Some Bitter Cold Moving Way South.

[Whitefang]

10 hours ago, Retired said:

Oh, forgot, Happy Holidays to you all. Cant believe I've been retired now for almost 10 years as of May 31st next year.

Glad to hear from ya Butch.  Sent Christmas greetings to you through Rob.  Retired 10 years(almost) now?  Wow.  By the time you hit 10 years I'd have been retired 23 years.  And you know what?  That 23 years went by much faster than the first 23 years of working.  

Happy holidays to you and Deb and the family, and a safe New Years.  

19 minutes ago, Twang Gang said:

About 17 degrees here this morning and my heat pump went out.  Just blowing cold air, it's about 57 degrees inside the house and dropping.  Called repair man a while ago, but being Xmas eve not sure if I'll hear back.  At least the power is still on and the sun is out.  

Sure enough a bad time for the heat to quit.  And the sun is out?  Wouldn't mind that 'round here.  Was 4 degrees here just before I came on line, and it's still 50-50 that my car will start so I can go to my nephew's tonight.

Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

Whitefang

[Sgt. Pepper]

Well I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life
Run me out in the cold rain and snow

[rct]

1 hour ago, Murph said:

Pretty cavalier.

13 dead so far, we know this will go up.

Hundreds of thousands without power.

Thousands stranded.

This storm was a bad MF.

Glad you're safe.

Yeah, cavalier I guess.  I remember well when we didn't have three or four 24 hour weather channels plus a dozen 24 hour news channels with nothing to do but turn a pretty ordinary thing into a massacre of some sort.  It's just winter.  Just snow.  Just cold.  If you went to the airport knowing this was coming, if you got on the interstate knowing this was ahead of you, you really should not be upset or shocked, it was right there for an entire week, right in your face, inescapable.  Power?  Yeah, that's the weather.  Look at average power loss times for the lower 48 and compare them to entire countries that, believe it or not, bury the power.  But yeah, I get it, the heroic power guys standing by.

It's all disaster capitalism looking for a disaster.  We've had our share here that the rest of the state didn't even know about.  Weather happens.

rct

[SteveFord]

They're saying a record setting low in this area for Christmas.

Good day to play the guitar, listen to music and then curl up with a book.

[NighthawkChris]

Just remember we are all in this together 😀

[Murph]

1 hour ago, rct said:

Yeah, cavalier I guess.  It's just winter.  Just snow.  Just cold.

 

My daughter works for the local t.v. station, She had to be to work at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning. And this morning.

The hospital next door didn't close either. Some people can't just stay home.

This storm was not "just winter".

This one was tough.

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 minutes ago, Murph said:

 

My daughter works for the local t.v. station, She had to be to work at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning. And this morning.

The hospital next door didn't close either. Some people can't just stay home.

This storm was not "just winter".

This one was tough.

I'm sure our nations military is out somewhere doing what they do. I missed a few holidays and birthdays when I was in. I could swear I stood countless watches from midnight to 4 am.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Murph]

18 hours ago, CROWB8 said:

Balmy 9F high today just south of missip/ohio river junction. Sun came out so...

Wickliffe? 

[CROWB8]

1 hour ago, Murph said:

Wickliffe? 

Didnt mean to be rude. Sorry.

Always had an issue w discussing specific location in forums. But I feel strangely comfortable on this site.

10 min due west of Bardwell. Thought you might be a neighbor. 

[rct]

5 hours ago, Murph said:

 

My daughter works for the local t.v. station, She had to be to work at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning. And this morning.

The hospital next door didn't close either. Some people can't just stay home.

This storm was not "just winter".

This one was tough.

Right.  It's always been this way, always.  You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, right?  That's what they told me at 18 years old, when I started at the Shipyard.

rct

[Retired]

14 hours ago, jdgm said:

Very nice to hear from you again and best wishes to you and Deb.  

Dig told us about Sundance - commiserations.  You gave him a damn good life.

Thanks JD. We spoiled him rotten, people have done work in our yard & left the gates wide open which we didn't know till I got outside with him. He would not run away. He probably thought, "Where else am I going to get a life like this?"Lol

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, rct said:

Right.  It's always been this way, always.  You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, right?  That's what they told me at 18 years old, when I started at the Shipyard.

rct

Wait a doctor or nurse might have to see blood at some point in their career? Say it ain’t so?

Edited December 25, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Retired]

9 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

Great hearing from you.  We are all getting older at the same rate: "One Day At A Time."    I've finally come to admit  I feel the cold more.   For a few winters, I was telling myself that my coats are not as warm as they use to be, wool sweater getting worn thinner.   Yesterday, our youngest son swung by to pick up some gifts he'd had Amazone send here. Our 11 y/o granddaughter was in thin pajama type outfit.  No jacket, etc.  It was windy and 30 degrees, she was fine.  Does it all the time.   I try not to take it personally.  Our 2 German Shepherds at least have the decency to 'act' like they're cold when I let them back in.    Sorry about your loss - Sundance is fine - All Dogs Go To Heaven, according to a book I read.  

