Utahredrock

Design decision: Leave adobe bricks exposed?

2012-02-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

The entire house, both interior and exterior walls, is built from double-wide large adobe bricks.

An adobe brick is simply dried mud. If you drop it from as low as two or three feet to a solid surface, chances are good the brick will shatter into dust and smaller chunks of dried mud. It's shocking that these old houses are made from this material, yet this house has been standing for over 150 years.

As I gutted the place during the remodel I uncovered many brick walls. Initially I thought I'd leave a few exposed, but since adobe bricks are so fragile (and dirty) I covered them all back up except for a section of wall in the kitchen. I like the different look, texture, and feel of the exposed brick versus just more drywall or plaster. Yet the wall needs work--part of it needs to be rebuilt and mortar repairs are needed throughout. Also, if you leave adobe exposed it must be treated with a chemical or resin to create a harder surface and prevent deterioration of the exposed mud bricks.

Another reason I have for leaning toward leaving the wall exposed is it serves as a "truth wall." In straw-bale constructed homes (straw is a highly energy efficient material for construction) it's a common practice to leave a truth window so people can see the material inside of a wall. Since my whole house is built from these adobe bricks it's cool to actually see some of them.

The end of the exposed brick wall in the kitchen has looked like it was about to collapse for the past six weeks or so. I was afraid to touch it. It's a load bearing wall and I didn't want to create some sort of collapse, even though the section of concern was clearly bearing no weight.

Last night my friend Bob suggested wood shims and an extra brick where one was missing. Like magic the wall looked a little more complete and stable. More work needs to be done and in the end I may just skim the wall with plaster since these bricks are so unstable, but with this temporary fix I feel comfortable leaving it alone for a while.

After the shim repair:

Before:

Granite countertops installed!

2012-02-14T17:35:00.008-07:00

Today provided one of those extremely rewarding moments of a home renovation. The cabinets, finally secure, level, and attached to the walls, were ready. The free granite my friend Leon found for me in November had been cut and prepared. The installers arrived and in about an hour they had the new counters installed. The cost was the cost of the prep and installation ($600) which seems pretty inexpensive for solid granite counters. They mounted the sink under the counter, which I didn't even think of asking for but love.

I can't stop staring at these new counters! It's the kind of finishing material that really makes a place.

If you live near Salt Lake City and have a need for granite (they also do window sills, table tops, etc.) call Harry of Distinctive Marble and Granite at 801.750.5720. These guys are great.

Next to refrigerator:

Close-up of sink:

During install:

Prepped for install:

A windowsill transformed (for surprisingly little money).

2012-02-14T17:32:00.002-07:00

These aren't the best photos, but the guys from Distinctive Marble and Granite did a great job of adding a classy windowsill to my kitchen window. Love it!

Before:

After:

Close-up (truer to actual colors):

Integrated Property Services (IPS) of Bluffdale, Utah rocks!

2012-02-09T13:52:00.007-07:00

IPS is finishing up their portion of the job at my house and it's looking good. Special thanks today to: Jon, Chris, John, Shawn, and Jason. Excellent work guys!

The wall and doorway last week:

This afternoon with finish trim:

Bathroom number one evolves.

2012-02-08T22:09:00.002-07:00

First the new floors, then removal and repairing the lower part of the walls, and now . . . it comes back together.

All trim, including the window, will be a glossy white.

The wallpaper was there and I couldn't deal with removing it--nor could I deal with potential wall repairs--so it stays for now. As far as wallpaper goes it's on the uglier end of the spectrum.

The view today:

A week ago the room was prepped for the plaster guy. Previously it was covered with painted aluminum tiles, a classic building material of the 1950s:

Kitchen assembly continues.

2012-02-05T22:41:00.002-07:00

With the help of a skilled carpenter, I spent a good 20 hours over the weekend working on the kitchen. We made enough progress that I can call the counter guys. It's been nine days since cabinet assembly began . . . it's coming!

About that Ikea kitchen . . .

2012-02-02T21:00:00.004-07:00

Last Saturday I had three generous and talented friends help me begin the installation of my Ikea kitchen. We made a lot of progress.

Much remains to be done.

On Sunday, two other friends helped me raise the upper cabinets. Since then, despite significant effort, I've felt over my head and have accomplished little. I have a new helper arriving tomorrow to see if we can move this project forward.

Here's what it looked like at the end of last Saturday, and what it still looks like now. There are MANY hundreds of parts remaining to put together to finish this job.

The whole process is overwhelming and I am beyond my skill zone and stretching point. Hopefully there will be some progress tomorrow.

Kitchen.

2012-01-23T17:19:00.001-07:00

January 10:

January 23:

Aspen!

2012-01-18T21:39:00.011-07:00

It was time for a break, so I took up an invitation from a friend and headed to Aspen.

Aspen is a beautiful old mining town nestled in the Rocky Mountains. It's a place for the super-rich with an abundance of over-the-top homes, epic skiing and hiking, insanely expensive shopping, and more. I saw a sweater that cost $1,800. A sweater! It was "baby cashmere." Whatever.

Despite the excess, it's a damn cool place.

This was my first time there in over ten years.

We had two bluebird days, including one after a foot of fresh new snow. These were my first days of skiing this season. Not a shabby start.

A special thanks to my friend who made the trip possible.

The front bedroom . . .

2012-01-13T17:38:00.003-07:00

The "before" shot, photographed in November:

We blew in some serious insulation early in the week:

Drywall went up today:

The new laundry takes shape.

2012-01-13T17:32:00.010-07:00

This laundry room was nothing more than a porch that was dark and cold and barely used by the previous owners. They had the laundry in the kitchen and used this room for storage. I finished installing the insulation this morning:

Drywall hung by late afternoon:

January 25 update:

This 150+ year house never had any insulation in the walls. Most of what we added was the fancy blow-in type. The only regular fiberglass insulation used is in this room.

The part of the job I really, really didn't want to have to do . . .

2012-01-13T17:30:00.002-07:00

but you have to fix a leaky roof. My patch didn't work so the whole section of roof was replaced.

Job almost finished by end of day . . . did it really cost THAT much for this one day job?

On the left is the old "back porch" and new laundry room. Also in this photo, the old roofing material on the ground . . .

A punch in the gut

2012-01-07T18:39:00.011-07:00

After a triumphant day of progress at my house yesterday, today was a punch in the gut.

It snowed last night, our first serious precipitation in a while.

I went to the house this morning and a leak in the roof over the kitchen--which I thought we had fixed by patching a section of roof in November--was actively dripping into the room.

It looks like I'll be talking to roofers this coming week, and sorting out how to pay for it as well. A large section of roof will likely need to be replaced.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Not a happy development but the initial shock has faded. I'll deal with it.

A new opening!

2012-01-06T21:39:00.015-07:00

It was Saturday November 5, the first weekend after buying my new house. I was tearing out the old kitchen and pantry. My friend Phil came by and pointed out that I should open up the space, including losing a bedroom and moving a planned second bathroom.

The design change was a great idea and once that idea was planted I wanted to do it. Little did I know, little did any of us know, that that change would set off a chain of events that would prolong the renovation and change my planned November 30 move-in date by almost 40 days and counting.

IPS, my contractor, has been doing outstanding work. We are, I hope, in the final stretch. As of today, the rough carpentry and plumbing are finished. The rough electrical work is also almost finished--and hopefully will be by the scheduled inspection this coming Monday.

Today we removed the final two by fours, old enough that they are actually two inches by four inches. This created an opening between the enlarged kitchen and the former bedroom which will become a dining room/living area off of the kitchen--a great room.

A lot's happened in the past two months. The removal of the final two by fours today almost felt like a revelation. It was amazing what had to happen prior to taking them out.

Here's the new opening, Phil's design change:

The men of Integrated Property Services (IPS).

2012-01-06T21:11:00.006-07:00

Integrated Property Services, of Draper, Utah, at work.

Shawn finishes the rough framing in the master bedroom.

John Evans, job manager.

Mike, the electrician, has been working very hard to finish the new wiring for this very old house.

Pepe the Plumber.

Jason and Shawn at work.

Jason and Shawn.

A new floor in the hall and kitchen!

2012-01-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

Jake on New Year's Day in Salt Lake City.

2012-01-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Removing layers and layers of paint

2011-12-28T21:03:00.001-07:00

I managed to capture some beautiful images after two days of experimenting with sandpaper, chemicals, and a heat gun.

Hanging out at Elise's

2011-12-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

A wonderful Christmas with Elise, John, the dogs, and the horses. I also played cribbage for the first time.

Sita posing after being groomed.

Joey, ready for his close-up. He and I go way back.

Sita dances.

Elise feeding carrots.

Little Buster Brown.

12.25.11

2011-12-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Epic sunrise and sunset in Idaho on my sister's ranch.

A hall is reborn!

2011-12-21T16:49:00.005-07:00

Joists were installed today in the hallway.

Shawn at work.

Shawn and John inspecting the joists.

The view of the new hall from the original bathroom, looking into the master bedroom.

15 days on

2011-12-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

After a bit of a delay, work is underway again at my new house.

Insane ductwork connects to the furnace:

A wall collapse damaged the connection to the furnace flu. A new duct was installed today to keep the carbon monoxide in the flu.

A new footer is poured for the hallway floor to have some support. For almost a month it's been a big hole in the middle of the house with dirt flooring.

Four weeks on!

2011-11-29T09:00:00.007-07:00

I got the keys to my new house four weeks ago today. The original plan was to move in by today or tomorrow.

Not gonna happen.

At the moment the plumbing changes are almost finished. The floors are still ripped up. Many of the walls are down to their studs and some need new studs.

There is no water, no toilet, and the furnace is currently inoperable.

Electrical work needs to happen, drywall, flooring, etc., etc.

I've been going non-stop every possible moment myself, with friends, with helpers, and of course with the contractor who's doing the big stuff.

It's overwhelming but fun.

New target move-in date is by December 15, though at that point much will remain to be done.

After a 10-day frenzy of prepping and painting I am currently spearheading the furring out of the back porch so it can be insulated. That's where the laundry is being moved to and the space needs to stay above freezing.

My next big wishes from the contractor are to finish the plumbing, shore up a part of the foundation that was removed for the plumbing, get the furnace and water working again, reroute some heating in the kitchen and get the floor recovered with plywood, and then install the new flooring. After that, electric, drywall, paint, install the kitchen . . .

One bedroom is getting closer to being a finished room. Three walls and the ceiling are painted. Another wall needs to be rebuilt and I've decided to carpet that room. It also needs a new light fixture and possibly some other electrical work. The entry is also almost finished, just needs some touch-up paint--and attention to the floors (which will come later).

That's the update from a new homeowner in Salt Lake City. Thanks to everyone who's helped so far--with an honorable mention to Quinn, the mastermind who made it happen.

Choosing a VCT tile

2011-11-18T16:02:00.008-07:00

VCT stands for vinyl composite tile. You can read more about it here.

Here are the two styles I am considering for the kitchen floor:

1.7.12 Update: I picked the darker one (after some strong input from my colleagues at work). Most of the house has wood floors so I wanted something different in the kitchen. This is the type of tile you'd see in a grocery store, so it's very strong and durable. And it can be waxed! It's also easy and inexpensive to install, though the material itself is more than I would have thought. The darker one cost over three times as much as the lighter one (the difference amounted to a couple of hundred dollars more). I am happy with the choice. I picked up the materials this week. Installation is pending the drywall, which as I am writing this update will have to wait for some roofing . . .

Ripping through the floors.

2011-11-17T23:01:00.003-07:00

To install plumbing and move heating.

Thinking about colors

2011-11-16T09:58:00.003-07:00

Going with a sage green floor--old school look--grocery store VCT tiles.

Thinking of a burgundy back splash (actual ceramic tile) done in subway style. Rest of walls? Drywall, but not sure of color--maybe white?

May lower upper cabinets so the area of burgundy tile is smaller.

Demo phase, out with a bang.

2011-11-15T13:06:00.006-07:00

Self portrait from midnight last night. The demo phase is 95% done on the remodel. I seem to have saved the dirtiest, nastiest job for last. This is saying something because the whole process has been pretty dirty. I'd just finished removing the pre-1953 kitchen ceiling which has loose insulation called rock wool. It's apparently not as dangerous as asbestos to breathe, but it's probably close. I did wear a mask. I was in reality much dirtier than this photo shows.

Rethinking the kitchen

2011-11-10T07:55:00.002-07:00

Full views of kitchen post-demo.

2011-11-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hello from Salt Lake City.

2011-11-07T23:35:00.001-07:00

Double click on any image for larger version.

Before (and during) the demolition.

2011-11-06T22:50:00.001-07:00

Kitchen installed after December 1953 (likely). Found newspaper with that date in the ceiling.

Demolition!

2011-11-06T22:40:00.000-07:00

Kitchen after the demo, at night.
The kitchen, after the demo and door to rear porch.
The pantry is gone. On the left, hall to front of house.

Looking in to the kitchen from what was the third bedroom on the first floor. Looking through the former pantry.

Details from the demolition.

2011-11-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Plastic wall tiles after over a half century of service.

On the left, wallpaper from the 1920s? On the right, remnants of 1950s plastic wall tiles.

1970s flooring, on top of 1950s flooring, on top of 19th-century wood floors (fir).

Entry area.

2011-11-06T22:28:00.003-07:00

The red walls are gone. Primer is up. In the first photo, the right side of the rear wall may soon be coming out to make way for stairs! Hello second floor and 800+ additional square feet that have been blocked off from the main house for many many decades. Possibly since the 1890s.

The red is almost gone. One corner in the living room remains--with its own issues.

Front bedroom.

2011-11-06T22:11:00.001-07:00

Some minor problems with the wall.

Living room.

2011-11-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Old dining area.

2011-11-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

Master bedroom.

2011-11-06T21:40:00.008-07:00

Area of new master bath:

January 25 update:
This is a close-up of the new bathroom floor, which is the lower right corner from the above photo . . . transformed!

The 1970s wood paneling and drop-ceiling need to go . . . now. Note location of left window in room.

Note location of right window in room, you can also see inset where I am planning to add a door into what was a door in the past.

Bathroom.

2011-11-06T21:30:00.001-07:00

Looking in to the kitchen and former pantry.

Built circa 1857.

2011-10-28T12:24:00.000-06:00

Jake over Salt Lake City.

2011-10-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

The snow of August. Enjoying summer in Utah.

2011-08-15T10:30:00.005-06:00

Early July 2011--Utah!

2011-07-06T09:32:00.012-06:00

I just spent four amazing days in Utahredrock country. Despite the influence this corner of the world has held over me since 1988, I haven't enjoyed it too much in the past decade. This was a trip to make up for lost time.

Our trip in brief: Camp night one outside of Cedar City in the pines and near a gurgling stream, high elevation biking at Bryan Head on a difficult trail with no skewer holding my front tire on to my bike frame (I somehow managed to ride most of the way without serious incident), small party on night two at the alpine Bryan Head campsite from hell (with junior ecoterrorists on ATVs using our campsite drive as a turnaround--covering us in dust and making a hell of a racket), napping the next morning, an easy and beautiful ride around Navajo Lake, finding a quintessential southern Utah redrock desert campsite at Red Canyon between Panguitch and Bryce Canyon for nights three and four, great meals, biking the stunning Casto Canyon and missing a turn but having an amazing ride all the same, more fun at the campsite, the final day with a final ride and not wanting to even look at my bike (too damn tired!), but look at it I did and despite an easy trail still managing to injure myself (re-sprained ankle).

Utah's redrock country speaks to my soul. It was a joy to experience it with friends and pups.

iPhone photo from our campsite between Casto and Losee Canyons on July 4.

Savor the Summit, Park City

2011-06-25T17:53:00.014-06:00

These images from June 25, 2011 are provided to the news media to use for free.

All photos taken on Main Street in Park City, Utah.

The Egyptian Theater had their own table. Wait staff is dressed appropriately.

It's summer in the mountains!

Blue Iguana's table.

Mike Baronowski helps me remember those who have died for our country, and find some grit of my own.

2011-05-30T22:08:00.014-06:00

Yesterday I caught a broadcast of a show called Hearing Voices about Mike Baronowski, a young marine in Vietnam in 1966—which is also the year I was born. It was a powerful story, told by Mike mostly, from recordings he made while fighting in Vietnam. He would die in battle in 1967.

Mike was both capturing the feel of the war and the situation he was dealing with, as well as using the tapes to stay in touch with his family back home.

I belong to a gym here in Salt Lake City called Ute CrossFit. Today I went in to do the work out—which changes each day. When I saw it, I briefly considered leaving. We were asked to run a mile, do 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats, then run another mile.

For most people this would be a challenge. It certainly was for me. Our instructor, Taylor, encouraged us by saying: “if you feel like cutting corners, or quitting, keep in mind all of the men and women who have served our country and lost their lives fighting for our freedom and our way of life.”

After that, I had to do the full workout.

The clock started and I took off on my run. I used to run a lot, but don’t so much anymore, so sadly even a mile run pushes me. Yet it’s doable and I did it in a somewhat respectable time—which I won’t share (“respectable” being subjective).

Then the real fun began. I broke down the workout into ten rounds of 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups and 30 air squats. I got a piece of paper so I didn’t lose count.

The truth is I can’t even do one regular pull-up, I use one of those big rubber bands, and with that I can usually do six or seven reps, without stopping--when I’m fresh. There I was, working on my first ten [assisted] pull-ups, which took two sets. It was the same with the push-ups, to make it to 20, even in that first round, I had to break it up with pauses.

I plugged away and I was pushing myself to go as fast as I could, and to simply keep going. My pauses became longer and more frequent, but I had somebody new helping me: the voice of Mike Baronowski, which was fresh in my head from the day before.

From Mike, an American killed in Vietnam: “The terrain is majestic. It's like something out of ‘Heidi.’ The view is magnificent. And just as sinister as it is magnificent. Sinister because this is the perfect terrain, the perfect country for mortar attacks and the VC have made use of it.”

Speaking from the battlefield, Mike inspired me and kept me going even though my body didn't want to. I pressed on.

