What's on your mind today?

[Dark Lightning]

You can still put gravy on them.

Nearly finished staining my new gate. This is the third gate, and I'm going to have about 1 cc of stain left over. That stain has components/companies that got caught up in the freezing weather in Texas and new product is not available yet. So, I'm happy that there was enough. I hadn't planned on making this gate, but upon inspection of the old gate, I went ahead and made it.

[billy rubin]

Wholesale gas prices went through the roof because Russia cut off supplies in revenge for European support of Ukraine/

well, we have the same issue in america. the idiots here think that opening up more wells fopr production will lower the domestic price of fuel, but not one of them understands how the economics of petroleum work.

we already have lots of approved leases that are not being drilled. th eoil companies are doing fine dribbling out what they produce and keeping the price up. and if they did choose to increase production, oil is th eultimate fluid commodity-- ithe domestic price wont go down, because the oil companies won't charge any less domstically than they can get for the same oil on the commodities market overseas. whatever oil can be sold for in europe is what it will sell for in the united states. they may be rapacious capitalists, but theyb know what theyre doing.

im no economist, but this is self-evident.

[jumbojak]

So much firewood is being bought in continental Europe that I understand it's all sold out. You could make a mint exporting.

[Tom62]

My wife and I are making emergency plans in case of gas shortages and blackouts. There is little hope that our government can do anything positive to stop a huge wave of bankruptcies as well as people freezing to death in winter because they can't pay their energy bills. The green minister for economic affairs and energy, a former author and philosopher, is extremely incompetent. On several occasions he made an enormous fool of himself on German TV

.
Inflation is sky rocking; energy bills are up 1000% and here is a moron who hasn't got a clue what he is supposed to be doing.

[Asmodean]

You are not alone in that, Tom, and we are the ones producing the stuff.

People expect energy bills of something like 2000€ per month come winter - that's nearly what, say, a gas station clerk is left with after taxes but way before mortgage, food or gasoline.

The government is subsidising at a rate of about 50% up to a certain maximum. Still, multiply a number by ten, then cut it in half and it still comes up five times larger than it was originally. A lot of people cannot afford that. A lot of businesses cannot either - the very businesses where those people work for that pay check with which not to afford them electrons.

I'm not saying that the government should buy our way out of this situation, however, I hope the political classes learn from this - both Right, Left and Centre, and especially them Greens.

We do need a reliable backbone for the electricity supply. It's all good and well to shut down coal and crude-powered generators and replace nukes with wind farms. Put all your eggs in unstable baskets, however, and sometimes the bottom may just fall out, dispatching them eggs onto some really hard concrete underneath.

Southern Norway's issue is that our water reservoirs are empty-ish and we are not connected to the better-situated Northern grid. We are, however, connected to the continent, who have made themselves so dependent on Russia that... It's kind-of disgusting, really. Even if we assume a much better Russia, why would a nation willingly do something like that? It's still a single point of failure by design.

[Tank]

Watching the funeral of QEII. I know she was the head of the Church of England but FFS the God bothering is getting on my tits!!!     

[Icarus]

Me too Tank.  I respect that the queen was an important even revered person in the British world.  The overdone programming of all the pomp and circumstance is also getting on my nerves.

God bless the queen. By all reports she was an exceptional lady.  Can we now let up on the ceremonious excesses? 

[billy rubin]

cant have a monarchy without all the trimmings

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I turned 70 on Sept. 19. That was the day the Queen was buried. She took the throne a few months before I was born, and was buried on my birthday. I got to actually see her less than a year before she died. For some reason, that gives me a connection with her. I don't mind "the trimmings". She represented Jolly Old England. May her memory live in perpetuity.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

England is America's Mother. We rebelled against her and established our independence, like all children. But now, we love her. Or, at least, I do. 1066 was the beginning of our language, our government, our philosophy, our law. Elizabeth was like a mother, or grandmother, or great-great-great whatever. England should be proud of her, and what she stands for. I can go on, but now must use this Friday evening to experiment with different spirit-concoctions.

[Icarus]

I join you in experimenting with spirit concoctions, Ecurb. Here's to health wealth and happiness.. Our HAF friends as well.

[Tom62]

Happy belated Birthday, Bruce.

[billy rubin]

shitfire a milestone

happy birthday

[hermes2015]

A belated happy birthday! Hope you will have many more.

[Tank]

I turned 70 on Sept. 19. That was the day the Queen was buried. She took the throne a few months before I was born, and was buried on my birthday. I got to actually see her less than a year before she died. For some reason, that gives me a connection with her. I don't mind "the trimmings". She represented Jolly Old England. May her memory live in perpetuity.

Happy New Orbit Day Bruce!!!