The Las Conchos Fire is now the largest in New Mexico history, surpassing the 2003 Dry Lakes Fire. Currently activity is away from communities and has entered areas that were burned over in the 2000 Cerro Grande fire.

The city of Albuquerque has issued an Air Quality Alert due to wildfire smoke from the fire.

Information from the current Las Conchas Wildfire InciWeb Page

• Date Started: 6/26/2011
• Location: Jemez Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest; approximately 12 miles southwest of Los Alamos off NM 4 at mile marker 35, New Mexico
• Cause: Unknown – under investigation
• Size: 103,842 acres [162 miles² 420 km²] based on infrared data
• Percent Contained: 3%
• Injuries to Date: 0
• Residences: 13 destroyed; 3 damaged
• Commercial Property: 3 damaged
• Outbuildings: 2 destroyed
• Number of Personnel: Approximately 1,201 including 6 hotshot crews and 25 hand crews
• Equipment: 4 dozers, 52 engines
• Aircraft: 9 helicopters
• Incident Commander: Dan Oltrogge, Area Command Team 1

[Read more →]

From FIFA’s official site: it’s Japan 4-0 Mexico and New Zealand 1-2 England in the second round of play in Group B. It looks like Japan is through to the next level, but England and Mexico are still in contention for the second spot.

ESPN has the replay on the ‘Net.

The race starts on 2 July on the Passage du Gois and will finish on 24 July in Paris, so I thought I should explain some of what I’ll be ranting about.

The cartoon characters from my header are wearing the various colored jerseys that indicate the leader in the different classifications in the race.

The Maillot Jaune, Yellow Jersey is worn by the rider with the lowest time overall in the race. The eventual winner of the race may never have come in first in any stage, but was near the lead throughout the race and achieved the lowest time over the entire course of the event. The winner is normally an “all-arounder”, someone is very good at the sprints and the hill climbing, even if they aren’t the best. Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, and Fabian Cancellara are “all-arouders”, showing up on the lists of the sprinters and the climbers, while staying in the top ten for overall time.

The Maillot Vert, Green Jersey, is for the speed demons, the sprinters. The guys who hit the highest gears on the bike. They are the flat-out, flat land fliers, reaching suicidal speeds. They win points for sprints on certain portions of the course. The top sprinters tend to be found in the back of the overall times because good sprinters tend to be lousy climbers.

[Read more →]

La fête du
Canada
Day

Thank you for not yet building a fence along your southern or western border, and for brewing great beer.

Schedule of Ottawa events and some background.

Showing The Way

Let’s Go!

[Editor: Concerned that I might get lost, Tip is “guiding me” to the feeding station she prefers. This is a double action shot as both of us were moving.]

Friday Ark