Wind gusts 35 to 45 mph

The wind here in Wasilla, Alaska (and the Mat-Su valley in general) continue to amaze me. I don't know if Sarah Palin talks about it in her Alaska TLC special, but to reiterate what I've written before, all summer long there was very, very little wind, and when it rained, the rain almost always came straight down. I had the same experience living in Talkeetna in the summer of 2007, almost no wind at all. But since some time in September the wind has just been pounding the valley, and as I sip on my coffee at 8:37 a.m.

Murkowski gets 98% of the first 20% of write-in votes

Dateline Wasilla, Alaska (That's where I am): The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) reports that on the first day of counting write-in votes in the Alaska senate race, Lisa Murkowski received 98% of the write-in votes so far. On this first day approximately 20% of all write-in votes were counted.

That being said, the devil is in the details:

Alaska write-in law (statute) and the Lisa Murkowski campaign

Okay, it took a little while to find this, but here is the Alaska write-in law (statute), as I specifically wonder about the recent Lisa Murkowski write-in campaign. (I looked for this after someone added a comment to my earlier Lisa Murkowski write-in article.)

(10) In order to vote for a write-in candidate, the voter must write in the candidate's name in the space provided and fill in the oval opposite the candidate's name in accordance with (1) of this subsection.

Wasilla Lake is frozen over

Just a quick note that when I went to the grocery store yesterday I noticed that Wasilla Lake is now frozen over and covered in snow. I suspect it's not frozen over to the point that anyone will want to walk on it, but it is covered in snow.

I also went for a walk last night around 9 p.m., and the skies were almost perfectly clear, and the Big Dipper is right there ... you feel like you can just reach out and touch it. I may drive up to Hatcher Pass to see what it looks like with even less light and at a higher altitude.

Alaska polar bears facing extinction

I'm not sure why, but when I saw this picture hanging in a doctor's office in Anchorage, Alaska yesterday, it reminded me of the phrase "Alaska polar bears facing extinction". For some reason that's what I think is off to the right in this photo, the thing these Alaska polar bears are looking at, their own extinction.

Alaska daylight savings time change (2010)

Alaska question of the week: Does Alaska observe daylight savings time? If so, when do we change our clocks in 2010?

Answer: Yes, Alaska does observe daylight savings time. In 2010 we switch the clocks back one hour with the daylight savings change on November 7, 2010. Being good Alaskans, at 2 a.m. on November 7th we all get up, switch our clocks back to 1 a.m., and go back to bed. :)

Wasilla weather forecast, November, 5, 2010

I need to look at the brochure again, but as I recall, it's not supposed to snow that much when you're north of Anchorage, Alaska. In areas south of Anchorage like the Kenai Peninsula and southeast Alaska, sure, it's supposed to snow a lot, but here in the Mat-Su Valley it's supposed to be cold and dry.

Well, not so far. Every day lately has had snow, or a good chance of snow. Here's the Wasilla snow forecast for roughly the next week:

"Your plow guy sucks"

As a friend mentioned the other day after seeing the picture below, "Your plow guys sucks": 

Lisa Murkowski, write-in campaign winner?

Dateline November, 3, 2010, Wasilla, Alaska. With most of the Alaska senate race completed, it's clear that "Write-in" is the winner of the Alaska senate race here, but the next question is "Who was written in?", and if Lisa Murkowski was the person voters intended to vote in, how many actually spelled "Murkowski" correctly?

Wasilla, Alaska - Election Day, 2010

It's November 2 -- Election Day, 2010 -- and the overnight has dropped a blanket of snow on us here in Wasilla, Alaska. Here's the view out my front window at 8:40 a.m. on this dark and snowy morning. As for the Alaska Senate race, we're all curious to see who will win. There are signs up in many areas for Joe Miller (Republican primary winner and Tea Party candidate) and Lisa Murkowski (Republican primary loser, incumbent, write-in candidate), though I haven't seen any signs for "the other guy" (the Democratic candidate).

