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

[Hypoxia]

Ah yes, the difference between hill grazing cows and flatland cows. That always brings a smile to my face. A certain cute and quite gullible young lady working in a Burger King in Orange Co, California. Her knowledge of farm animals came from Knotts Berry Farms, I do believe. I had her convinced that hill cows had two longer legs so they didn't fall over on the hills.

Walter Knott was in my congregation in my Methodist infancy but I don't hold it against him. Some of us recall Berry Farm copycats in Buena Park, like the Alligator Farm. (You've likely seen photos of mini-me riding a gator.) I learned much about animalia there, and the county fair, and grandpa's poultry ranch. Fact: you can't milk hens. And they're not cuddly.

Strange week here. Between eye and heart doctors, lawyers, Elks, weather forecasters, and relatives, we've been hopping. I managed to start this day with old coffee but it's time for fresh stuff. C'mon by with bagels, hey?

 

[TxRad]

Walter Knott was in my congregation in my Methodist infancy but I don't hold it against him. Some of us recall Berry Farm copycats in Buena Park, like the Alligator Farm. (You've likely seen photos of mini-me riding a gator.) I learned much about animalia there, and the county fair, and grandpa's poultry ranch. Fact: you can't milk hens. And they're not cuddly.

My favorite place was the Japanese Deer Park. A very peaceful place. A very piece full place also. Knowing something about oriental gardens was a must if you wanted and in with the ladies. If some of those out of the way places could talk, I'd have major problems.

"Plot bunnies for sale"

 

[MagicaPractica]

Caliber really doesn't matter. The mold takes care of that. Keeping the metal pure and not too hot makes the process. For metal, raid a wheel and tire shop. That usually have a barrel full of discarded wheel weights.

A decent reloader would be worth it's weight in gold.

One cuppa coming up.

Ooooh, wheel weights. Cool, thanks.

 

[TxRad]

Ooooh, wheel weights. Cool, thanks.

They make good fishing weights also. Duck decoy anchors, boat anchors, and a whole lot more.

A hardware store and a feed store will be much better targets than grocery stores or Walmart.

 

[Handley_Page]

Ooooh, wheel weights. Cool, thanks.

Caliber really doesn't matter. The mold takes care of that. Keeping the metal pure and not too hot makes the process. For metal, raid a wheel and tire shop. That usually have a barrel full of discarded wheel weights.

A decent reloader would be worth it's weight in gold.

One cuppa coming up.

We used to mix pipe lead with tin, or add a few wheel weights to the pot (they have a bit of tin in them). Battery terminals is another source. You need to warm the mould before use , and don't forget a hardwood stick to knock the sprue cutter, and an old spoon to take off the dross. Drop the bullets onto something soft, but not cold (if you cool the bullet too quickly, you don't get a good balance).

 

[TarnishedPenny]

A hardware store and a feed store will be much better targets than grocery stores or Walmart.

Even in Texas, I suspect that concentric circles on paper make much better targets than stores of any kind. Mind you, it takes all kinds...

As for this forgotten annex to Queen Maude Land, there've been 10 inches of snow so far and it's due to continue until Sunday.

Two fingers of pusser rum, please - hold the ice.

 

[NotWise]

Even in Texas, I suspect that concentric circles on paper make much better targets than stores of any kind. Mind you, it takes all kinds...

Unless they're Target stores, maybe.

As for this forgotten annex to Queen Maude Land, there've been 10 inches of snow so far and it's due to continue until Sunday.

Two fingers of pusser rum, please - hold the ice.

Sounds like it's time to get out the cross-country skis.

 

[MagicaPractica]

We used to mix pipe lead with tin, or add a few wheel weights to the pot (they have a bit of tin in them). Battery terminals is another source. You need to warm the mould before use , and don't forget a hardwood stick to knock the sprue cutter, and an old spoon to take off the dross. Drop the bullets onto something soft, but not cold (if you cool the bullet too quickly, you don't get a good balance).

I'll make some notes, not sure where it will figure in but I have an idea.

 

[sharingfantasies]

I agree that city folks have some definite holes in their knowledge of survival in the woods or desert. But life in the city has its own set of survival skills. They don't call cities "jungles" for no reason. Two legged critters are a million times more dangerous than anything on four legs.

 

[Handley_Page]

and our road STILL hasn't been gritted.
Booh !

Coffee, please. Long & strong, with milk and some sugar.

<gnash, gnash, growl. . . .>

 

[sharingfantasies]

and our road STILL hasn't been gritted.
Booh !

Coffee, please. Long & strong, with milk and some sugar.

<gnash, gnash, growl. . . .>

What do they grit your roads with? When I was in the mountains of Arizona they used cinders from extinct volcanoes that are all over the area. Little chunks of rock that broke down easily but turned the cars red with the dust.

 

[Handley_Page]

I've actually been working on this for several years and live on the farm I used to visit. I could give you chapter and verse on alternative power (goat powered washing machine anyone?) and what sources of water are on the property (deep well, hand dug well and spring house.) I'm more working on the impact of jobs no longer fulfilled by members of society aspect you mentioned. Though I also have some resources to read on handmade bullets and foraging for things like chicory.

Do please tell me more.

What do they grit your roads with? When I was in the mountains of Arizona they used cinders from extinct volcanoes that are all over the area. Little chunks of rock that broke down easily but turned the cars red with the dust.

We get some strange species of rock salt mixed in with sand and such.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Still

snowing

over a foot in two days and it is

still

snowing

Large black rum please. Hold the coffee.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Still snowing over a foot in two days and it is still snowing. Large black rum please. Hold the coffee.

Wow. I haven't seen that much snow all winter and it's been kind of disappointing. I love a good blizzard and winter camping and this year hasn't been much of either. One big coffee and I'm going to watch the sun come up .....

 

[TxRad]

Morning all,

Fresh coffee all around and another black rum for TP. We won't see her for the rest of the day.

A lazy relaxed morning so far. That is until housemate and Houseguest showed up a little before daylight. After a short nap for me, there were pancakes and coffee. The second best thing to wake up to.

No snow here. A high of 74f and bright sunshine.

 

[NotWise]

The temp outside is 65F and cimbing. If the winds stay calm then I'll eschew (re)writing for a while and light the chiminea.

 

[Handley_Page]

Our temperature has risen (even at 11pm) to Zero !

I've been stuck in the house, unable to move (could not free up my electric scooter), but the TV programmes have not been that bad, and I have, I think, managed to make some progress on fixing this bloody PC (to an old DOS freak, Windows 7 is a mystery wrapped in confusion).

So I'll have my usual cup of tea, please.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Going outside today one might be convinced that, just possibly, Spring had arrived. Why, today's high rose clear to 49ºF.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Do please tell me more.
.

The goat, or sheep, walked on a treadmill to power the washing machine. It was pre 1950s.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Snow has stopped, at least briefly. Yeah!

There was in colonial days, according to Edwin Tunis, a breed of small, short-legged dogs called 'turnspits', actually bred for the purpose and trained to walk on a small treadmill to turn a roast over a fire. Tunis also mentions, in less detail, that larger dogs were used to power butter churns.

 

[NotWise]

The goat, or sheep, walked on a treadmill to power the washing machine. It was pre 1950s.

Where I came from, we used windmills for that.

I watched through the 1970's as the one-house wind-generators disappeared because the electric coops kicked in. The coops probably made practical sense because it was hard to maintain the wind-driven generator and the batteries that banked it all.

With LED lights and other improvements in efficiency, that would probably be all more practical now than it was in 1960.

 

[MagicaPractica]

Where I came from, we used windmills for that.

I watched through the 1970's as the one-house wind-generators disappeared because the electric coops kicked in. The coops probably made practical sense because it was hard to maintain the wind-driven generator and the batteries that banked it all.

With LED lights and other improvements in efficiency, that would probably be all more practical now than it was in 1960.

I've always thought a windmill would be fantastic where I live, and I've actually seen the maps for where wind generated power makes sense in New York State, I'm in one of the few areas where it would work.

 

[NotWise]

I've always thought a windmill would be fantastic where I live, and I've actually seen the maps for where wind generated power makes sense in New York State, I'm in one of the few areas where it would work.

I had a long-time friend who lived off the grid, where David Bowie fell to Earth in "The Man Who Fell to Earth."

They powered lights, evaporative coolers and deep-well pumps (that was an issue) from their windmill, which used a WWII-vintage aircraft generator. The system required a *lot* of maintenance and was down for periods, but it usually worked.

Then they got old and moved to Santa Fe. Then they got older and moved to Maryland. I miss them.

 

[sharingfantasies]

Now, in the deserts of California and Arizona, they cover acres of land with giant wind turbines to generate electricity. As you drive past it looks interesting because they are so large, but they are also mostly broken down and not working. Blades are lying on the ground in pieces. Those that are working kill a LOT of birds. The new fangled idea is to cover acres in solar panels lying on the desert floor. The sunlight hits the panels and intense heat waves rise killing anything that flies over them. The panels destroy the ground for the plants and animals that try to live in that area. I am all for "green" energy, but we need to find a way to do it without destroying the environment and wildlife there.

 

[NotWise]

Now, in the deserts of California and Arizona, they cover acres of land with giant wind turbines to generate electricity.

A few years ago I drove north-to-south through eastern Colorado in a late spring storm. It was a surreal experience to drive through wind farms with giant turbines turning beside the road. The blades swung out of the mist of snow and fog beside the road then disappeared again. I'll never forget that, or a number other misty views that I saw that day.

It's comfortable to think that we might extract renewable energy from our environment, but it's impossible to remove any significant part of the energy from an environment without altering that environment. That is tautological. We need to be satisfied with limited consequences and renewability.