He recorded in jest: “This is the 35-watt voice of Station MOXE, broadcasting to you from the swamps, jungles, boondocks, and infected salad of Fort McCourt, home of the fighting first platoon of Hungry I Company.”

For me, round six in underway: Ten pushups done, pausing, then struggling with the next ten.

Meanwhile, I thought of Mike back in Vietnam: “Now it's dark and quiet. Everything's been quiet for about 15 minutes now. I was just crouching down in the hole there talking to a hand grenade. I thought it was the microphone, and I realized what I was doing. And the rain is just on time. Now it will rain the rest of the night.”

I am on the beginning of round nine, 10 pull-ups to do, can I do it? I knock out five, pause, then push through the next five. It's not pretty.

I think of this man in Vietnam, seeing beauty, while he is witnessing the hell of war: “There are a billion stars visible tonight. Beautiful. Almost every night it's clear, and now more and more nights aren't clear . . . . It's a beautiful sight--the Milky Way and all the constellations. Of course they're a little bit different because we're on the other side of the planet looking at them from some weird cockeyed angle, I don't know. Hey, I've got some news for you. I made Meritorious Lance Corporal today. How about that?”

Mike was shot and killed by the Viet Cong.

Thank you Mike for your service, your sacrifice. Who knew your words, recorded months after I was born, would inspire me during a tough workout?

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my instructor Taylor as well, she was there in the room, cheering me, as I groveled along. And her words before we started connected me with Mike.

It’s a funny thing about history. 1966 and the words of an American marine fighting in Vietnam seem like a long time ago. In some ways it is, yet if Mike hadn’t died he could have been someone I had breakfast with today, or saw marching in a parade, or whatever. He would only be about 64. Now that I am 45, that doesn’t even seem so old.

When we think of Mike and all of those who have died, it’s not appropriate to think too much about whether or not their particular war was such a good idea. Such thoughts have their place, in fact they’re extremely important, but not today.

Today we remember.

Listen to the broadcast, including the recordings of Mike Baranowski, here.

My best Mad Men look

2011-05-17T19:58:00.002-06:00

Photographed in Salt Lake City, May 17, 2011.

Mountain Clouds

2011-03-14T12:48:00.004-06:00

Yesterday in Park City it was a clear morning with tiny clouds rising from the valley. Initially the clouds looked like white smoke billowing up from a fire.

As the morning went on the clouds grew into towers and eventually it seemed as if the sun would be eclipsed. Then something strange happened, by mid-afternoon the clouds disappeared all together. It was quite a display.

How much do you know about the West and its unquenchable thirst for water?

2011-03-14T07:51:00.000-06:00

If you think the story of water in the American West is dry and boring, you haven’t read Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert, a meticulously researched narrative told with humor and sarcasm. The book opens with Reisner describing a flight back to California. Looking out the window of a commercial jet traveling over western Colorado and eastern Utah—here’s what he saw:

“Emptiness. There was nothing down there on the earth—no towns, no light, no signs of civilization at all. Barren mountains rose from the desert floor, isolated mesas and buttes . . . . You couldn’t see much in the moonlight, but obviously there were no forests, no pastures, no lakes, no rivers, there was no fruited plain.

“I counted the minutes between clusters of lights. Six, eight, nine, eleven—going nine miles a minute, that was a lot of uninhabited distance in a crowded century, a lot of emptiness amid a civilization whose success was achieved on the pretension that natural obstacles do not exist.

“Then the landscape heaved upward. We were crossing a high thin cordillera of mountains, their tops covered with snow. The Wasatch Range. As suddenly as the mountains appeared, they fell away, and a vast gridiron of lights appeared out of nowhere . . . Salt Lake City, Orem, Draper, Provo . . . most of the population of Utah.”

Reisner describes the arrival of Brigham Young and the Mormons in 1847 and how they unwittingly began building the modern West when they immediately began irrigating the Salt Lake Valley to grow food.

The West as we know it is a land that is an engineering marvel based primarily on the movement of water from a few rivers to irrigate the desert and supply western cities and industry. The desert civilization created by Americans in the western United States is a civilization of unparalleled prosperity, and the manipulation of water made it possible. Understanding what we’ve done is a first step toward finding a way to sustain the civilization we’ve created.

Reisner’s description of arriving over Salt Lake City from above 30,000 feet could apply to most western cities—sprawling urban metropolises surrounded by a lot of empty space. These cities are beachheads of civilization—beachheads that many of us love and call home.

Read Cadillac Desert, a fun and informative read, to fully appreciate the predicament of the West and our water—something that has been hitting home more than ever in recent years here in California.

Who’s ready to STAND FOR LESS water wasted?

Jim Breitinger

This post originally appeared at STAND FOR LESS.

Black gold and you

2011-03-10T19:43:00.002-07:00

Most of us have been hearing and reading about it for years. Oil is running out. Supplies are finite. It's just a matter of time. The sky is falling . . . .

We get pretty numb to it, and yet, how aware are you of how important oil really is to your life?

I strongly recommend the 2006 film titled "A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash."

Oil has given our world unparalleled prosperity, but there really is a finite supply. Demand is growing quickly each year, yet we are likely at or past the peak production of oil. The U.S. hit peak production in 1970. Many other countries have also passed their peaks.

The film combines interviews with a fascinating cast of characters (oil industry experts and observers) with historical footage (some quite amusing) along with a pace and a narrative thread that pulls you along to the sobering conclusion.

The fact that oil will eventually run out has been understood for decades. Yet many people remain unaware of the implications of running out of oil. Oil is prevalent in every aspect of our lives. It literally keeps the economy going, makes it possible for us to grow massive quantities of food, supplies us with a nearly infinite number of products (plastics, etc.), heats homes, contributes to electricity production and it is the foundation of modern transportation.

By being aware of the situation, more people will be willing and ready to take a stand and press our political leaders to prepare for a time when our most important energy source, one we are dependent on and addicted to, will no longer be cheap or abundant. Politicians will not lead the way on this issue until they are pushed by their constituents or forced to act because of a crisis. The crisis of the 1970s OPEC oil embargo knocked the world’s most powerful countries, including the United States, onto their knees. The primary action American politicians have consistently taken since the 1970s is to do all they can to secure oil supplies. This does nothing for us when supplies start to dwindle.

We can mitigate the pain of the pending crisis of declining oil supplies by acting aggressively now to develop other sources of energy and live our lives in ways that use less energy. We can STAND FOR LESS oil used by driving less, buying more fuel efficient cars, arranging our lives so we don’t have to drive everywhere. We can stand for more development of alternative energy sources, but oil is currently so important to every aspect of our society, that it will be a major adjustment to live with less of it.

It may be a year or 10 or optimistically 15, but we are on the cusp of an upheaval in oil supplies.

Jim Breitinger

The video below gives you a sample of the film. It’s available on DVD and Netflix on demand.

I wrote this post for STAND FOR LESS where it originally appeared on January 7, 2011.

Men on a mission: DeChristopher, Redford and a quest for justice

2011-03-07T09:02:00.002-07:00

Last week here in Salt Lake City Tim DeChristopher was found guilty of "disrupting public business and causing financial harm to the government."

Here are Robert Redford's thoughts on this and below is Tim's speech outside the courthouse after the verdict. I concur with both.

Redford:

In 2008 a young environmental activist named Tim DeChristopher bid on 13 parcels of land quietly put up for auction by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the waning days of the Bush Administration. This land was part of a larger offering by the BLM of federal public land in an attempt to open it up to oil and gas exploration. The majority of the land was near national parks in southern Utah.

In an effort to derail any number of oil, gas, and mining interests from getting their claws into this land and endangering some of the last great places on earth, DeChristopher risked going to jail to stop it. This afternoon he was found guilty and jail seems more of a potential reality than ever. . . .

There's something wrong with this picture. Major financial institutions in this country brought the nation's economy to its knees yet not one person associated with the debacle is in jail. The human consequence of their actions is indescribably profound and not one person responsible for any of it went to jail. And yet the federal government prosecuted this young activist's act of civil disobedience and he now faces jail time. . . .

And when you consider that weeks after DeChristopher bid on his 13 parcels, a federal judge in essence agreed with him and blocked the sale of all the parcels, DeChristopher's prosecution becomes even more troubling. Add to that the fact that the Obama Administration's Dept of Interior said the overall sale was improper and pulled all the parcels from auction and DeChristopher's prosecution borders on absurd.

DeChristopher's defense team was barred from bringing either of these facts to the attention of the jury in arguing their case. There's something radically wrong with this picture.

To donate to the Tim DeChristopher legal defense fund, go to: www.bidder70.org

DeChristopher:

My trip to Patagonia, November 2010--Part one.

2011-03-06T18:58:00.010-07:00

Southern Chile, the end of the earth:

Glaciated Lake at Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. This is one of Chile's most visited national parks with 80% of the visitors being foreigners--mostly Europeans it seemed.

At Puerto Natales, Chilean Patagonia.

Abandoned buildings at a sheep estancia (sheep station or sheep farm)--Tierra del Fuego, Chile.

