OT: Iceworld...

[Cryptoengineer]

It's been snowing a lot in New England. At this moment, it's 11F (-12C)
outside, and it's been snowing since Saturday evening. We've had about
6 inches since last night, and are approaching 2.5 feet on the lawn. We're
expecting more.

Last week it got to the point where I had to dig a 50' path to get to
our birdfeeder - wading through snow well over knee deep is very
exhausting.

We put up the feeder at Thanksgiving, and have gone through about
80 lbs of hulled sunflower seed since then. At this time, when its
very cold and the ground is covered, I have to refill it every day
or two, about 4 pounds of seed each time.

The thing is mobbed during daylight hours, even attracting woodpeckers,
who are normally insectivores.

(Before you ask, yes, I have a snowblower AND a plow guy)

pt

[Kevrob]

I only moved to New England in 2007.* Winter 2010-11 was quite snowy, and
Feb 2013 had "Winter Storm Nemo": 38 inches of snow that weekend in Milford, CT.
I was up to western MA this weekend. They had walls of snow either side of
their street. I believe the storm earlier this month wacked everyone east
and north of New London pretty hard. We had snow this morning, which is just
ending, and will get more.

This is the first morning I've been able to drive to work in months. I now
have a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. I can even turn on 4-wheel drive if needed.

My landlord commented to me the other day, "I don't know why everyone doesn't
have 4-wheel or all-wheel drive with the weather we have."

I've lived where it snows. (Milwaukee WI.) But I haven't lived anywhere as
hilly with snow. It makes a big difference.

Kevin R

*SE Connecticut is technically New England, though Red Sox fans eye us suspiciously. (Let's Go, Mets!)

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <XnsA43C782281...@216.166.97.131>,

Good for you.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

[Cryptoengineer]

djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote in
news:nJIx9...@kithrup.com:

> In article <XnsA43C782281...@216.166.97.131>,
> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>It's been snowing a lot in New England. At this moment, it's 11F
>>(-12C) outside, and it's been snowing since Saturday evening. We've
>>had about 6 inches since last night, and are approaching 2.5 feet on
>>the lawn. We're expecting more.
>>
>>Last week it got to the point where I had to dig a 50' path to get to
>>our birdfeeder - wading through snow well over knee deep is very
>>exhausting.
>>
>>We put up the feeder at Thanksgiving, and have gone through about
>>80 lbs of hulled sunflower seed since then. At this time, when its
>>very cold and the ground is covered, I have to refill it every day
>>or two, about 4 pounds of seed each time.
>>
>>The thing is mobbed during daylight hours, even attracting
>>woodpeckers, who are normally insectivores.
>
> Good for you.

Thanks - I've been told that its a commitment - if it runs
out in these conditions, many of the birds are likely to die.
I expect to have to keep it going till the leaves are out (May).

The snow on the lawn is now up to mid-thigh.

pt

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <XnsA43CABF6E8...@216.166.97.131>,

Whereas here in northern California, we nad another medium-sized
rainstorm a couple of days ago; sun is out now and all the
flowering trees are bursting out, and the slopes are covered in
bright-yellow Bermuda oxalis (which actually come from South
Africa).

We desperately need more rain, though. And the Sierras would
love to have all your extra snow, if there were some way of
shipping it here.

>The snow on the lawn is now up to mid-thigh.

Ouch. How plentiful are your birdseed supplies in the house?
Are you able to get out and get more?

You may already have seen this site:

http://www.universalhub.com/french-toast

which predicts (or tries to predict) snow severity in the Boston
area in terms of supplies for making French toast. :)

Their current alert level is merely High, but they're further
south than you, I think.

Hang in there, birds and people.

[Kevrob]

Hmmm. Sub-orbital atomic powered trebuchet......?

> >The snow on the lawn is now up to mid-thigh.
>
> Ouch. How plentiful are your birdseed supplies in the house?
> Are you able to get out and get more?
>
> You may already have seen this site:
>
> http://www.universalhub.com/french-toast
>
> which predicts (or tries to predict) snow severity in the Boston
> area in terms of supplies for making French toast. :)

If you get enough bread, you can rewrap it, and the bids can at
least have the crumbs, right?

> Their current alert level is merely High, but they're further
> south than you, I think.
>
> Hang in there, birds and people.

Is there a suet alert system?

Kevin R

[Cryptoengineer]

djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote in news:nJJ2t7.2335
@kithrup.com:

Cute. The site is new to me. Calling the current alert 'High' but
not 'Severe' is probably correct. While there's been a lot of snow,
it's not all falling in one day - I've seen 30 inches overnight,
and that would be a much bigger problem.

They didn't close the roads today, but like most people, I stayed
home anyway. Went out about 3 pm, and cleared the driveway and
cars.

The town is getting a little sketchy in their plowing - they are
probably also waiting for the snow to end. The snow budget is
probably in dire shape at this point.

pt

[Keith F. Lynch]

Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>>> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> It's been snowing a lot in New England. At this moment, it's
>>>> 11F (-12C) outside, and it's been snowing since Saturday
>>>> evening. We've had about 6 inches since last night, and
>>>> are approaching 2.5 feet on the lawn. We're expecting more.

>>>> Last week it got to the point where I had to dig a 50' path to
>>>> get to our birdfeeder - wading through snow well over knee deep
>>>> is very exhausting.

I've seen photos of snowshoes, for walking on the surface of snow.
They look like oversized tennis rackets. I don't think I've ever
seen them in person, much less worn them.

> Whereas here in northern California, we nad another medium-sized
> rainstorm a couple of days ago; sun is out now and all the flowering
> trees are bursting out, and the slopes are covered in bright-yellow
> Bermuda oxalis (which actually come from South Africa).

> We desperately need more rain, though. And the Sierras would love
> to have all your extra snow, if there were some way of shipping it
> here.

We got a season total of seven feet of snow five years ago. Some of
it was still on the ground in April when the temperature was in the
90s, which was doubly weird. But this winter, we've had very little
snow or ice, but plenty of cold rain. It reached 68 F (20 C)
yesterday, which was unusual, but it's back to just above freezing,
which is normal for this time of year.

I'm thankful for the lack of snow, since the government deals with it
by shoving it onto the sidewalks. The sidewalks become unusable, and
the roads are soon perfectly clear, so pedestrians have to walk right
in the middle of fast traffic for days or even weeks.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> I've lived where it snows. (Milwaukee WI.) But I haven't lived
> anywhere as hilly with snow. It makes a big difference.

Indeed. It's not much fun walking or biking up an icy hill and having
cars ahead of you lose traction and start sliding back.

OfSF: Hal Clement wrote a novel called _Iceworld_. It is in fact
a reference to Earth, as viewed by aliens who prefer much warmer
temperatures.

[David Goldfarb]

In article <nJJ2t...@kithrup.com>,

Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:

>Whereas here in northern California, we nad another medium-sized
>rainstorm a couple of days ago; sun is out now and all the
>flowering trees are bursting out, and the slopes are covered in
>bright-yellow Bermuda oxalis (which actually come from South
>Africa).

And today in Houston the high broke 80, which is a bit warm for
this time of year but not horrendously so. (Although we had highs
in the 40s only a week or so ago.) The warm spell means dead leaves
on the ground. Spring here can be mistaken for autumn elsewhere.

--
David Goldfarb |"The only thing better than messing with somebody's
goldf...@gmail.com | sense of reality is messing with a whole LOTTA
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | people's sense of reality...."
| -- J. Michael Straczynski

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbbsbe$9mt$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> djh...@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>>>> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> It's been snowing a lot in New England. At this moment, it's
>>>>> 11F (-12C) outside, and it's been snowing since Saturday
>>>>> evening. We've had about 6 inches since last night, and
>>>>> are approaching 2.5 feet on the lawn. We're expecting more.
>
>>>>> Last week it got to the point where I had to dig a 50' path to
>>>>> get to our birdfeeder - wading through snow well over knee deep
>>>>> is very exhausting.
>
> I've seen photos of snowshoes, for walking on the surface of snow.
> They look like oversized tennis rackets. I don't think I've ever
> seen them in person, much less worn them.

I've thought of that, but they're more trouble than the size of the
task warrants. Cutting the path through two feet of somewhat packed
snow with the snowblower was pretty tough the first time, but keeping
it open vs 6-8 inches of new snow today was easy.

That may change if the snow gets a lot deeper, but then I'd have to
worry about the bird feeder getting snowed up too.

pt

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbbsl2$eg3$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> I've lived where it snows. (Milwaukee WI.) But I haven't lived
>> anywhere as hilly with snow. It makes a big difference.
>
> Indeed. It's not much fun walking or biking up an icy hill and having
> cars ahead of you lose traction and start sliding back.
>
> OfSF: Hal Clement wrote a novel called _Iceworld_. It is in fact
> a reference to Earth, as viewed by aliens who prefer much warmer
> temperatures.

That's what my Subject line referenced. We're expecting more snow,
and more cold. Boskone will not be easy this year. They're predicting
-8F (-22C) here next Sunday night.

pt

[Philip Chee]

On 10/02/2015 11:07, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> I've lived where it snows. (Milwaukee WI.) But I haven't lived
>> anywhere as hilly with snow. It makes a big difference.
>
> Indeed. It's not much fun walking or biking up an icy hill and
> having cars ahead of you lose traction and start sliding back.
>
> OfSF: Hal Clement wrote a novel called _Iceworld_. It is in fact a
> reference to Earth, as viewed by aliens who prefer much warmer
> temperatures.

The Earth did go through a dirty snowball age didn't it?

