The last 24 hours

[RogerDuke]

Another day working on the neighbor's roof. We've made a lot of progress. There are 3 more days of nice weather forecast so we should be able to finish it before then. 

[Spike]

Wonder how many excuses my dad will make about the arborists that will show up today to give him estimates on cutting down the maple in his front yard. The ones that showed up Friday, one came in a van and the other a Silverado that was a bit rusty . Yes that was his reasoning not to hire either of them, although I think he just doesn't want to spend the money. Heck he keeps trying to get me on his garage roof to trim a branch and I keep telling him no. His next door neighbor showed him that the maple has a crack in it now so it's only a matter of time before nature will do the job for free, only issue is there's a 50/50 chance that the tree will land on the neighbor's house. 

Found out from a friend that a church up the road partnered with the local park system to turn their unused couple of acres of land into a park. Checked out the walking trails yesterday. They're still working on the trails so they only had one main long and a short trail open. Nice to have a little natural place to walk around within walking distance considering most of the 1+acres of land around here is being developed into god awful gray luxury apartments/condos or multiple single family homes built on top of each other.

[RogerDuke]

Tomorrow will be the last day on the roof. We ran out of materials and daylight today. I can't wait to start watching some Dukes episodes again. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by RogerDuke

[Spike]

Hope the wife don't lock herself out of her car, in her haste this morning she grabbed the spare key to my car instead of hers and since she drove mine yesterday she forgot to leave the main key as well so I'm stranded at home . Kind of sucks as I had some errands to run and things to do today since it's going to be the last warm day at least until next Thursday according to the local weather forecasters.

[RogerDuke]

11 hours ago, Spike said:

Hope the wife don't lock herself out of her car, in her haste this morning she grabbed the spare key to my car instead of hers and since she drove mine yesterday she forgot to leave the main key as well so I'm stranded at home . Kind of sucks as I had some errands to run and things to do today since it's going to be the last warm day at least until next Thursday according to the local weather forecasters.

How did this turn out Spike?

We got the roof finished today. I even had time to go kayaking later. I saw two bald eagles perched right beside each other. They've gotten to the point that I wouldn't consider  them to be rare around here anymore. Still, I still get a thrill every time I see one....or two, 

[Spike]

On 11/10/2020 at 8:02 PM, RogerDuke said:

How did this turn out Spike?

We got the roof finished today. I even had time to go kayaking later. I saw two bald eagles perched right beside each other. They've gotten to the point that I wouldn't consider  them to be rare around here anymore. Still, I still get a thrill every time I see one....or two, 

She luckily didn't lock her car keys in her car otherwise it would've been about a 2 hour walk for me to get to her work . I managed to get some stuff done at home. Re-roped the cat scratcher for another year of scratching, cleaned the windows, snaked the bathroom sink drain and caught up on some comic book reading in the afternoon before the clouds came in around 5 pm. 

Feels like winter this morning, got down into the 20's overnight brrr. Forecasters say we might have another mini heat have at the end of next week with temps possibly getting into the 70's again. 

Cool you got to see an eagle couple perched together while kayaking.

[Spike]

Well mother nature, as I predicted, took care of the tree https://burst.com/8hm9a21e . Thank God the tree didn't land on the neighbor's house but it came within 5 feet. All it did was damage a few evergreen bushes in front of her front porch. Get this, my dad calls and asked if I could help move it, so I figured it must've been a limb. I get down there and see it's the dead half of the tree that fell. He says maybe if we cut this part with my reciprocating saw and tie a rope up to your car maybe we can get it to move, F-that I'm not ruining my engine and transmission trying to move that log was my answer in my head. Luckily some guy driving down the road offered to cut it up and remove it. 

