Great National Parks theme will be here for the next few Open threads. This one should make the Twilight fans happy–2nd Beach, near La Push Washington. La Push is home to the Quileute tribe and is part of Olympic National Park. Think Team Jacob/Werewolves.
Olympic National Park is totally neat and covers the northwest corner of the United States. It truly is mountains to the sea in a very short distance. The pinnacle of the park is Hurricane Ridge. The drive up there from Port Angeles is not for sissies. There are definitely some white knuckle heights and turns. From there you can see across the Strait of Juan de Fuca over onto Vancouver Island.
ONP includes ocean, temperate rain forests and several native tribes. Both the Ho andn Quinault Rainforests are there. The each get from 10 to 15 feet of rain per year.
Olympic National Park is a great vacation spot, especially if you take in the old lodges like Crescent Lake Lodge and Quinault Lodge which I highly recommend. Be sure and have some razor clams while you are there.
“Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year Long Quest To Explore America’s
Endangered National Parks” by Michael Lanza is reviewed in the Outlook
section of tomorrow’s WaPo.
“Rising seas will inundate at least one-third of Olympic National Park’s
seventy-three-mile long wilderness coastline.”
That is horrible! I guess this is all because of tuna boats. It couldn’t possibly be global warming or climate change?
Isn’t that the Japanese current warming up that area?
Trivia question:
The Cullens live near Forks, WA (less than 10 miles from La Push). Why did the vampires chose this place as their home?
Extra points: Team Edward or Team Jacob?
I know the Olympic Peninsula very well, and, assuming I have some friends and relatives young enough to follow my directives, my ashes and those of some very fine dogs who have been my dearest friends in life will end up there. The terrain is very dramatic so some global sea-level rise will leave plenty there in which we will frolic for eternity.
@Scout, once again, I took the car. I still love it! Those rain forests are something to behold. That would be a wonderful final resting place…for all eternity. I am even more impressed that the best friend dogs will be joining you. (and if dogs don’t go to heaven, I am not so sure I want to be there either.)
Have you read West of Here by Jonathan Evison? It is about the Olympic Peninsula and it is a very strange read. I can’t say I liked it but it is in my head like very few books have gotten in my head.
Remember the “dueling” comments?
This is interesting.
http://www.bartitsu.org/index.php/2011/12/paintball-edwardian-style-bloodless-duelling-with-wax-bullets-circa-1908/
We could do this!
@Steve Randolph
It’s established that the seas rose about 7 inches in the last hundred years, on a continual rise since 1850 or so. Is another 7 inches rise in the next hundred years going to inundate that much of a park? This is not a “political” question. I’m really curious as I am unfamiliar with that park.
Mick Jagger is finally looking old. It’s about time! He has a few canyons in his face.
What an amazing career–over 50 years!
The book review in the WaPo doesn’t say. I guess we have to buy the book and read it.
Dreaming of the razor clams. There is an Atlantic version of those, too. Highly addictive, buttered or battered.
To address CS’s question, the trigger comment was that rising seas would “inundate” 1/3 of the Peninsula’s coastline. I can’t distill much meaning out of that. Rising tides inundate 100% of the coastline on a daily basis. If the high tide mark were to move inland a few feet, that no doubt would affect something, perhaps even some people, but I doubt it would work major change in an area that, while having long flat tidal stretches, also rises very quickly behind the current high water line. If the doomsayers have a better way of explaining their fears for this part of the world, they should use it. I would get more out of a map that shows the Mean Low Water line now as opposed to where they think it would be with their projections of new sea levels.
We need to stay on top of this one. I have no idea what it means either. The book that Steve Randolph mentioned might go in to it.
I have friends who live down at the lower end of Washington State, on the other peninsula…where Long Beach and Ocean Park are. I think the storms are getting worse for them but I am not sure that is a sign of anything.
Oh this is going to get interesting. The NAACP just announced that they support same-sex marriage a week after Obama said the same. Wow what a coincidence, I guess Obama just happened to beat them to it, you think? They stated: “The mission of the NAACP has always been to ensure political, social and economic equality of all people,”. So, perhaps that should now change their name, because as much as I hate to say it, but you don’t see a lot of blacks in the news coverage of those gay parades. The black church is upset already, and this will really get them steaming. Maybe we’ll get rid of Obama AND the NAACP all in one fell swoop! I can’t wait to see the National Black Caucus members show up in their new rainbow colored suits.
