Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Gosh ........ you leave the bar room door open for a while and we have a few new members ........

 

Welcome to all, it's great to see the numbers of members increasing!

 

Good to see you are fully enjoying Lisbon Terry.

 

Karen as JP imdicated our official Cooler curator Terry has the keys of all the archives and an unmatched photo library and I'm sure he will eb delighted to help with all your questions. I had to look up that place Karen because it sounded Japanese to me!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Does any Cooler have any experience of electric hot smokers please? I've lots of experience of cold smoking salmon and cheese etc ... but ribs and perhaps pulled pork and brisket are on my mind.

 

I'm pretty close to allowing temptation to overcome common sense and order one. I am thinking mostly of St Louis and other slow smoked pork bbq ribs. Charbroil seems the only brand avalable in the uk although Masterbuilt would have been my first choice.

 

With most Coolers being Americans I'm hoping .... so any opinions appreciated.

 

Thanks.

Edited June 12, 2017 by UKCruiseJeff

[TLCOhio]

Karen as JP imdicated our official Cooler curator Terry has the keys of all the archives and an unmatched photo library and I'm sure he will eb delighted to help with all your questions.

 

Appreciate Jeff's nice follow-up and kind mention of my interest in photos. Just as proof that we enjoyed Lisbon yesterday, here are a few examples to prove the great architecture, history, sights etc., here in the capital of Portugal. Many more to come later on the full live/blog.

 

Off this morning to Óbidos (medieval town surrounded by walls and considered national monument), Nazaré. (for lunch in this fishing village with beautiful Atlantic coast views), Batalha (monastery of Our Lady of Victory, best example of gothic architecture in Portugal) and then the “star” of Fátima (that the Pope visited last month to celebrate the 1917 site where "Our Lady" appeared three small children).

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! Those pictures start on the second page, post #26. See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

 

Here is only a small sampling of some sights yesterday in lovely and charming Lisbon. Do any of these bring back memories for those who have previously been to Lisbon? Like the sunny blue skies?:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

 

 

 

 

[Lois R]

Good morning:)...Jeff, do you have stores like HOME DEPOT? They carry smokers and can probably help you first hand.

As for which one to buy? I don't own one but they make a lot of different brands and styles..........you might use your

friend GOOGLE;).....I know the Masterbuilt brand.......they are supposed to be VERY GOOD:D

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good morning:)...Jeff, do you have stores like HOME DEPOT? They carry smokers and can probably help you first hand.

As for which one to buy? I don't own one but they make a lot of different brands and styles..........you might use your

friend GOOGLE;).....I know the Masterbuilt brand.......they are supposed to be VERY GOOD:D

 

Thanks Lois,

 

I already cold smoke my own salmon etc and have a cold smoker .... it's the area under my beehive which has been enclosed. I'm thinking more of the fully automatic electric ones. It wouldn't get used that often ..... just asking in case anyone has one. Brits don't do this stuff the way that people over the pond do.

 

This is my all-purpose terracota beehive (sans door!) with the smoking cave below ...

 

( Lovely piccies Terry)

[jpalbny]

Nice pics Terry!

 

Niskayuna. Small world. As Google must have told Jeff, that's quite close to where we are now. Sometimes we walk along the river there. Many people there work for GE, or for Knolls atomic energy lab. It's a Native American name, not from the Far East.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon Coolers!

 

I do so hope that Terry brings home a Portugese Beehive oven .... they sell them in Lisbon and will ship to anywhere. You just need three or four strapping lads to carry it off the pallette and lift it into position !

 

Today I made her some seabass with pesto and lemon butter with veg. And vin de boite blanc.

 

[Camillus112]

Mmm...sea bass...one of my favorites. The dish looks delish, and I'm sure tastes as well. Tonight we are having Snappy Grillers (hot dogs), perfect food for a wonderful summer day in Central New York. So great to have new friends at the Cooler bar!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Mmm...sea bass...one of my favorites. The dish looks delish, and I'm sure tastes as well. Tonight we are having Snappy Grillers (hot dogs), perfect food for a wonderful summer day in Central New York. So great to have new friends at the Cooler bar!

 

 

Camels ... it is!

 

Do you know ... looking at the post list, we currently have a list of around 50 so regular and less regular members on Cooler #3 alone. That's not bad.

 

The sea bass was great and the boite is empty!

 

Enjoy the grillers. :)

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers! We finally have heat here. It's a tad hot with a humidex of close to 40 C expected.

