Thursday, 13 August 2015

EVEN THOUGH THE SCOTTISH SUMMER HAS BEEN DISASTROUS ...

...DOESN'T MEAN IT'S THE SAME EVERYWHERE!


So Danny, our man in America, sent some pics of what summer is like over there...

No photos from Alaska then, Danny?

33 comments:

  1. Alaska is generally air conditioned all year around I think, although I've never been there. ;-)) The moose in the wading pool may be from some northern Midwestern place like Minnesota, but it gets hot there in the summertime too. Have never encountered a Moose down here in Missouri.

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    1. LOL Alaska has outdoor air conditioning... and free too!

      I like it.

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  2. Thanks Danny, really enjoyed the pics.the air-con is inspired; if not "over" engineered.

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    1. Even the people seem to adapt, Jim!

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    2. Yes, Jim I'd say so. There was a time of course (1930's, 1940's, into the 50's) when people took summer family vacation drives to southern California from the Midwest and points east before there was actual car air conditioning. So there was the problem of the long drive across the southwestern desert regions, especially the Mojave desert which spans parts of four states. In the old days, people would gas up, take lots of extra water in case of car trouble, and often drive the Mojave at night to avoid the heat of the day. But there were also evaporative coolers that you could get that mounted through the (slightly open) side window of the car that provided some cooling for the long desert drive. The sight of one of those through the window of a car often meant that a drive to California was at hand. Never have actually seen one of these things these days, but I've seen pictures. There's even a Wikipedia article about them.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_cooler

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    3. Thanks for the link, the 1950 Chevrolet looks "cool", with or without the air con.

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    4. Yep.......great old car. I was surprised to see the coolers color coordinated. I thought that they were usually temporary devices for trips, etc, and the pictures I've seen are generally more like unpainted galvanized steel. These do indeed look "cool."....LOL.

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  3. Brilliant series of photos there Tris!

    On a different note, sorry to bring the tone of this excellent article down but oor Friend over on Wings has set up a wee fund raiser that some folks may like to check up on.

    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-small-gesture-of-solidarity#/story

    As I go to print here (LOL) the total is standing at OVER £3,000. Not bad for a wee fund raiser looking to raise £500.

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    1. I saw it on Twitter, Arbroath, and made a small contribution on Munguin's behalf.

      As Stuart says, we can't do it for everyone, but... You can't help but think, there, but for the grace of someone, go I!

      Nasty Cybernatz, eh?

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    2. Incidentally, it now stands at £6,800, and still has 14 days to run.

      This is the Big Society, Cameron.

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    3. I agree Tris we can't do this for everyone. However it is perfectly understandable to do it here in my view. Here we have a young lassie (32 apparently) who had no money had been sanctioned and had no food. Now where have we heard that story before?

      There was also the idea that she was done for £328.75 whilst a bloke from the City gleefully glassed two people goes to court and is effectively let off by the judge because the judge was concerned how a jail term would affect his career!!!!!

      The whole U.K. idea of what is right and what is wrong is crap!

      The time has been well pasted to get some serious earse kicking done to those in power to remind them exactly what a caring society looks like and behaves!

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    4. Agreed.

      We have a strange set of values, and I'm glad that Stuart has raised this money.

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  4. Clot from the VillageAugust 14, 2015 10:58 am

    Nice to see a car from Podgorica in Montenegro has made it to America. I wonder if they drove all the way.

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  5. Just in case you didn't know Tris Janner failed to turn up in court this morning!

    http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/14/lord-janner-to-appear-in-court-over-child-sex-abuse-charges

    Well who saw this one coming down the track?

    They must really think WE really are buttoned up the back!

    This alleged pedophile MUST be arrested and locked up. He deliberately failed to conform with a court order. His failure, no matter how sick he REALLY is as opposed to what he wants US to think, is nothing short of sticking two fingers up at the English courts and legal system. If anyone other than a "Lord" had done this we would not even be discussing what SHOULD happen cause they would already be in jail for contempt of court!

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    1. Yes. I knew.

      If he was a lad from the schemes who failed to turn up to two court hearings he would be arrested.

      Therefore he should be arrested.

      There really can be no question about it.

      While we're on arrest Blair for war crimes and murder.

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    2. Damn!

      The b****r has turned up at court after all!

