Footage of Transformer Blown by Lightening

I was taking some video of a severe thunderstorm passing through Ann Arbor, and a transformer exploded a few blocks away just out frame. You can see some of the flash in the sky. Very loud.



We've been having some pretty crazy weather in Ann Arbor lately!

Flash Floods Kill Campers

As many of you have likely seen, possibly dozens of campers and backpackers were killed in a recent flash flood in a remote part of Arkansas.

GLENWOOD, Ark. — At least 16 people were killed and dozens more were unaccounted for after flash floods swept through campgrounds in western Arkansas early Friday morning.

As many as 300 people, including families with vehicles and off-road backpackers, may have been camping along the Caddo and Little Missouri Rivers as waters surged by 20 feet between midnight and dawn, according to Red Cross and state emergency officials.

As of Friday afternoon, 16 bodies had been recovered and dozens more people were still missing, said Chad Stover, a public affairs officer of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management...

Source: New York Times

One way to look at it is these outdoor enthusiasts died doing what they love. But I'm sure nothing eases the pain of the victims' families after this tragic event of nature.

Wolf Hunting in Alaska

Don't you love it when the ones in charge of managing wildlife don't know anything about ecology?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal judge has denied the state of Alaska's request for a preliminary injunction to kill wolves, a step it says was needed to protect a caribou herd that is a subsistence food source for a Native village.

U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland ruled Monday on the state's request to conduct predator control in a national wildlife refuge on Unimak Island.

The state announced plans to kill wolves to protect this year's calves. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the state would have to go through a review process for a special use permit or it would be considered trespassing.

The state last month sued the feds for blocking the program, and sought the preliminary injunction to kill up to seven of the island's estimated 30 wolves while the lawsuit continued.

Source: The Associated Press

Opening up an efficient, conservationist hunting season is one thing. Alarmist cries for immediate aerial gunning operations is another.

Urban Fox Attack in the UK

Articles keep popping up concerning a fox that ventured into a home in London and attacked a set of twin babies in their sleep. Everyone seems to be shocked this could ever happen, but as urban sprawl continues to displace native wildlife and destroy ecosystems, these type of events become inevitable.

Two nine-month-old baby girls are seriously ill in hospital after being attacked by a fox at their east London home.

The twins were sleeping upstairs at the house when the animal entered through an open back door.

Questions are now being asked about how many urban foxes are too many, and what danger do they actually pose?

Source: BBC News


Here's an important lesson: If you live in the city, lock your doors at night. Foxes are the least of your problems.

Free Military Service Manuals

The following link contains the largest library of free archived American military manuals that I have come across on the internet. They contain information on everything from weapons maintenance, to physical conditioning, to escape and evasion. It's a tremendously valuable resource, so pass it around.

US Joint Services Manuals

Armed Defense in American National Parks

It was only recently that Americans have regained their right to carry firearms in their national parks and wildlife refuges. The new bill was signed into law by President Obama on May 22 of last year, marking one of the few things that he's done right in his presidency thus far.

If this law hadn't been passed, we'd likely be reading about a dead Alaskan hiker. Instead, we get to read about an outdoorsman who defended himself and his female hiking companion against a charging grizzly bear, one of the most dangerous animals in North America.

(AP) – May 31, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska's Denali National Park, officials said.

A man and woman reported that they were hiking Friday evening when the bear emerged from trailside brush and charged the woman, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said in a statement.

The man fired nine rounds from his .45 caliber, semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into the brush.

The two reported the shooting to rangers, who restricted access to the Igloo Canyon area for fear that the bear was wounded and dangerous.

On Saturday, rangers found the dead bear about 100 feet from the shooting site.

Park officials are determining the justification for the shooting. It's legal to carry firearms in that area of the park, but illegal to discharge them.

Rangers said it was the first known instance of a grizzly bear being shot by a visitor in the wilderness portion of Denali, formerly called Mount McKinley National Park.

Source: The Associated Press

9 rounds of .45ACP didn't even put the bear down right away. Fortunately for the hikers, the bear retreated before initiating a potentially lethal attack. I recommend carrying the biggest caliber available in your woods handgun for a reason.