Thank goodness it's finally Wednesday. The week is halfway over and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Two more days until we can throw some gear in the van and head into the mountains for some much needed peace and quiet. I really would like to go up into the hills and catch a couple Steelhead trout.
I've been subbing for an English teacher these past few days who was kind enough to have my lesson plans consist purely of showing movies. Needless to say, I've been doing a lot of internet surfing. I've been digging a little deeper than the CNN headlines and the pop-culture news that we are constantly spoon fed by a media whose sole goal seems to be dumbing down the American public.
Here is some stuff I found interesting/alarming...
http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html
This group from UNH has come up with some good ideas about creating bio-diesel from giant algae ponds. It's pretty interesting.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=153721&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28
With all the alarmists raising a ruckus about global warming and greenhouse gases, it seems like people in an already hot place would be stoked about all the research into bio-fuels. Nope, that would be too logical...This article is about how OPEC is going to stop investing money into finding oil and further developing oil fields if people continue investing money into alternative fuels. Sounds to me like a bunch of Arab sheiks are worried that people might wise up, figure out that we are getting screwed by the oil producing countries, and lose their cash cow...
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/
Ron Paul is basically the man. In an era most politicians are corrupt or at least very unproductive, Ron Paul stands out as one of the last legit guys in Washington. I've read through his writings a couple times this week and I still get a little misty when I read the logic in his reasoning. He's running on the Republican ticket and he's just about the only guy on the ticket that is legitimately a Republican. Go and read about his positions, be ready to debate with people, and don't be afraid to argue against the socialist agenda that is drowning this country.
http://www.junkscience.com/
Just some interesting stuff about how people use science (falsely) to promote their own agenda.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
A Short Book Review-Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Well I just finished "Mayflower" by Nathaniel Philbrick and I must say it was a good read. The book covers the story of the Pilgrims from the planning stages of their exodus from Europe until the end of King Phillip's War. The book really portrays the gritty reality that the Pilgrims existed in and puts to rest quite of few of the romanticized ideas we have about our beloved Pilgrims. I won't go into an in-depth history of the Pilgrims, but I will pass along some of the more interesting facts and theories I gleaned from the roughly 400 pages of entertaining history.
You guys all know why the pilgrims decided to sail for the shores of America-they wanted to set up a community in which they could worship freely and in a way they choose. I really respect their take on Christianity. They were definitely in the Calvinist school of thought. They really had faith in God and believed they were God's chosen people. Several times, they compare their struggle to that of Israel and I got the impression that they believed they were voyaging to their own 'Promised Land'. They really had a bare-bones take on Christianity. If it wasn't specifically stated in the Bible, then it was not doctrine. For example, they didn't celebrate Christmas because they holiday wasn't biblically based. They really were a community of believers, that's probably the main reason they made it work in America and for-profit colonies like Jamestown didn't really prosper.
Before they left Europe, they went through quite a few hardships. They were forced to move from their native England to Holland to avoid persecution. They were pretty much constantly taken advantage of by people who they had enlisted to help them plan for their journey. I mean just imagine the confidence and balls it took for the pilgrims to actually think they could sail to an almost completely unknown continent and just set up shop. Most of the pilgrims were artisans and farmers, few had ventured beyond their small villages in the English country side. The closest thing to wilderness around them was Nottingham Woods.
Those Pilgrims were tough people. They had intended to make the 10 week voyage during the warm summer months, but due to set backs, they didn't start the voyage until early fall and didn't make it to the coast of America until mid-November. They were short on water, running low on food, and had little beer left. They were most alarmed by the shortage of beer, which would alarm me too. The book talks about how one of the first crops they planted was barley, in order to refill all of those empty beer casks.
They arrived at Cape Cod in mid-November during what would be an unseasonably cold winter. Did you guys know that we were at the end of a "Little Ice Age" in the 1620's? They had intended to arrive at the southwest corner of Long Island at the mouth of the Hudson River, which would have provided them with a river large enough to handle large merchant ships and they might have made some money from the whole operation. Instead they arrived of the shallow, shoal ridden shores of Cape Cod. If they would have arrived 10 years prior, they would have found a huge native population. They would have seen shelters and villages dotting the shoreline and a rather well developed culture. Instead they arrived along the shores of Cape Cod and found a desolate landscape. The past decade had been a decade of disease and the native population had been decimated. People think that as many as 75% of the natives had been wiped out by disease. And within 60 years, over half of the remained natives would be wiped out in King Phillip's War.
I remember as a kid reading a book about Squanto and his impact on the whole Pilgrim situation. The book I read as a kid was somewhat romanticized, come to find out. I had come to believe that Squanto had been loved by all and was a benevolent figure during his time. This book painted him in a somewhat different light. First off, did you know Squanto had named himself after his religions devil figure? Pretty crazy, eh! He did teach the pilgrims how to plant corn, beans, and squash the native way, which I am going to try someday. But he also used his relationship with the pilgrims and his ability to speak with the three major groups to attempt to seize power for himself. For example, fresh in the memories of Wampanoags and the Narragansetts was the horrible devastation disease had wreaked on the local populations during the past decade. Squanto used that fresh memory to extort goods from the local Indians. He claimed the pilgrims stored barrels of the plaque underneath their houses and they would unleash it at his request. He pretty much was up to mischief like that from the time the pilgrims came, until he was poisoned.
