The really boring and totally pointless snippets thread V

[PHXPhlyer]

A storm pushed into the Valley yesterday afternoon.
Dropped as much as 2" of rain in areas north and east of here but only a few tenths at Chez Phlyer.
The 30^oF drop in temperature was appreciated though.

PP

[OFSO]

Lovely pic., R. Thanks.

[TheGreenAnger]

82 years old!

An 82-year-old man said he felt “like a child on Christmas Eve” as he set out to scale the final peak in a mission to climb every Scottish Munro.

Nick Gardner embarked on the challenge in an attempt to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Scotland and the Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS) after his wife, Janet, 84, who has since moved to a care home, developed both conditions.

The grandfather of four set off in July 2020 to begin his impressive feat of scaling the country’s 282 highest peaks and on Saturday was destined to bag his last Munro, Cairn Gorm.

“I really am absolutely ready and really excited about finishing the final Munro,” Gardner, from Gairloch in the north-western Scottish Highlands, told the PA news agency.

“I feel like a child on Christmas Eve. There will be a lot of my friends and some of my family joining me, so it’s going to be a big day.”

Gardner, who describes himself as an “experienced walker and climber” on his JustGiving page, had previously never climbed a Munro.

Munros, named after mountaineer Sir Hugh Munro, are Scottish mountains with an elevation of more than 3,000ft (914 metres).

Gardner, a former physics teacher, will have climbed more than 152,000 metres by the end of his challenge – the equivalent of climbing Everest (8,848 metres) about 17 times.

He will have walked an astonishing 2,000 miles, a similar distance to the trek between Edinburgh and Greece.

Having made headlines with his impressive feat, he has also smashed his £50,000 target for the charities, raising £59,640 as of Saturday afternoon.

Before the last hurdle of his mammoth challenge, Gardner said: “Doing this final climb, I imagine, is going to be very emotional.”

He added that having been “knocked for six” when Janet had to be moved into care, the challenge had prevented him from having a mental breakdown.

Staff and volunteers from Alzheimer’s Scotland and the ROS were due to join Gardner for the final climb, as were his two daughters, four grandchildren and some friends.

A piper was arranged to play at the summit as the group arrived.

Gardner’s daughter Sally McKenzie has nominated him to Guinness World Records as the oldest person to climb the Munros.

Having completed seven Munros in the 10 days ahead of his last challenge, Gardner said on Saturday that he was looking forward to giving his knees a rest.

“The last three days in Knoydart that I did were really tough,” he said. “Because I had already organised this final day, and for people to join me, I just had to push on through, and I made it. I’ve had no injuries, but my knees are certainly tired. It will be good to give them a rest.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... very-munro

[Karearea]

142 years since my maternal grandmother's birth. She had 53 descendants, as near as I can recall:

3 children
9 grandchildren
18 great-grandchildren
23 great-great-grandchildren

I think I'm the only one in the family who remembers this information.

[VP959]

142 years since my maternal grandmother's birth. She had 53 descendants, as near as I can recall:

3 children
9 grandchildren
18 great-grandchildren
23 great-great-grandchildren

I think I'm the only one in the family who remembers this information.

A cousin put together a family tree a few years ago and gave each of us a copy. One relative that stands out is my great, great, great, great aunt Hannah. Married aged 14 and had 28 children, 14 of whom died as babies.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I am related to some Mennonites in Manitoba, and one year one of the matriarchs died. As I was handy I ended up as Oddjob, running around sorting out catering, late arrivals, acting as taxi driver, etc, at the funeral. This was a major logistical exercise. The woman was carried to her grave by her first-born granddaughters, of which there was a surfeit. IIRC, she had 83 grandchildren, and well over a hundred descendants present. Men are carried by the first-born grandsons.The funeral lasted 3 days and occupied almost all of 3 entire hotels, which was the overflow of those not accommodated in family homes.

[llondel]

Dog show weekend. Kepler got Best of Breed yesterday, and again today. For a change a decent amount of competition too. the downside is sticking around for the group stages in the afternoon, when the tarmac outside is too hot for dogs to walk on and air temperature is up in the high 30s. We now await tomorrow's event. I expect her to have faded and not win tomorrow, often happens on the last day and she does have competition that can beat her.

On the plus side, the van insulation is doing a good job, out in the sun, and until the air temperature comes up, it's cooler inside the van, especially if I've got the side door open to let some breeze in.

[Ibbie]

Morning folks.

26c already and a high of 34c suggested. Another day for avoiding outside as much as possible.

[OFSO]

Around 17° in Teddington. Doors and windows open to let cool air in. Despite the usual breeze yesterday was horribly sultry. Storms forecast tomorrow.
We had a short spell of rain in Roses, 29°, yesterday, the first for months. Dark skies turned the automatic lighting on at 7pm so I turned it off again.

