Replying to a message of BILL SWISHER to ROGER NELSON:

Darn near snowed here last week, but the front ran out of
snowflakes before it reached us "Way down yonder near New
Orleans."

Almost eggzactly like here, Lake Havasu City Arizona.
Freezing overnight temps of 38...Brrr

That's 26 degrees higher than yesterday's high temperature here in southwest Iowa. Yesterday's low (overnight) was -7F and this morning it's warmer, -5F; that's actual temperature, not wind chill (which is below -20F). Around here when it gets much below 40F we start looking for our jackets... <g>

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

bill swisher (1:124/311) wrote to Sam Moss at 12:02 on 11 Dec 2009:

Uhhh...I/we live in Anchorage but I/we're doing the snowbird thing,
down here in America right now. Spend at a minimum 7 months out
of the year there. Moved there in 1980, got tired of the winters, retired and bought a 5th wheel. Spent 3 winters driving to/from
Alaska, two round trips across the lower 48, plus a short run from Seattle to Yuma and then back to Anchorage (total mileage for the
trips was about 35,000 miles). Drove by Steven Horn 5 times, but
only called 2 or 3 times. Missed him every time. We spend lots of
the summer parked in a 5th wheel very close to the Kenai River,
like 30 yards away. The rest in the house we own in Anchorage.

But Bill, what happened to all the other participants in the original ALASKA_CHAT? I have spoken to Queen Deidre from time to time but that has been about business and other than you, the rest have faded away.

As for "snowbirding", my wife and I may start doing it but never for more than five months. Now that I have been become a poster child for Yukon (and Canadian) medicare, having just cost the taxpayers of Yukon and Canada over $100,000.00 for hospitalization (36 days), tests, consultations with neurologists, and drugs [my direct cost was $46.19 for one prescription Yukon's
Pharmacare did not cover], I want to ensure I retain my coverage as other territories and provinces don't do it as well.

Incidentally, our weather is now quite weird, We had a lot of snow early in November (I ran my snowblower three times) but we have now settled into a routine where the temp is about -15° Celsius or 5° Fahrenheit with lots of hoarfrost, some light snow and some fog. Occasionally the sun breaks through and it's all a Winter wonderland.

AQnd I'm sorry I missed you but now that I'm on pre-retirement leave [my formal
retirement begins on January 2, 2010], I am home more often.

Take care,

Steven Horn (steven.horn@northwestel.net)
Moderator, ALASKA_CHAT
--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: North_of_60, Whitehorse, Yukon (1:17/67)

On 12/11/2009 4:16 AM, Bob Ackley wrote:

That's 26 degrees higher than yesterday's high temperature here in southwest Iowa. Yesterday's low (overnight) was -7F and this morning it's warmer, -5F; that's actual temperature, not wind chill (which is below -20F). Around here when it gets much below 40F we start looking for our jackets...<g>

That was semi-tongue-in-cheek. :-)

Being from Anchorage we get/got weather like that every winter, which is
why we're here!
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On 12/12/2009 11:04 PM, Steven Horn wrote:

But Bill, what happened to all the other participants in the original ALASKA_CHAT? I have spoken to Queen Deidre from time to time but that has

been

about business and other than you, the rest have faded away.

I sent some info to AJ and Deidre. Don't know if they'll reply or not.
I lost track of most of my callers, we never really socialized with
them anyhow.

As for "snowbirding", my wife and I may start doing it but never for more

than

five months. Now that I have been become a poster child for Yukon (and Canadian) medicare, having just cost the taxpayers of Yukon and Canada over $100,000.00 for hospitalization (36 days), tests, consultations with neurologists, and drugs [my direct cost was $46.19 for one prescription

Yukon's

Pharmacare did not cover], I want to ensure I retain my coverage as other territories and provinces don't do it as well.