Did you know that Abe Lincoln was responsible for the creation of Thanksgiving? He did it in 1863. The pilgrims recognized three holidays; the Sabbath, days of thanksgiving, and days of fasting. They definitely celebrated their first harvest at 'Plymouth Plantation', but it probably didn't look anything like pop culture portrays it. We usually picture them sitting around a long table, forks in hand, and wearing those drab black and white outfits. First off, they celebrated with hundreds of local Indians around multiple bonfires. Second, they didn't have actual silverware for another year of so (they had knives and rough hewn spoons). Thirdly, the Puritans were the ones wearing the drab clothing. Many of the pilgrims had been weavers and textile workers back in Europe, so they had colorful clothing that probably was simple, yet fashionable for the times. They feasted on waterfowl, deer, and the bounty the land provided.
The Pilgrims existed in peace with the surrounding tribes for 50-60 years before King Phillip's War broke out. After England heard that the Pilgrims were making out well in the new world, it started a whole string of colonizing in the New England area. Puritans showed up, as well as a whole slew of other people. These new people were decidedly less open to the natives and pretty much treated them like crap. The up swing in population started a whole chain reaction of land grabbing and general mistreatment of the indigenous peoples. And thus emerges Phillip, son of Massasoit (the friendly, wise leader of Pokanoket tribe). Phillip wasn't as positive towards the English and figured the only way to get all of his land back was to kill all of the newcomers. At the same time, the English needed more land and they figured they needed to kill the Indians. And that brings us to King Phillip's War, the deadliest per capita war ever fought by Americans. 8% of the male population of New England was killed or wounded in the fighting and like 2 or 3 times that many natives were killed or sent into slavery.
I don't want to dumb down the book and I couldn't do it justice in just a few paragraphs, so you guys should go get it from the library. You'll find out all about awesome people from OUR history like Benjamin Church, Miles Standish, Massasoit, Edward Winslow, John Bradford, King Phillip, and a whole host of people who are the embodiment of GRIZZLED (meaning they accomplished great things in a very rugged and unknown environment). People need to read about our history, maybe it would help us pull our heads out of our asses and get some positive stuff done around here.
You guys all know why the pilgrims decided to sail for the shores of America-they wanted to set up a community in which they could worship freely and in a way they choose. I really respect their take on Christianity. They were definitely in the Calvinist school of thought. They really had faith in God and believed they were God's chosen people. Several times, they compare their struggle to that of Israel and I got the impression that they believed they were voyaging to their own 'Promised Land'. They really had a bare-bones take on Christianity. If it wasn't specifically stated in the Bible, then it was not doctrine. For example, they didn't celebrate Christmas because they holiday wasn't biblically based. They really were a community of believers, that's probably the main reason they made it work in America and for-profit colonies like Jamestown didn't really prosper.
Before they left Europe, they went through quite a few hardships. They were forced to move from their native England to Holland to avoid persecution. They were pretty much constantly taken advantage of by people who they had enlisted to help them plan for their journey. I mean just imagine the confidence and balls it took for the pilgrims to actually think they could sail to an almost completely unknown continent and just set up shop. Most of the pilgrims were artisans and farmers, few had ventured beyond their small villages in the English country side. The closest thing to wilderness around them was Nottingham Woods.
Those Pilgrims were tough people. They had intended to make the 10 week voyage during the warm summer months, but due to set backs, they didn't start the voyage until early fall and didn't make it to the coast of America until mid-November. They were short on water, running low on food, and had little beer left. They were most alarmed by the shortage of beer, which would alarm me too. The book talks about how one of the first crops they planted was barley, in order to refill all of those empty beer casks.
They arrived at Cape Cod in mid-November during what would be an unseasonably cold winter. Did you guys know that we were at the end of a "Little Ice Age" in the 1620's? They had intended to arrive at the southwest corner of Long Island at the mouth of the Hudson River, which would have provided them with a river large enough to handle large merchant ships and they might have made some money from the whole operation. Instead they arrived of the shallow, shoal ridden shores of Cape Cod. If they would have arrived 10 years prior, they would have found a huge native population. They would have seen shelters and villages dotting the shoreline and a rather well developed culture. Instead they arrived along the shores of Cape Cod and found a desolate landscape. The past decade had been a decade of disease and the native population had been decimated. People think that as many as 75% of the natives had been wiped out by disease. And within 60 years, over half of the remained natives would be wiped out in King Phillip's War.
