USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Ridgerunner]

 

[Ringel05]

It's interesting but not unexpected how this heat is impacting peoples daily activities. The other day when it hit 108 I went out back early afternoon and noticed how quiet it was, no children playing out side, no sound of workers outside anywhere, even Rte 54 traffic noise was subdued like it is at 3am.
Pretty much the same today.

 

[blackhawk]

 

[Foxfyre]

Good morning everybody. I'm hopeful the monsoon has returned as we have a chance for a thundershower tonight. The cool snap continues with temperatures in low to mid 90's and we are enjoying that. Not much on the agenda today and that's a good thing. Will catch up on some housekeeping chores and stuff. Hoping everybody's week is starting out well.

 

[Ringel05]

Good morning everybody. I'm hopeful the monsoon has returned as we have a chance for a thundershower tonight. The cool snap continues with temperatures in low to mid 90's and we are enjoying that. Not much on the agenda today and that's a good thing. Will catch up on some housekeeping chores and stuff. Hoping everybody's week is starting out well.

We're supposed to get a break for two days as the temps drop down to 99 and 98 respectively then back up in the hundreds. Seen lots of overcast at night, storms moving all around us but alas nothing here in the form of rain, looks like it could be a dry monsoon in El Paso this year.

 

[ChrisL]

Well, it's been hot and humid here too, but not as hot as what some of you all are reporting. The biggest problem here is the really high humidity. It wreaks HAVOC with my hair! Lol!

 

[Foxfyre]

Well, it's been hot and humid here too, but not as hot as what some of you all are reporting. The biggest problem here is the really high humidity. It wreaks HAVOC with my hair! Lol!

The four months we lived in West Virginia, it rained pretty much every day. And my hair actually got curly for the first time ever. Kansas can have some really high humidity, but it never affected me that way. Out here though the very low humidity can create static electricity that tends to make hair unruly and go every which way.

 

[ChrisL]

Well, it's been hot and humid here too, but not as hot as what some of you all are reporting. The biggest problem here is the really high humidity. It wreaks HAVOC with my hair! Lol!

The four months we lived in West Virginia, it rained pretty much every day. And my hair actually got curly for the first time ever. Kansas can have some really high humidity, but it never affected me that way. Out here though the very low humidity can create static electricity that tends to make hair unruly and go every which way.

Rub a dryer sheet on your head. Lol.

 

[Ringel05]

Well, it's been hot and humid here too, but not as hot as what some of you all are reporting. The biggest problem here is the really high humidity. It wreaks HAVOC with my hair! Lol!

The four months we lived in West Virginia, it rained pretty much every day. And my hair actually got curly for the first time ever. Kansas can have some really high humidity, but it never affected me that way. Out here though the very low humidity can create static electricity that tends to make hair unruly and go every which way.

Yeah, on really dry days I look like Zeus with lightning coming out of my goatee.............

 

[Ernie S.]

Good morning everybody. I'm hopeful the monsoon has returned as we have a chance for a thundershower tonight. The cool snap continues with temperatures in low to mid 90's and we are enjoying that. Not much on the agenda today and that's a good thing. Will catch up on some housekeeping chores and stuff. Hoping everybody's week is starting out well.

We're supposed to get a break for two days as the temps drop down to 99 and 98 respectively then back up in the hundreds. Seen lots of overcast at night, storms moving all around us but alas nothing here in the form of rain, looks like it could be a dry monsoon in El Paso this year.

With our humidity here, we're looking at a "feels like" of over 100 every day of the next 10.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good morning everybody. I'm hopeful the monsoon has returned as we have a chance for a thundershower tonight. The cool snap continues with temperatures in low to mid 90's and we are enjoying that. Not much on the agenda today and that's a good thing. Will catch up on some housekeeping chores and stuff. Hoping everybody's week is starting out well.

We're supposed to get a break for two days as the temps drop down to 99 and 98 respectively then back up in the hundreds. Seen lots of overcast at night, storms moving all around us but alas nothing here in the form of rain, looks like it could be a dry monsoon in El Paso this year.

