Once again, I have the opportunity to "scoop" the local" mainstream news media. Just got a flash from the Associated Press that our state capital, Juneau was affected by a major electrical outage on Sunday. The outage affected about 10,000 residents of our capital city.

According to a spokes person for the Alaska Electric Light and Power the outage was created when an Eagle made a failed take off attempt. The Eagle, weighed down by the deer, apparently failed to clear the transmission lines. Both the Eagle and Deer were killed on impact with the high voltage wires.









Although, I do have a warning on my site pertaining to the subject of embellishment, I must honestly admit to you that only part of deer was dead when the Eagle launched into flight. The Eagle was hauling away the "head" of the Deer so it must have been dead, however, the spokes person did not say if the remainder of the deer was dead or not when the Eagle made off with the head.

There is a reason that we do not have deer on our major road systems in Alaska. Last year, there was about (reported) 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions in the United States. These accidents contributed 150 deaths (humans) and $1.1 Billion dollars in property damage. The number of deer killed in these collisions was not tabulated but one must assume the casualty rate was high.

If you plan on traveling the highways of our great nation, stay out of the midwest and east coast if you want to reduce your chances of having an encounter with a deer. Those states having the highest number of vehicle-deer encounters include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Minnesota, Texas, Indiana, and South Carolina in that order. If you love a good venison steak, you may want to keep these states in mind the next time you go on a hunting trip, evidently they have a high population of deer. However, keep in mind that if you see an Eagle carrying a deer, you may take a shot at the Deer but you are not permitted to shoot the Eagle.

This past evening, I once again had the opportunity to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Anchor Point Cabin Fever Variety Show. A small town, variety show that has been breaking up the spell of the winter for the past fifty years. The show is hosted as a fund raising opportunity for the Anchor Point Public Library. The variety show is an opportunity for the "locals" to demonstrate their talents in voice, instrumental, and even acting. It was another great show with a tremendous turnout of the community to support the project.

No being an avid reader and very rarely visiting the local library, I thought it best that I take the opportunity to read a few books in order that I would be able to communicate effectively with those that take full advantage of the library. I was surprised to find a special section at the library that has been developed for those of us that do not enjoy or to busy to read a book that contains over five pages. It is a new feature that has been developed in all libraries and is titled "World's Smallest Books". The books are a fast read, taking only a couple of minutes, they cover a wide range of topics, and written by well known authors. I am including a few of the titles that I enjoyed immensely as well as advancing my knowledge in a variety of areas.

"How To Get To The Super Bowl" by Dan Marino

"Things That I Can't Afford" by Bill Gates

"Everything Men Know About Women" by Dr. Joyce Brothers

"Beauty Secrets" by Janet Reno (Attorney General, Clinton Administration)

"Things I Love About Bill" by Hillary Clinton

"All The Men I've Loved Before" by Ellen DeGeneres

"Spotted Owl Recipes" by The Sierra Club

"Royal Family Guide To Good Marriages" by Prince Charles

"A Portrait of Integrity" by Bill Clinton

"The Wild Years" by Al Gore

"Cooking Gourmet Dishes with Tofu" by Martha Stewart

"Life Of A Beauty Queen" by Rosie O'Donnell

"Guide To Dating Etiquette" by Mike Tyson

I do hope you enjoy this selection of "Small Books" and that it will encourage you to visit your local library on a regular basis.

The summer residents that left their abodes at the Hole In the Wall Recreation Area can thank their neighbor, Papa Bear for his unselfish efforts in protecting their property. On Saturday, light rains begin to fall over the area. With the mixture of the heavy snow loads with a little added moisture then a good freeze, the extra weight of ice may have been to much for the roof tops to survive.
PaPa Bear brought out his snow machine to get access into the area. This was an added benefit because we now have a pack down sledding hill and on the level a great oval ring for cross country skiing. He cleared the snow pack off the Bear Den and then went to work on the Wolf Lair. He did see the big snow drift between the two camps, not one to let the opportunity pass, he decided to go over the drift. The only problem was that the drift was in actuality the stack of firewood that had been raised off the ground in order to keep it dry. The attempt at the make believe snow drift resulted in getting stuck. We will have to wait to see if the dunnage under the wood pile supported the extra load of the snow and snow machine, I think not.
I watched him as he cleared the roof on the Wolf Lair, I had missed my estimation on the depth of the snow, as he cut it back from the edges, it was a good three feet deep. Completing this task, he once again mounted his machine and headed for the Moose Wallow, again a snow drift challenged his senses as a snow machiner. He would have made it over this drift, except it was the picnic table and his skis went between the table top and the side benches, stuck once again. Getting the machine and the table disengaged took a little more time than the "camouflaged wood pile".
After clearing the roof on the Moose Wallow , he rode his machine up to the Eagle Nest for a short visit and return the shovel he had borrowed after breaking his. He did not need to clear the roof on the "Duck House", whoever built that building designed it to shed snow with enough support to take care of any amount of snow load, rock slides or mud slides.
Today, the elders of the Bear Clan are headed to LA, where they intend to spend the night and have a doctors (new doctor) appointment on Monday morning and return to the "Little Hamlet on Beluga Slough" on Monday afternoon. In preparation for next winter, in the fall we may want to place markers on all low level objects that could become obstacles in the winter. Someone must have stole the "fire pit", PaPa Bear said he could see no indication that the fire pit ever existed. How about a "Golden Shovel" Award for his efforts.

