Fairbanks - The City I Live In

History according to Palin

2011-06-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

Erline the Super Wide Track Skandic

2011-03-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

It is snowmachine season in our little corner of the world and I have been out putting down some miles. I recently broke out an 85 mile trail into the Brooks Range with some friends of mine and it was quite an adventure. By "broke out" I mean there is now a 40" wide trench of snow in the middle of nowhere that you can follow until it snows or blows in and 8 weeks from now it will just melt away into nothing. But for now it is a super highway to happiness.

Of course there were many breakdowns and setbacks along the way. The first day one of the guys froze the shock on his track which collapsed his suspension. We flipped the machine on its side and within 5 minutes there was a crowd of villagers around us poking around and offering advice. A few minutes later we towed it into the fire hall's heated garage, pulled the bad shock and replaced it with a new one that was offered up on the spot. Village hospitality can be amazing. We hit the trail and my SWT Skandic Erline took on the mighty task. I bought Erline 2 winters ago from a man named Earl T. Boone. So I christened her Erline and we have formed a rocky partnership. She breaks down every 100 miles, which is a lot. But her track is 24" wide and most other machines are 16" wide so when she is running I love her dearly. She mashes snow with wild abandon.

Two days into trailbreaking a massive blizzard descended upon us. It snowed 18" and blew over 50 mph for 2 days. We were forced to turn around and brake trail back to the village of Bettles. It was a bitter defeat and on the way home Erline broke a ski leg which is the main vertical support for the ski. I patched it with an alder branch and we limped home through neck deep powder.

Luckily I found a dead snowmachine in Bettles that resembled Erline and I was able to patch her back together. I assembled another trail breaking crew and we headed back for another assault. 14 miles later Erline seized her engine. We dragged her into the fire hall and me and a buddy (who happened to have a rebuild kit available) put new pistons, cylinders and gaskets on Erline in the middle of the night and had her running by 5:30am. At 10am we hit the trail again. This time there were 3 other snowmachiners with me and a sled dog team of 14 dogs. We made it 30 miles the first day, broke out another 15 miles the next day, then 10 more miles the day after that and finished 25 miles of trail on the 4th day. Driving Erline through fresh snow is like wrestling a couch. It wears you out and produces a lot of bruises.

True to form Erline broke a steering arm on the return trip and I had to wire her skis up with a tree branch once again. I'll fix that today and she should be good to go again.

Fresh snowfall in Fairbanks

2011-02-10T07:50:00.000-09:00

I shoveled the driveway again last night because a nice afternoon flurry dumped another 3 fluffy inches in Fairbanks. I don't meditate but I realized last night as I scooped by the light of my headlamp the repetitive motion takes over and I totally get into it. The driveway is looooooong and getting narrow now, but I think I'll make it without having to hire any heavy equipment, of course if I do it just means we got more snow which would be great.
Shoveling also gets me away from the computer where I have been following the 2011 Yukon Quest a litle too closely. My refresh screen button is wearing out. May have to pilgrimage to Circle this weekend and watch it up close and personal.

A Road to Nome - Seriously?

2011-02-01T15:38:00.000-09:00

The past decade has been full of financial ruin and huge mistakes, this would be the biggest in my lifetime.

For the complete "plan" go here.

Time To Revoke Sarah Palin's Alaska Resident Status

2011-01-08T12:26:00.000-09:00

This morning's sunrise was gorgeous and all of Fairbanks was lit up beautifully. The Alaska Range was crystal clear in the distance and 4 inches of fresh powdery snow covers the trees from yesterday's storm.

Then I turned on the Interweb to find much murder and mayhem and not a lot of good things happening in Arizona right now. Apparently a gunman tentatively identified as Jared Laughner opened fire on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and a number of people near to her.

Not so coincidentally Sarah Palin had this woman in her crosshairs. Literally. Now I have never been a big fan of this lady but when your rhetoric mirrors violent actions there is something wrong with you. If I was boarding an airplane and said to the pilot, "Terrorists should do something about your level of service." I can bet TSA and possibly the FBI would pull me off that sucker and I would be on NPR and CNN just before they shipped me off to GITMO.
While I seriously doubt the half governess will face such justice I would like to propose that her Alaska residency be stripped. This would not only send a nice message to the world that Alaskans don't tolerate raw hatred, it would also keep more caribou safe from her bad shooteriness.

Surfing the net

2010-12-01T22:28:00.001-09:00

The temperatures have dropped below the smiling face of the zero on my thermometer the last few days and the flatlanders are seeing -30F and perhaps a -40F in a faraway tundra pit somewhere, but I live in the hills now and such discomfort is below me. Literally. The coldest we have seen here on Moose Mt. is about -20F. I still chop wood in my flip flops in -20F. Taint nuthin'. But cold weather means more time inside for a lot of folks which means more internet and that's what I'm installing lately and business is picking up while my fingers are falling off.

I install for Hughesnet and Alasconnect as a private contractor and most of the time folks are pretty happy to see me. They either have no internet and can't wait to finally return to civilization, or they have been worked over bad by the local big name providers and are tired of high prices and terrible service. ACS seems to get the most four letter words, so thanks for the business lads. Because I'm on the fringe of Fairbanks I do see my share of NO TRESPASSING signs, so far no shotguns.
Today I installed Hughesnet at a straw bale house off Cripple Creek Rd. Gorgeous house, beautiful view and lots of chickadees to keep me company. The owner invited me in for pork sandwiches and coffee at lunch time which was much appreciated.

Take care of your installer and he will take care of you.

Stolen Truck Alert

2010-11-21T12:16:00.001-09:00

This blog is about Fairbanks and my view of Fairbanks so I have no choice but to re-post this from the list of Craig:

----------------------------

Sat. Nov. 20th at approx 9-9:30 pm my 04 Dodge Ram lic # XCUZME was stolen from Lathrop st. I'm offering a $500 rerward for truck or contents. Truck had storage drive with photos of deseased loved one on it. If you have any info please call Christie at 322-1396 or if you see my truck please call
Fairbanks Police Department at 450-6500.

--------------------------------

And to whoever stole this truck I know the Karma Fairy is coming at you like a sniper round. Stealing photos of the deceased or diseased is pure evil.

Allstate done me wrong

2010-11-14T08:41:00.001-09:00

This week in the world of me I am launching an "expose the bad guys" campaign against Allstate for insurance shenanigans. I try not to call shenanigans unless it's truly necessary, and alas, in this case it is. Read my rant for the whole story here.

I also played some rec hockey this week for the first time in a very long time. When I went to get my hockey bag two hornets nests and about a pound of squirrel food fell out of my neglected gear. It seemed to smell a little less terrible though and my skates sharpened up just fine. The aforementioned squirrels had eaten the blade off my stick and destroyed my laces so I had to purchase some new gear but that led me to Sport King.
Sport King is a tiny shack of a store hidden behind Safeway near the Klondike Hotel. It is owned by Roger McKinnon and has been there for as long as I can remember. It is the last of the traditional owner operated sports stores in Fairbanks. I would drive across town in a blizzard to patronize this store because Roger has done so much for the Fairbanks hockey community. These days every time I pull up here I fear the dreaded "Out of Business" sign, and yet, despite Walmart and Sports Authority and legions of discount crap, Roger soldiers on.

Remember, remember the 5th of November

2010-11-07T08:41:00.000-09:00

Celebrated Guy Fawkes Day on Friday with a bonfire at a friend's house whereupon we burned an effigy of Guy Fawkes. This is a strange tradition but it involves fire and alcohol which have been dear friends of mine since childhood.

Jim heaves our newspaper-filled friend into the fire.

Guy Fawkes was originally hanged for his efforts, we decided to save our noose for next year.

Last night a fog rolled into the hills around Fairbanks and frosted all the trees, when the sun returns it will be stunning. This is a beautiful time of year here because we still have light and everyone knows it's on the way out.

Ok, I'm back, really

2010-11-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

After much shenanigans I'm back in the blogosphere. Prepare to have your mind blown, your socks darned, and your optic nerves caressed with grand visions from the north. In the meantime I suggest you all take time out to thank the little people in your life, for sanity is a delicate flower that must be watered.

The other America

2010-09-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

Antigua, Guatemala

I'm currently dodging mudslides in Central America, if you want to follow along, otherwise I'll be back to post the middle of October!

First Aurora of the Year!

2010-08-25T23:16:00.002-08:00

Yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! Bring on the snow!

Iniakuk Lake Weather 10:30am, Brooks Range, Alaska

2010-08-14T10:34:00.001-08:00

Clear and calm in all directions today with a high overcast layer at 8 or 9,000 feet. Not much sunshine but the weather looks stable and dry, for today at least.

Happy Solstice

2010-06-21T14:49:00.002-08:00

Happy Solstice Friends! The sun will not set in these parts until July 11. Good times.

Enjoy a ride down the river with me...

Green Grass and High Times Again in the Brooks Range

2010-06-18T09:36:00.003-08:00

Herro dear readers. Yet again I have left you all dismissively behind as I dance with the Alaskan Summer. She is gorgeous and she doesn't stay for long so you'll please excuse me as I take her for a spin.

Forget-M-Nots, the Alaska State Flower on a recent hike.

