Street repair, replacement continues in Great Falls – 7th Ave NW

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March 10, 2024

Seems that every year the city of Great Falls picks a street and totally renews all of it, or portions of it in order to comply with ADA standards.

Streets without sidewalks and failed roadbeds get somewhat of a priority as bit by bit, they get replaced and rebuilt.

Another of these next steps is the 7th Ave NW project — this year the project includes the blocks from 14th St NW to 12th St NW on 7th Ave NW.
Some sections along this stretch have a few sidewalks already, but their length is only just the total width of a particular lot and that’s about it.

What’s really going to be sort of nice with regard to upgrading this next section of 7th Ave NW is that this is one of the main streets for the city transit bus route.

Since there is no sidewalk or ADA ramps on the east corner of 7th Ave NW and 14th St NW, riders have to stand on the grass to wait for the bus. Wheelchair access is all but impossible at this stop.

Soon, with the upgrades completed, the entirety of the 7th Ave NW and 14th St NW intersection will have ADA compliant sidewalks on all 4 corners (only two of the corners on the west side of the intersection are currently completed).

The entire length of 7th Ave NW will be nearly totally rebuilt after this next section is finished. Currently, everything on 7th Ave NW is finished all the way west to Watson Coulee Road from the west corner 14th St NW.

City will only have 3 more blocks left to do after this most latest upgrade to 7th Ave NW. All that will be left are the 3 blocks between 12th St NW and 9th St NW. 9th St NW will be totally rebuilt in 2025.

Hopefully, in the future, the city of Great Falls will begin the reconstruction of the total length of 8th Ave NW and maybe team up with MDT to install sidewalks along the by-pass from at least Watson Coulee Road to 9th St NW. I know that stuff like this takes time as I’m sure that money (or the lack of it) plays a huge roll in what gets done and when.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

By

Alan

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March 3, 2024

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (NOT skim)
4 or 5 ripe bananas, sliced thin (cover with plastic wrap or sprinkle with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown)
1 box vanilla wafers
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Butter (not margarine)
4 Egg yolks (Large eggs or better)

Meringue:

4 egg whites, room temperature
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of a 9×9-inch pan with a layer of vanilla wafers.
Combine sugar, flour and salt in a bowl, and mix well.
Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks well.
Over medium heat, add the flour mixture to the egg yolks, alternately with the milk and vanilla, stirring constantly.
Bring to a gentle boil and, when the mixture begins to thicken, add the butter, continuing to stir.
Keep boiling and stirring until mixture reaches a nice pudding consistency.
Make sure you don’t scorch the pudding.
Remove from heat.

Place a layer of banana slices on top of the vanilla wafers.
Pour half of the pudding over the banana layer.
Put down another layer of vanilla wafers, another layer of banana slices, and cover with the remaining pudding.

Beat the egg whites at high speed until they form soft peaks.
Add the cream of tartar.
At high speed, gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form.
Fold the vanilla into the meringue, and spread the meringue over the pudding, sealing it at the sides of the dish.

Bake until meringue browns, 12 to 15 minutes.

New hunting, fishing and conservation license year begins March 1 2024

By

Alan

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March 3, 2024

From the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP)

The new license year opens March 1, which means that is the day you can buy your 2024 hunting, fishing and conservation licenses and begin applying for permits and special licenses. The deadline to apply for deer and elk permits is April 1.

Applications for most species – deer, elk, antelope, deer B licenses, elk B licenses, antelope B licenses, moose, sheep, goat, bison, bear, turkey – can be made beginning March 1.

A new online feature this year is the option for applicants to reapply for the same offerings as last year with just a simple click, eliminating the need to search through previous applications.

Hunters and anglers can buy licenses and apply for permits on the FWP website beginning at 5 a.m. on March 1; click on “Buy and Apply.” Most FWP offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Click here to watch a video tutorial for Montana residents on how to buy and apply for licenses and permits online. Click here to watch a video tutorial for nonresidents on how to buy and apply for licenses and permits online.

The licensing call center will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March 1 through April 1; after April 1, the hours will return to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The call center can be reached at 406-444-2950.

This year FWP produced clearer information for hunters on bonus points and how they are used. Remember:

A bonus point is an extra chance for a hunter to draw a license or permit in a Montana drawing.
Preference points are used only for drawing Nonresident Combination Licenses. Preference points move you ahead in line for the drawing. If you are a Montana resident, preference points don’t apply to you.
For more information on bonus points, preference points and other important licensing topics, go to fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/hunting-licenses.

Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app. The app holds and displays licenses, permits and E-Tags, which can be downloaded and used in the field without cell service. To create a My FWP account, visit the MyFWP login page.

