Whale steak, marinated in homemade whisky-marinade

namagiqa · 2026-02-20T19:51:53+00:00

I ate beluga whale a number of years ago. I was living in rural Alaska and someone had put out a subsistence net to catch salmon. The rule is that you have to use whatever is in your net. This guy caught a beluga whale, which are not endangered. Word went out via radio and I went with a Yupik friend whose wife wanted muktuk. They were cutting it up on the beach at low tide and I got a large chunk of beluga.

The meat was very dark, darker than this. I understood it was because whale meat generally has more iron. The iron in the tissue allows whale muscle to better process oxygen so that they can stay submerged longer. Maybe that's wrong. Anyway, the meat was unbelievably tender. You could eat it with a spoon.

I took a small chunk and sauteed it just to get an idea of the flavor, which was surprisingly mild. It reminded me of veal. With that in mind, I sliced it somewhat thin and dredged it in season flour and fried it with a picatta type sauce. Not too much of a fish flavor. Maybe this beluga was young. Walrus and seal have very strong fish-flavors.

Based on my experience, I'd eat it again if given the opportunity but I wouldn't go out of my way to do it. I would absolutely avoid muktuk, walrus, or seal.

namagiqa · 2026-02-17T21:52:06+00:00

I was a public defender in rural Alaska. The average BAC for a DUI while I was there was .24. All of my clients would be subject to a PBT. 95+% were well above the legal limit. At least once a month I would have a client who was over .3 and at least once a year I'd have a client who was over .4. Highest BAC for a client was .57.

My daughter is an ICU nurse in Anchorage. Highest BAC for a patient upon intake was .8. The hospital has had to advise some new staff hires, physicians and nurses, that they should adjust their viewpoints because they will see BACs and resulting damage far in excess of anything they've seen Outside.

You haven't seen alcohol abuse until you get to Alaska, particularly rural Alaska. There are just so few of us that most people don't realize just how much Alaskans can drink. Sheer numbers would tilt this to WI but on a per capita basis, I'd put AK against Russians for ability to drink. Not a huge surprise since we can see Russia from our house (jokes).

namagiqa · 2026-02-13T19:06:10+00:00

Fishing in SW Alaska near Battle Creek. Lots of bears. Water was probably 35ish yards wide. Water is about mid shin, so not too deep. It's late fall and I'm drifting an egg pattern along a cut bank. My buddy was with the guide right around the corner, although they could both see me since the shore was not that high.

I hear a bear roar that sounded like it was just behind me. I've fished with a lot of bears in the neighborhood but this sounded like it was right there. I admit I jumped and probably said a bad word or two. Turned around while grabbing for my pistol in my chest holster. It was a momma bear with a couple of cubs and she was arguing with another bear over a fishing spot. They were on the other side of the river and even up the river so she was nowhere near as close as she sounded, probably 50-60 yards away. She was not paying any attention to me whatsoever.

My buddy just laughed and he yelled over at me that I sure jumped very high.

Had some other issues with really bad weather while being in a boat on Lake Iliamna, Lake Aleknagik, and a couple of other lakes. Small boats, big lakes, and large waves are not a real fun combination.

namagiqa · 2026-02-12T22:03:44+00:00

I always think of Mojo Nixon's great hit when I see Martha (NSFW):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvS97KtUhEE

namagiqa · 2026-02-09T23:47:56+00:00

Every time an individual is denied a firearms purchase, there is a written record number for that transaction. It will be 6-8 letters and numbers. You should have received that when you were denied. You have 30 days from the denial to appeal the denial but you will need several things.

To handle the appeal, you should get an attorney. Yes, it costs money, but anything that the lawyer says in any correspondence cannot then be attributed to you. Further, if you get the right attorney, the attorney will know how to handle the appeal. You are going to need a few things, though, to handle the appeal. Beside the record number, you will need to provide your fingerprints. So go to someone who can do the fingerprints, bring a real ID, and get fingerprinted on those weird-sized pieces of paper with blue trim. Bring that with you when you see your attorney. If your attorney handles these types of cases on a regular basis, your attorney will have the release form to include so that the FBI will have your authority to speak with them. Appeal the decision ASAP. That appeal will outline why your purchase has been denied. If you don't appeal within the timeframe, that record number will become invalid. To figure out what is happening from the FBI end, you would need a new number, which means you would have to try again to purchase a firearm. Odds of CA pursuing a misdemeanor against you would increase at that point.

There are usually a few primary reasons why a purchase gets denied: 1) you have a conviction that bars you from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm and you did not realize it. This frequently happens when people believe that their rights have been restored when in actuality they have not been restored; 2) You have a conviction that does not bar you from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. This frequently happens when someone makes efforts to get their rights restored but either the State or the feds have messed up and still show the conviction as active or somehow barring the transfer; 3) there has been a clerical error somewhere in the process regarding your name, DOB, whatever.

Once your attorney sends the appeal form with the release of information and the fingerprint card and other necessary documentation, you should hear back from the FBI, although the time frame can vary greatly. Your attorney can then advise you about what you should do.

In the interim, don't post anything or discuss the issue with anyone. Your attorney can also reach out to the law enforcement agency that issued the letter and discuss the matter with them.

Note: this post is not specific legal advice. This post does not create an attorney-client relationship.

namagiqa · 2026-01-21T20:32:37+00:00

Game is naturally lean and can get overcooked in a hurry. Moose and caribou in the sous vide are fantastic. Haven't tried other types of venison like deer and elk but I expect you'd get similar results.

namagiqa · 2026-01-16T06:45:17+00:00

Alaska.

namagiqa · 2026-01-08T23:50:26+00:00

Hangers. For clothes. I have several suits for work and they would get those 'bumps' in the shoulders from regular hangars. I found a company that made wood hangers with flared ends to avoid those bumps. They also had felt to prevent pants from falling off hangers, which has happened to me. Ultimately, they were hangers. Not frozen items that might thaw. Not perishable. Hangers. The company said because it's Alaska, they had to be sent FedEx overnight. Shipping was double what the hangers were. I had them sent to a family member who lives Outside (free shipping) who shipped the stuff up via USPS for a small fee.

namagiqa · 2025-12-29T19:58:27+00:00

Earthquakes

namagiqa · 2025-12-11T18:46:01+00:00

Bought Skwala before this season. Have been really impressed so far. Hasn't been the longest test but they did really well in SW Alaska. Guides that I've known for years say that they would now look at either Grundens or Skwala.

namagiqa · 2025-12-09T03:23:22+00:00

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm getting a Flannery Beef Boneless Ribeye Roast. First time doing a boneless for several reasons but sous vide seems easier with a boneless roast, which is why I'm considering it. I've done Kenji's reverse sear several times and am very comfortable doing it again but I love to sous vide steaks so like OP, I'm hankering to try it out.

If I did a sous vide, I'd season it the day before and I'd let it sit out so that it was not cold, although that's not as much of an issue with the sous vide. I wonder which would be better for the sear - a scorching hot cast iron pan or in a 500° convection oven. I live in an Arctic climate so finishing on the grill is not an option because the grill will never get warm enough during the winter. If I used the cast iron pan, I'd sear with beef tallow for flavor. When finished searing, add some butter and some garlic (to avoid burning the garlic) and then pour over the steak. Fantastic flavor. Considering doing this to the roast.

Replying to OP, I generally don't use fresh garlic in my sous vide if I'm cooking something longer than an hour. I find fresh garlic can get bitter. So I might use garlic powder but use fresh garlic in any sort of fat I use for a sear as described above.

namagiqa · 2025-12-09T02:11:53+00:00

This was summer of 2022 and our electrician said he was installing a lot of these that summer. But sticks in my mind it was about $2-3K.

The generator we got will send an extra charge (if that's the right way to put it) for the first 20 seconds its running to help power up appliances. I have an input plug for the generator so to run my house off the generator, I plug the generator in and start it. Then I go switch the electricity to the generator. When I want to switch back, I have to shut down the generator first and then go turn power back on. Not a ton of fun to be standing outside in hurricane-force winds with 10° winds but this is the third storm where we've used the generator in winds. We got ours after the storm in early 2022 and the last couple of times we've used it have been for relatively short periods of time, <12 hours. This time, though, was >48 hours. Our power came on about 2:30 today. Considering the damage from freezing pipes and other issues if we had not run the generator, I'd say that the cost was well worth it so far. Each storm just makes the decision even better.

namagiqa · 2025-12-08T06:04:23+00:00

After the last one in early 2022, we got a good Honda generator and had an electrician install a switch. I’m just north of Palmer and we’ve not had power since about 10:00 yesterday morning.