We bought our 1st 5th wheel in December of 05. We'd already ordered a
new F-250 in Anchorage and had it delivered to Seattle. When they told
us it was there we bought 1way tickets and flew down, taking our cat
with us. Spent almost 2 weeks living in a motel until we found a 5th
wheel we liked, actually the very 1st one we looked at but wanted to see
what else was there. Put a lot of miles on it, about 35K, before
retiring it at home and buying another down here that practically
chained to the ground. We flew down in late October, to Las Vegas since
it's only about 130 miles away, stayed in a motel until we bought a used
car. There are lot's of Canadians around Arizona. I sometimes email a
couple from Kamloops who spend their winters down in Welton AZ, they
bought a park model there and drive down/up yearly (3 day drive IIRC).
If you want I could ask them to contact you or ask some of the Canadians who're in this RV park, probably about half a dozen or more I would guess.

hoarfrost, some light snow and some fog. Occasionally the sun breaks through and it's all a Winter wonderland.

Yeah we get that in Anchorage also. Really pretty...kind of reminds me
of that sequence in Dr. Zhivago. But a little wind and/or sunshine and
it's gone.

AQnd I'm sorry I missed you but now that I'm on pre-retirement leave [my

formal

retirement begins on January 2, 2010], I am home more often.

I understand, I wasn't the best about trying to phone you.
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Replying to a message of bill swisher to Bob Ackley:

On 12/14/2009 4:19 AM, Bob Ackley wrote:

I thought Anchorage was warmer than that due to the proximity
of the ocean.

YahButt...it's not unusual to get chilly. Here's a site
with a chart:
www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayNORMS.asp?AirportCode=PAM R&SafeCityName=Anchorage&StateCode=AK&Units=none&IATA=ANC

Sorry about the wrap.

Not a problem. I don't do Internet anyway. Had it for years and decided I
can live without it five or six years ago.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

Replying to a message of THEODORE NIKODEM to JIM WELLER:

I was, however, impressed last spring when I read that she
was the opne driving her car when it was rear ended. Far
too many other governors have state police officers as
chauffeurs.

When Bobby Kerrey was governor of Nebraska he gave his then live
in (in the governor's mansion, no less) girl friend the use of his state supplied limo. You may have heard of her - Debra Winger.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

Replying to a message of THEODORE NIKODEM to BILL SWISHER:

Does anyone know anything new about Lori. When she left
Fairbanks, she just disappeared from the Alaska BBS scene
and from the OS/2 (I'm dating myself with that) forums.

Cheap date <g>.

This box is running Maximus/2 3.01 under OS/2 v 4.0 - on an IBM
PS/2 model 77 - which is a 486 with 16MB of RAM. I have various
versions (1.2, 1.3, 2.0, 2.11, 3.0, 4.0, 4.51 or 4.52) running on various
boxes here - from 386s to low end Pentiums. I also have eCS 1.2R
running on an IBM PC-300.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

Replying to a message of JIM WELLER to THEODORE NIKODEM:

Palin joke marathon.

Who has that much time?

She made the news in Canada again today.

Some Hamilton philanthropists booked her as a headliner for
a gala dinner which is a fundraiser for charity. A cancer
clinic and a hospital refused donations from the gala after
getting really angry feedback from their other sponsors and
donors due to her being such a strident critic of public
health care.

Public health care in general or the proposed government destruction
of the US health care system?

There's a place for public health - at the county level.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

Replying to a message of bill swisher to Bob Ackley:

On 12/11/2009 4:16 AM, Bob Ackley wrote:

That's 26 degrees higher than yesterday's high temperature
here in southwest Iowa. Yesterday's low (overnight) was -7F
and this morning it's warmer, -5F; that's actual
temperature, not wind chill (which is below -20F). Around
here when it gets much below 40F we start looking for our
jackets...<g>

That was semi-tongue-in-cheek. :-)

Being from Anchorage we get/got weather like that every
winter, which is why we're here!

I thought Anchorage was warmer than that due to the proximity of
the ocean.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

On 12/14/2009 4:19 AM, Bob Ackley wrote:

I thought Anchorage was warmer than that due to the proximity of
the ocean.

