Hobby Thread - February 21, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) a spin and it landed on panning for gold.

[Top photo:Alaskan miner panning for gold, 1916. Library of Congress collection]

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What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. Discussion of current events, religion and politics can elsewhere. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

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Do you have gold fever? Have you ever prospected for gold? Are you wise in the ways of gold panning?

Are you fascinated by gold mines and the history of gold mining?

Is there gold or gold history nearby your location?

I have never panned for gold (mostly because of my dino short arms), but I am fascinated by mining. Mines are typically in off the beaten path places and the underground has the ever-present mystery of what lies inside. They hold history, promise, and mixtures of success and heartbreak.

Professional mining operations are gigantic, but hobbyists still pick at rocks and pan for gold dust and nuggets along riverbanks.

Panning for gold uses a dish full of gravel and water to sift off the lighter material and keep the heavier (and more valuable) material. Obviously, there is a lot to knowing what material is likely to have gold and where to find the material and then go through the labor of sifting through for tiny gold flakes.

If trapped in ore, the ore must be crushed, filtered, and smelted to separate and refine it.

Knowing nothing, I've selected content that seemed reasonably informative and entertaining and low in clickbait channels ("YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH GOLD I FOUND!!!!!). Looking for commenters to help out with wisdom and knowledge.

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This is a great intro video with a lot more knowledge than just equipment:

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Dan the Prospector shows how to pan (and he looks the part):

Here's another tutorial:

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This is quite a set-up and shows the full process. Think this guy is in Washington. This is a profession rather than a hobby but think he sells raw ore for hobbyists to crush their own rock. He is not panning along a riverbank but pulling rock out of mountain seams that has embedded gold.

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One thing that surprised me when doing the research for this post is the scattered locations people find gold. It is not just in the mountains out west or Alaska. This guy is panning in Virginia:

and previously checked out Alabama:

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Lake Superior? Apparently there is gold in the sand.

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Gold mining has been increasingly regulated in Australia. One recent development is limiting the use of pumps to sort gravel, so this guy is trying out a manual rocker box. What's a rocker box? Click and find out.

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On January 24, 1848, while supervising of a sawmill, James Marshall found flakes of gold in the South Fork American River. The mill was being built for Col. John Sutter. The discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in California kicked off the gold rush. The original sawmill looked like this:

The Smithsonian now has the first gold flakes discovered at Sutter's Mill. The sawmill failed when the able-bodied men abandoned the project to search for gold and prospectors overran the land.

Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States

In the rocky sediment of Nevada's deserts
Along the American River in California
Throughout the Alaskan Yukon River
In former Colorado mining hot spots
In Arizona's Lynx Creek

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Rockhounding is a hobby, but polishing rocks into spheres is a niche. Grinding and polishing machines are roughly three drills with polishing cups aligned in a triangle with a rock in the middle. Never seen one in real life and they look a little like a mad scientist alchemy contraption, but apparently they are a thing. I've seen spheres of wood turned on a lathe but this is a completely different program. Anyone familiar with this?

This home built rig combines mad scientist and mad max together:

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Horde Hobbying

This does not strictly count as Horde Hobbying, but last week's stained glass thread triggered a note from matteiglass to the Hobby Thread email inbox. Glass is a profession and he has decades of leaded glass experience. He did restoration of church windows, had a studio, and created large scale windows for clients. He has taken commission and done pieces on spec.

Perhaps he'll jump in and tell more of his story.

In the meantime, gaze upon this piece titled "The Soul of the Rose" which portrays the painting by John Waterhouse. It took over 1,000 hours. Click on the painting for the studio's website with many other marvelous pieces.

Thank you!

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an stained glass theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

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Notable comments from last week:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

***

If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 The best place to find gold is in people's teeth!

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:31 PM (uQesX)

2 Read the content...
First

Posted by: Reforger at February 21, 2026 05:32 PM (onCFI)

3 I commented first....
Then read the content.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:33 PM (uQesX)

4 There are gold flakes in the rocks/gravel all around our place.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 21, 2026 05:34 PM (lpVer)

5 There was probably more money made selling gold mining equipment to miners than they made in mining.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:39 PM (uQesX)

6 I had a friend whose husband was into amateur prospecting although I think he was more into the idea of it than the actual activity. He would say "Dear, someday I'll bring you a nugget the size of a canned ham." And she would reply "Dear, I would be happy if you bring me a nugget that would buy a canned ham."

Posted by: Oddbob at February 21, 2026 05:39 PM (Fs0KI)

7 I like the pipe the guy in the top pic is sporting.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 05:40 PM (wzUl9)

8 NEW gold mining equipment (on almost any scale) is very expensive.

If you get bitten by the gold bug and are moderately handy, then used equipment is much cheaper.

Obviously cheap and "good value" are more likely to be synonymous when you can directly examine the main components of any piece of equipment ... from a small Keene test sluice up to a Cat D8 dozer.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at February 21, 2026 05:40 PM (HlyYF)

9 4 There are gold flakes in the rocks/gravel all around our place.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 21, 2026 05:34 PM

And if you move further west into California, then there are flakes in all of the governmental buildings.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at February 21, 2026 05:42 PM (HlyYF)

10 That glass panel is beyond amazing.

Posted by: Oddbob at February 21, 2026 05:42 PM (Fs0KI)

11 My current hobby is running around The Shire in Lord of the Rings Online, delivering mail (avoiding nosey hobbits) and returning spoiled pies (avoiding hungry hobbits).

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:44 PM (ESVrU)

12 Too bad Inspector is napping. He used to go gold panning, I think in Wyoming, with one of his relatives. Unfortunately, I don't know any details.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at February 21, 2026 05:44 PM (lFFaq)

13 Treasure of the Sierra Madre?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 05:45 PM (zZu0s)

14 Panning is one of the best ways to entertain kids when camping in my area. I have little pans and medium pans for them. Once one finds a chunk they all get gold fever. I sort of do too in that I'll go get the sluce box and hit the area pretty hard. I'd say over the years I've panned maybe five or six grams. Just for fun. My son took the little bottle I kept it in a few years ago and does it with my grands quite a bit. He has a rotary pan that has riffles in a spiral pattern and spins. Spitting all the overburden out the middle. Leaves the gold at the bottom.
The river near me was panned to death during the Comstock boom but there have been a few floods since then and there are some pretty rich areas. You ain't going to make a living at it but it's fun.

Posted by: Reforger at February 21, 2026 05:46 PM (onCFI)

15 the greatest movie of all time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s2LsGn5nbE

Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot at February 21, 2026 05:47 PM (jrgJz)

16 This hobby has an anime: Ruri Rocks.

"Cute Girls doing Cute Mineralogy."

They go panning for gold in episode 2.

Posted by: mikeski at February 21, 2026 05:48 PM (VHUov)

17 When we'd pass through Colorado mountain roads on family trips, I'd ask dad what those blooms of lighter colored dirt were all over the mountain sides. He said they were old mines. As a kid that fired my imagination- there were hundreds of them. How old? How many people spent their lives up here?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 05:48 PM (zZu0s)

18 You can find jade in PNW rivers. It was so plentiful in British Colombia in the early 2000s that big mining companies came in and strip mined some of the rivers and destroyed entire ecosystems. The government had to revoke their licenses and fine them, but the damage cannot be repaired.

WA State actually learned from that amd has banned big mining and boring machines in the state forest and DNR lands. There’s a lot of jade out there, jasper too, but you have to go in there with picks and shovels and wear your rubber boots and get cold and wet.

It is beautiful. Much deeper green than most of the Asian jade. It is heavier than anticipated and cold
To the touch, even when it is warm outside.

I’d love to learn how to find and recognize it in the rivers. I do find small stones of jade and jasper on the beach. It’s very satisfactory.

Posted by: nurse ratched at February 21, 2026 05:49 PM (A5RD0)

19 If anyone is in California and interested in gold mining history, the Amador County Museum in Jackson has an amazing working display of the Kennedy mine, which was over 5,000 feet deep when it was closed. The curator is an actual prospector, and he knows his stuff. Highly recommend!

Posted by: CaliforniaGirl (Not CaliGirl) at February 21, 2026 05:49 PM (iW5Nq)

20 My grandfather was a mining engineer. Moved all over the western US back in the 40's - 50's working various mines. Mostly for useable minerals, sometimes gold or precious stones. He had quite the collection of fossils, including part of a Mastodon tusk (which I still have.)

But the semi-precious stones he collected.... geeze thousands of them.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 21, 2026 05:50 PM (jtM2q)

21 One of the never ending hobbies is futzing with my neovim config, while no neovim config can ever be said to be finished, I'm pretty damn satisfied with my current setup.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 21, 2026 05:52 PM (XV/Pl)

22 The university where I work has an experimental mine. No gold, as far as I know.

It's used to train mining engineers. Our mine rescue team is one of the best in the country, winning numerous awards over the years.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:52 PM (ESVrU)

23 It's used to train mining engineers. Our mine rescue team is one of the best in the country, winning numerous awards over the years.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:52 PM (ESVrU)

Thats cool.

Remember the meme from a year or so ago where a gal tells her boyfriend that her best friends boyfriend is digging a tunnel for some reason. And the boyfriend asks 'does he need any help?'