I remember as a kid reading a book about Squanto and his impact on the whole Pilgrim situation. The book I read as a kid was somewhat romanticized, come to find out. I had come to believe that Squanto had been loved by all and was a benevolent figure during his time. This book painted him in a somewhat different light. First off, did you know Squanto had named himself after his religions devil figure? Pretty crazy, eh! He did teach the pilgrims how to plant corn, beans, and squash the native way, which I am going to try someday. But he also used his relationship with the pilgrims and his ability to speak with the three major groups to attempt to seize power for himself. For example, fresh in the memories of Wampanoags and the Narragansetts was the horrible devastation disease had wreaked on the local populations during the past decade. Squanto used that fresh memory to extort goods from the local Indians. He claimed the pilgrims stored barrels of the plaque underneath their houses and they would unleash it at his request. He pretty much was up to mischief like that from the time the pilgrims came, until he was poisoned.
Did you know that Abe Lincoln was responsible for the creation of Thanksgiving? He did it in 1863. The pilgrims recognized three holidays; the Sabbath, days of thanksgiving, and days of fasting. They definitely celebrated their first harvest at 'Plymouth Plantation', but it probably didn't look anything like pop culture portrays it. We usually picture them sitting around a long table, forks in hand, and wearing those drab black and white outfits. First off, they celebrated with hundreds of local Indians around multiple bonfires. Second, they didn't have actual silverware for another year of so (they had knives and rough hewn spoons). Thirdly, the Puritans were the ones wearing the drab clothing. Many of the pilgrims had been weavers and textile workers back in Europe, so they had colorful clothing that probably was simple, yet fashionable for the times. They feasted on waterfowl, deer, and the bounty the land provided.
The Pilgrims existed in peace with the surrounding tribes for 50-60 years before King Phillip's War broke out. After England heard that the Pilgrims were making out well in the new world, it started a whole string of colonizing in the New England area. Puritans showed up, as well as a whole slew of other people. These new people were decidedly less open to the natives and pretty much treated them like crap. The up swing in population started a whole chain reaction of land grabbing and general mistreatment of the indigenous peoples. And thus emerges Phillip, son of Massasoit (the friendly, wise leader of Pokanoket tribe). Phillip wasn't as positive towards the English and figured the only way to get all of his land back was to kill all of the newcomers. At the same time, the English needed more land and they figured they needed to kill the Indians. And that brings us to King Phillip's War, the deadliest per capita war ever fought by Americans. 8% of the male population of New England was killed or wounded in the fighting and like 2 or 3 times that many natives were killed or sent into slavery.
I don't want to dumb down the book and I couldn't do it justice in just a few paragraphs, so you guys should go get it from the library. You'll find out all about awesome people from OUR history like Benjamin Church, Miles Standish, Massasoit, Edward Winslow, John Bradford, King Phillip, and a whole host of people who are the embodiment of GRIZZLED (meaning they accomplished great things in a very rugged and unknown environment). People need to read about our history, maybe it would help us pull our heads out of our asses and get some positive stuff done around here.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Kids These Days...
Today I'm subbing for a science teacher at the alternative high school in Eureka, and I am somewhat annoyed by what I am observing. These kids just don't give a damn about school or education. I'm only halfway through the day and already I'm pretty pissed off by the whole situation. I don't want to sound biased or inconsiderate here, but this school is a waste of money and time. Most of my classes should have around 20 students, but less than half of the students on the roster show up for class. Of the 10 or so that do show up, most of them sleep or otherwise don't put forth any effort to better themselves. They are too busy talking about parties or whatever else that they find far more important than the NOVA film that is showing.
These kids are rude and vulgar. I don't know how many times I've walked past a student who absolutely reeks of pot smoke. A solid number of these kids are still high...and it's only noon.
Getting to my point...Our schools are underfunded and our teachers are underpaid. I'm underpaid. There are kids out there that want to learn, that pay attention, who are polite, and who are truly good students...so why are we funding a program for kids who don't give a shit and holding back the kids that want to learn. People always piss and moan about how poor the education system is in America and how far we're behind China, Japan, and other random countries. Do you think that China has an alternative school for the kids that get kicked out of normal schools? We have our heads so far up our asses it's not even funny. When are we gonna start making the tough choices? When are we gonna be able to call it like it is? I mean let's get real here, the world is at a turning point. It's a competitive world out there. We should be equipping kids with the knowledge and skills for them to be able to take care of themselves, but instead we are creating a whole generation who are going to be suckling at the teat of Big Government indefinitely.
We, as a society, need to start embracing the idea of the individual and independence. Welfare, public healthcare, and social services has ruined this country. What happened to the brash independance that characterized us as a country? People want freedom, but demand handouts. As the government grows and becomes the Nanny state, we lose. Let's get back to the America that our grandparents fought for. It all starts with the youth, if we can't start whipping these kids into shape, then we are in trouble.
Just some quotes from my day...
"I did a bunch of blow this weekend and my back is f'ing killing me."
"We need to find a grow and rob it, then we'd have a sweet payday."