[TheGreenAnger]

Damned foreign gulls, crowding our rubbish dumps, pecking our women!

A Cape Gull a long way from home!

Birdwatchers at a reservoir have said it was "extraordinary" to see a rare gull in Britain for the first time.

The kelp gull was identified at Grafham Water near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on Sunday.

The seabird is usually found throughout the southern hemisphere, but not this far into the northern hemisphere.

Gary Allport from Birdlife International said it was "amazing" to see the gull, which is normally a "coastal species".

"You do get them inland in certain places but usually only when they're breeding," he said.

"It's extraordinary really.

"We would expect it in a coastal area, not in a reservoir in Cambridgeshire."

Mr Allport travelled from the Midlands to Grafham Water on Tuesday to see the gull.

"There were about 40 or 50 people there," he said.

"There would certainly be thousands of people who would want to see a bird of this sort."

The gull could be identified by the blue and grey colouring on its legs, its heavier build and its very small dark eye structure, he said.


He added that it was a "phenomenal find" by a local birdwatcher, as it could be mistaken for a more common gull.

However, the 59-year-old said the species' arrival in the country had been "kind of expected".

"Over the last 10 years there have been a few recordings in western Europe and one in Paris a few years ago," he said.

"The bird is extremely rare, but it was on our radar so it was great to see.

The British Bird Rarities Committee, one of two organisations which will verify the identification, said it was "one of the more amazing records to reach Britain".

"Its main range is Namibia and South Africa, although birds do range as far as Senegal and one or two pairs have bred in Morocco in recent years," chairman Paul French said.

He said the person who first spotted the bird would need to submit a description to the committee, which would then assess it to confirm the identification.

"We may seek external assistance on this, as large gulls are notoriously difficult to identify," he said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cam ... e-62494444

[Ex-Ascot]

Morning folks. That is a very dull gull to wander that far and onto fresh water. A record of 40 bats today. Jungle drums going at the church service in the bush. Very loud booze boat past yesterday afternoon. A bit hazy and windy.

[Pontius Navigator]

OTOH, I am last of line. GF was one of many brothers with plenty of nephews. He was born 158 years ago and had just 2 sons and 2 daughters. The sons had only 4 children and the daughters just one. I had two male cousins who never married and I am the last that had children, 2 girls.

Curiously, a different branch, with no known link, except being from the same area, had a similar lack of male heirs. The inheritance was conditional on the daughter's spouse changing his name.

[ricardian]

My friend & her dog arrive tomorrow from Nottingham to stay with me for a couple of weeks in order to escape the high temperatures in England - my forecast is for 16C with light rain & a moderate breeze which contrasts to hers which is 33C and a gentle breeze.

[Ex-Ascot]

My friend & her dog arrive tomorrow from Nottingham to stay with me for a couple of weeks in order to escape the high temperatures in England - my forecast is for 16C with light rain & a moderate breeze which contrasts to hers which is 33C and a gentle breeze.

I know which we would prefer by far.

[TheGreenAnger]

Morning folks. That is a very dull gull to wander that far and onto fresh water. A record of 40 bats today. Jungle drums going at the church service in the bush. Very loud booze boat past yesterday afternoon. A bit hazy and windy.

We used to get Cape gulls in Johannesburg, at over 5000 feet and over 800 miles from their breeding grounds! Later when we moved down to Cape Town the gulls were an endless source of amusement at my school were they would steal food from your hand if you weren't looking out. They would eat anything save for the bacon served to the boarders, as it was so rancid that even a Cape gull wouldn't eat it. The only time I ever saw a Cape gull discomforted was when the poor creature flew into the cross bar on the rugby posts and injured its claw, with the unfortunate bird last seen in the hands of the school matron whose answer to any malady, from broken bones to stomach bugs was aspirin!

[Wodrick]

Good Moaning all,

The Met Office (Es) is giving amber for 39c later.
Currently 31c,45%

Five drops hit my car yesterday, countable in the dust.

Normal Sunday, floors, ritual, dunno.

Just going to check the deposit and see if the water is on, it should be.

But of course it's not, 'bout 60,000lt remain.

[TheGreenAnger]

Here is a heart warming story that involves a Navy Helicopter Engineer and a kitten...

https://www.indy100.com/viral/navy-heli ... ped-inside

There are some good sorts in the world after all!

[PHXPhlyer]

I'll see your "feel good" cat story with a "feel good" lost dog story.

A missing dog was finally found – 500 feet underground in an intricate cave system

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/13/us/misso ... index.html

When teacher and recreational caver Rick Haley set out to help map a cave on August 6, he had no idea he would end up staging a rescue mission – let alone reuniting a lost dog with her owner.

Haley, along with a team of around 30 spelunkers, was mapping a cave north of Perryville, Missouri, as part of a project for the Cave Research Foundation. The cave is part of the Berome Moore cave system, Missouri’s second largest cave system, measuring around 22 miles, he told CNN.

