Posts from — February 2013

You know that Allen Moore took home the first place money with trail time of 8 days, 18 hours, and 57 minutes.

Dyan Bergen had 13 days, 6 hours, and 3 minutes of trail time as the final finisher and won the Red Lantern.

Fifth place was good enough for Scott Smith to pick up the Rookie of the Year Award for his run.

For being first into Pelly Crossing, Allen Moore won a pair of traditional beaver gauntlets from the Selkirk First Nation.

For being first into Dawson and finishing the race, Hugh Neff received four ounces of gold.

Normand Casavant received the Vet’s Choice Award for his care of his team.

Darrin Lee was chosen for the Challenge of the North Award which is given for dedication and perseverance during the race.

For the third time Brent Sass received the Sportsmanship Award. This time it is for helping Jake Berkowitz on Eagle Summit.

Quito won the Golden Harness Award for ‘top dog’, [includes a steak dinner]. She is a leader on Allen Moore’s team.

Hugh Neff announced that he was heading to Norway for a while as part of a sled dog promotion. He also mentioned that this was the last 1000 mile event that Walter, a lead dog, would run. Walter is retiring at age 9.

Twenty-six teams left Whitehorse and twenty finished. There were 364 dogs at the start, and 199 reached the finish line. Unfortunately one of the dogs that didn’t finish was General, on Jake Berkowitz’s team. General died as the result of a twisted intestine that caused a blockage. He died while being transported to Whitehorse for emergency care.

Many of those who were at this banquet will be at the starting line for the Iditarod on March 2^nd.

Actually, I have been paying attention to more than the race, and a number of things caught my eye:

Yet another politician who held power when I was in San Diego, has legal problems. Maureen O’Connor replaced Roger Hedgecock, after he was finally convicted of his part in a financial scam, in 1986. She has managed to blow a billion dollars gambling, with several million of that money not actually belonging to her.

Along with ‘Duke’ Cunningham, Joe Scarborough, and most of the recent officials in Okaloosa County, I’m beginning to suspect that I attract politicians with a less than ethical bent.

While people are still reacting to the Chelyabinsk meteor, John McKay thoroughly covers the the Tunguska event of 1908. Russia seems to have the same problem with meteors that I have with politicians.

I saw in passing that one of the buses that was being used to take the passengers of the Carnival Cruise floating septic tank broke down about midway between Mobile and the Big Easy. If it wasn’t for bad luck, the people on that bus would have no luck at all.

The $9 minimum wage is better than a sharp stick in the eye. It still doesn’t come up to the $1.25/hour minimum wage I made in 1964 as far as purchasing power, especially when you take into consideration that the FICA withholding tax rate is twice as high now than it was in 1964.

Dyan Bergen (19) left the Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers checkpoint at 5:13AM CST for the final leg of the race and she has the trail to herself until she gets closer in, where snowmobilers and local mushers will be out and about. She is more than a third of the way in moving at better than 6 miles per hour. It is in single digits in Fairbanks with overcast skies and the sun won’t be up for a couple of hours, so her headlamp is all the light available. That said, the glow from the lights in Fairbanks should be visible, and she is on the river, so the trail isn’t too tricky.

She obviously has won the Red Lantern if she finishes and will be in time for the banquet to receive it. This is down to a personal goal for herself and her puppies, which is the biggest reason I always hang in for those in the back of the race.

Update: The Yukon Quest ended at 8:18PM CST [5:18PM AKST] when Dyan crossed the finish line.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Circle

Brrr…..

[Editor: Toes has closed the circle to keep warm because even with the sun it was chilly today.]

Friday Ark

Dyan as made it over Eagle with the aurora to light her way, as it has been active the last few days. Matt is waiting out the mandatory 8-hour stop at Chena Hot Springs.

Everyone else has found Fairbanks and can get a shower, hot food, clean clothes, and sleep without wood smoke.

Update at 5:30pm CST: Matt is just under 25 miles to the finish, while Dyan is crawling up Rosebud. There is daylight to make the ascent, so she should be fine, although there is deep snow, and most people end up having to lead their team over.

Matt Failor has been wearing glasses since Dawson. In Dawson he put his contact lenses in a glass of water on the bedside stand, and … yep, he got thirsty during the night, so he had to wear his glasses.

BTW, glasses are a real pain in cold weather. When it gets really cold the lenses can crack because of the contraction differential between the lens and the frame. They also cause problems when you put on the ruffed hood as your breath will condense on them until they warm up.

The Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^RΦ

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Why are you being hustled by street vendors to buy sad and drooping former roses, vegetative matter that missed the cut for bouquets, or were too late to the hospital? [Note: Never buy flowers from roadside vendors near cemeteries.]

Blame Esther A. Howland (1828 – 1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her guilt is writ large by the Greeting Card Association’s Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary. She imported the concept to the US from Britain to bolster her father’s stationery store in 1847.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the stationers had infiltrated school boards and imposed the now mandatory exchange in the classroom to push the low end product of Asian children and prisoners. [Another reason to reduce class sizes.]