Phil

--
Philip Chee <phi...@aleytys.pc.my>, <phili...@gmail.com>
http://flashblock.mozdev.org/ http://xsidebar.mozdev.org
Guard us from the she-wolf and the wolf, and guard us from the thief,
oh Night, and so be good for us to pass.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <878psc....@news.alt.net>,

Philip Chee <phi...@aleytys.pc.my> wrote:
>On 10/02/2015 11:07, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>>> I've lived where it snows. (Milwaukee WI.) But I haven't lived
>>> anywhere as hilly with snow. It makes a big difference.
>>
>> Indeed. It's not much fun walking or biking up an icy hill and
>> having cars ahead of you lose traction and start sliding back.
>>
>> OfSF: Hal Clement wrote a novel called _Iceworld_. It is in fact a
>> reference to Earth, as viewed by aliens who prefer much warmer
>> temperatures.
>
>The Earth did go through a dirty snowball age didn't it?

Yes. Here's Wikipedia on the subject,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth

or you can google for more references.

Here's a David Attenborough documentary that mentions some early
life forms that (if I'm understanding him correctly) managed to
survive under the ice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfbGFKrKb1Q

[Gary McGath]

On 2/9/15 10:02 PM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:

> I'm thankful for the lack of snow, since the government deals with it
> by shoving it onto the sidewalks. The sidewalks become unusable, and
> the roads are soon perfectly clear, so pedestrians have to walk right
> in the middle of fast traffic for days or even weeks.
>

From the reports I'm seeing, Boston is getting that way. It's not just
that the area has had a record amount of snow for a 30-day period (even
exceeding 1978, but that the temperatures have constantly stayed below
freezing, so nothing has melted off.

The transit system has been an ongoing disaster, with trains stuck for
as much as two hours. Yesterday evening the entire MBTA rail system,
including commuter rail, shut down at 7. That must have left quite a few
people stuck overnight at work. People left early if they could, but not
everyone can. Today there's no MBTA rail service at all.

Fortunately, I've reached the point of being able to do almost all the
work for my client on the Massachusetts North Shore without leaving
home. Yesterday was a full work day for me.


--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com
Tomorrow's Songs Today: The History of Filk http://www.mcgath.com/tst

[Gary McGath]

On 2/10/15 12:18 AM, Philip Chee wrote:

> The Earth did go through a dirty snowball age didn't it?

"Dirty snowball" refers to comets and other celestial bodies that are
made up primarily of ice (or thought to be). Certainly Earth has never
been that.

[Evelyn Leeper]

As I have often said, we didn't stop going to Boskone because it was too
far, or too expensive, or too cold--we stopped because it was too far
*and* too expensive *and* too cold.

Our last year was 2003. Of it, I wrote:

"From where we live in New Jersey, Boston is (I estimate) a seven-hour
drive if conditions are good. Because we are retired, we can drive up
Thursday to my family's house in western Massachusetts, proceed to
Boston early Friday, then return to my parents' Sunday night and back
home Monday or later. But the problem is that conditions are rarely
good. In 1996, for example, it was a nine-hour drive to Framingham
because of snow. This year . . . well, as I am writing this, I am still
in western Massachusetts, watching a predicted two feet of snow fall,
and having already postponed driving back until Wednesday."

I also still recall the best quote of the convention (from someone whose
luggage had apparently been in her car for a while): "There's nothing
like a refrigerated tampon to wake you right up."

And this is a big part why we don't go to Boskone anymore.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Have you noticed that many people who claim to believe in personal
responsibility spend a lot of time blaming the government?

[Cryptoengineer]

Evelyn Leeper <ele...@optonline.net> wrote in news:iDnCw.1302577
$Rp.8...@fx23.iad:

The current hotel (which is also used by Arisia) is also a
problem. It's located in an industrial/transport wasteland
beside the convention center.

The nearest outside restaurants are 10-15 minutes walk, as is
outside parking. The hotel restaurants and parking are both
limited and expensive.

I usually commute, and walking to and from parking is annoying,
as is trying to get a meal.

I wish we were back in the Park Plaza, for all its limitations.
That was right downtown near the theatre district and Chinatown.

pt

[Mark Hertel]

On Tue, 10 Feb 2015 07:41:57 -0600, Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The current hotel (which is also used by Arisia) is also a
> problem. It's located in an industrial/transport wasteland
> beside the convention center.

Not my favorite place for a convention either.

> The nearest outside restaurants are 10-15 minutes walk, as is
> outside parking. The hotel restaurants and parking are both
> limited and expensive.

There is now a sub/sandwich shop across the street on D street! Not
great food, but it is cheaper than the hotel's food options.

> I usually commute, and walking to and from parking is annoying,
> as is trying to get a meal.
>
> I wish we were back in the Park Plaza, for all its limitations.
> That was right downtown near the theatre district and Chinatown.

My thoughts also.


--Mark Hertel

[Gary McGath]

I'm thinking of parking at Alewife for the weekend and taking a taxi.
It's got to be cheaper than parking at the hotel. Finding a space at
Alewife in the middle of the day can be difficult, though.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
> I'm thinking of parking at Alewife for the weekend and taking a
> taxi. It's got to be cheaper than parking at the hotel. Finding a
> space at Alewife in the middle of the day can be difficult, though.

You think the T will still be shut down? If not, wouldn't it be
cheaper to take the T?

[Keith F. Lynch]

Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> I'm thankful for the lack of snow, since the government deals
>> with it by shoving it onto the sidewalks. The sidewalks become
>> unusable, and the roads are soon perfectly clear, so pedestrians
>> have to walk right in the middle of fast traffic for days or
>> even weeks.

> From the reports I'm seeing, Boston is getting that way. It's not
> just that the area has had a record amount of snow for a 30-day
> period (even exceeding 1978, but that the temperatures have
> constantly stayed below freezing, so nothing has melted off.

I thought Boston did snow removal right: Haul it away and dump it
in the river, rather than just shove it onto sidewalks.

Anyhow, as long as there's fresh snow, it's not too bad for
pedestrians. They have to walk in the street, but there are
relatively few cars, and they're being driven very slowly and
cautiously. The real trouble comes when the roads are in perfect
condition and the sidewalks are still totally unusable.

This is typical of government: Make things a little better for some
by making things much worse for others, and bill everyone for it.

> The transit system has been an ongoing disaster, with trains stuck
> for as much as two hours.

Ha! Around here, a two-hour delay doesn't even make the news,
unless a train fills with smoke and someone dies. I think such
"minor delays" happen to at least one or two trains almost every
day, regardless of weather. Sick passenger, mechanical breakdown,
cracked rail (winter), warped rail (summer), leaves on the tracks
(autumn), suspicious package, scheduled maintenance, etc. Nine times
out of ten no explanation is ever given. The train just stops between
stations for 30 minutes, or 60, or 120. The conductor "helpfully"
announces, every five minutes or so, that the train will be moving
momentarily.

Unlike in Boston, all but one of the six lines shares tracks with one,
two, or even three other lines, so a problem on one line can result in
delays on as many as five of the six lines.

On the other hand, I hear that one of Boston's main transfer stations
is closed for *years*. That's never happened on the DC Metro. At
least not yet.

> Yesterday evening the entire MBTA rail system, including commuter
> rail, shut down at 7. That must have left quite a few people stuck
> overnight at work. People left early if they could, but not
> everyone can. Today there's no MBTA rail service at all.

By policy, the outdoor parts of the DC Metro shut down whenever
there's a snowfall of more than eight inches. In practice, the limit
is more like half that unless it's a very slow snowfall.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:

> Philip Chee <phi...@aleytys.pc.my> wrote:
>> The Earth did go through a dirty snowball age didn't it?

> Yes. Here's Wikipedia on the subject,

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth

I've never heard it referred to as a "dirty" snowball age.

The interesting thing is the flip side: When the whole planet is
covered with ice, CO2 is still emitted by volcanos, but isn't absorbed
by rocks, so it accumulates until it causes a sufficient greenhouse
effect to cause ice to start melting despite the high albedo. The
more ice that melts, the hotter it gets, due to the decreased albedo,
until finally all the ice is gone and the surface temperature is
closer to boiling than to freezing. This lasts until most of the CO2
is absorbed by rocks, which may take a few million years. Then the
whole process repeats.

It stopped repeating only when the sun heated up enough. (The sun
has been very gradually getting hotter for billions of years.)

Anyhow, the conventional explanation for our oxygen atmosphere never
made much sense to me. The now-free oxygen was originally combined
with carbon, as CO2, and with hydrogen, as water, and plants split it
off? Fine, but then what happened to the excess carbon and hydrogen?
Some of it is biomass and some of it is fossil fuels, but I don't
think there's nearly enough. I think if you were to burn all the
coal, oil, natural gas, and biomass, that wouldn't nearly suffice
to use up all the oxygen. There are more than 400 pounds of free
oxygen for every square foot of the Earth's surface. Do you think
there are 400 pounds of coal beneath the square foot you're
standing on?

My conjecture is that the free oxygen came from photolysis of water
vapor. Photolysis requires extreme UV, which penetrates, even in the
absence of an ozone layer, only into the upper stratosphere, and today
the upper stratosphere is so dry that not enough oxygen could have
accumulated that way in the lifetime of the Earth. But the reason the
upper stratosphere is dry is because the lower stratosphere is cold.
During the hot phases of "Snowball Earth," the stratosphere may have
been warm and moist for millions of years at a time.

And the timing is right. Free oxygen started accumulating just about
when "Snowball Earth" is believed to have started.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
> My conjecture is that the free oxygen came from photolysis of
> water vapor.

Clarification: The resulting free hydrogen then drifted into space,
being too light to be held by Earth's gravity. The free oxygen,
being heavier, accumulated.

