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Dave Strang

My Haunted Basement

Posted by Katarangan Zoy on Feb 25 at 03:31 PM

It was dark down there and we often thought about the creepies that could be lurking there. We weren't allowed to go there and really didn't want to - it was damp and cold and smelled really aweful. The steps leading down into it were rickety and there was no light to see where you were going. The railing next to the stairs was no better. It felt wobbly and worn, making the dark descent seem even more dangerous.

Whenever we tried to go down, we could only make it a few steps at a atime when we would get too scared and have to go back up again. There was always a cold breeze come up from below and we weren't brave enough. It was so dark and terrifying.

In the dark were noises - growling noises. And one day there was a thumping sound. We wanted to see what was down there. To know what was there no matter how much it meant we would be harmed. Or perhaps even die! We wanted to know. But it was so cold and so dark and we were afraid. We tried and yet each time the fear would sweep over us sending us flying back up in a terrified escape.

Then one day, my brother made it. He strutted bravely down and around the corner and I became encouraged. There were no screams when he met the bottom and disappeared into the darkness. I didn't hear the vicious sounds I expected. I was inspired.

So I followed behind, very scared. Step by step I went into the darkness praying I would not be gobbled up by whatever it was that growled and thumped down there. I descended into the darkness, my heart beating wildly, whispering to myself that I was still there and that I was okay.

As I made it to the very bottom, I joined my brother and froze in terror. I could barely breathe, let alone scream. Out of the corner of our eyes we spotted it first. It was big and was moving very rapidly, shaking and muttering. We moved closer and I still couldn't breathe...

It was our MOM standing at the washing machine shaking out the sheets and throwing them in the dryer. "I wish your dad would fix this place up. This basement is SO gloomy! Have you boys had lunch?"

Iditarod Training Underway for 2010

Posted by Katarangan Zoy on Nov 03 at 03:41 PM

Cheryl reminded me it's been awhile since I have posted a blog, so I thought I'd better get with it. Since my last postings were talking about last year's Iditarod, it seemed appropriate that I pick up on the same subject, but for next year's coming race.

In fact, Iditarod training season is well under way. It’s the time of year when Iditarod teams are getting themselves prepared to compete in the 2010 version “The Last Great Race on Earth.” Mushers began by walking through their kennels and (earnestly) started the process of assessment. Which members of the kennel will ultimately be a part of “the team?”

4 Time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser refers to this transference in an interesting way. He talks about how his priorities begin to narrow intensely as he begins to count down the days to race start.

“You start out the year with your priorities ranging from your family, to your friends, to your kennel and finally to yourself. As you begin the process of training for the Iditarod your focus begins to grow more intense until that moment when your focus… your priority… is only about as wide as the runners of the sled you’re standing on, and as long as the team that is stretched out in front of you.” Says Buser.

Like each competitor in the field (and the field is very deep), Buser has to begin assessing logistics, training schedules, team make ups, and a huge list of “What Ifs.” The What Ifs” are all those unknowns that range from training injuries to weather conditions to trail conditions.

This year’s rookie class will also be focused. The 20 rookies that have signed up for the 2010 Iditarod represent the first class that has to have completed their mandatory qualifiers prior to signing up for the race. But they know the Iditarod is not like any other race they’ve ever run. For this rookie class, the ability to prepare, and be prepared for anything that they might confront is will undoubtedly be a very big part of their training schedule. For Iditarod rookies the race narrows down to working toward and implementing a plan to finish the race in a competitive manner keeping safety at the top of the priority list.

Another big part of preparing for the 2010 Iditarod for all mushers is their ability to develop their own mental toughness. They’re accountable to and for their team. They are the coach, the dietary technician, the veterinary technician, the navigator, and the group counselor. That training is probably the toughest training of all. But it’s the kind of training that will take many teams in this year’s field to Front Street in Nome Alaska, as official Iditarod Finishers. For my money, March 6th, 2010 can't get here soon enough!!

Iditarod Nearing Finish: More Dogs Die

Posted by Dave (Katarahngen Zoy) on Mar 17 at 02:02 PM

Not many people in this part of the country pay alot of attention to the Iditarod sled dog race. But since dog sledding is one of my personal interests, I like to follow the movements of the teams, and try to feel vicariously the thrills and the tragedy that are all part of this gruelling battle of human and canine endurance.

As the excitement of the finish gets closer, you can almost feel the struggle to push to the finish balanced against the worn conditions of their bodies and teams. Anyway, here's the latest on where the race is as of today (St. Patrick's Day) 3/17/09.

A third championship seems almost certain for Lance Mackey in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The two-time winner reached the Elim checkpoint at 4:20 a.m. this morning (Tuesday), putting him 123 miles from the Nome finish line.
But the race was marred by the deaths of two more dogs. Race officials say tests will be done to determine the cause of death.
The dogs were on the team of rookie Lou Packer, of Wasilla. He was found Monday 22 miles past the Iditarod checkpoint by searchers in a plane. A dog on musher Jeff Holt's team died last week.

Sixty-seven teams began the race nine days ago in Willow north of Anchorage. Eight mushers have either scratched or been withdrawn.