He'll have a bare yard to work with now since I got sick of his whining about the rose if Sharon bushes I planted last year and ripped them out Friday afternoon. His neighbors can complain to me next year all they want too, they'll be wasting their breath because I'm done giving a crap about how his yard looks! I tried to make his yard look nice this year but all I heard from him was b****ing and whining about stuff being planted to close together even though you could parallel park in between the bushes. Let the weeds overtake the front garden bed again like the last few years. 

Wife's birthday is tomorrow but looks like we're just going to stay home and celebrate.

[RogerDuke]

I'm sure you had those 50mph winds we did Spike. As big part of the eastern US did so that means Skipper did too. A dead ash tree fell by our mailbox and blocked the road. My chain saw is in the shop but I managed to use s bow saw and cut enough of it back to let traffic through......not that we get many vehicles on our back road. The township should finish it tomorrow. I was happy to see my Pittsburgh Steelers stay undefeated today. It is the best start in their history and they've had some pretty good teams. I'm old enough to have been a fan since before they won their first Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat.....if covid doesn't shut everything down. 

[Spike]

The biggest gust we got was 61mph, out in the country by my in-laws they got a 72mph gust yesterday.

If my dad's smart he'll replace or give her a check for the bushes that were destroyed in the next door neighbor's yard before she thinks of taking him to small claims court. He got real lucky when she decided to just get her fence fixed earlier this year when a branch from another tree on his property fell on it and ruined about a 5 foot section. She got sick of him procrastinating and decided to fix it on her dime.

Wife and I were enjoying a nice after brunch nap when our phones blew up from his neighbors calling me. I told them what do you want me to do about it, it isn't my house. Hope my dad takes my Uncle's advice and either sell's it to me or someone else since it seems he doesn't want the responsibility of owning a home. About to change my phone number so I don't get calls from his neighbors complaining anymore.

Roger I take it you guys in Pennsylvania have those dang ash borers too. Those little buggers decimated the Ash trees here. I hope that dang pine beetle wrecking the forests in the west don't make it this far east.

We'll find out Thursday if Ohio goes back into lockdown. I've already been temporarily laid off from my part time cleaning job after someone contracted covid and still showed up to work, so they shut the place down for a few weeks to a month to try and stop the spread to the rest of the employees.

Edited November 16, 2020 by Spike

[RogerDuke]

Yes, those emerald ash borers have destroyed all the ash trees. I have been cutting up as many as I can because if I don't they will be no good in a couple years for woodstove firewood. They will still be good for outdoor campfire firewood for a few years even though they are already starting to rot. I have also had my neighbor and brother-in-law take as many dead ash trees as they can. I hate to see anything go to waste. Most of my property is soft maple and from everything I'm hearing the bug cannot survive on any other kind of tree. If it ever attacks soft maples my 22 acres will turn to a parking lot. 

[RogerDuke]

We just got our first measurable snow of the season. Lake Erie has a dramatic effect on weather patterns and snow. Some places got next to nothing and some got 5 inches. We only got an inch or two. I sure love Christmas so this puts me in the mood. It won't last. 60 degrees in the forecast in a couple days. 

[Spike]

I figured you'd be getting some of the lake effect snow. We just had a few minutes of snow flurries on this side of lake Erie. The weather this year is like a light switch between seasons, seems like we didn't even get an Autumn. Get just a few days here and there with Autumn temperatures then bam back to winter temperatures.

Procrastinating ended up costing my dad some extra $$$. The tree company padded the bill for an 'emergency' call on their day off. What would have been just $1600 last week ended up costing him over $3000 this week. Though some of that extra money went to termite spraying and trimming of a couple of other trees in his backyard and they didn't itemize how much that 'emergency' call cost. Let's see if he learned his lesson on procrastinating though I doubt he did. This wasn't the first time he procrastinated on something major and probably won't be the last.

If you guys haven't stocked up on food and necessities yet you're probably too late as the second panic buying wave has hit. Yesterday afternoon while leaving the library I looked across the street at the Kroger's and they were so packed that there was a line of people waiting to get in. Ohio's governor decided last night to just institute a curfew instead of a shutdown. Stores, restaurants and bars will have to close at 10pm or face severe fines and penalty's.

