Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake, CA – Hot Dogs & Hay Rides for Old Miners Volunteers

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From KBHR 93.3:

The Old Miners Association (OMA) is holding their Annual Membership Meeting & Volunteer Appreciation Open House on November 18 at 40877 Stone in the Village (corner of Stone Road and Knickerbocker Road).

If you’re a new or renewing member, a sponsor or a volunteer, you’re welcome to attend with a guest.

The Annual Meeting & Election of Officers will run from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m., then from 4:00 – 7:00, volunteers can enjoy gift bags, hot dogs and hayrides courtesy of Stagecoach Lines & Duke Michaels.

You can read the whole article HERE.

To keep up to date on what’s going on in Big Bear, listen to KBHR 93.3 and visit the KBHR website HERE.

eBook, Writer Reference

France Passes New Law With Higher Tax Rate for DRMed eBooks

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Nate Hoffelder is reporting on his Digital Reader blog that France is going to be lowering taxes on DRM-free ebooks:

Hardly anyone likes DRM on their content, and its various opponents respond in various ways, whether by public advocacy or by voting with their pocketbook. And then there is France, which decided to express their displeasure with a new tax law.

France has amended their tax laws with a new lower tax rate for DRM-free ebooks (or a new higher rate for DRMed ebooks, depending on how you look at it). The new law won’t go into effect until 2015, but once it does Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and all the other major ebookstores will all be penalized for selling DRMed ebooks to French customers.

Under France’s new tax laws, DRMed ebooks will be taxed at a higher rate (currently 19.6%), while DRM-free ebooks will be taxed at the lower 5.5% rate.

You can read the whole post HERE.

You should really visit Nate’s blog; it’s chock full o’ useful eBook information!  You can visit it HERE.

 

Interesting Places

It’s a Great Weekend to go to a National Forest to Watch for Meteors

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From the USDA Blog:

Earlier this year, approximately 80 people oohed and ahhed as meteors streaked across the sky from all directions over Shasta Lake during the Perseid meteor showers. In partnership with the Shasta Astronomy Club, the Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area provided visitors with expert information on celestial objects and events and a guided tour through the night sky.

This weekend, you have an opportunity to do the same when the 2013 Leonid meteor shower peaks on the night of Saturday, Nov. 16 into the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 17.  According to NASA, Leonids are bits of debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Every 33 years the comet visits the inner solar system and leaves debris in its wake. Many of these have drifted across the November portion of Earth’s orbit. Whenever our planet hits one, meteors appear to be flying out of the constellation Leo.  Unfortunately for meteor watchers, this year a full moon will likely wash out all but the very brightest Leonids.

Last August, the dark night skies along the shores of California’s Shasta Lake provided the perfect backdrop for the annual Perseid meteors which put on a dazzling display of shooting stars each year. At times, 50 to 100 meteors streaked across the sky in an hour.  Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area staff compiled a list of sightings to contribute to NASA’s ongoing tracking for this meteor shower.

Continue reading →

Conservation, National Forests

Inyo National Forest posts on “What to do if you Encounter a Marijuana Cultivation Site”

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Apparently I’ve been going to the wrong forests; I NEVER leave any of the places I hike in looking for Cheetos and pizza!  I guess I’d better head up to Inyo!

From the USFS website:

The Inyo National Forest and the Bishop Field Office of the BLM seek to provide a safe environment for the public, its employees, and natural resources.  So while only a fraction of our public lands are affected by illegal marijuana cultivation, the agencies believe that safety risks are real and visitors and employees should be informed about them.

“The safety of public land visitors and our employees is our top priority,” said Forest Supervisor Ed Armenta.  “Marijuana cultivation does occur on some public lands.  It’s important for people to understand that they need to be aware of their surroundings.”

Continue reading →

National Forests

Fall prescribed burns planned on Plumas National Forest

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The Plumas National Forest is planning to conduct a number of prescribed burns this fall to reduce hazardous fuels, and improve ecosystem health. Planned projects include burning piled materials, low to moderate intensity understory burns of vegetation on the forest floor, and moderate to high intensity broadcast burning of brush. The goals of these projects are to reduce the severity of future wildfires and provide added protection for communities in the wildland urban interface, to promote more diverse and resilient ecosystems, and improve habitat for wildlife.

The burns will take place on the Beckwourth, Mount Hough, and Feather River Ranger Districts between now and March 2014. The actual dates of ignition will depend on local weather and fuel conditions.

Continue reading →