Althouse: At the Warm Spot Café...

September 20, 2012

At the Warm Spot Café...

... there's a place for us.

28 comments:

kentuckyliz said...: Mmmm hot doggie fur.

How are Loving and Virginia doing?

I love the lower pic.; 9/20/12, 1:18 PM
Unknown said...: Somewhere a place for us...; 9/20/12, 1:20 PM
Paddy O said...: So, how about John Scalzi's "How to be a good commenter"?; 9/20/12, 1:22 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Excellent link Paddy. I've add it to my Writing Favs.

I dont allways adhere to those suggestions... I have a thing for snark...

Example; a lady here the other day said "we are having our first baby" (what a softball).. I said "I advice you not to have the baby in one sitting"... she had a sense of humor and thanked me saying that was the first new baby advice she had gotten.

Other than that.. I think I'm an ok commenter.. not to tutor my own horn.; 9/20/12, 1:51 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Man, was I ever surprised. I made a dumb mistake. I accidentally typed Dean instead of Dale and address a brief email to the wrong person. No matter. I noticed before sending and thought, Jeeze, haven't heard from Deano in a long time, just send it. So I did. Hey Dean, here's Dale's email, wuzup Bud?

Dean is a farmer is southwest Nebraska. Haven't heard from him in two years. A lot has happened since then. I told you about him already. The amber waves of grain right outside the windows appearing as a ship on a metaphorical sea of wheat. That guy.

He wrote back and told me all about what is happening over there. Would you care to see what he told me? Okay, it's approved.

Hey Chip, Today should be my last day of seventeen days of planting the 2013 wheat crop. Unfortunately, due to this exceptional drought, it's all come down to a first time ever experiment, which is highly disconcerting to say the least. We have NEVER had to resort to this method where we are placing the seed just under the soil surface in hopes a rain or snow will eventually sprout the seed. What little moisture is available is now @ 8.5 inches below the surface, our planting equipment is only capable of reaching 7 inches and even then, a newly sprouted kernel would rarely reach the surface through that much dry dirt. The old timers who lived through the drought of the 1930's have said this drought it much worse and that even if the wheat should happen to sprout, if it doesn't have enough moisture to sustain it through the winter then it will all eventually die from freezing temperatures or root rot. Should there not be enough plants to hold the loose soil in place, then the winter winds will cause a "dust bowl," just as it did in the 1930's. Though distraught & depressed, not much I can do about the situation.

Now here's a rather interesting tidbit. This year's 2012 wheat crop was rather astounding, averaging 50 bushels per acre on only 2 inches of rain. Since harvest we have only had one rain of .90" that occurred on July 3rd, making a total of 2.9 inches for the year. What little rain fell came @ just the right time in the plants development. The crop was a full 21 days ahead of normal, we completed harvest in late June instead of the normal mid July. Oddly, the 2011 crop averaged 48 bushels per acre on record rainfall amounts of 18-20 inches, funny how we went from the wettest year on record to the driest. In a normal summer, we have 8 days of temperatures @ 100 degrees or above, this year we have had 31 days over 100. I saved a great deal of money on fuel expenses as not even a weed has grown in my fields.

Thank heavens I have GPS satellite guided automatic steering on my tractors, totally hands free. On days without wind, the dust envelopes the tractors so that visibility is non existent. I no longer have to worry about "seeing" the outside environment, all I have to concentrate on is the border of the field to make my turns.

Then personal stuff. Would you like to hear that too?

No. The rest is more interesting than that, but sorry, not approved.; 9/20/12, 1:52 PM
Sheridan said...: Buddy, our Chihuahua/shepherd-mix puppy is lying on the sofa next to me. He's sleeping, content with the world.

My wife found him a month ago, abandoned in an industrial lot next to her workplace. She brought him to the vet for evaluation and treatment and then home. Vet said he was about 10 months old, unfamiliar with human touch but apparently never physically traumatized.

Buddy is the miniature version of Missy, our beloved shepherd-mix dog who passed 4 years ago.

We believe Missy's soul passed to Buddy as he is as gentle and loving and tolerant and accepting as Missy ever was. Our friend is back and a circle that was broken is whole once again.; 9/20/12, 1:57 PM
rehajm said...: So, how about John Scalzi's "How to be a good commenter"?

