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A Sendoutcards Kind of Weekend at Burney Falls

By on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 | No Comments

Burney Falls in the Fall of '08

Hello everybody! I am thrilled to the bone! How about them Democrats! It was such a sweet victory that blogging seemed lackluster by comparison, so I skipped a couple of weeks (times two). I even bought a vintage coat on ebay to commemorate the purpling of our nation. Yes, folks, the coat is very purple–purple mohair to be exact!

The savoring period is over, though, and now I’m back on track (ahem). But I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that some serious celebrating is still due me and my kind. I mean it’s been 8 years since adults occupied the White House. I am trying so hard to ignore Bush’s last stand and keeping my fingers crossed that he won’t do anything undoable. Thank god for the (“Congressional Review Act of 1996”) a glorious tidbit sponsored by Congressman Bill Archer.

Pushing all that out of our minds for a day, my partner (Chris) and I drove to Burney Falls, which is about 60 miles east of where we live. What a gorgeous day on the Modoc Plateau–home to the McArthur-Burney Memorial Falls State Park and the eighth wonder of the world, (reportedly designated so by President Teddy Roosevelt).

Eighth wonder or not (’cause there is a bit of controversy), here are a few pics and links with info on how to get to the magnificent falls, what to wear and some neat walking trails. I say ‘walking’ because the paths are certainly on the hospitable side. Even your grannie could walk the 75 feet from the parking lot to the viewing area. And have I mentioned the fine steps down to the mist filled basin?

love-eagles

This northern Cal State Park is within the Cascade Range and includes 910 acres of forest, plus five miles of streamside and lakeshore, as well as a portion of the man-made Lake Britton, itself.

While walking along the shore, Chris and I were privileged to spot two mature bald eagles in flight and at rest. Follow the link for a pdf file on the subject. I didn’t know this, but the Lake Britton/Pit River area is home to one of the largest populations of bald eagles in the contiguous United States. At least seven pairs nest here, and it is a winter home, as well.

We sat for twenty minutes and watched these creatures on a conifer branch, hanging out side-by-side like lovebirds. One sang to the other. It was truly amazing! Follow this link for a very short less complex version. I choose to think we heard the male serenading his mate, but it’s my romantic nature. Maybe the boy eagle was just calling to a fish or two below.

The whole Burney Falls area is a fisherperson’s paradise. With his eagle-eye, Chris spotted some fine fellows swimming close to the shore. He offered them vanilla Power Bar (for which I scolded him) but they weren’t biting. A sixteen incher, however, did go for a bit of bagel.

Back to Lake Britton. Formed by damming the Pit River, it’s fed by four (count ‘em) active creeks full of trout: Cayton, Clark, Hat and Burney.

The park’s centerpiece, however, is the 129-foot Burney Falls–not the highest or largest waterfall in our state, mind you, but often regarded as the most beautiful and definitely worthy of a sendoutcard. Not having seen all of the falls, I am reserving my opinion. I did delight in the mist filled basin as you can see from the picture below.

About the park’s landscape: It all began with volcanic activity. Throw in a little erosion–say millions of years worth and Voila! Everywhere you look there is black volcanic rock or basalt. This layered, porous matter holds a ton of rainwater and snow melt, which in turn feeds a very very large underground reservoir. The basalt also hosts a ton of green moss, as you can see from this pic Chris took along Burney Creek. The bottom of the falls

Not enough can be said about Burney Falls–but how about these two items: It releases 100 million gallons every single day and was named after pioneer settler Samuel Burney, a southerner whose offspring are credited with saving the entire area from dreaded commercial development. Let’s hear it for the McArthurs! They bought the property and gave it freely to the state in the 1920s. it took two years for the state to accept the gift. Now those were some generous, persistent and farsighted folks!

Speaking of which…

And the Winner is….Bhupendra Singh Kunwar

By on Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | No Comments

Wednesday, I was moping around trying to figure out how to change my blog name to comply with a corporate directive. Today I am happily singing the praises of Bhupendra Singh Kunwar of India. His portfolio includes Word Press, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and more.

