It's Prettier When the Sun Shines

I mentioned, in my earlier post about the frost building up on the trees due to freezing fog, that it could be better.

Today, the fog lifted for awhile, and the sun peeked out:

This was at 7°, in Anchorage. At home, it's -2.

You Can Tell The Weekend is Coming

because the weather is deteriorating, in preparation.

 

This morning's temps ranged between -2 and -8 on the drive into Anchorage. Most of the way in was in fog, just like the past two mornings. 

 

It's 5 above in town, but it also started snowing just after I arrived at work. Well, perhaps "flurrying" is a better word for it, but it's still coming down.

 

The forecast includes predictions of snow, with depths ranging from 5" to 8", to 10" to 15", depending on which guess you chose to believe.

 

But the good news is that the weekend's coming. I don't even mind using the snowthrower, since it works so well. And the "new" hasn't worn off yet, although I'd bet it will, by the time the snows stop in another three months or so.

 

* * * * *

 

I have to admit a certain sense of satisfaction while watching the President-Elect manhandling the CNN reporter during yesterday's press conference. The reporter had already asked a question, just a few minutes earlier, and then kept demanding to ask another. But Mr. Trump's style is different, without a pre-arranged order in which to call on the favorite few.

 

It's pretty clear that CNN won't be a "favorite" anytime soon. Nor should they be. Their bias is obvious. And before anyone or any agency takes issue with that statement, let's remember how a certain Barry Soetoro Barack Obama has been bashing Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, pretty much nonstop, for the last 8 years. I didn't hear any reports at all of other media outlets rushing to defend them, so pardon me if I don't feel sorry for CNN or their reporter.

Foggy Day, 3 Degrees

What does it look like after two foggy days, with temps in the single digits?

 

 

Even this picture doesn't do it justice. Everything is fuzzy with the flaky hoarfrost, and the trees just fade into the fog.

And when the sun eventually comes out, they will glisten and sparkle. It's truly lovely.

Frosty Mornings, Frosty Reception, and Unhappy Endings

Yesterday morning it was -5° F. when I drove to work, and -6 when I went home. This morning it was only -4, which isn't much different.

 

But there's a dense fog advisory in Anchorage which has left quite a coating of frost on the roads, especially bad on turns. The highway's not in bad shape at all, until you reach Anchorage. But visibility is limited, and I'm glad that the morning commute allows my truck to be fully warmed up and windows cleared, before I get into the population center. It's tricky enough to avoid accidents even when you can see where you're going.

 

* * * * *

The local newspaper-cum-birdcage liner is having fits over President-elect Trump's Cabinet selections. It's quite funny watching trying to turn themselves inside out, to come up with new ways to complain.

 

It seems they've used up most of the their invective on Sarah Palin over the last eight years, and are a bit weary. The zing is gone from their insults. :)

 

* * * * *

Speaking of the weather, it might reach double digits here in the big city today, although not in my town. But AccuHunch is predicting quite a bit of snow over the next several days. We'll see if that actually happens, as their track record is less than stellar.

 

* * * * *

And one sad bit of news to report:

 

The National Park Service has suspended search efforts on Lake Clark for a crashed plane carrying four Port Alsworth residents, after debris from the aircraft and items owned by the occupants were found on the lake.

... An extensive air search for the plane ended Thursday afternoon, when belongings of those on board were found on Lake Clark north and east of Port Alsworth. The Cherokee's copilot seat and all three of its wheels were found floating Friday.

 

A photo taken Friday, Dec. 9, 2016 shows typical conditions on Lake Clark during an unsuccessful search for a plane carrying four Port Alsworth residents that crashed on the lake Wednesday. (National Park Service photo)

 

There's No Temperature This Morning

which would explain the 0° display on my dashboard while driving in. :)

Falling temps and dense fog; that's been our weather for the last 72 hours. The frost continues to build on unheated surfaces, and bare pavement provides all the traction of axle grease.

If it weren't for studded tires, three-quarters of Anchorage cars would be in roadside ditches by now.

* * * * *

I have occasionally um, okay, regularly expressed frustration with federal over-regulation and overreach in Alaska, with the Fed controlling 60 percent of the state. Clearly, this is at odds with the concept of State sovereignty and self-determination.

