4/7/2009

Today was election day in Anchorage.  There were various bond propositions on the ballot intended to generate funds for improvements to schools, roads, police and fire department facilities, parks, and libraries.  In addition, we had to elect a new mayor since our former mayor (Mark Begich) was elected to the US Senate replacing Ted Stevens.  By the way ... we found out yesterday that all charges against Ted Stevens have been dropped and a criminal investigation is being launched to investigate the federal prosecutors involved in the case.

There was one more item on the ballot that was of particular interest to this household.  Anchorage has a series of what they call "Limited Road Service Areas" (LRSAs) in the municipality.  Each LRSA has an elected board of directors.  Back in January, I was asked if I would be interested in running for the board that manages the roads in our small subdivision.  I submitted my declaration for candidacy in February and my name was on the ballot today.  It was cool to go into the voting booth with the kids and to show them my name on the ballot.  I ran unopposed.  So, knowing that I had at least my vote and Rhonda's vote, I am assuming that I have officially been elected to a public office.

Another exciting item from today is that we had an earthquake that the Alaska Earthquake Information Center classified as "moderate".  It measured 4.7 on the Richter scale and was centered about 20 miles north of Anchorage and about 15 miles under the surface.  Since it was so close to Anchorage and since it was relatively close to the surface, we had a pretty good shake throughout the Anchorage area.  No reported damage, just a lot of shaking and some reported cases of items falling off of shelves.  Nothing major, but exciting nonetheless.

4/10/2009

Spent an hour or so cleaning volcanic ash off of the front porch and back deck.  Now that the snow has melted off of the deck and porch, there was a heavy coating of ash left over.

4/19/2009

Saw bear tracks today.  They are awake!

Also washed the truck today.  No big deal, right?  Wrong.  We are in "break-up" now.  Break-up is when all of the snow and ice melts.  All of the volcanic ash that has been embedded in the snow since the eruption is now in the melt water that is everywhere including on the streets.  When you drive through the melt water, the water and everything in it sticks to the car.  Then the water on the car eventually dries leaving behind whatever was in the water.  In this case, volcanic ash is in the water.  So, when I washed the truck, I was washing off the volcanic ash that was stuck to the paint.  If I had taken it to a "touchless" car wash, the ash would have been harmlessly blasted away.  However, washing it in my driveway with a sponge was equivalent to rubbing sandpaper on the paint.  Volcanic ash is finely ground up rock and glass.  The entire truck looked like it was sanded.  The whole thing was scratched.  Yes, I panicked.  I ended up staying up until about 1:00 in the morning with my buffer, compound, polish, and wax.  The truck looks great now, but it was not a fun night.

4/20/2009

We have been having some fantastic weather.  Bright clear skies and warm temperatures.  Well ... warm for Alaska.  It has been in the high 40s.  Just beautiful weather.

As a result of the clear skies, I got a few really good pictures of Mt. Redoubt.  It is still rumbling and spewing steam.  The pictures show a steam cloud above the mountain.