CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

[SandySu]

My boss just texted me and today I will get to see the new Waste Management CNG (Natural Gas powered) truck that arrived to our city. I've seen it once on the road, but we get to actually give it a once over and see it in action. Even though I'm on vacation, I can't pass this opportunity up! It's nice to see the haulers doing as much as they can for the environment!

Here's a link to an article with a picture of the same type of truck that is servicing our city: Waste Management adding cleaner, natural-gas vehicles - Houston Chronicle

These trucks sound great, but it reminded me about a big issue in this part of the US: hydrofracking, aka fracking. There's a new, more efficient way to get natural gas out of the earth, but many people say the potential for pollution is just too high to use this method. A while ago, I saw a movie, Gasland. See Gasland part 1 of 2 - YouTube and Gasland PART 2 OF 2 - YouTube If you want to be properly scared. I went to a public informational meeting, which was basically against allowing fracking in the Marcellus Shale, which encompasses this area. I like to hear 2 sides to a story, so when I got home, I looked on the Internet, trying to find a counter-argument. There wasn't much of one, just a lot of anti-fracking info. Just now, I discovered this video -- Truthland: Dispatches from the Real Gasland - Full Movie [HD] - YouTube -- made by the gas industry to convince us that fracking is safe.

There's a lot more to this story than I'm telling here, and I think I'm basically against fracking but willing to hear the other side. Is there anyone out there with direct experience with fracking in their community that could give me a firsthand account?

 

[Konstantine]

Hello!
How are you guys doing?
I'm not at home but on a work trip 5 hours away.
Some pics
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/5760/imag0342qd.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img46/8601/imag0338n.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/1462/imag0340b.jpg

 

[SandySu]

Oh how cool Sandy! I've seen the bumperstickers on cars! I've not been there, but I have been to the Winchester Mystery House. That place is freaky: Welcome - The world famous Winchester Mystery House

Thanks for sharing that. I'm putting that on my list of places to go!

I visited the Winchester House twice while I lived out there. The first time, it wasn't furnished and the interior was rather rough. I definitely felt ghosts, though I didn't see anything specific -- I never do, though I've had those "ghosts" feelings in several places I've been. The 2nd visit was around Christmas, and I remember they had a beautiful, huge tree, all decorated, and some furniture, at least. Interestingly enough, that time I didn't feel any ghosts. I wondered if they left because of the furnishings. I remember they had the most beautiful stained glass windows, and I was particularly taken with the daisy windows, which were somewhere upstairs.

Another haunted Bay Area site I've visited is Alcatraz. I had heard it was haunted, and as we looked around, I waited to experience that "ghosts" feeling, but I didn't. Then Bill & I went downstairs, where there was a solitary confinement cell. He walked in, saying something like, "Look at this!" I started to follow, but when I got to the doorway, it was the weirdest feeling, as if I couldn't step over the threshold. I finally forced myself to, and I had the most uncomfortable, squirmy feeling, as if I HAD TO LEAVE -- NOW! I couldn't focus on whatever was in there; I just had to get out. As soon as I was back outside the cell in the hallway, everything felt totally normal again.

 

[SandySu]

Hello!
How are you guys doing?
I'm not at home but on a work trip 5 hours away.
Some pics
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/5760/imag0342qd.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img46/8601/imag0338n.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/1462/imag0340b.jpg

So, I see you have some snow there. I liked that 2nd one. And he 3rd? What can I say but I would expect it from you, you naughty boy!

 

[BWhare]

Hello!
How are you guys doing?
I'm not at home but on a work trip 5 hours away.
Some pics
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/5760/imag0342qd.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img46/8601/imag0338n.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img28/1462/imag0340b.jpg

Somehow, I just don't expect snow in Greece - yeah, I know, I'm just too landbound to understand what's really going on in the rest of the world (ie snow actually happens somewhere other than Siberia and Canada) - but those shots are surprising/amazing. Thanx...

 

[Konstantine]

I forgot to take my camera with me. The altitude is around 1200meters so it was expected. No other snow below.

It is cold and i am working Sandy, nothing fun lol

 

[SandySu]

I forgot to take my camera with me. The altitude is around 1200meters so it was expected. No other snow below.

