USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Ringel05]

Gotta go with Lugosi.

Gary Oldman and Leslie Nielsen.

 

[Foxfyre]

Gotta go with Lugosi.

Agree among those shown, but the more modern concept of Dracula is a much more appealing and sexy vampire who would draw victims to him like moths to a flame. I don't see myself as much of a moth around any of those guys pictured.

 

[Foxfyre]

We're having the little one's birthday party today. It isn't her birthday, that's not for a few days, but her aunt and cousins are here visiting and her mother thought it would be better to do it today instead of during the week. There's an inflatable water slide, our smallish pool, and many, many children have been here throughout the day.

She didn't seem all that excited about my presents, but she didn't seem all that excited about any of them, really.

Hope she doesn't end up like me, I don't make a big deal out of holidays or birthdays, not even my own, there's no excitement for me, it's just another day. Heck most of the time I have to be reminded even when it's my birthday, the only reason I remembered it was my birthday is because the wife put it on the calendar.

I'm sort of that way too. We don't exchange birthday gifts any more and our birthdays are pretty much like any other day except for the obligatory, but still appreciated, phone calls from the kids. However our friend (and pretend adopted daughter) Dana and my Aunt and Uncle and shirttail cousin and sometime my sister do generally find a night to go out to dinner during our birthday weeks and that has been fun with exchange of silly cards and some inexpensive but fun gifts.

 

[Foxfyre]

Gotta go with Lugosi.

Gary Oldman and Leslie Nielsen.

This is the way I want my Count Dracula to look:

 

[Ringel05]

Gotta go with Lugosi.

Gary Oldman and Leslie Nielsen.

This is the way I want my Count Dracula to look:

View attachment 76365

There's also Dracula Untold with Gary Shore (Bard in The Hobbit). Didn't get very good reviews but I liked it.

 

[Foxfyre]

I think it is the practical side of me. If I am going to be vampirized, I at least want a minute to enjoy it.

 

[boedicca]

So I am the East Oaklandtown car wash - and there are two FBI Wifi hotspots showing up in my wifi menu.... Hmmmm should I try????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foxfyre]

So I am the East Oaklandtown car wash - and there are two FBI Wifi hotspots showing up in my wifi menu.... Hmmmm should I try????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So tempting. My son, who has a special sense of humor, was setting up our home Wi-Fi system. When it came time to give it a name, he suggested I call it CIA Special Unit. (We didn't do that.)

 

[gallantwarrior]

Which terminal, North or South? There is a modest brown bear in the lobby of the North Terminal and I do believe the standing bear you refer to is still in the South Terminal. You might not recognize the place if you haven't been here in the last ten years, or so. The North ("international") terminal is used very little and only in the summer for the charter flights from Europe. China, Korean, and Asian airlines all overfly Anchorage now that they have aircraft capable of flying non-stop from over there to NYC, LA, and so forth. We still handle loads of cargo aircraft, though.

Last time I was in ANC was either 87 or 88, I really don't remember, and if I remember there was only one terminal. I flew there from HNL on a Charter Airline called Total Air. Lockheed L-1011 Aircraft.
Damn 757, 767 and 777's skip over HNL also. Back in the day we used to have 3 days a week where QF would have 3 wide bodies on the way to LAX, SFO and YVR. Interlining baggage and cargo with a/c cleaning in 70 minute turns. 12 hours later they would return on their way Down Under and we would do it all over again. I loved the 747. Wonderful A/C.
Just an old man reliving his glory days.

Nowadays, 777 and the 747-8 passenger flights out of the Far East overfly Anchorage. Cargo aircraft stop to refuel, though. We are still the third largest airport in the world for cargo throughput. I used to like the Tristars. Well engineered aircraft, that. Too bad it was plagued with corporate errors during development. Too bad the 747 Classic (-100, -200, and -300) are pretty much extinct in commercial trade. We see 747-400's and the -8s, as well as in increasing number of cargo 777s. Passenger traffic is handled by 757, 737, and Airbus 319/320s up here from the lower 48.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Ahhh.... 82 degrees...nice breeze...relaxing on the back patio...sippin my own hoppy wheat ale....it's good to be alive.

It is indeed. Though it's 11 pm and I'm in my office sipping my nighttime melatonin thingee in advance of going to bed. A cricket is chirping outside the window and my office looks like a gigantic recycling bin exploded in the middle of it. Digging out desks, boxes of old papers, storage cabinets, all. It has turned out to be the biggest job of our get rid of all unnecessary stuff project.

Dang! The only time I've heard crickets here was when one intended as fish or snake food escaped and managed to hide behind some inconvenient piece of furniture.

 

[gallantwarrior]

So much to do, and never enough time. First, I had overtime this morning. Then my partner called so I could help him change the distributor in his Corvette. On top of that, it's my day to cook dinner (I didn't think so, but apparently, I lost track of time). I still want to clean some mess and realize that this place will never be presentable for guests. So, dinner's in the slow cooker, dessert is cooling on the rack, I'm going out to feed, water, and milk before desperately trying to clear up at least the worst of the destruction here.
I'm looking forward to meeting Sheila and Mr. Sheila tomorrow and sharing a tiny flash of Alaska with them.

 

[Foxfyre]

Ahhh.... 82 degrees...nice breeze...relaxing on the back patio...sippin my own hoppy wheat ale....it's good to be alive.

It is indeed. Though it's 11 pm and I'm in my office sipping my nighttime melatonin thingee in advance of going to bed. A cricket is chirping outside the window and my office looks like a gigantic recycling bin exploded in the middle of it. Digging out desks, boxes of old papers, storage cabinets, all. It has turned out to be the biggest job of our get rid of all unnecessary stuff project.

Dang! The only time I've heard crickets here was when one intended as fish or snake food escaped and managed to hide behind some inconvenient piece of furniture.

Well if you ever come visiting again GW, we'll have to arrange for a bit of cricket listening.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mornin' Everyone...

Have a Safe Holiday...

 

[ChrisL]

Had two HUGE tree limbs (from an oak tree in the woods out back) break off last night. One JUST missed my house.

Pictures of my patio this morning. This is a huge limb (the size of an actual tree) right in front of my patio door.

Here is a view from my neighbor's yard (I had to go out the front door and walk around because I can't get past the tree.

 

[ChrisL]

I have been hearing it crackling and snapping for the last few days. I went out to find out which tree it was the other day and saw that the huge branches on the oak tree were splitting away from the tree (they were getting too big, and this tree is probably like 200 years old). Anyway, I called my landlord and told them about it. They have been thinking about what to do, and then last night I heard it snapping and then I heard it brush down the side of my house and . . . there it is. There are actually two gigantic limbs, both the size of good sized trees themselves. Luckily, I moved most of my things, like my table and chairs and grill close to the house because I knew those limbs were going to fall at any time. What a shame though. That was a beautiful old tree, and now it's going to be dead.

 

[ChrisL]

Here you can see where the tree limbs broke away from the main trunk of the tree. Pictures don't do it justice though. It is a HUGE tree! Scary! If it had been 1 or 2 feet closer, it would have taken out my house!

 

[Foxfyre]

Happy Memorial Day all. This is the day we remember the 1,196,554 Americans who died in military service to their county in all the wars since the beginning.

 

[Foxfyre]

Here you can see where the tree limbs broke away from the main trunk of the tree. Pictures don't do it justice though. It is a HUGE tree! Scary! If it had been 1 or 2 feet closer, it would have taken out my house!

View attachment 76437

Wow Chris. Glad neither you or your property were harmed. So what happens now? Do you just hope no more branches fall? Have the tree taken out? It actually looks pretty healthy though.

 

[ChrisL]

The only things that got damaged are my Tiki torches. They are destroyed. Bummer. Amazingly my bird feeder is still standing. Lol.

 

[ChrisL]

Here you can see where the tree limbs broke away from the main trunk of the tree. Pictures don't do it justice though. It is a HUGE tree! Scary! If it had been 1 or 2 feet closer, it would have taken out my house!

View attachment 76437

Wow Chris. So what happens now? Do you just hope no more branches fall? Have the tree taken out? It actually looks pretty healthy though.

I don't know. I called and left a message for the landlord this morning. They are going to have to hire someone (or maybe my son) to cut up those limbs and remove them. I don't think any more branches will fall (at least I hope not), but the tree is more than likely going to die and have to be removed eventually. Kind of sad about that because it was such a huge and beautiful tree.