Ouray

Well, it was a long, hard slog (driving), but we made it into Ouray, Colorado by about 4 pm. We left Cedar City at 4 am, so that made it a twelve hour day.

Scenic highlights: Escalante Grand Staircase, Dixie National Forest just west of Capitol Reef National Park, Capital Reef National Park, and the entire road between Naturita and Ridgeway, Colorado. Other highlights: breakfast in a small run-down cafe in Escalante, where we got eggs, a large and thick slab of ham, coffee, juice, toast (all excellent) for $4 each. Good service, too. And dinner in Ouray, at an Italian restaurant (forgot the name) on the south end of the town's main drag.

This two-day "push" was the part I was most worried about with my ancient and venerable father, but he held up just fine. He's tired, but eager to get up into the wildflowers tomorrow morning. And he ate like the proverbial horse at dinner, a sure sign that he's feeling ok.

Cedar City

We left home this morning at 4:30 am and cruised into Cedar City, Utah this afternoon 2:45 pm — 516 miles in 9 hours and 15 minutes (there's a time zone change). We're all a little tired and cramped after that long trip, especially because there's very little interesting stuff to see between Jamul and Cedar City, so we didn't stop very much at all.

Tomorrow we're planning to leave at about the same time, heading from Cedar City to Ouray, Colorado. Unlike today's trip, we'll be traveling through some of the finest scenery in America — I expect we'll be taking lots of little breaks.

Email from a soldier

A few days ago, I responded to a request (I've forgotten exactly where it came from) to contact soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan with an Independence Day message. I visited the site and wrote a few messages. The messages were simple; basically just saying "thanks" to our soldiers for their service. The notes I wrote would be distributed, the web site said, to a number of soldiers, so they were written rather generically.

Yesterday I received an (unexpected) response from two of those soldiers, sent to all the people who wrote him. Here it is, exactly as I received it:

JUNE 6, 2005

GREETINGS FROM MOSUL, IRAQ! MY NAME IS SGT. JOHN PAUL FURMAN, AND I AM THE SOLDIER WHO HAS BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF OVER 200-300 (AND STILL RISING) E-MAILS FROM AMERICANS ALL ACROSS THE U.S., AND OTHER COUNTRIES TO INCLUDE CANADA, GERMANY AND NEW ZEALAND! I’VE RECEIVED E-MAILS FROM PEOPLE THAT HAIL FROM NEW YORK CITY, TO SACREMENTO, CA. ALL OF THE E-MAILS HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH INSPIRATIONAL AND VERY KIND WORDS. TO SAY THAT I AM TOUCHED BY THIS WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I CAN’T BEGIN TO PUT IN WORDS HOW THIS HUGE SHOWING OF SUPPORT HAS TOUCHED ME. EVEN IF I COULD PUT IT INTO WORDS, I’M SURE IT WOULD STILL NOT DO MY FEELINGS JUSTICE. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU! TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME OUT OF THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO WRITE A PERFECT STRANGER, AND POUR YOUR HEART OUT TO HIM. I’M STILL IN THE PROCESS OF READING THESE E-MAILS, BUT EVERYONE I’VE READ HAS TOUCHED ME DEEPLY.

I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN? I GUESS TO TELL MY WHOLE STORY, AND HOW THIS ALL STARTED, YOU NEED TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO I AM. I AM THE TYPICALL PRODUCT OF MIDWESTERN AMERICA, NOTHWEST INDIANA TO BE MORE EXACT. MY PARENTS BOTH SERVED IN THE ARMY, AS A MATTER OF FACT THEY MET IN THE ARMY. MY DAD WAS A CAREER SOLDIER OF 22 YEARS OF SERVICE, WITH TWO TOURS OF DUTY IN VIET-NAM AS A COMBAT INFANTRYMAN. MY MOM SERVED IN THE WOMENS ARMY CORPS, EARNING THE RANK OF SARGEANT. GROWING UP AS A LITTLE BOY, I THOUGHT EVERYBODYS DAD DROVE A TANK FOR A LIVING, BECAUSE IN MY WORLD, AT THAT TIME, EVERYBODYS DAD DID. GROWING UP I WAS TAUGHT THAT TO EARN THE TITLE OF “UNITED STATES SOLDIER” WAS THE MOST HONORABLE THING A PERSON COULD DO. I ALWAYS KNEW THAT I WOULD BE IN THE MILITARY IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. I ENLISTED IN THE INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL (2000), AND REPORTED FOR TRAINING THAT SUMMER. MY DECISION TO JOIN THE NATIONAL GUARD HAS BEEN WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS I’VE EVER MADE IN MY SHORT 23 YEARS OF LIVING. THE MILITARY, ALONG WITH MY PARENTS, HAS TAUGHT ME LIFE LESSONS THAT HAVE PROVEN VALUABLE MANY TIMES. I LEARNED THAT THERE ARE THINGS: IDEAS, VALUES AND MORALS THAT ARE BIGGER THAN ANY PERSON COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE, AND SUCH THINGS ARE TO BE CHERISHED. THEY ARE EQUALLY WORTH PROTECTING, AS WELL AS GIVING. UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE FOUGHT FOR TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WAS A DAY THAT THREW MOST AMERICANS WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. IT CAME AS A SHOCK TO ALL OF US AND TO MANY OF US, THE SHOCK IS STILL THERE. I THOUGHT THAT I WAS HONESTLY READY TO GO TO WAR THAT DAY, AND EVERYBODY KNEW THAT A WAR WAS INEVITABLE. SOMEBODY NEEDED TO PAY FOR THE THOUSANDS OF LIVES THAT HAD BEEN TAKEN. WE INVADED AFGHANISTAN, AND MY UNIT DID NOT GET THE CALL. WE OUSTED THE TALIBAN, AND STILL MY UNIT DID NOT GET THE CALL. OUR PRESIDENT HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT SADDAM HUSSIEN WAS HARBORING TERRORISTS, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, AND WE INVADED IRAQ. STILL, MY UNIT WAS NOT CALLED. AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, AFTER A YEAR OF THE WAR IN IRAQ, I FIGURED WE WERE GOING TO SIT THIS ONE OUT AS WELL, AND WENT ABOUT MY NORMAL LIFE BUSINESS. SOMETIME IN THE LATE SPRING OF 2004, MY UNIT, THE 113TH ENGINEER BATTALION OF THE INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD, RECEIVED OUR “WARNO” (WARNING ORDER). “BE PREPARED TO GO TO IRAQ. BE ESPECIALLY PREPARED TO GO TO MOSUL, THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN IRAQ.”

GEN. PATTON SAID “SOLDIERS TRAIN FOR WAR. EVERYTHING ELSE IS BULLSHIT.” AS TRUE AS A STATEMENT AS THIS IS, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRAIN, AND TRY TO PREPARE YOURSELF MENTALLY, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE READY TO GO TO WAR. THE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS THAT OVERCOME YOU RUN FROM FEAR TO PRIDE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. TO SAY THAT MY WORLD WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, JUST DOESN’T DO IT. EVEN STRANGER THAN YOUR OWN FEELINGS, ARE THE EXPRESSIONS OF THE FACES OF YOUR FELLOW SOLDIERS. AS I LOOKED AROUND, AT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD SHORTLY BECOME MY FAMILY FOR THE NEXT YEAR, I COULDN’T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENT REACTIONS. I SAW PEOPLE WHO STARTED TO CRY, AND SAW YOUNG MEN NO MORE THAN 19 YEARS OLD WHO HALF GRINNED. NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO WAR, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED, AND THEY WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE THE SKILLS IN WHICH THEY’VE TRAINED OVER YEARS TO FINE TUNE.

I AM NOW AT THE HALF WAY POINT OF MY DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ. IT HAS BEEN AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER THE WHOLE WAY. I’VE SEEN INFANTRYMEN, THE BEST FIGHTING MEN IN THE WORLD, HUDDLE IN A SILENT PRAYER, CHOKING BACK TEARS, BECAUSE THEY JUST LOST ONE OF THEIR OWN. A BROTHER IN ARMS. I LISTENED TO THE SOUND OF CELEBRATORY GUN FIRE THE DAY OF THE ELECTIONS. THE FIRST FREE ELECTIONS MANY IRAQI CITIZENS HAVE HAD THE PRIVELEDGE TO PARTICIPATE IN. I’VE WALKED IN THE RUINS OF THE BIBLICAL CITY OF NINEVAH. THEY CALL IT “THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION,” AS THE SITE OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN IS BELIEVED TO BE CLOSE BY. I’VE WALKED THROUGH THE MOSUL PALACE COMPOUND THAT WAS ONCE USED TO HOST PARTIES BY SADDAM HUSSEIN, WHILE HIS OWN PEOPLE LIVED IN MUD HUTS AT A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY STATUS. I’VE HAD IRAQI CHILDREN RUN TO ME TO GIVE ME A HUG AND OF COURSE, GET A PIECE OF CANDY, OR A TOY. NOT BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHO I AM, BUT BECAUSE THEY KNOW I’M AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, AND I’M HERE TO HELP THEM.

