March Banter 2019

[nj2va]

40 minutes ago, mattie g said:

Thanks. That’s how I feel, though maybe I’m playing with fire. Perhaps next year I’ll do it and see if it’s worth the time spent.

Your 325’ of elevation screams winterize to me.  

[Amorphous Iodine]

It’s looking like another great March!  Marches of 2011-2017 were mild enough to have my stone fruit (cherries plums, peach) trees and kiwi vines leaf-out and bloom - only to be hit with a late freeze that killed off all the flower buds.

Last year only one plum tree emerged from dormancy early enough to be effected by the last freeze/frost.  Everything else stayed dormant through all cold spats.

[vastateofmind]

11 hours ago, Scraff said:

 I’m currently up to my eyeballs in bourbon barrel imperial stouts. What do you need? I got you and @C.A.P.E. 

Eta: or this.

(Pic of special edition can of Heineken cat piss)

So many BB stouts, so little time...Wegmans seems to offer up a new one every couple weeks, and I'm losing count. I've noticed, too, that Weggys is carrying more red wine aged in bourbon barrels, and even saw a white wine aged in tequila barrel. New and interesting ways to hasten/complicate the weekend buzz.

Heineken, though...UGH. I know it's a go-to, everyday beer for many, but it's always been pretty skunky to my taste buds and nose. 

[Scraff]

25 minutes ago, vastateofmind said:

So many BB stouts, so little time...Wegmans seems to offer up a new one every couple weeks, and I'm losing count. I've noticed, too, that Weggys is carrying more red wine aged in bourbon barrels, and even saw a white wine aged in tequila barrel. New and interesting ways to hasten/complicate the weekend buzz.

Heineken, though...UGH. I know it's a go-to, everyday beer for many, but it's always been pretty skunky to my taste buds and nose. 

I’ve never been a Heineken fan, but thought I would try a 6 pack of the new 0.0% ABV. Wanted to cut down on alcohol and calorie intake for good portions of the week. Honestly it’s decent. Might even taste better than regular Heineken. Coming from someone who consistently has 4-5 cases of awesome craft beer around the house, it’s a nice alternative for beer flavor without the shitty next morning feelings. That’s reserved now for weekends only. 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

12 hours ago, ravensrule said:

Being a Cleveland sports fan has to be the most brutal thing in the world. I feel for you. 

And lest I forget "The Drive", "The Fumble", "The Shot"... 

[vastateofmind]

2 minutes ago, Scraff said:

I’ve never been a Heineken fan, but thought I would try a 6 pack of the new 0.0% ABV. Wanted to cut down on alcohol and calorie intake for good portions of the week. Honestly it’s decent. Might even taste better than regular Heineken. Coming from someone who consistently has 4-5 cases of awesome craft beer around the house, it’s a nice alternative for beer flavor without the shitty next morning feelings. That’s reserved now for weekends only. 

On your recommendation...I may re-try the "Heineken Zero."    I don't usually keep that much craft beer around in bottles/cans, but do enjoy the "build your own six pack" option from Wegmans on a weekly basis. We also tend to keep one or two growlers of the "good stuff" from several nearby microbreweries. Again...so many good beers to try, so few brain cells left to sacrifice.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

I'm hoping I have a chance again this year to start a thread for an April snowstorm three days out (you KNOW it's gonna be on the FV3 this year) that ultimately degrades into flurries for the entire subforum.

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

Why isn't snow farther south? This is a weird weather phenomenon. A small % of the population actually sees snow. 

[North Balti Zen]

This kind of cold in six days into March is dumb. Especially since there is no snow to go with it. Really dumb.

[CAPE]

7 minutes ago, North Balti Zen said:

This kind of cold in six days into March is dumb. Especially since there is no snow to go with it. Really dumb.

This weather really sucks this time of year. C&D in March...Utterly useless. I don't want real warmth either. Just normal. High temps in the low to mid 50s would be perfect.

[AfewUniversesBelowNormal]

Look at the color continuum. 

[CAPE]

10 minutes ago, AfewUniversesBelowNormal said:

Look at the color continuum. 

I'm not quite seeing it, Chuck.

[showmethesnow]

4 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

I'm not quite seeing it, Chuck.

What? Are you blind? It is glaringly obvious. 

[showmethesnow]

39 minutes ago, C.A.P.E. said:

This weather really sucks this time of year. C&D in March...Utterly useless. I don't want real warmth either. Just normal. High temps in the low to mid 50s would be perfect.

Looking in the long range and I can see a lot of complaining incoming in the future. 

[RDM]

On 3/5/2019 at 4:51 PM, EastCoast NPZ said:

Should drain the gas, or at least add fuel stabilizer.  Ethanol fuels separate due to absorbing ambient moisture, and the water sits at the bottom of the tank and is first ingested into the engine.  Gas also can go stale over time and become gummy and muck up the engine.

