About bear canisters.

“What?! You never used Hollerith code? Poor Herman Hollerith...not only is his code obsolete but you the famous bit never even knew him. :)”

“Unfortunately I understand all this, except about the bear canisters.

I used to carry around this metal case with a handle on it to tote punch cards to and from the lab. Fortunately I never dropped it!”

“Man you guys are old! Did they even have TV when you were kids?”

“And here I thought a cassette tape drive on a TRS 80 was old school”

“I learned to type on a keypunch machine punching up programs for an IBM 360/50 - turn around sucked up to 24 hours so I got real good at avoiding typing mistakes and proof reading the cards”

“As to bear cannisters I have lived in Bear country my whole life and never had any trouble. I hope I never have to come back to camp and find a bear chowing on my Allegheny Alfredo Noodles but I suppose it is bound to happen. Then we just have bear for supper instead....”

“ChicagoMark, I guess then that you never had to use 'the needles' go get a dropped tray of cards back into order?

Here is an article about 'the good old days' but as Billy Joel sings "the good old days weren't always so good"

Like the writer, I did work on an ICL machine, did hand punch cards, and did lick and stick chads. But it was in more recent times while working as a contractor in a 3rd world country.

The Hollerith hand punch

Nick Barry, project manager at Geac JBA, shares his hand punch reminiscences.

Back in the good old days, I was a junior programmer at British Cellophane where I programmed in Cobol on an ageing ICL 1903A. Just to show how easy you kids have it these days, here is my tale.

I had one development shot overnight. This took place after all the live batch work (yes, it was all batch, tape to tape, none of this fancy online, disc-based nonsense) had been completed and the night shift operators got bored of playing computer room cricket.

In order to modify a program, I had to submit written coding sheets to a pool of punch card operators. When they were returned months later, I would put them together with run instructions and off went my job tray to the m/c room. The bad news came back the next morning when I discovered my compilation errors. Enter the hand punch. This saved me the cycle of resubmission to the punch card pool and might even gain a day.

The hand punch was a solidly crafted device. It consisted of an array of keys over a heavyweight punch. You needed two keys to be pressed simultaneously to get numerics and alphas and for special characters three keys.

Each hit put a character in one column and the device moved on to the next (80 columns per card, one card per line of code). The facility to remember these codes off by heart, coupled with the manual dexterity to put your fingers over the correct keys prior to the hit (a bit like digital twister) was a skill much prized.

Mistakes were sometimes made. To save repunching a whole card, you were equipped with special blue card strips that held transferable foil stickers (about 2mm square) that you could peel off, stick over the offending hole and repunch. Such fun.

You could shortcut this by, wait for it, taking one of the hole punch confetti pieces (known technically as "chats") on the end of a wet finger and pressing it into the offending hole. The moisture would cause the chat to swell and plug the hole tightly.”

“Bears are using computers now?”

“Yeah Zac, but really primitive ones, so they shouldn't catch up to us for a while, But they might have an advantage in using the punch cards with their claws.

Unfortunately even those primitive computers should be able to tell them how much force they need to crack open a bear canister.
last edited: 4/28/05 8:36:21 AM”

“Seems like I remember reading somewhere, that before it disappeared because of technology advances, card and paper tape chad was classified as toxic waste by the EPA because of its tendency to go everywhere...”

““Man you guys are old! Did they even have TV when you were kids?”
LtHiker
6:53:59 AM
4/28/05


Not until I was 8. :-)”

“I remember punching IBM cards and those Hollarith holes. The punches made the best confetti...impossible to clear up.”

“Bear Cannisters!! Just skin em and use it for a nice soft footprint.”

“Thanks, Zac.

Now, which one?”

“The legislation is open to public comment until July 5. I don't see why it won't pass.

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/propregs/index.html#190p
last edited: 5/19/05 7:25:21 AM”

““Thanks, Zac.

Now, which one?”
Gremlin
4:52:37 PM
5/18/05
ignore this user

Gremlin,
I bought a BearVault BV 250 Solo from Northern Mountain Supply for $60 American. They took $6 off by agreeing to be on their mailing list and shipping was free (I don’t know if it will be free to Canada).
http://www.northernmountain.com/NMSMain.asp?Option=Detail&ID=BEARVABearVaultBV250&Dept=KC&Cat=KCD&SubCat=

The canister weighs 1lb 14oz, and is 8.7” diameter x 8” high.

I think the only other canister on the market that is lighter is the custom size of the bearikade, but with its $200 price tag, it was out of the question for me.”

