freeryan.com

After the rash of bear encounters this year in Alaska it's a wonder signs like this aren't more prevalent.

Terror Levels published by the Coast Guard. I've seen these at ferry terminals all over Southeast Alaska.

What does it say about the accuracy of our national security when even in "normal" times there is "significant" risk of attack? In Ketchikan?

Having recently returned from the Land of Good Wine (France) to the Land of Not Great Wine (Alaska), my tastebuds are tuned up. I'm often confused about buying wine in Juneau because it costs a bit more and you never know what you're going to get. I find myself spending more money under the presumption that the more it costs the better the wine. While this may be true in many cases, it isn't in all.

While reading the morning's "paper" I came across this list of the Top Ten Wines Under $10 and thought I'd share: http://www.mainstreet.com/top-ten-wines-under-10

My friend Jorden forwarded this to our email list and it spurred quite the discussion so I thought I'd stick it up here to share further.

If you see the dancer spinning clockwise it means you're using the right half of your brain. If she spins counter-clockwise it means you're using the left half. The theory is that by watching the direction of her spin you can determine which half of your brain you're using! (Or maybe it's just a random optical illusion?)

The interesting thing is some of us see her spinning one direction, some the other, some see her change directions, and others can't for the life of them just can not get her to change directions.

For me, she spins mostly clockwise but definitely changes directions at time, seemingly randomly, but perhaps I'm actually changing the type of thought I'm engaging in at that moment.

Here's a chart of left vs right brain types of things:

OK, halfway through reading up on this story I had to stop because I couldn't see my monitor anymore through the tears blurring my eyes. Maybe it's because I'm a new father, or maybe it's just that the story is so damn heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Anyway, I wanted to pass it along.

First, here's a good overview of their story: http://cjcphoto.com/can/

Second, photo galleries on their Team Hoyt website: http://www.teamhoyt.com

Third, go to youtube and look at their videos (just search for "team hoyt"): http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=team+hoyt&search=Search

And lastly, for further reading, Team Hoyt is well documented in the blogosphere.

Sometimes it's nice to get reminded that having a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) is not a bad thing. Here's an article that dispels the "5 Myths of Positive Mental Attitude".