Dustin’s Adventures

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March 14, 2022

I know that I’m not the first parent in the world to go on and on bragging about how just totally wonderful my kid is, and I also know that I certainly won’t be the last.
But I’m just amazed at how different the world is now than it was when I was a kid … I’m sure that many of you can absolutely relate.

Dustin was born at Benefis in Great Falls, Montana in 2006.

Since then he has done more traveling — has seen and experienced more things, before the age of 10, than I had before the age of 30.

Dustin started out in Great Falls, and just after his 2nd birthday in December 2008, we struck out for Texas to help rebuild Galveston and Crystal Beach after hurricane Ike.
Hurricane Ike struck the gulf coast of Texas in Sept of 2008, but the FEMA money didn’t start pouring into the state until Jan 2009.

Dustin’s early years (Montana/Texas)

(video slideshow)

His adventures in Texas took him to many gulf coast counties, (Hardin, Orange, Chambers, Galveston, and Harris) where he met a great number of people that lived very different lives. His adventures took him to Houston, San Antonio and beyond. He also ventured over to Louisiana on occasion.

Upon after working in Texas for a few years, it was time to come home. Being since it was the month of February and Dustin had already started kindergarten, we decided to head over to western Washington state where the in-laws lived, and where the weather was more suited to being above zero as opposed to being below zero.
It was at about this time that Dustin was in kindergarten, so we set him up at the local grammar school, where he proceeded to rack up a total of 5 full years of perfect attendance. We stayed a bit longer than I would have liked due to the fact that we weren’t real keen on interrupting his school experience.

As an aside, Dustin is still friends with his kindergarten teacher (of only 4 months) in Texas at West Orange Stark Elementary.

Dustin’s Adventures (Texas/Washington State)

(video slideshow)

Dustin continued his perfect attendance streak at West Elementary when we got back to Great Falls. He hasn’t gotten perfect attendance since he started Junior High or High School because they calculate attendance differently. (You can show up every day and still not get perfect attendance because every period keeps their own forms of attendance too)

Dustin has been to every state west of the Mississippi with the exception of California and Nevada. From the Alamo in San Antonio, to the Petrified National Forest, to Meteor Crater, to the Grand Canyon, to Mount St Helen’s, to Multnomah Falls, OHSU Tram, University of Oregon, Seattle Center/Space Needle, North Cascades Highway, Olympic National Park, Ocean Shores, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Little Big Horn, Moorcroft, Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, and the list just seems to go on and on.

Dustin is somewhat of a history and a geography buff. His first year in Junior High when he met his new geography teacher, the very first thing Dustin pointed out was that the big world map on the wall was wrong (the map was fairly dated) — Dustin knows where in the world all of the countries are. He’s also a European history buff, and knows where all of the countries used to be before all of the major wars.

Dustin with his Mother at the Christmas Stroll (tap or click image to enlarge)

So here he is today. Going to High School is a great deal of fun as far as he’s concerned. We’ve always told him to keep his options open when it comes to any possible future education, and to always take his time and to be thoughtful about whatever decisions he’s planning to make in the future. For all of the living Dustin has so far been able to do up to this point, I could hardly contain my surprise when he informed me last week that he was going to be the first Libertarian Governor of the state of Montana.
You know — Kids say the darnedest things … and personally I would have preferred that his interests wander off into much more productive areas, but then again … who am I to say. I’ll support whatever it might be that he decides to do.

On the final year of Dustin going to Kent Prairie Elementary, he was the only one out of 720 kids that got perfect attendance. (no one even got excellent attendance)
Dustin got one excellent attendance in kindergarten because he started late after our move from Texas.

Learning Montana values at an early age can really pay off, as the video below shows.

Dustin’s Facebook Video

During the period of time that we spent on the Texas gulf coast, we never experienced any hurricanes. We did however, experience the time when interstate 5 fell into the Skagit River at Mt Vernon and also, the Oso Mud Slide on the Stillaguamish River in Oso, Washington. Dustin lost a classmate in the slide.

Over the years we’ve met some rather incredible people in our travels. If it hadn’t have been for my work, Dustin might not have ever had the great opportunity to meet these people. Though we were invited to stay in the local communities of Texas and Washington state, we just couldn’t accept, because you see, Montana is our home. Great Falls is where we truly belong. Great Falls is Dustin’s town, and these are his people.

Gnomusy – Alexandra

By

Alan

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March 14, 2022

David Caballero (Gnomusy – Gnome of Music) was born in Madrid, Spain in January 1963. A Civil Engineer by profession. His love of music started at an early age. His musical tastes include Jazz, Ragtime, Bluegrass, Electronic and Celt. David first published his music in 1999 in mp3.com under the name Gnomusy.

See video:

David Caballero (aka GNOMUSY) began playing keyboards at age seven and composing music at age ten, he says, as a way to express himself and his perception of reality.

After several years of piano studies at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid (Spain), David explored other styles such as Andinian, Jazz, Ragtime, Bluegrass, Folk and Celtic music. This gave him the opportunity to develop a mosaic of influences and to discover the mysteries of the various instruments he practiced including piano, keyboards, guitar, mandolin, banjo and the flute.

A great believer in embracing technological advancements, Caballero says, “In the future, I foresee that artists will jointly create pieces through seamless collaboration between different art sources in which sounds, light and space will co-exist, interact and change dynamically.”

