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

[MagicaPractica]

Shower and bed soon. Fresh coffee for the midnight crew.

I have three Halloween stories under construction but they are on the back burner as I'm behind on my self imposed novel schedule. This shoulder has played hell with my writing time.

Have a good night all.

Wide awake, not going so well. Guess a little reading is in order.

 

[_Lynn_]

Wide awake, not going so well. Guess a little reading is in order.

I can't sleep either. The end of the month will be a year since my brother died so I'm trying to write a poem.

 

[Hypoxia]

Thoughts & Prayers, mate.

Muchas gracias, 'migo.

More coffee, perhaps ? I'm having tea (it's late round here).

I'm third-generation Los Angeles, which runs on petrol, coffee, and more pharmaceuticals than you can count. Tea was wimpy stuff in my youth. I remember my first real cuppa tea. In a Canadian jail. Thick black stuff stomped with sugar and cream. Eyeball-burning fumes. Cruel laughs at the Yank who couldn't take it. I'd take it right now if dosed with Canuck whiskey.

The heat came back today, it appears summer isn't done with us here.

Temps are roller-coaster-ing here but it looks like our record-hot summer is finally moving on. Bye-bye, Summer. Don't let Winter's door hit your ass on your way out.

Have to work tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend, folks.

There's a weekend? Oh yeah, more traffic will whiz by toward Sierra coolness. The village stores will do great business soaking er I mean supplying tourists. Some folks uphill haven't yet returned home from the USA Labor Day break. Jaywalking is suicidal on weekends.

Okay, more depresso, decaf espresso. And more pain relief. Maybe throw pot debris in with the grounds?

 

[ishtat]

A blow job for Harvey.

One of the side effects of Irma was that she blew Harvey away - at least out of the media. One friend emailed that they had lost about 30 cattle drowned on their beef property and were in the awkward period where there was no longer enough water for boats to take feed to the cattle but much of the ground was still too soggy to bear the weight of tractors. Has the flooding pretty much finished now?

 

[Handley_Page]

One of the side effects of Irma was that she blew Harvey away - at least out of the media. One friend emailed that they had lost about 30 cattle drowned on their beef property and were in the awkward period where there was no longer enough water for boats to take feed to the cattle but much of the ground was still too soggy to bear the weight of tractors. Has the flooding pretty much finished now?

Perhaps some sort of punt might work ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punt_(boat)
Or some sort of coralcle ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coracle

 

[Hypoxia]

Each new disaster drives prior disasters from public attention. Big disasters far away are driven off the radar by closer smaller fresher shit. The global Human Misery Index is not displayed on every news feed. We easily disregard off-screen horrors. We must, lest we go mad.

Hey, fifty years ago we couldn't even see global horror in real-time. Network news and satellites fixed that. California's then-and-now Governor Moonbeam proposed an orbital information system. Some guy named Turner picked up on the idea and built CNN. [Fonda and Fox comments retracted] Now we can see every bloody atrocity as it happens. Thanks, guys.

Were I pervy that way, I'd run an Android app scanning police and emergency radios everywhere, including disaster-riot-chase action. Did I twitter, I'd view right-now vid feeds from everywhere. We're surrounded by the present; the past goes away (except for swiftboating).

Coffee. It's around here somewhere. Coffee powers us through the present and into the future. What can we make of that future? I dunno; pour another cuppa and we'll work it out.

I just brewed another pot. Y'all help yourselves. kids.

 

[Handley_Page]

Each new disaster drives prior disasters from public attention. Big disasters far away are driven off the radar by closer smaller fresher shit. The global Human Misery Index is not displayed on every news feed. We easily disregard off-screen horrors. We must, lest we go mad.

Hey, fifty years ago we couldn't even see global horror in real-time. Network news and satellites fixed that.
.
Coffee. It's around here somewhere. Coffee powers us through the present and into the future. What can we make of that future? I dunno; pour another cuppa and we'll work it out.

I just brewed another pot. Y'all help yourselves. kids.

It's a two-edged sword.
It seems to me that there's a bit of a problem with "instant news."
So there I was idling through 'faceache' and the BBC pops up with a report about a "terrorist attack" on an underground train at Parson's Green (see here for my most recent).
Whilst I appreciate that 'serious' events should be reported, I find, all too often, that there's very little known that's available to BE reported. We might just as well watch a cartoon show. Talking heads, with nothing to go on are just so much wasted time, IMO. (The worst time I've seen this happen was the death of the Princess of Wales).

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Autumn will arrive tomorrow afternoon with a large Pacific trough and a week's rain. The local firefighters will appreciate it. Those of us who have spent the last month breathing smoke will appreciate it. I, who left SoCal to escape the heat and dry, definitely appreciate it. However, it means that I need to get hopping on my three-chamber compost bin. And can more spaghetti sauce. And make more sauerkraut. Late summer is a busy time.

 

[TxRad]

Afternooner all

Istat, the water is pretty much gone and all the creeks and bayous are back in their banks. Some of the lowest lying areas are still soggy but low humidity, sunshine, and mid 80's to low 90 temps have helped dry things out.

Now the real fun begins as the idiots who bought or built houses in a known flood plain decide who they want to sue first. Then there are the ones who have lived in the area for thirty years and never had a problem. Someone must have screwed up to get their homes flooded. Yeah, the guy who dump an average of 40 inches of rain over a 170, 000 square mile area in five days.

My friends in central Florida finally got power back on this morning.

I thought bears were always busy just before hibernation time.

So, I'll freshen up the coffee and set out a fresh kettle before I head off to my afternoon delight.

 

[NotWise]

I finally finished the research for what will become Ch. 21 of Unlikely Angels. I've been toying with it for years, and now the chips are down; 18 through 20 are effectively done.

