Here's a "Talk About Anything" thread

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California, I've been concerned for you - with all of the fires out there. So glad to see your post ! bordercollie
 
Thanks for worrying about me!

I'm 100+ miles south of this year's fires so not affected - except for the extreme smoke. The entire Central Valley, and the San Francisco region (coastal), have been smoked so bad that we have had the worst air quality readings in the world - exceeding Beijing, New Delhi, etc. - over the entire region. Most everybody has been hunkered down indoors, schools and events cancelled etc. The pictures I posted in the thread about the Santa Rosa fire, near me, a year ago, show smoke same as what we've had here recently. The people up north near the fires of course have it worst of all.

Finally light rain began today all over Northern California, clearing the air and knocking down much of the fires up north.
Copied from the latest report this evening:
Camp Fire [the one up North]
Acreage:153,336 acres [240 square miles]
Deaths:83 deaths
Damage:18,421 structures destroyed with 13,503 homes lost
​
Those deaths and homes lost are 3x larger numbers than California has ever seen before and I think the acreage is some multiple larger too. This was truly the Big One. So far ...

The fires in Southern California are serious too. I think one set records exceeded only by the Camp fire.

Younger Daughter found on Facebook that a favorite teacher from long ago - Jr Hi - had gotten out with minor burns saving only his wallet and what he was wearing, everything else in the retirement house he had built in the forest is gone. His former students started a GoFundMe account for him that has reached double the target amount. He clearly was loved by his students to be so concerned for him 20 years later. There must be many survivors up there lacking so much support.

A friend visited me and pointed out an oak branch chafing against the power cable coming into the ranch house from the first pole - same thing that started the Camp fire. I got up on an orchard ladder with a battery powered pole saw and cleared the badly chafed branch plus several more that could touch the cable with a little wind.

That's all I can think of to report from here. Thanks again for your concern!
 
Oh my . That is sure sad for the folks there. Bless you and your good folks there. So very glad you are safe. judy
 
I see in the news where the Cali governor is beginning to push legislative bills aimed at relaxing tree cutting, brush clearing and other modern forestry/ conservation activities by land owners and others. Do you think this will have any effect on any future wildfires?

Of note: I had an uncle killed with 12 others at the Mann Gulch fire ( 1950's)( caused by lightning) as he was working as a smoke jumper in Mo. He was also a student in college studying forestry.
 
Keifer said:
I see in the news where the Cali governor is beginning to push legislative bills aimed at relaxing tree cutting, brush clearing and other modern forestry/ conservation activities by land owners and others. Do you think this will have any effect on any future wildfires?
Click to expand...
If they do it on a big enough scale, absolutely.
About 15 years ago, a lady about 1/2 of a mile from me was burning trash and it caught the hill on fire. (She was at the bottom and it went straight up the hill).
Well, my land is towards the top. The fire came right at my land. I had already removed any under-brush and other dead wood on my land. It toasted the woods coming up to my area but when it only had leaves to burn (no ground level fuel), the fire just pooped out.
 
It's amazing the speed a wildfire can overtake any available fire fighting resource. This is especially true if there are windy and dry conditions along with plenty of fuel. If the fire is in a remote and rugged location, other than using aerial tankers, you are pretty much SOL.

Zoom, sounds like you were a responsible land owner and a practioner of the Boy Scout Slogan - Be Prepared. Too bad some of the more liberal-thinkers that can be found along the West Coast and Northeast are not able (willing) to see the 'big picture' . The Camp fire and other devasting fires in Kalifornia might not have been so terrible to so many people had they been allowed to 'Be Prepared'. Not to sound like 'Monday morning quarterbacking' but it doesn't take a degree in rocket science to spot the failed policies and regulations in that 'progressive' state.
 
Well, if you live in Indiana or any parts north-east of there, it looks like snow is coming this weekend. Get those snow plows ready and have some fun!
 
Took the plow off yesterday so yes, it figures it will snow. But on the other hand, I finally got some brand new heavy duty 8-Ply DOT radial ATV Tires. lol, it was like riding on a sled with the old tires. :-)
 
Hey Jim, what's the forecast for NC?
They just increased our expected snowfall from 3" to 6-10".
 
Hurry up and put your plow back on! The longer it's off, the worse the forecast gets. :)

This morning, they said we're going to get 3-6". It's now 8-12" and a Winter Storm Watch has been posted.

And just to add to the fun, my son is bringing all his friends over Saturday afternoon to spend the night. I told him is get-together is not going to happen at our house. We have another house that's vacant (in final steps of restoration) so I told him they could all stay there. That'll be fun. There's no phone, no internet and no cell service. 4-5 teenage boys completely shut off from the internet for 24 hours. :)
 
How's everyone doing with this small cold spell we're having? We've been having sub-zero temps so I'm doing as little as possible outside.
 
We are at the start of a big basement project. Well, we started planning to drywall the ceiling early this month. ..then once we started moving stuff for the work decided we are NOT going through this again, so we are also doing the basement floor with laminate flooring and drywall all the walls. Plus putting in a cabinets and a wet bar. Price has doubled. This is keeping both wife and I busy. Plus makes it easy to stay inside. All the stuff that needs trashed or donated is by the door ready to be moved out this weekend when 40 degree temps return.
 
Funny you should say that. I'm starting a basement finishing myself (on the other house we bought).
A couple thoughts for you that may save you problems in the long run.
For the floor, go with vinyl, not something like Pergo. The vinyl (we're using planks) is pretty much 100% waterproof and can take a lot of abuse. If you let water sit on something like Pergo overnight, that part of the flooring will buckle and never go back to normal again. I also have some tips for installation if you haven't done it before.

For the ceiling, as much as possible, I avoid drywall. I always find myself having to get back up around the floor joists for things like plumbing, electric, HVAC, cable, CAT-5... When I do use drywall, I try to alternate it to be every-other-room. (One room drywall, then next has drop ceiling). Before I do the ceilings that will have drywall, I run a few pieces of 4" S&D pipe above it so I have conduits to pull things back and forth from the rooms that have the drop ceilings.
 
I will go with drywall ceilings with 4 access panels in places I suspect I will need access at some point. I'm interested in the vinyl flooring option. Do you have a link to some you have used before. Sounds like a winner.
Good luck with your project.
 
Just getting over a bout with a cold but outside temps are supposed to be in the 70s thru Monday at least. Snow is a four letter word.
 
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