We were hours from anything when our fuel filter was knocked off by gravel from the road. With pluck and luck we were back on our way in about 30 minutes.

Repairing the Chevy Aveo--on a road it never should have been on.

My trip to Patagonia--Part two.

2011-03-06T18:45:00.010-07:00

The sheep outnumber people by over a thousand to one on Tierra del Fuego.

Crossing Rio Grande in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, not far from the Argentine border. This was near the end of a long, and in retrospect a magical and mystical drive where we ended up somewhere we never expected to be going (more on that in another post).

After selling my Dodge truck earlier in the year, I felt an affinity for this one at an abandoned Chilean lumber camp on Tierra del Fuego.

Tom being goofy with the southernmost mountain range in the America's behind him--the Darwin Range. This was also the southernmost point of our trip. Cape Horn is about 30 miles to the south, but hard to get to as this was the end of the road.

In the center of Santiago, Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia--Spanish conquistador. We had 12 hour layovers in Santiago at the beginning and ending of the trip.

Patagonia, one of the last great frontiers.

2011-03-06T13:23:00.009-07:00

With geographic features including remote and stunning rivers, lakes, glaciers, mountains, bays, inlets and two oceans, Patagonia is a magnet for ecotourists hoping to see a part of the planet with a low population density and breathtaking beauty.

But Patagonia is threatened by humans and our need for more and more and more. Non-native beavers and minks are wreaking havoc to native flora and fauna. Large Chilean salmon farms are being devastated by disease due to unsanitary and overcrowded conditions (at the same time the salmon farms have been overtaking formerly untouched fjords). Proposed new dams, with associated hydro-electricity projects, threaten to flood vast areas of streams and lakes that are among the most pristine in the world.

The need to STAND FOR LESS is often most obvious along human frontiers. The lands of Patagonia have already been altered by man, but Patagonia retains much of the wildness of the pre-modern era. Preserving and protecting natural ecosystems is vital for the survival of our species. (Read more about the importance of biodiversity.)

The Patagonia Times is an English-language online publication covering issues affecting one of the final frontiers of the Americas. We recommend that you add this excellent online resource to your reading list. It’s important to be well-versed in issues affecting our planet beyond our own backyards.

Jim Breitinger

Chile's Cuernos del Paine is one of the many iconic landmarks of Patagonia:

I wrote this post for STAND FOR LESS where it originally appeared on November 24, 2009.

Park City Mountain Resort, Sunday February 27

2011-02-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

A stunning day skiing with Pippa and Tom.

Malcolm Gladwell, still down on social media, and still wrong.

2011-02-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Despite the embarrassing article Malcolm Gladwell wrote last fall, he remains adamantly opposed to the idea that there is much of interest in new social media platforms. The title of his piece: “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted,” was off in every respect.

The changes in how we communicate, because of social media are not small. And the revolution in Egypt was not only tweeted–Twitter and Facebook were important communications tools during the protests that brought down Hosni Mubarek.

Last month as Mubarek’s rule was teetering on the precipice, Gladwell wrote that “people with a grievance will always find ways to communicate with each other. How they choose to do it is less interesting, in the end, than why they were driven to do it in the first place.”

As an agency devoted to finding better ways to communicate, this statement is of course objectionable. But on a broader scale, it’s simply a stubborn refusal to face reality.

Radio and television were hardly uninteresting innovations in communications–they changed the world. How much social media changes the world remains to be seen, but it is changing it. Egypt is one example, an important one, but one of many.

I have high regard for Malcolm Gladwell. He has written outstanding books including The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. His usually excellent articles in The New Yorker are additional examples of his proud body of work.

It’s precisely because he is such an innovative thinker and writer that his queasiness with social media is especially notable, and odd.

It’s time for a new article from Gladwell: “Big Change: Why more revolutions will be tweeted.”

Jim Breitinger, writing for RIESTER

This post originally appeared at RIESTER.com.

Return to the mountain

2011-02-22T10:42:00.012-07:00

From 1991 through 2002 I skied at Park City every season. Yesterday was my first time back in nine years! It didn't seem like I'd been gone that long. We spent most of the day skiing Jupiter Bowl on a day when Utah lived up to its reputation for having the greatest snow on Earth.

Egypt, Let Freedom Ring!

2011-02-11T11:47:00.012-07:00

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
And let freedom ring from the streets of Cairo!

-MLK v.2011

Today's news from Egypt is exhilarating, demonstrating once again that freedom is a universal value.

Going forward, will it impact the flow of oil out of the Middle East as some fear? Oil that we are still sadly addicted to? That remains to be seen. Will we learn before it's too late and create an energy plan beyond Keep Oil Cheap?

These are important issues, but today is a day to celebrate and honor the people of Egypt who made this happen.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -Declaration of Independence

Read more about oil at a post I wrote for STAND FOR LESS: "Improve your oil IQ."

Photo: Man in Cairo reacting to the news of Mubarek's fall.

Mark Kelly's moving remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast

2011-02-05T01:54:00.001-07:00

You pray where you are. You pray when God is there in your heart. -Mark Kelly

Why I love the Sundance Film Festival, and short reviews of the films I saw.

2011-01-31T20:09:00.015-07:00

I am lucky to live in the middle of what is arguably the greatest film festival on the planet.

Why is Sundance so special?

It attracts smart people who are passionate about both films and life.

It’s festive, hip, peerless.

Film directors, writers and actors are often in the theater with you, available for questions afterwards, and they often mingle.

The films play to full theaters with more people always hoping to get in (I was turned away a few times this year—as a waitlister).

People applaud at the end of the film, if it was any good and most of the films are better than good.

People are friendly. It’s easy to talk to just about anyone.

The volunteers do an amazing job handling the crowds.

And the movies . . . the stories . . . the innovation in the medium of film.

These are some of the reasons, why I love Sundance.

Reviews of the seven Sundance films I attended:

1. “Hell and Back Again”

A documentary about a Marine Corps company made by Danfung Dennis. Dennis was an embedded photographer/videographer. He said that he didn’t set out with the intention of making a film. He’d covered war as a photographer previously.

The film offers a portrait of the horror of war and it tells the gripping story of Sergeant Nathan Harris, a young marine who is wounded in combat. Half of the film is set in Afghanistan; the other half is in the U.S. with intimate moments where Dennis films Sgt. Harris as he deals with his physical recovery and struggles to readjust to civilian life.

I am in awe of Sgt. Harris and all of the men and women who have followed the call to serve our country.

I have equal regard for Danfung Dennis who went into combat with these marines armed with nothing but his cameras—to provide the rest of us a glimpse into a war that we all too often forget about yet has been going on for almost ten years now.

All Americans should watch this film. It lived up to its Sundance billing as “courageous and extraordinary.”

I had the honor of saying hello to Danfung Dennis, shaking his hand and thanking him for his outstanding work. Sgt. Harris was not in attendance. Dennis said, and it appeared evident in his film, that the purpose of the film was to remind people that this war is still going on. People are dying. People are suffering horrible injuries. People are being uprooted and their lives changed forever—both American and Afghanis. That's what war does.

2. “The Ledge”

Part of the U.S. dramatic competition, I wrote a full review of this film here. I loved it.

3. “Reagan”

The filmmakers used historical footage and interviews to tell the story of an imperfect man who remains very likeable to many of us. This was a long documentary, but fast paced and fun—at least for a political junkie like me.

Love him, hate him, or know little of him, this movie does a nice job of telling Reagan’s story—a quintessentially American story.

4. “The Flaw”

In this important documentary on the financial crisis of 2008, British filmmaker David Sington uses humor and intelligent analysis to paint a picture of what went wrong that brought the economy to its knees. The film explores what capitalism is today. One of the messages Sington's messages was that capitalism is amazingly productive, however, unfettered capitalism is dangerous, even frightening.

5. “My Idiot Brother”

Part of the “Premieres” portion of the program—which includes Hollywood films, allowing festival goers to get a first look at some of the years “most anticipated films,” The film was a fun, funny, feel-good movie about trust and family starring Paul Rudd.

6. “Troubadours”

Mostly about James Taylor and Carole King, the movie centers around a place (The Troubadour Club) and a point in time (the early 1970s) when some of the most talented singer-song writers of that decade came together before hitting it really big. Fun to watch, especially if you like the music, I enjoyed this film very much—though it was a bit formulaic.

7. “Little Birds”

A coming of age drama featuring two 15-year old girls, this was the only film I didn’t care for. Even so, there were redeeming qualities—good acting, beautiful cinematography. It was a depressing film for me without much of a redeeming message.

It made me realize that there are many many Americans who live in poverty and whose lives are bleak. In that sense, it left me feeling lucky, and though it was fiction, I felt like I had a glimpse into a world that I don’t know—one filled with drugs, crime and a lot of desperation.

Sundance showed 200 films in 19 venues between Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and at the Sundance Resort.

Though I saw a fraction of the films, I saw many of the ones I hoped to see—without having a single ticket before the festival began.

In 2011, Sundance delivered again.

Sundance Film Festival 2011 Review: "The Ledge"

2011-01-26T22:57:00.005-07:00

A stray comment from a man in line at this year's Sundance Film Festival got me interested in "The Ledge," written and directed by Matthew Chapman. I attended a screening last night.

