Noob Gragz says 'helloo'

[GafferGragz]

That is part of a quotation by a former winning NASCAR driver.
Nitro, in case you haven't noticed, is a reference to nitromethane, a motorfuel used in topfuel dragracing.

I am an active NHRA participant where at the end of each heat, no matter how well a strategy was planned or what you did all day, there are only two categories, winners and losers.
No one ever remembers the name of who came in second place

I first sniff the cent of nitro at a RC-car event. And yes, a huge hemi idling nitromethane is a glorious experience. How the damn thing survive the max torque stage is another story.

The quote is old, and been thought about by philosophers for some thousand years. I'm no stranger to glorification of 'idols' as Norway is mad for ski-events and the winners. The point is that your 'second' is as interesting as 'tree' that you indicated as a winner of something.

Cheers

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I first sniff the cent of nitro at a RC-car event. And yes, a huge hemi idling nitromethane is a glorious experience. How the damn thing survive the max torque stage is another story.

The quote is old, and been thought about by philosophers for some thousand years. I'm no stranger to glorification of 'idols' as Norway is mad for ski-events and the winners. The point is that your 'second' is as interesting as 'tree' that you indicated as a winner of something.

Cheers

We have a large Norwegian population here in Northern Michigan. The Sons of Norway helps sponsor Ski for Light, a X-C competition for blind skiers. One year I guided a skier on the 10k course. It was demanding, but a great experience.

 

[GafferGragz]

We have a large Norwegian population here in Northern Michigan. The Sons of Norway helps sponsor Ski for Light, a X-C competition for blind skiers. One year I guided a skier on the 10k course. It was demanding, but a great experience.

That's so cool. And yes, lots of Norwegians did emigrate. Almost nothing is flat here, and the parts that do be flat are often soggy or a boulder field, or a lake, or just plain old rock. The population exploded, thanks to soap as everywhere, so within a generation or two the population was doubled. Luckily there was space in the US. I have a feeling that only Ireland had a higher percentage that emigrated!?

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I've seen a documentary with samples as nice as your avatar, they was from North Africa or Asia Minor (my memory is really bad). And I seem to remember with crazy diversity at the cite. To me the most interesting part of the trilobite history is their eye evolution (or even coevolution)

Cheers
GG

Two years ago I joined a group of geologists and interested amateurs on a trip through the anti-Atlas of Morocco. There I met a young preparator and now he is helping me acquire at least one genus from each family from the Devonian. This will go to a local college or University.

I am as amazed at you about trilobite eyes. There are benthic species with an amazing number of lenses on the eye turrets that also have a ridge along the top to act as a sunshade. Here is Erbenochile. Not enough resolution in this pic, but each file on the eye has about 18 lenses with over 500 lenses per eye.

 

[GafferGragz]

Two years ago I joined a group of geologists and interested amateurs on a trip through the anti-Atlas of Morocco. There I met a young preparator and now he is helping me acquire at least one genus from each family from the Devonian. This will go to a local college or University.

I am as amazed at you about trilobite eyes. There are benthic species with an amazing number of lenses on the eye turrets that also have a ridge along the top to act as a sunshade. Here is Erbenochile. Not enough resolution in this pic, but each file on the eye has about 18 lenses with over 500 lenses per eye.
View attachment 76935

What a perfect little thing. oh my goodness. And the large structure to support the eye/brain. A relative to this one is the one that started my fascination, it had even more shade structure than this.
It makes my brain rumble on about habitat and pray/predator.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

That's so cool. And yes, lots of Norwegians did emigrate. Almost nothing is flat here, and the parts that do be flat are often soggy or a boulder field, or a lake, or just plain old rock. The population exploded, thanks to soap as everywhere, so within a generation or two the population was doubled. Luckily there was space in the US. I have a feeling that only Ireland had a higher percentage that emigrated!?

I have always wondered at the xenophobia of many Americans. I grew up in a Polish enclave in Detroit and appreciate what other cultures bring to my nation. I was astounded once when visiting the Korean War memorial in Washington DC. there was an Indian man and young boy and I overheard him say; ". . . you must learn this, son, because you are an American now."

 

[clg114]

That is part of a quotation by a former winning NASCAR driver.
Nitro, in case you haven't noticed, is a reference to nitromethane, a motorfuel used in topfuel dragracing.

I am an active NHRA participant where at the end of each heat, no matter how well a strategy was planned or what you did all day, there are only two categories, winners and losers.
No one ever remembers the name of who came in second place

This is very, very true. Ask any racer. No one enters a race to finish in second place. Without this mindset, you can not win.

 

[Gerontius]

This is very, very true. Ask any racer. No one enters a race to finish in second place. Without this mindset, you can not win.

Another mindset that applies to many things is - "I do not fail; I either win, or learn." That one takes a certain amount of unfashionable yet necessary humility, for the lesson to sink in and be any good. You have to be able to look at yourself & say "Well I had that one coming."

Then the other good maxim is "He laughs best who laughs last." The solid B student who makes it through college, while the ones who were so smart they never developed study skills are burning out early on, has a much more satisfying college career.

 

[GafferGragz]

I have always wondered at the xenophobia of many Americans. I grew up in a Polish enclave in Detroit and appreciate what other cultures bring to my nation. I was astounded once when visiting the Korean War memorial in Washington DC. there was an Indian man and young boy and I overheard him say; ". . . you must learn this, son, because you are an American now."

