I haven’t posted here in a while. The main reason being that I am currently stationed at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. I’ve been here for the past few months and am preparing to redeploy to New Zealand in about 2 weeks.

I’ve been keeping a blog about my experiences over here at ICE with lots of photos and details of the trip! Feel free to check it out.

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So, this past Monday, a friend and I visited one of the local Atlas-D missile sites in the Cheyenne vicinity.

The site originally looked similar to the following photos when it was operational. (Photos borrowed from www.siloworld.com). They were called “Coffin Top” launchers due to the fact that the missile lay flat in the bunker, rather than vertically in a typical underground “silo”. This specific site was designated 565-B and was attached to the 565th Strategic Missile Squadron out of F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

Many thumb-nailed pictures and embedded video behind the cut!

Normally, I’d prefer to do a more in depth article on this site and some of the fascinating history of the US Ballistic Missile program, however I’m moving out of the country in a week and I need to spend my time on more productive things - like packing.

During the past twenty years, the site was used for a failed recycling operation which resulted in thousands of tires being left to rot on the site. Most of the tires were removed, however hundreds remain along with numerous other pieces of junk of unknown origin. Engine parts, discarded computers, pipes, drums of hazardous materials and other debris cover the entire property. Little of it (like the decomposing computer dating from the 1980s in the second photo below) relates to the site’s time as host to ICBMs. Many of the Atlas sites had parts scavenged and sold off to perform other duties, such as the tower in the photograph below hosting the sign to the Eagle’s Nest Bar, in Cheyenne. Few people know it started life as the erection tower for Atlas missiles, perhaps even at this location.

The Gate
At one time, a guard shack stood sentry over the access gate to the facility. Only its foundation remains.

The Launch Facilities
There are three launch facilities on the site. For ease of presentation I’ve combined photos from all three into one heading.

Outside:

The rear of the bunker.

Hundreds of tires lay piled up, ready to be shredded and recycled.

The main access door to one of the three launch buildings.

The missile exhaust trench, used to vent hot launch gasses away from the facility during liftoff.

The trench extends for quite a distance away from the launch building.

Interior:

A few dissected cars lay in the darkness of the main launch building, slowly accumulating pigeon droppings over the years..

Looking in the main door of the building.

The track for the missile erection apparatus.

An access door to the side of the building, bearing rusty bullet impacts.

A thrust pre-heat pipe.

An air conditioning unit for the launch building.

A number of leaking drums, no doubt carrying some sort of hazardous material, though I doubt it’s related to the function of the missile site.

A large tank once sat on mounts in this pit adjacent to the shielded launch building. Piping through missile fuel - in this case either the liquid oxygen oxidizer or kerosene - into the building for fueling.

The Launch Operations Building

Exterior:

More debris in front of the main entrance to the Launch Operations Building. The main blast door was blocked.

A cable/piping trench leads into the back of the Launch Operations Building.

The entry to the below ground portion of the bunker.

Interior:
The main blast door was blocked, so we were forced to enter the below-ground level through the stairway pictured above. That entrance was partially blocked by debris, however we made it inside where the little available lighting quickly faded into pitch black.

Though I didn’t notice it in the dim light of my flashlight at the time, this room appears to have been the location of a fire, probably long after the site was decommissioned.

The heat peeled the paint on the inside of the door, and scorched the window glass.

I doubt the alarm button was active when the safety glass was broken.

The Launch Operations Building was full of large rooms and with piping for a ceiling. Some of the rooms were full of junk and equipment related to the location’s second life as a failed business. Some, like this one, were mostly empty.

This stairwell led to the upper level of the facility, previously blocked by a locked blast door.

At the top of the stairs a desk and a soda vending machine were situated in a hallway. On the desk were some newspapers and magazines, all from different decades in the past.

From the hallway above the stairwell were a few stripped shower and restroom facilities.

This open blast door and damaged office door led to a large, dark room full of broken ceiling tiles, paper and other debris. It once most likely held computing equipment and command offices.

Some of the papers that littered the floor included a Remington Rand computer punch card, a page from a military technical manual, and a walk-through sheet dated May 1961, with the grease pencil still indicating status of “Launch Coolants Normal”.

A collection of hubcaps line the dark hallways of the upper level of the facility. One adjacent room contained refrigerators, washers and even some gas fireplaces lined up along the wall.

The Satellite Link

Exterior:

The mount for what I assume to be (based on the gear system and other associated debris at the site) a tracking antenna, probably for satellite communications. It was probably covered bya dome at one time. The insulation is falling off and blowing away in the Wyoming wind.

Interior:

View from below one of the tracking antenna mounts.

The catwalk has collapsed here.

The Shack
Next to the Operations building sits a dilapidated mobile home that was for at time used as an office by (I assume) whoever was running the recycling business.

A board with photos of vehicles for sale and names and contact numbers is yellow with age.

The living room is stale and dusty. Perhaps a Bob Ross original painting decorates the wall? I’m not holding my breath.

A bedside table in the bedroom holds a few religious mementos, a Gideon Bible and a stack of yellowed tabloid newspapers.

And finally the closet holds a few dreary suits. Too bad they’re not my size.

The Generator Building
A generator building and diesel storage tanks stand a distance away from the Operations Building.

The usual assortment of debris litters the parking area.

While inside, things are just as cluttered.

A Dictaphone unit, probably for recording voice communications sits among other unrelated trash.

A view past the diesel generator mounts and other trash claims the Wyoming prairie beyond the broken out windows.

The Microwave Building

Amazingly, after 40 years, the microwave antenna is still standing. The reflector at the top probably transferred signals from the ground to a command center on or near Warren Air Force Base, or perhaps another launch site.

Pigeons have found roost in pretty much every building except for the Operations Building.

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Okay folks, I feel this is very important and it involves each and every one of you, so you might want to listen up..

Now… I’m not the alarmist sort. I’m not the “conspiracy theorist” sort or the apocalyptic type. However, I AM someone that likes to be prepared for any eventuality, and that includes being prepared for MORE than we might consider “the worst”. I write this now, because it’s something that’s been on my heart for a while, and I think that now is the time to bring it up.

I would like everyone reading this to consider the following: how prepared are you for an emergency that would strip your access to everything you reply upon to live. This means family, transportation, food, shelter, employment, etc. Seriously, what would you do if you suddenly lost your ability to secure one or all of those things?

It may seem like an anachronistic question in this day and age of instant communications, SUVs, Craig’s List and Walmart. I’m guilty of falling into the complacency of that dismissal myself. However – THIS DISMISSAL CAN BE FATAL.

This was evidenced by the dead-horse-beaten events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. It can happen today, and it can happen to you. That proved it. With populations of urban centers in this country being as high as they are, and so many of those people in day-to-day reliance on the systems in place there, the potential for one event to cascade into catastrophe has, in my opinion, never been higher in this country.

So that leads us to one final conclusion – a conclusion that’s been lost with the reliance on society that’s developed as a result of adapting to an ever changing technological world. And that is, ultimately, when the chips are down (wait for it).

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF

The government, the Red Cross, your friends, your neighbors… in times of need they may all TRY to help. But again, as Katrina showed us, this is a LUXURY and BLESSING that should not and CANNOT be relied upon. Indeed it sometimes does more harm than good.

So here’s what I’m asking from you if you’re reading this: First – don’t blow off this warning as alarmist or fear-mongering. Indeed, there’s far less to fear if you’ve prepared (even a little bit) for some of these unforeseen possibilities. Second – take a little bit of time to think about alternatives to getting the things you need to live. This means knowing routes out of your population centers, talking to your family/friends about the whole “where to meet if something happens” gig, and deciding ahead of time on some contingencies. And third – once you’ve decided on things you might need in an emergency and don’t have, take a little bit of time and little bit of money to procure/arrange them in manageable increments. Most people wouldn’t have a problem spending 5 dollars per supermarket trip on some non-perishables to shove into the closet, or lamp oil and an oil lamp/candles. If you just take the time to think about it a LITTLE bit, and keep it in the back of your mind once in a while, you’ll have an edge up that could make a terrible event more manageable.

There, that’s my spiel! If you’re still reading, I’ll go into more detail on my own planning and reasoning behind why I feel this is important, and especially so right now.

First, I want to go over what I see as the basics. If you’re going to prepare (as I’ve mentioned) you ought to prepare for the worst. If something happens and you’re out of food for 3 days (because of say, a snow storm or an earth quake) you might be fine with what you’ve got in the pantry right then. But if it happens the day before you’re planning to head to the supermarket and your cupboard is bare, you’re kind of out of luck. And if something inconceivable happens that’s disrupts services longer than that? Weeks? A month? Things may occur that necessitate leaving your home for your own safety and wellbeing, and that should be something you’re prepared to face as well.

Basics:

Food - Most people in this world live off of rice and noodles and that sort of thing, so can we if we need to. Ramen is SO cheap, there’s not really any excuse not to keep a tonne of it around. Keep in mind what food you’re keeping stored because if you have to get up and move, you’re going to want to take it with you. MREs are nice, but they weigh a lot. So is SPAM.

Water - Most water can be made okay if you boil it first. That’s the cheapest way. Of course, you can do things like add a few drops of bleach, or buy portable filters and/or chemical treatment pills. If you’re planning on staying home and not going anywhere, it might be worth it to keep a few jugs of water in the closet with your food – but these go fast. Best to have another option too.

Clothing – you can usually take off clothes when you’re hot, but you can’t put them on when you’re cold if you don’t have them. Have at least 1 good “winter” jacket, even if you don’t live in an area that gets harsh winters. They’re harsher when you don’t have a choice but to be out in them. Also, one good set of wet weather gear is vital. A pancho will work if you want to sit and wait out a storm, but if you want to get anything DONE a downpour, you need a dedicated top/bottom durable rain suit. Good, strong, boots are a MUST. You can’t do ANYTHING if your feet are not in top shape.

Weapons – Some people are not comfortable around guns or other weapons. I respect this, however someone else may not. I would HEAVILY advise people to at least LEARN the basics of firearms operation, if not retain, train with and properly store one. We’re preparing for the worst here, and the worst may include you having to know how to use/deal with a weapon – whether you like it or not.

Camping gear – If you have to leave your home (and it may not be a choice) you’re going to need a least a shelter o keep you dry, a sleeping bag/blankets to keep your warm and stuff to prepare your food with. By FAR camping gear is designed to be more efficient and easier to transport than the equivalent household items. A basic tent, sleeping bag, mess kit will keep you FAR more comfortable than sleeping wrapped up in a thin blanket in the rain and all three can be had quite cheaply now days. This also includes anything else you’d usually take camping including toiletries, stuff for starting a fire, even a hatchet or trowel.

Literature - You might think it’s weird that I’m putting this under basics, but it really is vital. It all goes back to the preparation bit: things in an emergency are going to be a WHOLE lot easier on you if you’ve got courses of action plotted out ahead of time. And realistically, many of the resources we’d use to prepare are NOT going to be available when we need them unless we also plan ahead for that. The internet, TV, phones and even public libraries might not be available, even BEFORE the onset of a real crisis. So you either do without, or you sort/prepare/prioritize and keep that information with your other basics. Things to consider: maps (both road and topographic), medical guides including basic first aid and home medicine books, survival guides and books (these cover everything I’m writing about and more), nature guides (for identifying plants that might be edible/useful or insects/reptiles that may have bit you) and various know-how guides including vehicle manuals, woodworking and agriculture books that might be useful for longer duration emergencies.

Long term:

If we’re preparing for the worst, it may entail us being prepared with more exotic gear and/or skill sets. When I consider “advanced” preparation, I think of long term survival situations where you have to live and survive on your own, off the land, in hostile terrain.

Tools: - A good hatchet or axe is at the top of the list here. Not really an advanced item, but certainly necessary. A trowel/shovel for digging is also vital. You can also get into signaling mirrors, lasers and flares if you think you’ll be seeking rescue. Depending on your specialties and strengths, you might want to bring basic trade tools for skill sets that might be valuable. Basic tools for working on motor vehicles, communications gear, weapons, or woodworking kit. Fishing tackle is also a must.

Navigation: - GPS systems are easy and reliable. The drawback is that they rely on two things: batteries and satellites. Lose either one of those things and they’re no good at all. Proper navigation requires accurate maps of your area and a good compass. An orienteering course might be nice too, I need to learn more about this.

