Monthly Archives: May 2016

Extreme Stinkum

When Rose is away, the chef will play.

Explored the stratosphere today.
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We Set a World Record!

For pollen. From the article:

“Allergy doctor Jeff Demain said Monday’s count shattered the old world record that was set in Sweden several years ago.

“A level of 175 is considered high,” Demain said. “Fairbanks had a birch pollen level of over 4000.””

It’s not just birch, either. Over the course of two days I saw clouds of pollen coming off the white spruce with every puff of a breeze. The deck was yellow with it. We finally got some rain overnight, so things are looking more normal today.

Record levels of tree pollen dust the truck.

Record levels of tree pollen dust the truck.

Riding in a Time Capsule

Old Blue rides again.

Old Blue rides again.

Let me just say that mentally you can turn the clock back decades by driving a 1990 Mazda pickup listening to John Denver songs on a cassette tape. So my current commute has me living in the past and “… humming some old song he wrote…” and other gems for the rest of the day.

Kicking the Boombah’s Tires: The Borough Sets Land Values

The Fairbanks North Star Borough runs on property tax. It’s the only regular tax that we pay in-state (though we expect that will change soon given the huge state deficit). Every year the borough sends out a notice telling you what they think your property is worth. We’ve never had a problem with them before, but this year when the notices came with a 20% rise in land values, we were surprised.
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