YahButt...it's not unusual to get chilly. Here's a site with a chart: www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayNORMS.asp?AirportCode=PAMR&SafeCityName=Anchorage&StateCode=AK&Units=none&IATA=ANC

Sorry about the wrap.
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* Origin: FidoTel & QWK on the Web! www.fidotel.com (1:124/311)

Replying to a message of JIM WELLER to ROY WITT:

(Palin) made the news in Canada again today.

Some Hamilton philanthropists booked her as a headliner for
a gala dinner which is a fundraiser for charity. A cancer
clinic and a hospital refused donations from the gala
after getting really angry feedback from their other
sponsors and donors due to her being such a strident
critic of public health care.

Not just any old public health care system, but the
crappola being spewed by the liberals in our Congress.

I certainly hope we can have a fruitful discussion here
without it degenerating into a flame war. OK, here goes...
some facts for consideration:

-1- She attacked the Canadian Health Care System as bloated
and claimed it would be cheaper in private hands.

-2- The USA spends $7292 per capita per year on health care
and yet not everyone has it; Canada just $3895, and it's
universal.

-3- The USA is the ONLY country in the developed world
without universal health care.

The way I see it (as an outsider) the proposed plan is
flawed because it is a compromise forced upon the
administration by conservatives (and not necessarily just
the Republican Party) and a powerful industrial lobby. I
could go on about the excessive power held by lobbyists in
your country but that's fuel for a different rant.

In countries that have socialized health care (aka 'universal' health
care) the actual costs of providing that care are hidden and are not
visible to those who benefit from the system.

In the US, government sponsored health care (IOW Medicare) does
*not* pay the costs of providing health care to the elderly. Medicare
isn't even about providing health care to the elderly - it's about *controlling* the health care provided to the elderly in this country.
While Medicare is quite popular among those who receive its benefits
(which is everybody over age 65, whether they want to be in the program
or not), it is not nearly so popular with those who actually provide that health care.

Medicare has for decades been notorious for (1) slow pay (90 days after submission of the bill is not unusual, most industries require payment
within 30 days), (2) disallowing charges it doesn't like and (3) writing
itself huge discounts (sometimes more than half of the amount) on the bills presented. Those dirty little secrets are why increasing numbers of providers are dropping out of the system (by not accepting new Medicare patients).

The US government has demonstrated that it is incapable of running a health care system efficiently. The US military's system (which the government has been quietly downsizing and outsourcing since at least 2004), Medicare, the American Indian Health System and the VA health system.

The US government for decades has promised everything to everybody in some
form of benefits, and then the congress routinely underfunds those programs because
they are expen$ive - Medicare being the biggest single example.

There's no reason to expect that anything devised by those 537 pompous, preening,
posturing gasbags (I include the executive along with congress) will accomplish anything other than the destruction of the US health care system - and the US economy. And short of a revolution, there's nothing anybody can do about it.

BTW, Alaska - like Texas - might be able to escape some of the damage because of its oil revenues. Texas built a terrific public health system using revenues from
its oil industry over a period of decades - it's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is
one
of the best in the country if not on the planet (and AFAIK there isn't a *dime*
of
federal money in it - other than Medicare, of course).

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

.
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Re: Anybody home?
By: bill swisher to All on Wed Dec 09 2009 11:44 am

.

OF course not; most are out watchin whales
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Why Soitaney!

... If you see an onion ring ... answer it!*

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
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bill swisher used his keyboard to write :

.
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Yeah, here in Brasil.

[s]

--
Internetado
Sorocaba,SP - Brasil
...
news://internetado.dtdns.net news://erabbs.dtdns.net
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* Origin: ERA BBS | Sorocaba,SP Brasil (4:801/146)

On 3/17/2010 10:11 AM, Eduardo Marcal wrote:

bill swisher used his keyboard to write :

.
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Yeah, here in Brasil.

