NOAA Report

Picture compliments of NOAA
ARCTIC REGIONAL SEA ICE TO DECLINE 40 PERCENT BEFORE 2050
September 6, 2007 — A new study by NOAA scientists shows that areal sea-ice coverage of the Arctic Ocean will decline by more than 40 percent before the summer of 2050, compared to a 1979-1999 base period.

Click here for full story

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2915.htm

Sounds like the city today.

We have been waiting all summer to finish laying loam and grass seed on our back and North side yard. Rumor is that if you do it in the summer all you will get are weeds. So we patiently waited until September then ordered the loam. It was delivered yesterday, and we thought we would spend today moving it, spreading it, and if we were lucky starting to york rake it. Art was up early and in the Bobcat. Slight snafu when one of the hydraulic lines broke, but he quickly and efficiently got a new one installed and was back up and running. He moved pretty close to ten yards of dirt. When he came in for a drink and a rest, his fire pager went off. Something about a car on the highway. Six and a half hours later he came home. Turns out the car was a pickup truck loaded with fifty bales of hay towing a trailer with another 100 bales of hay fully involved (aka- totally on fire) on the side of highway 101. Art and only two others showed up in the engine initally. They didn't even pack up because they didn't think it was any big deal. Before you know it they re-toned our town and called Wilton for Mutual Aid. Flames were shooting forty to fifty feet in the air. The tires were blowing up because of the extreme heat. Of course the trees are pretty thick through that stretch of road, so the first thing they did was foam the trees. We have been having a pretty severe drought and the last thing we need is a brush/forest fire. Art was smart and fast enough to pull a can of gas and a can of kerosene out of the cab of the pickup before they exploded. They soaked the area, truck, trailer, and hay with 5000 gallons of water. Art spent a better part of the day with a pitch fork spreading out the hay to soak it. They had left the scene and were filling up the truck when the hay re-kindled. So back they went for round two. I sure hope we get some rain soon.
Update at 8:00. Art got home, ate some dinner, took a shower, sat down for five minutes then his pager went off again! This time a motor vehicle accident on the top of Pack Monadnock. All these sirens around town today makes me feel like I am living in a big city again!

Bushisms

The Republican Debate was just held in NH. The Democratic candidates paraded through the state last week. One of the guys at the shop went to a parade on Labor Day. When he saw Barack Obama he started shouting, "Touch Barack Obama. He will bring you luck! You will win power ball if you touch Barack Obama." He was quite pleased with himself... But I digress... We are also approaching the five hundred day mark in the Bush countdown. In that spirit I went in search of some of his quotes while in office. Years ago (Bush's second or third year in office) we got our friend, an avid Republican, a Bush doll. It spouted many of Bush's witicisms such as, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." The doll had twelve to fifteen early Bushim's. I wonder if they make an upgrade chip for it? There were so many to choose from in my search today (Click here for full list) but some of the quotes that caught my attention include:
"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." --interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006 (see Fahrenheit 9/11 for details...)
"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption." --Trenton, N.J., Sept. 23, 2002
"Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" --Florence, South Carolina, Jan. 11, 2000.
I was talking with a friend who lives in VT the other day. She said that VT is the only state Bush hasn't visited while in office. They decided not to talk about it too loudly, lest he decide to visit them. She was pretty sure he would be mobbed if he did something that foolish. But, then again, it is Bush were talking about...
The new candidates offer a stark contrast to Bush. Here are a couple of quotes from my current fav's.
John McCain: "War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality."
or Hillary Clinton, "We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society. "

How Art spent Monday night...

Fire started by charcoal grill leaves nine homeless
By PAT GROSSMITHNew Hampshire Union Leader Staff Tuesday, Sep. 4, 2007
GREENVILLE – Three families are homeless today after a charcoal grill caused a fire that destroyed their apartment building, according to the fire chief.
Fire Chief Larry Legere said smoke alarms alerted nine residents, including four children, to the 8:52 p.m. fire last night at 24 Main St. All escaped the burning building and were outside when firefighters arrived.
Two residents suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene, he said.
The apartment building, owned by Barry Sullivan of Amherst, is a complete loss, according to Legere.
"It had a real good jump before we got there," he said.
Legere said the fire was caused by a grill on a rear, first-floor porch. The flames traveled up the outside of the building and then into and throughout it.
"The building is standing but it's a total loss," he said.
The fire was brought under control three hours after it started.
Firefighters, along with mutual aid from Mason, New Ipswich and Temple, contained the blaze to the building, even though another residence at 22 Main St. is only 10 feet from it. An outdoor propane tank was also of concern, the chief said, especially when flames burned the grass around it.
The Red Cross was at the fire scene last night assisting the families.

