h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Tuesday, 9 July 2007

Mrs. Phred wants to Kayak around a glacial ice field. It's a two hour boat ride to the ice field from Valdez, Alaska. After an hour, we pass Bligh Island, where young Bligh and Captain Cook looked for a Northwest Passage.

Bligh Island is where the Exxon Valdez hit the reef. They spent $20 billion on cleanup and recovered 11 percent of the spill. Exxon lost the lawsuit over the cleanup costs 20 years ago, but the case is still on appeal.

We see more Orcas hunting seals and salmon and finally get an acceptable picture. Usually the delay between pushing the button and opening the lens puts them back underwater for the picture.

The bergs from the bottom of the glacier are brilliant blue. The ones from the top are so dirty gray that we mistake them at first for rocks. Our young guide reads some the same books as Woodpigeon. We discuss Jared Diamond's "Collapse" and "Guns, Germs and Steel" as we paddle along.

As we kayak though the icebergs, several seals pop up to take a look at us. Today my arms are sore, but Mrs. Phred is happy.

Look at those icebergs video (ten seconds)
http://good-times.webshots.com/video/3060517020074333758PCIeMD

Slideshow
http://community.webshots.com/slideshow/559820226Rmowmt

How good to find you both again.

You call me my name and yet you do not recognise me. There is something wrong there.

Anyway. I shall enjoy reading about your Alaskan holiday. I never did get to read about your holiday in Croatia and Italy because I have been ill - but have been given a reprieve.

A bientot

radiantjoiedevivre
RBDV

Hi Christiane,

I know that's you in there. I'm so happy to hear from you again.

Bob

Hi Bob

Great to hear from you.

Hope you are both enjoying the break - and the icy conditions!!

Christiane

I hope you don't mind me edging in here...

Been looking at the pictures... It looks fantastic! What an experience!

And the video... Incredible scenery... but the soundtrack was a little... well... dull... up until the end, when I nearly fell off my chair laughing!!

Hi Bob,

It reads and looks like you are having good times. Thanks for the imagery and, when does it start to cool-off up there? Cheers again, ed.

Good vid. Nice new name, radiant!

Hi Moonhog,

Glad you enjoyed the ending.

Hi Ed,

It's been awhile. We've worked our way down to Mountain Home Arkansas. I'm spraying a house for a friend and spending time floating on my back in Lake Norfork, looking up at the sky.

Bob

Did you catch the total lunar eclipse of 28th August?

I only learned about it after it was all over. I've seen two in the past. During one we had an eclipse party in the front yard and played a medly of moon songs"

- Blue Moon
- Bad Moon Rising
- Werewolves of London
- When the Moon Hits Your Eye, Like a Big Pizza Pie

Was the sky clear in Scotland?

It was daytime this side...

Look out for the Aurigids (find the star Capella, and that's alpha Auriga) this weekend too. There's some fine imagery of the TLE at http://www.spaceweather.com and words about this coming, colourful (it's expected) metoer shower... I'll be on watch from darkness this eve: cloud cover permitting (it doesn't look too good at the mo' ).

Happy hunting. ed.

metoer?

meteor. Of course.

Capella...the arc of Capella...I remember that from navigator school...I'll brush up on my star recognition and take a peek...thanks for the tip, Ed.

if you don't have a planetarium installed, i can recommend stellarium as a fine freebie:: http://www.stellarium.org/

It works fine on the machines hereabouts...

Hi Bob and Mrs. Phred,

When I opened my computer this evening and found ten postings I thought

Fantastique!!

Catching up with all my old friends.

Thank goodness dear Leo welcomed me back.

I find that you have two new enthusiastic friends who are keen on the stars and on your artic expoloits. I hope to have an opportunity to say Hi to them tomorrow.

I was as usual transfixed with your video - was that you canoeing between ice floes? 0 and your wonderful photos made the whole place live for me.

But do you really float on your back in that icy water? How many wet suits do your wear?

Is Mrs. Phred enjoying it as well. Have you taken a chalet and how much longer are you going to be there.?
Lots of questions.

K.and I are off to the pictures tomorrow. La Vie en rose - apparently the life of Edith Piag but there is also that wonderful song.

I am dead beat as usual. I hope that I will soon get some energy back.
I am glad that Leo likes my new name. Amy Pawlowski has suggested how I can get my Friends list gack. But when I get onto her list and find my old name then I cannot get onto my new name to transfer them!!. Fortunately we have met a very nice young guy who is bringing up a family, doing odd jobs around the house and also studying to be a lawyer. He is also hot stuff on the computer so I shall ask him for some lessons when he comes back from a weeks's leave.

Enjoy your artic nights. Have you had any success fishing? Do you rememeber when Mrs, Phred took those photographs of you swimming down that icy waterfall. I am really astonished that you do not flake out with the cold water.

Bonne nuit

Kind regards

Christiane..

Bonjour Christiane,

What a strange coincidence. Edith Piaf was named after Edith Cavell, the Canadian nurse who helped French soldiers escape German captivity in WWI and was herself executed. It is strange because I only recently read this story while staring at Cavell Mountain in Alberta, Canada

You Edith apent time in the Pigalle, an area which my father mentioned fondly and she is buried in Pere Lachaise which I have visited several times to see Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Helois and Abelard.

I hope you enjoyed the movie.

We left Tampa, Florida, in early June and drove to Alaska. Now, after three monts, we are back in the South, in an American state called Arkansas.

I took the video in the icebergs from our rented kayak. I don't remember doing any swimming in Alaska. We did catch lots of fish and we saw many bear, moose, caribou, seals and orca whales.

Mrs. Phred was a wonderful companion, as always. I only posted a little about the trip on h2g2, but my blog has lots of pictures if you have time to look.

http://thefirecloudreport.blogspot.com/

Ed,

Thanks for the tip on Stellarium. It's 04:59 local time here. I've managed to set a location at Harrisonville, Arkansas, about 50 miles west. There's Capella between the visible moon and the not yet visible sun. I walk outside and BANG! there it is. Thanks so much. I wish I'd had this in the old days, trying to learn all the 1st magnitude stars...look...altitude and azimuth in real time...where's my old sextant

Bob

Wow! The show should start in 20 minutes, my time. Sorry you won't be able to see it, Ed. What a timely tip! Glad I got up early

- Only known case in our lifetime: crossing of the dust trail of a known long period comet.
- Long-period comets, such as were Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake, and McNaught, tend to sneak up on us. They are a potential impact danger. What can the dust trail tell us about their physical nature?
Their dust is a danger to satellites in orbit and man working on the Moon.
- Dust stream could contain material from original cosmic-ray produced crust of comet.

When: 2007 September 1, about 11:36 +/- 20 minutes UT (= 04:36 a.m. Pacific Daylight Savings Time).

Brrr!! All this sounds very dangerous. Hope you keep out of the way!

AR1