"Sorry I'm late, I'm pretty hungover."
"F#$k dude, I'm going home. I need to smoke." (at this point kid gets up, walks outclassroom door,goes to the office, and then proceeds home)
"I don't need the worksheet, I'm just gonna take a nap." (kid proceeds to sleep)
"Don't you f#$%ing shake your head at me. Don't you dare disrespect me. You're a f@#$ingsub.
(coming from the 18 yr old sophomore)
I'm done with this class. You better not ever sub in this school again."
"You're a retard if you think we actually landed on the moon. I saw a show on Fox thatsaid it was a hoax."
"F&$# you, you're just a sub. What the f@!# do you know?"
Don't worry folks. I have a pretty thick skin these days.
These kids are rude and vulgar. I don't know how many times I've walked past a student who absolutely reeks of pot smoke. A solid number of these kids are still high...and it's only noon.
Getting to my point...Our schools are underfunded and our teachers are underpaid. I'm underpaid. There are kids out there that want to learn, that pay attention, who are polite, and who are truly good students...so why are we funding a program for kids who don't give a shit and holding back the kids that want to learn. People always piss and moan about how poor the education system is in America and how far we're behind China, Japan, and other random countries. Do you think that China has an alternative school for the kids that get kicked out of normal schools? We have our heads so far up our asses it's not even funny. When are we gonna start making the tough choices? When are we gonna be able to call it like it is? I mean let's get real here, the world is at a turning point. It's a competitive world out there. We should be equipping kids with the knowledge and skills for them to be able to take care of themselves, but instead we are creating a whole generation who are going to be suckling at the teat of Big Government indefinitely.
We, as a society, need to start embracing the idea of the individual and independence. Welfare, public healthcare, and social services has ruined this country. What happened to the brash independance that characterized us as a country? People want freedom, but demand handouts. As the government grows and becomes the Nanny state, we lose. Let's get back to the America that our grandparents fought for. It all starts with the youth, if we can't start whipping these kids into shape, then we are in trouble.
Just some quotes from my day...
"I did a bunch of blow this weekend and my back is f'ing killing me."
"We need to find a grow and rob it, then we'd have a sweet payday."
"Sorry I'm late, I'm pretty hungover."
"F#$k dude, I'm going home. I need to smoke." (at this point kid gets up, walks outclassroom door,goes to the office, and then proceeds home)
"I don't need the worksheet, I'm just gonna take a nap." (kid proceeds to sleep)
"Don't you f#$%ing shake your head at me. Don't you dare disrespect me. You're a f@#$ingsub.
(coming from the 18 yr old sophomore)
I'm done with this class. You better not ever sub in this school again."
"You're a retard if you think we actually landed on the moon. I saw a show on Fox thatsaid it was a hoax."
"F&$# you, you're just a sub. What the f@!# do you know?"
Don't worry folks. I have a pretty thick skin these days.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Big Surf, Carruther's Cove, and the Big Picture...
It finally stopped raining around here around noon on Saturday. It had rained the entire week, with only the occasional hour or two long respite from the cold, dreary downpours. It's funny because the people around here are so melodramatic about their rainy season. About two days into the storm, people were already starting to look slightly crazed. They act like it doesn't get crappy anywhere else in the US and if it does rain somewhere-it's nothing quite so bad as a Pacific rainstorm. I am no fan of the rainstorms, but I am happy to have a couple hours without bums strolling down the street and lazing about my front lawn. The good thing about it raining all week was that it cleared up for the weekend and allowed Justine and I to have a wonderful lazy two days together, doing nothing in particular except whatever we pleased!
BIG SURF
The surf on Saturday and Sunday was spectacular, well actually it was only spectacularly huge. I really like to surf, but 17-20 feet is a bit big for my liking. When it gets that big around here, most of the spots closeout and become a mess of whitewater and foam. On big days, there are only a few choices; Harbor Mouth, Patrick's Point, and College Cove...
After watching my Boilermakers coast to an easy victory I decided to go and at least look at the waves. The Harbor Mouth is the place to be when the winter swells start rolling it. It's only a ten minute drive from our house and if the surf is going off, there will be somebody there charging it. As I drove south along the Samoa Peninsula I could see the huge swells from the road. The energy of the ocean was in the air. Standing on the beach, you can feel the sand rumble as waves taller than a two story house crash onto the shore.
As I pulled into the parking lot along the North Jetty, I noticed dozens of cars...most of them with the surfboards still safely strapped to the racks or securely stowed in the beds of pickup trucks. Tons of people showed up for the surf, but few people wanted to go out and play. Saturday morning was a spectator day for everyone but the committed and those with jet skis. I think within a couple of years, I would like to be comfortable in surf of that size, but it takes commitment, a thick board, and balls of absolute steel. As you guys can see from the pictures, it looks amazing...
