How is the weather out there?

[3CityApache]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

No one measures a mile in yards.

In what, then? Kilometer is 1000 meters, plain and simple. How many of what is a mile?

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you want to order royales with cheese. 

This is where you lost me.

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If you come back I'd recommend seeing some in the upper Northeast if you like the woods and seafood. Plus it's probably not as expensive as some other places.

The plan is to take my daughters, fly to NYC, rent a car and drive all the way to LA (have a family there), seeing as much as possible on the way. The plan needs some savings first though, so I'm not sure it's feasible next year.

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There's some great places in the Carolinas too, but then you'll have to expose yourself to "real Murikans." 

That would be a challenge.

[Tears of Lys]

Well, I can explain some of it.  Royales with cheese is what they call McDonald's Big Mac's in France - according to the film "Pulp Fiction."  Don't know if it's true or not.  

The Carolinas contain some beautiful country, some real rednecks, but mostly nice people.  It's also hotter than hell (outside of the mountains) in the summer.  Springs are long and beautiful.  

Driving across the US is something (I guess) you should do once.  I did it once and once was enough.  

[Tywin et al.]

3 hours ago, 3CityApache said:

In what, then? Kilometer is 1000 meters, plain and simple. How many of what is a mile?

Feet. There's 5280 feet in a mile, not 1760 yards. 

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This is where you lost me.

 

3 hours ago, Tears of Lys said:

Well, I can explain some of it.  Royales with cheese is what they call McDonald's Big Mac's in France - according to the film "Pulp Fiction."  Don't know if it's true or not.  

Sigh, close but no cigar:

He is right in the scene though, countries that aren't in disrepair and/or under totalitarian regimes are pretty similar, just with small differences. I hate when people from here call the US the freest country in the world. Bullshit. Tell me you haven't traveled abroad without telling me you haven't. 

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The plan is to take my daughters, fly to NYC, rent a car and drive all the way to LA (have a family there), seeing as much as possible on the way. The plan needs some savings first though, so I'm not sure it's feasible next year.

Honestly I'm not sure that's a great idea unless you have like 4-6 weeks to do it. The US is the third largest country in the world with Canada barely beating us out, but there's just too much to see and do. You'll spend way too much time in your car and won't be able to appreciate a lot of it. Plus the middle of the country is mostly a snore. You'd have to zig up here to Minny or down to Tennessee to enjoy the best parts. Since you have family in LA I'd suggest flying to San Fran and spending a week or two sightseeing as you drive down there to LA along the coast. There's a lot of great travel guides covering numerous places you could see and stay at and that trip will save you a ton of money. Plus you can show them a number of parks along the way. Also keep in mind California is larger than Poland. 

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That would be a challenge.

To be fair not everyone is the stereotype you have in mind. At least in the cities. Good luck in the middle of nowhere though. 

[Zorral]

Flying to NYC, getting a car and then driving down the Atlantic coast to Florida would be beautiful if you pick the right routes that aren't entirely freeway, stopping along the way, with many opportunities to eat well, as well as see loads of US history from the colonial era through the War of the Rebellion.

 

[3CityApache]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Feet. There's 5280 feet in a mile, not 1760 yards. 

Are you seriously trying to argue, that 5280 feet is more practical than 1000 meters? 

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Honestly I'm not sure that's a great idea unless you have like 4-6 weeks to do it.

4-6 weeks is out of question, but 3 weeks I believe is doable.

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Since you have family in LA I'd suggest flying to San Fran and spending a week or two sightseeing as you drive down there to LA along the coast. There's a lot of great travel guides covering numerous places you could see and stay at and that trip will save you a ton of money.

Actually we did something similar at the end of our 2005 trip, we drove from San Francisco to Las Vegas, going south along the coast for the first 200 miles or so. And the thing is, my daughters' dream is to drive across the States, not along its coasts, however beautiful it may be. But thanks for the tips guys. And you still have a very cheap gas, or electricity for that matter, if we opt for a Tesla, which is tempting.  

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To be fair not everyone is the stereotype you have in mind. At least in the cities. Good luck in the middle of nowhere though. 

Mate, I know, stereotypical Pole is hardly better.

Edited August 25, 2023 by 3CityApache

[ThinkerX]

Gah. Carpentry. Studs 16 inches center to center. Same for roof rafters - I don't buy into the two-foot center to center crap. 2x4's for interior walls, 2x6's for exterior, 2x8's and up for plumbing walls and floor/ceiling joists. Of course, since this is all dimensional lumber, your 2x4 is closer to 1.75 x 3.5 - and good luck finding wood that isn't warped. Four studs so spaced comes to four feet - and damn near all the plywood, OSB, and sheetrock is 4x8 feet (4x12 with some sheetrock.) The sticks come in 'stud length' (so one stud, plus two bottom plates and one upper plate = eight feet. Planks also come in eight, ten-, twelve-, sixteen-, and twenty-foot lengths. Those are the numbers (dimensions) you *HAVE* to learn to think in for carpentry in the US.

