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

[TxRad]

"
Welcome back Lynn, I was starting to worry about you. Sorry about the sick part. Take care of yourself, you're one of the good ones. "

HOW VERY TRUE.
[I think I need a new keyboard].

Meanwhile, coffee.

My keyboard is fine except for missing letters. My fingers are just too big.

Coffee is good.

 

[Hypoxia]

'Ukes can be like small guitars -- or weird mandolins, if strung backwards. They're handy when in my usual keyboarding posture, stretched-out in the recliner with the ThinkPad in my lap. Waiting of a screen to load, I can sip my coffee, then reach down, grab the wee little axe, and play a bit till the laptop becomes responsive again. Like now.

[/me hits a few bars of VATICAN RAG on the re-entrant-tuned soprano Kohala]

My fave is probably the Oscar Schmidt 8-string tenor 'taropatch'. It mostly sounds straight, not re-entrant. The doubled strings give a richer sound than single-string courses. Right behind is a Kala 6-string taropatch tuned like a vintage Columbian quatro. Both are more guitar- than 'uke-like.

Banjos? [/me shifts eyes] Did someone say banjos?

Q: What's worse than a banjo?
A: Two banjos.

Q: Why can't the banjo player drive faster?
A: The pizza delivery sign is still on the car roof.

Backwoods warning: Paddle faster, I hear banjos.

Q: Why is a banjo better than a 'ukulele?
A: It burns longer.

Is any of that Lion chocolate-macadamia coffee left? Time to brew up some and play 'Ukulele Lady.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I could use a journey somewhere about now. I've been sick and spent a good share of each day and night sleeping.

Glad you are feeling better.

 

[Handley_Page]

My keyboard is fine except for missing letters. My fingers are just too big.

Coffee is good.

Keyboards ?
I know that problem. Have you considered using the sort that came with an IBM PS/2 model 80. It's known as a "Cherry Clanky" because it was made by Cherry and it makes a strange clanking noise.
But it is a bloody good keyboard, having tapered keys giving generous space for a fellow's fingers. A new version is a bit expensive these days.

Meanwhile, Tea is the thing tonight

 

[NotWise]

Keyboards ?

I have no problem with keyboards made for desktop/tower PCs. Laptops and tablets are frustrating.

It was an almost interesting day at work. The company owner got back from the Congo, my coworker got back from Greece and I managed to write a few paragraphs of intentional fiction in the course of the day.

 

[_Lynn_]

Morning all,

Last night I came in to check the threads, found some interesting stuff in the cafe and stopped to think. Not a good idea. The housemate woke me up an hour later.

A little while ago, I came in to check the threads, replied to one and came here. Lit was down for a while. So now I'm back!

Welcome back Lynn, I was starting to worry about you. Sorry about the sick part. Take care of yourself, you're one of the good ones.

Ukes are strange as are uke players. At least all the ones I've known. Almost as strange as banjo players.

I was going to cut the grass but the housemate isn't feeling well and decided on a nap. So I'll need to find something else useful to do that is quieter.

Writing it is.

"
Welcome back Lynn, I was starting to worry about you. Sorry about the sick part. Take care of yourself, you're one of the good ones. "

HOW VERY TRUE.
[I think I need a new keyboard].

Meanwhile, coffee.

Glad you are feeling better.

Thanks, guys.

 

[Handley_Page]

We all talk about coffee at some time or another.
Did you know that there are over 125 species of coffee bean in existence (well, that's the number that Kew Gardens has identified so far.

I'll have a handful of No 10 and a side order of No 6, please.

 

[Hypoxia]

We all talk about coffee at some time or another.
Did you know that there are over 125 species of coffee bean in existence (well, that's the number that Kew Gardens has identified so far.

And yet only one species of tea plant exists, Camellia Chinensis IIRC. The grey, black, green, white sorts are not botanical varieties, only the same species grown and processed differently. Other brews may be called teas -- herbals and florals, té maté, bark teas, ephedra (Mormon tea), Long Island Tea -- but they ain't it. Gunpowder tea? Heated "pot liqueur"? (That's the dark stuff in your hookah.)

Maybe there's a tea-bone somewhere.