Seeing the success of the card merchants, the confectioners jumped on board to fill the lull between Christmas and Easter with the benefit that the bulk of purchases would be made by desperate men with less sense of taste than a golden retriever. If the box was red, heart-shaped, and said chocolate, a man would buy it. [Keeping in mind that spelling is not ‘a guy thing’.]

There were at least three Saint Valentines and all were martyrs, as they should have been for the trouble they’ve caused. None are the reason for the “holiday”, only the excuse. They lived at a time when life and men were short and brutal, so the romantic aura of the holiday is pure piffle. At least one was reportedly part of a draft dodging scheme during the Roman Empire, marrying people so that men with “other priorities” could avoid being deployed to foreign wars, bachelors being preferred for catapult fodder.

It is to be hoped that the individual who first wrote: “Roses are red, violets are blue” was eaten by rabid wolverines, or had hemorrhoids. [Violets aren’t blue, they are violet. Get a clue…]

The front half of the field has made it into Fairbanks, while Dyan and her puppies continue to chug along on the trail between Circle and Central. She still has 10 puppies pulling, so it is looking good for her to carry the Red Lantern.

Rob made it over Rosebud and Matt is climbing Eagle, but the weather is more to the liking of the dogs, a bracing -11° in Fairbanks.

I’m having to combine the Current Standings, Live Tracking, and Facebook sites to figure out where people are. This happens at the end of every race, as the bulk of volunteers follow after the leaders, so only a few are left to report on the back of the pack.

The Current Standings (2PM CST) show Matt still in Central when he just arrived at Mile 101.

The Standings at 11:30PM CST (8:30PM AKST):

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
Beyond Mile 101
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Central
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^RΦ

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Dyan is at Slavin’s resting with the Red Lantern. She is moving at almost 7 mph when she is on the trail, but she is definitely traveling alone with the puppies.

Because of the snow and the wind, it is important to stay on the trail. Jake got off the trail going up Eagle Summit and was mired in waist-high loose snow. The trail is packed and well above ground level, so if you miss a turn it will be a hard slog to get the team and the sled back on it after you find it under the surface snow.

Update: Denis Tremblay (13) got dinged with a two hour penalty to be served at Two Rivers for failing to leave the required 4 pounds of food with the dog he dropped at Slavens Cabin.

The Standings at 11:30PM CST (8:30PM AKST):

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
9 Susan Rogan (10)^R
10 Dan Kaduce (15)
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
11 Ed Hopkins (25)
12 David Dalton (21)
13 Crispin Studer (26)
14 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
Beyond Mile 101
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
Beyond Central
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
Beyond Circle
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Circle
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^RΦ

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The last day before the beginning of Lent on the Gulf Coast that once belonged to France, it is Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”: Laissez les bon temps rouler!

It was first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama, but the big show these days is in New Orleans, and it is a holiday in the state of Louisiana, because people wouldn’t show up for work anyway, so why fight it.

The tradition is to serve King cake, which is a circle of cinnamon bun dough with a white frosting on top sprinkled with sugar colored purple, gold, and green. If that weren’t bad enough, they put the figurine of a baby in the dough, and whoever finds it in their piece is supposed to be lucky. Actually if you find it and don’t choke on it, I guess you are lucky. You should use a small ceramic figurine, as some of the cheap plastic versions melt in the oven [yummy].

This year it falls on the birthday of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. Abe would have enjoyed it more than Chuck, who was a bit conventional, despite the propaganda about him.

Barring moose, caribou, snowmobile, or asteroid, it looks like Allen is going to win this year and make up for his 26 second loss last year. This is based on Live Tracking, and Hugh’s trackers have a history of malfunctioning, but Allen’s two extra dogs on his team seemed to have allowed him to have built up a real lead that Hugh couldn’t overcome in the final run.

The Standings at 11:30PM CST (8:30PM AKST):

At Fairbanks/Finish
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
Beyond Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
Beyond Mile 101
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Susan Rogan (10)^R
At Mile 101
10 Dan Kaduce (15)
Beyond Central
11 David Dalton (21)
12 Ed Hopkins (25)
At Central
13 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
14 Crispin Studer (26)
Beyond Circle
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
At Circle
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
Beyond Eagle
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^RΦ

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Badtux notes that the LAPD needs remedial vehicle identification classes. I noticed elsewhere that LA is buying the lady a new truck, and I assume that all of the medical bills will be covered by the city, but they can’t let the officers involved stay on the force, or they will be bankrupted by the court settlement that every lawyer in California wants to file on behalf of the victim. The city should also be offering the victims “pain and suffering” cash now, because they do not want to go to court with this. Hell, the newspaper may sue them before this is over [this is California, after all.] [And people wonder why OJ Simpson got off…]

PZ Myers notes that Fox News ‘experts’ think that Germany gets more sun than the US. As the graphic shows, Germany doesn’t get as much sun as Alaska, but it gets a huge amount of electricity from solar panels. Munich, in southern Germany is on the same parallel of latitude as the US-Canada border West of the Great Lakes.