WE, THE U.S. MILITARY ARE DOING GREAT THINGS IN IRAQ. I’VE SEEN IT FOR MY OWN EYES. I’M VERY PROUD TO KNOW THAT WE’RE MAKING AMERICA PROUD OF US. I’VE HEARD THAT SOME PEOPLE BACK HOME ARE SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING OVER HERE AND IN AFGHANISTAN. WHEN PEOPLE SAY BAD THINGS BOUT THE MILITARY, WE HEAR IT. IT HURTS ALL OF US. MOST IMPORTANTLY IT UNDERCUTS THE FACT THAT MANY BRAVE AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN HAVE SACRIFICED THE ULTIMATE AND THIS IS THE THANKS THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES RECEIVE. PEOPLE CAN SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT, RIGHT OR WRONG. IT‘S NOT A CRIME IN AMERICA, LIKE IT WAS IN IRAQ BEFORE WE CAME HERE. AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS KNOW, THAT WE ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE GIVEN THEM THAT RIGHT. YOUR WELCOME. WE KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS. I’VE SEEN THE TRUTH, I’VE LIVED THE TRUTH.

TO ALL THE NAY SAYERS: WALK SIX MONTHS IN MY BOOTS, SEE THE THINGS I HAVE. LOOK AT A CHILD OF IRAQ; LOOK AT THE AVERAGE HOME OF AN IRAQI FAMILY, AND THEN COMPARE IT TO THE PALACES OF SADDAM. WATCH GROWN MEN AND WOMEN CRY OVER THE LOSS OF A FRIEND. LIVE THE LIFE WE’VE LIVED FOR 6 MONTHS. AFTER THAT, MAYBE YOU WILL GET IT RIGHT.

TO ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO SEND ME AN E-MAIL, THANK YOU! YOU KNOW THE TRUTH, THAT FREEDOM IS THE GREATEST GIFT THAT THE U.S. COULD GIVE, AND IF WE DIDN’T BRING THE FIGHT TO THE TERRORISTS, YOU KNOW THAT THEY WOULD BRING IT RIGHT BACK TO US. I AM GOING TO DO MY BEST TO ENSURE THESE E-MAILS MAKE IT TO AS MANY AS MY COMRADES AS POSSIBLE. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU, YOUR FAMILIES, AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE U.S. MILITARY PAST AND PRESENT.

SINCEREST THANKS

SGT. JOHN PAUL T. FURMAN III

FROM MOSUL, IRAQ



JULY 6, 2005

IT HAS TAKEN ME A WHILE, BUT I HAVE READ EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE E-MAILS. THE COUNT IS NOW AROUND 300 GIVE OR TAKE. YOU CAN NOW ADD AUSTRALIA, ENGLAND, AND IRELAND TO THE LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT I’VE RECEIVED E-MAILS FROM. OUT OF ALL OF THESE E-MAILS, YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT I ONLY RECEIVED ONE “NASTY-GRAM.”

I HAVE HEARD YOUR WORDS AND THOUGHTS. A MAN FROM CANADA HAD HIS 6 AND 7 YEAR OLD SONS WRITE A FEW WORDS OF SUPPORT. A WOMAN FROM NEW YORK CITY TOLD ME HER STORY OF BEING FOUR BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE W.T.C. THE DAY IT FELL. ANOTHER WOMAN TOLD ME THAT HER SON HAD MARRIED A WOMAN THAT WAS LEFT A WIDOW WITH 2 SMALL CHILDREN FROM 9-11. A WWII VET TOLD ME ABOUT HIS JUMP INTO NORMANDY ON D-DAY WITH THE 101ST AIRBORNE. ONE WOMAN TOLD ME THAT SHE HOPED THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT WAS “FLOODED WITH LETTERS.“ YOUR WISH CAME TRUE. VETERANS OF ALL GENERATIONS AND CONFLICTS HAVE SENT THEIR THANKS! SO HAVE SEVERAL OF OUR NATIONS COLLEGE STUDENTS. EVERY E-MAIL WAS TOUCHING, AND VERY SINCERE. THANK YOU!

PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO REPLY, IT TAKES A WHILE TO ADD THAT MANY ADDRESSES INTO THE ADDRESS BOOK. IT WAS WORTH IT THOUGH.

THANKS AGAIN,

SGT. JOHN FURMAN

FROM MOSUL, IRAQ

Where in the world...

From now until around July 25, my blogging will be (a) light, and (b) focused on different topics than usual. This is because I will be on vacation with my wife, my father, and my two field spaniels — four-wheeling and hiking, on a quest for wildflowers and scenic beauty, in the mountains around Telluride, Silverton, and Ouray, Colorado.

Oh, I can hardly wait!