Thanks to his expertise, my blog has a new name this morning. Also thanks to Bhupendra, the boocoodles of links are still intact and……..drum roll…..they connect to my original postings. I am so grateful!

Chris found this computer wiz on Elance. It’s the internet workplace available 24/7 where you find, hire and pay qualified professionals to do your computer work. Plus, they take Paypal. All it takes to get going is a few clicks and a one-time refundable fee of 5 dollars. Then you just describe your project and wait for the bids to pour in. They even send the five spot back to you after a couple of weeks. I don’t know why they don’t keep it, though.

Each bidder is a registered member of Elance, so he/she has a profile which includes history, experience and feedback. We were very excited about finding Bhupendra. I have to say, communication was excellent and we are not computer geeks. Second, he finished the work so fast that my blog was only down for a couple of hours in the middle of the night (the North American continental night). Third, he did everything we asked perfectly and removed a malicious netflix code.

More About Bhupendra: Bhupendra Singh Kunwar is a very interesting individual. In addition to his computer skills, he is the Founder of eUttaranchal.com, a regional community portal with a user base of over 70,000 unique monthly visitors. You know me, I had to find out why 70,000 different folks would visit any site…drum roll….only to discover yet another hole in my geographical knowledge banks.

Uttaranchal is a hillstate in the Republic of India with a 75% rural population. And I quote: “Words fail to describe the breathtaking charisma and enchanting beauty of this magical land known as Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. Blessed with magnificent glaciers, radiant and joyful rivers, gigantic Himalayan peaks, natural biospheres, valley of flowers, skiing slopes and dense forests, this abode of Gods includes many shrines and places of pilgrimage. “

I believe it, folks. Every pic I looked at was astoundingly beautiful and reeked of ancient culture. Here is a photo of the temple city Jageshwar. Located in the Himalayas, it is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

I invite everyone to click on any and all of these links: Look at the pictures, read about the culture and see for yourself. On eUttaranchal.com there is one image after another of the succulent fruits alone.

Happy uninterrupted tales,

Laura

p.s. What do you want to bet, folks, Chris sends Bhupendra a thank you card. If you would like the Great Printer of sendoutcards to send you one, contact Chris for more information. I have to admit He knows his stuff about internet marketing.

Are Pole Dancers Underdogs?

By on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | No Comments

Bad news, folks: Lietuva, my favorite men’s basketball team, fell to Espana in the semi-finals 91-86. It was close for most of the game, but Spain inched by and now plays for Gold against the U.S..

Must I root for my own country? Pulling for ten NBA ringers just goes against my grain. Be my guest, though, call me whatever you want; but it’s not like I wasn’t rooting for Laura Wilkinson with all my might. I thought she deserved to end her body-pounding career in 10.0 style. When it boils down to it, I’m probably just exercising my need to root for the underdog.

Like all civil-minded creatures, my daddy believed that the underdog deserved full support nine times out of ten. He used to say so with tears in his eyes. In keeping, therefore, with tradition, I have found the perfect underdogs for my rooting purposes, plus I think they’ll be around for a long time. If you’ll please bare with me, whilst I lead you to the same conclusion.

First of all, what makes-up the archetypal underdog? There are so many combinations, but one jumps right out for me: First, the underdog needs to be female; second, it should be raised in a society of male maniacs; third, it ought to hail from one of the misunderstood Middle Eastern countries; fourth, it’s best seen on the World stage in a costume that hampers motion; and lastly, the underdog must proclaim to the World that repression makes it empowered.

Add these up and what do you get, folks? Muslim women from Mid-Eastern countries competing in the Olympics wearing the Hijab, while declaring to the world that this head garb liberates them. All of which brings me to a prime example—Roqaya al-Gassra, world class sprinter from Bahrain.

Now I have to admit, folks, when I saw this poor female line up on that sticky, red-hot Beijing track, smothered from forehead to toe in clothing designed to hide her gender, I was offended. Yes, very much offended. Not by her, mind you, but by those Muslim men who made her wear the garb. ‘Cause let’s face it, folks, they make her cover up so they won’t feel a stirring in their hairy loins. Speaking of which, why is al-Gassra racing between those men? Or are they women? Perhaps someone can fill me in.

