The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 02: A Comma (is a Restful Pause)

[Handley_Page]

Happy Moanday. The coffee is ready The kettle is hot. Help yourself.

Morning HP, how's the hurricane research coming?

Well, according to the News, Ireland is suffering (4 dead so far). Some parts of Wales are experiencing downed trees (it's not nice when it's your car's under it) and there are the usual "Power outages" (we used to call it "mains failure") and "schools have been closed as a precaution" (perhaps the local councils do not want the responsibility?), drivers of high-sided vehicles are advised to stay off certain roads and bridges, and householders advised to check any garden furniture and maybe tie it down.

If this storm moves a few miles East, I'm in serious trouble.

Now then, where's that damned coffee pot gone . . . . ?

 

[TxRad]

Well, according to the News, Ireland is suffering (4 dead so far). Some parts of Wales are experiencing downed trees (it's not nice when it's your car's under it) and there are the usual "Power outages" (we used to call it "mains failure") and "schools have been closed as a precaution" (perhaps the local councils do not want the responsibility?), drivers of high-sided vehicles are advised to stay off certain roads and bridges, and householders advised to check any garden furniture and maybe tie it down.

If this storm moves a few miles East, I'm in serious trouble.

Now then, where's that damned coffee pot gone . . . . ?

Good luck and stay safe old friend. Has anyone warned our Miss Professor in Wales to tie her tits down there's going to be a blow?

The coffee pot is where it always is, on the back counter. Put your glasses on.

The house guest and housemate are shopping today so i have some quiet writing time until they return. Not that they are noisy when around, just distracting in a naked sort of way.

 

[Hypoxia]

A warm, dry early afternoon here in the Shitty of San Narcisco. (That's San Fran to you furriners.) After yesterday's playings with grandkids and feastings on the celeb-chef son-in-law's ruinations of of our diets, we awoke late in our downtown Wyndham hostelry. The in-room coffee isn't too bad as long we double-up on grounds and add sweet cocoa. Damn, should have brought rum.

So we're about to go staggering across Union Square and up (and down) into Chinatown again. We'll likely emerge with many dried mushrooms, a PK-mount camera lens, several silly toys, and maybe some carved jade stuff. We might be floating in green tea, too. Could happen.

 

[Handley_Page]

Good luck and stay safe old friend. Has anyone warned our Miss Professor in Wales to tie her tits down there's going to be a blow?

The coffee pot is where it always is, on the back counter. Put your glasses on.

The house guest and housemate are shopping today so i have some quiet writing time until they return. Not that they are noisy when around, just distracting in a naked sort of way.

Our Miss Professor in Wales is well aware of the perils, I believe.
<changes glasses> Oh is that where you hid the coffee pot ?
Sorry, Reading glasses don't seem to work at any distance over about twice arms length. I must try to remember that.

A warm, dry early afternoon here in the Shitty of San Narcisco. (That's San Fran to you furriners.)
Damn, should have brought rum.

So we're about to go staggering across Union Square and up (and down) into Chinatown again. We'll likely emerge with many dried mushrooms, a PK-mount camera lens, several silly toys, and maybe some carved jade stuff. We might be floating in green tea, too. Could happen.

And no camera ??(I do not count that thing on a even the most modern 'phone as a camera).
What PK lenses do you need ?

 

[sharingfantasies]

Well, according to the News, Ireland is suffering (4 dead so far). Some parts of Wales are experiencing downed trees (it's not nice when it's your car's under it) and there are the usual "Power outages" (we used to call it "mains failure") and "schools have been closed as a precaution" (perhaps the local councils do not want the responsibility?), drivers of high-sided vehicles are advised to stay off certain roads and bridges, and householders advised to check any garden furniture and maybe tie it down.

If this storm moves a few miles East, I'm in serious trouble.

Now then, where's that damned coffee pot gone . . . . ?

I don't know about your schools, but in the US, schools often closed in case of major emergencies for two reasons. One, parents and children feel better if they are together; and two, the schools are often opened as refuge centers for those people that lose power or have to evacuate. Schools usually have generators that back up their electricity and they have a supply of emergency materials. I know my school was required to have barrels of water, first aid supplies, flashlights, blankets etc. I am not positive but I think they also kept MREs in the emergency bins. School employees are considered first responders and, if not at school already, are required to report to their school or the nearest school they can access. If the children are at the school when the emergency occurs, they must be kept there until a parent comes for them.

 

[Hypoxia]

And no camera ??(I do not count that thing on a even the most modern 'phone as a camera).

I already possess some and yes, they're larger than cigarette packs.