This morning on her way to work my wife seen a shooting star  I hope her wish comes true. Y'all have a good day.

[RogerDuke]

The covid numbers are going absolutely crazy here. Almost every day is a new record and many of the daily records aren't just getting beat, they're getting shattered. We were averaging about 20 a day but the past several days we've been averaging over 100. Yesterday we had 176. My wife works at a hospital and she said they're pretty full. There hasn't been any runs on the stores here....,yet. Your wife likely saw a meteor from something called the Leonid meteor shower, so named because the meteors originate in the part of the sky where the constellation Leo lies. Early this morning was their predicted peak. Does she drive east when she goes to work? If it wasn't in the east then it was unrelated to the Leonids. I had a rough morning. I had a routine test for colon cancer. Everything looked clear thankfully. I just ate a sandwich now. It's the first thing I've had since Monday Night Football. 

[HossC]

Are you guys locking down? The one we have here isn't as severe as the first one. I think everyone knew that grocery shops/supermarkets would stay open, so I haven't noticed any panic buying (some people probably still have toilet rolls from Spring!). We also have hardware stores open and cafes/restaurants open for takeaway. One thing that did change is shops selling food and clothing have had to close their clothing sections because it was deemed unfair to the clothing only stores that have to close. Most stores are now selling face masks, but some idiots still won't wear one.

We're four weeks into our current six week level 5 lockdown, and new cases have dropped from over 1200/day to under 400. The UK delayed their lockdown and have been paying the price.

P.S. I hope your test comes back clear, Roger.

[RogerDuke]

2 hours ago, HossC said:

P.S. I hope your test comes back clear, Roger.

Sorry if I didn't word it well but yes, the routine test was fine....no cancer. Here in the US the health department recommends a test at 50 and 60 years old. 

[RogerDuke]

2 hours ago, HossC said:

Are you guys locking down? The one we have here isn't as severe as the first one. 

We're the same way. We're making restrictions but not as severe as the last time. For example, in order to enter Pennsylvania (starting Friday) you have to have had a negative covid-19 test. This is a bit like the mask requirement. It is only intended to be for politicians and officials to feel good because it is not legally enforcible in 99% of the cases. That may change when Joe Biden takes office in 2 months.  Erie County had 134 cases today....a little better than yesterday.  

[Spike]

6 hours ago, HossC said:

Are you guys locking down? The one we have here isn't as severe as the first one. I think everyone knew that grocery shops/supermarkets would stay open, so I haven't noticed any panic buying (some people probably still have toilet rolls from Spring!). We also have hardware stores open and cafes/restaurants open for takeaway. One thing that did change is shops selling food and clothing have had to close their clothing sections because it was deemed unfair to the clothing only stores that have to close. Most stores are now selling face masks, but some idiots still won't wear one.

We're four weeks into our current six week level 5 lockdown, and new cases have dropped from over 1200/day to under 400. The UK delayed their lockdown and have been paying the price.

P.S. I hope your test comes back clear, Roger.

No lockdown here again yet, just a curfew that's most likely un-enforceable since the governor made a bunch of exceptions and will probably do nothing to slow the infection rate. 

We had a shooting at a local grocery store yesterday over someone being told to put a mask on in the store. Bunch of freaking nutjobs. That's why I go to the stores early in the morning. 

Glad your test came back negative Roger. 

[HossC]

11 hours ago, Spike said:

No lockdown here again yet, just a curfew that's most likely un-enforceable since the governor made a bunch of exceptions and will probably do nothing to slow the infection rate.

We haven't had a curfew here. How does that work? Are businesses open as usual during the day? Does the Coronavirus know not to infect people until after a certain time?

Roger, I misread your post about your test results - that's great news.

