Discussion: Yeah, when I saw that first...
in: PG; PG > 2007-10-16
Oct 17, 2007 1:24 AM
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Yeah, when I saw that first photo, I said to myself: "That's not the snowhole." I ran out there--and past--any number of tiimes while I was working on that map.
Oct 17, 2007 6:28 AM
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Years ago, lonely summer working at the Post Office in UP of Michigan, I found a similar 'snow hole'. 80 degrees in July, and there was still significant ice well under the lip. It was in Iron Mountain, probably on private iron mining property. Impressive.
Zan and Ross should be able to update you on Hopkins Forest. For work study, they both got to teach PE O' course at Williams - not sure of maps used. Good beer at the Purple Pub.
Zan and Ross should be able to update you on Hopkins Forest. For work study, they both got to teach PE O' course at Williams - not sure of maps used. Good beer at the Purple Pub.
Oct 17, 2007 12:44 PM
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SLOC made a map of Powder Valley Nature Preserve and when we went to put on a meet there we found that we a) couldn't collect entry fees, b) couldn't leave the trails, and c) weren't really very welcome even if we abided by a & b. So, the map has gone to waste. The strange part is that the map was funded by MO Dept. of Conservation which owns Powder Valley. You'd think they'd get there story straight before slapping down the cash for a map, but then most things the government does make very little economic sense.
Oct 17, 2007 4:01 PM
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That map has been used for orienteering!!! Ross and I taught orienteering PE courses while at Williams and we both took kids up there for two sessions per course (the other 4 sessions included on-campus which wasn't a true orienteering map but was good for practicing finding stuff and orienting and all that) and a state park in New York on route 2 I think that was really nice for setting a good orange course. Some of the students from those classes competed at various intercollegiate US champs while Ross and I were at Williams.
The land owned by Williams actually extends further than is covered by the map, up into Vermont and includes the tri-state marker at the borders of Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. There is also a spring up there that is drinkable (at least a few years ago) without purificiation (although I wouldn't go around drinking from springs without asking Williams Outing Club director Scott Lewis which one it is first).
Additionally, I used extra copies of that map to review/teach "slope" to my Pre-Calculus classes when I was teaching in Maine. Because the hillside is relatively even slope, it made a great map for this purpose. I even included a section across one of the cliffs as an example of undefined slope.
The run from the entrance to Hopkins forest, up to the Taconic Crest trail, along the trail, and back down a trail closer to the road (Triple R brooks maybe? Ross could say) and all the way to Williamstown was one of my favorites and one of the hardest I've ever done. Nice views on the top though when you drop down from the hill through a clearing filled with blueberry bushes.
Plus... I've been to the snowhole in the picture. It had snow when I was there in the summer of 2003.
The land owned by Williams actually extends further than is covered by the map, up into Vermont and includes the tri-state marker at the borders of Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. There is also a spring up there that is drinkable (at least a few years ago) without purificiation (although I wouldn't go around drinking from springs without asking Williams Outing Club director Scott Lewis which one it is first).
Additionally, I used extra copies of that map to review/teach "slope" to my Pre-Calculus classes when I was teaching in Maine. Because the hillside is relatively even slope, it made a great map for this purpose. I even included a section across one of the cliffs as an example of undefined slope.
The run from the entrance to Hopkins forest, up to the Taconic Crest trail, along the trail, and back down a trail closer to the road (Triple R brooks maybe? Ross could say) and all the way to Williamstown was one of my favorites and one of the hardest I've ever done. Nice views on the top though when you drop down from the hill through a clearing filled with blueberry bushes.
Plus... I've been to the snowhole in the picture. It had snow when I was there in the summer of 2003.
Oct 17, 2007 4:40 PM
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"Some" might be on mark. "Most" seems like quite a stretch. There's a fantastic amount of mis-spent money in the corporate world too. Consider only some of the sums given to executive pay. I'm not sure where the greatest amounts of waste would usually be found, but the wholly bizarre misadventure underway in Iraq probably gives the advantage to the government these days.
Oct 18, 2007 12:09 AM
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They need updating. Lots of new ruins, pits, and dead autos on the map. :(
Oct 18, 2007 12:02 PM
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"Most" seems like quite a stretch.
Well, I suppose it depends on what you mean by "economic sense". I was using the term in the strictly free-market sense meaning that if the government didn't do it, one could reasonably expect the private sector to pick up the ball and do at least as good a job. I don't think that's true for most of what the government does. That's not necessarily good or bad. My point is that government agencies aren't really in tune with the whole Return on Investement concept because that's not how they justifiy their budgets. That sometimes leads to incredibly stupid expenditures. That can certainly happen in the private sector as well, but it's much more likely that someone's head winds up on a platter as a result.
Well, I suppose it depends on what you mean by "economic sense". I was using the term in the strictly free-market sense meaning that if the government didn't do it, one could reasonably expect the private sector to pick up the ball and do at least as good a job. I don't think that's true for most of what the government does. That's not necessarily good or bad. My point is that government agencies aren't really in tune with the whole Return on Investement concept because that's not how they justifiy their budgets. That sometimes leads to incredibly stupid expenditures. That can certainly happen in the private sector as well, but it's much more likely that someone's head winds up on a platter as a result.
This discussion thread is closed.