SA, you aren’t that lucky. Also, the Black churches….we are speaking ministers here, not the entire congregations. I expect the white churches are responding in much the same manner if you compare denomination to denomination. Most black churches are Baptist. I expect the white baptists are humming right along on the same sheet of music, even though there isn’t a central baptist church.
http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_retreat.htm
Many of our parks are under stress.
Will there be any Glacier Park glaciers in 25 years?
Probably not and that is one reason I went out there when I did. Those glaciers are almost totally gone. That is such a fabulous park.
Did anyone else in the county know that the Fire Code had been amended to Ban grilling on balconies or any structure? I got busted by a friend of mine on FB last night when I posted a picture of me grilling on my upper deck. I honestly had NO idea of this major change to our code. I’ve seen this done my entire life in this county. Furthermore, a change like this should be published once again. The grillin’ season is HERE!! A note on the county’s website’s home page and each of the supervisors pages could go a long way to get the word out. I’m so glad the Fire Marshal didn’t have to shut my dinner down last night. Here’s an article a friend shared with me from February.
http://woodbridge-va.patch.com/articles/fire-code-amended-to-ban-grills-on-balconies
Chris, you live in a detached one family dwelling. I believe that regulation is for apartments.
Tell your friend she is full of it.
Although after what just happened to my brother, it sounds like no one should ever use a grill near a house.
Emma, how did you get natural gas hooked up to your grill? I used to have that many years ago and then the grill rusted out…another house in another time.
I see what you are saying now and I expect it would be a newspaper error. I would be furious if there were such a change made without a well-announced public hearing.
Its one thing to not allow grills on balconys in apartments. Its another to tell a property owner they cannot grill on their own deck and that a grill must be 15 feet from the house. What are you supposed to do, set a grill out in the middle of the yard.
The paper says 2 different things. One that it doesn’t matter about the structure and 2, houses are exempt.
And yes, I did see the busy bodies who busted you. typical.
That’s insane. We grill year-round, since our grill is hooked up to natural gas and is right on the deck.
I even have a metal pan that more than covers the bottom of the grill and the grill is on an old school iron patio table. Checkout my FB page. I believe my charcoal is a hell of lot safe than any propane grill with what may as well be a bomb attached to your grill.
Emma, natural gas hook up outside, how nice.
Moon, natural gas grill hook up around here. Yeah, riiight. Remember once upon a time we all had gas lights in the front yards. They did go a long well to help the darkness factor where there are no street lights. 👿
Lockerbie terrorist is dead–about 3 years too late.
From the article.. they had ANY STRUCTURE in bold type. smh
No charcoal cooker, smoker, grill or any flammable liquid or liquefied petroleum gas-fired stove or similar devices shall be ignited or used on the balconies or spaces under balconies of any structure unless approved by the fire marshal. These devices can be used at ground level if at least 15 feet from any structure.”
But it is for apartments. Houses and townhouses are the exception.
Chris, it was when I lived in the slum that wasn’t a slum. I will not say the words….I had a natural gas grill with a big orange top on it. The post rusted out and the gas had to be disconnected.
That ban is for apartments, not single family dwellings.
They did go a long *WAY* to help the darkness factor where there are no street lights.
The Sudley gas lights? Yea they did. I wonder what it would take to get one up and running again either with gas or electricity?
It would probably require an act of Congress to get the old gas lights or new electric ones back in the hoods. I still remember my mom having the last burning one on our block up until about 8 yrs ago when someone leaned on it. 🙂
Note the cause of a number of major local fires recently (including ine
multi-home Sumner Lake blaze) is the improper disposal of cigarettes
– people think they are out but they smolder and ignite material,
mulch for example, and burn down homes. Another good reason not
to smoke or, if you do, stop.
@Steve Randolph
Sumner Lake came to my mind. However, I live in a brick home not on top of my neighbor’s home in a house with siding that acts an accelerant when it catches on fire. I have sand ashtrays on my deck for the smokers that live and visit here.
