I really am nervous

I lay here this morning at 5:00 am wondering how big my bill really is gonna be...Have we done enough to keep costs down? Are they really gonna want that $700-$800 right away? Is anybody gonna really come through for Juneau? Are the $0.52 kwh only gonna be this month? Is it really gonna go down again by the end of the summer?

The short answer to all those questions is: Nobody knows...All kinds of speculation and probables but know one knows for sure. One thing I do know for sure is that assistance from the state is available now for some people above the poverty level at this site:

http://health.hss.state.ak.us/dpa/programs/hap/

It used to be a family of four had to make less than $38,730 to qualify, now that same family of four can qualify if they make less than $59,625.


You can download the application at:

http://health.hss.state.ak.us/dpa/programs/hap/HAPAPP08.pdf.

The program will also be administered by the Division of Public Assistance. When this program is available, it will also include a retroactive payment back to November 2007. We will let you know when applications are available.

Our humble servants Kerttula, Elton, and Doll are encouraging folks to swallow their pride and get help to stave off this crisis. I'm sure gonna do it(I say looking down...)

Armchair Quarterback moment of the disaster:

Avalanche diversion expert David McClung said a relatively cheap concrete wedge structure at the base of each tower could have deflected the tons of force delivered by the avalanches, protecting the line.

McClung estimated the cost to protect the exposed towers with diversion structures to be $100,000. It's a negligible cost compared to the millions the energy crisis will cost Juneau, he said.

McClung holds a Ph.D. in geophysics and avalanche defense mechanisms and is the co-author of the definitive technical textbook on avalanche science in North America. He also is a professor of civil engineering at the University of British Columbia.

I wonder if these will be part of the rebuild process..? Where are people like this when things like this are being built? Who did we consult? SEACC..? How come SEACC isn't screaming about the hundreds of tons of snow AEL&P "let" fall into the water? Maybe some mussels or barnacles were savagely scraped of the rocks and sent plunging to their death...Where is PETA in all of this?

Petuli fest canceled in Girdwood!

Picked up this gem from the ADN this morning:

http://www.adn.com/life/story/396272.html

What a shame...As someone that has been to the Forest Fair...once, I can say that the only thing thats sad is these people won't be out of our communities for a short time...The smells at this mini Woodstock range from BO, weed, and vomit to some pretty decent hippy food...The wares are comparable to the type of charitable purchases you might make of a 7-8 year old kid peddling art at a school bazaar from people with no real talent other than protesting everything our government does...

I did enjoy the music though...Funny how these "peaceful" folks really act when forced to congregate en mass with each other...Not very "thoughtful" or "peaceful" eh?