Backcasts archive: Through March 2, 2007
Blog calendar: March 2 | March 1 | Feb. 28 | Feb. 26
Southpaws all right with what's billed as first left-hand pistol
For reasons no one can quite figure out, left-handed people tend to earn more and have a much greater propensity of becoming artists, musicians and university professors.
But it apparently is so, according to a Sacramento Bee article published Aug. 13, 2006. (I clipped that piece and held on to it in hopes something in the world would make it right to bust out.)
Now, it turns out, those rich, artsy and cerebral southpaws — some 10 percent of Americans are born left-handed, the Bee reports — can finally shoot a revolver designed specifically for them.
Charter Arms of Dayton, Ohio, claims to have created the first "true" left-hand revolver in production.
"We feel left-handed people deserve the same level of self-defense firearm efficiency enjoyed by right-handed shooters," Charles Brown of Charter Arms' marketer MKS Supply said in a release. (I kept this release for a couple of months, too, till I figured out these two items were a match; in my defense, I am right-handed.)
The gun manufacturer is taking advantage of what it sees as "a much-neglected market," according to its release.
Its .38 Special Undercover Southpaw required unique engineering and manufacture retooling to create a cylinder release on the right side. Hence, the cylinder opens to the right, so the lefty can reload safer and more efficiently with the weak hand (the right mitt).
Previously, revolver reloading for lefties was "awkward, at best," the release states.
With a barrel length of 2 inches, a capacity of five rounds and an ultralight weight of 12 ounces, the Undercover Southpaw retails for $375, or $16 more than its right-handed equivalent that is produced in much greater numbers.
Charter notes that in prior years semi-automatic pistol companies have attempted to accommodate lefties by adding ambidextrous features.
"Now lefties have a real choice," the release states.
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It turns out we aren't alone; our distant relatives hunt, too
Primates have been studied in the wild for decades, to the point we're probably more familiar with the biologists than their research subjects.
But even Jane Goodall would be impressed with the recent reports of chimpanzees as hunters.
Observations made in Fongoli, Senegal, from March 2005 to July 2006, revealed a rare occurrence — chimps hunting for their dinner, according to the Associated Press.
"It's not uncommon to have chimps use tools. But to use them in the context of hunting" is nearly unheard of, said Jill Pruetz, an anthropology professor from Iowa State University who led the research team.
Pruetz said the chimpanzees stripped leaves from tree branches and modified the tip with their incisors, "effectively making a point," the AP reports. Then the chimpanzees jabbed the tool into a tree cavity to try to snag a lemurlike creature called a bushbaby.
The study, recently released by the journal Current Biology, indicates the hunting practice is most common among adolescent females, ages 10 to 13, which must compete against physically superior males.
"It's a way of accessing protein or meat that is a creative solution to this problem," Pruetz said.
The actual spearing of a bushbaby was seen only once, so some primate experts told the AP it was unclear whether the spectacle was a bit of luck or an indication that chimps have a more advanced ability to hunt than was thought.
But it's good enough for us.
And what's good enough for my cousin, the chimpanzee, definitely is good enough for me.
What I'm trying to say is, humans — from our foraging forefathers to our gun-toting compadres of today — were meant to hunt.
(Never mind that food production developed some 10,000 years ago has, over time, largely replaced hunting and gathering as a survival strategy, anthropologists tell us.)
It's the old theory of A=B and B=C, then A=C. If man is related to chimps, and chimps hunt, then man is supposed to hunt. See, math can be used to explain (or explain away) most things.
I'm glad this little matter has finally been cleared up. It must all be a huge relief to the anti-hunters, as well, who can now dedicate their boundless energy to other worthwhile causes, like pollution and global warming. They'll have more time for recreation. Everyone needs a hobby. Perhaps they'll pick up bowling or canasta. Those seem innocuous enough.
And there must be important crusades that could use the stick-to-it-iveness of the anti-hunters. Let's see. I know the anti-war effort could use some help. Amnesty International is looking for volunteers. Join the American Civil Liberties Union.
The point is, anti-hunters, you're reason for existence has just been invalidated. You should move on.
P.S.: My wife, the anthropologist, thinks this is an "ignorant" argument. Undoubtedly she is not alone. But all of that's OK. Sometimes I must err on the side of levity, even if it is inane.
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Poaching leaves survival of African elephants in question
Like hunters the world over, we here at Backcasts HATE poaching.
