Random News (not Politics) Thoughts

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I've seen you make a few posts about climbing. Is this a topic that interests you? How did it start?

 

[Totenkindly]

I wonder why the footwear was not found with the body. Related to hypothermia symptoms, maybe?

Did you look at the picture further down in the article? They found his boot next to it.

I'll put the shot in spoilers, although it doesn't really show anything explicit -- just the shot of a sock and boot knowing a foot is inside might be too much for some. Based on the positioning, I'm gonna assume either the fall snapped off his ankle or at some point he fell further after his body had frozen solid (so it shattered) and/or the glacier itself over time tore it off + pulled the boot off as well.

 

[Totenkindly]

I've seen you make a few posts about climbing. Is this a topic that interests you? How did it start?

Yeah, it's been an avid interest of mine (although waning over the last decade).

I had hiked a lot in my 20's and 30's and at one point considered getting even more into it including higher mount climbing, but I had a family and obligations and wasn't really in a prime location in the USA either for that.

I also was very aware of the 1996 (?) incident recorded by Jon Krakauer in "Into Thin Air" on Everest's slopes and had read a few different books about it, along with other books by mountaineers etc. So I'm aware of the typical camp points on Everest, the specific hurdles, and had read books about some of the other big mountain climbs including K2. That is what REALLY had piqued my interest and I read voraciously for a few years and still have books + some nice picture books of sought-after mountains around the world.

I think that ship has sailed for me years back in terms of developing the skill to handle higher climbs and just having the physique for it, but I still follow climbing stories (both alpine and regular face climbing) and am usually aware of any major deaths that happen. Because frankly you've got people who are balanced on a razor-edge of skill and difficulty, and there are no mild impacts when even a small slip or misfortune occurs. So many of them die in their 30-50's, often from just routine mishaps or things you cannot avoid like avalanches.

I think with Mallory and Irvine, what blows your mind is that they tried this a hundred years ago, with primitive equipment (in comparison) and without any real established ascent pathways. IOW, they didn't depend on past experience or knowledge of the things they were attempting. it was truly all new stuff. I don't want to downplay going to the moon nowadays, but imagine before we ever sent anyone to the moon, how terrifying it would have been and all the equations and math being done by hand, in equipment that is weaker than a $5 pocket calculator nowadays. They didn't have special fabrics to stay warm, or all the things the "tourist" climbers use nowadays. Just freaking insane. But those guys were the real trailblazers.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Yeah, it's been an avid interest of mine (although waning over the last decade).

I had hiked a lot in my 20's and 30's and at one point considered getting even more into it including higher mount climbing, but I had a family and obligations and wasn't really in a prime location in the USA either for that.

I also was very aware of the 1996 (?) incident recorded by Jon Krakauer in "Into Thin Air" on Everest's slopes and had read a few different books about it, along with other books by mountaineers etc. So I'm aware of the typical camp points on Everest, the specific hurdles, and had read books about some of the other big mountain climbs including K2. That is what REALLY had piqued my interest and I read voraciously for a few years and still have books + some nice picture books of sought-after mountains around the world.

I think that ship has sailed for me years back in terms of developing the skill to handle higher climbs and just having the physique for it, but I still follow climbing stories (both alpine and regular face climbing) and am usually aware of any major deaths that happen. Because frankly you've got people who are balanced on a razor-edge of skill and difficulty, and there are no mild impacts when even a small slip or misfortune occurs. So many of them die in their 30-50's, often from just routine mishaps or things you cannot avoid like avalanches.

I think with Mallory and Irvine, what blows your mind is that they tried this a hundred years ago, with primitive equipment (in comparison) and without any real established ascent pathways. IOW, they didn't depend on past experience or knowledge of the things they were attempting. it was truly all new stuff. I don't want to downplay going to the moon nowadays, but imagine before we ever sent anyone to the moon, how terrifying it would have been and all the equations and math being done by hand, in equipment that is weaker than a $5 pocket calculator nowadays. They didn't have special fabrics to stay warm, or all the things the "tourist" climbers use nowadays. Just freaking insane. But those guys were the real trailblazers.

That's cool!

I've never done any snow-covered peaks or anything like that, but I've been up a few smaller mountains every now and then. The first time I did it, I couldn't imagine how I could go up those angled rock surfaces (I don't mean with rope here) like that. But I did eventually arrive at the top, and I remember how the blue mountains seemed to stretch into infinity. I always liked when you got to the top and could see everything.

 

[ceecee]

I 100% had to look up what the hell Conkers even is.

Conkers controversy: World tournament investigates claims of cheating with steel chestnut

The World Conker Championships says it's investigating allegations of cheating after this year’s men’s winner was found to have a steel chestnut in his pocket.

apnews.com

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I 100% had to look up what the hell Conkers even is.

