Ecce Sigum

Immanentize the Empathy

Good Deeds

John Winkelman

My good friend and cow-orker Marie-Claire has recently launched a new blog called For Grand Rapids. MC is at the beginning stages of a project to get municipal wireless internet available to everyone in Grand Rapids, and ForGR is where she stores her noted and ideas, and invites everyone who reads to contribute their thoughts.

Her most recent post is a good place to start, as it contains a summary of everything she has done thus far.

…and how appropriate that she should launch this website during Random Acts of Kindness week.

Why 2008 Will Be Exciting

John Winkelman

 

In the 1700s, politics was all about the ideas. But Jefferson came up with all the good ideas. In the 1800s, it was all about character. But no one will ever have as much character as Lincoln and Lee. For much of the 1900s it was about charisma. But we no longer trust charisma because Hitler used it to kill Jews and JFK used it to get laid and send us to Vietnam.

Today, we are in the Age of Scrutiny. A public figure must withstand the scrutiny of the media. The President is the ultimate public figure and must stand up under ultimate scrutiny; he is like a man stretched out on a rack in the public square in some medieval shithole of a town, undergoing the rigors of the Inquisition. Like the medieval trial by ordeal, the Age of Scrutiny sneers at rational inquiry and debate, and presumes that mere oaths and protestations are deceptions and lies. The only way to discover the real truth is by the rite of the ordeal, which exposes the subject to such inhuman strain that any defect in his character will cause him to crack wide open, like a flawed diamond.

-Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George, Interface

 

Same Thing Only Different, Again

John Winkelman

Grand River, 6 February 2008, 9:00am by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Wednesday morning at 9:00am

Grand River, 6 February 2008, 9:00am by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Wednesday morning at 9:00am

Grand River, 6 February 2008, 5:00pm by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Wednesday afternoon at 5:15pm

Rafts of slush going over the dam by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Wednesday afternoon at 5:15pm

During the day the river level dropped about six inches, which made the surface more turbulent. The snowfall yesterday was manifested as rafts of slush traveling down the river. I would guess that this will add to the mass of the ice jam, which will therefore start growing back up the river. We may yet have our very own glacier this winter.

Click on any of the photos to see the whole set of them.

Ice Jam, part 2

John Winkelman

Proving that not only can you never step in the same river twice, you also cannot take the same photo of a river twice, here are some updates to the ice jam and flooding at the Sixth Street Bridge dam,

Grand River, February 3 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Sunday, 3 February

Grand River, February 4 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Monday, 4 February

Grand River, February 4 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Monday, 4 February

Grand River, February 4 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Monday, 4 February

Grand River, February 5 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Tuesday, 5 February

Grand River, February 4 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Tuesday, 5 February

Grand River, February 5 2008 by John Winkelman, on Flickr
Tuesday, 5 February

Photos 1, 4, 5 and 6 are all pretty much the same shot. On Sunday the river was placid, ice above and below the dam, but some water flowing through. On Monday the water level had dropped a bit, and there was a small drop between the upper and lower levels. On Tuesday all of the up-river ice had let go and jammed up just below the dam, causing the water to rise to the point that, other than a few odd swirls, there was no sign of the dam at all. I have never seen the water this high. The ice was jammed higher than this three years ago, but that was everything on top of the water. Since we are supposed to get between six and nine inches of snow in the next 24 hours, plus some sleet and freezing rain, I expect the water will rise even higher, and then everything will begin to freeze. Unless something breaks the entire ice jam loose I expect we will see some city streets under water in the next few days.

I have lived in Michigan my whole life. I have seen colder winters than this one. I have seen snowier winters than this one. But I don’t remember ever feeling as beaten down by the weather as I have since the beginning of this year.

The River is Thickening

John Winkelman

The Grand River, 29 January 2008

The Grand River, 30 January 2008

These photos were taken roughly 26 hours apart. The first, yesterday at around 3:00pm. The second, today just after 5:00pm. In the intervening time the lower river has risen approximately six feet and a large ice jam has begun to form.

The 6th Street Dam, 30 January 2008

Normally there is a drop of six to eight feet over the dam. Last time an ice jam formed there was no difference between upper and lower river for about two weeks, and then the ice lasted in some places into April.

The packed ice is still moving slowly, but I expect the frigid temperatures, which hit Grand Rapids last night, will freeze everything solid before daybreak tomorrow.