09:49 – It was 52F (11C) when I took Colin out this morning. It’s currently 57F, which is to be the high for today. There’s a cold front moving in, with snow arriving this evening and the low tonight well below freezing. Tomorrow is to be more of the same, with warmer weather arriving Monday. More work on taxes today.
* * * * *
Hah, 56F with 42%RH and windy. Almost a blustery day. Big change from yesterdays warm, and patchy clouds. Not a single cloud in the blue sky today.
Pretty sure we’ll be running heat this AM and cool this PM.
n
Added- as an experiment, I’m gonna track the NOAA weather forecasts for us for the next couple of weeks. I’ll see if they’re any better than the local tv guys. The radio NOAA forecasts are generally detailed and need to be accurate for ships along the coast. So I’m hoping for better than the local liars.
Got my battery for my AED. Fired up, self tested, started talking… ready to go.
That is an advanced medical prep but one I’ve wanted for some time. Total spent was $140, and I’ll make that all back on the other items that were in the auction lot.
Net cost to me, $0.
That is one of my goals with all the messing around- have the auction stuff pay for my preps while upgrading my lifestyle. Live better for less…
n
Turn that AED into a profit center, nick. Go around saying shocking (emotionally shocking, that is, not electrically shocking) things to snowflakes, and when they vapor lock offer to get their hearts restarted for only $100. If you brought along a bullhorn and said shocking things to a roomful of snowflakes, you might clear several grand in an hour.
@steveF, Be still my beating heart!
I’ll clear millions with my heartless plan…
I’m broke, do it for free, come on man, have a heart….
n
I approve of bad puns!
No, wait. I approve of my own puns but disapprove of everyone else’s. I disapprove!
As may be, the plan I proposed was insufficiently capitalistic. You need to induce heart failure in multiple people at once, then auction off your restorative services. “Who will bid $1000 to get first use of my AED? I have $1000, do I see $1200?” Take care of that person, then take bids on getting it next. Mo’ money, mo’ money, mo’ money!
Outstanding capitalist enterprising, gentlemen!
And having made millions, Mr. nick can wash his Rolls or Lamborghini in their tears!
I APPROVE!
65-ish now, expected to drop to freezing by mid-evening. Thunderstorms expected this afternoon and evening, which should make for a nice ice layer by tomorrow.
Now, how to get snowflakes, SJWs, and the FSA to get out and stage a protest around dawn tomorrow, in the middle of the road, at the bottom of a hill, where a firetruck or something will plow into them because it can’t stop. Think, think, think…
EDIT: and the wind’s picking up. It was breezy before but now we’re into “Next stop, Oz” territory.
66 here but dropping to below freezing tonight and tomorrow night, with intermittent showers that will likely freeze up but only for a short time, as the temps rocket into the 40s early this next week again.
“…stage a protest around dawn tomorrow, in the middle of the road, at the bottom of a hill…”
I can think of three cities where I’ve lived or spent a lot of time that would be ideal for this:
Sodom-by-the-Bay, Woostah, MA, and Montpeculiar, VT. Probably not gonna get freezing temps out in Sodom, though.
And forget Snollbinz here (local pronounciation). Flat as a pancake, mostly.
My first attempt may have become lost; otherwise, this is a dupe.
From nick: “Added- as an experiment, I’m gonna track the NOAA weather forecasts for us for the next couple of weeks. I’ll see if they’re any better than the local tv guys. The radio NOAA forecasts are generally detailed and need to be accurate for ships along the coast. So I’m hoping for better than the local liars.”
Not wanting a weather report for the nearest big city, possibly 50 miles, or more, away?
This device will obtain one localized to your immediate GPS coordinates. It will send them with request via the Iridium satellite phone system and receive reports the same. No need to be in range of cellphone tower. After a few minutes, reports may viewed on the device’s screen or on a paired smartphone via Bluetooth.
https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/561269
I use a similar device to communicate back home when out of cell service out in the desert or up in the mountains,
Cool device, and a nice refinement to the iridium pager…
I used to carry a skytel pager with US and world wide coverage. Not any more. No more travel for me.
