USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Dajjal]

Hooray, I have just seen four young foxes in the garden. Or at least three of them were young, but not cubs. I think they are last years cubs grown up. But there was another older fox that I think may have been the mother, and she saw me and sat staring at me for several minutes while the other three chased each other around.

This is the first time I have seen them this year and its 5am in the morning. I don't know where they have been until now, but I wrote to the local paper and TV telling them I thought someone has been killing foxes. This may well be the case as my landlord told me he saw a pile of dead foxes that looked like they had been shot. But at least they did not get all of them.

 

[Dajjal]

I love that. You have a real gift there (she says as a sometime perhaps less gifted poet herself.) I may not be as talented, but I'll stack my ability to appreciate good poetry up against anybody.

Well, I thank you. It's a very elusive gift and appears only now and then - usually in response to something someone says to me - never on command.

There are 6 constellations (one is actually a star cluster), one star and one celestial event - can you (or anyone) name them?

The bear is Ursa Major or Minor. The belt is Orion's. Lonely star is the North Star. The sisters are Pleiades. Mercury is in Taurus. The rainbow of light is the aurora borealis. The cross is the Southern Cross.

No, I did not get all of that from memory.

You're good!!!

Yes, it was Orion the Hunter and I who waltzed across the sky. There are 2 more constellations - the lovely Queen who lives near Polaris, and the gentle Lion.

I enjoy reading all kinds of poetry, even some of the darker stuff in Poe fashion, not too, too gory graphic...there's a writing section here, give it a shot.

I have enjoyed writing poetry, but I'm not a big fan of reading it.

Poetry for me is much too personal; someone else's words rarely speak to me the way my own poetry does. Hell, after enough time, my own poetry doesn't speak to me, either.

It's unfortunate, because a good turn of phrase can be powerful and profound, but it's a lot like the way I feel about Shakespear: the bard created some excellent phrases, but I'm not willing to wade through his writing to get to them myself.

Of course, use poetry as lyrics in a good song and I'll change my tune, pun intended.

I was thinking of writing songs this morning, and so far I have this.

I'm gonna play guitar,
Like a raving rock star.

I tried to help build a super group in the 1970s and we almost made it, But the band broke up on the verge of getting a record deal because of internal disputes. It is very hard to get six people to do one thing for three years, It was very disheartening to fall at the last hurdle, but we were all exhausted.

 

[Dajjal]

The universe full of heavenly bodies out there has always fascinated me...

I used to stare at the stars and ache with wondering what was out there when I was a boy...

All right my space loving Coffee Shop friends, I wrote a poem about 11 years ago after a friend accused me of going on 'flights of fancy' when discussing politics...in the middle of the following night, A Midnight Journey was born. So from one with feet firmly planted on earth to those who'd travel to the stars...no spaceship needed...Enjoy! (disclaimer - the order of things is not entirely accurate)

Loose'ng the slender chains
that bind this mortal soul,
embark on a flight of fancy...
the heavens are my goal.

Wrap'd in the velvet cloak of night
with stardust in my hair,
I tiptoe up a moonbeam...
to kiss a dancing bear.

The hunter with a diamond belt
beckons me to his side.
We waltz across the Milky Way...
where the dreams of man abide.

I gaily wave to the lonely star
who guides the sailor home,
and curtsy to a lovely queen...
reclining upon her throne.

At the dwelling place of the sisters
I'm invited in for tea.
As I daintily sip from a gossamer cup...
a lion lies next to me.

Tightly I hold to Mercury's wings
as we travel through the night.
A cross made of stars to the South...
to the North a rainbow of light.

When Venus makes her appearance,
dawn will be coming soon.
There's only time for one last jig...
with the jolly old Man in the Moon.

Seagal 2007

I love that. You have a real gift there (she says as a sometime perhaps less gifted poet herself.) I may not be as talented, but I'll stack my ability to appreciate good poetry up against anybody.

I've written a lot of poetry, but I don't think you would care for most of it.

I almost never write it anymore, though. It was more of an activity of my youth.

I used to write poetry and have given up too. Here is the best of them.

I walked among a grove of trees,
On a golden carpet of autumn leaves,
The leaves were falling, dying things,
Giving up their luscious greens,
They died to be reborn again,
With the coming of the spring.

I saw that God was hard at work,
Tending to our mother earth,
Gathering up the worn and old,
Then giving new lives to the world,
Reaping what the harvest sowed,
A crop of new enlightened souls.

The mother and father of us all,
Allows his worn out leaves to fall,
Our creator and eternal life giver,
Our redeemer and our forgiver.
I knew then mankind were brothers,
All women our sisters and mothers.