What PK lenses do you need ?

'Need' is rather a stretch as 66 PK-mount lenses currently own me. I'd like to replace the Vivitar-Kiron 24/2 whose aperture won't stop-down but I'm not likely to find such among the Grant Avenue discounters and sucker-trolls. I'll just see what jumps out and bites me.

I don't know about your schools, but in the US, schools often closed in case of major emergencies for two reasons.

Out here in semi-rural country, they also become livestock refuges and wildlife rescue centers. Articles from Sonoma County talk of schoolyards becoming "Noah's Arks".

 

[litfan10]

I don't know about your schools, but in the US, schools often closed in case of major emergencies for two reasons. One, parents and children feel better if they are together; and two, the schools are often opened as refuge centers for those people that lose power or have to evacuate. Schools usually have generators that back up their electricity and they have a supply of emergency materials. I know my school was required to have barrels of water, first aid supplies, flashlights, blankets etc. I am not positive but I think they also kept MREs in the emergency bins. School employees are considered first responders and, if not at school already, are required to report to their school or the nearest school they can access. If the children are at the school when the emergency occurs, they must be kept there until a parent comes for them.

now I'm remembering all the bomb drills we used to go through when I was in school, heading under the desks.
Certainly wouldn't fit there anymore

 

[TxRad]

now I'm remembering all the bomb drills we used to go through when I was in school, heading under the desks.
Certainly wouldn't fit there anymore

I got tossed out of school for three days when i wouldn't get under my desk. Well, maybe it was what I told the teacher.

"Miss Whateverthefuckhernamewas, this little metal and wood desk isn't going to do a danged thing when that bomb goes off across the river at Barksdale. (SAC Headquarters for the AirFarce) We'll still be a puff of dust on a hot radioactive wind."

She nor the Principle particularly liked facts unless they gave them. Not to mention, I probably scared the rest of the class to death.

I had way too much information for my age. The result of spending a Summer reading the encyclopedia. The whole encyclopedia.

 

[litfan10]

I got tossed out of school for three days when i wouldn't get under my desk. Well, maybe it was what I told the teacher.

"Miss Whateverthefuckhernamewas, this little metal and wood desk isn't going to do a danged thing when that bomb goes off across the river at Barksdale. (SAC Headquarters for the AirFarce) We'll still be a puff of dust on a hot radioactive wind."

She nor the Principle particularly liked facts unless they gave them. Not to mention, I probably scared the rest of the class to death.

I had way too much information for my age. The result of spending a Summer reading the encyclopedia.

I remember looking at the scrawny desks then the classic mushroom cloud black and white news reels then back to the desks thinking "They're funny."
But for once I kept my opinions to myself.

 

[NotWise]

"Miss Whateverthefuckhernamewas, this little metal and wood desk isn't going to do a danged thing when that bomb goes off across the river at Barksdale. (SAC Headquarters for the AirFarce) We'll still be a puff of dust on a hot radioactive wind."

Point of order. The SAC Headquarters were at Offutt, outside Omaha. SAC no longer exists due to post-cold war reorganization.

Before I looked up Barksdale, I didn't even know that B-52s existed anymore outside of museums (and old recordings).

I grew up near Cannon, Walker, and Ellsworth SAC bases. I think Cannon still exists, but I don't know what they're doing. Walker (famous for the Roswell ET episode) was closed in the 1960's. Ellsworth is still there but they fly B-1s, and they're probably no more than a 10th of what they were in the 1970s.

Maxwell and Gunter (both at Montgomery, Alabama) still exist, but only for training. My youngest daughter had the fairly bizarre experience of dancing a ballet at Maxwell, with a mothballed B-52 as the backdrop to the stage. I saw the video. It was odd.

I checked Google Earth on Ellsworth and was shocked. They had an on-base population of about 25,000, but the large neighborhoods where I once drove a school bus to a Catholic school in the adjacent town are all gone now. Apparently the houses and apartments were picked up and moved rather than destroyed.

I'm fairly comfortable with the idea that we no longer need such a massive nuclear presence. Unfortunately, that probably just means that we're now a more efficient world-destroying machine, not a weaker one.

 

[ishtat]

I had way too much information for my age. The result of spending a Summer reading the encyclopedia. The whole encyclopedia.

Cassels Book of World Knowledge in 8 volumes - about 1930. For a kid on a farm in the 60's with no TV (Parents didn't like 'em) this was the most amazing book imaginable - a lot of print with brown sepia photographs, I read every word of it, it was my wonderland.

