Ryan's Journal

“A bad analogy is like a leaky screwdriver.” — Richard Braakman

Albatross numbers around the world have been plummeting, but while longline fishing is the suspected culprit, no one is completely sure of the cause due to the fact that the birds spend months or (in the case of wandering albatross) years without ever returning to land. A recent study by the British Antarctic Survey of grey-headed albatross sheds some light on where the birds go while at sea:

“The researchers found that more than half of the birds flew completely around the world, following the chilled oceans below 30 degrees latitude south. One bird circled the globe three times in 18 months, and another flew more than 13,000 miles in just 46 days.”

The full article can be found here.

Life is pretty random at the moment — I can’t really say with certainty what day of the week it is, and it’s pretty much a toss-up whether the day is spent socially or working on various projects. In general, it’s not a bad way to live, with the only downside being that assuming none of my little projects pan out (and I’m not holding out much hope) then in a few months the slow hemorrhaging of my bank account will probably scare me into going back to work.

The cottage is working out really well, having now received my brother’s seal of approval as the best place I’ve ever lived in. One of the big highlights has been the local animals: I originally named the resident grey squirrel Ralphie, only to realize that the Ralphies are actually two different squirrels. The owl isn’t as regular of a visitor, but most nights he makes the rounds via the trees outside the front door. And lately there have been at least two raccoons (who I believe might be on methamphetamines) that stop by. Their first visit seemed to be a game of tag that lasted from about ten o’clock until two in the morning — all that I would hear would be a screech followed by a mad dash around the cottage, and then silence for a few minutes before the process would repeat. Three nights ago they were in explorer mode, including some flying leaps off of the cottage roof that sounded most impressive. The other neighbors include a cat and two dogs and are slightly less friendly. Of the dogs, Cujo has repeatedly tried to thrust himself through a second story window opening in an effort to remove me from existence.

Also, a few random bits:

• Rod Planck’s photography book is still on sale at Amazon.com, although it looks like they are nearly out of copies. It’s a really good nature photography book if you’re interested and have a bit of spare cash lying around.
• If you’re at all interested in the next Galapagos trip, it will be from May 6, 2006 to May 20, 2006. At $3400 per person it’s a bit pricey, but that includes everything but tips and airfare to Quito, so it’s still far cheaper than any comparable trip. I think I’ve already got nearly enough people to fill the boat, but let me know soon if you might be interested.
• Lynn has some really, really impressive portrait shots online — be sure to click on the thumbnails to get the full image.

There really isn’t much new to write about, so here’s a photo that I took back in November while on Pebble Island in the Falklands. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but for whatever reason it does something for me now. The journal should liven up in the near future when I take off in the Subaru, but at the moment the “when” and “where” of that trip is still a mystery.

While researching jobs in Antarctica (I’m fooling no one, I was bored and searched for my own name) I stumbled on this blog, which is done by a vulcanologist who studies Mt. Erebus in Antarctica. It’s a pretty cool little glimpse into life at the McMurdo base.

Aaron finished all of his classwork for paramedic school and today is his first day of hospital rotations. The money quote came after I asked him if he had screwed up and killed any babies yet:

“The best part about being a paramedic is that you don’t kill the babies — you just give them to the doctors.”

If only we could all be so lucky as to have jobs where not killing babies was the highlight…

I suppose the first post of the new year should be a bit more respectable, but this video is pretty cool. Word on the net is that it is fake (obviously), but it’s still neat. And the game is damn fun.

A look back at 2004, by Dave Barry. “But no question, 2004 was bad. Consider: We somehow managed to hold a presidential election campaign that for several months was devoted almost entirely to the burning issue of: Vietnam.”

After a harrowing apartment search that included the world’s skinniest studio (probably seven feet wide) and the world’s most lopsided studio (I would have been an earthquake casualty waiting to happen) I finally found a new place to live. It’s up in the hills in Lafayette, and for once in my life it’s actually somewhere I really like — a separate cottage with deer that come by in the morning, an owl who visits in the evening, and a bunch of squirrels to fill in the hours in between. When being pooped on by wild animals gets old it’s only a five minute drive to the nearest Starbucks and a twenty minute shot into San Francisco. I’m still unpacking so the photos below are a bit of a mess, although they do show off the big manly fireplace fairly well.

Not that anything will change, or that it will make much difference, but here’s another among many, many examples of the current administration’s “sound science” policy (from http://www.shepherd-express.com/):

“Look for national parks’ geology to be written more in the image of creationists over the next four years in the continuing effort to create “faith-based parks.” An ongoing dispute at Grand Canyon National Park bookstores is that Grand Canyon, a Different View was ordered to stay on the bookshelves by top NPS brass. The book says that the Grand Canyon is 4,500 years old and was formed by Noah’s flood. Conventional scientific wisdom has the canyon more around 6 million years old, still rather young compared to the age of the Earth. Despite protests from scientists and the Grand Canyon Park superintendent, the book has stayed on the shelves. The Bush administration said it would review the policy, but the review hasn’t even been started since the February complaint. NPS has also ordered bronze plaques with verses from Psalms placed at canyon overlooks, truly emphasizing what a Judeo-Christian religious experience the view can be.”

It’s one thing to advocate a belief system; it’s quite another to promote that belief system as fact. I can’t help but feel like the country is slowly turning into some bizzaro world in which facts don’t matter and can be dismissed, but anything that has no proof behind it at all can be held up as an “alternative view”. Sadly, for at least the next four years this bizzaro world is the reality within America, and I don’t understand how the majority of the country allowed it to happen.

The latest:

• The final details of the May 2006 Galapagos trip are being worked out with Thalia & Greg. I’ve been collecting the names of people who have said they might want to come, but if you’re at all interested please drop me an email so that I can make sure I keep you in the loop. Costs (not including the flight to Quito) will be in the $3000 range for a two week trip, although you’re welcome to stay longer. Scuba diving at Darwin and Wolf should also be a possibility.
• The apartment search is ongoing — hopefully I’ll have a place in the Bay Area soon, after which a road trip may be needed.
• I’m not planning on working a regular job for a while. There have been several ideas rattling around in my head for a few years that I’d like to play with, so it won’t be until after I fail miserably with those that I’ll start thinking of what to do next.
• I’ve started running again, but at the moment I’m moving about as fast as a 160 pound sack of crap. Despite that I need to avenge my loss in the San Diego marathon to that 66 year old woman — the next time I run a marathon there will be no old ladies crossing the line in front of me. Old men, maybe — 26 miles is a long way to run, and those old dudes are wily little bastards.

Lastly, since this journal is slightly less boring when pictures are posted, here’s one from one of the rare sunny days while on South Georgia:

Turkey Bowl 2004. A pulled hamstring kept me out of the game for the first time in years. Final score: 98 – 77. For reference, this link is to a couple of photos from last year’s game.

Despite a few bumps along the way I’m slowly readjusting to “normal” life. Trying to figure out where to live, taking care of errands, and other mundane details have been filling the last few days. Sadly the sense of wonder and possibility that has permeated the past two months feels like it is slipping away, so another extended disappearance may be on the horizon.