      There goes my entertainment for this afternoon then. LOL

      You are right of course Tris. If he had just been a normal Joe Bloggs he'd have been arrested long ago. Just because he's a *ahem* Lord he gets the freedom to string things out as long as possible ... delay after delay after delay ...

      Here's a wee background info for you Tris concerning the *ahem* goings on with Janner since he was diagnosed with dementia in 2009!

      http://www.exaronews.com/articles/5558/lord-janner-voted-203-times-in-parliament-despite-dementia

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    3. The district judge certainly did not mince her words. The bottom line was he turns up or be arrested.

      The delays are down to having enough dosh to pay a top end QC. No matter who or what you are, the law applies equally. Princess Anne, if I remember rightly, got done for speeding a few years ago. OK, she can afford the fine, but there was no attempt to get out of it, something I'm sure she could have managed.

      But many of the establishment always seem to rely on their colleagues to avoid trouble.

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    4. Thanks Arbroath. I'll go give that a read.

      My mum once had dealings with Janner in a professional situation, when he was an MP. Let's just say that when I saw her a 5.30 she was more than delighted with the afternoon's doings!!!.

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    5. Aye Anon. If you can afford these high end Advocates or whatever they are called in England..and he can because he was one of them (I mean one of these high end lawyer chappies) normally you can get away with murder on the Old Boys basis.

      Looks like Janner's luck ran out when the judge didn't turn out to be one of the establishment types.

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    6. Excellent article Arbroath.

      So since he was diagnosed with dementia he has voted on laws that affect people in England and Wales, and possibly Scotland and NI on 203 occasions.

      Further to that he has claimed just over £104,000 in expenses, tax free for doing so.

      And he thinks he shouldn't be prosecuted...

      What??????

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  6. Thanks Danny, I have four very good friends in the US, one in Pennsylvania who I keep in daily contact with, one in Los Angeles, one on the Vermont Massachusetts border up in the mountains there and one in Arizona. My friend in California has had a mixed time, much more than normal, has been cool then roasting as has my friend in Arizona. My friend in Pennsylvania has had it up to the nineties and I am sure she is fed up with my whining, I am fed up with my whining about the rain. Then my friend in the Berkshires tells me the leaves are beginning to turn and they are expecting an early Fall and one heck of a winter. Considering the one she had last year, it sort of sobered me up.
    Great pictures, you and Tris have a good eye.

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    1. Thanks Helena... They were all Danny's choice.

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    2. Thanks for the comment Helena. You can always find about any weather you want depending on where you look. We've had a normally hot summer in the Midwest, but thankfully not the extended period of 105-110 (F) temperatures that we had a couple of summers ago. As for rain, Texas has recently had flooding, while California is suffering through an historic multi-year drought. Possible disaster for a state whose principle industry is agriculture. Something like half the total vegetables the country produces and consumes comes from California's central valley. Too bad that the weather can't even itself out. ;-))

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  7. I've good memories of the US, as i have family there. Being smuggled across the Canadian border was one memorable incident. I doubt i would get away with that post 9/11.

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    1. Why did they smuggle you across the border Jutie?

      You an illegal alien?

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    2. The flight to Canada was cheaper, but i didn"t have a US visa. I passed Niagra Falls in the boot of a car. US citizens were just waived through at the St. Katherines? crossing.
      I've visited legally many othet times! :-)
      '

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    3. Funny story! Brought to mind stories I've read of how many guys fled to Canada to avoid the US military draft during the Vietnam War. Jimmy Carter signed the amnesty bill in 1977 that allowed the guys who went to Canada illegally to return without penalty.

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    4. Hell Jutie...were you an illegal immigrant?

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  8. those Venetian blinds could end up winning the US equivalent of the Turner prize or am I the only one that thinks they look like an art installation?

    Love the animals sheltering under the hood, meanwhile in Scotland it's merely raining cats and dogs. And the many uses of an oven glove lol!!

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    1. Thanks panda. Getting in the car after it's baked for a couple of hours in the sun and a 100 degree + (F) air temperature, has more than once made me wish for an oven glove. The drooping blinds do indeed make a very nice art effect.

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  9. Brilliant pics!

    I was in Dorset at the start of July, including the hottest day of the year. But that seems like the middle of winter to those photos.

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