Cake, Candles, Crying Dog

Just a few days until October, and summer lingers on.  A last warm weekend at the lake.

There's firewood to stack up, 'cause this won't last forever....

Probably the most pleasant dock out session in our long tenure.....water levels had dropped so our crew of capable next generation workers had warm water and not that much of it to contend with.  I always wait until dock out to snap a pic of the fall colors.

And of course other stuff going on.  A birthday party for instance.

It was all a bit over stimulating for my dog Hank.  Hank loves many things.  Kids, grilled meat, the smells of the lake.  He hates other things....lawn mowers for instance, and he decided that the ATV was a great big one.   He tried to be everywhere at once.  Cadging food, getting attention from kids, guarding us from the Lawn Mower.  He can easily be both happy and sad at once.....

News from Arsuk

So I guess my 50th class reunion is happening tonight.  I'll be elsewhere doing family stuff.  I wonder if the organizers of the event bothered to read through the biography I sent them?  The one with a return address of Arsuk, Greenland.

It would be grand if they actually tried to contact me there.  I'm not sure how they'd do this....although I suppose there is some sort of minimal internet access when the Northern Lights don't screw up the satellites.  

On the off chance they do track me down by more conventional means - and I'd tip my cap - I have kept up on news from Arsuk.  There's more going on up there than you'd expect.

For instance, in 1965 several huts from a Soviet polar research station just floated into Arsuk on an ice floe.  While abandoned they were in good shape and have been incorporated into the town!

A few years back participants in something called the World Harmony Run visited Arsuk and jogged around the community.  That probably didn't take too long.  They were welcomed by the Mayor and all 170 residents, who then treated them to a feast.  I hope it went well.  The World Harmony organization was started by an Indian guru and spiritual teacher.  I'm not sure if such beliefs allow the consumption of seal and walrus.  Anyway, here's a participant posing with the Mayor.

Although Arsuk has an airport of sorts the best way to reach it would probably be by ferry.  When that is actually working....  News from 2008...

The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry Sarfaq Ittuk was beset by ice off the southwest coast of Greenland on 23rd March with 37 passengers and 22 crewmembers aboard. The 73m long ferry finally freed herself from an ice flow on 27th March and continued to Arsuk, arriving the next day. She then continued to Paamiut and Nuuk. Due to the location and the wind direction, it was not possible for other ships to sail to the Sarfaq Ittuk’s assistance. The risk of such an attempt would likely result in two ships stuck in the ice rather than just one. Although inconvenienced and without internet or phone service, passengers on board were never in any danger and seemed to take the weather delay in their stride. Throughout the ordeal, Arctic Umiaq Line kept in contact with the crew and communicated the status of the vessel directly with passenger’s families back home. The company also provided regular updates to Facebook, showing pictures of passengers and crew playing games, reading and watching movies. The 238 passenger/22 crew capacity and 2,118gt Sarfaq Ittuk was built in 1992 and underwent a renovation and extension in the winter of 1999-2000.

The occasional stranding by ice notwithstanding, the  ferry to Arsuk sounds like fun.  This account of a traveler had all sorts of interesting details.  Anybody getting into passport trouble in Greenland and considering buying illegal seal pelt garments sounds like a kindred spirit.

Well, as Garrison Keillor would put it "That's the news from Arsuk".  In my mostly true bio I failed to mention that I actually appeared on the Prairie Home Companion program once.....

The attentive may have noticed that my "50 year" biography has some overlap with the Life and Times of Badger Trowelsworthy.   If my classmates try to track me down in Arsuk under my real name they'll get polite, if slightly confused responses.  As I've mentioned before, should you go there and ask after Badger Trowelsworthy you will be curtly ordered to leave immediately and never come back.

The Insufferable Insolence of Deer

I think I've shown you my fridge art before.  Birthday and Father's day messages from my adorbs grand children.  They seem to make much of my intermittent success at deer hunting.  A gigantic deer with rude emanations seems to amuse them.  Well, it amuses me too.