Terrific view of Anchorage from Mile 15 of KGB in Wasilla

While playing the role of tourist and aimlessly driving the streets of Wasilla, Alaska two days ago , I was reminded that Mile 15 of KGB has a tremendous view of Anchorage across the Knik Arm. Dummy me didn't take my camera with me (violating Rule #1 of Living in Alaska - always take a camera), so I don't have any photos of the awesome view, but it really is wonderful, and I can only imagine how cool it's going to look in the dark when Anchorage is all lit up.

Map showing Wasilla, Palmer, and Anchorage, Alaska

This is a little hard to show on one map, but here's a view of the locations of Wasilla (top, right), Palmer (top, far right), and Anchorage, Alaska (bottom left). I just created this image, courtesy of Google Maps, so I can write about the view of Anchorage from Wasilla.

I need warmer everything

I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning to a steady and fairly heavy snowfall, which made me wonder if this snowfall will affect today's Alaska voting, primarily the Alaska Senate race between Joe Miller (Republican party nominee and Tea Party candidate), Lisa Murkowski (incumbent, Republican primary loser, and write-in candidate), and some other guy (a Democrat, who neighbors tell me has no chance of winning).

No 'light of day' until next May

One other point worth making here today: On a recent drive back and forth to Anchorage, Alaska, I realized that many places in Alaska won't see the light of day until next summer. I'm talking about the dark side of mountains, and all the ground (and many roads) that the mountains and trees will hide from the sun. With the sun just barely getting up and then creeping along the horizon, it's easy to see why it can get so cold up here -- the sun never gets a chance to warm up a large percentage of the ground.

The ravens are back

I keep forgetting to mention it, but the ravens are back, big time. There are two having a heated discussion in the parking lot here in Wasilla, Alaska right now. There were plenty in Talkeetna as well on my recent stay at the Talkeetna Roadhouse. I don't have any new raven photos to share at the moment, but I can assure you, they are very big birds, probably larger than most indoor cats, and many small dogs.

Joe Miller, Lisa Murkowski, and the Alaska Senate race

One thing is for sure about my first year in Alaska: The Senate race here sure is interesting. In the Alaska Senate Republican primary, Tea Party candidate Joe Miller defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski. While some people claim Murkowski didn't run hard enough against Joe Miller, I contend it was all about her advertising signs. The signs have "LISA" in very large letters, and "Murkowski" in very small letters, so when uneducated voters go to vote, if they don't see "LISA", they're not going to know who to vote for.

Joe Miller and Social Security (and Lisa Murkowski)

With the 2010 Alaska Senate race coming to a close, the issue of Social Security in Alaska is becoming a hot topic. I just read this article on the Juneau Empire website that talks about both Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski and their views on Social Security, and how those views will affect Alaska citizens. While the article doesn't speak highly of either candidate, it does provide some interesting Alaska Social Security statistics.

Wasilla's Bristol Palin Dancing with the Stars

I went out today to run some errands, and ended up mostly going for a joy ride around Wasilla and Palmer, testing my driving skills and winter tires on the snowy and icy roads, and I have to say, it was pretty neat to see the town supporting Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars. I'm not thinking about this from a political standpoint at all, just thinking that it's neat to see this frozen little town of maybe 10,000 showing their support for Bristol Palin and her dancing efforts.

Wasilla, Alaska side roads - Ice and snow for the winter

This is a photo of one of the side streets here in Wasilla, Alaska, following a very small snowfall two days ago. Neighbors who have lived here for years tell me that they usually don't bother to plow the side roads here after a little snow shower, so roads like this that would have been unusable in Kentucky are a fact of life here in Wasilla -- for the entire six-month winter!

Web browser privacy, security, history, cookies, and Flash

With yet another serious Flash security issue facing all web browser and operating system users (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.), I thought I'd take a few moments to link to some of my web browser privacy and security articles. Here's a quick set of links to my best web browser privacy and security links, including articles about Flash, browser cookies, Flash super cookies, and even iPhone browser privacy and security: