tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88347422011-06-12T13:20:54.367-08:00Often ColdMusings, observations and commentary from a guy in Yakutat, Alaska.Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1112431898924499382005-04-01T23:26:00.000-09:002005-04-01T23:51:38.926-09:00ShamedWell, my friend Dan has confronted me about the egregious condition of my blog. He said- here let me look up the exact phrase from my IM log, ah yes! Here we are, he said that "it's starting to reek of dust and mildew."I believe that he is in fact confusing my blog with my boots. (Or in very damp hot weather, with my feet- rubber boots you know.)Anyway, now that I'm emerging from a period of Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1107978956093119252005-02-09T10:52:00.000-09:002005-02-09T11:11:33.440-09:00The Circadian CrashLoyal Reader Brad (http://soporverity.blogspot.com/ ,) has threatened to turn me in for "digital neglect" for not blogging in twenty days. As I wrote him a note explaining why this is so, I realized that I had a topic for this post.
Right now,I am going through an annual event in which I have managed to get so sleep starved that my intelligence and creativity have been reduced nearly to the Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1106307432729707882005-01-20T23:49:00.000-09:002005-01-21T03:39:57.066-09:00Special Photo EditionOne of my readers was kind enough to e-mail me and ask me to post some pictures of the Yakutat Area. I happened to have what I hope will be received as an interesting set taken in the summer and fall (Calendar fall, not Alaska fall, which begins around September first, and generally dies of exposure by mid-October.)
So, here's to "JD," a.k.a. "Girlonaglide." I hope y'all enjoy them. Please clickFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1105873861943033462005-01-16T01:20:00.000-09:002005-01-21T03:32:32.406-09:00An Entry for "S"One of my Loyal Fans warned me yesterday that if I didn't post more often I would lose my audience (except for her mother she pointed out who "doesn't have anything to do.") So tonight, I apply personal discipline and sit before the keyboard to type.
This week I have created art by leaving a leaky water hose outside in the freezing weather. The resulting ice sculpture now is about three feet Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1104610470341262952005-01-01T09:09:00.000-09:002005-01-21T03:42:31.983-09:00Satan Attacks Nice People by Providing Volunteer OpportunitiesThose of you without the Spirit of Volunteerism have absolutely no idea of what you're missing. Unless of course you've been the recipient of particularly virulent curse. Two recent examples will illustrate my point.
[Note: this is a rambling post, but tough, I've been called in to jail guard after about three hours of sleep, on New Years Day, I'm entitled to ramble.]
The Great Yakutat Bird Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1103685787222064222004-12-21T18:21:00.000-09:002004-12-23T14:02:31.926-09:00Find the Needle in the Needle StackI just popped in to the Forest Service office between an all day stint at the police department, and a session of the borough assembly that I agreed to speak at as an expression of my degenerating mental condition.
I'm here because one of my supervisors, who for purposed of decorum shall remain anonymous* decided that one of the deep red Outfitter-Guide cards that I have entered into the Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1103674381152606962004-12-21T15:10:00.000-09:002004-12-21T15:19:15.420-09:00Thanks IEA big "thank you" to Internet Explorer's new pop-up blocker that made my long post go away before it was published.Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1103330134395205902004-12-17T15:29:00.000-09:002004-12-17T16:22:45.713-09:00Monthly Bitterness ReportBitterness Level:
The Bitterness Report is a new feature that we hope to produce monthly at what we assume to be the point of maximum bitterness for that month.
Bitterness Items:
Well here I am at the High School. I have to attend the ambulance for several hours yesterday, today and tomorrow becuase the students are engaged in a basketball tournament. These kids get flown by jet around theFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1103038403470939132004-12-14T06:28:00.000-09:002004-12-15T00:38:12.670-09:00Christmas Strikes Back, Or a Cautionary Tale of Wild Christmas TreesAmong the many pieces of wisdom I've gathered in my travels are such gems as, "Pop Tarts make excellent survival food," "nothing spells relief like morphine," "no expensive therapy could have better prepared Charlie Brown for life than Lucy and her football," and "the Universe responds to us (usually with humor, concern for our personal development and malice.)" This last item can be Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1102865161700757322004-12-12T06:21:00.000-09:002004-12-12T06:26:01.700-09:00Christmas ConqueredI've finally conquered Christmas! No colored lights, wrapping paper, silver bells or stockings hung over the wood stove for me.
This is to say that after years of feeling blue at Christmas time, I have finally reached a state where- aside from the religious observances, Christmas is about as relevant to me as Guy Faulk's Day.
Now, before anyone gets all sad and misty, let me explain that most Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1102688753540097842004-12-10T05:35:00.000-09:002004-12-10T05:35:21.660-09:00It's Not Futile, Is it?My existence isn't an exercise in futility is it? I mean look, here is what's going on right now. I'm at the town police station working as an emergency dispatcher because all but one of the phone lines went out yesterday- including the 911 line. It's after 5:00 am, and I've been here since midnight, there are about three hours left on this shift.
The idea was that in an emergency, folks could Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1102238357342301602004-12-05T01:07:00.000-09:002004-12-05T00:19:17.343-09:00What is a Sign of the Season- and What's NotToday my mustache got crispy for the first time this season. Those of you without this noble facial feature will be sadly unaware of this Sign of the Season. (So sorry to all you girls, young boys, and ladies, with the notable exceptions of well loved, moth ball-scented elderly great aunts who always have stale candy from last Easter for when the nieces and nephews come to visit.)
Anyway, one ofFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1101615520769826472004-11-27T19:12:00.000-09:002004-12-03T16:46:47.736-09:00TV Night, or Maybe NotAfter a very difficult week, I settled down to watch a little TV tonight. This was a mistake.
To those of you not from Alaska, let me explain about ARCS, which I believe stands for Alaska Rural Communication System. I suppose I should be grateful that it is here. I am trying very, very hard to be grateful.
In rural villages like this, there aren’t commercial broadcast outlets such as one Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1101029622702575512004-11-21T01:29:00.000-09:002004-11-21T00:56:05.063-09:00What a Wonderful DayWell! After a few small tasks ( an ambulance run first thing this morning, chopping some fire wood, taking the dogs out, some work at the fire hall, several hours tying to track down an annoying computer worm, feeding the dogs, some housework, chopping some more firewood, installing some new software, bringing in the dogs, going back to the fire hall for a few minutes,) I am at last ready to Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1100685115866139262004-11-17T01:11:00.000-09:002004-11-17T00:51:55.866-09:00Hurting For FriendsThere is a special kind of hurt we have when our friends are ill, especially when they're probably more deeply ill than they want you to know. You ask, and they assure you that "it's no big deal," even when words like "chemo" are involved. But there is that little waver in the voice that wasn't quite suppressed, and you try to believe you didn't hear.
Or there is the sudden assertion that you Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1100480007636008732004-11-14T15:51:00.001-09:002004-11-14T21:04:20.733-09:00Well Here I Am, So Excited I Could DecomposeThe Autumnal Excitement continues unabated. The big thrill this weekend was when I asked our entirely-too-kind pastor, Jim, to help me get firewood. This was something I hated to do as asking for help is really unpleasant for me. But Jim came with the highest qualifications, he has a truck, a chainsaw that makes mine look wimpy and above all, and he won't tell me I'm a jerk for bothering him.
MyFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1100299521054739392004-11-12T13:42:00.000-09:002004-11-12T13:45:21.053-09:00This Needs Its Own EntryOne of the grocery stores in Yakutat now has low-carb Cheetos!
Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1100070758218315412004-11-09T22:03:00.000-09:002004-11-09T23:22:03.783-09:00Darkness, Ice, Destruction & Confusion Or How I Spent My Days OffWell, the Universe continues to operate in the manner I've come to expect.
Last night I finally had an evening in which nothing seemed particularly required of me. I was not need at the power plany, the Forest Service, the police department, the Church or for the dissemination of Wisdom and Enlightenment. So, foolishly thought I, that it would be a pleasant evening to play my preferred computerFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1099906411786130342004-11-08T01:31:00.000-09:002004-11-08T00:33:31.786-09:00A Pretty Day and Brain LockThis morning, when the sun was low, the light was striking the large frost crystals on the roadside just right to make diamond sparkles. Across the road from the house, Monti Bay was calm today, though I could hear the breakers on Cannon Beach a few miles away.
The Northern lights have been out tonight, green flowing curtains from horizon to horizon. I wonder if I’ll ever be happy with a Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1099567332267919222004-11-04T02:01:00.000-09:002004-11-04T02:52:00.510-09:00Procedures for Living Room Use of ChainsawsOccasionally, in the day-to-day routine of living in rural Alaska, reasons may present themselves for using a chainsaw in your living room.
Typical examples of these reasons might include, "hey its raining out there and this piece of firewood is too big," "hey its snowing out there and this piece of firewood is too big," "hey the TV is in here and this piece of firewood is too big," and the everFred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1099468265745210692004-11-02T22:49:00.001-09:002004-11-03T21:18:58.876-09:00Games and Prizes!What a festive birthday I've had! There were games and prizes all day, although those of you not having a birthday probably just thought that they were elections.
We got our first serious snow tonight, a few inches with strong wind gusts. The weather is supposed to turn stormy and rainy tonight or tomorrow, so my lovely snow should turn to disgusting slush.
It's only been snowing for a Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1098791930500764082004-10-26T03:46:00.000-08:002004-10-26T04:19:36.946-08:00In Jail AgainWell, here I am in jail once more- as a guard a hasten to add.
Here in our little slice of Paradise, ordinary folks without criminal records can serve as "on call" jail guards. I get to perform this civic duty tonight and for the next two nights, while still working at the forest service in the daytime.
For a change of pace I get to work twelve hours on Thursday evening/Friday morning at the Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8834742.post-1098687579500723752004-10-24T22:31:00.000-08:002004-10-24T22:59:39.500-08:00Here We Go, First PostI sit here temporarily warmed by a roaring fire downstairs that I certainly choose to believe is confined to the wood stove, known affectionately as Woodrow. Woodrow should be extraordinarily grateful to me for that affection, since the incident when his misbehaviour and my lapse in judgment sent me to a burn center for three weeks.
As weekends go, this was a middling one for stress and Fred Oftencoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16966288034792612511noreply@blogger.com0