# The Alaska Crew



## silverzuk

After watching the first episode, I called Dad and asked him how long until someone is killed on that job.

First, Coats nearly takes his head off with a chain putting the track back on. I saw that coming, they saw it coming, and he stuck his head right down in the meat grinder and luckily only got grazed.

Second, they are putting off a production blast to shatter the rock up to the surface to make gravel. They are not standing behind and under equipment when the shot goes off. I've been a lot further away than that and had rocks hit the equipment. I always stand under and behind something.

Third, the young man that dumped the truck all at once and nearly rolled it.
It was listing when he stopped, quick action of the hoe operator caught the truck. Granted it was an old off road truck, I still bet it tweaked the bed, hinges, and tailgate. Hopefull the young man learned to dump slower, and pay attention to how the truck is leaning. I have seen them turn over on flat ground often enough to know this.

Then I see the previews where they are looking for a lost worker in the next episode.


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## Woodcutteranon

My biggest worry is for the Colonel. The way he cusses people I would think he is going to end up on the wrong end of a butt whoopin. I cannot believe any man, desparate for a job or not, would let someone speak to them like that. I would have ended that relationship real quick!


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## TumblebugTaylor

I dont know about Alaska but in MS there would be conseuences about talking to someone like that. I had a foreman on a job that had come in as a personell manager on a trial run by the new partner in a Construction company I worked for. I was an operator and mechanic and this guy was a retired Marine. He found out you dont cuss the crane operator. Later he was run down and by a back hoe and knocked into a ditch b another operator. After that he was the most pleasant person to work with. 

I imagin in Alaska folks could come up missing anytime.


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## shadow745

I agree on the "Colonel" as he needs his punk a$$ whipped and I'd say it wouldn't take much to do it. Just another drama queen trying to play it up on reality TV. This show gets more ridiculous year after year.


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## BC_Logger

who ever conducted that blast was a complete fool he or she way overloaded that shot 

if you want good breakage you need a good pattern good timing and the right product in the ground


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## Humptulips

BC_Logger said:


> who ever conducted that blast was a complete fool he or she way overloaded that shot
> 
> if you want good breakage you need a good pattern good timing and the right product in the ground



Maybe they were just trying to make a hole in the ground.


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## slowp

Humptulips said:


> Maybe they were just trying to make a hole in the ground.



Yes, duck and goose habitat. :biggrinbounce2:


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## paccity

slowp said:


> Yes, duck and goose habitat. :biggrinbounce2:



with all the rock flying, maybe they were trying to shoot them out of the sky.


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## Humptulips

Reading the OP thought I would let you all know Papac had the worst reputation in WA. This was Pete Papac but Mike worked for his Dad and I can see where he learned things from.
I hope things are different for the outfit in AK but they ran off more good men and had more time loss injuries then any other logging company I know of. I never worked for them but know a lot of guys that did.


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## Cummins00

That Alaska crew is quite utterly and incredibly, unprofessional. How can you know you're being filmed and act the way these guys do. Your representing our industry and unfortunately for most people they are only only insight into logging the average joe will EVER see. Zero respect for the two hothead drama queens on this Alaska crew in that last episode. They claim to be real men, everything is tougher in alaska bla bla bla ... I call BS! Real men don't act like fourth graders on a playground when they don't get their turn on the swing. Real men can control their emotions and know how to talk diplomatically and respectfully to one another especially in a FILMED WORK ENVIRONMENT.

If the colonel is the boss then he needs to act like one and lead by example. Who the hell would hire that other guy anyway? For one he appears to have the IQ of a banana. Who knows why he would climb a tree in the way of the skyline instead of just falling it? Then he gets his saw stuck and goes bonkers, leaving his poor innocent saw fourty feet up in a tree while he storms off back home to wait for a ferry ride? Ha! Act like adults people please. It's embarrassing


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## paccity

the funniest part was when he came down the tree, gracefully i mite ad, lost his bite and got the wind knocked out of him. betcha he had a real good bark rash on his belly,chest, face. LOL.


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## ryan_marine

Who in their right mind would want to put their crew in danger. If I was running that outfit the Col. would be swimming back to shore.

