Blue Planet Journey

Some readers may remember a  news item  that flashed across the country (and world) in 2016, when  Playboy  model Dani Mathers published a selfie in a gym locker room with a nude 70 year old in the background, commenting "If I can't unsee this then you can't either." Mathers lost her membership in the gym, her job as a radio host, and was charged with invasion of privacy.  She was convicted, and sentenced to 3 years of probation and 30 days of community service (graffiti removal), which she  completed . In an  interview  posted after her sentencing, she stated, "When you’re told how much of a monster you are, it pushes you to look inside. I don’t ever want to be someone spitting hate. That’s really what I’ve learned. I also gained a lot of empathy and learned that everybody, at some point, has judged a person. Going through this past year and making it to the other side, I know I can handle almost anything."  Of course, her  coac...

Running around Lake Estes, Estes Park, CO, with Tavi. How many dogs are in Logan, UT?   Nobody knows for sure, but a formula developed by the American Veterinary Medical Association calculates about 7000 households owning a dog and a dog population over 11,000 for a city of its size. In Logan, all dogs over four months of age are required to be registered with the city’s Division of Animal Control, and registrations are supposed to be renewed yearly.   In 2017, there were 1383 dog tags sold.   In 2016, the number was 1437. It appears that the vast majority of dogs in Logan are unlicensed.   Since all dogs older than four months are required to be vaccinated for rabies, with the vaccination tag attached to a collar with the current year's dog tag, I suspect many of these animals are not vaccinated as well. There are a number of dog owners who would like the city to allow dogs in our public parks.   They claim Logan’s policies...

I finished my ninth full marathon!  My friends Launi and Jim have each completed over 100.  Neighbor Chuck has run more than 50.  So, in some circles, I am just a novice. I've run the Honolulu Marathon twice, the Salt Lake City Marathon twice, and the Top of Utah (TOU) Marathon five times now.  This year was the 20th anniversary of the TOU Marathon, and its last running.  The TOU Marathon has been sold to another company, so it will be rebranded and probably rerouted. I can't capture the whole marathon experience in a blog, but I do want to give the reader a taste of the last TOU Marathon. Three weeks prior to the marathon, Caroline and I ran the TOU half marathon. Here we are, with friend Daren at the finish.  Daren lives 3 blocks from the finish line, so we walked over to his house, and Sree made us a fresh cup of coffee while we waited for other runners to complete the race! Training:   Well, I'm not one for giving advice on...

Bob Timm holds a piece of melted metal from a shed burned in the River Fire. The Mendocino Complex fire is now the largest fire ever to have occurred in California, consisting of two fires, the River Fire and the Ranch Fire. As I write this, the River Fire covers 48,920 acres, and is 100% contained. The larger Ranch Fire covers 366,086 acres, and containment is listed as 67%. It is already listed as the largest recorded fire complex in California history. I spent the years 1986-1991 working at the Hopland Field Station, a University of California research station (and now called the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center).  We lived and worked on the station for 4 years, then moved about 8 miles north.  The River Fire actually started across the Russian River near Russian River Estates, a stone's throw from where we used to live.   Bob Timm points to where the River Fire started.   Apparently, the cause was errant sparks...