Ice Storm

[voilodian ghagnasdiak]

Mike Posted:
Linda would have been in heaven! 17 pigs! Fully grown ?

Here’s my dingy story about my dad (Barney);
This recollection took place on Boxing Day some 30 odd years ago. My dad had a small farm at the time on which he raised chickens, goats and pigs. Barney’s farm was about an hours drive from my place. He called me around 4:00 am on the day after Christmas faking a heart attack and telling me to get out to his farm immediately as he was dying. He concluded our conversation with an exasperating gasp for air and dropped the phone. I knew that he had been on a week long bender with his cohort Captain Morgan but was concerned that maybe… this time…he wasn’t faking. My wicked stepmother (Linda) had fled or been evicted the day prior as she knew that it was inevitable for the "shootin irons" to come out of the closet during any visit from the kindly Captain. I drove all the way out to his place to find his back door ajar. As I entered the house I was stifled by a sickly, sweet aroma that was created by the pig feces that had been deposited throughout the place. What an incredible sight...most of the dirty dishes in the double kitchen sink had been rooted through and broken. The kitchen pantry was open and all of the cereal boxes, bread bags, potato sacks, apples, oranges and anything else edible had been shredded and devoured. Even the garbage under the sink had been scoured clean. Barney’s xmas tree had been knocked down and all of the tinsel and ornaments had been dragged about and smashed all over the living room floor in a trashing that included the presents that had been left there. The pigs were lying all about the house on their sides, fully gorged and content. I started searching for Barney and found him in his room, lying on his double bed (out cold) with a full grown sow lying on the bed next to him. These piggies were about 2 months away from their final ride to that great big sausage factory in the sky. They were almost full grown and some were well in excess of 300lbs. I walked up to Barney and shook him saying: “Dad…Dad..” He opened one eye and looked up at me and moaned: “ Ohhhh…you gotta help me clean this mess up.”
Poop in any form doesn’t mix well with voilodians weak stomach. I was almost vomiting as I walked out the back door and chirped: “Your on your own this time Dad.”

Miqque Posted:
I worked on another show with Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek is one of my ma's cousins from Sudbury.

[L'Etranger]

...

Funny, my early childhood was in Ghana!

Cool! I spent 1961 to end of '66 in Ethiopia.
Had a buddy from Ghana there, nice chap, but lost touch after we left. You wouldn't know there whereabouts of Kofi Debra, would you now?

[Kipper]

Cool! I spent 1961 to end of '66 in Ethiopia.
Had a buddy from Ghana there, nice chap, but lost touch after we left. You wouldn't know there whereabouts of Kofi Debra, would you now?

I was aged between 1 and 4 when I lived there! A place called Kumasi. I have no memories of Africa at all, unfortunately. I went to Morocco in '02, for a day trip from Spain, via Gibraltar. It was wierd - it felt like I'd come home!

Helluva tale VG! My old man was a Scotch fan. Bottle a day for 25 years until he shuffled off his mortal coil in '89. Have you seen the reference to the Stormbringer bike in the 'Eragon' thread?

[L'Etranger]

I was aged between 1 and 4 when I lived there! A place called Kumasi. I have no memories of Africa at all, unfortunately. I went to Morocco in '02, for a day trip from Spain, via Gibraltar. It was wierd - it felt like I'd come home!

I think I know that feeling all too well. It is in the air, tangible - Africa.

Here we are digging in for the next 12 to 18 hours, even BBC has taken notice of it and I just wonder how such an onslaught could have slipped past the British Isles without much ado. It is coming from the Northwest, after all.
What about Belgium? Any Belgians here? Any Belgians left?

[Kipper]

I think I know that feeling all too well. It is in the air, tangible - Africa.

Here we are digging in for the next 12 to 18 hours, even BBC has taken notice of it and I just wonder how such an onslaught could have slipped past the British Isles without much ado. It is coming from the Northwest, after all.
What about Belgium? Any Belgians here? Any Belgians left?

That was the feeling I got! The very taste of the air was different!

Weatherwise, it's killed 4 so far. Three male drivers and a woman crushed by a falling wall. Around here the wind is gusting up to 70 or 80 kph (I estimate). I've seen 3 guys working on the sloped roof of a 2 storey house, re-setting ridge tiles! They were bent over against the wind, which was threatening to blow them clean off. They had no ropes or safety equipment to prevent a fall - NUMBWITS! Some people deserve all they get. I couldn't believe what I was seeing,
We've been warned that the winds will continue into the night before they begin to die down. Take care mon ami, keep your head down!

[L'Etranger]

So the storm, they speak of hurricane-strenght in our news, has been (or is still) over Britain, too.
Yes, it amazing what dunderheads people can be, just met a neighour out in the road going for a walk with his dog. You know, one of the really ever-jolly types, he seemed unperturbed his guardian angels might be off duty for once and a roof tile could come a-flying. Oh, well.
Here the train services have been halted nationwide. This means a lot: Years ago German Rail used to have a slogan: "All talk of the weather - we don't!"

