Adventures in Interpretation

Andy Hutchins: The early 21st century will be remembered by many images: Twitter...

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:26:13 -0800

Andy Hutchins: The early 21st century will be remembered by many images: Twitter...:

The early 21st century will be remembered by many images: Twitter avatars, Instagram pictures, and gifs are a few that quickly come to mind. But the mug shot is fast becoming one of the most relevant graphics of modern culture. Thanks to lenient public-records laws, a vengeful justice system, …

kfan: summersumz: merlin: Meh. I’ll give it a month. I mean,...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:51:53 -0800

kfan:

summersumz:

merlin:

Meh. I’ll give it a month.

I mean, you know. I don’t wanna fall out of the rape loop forever.

LOL ha ha so fucking funny. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a white male and get to “mute rape”? Fathers of daughters who act like this make me sad.

This is such a bummer. Women are under attack, in every city, all over the world, every day. Time and attention are one thing, but making jokes because you’re male and don’t have to give a shit is totally, totally another.

Dirty Jobs with Ranger Travis

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 00:30:22 -0800

My last day at the glacier included helping my supervisor carry a very dead, half-eaten salmon away from the trail. A fitting finale.

Bears and People at Mendenhall Glacier: Part I

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:07:00 -0800

Part I of an occasional series

Bear management is a constant challenge at Mendenhall - and a featured attraction.

By an accident of geography and ecology, the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center’s visitor facilities sit precisely astride a major movement corridor for black bears, as they travel from the ridge line of Thunder Mountain behind the center down to the Steep Creek riparian woodlands next to Mendenhall Lake. This means that our site might as well have been built in the middle of I-80, as far as the bears are concerned. It’s routine for bears to cross the access road, amble up major trails and meander through crowded parking lots.

It didn’t take long for people to notice this phenomenon, and now Mendenhall Glacier is known for much more than being a gorgeous wall of ice - it’s become the single most popular bear viewing site in the state of Alaska. Tourists and locals alike crowd the boardwalks of Steep Creek trail to catch a glimpse of bears in their natural habitat.

That leaves us rangers to act as shepherds to an unruly flock of ursine residents - and play traffic cops for overeager human visitors.

Picture a bear unconcernedly munching away on cottonwood flowers… while 50 visitors crowd around the base of the tree, shutting off its escape routes. Or a bear trying to get down to the creek, faced with a maze of access ramps and people on the hillside. Imagine five bears crowded around a 250-yard stretch of stream banks, with hundreds of visitors less than 20 feet away. That’s routine at Mendenhall Glacier.

Now that the sockeye salmon have begun their spawning migration back to Steep Creek, the trickle of bears feeding on cottonwoods and horsetail is about to become a raging torrent - after all, a summer feast of salmon is the difference between life and death for hibernating bears.

What we do at Mendenhall Glacier on a daily basis is essentially unique. No, we’re not the only place that has up-close bear viewing… but we are the only place that has up-close bear viewing and 500,000 visitors a year. Yet all this happens safely, in a place that has never had a recorded bear attack on a human in 50 years of FS management. As bear season rises to a crescendo, I hope to explore the teamwork, training and techniques that make this possible.

There was a visitor fatality yesterday on Mendenhall Lake, and I pretty much watched it happen

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:36:00 -0800

Late in the afternoon, I was called upstairs in the Visitor Center to keep an eye on a potential rescue situation. With a spotting scope, I observed two kayakers hauled out on an iceberg in the middle of Mendenhall Lake, with their kayak adrift next to the berg. They both began waving frantically, and I radioed to our supervisor that the group was clearly in distress and in need of assistance.

Shortly thereafter, a nearby tour-operated canoe pulled alongside to render aid, and I could see multiple people being hauled aboard. We were informed that fire/rescue would meet them at the boat launch by Skaters Cabin. That was the last we heard of the matter.

Today’s my day off. It wasn’t until I checked Twitter this morning that reality hit:

Update: Texas man dies in Mendenhall Lake kayak accident

Apparently, one of the kayakers was in the icy waters of Mendenhall Lake for half an hour, and did not survive.

One can’t help but feel helpless sometimes. This is one of them.

