Virginia Friends

[jdc38]

What is going on in the state of Virginia tonight?

Not a whole lot, but the Maryland thread is kicking our asses.

 

[FourFlags]

What is going on in the state of Virginia tonight?

Morning Good Sir. Well today you can actually see the mountains, hadn’t been that way lately. To barrow a line from a much better writer then me it’s been “ the February of our discontent “. A 3+ week roller coaster of rain, sleet, snow, fog, drizzle & ice accompanied by mid 30 degree temps. I feel then need of Pattons “ weather prayer”. Lost power one afternoon, but we have a fireplace for backup! Even our garbage pickup has been delayed by at least a day, this past week they picked it up a a Sunday! The ice is worst of all, especially for our dog, slipping & sliding all over the place. We have one more day, Thursday it get past. Next week is looking much more promising. Hey at least it ain’t Texas. Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

Not a whole lot, but the Maryland thread is kicking our asses.

Slugger did post a pic of his wife but that is the only interesting thing to happen in that thread in a long time. I am really at a loss in how to draw the attention of women to post in these threads. You would almost think we are at an all boys summer camp. O Juliet, Juliet! Wherefore art thou Juliet?

 

[StarGazer58]

Morning Good Sir. Well today you can actually see the mountains, hadn’t been that way lately. To barrow a line from a much better writer then me it’s been “ the February of our discontent “. A 3+ week roller coaster of rain, sleet, snow, fog, drizzle & ice accompanied by mid 30 degree temps. I feel then need of Pattons “ weather prayer”. Lost power one afternoon, but we have a fireplace for backup! Even our garbage pickup has been delayed by at least a day, this past week they picked it up a a Sunday! The ice is worst of all, especially for our dog, slipping & sliding all over the place. We have one more day, Thursday it get past. Next week is looking much more promising. Hey at least it ain’t Texas. Slainte

I am so tired of this crappy weather FourFlags. When will it ever end? It is that damn groundhogs fault, seeing its shadow. Have not lost power but had a lot of ice. There was an invisible ice patch on the front porch stairs which I slipped on and almost fell. I am not a happy camper right now.

As I wrote in the Maryland thread I can follow the wanderings of my dogs throughout the house via their muddy paw prints. The beagle thinks nothing of sloshing through the mud and then tramping through the house.

I was reading about Texas and the whole mid-west and their power outages. I remember a few years back when my downstairs heating system was broke for over a week. The heat from the upstairs system was enough to keep the pipes from freezing but could see your breath while watching TV downstairs. I feel bad for all those people losing heat for their entire house in such old weather.

 

[n8Romantic]

Slugger did post a pic of his wife but that is the only interesting thing to happen in that thread in a long time. I am really at a loss in how to draw the attention of women to post in these threads. You would almost think we are at an all boys summer camp. O Juliet, Juliet! Wherefore art thou Juliet?

This is a Men's club Stargazer, at least on the VA thread. I've not read other area threads but I expect with few exceptions it's the same. I'm guessing this is a straight men's thread. I bat from both sides of the plate so I an attest the VA bi-married thread has essentially the same effect in a weirdly same sex motif. Many want to chat but few actually want the experience. I'm not hung up on the sex aspect of the relationship, I'd just like to meet unfamiliar human beings over a beer or cocktail and enjoy intelligent adult conversation. Expand my horizons so to speak. I'd love to blame it all on the VID, but sadly, I don't believe that to be true.

 

[FourFlags]

I am so tired of this crappy weather FourFlags. When will it ever end? It is that damn groundhogs fault, seeing its shadow. Have not lost power but had a lot of ice. There was an invisible ice patch on the front porch stairs which I slipped on and almost fell. I am not a happy camper right now.

As I wrote in the Maryland thread I can follow the wanderings of my dogs throughout the house via their muddy paw prints. The beagle thinks nothing of sloshing through the mud and then tramping through the house.

I was reading about Texas and the whole mid-west and their power outages. I remember a few years back when my downstairs heating system was broke for over a week. The heat from the upstairs system was enough to keep the pipes from freezing but could see your breath while watching TV downstairs. I feel bad for all those people losing heat for their entire house in such old weather.

Hopefully next week, supposed to be 52 & sun on Wednesday. I agree about the fresh fallen snow highlighting tracks. We get all kinds of critters down here, we only a 100 feet from a Hugh patch of woods, lots of deer!
Yes, it just “ shows to go ya” how dependent we are on our utilities. Never knew until now that wind turbines could freeze up, as well as natural gas compressor’s. Also it appears better planning by the powers that be should now be considered. Stay safe & hunkered down for another 5 days good sir, warmer days are in sight. Slainte

 

[NorthernVAM]

Dependency on the Grid ...

Hopefully next week, supposed to be 52 & sun on Wednesday. I agree about the fresh fallen snow highlighting tracks. We get all kinds of critters down here, we only a 100 feet from a Hugh patch of woods, lots of deer!
Yes, it just “ shows to go ya” how dependent we are on our utilities. Never knew until now that wind turbines could freeze up, as well as natural gas compressor’s. Also it appears better planning by the powers that be should now be considered. Stay safe & hunkered down for another 5 days good sir, warmer days are in sight. Slainte

Yes, the wind turbine story is an interesting one, particularly from a "government policy" vs. "market economy" point of view, which seems to be one of the issues where there is a deep divide in our country. So, the wind turbine issue really is about government policy creating an artificial incentive through tax policy, and then not having it be as "robust" as you would have normally expected. The thing that is interesting about utilities is that they are "critical infrastructure" and supposedly regulated, and I would think part of the tariff would include the cost of creating a robust infrastructure. I wouldn't be surprised if nobody harmonized the government policies relating to infrastructure availability vs. using wind power.

Either that or nobody wanted to really pay the full cost of being "green" which is what I suspect is more the case. I doubt wind if really competitive against fossil fuels. It's like the ignorance surrounding electric vehicles -- where do people think the electricity comes from? Yes, there is wind and hydro, but those are only a fraction of what is going to be needed to support the electric demand if all the vehicles were electric.

I don't think the proponents of he "Green New Deal" are fully honest about the cost. The cost isn't practical and if implemented would make the US totally noncompetitive in a global marketplace. Somehow, we've gotten to a place where we've failed to teach the younger generation basic economics -- and the reasons you don't want to have a fully planned economy. Even the Chinese abandoned that model in favor of less party control over the economy.

In terms of global warming -- well, I tend to look at humans as biological creatures that really can't control themselves -- i.e. they are like bacteria, that reproduce to the point of killing the host. While you can try to stop things like population growth, or how we live in our consumer oriented society. How much of your creature comfort will you really be willing to give up to save the planet? For most people, the answer is "not much".

Just food for thought here ...

 

[FourFlags]

Yes, the wind turbine story is an interesting one, particularly from a "government policy" vs. "market economy" point of view, which seems to be one of the issues where there is a deep divide in our country. So, the wind turbine issue really is about government policy creating an artificial incentive through tax policy, and then not having it be as "robust" as you would have normally expected. The thing that is interesting about utilities is that they are "critical infrastructure" and supposedly regulated, and I would think part of the tariff would include the cost of creating a robust infrastructure. I wouldn't be surprised if nobody harmonized the government policies relating to infrastructure availability vs. using wind power.

Either that or nobody wanted to really pay the full cost of being "green" which is what I suspect is more the case. I doubt wind if really competitive against fossil fuels. It's like the ignorance surrounding electric vehicles -- where do people think the electricity comes from? Yes, there is wind and hydro, but those are only a fraction of what is going to be needed to support the electric demand if all the vehicles were electric.

I don't think the proponents of he "Green New Deal" are fully honest about the cost. The cost isn't practical and if implemented would make the US totally noncompetitive in a global marketplace. Somehow, we've gotten to a place where we've failed to teach the younger generation basic economics -- and the reasons you don't want to have a fully planned economy. Even the Chinese abandoned that model in favor of less party control over the economy.

In terms of global warming -- well, I tend to look at humans as biological creatures that really can't control themselves -- i.e. they are like bacteria, that reproduce to the point of killing the host. While you can try to stop things like population growth, or how we live in our consumer oriented society. How much of your creature comfort will you really be willing to give up to save the planet? For most people, the answer is "not much".

Just food for thought here ...

As usual they is plenty of blame to go ALL around. This is the 7th Major winter disruption since 1983, you would think they would have learned by now ( short term vs. long term goals & costs). I also read ( WSJ) that California & Texas by law prevent the utilities from changing any type of “ maintenance fee”. Feel free to draw you own conclusions. As the Great Al Capp & Pogo said: We have met the enemy, & he is us”!
The call for tonight here in the Valley is 3-6, but the threat of major icing has gone down somewhat. Still calling for 50 by Wednesday, will see. Hang in there. F.F.

