Althouse: At the Deep Gray Café...

December 11, 2010

At the Deep Gray Café...

... can you stay up long enough to make this a real day?

66 comments:

traditionalguy said...: We need rest. A day with 4 year olds at a Chuck E Cheese birthday has a wearing effect on the 60 to 65 age Grandparents. We did get to meet his "girl friend" from day school. He knows how to pick them. Next year we are talking them into having it at a Church with a playground. That place was like Las Vegas for pre-schoolers.; 12/11/10, 7:35 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I get the feeling some people might be upset with Althouse over the professor Epstein/Incest posts..; 12/11/10, 7:50 PM
Unknown said...: Be glad he had only one, tg. The Blonde's youngest nephew had all the girls in his class fighting over him at that age.

PS Nice and evocative picture. Voyageurs camped at the end of a long portage. And Quebec is still weeks a way. And so is the alluring Metis girl.; 12/11/10, 7:50 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: or something..; 12/11/10, 7:51 PM
Fen said...: I get the feeling some people might be upset with Althouse over the professor Epstein/Incest posts..

Not so much. Some of her arguments are just discussion points designed to snap people out of sloppy thinking. When the dust settles you find that she's actually been waiting on you to catch up with a counterpoint she's already accepted as being valid.

Sometimes not. You can't always tell.; 12/11/10, 8:03 PM
Hagar said...: Just been watching Sarah Palin's talk-show on Alaska; the one with the halibut fishing. Just wish she could have gotten Walters and Mitchell and Couric up there for an hour or two on the "slime-line!"; 12/11/10, 8:08 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Is that Socratic thing again Fen?

She's not going to feed us the law.; 12/11/10, 8:12 PM
jungatheart said...: Lovely.; 12/11/10, 8:17 PM
traditionalguy said...: Hagar...Yes, that would have been perfect. So far Couric and Walters have been going after Palin that same way: first haul her on board a Net News boat, then club her senseless with impossible to answer questions, and then slit and gut the Video tape until the dead fish looks like a scary sea monster. Sarah's experience with halibut fishing helped her see their game, and now she is the hunter/fisher and they are her quarry. Who is this woman?; 12/11/10, 8:18 PM
jungatheart said...: "Sometimes not. You can't always tell."

She's a wascally wabbit.; 12/11/10, 8:19 PM
Hagar said...: I hope Ms. Sarah will give Ms. Walters another chance.; 12/11/10, 8:21 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/11/10, 8:44 PM
Fen said...: I hope Ms. Sarah will give Ms. Walters another chance.

My fav show will be when she takes a dozen MSM "elites" out camping in Alaska and leaves them there. With a camera crew that documents their fumbling bumbling shrieking nightmare as they make a shivering descent into hypothermia and are, one-by-one, picked off by wolves.

Vegas would prob give them 24 hours.

And 2-1 that Couric can outrun Matthews and the Grizzly.; 12/11/10, 8:47 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I'm surprised it's not

"At the Deep Gray Cafe... you can date your dad."; 12/11/10, 8:50 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I am registered to run a 5k tomorrow morning. It is supposed to be 16-18 degrees.

I don't know what to wear.; 12/11/10, 8:54 PM
Unknown said...: Layers.; 12/11/10, 9:03 PM
MamaM said...: Layers ...made me laugh. It encapsulates my experience with at the Deep Gray Cafe and Althouse in general.

Reminds me of xkcd's map of tic tac toe moves.; 12/11/10, 9:57 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Somebody call the fire department..

The previous thread is on fire ;)

Whatever happen to the Christmas spirit you people.

I've started wrapping my shit up.; 12/11/10, 10:56 PM
JAL said...: The calm before the storm.; 12/11/10, 11:00 PM
garage mahal said...: Already storming here. I'd hate to be out walking around in this stuff.; 12/11/10, 11:04 PM
jungatheart said...: I can't get over how beautiful that pewter sky is.; 12/11/10, 11:06 PM
HKatz said...: ... it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.; 12/11/10, 11:17 PM
Clyde said...: For those of us who are nocturnal, the day is just getting started!

Think I'll bundle up and go out to see if I can see any Geminids. Tomorrow night is the peak, but tomorrow night is not an option for me, so...; 12/11/10, 11:27 PM
Clyde said...: Regrettably, no. There's a hole in the clouds overhead large enough to see Orion and that's about it. No Geminids tonight in this neck of the woods.; 12/11/10, 11:39 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Good Hours

I had for my winter evening walk--
No one at all with whom to talk,
But I had the cottages in a row
Up to their shining eyes in snow.

And I thought I had the folk within:
I had the sound of a violin;
I had a glimpse through curtain laces
Of youthful forms and youthful faces.

I had such company outward bound.
I went till there were no cottages found.
I turned and repented, but coming back
I saw no window but that was black.

Over the snow my creaking feet
Disturbed the slumbering village street
Like profanation, by your leave,
At ten o'clock of a winter eve.

