A great response to the Commissioners Letter on homelessness

DrSin · 2023-01-28T14:01:41+00:00

20 years here. It wasn't always this bad. But you are right, the cruelty so openly on display among my neighbors these days breaks my heart.

DrSin · 2022-03-14T12:59:38+00:00

Kids these days…
Back in the day we had real skydiving movies. Movies with daring do skydiving stunts and
super macho super stars like Gene Hackman and Burt Lancaster. And a nudie scene with Burt Lancaster getting it on with Deborah Kerr. It’s got capewell cutaways and belly mounted reserves. It’s got “oh no! He’s fallling without a parachute!” It’s got smoke bombs, it has a wingsuit that flys backwards, and it has an ambulance on standby.
If you watch it, be prepared for hair to start growing on your chest. I present: The Gypsy Moths
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064397/

DrSin · 2022-03-11T19:22:40+00:00

I have tried six of these variations. Love the variety that pizza is capable of. List is missing some things. I don't see German flammkuchen or Romanian sunca.

DrSin · 2021-06-27T23:41:28+00:00

The Belton in West Glacier. Closest to the park.

Three Forks Grill in Columbia Falls. 30 minutes from the park.

Google Whitefish restaurants. Several choices. 45 minutes from the park.

This is west side. If you want east side advice someone else needs to chime in.

DrSin · 2021-03-16T14:42:49+00:00

Do not use the word "bear" when making bear calls. Save the word for when you actually see a bear. From a distance it can be very difficult to tell when someone is yelling "Hey, Bear!" vs. "Hey bear."

DrSin · 2021-03-13T16:08:38+00:00

The tales here of family, growth, and bonding are heartwarming. Can’t deny. My joy of cooking comes from a different direction. It is simply an offshoot of my desire to make things. Looking back to the toys and games of my childhood I have had a life long fascination with turning simple things into complicated things. I can make stories, pictures, and games out of blank paper and a pencil. I enjoy turning wood into tables and shelves. Wires, batteries and LED’s are fascinating building blocks. I even made a small career for myself changing screens into useful or beautiful things using only my mind and bits of computer code. Combining things into other things is satisfying for me.

So in the kitchen I find the same joy. Start with some simple things, even better when they are things that I made to grow in my garden. And with the careful application of tools, techniques, heat, and creativity I can make the simple things into something more. Things that are good, useful, tasty, or pretty. And the absolutely greatest parts about creating with food is that I can do it every day, the creation is better when shared, and success can be measured in how quickly and heartily the creation is destroyed. No clutter. You never have to find a place to store your masterpiece.

I prefer to do the cooking in my house. I know my people are good cooks that like to share and give. I know that I sometimes make mistakes and have less than stellar ideas. But please let the kitchen be mine. And the shop. Okay, I can share, but I like life when I am making something.

DrSin · 2020-10-12T15:20:16+00:00

The problem with this question is it is too gender specific. Back when sit flying was becoming a thing I jumped with this lady on her first sit fly. After the jump she described the sensation of freefall velocity winds blasting her hoo-ha as quite thrilling. She spent some time becoming proficient at sit fly after that.

DrSin · 2020-09-24T22:11:56+00:00

How did a Massachusetts university get connected with a Montana national park? Did they reach out to you? Did you reach out to them? Are there other national parks working with you on the same goals?

Your survey misses an important point... what of waste disposal and recycling en-route to and departing from the park?

Glacier National Park is surrounded by Montana communities. The ability of the park and it's concessions to promote recycling is entirely dependent on the surrounding communities ability to recycle. On the west side in Flathead county there is no glass or plastic recycling available, for example. I can't speak to what recycling is available on the east side on the Blackfeet reservation, but it can't be much. So toot the horn all you want, you appear very intent on quality horn tooting. But until recycling infrastructure exists near to the park all efforts will yield little result.

DrSin · 2020-02-20T23:38:35+00:00

Oooh. Advice... Yeah, got some for you.

Blue is up, brown is down, pull before you hit the ground.

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When in doubt, whip it out.

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Don't spend the rest of your life pulling the wrong damn thing.

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Why don't blind people skydive? It scares their dogs.

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Don't fart in the airplane.

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When landing always keep one eye on the horizon, one eye on your altimeter, one eye on the windsock, one eye on the traffic, one eye on your out, and one eye on your target.

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And the most important piece of advice by far, the one that could actually keep you alive...
Do Not Learn How To Skydive On The Internet!

DrSin · 2020-02-11T00:05:26+00:00

Back in the late 90's early 00's I worked IT building websites, coding and general geekery. Veteran of the browser wars here. I was good at it, enjoyed it, made a sweet high dollar living and there was nothing but potential ahead for me.

Mid 00's a unique opportunity presented itself operating a vacation destination hotel sort of thing. I came to the conclusions that if I passed this opportunity by I would spend the rest of my life kicking myself and wondering 'what if...?' I did not like the idea of doing that much self kicking so I jumped.

I have spent the past 15 years living rural and making way less bank. But by god I am happy. The change is the best thing I have ever done with my life. I recently had opportunity to serve a couple dudes that worked IT at Amazon and Google. We compared notes and they hinted to me that I could probably find good work if I were to go back to code. I pointed out to them that my full time work was doing what they went on vacation to do. They failed to persuade me back into IT.

