*snort*

To be honest, I only have the pics as evidence it did happen.

I'm told that fentanyl and versed have a synergistc effect that produces amnesia... So, thank God for the pictures.

Yeah, I had a polyp, not cancer. Up the fiber! (or up yours)

Me too, I think they're fairly common and usually not a problem, but they always take them off.

If left in, they could become cancerous after about 10 years. That's why we screen every 10 years.

I didn't have any. I am polyp poor.

I wouldn't go in to a room that contained fentanyl.

For the last 13 years, I have been an in-home pet sitter. I go to other people's houses to tend to their pets when they're out of town. This morning, as I was finishing up at a client's house (cat breeder - 30 freakin' cats - OMG), it began to sleet. The sleet turned into snow by noon, and it's been snowing ever since.

I made it to my afternoon sits without any trouble, although I did see two cars in ditches, and two other cars that were parked along the road because the drivers couldn't make it up some moderate hills.

I have an overnight visit in a nearby town, and I'm nervous about heading out in a few hours to drive over there. The good news is, I have a great 4WD Silverado with new tires, so I'm probably going to be ok. The bad news is, the weather dudes say things will turn to freezing rain and ice soon, with more in the morning.

Tomorrow I have to travel all over the county yet again, to tend to a bunch of critters. Why the hell did the weather have to turn to shit on THIS particular day?

:mad:

It's simple, Glinda...

:D

Well, I made it where I needed to go last night, and again today. The roads are crap, but I've been fine. Can't say as much for other drivers - I saw at least 8 or 10 cars in ditches today. Even had to wait 20 minutes while a tow truck hauled one up out of a deep ravine.

Whee. Fun. :neutral:

Good for you. :notworthy

What might be making you a tad apprehensive, but might not, as it's too soon to tell
 

Sitting in the state inspection waiting area, hoping our '96 Geo Prizm makes it. Emissions always worry me because I don't understand the test. What does that anal probe measure? Plus the steering belt squeals, and sometimes the brake light comes on, but not this morning. Brakes should be good mechanically though. I think it's a dirty sensor or something. Hope we pass...

I live in SW Washington state, and for unknown reasons, my local jurisdiction does not require smog checks on residents' vehicles. (This doesn't make any damned sense to me, but what do I know?) Of course, the DMV doesn't tell you this; they send out the notices to everyone regardless.

The first time I got the notice that I needed an emissions test, I dutifully followed directions in order to get my new tags. A few days later, I mentioned to a neighbor that I had the test done, and she asked me why. I said, "They sent a paper that said I had to."

She laughed, and told me we lived in a specially designated non-emissions-test area. I haven't fallen for that trick ever since. :rolleyes:

Of course, when it's emissions year, I can't renew online. If I try, I'm told I MUST have the test, so every few years I'm obligated to go to the licensing office in person and say "I live in ____ town, so I don't have to get the test." The person behind the counter nods knowingly, and processes my tag transaction without the emissions paperwork.

No DMV worker has been able to tell me why this is the situation. I often wonder if it's some sort of property tax related thing, as I also get free ambulance service out here (paid for through property taxes, which are exceedingly reasonable).

'Tis a mystery. :thumb:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c5921e8bb0.jpg

Woo!

yey!

Victory!

So, I tied to download a video from YouTube this morning.

Used the program I always use, but instead of the screen I usually get asking in which resolution I want the download, I get a screen saying 'this vid requires you to log in to download it'.

WTF?

Oh, it's prolly cause the vid is a clip from America's Got Talent. I'll try this other vid I want...But instead of the screen I usually get asking in which resolution I want the download, I get a screen saying 'this vid requires you to log in to download it'.

WTFF, man?

I tried a random video, and then a video I've downloaded before...But instead of the screen I usually get asking in which resolution I want the download, I get a screen saying 'this vid requires you to log in to download it'.

Goddammit.

I positively fucking abhor failure, in any form, first goddamn thing in the morning.

Aaaaand I'm sizzlin'.:mad2:

I just tried recording to mp3 off YouTube and got THE shittiest sound to ever come out of this computer.

I know good and goddamn well that two (2) different unrelated programs did not decide to shit the bed on the same day.

Anybody know if YouTube decided to fuck the world today or what?

This day is fucked. Might as well admit defeat. Fuck it.

YouTube has definitely been screwing around with their code--ads are sometimes making it through AdBlock, in the last few weeks.

I'm taking a crew of 12 to Boy Scouts' holy grail, Philmont, on the 28th of this month for a 10 day backpacking trip through the mountains. I've been looking forward to it for a year and a half. We have been training hard since November.

So I saw in the news last night that there's a big uncontrolled wildfire right in the middle of it. And I checked the MODIS fire data on Google Earth and see the 4 of our campsites have burned so far.

Awesome. That's just perfect.

Whoa. At least you weren't already at the campsite when the fire headed that way?

