1980s American Cars, Guns, Gadgets and Consumer Goods [Atmosphere, look, minutiae]

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Probably good advice.

Of course, if they're caught in a blizzard, their car might be well and truly stuck, with the roads impassable even if they dig it out, until the county finishes plowing roads where people live and gets to a back road where few people ever drive. Which might be days.

Well, after the blizzard blows by (but when you're still stuck and waiting for the roads to get plowed) is a great time to step out, set up an impromptu shelter over the bed of your truck with a tarp, a few poles, and some twine, break out the propane stove, and brew up some coffee while cooking a hearty breakfast on the griddle.

Luke

[acrosome]

The dangers of cooking in tents are vastly over-stated, usually by the tent and stove manufacturers at the behest of their lawyers. People have been having a quick brew-up in tents for, well, millennia. Just don't leave the stove on forever.

Of course, yes, as I mentioned a few posts ago it is very possible to kill yourself with CO in well-sealed modern tent. Usually it's due to a heater, though, or a stove that is left on for hours (usually as an improvised heater).

A blizzard is a very bad time to do this, however. Spindrift seals the tent even better so that the CO can build up, and there's also a worsened danger of setting the tent on fire if the stove is knocked over or if the tent wall is blown in by the wind. Or if the tent blows down- imagine being caught in a collapsed tent with a running stove...

EDIT- I was editing my last post as others posted. It includes a link to the USGS website for maps. By far the most common map are 7.5-minute USGS quads, which are 1:24,000. 15-minute quads are 1:62,500 and 30-minute quads are 1:125,000.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Corelli has a road map of the area and a compass in the car. If an USGS survey map that includes northwest Aroostook County was easily available in Bangor, Maine, then I imagine Corelli has one of those.

How much space would it take up if he had USGS survey maps of the entire area covered by his resident agency, i.e. Aroostock, Hancock, Penobscot, Pitcataquis, and Washington counties of northern Maine?

USGS [National Topographic Series in Canada] are done in UTM [Universal Transverse Mercrator] grid projection. The key to UTM is that the map is distorted so as to allow the gridlines to match up with the gridlines of adjacent mapsheets. For that reason this is used by the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] as standard. One project undertaken by the ICAO, which was completed by 1978 was to map the world at 1:250,000 scale between 80°S latitude and 80°N latitude. So a USGS map at that scale is certainly available. Smaller scale maps may be available, but if USGS follows NTS priorities, 1:50,000 scale maps will only be available for well settled areas, so maybe for Allagash and probably for Fort Kent. The smaller 1:12,500 scale maps would be for cities that essentially appear as red blobs on the 1:50,000 maps.

A 1:50,000 mapsheet covers an area roughly five miles [8 km] by seven miles [11.2 km] and a 1:12,500 mapsheet about 1.25 miles [2 km] by 1.75 miles [2.8 km]. Mapsheets are usually folded in four, both from top to bottom and from right to left, and will fit into the cargo pocket of a pair of combat pants. As a rough guide, the cargo pocket covers the outside of the upper thigh from just above the knee to immediately below the pelvis without significantly overlapping the front or back of the leg, and a folded map will just fit into the pocket with perhaps a couple of mm left over. So, no he's unlikely to fit even all the 1:50,000 maps for Aroostock county in the glove compartment of his vehicle. It's probably doable if he has them all stuffed in a dedicated briefcase (i.e. one he uses to hold his maps and only his maps). However there's probably a complete set for his region back at the office.

Speaking of his office, those big wall maps of an area that you see in movies and TV shows of the period were made (in real offices) by cutting the outer margins off USGS maps and pinning the adjacent mapsheets together on a large corkboard.

Regarding how long the alcohol laws endured for First Nations in Canada, it's arguable that they still do. The Joseph Drybones case sort of quashed the laws for a time. Briefly, Joseph Drybones was arrested on 8 Apr, 1967 and charged with being drunk off a reserve contrary to section 94b of the Indian Act. He was convicted on 10 Apr, 1967 and sentenced to three months. On 27 Apr, 1967, his conviction was appealed and a new trial ordered. At that time, his lawyer (he didn't have a lawyer in his initial trial) argued that the Canadian Bill of Human Rights rendered section 94b invalid as it proposed to treat First Nations differently and more harshly than other people for the same offence. This was appealed from the trial court but the appeal was denied by the NWT Territorial Court on 5 Jun, 1967. The Court of Appeal, NWT denied a further appeal on 25 Aug, 1967. On 20 Nov, 1967 the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal. Wikipedia says section 94b was repealed sometime in 1971, however the Canadian Government website says that it was considered to be inoperative but wasn't stricken from the Indian Act until sometime around 1995. Since then, the bands have requested and been granted the authority to pass by-laws regarding alcohol on their reserves.

