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707 thoughts on “Speakeasy #3”

  2. carlie
    2

    Sorry, Anne. Hope the night went better. It sounds weird, but have you ever tried Nyquil when it happens in the evening? I’ve had a lot of luck with that, although since Nyquil is my go-to “everything is terrible” medicine, there may be a bit of a placebo effect with me. I have some and take a long hot shower. It may not help the gallbladder itself, but it seems to relax all the muscles around it.

     

     

  4. Beatrice
    4

     

    <blockquote>Among people running from certain death and poverty, there are probably some infiltrated terrorists. How does the current government plan to prevent possible terrorist attacks?</blockquote>

     

    Statement from a Croatian politician.

    A green, leftists, progressive politician.

    I despair.

  5. Beatrice
    5

    And just a couple of days before another politician who I always considered a pretty decent guy complained at the possibility the refugees  be put in a center in his home town (or political base town, I’m not sure). “Why don’t they go to Saudi Arabia instead of coming here?” he asked.

     

     

  6. Beatrice
    6

    Among people running from certain death and poverty, there are probably some infiltrated terrorists. How does the current government plan to prevent possible terrorist attacks?

  7. bragimike
    7

    Hi all!

    I’ve been off for the last few days. Now I’m on ‘looking after sick child’ duty. It was supposed to be a day of gardening and general relaxation. I don’t think she’s very sick, but she’s asleep on the sofa after sleeping for a long time last night.

  9. barkeeperin
    9

    Fantastic Flop: GMing lesson from a filmic failure.

    He hasn’t seen the movie yet, as he admits, and he has cobbled together the back story of how the latest FF flew apart from a few sources.  And then gives what seems to me to be a really good version could be:

    First, make it a TV show, not a movie. Not a sitcom, but a family drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously, with the plots largely a sci-fi action/adventure. Make it about the characters as a dysfunctional family who fly apart all the time but come together whenever they have to. Not The Simpsons with superpowers, but leaning a little in that direction. A lot like the first couple of seasons of Buffy but with an SF bent instead of a supernatural one.

    Since he is coming at it as a fan of the comics and someone who runs RPGs, of course  a TV series will work best.  But his “Alternate Vision” section sketches out the whole pilot and I’d watch it for sure.  Then he goes on to relate it to running/playing in a game, showing that what works in one area could work in another.

    —

    Anne and carlie, hope you feel better soonest.

    Tony, that is a rather stunning dress.

  10. rq
    10

    Beatrice

    Yup, we had several politicians saying that European countries shouldn’t be the only ones accepting refugees, that Middle Eastern countries should take them in, too, why don’t they go there, never mind that many of those countries have regimes similar to the ones they’re escaping, and far worse human rights records… Very attractive.

    You’d think they’d be happy that people see them as such a beacon of light, freedom and progress, but džīzas kraist some people are dense.

    And inhospitable.

  14. donqui
    14

    Anybody repeating the argument that third-world immigrants should be going to those rich Gulf states instead of Europe should take a minute or two to check Wikipedia and see that actually a large percentage of the population of those countries is made of immigrants.

  15. awakeinmo
    15

    Hi all,

    Dropping some hugs here on my way out today.  Hope everyone is well, with special extra-soft hugs for everyone having organ-stone troubles, or otherwise feeling ouchy.

  19. Biped!?
    19

    Tony!

    Ariana Huffington sold the Huffington Post to AOL in 2011. From The Business Insider

    We now know the truth about Arianna’s Huffington’s haul from the sale of the Huffington Post.

    According to leaked documents at The Smoking Gun, Huffington got $21 million from the sale, with $3.4 million coming in the form of equity grants.

    Huffington Post sold for $315 million, which means Arianna got ~6.6% of the sale. That’s not a huge chunk of the company, but it’s not tiny.

    The Huffington Post sale is pretty old news at this point, but the information in the document is interesting to anyone that follows the industry.

    Huffington Post had just $5 million in cash on its balance sheet at the time of the sale.

    Unpaid journalism has become an unfortunate norm.

  21. cicely
    21

    (Left-overs first)

    Anne, I’m sorry to hear of the Treachery of the Gallbladder.

    *gentle hugs* and sympathy.

    ….

    rq:

    Jessie Tesolin’s new work.  She does awesome glasswork.

    Oooooh…prettyshiny….

    ….

    ….

    ‘Afternoon, awakeinmo.

    *launching target-seeking pouncehug*

    ….

     

  24. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    24

    The next chapter of Indexing: Reflections is finally on my Nixie-tablet.  I read it immediately, of course.  Wowsa, Seanan McGuire sure can write.

    Thanks for the hugs.  The gallbother continues to grumble, but at least it’s manageable.  I don’t know how much of this is stress, though.  Younger Daughter started at the big college yesterday, and didn’t feel well last night.  I diagnosed mild heat exhaustion and advised her on what to eat and drink today.  She just got home and she’s feeling better, but of course I’ve been worried about her all day.

    I’ll just put out some nice fresh hugs and make a pot of tea.

     

  26. AlexanderZ
    26

    This week started badly for me. First I ran out of medication, so I couldn’t sleep for a bit over two days, and I had to finish something by Tuesday. I did it, but I don’t feel particularly good right now.

    —

    Beatrice, it’s great that PZ opened the World News thread! I’ll be stopping by there, time permitting.

    donqui

    Not only that, but Turkey – the country that EU didn’t want to enter into their little exclusive club – has more refugees than all of EU combined! Consider that it has only tenth of EU’s population and vastly inferior economy and you see all that whining about “we can’t accept refugees, we’ll be overrun” in a better perspective.

    carlie and Anna – hope you’re feeling better. *hugs*

    Dalillama

    None that I’m aware of, although they’ve helped to run them (See Chile).

    That was why I asked. Libertarians and their ilk like to talk about how they’re all anti-tyranny, but as far as I know, when the chips are down they always side with the fascist. That in stark contrast to Social-Democrats and other liberals and progressives who were hunted by both fascists and communists alike.

    Saad

    I mean the fact that whether black people, women, LGBT and immigrants are human beings is still a perfectly normal mainstream political conversation. That’s fucking infuriating and depressing.

    Yes, but look at it this way: Humanity has been viciously immoral for all of its history. The fact that we’ve made so much progress on so many social issues, and the fact that the progress is steadily accelerating, is nothing short of amazing.

    True, there are set-backs, and the there wasn’t nearly enough progress, nor was it uniformly experienced, but anyway you look at it – we’re living in humanity’s golden age!

    Too bad that it’ll all end soon when oil peaks.

    P.S.

    Tony/Wizard

    I don’t know what you did, but the site loads much better for me now. Thank you!

  28. Biped!?
    28

    For Tony and rq,

    I stumbled across an online educational resource Understanding Prejudice. I don’t know if either of you are familiar with this site, but if not, take a look.

    From their website:

    UnderstandingPrejudice.org was established in 2002 with funding from the National Science Foundation (Grant Number 9950517) and McGraw-Hill Higher Education. The purpose of the site is to offer educational resources and information on prejudice, discrimination, multiculturalism, and diversity, with the ultimate goal of reducing the level of intolerance and bias in contemporary society.

    Although UnderstandingPrejudice.org is organized to supplement Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination (a university-level anthology published by McGraw-Hill), all pages and features of the site are freely available to teachers, students, and other visitors regardless of whether they purchase the McGraw-Hill anthology.

    There is a wealth of links, research, information etc. there. I thought you might want to post this in PZ’s Racism thread, if you think it might be helpful.

  29. rq
    29

    Biped!?

    You’re more than welcome to post it there yourself.

    The thread needs some commenter variety. Otherwise it looks like ‘my’ thread and I think people feel nervous about posting. And that thread definitely needs more discussion and conversation happening, not that there’s always a lot of stuff you can say about the material, other than “Holy shit that’s racist” or “Racist assholes”.
    Also, even if it’s been posted before, that looks like the kind of resource that could use a repost!

  33. Beatrice
    33

    Dad’s in the hospital (nothing serious, just hernia) so mum and I decided to paint their room while he’s not home.

    OMG. I had to scrape down all the old color from the ceiling, but we didn’t plan to do it for all the other walls, just paint over.

    I wish: I made one stroke over the wall with the paint roller and took down a good chunk of old color. There are also some strange holes in that wall, covered with about a zillion coatings of paint nwhich all decided to come off today.

    So now that I’ve filled the holes I’m waiting for the thing (too tired to Google . the thing you fill holes in the wall with) to dry so taht I can try painting over it. I also tried to use the same thing to cover the edges where we haven’t taken all the old paint down so that it doesn’t keep coming off. WE’ll see.

    And did I mention that room used to be green then blue and now we always paint it white, so all that white is coming off and the blue and green are still there but also catching on the roller and slowly coming off.

    Mum is desperate and I’m slightly hysterical 🙂

  34. Beatrice
    34

    Oh and dad’s operation had gone really well (yay!) so he might be coming home tomorrow already.. shit. We were counting on him coming back the day after tomorrow AND we didn’t count on all this additional work.

  37. rq
    37

    Beatrice

    špaktelis 😀

    Also, good luck with the painting, hopefully at least one layer of white will stay on in time for your dad’s return! Hope he recovers well, too.

  38. opposablethumbs
    38

    Beatrice, my sympathies. I hate it when you start a job and quickly realise that it means you really have to do something else first (this is an old building; sometimes I’m scared the something-elses will end up going right down to the foundations) “No good deed shall go unpunished” … ? :-

    Hope you manage to finish in time!

  40. cicely
    40

    Tony!:  DC Comics’ New Formula For Success: Stop Shaking Things Up.

    ….

    AlexanderZ, hopefully you have been able to resupply on drugs/sleep?

    My sympathies, regardless.

    I go non-sentient really fast when under-slept.

    ….

    rq, I went over to post something at the Pharyngula: Racism thread…but Tony! had already beat me to it. 😀

    ….

    *hugs* for Beatrice, with best wishes re the painting.

    Perhaps the word you want is “spackle”?

    ….

     

     

  41. rq
    41

    cicely

    He does that to me, too. And I do it to him, but he just doesn’t care and posts anyway! 😀

     

    Beatrice

    Ha, and the old word (I’m guessing pre-WWII, because it’s the word I actually grew up with) is ķite. But it doesn’t mean anything else, least of all whale!!

     

    AlexanderZ

    Hope you get some decent amount of sleep soon, as well as the refill! And yes, cicely reminded me that I wanted to say that for a while now. 🙂

  42. rq
    42

    In other news, is Giliell still on vacation/break?

    +++

    And I must, after all, declare a small case of Success. Or Fortune, as there was little work actually done. Anyway: the two younger kids have now been officially enrolled and accepted into… ba-dum-DUM!! the local kindergarten-daycare! It’s about a five-minute walk from our house, and conveniently on the way to the train station (I’ve already sworn that I will not drive to or from work in the mornings, because (a) traffic is horrendous and (b) parking is even worse, and of course (c) carbon footprints are large). Truly we are about to begin a new phase in our lives, as we all struggle through the sleepy hours of early morning to get everywhere on time, together. I expect years of familial bonding to occur. (And for the record, Youngest is absolutely excited and ready to go to kindergarten/daycare, and Middle Child is just about as excited to be locally situated – no more hour-long car-rides in the mornings and evenings!)

    And with a quick foray into the online residence registration pages, we are all officially moved out of The City now. Now all of our hard-earned taxes go to our actual municipality of residence, rather than into the suspiciously swollen coffers of the debt-full Riga City Council.

  43. JimB
    43

    Hi all, a bit ‘rupt after taking yesterday off of work to try to get some thing accomplished at home. Unfortunately, my “To Do” list turned into a “Things That Almost-By-Not-Quite-Got Accomplished” list. Hopefully I can get back to them over the weekend.

    Doctor said no changes to medication. Most likely my slow/sluggish feeling is due to long days and this thing called “Getting Old”. Not entirely sure what that’s all about, but apparently it’s better than the alternative.

    I’ll place some *hugs* and general *well-wishes* right over here. Use whichever you feel is appropriate.

  44. Tony!
    44

    Can I have the pillow for to myself for a while? I’m having a really bad day. I woke up in a bad mood. Feelings of worthlessness, exhaustion over being broke, frustration at continued unemployment, sadness at never having any fun (seriously, I can’t remember the last time I had fun-I don’t even know what the fucking word means), loneliness…I don’t even know how or why I’m feeling this way, but I am. I just want to crawl into a ball and cry myself to sleep, but I know that’s not going to fix anything in my life. Why does living have to be so fucking hard?!

  46. Biped!?
    46

    We love and respect you Tony. Depression lies. I’ll offer no advice, just unending support. You are a remarkable and talented man. It is the world that is fucked up. Go snuggle in the pillow fort. I think Hobbes is waiting for you there.

  47. JimB
    47

    I’ll second the sentiments of Biped!? and add that you and your creation of this place led me to delurk after 5+ years of reading/lurking at Pharyngula.

    So, Thanks!

  48. rq
    48

    *pile-o-hugs* for ya, Tony, for when you feel okay enough to come out of the pillow fort. Can I woman the bar for you in the meantime? I’m not much for mixing drinks, but I can at least read labels.

     

    +++

     

    In other news…

    … A half hour later, I thinks to myself, ‘Hey, I should check the windowsills, that’s a good place for [items] to be!’ and well it’s always in the last place you look, as they say. *sigh* I mean, the windowsills should be one of the first places I look, because they’re a shelving system all their own… but I did spend fifteen more minutes, in addition to those thirty lost minutes, giggling over some of the weirder and quirkier requests we’ve had over the years (and how they’re worded – we keep a file for archival purposes, for when we need to make presentations, and it just happens to sit on one of the windowsills).

  50. Nightjar
    50

    *hugs*, Tony. I don’t even know what to say, except I hope you feel better soon. I’ve found that sometimes crawling into a ball and crying myself to sleep when such feelings of worthlessness and sadness attack actually helps me getting out of that place faster. So snuggling in the pillow fort may work as well. *hugs*

     

  53. Biped!?
    53

    Since when did lunch boxes have to be dressed? And lunch boxes aren’t violent, school officials flinging stupid shit are violent. Sheesh.

  54. Tony!
    54

    Fuck.
    The bigots are going to have a field day with this.

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/26/us-usa-shooting-virginia-idUSKCN0QV1HY20150826

    Social media postings by a person who appeared to be Flanagan indicated the suspect had grievances against the station, CBS affiliate WDBJ7 in Roanoke, Virginia, which let him go two years ago. The person also posted video that appeared to show the attack filmed from the shooter’s vantage point.

    Flanagan sent ABC News a 23-page fax about two hours after the shooting, saying his attack was triggered by the June 17 mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, the network said. Nine people were killed, and a white man has been charged in that rampage.

    The network cited Flanagan as saying he had suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work. He had been attacked by black men and white women, and for being a gay black man, he said.

    Really not looking forward to hearing black people or gay people being demonized.

  60. FossilFishy
    60

    Tony, Tony, Tony… look at this place, look at it! It’s solid work…

    [kicks wall]

    Shit!  Uh, I’ll fix that later…

    [drags over the ottoman to cover the hole]

    In all seriousness it’s effin’ beautiful and you built it.  I’m not just talking about The Speakeasy, this whole blog is an achievement, one you should be proud of.

    I wish I had your energy and dedication for making the world better.  And I’ll also say that while I get accused of eloquence every now and then, my writing lacks the clarity that you do so well.  Frankly I’m a little envious of that as well.

    None of this fixes your situation, but please remember that the good that you do is still there no matter how badly your brain is hiding it from you.

    We see it, and we will cherish it until you can once again do so for yourself.

    Stay well my friend.

  62. opposablethumbs
    62

    Tony! – FossilFishy just said everything I would have liked to be able to find the words to say.

    Please take care of yourself as best you can. Long distance transatlantic hugs.

  65. YOB
    65

    Alright, back it up here.

    ::beep:: ::beep:: ::beep::

    Yup, that’s good. Right in the middle.

    ::pulls handle::

    ::dump truck empties huge load of hugs, pillows, and baby manatees::

     

  67. YOB
    67

    Seems I missed quite a lot. I called in an order of hugs and stuff for anybody that needs’em. Looks like they got here befor me.

     

     

    So I been down at my Dad’s for last several days. No wifi, sketchy cell strength, and crappy phone. He fell and broke his leg. (On top of fighting cancer). Pinned it back together with titanium. Still can’t get out of bed. Sister taking over for a bit, so I can come home for a break. Missed YOBling’s first day of middle school. 🙁 but needs must.

     

    Tony: sorry you’re having such a rough time. I know, for me anyway, some times just having a good cry can be very cathartic. Also, got the comics. So excited to read them. YOBling seems interested too.

    barkeeperin: Thanks for that link to Campaign Mastery Blog I’ve been digging through there and that is some good stuff. Any RPGers out there ::nods towards Dalillama:: might want to take a look see.

     

  69. YOB
    69

    Oops. Sorry bout the mess.

    ::installs TARDIS-Tech Ultimate Manatee Habitat Aquarium(tm) behind the bar and  viewable from the pillow fort::

     

  71. YOB
    71

    Anne: I do, but thankfully I’ve got a good foundation to manage it all, so far. Also, super spiffy pendant. I’ve made something similar, in the past, using silver-clay and illustrations from old books. I don’t have pictures, or I’d share them. Maybe tomorrow? Hmm…. ::searches for camera and a usb cable that hasn’t been chewed up by a critter::

     

     

    rq and Tony: heard this NPR Radio Times show last night driving home. They discussed BlackLivesMatter. I had quit a few “aha” moments and it gave me several things to think about.  Especially regarding what, I as a white suburban male, can do (and not try to do) to help.

    I don’t know if it is something that would fit over on the Racism Thread on Pharyngula*, so I thought I’d bring it up here first.

    *Weirdly, I just noticed that I don’t actually go over to FTB much anymore.

  72. Mike Bourke
    72

    A quick thank-you to barkeeperin for mentioning my analysis of the Fantastic Four movie, what appears to have gone wrong, and what could have been done instead. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

  75. barkeeperin
    75

    Mike Bourke

    I read and enjoy a lot of your stuff and just thought the analysis would go over well with the comic book fans here.  I also knew there are a couple of gamers here who might like to scan over the rest of your articles.

  76. YOB
    76

    barkeeperin & Mike Bourke

    scan over

    scan over?! Heh, more like roll around in like a pig in mud.*

    Ive been in the process of making a home built Harry Potter based RPG rule set and campaign for a little while now and that blog is a treasure trove of info, even for grognards like me.

     

     

    *that is a good thing. 🙂

  79. Dalillama
    79

    YOB

    Oh, lard no, not the dreaded homebrew RPG… 🙂

    Mike Bourke:

    Looks like some good stuff; I’ve only had time to skim some of it so far.  I will (hopefully) be starting a game soon, if I can dredge up another player from somewhere.  (On that note, I’ve also been considering running an online game via Roll20, a virtual online tabletop; if anyone’s interested in that, let me know.)

  80. AlexanderZ
    80

    This is odd. I thought I already replied yesterday. Hmm…

    Tony

    *hugs* You are a great person and you’re a great blogger and communicator. It’s fucked up that employers can’t see these qualities in you, because you are a true asset!

    rq and cicely

    Thank you! I’ve got my medication and I’m now feeling much better.

    rq and Beatrice

    špaktelis

    In Russian and Ukranian it’s shpatel (шпатель) and in Hebrew it’s shpahtel (שפכטל). It seems that they all come from the German spatel – a small spade or something.

    Over here it’s kit which also means whale. Language is weird

    In Ukrainian кіт (kit)  is a cat, but кит (kit) is a whale. Both are pronounced identically. Also, it seems that the word for whale comes from the Greek κῆτος (kaitos) which is means “sea monster” or a large fish (and by extension, a whale).

    YOB and Beatrice

    Best wishes to your dads!

  81. Biped!?
    81

    I am frustrated, and angry and sad. I’ve been following closely the “Racism in America” thread at Pharyngula and in addition to all else, I am overwhelmed. I know that PZ wants to encourage guided discussion on these dedicated threads, but particularly re racism, there is simply too, too much. I can barely formulate one coherent response to an incident before there are four others that deserve response. Urgh.

    I have been spending time searching for resources and commentary from qualified people and institutions who are attempting to tackle our huge racism problem. I’ve found no shortage of concern. But what I need to investigate now is the location of the roadblock. Why, if so much is being done to tackle America’s racism problem intellectually and academically is none of that good information filtering down to the levels at which something can actually be DONE to effect the problem? I think I know the answer to that, but it needs more research and thought before I burble something stupid.

    End of rant. I think I will cross post this to FtB.

  82. YOB
    82

    Dalillama 

    Oh, lard no, not the dreaded homebrew RPG… 

    Harrumph, I say! My game is being brewed with “The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses” and “Probablility Theory: A Concise Course”, in addition to decades of experience running/playing multiple types of systems.  Sprinkling in a bit of Mike Bourke’s insight now, too.  😛

     

    if anyone’s interested in that, let me know.

