Weep All Ye Not-Texans!

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:12 am

I'm still hoping to see how Texas is in winter, as I've only been there in summer and yeah, it was hot, but I'm OK with dry heat. I just hate humidity.

I liked Dallas, but I'm sorry I didn't visit Austin where I have relatives or Houston. But I guess you need like a week or two to really see it, huh? I like state parks a lot and Texas has some very intesting places that I hope to see.

But in the mean time, I still have 8 more states to visit in the US to make it Five-O!
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:20 am

It's not much different then summer, just less oppressive heat.

Actually, We do kinda get a winter, just not till January, and usually not cold long enough to do us good by killing off all the bugs.

I still lack 2 more states to hit all 50, but I don't see myself reaching Hawaii or Alaska any time soon.

Bowbe · Post by **Bowbe** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:23 am

My only experience with Houston was the airport... which oddly enough smells like an open sewer. I thought I was in the third world instead of the USA. From everything I have heard however, the airport is one of the nicest places in town.

Dallas is great. Had good times there, and in Denton and Lewisville. Never traveled much further into Texas than that however, but I am trying to make ReaperCon one of these years so with any luck I will be able to imbibe the brew that Dangerdwarf has mentioned.

Once upon a time I had a good friend who hailed from Evansville Indiana, and he would bring back about 6 cases of Gerst Amber brew, which was brewed at the Sterling Brewery in Evansville. Gerst was delicious and extremely strong. Like malt liqour strong... 9% I believe.

Sadly the brewery that made it went out of business in 1997. Sad too, because I could totally kill for one about now.

As for Ziegen Bock being made by AB... no surprise there. Turns out that the beer market is really sagging compared to wine and spirits (hence the big brewer barons passing the savings onto the consumers with a $1.25 a case increase per year over the last three years in the cost of a case of brew. The newest August Bush just shocked the entire beer industry by indicating that Bud wasn't making the investors money so it was time to expand into distilled spirits. Likewise they and the other big brewers (Coors, Miller Brewing Company) have begun sopping up all the micro breweries that they can, keeping the ones that turn a profit and shutting down brews and labels that do not in an attempt to score bucks in the micro brew market.

Seems just like energy, beer is soon going to have fewer choices and a lot higher price.

Case

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:27 am

DangerDwarf wrote:
It's not much different then summer, just less oppressive heat.

Actually, We do kinda get a winter, just not till January, and usually not cold long enough to do us good by killing off all the bugs.

I still lack 2 more states to hit all 50, but I don't see myself reaching Hawaii or Alaska any time soon.

So you're admitting that you've been to ____________ (insert state of choice here)??
Hehe, I was going to plug in Iowa or Rhode Island, but realized hey they're all good. Yes every state I've been to has been great. It's weird, but I never considered my patriotism and love of country until I went overseas. And now, I found something in every state that I love. And of course, every state has something to offer.

Don't mean to sound corny, but it's really true and one of the things that make our country the greatest!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:32 am

Rhuvein wrote:
It's weird, but I never considered my patriotism and love of country until I went overseas.

I never considered my love of our country until I spent a night in a mexican jail.
Seriously. Not a fun thing.

Julian Grimm · Post by **Julian Grimm** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:34 am

DangerDwarf wrote:
It's not much different then summer, just less oppressive heat.

Actually, We do kinda get a winter, just not till January, and usually not cold long enough to do us good by killing off all the bugs.

I still lack 2 more states to hit all 50, but I don't see myself reaching Hawaii or Alaska any time soon.

I'm afraid once I got to alaska I wouldn't leave. Something about the colder climate appeals to me. I'm a known summer hater.
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:37 am

Julian Grimm wrote:
I'm afraid once I got to alaska I wouldn't leave. Something about the colder climate appeals to me.

I agree. I was going to take a job in Alaska too but my wife absolutely DID not want to move there.

She did say if it was what I really wanted then she'd support me, but I didn't want her to feel forced. So I'm here sweating my ass of this summer.

Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:40 am

DangerDwarf wrote:
I never considered my love of our country until I spent a night in a mexican jail.
Seriously. Not a fun thing.

Wow, that sounds very scary. My brother was stopped once by federales and he said he was seriously nervous.

My first scare was boarding an El-Al flight from Cairo to Tel-Aviv and walking to the plane which was surrounded by machine gun toting Israel soldiers!
_________________
Count Rhuveinus - Lejendary Keeper of Castle Franqueforte

"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

Julian Grimm · Post by **Julian Grimm** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:45 am

DangerDwarf wrote:
I agree. I was going to take a job in Alaska too but my wife absolutely DID not want to move there.

