Jamcleat

My father has been studying CO2 for a number of years. He is convinced that the folks that want to reduce CO2 are the same folks that have starved the third world for years. Ask yourself, “Is <fill in a name here> making any money from this <fill in a noun here>? Try substituting “Al Gore” (who is selling “carbon credits”) and “scam” (just exactly do you get for a “carbon credit” and how is that different from blackmail? Who gets the commission on the sale? Just exactly how did this transaction change any production/consumption relationship?) and you will get the idea. Meanwhile, who is paying for this? Not the mbillionaires, you can be assured of that. My father has sent a letter to the ELCA. Update: The Bishop has referred the letter to his collegues for recommendations.

In my humble opinion, both Hilary Clinton and John McCain fail Economics 101. While they really grasp the politics of the situation, they have really got the economics of the price of petroleum wrong. When the commodity is in short supply relative to demand, the price will go up. If you artificially reduce the price (price cap/tax cut), the shortage will increase because the demand will not decline. If you let the price rise, the demand will go down. Does anyone other than me remember the Jimmy Carter – gas line days. With two-thirds of the current presidential candidates you can expect a return to those good old days.

What we need in this situation is leadership from someone who can lead us out of the mess that we have gotten ourselves into.

There is a European folk tale about a man who teaches a woman to spin straw into gold. The man’s name is Rumpelstiltskin. Perhaps Mr. Mugabe should become the center of an African folk tale of a man whose hubris taught him to spin gold into straw. While a leader can be great, times change and new leaders are needed to adapt to new times and new situations. I am tired of the Republicans and will never trust the Clintons.

Bullet, aka Little Bear, Mr. B., and Cutie, has grown into his second year. As a result, he is busy trying to establish his rank in the realm. So he jumps Harry (about the same size), Hillard (about 3 pounds heavier), and Lorenzo (about 1 pound smaller). Eventually this will resolve. In the meantime, it is extra scabs and an occasional howl. Yesterday on the front steps, Bullet cornered Harry. There was a bit of a howl. Hillard came to investigate. This did not have a peacemaking affect. I opened the door and let Hillard into the house. The ongoing tension returned to the previous level. There may be a message here for those who make national policy.

By an interesting coincidence, I received a mailing from The Great Courses with a free sample lecture on the spread of language through Austronesia just as I was reading the chapters in Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel on the very same topic.

The lecturer is very good and maintains interest on the topic but he is also using an overhead or projected presentation as he seems to pause to point or indicate features. I suppose this is one good reason to pay $400 to $1000 to take the real college class as opposed to getting just the lecture for $40 to $80.

While reading the newspaper this morning, I had the thought that while reporters question everything that comes out of the president’s mouth (as they should), they seem to give a “pass” to all of the candidates. The reporters for both the newspapers and the networks do not seem to apply any sort of journalistic skepticism to any of the campaign talk. Perhaps we have a press corps full of repeaters rather than reporters.

Our family would occasionally take a boat trip to the bridge if the weather was calm. I can remember when the towers were being built. But more, I remember the next year when the catwalk was put in place. This was followed by the cable spinning operation. This is the most fun to watch. A device that looks like a collection of bicycle wheels is drawn from anchorage to anchorage by a winch. Each wheel pulls a loop of wire. Two wires per wheel. One wire is pulled off of a supply spool at the anchorage, the other is left standing still as the wheel goes by. Two wheels per trip. When the wheels get to the end, the loop tensioned, fastened to the anchorage, and another loop from that side is put on and the spinner is drawn back. That is about 5,500 round trips. I think that the spinner moved about 5 miles per hour. There was a bell that rang that warned the men on the catwalk that the spinner was coming. Quite an exciting thing to watch going on 200-400 feet overhead.

Part 1

St Ignace New Special Supplement

On November first it was the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Straits Bridge. The Straits of Mackinac (pronounce Mac-in-awe) are between the Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula of Michigan. My grandparents had a summer home in the UP near the Straits. When I was young, my family would drive to the Straits and take the ferry across. I always remembered it as enjoyable although my mother said that the wait was sometime difficult with 5 children between 2 and 9.

The Mackinac Island Ferry operates out of the dock in Mackinaw City where the Straits ferries used to land. If you follow the link to the picture, you can see the size of the parking lot where the cars would wait to be loaded. For the most part, I think that they were roll-on-and-through. I know that that Vacationland was. If you were near the front of the line when the cars loaded, you would be the first ones off. I think as kids we wanted to be near the front so that we could see the hull lift up and the ramp go down. I know my parents would just as soon have been the last car on the previous load so that we would be on our way.

I do not remember distinctly the very first trip across the bridge the next summer. I think I was a bit disappointed that we did not get to ride the ferry. The bridge was exciting though. At mid-span, the bridge deck is about 200 feet off the water. The bridge is 4 lanes (and a bit more wide). The middle two lanes on the suspended part are open decking. This reduces the wind load and lets the snow fall through in the winter. As you a riding along in the travel lane, you can look left and right 200 feet down and see the waves. The bridge authority will provide a driver if this is too scary for you.

Each Labor Day, there is an opportunity for pedestrians to walk across the bridge. I should probably try it some day. On the other hand, walking from the southern approach to the southern tower of the Golden Gate Bridge provoked mild acrophobia. Maybe I will just think about it.

If you like bridges, this is the best. Goto his home page for a complete index.
Goto Part 2