@Moon-howler
Ah, seems as though YOU are correct. KUDOS!!I also, notice another resident very much in the know missed this amendment too. Hmmm.
Here’s the response I got from the FB page of Fire & Rescue.
.Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue Will get exact wording in AM…but grilling is no longer allowed on balconies or upper decks of multi residential units. We will post entire code on Monday.
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/05/forcing-parents-be-grownups
Plan to follow this and see how well it works in practice.
What do you all think? Can you force parents to be grownups?
I thought that withholding the driver’s license was supposed to support this also. I think the parents should be held responsible. However, the problem is challenged when the kid is 18 or close to age. One of the worst things to happen to discipline and parents having control of their kids was the 26th amendment. There needs to be a cooling off period or growing up period between 18 and 21. Very few young folks are adults at 18. I know I sure wasn’t.
@Chris
You’ve got to love government regulation. Cradle to grave regulation brought to us by our paternal and maternal guardians – Big Government.
Saw this article and it made me think about a discussion I was having with a friend of mine on her inability to find someone her age with a job, clean arrest record, home (sans mother or roommates), etc.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/opinion/sunday/obama-condescending-to-women.html?_r=3&smid=tw-share
http://manassas.patch.com/articles/discarded-smoking-materials-believed-to-have-caused-fire
Chris, Sumner Lake is just one example of “smoking materials” causing
a rash of recent fires in the Manassas area. Wise of you to have
SAND ashtrays on your deck.
From Press Release today by Manassas City’s Fire Marshal:
On May 17th ” Cigarette butts thrown into a plastic trashcan in a
bathroom caused a fire in a townhouse in the 9400 block of Beech Drive
in GTS…. This is the fourth fire in the City of Manassas this year
caused by improper disposal of smoking materials.”
A working smoke alarm is credited with saving the lives of the
two residents.
Is it daylight savings day where we are supposed to test the batteries?
Dick Cheney is hosting a fundraiser for Mitt Romney. This is likely the first time a presidential candidate has attended a fundraiser hosted by a convicted war criminal.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/cheney-to-fund-raise-for-romney/
Under which jurisdiction was Cheney convicted? And since he has no authority over the military, how did he get convicted? The Vice President has no authority or powers.
An international war crimes tribunal conducted in Malaysia. A military role or authority over the military is not required for a war crime. Go back and look at the 12 Nuremberg trials. Many of the accused were lawyers, bankers, publishers, diplomats, etc who helped facilitate atrocities but had no military command authority.
Jon Stewart is still on vacation. I lied. He isn’t back tonight. Cry! Waaahhhhhhhhh.
“President Lamin read, “As a tribunal of conscience, the Tribunal is fully aware that its verdict is merely declaratory in nature. The tribunal has no power of enforcement, no power to impose any custodial sentence on any one or more of the 8 convicted persons. What we can do, under Article 31 of Chapter VI of Part 2 of the Charter is to recommend to the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission to submit this finding of conviction by the Tribunal, together with a record of these proceedings, to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.”
They can go pound sand. I don’t care if it was Obama, Holder and Pelosi being found “guilty” in this kangaroo court – I’d feel the same way.
I am still trying to figure out who they are. @marin
@Moon-howler
I’m with you. I was disappointed when it didn’t come on. I would make fun of him working 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week and about every 4th or 5th week off, but it may be like teaching an hour a day, 3 days a week for 9 months a year where the time on the schedule does not reflect the amount of time and effort involved.
@marinm
How much money do we give to the UN? And someone remind me again what we get for that? And how much do we give to Malaysia each year? I bet if we pulled our cash (that we don’t have anyway), they’d be quiet as church mice!
@marinm How long before the Tribunal’s judgment on women-and-children-killing drone strikes? Don’t hold your breath.
Some pastor wants to put all the lesbians in one fenced area and all the “queers and homosexuals” in another encircled area and drop food down to them. The fences would be electric. That would be his way of getting rid of everyone gay because they don’t reproduce.
It was horrible to listen to.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/north-carolina-pastor-gay-rant-starvation_n_1533463.html?ref=mostpopular
I would do a post but I don’t want to spread filth like that.
