Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickle?”

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

T R E 4 5 O N

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Bark louder, little dog.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

No Justins, No Peace

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

No one could have predicted…

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Sunday Respite Open Thread

Sunday Respite Open Thread

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I’m not sure what I’d do with it, but I totally WANT one of these…


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Apart from such distractions, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up the weekend?

Reader Interactions

254Comments

  3. 3.

    NorthLeft12

    Going to work for the first night shift [1800 to 0600]…….the first of about seventy until November 1. Our plant is on a major turnaround.

    BTW, I volunteered for nights…..it is quieter and less stressful. Probably my last turnaround as retirement is looming ahead.

  5. 5.

    ArchTeryx

    Finishing chores and relaxing with my fiancee. And good gracious that homba is cute – and very relaxed. I love seeing animals like that; it’s the body signals of an animal that has a deep level of trust, and from the looks of things the sitting person knows something about foxes. (Approach from the front, offer hand, let fox bite – gently. Foxes are very oral creatures and will very often nip and tug and gnaw as a social signal).

    Homba, of course, is the Lapine word for ‘fox’ from Watership Down. Can’t be married to a bunny-lover and not know that!

  6. 6.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Love that comment about foxes! The first time I saw a fox in my yard, I thought it was a cat from its motion. Then I saw the tail. They climb trees, too.

  7. 7.

    Gravenstone

    @NorthLeft12: I worked nights for 18 years. Would still be there if I could, but got moved to a more customer facing role so they pushed me to first a few years ago. Not only was it quieter and much easier to get my work done, but the shift premium was welcome.

  8. 8.

    Yarrow

    I posted this video of Bruce the rugby sheep a few days ago. Always makes me laugh. Of course this is a New Zealand sheep. They’re the best at rugby.

    Bruce the sheep who lives on a farm in Rotorua with his owner Maree MacDonald, is better at rugby than a lot of our mates! ? ?Farming Life pic.twitter.com/RxhVKn5WsK— EatSleepRugby (@eatsleeprugby) August 1, 2017

    You have to click through to see the video since I can’t post it in comments.

  9. 9.

    Florida Frog

    Off to a vigil for Charlottesville at Main Beach. It’s been storming hard for a couple of hours and is just now easing off. Hope it doesn’t depress the turnout.

  13. 13.

    NeenerNeener

    Looking up the phone numbers for the NYS Highway Department so I can call and fuss at someone tomorrow because for the third time in three years a drunk driver has missed the bend in the road three houses down and ended up wrapping his car/truck around a tree in my front yard. Nobody has died yet, and nobody has hit my house yet, but it’s only a matter of time before one of the other of those things happens.

    I got up at 5:30 this morning to let the dogs out and while I was in the kitchen filling food dishes my doorbell rang and someone waved a flashlight in front of one of the windows by my front door. I opened the door and there was a cop who explained about the tow truck in my driveway.

    Apparently at 2:30 this morning a driver missed the bend in the road and went across the lawns of 3 of my neighbors, took out a small evergreen on a berm between my house and the one next door, bounced up onto my driveway and across my lawn and ended up wrapping his truck around a fir tree on my lawn. Said driver abandoned the truck on my lawn and walked home. Neither the dogs nor I heard a thing.

    I don’t think changing the speed limit will help much because drunks don’t usually pay that much attention to speed limits anyway, but maybe some sort of sign with flashing lights before the bend, or street lights might help. I’m on my third mailbox since we built this house.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    @ArchTeryx:

    Foxes are very oral creatures and will very often nip and tug and gnaw as a social signal.

    We must have a cat running fox software. She’s a major love biter — her favorite thing to do when she gets really, really relaxed is to bite.

  17. 17.

    CaseyL

    It’s finally cooled down here, and I probably should be out and about in it, but I just don’t feel like being busy today. I’m reveling in the changed weather from the comfort of my sofa (patio door open).

    Didn’t have a good week at work last week, and will likely have a worse one next week. Kinda saps one’s energy.

  20. 20.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    Any physicists in the house? I got a question involving proton decay

  22. 22.

    Major Major Major Major

    The screaming Nazi with the torch who sorta became the face of the protest march would like you to know that he’s not a Nazi.

    “I did not expect the photo to be shared as much as it was,” he noted. “I understand the photo has a very negative connotation. But I hope that the people sharing the photo are willing to listen that I’m not the angry racist they see in that photo.”

    Cvjetanovic added: “As a white nationalist, I care for all people. We all deserve a future for our children and for our culture. White nationalists aren’t all hateful; we just want to preserve what we have.”

  26. 26.

    Brachiator

    @Major Major Major Major:

    ..The screaming Nazi with the torch who sorta became the face of the protest march would like you to know that he’s not a Nazi.

    Sounds like he’s auditioning for a job in the Trump administration.

  29. 29.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    My little one nips me when I come home, she’s a YorkiePom. I could hear the coyotes howling last night on my photoshoot up in the mountains, I’d felt better if I hadn’t been alone…

    Anyway, another Milky Way pic from last night. I didn’t do light painting on this one and the plants almost like like they were shot in IR.

    ETA: I had hopes of getting a meteor on camera, no luck. I did see some that were really spectacular.

  33. 33.

    Gelfling 545

    @Florida Frog: I didn’t make the vigil here last night, due to storms. They went ahead with it and it was not ill attended considering. There is another tonight, though and the weather is great.

