General Check In For Everyone!

[Stick]

Hope to be on here tomorrow but if not........

...I leave all my pipes and 'baccy to Stick.

Cheers :cheers:

 

[Stick]

Hello, this is London calling...

Second day back at work today after a tremendous Christmas break with friends and family. Spent much of my time getting our new house straight; installing TV arial, hanging pictures, moving furniture etc. Went to a panto with the kids and laughed more than I have for a long time and watched the new Star Wars film at the cinema with my son.

Weather in the UK is currently settled but quite cold. Temp in the 'shire is currently minus 5 degrees C.

London, out.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Hello, this is London calling...

Second day back at work today after a tremendous Christmas break with friends and family.  Spent much of my time getting our new house straight; installing TV arial, hanging pictures, moving furniture etc. Went to a panto with the kids and laughed more than I have for a long time and watched the new Star Wars film at the cinema with my son.

Weather in the UK is currently settled but quite cold. Temp in the 'shire is currently minus 5 degrees C.

London, out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfK-WX2pa8c

 

[Lonecoyote]

STICK, your installing a TV arial??? WOW, they have not been used here in the States much since the mid '80's for TV. No cable of Dish TV near you? 
I lived on the Island of Malta for a few years back in the '80's and we had to pay an annual tax to view TV. While on the Island I owned a restaurant and MANY Brits vacationed on the Island. I was told then, by a Brit that England had a similar tax. Is it true still???

KEEP ON PUFFING!!!

 

[Brewdude]

Hope to be on here tomorrow but if not........

...I leave all my pipes and 'baccy to Stick.

Cheers :cheers:

Still here by the grace of God mate. And I had a long winded response prepared, but that would not be in the spirit of this thread.

Until the morrow........


Cheers,

RR

 

[Stick]

Hope to be on here tomorrow but if not........

...I leave all my pipes and 'baccy to Stick.

Cheers :cheers:

Still here by the grace of God mate. And I had a long winded response  prepared, but that would not be in the spirit of this thread.

Until the morrow........


Cheers,

RR

Well done matey. Sounded pretty hairy?

 

[MichaelM]

Well, not much to report really, which is just the way I like it
Had a quiet holiday with the wife and doggies and hung some drywall in a spare bedroom. Now its tape, spackle, sand, repeat...
Looks like we will get our first snowfall of the year tonight. Hope you all are staying warm and healthy!
Mike.

 

[Psmith]

Anyong Haseyo from South Korea.

Doing great here. Enjoyed a terrific New Years Day by going surfing at dawn to catch the sunrise. Waves were nice and the sky was clear. The sun was a giant orange orb rising out of the sea. Then after lunch went sailing with my family out of the local bay. Capped off the evening with a Hoya De Monterray cuban corona that I had been saving all year.
I'm hoping that day is a foreshadowing of things to come for 2017.
Now...back at work but I can't complain because I like my job. Life is good...knock on wood.

Cheers!

 

[KevinM]

Doing very well here in Central Connecticut. The weather has been a see saw. We have a couple day where it's warm enough to sit on the deck and puff contentedly. Followed by a couple days of non-smoking misery. I performed a successful Christmas gift experiment -- no gifts, cash only. Recipients seemed happy enough. The only gift I bought was pre-Christmas back on Black Friday. We got a great deal on a Smart Teevee at Walmart. Only problem was I had to venture out at midnight, drive through mega-mall parking lots in the rain, with temps around freezing to pick it up. Our daughter hollered at Mom -- "you shouldn't let Dad go near Walmart, especially on Black Friday." (She thinks I'll get all impatient and snarky with other customers) But saving $500 puts me in a great mood, plus, with a proper POV, the other customers can be kind of entertaining. Happiness and good health in 2017 to all.

 

[joshoowah]

I'm here! I'm alive!

Our dog, Pippin, is recovering from her spay surgery, and we're recovering from the holidays, as we were super lazy and got fat.

 

[Anonymous]

All is good in Gaspésie. The Missus and I did lots of cross country skiing, snowshoeing, jogging and, well, shoveling over Christmas period. Was not hungover as I renounced alcohol over 5 months ago (so drinking lots of &%?$*#$ water, flavoured water, water with juice, water with pop, all the imaginable combination water with something); and did not get fat as I am on a diet for health reasons  (this explaining the booze thing).
Our 2 Siamese cats are pis&%? as it's too cold for them to go out for a stroll. They patiently, or as much as they can, await Spring so that they can go for walks with us, once more. Yes, we actually walk them just like we would of dogs. No kidding. Siamese cats, in fact, are dogs in a cat's body.
Lighting up one of my Mumbo Jumbo Mixture in a Falcon to everyone's good health. :cheers:

 

[ftrplt]

Hi folks and Happy New Year!!! The ol' sabbatical went on longer than planned, then the holidays kicked in. Just got back to OKC from North Carolina and Maryland. Having one hell of a time getting caught up. Wx here is cold, cold, and damn cold!!! Temps supposed to hit the 60's next week. Hopefully will work in a bowl or five!!!!!! FTRPLT

 

[Brewdude]

Hope to be on here tomorrow but if not........