Funny thing about sat phones too, it would have been cheaper to use my satphone in China than roam with ATT, but I was told the chinese .gov doesn’t like satphones. Since I didn’t want to lose my personal phone, and I wasn’t paying the bill, I stuck with ATT.
n
Quiet today. Too quiet. Makes me think an ambush is coming. Heck, I’d even welcome the fallback discussion of FLESHPOTS and being taken to De cells for some battery, or however those conversations usually go; I tune out.
The weather here turned to crap a couple hours ago: houwling wind, temp dropping, rain sometimes coming down in buckets. Lightning, which is very unusual for this time of year, on account of energy being needed to make lightning possible, and February in upstate NY usually being energy deficient. Must be global warming. Curse that global warming for making our internet connection flicker!
Somewhat on that topic, remember how Europe, or at least central and southern Europe, was projected to have seen its last snow a few years ago. Well, ain’t quite working out that way. February saw a cold snap over southern Europe, resulting in near-total failure of southern Europe to be able to provide fresh produce for the rest of Europe. Global warming has been blamed. Curse that global warming, keeping English children from the cabbage they love!
Wind here kicked up this afternoon the same way and blowing rain sideways, but the temps stayed fairly warm for this time of year. Haven’t seen any lightning yet, though.
I understood that cabbage is a fairly good cold weather crop, like the root veggies.
@SteveF: Mrs. OFD was raised and grew up in Glens Falls, and says it’s the border/gateway of the Adriondacks and they don’t think of themselves as “upstate” New Yorkers but “north-country” denizens. “Upstate” to them means the tony enclaves just north of Babylon-on-the-Hudson. And greater Albany is the “Capital District.” So they don’t think of Albany as either “upstate” or “north-country.” Kind of its own little bubble. Sorry to break it to ya like that. You’re in a bubble. And when SHTF, it will be your task to spearhead the vanguard of the counter-revolution there and assemble ladders and rope for all the hangings to take place. Saves on ammo.
As for cabbage, sitting in simmering wotta of a day certainly kinda stinks up the house. It ain’t a big treat here, I can tell ya that, but we like our spuds, carrots, onions, garlic, turnips, rutabaga, and parsnips. Nice big fat hunk of bottom round roast in the crockpot with most of the aforementioned, with a side of biscuits or dumplings.
Cabbage, chop coarsely.
Take one whole sweet onion and sliver.
Saute onion in pan with butter, add cabbage after a couple minutes, before onion turns translucent.
Salt, gentle pepper to taste.
Continue tossing and saute’ing until cabbage is soft. Cabbage and onion should be carmelized (at least partly)
Serve.
(add garlic powder in moderation if after trying the recipe you want more flavor.)
Served at the Vegas Hard Rock Hotel in the mid 90s. Yum.
nick
Thankee kindly, Mr. nick, sir. I’ll give that one a try here, since March is icumen in, skiddeth bus and sloppeth us, etc. (a snippet from the late Ezra Pound’s parody of Ancient Music, a very old, i.e., medieval ditty).
I’ve never been to Lost Wages but Mrs. OFD has been several times. She really gets around; IIRC there are only four or five states she hasn’t been to yet. Of course she’s never been to SEA, either.
Which reminds me; there was a story on the nooz about some dipshit in Orlando who lost his fucking pet king cobra and didn’t bother reporting it for a few days. In a residential ‘hood with families and kids. I used to see those buggers over in SEA; they can go to 18 feet long and raise a third of their body length in the air, so that big hood is swaying back and forth at your eye level out there. A very disconcerting, dismaying and discombobulating sight, I kid you not.
Upshot was that the snake was found resting under a neighbor’s washer or dryer within a half mile of home. The authorities yanked his exotic wildlife license and he’s being charged with a few charges, too.
If it was my ‘hood I’d kidnap him and stick him in a cage with a few cobras and kraits. Asshole.
Well, pardon my horticultural ignorance. Substitute for cabbage any delicate but foul produce you desire. All I wanted to do was point out that the kids get snow (yay!) and don’t have to eat some craptastic vegetable that’s foisted on them for their own good (yay!). Let’s hear it for Global Warming and the cold it brings!
