Stuff about me
My name is Keith Michaud and this is “Letters From Away,” a blog written by a Mainer living outside the comfortable and sane confines of New England. The blog is intended for Mainers, whether they live in the Pine Tree State or beyond, and for anyone who has loved ’em, been baffled by ’em or both. Ayuh, I am “from away.” Worse still, I live on the Left Coast – in California. Enjoy! Or not. Your choice.
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Monthly Archives: May 2010
Maine monitoring gulf oil spill | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Economy, Energy, Environment, Maine, Politics and government
Tagged BP, British Petroleum, coastline, Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Stream, Maine, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, marine resources, oil spill, U.S. Coast Guard, University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, wildlife
Forest cover declining across New England | Bangor Daily News
Forest cover declining across New England – Bangor Daily News
[There is a note at the bottom of this story that indicates there might be updates to this story. I’m guessing the BDN will localize it and expand the information. At least, that’s what they should do. — KM]
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged conservation, ecological research, forest, global warming, Harvard Forest, Harvard University, Maine, New England
UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News
UMPI windmill ‘a great decision’ | Bangor Daily News
[In high school I played in a baseball playoff game hosted at the university baseball field near where this turbine was built. If that day was any indication of what the wind is like there normally, the windmill was put in just the right place. It was so windy that day that we could barely hit the ball out of the infield. More universities – more communities, more hospitals, more government buildings should consider wind power, solar power, and other alternative energy sources. – KM]
Live data on the turbine can be found at www.umpi.edu/wind; click on “Live Turbine Data.”
Coffeehouse observation No. 132
Bold coffee and loud Rolling Stones – only way to start the day.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observations, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, Rolling Stones, tea
Coffeehouse observation No. 131
Warmer weather means lovely coffeehouse patrons wearing short shorts and sundresses.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observations, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, short shorts, sundresses, tea, warm weather
Maine Friends for Haiti holding ‘raffle’ to benefit Haiti
Maine Friends of Haiti, a group working to get aid to Haiti, is holding a raffle of sorts to spur more giving to the island nation.
Mary Doyle of the group asked that I post a link to the YouTube video that tells of the Maine people and groups that have traveled to help the earthquake-ravaged nation or have given in other ways, from coin drives, school plays, benefit concerts to art sales, solar panels and used sails donated for shelters.
The video also tells of the Maine-Haiti Statewide $1,000 Map Challenge Raffle. If I understand the raffle correctly, the name of each of Maine’s towns and cities is listed on a map and for the name of the community to be highlighted, just one person has to indicate that they have done something , anything for Haiti relief. That person then gets a ticket for the raffle. The ticket’s are not for sale; you get them by doing something for Haiti.
“You have to do something for Haiti to earn it,” according to the Maine Friends of Haiti website. “It’s a raffle that recognizes the caring nature of Mainers. It’s a raffle that challenges every town and city in Maine to get involved.”
Also – and I’ve e-mailed Ms. Doyle about this and I’ll update the information if I am completely off the mark – the winner of the raffle gets to pick which agency helping Haiti gets the $1,000. The winner doesn’t get a prize, per se, simply the pleasure of picking a nonprofit to get the $1,000.
Anyway, below is the link to the video and Maine Friends of Haiti website address.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4zi_c-zI4o
Global temperature was warmest on record in April | SustainableBusiness.com News
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for both April and for the period from January-April, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Additionally, last month’s average ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for any April, and the global land surface temperature was the third warmest on record.
Click on the link for the rest of this press release on SustainableBusiness.com.
Deadly Portland kayaking trip: Young women die in ‘very cold’ bay | Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND – Two young college friends, one of them a longtime summer resident of Peaks Island, died after setting out for a short kayak trip Sunday and apparently falling into the cold and choppy waters of Casco Bay.
Irina McEntee, 18, and Carissa Ireland, 20, were found about 9 a.m. Monday by Coast Guard helicopter and boat crews about three miles off Cape Elizabeth and seven miles south of the kayakers’ original destination, Ram Island.
The women, both wearing life jackets, shorts and light shirts, were severely hypothermic and unresponsive and had no apparent vital signs when they were pulled from the 48-degree water, the Coast Guard said.
A helicopter crew rushed them to Maine Medical Center, where doctors tried to resuscitate them before pronouncing the women dead about 9:30 a.m., according to a hospital spokesman.
Forty-eight degrees “is very, very cold,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Brian Downey. “Survivability is very short in that type of water condition.”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by John Richardson in the Portland Press Herald.
Maine says beware of health insurance scam | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
State says beware of health insurance scam | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Consumers with questions or concerns about their insurance can contact the bureau’s Consumer Health Care Division by calling 1-800-300-5000, e-mailing insurance.pfr@maine.gov, or visiting the bureau’s website at www.maine.gov/insurance.
Travolta’s dogs killed by pickup at BIA | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Maine
Tagged Bangor International Airport, BIA, dogs, Islesboro, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Waldo County
Maine mountain trails still snow-covered | Bangor Daily News
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged Baxter Peak, Baxter State Park, Cathedral Trail, hikers, hiking, Mount Katahdin, Saddle Trail, Tableland, trails, treeless alpine tundra
Photographer captures National Guard soldiers in civilian workplaces | Lewiston Sun Journal
On a 4-degree January morning, Buddy Doyle pulled off the road to wish a random soldier luck in Iraq.
“We argue to this day who initiated the long, lingering hug,” said Doyle of Gardiner. “I told him, ‘Take care of yourself. Don’t do anything stupid.’”
A year and a half after that chance meeting near the National Guard armory in Gardiner, when the soldier had returned home, Doyle looked the guy up.
“I had told him I wanted to shake his hand,” he said. “I still did.”
He had another goal, too.
A photographer, writer and designer, Doyle had spent years creating glossy calenders of firefighters. Now he hatched a plan to take portraits of reservists guard members at their civilian jobs. He wanted the soldier’s help.
Click on the link for the rest of today’s story by Daniel Hartill in the Lewiston Sun Journal.
Portland man seriously injured in car-moose collision | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Posted in Environment, Maine, Outdoors
Tagged bull moose, Cumberland County, Maine, Oak Hill Road, Standish, traffic fatality
Coffeehouse observation No. 130
There’s an attractive black woman at the next table in a study group with two nerdy guys. She’s fairly busty and apparently doesn’t mind showing her study buddies – and much of the coffeehouse – her deep cleavage. … Some days are more aesthetically pleasing than other days at the coffeehouse.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observations, Coffeehouse Observer, cup o’ joe, espresso, java, joe, pastries, people, tea
Coffeehouse observation No. 129
A guy just asked one of the coffeehouse servers “is the Internet broken.” I’m struggling to decide if that annoys me or if I find it prophetic. … In reality, I believe he was having a problem pay-to-use computers at the coffeehouse.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Posted in Coffeehouse Observer
Tagged barista, brew, caffeinated, caffeine, coffee, coffeehouse, coffeehouse observations, Coffeehouse Observer, computer, cup o’ joe, espresso, Internet, java, joe, pastries, tea
Letters From Away 