Wow- nice post...

Make those questions into rules and it's highly likely every one of them will be broken before an Althouse thread dies.

I think Crack is capable of breaking all ten in a single post.; 9/20/12, 1:59 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Those are obviously good dogs.

By the way, did you notice the headline right now?

GALLUP: O 47% R 47%

Yesterday it was 47 days until the election. Also, there are 47 calories in 1 tablespoon (0.3 oz) of Sunflower Seeds.; 9/20/12, 2:03 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Uh, "Drudge headline right now".; 9/20/12, 2:04 PM
Paddy O said...: Lem, me too... or me neither... or something like that.

I think a mix of snark and "good commenting" skills are what makes the best sorts of commenters.

A mix of amusing oneself and adding to the discussion.; 9/20/12, 2:06 PM
Bob Ellison said...: Paddy O and Lem, Scalzi's essay is indeed very good.

(Opps. Is that all I have to say? I didn't say it particularly well, either. I'm not trying to win the thread here, so that's safe. But are there any facts to back it up?); 9/20/12, 2:12 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Cafes have no rules.. other than courtesy... but I get it ;); 9/20/12, 2:15 PM
ad hoc said...: Thank you for the pictures of Bingo and Joey. They look so good-natured. And happy.

They provide a nice respite from all the bad news. It is greatly appreciated.; 9/20/12, 2:16 PM
traditionalguy said...: The center of everything is a good dog.; 9/20/12, 2:36 PM
alan markus said...: Looks like brown dog is top dog - got the best spot.; 9/20/12, 2:36 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The brown one is older (and bigger).; 9/20/12, 2:42 PM
rhhardin said...: Warm sun dog and mail video, from 2:30pm.; 9/20/12, 3:01 PM
Paddy O said...: Bob, I agree with your comment about the link and our previous comment!

Where's the like button around here?; 9/20/12, 3:12 PM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Closer your eyes and we're halfway there....; 9/20/12, 3:13 PM
Tim said...: Granted, Welsh Terriers are rare, and hard to find, but still.

They can be found if you look for them.; 9/20/12, 3:22 PM
edutcher said...: Sherlock sleeps like that.

Quasy and Quantum just curl up.; 9/20/12, 4:00 PM
Michael Haz said...: More dog photos and less Naomi Wolf's vagina, please.

The sleeping dogs are more interesting, and far less boring.; 9/20/12, 5:51 PM
Aridog said...: rhhardin ... I love when you post photos & videos of your dog. A splendid Doberman from what I've seen, loved and attended to with the diligence deserved. A gorgeous dog, from appearances, inside and out.; 9/20/12, 5:58 PM
rhhardin said...: Horse, dog and rider video from bike commute today.

The horse is not overweight.; 9/20/12, 6:35 PM
Browndog said...: Clearly, they need a love seat; 9/20/12, 6:56 PM
Deb said...: Here's another horse, dog, and rider, one of my favorites.; 9/21/12, 4:54 AM
Dante said...: it looks like he's thinking "You really aren't going to make me get up, are you Ma? It's bad enough I have to open my eyes. You don't want a tail wag, do you?"; 9/21/12, 5:51 AM
Aridog said...: MadisonMan ...it appears the official story has changed since 05 July. Originally they were driving the truck across grass to deliver bark. Now it is asserted they were using the truck for personal interests...e.g., driving across the grass to get to a parking lot to eat lunch. Interesting....if a parking lot is the destination, why not use roadways instead of cruising through the grassy area.

Has the City of Madison's Parks Department never heard of something called a "Ground Guide" to walk ahead of a truck or mobile machinery when traversing any ground not a designated motor vehicle passage way? t's an old practice, dating back at least 50 years.

Way beyond that, the series of WSJ articles says no commercial vehicle drivers license is required for seasonal employees to operate dump trucks for Madison Parks, etc...in other words, no training or skill required....the commercial license law, if one exists, only applies to non-city drivers, eh?

Too bad the limit is $250K...the downright official negligence and personal negligence by city employees is obvious and huge.; 9/21/12, 8:59 AM