Tips and reminders

Don’t wait until the last day to apply.
If you’re applying for a special license or permit, you will need to have a valid email address.
Make sure to doublecheck the regulations before applying. Some permit/licenses have changed.
The Online Licensing System is available from 5 a.m. to 11:45 p.m.
Everyone 12 and older needs a Conservation License to access most state lands, including fishing access sites, wildlife management areas and wildlife habitat protection areas (WHPA). Montana State Parks do not require a Conservation License.
A separate and rotating moose, bighorn sheep or mountain goat SuperTag lottery for resident hunters will be conducted annually. Montana residents will receive one free chance in the lottery for every General Elk or General Deer License purchased.

Application deadlines

Smith River Super Permit – March 22
Paddlefish (white tag) – March 22
Deer and Elk
- Special Permits – April 1
- Special Licenses – June 1
Bighorn Sheep – May 1
Bison – May 1
Moose – May 1
Mountain Goat –May 1
Antelope – June 1
SuperTags
- Antelope, Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Deer, Elk, Moose, Mountain Goat, and Mountain Lion –July 1
Mountain Lion Special Licenses – July 22

For more information on Montana hunting licenses and permits, go to fwp.mt.gov/buyandapply/hunting-licenses.

NASA tests the new Starship Docking System

By

Alan

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March 2, 2024

The Apollo Program delivered 12 American astronauts to the surface of the Moon. But that program ended in 1972, and since then, no human beings have visited. But Artemis will change that. And instead of just visiting the Moon, Artemis’ aim is to establish a longer-term presence on the Moon. That requires more complexity than Apollo did. Astronauts will need to transfer between vehicles.

All of that activity requires a reliable spacecraft docking system.

NASA, SpaceX – Starship Lunar Lander Docking System (tap or click on image to enlarge)

SpaceX and NASA recently performed full-scale qualification testing of the docking system that will connect SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) with Orion and later Gateway in lunar orbit during future crewed Artemis missions. Based on the flight-proven Dragon 2 active docking system, the Starship HLS docking system will be able to act as an active or passive system during docking.

The Top Websites for Science in 2023

By

Alan

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March 2, 2024

Originally published by Ross Pomeroy — December 18, 2023

At its best, science communication can enlighten and entertain. At its worst, it can bore and misinform. Six days a week, RealClearScience endeavors to share science stories, news, and opinion from the first category. Here you’ll find articles from trusted sources penned by top notch writers who value evidence over ideology.

As we round up and deliver this content throughout the year, we take note of the websites that rise above the crowd, outshining the competition through deep reporting, regular updates, and devotion to truth. Here are the top ten of 2023:

Honorable Mentions:

Wired and Wired UK have deftly covered topics that directly affect modern society, such as climate change, commercial spaceflight, and artificial intelligence.

Stat is as dependable as ever on matters of health and medicine.

Enjoy reading about space? Then Universe Today is the site for you, touching on topics ranging from astrobiology to astrophysics.

The Top Ten:

10. Quanta Magazine — If you’re a regular reader of RCS, you’re well acquainted with Quanta. The outlet’s writers delve into complex science in a way few others do.

9. Science Alert — Science Alert is an independent science news outlet that provides accessible, evidence-based coverage of pretty much any matter that sparks curiosity. We’re consistently impressed by all of the fascinating research Science Alert discovers that other sources miss.

8. Big Think — Big Think features stories about big ideas, big questions, and big thinkers. Many of these topics can directly improve your life as well as society as a whole. (Disclosure: RCS Editor Ross Pomeroy regularly contributes to Big Think.)

7. The Conversation — At The Conversation, academics and experts write about the latest research, including their own. Readers thus receive perspective and details on complicated scientific topics they can’t find anywhere else.

6. Science Magazine — Science features stories vitally important to scientists and covers key breakthroughs with rigor and detail.

5. BBC — The BBC hosts various websites that provide curious readers with the knowledge they crave. BBC Science Focus shares articles of popular interest. BBC News provides daily coverage to keep you up-to-date. BBC Future shines a light on our ever-changing world.

4. Live Science — Live Science and its sister site Space.com have been dependable purveyors of science news for almost two decades now.

3. NewScientist — NewScientist is fount of science content from almost every discipline. (Sadly it’s almost entirely behind a paywall.)

2. Nature — A lot of scientific research and events have world changing ramifications, and thus require journalists to cover them with the utmost care. The reporters at Nature perform this vital role admirably.

1. Ars Technica — This is Ars Technica’s third year in a row leading RCS’ year end countdown. As long as Ars’ dedicated, experienced team of writers stays put, it’s hard to see any other outlet dislodging the website from its lofty and deserved pedestal.

This article was originally published by RealClearScience and made available via RealClearWire.