While his state-of-the-art studio provides great enjoyment, the fantasy world and nature are never far from Cabellero’s thoughts. He majored in Forestry Engineering at the Polytechnical University of Madrid, and has dedicated his professional life to the study of forest fires. Besides composing, he is a scientist who researches forest fire and information systems projects such as EUFIRELAB, co-funded by the European Commission.

In 1993, David began composing and sequencing synthesizers using computers and the MIDI protocol. Soon, he discovered that this approach gave a new dimension to his compositions. Using his Korg X3 keyboard, David wrote pieces like “Altair” (1995), “Virtuality” (1994) and “Camelot” (1997). These works, Caballero says, provided a preview of what later would become his particular style.

The songs portray fantasy worlds, which are full of characters and landscapes, exciting to the senses, with nods to mythology and ancient cultures, and, always, with a deep emotional component.

https://www.amazon.com/Ethereality-Gnomusy/dp/B0007UVXMM

Horse packing in the Bob: Central Montana

By

Alan

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March 12, 2022

During a recent road trip up to Hannan Gulch just west of Augusta, I was again reminded of the vastness of our Bob Marshal wilderness area. The JJJ Wilderness Ranch, which is featured in this video, is situated just above Hannan Gulch and just along side of the Gibson Reservoir.

Wide-open spaces. Gracious people. Where a rugged past meets a vibrant present. Central Montana remains an authentic experience unlike any other. Between Glacier National Park to the north and Yellowstone National Park to the south, you’ll find the genuine Montana you’ve been waiting for. You’re invited. Make us a part of your journey.

Call the Central Montana Tourism Office: 1-800-527-5348

The wilderness, along with the adjoining Scapegoat and Great Bear wildernesses, make up the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, with components administered by the Lolo, Flathead, Helena, and Lewis and Clark National Forests, respectively. All three wildernesses total 1,535,352 acres (6,070 km²).

The wilderness is located in parts of Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Powell, Teton, Missoula, and Pondera counties, and lies mostly within Flathead National Forest (70.3%) and partially within Lewis and Clark National Forest. The wilderness can be accessed by trails (via foot travel or on horseback) from surrounding roads.

U.S. Route 2 is to the north and separates the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex from Glacier National Park (U.S.). U.S. 89 and 287 are to the east, and Montana highways 200 and 83 are to the south and west. Popular points of entry from the west are located near the communities of Swan Lake, Seeley Lake, Lincoln, and Hungry Horse.

From the east, the Bob Marshall Wilderness is accessible from Augusta, Choteau and Dupuyer. The wilderness is approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Great Falls, Montana; 50 miles (80 km) north of Missoula, and 30 miles (48 km) east of Kalispell; all of the communities have airports with commercial flights.

How wolves change rivers

By

Alan

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March 12, 2022

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable “trophic cascade” occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix.

For more from George Monbiot, visit https://www.monbiot.com/ and for more on “rewilding” visit https://www.monbiot.com/2013/05/24/feral-searching-for-enchantment-on-the-frontiers-of-rewilding/ and/or check out George Monbiot’s book Feral: rewilding the land, the sea and human life: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feral-Searching-enchantment-frontiers-rewilding/dp/1846147484/

NOTE: There are “elk” pictured in this video when the narrator is referring to “deer.” This is because the narrator is British and the British word for “elk” is “red deer” or “deer” for short. The scientific report this is based on refers to elk so we wanted to be accurate with the truth of the story.

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir

Narration from TED: “For more wonder, rewild the world” by George Monbiot. Watch the full talk, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rZzHkpyPkc

B-Roll Credits:

“Greater Yellowstone Coalition – Wolves” (https://vimeo.com/29465318)
“Wolf Mountain” (https://vimeo.com/42261942)
“Primodial – Yellowstone” (https://vimeo.com/77097538)
“Timelapse: Yellowstone National Park” (https://vimeo.com/79048279)
“Yellowstone” (https://vimeo.com/5333943)
“Howling Wolves – Heulende Wölfe” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgCRr8NTyx0)
“Fooled by Nature: Beaver Dams” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na2HYq11yuM)

Music Credits:

“Unfoldment, Revealment, Evolution, Exposition, Integration, Arson” by Chris Zabriskie (https://soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie/unfoldment-revealment)

FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the US Copyright Law.

Hubble photo captures a rare galactic collision

By

Alan

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February 6, 2022

Image source: ESA/Hubble & NASA (tap or click to enlarge image)

NGC 7764A is located roughly 425 million light-years from Earth. It’s found in the Phoenix constellation, and it’s a perfect example of just how weird space can get sometimes. It’s easy to think of galaxies and see them as individual things that never interact with each other. However, that isn’t always the case. Based on this new Hubble telescope picture, it looks like two of the galaxies are merging together.

In the image, it looks like the two galaxies at the top have slammed into each other, with the tail of one even shifting towards the topmost galaxy. The European Space Agency (ESA) says that in reality, the interactions between galaxies aren’t quick at all. Instead, they take a very long time and galaxies rarely collide head-on with each other. The image also includes a third galaxy, which the ESA says it is unsure is interacting with the other two. It is, however, close enough to be pulled in by the gravitational pull of the others.

In the video below:

Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have developed this simulation of the head-on collision of our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Estimated to occur in 4 billion years.