Conkers controversy: World tournament investigates claims of cheating with steel chestnut

The World Conker Championships says it's investigating allegations of cheating after this year’s men’s winner was found to have a steel chestnut in his pocket.

apnews.com

I was considering posting something about this.

It's easy to overlook this because we share a language, but British culture has so many odd pastimes like this.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Too Sexy to Last: The Right Said Fred Story

Jamming in Pugsley’s apartment one night over a bass line inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Richard took off his shirt—it was hot in there—and proclaimed he was “too sexy” for it

The pop icon of the era, Madonna, announced she was sexually interested in Fred. Truant students announced they were “too sexy” for school. Stewardesses asked the brothers if they weren’t “too sexy” to be on a plane, a variation on a joke that they would wind up hearing thousands of times.

Though they were in their early thirties, they fibbed and told reporters they were in their early twenties. They were advised to ease up on the weightlifting, as their pumped-up physiques were deemed too frightening for general public consumption.

I should do that and tell people I'm 29.

The song raises serious concerns, actually. I worry all the time that I'm too sexy for my cat, and that he'll leave because he just can't handle it.

“They didn’t get the cynicism and the joke,” he said. “But the idea of the song is that you obviously can’t be too sexy, right? No one can be too sexy.”

 

[ceecee]

It's Edmund Fitzgerald Day around here.

Morning 4: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Michigan’s Lake Superior 49 years ago -- and other news

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

www.clickondetroit.com

 

[The Cat]

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

When

It's Edmund Fitzgerald Day around here.

Morning 4: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Michigan’s Lake Superior 49 years ago -- and other news

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

www.clickondetroit.com

When I first hear the song, I thought it took place in the 1930s, or earlier. I shocked and intimidated by the fact that it happened in the 1970s.

Superior, it's said never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Adventure cats blaze new trails in Oregon’s great outdoors​

I worry a little about what this means for wildlife, but otherwise, it's cool.

 

[ceecee]

When

When I first hear the song, I thought it took place in the 1930s, or earlier. I shocked and intimidated by the fact that it happened in the 1970s.

Superior, it's said never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early.

This is the live cam from Duluth. We should be getting this in a day or so.

 

[The Cat]

This is the live cam from Duluth. We should be getting this in a day or so.

it reminds me of the oceans in Tales from the Dying Earth. I'll bet the science of that lake is really frikkin cool. But the folklore around it is amazing.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

This is the live cam from Duluth. We should be getting this in a day or so.

I'm surprised by how square the back is.

Every now and then I will see something like this out on Lake Michigan. Even from far away, you get a feeling for the immensity of it.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

This old-timey site is pretty awesome:


MARINE VESSEL TRAFFIC: LAKE MICHIGAN

 

[ceecee]

This old-timey site is pretty awesome:


MARINE VESSEL TRAFFIC: LAKE MICHIGAN

Most people don't know just how much commercial traffic there is on the Great Lakes. I use the Marine Traffic app. and our boat could be visible on those maps but the transponder to send data to AIS isn't cheap and we don't have the need for it right now.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah, they're never gonna leave her out regardless of time or behavior...
California didn't let Leslie Van Houten out for 52 years, and they're even not South Carolina.

Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after killing her 2 sons

Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who admitted to drowning her two children 30 years ago, was unanimously denied parole after she appeared before the board for the first time on Wednesday. On Oct. 25, 1994, Smith, then 23 years old, strapped her sons -- 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old...

www.yahoo.com

 

[ceecee]

Yeah, they're never gonna leave her out regardless of time or behavior...
California didn't let Leslie Van Houten out for 52 years, and they're even not South Carolina.

Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after killing her 2 sons

Susan Smith, a South Carolina woman who admitted to drowning her two children 30 years ago, was unanimously denied parole after she appeared before the board for the first time on Wednesday. On Oct. 25, 1994, Smith, then 23 years old, strapped her sons -- 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old...

www.yahoo.com

Nope and they shouldn't.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Most people don't know just how much commercial traffic there is on the Great Lakes. I use the Marine Traffic app. and our boat could be visible on those maps but the transponder to send data to AIS isn't cheap and we don't have the need for it right now.

I was on a Zoom call once, and I was looking up a location on Google Maps, and he was surprised to see that it looked like I lived by the ocean. I told him that you usually can't see the other side.

 

[Totenkindly]

I was on a Zoom call once, and I was looking up a location on Google Maps, and he was surprised to see that it looked like I lived by the ocean. I told him that you usually can't see the other side.

I remember that from when I've been to the Erie lakeside or to Chicago looking out to the east. It's not the ocean but it sure feels like it in terms of the horizon.