So this is my last ever post on this blog. For new stuff be sure to subscribe to my new blog at Ben's Adventure Blog, I just updated it for the last Idaho Epic too so be sure to check it out.
Life here in Colorado is going well. Jennifer and I are really enjoying Denver and all the associated benefits of living in the big city. I was working for a company called Environment Colorado, but it turned out be a much different job than what they had marketed, so I decided to look elsewhere, because I am definately not a canvasser, or a beggar.
Other than that little snag we are loving Colorado! Don't worry Idaho we still love you though too! Peace out every one and we love you!
Ben and Jen
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Hey Idaho....
So I went and did my last epic trip here in Idaho and it was great! I don't have time to write up the whole trip report right now, but look for it on my new blog http://www.bensadventureblog.blogspot.com/, this will document my goings on in Colorado and places abroad from now on.
For now
tell me where these pictures where taken
First person to get back to me gets a prize!
For now
tell me where these pictures where taken First person to get back to me gets a prize!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Death of Ben
Mike was sick and tired of Ben during their backpacking trip. Finally he had enough and decided to do something permanent about all the fart jokes.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Student vows to translate as he sees fit
Today in Arabic 101 class; Professor Abdulbaqi patiently explained to his students that when translating Arabic names to English, spelling does not really matter.
"See you can write మహ్మౌద్ as Mahmood, or Mahmud, it does not really matter." He said.
Ben was looking forward to being done with Arabic class, it was every Monday and Wednesday night for three long hours. Three hours in which most minds turn to mush after trying to diagnose a string of egghs and hughs, then turn them into words. It did not matter though, because this was the last Arabic class of the semester; Only the final was left.
When Mustafa mentioned this tid bit of information that might or might not matter on the final, Ben decided he was going to be a bit rebellious.
"I'm going to write it Mahmoud" He said later "I know he said it could be written Mahmud or what ever, but I'm going to write it Mahmoud."
Professor Abdulbaqi's reaction to this bit of grammatical horseplay is not know yet, but Ben predicts "He probably won't care at all."
"See you can write మహ్మౌద్ as Mahmood, or Mahmud, it does not really matter." He said.
Ben was looking forward to being done with Arabic class, it was every Monday and Wednesday night for three long hours. Three hours in which most minds turn to mush after trying to diagnose a string of egghs and hughs, then turn them into words. It did not matter though, because this was the last Arabic class of the semester; Only the final was left.
When Mustafa mentioned this tid bit of information that might or might not matter on the final, Ben decided he was going to be a bit rebellious.
"I'm going to write it Mahmoud" He said later "I know he said it could be written Mahmud or what ever, but I'm going to write it Mahmoud."
Professor Abdulbaqi's reaction to this bit of grammatical horseplay is not know yet, but Ben predicts "He probably won't care at all."
Monday, May 05, 2008
Gas Tax Holiday
The founding fathers setup our political system to essentially protect ourselves from ourselves. This is demonstrated in the electoral system, where the President is not directly elected through the popular vote, but instead is elected by the United States Electoral College. This was designed so because in the infant years of our country the population was rather un-educated; the same concept is evident in how the legislative system is designed to act slowly.
In the past I have argued about how this system should be changed, because Americans have changed. Americans are more educated and more capable of making wise decisions regarding their lives and who governs their country. I have said we should reform the system, do away with the electoral system and base the results of the Presidential election strictly off the popular vote.
Now that I have seen the wide support for the proposed gas tax holiday by John McCain and Hillary Clinton I am re-thinking this opinion. Doing away with the tax is a ridiculous idea and the idea is primarily designed to attract voters to their own prospective camps. I hoped that Americans could see through this obvious ploy and not be swayed by it, I guess I thought too much.
Don't believe me? Think the gas tax holiday is a good idea? Tired of paying too much at the pumps? Well having a gas tax holiday won't make driving any cheaper. The gas tax currently funds road construction and maintenance, as well as traffic enforcement programs on highways. Doing away with those taxes would mean there would be no funds to fix roads and quickly the number of potholes would reach critical mass.
