Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
TOURISM IN MAINE: Going beyond moose, lobster and lighthouses | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME
TOURISM IN MAINE: Going beyond moose, lobster and lighthouses | The Morning Sentinel, Waterville, ME
TOURISM IN MAINE
• The state’s tourism office is funded by 5 percent of the 7 percent tax imposed on meals and lodging.
• The office seeks at least a $2 return in tax revenue on every $1 invested in tourism.
• The average amount of annual paid vacation for international visitors is 4-6 weeks.
• VisitMaine.com, the state’s tourism website, lists top attractions of: dramatic coastline and sandy beaches; more than 3,000 lakes, ponds and rivers; 64 lighthouses; four national scenic byways; distinctive small towns; and the city of Portland as a “top 100 food destination.”
• Most of the tourism’s office’s international marketing is handled through a consortium of states called Discover New England.
• The top international markets for Maine, in order, are Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Source: Maine Office of Tourism
• The state’s tourism office is funded by 5 percent of the 7 percent tax imposed on meals and lodging.
• The office seeks at least a $2 return in tax revenue on every $1 invested in tourism.
• The average amount of annual paid vacation for international visitors is 4-6 weeks.
• VisitMaine.com, the state’s tourism website, lists top attractions of: dramatic coastline and sandy beaches; more than 3,000 lakes, ponds and rivers; 64 lighthouses; four national scenic byways; distinctive small towns; and the city of Portland as a “top 100 food destination.”
• Most of the tourism’s office’s international marketing is handled through a consortium of states called Discover New England.
• The top international markets for Maine, in order, are Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Source: Maine Office of Tourism
Coffeehouse observation No. 252 – Greening coffee from field to coffeehouses
[I was scanning the job postings hosted by www.treehugger.com when I spotted several blog postings about greening coffee production and coffeehouses. Here are links to those posts. – KM]
How to go green: Coffee and tea | planetgreen.com
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Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Video to help teach snowmobilers about safety on ice | Lewiston Sun Journal
Video to help teach snowmobilers about safety on ice | Lewiston Sun Journal
Ice safety: How thick is safe?
2 inches: one person on foot
3 inches: a group of people traveling single file
7.5 inches: supports a two-ton car
8 inches: supports up to a 2.5-ton light truck
10 inches: supports up to a 3.5-ton truck
12 inches: heavy truck 7 to 8 tons
15 inches: holds up to 10 tons
20 inches: holds up to 25 tons.
Source: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Ice safety: How thick is safe?
2 inches: one person on foot
3 inches: a group of people traveling single file
7.5 inches: supports a two-ton car
8 inches: supports up to a 2.5-ton light truck
10 inches: supports up to a 3.5-ton truck
12 inches: heavy truck 7 to 8 tons
15 inches: holds up to 10 tons
20 inches: holds up to 25 tons.
Source: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Coffeehouse observation No. 251
The guy sitting next to me in the coffeehouse either has the worst cold known to man -- and woman -- or he is attempting the mating call of the Mongolian yak! ... I am now showering in Purell.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Coffeehouse observation No. 250
If the guy sitting at the next table is going to make up a song in real time, shouldn't he at least do it in tune?
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Monday, January 3, 2011
And the award (again) goes to …
I like Civil War trivia. I am a (tiny) bit of a Civil War history buff, especially when it comes to Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment.
Here is the DownEast.com trivia question:
Who is reported to have won both the Medal of Honor and the Gold Lifesaving Medal?
Answer
Marcus Hanna, a keeper of Cape Elizabeth Light. The first medal was for bravery in battle at Port Hudson during the Civil War; the second was for saving two men from the wrecked schooner Australia in 1885. In 1997, the U.S. Coast Guard launched a buoy tender named in Hanna’s honor.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Upward Bound: Climbing a mountain on skis before descending — also known as randonnee skiing or Alpine touring — gains converts in Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Upward Bound | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
RANDONNEE SKIING
ALSO known as Alpine touring or back-country skiing, it requires the skier to ascend the mountain by climbing with "skins" on their skis and using a special binding that frees the heel.
SKINS, originally made of animal skins, are affixed to the skis with a sticky substance. The bottom of the skin has fibers that slide forward but hold the ski in place to keep it from sliding downward.
BEFORE the descent, the skins are taken off the skis.
MAINE'S RANDONNEE RACES
SUGARLOAF HILL CLIMB
WHERE: Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley
WHEN: 5 p.m. Jan. 16
HOW MUCH: $25 before Jan. 14; $30 the day of the event
LEARN MORE: Go to www.sugarloaf.com/EventsActivities or call 237-6884.
SADDLEBACK MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE
WHERE: Saddleback Mountain, Rangeley
WHEN: 2 p.m. Feb. 12
HOW MUCH: $25 before the event; $35 the day of the race
LEARN MORE: Go to www.saddlebackmaine.com or call 864-5671.
