The Paving Of Paradise Continues

A couple of development-related news items from the Truckee area have caught my eye in the last couple of days.

First off, in the long running battle over the future of the Martis Valley, it looks like some sort of agreement has been reached between developers (who tend to look at a gorgeous, wide-open alpine valley like the Martis in pretty much the same way that lions look at zebras) and environmental groups like Sierra Watch. Plans to build 635 homes and an 18-hole golf course will proceed, but at least the number of homes to be built has been reduced and plans for two more golf courses have been scrapped. Also, a fee on new homes will raise $72 million dollars over the next 25 years to pay for open space preservation and habitat restoration.

Secondly, it was announced today that Ritz-Carlton (yes, that Ritz-Carlton) will be building a $300 million dollar 5-star resort at the top of the Gondola at Northstar, which I guess means in the area where Big Springs Lodge is now. Its going to be called the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, and it's supposed to look something like this:

I can't help but notice the strong resemblance to yet another one of those places where I wasted some of my miss-spent youth, Oregon's famous Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mount Hood (a.k.a. "that hotel from The Shining").

I'm an old Northstar employee (Rock On Purchasing Department!!!) and I have a soft spot for ol' Flatstar, as the often-overlooked mountain is derisively called by some. So generally I'm happy for their success, and maybe a little biased.

But at the same time, part of me can't help but flinch at these announcements, particularly as concerns the Martis Valley. Large, open, undeveloped valleys like the Martis are a rarity in the Sierra. The thought of chewing up such beautiful open space in order to erect yet more million dollar palacial second-homes (most of which will remain empty 11 months of the year anyway) saddens me.

The lakes, rivers and forests of the Sierra Nevada were the original reason I chose to make this region my home. Development is inevitable, especially as the Reno/Tahoe area outgrows its "gambling and divorce" reputation and the wider world starts to realize what an incredible quality of life we enjoy here. But as always, we have to be careful that in our desire for growth we don't lose the very things that make the Northern Sierra such a treasure in the first place. Hokey as it sounds, I believe the mountains belong to all of us, and that means the responsibility falls to us to defended them from threats. Not only must we protect the ecosystems that maintain the life of the mountains, but we also must remember that the Sierra Nevada shouldn't be the exclusive property of the very wealthy. In the end I think there may be room in the Sierra for the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, but there has to be room for the Martis Valley too.

Song Remains The Same In Wrigleyville

With opening day less than a week away, the minds of all right-thinking Americans are turning to thoughts of baseball.

The last two World Series have turned entrenched baseball mythology on its head as the long-suffering Boston Red Sox and perennial also-rans the Chicago White Sox both overcame decade upon decade of frustration to claim baseball's ultimate prize. Its enough to make a Cub fan think that perhaps the impossible might be possible, that perhaps our own years and years of frustration (that would be 98 years, just in case anyone's counting) might one day come to an end.

Sadly, I don't think there will be a three-peat for curse-busting this year. The mostly punchless-Cubbies--aside from Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, who both deserve better--did very little to improve their lethargic hitting lineup during the off-season, and almost on cue today it was announced that both Mark Prior and Kerry Wood have been placed on the the 15-day DL, ensuring that both will miss the start of the season. Thus the starting pitching staff, which was thought (or more accurately 'hoped') to be the Cubs' bright spot going into Spring Training, is now something of a question mark.

The guess here is that the Cubs will probably again find themselves 10 or 15 games behind the hated St. Louis Cardinals and perhaps even the up-and-coming Milwaukee Brewers when September rolls around, and we will be one year closer to completing the Century of Futility (TM). And just to add insult to injury, last year I had to go and fall in love with a Cardinal fan, and now I'm now marrying into a Cardinal family. We Cub fans really are gluttons for punishment.

Still, hope springs eternal. It will happen someday. Probably not this year, probably not next year, but someday. Until then, well....Wrigley sure is a pretty ballpark, isn't it?

Psychopath Meets Soft-Core

I don't link to a lot of video clips, but this bit from The Daily Show posted at Crooks and Liars is just too damn funny. It's a dismantling of a Fox News Alert which is supposedly about a serial killer stalking Daytona Beach. Horrific criminal activity is discussed in very serious tones while, simultaneously, image after image of nubile, almost naked co-eds bumping and grinding away at Spring Break is paraded on screen. Really, it's too surreal do describe, you just have to see it. Jon Stewart is hilarious as always, but really when Fox News sets you up with something like this you almost can't help but hit it out of the park.

Immigration

The national issue-of-the-moment made its presence known in Reno today as about 400 mostly Latino high school students walked out of class and down to the Federal Courthouse in protest of legislation that passed the House of Representatives yesterday which would, among other things, make it a felony to be an undocumented immigrant in the United States and erect a 700-mile fence along the 2000 mile U.S.-Mexican border. This evening it appears that the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation apparently much less draconian in nature, removing criminal penalties and, according to reports, moving toward some sort of "guest worker" program for immigrants. Although the Senate can begin full debate on the issue of Immigration tomorrow, it remains to be seen if legislation passed by the House and Senate has a prayer of being reconciled any time soon. The bet here is that it won't happen before the Fall election.

