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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by Soonergrunt|  December 9, 20138:06 pm| 59 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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What’s going on with you guys?

From the news:

Zimmerman’s girlfriend recants her claims of gun threats

Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner receives sentence of 90 days home confinement

 The Army is launching a fuel cell testing initiative with General Motors at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan.

 The X-47B Unmanned Combat Aerial System has completed carrier qualification tests

This one is a week old, but I don’t remember seeing anyone blog it.  I was going to, but I forgot (perhaps I blogged it.  I’m getting old…er):

Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to PPACA’s individual mandate

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Previous Post: « Open Thread: NSA Gamer Nerds
Next Post: Come on down, I’m begging you »

Reader Interactions

59Comments

  1. 1.

    Cassidy

    December 9, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    Shhhhh. The NSA is listening.

  2. 2.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    Finally turned off my Facebook. I am very clearly addicted, as evidenced by my withdrawal symptoms. So this needed to happen. Maybe I can come back later and be more healthy about it. Anybody else experienced this?

  3. 3.

    chopper

    December 9, 2013 at 8:10 pm

    Finished work and now takin care of two kids. The usual.

  4. 4.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    Freezing at Soldier Field!

  5. 5.

    joel hanes

    December 9, 2013 at 8:16 pm

    @Big R:

    Abandoned Facebook about three years ago.

    Sometimes feel a pang when family members keep in touch through FB and I’m left out;
    but then I remember the stream of “friend” requests from people I barely know or whom I have purposely cut out of my life, the Farmville updates, the Christian homilies from Those Who Must Evangelize, the endless self-absorbtion of the adolescents updating status every few minutes …

    The only thing I really miss is sharing pictures.
    The next time I need to do that, I’ll (re-) set up Picassa, or a tumblr.

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    December 9, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    How are you doing, Soonergrunt? Do you still have snow on the ground?

    How is Soonerdaughter and her liquid diet?

  7. 7.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    @joel hanes: It just isn’t that hard to control who and what you want to see.

  8. 8.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    @joel hanes: I have a Tumblr. I like having social media that’s not tied to my real name. My LinkedIn and other stuff is strictly for work.

  9. 9.

    brettvk

    December 9, 2013 at 8:21 pm

    @Big R: Not trying to sound smug or concern-trollish, but fb has always given me this weird creeper vibe that I don’t feel from, say, Google. This is probably irrational and I don’t know why fb’s so offputting. I have a phony account so I can comment on some sites, but I don’t friend anybody and avoid going to my bestie’s page even though that’s the best way to keep up with his gigs.

  10. 10.

    brettvk

    December 9, 2013 at 8:24 pm

    @Big R: I was horrified years ago when I realized I had a LinkedIn profile I’d never created, but I couldn’t discover a way to delete it. Do their overlords allow you to do that?

  11. 11.

    catclub

    December 9, 2013 at 8:27 pm

    How much are the aircraft carrier drones NOT like fighter planes? It calls them Unmanned Combat Aerial System, which sounds threatening to fighters. Landing on a carrier also seems threatening.

  12. 12.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:27 pm

    @brettvk: I dunno. You don’t want to be entirely without an online presence, as that screams “hermit in the woods”, but my Facebook was a weird hybrid of personal stuff and professional stuff. So I got rid of it. Maybe I’ll reactivate it someday to go and get the list of people I actually want to spend time with, then start over from scratch and be much more selective about who I let in.

  13. 13.

    Yatsuno

    December 9, 2013 at 8:30 pm

    No hat tip?

  14. 14.

    Soonergrunt

    December 9, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    @Elizabelle: Yeah, we still have snow. The schools are still closed because none of the cities in the metro has the capability to plow any but a few of the main streets and they worry about school buses getting stuck or in accidents on the side streets.
    Soonerdaughter is taking the liquid diet in stride. She’s annoyed that she won’t have Christmas candies and cookies, but apparently ice cream shakes are on the list (I don’t pretend to understand that,) so she’s experimenting with ice cream and Boost and ice cream and Ensure.
    I made pizza for dinner tonight, and she just looked at me with this sad expression. I’m a terrible father.

  15. 15.

    Fluke bucket

    December 9, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    Seeing a lot of bitching about the trans pacific partnership. I read about it and I still do not know WTF it is.

  16. 16.

    Soonergrunt

    December 9, 2013 at 8:32 pm

    @Yatsuno: ??

  17. 17.

    shortstop

    December 9, 2013 at 8:32 pm

    Zimmerman will keep going until he kills someone again. 100 percent.