Ray


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## wvlogger

Woodcutteranon said:


> My biggest worry is for the Colonel. The way he cusses people I would think he is going to end up on the wrong end of a butt whoopin. quick!



If that were me in that situation, and that thing (not worthy of being called a man) would have went for a pretty unpleasent flight off the landing and into the brush. You just don't treat co workers like that.


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## loadthestove

Woodcutteranon said:


> My biggest worry is for the Colonel. The way he cusses people I would think he is going to end up on the wrong end of a butt whoopin. I cannot believe any man, desparate for a job or not, would let someone speak to them like that. I would have ended that relationship real quick!



The guys around here would put up with his mouth for a very few minutes before all heck broke lose,,I wonder how much is real and how much is faked for the show,,seems like all the reality shows wanted trash talking and screaming bosses in the episodes.

Guess that's one reason I like swamp loggers ,,i don't think i have ever seen bobby cuss one of his workers or the workers cussing each other.


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## paccity

loadthestove said:


> Guess that's one reason I like swamp loggers ,,i don't think i have ever seen bobby cuss one of his workers or the workers cussing each other.



i think i heard him say darn once ,.


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## CS1981

Where is Browning at??? Jay seems like the most level headed of all the west coast crews. Shelby in just pain hillbilly!! Which is cool. All the others are clowns, did any one notice one of the cutters for Papac was a Dethelus, "I think that is how you spell it" remember the father and son who worked for Pihl, theyu had poor attitudes!!


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## 2dogs

Yeah I think that is Dwayne's father. IIRC he is a very respected faller.


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## wvlogger

2dogs said:


> Yeah I think that is Dwayne's father. IIRC he is a very respected faller.



he reminds me of dwayne when he cuts


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## ray benson

Did they find the missing logger on the Alaska crew?


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## oldiron

Have to wait till next week, unless someone on here has the inside info??


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## CS1981

Still no Browning???? Show is turning in to a soap opera


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## wvlogger

CS1981 said:


> Still no Browning???? Show is turning in to a soap opera


 
i know right. Were is browning?


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## Kingsley

I agree with you about Swamp Loggers being a better built crew. From the top down. They have their moments, but who doesn't.

Marty


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## Jimmy in NC

Kingsley said:


> I agree with you about Swamp Loggers being a better built crew. From the top down. They have their moments, but who doesn't.
> 
> Marty


 
That show makes me proud to live in Eastern NC. Show is filmed about an hour away from me and the attitude, work ethic, etc. generally conveyed is very common among all the people around here.


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## treebogan

The entire Series has been and always will be total BS.

They make big out of Logging little Trees,its a 071 for Petes sake,the "Dodge Neon"
of the Yarder World.

The Crews are hot headed under skilled drama Queens.No one in the years I worked Yarder Crews would have lasted a couple of days if they had acted like those guys do.

Logging is a tough job,tough men don't behave like Children.


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## Fronty Owner

the alaska crew cant be serious. 
tonights episode looking for "van" shows they have some comradery. 

Leah on the Pihl crew is obviously out there for cameras.


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## adam32

Fronty Owner said:


> the alaska crew cant be serious.
> tonights episode looking for "van" shows they have some comradery.



Ya think the missing guy stuff was set up? I mean, who gets lost on an island?? I can see spending the night, but come on, walk out at first light!! I think it was totally set up!!


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## CS1981

Still no Browning again!!!??? Craig Rygguard is a total ass taking and saying that about a injured employee( it was staged IMO )


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## BaldSawRunner

CS1981 said:


> Still no Browning again!!!??? Craig Rygguard is a total ass taking and saying that about a injured employee( it was staged IMO )


 
Something staged on Ax Men?!?! NOOOOOO! Say it isn't so! :dunno:


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## zr900

At least the Kernel is gone (I know its spelled wrong, but he doesn't deserve that title)


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## CS1981

The cournial is a idiot!!! I would never talk to a boss like that, what a piece of work!!! Coatsy is stuck up is own butt, or Gods gift to logging:monkey: Browning crew was the best and respected crew, now they are mia!! Show is becoming a joke, I still am mad and Craig Rygguard the way he talked to injured employee Jay would never talk like that nor would a respectable business owner/ boss. Looks like next week Rygguard gets smashed, hopefully it will teach them something!!!!!!


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## jackstock394

*The colonel is a drama queen idiot*



paccity said:


> i think i heard him say darn once ,.


 Well last night he quit, good riddance what a sham, that fool would get chased into the brush and never be heard from again on a real job.This show is getting pretty bad, very setup. Used to be kinda cool when they showed the fallers working. Does anyone know what happened to the browning crew?


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## treebogan

Why is the Alaska Crew Scablining?The TMY70 has good Power and Breaks for lift on the Tail rope,but couldn't they rig a Spar down on the Back line and Bridel out?

First one side and then the other?


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## mdavlee

I think the alaska crew is a bunch of misfits or something. I think this year is the worst season so far.


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## paccity

jackstock394, i was talking about bobby swamp logger. ya the kernel is a putz.


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## jackstock394

*How stupid will the papac boys be tonight*



paccity said:


> jackstock394, i was talking about bobby swamp logger. ya the kernel is a putz.


 Ya its sunday again, time to see how big of a joke the alaska crew will be. Its getting hard to watch without getting mad, very poor representation of the timber industry. and paccity i do agree swamp loggers is a good show, before that i had no idea that they even logged swampy areas in se us.


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## Fronty Owner

I would rather watch swamp loggers or American loggers. both are much better shows. 

I must admit, its nice watching fat boy gabe struggling occationally...get pissed and throw his little tantrums.


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## CS1981

Coatsy is a idiot!!!!!!! It is sooooooo staged with Papac, almost as bad as S&S. Looks like Rygguard gets a new person( DJ from Browning!!!!) but it looks like Browning crews are working with other crews too. And what's up with the load counts!!!!! All of a sudden they are through the roof, and it shows Papac loads in the river, looks like they have like 50 load. Would have been nice to see Gabe get hit in the head when he was cutting the logs off the trailer, he talks sooooo much safety and does the most unsafe acts. 

I am just about over this crap!!!!!! I am about to go watch back episodes of swamp loggers and ax men on I tunes!!!!!!!!!


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## jackstock394

*yes coatsy is biggest idiot on the show*

The way coatsy acts and talks drives me crazy, worse than any BIL or barroom know it all i have ever known. Im already not watching when they show the stupid river logging, dont care about it. As for the rest of the show its only getting worse.The deal with fat gabe messing with that load last nite was sheer stupidity, good way to visit a hospital. Might not be watching at all next week, its just a stupid knock off of survivor.


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## 2dogs

Is the yarder engineer the dude who stormed off? Maybe they just look alike.


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## slowp

2dogs said:


> Is the yarder engineer the dude who stormed off? Maybe they just look alike.



Nah, I think the dude who returned to our fair state, ran the shovel and the excavator. 

The two fallers I was working with today said Alaska loggers are no good. I can't remember how the topic came up...maybe because the ground was saturated, covered in ferns and had a good midstory of Devil's Club. A fine place if you are a slug. :smile:

Nobody shouted "WATCH OUT!" although there were a few WOOOs to get attention.
High octave WOOOOs.


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## 2dogs

No, not the colonel. The "first" dude that quit and said he was headed back to California. I don't know what his name is.


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## rb142

No, they are different guys, though they do look a lot alike. According to the previews, California dude is returning to the Alaska crew next week.


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## Gologit

jackstock394 said:


> ...The deal with fat gabe messing with that load last nite was sheer stupidity, good way to visit a hospital.


 
Or a morgue. What happened with that load isn't uncommon. Sometimes a bunk long breaks or a short crowder falls through the bunk logs...it happens.

The best way to deal with that is to walk the loader down and straighten out the load. If you're too far from the landing for the loader to walk you can false-bunk the broken pieces with chain or wrappers. Throwing extra rigging and tightening them sequentially will usually suck a downed log back up under the load enough to make it to a reload or the mill.

What you _don't_ do is get under the load with a saw and start whacking away like Gabe was doing. That was just plain stupid. There are several ways to solve that problem without doing what he did.

And the Rygaard's dangle-head falling on the yarder cab roof? Way past ridiculous and obviously staged. It's sad to see what is probably a pretty decent logging outfit turning into whores just to get some camera time. How in the hell can they even look at themselves in the mirror? Money must mean more to them than self respect.


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## slowp

I have a log truck question. Back in the day, the weigh cops would come to this area about once a year. We would find logs dumped in the ditchline and the brands sawed off on such days. 

How was it done? Peavies? It was called kicking a log off. Also, that was in the day when seven log loads were very common so they weren't small logs. I've asked, but it is like, _*The Secret of The Log Truck Drivers*_. late::coffee::coffee:


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## Gologit

slowp said:


> I have a log truck question. Back in the day, the weigh cops would come to this area about once a year. We would find logs dumped in the ditchline and the brands sawed off on such days.
> 
> How was it done? Peavies? It was called kicking a log off. Also, that was in the day when seven log loads were very common so they weren't small logs. I've asked, but it is like, _*The Secret of The Log Truck Drivers*_. late::coffee::coffee:


 
Not that I have any first hand knowledge of course...but I've heard of a method. 

I claim no responsibility or accept any liability for anyone dumb enough to try this all by himself. Takes at least three good men, two of whom should know exactly what the hell they're doing.

If the log is a peaker or a wing log high enough above the stake tip you can choke each end of the log with haywire or a wrapper, hang the lines straight down directly over the front of the duals, put one line under the drive tires and the other line under the trailer tires...pull the lines snug and cram everything you can under the front edge of the tire. Drive slowly forward...if everything works out the lines go under the tires under strain and the forward motion of the truck slowly reels in the lines until the log slides off. You don't have to pull ahead very far. You want to make sure you're parked on an outslope leaning to the same side the log is coming off of. A big log will hit pretty hard and if they bounce they'll usually bounce down the hill away from the truck.

You can also rig a pull line to a nearby tree, snatch-block it 90 degrees with a molly hogan, and get somebody in another truck or even a good pickup to pull it off for you. If you use this method, tell the puller to drive really fast. You want the head end of the log to fly past where the reach sticks out of the back of the dolly. Too slow and they drop straight down.

I have no first hand knowledge of any of this, you remember. 

I do know that if your trucks are going through FS accountability checks tell the drivers not to answer the question "What's the first thing you do when you lose a FS log?" with..."well, first I'd get my axe out and chop the brands lose". This really tends to piss off the FS people who do the checks. They take themselves very seriously and their sense of humor is usually surgically removed when they get hired.


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## 2dogs

Gologit said:


> Not that I have any first hand knowledge of course...but I've heard of a method.
> 
> I claim no responsibility or accept any liability for anyone dumb enough to try this all by himself. Takes at least three good men, two of whom should know exactly what the hell they're doing.
> 
> If the log is a peaker or a wing log high enough above the stake tip you can choke each end of the log with haywire or a wrapper, hang the lines straight down directly over the front of the duals, put one line under the drive tires and the other line under the trailer tires...pull the lines snug and cram everything you can under the front edge of the tire. Drive slowly forward...if everything works out the lines go under the tires under strain and the forward motion of the truck slowly reels in the lines until the log slides off. You don't have to pull ahead very far. You want to make sure you're parked on an outslope leaning to the same side the log is coming off of. A big log will hit pretty hard and if they bounce they'll usually bounce down the hill away from the truck.
> 
> You can also rig a pull line to a nearby tree, snatch-block it 90 degrees with a molly hogan, and get somebody in another truck or even a good pickup to pull it off for you. If you use this method, tell the puller to drive really fast. You want the head end of the log to fly past where the reach sticks out of the back of the dolly. Too slow and they drop straight down.
> 
> I have no first hand knowledge of any of this, you remember.
> 
> I do know that if your trucks are going through FS accountability checks tell the drivers not to answer the question "What's the first thing you do when you lose a FS log?" with..."well, first I'd get my axe out and chop the brands lose". This really tends to piss off the FS people who do the checks. They take themselves very seriously and their sense of humor is usually surgically removed when they get hired.