In all honesty, I'm not sure what to make of the immigration issue. There are over 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, at least as near as anyone can figure, and that's roughly the population of Ohio. The Pew Hispanic Center says undocumented workers compose one out of twenty members of the nation's workforce. If all of these workers were somehow deported tomorrow (not that that's remotely possible, but for the sake of argument) the economy would be in shambles and American life might well come to a screeching halt, at least for a good long while.

Clearly immigration law needs reform. Not only have immigrant workers become an integral part of the fabric of this country, but these men and women come to America because American businesses want them here. Many immigrants are willing to work jobs that most native-born Americans would turn their nose up at, and for very low pay. While I don't care for exploitative element at play here, nor the fact that this arrangement keeps wages low for all workers immigrant or otherwise, I do recognize that neither the political will nor the practical ability exists to ship 11 million people out of this country and turn our borders into an armed fortress (which still wouldn't work anyway). This is a much thornier political issue than many people realize, and frankly I don't know if there's a "good" way to resolve the situation.

However I can say that I'm not in favor of simply stuffing everyone into some sort of an open-ended 'guest worker' program. Clearly this is what businesses want since it would allow them to keep wages low and benefits practically non-existent. But I worry that a guest-worker program will lead us to a European-style situation where a sequestered immigrant population grows increasingly alienated over time and begins to see themselves as living within a larger society that is happily willing to exploit their labor but unwilling to afford them a real future. You've seen how well guest-worker programs have worked out over there, where immigrants feel they are shunted into segregated communities with no real respect or any stake in the long term well-being of the larger society. This has lead to a surprising increase in resentment, hostility and violence, and I wouldn't want to see that repeated here.

I think the best solution is to allow for a somewhat easier path to citizenship for more people who are willing to work for it--which the vast, vast majority of immigrants are. This would (hopefully) protect both the dignity of the workers and the economic interests of this country that depends on them. And I do feel that more of a crackdown needs to take place on employers who hire undocumented workers--less demand for exploitable, low-wage workers will lead to less supply. There is no magic bullet that can solve all the problems surrounding illegal immigration, but I think allowing an easier path to citizenship than that which currently exists, both for undocumented workers already in the U.S. and future immigrants, is the best option. Some say this basically means rewarding those who have flaunted the law and come here illegally. I admit, part of me is uncomfortable with the notion of rewarding illegal activity. But at a certain point practicality must be taken into consideration. I don't really have the answer (no one does), but we have allowed the creation of a difficult situation that is going to require complex solutions.

For The New Arrival

A woman who had recently moved to Reno asked me the other day where she could get one of those "Keep Tahoe Blue" stickers that you see so much around town. I told her don't bother, having that sticker on your car will just make you look like a poser.

I don't know if she took my advice or not. But the incident did get me thinking. So many people are moving to Reno these days, it would be a great public service to let them in on a few of the local quirks that it took me a while to figure out when I first moved here in 2001.

First, that ubiquitous sticker:

This is actually the most recognizable symbol of the League To Save Lake Tahoe, a well-established environmental group that has been working to protect the Lake and the surrounding Basin for over 45 years now. This is a great cause. Unfortunately, putting one of these stickers (or one of it's many parodies) on your car is thought by a lot of people new to the area to be a good way to blend in. It isn't. Slapping one of these stickers on your Toyota Land Cruiser that still has California plates on it looks exactly like what it is: trying too hard to fit in. If you really care about the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin then you should actually join the League or another conservation group, or perhaps volunteer your time. Putting a sticker on your car is literally the least you can do.

Second, don't pronounce the name of this state "Ne-vah-da." The middle syllable in "Nevada" should rhyme with the 'a' in "gamble." Mispronouncing the state's name is the surest way to reveal the fact that you are a newbie. And for God's sake, whatever you do don't try telling someone who lives here that "Ne-vah-da" is correct because Merriam-Webster says so or because it's closer to the original Spanish. That just makes you look like a smart ass.

Third: It's cold here in the winter and windy most of the time. Shut up and deal with it.

Fourth: Not only should you not expect any road construction project to be completed on the predicted date, you really shouldn't expect it to ever get done at all. That way, if it ever is completed, it's like a nice bonus.

Fifth: Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever brag to someone that you were able to sell your house in Santa Clara and buy two homes here with cash left over. I'm serious, don't do this. That nice young person that you're telling this to might very well be one of Reno's legions of hardworking local young people who may now be permanently priced out of becoming a homeowner because of our over-inflated, California-influenced marketplace (i.e. because of people like you, Mr. Santa Clara). Trust me, he or she isn't going to be as pleased about your good fortune as you are.

Sixth: Even if you have only been here a few months, you should immediately get involved in Reno's favorite pastime, which is complaining about the rapid pace of growth and the huge number of people moving here. Really, I don't care if you've been here a couple of weeks, one of the best ways to start a conversation with anyone in Reno is to start waxing poetic about how Reno's just not a small town anymore, how quickly the north valleys are filling up with sprawling housing projects, how bad traffic is these days and how it makes your jaw clench when people who just moved here mispronounce "Nevada." Complaining about growth is a bonding experience all Reno residents love to share in, and practicing it is the surest and fastest way to achieving the status of being a "local."

