Last week I finally edited the bore tide video. I realized when I looked at the picture I put up with the original bore tide post that people probably wouldn't notice the guy in the picture. So, go back and take a look - it adds some good scale to the picture. You now have the video for that, too
A little video explanation -
The tide was changing from low to high, so logic would say the current should be moving from open ocean (right) to the shore where the turnagain arm ends (left). BUT, this is a bore tide area, my friends, so things don't make sense. The tide was flowing left to right, except for an area straight across the way that was bordered by mudflats and was relatively still. All in all an odd scene.
at 0:55 listen to the ridiculous noise that comes out of my mouth as the camera goes unsteady. I hate hearing myself on video. I always watch the videos later and wish I just hadn't spoken. . . but that would have been awkward at the time, no? This noise makes me laugh, though, especially because of why I make it.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Don't judge a book by its cover.
I never did write about Valdez. . .
Another day. It deserves a day when I'm in writing mode because it was an interesting place.
So, I've been home now for a few weeks and it's the same as it ever was. My niece and nephew are huge and my kitten is now a cat, but, other than that, things are the same. I was thinking about sameness today because I saw this site where a guy has been taking pictures of himself every day since 1998. It's cool to see what a little aging and hair can do to a person's overall appearance. He should have kept a diary along with the pictures to somehow track the outside world's response to him; though, I'm not sure how he'd go about it because he'd need to track it based on something he consistently does every day. Maybe one of those mood trackers or something so he could superimpose a graph on the video? okay, getting off track here. . . It's neat to think of it in terms of approachability, because he definitely goes through phases where he seems more and less approachable. Lesson learned: don't judge people by their hair.
{{{{{{{{{{wait, I'm adding this part after the fact because the mind wheels started turning. Should we continue judging people by their hair on some level? I mean, it's what they're presenting to the world, right? We choose how we'll present ourselves to the world on a daily basis, whether we like it or not. Our outfits and hair and makeup etc, or lack thereof, all speak to the world on some level. Ever notice while people watching that friends and couples tend to dress alike? I wonder if they dress alike before becoming friends and that's partially what attracted them to eachother, or if they met eachother and then melded their styles into one? I try not to be judgmental or intimidated by people that dress differently than me. I fail at times, but it's usually in the name of being judgmental and it's usually directed at people I feel are dressed like overpriced skanks (you know, those people who are obsessed with things that they think look good just because they cost a lot of money? Newsflash ladies; dress based on the goods on your body, not the goods in your wallet.) I'll try harder to accept my skanky sisters. . . oh, wait, no I won't. This calls for one of my all time favorite quotes:
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Oscar Wilde}}}}}}}}}}
It's amazing how our minds have the ability to glaze over major change because it's happening over too long a period of time for us to perceive. It's like watching your gas guage - you can't see it, but you just know that needle is moving. Small children, kittens and other beings that are still growing are the exception, of course (not gonna go into the plant world, here). It's interesting that we need to see a picture of ourselves from years ago to realize there's been a change. Imagine the horror if you kept a person away from a mirror and other reflective surfaces for 5 years. It's like we expect time to stand still because we can't see it moving.
All of that said, I look forward to aging. I've left some great phases and awkward phases in my looks behind and I'm interested to see where my looks will go in the future. I'm also interested to know if I'm currently in an awkward or good phase. Unfortunately, I won't know for a few years. Pity.
Another day. It deserves a day when I'm in writing mode because it was an interesting place.
So, I've been home now for a few weeks and it's the same as it ever was. My niece and nephew are huge and my kitten is now a cat, but, other than that, things are the same. I was thinking about sameness today because I saw this site where a guy has been taking pictures of himself every day since 1998. It's cool to see what a little aging and hair can do to a person's overall appearance. He should have kept a diary along with the pictures to somehow track the outside world's response to him; though, I'm not sure how he'd go about it because he'd need to track it based on something he consistently does every day. Maybe one of those mood trackers or something so he could superimpose a graph on the video? okay, getting off track here. . . It's neat to think of it in terms of approachability, because he definitely goes through phases where he seems more and less approachable. Lesson learned: don't judge people by their hair.
