USMB Coffee Shop IV

[gallantwarrior]

Apologies for my failure to visit lately. Not only stink hot here, but lots of stuff to get done. This past weekend I overcame my (unreasonable) fear of chainsaws. My buddy likes to cut down trees and dig out the stumps, using the activity as a cathartic anger management tool. That leaves us with lots of firewood, but it still has to be "processed". So, I set the partner up with the wood splitter and went to work cutting tree trunks to stove length chunks. We processed about a cord of firewood and a half cord of kindling. It felt good, in a practical sense, to get this work done. Physically, I could barely stand up straight. I'm getting a back belt before I take on the next pile of tree stems!
Today, I screened a big barrow full of compost because my 'taters have started sprouting. I needed to start building their mounds now, before they get out of hand.
With the passing of the Solstice, Summer is half over here. I kind of wish it weren't so hot, though. It's just difficult to work outside when your hair drys to sweaty spikes by the end of a busy day.

 

[Ernie S.]

Speaking of Alabama, where is Ernie S. ? He hasn't posted in awhile. Hope all is well with him.

I'm alive and haven't quite melted.
After 9 days of being the hottest club in Foley, we are back to being the coolest night spot in Southern Baldwin County.
A week ago Sunday, I noticed the lights flicker a bit. Didn't pay all that much attention. Everything seemed to be back to normal. About 1:30 AM Monday, I get a call saying the AC is out. Should be just a breaker or a fuse in the outside disconnect... I head back and replace a blown 60 Amp fuse, hit the switch and the new fuse blows in about 5 seconds. Monday, we call an AC service outfit. They seemed unprepared for our unusual electrical system and said one of the 2 compressors was dead and the other OK but the power was doing strange things when they tried to start it. They left detailed directions for our electrician who showed up a half hour after the AC guys left. We followed the directions to a tee and what we heard sounded like a grenade. We were suddenly covered with AC compressor oil and in a cloud of R22 refrigerant.
So now it's 2 compressors at $1,935 each, 20 pounds of R22 at $100/pound plus labor of enough that with everything included, we were looking like it the 2% cash back we get on the corporate account would be serious money.
We started trying to see what expenses we could post pone so we could weather the storm.
Customers rallied. Business kept up even though it was between 90 and 96 inside. We were actually GIVEN a brand new energy efficient commercial AC unit. A customer brought in a boom truck and loader to remove the old unit and put the new one in place. Another customer has given us a costs only price for installing. Making all this happen has required many many hours of phone calls and hours and hours of physical work removing fences to get equipment in, disconnecting duct work and landscaping. I'm tired!
It was an experience and I'm grateful to friends and customers for their amazing support. I was happy to leave Doc's Early (3:30 AM) Wednesday morning with the inside temperature a brisk 63 degrees.
Sorry, but USMB hasn't been a priority.
I'll be BACK!

 

[Ernie S.]

I finally went back to bed and slept for another hour and forty five minutes. The wife who had just arisen when I went back to bed was coming back to bed when I got up, apparently she went to sleep sometime in the wee hours of the morning and didn't get enough.
In the mean time it's still hot, low 100s again today of course we're acclimating so it's not that bad.

Low 100's?!? How on earth are humans expected to live in such conditions? With my Scottish genes, anything warmer than 85 is bordering the uncomfortable.

I've heard that it's a 'dry heat'. Well, heat is heat, wet, dry, moist, arid, damp or otherwise.

Of course here in the upper Ohio River valley, humidity in the summer months is a constant. It's raining right now! Couple that with high (relatively) temperatures and it becomes nature's sauna.

Every morning I watch the mist rise from the hardwood forests. Every summer there is a going concern renting canoes to paddle down the many creeks and runs that drain those forests. The mighty Ohio is always open for business. Pleasure boats, large arrays of tow boat and barges spilling over with coal and coke or covered with dry cargo inside ply the river.

But, dude. Low 100's? As Edwin Starr once said, "Good God y'all!"

Low 100s in El Paso is hot, but try Mobile at 105 and 98% humidity. 105 in El Paso is like "feels like" maybe 106. 105 in Foley is "feels like" Mount Vesuvius.

 

[Kat]

Hi Ernie S. Sorry about the troubles!

 

[Ernie S.]

It was frantic and scary for a while, but Damn I love what I do and the people I do it with.

 

[Ernie S.]

Speaking of Alabama, where is Ernie S. ? He hasn't posted in awhile. Hope all is well with him.