That's all I've got for now. If anyone else has any other tips they'd like to submit, please leave 'em in the comments section.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

I got myself so bummed out with that last doom-and-gloom environmental posting, I just wanted to take a moment to cleanse myself with a quick post about something very positive in the future that I'm really looking forward to. Dave Bobzien and Myrna the Mynx have already mentioned it, but it can't get enough free press as far as I'm concerned.

April 4th and 5th (a Tuesday and Wednesday, but what can you do?) The Nevada Land Conservancy and John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks will bring the Banff Mountain Film Festival to the Reno area. I caught the Festival a few years ago when it came through Spokane, and I can tell you it's a great time and a good cause. If you're as passionate about mountains and the culture that surrounds them as I am, you won't want to miss it.

Looking Into The Future

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. The delay in postings is related to my growing frustration with Blogspot's apparent inability to handle the posting of pictures. Changes may be coming soon that will address the problem, but I don't want to say too much about that right now. For the time being, we're going to stick with everyone's favorite, the dense, text-heavy rant. Horray!

Spring invariably brings out the latent environmentalism in me. If you're the same way, here's something you should read and watch: It's a chilling piece from last week's 60 Minutes that focuses on the realities of global warming, and the Orwellian lengths to which the U.S. government is prepared to go to dampen, obfuscate and suppress scientific information relating to climate change when that information might make things uncomfortable for fossil fuel industries.

The piece focuses on James Hansen, NASA's top climate researcher and maybe the world's leading authority on global warming. Hansen says global warming is actually accelerating, as evidenced by the increasingly rapid melting of arctic and Antarctic ice. What's more, he says there's no doubt that humanity's burning of fossil fuels and pumping CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are behind the rapid change. He says the "speed of the natural changes is now dwarfed by the changes that humans are making to the atmosphere and to the surface", and that a reduction in greenhouse gas emission must be achieved soon or global warming will reach a tipping point and become unstoppable.

Is Hansen right? I'm not a scientist and I can't offer a meaningful opinion as to whether or not he has all the details correct. But the assessment he presents us with is sobering indeed, and the conclusion that the climate is changing and that human activity is at the root of these changes is the consensus reached by every scientist spoken to by 60 Minutes.

But what's even more terrifying to me than the environmental damage being done to this planet are the tactics taken by the government to filter or even suppress the information given to us by Hansen and others in order to achieve their own short-term political goals. Basically, the federal government and the corporate forces that have so much influence over it have realized that they need not disprove that dangers to the climate exist; rather, all they really need to do is selectively cobble together enough vagaries to allow them to shrug their shoulders and say "well, there's really no way to be 100% sure what's happening, so we don't actually need to do anything." Says Hansen, "I find a willingness to listen only to those portions of scientific results that fit predetermined inflexible positions. This, I believe, is a recipe for environmental disaster."

The methods of this government are insidious when it comes to downplaying and distorting vitally important long-term environmental issues; they create ambiguity where it doesn't really exist in order to confuse the issue and protect polluters at great risk to the future well-being of the entire planet. Here's an example provided by Rick Piltz, who co-wrote reports for the federal Climate Change Science Program and was also interviewed for the piece.

"The strategy of people with a political agenda to avoid this issue is to say there is so much to study way upstream here that we can't even being to discuss impacts and response strategies," says Piltz. "There's too much uncertainty. It's not the climate scientists that are saying that, its lawyers and politicians."

Piltz worked under the Clinton and Bush administrations. Each year, he helped write a report to Congress called "Our Changing Planet."

Piltz says he is responsible for editing the report and sending a review draft to the White House.

Asked what happens, Piltz says: "It comes back with a large number of edits, handwritten on the hard copy by the chief-of-staff of the Council on Environmental Quality."

Asked who the chief of staff is, Piltz says, "Phil Cooney."

Piltz says Cooney is not a scientist. "He's a lawyer. He was a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, before going into the White House," he says.

Cooney, the former oil industry lobbyist, became chief-of-staff at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Piltz says Cooney edited climate reports in his own hand. In one report, a line that said earth is undergoing rapid change becomes "may be undergoing change." "Uncertainty" becomes "significant remaining uncertainty." One line that says energy production contributes to warming was just crossed out.

"He was obviously passing it through a political screen," says Piltz. "He would put in the word potential or may or weaken or delete text that had to do with the likely consequence of climate change, pump up uncertainty language throughout."

Sadly, this is the state of government-sponsored environmental research in America today. The work of real scientists is being re-written by petroleum industry lobbyists to suit their agenda.

The realities of climate change are frightening enough, but if you really want to scare yourself check out the prognostications of the Peak Oil advocates in this piece from Salon. Not only is our unchecked gluttony for oil damaging the global environment, but there is quite a number of people who have come to the conclusion that we are burning through this finite resource at such a rate that we will reach the peak of global production in the next few years (and a few believe we've already passed it) and that the increasing scarcity of oil in the coming decades will lead to a gradual crumbling of our exorbitant lifestyle as everything from convenient travel to cheap food slowly disappears and domestic and international instability increases. Some go as far as to predict an outright return to the 13th Century. Of course Peak Oil theory has it's debunkers, and to be honest a lot of its serious doomsday-proponents remind me just a bit of the people who got hysterical about Y2K. Still, they bring up an important point--whether we will reach oil's peak of production in 5 years or 50 years, oil is a finite resource and will, one day, start to dry up. Simply assuming that technology and ingenuity will solve the problem and save our extravegant lifestyles seems naive and shortsighted.

