today just a swim. i had done powerline pass so nearly 5 mile walk and was having a tough time getting motivated but i went to the gym and did my laps. got a mile swim in. the scuba class was in session and for much of my swim the class was happening beneath me. i was battling bubbles and fear that one of them would come up and take me out accidently.
these are a few from the Monday walk. tomorrow another walk with a friend and then a quick bite with another friend..then back to the gym.
someone asked the other day how many inches i'd lost. thankfully, someone else asked me another question at the same time. i started back seriously working out 3 weeks ago. realistically, i would not expect to see much change for 3-6 months. there have also been a few comments about the fitbit. who knew? yes, i do realize that i could sit on my arse and move my arm up and down to collect "steps" but why would I do that? these are all tools to help you reach your goal. i do not live and breath by my step count. using a variety of tools to help you reach goals is helpful to me.
i'm always amazed at how detailed people can be about the diet that they eat, counting carbs, calories, points. it's too much for me. trying to average at least 10,000 steps/day over a week is easier for me. i'm more of an eat less, exercise more thinker. simplified is the way to go.
it was cloudy when i left today but i thought there was a bit of a hole..i got lucky and the sun came out on the powerline trail. hardly saw anyone else out there. i need to get my park pass for the year. i really should try and get a few little errands run tomorrow. i've felt like i've done so little this stretch off.
the gym takes time, but that is also time you don't eat. :-) right. so that is always good.
moose eat bark. didn't see any moose out there today, but there was signs all over that they had been eating some bark.
loads of rabbit tracks out there as well. hoping that since there were few folks out i could see a lynx...i'm always hoping. did see a bunch of ptarmigan. no photo's. could have gotten some cool ones, but Blossom flushed out this group of over 20 birds and then they flew over me and scared the crap out of me and by the time i got the camera ready the birds were gone. also saw a bald eagle fly past but again, i didn't get off a decent shot. so apologies...fail for me photography wise today. haha.
still enjoyed the day.
few days past the 7.1 quake. i still haven't felt any of the aftershocks. generally must get over 4 for me to notice and probably over 5 if i'm sleeping. i'm good with not noticing them. my earthquake hangover seems to have resolved. during quake my brain does really feel like it gets this sudden onset of a buzz. exaggerated buzz. we live in quake country, they do happen. lots of cracks in ice all over the place.
there are a few shots below i think out at Potters Marsh. new cracks from last time i was out there.
you can tell because the murky water that had been sloshed around below came up through the cracks. someone had pictures from one of the lakes where there were tiny shrimp and little fish that had been sloshed out.
clean up at stores and such and back to normal for most of us up here. my friend in CA was laughing as they apparently had a 2.2 quake and were talking about it. it does look like some homes are at risk in Northern CA. erosion due to wave action. was always amazed that they would build so close to the water...people do that stuff everywhere though. a friend bought property up here to build on and i remember when i first saw the property thinking i would be hesitant to want to build so close to such a powerful river. water in all it's forms can be extremely dangerous.
i'm always amazed by this stuff...girl going to prison for 2 years after she killed her father injecting heroin. nothing like doing heroin with your father...!! parenting at it's best, right?
when i was young people who filed for bankruptcy were ashamed of having done so. now it's celebrated? trump is seen as a brilliant business man because he filed bankruptcy several times but learned and became rich? how many were screwed over each time he filed bankruptcy? just seems odd to me the thinking...i feel bankruptcy is there for when people are overwhelmed with financial debt related to illness or being laid off and unable to return to work. now it's used way too often because people live beyond their means and are not fiscally responsible or take risks that are beyond rational thinking. there is no shame in it at all anymore, it's almost a badge of honor? the bail out is okay for some but not for others.
the following of Trump almost feels cultish. he was quoted recently saying he could shoot someone in New York and not lose any votes. it's probably true. they want to vote for him because he says what they want to say but feel they can't. you can say anything. you may get crap for it, but you can say it. why wait for him to say it. certainly don't need to hire him as POTUS so he can ramble on about stuff that you want to hear spoken out loud.
i think we all agree that political correctness has gotten ridiculous but the concepts that brought about our exaggerated political correctness are not ridiculous. fairness, kindness, respect. sadly, too many of those things were missing in day to day life and our society has now overcompensated. we just need to find a balance...instead it seems some want to return to a previous time of hatred, disrespect and unkindness. i doubt it's really that many people, because i probably foolishly believe that most people are rational at base.