Dirty Jobs The Song

Sexiest Opera Singer I have ever laid eyes on...

Risk

Another Sunday with family. We went over to Art's folks (surprise-surprise) for the afternoon yesterday. Bud's sister Mal and bil Fred were there, and Sue, Charlie, and Sam. Mal had gone down to a Shriner's in her neighborhood and gotten Mom an air cushion for her chair. What a great program the Shriner's run. They have all sorts of accessibility equipment that they loan out for as long as you need it, no charge. Mom got her chair from there, too. We also received good news about Mom. She went to see her doc this last week, and found out that she has a good chance of walking again. The nerve damage was not due to radiation, so they may re-grow. She has a lot of hard work to do, but a great prospect at the end of the road. :)

Sam brought the game Art and I got him for Christmas- Risk. Fun little game where the goal is Global Domination. Art was down to four guys at one point, but due to a few strokes of luck (and he would say a brilliant master plan) he came back to win. Sam was pretty upset that he didn't win, but I am sure he will get another chance. It took Peter years to beat Art at Chess, but it did eventually happen! Practice makes perfect, Sam. We had a bbq lunch with hamburgers, and sausage. Sue and Charlie brought and made lunch. They are both fabulous cooks, and it was delicious. I did make a recipe from the TVFD cookbook, baked brie. Always a big hit. I managed to sell two more cookbooks today, too!

Thanks Sue and Mom.

Cheap Sales Technique

Saturday we headed out for a roadtrip in the Porsche. We had to go check out a competitors open house. We also did a little car shopping. Out of visiting three lots only one sales person even approached us. Sales is a big part of our business and we really emphasize training, and qualifying customers to our guys. This guy did not ask one qualifying question. Not even something as simple as, "Can I ask what you're looking for?" When he approached us we were looking at a little Colorado truck. (We had been looking at the Colorado Crew Cab online the night before.) The dealer only had one on the lot. It was a bare bones regular cab truck. The guy came up, assumed we were looking for the "cheapest" Colorado we could find. I hate that word- cheap. I don't want to buy anything cheap. Who would??? Inexpensive, sure- Sign me up! Not cheap. He then proceeded to scour the online inventory for the "cheapest". I said that I would be interested in some comfort items like a seat heater, or memory seats. He said,"That isn't an option on the model I am looking up." Silly me, I thought that was a hint to look at a little more spruced up model... No, no. Needless to say, we left pretty quick. We like the comfort and functionality of the Avalanche, anyway... Had a great lunch at TGI Friday's. This is fast becoming a favorite of mine. They have so many things I can order straight off the menu. I don't have to say this on the side, or without that, or can I substitute x for y... I had a chicken and broccoli dish that was served on a sizzling skillet. Art had key west Shrimp and a salad. Very good, indeed.

Down Day

Being small business owners we don't have a nine to five, five day a week job. So it is a good day when we don't have any appointments, or have to go to the store. We may still putter and get some loose ends tied up, but if it doesn't happen it doesn't matter. We call them Down Days. We were able to enjoy one of those yesterday. We didn't have to leave the house if we didn't want to. Art puttered in the garage for the morning. I did final tweaks on the database and sent that off to the computer guy. Then we had coffee, and played online. Polar was squeaking so we decided to take him up to the ledges. He likes to make the most of having us both home for the day :) It was a little overcast, and still damp from the overnight thunderstorm that rolled through, but it was a good temperature and not raining. The ledges are a great little marble outcropping on the side of Kendall Hill. You can see down toward Nashua and up toward Manchester, plus a great view of North Pack Mountain. We lounged on the rocks- Polar included, and just enjoyed the day. What a great way to spend the day. Then we went out to Amigo's for dinner. Even though we splurged the night before, by going to the Panda Wok we thought we would be mostly good. We succeeded, except the margaritas. They were just too tasty, so we were pretty sure there had to be sugar in it to taste that good! I had a taco salad, and Art had Chorizo with peppers and a salad. Very good evening. We had the intent of going to look at trucks. Mostly for giggles, although I think that one day we may have a moment of weakness and actually trade the Avalanche in. We topped off the evening with a quickie stop at the store, then back up the hill.