[s]

A welcome. I'm from Anchorage Alaska. Currently we, my wife and I, are wintering in Lake Havasu City Arizona. We're having your kind of
weather. Bright sunlight, no clouds and 93F or around 38.5C.


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That's exactly where I am and refuse to leave unless and until the monsoons end. When it isn't raining, it's freezing down here at this time of year, but nothing like you all get.

Darn near snowed here last week, but the front ran out of snowflakes before it reached us "Way down yonder near New Orleans."


Regards,

Roger
... Infuriate the media: think for yourself.

--- D'Bridge 3.41
* Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)

*** Quoting Roger Nelson from a message to Sam Moss ***

last week, but the front ran out of snowflakes before it reached
us "Way down yonder near New Orleans."

Well, some of their weather flew down here to NY, we have 50+ mph winds and a -22 windchill.. Brrr.. We hope to send this weather back, just after The Holidays <grin>

Mike

... Bigamy is one wife too many. Monogamy is the same thing.

--- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
* Origin: ::The Holodeck BBS:: telnet://holo.homeip.net (1:261/1381)

Almost eggzactly like here, Lake Havasu City Arizona. Freezing overnight temps
of 38...Brrr...daytime temps near 60. When we got here last month temps were
nearer to 90 during the day. Damned near died of heat frustration.

That's freeze at night and burn up in the day country in Arizona.

I get no sympathy when I called back to Anchorage and whined because of
the
cold or heat. The wife and I live there for the majority of the year.

It would only be fake sympathy anyway.

Way back when my wife, Connie, was one of the moderators here. Deidre
was the
other one. As I recall they took it over after the woman, who got it listed,
left Fairbanks for places down south in America.

And yet all of my Canadian friends are still trying to get me to move there. I couldn't take the sub-zero temps this time of year. Summertime would be very nice.


Regards,

Roger

... Pick two: 1)Fast 2)Right 3)Cheap 4)Windows (counts as 2)
--- D'Bridge 3.41
* Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)

Darn near snowed here last week, but the front ran out of snowflakes RW>RN> before it reached us "Way down yonder near New Orleans."

Better you than me. 29F degrees is too cold for South Texas. Snow is out
of the question.

If I read the weather report properly this morning, the temp just north of you in Dallas was 47F with some teen temps pushing its way farther south. By Tuesday of next week, we can expect to be in the low Thirties.


Regards,

Roger

... When all else fails, do something else.
--- D'Bridge 3.41
* Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)

Re: Re: Anybody home?
By: Roger Nelson to Roy Witt on Fri Dec 11 2009 06:30 am

ahhhh the Alaska chatroom.... for all those who are NOT in Alaska...
but think they wanna be!

we hav posters from Florida,Arizona, NewOrleans, NY, but NO ONE FROM
ALASKA ! !

Can we just get ONE person from Alaska???

--- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32
* Origin: JumpStart BBS * 1:140/30 * www.exciter.ws (1:140/30)

Replying to a message of JIM WELLER to BILL SWISHER:

I lurk here hoping for some real activity. Every once in a
while there's a burst of conversation, mostly about the
weather.

So let's all agree quickly that it is generally cold in
Alaska in the winter and generally warmer elsewhere and
start a real dialogue on something of interest.

Hmmm. I have about eight inches of global warming out in the yard,
with drifts to three or four feet. At the moment it's about -5F outside
with a forecast high today (Thursday) of about +15F.

---
* Origin: Bob's Boneyard, Emerson, Iowa (1:300/3)

Sam Moss wrote:

we hav posters from Florida,Arizona, NewOrleans, NY, but NO ONE FROM
ALASKA ! !

Can we just get ONE person from Alaska???