“How much money do we give to the UN?”
Too much. Anything more than zero is too much.
Emma, are you talking about in foreign lands or domestic? I think my home defense plans should take into account local law enforcement and government drones……..
Home anti-drone missile battery for the win!!
But the HuffPo can’t WAIT to give this yo-yo some free publicity! What a piece of trash HuffPo is.
By all means, Slow, stay away for it. Stick to dailynet for the good stuff.
@marinm
Apparently police drones are next.
All I can say about that is….”PULL!”
marinm – With respect to Cheney and the war crimes tribunal, to quote Cargo from last week when he cited a blog article smearing Obama based on two outright lies (an alleged Obama student ID card that would have been made 15 years before the school used barcoded ID cards and an Obama bio written not by him but by an assistant at a literary agency that mistakenly said he was from Kenya): “Notice that I did not do anything but point out that a new controversy had arisen.” Whether you agree or disagree with the tribunal’s judgment or whether you think only our “kangaroo courts” count, I was just pointing out the new controversy (and I didn’t have to rely on lies to do it).
Gov. McDonnell and Virginia Republicans did not fare well in today’s opinion piece by ultra-right-wing hack Marc Thiessen, who wrote: “All but four of the 87 elected Republicans in Richmond voted to have the state employees of Virginia lay down their arms in the war against al-Qaeda. That is a failure of leadership. It is also a serious blow to McDonnell’s chances of becoming the next vice president of the United States.” Dems don’t need to do much when the Repubs are sniping at each other in the battle to purge the party of rationality and reason. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bob-mcdonnells-national-security-problem/2012/05/21/gIQAsXCdfU_story.html
On a lighter note, check out this typo on the cover of the University of Texas LBJ School commencement program (what a difference one letter can make): http://jimromenesko.com/2012/05/21/that-pubic-problem-again/
snicker. What a difference a letter makes.
Morris,
Where would said literary agent get that information and why is Obama’s the ONLY one that was a mistake? And why did it last until 2007? And why was his birth referred to until then too? Other sources point out that, using that same agency, the CLIENTS provided the bio information. Its too convenient to say that the agent “made a mistake.”
But I did acknowledge the card thing. I should have caught that. My statement about pointing it out was to make sure that I was not saying that Obama was born elsewhere.
Looks like those below the Lake Jackson dam will have to evacuate. This from the PWC’S Fire & Rescue FB page.
Level III emergency for the Lake Jackson Dam has been declared.
This will require evacuation of just a few people down from the dam.
NW is predicting no more than another ½” of rain through this evening.Prior to 0800 reports are we had up to 3” inches of rain in pockets of the county
I was going to say that I don’t understand those that buy or rent homes below a dam.
But then I remembered that I grew up in New Orleans. 🙂
Bwaaaahahahahahah @ Cargo
Now THAT was a good one.
If you want to see what naked desperation looks like:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ann-romney-dressage-20120522,0,5056646.story
@SlowpokeRodriguez
Slow – Thanks for pointing out the article. Interesting that while 44,000,000 Americans do not have insurance, Romney’s $125,000 horse does.
Those with serious financial interests in this country and its independence will find this interesting. Who needs competitive capital markets anymore anyway. Venture capitalism is the perogative of the government not the private sector. I trust this Treasury Department to negotiate those rates in a non-political way — don’t you?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/21/us-usa-treasuries-china-idUSBRE84K11720120521
@Morris Davis
You’re right Morris. That’s absolutely wrong. We need to socialize vet care. Animals deserve to have a right to medical care just like humans. We’ll let the tax payers pay for the horse instead of Romney’s hard earned cash.
That’s what you were implying, right? 😉
Know what really needs to be socialized and turned into single payer? legal representation. If a third party is needed for the proper utilization of our rights, then it should be provided gratis by the legal system.
http://bit.ly/KlcOJK
Those are all from Cracker Jack boxes BTW.
Maybe we can get one that says “International War Crimes Tribunal Deputy Dawg.”
I would like to take a moment and express my complete satisfaction with the election campaign stylings of Joe Biden.