The people that run this country give lip service to breaking our "addiction" to oil, but they do nothing to address the problem (although I guess they did send an army to conquer the second most oil-rich country in the world, but I'm told that was just done to spread freedom and liberty). In a sad--or lucky, I guess, depending on how you look at it--twist of fate, I doubt it will be this generation that pays the full price for our petrolium addiction, and if our children are fortunate they may not suffer serious consequences either. But I think it's very likely that one day the people of America, along with the rest of the world, will pay a dear price for our addiction in the form of instability and war over resources, shortages of basic necessities and a damaged environment. My hunch is that they'll look back at us and wonder how we could have possibly been so myopic.

First Full Day Of Spring

The first full day of Spring in Reno feels more like one of those perfect Winter days--bluebird sky, snow covering every mountain, and everywhere the sound of running water as the remains of yesterday's snowfall melts in the sun. But the seasons are changing; daylight comes very early in the morning now, robins are seen everywhere, and a couple of times in the last few days I have heard the unmistakeable song of the meadowlark, a sound that to me best signifies Spring and Summer on the plains and high deserts of the West. I have to be careful, because days like today put me in a poetic mood, and that's not good for anybody. Let's just say that today is one of those days that I am most in love with the place I call home. It's the perfect way to start the new season.

Equinox

It's been Spring for a little over five hours now, the vernal equinox having arrived at 10:25 PST. As I look out my window visibility is barely one block and snow is falling in sheets. Just thought you might like to know.

Woo-hoo!!!

The most consistently funny and well-written TV show over the last two decades, The Simpsons, is going to be around at least through it's 18th and 19th seasons. If it lasts one more season after that, it will become the longest-running entertainment program in television history. I'm 32 years old, and this show has been on the air for more than half my lifetime.

I don't watch The Simpsons as much as I used to. I don't think the show has ever really Jumped the Shark, but it has been past it's prime for a number of years now. Still, a bad episode of The Simpsons is smarter, funnier and more insightful than 90% of the rest of the dreck on TV, and even these days they still manage to put out a classic episode now and then. I hope they enjoy continued success.

From The Ridiculous To The Sublime

Hat tip to Myrna the Mynx for alerting us to the fantasmagorical plans announced yesterday by the company trying to buy the Reno Hilton for the conversion of said hotel into the Grand Sierra Resort. The plans, grandiose enough already considering the purchase of the property hasn't even closed yet, now include a helicopter landing pad and a 10,000 seat area for a sports team of some sort (maybe hockey, maybe arena football--details are still a little vague). Supposedly it's now going to look something like this:

One has to wonder how much of this is realistic and how much is pure fantasy. Honestly, the original plans that called for the world's largest indoor waterpark (for the record this is still a part of the new plans) sounded far-fetched enough as it was. I still find the fact that Ashton Kutcher is going to have an ownership-interest in a restaurant to be highly suspicious. I think it's quite possible that the whole thing is a sham and we're all getting Punk'd. Of course, I thought the same thing about Demi Moore's pregnancy.

Welcome to Iraq War, Year Four

Today the first three years of the Iraq War are officially completed and we enter our fourth year of conflict. For some time now, the definition of how we will actually win this war has been on a downward slide; when the war started Donald Rumsfeld said the conflict would take a matter of weeks but probably not months and the conventional wisdom had it that our troops were going to be met with candy and flowers by a people thrilled at the prospect of liberation. Although they weren't saying so publicly, I suspect that quite a few NeoCons were certain we'd be in Damascus by late 2003. When that rosy view proved to be a fantasy (just like Saddam's WMDs), success became defined by defeating or outlasting the insurgency. When it became obvious that this wouldn't be happening for many, many years (if it's even possible at all), success became defined as staying long enough for a unified government to take shape so that someone else could battle the insurgents. Now it seems as though the administration is defining victory as just making sure that the low-intesity civil war now underway in Iraq doesn't devolve into an all-out civil war.

When I think back three years to the months leading up to the war, I think my position at the time was probably reflective of a lot of Americans. Although I never believed for a second that there was any connection between Saddam and what happened on 9/11, nor any meaningful connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda, I must admit to my shame that I did not do anything to speak out against the coming war. I remained quiet for a couple of reasons. First, I knew that American men and women would be going into harm's way and, despite my strong reservations, I was hoping against hope that the military engagement (which was obviously a foregone conclusion at the time, no matter how often Bush stated that he hadn't yet made up his mind) would be accomplished quickly and with as little loss of life and limb as possible. Second, in my naivete I actually thought that perhaps my government knew something I didn't, that maybe Saddam and his phantom nuclear/chemical/biological arsenal was more of a threat to this country than he appeared.

How wrong I was. The administration was not only "mistaken" about what kind of threat Saddam posed to America, they obviously had no plan beyond Shock and Awe to deal with the prospect of occupying a hostile and divided population. Three years later our men and women continue to sacrifice their lives and there's no real end in sight.