I knew the old Gods had seen their day.
The Gods to whom we used to pray,
Like Ra and Thor and Zeus and Mars,
Like Gods of the sun and of the Stars,
Gods grown old beyond their time,
Ideas that only imprisoned our minds

I saw a new God for all creation,
For ever colour, race and nation
To whom you do not need to pray
For he is within you every day,
Judging no soul to cruel damnation.
Giving us our greatest revelation,

I knew then that there is no heaven,
There is no lasting place like hell,
The kingdom of heaven lies within
Our mortal lives are just a dream,
When all our dross is burned away,
Our hearts will be purified one day.

We need not fear where we will go,
Our divine creator loves us all,
We are all a living part of him,
We are all his immortal children.
All souls will finally be redeemed,
This is the God of which I dreamed.

My feet felt the earth in strange delight.
The colours all seemed clear and bright,
The breeze embraced me and curled around,
The rustling leaves were a sweet sound.
Caressed by wind and kissed by rain,
I saw through all earthy mortal pain.

I was with God in the here and now,
There was nowhere I would rather go,
I knew I needed nothing nor ever will,
All fear was gone and time stood still,
I loved every blessed living thing,
For every creature was a divine being.

I had seen through illusion to Gods face,
I knew I would find him in any place.
Send me to heaven or send me to hell.
I would be in the same place as now,
Make the world bright, or make it dark,
I would still see God within my heart.

 

[Michelle420]

Hi night owls

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night all. No change in the vgil list. If you're still up be sure to go out and look at the beautiful moon with Saturn burning brightly near it--just below and a little to the right.

 

[Sbiker]

Hi all, what's news?
Do you look at soccer mundial these days?

 

[blackhawk]

 

[Montrovant]

Well crap, I just got a 78 on my third accounting exam. I did great on the questions relating to the latest chapter, but missed a bunch from the chapter before that.

 

[Michelle420]

Well crap, I just got a 78 on my third accounting exam. I did great on the questions relating to the latest chapter, but missed a bunch from the chapter before that.

At least you passed.

 

[Foxfyre]

Hi all, what's news?
Do you look at soccer mundial these days?

Welcome back sbiker! You were in and out before I was unbleary eyed enough to get to the computer this morning. Alas I just haven't had an opportunity to watch enough soccer and/or familiarize myself with the rules/strategy to become a fan. We had four semesters of requisite physical education classes in college, and for one of those I took soccer and enjoyed playing it.

 

[gallantwarrior]

My car's A/C is shot. I went to 2 places to have it looked at, and both agreed that I need to replace various things to get it working. The second place gave me a list of what needed replacing and the estimated costs. It would have ended up over $1500, which I was not at all willing to pay. However, I am pretty sure I can get the parts for much less money, and I have a friend who has some experience with cars (although not with A/C systems) willing to give replacing the parts a go with me, saving me the labor costs. I need a new compressor and expansion valve, and I can get both of those without issue. However, the list I am using from the last car shop also says I need "AC lines/hoses," which is pretty vague. There are a few different lines/hoses involved in the A/C. It also mentions the problem as "R134-A A/C line is leaking." I know that R134-A is refrigerant, but that still doesn't tell me for certain what line/hose I need to replace.

Do any of you with experience messing with cars happen to have any advice about what I would need to get if the R134-A A/C line is leaking? The car is a 2002 Saturn LW200 if that helps. There's a list of lines/hoses (along with some other parts) here: Condenser, Compressor & Lines for 2002 Saturn LW200 | GMPartsDirect.com but I don't know which would be the culprit. I don't think it is all 3 of the lines 6-8, as I recall the guy at the shop bringing the part up on the computer and I think it was just one piece. I also don't think that the tube part 9 is it, as the picture for the part was longer than that. So it's basically a choice between parts 6-8.

I may not have enough information, and maybe no one here knows about this, but I thought I'd throw it out there before I go buy parts.

You can usually get parts at any reputable auto parts store, just make sure you have the VIN number and all available information about your car (unless the AC is an aftermarket addition). You can buy R134 at Walmart (up here, at least), and the container will come with proper instructions.
Also: google "How to..." on Utube or some other forum. It will amaze you the stuff you'll find. When my brother needed to replace the brakes on his car, instead of doing it for him, I googled a "How to..." and he did the job himself.

I bought the parts and have a can of refrigerant already. We'll see next weekend whether my friend and I can put the parts in successfully.

Good luck! Hope you guys can get it done.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Well Harper is not eating well. She lost ten pounds and is down to 36. A combination of the mouth surgery and antibiotics. The doctor is watching the palate skin closely. Seems it is not getting as much blood flow as they would like. We got some problems.

