Having a somewhat intellectual grasp of geological time (although it's impossible to have a REAL grasp of all the time, in the span of one tiny human lifetime), it seems like there has been a LOT of volcanic activity in my lifetime.

Just sayin'.

Or you're just really, really old?

Just sayin'.

A couple of more pics.

On a clear day, like it was tuesday, we can see Mt. Redoubt from my office. It's about 100 miles away smoking very ominously. When it blew in 1989, I was in elementary school in Homer. We had to wear face masks everywhere and have indoor recess. I was most upset by the ban on eating snow that winter. To a 9-year-old, that stuff is important.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is on Twitter sending hourly updates @Alaska_avo, which I think is fantastc.

I get daily emails from the university saying campus is open. Periodic emails from my department Commissioner updating us on volcano eruption plans. And a constant string of questions from coworkers new to Alaska about lava and ash and where we are supposed to run if it blows. Mostly we chuckle at him.

Well I am probably the oldest here, but still. I probably have a pair of shoes older than you are.

Wanna arm wrestle?

rhapsodie, you can answer the most important question: Is it pronounced like it's spelled?

"Wanna arm wrestle?" You have to pull your pants up around your chest when you say that.

Yes. Ree-doubt.

But the governor is in DC this weekend!

It seems weird to have a volcano that close to a major metropolitan center.

which is to say, I tend to think of volcanos as being on sparsely inhabited tropical islands out in the middle of the Pacific.

JP In Seattle it's even closer.

Well if Mt. Rainier or Mt. Hood blow, Seattle and Portland, respectively, would be in a world of hurt. Mostly from the ash and flooding.

It's considered possible for Rainier to blow, and Hood is not considered "extinct" either.

And let us not forget Mt. St. Helens.

Shasta and Lassen are both considered active, too. Lassen (about 100 miles from Sacramento) erupted in 1913.

JP, that reminds me of a tourist who asked me when "they" fed the bears in Denali and Katmai National parks. I'll have the Governor work on moving the 6 volcanos from across the Inlet.

kidding! she's too busy not doing her job!

Live Redoubt activity. Alaska is UTC-9

JP In Seattle it's even closer.

54 miles? SHIT! That's scary.

JP, that reminds me of a tourist who asked me when "they" fed the bears in Denali and Katmai National parks.

Well, y'know, I live in New York, where a "natural disaster" usually involves two inches of rain disrupting the subway. And wildlife is limited to poodles, squirrels, pigeons and rats.

webcam
Nothing to see though at the moment.

Oh, I should mention that it's a still picture. It seems to refresh every 15 minutes.

It's snowing pretty heavilly today, which is why the "webcams" are so dark and blurry.

(I hope that tinyurl works; no cnp on the iPhone sucks)

JP: public transportation scares me silly. I'd rather deal with bears and a volcano over connecting bus lines any day.

JP: public transportation scares me silly.

Really? Hmm. I wasn't aware that people felt that way.

It's actually quite easy and convenient. And safe, as long as you pay attention to your surroundings, use the spidey-sense, and exercise reasonable precautions.

It's actually quite easy and convenient.

This is a lie. I have no spidey-sense in cities, and I end up lost, overwhelmed, frustrated, and crying. It's quite fun.