coolest thing I saw today

 Having served as Vice President of Sales for Stihl America (one of seven serving the United States and Canada) for many years, his last assignment before retiring was as a corporate product liability consultant, where he said he "got paid $50 an hour to educated $100-an-hour lawyers how to use a chain saw," then served as an expert witness in personal injury court cases.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10239267169851764&set=a.3247429238833

and I want to let you know that it's the 100th Anniversary of Stihl !  Still family owned !

The partnership started simply, with a 10-by-10-foot STIHL booth at championships, funding for minor improvements and a paintjob for One Moment. 

But what Phelps saw at the 2015 championships inspired bigger plans. Participants and spectators numbered upward of 150,000, even though online presence was virtually nonexistent, and the races were untelevised. 

When Phelps discovered title sponsors were planning to stepdown in the near future, he pitched STIHL execs on a major sponsorship. They responded with an overwhelming yes. The first STIHL National Championship Air Race was held in Reno in September 2017.

https://covabizmag.com/real-people-race-airplanes

https://www.facebook.com/NCAROfficial

https://100.stihl.com/

I grew up in the Upper Penisula of Michigan, that's way the hell up there, where it snows every winter, and in the 70s and 80s, going to the forests, to get deadwood, fallen trees, for dry wood to burn, and cutting up live trees (known as green) for drying until the next winter, was almost universal with everyone that lived there. 

Sure cuts down on the cost of heating when you only have to pay for a chainsaw, an old truck, and gas and oil for both. 

And I never saw anyone use any brand of chainsaw, that wasn't a Stihl. Of course, other brands existed. But I didn't know that. 

Same with fishing reels. I only knew of Zebco. Snowmobile boots? Sorel. Never saw anything made by any other company.