 
It seems at least one FS (LHer) has slipped through the humorectomy. Good thing too.


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## Gologit

2dogs said:


> It seems at least one FS (LHer) has slipped through the humorectomy. Good thing too.


 
Yup...she's a keeper.


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## flushcut

Gologit said:


> Not that I have any first hand knowledge of course...but I've heard of a method.
> 
> I claim no responsibility or accept any liability for anyone dumb enough to try this all by himself. Takes at least three good men, two of whom should know exactly what the hell they're doing.
> 
> If the log is a peaker or a wing log high enough above the stake tip you can choke each end of the log with haywire or a wrapper, hang the lines straight down directly over the front of the duals, put one line under the drive tires and the other line under the trailer tires...pull the lines snug and cram everything you can under the front edge of the tire. Drive slowly forward...if everything works out the lines go under the tires under strain and the forward motion of the truck slowly reels in the lines until the log slides off. You don't have to pull ahead very far. You want to make sure you're parked on an outslope leaning to the same side the log is coming off of. A big log will hit pretty hard and if they bounce they'll usually bounce down the hill away from the truck.
> 
> You can also rig a pull line to a nearby tree, snatch-block it 90 degrees with a molly hogan, and get somebody in another truck or even a good pickup to pull it off for you. If you use this method, tell the puller to drive really fast. You want the head end of the log to fly past where the reach sticks out of the back of the dolly. Too slow and they drop straight down.
> 
> I have no first hand knowledge of any of this, you remember.
> 
> I do know that if your trucks are going through FS accountability checks tell the drivers not to answer the question "What's the first thing you do when you lose a FS log?" with..."well, first I'd get my axe out and chop the brands lose". This really tends to piss off the FS people who do the checks. They take themselves very seriously and their sense of humor is usually surgically removed when they get hired.


 Sounds pretty detailed for having no knowledge of said events.  I am sure it was all bar talk and rumor.


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## slowp

Sounds more complicated than getting a ticket for being too heavy..

Axes? Nope, the ends were sawn off here. You must be in a more primitive area.

One time the weigh cops went out in the woods because one large logging company had all their trucks suddenly break down and they were broken down all along one road system. :coffee::coffee:


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## Mike Van

A good place to look for an axe would be in someones head. Could anyone really work with some clown behind you yelling "go go go" all day? With an occasional "look out" thrown in? What a joke this show has become. Nice scenery at times, but they should re-name the show "send in the clowns"


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## Joe46

I said when I heard they were bringing Jimmy back that I would not watch the show. I haven't. Having logged on the Olympic Peninsula, I would guess that nobody on the Rygaard crew goes out in public much.


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## Gologit

slowp said:


> Sounds more complicated than getting a ticket for being too heavy..
> 
> Axes? Nope, the ends were sawn off here. You must be in a more primitive area.
> 
> One time the weigh cops went out in the woods because one large logging company had all their trucks suddenly break down and they were broken down all along one road system. :coffee::coffee:


 
Complicated? Maybe. But...overload fines can get expensive. Most of the trucks have on-board scales now so you very seldom see a log by the side of the road any more. 

A self-loader usually carries a saw but most trucks don't. They don't carry a peavey, either, although there are times when one would come in handy. If a truck driver was carrying a saw and/or a peavey the boss might start to think that maybe the driver was doing a little firewood gathering on company time. Or rolling off some trading stock logs at the tavern or the girl friend's house.


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## 2dogs

Gologit said:


> Complicated? Maybe. But...overload fines can get expensive. Most of the trucks have on-board scales now so you very seldom see a log by the side of the road any more.
> 
> A self-loader usually carries a saw but most trucks don't. They don't carry a peavey, either, although there are times when one would come in handy. If a truck driver was carrying a saw and/or a peavey the boss might start to think that maybe the driver was doing a little firewood gathering on company time. Or rolling off some trading stock logs at the tavern or the girl friend's house.


 
Ya know, for a guy who claims to know nuthin you sure know alot.


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## Gologit

2dogs said:


> Ya know, for a guy who claims to know nuthin you sure know alot.


 
 Nope...I used to know all the answers...now I can just barely understand the questions.


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