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What made your day today? v.2


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I responded to a Rob Halford post on Facebook today that showed he and Alice Cooper in a pic on Coopers birthday.  I responded with "What a pair! Don't drop the soap, Alice!  Rob gave me a laugh and a heart in response, and I have to say it made my month!  I wish Ged and Alex would be so responsive. 

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On 2/4/2023 at 3:52 AM, Bahamas said:

If Rush is my "jam", winter wilderness stuff is my "peanut butter" :banana:

It began over 20 years ago when the college approached the local search and rescue unit about wilderness skills - because students will be getting all their flight hours up here over Boreal forests.

After graduation they can go on to become pilots for whatever company, but many will be bush pilots for mining companies and such.

 

I started with the search unit in 2010 and got into this particular course a few years ago. It's a ten class program with 7 night classes of simple wilderness first aid, group dynamics, building a survival kit, proper clothing materials, footwear, combating fear and panic, etc. and then 3 outdoor exercises - 2 single Saturdays where they learn to start fires using only a flint striker (works anywhere, anytime, always and every time - with practice) and then shelters (the lean-to that you can build to any size with a multi-tool and wire or some rope) and the tripod signal fire. Then it culminates with an overnight weekend of all skills put together. Yes, some years it's -10 C and other years it can be -25 or more. It's a destructive non-environmentally friendly program, but using crown land and notifying the rural police, fire departments and such, and with one of their instructors doing a fly-over with dash cams on the final day, the students get to see how tiny and difficult it is to see the little columns of smoke from the signal fires at 1000 feet. They really get a perspective on how to stand out in thousands of square miles of dark forest cover. It takes hours to scramble a search team from southern Ontario and then many more to begin spotting and mapping the original flight plan and grid searching out from that pattern - over hundreds of miles, so they are taught how to spend a couple of days waiting and hoping for a rescue.

 

They are nervous going in and super psyched and proud coming out. Foreign students, older students changing careers, always a few women, people of all walks of life - but want to be pilots. 45 - 55 students a year?

We are all volunteers but it does net our unit some cash to continue operating and paying rent. Started back in the late '60s, the unit is still going but is rarely called out by police for searches these days - it's become more of an community education service. 

 

I have always been too shy to ask Alex - "Sir, what is in your aircraft survival kit?" But I think someday I will ask?

 

Cheers Jack Aubrey! It's a really neat course and there are very few of them remaining. Thanks for asking.

As someone living in a northern country with pretty similar circumstances that you, Bahamas, described I truly acknowledge the importance of your voluntary work. :thumbsup: One can end up in life-threatening trouble in a vast forest in winter conditions in no time without those vital skills you keep teaching. The classes sound really invigorating. Great work! :clap:

 

Edited by Sun & Moon
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I've recently worked quite often all through the weekends. After yet another busy weekend I had a day off today. The sunshine attracted me for an hour-and-a-half walk near the coast. The spring is on its way. I saw willow catkins and further along the bay a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) flying high above the forest. It soon landed somewhere near the field and started a lound, incessant cry. Common buzzards are not so common here in Finland as they used to be. Seeing birds of prey is magnificent although I love watching birds in general.

Edited by Sun & Moon
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3 hours ago, Sun & Moon said:

I've recently worked quite often all through the weekends. After yet another busy weekend I had a day off today. The sunshine attracted me for an hour-and-a-half walk near the coast. The spring is on its way. I saw willow catkins and further along the bay a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) flying high above the forest. It soon landed somewhere near the field and started a lound, incessant cry. Common buzzards are not so common here in Finland as they used to be. Seeing birds of prey is magnificent although I love watching birds in general.

Very nice - that would make my day, too!

Something I wrote about a while back, being outside in the winter with the snow and the silence - interrupted, as you describe, by wildlife - is a feeling I can relate to, when Neil describes his winter activities.

But spring on its way? I wish! We have some time yet, being in the middle of our continent. Yes, Lake Superior is a buffer but it's going to be winter for some time to come. No coastal temperaments for us. 

