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Life in Alaska - part BRRRRRR


Nanuq

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freddy, yeah, the centrifugal force of the high speed spinning tears the little cups off the ends of the arms. And don't believe that nonsense about "-39" windchill. Holy CRAP is it cold out there.

maxman, here's how close Russia is... that's it across the open water there.

diomede04.jpg

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Don't be a wuss! I have a little wallet card proclaiming I survived -54 F (ambient) during the Jack Frost Field Exercise at Ft. Wainwright in the late 70s... :whistling: Going down to Anchorage during the dead of winter was like visiting the lower 48!

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freddy, yeah, the centrifugal force of the high speed spinning tears the little cups off the ends of the arms. And don't believe that nonsense about "-39" windchill. Holy CRAP is it cold out there.

maxman, here's how close Russia is... that's it across the open water there.

diomede04.jpg

Just a quick swim... :whistling:

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TeeJay, actually, the natives have relatives across the water, so when the ocean freezes up they run across there on snowmachines. Their genetic histories go waaaaaaaaay back together.

JMB, did you say -54F? Pffffffffft. T-shirt weather. My job prior to this one was on the north slope, in the corrosion control group. We had to read all the sensors every week and plot failure rates. -54F was like a summer breeze, a walk in the park with your sweetie. We'd often slip off our boots at -54F to enjoy the soft snow between our toes. ;-) One week it hit -72F ambient and the wind kicked up to 45mph. The wind chill was off the bottom of the charts, but we estimated it at -165 to -170F. That was a touch chilly. :tu:

Freddy, it's not really cold out, but the wind is brutal. We use arctic entries so the house stays pressurized in the wind, and the windows don't blow in. There are companies here that specialize in coating the inside of house windows so when they break the shards stay together like a car window in a crash. Up at the mountain house I have windows 10 feet tall across the downwind side of the house, and it's still scary as heck watching them flex as the wind sucks the cedar shakes off the house. On the downwind side. I got my favorite wife a really cool birdhouse for outdoors, it's 2 feet square, built like a victorian mansion, with peaks and gables, and weighs like 40 lbs. I mounted it to a post outside, on the ground, and I went to check on it (can't see it from the house with the swirling snow). This morning it's......... gone. Just completely gone without a trace. Not even any shrapnel out there.

Nice thing though, this weather will get the crabby old bears into their dens so the woods are MINE again! Gimme my skis!

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TeeJay, actually, the natives have relatives across the water, so when the ocean freezes up they run across there on snowmachines. Their genetic histories go waaaaaaaaay back together.

JMB, did you say -54F? Pffffffffft. T-shirt weather. My job prior to this one was on the north slope, in the corrosion control group. We had to read all the sensors every week and plot failure rates. -54F was like a summer breeze, a walk in the park with your sweetie. We'd often slip off our boots at -54F to enjoy the soft snow between our toes. ;-) One week it hit -72F ambient and the wind kicked up to 45mph. The wind chill was off the bottom of the charts, but we estimated it at -165 to -170F. That was a touch chilly. :tu:

Freddy, it's not really cold out, but the wind is brutal. We use arctic entries so the house stays pressurized in the wind, and the windows don't blow in. There are companies here that specialize in coating the inside of house windows so when they break the shards stay together like a car window in a crash. Up at the mountain house I have windows 10 feet tall across the downwind side of the house, and it's still scary as heck watching them flex as the wind sucks the cedar shakes off the house. On the downwind side. I got my favorite wife a really cool birdhouse for outdoors, it's 2 feet square, built like a victorian mansion, with peaks and gables, and weighs like 40 lbs. I mounted it to a post outside, on the ground, and I went to check on it (can't see it from the house with the swirling snow). This morning it's......... gone. Just completely gone without a trace. Not even any shrapnel out there.

Nice thing though, this weather will get the crabby old bears into their dens so the woods are MINE again! Gimme my skis!