[Philip Chee]

On 11/02/2015 10:28, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>> Philip Chee <phi...@aleytys.pc.my> wrote:
>>> The Earth did go through a dirty snowball age didn't it?
>
>> Yes. Here's Wikipedia on the subject,
>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth
>
> I've never heard it referred to as a "dirty" snowball age.

My apologies. I meant a slushball earth.

[Gary McGath]

On 2/10/15 8:42 PM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:

> I thought Boston did snow removal right: Haul it away and dump it
> in the river, rather than just shove it onto sidewalks.
>
> Anyhow, as long as there's fresh snow, it's not too bad for
> pedestrians. They have to walk in the street, but there are
> relatively few cars, and they're being driven very slowly and
> cautiously. The real trouble comes when the roads are in perfect
> condition and the sidewalks are still totally unusable.

The good part of not getting any thaws in New England is that it's all
still snow, not refrozen ice, so the slipping hazard isn't too bad.
However, Boston drivers NEVER drive cautiously. They'd lose face if they
did.

> On the other hand, I hear that one of Boston's main transfer stations
> is closed for *years*. That's never happened on the DC Metro. At
> least not yet.

That's Government Center, which is being heavily renovated. It's very
close to three other stations, so the main inconvenience is that Blue
Line passengers may have to do an extra transfer.

>> Yesterday evening the entire MBTA rail system, including commuter
>> rail, shut down at 7. That must have left quite a few people stuck
>> overnight at work. People left early if they could, but not
>> everyone can. Today there's no MBTA rail service at all.
>
> By policy, the outdoor parts of the DC Metro shut down whenever
> there's a snowfall of more than eight inches. In practice, the limit
> is more like half that unless it's a very slow snowfall.

Y'all are in the South. We New Englanders aren't supposed to let little
things like record snowfall in a 30-day period stop us.

[Gary McGath]

On 2/10/15 8:13 PM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> I'm thinking of parking at Alewife for the weekend and taking a
>> taxi. It's got to be cheaper than parking at the hotel. Finding a
>> space at Alewife in the middle of the day can be difficult, though.
>
> You think the T will still be shut down? If not, wouldn't it be
> cheaper to take the T?

The problem is the amount of musical gear I haul with me. Normally I
park on D street near the hotel, put a pile of quarters into the meter
while I unload, and then take the car to Alewife, but I don't have much
confidence there will be parking spaces on D Street.

One alternative is just not to take my keyboard to Boskone; I'll be busy
with a lot of other things anyway.

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbec1m$67i$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>>> I'm thankful for the lack of snow, since the government deals
>>> with it by shoving it onto the sidewalks. The sidewalks become
>>> unusable, and the roads are soon perfectly clear, so pedestrians
>>> have to walk right in the middle of fast traffic for days or
>>> even weeks.
>
>> From the reports I'm seeing, Boston is getting that way. It's not
>> just that the area has had a record amount of snow for a 30-day
>> period (even exceeding 1978, but that the temperatures have
>> constantly stayed below freezing, so nothing has melted off.
>
> I thought Boston did snow removal right: Haul it away and dump it
> in the river, rather than just shove it onto sidewalks.

Keith is 25 years out of date.

Dumping snow in the harbor is a last resort; they haven't done it
since 1990, for enviromental reasons (snow from the roads has a
lot of oil, metals, and dirt). It usually gets put in vacant lots
(aka 'snow farms')

They may break that rule this year - 6 feet of snow in 30 days
means they're running out of space, and its turning into a
public safety issue.

pt

[Keith F. Lynch]

Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
> The problem is the amount of musical gear I haul with me.

I find I can carry a lot on the DC Metro if I use my hand truck. But
Metro has elevators everywhere, and the T might not. On the other
hand, Metro's elevators seem to be broken about half the time, so I
often end up using the escalators anyway.

I wonder how the snow will affect Boskone attendance. Their website
says, "Despite the snow, all plans for Boskone 52 continue!"

Speaking of their website, before suggesting you take the T, I checked
it to see if the con hotel is near a T station. But there's no
directions page, for either cars or transit. There's what's intended
to be a link to the hotel's own page, but it's actually a link to a
generic "Starwood Hotels & Resorts" page.

However, the previous year's Boskone website has directions to the
same hotel.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
> The good part of not getting any thaws in New England is that it's
> all still snow, not refrozen ice, so the slipping hazard isn't
> too bad.

Doesn't snow get compacted into slick ice by cars driving over it,
regardless of temperature?

> However, Boston drivers NEVER drive cautiously. They'd lose face
> if they did.

Extremely rude and agressive people are seldom seen driving around
here. That's because Metro has hired them all for customer service
positions. :-)

>> On the other hand, I hear that one of Boston's main transfer
>> stations is closed for *years*. That's never happened on the DC
>> Metro. At least not yet.

> That's Government Center, which is being heavily renovated. It's
> very close to three other stations, so the main inconvenience is
> that Blue Line passengers may have to do an extra transfer.

If I recall correctly, it's a sort of tic-tac-toe or "hashtag"
arrangement, with two parallel east-west lines, two parallel
north-south lines, and four transfer stations arranged in a square.
If so, double transfers would often be necessary even if all the
stations are operating.

Government Center used to be Scollay Square, right? (When I visit
a city only about once per decade, I tend to have a different
viewpoint. :-) )

One good thing about the DC Metro is you can get anywhere on the
system with at most one transfer. The downside is that, except during
rush hour, there's often a wait of 20, 30, or even 60 minutes for each
transfer. People often walk miles out of their way to get on a station
on the correct line so that they don't have to transfer at all.

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbh359$lua$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> The problem is the amount of musical gear I haul with me.
>
> I find I can carry a lot on the DC Metro if I use my hand truck. But
> Metro has elevators everywhere, and the T might not. On the other
> hand, Metro's elevators seem to be broken about half the time, so I
> often end up using the escalators anyway.

Generally speaking, I've found the T's elevators and escalators to be
working. But I'm not a regular rider, so my info is spotty.

> I wonder how the snow will affect Boskone attendance. Their website
> says, "Despite the snow, all plans for Boskone 52 continue!"
>
> Speaking of their website, before suggesting you take the T, I checked
> it to see if the con hotel is near a T station. But there's no
> directions page, for either cars or transit. There's what's intended
> to be a link to the hotel's own page, but it's actually a link to a
> generic "Starwood Hotels & Resorts" page.

The 'Silver line' has a stop a couple hundred yards from the hotel.
That looks like one transfer from the Red Line (starting at Alewife?)
But its a transfer to a bus - thats what the Silver line is.


pt

[Gary McGath]

On 2/11/15 9:43 PM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> The good part of not getting any thaws in New England is that it's
>> all still snow, not refrozen ice, so the slipping hazard isn't
>> too bad.
>
> Doesn't snow get compacted into slick ice by cars driving over it,
> regardless of temperature?

That hasn't happened very much.

>> That's Government Center, which is being heavily renovated. It's
>> very close to three other stations, so the main inconvenience is
>> that Blue Line passengers may have to do an extra transfer.
>
> If I recall correctly, it's a sort of tic-tac-toe or "hashtag"
> arrangement, with two parallel east-west lines, two parallel
> north-south lines, and four transfer stations arranged in a square.
> If so, double transfers would often be necessary even if all the
> stations are operating.

You're right about the arrangement. The Green and Orange Lines share a
couple of stations, so it's often possible to avoid a double transfer by
changing at one of them. Changing between the Red and Blue Lines always
requires a double transfer, but I'm pretty sure the Blue Line is the
least used of the four subway lines. It's primarily an East Boston line,
and its once-important function of getting to the airport has largely
been taken over by the Silver Line, which goes directly to the
terminals. One terminus, Bowdoin, has too tight a turnaround loop to
accommodate full-size cars, so Blue Line cars are just 48 feet long.
Perhaps in overcompensation, the other terminus is named Wonderland.

> Government Center used to be Scollay Square, right? (When I visit
> a city only about once per decade, I tend to have a different
> viewpoint. :-) )

Correct.

> One good thing about the DC Metro is you can get anywhere on the
> system with at most one transfer. The downside is that, except during
> rush hour, there's often a wait of 20, 30, or even 60 minutes for each
> transfer. People often walk miles out of their way to get on a station
> on the correct line so that they don't have to transfer at all.

There's rarely that long a wait for an MBTA transfer, except when the
trains break down, which happens too often.

[Gary McGath]

On 2/11/15 9:28 PM, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> The problem is the amount of musical gear I haul with me.
>
> I find I can carry a lot on the DC Metro if I use my hand truck. But
> Metro has elevators everywhere, and the T might not. On the other
> hand, Metro's elevators seem to be broken about half the time, so I
> often end up using the escalators anyway.

My musical gear will fit on a hand truck and my suitcase will roll, so
under good weather conditions I could do it. However, the closest T
station is a snowy quarter of a mile from the hotel. At the World Trade
Center station there's a sculpture of half-dead soldiers on
three-quarters-dead horses to remind people hauling luggage how
exhausted they are.

> I wonder how the snow will affect Boskone attendance. Their website
> says, "Despite the snow, all plans for Boskone 52 continue!"
>
> Speaking of their website, before suggesting you take the T, I checked
> it to see if the con hotel is near a T station. But there's no
> directions page, for either cars or transit. There's what's intended
> to be a link to the hotel's own page, but it's actually a link to a
> generic "Starwood Hotels & Resorts" page.

I found the directions page in two clicks:

http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/directions.html

[Scott Dorsey]

Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>The 'Silver line' has a stop a couple hundred yards from the hotel.
>That looks like one transfer from the Red Line (starting at Alewife?)
>But its a transfer to a bus - thats what the Silver line is.

It's not just ANY bus! It's an underground electric bus running on a
dedicated track!

It doesn't get any more science fiction than that! It's like being in a
Gernsback story!
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Kevrob]

On Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 9:02:40 AM UTC-5, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Cryptoengineer <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >The 'Silver line' has a stop a couple hundred yards from the hotel.
> >That looks like one transfer from the Red Line (starting at Alewife?)
> >But its a transfer to a bus - thats what the Silver line is.
>
> It's not just ANY bus! It's an underground electric bus running on a
> dedicated track!
>
> It doesn't get any more science fiction than that! It's like being in a
> Gernsback story!

Your underground car at least needs to be jet or rocket powered, like the one
Flash Gordon used in the second serial, set on Mars. When the power was cut
on that, Flash was even able to make it go using his ray pistol. Or, it needs'
to be a hovercraft - mag/lev or air cushion. No wheels, though. Too mundane.

Kevin

[Alan Woodford]

On Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:30:36 -0800 (PST), Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com>
wrote:

Back in the last millenium, there used to be a mag-lev shuttle between
Birmingham International rail station and Birmingham Airport, a
distance of just over half a kilometre...

It made a wonderfully sfnal start to the journey when Anne and I flew
out to Magicon :-)

It closed in 1995, becuse they couldn't get the spare parts, and was
replaced first by a shuttle bus, and then later by conventional light
rail.

Alan Woodford
The Greying Lensman

[Alan Woodford]

Correcting myself to be polite....

The Skyrail replacement for the Mag-lev, is actually cable hauled, so
it is arguably a bigger step back from the future!

[Kevrob]

Correction noted.

I know it isn't really 21st century technology, but I love the ride from
Manhattan to Roosevelt Island by aerial tram. The view can be striking,
especially at night.

Re: Iceworld.

Here's the National Weather Service forecast for y part of Connecticut for
the next few days. Temps given are Fahrenheit.

We are going to get single digit temps (where 32 degrees is freezing) overnight
and daytime temps won't rise above freezing for days. It may even drop below Zero F. It won't be the first time I've had to deal with this kind of cold,
but some of the people I work with are young enough that they will be new to
the challenge. The main roads around here are clear, but if side roads have
been poorly plowed, good luck when the slush freezes into rock hardness.
The MTA trains sometimes have trouble in temps well below freezing.

If there are plumbing and heating systems that are going to fail, this is
when that'll happen, too.

Many of the schools are going on a winter break or are at least taking
Monday off. Good luck also to anybody minding the kids if it is too
cold for them to go outside.


[quote]

This afternoon:

Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 35. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Tonight
A chance of snow showers, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 1. Wind chill values between -5 and -15. Northwest wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday
Sunny and cold, with a high near 10. Wind chill values between -5 and -15. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6. Wind chill values between zero and 5. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday

Snow likely, mainly after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 24. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Saturday Night

Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 11. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Sunday A chance of snow before noon. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 13. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around -3. Blustery.

Washington's Birthday (actually, 16 Feb is only the celebration. 22 Feb
is the actual birthday, or 11 Feb in the Old Style.)

Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 16.

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 4.


Tuesday

A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday Night
A chance of snow and freezing rain. Cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Wednesday

A chance of snow and freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

[/quote]

And, yes, it should be worse up near Boston.

Kevin R

[Michael Benveniste]

On 2/9/2015 11:49 AM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
> It's been snowing a lot in New England. At this moment, it's 11F (-12C)
> outside, and it's been snowing since Saturday evening. We've had about
> 6 inches since last night, and are approaching 2.5 feet on the lawn. We're
> expecting more.

Boskone Blizzard Watch:
http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=MAZ015&warncounty=MAC025&firewxzone=MAZ015&local_place1=Boston%20MA&product1=Blizzard+Watch&lat=42.3485&lon=-71.0428

--
Mike Benveniste -- m...@murkyether.com (Clarification Required)
You don't have to sort of enhance reality. There is nothing
stranger than truth. -- Annie Leibovitz

[Keith F. Lynch]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:

> Alan Woodford wrote:
>> The Skyrail replacement for the Mag-lev, is actually cable hauled,
>> so it is arguably a bigger step back from the future!

Before the DC Metro opened, I somehow got the idea it was going to be
mag-lev. Possibly from Transpo-72. I see that there's a Wikipedia
page on that event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpo_'72

(The latest news is it's been determined that last month's smoke
disaster was made much worse because fans on opposite sides of the
smoke were both pulling, rather than one pushing and the other pulling
as intended, so the smoke went nowhere.)

The "futuristic" future is increasingly retro. Something went very
wrong, except in computers. Prices for large projects went through
the roof, and durability and reliability went through the floor. Our
ancestors could build a reliable railroad from Atlantic to Pacific.
Today, it breaks the bank to build an unreliable railroad to get
from one side of a city to the other, and it takes decades to build.

> I know it isn't really 21st century technology, but I love the ride
> from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island by aerial tram. The view can be
> striking, especially at night.

Yes, views can be nice, and have little to do with technology.

> Re: Iceworld.

> Here's the National Weather Service forecast for y part of
> Connecticut for the next few days. Temps given are Fahrenheit.

> We are going to get single digit temps (where 32 degrees is
> freezing) overnight and daytime temps won't rise above freezing for
> days. It may even drop below Zero F. It won't be the first time
> I've had to deal with this kind of cold, but some of the people I

> work with are young enough that they will be new to the challenge. ...

> Many of the schools are going on a winter break or are at least
> taking Monday off. Good luck also to anybody minding the kids
> if it is too cold for them to go outside.

I assume the Monday break has nothing to do with the weather, but
is for Washington's Birthday, a federal holiday.

> [quote]

> This afternoon:

> Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 35. Wind chill
> values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of
> precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than
> one inch possible.

Here in Virginia it snowed this morning, but none of it stuck.
There's no snow on the ground at all, except a few small piles
in corners of parking lots where plows pushed it weeks ago.

> Tonight ... Northwest wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29

> mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

When it was snowing, there was no wind and it was of course overcast.
Now the sky is clear and it's very windy. It's just barely below
freezing, however.

> Washington's Birthday (actually, 16 Feb is only the celebration.
> 22 Feb is the actual birthday, or 11 Feb in the Old Style.)

True. And today is Lincoln's birthday. And, more importantly,
Darwin's. They were born, not just on the same date, but on the
same day, in 1809.

> And, yes, it should be worse up near Boston.

I look forward to hearing how Boskone (which starts tomorrow) goes.

[Mark Hertel]

On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 02:05:39 +0000 (UTC), Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>
> I look forward to hearing how Boskone (which starts tomorrow) goes.

I worry that the forecast of an extreme storm Saturday night into Sunday
is going to cause a lot of people to stay home. I dropped some people
off at the hotel this morning and there isn't any on-street parking near
the hotel.


--Mark Hertel

[Cryptoengineer]

Mark Hertel <m...@cogitation.org> wrote in
news:slrnmdsji...@panix3.panix.com:

I'm one of those staying home. I'm a commuter for Boskone, and
by the time I'd be driving home (50+ miles) on Saturday night
there should be a predicted 6 inches of new snow. Ditto going in
the next morning. It just isn't worth it.

There's plenty of day parking in the area, but its a
10 minute walk in very cold conditions.

pt

[Kevrob]

Will this go down in faanish lore as Hothcone?

Kevin R

(Tried to post this earlier: apologies if you've seen it before.)

[Kevrob]

Additional:

If Boskones were once known as Winter Worldcons, will this one
be a Winterworld Con?

Kevin R

[Keith F. Lynch]

Mark Hertel <m...@cogitation.org> wrote:
> I worry that the forecast of an extreme storm Saturday night into
> Sunday is going to cause a lot of people to stay home. I dropped
> some people off at the hotel this morning and there isn't any
> on-street parking near the hotel.

Do you mean there is never any, that it's full of snow, or that it's
full of cars? Thanks.

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbnukh$4i8$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Mark Hertel <m...@cogitation.org> wrote:
>> I worry that the forecast of an extreme storm Saturday night into
>> Sunday is going to cause a lot of people to stay home. I dropped
>> some people off at the hotel this morning and there isn't any
>> on-street parking near the hotel.
>
> Do you mean there is never any, that it's full of snow, or that it's
> full of cars? Thanks.

There are plenty of on-street metered spots near the hotel, on Summer and
D streets. Whether they are (1) accessible, due to snow, or (2) empty,
is another matter. This weekend the adjacent Convention Center is
hosting the Boston Boat Show, which is well attended.

I usually park in a commercial lot down on Boston Wharf Road, at
half the price of the the hotel lot for all day. Is a 10 minute
walk.

pt

[Kevrob]

5°F when I woke up this morning. Water pipes in the house seemed
to be frozen. Flushing the toilet with snowmelt. Landlord is
supposed to be sending a guy to deal with this. Now 31°F, but
still no water. As it is Saturday, and I wasn't called into work,
I am dealing with it, but I really wanted to do laundry today.

Kevin R

[Kevrob]

On Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 1:51:28 PM UTC-5, Kevrob wrote:

>
> 5°F when I woke up this morning. Water pipes in the house seemed
> to be frozen. Flushing the toilet with snowmelt. Landlord is
> supposed to be sending a guy to deal with this. Now 31°F, but
> still no water. As it is Saturday, and I wasn't called into work,
> I am dealing with it, but I really wanted to do laundry today.

Yaaayyyy! Water is flowing, again! Laundry! Showers! Real tea!

Kevin R

[Keith F. Lynch]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> Kevrob wrote:
>> 5°F when I woke up this morning. Water pipes in the house seemed
>> to be frozen. Flushing the toilet with snowmelt. Landlord is
>> supposed to be sending a guy to deal with this. Now 31°F, but
>> still no water. As it is Saturday, and I wasn't called into work,
>> I am dealing with it, but I really wanted to do laundry today.