 

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My QNAP media centre server went offline a few days ago due to a failed hard drive. I could have lost around 150 TV programmes and films. But thankfully the box was RAIDed and after a quick hot drive swap out normality retuned and the server is back online. 

 

In terms of words of wisdom in the context of IT is always ALWAYS imperative to backup your stuff.

Backups don't sound very sexy, but it doesn't matter if you have the most expensive hardware on the planet, they can fail at anytime, and without a backup in place you've lost everything. And its only after the event do you think "If only....."

 

 

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Good Things Come to Those Who do Good Things

 

Dianne Gordon’s green Jeep Liberty broke down about a year ago, and ever since, she’s been walking 2.7 miles each way to and from work, five days a week.   Her car couldn’t be fixed, and Gordon, 65, couldn’t afford to buy a new one. 

 

Gordon’s regular walks are usually uneventful. On January 21, Gordon was on her usual walk home.  
It was a notably cold afternoon, and she decided to stop at a gas station for a snack.  
She spotted something unexpected: A Ziploc bag, filled with $14,780.

 

I happened to look down, and there was a bag of money,” Gordon said. “I picked it up, and there were some papers that went with it, and I turned it over, and there was even more money.  I just looked at it, and I knew it wasn’t mine.  I knew what I needed to do.”

 

She went into the gas station, clutching the bag of cash in her hands, and immediately called the police.

An officer arrived at the gas station shortly after she called and took possession of the bag of cash. 
Within two hours, one of them called Gordon to let her know that they had tracked down the people to whom the money belonged. It was a young couple who had gotten married earlier that day.

 

There were wedding cards with a name on it, and we were able to get the money back to them,” said Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department, who said the newlyweds were overwhelmed with gratitude at Gordon’s honesty.  

 

If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” Gordon said. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was return something that didn’t belong to me.”

 

Thanks to a GoFundMe site, started by the wife of the assisting police officer, Gordon now has a new Jeep, complete with insurance AND an extended warranty.   

 

:smile:  :smile:  :smile:

Edited by Principled Man
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2 hours ago, Principled Man said:

Good Things Come to Those Who do Good Things

 

Dianne Gordon’s green Jeep Liberty broke down about a year ago, and ever since, she’s been walking 2.7 miles each way to and from work, five days a week.   Her car couldn’t be fixed, and Gordon, 65, couldn’t afford to buy a new one. 

 

Gordon’s regular walks are usually uneventful. On January 21, Gordon was on her usual walk home.  
It was a notably cold afternoon, and she decided to stop at a gas station for a snack.  
She spotted something unexpected: A Ziploc bag, filled with $14,780.

 

I happened to look down, and there was a bag of money,” Gordon said. “I picked it up, and there were some papers that went with it, and I turned it over, and there was even more money.  I just looked at it, and I knew it wasn’t mine.  I knew what I needed to do.”

 

She went into the gas station, clutching the bag of cash in her hands, and immediately called the police.

An officer arrived at the gas station shortly after she called and took possession of the bag of cash. 
Within two hours, one of them called Gordon to let her know that they had tracked down the people to whom the money belonged. It was a young couple who had gotten married earlier that day.

 

There were wedding cards with a name on it, and we were able to get the money back to them,” said Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department, who said the newlyweds were overwhelmed with gratitude at Gordon’s honesty.  

 

If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” Gordon said. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was return something that didn’t belong to me.”

 

Thanks to a GoFundMe site, started by the wife of the assisting police officer, Gordon now has a new Jeep, complete with insurance AND an extended warranty.   

 

:smile:  :smile:  :smile:

I saw a headline about that and clicked on it. Even up here in Winterland!

Interesting that every time you read about a GoFundMe activity and wonder - really? A lot of them pile up the money.

Like, taxes and extra payments we all incur every year and they keep increasing are not enough? - there is room for a few bucks to help somebody who needs/can use it.

It all adds up!

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3 minutes ago, Bahamas said:

 

Like, taxes and extra payments we all incur every year and they keep increasing are not enough? - there is room for a few bucks to help somebody who needs/can use it.