 

[Handley_Page]

Afternooner all
.
Now the real fun begins as the idiots who bought or built houses in a known flood plain decide who they want to sue first. Then there are the ones who have lived in the area for thirty years and never had a problem. Someone must have screwed up to get their homes flooded. Yeah, the guy who dump an average of 40 inches of rain over a 170, 000 square mile area in five days.
.
So, I'll freshen up the coffee and set out a fresh kettle before I head off to my afternoon delight.

We've had similar problems with wanna-be litigants (especially the ones who could not do a bit of their own research into the local land. Personally, I think those responsible are the "Land authority" for granting building permission, AND the architects/builders who didn't build-in sufficient safety /protection.

Time, I think, for a cup of tea

 

[oggbashan]

We've had similar problems with wanna-be litigants (especially the ones who could not do a bit of their own research into the local land. Personally, I think those responsible are the "Land authority" for granting building permission, AND the architects/builders who didn't build-in sufficient safety /protection.

Time, I think, for a cup of tea

In England, whether a piece of land is suitable or unsuitable for development because of the potential for flooding is decided by the Environment Agency. The local planning authority CANNOT overrule the Environment Agency's decision even if the Councillors, the Council Officers and the local community KNOW that the land has flooded in the past.

Even if there is a known flood risk, the developers can propose a flood mitigation scheme that might be accepted by the Environment Agency even if everyone else knows that pathetic proposal won't work in practice.

One third of my town is shown on Environment Agency maps as having a potential for sea or fluvial flooding. That means that any development within that area has to be built with flood resistant areas at ground floor level e.g. garages and utility rooms at the base of the building with kitchen and living rooms on the next floor and bedrooms a floor above that. That makes development too expensive.

The Environment Agency has not taken into account the extensive (and expensive) sea defences and fluvial flood attenuation measures that have been added since the floods of 1953.

But they SAY they know best, approve schemes where we know it will flood, and refuse schemes where we know it won't flood.

 

[Handley_Page]

In England, whether a piece of land is suitable or unsuitable for development because of the potential for flooding is decided by the Environment Agency. The local planning authority CANNOT overrule the Environment Agency's decision even if the Councillors, the Council Officers and the local community KNOW that the land has flooded in the past.

Even if there is a known flood risk, the developers can propose a flood mitigation scheme that might be accepted by the Environment Agency even if everyone else knows that pathetic proposal won't work in practice.

One third of my town is shown on Environment Agency maps as having a potential for sea or fluvial flooding. That means that any development within that area has to be built with flood resistant areas at ground floor level e.g. garages and utility rooms at the base of the building with kitchen and living rooms on the next floor and bedrooms a floor above that. That makes development too expensive.

The Environment Agency has not taken into account the extensive (and expensive) sea defences and fluvial flood attenuation measures that have been added since the floods of 1953.

But they SAY they know best, approve schemes where we know it will flood, and refuse schemes where we know it won't flood.

"If in doubt, don't change anything"
Jobsworth
?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

"First, do no harm" Secondly, if you don't do anything no one can blame you for what you did.

 

[Son_of_Battles]

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to get your blue W after the contest ends?

 

[NotWise]

Out of curiosity, how long does it take to get your blue W after the contest ends?

I'm not sure what contest you're talking about, but it was immediate for my Valentine's story.

 

[Son_of_Battles]

I'm not sure what contest you're talking about, but it was immediate for my Valentine's story.

For the 2016 readers choice awards. Or do the blue W's only come from special contests?

 

[MagicaPractica]

For the 2016 readers choice awards. Or do the blue W's only come from special contests?

No, I have a blue W on a story that I'm pretty sure was something like best erotic horror in July one year. Maybe it was best erotic horror for the year but I didn't think so.

 

[Son_of_Battles]

No, I have a blue W on a story that I'm pretty sure was something like best erotic horror in July one year. Maybe it was best erotic horror for the year but I didn't think so.

Maybe it's just taking a little longer because the amount of winners on the yearly contest. That and the summer lovin contest right on top of it. I'll give it a couple more weeks before I send up any flares to laurel to see if it should be there or not.

 

[NotWise]

More often than not, I'm glad I don't know our readers.

Someone just 1-bombed "The Third Ring." I can understand that the story isn't for everyone, but I don't want to meet anyone who would bomb that story.

 

[Handley_Page]

More often than not, I'm glad I don't know our readers.

Someone just 1-bombed "The Third Ring." I can understand that the story isn't for everyone, but I don't want to meet anyone who would bomb that story.

I'm pretty sure that some of these bombers do it simply "Because they can", rather than from a deeply-held belief that the story's crap.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Ugh, coffee so bad I had to add stuff to it to make it palatable. Gonna be a busy day. Happy Sunday, folks!

 

[Handley_Page]

Ugh, coffee so bad I had to add stuff to it to make it palatable. Gonna be a busy day. Happy Sunday, folks!

And a Happy Sunday from a cool & wet part of the UK.

Tx, what time do you call the night, in GMT ?

 

[NotWise]

I'm pretty sure that some of these bombers do it simply "Because they can", rather than from a deeply-held belief that the story's crap.

I've taken to looking at them as "negative thinkers." They vote to punish the writer if the story doesn't tickle their fancy. Most of the voters seem to be "positive thinkers." They vote to reward the writer if there's something about the story they like.

 

[MagicaPractica]

And a Happy Sunday from a cool & wet part of the UK.

Tx, what time do you call the night, in GMT ?

It's cool in here too - escaped into town for a decent cuppa, a cinnamon roll, and some writing in my way to get groceries.