The League

March 10th, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

by BlaiseP · March 12, 2012

BlaiseP

BlaiseP is the pseudonym of a peripatetic software contractor whose worldly goods can fit into an elderly Isuzu Rodeo. Bitter and recondite, he favors the long view of life, the chords of Steely Dan and Umphrey's McGee, the writings of William Vollman and Thomas Pynchon, the taste of red ale and his own gumbo. Having escaped after serving seven years of a lifetime sentence to confinement in hotel rooms, he currently resides in the wilds of Eau Claire County and contemplates the intersection of mixed SRID geometries in PostGIS.

Burt Likko says:

March 12, 2012 at 8:28 am

These are great photos, Blaise; thanks for sharing them. That kayaker must have been COLD — was he you?Report
- BlaiseP in reply to Burt Likko says:
  
  March 12, 2012 at 8:30 am
  
  No, I’m behind the camera, heh.Report
Mike Dwyer says:

March 12, 2012 at 8:35 am

I’ll (finally!) be back to visit Wisconsin this summer. Looking forward to hitting the Badger State with the family.Report
- BlaiseP in reply to Mike Dwyer says:
  
  March 12, 2012 at 8:57 am
  
  Some more Wisconsin pics. Click image for Picasa gallery: there’s a slideshow option there
  Report
James Hanley says:

March 12, 2012 at 9:35 am

Ah, Blaise, why did you do that to me? Over the past week I’ve been thinking about canoe tripping in the Boundary Waters, and yesterday I was looking at my maps planning a trip. And now this yak picture…and I have to spend all day in my office. You’re killing me, man.Report
- BlaiseP in reply to James Hanley says:
  
  March 12, 2012 at 9:45 am
  
  Glad to be of service. I can’t wait to get up to Boundary Waters myself to see what springs up in the wake of the fires.
  
  Report
  - James Hanley in reply to BlaiseP says:
    
    March 12, 2012 at 10:39 am
    
    I always go in the western end, which as I understand it was mostly untouched. But I worked in Yellowstone the summer after the big fires there, and the wildflowers were phenomenal–I wonder if the same will happen in the burned portions of the BW. Be sure to take more photos to share if/when you go.Report
    - BlaiseP in reply to James Hanley says:
      
      March 12, 2012 at 10:51 am
      
      Here’s a map of the Boundary Waters fires. I’ve been hearing this may be good for the moose population which has gone down without any good explanation beyond the fact they need fresh growth to feed.Report
Plinko says:

March 12, 2012 at 9:54 am

I declare Blaise the early leader of the ‘give me the itch to move’ wars.Report
dexter says:

March 12, 2012 at 10:19 am

You mentioned Picasa the other day, but being semi Luddite that I am and the fact that they won’t recognize my password from rocketmail I have not been able to get on. Your pictures are very good. I lived in Wi. for a while in the mid sixties and found the place very pretty and the people to friendly.Report
- BlaiseP in reply to dexter says:
  
  March 12, 2012 at 11:03 am
  
  Here’s how to do it the easy way. First, get a Gmail account. Then register with Picasa using your Gmail ID and all should go swimmingly thereafter.Report

Ten Second News

From CNN Health: CDC monitors 6 people in US for possible rare monkeypox, says public ‘should not be concerned’

(2)

Officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are closely tracking recent clusters of monkeypox infections around the world -- and possible cases in the United States.

Continued

Comment →

After Two Years Of Controversy, Record Breaking Georgia Voter Turnout

(4)

Georgia voting turnout is surging to record breaking numbers in the 2022 midterm election, as voters go to the polls after two years of legislative and legal wrangling over voting reforms.

Continued

Comment →

Shooting in Buffalo Leaves 10 Dead, 13 Wounded

(62)

[caption id="attachment_361266" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screengrab from WIVB Buffalo Channel 4 News[/caption]

Still a developing story, but what we know so far points to an utterly depraved act of violence at a Buffalo supermarket.

WIVB TV 4, Buffalo:

Ten people were killed and three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to local hospitals after a mass shooting at a supermarket on Buffalo’s East Side Saturday afternoon.

The shooter was an 18-year-old white male who was heavily armed with tactical gear and was live-streaming during the mass shooting, officials said. City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the shooter is not from Buffalo and traveled “hours” from outside the area.

“This was pure evil,” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said. “A straight-up racially motivated hate crime.”

The shooter was identified in court Saturday evening as Payton S. Gendron of Conklin, New York, about 200 miles southeast of Buffalo.

Gendron was arraigned on one count of first-degree murder without bail.

The 18-year-old will be back in court on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. for a felony hearing.

When Gendron exited his vehicle at the supermarket, authorities said, he shot four people in the parking lot. Three of them died and one is in the hospital. The shooter entered the store and opened fire on customers.

Twitch deletes shooter’s live-stream video of Buffalo mass shooting
A retired Buffalo Police officer, Aaron Salter, who was working as a security guard, shot Gendron but he was unharmed because he was wearing armor, Gramaglia said. The retired officer was shot and killed.

A law enforcement source told CBS News that the gunman had a racial slur written on his weapon. The attack is being treated as a hate crime.

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn will not confirm the existence of the shooter’s manifesto. He said they believe there was a “racial component” to the attack but won’t say more.

This attack is being investigated by the FBI as a hate crime and as violent extremism.