Aleksandra Fedoriva of Russia, Roqaya Al-Gassra of Bahrain and Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka Moving on. Roqaya Al-Gassra says her outfit is a “personal choice. Wearing the hijab shows that there are no obstacles,” she explained. “I’ve set my best times wearing the hijab.”

Lest we feel too bad, al-Gassra’s head gear is quite up to date—clingy and stretchable with a sponsor’s trademark(Nike).

Hmmm…..clingy and stretchable? Sounds awfully like a synthetic fabric. And given the 95% humidity of Beijing, wouldn’t that be especially torturous? “For me it’s liberating,” added al-Gassra, whose close-fitting running veils were proudly designed by the women of her village to be aero-dynamic and light weight. Plus they come come in red or white, the Bahraini colors.

Wearing a white one, al-Gassra raced her way to a preliminary victory through a sea of accented crotches and bare midriffs at the Bird’s Nest last Friday (August 15th). That darker midriff behind al-Gassra (see picture) could have done with some covering, in my opinion. Is that massive protrusion an outie or just another navel trying desperately to beat al-Gassra to the finish line?

Speaking of finish lines, Al-Gassra has been there before. In the Summer Games of 2004, she ran first and fastest of the women from Arab and Muslim countries.

Which now brings me to a Muslim runner who doesn’t choose to wear the hijab—Dana Hussein: Amazingly enough, she gets shot at for her choice and literally has to dodge bullets while training. According to All Things Considered, “May 1, 2008, Hussein is the only Iraqi who trained for the Beijing Olympics inside the war-torn country of no sponsorship. She only had worn out running shoes. “If I leave this sport,” Dana said, “I think life will stop. Life must continue… I love this sport too much.”

Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussein

The weed-choked track at Baghdad University.

Here’s the irony of it all, folks: The woman on the left gets shot at for not wearing her head scarf, while the women below, modeling those tight-fitting dresses, are the accepted form of female . Tell me I’ve got a dirty mind, but one of those girls looks like a pole dancer. For a link to Muslim International Matrimonial, click here.

So there you have it. Everything boils down to a simple choice for Muslim female athletes: Don’t follow the rules of dress and risk getting shot in the back by a frustrated Muslim boy; wear the prescribed uniform and you won’t be a target. Speaking of which, I have to say, that a Muslim woman target-shooter gives me hope.

Happy tales,

Laura signing off

p.s. Chris has a sendoutcards site and a blog. They only tell how to make money, though.

Did You Ever Have One of Those Days…

By on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 | No Comments

…when everything goes wrong and you want to curl up and die? How much control do we have over each day? —that is the question.

Yesterday was a doozy. The power, as in electrical, personal and corporate, went on the rampage. My body feels slammed, spirit included.

Waves of electrical Surges (compliments of Pacific Power) came and went every two minutes for a couple of hours. Before I could get a handle on what was happening, our garage door had fried its brains out, along with the main computer. To tell the truth, I’m afraid to test anything else.

That was only the beginning, though. Before yesterday was over, corporations got into the power act too: The domain name, talesofsendoutcards, violates company policy, Chris was told. So now I’m trying to get into the swing of transfering all my old posts to a new blog with a new name—talesofsendingcards.com. To tell the truth, I like that name better.

Also on the up side, Chris put out an invitation on elance for ‘tech-heads’ from all over the world to bid on the project. Wow! Ain’t the web grand! Offers are pouring in—from India, Pakistan, Great Britain, Borneo (a Joke).

And the last unpowerful thing that happened yesterday needs a little background to be fully appreciated, so here goes: We are all sensitive, most of us more than we like to admit; but here in the New Age Vortex of Mount Shasta, people pride themselves on their high levels of sensitivity. They go on for hours.

I guess it’s partially true, though: Human Beings are composed of molecules and molecules vibrate to all the different beats of the universe. Heck, we’re mostly water and look what the earth’s gravity does to the ocean.