 

[Hypoxia]

I remember looking at the scrawny desks then the classic mushroom cloud black and white news reels then back to the desks thinking "They're funny."

I grew up 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, 4 miles east of a missile plant, and 30 miles west of two significant US Air Force bases. All my future in-laws worked at that missile plant. Everyone in the area knew that nukes would be the end. "Duck-and-cover" never made it to my grammar schools. Why bother?

No, when hell falls from the skies, it'll be best to be right underneath, looking up, sipping a nice cuppa something. Irish coffee, right.

 

[TxRad]

Point of order. The SAC Headquarters were at Offutt, outside Omaha. SAC no longer exists due to post-cold war reorganization.

Before I looked up Barksdale, I didn't even know that B-52s existed anymore outside of museums (and old recordings).

I grew up near Cannon, Walker, and Ellsworth SAC bases. I think Cannon still exists, but I don't know what they're doing. Walker (famous for the Roswell ET episode) was closed in the 1960's. Ellsworth is still there but they fly B-1s, and they're probably no more than a 10th of what they were in the 1970s.

Maxwell and Gunter (both at Montgomery, Alabama) still exist, but only for training. My youngest daughter had the fairly bizarre experience of dancing a ballet at Maxwell, with a mothballed B-52 as the backdrop to the stage. I saw the video. It was odd.

I checked Google Earth on Ellsworth and was shocked. They had an on-base population of about 25,000, but the large neighborhoods where I once drove a school bus to a Catholic school in the adjacent town are all gone now. Apparently the houses and apartments were picked up and moved rather than destroyed.

I'm fairly comfortable with the idea that we no longer need such a massive nuclear presence. Unfortunately, that probably just means that we're now a more efficient world-destroying machine, not a weaker one.

Barksdale was SAC headquarters until the early 70 when it was moved. I grew up in Shreveport/Bossier so i know the history of Barksdale first hand. The "hotline" kept a dozen to twenty B-52 loaded with atom bombs ready to take off on a moments notice. When they launched even for practice, you couldn't hear yourself think for a half hour. As soon as the 52 finished launching, the refuelers hit the skies because a 52 couldn't take off with a full load of bombs and a full load of fuel.

I left the area for good in the late 70's so i don't know if they are still flying B-52's or what out of there. If any are still in service, that would be the place.

In any case, missiles are cheaper and faster. Not to mention the worry about pilots not following orders.

Okay, good morning and welcome to Toesday. You know the drill.

The coffee is hot and fresh so help your own self.

Ishtat, What I read was the Compton Peoples encyclopedia from around the mid fifties. A-Z plus a half dozen or so yearly updates. Around two and a half shelves in my mom's book case.

 

[Handley_Page]

Barksdale was SAC headquarters until the early 70 when it was moved. I grew up in Shreveport/Bossier so i know the history of Barksdale first hand. The "hotline" kept a dozen to twenty B-52 loaded with atom bombs ready to take off on a moments notice. When they launched even for practice, you couldn't hear yourself think for a half hour. As soon as the 52 finished launching, the refuelers hit the skies because a 52 couldn't take off with a full load of bombs and a full load of fuel.

I left the area for good in the late 70's so i don't know if they are still flying B-52's or what out of there. If any are still in service, that would be the place.

In any case, missiles are cheaper and faster. Not to mention the worry about pilots not following orders.

Okay, good morning and welcome to Toesday. You know the drill.

The coffee is hot and fresh so help your own self.

Ishtat, What I read was the Compton Peoples encyclopedia from around the mid fifties. A-Z plus a half dozen or so yearly updates. Around two and a half shelves in my mom's book case.

A brief glimpse at the 'net reveals that Barksdale is still full of B52 (a magnificent beast).
I have had the pleasure of being at RAF Fairford and seeing these beasts come in and park up. Watching them take off is a lesson in Noise. Quite why they never got round to having 4 beefier engines is a mystery (the have been rumours, of course)

Ellsworth seems to feature my favourite; the Rockwell B1B (the Bone).
Anyone seen this: - http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/bombers4.html

 

[NotWise]

Ellsworth seems to feature my favourite; the Rockwell B1B (the Bone).
Anyone seen this: - http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/bombers4.html

I hadn't seen that, but I have seen the B1B's coming and going from Ellsworth. They're a scary sight.

What got me in the recovery page was the last picture, showing the B1 being refueled by a KC-135. It amazes me that those things are still flying. It's the same airframe as the Boeing 707, which went out of commercial use (at least in this country) decades ago.

 

[sharingfantasies]

Ishtat, What I read was the Compton Peoples encyclopedia from around the mid fifties. A-Z plus a half dozen or so yearly updates. Around two and a half shelves in my mom's book case.

