The Weather

Yah, I’m not really arguing either but let me put it to you this way....alligators were hunted here to near oblivion and are now thriving to the point where there needs to be controlled hunts to keep the population in check. The effort to save their hides (pun intended!) paid off and they’re stable.
Same with the sea turtles.....they were hunted into near oblivion for their meat and shells, they’re back now in strong numbers and I’m pretty sure there will never be a open season on them again (who knows) and some species are more rare than others but on a whole my front row seat says they’re doing fine.
I know many of the biologists and wildlife managers working in the field, in fact I’ve volunteered quite a few times picking the cold stunned ones up off our beach (I live within walking distance) I dont really agree with messing with Mother Nature but it’s hard not getting roped in by your neighbors!
 
There's always "plenty of them!" until there's not. None of us are old enough to remember the Carolina parakeet, but there were so many along the east coast of the US that there would always be plenty more. Or so it was thought. They would blacken the skies with their passing. They've been extinct for 100 years. Whales, turtles and gators almost suffered the same fate. I think we can cut them a break for a few decades.
 
...I have Dupuytrens Contracture -- also a genetically transmitted disease of the hand muscles. Most prevalent in Northern UK, Ireland, Scots most of Scandinavia and Northern Germany. I have all of the above in my genetic mixture! There is a Dupuytrens Museum on the Left Bank -- named after the FR researcher who named the infirmity -- ...

I have a mild pain lump in the side of my palm. Not "bible bump" (I have that further over). 2 minutes Google turned up Dupuytrens as a safe bet. Tabletop test. Moreso now that you say the genetics of it. AFAICT treatment is delicate surgery and certainly not warranted now.
 
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I have a mild pain lump in the side of my palm. Not "bible bump" (I have that further over). 2 minutes Google turned up Dupuytrens as a safe bet. Tabletop test. Moreso now that you say the genetics of it. AFAICT treatment is delicate surgery and certainly not warranted now.

There are two ways of treating -- surgery and Xiaflex. Xiaflex is less messy, the fella who lives next to us in Ohio is retired hand surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and recommended. Others think that surgery is more effective.

In any event, you may want to get ahead of it. After either method you'll have weeks of physical therapy.
 
Tourists often gather at a bridge near Port Everglades to feed them heads of lettuce.
😱 They should've watched this video beforehand. 🙁

I'm sure glad I don't have to scrape the sunshine off my windshield in the morning or worry about pipes bursting because of the heat or I might hate summer as much as I do winter. 😀
Pipes can wear "clothing" too. :idea:
 
There was a discussion about Finnish houses and I am so ... no not really ... surprised that US houses are so brittle.
A newly built house in Sweden is insulated enough to keep the interior above freezing temperatures a few days.
And I think plumbing is also constructed so that the tubing freezes.

Not saying we are *better", but astonished that it looks to me that standard in USA is so low.

But if I am wrong, let me know what's it like.
 
Spring is here! Woohooo!
 

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A newly built house in Sweden is insulated enough to keep the interior above freezing temperatures a few days.
And I think plumbing is also constructed so that the tubing freezes.

Not saying we are *better", but astonished that it looks to me that standard in USA is so low.

But if I am wrong, let me know what's it like.
That depends on the region of US. In southern states, house insulation (against cold) isn't a big deal for obvious reason. It's very different in northern states, especially in places like Minnesota. Speaking of Minnesota, the weather is similar to Scandinavia.
 
Exactly. In New England and the upper midwest, we generally have well insulated houses - though our home is late 1800s and houses were not insulated back then due to the high cost of insulating materials and the low cost of energy sources (our house at one time had 6 chimney thimbles for coal stoves). The cost of insulating a house in Texas against below freezing temperatures is just not worth it because those temperatures happen so infrequently. What has been happening now is just too strange to contemplate. It just doesn't happen there. Now, insulation MIGHT also help against the heat of Texas if it's done right. Not sure why that hasn't been done more.
 
Now, insulation MIGHT also help against the heat of Texas if it's done right. Not sure why that hasn't been done more.
Well, because I know more about this stuff than the speakers I build, let me offer a suggestion.
While insulation might slow down the heat gain in a building to a point it will also prevent heat loss when it's needed most like at night when you want to sleep. Instead of insulation, you take the approach of heat rejection aka reflection. If it never gets in you have accomplished much more than insulating could ever hope to. Since I don't hear Texans complaining about the heat when it's cloudy out, then having a reflection factor assists when it's needed most ie: sunny days. That why there are a lot of white roofs in hotter locations. White reflects heat better than even a mirror.
 
This hawk got tired of eating swamp food, so it would fly east a bit and hang out on top of a telephone pole until a something would spook the legion of doves in the trees. Hawk would then catch the slowest one in mid air, take it to the ground and eat enough so that the rest could be taken to a nearby tree for a slow meal. This happened once a month or so in our front yard.


We have a nesting pair of sparrowhawks somewhere nearby. Only the females can catch pigeons as they are larger. Every so often we find a ring of feathers from a kill.



Shame we don't get manatees. They are so cute and yet so dumb....
 
Pipes can wear "clothing" too. :idea:

Mine was a rhetorical gripe - I park under a carport so no ice scraping and my pipes (and home) are insulated so my pipes didn't burst. I can bundle up in clothes until I look like the Michelin Man and I'm still cold, but on the hottest days of the year you'll find me in the back yard under the trees drinking a cold beer.

I just don't like winter.

The cost of insulating a house in Texas against below freezing temperatures is just not worth it because those temperatures happen so infrequently. What has been happening now is just too strange to contemplate. It just doesn't happen there. Now, insulation MIGHT also help against the heat of Texas if it's done right. Not sure why that hasn't been done more.


Texas is a diverse place, geographically speaking. I'm at a little over 3,200ft above sea level and it gets below freezing here a lot during the winter, but it also gets over 100F here a lot in the summer. I insulated my house against both extremes and it was worth it. It doesn't usually stay below 0F for days on end, but single digit F temps are not uncommon.
 
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