There's a decent commentary in today's paper, on that topic. It's worth a look, and here's an excerpt to whet your interest:

So here we are. We are facing multiple issues of federal overreach and with the perfect governor for the job – the one mentored by the late, great Gov. Hickel. So far, we have seen no bold moves. There have been no bulldozers in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, nor have we sent teams up to ANWR to start exploring for oil.

Clearly the governor can’t really do what he claimed he would in that debate. He spoke boldly in order to garner support for the shock value of the statement. However, this is exactly what we elected Walker to do. If there is one thing we gave the governor a mandate to do, it was to stand up to the federal government. So now, Gov. Walker, all eyes are on you – what’s your move?

 * * * * *

Speaking of federal overreach, it seems railroads have been ordered to install "a federal mandate that would make improvements to train safety. It's called PTC or Positive Train Control. The National Transportation Safety Board says every rail line in the country must implement it by the end of the year."

There's one problem with this technology for commuter rail: Alaska doesn't have any. While the Alaska Railroad (owned/operated by the State, not Amtrak. They went broke trying to run it, and sold it to us) provides passenger service, it's not a commuter service, and doesn't plan to provide it.

Again

-2° at the ol' homestead, and most of the way to work, too. Some low-lying clouds kept us from getting as cold as predicted, but I see some -10 and -12 readings on the east side of town. And it's dropped to -4 now, in the pre-dawn chill that begins a couple of hours before sunrise.

And that doesn't include the dense fog I drove through, part of the way here. It's always fun when the headlights frost over, mid-drive. At least with the block heater and the blast furnace under the dash, there's no problem keeping the windows clear from the get-go.

This truck was originally sold in Fairbanks, and the heater will drive you out, if you don't turn the temp cooler after a couple of miles. The Expedition had a great heater, but it took forever to get warmed up all the way. This one is much faster.

And in Alaska, a quick source of heat comes in pretty handy. :)

Another Sunny Day (NOT!)

Today's sunrise:  10:03 a.m.

Today sunset:        3:41 p.m.

With the days so short this time of year, today's weather isn't helping:

25° and freezing fog, at 11:38 a.m.

Oh, well, the days start getting longer on the 22nd.

I can can't see clearly now ...

Visibility is down to one block, this morning. It's 12 degrees with 88% humidity and dense fog in Anchorage. The frost is another layer thick, and driving to work is gonna be even more funner than before. (g)

Update: the fog has lifted. PREDICTION: based on the pattern of the last three days, we can safely predict that it will come back with a vengeance as soon as AccuHunch declares the advisory has been canceled.

* * * * *

I see that the blood dancers in the U.S. House are talking about gun control ... sigh. Predictable. Because we have to make it more illegaler for "mentally disturbed" people to buy firearms.

Oh. Wait.

* * * * *

A friend of mine is trying to recruit hardy, self-sufficient folk to move to Alaska. There will be more info on the recruiting effort in a week or so, so check back here for more details.

* * * * *

That's about it for now. Have a great day.

Did I mention it's cold?

It's 3 degrees at my place this morning, with light snow & freezing fog. To make the morning drive just a bit more enjoyable, I discovered that the power cord for my truck's block heater has a broken wire. The lack of pre-heating meant that the defrosting of the windshield took a few miles farther before I could see well.

The swirling snow and fog on the drive turn to ice as it comes in contact with the vehicles, while you drive. Ice forms on the radio antenna, the windows, the headlights. Anything not warmed by the vehicle itself gets coated in a thick, almost gritty ice. On longer drives, you sometimes need to get out & break ice off of the corners of the windows, the mirrors and the antenna.

This picture was taken at 1:40 pm today, showing the frost on the trees. Beautiful!

5 degrees - click to enlarge

I'll need to set up a space heater to heat the wire - and my hands - this afternoon, so I can get the insulation stripped & solder in place. Trying to manipulate small tools & wires with bare fingers in single-digit temps provides rapidly-diminishing results.

We watched the eclipse from indoors, last night, until it disappeared behind the high thin clouds which continued to thicken as the light decreased. When the last sliver of the moon went dark, we could no longer see the disk at all.