i say foolishly because there have been many times in history where people ride a wave of hatred and behave irrationally. killing neighbors,turning them in to others who are cruel to them. i believe most of us hope that we would be the person hiding someone in our basement, being brave enough to risk our lives to help others who are being persecuted. in truth, historically, there are not as many people who rise to that level as you would hope. historically though, once the society has been taken over by this madness of killing, there seems little you can do except do everything you can to try and save yourself and those in your household...so ultimately it seems exceptional that there are those who risk everything so selfishly to save others. i would like to think i would be that brave, but would i be? it's hard to judge everyone that was placed in nearly impossible situations .
most importantly, we as citizens, need to do all we can to not allow our society to get to that level of hatred that a genocide could possibly take place. that this thinking could be allowed to take hold. once it does, there is little you can do to stop it. like taking the genie out of the lantern...it can't be returned so easily.
not sure why anyone "travels" to North Korea. an American was detained i guess. a student. of course, accused of being a spy. so many crazy places in our world right now. not sure why anyone wants to lead our nation or any other. really just not a concept i get...wanting all that power and control. i'm far too lazy for that. not to mention having people wanting to kill you, talk crap about you, risk your family. deal with all the other worlds issues and our issues, have everything blamed on you for decades. in my mind...i really don't see the up side.
of course...that is probably why we have such limited choices for POTUS. you have to wonder who wants this job at all. the truly good candidates never make it that far...probably have too many values and sense. there generally isn't really a great choice in any election...it's always the best of the worst.
guess there was a shoot out in Oregon, the FBI have arrested several of the guys who had taken over the refuge. the leader included. one is dead and another injured. not sure what that means for those still at the refuge...are they still there? will they walk away or will they become even more violent? there really was no easy way out of this. guess they were driving one of the refuge trucks out of the refuge to get supplies? not sure. they were taken off the refuge though.
below you can see the cracks out at Potters in the ice. the dark line.
headed down there today to catch the sunset. looked like it might be worth it.
a British explorer died in Antarctica, just 30 miles short of his goal of completing a solo walk across Antarctica without any assistance. he knew he was in trouble and called for a rescue..that is the downside to exploration though. often even if you decide you need rescue, it won't be able to get to you. the life of an adventurer is risky...life risking. i'm sure he had plenty of adventure in his 55 years of life. our world will always need and enjoy the explorers both here on earth and in space. they make us dream of more and reach further. RIP Henry Worsley.
Zika Virus...not good timing for Brazil. they are having an Olympics with many young people and spreading this virus would not be good. it's already seeming to be spreading rather quickly. thankfully up here, mosquito's have a short life. we do have some mosquito's that survive winter but overall, there is a die off. some countries have encouraged women to not become pregnant at all until this is under control...of course, that being said this starts off a battle over having birth control more readily available and then also abortion comes into discussion, banned i think in most parts of South America. will people be getting illegal abortions if they find their fetus has been impacted? these viruses can spread so much faster and farther.
over 4000 kids have been born in Brazil with microcephaly...that is just Brazil.
still much to learn about this virus. sounds like it's spread by mosquito though there are a few possible cases of spread through sex. fear takes hold when any new virus shows up. that can have it's own complications.
turned out to be a pretty sunset i think.
pool felt great...hopefully, i can stick to my work outs and be more fit.
not much to report on the WARIS front. need to plan for our lecture at REI. goody bags and a few door prizes are planned. also need to plan for some snacks for those who come. hoping people are signing up and we can have a full house.
would really love to get some folks to head out there this summer and visit live. excited for spring and for the return of the walrus to Round Island and for the web cam to return. miss those big boys of summer!!
really need to be getting summer planned as well. got started. can't say as i've accomplished too much this week off. can't blame it all on the quake.
more pictures of cracks out at Potters marsh
no damage...it's ice so it can crack. if that is the worst, we did pretty dang good. always amazing how much more damage can happen in a more populated area or a less financially stable area. houses made of cardboard don't hold up well. this same size quake in another part of the world would have been far more devastating.
still prefer quakes overall to the idea of hurricains and tornado's. not sure i like the early warnings and waiting. at least with quakes, it happens, you deal with it and then you see what the damage is.
thankful for: A. being healthy enough to be able to exercise B. kindness, respect, love, hope...all those good things that get us all through the bad things. C. living in AK.