We'll be leaving bright and early Saturday morning, and what blogging I do will likely be focused entirely on the events (and photos, I hope) of the trip. For the next couple of days I'll be quite busy (outside of working hours) getting ready for the trip. So not much time for blogging...

A few fuses short...

Insurgency in Iraq might be a relatively sophisticated operation, but some of the participants are certainly a few fuses short of a working Improvised Explosive Device and consequently are likely to end up way short of the promised 72 virgins.

This is vintage Arthur Chrenkoff, if I can take the liberty of using "vintage" to describe any blog. Another teaser below, but read the whole thing here.

Security forces are trained to look for suspicious things, so the sight of a car parked on the side of the road with wires sticking out of the steering column will unquestionably pique the curiosity of those on the lookout for car bombs. But you don't have to confirm the suspicions by driving the car in question, parking it, getting out, and then - in full view of the locals - catching a taxi.

But it's empirically so

"Actually, today I had to defend the Bush Administration in France again. They refuse to accept, because of their political ideology, that he has actually done more than any American president for Africa. But it's empirically so."

Bob Geldof (not exactly a conservative!) spoke those words last month. The context:

In an interview broadcast in Britain on Monday, Mr. Bush said the U.S. would "absolutely" drop its system of farm subsidies if the European Union eliminated its $40 billion a year Common Agricultural Policy. Now, that's a radical idea. It certainly trumps the calls by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and others to double official development aid to sub-Saharan Africa or to forgive more debt. Getting rid of U.S. and EU farm subsidies -- and the protectionism they entail -- would do far more to address what liberals like to call a "root cause" of poverty.

Too many African exports, particularly farm commodities, are kept out of Western markets by tariffs, import quotas and price supports for domestic producers. Open those markets and encourage better African governance and, as history has proven over and over, you'll unlock the door for poor nations to generate wealth and free themselves from dependence on handouts. But don't expect the leaders assembled in Scotland to rally behind Mr. Bush's idea; they aren't about to take on powerful domestic interests.

Instead, it's so much easier to demand that American taxpayers pony up ever more money. But as even the likes of rockers Bono and Bob Geldof have acknowledged, the U.S. has hardly been stingy. Mr. Geldof told Time magazine last month, "Actually, today I had to defend the Bush Administration in France again. They refuse to accept, because of their political ideology, that he has actually done more than any American president for Africa. But it's empirically so."

Last year U.S. bilateral aid to Africa was $3.2 billion compared with $1.1 billion in the final year of the Clinton Administration. The Treasury Department says nearly one-quarter of every dollar in development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa last year came from the U.S. Last month Mr. Bush committed another $674 million in humanitarian aid to the region, which exceeds the entire U.S. budget for sub-Saharan aid in 1997. Amid such facts, it takes nerve for such former Clinton officials as Susan Rice to lecture Americans as ungenerous, as they've been doing for weeks now on op-ed pages.

The Administration has already led the effort to cancel the multilateral debt of the 38 "highly indebted poor countries," or HIPCs. These countries owe $40 billion to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, and the G-8 agreement promises to make the debt payments as they come due over the next 40 years.

The debt-relief agreement also restructures the way aid is distributed. As the loans are paid off, the HIPCs will not automatically get additional lending. Instead, the new money available through the World Bank's International Development Agency and the African Development Bank can be disbursed to any developing country. The deciding factor will be measurable efforts toward good governance.

This is excerpted from an excellent Wall Street Journal commentary piece ($).

This is yet another area where George W. Bush's ideological enemies (unfortunately, that includes most of the world's leaders) have again misunderestimated the man. Assuming, of course, that the agreed objective is effectiveness. In several very important areas (aid to poor countries being one of them), Mr. Bush has put fresh, pragmatic plans into place instead of simply pouring more money down the rathole. The pattern one sees in his policies are those you'd expect to see from an effective businessman: they emphasize results and achievability. At the same time, they hew to a moral standard that (for the most part) transcends any particular religion or creed: what President Bush calls "compassionate conservatism", though he's been much-ridiculed for the use of that phrase.

By comparison, Mr. Bush's ideological enemies seem stuck in time, completely out of ideas. They seem to oppose President Bush reflexively, without thinking at all — if Mr. Bush wants it, they oppose it. All principle and reason is out the window. And a significant percentage of the United States' population (and the world's, for that matter) seem to believe this is a good thing.

Sometimes I despair...

