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March 28, 2024

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Friday, January 28, 2022

Oyster Roundup – Lost Pigs, Blind Dogs & Happiness

oysters

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!

It’s Hibernation Week – that space between Christmas and the New Year when kids are home, and food is plentiful, and all you want to do is hunker down with a book and a dog and a mug of something warm. I know you probably can’t eat another bite, but here are some delicious little nuggets on the half-shell that may tempt you.

Shortest Day in Fairbanks

Here, Pig!

Now they’ve done it. Alyeska Pipeline has lost two pigs in the pipeline this year. Before you get on the red phone to PETA to save our little pink friends from an almost certainly crude death, I’m not talking about that kind of pig.  The pipeline pig is a giant gizmo used to scrape the sides of the pipeline to clear if of sludgy buildup, and keep things flowing as they should. Basically the idea is that you put the pig in one end, and then it comes out the other end. But two wayward pigs took a detour and ended up mangled. A report by the inimitable (and occasional Mudflats contributor) Richard Fineberg has all the details, and points to the Case of the Missing Pigs as further evidence of the company’s lack of preparedness, and failure to notify the public of problems they deemed minor, but which could have easily been major issues.

Polar Bears – Endangered, and Not Alone

We all know the polar bear is endangered, but now two Arctic seals have been added to the list – the ringed seal, and the bearded seal. These species are also threatened by the loss of sea ice, which scientists say reached record low levels this year due to warming associated with climate change. The ringed seal is a large part of the polar bear’s diet.

 Oh, Happy Danes!

You’re more likely to be happy if you’re a woman, unless you’re living in a country that treats you like a second-class citizen. You’re more likely to be happy if you’re not between 40 and 50. The happiest countries overall in order are: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, United States, Costa Rica,… That’s right, the United States is #11, after a whole bunch of socialist, European, Scandanavian, health care givin’, pot smokin’, leftists.  Weird. There are many fun charts and graphs on various levels of happiness in the full report which you can check out in the link.

Happy Kwanzaa!

We, at the Mudflats know we’re taking a little risk there ^^.  Subaru of America just had the temerity to wish everyone a Happy Kwanzaa on their Facebook page, and got a deluge of comments from angry white people wondering why they weren’t wishing them a Merry Christmas. Hint: That was yesterday, and they did.  The “War on Christmas” has outlived even Christmas this year.

Your Feel Good Story for the Year

A blind 8-year old dog, lost in a snowstorm in Fairbanks, and wandering for a week in temperatures that reached -40 degrees was never expected to make it home to her family. But after coming across a musher’s trail, Abby made it more than 10 miles to a friendly door and thanks to Facebook, and a happy reunion followed!

Merry Cliffmas!

And finally, a bit of wishful thinking as we end the year.

cliff

Comments

comments

Comments
10 Responses to “Oyster Roundup – Lost Pigs, Blind Dogs & Happiness”
  1. wallflower says:

    I was feeling all proud because I knew what a pig was, because I’d read that Tony Hillerman novel. Still, losing track of two and letting them get mangled up and left in the pipeline doesn’t sound like good management at all.

  2. mlaiuppa says:

    In that Feel Good Story of the Year, I believe the temps got to 40 below zero. For Alaska I would think 40 would be quite balmy for this time of year.

  3. WC hopes that AKM recovers from this recent bout of Dreadful Punning (“crude death”) soon. And has a Happy New Year.

    /WC

  4. Al E Newman says:

    Richard Fineberg! Plays a great Banjo!

  5. slipstream says:

    Alyeska Pipeline is overlooking the obvious solution: put one Big Bad Wolf in the pipeline. That should take care of it.

    And now I’m off to watch as dwarves attempt to regain their old kingdom, assisted by one brave hobbit. I understand they may run into some adventures along the way . . . including wolves.

    • Zyxomma says:

      The bf and I saw The Hobbit (in Real 3D) and enjoyed it. You will, too.Yikes, I read it 45 years ago!

      Greg Palast has lots of info on pipeline pigs (Pipeline Inspection Gauges) that don’t do their jobs.

    • mike from iowa says:

      Parnell hasn’t killed aal the wolves yet?

  6. Lacy Lady says:

    They need to be thrown off the cliff—-without pay and any other perks they get. If I didn’t do my job when I was a working gal, I would have been fired. Why are these guys any different?

    • mike from iowa says:

      Senator Grassley has contracted COJD-chronic obstructive judiciary disease-from sitting on the judiciary commitee and holding up all of Obama’s judicial appointees. Even from the early days of Obama’s admin. The only known cure is for the infected clown to just say yes regularly. I hear it is cathartic AND good for his soul-if he has one.