SouthboundYank

Okay, LOVE the label on this one and would buy it on that basis alone....first, because I had, like, 500 Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars as a kid...second, because I'm a huge Speed Racer fan.

56 was our high this afternoon, back down to 47 right now. DAMN windy out there all afternoon...geez.

Being a little more careful with my posting location on this one. So, @frd brings up a great question, @CAPE....and I'm in frd's boat. Just had a tree removed from side of house in January, have a two-foot high pile of mulch from the stump-grinding remaining. Can you actually use that stuff for mulching? It was a maple tree, so the shavings are a little more "blond" than typical mulch (at least right now), so I'm just not sure. There's definitely a lot left over and I hate to waste it, or have it hauled away...and I even considered using a bunch of it to fill in a hole that resulted from a previously ground-stump hole in my backyard that has started to collapse a bit. Just curious.

Up to 56 here...and pretty breezy. While I don't have the patio furniture uncovered nor cleaned yet for the season, I am inspired by your Zoom meeting setting and will have to try that out in a few weeks!

OMG, I'm an idiot....I just realized that I posted that in obs and not in banter. #DERP Sorry, folks.

Hey, @Mrs.J -- do you happen to live near a Wegmans? I was browning some peppers/onions for taco salads last evening and took a closer look at this bottle's label. It's Weggy's Basting Oil...sunflower oil, garlic and herbs...says on label that it's gluten-free and vegan. (Couldn't remember if you mentioned switching to vegan or not.) In any event, this stuff is nectar of the gods....we use it numerous times weekly, for browning/basting a variety of meats and veggies, great stuff. I can only imagine the amazing things you could do with it in your kitchen.

Thanks, all, for the helpful details on solar systems....especially for the app screenshots, @Mrs.J. Very interesting to see how you can even get a panel-by-panel report on efficiency. It's an option that's always intrigued me in our current home as it faces due south...so we obviously get full/blasting sun on the front/top of the house all year long (when it's shining). Due to wind damage, we just had our entire roof replaced last summer....plus we're probably going to move in the next 1-2 years....otherwise, I'd look into this a bit more seriously for our current house.

Bringing over from obs thread. I've seen what looks like older solar systems on several roofs in the neighborhood over the years, but know nothing about them (nor whether those neighbors have been happy/unhappy with them). Legit question though -- realizing that installs vary based on the size of the roof/home, do solar panels add a lot of extra weight to your roof? Or have manufacturers slimmed them down a lot over the years?

22 for the overnight low, 23 right now, quite frosty. Clear sunrise in the east and a shy-of-two-days last quarter moon setting in the west.

"That was just incredibly powerful and hot. It burned." When did Jeff Spicoli retire to Hawaii??

Wish I had a way to share it here, brother -- I typically have to make a pot this size due to the amount of ingredients, but it takes my wife and I over a week to eat leftovers (even with freezing it sometimes). Not surprisingly, that looks absolutely AMAZING, @Mrs.J!! One of my all-time favorite dishes.

Sending off meteorological winter with what's probably the final pot of "traditional" chili for the season. Household tastes switch over to white chicken chili and other "lighter" soups as we head into spring. Also (and sadly, for some of you), there are indeed a couple dashes of Old Bay and many dashes of Frank's Red Hot in thar...

While I love the stuff and probably use it too much in my food/grill prep (Frank's Red Hot, too), Old Bay is polarizing. My sister can't abide the stuff....she gets a bite of food I added OB to within a foot of her nose, she'll glare at me and growl, "You added it, didn't you?" It's the OB's addition of celery seed to the mix that ruins the taste/smell for her.

Currently 32, got down to 30 overnight. Breezy through the night, and appears to still be...

OMG, I use Old Bay on salmon, chicken, pork, pasta, sauces, on the grill, on the stovetop.......

I'm sorry for you, brother, that you lost that much time in a forced/converted in-person > online adaptive situation. I can't imagine for myself what TRYING to attend college in a post-COVID-19 world looks and feels like...let alone for you, or my own sons (who graduated college about 1 and 3 years ahead of you, respectively). I've taught as an adjunct instructor at Southern New Hampshire University for about six years now, where the online format is a way of life...however, when you're paying for, and expecting, that in-person experience at UVa or any school in VA or across the country, but still have to adapt to mostly or 100% online regardless...that's a tough pill to swallow.

Interesting observations on wine here, @CAPE. While I drank beer and liquor (to a fault) in college, I dried out after that period for most of my 20s. At no point, up until about my early 30s, was wine even palatable...gave me splitting headaches while drinking it. Then, suddenly in my mid 30s, I could tolerate whites....and then approaching 40, I began to appreciate whites AND reds. Headaches and drinking wine are no longer a package deal...well, unless Mrs. V & I crack open more than one bottle of any variety on a Friday night. And craft beers, dear God. So many beers...so little time.

Have loved crab and all shellfish my entire life...and then developed a really bad shellfish allergy over a decade ago. I despise being that wet blanket at parties when the warm, cheesy crab dip and crackers are set out on the table and the host begs me to try it...and then feels bad when I inform them on the down-low that I can't have it.

Forgot about this stuff until I went to a Greek reunion a few years ago. Apparently there was a "re-release" of Zima around that time...and the ladies had a case and were partying like it was 1992 all over again. Stuff tastes like a mash-up of Pine Sol and 7-Up.

+1 on the Kirkland brand of liquors. I've not tried their gin -- I think I could keep some down by now -- but we have tried Costco's vodka, tequila and small batch bourbon in recent years. All not bad...I actually enjoyed their bourbon.

Booze as in liquor? Gin, HS senior year. Wouldn't say I necessarily "liked" it...but let's just say that, at that point, gin took an instant dislike to me.

45. Puddle rippage.

Have NOT tried ST's Hot Cocoa Stout, though I have no doubt it is excellent -- it is one of the few breweries whose mothership HQ I wish was closer than western NY, so we could try more of their awesome beers on draft as opposed to bottles/cans purchased at Wegmans.

That choco-rasp sounds absolutely amazing...and I'm not surprised it would sell out that quickly. Almost beer o'clock here, and here's what's on deck first today from two of my favorite breweries:

Well, since y'all drug me into the Wayback Machine this morning...anyone grow up with this? I hit the rink anywhere from 2-3 days/nights per week, from the beginning of middle school right up until my mid-20s. This was actually great exercise...and it was a lot of fun getting stuck in the middle of the shuffle skate pack.