Uhhh...I/we live in Anchorage but I/we're doing the snowbird thing, down
here in America right now. Spend at a minimum 7 months out of the year
there. Moved there in 1980, got tired of the winters, retired and
bought a 5th wheel. Spent 3 winters driving to/from Alaska, two round
trips across the lower 48, plus a short run from Seattle to Yuma and
then back to Anchorage (total mileage for the trips was about 35,000
miles). Drove by Steven Horn 5 times, but only called 2 or 3 times.
Missed him every time. We spend lots of the summer parked in a 5th
wheel very close to the Kenai River, like 30 yards away. The rest in
the house we own in Anchorage.
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Bob Ackley wrote:

Hmmm. I have about eight inches of global warming out in the yard,
with drifts to three or four feet. At the moment it's about -5F outside
with a forecast high today (Thursday) of about +15F.

When I lived in Denver, in the early 70's, I rode a motorcycle to/from
work year round. I watched the TV weather forecast pretty close. I
awoke one morning to find 10" of "partly cloudy" on the ground. At
least that's what the TV weatherperson predicted. Simple forecasts for
those people...Summer) Partly cloudy with a chance of rain...Winter)
Partly cloudy with a chance of snow. That would hit 50-75% of the time.
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ahhhh the Alaska chatroom.... for all those who are NOT in Alaska...
but think they wanna be!

we hav posters from Florida,Arizona, NewOrleans, NY, but NO ONE FROM ALASKA ! !

Can we just get ONE person from Alaska???

I believe there used to be at least 2, not counting moderators, who posted here. The 2 I'm thinking of I still correspond with via email when they're in town. (-: No, wait! Both of those people were in the Yukon.


Regards,

Roger

... Pedestrian: The most approachable chap in the world.
--- D'Bridge 3.41
* Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)

Just north of me, Dallas is 250 miles. At the moment it's 45F with a
slight chance of showers.

Still in the same state. Today it got up to 51F, but felt like 41F.

The Accuweather forcast here for Sunday and Monday is 72F with a low of 48F...Tuesday will only get as high as 64F...

Close enough to what we're expecting.


Regards,

Roger

... I beta test co unication softwFEL87=\d+A$ NO CARRIER
--- D'Bridge 3.41
* Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)

Roy Witt wrote:

The weather is much nicer on the California coast. Don't know why anyone would want to freeze their buns off in the Arizona desert. San Diego
boasts about 360 days of sunshine and average temps in the low 70s this
time of year. Onshore cloud cover keeps the over-nite temps in the low
50s, sometimes dipping into the high 40s.

Whelp...one word explains why we chose to winter here...tax. Besides
didn't SD have snow in the outskirts last week? :-)

We were going to call friends and ask why they left Alaska for the
blizzards down there. ;-) They're contract people for BP, so they
commute but actually live in Jamul.
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On 12/18/2009 10:00 PM, THEODORE NIKODEM wrote:

Are you still at Elmendorf?

Nah...retired in hmmm...2002!

Are you and Connie still in Anchorage?

We still have our house there and spend the majority of the year in
"Alaska" so we qualify for the PFD. Short story is that in the summer
of 05 we ordered a F-250 truck and had it delivered to Seattle. Flew
down and took possession. Bought a 5th wheel and spent the next 3
winters down is America and spring to fall in Anchorage. With the 5th
wheel parked in Funny River. Got tired of driving the highway and
bought a 5th wheel, that's pretty much permanently parked, in Lake
Havasu City Arizona. This is our first winter here. We're flying back
and forth.

What have you been up to since the days of "The Litterbox" BBS?

After Gene and I shut down 1:3550, and everybody shutdown their boxes, I pretty much got away from it. Once I retired I found ways, via the
internet, to access Fido again.

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On 12/18/2009 10:16 PM, THEODORE NIKODEM wrote:

Does anyone know anything new about Lori. When she left Fairbanks, she just disappeared from the Alaska BBS scene and from the OS/2 (I'm dating myself with that) forums.

Can't help you. I'd forgotten her name was Lori! Her husband was in
the Air Force, I'd actually met him since he took care of some of our equipment at the Eielson.
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