April Banter 2023

[CAPE]

6 in a row for the Os. Wild finish today.

[WxUSAF]

1 minute ago, CAPE said:

6 in a row for the Os. Wild finish today.

I was at the game. E-Rod was mowing them down, but they hung in there. Mateo’s speed was key to tie the game. 

[09-10 analogy]

1 hour ago, Always in Zugzwang said:

No problem on the rant!  I totally understand what you mean.  That scene of Gandalf and the Nazgul never quite made sense to me either, where Gandalf was essentially broken (yet Gandalf, as you mention, broke Saruman and also held off Nazgul earlier).  It just sort of ended with Gandalf on the ground and the Lord of the Nazgul going off to meet the Rohirrim.

I really only posted that for the Ride of the Rohirrim battle, in my opinion one of the best such scenes in the movies (and still holds up very well 20 years later!).  I guess that particular YouTube clip starts it with the Gandalf/Nazgul scene.  I always liked the part where Theoden looks down in horror and disgust at the orcs laying waste to Minas Tirith...then jerks his horse with a "fuck it!" attitude and prepares his outnumbered army for battle no matter what.

Derek Jacobi (I think that was the actor) was outstanding; his performance is kind of lost in the shuffle of so many fine ones. When Theoden is riding along the line of the Rohirrim, tipping spears and making that, as you aptly put it, his “just f**k this” speech … that just pure Big Movie excellence.

[CAPE]

4 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

I was at the game. E-Rod was mowing them down, but they hung in there. Mateo’s speed was key to tie the game. 

Fun to watch. They find ways to win. Very resourceful. They could use a pitcher or 2, but they have some young arms that are flashing. It will be interesting to see where they are heading towards the trade deadline. This could be the year to buy.

[MN Transplant]

@H2O

New water main!  Watching the guy remote control the compactor is entertaining.

[H2O]

16 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

@H2O

New water main!  Watching the guy remote control the compactor is entertaining.

Ah my old job.  Surveying for replacing old water mains that break all the time.  Or is this a bigger main to go along with some new water tank deal?  I know they were doing a bunch of stuff to bolster up the pressures and stagnant water issues right when I left.  

The process in which this all works is so fun.  

[mattie g]

On 4/18/2023 at 8:01 AM, mattie g said:

Have yet to spot a hummingbird at either of our feeders so far this spring, but plenty of reports around.

First confirmed sighting this morning! A male stopped by the backyard feeder at about 9:00 am.

[MN Transplant]

1 hour ago, H2O said:

Ah my old job.  Surveying for replacing old water mains that break all the time.  Or is this a bigger main to go along with some new water tank deal?  I know they were doing a bunch of stuff to bolster up the pressures and stagnant water issues right when I left.  

The process in which this all works is so fun.  

I think this is related to the new water tower that will be going up in my neighborhood in a few years.  Probably an excuse to replace what I assume are almost 60 year old lines anyway.  I’ll give credit to the different agencies, we’ve had water line work and gas line work, and are on the schedule for street repaving by VDOT.  They organized it well.

[H2O]

20 minutes ago, MN Transplant said:

I think this is related to the new water tower that will be going up in my neighborhood in a few years.  Probably an excuse to replace what I assume are almost 60 year old lines anyway.  I’ll give credit to the different agencies, we’ve had water line work and gas line work, and are on the schedule for street repaving by VDOT.  They organized it well.

I think its part of the annual replacement program.  If a new tower is built then added pressures will blow out old pipes.  And yes, those are original pipes so those go back to the 1950-60s.  

We always tried to work with VDOT to find out what roads they planned to pave in any given year and get in beforehand.  Makes zero sense to have them pave, we come in and tear things up and have to pave it ourselves.  Didn't work perfectly all the time but when it did its a beautiful thing.  

 

Enjoy a new water main!!

[BlizzardNole]

3 hours ago, mattie g said:

First confirmed sighting this morning! A male stopped by the backyard feeder at about 9:00 am.

Had our first on April 22 -- a male.  My parents in Calvert saw their first one the same day and said it was the fourth straight year that they saw their first hummingbird on April 22.

[mattie g]

2 minutes ago, BlizzardNole said:

Had our first on April 22 -- a male.  My parents in Calvert saw their first one the same day and said it was the fourth straight year that they saw their first hummingbird on April 22.

That's pretty cool to have their first-noted arrival be on the same day year after year!

[nw baltimore wx]

This is cool.

 

[MillvilleWx]

4 hours ago, nw baltimore wx said:

This is cool.

 

Easily some of my favorite clouds. These are stellar. It looks like a Van Gough painting. 

[nw baltimore wx]

10 minutes ago, MillvilleWx said:

Easily some of my favorite clouds. These are stellar. It looks like a Van Gough painting. 

Exactly what I thought. That, and also that it was fake. Had to do some checking to be sure it was real before posting.

[MillvilleWx]

1 minute ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Exactly what I thought. That, and also that it was fake.

I hate people. Faking clouds for clout. Ooof

[Jebman]

Hey Millville, Best of Luck on your interview tomorrow.

You are gonna ace it. You are THE BEST, and they know it.