Life imitates art.  On the front lawn of our in town place deer are wandering in and, well, see for yourself.

Hmmff.  They grow bold.  Sure, they have hearing, vision and a sense of smell that can detect me a mile away.  Sure, they are fast, can jump high and are basically find safety by just stepping behind a tree.  Ah, but I am more determined than they are.  Very determined.  They shall pay for their insolence.

Swamp Wedding

Well, they went and did it.  Got married, as advertised, in a swamp.

Oh, not Shrek and Mrs. Shrek, my youngest son and his decidedly non ogre-ish lady.  You remember, the ones building a house from scratch at the end of a dead end road...

The dad did not begin in auspicious fashion.....

Rain, hail, zero visibility.  Admittedly this was six hours before the ceremony and a bit further north where we were picking up supplies.

But perhaps a decent metaphor for married life.  There will be storms but they will pass.  

Friends and family turned up.  Assorted games were pursued.  The earlier downpour just made it safer to have bonfires going most of the night.   

The groom looking dapper and barefoot.  House they built by hand in the background.

And of course the bride.  That dance floor is made of leftover plywood.

It's all just a little implausible.  An off grid house.  Music that goes from a phone, bluetoothed to a sound mixer, to a speaker set in the bed of an electric vehicle that powered the entire event, lights, cooking, etc.

People played "hammerschlag" until way after dark.  I'm not very good at this btw, despite being a designated non imbibing driver.

And of course, dancing.

A good time was evidently had until way past Oldster bed times.  On returning for breakfast the next morning.....

Some of the pumpkin decorations were considerably the worse for wear....so what happened?

Over by the keg of beer a hatchet and the sabre used earlier for opening champagne.  Yes, perhaps just as well I missed that part of the evening.  I'm told my athletic grandson is a particularly accurate hatchet thrower.  We took the tasty debris off to park near a bow hunting stand on the far end of the swamp.

Tree Shaped Tomb Stones at Our Lady of Lourdes

Still on that detour road north of Rice Lake Wisconsin!

I'd seen signs pointing to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on earlier jaunts, so I figured a short side trip was in order.  It is a very pretty pink stone building.

This is in a tiny little hamlet called Dobie, which grew out of an earlier French Canadian enclave. And as is common in this part of the state, there were a few "Tree Shaped Tombstones".

This is the "Stack of Logs" variant that seems to be common in the area.  The Christ on the cross addition on top is almost exclusive to Catholic settings.

Sometimes the crucifix is the only tree element in the design.  Here's two of them.  I assume they were ordered from the same catalog.

Because I already have enough strange interests I usually ignore any tombstones without bark and branches.  But here I ran across a couple that seem worthy of an off topic mention...

This one must date to that earlier French community.  The "Here Lies the Body of" in French is very unusual to this part of the world.  And what's with that logo in the circle?  It looks like tweezers and beans!

Veteran's graves always merit a moment of contemplation and respect.  This soldier of the Great War almost made it to the November 11th Armistice.  So close....

Every tombstone tells the story of a life.  In this case....

C.A.C. stands for Coastal Artillery Corps.  And while some of these guys were deployed to Europe to man the larger guns, Private Kearney died in Seattle.  Of influenza.

I guess we've mostly forgotten Covid-19 and the memories it stirred of the Spanish flu pandemic that landed a follow up punch to civilization just as the guns went silent.

Tree Shaped Tombstones - Nora Cemetery

Road construction took me past the oddly named Nora Cemetery outside of Rice Lake, Wisconsin.  I've done a bit of sleuthing and so far can't figure out who Nora was!  Anyway...

A couple of nice "Tree and Book" tombstones.  They look as if spirits will show up and stand there giving a lecture.

As always, the tops of these are in wretched shape.  A design flaw, these were not made for Wisconsin winters.

Another Tree and Book.  In this case the main information was at least well done on the trunk.