She did say if it was what I really wanted then she'd support me, but I didn't want her to feel forced. So I'm here sweating my ass of this summer.

I don't think we'd ever leave Missouri but the one factor is my wifes asthma. We'd have to go somewhere shecould handle it. That's why I get all the winter chores here. Maybe when all's said and done the good Lord'll see fit to give me an alpine cabin instead of a mansion.
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:51 am

Julian Grimm wrote:
I don't think we'd ever leave Missouri but the one factor is my wifes asthma.

My only real complaint about where we live in Texas is my allergies. I never had allergies until we moved here and now they seriously kick me in the rear every year.

Come to find out that I'm allergic to cedar mold, sadly I found this out AFTER we bought our place which has ALOT of cedars all around the house.

I'd love to move out to west Texas and get away from the pollen and other crap that eats me up every year.

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:02 am

The Mexican police are so "F'ed" up that I'm told if I go across the border to take about $30 in bribe money for their police. just to shop in the town right across the border.

DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:06 am

Well, I know they got me for $643 dollars as my "fine" to let me out of jail.

I hadn't been back to mexico since.

andakitty · Post by **andakitty** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:28 am

Moving to Western Washington nicely takes care of hot summers and allergies.

DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:33 am

andakitty wrote:
Moving to Western Washington nicely takes care of hot summers and allergies.

With the added bonus of being able to throw on a trenchcoat and heading into Seattle at night to pretend I'm a runner!

Hell yeah!

Honestly, Washington was one of the most beautiful states I'd ever been to.

Bowbe · Post by **Bowbe** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:22 am

As with the current climate change cycle ( I still refuse to 100% equate everything to so called global warming) we are living in, the downside is an increase in world wide pollen count. I'll suppose I will finally accept global warming as a 100% reality when people actually catch fire as they walk outside their house.

Warmer seasons and more growing area in places once covered with ice and snow mean tons more pollen of every stripe, especially dreaded ragweed pollen. Here in kansas (and im sure in much of missouri) its the dreaded and damnable cottonwood. My Dad never had allergies. Now he does. My wife never had allergies, now she does.

I've always had allergies so I just choke out a lungfull of snot every morning, blow my nose 20 times and i'm on my way. 8)

Case

andakitty · Post by **andakitty** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:42 am

Actually, now that you mention it, there were about two dozen fires that got started around Seattle over the Labor Day weekend. It seems that this is one of the driest summers up here on record, ever. We have had 11 weekends in a row that have been clear, warm (as in 80's and 90's), more people including yours truly get allergies these days, and we have cottonwood too, although it's only a problem in the first half of May. Pretty unusual stuff (except the cottonwood) for this state.

On the other hand, it has been dipping to as low as 70 for highs midweek, every week, still very nice. This has been a dream summer for many. Not what you usually hear about Seattle, is it?

Put not usual (if not terribly unusual) weather patterns like this together with odd el nino patterns nine of the last ten years and hurricane seasons as violent as last year, and it starts to look suspiciously like global warming may be for real. Those are some of the classic signs warned about for decades now. Sure, maybe it's just an overall climatic shift...but maybe not. As a disclaimer I am a conservative-leaning independent without much use for liberal crusades. Just making conversation. And Western Washington remains a very pleasant place to live in spite of some recent changes. We even have some decent Texas barbecue joints around. Yes, I have been in Amarillo. Texas.

Julian Grimm · Post by **Julian Grimm** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:01 am

Bowbe wrote:
As with the current climate change cycle ( I still refuse to 100% equate everything to so called global warming) we are living in, the downside is an increase in world wide pollen count. I'll suppose I will finally accept global warming as a 100% reality when people actually catch fire as they walk outside their house.

Warmer seasons and more growing area in places once covered with ice and snow mean tons more pollen of every stripe, especially dreaded ragweed pollen. Here in kansas (and im sure in much of missouri) its the dreaded and damnable cottonwood. My Dad never had allergies. Now he does. My wife never had allergies, now she does.

I've always had allergies so I just choke out a lungfull of snot every morning, blow my nose 20 times and i'm on my way. 8)

Case

I quit buying into global warming when I saw a report that we were in the middle of a pole shift that accounts for 90% of all so-called global warming effects kind of shattered my belief in it.
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