> Yaaayyyy! Water is flowing, again! Laundry! Showers!

You're lucky the frozen pipes didn't burst once thawed, and flood
the place.

> Real tea!

Didn't you keep enough bottled water on hand for drinking? If so, it
was also enough to make tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.

[Kevrob]

On Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 3:32:30 PM UTC-5, Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> > Kevrob wrote:

> >> 5°F when I woke up this morning. Water pipes in the house seemed
> >> to be frozen. Flushing the toilet with snowmelt. Landlord is
> >> supposed to be sending a guy to deal with this. Now 31°F, but
> >> still no water. As it is Saturday, and I wasn't called into work,
> >> I am dealing with it, but I really wanted to do laundry today.
>
> > Yaaayyyy! Water is flowing, again! Laundry! Showers!
>
> You're lucky the frozen pipes didn't burst once thawed, and flood
> the place.

Yes, burst pipes would be a problem. I do live on the top floor,
so I imagine any flooding would inconvenience my downstairs neighbors
more than me.

> > Real tea!

> Didn't you keep enough bottled water on hand for drinking? If so, it
> was also enough to make tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.

I had enough for one morning pot. I saved the rest, because a snow storm
was coming in, and I figured I would see if the repair would happen before
I had to bother going out to shop.

I don't buy bottled water. I do have a couple of jugs of tap water
in the fridge. I had plenty of other things to drink. I was thinking of using
them for washing up, if this went on too long.

And, please water + a mix makes cocoa. I have an unopened bottle of milk
and some chocolate syrup if I decide to have hot chocolate.

We had a 26 degrees temperature. It shouldn't drop below 17 tonight,
so we are probably OK with the pipes.

Kevin R

[Kevrob]

On Saturday, February 14, 2015 at 6:18:02 PM UTC-5, Kevrob wrote:

> We had a 26 degrees temperature.

<insert> "change since 7 am.</insert>.

Kevin R

[Evelyn Leeper]

You can always let the faucet drip slightly to keep the incoming pipes
from freezing.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Have you noticed that many people who claim to believe in personal
responsibility spend a lot of time blaming the government?

[Kevrob]

I knew that. I was planning on doing that last night before I retired
for the evening. Unfortunately I dozed off before my planned bedtime.

I've turned into my parents. :)

> Evelyn C. Leeper

> Have you noticed that many people who claim to believe in personal
> responsibility spend a lot of time blaming the government?

Sometimes they are complaining that the dadburned gubmint
is undermining said responsibility.....

Kevin R

[Jette Goldie]

On 14/02/2015 23:18, Kevrob wrote:

>
> And, please water + a mix makes cocoa. I have an unopened bottle of milk
> and some chocolate syrup if I decide to have hot chocolate.
>

Hot water + cocoa = watery cocoa

hot milk + cocoa = milky cocoa

cocoa powder is usually used for baking. It does not contain any sugar
and is quite bitter, so to make a hot chocolate drink you usually add
sugar and milk.

'drinking chocolate' is a mix of cocoa, dried milk powder, sugar and
other ingredients. This is available either as the traditional "add to
hot milk" version or more recently as a "instant hot chocolate drink"
which has extra milk powder, etc, so that all you need to add is hot
water. (sometimes the sugar is replaced with sweeteners so you get a
"diet" hot chocolate drink)



--
Jette Goldie
jgold...@btinternet.com

Living in the Future!

[Paul Dormer]

In article <mbq42d$75p$1...@dont-email.me>, jgold...@btinternet.com (Jette

Goldie) wrote:

>
> cocoa powder is usually used for baking. It does not contain any
> sugar and is quite bitter, so to make a hot chocolate drink you
> usually add sugar and milk.
>
> 'drinking chocolate' is a mix of cocoa, dried milk powder, sugar
> and other ingredients. This is available either as the traditional
> "add to hot milk" version or more recently as a "instant hot
> chocolate drink" which has extra milk powder, etc, so that all you
> need to add is hot water. (sometimes the sugar is replaced with
> sweeteners so you get a "diet" hot chocolate drink)

Last time I needed to buy some drinking chocolate, Tesco were out of my
favourite Twinings brand so I bought the Green and Black. Both are made
with milk, but the Twinings you are supposed to use 4 teaspoons of powder
for 200ml of milk, the Twinings only 1. However, I find the Green and
Black considerably bitter compared to the Twinings and have to add sugar
to it. (Also, interesting, the Twinings you just add the hot milk
straight to the powder, the Green and Black say you should mix some cold
milk with the powder to make a paste before adding the hot milk, a bit
like making custard.)

[Kevrob]

In my youth, we always had Nestle's Quik (Nnow Nesquik), or, more rarely, Hershey's powder in the pantry. "Hot Chocolate" was heated milk with the
powder stirred in. Various "just add hot water" mixes are available
here, the most popular being Swiss Miss. I think of hot cocoa as
sui generis. It's OK, but I was raised on the other version.

Mayas and Aztecs would probably find adding chocalatl to milk odd,
and wonder why I don't add chilies. The two ingredients would fight
each other. Drinking milk is a better remedy for eating chili you
find too hot than sipping water or iced tea. It's the casein.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/why-does-chilli-burn-and-why-does-milk-help-soothe-pain

I like chili. Maybe I'd find the original version interesting!

Twinings sell Ovaltine in the UK. Can you get Captain Midnight or Little
Orphan Annie premiums? Or would that be the League of Ovaltineys gear? :)

Kevin R

[Keith F. Lynch]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> Evelyn Leeper <ele...@optonline.net> wrote:

>> Kevrob wrote:
>>> I don't buy bottled water.

No do I.

>>> I do have a couple of jugs of tap water in the fridge.

So do I, but not in the refrigerator. For drinking, I prefer room
temperature water. For washing, I prefer hot water. I can't think
of many practical uses for cold water. Perhaps it would be slightly
better at extinguishing a fire than room temperature water.

>> Have you noticed that many people who claim to believe in personal
>> responsibility spend a lot of time blaming the government?

> Sometimes they are complaining that the dadburned gubmint is
> undermining said responsibility.....

And sometimes they have a good point. At best, government steals at
least a third of everything you earn, while limiting your life choices
with arbitrary and excessive regulations. At worst, and all too
often, government can imprison you for years, or just shoot you for no
reason at all. "I thought he might be reaching for a gun, so I shot
him ten times just to be safe." -- Officer Friendly

[Paul Dormer]

In article <f6e139c1-41b5-4de6...@googlegroups.com>,

kev...@my-deja.com (Kevrob) wrote:

>
> Mayas and Aztecs would probably find adding chocalatl to milk odd,
> and wonder why I don't add chilies.

Wagamama have a chocolate fudge cake with wasabi. Very nice it is too.
I had some on my way to a concert a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.wagamama.com/our-menu/chocolate-fudge-cake

[Mark Hertel]

On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 16:54:41 +0000 (UTC), Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
> Mark Hertel <m...@cogitation.org> wrote:
>> I worry that the forecast of an extreme storm Saturday night into
>> Sunday is going to cause a lot of people to stay home. I dropped
>> some people off at the hotel this morning and there isn't any
>> on-street parking near the hotel.
>
> Do you mean there is never any, that it's full of snow, or that it's
> full of cars? Thanks.

Fully of snow. Usually there lots of spaces on the roads adjacent and
across from the hotel -- this weekend there are just large quantities of
snow. There is a cleared sidewalk on one side of the snow pile and the
road on the other side.


--Mark Hertel

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

In US English, or at least my dialect of it, cocoa is used for both the
ingredient and the drink, with the meaning being deduced from context.
If we're sitting down around a fire in January and I ask if you want
some cocoa I'm most likely offering you a hot drink rather than a few
tablespoons of bitter powder. OTOH if I'm getting ready to bake some
cookies and I tell you I need cocoa for them I'm probably not planning
to pour in a cup of hot beverage.
I never heard the term "drinking chocolate" until 15 or so years ago,
when there was a minor fad for imported mixes that looked more like
shavings from blocks of milk chocolate than the typical US versions,
which looked pretty much like straightforward blends of cocoa powder,
powdered milk and sugar.

Robert
--
Robert K. Shull Email: rkshull at rosettacon dot com

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>> The good part of not getting any thaws in New England is that it's
>> all still snow, not refrozen ice, so the slipping hazard isn't
>> too bad.
>
> Doesn't snow get compacted into slick ice by cars driving over it,
> regardless of temperature?

In my (fairly limited) experience it depends on the temperature. In very
cold weather snow gets compacted into a solid mass that's not especially
slick. I've walked and driven (without chains) on solidly packed snow in
sub-zero weather without noticing any particular problems with traction.
OTOH I've walked on snow packed down by foot traffic at near-freezing
temperatures and it was a lot like walking on ice.

[Tim McDaniel]

In article <8c12239b-fa4d-4368...@googlegroups.com>,

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>Will this go down in faanish lore as Hothcone?

That's very good, being so close in sound. I think "Snocone" might
work as well.

--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com

[Cryptoengineer]

tm...@panix.com (Tim McDaniel) wrote in news:mbqrp6$8f5$1...@reader1.panix.com:

> In article <8c12239b-fa4d-4368...@googlegroups.com>,
> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>>Will this go down in faanish lore as Hothcone?
>
> That's very good, being so close in sound. I think "Snocone" might
> work as well.
>

That'd be Snocone II: Arisia 2005 had 2+ feet of snow, and enough
fen stayed over an extra night or two at the Park Plaza to
declare it 'Snowcone'.

pt

[Keith F. Lynch]

<rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
> I never heard the term "drinking chocolate" until 15 or so years
> ago, when there was a minor fad for imported mixes that looked more
> like shavings from blocks of milk chocolate than the typical US
> versions, which looked pretty much like straightforward blends of
> cocoa powder, powdered milk and sugar.