I'm currently up in the Brooks Range, 200 miles north of Fairbanks, and enjoying the fresh air and freedom that comes with making do on one's own. That is to say we bought 3 months worth of groceries before we left and now have them packed into 4 chest freezers. Not exactly living OFF the land, but certainly living IN the land.This year I cheated a bit and brought my newfound Hughesnet knowledge with me. Now a small satellite dish sits in the front yard, on a piece of plywood for now, and I have intergalactic internet. Amazing. The next step is to drive a pipe into the ground, drop some cement around the bottom and mount the system for real. So far, Hughesnet appears to be the best quality satellite internet available. It's not super fast, but it's reliable and relatively cheap at $80/month. You have a 24 hour limit on downloads, that is, every 24 hours you may only exchange a certain amount of data, but there is a free period after 10 pm when you can do what you want. A meter shows you in real time how much you have used and so far I haven't come anywhere near my daily usage.

Enough blah, blah, blah. Here are some pretty pictures:

First hike of the season overlooking the Iniakuk Valley, a bit of rain and a lot of bugs.

Bluebells crying in the rain.

I don't know my mushrooms but I think this is a truffle of some kind. I did not eat it.

If I were a carpenter, and you were spring in Fairbanks

2010-05-20T00:21:00.002-08:00

Summer arrived today as it hit 70F in Fairbanks. The wind was warm and I sneezed my damn head off, pollen counts are off the charts this spring and it's killing me. Hopefully it will subside soon and the eyes will stop itching. Here are some shots from the past 2 weeks.

First kill of the season. Big, slow, and surprisingly satisfying to destroy. Bloodsuckers.

Second kill of the season; growlers of 'Foxanator' from Silver Gulch Brewing. A very tasty, near amber beer. The nice thing about growlers is they force you to drink a gallon at a time.

Satellite internet by Hughesnet. I became a certified installer last week, bought a system and set it up as a test. Of course the neighbor had to come check it out. This will go into the Brooks Range 200 miles north of Fairbanks so I can surf in the middle of nowhere. Technology doesn't sleep. If you want a system installed, send me a message. I charge on a sliding scale- the cooler and more remote- the cheaper. Hughesnet is also having a deal this month, complete system with 2 yr. contract: $199 after rebates. Such a deal.

M _ _ S _

would you like to buy a vowel?

I'm working for a buddy right now who is finishing up his dream house. This is about as modern as Fairbanks gets with great, sunny views of Murphy Dome road. This will soon get a big deck between the first and second floor. Sweet.

Clean Coal Propaganda in Fairbanks

2010-05-06T10:34:00.002-08:00

It's just about summer here in the Interior and daytime temps are pushing the 60F mark which feels nice. It means I've been outside cutting trees and finishing stuff on the cabin that ice and snow and below zero temps don't allow. While I work I often wear ear protection with a built in radio. This is not always good. You see the radio in my truck died about 5 years ago so I hardly ever listen to the radio and when I'm at home I rock Pandora or my iTunes. So I've been listening to Fairbanks radio and all their damn commercials. One of the ones that caught my attention is a Clean Coal commercial. I haven't paid enough attention to know who is putting it out (probably the the non-verbal retards at GVEA) but it starts off saying, "Remember when you could use energy in your house and not worry about the cost? Well times are changing and we need an affordable alternative."

WTF?

Energy has NEVER been cheap in Alaska. It has been cheaper, but never cheap. If you heat with electricity in the Interior you spend great wheelbarrows of cash. It has always been that way.

So why does Clean Coal make this crap up? Because there is no solution in Clean Coal and there is no such thing as Clean Coal. I would like to build a row of coal firing slingshots and place it in an alley and if people think Clean Coal is the answer they would have to walk down that alley while I fired coal chunks at them.

Good day.

Manuel Noriega gets Rick Rolled

2010-04-27T06:52:00.003-08:00

My lady and I saw Ira Glass at the Herring Auditorium last night and it was delightful. I don't mean we bumped into Ira as he took in a concert, he was in fact "the concert." He started off with the lights down in the theatre and then his distinctive voice came on and he talked for 3-4 minutes in the dark and then the lights came up and he talked for nearly 2 hours about his stories, career and the pathetic excuse for journalism that crawls towards us from local newspaper and television sources across the nation. He was great. He got me thinking about NPR and PRI and so I'm listening to it this morning on the computer as I design a house to build on Google Sketchup 7. (a very cool program once you get the hang of it)

Public Radio often catches the news that falls through the cracks or is reported by other organizations but passed over. This morning was no different but even NPR missed this little tidbit that I am reporting to you now:

Manuel Noriega was Rick Rolled by the United States Military in 1989.

It was "Operation Just Cause" and the U.S. was trying to get General Noriega out of Panama so they directed loud speakers at the palace he had holed up in and played the following list of music:

I know it's tough to read, the original link is here. But you will see that "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley is on the list. For those of you that don't know, if someone gets you to listen to this song it is know as getting "Rick Rolled." It's a hellish experience and my faith in the U.S. Military is restored knowing they have been using the most brutal torture tactics available to protect us. If you're wondering why General Noriega is in the news once again your guess is as good as mine.

I also see "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath and "Paradise City" by Guns and Roses on this list. That rocks.

Spring is just around the Corner

2010-04-14T11:59:00.004-08:00

All is well at the homestead, the snow is melting, the birds are chirping and the sun is getting stronger. Breakup is easy this year since there wasn't much snow and there have been some cool days interspersed with the hot so most the water is evaporating instead of flooding the outhouse. Although the outhouse is starting to lean a bit and will need leveling, like everything else in Sphagnum Estates. Aw well, still like it better than a real house.

Speaking of which, this is my buddy Brent's cabin out in Eureka, I dig the woodpile action he has created this spring, if it's not carried off by carpenter ants this summer it will be a warm winter for Brent and the dogs.

And in another chapter of good living I went to Silver Gulch Brewery with Steve and his daughter Clarity yesterday. We sampled some fine ales and she got her first taste of root beer. Good stuff, came home with a growler of Foxanator, Lowbush Cranberry, and AK IPA which we shall devour tonight with kabobs and corn on the cob.

The Last Northern Lights of the Year

2010-04-09T01:34:00.003-08:00

The northern lights came out in force the last 3 nights for a great sendoff to end winter, I think.

I was out on the deck today putting in a cable railing and it was cold and windy with a few flurries. Not the best weather to work in. But the railing is nearly completed and looks decent. Hopefully it will hold up in the years to come. It's way too late to be up now so I'm off,

2010-04-05T08:44:00.003-08:00

March is over and I miss it terribly. It is the best month in Alaska if you love sun, snow and winter travel, which I do. There are ways to pretend March lasts more than a month and staying in the Brooks Range through April is one of them. Alas, I could not swing that this year. I think I will plan a trip out to the Hoodoo Mountains instead and kick around a bit. I'm trying to rally a few slednecks for the last gasp of interior winter.

March Madness

Here in Fairbanks the ski trails have less than a week left. They are icy and fast right now and you can ski in a t-shirt which is nice. The biggest drawback to melting snow is that it exposes Fairbanks' dark underbelly of trash. It is everywhere right now and does not look pleasant. My neighbor appears to be cleaning his junkyard but I'm not getting my hopes up. The other night I heard his air compressor at 2am, that's not cleaning, that's building, so who knows what kind of monstrosity will crawl into view next.

Ah well, there are better things to obsess about... The northern lights put on a ripping Easter Eve display Saturday night around 11pm and it was great to watch them from the deck just before bed. It is light until almost 10pm now with sunrise just after 6am so the days are plenty long. Summers a'comin'!

Before I go I would like to give a quick shout out to my buddy Greg Pacetti, owner of Pacetti Instruments. You can view his blog here. He is a luthier which means he builds amazing instruments out of wood by hand. Works of art really, so check him out.

Brooks Range Drifting

2010-03-13T07:26:00.002-09:00

Well I'm back in Alaska and off to the frozen North, Brooks Range that is. I spent the last 2 weeks putting in a trail and now I'm off to enjoy it. It feels good to be back in AK even though it's -35F at the cabin this morning. Yesterday I was driving down the Dalton Highway after picking up my trailer which had blown both tires and had to be left behind until I could get more tires (long story). Anyway, I see a hitchhiker in the middle of nowhere holding 2 black trash bags with a cat on his head. So I picked him up. The cat on his head turned out to be a lynx, and it was dead, and the guy threw his trash bags in the back of my truck and introduced himself as Jeremy and off we went. Turns out he traps on the Yukon River, just north of the bridge. So I was happy to prove that just because one may look like a psychotic killer on the edge of the highway in the middle of nowhere, one might just be an Alaskan trapper who needs a ride. Of course I never did see what was inside the trash bags...

South American Vacation

2009-12-27T18:19:00.002-09:00

I thought this posted earlier, I'm an idiot. Anyways click here for our South American exploits and I'll return to this blog in March. Paz.

Ain't no business like snow business

2009-12-08T09:25:00.004-09:00

There is hardly any snow this year and it grieves me. I also don't like to use the word "hardly." It's not a good word.

