"This day in your history" thread

[The Carnivore]

Like the title says, this is for posting any events in your life that were notable to you. Some examples include a vacation you took, an event you witnessed, a promotion you got, a skill you mastered, a large prime you found, or major life milestones such as your birth date, graduation date, wedding date, or retirement date.

The only rule is that the event you posted has to have happened on this exact date sometime in the past. So for today, you can post an event that occurred on October 6, 1996 or on October 6, 2019, but you'd have to wait until December 10 to post an event that occurred on December 10, 2006.

Posts for the current year are allowed if they occurred earlier that day. For example, if you completed your first 100-mile bike ride at 4:00 PM on November 12, 2020, you can post it on 4:01 PM on November 12, 2020.

I'll start things off.

October 6, 2012 - first time I saw the Northern Lights.

[MooMoo2]

October 7, 2017: Found the world's oldest known living tree: https://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=22632

[MooMoo2]

October 11, 2019: First time signing a summit register and seeing a mountain shadow - https://www.mersenneforum.org/showpo...3&postcount=32

[MooMoo2]

October 13, 2018: Went up the Oregon dunes and tried sandboarding. It's a bit similar to snowboarding, but with some notable differences:

- going down a steep sand slope will give you the same speed as going down a shallow ski slope
- you need to keep waxing your sandboard, usually after every run
- there's no chair lift to take you to the top
- landing on sand hurts more than landing on fresh powder
- sandboards are much lighter and easier to get in/out of than snowboards

[LaurV]

Interesting. Nice photos. Can you attach a spinnaker or a pair of knickers to that plank, and let the wind help?

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

October 13, 2018: Went up the Oregon dunes and tried sandboarding. It's a bit similar to snowboarding, but with some notable differences:

- going down a steep sand slope will give you the same speed as going down a shallow ski slope
- you need to keep waxing your sandboard, usually after every run
- there's no chair lift to take you to the top
- landing on sand hurts more than landing on fresh powder
- sandboards are much lighter and easier to get in/out of than snowboards

Hmm, the wax must pick up sand and act as an ablative shield. Without it, the sand would probably wear away the board in fairly short order. The sandboarder would look down and say, "Where's my board? Waidaminnit. Where's my feet?"

It reminds me of a segment in the MAD Magazine TV satire, Wild World of Sports. The event was ski-jumping from a wooden ramp -- in the summer. The unfortunate contestant's skis were ignited by the friction. The announcer said next week's show would feature a fire fighting competition...

[Uncwilly]

[MooMoo2]

Originally Posted by LaurV

Interesting. Nice photos. Can you attach a spinnaker or a pair of knickers to that plank, and let the wind help?

Thanks! Is this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsurfing
what you're looking for?

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Hmm, the wax must pick up sand and act as an ablative shield. Without it, the sand would probably wear away the board in fairly short order. The sandboarder would look down and say, "Where's my board? Waidaminnit. Where's my feet?"

It reminds me of a segment in the MAD Magazine TV satire, Wild World of Sports. The event was ski-jumping from a wooden ramp -- in the summer. The unfortunate contestant's skis were ignited by the friction. The announcer said next week's show would feature a fire fighting competition...

Interesting. I tried a few runs without the wax, and it took an incredibly steep slope (more than 45 degrees?) to get that thing going. At least there's an ocean nearby if things started getting fiery!

[LaurV]

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

Thanks! Is this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsurfing
what you're looking for?

I was thinking more like this, but without the wheels. , but yes, you provided the key word for searching.

[MooMoo2]

October 21, 2020: Today is my last or second last power of 2 birthday

[xilman]

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

October 21, 2020: Today is my last or second last power of 2 birthday

I am hoping that next year is my second-last.

It will require extraordinarily good luck or a plausible but (IMO) unlikely advance in medical technology.

In practice I want to survive until well into 2061 or, second-best, 2069 which may be rather less achievable but certainly possible. The reason is left as an exercise for the reader.