All of which pulls me to this point: Depending on where you live, your body vibrates differently. For an obvious comparison, there’s the hustle-bustle city life and the quiet country life. Take me, for example: I live in the shadow of an active volcano (Mount Shasta). Click the link and take a 3-D tour. You’ll see how there’s some barely contained stuff happening underground day and night. This movement is definitely different from the dynamic pulsing of the ocean, or the competitive energy of a sparse dessert where all plants and animals vie with each other for water and food.

Now I’m getting bored. To make a long story short…yesterday, I spoke with an energy counselor on the phone for half an hour. Her intention was to travel to the source of all my human weaknesses (a tall order) and make me “stand in my own power”. OK, I admit, I’m not much for New Age metaphors, so maybe that’s why everything kind of backfired on me—instead of standing, I pretty much sat down and stewed in my own powerlessness and that’s where I’ve been ever since.

Mostly I’m angry at myself, but I’m discouraged over what she told me, too. According to this energy person, who shall remain nameless, I’m on the wrong track, with the wrong guy, pursuing the wrong career that’s a total waste of my time.

Unless discouraged is a powerful state, I’m not feeling that powerful, folks; not to mention the fate of my hard drive is still in question. To tell the truth, I’ve been obsessing all morning: Am I on the wrong track? Am I really with the wrong guy. We’ve been together over twenty years. It’s true we’ve had some deep valleys, but the peaks have been good. And besides, the best is yet to come. Isn’t it? At least it is in my opinion—a humble one, I admit from where I’m sitting.

Then I remembered how this past weekend at the sendoutcards convention, Thurl Bailey spoke. For those who don’t know about Thurl, he was a successful NBA Basketball star for many years (7th overall in the Draft). But he started his career with some pretty impressive failures. Thurl Bailey told us a sad story about him as an impressionable adolescent not making the basketball team two years in a row. One coach even told this 6’7″ guy that he should give it up entirely, that he would never would be basketball material. Thurl was devastated but didn’t listen. And the rest is history.

So that’s the only thing I’m trying to do today, folks—keep going in spite of how discouraged I feel. Maybe later I’ll post a proper blog.

Happy tales,

Laura signing off from the vortex

“A vortex is a mass of energy that moves in a rotary or whirling motion, causing a depression or vacuum at the center…. These powerful eddies of pure Earth power manifest as spiral-like coagulations of energy that are either electric, magnetic, or electromagnetic qualities of life force.” Page Bryant, Terravision: A Traveler’s Guide to the Living Planet Earth

Drums Keep Pounding Rhythm to the Brain

By on Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 | No Comments

Guess who opened the convention?

Everywhere I look these days, there’s a greeting card for the taking and making. Thanks to sendoutcards, I click them into being.

Happy to say, folks, I design my own cards every day and let the Great Printer in Salt Lake do the rest: print, stuff, stamp and mail ‘em. I don’t know how it could get any easier.

Chris and I took some worthy pics for custom sendoutcards at last week’s convention. Five garbage-can drummers opened the show with waves of throbbing sound. I remember being happily blown away and wanting more.

“Stomp”, that buff black dude, was obviously the main man, but I liked the power of their combined sound. it was magic! For a comic effect, they made fun of the skinny white boy (front right) who did a stereotype skinny white-boy dance.

And since we’re on the subject of white boys, Sendoutcards Founder, Kody Bateman, got poo-pooed (a British term) for his attempt to stomp with “Stomp”, the Master, but Kody took it in stride.

Like most conventions, not everything was about the entertainment. Dr. Ivan Misner, Founder and Chairman of BNI, was the key-note speaker on Friday. I had never heard of him or BNI, but It’s only the world’s largest networking organization. Duh! Sometimes I feel a little out of touch out here in the boon-docks, but that’s why there’s BNI. Maybe I’ll join a chapter or start my own.

There’s a lot I could say about Dr. Misner, all good. His achievements are many and still amassing: Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, author of ten books, including a #1 bestseller Masters of Sales and a New York Times bestseller, Truth or Delusion? The guy was humble, though. He said Ph.D. stood for Pile it high and deep.

