Deluxestogie Grow Log 2025

[deluxestogie]

I removed all my dry boxes from my mini-fridge this morning, to allow them to come up to room temperature, prior to opening. It took me a mere 45 minutes to go through all the poorly indexed boxes and Ziploc bags this afternoon, to locate seed for my three planned varieties for 2025:

• Lancaster Seedleaf
• Havana 322
• Prilep 66-9/7

I'll be starting the seed in early March, for planting in early May.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Nudges

It will be a relatively small grow. I won't need any of this for a couple of months. But if I don't start preparing early, the pending tasks act as discouragement. I put the sticks into the Ziploc bag, and leave it resting on the corner of my kitchen counter. A daily nudge.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Temp at ~7:30 this morning:

It bottomed out at 4.5°F. (I'm one of the lucky ones. Parts of Colorado hit actual temperatures of -41°F [-40.5°C] overnight.) I've had my faucets dripping for several days now. So far, no burst pipes.

I will not be smoking a cigar out on my front porch. Just a pipe in the study.

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

This is cold!

Some parts of our building were badly designed and we also have to let a faucet and a toilet drip to avoid pipes freezing when temperature gets below ~-10°C (14 °F) for more than one day.

 

[deluxestogie]

Some parts of our building were badly designed...

So you're saying that some parts of your building were designed well! That's good. I'm afraid no part of my old farmhouse would qualify as having been well designed.

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

So you're saying that some parts of your building were designed well!

Sometimes I need to try to convince myself with this

 

[deluxestogie]

My forecast for the wee hours this morning was a low of 9°F. What I've noticed over the years is that if there is no wind, the temp will often drop further, down to the dewpoint (which was forecast to be 2°F this morning). There was a very slight breeze just prior to sunrise today. My actual temp measured at 4.8°F.

I've seen the same phenomenon when the temp forecast low is in the upper 30s, but the dewpoint forecast is below 32°F. This usually foretells a freeze.

Bob

 

[Bottenslam]

Damn, -40c is no joke, last winter we got hit with about -35c for a cupple of weeks where i lived. I felt like a astronaut getting ready to go outside

 

[deluxestogie]

 

[Bottenslam]

Only -22 on Mars? You could practicaly go tanning there

 

[deluxestogie]

Reminiscences of a Bygone Era

Once upon a time, when a business accepted your money for the purchase of an item, they actually provided you with that item. And once upon a time, the US Postal Service actually functioned.

In December of 2024, I ordered a book from Amazon. I timed the order so that it would be delivered to my sister before her birthday in early January. Amazon took my payment. Nearly 3 weeks later, well past my sister's birthday, Amazon informed me that it was not available. They refunded my payment.

The same day (14 January 2025) that I was informed of the non-availability of the item that I had purchased, I ordered the very same book from Thriftbooks.com. That was shipped via USPS by Thriftbooks on January 16...from Phoenix, AZ. That's a 33 hour drive from me.

As of today, 29 January 2025, USPS has already managed to ship the book west from Phoenix (to Nevada), northeast (to Pennsylvania), south to Roanoke, VA (on 26 January)—a mere 30 miles from my home, yet farther south to North Carolina (today), and still has not been able to project a delivery date.

The book will likely arrive...eventually.

It is true that events never unfold in accordance with our expectations, though they may sometimes come close. Our expectations are always based on the past. [As I post this, I hear the mail delivery vehicle drive past my mailbox, without stopping.]

Bob

 

[SlamFire]

Reminiscences of a Bygone Era

Once upon a time, when a business accepted your money for the purchase of an item, they actually provided you with that item. And once upon a time, the US Postal Service actually functioned.

In December of 2024, I ordered a book from Amazon. I timed the order so that it would be delivered to my sister before her birthday in early January. Amazon took my payment. Nearly 3 weeks later, well past my sister's birthday, Amazon informed me that it was not available. They refunded my payment.

The same day (14 January 2025) that I was informed of the non-availability of the item that I had purchased, I ordered the very same book from Thriftbooks.com. That was shipped via USPS by Thriftbooks on January 16...from Phoenix, AZ. That's a 33 hour drive from me.

As of today, 29 January 2025, USPS has already managed to ship the book west from Phoenix (to Nevada), northeast (to Pennsylvania), south to Roanoke, VA (on 26 January)—a mere 30 miles from my home, yet farther south to North Carolina (today), and still has not been able to project a delivery date.

The book will likely arrive...eventually.

It is true that events never unfold in accordance with our expectations, though they may sometimes come close. Our expectations are always based on the past. [As I post this, I hear the mail delivery vehicle drive past my mailbox, without stopping.]

Bob

Sadly, the Amazon-ation of America has fully settled in.... What was once a high quality service that boasted of rapid shipments has devolved into a virtual commercial retail hegemony where we peasants must await whatever quality of service the master has deemed appropriate...