I'm alive and haven't quite melted.
After 9 days of being the hottest club in Foley, we are back to being the coolest night spot in Southern Baldwin County.
A week ago Sunday, I noticed the lights flicker a bit. Didn't pay all that much attention. Everything seemed to be back to normal. About 1:30 AM Monday, I get a call saying the AC is out. Should be just a breaker or a fuse in the outside disconnect... I head back and replace a blown 60 Amp fuse, hit the switch and the new fuse blows in about 5 seconds. Monday, we call an AC service outfit. They seemed unprepared for our unusual electrical system and said one of the 2 compressors was dead and the other OK but the power was doing strange things when they tried to start it. They left detailed directions for our electrician who showed up a half hour after the AC guys left. We followed the directions to a tee and what we heard sounded like a grenade. We were suddenly covered with AC compressor oil and in a cloud of R22 refrigerant.
So now it's 2 compressors at $1,935 each, 20 pounds of R22 at $100/pound plus labor of enough that with everything included, we were looking like it the 2% cash back we get on the corporate account would be serious money.
We started trying to see what expenses we could post pone so we could weather the storm.
Customers rallied. Business kept up even though it was between 90 and 96 inside. We were actually GIVEN a brand new energy efficient commercial AC unit. A customer brought in a boom truck and loader to remove the old unit and put the new one in place. Another customer has given us a costs only price for installing. Making all this happen has required many many hours of phone calls and hours and hours of physical work removing fences to get equipment in, disconnecting duct work and landscaping. I'm tired!
It was an experience and I'm grateful to friends and customers for their amazing support. I was happy to leave Doc's Early (3:30 AM) Wednesday morning with the inside temperature a brisk 63 degrees.
Sorry, but USMB hasn't been a priority.
I'll be BACK!

I alluded to our unusual electrical system but didn't explain what it is or was. Industrial/ commercial buildings usually have 3 phase electric systems Standard 3 phase has 3 120 volt legs. Our old system had 2 120 volt legs and one "Delta phase running about 190 VAC. Equipment to run on this obsolete system is very expensive as is finding an electrician who has seen it. There are still a few buildings close by that have this system, but the engineer who had to schedule a crew to come out to update us has been with the company for 5 years and had no idea what I was talking about and only understood after I convinced him to google the words "stinger phase" and "delta phase". He had to make a couple calls to find out that there were still customers with 1940's style electric systems
There used to be rail tracks down to the Gulf and a lot of produce from citrus to potatoes to pecans traveled north by rail from warehouses close by Doc's This odd power system was specially adapted to start and run the large electric motors used for conveyors and refrigeration in the day. The tracks are gone and produce moves by truck or barge down the Inland Water Way these days and soon the last vestige of the warehouse district of Foley will be gone. Good news is the breaker box is a 3 phase triple buss box The old AC was the only thing on the Delta phase and now that buss is at 120 VAC and we now have a dozen open spots available in the panel.

 

[blackhawk]

 

[peach174]

Happy Friday all
Have a great weekend.

I also am very busy right now and not much time at all for the usmessageboard.
I too will return when things start to calm down here with everything from a new air conditioner to a new tub & shower and several things happing at the same time.
Whew!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Ringel05]

Apologies for my failure to visit lately. Not only stink hot here, but lots of stuff to get done. This past weekend I overcame my (unreasonable) fear of chainsaws. My buddy likes to cut down trees and dig out the stumps, using the activity as a cathartic anger management tool. That leaves us with lots of firewood, but it still has to be "processed". So, I set the partner up with the wood splitter and went to work cutting tree trunks to stove length chunks. We processed about a cord of firewood and a half cord of kindling. It felt good, in a practical sense, to get this work done. Physically, I could barely stand up straight. I'm getting a back belt before I take on the next pile of tree stems!
Today, I screened a big barrow full of compost because my 'taters have started sprouting. I needed to start building their mounds now, before they get out of hand.
With the passing of the Solstice, Summer is half over here. I kind of wish it weren't so hot, though. It's just difficult to work outside when your hair drys to sweaty spikes by the end of a busy day.

I would have been incapacitated for at least a week while taking narcotic pain pills and muscle relaxants just to move from the bed to the bathroom...........!!!

 

[Ringel05]

Speaking of Alabama, where is Ernie S. ? He hasn't posted in awhile. Hope all is well with him.