Weapons: - If you’re considering advanced and/or long term preparations, I’m going to assume you’ve gotten over any squeamishness regarding weapons. At this level they’re a must – whether for hunting or defense against wild animals and hostile persons. At the MINIMUM I would suggest a light and accurate .22lr rifle. .22 ammo is cheap, light and designed for taking small game. Easy meat on a regular basis. A hunting shotgun might also be a good idea if you have one, as you can take both fowl and larger game w/ buckshot and slugs. Larger caliber rifles are handy in a defensive role and if you plan on taking larger size game like bears or moose. I would argue that an assault rifle would not be out of the question. Its primary role, of course, would be defense of yourself and family against hostile persons. In a chaotic and possibly lawless atmosphere it is vital to advertise yourself as NOT a potential victim. Nothing says “we’re not victims” like a group of people armed with assault rifles. Displaying such weapons in an environment with an active military presence is to be avoided at all costs, however. Handguns also, are mostly useful in the role of personal defense unless you’ve got one designed specifically for hunting.

Communications: - Of course, your cell phone is going to be the first refuge, whether for seeking rescue or contacting friends and family. If the cell network is down, or you’re out of its effective range, then it’s not going to do you a whole heck of a lot of good. Emergency satellite phones are available now, and are actually somewhat affordable, but I wouldn’t invest in one unless you’re a globe trotter that needs that flexibility. Just like the GPS, the sat phones need both satellite and batteries, though some also work on cell networks. Handheld radios, even the FRS (Family Radio Service) radios are good ways to keep in communications with members of your party. Hand-held HAM radios have much greater range. Once again, most of these require battery power. A hand cranked shortwave system like the kinds used by remote posts in WWII would be ideal, but I’ve not looked into it.

My own personal plans:

If you can’t tell, I’ve put a lot of thought into this over the years. I have some very specific reasons I’ve begun to take it seriously again. I should make it clear again, I’m not fearmongering here, and I don’t expect anything catastrophic to happen in the near future, however there are things that make me want to prepare for the worst case with a little more urgency.

My own preparedness level is not yet where I’d like it to be, so I’m trying to take my own advice from above. Little by little, I plan on adding to what I have set aside for emergencies. I also have a pretty specific plan to collaborate with those I care about should things go down hill and if they don’t look as though they are going to recover any time soon. In situations such as these, banding together with like minded people can be vital to the survival and comfort of those involved. Different skills and strengths can be brought together in a disaster situation just as any society regrouping during chaos. Preparedness in this case is also a great benefit to the organization of such groups. I tend to think that I’m located in an optimum place from which to take the next steps should such a wide ranging collapse occur.  It definitely bears thinking about ahead of time.

Online resources - There’s plenty more that I’ve not covered here. There’s ALWAYS more to be covered. Here are a couple of good websites I’ve come across lately that impart some good information. The views expressed in these sites may not reflect my own. ; ) This subject is something I consider to be common sense for EVERY person on the planet, regardless of political affiliation or country. However, it can tend to attract some of the “dissident” sorts I don’t particularly subscribe to. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have some good information to impart.

Probably the best site I’ve found for down to earth wilderness survival. This guy’s got a lot of insight and detailed documents.
M4040.com

This guy is an expert forager and this site has good and precise information for getting food out of the wilderness.
Wild Man Steve!
This site has some more “revolutionary” inspired training and documentation, but a lot of good stuff for the average person to know as well.
Civilian Defense Force
This is a group that takes serious disaster preparedness and presents it against a somewhat whimsical backdrop of Zombie Apocalypse. (Are zombies whimsical?) They do a lot of charity work and seem to be good, down to earth people that like tohave fun while stressing being prepared for ANYTHING… even… well… the undead.

ZombieHunters.org

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Welcome to the Curiosity. Blog! This is my first post here and today I’m going to discuss a topic which may not seem to fit the description of “exploring the obscure” at first, but I think it may well yield some interesting surprises.

I’m going to talk about bird watching.

Bird watching? That’s hardly obscure. A 2006 survey found that there were 47.7 million birdwatchers in the United States. Some 20 million of these made trips away from home specifically for the purpose of viewing birds. Birdwatching, or “birding” is one of the biggest hobbies in the US.