 

[NorthernVAM]

As usual they is plenty of blame to go ALL around. This is the 7th Major winter disruption since 1983, you would think they would have learned by now ( short term vs. long term goals & costs). I also read ( WSJ) that California & Texas by law prevent the utilities from changing any type of “ maintenance fee”. Feel free to draw you own conclusions. As the Great Al Capp & Pogo said: We have met the enemy, & he is us”!
The call for tonight here in the Valley is 3-6, but the threat of major icing has gone down somewhat. Still calling for 50 by Wednesday, will see. Hang in there. F.F.

Are you an "I Go Pogo" fan? -- Just how old are you?

I agree that there's enough blame to go around, although I guess my problem is that most of the "activists" who want to change things really don't understand the idea of unintended consequences. Nor do they understand the notion of responsibility for the consequences.

For example -- somewhere between 1960 and 1980, the government became fiscally irresponsible and decided to live on deficit spending -- and now we have a whole generation of politicians on both sides of the isle who have no political will to be fiscally responsible. The long term consequences of perpetual debt may be the fact that you eventually become insolvent -- or have a period of serious economic hardship -- but nobody wants to do anything before the crisis hits.

This is the core of the problem. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, understood how vulnerable the Texas power grid to an event like this, but nobody had the will to ensure that there was enough robustness in the system to weather the storm (pun intended). It really does come down to how a society values individuals who take responsibility for their actions vs. individuals who don't. At the moment, we are a society that is leaning more towards rewarding irresponsibility than punishing it -- but in the end someone will have to pay the consequences.

 

[FourFlags]

Are you an "I Go Pogo" fan? -- Just how old are you?

I agree that there's enough blame to go around, although I guess my problem is that most of the "activists" who want to change things really don't understand the idea of unintended consequences. Nor do they understand the notion of responsibility for the consequences.

For example -- somewhere between 1960 and 1980, the government became fiscally irresponsible and decided to live on deficit spending -- and now we have a whole generation of politicians on both sides of the isle who have no political will to be fiscally responsible. The long term consequences of perpetual debt may be the fact that you eventually become insolvent -- or have a period of serious economic hardship -- but nobody wants to do anything before the crisis hits.

This is the core of the problem. I'm sure that someone, somewhere, understood how vulnerable the Texas power grid to an event like this, but nobody had the will to ensure that there was enough robustness in the system to weather the storm (pun intended). It really does come down to how a society values individuals who take responsibility for their actions vs. individuals who don't. At the moment, we are a society that is leaning more towards rewarding irresponsibility than punishing it -- but in the end someone will have to pay the consequences.

No, I didn’t even know Pogo had a fan club. I’m old enough to remember Mickey Mantle as my first baseball hero; & the Buffalo Bills being AFL Champions in 1964 & 65. There is a lot of truth in what you say, at least from someone like me. I have to run a balanced budget for my home, why can’t the government ( to some degree) to the same? Sooner or later the bills will come due. I wonder which generation is gonna get stuck with that headache. Well enough about that. The worst of the storm seems to have passed. A lot less snow & ICE then the “ Weather Gods” were forecasting. 50’s still in tap fir next week!

 

[StarGazer58]

I have some time on my hands with all of the craziness the last year so I have been working on several stories. The first of them was published today.

 

[FourFlags]

I have some time on my hands with all of the craziness the last year so I have been working on several stories. The first of them was published today.

Thank goodness you are back, I thought I had put the final nail in this thread more then 2 weeks ago. I read your story, good sir, & gave it 5 Stars ️. I found it very realistic, with a good background ( golf *) very believable characters in believable, everyday situations. Hope yo do a follow up sometime down the line. A very worthy first submission. Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

Thank goodness you are back, I thought I had put the final nail in this thread more then 2 weeks ago. I read your story, good sir, & gave it 5 Stars ️. I found it very realistic, with a good background ( golf *) very believable characters in believable, everyday situations. Hope yo do a follow up sometime down the line. A very worthy first submission. Slainte

Thank you for the great rating. The golf story was my first one. The latest one is named A Seductive Massage.

The lack of posting on this thread is sad Four Flags. Lit or at least the DMV threads seem to be following real life where there has been a baby bust. I wonder if that has been an overall decline in sexual interest during the pandemic. I would have thought with social distancing that more people, especially women, would be posting to at least talk with others. That is certainly not the case.

 

[FourFlags]

Thank you for the great rating. The golf story was my first one. The latest one is named A Seductive Massage.

