The ***OFFICIAL*** Weekend Singles' Thread -- "Alaska Singles Thread (January 05 - 07, 2007,)

various | 5th January 2007 | Proud_yank

[snugs]

The 49th State - The Last Frontier
by proud_yank

Having recently moved here, I thought an Alaskan Singles Thread would be pretty fun.

Alaska is the largest state in America, roughly twice the size of Texas (sorry Texas!).

Putting Alaska into perspective. The Aleutian Islands over California, and South-eastern Alaska over Georgia.

An interesting fact I learned the other day is that in addition to being the Western and Northern-most state, Alaska is also the Eastern-most state too. The Western tip of the Aleutian Islands is just West of the International Dateline.

Alaska can be separated into five regions. The Far North (Also known as the 'North Slope') extends from the Brooks Range (the Northern-most extension of the Rocky Mountains) to the Arctic Ocean. Here are some photos of the Brooks Range, and the North Slope region. Barrow is the most Northern city in America. For fun, here is Barrow's weather.

Most people in Alaska live in Southcentral Alaska (Anchorage), and then the Interior (Fairbanks). Temperatures in the interior are sometimes colder than in the Arctic. Western Alaska is famous for the finish of the Iditarod dog-sled race in Nome. Southeastern, and the Interior, are famous for the Klondike gold rush.

Juneau, the state capitol is located in Southeastern Alaska. As a staunch conservative, it makes me smile that the govt. is located somewhere that can only be reached by boat or plane :-).

The Regions of Alaska

There are lots of moose here, and you really have to be careful driving. In the winter moose will come down from the mountains, and casually stroll through downtown Anchorage. We had one right outside the front door of our main office today! Other animals here include caribou, grizzly, polar, and black bears, muskoxen, beaver, otters, wolves, wolverines, tons of birds, and lots of delicious fish!

Some other interesting info about Alaska....

At 20,320 ft., Alaska has North America's highest peak, Denali.
State bird - Willow Ptarmigan.
State fish - King Salmon.
State tree - Sitka Spruce.
State spore - Dog mushing.
State animal - Moose.
State flower - Wild Native Forget-me-Not.
State song - 'Alaska's Flag'.

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue -
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.

Here are some of my photos that I've put online so far

[snugs]

Do you want me to do the ping tomorrow

[WFTR]

There are always plenty of excuses to be lazy. On a serious side, I would miss taking walks if I ever hurt my ankle or leg badly enough to curtail walking. Of course, my road may become too dangerous for walking anyway, but that's another story. I hope you'll at least be in a position to enjoy taking a walk now.

[redhead]

LOL! I think we got about 9" out of the last storm. It's awfully PRETTY out there, though. All those millions of diamonds on the snow, in the moonlight...

[ilovew]

It's just Kate.

[proud_yank]

Up here, its a hot topic. Very hot.

If you change your mind, be sure to let me know!

If you can suggest good corrosion, inspection, or integrity books or journals, please let me know.

[ilovew]

I am *very* thankful. I love the South.

[ilovew]

Lol that works too :)

[snugs]

Think I am calling it a night - loads to do tomorrow - night all

[proud_yank]

Ideally, eventually I want to work permanently in the Arctic (like Redhead's son, who is the one who got me my interview in Deadhorse - hence the photos). I would like to get a log 'home' (key point being running water and utilities) somewhere like Wasilla, Palmer, or Talkeetna.

I also want to cut and build my own cabin sometime in a more remote spot too, and land would be fairly cheap to do so. It would be a nice getaway, and nice for hunting too. As novel as it sounds, I think not having utilities for an extended period would become tiresome.

[ilovew]

Once I get the staples out, walking should be a lot more comfortable. Actually, when I had the plate put in, I started *hating* to ask people to do things for me. After a while, I wanted to throw away the crutches and just walk normally. This time, I know it won't last that long. Plus, I've figured out how to get around easier so it's not that bad.

[proud_yank]

I don't know exactly how much we got, but the hillside got a lot. There is a ton on my roof, and I'm thinking about climbing up there tomorrow to shovel. My porch roof is kind of sketchy!

Man, when the sun came out yesterday morning did the temp drop. This global warming(TM)/abrupt climate change(TM)/environmental crisis(TM)/ we are experiencing is nuts, no?

[redhead]

"There is probably 2' on my roof, I'll see if I can get some pics tomorrow and post them."

Did Intenseracer show you the pic of the old Jeep with the 12" "camper top" on it? (It took the snow-removal guy 2 hours to plow their yard...)

[proud_yank]

That may work better if you do, assuming you are free. I have to run some errands later in the afternoon.

When I get a chance, perhaps in the morning, I will look online for some neat Alaska links & info.

[proud_yank]

Oh my gosh. His driveway isn't that big at all!

I will try to get some pics of my yard and our plow pile. There is a ton.

Outside one of our sliders, the snow is as high as the deck rail. I've seriously pondered a good 'snow roll' before a hot shower!

[WFTR]

If you can suggest good corrosion, inspection, or integrity books or journals, please let me know.

I assume that you have Fontana and Greene. The other one that is becoming a standard is the one that C.P. Dillon wrote, but I've forgotten the name of that one. McGraw-Hill has been publishing a couple of Nalco books on corrosion. They have some good pictures showing examples of various kinds of corrosion, and I look at them fairly frequently. I like my copy of Vol 10, Failure Analysis and Prevention of the Metals Handbook series. I think ASM also publishes one called Corrosion in the Petrochemical Industry, and I've used that one a bit. Are you in upstream or downstream? I'm afraid I've forgotten exactly what you do.

[rzeznikj at stout]

what up?

[WFTR]

Once you start walking, you'll have to start dancing. Of course, if you want to avoid having broken feet and ankles, you won't dance with guys like me.

[redhead]

"Oh my gosh. His driveway isn't that big at all!"

On the other hand, I shoveled my dooryard by myself (about 20x40), but left the driveway. Yesterday, I had one of the neighbor boys come over with his scooper. Took him about 30 minutes to swoosh it out, and only cost me $10. (He and his enterprising brothers are doing what lots of Alaskan kids do: Plowing/shoveling for spending money. Glad to see the tradition lives on...)

[ilovew]

Lol that's okay. There's no one I wanna dance with anyway.

[WFTR]

Lol that's okay. There's no one I wanna dance with anyway.

Well, that makes things easier for you. LOL