Nanuq

Too much wind for a wind farm? http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/rural/story...p-8459152c.html

Traffic in the backcountry! But the sunsets make it all better

It looks like we're in for another snowy winter! Down the coast from my house about 30 miles is a ski resort and they got an unofficial 274" of snow last month. That puts us on par with another big winter... by last Spring they had received 884 inches of snow, or about 74 feet.

Enjoy! Ho Ho Ho!!!

The joys of Thermite http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...eoid=1577521413

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16S-a6a3mjs&NR

Quyana, Herbie Nayokpuk. The man, the legend, the Shishmaref Cannonball. http://www.adn.com/iditarod/hall/story/846...p-8359194c.html

Sunday afternoon the word went out that Portage Lake was frozen smooth so we drove out there for a skate! When we got there it was just amazing... the lake was smooth as glass almost all the way back to the glacier! So we strapped on the skates and away we went. It's about 5 miles back to the ridgeline where the glacier pushed up the moraines in the 70s, and then another mile at least around "the corner" back to the face of the glacier. Temps were about -10F and there was a nasty headwind blowing, about 20mph or so... for wind chills of -40 to -50F. But it was a HOOT!!! So here are some photos of how we have fun in Alaska. Enjoy! Getting ready for a skate in -50F wind chills Here's the intrepid daughter! Look how smooth that is... glassy for MILES....... In places it had broken and refrozen... the ice is about 5 feet thick here It's about a mile behind her to get to the face of the glacier... this is a BIG place! In this photo the far shore is more than a mile behind me, the near ridge to the right is about 1/4 mile behind me to the side, and the glacier is way back beyond that ridge. The face of the glacier is about as high as a 10-story building where it's all broken and calving. We made it to the glacier! Here's a toe of ice that sticks out in a shallow spot in the lake, so there's not much risk of it calving and breaking the ice. We got WAY too close to the glacier face in this photo, but it was shallow there so not much chance of calving. I was pretty nervous. Enjoy!

Wow it's been a great November! The ice on the ponds is almost 18" thick now and it's been clear and cold at night! Yowza! Great!!! The temp has been dropping all afternoon, it just hit -15F and I'm ready for a bike ride! Who's in?!!!! LET'S GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took a photo tonight of a new knife I bought, Helle from Norway, and it occurred to me that my thumb is looking pretty bad. So THEN it occurred to me that it's about time someone went mano-a-mano with RBJ (or would that be thumb-a-thumb) to finally place all bets and determine... WHO HAS THE NASTIEST THUMB???!! This beauty I got when I was doing a carpentry project and I drilled a hole through my thumb. Yep you heard me right... through my thumb. It's been healing a month or two now. So let's see what you got, Joe. Time to put up your best shot. Here's mine

There's a very cool Internet Wayback Machine that shows archived pages from the past. Just for fun I looked up RWG and we got history!! Check it out... http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.rwg.cc

For your consideration... a 1937 "Bond" Submariner! Where do I get hands like that for MY 6536?!!! The Rarest Sub?

Okay I'll go first... A very handsome and even more confident man walks into a bar and takes a seat next to a very attractive woman. He gives her a quick glance, then casually looks at his watch. The woman notices this and can't help but ask, "Is your date running late?" "No," he replies, "I just bought this state-of-the-art watch and I was just testing it." The woman is intrigued and asks, "A state-of-the-art watch? What's so special about it?" "It uses alpha waves to telepathically talk to me," he explains. "What's it telling you now?" "Well, it says you're not wearing any panties..." The woman giggles and replies, "Well it must be broken then, because I am wearing panties!" The man taps the watch and says, "Damn thing must be an hour fast."

I'm just back from a ride, I was up in Chugach state park and it's zero degrees out. The moon is full and the snow is hard and fast. I was out looking for animals, and I'm sad to say there were no bears or moose. But there was a magnificent big owl sitting in a tree watching me go by. Winter in Alaska! Love it! Here's my new ride, compared to my old red one.

We've finally got winter back again! It's eight degrees (F) and we have a ton of snow. I was out for a ride on my mtn bike today, and rode past the pond... it's got 2" of ice now and it's ready for skating! I took my bike for a spin around the lake on the ice and my studs gripped like a cat on carpet. A recommendation for tires... I just put a set of Goodyear TripleTred tires on my wife's car and they are AMAZING on ice and snow. They're not quite as good as hardcore studded Nokians but they're by far the best all-season tire I've ever used. WINTER IS BACK!!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's time to break out the glacier glasses, they're predicting 10 degrees (F) tonight with snow coming!! I've already had a few rides in snowflakes on my mtn bike but we may finally be in for a dump. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

For everyone who always wanted to visit Alaska but hasn't made it here yet, here's a little taste. This is from the far end of Eklutna lake, where the river comes in from the glacier. The pointy mountain framed in the valley is The Mitre and it delineates an ice field about as big as the state of Rhode Island. Enjoy!