My eyes are getting worse too. I have to squint to read. Usually I make tons of mistakes typing.  Probably need to go to the eye doctor. There must be truth in the older/colder theory,  I put 5 blankets on my side of the bed these last days. I walked around the house with long johns  under my insulated Cabalas pants and two sweatshirts on.  

Funny about dogs. I had a doberman that acted like he was reading my Bible.  After he won his championship; one day, we left and he was in his room behind the kitchen. I left my Bible on the shelf back there. When we came home, he had it on the floor and out of its leather case.  He even figured out how to unzip it.  No damage to either except a tooth hole in the case.  I looked through the window and he had the Bible open and between his front legs laying down. He looked as if his head was down reading it, Lol. He had done this twice on 2 occasions.  We both said after that, if there's a dog that's worthy to go to Heaven, It's Bandit. I am planing on getting another one next year. 

[Retired]

9 hours ago, Whitefang said:

Glad to hear from ya Butch.  Sent Christmas greetings to you through Rob.  Retired 10 years(almost) now?  Wow.  By the time you hit 10 years I'd have been retired 23 years.  And you know what?  That 23 years went by much faster than the first 23 years of working.  

Happy holidays to you and Deb and the family, and a safe New Years.  

Sure enough a bad time for the heat to quit.  And the sun is out?  Wouldn't mind that 'round here.  Was 4 degrees here just before I came on line, and it's still 50-50 that my car will start so I can go to my nephew's tonight.

Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

Whitefang

Yes, Rob told me, thanks. I can remember the clock at work ticking. I kept looking up at it and what I thought should have been 30 minutes later was only 5 minutes. Time, at the time I was working seemed like an eternity. The day I retired from BNSF I was laughing, singing  shouting all the way to Omaha. Then I thought, "Wait." My life is more than half over! If Im lucky, I have about 30 years left. (I don't want to experience the 90's.)

[Retired]

8 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Well I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life
Run me out in the cold rain and snow

My mother & father fought all the time. He had one bad temper. When he left the factory he worked at, (They close the shop when he was 70.) My mom said to him, "Get Out Of This House And Go To The Garage And Stay There. She even put a furnace there so he could stay warm. Lol

[Tman]

Very best to all of you going through this and please stay safe. My peeps in Arkansas say it is really bad. I'm grateful for So. Cal weather at this moment. 

[Murph]

17 hours ago, CROWB8 said:

 Thought you might be a neighbor. 

 

Not far. 

I've got the Ohio in view from the North side, a little down river from Metropolis.

Merry Christmas.

[fortyearspickn]

On 12/24/2022 at 10:13 AM, rct said:

Yeah, cavalier I guess.  I remember well when we didn't have three or four 24 hour weather channels plus a dozen 24 hour news channels with nothing to do but turn a pretty ordinary thing into a massacre of some sort.  It's just winter.  Just snow.  Just cold.  If you went to the airport knowing this was coming, if you got on the interstate knowing this was ahead of you, you really should not be upset or shocked, it was right there for an entire week, right in your face, inescapable.  Power?  Yeah, that's the weather.  Look at average power loss times for the lower 48 and compare them to entire countries that, believe it or not, bury the power.  But yeah, I get it, the heroic power guys standing by.

It's all disaster capitalism looking for a disaster.  We've had our share here that the rest of the state didn't even know about.  Weather happens.

rct

Agree -  I remember a colder Christmas when we lived in Western Massachusetts -  parents drove up from Connecticut that morning and left that afternoon. It was  15 below.  No snow though,  so people just took it in stride. 

[jvi]

This storm killed .Smartassery is uncool.

[fortyearspickn]

1 hour ago, jvi said:

This storm killed .Smartassery is uncool.

Sorry, I'm confused.  Are you saying my comment was smart assery ?    

Edited December 26, 2022 by fortyearspickn

[Whitefang]

On 12/24/2022 at 8:02 PM, Retired said:

Yes, Rob told me, thanks. I can remember the clock at work ticking. I kept looking up at it and what I thought should have been 30 minutes later was only 5 minutes. Time, at the time I was working seemed like an eternity. The day I retired from BNSF I was laughing, singing  shouting all the way to Omaha. Then I thought, "Wait." My life is more than half over! If Im lucky, I have about 30 years left. (I don't want to experience the 90's.)

That slow moving time at work depended on a few factors.  The slower the job was, the slower the clock moved.  But then too, the busier(or frantic) the job was the longer quitting time took to arrive.   The gem was the kind of job where the pace was just right to where the clock moved at an ideal pace.  As you know, Mine was a medical retirement.  I never got the chance to do handsprings out the factory door  Either actual or figuratively.  I was on sick leave four years before officially retired.  No "walk around" day.  The tradition at most GM plants was that on your last day before retirement you can dress up in your Sunday best and walk around the plant  saying your good-byes.  I just never wanted to wind up like some of those guys I knew who kicked off less than a year after retiring.  So far so good.  

Whitefang

[Sgt. Pepper]

18 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

Sorry, I'm confused.  Are you saying my comment was smart assery ?    

It could be. I wonder if in the summer its gonna be hot, and there might be a heat wave across the US. I guess we will find out in 6 months or so when the Weather Channel lets us in on it.

Its been said before - WE solve nothing here. This a is a place to whine and moan. We look at guitars, and decide weather they are real or fake. Let people know what day their guitar was stamped with a precious serial number that means nothing. Ohh and Ahh over a NGD. Skirt the boundaries of the rules and post all sorts of unless drivel. Let people know what we are listening to. And we even have a section to post jokes, cause were all stand up comedians. And my favorite is asking for advice on what strings, picks, and guitars to buy (I wonder if you will be told to buy a Gibson?). Cause I guess you need someone else to make up your mind for you. Do you chew your own food?

And I am not excluding myself in any way shape or form. I'm guilty too.

Edited December 26, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Whitefang]

On 12/24/2022 at 7:47 PM, Retired said:

My eyes are getting worse too. I have to squint to read. Usually I make tons of mistakes typing.  Probably need to go to the eye doctor. There must be truth in the older/colder theory,  I put 5 blankets on my side of the bed these last days. I walked around the house with long johns  under my insulated Cabalas pants and two sweatshirts on.  

Funny about dogs. I had a doberman that acted like he was reading my Bible.  After he won his championship; one day, we left and he was in his room behind the kitchen. I left my Bible on the shelf back there. When we came home, he had it on the floor and out of its leather case.  He even figured out how to unzip it.  No damage to either except a tooth hole in the case.  I looked through the window and he had the Bible open and between his front legs laying down. He looked as if his head was down reading it, Lol. He had done this twice on 2 occasions.  We both said after that, if there's a dog that's worthy to go to Heaven, It's Bandit. I am planing on getting another one next year. 

If you're on a blood thinner(like me) the cold will seem much colder.  I'm not sure about the older/colder thing, but over the years I noticed a lot of oldsters bundling up in warm weather, but too, my brother in law Stan is 86, and is no colder in this weather than the much younger men in the family.

A Bible reading dog?  Ha!  Next time he does that try to get a picture of it and see if you can post it.  And BTW.....

What section of the Bible did he have it opened to?     I tried sending that question in a PM, but it seems you can't receive messages.

Whitefang

[Pinch]

2 hours ago, jvi said:

This storm killed .Smartassery is uncool.

Jesus, dude, you're offended by everything, 24/7. Take a day off. 

[Retired]

1 hour ago, Whitefang said:

That slow moving time at work depended on a few factors.  The slower the job was, the slower the clock moved.  But then too, the busier(or frantic) the job was the longer quitting time took to arrive.   The gem was the kind of job where the pace was just right to where the clock moved at an ideal pace.  As you know, Mine was a medical retirement.  I never got the chance to do handsprings out the factory door  Either actual or figuratively.  I was on sick leave four years before officially retired.  No "walk around" day.  The tradition at most GM plants was that on your last day before retirement you can dress up in your Sunday best and walk around the plant  saying your good-byes.  I just never wanted to wind up like some of those guys I knew who kicked off less than a year after retiring.  So far so good.  

Whitefang

I hear that!  A lot of the guys I knew that retired before me are dead and gone. They had worse conditions there before me. Many I knew never got the chance to retire. One guy hung himself.  I was a hard worker. I got my work done as fast as possible. Everyone got two guys per railroad car. When you got it done, you were finished for the day. They pulled the line at the end of the day and you started again the next day. So sitting at your table waiting for 3:30 began, Lol. One job I had there, was outside cutting hog feeding troughs and slats out of stock cars.  I got the car done in 20 minutes. So I got more hose for my torch to reach out to the switch. I cut all the cars and finished them all by noon.  Afterwards, I went to the foreman and asked him what else he wanted me to do? He didn't believe I had them all done, so he took me out there to check. Haha, He told me to sit in my shack and do whatever I wanted to do till they pulled the line and gave me more cars. I waited several days for them to pull the line. I was so bored, that I read the entire Bible out there in 3 months in my shack and that was also doing my work.