Mexican Weather Girl Yanet Garcia Heats Up NYC, Buffalo Got Some Snow & Randy Savage Beer Cans
Welp, it feels like January outside
There's never been a better day in the middle of November to sit inside and watch SEC cupcake week. It's freaking COLD outside. It's been so cold that our long-hair dog who LOVES winter doesn't even want to be outside very long. She wants her warm bed and a crackling fire.
Now, I'm not going to complain too much about the weather because on the eastern side of Lake Erie it's a whole other story. I don't know the exact location where Guy G. in western New York lives, but he's somewhere in the firing line for all that snow. That's why he has enough firewood to burn for like 8,000 straight days. Hopefully, we get a full report out of Guy G. at some point this weekend when he's done digging out.
Look at these totals:
The 10-year average for annual snowfall where I live on the other side of the lake is around 37 inches and people here act like life is so damn hard in the winter.
Just a little perspective on life and snow this morning.
Wendy's chili?
• John in SD writes:
Loved the Cincinnati Chili post and picture, grew up with it in Ohio as well. How do TX Chili fanatics feel about Wendy’s chili? Pretty solid quick lunch option! (Screencaps controversy, for sure, standing by).
That's a bold statement from John in SD. He's gonna fire up the Texans. It's just a matter of seconds after I post this.
BTW, I know a guy who swears Wendy's throws leftover burgers into their chili. Can anyone confirm?
Pulled the trigger on a $200 55" QLED at Best Buy
Now, I know the big TV conversation around here has been on 86-inchers dropping below $1k at the box stores and I am 100% in the market, but last night I had a deal pop up that I couldn't turn down. Best Buy has a TCL 55" QLED for $199.99 that was calling my name for the family room.
You're probably thinking I live in a Cracker Jack box buying such a small TV for the family room, but the way the room is laid out, it's the perfect size. And price! It's like they're giving away these things this winter.
And I'm fully aware the Chinese are pumping out these TV to dumb down Americans to the point where Xi and Bron Bron rule the world, but guys, I can't stop buying these TVs at the prices they're sitting at. In fact, I'm shocked my wife hasn't told me to stop buying TVs.
Look at it this way, it's cheaper than having a gambling addiction.
Another Battery Daddy customer checks in -- #notsponsored
Thanksgiving Eve
• Eddie from Acworth, who is riding high as his Dawgs are unstoppable and on their way to another national championship, writes:
Your Thanksgiving Eve stories made me think about all my Thanksgivings (and Christmases too) since my wife and I got married 30 years ago. Her parents (dad has passed but mom is still kicking it) are wonderful people, but they are completely against ANYTHING to do with alcohol.
Neither have ever had a sip.
Which brings me to my point-I have not had a drop of alcohol on either Thanksgiving or Christmas day in 30 years because we are at their home on both holidays. When I hear people talk about getting hammered on Thanksgiving it seems totally foreign to me after all these years. By no means am I complaining, but as my boys have recently reached drinking age they HATE the fact they can't imbibe on these holidays.
What is even funnier is that my wedding was DRY because her parents paid for the wedding and we were just out of college. My college frat buddies still give me hell about this although they figured out a way to imbibe in the parking lot much to the pastor's chagrin.
My boys even mentioned we should seek out some moonshine this holiday season as it is clear and easy to hide and probably easy to find in her neck of the woods-she lives in the rural mountains of NE Ga-Deliverance was actually filmed in the area.
I will keep you and the readers posted-but as of now it looks like a dry Thanksgiving and Christmas again this year....first world problems......
Cheers to you and yours this holiday season and thanks for your great Screencaps work-9:30 am has become "must refresh Twitter time"!
Eddie, at this point, it's tradition. You might as well keep the holidays dry as long as grandma keeps chugging along with life.
Paigeviews appreciation and partying in Windsor, Ontario memories
• Craig V., who has to be one of the longest-serving fans of this column going back to the Busted Coverage days, writes:
Been a while since I reached out but I’m still as loyal a reader as ever. With you paring back your Instagram models, I had to put in one simple request: please don’t ever let Paige-views off of the caps. I remember the first time I saw her was on the OG caps like 8+ years ago when she was still at SDSU doing golf trick shots. I sent it to my college roommate and a star was born among us. She certainly has her own corner of Outkick across the other writers. But seeing her on the caps is like finding a $5 bill in a pair of pants; always a pleasant surprise.
Your comment about not looking up what Windsor, ON has become brought a little sadness to my heart. It brought back a very fond memory of 3 19-year-olds going across the Ambassador Bridge for 36 hours of pure debauchery. We didn’t get in until midnight because we got lost in Detroit. Mind you, this is well before the days of Maps recalculating you. You had to recalculate yourself. Our first course of action was to get as loaded as possible and then head to the gentleman’s club.