It is cold and i am working Sandy, nothing fun lol

You said once on here that you like to be cold. I remember it. Were you being sarcastic, or did you mean it? We had snow today, too, and we're not in the mountains. It was just a fraction of an inch, not even enough to completely cover the grass, but now the ground is all white again. The previous snow had melted till it was just in patches with mostly bare ground.

 

[SandySu]

Oh, yes … I almost forgot. I thought it was neat to see today's sunset when it'll be a while before it sets here. Isn't the World Wide Web amazing?

 

[Konstantine]

You said once on here that you like to be cold. I remember it. Were you being sarcastic, or did you mean it? We had snow today, too, and we're not in the mountains. It was just a fraction of an inch, not even enough to completely cover the grass, but now the ground is all white again. The previous snow had melted till it was just in patches with mostly bare ground.

Yes cold! if i wear enough protection. I am not dressed well and it's freezing cold.

 

[SandySu]

Yes cold! if i wear enough protection. I am not dressed well and it's freezing cold.

Next time, dress in layers. Then, if you get too hot, you can peel off a layer, but if it gets cold, you're protected.

 

[White Rabbit]

Given the amount of natural gas that is available here in the US, it's amazing that time and money are being spent on hybrids and electric cars. Electricity, for electric cars, is generated by coal/gas/nuclear, so where's the savings? CNG burns much cleaner than gasoline but there's no infrastructure, fueling stations, for it so we toy with battery power instead. Our tax dollars hardy work.

Our beloved Pres is in bed with the Electricity Cartels, they gave him millions in donations. The press will not touch this story nor any other that even slightly disparages him. You are quite correct Roland, we could be driving very clean nat gas cars and saving big bucks if the government would back natural gas vehicles.

 

[awsum140]

Konstantine, that mountain in the last photo looks suspiciously like a volcanic cone.

I'm getting so tired of layers, where is SPRING!!!!!!

 

[SandySu]

Konstantine, that mountain in the last photo looks suspiciously like a volcanic cone.

I'm getting so tired of layers, where is SPRING!!!!!!

Here's spring: phlox, which has tiny pink flowers in June. It grows wild in profusion at roadside edges with woodlands beyond.

 

[Tail11]

I visited the Winchester House twice while I lived out there. The first time, it wasn't furnished and the interior was rather rough. I definitely felt ghosts, though I didn't see anything specific -- I never do, though I've had those "ghosts" feelings in several places I've been. The 2nd visit was around Christmas, and I remember they had a beautiful, huge tree, all decorated, and some furniture, at least. Interestingly enough, that time I didn't feel any ghosts. I wondered if they left because of the furnishings. I remember they had the most beautiful stained glass windows, and I was particularly taken with the daisy windows, which were somewhere upstairs.

Another haunted Bay Area site I've visited is Alcatraz. I had heard it was haunted, and as we looked around, I waited to experience that "ghosts" feeling, but I didn't. Then Bill & I went downstairs, where there was a solitary confinement cell. He walked in, saying something like, "Look at this!" I started to follow, but when I got to the doorway, it was the weirdest feeling, as if I couldn't step over the threshold. I finally forced myself to, and I had the most uncomfortable, squirmy feeling, as if I HAD TO LEAVE -- NOW! I couldn't focus on whatever was in there; I just had to get out. As soon as I was back outside the cell in the hallway, everything felt totally normal again.

I've not felt anything too eerie about either of those places. I did get a sense of sadness and despair while visiting Alcatraz.

The one place I just couldn't seem to feel ok in was at Dachau concentration camp. I felt sick to my stomach the moment I stepped off the bus. Everyone was talking softly and almost whispering. I tried to walk it off with the tour but found myself weak in the knees. I would not go to see the "showers" or the crematorium. I felt like my stomach was being ripped out of me and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I was never so happy to leave that place. We were only a few miles away when I felt back to normal and had a beer at the next stop. It was not sickness that did this to me because it only lasted while we were in Dachau.

 

[Renolizzie]

So, we didn't go to town today. Hubby made kindling so I won't run out when he is out of town next week. I did a bit of yard clean up. Suddenly it was 12:30 and I wanted lunch. We voted to go to town tomorrow and I made us a tastey lunch at home.

