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Post by Retrovision on Mar 19, 2006 20:54:26 GMT -8
"yes, yes, ------your anquish sustains me." ======Stewie Griffin ======'The Family Guy'=- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -= Funny Things, Good Writing:[/u] @Huggy-Bear on The Simpsons tonight. @Is it just me, or is the character Dave, the father on Fox's The War at Home, seem a lot like Al Bundy on Fox's Married with Children? P.S. Who's watching Family Guy tonight? Best part, so-far: Gee W. Bush scene ...George goes to Vietnam... "it's 1981... want some blow?" (You have to see it to get it, so watch )
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Post by Retrovision on Mar 20, 2006 0:36:50 GMT -8
btw (by the way), the title of this thread was inspired by the suggestions below the link for the sub-topic on the home-page: ferriesbc.proboards20.com/index.cgi" Non Ferries For other interesting topics like trains, buses, transportation plans, weather, why the sky is blue, or (almost) anything else. Moderator: Ultra Walker " Cheers, Graham __________________________________________________________________% ___________________________________% ____________________________________________________________% _____________________________%
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Post by Balfour on Mar 20, 2006 10:20:55 GMT -8
ok so this is the official random thoughts thread.
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Post by Retrovision on Mar 20, 2006 15:51:08 GMT -8
bingo
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Post by Retrovision on Mar 20, 2006 18:49:27 GMT -8
I couldn't find an appropriate thread for this, other than this one: "why the sky is blue"
but it needed to be said...
R.I.P. Woody Culp
Elwood, or "Woody," Culp, the name-sake of one of my two middle names, was a fire-chief in Los Angales, diligently saving lives for years. Woody flew a small private airplane for years, and was a skilled pilot; I have vivid memories of when he even, without my (at the time, and understandably, I was 6 or so) worrisome mother knowing about it, paid the pilot of a float-plane ultra-light to take me for a tour over the Penders (islands) one time when we were on the boat at Bedwell Harbour, now "Poet's Cove", on South Pender Island... And that brings me to my most memorable connection to my Grandfather: the only reason that my family was able to afford a sailboat (based out of Point Robberts) was because my grandparents were half parterns;
those nautical first 10 years of my life are what spawned my life-long love for the water. Thank you Grandpa, Rest in Peace.
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Post by Retrovision on Mar 24, 2006 18:29:41 GMT -8
...P.S. I'm leaving for my Grandpa's funeral in L.A. tomorow, so I'll be absent from the forum for a while.
My parents have always encouraged me and my sister to make things like this celebrations of life, so I'll try my best to make it to the Queen Mary, in nearby Long Beach, and bring back some pictures. I might even see what vessels are offered on any service to Catalina from the nearby terminal (atleast I think they still have Catalina ferry-service from there).
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Post by Retrovision on Apr 6, 2006 18:14:22 GMT -8
Just a heads-up... Monty Python Cartoons are on Boston Public Television (one of 2 PBS stations shown here in B.C.) (until 8 (maybe later?))
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Post by Balfour on Apr 6, 2006 18:21:18 GMT -8
And now for something completely different.... a man with a tape recorder up his nose...
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Post by Retrovision on Apr 6, 2006 18:55:00 GMT -8
I could make this thread look really ' different' if I delete this and my last post
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Apr 6, 2006 19:49:43 GMT -8
and PBS stands for Practically Broke Station $5000 dollar pledge, you own the station. Remember you are the P and they are the BS
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Apr 6, 2006 20:43:21 GMT -8
The PBS Detroit high-definition channel is pretty amazing though- I watched a new Cousteau special on the north west Hawaiian islands nature reserve- makes standard tv look awfully lame. They also had an excellent program on the inside passage- unfortunately, no ferry shots, that I saw.
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Post by Retrovision on Apr 7, 2006 12:13:26 GMT -8
The PBS Detroit high-definition channel is pretty amazing though- I watched a new Cousteau special on the north west Hawaiian islands nature reserve- makes standard tv look awfully lame. They also had an excellent program on the inside passage- unfortunately, no ferry shots, that I saw. There really isn't any comparison between HD and regular t.v., eh? (My folks have HD satellite, and i'd sound like I was bragging if I told you the size of their screen (projection); it's amazing that even on a larger screen, the HD doesn't 'miss a beat')
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Apr 7, 2006 12:55:55 GMT -8
It is pretty amazing. Even my wife, who was originally pretty derisive about my desire for a better picture, is coming around. But listen, I came to this thread because I was expecting to find out why the sky is blue, and I'm still waiting. That's false advertising, pal. So lets get with the science lesson. Everyone needs to take a break from arguing about cafeteria design on the Queen of Surrey for a little edumacation, once in a while.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Apr 7, 2006 12:58:46 GMT -8
You never read reply #2, "this is the oficial random thoughts thread"
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Post by Mike C on Apr 7, 2006 13:56:39 GMT -8
Random Thought: I would never have been able to type this message without the invention of computers.
