you can spare six minutes.

regardless of your politics, please watch this video. the information after the four minute mark is shocking.

longing for snow.

it's been an odd kind of winter here in the northeast; mid-january and barely a inch of snow on the ground.
i may be one of the few to admit it, but i am aching for snow. not just snow, but actual accumulation. i grew up around syracuse, ny and went to college in buffalo, ny (#1 and #9 respectively in U.S. cities with the highest snowfalls) making my baseline snow tolerance quite high. a storm isn't something to quiver at unless it's predicted to drop more than a foot in a few hours. certainly snow storms can be dangerous but when compared with the type of weather events other parts of the world face, heavy snow falls seem quaint and cozy.
the photo above is from the last real snow storm i can remember since moving from buffalo northerneastern new york. it was valentines day 2007. i can't imagine a better way to spend valentines day than snuggled up in a warm house watching the snow fall!

my humble opinion.

as a resident and a homeowner in Glens Falls, i am just wondering if anyone is truly surprised that The Mill, Bruce Levinsky's grand idea of luxury condominiums in the heart of the city failed?  after all this time and money, does anyone even live there?
i read in the Post Star last week that the bank (Amalgamated) has taken ownership of the complex.
the Mill is nice and all, but is exceptionally overpriced for the Glens Falls area.  considering that the median income for residents is about $30,000 and the Mill's cheapest condo was $250,000, it always seemed an unrealistic and poorly researched project to me.  the irony that the condominiums are named "the mill" appears almost patronizing considering the folks who work at the actual mills in the area wouldn't even come close to being able to afford living there.
the Chronicle states that the condos are now for rent for between $1,200 and $3,000 monthly.  yikes!
don't get me wrong, i really hope the The Mill works out.  Glens Falls deserves success.  i just wish we could get developers who created projects aimed at serving the needs and interests of residents instead of only their own.

sojourn.

it was a busy week.

first there was World AIDS Day, which is always emotional for me.  it's a time for me to reflect on the people i have known and lost to this virus and to remember how fortunate i am to be in good health.  adam and i attended the local observance in Glens Falls.  like last year, i wound up being quoted in the Post Star's write up of the event.

then there was the ridiculously disappointing vote by the NY State senate rejecting marriage equality.  like so many other residents, i was instantly embarrassed to live in NY.  i mean, WTF? 

so when we were invited by some friends to spend the weekend "up north" it was a welcome opportunity to decompress.  we went up to wilmington, ny and stayed at a handmade camp built by our hostess's uncle.  the place was gorgeous and all i could imagine was living there full time.  the place was essentially in the shadow of whiteface mountain, had it's own leanto and hiking trail. we spent nearly the entire time outside by the fire relaxing, catching up and making new friends.

it's amazing how taking a small moment to get together and go outside can bring you back to center.

my only complaint would be the lack of snow, although we did wake up to a light dusting in the trees.

local pride?

dear post star,

please stop focusing on stories like this.
otherwise, people may start getting the wrong idea about us.
aren't there good things...intelligent things to document?

sincerely,
an embarrassed citizen

strong island.

hockey season starts tonight. it's the only sport i truly follow.
and it's the only sport to which i am loyally aligned with one team. it was natural for me to love this team (thanks to my father), and some may argue i was born into it.
i am not ashamed to say that i am a new york islanders fan. i even have an islanders license plate cover.
the trouble is that no one ever has any faith in the islanders. i mean, the season hasn't even started and the predictions are not so good. but this time of year, for me, is all about the possibility. every team comes back sometime. right?
granted, they fired ted nolan (?!?) and they seem to like to sign slightly unknown/untested/on the downhill type players every year.
but they still have dipietro. and the injured list isn't too long.
*fingers crossed*

courtesy of good magazine.

i don't know about you, but this just makes me more angry.

a hike completed. thoughts abounding.

we successfully completed a hike of tabletop mountain yesterday. the hike itself is pretty uneventful. the bushwack is not difficult but is (as always in the adirondacks) very muddy. we were lucky to have the rain hold off until we were almost back to marcy dam.

if you were wondering, i did not go back to the AMR gatehouse to re-claim my hiking poles; especially after reading this article. i have decided to 'let them go'.

the incident on friday has (not surprisingly) generated a bit of debate.

i thought quite a lot about all of this during my hike up tabletop. nothing like a bit of hiking to get your thoughts bouncing around.

it seems that the debate always gets hottest when it involves adirondack land use, who has the rights to be there and what they should be allowed to do. secondly, people usually get their panties in a twist about dogs and ATVs on trails in the adirondacks.

