. All of the government's Statoil dividends go into the savings account. [emphasis added]

The article also compares Alaska's Permanent Fund with Norway's equivalent fund:

. . . [O]ur $40 billion fund is not big enough to replace oil when oil eventually runs out. Norway's fund is big enough and getting bigger at a rate of $50+ billion per year! Norway estimates the fund will top $3 trillion before oil and gas runs out. That is enough to "pay out" $120 billion per year at their 4% pay out limit and still keep the fund inflation proofed. Calculate what that amount works out to for each of 700,000 Alaskans. Stunning. And to think they made their first deposit into their fund in 1996 while we started ours in 1977.

HB110 and the Alaska Redistricting Board

The governor (and we have to remember that before becoming governor he was a lobbyist for Conoco-Phillips) didn't get his bill passed in part because the state Senate is split 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats and their coalition wouldn't pass the bill.

But the key change that the Republican dominated (4-1) Alaska Redistricting Board accomplished was to put two Democratic Senators from Fairbanks into the same district, to put Democratic Senator Al Kookesh into the same district as Republican Senator Bert Stedman in Southeast, and to give Anchorage Democratic Senator Bettye Davis a much more conservative district.  Knocking out just one Democrat from the Senate makes it an 11-9 Republican majority.  And possibly enables a new version of HB 110 to pass in the future.

Seattle Shots

Some pictures I took while in Seattle.

Walking up into Seattle from the underground light rail station.

How do you know your dog was stolen?  I guess if it had a collar and tags and it was spotted with someone else.  Later we saw the same dog on a Lost poster.

Lunch at KauKau's

In the bus tunnel

 

Ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle

Waterless Urinal

Graduation at UW Botanical Garden

I was reminded of the Berlin football fans as I saw all these people with green jerseys and a number with scarves.  But they hadn't had near as much beer as the Berliners and they weren't chanting for their team.  Looking now, I see it ended a 2-2 with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Clean Trails - Thanks to the Muni and State

I've complained in the past when gravel added treachery to biking around Anchorage, but this year both the State and the Muni were out early cleaning the trails.  I noticed it first on A and C Streets.  One day, the trails were full of gravel, and a few days later it was gone.  Lake Otis and Providence/36th got cleared.  Even Benson and Northern Lights have gotten attention. Thanks!  [I checked out the bad trail link above and it has pictures of very sandy Dimond trails.  Dimond was still pretty bad this year when I was out there a week ago. Midtown and downtown are good.] 

With $4+ gas, a lot more people are likely to discover that biking is a reasonable alternative to driving for many of their short (under 4 miles) trips.  You have to think a little differently - I like side streets with little traffic, you aren't going to make big Costco purchases by bike, but you can park right at the door without paying.  And you get your exercise as you save gas and reduce Anchorage traffic. 

I challenge everyone to think about which trips they can do just as well by bike instead of car this summer.  And for those within 5 miles of work, get your bike out, maybe even serviced if you haven't used it a while, do a short recreation ride or two to get your butt and other muscles back in shape, then target at least once a week riding to work.  It's ok to push the bike up a hill at first.  Eventually, you'll feel great when you make it all the way pedaling.

Next Friday (May 20) is Ride To Work Day.  They even have registration and teams - I guess they've found people need some peer pressure to help them do this.  Whether you do it officially or just on your own - try it.  From the Muni Health Department website:

Anchorage Bike to Work Day 2011 is Friday, May 20th!

Back with the features you've come to know:

• team registration
• drawing for tee-shirts among registered teams
• Bike to Work Festival (May 6th)
• our generous community sponsors 
• on-line survey
• trail count on Bike to Work Day morning

The League of American Bicyclists named Friday 'Bike to Work Day 2011' and many Anchorage events will take place that day. But more than half the cyclists in 2010 also rode another weekday, so ride to suit your schedule!

Link to Bike to Work newsletter

Should You Drive to a Clean Energy Conference?

I guess if you use an clean energy vehicle

Thursday I took the bus to the conference - I had a kink in my knee and decided not to bike. There was standing room only on the bus coming home!  

Friday I decided to bike and after an unfortunate encounter with a curve, bump, and a muddy spot, I got back on the bike for the rest of the way to the conference.


The Denaina Center bike parking is pretty limited.

 

I had to park in the overflow parking.  The first tree was full even.

There was one vendor who had bike stuff, but there was no one there, so I can just give you some photos.   

There are lots of great new bike light options, but these  makes it possible to put a light on without any tools.  But there was no one there, so I couldn't ask who sells these in town.  (The first five I found online for the commuter set  were all priced in £s - starting at 24.99.)