{{{{{{{{{{wait, I'm adding this part after the fact because the mind wheels started turning. Should we continue judging people by their hair on some level? I mean, it's what they're presenting to the world, right? We choose how we'll present ourselves to the world on a daily basis, whether we like it or not. Our outfits and hair and makeup etc, or lack thereof, all speak to the world on some level. Ever notice while people watching that friends and couples tend to dress alike? I wonder if they dress alike before becoming friends and that's partially what attracted them to eachother, or if they met eachother and then melded their styles into one? I try not to be judgmental or intimidated by people that dress differently than me. I fail at times, but it's usually in the name of being judgmental and it's usually directed at people I feel are dressed like overpriced skanks (you know, those people who are obsessed with things that they think look good just because they cost a lot of money? Newsflash ladies; dress based on the goods on your body, not the goods in your wallet.) I'll try harder to accept my skanky sisters. . . oh, wait, no I won't. This calls for one of my all time favorite quotes:
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Oscar Wilde}}}}}}}}}}
It's amazing how our minds have the ability to glaze over major change because it's happening over too long a period of time for us to perceive. It's like watching your gas guage - you can't see it, but you just know that needle is moving. Small children, kittens and other beings that are still growing are the exception, of course (not gonna go into the plant world, here). It's interesting that we need to see a picture of ourselves from years ago to realize there's been a change. Imagine the horror if you kept a person away from a mirror and other reflective surfaces for 5 years. It's like we expect time to stand still because we can't see it moving.
All of that said, I look forward to aging. I've left some great phases and awkward phases in my looks behind and I'm interested to see where my looks will go in the future. I'm also interested to know if I'm currently in an awkward or good phase. Unfortunately, I won't know for a few years. Pity.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
GIRLY DAY
Toward the end of Lindsey and Courtney's visit, we decided we needed a girl day together. We also decided the day should probably involve large quantities of alcohol. (it was a rough week.) Unfortunately, everything is far away, which involves driving, so we needed a chauffeur. Enter Tyler. All I have to say is that we owe him a GIANT favor. We terrorize Tyler every chance we get, so I'm sure you can imagine how much worse it would be when he's stuck in a car with three of us for long periods of time.
We had a great day, though. First we went on a short glacier cruise, which was really cool. The blue ice is so neat. The best part of the day was probably the bore tide, though. We waited for a while, but it was definitely worth it. When we arrived the water was flowing backwards at a pretty good rate, which was quite strange. Tyler and I spent the time trying to figure out the processes involved in the backwards flow and ultimately bore tide. We still don't know for sure what the cause is, but I don't think anyone does so I don't feel all that bad. It was still a good conversation topic, though. When we finally spotted the bore tide we were definitely ready for it because we had waited quite a while.
We talked with a local woman who educated us a bit. She was obviously intelligent, so it was interesting to talk to her. I found one thing she said to be notable - and exchange I'll remember for some reason. We were talking about the moon phase and how it ties in with the tides and Tyler chimed in that he hadn't heard of the influence the moon has on the tides and was genuinely interested in what we were saying. The woman (whose name I never got, because I'm a jerk like that) instantly asked what he studied in school and when he said engineering, she said, "that explains it!" She then proceeded to say something to the effect that engineers are too busy looking at the ground to notice the sky. I suppose engineers are always looking down and while physicists busy looking up (or even at things they can't see and that don't exist. Ha! but that's another topic altogether). Anyways, she informed us that this bore tide was a pretty good one. It was, too!
Watching the tide come in all at once is definitely an experience. It roars through, right over the current, which is running against it (which I'm sure has something to do with the creation of the tide). I took some video, which I'll edit down and post. I started filming too early, so it's far too long and boring. The best part of the video is the guy that's standing on a rock that ends up covered once the tide comes through. He was very close to getting smashed by the wave, but managed to jump out of the way at the last second. Quite a sight.
All in all we got our girl day and had a great time. When we got back my dad and Brad had dinner cooked for us, which was a welcome treat. Here's a picture of us proudly drinking in public on girl day:
I'm not sure why I'm sending a Captain Morgan style cheers to the mountains, but so be it. I love Courtney's expression in this picture, and how can you not love that there are squirrels on Lindsey's hat? That was a great cheap find at the Fred Meyer in Soldotna.
We had a great day, though. First we went on a short glacier cruise, which was really cool. The blue ice is so neat. The best part of the day was probably the bore tide, though. We waited for a while, but it was definitely worth it. When we arrived the water was flowing backwards at a pretty good rate, which was quite strange. Tyler and I spent the time trying to figure out the processes involved in the backwards flow and ultimately bore tide. We still don't know for sure what the cause is, but I don't think anyone does so I don't feel all that bad. It was still a good conversation topic, though. When we finally spotted the bore tide we were definitely ready for it because we had waited quite a while.
We talked with a local woman who educated us a bit. She was obviously intelligent, so it was interesting to talk to her. I found one thing she said to be notable - and exchange I'll remember for some reason. We were talking about the moon phase and how it ties in with the tides and Tyler chimed in that he hadn't heard of the influence the moon has on the tides and was genuinely interested in what we were saying. The woman (whose name I never got, because I'm a jerk like that) instantly asked what he studied in school and when he said engineering, she said, "that explains it!" She then proceeded to say something to the effect that engineers are too busy looking at the ground to notice the sky. I suppose engineers are always looking down and while physicists busy looking up (or even at things they can't see and that don't exist. Ha! but that's another topic altogether). Anyways, she informed us that this bore tide was a pretty good one. It was, too!