Chapman crafted a thriller around two men: Joe (Patrick Wilson), a Christian fundamentalist and Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) an atheist. They are connected by Shana (Liv Tyler), Joe's wife who also becomes Gavin's lover.

The film opens with Gavin walking out onto a ledge at the top of a high building. A cop (Terrence Howard) is already having one of the worst days of his life when he's called to talk Gavin down. The story unfolds with a conversation you wouldn't expect between a potential jumper and a cop. A series of flashbacks fill in the back story, building to an unforgettable conclusion.

Working with big themes (life, death, faith, religion, trust, love, betrayal, loss) Chapman explores many aspects of being human. He deftly works with these heavy topics in a film that delivers a strong emotional punch while somehow not being a downer--though it is intense. The characters are complex and real. The acting exquisite.

"The Ledge" works artistically, emotionally and intellectually. For me, it was one of those rare films that struck many deep emotional chords leaving me feeling raw. Life is not easy, but it's good to be alive, even when it hurts.

Great work Mr. Chapman and company!

Jim Breitinger
Salt Lake City

Photo: Terrence Howard, Liv Tyler and Matthew Chapman.

An Op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune

2011-01-21T11:08:00.009-07:00

Read my Op-ed in today's Salt Lake Tribune: "Discouraging violent rhetoric". It was written about ten days ago, and is not what I would write today, but I stand by it. In a weak moment I let a particular woman from Alaska get under my skin. It reminded me of another guy that got to me last year. These people are way out of bounds.

Jon Stewart on Gabby Giffords and the situation in Tucson

2011-01-11T12:08:00.002-07:00

A message of hope in a time of despair:

"I refuse to give in to that feeling of despair. There's light in this situation. I urge everyone: Read up about those who were hurt and or killed in this shooting. You will be comforted by just how much anonymous goodness there really is in the world. You read about these people and you realize that people that you don't even know, that you have never met, are leading lives of real dignity and goodness. And you hear about crazy, but it's rarer than you think. I think you'll find yourself even more impressed with Congresswoman Giffords and amazed about how much living the deceased packed into lives cut way too short. And if there is real solace in this, I think it's that for all the hyperbole and the vitriol that's become a part of our political process, when the reality of that rhetoric, when actions match the disturbing nature of words we haven't lost our capacity to be horrified. Please let us hope we never do. Let us hope we never become numb to what real horror, what the real blood of patriots looks like when it's spilled." -Jon Stewart

Thoughts from Utahredrock.com on the dog park in Salt Lake City

2011-01-07T23:18:00.005-07:00

Since last April of last year I've been working to save an off-leash dog park in Utah. During that time I was also mostly inactive here at utahredrock.com (aka azredrock.blogspot.com). Mayor Becker has proposed doing away with almost all of the off-leash use at Parley's Park (aka Tanner Park--which is actually a neighboring and much smaller park).

I spoke with Mayor Becker again earlier this week. He was very cordial and agreed that we "should" be able to work together on this. Yet it was clear he had no interest of actually working with dog owners or FIDOs, the Utah-based dog group. He was being polite. He dodged my request for a meeting with some of the key interested parties. He genuinely just doesn't want dogs to be off-leash in the park, and wants dogs banned all together from parts of the park. I don't understand why, but that's his prerogative.

Some good has come out of our efforts. The Salt Lake City Council did hear us. Because of hundreds of dog owners going and speaking to them, they understand the issue better. I also got to know two Salt Lake City Council members and have enormous respect for them: Soren Simonsen and Stan Penfold. Both not only supported preserving the dog park, they were especially decent, warm and enjoyable to work with. I briefly met a few of the other council members as well.

All of the members of the Salt Lake City Council seem to take their jobs seriously and work hard for the best interests of our city. I salute them in that regard--I just wish they would have kept this issue simple, reprimanded Mayor Becker for wasting $100,000+ for a plan that went against what the council asked for in 2007 and preserved the park with a management plan for off-leash dogs.

Regards,

Jim Breitinger

A message from Jake

2010-10-26T23:12:00.003-06:00

Image courtesy of my friend Kathy and the 1917 U.S. Army recruiting poster by James M. Flagg.

Mark and Scott Kelly--American astronauts

2010-10-13T15:34:00.003-06:00

Part of an interview with Mark and Scott Kelly of NASA.

See all six parts on the NASA website.

Hilarious auditions for the Utah Symphony!

2010-09-27T17:00:00.004-06:00

I helped produce this. It was a blast. I also appear in it--for about 1.5 seconds.

Who the hell are we kidding?

2010-07-27T12:21:00.002-06:00

Thomas Friedman’s response to the demise of the latest climate bill in the U.S. Congress is “we’re gonna be sorry.”

In California, for now, there is a consensus that global warming is a serious problem that requires serious action. Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s Administration this consensus has had bi-partisan support.

Clean energy technologies like solar require the support of government policies because of the long-term nature of the investment required by the private sector.

Clean energy technologies like solar require the support of government policies because of the long-term nature of the investment required by the private sector.

For anyone not ready to accept that global warming is caused by human activity, or that it is even bad–there are other compelling reasons for supporting most of the key aspects of the climate/energy bill that was just abandoned by Congress. At the top of the list is our dependence on oil and all that that entails. Since the early 1970s an increasing majority of oil consumed in the U.S. has been imported. This means we are shipping our wealth to other nations. That’s bad enough, but we’re also depending on them for the lifeblood of our economy–a dangerous and precarious place for us to be from a national security perspective.

Alternative energies are gaining increased adoption in the U.S., but we have a long, long way to go.

Last August we encouraged our readers to read “The Elusive Green Economy,” from The Atlantic Monthly–if you haven’t read it yet, it’s an important and educational piece (and not a short one!). This article does an outstanding job of demonstrating the price we continue to pay as a nation by not supporting policies that make alternative energies feasible in the marketplace. During the 1980s, the collapse in oil prices made such policies a low priority in Washington. The Atlantic Monthly article does an excellent job of explaining the long term cost of those policy choices.

The downside of lower oil prices is both high carbon emissions and the massive transfer of American wealth overseas.

Journalist and author Thomas Friedman has made the promotion of environmental awareness and clean energy two of his signature causes. “We’re Gonna Be Sorry,” is Friedman’s reply to the news that the U.S. Senate will not pursue a climate/energy bill. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last year so Senate action was the only thing separating the legislation from becoming the law of the land (the president is eager to sign it into law).

Friedman ends his column with various reports, including this one, that demonstrate the folly of inaction:

“Just as the U.S. Senate was abandoning plans for a U.S. cap-and-trade system, this article ran in The China Daily: ‘BEIJING — The country is set to begin domestic carbon trading programs during its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015) to help it meet its 2020 carbon intensity target. . . . Putting a price on carbon is a crucial step for the country to employ the market to reduce its carbon emissions and genuinely shift to a low-carbon economy, industry analysts said.’”

It is ironic that communist China may embrace a market driven solution to that nation’s energy problems before the U.S. Like the U.S., China imports most of its oil.

We will be sorry if we don’t STAND FOR LESS and stand for more sensible policies from our leaders. California, as is often the case, is ahead of the curve in this effort. An initiative will be on this fall’s ballot to delay implementation of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.

This would be much less likely to occur and the arguments in favor of delay would have less relevance if the U.S. would adopt a sensible national policy regarding climate change and energy.

Jim Breitinger

This post originally appeared at STAND FOR LESS--a campaign in San Diego dedicated toward less consumption and smarter consumption.

For Pippa, Bry, Dar and all of those who love the open road, as seen from a bike

2010-07-13T11:39:00.003-06:00

We are creatures of the grid

2010-07-08T14:18:00.001-06:00

“We are creatures of the grid,” is the opening line to this month’s National Geographic article by Joel Achenbach.

And we are. From the heating and cooling systems that control our indoor environments, to the power for our cell phones and computers–we have grown so accustomed to reliable and affordable electricity that we take it for granted as much as the air we breathe.

But our grid was built for the 20th century. What we have works, most of the time. It’s not, however, equipped for the growing demand of our ever increasing population. It is also unequipped to handle the new, greener sources of electricity that we hope will be powering our lives in the years ahead.

One of the first steps in developing a smarter grid for this century can be found in San Diego through SDG&E’s implementation of smart meters. This is a logical step since the technology is readily available to provide both consumers and producers of electricity with vital real-time, two-way communications regarding energy usage. SDG&E is a national leader in this upgrade.

Smart meter technology will allow homeowners and businesses to see how they are consuming electricity, and adjust their energy use accordingly. Utilities will have real time information to prevent or deal with brownouts or localized outages. Today most power companies don’t know that the power is out until somebody calls in a report. By implementing this relatively simple technology, we are taking an important step forward toward a smarter grid for this century.

Green energy and the grid

Forty percent of all energy used in the U.S. goes into making electricity–and today only 3% of that energy comes from renewable sources. The vast majority of our energy for electricity comes from coal and natural gas-powered plants (almost 50% is from coal-powered generators). If we are going to deal with climate change, we need to move away from these carbon-dioxide belching energy sources.