So please allow me to suggest a solution to the war-buffs out there. Just do now what you're going to do in the end anyway. Start blaming people like me. Start telling yourself that it's people who supposedly want to "cut and run" who are to blame for this failure, and not the fact that we stupidly and needlessly went to occupy a foreign nation without any real plan, all the while believing our own fantasies about how simple it would be. Tell yourself that it's not the architects of this unnecessary war who are to blame, it's the people like me who recognize it for the costly, unwinable mistake that it is. Scream that we are cowards and that the war would be won if it weren't for our weak stomachs. Do it loudly and often enough to convince yourself that it's true.

My hope is that if you have someone to blame we can wind our involvment in this mess up as soon as possible. The only other foreseeable series of events that might lead to an end of the spilling of American blood and treasure in the near future is the hope that the President will get so much pressure from his own party--many of whom are facing a very hostile electorate that has long since soured on this whole adventure in Empire--that he will decide to go with the old "declare victory and leave" gambit. But I don't see that as particularly likely. No, my money is on the much more popular "find a way to point the finger at your political enemies for your own mistakes" strategy.

So yes, start blaming us now. You're going to come around to it sooner or later anyway. I'm sure many of you have already started. That way when we begin drawing our forces down (as we inevitably will sooner or later) you can say that you weren't wrong about the war but that the troops were actually betrayed by some sort of America-hating fifth column. It's not true, but if it helps bring our men and women home faster and safer, it's well worth it.

Erin Go Bragh

Happy St. Patty's Day to all my fellow Fenians as well as all the Irish-by-association out there! I and other sons and daughters of the Irish Diaspora will be raising our pints of Guinness and toasting the indominable spirit of the Irish people somewhere in the vicinity of Wells Avenue in Reno tonight, if you care to join us. But wherever you find yourself, be sure to enjoy this great holiday.

Why God, Why? Part 2

Okay, crying out to God might be a little overly dramatic for me in this case, but still I sort of hated to see the Nevada Wolf Pack lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Of course, in recent history life hasn't been easy for five-seeds like Nevada, as they have proven particularly vulnerable to upsets in the first round of March Madness. I didn't see the game (busy life of a public servant, don't you know) but it sounds like Nevada played flat and uninspired outside of a couple of standout performances from Marcelus Kemp and Nick Fazekas. Perhaps the Pack is finding out what my Alma Mater Gonzaga has known for a few years now: the transition from Cinderalla darlings to highly-seeded favorite isn't always so smooth.

Still, I must say that I'm happy for Montana. I love the state of Montana eight months out of the year--it's just those long, dark winters that are a bit too much for me.

Why God, Why?

Shocking news: Even though Spring Training seems like it only just started, Cubs' Ace Mark Prior is already hurt. Oh, and star first baseman Derrek Lee bruised his shoulder making a catch against Japan in the World Baseball Classic. As a Cub fan I'm already starting to wonder if I should give up on the season right now and save myself more agony.

MALL DAY!!!!

It's finally here. The day that promoters and local media have been building up for months.

Yes, at long last Summit Sierra, Reno's giganto new outdoor mall, opens today. Or most of it, anyway. Dillards has been open for a few days now, and twenty or twenty-five of the total 63 stores won't be open for some time and some aren't even built yet. Most disappointing to me is the fact that Orvis is still listed in the Coming Soon category, and please don't get Melissa started on the fact that Reno is still (still!!!) without a Limited. Nevertheless, to hear people talk around town you would think this was the biggest thing to happen in the Truckee Meadows since,....well, ever.

Talking to one of my co-workers yesterday, I was surprised to find out that she finds the whole thing kind of embarrassing. She thinks the fact that so many people are going ga-ga over the fact that we actually have a Dillard's now to be a reflection on how much of a hick town this still is. I sort of see her point (I've never been a big fan of celebrating rampant consumerism, even if it does involve fly fishing), but for all the hype and silliness surrounding this event, for all the problems that yet another large development will cause in overbuilt and bursting-at-the-seams south Reno neighborhoods, I do see this as a significant step forward for our little white-trash mountain town. More of this sort of thing and people may actually start thinking about Reno for something besides blowing a ton of money at a smoky craps table or getting married at a drive-thru.

Shooting

Reno was shaken up by a school shooting this morning. One student at Pine Middle School was taken to the hospital with injuries to the arm and chest and another student suffered comparatively light shrapnel wounds. It sounds as though both victims are in good condition tonight, all things considered. Although the shooting happened at about 9 a.m. the school was not full; a mild snowfall last night and this morning had schools running on a delayed schedule. The shooter, an eighth-grader, is now in custody.

If you don't live in Reno, chances are you haven't heard about this and probably won't hear anything more about it after you get done reading this posting. I'm not sure which bothers me more--the fact that this happened, or the fact that it isn't really considered to be more than a regional news story because (luckily) no one was seriously hurt.

A Valuable Public Service

The Las Vegas Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League will be sponsoring Dick Cheney Hunting Vest Night at their home game at Orleans Arena on March 17 against the Alaska Aces. The first 1000 people through the gate will receive an orange hunting vest with the words "Don't Shoot, I'm Human" printed on them.

In other news, the Las Vegas Wranglers are now officially my favorite hockey team.