This is true. Nobody has been hurt in this fire, and the place hadn't opened yet for the summer, so there were not thousands of kids to evacuate from a hundred square miles of back country.

Crap. Is there a back up plan?

Could've been worse. Might've been a missed opportunity; but, the "Fireman" merit badge was discontinued in 1911. No sweat.

Bad news.

That sux.

ugh, sorry

Yeah. This totally bites.

I got an email yesterday just before leaving for our regular scout meeting that our trek is cancelled.

I broke the news to the boys who were at the meeting, and they were very disappointed. It's crazy. I mean, it's just a trip. But we have been training really hard for it for months.

So now I'm faced with trying to cobble something together that we can do ourselves, and there is no time to plan it properly. We would be out there for 14 days. I have planned weekend scout trips before and it takes a lot of work. Filling 14 days is really overwhelming. I'm not sure if it's possible in the limited time I have.

Can you share the task with someone? Are there online forums where other group leaders share their plans and ideas?

I saw this:
https://www.scouter.com/topic/13625-...-alternatives/
It's an old thread, and it may be too late to schedule most of them even if they are still available, but there might be something there.


If you do find something that only takes a week, for example, you might be able to find a few nearby day trips. My troop did a tour of Alaska, which was made up of just sequential day trips.

Thanks HM. I'll dig into this.

I've been busy at work lately and haven't had time to research as much as I would like to. Other people are like "we should do something cool instead. Plan our own trip." They have no idea how much work it is to line up permits, find available sites, etc. etc. Our 12 person crew exceeds the permitted size of a back country group in some national parks.
And we're competing with literally hundreds of other crews to find slots.

A big part of me is wishing everyone just says they are dropping out, and then I will fly to Colorado with my son and take a vacation there. Get some hiking in, just the two of us, and visit the sites. Sleep on BLM land for free.

I utterly despise dealing with this attitude. As if having the idea was the hard part, and now someone else can just whip the details together. Even when you try to rope them in on specific responsibilities, they act like you're just making it more complicated by involving them.

It's hard to make the kids, and their parent's lawyers, happy. :rolleyes:

I've been too busy to update, but things are really working out well.

I found a High Adventure back country Boy Scout camp in Northern Montana that had an opening. It's a week long and looks really cool. It will fill the second half of our canceled trip. One of my co-leaders found another Scout camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota the week before that will fill up the first part of our trip. And we have a few days in between, which we will need to road trip between those places.

So we fly in to Denver, immediately hit the road to get to South Dakota. We visit Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore. Maybe even the Badlands and absolutely Devils Tower. Sleep in the camp every night. Maybe get a swim or an afternoon in on the ropes course. And then take two days to drive way up to the NW corner of Montana to learn how to fly fish as we hike through back country mountains and valleys for a week.

I was super pessimistic the last two days but talking to Scouts literally all across the country has restored my faith in humans. Everyone I reached out to at camps from Utah to Virginia was super friendly and helpful. They all wanted to be part of the solution.

There were over 1,000 crews that were displaced by the fire at Philmont and we were all in a mosh pit of phone calls and emails trying to land a plan B.

I'm thrilled it worked out for us.

We may even swing by Yellowstone on our way back to the Denver airport.

Good news, glad it worked out.

Nice!

Awesome

That's fantastic, I'm so happy for you, that will be an amazing trip

I was talking to my wife about it a little while ago. She made a point that resonated with me. We live in a crowded city full of type A personalities. We are used to having to compete against other people all the time in order to get to do anything.

Philmont had instructed all 1,000 plus displaced crews to wait to be called in turn and have their options spelled out for them. It's been 3 days and Philmont still hasn't made it through the crews before us to give us a call. I am so used to competing against the throngs that it didn't even occur to me to wait for a call. I pounced, and slowly at that. I poked around the web for a day, sent a few emails, but didn't pick up a telephone until about 40 hours had gone by. About 6 hours after picking up the phone we had a solution.

I wonder how many crews are out there just waiting for the call from Philmont before they act?

Is this new itinerary more expensive for the crew?

Probably not.
Maybe.
It's going to be close.
If we go over, it will be the gasoline that does it. 2 minivans driving 30 hours each. Plus a couple extra meals out. And one hotel.

But the programs are about $200 less pp total.
It will be close.
We'll see.

That's reasonable for a last minute scramble, good job. :thumb:

Superb news!

Sent by magick

Let us know how much you're off by if you end up off, maybe we can cover it

This.

You know, I'm starting to think there just might be something to this whole ingenuity and determination stuff.

will monitor

We're filling in details now. We have Saturday nights on the road in Montana. Pretty much all campgrounds are full already. Don't want to risk sleeping on no reservations accepted BLM land. Nothing would be worse than to roll up and find no availale sites after driving 8 hours. So we're staying in the Billings KOA one night.

Gotta find another place the following Saturday. It's a balance finding a good place without driving too far out of the way. Things out West are so far apart.

I'm not worried. Only have a few details to finalize. And there is still some time.