Developing a smarter grid is especially important as Americans shift toward greener sources of energy, including wind and solar.

Today, Texas is capable of producing far more wind energy than the existing grid can handle. Because of this, as well as the collapse in the price of natural gas over the past two years, an ambitious project to build a giant wind farm in west Texas was abandoned.

Arizona is capable of producing enough solar power for the entire nation. There too, the grid is not capable of distributing what Arizona could produce.

There are a few grid-related issues limiting the sun and the wind as energy sources including: distribution capacity, storage capabilities and grid intelligence. Wind and solar depend on the wind blowing, and the sun shining. Mechanisms need to be developed and deployed to store power for night time and calm days.

Moving to different sources of energy and upgrading our grid are important steps toward standing for less oil, gas and coal being used. These are also vital steps for national security. Oil is not a significant source of electricity in the U.S., but by generating clean energy and moving toward electric vehicles, we can decrease our need for foreign oil–which literally fuels our economy today–and keeps us hostage to the whims of the market and to foreign nations that are at times less than friendly.

As creatures of the grid, these are issues that affect all of us.

Read “The 21st Century Grid,” by Joel Achenbach.

This post originally appeared at STAND FOR LESS.

Laughing in the face of human folly, BP and the Gulf

2010-06-15T09:54:00.001-06:00

Very funny, and of course very much not funny:

Taking a stand for Dog Freedom in Salt Lake City

2010-06-01T23:06:00.016-06:00

Tonight 18 people spoke to the Salt Lake City Council on behalf of maintaining Parley’s Historic Nature Park as it is: A dog park.

Another 18 to 30 people showed up and filled out comment cards to join in opposition to Mayor Becker’s bureaucratic proposal to impose severe restrictions on dogs in the park.

The passion people feel for this park was palpable.

One woman broke down into tears after speaking eloquently about the park. It hit her as to what a loss it would be to her entire family if they couldn’t use Parley’s the way they use it now.

This park is that important to many of us and we all shared her feelings at such a prospect.

Thanks to everyone who came tonight! It was an important step in the right direction, but we are just beginning to get our message out.

A City Council meeting is a formal setting. The primary purpose of the 7 PM Tuesday meetings is for the Council to listen to the public.

For those of us that stayed the full session, we were not finished until 9, well over an hour beyond the previous two times I’ve gone.

The full Council was there as was Mayor Becker.

Becker comes to these meetings as a listener. With a group of passionate Parley’s Park people there--often taking verbal shots at him--Becker gamely sat through it all. I thanked him for listening when I spoke. It never seemed like he wanted to listen to us at the meetings he’s been in charge of.

Now is the time to keep the pressure on. There is only one more opportunity to speak to the Council this month.

Becker’s proposal is an outrage, especially since we just went through this fight three years ago (and won). It’s also an outrage because we need more open space for dogs not less.

It’s inexplicable how Becker went from the Council vote of 2007 declaring Parley’s a legal off-leash park to paying a consultant $100,000 to recommend that the park become an on-leash space with half of it off limits to dogs entirely!

The amount of the consultant’s fee was confirmed informally by a member of the Council. We still don’t know the precise amount, but it appears to have been at least $100k.

This is the American West, a place with abundant open space. There is even abundant space in and near our urban environment, but Parley’s is the last park of its kind in a valley where it is becoming tougher and tougher to take your dog where he or she can run free.

Parley’s is a community within our community and it was refreshing tonight to hear so many people let the Council know how important the park is to them. Such personal statements have an impact.

Please join us next Tuesday, June 8th, to continue to drive home the message for Dog Freedom and save this park which is an urban gem in the Salt Lake Valley.

Both photos by Bill Allard, taken at Parley's Park. The bird is a Western Tanager. Dog lover's appreciate the abundance of other species at Parley's and long time park users know that dogs have minimal impact on other species--far far less impact than direct human impact on species in the Salt Lake Valley.

Want to read more? Read about my May 18th encounter with Mayor Becker.

The winding down of America's manned space-flight program . . .

2010-05-21T18:43:00.001-06:00

Astronaut Steve Bowen during the final flight of space shuttle Atlantis.

March 2011 update: NASA has scheduled one additional flight for Atlantis, with a current launch target of June 2011.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker betrays dog owners--Mayor embraces convoluted planning proposal for Parley’s Dog Park (a.k.a. Tanner's or PHNP)

2010-05-18T21:48:00.027-06:00

I spoke with Mayor Becker this evening. The Mayor informed me that he formally passed on his recommendation to severely limit dog access to Parley's Park to the City Council. The recommendation is from a plan created for the mayor by consultant Sharen Hauri who was reportedly paid $100,000. Parley's Park is in the corner of the Salt Lake Valley, just outside of city limits, however, it is owned by the City. Its primary use currently is as a dog park.

The Mayor’s proposal offers a convoluted set of new rules with many different zones set up in this 80 acre parcel of land. This is a plan that current city staff and other outside groups were qualified to do at no additional cost to the city.

The new plan betrays the vote of the City Council in 2007 that designated Parley’s Historic Nature Park (the park's official name) as a “permitted dog off-leash area.” That vote came after an extended and proactive effort by friends of dogs in Utah. The most frustrating aspect of my conversation with Mayor Becker was his open denial of this fact. He encouraged me to read the Council's 2007 resolution, which I have done. Becker has hijacked that earlier decision and gone off in a completely different, and unwarranted direction.

In earlier comments he made at a public meeting, Becker stressed that he saw his role, as it relates to this park, as a long-term planner to preserve the park for future generations. The Mayor would dispute that the new plan is anti-dog, though he readily acknowledges that it imposes new restrictions. It is ironic that he would betray the planning process that began before he was mayor, a process that designated this park as an off-leash dog park.

Off leash dogs tend to cover two to five times as much ground as their owners on any given hike. The experience of taking a dog off-leash versus on-leash is vastly different. The freedom and joy of a dog running free uplifts both canine and human spirits.

Becker pointed out to me that he helped fight for the city’s first off-leash area, a small section along City Creek near his old neighborhood in Salt Lake City’s Avenues. I am not sure why he told me this since it is contradictory to his proposal for Parley’s Park just south of the City. Both areas are in riparian zones. Restoring the riparian zone at Parley's is ostensibly a primary reason for requiring dogs to be on-leash. Why is it acceptable for there to be an off-leash area that he helped establish and used regularly, but not at Parley’s?

Without disrespecting Mayor Becker, I strongly disagree with him on this particular issue and find his position to be confusing. It seeks to overturn a hard fought battle that dog supporters won in 2007. It would restrict people from letting their dogs run free—an activity that he says he values. Salt Lake City needs more off-leash space not less.

Parley's is a park that borders an Interstate freeway. The emissions and the run-off from the freeway are far more hazardous to the ecology of the park than a group of dogs—whose owners clean up after them—will ever be. Also, the stream runs for miles through the city without similar restrictions. Why create an arbitrary set of rules for this short section of stream? I am all for restoring riparian zones, but believe that can be done without the draconian restrictions proposed by the mayor.

Currently Salt Lake City has a gem where dogs and their owners can go without a long drive. Taking this away would be a blow to the quality of life in this urban valley.

Please join me in reaching out to the City Council to encourage them to show their disapproval of the hiring of consultant Sharen Hauri at great expense during times when the City is making painful cuts in services. Encourage the Council to avoid further expenses that the Becker/Hauri plan would impose. Encourage them not to impose an unfunded set of mandates on County residents.

Most important, encourage the City Council to stand by their decision of 2007 and preserve this one small corner of the valley for dogs and those who love them.

Read my first Council report here: "Saving Space for Urban Dogs in the Salt Lake Valley."

Hilarious video for the Ford Fiesta

2010-05-18T13:34:00.003-06:00

I love my new Honda Fit. My new Twitter friend Jonathan (@Jonathan360 on Twitter) sent me this . . . pretty damn funny!:

My new Honda Fit!

2010-05-14T11:12:00.003-06:00

Last night at Sundance, the first outing with my new car:

Footage from the Gulf--the Deepwater Horizon/BP disaster

2010-05-10T16:25:00.000-06:00

More than reading and following the news, this short video helps you get your head around the poisoning of the Gulf of Mexico:

Saving space for urban dogs in the Salt Lake Valley

2010-05-04T19:59:00.025-06:00

I just returned from giving a two minute speech to the Salt Lake City Council regarding the almost certain recommendation from Mayor Becker to make Parley's/Tanner Park an on-leash park with two small "off-leash" fenced-in areas. I am looking for others to come speak to the Council to save this park as it is.

The heart of my comments were borrowed from a friend. I said:

"I want to thank the City Council for the action you took in 2007 to designate Tanner/Parley's Park an off-leash area. The Council approved off-leash designation with a process set up to restore and protect the area. The process was to be wholly in the context of the off-leash designation. The Council was not setting up a process to determine if the park should be off-leash--you spoke on that point, and I thank you.

"A lot of people worked hard for a legal off-leash park and now the city has hired a high-priced consultant named Sharen Hauri who was reportedly paid $100,000 to come up with a plan that perverts the Council's intentions and is based on shoddy premises. It must be mentioned that the city already employs people perfectly capable of writing such plans. The approach being taken by Sharen and Mayor Becker's office is a betrayal of what was promised when the park was designated for off-leash use."