There was a recent news story that a lot of what's marketed as dark
chocolate turns out to have milk as an ingredient, even though it's
not listed on the ingredients list. As such, people with severe
allergies to milk are advised to also avoid dark chocolate.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Thanks. It almost never gets that cold here. Last night was probably
the coldest night of the year, both in actual temperature and in wind
chill. I think the low was something like 8 F (-13 C). That's actual
temperature, not wind chill. There was a wind advisory with gusts
of up to 60 (!) miles per hour. That's a wind chill of about -20 F
(-29 C).

We got about a half inch of snow early in the evening. Unfortunately,
most roads and sidewalks were still above freezing at the time, so in
places it melted and refroze. Fortunately, today's sun and continuing
high winds seem to have removed almost all of it (from what I can see
through my windows) even though temperatures are still well below
freezing.

I was outdoors twice last night, for about a half hour each time.
Not much fun. I had to worry about frostbite, hypothermia, slipping
on ice, and being hit by a car that loses traction. I seem to have
escaped harm, partly by walking on the grass rather than the sidewalk
or road wherever possible. The only parts of me that feel frostbitten
are the back of my feet, which makes no sense, as I always wear warm
socks and shoes. I think the pain and redness there has nothing to
do with temperature, but is due to my having put duct tape there to
protect my skin from my shoes, which had been rubbing against my skin.
I had done so before, but apparently this new brand of duct tape
causes chemical burns. (It's definitely not an allergy; it looks
and feels exactly like a first-degree burn.)

Anyhow, it's quite nice here in my room this afternoon, even with my
heater off, since I'm getting lots of sun through my several large
windows. I wish I could just stay in here until spring.

[Jette Goldie]

Lindt make a dark chocolate and chili bar. Green & Black make a dark
chocolate and chili. Both are at least 70% cocoa solids, less sugar and
very little milk. Dark chocolate and chili are a known pairing - however
the UK mass market taste in chocolate tends more towards a sweeter blend
with lower percentage of cocoa solids and more milk.

Hersheys recipe is even lower in cocoa solids and higher in sugar than
Cadburys, I'm told.

[Scott Dorsey]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:

><rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
>> I never heard the term "drinking chocolate" until 15 or so years
>> ago, when there was a minor fad for imported mixes that looked more
>> like shavings from blocks of milk chocolate than the typical US
>> versions, which looked pretty much like straightforward blends of
>> cocoa powder, powdered milk and sugar.
>
>There was a recent news story that a lot of what's marketed as dark
>chocolate turns out to have milk as an ingredient, even though it's
>not listed on the ingredients list. As such, people with severe
>allergies to milk are advised to also avoid dark chocolate.

And this, in short, is a good reason to avoid American-made products and
buy European chocolate where they have proper food labelling laws and
enforce them.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

Jette Goldie <bosslady...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>Hersheys recipe is even lower in cocoa solids and higher in sugar than
>Cadburys, I'm told.

I have seen Hershey's in Spain labelled as a "Chocolate-Style bar"
because it could not legally be called chocolate.

[Keith F. Lynch]

Tim McDaniel <tm...@panix.com> wrote:
> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> Will this go down in faanish lore as Hothcone?

> That's very good, being so close in sound. I think "Snocone" might
> work as well.

I think "Snowcone" or "Snocone" was already used for a Boskone a few
years ago in which there was an unexpected heavy snowfall *during* the
convention, preventing people from leaving. I can't seem to find it
in my rasff, WSFA, or PRSFS archives, however.

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbr2qu$93h$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> Tim McDaniel <tm...@panix.com> wrote:
>> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>>> Will this go down in faanish lore as Hothcone?
>
>> That's very good, being so close in sound. I think "Snocone" might
>> work as well.
>
> I think "Snowcone" or "Snocone" was already used for a Boskone a few
> years ago in which there was an unexpected heavy snowfall *during* the
> convention, preventing people from leaving. I can't seem to find it
> in my rasff, WSFA, or PRSFS archives, however.

As I pointed out, it was Arisia 2005. I was there.

pt

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
> <rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
>>> Doesn't snow get compacted into slick ice by cars driving over it,
>>> regardless of temperature?
>
>> In my (fairly limited) experience it depends on the temperature.
>> In very cold weather snow gets compacted into a solid mass that's
>> not especially slick. I've walked and driven (without chains)
>> on solidly packed snow in sub-zero weather without noticing any
>> particular problems with traction. OTOH I've walked on snow packed
>> down by foot traffic at near-freezing temperatures and it was a lot
>> like walking on ice.
>
> Thanks. It almost never gets that cold here. Last night was probably
> the coldest night of the year, both in actual temperature and in wind
> chill. I think the low was something like 8 F (-13 C). That's actual
> temperature, not wind chill. There was a wind advisory with gusts
> of up to 60 (!) miles per hour. That's a wind chill of about -20 F
> (-29 C).

This area of north Texas rarely gets into the teens and almost never
gets into the single digits, but we came up with the bright idea of
driving to Copper Mountain in Colorado for Christmas a few years back.
We got as far as Hays, Kansas before an advancing "surprise" snowstorm
closed the roads. We ended up being there for a couple of days (two thumbs
up for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History). When they finally opened
the Interstate at around 2 AM we immediately left. I'm not sure exactly how
cold it was but we didn't realize for a bit that we were driving on
snowpack rather than pavement. I do know that our windshield washer
fluid, which was rated for -20F, froze solid and the windshield cracked
from the temperature difference between the outside and the heat from
the defroster.
We were better off than the people that got caught partway while flying...the
airport still wasn't operational when we drove through Denver. The Interstate
was partially so...I could see parts of cars sticking out of the snow that
covered the closed lanes. Not the tops, the sides...the tops were completely
covered.

[Cryptoengineer]

rksh...@rosettacondot.com wrote in
news:mbr9ig$tlk$1...@memoryalpha.rosettacon.com:

A long time ago I read a column by a popular European pundit, discussing
the weirdness of Americans. One thing he called out was that while in
Europe, discussion of the weather is meaningless smalltalk, when you
discuss weather with an American, their eyes light up, they take you
in earnest, and will have serious positions on weather issues which
they will defend with vigor.

The explanation, he suggested, was that in America, unlike Europe
bad weather can actually *kill* you.

pt

[Kevrob]

When temps fall below ~ 15°F/-10°C, road salt doesn't melt snow very well.
In that case, you are better off with a light snow pack than to have to
walk or drive on ice, which can occur when snow melted when the temperature
was higher refreezes. The plan in northern cities is to, usually, pre-treat
the roads before the storm hits, then plow and salt. Blizzard conditions
screw this up: roads need replowing if the snow continues to be heavy after
the first pass, or if blowing snow fills them even after it stops falling.

The regimen I described isn't always practical in rural areas, and may
only be used on Federal and state highways. Local country roads may take
a while to see a plow. Below 15°F the salt will still help traction, and
roads can be sanded, or a sand/salt mix used.

Some of our profligate cities don't keep enough reserves of road salt
or cash to replenish what they use in a hard winter. Paying overtime
to public employees to clear snow round the clock isn't cheap, either.
Last year, NJ was kept waiting for a shipment from Chile: it had to
be offloaded onto US flagged barges in Maine. NJ had all but run out.
The Jones Act restricts the coasting trade to US flagged vessels.
Cost an extra $700K.

http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2014/02/post_23.html

Expect "we're out of salt" stories soon, plus pleas to Washington for
"disaster relief" funding.

Kevin R

(Hunkered down Friday night, but will be driving in tomorrow morning.)

[Kevrob]

What definition of "Europe" are you using, here? As far as winter weather,
wouldn't people from Scandinavia have similar concerns? The Alpine regions?
Poland, the Baltics and East to the Urals?

We get earthquakes, if you want to lump that with weather, and floods.
I'll give you tornadoes and hurricanes.

Bad weather is a more serious problem when you live 20 miles from
the nearest place to buy food, and/or 60 miles from your job.

What a lot of Americans do, especially if they live in areas
that can get bad winter weather, but usually don't, is overestimate
how well equipped they are to drive in snow and ice. A long time
joke, after the first snowfall, is how easy it is for folks who have
driven in the winter all their adult lives to forget everything
they've learned about how to do it, once spring finally comes.

I'm being extra careful. I'm driving the largest vehicle I've ever
owned, and have only had it for a little over a week. The Jeep has
4 wheel drive (a 1st for me), which helps in unplowed snow. It
doesn't make you immune to ice, though. Also, Jeeps have a reputation
for being top-heavy, and rolling over when the driver takes corners
too fast. I've been driving sedans when I've had a car at all, and
am used to easier cornering and a lower center of gravity.

New tires are on my shopping list, soon as I can afford them.

I did not miss walking to the train station last week. I can
drive to work, slowly, in under a half hour. It was taking me
1.5 to 2 hours by train and bus. It's under 10 miles, as the
crow flies, but the transit trip had 3 legs, and significant
waiting time for transfers. Waiting outside in single-digit F
temps is not fun, especially if the wind is up.

Kevin R

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

How's that whole horse meat thing working out for them?

[Cryptoengineer]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote in
news:3704b3b7-da1e-48d6...@googlegroups.com:

> On Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 6:46:32 PM UTC-5, Cryptoengineer
> wrote:
>> rksh...@rosettacondot.com wrote in

[...]