...I leave all my pipes and 'baccy to Stick.

Cheers :cheers:

Still here by the grace of God mate. And I had a long winded response  prepared, but that would not be in the spirit of this thread.

Until the morrow........


Cheers,

RR

Well done matey. Sounded pretty hairy?

David

I had composed this rather lengthy response to your query, but initially felt it strayed too far off course for inclusion. Well, here it is for you, and apologies for all the detail - but that's how I'm wired! One clarification before we get started since you're a Brit-

(NOAA is the acronym for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is a website where one can put in their location and receive up to date weather forecasts. I tend to believe NOAA more than anyone since they're usually the most accurate. And in fact even the TV and radio stations use the data from NOAA to compile their own forecasts, or so I'm led to believe).


<jack on>

Sorry mate, I'm still here. The winds missed us in my area of the
Cascade foothills, but I had high anxiety all night so didn't sleep
more than an hr or so. Both the local TV news and NOAA said the same
thing - gusts to 55 mph - and NOAA is usually spot on.

Anything over 40 mph and the power may go out, over 50 and it probably
will, and over 60 it's a ripe dead certainty. Suffice to say that I
was very concerned, including and especially that the night time temps
have been in the teens and the daytime highs hovering around freezing.
(Yes we still think in degrees Fahrenheit here, and so
did you until not so long ago when you were assimilated).

As you might imagine, the prospect of keeping my house warm in that
kind of weather did not hold any appeal, despite having a new 7500w
generator. The genny won't power the furnace which is electric, so
would have to rely on the wood burning stove and all that would
entail.

NOAA and the news said that the winds would come in between 8PM and
midnight, so I was basically awaiting the first signs upstairs in my
bedroom and ready to flee to the downstairs couch. You need to
understand that I'm surrounded by very tall fir trees which have an
unfortunate habit of breaking during high winds and coming down on
houses, sometimes to the demise of their occupants.

In fact, pretty much every bad windstorm carries reports of houses
that have literally been cut in half by downed trees. Shortly after I
moved to the Pac NW back in '90 I was very nearly T-boned by a 100'
Madrona that snapped halfway up during a very bad windstorm and came
right toward my kitchen, which I was in at the time.

It was during the morning in full light, and the power was already off
from the day before. I was making breakfast on my camp stove, and
looking outside at the trees bending further than I ever thought a tree
should bend.

All at once there was a loud snap like a rifle shot, and the next
thing I knew a mass of green was headed right for the kitchen I was
standing in. I was still married to my second wife back then and she
was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room
(lounge to you Brits). I literally tackled her into the living room as
I was sure the tree was coming right through the roof. I hasten to add
that in retrospect all this seemed to happen in slow motion.

The Madrona crashed down right next to the kitchen window, having been
deflected very slightly by a skinny alder which it had fallen against.
Without that alder we'd have been toast! And the alder was a mere 6"
across at the base, where the Madrona was about 2.5' at the base!

The Madrona did succeed to do damage though - it ripped off the corner
of the roof where the breakfast nook was and pulled down the weather
head that connected the house to the power pole. Relatively minor
damage when compared to what might have been, I suppose.

Why am I telling all you this? Only to illustrate how serious I get
when the wind blows here - which it does with alarming regularity
during certain periods of the year. I take it very seriously, and for
good reason.

And forget about suggesting that I remove all the trees on my property
that might pose a problem - I've certainly considered that - but the
reality is that the multitude of the neighbours trees within striking
distance of my house negates that idea. And in any event, removing
trees only makes those near them more vulnerable due to the fact they
were used to a certain wind force over time and would have adjusted to
that by nature of root structure. So, remove one or remove all!

Back in '06 there was an epic windstorm in the Pac NW which looked
quite like a hurricane from satellite photos. A huge low depression
which descended upon us like the second coming. Predictions of 70 mph
winds, when in fact 85 mph was later reported in some areas.

