The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[MrPixel]

Gawd. Up again at 5:00 in the f**king A of M. Getting somewhat adjusted to the silence, though I reflexively scan the room for a second or two, looking for my partner.

D, good luck with the storm. I've done Midwest-style tornado spotting and was involved in The Great Flood of 1993, but nothing like what you're facing.

My big story is still being trickled out and so far proving the advice that LitE might not really be the appropriate venue for a serious but bawdy novel. But that's OK, actually, since I write for myself. If the story is being read if not enjoyed by only a thousand or so, that's a thousand more than would otherwise have experienced it.

 

[Duleigh]

I've done Midwest-style tornado spotting

I've done a bit of that too, mostly in Central North Dakota, but also in South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. They get some incredible super cells down in Texas!

 

[TxRad]

Super cells in Texas, who would have thunk it?

Fresh coffee is available for one and all.

Rusty, if you figured out the total for all our ages, you'd have enough experience to power the west coast of the world.

 

[NotWise]

I've struggled for a couple days with a transition in this story--writing then rewriting one turn after another. One more turn and suddenly the transition's done. Let the party-for-two begin!

 

[Haulover]

...
Waiting for a crew to come up tomorrow and build a new wheelchair ramp for the front door. Time was, I could mix the concrete and lug the framing around by myself. Today, I couldn't lift the 2x4x8 pieces to frame it up. Glad some young guys were around to help out and good neighbors to help offload those concrete sacks ... would have been SOL if not for them. But that's what good neighbors do for one another. Life is still like that in some places!

We're also in a neighborhood like that. There's an 86-year-old lady 2 houses down who we've sort of "adopted", and who we help with all sorts of things she can't do alone - including yard work, snow shoveling, computer setup, and (YES) teaching her to use apps on her phone . My wife takes out for coffee at least twice a week, and we include her in family events like Thanksgiving etc. And if we haven't been around, all 4 of the other neighbors in our cul-de-sac have pitched in and helped in the same way. Great neighborhood.

We're lucky - we're in our mid-60s but have the health and fitness of someone in their 30s, so we can offer that help. I'm hoping that neighbors will be similarly helpful when we're in our late 80s!

 

[TxRad]

This area is an older retirement area but we have had some younger people moving in s of late. Keeping up with each other has always been a way of life out here.

Lunch time coffee is ready.

Lunch was pizza.

One boat finished and the second is going that way quickly. I had a couple of inquires over the weekend. We'll see how that goes. With the cooler temps coming up, there will be more people fishing.

 

[Duleigh]

We're lucky - we're in our mid-60s but have the health and fitness of someone in their 30s, so we can offer that help.

That is lucky, I'm in my mid-60's with the health and fitness of someone that died in their 30's... or it feels that way sometimes. However, my next-door neighbor has 5 kids, all preschoolers. I swear they were born nine months and ten minutes apart, but I since found that two were inherited when a close relative died, and dad's a cop and junior in the department so he gets the crap shifts. We do what we can. I love my riding mower, so I'll do their lawn and my wife loves to hit the garage sales so those kids get the very best of the hand-me-downs that Mrs. Duleigh finds.

 

[Duleigh]

With the cooler temps coming up, there will be more people fishing.

Folks up north don't understand the south. The fall and winter is when we head outdoors, while up north they're retreating indoors. My first adjustment to southern life was seeing the fliers and posters advertising the start of softball/baseball season, right after New Years day

 

[TxRad]

Around here, late January, early February, The crappie are starting to school up to spawn. Up north, the lake is still frozen. September and October, the water is starting to cool so the fish move up and in to feed up for the winter, some will even try an spawn. Spring and Fall, I'm fishing at six feet or less. During the summer it is more below ten feet and mostly at night so I don't roast.

Norther Florida is more like here but central and southern Florida is almost year round.

I can pretty much track my boat sales by the trending temps.

 

[Handley_Page]

However, my next-door neighbour has 5 kids, all preschoolers. I swear they were born nine months and ten minutes apart, but I since found that two were inherited when a close relative died, and dad's a cop and junior in the department so he gets the crap shifts.

There's a lady sometimes seen on our main street, who has a 'basket on wheels', full of pre-school kids; all 6 of them. It's cute to see them.

Nut I need a hot drink. Any Tea in the pot please ?

 

[TxRad]

The evening coffee is ready.

HP, you're in charge of the tea pot and kettle.

The last 90 degree day in the ten day forecast.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Just watching NASA toss a spacecraft into an asteroid.

Amazing

 

[Duleigh]

Just watching NASA toss a spacecraft into an asteroid.

Amazing

I've been watching a documentary on Apollo 8 and it was fascinating, I remember the Gemini missions that Frank Borman and Jim Lovell flew, they flew together on Gemini 7 and flew in tight formation with Gemini 6 (Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford) and Lovell flew in Gemini 12 (with Buzz Aldrin) The sage space faring wisdom we accumulated in our decade of living on earth told myself and my peers that even though neither Lovell nor Borman was a Mercury astronaut, they were acceptable to our view of how space works.

I miss it when NASA was cool

 

[MrPixel]

I miss it when NASA was cool

It apparently is again. I see people around here wearing something with the "flying meatball" logo on it at least once a week. Yes, that's what it's called "on the inside", not only because of its form, but as an irreverent reference to the several test pilots who lost their lives in the 1950s.