It's the most despicable element of our sport and stokes the fire that is the anti-hunting crusade.
But poachers the world over don't care, and that's apparently nowhere more pronounced than in Africa, where despite an 18-year ban on the international sale of ivory, some 23,000 elephants were slaughtered for their tusks last year alone on the Dark Continent.
That's beyond comprehension to me. I had to read that reference in The Washington Post article on the topic three times to confirm the numbers from the study cited in the piece. I'm no safari expert, but 23K when in comes to pachyderm poaching has got to be a significant number.
Apparently Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington thinks so, too, the Post reports.
"Right now, things are really much worse than before the ban," which went into effect in 1989, said Wasser, lead author of the report funded jointly by the U.S. government and several nonprofit groups.
"Almost half of Africa's elephants had been slaughtered in the eight years before the ban, but now the situation is even more extreme because the number of animals is so much lower to begin with," he told the Post. "And unlike in the late '80s, the public has forgotten about this issue."
Some 400,000 elephants reside in Africa, according to Wasser, and 130,000 are protected in Botswana to the point of overbreeding. The figure of 23,000 elephants killed illegally out of the 270,000 behemoths found in other parts of the continent apparently is based on the 5,600 pounds of ivory confiscated in international seizures through August 2006.
Only 10 percent of all smuggled contraband is seized, hence the devastation to the elephant population was extrapolated from there, the Post reports.
The situation has become dire, according to the study by a team of wildlife and law-enforcement officers, because of escalating demand for ivory in Japan and newly rich China, in addition to the downward spiral of anti-poaching support.
Ivory is highly sought for jewelry and, most commonly, for prized "hankos" used to stamp personal seals and signatures in parts of East Asia, according to the Post.
Hanko this, poachers.
Oh, the shame.
The survival of African elephants is now in serious jeopardy, and who can imagine an Africa without its most majestic resident?
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What awaits anglers on newly discovered giant bass planets?
We are thrilled to learn of the recent discovery of two giant bass planets.
Oh, what possibilities there are in space. Could it be that Earth's record 22½-pound largemouth might finally be eclipsed?
It's the first time a space telescope has identified such alien molecules and it offers hope for finding life on other planets.
That's great news for intergalactic anglers set on setting the hook on a behemoth … but … wait … argh, on closer examination of the article I'm reading, NASA apparently has observed two giant gas planets, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Drat, curses, bummer. We don't even want to know what that is all about.
Sorry to pull an Emily Litella on you, but that's a different story entirely. Never mind.
Colossal squid: Talk about foreign territory for fishermen
Word in also that the first intact colossal squid has been caught off Antarctica. It is estimated to be 39 feet in length and the largest known.
A New Zealand long-line fishing boat netted the brute in the Ross Sea.
I just wonder what size hook you would use to bait that ink squirter (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni), and what would you catch?
Oh, we know!
A bait that big could only be used to fool the fish that call those two giant bass planets home.
And now for an "otherworldly" issue … involving New Jersey canines
Here's a spacey deal: The city council in Clifton, N.J., is expected this week to introduce an ordinance setting a limit on how long dogs can bark, according to the Associated Press.
Noisy canines will be defined as those that bark for more than 30 minutes on two consecutive days.
Fines for the new ordinance could start at $250, said city health officer John Biegel. (Nice name, by the way, for a dog resource.)
Police will have to investigate each issue. But officials are quick to point out that getting a summons might be difficult, because the person who complains must go to court to sign a complaint.
Good luck on that. No wonder some folks think New Jersey is out of this planet.
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Train, train … rolling to the … fishing hole?
They're in there all right. Chrome-sided steelhead fin in northeastern Oregon's wild and scenic Wallowa River.
Indeed, the cold, jade-green water is sweetly enticing.
Yet it calls to but a few, hardy anglers who have the time and energy to stride into the 11-mile canyon between the tiny oasis of Minam and Wallowa's confluence with the Grande Ronde River, according to an Idaho Statesman feature picked up by the Associated Press.
But on weekends in February and March, anglers can try to hook one of the river's thousands of steelhead without walking the felt soles off their wading shoes, thanks to the Wallowa Union Railroad. The train is shuttling steelheaders down into the canyon so they can fish its remote fishing holes, writes the Statesman's Roger Phillips.
"I get to cover water I wouldn't be able to hit because I wouldn't walk that far," said Matt Shirtcliff of Baker, Ore.