“I listened to the discussion on the 8:00 o'clock hour on NCPR on the way to work. Whatever the process the canisters are inevitable, I think.

BTW, I'll have it shipped to my NY address.

I am among you. Be afraid; be very afraid.

Moooohahahahahaha!”

“Like I've said before, "THE CANADIANS ARE INVADING! THE CANADIANS ARE INVADING!"”

“I have a bearikade weekender (which will hold a weeks worth of food for me) - and I really like it. Just recently I decided to buy the solo bear vault so it would be easier to pack for short trips - it's not much different in weight than the custom bearikade and weighs just about the same as the bearikade weekender, but it'll pack nicer and I just couldn't shell out the $200 for the custom bearikade to save just a couple ounces.”

“Since I didn’t get a chance to go hiking this weekend I decided to go through my gear and organize it. I packed my [URL=http://www.golitestore.com/store/NS_proddetail.asp?number=PA5210 ]Golite Race [/URL] pack with a weekend's worth of gear and food. This included my new BearVault BV250 Solo. The canister fit right inside my pack and with my Ridge Rest sleeping pad rapped around it I couldn’t even feel the hard plastic inside my pack. All my other gear fit fine inside my pack and I even had a little room left over, not much but some. I barely noticed the weight difference as well. It looks like I’m all set for weekend trip to the High Peaks.”

“that is something I need to do since I have to use a bear canister when I do the sierra's next month.”

“Subject: BEARS

The California/Oregon State Department of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen, and golfers to take extra precautions and be on the alert for bears while in the Truckee, Kirkwood, and Yosemite areas.

They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the bears unexpectedly. They also advise you to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear.

It is also a good idea to watch for signs of bear activity. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings.

Black bear droppings are smaller and contain berries and possibly squirrel fur.

Grizzly bear droppings have little bells in them and smell like pepper.

:-)”

“I havent used my bear canister since I've moved to the midwest...I wonder how it would fit in my new packs? I should dust it off and find out.

the important question is how many beer canisters can you fit inyour pack?
last edited: 6/13/05 9:14:16 AM”

“LOL catshiker! I haven't heard that one yet! : )

Hey lumber, I'm glad you posted this, because I was wondering if anyone had tried to use a bear canister in their Race yet. I even emailed techntrek about it, but he accused me of being lazy since I could have easily just put my Bear Vault into the Race and found for myself! LOL!

Knowing me tho, it won't work. I like to bring lots of stuff. I'm weird that way. What do you use for shelter? What is the packed size of your shelter? I think that will be the deal breaker for me...”

“What do you use for shelter? What is the packed size of your shelter? I think that will be the deal breaker for me...”
pixie
1:22:58 PM
6/13/05
ignore this user

I use a silnylon tarp for my shelter. It packs down to about the size of a nalgene bottle.”

“Hey, hey, hey, you mentioned the "lazy" word before I did, pixie! LOL. But yeah, if you have the pack and the canister, put one inside the other...”

“I never thought of that. I bet my pack would fit inside the canister. ;-)”

“lumber, yeah, case in point. I have a solo tent.

tech: : p”

“From the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation webpage.

“Section 190.13 - Wilderness Areas in the Adirondack Park
Proposed Rule Making
Express Terms
Title 6 NYCRR Section 190.13 is amended as follows:

Paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) of subdivision (b) of 6 NYCRR section 190.13 are renumbered as paragraphs (3), (4), (8), (7), (9), (10) (11) and (12), respectively.

A new paragraph (2) is added to subdivision (b) of 6 NYCRR section 190.13 to read as follows:

(2) Bear-resistant canister means a commercially made container constructed of solid, non-pliable material manufactured for the specific purpose of resisting entry by bears.

A new paragraph (6) is added to subdivision (b) of 6 NYCRR section 190.13 to read as follows:

(6) Overnight camper means a person who stays or intends to stay in the Eastern High Peaks Zone during the night.

Subparagraph (xiv) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of 6 NYCRR section 190.13 is amended to read as follows:

(xiv) fail to take reasonable steps to keep food, food containers, [and] garbage, and toiletries from bears, [such as the use of bear proof canisters or cable or rope hanging systems] and, during the period April 1 through November 30, no overnight camper in the Eastern High Peaks Zone shall fail to use bear-resistant canisters for the storage of all food, food containers, garbage, and toiletries; or”

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/propregs/part190sect13text.html”

“Dang regulations, spoils all the fun!”

“I should note that this regulation is only for the eastern half of the High Peaks Wilderness, which covers the areas around Flowed Lands, Lake Colden, Marcy Dam, and Johns Brook Valley.”

“Dang they mean bussiness.”

“It should also be noted that the Adirondack Bear Union has filed a grievance to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). They are requesting that DEC repeal this regulation or supply union members with Swiss Army Knives so they can once again continue their nightly food raids with ease. If DEC doesn’t comply the union has threatened to strike, cutting off the supply of Labatt Blue to northern New York State.”

“What exactly are the Eastern Peaks? Is that like Wallface, Street, Nye and points East, right?”

“The eastern portion of the High Peaks Wilderness is basically the area bounded by the Street/Nye ridgeline to Wallface Ponds and then to Upper works to the west, private lands to the south, Elk Lake Lodge land and AMR to the East, and route 73 to the east and north.”

“Through a National Technology Development Center, a new national testing protocol will soon be established and independent testing of all bear deterrent devices will begin in 2009. All new and existing bear deterrent devices will be subject to the same testing criteria and currently approved deterrent devices will be required to be re-tested for approval.”

“That may be ok, if after passing the tests, they go thru a probation/conditional approval period while in use in the real world.”

“How does one set up anti-bear trip flares?”

“forget all taht....all you need to do is pee a pretective ring around camp. they won't cross the pee!”

“July 25, 2009
Bear-Proof Can Is Pop-Top Picnic for a Crafty Thief
By LISA W. FODERARO
NORTH ELBA, N.Y. — It was built to be impenetrable, from its “super rugged transparent polycarbonate housing” to its intricate double-tabbed lid that would keep campers’ food in and bears’ paws out.

The BearVault 500 withstood the ravages of the test bears at the Folsom City Zoo in California. It has stymied mighty grizzlies weighing up to 1,000 pounds in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park.

But in one corner of the Adirondacks, campers started to notice that the BearVault, a popular canister designed to keep food and other necessities safe, was being compromised. First through circumstantial evidence, then from witness reports, it became clear that in most cases, the conqueror was a relatively tiny, extremely shy middle-aged black bear named Yellow-Yellow.

Some canisters fail in the testing stage when large bears are able to rip off the lid. But wildlife officials say that Yellow-Yellow, a 125-pound bear named for two yellow ear tags that help wildlife officials keep tabs on her, has managed to systematically decipher a complex locking system that confounds even some campers.

In the process, she has emerged as a near-mythical creature in the High Peaks region of the northeastern Adirondacks.

“She’s quite talented,” said Jamie Hogan, owner of BearVault, based in San Diego. “I’m an engineer, and if one genius bear can do it, sooner or later there might be two genius bears. We’re trying to work on a new design that we can hopefully test on her.”

His company and New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation have cautioned campers in the Adirondacks against using the BearVault because of its vulnerability here. There have been no reports of the BearVault being regularly broken into anywhere else in the country.

Bears and campers do not usually interact, and when they do it is usually over food.

Four years ago, New York State began requiring overnight campers to use bear canisters in the eastern High Peaks, a sublime wilderness favored by backpackers and black bears alike. Several national parks, including Yosemite, also require canisters.

Before they used canisters, campers often stored food in bags, typically hung from cables slung between trees, which inadvertently made for one-stop shopping for bears.

“They had learned that when they saw a bag in the air, there had to be a rope someplace and they learned to bite or slice the line,” said Neil Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club, a conservation and recreation group.

The number of “negative human-bear interactions,” according to the Department of Environmental Conservation — mainly incidents in which bears approached people looking for food — dropped to 61 last year in the eastern High Peaks from 374 in 2005. But, of course, there was a problem with the solution.

BearVaults, one of several canister brands, are favored by many backpackers because they are light and can be opened with bare hands; most others require a coin or screwdriver. Like other brands, BearVaults must pass the zoo test, in which bears are given a certain amount of time to try to break into a canister filled with food.

Similar to a childproof medicine bottle, the BearVault 350 and 400 models can be opened by pressing a tab that allows the camper to screw off the lid. But reports began coming in from campers a few years ago that BearVaults were being broken into. State wildlife officials began suspecting Yellow-Yellow, one of a number of bears they have tagged and tracked as a way of studying the behavior of the more than 5,000 bears roaming the Adirondacks.

In most BearVault break-ins, Yellow-Yellow’s radio collar indicated she had been in the area. Eventually, campers began spotting her from afar rifling canisters. There have been no reports of her threatening anyone.

So last year Mr. Hogan introduced the 450, a two-pound cylinder costing about $60, and a larger version, the 500, each with a second tab. On them, a camper must press in one tab, turn the lid partway, then press the second tab to remove the lid. “We thought, ‘O.K., well, one bump didn’t work so maybe two bumps will thwart her,’ ” he said.

But Yellow-Yellow figured that lid out, too.

Last month, her achievements were noted in an article in Adirondack Explorer. And she now appears to have apprentices; campers have reported seeing other bears getting into their BearVaults.

“Yellow-Yellow seems to be the most adept at defeating it,” said David Winchell, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 5, which covers the High Peaks. “Certainly, she is the most commonly observed in the area when it’s happening.”

It is not certain exactly how Yellow-Yellow plundered campers’ Italian sausages and granola bars, but she apparently depresses one tab with her teeth, turns the lid, uses her teeth on the second tab, and then opens it. At the Adirondack Mountain Club’s High Peaks Information Center here, where campers can rent canisters, an example of a defeated BearVault is on display: a bear’s teeth have left deep gouges in the hard plastic lid, as though it were putty.

“I don’t think she’s twisting it with her paws,” said Chuck Bruha of the Mountaineer, a camping-goods store in nearby Keene Valley. “We think she’s biting the lid and twisting her whole head.”

Ben Tabor, a state wildlife technician who has tracked Yellow-Yellow, said the evidence on the canister supports that theory. (He watched her tackle a BearVault two years ago, although he was too far away to determine her method. ) He doubts, however, that she has out-of-the-ordinary intelligence. “I don’t think she’s smarter than most bears,” he said. “I think she’s had more time to learn.”

Mr. Tabor emphasized that Yellow-Yellow, while tenacious with the BearVaults, is shy around people; she runs from them. He worries that her prowess could lead to pressure to kill her. In 2006, the agency had to kill a 350-pound black bear that had cornered campers with food inside their lean-tos, although no one was hurt. “It would be ridiculous for us to remove Yellow-Yellow at this point,” Mr. Tabor said. “She’s not bold. She doesn’t charge. She steals food but runs away when confronted.”

Mr. Hogan is working on a prototype of a new model, the 550, for next year. State officials have agreed to test it by filling it with aromatic food and depositing it on Yellow-Yellow’s turf. “She’s the whole reason we’re doing this,” he said.”

“Anyone interested in buying my Wild Ideas Bearikade Weekender? It's in great shape.

If I don't know you, and a few of you, because I know you, the check will have to clear before I even think about shipping it.

$135 plus shipping (firm price)

stovestomper at yahoo dot com”

“I'm taking a 5000 volt bear bag with me to Alaska in 2 weeks. I have used this bag in every Bear Sanctuary I have been with no problems. I also have the Bear Vault I will use as well. Never met that Bear and don't want to. Hell she might figure out how to turn my electric controller off.”

“BearVault doesn't make a great bear cannister imo. i personally think they do a lot of "cover up" work in situations like this. i read how bears used to get into them by sitting on side of the canister... the lids popped off when the body deformed under the bears weight. i am pretty sure at least once they have re-designed or re-issued the lid calling it a "manufacturing problem" (which, of course, wouldn't have been needed if bears weren't getting into the canisters). they are cheap, however, which is probably a big draw for them.

i have yet to hear of a bear "deciphering" the locking mechanism of a garcia or bearikade. they tend to not carry pocket change or be able to turn a screw.”

“That's a great price stovie.

I think is's kinda funny, so many people put the Garcia down for being so heavy and needing a knife or coin to open it and are in love with their BV's, even though the lid has had to be redesiged three to four times now. If you stay away from the Adirondacks, they should be ok for awhile now.”

“That's the TT price, hd. :-)”

“I will buy it stovie. Always wanted one to use where my ursak could not go. I can send you a check, money order, paypal whatever.”

“I used to joke about not loaning a quarter to a bear...may not be too far from the truth! I am not a bearvault fan, but hard to imagine a bear opening it!

On a Sierra trip a week ago a very large bear came into camp and knocked all our canisters over. My theory was he was testing for lids that people had forgotten to secure. He scared off easy, but I think it was because our canisters were good. I am kinda proud of the claw marks on the side of my Bearikade!”

“Never had any problems.”

“
They call her Yellow-Yellow
Quite right–ly

”