Robert Frost; 12/11/10, 11:40 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Would you like to see a photo of my second Belgian Sheepdog?

How about a salad?; 12/12/10, 12:14 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: That looks like the dog from the time Meade lived in Cincinnati.; 12/12/10, 12:20 AM
BJM said...: @Lem

I read that as "She's not going to feed us to the law."

@fen @8:47

*snicker*

Good stuff!; 12/12/10, 12:23 AM
chickelit said...: @Lem, more poetry for a frosty night:

But God's own descent
Into flesh was meant
As a demonstration
That the supreme merit
Lay in risking spirit
In substantiation.
Spirit enters flesh
And for all it's worth
Charges into earth
In birth after birth
Ever fresh and fresh.
We may take the view
That its derring-do
Thought of in the large
Is one mighty charge
On our human part
Of the soul's ethereal
Into the material.

~Robert Frost (1962); 12/12/10, 12:29 AM
KCFleming said...: So far 15 inches of snow, over a layer of ice.

The wind has gusted at 30, 40 mph. It's after midnight, and the geese still fly over head, honking in complaint at the buffeting blasts from Canada.

A drunk teeters down the middle of the road, looking for home. I called the cops to help him find it, as he seemed too lost for the freezing night air.; 12/12/10, 12:29 AM
BJM said...: @Chip

Who could refuse?

Pecans were toasted briefly to excite their oils.

Man, I bet you have some killer pickup lines.

Beautiful dog.; 12/12/10, 12:29 AM
jungatheart said...: Good one, HKatz...you're referencing the sun in the picture?; 12/12/10, 12:39 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Nothing deep gray about my day. It was deep white, with a touch of yellow.

Like Pogo, we got a lot of snow. I don't know the official measurement -- all I know is that I had to shovel about 7 hours today. And there will be more tomorrow, after the plows have pushed the street snow into our driveway.

The yellow? A lost yellow lab who showed up. He had a tag with a phone number, so I thought it would be easy to call and locate the owners.

No such luck. The phone number was for a vet clinic in Iowa that's closed. We brought him inside briefly, but it wasn't a good idea. He wanted to chase our cat.

A neighbor has taken him in while we try craigslist. We had one couple come over, but this was not their lost lab.

He's a beautiful dog. Appears quite healthy and strong. If I had a big, fenced yard, I'd be tempted to keep him. Alas, I don't.; 12/12/10, 12:40 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Freeman -- good luck with your run.

Layers, as someone already said, are key. You want to keep the wind off, but you don't want to be sweating too much.

And wear a hat -- one that covers your ears. And gloves or mittens.; 12/12/10, 12:44 AM
MamaM said...: @tradguy: Reading about your enjoyment of Christmas and the carols/songs/grandchildren today, brought to mind the helicopter ride; and I was once again glad you were turned back at the gate. I experience your consistently steady presence here as good.

Yes! on CC as Las Vegas for Preschoolers, complete with the addictive Random Reward System.; 12/12/10, 1:09 AM
David said...: Lem said...
"Somebody call the fire department..

The previous thread is on fire ;)"

The fire was caused by the numerous explosions.; 12/12/10, 1:47 AM
former law student said...: Seasonal image:

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety
/bacon-nativity-scene.jpg

"We Three Kings
Of Pork Sausage Are
Bearing Bacon
We Travel Afar"; 12/12/10, 2:29 AM
Clyde said...: I went back outside around 3:45 and the sky had mostly cleared. It was a chilly 50 degrees or so, but I had my winter coat and gloves, so it wasn't too bad. I stayed outside for around 15 minutes, saw a couple of Geminids and decided that I'd had enough. Tomorrow night will probably be better, for anyone in an area temperate enough to watch them.; 12/12/10, 3:31 AM
AllenS said...: Lots of wind driven snow here. Today I'll have to sit on that tractor and plow. Cold, cold, cold.; 12/12/10, 4:38 AM
HKatz said...: Good one, HKatz...you're referencing the sun in the picture?

Thanks, it's mainly for the sun in the photo, but also for Lem's remark on how the previous thread is on fire.; 12/12/10, 6:13 AM
AllenS said...: How much snow in the Twin Cities area? They postponed the Vikings vs Giants game to Monday instead of Sunday, today.; 12/12/10, 6:19 AM
Mr. Forward said...: On a cold night do what Meade does. Throw on another lawyer.; 12/12/10, 6:31 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Wind chill has it at eight degrees now.; 12/12/10, 6:53 AM
James said...: It was a chilly 50 degrees or so

Heh.... that's chilly?; 12/12/10, 6:54 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Oh pardon me, that's at my house. Wind chill is five where the race is.

This blows. Literally. It's blowing up to thirty miles an hour.