So there is about 4 inches on the ground and it's zero. Great weather to play in, nothing to play on. Word from the far north is that there is a decent amount north of the Elliot Highway but for those of us in the Golden Heart that is not happiness. A couple of days ago it was nearly 30F. But then every winter is strange in Fairbanks, that's about the only thing you can count on. I leave you with an igloo I built a few years ago when I was weathered in at a cabin in a whiteout blizzard.

And northern lights which have been depressingly non-existent this winter. What the hell?

Cool like Fonzie

2009-11-24T15:38:00.004-09:00

Things got a little chilly here last week as I headed up into the Brooks Range for a week and the temperature dropped to -50F and stayed there. It was good times though and I don't mind the tooth cracking cold as long as there is a warm cabin to crawl into at days end. I spent my time cutting wood, rebuilding my snowmachine and cutting wood.

And today I finally got my photography website up so check it out and tell me what ya'll think. Stay warm.

Storms a comin'

2009-11-11T20:26:00.002-09:00

The first good winter storm of the year is screaming across the Seward Peninsula right now with howling winds, raging seas and a bit of snow for Fairbanks. We're only supposed to get 4-6 inches but I am hoping for 2-3 feet followed by another 2-3 feet. There will be a statewide shutdown and no one can go anywhere unless they have a Skandic Super Wide Track.

Here's a map of the storm, red means "prepare to have your butt kicked by high winds and blizzard conditions." Green means lame.

Please Santa, that's all I want for Christmas...

Halli Hallo und Herzliche Wilkommen aus Fairbanks

2009-11-07T08:25:00.003-09:00

Due to the magic of Google Analytics it has come to my attention that this blog is frequented by Germans so I wanted to give a quick shout out to Deutschland.

Gruss Gott! And if you speak German you should watch this. Munich is my favorite city and I think the accent there is the best for storytelling.

In other news I got vaccinations for yellow fever and hepatitis B yesterday and now I can barely lift my arms.

But now I am ready to face South America next month- aside from altitude sickness, intestinal parasites and malaria I am really looking forward to it. The trip starts in Bogota, Colombia and that's all I know at this point. If anyone has suggestions for what to do with 6 weeks in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, aside from drug trafficking, holla back.

Servus!

20 Below in Fairbanks

2009-11-02T16:25:00.004-09:00

The thermometer read -21F this morning, luckily the truck was plugged in. When I went downtown it was only -4F so I'm quite confident I have the coldest lot in Fairbanks. Yeah for me. It warmed up to zero later so I took the dog for a walk and made some snow art. Enjoy.

I took some other pics on the walk to document a proposed expansion by Great Northwest Inc. They are a gravel pit and peat extraction company that has been here for years. They now want to expand their excavations up to my back door. Literally. But they need permission since it's all wetlands. The problem is it's their land and they've been there forever so I doubt it can be stopped. Their remediation is applauded because they leave duck ponds where once there was black spruce. The problem is you can walk and ski and travel through black spruce. These "duck ponds" are massive sink holes 20 feet down in the bog so you can't ski or walk in and out of them and they are bordered by dikes 20 feet high. I am contacting the Army Corps of Engineers to see about the public input process but I fear my lovely back yard will soon look like a WWII battlefield.

It's snowing in Fairbanks

2009-10-28T10:14:00.003-08:00

There's finally snow in them thar Fairbanks hills and it's still coming down. I'd say close to 4 inches in the past 24 hours. In honor of the happy white stuff I took my snowmachine "Earline" out for a ride.

White rabbit, white rabbit

2009-10-24T13:09:00.003-08:00

Normally if you start seeing white rabbits you should back off your medication. Here in Fairbanks it's a good sign. It means winter is coming and I'm all about that. While walking the dog this morning a white rabbit shot past us, it wasn't completely white, still a bit of gray pepperings, but if it snowed tonight he would be set. I discovered that the nearby gravel pit is bigger after a summer's excavating and it's frozen with perfect ice. I shall sneak over there tomorrow morning and see how many turns I can get in before someone gets their panties in a wad.

Viva la ice skate revolucion!

Here's a vid that rocks, I'll post pics soon.

Bank of America - Worse than a pack of wolves

2009-10-20T07:58:00.003-08:00

I'm hopping mad. I just paid my VISA card online for the first time in 6 months. Used to be I could go online and click "Pay this Card" and that was it. But for 6 months it has said "Bill pay temporarily unavailable." 6 months is not temporary you suns a bridges.

I finally called customer service for a WTF chat. Turns out you now have to click the "Customer Service" button, then go to "Transfer from another account" then type in your bank routing and account numbers. Then throw your cell phone across the room. Then type in whatever you want to pay for that month. You will not be prompted to payoff your bill in full.

I imagine this is netting the Bungholes of America massive late fee charges and missed payments.

I hope your outhouse tips over door down you shitcicle eating puta madres.

Craptacular

2009-10-19T07:46:00.003-08:00

Well the last 3 days of zero degree mornings finally froze Ballaine Lake and so I hit it with the skates and my dog yesterday and it was glorious. Perfectly smooth, except where the dern kids had thrown rocks on it, the ice was clear and hard and the sun felt great. After about half an hour Mazzy decided it was safe and ventured out for a bit.

On Saturday we finished the craptacular Bailey's Warehouse on South Cushman. Years from now I imagine myself saying, "You see that big non-descript steel warehouse? No that one, no, no that one. Yes! that's the one, well I helped build that and no, there wasn't that much raven crap there when we finished and the meth lab wasn't there either. But it was good times, now pass the Soylent Green..."
It's 140 feet long and 70 feet wide and 28 feet tall and we did it in less than 5 weeks. We ARE the champions, my friend....

Beautiful South Cushman

2009-10-04T08:18:00.002-08:00

I went for a run the other morning with my sweetie and I saw this:

I believe it's the remains of a grouse. It made me thankful to not be a grouse on an early morning. But it also made me think how tasty grouse are. Marinated in cream of mushroom soup they are tasty birds.

I started a new job this week, building a steel warehouse for Bailey's Furniture in Fairbanks. I work with a great crew and have the delightful panorama of South Cushman Industrial District at my feet.

We're working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week in an effort to beat winter. We got the roof on last week, insulated and covered with steel, so the first hurdle is cleared. Next week is the walls and if there is slush, frost and sleet dripping off the roof life will be mighty unpleasant.

Craigslist Scam in Fairbanks

2009-09-26T08:56:00.003-08:00

I'm trying to sell an overstuffed chair on Craigslist. Seems simple right? Here is one of my responses:

how much is still for sale?

This is obviously a scam but sometimes I like to poke the tiger at the zoo so I write back "$315."

And I get this:

Hello,
I am glad to read from you. Am okay with the price and condition .I really need to get this right away. i am ready to pay on time. No need of shipping it. i will like my shipper to schedule a pick up immediately you get the payment confirmed. I would have love to come for it or see it but i must let you know i am okay with it. i just want this as replacement.
I will offer you extra $50 to remove the ad from the posted site www.craigslist.com to be sure you are selling this to me ok. I will be able to make payment in form of US Certified Cashiers Check that is payable in any American banks in us dollars . I will like you to let me have information of whom i should issue the payment to.
Such As :
*Full Name,
Address
city ,
state,
zipcode

So now the scam is confirmed, but I'm curious why they would pay extra to remove it from Craigslist. Do they hate Craigslist or is it one of the ways they can check to see if you are falling for the scam. I don't know so I write back:

Thank you Sherry, this money will help pay for my operation. You see I was in a bad car accident earlier this year on my way to the bank, it was a real shame since I was about to pick up a check from an Algerian inheritance that I didn't even know about. In the accident I lost my left arm so sorry if this letter took awhile to get to you, I don't type very fast anymore. Anyways, I thought I had enough money for a new arm last week when I was selling a kidney on Craigslist. The buyer never showed up though and unfortunately I had already taken the kidney out, it sat in my sink for 2 days until I ran out of enough ice to keep it cold. I was wondering if you could just pay me an extra $500 for the couch and then I will send you the change back. It's easier that way because I am trying to get a date with the girl at the bank and the more times I go there the better cha

nce I have of her saying yes to a date with a one armed man. Do you think less of a man with only one arm? I hope not. By the way, how old are you? Could you send a picture. Maybe we could hang out sometime.

Anyways, write back as soon as you can and let me know that you're not mad at me for only having one arm.

So I figure who would possibly respond to that, really. And I get this:

okay ....john how are you now hope evrything is alright with you and i like to se you to but how can i se you maybe you can send me your picture to me and i will like to see your picture so i hope we can make it if you want to see me and how is your bissness over there and i hope

evrything is going on with you so i will love to se someone like you becuase you realy tell me your mind so how can we meet now? and will be waithing for your reaply here get back to me

can you see my picture now let me see yours to get back to meSo now I'm like "Damn, she's hot, she has a phone, she likes restaurants, isn't one of those people who uses a ton of product in their hair and may possibly be eastern european because her punctuation sucks and there are little awnings over the windows in the background and only europeans think that look is still cool.

So what do I do now???

Winter is just around the corner

2009-09-25T22:22:00.002-08:00

It's sleeting again tonight and I'm sure the snow is sticking in the hills. It feels good though, like the next season is coming and we're all ready for it. I haven't heard anyone bitching about the oncoming winter, just the darkness. And for the most part everyone is stoked to see snow. I went out on the Tanana yesterday for the last time this season and it was gorgeous. Saw an osprey, a young bald eagle and a magpie. I have never seen a magpie in Fairbanks before, I think Healy is the farthest north I've seen one, but not anymore. And it was DEFINITELY a magpie.