CARRUTHER'S COVE
On Sunday, Justine and I took off on our typical Sunday afternoon drive to find adventure. We set off early Sunday morning with a flawless plan...We were going to drive north to the Newton Drury Scenic Drive, which is a beautiful, SMOOTH, gently sloping road through Redwood National Park. A couple of weekends back, we had scouted portions of the drive as possible downhill skateboarding runs. We intended to park at the bottom of the long, gradual hill and walk to the top, then skate back to our van. The plan was simple enough, except we forgot to factor in the State of California (which is always the X factor). The state, in all of it's wisdom, had closed our road and barred the gates, so we were left looking for a plan B.
Plan B presented itself in the form of the "Coastal Road", the name should actually be "Coastal Dirt Trail", but we won't split hairs. After much profanity and cursing of California and Californians, we set off on the "Coastal Road" in search of the trail head to Carruther's Cove. After a somewhat hair-raising ramble down the dirt/gravel path with sheer 600 ft drop-offs frequently to our left, we found our mile long path down to Carruther's Cove. The trail was about a mile long with over 600 feet of elevation loss/gain. The trail down followed a drainage and was a tunnel of overhanging foliage. We felt like the first people there all week, which was a definite possibility. We were miles away from a legitimate road, people didn't come out this way much. Magazines always talk about pristine, tucked away beaches with not a foot-print in sight.Here is a beach like that. There are dozens like it within an hour. On the trail down we saw tons of birds, frogs, banana slugs, and a half eaten Pacific Salamander. The cove itself was beautiful. The surf was booming and nobody for miles! Truly a picturesque scene...
The trail down was fun. It was all down hill, with great views. The walk up was long. I was breathing hard on the walk up. I love the humidity, but on the way up...WHEW! It was balmy.
We checked the surf at a couple spots, but the crowd found College Cove first and Camel Rock looked a bit much.
THE BIG PICTURE
The Big Picture of it all though sounds less glamorous. There are some great vistas, cool stuff to see, waves, mountains, and lots of new things. But on the other hand, what is all this cool stuff without friends and family around to share it? I'm really starting to crave some Hoosier hospitality and some Midwestern sensibility. Boiler Up!
Friday, October 12, 2007
A Rambling Rant About Nothing in Particular
Let me just preface this rant by saying that I read at least one national newspaper and one local paper daily, and I substitute teach...
I heard on NPR this morning that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace "for (their) efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". I really don't know what to say about that, "What the heck" comes to mind...I heard that the British distributed a copy of 'An Inconvenient Truth' to all of their secondary schools recently. I also read how a parent sued to have a disclaimer put on the video about how it's 'highly political' and 'factually incorrect' in many cases...
The front page of the USA Today for 10/12 has a story about Mexican airlines which cater specifically to immigrants hoping to cross into the US. The airline, known is "Aeromigrante", flies passengers from southern Mexican cities to border towns such as Tijuana or Mexicali. Now to me, this just seems like a load of bull. Why are we, meaning American citizens, putting up with this invasion from the south? I mean, how much more blatantly obvious can a problem be? Let me tell you how this affects me personally...Say I want to go hike in some of the millions of acres of beautiful nationally owned forest land in Humboldt County or really anywhere in the US. If it's during 'growing season', I have to be worried about stumbling into some Mexican drug cartel's backcountry pot growing operation. Even if I was carrying a handgun (which would be illegal for me to do!!!), the drug cartels are packing AK-47's and assault rifles. Now I'd bet just about anything that these guys aren't here on work visas. We need to crack down on this crap! And just a side note, you guys need to look into the 'Amero', there have been a couple stories in the NY Times lately about how the government wants to unite the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America into some sort of American Union...kind of like the European Union...Say goodbye to wealth and prosperity.
Anyway, not to focus on news too much, people seriously need to read more newspapers...like national newspapers and need to read more than the headlines. The scary stuff is hidden away behind the headlines.
In subbing news...If the kids I've been teaching lately are any indication of the overall state of the youth in America...then we're in trouble folks. I'm in California and the wind usually blows west. Granted kids usually eat extra sugar and drink two RedBulls before class if they know they have a sub, but kids these days....What's up with every kids having an i-pod and a cellphone in 6th grade. Kids are literally too wired. Parents need to wise up and take that damn i-pod away, turn off the freakin' computer, and make these kids read books.
I was at the alternative-school a couple of days this week and I was absolutely floored. This is a school for kids who have been kicked out of their original school for fighting, truancy, lagging behind academically, and just generally not giving a damn about all that is good and true in the world. Now I am fairly open minded and I go into these rooms with no preconcieved notions, but damn...those were some bad kids. People always complain about how the US lags behind other countries in education or about how their isn't enough money for schools. For starters I would say, and this is an educated assumption, that most other countries don't have alternative schools or have schools that coddle the bad kids. Everyone talks about how China is gonna be lightyears ahead of us in science and math...do you think that schools in China put up with kids that don't give a damn, kids that come to school stoned out of their minds, or kids that disrespect authority figures? Hell no they don't!