Here's a more traditional "mid sized" tree shaped tombstone.

The logo on the front was a new one to me.  Courage, Hope, Remembrance.  Nice sentiments.

And in a style that seems to turn up fairly often in this part of the world, a "Stack of Logs" monument.

A nice little cemetery along a road I'd otherwise have no reason to take.  The only annoying thing, I mean other than road construction, was my dog Hank, who after a longish time in the car was taking a particular interest in trees, genuine or artistic reproductions.   Sigh.

Security Patch?

Cleaning out an old cupboard we recently found an artifact of the great Y2K bogey man.

It's a Y2K Band-Aid!   

Maybe this is what was used to "patch" all the software so that the world didn't end.

Hank versus that Snooty French Squirrel

Hey, all squirrels are punks.  On that humans and dogs concur.  My dog Hank is particularly antagonistic to them.

On a recent walk we came across an unusual one.  Very snazzy dresser, sleek black and white trim.  And snooty.  Barely gave us the time of day.  I've encountered this attitude and fashion sense mostly in Paris, so I figure its a French squirrel.

In the interests of international amity I did not let Hank off the leash, so he had to content himself with giving ol' Monsieur LePeu an earful of canine cursing.

Seasons Change

Seasons change.  In their own good time and at their own pace.

Summer to fall, everyone sees that coming.

Other changes are slower but no less certain.  

This is a house in our neighborhood.  Nice people lived there.  The wife died a few years back.  After that the husband lived there alone.  He spent a lot of time puttering in his extensive gardens.  He was always willing to chat when we walked by.  I suppose his world had gotten quieter.....  Recently he went into assisted living, so there was an Estate Sale.  I picked up a whole bunch of nails for the Homesteaders and some camo fabric that will come in handy for deer hunting.

Most of the flower beds were hostas, and the old gentleman was justifiably proud of them.  He had many interesting varieties, each with its own name tag. 

Change of seasons.  Their pace we can't always know.  But sometimes we get hints and omens.  Here's the annual Wooly Bear caterpillar prediction of winter.

A fairly broad lighter stripe, so not too punishing a season ahead.  But I do note s/he is moving along at a brisk pace.  So maybe it will come sooner than we expect.

 

Deer Hunting 2024 - Sagitarii

Deer hunting update.....

The process for permits in Wisconsin is a little complicated.  What deer you can shoot, where and when varies a great deal.  As mentioned in my first hunting update, permits to hunt in the immediate vicinity of our cabin were in short supply this year.  So when I went into the online lottery system it was with minimal expectations.

But....you are assigned a spot in the queue to wait for your chance to sign up for tags.  This is random, and I got the lowest number any of us have ever had.  Great!  It was only a few minutes before the queue shortened.  I was number 1000.  Then 500.  But at about number 400 something happened.  The power went off in our house.

This knocked out the modem, and kicked me out of the queue.  When I logged back on with my phone I was at number 20,000, and the preferred tags were out of reach.

Evidently a guy who built a compost bin for us in the spring had hammered the corner posts down into the ground without worrying about where power lines were.  I don't know why it took so long to finally fry, but I guess it is just as well that we were not out of town for a week.

So, deer hunting will be different this year.

I have options, the one of which is bow hunting down where the Homestead is being built.  Lots of deer there.

But for assorted reasons, gun hunting is less appealing there.  So it is time to learn how to use a crossbow.

Last time I was down my son and I took turns practicing.  A ladder makes a decent approximation of firing from a tree stand with a rest.  House is coming along nicely btw.

So far I seem to be quite consistent at the ranges we'll be needing.

We also spent time putting up a tree stand that covers some promising spots.  And did a bit of brush clearing to get roughly 40 yards of clear shooting.  Later that day the trail cam we set out started to send us encouraging data.......