Adventures in Moderating A Limited Public Forum

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 03:43:42 -0800

In my previous life as a journalist, I went through a course on media law, and had plenty of practical experience in the rights and wrongs of the First Amendment. I never thought that would come in handy as a park ranger.

In the visitor center, we have a new exhibit that invites visitors to share their concerns and solutions about anthropogenic climate change. We encourage folks to write messages on laminated 3x5 index cards, which can then be hung and publicly displayed on a rack in the exhibit.

The intent, of course, is to draw out folks who talk about recycling, biking, sharing and other ways of reducing our carbon footprint - or other environmental messages.

This being the real world, however, we just as often end up with cards that say:

IMPEACH TRAITOR OBAMA

Or…

SARAH PALIN 4 PRESIDENT, DRILL BABY DRILL

Or…

GOVERNMENT INDOCTRINATION OF CHILDREN

Yes, the Tea Party folks are apparently in full-bore nutball paranoia mode when they visit Mendenhall Glacier. Science-based discussion of human effects on climate? That’s un-American! How dare we explain inconvenient truths about carbon dioxide and the Earth.

All the cards get erased eventually and recycled - otherwise, with 5,000 daily visitors, we’d have cards on every surface of the building. But every now and again, we’ll scan the cards for looney-tunes bizarrity, and selectively erase the off-topic ranting lunatic ones.

But the journalist in me started wondering about the constitutional implications of this exhibit. Isn’t it censorship for the government to selectively remove expressions of opinion in a public building?

And yet… I don’t think it is. I’m pretty sure this falls well under the “limited public forum” doctrine, and that’s the way I, personally, have been managing the exhibit. We don’t remove cards based on their viewpoint - we remove them based on their content being off-topic for the discussion being encouraged.

I would never remove a card that says “Climate change is a lie” - it addresses the subject of the exhibit. But a card that randomly attacks the president or nebulously infers some sort of unspecified conspiracy has no connection to the topic of climate change.

The necessities of confining a forum to the limited and legitimate purposes for which it was created may justify the State in reserving it for certain groups or for the discussion of certain topics.

By being viewpoint-neutral, yet content-selective, the integrity of the exhibit is maintained while my free-speech-loving conscience remains clear… not to mention the visitor center keeps itself from being sued.

Any day with a bear is a good day.

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 01:30:44 -0800

Any day with a bear is a good day.

One more thing...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:07:09 -0800

Prospect Sierra School (then just plain old Sierra) is where I first laid hands on a computer… and it’s where I learned, through the years, how the same Apple box that allowed me to die of dysentery on the Oregon Trail and track down Carmen Sandiego could also let me draw (KidPix!), write, research (remember CD-ROM encyclopedias?) and explore.

Later on, I became a full-on Mac geek, working the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group Helpline, fixing the innards of SE-30s and oohing and aahing at the “wicked fast” 40MHz IIfx. Video card failures, SCSI conflicts, extension implosions - I could fix them all. Even had my very own stainless steel “Mac-Cracker” (anyone remember those?)

As a journalist at The Advocate, Macs made my work possible - and fun, when the tired old OS 9 G3 towers weren’t crashing. I researched and wrote our lead 9/11/01 story on a Bondi Blue OG iMac. Later, as a PR rep for GAINSCO Bob Stallings Racing, I began my yet-unbroken string of powerful, beautiful and bulletproof Apple laptops… the one I’m typing on now is nearing its third birthday, still going strong. On them, I’ve created championship press releases, mile-long term papers, nail-biting sports reports and wing-and-a-prayer graduate school applications.

I’m making a modest donation to Prospect Sierra tonight, in memory of the man whose products helped make all that possible. I think it’s the best way I can remember and honor what his legacy means to me.

laughingsquid: RIP Steve Jobs  at San Francisco Apple Store

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:28:34 -0800

laughingsquid:

RIP Steve Jobs  at San Francisco Apple Store

Thanks, Steve.

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:26:00 -0800

I’ve used Apple products for a quarter-century… my kindergarten classroom had a bank of Apple IIgs machines where I played Number Munchers and Oregon Trail. Apple has helped me dream, learn, explore, create and do magic ever since.