A healthy urban area includes gems like Parley's Park--please help us preserve it as it is. The dog community has done an amazing job of restoring and maintaining this park.

Anyone can speak to the City Council.

Please join us, we need speakers for Tuesdays. Next up: May 11 and May 18. Two minutes is a short time to speak, but your voice will make a powerful difference for the dogs and friends of dogs in Utah.

Thanks.

Regards,

Jim Breitinger
Working for Dog Freedom in Utah!

Learn more from this outstanding article by Kate Bradshaw from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Why we STAND FOR LESS–Oil gushing into the Gulf

2010-04-28T19:37:00.001-06:00

Last week’s explosion of the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico is a vivid reminder of why it’s important to STAND FOR LESS. Oil is gushing into the Gulf at the rate of thousands of barrels of oil per day. The source of the leak is 5,000 feet below sea level.

The Gulf is being poisoned at a rapid rate.

Our seemingly unquenchable need for oil is the source of this disaster.

When we STAND FOR LESS, individually and together, we can reduce that need and we can find new, cleaner sources of energy.

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded late on April 20, 2010 and sank on April 22. Eleven workers have not been found, many others suffered severe injuries.

Jim Breitinger

This post originally appeared at STAND FOR LESS.

Jim Range lives through the National Casting Call in Washington, D.C.

2010-04-21T20:56:00.009-06:00

Tomorrow in D.C. the annual Jim Range National Casting Call is taking place. They renamed the event last year, or this year, I am not sure which.

I met Jim in 1987 and was fortunate to have him as a major part of my life until he died in January of 2009 from an aggressive form of cancer. Talk about a loss--this man had so much heart, if you didn't know him it's impossible to describe. He was bigger than life--a genuine and wonderful character. His life's work was to protect and restore habitats for all of the wild things he loved, especially fish and birds.

The Casting Call is an annual opportunity to "provide government decision makers with the opportunity to fish for shad in the Potomac River and learn about the importance of collaborative fisheries conservation." You can read more about it, and more about Jim (including seeing videos that I still can't bear to watch) at http://www.nationalcastingcall.com/

Utahredrock welcomes home space shuttle Discovery

2010-04-20T08:28:00.006-06:00

Less than two hours ago Discovery returned to Earth at the Kennedy Space Center. America's manned space program is nearing an end for the foreseeable future, a sad state of affairs for a nation of innovators and explorers. This was Discovery's 38th mission.

One more mission is scheduled for September--that is the final scheduled trip of America's manned space program. If the shuttle fleet actually retires the United States will have no way to transport humans to space. The current plan is to rely on the Russians.

What would an American of the 1960s think of this? What do you?

Watch the shuttle land . . . fantastic footage

2010-04-20T08:26:00.001-06:00

NASA posted this on YouTube . . . . too, too cool! It's a long video but inspiring. They make it look so smooth. A clear morning in Florida:

Utah Dog Alert: Salt Lake City planning to take away last legal off-leash area at Parley's Gulch (a.k.a. Tanner Park)

2010-04-15T21:58:00.002-06:00

Comments from Kate Bradshaw of FIDOS this evening, at Parley’s where Salt Lake City Mayor Becker held a public meeting to present plans to severely limit off-leash access to the park going from over 80 acres to 10 acres of mostly fenced in areas:

Mr. Mayor, thank you for visiting Parley’s Historic Nature Park today to hear our concerns about the management plan recommended by the City’s consultant. We had sought an audience with you to address our concerns and are pleased to finally have that opportunity.

As you know, Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space, or FIDOS as we are more commonly known, is a non-profit organization dedicated to securing off-leash areas for dogs and their owners in the Salt Lake Valley. As dog-owners, we subscribe to a simple philosophy that says “to that which you tame, you owe your life.” From this philosophy flows our dedication to ensuring that our dogs have adequate, LEGAL, space in which to do the things dogs do best: run, sniff, wrestle and explore. Our return on investment from our furry companions is more than paid in full.

This park is unique and special to the FIDOS community. It is unequivocally the BEST off-leash space in the entire city. The loops of trails, access to the stream, and variety of terrain make this place very special to us and our dogs. It was through no small effort on the part of FIDOS volunteers that this Park came to be what you see today; largely free of the discarded junk and invasive weeds that had accumulated here for decades. That is not to say this Park is perfect in its current state. Despite our efforts, there is still much more that needs to be done in order for this Park to truly flourish and shine as the gem it is.

It is because of our commitment to both dogs and open space that FIDOS was complete and totally willing to embrace the stewardship agreement the City required in order for this place to become a legal off-leash area. Countless hours have been donated by FIDOS volunteers in thistle mitigation, blocking of social trails, junk hauling, poop pick-ups (or poop karma as we call it), and in dog-owner education.

After such investment in this Park and in our commitment to the dogs we have tamed, it can be no wonder that we look upon the recommendations by the City’s consultant with complete and utter dismay. An area that once contained 88-acres of multi-use space has been segregated and unnaturally divided.

As the largest park-user group, we are now to be restricted to less than 10 acres of the park in two fenced dog areas. How can it possibly make any sense to restrict a large, growing, TAX-PAYING user group to such a small area of the Park? Moreover, the City Council in the July 2007 motion that created this Park recognized a need for additional off-leash space within the City. This management plan not only reduced off-leash space, but does not identify where the displaced dog-community will be relocated. We would suggest that FIDOS has shown a commitment to this Park far beyond that of any other user group and has proven that we can and do take our steward of this area very seriously.

Additionally, we have grave concerns about the proposed lower off-leash area near the substation. This area is intended to serve as a flood control basin in addition to off-leash space. It is widely known by the dog-community that during times of high run-off it is not safe to allow your dogs near the lower culvert as some number of dogs have died trapped against the grate across the culvert. No responsible dog owner would allow their dog in that area in the Spring. There is also the concern that this area will be a permanent mud pit, unsuitable for dogs or people, when the area is called to double duty as the flood control basin.

The upper fenced dog area is in an area that lacks any shade and questions about access to the creek by dogs and people has never been answered by the consultant. During the hot summer months, the most desirable locations within the Park are near the Creek and the shade of the trees near the creek. It is unclear from the consultant’s recommendations whether any improvements like shade shacks or water will be added to the upper area. Surely the City is not intending to drive dogs and their owners from the Park though a policy of heat stroke?

Of upmost concern is the designation of the Southern half of the Park as a “protection and preserve area.” No dogs would be allowed on the Southern side of the park whether on or off-leash.

While the name of this Park, Parley’s Historic Nature Park, indicate it is “wild” and “unimproved” this park never has been and was never intended to be a “nature preserve.” FIDOS has submitted documentation to the City and the City’s consultant demonstrating that claims to the contrary are false. The land in this park was accumulated over a lengthy period that involved several land swaps with the Utah Department of Transportation, private land owners, and the City. There are acres upon acres of land set aside as watershed or as preserves in this City and the County and we feel this is more than sufficient space for that purpose.

Finally, the consultant’s plans envisions construction of new trails, relocation of the BMX park, fencing dog areas, enhanced park enforcement and other projects costing many thousands of dollars that seem frankly unattainable given the current fiscal environment and completely irresponsible in light of the $20 million budget shortfall just announced by the City.

We would urge you to seriously reconsider the consultant’s recommendations. FIDOS has long stood ready to engage with the City in improvements and responsible management of the Park and continues to extend our volunteer hours, tools, and expertise to wise management of this Park for all user groups. We too want this Park to be better; a better place for families, for BMX-ers, and for dogs and their owners.

Learn more about FIDOS at http://www.millcreekfidos.org/ and help protect and maintain our dog spaces in Utah.

Park City Mayor Dana Williams discusses RIESTER

2010-03-29T12:34:00.000-06:00

Bluebird day at Alta

2010-03-29T08:38:00.005-06:00

Trailer Trash . . . those were the days

2010-03-23T16:26:00.006-06:00

Needless to say, this image brings back fond memories of my increasingly distant time as trailer trash.

More on those days at: http://1973airstream.blogspot.com/

Photo courtesy of Oliver Fluck. Visit his website for more of his great work.

Spring 2010, Salt Lake City

2010-03-21T19:38:00.005-06:00

A warm first day of Spring in northern Utah. A few of us did a short hike up one of my favorite canyons. Ahhhhhh Utah! This is the place.

Portraits of Utah, by Utahredrock. March 21, 2010.

Last month in southern Utah

2010-03-20T12:38:00.003-06:00

Update from Utah

2010-03-16T22:03:00.005-06:00

It's great to be back in Utah. I've got a place of my own again for the first time since I moved out of the Aistream in August. It is a land-based home (no more wheels on my home for now) with a nice yard for Jake.

Winter has flown by with not enough skiing, but I've managed to get out a few times downhill and a few more x-country. The snow is still good.

Cheers from Utah,

Jim and Jake (my pup)

Horse lovers, lovers of all animals and anyone who loves children . . . enjoy this video!

2010-02-26T15:22:00.003-07:00

From Windrock Farm:

Hilarious ad . . .