I was in a middle school program a couple days ago. These kids were seriously bad kids. Have you ever been cussed out by a 7th grader? I have, multiple times. I was thinking to myself, "Damn kid, you're pretty much screwed in life". But I would be wrong, because say this kid just doesn't want to do anything in life, except sell drugs and collect welfare checks...He can...And that's the problem! A large majority of those kids didn't want to be there, so they don't do anything except cuss, complain, and cause problems. Now wouldn't a better use of taxpayer money be to fund advanced classes for the kids that do want to learn and excel. And at the same time we should stop funding the programs that enable people to just leach off of society. Maybe that's extreme and maybe it's a biased opinion, but hey-this is a ramling rant...
Maybe next time they'll be something of substance...but seriously though...read more newspapers and be a skeptic.
I heard on NPR this morning that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace "for (their) efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change". I really don't know what to say about that, "What the heck" comes to mind...I heard that the British distributed a copy of 'An Inconvenient Truth' to all of their secondary schools recently. I also read how a parent sued to have a disclaimer put on the video about how it's 'highly political' and 'factually incorrect' in many cases...
The front page of the USA Today for 10/12 has a story about Mexican airlines which cater specifically to immigrants hoping to cross into the US. The airline, known is "Aeromigrante", flies passengers from southern Mexican cities to border towns such as Tijuana or Mexicali. Now to me, this just seems like a load of bull. Why are we, meaning American citizens, putting up with this invasion from the south? I mean, how much more blatantly obvious can a problem be? Let me tell you how this affects me personally...Say I want to go hike in some of the millions of acres of beautiful nationally owned forest land in Humboldt County or really anywhere in the US. If it's during 'growing season', I have to be worried about stumbling into some Mexican drug cartel's backcountry pot growing operation. Even if I was carrying a handgun (which would be illegal for me to do!!!), the drug cartels are packing AK-47's and assault rifles. Now I'd bet just about anything that these guys aren't here on work visas. We need to crack down on this crap! And just a side note, you guys need to look into the 'Amero', there have been a couple stories in the NY Times lately about how the government wants to unite the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America into some sort of American Union...kind of like the European Union...Say goodbye to wealth and prosperity.
Anyway, not to focus on news too much, people seriously need to read more newspapers...like national newspapers and need to read more than the headlines. The scary stuff is hidden away behind the headlines.
In subbing news...If the kids I've been teaching lately are any indication of the overall state of the youth in America...then we're in trouble folks. I'm in California and the wind usually blows west. Granted kids usually eat extra sugar and drink two RedBulls before class if they know they have a sub, but kids these days....What's up with every kids having an i-pod and a cellphone in 6th grade. Kids are literally too wired. Parents need to wise up and take that damn i-pod away, turn off the freakin' computer, and make these kids read books.
I was at the alternative-school a couple of days this week and I was absolutely floored. This is a school for kids who have been kicked out of their original school for fighting, truancy, lagging behind academically, and just generally not giving a damn about all that is good and true in the world. Now I am fairly open minded and I go into these rooms with no preconcieved notions, but damn...those were some bad kids. People always complain about how the US lags behind other countries in education or about how their isn't enough money for schools. For starters I would say, and this is an educated assumption, that most other countries don't have alternative schools or have schools that coddle the bad kids. Everyone talks about how China is gonna be lightyears ahead of us in science and math...do you think that schools in China put up with kids that don't give a damn, kids that come to school stoned out of their minds, or kids that disrespect authority figures? Hell no they don't!
I was in a middle school program a couple days ago. These kids were seriously bad kids. Have you ever been cussed out by a 7th grader? I have, multiple times. I was thinking to myself, "Damn kid, you're pretty much screwed in life". But I would be wrong, because say this kid just doesn't want to do anything in life, except sell drugs and collect welfare checks...He can...And that's the problem! A large majority of those kids didn't want to be there, so they don't do anything except cuss, complain, and cause problems. Now wouldn't a better use of taxpayer money be to fund advanced classes for the kids that do want to learn and excel. And at the same time we should stop funding the programs that enable people to just leach off of society. Maybe that's extreme and maybe it's a biased opinion, but hey-this is a ramling rant...
Maybe next time they'll be something of substance...but seriously though...read more newspapers and be a skeptic.
Monday, October 8, 2007
To the Punta Gorda Lighthouse!
This past Sunday, Justine and I once again found ourselves exploring a deserted stretch of the Northern California coastline. Driving south from Eureka on HWY 101, one is struck by the rugged beauty of the King's Range, which stretches south along the coast. HWY 101 follows a broad valley south through the coastal range, but there are roads (more like gravel paths) out to the coast. If the highway is the artery through the state, then these little roads to the coast are little more than capillaries. About 30 miles south of Eureka, we find our side road through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and towards the mouth of the Mattole River. The road through the redwoods is amazing. I know it sounds redundant from last weekend's trip, but I never really get tired of seeing those big, ancient trees. The road is a single lane road, often little wider than our van, and follows a creek. We managed to hit the road early this morning (no small feat after a devastating Boilermaker loss), and the sunlight is just making it over the range behind us. The early morning light brightens the grove and beams of light shoot through breaks in the canopy, some 300 feet above us. The morning sun spotlights huge ferns. Sword ferns and deer ferns are a couple of the more common types in the redwood groves.