I made a big-ass pot of soup today — almost 4 gallons. I meant to make about half that, but discovered we had too many carrots, so I threw another handful in, then it needed more water, then it needed another onion because there was more of the other stuff, then it needed another pound of beef, and you see how this goes. Fortunately (and I’m using the word ironically) we have a bunch of freeloaders in the house and they’ll help to consume it.
We had one of my daughter’s friends here for the week, the same girl who stayed with us over christmas break. Parents and older sisters are still working long hours in the restaurant, so she had no better place to go than our house during the school break, a sad state of affairs. And we had another girl yesterday, the one with the insane mother; she was deposited on our doorstep without notice and without a word, shortly after my wife left for work. I left work early and picked up some donuts, and they all got a super-fancy supper of stovetop stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, and fried-up pork and vegetables. Which they all liked, and not only because of the donuts for dessert.
As for disposing of politicians and their hangers-on, I’m opposed to hanging. Not because it’s cruel and unusual, but because it’s not cruel and unusual enough. Crucifixion is what you want. And you don’t even need to waste any 8×8 beams for it. Just nail them up on wooden door frames or window frames and you’ll be all set. Heck, you can even nail them to the door and swing them out of the way if you need to go through.
Sometimes furriners will get on my case about being the typical uncultured American who’s never been to Italy or China even though lots of them come to the US. When I don’t use my usual response*, I’ll sometimes point out that I’ve been to a number of countries, either as part of a force which is preventing invasion or insurrection or because I’m part of the insurrection. So, no, I’ve never been to Italy, and you should be glad of that.
* “Your country sucks. That’s why a lot of your people are coming to the US.”
I’m thinking better you than anyone else taking care of and feeding those kids. Hats off!
Crucifixion is a very nasty way to go; I might reserve that for the worst offenders, i.e., treasonous war criminals such as the last series of national administrators and chickenhawk sons of bitches ’cause I ain’t no Fortunate Son.
Agreed on the correct response to arrogant furriners who come here and decry our provincialism and xenophobia, etc., they can go piss up a rope. “Why are all you fummamuckers over here if it’s so friggin great Over There??? Huh???”
I just point out that all of europe fits in a few of the south eastern states, and we have states bigger than their whole countries. So it’s like we’ve got 30 little euro countries, with more bathing, less armpit hair, and fewer languages to learn. Take that stinky euros….
n
In seriousness though, they just don’t understand how big the US is.
I was chatting with a drunk German in a hotel bar one night in Chicago. He flew into Chicago to go to a KISS concert in Wisconsin. They looked kinda close on the map, but it was a 6-8 hour drive on interstate highways, and the same coming back. He finally believed us that no one would even try to drive that in time for the concert, so he just got drunk in the bar instead. Lots of people were buying him drinks to make him welcome and make up for his cartological mistake…
n
speaking of euros, we haven’t heard from Eugen lately, hope he didn’t get caught up in a protest.
n
If I could actually cause heart failure at will among liberals, I sure as shooting wouldn’t revive them. Are you nuts?
I was chatting with a drunk German in a hotel bar one night in Chicago. He flew into Chicago to go to a KISS concert in Wisconsin. They looked kinda close on the map, but it was a 6-8 hour drive on interstate highways, and the same coming back. He finally believed us that no one would even try to drive that in time for the concert, so he just got drunk in the bar instead. Lots of people were buying him drinks to make him welcome and make up for his cartological mistake…
They don’t have Google Maps in Germany?
I just shined a serious FLASHLIGHT on a guy in my neighborhood who was yelling at somebody. He threatened me, but he did leave.
Later, two other guys showed up. They also basically threatened me for my FLASHLIGHT, but they also left.
The latter two guys were police officers, by the way…
I guess the cities just didn’t look that far apart to him, and he didn’t check. Or he got confused by km:miles conversion.
