hazy, hot & humid

Friday, July 30th, 2010

i remember back to July 1990, when it was 104°F/ Heat Index 112°F, when Milt (my across-the-Rt 24 neighbor) and Dave (my first LSCP Foreman from NJ) & I were installing a 3-rail, split-rail fence down 1,000ft of the northern side of the of the property, and across 75ft of the southern end of the property. We'd borrowed a neighbor's Farm-All tractor with an auger attachment, and kept blowing hydraulic lines, and had to replace them almost hourly. That was costly. We wound-up using heavy digging bars to put in the rest of the locust posts. I lost 27lbs in one day, even drinking 15-20gals of water. Milt & Dave had the same experience on that terrible weekend. Of course, we were all 20+ years younger then, and didn't think much of it; just another "hard day's work". But now, I doubt seriously we'd be able to accomplish that task in 2-3 days, in this heat.

The worst of the heat and humidity hasn't abated, and temps are back up into the low-90s; untolerable once again. Massive t-storms passed to the north and south of us on Thursday, just leaving us with more heat and humidity. Gaaaawd, I hate these Mid-Atlantic Summers. I can only imagine what Dalls, Charleston (SC), Miami and other cities in the south are going through.

Time for a long, cool shower, right about now.

Around The Garden Center™

I'm always looking for the "next something" to be a hit in the nursery industry. In 1995, I introduced Trough Gardens to the Mid-Atlantic Region, and they became all-the-rage for 3-4 years, and then quietly died-out. We still sell the miniature conifers and perennials and a Trough now and then, but it really never "caught-on", as I hoped it would.

Five years ago, I chose Drip Irrigation Systems, something which almost no one in this East Coast was doing, but was widely-prevalent in the West and Southwest Regions. I made it *mandatory* for my unheard-of-anywhere-else 5-year Conditional Warranty.

Temps hit 94°F/ Heat Index 100°F on Friday, and it was miserable outside. My LSCP Foreman, Alan, and I traveled to 3 customers' homes around the York (PA) area to look at dead or dying trees and shrubs, and gave them advice on not drowning them with too much water. One of the three was in perfect condition, because we'd set the timers for proper watering periods and intervals. 2010 has been a year of very, very few replacements, despite 3 blizzards and sub-zero temps back in January. The 72" of snow protected a lot of the plants from those terrible winds.

Fedex delivered my new HP 6000 Pro machine at 5pm, and I gave Jesse James, the driver, a cold bottle of water. He looked pretty worn out from the heat. My 200 Grand Cherokee Laredo's thermometer read 99°F on the way home at 5:15pm! Yikes! And it's supposed to "be much worse tomorrow on Saturday", according to NWS (National Weather Service)/ AccuWeather, at State College, PA: They're predicting 100°F/ Heat Index of 100-112°F. I'm closing at 12noon, and getting everyone home to stay out of the heat. My poor plants are frazzled, even with increased watering times.

After a nice, long refreshing cool shower and a change of clothes, I settled-in for the evening to watch & DVR www.networks.com "DaVinci Code". I hadn't seen that one before and wanted to get it onto my WD (Western Digital) 1-Tb HD, for future viewing. The nice thing is, that I have all WD 1-Tb HDs, and can unplug the units and move them around from home to office, especially in the Winter, when things are slower and I can watch some movies during the shortened (10am - 3pm).

It was 84°F/ Heat Index 92°F at 7am when I was driving into work on Saturday, and by 12noon, temps had reached 93°F/ Heat Index 102°F, so I sent everyone home to avoid heat exhaustion or stroke. I was drenched. Laying down on the couch with a cold-pak on my back was the best medicine I could have taken, along with some aspirin. I went upstairs to bed at 7pm and slept until 1:30pm on Sunday.

I decided to go to The Cabin on Sunday afternoon, to rest-up, yet they were under *severe t-storm warnings*, but I chanced it anyway.

Temps hit 90°F/ Heat Index 92°F on Sunday, with t-storms and steady showers rolling through around 2-3pm, so no need to go down and water nursery stock. We'll catch-up on the GHs' watering on Monday morning. I didn't even go out food shopping on Sunday, or to collect the week's mail, I was so tired from the heat. I'll get the mail on Monday morning, on the way into work. Probably nothing but junk mail and bills, IIRC.

On Monday morning, after eating and egg & olive salad sandwich, I suddenly got sick, and ran for the bathroom's toilet in my office. Barfing at 7:15am isn't a pleasant way to start the day, so I worked until around 12 noon, and went home to lie down on the couch, eat some Jell-O® and applesauce, which I had a hard time keeping down. Then, I remembered that the salad was at least a week old and was most likely 'going south', with salmonella or some kind of food poisoning.

I crashed early Monday evening and got into the office by 7:30am on Tuesday, but the 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee was intermittently 'stuck in 1st gear', and I could only creep along at 35mph. I pulled over, turned-off the engine, moved it back into AWD from 2WD, restarted and the problem continued. I called Fishel Automotive and will drop it off at 8am Wednesday, for them to hook-up to their computers to scan the tranny and check the transmission oil. Just what I fricking needed!

Still feeling bad from the suspected food poisoning, I left work at 10:30am on Tuesday, and headed home, with the Jeep in 1st gear, and parked it in the garage. I took 2 aspirin, drank some cranberry juice, and slept for 6-7 hours. It hasn't been a very good past 4-5 days for me, but I'll weather the storm; I've been through much, much worse. At least my remaining condo cat, Murphy, was happy to see me. (RIP, Momma KItty).

I slept until 6pm (I thought it was 6am the next day), got up, showered and dressed for and drove to Fishel Automotive to drop-off my Jeep at 8am (I thought) and waited 30mins for Lee to come pick me up, to go to work. I called him and he told me it was still Tuesday evening, but volunteered to come pick me up and drive me home, as well as take me to work on Wednesday morning. I was embarassed no end. I'd wondered why it was getting darker outside, and the dealership was closed, although Jeff Fishel took my Jeep in for service the next (Wednesday) morning. Lee drove me home, and I went back to sleep until Wednesday morning, when he picked me up at 7:30am. What a mindblower! That's never, never happened before. I'm almost over the food poisoning, but feel very, very weak, yet I have to get back into work to get things done.

Real bad news from Fishel Automotive: the transmission "shit the bed" at 131,655 miles, and Fishel wanted $4,000 to replace it with a "factory-rebuild". Before they lost their Chrysler-Jeep dealership, they could get one overnight and get it done in 2-3 days. No more. I called Broadway Transmissions, on Lee's recommendation, and they'd do it for less than half the cost; same unit. So I gave the job to them. I also called Rent-A-Wreck and for $26.95/ day will get a clunker, instead of the $600/ week, shitbox 2009 Ford Focus from Enterprise Rent-A-Car at Apple Ford. But because it's Wednesday already, it's going to take 4-5 days to get the new tranny and install/ test it, so I should have it back by next Tuesday or Wednesday. What next? No; don't ask!

Suddenly, I'm both pleased and amazed that new and larger landscape jobs are finally coming in, after weeks and months of working at it with Rich, my Staff Registered Landscape Architect. It looks like w'll have enough work to get us through August — along with July, traditionally one of the slowest months — and into September and October, when the Fall 50% Off Nursery-Wide Sale begins. I've never done 50% off before; the most was 25%, but we need to move the larger trees and shrubs out and into peoples' landscapes.

The “Virtual Cabin” – A Novella™

By the time I arrived at The Cabin, there was such a downpour that I could hardly see the road. I pulled into the long gravel driveway, and sat in the Jeep until the monsoon let-up for a few seconds, and made a mad dash for the front door, disarming the Choice One Alarm System, and bringing-in my overnight duffle bag. Jenny was happy to see me, at least. I unpacked what little I'd brought, refilled he food and water dishes, cleaned out her litter box in the 2nd BR, and all was well in Adam's Junction, once again.

I shaved, showered and changed into some clean, dry clothes, and went through the 'fridge, freezer and pantry to see what to make for a late lunch or early dinner. Angel Hair Pasta (Cappellini), with a zesty red sauce and butter-fried Shitake Mushrooms sounded good, with a glass of 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, a Cuban cigar (don't ask), and finishing-up some reading. I turned-on the AC, checked all the windows, armed the building from inside, and began cheffing.

I've gone from 247lbs down to 210lbs, and have a ways to go to get to 185lbs, my "fighting weight", where I feel good and can fit-easily back in size 34 Lee Jeans. Cutting out 95% of dairy products, breads, ice cream etc etc etc has been tough, but my BP has dropped from 274/194 to 138/65, and my doctor is very pleased. Plus, I've cut-out almost all salt and use herbs instead. Sure, I still smoke 1-2 pack of Marlboros a day, but when I start the Chantix Regimen, that should diminish if not stop altogether.

Time to head back to York, as I have to work tomorrow.

Things Which Make Your Head Explode™

Americans have become addicted to unemployment compensation, instead of looking for work, whether it be 1 or 2 jobs, to earn a living. The corrupt US Senate passed, by a 60-40 party-line vote, another $34 BILLION dollar unemployment compensation bill, that extends benefits for the unemployed. It's the gateway to entitlements for the newly impoverished, aka "Hope and Change" bullshit. Federal unemployment payments, which last up to 73 weeks, kick in after the state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. Incentive to work? None whatsoever. Øbummer's "plan" is working.

Where's the Duct Tape®?

Arizona officers on Thursday began enforcing the state’s new immigration law — what’s left of it, anyway. In the small town of Fremont, Neb., they’re not even bothering. Arizona and Fremont are at the forefront of the movement by state and local governments to get tough with illegal immigrants, rather than rely on the federal government’s efforts to address the problem. But they are learning that simply passing a law is far from enough.

Some People Just Need Killing™

This will do it!.

It's not my intention to be the judge, jury and executioner here — that's God's "job" — but rather to "hasten the meeting" so that He can send the following subhuman filth to the "Fires of Hell", "River or Lake of Sulphur", or whatever He deems appropriate. I'd gladly/ happily volunteer, at no cost to any of my Hard-Working, Fellow US Taxpayers, to gladly/ gleefully/ happily headshoot these murderous, lowlife dirtbags of all stripes — their skin-color doesn't matter to me, at all — and rid American Society's innocents (especially our precious children and the frail, defenseless elderly) of them, once-and-for-all. And yes, I'd rather see one innocent man convicted and executed, than 10 murderers/ robbers/ child rapists-murderers freed, to rob, rape and murder again. Hey; call me an "Old Fashioned Conservative"! Too harsh? Nah. Just & RIGHT!

Yes, I agree with the premise of this article, that "the death penalty is a Noahic Covenant with God, in a post-flood world". Well said, Joe Farrah.

Kill Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's murderer. He's subhuman filth and a menace to all in society. He doesn't deserve life in prison or parole; he deserves DEATH!

International authorities have arrested a computer hacker believed responsible for creating the malicious computer code that infected as many as 12 million computers, invading major banks and corporations around the world, FBI officials told The Associated Press (AP), on Tuesday. A 23-year-old Slovenian known as Iserdo was snagged in Maribor, Slovenia, after a lengthy investigation by Slovenian Criminal Police there along with FBI and Spanish authorities. KILL HIM! Put a bullet through his evil head! I volunteer!

Rot in hell and good riddance, Mikey, you child-molesting pervert.

Valid CSS!

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict