Mr Plow ( a human powered snow removal machine)

For the past week and a half, (watch out for those side walks!?!?!? Today I slipped and fell on an ice patch I did not see. And no, I am not going to sue some one because of it. So shooing away those ambulance chasers..) there has been some where in my neighborhood of Vancouver near 39th and Main street about an average of 1.5 foot with some small drifts.

Roads were ice at times, slush at times and other times, ice prone.

So when I can across this little idea from Mr. Plow who recycled an old garden tractor-mower, added a bicycle chain and gear system, he was able to use his own power with a nice, small scraper to clear out the snow.

If you would like to see more, please take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VozlU8TXEvA

Happy Holidays

Yep, just a short note to any one who may have started to read this blog.

"Happy (enter name of Holiday or religious belief here)"

OR I will just say have a happy, merry, christmas and happy new year!

Does the Citizen Communications time too large?

From Seattle Times: (in an article about keeping guns off city property.)

You may find this article off this tinyurl link: http://tinyurl.com/7ozsjw

"Any sort of ban is gun control," she said, after speaking for her allotted 90 seconds against the measure. Moments later she told a newspaper reporter: "It's the same old argument going around and around." Carender said she is among those "trying to protect their right to keep and bear arms."

<..Snips rest of article..>

Now is this really gettting to a point that 90 seconds is the absolute time for the community member to discuss how they feel about a subject? Now I understand that the City of Vancouver sets it up as 3 minutes or 180 seconds.

But why did they shorten a community members time to discuss an item in front of the Seatte City Council?

I am curious to know why Citizens are not given time to discuss a subject?

Going to do more research do to find out more about the amount of discussion time. (This thread is NOT about the gun control measure. If you want to discuss that, please go to the link and post on the seattle times forums.)

Thompson Metal Fabricators created parts of "The Tram.."

Some locals may not have known and some may call it a waste of money to uplift the elite and hierarchy up to the top of OHSU in Downtown Portland.

What people may have not known is that Vancouver's Thompson Metal Fabricators did some or a decent amount of the main stems to the "tram."

If you want to see verification, please take note of Sam Adams and Royce Pollard in the photograph.

http://www.commissionersam.com/node/699

Uncle Ben Bernanke gives you access to CHEAP credit!

 

Hopefully, this is not our future weather here in Portland this weekend.

Pulitzer Prizes could be handed out to Web based commentary?

(I first found this at Greg Sandoval's article here: http://tinyurl.com/6blocd )

(You may find the original and full text of the press release here: http://tinyurl.com/6hwpkj )

Quoting the Pulitzer Press Release:

"New York, Dec. 8, 2008 – The Pulitzer Prizes in journalism, which honor the work of American newspapers appearing in print, have been expanded to include many text-based newspapers and news organizations that publish only on the Internet, the Pulitzer Prize Board announced today.

The Board also has decided to allow entries made up entirely of online content to be submitted in all 14 Pulitzer journalism categories.

While broadening the competition, the Board stressed that all entered material -- whether online or in print -- should come from United States newspapers or news organizations that publish at least weekly, that are "primarily dedicated to original news reporting and coverage of ongoing stories," and that "adhere to the highest journalistic principles.”

Consistent with its historic focus on daily and weekly newspapers, the Board will continue to exclude entries from printed magazines and broadcast media and their respective Web sites...."

So they're now allowing serious online context and content?

Interesting because with the floundering of newspapers locally, state wide and nationally, the web may finally have found a place amongst the more serious journalistic efforts of the Seattle Times, Post Intelligencer, Washington Post, Portland Oregonian and many other sources.

The newspapers have been fighting for market share against some amazingly formidable foes that can create a simple web blog from many different sources. (See Google.com for more information.) with only a click and a whimper.

Some online sources do not even cost a dime to post under but do have some minor clauses under their Acceptable User Policies. (No profanity, No adult material or pornography or advertising. See the web hosting site's policy for more information.)

So I hope in the future, the Pulitzer prizes will go to video, audio and many other forms of very valid of forms of journalism that may finally put a coffin in the paper form of news for once and for all.

Covering the Project Sponsorship council (live)

So I have began to wonder since the Columbia River Crossing Task Force folded this summer into a small, ten member "project sponsorship council meeting" with equal amounts of public and private interest, why it was not covered by the local news media or video taped for rebroadcast on the local cable televisions stations in Oregon or Washington?

And why it is that there is getting such minimal coverage of the Final DEIS process and study that could shape this region for a hundred years because of one bridge?

Am I personally missing some thing or has the media simply not cared to cover a four billion dollar project (or could be sharply higher..)