I like that in a successful human. Ivan Misner got to the convention well before he was scheduled to speak,and Kody Batemans’ wife found him standing in line to buy a ticket. Dr. Misner told us anytime he’s feeling too proud, he just does a book-signing. According to Misner, people scurry around him like he’s the “Timeshare Guy” (a salesman to avoid at any cost). Needless to say, this man was mobbed at the sendoutcards book signing—I bought one of his books but didn’t get it personalized.

Saturday was a bit more subdued, till the closing party, that is. Subdued does not include Sandra Yancey, one of the two speakers. She was a high energy, female sharpie who founded ewomennetwork and wrote Relationship Networking: The Art of Turning Contacts Into Connections. As you might suspect, her main advice was directed at women: Stop doing everything in pairs, surround yourself with positive people and get a life Coach (she has three). Interestingly enough, she said nothing about her book. I thought this was gutsy.

Generally speaking, though, I’m not impressed with authors as a species. Any Tom, Dick or Harriet can write something and call it a book. I’m only impressed with people who can speak their minds and laugh at themselves, and Sandra Yancey can do both.

Speaking of laughing, the convention was about crying, too: Kody told us his story—the one that prompted him to start SendOutCards. I felt like bawling my eyes out. If you’re hungry for a bit of sincerely sad emotion, click on YouTube for a true account of his brother’s untimely passing back in 1989. Right now, I prefer to focus on the closing party.

The performers in this picture led the way with rousing African beats and gyrations. They passed out several thousand music making devices so that everyone in the audience had at least one—1000 big floor drums provided the main attraction.

Chris and I had such a great time, drumming our hearts out. I almost felt like a Fou Drummer.

Just imagine a couple thousand people beating big African drums, making music with hand-held rhythm instruments and forming the world’s longest conga line, and you’ll get more of the full picture.

Wild at its very best!

Happy Tales,

Laura signing off.

p.s. Chris is always ready to answer any questions you might have about internet businesses and opportunities. I’m always ready to blog.

This is Why!

By on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 | No Comments

Partying down at the sendoutcards convention 2008

~Conga Line at the 2008 SendOutCards Convention~ photo by Chris Tatro

The 2008 SendOutCards Convention was a blast! I can’t wait to tell you more about it, but right now we’re stuck at the Medford, Oregon Airport. Sad to say, our luggage didn’t make the connection.

Hot wind and smoke blasted us in the face as soon as our feet hit the tarmac. Yea, folks, I said tarmac—this airport let’s you deplane directly onto the runway, come rain or come shine. Last time Chris and I had to run for it as soon as we got off the plane.

Speaking of which, it flew us right by Mount Shasta and Mount Eddy. I swear we could see out neighbor’s silver, metal roof through the haze. That’s about all we could see, though. It was so depressing. I never thought I’d be sad to touch down.

And now you’ll have to excuse me, whilst I check-in with the experts: Real-time hourly data for our monitoring station (Weed, #93)clocks us in at “moderate”, while the smoke map still looks B A D. I can hear people around me saying that there was dry lightning last night and this is the worst the smoke has been all Summer. It’s forecast for tonight, too.

Back to the sad tale of our luggage, though: I want to wait till it gets here, but Chris wants to have it delivered tomorrow. Happy to say, we are waiting. In fact, there’s even a lounge in which we are encouraged to kick-back.

Wow! Third World Countries got nothin’ on us. First of all, it feels like there’s no air in the whole building and it’s 90-something outside without the greenhouse effect. I could swear we’re back on the plane before take-off, trying to adjust those nasty little twist things.

Speaking of which, that was the first time I had ever heard a stewardess announce that no matter how much we “twirled them nothing was gonna happen”. Gee thanks, Heather, for killing the last of our hope.

Wall art in the airport lounge

Uh oh, the lounge itself is sticky dirty. There’s a picture of an American Eagle on the wall—you know, a bust of a Bald Eagle draped in the stars and stripes. (Generally speaking, I like my Eagles wild and free with their feathers showing.) There’s even this microwave with an Out of Order sign on the door.

But wait, I’m changing my mind, folks—Chris just told me there’s free wireless and a plug in for my energy-less computer. Wireless internet covers a multitude of sins. In the Salt Lake Airport, Chris had to pay for a connection. I didn’t know anyone could be so inhospitable. Medford rules!