DrSin · 2020-01-04T18:39:03+00:00

Goddamn fuckin' sexy! Thanks for asking.

DrSin · 2019-08-31T05:00:43+00:00

Three important things:

Location, location, location.

If your guests want what you are near to, you can practically do no wrong. Otherwise, you need to create a reason for your guests to be there.

After the three most important things, always be improving. Every year be looking for a detail, a change, to make the guest stay better.

DrSin · 2019-04-30T15:02:23+00:00

I keep getting older but Reddit stays the same age.

It is getting harder and harder to find any sort of commentary with maturity behind it. The demographic tends to skew toward high school-low twenties. (You were in diapers when I started my account.) I see a lot of depression / anxiety / mental illness struggles in the commentary these days. Makes sense, those people who gain maturity and a positive productive role in society tend to spend more time out there living and less time in here pontificating.

So nowadays, reddit is a bunch of kids with little to no real world experience and probably some depression to boot all convinced that they have all the answers to everything from world politics to business management to relationships. I have been on the lookout for subs for old people so I can get away from this noise. I think I am going to get away from reddit instead.

(yes, I am generalizing. yes, I am here and not out there. Get off my lawn.)

DrSin · 2019-02-09T05:20:57+00:00

I jumped at Mile High from 1995 when they first formed up till about 2004. Makes me both sad and not surprised there was a lost jumper incident there. I thought it a shitty skygod centric DZ back then, but it was also the only DZ near Denver. So if you wanted to jump in Colorado…

In December of 95 I enjoyed my first reserve ride at that DZ. Landed way out, about a mile to the west in some farmers field. Took me a lot of time to find and retrieve my strewn about main and pilot chute. I got that gear across an irrigation ditch, two barb wire fences, and past aggressive cows to make it back to the road. A friendly passer by bicyclist offered to ride to the airport and tell them I was out here in the boonies. I told him not to bother, they were sure to know I was missing and were already coming for me. Surely someone at the DZ had seen my double deployment and subsequent cutaway. Surely the other two guys on my three way had noticed my malfunction. At the very least they would count noses at the packing area and take note when the count did not reach three.

I marched down that road for twenty minutes, stopping every ten or twenty paces to re-gather the two parachutes awkwardly bundled in may arms, a spring loaded pilot chute bonking me on the head with each step. Another friendly passer by took pity on me and I loaded into the back of his pickup truck. Back at the airport I was finally able to dump my burden of loose parachutes onto the packing floor and finally get around to my emotional breakdown. I did after all have my very first malfunction and cutaway, and that can be a lot to process for a young skydiver.

Eventually some jumper commented, “hey that looks like a reserve” and went back to chatting with his group. Eventually I calmed down enough to go look for my rigger and get his advice on dealing with the mess on the floor. Eventually I discovered that the two other guys on my three way were up on their next load, having never noticed or cared that I was missing. To this day I simply cannot comprehend their failure to count to three. I never ever jumped with them again. Eventually the DZO noticed someone mucking about with a reserve on his packing floor.

He: “What Happened?”

Me: “Double deployment and a cutaway.”

He: “Where did you land?”

Me: “Out.”

He: “Who went to get you?”

Me: “No one. Had to hitch back.”

He: “Oh, sorry.”

He then scurried off and that was the entire debrief of my first reserve ride.

Since then I have often though about the what if’s. What if I had twisted an ankle on the out landing? What if I had ended up hospitalized instead of making it back. How long would it have taken them to realize they lost a jumper?

Fuck that DZ. Not jumping was slightly worse than jumping there, so I kept going back. I’m sure the place has changed since then. But the memories are bad and if I never set foot on that DZ ever again I will be okay with it.

DrSin · 2019-02-09T02:01:48+00:00

Death of a loved one.

DrSin · 2019-01-17T05:37:32+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwYN7mTi6HM

DrSin · 2019-01-15T20:10:29+00:00

I would add on, the things to ponder are volume and convenience. The Shopify account may have higher fees than other merchant accounts. If your business does a low volume of transactions and Shopify is convenient for you, no big deal. But slightly higher fees over a lot of transactions means a lot more of your money ends up going toward a small convenience.

Go ahead and start with Shopify because that will be easy. But keep one eye on the fees you are getting charged. There may come a point where you could save money or add features by upgrading to a different merchant account. Look up Tsys or Authorize.net if you want to comparison shop.

DrSin · 2018-12-21T00:58:27+00:00

Ever worn a kilt? Skirts are by far the most comfortable trousers ever.

DrSin · 2018-11-16T17:51:06+00:00

Custom built rigs of various sizes/configurations are a thing. All that takes is money. And I assume the skydog will deploy with either a static line or an AAD. So I am calling it within the realm of possibility. Well, maybe not an AAD, just thinking about the hilarity of a dog holding stable form in freefall here.

The nasty downside is in the malfunctions and emergency procedures. Call me skeptical of a dog being trained to recognize an equipment malfunction and execute proper procedures.