A supporter to the plan might say: "Wait! Clinton's proposal is that the oil companies would start paying the tax themselves so we wouldn't lose the funds for our roads!"
What is there to stop the oil companies to raise from just raising prices and passing the tax back to the consumer at the pumps?
The same person might say: "Well, they could pass legislation stopping the gas companies from raising prices."
Sounds like a good theory; if it worked. Getting that kind of legislation through Congress would be rough. Given the oil companies stranglehold on our elected officials getting them to lower their profits is a dark prospect indeed.
Furthermore if legislation requiring the oil companies to take over payments of the road funds, what kind of enforcement is there to keep them honest? Any enforcement would require additional funds and probably lots of time in the courts.
Don't believe me still? Here is what leading economists have to say:
Robert Shapiro, formerly the undersecretary of commerce in the Clinton administration and the author of "Futurecast." An independent voice with ties to the former first lady, however, did not give the expected results.
"Stated as clearly as I can," he wrote, "it's utterly misguided both environmentally and economically. Environmentally, it does actual harm, since it reduces the price of producing greenhouse gases. And economically it's trivial or worse -- by reducing the price of driving it encourages more of it, thereby increasing demand for gasoline, which inevitably pushes the price back up - the consumer gains nothing, and the oil companies and OPEC collect the extra bucks instead of the government."
"Even the American Trucking Association, the group the Clinton camp says is most favorable to it's idea, offers a tepid thanks but no thanks. From the group's spokesperson:
ATA appreciates the effort and supports the proposals. But we do have concerns that any fuel tax suspension proposal could damage the already ailing Highway Trust Fund. To the extent that McCain and Snowe's proposals use general revenue funds to offset the hit to the trust fund, that concern is addressed. ATA did not ask for this legislation. And we believe it is only a very short term answer that does not do anything to address the longer term issue of rising fuel prices. ATA recognizes that rising fuel costs have a disproportionate impact on small trucking companies where even a small savings can be the difference in their staying in business." (Huffington Post)
Americans, don't be swayed by the golden cow that is being put before you and rationally think about what is going on.
In the past I have argued about how this system should be changed, because Americans have changed. Americans are more educated and more capable of making wise decisions regarding their lives and who governs their country. I have said we should reform the system, do away with the electoral system and base the results of the Presidential election strictly off the popular vote.
Now that I have seen the wide support for the proposed gas tax holiday by John McCain and Hillary Clinton I am re-thinking this opinion. Doing away with the tax is a ridiculous idea and the idea is primarily designed to attract voters to their own prospective camps. I hoped that Americans could see through this obvious ploy and not be swayed by it, I guess I thought too much.
Don't believe me? Think the gas tax holiday is a good idea? Tired of paying too much at the pumps? Well having a gas tax holiday won't make driving any cheaper. The gas tax currently funds road construction and maintenance, as well as traffic enforcement programs on highways. Doing away with those taxes would mean there would be no funds to fix roads and quickly the number of potholes would reach critical mass.
A supporter to the plan might say: "Wait! Clinton's proposal is that the oil companies would start paying the tax themselves so we wouldn't lose the funds for our roads!"
What is there to stop the oil companies to raise from just raising prices and passing the tax back to the consumer at the pumps?
The same person might say: "Well, they could pass legislation stopping the gas companies from raising prices."
Sounds like a good theory; if it worked. Getting that kind of legislation through Congress would be rough. Given the oil companies stranglehold on our elected officials getting them to lower their profits is a dark prospect indeed.
Furthermore if legislation requiring the oil companies to take over payments of the road funds, what kind of enforcement is there to keep them honest? Any enforcement would require additional funds and probably lots of time in the courts.
Don't believe me still? Here is what leading economists have to say:
Robert Shapiro, formerly the undersecretary of commerce in the Clinton administration and the author of "Futurecast." An independent voice with ties to the former first lady, however, did not give the expected results.