Use Sta-Bil gas additive in all my gasoline equipment and have for decades.  Works great and addresses the gum up issues, especially with today's gas mixtures.  On average, it's a better option than running a carb dry.  Once the gaskets and seals inside a carb get wet with gas, they like to stay wet.  On some gaskets the seals can dry out and crack.  Beyond the Sta-Bil, annually add just a smidge of dry gas and that will address any condensation/water issues.  

We loose power a lot, even though we're only 1 mile from downtown Vienna.  On any given day we have a minimum of 25 gallons of gas in cans on hand for the generator.  Always put Stabil in each can and then after 6 months I cycle the cans through my pickup and refill the cans for the next 6 months.  Am going to eventually get an auto-start auto-switch NG powered whole-house generator, but that's not in the budget yet.  

[Deer Whisperer]

"Winter is over"

Nam 3k: "y'all say something?"

 

*edit: i was apparently ninja'd by @WesternFringe in the March 8th thread 

[PDIII]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/weather/2019/03/06/freak-thing-mph-extreme-gust-rattles-bahamas-bound-cruise-ship-injuring-passengers/

[PhineasC]

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

[vastateofmind]

7 hours ago, PhineasC said:

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

Assuming you still want to remain in U.S., maybe western NY? Vermont? @das has shared some great pics from VT this winter.

[nw baltimore wx]

Knowing my social media skills, I'm probably one of the last to have seen this, but it's pretty funny.

 

[The Dude]

8 hours ago, PhineasC said:

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "best".  If it's just the above criteria, I would think the LES belt in update NY is the way to go, probably somewhere around Syracuse.  If you want to trade is some of the snow for greater cold, maybe look somewhere between Minneapolis and Duluth.

[wxdude64]

8 hours ago, PhineasC said:

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

Jackson "Jackson Hole" WY, Kalispell MT, Jay VT (Burlington), Breckenridge CO, Marquette MI

[Fozz]

9 hours ago, PhineasC said:

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

In the NNE thread of the New England subforum, @J.Spin keeps good records of his location in Waterbury, VT, which is a 30 minute drive from Burlington, but averages almost twice as much snow (in spite of a moderate elevation). It typically has persistent snowpack from November to April.

[Scraff]

Ok. Weird non weather post. But anyone going to see Queensryche in Baltimore tonight? I’ll buy your first beer if we meet and headbang together. \m/ 

[mdhokie]

21 hours ago, PhineasC said:

What's the best place in the US to move with the following criteria:

1) Serious snowfall and snowcover

2) Extended stretches of cold

3) Access to at least a regional airport within 45 mins.

4) Somewhat built-up, at least a small city nearby.

I just booked a trip to Breckenridge, CO. 310"+ for the season and they just got 18" last night. It's a 70 min drive from Denver. 

Only thing you're missing is a beach.

[NorthArlington101]

Captain Marvel = really good.

Might suck for people without a little comic background for awhile but then it gets going. Definitely worth your time.

[RDM]

2 hours ago, C.A.P.E. said:

LOL. Don't think I haven't thought about it. It is a pretty large area.

I would if I could, but when I bought the lot, I signed papers acknowledging the restrictions- meaning I cant do anything to change the ecology of that area. That includes digging it into a pond, draining it, etc. Plenty of cases around here where people have paid hefty fines and even done jail time for (knowingly) permanently draining protected wetlands. Serious shit. Certainly possible they would never find out- but they generally do monitor it.

Yup - Can relate to your marsh situation.  Have a friend out 66 towards FR with a few hundred acres a friend left him.  Had a small pond on it that had been there for years for cattle and general use by the farm.  My friend made the pond bigger and guess who shows up?  Folks from the EPA quoting the Chesapeake Bay Soil Conservation Act.  Forced him to apply for a permit, put up silt fences, tried to get him to have soil perk testing done (he had another solution) and all sorts of other idiotic measures.  All for slightly enlarging a pond that had been on the property for decades if not longer.  Not talking about a small lake or even a big pond, just something a little deeper and wider that would not dry up when the water table lowered.  No appeal mechanism, no recourse to be heard by a panel of peers etc.  Just a "do it our way or else" mandate.  

Learned a couple things by living around here for 33 of my nearly 60 years.  1.) The Chesapeake Soil Conservation Act is an all encompassing catch-all for about anyone to muck with you for doing about anything.  This is why anyone within the watershed who disturbs more than 18" of soil much put down silt fence.  Yet, VDOT, MDOT can at their whim disperse untold tons of liquid rust (aka salt brine) with impunity and without oversight.  And 2.)  It's easier to apologize than to get permission.  My friend filled in his pond, got the EPA off his back, then when they were gone dug it out again.  (he has the heavy equipment to do it).  It became a matter of principle.  Still has his pond today.  

[LP08]

I think we can safely say my threads turn out the best....#winning

[PhineasC]

15 hours ago, Fozz said:

In the NNE thread of the New England subforum, @J.Spin keeps good records of his location in Waterbury, VT, which is a 30 minute drive from Burlington, but averages almost twice as much snow (in spite of a moderate elevation). It typically has persistent snowpack from November to April.

Yes, VT rules for sure. It is on my list.

[JakkelWx]

I saw a hazy sky yesterday I think summer has already started