I'm alive and haven't quite melted.
After 9 days of being the hottest club in Foley, we are back to being the coolest night spot in Southern Baldwin County.
A week ago Sunday, I noticed the lights flicker a bit. Didn't pay all that much attention. Everything seemed to be back to normal. About 1:30 AM Monday, I get a call saying the AC is out. Should be just a breaker or a fuse in the outside disconnect... I head back and replace a blown 60 Amp fuse, hit the switch and the new fuse blows in about 5 seconds. Monday, we call an AC service outfit. They seemed unprepared for our unusual electrical system and said one of the 2 compressors was dead and the other OK but the power was doing strange things when they tried to start it. They left detailed directions for our electrician who showed up a half hour after the AC guys left. We followed the directions to a tee and what we heard sounded like a grenade. We were suddenly covered with AC compressor oil and in a cloud of R22 refrigerant.
So now it's 2 compressors at $1,935 each, 20 pounds of R22 at $100/pound plus labor of enough that with everything included, we were looking like it the 2% cash back we get on the corporate account would be serious money.
We started trying to see what expenses we could post pone so we could weather the storm.
Customers rallied. Business kept up even though it was between 90 and 96 inside. We were actually GIVEN a brand new energy efficient commercial AC unit. A customer brought in a boom truck and loader to remove the old unit and put the new one in place. Another customer has given us a costs only price for installing. Making all this happen has required many many hours of phone calls and hours and hours of physical work removing fences to get equipment in, disconnecting duct work and landscaping. I'm tired!
It was an experience and I'm grateful to friends and customers for their amazing support. I was happy to leave Doc's Early (3:30 AM) Wednesday morning with the inside temperature a brisk 63 degrees.
Sorry, but USMB hasn't been a priority.
I'll be BACK!

Obviously your customer's response to your crisis is a positive reflection on you as a person and business owner.

 

[Ernie S.]

Speaking of Alabama, where is Ernie S. ? He hasn't posted in awhile. Hope all is well with him.

I'm alive and haven't quite melted.
After 9 days of being the hottest club in Foley, we are back to being the coolest night spot in Southern Baldwin County.
A week ago Sunday, I noticed the lights flicker a bit. Didn't pay all that much attention. Everything seemed to be back to normal. About 1:30 AM Monday, I get a call saying the AC is out. Should be just a breaker or a fuse in the outside disconnect... I head back and replace a blown 60 Amp fuse, hit the switch and the new fuse blows in about 5 seconds. Monday, we call an AC service outfit. They seemed unprepared for our unusual electrical system and said one of the 2 compressors was dead and the other OK but the power was doing strange things when they tried to start it. They left detailed directions for our electrician who showed up a half hour after the AC guys left. We followed the directions to a tee and what we heard sounded like a grenade. We were suddenly covered with AC compressor oil and in a cloud of R22 refrigerant.
So now it's 2 compressors at $1,935 each, 20 pounds of R22 at $100/pound plus labor of enough that with everything included, we were looking like it the 2% cash back we get on the corporate account would be serious money.
We started trying to see what expenses we could post pone so we could weather the storm.
Customers rallied. Business kept up even though it was between 90 and 96 inside. We were actually GIVEN a brand new energy efficient commercial AC unit. A customer brought in a boom truck and loader to remove the old unit and put the new one in place. Another customer has given us a costs only price for installing. Making all this happen has required many many hours of phone calls and hours and hours of physical work removing fences to get equipment in, disconnecting duct work and landscaping. I'm tired!
It was an experience and I'm grateful to friends and customers for their amazing support. I was happy to leave Doc's Early (3:30 AM) Wednesday morning with the inside temperature a brisk 63 degrees.
Sorry, but USMB hasn't been a priority.
I'll be BACK!

Obviously your customer's response to your crisis is a positive reflection on you as a person and business owner.

Thank you! We do try to make folks feel at home and do our best to make our newest guests a part of the party.
We set out to have a place that was fun without being vulgar and above all, a place where a woman would feel safe walking in by herself. We have done that and a lot of people appreciate it.

 

[Foxfyre]

I finally went back to bed and slept for another hour and forty five minutes. The wife who had just arisen when I went back to bed was coming back to bed when I got up, apparently she went to sleep sometime in the wee hours of the morning and didn't get enough.
In the mean time it's still hot, low 100s again today of course we're acclimating so it's not that bad.

Low 100's?!? How on earth are humans expected to live in such conditions? With my Scottish genes, anything warmer than 85 is bordering the uncomfortable.

I've heard that it's a 'dry heat'. Well, heat is heat, wet, dry, moist, arid, damp or otherwise.