With our humidity here, we're looking at a "feels like" of over 100 every day of the next 10.

We experienced some of that kind of heat in Arkansas when we were there. It weighs on you like a blanket and any breeze doesn't seem to make any difference while a breeze here feels like it lowers the temperature 20 degrees. It was interesting though when the family took us to the top of Magazine Mountain for a cookout, it had clouded over some and the higher elevation made a huge difference. I was actually really chilly though it was probably in the high 70's. But once we went down the mountain back to the valley floor, the oppressive heat was still there.

 

[Ringel05]

Good morning everybody. I'm hopeful the monsoon has returned as we have a chance for a thundershower tonight. The cool snap continues with temperatures in low to mid 90's and we are enjoying that. Not much on the agenda today and that's a good thing. Will catch up on some housekeeping chores and stuff. Hoping everybody's week is starting out well.

We're supposed to get a break for two days as the temps drop down to 99 and 98 respectively then back up in the hundreds. Seen lots of overcast at night, storms moving all around us but alas nothing here in the form of rain, looks like it could be a dry monsoon in El Paso this year.

With our humidity here, we're looking at a "feels like" of over 100 every day of the next 10.

Had more than my share of those type of days back east, learned very quickly how a lobster must feel......... Out here we get to experience what a roast must feel like when put in the oven........

 

[Montrovant]

The various weather sites vary a lot, but we're currently listed at a temp of anywhere from 86-91, with a humidity of 50%-70%, feels like temp of 95-104. If I still had my hair I'm sure it would be a poof ball of frizziness if I didn't keep it in a pony tail.

 

[Foxfyre]

But there is something to say for the dry west too. There is an errie emptyness to it accentuated by weird phenomena. I remember as a kid standing in the pasture, ready to run for the barn as a thunderstorm got ready to cut loose. There is sometimes an errie stillness and silence before the rain cooled wind hits you. And, if conditions are just right, under the darkening sky, St. Elmo's fire glows on the tips of the cattle horns and along the barbed wire fences. Of course at such times people are in pretty serious danger of lightning strikes, but that didn't occur to us at the time.

 

[Ringel05]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

 

[Foxfyre]

It's funny what pops into my head from time to time. I was thinking about making a trip to Tombstone sometime this year and the movie Tombstone came to mind. What I was seeing in my mind's eye was the scene where Wyatt and Josephine met up in the mountains while on a casual ride, trees, green grass, a natural lake....... The closest area resembling that would be the Pinos Altos Mountains about 170 miles away, if they rode hard to get there it would take them 4.5 to 5 days just to get to the foothills another 2 to 3 days to get into the mountains where a scene like that might be found. Kinda far to go for a casual ride........
Don'tcha just love Hollywood.......

Hombre and I love old movies, especially old westerns. And those in specific settings in the west where we are very familiar almost all feature land features that are not present in those locations.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Rub a dryer sheet on your head. Lol.

While this is about100 miles off the subject ChrisL reminded me of something I learned along time ago. Back in the daze before putors and cell fones, the ancient ones use to communicate by snail nail. Well stamps was always an issue. Some young lady that I remember fondly taught me how to carry 4 or 5 stamps in my billfold. Take the adhesive part of the stamps and rub them in your hair. The oil from the hair acted as a coating on the stamps and would not stick under just every day wear and tare or problems brought on because of the dreaded humidity. But when licked like a ice cream cone, would stick to an envelope... But who cares... Hell I don't even carry a billfold anymore. Just traveling down memory lane again...

 

[Ringel05]

Being a historian one thing I enjoy doing is researching the actual history after watching a historically "inspired" movie, if I'm not already familiar with the history.
Believe it or not Hollywood has actually done a couple that were very close to the actual event(s) but most are only somewhat close to almost complete fabrications. About the only thing they got correct in Young Guns were the names, Gladiator was somewhat close but it's saving grace is the depiction of Roman culture at the time. The Buccaneer (1958) with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner (directed by Anthony Quinn) was very close to the historical events.