Still Snowin'

Trying to squeeze as many days as I possibly can out of my Mount Rose season pass, a couple of friends and I made the trip up the mountain this morning. Officially Rose has 1 to 2 fresh inches of snow today thanks to a late-season storm that has been moving through the area. But whatever the official measurements say, the stuff has been coming down all day even in the valley and there's fresh powder everywhere up there.

Not only that, but the mountain is almost completely deserted. It's astounding how quickly business dies down at ski hills once the month of March rolls around. The somewhat nasty weather may have kept a few people at home today, but I've been up on days during peak season when the weather was much worse and runs were two or three times as crowded. Kit Carson Bowl was particularly nice today; the popular run tends to get tracked-out very quickly when the mountain is crowded, but today it was smooth and wide-open, just like you imagine it.

People are already thinking Spring here in NorNev, with the equinox barely a week away. But as always, Mother Nature will have the final word on when the board gets put away for good and we can all start trying to remember where we put our golf clubs. As I sit to write this, out the window of the Fortress of Solitude I can see that snow continues to fall. It's not enough to stick to the roads or cause any sort of inconvenience, but it is a reminder that here in Northern Nevada, more so than in most places, Nature moves on her own timetable. Spring will come, but not until it's damn good and ready.

Images From Baja Sur, Part 3 - Baja With A Vengeance

Okay, last of the Baja posts.

I simply have to include this picture:

It's a shot of a sea lion colony near the Arch at Land's End. While it's a nice enough picture, there's nothing particularly compelling about the shot itself except for the fact that according to Melissa I almost died getting it. As we swung close to the sea lion colony in our little water taxi I scrambled onto the bow of the boat with my camera to get as close a shot as possible. Just as I took this picture an unexpected wave broke on our starboard side and knocked me off my feet onto the side of the boat. Melissa says I was almost thrown into the churning water that was crashing up against the rocks. I think she exaggerates just a bit. The bottom line is, I held on to the camera. Here's another shot that gives you some perspective on the colony.

And while we're at it, here are a few more shots taken during the water tour of Finisterra.

Our guide told us that the pointed rock sticking straight up out of the sea in the first of these last three pictures is supposed to resemble a map of Baja when viewed from a certain angle. I don't see it, but it is a very striking feature. The cave in the middle picture is called Pirate's Cave, which is appropriate since this remote part of Mexico was a well-known haunt of pirates for many many years. And I think the last shot, the one of me and Melissa on the boat in front of the Arch, is my favorite of the whole bunch. I think this one sums up the whole trip pretty well.

Baja Sur and Cabo San Lucas is a truly remarkable place. If at all possible, I'm going to find a way to go back there someday.

Images From Baja Sur, Part 2

As promised, here are the images from our last couple of days in Baja Sur. Sorry it's taken so long to get to them, but these sorts of posts are a lot of work.

The afternoon that I proposed to Melissa, I was suffering from a vicious sunburn on my scalp, a burn acquired during the day's hatless boat trip. The effects of that sunburn might have added to the dizziness that I felt out on the beach beside the Presidente at sundown last Saturday, but in truth I was as nervous as I've ever been about what Melissa would say. As I stood there in the dying light trying to summon up the courage to ask the question a huge California Gray Whale breached in the ocean directly offshore from us, shooting straight out of the water and landing with a splash before resubmerging. This is the God's honest truth. I'd never seen anything like that in my life. It threw me off my game for a moment, but in an instant I realized that this amazing sight was the universe's way of giving it's blessing to what I was about to do.

I couldn't remember any of the things I had meant to say to her, but I did manage to get the key question out. She said yes, and from somewhere back at the hotel (this is also the God's honest truth) the theme from Star Wars began to play. How perfect is that?

Phone calls from the Presidente back to the States ran at $4.00 a minute, so the next day we decided to walk into San Jose del Cabo to try to find a payphone, which we had heard offered much cheaper rates. We had no luck finding a payphone that served our purposes, but it was a nice chance to wander around and get to know San Jose. Here's a picture Melissa really likes of us at San Jose's City Hall:

And this is the town square, with church in the background. As you can see, San Jose is so much more relaxed and mellow than it's party-all-the-time neighbor Cabo San Lucas.

Of course, one thing both towns have in common (along with pretty much the entire Baja Peninsula) are gorgeous beaches. But in San Jose, the beaches offer a lot of elbow room. The picture below was taken Sunday, and it's very close to the spot where I proposed to Melissa.

Monday was our final day in Baja, and so we took the shuttle back to Cabo San Lucas to make the requisite stops (El Squid Roe, Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo, etc.) and decided to catch a water taxi out to Lover's Beach and The Arch. This spontaneous side-trip turned out to be one of the real highlights, and gave us some of my favorite pictures:

I would finish the whole tale up here, but once again blogger is proving pathologically unable to handle more than a few pictures in a single post. A very brief Part 3 will be coming shortly. Sorry once again for the limitations of the format.

Oh, Mercy!