    ::frantically waves hand in the air:: Ooohhh! Me! Me!

    rob at metal mischief dotty com no spaces

     

     

  83. Beatrice
    83

    AlexnaderZ and rq,

    rq’s špaktelis has been bothering me a bit, but only now that AlexanderZ wrote
    shpatel and spatel did I realize why. The word I couldn’t find was for the mixture used for filling holes (google says filling or plaster), not the tool. So the word kit is  used for the mixture. One of the words we use for the tool is špatula. You can see the resemblance.

    Hah, mystery solved. 🙂

    —

    AlexanderZ,

    I hope you’re feeling better than a couple of days ago.

  84. rq
    84

    Beatrice

    We just call the tool the špaktellāpstiņa. The little shovel of shpaktel. Very original!

     

    AlexanderZ

    Glad to hear you’re doing better!

     

    *hugs* all ’round for all who wants’em, plus *[gesture of support of choice]* for others, incl. those non-contact!

  85. Beatrice
    85

    Another boat sinks off the Libyan coast.

    A boat packed with mainly African migrants bound for Italy sank off the Libyan coast on Thursday and officials said up to 200 might have died.

    A security official in the western town of Zuwara, from where the overcrowded boat had set off, said there had around 400 people on board. Many appeared to have been trapped in the hold when it capsized.

    By late in the evening, the Libyan coast guard rescued around 201, of which 147 were brought to a detention facility for illegal migrants in Sabratha, west of Tripoli, the official said, asking not to be named.

    – source

    Our papers (not in English, sorry) said there was another boat and possibly even more victims, but I can’t find anything to confirm that.

  88. Nightjar
    88

    Yay for World Politics thread on Pharyngula. I hope to contribute when I’m back from vacation, which starts… TODAY.

    And by vacation I mean staying at home doing stuff other than work, I’m not actually going anywhere. But I have plans for an away-from-computer kind of week anyway.

    So, stay well, everyone. I’ll leave this pile of *hugs* right here next to the new *squeee* manatee aquarium.

  90. rq
    90

    Nightjar

    Enjoy the time off! I have something similar going on, I had to take vacation time from work, but I don’t have any no-computer time planned. 😀 Plus it’s all back-to-school and everything, so I have stuff to do. For a few days – I will have about a week of being at home ALL ALONE and with no responsibilities besides the housekeeping (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *khm* excuse me) and gardening.

     

     

  94. Tony!
    94

    Tbogg over at Raw Story is still an asshole:

    If we ever needed more proof that we have a mental health problem in this country equal to our “too many guns” problem, we would need look no further than to videos on YouTube proving conclusively that the shooting was a hoax designed to start a race war so that the government can swoop in and take away everyone’s guns.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/08/just-like-sandy-hook-youtube-loons-explain-the-virginia-tv-shooting-was-a-hoax-to-grab-guns/comments/#disqus

  98. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    98

    cicely, that’s a political statement I could get behind.  Also so the swords don’t hit me.

    I just got some bad family news.  One of my cousins had surgery for a cranial hematoma (after two car accidents, so that’s just part of the damage), and it looked like he was coming out of it and might be able to go home after some physical therapy.  All that after he lost his wife very suddenly and wasn’t taking care of himself as it was.

    Well, I just heard from his sister (my favorite cousin, as it happens) that he’s not going to get any better; in fact, he’s going downhill.  He’s in a good care facility, and she and her husband are going back and forth between their home in New Mexico and his place in California, trying to rehome his pets.

    And there’s nothing I can do except be there to listen and make comforting noises over the email.  And update and comfort Aged Mum, which I guess I’ll have to do this afternoon.  Dammit.  Just dammit.

  101. cicely
    101

    Tony!:

    Wow.A school thinks a Wonder Woman lunchbox is too violent and violates the school dress code. WTF?!

    That…is some special, high-grade stoopid.

    ….

    Anne, the pendant is shiny.  How do you prevent the watercolor paint from bleeding off the ribbon?

    (later)

    *hugs* for the depression and grumpy tiredness.

    (even later)

    *moar hugs*, and many sympathies.  I’m sorry about your cousin.  That bites.

    ….

    bluentx, I’m also a Schoolhouse Rock fan!  Thanks to them, I can—if the situation calls for it—sing the Preamble to the Constitution. 🙂

    I plan to expose Grandson to it, as soon as he’s old enough.

    ….

    Sorry to hear about your dad, YOB.

    I have bookmarked your Campaign Mastery blog…for later.

    It looks like useful stuff, especially for those occasions when I get the PCs spelljamming. 🙂

    ….

     

     

     

  104. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    104

    cicely, about the watercolor on the ribbon – the teacher didn’t think it would come off once it dried.  I ironed it, dry iron, low setting, both sides, to help set the color. Don’t know how lightfast it is, though.  Next time I might try actual fabric dyes or paints, Dy-Na-Flo maybe.

    Thanks, everybody. I’ll just stay in the pillow fort until it’s time for Aged Mum to call, today being Friday.

  105. rq
    105

    Breakthrough in world’s oldest undeciphered writing;

    I especially liked this part:

    These images will be publicly available online, with the aim of using a kind of academic crowdsourcing.

    He says it’s misleading to think that codebreaking is about some lonely genius suddenly understanding the meaning of a word. What works more often is patient teamwork and the sharing of theories. Putting the images online should accelerate this process.

  112. Wizard
    112

    cicley, rq, and everyone else

    I am mystified by these blockquote bunglings. I can see no errors from here. Ghosts, I tell you, ghosts and demons invading The Roost! Oh noes!

  120. Tony!
    120

    Biped:
    I even held back on some of the punning with that last one. Thought maybe my inner thoughts would have been over the top.

  126. rq
    126

    😛 I’m just going to picture the Roostergeist as this, made to fit a different part of the body. That way its size is less intimidating. 😉

  127. Biped!?
    127

    I think we need to anoint the Roostergeist as the official mascot of this humble establishment and embed him somewhere on masthead. He shall become the logo.

  128. rq
    128

    Biped!?

    It would only be fitting: bars are for cocktails, after all.

    (I haven’t made it to bed yet. Cleaning my brain.)

    Anyway, if you google ‘shoop’ under Images, you get this. Not the first result, of course, but… Umm…

  134. Biped!?
    134

    Racist idiocy in the Bay Area… That is where I grew up. I went to a thoroughly integrated high school. I graduated in 1967. I remember some people trying to stir up racial trouble at the school and it just fizzled. It is probably different now. Sigh.

  135. Biped!?
    135

    To be clear about growing up in the East Bay… There was no forced busing. The place had never been segregated. We had white kids, black kids, Hispanic kids, Asian kids, rich kids, poor kids, all kinds of kids attending every school I went to from pre-school on up. I hated growing up in the Bay Area because it was so damn boring. This is the first time I’ve reflected on that era positively.

    We were not far from Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco, but back then the East Bay was a world apart.

  138. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    138

    Has Nerd counted his chickens lately?  Maybe one of them got lost in the move from the Lounge to the Speakeasy.  The internets are a series of tubes, after all, who knows where an inquisitive rooster might end up if it took a wrong turn.

    And no, I am not even contemplating the other meaning of “cock” right now.

  139. Tony!
    139

    well drat.
    I wanted to make sushi rice bc it’s good. But I don’t have the ingredients (can’t afford to buy em either) and it’s not as simple as ‘add this kind of vinegar to any kind of rice you want’.

    ::sits in corner and pouts::

  140. AlexanderZ
    140

    Anne

    I’m sorry about your cousin. *hugs*

    Beatrice

    Don’t be sorry – your best wishes are always welcome. And yes, I finally got some decent sleep.

    —

    Speaking of which: My inner clock is a bit broken so I sleep in odd hours, which means I get to wake up often and still remember my dreams. Today I woke up laughing: I had a dream where a unicorn in a business suit and Carl Marx (in his regular clothes) were talking to me about Bitcoin. I don’t remember what the unicorn was saying, but he tried to be reasonable and logical. Marx, on the other hand, was constantly interrupting him by screaming “it really works!”

    Weirdest dream this week.

  141. chigau
    141

    Tony!

    The purists will curse me but…

    If you have non-sushi rice, make the rice a little ‘wetter’ than usual; add an extra 1/4 cup of water in the cooking.

    After it’s cooked, put it in a large bowl and toss it with the vinegar, while fanning it.

    If you don’t have real sushi vinegar, make a mix of whatever vinegar you have with water and sugar and a smidge of soy sauce.

  142. Tony!
    142

    chigau:
    I’ll keep that in mind.
    I actually just finished eating dinner. I cooked normal rice, but added a touch more water, as well as garlic power, thyme, balsamic vinegar, and a little brown sugar. I topped that with some spicy black beans and some sausage patties. It was *darn* good. And the rice-while not being exactly sushi rice-resembled it enough for my tastes. I’ll definitely prepare this again.

    Is there a benefit to adding the vinegar after the rice is cooked vs while it’s cooking?

    And darnit, I completely forgot to add the soy sauce! Oh well, I have leftovers.

  143. chigau
    143

    Tony!

    In my experience, vinegar in the cooking stage is a mistake.

    Vinegar is volatile. Whatever you want from it ‘boils off’ during cooking.

  144. Dalillama
    144

    AlexanderZ:

    Honestly, I would think that Karl Marx would be about the last person to support Bitcoin. ( I saw a flyer on the way to work advertising a seminar on Bitcoin and similar currencies, which amused me. )

     

  147. YOB
    147

    In my experience, vinegar in the cooking stage is a mistake.

    Seconded.

    Also, the fanning the rice while gradually folding in the sugar/vinegar mix makes a difference too. I’ve had reasonable luck with most types of rice, too.

     

     

     

    The Roostergeist, in all of its incarnations, will haunt me now. Thanks a lot everybody. :p
    Let’s just hope it doesn’t disturb the manatees.

     

     

  149. Tony!
    149

    Roostergeist loves chicken soup. In fact, if you repeat ‘chicken soup’ three times in front of the mirror…well I don’t think I need to tell you what fowl beast shall appear.

  150. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    150

    Tony, of course it does.  Silly of me to think otherwise.  Never mind, I’ll figure something out.  There’s always my trusty Mr Bolty.  A good smiting will take care of most foul, and fowl, fiends.

  153. Tony!
    153

    Ya’ll should check this fun map out:
    http://blog.estately.com/2015/08/mapping-each-states-most-embarassing-google-searches/

    Here’s a sample:

    FLORIDA: Lunchables coupons / eyebrow piercing / Home Shopping Network / “A Good Day to Die Hard” (2014 movie) / tongue piercing / Warren Sapp (NFL player)

    Analysis: “Hey, Mildred… You know what will really get a rise out of the grandkids when they come to visit is if we get some trashy body piercings. Let’s see if we can buy one on Home Shopping Network…”

    GEORGIA: Herpes / divorce lawyer / meth recipe / “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” (reality TV show) / athlete’s foot / Will the South rise again?