The xenophobia is built in so to speak, we are hard wired to handle groups up to 100-120 persons (like a village). I think this is why groups tend to form, people feel uncomfortable outside of their 'group'. This causes lots of problems. Some people always manage to grab a leader role, and harmful ideas get roots like from racial thinking where there in fact is only one race, that some religious thinking has to be followed with no good logical reason etc etc. Well, maybe
Many look at the US as an ideal society, the father from a caste ruled place feels it important to point out that their new freedom has a duty attached to it.

For me, freedom of speech without having to stand responsible for what you have said is mysterious. Snake oil sale galore.

 

[Luca]

Someone else from Norway, cool!
(I am not Norwegian, but I have a Norwegian friend on here that I asked to teach me about Scandinavia, since I would like to go there. I am hoping to learn to speak Norwegian as well!)

I agree with what has been said about xenophobia, etc in America. I’m a person of color living in a small, relatively conservative town. Won’t go too much into that on here though but I have discussed my personal experiences with racism before.

Anyways, I don’t want to ramble too much, but it’s very nice to meet you and I hope you like it here!
I’m looking forward to learning more about your beautiful country as well.
- Luca

 

[GafferGragz]

Hii there Luca. Norway is not more or less anything than anywhere else maybe except its geography is often spectacular. A kilometre (3000ft) or 3 of ice tend to leave the landscape oddly shaped The US has a lot of this wild beauty up north shared with Canada. But the beauty of natural landscape is everywhere (maybe not the step, its green and mostly flat but one start to wonder what history made it so flat and what is hidden of history below).

Cheers

PS! I struggle to understand why people put in what colour they are. I know and understand most of the history behind it. It make me feel that I need to present myself as half viking half irish bc of something happening in the past. I feel humanity have a lot of thinking tools that need to be updated, and better language to express it in.

 

[Luca]

Hii there Luca. Norway is not more or less anything than anywhere else maybe except its geography is often spectacular. A kilometre (3000ft) or 3 of ice tend to leave the landscape oddly shaped The US has a lot of this wild beauty up north shared with Canada. But the beauty of natural landscape is everywhere (maybe not the step, its green and mostly flat but one start to wonder what history made it so flat and what is hidden of history below).

Cheers

PS! I struggle to understand why people put in what colour they are. I know and understand most of the history behind it. It make me feel that I need to present myself as half viking half irish bc of something happening in the past. I feel humanity have a lot of thinking tools that need to be updated, and better language to express it in.

I think Norway is beautiful and would love to visit someday
We have beautiful scenery where I live too though.

I didn’t mean anything weird or offensive by saying what race I am… I’m just used to having to say it, I guess, because where I live it’s unusual to be anything other than white, and I am very frequently asked/questioned about what my racial background is… I guess that’s another thing that’s been conditioned by having to deal with systemic racism in my country
I like to blend in and just be myself though I think people should stop caring so much about the differences between all of us and it’s sad that people feel like they have to interrogate me about it. So I suppose I’m just used to saying it. Does that make sense?

 

[GafferGragz]

I think Norway is beautiful and would love to visit someday
We have beautiful scenery where I live too though.

I didn’t mean anything weird or offensive by saying what race I am… I’m just used to having to say it, I guess, because where I live it’s unusual to be anything other than white, and I am very frequently asked/questioned about what my racial background is… I guess that’s another thing that’s been conditioned by having to deal with systemic racism in my country
I like to blend in and just be myself though I think people should stop caring so much about the differences between all of us and it’s sad that people feel like they have to interrogate me about it. So I suppose I’m just used to saying it. Does that make sense?

Thanks for your reply, I did for sure not take offence, and didn't give offence intentionally. And you did educate me by telling you feel conditioned to do it. The generation older than me felt conditioned to be polite to priests and doctors and directors etc. And they would be scared by anyone from outside of Norway. And never to be critical to a belief system. But with proper ethical thinking in the school system we learned to think and get better thinking tools. So today everybody has a better value than before.

Personally I'm always curious about people and their life and culture, so when I see people that are friendly and obviously not from my town (ie language not native) I tend to ask things bc I'm a horribly curious entity.
But people sadly tend to be shy about anything else than their nationality.
It make me happy to know that I've spoken to people from US, England, Germany, Poland, Holland, Eritrea, Mozambique, Persia, Thailand, Portugal, Japan, China, etc etc.

Be yourself sounds like ideal to me

Cheers

 

[Luca]

Thanks for your reply, I did for sure not take offence, and didn't give offence intentionally. And you did educate me by telling you feel conditioned to do it. The generation older than me felt conditioned to be polite to priests and doctors and directors etc. And they would be scared by anyone from outside of Norway. And never to be critical to a belief system. But with proper ethical thinking in the school system we learned to think and get better thinking tools. So today everybody has a better value than before.

Personally I'm always curious about people and their life and culture, so when I see people that are friendly and obviously not from my town (ie language not native) I tend to ask things bc I'm a horribly curious entity.
But people sadly tend to be shy about anything else than their nationality.
It make me happy to know that I've spoken to people from US, England, Germany, Poland, Holland, Eritrea, Mozambique, Persia, Thailand, Portugal, Japan, China, etc etc.

Be yourself sounds like ideal to me

Cheers

Thanks for your reply as well, and I agree
Thank you for joining here. You seem to be a very kind soul

 

[GafferGragz]

Thank you all. At the moment I'm depleted, brain fogged and emotionally raw. Its nice to be among so many interesting people but also so draining.

Cheers