The thing is – Germans buy homes, but Americans invest in real estate. When a German gets it all together to buy a home, they intend it to be ‘until death do us part’. They install solar panels and other energy efficient improvements because they will be the ones saving money on their utility bills. Americans are constantly looking at resale value, not cost of ownership. Germany leads the US based on the huge number of installed solar panels, not the amount of sun they receive.

The house I’m working on is getting done. I would already be done if I didn’t get pulled into things that have nothing to do with the electrical and plumbing repairs I agreed to do.

Misha Pedersen (16) has had leadership problems on her team which led to the very slow run into Dawson. She headed out last night, but had to come back and scratch because the team wouldn’t move into the wind on the Yukon River. Despite the common perception of dogs sticking their heads out of car windows to get the wind in their face, sled dogs generally don’t like it for very real survival reasons. Weather leaders, dogs that will head into the wind and convince the rest of the pack to follow, are very rare, and Misha doesn’t have one.

Dyan is out on the river heading to Eagle alone, and I wish her well. The Quest officials will be watching her because she’s a rookie and the weather is not good. They want to give her a chance, but they are concerned about her team.

Update: Dyan is making good progress on the trail, while at the front Allen and Hugh are basically running side-by-side as they climb Rosebud.

Update: Dyan made it into Eagle, while Allen and Hugh are sitting in Two Rivers/Chena Hot Spring for an 8-hour mandatory stop. Allen has a 16 minute lead for the 45 mile sprint to Fairbanks.

The winner should be known tomorrow morning, but I hang around until the Red Lantern is extinguished.

The Standings at 11:00PM CST (8:00PM AKST):

At Chena Hot Springs/Two Rivers
1 Allen Moore (11)
2 Hugh Neff (4)
Beyond Mile 101
3 Brent Sass (18)
4 Jake Berkowitz (20)
Beyond Central
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
Beyond Circle
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Normand Casavant (7)
8 Abbie West (17)
9 Dan Kaduce (15)
10 Susan Rogan (10)^R
At Circle
11 David Dalton (21)
12 Ed Hopkins (25)
13 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
14 Crispin Studer (26)
Beyond Eagle
15 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Cody Strathe (5)^R
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
At Eagle
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Year of the Black Water Snake

Chinese New Year
[Spring Festival]

Allen has a monstrous lead of 1 minute at Slavin’s Roadhouse heading to Circle.

Steese Highway is closed at several points because of high winds and blowing snow. The temperatures are down in the comfort range of the puppies, but they don’t like the wind in their face, so it is going to be down to having a weather leader, a dog that will take the team into the wind and keep moving.

Brent Sass is really going to miss Silver this year, because Eagle Summit has a 6-foot snow depth, and there are very high winds that have blocked the highway at the pass. This is shaping up to be another 2009 when Silver had to lead several other team through the mess. Hugh is not going to be happy to know that is waiting for him after his experience in 2009.

With luck the winds will calm down before the race gets there, but the snow isn’t going anywhere.

Allen is pulling away – he was 3 minutes ahead of Hugh at Circle 😉

Hugh left Circle 2 hours ahead of Allen and is back in the lead.

Randy MacKenzie (9) of Fort McMurray made the decision to scratch when it came time to leave Dawson.

Update: Susan Rogan (10) has been dinged an hour plus a fine for arriving at Eagle missing two pieces of mandatory equipment. They don’t say what the equipment was, but the fine points toward her vet book on the puppies. She’ll sit in Two Rivers/Chena Hot Springs an extra hour.

Right after I mentioned the cooler weather for the puppies, it decides to warm up again. Fairbanks hit 30° today and may go above freezing tomorrow. If it snows, it will be wet, clinging, miserable snow that will stick to coats of the both the puppies and the people.

The Standings at 10:00PM CST (8:00PM PST):

Beyond Circle
1 Hugh Neff (4)
2 Allen Moore (11)
3 Jake Berkowitz (20)
4 Brent Sass (18)
At Circle
5 Scott Smith (23)^R
Beyond Eagle
6 Markus Ingebretsen (2)^R
7 Abbie West (17)
8 Susan Rogan (10)^R
9 Normand Casavant (7)
10 Ed Hopkins (25)
11 David Dalton (21)
12 Dan Kaduce (15)
13 Denis Tremblay (13)^R
14 Crispin Studer (26)
15 Cody Strathe (5)^R
16 Darrin Lee (24)^R
17 Brian Wilmshurst (1)
At Eagle
18 Rob Cooke (3)^R
19 Matthew Failor (14)^R
Beyond Dawson
20 Dyan Bergen (19)^R
21 Misha Pedersen (16)

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.