Hey, the bear beat me in. Oh well, I bring blueberry pancakes to go with the morning hot bevvies.

I started a comp entry but it's not really engaging me. Not sure why. Writing something else to keep writing while I see what I can do with it.

And now it is time...

For coffee! Got some nice strong Ethiopian in the coffee pot. In the teapots we've got Red Rose and Earl Grey. Hot water is on tap for your hot chocolate and other teas. I've restocked all the condiments, including a big new stash of mini-marshmallows for Sara.

It actually looks like winter here now, with some more on the way (though it could be mixed with rain).

My comp entry is going nowhere fast. Will keep plugging at it, but not sure I am as "on to something" as I thought.

Breath is full of CO2.

Truth be told, I kind of still prefer Tarja as Christine but don't tell my buds on Floorworld that.😉 Though the recent performance took place not long after Floor had surgery (breast cancer) so she may not have been in peak form yet. Floor did hold the final note longer, though.

Speaking of a certain Finnish symphonic metal band, they revived a song that has been off their setlists for 17 years when they played Amsterdam on the European tour last Fall. Fulfilling a promise made by lead singer Floor Jansen to her friend and duet partner Henk Poort, they performed "The Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the first time since 2005 with Henk joining in on the male part. Henk actually sang the role on stage many years ago so knows the piece well and Floor has done it with him many times since they first performed it together in 2019 so this is a wonderful performance all round.

In the original Nightwish cover (they originally covered it for their album Century Child and also performed it live in concerts after that album came out), it was original lead singer Tarja Turunen and bassist-vocalist Marko Hietala and the live video of it from their live DVD End of an Era is also wonderful.

The coffee of the day is a Jamaican Blue Mountain. We have pots of Irish Breakfast and Lemon tea at ready. Hot water is on standby for hot chocolate and other teas.

Lots of nice, white fluffy snow on the ground here. Figures it would wait until we were back from NOLA. Sigh.

My hernia is staying for now. No urgent for surgery based on ultrasound so the surgeon and I agreed to revisit it in six months. I am in no hurry to get surgery that, at present, really is not necessary since the dang thing isn't really bothering me.

Quote by Molly
We also have things in the works for SS, things to help grow the site and they will be laid out here as they become available.

This, on the other hand, is good news. This place sometimes feels neglected next to (redacted).

Quote by Molly
I'm not sure how this can be seen as a negative for our writers.

Never said it was a negative, just not sure how much it accomplishes in a community this small vs. the very large one across the virtual street.

I would love it to work, but I need to be sold by more than words. Let's see how it goes.

Quote by Molly
New members signing up will receive coins as part of their membership fee,

So does this mean paid memberships are coming? If not how will this work here? Buying coins seems like a kind of stealth paid upgrade to me.

Given our small numbers, I do not see this being as advantageous here as there but it will be interesting to see how it works out.

Quote by verbal
Fire Protection Board, Parks and Rec Board, Water District Board.

You elect those? Here, those are a mix of councillors and citizens with a nomination process ending in a slate approved by Council. Library board is like that, too. Only municipal councils and school boards (which are independent of local councils) are directly elected.

The snow has begun...🌨️😲

But it's warm and cozy in the cafe. Stoked the fire and put out fresh, clean blankets.

Coffee is Costa Rican medium roast. Teas are Russian Caravan and English Breakfast. Hot water is ready for hot chocolate or mother teas.

Hunker down and have a nice (warm) day. Sadly, I must venture out. Medical consultation for my hernia.

Gratefully enjoy what nature offers.

Good morning, Gil and all.

Snow on the ground and more on the way if the weather geeks are to be believed. I am half-inclined to head back South until March. After going in fits and starts, seems like winter is starting to happen in earnest.

Coffee is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Teas are English Breakfast and Cream of Earl Grey. Hot water is ready for hot chocolate or other teas.

Roman ruins if I am in a place that has them (holds up Classics degree😎). But modern museums can be interesting, too. Killed a day in the National WWII Museum in New Orleans last week.

Snail mail or email to send a letter?

The "Made in New Orleans" playlist on Amazon Music. Both for inspiration and to remind of my time there.

10, 000 words but my reality is such that the 10 flashes is probably more realistic.

Go sightseeing or lounge at a resort?

Quote by verbal
It time for my all feline production of Bat Boy: the Musical!

