Dragon

Everything is better with caramel.

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Oh, by the way Baldur, I forgot to tell you that I tried the Welsh Rarebit recipe ... well my husband made it actually and, apart from his being a little heavy handed on the Worcester sauce, it was delicious. I will try tweaking it to my own taste buds but thanks for the recipe.

Baldur

'All Baldur, All the Time'...
I'm glad it worked out well Login. I really should make it again myself.
It's been very warm and summerlike already here in RI. I keep wanting to bake and try the Eccles Cakes recipe but I don't like using the oven in the warm weather, it makes the house quite warm.

Qsilv

I sooooo want an outdoor kitchen, not for BBQ'ing so much as for BAKING! ROASTING!! ...all those lovely things that produce wonderful food but demand mega-air-conditioning if you add 'em to a house that's getting by fine with deep tree-shade when the weather's already up in the 90's!

Baldur

I removed the air conditioning from this house when I moved in 15 years ago. If it get's intolerably warm I sleep with the ceiling fan turned on.

However we do what we can in terms of passive cooling, we keep the window blinds lowered, encourage cross-ventilation etc

Qsilv

Ceiling fans are great... as is opening up the house at night, closing it again in the early morning... allowing trees, shrubs, even vines to over the roof in summer, creating layers upon layers of shade... wetting the roof with a mister along the ridge helps amazingly.

But it does get way over body temp here, often to 110, even 115 sometimes. I keep thinking maybe I'll dig a deep basement area to tap into that coolness.

Meanwhile, I finally succumbed a couple years ago to the lure of two truly tiny window a/c units, one for the office (I've got a bloody bank of computers), and one for the kitchen. I suspected --and my electric bills have proven me right-- that it's more efficient to run those exactly as needed, than to try to control areas within whole house central a/c.

With a new, vastly better rated fridge/freezer, the priciest most decadent aspect here now is my @#$computers. I've recently farmed out more of that, too --cut my electric bill in half and I'm not paying anywhere near that for the privilege of letting someone else have the responsibility/headache! Arguably, too, the big server farms run more efficient systems overall, in terms of global impact.

Baldur

Robert has almost a fetish for buying electronics, so everything we own is in triplicate. They are dispersed around the house and only one is in use at
any given moment. Some in fact are never in use, but I'm guessing are here
as spares.

We've have tech free zones, the living room is meant for socializing so there is no tv there. The TVs are in Robert's bedroom, the family room and the closet in the foyer. Don't ask why I'm not quite sure.

lilalee

TV in bedroom and family room are OK, but who goes into the closet to watch TV there!! That Tiger maybe?

Baldur

The main computer is in what was meant to be a small bedroom, but is used as a very overcrowded library.
There is another computer in the family room, there is a wandering laptop afoot and enough components to build several more systems are piled haphazardly in the garage.
We have webcams and digital cameras galore, none of which I have the patience to learn to use.
Actually I no longer know how to operate the television and/or dvd players.
Using them now requires 3 different remotes and it's just not worth it.
If Robert is watching something interesting I'll join him, otherwise I'll use the cd player and spend the evening listening to big band or swing.

Baldur

Baldur is quite the technophobe

lilalee

Sounds similiar to our house! My husband refuses to know anything about a computer. Before he retired from the courts here, they went to all tech, so he hates it, and of course our son, 23, has all the latest in his room, and my computer is downstairs in our library, was a old one my son fixed up for me. I really know nothing about it, except how to google, mail etc. Our son does everything else, like downloading, and cleaning a mess I may have made!

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Now that has a very familiar ring to it, lilalee. My son is the technophobe and taught me all I know, which is just the basics. Perhaps the most complicated thing I do is use a telephone/address database, which I created and maintain. Any computer problems I have are dealt with by our son, from Amsterdam! He links up with me and takes over my computer and 'fixes it'. My husband treats the computer with disdain, although he will occasionally answer e-mail (two weeks after he recieves it). He has 'mastered' the remote controls and likes to stay in control of them ... so that's when I slope off to enjoy myself on TD.

lilalee

Ahhhhhh, a man with a remote in his hand!! Once my man gets the remote in his hand, well I leave the room!! He spends more time changing and watching commercials, than an actual show!! I know there are many books written about this subject. We too could write one. Then I go to my computer, or reading and he comes along and says "you don't want to watch TV with me?" He has even had the phone in his hand pointing it at the TV!! Their funny!! Love 'em!!

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Adorable ... my other half likes to READ the news on teletext. He turns off the sound so it doesn't distract him! Ah ... back to TD.

Dragon

My friends are all computer engineers and such well I am just barely good to find directions on line (and play on TD of course). So whenever I'm hanging out with a group of them the conversation enevitibly turns to operating systems and I can feel my eyes glazing over.
When I first got my laptop I didn't have an internet connection at home and my printer wasn't Vista compatible so I couldn't print anything. I mostly used it to play Spider Solitaire. For 6 months or so it was the most epensive deck of cards I've ever owned.

Login

Ha,ha,ha ... Iv'e done that too. Whatever would we do without Think Draw?

Baldur

'All Baldur, All the Time'

Tonight in honor of matthew's birthday we have a super extra-special guest here on Radio Baldur, world renowned clairvoyant to the stars Madame Vera de Farce.
(pause for the inevitable applause)

Madame Vera allows the spirits to speak through her own body, allowing for the amplest spirits to take part.

OUCH! (Madame Vera just smacked me offside the head with her heavy duty cane.

Madame Vera is wearing a flowing caftan with matching beaded turban in a mystical batik pattern.

'Tell me Madame Vera, what do the brown squares represent?'

'Zay represent ze Klondike bars' replies Madame

Baldur

Now that Madame Vera has settled down into the locust position on her alligator down pillow I ask for quiet from the audience so that she may become atuned to the universe.

Baldur

The room is draped in crimson silk and illuminated by a solitary flame inside a reticulated (10 points for Baldur) brass camel shaped lantern.
Wait! what is that crunching noise?
I told you all to be quiet, this is so disrespectful, ESPECIALLY on matthew's birthday. Let me reach behind this embroidered panel depicting pose #74 from the Karma Suture and hit the light switch.

The room is flooded in bright light.
Madame Vera is caught with her bejeweled hand full of crispy fried pork rinds.

I turn the lights off again.

Baldur

'Most All Seeing Madame do you have a message for matthew? Are there any spirits that are willing to impart their wisdom through you this evening?'

'Yes' she gasps, with the sudden press of air from her lips tiny flakes of crispy fried pork rinds flutter in the darkened room like so many gnats.

'I feel ze spirit of one approach now.. gag gag cough'

'Speak, Madame speak! I implore you'

The room becomes quite silent, and stays silent.
Long minutes pass. Madame regains her composure.
It seems that matthew was the lucky recipient of a visit from the spirit of Harpo Marx.

Somehow Baldur feels cheated.

Happy Birthday anyway matthew.