2009 Iditerod - Day Five Has Burmeister Leading!

Posted by Dave (Katarahngen Zoy) on Mar 11 at 03:30 PM

Since 1994, Aaron Burmeister has raced dog teams in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. But never before has he enjoyed this kind of view.
Burmeister pulled into the friendly village of Takotna at 2:44 a.m. Wednesday leading the 37th running of the 1,000-mile race from Willow to Nome.
In 11 previous Iditarods beginning at age 19, Burmeister has only twice cracked the top-15 -- and never the top 10.
In Takotna awaits some of the best eating along the Iditarod Trail -- courtesy of long-time checkers Jan and Dick Newton, Iditarod Hall of Fame inductees who make it their business each year to treat visiting mushers as visiting royalty.
By dawn, another seven mushers had joined Burmeister in the village near the Takotna River. It's one of the spots many mushers take their mandatory 24-hour rest. Hugh Neff of Skagway checked in 19 minutes after Burmeister. Behind him was the racer who nipped him at the finish line two weeks ago in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse.
Two-time defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey of Fairbanks arrived 46 minutes later, followed by two other former champs -- four-time victor Jeff King at 4:21 a.m. and Mitch Seavey, winner of January's Kusko 300, at 4:45 a.m.
This season Burmeister has finished eighth in the Klondike 300 Sled Dog Race, and a disappointing 14th in the Kuskokwim 300 in Bethel. But perhaps some of the magic surrounding Mackey is finally rubbing off on his longtime friend from Nenana, who grew up in Nome.
"I've known him since childhood," Burmeister said of Mackey. "When his father Dick won the Iditarod, we were his host family in Nome. When Rick (Lance's half brother) won the Iditarod (in 1978), we were his host family. So we've known (the Mackeys) forever."
Lurking in eighth place is young Norwegian Bjornar Andersen, part of Team Norway that has won two Iditarod races with Robert Sorlie in the sled.
The 20-mile mile run from McGrath to Takotna is often seen as an indicator of Iditarod teams' speed because it's short enough to be completed without a break. Anderson's 7 mph speed was the fastest among the frontrunners, more than 1 mph better than Burmeister.
Warm weather in this year's race was beginning to take a toll on some teams, particularly those from the chilly Interior that has had plenty of sub-zero temperatures this winter.
Aliy Zirkle, a former Yukon Quest winner who was 10th out of McGrath, said her dogs had lost their appetite as the weather warmed, a serious concern for any musher in a long race.
Zirkle said Schnuelle's team looked particularly strong.
"They went by and they were all business," she said.

And Mackey, who had troubles in the early part of last year's race, was gushing about his team this year -- even if he wasn't interested in testing his dogs' top-end speed.

The Santa Claus story and Black Pete (Zwaarte Piet)

Posted by Dave (Katarahngen Zoy) on Dec 16 at 03:36 PM

This is a little explanation as to why there is a character called Black Pete in the Amazon Miniatures Santa Claws Gang pack. In fact Black Pete is specifically a Dutch Christmas character and he is one of Santa's helpers. Paul of Amazon Miniatures is half Dutch and so had the benefit of celebrating (and getting presents) from Sinta Claas on the evening of the 5th December and from Father Christmas on the 25th.
According to the Dutch version of the legend, Sinter Claas arrives simultaneously in every city in the Netherlands bearing gifts for well-behaved children. He is always accompanied by Zwarte Piet, or "Black Pete". In various versions of the Sinter Claas story, Black Pete is depicted as male or female, of normal stature or as a black dwarf.
Zwarte Piet always wear colourful and jovial costumes. They are adorned with gold earrings and hats with feathers and are generally considered simple and full of beans characters. Their role is to assist Sinter Claas by performing various holiday tasks, like delivering presents down chimneys and recording names of naughty and nice children in Sinter Claas' book of names.
While Santa Claus leaves chocolate and sweets in the shoes of children, if the children have been naughty then Black Pete takes the nice presents and replaces it with lumps of coal. The child who is really naughty is threatened with being placed in Black Pete's sack and taken back to Spain - surely a throwback to the Catholic wars with Spain.
Despite his colourful image, Zwarte Piet is a very controversial character in the Netherlands. He is called Black Pete because of his dark colouring, and while some attribute his skin colour to the soot from the chimneys he slides down, others criticise the character for being an old-fashioned stereotype and racist symbol. In fact the original legend has St Nicolas travelling to Spain where he meets and befriends a moor by the name of Peter who accompanies him on his travels through Europe.

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Bio

After training from Columbia School of Broadcasting, Dave began his broadcasting career in 1977 at KBRL in McCook, Nebraska. Working briefly at KFNF in Oberlin, Kansas before accepting a position with KAPZ in Bald Knob, (Searcy) Arkansas. When his father passed away in 1982, Dave returned to the McCook area and resumed work at KFNF, working the next 9 years as announcer, music director, and finally program director.

Dave was married in 1984 and moved to Scottsbluff with his now ex-wife in 1991. He worked as announcer and production manager at KNEB until late 2000. He accepted a position with Tracy Broadcasting Corporation in Scottsbluff as Operations Manager and worked in that capacity and as News Director for the next 5 years before returning to KNEB as production manager in March of 2005.

Dave was certified in 1994 as a “Master Digital Editor” and continues to keep up on the latest techniques and processes for digital editing in commercial production work.

Dave also spent 6 years as a tank gunner in the Army National Guard while continuing his career and education in broadcasting.

Hobbies include: NASA, Antarctica, dog sledding, mega-yachts, movies, and games.

Member National Science Foundation; Member National Association of Broadcasters.