    Analysis: Looks like General Sherman isn’t the only person who’s burned Atlanta.

    HAWAII: electronic cigarette / vape / Flowbee

    Analysis: A Flowbee is an electrically powered vacuum cleaner attachment made to cut hair and it won’t make you look half as stupid as vaping will.

    IDAHO: Eagles (band) / hacky sack / brony

    Analysis: You’ve got two options this Friday night in Idaho. You can hang out in the parking lot playing hacky sack while trying to score tickets to the Eagles concert, or you can stay home with your creepy Uncle Larry and watch “My Little Pony” together.

    ILLINOIS: Jim Belushi / “The Jerry Springer Show” (TV show/paternity test) / Carly Rae Jepsen / Is WWE fake?

    Analysis: Today on a very special episode of “The Jerry Springer Show” we’ll find out whether Jim Belushi is the father of Carly Rae Jepsen’s baby.

  154. Tony!
    154

    http://www.abc3340.com/story/29786378/yopo-new-jersey-brewer-releasing-pope-francis-inspired-beer

    Cape May Brewing Co. co-owner Ryan Krill says his company is brewing 500 gallons of YOPO, or “You Only Pope Once.” The pope-inspired beer is a hoppy pale ale with 5.5 percent alcohol content and will only be available on draft.

    Sales representative Justin Vitti says the beer pairs well with a nice cut of Argentinean beef – calling to mind Francis’ home country.

    Krill says the beer will get a laugh from pop culture enthusiasts, but it’s also a tasty brew in its own right.

    The beer will be available at the brewery’s tasting room in the Jersey shore town along with watering holes throughout Philadelphia and New Jersey beginning Sept. 21.

  156. AlexanderZ
    156

    Dalillama

    Honestly, I would think that Karl Marx would be about the last person to support Bitcoin.

    I know, right? The business unicorn looked mundane by comparison.

    I’ve been reading a bit about Bitcoin this week (probably why I had the dream – too much of that stupid stuff) and I was amazed by how bad all of the arguments in its favor were. No wonder that economists don’t care enough about it to even address its problems.

  157. Giliell
    157

    Hi folks

    Just leaving you some love and hugs

    Holidays are drawing to an end, but we still have a bit of sunshine to look forward to

     

    s

  158. opposablethumbs
    158

    These images will be publicly available online, with the aim of using a kind of academic crowdsourcing.

    He says it’s misleading to think that codebreaking is about some lonely genius suddenly understanding the meaning of a word. What works more often is patient teamwork and the sharing of theories. Putting the images online should accelerate this process.

    Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, not to mention perceptive and true. The myth of the lone genius is utterly pernicious. (and it makes me think, in a way, how the myth of the lone genius relates to capitalism – because it becomes a selling point, so people have yet another incentive not to share work/information, which in turn hamstrings the work itself)

    My sympathies to all those with bad news lately. I wish I could automagically have loads of spoons so everybody could at least have plenty of those :-(((

  159. carlie
    159

    Giliell!*hugs*

    Hugs to everyone. Classes start next week, and I’ve been pulling 12 hour days all week and will for the next couple. But I’m quite excited by my office makeover*, so I’m tickled just sitting in there looking at it. I feel like I’ve kind of turned a corner – it’s a boring and long explanation, but I’ve come to terms with the position I currently have and with how long I’m likely to have it, so I’m settling into and inhabiting the headspace for it.

     

    *Did I mention how after I got the huge storage cabinet and the adjacent filing cabinet emptied, I came in the next morning and the cleaner had pulled them out of the room, found an end table and matching chairs, and set them up in the space already, because she’s amazing?

     

  160. donqui
    160

    AlexanderZ: Indeed, I hadn’t checked the statistics pertaining to this war in specific, but it seems clear that Turkey and Lebanon are taking most of the refugees.

    —–

    Now, for some depressing racist news. A professor from Columbia University was invited to a congress in Brazil, but it seems he was almost barred from the venue because he is black. White Brazilians like to spread the idea that Brazil is a “racial democracy,” and sometimes I see foreigners repeating the expression. Actually, Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery and the major responsible for the Atlantic Slave Trade.

    link: https://twitter.com/drcarlhart/status/637607148382482433

  161. awakeinmo
    161

    Beatrice, I hope your dad is recovering well.

    Anne, so sorry about our cousin.

    Tony, unemployment/underemployment really sucks.  I’m sorry this is dragging on like this for you.

    Anyone else in need of hugs, please take some.

    Right now, I’m on a cleaning jag.  My parents are stopping by later, and I’d rather not have anything that my mom can nitpick over.  I was just cleaning the toaster, and was reminded of how magical electricity is to me.  I understand the basic science of it, but for some reason, I’m afraid of being shocked by an unplugged toaster.  :/

  162. Dalillama
    162

    Magically  (ok, it’s due to high winds), we’re now without electricity. The power company says that several thousand people are in the same boat, and they’re fixing it as fast as possible. It’s still expected to last a couple more hours.

    Additionally, we had the first rain in months last night, which combined painfully with bike tires and brick pavements (I don’t know who is responsible for those, but it was an incredibly stupid idea). My right thumb is basically out of commission, and tonight is the busiest night of the week at work. The joy of it all.

     

     

     

  164. donqui
    164

    To correct my previous comment, the American professor has deleted his Friday tweet and released a video stating the incident never happened. So, well, I’m glad it didn’t, but now I’m confused about where did this story come from.

  171. rq
    171

    Tea? Yes please! Have some leftover cheesecake with raspberry topping, too. Chocolate crust. Mm mmm! I am willing to share.

    In other news, where’s my HTML buttons? 🙁 Was getting used to them…

  172. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    172

    rq, here’s your cup of Irish Breakfast. Cream, sugar, lemon wedges and all that are on the tea cart.

    You’re right, all the nice buttons have vanished. Perhaps we need to make an offering to the Wizard. I hear that baked goods work with car mechanics; maybe some of your cheesecake would tempt our Wizard.

    I’m going to have a liedown before things get busy around here again. Assuming I can get Ms Fluffybutt to vacate the bedroom, that is.

  176. Wizard
    176

    Sigh. Damn Roostergeist. The Wizard is now setting up a dummy site upon which everything can be rigorously tested before it is installed here and has a chance to trash the joint. More later.

  178. YOB
    178

    Bad day today.
    The Shy won today ruining what was supposed to be a fantastic day and so has triggered a downward spiral of shame and self-loathing. *sigh*

    Part of what makes it suck so hard is that it’s like I can see what’s happening and a piece of me knows it’s irrational and unfounded and the trigger was sooooo trivial but it’s everything I can do to not climb in the back of the closet and curl up and cry. Wife and YOBling are having a great day and wants me to have a great day too and I don’t want to be grumpy and depressed over such stupid crap. (They don’t know the real cause and I ain’t telling cause that will just make give the evil headmeat ammunition)
    And so the spiral continues.

  179. Tony!
    179

    YOB:
    Sorry you’re having a bad day. Here’s a hug or two, and the Roostergeist is feeling nice today. Xe offers a selection of pastries: donuts, cronuts, crullers, strudel, baklava, Bougatsa, cannoli, moorkoop, and more.

  182. rq
    182

    Tony, with all due respect, I am in no way comforted by those words. 😀 But hey, I’m just talking about accepting food from the Roostergeist here. 😉

  183. carlie
    183

    Ok, so is it not my fault that the site hasn’t been loading for the last couple of days? If I just try to go straight to the homepage I get nothing – I have to click the bookmark for Speakeasy#2, then click the link there for that page.

  184. Tony!
    184

    carlie:
    An update that was installed crashed the site most of yesterday and part of today. It should be fixed now though. If you’re still having problems, please post something in the Tech thread, bc the Wizard always checks that.

  189. YOB
    189

    Biped be careful, please. Best wishes to you and all y’all.

    Talked with BFF (since way back in 1st grade) and am in a MUCH better headspace. At least, until the cell phone bill for a 2 hour convo from Texas to Japan comes in.

  191. FossilFishy
    191

    Biped.

    Get out now.

    I live I rural Australia and bush fires are a yearly danger. You are right, that’s too close. Don’t wait, don’t think you’ll have time or some kind of warning, fire travels uphill fast and the wind can cause the fire to ‘spot’ miles ahead of the fire front. If the smoke gets there before you leave you’ll be trapped, every major fire here ends with horrible images of burnt out cars that crashed in the smoke.

    The risk is real.

    Grab the living things that you love and go.

  192. Beatrice
    192

    YOB,
    I’m glad the talk with a friend helped.

    Biped, take care!
    The only fire I’m familiar with is the one I occasionally start in the old stove, but FossilFishy sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. Listen to him!
    ..
    but considering some time has passed since, you may already have further news?

  193. barkeeperin
    193

    Biped!?, do whatever it takes to stay safe.

    YOB, glad you’re feeling better.

    Well, first day of school for my 6th grader. Then he is off tomorrow while my 7th grader goes to school for her first day of middle school. Then they both go Wednesday and Thursday, then are off Friday for a longer Labor Day Weekend.

  194. bluentx
    194

    “I think the update/crash thing messed something up…”
    I thought something (NOT Fossil) fishy was going on ! Had trouble accessing da Speakeasy several times this week.
    —–
    Okay, what (else) did I miss (?), while dealing with *grumble, grumble* real life? [Why CAN”T I live in the Pillow Fort ? Huh, why not? Huh, WHY NOT?]
    ————–
    Biped:
    Ditto to all the above: STAY SAFE, GET OUT (14 miles IS too close) and please keep us updated (when possible). [Note to self: call sister (relatively) near Biped ASAP !]

  195. bluentx
    195

    In researching SoCal fire info this comes up: ” Website Says 20,000 Ashley Madison Users Hail From High Desert”
    BIPED what have you been up to ??????? 🙂

  196. FossilFishy
    196

    I was on the other end of this situation in 2009. The ‘Black Saturday’ bush fires came 3k from my house and we had no way of fleeing. The threat of wild fire is all too real to me. I have to go to bed now; I’m really, really hoping I wake to hear that biped’s fine…

  197. YOB
    197

    I’ve been working on designing a board game that will be more inclusive of all the peoples. I’ve got the basic mechanics pretty much worked out, but have hit a major block. I’m hoping that y’all might be able to help me work it out.