The Drybones case was prominent for two reasons at the time. The first was that it was the first and only time that it was successfully argued that the Canadian Bill of Human Rights wasn't simply an guide to interpreting existing law but a prescriptive law that could judicially strike down existing legislation. The second is that the notion that the case overturned the conviction because it discriminated against First Nations more harshly wasn't the popular narrative at the time. The popular narrative was that the conviction was overturned because Joseph Drybones couldn't have complied with the act by being drunk on his reserve because there were no reserves for him to be drunk on [which was also a fact but not the decisive one].

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman

As for jeans, designer jeans first became a thing in the 80's (Jordache, Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein and Guess). I don't think anyone who saw themselves as manly would be wearing them though. Levi's were the top brand of 'real' jeans. There were also Wrangler and Lee jeans.

Yep and the marketing for each brand differed, substantially. Levis tried to appeal to the younger, urban and suburban markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_wdpoTtr0o

Wrangler tried for that market, but eventually gave up and went for the rural customers -- or the "urban cowboys," anyway. If you went into the Grizzly Rose in North Denver, when it opened in 1989 (yeah, it's been there for that long), you saw a lot more Wranglers on the floor than any other brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jihpkvj7sI

Lee Jeans were a bit less expensive than Levis, and focused on comfort, rather than style. A blue-collar man or woman who couldn't afford Levis button-fly 501s, or whose waist-line or butt needed clothing a bit more forgiving, bought Lees. Eventually, they became the "mom jeans."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ySKUsRBNA

Calvin Kleins and Jordache jeans were almost exclusively marketed to up-market girls and women -- or, girls and women who wanted to look up-market. The infamous commercials with Brooke Shields had taken place in the early '80s, but everybody would have seen them. Those brands had rather unforgiving cuts -- women really only looked good in them, if they were in shape, which meant women in their 40s who kept themselves in good shape bought them to show that off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tom65LKiE

Teenage and younger adult girls who had money would have one or two pairs of each brand, in their closets, and older women might have one or two of one or the other, but boys and young men didn't wear them.

We sure liked the girls who could pull them off, though. :)

[Curmudgeon]

While the dangers of CO poisoning inside a tent or other enclosed area may be somewhat over-stated, there are very real, very probable, dangers that civilians may run into [the military generally has SOPs on these points].

First, the enclosed area needs to be well-ventilated while the stove (or lantern) is on and that doesn't mean rolling the window down a crack, it means rolling the window all the way down.

Second, while CO build-up is a potential problem if you keep the stove or lantern going, especially if you go to sleep, so is the flame going out, which will fill the area with fuel fumes. [Keep a stove/lantern watch and turn them off if there isn't anyone to watch them. You'll wake up if it gets really cold and can then relight the stove/lantern.]

Third, NEVER, NEVER, EVER light the stove/lantern inside. Do your lighting outside. If the stove flares up [lantern flares are less likely] and there's usually a better than 50% of an initial flare-up in cold weather, you can easily set fire to your area, starting with the roof. In a tent [the canvas, floorless type that the military used], the rule of thumb was that you had ten seconds to escape the tent from the time it caught fire before being burned to death was inevitable. Most soldiers slept with a sheath knife that was unsnapped, so they could grasp it, reach out of their sleeping bag, cut a slit in the tent wall and slide out against just that possibility.

Cooking inside a tent was normally restricted to floorless tents. People with any experience of winter camping usually carried a piece of plywood along as well, either one just an inch or two larger than the stove and a similar one for the lantern or sometimes a single board for both. It's secondary use was to provide a stable base when pressed down in the snow for the stove and lantern to rest on. Coleman stoves have a large (about an inch or 25mm) hole in the bottom for drainage and the primary use of the board is to keep meltwater from the snow under the stove from getting in.