In Arkansas.; 12/12/10, 6:57 AM
traditionalguy said...: If I was a polar bear, then I would wanting AlGore's global warming back. This Global Cooling is enough to freeze a polar bear solid.; 12/12/10, 7:42 AM
AllenS said...: The roof on the Metrodome where the Vikings play, just collapsed. Now they'll have to build them a new stadium. I say use some high speed rail money for it.; 12/12/10, 7:53 AM
Tank said...: Aren't they playing the Giants there on Monday?; 12/12/10, 8:20 AM
AllenS said...: rd,

The game was originally scheduled for today. Now they don't know when it will be played.; 12/12/10, 8:26 AM
Tank said...: Maybe they could both fly down to Dallas to play. Dallas used to have a football team, but now they just have that new stadium.

How great would it be to have a Giants v Jets Superbowl THERE?

LOL

Here in NJ, 50 degrees and rain.

No that there's anything wrong with that.; 12/12/10, 8:26 AM
lemondog said...: Poll survey: We're No. 2

If nothing else, the poll makes clear that a growing number of Americans who were raised on the expectation that they would live better than people anywhere else believe that the nation faces the international equivalent of a knife fight for growth, jobs, and income.

Don't think the US is no. 2 yet, but China is on a steeper more rapid growth trajectory.; 12/12/10, 8:38 AM
Peter Hoh said...: Allen, with all the blowing snow, it's hard to know. At least 16 inches. It's hard as concrete today.

The plow crews couldn't keep the airport running yesterday, which is why the Giants are in KC.

As for a new stadium, if they want to play outdoors, there's the new TCF stadium for the University. Last time I checked, they don't have a real football team.

As for the Vikes, they can get a new stadium just like the Twins did -- nineteen years after their second championship.; 12/12/10, 9:00 AM
AllenS said...: Peter,

I was joking about the new stadium, but you know that this will be the big reason that they'll use. You're correct about the Gopher stadium. The snow out here is hard packed as well. I have the tractor plugged in and a fire in the woodburner out in the shop. Trying now to figure out how I'll plow. I can't plow the usual way because of the size of the drifts. Just came in from adding more wood to the fire, and the wind has really picked up.; 12/12/10, 9:07 AM
kjbe said...: Peter, will they need an alternative for the rest of the season? You're right, TCF is right down the road, though outdoors.; 12/12/10, 9:32 AM
AllenS said...: k*athy,

The Giants, the team that the Vikings are supposed to play didn't bring their winter gear with them.; 12/12/10, 10:16 AM
Clyde said...: @ James

In southwest Florida, 50 is chilly. Temps in the 40s are cold. Anything in the 30s is bitterly cold. And anything below that kills our palm trees and other subtropical plants.; 12/12/10, 10:22 AM
former law student said...: Today I'll have to sit on that tractor and plow.

I thought the trend was not to till before spring, to keep the topsoil from blowing away.; 12/12/10, 10:23 AM
kjbe said...: Allen, they're also talking Detroit or NO. Seems to me that the Giants coulda flown in their winter duds.; 12/12/10, 10:32 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: It wasn't too bad.; 12/12/10, 11:44 AM
MamaM said...: In Rowling's fantasy series, the main characters must walk toward a wall, or better yet face a solid brick structure and run toward it as though it were not there. Doing so allows them to pass through the wall and enter another reality to fulfill their destiny.

In my book, anyone who willingly walks toward what appears to be an impenetrable wall and passes through it, is a hero.

From heart attack, alcoholism, job loss, skin cancer and foreign conflict, on down to the weather walls of blowing wind and mountains of snow, those who walk or run toward a formidable wall in the hope of passing through are to be commended.

Bloggers too.; 12/12/10, 1:16 PM
chickelit said...: In my book, anyone who willingly walks toward what appears to be an impenetrable wall and passes through it, is a hero.

You've heard of protons tunneling through steep barriers right?
Happens everyday--maybe even inside you.; 12/12/10, 2:20 PM
jungatheart said...: @HK: Ah. Lem was naughty for blowing on the coals.; 12/12/10, 4:40 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Dog and owner reunited, for those of you who are keeping track.

Freeman, glad your run worked out.

K*thy, the Metrodome roof will be back up by next week. It has collapsed before -- but as a fabric roof, it's not the end of the world. I wouldn't say that it's made to collapse, but it's made to rebound from a collapse.

And while the Vikings would love to have the stadium condemned, I think (or hope) the folks who run the dome are motivated to keep it going.; 12/12/10, 6:22 PM
jungatheart said...: Glad abaout the dog, Peter. Are you up to a play by play of the reunion?; 12/12/10, 10:01 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Wish I had been there to see the happy reunion, but it didn't happen that way.

My neighbor boarded the dog overnight. He called animal control Sunday morning, and they came out to get the dog. (Yesterday, they weren't going out on calls because the roads were almost impassable.)

Animal control was able to locate the owner. The owner called my neighbor to thank him.; 12/12/10, 10:59 PM
jungatheart said...: Thanks, Peter, it was nice the owner called the neighbor.; 12/12/10, 11:38 PM