 

We have recently reviewed our expenses and decided to scale back on our TV cable. Previously we had access to over 200 stations of which we actually watched about 10. Now we have 50 channels and I have discovered one I did not know about previously. It is a CBC documentary station. Recently they aired one called Counterfeit Culture that was a real eye opener. Apparently designer goods and electronics are not the only items being counterfeited. Airline parts, car parts and medications are also being "copied" and are dangerous. If you are interested in seeing this documentary, here is the link. It runs about 44 minutes.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/counterfeit-culture

 

The fish looks yummy J!

 

Have a great day all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Mysty

 

I am the last person to lead you astray but you might want to look at the set top Kodi based boxes as they offer an alternative way of access.

[mysty]

Thanks J! I had never heard of the Kodi boxes. I did a little "looking about". Seems there is a rather interesting grey area related to their use. Food for thought! :)

[Solo mi!]

What beautiful pictures of Lisbon! My 2018 cruise begins there and it will be my first visit.

Your photos have upped my desire even more!

I would like to thank everyone to welcoming new folks to the Cooler. Though I cruised on Silversea earlier, I only joined Cruise Critic when I returned from my last cruise in December. One of my fellow passengers filled me in on the benefits of becoming part of the CC community. I've still got a lot to learn! But, thanks already!

[UKCruiseJeff]

What beautiful pictures of Lisbon! My 2018 cruise begins there and it will be my first visit.

Your photos have upped my desire even more!

I would like to thank everyone to welcoming new folks to the Cooler. Though I cruised on Silversea earlier, I only joined Cruise Critic when I returned from my last cruise in December. One of my fellow passengers filled me in on the benefits of becoming part of the CC community. I've still got a lot to learn! But, thanks already!

 

You are extremely welcome ...... hope you join in .... :)

 

Thanks J! I had never heard of the Kodi boxes. I did a little "looking about". Seems there is a rather interesting grey area related to their use. Food for thought! :)

 

I'm not familiar with Canadian law but in the EU in very simple terms using these boxes is not currrently illegal simply because the boxes do not download content but stream content ie the content isn't stored permanently on the box or computer. However if you download and stored and shared content it would be illegal.

 

In the EU content owners are currently trying to target those selling the boxes with the apps pre-installed and I suspect in the longer term the organisations providing streaming services. However there is nothing that can be done about those buying Kodi boxes and installing the Apps. The laws work in the same way as copying books or magazines may infringe copyright, but reading someone elses book isn't. Copying CD's might be illegal but listening to someone else's CD isn't. Streaming isn't considered copying at the moment and so no laws are broken although content owners are trying their hardest to put fear into users by misleading the public with respect to the law.

 

They are however trying to disrupt the companies who stream. Currently for example it is possible to emulate a full blown Sky service with using just two Kodi apps that work together ie "On-Tapp" and "Ultimate Mania". Lot's of US streams are also available within them. The total cost per year is less than the monthly Sky cost. Each of us makes up their own mind as to whether it is acceptable to use such services, but it is my instinct that many people in the UK hate Sky so much and Murdoch that this is an "elastic" view about it if you get my drift. Some who fear for future legislation also add a VPN so that they preserve privacy. This also enables viewing content like Netflix for other countries that aren't avialable within the subscribers home based country.

 

There is estimated to be 5m "loaded" boxes in use in the UK.

 

It transpires that around 400 people in the whole of the UK voting for Conservative rather than Labour would have given them a clear majority. It would be less if you worked to the practical 322 figure actually required rather than theoretical 326. If you worked to the 322 figure it may have been as low as a 100 or so people who got us into this mess ...........

Edited June 12, 2017 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

It is funny what you do when you are inquisitive.

 

I have just calculated that just 41 voters decided the outcome of the election. :(

 

In our system for a party to win they need to have 326 MPs out of a total of 650. However because the speaker cannot vote and Sinn Fein never attend a working majority of just one MP would give a requirement for 322 MPs. The conservatives achieved 318 therefore a shortful of 4 MPs or more accurately 2 consituencies that went to Labour instead of Conservative.

 

If you take the two smallest margins where Labour won and Conservatives were second, these were Newcastle Under Lyme which Labour gained by a 30 vote win for Paul Farrelly (L) over Owen Meredith ©. In Crewe and Nantwich Laura Smith (L) triumphed over Edward Timpson © by 48 votes.

 

So all other things being equal, if 16 people had voted Conservative instead of Labour in Newcastle Under Lyme and 25 in Crewe and Nantwich did the same then the Conservatives would have had a working majority.