    Thumbnail of the co-op game:
    <One of the characters has been trapped in a tower.
    The players take the roles of the remaining characters and attempt to rescue the trapped character and defeat the bad guy.
    Each character has a tie to one other character that gives them different advantages/disadvantages if their “partner” character is the one trapped.
    Example: The Princess and the Mistress of the Hunt are in love. If one is trapped, the other gets bonuses during play.Each character has a short bio that gives some personal history and an explanation of the ties.Midieval/fantasy setting
    I want the cast of characters to be as diverse as I possibly can, WRT race, gender, orientation, etc. and I want the world they live in to be a utopian ideal, so I can’t just say ” She’s black and gay and that’s OK.” I’m trying to be more subtle (subversive?) than that.
    So, here’s the problem I need help with: trans-folk representation.
    In this fantasy world, being trans carries no more weight than being 5’6″ or having 5 fingers on your left hand, so I don’t want to just blurt it out. But, how else to make it known to the players? I’m completely stuck.

    I’m posting this query here, as opposed to the game design places I frequent, because I feel like the question is not about game design per se, and I don’t want to have arguments with asshats about “Why bother?” right now. That fight is for after I post the finished game. I also value y’all’s perspective on matters of inclusivity.

  199. YOB
    199

    Reposting previous comment with better formatting

    I’ve been working on designing a board game that will be more inclusive of all the peoples. I’ve got the basic mechanics pretty much worked out, but have hit a major block. I’m hoping that y’all might be able to help me work it out.

    Thumbnail of the co-op game:
    – One of the characters has been trapped in a tower.

    – The players take the roles of the remaining characters and attempt to rescue the trapped character and defeat the bad guy.

    – Each character has a tie to one other character that gives them different advantages/disadvantages if their “partner” character is the one trapped.
    Example: The Princess and the Mistress of the Hunt are in love. If one is trapped, the other gets bonuses during play.

    – Each character has a short bio that gives some personal history and an explanation of the ties.

    – Medieval/Fantasy setting

    Problem Statement:
    I want the cast of characters to be as diverse as I possibly can, WRT race, gender, orientation, etc. and I want the world they live in to be a Utopian ideal, so I can’t just say ” She’s black and gay and that’s OK.” I’m trying to be more subtle (subversive?) than that.

    So, here’s the problem I need help with: trans-folk representation.
    In this fantasy world, being trans carries no more weight than being 5’6″ or having 5 fingers on your left hand, so I don’t want to just blurt it out. But, how else to make it known to the players? I’m completely stuck.

    I’m posting this query here, as opposed to the game design places I frequent, because I feel like the question is not about game design per se, and I don’t want to have arguments with asshats about “Why bother?” right now. That fight is for after I post the finished game. I also value y’all’s perspective on matters of inclusivity.

  202. YOB
    202

    Re: Texas Secessionists – My brother is one of those dipsticks. We go round and round and round on that. *sigh*

    Re: New Texas Laws – Of the 14 listed at the link, surprisingly, I think* I support all of them except for easing off the penalty for guns at airport. if you forget you’ve got it, why do you have it in the first place? *sheesh*

    * “think” as opposed to “sure” because I haven’t had time to dig into the specifics yet.

  203. Tony!
    203

    re: Texas secessionists-
    Is it a case of them hating the federal government?
    Also, given that Texas gets extreme weather at times, I wonder where the financial assistance during disasters would come from without a federal government. Or maybe they haven’t thought this through very far.

  205. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    205

    I’d love to see one of these secessionistas actually do the math – I suspect most of the states, and sections of states, that want out are also the ones who rely the most on federal aid.

  207. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    207

    Thank you kindly, Tony. It’s so nice to know people who don’t just roll their eyes at my bad jokes!

    Elder Daughter remembered seeing that crow video before – it’s a New Caledonian crow. They are the most intelligent of the crows, and they even make and use tools.

    I had another bad gallbother attack this morning, and while I was out doing the marketing at that. Gah. Fortunately, I had some of my super-advil in my purse, so I popped one and drove straight home. It kicked in enough so that I could go back out again to the last grocery store, and Elder Daughter was helping with the shopping, so it’s all done now, but what a pain. Literally. I hate this. I hate not being able to do the necessary things, let alone any of the fun things.

  208. Biped!?
    208

    Hi everybody! We are fine. The fire got knocked down pretty fast. One hour after it was reported they had 200 firefighters, 24 engines, 1 water tender, 3 helicopters, 2 air tankers, and one air attack plane. They immediately laid down a wide perimeter of foscheck (that red fire-retardant you see in photos) and that did the trick.
    Fossil Fishy, all your advice is excellent. We get very worried when a fire starts downhill in brush and chaparral. The wind can blow that uphill faster than a bird can fly. And guess what… It may have been started by another arsonist. Fuckers.
    Anyway, all is well. Everyone up here keeps an “escape package” with important papers and basic survival stuff including food for the pets and a supply of necessary medications.
    Someone once asked me, “Where do you keep your passports and the deed to your property and such?” I said, “In the trunk of my car, of course.”

  209. YOB
    209

    Re: Secessionistas – The ones I know tend to be very Right-Wing Libertarian, so pretty much hates the Fed Guv and “Fuck you, I got mine.” Oh, and also FREEEEEDDDUUUMMM!!!

    As far as the math is concerned, the prevailing idea is that the Fed takes too much of “mine” and gives it to “them.” They tend to think that more goes out than comes in and that if it stayed “here” then “mine” would be more, therefor secession makes sense.

    I’ll give you 1 guess who “them” are.

  211. YOB
    211

    escape packag

    So, an actual legitimate and reasonable need for a “bug-out bag”? 🙂

    I had another bad gallbother attack…

    I’ve been spending too much time with my gaming stuff. When I read that, the image that popped into my mind was one of you in armor fighting off a rampaging band of flying Gallbothers (like supergiant mosquitos) with a hand-crossbow and a sword. I wish they were as easy to defeat IRL as they are in my imagination. *hugs*

  216. opposablethumbs
    216

    biped! it’s veryvery good to know you’re OK. Thank you for letting us know.

    Sympathies to those plagued and sorely tried by ill-starred thumbs and gall-bothers 🙁

  218. AlexanderZ
    218

    Dalillama
    Take care of your thumbs – it’s our only advantage over the New Caledonian crows!
    __________

    Anne

    I’d love to see one of these secessionistas actually do the math – I suspect most of the states, and sections of states, that want out are also the ones who rely the most on federal aid.

    Maybe most, but not Texas. Texas has low unemployment, and high economic growth, both total and per capita. In fact, Texas has the best consistent economic performance of any state, since it only second after North Dakota – a tiny economy where having triplets is enough to raise the GDP.
    Granted, all this growth is likely due to high immigration and oil. Should it secede it’ll lose it’s appeal to many Mexican immigrants (yes, immigrants, legal or not, always raise GDP) and internal US immigrants. Also, given the low oil prices and the size of the Texan economy (and the fact that NASA, like many other major economic contributors, are federal branches), it might enter a emigration spiral where people will leave either due to uncertainty or falling economy, which will cause the economy to fall further and so on and so forth. Even an economically sound state like Texas will likely be worse off after secession.
    On the other hand, Puerto Rico, just to give a hypothetical example, has nothing to lose.

    If only the evil Gallbother could be defeated that easily.

    You have my sword.
    __________

    YOB
    I’m glad your friend could help you.
    __________

    Via SINMANTYX: a great cartoon about the wonders of the universe.

  222. FossilFishy
    222

    So glad to hear that Biped. Sorry about the unneeded advice, while I’m not at all surprised that a Horde member is sensible about these things, I couldn’t live with myself if I’d kept silent and something bad happened.

    We also have two “Go bags” in the closet by the front door. One with clothes (less flammable natural fibres only, large brimmed hats, and gloves too), wool blankets, water, a small radio, spare phone chargers, and a bunch of other small necessities. The other has our documents.

    One of my decision points involves the air assets. When they loft the helicopters, we go, even if it doesn’t seem too threatening. It costs so much to fly those things that they don’t do it without good reasons. Mind you, it’s spectacular to watch. I had a big Sikorsky Skycrane fly maybe 100 meters overhead, intake hose dripping from where it had just sucked some poor farmer’s dam dry. The raw power of thing as it struggled to haul all that water into the sky was awesome, in the old scary-deity sense of the word. I may just have done spontaneous a fist pump and screamed “Go you big, beautiful bastard!”, or maybe not. There were no witnesses to that particular release of pent up tension… >.>

    What I’ve learned living in a place where natural disasters occur fairly often:

    The availability heuristic* can even catch out people who know it exists, myself being a perfect example. I’ve told this story a number of times in the Lounge so I’ll only give a summery here. The only thing that saved us on Black Saturday** was a 1:30am wind change. The fire blew around us and took out 8 houses with two deaths instead of wiping out the whole town. It was profoundly scary.

    We didn’t own a car then, and by the time we were aware we were in trouble all the neighbours who were fleeing were gone. Having just moved into the area we didn’t have anyone local to call and the in-laws had gone to Melbourne. Normally it would take 4 hours for them to get back to us, but the main highway was cut off and it ended up taking them something like 11 hours to get home.

    As soon as they got back next day they offered to come get us. This was the sensible thing to do, the fire was still going and even though they were throwing up containment lines between us and it at furious pace the danger was still real. There’d already been one big wind change after all. We dithered, hummed and hawed, and generally waffled until that evening before I finally said, “This is stupid, we need to go.”

    You see, my brain was telling me on a gut level that we were fine. I’ve never been burned to death in a bushfire, so all the available data my brain was using told it that dying was unlikely to happen. This despite having been awake all night doing the rounds: Listen to the radio until they mention our part of the fire, check the map to be sure I know where they’re talking about. Checking the website to confirm and then going outside to see for myself and to once again hose down all the things. Even watching as the sky lit up horizon to horizon with an evil, cancerous glow that came from just over the hill still didn’t make the threat feel real the next day.

    A friend of mine explained it as “The Turkey Fallacy”. Turkeys in North America are often breed specifically for the Thanksgiving holiday. For 999 days of the turkey’s life it is fed and cared for. So on the 1000th day it expects to be fed and cared for just like every other day. But unfortunately its chance of survival on that last day is zero.

    The availability heuristic means that it is far more likely that people who live in dangerous parts of the world will underestimate the risks.

    Thus endeth the lesson.

    Sorry about the lecture, it wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular. It was just an opportunity to remind folks I care about how bad our brains are at assessing risk.

    *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Availability_heuristic

    **https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfires#Beechworth_fire

  223. Biped!?
    223

    Fossil Fishy,
    No apologies needed for the lecture. This lesson needs to be repeated again and again. We are very familiar with the availability heuristic. Witness the fools who climb up on their roofs with a water hose and proclaim that they have lived through a hundred of these fires and they are not leaving. Some survive, some don’t. It is not a risk we are willing to take. When we moved “up the mountain” almost two years ago we knew the trade off: It is a beautiful place to live, and it is dangerous. Be prepared. We do not fool around with Mother Nature. She always laughs last.

