SNARK, QUIVER AND COUNTING

SNARKING THE BROS

     Just a brief word to add to the debate volumes.

     For a 90 minute exchange on foreign policy, they certainly spent a lot of time on the economy and they missed most of the world.  Sure, people vote on economics and social issues, but in a troubled world they ignored too much.  A deeper discussion might have surfaced some real differences in attitude, approach and application.

Photo Courtesy of CBS News

     What a tough time to moderate!  Bob Schieffer, an old pro indeed, has been mugged by the insipid society of the snarky. Those who are guilty of such are probably the same crowd who suddenly have thrust the word "trajectory" into presidential politics. They are, most probably, people who spent more time tweeting, than actually listening, and who know in their hearts that all presidential politics really is about them, their twitter stream, face time and Facebook activity.  If you don't really have anything intelligent or important to say, then be snarky about the moderator.

       The last debate I moderated was the gubernatorial debate in Indiana 4 years ago. I escaped better than Lehrer, Raddatz, Crowley or Schieffer, though there were a couple of bloggers who went after me. One was experiencing their first governors race while being of voting age.  The other was a reporter whose work, I thought, always betrayed his lack of savvy, understanding of complexity and even more troubling his relative lack of intelligence.  So it is for those who practice snarky instead of real journalism.   

       

READING THE SNOW DEPTH

Photo Courtesy of cserc.org

     Autumn dried Californians wait for the snow season to

paint the Sierra Nevada range. An early storm is expected to leave 8-12 inches along the Sierra Crest and 4-8 inches below 7,000.

      At 700 sites in the Western US, where water supplies are dependent on snow melt, such as here at Mt Tallac, you will find SNOTEL technology.
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture operates Snow pack
Telemetry sites (SNOTEL) utilizing meteor burst technology.

     The USDA's National Resource Conservation Service set out precipitation collectors, snow pillows, depth sensors 

     and temperature gauges. They relay data that is used to calculate water levels from snow melt.
     Alpine ski altitude gets 300 to 500 inches a season. 125 fall on the lake at 6,400 feet.

    16 remote SNOTEL sites stand sentry in the Lake Tahoe basin alone.
     The image below is from a web cam frame grab Tuesday afternoon at Heavenly Dipp above South Lake Tahoe.

ARCHIVE PHOTOS

This is the kind of accumulation the SNOTEL stations will measure.

Photo Courtesy of weather.com

Photo Courtesy of kqed.org

    The next time you read about the snow fall or accumulated depth up in California's high country, you can picture one of the little SNOTEL sites, enduring the wind, cold and depth while transmitting data.

BEFORE YOU GO

A HALF MOMENT OF AUTUMN

Quaking Aspen

See you down the trail.

WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

OBAMA/ROMNEY
VS
GIANTS/CARDS

     Any guesses on what the television ratings will show was the most popular draw in San Francisco and St. Louis and their respective satellite communities?

       Fortunately the game starts 90 minutes before the debate, so at least a portion of the serious business will be without competition.

       Wouldn't it be horrible to be debating for the "most important job in the free world" and be wondering who was winning-the other important contest?

  

A FRONTIER VIEW

    What story of the old west played here? Who were the people?

 Deep snow, stars and sun. Wind, cold, and on your own.

     This is not a coffee shop world.  

     The old homestead stands off 395 near Deadman Summit in big high country at an altitude between 6 and 7 thousand.
      See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER-MAGIC

HOW DID HE DO THAT?

     Were you too a sucker for a magic show? Amateur or big production professional-it didn't matter.  Even after buying magic tricks at a local store I was always fascinated by the tricks.

      The Weekender provides this video and asks, how did he do it?

      And then it seems that Luke, Hemingway and little sister Joy are working on a variation of "how many clowns can you get in a car?"

Three cats in the Jade plant.

Perfect for your cat nap?

Have a good weekend.

See you down the trail.

SPAWNING & PRESIDENTIAL YAWNING

POST DEBATE BILGE

     We might be better off if we ignored all of the post debate analysis from the pundits and so called experts and simply held conversations with friends, family and associates, even those, maybe especially those, who hold an opposing view.

      Most of us don't need a television talking head to think for us. The traditional networks do a quick wrap up and analysis and then get back to their precious money making prime time schedule. But the cable nets and the bloggers go until the sun comes up. In this age of partisan networks there is more heat and gas than light and understanding.

     What do we gain?  It fills time and sells commercials, so the cable nets are not likely to change.  We can simply turn it off.

      For most of my life I watched it all, and for many years had multiple television sets in my office so I had as many as 5 or 6 sources of information simultaneously.  Since it is all spin, interpretation, and bombast, with very little genuine insight, what's the point? Unless for sport. 

      And you have probably noticed how the election media

is obsessed with polls, the horse race aspect, and seem to think it is all about how it plays on television and in the media. The media is A) self absorbed, B) does play a significant role but as I said first is C) self absorbed.  Again I am reminded we can switch it off.  Which is exactly what Lana suggested I do after ripping up and down the remote to monitor Fox, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, PBS, ABC and back.

       Do any of you suspend your own thoughts until one of the television yackers tell you what you just saw?

KOKANEE SALMON

    Kokanee Salmon were spawning in this mountain stream west of Lake Tahoe between Camp Richardson and Mount Tallac.

    They travel to lay their eggs and then expire.  They become more red as they mature.  

 

        See you down the trail.

ON THE LAKE

SCALE OF BLUE

     Here's a collection of frames that capture the blue and changing hues of Lake Tahoe as well as things on and in the blue.

     This collection of geese and ducks made a return to the 
beach at South Lake Tahoe every afternoon.  Until they flew away at sunrise, these were their waters.

 Shared with gulls of course.

See you down the trail.

THE BOULDER

A MATTER OF BALANCE

The scene is from near June Lake California.
The boulder is one of those fascinating balancing acts of nature.
The sign reminds me of a miserable cold time in childhood
when I heard my dad use unusual words as he 
wrestled with twisted and rusted chains on a bitter cold night when we were driving home in the old Buick Roadmaster. 

Photo Courtesy of auto.howstuffworks.com
Hard to imagine a beast like the Roadmaster not
having traction.
We had 4-door model, large enough that
when we made our trips to Colorado, my brother John and I had what was almost a "room" in the back seat.  He had a bed on the seat and I had a full cot that fit between the front and back seat and still left room for our legs when we were just sitting.
I guess with a car that heavy, you want to make sure you get traction. Snow tires came after the old Roadmaster
was retired.  
BTW-Since our move to California, we have avoided those higher elevations where as the sign says
"chains are required."
But I'd love to have that old Roadmaster.
See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER-VISUALS

VISUALIZING

     THE WEEKENDER provides a few minutes of visual diversion for your weekend enjoyment.

Lonely Tree

     This caught my eye as I drove past a parking lot where they kept a narrow wedge of grass tipped off by a lone palm.  How are decisions like that made?

SPEAKING OF DRIVING
Here's a five minute excursion into driving
in the Sierra. You can find more polished and refined
videos, but this gives you a sense of the extraordinary
and expansive views available on the eastern slope.
 In a puff of self aggrandizement you may wish to pay attention to the "score."

REEL NOTES

for real

ARGO
Ben Affleck directed a riveting and suspenseful film, borrowed from an historic moment of success by a CIA clandestine operation during the Iran Hostage Crisis.
ARGO is  superbly entertaining and leaves you with a sense of fulfillment and success.  The acting is great, all around.
The attention to historic detail, especially in the casting match up is also great. I suspect this film will do well at the box office.  It is also one of those rare moments when
a member of the Intelligence Community is singled out for a victory, and that happened only because Bill Clinton declassified the operation during his administration.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Oh yea-the 
short roles of John Goodman and Alan Arkin are
worth the price of admission alone!  But there is 
so much good about this film!
THE MASTER
I've told a few friends this is not a great film-too long-plodding-the script is lacking, including a sense of direction,
BUT it is worth seeing because of the acting.  This is especially true of Joaquin Phoenix's performance.  It is masterful, full of nuance and a kind of internal contortion and pain that powers his every moment on the screen. It is one of the most brilliant acting performances I've seen.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is extraordinarily competent in his role as science fiction writer who becomes a cult leader.
Amy Adams as the highly wired wife is good as is Laura Dern and so are all of the supporting cast.  It's a decent introspection into a cult though it is the acting that makes it a worthwhile view.
Phoenix especially is to be commended for his memorable work.
See something this weekend that moves you.
See you down the trail.