Oh, no, Save! I'm still sending the best, strongest thoughts and positive vibes your, and Harper's way.

 

[gallantwarrior]

June's full strawberry moon is named for the fact that it's the best time of the year for ripening strawberries, and it also has a couple of names in the Honey Moon, Mead Moon and the Full Rose Moon. We will see it Wednesday night into Thursday morning with the added treat of Saturn at its closest point to Earth so that it will be the brightest 'star' close to the full moon--look for it just below the and to the side of the moon--probably on the right side though..

Thank you for that info. The nearly full moon has been shining so brightly through my window I don't need a night light in the wee hours. Peeked through the blinds and noticed the 'star' chasing the moon from the east, on the left down here, but gave it little thought and went back to sleep.

Usually, a 'star' chasing the moon in my world means another airplane coming in for service and fuel.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I love that. You have a real gift there (she says as a sometime perhaps less gifted poet herself.) I may not be as talented, but I'll stack my ability to appreciate good poetry up against anybody.

Well, I thank you. It's a very elusive gift and appears only now and then - usually in response to something someone says to me - never on command.

There are 6 constellations (one is actually a star cluster), one star and one celestial event - can you (or anyone) name them?

I believe the ancient Greeks identified six constellations as: Puppis the Poop, Vela the Sails, Pyxis the Compass, Carina the Keel, Volans the Flying Fish and Columba the Dove.

I suppose there are different names for them now?

I'll admit that puppis the poop conjures up a much different image in my mind than what they no doubt intended when they named it that.

Since most of the others refer to ship's parts, I'm guessing they might have meant the poop deck?
(the aftermost and highest deck of a ship, especially in a sailing ship where it typically forms the roof of a cabin in the stern)

 

[saveliberty]

Update: Harper lost the skin patch today. Had to have a quickie surgery to remove it. Most likely the doctor will wait for her to recover more and then try again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Update: Harper lost the skin patch today. Had to have a quickie surgery to remove it. Most likely the doctor will wait for her to recover more and then try again.

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter), complications post op surgery a week ago.
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Strength and stamina for gallantwarrior in his relocation project,
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
ricechickie for trouble free healing and wellness,
BigBlackDog for comfort and effective treatment
TK
Sixfoot for an accurate diagnosis and wellness,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful, and wellness for Sherry's daughter, her dad, and family.
Wellness for Foxfyre's sister and Hombre's sister
Healing for Ringel and Mrs. R's Gizmo
Gracie
Nosmo's Uncle for good news and Aunt Roxie
Nosmo's Daisy
Hombre's sister
The Ringels moving in difficult transition

And we keep the porch light on so that many others scattered here and there can find their way back.

 

[Sbiker]

Hi all, what's news?
Do you look at soccer mundial these days?

Welcome back sbiker! You were in and out before I was unbleary eyed enough to get to the computer this morning. Alas I just haven't had an opportunity to watch enough soccer and/or familiarize myself with the rules/strategy to become a fan. We had four semesters of requisite physical education classes in college, and for one of those I took soccer and enjoyed playing it.

Moscow and some other towns in Russia now are full of fans from all over the world - and it gives a small background of permanent holidays... National soccer team in Russia isn't so strong, so I think, they'll lose game in 1/8 of final, but I hope, they have a chance... )

So, many people now have a chance to visit Russia and compare what they see with a media propaganda (so, our propaganda permanently underlines this fact )))) And it's interesting to see them at streets and in subway

 

[SeaGal]

I believe the ancient Greeks identified six constellations as: Puppis the Poop, Vela the Sails, Pyxis the Compass, Carina the Keel, Volans the Flying Fish and Columba the Dove.

I suppose there are different names for them now?

I'll admit that puppis the poop conjures up a much different image in my mind than what they no doubt intended when they named it that.

Since most of the others refer to ship's parts, I'm guessing they might have meant the poop deck?
(the aftermost and highest deck of a ship, especially in a sailing ship where it typically forms the roof of a cabin in the stern)

That's a relief - admittedly 'poop deck' brings to mind an entirely different definition of use.

 

[danielpalos]

If Only, i had enough capital to hire a chief of staff, to hire a dream team, to take care of my petty problems, with a petty cash fund for that purpose.

I'm afraid it is going to take awhile for my sugar bowl petty cash fund to get there too.

woe is we.

some contingency specialists prefer not wasting their time, unless "daddy can double his bonus" with federal racketeering charges.

Cost is Always a factor. Actually going to Court, is merely a Pyrrhic victory.