Yet for non-birders there is undoubtedly a bit of mystery surrounding the more devoted faction of birdwatchers who usually refer to themselves as “birders”. What’s the big draw? Why spend so much time and energy just looking at birds? I mean, sure birds are lovely, but why all the fuss, fancy binoculars, spotting scopes, and field guides? Just what is it that drives some people to go out looking for birds rather than merely enjoying the ones they could see from their front porch?

Well, I can’t speak for all birders, as undoubtedly there are innumerable reasons why one would choose to become a birder. But I think one of the major underlying factors is simply that birds are cool. I won’t wax too poetic about the subject (I’ll leave that to the PBS documentaries), but I think even the least nature-oriented people on earth find birds inspiring to a certain extent. They’re just neat. Birds are everywhere, and they come in such variety of form, function, and yes, color. We can’t help but notice and be somewhat fascinated by them.

Before the advent of field guides (thanks for which is owed largely to the work of Roger Tory Peterson) if one wanted to identify or study a bird the standard method was to take a shotgun and shoot the bird out of the sky, at which point one could get down to the business of examining the features of the bird up close. There was an obvious problem with this method – namely the fact that a lot of birds were dying. But through these early efforts a knowledge base was built up, as well as large collections of bird skins which could be studied by both ornithologists and artists. It wasn’t until the 20^th century that bird watching became a pastime in its own right as field guides enabled anyone with a pair of binoculars – or even with their naked eyes – to be able to identify even the most obscure birds with a little practice.

That still doesn’t explain why some people devote so much effort to observing birds, though, does it?

Let’s explore the subject a little further.

It is my belief that the average non-birder probably recognizes more kinds of birds than they might think. Ponder for a moment, some birds that practically everybody knows. The Ostrich. The Emperor Penguin. The Bald Eagle. How about a toucan, a macaw, a swan, or a budgie? Of course the average American isn’t going to encounter most of these in the wild, so let’s think about some birds one might see without looking for them (for the purposes of this article, I’ll be talking about North American species as those are the ones I have personal experience with. The same principles apply wherever you happen to live, though).

I’m sure nearly everyone knows a pigeon when they see one. Most cities host a population of these, as pigeons like to nest on tall buildings. If you live in a city you’ve probably heard them referred to as “rats with wings” or something to that effect. Though if you live near a body of water perhaps that moniker belongs to “sea gulls”, instead. Gulls are another easily recognizable bird, though perhaps not everyone realizes that there are actually many different types of birds that we call “sea gulls”. In fact, there is no species known as the Sea Gull! But we won’t get into that just now.

Some other birds that Americans might know include the Crow, the American Robin, the House Sparrow (they’re the little birds you see hopping about in the Wal-Mart parking lot), the Starling, the Mallard, the Canada Goose… What about some more localized birds? The Chickadee, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Blue Bird, Magpie, Mockingbird, and Mourning Dove. This is getting to be quite a list!

There are some other quite common birds that you may not see very often or may not quite know how to recognize. though they are still “familiar” birds. The Barn Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Flicker, Great Blue Heron, Junco, Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Nighthawk, House Wren, Killdeer, Cormorant and plenty of others, depending on your location.

Getting into still more advanced territory, there are some birds that you probably wouldn’t notice if you’re not a birdwatcher – in fact many people probably haven’t heard of these birds, though they are not uncommon. This includes

species such as the Song Sparrow, the Chipping Sparrow, the Cedar Waxwing, the White-breasted Nuthatch, the Spotted Sandpiper, the Eastern and Western Kingbirds, the Yellow-rumped Warbler, the Cooper’s Hawk and many others.

There are plenty more “intermediate” birds – ones that might turn up at feeders but most of us don’t see on a daily basis. Many of these are very colorful, lovely birds, such as tanagers, grosbeaks, buntings, and finches. Others we might catch a fleeting glimpse of in a park, as is the case with most warblers.

But then there are the true obscurities – the challenging birds that tend to separate the serious birders from those with merely a casual interest. And here, perhaps, lies one of the answers to the question of what makes those devoted birders tick.