2010-02-24T10:21:00.002-07:00

Space shuttle Endeavor's night launch

2010-02-08T09:37:00.002-07:00

In the middle of the night last night Endeavor blasted off en route to the International Space Station in what may be the final night launch of an American space shuttle. Oh to have been there . . .

Thinking of Tillman on the NFL's big day

2010-02-07T23:34:00.024-07:00

Tonight New Orleans beat Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLIV. I tuned in for the second half of the game. I don't watch much football but I am glad I watched--good sport wasn't lacking tonight. The interception to touchdown play was epic. It was also great to see the underdog come out on top.

After the big game, I finished Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, a book by Jon Krakauer. Tillman played in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals and then hung up his football jersey after the 9/11 attacks. Though he qualified to serve as an officer he, along with his brother, enlisted as a private. Tillman was killed in an incident of friendly fire on April 22, 2004 in Afghanistan.

A Sundance film called “The Tillman Story” got me interested in this former NFL star and American warrior. His story is not a story that leaves you feeling very warm-hearted about the U.S. Government or military. In fact the military and political handling of Tillman's death is downright shameful.

Tillman and his family are admirable. The family's pursuit of the truth surrounding his death is part of a complicated story, but their persistence is inspiring even as it exposes tragic human and institutional weaknesses. Tillman had many gifts. He was a talented and driven athlete. He was a devoted husband and loving son. He was a loyal brother, especially close to his brother Kevin--who served with him in the same unit in the army. Tillman was also a thinker. He kept a journal, loved ideas and conversation. He respected and was genuinely curious about the opinions of others and had many opinions himself, yet he lacked dogma and adapted his beliefs based on additional knowledge he gained in his endless explorations. Tillman read voraciously, everything from Noam Chomsky to the Bible--though he was an atheist himself.

Pat Tillman is not the man that was portrayed to Americans at the time of his death. The military invented a story about the circumstances of his death that was a pure lie, and everyone involved knew it. But they hoped to use Tillman as a propaganda tool to build support for the war so the army told his family, and the American people that he died at the hands of the enemy. They thought this invention would play better than the actual circumstances of his death.

Tillman's real story was much more interesting than the one that was invented about him, first by the military and then by a hungry media all too happy to feed Americans the propaganda that the media felt they wanted. His story says something about the impact of politics and power on the lives of one man and those who loved him. Tillman is probably the most famous recruit of the past decade. His case provides some insight into what others who serve (and their families) face in a time of war.

Krakauer ends the book by highlighting Tillman's idealism, calling it his tragic virtue. Tillman believed he had a duty to do something more important than play football. Though he often saw people do wrong, he believed that most people would do the right thing. He trusted his government to do right by him. A grounded and capable man, he ultimately died by literally standing up into the line of fire coming from his comrades in arms. It was a futile attempt to get them to stop shooting. His ending was tragic, though friendly fire is common in war (a fact that adds to the tragic nature of war).

If you don't know the full Tillman story I strongly encourage you to learn it. Read Krakauer's book, the book by Tillman's mother titled Boots on the Ground by Dusk, or keep your eyes out for the excellent documentary that premiered at Sundance last month.

Tillman's story, with all of its twists and turns, is a story loaded with many lessons for all of us. On this Super Bowl Sunday, let's all think of Pat Tillman: football player, soldier, thinker, husband, son, brother, American.

Photo of Tillman from the Pat Tillman Foundation. The foundation "was established to carry forward Pat’s legacy of leadership and civic action by supporting future generations of leaders who embody the American tradition of citizen service."

A day in East Canyon, Utah

2010-01-24T21:12:00.013-07:00

Today Pippa, Kirk, Jake, Stella and I headed up to the top of East Canyon for some cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing and a photo session. It was a grand outing.

Kirk and Stella (a pup of a certain age) not photographed.

All photos by Kirk Marshall.

My two favorite rock stars

2010-01-20T16:31:00.003-07:00

My colleagues in meteorites, Geoff Notkin and Steve Arnold have hit the big time. Last May their show Meteorite Men debuted on Discovery's Science Channel. Due to popular demand, hardly surprising if you know these two great guys, Discovery picked up the show. They've filmed six new episodes which begin airing tonight.

Here's one of the promo posters, pretty hilarious!

Mad Men

2009-12-15T09:40:00.002-07:00

If you have yet to discover AMC's Mad Men, it's not too late.

Mad Men is a television show set in the early 1960s at a New York City advertising agency on Madison Avenue. The show brilliantly explores the sensibilities of a bygone era in our not too distant past. The characters are vivid, the writing exquisite, the music, the sets, the costumes, all come together to remind us how much the world has changed in five decades and how much it hasn't. Some describe Mad Men as a soap opera, and if you're going to watch it you will want to start at the beginning. I think of it more as the best, and perhaps longest, feature film I've ever seen. The quality of the show is that good. Season three finished this fall. The first two seasons are available on DVD and all three seasons are available from iTunes.

Below is an image of the actress Christina Hendricks who plays Joan Holloway Harris, and is one of my favorite characters on the show.

Tanner Park, Salt Lake City

2009-11-22T12:46:00.004-07:00

O.C. Tanner was an amazing man. I've written about him in the past (I might have to find some of those pieces). Tanner was a successful Utah businessman who gave back to his community. One of those gifts was a piece of land in town that's a park now. It's an ideal place for urban dog parents to take their pups off leash.

Jake and I just returned after a romp in the park. He's one happy boy. Me too.

Update, October 2010: Just saw this post. It turns out I knew nothing about this park, but have since learned--more than I want to know! The park I go to is not Tanner Park, it's Parley's Historic Nature Park. The land wasn't given to the city by Tanner, the city bought most of it from UDOT. To my chagrin--as my other posts demonstrate--SLC Mayor Becker is trying to take the park away. I didn't know that when I wrote this initial post.

Meteor over Utah!

2009-11-18T20:52:00.009-07:00

. . . and I missed it. But a friend of mine saw it along with thousands of others. Now the hunt is on for rocks from space. I'll be listing news reports below. Too cool! Will there be any new meteorites from my favorite state?

Look at this nine second video:

November 18th coverage from the Salt Lake Tribune.

More from my friend who witnessed it: He said the entire Salt Lake valley lit up like it was daytime--the event occurred around midnight. He said he briefly thought it was the apocalypse.

Here is a more detailed news report:

November 30th update:

According to Seth Jarvis of Clark Planetarium "it entered the atmosphere at about 50,000 miles an hour."

"With the Colorado video and a spectacular mountaintop video from western Utah, they triangulated a new target zone. The space rock evidently traveled north to south and exploded 35 miles high, 120 miles west of Salt Lake. If any of it reached Earth, it was likely south of Wendover, near the Utah-Nevada border in the rugged Deep Creek Mountains." Read more at KSL.com.

The Meteorite Men premiere

2009-11-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Originally posted May 12, 2009

With Geoffrey Notkin just after his new show Meteorite Men premiered on the Discovery Science Channel. This is one of the two Brenham meteorites they found while filming in Kansas. This meteorite has olivine (peridot) gems in it.

Photographed in Tucson, Arizona on May 10, 2009.

Berlin +20, proud to be an American

2009-11-10T10:20:00.002-07:00

Yesterday the West celebrated one of its greatest triumphs. After 44 years of oppression, the Iron Curtain dissolved twenty years ago. The events in Berlin and throughout Eastern Europe in 1989 did not occur simply because an East German bureaucrat misspoke. No, they were the result of the strong moral position that the United States took beginning in the Truman Administration and carrying on through the early days of President Bush the First.

John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were the most colorful of the Cold Warriors. Their respective visits to Berlin in 1963 and 1987 are important mile markers of a long and brutal Cold War. Another great American effort must also be remembered. President Truman oversaw the most dramatic effort to preserve the freedom of West Berlin when he supplied the city with food and all other necessary supplies during the Berlin Blockade by the Soviets in 1948 and 1949. An entire city was kept alive by airlifting in every necessary supply to sustain life.

During the Berlin Airlift alone 71 American and British airmen lost their lives. It took courage to stand up to the Soviet bullies in the 1940s and it took commitment and vision to continue that stand for over four decades.

Americans, and other westerners whose nations supported our policy of containing communism to its 1945 borders in Europe, have much to be proud of. Yes that day in Berlin twenty years ago was a long day coming and it was no accident. It was one of the primary goals of U.S. foreign policy for almost half a century. Not only were German families split in two, but all of Eastern Europe suffered for two generations under the grip of Soviet Communism. Coming after two generations of war in the first half of the twentieth century, Eastern Europeans paid a heavy price for politics gone awry between 1914 and 1989.

All of this amounts to more than just historic facts. American efforts to contain communism in Europe represent the best of our country. In history nothing is inevitable. There are many possible outcomes and the future is impossible to predict.

Below you can see my friend Mirja Riester, who grew up near the intra-German border in West Germany, discuss the fall of the Berlin Wall:

They're back. January 20th.

2009-11-09T12:28:00.002-07:00

Don't miss new episodes of Meteorite Men with my friend's Geoffrey Notkin and Steve Arnold.