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Post by Balfour on Apr 7, 2006 16:41:22 GMT -8
we'll let the discussion decide the topic.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Apr 7, 2006 22:44:53 GMT -8
Well, okay, since this is random, I guess I can talk about seagulls. Besides, I just finished watching "Titanic' again, which still freaks me out, so I need to cheer myself up. So. Seagulls. Older members will no doubt remember the ferries slogan, "follow the birds to Vancouver Island", from back in the '60s. Of course, you didn't follow the birds; they followed the ferries, and tourists were no doubt charmed by the picturesque sight of the crowd of gulls soaring and swooping in the ferry's wake all across the strait. The tourists, of course, didn't focus too much on the true nature of the gulls mission, which was mainly to serve as airborne garbage cans for scraps thrown from the cafeterias. Eventually staff stopped throwing food off the back of the ships, and the usual escort of gulls disappeared, which leads me to wonder, do we have fewer seagulls now that BC Ferries has starved them of their rich banquets, or, more likely, are BC gulls healthier without their nutritional supplements of leftover powdered scrambled eggs and french fry remains? Someone should get a university grant, and do a study.
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Post by Balfour on Apr 7, 2006 23:09:39 GMT -8
Here's someone's misinterpretation of Fall Out Boy lyrics. see it here
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Post by Retrovision on Apr 7, 2006 23:25:42 GMT -8
lol, that's hilarious, dude
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Post by Balfour on Apr 8, 2006 1:11:17 GMT -8
I'm sure you will notice what happens when mods get bored. Fluge goes on rants, and says funny things, and I go and have fun with forum features, such as the news fader that I just added on.
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Post by Mike C on Apr 8, 2006 9:46:49 GMT -8
Good addition by the way.
Random topic: the ugly ferries in the fleet Ugliest: 1. Queen of Chilliwack 2. Mill Bay 3. Kwuna 4. North Island Princess 5. Tachek 6. Quadra Queen II 7. Bowen Queen 8. Mayne Queen 9. Howe Sound Queen 10. Powell River Queen 11. Queen of Tsawwassen
Somewhere in between 1.Kahloke 2. Klitsa 3. Nimpkish 4. Queen of Alberni 5. Queen of Burnaby 6. Queen of Esquimalt 7. Queen of Nanaimo 8. Queen of New Westminster 9. Queen of Prince Rupert 10. Queen of Saanich 11. Queen of Vancouver 12. Quinitsa 13. Quinsam
Good Looking vessels 1. Queen of Capilano 2. Queen of Coquitlam 3. Queen of Cowichan 4. Queen of Cumberland 5. Queen of the North 6. Queen of Surrey 7. Queen of Oak Bay 8. Skeena Queen 9. Spirit of British Columbia 10. Spirit of Vancouver Island
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Doug
Voyager
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Doug on Apr 8, 2006 13:14:28 GMT -8
On a clear sunny day, the sky above us looks bright blue. In the evening, the sunset puts on a brilliant show of reds, pinks and oranges. Why is the sky blue? What makes the sunset red?
To answer these questions, we must learn about light, and the Earth's atmosphere.
THE ATMOSPHERE The atmosphere is the mixture of gas molecules and other materials surrounding the earth. It is made mostly of the gases nitrogen (78%), and oxygen (21%). Argon gas and water (in the form of vapor, droplets and ice crystals) are the next most common things. There are also small amounts of other gases, plus many small solid particles, like dust, soot and ashes, pollen, and salt from the oceans.
The composition of the atmosphere varies, depending on your location, the weather, and many other things. There may be more water in the air after a rainstorm, or near the ocean. Volcanoes can put large amounts of dust particles high into the atmosphere. Pollution can add different gases or dust and soot.
The atmosphere is densest (thickest) at the bottom, near the Earth. It gradually thins out as you go higher and higher up. There is no sharp break between the atmosphere and space.
LIGHT WAVES Light is a kind of energy that radiates, or travels, in waves. Many different kinds of energy travel in waves. For example, sound is a wave of vibrating air. Light is a wave of vibrating electric and magnetic fields. It is one small part of a larger range of vibrating electromagnetic fields. This range is called the electromagnetic spectrum.
Electromagnetic waves travel through space at 299,792 km/sec (186,282 miles/sec). This is called the speed of light.