>>
>> A long time ago I read a column by a popular European pundit,
>> discussing the weirdness of Americans. One thing he called out was
>> that while in Europe, discussion of the weather is meaningless
>> smalltalk, when you discuss weather with an American, their eyes
>> light up, they take you in earnest, and will have serious positions
>> on weather issues which they will defend with vigor.
>>
>> The explanation, he suggested, was that in America, unlike Europe
>> bad weather can actually *kill* you.
>
> What definition of "Europe" are you using, here? As far as winter
> weather, wouldn't people from Scandinavia have similar concerns? The
> Alpine regions? Poland, the Baltics and East to the Urals?

It was, iirc, a mittel-European who'd lived most of his life in
Britain (not George Mikes, who otherwise fits). I think you have
to look at it as more making a witty observation than a strictly
scientific statement.

In Britain the weather can kill you, but you have to try
really hard.

I spent 3 winters in Sweden. Yes, it got cold.

But there's a saying I've seen various ascribed to various
northern Scandanavian states: "There's no such thing as bad
weather, only inadequate clothing."

pt

[Keith F. Lynch]

<rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
> Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
>> Last night was probably the coldest night of the year, both
>> in actual temperature and in wind chill. I think the low was
>> something like 8 F (-13 C).

Correction: It was 4 F (-16 C) here last night. The wind chill
was well into Mars territory.

It's expected to be about equally cold tonight, but at least there's
less wind. And the snow and ice are almost entirely gone, even though
it never got above freezing. What happened to the ice is sublime. :-)
A quarter inch of ice can be just as deadly as a quarter mile of ice,
but at least the quarter inch can go away more readily. To quickly
get rid of a quarter mile of ice, the sun has to go nova, and that can
spoil your whole day.

And at least tomorrow is a holiday. I plan to sleep in late.
Unfortunately snow is expected tomorrow night. Sigh. I want my
global warming, and I want my peace dividend.

> This area of north Texas rarely gets into the teens and almost never
> gets into the single digits, but we came up with the bright idea of
> driving to Copper Mountain in Colorado for Christmas a few years
> back.

That sounds like something from one of the National Lampoon vacation
movies.

> We got as far as Hays, Kansas before an advancing "surprise"
> snowstorm closed the roads. We ended up being there for a couple
> of days (two thumbs up for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History).
> When they finally opened the Interstate at around 2 AM we
> immediately left.

To return home, or to continue to head for Mt. Cu?

> I do know that our windshield washer fluid, which was rated for
> -20F, froze solid and the windshield cracked from the temperature
> difference between the outside and the heat from the defroster.

Don't windshields shatter into millions of shards when they crack,
exposing you to the weather?

> We were better off than the people that got caught partway while
> flying...the airport still wasn't operational when we drove through
> Denver. The Interstate was partially so...I could see parts of cars
> sticking out of the snow that covered the closed lanes. Not the
> tops, the sides...the tops were completely covered.

ObSF: _Fallen Angels_ by Niven, Pournelle, and Flynn. Politicians
successfully prevent global warming. Too bad about all those frozen
corpses, many still in their cars.

[Cryptoengineer]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote in
news:86d34b85-4406-4827...@googlegroups.com:

> When temps fall below ~ 15蚌/-10蚓, road salt doesn't melt snow very

> well. In that case, you are better off with a light snow pack than to
> have to walk or drive on ice, which can occur when snow melted when
> the temperature was higher refreezes.

[...]

I'm not sure how they managed it (I was too young to drive) but in the
Stockholm suburb where I spent 3 winters, they didn't use salt, just
sand, and by the end of the winter there'd be layer of tightly packed
sand and snow on top of the road. I don't recall traction being a
problem.

Main roads got plowed down to blacktop, and salted. Winter temperatures
there were a lot colder back then then they are now.

> Expect "we're out of salt" stories soon, plus pleas to Washington for
> "disaster relief" funding.

The plow and salt budget is perrenially underfunded; the pols know that
they can get people to agree to raiding emergency funds to alleviate
the emergency they created by underfunding.

pt

[Keith F. Lynch]

<rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
> Scott Dorsey <klu...@panix.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>>> There was a recent news story that a lot of what's marketed as
>>> dark chocolate turns out to have milk as an ingredient, even
>>> though it's not listed on the ingredients list. As such, people
>>> with severe allergies to milk are advised to also avoid dark
>>> chocolate.

Also vegans and orthodox Jews.

>> And this, in short, is a good reason to avoid American-made
>> products and buy European chocolate where they have proper food
>> labelling laws and enforce them.

There are food labeling laws in the US. But there are so many laws,
it's impossible to enforce any of them except sporadically. It would
also help if there was some non-negligible correlation between guilt
and conviction, or between severity of the crime and its sentence.
They could start by going after Cardholder Services and other
telemarketers and spammers.

> How's that whole horse meat thing working out for them?

What's wrong with selling horse meat, so long as it's correctly
labeled?

[Keith F. Lynch]

Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:

> Cryptoengineer wrote:
>> The explanation, he suggested, was that in America, unlike Europe
>> bad weather can actually *kill* you.

> What definition of "Europe" are you using, here? As far as winter
> weather, wouldn't people from Scandinavia have similar concerns?

They have saunas, the perfect antidote for winter weather.

> The Alpine regions? Poland, the Baltics and East to the Urals?

Russians avoid feeling cold by drinking heavily. They die, but it's
blamed on the alcohol rather than the cold.

What really surprised me was the death of 70,000 (!) Europeans due
to a 104 F (40 C) heat wave.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heat_wave
I'd find that pleasant weather.

> We get earthquakes, if you want to lump that with weather, and
> floods. I'll give you tornadoes and hurricanes.

I've experienced all of those, and a sandstorm, but cold temperatures
are still my least favorite natural event. (Okay, the sun going nova
would probably be slightly worse.)

> Bad weather is a more serious problem when you live 20 miles from
> the nearest place to buy food, and/or 60 miles from your job.

As I've said before, I consider that to be utter folly.

> It's under 10 miles, as the crow flies, but the transit trip had 3
> legs, and significant waiting time for transfers. Waiting outside
> in single-digit F temps is not fun, especially if the wind is up.

To commute, I used to transfer from subway to bus at the Pentagon. In
those days, anyone could enter the Pentagon, Metro had an escalator
directly into the building, and the bus stops were right next to the
building, so in bad weather I waited indoors until the bus was about
to arrive.

Since then the escalator was removed and the place it used to be was
filled with concrete, the bus stops were moved further away, and the
Pentagon was closed to regular people.

[Cryptoengineer]

"Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote in news:mbrpv1$he$1
@reader1.panix.com:

> <rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:

[...]

>> I do know that our windshield washer fluid, which was rated for
>> -20F, froze solid and the windshield cracked from the temperature
>> difference between the outside and the heat from the defroster.
>
> Don't windshields shatter into millions of shards when they crack,
> exposing you to the weather?

[...]

No.

Yet another topic Keith knows nothing about.

Windscreens have been laminated since the 1920s, with a clear plastic
layer between sheets of toughened glass. Barring a really strong force,
they stay in one piece when hit. They can be cracked by (for example)
a flung pebble, but they won't fall apart, and usually the cracks
may propagate quite slowly.

Side window glass is just tempered, and *does* shatter into thousands
of bits when hit.

[Ben Yalow]

Actually, that Arisia was Snokone 2 -- Snokone (the original) was Boskone
in 2003. The snowfallwas on the last day of the convention, so lots of
people spent an extra day at the Sheraton Boston.

>pt

Ben
--
Ben Yalow yb...@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody

[Evelyn Leeper]

On 2/15/15 6:46 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
> A long time ago I read a column by a popular European pundit, discussing
> the weirdness of Americans. One thing he called out was that while in
> Europe, discussion of the weather is meaningless smalltalk, when you
> discuss weather with an American, their eyes light up, they take you
> in earnest, and will have serious positions on weather issues which
> they will defend with vigor.
>
> The explanation, he suggested, was that in America, unlike Europe
> bad weather can actually *kill* you.

That must have been before the 2003 European heat wave that killed
almost 15,000 people in France alone.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
Have you noticed that many people who claim to believe in personal
responsibility spend a lot of time blaming the government?

[Evelyn Leeper]

When we ate horse meat in Belgium it was labeled as horse meat ("steak
de cheval") right on the menu.

[Kevrob]

Usually known as "safety glass." Minor damage can be repaired.

> Side window glass is just tempered, and *does* shatter into thousands
> of bits when hit.

Kevin R

[Jette Goldie]

There are plenty of places in Europe where temperatures can get as low
as that (windscreen washer fluid sold in my local supermarket is rated
for -60C).

Heat will kill you too, and floods. Or a tree landing on your car in
high winds.

[Jette Goldie]

Nothing - and indeed in some European countries horse meat is a regular
item. The reference was probably to a recent discovery of a criminal
operation where horse meat was widely sold as 'beef' in supermarket
frozen and chilled ready meals.

[Paul Dormer]

In article <XnsA442E907EF...@216.166.97.131>,

pete...@gmail.com (Cryptoengineer) wrote:

>
> In Britain the weather can kill you, but you have to try
> really hard.

For the record, the coldest temperature I've recorded on my weather
station this winter in the south of England is -3.9C. The sensor is
close to the house so it is probably not an accurate screen temperature.

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to a coupe of centimetres of snow, but
it had all gone by the time I went out at 15:00. That's the only snow
around here this year so far. (I did see some snow around Sheffield on
the way back home after Christmas, but that snow seemed to confine itself
to south Yorkshire.)

[Paul Dormer]

In article <mbr279$ko$1...@dont-email.me>, jgold...@btinternet.com (Jette

Goldie) wrote:

>
> Hersheys recipe is even lower in cocoa solids and higher in sugar
> than Cadburys, I'm told.