ALSO known as Alpine touring or back-country skiing, it requires the skier to ascend the mountain by climbing with "skins" on their skis and using a special binding that frees the heel.
SKINS, originally made of animal skins, are affixed to the skis with a sticky substance. The bottom of the skin has fibers that slide forward but hold the ski in place to keep it from sliding downward.
BEFORE the descent, the skins are taken off the skis.
MAINE'S RANDONNEE RACES
SUGARLOAF HILL CLIMB
WHERE: Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley
WHEN: 5 p.m. Jan. 16
HOW MUCH: $25 before Jan. 14; $30 the day of the event
LEARN MORE: Go to www.sugarloaf.com/EventsActivities or call 237-6884.
SADDLEBACK MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE
WHERE: Saddleback Mountain, Rangeley
WHEN: 2 p.m. Feb. 12
HOW MUCH: $25 before the event; $35 the day of the race
LEARN MORE: Go to www.saddlebackmaine.com or call 864-5671.
Coffeehouse observation No. 249
Coffee on a rainy morning and watching the Pats. Not a bad way to start a Sunday. I've been a Pats fan since I was 8. ... And, yes, there was football when I was 8. ... I started being a fan just about the time the Pats drafted Jim Plunkett.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Vowing to be a better blogger … I promise
I seriously thought when I started “Letters From Away” that I would be able to update the content every day – something new every single day. I mean, how difficult could that be?
Pretty difficult lately, it seems.
It truly was my intention to update this blog daily with Maine news aggregation, commentary on Maine happenings – at least through the filter of newspaper websites, blogs and hearsay – and stories from my childhood growing up in Maine’s North Woods. There is plenty to write about.
Maine was in the middle of the same-sex marriage debate last year, its two U.S. senators are experiencing growing influence in Washington, the Maine Troop Greeters were the subject of a great documentary film, there were pretty exciting political races, and Maine continues to be a leader when it comes to alternative energy, especially land-based and offshore wind power generation and wave power generation. The scenic beauty – and the effort to keep it that way – also has given me fodder for this blog.
And that does not even touch on lobsters, lighthouses, moose, bears, mosquitoes, Moxie, weather, whoopie pies and Stephen King.
So, yeah, there has been plenty on which to write. Too much, in fact.
Two things have stood in the way lately – the continuing job search and the holidays.
Returning readers will remember that I have been a journalist for more than 22 years and that I was laid off in March 2009. I have been looking – so far unsuccessfully – for work ever since. I continue to search in the newspaper field, but from the start I also branched out to hunt for a job with nonprofits, green industries, government, and elsewhere.
Still nothing. Yet.
But I keep looking. And sending out cover letters and resumes and references and filling out applications. Even for jobs for which I am not exactly qualified and for jobs for which I am overly qualified.
Scanning dozens of job websites and bulletin boards takes time. Crafting cover letters and massaging resumes takes time. And with the way the congressional debate was going on the extension of unemployment benefits tied to the Bush-era tax credit, it seemed time really, really was running out. I felt the pressure to churn out more and more cover letters and resumes.
And that did not leave much time for blogging.
I still am not completely sure I qualify for the extension, so I have a despicable option in mind – cash out every piece of “retirement” funding I have left. Even at a 30 percent to 40 percent cut for taxes and fees, it might give me another couple of months for finding work. And there will be no retirement at all if I cannot find a job soon.
Holidays always jam up things a bit. I did not get presents for my family last years. There just was no money to spare.
There was even less money to spare this year, but I did not want to go without getting presents for my family for a second year in a row. That would be just too demoralizing for me. So I did what I normally do not do – I pulled out a credit card for my holiday purchases.
So there was time spent shopping for Christmas gifts. And there was time spent standing in lines that were longer than normal. And there was more time stuck in holiday traffic. And time spent wrapping gifts. And time spent standing in line at the post office to ship Christmas packages to Maine.
And around major holidays, job websites do not post jobs nearly as frequently as they do normally, which hampers the jobs search. It is a tale with twists and turns.
But the holidays soon will be a memory. And the job search should settle down to the same brain-numbing grind that it has been for nearly 22 months.
And hopefully I will be more diligent in updating this blog on a daily basis. Let’s make that my No. 1 resolution for 2011 – be a better blogger.
OK, make that 2011 resolution No. 2, because getting a meaningful, suitable job is the No. 1 resolution.
So, until the next time I see you in the blogosphere, see ya.
Coffeehouse observation No. 248
You gotta love a coffeehouse open on New Year’s Day! That makes me caffeinated from Day 1 of 2011. Happy Caffeinated New Year!
Go to Coffeehouse Observer for more coffeehouse observations.
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