Of course we go to Jason’s and get a bunch of Jason’s dollars and have an enjoyable evening. Then we head back to the casino and had a great run at the poker table. We overslept our checkout the next day and headed straight back to the tables. I ended up winning nearly $1000, which is far too much money for a 19-year-old to have in cash in a foreign country. Needless to drinks flowed and a good time was had by all.
So Sunday we head back across the Ambassador bridge and one of the border patrol agents looks at our IDs. I’m wearing sunglasses because light was not exactly my greatest friend at that juncture. He sternly asked me to remove them and questions why he should believe we are US citizens. I said I didn’t know. We are all from Indiana so he said, if you’re actually from Indiana, name the starting 5 for the 1987 national title team. Friend in the backseat perks up and hammers them out like they were kin and goes back to sleep.
After that ordeal, we stop and get food. I reach into my pocket to pay for my greasy burger and fries only to find out I had $32 left from my day/night previous. What’s worse, it was not legal tender. It was in fact only Jason’s dollars. This is how I am going to remember Windsor and not what you say it has become.
Appreciate all you do for us regular dudes. Hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving!
Craig, I need you to sit down for this news. Jason's is GONE. Out of business.
Now I'm feeling like the old guys I used to work with who would talk about the good old days, but the late 1990s and early 2000s aren't coming back to downtown Windsor. Those days are over.
If you're cold now, just wait
• Mark W. in Tennessee has been trying to warn people it's going to be a difficult winter for many. Today, he writes:
It is going to be interesting to see how we hold up if we have a very harsh winter. A lack of investment and modernization of the grid coupled with the insane notion that green energy can serve as an adequate replacement for existing power generation has left us in a precarious position. The number of self-inflicted wounds on the economy and American citizens is breathtaking. Note that Americans are paying 47% more for their electricity than a year ago.
Mark continues:
The data in this article is from Bloomberg:
+++++
The US heating season has officially begun, and new warnings show that a quarter of all Americans could experience energy emergencies this winter if temperatures fall below average due to tight fossil fuel supplies.
Power grids from the Great Lakes to Louisiana, New England, Carolinas, and all of Texas are the most at risk for power supply shortfalls during high-demand periods, according to Bloomberg, citing a new report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a regulatory body that manages grid stability.
NERC said a cold snap for an extended period could spark grid strain due to soaring power demand from households and businesses. This would cause supplies of natural gas, coal, and backup diesel generators to draw down more quickly and possibly experience shortages.
"The trend is we see more areas at risk, we see more retirements of critical generation, fuel challenges and we are doing everything we can.
"These challenges don't kind of appear out of nowhere," John Moura, NERC's director of reliability assessment, said during a media briefing.
For instance, the demand for diesel is rising, but East Coast supplies are at record lows for this time of year. Shortage of fuel used to power the economy, from heating to trucking, has about 25 days left of supplies in storage. Any supply disruption could leave power generation plants with supply gaps this winter.
Jim Matheson, chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, told Bloomberg that electricity demand is set to outpace "available supply during peak winter conditions, consumers face an inconceivable but real threat of rolling blackouts."
Matheson warned: "It doesn't have to be this way. But absent a shift in state and federal energy policy, this is a reality we will face for years to come."
NERC's warning about unstable grids covers about a quarter of the US population. The average household is expected to pay 47% more for electricity than a year ago -- and there are at least 20 million households behind on utility bills.
########
You can read the full Bloomberg report here.
On permanent Christmas lights...this is serious business
• Nathan E. was firing away at the Screencaps inbox less than an hour after Friday Screencaps was posted.
I'm combining the topics of permanent lights and doing hard things.
I decided this year I wanted to go a little bigger with Christmas lights. You see all the shows of people who can do designs and light up the neighborhood and I want to get there eventually, but I'm starting slow.
I read all the blogs and watched all the youtube videos and set out. Bought the lights and power supplies on amazon, the controller from a specialty site, and vinyl J channel from the local hardware store. I proceeded to drill holes in the J channel three inches apart and stapled it up under the soffit. Then to hook up the controller and program it (the hardest part), hang the lights in the J channel, and plug-in power where needed throughout the string (the trickiest part). I started in August when it was good and warm and did small sections when I had some free time.
Now it's all finished and I'm very pleased with the project. The best part is they can't be seen during the rest of the year because they blend in, and I won't have to get on a ladder in early January to take them down.
To the question of will I light them up during the year, you better believe it. Kids' birthdays, July 4, Halloween, when my alma mater wins a big game, they will be on!
The perfect way to end Saturday Screencaps
• Mike T. went on a walk for those worried about his cholesterol. And you're damn right he took a photo of the parrots in Malaga, Spain enjoying a beautiful morning.
Have a great day. Enjoy those college football cupcakes. Crush those wings you're smoking. Stay warm.
Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Pittsburgh for a mini-Screencaps summit. It should be a great time. If any of you are already going to the Bengals-Steelers game, let me know where your tailgate is at. I'll grab a beer before entering the big ketchup bottle.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com