Today I have to go shopping for work and buy samples of infringing items in a lawsuit. It's part of the new job I now have. Shopping is fun, and I'll get paid for it. I had never bothered to join Costco before, but the firm will pay my membership fee to pick up a couple things there. So that's a bonus too.

Costco enrages me. Nearly everything about it is Discounters Theater.


Oh, the meat is cheaper? Yeah--because it comes in packages of 1 and 1/3 pounds. No recipe calls for 1 and 1/3 pounds. The implied promise of bulk prices is you can buy ten 1-pound packages at a discount, or at least one 10-pound package you can redivide yourself, but the reality is you end up expanding each evening's one-package recipe by 30%, which means the vast majority of people will eat larger portions and/or throw it away, thus saving no money.

You have to check my receipt as I walk out, even though I just ran a gauntlet of two employees per checkout lane, and there is no other way to access the exit (making for an awkward-as-hell line-cutting process if you try to leave without buying anything, by the way)? A.) Inspecting my purchased items is actually illegal, and Fry's Electronics got slapped down in court for it many years ago, and B.) you're just trying to make people feel like Costco is some super-guarded facility that only special members get to be a part of. You are not actually comparing the receipt to the basket, you're just slowing everyone down.

Dry goods are cheaper, as they've always been, but these loss leaders are meant to trick you into buying other items like produce, which I have compared extensively with my local grocery store, and the local store is always cheaper.


And yet, I have a membership, because we go through a ton of Fiji water and it's slightly cheaper there, and because they carry this one frozen gluten-free dessert that I can't get anywhere else locally. But it still infuriates me that I have to participate in their mostly-scam.

I didn't enjoy Costco.

Good Lord, what a zoo.

And I was only buying one item. They looked at me funny, as the two customers in front of me each had two carts. And I placed a single towel on the belt. And they only take Visa, so I couldn't use my company Amex and have a bunch of paperwork to fill out and won't get reimbursed for a month.

Have you heard of this thing called "cash"?

Many employers require you use the company credit card.

There is a branch of my store in Billings. Lucky's Market is into non-profit and community support. They might help with a food donation if you explain how come you got stuck there, how awesome you are, even though you aren't technically local.... (either pre-prepared --like pizza and fruit trays-- or for you to cook) LMK if you need further info/would like me to try and help.

https://www.luckysmarket.com/billings-montana/

Thanks Monster!

I was a little concerned initially that the price of this trip was going to shoot through the roof as we had to come up with a Plan B, but I did a huge spreadsheet with everything on it, and it looks like we are going to break even. A year ago when we started the planning, everyone understood that we would be adding 2 rental cars and 2 hotel nights to the total for about $200 additional per person.

My spreadsheet says we know of $238 more in expenses per person, so that's actually really close. I'm a little impressed with us, pulling this together.

We're not hurting financially as a crew.

There still might be extras that we add on at the last minute, but that would have happened anyway.

Will we go to Terry's Bison Ranch when we are in Cheyenne and spend $14 per person to take a train to see Terry's bison? Who knows? Those sorts of extras will happen every once in a while.

One big expense is now going to be gasoline. I fed our itinerary into google maps, and our total road trip will be 2,494 miles! That's like driving across the country. It's mostly broken up into. A day of driving, four days off, two days of driving, 7 days off, two days of driving, hop on a plane.

Still, I figured a minivan from Enterprise will get 22 MPG. Two of them will be a total of 5,000 miles at 22 MPG is 227 gallons of gas to buy. I figured gas in Montana will be $3 a gallon when we are there. So $681 for gas, or around $60 per person.

You're going to pass right by my friend's town, Garryowen MT. I highly recommend you stop to check out his museum and visit with him for some great insights on the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the place where the first shots were fired (right there at Garryowen/Sitting Bull's camp).

While on the road in Montana, if you need a place to camp out for one night (for free), it's entirely possible my friend would accommodate you and your crew in Garryowen. If you're interested, PM me.

:thumbsup:

[quote=glatt]One big expense is now going to be gasoline. I fed our itinerary into google maps, and our total road trip will be 2,494 miles! That's like driving across the country. It's mostly broken up into. A day of driving, four days off, two days of driving, 7 days off, two days of driving, hop on a plane.

Still, I figured a minivan from Enterprise will get 22 MPG. Two of them will be a total of 5,000 miles at 22 MPG is 227 gallons of gas to buy. I figured gas in Montana will be $3 a gallon when we are there. So $681 for gas, or around $60 per person.

This might help too.

SonofV move to New York.

This happened ten days ago, including the three day train ride.

My stress factor has floated down from 9.5 to... 7.5.

My nest is empty. I used to have a fledgling (my last fledgling), dangling by one foot from a branch, well below the nest. He dropped onto a rushing train that disappeared over the horizon, taking my purpose in life with him.

I kind of hate this thread.

But I definitely love all you guys.

#STRESS

What prompted the move? Friends? Job? Education?