Perhaps surprisingly, the recommended emergency heating system for cars stranded in a blizzard in Canada wasn't a stove at all but a dozen or two dozen candles, each about an inch in diameter and about six inches high with a 1" high metal candle cup. Each candle was expected to last about six hours before being consumed and two candles, one for the backseat and one up front were enough to keep the entire car at a cozy temperature, even with one or two leeside windows opened a crack.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman

As for jeans, designer jeans first became a thing in the 80's (Jordache, Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein and Guess). I don't think anyone who saw themselves as manly would be wearing them though. Levi's were the top brand of 'real' jeans. There were also Wrangler and Lee jeans.

Originally Posted by tshiggins

Yep and the marketing for each brand differed, substantially. Levis tried to appeal to the younger, urban and suburban markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_wdpoTtr0o

Wrangler tried for that market, but eventually gave up and went for the rural customers -- or the "urban cowboys," anyway. If you went into the Grizzly Rose in North Denver, when it opened in 1989 (yeah, it's been there for that long), you saw a lot more Wranglers on the floor than any other brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jihpkvj7sI

Lee Jeans were a bit less expensive than Levis, and focused on comfort, rather than style. A blue-collar man or woman who couldn't afford Levis button-fly 501s, or whose waist-line or butt needed clothing a bit more forgiving, bought Lees. Eventually, they became the "mom jeans."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ySKUsRBNA

Calvin Kleins and Jordache jeans were almost exclusively marketed to up-market girls and women -- or, girls and women who wanted to look up-market. The infamous commercials with Brooke Shields had taken place in the early '80s, but everybody would have seen them. Those brands had rather unforgiving cuts -- women really only looked good in them, if they were in shape, which meant women in their 40s who kept themselves in good shape bought them to show that off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tom65LKiE

Teenage and younger adult girls who had money would have one or two pairs of each brand, in their closets, and older women might have one or two of one or the other, but boys and young men didn't wear them.

We sure liked the girls who could pull them off, though. :)

Special Agent Maria Lucia de Guerra Estevez would have Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt and Jordache jeans, I guess. Were there particular brands more associated with California/LA/Valley Girls?*

Maria Lucia is only 23-years-old; 5'4" and 107 lbs., a former child ballerina, teen gymnast and black-belt aikidoka. It's only been six or seven years since her gymnastics trainer was pushing her to pursue a professional career and was certain she could make the Olympics if she made gymnastics her priority. She went to Stanford instead, but still does daily akido practice and aerobics while wearing awful bright coloured sweatclothes, complete with that icon of the 80s, the sweatband. She's in absolutely ridiculous shape and there are probably no jeans anywhere in the world she couldn't wear the hell out of.**

Does anyone have any ideas for the impractical-as-actual-winter-wear, but stereotypically 80s Valley Girl clothing she might have brought along to Maine?

I'm looking for neon-coloured ski clothing that goes with Moon Boots and pink earwarmers, as well as whatever clothing she brought along to wear inside.

*She's actually from Beverly Hills and far too much of an overachieving nerd growing up to ever spend much time around real Valley girls or have time for such a lifestyle, but during college, she adopted Valley Girl mannerisms, mainly derived from MTV and other media, in the mistaken impression that it made her 'cool' and 'hip'.
**[GURPS terms; HT 13, Very Beautiful, Charisma 3, Honest Face Perk, Pitiable and Very Fit. Also Mind-Numbing Magnetism (Cheerful) and Stereotype (Valley Girl) Quirks.]

[acrosome]

The "flare up" problem is an issue for pressurized liquid-fuel stoves. And kind of classic actually- every old camper or soldier has a story about losing his eyebrows. It isn't for a propane or other gas-canister stove, though, unless the stove is malfunctioning magnificently. :)

Traditionally you cook in the tent vestibule, which is better ventilated and usually lacks a floor, rather than in the main compartment.

Originally Posted by Icelander

Does anyone have any ideas for the impractical-as-actual-winter-wear, but stereotypically 80s Valley Girl clothing she might have brought along to Maine?

See the movie Better Off Dead for really ridiculous 80s ski attire. Hot Tub Time Machine isn't bad for this purpose either.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by acrosome

The "flare up" problem is an issue for pressurized liquid-fuel stoves. And kind of classic actually- every old camper or soldier has a story about losing his eyebrows. It isn't for a propane or other gas-canister stove, though, unless the stove is malfunctioning magnificently. :)

Traditionally you cook in the tent vestibule, which is better ventilated and usually lacks a floor, rather than in the main compartment.

Any advice for heating coffee while confined to a truck cab during truly awful weather?

