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One thing is for sure about my first year in Alaska: The Senate race here sure is interesting. In the Alaska Senate Republican primary, Tea Party candidate Joe Miller defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski. While some people claim Murkowski didn't run hard enough against Joe Miller, I contend it was all about her advertising signs. The signs have "LISA" in very large letters, and "Murkowski" in very small letters, so when uneducated voters go to vote, if they don't see "LISA", they're not going to know who to vote for.

With the 2010 Alaska Senate race coming to a close, the issue of Social Security in Alaska is becoming a hot topic. I just read this article on the Juneau Empire website that talks about both Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski and their views on Social Security, and how those views will affect Alaska citizens. While the article doesn't speak highly of either candidate, it does provide some interesting Alaska Social Security statistics.

With yet another serious Flash security issue facing all web browser and operating system users (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.), I thought I'd take a few moments to link to some of my web browser privacy and security articles. Here's a quick set of links to my best web browser privacy and security links, including articles about Flash, browser cookies, Flash super cookies, and even iPhone browser privacy and security:

Looking for a bicycle you can ride in the winter? Look no further than the Salsa Mukluk, a bicycle created for winter bike riding, and advertised in the local Alaska newspapers. (I saw it advertised most recently in the Anchorage Press.) Slap a couple of snow tires on an off-road bike frame, and you're ready for some serious winter bicycle riding -- woot!

Once upon a time there was a dog named Zeus. Before we met him, Zeus had a very difficult life, having been abused by two different owners. When my wife saw Zeus on a local tv station, and they said the Animal Care Society was going to be extremely careful about who adopted him next, she seemed to know that she had to take care of him.

As you can see from the following pictures, when we first adopted Zeus, he was very sick, with a horrible case of mange.

Very cool ... I just read in the UAA newspaper that Kodiak Island now has a hostel. A woman named Rhonda Maker has opened the Kodiak Island Hostel, which opened in late July, 2010. The hostel is large enough to hold 26 people, and offers hot showers, with plans to have washers and dryers in the future. Sorry, I don't have information on the hostel prices at this time.

Wow, for the last few days earthquakes have been pounding the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, including this 6.7 magnitude earthquake. With the larger rectangles showing larger earthquakes, this image from the USGS website says it all:

As I've mentioned here, I've been sick for the last six weeks, losing 30 pounds in that time, and during my visits to several Alaska hospitals and doctors, I asked why there are so many retirement facilities and "senior care" facilities in Alaska. I always knew there was a senior center in Talkeetna (near the Y), but when I was looking for a place to live this spring, I'd often think, "That place looks nice", only to find that it was either a low-income housing facility or some sort of senior care facility.

When you come to visit Alaska, don't be surprised to hear the terms "Cheechako" or "Sourdough". Currently I'm a Cheechako -- a person who claims to live in Alaska, but hasn't lived here for a winter yet.

Conversely a Sourdough is someone who has lived in Alaska for at least one winter, and more typically has lived here for many winters.