Sagitarii btw were archers in the Roman Army.  They used standard bows.  Something equivalent to a crossbow was known by the Romans but it was much bigger and designed to be deployed on the ramparts of forts.  I may look into getting one, but don't think I can haul it up into a tree.

Unsheathing the Sabre....

The FIRST Robotics team has come a long way since its inception in the fall of 2015.  We used to build things out of steel tubing and with only a little planning.  Now its aluminum and various plastics, and almost everything is done in CAD design before the tools are picked up.  But a good design that still depends on hand measuring and cutting is still imprecise.  To take it to the next level you need some form of CNC equipment.

In recent seasons we've outsourced some work.  A combination of milling, laser cutting, water jet cutting.  But there are obvious advantages to doing things "in house".  When speed of prototyping is the key to success you want to be able to design, fabricate, test and revise in a matter of hours.  You don't have days.

For that a CNC router is the best tool.  And while most FIRST teams make do with more humble desktop units, we took a different path.

A big truck shows up....

The contents are substantial enough that a fork lift and a crew of helpful guys are called for:

And here we have it installed.  It's a ShopSabre 23.

The first thing you have to do is put what is called a "waste board" onto the working surface and plane off the surface to be level to an insane degree of precision.  We were surprised, happily surprised, to see how fast it screams through wood.

Of course we'll usually be working in aluminum and polycarb once we learn a bit on cheaper and more forgiving materials.

Nah, lets just go straight to aluminum.  This is 1/8 thickness and the router goes through it like butter.

Help Wanted President (and VP) 2024 Update

Well it has been an unusual Presidential election cycle.  Seems like just a few weeks ago I had a few things to say about it.  Time for an update.  As the players have changed it's time for me to give a revised scorecard.  I do this every four year, basically outlining what I think would be reasonable qualifications for being either Leader of the Free World/Commander in Chief, or to be the next in line for same.  To review, my point system still is:

Been President before: 5 points

Been Vice President once 3 points.  No bonus for being second banana more that once.

Been elected to US Senate.  2 points.  Served more than one term 3 points

Been a Congressperson 1 point.  Multiple terms 2 points

Governor of any reasonable state (sorry Alaska and Louisiana) 2 points. Elected more than once 3 points.

I give one point for military service, one for meaningful business career, one for being a significant cabinet officer, and in a somewhat discretionary fashion one point for unusual or unique life experiences.  That's it.

Now, this is not to say whether a candidate is likeable.  Or competent.  Joe Biden for instance would weigh in with 11 or 12 points.  This just means they've had various roles where they should have learned useful things if they were paying attention.  And I admit that some elected jobs are more suitable for the Oval Office.  I favor executive experience over legislative.  Running a mid sized, politically mixed state should prepare you better than some other options.

So here goes:

Donald Trump.  President, business career, I think its fair to say he's had some unique experiences: 7 points.

Kamala Harris.  VP, one term Senate, I'm feeling generous with the bonus point today.  6 points.

Tim Walz.  Multi term congressman, two term governor, military career, albeit in National Guard.  6 points.

JD Vance.  One term Senate, military experience, business experience.  If growing up dirt poor is not worth that life experience point I'll stop issuing them.  5 points.

So on paper the two tickets each tally 12 points.  

I guess there ya go.  Make your choices as seems good to you.  Oh, and I like silly signs.  Here's more in what I hope is a non partisan selection.....

Messages from The Before Time

I can't help it.  After years of dumpster diving projects I still look at piles of stuff on the way to oblivion.  This batch of stuff was behind the high school.

Just an ordinary filing cabinet.  With storage going up into "the cloud" I suspect fewer are needed any longer.  The names seem vaguely familiar.  True, it is a small town, but I'm pretty sure I've had one or two of these in robot classes.  Or maybe their siblings.  But it is the dates that grabbed me.  All from 2019.  Probably the cabinet was turned to the wall at that point.  And soon after that the world shut down for covid-19.  Maybe this was the first time anyone has looked at it since.

It seems longer than five years ago.