According to an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, your thoughts may be worth more than a penny! About a year ago, the topic of copper came up in the blog world when it was discovered that the price of copper escalated. I know of several who made a lot of extra spending capital by selling used copper. It appears that the shortage will continue.
There is a potential shortage of coins in the United States and with the price of copper still being high, those pennies are now worth a nickel. Since 1982 the mints have produced 910 pennies for every American. It is unknown how many were made for the illegal residents of our country. Currently there are 8.23 billion copper pennies in circulation which calculates out to 51,948,051 pounds of pennies. Copper prices were a high of $4.16 per pound last May so these pennies are worth $216,103,892.16 based on their metal content or $80,000,000 in face value. If you are like me and when you get over three zeroes in a number you get confused, the simple solution is to break it down into terms that us common folk can understand. Take the price of copper last May at $4.16 pound and there is a total of 154 pennies to the pound. So your option is that you can take your 154 pennies and cash them in for $1.54 or sell them to salvage for $4.16, a difference of $2.62 net profit. It is expected that by mid summer the price of copper and nickel will escalate once again so you may want to break into those "penny jars" and start weighing them.

After seeing this picture, I may reconsider my initial retirement plan of finding a "nice little desert lot" in Arizona for a winter retirement hangout. A little snow on the cactus does not bother me that much, but I am not sure that my snow plow will hold up on the trip from Alaska to Arizona, I would probably even have to buy a license for it to get through Canada.


Since the release of the discovery of "Kwispelbier", a "beer for your best friend" on this site a couple of days ago, it has become recognized throughout the country. The Tuesday issue of the LA Tribune even carried a story about this particular beer. I realize, that it is most likely very expensive, however, since the beer is of Dutch origin it is only right that my "Dutch" should be treated to at least a case for his birthday. It would most likely hurt his feelings if I were to show him these pictures of this Mesican Dog, which probably is not even a citizen let alone an "Alaskan" enjoying a "Dutch" beer. If I were his joint heirs, I think I would be a little nicer to him considering that he is at the top of the inheritance list. Sixty three (63) shopping days left and "Dutch" will be five. Two years of age is the legal drinking age for dogs.

I remember several months ago when several bloggers in the LA area were having a fit over the new electrical transmission towers that were being placed along the scenic boulevards of that fair city. Now, Anchor Point is not community to be left behind in the "war of progress". We now proudly display a tower in the core of our central business district. I am willing to bet, that our tower is larger than those erected in LA. Although, construction is not yet complete, it extends at a minimum of 100 feet into the air and is eight foot in circumference at the base. Unlike, LA we only have one but it is a big one and not yet completed. I am going to petition the Chamber of Commerce and see if we can make arrangements to string lights on it at Christmas, especially since it is clearly visible from my home and right across the street from Point West Video.

The only other local news is that it is finally snowing, I mean like it has been almost a day since we had our last snow, but this time it is plowable so I get yet another opportunity to put some mileage on the plow truck.

Not having a lot of news in Anchor Point has forced me once again to dig up some news worthy items that you may not see or hear from the normal news media.

Glancing through the LA Times today, checking out the weather forecast on page B-8, I came across this picture:
The caption under the picture is unique! "A Tanker Offloads Cook Inlet Crude In Nikiski". Now I wonder, why was a tanker off loading Cook Inlet Crude when it was setting in Cook Inlet and tied up to the refinery dock. I am sure the reporter must have got his nautical terminology wrong and meant to say, "A Tanker Taking On Cook Inlet Crude In Nikiski". Never trust the mainstream news media.

Lt. Commander Quinton McHale, of the 1960's TV comedy hit, "McHales Navy" will turn 90 years of age on Wednesday, January 24th. Ernest Borgnine starred in many movies and a very frequent visitor to the Anchor Point area. He is seen on a regular basis at the Anchor River Inn or the Happy Valley Restaurant. Last time that I saw him, he was enjoying an afternoon toddy (perhaps several) after a day of fishing.

I missed purchasing that 1959 Ford Thunderbird for $500.00, I was only forty years to late. But, now it appears I let another "classic" slip through my fingers. This little baby was only driven on Sunday by a little lady when she went to church. This is a 1966 Shelby Cobra, 800 horsepower and even in my favorite color. The "Super Snake" was sold at auction by Carroll Shelby, age 84. Mr Shelby created the Cobra in the 1960's and has been the only owner of this particular car. The "Super Snake" has twin superchargers on a 427 cubic inch V-8. The car had a twin, the 2nd car was built for comedian Bill Cosby who later sold the car and it was destroyed in an accident. The only reason that this car is not parked in my driveway is that it sold for a 5.5 million dollars.