Saving themselves from a universe full of embarrassment, the U.S. National Baseball Team (be honest: did you actually even know that we had one?) blasted the South Africans 17-0 in a game shortened to five innings by the Mercy rule, a rule that normally only comes in to play in Little League and Beer-League Softball. Thanks to the win, the U.S. will advance to the second round of the World Baseball Classic. The Americans needed the win today to advance, thanks to a shocking loss to Canada (Canada!?!?!) on Wednesday. Against South Africa, The Cubbies' own Derrick Lee homered, knocked a double and drove in four runs. The Americans actually finished second in their group behind Mexico (Mexico!?!?!) thanks to a complicated tie-breaking system.

As a baseball fan, I'm still not sure what to make of this so-called "Classic" (I don't think something can rightfully be called a "Classic" in it's first year of existence). On the one hand, it's good to try to expand the game beyond U.S. borders as much as possible, plus anything that distracts from the Barr-oid Bonds watch is a welcome distraction. On the other hand I don't think many of the Major Leaguers who agreed to participate in this marketing-driven exhibition are taking it very seriously. And how can one take it as a serious tournament when Mike Piazza is playing for Italy and Andruw Jones is playing for the Netherlands? But I guess in the end Baseball is America's Game, and when you get down to it I'd really hate to see some other country claim a World Championship in it.

Meth in Reno

A hat-tip to David Bobzien for citing to this article from the RNR on Reno's continuing Meth problem and the consequences to the community. Worth a read if you live in this area, or even if you've ever just wondered what the big deal about Meth is.

Back To Snark Just For A Little While

Part Two of the Baja pictures is coming, but please allow me to return to the Snark Side just for a moment. Then more happy posts and pictures, I swear.

I note today that a new AP-Ipsos poll out today shows that President Bush's popularity continues to wallow in the basement. A scant 37 percent approves of the job he is doing (both Clinton and Reagan had approval ratings in the 60's at this point in their Presidencies). The vast majority of Americans believe Iraq, the quagmire on which Bush has staked his legacy, is headed for civil war. Republican politicians who face reelection this year are struggling to distance themselves from the unpopular CIC. Nearly Seventy percent of the population thinks the country is on the "wrong track." And the Republican-controlled Congress is just as unpopular.

So does this mean we're headed for a repeat of 1994, when Newt Gingrich and company stormed in to take control of Congress and end 40 years of Democratic majority there? Will disgust with GOP scandals (illegal wire-tapping, Abramoff, DeLay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, etc., etc.), incompetence (most notably the heck of a job done on Katrina) and bungled foreign policy (the afore-mentioned Iraq, now almost three years past "Mission Accomplished") lead us to a Democratic Revolution this fall to mirror the Republican Revolution of twelve years ago? Unfortunately I think not, and for several reasons.

First, it isn't enough for national Democratic leaders to stand around and say "don't those Republicans suck?" Yes they do, but that's not enough of an issue to win on. As I've said for years, the Democratic Party needs to stand for something, and that means something more than just vague, mushy-sounding slogans like "A more secure America". But so far national Democratic leaders can only muster a unified voice on a couple of issues, most notably the fact that they would really like to be returned to power. That's not very inspirational.

Second, November might as well be a thousand years away in terms of collective political memory. By that time phrases like "Dubai Ports Deal" will probably mean next to nothing to the average Joe. True, fresh blunders will probably have arisen to take the place of today's blunders, but it's just not likely that approval ratings will remain at such low levels for such an extended period of time.

Third, I think that when you get down to it people will always vote their gut. At a certain level, all politics is identity politics. I know I'm cynical in this regard, but I think most people in America (and perhaps around the world, although I haven't traveled enough to know) identify themselves with a "side" and stick to that side the way a sports' fan sticks to the home team. "I love America and I love Jesus, therefore I vote Republican." This gut-level affiliation exists completely independent of objective facts. People who might otherwise tell you they believe in small government will plug their fingers in their ears, close their eyes and sing The Star Spangled Banner when you try to tell them that George Bush has actually expanded the size of the government, run up a record $427 billion dollar deficit and has never vetoed a single spending measure. The same right-wingers who blasted Bill Clinton for "Nation Building" in Bosnia or Somalia cling like barnacles to the ridiculous notion that the only reason we ever invaded Iraq was to selflessly "spread freedom and democracy." It seems to me that much of the time, the question of whether it's Nation Building or Freedom On The March depends on whether or not it's your guy doing it. Even if people are frustrated with the current leadership, that doesn't mean they're actually going to go against their gut.

But ultimately, the biggest reason I think the Democrats will not give us a full-blow Revolution this year is simply the fact that the Rove strategy works (really it's the Atwater strategy, but who cares to remember that far back). God, Guns and Gays will, in the end, be enough to win the day, or at least prevent a major loss. After all, try to engage people in a discussion as to why the American worker's real wages haven't gone up in years and you'll put people to sleep. But mention gay marriage? Well that's easy to have a loud opinion on. Why should Republicans abandon fear-mongering and divisiveness? It's worked for them for at least a couple decades now. The closer we get to November, the more Swift Boaters and meaningless Gay Marriage Amendments will come out of the woodwork in Congressional races across the country.

So in the end, this Fall the Democrats will pick up a few seats here and there but I'm not expecting a full-fledged Revolution. A cohesive national message based on more than the anti-"Culture of Corruption" theme might yet change this fate, but I don't see it happening.