Uranius: Space Cadets

Tonight I decided to track down the legend of the "flying saucer" lady of Lawson Valley. Debbie and I once saw a car with a model flying saucer on top driving out in our area. We could hardly believe our eyes — it looked like a cheap prop from a really, really low-budget movie. A little bit of googling and I had the answer: the flying saucer lady is part of Uranius, an organization based in El Cajon and owning 67 acres in Lawson Valley. The Uranians apparently believe that space aliens will land at this site, prepared for them by members of the organization, at some ill-defined (and mis-predicted on several occasions already) time in the future. The photo at right is of a ceremony the Uranians once held at the Lawson Valley site, with the car leading a procession of...Uranians.

Well. Ain't that something?

On a quest for more knowledge (I know, I know — it pays to be careful on such a quest), I visited the organization's web site. It was not comforting. On the home page, you'll find this statement right at the beginning:

Unarius is a teaching of the interdimensional psychodynamics of the mind.

Since I had no clue what "interdimensional psychodynamics" might be, I sought assistance from the handy page provided at the same site:

When we speak of the new paradigm in science, Interdimensional Physics, as contrasted to atomic physics, it is to all intents and purposes the recognition and perception of the art and science of life.This new science unites atomic physics with the true author, the nonatomic or radiant energy that is the true unified field equation, which is being sought by the scientific community, particularly by physicist, cosmologists, astronomers, and astrophysicists.Interdimensional physics can be thus seen as the language, which is infinite in its translation and that plays a spiritual symphony, music that touches the heart, the mind, and the soul of the individual.The scientific statement of life is, in reality, an understanding of the human being and his or her interactive relationship with the evolutionary physics of life, death and immortality. In this respect, the teachings espoused by the Academy embody a 'person-centered' science, which is fourth dimensional in its design.

Aren't you glad to have that cleared up? I know I am!

I looked for more help, as I was having trouble understanding. I found this video, which you really don't want to miss — check out the snazzy flying saucer with flashing lights in the background, right behind Cosmic Visionary Uriel. Oh, my. Oh, oh, my oh my. Spooky.

At this point, I was reeling. I googled some more and ran across this disciple's web site. He's very careful not to associate himself in any official way with the Uranius organization, but he's clearly a believer. He advises (on his home page):

Various other symbolic forms should be abandoned, such as Yogi breathing, different postures, diets. Throw into the ash can, along with your Bible, any other symbologies, such as astrological charts and begin to replace them with a more intelligent, constructive and life-giving, life-preserving science. Start looking at the Infinite Creator, not as a white-robed Santa Claus ruling through emotional vicissitudes and supposedly creating through hocus-pocus abracadabra—but rather, view the Infinite Creator as the Master Scientist who not only created all things, but which is the substance and form of all things—an unemotional Creator who presents the same opportunity on the same basic plan of evolution to any human who can and will learn of this Creator, its Creative Principle. And in the learning, you will find the Principle in action, for such is Immortal life—a direct and personal continuity with the Infinite Creator which is expressing this same infinite creative thought and action with you, thus supporting and giving you life in your inter-dimensional world.

Holy something-or-other! Look what I've been missing!

Not that I could figure it out from this gobbledegook.

I googled further, seeking something more understandable. I found it here, here, here, and here. This is commentary about Uranius I can understand:

Sanctuary from the sun was short-lived; apparently the ‘Interplanetary Banner Procession’ was about to take place. Several Unariuns, using the tone usually reserved for senile but obstinate grandparents, made a futile attempted to persuade Spiegel to don a hat. A Cadillac led the parade, its roof adorned with a model flying saucer. Goose-stepping behind the saucer mobile were four trumpet-carrying heralds, all dressed in the same science fiction garb as the gatekeeper. Last came the 33 banner carriers, acting as surrogates for extraterrestrial leaders and the planets over which they preside. A white tuxedo’ed MC announced each of the living effigies as they lined up before the audience: “Hello, Namir from Serrena. Welcome, Tal from Rallium. Denios from Planet Ray, welcome…” One banner stood out from the spacey litany; “Welcome, Ruth Norman of Planet Earth”. Finally, as the four Jetson clones mimed blowing their horns to the blaring PA system, 33 white doves were released from a scaled-down replica of a flying saucer.

The article excerpted above was the most useful (and entertaining) one I found. It includes this brief description of what Unarius is all about:

WHAT IS UNARIUS?

Unarius is one of the oldest and most-successful UFO contactee groups. Strictly speaking, the Unarius Academy of Science is a tax-exempt, non-profit educational foundation centred in El Cajon, California. The word Unarius is an acronym for Universal Articulate Interdimensional Understanding of Science. Members call themselves ‘Unariuns’.

What do they believe?