For those that are wondering about the good looking dog on my site, his name is Dutch Harbor Dutchman or "Dutch" for short. He is a registered Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and as my children know, he rates very high in my Last Will and Testament. Next month he will be turning five years old, I mention this for the sake of my children, lest they forget.
After a long day of retrieving and working out, there is nothing as nice as a good cold beer, however, I refrain from this habit because all I can offer "Dutch" is a little water as he does not like beer.
However, today I discover that this error has been corrected and by coincidence in the Dutch Community of Zelhem. Teri Berenden, a pet shop owner in Zelhem has developed a "beer" for dogs! She has hunting dogs and felt guilty at enjoying a beer after a hunt when the dogs did most of the work. The beer is made from beef extract and malt.
She consigned the beverage to a local brewery to make and bottle and it is marketed under the name of Kwispelbier. It was introduced into the market last week and advertised as "a beer for your best friend". "Kwispel" is the Dutch word for "wagging a tail" and of course bier is beer. The beer is fit for human consumption, but in their market it is $2.14 cents a bottle, which is about four times more expensive as Heineken. (Side Bar: I think Homer and Plumma are buying their beer in the wrong country). Now I am not one to make suggestions, however with a birthday coming up real soon, I bet ole "Dutch" would be grateful to find a case of "Kwispelbier" cooling in the glacier snow at the Hole In The Wall Recreational Area" during the Memorial Day Week festivities. "A "Dutch" beer for the Dutchman, salute"

Have you ever heard the name, Slovenian Martin Strel? He currently holds the world record for swimming the Yangtze River? If that is important to anyone but himself. He has also completed a swim on the Mississippi River, not the width but the length.

Currently his claim to fame is that he will make an attempt to swim the Amazon River, again not from bank to bank but starting his swim in Atalya, Peru and finishing on Brazil's Atlantic coast, a distance of 3,375 miles. He will commence his swim on February 1st and hopes to complete his journey by April 11th.

Mr. Strel is fifty two year's old and will be dedicating his swim to "world peace and the environment". Although, I do admire him for his ability to swim long distances, but I surely hope that he is also a very fast swimmer. The Amazon River is one of those "great unknowns", they have snakes, bugs, fish, and flesh eating animals that have not even been invented yet! A quick inventory of the known species is piranhas, snakes, crocodiles, sharks, and the dreaded candiru. This is a small toothpick fish that likes to swim into body orifices, erect a spine and start feeding on blood and tissue. For his protection against the candiru, the swimmer will not urinate in the water, use a special cream on body orifices, and wear a wet suit which should also protect him from fresh water sting-rays, piranhas, and the aggressive bull sharks.

There will be a fleet of support boats accompanying him on his swim, as he intends to only swim 11 -12 hours per day. The support boats will also carry buckets of animal blood to lure the predators away from the swimmer. My concern is, how will those support boats see that crocodile laying on the bottom of the river, waiting for a tasty meal to swim overhead. How will they spot the schools of piranhas in the silty water as a school of them move up to their target. Spreading blood is great idea as a distractant but could it not also be reversed and become an attractant?

I will assume that he will complete his swim, but in the end, the question will be asked, Who is Slovenian Martin Strel? If you want to watch his daily swim, his feat will be carried live over the internet at www.amazonswim.com Good Luck to Mr. Strel and if you can please send me a fishing report as often as you can, I would appreciate it.

With the real Alaskan winter that we have experienced this year, it appears that the second phase of winter is commencing, Cabin Fever. However, do not let this mislead you in thinking that Spring is next. We still have the third Phase of Winter to experience in February and the fourth phase in March, which translates to more snow! We will not see spring until the moon is in the Full Fish Moon phase which will be on April 2nd this year. The coastal Indian tribes called the full moon in April the Full Fish Moon since it coincided when fish started running up the rivers to spawn.
Several signs of Cabin Fever has been observed in recent days, the most pronounced is the number of blog writers that have once again returned on a regular basis. Checking around, I have noticed the "Simple Thoughts" is back on line with a new look in red and completing a "dragon" story that she started last year. I am looking forward to the third and final chapter. "Reality" has also surfaced in recent days, now we just need to see Homer pop up on occasion. He has not posted in six months but has had 4,316 hits to his site! With the Full Fish Moon phase coming on within the next 90 days, the Bear Den is even stirring. I don't know how they did it, but somehow they got the National Football League to name a football after their Clan, the Bears! But, they did not have enough faith in their own clan to even pick the team to win the play-offs and eventually the Super Bowl! I really think this should be brought up at the council fire and some type of levy be applied for their non-support of their Brother Bear! I supported the Philly Eagles!

"Cabin Fever" is normally brought on by lunar activity, however this year Cabin Fever set in a little early. There will be a total lunar eclipse this year, it will come during the Full Crow Moon. Indian legend marks this moon by the cawing of the crows signaling the end of winter. The Full Crow Moon will occur at 10:17 AST on March 3rd, however, by the time the moon rises on the west coast, the eclipse will be all but over by the time the moon rises.

Some weather observers believe that if the Ground Hog can see their shadow, it means that there will be six more weeks of winter. I really do not trust something this important to a pig that wears a fur coat. I have found it is best to watch the sign of the Buffalo, if a Calf Buffalo can see it's shadow, it is spring. If the calf cannot see anything but snow, expect a little more winter.