Even Juneau, Alaska, which has no factories or industry to speak of, is noisy. Rarely can I just stand there and listen to nothing but birds or the soughing of trees. If nothing else, there is almost always the muted roar of a generator or a gallumphing compressor, or some unexplained noise nearby.

On Sunday mornings it's the quietest. When I walk my dog on a Sunday morning, there is virtually no traffic, the revelers have all given up and gone to bed, the motorcyclists have swaggered their macho selves out of town (motorcycles are to travel as drums are to music. :) and the only people I see are other dog walkers. And we are a quiet bunch.