 

41 people appeared to have decided the outcome in two constiuencies. Someone please tell me I'm wrong in my calculations.

[MissSophia]

Hello Coolers !

 

Warm welcome to all our new posters....😊

 

So pleased to see Terry having fun in Lisbon and thanks for the pics!

 

Sorry Jeffers l know nothing about smokers....😉 but your bass looked delish today...

 

Blimey Mysty.....so many channels! I refuse to pay for Sky here...I have enough trouble operating the TV and DVD player as it is!

 

On a different note, my Dr is pressing for me to have the pneumonia shot which apparantly covers one for life.....as usual I'm a tad wary of any down sides...so still on the fence with it.....

 

Very humid here in Wales and also windy with storms forecast then a high of 27 forecast midweek......usual British Summer weather!!

 

Bon Voyage to all sailing soon......

 

S ☺️

[jpalbny]

S, the pneumovax is poorly named IMO. It doesn't protect against pneumonia per se. It does do a good job against invasive, serious infections which can complicate some kinds of pneumonia.

 

So if you were to contract Strep. pneumoniae (AKA pneumococcus), you may still get a case of pneumonia but you'd be much less likely to get a serious complication thereof...such as bacteremia, meningitis, etc. Some of us on this side of the pond think it's a good tradeoff. However there is controversy.

 

Side effects, outside of cost, are minimal.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[MissSophia]

Many thanks JP.....appreciate the input 😊

[jollyjones]

It is funny what you do when you are inquisitive.

 

I have just calculated that just 41 voters decided the outcome of the election. :(

 

In our system for a party to win they need to have 326 MPs out of a total of 650. However because the speaker cannot vote and Sinn Fein never attend a working majority of just one MP would give a requirement for 322 MPs. The conservatives achieved 318 therefore a shortful of 4 MPs or more accurately 2 consituencies that went to Labour instead of Conservative.

 

If you take the two smallest margins where Labour won and Conservatives were second, these were Newcastle Under Lyme which Labour gained by a 30 vote win for Paul Farrelly (L) over Owen Meredith ©. In Crewe and Nantwich Laura Smith (L) triumphed over Edward Timpson © by 48 votes.

 

So all other things being equal, if 16 people had voted Conservative instead of Labour in Newcastle Under Lyme and 25 in Crewe and Nantwich did the same then the Conservatives would have had a working majority.

 

41 people appeared to have decided the outcome in two constiuencies. Someone please tell me I'm wrong in my calculations.

 

"Wrong" ? Who cares - it's a calculation without any use or meaning.

 

Hubris got what hubris deserved.

[SonjaWinson]

Does any Cooler have any experience of electric hot smokers please? I've lots of experience of cold smoking salmon and cheese etc ... but ribs and perhaps pulled pork and brisket are on my mind.

 

I'm pretty close to allowing temptation to overcome common sense and order one. I am thinking mostly of St Louis and other slow smoked pork bbq ribs. Charbroil seems the only brand avalable in the uk although Masterbuilt would have been my first choice.

 

With most Coolers being Americans I'm hoping .... so any opinions appreciated.

 

Thanks.

 

Hi, Jeff,

 

I asked a friend who cooks BBQ professionally for suggestions. He likes Cookshack equipment for restaurant use and said if he were looking for something to use at home, he would get one of the smaller residential Cookshack electric smokers.

 

Karen

[MissSophia]

"Wrong" ? Who cares - it's a calculation without any use or meaning.

 

.

 

 

Oh.........l found it of lighthearted interest and fun 😁

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi, Jeff,

 

I asked a friend who cooks BBQ professionally for suggestions. He likes Cookshack equipment for restaurant use and said if he were looking for something to use at home, he would get one of the smaller residential Cookshack electric smokers.

 

Karen

 

 

Many thanks Karen, much appreciated.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Oh.........l found it of lighthearted interest and fun 😁

 

Thanks. Thought it an odd post for the cooler .... but there you go.

[Camillus112]

Jeff, that's why you are so well loved in the Cooler.... even if we can't understand some of the posts... especially regarding politics across the pond... I did find it fun.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff, that's why you are so well loved in the Cooler.... even if we can't understand some of the posts... especially regarding politics across the pond... I did find it fun.

 

Thanks ... that's so kind. When I read that post I had to go and take a slug of Armagnac. Not really cooler spirited. We don't want to call a Suspension Committee Meeting.

 

Perhaps it was a misunderstanding. Hope so. :)