Okay, done with the serious junk for now. Back to the sunny pictures very soon, I promise.

Images From Baja Sur, Part 1

Okay, we've been back in Northern Nevada--God's Country--for five days now. Where to begin? Nothing could be bigger, of course, than the news that Melissa has said she'll marry me (man, I still can't get over that). But a lot went on during our quick trip to Baja, and as I promised, here are just a few of the many pictures taken. I'm going to have to break this up into one or two parts, because it seems that blogger isn't able to handle more than about ten pictures in a single post.

We arrived at the airport at San Jose del Cabo at about two in the afternoon last Thursday. As I reported last week, a snowstorm was supposedly bearing down on Reno as we left. When we landed the temperature was in the 90's. We stepped off the plane onto the tarmac and into an oven-like heat. Melissa, who has been suffering with Reno's wintry temperatures these last few months, absolutely loved it.

Southern Baja is mountainous and surprisingly diverse from a botanical point of view. While the deserts of the Great Basin (where we live) are made up of vast expanses of sagebrush, Baja's deserts feature dozens of varieties of wildly-shaped cacti and thick brush. I found the landscape unbelievably beautiful, particularly when you throw in the sunshine and crystal-blue oceans.

Of course, the first necessary move was the changing of shoes to sandals. Since we were in line at Mexican Customs and Immigration for well over two hours, there was plenty of time to make that change.

Between Customs and our lengthy wait for our shuttle, we didn't make it to our destination, the Presidente Intercontinental Resort, until late in the afternoon. But as you can see, it was worth the wait.

The Presidente is one of those all-inclusive places. It's in San Jose, about twenty miles up the coast from the more famous Cabo San Lucas, and unlike San Lucas' year-round Spring Break atmosphere, it's much more of a traditional Mexican town that just happens to contain several posh beach resorts. Here's a shot of the Presidente's pool area, which was immediately outside our sliding glass door. Not bad, eh?



Melissa likes this next picture. It's my reaction to finding out that part of the all-inclusive plan was an unlimited supply of Pina Coladas.

One of Melissa's concessions to me that we make this something of an active vacation was a quick bike trip around San Jose that was organized by the resort. At least we expected it to be a short trip. I won't publish any of the really gritty pictures of us trying to work our way up the town's deceptively steep hills. But here's a cute one of Melissa on a bike just before the ride started.


On Saturday, the morning of our anniversary, we went over to Cabo San Lucas and hopped on the Cabo Rey, a huge whale-watching boat, to look for the large California Grays that congregate in the waters off Cabo in the Winter months. Notice I am not wearing a hat, a decision that my scalp came to rue as a result of the tropical sun. But the trip itself was fantastic.

Here's a shot taken from the boat of the Playa del Amor, or Lover's Beach, located among the rocks at Finisterra, Land's End at the very southern tip of the Baja peninsula. The water on the side of the beach from which the picture was taken is the Sea of Cortez, but the water visible on the other side is the Pacific Ocean. This is also a fantastic area for snorkeling and scuba-diving, but we found this out a little to late as I will detail in Part 2 or 3.

One thing that really amazed me was the clarity and color of the water. The pictures look great, but even they don't quite capture it.

There were quite a few whale sitings from the deck of the Cabo Rey, but the elusive giants always proved too quick for my camera. I did, however, manage to get this nice shot of the Playa Chilena, where Melissa and I did a little snorkeling.

I'm growing increasingly frustrated with Blogspot's inability to post more than a handful of pictures, so I'm going to end part 1 at this point. There's lots more to come in at least one separate post. And then, one day soon, I will go back to snarky little posts about things that peeve me.

Best Possible News: Melissa Says "Yes"

I have wonderful news. Our families and those close to us already know, and now the world can know too.

Last Saturday, March 4, exactly one year from the day we first met, I stood with Melissa on a deserted beach lit by the setting sun and overlooking the tranquil Sea of Cortez, and asked her to marry me. She said "yes."

Three whirlwind days later my mind is still buzzing. I wish I had time for a lengthy posting full of details, but unfortunately my work schedule won't permit it this morning. My plan is to sit down some time in the coming days and write a ridiculously long tome about the trip and containing some of the dozens of pictures we took. For now, I'll just go with the photo above, taken at dinner just after we'd gotten engaged, and a couple more photos showing what I just know some of you are dying to see: what the ring looks like.

Many more details and pictures will follow soon. Right now I'm too happy for words.

Hello From Baja Sur

Hello loyal readership. Yukon Sully and the lovely Melissa are soaking up the sun(burn) and basking in the arid beauty that is Baja Sur and the Sea of Cortez. Once again there is no time for a long post (the tropical sun waits for no one) but thanks for continuing to check in, I will have lots of news in a few days when I get back to the "real" world and have time to sit down for a real posting. And there will be lots of pictures to make you all very jealous.

Viva!

LaLa Land

There's very little time to post so I'll make this quick. Melissa and I are in Los Angeles with my sister Katy. Katy's as much fun as always, and as this picture taken yesterday at the Getty center proves, she's also never been yellower.

I'll have more stuff on LA when I get home, but for now we're rushing off to the airport to catch the next flight to Baja. Much more too come; stay tuned, True Believers.