  224. Tony!
    224

    Damn, I had no clue how much people love coffee. On FB, I said:

    Attention planet:
    I am your new ruler. My first act as overlord of the planet was going to be the utter destruction of all coffee beans. I have an orbital array of lasers around the globe specially trained to disintegrate all coffee beans (and evaporate all brewed coffee) with no harmful effects to anything or anyone else.
    But since donning the royal crown (which doesn’t really sit well on a head with no hair), I have decided to be generous. I have saved one box of specially brewed coffee and hidden it somewhere around the world. Instead of “Where’s Waldo”, think “Where’s Folgers”. Whosoever finds this box will be allowed to keep the coffee. Depending on whether or not this person is cute, I may let them even grow their own beans. Under my strict regulation. But there shall be no. more. coffee. Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha!

    And for some reason people took umbrage to all of that. Can you imagine that? The nerve of people to get mad at their new king for something so generous. I *could* have obliterated *all* the coffee.

  227. Biped!?
    227

    Tea……… Hmmm……
    Has anyone here ever partaken of Tibetan Yak Butter Tea? I did so many moons ago at a lovely Tibetan restaurant in Los Angeles. OMG! Yak butter is probably the most pungent, most barnyardish thing I have ever tasted. Definitely an acquired taste.

  228. YOB
    228

    ::slams butt of staff into the pavement::
    YOU. SHALL. NOT. PAS… er..um…TAKE ALL THE COFFEE!!

    ::dabs woad on face and charges about on a stallion::
    You may take my freedom, but you will never take my COOOFFFFEEEE!!!

    I mean really. The coffee?! Take the beer, wine, and tea, but for the love of Uranus and Saturn, leave the coffee alone.

  229. Tony!
    229

    ::Puts foot down::
    No coffee for you!

    Incidentally, Ed Brayton said he was fine with me destroying all the coffee so long as I left his Diet Mt. Dew alone. I told him I shipped the stuff off to Kolob, where he can be ruler.

  230. YOB
    230

    Nay, you fiendish fiend that is full of fiendishness.

    I shall lead the Properly Caffienated Ones, They who carry the Most Blessed Roaster, Keepers of the Zimbabwean Beans and the Fruit of Columbia. Yay, I shall lead them against you and your tyrannical rule.

    With our jittery reflexes, self induced insomnia, our mugs from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, and frequent bathroom breaks, we shall save the coffee.

  231. Tony!
    231

    My beloved subjects, can you not see that your loving ruler is simply trying to protect you? Do you not recall the ancient prophecy that said that when the Roostergeist rises, the world will be imperiled and the only way to save it is to destroy ALL coffee? I am the savior you have waited for all these millenia. I am the Chosen One. Only I can stave off the forces of evil and save the world from the time of great darkness. If I fail…if I am not successful, our country…our continent…our hemisphere…the very world itself shall experience another Quickening.
    And one Quickening was bad enough.

  232. Beatrice
    232

    There is no Roostergeist!! Don’t you seem you sheeple?!
    Tony has been pretending to be Roostergeist – stubbing your toes, breaking the HTML and making edited comments invisible. It has all been him, to convince us Roostergeist has risen, The Prophecy has been fulfilled and for Tony to become our “benevolent” rules.
    He started with coffee. What will it be next? Mandatory peas on weekends (personally, I like peas, but Tony would feed us peas of oppression)? Banning wine?
    Roostergeist slumbers. Do not believe a FALSE prophet!

  240. YOB
    240

    he world will be imperiled and the only way to save it is to destroy ALL coffee?

    If that truly be the case, then I say brew up a cuppa and let’s watch the world burn. It’s probably for the best, anyway. Give the monkeys another shot (why are there still monkeys?! Checkmate!) maybe they’ll get it right this time.

    Wait! The Pillow Fort! Of course. We’ll hide within the impregnable cushiony softness of the pillow fort. Anne, for your brilliance in the face of The CoffeeTaker, I dub you Captain of the PCOs and Holy-ish Defender of the Pillow Fort. It is a weighty responsibility, if you accept the title, not the least of which is keeping us from leaving coffee stains on the cushions. Weighty, indeed.

    There is no Roostergeist!

  245. chigau
    245

    Speaking of coffee.
    Did you know that if you leave the Timbits on the kitchen counter for two or three days, nothing happens.
    The texture and flavor are unchanged.

  247. rq
    247

    chigau
    That is excellent news.
    Timbits – now the ultimate survival food! I think they go well with a double-double and the end of the world. Can also be used as slingshot ammo to fend away the CoffeeControl, when they come for our hidden supplies.

  253. Beatrice
    253

    rq,
    http://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Dwarf_Bread

    Rock-hard (and indeed contains various rocks such as gravel), never goes stale, and is terribly sustaining. A traveller can go for miles, just knowing there’s dwarf bread in their pack. A traveller can think of just about anything to eat rather than dwarf bread including their own foot and even pumpkins (see Witches Abroad).

    Various forms of dwarf bread can be used as weapons, e.g. battle muffins and drop scones.

  254. Beatrice
    254

    rq,
    Pončiki look delicious!

    Anne,
    I just had a cup* but I can make you another one.

    * when I say cup I don’t mean those dainty cups a sparrow couldn’t drink enuogh to live by from, I mean a full 2 dcl cup … so much for my resolve to drink less coffee

  256. YOB
    256

    Tony Kinda goes with job, doesn’t it. Just ask Obama.

    chigau I had to google that. I always thought that Timbits were the parts of Tim that is usually covered by his pants. Usually.

    rq “One Minute Time Macjine” – LLOL! Thanks for sharing that brilliant find.

  258. rq
    258

    YOB
    re: Timbits
    Well, one never really knows how many Tims have sacrificed their… bits… to create this delicious, sugary treat.

  261. Biped!?
    261

    Timbits? Bah! They got nothing on “The First Apple Pie.” It was a creation of my youth. It was glorious in appearance with the aroma of heaven. And it was impermeable. It was fossilized straight out of the oven. I suspect it exists still deep in the confines of an old trash pit. Future archaeologists will marvel at its indestructibility.

  262. YOB
    262

    Biped!? Sounds like my homemade biscuits* every time I try.

    rq “scapecock”? Um… Images in head now not pleasant.

    * southern biscuits, not British cookies.

  263. cicely
    263

    Disruption of Service is over?
    Excellent!
    ….
    Flying cocks? Cracked has totally got that covered—scroll down to #!.
    ….
    *pouncehugging* Giliell, and carlie.
    ….
    Best wishes for your afflicted thumb, Dalillama, with a *hug*. Bikes are tricksy, fractious beasts.
    ….
    Ah…update/crash? Standard HTML rules? Let’s see….
     
    Italics Test. Bolding Test. Strike out Test.
    Can has asterisks? ****
    – Dash as separator?
    Dare I hope???…Underline Test?
    ….

  266. Beatrice
    266

    I sprayed every uncovered part of my body with the exception of my face because, you know, unknown chemicals in my eyes.
    What do they do?
    ATTACK MY FACE.
    Bastards

  267. YOB
    267

    Beatrice Re: mosquito repellant and the face

    I am an excellent mosquito repellant for other people! 🙂 Since I’m not able to stand nearby to attract them away from you…
    If it is available in you neck of the woods, I have had pretty good results with this product. I squirt it on my hands then carefully apply to my face (Not the eyes!! Trust me.)

    Repel Lemon Eucalyptus

  268. cicely
    268

    *big hugs* for YOB, with a heaping side-order of sympathy.
    Evidence that the brainmeats are just pattern-seeking squishware being laboriously-and-haphazardly repurposed as reasoning squishware—the fact that they aren’t at home to Reason, in the matter of The Shy, depression, etc.
    –
    Biped!?-proximate wildfire?
    Do Not Like!
     
    (later)
    Glad to hear the emergency is over!
    *whew!*
    –
    Does fire travel faster uphill than down?
    –
    *pouncehug* for bluentx.
    –
    *moar hugs* and sympathy for Anne.
    Do your gallbladder attacks show any particular pattern?
    –
    AlexanderZ:

    Via SINMANTYX: a great cartoon about the wonders of the universe.

    Nice! I’ll have to link it for my friends on Facebook…especially the religious ones! 😀
    –
    Tony!, coffee is all that stands between me, and a permanent impression of my keyboard transferred to my face, caused by week-daily impact.
    If you are unmoved by my distress, will you not think of the poor keyboard? What has it done to deserve such punishment?
    –

    There is no Roostergeist!

    There is only Zuul!
    –

  269. cicely
    269

    rq, One Minute Time Machine is awesome!
    –
    Biped!?:

    It was fossilized straight out of the oven. I suspect it exists still deep in the confines of an old trash pit. Future archaeologists will marvel at its indestructibility.

    Ah! Like my sugar cookies!
    –
    There are no fates dreadful enough for mosquitoes.
    Also, ticks.
    –

  270. Saad
    270

    Latest James Bond writer Anthony Horowitz says Idris Elba is “a bit too street” to play Bond.

    The writer of the new James Bond novel “Trigger Mortis” has set off a firestorm with a remark about Idris Elba.

    Anthony Horowitz recently told the Daily Mail that he believes Elba is “probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.”

    Some Tweets:

    Just be honest and say “James Bond’s being white is important to me” and be done with it. – Ta-Nehisi Coates

    “Sorry. What I meant to say was Idris Elba is too” *consults racist euphemism cheat sheet* “urban contemporary to play the new James Bond.” – Kit Lovelace

  271. rq
    271

    Saad
    I saw a tweet in relation to that – where the headline was ‘Elba not ‘suave’ enough to play bond’ or some such, and the caption under the picture said: “[author] says Elba allegedly not ‘suave’ enough to play bond”, and the picture was of Elba being suaaaaavvve in-deed. (Can he ever not be suave?)

  272. JimB
    272

    I would LOVE to see Idris Elba play James Bond.

    And the next Doctor.

    And more Luther, please.
    ———-
    Hold on – first there was Scotch tomfoolery, now coffee destruction?

    I don’t even…..

    ::edges none-to-subtly toward the Pillow Fort, drawn by the aroma of “something” being roasted::

  273. Biped!?
    273

    I say we take a poll of all women regardless of color and ask who wants to see Idris Elba play James Bond. I predict he would win in a landslide.

  274. rq
    274

    I say we take a poll of all women regardless of color and ask who wants to see Idris Elba play James Bond. I predict he would win in a landslide.

