OT Things to ponder

[geofflambert]

From what I recall, the south side of the Columbia Gorge is known for its slugs, great big long banana slugs. If I started a restaurant there it would feature filet of slug, slug frittata and slug cobbler. On Mt. Hood they have a grid with laser reflector/sensors so they can measure how much it is bulging and you can see this from the highway. Some day soon it will pop like a pimple and it won't be so pretty anymore. It is named for Admiral Hood, same one the battleship was named for.

[geofflambert]

Some of you probably think I don't have any friends. Here's a couple of pics from the '80s when we were at Wright-Patterson Air force Base in Dayton. That's one of my friends standing in front of a JU-52, possibly my favorite plane there.

[geofflambert]

That is me on the left (in my humanoid costume) in front of a twin Mustang. You can see a B-47 behind the partition.

[geofflambert]

Here's a different friend looking at a Focke-Wulf, a TA I believe.

[geofflambert]

That's me again in the center. The JU-88 has Italian markings (I believe, I have pics showing them).

[geofflambert]

Or are those Romanian markings?

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

From what I recall, the south side of the Columbia Gorge is known for its slugs, great big long banana slugs. If I started a restaurant there it would feature filet of slug, slug frittata and slug cobbler. On Mt. Hood they have a grid with laser reflector/sensors so they can measure how much it is bulging and you can see this from the highway. Some day soon it will pop like a pimple and it won't be so pretty anymore. It is named for Admiral Hood, same one the battleship was named for.

West of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon you get those slugs. They get about 4 inches long.

Mt Hood is one of the quieter volcanoes in the NW and the entire PNW has been quiet the last century. Lassen erupted in the 19-teens and Mt St Helens is the only one since. The possible reason is pressure on the Juan de Fuca plate is not that strong right now. The Pacific plate is moving NW compared to the North American plate and that takes pressure off the Juan de Fuca plate which is being subducted under the NA plate.

An eruption of Mt Hood would be bad for Portland (and me), though Rainier shows more activity and an eruption there would be very bad for Tacoma. A major eruption could bury some of the southern suburbs of Seattle. The Kent Valley has had lava flows as far north as Renton.

There was a move on to rename all the cascade volcanoes after US presidents, and someone went and renamed Mt Hood as Mt Adams. However, the map he was using had Mt Hood on the wrong side of the Columbia River (north side instead of south) and it turned out there was a volcano on the north side that the settlers hadn't named yet, so that became Mt Adams. Mt Adams is the biggest Cascade volcano, but not the tallest. It's only medium height, but it's very massive. We live only an hour's drive from there and I've been campaigning to take a trip over there, but we never seem to get around to it. There is no way to drive up Mt Adams, but there are some small towns nearby.

Bill

[geofflambert]

I remember as a kid being as high as you could walk to easily on Mt. Rainier, visiting the ice caves, and looking out and seeing a panorama of Hood, Adams, St. Helens and the other one (Shasta?)on a mostly clear day with a low overcast hiding their bases (not Rainier's). Saw them from an airliner that was banking and you could see all of those snowcaps at the same time. It was kind of eerie.

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I remember as a kid being as high as you could walk to easily on Mt. Rainier, visiting the ice caves, and looking out and seeing a panorama of Hood, Adams, St. Helens and the other one (Shasta?)on a mostly clear day with a low overcast hiding their bases (not Rainier's). Saw them from an airliner that was banking and you could see all of those snowcaps at the same time. It was kind of eerie.

You could see some of the mountains to the north from high up on Mt Rainier and you can see the peaks in Northern OR and southern WA from Mt Rainier, but seeing Shasta from Mt Rainier would be a feat. It's about 500 miles from Rainier to Shasta. Only about 140 from Rainier to the Columbia River. It's about 120 miles from Rainier to Mt Baker to the north. Looking west you could easily see the Olympic mountains, those are visible from very low altitude on Mt Rainier.

Bill

[geofflambert]

Baker - that's the one I was thinking of.

[geofflambert]

I've been in Seattle a few times and Portland a few. I ate at both Jake's (the restaurant and the breakfast satellite in a hotel) and been in that ridiculous bookstore of yours. I was a boy scout but I think I could get lost in that bookstore.

I'm sure at both occasions at Jake's dungeoness crab was part of the meal.

[geofflambert]

If you are ever in Philly you must go to Bookbinder's. Trust me.

[rustysi]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Here's a different friend looking at a Focke-Wulf, a TA I believe.

Ta-152.

[rustysi]

I remember as a kid being as high as

...Oh, wait, no.[:D]

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: rustysi

I remember as a kid being as high as

...Oh, wait, no.[:D]

When I was a kid the only thing we got high on was those candy filled pop straws, what were those called?

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I've been in Seattle a few times and Portland a few. I ate at both Jake's (the restaurant and the breakfast satellite in a hotel) and been in that ridiculous bookstore of yours. I was a boy scout but I think I could get lost in that bookstore.

I'm sure at both occasions at Jake's dungeoness crab was part of the meal.

Powell's City of Books? The coffee shop there is the introvert's meat market. You put out your favorite books on the table and wait for someone to notice.

Bill

[geofflambert]

You know, let's take this to its illogical conclusion. I haven't got any trick-or-treaters in years but if I did I would be terribly disappointed in the stuff you can get these days. Where are those soda pop straws? I recently saw in a checkout line somewhere packages of Bit-O-Honey and I grabbed one for old time's sake. No, I didn't shoplift it. Remember all the stuff we had when we were kids? Those cubes of caramel were good. You can still get Indian Candy Corn. You can't get black licorice any more cause it sends your blood pressure "to the moon, Alice!" But some people actually bothered to make candied apples and it's hard to find those in the grocery stores anymore. Remember the candy cigarettes? Brands like Winston and Newport. What kid wouldn't complain if they didn't get any Lucky Strikes candy cigarettes? Can you still get those candy peanuts in the shell somewhere? Can you still get these things, whatever they are?

[geofflambert]

This stuff. Remember those green things? I can't remember what they tasted like.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

I've been in Seattle a few times and Portland a few. I ate at both Jake's (the restaurant and the breakfast satellite in a hotel) and been in that ridiculous bookstore of yours. I was a boy scout but I think I could get lost in that bookstore.

I'm sure at both occasions at Jake's dungeoness crab was part of the meal.

Powell's City of Books? The coffee shop there is the introvert's meat market. You put out your favorite books on the table and wait for someone to notice.

Bill

I'm going to have to ask a friend who was with me. Powell's doesn't ring a bell but I'm not sure.

[geofflambert]

You could get candy tossed in your bag that had actual liqueur in it, like rum for instance.