Mazzy is done with fall.

Starting to Snow in Fairbanks

2009-09-23T08:17:00.003-08:00

Ok, I'm back after a long hiatus that was part laziness, part living in the Brooks Range and nowhere near an internet connection for the past 3 months. But life is good and there continues to be plenty of things that I need to discuss with you, the anonymous public, so kick back and relax and read more about the greatest state in the greatest nation on the greatest planet in the most perfect solar system in the swellest Nebula I know of.

Don't try this at home.

Summertime

2009-05-25T09:05:00.002-08:00

I taped up the windows and started painting last week. The weather has been 75F in the middle of the day all week and the bugs aren't bad so it has been good going. But painting is not much fun.
I think the cabin looks a lot more balanced now with the addition and the added color. A deck would be nice on the front but that will have to wait until the money tree gets watered again.Now dirt work is fun times. Especially with heavy equipment. I finally got some good 2 inch rock on top of the driveway and it cleaned things up a lot.

And it spreads like butta.

Hot Town, Summer in the City

2009-05-07T09:23:00.002-08:00

Fairbanks got all nice and interior hot last week with temperatures jumping into the 80's around the cabin. I took the opportunity to start painting the addition. The whole cabin is getting a new coat of paint and fresh color so hopefully the weather stays nice. It's only about 40F and gray today.

I enjoyed about 5 minutes of no mosquitos and then the little bastards showed up. This time of year they are big and slow though so not a real hazard.

Breaking up is hard to do - in Fairbanks, what with the slush and all...

2009-04-24T15:03:00.004-08:00

Ok, so I had a bit of blogger's block and blew off posting here for a mighty long stretch but here's the latest:

I went snowmachining into the Brooks Range for a week.

View from the Arctic Oven on a cozy -40F morning.

The internets are driving me crazy with their slowness right now so this will have to do for a bit. On the weather front it snowed here last night and is cold and windy. Hopefully it will warm up for the weekend and I can go into the mountains.

2009-03-09T12:12:00.002-08:00

This weekend was full of good old fashioned Fairbanks fun as Rachy came up from Anchorage, a snow storm left the area full of powdery goodness and hijinx ensued.

Here's me getting the lead out of my iron dog. Still haven't decided if I really need a windsheild, me loves a good set of frozen snotcicles.

Redpolls, so sweet and innocent looking, hard to believe they eat their weight in thistle seed 3 times a day.
Rachael is still riding the Polaris 500 she bought 1992 and as you can see there's still some juice left although my Tundra has barely half the horsepower and rallied on the powder a bit more handily. What can I say, Ski Doo sets the standard...

Then we went and snowshoed the Moose Mountain acreage. 3pm sun lit up the valley nicely and we were sufficiently wooped after breaking trail to the top. Can't wait to unleash the chainsaw and open the place up. I just need to find my goalie mask and white trenchcoat...

Suga suga how'd you get so fly?

2009-03-07T08:46:00.003-09:00

It was an epic week of sturm and drang and now the driveway is piled high with snow on either side. Me likey. Yesterday I report that nearly a foot of snow fell, a daily dump amount that Fairbanks hasn't seen for decades. If this is global warming I say thank you Al Gore, you make some mighty fine ski trails laddy. The snow was followed by gusty winds which blew everything off the trees and drifted over the roads and made snowmachining on my Tundra a bit painful on the facial region. The lack of windshield lends to the affect. But it's gorgeous today, about zero, crackling blue sky and I plan on more skiing and snowmachining.

In other news, the Arctic Entry way is completely dried in and has the first layer of insulation in the walls. I'm going for about R40 in the walls and R65 in the ceiling to try to keep the heating bills down. GVEA just took away my arch nemesis, the Fuel Surcharge, and my electric bill instantly dropped from $98 to $54. Hooray for cheap petrol! Un-hooray for GVEA though, they are going ahead with "Clean" Coal investments in Healy. I weep for the future.

Now I Wanna be Your Dog

2009-02-26T12:38:00.003-09:00

I apologize for a massive drought in postings, blame it on the darkness, roadtrips, laziness, whatever. I'm just in on off the 2009 Yukon Quest so enjoy the pics, more soon...

Brent Sass prepares to drop off Eagle Summit. Pucker factor: High

Brent Sass pulls William Kleedehn's team up to the top of Eagle Summit. I lay on the frozen grass for 2 hours waiting to see something, anything, and was well rewarded. Thank you camera gods.

Warren Palfry's wheel dog Gumby makes the finish line look damn satisfying.

Palfry's son Jesse, 9, the youngest musher to cross the Yukon Quest finish line. Look for him on the trail again in 10 years...

She said wait a minute honey gonna add it up

2009-02-02T10:41:00.003-09:00

With classic Alaskan Feng Shwee the Arctic Entry is taking shape. I decked the roof in -20F and blew a fuse trying to get the saw to turn since the blade was frozen. It's all good now though, the snow can't get in, the front wall will get framed as soon as the thermometer hits zero and then the insulating can begin. Yeah! I love fiberglass!

Mazzy Mae is not a fan of my Paslode nailer...

Her Style is New but the Face is the Same

2009-01-22T18:58:00.003-09:00

The chill is back, I was out framing the arctic entry and the next thing I knew it was -18F and my hands weren't working. Usually I figure that out about the time I regain consciousness and the ladder is laying beside me but there was no harm done this time. I put the tools away and called it a day, so 4 lonely rafters currently overlook the front door. Tomorrow morning Angela and I are off to Talkeetna and hopefully it's nice and warm and sunny and snowy down there. We'll see. Right now Palin is giving her State of the State address and I'm about to vomit, Bush is gone but she's Palin in comparison. God save the Queen, my train of thought just derailed.

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall

2009-01-19T21:32:00.003-09:00

Well Angela is officially climbing the walls around here. During a long, cold Fairbanks winter these things happen and in this case there is actually a membership involved.

She's like 8 stories up in this picture.

We both went down to the SRC last week and got safety certified to climb their walls which are actually pretty nice. The best part about the safety meeting was the instructor saying, "If you get hurt, grab a basketball and crawl out onto the court so risk management doesn't shut us down. They hate this wall and are looking for the first excuse to kill it." So we make sure there is a basketball nearby when we rope up.

After 15 minutes I couldn't feel my arms and all the skin was gone from the tips of my fingers so I'm pretty much done with that for the semester.

In other news it snowed an inch of oatmeal today and we are gearing up for a 3-day weekend in Talkeetna and that is going to rock me Amadeus. I can't wait.

You Hustle, You Deal, You Steal from us All

2009-01-16T21:50:00.004-09:00

Today had some ups and downs, but that's the way nature rolls the dice. There's balance, but in a swinging pendulum kind of way. A good thing happened: I got Angela to work without wrapping the truck around a power pole (the roads are craptacular with all the thawing), but then a bad thing: I had to go to AT&T to sort out a dead cell phone battery. Goddamn but I hate cell phone companies. There is a special spot in hell for their maggoty, soulless corpses and it would be worth going to hell just to see them burn. Long story short, I didn't get a new battery but I got the runaround and if I didn't love my Toyota truck as much as I do it would be unkindly parked in the middle of the Teddy Bear Plaza AT&T office. But then good thing happens: I get a call from the Eskimo lady who was making me a beaver hat and mitts and they're done and they're exactly what I wanted and hoped and dreamed about all my life (I'm a simple man). But then bad thing: I come home and the hoar frost that accumulated during the -50F melted in the 40F and is dripping into the living room. Nothing a few pots can't handle, and the day ended on a good note anyways: the new deck got insulated and sheeted and is now ready for walls which I can always build in the garage if, I mean when, the temperature drops again...

The Heat is On

2009-01-15T21:14:00.002-09:00

Today was a Fairbanks scorcher, 33F at the cabin and I heard Eielson reported 50F, they were reporting -50F last week. Crazy. So I was out happily pounding nails as the trees dripped and the birds sang and there was even a slightly woodsy smell like you get when the life isn't frozen out of everything. I got the floor framed for the Arctic Entry and will insulate and deck it tomorrow. Next week I hope to get the walls up before a long weekend in Talkeetna, have to see how it goes, for now the hot weather feels mighty fine.

Oh well uh, you might think I'm crazy

2009-01-13T13:44:00.003-09:00

Finally, I get to use the shiny little "+" button on my laptop. It's +2F!! The birds are out in force, I just finished the last stretch of kitchen countertop and now it's on to the Arctic entry, at least the deck needs to go on, glue down and make ready for some walls. So far I have put in a hot tub, wood stove, greenhouse and water slide in my plans for the entry but I fear it will only have coats in the end due to time and budget constraints. Onward and upward...

The bottom drawer is big enough to sleep in, I got a little carried away.

