Voltron

How did you come across that thread? 😜

We did it again! Two Bday threads to be merged. Maybe @Dusty Chalk can do it!

Happy birthday Mr. Chalk! Cheers!

Of course, the first thing I see when I go to the new and improved birthday widget is Germania / child of the horn or whatever the fuck. Brings to mind the good old days... Thanks for updating it Todd!

My Bday posts weren't good enough for you? 😝

Happy Birthday Carl! Here's to another year staying above water! 🎉 Cheers!

Have a great one Peter! Cheers!

Fucked up indeed. The article I saw last night suggested that the shooter was FB friends with Officer Hamzy, which adds another twisted element that Hamzy was targeted, as opposed to just cops in general. At least the asshole is dead too, but I don't know if he killed himself or the officers did it.

These are not on the home page this morning, and others mentioned it elsewhere so I'm not the only one missing them. Can they be restored? Thanks in advance...

RIP Hagrid. 😢

I just talked to JP about the NY meet and I might be up for it too. We haven't had a true Travel Team event in ages, so maybe this is the reboot...

I'm not sure of the difference between dry and dehydrated beans, but they can be presoaked to cook faster if you wish. I rinsed and soaked for maybe an hour before starting to cook them. I almost blew it because I got involved in something else and returned to the kitchen shortly before all the water was gone. They were great in this stew and I have another container left over that I'm going to turn into refried beans.

Are you sure it's not part disco and part bordello too?

It came out great Jeff! And it seems you haven't ended up on the ground in a pile of sticks so it is holding together!

It feels a bit like Fall, so I made the @Absorbine_Sr kale, beans, fennel and sausage stew today. Tasty as always but especially good with dry Rancho Gordo Mayocoba beans.

What he said. Beautiful spot.

I was just saying that I didn't know if sapele had those qualities, rather than suggesting it did. The garage door and the front door in SF are mahogany, and the Tonkinois is doing remarkably well in the damp sea air and fog. That looks great Jeff, and the two woods go together beautifully.

Le Tonkinois is a natural non plastic boat varnish that is excellent. Doug turned me on to it. The Marine Varnish No. 1 is meant for boats and other exposed woods. My only concern is how dense and oily the sapele is -- the Tonkinois didn't penetrate and bond with ipe as well as I hoped. http://www.tarsmell.com/number_one.html

Looks great. I like the scale a lot.

They're called Normites

Steve told me earlier this evening that it actually was Donny and his creepy brothers. I thought I recognized Donny but I didn't even think about the others being his brothers. Yikes

Cher and the not quite right Donny Osmond clones is exceptionally creepy.

Norm's the best. He's been looking pretty tired the last few years. Thanks Norm!

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was back live for the first time since 2019. It was good to be there and so far I don't think I have covid. Saturday: Ismay (granddaughter of HSB founder Warren Hellman) Meklit (unrelated) Waxahatchee and Jay Som, not pictured Elvis Costello Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew performing Remain In Light (highlight!) Sunday: Alison Brown Quartet (not pictured) Charlie Hunter and DaShawn Hickman (not pictured) Brothers Comatose Lucius, with Marcus Mumford as guest for a song (another highlight!) Bela Fleck (not pictured) The Whitmore Sisters Emmylou Harris, while we made our way out of the festival (not pictured)

It's great that Doug is getting his due adulation as a designer, joiner, and woodworker. Not that it has been absent, but he doesn't share as broadly as some of us attention whores. His work is amazing and unique. I had the honor of helping him a bit with the first kitchen cabinet that was completed, and candle light or not, it was assembled and glued up between 1:00am and 3:00am eastern. One of the most frightening experiences of my life, but it ended well. That was the dry fit the night before the final assembly. Then tweaking and such. Doug can add the finished version, but these are incredibly intricate cabinets that look fantastic and could support a tank rolling over them. The new tile topped media cabinet is another level up.