    Only if we pit him against, say, this guy or this guy or this guy (holy shit I love his voice). To make things fair. I mean, he (Elba) is a hands-down winner among several blue-eyed whiteboys, sure. Give him some competition. 😉

  275. Tony!
    275

    Hmmm:
    My Modern Met is Searching for Contributing Writers:

    If you’ve been a fan of My Modern Met and want to go from a casual reader to an actual contributor, guess what, you’re in luck. We’re now hiring! It’s an exciting time for us here as we continue to expand our business.

    We’re looking for applicants who are web-savvy, love all things creative, and want to share their passion with the world. You’ll not only get to polish your writing skills, you’ll have the opportunity to help build a dynamic internet-based business that makes it a priority to stay on the pulse of what’s new and exciting. Most of all, we’re looking for passionate, motivated people who want to be a part of something bigger.

    Necessary Qualifications:
    Excellent writing skills
    Understanding of social media: Facebook, Twitter, etc
    Previous blogging experience
    Passion for art, design, photography
    Quick learner

    Daily and Weekly Tasks:
    Assist editors in writing blog posts
    Contact artists, designers and photographers for interviews
    Help manage social media accounts

    Perks:
    You’ll have a very flexible schedule – you can work from anywhere
    You’ll build a great portfolio of published articles covering a range of topics

    Our writers will work 1-3 hours per day for five days a week and will gain first-hand knowledge about working with a top art and culture website. Writers will be paid hourly.

    Here’s How You Can Apply:
    Email your resume to [email protected].
    In the email, please give us a brief background about yourself and answer these two questions:
    1. Why do you want to be a writer at My Modern Met?
    2. What other blogs do you visit on a daily or weekly basis?

    If possible, please send us links to your website and/or blog.

    Please Note:
    We are accepting international applicants.
    Applications will be received until Monday, September 7, 2015 at 11:59pm pdt.

    Thanks and good luck!

    Eugene Kim
    Editor-in-Chief

    I don’t know that I’m passionate about art, design, and photography. I certainly find some of those interesting though.

  276. Rawnaeris
    276

    I would LOVE to see Idris Elba play James Bond.

    And the next Doctor.

    ^this, especially Bond. But also the Doctor, unless (s)he’s a woman next time. Then I vote woman.
    **********
    I passed the (four hour long) exam for my next promotion set at work!!!!!! We only get two tries a year once we hit a certain level, and I actually passed it first shot!!!!!
    I don’t reap any of the benefits of this until next year at the earliest, but it’s one less thing to stress over, because it’s the prerequisite for like 80% of the benefits aty workplace.

  277. Biped!?
    277

    So how many charming white actors have played James Bond? And how many charming black actors are equally if not more appealing and are available for the job? I don’t think we are going to run out of Bonds any time soon.

    Know who I think would be a stunning Bond? Denzel Washington.

  278. Tony!
    278

    Rawnaeris:

    But also the Doctor, unless (s)he’s a woman next time. Then I vote woman.

    Gina Torres to the courtesy phone. Gina Torres to the courtesy phone please.
    If you can’t tell, I think she is *awesome*.

  281. rq
    281

    Tony
    I didn’t see, is it a paid position?
    Be careful of places offering experience instead of remuneration, is all I would say, but otherwise, I think your love of comics can certainly pass as a passion for the arts!! And you have that awesome point of view on everything.

  282. Rawnaeris
    282

    Hmm, the edit button showed up, I clicked it, put in an edit, then *poof*. (Wizard if you’re wondering I’m on an iOS8 iPod)
    ***
    Anyway, Tony! If you’re interested you should totally apply to that position, sometimes the passion shows up from the mild interest, if you follow me.

  283. rq
    283

    ALso +1 for Denzel. For sure. But they have to give him a sexually charged role (I mean, it IS James Bond…), instead of the usual father-figure non-sexual-love protective-type character he usually gets.

  285. Beatrice
    285

    rq,
    Thanks for noting that bit abouto Denzel always getting fatherly roles. It made me think that people may have a problem with a non-white man potentially playing Bond partly because that would make it necessary to pair a black man with white women.

  288. YOB
    288

    Tony I would recommend applying. I can’t hurt and even if they don’t take you on, it would be experience in applying for things outside your normal wheelhouse. So really, can’t lose either way, from a certain perspective.

    Re: Bond
    If not Elba, then +1 for Chiwetel Ejiofor.

  290. Tony!
    290

    Question:
    I don’t have a printer. One of the jobs I saw come up on Craiglist yesterday said they want applicants to come to the place with a resume. Is there a public place that can print resumes?

  291. Beatrice
    291

    I know I’ve been dancing around the idea so I’ll come out and state it clearly:
    apply for that position or I swear I will wake the Roostergeist and sic him on you

  293. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    293

    Tony, how about a public library? I think ours has word processing on their computers, and I know they have a printer. Also, copy centers like Kinko’s do that kind of thing – I’ve taken documents I want to print there on a flash drive and just plugged it into one of the copiers.

  295. JimB
    295

    Rawnaeris – Congrats! on the exam
    —–
    Tony! – yes, apply. Also, OfficMax/OfficeDepot/Staples should have document printing capabilities as well, but Anne’s suggestion of library or Kinko’s would be my first choice.
    —–
    Agree with all the actor suggestions, Denzel, Gina, Chiwetel.
    —–
    I feel more Scotch will be needed for me to complete this day.

  296. Tony!
    296

    Ok. I’ll check out the library tomorrow. That’s my first choice since chances are that will be free and I’m down to my last $10, which has to go toward shipping graphic novels on ebay.
    Speaking of ebay, does anyone know how long it takes before you’re established and funds are available immediately? I’ve sold over a dozen items in the last few months and I keep having to wait almost 2 weeks to access the funds. Ebay notes that you have to have an established selling pattern, but not how long that takes.
    Annoying.

  298. YOB
    298

    Re: Bermuda Triangle Ship
    To quote Honored First Wife when I showed her the story “Holy shit! That is wicked weird.” I used to be really into* the Occult and, tangentially, the Triangle so I’m going to have to follow that story and see how it turns out.

  304. YOB
    304

    Well poop.

    Got all jazzed at the weirdness of the world. Been laying here kinda watching Poirot and thinking of ways a ship could resurface like that. Was just about to do some follow up on it, but checked here first so now no need. Thanks, Anne, for the tip off.

    But in my defense, I’m recovering from oral surgery and on hydrocodone so that is my excuse.

  305. Tony!
    305

    YOB:
    Don’t feel bad, I’m the one that linked to the fake article. I figured “hey, the ocean is vast, this doesn’t seem that unlikely”

    If I’d have checked the running ticker on the site, I’d have clued in. I just saw a headline that said “FDA approves viagra for dogs”.

  307. AlexanderZ
    307

    Twenty years ago I used to be very much into woo. Crop circles, Nazca line, Chariots of the Gods. I didn’t believe in it fully, but I liked the idea of it as a possibility. However, even then, at the very top of my woo-ery I didn’t not believe in The Triangle.
    That’s how much I hate the sea.
    Though I like its inhabitants. When I was a kid my parents took me on a trip to Crimea. While we were standing next to the ship’s railing a strong wind blew off my hat and it was immediately picked up by three dolphins who played something like pass-the-ball with it – they made sure that it never touched the water, and when it was starting to fall down another dolphin would jump-kick into the air.

  308. AlexanderZ
    308

    In other news, this is how the 1st of September looks like in Donbas (youtube).

    Also, another Tatar has disappeared (article in Russian):
    He went missing five days ago and was last seen being apprehended by two men in police uniforms who threw him into a minibus and drove off towards the city. The city’s police filled a missing person form, but said they didn’t know anything about him or his disappearance.

    Crimean local “Self-Defense” force has been known to kidnap people:

    “The assault on the media in Ukraine, especially in eastern regions and Crimea, continues unabated, with frightening attacks on and kidnappings of journalists,” said David Kramer, president of Freedom House. “Sergey Mokrushin and Vladlen Melnikov, two staff members of the Center for Investigative Reporting, were detained and brutally beaten on June 2 in the presence of local Crimean leaders and then in the presence of Russian police officers. This is a clear effort to silence investigative journalists by local ‘self-defense’ forces with the occupying Russian authorities’ approval.

    That group was given official status by Crimea’s governor Sergey Aksyonov – a former mobster.

  310. cicely
    310

    I would love to see Idris Elba as Bond!
    If Daniel Craig is “sophisticated” enough for the role….
    –
    Rawnaeris:

    I passed the (four hour long) exam for my next promotion set at work!!!!!! We only get two tries a year once we hit a certain level, and I actually passed it first shot!!!!!

    Huzzah! and congrats!
    –
    Tony!, re the application:
    Do eeeeeeeeeet!
    –
    Biped!?:

    Know who I think would be a stunning Bond? Denzel Washington.

    Indeed!
     

    I believe the ONLY reason there has not been a black James Bond is because of racism.

    Whether overt, or unstated, part-of-the-cultural-ambient.
    –

  311. YOB
    311

    Rawnaeris

    I passed the (four hour long) exam for my next promotion set at work!!!!!! We only get two tries a year once we hit a certain level, and I actually passed it first shot!!!!!

    YAY!!!! Conga Rats!

  312. barkeeperin
    312

    This coming weekend, Labor Day in the US (celebrating giving birth, I think), a weekend I have for most of my life spent at the campground (Yeah, I still think of it as “The Campground” – 40th year there and all), we will instead be hosting my wife’s brother, my wife’s sister, and my wife’s sister’s husband at our house. Sure, our camper is basically an apartment on wheels that sleeps 12 (if a few of those people are very friendly), but there is a complication.

    Tony, rq, and Portia due to some emails, know this next part I am going to summarize. Almost a year ago, my sister-in-law was in a head-on collision in her car, complications from which included a stroke, which led to the cure of removing a “good sized part” of her cerebellum, leaving her with mostly balance problems and a little bit of vision issues. I am still astounded that a “good sized” piece of her brain was removed and she is nearly good as new.

    So, balance issues mean as much as she tried to say she could walk on the gravel at the campground, her husband was not so sure. So we’re staying home where sis-in-law’s husband will probably end up spending a lot of time playing video games with my son. And sis-in-law will probably be trading awful punny jokes with my daughter (Where do we keep our armies? In our sleevies.) And we’ll be going out to eat at a place called the Melting Pot. Fondue for the win.

    ***

    Just the other day, I was saying how “street” Heimdall is. Also, Mandela — what did that guy know about being charming and eloquent?

  313. YOB
    313

    Sounds like a pretty spiffy weekend for y’all.

    The brain is a freaky thing. An old military buddy of mine lost, as you say, a good sized piece of his to trauma. We thought he was dead, frankly. We carried him out cause that’s what you do, not because we thought he’d survive. Long story short, after much therapy, he’s married with two great kids (one starting college soon) and the only noticeable residue of his experience is a slight slurring of speech and, occasionally, he gets nouns mixed up.