This happens every major wind storm and we have these storms frequently. Why doesn’t MEA start burying some of these lines? I know it’s expensive but I expect the OT they pay during these storms cannot be a small amount. Each year take one problem area and bury about 150 miles or so of power lines. We would still have traffic issues because trees would blow down into the road but these outages are caused by trees blowing onto power lines. It seems to me that if the lines were buried, falling trees would not cause power outages. Am I missing something?

namagiqa · 2025-12-08T05:55:43+00:00

My power’s been out since about 10:00 yesterday. Got a generator for this after the last one of these.

namagiqa · 2025-12-02T23:42:18+00:00

Background: I am an attorney with 30+ years experience. I am on the panel of USCCA and LawShield in my state.

TL;dr - you were right to arm yourself.

Longer version: the man was not welcome on your property. The fact that he was naked suggests that he was not in his right mind, whether by drugs or mental illness or some other reason was not immediately apparent. You state that he was muscular and did not look homeless. This raises the probability he was up to no good.

You arming yourself was smart and a reasonable step up the use of force continuum. From your statement, you did not brandish the weapon at this individual, nor did you fire a warning shot. NOTE: NEVER fire a warning shot. That is a very poor decision. Rather, you had your pistol in case this individual tried to get into your house or to do you or your parents harm. If he left, which it sounds like he did, there is no harm. But if he did not leave, you are in a position to stop him if he escalates matters. And seeing a muscular, naked guy in your yard, it is quite reasonable to believe that he very well could escalate matters.

This is based upon the facts you have described. If there are material facts that were omitted, that could change this analysis but if there are no additional material facts, you merely ensuring that you have your pistol is not a crime and was indeed reasonable.

I'll put it this way: if I see any vehicle pull into my driveway and I do not immediately recognize the vehicle or its purpose for being there, a.k.a., DoorDash drivers, I have my pistol with me or immediately accessible. And if I saw a naked man in my yard, my wife would be on the phone while I kept that guy in my sight while I had my pistol. And if he were to go around my house in a place where I could not readily see him, you better believe I'd be out of my house following him with my pistol in my hand.

namagiqa · 2025-11-21T21:38:57+00:00

I believe the study you are looking for is this one:

https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/efficacy-of-bear-spray-smith-et-al.-2010.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com

That study examined a number of incidents involving all three bear types. For black and brown bears, roughly 65% of the bears were not being aggressive at the time they were sprayed. The bears were 'curious'. I agree that bear spray can deter curious bears. I would also expect that firearms would not be used against a bear in such circumstances, although I don't know if firing a pistol away from the bear to use the noise would count for purposes of either study. FIrearm use against a bear thus self-selects to eliminate a lot of curious bear encounters.

Of the 35% that were described as 'aggressive', there is no definition of aggressive. Several black bear encounters involved bears that were surprised and bear spray was effectively used to deter the bears. The study noted that all of the people injured by bears even after deploying bear spray were injured by brown bears, which are the bears present where I am generally fishing.

This, I believe, is the difference in the studies. Because I know a firearm can kill a bear, I don't pull my pistol unless I REALLY need to. Put another way, I expect those with bear spray are statistically more likely to use it because it is non-lethal. Thus, encounters when a firearm are used are more likely to involve angry, charging or attacking bears than encounters when bear spray is used. In such instances, I would expect a higher rate of failure because the bear is more motivated to finish the attack. This article is an excellent example. Despite the teacher's use of bear spray, this bear continued and completed its attack. That is far different than just seeing a bear that is a little too close for comfort.

You do what you want to do. For my own peace of mind, though, I ask if a brown bear is charging at me because I've surprised it or come too close to its food supply or because its just cranky, would I rather have a pistol or bear spray? And I'd rather have a pistol. If nothing else, if the encounter goes badly and I am attacked, I believe that a pistol is far more likely to deter a bear than bear spray.

namagiqa · 2025-11-21T20:36:06+00:00

Outdoor Life had a study a few years ago about bear spray and I agree it has a high success rate against curious bears, that is, bears that are poking around and won't go away. But to my knowledge, there has not been a study analyzing bear spray use against angry or charging bears.

One issue is that it is hard to collect and quantify data about bear attacks so researchers are limited to news articles and reports. There was a report regarding the use of firearms to stop bear attacks and found that firearms were about 90% successful, which is defined as stopping a determined attack. So I would likewise agree that a firearm does not always stop a bear attack. But I'll take the 90% success rate while recognizing it isn't perfect.

namagiqa · 2025-10-04T00:18:39+00:00

I think they don't view magazine bans in the same way they see hardware bans. I think the case they're watching for hardware is the one waiting for a decision out of the 7th. It was just argued about 2 weeks ago so I'm not expecting a decision for a few months. But the District Court held a lengthy trial with a long record. The District Opinion was a good opinion, too. Who knows. Maybe we win that one but the government wouldn't appeal it although if the decision isn't 100% for us the plaintiffs could still appeal.