Younger Daughter went outside to look at the thing, once we could no longer see it from inside. Speaking of Y.D., she has chosen to establish an on-line presence. Since she outed herself, so to speak, I will mention only that her name is Sam, and you may see her comments here or on Brigid's blog.

That's about all the fun for this a.m. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday A.M.

When I arose today, it was 7 degrees and foggy = "freezing fog" =  frost on everything = slick roads, etc. The temp has rocketed - rocketed, I say - up to 15 now, but the fog is thicker. Not really an improvement.

We've noticed more difficulty getting our heads wrapped around our return to Alaska from Hawaii, than from any previous vacation. Others who have been there tell us this is normal. Maybe. I wasn't really back into my routine until yesterday, and am still quite glad it's the weekend. It'll be nice to be back on my game when Monday rolls around.

One tragic note: the Air Force says that Capt. Jeff Haney died in Tuesday's F-22 crash outside of Cantwell, Alaska. R.I.P., Captain; our nation is poorer for your loss.

By the way, AccuHunch is guessing we'll have snow on Monday & Tuesday. It's normal to get snow for Thanksgiving week, so that's okay with us.

I haven't even looked at the news this morning, and find I don't really want to. So we're off to brave the wilds of Wally World & a couple of big box stores before the Reavers descend. Wish us luck.

More Fog with my Coffee

(click for really big)
It's 13 degrees and foggy again. The AccuHunch weather gurus say there's a dense fog advisory in place until noon ... and yet, this fog only rolled in about 20 minutes ago. Prior to that, it was merely cloudy.

* * * * *
Some poor thoughtless progressive opines, in today's letters to the editor, what a shame it is that we Alaskans spend our money "willy-nilly". Said lefty bemoans how it becomes the next down-payment on a snowmachine, rather than going to help the poor villagers in the Bush.

Willy-nilly? I'm picturing folks running around, throwing handfuls of cash in the air. Haven't actually seen that, though. For the record, I don't have a snow-machine. Or an RV, a motorhome, or any of big-ticket items such as the lefty decries. And my truck is 12 years old.

You don't get to vote on this one, Sparky; spend or donate your money the way you see fit, then kindly shut up.

* * * * *
A few years ago, Alaskans voted to shorten our Legislature's annual session from 120 to 90 days. Ever since, the legislators have complained that the sessions are now too short to do everything they wish to do.

I don't know about that; after all, during the last session, they had time to pick the official dog and official tree of the State. What could be more important than that?

(/sarc)

* * * * *
A recent article in the local puppy-trainer mentioned that most of Alaska's recent population growth can be traced to the military and their dependents. It leaves me wondering, exactly what are we building up the troop count for?

One columnist in today's paper asks if the civilian influx is really growth, or just folks who came up & couldn't find their way back out. Heh. I'd provide a link, but can't find the article now.

* * * * *
The temp has dropped to 10 degrees, and you can almost watch the frost getting thicker. I need to take a drive to find my new dentist's office, as I have an appointment tomorrow. Other than that, no big plans for the day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Another Grey Day

Another day with more freezing fog, more frost, and no sun. This is becoming a habit; I don't recall when the last sunshine hit town, but it might have been Monday afternoon for a few minutes.

I took more pictures from my favorite knoll this morning, but after looking at them, they appear identical to yesterday's, so I won't post one here. Perhaps the trees are bit more bowed by the weight of the accumulated frost, but little else has changed.

* * * * *

Alaska legislators are starting to address the gaps in the ethics law which allowed the muckrakers to paralyze the Governor's office last year. The local paper is offering the opinion that "it's no substitute for officials who uphold high ethics standards" - and never mind the facts. You know, pesky things like the fact that Governor Palin was acquitted of every single charge against her. Those with PDS (Palin Derangement Syndrome) would point out that "Sarah paid a fine on one of the charges".

Not true. She did pay to resolve an issue, but it was on a case which she herself asked the Personnel Review Board to clarify. They found she had taken an improper deduction regarding family travel, and she paid the money. It wasn't a complaint, and she wasn't fined.

* * * * *

Enough politics. It's the weekend, and while our enemy never sleeps, it's not true of individuals. We all need a respite, and too much doom & gloom without a means of rectification is hard to sustain.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by.