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 05:55 PM (zZu0s)

24 Welcome Hobbiests
My next project is another metal medallion for my musket cartridge box. A replica of a 1812 Russian musketeer.
Have to carve it in a block or plaster paris in reverof the plate, cast it with solder.

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 05:55 PM (Ia/+0)

25 Great. I just drank a tankard of "Old Withywindle" and now I'm hammered for five minutes.

Makes it hard to deliver mail or pies...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:56 PM (ESVrU)

26 Makes it hard to deliver mail or pies...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:56 PM (ESVrU)

That's what happens when you're pie-faced.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:58 PM (uQesX)

27 How old? How many people spent their lives up here?
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 05:48 PM (zZu0s)

There are over 15,000 prospects in the mountains behind my house. Almost every rock formation was dug under. Everybody was looking for the motherlode.
I think it was Snoeshoe Thompson who said he found the motherlode to the east fork of the mighty carson river but wouldn't tell anyone where it was and took it to the grave with him. Be funny is someone found it but it's in California and can't be touched.

Posted by: Reforger at February 21, 2026 06:00 PM (onCFI)

28 Launch tonight.

SpaceX - Falcon 9 - Starlink 6-104
SLC-40 - Cape Canaveral SFS
Launch Date: February 21, 2026
Launch Time: 9:04 p.m. EST (February 22, 0204 UTC, 03:04 CET)

https://youtu.be/oe57RP9RFG4

Posted by: Joyenz at February 21, 2026 06:01 PM (2F0/Y)

29 > One of the never ending hobbies is futzing with my neovim config, while no neovim config can ever be said to be finished, I'm pretty damn satisfied with my current setup.
Posted by: Thomas Bender
--------------
I had to look this up. Uses Lua?

I have a computer game/sim that uses Lua. A modern naval/air version. Pretty complicated... steep learning curve. A professional version is available to state actors for training purposes.

Interesting....

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 21, 2026 06:02 PM (jtM2q)

30 At first glance, I thought the top photo was Indiana and Mr. Jones.

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at February 21, 2026 06:06 PM (ZVgZ4)

31 Jackson is ( or at least used to be) a pretty little town, and a great place to while away a long weekend. Lots of good memories for Thor and I.

That stained glass is stunning!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at February 21, 2026 06:07 PM (Vvh2V)

32 If I'd his touch...

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 06:07 PM (Cqx++)

33 22 The university where I work has an experimental mine. No gold, as far as I know.

It's used to train mining engineers.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:52 PM
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Yep. I grew up with a number of people that graduated from there and ended up in the coal mining business.

Posted by: TRex - underground dino at February 21, 2026 06:07 PM (IQ6Gq)

34 9 And if you move further west into California, then there are flakes in all of the governmental buildings.

Posted by: Pillage Idiot at February 21, 2026 05:42 PM
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Indeed. (But they're not limited to the government buildings!)

Posted by: TRex - corn flakes are yummy at February 21, 2026 06:09 PM (IQ6Gq)

35 Wow! That glasswork is stunning. Not exactly panning for gold but my dad has a nice collection of arrowheads he found over the years along various creeks around here.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at February 21, 2026 06:09 PM (h/O4U)

36 OT, but still hobbies, history

I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on Battleship New Jersey after seeing a video on it. On the armament. In 1943 it carried in addition to the 16in and the 5 in guns,

80 40mm AA guns and

49 20mm AA guns

The AA guns were removed in 68.

How much ammo did they carry for all those aa guns?! Dear Lord, it must have sucked trying to fly at it.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 06:09 PM (zZu0s)

37 I went panning for garnets once.

They used to (Maybe still do) allow people to come out to a chunk of forest service land near Emerald Creek, where they'd set up a sluice and had a pile for dirt you could haul to the sluice and wash and keep whatever rocks you found.

I got a big chunk of dirt that I couldn't break and a bunch of garnet gravel.

Still have the chunk somewhere.

I ought to pull it out and work at it, see if there's any size of gemstone in there.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at February 21, 2026 06:10 PM (C0Nlv)

38 My brother was a sensor operator on an Army airplane called the Mohawk. One of the sensors on the plane was an infrared camera. When said brother was stationed in Alaska years ago, they would do training flights and take photos of various rivers and creeks. Brother would then analyze the photos for black sand deposits. Then, on his days off, he'd go prospect some of the sites. In his four hears there, he averaged about $25k a year in prospecting.
Not bad.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 06:11 PM (2WIwB)

39 Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 06:11 PM (2WIwB)

Where is our cut?

Posted by: The government at February 21, 2026 06:13 PM (cntUY)

40 It is beautiful. Much deeper green than most of the Asian jade. It is heavier than anticipated and cold
To the touch, even when it is warm outside.

I’d love to learn how to find and recognize it in the rivers. I do find small stones of jade and jasper on the beach. It’s very satisfactory.
Posted by: nurse ratched at February 21, 2026 05:49 PM (A5RD0)

North American jade is mostly the mineral Nephrite, while Chinese jade is Jadeite. Two different minerals. A boulder of Nephrite found in a river will typically have tan to reddish brown colr, and a surface texture sort of like a cantaloupe.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:15 PM (8zz6B)

41 There are a number of gold prospecting movies.

The Treasure of Sierra Madre is probably the most famous.

Posted by: The government at February 21, 2026 06:16 PM (cntUY)

42 There is a few videos that have been posted on events at Cold Wars a couple weeks ago, made it in the background twice in one. Could post if interested to see the goings on at a miniature game convention

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 06:17 PM (Ia/+0)

43 The university where I work has an experimental mine. No gold, as far as I know.

It's used to train mining engineers. Our mine rescue team is one of the best in the country, winning numerous awards over the years.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:52 PM (ESVrU)

You are in lead-zinc country, Professor.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:18 PM (8zz6B)

44 $5120.60 the ounce. Puhleeeze.

Posted by: Hokey Pokey at February 21, 2026 06:19 PM (k7tSb)

45 AOP,
I picked up a lovely rock of NW jade at the Jade Festival in Darrington, WA last year. It is deep green. It does have the cantaloupe texture, but is a beautiful dark green. Have we all been duped?

The rock I got has a carved and sanded bowl.

Posted by: nurse ratched at February 21, 2026 06:20 PM (A5RD0)

46 People keep finding diamonds at the crater of diamonds park in Arkansas. The curators must bury a few when the park's closed.

Posted by: The government at February 21, 2026 06:21 PM (cntUY)

47 North American jade is mostly the mineral Nephrite, while Chinese jade is Jadeite. Two different minerals. A boulder of Nephrite found in a river will typically have tan to reddish brown colr, and a surface texture sort of like a cantaloupe.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon
*******
In my next life I want your mind. You are a fountain of information on just about every topic....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at February 21, 2026 06:22 PM (IQ6Gq)

48 I picked up a lovely rock of NW jade at the Jade Festival in Darrington, WA last year. It is deep green. It does have the cantaloupe texture, but is a beautiful dark green. Have we all been duped?

The rock I got has a carved and sanded bowl.

Posted by: nurse ratched at February 21, 2026 06:20 PM (A5RD0)

The surface color and texture is the result of millions of years of weathering. Jade minerals form in a mantle environment, and are unstable at surface temperatures and pressures, so they get slowly eaten away by gases in the air, and acids in groundwater.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:25 PM (8zz6B)

49 Since have a rock tumbler have thought to try rocks but haven't

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 06:27 PM (Ia/+0)

50 There's gold in North Georgia. There was a gold rush there and you can still pan for it in places.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:28 PM (vFG9F)

51 That stained glass version of the Waterhouse painting is exquisite. Thanks for including it.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 06:28 PM (yTvNw)

52 I absolutely love that window...what an example of talent and patience...wouldn't that look lovely in a south facing staircase?

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at February 21, 2026 06:30 PM (IQ6Gq)

53 @29

>>Interesting....

The great thing about neovim is that you can keep it as basic as vim or build it out to a full blown IDE.

I was splitting time between vscode and neovim, using vscode mostly for the Platform I/O ESP32 integration, but I've now setup Platform I/O in neovim and it's pretty dam great.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 21, 2026 06:30 PM (XV/Pl)

54 Many years ago we'd catch the California trout opener on the middle fork of Feather. Always did a little panning, too. Picked up some color but nothing of worth.

Posted by: Cosda at February 21, 2026 06:30 PM (wX/kd)

55 Panning for gold involves too much bending over, stooping and squatting, not my favorite positions unless I have a work party to help me straighten up. It would be less trouble to just rob the prospector.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 06:33 PM (yTvNw)

56 The curators must bury a few when the park's closed.
Posted by: The government

Or they plow the field to turn up more stones.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 21, 2026 06:34 PM (lpVer)

57 51 That stained glass version of the Waterhouse painting is exquisite. Thanks for including it.
Posted by: JTB

--

Beautiful

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at February 21, 2026 06:35 PM (Ookz/)

58 The curators must bury a few when the park's closed.
Posted by: The government

Or they plow the field to turn up more stones.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 21, 2026 06:34 PM (lpVer)

That gives us an idea!