 

[TigerTom]

Reminiscences of a Bygone Era

Once upon a time, when a business accepted your money for the purchase of an item, they actually provided you with that item. And once upon a time, the US Postal Service actually functioned.

In December of 2024, I ordered a book from Amazon. I timed the order so that it would be delivered to my sister before her birthday in early January. Amazon took my payment. Nearly 3 weeks later, well past my sister's birthday, Amazon informed me that it was not available. They refunded my payment.

The same day (14 January 2025) that I was informed of the non-availability of the item that I had purchased, I ordered the very same book from Thriftbooks.com. That was shipped via USPS by Thriftbooks on January 16...from Phoenix, AZ. That's a 33 hour drive from me.

As of today, 29 January 2025, USPS has already managed to ship the book west from Phoenix (to Nevada), northeast (to Pennsylvania), south to Roanoke, VA (on 26 January)—a mere 30 miles from my home, yet farther south to North Carolina (today), and still has not been able to project a delivery date.

The book will likely arrive...eventually.

It is true that events never unfold in accordance with our expectations, though they may sometimes come close. Our expectations are always based on the past. [As I post this, I hear the mail delivery vehicle drive past my mailbox, without stopping.]

Bob

Reminds me of the time I sold a cornet to a player in Washington. I went to my local post office here in Sacramento and sent it off, insured and with signature required for delivery. USPS took it and shipped it to Los Angeles where it sat for several days before getting their heads on straight and sending it up to Washington, where it belonged.

Lovely service.

 

[ProZachJ]

Reminiscences of a Bygone Era

Once upon a time, when a business accepted your money for the purchase of an item, they actually provided you with that item. And once upon a time, the US Postal Service actually functioned.

In December of 2024, I ordered a book from Amazon. I timed the order so that it would be delivered to my sister before her birthday in early January. Amazon took my payment. Nearly 3 weeks later, well past my sister's birthday, Amazon informed me that it was not available. They refunded my payment.

The same day (14 January 2025) that I was informed of the non-availability of the item that I had purchased, I ordered the very same book from Thriftbooks.com. That was shipped via USPS by Thriftbooks on January 16...from Phoenix, AZ. That's a 33 hour drive from me.

As of today, 29 January 2025, USPS has already managed to ship the book west from Phoenix (to Nevada), northeast (to Pennsylvania), south to Roanoke, VA (on 26 January)—a mere 30 miles from my home, yet farther south to North Carolina (today), and still has not been able to project a delivery date.

The book will likely arrive...eventually.

It is true that events never unfold in accordance with our expectations, though they may sometimes come close. Our expectations are always based on the past. [As I post this, I hear the mail delivery vehicle drive past my mailbox, without stopping.]

Bob

We may need to plot how many grow blogs over time contain criticism of USPS.

ProZachJ's 2024 Grow Log

USPS Sucks The greenhouse is already jumping with tomato and pepper seedlings and I'm all jazzed to seed my first tobacco grow, only one problem USPS. Evidently it takes more than 4 days to get a package less than 200 miles down I-45. ...but Zach the weather has been bad...let me tell you no...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[DaleB]

It's not like the alternatives (UPS, FedEx) are any better, unfortunately.

 

[MadFarmer]

Sadly, the Amazon-ation of America has fully settled in.... What was once a high quality service that boasted of rapid shipments has devolved into a virtual commercial retail hegemony where we peasants must await whatever quality of service the master has deemed appropriate..

It's called Enshittification.

Enshittification - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[deluxestogie]

Yay! My shipped book managed to go from the Roanoke, VA distribution center all the way to the Raleigh, NC distribution center, and back to the Roanoke, VA distribution center again—in a mere 4 days!

I have to admit that this takes on a rather amusing absurdity. It's been over a month since I originally ordered the book, and 16 days since I re-ordered the book from a different source. In that length of time, I could have leisurely ridden a horse from Christiansburg, VA, in 1792, along the mud roads to Philadelphia (during George Washington's presidency), to search for a book in a Philadelphia book stall, then turn around and return by horse along the mud roads, to southwest Virginia.

The good old days. But there would have been the mud, the feeding of the horse (and me), and all the overnight lodging, not to mention the weather risks.

The book will likely arrive...eventually.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

Not to mention the possibility of not knowing the area very well….

 

[deluxestogie]

not knowing the area very well

Christiansburg was originally a rest stop along the Great Wagon Road. Every adult living there in 1792 arrived via the Great Road.

(I have a newer car that's only 23 years old.)

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

That tiny yellow dot beyond the left edge of my mailbox is the flag that tells me that the mail has arrived. An email informed me that the book I ordered two weeks ago has arrived.

My choices are:

• slosh through the flooded driveway (that was bone dry yesterday)
• slosh through the flooded grass
• drive my car to the end of the driveway
• wait until tomorrow

Decisions; decisions. I guess I'll go out and start the car.

Bob