Moving up and so alive, it's good, so good

2009-01-12T09:30:00.002-09:00

The little bi-metal spring in my thermometer outside is alive and well and expanding. This morning's official driveway temperature was -22F which feels downright balmy after 15 days of -40F or lower. Fairbanks is well on its way to a mini winter heat wave which may even see above zero temperatures. If that happens the arctic entry construction will begin in earnest and we will add 80 square feet to the cabin and break the 500 square foot mark which is much more conducive to happy cabin life. Soon the insulating blinds will go up, ice will melt from the windows and we'll all practice squinting once again. We have over 4 hours of sunlight now and gaining over 5 minutes a day. Welcome back cancerous orb! (I'm talking about the sun, not Governor Sara Palin)

Here's Angela enjoying the last few minutes of sunlight and -41F.

How Can We Dance When the World is Turning?

2009-01-09T09:29:00.002-09:00

This is eerie, the graph above is nearly identical to my "daily temperature" graph. Although this graph is making the interior cabin temperature much more affordable. Yeah!

And I can't see at all, And even if I could it'd all be gray

2009-01-06T22:29:00.003-09:00

Day 10 of winter cold snap...can't feel my legs...I'm so cold, so cold. I see a bright light, is it the sun? Can't be, there's no heat....so cold, so cold. Air is thick, too thick to breathe...so sleepy...

It's fog, which is pretty, but it's ICE fog, the deadly cousin...

The Eye of Sauron - oh yeah, it's real my precious.

This is what my cabin would look like if we put in enough wood stoves to keep Angela as warm as she wants to be.

Why do people go out in these temperatures? Seriously.

I like smoke and lightning, heavy metal thunder

2009-01-04T22:55:00.004-09:00

I've been a tad too frozen to post lately but that's no excuse. I haven't been too frozen to shoot some pics though so here's life from my eyeballs in -50F Fairbanks ice fog and frozen snotcicles.

Dense ice fog in the spruce trees along Geist Road at high noon.

The intersection of Airport Rd. and University Ave. around 1pm, -45F

The thermometer has been well and truly stuck on -50F for 3 days now, I tap it, wiggle it, scream at it, nothing moves.

Mazzy Mae is originally from Georgia and she loves going for a walk in -50F. I don't get it. She sticks her nose in the snow and hunts for mice, never gets cold feet and demands biscuits when we get inside. Unfortunately she is useless in a harness.

I pulled the truck over to get Angela in front of the sign at the base of the University. I passed the sign 4 times later on in the day and there was someone taking a picture every time. One time I even saw 2 girls in bikinis screaming at their friend to hurry up and take the damn photo. I have never seen anyone in bikinis in Fairbanks before, let alone in -43F. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of that but it made me think that camping out in front of this sign on a -40F weekend day could make for an interesting photo story. I think the trick is to catch the cold snap early on. Now everyone is sick of it and the novelty is wearing off. I should also like to take this time to thank the frozen truck gods for looking after my toyota and keeping her running. I shall buy her a round of Marvel Mystery oil for her tank in celebration.

Stay warm friends and Happy New Year!

Well I'm hot blooded, check it and see

2008-12-30T10:48:00.004-09:00

Yet another -40F morning at the cabin. I have sealed off the big window upstairs and when I took a peek at it this morning ice was a good 18 inches up the window and building. When it warms up there will be a flood of water to deal with but so be it. The truck started like a champ and the air is so clear it hurts to look at. I drove Angela to work this morning and then went to bLowe's and bought some trim wood for the next phase of counter top, should have it assembled today and maybe even installed. The ice fog is thickening but hasn't really dropped to the ground yet, -50F is projected for the end of the week and that should lower air quality significantly. I'm off to create more sawdust in the garage.

Get up dogs, you ain't tired.

2008-12-28T10:25:00.003-09:00

It's -35F at the cabin this morning in Fairbanks, Alaska which is just about the right temperature for the holidays. We have had a great time with the family over the Christmas week and I've enjoyed adventuring with my nephew.

We built a massive snow fort outside Grammy's house.

Bonfire party at Sam and Jillian's Christmas Eve.

Then Jillian and I took the dogs out for a run before she took off for the Gin Gin 200. I put Max in the sled with 9 dogs out front. He was wrapped in good gear and a sleeping bag and the only complaint was "I can't see!" when he slipped down into the foot of the sled. About 6 miles out he fell asleep and slept the whole way home. When we pulled into the yard I scooped him out and put him in the snowbank while we put the dogs away. This picture shows him in his wad of sleeping bag next to the sled. It was about -5F at the time. When he woke up he said, "What am I doing here?" I'm sure barking dogs and a snowbank are a bit different from most of his nap surroundings.

Now I just hope Jillian makes it back from the race ok- the weatherman actually said it's cold enough to freeze warts today.

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night

2008-12-24T15:17:00.002-09:00

Happy Holidays everyone, don't forget to stop and make a snow angel from time to time.

If We Couldn't Laugh We Would All Go Insane

2008-12-22T23:29:00.003-09:00

Well I'm back in Fairbanks and it's good to be home. The sun down south is great, and I'll write about that in a bit, but the Lower 48 has crowd control problems we just don't deal with up here and I'm glad for that. Crowds suck, and that point was driven home with a night of hell at the Seattle Tacoma airport where we got weathered in on the way back from Mazatlan.Here's a shot I took about 9pm Saturday when AK Air was still feeding us the line that we might get out that night. Snow was coming down hard and over 4 inches was on top of the plane. I figured we were doomed and then I saw this:

When Jolly St. Nick can't get home for Christmas what chance do I have? And so it was at 1am they officially cancelled our flight, sent us back out through security and said get in line for a new ticket. There was well over 1,000 people already waiting in line and beside the line people were sleeping everywhere in the most horrible open mouth broken neck positions that only the truly exhausted can perform.

We stood in line all night, inching along and trying not to calculate the hopelessness of it all. Finally, at 6am we stood in front of an agent. He looked nervous and unskilled and happily informed us there was a flight out in the evening, of December 24. Angela went white, then gray, then red and said very calmly, "That cannot happen." Meanwhile I had a brief vision as the next 3 days stretched out before us. There were riots, burning luggage cart tires, cannabalism and the leering faces of TSA agents eating fried chicken from behind the security lines and laughing as families huddled under in-flight magazine covers for warmth.

I had to do something, and quick, so I put my finger to my left temple and whispered, "Help me Obi wan, you're my only hope." I have uttered many oaths, phrases, curses and movie lines in my life but none with as much yearning of spirit and soul as I did Sunday morning. Almost instantly a new ticket agent walked up and took our man's place. She dismissed him with a quick nod and a wave, cracked her knuckles, and looked over the top of her computer at us with calm determination. Once she knew where we had to go her fingers blurred and the keyboard grew hot as she typed her demands into cyberspace.

She mumbled under her breath as she worked her Jedi magic, "I'll enter you both as backslash 'k' upgrades on a dash 9 layover with section P clearance. That'll get you to Anchorage, then it's just a matter of inputing the high tide coefficient for Turnagain Arm on a leapyear and it's done. Now do you want window or aisle seats on the 8am flight today?"

The upshot of it all is that our firstborn must now be named "Tracy" regardless of gender and we got home within 24 hours of when we were supposed to. We did make it onto an 8 am flight but then spent 4 hours waiting in the plane for a de-icing crew to show up. It wasn't until the gear folded into the plane as we lifted off that I began to feel some relief.

The Ted Stevens Convicted Felon International Airport never looked so good. A few other things I would like to mention: I saw maybe 100 blue blankets passed out to the thousands of sleeping people stranded at the airport, no one but Starbucks stayed open late to feed anyone, and supposedly the airport handed out bottled water for about an hour but ran out before I saw a drop.

For all the billions that have been squandered on TSA theatrics true terrorism is watching an airport that handles 30,000 people a day shut down. We will never forget...

I'm Not the Man I used to be Lately

2008-12-05T10:37:00.003-09:00

It is December in the Golden Heart City of Fairbanks, a time of sparse daylight hours, cold temperatures, blank stares, frozen vehicles and thoughts of Mexico. Angela and I have hunkered down accordingly and booked a flight to Mazatlan where we will ingest copious amounts of seafood and sunshine for the next two weeks.

For those of you staying behind and toughing out the winter I recommend Max Dog's tried and true technique pictured above. Max cautions that his remedies may lead to atrocious gas and poo breath, you have been warned...

My Baby is American Made

2008-12-01T17:16:00.003-09:00

Angela is the proud parent of a new snowmachine today and we are both very excited. Weighing in around 360 pounds, she's good looking and appears to be fit and healthy. It was a bit of Craigslist luck and perfect timing and coordination with Rachael in Anchorage but we now have a 2000 model with reverse. So sweet.

They Judge a Man by What He's Got and they wanta have more and more

2008-11-22T22:17:00.004-09:00

Well this last week was spot on awesome. I got to go to the mountains and answer the call of the wild for a few days and that does the soul good. I left Fairbanks under snowy skies and dropped in on Iniakuk through a hole in the fog with my friend Max in his little Champ. It is a great little plane that is as close to hang gliding as you can get and still have a prop out front. I stayed with the great Paul Shanahan, Slayer of Large Bears and Teller of Tall Tales. Here are some pics:

Here's Paul in his kitchen looking for caribou while I take apart my snowmachine engine. The crankshaft seized so I brought the whole mess back into town with me. Damn iron dogs.

Here's Max hand-propping his Champ after dropping me off.

