mattie g

New normal. Base state.

Maybe the new normal is a huge ridge with blazing summer heat out West? And if that summer rubber band does bonce back, then by extension the winter one should, as well.

I'll take that bet.

Or less. Whatever. We just can't know.

Never had it. I grew up about 20-25 minutes from Washington Township, so lots of places between me and there! The most well-known place that I would often grab slices was King of Pizza on Rt. 38 in Cherry Hill. Close to my high school and a place that we'd mostly hit late on weekends, heading home from the mall, or just on the way from one place to another. There are some good pizza places in the area - I don't deny that - but most pizza here is just awful. Wise Guys is excellent. Italian Store is really good. Mamma Lucia's in Fairfax throws together a good pie (though admittedly I've only had it once). Milano's in Springfield - while not quite the pizza I grew up with - usually does a really good job on their pizzas. Puppatella is pretty good for Neapolitan. In just writing out that list, I realize that I'm mentioning lots of chains, except for Milano's. No real mom-and-pop places with their own personalities. I honestly think that has a lot to do with it, aside from just not being a location with a real pizza identity or history. Detroit style is intriguing. I feel like deep dish pizza is quite distinct from NY style, so I don't like to compare them, but I'm certainly open to trying out a good Detroit style place.

https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-migration-spring-2023-map.htm

Growing up just across the river from Philly, I'm a NY-style pizza snob. We had three or four mom-and-pop pizza places within a two-mile radius. All of them were fantastic, though each were just slightly different enough to be able to tell them apart. Pizza around here generally sucks. There are a few places with worthy pies, but most are garbage, which is just one reason why my neighbor (from Long Island) and I have delved into the depths of making NY-style pizzas. Gotta say...we both do a fine job of it, from getting the proper gear for home ovens to making our own doughs and sauces to finding just the right kind of cheese to get the melt we want. That said, Costco's Detroit-style pizza is really damn good, so I'd highly suggest it for anyone looking for a good frozen pizza.

I give you full marks for finding the silver lining in the coming rain clouds!

Get used to it, man. Never snowing again. Base state, new normal, and all.

Science forum?

All of this is just a preview of the storm track for next winter when the SER is going to abate due to the Nino and we'll more cold air to work with. Gotta hug something.

Yup. Wife was on Paxlovid for five days after our recent first bout with COVID, and she had literally no symptoms by the end of her second day of treatment. She then tested negative twice, 48 hours apart, after finishing her course of treatment. Two days later...BAM! She was laid out with a nasty rebound case that she's just now getting over after about a week. COVID is weird.

I'm sorry to hear about your impending death.

That sucks. Wife and I got it a couple weeks ago for the first time. It really wasn't that bad for me (headaches for a about four days, body aches for 36 hours, cold symptoms for another 3-4 days...and loss of taste/smell for about 7-10 days), but my wife got hit a lot harder and is just about done recovering after Paxlovid rebound. It hits everyone differently, so just take it as it comes. I guess the only suggestion is to keep well rested!

We've got something to track within 120 hours. That, in and of itself, is cause for celebration! lol

It is more progressive, but the ridge out west is definitely more pumped up.

It's going to be impressive if your decision to do PBP for this ends up with a disorganized POS drizzling on us.

I edited in the smiley a few minutes after the fact because I realized it didn't come off how I had intended.

Being a CEO in that box is like being a Russian oligarch near a window.

Shut up. Let us enjoy it, FFS.

Co-worker of mine has a dudes' weekend for the Super Bowl every year. They're going to Davis this year, so I told them to drop into Stumptown. Now...if only I could find a way to get there sometime.

I do exactly the same thing. My setup isn't fancy, by any stretch, but it's been effective! I'm shooting to get my seeds started this coming weekend, with an eye to getting my peppers and tomatoes in the ground by the first weekend in May. If it looks like we're headed for a cold snap around then, I'll push that date to the right, as apporpriate.

My co-Team Rep and I have started really discussing the upcoming NVSL summer swim season. It seems so far away, yet it's only next month we find out which division we'll be in. Pool registration starts around the same time, so we have to be ready with our own registration at that point. Once the middle of March hits and we start getting registrations, things ramp up pretty damn quickly!

I've got a couple heat mats plugged into the same timer as my grow lights. Soil gets to 77F or so for the 16 hours the mat is on, so they get plenty of warmth to germinate. The seed trays have tops, so they lose neither moisture nor heat. Overall, I've had really good success with germination with a pretty simple setup!

Probably rain, but at least we can tune in with half-hearted interest to see what happens for each run.