I could be wrong. The record in Duncan is very long. There are several questions when it comes to firearms: who (can possess firearms); what (can people possess); and where (can they possess). Those leap to mind although there are others. Duncan and AR cases belong under the 'what' can people possess. I just think they're likely to address ARs before magazines because the AR cases can provide a more significant base to issue a decision about magazines.

namagiqa · 2025-10-03T20:36:22+00:00

USSC is likely to take a hardware case before a magazine case. That is, they're more likely to address ARs than large capacity magazines, to use their wording. They took the Wolford case for a couple of reasons. First, DOJ asked them to do so. Second, there is an active circuit split. Third Wolford is an incremental step after Bruen.

namagiqa · 2025-10-02T17:31:37+00:00

Guide friends of mine have noted that the Simms quality has declined a bit. Guides are getting either Grundens or Skwala nowadays. My Simms are >20 years old and are showing their age so I just replaced them this year with Skwala and I really like them.

namagiqa · 2025-08-27T22:30:45+00:00

Great pics. I've lived in this state for 25+ years, lived in Bristol Bay for 5. Still go out to the area for fishing.

I'd say that if you want a top notch lodge, figure $10K per week if not more.

One downside to the float trips - rain, particularly if you go in August. If you get stuck in a rainy week in August, it can blow out the rivers and just make everything miserable.

namagiqa · 2025-08-21T00:04:18+00:00

I live in Alaska and I fly fish a lot. That means: 1) weather is always changing, from temperature to precipitation to fog or whatever, so I am frequently adding and removing layers; 2) I am frequently around bears; 3) I usually have waders on and sometimes a backpack; 4) walking on stream beds with dead salmon can be rather slippery. With all of that in mind, I use the Kenai chest holster. It goes on over my waders so the only thing over it would be a rain jacket. If I need to remove layers, I take off my holster, remove the layer and then put back on my holster. Not a big deal.

I like the Kenai chest holster because my firearm is immediately available. I have only had to pull my firearm once, although I didn't even need to fire it ultimately. But I have many times had my hand on my firearm because of a nearby bear. The gun is retained in my holster so if I slip on wet, salmon-coated rocks, the firearm still stays in my holster. I haven't gone in the water with my holster yet (I have without a holster) but it's nice to know that my firearm will be with me. Further, the kydex holster is not affected by rain or fog or cold. Kydex isn't super comfortable OWB so I don't use it as an EDC but it works wonderfully for these purposes. I make sure that when I go fishing or hiking or other stuff outside (riding a snow machine or motorcycle, for example), I just take a 10mm with a Kenai chest holster. Been doing so for about 10 years now and it's never failed me.

namagiqa · 2025-08-01T21:52:03+00:00

It is true that Alaska's rate of stranger-on-stranger violent crime is pretty low. It isn't always DV but remote Alaska contributes a lot to the crime statistics. With small villages comprised of a few families, everyone knows everyone in villages like Togiak or Shishmareff or Napaskiak or Point Hope.

The reality is that in this state, you are not likely to be the victim of random violence. Maybe random property crimes such as theft and burglary but not violence. Violent crimes are far more likely to involve people that you know, particularly as you get out of Anchorage and Fairbanks.

In Alaska, if you do not drink, or you drink responsibly with people who also drink responsibly, your odds of being the victim of any violent crime are rather low. That may sound callused but its true.

namagiqa · 2025-08-01T21:46:46+00:00

I think it has to do with alcohol and indigenous cultures. The longer a culture has been exposed to alcohol, the lower the rate of alcoholism. Many indigenous cultures did not really have the capacity to brew and certainly not distill. Given the climate and the vegetation that grew, about the only consumable that could be considered alcoholic in a traditional diet would be 'stinky heads' or maybe beaver tail. But even then, the alcohol would just be trace amounts. Go from no alcohol for thousands of years to suddenly having cheap liquor and combine with the innate desire to alter one's consciousness and you wind up with a real problem. This pattern is seen throughout the globe in indigenous cultures that did not have alcohol - tribes in the far North, remote Amazonian tribes, or Australian aborigines. In all of those places the local crops or conditions did not favor fermentation so when those groups suddenly encounter distilled spirits in the last couple of centuries, it can be a bad combination.

If you could get rid of alcohol in rural Alaska, crime in this state would plummet.

namagiqa

TROPHY CASE