Unarius teaches that humankind is being prepared for a momentous change in consciousness, at which point Earth will be invited to join the Interplanetary Federation as the 33rd planet. Earth, it seems, is a prison planet where beings who have done terrible things in previous lives on other planets are incarnated. Unariuns are encouraged to confess their past-life sins – often in costumed pageants – in order to advance themselves spiritually. To aid them, the Unarius leaders have channelled teachings from ‘advanced beings’ (ascended masters, rulers of higher planets, archangels and interdimensional scientists) explaining consciousness, the origin of life and our connection with galactic intelligence.

There's more, and it's worth reading — both to be forewarned about exactly what the flying saucer people are actually up to the next time they visit "Landing Zone One" (the 67 acres of Lawson Valley they've prepared for aliens), and for the entertainment (and photos!). The author was apparently a history student when he wrote this piece (in 2002) for the Fortean Times.

I'll end this post with my favorite line from all the Uranic reading I've done tonight, from one of the sites I linked above:

But alas, these facts don't fully convey the Unarius style, which was personified by Ruth Norman, a true American original who combined the couture sensibilities of a drag queen with the joi de vivre of a Frisbee-chasing Irish Setter.

APOD

APOD brings us...

Typically, views from Mauna Kea are up and dark. That's because the famous dormant volcano in Hawaii is arguably Earth's premier observing platform of the complex and ever changing night sky. However, this daytime view is across and bright. White snow and white clouds seem to blend together to make an alien landscape. Cinder cones from extinct volcanic outbursts dominate the foreground. Scrolling right will reveal structures visually incongruous even here: an armada of the largest optical telescopes on Earth. The observatories seen include Subaru and Keck. In the distance on the far left is Mauna Loa, Earth's largest volcano.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

Deep Impact!

Late last night, at 10:52 PM PST, NASA's "Deep Impact" mission was completed in a spectacularly successful fashion. I stayed up (very late for me!) to watch it live on NASA TV, which was a fascinating experience. I'm used to hearing NASA and JPL folks calling things "nominal", by which they mean that things are proceeding as they expected. In this case, they repeatedly got results that bested "nominal", and you could see the satisfaction, excitement, and pride in the surprisingly large team and one milestone after another was passed with complete success.

In the photos to the right, the left photo is from the high-resolution camera on the flyby spacecraft. You'll recall that yesterday Deep Impact released a separate spacecraft (the "Impactor"). That left photo is showing the result of the Impactor doing its job; it was taken a few seconds after the Impactor impacted. The bright "ejecta" is all the stuff thrown up by the heat and force of Impactor striking the comet's nucleus. It was clear from the reaction of the scientists that the ejecta was much brighter and much more obvious than they were expecting. Getting unexpected results is the hallmark of good science in progress! The right photo was taken from the Impactor just 60 seconds before it struck the cometary nucleus at a relative speed of 23,000 MPH.

Click on either photo for a larger view.

It will be very interesting over the next few days, weeks, and months to see the discoveries made as the extraordinary data from this mission are analyzed. You can stay informed about this directly from NASA's Deep Impact web site.

Lawson Valley weather

Well, it's only taken me six months to get the information from my WeatherHawk weather station (photo at right; click for a larger view) hooked up to my web site...but it is up there at last. You'll see this page evolve over time, but for now the basics are up there. You can see current conditions as well as the past week's history...

If you're curious about the WeatherHawk itself, you can read about it here. From their website:

WeatherHawk is a system composed of weather monitoring meteorological instruments with data loggers to store measurements. Discover how the WeatherHawk wireless personal weather station combines high reliability sensors, powerful spread spectrum radios, and display software options to create a family of easy-to-use weather stations. Look at our partial customer list of companies and government agencies that have selected a WeatherHawk weather station for their requirements.

California Thrasher

California Thrashers (toxostoma redivivum) are very common here, and yet they're a bit of a challenge to photograph. The problem is that they're constantly moving, usually on the ground, with quick, jerky motions that require quite a high shutter speed to capture. This one spent a little time foraging for bugs in the bark of a flowering plum, and then decided to perch for just long enough to fluff up and preen, and for me to take a few pictures.

In the left hand picture, especially, this one looks sort of odd. Normally the thrashers are sleek and buttoned-down, but this one has let it all hang out <smile>. A few seconds after I took these pictures, he hopped down to the ground around our cracked corn feeder, and commenced scratching about a furious pace — and despite the fact that it was but a few feet away from me, I was unable to get a single picture of it. I just couldn't aim and focus fast enough to keep up!

As usual, click on the photos to get a larger view...

Hooded Oriole

This breeding male Hooded Oriole (icterus cucullatus) was taking a break from his feeding in our Liquid Amber tree, sitting in a baby aleppo pine. He appears to have caught something (a tasty bug?) in his beak, but I can't quite make out what it is...

Click on the photo for a larger view.