In other news, South Central Texas is on track for the second record breaking drought year in a row. Forecasters say that we will be in mid summer furnace heat in 21 days. It may make 2011 look like The Day After Tomorrow down here. Every rainstorm is missing us and going either north, or south into the Golfo de Mexico. The rain is going anywhere but Buda. Grass is already turning brown. Forget crops. Everyone is moving down here for the jobs and the mild winters. Aquifer will be Sahara-dry in three years. After that, it will be Mad Max time, as everyone fights over hydro.

I hate climate change. And, we're stuck with it.

[vastateofmind]

On 4/24/2023 at 8:48 PM, nw baltimore wx said:

Exactly what I thought. That, and also that it was fake. Had to do some checking to be sure it was real before posting.

I've become a tad obsessed with photographing mammatus clouds in recent years...we seem to see them a lot in these parts, either just before or after a thunderstorm rolls through.  They create some of the coolest textures in the skies.

[North Balti Zen]

 

[mappy]

37 minutes ago, North Balti Zen said:

 

lolol @H2O and I were just laughing about this. 

[WxUSAF]

1 hour ago, North Balti Zen said:

 

It me

[CAPE]

The rumors and speculation of the last few days turned out to have merit.

Nice.

Now go make a deal for Hopkins tonight.

 

[CAPE]

 

[WxUSAF]

Wow. Didn’t see that coming. Thank you eagles and jalen hurts.

[CAPE]

1 minute ago, WxUSAF said:

Wow. Didn’t see that coming. Thank you eagles and jalen hurts.

I said from the beginning the Ravens were smart to use the transition tag, so Lamar would see what the true market was. No team was ever going to give up 2 number ones and give him a fully guaranteed contract, just because the Browns were dumb and desperate enough to do so with Watson. The Ravens offer back in Sept was comparable to the Hurts deal. They just tweaked it a bit to make Lamar a slightly better deal than Hurts.

[CAPE]

 

[WxUSAF]

13 hours ago, CAPE said:

 

New OC and 3 new receivers. They’re going all in on being an offense-first team.

[CAPE]

22 minutes ago, WxUSAF said:

New OC and 3 new receivers. They’re going all in on being an offense-first team.

I love the Flowers pick. Very much in the mold of Steve Smith. 20 pounds heavier than Hollywood Brown when he was drafted, so those making that comparison are off.

[RDM]

On 4/24/2023 at 11:45 AM, H2O said:

I think its part of the annual replacement program.  If a new tower is built then added pressures will blow out old pipes.  And yes, those are original pipes so those go back to the 1950-60s.  

We always tried to work with VDOT to find out what roads they planned to pave in any given year and get in beforehand.  Makes zero sense to have them pave, we come in and tear things up and have to pave it ourselves.  Didn't work perfectly all the time but when it did its a beautiful thing.  

 

Enjoy a new water main!!

H2O,

    Always hoped that FF Water was working with VDOT on scheduling repairs around paying schedules for the reason you raised (not sure if you worked for FF Water or another org).  Seen a lot of examples that implied that coordination was a bit askew.  

    A question....   That's a really nice looking trench MN Transplant posted.  Looks to be about 2 feet deep - or so.  What is the standard depth for water mains around here?  Someone told me it is 2 feet, but that seems shallow.  Nat Gas is 2' min depth according to Wash Gas rep.  Back home in Ohio H2O and Nat Gas depth is 4'.  (much colder there).  

    Had major issues back in 78 when we didn't get above freezing for over a month.  The frost line got down to below 5 feet, which burst a lot of mains.  Trying to fix a broken main when the ambient temps are below 0F must be one of the most miserable jobs ever.  

 

 

[RickinBaltimore]

3 hours ago, CAPE said:

I love the Flowers pick. Very much in the mold of Steve Smith. 20 pounds heavier than Hollywood Brown when he was drafted, so those making that comparison are off.

Hollywood Brown also had arguably the best season a Ravens WR ever had too, with Lamar missing 4 games in 2021. 

[H2O]

42 minutes ago, RDM said:

H2O,

    Always hoped that FF Water was working with VDOT on scheduling repairs around paying schedules for the reason you raised (not sure if you worked for FF Water or another org).  Seen a lot of examples that implied that coordination was a bit askew.  

    A question....   That's a really nice looking trench MN Transplant posted.  Looks to be about 2 feet deep - or so.  What is the standard depth for water mains around here?  Someone told me it is 2 feet, but that seems shallow.  Nat Gas is 2' min depth according to Wash Gas rep.  Back home in Ohio H2O and Nat Gas depth is 4'.  (much colder there).  

    Had major issues back in 78 when we didn't get above freezing for over a month.  The frost line got down to below 5 feet, which burst a lot of mains.  Trying to fix a broken main when the ambient temps are below 0F must be one of the most miserable jobs ever.  

 

 

Standard depth for water mains was 4’. Deeper than that was called over depth and the contractor charged more so every attempt was made to be at 4’. Gas was supposed to be min 3’ along with electric and telephone. Cable was notorious for being more shallow. 
 

Even at 4’ water mains here are subject to the impacts of the freeze thaw cycle. Most main breaks were between Nov-Mar due to the heaving of the soil. Part of what we did was replacing the older mains that became more prone to breaks from cold weather.