Makes for a funny story though. He was a member of the “KISS Army” which is some sort of uber-fanclub. He’d jumped on the plane on the spur of the moment, rented a cadillac car, and stopped in for some drinks and advice before hitting the road. Real fun adventure if it had worked out 🙂
n
Just as Euros don’t grok how big this country is, we don’t grok how big O Kanaduh is, or the continent of Afrika (it’s fucking humongous!). The standard-issue globes and Mercator maps don’t really portray it accurately or its relation to the other continents.
And Chiner is roughly the same size as CONUS. Ditto Oz, IIRC.
So, Mr. Spook, you in the habit of shining FLASHLIGHTS on peeps in yer ‘hood in the nighttime? I would if they were close enough to our house and not moving along like good citizens. Or making noise; and I’ve done it. I also told the shitbirds who’d pounded on our front door at 23:00 this past summer that it was a good way to get shot, and they hurried along, not to be seen again.
If I was them cops that talked to you about yer FLASHLIGHT, I woulda thanked ya for being an alert citizen but to be friggin’ careful who you shine a light on, along the lines of ‘don’t write a check that yer ass can’t cash.’
But I don’t know your ‘hood or its environs or daily/nightly foot and motor vehicle traffic so I’m basically talking out my ass here.
Just be careful out there.
Thanks, OFD.
Fairly foolish move, but the punk did stand by his car & eventually leave,
after f’ing me about my light.
He was yellin’ at a female holding a baby. Of course, none of this was
obvious without my FLASHLIGHT, though I heard plenty.
Cops (arriving minutes after the punk left, of course, after my neighbor
who called me in the first place called it in) yelled at me for shining a light.
Ha! My FLASHLIGHT was bigger!
Noted that I got the same reaction from punk & from cops for shining light
on their activities, but punk left and both b&w cars left pretty quick.
And now I gotta swim in cold water, try to find some of my
missing flintlocks!
Get them missing flintlocks and let them air out in the air for a while, keeping a close eye on them for rust spots appearing.
Dirtbag pissed at you for interfering.
Cops pissed at you for having a bigger FLASHLIGHT.
Test out the flintlocks in a safe area to make sure they work OK.
Then take up a position with good cover/concealment and take pot shots at passing cruisers and dirtbag-mobiles. Sooner or later you’ll get the correct reaction.
i.e., stay the hell away from Mr. Spook’s neighborhood.
“Oh it’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood…etc.”
“”Cops pissed at you for having a bigger FLASHLIGHT.””
That part was funny. Wish I had a recording of the words exchanged.
I think I won…
Oh, his FLASHLIGHT was quite small, but it was very bright (in a small
area, let’s say). I was impressed, but so was he.
I guess the lesson is, as I have said, that the authorities are intimidated
by being illuminated.
“”i.e., stay the hell away from Mr. Spook’s neighborhood.””
Nope. Come on by for some Q and cold beverages…
But I try to protect, as do my neighbors. Friendly helpful folk… unless…
“”Cops pissed at you for having a bigger FLASHLIGHT.””
You know, this is probably a bigger problem. I actually shut down the crisis (punk yelling, at least, at a gal holding a baby) with a FLASHLIGHT. Punk is gonna stay pissed, and cops (if they figure it out) are gonna be pissed that I “took the law into my own hands” or otherwise side-stepped their authority (to say nothing of their fun to get to shoot somebody, though they almost shot me, possibly).
I think the lesson here, oops all over again for me, is to observe only, and do nothing, and to not even shine a LIGHT.
Drat.
Too many split infinitives in all that ranting.
I am so embarrassed, with my non-recovering proud English minor.
Sorry.
Rambling on.
Had a multi-level stressful event.
I think I won…
so far…
Yeah, even small chit like that can get the adrenalin boosted and it stays boosted for a while. I think your summary/conclusion is probably correct; monitor, listen, report, and stay out of it—–if possible. There are a lot of examples of guys responding to situations just like that where they had it completely wrong-in-reverse, and, say, the girl with the baby was the aggressor. Talk about red faces!
Anyway, all’s probably well that ended well. Hats off!
Be safe, Mr. Spook. I consider you one of the good guys.