The trip is part of a revival for the railroad, which was rescued by Wallowa and Union counties after the former owner, Idaho Northern, petitioned in 2002 to abandon the rail line, the Boise newspaper reports.
Rather than let it slip into history, the counties started the next chapter in its history by buying it and using it as a passenger train. The train made its first summer tourist trips in 2003, and according to excursion coordinator Mary Ann Keyser, "those were howling successes."
In 2005, Chuck Fleser, owner of the Minam Motel and an avid steelhead angler, got the idea of running the train into the canyon during February and March so anglers could reach the prime fishing holes in the isolated canyon.
Fleser limits the trips to 25 anglers to keep from crowding the best fishing holes; the trips have become so popular he is adding dates.
"I've had a wonderful response," he said.
We can hear that whistle blowing already, and we'd like to ride that train … to the junction, Steelhead Junction, or whatever junction where we can hop off and ply these fine waters for one of the most majestic freshwater species. Then we'd like to ride that train again … again.
We're supposing the ticket comes not with a money-back guarantee, for while I've brought in several metalheads on bait and hardware, I have yet to land a steelie on the fly. And my fishing existence just isn't complete until I do.
The big wheels will run to the banks of the Wallowa every Saturday until March 31, and on Sundays from March 4 to March 25.
The train leaves Minam, Ore., at 10 a.m., and sits at Kimmel about seven miles downstream for about an hour, then departs for Minam at about noon, arriving at 12:45 p.m. People fishing can ride from one hole to another or take a break on the train.
At 1:30 p.m., the train begins its afternoon run, leaving Minam and heading for Kimmel again. The train leaves Kimmel for the last trip to Minam at 3 p.m., picking up fishermen along the way and returning them to Minam around 4:15.
The trip costs $50 per angler and $15 for youth ages 14 and under.
People who want to ride the train just to see the sights can go round-trip for $30 and $10 for youth 14 and under, which does not include lunch.
Click right here for more details on the Eagle Cap Excursion Train.
Anglers can only keep hatchery fish, and the limit is three per day.
Now that is what we call optimism!
"We're encouraging fishermen to keep hatchery fish. We would rather have people take them home," said Brad Smith, district fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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And we thought Frostbite Falls held the chill title
I guess I'd been lulled into a false sense of reality from all those years of watching Rocky and Bullwinkle, but isn't Frostbite Falls the coldest place in the country?
In a sense, it is.
Indeed, the fictional setting of the animated series "Rocky and His Friends" and "The Bullwinkle Show" is located in the real Minnesota county of Koochiching, which also happens to be home to the real city of International Falls, which the cartoon of my youth parodied.
International Falls is as cold as, well, Moosylvania, and has long be known as the "Icebox of the Nation." But the small town in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is embroiled in a battle to retain its title.
Yes, sir, a cold war is brewing over its chilly moniker, according to the Associated Press.
City officials in the town of Fraser, Colo., have filed for a federal trademark on the nickname "Icebox of the Nation," hoping to snatch the title from International Falls.
The Minnesota city of about 6,300 this week acknowledged it had inadvertently failed to renew its federal trademark back in 1996, even while keeping a state trademark up to date, the AP reports.
International Falls officials say they didn't even know their trademark had expired until a Denver Post reporter called them with Fraser's news last week.
"No, no, no!" International Falls Mayor Shawn Mason told the paper. "The city owns the trademark."
The battle won't be the first for the chilly municipalities. Fraser has claimed the "Icebox" title since 1956, but gave up its "official" claim back in 1986, for a payment of $2,000 from International Falls, the AP article states.
International Falls City Administrator Rod Otterness sounded ready to defend the title when he learned of the controversy.
"We beat them once, and I'm sure we can beat them again," he said.
For the sake of Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, and the icicles that dangle from their frigid snouts, we certainly hope so.
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Davy Jones finally gives up class ring
"I thought a fish ate it."
That's what suburban Philadelphia resident James Costantini always thought had happened to his class ring when he lost it while swimming off the coast of Hawaii during a family vacation more than two decades ago.
We're betting it was one of those brightly hued humuhumunukunukuapuaa, the unofficial state fish, that was the devil perp in Davy Jones' Locker.
Actually, we just like to say humuhumunukunukuapuaa … and Davy Jones' Locker, for that matter.
Costantini had long forgotten about his 1984 class ring from William Tenant High School. Who wouldn't? What are the odds of finding a piece of jewelry lost in the Pacific Ocean, anyhow? Oh, barnacles!
