Daily Archives: August 5, 2010

Lewis Pugh’s mind-shifting Everest swim

After he swam the North Pole, Lewis Pugh vowed never to take another cold-water dip. Then he heard of Lake Imja in the Himalayas, created by recent glacial melting, and Lake Pumori, a body of water at an altitude of 5300 m on Everest — and so began a journey that would teach him a radical new way to approach swimming and think about climate change.
Continue reading Lewis Pugh’s mind-shifting Everest swim

I want to fight the greatest threat to freedom of our times

My grandfather fought against the assault on our freedoms in the form of the Kaiser’s army in WW I. At one point he became gravely ill (the “Spanish flu” perhaps) and was not allowed to march forward with his unit. They were all killed.

My father fought in WW II against the Nazi’s, who were one of the greatest threats against our freedoms to ever exist. He won a couple of medals, finished off his work in the European Theater, and the war ended as he was on his way to Japan, having volunteered for the invasion against the Japanese Imperialists, who were the other great threat against our freedoms of the day.

I was too young to be drafted or to enlist to fight in what would have been “my war” in Viet Nam, but I did fight anyway. I took up not arms but words and signs and the occasional other item to fight against the repression of a crook in office (who was later thrown out) and an unjust war that was chewing up our resources and our young people in a way that was a novel kind of threat against our freedoms.

And today, I’m being asked to fight against yet another assault on our freedoms:

Continue reading I want to fight the greatest threat to freedom of our times

Colin … not quite out of the picture yet.

Named Tropical Depression Colin, which started to dissipate more quickly than expected yesterday, looks like it may be getting reorganized again. It is now just a low pressure area 300 miles north of the Virgin Islands, but probably contains some tropical storm force winds. It is possible that over the next two days Colin could strengthen and perhaps by Friday regain its tropical storm status.

There is even a possibility … and not a small one …. that Colin could become a hurricane. Keep an eye on Colin.