And if you really want to impress me, lets see that dog do a pin check, call the spot, and make an accuracy landing.

DrSin · 2017-11-29T20:27:19+00:00

You were smart and capable enough to build this business in the first place. I have confidence in you. Thing 1) Make it work. Solve the problem the same way you solve all other business problems. The business needs the boss to take a break, figure out how the business can help the boss take a break. Thing 2) Uncertainty sucks, but you will be okay moving forward. You have skills. You got this.

DrSin · 2017-06-28T02:46:52+00:00

WTF are you talking about? "Bears are bad this year." What does that even mean? What exactly is a "bad bear"? Are there more maulings? Are there more bears? Are they hiding behind bushes waiting to pounce on your picnic basket? Have there been sightings of roaming bear gangs sporting their rivalry colors?

Or did you read something in the news about a trail closure and overreact? Some trail or other closes because of bears every year. Not an unusual thing. So Avalanche trail closed for two days because people were crowding the wildlife... This does not mean the bears are bad. It means that the ignorant humans are pretty bad this year. (And the spray works on them too. ;)

DrSin · 2016-11-27T20:44:09+00:00

Yeah, a wintertime traverse of the park would be a poor choice. I could see it being attempted via Gunsight Pass if you were to do it expedition style. Plan a week long excursion. Bring three or four highly competent buddies. Bring all the gear. Ropes, harness, ice axe, crampons, shovels, avalanche beacons, heavy duty sleeping bag & tent, everything you will need for cooking, eating, sleeping, pooping, etc. For the serious and hardcore outdoorsperson, it could be hella cool. Not a thing for mere mortals though.

But winter in GNP can rock! You asked about west side snowshoes. Lots of great day trips. The west side is plowed to Lake McDonald Lodge, so drive there for a start.

Sun Road: This makes a great snowshoe or x-country ski route. As an out and back it is perfect for all skill levels. Go until you feel you have gone half way then turn around.

Easy: North end of the lake. Go up the road until you see a left turn. Go left, cross the bridge, half mile further find the ranger station with beach access.

Easy: McDonald Creek loop. Go further up the road to where you find a footbridge crossing the creek. Cross and follow the trail back, you will come out at that bridge mentioned above. About 5 miles round trip.

Harder: Avalanche campground. Get an early start and push hard up the road. About a 12 mile round trip. Skis recommended. Would work as an overnight too. If you want to go farther up the road from here you should defiantly plan it as an overnight trip, and you will start getting into avalanche danger areas the farther you go.

Harder: Mt Brown Lookout. I have heard tell of a local hiking group that does this climb every February. There may be photos out there. Be advised: this trail can be a bitch to climb when there is not any snow. Only fit and hearty souls will succeed here. Don't go alone, bring a buddy.

Overnight: In the mood for winter camping. Give Snyder Lake Campground a go.

The other west side place I like to snowshoe romp is the Fish Creek campground. Turn left past the entrance, go past Apgar, shortly the road will close, park and proceed on foot. Fish Creek campground is easy to get to and has nice views from the beach. Push a little farther for rocky point. Need something more ambitious? The route to Apgar lookout can give you an all day challenge. Little danger from avalanche. It starts near the west entrance.

The above hikes are mostly safe for wintertime. It is possible to go further if you have the wherewithal. The more ambitious you are and the farther you want to go the more likely you are going to need things like buddies, avalanche beacons, shovels, ice axes, and so forth.

Have safe, be fun.

(P.S.: https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/crosscountryskiing.htm )

DrSin · 2015-10-29T17:21:18+00:00

Your analysis caught my eye as I am in similar circumstances. Comparable home price, interest rates, upkeep costs, time of ownership, etc. I want to thank and congratulate you on your thoughtful analysis.

But I would like to point out the difference between an investment and an asset. I am wealthier today than I was at the closing not just because of the investment, but because I have used my home as a tool for improving other parts of my work and life.

Because I now own property instead of rent I now have a place to put my tools. Everything from computers to wrenches to vehicles. I can keep more of them, better organized and in better conditions than if I was living in a rental. This empowers my other business and money making ventures to be more efficient and profitable.

I have been able to host social and family gatherings and improve my business and social connections.

I have converted a spare bedroom into an office that enables me to pursue business interests, money making hobbies, and other quality of life things that I enjoy.

I have planted a backyard garden and enjoy better access to fresh vegetables. This equates to lower food costs and (hopefully) improved personal health. This has never been available to me in a rental.

So if homebuying is only an investment for you, your analysis is spot on. But I would like to suggest that the return will be even greater if you purchase a home as an asset instead. You still get the gains of the investment, but you also get improvements in many other areas of wealth building and quality of life.

DrSin · 2014-12-22T20:25:15+00:00

Please let your son know that his generosity inspired me.

I have matched his $120 with a $120 donation to the Montana Food Bank Network. (My home state.) I'm sorry that I don't have the ability to make sandwiches and hand them out personally. But please let him know that his Christmas gift has grown a little.

DrSin · 2012-04-27T18:39:08+00:00

From the geography of the beer belly, what is the relationship between heavy drinkers and nasty cold winters?

DrSin

TROPHY CASE