Eventually the redwood groves gives way to more serious terrain. The redwoods thrive in the coastal valleys, but the steep rocky slopes of the King's Range are more suited for spruce, madrone, and oak trees. Our drive takes us up, up, up, and finally over the King's Range and we drop down into the Mattole River valley and into the tiny town of Honeydew. Honeydew consists of a general store, three lazy dogs, a couple of farmsteads, and some amazing scenery. The area we are in is referred to as the Lost Coast. The Lost Coast runs from the mouth of the Mattole River all the way south past the tiny fishing village of Shelter Cove. The area is beautiful and very sparsely inhabited. The roads throughout the area are sketchy, especially if you find yourself blazing down them in a Chevy G20 camper van. I really enjoy the way the roads are winding and the locals are surly. If it was easy to see this area, then it would be packed with random Southern California tourists and eventually it would be just like every other easy to find place; crowded. I like the flavor of the area, it is still very much farmers, ranchers, and people with no desire to live on the grid. It's much better for the soul to see a community which hasn't drastically changed in half a decade.
Eventually the redwood groves gives way to more serious terrain. The redwoods thrive in the coastal valleys, but the steep rocky slopes of the King's Range are more suited for spruce, madrone, and oak trees. Our drive takes us up, up, up, and finally over the King's Range and we drop down into the Mattole River valley and into the tiny town of Honeydew. Honeydew consists of a general store, three lazy dogs, a couple of farmsteads, and some amazing scenery. The area we are in is referred to as the Lost Coast. The Lost Coast runs from the mouth of the Mattole River all the way south past the tiny fishing village of Shelter Cove. The area is beautiful and very sparsely inhabited. The roads throughout the area are sketchy, especially if you find yourself blazing down them in a Chevy G20 camper van. I really enjoy the way the roads are winding and the locals are surly. If it was easy to see this area, then it would be packed with random Southern California tourists and eventually it would be just like every other easy to find place; crowded. I like the flavor of the area, it is still very much farmers, ranchers, and people with no desire to live on the grid. It's much better for the soul to see a community which hasn't drastically changed in half a decade.
After close to 2 hours of driving through the wonderful, rugged scenery; we arrived at the mouth of the Mattole River and the start of our hike. The day's hike was going to take us about 4 miles down the beach to the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built around 1910 after a series of tragic wrecks along the treacherous, rocky, and often fog shrouded coast. The lighthouse was active all the way up to the end of World War II, where it served as an outpost to guard against invasion from the Japanese. At the end of WW II, it was abandoned to the elements and random nesting seabirds. In the 1960's a counter-culture group found the abandoned lighthouse and set up a coastal shagrila of drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll in the ruins. After repeated attempts by the National Park Service to remove the hippy squatters, the NPS burnt everything but the actual Lighthouse down. Now, the Bureau of Land Management monitors the site and keeps the site open for people to explore. The 4 mile trudge down the beach manages to keep a ton of people out. We only saw a couple people the whole day and we were there on a Sunday afternoon!
The walk along the beach from the Mattole River to Punta Gorda is fairly spectacular. The way is simple enough; walk south to get to the lighthouse, then turn around and walk north to get back to your car. The path varies between long flat stretches through soft sand, pebble beaches, rocky coves and tide pools, and narrow footpaths along a crumbling ridge above the surf. It's necessary to consult a tide table before starting out, a couple of places along the walk are impassible at higher tides.
On the walk we saw loads of birds and seals, plenty of shells, beach debris, dried seaweed, kelp, driftwood, and all the other great stuff that makes the beaches around here spectacular. It's just nice to spend an entire afternoon walking along the ocean and not see houses or other man-made intrusions spoiling the views. Nothing but nature around here. Walking along the ocean is just wonderful; the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls arguing, the salty smell and taste of the wind, the smells of fish, seaweed, and driftwood drying in the sun, and the feeling of the sand beneath your feet. It's just a very powerful experience. The energy of the ocean and the sheer vastness of it is palpable here.
At the Lighthouse, you can explore all around and inside the Lighthouse. Not much is still standing except for the actual Lighthouse and a shed that once held fuel containers. A little tiny spiral staircase leads to the top of the Light. The opening at the top of the stairs is barely big enough to fit through with a daypack on. The view from the top is amazing. Nothing but ocean in front and the Kings Range around you. It reminds me of the Neil Young song; 'Looking for a Love' (Where the sun hits the water/And the mountains meet the sand). We had a picnic at the top of the Lighthouse and just kind of lazed around in the sun. If you find yourself there, the roof of the light makes an excellent picnicking perch.