 

[Nosmo King]

Sweet corn season has arrived! The absolute best thing about summer behind a Pirates pennant drive is the local sweet corn. A baker's dozen costs a mere $4.00 That's enough to tamp down the biggest corn appetite. My brother put a 6 pound pork shoulder in his smoker Saturday morning and now I not only have the ambrosia of sweet corn, but a Tupperware container of pulled pork along with his home made Carolina style sauce. I'm mad with desire to leave this office and go back to Pimplebutt for diner.

Daisy the Mutt had a hot spot develop in mid June. I'm now somewhat of an expert treating that canine malady. Happy Jack skin balm and wash it daily. Clean and soothed and the hot spot dissipates in 72 hours. But, there's a patch on her fur about the size of a credit card that is basically devoid of fur. Her groomer appointment isn't until the 27th, so there's 10 days for her follicles to get their act together and fill in the spot.

Meanwhile, the big Pig Roast is set for Saturday August 6. My brother and I will show up on Friday the 5th to prep the whole hog. We grill up 15 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts so they have some nice grill marks on them. We put a few whole cloves of garlic and kosher salt in the food processor and grind that up to the consistency of toothpaste. Then we rub the inside of the pig with the garlic/salt mixture. We make a few slices in the hams and shoulders and pack in more of that seasoning. Then we slide the stainless steel spit up through the pig's butt and through the mouth. And in goes all that grilled chicken.

Like skilled surgeons, we lace the belly of the pig closed, using individual stitches. Lacing it up like a shoe has proven disastrous in the past. Once a stitch comes loose, the whole belly can split open.

There is a technique to securing the pig to the spit to prevent flopping and spinning. Cross laces are put around the torso in three places, shoulders, ribs and hams. The pig's front legs are secured up under its chin and laced tightly. The back legs are then pulled as far back on the spit as allowable and tied down tight. These ties are usually loose by the time the pig has cooked, but by then, they are of little consequence. The thoroughness of our lacing along with the esthetic beauty of them prevent yahoos from trying any of their own techniques even as the pig is cooking.

We put four or five 20 pound bags of ice around and atop the pig, cover it with old packing quilts and then retire to the campfire to tell lies and fart. At 7:00 the next morning, we fire up the cooker, which is a 750 gallon fuel oil tank we have cut horizontally, fitted with hinges and wire baskets along each side which hold 50 pounds of charcoal each. Once the coals are red hot and ashed over, we carry the pig, spit, chicken up to the cooker, attach the spit to the motor we got from an old wringer washing machine, close the lid and start the clock.

If you're lucky enough to be in the Youngstown Ohio area that weekend, do drop by! Bring a coverdish!

 

[Foxfyre]

Rub a dryer sheet on your head. Lol.

While this is about100 miles off the subject ChrisL reminded me of something I learned along time ago. Back in the daze before putors and cell fones, the ancient ones use to communicate by snail nail. Well stamps was always an issue. Some young lady that I remember fondly taught me how to carry 4 or 5 stamps in my billfold. Take the adhesive part of the stamps and rub them in your hair. The oil from the hair acted as a coating on the stamps and would not stick under just every day wear and tare or problems brought on because of the dreaded humidity. But when licked like a ice cream cone, would stick to an envelope... But who cares... Hell I don't even carry a billfold anymore. Just traveling down memory lane again...

There is no such thing as a 'subject' in the Coffee Shop. That's the best part of it that over the course of the year we cover math, science, English usage, history, geography, astronomy (and sometimes astrology), current events, food, cooking, gadgets, tools, projects, you name it and we've probably at least touched on it at some time. We ban socially controversial subjects, politics, and theology because so many are unable to discuss those topics in a cordial manner. But as long as we avoid those very few areas, you won't find a more eclectic group on the planet and anything goes.

I actually wrote a letter to a sick friend in Utah this week, complete with envelope, hand written address, stamp, etc. It felt almost alien but I kind of liked doing it. I still remember the pleasure of receiving a letter from somebody in the mail. Somehow texting, messaging on Facebook, or e-mailing just isn't the same. And in those days I did carry stamps in my purse but in a small envelope. I didn't know the hair rubbing trick.