Spotted Towhee

This is a Spotted Towhee (pipilo maculatus) scratching for cracked corn in our back yard. I believe it's a juvenile — it looks very much like Sibley's drawing of a juvenile of the Great Plains variant (he has no juvenile for the other variants).

Click on the photo for a larger image.

Krauthammer hammers

Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer recently published an excellent article titled The Neoconservative Convergence, detailing the events and forces leading to the current ascendancy of neoconservative policy in the United States. It's an excellent article, and I highly recommend sitting quietly somewhere for an hour or so to absorb it carefully — for it's quite sobering to realize how close we really came to having a very different reality. One that I'm pretty sure I'd have been quite unhappy about.

Here's an excerpt to give you the flavor of this piece:

In Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere in the Arab world, the forces of democratic liberalization have emerged on the political stage in a way that was unimaginable just two years ago. They have been energized and emboldened by the Iraqi example and by American resolve. Until now, it was widely assumed that the only alternative to pan-Arabist autocracy, to the Nassers and the Saddams, was Islamism. We now know, from Iraq and Lebanon, that there is another possibility, and that America has given it life. As the Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, hardly a noted friend of the Bush Doctrine, put it in late February in an interview with David Ignatius of the Washington Post:

"It’s strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

The Iraqi elections vindicated the two central propositions of the Bush Doctrine. First, that the desire for freedom is indeed universal and not the private preserve of Westerners. Second, that America is genuinely committed to democracy in and of itself. Contrary to the cynics, whether Arab, European, or American, the U.S. did not go into Iraq for oil or hegemony but for liberation—a truth that on January 30 even al Jazeera had to televise. Arabs in particular had had sound historical reason to doubt American sincerity: six decades of U.S. support for Arab dictators, a cynical “realism” that began with FDR’s deal with the House of Saud and reached its apogee with the 1991 betrayal of the anti-Saddam uprising that the elder Bush had encouraged in Iraq. Today, however, they see a different Bush and a different doctrine.

There's much, much more. My favorite Krauthammer line:

In the absence of omnipotence, one must deal with the lesser of two evils.

He's explaining that the Bush doctrine's apparent policy inconsistencies (we topple Hussein, but leave Assad in place) are actually pragmatism at work. But he says it in a much pithier way <smile>. Don't miss this one...

Thoughts of a soldier

Danjel Bout, aka "Thunder6", blogs from Iraq on 365 and a wakeup. His most recent post ends with this thought:

Our country has drawn a line in the sand, and committed her forces to allowing Iraq to choose her own destiny. If we turn our back on that solemn pledge we not only dishonor the memory of the troops that sealed this promise with their very lifeblood, we embolden the jihadists bent on destroying everything we stand for. Do I want to melt under the blistering sun day in and day out? No. Do I want to shuffle off this mortal coil in a foreign land? Again no. Did I want to leave my beautiful bride? A thousand times no. But in the end it comes down to this. I would rather see this through to the end and spend the rest of my days in peace - then leave this country before the mission is through and have these same jihadists attack the fertile soil of home.

The standard line from the left is that the war in Iraq has no connection to the war on terror; worse, that it is a distraction. I believe, as do many others, that in fact the war in Iraq is a key part of the only viable strategy anyone has put forth to actually win the war on terror. One element of that strategy is to engage the enemy (that would be the terrorists) somewhere — anywhere — other than in the United States. For some reason, France comes right to mind, but never mind that <smile>.

It's interesting to see how a soldier in Iraq views this issue that seems to be a bright line of division between the liberal and conservative politics here at home. Danjel comes down very clearly on the conservative side — despite the personal risk and impact. Since this is a position I agree with, I (of course!) find much to admire in this.

But I wonder what the moonbats would make of it?

Chuck meets POTUS

Readers of my blog know that one of my favorite milbloggers, Chuck Ziegenfuss of From My Position... On the way!, was injured a couple of weeks ago in Iraq by an IED. He's back in the U.S. now, and his wife (Carren) has made a few posts to keep everyone updated about Chuck's condition. Bottom line, as I understand it: he's seriously injured, but will recover everything that really matters.

In her latest post (and don't you dare miss it!), Carren writes about President Bush visiting Walter Reed and Chuck:

Yes, we met President Bush today. He is an AMAZING man! As human as we all are... and genuinely cares about the American people. I will not go into detail about what we talked about, that will be up to Chuck. Let's just say it was a day we will never forget. If you do not support Bush, that is your choice... please do not post your opinions (if they are negative) on this blog. I do not want a political debate. My husband met his Commander in Chief - and the honor was all ours.

I'm delighted to be able to say that when I looked at the comments this morning, they were all postive — no moonbat ravings at all...