And yes of course I realize that these wind speeds are small change to
those in bonafide hurricane areas. Be that as it may.....

The net results of this was something like 3M customers lost power, some for
several weeks or more. I was without power for 6+ days and that was
typical. This was during mid-Dec, when the ambient temps had not
dipped below freezing. Yet it was all I could do to keep the house in
the upper 60's with the wood stove. It required tending at least every
1/2 hr.

All to say that when the wind blows it gets my attention. And make no
mistake, when I eventually retire I will get the hell outta here in
favour of warmer climates where power is not a problem!

<jack-off>


Cheers,

RR

 

[Ozark Wizard]

:lol!:

Sounds like you have had enough of the 'Pineapple express' in the PNW. Freezing rain is hitting now as I understand it. Mind yourself, it'll get a bit hairy with that!

Take care!

 

[Stick]

Hi Rande,

I'm currently in the wilds of Wales using my phone to post. When i get back to civilisation and a keyboard I'll respond more appropriately. Suffice to say though, I hear and have shared your concern regarding the potential destructive forces that strong winds possess. More when I return....

 

[KevinM]

Re: wind and trees ... I count it as a prudent idea to cut down any tree that could reach your house if it fell.  Just not worth the risk to your family.  A nice lady who lived near us was killed in her bed one night when a nor'easter came up and knocked an oak tree down on her house. It came right through her roof and a broken branch stump impaled her as she slept.

 

[arkansaspiper]

I'm on the road running hogs to the butcher with my mother in law. I'm ready for some Brown sugar smoked bacon and ham!!!! Some yummy brats and all the pork chops I can eat yummmmmm!!!!!!!! That's how I am lol.

 

[Stick]

Hi Rande,

I'm currently in the wilds of Wales using my phone to post. When i get back to civilisation and a keyboard I'll respond more appropriately. Suffice to say though, I hear and have shared your concern regarding the potential destructive forces that strong winds possess. More when I return....

I'm back in civilisation now following a lovely weekend away in the mountains of Wales. Now, where were we... ah yes...

Cripes! Close call with that Madrona!

I understand your concern regarding winds Rande as I know what it is to be waiting for that fateful 'last gust'. Whilst I've not experienced tornados or such like, like my Brothers in the states, I have experienced the full fury of what the mountains have to offer, most especially in the Highlands in Scotland and occasionally closer to home in Snowdonia. Many a night I've been on the mountain with a group, hunkered down in our tents wondering if the next gust would smash the tents. It's incredibly stressful, lying there at 0230hrs, every nerve jangling, arms and legs spread out like a starfish trying to hold the tent down and senses tuned into the max. You feel incredibly vulnerable and come away from nights like that feeling like you've been in the ring. Sometimes the winds rip around the mountains and come in waves. I remember one particular night when it was fairly calm but then in the distance I'd hear a sound like a rumbling freight train coming straight towards me. Slowly it gathered speed up the valley, growing in intensity. And then it was on me, tent thrashing wildly, the noise terrifying and deafening. This would last no more than a minute before the freight train rumbled on through the mountains, leaving me exhausted and nerves frayed! Over and over, all through the night until day break. It always seems easier at day break.

I can remember on another occasion walking off a mountain in the Highlands. We'd been in snow holes for a few nights and I was trying to identify a spur to use to lose height as the winds were proving difficult, gusting approx. 70mph. They're dangerous at these speeds as you can be slam dunked into the ground. Sensing I was close to the spur I stuck my head over the down slope for a peak and was immediately lifted off my feet and thrown 5 yards backwards into my group, my ice axe and crampons flailing hopelessly in the air. Luckily I didn't hurt anyone and I was saved injury from landing on my rucsac.

Yup. Rain, snow, sun... none of these bother me too much. But winds; they make me really edgy.

I'm hopeful by the time you read this Rande the winds will have passed and you can relax once more. Mate, here's to your retirement and a place where you can relax and reminisce about some windy close calls. :shock:

 

[arkansaspiper]

I'm on the road running hogs to the butcher with my mother in law.  I'm ready for some Brown sugar smoked bacon and ham!!!! Some yummy brats and all the pork chops I can eat yummmmmm!!!!!!!! That's how I am lol.  

did I get edited on this is said god.bless at the end

 

[Blackhorse]

Arky - No one would have edited that off a post. Musta just been operator error...or some glitch.

------------------

On the home front, I think we just dodged the ice bullet here in the South Portland area. Some local areas are getting nailed with freezing rain...others are spared with higher temps which have turned the snow to slush. We're among the slushy contingent.