After a little lounging in the sun, we decided it was time to walk back. The walk North was not quite as fun as the walk South...the main reason being a solid NW wind had picked up. But we made it back to the van all the same.
We took a different road home and I think it's the most amazing road I've been on yet. The road follows the coast North to Ferndale. the scenery is spectacular. Broad green hills stretching from the mountains to the coast. Cows grazing lazily, maybe 25 yards from the beach. Most of the land in the area is still owned by ranchers, they use the acreage as pasture land for herds of cattle and sheep. It makes for a very scenic drive. It's definitely a jaw-dropper of a drive. Definitely dangerous though, the road is narrow and often steep while the views are great. Between staring at peeling waves or chuckling at random cows, the van was all over the road. It's a good thing we only passed two cars the entire 1 1/2 hours it took to drive the 30 miles.
All in all it was a great time and a great weekend. Even though the Boilermakers lost, we managed to recover our sanity and feed our souls some much needed scenery. Eureka is a weird and often annoying place to live, but the beauty just beyond the city more than makes it worth the while. Another weekend is almost upon us...Hopefully it brings good surf, sunny skies, and solid Boilermaker defense. I know it's gonna bring good times with my lady and another adventure in Northern California.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Up the Coast for a Surf Contest and Into the Redwoods for a Campout...
Last weekend Justine and I went up to Crescent City, CA to watch the Noll Family Longboard Classic and camp in the redwoods. Crescent City is about 80 miles North of Eureka on HWY101. The drive north is absolutely spectacular. HWY 101 hugs the coastline and the drive takes you through some great scenery. The drive is a string of stunning views of the rocky coastline with crashing surf, large freshwater lagoons, and views of untouched forests. Glimpses of elk, eagles, and waterfowl are fairly common. Crescent City is a unique town, to put it nicely...It's a collection of old loggers, fishermen, and goldminers thrown together with the Natives and Southern California tourists.
The Noll Classic was great. It's a longboard only contest, so it just tends to be a friendlier atmosphere. The beach was full of tents with a family's worth of boards, wetsuits, coolers, and dogs strewn about. Campfires were everywhere and it was a dog's playground. Justine and I took a couple of lawn chairs and a couple of beers, picked a spot with a good view of the action, and just took it all in. The surf was OK, nothing spectacular...but fun. South Beach, the beach where the contest takes place every year, is known for it's consistent and friendly waves. I bumped into a couple people I've met through the swim team I coach and some teachers I've met through subbing. It's funny because at the Arts Alive nights in Eureka, Justine knows just about everybody...and the people I meet tend to be at surf contests...
After the contest, Justine and I drove up into the Siskiyou Mountains to find a nice campsite along the Smith River. We didn't have to drive very far, about 20 minutes outside of town we found a great place to camp in a grove of redwoods, overlooking the Smith River. I get pretty frustrated with California in general, but being able to check out a surf contest and camp in a grove of thousand year old trees tends to mitigate the sheer amount of bullcrap we put up with out here. There really isn't anything thing that beats a cold beer in one hand and a stick poking a blazing campfire in the other hand. I had hoped to reel in a tasty steelhead trout, but alas...they haven't started running up the river yet.
Anybody who has ever camped out knows about the annoyance of having to take a whiz at 4AM. It's always so warm in the sleeping bag and it's always cold, damp, and eerie in the early morning gray stillness. Coincedentally, Justine and I both had to wake up at 4AM and leave our nice warm bags. After I was outside the van and into the open air I had a little peak around. There is nothing quite like looking up through a canopy of redwoods and seeing the predawn stars and hearing a few sleepy sounding birds attempt to sing. It really makes a person feel rather small and realize the world is rather large...
The next morning ended up being pretty gray and dreary. After we broke camp, stretched, and prepped for the day's adventure. We went for a Sunday morning hike through a delightful redwood grove. It's always great to walk in the woods in the rain. A redwood forest always seems bigger and more prehistoric with a light drizzle and some fog.
After a hearty breakfast at a little diner, we drove to the beach for the surf contest finals. Saturday was definitely the contest's best day surf wise and weather wise, but a small hearty contingent of surfers and their supporting families were huddled on the beach. It really was miserable weather for a contest, very Pacific Northwest-ish weather. Buckets rain, lots of wind, fog, and building surf. Justine and I opted to view the contest from the comfort of the captain's seats in our van. We scored a perfect parking spot, with an excellent view of the contest action.
After the contest we headed back to our place in Eureka. On the way south we detoured through Redwood National Park for a little scenic drive. It's just a greatest hits list of scenery when it comes to Humboldt County. Nothing beats driving through ancient trees with the band Canned Heat blaring...
All in all in was a great weekend and a much needed break from our busy schedules. In one weekend we surfed some great waves, watched a longboard contest, camped out in redwoods, and took in great mountain scenery...you can't beat that. What's in tap for this weekend? Maybe a surf, maybe a street fair, probably another campfire, and non-stop fun with my lady...
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