But, lo and behold, how the flying fickle finger of fate wags.
Costantini, now 41, recently was shocked when his parents presented him with the missing ring, according to an Associated Press piece with a Doylestown, Pa., dateline.
A California man found it a year after the Costantini family excursion to the islands while snorkeling off Maui and kept it as a souvenir.
The finder and keeper, Phil Winter, said the topaz ring sat in his wife's jewelry box until recently, when his daughter saw it and wanted to wear it.
Winter decided he should try to track down the owner and did so with the help of one of his daughter's teachers.
The ring was returned in a box from a Maui jeweler, arriving at the Upper Southampton Township home of Costantini's parents on Saturday.
It all reminds us of the remarkable story of the wallet that went missing off a sailboat in 1966, only to be hauled in again in a net full of cod, flounder and haddock nearly 40 years later.
Fisherman Antonino Randazzo pulled in the catch in June 2005 roughly 25 miles from where James Lubeck lost his wallet while bending over to secure his sailboat against a gathering storm in Massachusetts' Marblehead Harbor.
Only the credit-card sheath was intact and it was caked in mud, but the 10 to 12 credit and identification cards were in pristine condition.
"It is incredible," Randazzo said after his catch. "Life is full of mysteries."
He later was able to track down Lubeck, who couldn't "find the adjectives" to thank Randazzo.
"I don't know how many people would have done that," Lubeck said.
"It's the idea that somebody reached out. And the puzzlement of that moving so many miles."
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Come to find out, the good folks of Japan may not even like whale meat
It turns out the high-seas whaling drama of last week has a big twist in Japan, where the good folks there don't even seem to like whale meat.
Despite worldwide opposition, the Japanese government is battling to keep the nation's whaling fleet afloat, the Associated Press reports.
Now officials also face a threat at home #&151; a lack of interest among young people who grew up during an international whaling ban, have never eaten whale, and see the mammals more as impressive living creatures than as a potential meal.
"I really can't support killing them now. It just doesn't seem right," said Hiroshi Kobayashi, who captains a whale-watching boat for tourists out of Okinawa and understands the regional history of whaling, when "there were more whales then."
The government is unmoved by such sentiment, according to the AP. Just last week, Tokyo hosted a conference of pro-whaling nations aimed at galvanizing support for the lifting of an international ban on commercial whaling that has been in place since the 1980s.
And all this was happening while the world's environmentalists had turned their collective attention toward a fuel-heavy Japanese whaler that was in flames, powerless and adrift not far from the world's largest penguin breeding grounds in Antarctica.
Many feel the jury still is out on hunting for whales in general, but perhaps it's time for Japan to just give up on whaling because it certainly isn't helping its own cause.
Burning whaler + even the slightest hint of threatening penguins + little support from its citizens = a lost cause, according to Backcasts.
But it doesn't appear Japan's government agrees with our fuzzy math.
Joji Morishita, Japan's representative at the recent conference, said the country will push for reforms at the next International Whaling Commission meeting, to be held in Alaska. But he warned that Japan won't wait forever, the AP reports.
"Unless we change the IWC's way of doing things, this international organization will be lost,'' he said, adding that Japan may pull out altogether.
Pro-whaling nations argue that the International Whaling Commission has abandoned its original purpose of managing commercial whaling and has in effect turned into a whale protection lobby. About half of the commission members — including the U.S. and Britain — boycotted last week's meeting.
In the meantime, the international commercial whaling ban hasn't stopped Japan from killing whales. Japanese whalers caught about 1,070 minke whales in 2006, as well as 170 Bryde's, sei, sperm and fin whales under the auspices of a research program that began after the IWC ban in 1986.
This year's hunt in the Antarctic may be called off early because of the whaler disaster. One crew member from the disabled Nisshin Maru was missing as of Saturday, and although the fire was contained below decks it continued to burn, New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter said.
Japan's fisheries agency said the blaze could force an early end to this season's hunt.
And that should just about wrap up Backcasts' look at the whaling industry for now.
We know it's not traditional hunting, but hunting of any sort has such international implications these days … and when a nation draws such unwanted attention to its causes, well … we can't ignore it.
About the author: Brett Pauly spent nearly six years editing and publishing ESPNOutdoors.com before moving on to produce the ESPN.com Sports Travel site.
He is a national award-winning writer and editor with 14 years of experience in the newspaper trade. The Evergreen State of Washington is where he makes his home. Click here to email him.