You see, Dad worked for NACA/NASA from 1952 to 1982, at Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB. I worked there in '72 and '73. Neil Armstrong was one of Dad's poker buddies while he was assigned to FRC for moon lander training. Definitely a regular guy, just - to me - one of Dad's work friends hanging out at our kitchen table.

The X-15 project was the big deal during the peak of Dad's career. I recall sitting in the cockpits of the 'A' and 'C' rocket planes in Hangar B when Dad took us to "the office" on the infrequent Saturday he had to work. The opening crash of Six Million Dollar Man was NASA footage at Edwards. The IRL pilot was Bruce Peterson, who I worked with on a couple of projects.

It was absolutely cool to be associated with NASA at the time. IMHO, NASA became less cool with the Space Shuttle program. It was bloated and the political pressures associated with it set aside a lot of really interesting projects as funding was pulled in favor of the Shuttle.

 

[Duleigh]

It apparently is again. I see people around here wearing something with the "flying meatball" logo on it at least once a week. Yes, that's what it's called "on the inside", not only because of its form, but as an irreverent reference to the several test pilots who lost their lives in the 1950s.

You see, Dad worked for NACA/NASA from 1952 to 1982, at Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB. I worked there in '72 and '73. Neil Armstrong was one of Dad's poker buddies while he was assigned to FRC for moon lander training. Definitely a regular guy, just - to me - one of Dad's work friends hanging out at our kitchen table.

The X-15 project was the big deal during the peak of Dad's career. I recall sitting in the cockpits of the 'A' and 'C' rocket planes in Hangar B when Dad took us to "the office" on the infrequent Saturday he had to work. The opening crash of Six Million Dollar Man was NASA footage at Edwards. The IRL pilot was Bruce Peterson, who I worked with on a couple of projects.

It was absolutely cool to be associated with NASA at the time. IMHO, NASA became less cool with the Space Shuttle program. It was bloated and the political pressures associated with it set aside a lot of really interesting projects as funding was pulled in favor of the Shuttle.

I definitely agree with NASA losing it's cool during the shuttle program. The first few missions were cool but that thing was just sooooo expensive, and with the stress loads it got old quick (and it's motors are on Artimis now???) I'm used to working on old aircraft (F-4C, EF-111. B-52) and you can't keep beating on an old mule and expect racehorse results, then in the post shuttle years there was nearly a decade of NASA navel gazing.

My last assignment in '94 was supposed to be to Edwards to work on "Balls 8" the Mother of all Motherships but I got poached to Cannon of all places.

 

[JGittes]

I just received a newly published book (published here in the UK, it may have been out a while in the US) called Apollo Remastered by Andy Saunders. He worked with the Johnson Space Center in Houston to unfreeze all the original Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo film and digitally remaster them. It's a huge book and filled with absolutely stunning photographs, most of which haven't been seen before.

Two weeks ago, it arrived in the post, and I spent the next four hours turning every page. Highly recommended.

 

[Duleigh]

COFFEE'S ON! It's a special brew I made just for Hurricane Ian, just a slight bit more flavorful than espresso, so you won't miss a moment of anything.

Going to spend the day battening down hatches and making sure battery powered devices are charged up with plenty of spare AAA, AA, C, and D cells at the ready. I got the generator out and fired up and

 

[Rustyoznail]

COFFEE'S ON! It's a special brew I made just for Hurricane Ian, just a slight bit more flavorful than espresso, so you won't miss a moment of anything.

Going to spend the day battening down hatches and making sure battery powered devices are charged up with plenty of spare AAA, AA, C, and D cells at the ready. I got the generator out and fired up and

...the power went out?

Stay safe.

 

[Duleigh]

...the power went out?

Stay safe.

Nope, not yet, just getting prepared. Today is the calm before the storm, not a leaf fluttering yet, but the wind is expected to pick up and the rains hit tonight or tomorrow. Latest track shows the storm blowing itself out into a fit of tropical depression before it hits me so we may dodge a bullet, but south in Tampa is going to get hit bad

View attachment 2179268

 

[TxRad]

Since Duleigh got the morning coffee, I'll just say good morning.

It's 54 here this morning. It hasn't been this cool since March, I think.

Raisin Bran for breakfast.

 

[MrPixel]

It's 54 here this morning.

I just looked... OMG, 39°! Maybe crank up the furnace? (Ya' think?!)

Back into the 80s here next week. C was bugging me last night about helping with the seasonal changeover of the closets. "Not yet".

 

[TxRad]

The lunch time coffee is ready.

87 for a high today or so they say. We'll see.

Leftover pizza for lunch.

 

[Duleigh]

Same lunch here, so I nuked a cup of Ramen. I love pizza but 3 meals in a row is stretching it.
We're at the predicted high of 84. Tomorrows high is 72 and Thursday's high is 66.

I grew up in Buffalo and spent much of my adult life in Buffalo, Denver, and Minot ND, but at this point in my life, 66 in September is chilly!

 

[Bubo_bubo]

66 (which is about 19°C?) is considered chilly here - and that's the low (and we're not there yet). The high is still in the lower 30s (°C). This is my upcoming day and week, weatherwise.
View attachment 2179339

 

[Duleigh]

66 (which is about 19°C?) is considered chilly here - and that's the low (and we're not there yet). The high is still in the lower 30s (°C). This is my upcoming day and week, weatherwise.
View attachment 2179339

That would be the normal here in North Florida