[Tears of Lys]

6 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Sigh, close but no cigar:

 

Doh!  To be fair, though, Big Macs are tastier than Quarter Pounders.  

[Lord of Oop North]

3 hours ago, ThinkerX said:

Gah. Carpentry. Studs 16 inches center to center. Same for roof rafters - I don't buy into the two-foot center to center crap. 2x4's for interior walls, 2x6's for exterior, 2x8's and up for plumbing walls and floor/ceiling joists. Of course, since this is all dimensional lumber, your 2x4 is closer to 1.75 x 3.5 - and good luck finding wood that isn't warped. Four studs so spaced comes to four feet - and damn near all the plywood, OSB, and sheetrock is 4x8 feet (4x12 with some sheetrock.) The sticks come in 'stud length' (so one stud, plus two bottom plates and one upper plate = eight feet. Planks also come in eight, ten-, twelve-, sixteen-, and twenty-foot lengths. Those are the numbers (dimensions) you *HAVE* to learn to think in for carpentry in the US.

Joke is on you, even in English metric countries carpenters are all using materials based on imperial dimensions, just converted. Except Canada.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Lord of Oop North

[Tywin et al.]

47 minutes ago, Tears of Lys said:

Doh!  To be fair, though, Big Macs are tastier than Quarter Pounders.  

Fast food burgers stink. If you have to get one go to Five Guys. Even In-N-Out is pretty underwhelming and certainly not worth the wait. Best to go to a good burger joint where they're not cooking yours until after you've ordered it. And a lot of them also have their own fancy milkshakes. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Tywin et al.

[Tears of Lys]

12 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Fast food burgers stink. If you have to get one go to Five Guys. Even In-N-Out is pretty underwhelming and certainly not worth the wait. Best to go to a good burger joint where they're not cooking yours until after you've ordered it. And a lot of them also have their own fancy milkshakes. 

I'd agree with you, except there's this one McD's near us that consistently has the freshest, tastiest burgers.  Even Jules would agree.

[ThinkerX]

1 hour ago, Lord of Oop North said:

Joke is on you, even in English metric countries carpenters are all using materials based on imperial dimensions, just converted. Except Canada.

That must make for some strange metric dimensions.

[Lord of Oop North]

7 hours ago, ThinkerX said:

That must make for some strange metric dimensions.

Indeed! For example, 4x8 plywood is still common in other countries (I.e. Australia, New Zealand, etc.). It is usually 2440x1220 or 2400x1200. Or for framing lumber, you can get 90x45mm lumber, i.e. a 2x4 nominal in the USA. Then you can get 120x45, 140x45, 190x45, 240x45, 290x45 which are roughly nominal 2x5, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, 2x12. So there are some slight differences, but you can see that the "metric" sizes are ultimately evolved from imperial ones.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Lord of Oop North

[Tears of Lys]

We've had some hellacious storms 'round here lately.  More rain than we know what to do with.  

Oh, yeah, we've got the water all right.   

[Zorral]

Rain, threatening to rain, humidity off the charts, day-after-day this week.  The temps were low(er), thank goodness, but today they've begun climbing so we're in the 80's with 90+ humidity.  Can we say "steambath", boys and girls?

[Tears of Lys]

3 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Rain, threatening to rain, humidity off the charts, day-after-day this week.  The temps were low(er), thank goodness, but today they've begun climbing so we're in the 80's with 90+ humidity.  Can we say "steambath", boys and girls?

I keep telling myself it's good for the complexion.

[Zorral]

44 minutes ago, Tears of Lys said:

I keep telling myself it's good for the complexion.

Not really, particularly if one has to wear a mask due to the covid numbers galloping again.

I did it in a theater this week to hear a friend's concert, for over two hours, and I was miserable.

 

[Underfoot]

Day 3 of no power due to storms last week. DTE sucks, but at least this weekend has been nice weather, cooling down and the humidity is lessening too. If this has happened a week ago I'd be miserable. Strange how disruptive no power is, but also how peaceful. 

[Zorral]

Cannot have a cold drink w/o the condensation dripping all over one's top, whether indoors or outdoors.

As if this is a problem, other than for privileged healthy (at the moment) folks such as me.

[baxus]

Finally, a break from the heat wave! We've had some normal temperature breeze yesterday evening and some rain during the night and for the first time in a while I woke up without my sleeping t-shirt soaked in sweat.

Mind you, I said a break from the heat wave, not cooling down. It will still be 28-29ºC which is still hot, but manageable.

[Zorral]

We are all hoping that DMC and his family will be able to ride out the next few days safely down there in FL.