Randy, Tony, Ziggy, Ludo et al... got a question. I'm sending my 6536 to Ziggy to have the green lume crud taken off the dial and hands. That should reveal gold painted indices with a thin gold painted ring around each one. After reviewing pics of Ziggy's work on the DRSD dial and his lume application, I wonder... are "puffy" lumed indices correct for my 6536 too? I'm thinking they're pretty flat right now. I could ask Ziggy to do the same as he did on the DRSD dial he posted today, but is it correct for the model? I couldn't care less if it glows... but I like the puffy look too. I can go either way. Opinions?

With all this talk of people's boxes and stuff... reviewing all the pictures, I thought I'd post a photo of my box. Do you guys really put your watches on the little leather pads when you're done wearing them? I just chuck 'em in the box.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! I just talked to my son. For his graduation last spring I bought him a sweet Kona Hoss mountain bike. It was also a "congrats" for his earning Eagle Scout too. He had it locked to a light pole at the college, right in front of the commons, and when he got back home this afternoon the bike was gone. Some POS stole it. Man if I get my hands on the guy that did this..... you're gonna read about it in the papers.

After 5 years and 20,000 miles it's time to replace my mountain bike. So, I did some research and this is what I landed on. It's a Kona "Unit 2-9" designed for single-speed use, but modified with derailleur hangers to do multi-speed. Hayes hydraulics, 7" discs, XTR bits, Dedacciai SAT tubes, Bomber SL forks, carbon Synchros bars, etc. The best part are the 29" wheels... they're AMAZING for offroad and snow riding. Now I just need to find 29" studded tires. Enjoy!

In honorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr of the day! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Official NTLAP website

The world has gone mad! I want off at the next station. This is insanity. World's Most Expensive Tropic 19 Crystal

A very elderly gentleman, (mid nineties) very well dressed, hair well groomed, great looking suit, flower in his lapel smelling slightly of a good after-shave, presenting a well looked-after image, walks into an upscale cocktail lounge. Seated at the bar is an elderly lady, about mid eighties. The gentleman walks over, sits alongside of her, orders a drink, takes a sip, turns to her and says, "So tell me, do I come here often?" --------------------------------------- An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again." The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!" --------------------------------------- Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement centre were sitting on a bench under a tree when one turns to the other and says: "Slim, I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of aches and pains. I know you're about my age. How do you feel?" Slim says, "I feel just like a newborn baby." "Really!? Like a newborn baby!?" "Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just wet my pants. --------------------------------------- An elderly couple had dinner at another couple's house, and after eating, the wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly. The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?" The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... the one that's red and has thorns." "Do you mean a rose?" "Yes, that's the one," replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night? --------------------------------------- Hospital regulations require a wheel chair for patients being discharged. However, while working as a student nurse, I found one elderly gentleman already dressed and sitting on the bed with a suitcase at his feet who insisted he didn't need my help to leave the hospital. After a chat about rules being rules, he reluctantly let me wheel him to the elevator. On the way down I asked him if his wife was meeting him. "I don't know," he said. "She's still upstairs in the bathroom changing out of her hospital gown." --------------------------------------- Couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a check-up, the doctor tells them that they're physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember. Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. "Want anything while I'm in the kitchen?" he asks. "Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?" "Sure." "Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?" she asks. "No, I can remember it." "Well, I'd like some strawberries on top,too. Maybe you should write it down, so's not to forget it?" He says, "I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries." "I'd also like whipped cream. I'm certain you'll forget that, write it down?" she asks. Irritated, he says, "I don't need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream - I got it, for goodness sake!" Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She stares at the plate for a moment. "Where's my toast ?" --------------------------------------- A senior citizen said to his eighty-year old buddy: "So I hear you're getting married?" "Yep!" "Do I know her?" "Nope!" "This woman, is she good looking?" "Not really." "Is she a good cook?" "Naw, she can't cook too well." "Does she have lots of money?" "Nope! Poor as a church mouse." "Well, then, is she good in bed?" "I don't know." "Why in the world do you want to marry her then?" "Because she can still drive!" --------------------------------------- Three old guys are out walking. First one says, "Windy, isn't it?" Second one says, "No, it's Thursday!" Third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer ." --------------------------------------- A man was telling his neighbour, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art It's perfect." "Really," answered the neighbour. "What kind is it?" "Twelve thirty." --------------------------------------- Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman on his arm. A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, "You're really doing great, aren't you?" Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'" The doctor said, "I didn't say that. I said, 'You've got a heart murmur; be careful.'" --------------------------------------- A little old man shuffled slowly into an ice cream parlour and pulled himself slowly, painfully, up onto a stool. After catching his breath, he ordered a banana split. The waitress asked kindly, "Crushed nuts?" "No," he replied, "Arthritis."