Haley, 66, who was involved in logistics and managing problems on the expedition, exited the cave to find another caver and an assistant fire chief from the local fire department.

“Glad you’re here,” the fire chief told Haley. “You can help us do a dog cave rescue.”

Another group of parents and children visiting the cave for the day had encountered a dog deep in the cave before flagging Haley for help.

Haley and fellow caver Gerry Keene, both of whom have specialized cave rescue training, had to crawl and squeeze through tight passageways to get to the dog.

The dog was in poor shape, Haley said. “She didn’t seem to have any injuries,” he said. “But boy, she was really malnourished. She was skin and bones. She had mud on her.”

The lost canine was “lethargic” and reluctant to walk, said Haley. He placed a blanket in a duffel bag and she stepped in, allowing them to carefully maneuver her out of the cave.

The rescue mission took over an hour, according to Haley. Although their rescue training doesn’t cover dog rescues, he explained that “many of the same principles that you would use for a person you can use for a dog” – like keeping them warm and dry and being careful of any injuries.

“The dog was in bad shape,” said Haley. But once she was out of the cave, “her spirits perked up a bit.”

One member of the caving team canvassed the neighborhood with a photo of the dog in the cave before identifying her owner, who “was astonished to see the dog,” said Haley.

According to Haley, the owner said 13-year-old Abby had been missing since June 9 – meaning that she could have been in the cave for almost two months.

Haley said that it still isn’t clear how the dog ended up so far in the cave. She may have been chasing an animal like a mouse or raccoon, he said. And he speculated that flooding in the cave caused by heavy rains may have brought her deeper into the cave system.

“It’s a good feeling” to participate in the rescue, said Haley. He also credited the work of the team of cavers working with the Cave Research Foundation.

“I happened to be one of the only people on the surface at the time that the rescue needed to happen,” he said. But “if there had been all 30 of those cavers there, you would have found 30 people facilitating this rescue.”

PP

[PHXPhlyer]

A "Not so feel good" story

Norway euthanizes beloved 1,300-pound walrus named Freya

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/14/world/fr ... index.html

The Norwegian government euthanized its celebrity walrus Freya on early Sunday morning, after warning the public to stay away from her.

“The decision to euthanize the walrus was made based on an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety,” said Frank Bakke-Jensen, the director general at the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, in a news release.

Freya became a social media sensation this summer, Rune Aae, who teaches biology at the University of South-Eastern Norway and manages a Google map of Freya sightings, told CNN. The young female walrus had been spending time at the Oslo Fjord, an inlet on the country’s southeastern coast, and was seemingly unafraid of humans, unlike most walruses. Several popular videos show the walrus clambering onto small boats to sunbathe.

In the past week, the directorate warned the public to stay away from Freya, saying that they had observed visitors swimming with Freya, throwing objects at her, and getting dangerously close to her to take photos. “The public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus,” Nadia Jdaini, spokesperson for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, told CNN in an email.

Previously, the directorate told CNN that it was considering multiple solutions, including relocating Freya out of the fjord. But “the extensive complexity of such an operation made us conclude that this was not a viable option,” Bakke-Jensen said in the news release.

“We have sympathies for the fact that the decision can cause reactions with the public, but I am firm that this was the right call,” Bakke-Jensen continued. “We have great regard for animal welfare, but human life and safety must take precedence.” The directorate included a photo of a large crowd seemingly just feet away from Freya in its release.

Female walruses weigh between 600 and 900 kilograms, or around 1,300 to 2,000 pounds, said Jdaini. There are over 25,000 Atlantic walruses making their homes in the icy waters around Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The marine mammals migrate along the coast to feed on mollusks and other invertebrates in shallow waters.

Usually, the marine mammals are wary of humans and stay on the outer edges of Norway’s coast. Aae, the biology professor tracking Freya sightings, said that the last time a walrus was documented this far south in the North Sea was 2013. “It’s not common at all,” he said – which led crowds of Norwegians flocking to see Freya.

“Normally, walruses will show up on some islands, but they will leave quite soon, because they’re afraid of people,” said Aae.

But Freya “is not afraid of people,” he said. “Actually, I think she likes people. So that’s why she’s not leaving.”

In a Facebook post after Freya’s death was announced, Aae condemned the directorate’s decision to euthanize her as “too hasty.” He said that fisheries staff were monitoring her with a patrol boat to ensure the public’s safety and that she would likely leave the fjord soon, as she had on her previous visits in the spring.

Freya would have “sooner or later gotten out of the Oslofjord, which all previous experience has shown, so euthanasia was, in my view, completely unnecessary,” he wrote.

“What a shame!”

PP

[G-CPTN]

I find it unbelievable that a human can decide to kill a healthy walrus for some unintelligible reason.