Moving on. All the airport delays and layovers have forced me to read the Salt Lake City Sunday Paper, compliments of our luxury hotel, at least that’s what we thought till I read the fine print. Oh well, The Salt Lake Tribune has some grrr…eat Olympic stories, but they’ll have to wait.

Yippee, I see our big green bag! Double Yippee, he’s got both!

Happy Tales to be continued,

Laura signing off

p.s. Can’t wait to tell you more about sendoutcards and the Great Printer….

Fire and Rain

By on Monday, August 11th, 2008 | No Comments

Mount Shasta with real clouds photo by Chris Tatro www.sendoutcards.com/site

It’s very clear and still this Monday morning. Our pollution levels are almost non-existent, but lack of wind is supposed to change all that any minute now.

Sometimes we get these awful smoke burps. They blow in, smother us, shoot our particulate matter levels off the charts then dissipate. It’s weird.

Today’s WunderMap has the black smoke plume headed up and inland into Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Idaho, miraculously circumventing Mount Shasta. I don’t know why.

Stats for the fires closest to Mount Shasta are still pretty grim: As of 8/8/08, the Panther Fire (15 miles south of Happy Camp) which began July 22nd has added another 3500 acres to its tally, bringing the total to about 18,000 scorched acres. According to a U.S. Forest Service press release, the fire is 15% contained.

By the way, folks, containment does not mean a fire is out. It just means firefighters have drawn an imaginary line around all the flames and are working their asses off to make it stay in there.

Word of mouth around these parts says the Panther Fire will be burning well into October. November…who knows?

As always, there are plans to fight fire with fire. Check-out this official Overall Strategy: Direct line and indirect line with low-intensity burnouts backed with contingency lines are designed to create a defensible box around the Blue 2 and Siskiyou fires (including the two fires in one “big box” by connecting firelines). These three approaches have been used on the Ukonom fire to connect it with the Panther Fire to the north. Firefighters work closely together to coordinate the indirect fireline construction plans for both “boxes.” Fire growth within the containment line is expected to continue throughout the summer as the fires run their natural course and burn out or are extinguished by fall rains.

Hmm, fall rains—will we even get our Fall rains this year? That is the question. Back in early June, our governor declared California to be precipitation challenged.

Lack of rain isn’t the state’s only water worry, though. Pumping restrictions aimed at protecting an endangered fish affectionately known as the Delta Smelt are also making things difficult. Folks are beginning to talk about a new “conveyance facility that would divert Sierra mountain water from the Sacramento River north of the Delta and route it around the fragile Sacramento River Delta.”

But what about the here and now? So many fires are still burning in our neck of the woods—about twenty-five, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. They put the total charred acreage at 1,131,655 and counting. Check out the WunderMap to see what I mean. Fires from Northern California are polluting the afore mentioned five states, as we speak.

Speaking of pollution, lucky Beijing got some rain for its bad air; Tennis, Archery and Rowing events had to be postponed. On Monday, city levels dropped by more than half, registering a 38—by whose standards, I’m not sure. The Associted Press swears that its independent readings of Olympic air log in about three times worse than Chinese official readings. For a full pelting on the rain, athletes and pollution readings, try MSNBC. I’m getting bored with all this pollution talk.

It’s so easy to talk about and so hard to fix.

Happy Tales,

Laura signing off.

p.s. As always, SendOutCard information is just a click away. Chris has his own blog now, too. It’s not as neat as mine, but let’s give him time, folks. He knows way more about sendoutcards than I do and that counts for a lot.

They Know It’s Wrong, But What Can They Do…

By on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 | No Comments

Mount Shasta back in the Spring of 2008— photo by Chris Tatro

Snow…Snow…my kingdom for some snow.

The smoke (not snow) is back, Folks. It’s close to the ground this time, hugging every little crevice and cranny like there’s a temperature inversion. I don’t have to run to the Siskiyou County Pollution to confirm what I smell and see. Nor do I need the WunderMap. That black plume of smoke may look like it’s headed straight up the coast, but it breathes like it’s directly overhead. I can’t help but feel some kinship with the Olympians who are in need of oxygen.