Posted by: Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones at February 21, 2026 06:36 PM (uQesX)

59 The Dahlonega Ga gold rush ran from 1829 to about 1840. They kicked the Cherokees out to get at it.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:36 PM (vFG9F)

60 The closest I get to panning for gold is after going through all the shelves, too many boxes, and checking under the bed I finally find THE book I was looking for.

Not gold but it's treasure to me. :-)

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 06:37 PM (yTvNw)

61 The best way to find gold in any measurable quantity is, go to an old unclaimed gold mine and detect for it in the tailings and/or the overburden piles. (Locating the gold deposits has already been done for you.)

Or, you can pan, sluice, crevice hunt, snipe for days in rando spots and come away with bupkiss and sore arms.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at February 21, 2026 06:37 PM (abIsI)

62 Remember, panning is a technique for testing (potentially) gold-bearing ground. To make wages, you are going to have to employ some mining techniques, and implements like a rocker or a sluice box. I would avoid the rocker; throughput is scarcely better than panning.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:38 PM (8zz6B)

63 I haven't found any gold but I recently found a Nixon penny.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:39 PM (vFG9F)

64 What's this about 'ores, then?

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 21, 2026 06:39 PM (Wnv9h)

65 Hobby but not topic related. If you like pen and ink drawing or just looking at them, check out Chloe Gedron's channel on YT. She does a great job demonstrating the tools and techniques. She has several on Gustave Dore and Franklin Booth, two of the best who ever lived.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 06:40 PM (yTvNw)

66 You can find sharks teeth on the beach at Westmoreland State Park in Virginia.
Better hurry, though.
I'll be taxing the hell out of them come July 1st.

Posted by: Old Lady Spamburger at February 21, 2026 06:42 PM (2Ez/1)

67 Thanks for the dandy Hobby Thread, TRex!

I've long been an amateur rock hound but was never tempted to hunt for gold or silver. Although my collection does include a nice piece of iron pyrite...

Reading James Michner's Alaska was an education on the Yukon gold rush and the difficulty associated with not only finding gold, but surviving in a harsh and unforgiving wilderness.

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at February 21, 2026 06:44 PM (kB9dk)

68 I'll be taxing the hell out of them come July 1st.
Posted by: Old Lady Spamburger at February 21, 2026 06:42 PM (2Ez/1)

Geez, commies suck.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 06:46 PM (zZu0s)

69 Remember the meme from a year or so ago where a gal tells her boyfriend that her best friends boyfriend is digging a tunnel for some reason. And the boyfriend asks 'does he need any help?'
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 05:55 PM (zZu0s)

I don't remember that, but there is an instagram channel where a guy and his friend used a remote control bulldozer and backhoe to dig at the dirt wall in his cellar. Other friends came with other RC equipment, and they have this whole excavation site in the guy's basement. It's pretty cool, and good, harmless guy fun.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 06:47 PM (h7ZuX)

70 I had to buy a bearing from Alibaba today. No one else had it. Well except for one place in Australia. $120 with shipping

Alibaba made me buy two. The taxes were more than the bearings. $42 total. Whataya gonna do?

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:47 PM (vFG9F)

71 To the people of NYC.......

"SUCKERS" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Karl Marx at February 21, 2026 06:49 PM (YuOiR)

72 That's another hobby project I need to work on - making new handkerchiefs.

I've run through all the ones I have since I got sick on Wednesday, and I'd have to go outside to do a load of laundry. Since it finally decided to snow I'm not real enthusiastic about that prospect.

The trick with handkerchiefs, of course, is to find a light, thin, and absorbent fabric

Posted by: FeatherBlade at February 21, 2026 06:50 PM (C0Nlv)

73 If I ever think I worked hard, or life is tough, I'm gonna think of the miner from 1916. In Alaska.

Posted by: JM in Illinois at February 21, 2026 06:50 PM (yJpvi)

74 69 It's pretty cool, and good, harmless guy fun.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 06:47 PM
***
We really are simple creatures...

