The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[MillieDynamite]

My voyage of personal writing continues. But I must refuel with coffee. French Vanilla from the French press prepared by Jo's loving hands. Mmm, mmm, good!

 

[Duleigh]

Two entries for the Summer Fun contest are halfway where I want them to be (one is my first foray into Loving Wives). My latest book, an anthology of Sci-Fi stories is going to be split up into three novellas so I'm busy with writing and artwork today... after a trip into town to hit BJs (It's not as much fun as it sounds.)

 

[BelleCanzuto]

So, Thursday on my way to work, a deer decided to run into my car. My 17 year old Honda Civic with 133k miles. It was still drivable, so I got to work, called my insurance and made it home after work fine. Took it to the body shop yesterday to figure out if it's totalled (signs point to yes, due to age).
Anyway. I have rental coverage, so after the bodyshop, I went to the car rental place my insurance uses. I asked for a sedan. The guy said "you can have a Kia Sol (very basic economy car), or you can have an Audi Quatro."

Guess which one's in my driveway?

 

[MrPixel]

Oh, yes. Don't even have to look at it to know it's totaled. Prices for body and especially front-end replacement parts are obscene these days, and insurance companies will typically not let you get away with used parts due to safety concerns.

Hope you don't like that Audi too much. "Sticker shock" is a cliché, but have you priced cars in the last, oh, three or four years? A new Civic is ~$30K, and used prices have risen like that, too.

 

[NotWise]

I assume the deer was totalled, too. Have fun with the Quattro

 

[BelleCanzuto]

Oh, yes. Don't even have to look at it to know it's totaled. Prices for body and especially front-end replacement parts are obscene these days, and insurance companies will typically not let you get away with used parts due to safety concerns.

Hope you don't like that Audi too much. "Sticker shock" is a cliché, but have you priced cars in the last, oh, three or four years? A new Civic is ~$30K, and used prices have risen like that, too.

Yeah. Old trusty Civic needs a new windshield (the doe tried to jump over, and missed), new front quarter panel, driver's side mirror, maybe both side windows and whatever the side panel between the back tire and the trunk is. I was just happy it drove as well as it did.

And, yeah, the Audi is definitely a fantasy car. I know I'll never afford one.
But I am trading up, assuming things go the way I'm expecting. I have a test drive for an Accord Hybrid on Wednesday. Luckily (or in good preparation for shit happening) I have enough saved to put make a substantial down payment. And timing wise, it definitely could have been worse: I got a substantial raise, and the first paycheck at the new salary was deposited Wednesday...
All in all, as deer strikes go, it could have been MUCH worse.

I'm looking forward to enjoying the Audi.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I assume the deer was totalled, too. Have fun with the Quattro

Probably, but she at least made it well off the road into the woods.
Basically, her knees hit the quarter panel, and her head hit the windshield.

That reads a little more callous than I meant...

Deer are over populated around here, so I know to look out for them. But she ran headlong into the side of the car. The first sign anything was wrong was the windshield shattering in front of me.

 

[NotWise]

Probably, but she at least made it well off the road into the woods.
Basically, her knees hit the quarter panel, and her head hit the windshield.

That reads a little more callous than I meant...

Deer are over populated around here, so I know to look out for them. But she ran headlong into the side of the car. The first sign anything was wrong was the windshield shattering in front of me.

People are sometimes lucky to survive those collisions. The town where my sisters still live is heavily overpopulated with deer. Considering that they're food, they adapt to human populations pretty well.

 

[Duleigh]

I assume the deer was totalled, too. Have fun with the Quattro

Back in the Mid-1980s a KC-135 tanker landed at from Grand Forks AFB and struck a deer. One of the smartest things the Strategic Air Command did was to relay all reports of all incidents to all units, these were called Dull Sword Reports.

The Venison vs Tanker report read something like:

At 1850 hrs zulu, on December 23, Exon 04 recovered at Grand Forks AFB and struck a white tail deer with the left main landing gear. This incedent was completely accidental and had nothing to do with the damage that deers caused in Capt. Johnstons garden all summer. The damage to the aircraft - minimal. Hair, blood, stains. The damage to the deer - not enough left for a good roast. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - SAC HQ, Offutt AFB NE

 

[litfan10]

I had a dear friend driving one day through a series of very rural fields late afternoon. Off in the distance running perpendicular to her was a large black dot heading towards her. First was the realization that it was a turkey flying then came the realization that they were going to collide. Smashed into her windshield causing it to slam onto the hood of her car which totalled the engine.
I still can't figure out why one or the other didn't see this coming soon enough to veer out of the way.
I saw the photos it wasn't pretty for either the car or turkey.

 

[NotWise]

Hey @litfan10, hows the COVID?

One of my daughters hit a turkey in her brand-new Civic. It didn't do much damage to the car, but picking the bits of flesh out from around the right front headlamp grossed her out.

 

[litfan10]

Hey @litfan10, hows the COVID?

One of my daughters hit a turkey in her brand-new Civic. It didn't do much damage to the car, but picking the bits of flesh out from around the right front headlamp grossed her out.

Hey NW! Finally better today. Still tons of crap pouring out of my head, but much more manageable, and I could actually listen to music today without my head splitting apart.
Thanks for asking, hope you are doing well.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

People are sometimes lucky to survive those collisions

Yes. I count myself very fortunate.
If she'd been a big buck, the way she hit, he might've landed headfirst in my lap. Which would've been bad for both of us.

 

[NotWise]

Yes. I count myself very fortunate.
If she'd been a big buck, the way she hit, he might've landed headfirst in my lap. Which would've been bad for both of us.

One of my uncles (long ago) hit a deer that came through their windshield. He and my aunt were both injured.

My wife was in a new crossover SUV, heading down the mountain from Silverton Co, after the Telluride Bluegrass Festival when they hit a bull elk. It hit the top of the windshield and went over the car. It was like running into a flying cow, but the car was loaded with people and no-one was hurt. The state police thought they were really lucky. The SUV was impounded in Durango and eventually totalled, and there were delays getting everyone home --- some here and some to Phoenix.

 

[NotWise]

Hey NW! Finally better today. Still tons of crap pouring out of my head, but much more manageable, and I could actually listen to music today without my head splitting apart.
Thanks for asking, hope you are doing well.

I'm still clearing the last of the cold symptoms, but I should be fine for the Father's Day dinner. It will be a chance to catch up with the daughter that didn't just share a long weekend with us.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I'm glad you're ok Belle. Hitting any wildlife can be bad, no matter it's size.

 

[MrPixel]

We hit a deer in our big van three years ago, coming home at 2:00 a.m. from a somewhat raunchy* night out (sober, tho'!). Or, rather, the doe ran into us since I swerved in time to not hit it broadside. Caught the right front corner of the van, spun it around into the door, and then it shit along half the right side. We turned around to check and pickup any incriminating trim bits the collision knocked off - one piece - and verified that it didn't survive the hit.

Relatively minor damage, all said... $5K worth. And that was before the price of parts got really stupid!

* - That evening's activities could have maybe been the basis for one or more of my 750-word date night stories. We be bad.

 

[NotWise]

Dinner was ham steak, roasted asparagus, and mashed potatoes. The asparagus and potatoes were both doctored with cheese -- reggiano for the asparagus and cheddar for the potatoes. The kitchen's straightened up, the dishwasher is running, and maybe I'll look at my story. It's been nearly a year since I published.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Back in the Mid-1980s a KC-135 tanker landed at from Grand Forks AFB and struck a deer. One of the smartest things the Strategic Air Command did was to relay all reports of all incidents to all units, these were called Dull Sword Reports.

The Venison vs Tanker report read something like:

At 1850 hrs zulu, on December 23, Exon 04 recovered at Grand Forks AFB and struck a white tail deer with the left main landing gear. This incedent was completely accidental and had nothing to do with the damage that deers caused in Capt. Johnstons garden all summer. The damage to the aircraft - minimal. Hair, blood, stains. The damage to the deer - not enough left for a good roast. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year - SAC HQ, Offutt AFB NE

Decades ago, at the Special Forces HQ, we had an MC-130 picking up one of our SF Team members in a "Surface-to-Air-Recovery" (STAR) mission.

The next morning, I read the message merely saying: "Mission unsuccessful."

The SF soldier lucky enough to participate, sat in a special suit, connected to a balloon by a sturdy cable, which the plane caught it in a "Y" type clip that cut the cable, then the crew was to catch the cable to pull the guy up into the back of the plane.

He was hauled to the speed of the aircraft, up 250 feet, and dropped when the cable catch failed to twist and secure the cable.

THAT Air Force message was an understatement! His team members found the body.

 

[WrongFrog]

Do we have any of the "back of the burner, wake the dead" coffee left in the pot? The rest of this is a copy paste from another place I have it to sum everything up.

Life update:

My flesh prison once again tried to yeet me into the eternal void, but I’m sticking to my philosophy that only the good die young and I have to beat my mother’s high score. I’m currently on a lot of drugs, most of them not the fun kind, and my brain is fuzzy. On the funny dark side, when I asked nicely, the doctors involved gave me my bone fragments to feed to my roses. At least I think I asked nicely, I was in the process of going under. Either way, nice clean bone pieces in a sealed bag for my roses.

I have somehow lost several chickens. They aren’t dead, I keep catching glimpses of them, but they’re not home, and I’m too sick to go find them in the dark and make them come home.

I haven’t written anything in several days, and I won’t be attempting to write anything for several more. I did, however, get into a debate with what I thought was my husband about Ginger at the grocery store. I had left my husband at home with the 4yo. They were napping, and I don’t remember why I went to the grocery store, but I came home with pizza rolls, a large ginger root, and milk. I’m assuming the milk is why I went to the store.

Yes, my keys have been taken away. No, I still don’t know why I thought I needed over two pounds of ginger, and I’m currently drying what I didn’t stick in pots to root.

 

[Duleigh]

Happy father's day! This mug o' Joe is for you!

​

 

[Candy_Kane54]

The heat dome has finally arrived and we are expected to hit 94 degrees F today. My hummingpecker is back today and it must be an addict because it is ignoring the peanuts I put out.

The teakettle is warming on the back burner so help yourself.

 

[NotWise]

I'm trying to get my outdoor chores all started by 10:00, because the afternoon will be a lot more comfortable inside than outside. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be hot, but then we drop back toward the norm.

We're three weeks or so from the usual start of the southwest monsoon, which barely happened last year. I hope that wasn't a harbinger of things to come, because last summer was a miserable experience.

 

[AloneTooLong]

Starting Tuesday, the Houston area is expecting up to ten inches of rain over three days. Flooded roads are being predicted.

 

[NotWise]

Starting Tuesday, the Houston area is expecting up to ten inches of rain over three days. Flooded roads are being predicted.

Sounds like a good time to stock up on bread, milk, and eggs. Maybe toilet paper, too.