I would just like to extend our personal thanks to all of those who worked so hard for so long to restore our power after the recent ice storm. Thirty-six hours without power went a long way towards dispelling us of the quaint myth that we could live simply without power — and convinced us to do a lot more canning next year and a lot less freezing.
Again… Thank You!
AAAIIIEEEE !!!
I never beened in an ice storm before, but it doesn’t sound like fun. I mean, you have a storm (wind & rain, right?) first, then the temperatures drop and it turns to ice flying about? WHAT KIND OF INSANITY IS THAT ?!?!??
We got frost on our roof & lawn twice so far this season, that doesn’t count does it?
Biggles / http://www.meathenge.com/
Frost doesn’t count… unless it is a *really* wicked frost.
What happens is that the temperature hovers just above 32 degrees. Precipitation falls as a liquid. Once the liquid hits a surface, any evaporation will cause the temperature to lower — just as it does with sweat, or in a jungle cooler in the summer — and the liquid water turns to ice. Or, a little more dramatically, the rain that falls turns to ice as soon as it hits. That makes for *huge* deposits of ice on cars, roads, sidewalks, trees, and power lines. Quite often, the ice on the trees is heavy enough to bring the trees down… into the power lines. 🙁
We live on a wooded lot, and for the first day of the storm, as soon as the sound of one tree falling would die out, it would be replaced by the sound of another falling.
Here is how a phone conversation between my wife at home and me at work went:
Wife: “Did you hear that?”
Me: “Hear what?”
Wife: “A tree just fell down. Did you hear that?”
Me: “Hear what?”
Wife: “Another tree just fell down. Did you hear that?”
Me: “I *heard* that one!”
…and so on.
HOLY MOLY BATMAN, that’s insane weather. Trees falling due to ice. I would imagine you have a generator for power when the city power dies, eh?
Bet it’s pretty when spring hits though, huh?
The frost we had, would be considered … maybe … baby frost.
Biggles
Dang man, you running this on an old Altair 8800?
> running this on an old Altair 8800
Well, I have noticed that the server is *awfully* slow today. Maybe it is that the students are back this week and trying to register for classes online and the server is really getting WHACKED! 😉
> have a generator for power when the city power dies
Actually, we don’t. Though there are more and more instances where we have really wanted one. We ended up rolling the refrigerator out onto the porch (yes, I am officially a redneck — I have a refrigerator on my porch) because it was warm in the house (wood heat) and below freezing outside (so frozen food would not melt). But we also have a well for water, and it takes power to run. Let me tell you… power is one thing, but try going a few days without running water. No sh*t, no shower. Boy, that sucks!
> pretty when spring hits
Awesome all the time. We look out to the south across a beautiful valley from a point just starting up one side… gorgeous.
Our cabin.
Dang, it doesn’t look that nice here. I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area, all I gots are tiny houses all crammed up against each other. At work here I look out on to an access to the bay (1/8 mile away), an access the homeless and hookers use on a regular basis (all day long). Sometimes cars are set afire too, that’s kinda neat. Some other things aren’t quite as neat. I put up blinds over my office window, ALL GONE.
Biggles
Yeah, but you probably have chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce in your grocery store. There are lots of trade offs. Hey, look at it this way: You have an office with a sea view!
Hey, I smoked the chiles myself pal!
http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/000608.html
You’re right though, I do. Along with maybe two Mexican grocery stores on each block. VERY cool stuff. Nice cause the dried chiles have a fast turnover, they fresh. Not all crackly dry, still leathery. Another good find are fresh cactus paddles, nothing like fresh nopales. YUM. Oh criminy, now you’ve got me started. Thanks.
Biggles
Damn fine looking peppers, dude. I was thinking about doing that until I found some canned ones in a grocery store in Florida while the wife and I were visiting my parents… so… so… so, yes… I will drive 22 hours to get chipotle peppers. 😉
Those peppers were AMAZING, still are. So were the smoked red onions I did, I was impressed. What they do for soups & stews is amazing.
Those chipotle peppers in cans are FINE. I find though, it’s tough to use them all.
You want me to send you a few cans? It’s easy and they really don’t cost anything. Eh?
Biggles
Dr. B… that is a truly generous offer you have there.
I’ll tell you what we do when we have to use one pepper out of the can. We freeze the rest in a zip-top bag. Unzip it when you need another and break one off. Throw it in the stew pot frozen. It’ll be fine. Throw the rest back in the freezer for next time.
I’ll also tell you that when I found them in Florida, I bought a BUNCH. I still have four unopened cans in the pantry, and a few in the freezer.
And I’ll tell you what I would REALLY like…
The next time you smoke your own… let me know and I’ll tell you where you can send a few.
Thanks for the offer.
Hey,
Yer welcome. Yeah, those suckers freeze VERY well. I suppose I take them for granted and usually end up tossing a few.
I’m not going to be smoking any chilis anytime soon. That was really a long two days.
Unless I get a large, efficient propane or natural gas fired smoker will I attempt it. I refuse to use a propane rig for my grilling and meat smoking, but for lower temperature, long duration smoking, it really makes sense. Ya know?
Biggles