  18. 18.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    @brettvk: A friend of mine used to capture that feeling really well when she said, “On the Internet, if you’re using the service for free, you are not a customer; you are the product.” That never bothered me; still doesn’t. When I left, it was because I didn’t and don’t like how Facebook makes it very easy to be passive-aggressive over your disagreements with people. That’s one of my bad habits and my pet peeves, so a particular event I’m not going into made me think I should take a break.

    Of course, it’s not really gone. Nothing ever is, on the Internet. We all just have to learn to mediate the long memory of the new world with our expectations that youthful mistakes don’t last forever.

  19. 19.

    Elizabelle

    December 9, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    @brettvk:

    I listed my LinkedIn profession as “vagrant.”

    Haven’t given them any further info, because I want my privacy.

    Wondering if vagrant will come back to haunt me.

  20. 20.

    brettvk

    December 9, 2013 at 8:34 pm

    @Big R: Since I’m no one important and old enough to be with my (probable) final employer, I’m more inclined to resent being profiled without permission than being mistaken for a backwoods technophobe.

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    December 9, 2013 at 8:35 pm

    @Soonergrunt:

    I’m glad she’s got ice cream shakes on her permission list. May she not tire of them quickly.

  22. 22.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:36 pm

    @Big R: On mobile, so can’t edit. Just adding: while I left for personal reasons, I’m now glad I did, as the effect has been terrifying. How many times a day did I automatically tab over there, just to kill time? Jesus fucking Christ.

  23. 23.

    dmsilev

    December 9, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Nerdapoolaza 2013 was a success, and I’ve finally managed to catch up on my sleep. Photos of (a) shit blowing up real good and (b) cute kids being cute: https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A3GWZuqDGVDCu8

  24. 24.

    Big R

    December 9, 2013 at 8:38 pm

    @brettvk: Fair enough. My dad just started a job with the best employer in the country (TM Soonergrunt), and I told him that this is his last job, because if he loses this one before retirement, I’ll kill him.

  25. 25.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 8:40 pm

    @dmsilev: Nice

  26. 26.

    dmsilev

    December 9, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    @raven: The good thing about taking ~500 photos is that picking out a couple dozen decent to good ones is straightforward. Tedious, but straightforward. And I’ve been shooting this event for enough years that I know more or less where to go and what to look for.

    EDIT: Should add that there’s a fair amount of luck and timing as well. The first photo, of the blue flame from the water bottle, was capturing an event that lasted for about 0.5 seconds. You need decent reflexes, a decent camera, and foreknowledge of what’s coming to get that shot.

  27. 27.

    David Hunt

    December 9, 2013 at 8:46 pm

    Just logged onto Healthcare.gov and it’s working for me! I got to compare plans and such. I’m going to look at Health Savings Accounts tomorrow (that info is readily available where I work) and decide if that’s an advantageous option and I should be enrolled by the end of the week. I’m much more optimistic about this thing now. Although I knew that I could get a good deal if I could manage to get to the end, I was worrying about the site giving me what I need. I’m much less worried now.

  28. 28.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 8:56 pm

    @dmsilev: I do a good bit of that myself. Last week I shot 100+ pics at the xmas parade and none of them came out.

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 9, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    @Cassidy: Give it a fucking rest.

  30. 30.

    Ripley

    December 9, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner receives sentence of 90 days home confinement

    The fapping, it will be epic.

  31. 31.

    dmsilev

    December 9, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    @raven: Been there, done that.

    Thank god for digital cameras. Back in the film days, $$$.

  32. 32.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    @dmsilev: Yea, this was my first total failure with digital, the light just wasn’t sufficient.

  33. 33.

    Cassidy

    December 9, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Ignore the fucking comments.

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 9, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    Here is some recent (what I assume to be) junk science.

  35. 35.

    HinTN

    December 9, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    @raven: Go Bears! (From the comfort of southern 70° whole home heating)

  36. 36.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 9, 2013 at 9:18 pm

    @HinTN: It pains me, but I am rooting for the Cowboys.

  37. 37.

    fuckwit

    December 9, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    @Big R: i deleted my fb a while ago and don’t miss it.

  38. 38.

    raven

    December 9, 2013 at 9:27 pm

    @HinTN: Cade!

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 9, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    George Zimmerman’s girlfriend recants allegations he threatened her with gun

    Uh-huh.

    “I am not afraid of George in any manner and I want to be with him,” Scheibe stated.

    Uh-huh.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    December 9, 2013 at 9:39 pm

    Eleanor Parker, the Baroness in the 1965 movie Sound of Music, has died.

    Tweren’t Carrie Underwood that done it.

  41. 41.

    ranchandsyrup

    December 9, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    90 days home confinement for Filner is just not punitive enough for the local wingertariat. But they’re rejoicing because the puppet candidate of Poppa Doug Manchester win the runoff election easily.

  42. 42.

    Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)

    December 9, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: She’s going to get herself boxed, just wait and see.

  43. 43.

    Dead Ernest

    December 9, 2013 at 9:54 pm

    Entertaining headline from The Register in UK…

    NASA Mars tank Curiosity rolls in old wet patch, will sniff for signs of life

  44. 44.

    catclub

    December 9, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    @raven: “I shot 100+ pics at the xmas parade and none of them came out”

    Taking lessons from JCole?

  45. 45.

    catclub

    December 9, 2013 at 10:12 pm

    @Elizabelle: “vagrant.”

    How about itinerant wizard?

  46. 46.

    El Caganer

    December 9, 2013 at 10:19 pm

    @Dead Ernest: Uh, no thanks – think I’ll pass on that one……

  47. 47.

    Yatsuno

    December 9, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    @Soonergrunt: Ahem:

    https://balloon-juice.com/2013/12/09/open-thread-nsa-gamer-nerds/#comment-4749793

    :: taps foot ::

    @Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant): Or in a box, but hey he’s gotten off before.

  48. 48.

    Soonergrunt

    December 9, 2013 at 10:30 pm

    @Yatsuno: I didn’t read that thread. I figured it would be full of stupid, so I ignored it.

  49. 49.

    Cacti

    December 9, 2013 at 10:32 pm

    You missed one Soonergrunt.

    Netanyahu backs out of attending Mandela funeral, citing the “high cost of the trip”.

    Probably just as well, as Israel was an ardent support of the Apartheid regime to the very last.

  50. 50.

    ruemara

    December 9, 2013 at 10:34 pm

    I had a very decent Sunday, which was spent wandering Cow Palace taking pictures at the Dickens Faire. The best thing, for my money (rhetorical, because my friend got me in and paid for meals) was all the performances. The belly dancers were great and age/shape inclusive, which was the bomb. The Morris Dancers were fab and great to watch. There was also some fun “lectures”, which were decently scientifically accurate and had some fascinating props to look at and touch. If you’re in the Bay, I recommend it. I’d never been before, now I wish I could go back. I didn’t get to see even half of it. Did see the Saucy French Postcards, which was more fun than I would have thought. And I have to say a huge thank you to my uberboss, who basically handed over her $1500 camera rig so I could take some decent shots. It improved my mood frm the moment I knew I’d be able to do some proper work. No pay, but I was happy to trade a day out for some work.

  51. 51.

    BruceFromOhio

    December 9, 2013 at 10:37 pm

    The X-47B Unmanned Combat Aerial System has completed carrier qualification tests.

    In my head, I hear Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice saying, “The Skynet funding bill is passed.”

  52. 52.

    BruceFromOhio

    December 9, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    @raven: Now Da Bears are just running up the score. Not that there is anything wrong with that on Ditka Night @ Soldier Field.

    I feel just a teensy bit bad for the Dallas D, freezing their asses off while getting stuffed. It is balanced by the sour mug on Jerry Jones that brings warmth and joy to my heart.

  53. 53.

    catclub

    December 9, 2013 at 10:56 pm

    What about Oklahoma friendly news? Satanic Temple Monuments! In Oklahoma! Oh my!

  54. 54.

    YellowJournalism

    December 9, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: So mug I that article reminds me of friends and family who would take back abusive men or recant abuse allegations simply because they feared being alone or didn’t want their child’s father in jail or, worse, they were threatened by the boyfriend or the boyfriend’s family. I’ve even heard the whole “cops misunderstood” excuse!

    And how do cops misunderstand you claiming he pointed a gun at you?!

  55. 55.

    Yatsuno

    December 9, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    @catclub: Earthquakes! Also. Too. Freaked out my friend who just started teaching at OU.

  56. 56.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 9, 2013 at 11:08 pm

    @catclub: @Yatsuno: It was pretty much the last place we stole from the Native Americans. That has to tell you something.

  57. 57.

    PurpleGirl

    December 9, 2013 at 11:58 pm

    @dmsilev: Nice pictures of lab work and kids. Hope some of those kids discover an interest in science. (Even when I knew my Chemistry major wasn’t going to continue, I took a lab work course (Quantitative Analysis) because I wanted the time in a lab before changing my major.)

  58. 58.

    PurpleGirl

    December 10, 2013 at 12:15 am

    @ruemara: It’s nice to hear you had a good day, enjoying yourself and doing some things you really like to do.

    How is the fundraising going to get the new camera?

  59. 59.

    ruemara

    December 10, 2013 at 12:39 am

    @PurpleGirl: Well… so far, 3 people have contributed $40. I’m hoping the pics are good enough to show some merit, but I fear I will be just refunding the donations of my 3 friends who have donated. At this rate, It’ll take another year to get a camera set and my time is short.

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