Assuming that Corelli owns a special small paraffin stove exclusively for making coffee under circumstances when a larger camp stove would be wasteful or riskier. Or if the other camp stove breaks. Whatever happens, he won't be caught uprepared.

Originally Posted by acrosome

See the movie Better Off Dead for really ridiculous 80s ski attire. Hot Tub Time Machine isn't bad for this purpose either.

I love Better Off Dead! 80s John Cusack was hilarious. I'll propose rewatching that classic with two of my players tonight, I think.

I haven't seen Hot Tub Time Machine*, but upon Googling and finding that it stars John Cusack, is it any good?

*I... uh, have rather low confidence that anything new in movies or music will turn out other than crap. I prefer to wait a decade or two (or more), so I can pick exclusively from stuff that stood the test of time in the public opinion.

[acrosome]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Any advice for heating coffee while confined to a truck cab during truly awful weather?

There's always the Army way- stick a canteen cup full of water on the engine manifold for a while while it''s running. That'll heat it. Then Folgers instant coffee.

You can cook fish that way, too, wrapped in aluminum foil.

Originally Posted by Icelander

that Corelli owns a special small paraffin stove exclusively for making coffee under circumstances when a larger camp stove would be wasteful or riskier. Or if the other camp stove breaks. Whatever happens, he won't be caught uprepared.

How about an Esbit tab stove? When you're done you just blow them out like a candle. Use the cut-off bottom of a soda can as the stove, with a little wire stand to set the metal cup upon. Set the stove on a disposable aluminum pie plate so as not to set the car on fire. Maybe a bit of plywood would work better- better insulator?

Or a Sterno can?

Frankly, to just make a up of coffee a candle stub will work.

Originally Posted by Icelander

I haven't seen Hot Tub Time Machine*, but upon Googling and finding that it stars John Cusack, is it any good?

Meh. I didn't like it, but I tend not to like juvenile-humor movies anymore. It's been a long time since getting laid occupied that much of my bandwidth. I guess it was ok in a Dumb and Dumber kind of way.

Speaking of getting laid- I know that in Iceland there is little stigma to single motherhood. Keep in mind that it ain't like that in the US. In fact we tend to have many more unhealthy sexual hangups than the rest of the non-Muslim world. And it sounds like your setting is in the midst of the AIDS hysteria, so that will be a common item of discussion and scary HIV-related stories will dominate the evening news shows. And there will still be people who call it "the gay cancer." There will be a fair amount of teenage celibacy just because they can't get condoms, especially in small towns- it's hard to buy them when the lady on the other side of the counter goes to your church.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Special Agent Maria Lucia de Guerra Estevez would have Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt and Jordache jeans, I guess. Were there particular brands more associated with California/LA/Valley Girls?

I think you nailed it. Guess is another possibility, but I think they were more wanna-be. And Chic really weren't. (Their unfortunately-designed logo often caused them to be referred to as "hick" jeans, even in my rural hick hometown where plenty of people had them...)

Does anyone have any ideas for the impractical-as-actual-winter-wear, but stereotypically 80s Valley Girl clothing she might have brought along to Maine?

LA basically doesn't have winter. Even her time at Stanford would rarely have seen a day reach freezing. She'd have the ski gear she got for trips to Lake Tahoe (a ~4 hour drive from Stanford), and probably very little else.

For 80s flavor, she'd have a few sweaters -- a fuzzy one "too magical to touch", as per the J. Geils Band; let's call upon Rebecca de Mornay here, because you can't get more iconic than "Risky Business". Also, a cardigan or two to go with the button-down Oxford prep shirts and Izod polos, even though wearing them actually for warmth wasn't the thing. Long-sleeved sweatshirts, though she might have left behind the one with the artfully-ripped neck a la Flashdance in favor of her Stanford sweats and/or hoodie.

I'm looking for neon-coloured ski clothing that goes with Moon Boots and pink earwarmers

Pink earwarmers? Well, look no further than Brooke Shields, also famously the model for Calvin Klein jeans as well as kindly appearing to model the cardigan in the link above. (Inspirational looks on that page with Brooke, but alas, few if any brand names. Piece-by-piece examples here.)

North Face seems a likely brand, having been founded in San Francisco. Patagonia was also around and doing neon colors in the 80s. Both of them had reputations as expensive yuppie stuff (not as junk, though, just that you're paying for the logo). Frank Corelli has stuff at least as good at half the price.