Watching the tide come in all at once is definitely an experience. It roars through, right over the current, which is running against it (which I'm sure has something to do with the creation of the tide). I took some video, which I'll edit down and post. I started filming too early, so it's far too long and boring. The best part of the video is the guy that's standing on a rock that ends up covered once the tide comes through. He was very close to getting smashed by the wave, but managed to jump out of the way at the last second. Quite a sight.
All in all we got our girl day and had a great time. When we got back my dad and Brad had dinner cooked for us, which was a welcome treat. Here's a picture of us proudly drinking in public on girl day:
I'm not sure why I'm sending a Captain Morgan style cheers to the mountains, but so be it. I love Courtney's expression in this picture, and how can you not love that there are squirrels on Lindsey's hat? That was a great cheap find at the Fred Meyer in Soldotna.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Fishing
Alright, I've been slacking for a Really long time now. I'll try to touch on some of the more notable events, talk about my ride home and possibly talk about life after Alaska in the coming days. I was going to go chronologically, but I've decided to go categorically. Today's category is fishing.
During my last week in Alaska, I FINALLY went fishing. Yikes, took me long enough. There I am in an area that's world famous for fishing and it took me months to get around to going. When friends visited two of them wanted to go fishing. I figured it would be as good a time as any, so I went along. I'm so glad I went because it was a lot of fun and very educational. I've never been much of a fishing expert. Apparently when it comes to fishing, I'm very lucky. I'm sitting on a boat full of men and I'm reminded of the difference even further when Alan, the guide, points out to the men where they can pee and then tells me to let him know if I have to go and he'll head to shore. Screw that, I skipped the morning coffee and drank minimal water. HA!
For a little background: On the Kenai the limit on Silvers (a type of Salmon) you can catch in a day is 2 per person. The salmon come through in runs, meaning they all head up the river at once, so if you want to catch a certain type of salmon, you have to go during a specific few weeks. There are two runs of each type of salmon every year, except the pinks. The pinks are the dreaded pests on the river. They only run every other year and I'm pretty sure it's one run, not two. When I first read about the types of salmon before I went to Alaska I thought I was lucky to be going there on an even year when the pinks run. I should have kept reading. They aren't as big so they have a smaller meat yield. The meat texture isn't as desirable. They also show up at the same time as other more sought after fish and Unfortunately they're a lot more aggressive than the better fish. All this means that 9 times out of 10 when a fish bites, it isn't the kind you want!
I caught my limit by noon and none of the guys reached their limit by the end of the day! HAHA!! I was so sped, though. I just didn't know how to fish, so it was a shame I was the one getting all the bites! I enjoyed myself, though. At one point in the beginning I was still trying to figure out the best way to hold the rod while reeling and a fish jerked my rod and I was in an awkward position so the rod ended up between my legs and it was a big mess. I was so sped, let's just leave it at that.
Although I hit my limit, the guys caught some impressive fish that I'm almost certain would have dragged me into the river. It wasn't king season (another type of salmon - the really big ones. The season was over, meaning you can catch it, but it can't leave the water, so any catching of those out of season is purely for sport.) but we ended up catching two beautiful kings. One was 60lbs and the other was 50lbs. They were HUGE. The one Dervid caught was the biggest and it put up a hell of a fight. Every time he got the fish close it would freak out and practically empty the line off of his reel, meaning he had to fight it in over and over. It was quite a fish. He had bloody knuckles and everything from the fight. Talk about sport. . .
HALIBUT FISHING
I went halibut fishing on my last full day in Alaska. It was a great time. I asked the guide I used for salmon fishing if he knew of any guides and it turned out he was going fishing with a guide friend on the day we wanted to go anyways, so we jumped in on that trip. I went with Dervid (my dad, for anyone that hasn't caught on to that whole deal yet) and Ed. Ed got really seasick and was throwing up and fishing at the same time. It was awesome. I've never seen someone power through seasickness like that. What a champ. I actually came very close to getting seasick and that's very uncharacteristic of me. I'm not one for motion sickness. I was fine until I had to go to the bathroom, which was below deck, which meant I couldn't see the ocean, I could just feel it. That spelled trouble. I took a pill and was fine a half hour later.