Cutting wood with Paul is an adventure in the improbable showing impossible how to get the job done. It was -35F, the wood pile was empty, and Paul's wood hauling sled had just lost a battle with a tree. We had to wrap the chainsaws in sleeping bags so they would stay warm enough to run. Good times.

Fairbanks in the rearview mirror.

Moonrise over Iniakuk Lake at 4 p.m. I was headed back to Paul's after looking for caribou and happened to look back over my shoulder. I had to shut off the machine and watch until my camera froze. And then I thought about what happened to Luke Skywalker on Hoth and I got the heck back to Paul's warm fire before I was forced to crawl into the warm ribcage of a caribou I hadn't shot.
Here's Max buzzing the cabin as he comes in to take me back to the bright lights and big city.
Paul's plane hasn't run since freeze up and it's keeping his riverboat and outboard motors company on the edge of the lake.
Here's the main lodge, shuttered and waiting for more snow. There were snowshoe hares all over on highways of packed trails. I've never seen such rabid rabbit density.
Sunset at 3pm with overflow in the foreground adding a little steam to the cold air.

Watchin' the world go by, surprisin' it goes so fast

2008-11-09T22:36:00.002-09:00

Well pictures of the day continue to be skiing in the back forty as Angela and I explore the hood and take advantage of the short rays of November sun.

Temperatures have been pretty mild without much below zero so it's easy living.

I almost think Mazzy would sleep outside if she wasn't so afraid of the dark.

And finally the upper cabinets are in which means the kitchen is starting to look like a kitchen and we're actually cooking meals there and enjoying the place more. Next week the lowers and a more permanent running water system. Although I may have to jump out for a quick trip north...

Where's your head at?

2008-11-05T22:16:00.004-09:00

This has been a very strange week and we're only halfway in, I'm not sure if I'll make it to the weekend. On Monday Angela and I decided to go for a ski on the multi-use trail out the front door. The weather was nice and there's just enough snow to cover all the grass and roots. We'd been skiing for about 20 minutes when we came upon a squirrel caught in a leg trap. Some jackass had a trapline about 2 feet off the trail where it could have easily caught a dog. The squirrel was caught by about 3 toes so I reached down to release the steel jaws of the trap and he bit the crap out of me. Probably should have seen that one coming. So I took off my hat, held the little bastard down, and then released the trap. He shot out of there like he was on fire and we all went our merry ways. We soon realized we were not far from Jillian's so I called

ahead and she invited us in for tea. I generally like to have a cup of tea after I've been squirrel bit, black tea if I can get it with a band aid and a bit of neosporin. Jillian had it all and then we were off again.

On the way back I thought we should explore a different route so we did and it added just enough distance so Angela ran out of gas. For those of you who have not seen Angela in the woods when she's hungry let me just say that getting bit by a squirrel was not the worst part of this ill-fated voyage. But we made it back in one piece although Angela took a wrong turn at one point and disappeared for about 20 minutes which did wonders for her mood. Apparently it was my fault for not noticing that she was no longer behind me. What ever. But we rallied after some hot soup and went out to Chena Hotsprings for a soak. The rock pool was 107F which is the hottest I have experienced out there and we had to keep crawling out on the rocks to cool off. Of course the weather turned while we were out there and we came home in a blinding blizzard.

Tuesday the Nation elected Obama for Prez. WTF Nation??? I didn't think you cared! So now we've got that going for us, which is nice.

And then the Chickadees attacked. They are small but they are viscous. I do not let Mazzy out of the house when they are around. But today, during a break in the Chickadees, Mazz and I went for a ski.

It was zero degrees which is perfect for both of us. Along the way we discovered a homeless shanty town (for real) and I would have taken a picture but I have seen what they pick up at the dump and I didn't want to be pelted by discarded household goods so we gently backed off down the trail. I had always thought the ski trails would make a good shanty town access... apparently I was right.

We got home just at sunset which is now a bit before 4p.m. and I hung the last of the kitchen cabinets. I'm very happy about that and look forward to cooking in a real kitchen once again.

You Can't, You Won't and You Don't Stop

2008-11-05T10:41:00.004-09:00

by Patrick Moberg

Put another log on the fire

2008-11-02T00:26:00.002-08:00

I have spent waaaay too much time in the garage lately but at long last the upper kitchen cabinets are done and ready to be hanged, or hung, or shot. Actually I've had a good time, just inhaled a lot of sawdust.
I will be very glad to get the cabinets up and move on to the counter top, which theoretically will be easier now that I've put in some hours. Famous last words.

I have to give a shout out to Superior Hardwoods because they are the best wood store in town. I bought some hardware and birch there the other day and had some questions for Rick the owner but he wasn't there so his wife took my cell number and called me back as I was driving home with the answers. What kind of shop does that any more? My only complaint is that they don't have a little coffee area because I would like to sit there and drink coffee while they mill wood. The shop is so awesome. Of course sandwiches would be nice too Connie if you're reading this.

But all this woodwork has pulled me far and away from photography and in my eternal quest for balance I will now begin a "shot a day" posting. I shoot nearly every day but often with just the camera phone whose quality I detest but whose omnipresence I adore. So the shots will be with the Nikon and more than 2 seconds of my time...

Moods that take me and erase me

2008-10-26T22:26:00.002-08:00

Angela and I busted out the cross country skis today and did a 4-mile loop on the UAF Ski Trails. They need a bit more snow but weren't bad and with the sun out it felt warmer than 10F. I left my skis up north on accident so I busted out some old wooden relics from the shed, complete with bamboo poles that were about to shatter. I froze the crap out of my toes since the shoes were too small but otherwise it was a good time. I'm off to Playitagain Sports next week to gear up...

The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy.

2008-10-25T16:47:00.002-08:00

According to a wise weather source (Jillian), this is the coldest October in many years. It was -12F at the cabana this morning and it felt about perfect.This pimped out Toyota was in a Fairbanks parking lot, looks like an early 80's model with chrome wheels and enough fog lights for a concert.

Mazzy enjoys quiet mornings, below zero, with a light snow. She's a Sagittarius boys, spade, with a penchant for heavy petting.

Here's me mushing with Jillian yesterday morning, and by mushing I mean I sat on the back of the 4-wheeler while the dogs pulled us and she steered. It was a delightful morning, not much above zero, and the dogs loved it. Jillian just bought an anorak EXACTLY like mine so she looked fabulous.

Here's Jillian talking to her broker on the cell phone while she mushes. There were probably about 3 minutes in the hour when she wasn't yelling "Sell you bastards, I said sell!" I wouldn't have minded but my Ipod wasn't working so I had nothing to block out the noise.

Here's a pic from the front of the team, I think we had about 20 dogs out. There was nobody else on the trails except for one lonely raven who followed us for awhile. Pretty sweet to lose yourself in empty wilderness off the back porch and still be 5 minutes from Walmart. Fairbanks rocks.

Would you, could you, in a box?

2008-10-24T23:14:00.002-08:00

The Vet who didn't vet, a cautionary tale. You have been warned.

Take time with a wounded hand, 'cause it likes to heal

2008-10-23T18:41:00.003-08:00

Well I built a little shelf for my sweetie and I didn't cut off any appendages and she's happy with it so that equals raving success in my book.I did it in exactly one sheet of plywood which Home Despot mistakenly sold me for $6.
It was built to match Angela's girlie little boxes and bins of somesuch.
I don't mind putting down fake wood flooring but furniture should be real and able to take a beating. Now on to the damn kitchen...

In beneath the cover of another perfect wonder

2008-10-22T09:32:00.005-08:00

It's dumping mad snow here this morning and ba da bop bee da, I'm lovin' it.

I've got Pandora set to Christmas tunes, the cabin is cozy, and I'm about to start building some furniture. Before I do, the week in review:

I saw these in Walmart the other day; slippers you clean the floor with. Pretty good idea but not as good as my Dog Booties You Clean the Floor With™.

Since Angela and I don't step in enough dog poop on a regular basis we went and helped launch Jillian's team the other day. Definitely got the winter trail blood flowing as we watched 20 dogs rocket Jillian and Sam out of their yard. Yeeeehawww!

Then I went to my buddy Greg's and helped him move some material for a tear drop trailer he's building. It's going to be sweet and I secretly hope he decides he needs a bigger one when he's done and he sells this one to me at cost. Dare to dream. Its a gorgeous little thing, 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall and will be sheeted in aluminum with a pop-up kitchen on the back.

And finally, the new skating pond. It is a gem that Jillian pointed out to me and then Andrew and I tested last night (with shovels and some AK IPA of course). The ice is a bit rough but there are no holes and we'll pump some water over the top when it stops snowing and the temps drop again. The plan is for Tuesday night Blades of Fury- Fairbanks style. That means beer, bonfires, dogs, skates, sticks and maybe even a net or two if we can motivate sufficiently.

Sweet, sweet winter.

You Can't Hide Those Lyin' Eyes

2008-10-14T09:59:00.002-08:00

I have posted this picture of Max from this summer to prove that the only thing in common with pit bulls and Sarah Palin is a propensity to attack things they shouldn't.

But this pit bull doesn't lie, although he does beg, fart and steal couch space...