Identifying the birds is one of the inherant pleasures of bird watching. We love to simply watch the birds, true, but we also like to know just what sort of birds we are looking at – hence the lists I gave in the previous few paragraphs. One of the keys to identification are “field marks” - distinguishing visual characteristics. Song is another key, range another, and behaviour yet another. At times, however, the differences between bird species can be quite subtle. Some are so subtle, in fact, that experts have often disagreed as to whether or not two birds belong to different species or are merely variants of the same These puzzles seem to attract birders, which is why birders spend a lot of time discussing the differences in songs among various species of identical-looking flycatchers, working out the yearly molts of juvenile gulls, and comparing the bill-lengths on shorebirds. But confusing species are perhaps not quite as attractive to birders as rare birds.

Rare birds are like the holy grail of birding. People will actually flock (not unlike the birds themselves) from hundreds of miles around to the site where a rare bird was spotted in hopes of catching a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse.

But what are these “rare birds”? Well, that depends mostly on where you are. Because while some birds genuinely are less numerous than others, rarity is largely a relative thing. For instance, it wouldn’t be a big deal to see a Eurasian Blackbird if you’re in England. But it would be a very big deal if you’re in New York. That blackbird would be very out of place, and therefore a “rarity” for where it was spotted (in reality, there is only one North American record of a Eurasian Blackbird – and that was a dead specimen found in Newfoundland). To give a less dramatic example, the Gyrfalcon, an arctic species, always draws a lot of attention when it turns up in the US, which it does on a somewhat regular basis. The same goes for the Snowy Owl, another tundra bird.

Now, as I mentioned above, some species truly are rare no matter where you look for them, and these species can get birder’s hearts pounding, too. For instance, the Rosy-finches of the Rocky Mountains have very limited ranges. I don’t think I probably even need to mention the nearly-extinct Whooping Crane – but I will anyway. The McKay’s Bunting only breeds on a couple of islands in the Bering Sea, and the Kirtland’s Warbler breeds only in stands of young Jack Pine trees in northern Michigan. These birds are of interest not merely because they are difficult to observe because of limited ranges, but also because some such birds are in danger of extinction.

This leads us to another factor of increasing interest to birders: ecology. Birders, though not as expert as trained ornithologists, generally have something of an interest in the science of birds, which includes understanding their behaviours, migration routes, and habitat needs – factors which play heavily into the conservation of rare species. While birds, in general, are very good at adapting to their environment, there are many species which have become highly specialized and which may not be able to survive if their preferred habitat or food source is threatened. Understanding birds is the first step to protecting them, and observing the birds is the first step to understanding them.

So, we’ve talked about the challenges of identification, the thrill of sighting rarities, the concerns of conservation, and the fact that birds are just plain nifty. There are, without a doubt, many other factors which appeal to birders. Perhaps it’s a feeling of “communing with nature”. Perhaps it’s relaxation. Perhaps it’s competition (it’s easy enough to make birding into a game of “let’s see how many new birds I can add to my life list this year”). But whatever it is, there seems to be a certain kinship among birders – an understanding that brings us together. We all love birds. Does anybody really need a better reason than that?

I could write a lot more on the subject – and perhaps I will - but I’ll let that be another post for another day.

- Gloria Pike -

Sources and additional links:

- National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North American (Fifth Edition) - by Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer ISBN-13: 978-0792253143

- http://www.narba.org/

- http://pages.cthome.net/rwinkler/survey.htm

- http://www.bornagainbirdwatcher.com/2007/11/477-million-bird-watchers.html

- http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/

- http://www.attractwildbirds.com/identifybirds/most-common.htm

- http://www.rtpi.org/

- http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

- http://whatbird.com/

- http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/

- http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html

Photo credits:

- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Vermivora_celata2.jpg

- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Piranga_ludoviciana2.jpg

- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Audubon-gyrfalcon.jpg

- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Budgie_1.jpg

- All other photos (c) Devon Pike.

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Greetings! This is the Curiosity. Blog. I hope to add more spontaneous and less finished articles than in the magazine. This is one of the things that’s held up any forward production through this point. Hopefully this will help jumpstart the creativity of some participants (myself included) and distribute content more efficiently.

In conclusion, have a hedgehog in a rusted stahlhelm.

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