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| Yes indeed, my friends, it really does suck that hard. |
I am thankful for many things -- my wife and family, my friends, my (more or less) good health, my (more or less) sound mind -- but at this moment I am most of all thankful that this will be the LAST winter I spend in cold, gray, dreary, dismal, more-sucky-than-anyplace-has-any-right-to-be BEND Goddamn OREGON!
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| Happy Fucking Holidays! |
32 comments:
So . . . what part, exactly, of that weather forecast sucks?
Let us now bow our heads in thanks...
HooRAY! Good for you Bruce! Any room in the back? Watch that health component -skyrocket- once you leave this place in your rearview mirror.
Had lots of clients that were never all that keen on golf wind up going 200+ days a year. Beats being stuck in the house, they're hanging w/ friends and God forbid, getting some sun!
Pretty sure I'll be marking my calendar too. Lots of 'lasts' to celebrate.
Uh ... pretty much all of it, n'est ce pas? Unless, of course, one loves cold, cloudy, drizzly weather.
Marshall: Have you made plans for your big move?
"Uh ... pretty much all of it, n'est ce pas? Unless, of course, one loves cold, cloudy, drizzly weather."
Aw, don't be so hard on it. Looks like perfectly prototypical late fall weather. The kind my kids and I always wished we had this time of year.
Bruce, like yourself, much of my, ahem.., 'plans' have wound up spouse contingent. She keeps getting promotions! I'm only 52 and she's 48. Any survivors below a certain age are plotting their big comeback! We're no different.
But prices are sticky stubborn things. We're looking at a comm. bldg. in S. OR to supplement our income and have all but abandoned the stock market.
Without dispensing mkt. advice, I think we're going to revisit the lows of 2009. Soon. All this time we'd been doing our homework, and being reliant on (2) SS checks, Guard pension AND your 401k's, looks like -every- link is a weak link?
Every Pol promises "The changes we're proposing to Soc. Sec. won't affect anyone over 55!" Making 'us' prime targets for hefty revisions. Hell, they're already talking about re-tooling military pensions. And unless you're willing to lean on lots of leverage and take huge sector bets, look for low, inflation-adjusted negative returns from your 401k. Meaning Burn Rate of your cash! Owning a comm. building implies there's an economy strong enough to place tenants. Or an economy Period!
I realize this is a time of thanks but, gotta' be honest, looks bleak. In short, my 'plan' is to survive.
"The kind my kids and I always wished we had this time of year."
Variety has its appeal, and we always want what we don't have. In SoCal, kids wish for cold, rainy weather; growing up back East, we wished for warm, sunny weather and envied the California kids who could play outside in the sun all year.
However, if you polled 1,000 adults -- from ANY part of this country or the world -- I'd be willing to bet 999 of them would say they liked warm, sunny weather better than cold, cloudy, rainy weather.
Ergo, by popular consensus, this weather SUCKS.
Marshall: Ah, you're younger than I thought you were.
Financially, Mrs. Blackdog and I are in pretty decent shape to retire. If we can get a pretty consistent overall return of 4% on our investments we should be able to live pretty comfortably without touching the principal. I'm 65 and she's 63, so I don't think our Social Security is in jeopardy.
We'd be in much better shape, of course, if the Bend real estate market hadn't crapped out. I calculated that if real estate values had just climbed at a steady 3.5% per year (the national historical average) our house would be worth substantially more today than it is now, following the bubble and bust.
Fuck popularity.
That's the spirit, Jack. This weather is glorious, and only you have the sense and good taste to appreciate it.
Don't get blown into the Deschutes if you go for a walk today.
"That's the spirit, Jack. This weather is glorious, and only you have the sense and good taste to appreciate it."
Only the meanest of spirits would not see the beauty of this blustery weather.
Some kinda wind last night! Woke me up at 5 am.
"Only the meanest of spirits would not see the beauty of this blustery weather."
Okay, call me mean-spirited, then.
But "blustery"??? It's way the fuck beyond "blustery," Jack. They're having 97 mph winds at the coast.
Right now I'm wondering how much I'm gonna have to pay Alta Tree Service to clean up the limbs blown down by this "beautiful" "blustery" weather.
One other point: It is true that shitty weather is typical for this time of year in Bend, Ory-gun. However, that does not make it less shitty.
Bruce,
Right, we're on opposite sides of that 'divide'. Wish I could share your rosy projection for SS. Every article/survey 'I' come across shows recipients are opting for the earliest possible eligibility window in droves.
That doesn't fit all their models and projections? Conventional wisdom held ( again assuming a normal non-bust economy ) the majority would hold off until at least 65 before drawing a penny.
The current reality is that most are doing it and most don't care for it a bit! But their hands are forced. Don't laugh but even a 4% return might begin looking, feeling and have all the volatility of a "high yield fund". Just saw an ad spot for a 2.99% mortgage.
But that's a whole other topic. Jeez the weather is f@c't out there! Poor lil' 4-legged friend is just going to have to hold it! Pounding storm.
More breadown of The Model. There was a time when if one preferred it a bit blustery, just move to the coast! The further North the better.
Then look at the Duration. Fun for an afternoon, a day or two. But we're slated to have this BS -thru- the entire T-day weekend.
Cool, clear & CRISP was Cent. OR's trademark. Don't know anyone that 'moved' there for the BW?
"They're having 97 mph winds at the coast."
But we don't live at the coast.
"Cool, clear & CRISP was Cent. OR's trademark."