Thanks, Kipper, for the good wishes and take care yourself too!

Update: as a side effect the storm front seems to have blown away a politician I always found displeasing, hehe.

[David Mosley]

So far, we've lost two fence panels in our back garden, with a third threatening to go. Luckily the two that have blown down aren't our responsibility (and should be fairly easy to put back once the winds have passed) and the third (if it goes fully), which is ours, should also be not too difficult to re-secure.

My main worry at the moment is a leak from the roof, which I repatched last week, and I'm just hoping will stay fixed over the weekend. The water was dripping into my 'study', which is mostly filled with books, comics, magazines and board games - just the sort of things that don't like getting into contact with water. Luckily I was able to move everything under the drip before it did any damage, so now I'm just sitting hoping my repair holds. (It's the wind combined with rain that causes the problem 'cause it lifts the roof tiles which otherwise keeps the rain out.)

Hope everyone else is safe tonight.

[Michael Moorcock]

We've been remarkably lucky, given all the trees surrounding us. Last night there was a thump and the electricity went out, around 3am. I got up (reaching for my wind-up flashlight!) but before I could do anything, the power came back on again. (It turns out a bent tree limb is actually holding up our power lines and had shifted slightly). Now the worst danger is from huge icicles falling like daggers from roof and trees! We're suppose to be in for another wave next week, but so far, so good.

[devilchicken]

Well New York got its first taste of snow today - its below zero here but no windchill.

According to my mother in law, it was 30F in Los Angeles last night, and the water in her bird feeder iced over.

Still at least we don't have to worry about 100mph winds and flying debris. I have bad memories of that "hurricane" in 1986, as an 8 year old at the time I opened the curtains to a scene of nightmare - flashing lightning and 70ft silver birch trees crashing through greenhouses. Always felt bad for Michael Fish who was the butt of many jokes after that (to this day).

[L'Etranger]

Good to hear, Mike.

The storm here is over, leaving a nasty trail of destruction. Phew. Private buildings here are more solidly built than in many parts of the USA where the devastation would have been greater, but 30 lives taken in UK, Netherlands, France and Germany are bad enough.

[Kipper]

...but 30 lives taken in UK, Netherlands, France and Germany are bad enough.

I've been watching the reports of the damage to Germany L'E. Looks like it has been even worse for you than it was for us.
Also on the news today is the report from the BBC Climactic Survey - apparently they are confirming that this is just the beginning of many years of extreme weather. UK mean temperature is now expected to rise by a minimum 4 degrees by 2080. That is a really frightening thought. My concerns are for my children - youngest was 3 on wednesday - and how their lives will be affected.
I also think that the changes will happen a lot sooner than that, I believe we'll have a rise of at least 2 degrees within the next ten years. The changes will be self-accelerating imo.
Time to batten down the hatches, I fear.

[L'Etranger]

Again those with money will be the winners. Real estate and production capacities on higher grounds will be in demand, and they'll rush to secure the goodies quick once they've realised it is true that their mindlessness have ruined the climate. Large parts of Norther Europe could be flooded, I dont know how tall you can seriously build dykes.
I am also concerned about the future of my children, I know what you mean. The two girls may want to have children of their own one day, but will it be the right situation to put further kids into the turmoil that expects them?
Yet again, the rich people and countries will te atop mostly. Those who already have little are really going to be in for trouble. Already even the southern European countries like Greece, Italy and Spain are tense because of water shortages. Within short they will be parched it it gets a few degrees hotter. Where will they go? And guess which political parties will then resurface and demand the gates be closed ...
All very nasty.

[Hieronymus]

We've been remarkably lucky, given all the trees surrounding us. Last night there was a thump and the electricity went out, around 3am. I got up (reaching for my wind-up flashlight!) but before I could do anything, the power came back on again. (It turns out a bent tree limb is actually holding up our power lines and had shifted slightly). Now the worst danger is from huge icicles falling like daggers from roof and trees! We're suppose to be in for another wave next week, but so far, so good.

I'm happy you're fine however.
Climate is off for me. Until now we have had the warmest winter in 300 years. Today forecast says we'll have the real winter ( cold, low temperature and pressure ) from next week but they are "sure" next summer will be hot as the past .
That means ( as rightly says L'E ) in our south next summer will have seroius trouble with water ( and we'll have big rogues ).
A sad sit.

[Kipper]

Have you ever read 'The Wind from Nowhere' by JG Ballard? It could turn out to be quite prophetic in some respects. I agree that those with money will probably suffer less at first that the poorer members of society. Some of those 'tea and digestive' disaster stories of early sci-fi may become more truthful as the years go by, I fear. 'The Death of Grass' also springs to mind.
Our world is turning, as they say - but into what, I ask?

[L'Etranger]

No, but I just ordered it at Amazon's.
Is a friend of Michael's too. Sounds like the right thing to read.