Visitor Locations
- Rare Clear View of Alaska
On most days, relentless rivers of clouds wash over Alaska, obscuring most of the state's 6,640 miles (10,690 kilometers) of coastline and 586,000 square miles (1,518,000 square kilometers) of land. The south coast of Alaska even has the dubious distinction of being the cloudiest region of the United States, with some locations averaging more than 340 cloudy days per year. That was certainly not the case on June 17, 2013, the date that the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this rare, nearly cloud-free view of the state. The absence of clouds exposed a striking tapestry of water, ice, land, forests, and even wildfires. Snow-covered mountains such as the Alaska Range and Chugach Mountains were visible in southern Alaska, while the arc of mountains that make up the Brooks Range dominated the northern part of the state. The Yukon River -- the longest in Alaska and the third longest in the United States -- wound its way through the green boreal forests that inhabit the interior of the state. Plumes of sediment and glacial dust poured into the Gulf of Alaska from the Copper River. And Iliamna Lake, the largest in Alaska, was ice free. The same ridge of high pressure that cleared Alaska's skies also brought stifling temperatures to many areas accustomed to chilly June days. Talkeetna, a town about 100 miles north of Anchorage, saw temperatures reach 96°F (36°C) on June 17. Other towns in southern Alaska set all-time record highs, including Cordova, Valez, and Seward. The high temperatures also helped fuel wildfires and hastened the breakup of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFCCaption: Adam Voiland
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Category Archives: Economics
Governmental Mismangement
Well the whole Fiscal Cliff issue has been deferred for two months. Then we will see what happens. In the meantime, Roberta X has boiled the entire issue down to a couple of well written paragraphs. The money lines: This … Continue reading
Posted in Current Events, Economics
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Tort Reform and Other Rantings
A friend of mine threw a link to this article up on Facebook earlier. I started to comment on it, and it rapidly grew into a rant. So, I thought I would clean it up a little and make it … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Economics, Society
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Economics
Some interesting numbers that are pulled together from multiple sources today over at Hot Air. The article supports the position that our “Fiscal Cliff” is not going to be solved by revenue increases. Go read it, and then my comments make sense. … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics
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Europe In The News and The Scary Crystal Ball
Well, it appears as if there are some new developments going in on the Continent, that unfortunately appear to be old actions being resurrected for the 21st Century. Let’s take a look at the highlights of recent events: Greece continues to have widespread protests … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Current Events, Economics, History
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Six Minutes of Wisdom
An interesting snippet from Bill Whittle today, that brings us Rudyard Kipling’s wisdom and observations from 100 years ago. Take six minutes to watch.
Posted in Economics, History
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And So It Goes
The death of a brand. I have commented previously, probably multiple times, that unions have outlived their usefulness. There was a dark time in our history where unions were vital to the growth of the economy and industry. Unions were … Continue reading
Economics News
Any interesting analysis on the current economic situation in the US. This one focuses on the velocity of M1 and M2. Break out your econ books, and dust off those facts and terms from where all that knowledge that you … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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Interesting Happenings in Europe
A couple of interesting things beginning to show up in Europe lately. Item 1: Item 2 maybe more prophetic (whole story here and here): This morning’s Der Spiegel (Germany) has a real doozy worth paying attention to. – The … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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Focus
Most of our focus recently has been on the US political landscape as we near a critical election. What everyone is missing, perhaps intentionally is the critical events in Europe. Based on today’s election Greece will either adopt severe austerity … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Politics
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Economics
I don’t have the time right now to do this topic justice. However, a couple of things caught my eye this morning. Tam put some recent news from POTUS in perspective for us. The biggest thing to take away from … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
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