Ok, folks, I would like to see some coverage of this vital transit, commuter and freight connection between the Portland and Vancouver.

Or does Portland want the freight want to bypass this clogged artery, go through Longview-Kelso and over the Lewis and Clark Bridge to Highway 30, then come into Portland with a less clogged way?

Is the Port of Portland close to this major link between Clatskanie, Vernonia, Astoria and many other columbia river towns on the Oregon side?

Guys, its time to wake up and smell the roasting morning coffee. because if you do not put pressure on the media and find out what is going on with your bridges, it will be done for you.

Amanda Fritz is asking these questions

From Amanda's blog:

"* How does this proposed new bridge relate to other regional transportation needs?

* Do we really support allocating $4.2 billion in federal, state, regional and local money to this project, over the needs of Portland?

* How confident are we in the $4.2 billion estimate?

* Are there other more cost-effective alternatives?

* What about regular rail rather than light rail?

* Why require local traffic to use the Interstate highway rather than providing an arterial bridge connecting North Portland and Vancouver?

* How are six lanes each way on the bridge going to funnel down to three lanes on either side without causing accidents and congestion?

* In approving this bridge, is Portland saying we willing to destroy homes and businesses in North, Northeast, and Southwest Portland in the future, to widen I-5 through the city?

* Did you know that any one of six jurisdictions can veto this project?"

Now I do understand that there is some concerns and that have ben going on throughout the Columbia River Crossing process. (For which I have been following for nearly three years ping and pong from information sessions, supplemental DEIS sessions to the 40 member task force that was charged to whittle down thirty nine proposals down to four. And get those build options into the next study session with ten members.)

Yes, according to one session, this process could be killed by one of the five main principals. Metro, WashDOT, Federal highway or transit, or RTC on the Vancouver side.

But I don't think that any other agency would kill this process after the 100+ million dollars that has been spent on the study, the amount of participation by both side of the columbia river towns, counties, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, tribes, environmental groups and many others who have worked tirelessly on behalf of their individual causes and concerns.

There is some hope from the columbia river crossing folks and associates that the federal government will take up a part of funding for this project to move it forward.

With a projected five billion dollar budget short fall on the Washington side (current year 2008-10 biennium) and at least two billion dollar short fall in the state of Oregon, does one think that tolls will basically be the main way this bridge will be paid for and built?

There are elements amongst the Washington state (Counties on this side) that are feeling they are getting tired of being sucked dry by the state of Oregon's progressive tax structure that give them no say in how it is spent or used.

With tolls, they feel they are being sacked even harder, because most of their jobs, employment or opportunities are on the Oregon side of the river. (Yes, there are some opportunities for Oregonians who might have a job, business or employment on this side of the river. But it tends to be 1 Oregonian vs. 10 Washingtonians going to jobs on the oregon side.)

The City of Vancouver's Mayor has a quote (paraphrased here) about "being the second biggest tax paying town in Oregon." (though we're in the state of Washington.)

Now how does this all work for the columbia river crossing? There is still much debate going on about the future of this crossing. Who is going to end up paying the full bill. Will it be taxpayers from Federal, state or local sources, tolls or may be some minimum grants?

The city of Vancouver hosts an updates on its website

For those who follow the Columbia River Crossing Project process rather religiously or semi-consciously (even during the project sponsorship sessions.)

You may want to have this on your refresh screen.

http://www.cityofvancouver.us/crc.asp

Missile defense systems

For more information and the article, please see this link:

http://tinyurl.com/58uw2a

"Anne Scott Tyson, Washington Post

...Friday's test was the 13th of its kind since 1999, part of a missile defense program that has cost approximately $100 billion, according to Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

The test cost about $120 million. The systems tested were similar to those the U.S. military deploys or will deploy in Japan and Poland, O'Reilly said.

"The geometry of a launch from North Korea to the U.S. is very similar to Kodiak off the coast of California," he said. The radars used to track the missile were the AN/TPY-2 radar located in Juneau, Alaska; a U.S. Navy Aegis BMD ship with SPY-1 radar; the Upgraded Early Warning Radar at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.; and the Sea-Based X-band radar."

(This is just a snippet of the full article.)

I thought this was a wonderful display of our new multi-billion dollar missile defense shield and a successful test. With more and more nations building rocket based systems, it will just be a matter of time before they try and aim some of those rockets on us or other nations around the world.

Some times being a person who is anti-nuclear, anti-military or anti-DOD does not seem to understand that we live in a world that is dangerous and some nations will take advantage of another nation just because it can with arms.