Speaking of which, here are pictures of the roofless Bird’s Nest from Wired Science. They pretty much say it all. The Chinese have tried everything, but the air is subject to the whims of the weather, and there’s nothing the Olympic authorities can do, except give it the OK, of course.

On Wednesday, the IOC issued a statement from Arne Ljungqvis, the chairman of the committee’s medical commission: “The Olympic Committee and the Beijing government are successfully managing the quality of the air in the city. Air quality at Games time will be adequate for Olympic sports events.”

And now for something completely different—this time from Tini Tran of the Associated Press: “The wall of gray haze around the National Stadium and across the city cut visibility down to a mile. On the eve of opening ceremonies, Beijing’s polluted air took center stage Thursday as the most visibly pressing problem for Olympic organizers who had promised to clean up the Chinese capital.”

To the left, is the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters building as seen through haze in Beijing Thursday Aug. 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

I don’t know, Folks. Athletes are not invincible creatures from the planet Krypton. They are living breathing organisms sucking down a ton more air than your average person. Sad to say, Pollution kills. The ‘noxious cocktail’ of athletes pushing themselves to the limit in a dirty atmosphere could trigger a serious -potentially lethal – asthma attack, Murdoch University Associate Professor Peter Dingle said.

It’s too bad the Chinese didn’t put a roof on their Olympic Stadium, I say.

Laura signing off.

p.s. For more information about SendOutCards, Chris is the man. He can fill you in on all the opportunities and fun. I have a free sendoutcard of Mount Shasta or any other picture your heart desires—just waiting to have your name inscribed on the envelope by the Great Printer in Salt Lake.

I’ve Looked At Clouds From Both Sides Now

By on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Sunrise over Mount Eddy by Chris Tatro www.sendoutcards.com/site

So much rests on the weather. It always has and always will—unless we grow our food indoors and build structures that are impervious to climate changes, that is. Better yet, maybe we should start tunneling underground like a new species of Human Bug.

Coming from the experience of one who just spent all of July behind closed doors to keep out the smoke, I would rather live in harmony with nature than bury myself in a climate-controlled environment.

Speaking of climate control, I wonder if the Chinese officials are going to attempt to milk their clouds—drain them of typhoon moisture before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies (8/8/08). Cloud-seeding sounds so scary to me, especially in light of what happened back in 1952 when the Royal Brit Flyboys triggered a biblical deluge with their secret experimental fiasco. An estimated ninety million tons raged through Lynmouth, England in just one day, sweeping folks out to sea. That’s T O N S, TONS—2000lbs times 90,000,000 (million)!! Unfathomable!

China Daily reports that Friday’s Opening Ceremony at the futuristic Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing could take place under smoggy overcast skies — and might even see a shower or thunderstorm. Judging from the potential beauty in this rehearsal picture, that would be a crying shame! I can see why Chinese officials are tempted to fool around with the weather. Plus, the rainwater would dispel some of the nasty pollution everyone is buzzing about.

Joel, a blogger at China Hope Live, snapped some telling pictures back in November of 2007 which contrast clear days with smoggy days in Tianjin, location of the Olympic football games.

Now you see it

..Now you don’t.

I truly hate smog! That’s one of the reasons I live in Northern California. To me, it’s totally understandable why those Olympic Cyclists from the United States got off their plane wearing Michael Jackson masks, which were given to them by their coaches, by the way. The silly, self-absorbed six have agreed to apologize, though, so this is old news.

Oh me….so many international incidents and so little time!

I sure hope everything goes smoothly. China is baring everything to the World, including its soul. Here is an ancient culture of very proud folks with as many dreams of a prosperous future as everyone else. This country has shyly opened a window to the other nations of the World, hoping to pass inspection in a sea fraught with free internet access. It’s too easy to find fault with a soul that’s laid bare these days. I pass. No more jabs.

Let the country that is without genocide, pollution, racism and illegally imprisoned human beings cast the first stone.

Laura signing off.

Treading Water—the Newest Olympic Sport?