"Stated as clearly as I can," he wrote, "it's utterly misguided both environmentally and economically. Environmentally, it does actual harm, since it reduces the price of producing greenhouse gases. And economically it's trivial or worse -- by reducing the price of driving it encourages more of it, thereby increasing demand for gasoline, which inevitably pushes the price back up - the consumer gains nothing, and the oil companies and OPEC collect the extra bucks instead of the government."
"Even the American Trucking Association, the group the Clinton camp says is most favorable to it's idea, offers a tepid thanks but no thanks. From the group's spokesperson:
ATA appreciates the effort and supports the proposals. But we do have concerns that any fuel tax suspension proposal could damage the already ailing Highway Trust Fund. To the extent that McCain and Snowe's proposals use general revenue funds to offset the hit to the trust fund, that concern is addressed. ATA did not ask for this legislation. And we believe it is only a very short term answer that does not do anything to address the longer term issue of rising fuel prices. ATA recognizes that rising fuel costs have a disproportionate impact on small trucking companies where even a small savings can be the difference in their staying in business." (Huffington Post)
Americans, don't be swayed by the golden cow that is being put before you and rationally think about what is going on.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Race for the Cure
The Boise Race for the Cure is Saturday May the 11th. The race starts at 0915 and takes off out of Parkcenter Park, which is convinently right next to our apartment. There are three race catergories to choose from; the 5k Run for the Cure, the 5k Walk for the Cure, and they Sleep in for the Cure (the key to success in this category is get really hammered the night before). I am going to run as hard as my lungs and legs will permit and Jennifer is going to choose a more sedate pace than I. The race fee is 25 dollars and 75% of the fee goes towards cancer research and promoting cancer education. If you have lost someone to breast cancer or know someone who has had it I urge you too come out and support this noble cause; you don't have to even show up since there is a Sleep in Category, so there is no excuse. To register and get more information go to http://race.komenboise.org/site/PageServer?pagename=racedaydetails.
I hope to see you there.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Sawtooth Traverse
So Jennifer and I are moving to Denver in the middle of May and I want to do one last epic in Idaho. The trip will be roughly 40 miles of backpacking through the Sawtooth Range in very early season conditions. Early season conditions because I am thinking of doing the trip starting on the 19th of May, also because as I write this there are about 80 inches of snow on average throughout the central Idaho mountains. Unless there is drastic warm up the majority of that snow will still be there in mid May.
The route:I have come up with two different routes, they basically follow the same path, but one has some added adventure to it.
Option 1 would start out in Grandjean and end up at Petit Lake, passing Sawtooth Lake, Baron Lakes, Cramer Lakes, Toxaway Lake and Alice Lake. If you have Google Earth I can email you a more detailed route description.
Option 2 would follow the same basic path, but would involve some off trail hiking, summiting Baron Peak, Snowyside Peak and El Capitan. These three peaks are fairly untechnical in their climbing and can all be reached via Class Three terrian; though the difficulty is likely to be greater with snow on them. Of course walking on hard snow is much easier than scrambling around on loose talus. Again I can email a more detailed route description of this route too; I couldn't get the Google Earth route player to load onto the blog.
These routes can change as well through peoples preferences and other inputs.
Here is a recommended gear list
So let me know if you want to come and which route you would be up for!
The route:I have come up with two different routes, they basically follow the same path, but one has some added adventure to it.
Option 1 would start out in Grandjean and end up at Petit Lake, passing Sawtooth Lake, Baron Lakes, Cramer Lakes, Toxaway Lake and Alice Lake. If you have Google Earth I can email you a more detailed route description.
Option 2 would follow the same basic path, but would involve some off trail hiking, summiting Baron Peak, Snowyside Peak and El Capitan. These three peaks are fairly untechnical in their climbing and can all be reached via Class Three terrian; though the difficulty is likely to be greater with snow on them. Of course walking on hard snow is much easier than scrambling around on loose talus. Again I can email a more detailed route description of this route too; I couldn't get the Google Earth route player to load onto the blog.
These routes can change as well through peoples preferences and other inputs.
Here is a recommended gear list
So let me know if you want to come and which route you would be up for!
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