When I heard the news, I was sitting in a graduate school classroom learning about the philosophy of recreation… with a MacBook Pro on my desk. I’m not ashamed to say that my classmates probably wondered why I was having to choke back tears.

Thank you, Steve Jobs (and all those who worked with him) for having a vision of “a computer for the rest of us.” You will be missed - but never forgotten.

The Reason Why

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:36:39 -0800

It’s my last day at Mendenhall Glacier for the season.

Just today, about 25 visitors have taken the time to come up and thank me - “informative,” “interesting,” “awesome,” “great talk” and the like.

It’s not just me, of course - it’s our whole team. But it’s nice to know that I made someone’s day just a little awesomer.

A bit of potty doggerel, as seen in the visitor center’s...

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:52:23 -0800

A bit of potty doggerel, as seen in the visitor center’s staff restroom.

Me? A ranger? NO WAI!

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 01:56:23 -0800

Seriously. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be a park ranger. I keep unconsciously staring at my badge and looking myself up on the Forest Service online employee directory just to tell myself that yes, it’s real.

One year ago today, I had a freshly-minted journalism degree from the University of Idaho, one month’s rent left in the bank from my summer internship and zero job prospects. My two-year stint as a sportsblogger had netted me awards, contacts and thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook “likes.” No matter - the media world was in full implosion mode and even the randomest small town papers turned me down flat. I scored exactly one interview out of 40+ applications. It was looking like a one-way trip back to the parents’ house.

So I applied for, was offered and instantly accepted a six-month internship with the Forest Service in Juneau, Alaska - an out-of-the-way corner, although by Alaskan standards it’s a veritable metropolis. The internship was paid (barely) and it came with a roof over my head… I figured at least I’d have a warm bed and food on the table for awhile.

Today, I’m a park ranger at one of the most popular tourist attractions in Alaska, on a track to career federal employment and start a funded graduate program at Indiana University in three weeks. Plus I get to wear this shiny bronze badge - OK, so it’s not as cool as the Park Service gold shield, but hey, I’ll take it.

OK, so this doesn’t really have a point, but it’s two in the a.m., Rush’s Grace Under Pressure is blasting on my laptop and there’s still nine hours until my next shift starts. So, there.

Maybe this does have a point, actually. Follow whatever road life takes you on. Sometimes, desperation is the mother of awesome.

(Special thanks to the Student Conservation Association for getting me here.)

Six ships in Juneau today. Sooooooo glad it’s my day off.

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:39:42 -0800

Six ships in Juneau today. Sooooooo glad it’s my day off.

Open Letter To Anyone Who Asks Me A Political Question At The Information Desk

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:13:33 -0800

Yes, I know you’re dying to know what I think of Sarah Palin or whether Obama should drill more oil wells in Alaska or whether he’s a lunatic socialist Muslim usurper.

If you haven’t noticed, I’m an on-duty federal civil servant wearing the uniform and badge of a federal agency. I am legally prohibited from giving you my opinion on any political issue, even if I wanted to turn the visitor center into a debate arena - which I really don’t!

And if you tell me that you’re a Vietnam veteran “who gets sick when I see Obama get on Air Force One,” all you’re going to get is a blank stare in return.

So in conclusion, please, think of the children. I would rather issue the “why the ice is blue” answer 10,000 times than get dragged into politics at the glacier.

Why is the ice blue?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:52:40 -0800

Number of times I answered the question “Why is the ice blue?” today: 17.

Um, yeah, that’s an American black bear (Ursus americanus)...

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:20:38 -0800

Um, yeah, that’s an American black bear (Ursus americanus) with about 25 visitors taking pictures from 10 feet away. Not a zoo - just another day for the rangers at Mendenhall Glacier.

juniorranger: The ultimate Junior Ranger badge… Level 100 (and...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:04:55 -0800

juniorranger:

The ultimate Junior Ranger badge…

Level 100 (and eleven… and counting…)

:)

Um, yeah, the lake isn’t supposed to be that high. EPIC...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:24:00 -0800

Um, yeah, the lake isn’t supposed to be that high. EPIC GLACIAL DAM FAIL.

Signed off on a proud new junior ranger. The best part of my...

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 01:21:00 -0800

Signed off on a proud new junior ranger. The best part of my job.