It all adds up!


We have so much money to spare in this country.  We spend more on pizza every year than on NASA.  If every adult donated a dollar to a just cause, that would be well over $100 million dollars.  We can help out virtually everyone in need.  Maybe someday, we will….

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I woke up at my usual time of around 5am GMT and went out for my usual 5 mile jog around the block in the dark. It was bloody cold of course but the good things was that by around 7:30am the clear sky was beginning to glow a warm red-orange from the eastern horizon. 20 odd minutes later I could see the sun rise above the mountain fells of the Lake District where I live. No clouds, no industrialisation, no artificial lights/pollution to block the view of the sun doing what it's been doing for billions of years!

 

There is something hugely positive about seeing the sun in its unfettered glory, albeit 93 million miles away. For the last couple of weeks we've had nothing but blankets of thick grey cloud 24/7, but just to see the sun this morning is a massive boost to one's mindset.

 

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Wife and I had a great morning hike with the dog around Washoe Lake.  A wet, snowy winter has restored the lake to a healthy level, so we're looking forward to paddleboarding this summer.  After the hike we did a little yard work in the sun and then rewarded ourselves with a glass of champagne in the warm adirondacks.  :sundog:

 

And at 3pm clouds rolled in producing a mini blizzard,  to remind us it's only February. :tongue:

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1 hour ago, BigMontanaSKY said:

Being able to fill the bird feeders.

 

The birds in my region need all the help they can get so doing that was my constructively selfish moment of the day.

Constructively selfish...because it means you can watch them as they return to the feeder?

Not so selfish? Maybe not "survival of the species friendly" but with everything else going on in the world, yup, why not put down some seeds for our fluttery friends :smile: 

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2 minutes ago, Bahamas said:

Constructively selfish...because it means you can watch them as they return to the feeder?

Not so selfish? Maybe not "survival of the species friendly" but with everything else going on in the world, yup, why not put down some seeds for our fluttery friends :smile: 

 

 

Growing up poor, one of my few joys was casual birdwatching.

 

There's tons of info online about how pesticides have hurt wild bird populations. So any support of feather friends is good indeed.

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22 hours ago, BigMontanaSKY said:

 

 

Growing up poor, one of my few joys was casual birdwatching.

 

There's tons of info online about how pesticides have hurt wild bird populations. So any support of feather friends is good indeed.

You share that wonder with our beloved Neil - how he could spend time, simply watching.

And I always appreciated him writing about that, because aside from one's personal situation, there is peace and wonder in watching birds but it takes the time and appreciation to actually see what they are doing - honest!

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Just gave Charter Spectrum Services the BOOT!  :thumbsup:

 

The installer for TDS Services just finished hooking up the house with all new, fiberoptic cable and internet service.   A brand new service that came to town very recently, so I got a good deal as one of their first customers.  

 

See ya, Charter.  Wouldn't wanna be ya!  :biggrin:

 

  

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Finally found Girl Scout cookies!     They hadn't been located in their usual spot this year.  Checked the GS website earlier this week which linked me to a "Cookie Finder by zip code".  They listed a sales point in front of a movie theater/arcade a block west of the old location.  Got a box of Samoas, and one ofThin Mints.

Nom, nom nom...

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I just looked out the window.... Bubble Girl parked in her driveway instead of in front of my house. Holy shit!

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19 hours ago, BastillePark said:

With the exception of the test ride I rode my new bicycle for the first time. Love it.

What kind of bike? 

In 2020 and 2021 during all the pandemic restrictions, I rode my bike more than every before in my life. Some ignored Rush albums on my headphones, long rural roads watching the farm lands and hills roll by, it was very therapeutic!

 

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On 3/1/2023 at 10:28 PM, goose said:

three+musketeers+1973_opt.jpgHanging with my buddies and laughing my ass off.  It feels great to be blessed with such good friends 

 

 

goose, are you in that motley crew? Is it roll playing, like reenactments of fables or fandom stuff?

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