There's Something in the Way She Moves

2008-10-13T08:51:00.003-08:00

Fairbanks is increasingly Fairbanks-looking in the last few days and by this I mean lots of fluffy, dry, sparkling snow, cars in the ditch and trolls at the transfer station. Gotta luvit. I believe the transitioning days of rain are done and the snow we have now is here to stay. I sure hope so any way.Here's a quick cell pic I took as we rocketed past the Igloo on the way back to Fairbanks. Igloo is a surprisingly welcome sight because it means you're halfway home, of course the fact that you're ONLY halfway is sometimes alarming. But in this image, with fresh snow, the Igloo looks charming and if there was a dog team out front I think there's a hell of a stock image to be made here. I've never actually been inside...
Here's Mazzy admiring a heavy snowfall from the protection of the pickup.
Self portrait with thermometer and snowflakes.
Angela poked her head out and saw her shadow which means we will have 6 more months of winter...
Self portrait with router. The stairs are almost completely trimmed in and I have almost completely lost my mind. Coincidence? I think not, now if I can just upload Pandora to my ear protection I will reach enlightenment and can finally listen to Neil Diamond AND the table saw at the same time.

Seeds of Change

2008-10-08T13:41:00.004-08:00

Fairbanks got another inch of snow last night and this is a very good sign. I put the feeders out and the Chickadees are stocking up. Normally they don't hit it hard for another month, I predict an interior winter with over 100 inches of snow and minimal -40F. You heard it here first and I'm purposefully not buying a shovel now so the big snow will come for sure...

She hit the floor, next thing you know...

2008-10-02T17:17:00.003-08:00

Alrighty, finally a little visual progress. This week the plywood cabin floor disappeared under a pretty picture of hardwood flooring from the lovely people at Ikea. Angela and I schlepped these boxes all the way from San Francisco and now here they are. Next stop- new kitchen counter top and cabinets.

Not so wide open spaces.

Here the monitor was suspended off the staircase so I could slide the flooring underneath.

As each bit was finished I re-appropriated tools and crap so I would have more room to work in.

Bam.

It may just be a picture of wood, but I happen to like pictures...

Take it, take another little piece of my heart now baby.

2008-09-30T19:33:00.003-08:00

Well I spotted this at Fred Meyers yesterday, the last "Sarah Palin, Hockey Mom" t-shirt was on sale for $9.99. Does this mean all the others sold? Does this mean they couldn't get rid of them? Or did someone cleverly set this up knowing I would take a picture and blog about this pathetic circumstance. We may never know...

In my other travels I found the transfer station overflowing beyond control. This is the worst I've ever seen it and strangely my neighbors yard is actually somewhat picked up this week, aside from a light blue skiff he brought home the other day. I had hoped with the degrading economy the transfer station would be picked clean, alas, no such luck.

The score of the day was this front end loader. Shout out to super nice dude Mike the Dirt Guy for coming and spreading my 2 loads of tailings in 13 minutes, total bill: $26. Priceless. For everything else there's Rental Zone.

And lastly here is Mazzy Mae in a moment of Zen. There is a chicken carcass in the playground and she has posted a vigil despite the fresh snow. If only our government had such dedication to worthless causes...oh wait, it does...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2008-09-28T13:04:00.003-08:00

This is what it looked like coming back from dinner at a friend's house on Murphy Dome last night. Surprisingly there was no snow out there but it was whiteout blizzard on Farmer's Loop Road.

This morning was crisp and gorgeous with sunshine lighting up the fresh inch of snow. Angela and I took the opportunity to move in to our little cabin.
This is Fairbanks living here, somebody took an old airplane and towed it into the woods, supposedly to make a house. I bet nothing will ever happen but who else has drive up stairs? That rocks.

I hear the train a comin'

2008-09-27T12:04:00.002-08:00

It is snowing this morning. Not dumping, but there are nice, dry, styrofoam style flakes coming down and that is a good sign. It won't be long before snowmachines are buzzing around, dogs are mushing and wolves are eviscerating helpless moose as they wallow in deep pow pow. So put some hot chocolate on and make sure your Netflix is paid up...

Go North, the rush is on.

2008-09-25T08:19:00.003-08:00

Well I got medieval on the front entrance yesterday and tore the deck off the house. The plan is to add on a 8x10 Arctic Entry, which will add 80 square feet and I'm going to put in a 50 gallon water tank so my princess can have running water- sorta.

And then came more land! 2 loads of tailings (that's left over gold miner dirt) will add to the driveway and create a better foundation for the addition. Now I just have to find something to spread 18 yards of rock. Tune in tomorrow for pictures of Angela and her shoveling blisters...

If I were a carpenter, and you were a lady

2008-09-20T07:58:00.003-08:00

The upstairs is painted, well, mostly. Painted enough to lay carpet so that is next on the list. When I went down to buy carpet yesterday my friend Stan at Florcraft said he would swap a carpet installation for a door installation so we'll be getting a pro out here next week which is good as I want the stairs to look maavelous. In return I have to turn a window into a door at Stan's house. You see, the economy takes a digger and the barter system thrives... So this weekend will be spent painting the downstairs, designing the kitchen cabinets and tidying up outside as snow is just around the corner...

This week's reader survey: What the hell should I do to finish out under the stairs?

**note there is a monitor heater and breaker box in residence**

I'm on a highway to hell

2008-09-18T22:46:00.002-08:00

I'm a bit under the weather of late, but fear not, nothing a little Nyquil can't fix. The cabin is nearly painted upstairs and hopefully carpet will go down on the 'morrow. Nothing like carpeting to clear up a head cold.

Max Dog tired quickly of my whining and I was thankful for my keyboard cover...

Oh please won't you be, my neighbor

2008-09-16T13:45:00.003-08:00

Fairbanks is a quiet, laid back kinda town, and I like that. It's nice to go to sleep at night and not hear sirens or wake up to the sound of garbage trucks. There's give and take though, case in point, my neighbor. He's a nice guy but he's a hard core dumpster diver and things are getting a bit out of hand. Right now there is a massive church pew on the left side of his driveway beside numerous dead snowmachines. And yesterday I shot this with my cell phone:

So I'll have to keep an eye on the dog when I let her out...

Where Da Hoes At?

2008-09-15T08:24:00.003-08:00

It is done, after much diggery and surprisingly little cussery I exposed the septic, found the blockage, called Lemeta Pumping (totally awesome company BTW) who steamed out the line, then I replaced the pipe and buried the whole thing again. Angela was my right hand shovel and we got er dun.

Even Angela appreciated the mighty hoe.

Here's the finished product with a new clean out line installed for good measure. Note the grimace, there was a slight hint of poo smell, though I was unable to find the source...

I ain't sayin' she's a gold digga..

2008-09-12T11:06:00.002-08:00

Ah yeah, it's time to rent some heavy equipment. For those of you living in the Farmer's Loop area, I apologize, there will be much rejoicing as I rent a backhoe and claw my way into mom's defunct septic system. It is going to get ugly...

Now Ya Do What They Told Ya

2008-09-11T07:21:00.003-08:00

Happy 9/11 everybody. 7 years ago this morning our president sat in a kindergarten classroom and tried to pretend that the United States wasn't under attack. In honor of that moment of silence he has another moment of silence every year at the exact hour, so this morning was his 8th in a row. Of course he has additional moments of silence when asked when our troops will withdrawal, how we can possibly afford to go on, and he is truly stumped when asked to spell "quagmire."

Sometimes you get the porcupine, and sometimes the porcupine gets you. Viva la Revolucion!

He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood.

2008-09-07T20:32:00.003-08:00

Angela and I did some recon the other day and scoped out the distance from our cabin to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by bike for Angela's new job. It's 5.5 miles and we did it in about 30 minutes. Luckily there is a bike path most of the way and no one even flipped us off. On the way we passed a Taxidermist, Denny's, Ice Rink, Ice Cream Shop, Liquor Store and Building Supply Store and stopped just short of Crack Town.

We want for nothing in Fairbanks, Alaska. Nothing.

Please take a moment for a random internet poll (which will help settle a wee argument Angela and I had in the yard the other day)

Q: Is it redneck to shoot a squirrel while talking on the phone?

Thank you for your time, operators are standing by.

You drive me crazy

2008-09-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

This is too good to pass up:

Well she's 5 feet high and rising

2008-09-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about Angela, it's my old nemesis fireweed. It has taken over Mom's house and must be removed before snowfall. Actually, the weed isn't the real issue, it's what lurks beneath. A high speed weed wacker tends to eviscerate whatever it encounters, often sending unmentionables into the face and hair of the wackee. So wish me luck...

It takes two to make a thing go right

2008-09-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

Well hello civilization, I see you've kept busy while I was gone. Seems Alaska has stepped into the spotlight of late thanks in part to a little lady named Sarah Palin. Now everyone is wondering why Alaskans get so much free money. Hmmm, good question except that in Bettles gas was $8.39 a gallon and here in Fairbanks heating oil is well over $5 a gallon. But that's just water under a bridge to nowhere is far as I'm concerned.

I had a great summer. Lots of delightful weather, clients and no forest fires. Fishing was good and the bears kept a respectful distance. Here are a few pics and I will post more when the voices in my head quiet down a bit, but I suppose they're right, I should be cleaning my guns...

