Random stuff

[kampmanfan4life]

Me and our wife just got an accepted offer on our first home. In Oak Creek and sold for under asking, need to buy a few appliances though. Our home search lasted 3 days and we looked at 3 houses.

Congratulations. Enjoy your new home.

Thanks! Home Inspection this weekend. Then have to look at stove, fridge washing and dryer, which sounds stressful with all the options offered.

[wallyuwl]

Me and our wife just got an accepted offer on our first home. In Oak Creek and sold for under asking, need to buy a few appliances though. Our home search lasted 3 days and we looked at 3 houses.

Congratulations. Enjoy your new home.

Thanks! Home Inspection this weekend. Then have to look at stove, fridge washing and dryer, which sounds stressful with all the options offered.

Samsung and LG fridges are hard to get repaired if you have problems. We have liked our Whirlpool kitchen appliances (about 4 years old) and LG laundry (5.5 years old).

[salmar80]

Life is weird.

I got a job with one week's notice at the Arctic Circle. So I'm moving even further north in Finland to Rovaniemi for the tourist season that lasts until the spring. I'll be working at a touristy hotel with igloos designed for best views of aurora borealis, the northern lights. There will be reindeer everywhere.

Only thing I know is: If you need tips with warm clothing for the most extreme Lambeau playoff games, I'll be a bona fide expert (or dead) in a month or so. It's currently -2.2F without wind chill.

[salmar80]

What is Finland like in winter?

Cold, but you can beat cold by dressing right. And with the cold come some unexpected things.

I'm moving up to the Arctic Circle, but that's not even close to the most northernmost part of Finland. Up in the very north, there are no trees, it's a tundra. So you can see loooong distances from heights, air so clear you wouldn't believe it.

The colors of the world are different on clear, cold days. There are little ice flakes in the air, distributing light. The world's colors look... Soft. Kinda like in a desert with sand particles thrown around but not quite. My photos won't capture exactly how it looks, but it's great fun for photographers. If you need a perfect selfie, get one here with low and colored sun reflecting off the snow.

At nights, which is most of the days, it's DARK. And therefore, you can see SO many stars. I can't even tell you. Also, take even a little trip outta the "cities", and you can easily find a place where there's no ambient traffic or other sounds of human civilization. Even if you think you've lived in a quiet place, here you can hear the world without humans other than yourself. If you're near a lake, you can hear the ice singing when it's bending, then the bass boom of cracking ice sheets.

You may get aurora borealis, and I've only seen them once, and am hoping to get a lot of 'em. Even experiencing it in Southern Finland, they were mesmerizing. I thought the "dancing, moving curtains of light" was BS, it's not. It felt just like I did when witnessing a full solar eclipse with bare eyes. All those things in the universe, in our atmosphere and beyond, when you can see them with your own savannah monkey eyes... It's just mind-boggling.

Meanwhile, on a lake in the southernmost part of Finland, my mom and sis asked me to make a hole in the ice, so they could go swimming next weekend, while enjoying the sauna by the lake. So do bring your tough skin. Enjoying the great things cold has to offer takes some grit.
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[BF004]

Life is weird.

I got a job with one week's notice at the Arctic Circle. So I'm moving even further north in Finland to Rovaniemi for the tourist season that lasts until the spring. I'll be working at a touristy hotel with igloos designed for best views of aurora borealis, the northern lights. There will be reindeer everywhere.

Only thing I know is: If you need tips with warm clothing for the most extreme Lambeau playoff games, I'll be a bona fide expert (or dead) in a month or so. It's currently -2.2F without wind chill.

0 degrees in sunny Green Bay this morning

[paco]

I really think Finland is rising to the top of my bucket list. If things were different in my life, I may consider dropping everything and move there.

Hope I get to go someday. Doubtful, but you never know.

[wallyuwl]

Nothing like a clear night in the woods in Northern WI. But clear skies means cold. Can drop 20 deg F when the sun goes down.

[paco]

[mention]salmar80[/mention] looks like your prime minister was too busy clubbing this past weekend!

[APB]

[mention]salmar80[/mention] I hope your move to the great North doesn't preclude hotspot or other internet service. The season of Here's Johnny is coming to its climactic end!

[salmar80]

@salmar80 I hope your move to the great North doesn't preclude hotspot or other internet service. The season of Here's Johnny is coming to its climactic end!

Worry not, I should have free WIFI where I live, and if not that, at least 4G, probably 5G, via the phone.

[mention]salmar80[/mention] looks like your prime minister was too busy clubbing this past weekend!

It's the time of "pikkujoulut" (= "little christmas"), basically meaning end-of-the-year parties that businesses and other places of work arrange to thank the staff. Basically the people who have worked together for the year (and often don't socialize outside of work) get real drunk, and the employer picks up the tab. Pikkujoulut tend to be... Utter pandemonium. Free booze removes all inhibitions, built up steam gets to vent, frustrations at work can spill over into fistfights, or into unlikely co-workers waking up in the same bed the next morning. There's a silent Las Vegas code to pikkujoulut - what happens there stays there.