[RogerDuke]

1 hour ago, HossC said:

We haven't had a curfew here. How does that work? Are businesses open as usual during the day? Does the Coronavirus know not to infect people until after a certain time?
 

The problem is that was the microscopic little viruses don't have watches so don't know what time it is. How can you possibly obey a curfew if you don't even know the time? The latest proposal is to buy tiny watches for the little germs so they know when to stay away from humans. The latest plan is to poof 10 trillion digital dollars into existence out of nothingness (that our grandchildren will be responsible for) and use that money to fund development of watches small enough for them to read. The ten trillion is payable to the Hogg Micro Timepiece Company, Route 36,  Hazzard County, Georgia. 

Hey, it's as good as plan as any. 

[HossC]

3 hours ago, RogerDuke said:

Hey, it's as good as plan as any. 

It sure is .

[RogerDuke]

Our local news tonight interviewed the airport director and he said they will not even try to enforce the restrictions. I guess it's tough for the people in charge. Everybody criticizes and  makes fun of your restrictions but if you don't make restrictions, people ask why you're not doing anything. 

[RogerDuke]

I just saw on the news that Erie County Pennsylvania reported 197 new cases today. We have had 9 days in a row of over 100. Before that we were averaging 20 or so. This is a pretty dramatic surge. 

[HossC]

3 hours ago, RogerDuke said:

I just saw on the news that Erie County Pennsylvania reported 197 new cases today. We have had 9 days in a row of over 100. Before that we were averaging 20 or so. This is a pretty dramatic surge. 

We had 330 new cases today. That's just over one and a half times as many as you, but with a population over 18 times as large.

[Spike]

On 11/19/2020 at 10:50 AM, RogerDuke said:

The problem is that was the microscopic little viruses don't have watches so don't know what time it is. How can you possibly obey a curfew if you don't even know the time? The latest proposal is to buy tiny watches for the little germs so they know when to stay away from humans. The latest plan is to poof 10 trillion digital dollars into existence out of nothingness (that our grandchildren will be responsible for) and use that money to fund development of watches small enough for them to read. The ten trillion is payable to the Hogg Micro Timepiece Company, Route 36,  Hazzard County, Georgia. 

Hey, it's as good as plan as any. 

After the day I had yesterday I needed a good laugh  . I got covered in leaves and dirt and God knows what else from two incompetent bozo's that is part of the 2nd different lawn crew that has been hired this year. They said they didn't see me while they're goofing off with leaf blowers to which I replied 'how the  bleep could you not see me standing here'. Let's just say they best not be goofing off in the parking lot today as I might not see them standing there while driving. Bad enough the clowns covered the upper and lower grille openings in the wife's car with leaves and crap. 

On 11/19/2020 at 8:48 AM, HossC said:

We haven't had a curfew here. How does that work? Are businesses open as usual during the day? Does the Coronavirus know not to infect people until after a certain time?

Yeah stores, restaurants, bars and businesses except for grocery stores and essential businesses have to close at 10pm and not re-open till 5am or face being closed for 24 hours or a week if they disobey the curfew multiple times. 

Currently Lucas county is averaging about 500 probable covid cases per day with about two thirds of them being confirmed cases. We went from averaging about a thousand or less confirmed cases per month over the summer till the end October to almost 5,000 so far this month. For some reason people can't figure out how or why to which I reply 'election day'. Like a friend found out in their church it only takes one person to be sick with covid to show up and definitely not social distance to spread it. That church is now closed and only doing virtual services again.

[Spike]

23 hours ago, Spike said:

 Bad enough the clowns covered the upper and lower grille openings in the wife's car with leaves and crap. 

Thanks to the engineer who thought the hood latch should have a big rectangular hole I was able to snake the Shopvac's hose in front of the radiator and vacuum most of the crap off the radiator that was blown onto it, told the wife to be safe to take it to the mechanic and have him blow the fins out some time this week. Those bozo's got leaves and dirt all over the engine bay, even on the exhaust manifold's.