Press "Enter" to skip to content

Friday links

And hey, it’s the Infamous Black Friday. While I’ve linked to some of these Amazon e-gadgets before, they’re all on sale this week or have recently dropped substantially in price.


9 Comments

  1. rochester_veteran
    rochester_veteran November 25, 2016 7:57 am

    I learned to read a compass and a map when I was in the Boy Scouts while earning the Orienteering Merit Badge.

  2. R.L. Wurdack
    R.L. Wurdack November 25, 2016 8:53 am

    Wow! I didn’t know there were any DRGOs.

  3. M Ryan
    M Ryan November 25, 2016 11:29 am

    The map and compass link was nice. I learned how to use these items back in the green machine (military). Even today, since I’m easily turned around, there is a little compass in my pocket. Don’t get me wrong a GPS is a wonderful thing until the batteries die. With a compass, a topographical map, counting beads and an 8 figure grid reference I can get you anywhere just as accurately.

  4. Desertrat
    Desertrat November 25, 2016 12:25 pm

    Good to learn about the backup seed vault.

    DRGO and HeatStreet show–again–that we’re living in Heinlein’s Crazy Years.

    “Fines are a tax for doing bad. Taxes are a fine for doing good” — Sign in store, Study Butte, Texas.

    In WW II, maps were part of common usage in the public schools, keeping track of where our fathers and brothers were fighting. That made it quite easy to learn how to use detail maps such as the USGS 7-1/2 minute quadrangle. And learning how to orient oneself with map and compass was not at all difficult.

  5. MamaLiberty
    MamaLiberty November 25, 2016 1:03 pm

    Learned about maps and the compass as an adult leader in cub/boy scouts. Never did have much opportunity to use it, so don’t remember much. Lots of experience with road maps, but I still got lost at times. These days, I mostly stay home. 🙂

    One of the funny things here is the lack of a lot of road signs. They can be quite confusing too. Got lost (didn’t have a map!) trying to find the place for a Thanksgiving party yesterday, but backtracked and found it after a few wrong turns.

    I’m going to buy a new map. 🙂

  6. Desertrat
    Desertrat November 25, 2016 2:03 pm

    I spent a fair number of years designing reservoir projects. Topo sheets are invaluable. Areas within contours for land purchase. Relocations of various facilities such as buildings and roads. Quantities of earthfill for the embankments. After a few years, reading those is as easy as reading a book.

  7. larryarnold
    larryarnold November 25, 2016 2:57 pm

    I learned about topo maps in Boy Scouts, first in the Mojave Desert then in Central Texas. I really learned how to navigate with them in Ranger School.

    We started in Dahlonega, Georgia, where the contour interval was 100′, and there were a dozen to the inch. In mountains it’s mostly map reading to follow ridgelines and contours.
    Then we moved to Eglin AFB, Florida’s Black Swamp, where the contour interval was 10′ and they were inches apart. Navigating in the flat is compass headings and straight-line marches.

    Those were the days.

    After a movie/TV career as the Lone Ranger, Clayton Moore had a second career making personal appearances. As I remember, the copyright-holder took him to court and for years he was forced to wear sunglasses instead of his mask.

    The rooftop and part of the façade of the building is a work of art with a light installation by Dyveke Sanne, since all public buildings in Norway are legally required to have art.
    Oh, well.

  8. ellendra
    ellendra November 25, 2016 10:41 pm

    Never saw “teosinte” spelled with an L before.

Leave a Reply