Got the critters straightened out so now I don't have to do much tomorrow. Looking forwards to my meal in a restaurant tomorrow And my relaxing evening at home on my Hubby's day off.

 

[Tail11]

These trucks sound great, but it reminded me about a big issue in this part of the US: hydrofracking, aka fracking. There's a new, more efficient way to get natural gas out of the earth, but many people say the potential for pollution is just too high to use this method. A while ago, I saw a movie, Gasland. See Gasland part 1 of 2 - YouTube and Gasland PART 2 OF 2 - YouTube If you want to be properly scared. I went to a public informational meeting, which was basically against allowing fracking in the Marcellus Shale, which encompasses this area. I like to hear 2 sides to a story, so when I got home, I looked on the Internet, trying to find a counter-argument. There wasn't much of one, just a lot of anti-fracking info. Just now, I discovered this video -- Truthland: Dispatches from the Real Gasland - Full Movie [HD] - YouTube -- made by the gas industry to convince us that fracking is safe.

There's a lot more to this story than I'm telling here, and I think I'm basically against fracking but willing to hear the other side. Is there anyone out there with direct experience with fracking in their community that could give me a firsthand account?

I don't know anything about fracking, but I've seen the damage of mountain top removal for coal in West Virginia - where I was born and raised. Very ugly business. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/west-virginia-mountaintop-removal-images_n_1954656.html

 

[SandySu]

I've not felt anything too eerie about either of those places. I did get a sense of sadness and despair while visiting Alcatraz.

The one place I just couldn't seem to feel ok in was at Dachau concentration camp. I felt sick to my stomach the moment I stepped off the bus. Everyone was talking softly and almost whispering. I tried to walk it off with the tour but found myself weak in the knees. I would not go to see the "showers" or the crematorium. I felt like my stomach was being ripped out of me and the hair on the back of my neck was standing up. I was never so happy to leave that place. We were only a few miles away when I felt back to normal and had a beer at the next stop. It was not sickness that did this to me because it only lasted while we were in Dachau.

I've never visited a concentration camp, but I know one other person who has, and he said he felt the same way. And he was able to walk around a little, but his wife refused to get out of the car and sat in the parking lot. I think it's interesting how the vibes of a place where great emotion took place still linger in that place.

 

[SandySu]

I don't know anything about fracking, but I've seen the damage of mountain top removal for coal in West Virginia - where I was born and raised. Very ugly business. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/west-virginia-mountaintop-removal-images_n_1954656.html

Fracking doesn't do too much to the surface, since they dig a deep hole, but they pump water laced with chemicals into the hole, and that breaks apart the rocks underground and releases the gas. Everyone's worried that that chemical-tainted water could get into the water table and pollute wells, streams, rivers, etc. Also, it takes a lot of water to pour down the hole, and people worry that it's wasting water, since the water can't be reused with all the chemicals added to it.

I read an article in a paper that said they have discovered a way to sort of cleanse the water enough that they can reuse it for fracking, and this is a lot cheaper for some companies, but in Texas they don't recycle the water. There are so many old oil wells around that it's easier and cheaper to just dump the tainted water down the oil wells. What impact does this have on the land? I don't know. The anti-fracking info I get sounds so rabidly hostile that I don't trust it, yet if the gas companies put out a film saying it's perfectly safe, then I'm not sure I trust that, either. I wish there was some moderate voice out there and I could hear both sides of the story.

 

[SandySu]

I don't know anything about fracking, but I've seen the damage of mountain top removal for coal in West Virginia - where I was born and raised. Very ugly business. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/west-virginia-mountaintop-removal-images_n_1954656.html

There's no doubt that coal is a dirty business. Here's a tragedy in Pennsylvania: Centralia, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia There's a whole town abandoned because the coal mines that run under it caught on fire in the 1960s and are still burning. In the 1980s, I visited the town, and it truly is deserted and very desolate.

 

[awsum140]

I think the problem with fracking, or any other large industrial process like coal mining, forestry and so on, is that it may start out as a good, safe, relatively clean and sound process. Eventually though, since dollar is king, penny pinching starts to take over, practices and procedures go by the wayside and accidents start happening. The same is true of power generation, whether it's coal, gas fired or nuclear. IF the proper procedures and practices are maintained, things can be done safely and with minimal danger, to us and the environment.