USMB Coffee Shop IV

[gallantwarrior]

Tonight I would guess many of us are sending our thoughts to Florida and our friends and loved ones and everybody else in the path of the storm. If current projections are accurate, pretty much the entire state will be affected as well as Georgia and southern South Carolina.

SFC Ollie's sister is in Miami as are some of our shirttail relatives. And the Tampa area won't likely escape some of Irma's wrath so let's hope Sherry and WelfareQueen and their family are safe.

And Jose is also out there in Irma's wake.

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),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
Hossfly's knee rehab,
007's brother-in-law for a full recovery,
Saveliberty in difficult transition, his daughter, and for his brother-in-law and family,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, , SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

Space Station shot this evening (click on photo to see larger image):

Thank you as always for the well wishes Foxy. The heart of Irma is supposed to go right over our house. We are not in danger of storm surge....we are far enough inland....but the wind is scary.

I grew up in Virginia and I have experienced many hurricanes in my life, including prolonged category 1's going right over my home in Richmond for many hours.

We will stay with Sherry's family in a well built cinder block house. It should be able to withstand a category 4. If not, we have an alternative safety plan. We'll be okay, and are about as well prepared as we can be.

For those of you who who not been through this....imagine hearing the sound of an incredibly loud locomotive...the loudest you've ever heard in your life....roaring around your home for 8-12 hours. Not fun I can promise you. The fear is tree(s) falling on your house or a projectile hitting your house going 130 mph.

We will no doubt be without power for many days. As soon as we are able to log on after the storm we'll check in. Foxy, thank you again for the good thoughts.

Best of luck to you and yours, WQ. Keep your heads down and your powder dry.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I have experienced tornados up close and personal enough I wouldn't want to be that close again. I have experienced four feet of snow, blizzards, blinding sand storms and haboobs, torrential rains, floods, wild fires close enough to be scary, 20 foot waves around a cruise ship, and extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme drought. But never an earthquake or a hurricane. That may or may not be on my bucket list before I die.

How about volcanoes?

 

[gallantwarrior]

I have experienced tornados up close and personal enough I wouldn't want to be that close again. I have experienced blizzards and blinding sand storms and haboobs, torrential rains, floods, wild fires close enough to be scary, 20 foot waves around a cruise ship, and extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme drought. But never a hurricane. That may or may not be on my bucket list before I die.

I swear I had PTSD from Isabel when it hit Richmond in 2003. Two trees barely missed our house. We were without power for 11 days. The entire State of Virginia was devastated.

This is a pic of that Hurricane. It covered the entire State. Foxy......I still shudder.

The day after Isabel hit we flew out of Dullas to Colorado, only had a few branches down with downed leaves everywhere.

And that is the problem. The authorities do everything they can to encourage the people to protect their property and then take these things really seriously, obey the evacuation orders, etc. and save as many lives as possible. And then when it doesn't turn out to be more than a bad thunderstorm, we all breathe a sigh of relief that there was little property damage and lives weren't in serious danger. . .but. . .

. . . when the next system approaches, will people take it so seriously?

One good thing about cutting a "fire defense zone" around the house, no trees to burn means there's no trees to fall on the house, either. We still have a few trees to go, but I'm hoping nothing will fall on the house.

 

[Foxfyre]

Caught up...again. Sorry I missed your BD, Peach. Nice to know Ernie has his emergency procedures in place. A bit shout out to my bestie, Gracie!
It's unseasonably warm here, but if the precipitation keeps up, we'll have one helluva snow season. Tuesday night brought some tremendous wind storms and I spent most of Wednesday morning dragging stuff back up out of the woods. After the ladder blew up against the house, I didn't sleep much. Although our puny wind reached only 50-70 bursts, it was still unusually strong. It's rained so much and the poor goats are wading through knee deep mud. I will be glad when I get them moved to the Willow place. It's lots drier and nicer there.

If I had to choose between too much rain--at least rain that isn't of Houston proportions--and the fires, I would choose the rain. The fires from surrounding states have been funneling smoke into our area. The air conditioner pumped so much smoke into the house a couple of nights ago I went out to make sure we weren't on fire. And I hope Alaska gets a good snow season this year and winter temps return to normal on the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Rain doesn't bother me, but the goats get stressed out and the pen they live in right now is a natural drainage that gets very mucky when the weather is wet. I'm looking forward to moving them to Willow, where the ground is much less muddy and miserable. Poor things tend to get foot rot, too, when it gets too persistently wet.
Wow, I wasn't aware there were fires that close to you, but I suppose smoke in the quantities I've read about could travel quite far.

That's the thing. The fires are hundreds of miles away but we are getting the smoke anyway.

 

[Foxfyre]

I have experienced tornados up close and personal enough I wouldn't want to be that close again. I have experienced four feet of snow, blizzards, blinding sand storms and haboobs, torrential rains, floods, wild fires close enough to be scary, 20 foot waves around a cruise ship, and extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme drought. But never an earthquake or a hurricane. That may or may not be on my bucket list before I die.

How about volcanoes?

No. Haven't experienced a volcano. They fascinate me though.

 

[ChrisL]

I'm watching the news right now, and I'm really surprised more reporters don't get killed when covering storms like this.

One can only hope.........

(Was that too out there?)

I want to say yes, but then I think about them and I want to say no. Really, you have to be a special kind of jerk to be a reporter I think, but still, that's not nice so yes.

 

[ChrisL]

I have experienced tornados up close and personal enough I wouldn't want to be that close again. I have experienced four feet of snow, blizzards, blinding sand storms and haboobs, torrential rains, floods, wild fires close enough to be scary, 20 foot waves around a cruise ship, and extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme drought. But never an earthquake or a hurricane. That may or may not be on my bucket list before I die.

How about volcanoes?

No. Haven't experienced a volcano. They fascinate me though.

I am fascinated by tornadoes. They are so powerful and destructive. It must be pretty awesome to see one, although I know you wouldn't want to be close to it! It probably looks cooler from farther away anyways.

 

[Foxfyre]

So Irma is weakening and may not be as devastating as was feared but we won't know until morning light. So keep those prayers and positive vibes headed that way.

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),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
Boedicca, her dad, brother, and family,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
Hossfly's knee rehab,
007's brother-in-law for a full recovery,
Saveliberty in difficult transition, his daughter, and for his brother-in-law and family,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
And for our students, job hunters, others in transition.

And the light is left on for Noomi, Freedombecki, , SFC Ollie, and all others we hope are okay and will return to us.

 

[Gracie]

A bit shout out to my bestie, Gracie!

Furiously waving back and shout out back attcha!

 

[Nosmo King]

It's September 11 and we vowed sixteen years ago to never forget. We have not, but we have moved on. I will remember what happened this day nearly a generation ago.

I was an instructor at a training company. I taught workers and contractors how to deal with hazardous waste. On Tuesday September 11, 2001 I had a class of asbestos contractors from Erie, PA. That morning, as I passed our receptionist, she told me that she had just heard on the news that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center in Manhattan. That was all I knew and as I entered the classroom I told the class that. "If any of you are news junkies like me, the headline today will be about an aviation disaster in lower Manhattan."

We started talking about the various forms of the Asbestos mineral, it's handling and compliance with the law. At 10:30 we had our first scheduled break. When I went out into the lobby with my empty coffee cup, I noticed nobody was in the break room. I heard the television in the conference room tuned to local news. WTAE Pittsburgh was showing scenes of devistaion.

"What's going on with that plane and the tower?" I asked the room filled with colleagues and students.

They looked at me with tear filled eyes and my boss said "The towers are gone."

I was incredulous. I thought the plane that flew into the tower was just a small propeller driven plane, a commuter plane. WTAE showed me the truth. Two commercial jets had been hijacked and you all know the rest of the story.

Just a week before, my boss hosted our annual getaway at his golf course and resort in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. We had the whole weekend there teaching classes on lead paint removal techniques and how to safely sample barrels of chemical waste. We golfed and ate barbecue and had a few adult beverages with our clients in the evening.

The phone rang. It was my boss' wife urging him to come home to Indian Creek immediately. Then WTAE broke from network coverage of New York to report that near Indian Creek a plane had crashed into a field. We stood gobsmacked.

My boss' wife told him that there were pieces of debris scattered around their home. Spreadsheets, bits of carpet, luggage and plastic were laying among the rhododendrons and azaleas on their front lawn.

We dismissed the students and I bade a farewell to my guys from Erie. The news announced that, in addition to the Twin Towers, the Pentagon had been attacked. What on earth was happening? The TV told us that the tunnels around Pittsburgh were now closed, the USX Tower downtown (the tallest building between New York and Chicago standing 65 stories high) had been evacuated.

I drove back to East Liverpool by way of the PA turnpike because my normal route was closed. The toll taker was crying, as was I.

No, we will never forget. But we must move on.

 

[ChrisL]

 

[Foxfyre]

 

[Foxfyre]

It's September 11 and we vowed sixteen years ago to never forget. We have not, but we have moved on. I will remember what happened this day nearly a generation ago.

I was an instructor at a training company. I taught workers and contractors how to deal with hazardous waste. On Tuesday September 11, 2001 I had a class of asbestos contractors from Erie, PA. That morning, as I passed our receptionist, she told me that she had just heard on the news that a plane had flown into the World Trade Center in Manhattan. That was all I knew and as I entered the classroom I told the class that. "If any of you are news junkies like me, the headline today will be about an aviation disaster in lower Manhattan."

We started talking about the various forms of the Asbestos mineral, it's handling and compliance with the law. At 10:30 we had our first scheduled break. When I went out into the lobby with my empty coffee cup, I noticed nobody was in the break room. I heard the television in the conference room tuned to local news. WTAE Pittsburgh was showing scenes of devistaion.

"What's going on with that plane and the tower?" I asked the room filled with colleagues and students.

They looked at me with tear filled eyes and my boss said "The towers are gone."

I was incredulous. I thought the plane that flew into the tower was just a small propeller driven plane, a commuter plane. WTAE showed me the truth. Two commercial jets had been hijacked and you all know the rest of the story.

Just a week before, my boss hosted our annual getaway at his golf course and resort in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. We had the whole weekend there teaching classes on lead paint removal techniques and how to safely sample barrels of chemical waste. We golfed and ate barbecue and had a few adult beverages with our clients in the evening.

The phone rang. It was my boss' wife urging him to come home to Indian Creek immediately. Then WTAE broke from network coverage of New York to report that near Indian Creek a plane had crashed into a field. We stood gobsmacked.

My boss' wife told him that there were pieces of debris scattered around their home. Spreadsheets, bits of carpet, luggage and plastic were laying among the rhododendrons and azaleas on their front lawn.

We dismissed the students and I bade a farewell to my guys from Erie. The news announced that, in addition to the Twin Towers, the Pentagon had been attacked. What on earth was happening? The TV told us that the tunnels around Pittsburgh were now closed, the USX Tower downtown (the tallest building between New York and Chicago standing 65 stories high) had been evacuated.

I drove back to East Liverpool by way of the PA turnpike because my normal route was closed. The toll taker was crying, as was I.

No, we will never forget. But we must move on.

I was at my desk at work with the radio on for company and to get the morning news. It was reported that an airliner had hit one of the twin towers and I thought how terrible. Then the voice on the radio reported the second hit with the terse announcement--his own opinion--"This is on purpose folks"--and I knew we were under attack. I didn't get to see any television shots until I got off work that afternoon but listened to non stop coverage for the rest of the day. I can't watch the video even now without feeling strong grief and anger.

Some life events we never forget. But we do move on.

 

[Dajjal]

I was playing scrabble with my mother with the television on in the background. Then the news started coming in about the towers. At first they were saying there were something like 14 people known to have died, but as I watched the second plane hit and saw the explosion I figured it was a lot more.
I won the game of scrabble while still watching the news, and after that I sat watching mesmerized until both towers had collapsed.

I am not American but I will never forget the shock of that day , and I have been criticizing the Quran on the internet ever since.

 

[Montrovant]

I went ahead and bought a new Kindle on ebay. It is a 4th generation, one gen after the Kindle keyboard I had been using. It isn't a touch screen, which I consider a positive. It might be irrational, but I feel like touch screen controls are more likely to fail than physical buttons. I also don't like the idea of constantly putting my fingers on the screen I use to read.

It is supposed to be a never-used open box Kindle, and it cost less than $40, so it seems like a good deal. That's less than half the price of a new current gen Kindle.

I plan to call the customer support for my Kobo, which is currently stuck on the "Updating your software, one moment please" screen. If I'm very lucky, they will let me send this in for a replacement, but I'm expecting it to just be a loss. With a battery coming for my old Kindle and now a new Kindle coming, too, I will hopefully be fine with my ereaders for years.

 

[Foxfyre]

I went ahead and bought a new Kindle on ebay. It is a 4th generation, one gen after the Kindle keyboard I had been using. It isn't a touch screen, which I consider a positive. It might be irrational, but I feel like touch screen controls are more likely to fail than physical buttons. I also don't like the idea of constantly putting my fingers on the screen I use to read.

It is supposed to be a never-used open box Kindle, and it cost less than $40, so it seems like a good deal. That's less than half the price of a new current gen Kindle.

I plan to call the customer support for my Kobo, which is currently stuck on the "Updating your software, one moment please" screen. If I'm very lucky, they will let me send this in for a replacement, but I'm expecting it to just be a loss. With a battery coming for my old Kindle and now a new Kindle coming, too, I will hopefully be fine with my ereaders for years.

And you still have power and wifi? That is a plus.

 

[Foxfyre]

Hey peach174 , how is Mr. P doing?

 

[Montrovant]

I went ahead and bought a new Kindle on ebay. It is a 4th generation, one gen after the Kindle keyboard I had been using. It isn't a touch screen, which I consider a positive. It might be irrational, but I feel like touch screen controls are more likely to fail than physical buttons. I also don't like the idea of constantly putting my fingers on the screen I use to read.

It is supposed to be a never-used open box Kindle, and it cost less than $40, so it seems like a good deal. That's less than half the price of a new current gen Kindle.

I plan to call the customer support for my Kobo, which is currently stuck on the "Updating your software, one moment please" screen. If I'm very lucky, they will let me send this in for a replacement, but I'm expecting it to just be a loss. With a battery coming for my old Kindle and now a new Kindle coming, too, I will hopefully be fine with my ereaders for years.

And you still have power and wifi? That is a plus.

Our power flickered once in the early afternoon, otherwise this has just been like a not-too-bad thunderstorm.....minus the thunder.

 

[blackhawk]

 

[impuretrash]

Just two more days until my facebook ban is lifted.