The energy of the radiation depends on its wavelength and frequency. Wavelength is the distance between the tops (crests) of the waves. Frequency is the number of waves that pass by each second. The longer the wavelength of the light, the lower the frequency, and the less energy it contains.
COLORS OF LIGHT Visible light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes can see. Light from the sun or a light bulb may look white, but it is actually a combination of many colors. We can see the different colors of the spectrum by splitting the light with a prism. The spectrum is also visible when you see a rainbow in the sky.
The colors blend continuously into one another. At one end of the spectrum are the reds and oranges. These gradually shade into yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colors have different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. Violet has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. That means it has the highest frequency and energy. Red has the longest wavelength, and lowest frequency and energy.
LIGHT IN THE AIR Light travels through space in a straight line as long as nothing disturbs it. As light moves through the atmosphere, it continues to go straight until it bumps into a bit of dust or a gas molecule. Then what happens to the light depends on its wave length and the size of the thing it hits.
Dust particles and water droplets are much larger than the wavelength of visible light. When light hits these large particles, it gets reflected, or bounced off, in different directions. The different colors of light are all reflected by the particle in the same way. The reflected light appears white because it still contains all of the same colors.
Gas molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. If light bumps into them, it acts differently. When light hits a gas molecule, some of it may get absorbed. After awhile, the molecule radiates (releases, or gives off) the light in a different direction. The color that is radiated is the same color that was absorbed. The different colors of light are affected differently. All of the colors can be absorbed. But the higher frequencies (blues) are absorbed more often than the lower frequencies (reds). This process is called Rayleigh scattering. (It is named after Lord John Rayleigh, an English physicist, who first described it in the 1870's.)
WHY IS THE SKY BLUE? The blue color of the sky is due to Rayleigh scattering. As light moves through the atmosphere, most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through. Little of the red, orange and yellow light is affected by the air.
However, much of the shorter wavelength light is absorbed by the gas molecules. The absorbed blue light is then radiated in different directions. It gets scattered all around the sky. Whichever direction you look, some of this scattered blue light reaches you. Since you see the blue light from everywhere overhead, the sky looks blue.
As you look closer to the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or white.
THE BLACK SKY AND WHITE SUN On Earth, the sun appears yellow. If you were out in space, or on the moon, the sun would look white. In space, there is no atmosphere to scatter the sun's light. On Earth, some of the shorter wavelength light (the blues and violets) are removed from the direct rays of the sun by scattering. The remaining colors together appear yellow.
Also, out in space, the sky looks dark and black, instead of blue. This is because there is no atmosphere. There is no scattered light to reach your eyes.
WHY IS THE SUNSET RED? As the sun begins to set, the light must travel farther through the atmosphere before it gets to you. More of the light is reflected and scattered. As less reaches you directly, the sun appears less bright. The color of the sun itself appears to change, first to orange and then to red. This is because even more of the short wavelength blues and greens are now scattered. Only the longer wavelengths are left in the direct beam that reaches your eyes.
The sky around the setting sun may take on many colors. The most spectacular shows occur when the air contains many small particles of dust or water. These particles reflect light in all directions. Then, as some of the light heads towards you, different amounts of the shorter wavelength colors are scattered out. You see the longer wavelengths, and the sky appears red, pink or orange.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 8, 2006 15:50:47 GMT -8
I stood on the beach at Cox Bay, south of Tofino, last week, around 7:00pm
The sunset sky was a beautiful fuscia colour......between red & purple & pink...just over Frank & Lennerd Islands.
The sky was fuscia Like it is at St. Lucia
Then it went dark Like it does in St. Barts.
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Post by Curtis on Apr 8, 2006 16:53:18 GMT -8
Good addition by the way. Random topic: the ugly ferries in the fleet Ugliest: 1. Queen of Chilliwack 2. Mill Bay 3. Kwuna 4. North Island Princess 5. Tachek 6. Quadra Queen II 7. Bowen Queen 8. Mayne Queen 9. Howe Sound Queen 10. Powell River Queen 11. Queen of Tsawwassen I think you could have a debate on some of those ferries you listed as ugly I'd think of it as something like this 1. Queen of Chilliwack 2. Howe Sound Queen 3. Kwuna 4. Mill Bay 5. North Island Princess 6. Tachek 7. Quadra Queen II 8. Mayne Queen 9. Queen of Prince Rupert 10. Powell River Queen 11. Bowen Queen The Tsawwassen isn't that ugly she's more in the middle
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Post by Balfour on Apr 8, 2006 16:56:01 GMT -8
I don't think the QPR is ugly.
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