There was a bit in the paper last month about how Hershey have stopped
food importers importing Cadbury products. Must admit, I've not liked
the Hershey products I've tried.

http://ind.pn/1EClmWs

[Paul Dormer]

In article <mbrr2k$bsj$1...@reader1.panix.com>, k...@KeithLynch.net (Keith F.

Lynch) wrote:

>
> What really surprised me was the death of 70,000 (!) Europeans due
> to a 104 F (40 C) heat wave.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heat_wave
> I'd find that pleasant weather.

But, to put that into perspective, as the article points out, England
recorded its highest temperature ever that summer, 38.5C. It's what
you're used to (and what you're not used to) that matters.

Also, domestic air conditioning is almost unknown in the UK (and I guess
the rest of Europe) so there was no where for people to go to get relief.

Conversely, my office at the time, a re-arrangement of some partition
walls had left the air conditioning too fierce for the current layout.
By the end of the day, by feet felt like blocks of ice and even a 3km
walk to the station in 30+ heat failed to thaw them out.

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
> <rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
>>> Last night was probably the coldest night of the year, both
>>> in actual temperature and in wind chill. I think the low was
>>> something like 8 F (-13 C).
>
> Correction: It was 4 F (-16 C) here last night. The wind chill
> was well into Mars territory.
>
> It's expected to be about equally cold tonight, but at least there's
> less wind. And the snow and ice are almost entirely gone, even though
> it never got above freezing. What happened to the ice is sublime. :-)
> A quarter inch of ice can be just as deadly as a quarter mile of ice,
> but at least the quarter inch can go away more readily. To quickly
> get rid of a quarter mile of ice, the sun has to go nova, and that can
> spoil your whole day.
>
> And at least tomorrow is a holiday. I plan to sleep in late.
> Unfortunately snow is expected tomorrow night. Sigh. I want my
> global warming, and I want my peace dividend.

Not a holiday for my wife or I (we got MLK day). My daughter's school
district alternates the two, so MLK was a school day and today isn't.

>> This area of north Texas rarely gets into the teens and almost never
>> gets into the single digits, but we came up with the bright idea of
>> driving to Copper Mountain in Colorado for Christmas a few years
>> back.
>
> That sounds like something from one of the National Lampoon vacation
> movies.

It actually turned out fine despite the impromptu stay in Hays. And the
Sternberg really is worth a visit. It's also not like we were unprepared...
Four wheel drive, snow chains, clothing suitable for extended time outdoors
in sub-zero weather, etc. The only issue turned out to be the wiper fluid.
For some reason they don't sell fluid made for those sorts of temperatures
in our part of Texas. We replaced it when we reached Denver (it was well
above -20F by then).

>> We got as far as Hays, Kansas before an advancing "surprise"
>> snowstorm closed the roads. We ended up being there for a couple
>> of days (two thumbs up for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History).
>> When they finally opened the Interstate at around 2 AM we
>> immediately left.
>
> To return home, or to continue to head for Mt. Cu?

Always forward, never back... We checked the weather conditions before
we left the hotel and they were "clear and cold" all the way through to
our destination. Very cold it turned out...

>> I do know that our windshield washer fluid, which was rated for
>> -20F, froze solid and the windshield cracked from the temperature
>> difference between the outside and the heat from the defroster.
>
> Don't windshields shatter into millions of shards when they crack,
> exposing you to the weather?

Nope, you're thinking of plain tempered glass rather than windshield.
Windshields are laminated. A hard enough impact shatters them but they
remain in one piece because of the layer(s) of plastic. Small impacts
(flying pebbles) and, it turns out, heat stress, will crack them. The
cracks tend to spread slowly over time.

[Scott Dorsey]

In article <mbrfs3$bvi$1...@memoryalpha.rosettacon.com>,

It's DELICIOUS!

[Scott Dorsey]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:

><rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
>
>> How's that whole horse meat thing working out for them?
>
>What's wrong with selling horse meat, so long as it's correctly
>labeled?

In France it's very strangely managed. You can only buy it from a horse
meat butcher who doesn't carry any other meat. And, when ground, it cannot
be mixed with any other meat so a horse/beef sausage cannot legally be sold.

Some of the laws are being relaxed; it's now legal to sell Saucisson d'Arles
which is made with pork instead of donkey meat.

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:
> <rksh...@rosettacondot.com> wrote:
>> I never heard the term "drinking chocolate" until 15 or so years
>> ago, when there was a minor fad for imported mixes that looked more
>> like shavings from blocks of milk chocolate than the typical US
>> versions, which looked pretty much like straightforward blends of
>> cocoa powder, powdered milk and sugar.
>
> There was a recent news story that a lot of what's marketed as dark
> chocolate turns out to have milk as an ingredient, even though it's
> not listed on the ingredients list. As such, people with severe
> allergies to milk are advised to also avoid dark chocolate.

Although the FDA release is lacking in detail (to say the least), it looks
like they're talking about "allergen" levels of milk. That would be in the
low single-digit milligrams per 100 grams.
The chocolate that I bought for my wife and daughter (dark in the latter case)
for Valentine's Day had the boilerplate "produced on shared equipment" warning
for peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and milk.
As an aside, the best of these I've seen is the one at Sonic, which is
something like "Aww, nuts. Nuts may come in contact with your ice cream".

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Keith F. Lynch <k...@keithlynch.net> wrote:

> Kevrob <kev...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> Evelyn Leeper <ele...@optonline.net> wrote:
>>> Kevrob wrote:
>>>> I don't buy bottled water.
>
> No do I.

We do, mainly because filtering and bottling our own for the dispenser is
too much of an inconvenience and the monthly cost is minor. We use tapwater
for cooking (and washing, of course) but it's too variable for drinking.
I prefer to eat fish rather than drink it.

>>>> I do have a couple of jugs of tap water in the fridge.
>
> So do I, but not in the refrigerator. For drinking, I prefer room
> temperature water. For washing, I prefer hot water. I can't think
> of many practical uses for cold water. Perhaps it would be slightly
> better at extinguishing a fire than room temperature water.

Bleah. The "cold" tap on our water dispenser is set to 45F. I find that
to be just about perfect for drinking water.

[Cryptoengineer]

Ben Yalow <yb...@panix.com> wrote in
news:mbrstf$i46$1...@reader1.panix.com:

Thanks - I now realize I remember both - there was Snokone signage
up in the Sheraton by the time I left.

So, this weekend was Snokone III.

pt

[Cryptoengineer]

Evelyn Leeper <ele...@optonline.net> wrote in news:_HeEw.231634$oR6.103901
@fx01.iad:

> On 2/15/15 6:46 PM, Cryptoengineer wrote:
>> A long time ago I read a column by a popular European pundit, discussing
>> the weirdness of Americans. One thing he called out was that while in
>> Europe, discussion of the weather is meaningless smalltalk, when you
>> discuss weather with an American, their eyes light up, they take you
>> in earnest, and will have serious positions on weather issues which
>> they will defend with vigor.
>>
>> The explanation, he suggested, was that in America, unlike Europe
>> bad weather can actually *kill* you.
>
> That must have been before the 2003 European heat wave that killed
> almost 15,000 people in France alone.
>

Yes, probably late 80s, mid 90s.

pt

[Kevrob]

Since the stove in my kitchen burns piped-in natural gas, I can always heat
the cold water. If the gas service is interrupted I can let the water
reach room temp by taking it out of the fridge. If the heat is out, and the
gas is out - the hell with it, I'm going to try to find someplace warm!

There is an unheated storage area adjacent to my lodgings that the landlord
lets me use for storage. I'm going to fill up some containers with water,
the way I did when the hurricanes were imminent. The storage space is
much cooler than my room, but above freezing. In summer it can be
much warmer, as it isn't A/C equipped. Well, I'm storing the air conditioner
there until it gets hot enough to need it again. Plenty of room there
for more water bottles.

Kevin R

[rksh...@rosettacondot.com]

Probably why they seem to be adding it to everything...

[Kevrob]

Indeed. I've never indulged in it, but I know folks who go ice fishing,
snowmobiling, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (Nordic style.)
The latter can get you far away from a comfy lodge fire. You can
also get around on poorly plowed streets on X-C skis. I've seen it
done. I've aged out of my youthful cold weather pursuits: ice
skating, sledding and pond hockey. I used to try to make some spare
cash shoveling snow, too. That's something I did a lot of after
moving to Connecticut, and not for pay, but since moving after a
couple of winters that task has fallen to the landlord. Dressing for
the weather is key.

I was driving today, but I still wore thermals under my pants, a second pair
of thick socks, a hat with ear flaps and ear muffs, two shirts and a warm
sweater under my Land's End parka (with hood.) I also had one scarf under
my coat, and another outside, to wrap around my face. My mother knitted the
latter for me, when I went off to college in Milwaukee. It's longer than
I'm tall, and mighty thick. I also had 3 pair of gloves: thin ones to wear
under the thicker ones while driving, and even thicker ones to swap for the
driving gloves should I have to get out and walk.

I didn't need all that gear, `cause the heater in the car works, but if
I had a breakdown, I would've been able to wait for the tow truck without
risking frostbite. If I were driving a long distance I would have brought
a blanket or sleeping bag. I brought a lunch, in case the office cafe
staff didn't make it in. The car always has a shovel in it in winter,
and jumper cables.

It was 0°F at 6 am, now up to 8°F/-13°C. The high may be 16°F, today.
Temps just under 20°F are annoying, but the single digit stuff is brutal,
especially with wind. I usually pooh-pooh the wind-chill factor. Of course
the wind blows in winter, and makes the cold worse. Dress for it. High
wind combined with low temps can be dangerous, though. After the snow has
fallen, you can even get caught in a "white out" - the wind blows snow in your
path like a desert sandstorm. It make it impossible to see where you are going.
Some storms just shouldn't be driven through.

Kevin R