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N***, Rats and Crocodiles
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Dreams
- Hits: 2204
Garage saling and I run into N, flea market of sorts, we're amiable enough, civil, and I'm trying to find a moment to chat with her but things keep interrupting. A vendor has things to show me, some great high end 60's stuff, cufflinks, ashtrays, he got them down the road, he's getting my opinion and I'm telling him that there always be a market for high end 60's stuff, he's telling me if I'm interested he'll let me know where he got it, there's more, I'm not that interested...
N*** is packing up, we're not finding time to chat, connect, and the dream is changing...
All around the city there are badlands...a smaller city, like a Disneyland or amusement park, smaller even than that, and the "mayor" (??) has decided to add some wildlife, letting loose some crocodiles and little shrews, they're everywhere, only now a girl is complaining that one of the crocodiles has bitten her leg, and the restaurants are trying to deal with the shrews, and I'm laughing at the mayor, what a brilliant idea to let loose rat/shrews in restaurants, he's a little young and inexperienced, I go with the girl to find the crocodile that bit her...
It's in the bottom of a narrow canyon, badlands type, we cross it over a short footbridge, can't see it down there, but they're everywhere...
Evening, I'm approaching a tree, going to round up some of the lizards, only there's a crocodile in the tree, well camouflaged, he snaps at my arm, various lizards now begin raising their frills and hissing at me, I'm not getting near this tree...
(Exhausted, back to the 12 hour work days, leg/knee rebelling against this sort of abuse. 58 days, more or less, left.)
Advanced Placer Mining Course - Nelson, BC
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2496
I'd postponed work to take the Advanced Placer Mining course offered by the Chamber of Mines in Nelson. May 28 - May 31, Thursday, Friday evenings, Saturday & Sunday days on field trips.
The course was a little more unstructured than the previous introduction to prospecting, the first day was reviewing placer techniques and various places to look, the second was an introduction to hard rock prospecting using placer techniques. Most of the time was spent watching the gold based "reality" tv shows, Yukon Gold and the like, and analyzing what they were doing wrong. And, above and beyond general incompetence and a remarkable lack of charisma, they were doing plenty wrong.
Now I'd written up about 10 pages of notes to share, but then it occurred to me that really, this post isn't about sharing my (or the instructors) knowledge. As he tells you when your taking the course, you're getting 30 years of his hard-won experience. So if your interested I'll recommend the course, cheap at double the price. The class, 8 people, 6 I recognized from the Introduction to Prospecting, the other 2 had been waiting a couple of years to get into this course. Washington had returned, as had one of the girls (she lived in her VW van), none from Nelson, most from the area, average age perhaps 60 years.
The first days field trip was to the instructors claim near the border, turn off cell phones as we're now being charged roaming. And digging our holes we get down to virgin ground, take it to the river in buckets, pan it out. Nothing remarkable, long day, but checking with the others I find one of the students had a cm long thin nugget, and Washington had a small jar full of pennyweight nuggets. Not bad for a couple of hours work, and he's had his epiphany, he looks off into the distance, misty eyed, and tells us how in his entire prospecting career he's never gotten this much gold out in a day...
I'm jealous, not a single nugget in my pan, but I didn't have a classifier, and some of it is going to be down to dumb luck. Only some, the remainder will have to be adjusted on my end...But you couldn't wish this luck on a better person, and I'm relieved there were nuggets recovered, I was beginning to get a little skeptical...
It's easy to see how the fever sets in.
Day 2, hard rock techniques, high up on another claim, swarmed by small flies, not black flies, but bigger, and I'm justly skeptical of their intentions, it doesn't take long, welts and trickles of blood begin to run down my arms, neck, I'd taken a ride up with a classmate and left my insect repellent in the car, I'm now a savory treat for every little winged nightmare that haunts the north woods. More techniques, sampling, then the end of class, informal goodbyes, I'm a good 8 hours drive from Calgary.
The class, very worthwhile, interesting people and a lot of good information. Now another 2 months in hell to replenish my finances and then it'll be time again to be off...
Once more...
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2495
Covered in insect bites that are beginning to itch, it's once more into the Breach. A 2 month contract in hell, day one, the owner friendly, this is to be a temporary arrangement until the summer vacation, but if I know them they'll try to extend it...
The owner, he's a lot of opining to do, opinions on the new NDP government and how the conservatives could be so stupid (he blames Jim Prentice, an occasional customer.). Opinions on the TFW laws, which are going to make it impossible for him to stay in business, they're all being sent back, he's losing his sous-chef, returning to the Philippines, he can't find Canadians to work, he's brought in a journalist for lunch so he can stand and tell him how these laws will be closing down all the restaurants in the city...
I keep my opinions to myself. Read between the lines and his every argument for foreign workers is an argument against them, while I like them all they represent the vicious underbelly of exploitation: intolerable work conditions, long hours and low pay.
The nephew, when they talked me into it, he began to laugh, it's like giving you the monkeys paw, good luck getting rid of it, and while he's away to renew his temporary work permit I have a feeling he won't be trying to hard to come back, the boom days are over....
The days off have disappeared, they forgot to mention it, we're a server short, the three of us can man the restaurant, day and night, every open shift, until the vacation. G reassures me that we need the money, and then in the same breath mutters he wouldn't mind a day off so he can take out his girlfriend...No job deserves a day off more than this, but it's not going to happen...
And there are the customers, all the regulars comment on your return, surprise, some pleased, some dismayed, my pleasant attitude was wearing a little thin towards the end, my infinite patience now renewed for another 2 month contract, and then?
Discarded Apple 1 to fetch $200,000 at Auction
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Found
- Hits: 2027
A lady takes an old computer to be recycled. Only in this instance it's an Apple 1, worth about $200,000, and the person who took the computer is looking to reach the donor to split the profits. Nice.
Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_28221648/apple-i-sells-200000-discarded-junk-mystery
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