Also more and more nations are building weapons or missile weapon systems that can put nuclear weapons on top for an even deadlier strike.

The nuclear non-proliferation treaty which many nations are signed up is not going stop a smaller nation or a group of nations from trying to develop weapons that are just above the grade scale of Weapons of Mass Destruction Index. (my own personal index.)

It just above exposing masses of people to anthrax, VX or some other biological weapon but most biological weapons eventually due degrade. Whereas a Nuclear weapon (from my own knowledge) will have an effect for many, many generations to come. Not just decades or a century but even longer.

Now one can try to clean up a weapons area by placing fill or block off an area, create mythos, stories that might teach future generations of what happened.

But will this actually prevent a nation in the present from trying to develop measures or counter measures to this threat that will just kill more people in the future?

Look, this new defensive missile system will just start a new war-on-terror or cold war that lasted nearly fifty years as Russia and China are making their moves to protect themselves against our building of this system.

Was it not Russia who was sending bombers and emissaries to Venezuela or other South American countries that could be used as a future launchingpad against the United States in case we did respond.

How would you like offensive missiles and anti-ballastic defensive missile systems on your door?

BPA going to get a make over..

Find the article here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf?/base/news/1228530317257150.xml&coll=7

Jeff Mapes of the Oregonian wrote:

"Rep. Earl Blumenauer said Friday that he expects the incoming Obama administration to seek new leadership at one of the Northwest's most crucial agencies, the Bonneville Power Administration.

The federal power agency, headed by career BPA official Steve Wright, markets electricity from Northwest dams and other power sources and plays a big role in both the region's economy and environment.

Blumenauer, D-Ore., said he has been talking with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team about reorienting the agency so that it focuses more on providing a transmission system for wind power and other new renewable energy sources -- and he expected part of that to involve new leadership."

While I am supportive of renewable energy (By the way, are the dams not renewable energy?) wind, solar and Geothermal (yes, there are some active volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest. but the question is it cost effective to do?)

How is BPA going to integrate these vast and desperate systems into the grid that is mostly nuclear and columbia river dam power from the US and Canada?

Would it not be a mess to have wind power that was going on and off all the time instead of a steady stream of power from a dams, that naturally has been for years bypassing us and heading to a very and ever increasing growth of California instead of staying in the Pacific Northwest for our own generation needs and ever increasing population.

I wonder if it would be smarter to invest in more energy efficient housing, warehouse, office and other building types along with minor increases in capacity of renewables instead of building all of these acre upon acre of wind farms?

Columbia River Crossing Project

In case any one did not have a chance to attend the December 5th, 2008 meeting in Portland, here is a direct link to the meeting notes.

http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/Resources/Controls/GetFile.aspx?FileID=533

I will be going over these notes over the next few days to catch up on what is going on.

Your local, state and regional politicians would like to hear from you about what is going on with the Final Environmental Impact statement. Along with how you think this bridge is coming along.

Here is a direct link to the people who are on the Project Sponsorship Council that will be advising Washington and Oregon Governors, Federal Highway and Transit Administrations along with the local transit agencies.

http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/ProjectPartners/ProjectSponsorsCouncil.aspx

Please do take a moment to read the 50 page PSC meeting and notes, it will give you a better informed approach when you come to them in email, phone call or in person than spouting off a loud diatribe.

Also the next meeting will be in Vancouver at WashDOT (NE 51st street and 112th Avenue. Take Gher Road/112th Avenue Exit) on January 9th, 2008.

World War Two rememberances and Pearl Harbor

I just want every one who may be thinking or reading this blog to think of this day back in 1941. When we lost many, many men and women @ Pearl Harbor Hawaii.

Take a moment, in your own special way or prayer and think of these people who gave of themselves sacrificially without any warning.

If you know of a vet of any age, during any time of the year, Please tell them that you are thinking of or praying for them during the year. Nothing is better for them to hear that a fellow citizen cares about them.

Blogging from Vancouver Washington

Well I think it is time for me to start my own political blog site.

To get away from several others on both sides of the river that I frequent and finally create some thing of my own, so that my own voice can be heard through the echoes of fog bank.

Any one who has lived in either Portland, Clark County or metro region knows about the persistent vegetative fog bank that hits our community on both sides of the river when there a warmer sunny day but ice cold nights covered in high amounts of precipitation.

The temperatures tend to hover around 30 degrees during this time, so in late November until early January (except some occasional years.)

This weather creates a low level fog bank and air does not seem to move during this time frame. Except for some freakish snow or ice storm, the area has a persistent fog bank that seems to never want to leave us.