But now it's four in the morning. That's four AM for civilians, oh-four-hundred hours for soldiers, eight bells for sailors. And for officers, Mickey's little hand is on the 4 and his big hand is straight up. Memorize that. Anyway, it's Long Island Tea time. Easy on the lime.

 

[Handley_Page]

And yet only one species of tea plant exists, Camellia Chinensis IIRC. The grey, black, green, white sorts are not botanical varieties, only the same species grown and processed differently. Other brews may be called teas -- herbals and florals, té maté, bark teas, ephedra (Mormon tea), Long Island Tea -- but they ain't it. Gunpowder tea? Heated "pot liqueur"? (That's the dark stuff in your hookah.)

Maybe there's a tea-bone somewhere.

But now it's four in the morning. That's four AM for civilians, oh-four-hundred hours for soldiers, eight bells for sailors. And for officers, Mickey's little hand is on the 4 and his big hand is straight up. Memorize that. Anyway, it's Long Island Tea time. Easy on the lime.

Try this one:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Dze7L2Yvw&list=PL38DeM8p3BJWvhm8mQqay9qrDhRzT69r2&index=3

John Bird at his finest. (apparently, Idi was NOT impressed).

 

[TxRad]

Welcome to Friday the 13th.

The coffee is made without mishap and that is as far as I'm pushing my luck.

 

[Handley_Page]

Welcome to Friday the 13th.

The coffee is made without mishap and that is as far as I'm pushing my luck.

And it's just the job, thanks

 

[oggbashan]

Welcome to Friday the 13th.

The coffee is made without mishap and that is as far as I'm pushing my luck.

Friday 13th?

I was driving back from our week away but there was a traffic accident on the South side of the Dartford Bridge. What should have taken ten minutes to cross the bridge and peel off the M25 motorway took an hour and a half of crawling a few yards at a time.

Until this week our longest journey time to or from our holiday destination was three hours, with a best time of two hours. On the way there last Friday it took four hours. Returning today? Six hours - twice the previous worst.

I need coffee, and more coffee, and soon I'll go out for a takeaway Indian meal - hot and spicy.

Coffee!!

 

[TxRad]

Friday 13th?

I was driving back from our week away but there was a traffic accident on the South side of the Dartford Bridge. What should have taken ten minutes to cross the bridge and peel off the M25 motorway took an hour and a half of crawling a few yards at a time.

Until this week our longest journey time to or from our holiday destination was three hours, with a best time of two hours. On the way there last Friday it took four hours. Returning today? Six hours - twice the previous worst.

I need coffee, and more coffee, and soon I'll go out for a takeaway Indian meal - hot and spicy.

Coffee!!

One coffee with a half gallon backup, coming up.

Welcome back. Hope the trip was worth the travel time.

 

[oggbashan]

One coffee with a half gallon backup, coming up.

Welcome back. Hope the trip was worth the travel time.

Thanks for the coffee.

The trip? Yes. It allows my wife and I to do things together without having to work around the children, the grandchildren, and our community activities. During the week we ate more meals together without interruptions than we manage in 3 normal months.

We went to places we wanted to go to, not because they were grandchildren friendly. We ate meals without worrying about accommodating dietary fads (except that I avoided sugary desserts). My wife could eat her favourite desserts without raised eyebrows or family disapproval.

We visited my brother's widow for a few hours. Like us, she has so much happening in her normal weekday life that a couple of hours with us was a break. We had to make the appointment for our visit with three weeks' notice so that she could find a short free time in her busy schedule.

She is in her 80s but is still involved in so much that her village might grind to a halt if she wasn't available. The village is still recovering from the gaps left by my brother's death last year. Even though he knew nearly a year ahead that he was dying of cancer he was unable to shed all his community roles. At his funeral the vicar made the point that the church roof was only waterproof during the service because of my brother's final fundraising efforts. The repairs were finished a week before he died.

But we are pleased to be home with a couple of days before the grandchildren visit again...

 

[Handley_Page]

It's plot bunny time (again).
Anyone seen this:- http://newschicken.net/stepdad-puts-foot-bride-girlfriends-true-characters-revealed/

And we in the UK are about to get another weather bashing. https://uknews247.co.uk/hurricane-ophelia-on-course-for-100mph-direct-hit-on-uk-high-alert-issued

Another Tea, I think.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Welcome to Friday the 13th.