I would watch that, I think.😹

Seems to be fixed now. And I see the new logo style has been applied here. Really like it.👍

Boo boo. He's smaller. Yogi could be scary if he went full-on bear.

Write a story or paint a picture?

Quote by verbal

It was really good. Talia had an omelet, I went for the turkey melt. Yumsters.

I ate more eggs on the cruise than I normally do in a quarter, I think. I don't really like eggs on their own, just as something like an omelette. Carnival has on the spot omelette bars on their breakfast buffet with a nice assortment of add-ins.

Good morning. No omelettes here. Back to work so no time to cook them

However, we do have a pot of nice strong coffee, and pots of Red Rose and Sunday Tea. And, as always, there's hot water ready for other teas and hot chocolate. Mini-marshmallows and other add-ons checked and refilled, too.

Have a good one!

Interesting. We were just discussing electronic music in a thread on another site I frequent and Oxygene was the example of Jarre posted, IIRC.

Not really listening to anything right now but I can hear Mrs. M watching TV as she exercises.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

Just watched Season 1, Episode 1 of Star Trek: Next Generation. Wow, it looks almost as dated as the original series! Where has all that time gone? 😲

I think that if I was going to watch it again, I would skip season 1. Dated or not, it really took a couple seasons for that show to get up to speed. But then seasons 3-5 or 6 were the best Trek I have seen (didn't watch much of the later series).

I have only shot a bow, not a crossbow, and was terrible at it. But I suspect a crossbow would actually work better for me so that.

Target shooting or actual hunting?

Quote by TaliaRussell

Good morning, all - tough week ahead - my usual hybrid schedule won’t be in effect due to a team member’s vacation. I have to be in the office by 8 every day! Wah!! On the plus side, Verbal and I will be heading to IHOP soon!

I am on hybrid (2 days at home, 3 in office) but that's partly due to juggling a car with my wife. Once my new car arrives (should be end of the month per my sales guy), then it may become more variable.

But in by 8? Eek! I go in for 8:30 but largely stems from history. I used to be the sole IT support for the company so being in early was a good thing in case something barfed overnight or there was a run of calls first thing. Now that I am the department head and others take most of the calls, I don't really need be in early.

(Also our VP insists on having bi-weekly management team meetings at 8:30am every other Wednesday, which is a day I go in)

I was remarking to my wife in NOLA that I have not been in an IHOP since I was a kid. We had breakfast there (still International House of Pancakes then) when my family visited Florida. A lot of US chains are starting to come up here right now so maybe we'll have one here someday.

Gift bag. Wrapping gifts is a pain and Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Glasses or contacts?

Good morning! Putting on some Nicaraguan dark roast from Las Chicas for the coffee crowd. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Black Currant. Hot water is ready for other fine hot beverages, like hot chocolate and other teas.

I have this opening paragraph for a Mardi Gras story that is going nowhere. There has to be a story there, but I am not finding it. So might dump it for now and meditate on possible stories. Mardi Gras is quite old, though its modern form in more recent, so maybe delving into the history again as I did in the museum will help.

Makes a green tea and takes a lion and bear. Wanders away chuckling

Not usually a fan of Leann Rimes, but this one really grabbed me when she dropped the original video. This is a live performance from Luke Evans : Showtime, a concert video that she was a guest on.

Quote by gillianleeza

I had the exact same thoughts. The idea of a fungus seemed interesting at first but it quickly turned into another, survive an event only to realize that the infected are a small part of the problem. Terrible human beings are the other. I'm not sure if I'll watch the next episode.

It's based on a videogame, rarely an auspicious start for originality. Interestingly, the reviews I have seen have been fairly positive. The fundamental problem is how long can you keep people being stalked by the living dead interesting. The people being terrible thing is more interesting to a lot of watchers than the zombies, I think.

I think the whole genre is kind of played out and was never overly fond of it to start with. I like Night of the Living Dead (the 1968 black and white B-movie that started the genre) and a few others have been interesting but overall, not my thing.

Quote by JamesPBear
I went to bed last night with ZERO ideas for the Mardi Gras comp, and woke up with a rather unsettling one. We'll see if it settles or not.

I am toying with a basic premise but have not got far with it so not sure where it leads. It all starts in a bar on Bourbon Street (it's NOLA, where else would you start but Bourbon?)

Thanks for getting the goodies going, Bear.