I was lucky once again, getting bites constantly. Halibut fishing is a HUGE workout. HUGE. the ocean floor was 200ft down, which is where the halibut hang out. This means we had at least 200 feet of line we needed to reel in each time we needed new bait or caught something. Did I mention there was a 3lb weight on the line, also? yeah. My arms were jelly the next day. I must have caught 100 sharks, too. Little jerks! They were sort of cool looking, though, because they had pastel green eyes. Both my dad and Ed caught HUGE skates. My dad caught the biggest one I think I'll ever see. The guide said it was easily a few hundred lbs. It was a monster. I'm sure you can imagine the disappointment when we realized it was a skate and not a halibut. ohhhhhh well.
Halibut is a great fish for eating, so it was well worth the work! It's incredibly light in flavor and the texture is very meaty. We brought about 50lbs home to Mass, but we probably had a good 30lbs more up in Alaska that we left behind. Fish anyone?
During my last week in Alaska, I FINALLY went fishing. Yikes, took me long enough. There I am in an area that's world famous for fishing and it took me months to get around to going. When friends visited two of them wanted to go fishing. I figured it would be as good a time as any, so I went along. I'm so glad I went because it was a lot of fun and very educational. I've never been much of a fishing expert. Apparently when it comes to fishing, I'm very lucky. I'm sitting on a boat full of men and I'm reminded of the difference even further when Alan, the guide, points out to the men where they can pee and then tells me to let him know if I have to go and he'll head to shore. Screw that, I skipped the morning coffee and drank minimal water. HA!
For a little background: On the Kenai the limit on Silvers (a type of Salmon) you can catch in a day is 2 per person. The salmon come through in runs, meaning they all head up the river at once, so if you want to catch a certain type of salmon, you have to go during a specific few weeks. There are two runs of each type of salmon every year, except the pinks. The pinks are the dreaded pests on the river. They only run every other year and I'm pretty sure it's one run, not two. When I first read about the types of salmon before I went to Alaska I thought I was lucky to be going there on an even year when the pinks run. I should have kept reading. They aren't as big so they have a smaller meat yield. The meat texture isn't as desirable. They also show up at the same time as other more sought after fish and Unfortunately they're a lot more aggressive than the better fish. All this means that 9 times out of 10 when a fish bites, it isn't the kind you want!
I caught my limit by noon and none of the guys reached their limit by the end of the day! HAHA!! I was so sped, though. I just didn't know how to fish, so it was a shame I was the one getting all the bites! I enjoyed myself, though. At one point in the beginning I was still trying to figure out the best way to hold the rod while reeling and a fish jerked my rod and I was in an awkward position so the rod ended up between my legs and it was a big mess. I was so sped, let's just leave it at that.
Although I hit my limit, the guys caught some impressive fish that I'm almost certain would have dragged me into the river. It wasn't king season (another type of salmon - the really big ones. The season was over, meaning you can catch it, but it can't leave the water, so any catching of those out of season is purely for sport.) but we ended up catching two beautiful kings. One was 60lbs and the other was 50lbs. They were HUGE. The one Dervid caught was the biggest and it put up a hell of a fight. Every time he got the fish close it would freak out and practically empty the line off of his reel, meaning he had to fight it in over and over. It was quite a fish. He had bloody knuckles and everything from the fight. Talk about sport. . .
HALIBUT FISHING
I went halibut fishing on my last full day in Alaska. It was a great time. I asked the guide I used for salmon fishing if he knew of any guides and it turned out he was going fishing with a guide friend on the day we wanted to go anyways, so we jumped in on that trip. I went with Dervid (my dad, for anyone that hasn't caught on to that whole deal yet) and Ed. Ed got really seasick and was throwing up and fishing at the same time. It was awesome. I've never seen someone power through seasickness like that. What a champ. I actually came very close to getting seasick and that's very uncharacteristic of me. I'm not one for motion sickness. I was fine until I had to go to the bathroom, which was below deck, which meant I couldn't see the ocean, I could just feel it. That spelled trouble. I took a pill and was fine a half hour later.
I was lucky once again, getting bites constantly. Halibut fishing is a HUGE workout. HUGE. the ocean floor was 200ft down, which is where the halibut hang out. This means we had at least 200 feet of line we needed to reel in each time we needed new bait or caught something. Did I mention there was a 3lb weight on the line, also? yeah. My arms were jelly the next day. I must have caught 100 sharks, too. Little jerks! They were sort of cool looking, though, because they had pastel green eyes. Both my dad and Ed caught HUGE skates. My dad caught the biggest one I think I'll ever see. The guide said it was easily a few hundred lbs. It was a monster. I'm sure you can imagine the disappointment when we realized it was a skate and not a halibut. ohhhhhh well.
Halibut is a great fish for eating, so it was well worth the work! It's incredibly light in flavor and the texture is very meaty. We brought about 50lbs home to Mass, but we probably had a good 30lbs more up in Alaska that we left behind. Fish anyone?
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