The coffee is made without mishap and that is as far as I'm pushing my luck.

Coffee machine at work broke today.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Coffee machine at work broke today.

This kind of Friday the 13th Chloe is behind the counter at Tex's break?

http://sprudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/holyshit.jpg

 

[TxRad]

And we in the UK are about to get another weather bashing. https://uknews247.co.uk/hurricane-ophelia-on-course-for-100mph-direct-hit-on-uk-high-alert-issued

Another Tea, I think.

You were asking about hurricanes over here. Be careful what you ask about. Now you'll be able to see one up close and personal. Please be careful, those things are dangerous in so many ways. Rain and flying debris are at the top of the list. They are talking 75-100 mph winds across Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Britain.

Coffee machine at work broke today.

Yeah, Friday the 13th is hell on coffee pots, among other things.

 

[NotWise]

Yeah, Friday the 13th is hell on coffee pots, among other things.

i had a pretty good day, all-in-all. Nothing broke. Nothing wandered off. I wrote about 1000 words when I should have been doing something more profitable, and the story and it's characters are starting to shape up.

Tomorrow is a birthday party day. My wife's was a couple days ago and our oldest daughter's is tomorrow. It'll be good to see the family again, but I probably won't get a lot of writing done.

 

[Hypoxia]

They are talking 75-100 mph winds across Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Britain.

Good kite-flying weather, then. But what did the Isles ever do to deserve this? Other than being there, that is.

Today we descended the mountain from our 4000ft / 1200m elevation aerie to the 1200ft / 360m county seat at the edge of big Sacramento Valley. Smoke was not nearly so bad as two days ago when visibility down there was about 1/2 mile / 840m.

Alas, the local improvement resulted from wind shifts -- that pump smoke into the San Francisco Bay Area. And we'd planned to spend the weekend in SF, see the kids and grandkids, buy foods not available here in the hinterlands, bark at seals, etc. Not if the AQI is over 200, we won't. Bother.

We bought chocolate-coated espresso coffee beans today. Do they count?

 

[TxRad]

I wish I could remember where Rumply found Big Bertha. Now, that was a coffee pot. Five feet tall and three feet across. Make a pot on the 1st of the month and add water as needed. Shut it down around the end of the month so you can sandblast the barnacles out of the bottom. Rinse and repeat.

Chloe, we ain't having no high pressure exploding coffee machines around here. Way too dangerous for this bunch of amateurs. A couple of drip machines will keep up with this crowd.

I finally got around to drawing up the new drawings of the latest boat side panels. They can be built separately, flat on the work bench. Stand them up, attach the transom and the bow plate. Fifty percent of the work is done. It also makes squaring the whole thing up quick and easy with the front deck and rear corner knee braces.

 

[NotWise]

I finally got around to drawing up the new drawings of the latest boat side panels. They can be built separately, flat on the work bench. Stand them up, attach the transom and the bow plate. Fifty percent of the work is done. It also makes squaring the whole thing up quick and easy with the front deck and rear corner knee braces.

When do you start the high-volume manufacturing? I might be interested in one that I can attach a trolling motor to and navigate over lava rock to nab some sand trout.

Or there's some perch in the river, but the water in the river is thick and it moves kinda fast.

 

[TxRad]

When do you start the high-volume manufacturing? I might be interested in one that I can attach a trolling motor to and navigate over lava rock to nab some sand trout.

Or there's some perch in the river, but the water in the river is thick and it moves kinda fast.

High-volume manufacturing? Have no interest in going high-volume. Hand built, one at a time, and most are customized for the customer. Strong, safe, and well made is the only way I'll build them. An open boat with a bench seat 30" in from the transom and a pedestal mount for the front seat are as simple as they get.

Sand Trout? Where the heck are you fishing for sand trout in Arizona? Or over Lava rock for that matter.

At four feet wide, it has a lot of drag for fast water. Four feet wide and eight feet long makes it rated at 2.5 HP by the Coast Guard. Not a lot of power for swift water.

 

[_Lynn_]

I vote for no coffee machines at all.

 

[litfan10]

I vote for no coffee machines at all.

With a tea option please!