Posted by: TRex - sandbox resident dino at February 21, 2026 06:50 PM (IQ6Gq)

75 I had to buy a bearing from Alibaba today. No one else had it. Well except for one place in Australia. $120 with shipping

Alibaba made me buy two. The taxes were more than the bearings. $42 total. Whataya gonna do?
Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:47 PM (vFG9F)

I have a metric fuckton of self-aligning ball bearings, for either a 3/4" or 1" shaft size, mounted in flanges with two bolt holes. Could you use such a thing? 50 or more, I think.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:50 PM (8zz6B)

76 If you want to see gold mining on a big scale, watch GOLD RUSH on the TV.

Posted by: Ronster at February 21, 2026 06:55 PM (6J32i)

77

Reminds me of The Jade Story

www.imdb.com/title/tt0565677

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 06:56 PM (Cqx++)

78 This bearing is for the input shaft of a steering rack for a 95 Nissan 240sx. No longer sold by Nissan. I was able to get the NTN number off the bearing.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:56 PM (vFG9F)

79 Nurse R, and Diogenes, seeing as you are here, I want to let you know that most probably, I am going to pass through the I-5 corridor in Washington circa March 29-30. I have an event to attend in Comox, BC on April 1, and I figured it would cost me less in fuel and in wheel time to home by way of the Wet Coast, than to go direct home, stay a day or two, and then make a banzai run to Vancouver Island. I would probably take the ferry from Seattle to Victoria?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:56 PM (8zz6B)

80 This bearing is for the input shaft of a steering rack for a 95 Nissan 240sx. No longer sold by Nissan. I was able to get the NTN number off the bearing.
Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:56 PM (vFG9F)

I am curious to know the number!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 06:57 PM (8zz6B)

81 "I have a metric fuckton of self-aligning ball bearings, for either a 3/4" or 1" shaft size, mounted in flanges with two bolt holes. Could you use such a thing? 50 or more, I think.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon"

Such things can be handy when you need them for a gold mine or something.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:58 PM (vFG9F)

82 Such things can be handy when you need them for a gold mine or something.
Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 06:58 PM (vFG9F)

Conveyor belt rollers...

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 07:00 PM (8zz6B)

83 On Men and Tunnels:

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes
/men-digging-tunnels

Apologize for the broken link, trying to use a shortened is a pain.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:01 PM (zZu0s)

84 I had a bunch of mining companies as customers in an old job. One of the more interesting trips took me tool Papua, New Guinea. Also one of scarier places I've ever been.

The main mineral is gold and many if not most of the mines are owned by foreign companies. I sat next to an Aussie on the way back to Australia and told me his story. He was from a small town near Perth and was a cop. His wife made him quit but he got bored so he took a job doing security for a mining company in PNG. He was on for 3 weeks and then home for 3 weeks. He said you almost never hear about it on the news but the natives would attack the mines nearly every night, said the place was basically a war zone. And yes, there are still cannibals in PNG.

Lovely little country that you couldn't pay to visit again.

Posted by: JackStraw at February 21, 2026 07:02 PM (viF8m)

85 A lot of gold panners in Idaho. The South Fork Boise river evidently has some good spots. Driving back from Atlanta, an old mining town way up in the mountains, we saw a lot of sluices and cradles. You gotta want to be there. The road is very rough, often too narrow for two vehicles to pass. Good thing my Nissan is a tough truck.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, aka Agent Frank at February 21, 2026 07:02 PM (0aYVJ)

86 11 My current hobby is running around The Shire in Lord of the Rings Online, delivering mail (avoiding nosey hobbits) and returning spoiled pies (avoiding hungry hobbits).

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:44 PM (ESVrU)

iirc, the spoiled pies are your character's fault(slugs).

Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 07:02 PM (Q+gd/)

87 NTN HR 0408. I wouldn't need the bearing but it is going to wreck it when I pull it out to change the seal.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 07:03 PM (vFG9F)

88 Here's a link to the basement excavator crew, if ya have instagram:

https://tinyurl.com/656kp3ph

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 07:04 PM (h7ZuX)

89 I've been to Crater of Diamonds park. Had fun for a couple of hours, of course didn't find anything. The people who find the most diamonds are semi-pros, who sift out a five gallon bucket of gravel and take it home (you are allowed to do so) and inspect it at leisure. If I recall correctly, the biggest diamond found at the park was about 10 carats and close to flawless.

Trivia: diamonds are much more common than people think. The idea of scarcity and value was a result of DeBeers controlling the sources and market for decades.

Posted by: The Neon Madman at February 21, 2026 07:05 PM (bcdO4)

90 One of the videos is Glacial Gold Hunter, a favorite of mine. There are traces of gold throughout northern WI, MN, and MI, brought here from Canada by the glaciers.

Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 07:06 PM (Q+gd/)

91 Lovely little country that you couldn't pay to visit again.
Posted by: JackStraw
***********
Well, that's interesting...my mother's older brother was in the Army during WWII and wound up landing on the beach in PNG...didn't get much further though, as his appendix ruptured, they did surgery on the beach and he was sent home pronto...of course, he never talked about any of it, and I always wondered about that part of the world

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at February 21, 2026 07:06 PM (IQ6Gq)

92 Seen 2 videos on YouTube that mud that looks and acts like peanut butter means gold is within in

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:07 PM (Ia/+0)

93 AOP,
I'll be sure to notify the Washington State Patrol. ;-)
Cool!
Not sure of the ferry routes or schedules out of Seattle that time of year. No doubt they are on line, and Nurse might know. You'll no doubt be thirsty by the time you get here.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 07:10 PM (2WIwB)

94 NTN HR 0408. I wouldn't need the bearing but it is going to wreck it when I pull it out to change the seal.
Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 07:03 PM (vFG9F)

Aha! A caged roller bearing. I have one or two with that general form factor in my junk bearing box at home.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 07:10 PM (8zz6B)

95 My hobby is trying to defeat the raccoons digging up my poor postage stamp of a lawn, freshly mowed, trimmed, and watered for their pleasure.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:13 PM (RIvkX)

96 Here's a link to the basement excavator crew, if ya have instagram:

https://tinyurl.com/656kp3ph
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 07:04 PM (h7ZuX)

Very cool.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:13 PM (zZu0s)

97 >>of course, he never talked about any of it, and I always wondered about that part of the world

The place itself is beautiful but it's crazy dangerous. The main city, Port Morseby, was rated as more dangerous than Baghdad while the war was going on. And everyone chews beetle nut and spits red goo everywhere and it stains their teeth red which is a nice touch. Not a place I would ever recommend.

Posted by: JackStraw at February 21, 2026 07:15 PM (viF8m)

98 San Franpsycho mine the area

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:15 PM (Ia/+0)

99 San Franpsycho mine the area
Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:15 PM (Ia/+0)

Machine gun nests.

Barbed wire.

Make the little fuckers pay for every inch of sod.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (zZu0s)

100 Very cool.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:13 PM (zZu0s)

I just checked, and they have a youtube channel, also.

dirtworks rcs

I can watch this for a ridiculous length of time.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (h7ZuX)

101 The place itself is beautiful but it's crazy dangerous. The main city, Port Morseby, was rated as more dangerous than Baghdad while the war was going on. And everyone chews beetle nut and spits red goo everywhere and it stains their teeth red which is a nice touch. Not a place I would ever recommend.
Posted by: JackStraw
************
Thank you for that, crossing it off the potential visit list....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (IQ6Gq)

102 1 The best place to find gold is in people's teeth!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:31 PM (uQesX)
You can bet on that!
Edgar Buchanan, Real Dentist

Posted by: Eromero at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (LHPAg)

103 Screw that stuff about Gold Mining and Panning......

Just open a "LEARING CENTER" in Minneapolis!!!!!!

Posted by: Jackson K. at February 21, 2026 07:18 PM (xl8DV)

104 Off to a pub for dinner!

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 07:18 PM (8zz6B)

105 My hobby is trying to defeat the raccoons digging up my poor postage stamp of a lawn, freshly mowed, trimmed, and watered for their pleasure.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:13 PM (RIvkX)

A cage trap baited with a honey bun, and a .22 pistol

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at February 21, 2026 07:18 PM (zuIfz)

106 The best place to find gold is in people's teeth!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 05:31 PM (uQesX)
You can bet on that!
Edgar Buchanan, Real Dentist
Posted by: Eromero at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (LHPAg)

This!

Posted by: George Soros at February 21, 2026 07:19 PM (zZu0s)

107 100 I just checked, and they have a youtube channel, also.

dirtworks rcs

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM
***
Thank you! I suspect clips from the YT channel will appear in future content.

Posted by: TRex - predictive dino at February 21, 2026 07:19 PM (IQ6Gq)

108 Off to a pub for dinner!
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 21, 2026 07:18 PM (8zz6B)

See! Told ya you'd be thirsty.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 07:19 PM (2WIwB)

109 My latest ploy is red pepper. Supposedly it is a repellent.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:19 PM (RIvkX)

110 My latest ploy is red pepper. Supposedly it is a repellent.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:19 PM (RIvkX)

Makes the grubs taste better.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:20 PM (zZu0s)

111 A cage trap baited with a honey bun, and a .22 pistol
Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at February 21, 2026 07:18 PM (zuIfz)
=====

I am already on enough lists.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:21 PM (RIvkX)

112 I got my roller furling unjammed today with the help of some friends. My little ship is in full working order again.

Next week, I'm off to the bounding main again.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at February 21, 2026 07:22 PM (KW97C)

113 Makes the grubs taste better.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:20 PM (zZu0s)
====
I would not be surprised. They mock me.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:22 PM (RIvkX)

114 11 My current hobby is running around The Shire in Lord of the Rings Online, delivering mail (avoiding nosey hobbits) and returning spoiled pies (avoiding hungry hobbits).

