Rodger Pettichord

Thanks for the holiday cheer, Iian. And the same back to you and family and special feline!

Lots of goodies here, Adam. Thanks.

As far as I can remember, the only truly exotic creature I have handled in the wild was a venomous cone snail in Okinawa. These little critters can poke you with a stinger and cause awful consequences and even death. I had picked one up while reef-walking only to have a companion knock it out of my hand. I had no clue but thank goodness he did.

Thanks for the catch-up, Nick. Glad you found it.

Talk about a labor of love. Really special. Thanks, Graeme!

Gotta be a two-man award -- Nick and Iain

Thanks, Adam. Quite a variety.

Hi all. Thinking of Santa's reindeer makes me think of exotic animals in general. Which reminds me of the time I swung a baby gorilla by its hand while I hung over the lip of the gorilla enclosure at the San Diego zoo. The little guy sucked its thumb and swung contentedly while mom looked on with approval and horrified zoo officials came running. One of my life's best moments. And that leads to this week's topic. THIS WEEK'S MEANINGLESS TOPIC: What exotic animal, reptile, insect, or fish have you actually laid hands on?

Thanks, Adam. Nice variety.

Please tell me this is a YouTube channel guy and not you, Adam. If it's you, I'm insanely jealous! 🙃

One of those guys lives in our apartment complex and pulls out every morning at 5:00 am.

Good stuff new to me. Thanks, Nick!

I'm making a list of all these suggestions and hope to fly them soon. My flight computer is being upgraded to a 4TB hard drive, so I am grounded for a bit. But these suggested trips are too good to miss--I'll get there!

Only you, Adam, would find this. Now I suppose Gumby will teach Monkey Bibi to drink beer and invite him to the Forum. 😉

Looks like what we just had here in Spokane, Iain. Very pretty but chilly. Hope you are nice and warm!

Holiday flights without the airport hassles. Thanks, Adam.

Interesting videos. Great for today's snowed-in stay-at-home. Thanks, Adam.

A giant, intricate dance. Think of all the intertwined jobs it takes. Wow. Thanks, Adam.

[NOTE: thanks to all for the pats on the back last week. Coming from this bunch of rascals, they mean the world to me. Much appreciated! RP] Hi all. As we move into the busiest season of the year, flight simming can take on a special role. It can allow us to take a break from the hustle and demand and have a few minutes in the serenity of an aerial getaway. I, for example, like to fly from the Tacoma Narrows airport southwest of Seattle down to Troutdale just east of Portland, Oregon. The short trip parallels the Cascades and the Olympics and shows off most of the volcanoes sprouting from the mountain ranges. Beautiful and peaceful! And that brings up this week's topic. WEEK'S MEANINGLESS TOPIC: Suggest a short VFR flight in your home territory that would be relaxing to fly while also showing us a bit of where you live.

Like Iain and family, my wife and I no longer go to much fuss. We are alone, so it doesn't make much sense to put decorations up just to look at them and then take them down again. We put up a string of lights on the outdoors patio rail, and a string of lights on a bookshelf indoors, and call it enough. I will say we do enjoy the homes that do go all out, so if you are one of those, thanks!

Nicest thing to happen in years. Thank you, Nick, and all who said yes.😇

Thanks for the kindness, John. What a great group of guys we have here, yes?

Some musicians are so good they count other musicians as fans. Beck was one of those. Thanks, Adam!

Sympathies and support for those with family affected by the fires near Perth, Australia. Hoping all works out well.

Hi all. Over the years, I've been lucky enough to experience a number of different kinds of work. I liked and took pride in them all, and I now enjoy fond memories of them and the people I worked with. My list is -- farm laborer, grounds maintenance crew, factory basic laborer, skilled factory worker, night watchman, university lecturer, university administrator, and parish clergyman. And that leads to this week's topic. THIS WEEK'S MEANINGLESS TOPIC: What jobs have you held in your lifetime?