Our PM did go to one, and due to extraordinarily bad luck, that exact night one of the cabinet ministers was diagnosed with COVID, so as close contacts, all cabinet members shoulda self-quarantined immediately. They didn't, so there's a bit of a scandal going on. Not a biggie.

[kampmanfan4life]

Congratulations. Enjoy your new home.

Thanks! Home Inspection this weekend. Then have to look at stove, fridge washing and dryer, which sounds stressful with all the options offered.

Samsung and LG fridges are hard to get repaired if you have problems. We have liked our Whirlpool kitchen appliances (about 4 years old) and LG laundry (5.5 years old).

Found a few things in the home inspection, we will see if we can get a bit off to help repair those. If not we will probably buy it anyway. They did paint the cabinets white without informing us, I do not know why they'd make that big of a change after an accepted offer. Not sure thy used the correct paint either as it is kind of sticky. Kind of annoying.

[GJPackerBacker]

I’ve only seen the Aurora Borealis once in Colorado. This incredibly soft green hue filled the dark sky. Great experience. I too want to see the dancing curtain!

Dark skies… we can get fairly dark skies in the mountains, but the thin air also helps improve the sky quality for good Astro imaging. Here’s a sample of one I did from my backyard.

[BF004]

That is amazing.

I have a decent telescope that I can attach my dslr to that I’ve never figured out. Always want someone to walk me through the process. No idea where to start.


Do you live near GB?

[salmar80]

2nd day of work, and I managed to troll a Bears fan.

She thought she was safe, traveling to Finland to avoid ridicule after last week's game.... Little did she know, Packers fans are everywhere...

Got to give her a heartfelt "I'm soooo sorry about last weekend, madam.. I missed the game, what happened?", but didn't dare the "still own you" -line... Her "oh no" -face after I told her I was a Packers fan was priceless.

[GJPackerBacker]

That is amazing.

I have a decent telescope that I can attach my dslr to that I’ve never figured out. Always want someone to walk me through the process. No idea where to start.


Do you live near GB?

I’d be glad to help you out. I live in Western, CO.

The most important part of the set up is having a mount that will track properly. PM me and I’ll share more info with you.

Here’s another for your enjoyment…..maybe I should start a new thread. What do you think?

The Horsehead Nebula in Orion

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[APB]

Those photos are just incredible.

Incidentally, there was a Photo Thread started by [mention]BF004[/mention] awhile back that you could maybe revive. If you'd prefer the conversation to focus on space and the mysteries of the outer reaches beyond our terrestrial world, by all means start a new thread.

[paco]

Watching TV is becoming impossible. All Disney owned stations are now off of YouTube tv, including ABC and ESPN.

I switch to Hulu, I lose other stuff. I'm already paying extra for Philo so I can get History. We watch 5 different services regularly.

Almost considering going to Spectrum and ditch some of the streaming again. There is nowhere you can go to get everything that is reliable and doesn't cost a fortune or lock you into a contract.

[Drj820]

That disney and YTTV war playing out right when bowl season starts is insanely bad for YTTV. They already have baseball fans mad at them because they dropped the fox sports affiliates that play local games in most markets.

Ive dropped all of them and just use an antenna. I get SNF, fox games, and cbs games through that. MNF through casting the yahoo sports app, and i watch the other sports I want through bootleg dofu sports apps.

It works for me because i dont really watch any actual tv shows at all.

[paco]

I wish an antenna was an option for me, but it just isn't where I am. Plus, I rarely watch anything live, not even Packer games much anymore. So I need to be able to record.

For now, sticking with YTTV and will get the couple of shows we watch on ABC in Hulu a day or week later. If there is a game on ABC I'll have to figure out something else. But I don't think I'll need to worry about that this year, will I?

[wallyuwl]

Watching TV is becoming impossible. All Disney owned stations are now off of YouTube tv, including ABC and ESPN.

I switch to Hulu, I lose other stuff. I'm already paying extra for Philo so I can get History. We watch 5 different services regularly.

Almost considering going to Spectrum and ditch some of the streaming again. There is nowhere you can go to get everything that is reliable and doesn't cost a fortune or lock you into a contract.

I hear ya. The problem with Spectrum is their technology is sooooo bad. Even their internet based live TV app isn't good. YTTV is the best because of its interface and unlimited cloud dvr. But not happy about losing Disney stations. We had to sign up for a month of Sling to watch the Badgers in the national championship yesterday. Would go to Hulu but by the time you pay for extended cloud dvr and being able to skip commercials it is more $$$ than YTTV even with their price increase in August (since Hulu has had their own price increases).

The choices are much worse and more expensive than a couple years ago when we first cut the cord.