"Eugene Miya" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:4468baac$1@darkstar...
Quoted message said:In article <[email hidden]>,
Edward Dolan said:I have read many books about Antarctica. That is why, like Scott, I know
it
is an awful place. But I do not have to go there to discover that first
hand, unlike some idiots I know.
Are you declaring me to be an idiot?
Only if you think Antarctica is a "neat place."
I have read that the national flag of Antarctica, if it were a nation, would
be composed of just two colors equally divided half and half. The top half
would be just blue and the bottom half would be just white. That is because
that is pretty much what most of Antarctica looks like. In short, NOT a neat
place. The Amazon, anyone?
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:By the way, some media reports on faraway places are better than others. I
pretty much trust the National Geographic channel to report truthfully.
Oh, the NG is OK.
Quoted message said:Get back to me if and when you trek across the continent of Anarctica.
Anyone can fly down there and sit in a shack for a few weeks or months.
Oh, you are saying that I just sat in a shack?
That is pretty much all that community of scientists do down there. None of
them could survive a week if it weren't for various technological miracles.
Ah, for the good old days of the 19th century!
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:You think Barrow, Alaska is a neat place? I would like to hear what you
think is so neat about it.
As the Northern most US town, it has diural cycles unlike the lower 48.
It's surrounded on most sides by water. A large number of birders go
there which may be a good indicator of climate change. The physical
environment has toughened prior generations, what this means for future
generations is unknown and likely going to involve change and loss of
some cultural knowledge. Homes are shacks scattered all over the place
which contrasts to the Cartesian layout of some villages on
the North Slope post pipeline. Floyd is correct in that it
has a more diverse population that just the local indigenous people.
But this does not mean that Floyd has succeeded in gaining full
acceptance into their community. Floyd does have access in information
not covered in the touristy guidebooks. He has travelled to other parts
of his state. This last sentence can't be easily appreciated by
lower-48ers because roads don't play a part in AK as they do in the
lower 48. Yet there is substantial Internet penetration. The locals
are fairly well educated and get around.
Yes, Barrow is a scientific resource for study and that is about all it is.
It is like Antarctica that way. I'll take soggy old Juneau any day of the
week and twice on Sunday.
I believe that most folks travel around Alaska by airplane. That would not
work for me. I do not like to fly. Do you not know that being in the air is
for the birds, being in the water is for the fish and being on the land is
for us humans.
Regards,
Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota
