Coffee, May 1st, 2010

G-g-gosh! I'm this late & no one flipped the switch & made coffee? Anyone can jump in....specially if you bring food! Looks like toast or cereal this morning. The coffee will be ready in 5 min.

Well, I did it, I turned off the Axeman yesterday morning & by days end I turned on the oil. Dang! Just as I typed "oil" I heard it come on. I hate paying the Arabs. I'll clean out the boiler this weekend and I think this year I'm going to burn a 40 watt light bulb in it all summer. Last year there was one spot that corroded more than I'd have liked to see. It was odd...on the back wall of the burn chamber, like something dripped down all summer and ate a groove.

Oh man, the oil spill in the Gulf. Sickening..... It absolutely blows me away that they have no plan to stop a spill like that if that one shut off valve malfunctions. It seems to me they need a giant brick to set on top....maybe a dome with a brick....the right shape & weight would stop it wouldn't it? How could it not? That one spill will change life as we know it. How stupid....and needless. 50's technology being used on a modern project...or maybe it just needed a less tech valve. It's hard to find any tech info on just what's going on. You can bet one thing....WE will pay, they will still make money.

OK....it's heading to 75 today, even warmer tomorrow. Wooooohoooo! Enjoy!

Good morning all! Now that the weather is good I'll be turning my attention to the outside projects. What a list we have this year. New roof is needed on the house, rebuild the deck, new landscaping and a retaining wall. That's only what I can think of right now!

Morning Freddy, yeah, gonna be a warm one, today. Looks like 88F and not a cloud in the sky. Coffe? Maybe some Iced-coffee is in the works.
Time to get out and do some yard work.

3 cups of Starbucks and out the door. Yard work to do, a weeks worth and one and a half days to do it. I guess I’ll do what I can do and the rest will still be here next weekend.

Supposed to be 88 here too, lots to do as well (as usual!).

Freddy wrote: Oh man, the oil spill in the Gulf. Sickening..... It absolutely blows me away that they have no plan to stop a spill like that if that one shut off valve malfunctions.

Morning Freddy,

I can't believe the mess either. And it worse because there is apparently a value which European deep water oil platforms have but ours in the Gulf don't - something the size of a football that is activated by sound waves that sits right where the pipe comes out of the sand. The article I read said it cost like a half a million but "since nothing ever happens on these platforms" they chose to go without it. This is why big business has such a horrible reputation. Not to paint them all with the same brush but the bottom line seems to rule most of them. DK's family is from Plaquemaine Bayou, Louisiana and he spoke with them last night; it doesn't look good. If they were throwing out the possibility of $4 a gallon gas before this, get ready for the reality.

We have beautiful June weather on tap for today - the high will be in the low 80*. Got the garden in and the chicken wire around it. Some critter did get to one of the Jalapenos though. Heading out this morning to get our oldest from school for the summer. My son is going to drive on 95 for the first time. I'll let you know how that went.

Have a great day. Lisa

The only technology I have seen is the oil people are welding a huge box that they plan to lower over the sand at the drill hole and trap the oil.This box has a connection attached to the top of it where they will extend a pumping line to the surface.At this point whatever happens it will be too little too late.The only thing we know for reasonable certainty this will be added to the string of,1 you are driving too much,2 you aren't driving enough,3 we have had seasonal changeover problems,4 refinery repairs have taken longer than expected etc ,etc, to get at our pocketbooks yet again. I feel terrible for the people and wildlife of Louisiana,they have had more than their share.

Godd morning everyone. Freddy: the coffee is great, thanks.. as for that spot of corrosion on your AA last summer, could it have been a drip from condensation? The water in the AA will stay at an average, much cooler than daytime high temps and could allow condensation on the water vessel, which could account for your single line of corrosion.. just a thought.

As for the oil in the gulf.. yes, what a mess. And it will only fuel the arguments about no drilling near the shore for our own oil.. Has anyong heard anymore about the suggestion I read that they might light the slick on fire to burn it off? Could the burn rate keep up with the spill rate?? Could the burning oil wash ashore? Lots of questions..

As for the polution of burning the slick: I'd rather see a lot of smoke that will be washed out of the air by rain, rather than the oil washing on shore. The oil slick washing on shore takes a decade or two to be a 'non issue'. But the smoke from burning it off would not be an issue for more than a few months.. In a similar situation, when the oil wells in Kuwait were set on fire, what was the long term environmental effect from the smoke?? Minor global cooling from the stuff in the atmosphere?? Don't know.

My slate floor is looking great.. I have to work on it this weekend while i'm home.. if my knees and back will hold up. I'll post a few photos on the 'huge project' thread later. For me, each section of the floor that is completed is a milestone.. but it's just another photo of a slate floor for those following my project.

Well that typing emptied my coffee cup,, time for another and maybe a piece of toast..

82* yesterday,, heavy rain this morning, supposed to partially clear and be warm and humid this afternoon. Good inside-job working weather.

Greg L.

Good morning! I can already feel the oil spill costing us a lot of money at the pump and on the environment. Maybe they should use the couple billion they posted as profit this quarter and clean up the spill with no cost to the average American. We all know this will never happen. Freddy, darn good cup of Jo this morning. Don't mind if I take another cup, a little slow moving today. I'll skip the toast and cereal and I'll just grab a piece of cold pizza from my the frig. My load of plywood arrived yesterday, however, my order of purple heart was not on the truck, back ordered. Unloaded 150 sheets to the plywood storage racks, was down to my last 20 sheets. Today is another day in the shop, I'm already behind due to having to run some errands this morning. They say we are suppose to reach 70 F today. That doesn't matter for my house, it still remains a freezer, so the two coal stoves are still idling away. Just came in from stoking the stove in the shop to bring the shop temp up. Took a look in the coal bins yesterday and at my current burn rate, I'll have enough coal to last until October. Ok, it is time to switch to soda and grab a second piece of pizza and head out to the shop. Hey Freddy, can we add a large bottle of soda to the table next weekend? Maybe IBC root beer, pepsi, coke or something. I like the soda/coffee combo in the morning. Take care everyone.

The snowman.

LsFarm wrote:As for the oil in the gulf.. yes, what a mess. And it will only fuel the arguments about no drilling near the shore for our own oil.. Has anyong heard anymore about the suggestion I read that they might light the slick on fire to burn it off? Could the burn rate keep up with the spill rate?? Could the burning oil wash ashore? Lots of questions..

It was burning at first but they put it out. Not sure why they did that, sometimes it's better not to put it out. During the Kuwait oil fires in the early 90's gushing wells would sometimes be re-lit to keep from having to deal with lots of oil on the ground. Maybe they could relight it but imagine the inferno with all that oil on the water.

Afternoon all,86* and alittle cloudy.Got started in the woods around 6:00 AM--cuttin & skiddin-we got a bunch of sawing we need to do for the Amish--we've got about 6 young families moving in & taking over old run down farms--I'm real impressed w/thier progress--these people don't play--I asked one of the Amish guys if he had heard of the Amish Outlaws(singing group) & he said yes & really liked them I'm getting an education on the more modern Amish,pretty cool Freddy,now I'm ready for a good cup of Joe---ummmmm,excellent as usual,thank you.Well,I'm going to go out & mow before this rain gets here.Have a good week-end guys & gals

My Lions Club had it's annual Spring Flea Market. It's a fund raiser with almost a hundred outdoor spaces sold. Good food, starting with breakfast items through lunch. I'm the french fry cutter. I cut 300 lbs of #2 potatoes today. I'll have a sore arm and shoulder tomorrow! At least it's for a good cause. We had good weather, one of the hottest days so far in the mid 80's. Bought a new "Gear Wrench" pass through socket set at the flea market plus some 1-1/2 copper plumbing fittings. All for a great price.

HA! I forgot yesterday was Saturday!

Got all kinds of projects going on still. Just received word that my crankshaft is on it's way home - alot lighter & in better shape than when it left! The RD will be roadworthy very soon!

Got out to Stellwagen outside of Cape Cod Bay yesterday for the first time this season. We kicked ass on Pollock & Haddock ... and a few Cod too. Perfect day -- 1' seas & sunny, once the clouds burned off a couple hours after sunrise. The trip out was pretty chilly though. Water is still 47° out there. While it hit 87° at home, we were lucky to see 65° on the water. Whale action was cranked up to 10. We had them surfacing & blowing off just feet from the boat! I'll have to try & get some video of it put up here later.

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters ..... Who knew! And you can buy 1000 at the 'Dollar Tree' for almost nothing even the large ones!!

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.

5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

6.. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes..

11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter..

12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..

13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.

14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.

16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter, tie to make a small bag and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.

17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.

18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.

19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.

20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies... Saves on having extra bowls to wash..

21.. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.

22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.

23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.

24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..

25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO!!

Is there enough coffee left to fill my cup