Of course here in the upper Ohio River valley, humidity in the summer months is a constant. It's raining right now! Couple that with high (relatively) temperatures and it becomes nature's sauna.

Every morning I watch the mist rise from the hardwood forests. Every summer there is a going concern renting canoes to paddle down the many creeks and runs that drain those forests. The mighty Ohio is always open for business. Pleasure boats, large arrays of tow boat and barges spilling over with coal and coke or covered with dry cargo inside ply the river.

But, dude. Low 100's? As Edwin Starr once said, "Good God y'all!"

Low 100s in El Paso is hot, but try Mobile at 105 and 98% humidity. 105 in El Paso is like "feels like" maybe 106. 105 in Foley is "feels like" Mount Vesuvius.

I can relate. Spending several days in Arkansas with temps hovering near 100 and near 100 percent humidity was a real wake up call for how good we have it weather wise here in northern New Mexico.

 

[Foxfyre]

But always good to hear from those who can only check in now and then. I would be the first to say that USMB or even the Coffee Shop should be nobody's first priority--thank goodness we all have a life--but everybody is missed when they are absent and I want them to know that.

 

[ChrisL]

But always good to hear from those who can only check in now and then. I would be the first to say that USMB or even the Coffee Shop should be nobody's first priority--thank goodness we all have a life--but everybody is missed when they are absent and I want them to know that.

Hi! I'm here to check in! Just wanted to say hi to my coffee shop friends on this lovely Friday evening!

How is everyone doing?

 

[Foxfyre]

But always good to hear from those who can only check in now and then. I would be the first to say that USMB or even the Coffee Shop should be nobody's first priority--thank goodness we all have a life--but everybody is missed when they are absent and I want them to know that.

Hi! I'm here to check in! Just wanted to say hi to my coffee shop friends on this lovely Friday evening!

How is everyone doing?

And you too would be one we miss when you don't post for a few days. Hope all is well with you too, Chris. That goes for everybody.

Those who can only check in now and then invariably make us smile when you do.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Apologies for my failure to visit lately. Not only stink hot here, but lots of stuff to get done. This past weekend I overcame my (unreasonable) fear of chainsaws. My buddy likes to cut down trees and dig out the stumps, using the activity as a cathartic anger management tool. That leaves us with lots of firewood, but it still has to be "processed". So, I set the partner up with the wood splitter and went to work cutting tree trunks to stove length chunks. We processed about a cord of firewood and a half cord of kindling. It felt good, in a practical sense, to get this work done. Physically, I could barely stand up straight. I'm getting a back belt before I take on the next pile of tree stems!
Today, I screened a big barrow full of compost because my 'taters have started sprouting. I needed to start building their mounds now, before they get out of hand.
With the passing of the Solstice, Summer is half over here. I kind of wish it weren't so hot, though. It's just difficult to work outside when your hair drys to sweaty spikes by the end of a busy day.

I would have been incapacitated for at least a week while taking narcotic pain pills and muscle relaxants just to move from the bed to the bathroom...........!!!

I admit I need more time to recover from extreme exertion but am pleased I didn't suffer more.

 

[ChrisL]

But always good to hear from those who can only check in now and then. I would be the first to say that USMB or even the Coffee Shop should be nobody's first priority--thank goodness we all have a life--but everybody is missed when they are absent and I want them to know that.

Hi! I'm here to check in! Just wanted to say hi to my coffee shop friends on this lovely Friday evening!

How is everyone doing?

And you too would be one we miss when you don't post for a few days. Hope all is well with you too, Chris. That goes for everybody.

Those who can only check in now and then invariably make us smile when you do.

Thanks Foxy. That's nice to know.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, BBD, Spoonman, 007, BigBlackDog, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

 

[ChrisL]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we keep vigil for:

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
TK, and TK's grandma,
Becki and Becki’s hubby,
Mrs. O and SFCOllie,
GW's daughter, her friend Sachendra, and Sachendra's husband Bob and son Gary.
Noomi!!!
Nosmo's mom,
Ernie's stop smoking project,
Sherry’s Mom,
Sixfoot's bad back,
Rod, GW's partner,
IamwhatIseem's bad hip,
The Ringels in difficult transition,
Mr. Kat and Kat's mom,
All of us and those we care about who are looking for work,

And the light is left on for Alan, Noomi, Freedombecki, Oddball, BBD, Spoonman, 007, BigBlackDog, and all the others who we miss and hope to return.

View attachment 79337

Nightie night!

 

[Kat]

Night you guys. You..not me..I have a bit of time left in me LOL