    Also, I’m totally stealing that joke. Never heard it before and I love it.

  314. Tony!
    314

    Wired’s Absurd Creature of the Week– The hippo butt leech:

    Now, I tend to write about animals that are saddled with unfortunate living situations. A fish, for instance, that lives in water so cold it has antifreeze for blood. And people tend to ask me, “Why on Earth do they even bother? Why not move to warmer waters, or out of a hippo’s rectum?” Well, in the animal kingdom, if a creature can exploit a niche others cannot, it has a huge advantage—a monopoly really. Far from getting a bum deal, it’s safe to say that this leech has cornered the market on hippo rectum flesh.

    And anyway, that’s the only good bit of the hippo to feed on. “We believe that that is so because hippos have very, very thick skin and a layer of blubber,” says Siddall. “The only part on the hippo that’s vascularized enough to get a good blood meal would actually be from the rectal region.” And getting there is no real problem at all. “They’re crawling up the hippos hind legs and crawling their way right up.” So these leeches are literally a pain in the ass.

    Once inside, the leech latches on with two suckers. At the back of its body, the more bulbous end, is a big sucker, while at the front is a smaller sucker. And it’s got to be real sure it can keep a tight grip, for hippo BMs can be rather … explosive: They flap their tails back and forth to fling dung all over the place.

    So is that a strategy to evict leeches? Nah, Siddall says. “Hippos, especially male hippos, engage in so much combat and they experience so much scraping and ripping and tearing from the teeth of other hippos, the amount of stimulus, negative or otherwise, that a leech in their butthole is going to cause has got to be fairly minimal.”

    These leeches are, after all, nice and flat. “Let’s just say they’re very aerodynamic with respect to explosive hippo poo,” Siddall says. “I can’t imagine that explosive pooing has much to do with getting rid of leeches, especially because I don’t think it would be terribly effective at it anyway.” Instead, male hippos fling poo to front on their rivals in confrontations over territory and mates.

    It’s like 2 parts gross, one part perversely interesting. There’s more at the link, including an image or two.

  315. rq
    315

    Wait… are they making MacBeth into a dark, broody, serious movie?
    I know it’s a dark, broody, serious play n all, but dangit, I don’t want to watch the movie if it’s all tortured souls and no soul at all.

  317. bragimike
    317

    Hi everyone!

    Pretty ‘rupt I’m afraid. I’ve been busy IRL so I’ve not had chance to catch up until now. My daughter’s illness turned out to be minor (thankfully) and she’s started pre-school at nursery now. Which means there’s only a year before she actually starts school – yikes!

    I’m glad to see that in my absence nothing has changed too dramatically….it normally seems to.

    *hugs, higs* and drinks for everyone.

  318. YOB
    318

    Instead, male hippos fling poo to front on their rivals in confrontations over territory and mates.

    Soooo pretty much just like Republican presidential candidates?

    bragimike
    Glad to hear the illness was minor. Also, these early years go by super fast and are awesome. 🙂

  320. barkeeperin
    320

    What numbskull came up with the idea that using your teeth for their intended purpose will break them? I have feet and legs, but they don’t need root canals because I stand or walk on them. I have eyes, but they don’t need gross debridement because I looked at or read things. But chew things with your teeth and even if you brush them, they still give you problems. And they just create a series of professions of perfectly nice people who no one ever wants to see.

    There may be some exaggeration in the preceding paragraph. I do understand that the body does break down as we get older. But it seems teeth do it faster just from using them to eat.

    In other news that of course has nothing to do with my first paragraph, I just got back from a dental exam brought on because a tooth of mine broke last week.

  321. YOB
    321

    What numbskull came up with the idea that using your teeth for their intended purpose will break them?

    Oh oh I know! I know!

    An Intelligent Designer, of course.

    Can I haz my cookie now?

    (Says the guy currently recovering from yesterday’s oral surgery, so I sympathize and couldn’t eat the cookie right now anyway.)

  322. Tony!
    322

    ::places chocolate chip, macadamia nut cookie in blender with a touch of 2% milk and some vanilla ice cream…hands it to YOB::
    Does that count as a cookie?

  325. rq
    325

    Also, I declare victory.
    Husband of late has been delving into USAmerican politics, by listening to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Larry Wilmore, and John Oliver. And from there he’s been looking into individual topics or people. We had a chat about Black Lives Matter and Bernie Sanders, but the best part: he declared that he believes that his colleagues, en masse, are sexist, for the jokes and commentary they engage in while at work with one of the secretaries. I was all, “You could say something about it” and he was all “Well, I think she likes it since she’s responding and provoking herself” (<- in the sense that she starts those kind of conversations herself) so I was all "How about you ask her sometime because it could be a coping mechanism" and he was all "Yeah but the point is I hate it that my (pretty much 100% male) colleagues actually engage in these conversations and tell these jokes while at work. It's so impolite and unprofessional and sexist."

    *rq does a little dance*
    See, even a few months ago, I'm not sure if he would have identified the issue so well. Baby-steps, right?

  326. Anne, Cranky Cat Lady
    326

    rq, well done you!

    YOB, I hope you’re back in cookie-crunching form soon.

    More hugs, help yourself, everybody.

    I had a list of errands I had to do this morning. But as I was checking the twitters, I saw one from the local PD that said that the power was out all along the street wherein reside the Post Awful and the mall, both of which were on my list. So I went to Kaiser’s pharmacy, grumbling. They actually gave me my seven-days of holdover pills on both the prescriptions without an argument, which is a great relief, although there was some discussion as to how to ring them up, since I wasn’t supposed to pay anything. After which, I figured I might as well see if the power was back on. It was. I mailed the birthday box, and I did my mall errands, and now I can cross all of today’s errands off the list. Phew!

  329. AlexanderZ
    329

    Beatrice
    This is for not-you: video.
    __________

    Tony

    hippo butt leech

    Now I have a new favorite cuss word.
    __________

    barkeeperin
    I agree with YOB – that brain thing is some terrifying shit. Good thing she seems to be well, though.

    P.S.
    Today I’m in a good mood, so *hugs* for everyone.
    Beware, I may not be in such a good mood tomorrow! 😉

  332. Beatrice
    332

    rq,
    all the *hugs*
    If you can, you can post that on the world politics thread. It’s full or refugee posts already. Unfortunately, there are plenty of bad news about refugees.

  333. rq
    333

    Beatrice
    Thanks, I will, but tomorrow morning. I know it’s a privilege of mine, but I’m trying to dial down on the traumatic stories before bedtime. That photo’s been haunting me all day.

  334. Tony!
    334

    Oh. My. God.
    I am wore the fuck out.
    Around 10 am, I got a call from a friend. Said he and a buddy needed some help with some construction work on a house. Since I’m broke and sitting around at home, he thought to call me. I figured, what the heck, it’s $100/day. I can use that. I didn’t do much of the actual work, bc I don’t have any experience with that. I just passed sheet metal back and forth to them as they worked on a roof. I ran back and forth getting tools, that kind of thing.
    But it was all in the sun. The blazingly hot Florida sun. I’m sure most of you have seen pics of me in the past.
    As I look at my arms and legs-holy wow. I got dark. And I’m beat down tired. Doing it again tomorrow bright and early at 6:45. That $200 pays for half my rent, which is great. But wow, I can see why construction work isn’t for everyone. I feel spoiled having worked inside for so long.

    And I need to walk to the store to get dog food, which I really, really don’t want (or have the energy) to do.

  335. Biped!?
    335

    Tony, you have my extreme sympathy. I can recommend a long, hot bath with Epsom salts, a couple of Tylenol and sleep. And drink plenty of water. I hope you feel better tomorrow.

  336. YOB
    336

    Tony
    First, you shouldn’t see this message until tomorrow cause you’re in bed asleep, right? 😉

    Secondly, Having worked heavy construction back in the day and still occasionally back on my dad’s ranch, recommend the following (in order):

    12 oz water chugged down straight away
    1 Miller Lite* consumed while splayed on a couch
    Hot shower
    A meal w/1 Miller Lite
    2 ibuprofen w/12 oz water
    Sleep

    *Keystone Light is an acceptable alternative

  337. Tony!
    337

    Asleep.
    Ha. Ha. Ha.
    That’s funny. Actually, I’ll be going to be soon. In the next hour or so. I’m a night owl, so even though my body was (and still is) physically exhausted, when night rolls around, I kind come to life.
    To be honest, the most grueling part of the day was being out in the heat. As for your advice, YOB, I can’t take much of it-I don’t drink any beer, and hot shower is the last thing I want after being in the sun all day.
    As for water, don’t worry. When my friend picked me up, we stopped off and bought two bags of ice and 2 24 packs of bottled water. All three of us chugged water all day. That was one thing we didn’t have to worry about at all. I think I downed a half dozen myself, if not more. Plus a Gatorade.

    Why the recommendations to take ibuprofen or Tylenol?

  340. Tony!
    340

    Ah, ok. I never thought about that. 5 years ago, when I was in the gym, the exercise I got today wouldn’t have been much. But since I haven’t worked out regularly in the last half decade (god I miss the gym), that probably accounts for part of my soreness. Sadly, I don’t think I have any pain reliever.

  341. YOB
    341

    Yeah, the meds and hot shower are for sore muscles.
    The water is to maintain/reinforce hydration.
    The beer is for…well… Beer. Because beeeer.

  343. Beatrice
    343

    Tony,
    it sucks that you’re exhausted, but yay for the money.

    I’m awake. I shuoldn’t be, it’t too early. BUt… (TMI) … it seems I ate something bad yesterday. Or just too many figs.

  344. Tony!
    344

    YOB:
    re-words sounding weird when you repeat them in your head too much…there was a word I was thinking of a few days ago that did just that. I can’t remember what it was. But I remember using it several times and began thinking “that word sounds weird”. The other thing I’ve found is when I write certain words within a short period of time. Years ago, I had that problem with the word ‘onion’. After a few times writing it, it just looked…wrong. Like I was spelling it wrong or something. I don’t know.
    Brains are weird. I don’t know why zombies like ’em.

  348. Tony!
    348

    Dammit. Sorry about the HTML crap ya’ll.

    ****

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  350. vereverum
    350

    Tony!
    You’re from Florida so I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir, but don’t skimp on the sunshine protection. A little half inch melanoma will run you about $125,000.00 (outpatient, no complications) and for some reason the medicos don’t want to wait around for their money.

    Beatrice.
    Fresh or dried figs? I can’t stop eating dried ones until the bag or box is empty. Dates too. I love dates. I, too, sometimes eat so much that later I don’t feel well. I hope you’re feeling better soon.

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