In my house it was the World Book Encyclopedia.

 

[NotWise]

In my house it was the World Book Encyclopedia.

Mine too. I read a lot of it--sometimes for hours on end--but I didn't read it cover-to-cover-to-cover. There were, what? 20 volumes plus updates? Besides, I was busy reading Heinlein and Bradbury and any other science fiction I could get my hands on.

 

[ElectricBlue]

A brief glimpse at the 'net reveals that Barksdale is still full of B52 (a magnificent beast).
I have had the pleasure of being at RAF Fairford and seeing these beasts come in and park up. Watching them take off is a lesson in Noise. Quite why they never got round to having 4 beefier engines is a mystery (the have been rumours, of course)

If it works, don't fix it, basically. The niceties of fuel efficiency and later decade compliance don't matter when you've got a brute that could keep the necessary number of bombs on station. Fuel 'em up, light the wick, go. Repeat.

The life on those airframes is astonishing - I once read somewhere that they could still be flying after 100 years, with not much effort.

 

[MagicaPractica]

*yawn* Oh, forget it. Coffee won't help. Hope all are well. Night.

 

[TxRad]

*yawn* Oh, forget it. Coffee won't help. Hope all are well. Night.

When it is time, it is time. Sweet Dreams.

It was in the low 50's this morning, which meant naked cuddling. It is supposed to be cooler in the morning. My kind of weather.

Fresh coffee and kettle for the late night crowd.

See ya later.

 

[Handley_Page]

When it is time, it is time. Sweet Dreams.

It was in the low 50's this morning, which meant naked cuddling. It is supposed to be cooler in the morning. My kind of weather.

Fresh coffee and kettle for the late night crowd.

See ya later.

Ah; you cannot beat a nice cuddle.
Well, maybe a cup of nice coffee - or maybe breakfast - or similar. <cough>

We got a strange one today.
The gauge says +12C. Go out in it an it feels more like 2!
It am not nice.
Coffee, hot, please. . . .

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Gosh, I seem to have done something right. My non-erotic SF and Fantasy fanfic "Tales From the Guild, Ch 1" has thirty-one votes and a red 'H' and it hasn't even been posted twelve hours, yet. Whoodathunk? I guess I'd better post Ch. 2 and get writing on 3.

 

[NotWise]

Gosh, I seem to have done something right. My non-erotic SF and Fantasy fanfic "Tales From the Guild, Ch 1" has thirty-one votes and a red 'H' and it hasn't even been posted twelve hours, yet. Whoodathunk? I guess I'd better post Ch. 2 and get writing on 3.

Good going. SciFi-F seems to accept a wide range of stories without flinching. The same stories aren't always well accepted by people who find them on the 'New' list.

I'm writing a largely non-erotic SciFi story now, but I just hit a roadblock that will cause some rethinking.

 

[Hypoxia]

We got a strange one today.
The gauge says +12C. Go out in it an it feels more like 2!
It am not nice.
Coffee, hot, please. . . .

A bit of a breeze, have you, now?

(Fur us Murkans, them numbers roughly translates to the thermo-meter sez about 54f but yer ventilated skin feels like 39f. Pull on yer woolies, thar.)

Meanwhile, more driving today, after more driving yesterday, and anticipating more driving tomorrow. "More driving" means repeatedly necessarily delving into and across the Sacramento Valley, now not quite as densely-packed with wildfire smoke but still pretty icky. I'd hate to (but probably will) count the mileage and road-time we've accumulated these past eight days. Too bad we're not paid for that.

We've become GPS junkies in a year. We drove home from San Francisco yesterday. Starting back, the GPS died. We must drive a non-trivial route around Sacramento and Stockton today. We thought, "Must replace GPS ASAP!" We stopped at store, bought an upgrade, started car -- and old GPS came back to life. We decided to keep new GPS as backup. QUESTION: Is this a First World Problem?

I'm halfway through my second medium cup of this nutty coffee, finishing the pot. No rum; I'm driving. Must leave in 45 minutes. Must wake up. Need more caffeine. Maybe a cola lurks in the icebox?

 

[TxRad]

Happy Hump Day Nooner to all.

Stayed in bed to cuddle this morning. Three makes cuddling even better in more ways than one. House guest ended up in the middle so she is still snoring away. We left her some breakfast on the back of the stove but I'll have to make a fresh pot of coffee as the first one is mostly gone.

I forgot to set the heat in the house last night so it was 66f when i got up. They said it was 49f at daylight. Glad I stay in bed. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.