Smeggie

Oh shit I missed this.  Sorry....I could have used this last night.

Edit:  Glad to see @ShadyBradykept his clothes on this time.  I expect nothing less from @Duffy and @wildthing

1 hour ago, BlackRose said:

Wow thats horrible. looks like house next door had minimal damage,,that could have taken out a few houses.

Sorry for your loss but glad your safe!

Most of the blast went out towards the Alpha side (front) of the house and to the Delta side (right side) but the debris field was 100 yards in pretty much every direction.  The house to the right is uninhabitable and the homeowners are displaced.  The house directly across the street suffered significant damage and it blew the back doors out of that house.  Those folks are able to stay in their house.  

We had one fire engine positioned three houses to the right at a fire hydrant.  A 2x4 blasted through several trees taking down very large branches with it.  The 2x4 hit the fire engine and took out the officer side windshield and ripped the large mirror on that side of the engine.  Our tower truck was parked in the street just to the Bravo side (left side) of the house and a large section of the roof landed that truck with enough force it dislodged the ladder from it's parked position and significantly dented the side of it.  

Several of the houses closest to the blast have been condemned until contractors are able to get in and shore them up.  Even though the siding may look okay on the outside they have significant structural damage to them.  Vinyl siding flexes.  drywall and 2x4's not so much 

Some of you have probably seen the reports of the tragedy that not only happened in my neighborhood (5 houses down!) but also struck my firefighter family last night.

Many of you may (or may not) know that I have been volunteering at the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company for the past 15 years.

Last night my wife and I were finishing our dinner when I noticed a dispatch on my cell phone for an outside gas leak just up the street from my house.

These are generally routine calls, however, last night was anything but normal.  

Our crews arrived on scene to find an underground 500 gallon propane tank leaking.  As they normally do, they request a hazardous materials response to assist with these types of calls.

Within seconds the home literally exploded.  Our house shook like a plane crashed on it.  I bolted out front and saw the huge plume of smoke and a fireball that was taller than the trees.  I immediately knew what happened.

As a company photographer I grabbed my boots and my camera and bolted.  I was there in less than 3 minutes after the blast.  It was literally like a war zone.

We lost a brother last night.  And 7 others from my fire company were severely injured.  A few were released this morning, but others remain in the hospital.  Please say a prayer for them all.....

I want to thank those of you that reached out to me this morning.  You have no idea how much that means to me. 

 My wife and I, and our house are fine.  We are devastated at the loss of our beloved friend firefighter Trevor Brown.  And we are anxious to get the rest of our firefighters out of the hospital.

Please keep them all in your prayers....

Here is a local news story about the incident:

https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2024/02/possible-house-explosion-rocks-loudoun-co-2/

Prayers and good vibes coming your way.  I have had a few friends that have gone through the procedure with great success!

21 minutes ago, Timmah! said:

Your name is 'Smeg'...it's all about sticky.

I set myself up for that one!  Touché! 

I like a dry rub wing over a saucy wing.  Gave the wife an air fryer for xmas.  Anybody know of a good wing recipe for air fyers?

1 hour ago, rexbowan said:

Happy Birthday folks! @SGTSmegyou might get some new boat accessories!

I love the way you think @rexbowan!

Welcome @ToySoldier, really enjoy playing with you in game!

9 hours ago, Timmah! said:

You REALLY should make it; amazingly great.

Freshly grated parm on top sends it

5 hours ago, Timmah! said:

15 pounds of homemade goodness. 

 

That looks legit @Timmah!

It's not quite New Years here....  The wife and I have a new tradition of visiting the sleepy town of Manteo, North Carolina the past few years.  It's located on Roanoke Island and is famous for the Lost Colony and Virginia Dare.  Google it...interesting story.   They celebrated with fireworks at 8pm and the ship will glow with 2024 at midnight.  I may (or may not) stay up to see that.  2023 can suck it as far as I am concerned LOL

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024!

Dammit! 

That's awesome!  Congrats!!!!

23 hours ago, SGTSmeg said:

Now you're talking my language!

Although I'd probably lean more towards a Fleming 58 

And just as an update to this.  Screw everyone else they can fight over whatever is left when I'm gone.  I'm going on a spending spree!  LOL

10 hours ago, Tron said:

Spend a few years sailing around the world in a fully crewed Nordhavn 120.
 

I have a goal to do this, but if it ever happens, it will more likely be on a Nordhavn 60 shown below...and we will be spending winters in the Caribbean and summers in the San Juan Islands, with a Great Loop trip here and there....and without a crew.  
 

 

 

 

Now you're talking my language!

Although I'd probably lean more towards a Fleming 58 

@tsw 8.5 nice read.  You also left off that you make some kick ass hot sauce!!

3 hours ago, WeednFeed said:

Very nice! Everyone went full out, must be nice to live in a place without ice as in frozen lakes and rivers. This week we’ve gone from 14 f to 58f 

The river will freeze here at some point.  But the marina put lots of de-icers in the slips, so ice should not be a problem.

2 hours ago, major-mark63 said:

Wow so special way to celebrate holidays , never saw that before!!!

thx 4 sharing!!

Here in Canada, boats are already stored and land grounded and plastic shrinked for winter.

Most of them are all winterized.  Some pull them for the winter, others (like us) will leave them in the water.  The marina uses lots of de-icers and the water is typically warmer than the air.  Snow can be harsh on the canvas, so we will setup some bracing inside the cockpit.  We have to replace the entire canvas on the boat in the spring so if it gets jacked up this winter we don't really care...

Last night the marina where we keep our boat hosted a Christmas decorating competition.  My wife and I busted our butts trying to get our boat Cool Change onto the leader board.  But holy cow were we wrong.  We didn't even get a mention!  Some of theses people went all out in their decorations.  The winning boat (which I do not have a photo of) had a 'Polar Express' theme, with a train on the boat and showing the movie.  It was legit!  I used a Light-o-rama on Cool Change to keep the music and lights sequenced.  We love how it turned out!  The video has Super Mario Brothers music in the background because I was standing close to a boat with that theme....the lights are not sequenced to that music.  You just can't here ours because the sound was coming out of the back of the boat away from me.  Tons of fun!

@FunStick I am SO happy you're on the mend.  We really miss your mischievous banter in game!

What a celebration!  Happy 50th Anniversary!!

Hopefully @ShadyBrady and @Duffy kept their clothes on this time?

Good read @FlyingDutch!  Thanks for sharing!

10 hours ago, Bamm said:

@Sammy did you have a chance to take a look at it?

It just happened again, but was a bit too lazy to take screenshots figuring you still had the ones from last time

I believe the map was Coldfront??

20 minutes ago, BUDMAN said:

not bad for 40 bucks a month. just testing...

 

Not bad.  What is the cap on data before it cuts back to 4lte?  80GB / month or something?