mattie g

Gotta admit...I've never been so disinterested in/unconcerned with long-range winter outlooks than I am this year. It just feels like the new regime we're in means that we can't rely on so many of the lessons learned in the last 50 years. Interesting exercise for the long-rangers, no doubt, but I just can't get into worrying about it.

Smart man.

Jesus...it's pissing down right now.

I wish I could say the same. Working from home has meant that my breakfasts and lunches are bigger than they used to be. When I go into the office I just have snack-y things (Belvitas, granola bars, etc.) in the morning and afternoon, but now I have full bowls of cereal or toast and eggs for breakfast then a sandwich or something for lunch...with maybe a snack of chips in there somewhere. As for drink quantities...that, too.

And then we call the doctor.

I so wish that CBD could be in my arsenal. Unfortunately, it’s (stupidly) not possible given my line of work.

For the first 6 months of this whole COVID mess, I probably drank 5 nights a week, which led to my catching COVID-15. I’ve cut back to just having a few beers on Thursday-Saturday, which has made the weeks a little bit of a drag.

Is the foliage ever really that great around here? Of the trees native to the region, I feel like the various maples provide the best color, but maples aren't pervasive enough in this area to put on quite that much of a show. The huge beech trees in my neighborhood look really nice (bright yellow) for about a week, but they start to turn mottled yellow/brown pretty quickly.

Just get the rain out of here so I can play golf on Friday afternoon. First round in ages...and got a hall pass for it!

I’ve been listening to TSS for about five years now and, like you, I feel a sense of loss that’s really hard to describe, particularly because I wasn’t fortunate enough to have ever met him in person. Even so, he was a pretty significant part of my daily routine for many years, so to have lost him has hit pretty hard. Daryl was obviously a wonderful person who contributed so much to not only the soccer community in the US but also to world as a whole. Rest in peace, Daryl. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us for all these years...

I used to walk over the bridge on Columbia Road from Woodley Park to Adams Morgan late at night (I was a bartender as a grad student) and absolutely zigzagged. That was partly due to the post-shift drinks I partook in, but I also did it somewhat consciously.

AO is positive. No cold. Next. Unless...the storm creates its own cold! I'm in!

Sweet kegerator artwork! And the beer sounds good, too! I kegged my imperial stout last Saturday. It's a 16%-ish beast aged on Knob Creek-soaked oak spirals and dosed with a tincture made of 6oz of cacao nibs and 5 vanilla beans soaked in vodka and bourbon. I'm naturally carbonating this one, so I'm patiently waiting for another week or so before hooking it up.

I’ve forgotten what I used to look like.

TL;DR

Brasileira lounging in the sand.

I honestly haven't bothered looking. Does it really matter any more?

I understand that it's fun to analyze and prognosticate, so I'm not sh*tting on anything anyone comes up with in regards to their personal forecasts, but... I feel like the last few winters have really frustrated the long-rangers. Blame it on whatever you want to blame it on, but I simply can't trust analogs and/or long-range modeling any more. Nina, Nino, Nada, blocking, no blocking, solar, PNA, EPO, AO, whatever...winter is completely up in the air. We won't know sh*t until it's pretty much on top of us.

Come on man...the occasional McNugget is delicious!

Not reading back, but saw fly fishing mentioned. Picked it up while in college (Bucknell) and absolutely fell in love with it. Sparked me to even get a 9-wt setup that I’ve used in the salt. I don’t do it nearly enough these days, but I would love to be near a place that made fly fishing worthwhile. Also, I’d fish in a mud puddle.

The one year I didn’t reseed and it won’t stop raining. And the fungus in my lawn is thriving. Hi, everyone...

I realize that. I don’t think it changes what I said though. I think you see an increased ratio of deaths attributed to COVID as more tests are being done. Again, I’m not saying things would change dramatically in that graph, but I do think it would change somewhat (probably more deaths earlier on) had you had similar availability of testing from the beginning of the crisis to now.

Aside from the occasional day or two, the weather thee last few weeks has sucked arse.

You also have to take into account the increased testing as you look to the right in the graph. I’m not saying that this would mitigate totally the difficulty in coming off the plateau as shown in the graph, but it is something to take into account.

Garlic has really sprouted in the last couple weeks - nice to see that every clove has produced a plant. Still yet to get set up with grow lights so I can start seeds indoors, so for yet another year I’ve ordered my tomato and pepper plants, which should arrive in the first week of April. I might go ahead and get LED grow lights and a heat map, though - would be good for starting the early leaf vegetables and cucumbers, rather than plant them directly in-ground. The best part of this year’s garden is that my new beds are fully functional from the beginning of the season, with me having built the first in late April and the second in mid August last year. Can’t wait to really get started!