Es verdad. As I remember, the winter weather pattern here 20 years ago was snowstorms interspersed with periods of cold and brilliant sunshine. Now it's just steady gray crud from November to mid-June ... or beyond. Like Portland, only colder.
I've never liked strong winds, even as a kid. They make me nervous. Perhaps it stems from some trauma of infancy.
"But we don't live at the coast."
True. The winds are only expected to be about 60 mph in Bend. Mere balmy breezes.
Gotta go -- think I just heard part of my roof blow off.
Here's something to piss off our local skiing addicts: Mt. Bachelor delays opening because of high winds.
http://www.tsweekly.com/mt-bachelor-opening-delayed.html
From the Source story: "According to [Mt. Bachelor] communications manager Andy Goggins, winds are expected to top out at 85 mph at the top of Pine Marten tomorrow. Yikes. He's calling this 'one of the worst wind storms we've seen in recent history.'"
You still think the weather is only "blustery," Jack?
Central Oregon does indeed offer a wide variety of weather -- almost all of it bad. Hurricane-force winds are just part of the "normal" weather here.
God, this place sucks.
"As I remember, the winter weather pattern here 20 years ago was snowstorms interspersed with periods of cold and brilliant sunshine. Now it's just steady gray crud from November to mid-June ... or beyond. Like Portland, only colder."
As I recall as well. Unlike our fore fathers, we get all invested in a place. Since they more or less made their living from the land, if it didn't produce, they'd pull up their tent stakes and move on without a second thought.
Ask yourself, if it weren't for the massive investment in everything from schools to shopping malls, homes to hospitals, who'd want to stick AROUND in this cr@p?
We're stuck so we make excuses.
Here at maison Elliott the wind is blustery. Other parts of the globe probably have different weather.
Here's something to piss off our local skiing addicts: Mt. Bachelor delays opening because of high winds.
Live by it, die by it. That's the way it goes on activities that rely on weather or one sort or another.
I've already hiked 3 days so I'm no longer cluckin...
The wind is pretty gnarly, you can't sugar coat that shit right now.
"Here at maison Elliott the wind is blustery. Other parts of the globe probably have different weather."
And the NIMBY Award of the Year goes to..!?
Finally given a narrow window to take poochie out. Hard for dogs to walk w/ crossed legs. Pounding Suck resumed shortly thereafter.
May... be... last... transmission..?!?
"Hard for dogs to walk w/ crossed legs."
HA! I'd love to see a video of that.
(Dispatch sent from a sister-in-law's house in Poway, Calif., where Mrs Elliott and I are bunking for T-Day)
Blustery, as in "a gusty storm with strong sudden rushes of wind"?
Yeah, it fits my definition of blustery. As for the weather atop Mt. Bachelor, I'm certain that there's shit going on in The Congo and in Patagonia, but it machs nichts where I live.
Roof blow off your house, Blackdog?
Extreme weather, really doesn't bother me? It can only remain extreme for so long. So these bouts w/ high winds, monsoon-style rains etc. are almost a RELIEF from The Drear.
It's exciting to scamper about looking for candles, kerosene heaters, DC-powered radios etc. Makes a dad feel like a Dad!
The disappointment comes in there's never really been an open, intelligent and ongoing discussion in Oregon about how best to contend with the 6+ mos. out of the year where the day could go either way?
Somehow I don't think getting a "Sunsetter" retractable awning is going to have guests flocking to your home in April? Or May for that matter. Our weather ISN'T like the other 97% of the country ( why do our homes look just 'like' them? )
WE are the ones that should have sprawling wrap-around porches, not the Deep South! Connected and -covered- walkways. Grand glass, 3-season rooms with atriums. Landscaping that makes the most of short summers and protects in Spring and Fall?
The first step in solving a problem is admitting you HAVE one. It should be impossible to sell a home "without a covered deck"! Are you kidding me? Every home that isn't a starter, rental or uh... dump should come standard with one. Indoor pool. Shuffleboard?
All right, all right, it was "blustery." It's "blustery" today too.
"As for the weather atop Mt. Bachelor, I'm certain that there's shit going on in The Congo and in Patagonia, but it machs nichts where I live."
It's machin' 60 mph where you and I live, according to the Weather Channel.
"Roof blow off your house, Blackdog?"
Not yet. I really did think part of it did yesterday, but it was only a Ford Focus blowing down the street.
Marshall: Interesting point. The Northwest doesn't have any distinctive architectural style. There's a bit of New England here, a bit of the South there, a bit of Southwest adobe there, a French chateau there ... it's a hodgepodge.
I see lots of Craftsmanny details. Arts and Crafts influences, esp. Bungalow styles. Pacific Lodge -- can't forget that.
These are styles seldom seen in SoCal, which has no style of its own save the (rather nice) Mission Revival Style inspired by the popular late 19th century play "Ramona."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramona
We had (2) [very welcome] consecutive nice days over the Holiday! Thanksgiving itself found our in-laws w/ the charcoal grill literally -strapped- to the upper deck. Confinement to da' max. Usually the boys gravitate out to the deck for cigars and to take a breather from women/shopping.
No such luck this year. Thank God for basements, beer and The Who! But be honest, most of us have long stopped gleaning weather reports in the hopes of spying a decent day, let alone run.
It's hunker DOWN time. We'll see what spending 2 mos. in San Antonio this Feb/Mar this year brings? Hopefully relief.
Um... it would seem Alb. NM is getting slammed! Whoa.., good n' frosty here in Silverton and in the 20's in parts of SoCal but what a diff. from the NM Blackdog visited just weeks ago!
Of course, it's out of the norm and that's what makes it newsworthy. 58 the High in NYC.
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