This morning's CRUD run on Garmin Connect.

Ran up Barr Trail to Barr Camp, turned right on the Elk Park Trail up to the meadow. Lost the trail in snow. Rich Muzzy, Rick Hessek, Scott Jaime, and John ? continued for another mile or so, while I scaled the rock pile northeast of the meadow to get a view. I could see down to the Manitou Reservoir and had great views of Pikes Peak and Bottomless Pit and all the way to the Elk Park Trailhead on the Pikes Peak Highway. In the mean time John Genet and Keith Grimes caught up to us. We returned to Barr Camp where John Genet and the rest ran up Barr Trail for A-Frame, while I headed back down to Manitou Springs with Keith Grimes.

Last night's run to Barr Camp and back on Garmin Connect

Guerrilla Gardeners: A growing green grassroots initiative is afoot, or, well, underfoot so to speak, and is cropping up globally in cities such as London, Toronto, and Los Angeles.

Some Free ebooks sites: WOWIO, Manybooks.net

Jason Stoddard: The Death of the PC and the rise of Us, Computer

Dr. Albert Bartlett: Arithmetic, Population and Energy

Bill Moyers interviewed Isaac Asimov. He asked Asimov, “What happens to the idea of the dignity of the human species if this population growth continues?” and Asimov says, “It’ll be completely destroyed. I like to use what I call my bathroom metaphor. If two people live in an apartment, and there are two bathrooms, then they both have freedom of the bathroom. You can go to the bathroom anytime you want, stay as long as you want, for whatever you need. And everyone believes in freedom of the bathroom. It should be right there in the constitution. But if you have twenty people in the apartment and two bathrooms, then no matter how much every person believes in freedom of the bathroom, there’s no such thing. You have to set up times for each person, you have to bang on the door, ‘Aren't you through yet?’ and so on.” And Asimov concluded with one of the most profound observations I've seen in years. He said, “In the same way, democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive overpopulation. Convenience and decency cannot survive overpopulation. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn’t matter if someone dies, the more people there are, the less one individual matters.”

Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren

TED Talks: Mark Bittman: What's Wrong with what we eat?

Samantha Power commencement address: Be a Good Ancestor

Jason Stoddard Blog (I found him on manybooks.net)

David Holmgren, founder of Permaculture: Future Scenarios

Vice-Premier Paul Hellyer, Canada - Alien Contact

Lobbyists, Lobbyists

From the archives of Harper's magazine (1956): Subways are for Sleeping

Pharyngula has this: Birth Pangs of a Police State

Minneapolis is hosting the Republican National Convention this summer, and that means we're seeing an uptick in sleaze (you might want to avoid public restrooms when these guys are in town). The most bizarre part of it all is that the FBI is looking for villains in all the wrong places.

What they were looking for, Carroll says, was an informant--someone to show up at "vegan potlucks" throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protestors, schmoozing his way into their inner circles, then reporting back to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, a partnership between multiple federal agencies and state and local law enforcement. The effort's primary mission, according to the Minneapolis division's website, is to "investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines."

Vegan potlucks now fall within the definition of a terrorist cell, as defined by the US Attorney General? What are they going to do, threaten a mass assault by kumbaya-singing hordes in birkenstocks armed with lumps of tofu?

This is not about protecting citizens. It's about silencing the expression of dissent, no matter how mild.

Springtime in the Rockies

Obama takes on McCain/Bush

Larisa Alexandrovna: All the President's Nazis (real and imagined): An Open Letter to Bush

Interesting Trails...

I left my house this morning with the plan to run up the Barr Trail to No-Name Creek (mile 3), then turn right on Longs Ranch Road to the intersection with Bob's Road, then continue on an obscure trail down Hurricane Canyon that leads eventually to the Manitou Reservoir, take another trail that ascends to the Barr Trail at the 7.8 mile-to-go sign, then continue on to Barr Camp before returning down the Barr Trail.

However, when I neared the Manitou Reservoir I noticed the forest service had erected a sign that pointed north with "Heizel Trail" on it. I had forgotten where this trail goes so I headed up it to see if I could get a bead on where it terminates. At first it was not a trail at all, but just a way through the open woods marked by the occasional red tag on trees. It popped out on the "real" Heizel Trail where there was a trail post pointing down the trail I had just ascended stating to stay on the trail down at the Manitou Reservoir. Apparently they are trying to keep people away from the reservoir which is why they are trying to redirect the Heizel Trail. I continued up the Heizel Trail past some fantastic granite formations and occasional outstanding views of the Peak until it crested on a high ridge overlooking highway 24 and Cascade. At this point I jettisoned my plans to return to the Barr Trail and descended the Heizel Trail to the town of Cascade, ran down the Highway to the Ute Pass Trail and returned to Manitou Springs with a side-line on the Pipeline Trail.

Very interesting 3.5 hours!

Running Barr Trail in Winter

Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Brendan Demelle: Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report

NYT: James Risen: Blackwater is making its comeback

A Dream Deferred....does it explode?

Quite a story: Triumph on Capitol

(Capitol Peak, near Aspen)

Devastation on the slopes of Engelman Canyon (across from my house)

Richard Dawkins: An atheist's call to arms

Sir Martin Rees: Earth in its final century?

Frans Lanting: A lyrical view of life on Earth

Ted Talks: Frans Lanting: A lyrical view of life on Earth

In this stunning slideshow, nature photographer Frans Lanting presents The LIFE Project, a collection that tells the story of our planet, from its eruptive beginnings to its present diversity. Hoping for a glimpse of the world the way it was in the age of photosynthesizing stromatolites, "back before the sky turned blue," Lanting journeyed to a remote lagoon in Australia, the only place in the world where stromatolites still exist. The story moves forward from there, via a lyrical collection of photographs set to a soundtrack from Philip Glass.

No Peace No Work

Seattle Longshoremen marching to end the war and occupation of Iraq