i guess the unique nature of the adirondack park and it's private/public mix makes this type of debate expected. but what i don't get is why people are so mean about it. aren't we all neighbors? i realize i don't live inside the blue line folks...but someday i (and my dog) will, much to the displeasure of some. i am not going to stop hiking in the adirondacks. i will keep my ADK membership. i will continue to do what i can to preserve the adirondacks and my right to access it.
i just hope we can find a way to all share this place without elitism or intimidation.

shit disturbin' part two.

this weekend is off to a poor start.

adam and i took off some time to create a four day weekend. we do this frequently to try to squeeze in a little backpacking.

by mid-week, it was clear that the weather wasn't really going to cooperate. i wasn't up for another soaking wet backpacking trip, so we opted for day hikes.

today we planned to hike dial and nippletop, which would have been just under 15 miles round trip. the trailhead for these mountains (and many others) is on private property, owned by the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, aka the Ausable Club. the owners of AMR have negotiated with the state of New York to allow hikers an easement over their land so they can access the state land that exists beyond.

as we parked in the allowed lot, we noticed multiple signs reminding us that we were on private land. we passed a sign stating that no pets were allowed on AMR property. i (erroneously) believed that the easement allowed us to have our dog (on a leash, licensed and under control) hike with us.

after signing the register at the gatehouse to AMR lake road, we began our hike. very quickly after, we were approached by an armed man. other than his name tag, he was not dressed as a security officer, but he was carrying a silver pistol. he had a digital camera bag around his neck and had a small bleeding wound on his face. without explanation, he took out the camera and began taking pictures of us. as soon as he began speaking, we knew our hike was over. he asked us where we were headed and if we had seen "the signs". we identified adam as a probation officer in the state of new york. mind you, we weren't trying to get out of anything, but wished for this cowboy to save his condescending breath explaining his obligations . then he said, "i am going to have to arrest you for trespassing".

he proceeded to escort us back to the gatehouse and detain us. he called in another security guard from the Ausable Club and summoned a state officer by radio. we sat being totally cooperative, providing identification and surrendering adam's weapons (he had a leatherman and his new kershaw knife). inside my head i am thinking, "this is just to scare us, he can't really arrest us....right?". i can't even imagine what was going through adam's mind, being that he actually knows the law. (for instance, i was not aware that this cowboy security guard really didn't have the authority to arrest us. this is why he needed to call a state officer. i guess i just listen to scruffy looking guys with big shiny guns.)

here we waited for over an hour until a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Officer could arrive to deal with all of our lawlessness. i actually felt bad for the EnCon officer. seriously, did he need to come all that way to deal with us? we would have quietly left the property if mr. cowboy said that we really couldn't have the dog and had to turn around. he never gave us that chance.

so in his generosity, mr. cowboy decided only to "arrest" one of us. oh yeah, you guessed it...it was me. the real law enforcement officer explained that this was a violation; a citation and not an arrest, and was comparable to a speeding ticket. maybe it was just wishful thinking, but i thought i could sense this officer saying to me with his eyes, "i'm so sorry this cowboy made me do this".

so now i have an appearance ticket for the town of Keene. i figure i'll just enter a plea of guilty by mail, considering that i truly wasn't supposed to have the dog there (i really didn't know). but maybe i'll send in a little note explaining the circumstances in an attempt to inspire sympathy (and a lesser fine).

it's kind of funny that i am blogging about this at all. i think it is embarrassing, especially considering what adam and i do for a living.

my pride will recover, but i am not sure how long it will take before i can bring myself to use that trailhead again.

addendum:

it seems i will have to bring myself to that AMR gatehouse sooner rather than later.

i left my komperdell hiking poles there.

dammit

jealous of school kids...

considering the weather today, i was really hoping for a snow day.

realistically, i know it's highly improbable, but there's always hope. every year we are reminded by administration that we have a special voice mailbox designated for days such as this.  

so, sure enough, i called that stupid mailbox at least four times (hoping, hoping, hoping) that our esteemed agency would value the lives and safety of it's employees and close down due to weather.  i imagined all of the awesome (and mostly lazy) things i could do if i got a surprise day off.  i even delayed my morning waking ritual figuring that if i didn't have to go to work, i may be able to go back to sleep.

nope.  no day off.  in almost four years of working for my agency, we have only heard that fantastic message once.  and that day we got almost three feet of snow (which for the record, i don't think is a lot. but i'll take a day off for it).  

i spent that one snow day outside shoveling.  

all day.

election day.

i wish there was something to be more excited about today.
or what i mean to say is...i wish that i wasn't going to my polling place to vote between some dude and himself. how is it that someone can run for office if no one runs against them? maybe this is unique to small towns? does no one else care enough to run?
shouldn't that render an election pretty useless?
the worst part is that the person running doesn't even have to promise you anything.
"hey, i'm the only one that'll take this position as coroner so vote for me. i'll win even if you don't."
with that exceptionally enthusiastic hoorah for the power of elections...i'm off to vote.