Can you count the number of 38 inch pythons in this picture?

PS - I think Bristol should name her upcoming kid "Esox lucius" and carry on a fantastic tradition of unique Alaska names.

The final countdown, doodleoo doo, doodleoo oo oo

2008-06-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

In less than 12 short hours I shall be leaving, on a prop plane, don't know when I'll be back again. But I'm guessing early September, awash in the sweet smell of fresh caribou blood, me hopes, and ready to make mountains out of mole hills in the Golden Heart City (Fairbanks). I signed on the papers today and Angela and I are now the proud parents of 3 acres of permafrost. With a little help from global warming and our friends in the republican party we'll have beachfront property in under 30 years. Now that's an investment baby.

Who needs a chainsaw when you have a Grover?

Domo arrigato Mr. Roboto

2008-06-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

I had lunch with my nephew today, we talked about work and the stress of being 5. It was nice. And it occurred to me that there is no mood a little construction paper and a marker can't fix. Give it a try and you'll see that I'm right.

Ain't too proud to beg, sweet darlin'

2008-05-30T23:24:00.000-08:00

Well this week has been a nice welcome back to Fairbanks. I hit the ground running and went out looking for property with some help from my old friend Joel. He found me a nice little chunk of dirt outside of town so Angela and I talked it over and decided it might not be so bad.The red arrow is roughly where we will be if things go well, still haven't had the full thumbs up but I did put some money down so cross your fingers. The neighborhood is brand spanking new, thus the lack of houses. Hopefully power will be available by the end of the summer.The rest of the week was spent tracking down funding which apparently requires insurance which you can't get if you don't already have it. So back and forth and up and down and who knows if I told the right people the right things but tune in next week to find out more. In the meantime here's the old cabana that will finance the new:

it was squirrel infested and swampy, but nothing a few firearms and some yard work can't handle. And still no t.v. Yea!!

Below them old white mountains...

2008-05-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well we made it, at 2 a.m. Alaska time we rolled into Fairbanks Thursday night. Hard to believe but we're definitely not in San Francisco any more. Here are some photo highlights:

Crossing the border from British Columbia to Yukon Territory.

Angela discovers the Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse.

Liard Hotsprings, the best stop in Canada by far.

A passing squall at 11 p.m.

Back in the land of midnight shadows.

Mazzy leaves a special sign at the Sign Forest in Watson Lake.

Oh, Canada

2008-05-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

The Beez Kneez Bakpakers Hostel

Bison on the side of the road.

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory after battling 3 days of torrential rain enroute to the top of the world. Now just 600 little miles and we will be in Fairbanks. The truck is running well, the trailer is holding up and life is good. We saw our 4th black bear today, about 50 Bison, a handful of Mule Deer and 3 moose. Last night we camped in the mountains and it poured on us and our green tarp shelter. Tonight, we are in a cozy Youth Hostel chalet, The Beez Kneez. It's a swell spot. See you soon Alaska.

Mt. Vernon, WA

2008-05-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Mazzy likes to keep an eye on the road...

We're visiting John and Margaret after 5 hours on the road from Hood River. The temperatures have finally cooled off and tomorrow we cross the border. We hope to make it as far as Prince George tomorrow, perhaps a bit farther, 500 miles plus. We'll see how it goes and what the mounties have to say about us crossing with American passports...

Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'

2008-05-18T07:13:00.000-08:00

We finally got to meet Clarity Blue- She's a peach

We had tea and crumpets at the local brewery

Walking the trails in Corvallis

Camping above Mt. Shasta

Michelle and Clarity down near the Hood River

We are in Hood River, OR with our friends Steve and Michelle and our new little friend Clarity. The weather has been hot here and yesterday we all got sunburnt on the Hood River watching kite surfers and wind surfers. The truck is running well, the trailer is holding up, and today we head for Mt. Vernon, WA to visit more friends before the border crossing and slog through Canada. Keep your fingers crossed that everything holds up!

Hot and Bothered

2008-05-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

The city of San Francisco is giving us an 86 degree sendoff. Today the temperature will hit 86F and tomorrow is supposed to be 90F. The East Bay is on enforced water rationing and I've been told the cost of iced lattes is skyrocketing. We are leaving just in time.

She's My Little Runaway

2008-05-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Angela is calculating the number of warm Alaska nights this little sapling represents.

Extreme shrinkage in the Eel River after the marathon.

I locked in the hubs and drove through this 5,000 year old behemoth.

Utilities included.

A town full of Angela-size people live here in their tree houses, they asked Angela to be their Queen. She said no.

Kari would not stop barking so we put her in the back of the truck with Payton.

Guitar 'round the campfire.

Matt even brought lyrics for Angela to sing along too. (she sounds just like Dolly Parton)

Mazzy loves a good hug.

Lotta leaves here, lotta leaves.

Angela and I are just back from another half marathon, Avenue of the Giants. I still can't feel my legs. I did a personal best of 1:45.23 which means my average mile was done in 8 minutes 3 seconds for 13.1 miles. Yeah, not too shabby for an old man. Angela met her goal by finishing without collapsing. We're all winners.

My what a DUKTIG dog you have, and your IVAR is SKÄRPT and EFFEKTIV!

2008-04-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

This is Robber, he gets in trouble at the Dog Park and then pretends that we're his owner.

Best breakfast burritos in town, The Green Chile Kitchen, two blocks away.

Concrete words of wisdom...

Princess of the Presidio

Trader Jose- at $5.99/6 pack it's a decent Corona knockoff..

Well Angela and I had a wild and crazy weekend that started with a trip to IKEA in Emeryville. Emeryville is an industrial hell-hole between Oakland and Berkley that has a higher kill ratio than Baghdad (if you don't believe me check Wikipedia- it's true) Getting off the freeway there is nearly as dangerous as the place itself. Although now there are expensive lofts and condos popping up like mushrooms in a cowpie and soon it will be the new "it" place- provided they fix the impossible offramp which chokes traffic to a gagging blue standstill every day at 5pm.

So we hit IKEA and learned a bunch of Swedish words and bought nothing but Swedish fish and 50 cent hot dogs. Then we rolled to Berkley for a birthday party park picnic with an old friend from Fairbanks who I hadn't seen in about 15 years. He was taller. Then we battled traffic home and geared up for today when we sold off our bedroom furniture. We bid a tearful farewell to our particle-board friends and sent them on their merry way. They now live with a girl from Mexico City and one from Guadalajara who I then helped move their junk for the rest of the day. It was good training for our upcoming move because I saw the benefit of downsizing.

On the morrow it's back to the salt mines...

Sometimes you eat the Shark, sometimes the Shark eats you.

2008-04-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

I awoke this morning with the horrible realization that I had left my cordless $400 Makita drill "Shakira" in the back of my truck along with my $300 framing level, on a Friday night, in San Francisco, mere blocks from cracktown. I flew from my bed, sprinted down the stairs and found everything in my truck as I had left it. Thank the Crack Lords, the Karma Fairy and the fact I happened to have pajamas on for once.

In a related but not so lucky story a man was eviscerated by a shark near San Diego yesterday. His last words were apparently "Shark!" Beats the hell out of "Volvo!" We should all be so lucky.

Me and Lou Seal (the SF Giants mascot)

2008-04-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

Me, Lou Seal and Angela- keeping the crowd on their feet..

I caught a homerun!! (with some help from Photoshop)

Overlooking 3rd base.

Way up top.

Timmy was tall enough to ride the Guzzler, I really shouldn't comment on that...

Angela could have used a little more sunblock and a few less pins, the extra innings were tough on her...

Angela and I finally took in a Giants game, vs St. Louis Cardinals, my first baseball game, ever. Of course the Giants lost (in extra innings) we drank some overpriced ballpark beer and ate some killer garlic fries. The Giants stadium doesn't have a bad seat and since it wasn't a sellout game we sat somewhere different every 20 minutes or so. It was sweet. We watched a couple home runs go into the crowd and one into the bay.

Sweet Barley Pops

2008-04-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

Trader Joes now carries ACME BEER for $2.99 a sixpack. I had to give it a whirl. It tastes like 50 cent beer, go figure, still pretty cool.

I'm now trimming out the roof on the jobsite and getting sunburnt as hell. I'm officially a redneck and can feel my patience getting shorter along with a sudden need to yell obscenities. Strange.

And last but not least, Mazzy got a new monkey to play with! So much fun with cotton stuffing.

The Week in Review

2008-04-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Gas in San Francisco is nearly as expensive as Coldfoot, Alaska- actually, I think I took this pic on Monday so it's probably there by now. I demanded the return of the 3's but this man spoke no english and thought I had to pee. Whatever.

Angela did NOT buy these glasses even though I begged...

Me and my transit...

The view from the penthouse, note the lack of hot tub- despite my daily rants the architect refuses to budge on this essential city survival tool and beacon of wealth. Perhaps I should return to Alaska where people listen to me...

View from Master Bedroom, there will be French Doors here...

View from the street, you actually can't see the 4th story so it doesn't look so big, but it is.

One more thing of note: Angela and I went and saw Billy Connelly live last night and he rocks, I say goddamn the man is funny. His best line of the night: "San Francisco, I love you guys, Bill O'Reilly hates you and that's all the endorsement I need." What a guy.