The lack of posting on this thread is sad Four Flags. Lit or at least the DMV threads seem to be following real life where there has been a baby bust. I wonder if that has been an overall decline in sexual interest during the pandemic. I would have thought with social distancing that more people, especially women, would be posting to at least talk with others. That is certainly not the case.

In my humble opinion it’s pretty much the same % of ladies as before Covid....5%. It’s hard to have male/female chat with those damning numbers. Ah well on to bigger & better things. The “ High Holy Daze” are just a week away. Sadly I won’t be heading back to the “ Nickel City” due to the lack of scheduled music because of Covid. Nonetheless there are a few opportunities here in the Valley starting Friday night for me to get “ Kilted-Up” and partake.... maybe next year. Anyway enjoy the season, I will raise a pint to you on the weekend. Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

In my humble opinion it’s pretty much the same % of ladies as before Covid....5%. It’s hard to have male/female chat with those damning numbers. Ah well on to bigger & better things. The “ High Holy Daze” are just a week away. Sadly I won’t be heading back to the “ Nickel City” due to the lack of scheduled music because of Covid. Nonetheless there are a few opportunities here in the Valley starting Friday night for me to get “ Kilted-Up” and partake.... maybe next year. Anyway enjoy the season, I will raise a pint to you on the weekend. Slainte

I doubt I will make it out this year for St Patty's day though I do wonder how the bars will do. I will raise an oatmeal stout to you four flags.

Yeah, the lack of ladies on Lit is persistent and I just don't understand why.

 

[StarGazer58]

Gone quiet in here. Is there a party somewhere that I did not hear about?

 

[StarGazer58]

Hmmm, all I hear is an echo of myself on here.

 

[FourFlags]

Hmmm, all I hear is an echo of myself on here.

I fear you are right Good Sir. I believe this thread is the 21st Century version of the “ Lost Cause”. At least I was able to enjoy some activities yesterday. The music ( other then the drum & pipe band which is Always Great) was ok, the beer , definitely 1st rate. And I had a few interesting conversations ( a kilt will do that for ye). The one younger lady ( with her date) was sporting a Dropkick Murphy’s t-shirt. We exchanged some words while I checked out her chest. Have a good week my Friend, I’ll raise another pint to you in Wednesday. Slainte

 

[StarGazer58]

I fear you are right Good Sir. I believe this thread is the 21st Century version of the “ Lost Cause”. At least I was able to enjoy some activities yesterday. The music ( other then the drum & pipe band which is Always Great) was ok, the beer , definitely 1st rate. And I had a few interesting conversations ( a kilt will do that for ye). The one younger lady ( with her date) was sporting a Dropkick Murphy’s t-shirt. We exchanged some words while I checked out her chest. Have a good week my Friend, I’ll raise another pint to you in Wednesday. Slainte

At least you got some interesting visuals today. I played golf and there was an attractive young lady in my foursome which helped alleviate the pain of my golf game.

I agree this thread and the Maryland thread are probably lost causes but will keep on posting in the hope of better days.

 

[PauBor]

In Manassas here. Recent transplant from Alexandria, missing the good food becaue Manassas isn't the greatest in terms of restaurants/food

 

[StarGazer58]

This study seems to have been the topic of choice for radio stations this morning:

A new survey claims that the average single is masturbating three times per day amid all the isolation from COVID quarantines and lockdowns.

The poll of 2,005 single (and unabashed) Americans finds three in 10 are masturbating more than once a day. However, only 14 percent are doing it just once a day. Self-pleasure has seen an uptick since March 2020, with nearly half of respondents (48%) admitting to doing it more frequently than ever before as a result of their isolation.

How does everyone matchup to this survey?

 

[StarGazer58]

Happy St Patricks day. Top of the day to everyone.

 

[FourFlags]

Happy St Patricks day. Top of the day to everyone.

Other then the lack a music , thank God for my CD’s to get me through. All things considered it was a good day. Went to a Pub in town for some first rate Irish stew & some Smithwicks. Enjoying some Bushmills before bed. Hopefully next year live music will return. Slainte my friend.

 

[StarGazer58]

Other then the lack a music , thank God for my CD’s to get me through. All things considered it was a good day. Went to a Pub in town for some first rate Irish stew & some Smithwicks. Enjoying some Bushmills before bed. Hopefully next year live music will return. Slainte my friend.

I did not make it out last night though I wonder how the bars did with things supposedly opening up? There was corned beef and cabbage for dinner but I made a Ruben instead with the corned beef and had a beer. I wore green to work.

 

[L8tnIt]

Happy St Patricks day. Top of the day to everyone.

To celebrate I made Bangers & Mash!