Joking aside, what is the distance at that point? I expect being in that water would mean death in minutes, but the distance itself certainly doesn't look a challenge :) It's fascinating how Humanity has spread and migrated across the globe :) With regards your window issue, had you considered a clear safety film which would hold the entire pane together should it break?I've seem it used in hotels here in the UK, and figure it wouldn't be too costly :) I know what you mean about wind too, kind of... Although it's nothing like what you have in Alaska, where I live now, the wind comes straight off the North Sea, not having hit land since the North Pole, so a day that would be T-Shirt material anywhere else, still needs jackets because of the wind :D

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My brother has been asking for a weather station for his home. Do you have any recommendations?

I like the Davis Vantage Pro. It updates the display much more frequently than the other brands so you can catch the big gusts. And it keeps graphical history for each sensor so you can look at trends. Up in the mountains we get wild weather and I can watch the barometric pressure coming in waves by watching the history. It's wireless too, so I put the sensors outside and set the receiver indoors, then on a separate channel I rebroadcast my signal so my mini station in the bedroom upstairs gets the same display. The only shortcoming is the wind cups flying off at high speed in the cold, but most locations don't have to worry about that.

TeeJay, the International Date Line runs between the islands, called locally Ignaluk and Imaqliq, for Little and Big Diomede. They're also known as Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Island, because the one in Russia is 20 hours ahead but it's only 2 1/2 miles away. Yes, your life would be brief in that water. It's slushy down to about 20 degrees from the wave action, then a good cold snap freezes it solid. We swim in 40 degree water in summer and we're okay for 20 or 30 minutes. But that stuff will take you out.

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I like the Davis Vantage Pro. It updates the display much more frequently than the other brands so you can catch the big gusts. And it keeps graphical history for each sensor so you can look at trends. Up in the mountains we get wild weather and I can watch the barometric pressure coming in waves by watching the history. It's wireless too, so I put the sensors outside and set the receiver indoors, then on a separate channel I rebroadcast my signal so my mini station in the bedroom upstairs gets the same display. The only shortcoming is the wind cups flying off at high speed in the cold, but most locations don't have to worry about that.

TeeJay, the International Date Line runs between the islands, called locally Ignaluk and Imaqliq, for Little and Big Diomede. They're also known as Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Island, because the one in Russia is 20 hours ahead but it's only 2 1/2 miles away. Yes, your life would be brief in that water. It's slushy down to about 20 degrees from the wave action, then a good cold snap freezes it solid. We swim in 40 degree water in summer and we're okay for 20 or 30 minutes. But that stuff will take you out.

Ahh, that's a bit further than it looks in the photo, but I have done distances like that before (in a heated pool :lol: ) Very interesting about the two islands though :good:

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i'm gonna plan my next vacation @ Nanuq's house :D

Yeah baby! We'll build a fire on the deck and roast a weenie. If the flame freezes we'll just break off a piece and take it inside to finish the cookin'. :tu:

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at least you dont have to worry about them pesky bears!

Nope, the bears are all snoozing now. The woods are MINE for another 6 months!!

But this morning, coming down off the mountain I saw the biggest Lynx ever. WOW was he a big boy! Snowshoe hares nowhere to be seen...

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I can feel your pain Bro!!

As I'm sitting at my desk with the back door open, here in Ft Myers Fl., it's 77f at 10:30AM, and the sun has just gone behind a cloud!!!...OH the HORRORS!!!!!

Actually, It's been unseasonably hot her for the past week with highs in the mid to upper 80's, but we've got a cold front coming through that'll drop that to the LOWER 80's!!!....

But...If I want to see a Polar Bear, or a Walrus, I have to drive all the way up to Disneyworld...BUMMER!!! :snorkel::pimp:B)

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I feel your pain. But not my toes... it was -14F driving to work in my old Land Rover and the heater was making vague warm suggestions, at best. I kept most of the ice scraped off the inside of the windows, and now she's sitting with the windows open to air out. By this afternoon the moisture from my breath will have sublimated and I'll have clear glass again. Pretty neat how that works.

Whoops! Time to go outside and plug the old girl in.

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When I was younger, living in New England I owned a Morgan 4/4 roadster that my wife once described the heater in as : "Like a little old lady breathing on your ankles"

AFAIK, my cars now all have heaters, but I must admit I've never really tried to turn one of them on....

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