By on Monday, August 4th, 2008 | 1 Comment

Greetings from Mount Shasta! If you would like a real greeting card, the kind that you can hold in your hand, just say the word and I’ll get the Great Printer of SendOutCards right on it. Yesterday’s clear sunset (above) has set the tone for today. We are so grateful for clean air!

Speaking of which, it is time to check-in on our friendly, neighborhood pollution monitoring station in Weed: WOW! I’m excited! There’s a new kid on the block and it offers real-time info! Hourly Air Quality Data (unit 92 in Fort Jones, unit 93 in Weed)

What about our friends in Beijing, though? Has James Reynolds of the BBC updated his pollution readings? Answer: No, today’s thoughts from James are more concerned with freedom in China or the lack thereof. Not that this isn’t a worthy subject. It’s just that I am still intent on finding out how the Olympic athletes are simmering in that wet stir fry of Nitrogen Oxides, ozone and small particle pollution.

Not so good, if you ask Erin Smart, a fencer on the U.S. Olympic Team. Fine, if you ask U.S. weightlifter, Carissa Gump. Both have asthma but will be thankfully competing indoors. The I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee) has promised to postpone outdoor endurance competitions if the pollution levels get too bad.

Bad is an oh-so-relative term. Just whose Bad will the Olympic Committee be using? Beijing monitoring stations that don’t measure Nitrogen Oxide levels? Beijing levels that back in ’06 dropped the two lowest scores from their data collecting?

In my mind, folks, it pretty much comes down to this: Will the I.O.C. let the Chinese save face at the expense of the athletes? Speaking of which, the athletes are packing some serious heat—everything from specially designed filter masks to air purifiers, asthma puffers, eye drops, nasal sprays and throat lozenges. I guess all the efforts to spin air quality are not fazing participants overly much.

The fact is, U.S. runners are training at the seaside; ‘Ruskies’ are staying indoors; Japanese Olympians have been fitted with industrial grade face masks; ‘Ausies’ are flying in at the last minute and at least half are skipping Friday’s auspicious opening ceremonies (8/8/08).

To make everything more interesting, Beijing forecasters are predicting rain for the next few days. Moisture from the heavens is expected to do one of two things—either clean the air nicely, or rain-out the opening ceremony entirely:

“We estimate two or three typhoons will hit China’s coastal areas during the Games,” said Qiao Lin , a senior weather official at the China Meteorological Administration. “They might have Olympic Village, Hong Kong and Shanghai in their paths. We will closely monitor and issue early warnings if they do develop into a substantial threat.”

That’s enough from the weather-woman. Could we hear from Zhang Qiang, the Beijing weather manipulation official? How about draining those typhoons with a little sexy cloud seeding, baby? Not to worry, Zhang Qiang assures us; her team is quite prepared to intervene in the weather for the opening ceremony with cloud seeding if necessary.

Cloud Seeding? Typhoons? Holy Deluge times three! Me thinks the athletes should have brought inner tubes, blow up rafts and life-jackets in their carry-ons, instead of all that breathing gear.

In the meantime, monitoring is still an ugly word: Beijing’s air-pollution index for this Monday rose above the World Health Organization recommended maximum for the first time in four days. (Bernardo De Niz/Bloomberg News)

Having breathed a lot of awful air lately, it all looks rather glum to me. Sad to say, everything might boil down to an unbiased reading of convoluted pollution levels or three of your ordinary typhoons. Nothing much can be done about acts of god/Buddha etc., but, as for air quality, perhaps we should have loaned the Chinese one of our three state-of-the-art air monitors.

Here’s an example of real time data from Pollution monitoring station #93, more affectionately known as Weed, California. Happy to say, that anyone with free internet access can get a reading at any time, compliments of Homeland Security.

Air Quality Index – Current Conditions
µg/m³	0		40.0		80.0		175.0		300.0		500.0
1 HR	4.0 µg/m³
		Good		Moderate		Unhealthy Sensitive		Unhealthy		Very Unhealthy		Hazardous
24 HR	8.0 µg/m³
µg/m³	0		15.4		40.4		65.4		150.4		250.4

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