Have relatives out there. Paddling is a way of life. The guys in the picture probably all go out on the weekends, if not daily.
fubarx
joined 2 years ago
What would be an alliterative version of the "Clean Coal" BS?
- Green Gas
- Gold Gas
- Natural Gas (ok, but it's just there)
Adobe announced a 'distraction removal' Photoshop feature this week at their annual MAX conference. Makes removing people from pictures a one-click operation for anyone: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/remove-tool.html
The car I had the most trouble with wasn't because it was a bad car, but because it kept getting trashed. VW Cabriolet convertible. Bought it when I got my first real job out of school.
One week after driving it off the lot, parked on a busy city street, someone slashed the roof and tore out the stereo. Fixed it all up. Insurance rate went up. Six months later, knife through the roof AND a smashed window. Stereo gone. Switched to a removable, pull-out stereo. Still got broken into.
Had dozens of slashes/smashes. At one point, just left the door locks open. Nothing to take. Someone slept in the back seat (left food wrappers) and pilfered through the ashtray where I kept loose change.
Loved driving it with the top down, but what a pain it was to fix.
It's the Gellert Thermal baths: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gell%C3%A9rt_Baths
Still around, if anyone visits Budapest.
Thrice, all a long time ago:
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Driving back alone from a group camping trip. Got stuck in a freak snowstorm in the mountains, without chains. Stalled and started sliding back towards a really deep ravine. Hit the brakes, but it kept skidding through the sleet. Had the car door open, ready to bail. The car came to a stop, barely inches from the edge.
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Walked out of the shower in a towel. Faced a tweaker with a gun standing in my apartment. Demanded my wallet. Took out the cash. Wasn't much. He paused, trying to decide what to do next. I really wasn't sure which way it would go. He left.
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Flight instructor had checked off on doing a solo, then left town. Was nervous, but he had told me to put in the flight hours in his absence. Practicing short take-off/landings and go-arounds. Little single-engine trainer. On the first touch-and-go, I forgot to take off full flaps, which meant maximum drag on the wings. Got barely 1000 ft above ground, then the engine began to sputter. The plane stalled, and started a slow-mo, nose-down spin toward the ground. I remember stopping breathing. Then the brain kicked in. Figured it out. Recovered from the spin way too close to the ground. The most sphincter-clenching, stupidest moment of my life.
Plastic, nitrogen (or some inert gas, if packaged), and formaldehyde.
Yum!
"Thank you for your vote. Now leave this country."
Still can't get the fingers right.