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 05:44 PM (ESVrU)

iirc, the spoiled pies are your character's fault(slugs).
Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 07:02 PM (Q+gd/)
---
Not quite. You deliver a couple of pies to folks who complain they are bad. You then have to recover pies from all over The Shire because they are also bad pies.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at February 21, 2026 07:22 PM (ESVrU)

115 Time to say thank you before the next act takes the Ace of Spades stage. You're welcome to hang around for a while if movies aren't your thing. Thanks for being here. New theme next week.

Don't forget to stop by Club ONT later tonight!

Posted by: TRex - Au dino at February 21, 2026 07:22 PM (IQ6Gq)

116 You can bet on that!
Edgar Buchanan, Real Dentist
Posted by: Eromero at February 21, 2026 07:17 PM (LHPAg)

Ouch!

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 07:22 PM (uQesX)

117 TRex, Thanks for another fun thread. Even when I can't contribute to the topic there is always so much to learn.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 07:26 PM (yTvNw)

118 Re: sidebar report of Chinese Communist AI video of killing American soldiers, the same source posted new video yesterday of Chinese "robots" engaging in hand-to-hand combat with American troops.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:28 PM (RIvkX)

119 sidebar report of Chinese Communist AI video of killing American soldiers, the same source posted new video yesterday of Chinese "robots" engaging in hand-to-hand combat with American troops.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:28 PM (RIvkX)

That is what the commies really want: robots that can be used to enforce their will.

I keep coming to the same conclusion. Its nkt good.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:33 PM (zZu0s)

120 A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

Posted by: JackStraw at February 21, 2026 07:37 PM (viF8m)

121 > sidebar report of Chinese Communist AI video of killing American soldiers, the same source posted new video yesterday of Chinese "robots" engaging in hand-to-hand combat with American troops.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:28 PM (RIvkX)

That is what the commies really want: robots that can be used to enforce their will.

I keep coming to the same conclusion. Its nkt good.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:33 PM (zZu0s)
------------
They mean to subjugate us. BAMN

Although... the Chicoms are having some internal disruptions. Military leaders being replaced... talk of a coup that was thwarted, etc.

They're funding a lot of the civil unrest. Should be an act of war.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 21, 2026 07:40 PM (jtM2q)

122 > sidebar report of Chinese Communist AI video of killing American soldiers, the same source posted new video yesterday of Chinese "robots" engaging in hand-to-hand combat with American troops.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:28 PM (RIvkX)

That is what the commies really want: robots that can be used to enforce their will.

I keep coming to the same conclusion. Its nkt good.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:33 PM (zZu0s)
------------
They mean to subjugate us. BAMN

Although... the Chicoms are having some internal disruptions. Military leaders being replaced... talk of a coup that was thwarted, etc.

They're funding a lot of the civil unrest. Should be an act of war.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 21, 2026 07:40 PM (jtM2q)

123 I had a buddy show me a vial of gold he had on a chain around his neck. I asked him, "where'd you get that?" He immediately got defensive, took a step back wagging his finger saying "no, no, no." I'm like, "Dude, I'm not going to jump your claim."

Jackass.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 21, 2026 07:47 PM (gVUi7)

124 Mamdani is looking for volunteer emergency snow shovelers in NYC for tomorrow's blizzard. You can't make this up.

https://tinyurl.com/26av388w

Posted by: IrishEi ?! at February 21, 2026 07:51 PM (3ImbR)

125 120 A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
Posted by: JackStraw at February 21, 2026 07:37 PM (viF8m)

----------

I fart in your general direction.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (KW97C)

126 Snow shovelers? For the whole city? An Army of Davids?

My first response would be: why am I paying an insane property tax to clean the streets myself, commie fuck?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (zZu0s)

127 >>I fart in your general direction.

You're downwind.

Posted by: JackStraw at February 21, 2026 08:00 PM (viF8m)

128 Nood. If anyone else did not know.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:01 PM (zZu0s)

129

"There's gold in them thar hills"

Uttered out west somewhere?
No...but at Dahlonega, Georgia, on the steps of the U.S Mint there.

"Coins produced at the Dahlonega Mint bear the "D" mint mark. That mint mark is used today by the Denver Mint, which opened in 1906, over four decades after the Dahlonega Mint closed. All coins from the Dahlonega Mint are gold, in the $1, $2.50, $3, and $5 denominations, and bear dates in the range 1838–1861."

There was a lot of gold there, which is why a U.S. mint was etablished there. People still work the N.Georgia rivers.

To the amusement of natives, Yankees distinguish themselves by mis-pronouncing it 'Dah-lun-nega'.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at February 21, 2026 08:22 PM (XeU6L)

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