Useful Links

REWahoo · 12-21-2012, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99

For those with a dirty mind..... look up nautical term: brass monkey. Hint, it is from the days of sailing war ships.

A crusty old local TV weatherman back in the 60's & 70's was famous for cautioning viewers on especially cold nights to "Bring in those brass monkeys folks, it's gonna be a cold one."

(BTW, "balls to the wall" is a similar phrase with links to the aviation industry.)

ls99 · 12-21-2012, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo

A crusty old local TV weatherman back in the 60's & 70's was famous for cautioning viewers on especially cold nights to "Bring in those brass monkeys folks, it's gonna be a cold one."

(BTW, "balls to the wall" is a similar phrase with links to the aviation industry.)

Flying in several Grumman Gooses in circa 1975, the pilot liked the expression, and used it often during water takeoffs, though it would have been more appropriate to say balls to the windscreen. Great image, huh?

The throttle and mixture controls are on the overhead console.

W2R · 12-21-2012, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB

Here's a very cool video showing boiling water turning instantly to ice in Siberia. I've seen different versions of it before but never tire of watching these. Boiling Water Freezes Instantly In Siberia - Business Insider

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh

When I lived in Winnipeg we used to freeze boiling water every winter, just because we could!
http://youtu.be/oSGDYZME9Gw

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nodak

The coldest I've seen in ND is a -45 and it seemed like everyone in town did that experiment. Blowing soap bubbles in that cold is also interesting, they freeze immediately. The state temperature records are -60 for low and +120 for high.

Edit: I went back to a post from a couple of years ago to find this and post it again.

Minnesota Cold (Part 4) Blowing Frozen Bubbles - YouTube

INCREDIBLE! Watching these videos seems like watching conditions on a completely different planet! Wow! I never saw soap bubbles like that before.

NW-Bound · 12-23-2012, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ejman

...we have been snowed in and without power water and communications for a couple of days here at the SW Oregon branch of paradise.

A forum member just reported in, after a couple of days in misery.

Anybody else has a similar story to tell?

It's 65F high here today, with sunny sky so that I could do some more yard work. Life is good here in the SW in the winter. It's the reason people suffer through the blistering 120F temperature in the summer months, to get pay back like this.

bondi688 · 12-23-2012, 06:05 PM

I think I'll arrange my life so that I do not have to face winters in the north or summers in the south.

NW-Bound · 12-23-2012, 06:07 PM

Well, it only takes money.

W2R · 12-23-2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bondi688

I think I'll arrange my life so that I do not have to face winters in the north or summers in the south.

To some of us, worse than either of these is having to move two or more times a year to avoid them.

NW-Bound · 12-23-2012, 06:22 PM

Heh heh heh... I get to brag about my 2-home arrangement again. When the one I am on now gets to 120F in the summer, just a 150-mile drive gets me to the other one in the same state, but at 7,000 ft.

I do not recall having to use the AC up there, as the temperature got only as high as 85F, but with such low humidity, and a strong breeze blowing through my hill-top home, I feel like a "king of the hill".

bondi688 · 12-23-2012, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R

To some of us, worse than either of these is having to move two or more times a year to avoid them.

I think I may be lucky in that:

One , I plan to declutter myself. I am now finding material possessions to be very life limiting, especially if you have to move around.

Two , I have home bases that can effected that scheme, so just pack up a suitcase and hop on a plane.

bondi688 · 12-23-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound

Heh heh heh... I get to brag about my 2-home arrangement again. When the one I am on now gets to 120F in the summer, just a 150-mile drive gets me to the other one in the same state, but at 7,000 ft.

I do not recall having to use the AC up there, as the temperature got only as high as 85F, but with such low humidity, and a strong breeze blowing through my hill-top home, I feel like a "king of the hill".

See, it does not necessarily take all that much money.

W2R · 12-23-2012, 06:33 PM

You still have to travel there, and leave everything behind. I'd rather just stay at home doing whatever I want to do, and adjust the thermostat. It really isn't that hard to do.

bondi688 · 12-23-2012, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R

You still have to travel there, and leave everything behind. I'd rather just stay at home doing whatever I want to do, and adjust the thermostat. It really isn't that hard to do.

I agree, but you still have to go outside. Now my dream plan for spending the winter is a few weeks in Australia or NZ, laying around on Bondi Beach, but that does take some heavy duty money because I have to do it as a tourist.

**braumeister** · 12-23-2012, 06:57 PM

Below freezing here lately, but sunny. Very easy winter so far.

My one brush with seriously cold weather was many years ago in Iceland. Temperature around -30F with 30-40 mph winds, so I don't even want to think about what the chill factor must have been. We had big ropes set between buildings, so you could simply go hand over hand from one door to the next (you certainly couldn't see the nearest building due to the blowing snow).

bondi688 · 12-23-2012, 07:02 PM

braumeister
And you did not hide inside the hot spring spa the whole time when the weather was like that?

NW-Bound · 12-23-2012, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bondi688

See, it does not necessarily take all that much money.

True. It only doubles one's housing cost, and if one does not demand an outrageous home at each place, it can indeed be affordable. I have seen many people having just a smaller home in one place, in addition to their larger main home. Our two houses are comparable in value, as I originally thought I would downsize to one. Else, I would spend less money for the 2nd home.

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R

You still have to travel there, and leave everything behind. I'd rather just stay at home doing whatever I want to do, and adjust the thermostat. It really isn't that hard to do.

The trouble with having two homes widely separated is the logistics of maintenance and the hassle of commuting between them. I know quite a few posters here have that. I also know that a few have the two homes within a couple of hours of driving like I do. But, but, but people with the two homes near each other, do they have the diversity of the seasonal temperatures like I do? I doubt it.

PS. For a long time, I entertained the idea of having a 2nd home in the Puget Sound, and even went up to look at a home in Port Ludlow. The hassle of maintenance and travel was what made me change my mind.

**braumeister** · 12-23-2012, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bondi688

braumeister
And you did not hide inside the hot spring spa the whole time when the weather was like that?

Alas, I was far from Reykjavik.

bbbamI · 12-25-2012, 10:06 AM

Woke up twice in the wee hours of the morning (not to eight tiny reindeer) but to thunder, rain and small hail. At the time of this writing we've had 1 1/2 inches of rain. In a couple of hours, the rain will turn to snow. Lows in the 20's tonight.

Ho ho ho...only in Texas.

antmary · 12-25-2012, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI

Woke up twice in the wee hours of the morning (not to eight tiny reindeer) but to thunder, rain and small hail. At the time of this writing we've had 1 1/2 inches of rain. In a couple of hours, the rain will turn to snow. Lows in the 20's tonight.

Ho ho ho...only in Texas.

Hope this signals the end of drought in Beautiful Texas...Merry Christmas!