Carren also posted some comments by Joe, a friend of Chuck's who visited him at Walter Reed. A sample (but don't miss the whole thing):

The reason I asked Carren to post this though, is not so that I can make jokes or give an update on his condition.
Today I got a slap in the face.
Today I saw my friend in a hospital bed in pain.
Today as we drove around Walter Reed I saw men on crutches, mending wounds.
Today I saw men who were missing an arm or a leg or both.
Today I saw a portion of what it costs others, so that I and people like me, can sit in my comfy chair and bitch about the price of gas. So that I don’t have to worry about explosions in my back yard or if the car behind me is full of C4.

Today I saw that they are doing their part and more.
WE NEED TO DO OURS!

Indeed.

O'Connor's replacement

You know there's going to be a fight. You know the moonbat wing of the "Democratic" party — unfortunately in the ascendency — are going to try to block any candidate nominated by Bush, no matter how reasonable. In fact, you can just about predict the kind of rhetoric we're going to hear, can't you?

Scott Ott at ScrappleFace can. And he knows just the fellow to do it:

Kennedy Slams Unnamed Supreme Court Nominee
by Scott Ott

(2005-07-02) -- Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA, today criticized President George Bush's as-yet-unnamed replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as a "brutal, Bible-thumping, right-wing ideologue who hates minorities, women and cocker spaniels."

Ah, vintage Scott Ott. Guaranteed to nail a point home, and to make you laugh while he does it. He ends this way:

The Senator's office issued a news release to the media documenting the allegations against the potential high court judge, with a convenient blank line allowing reporters to fill in the nominee's name as soon as that information is leaked.

Don't miss the whole thing.

Spotted Towhee

I spotted this Spotted Towhee (pipilo maculatus) early this morning, as I was searching for orioles. He was perched up near the top of a flowering plum that is being taken over by our Chinese wisteria, just catching the rays. He even looks like he needs some coffee to get him started!

When we first moved out to the chapparal, these were one of my favorite birds to try to spot — I thought they were very elusive (and reclusive!). Now we've got scads of them right in our yard, attracted by both the cracked corn (they scratch feed just like chickens) and the waterer. And when we go for a walk, away from the yard, for some reason I no longer find them difficult to spot. The logical explanation is that I've gained some towhee-spotting skill, but what it feels like to me is that the towhee community decided that I was an okay guy, and they all decided (simultaneously) to refrain from hiding from me.

I like this photo mostly because it is showing off that distinctive red eye very clearly. Once I espied that eye (and how could I miss it?), there was no doubt that this was a Spotted Towhee.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

California Quail

California Quail (callipepla californica) are one of the delights of living out in the chapparal. We encourage these beautiful birds with cracked corn; rather large quantities of it, as a matter of fact. As a direct consequence of the corn (and a nearby waterer), we have dozens — maybe hundreds — of quail who include our yard as part of their daily routine. They've grown quite accustomed to us, usually ignoring us when we're at the window as little as 10 feet away, even when we open the window to see them more clearly. And sometimes, when we walk outside, they don't flee until we're a few short feet away from them.

In the picture is an adult male, caught in very early morning light. He was standing about 15 feet from me as I shot this, using a stabliized 1280mm lens, handheld, with ASA 800 and 1/60th second. The picture on the right caught him with his eye closed purely accidentally; I just thought it gave him a cute expression (if you'll forgive the anthropomorphism).

Click on the photos for a larger view.

Oriole

This is a male Hooded Oriole (icterus cucullatus), a breeding adult of the Western variant. For the past week or so, we've had two (and possibly three) pairs of Hooded Orioles feeding from the blossoms of our two Liquid Amber trees. They seem to favor these over all other food sources when they're in bloom, which makes spotting them a much easier problem. Their behavior, generally, is to stay in the Liquid Amber tree (which has broad leaves, densely packed, offering great cover), coming out just once in a while (perhaps three or four times per hour).

At left above, he's perched in an aleppo pine about 20 feet from the Liquid Amber tree; this was his most frequent maneuver. Just once in the early morning, I saw him drop to the ground, right under the Liquid Amber tree (right photo above). I've never seen them on the ground before, so this has to be a fairly unusual behavior. I speculate that he dropped a blossom or two and was retrieving it, but I never did see him pick up anything in his 90 seconds or so on the ground. Just toward the camera from the Hooded Oriole you can see a California Towhee — who got into a dust-up with the oriole, causing him to fly away...

That right photo above, by the way, was taken with a 1280mm stabilized telephoto, handheld, at 1/30th second, at 1600 ASA (the morning light was very dim). This modern equipment is amazing!

As usual, click on the photos for a larger view...