  35. 35.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    That dictionary picture is awesome, but what exactly is the difference between (common) and (peoples’)?

    This is a wild-ass guess, and — as has happened to me too many times today — I could well be wrong. But I think the image above might be from a magazine or newspaper, or perhaps a compilation book of slang, and the parenthetical Common, Peoples’, and Soc. are just source references (the Peoples’ Dictionary or whatever).

    That is my theory, and i thought of it, and it is mine. And what it is, too.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    @bystander: This guy is just like the cocker spaniel I used to have, in one respect only. Mellon was NEVER sorry that she got into the garbage; she was only sorry that she got caught and was being punished for it.

    I hope this guy is shunned by polite society until the end of time, or at least until he has a moment of revelation and spends the rest of his life trying to do good.

  39. 39.

    efgoldman

    @Gravenstone:

    I worked nights for 18 years

    I did the overnight show (usually midnite-600am) for 15 years. I’m told that eating and drinking habits developed in those years contributed in a major way to the severity of my diabetes and kidney failure.

  40. 40.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: I think section Q is the relevant portion:

    Q. Threatening, assaulting, or causing physical harm to oneself or to another. Uttering any
    words or performing any acts that cause physical injury, or threaten any individual, or
    interfere with any individual’s rightful actions, including but not limited to the
    following:
    1. words or actions that would cause an individual to fear for his or her immediate
    safety.
    2. the use of physical force against an individual.
    3. repeatedly contacting another person when the contact is unwanted.

    And possibly S:

    S. Harassment, which is any verbal, visual, electronic, or physical conduct that is
    sufficiently severe, and/or ongoing that it adversely affects, or has the purpose or
    logical consequence of interfering with any student’s educational program; or creates
    an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment within the University community.
    Harassment can include, but is not limited to, the above behaviors towards any person
    because of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation/identity, age, creed,
    national origin, disability, veteran status, or on any other basis.

  44. 44.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: It’ll depend on how upset anyone with any authority at the university is about his participation in this stupidity.

  45. 45.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thanks, I also shot that without the “red intensifier” filter that’s supposed(I think it really does) to help reduces the yellow of the distant(LA) light pollution. I remembered, after I took that shot, that I’d brought the filter and put it on the lens for the rest of the shots(except the fisheye, since it doesn’t take filters).

  48. 48.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Just a plot point for a story I have planned in my head. I read on wiki, when I discovered the Memory of Man Project, that tens of quadrillions of years from now, the matter that makes up the universe will start to break down. A major antagonist is a biologically immortal person who is seeking a way to prevent this future (extremely fearful of death, to the point of subverting the rights of others) by gaining reality warping powers from another universe. I want to know what this breakdown would practically mean for an immortal human who manages to make it to this time

  52. 52.

    raven

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I bought a “universal” filter for the eclipse but I keep read how hard it’s going to be and you might as well just watch it and look at other people’s pix.

  57. 57.

    efgoldman

    ABC, at least, is clearly calling the nazi assholes what they are.

    They also called out Hair Furor for “many sides”

  58. 58.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @raven: Since we’re nowhere near totality here(about 70%), it’s not so much an issue for me. I’ve been thinking of going to Griffith Park, in a spot that has a good east view, and photographing it. The problem is, that unless you have a mount that will track the sun, you’ll end up spending your time repositioning the camera.

  60. 60.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I can’t remember if you are planning to travel to a point of totality in a week to capture the solar eclipse. I know our fellow commenter, and your fellow photographer Mingobat (aka Karen in GA) is going up to north GA and hopes to get some good pictures. She’s been stocking up on various filters and special tripods and stuff especially for the event.

    Me, I’m driving to Anderson, SC, but will do no photographing except maybe that weird thing of the shadows of leaves on the ground getting chunks bitten out of them. Have read about that, but can’t really quite picture it in my mind, so if it’s cool I’ll grab a few snaps from the iPhone or iPad. But for the real thing, I rely on the pros and the passionate, well-equipped amateurs.

    ETA: And I see you answered my question at #58 while I was busy typing!

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: The bigger point is he’s made the university look bad. I’m sure there’s a dean or provost or academic VP that is going to be wondering how to appease major donors over the bad publicity.

  63. 63.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @schrodingers_cat:
    From this wiki article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future

    1.7×10106 years from now:
    Beyond this time, if protons do decay, the Universe enters the Dark Era, in which all physical objects have decayed to subatomic particles, gradually winding down to their final energy state in the heat death of the universe.[3][4]

    3×1043 years from now:
    Assuming that protons do not decay, estimated time for rigid objects, from free-floating rocks in space to planets, to rearrange their atoms and molecules via quantum tunneling. On this timescale, any discrete body of matter “behaves like a liquid” and becomes a smooth sphere due to diffusion and gravity.[98]

  65. 65.

    raven

    @Adam L Silverman: Sam Lieberman’s on the Board of Regents,

    Sam Lieberman has been a longtime champion of higher education for over three decades in Nevada. He currently serves as vice chair of the Cultural Diversity and Title IX Compliance Committee. He is also a member of the Academic, Research and Student Affairs Committee; Athletics Committee; Audit and Compliance Committee; and Community College Committee. . .

    A 1996 graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in Social Work, Regent Lieberman has committed himself to our university and community college system both as a student and an active alumnus.

  66. 66.

    NeenerNeener

    @Mnemosyne: I had a fan going in my room all night, and was running a white noise machine for my dogs because the neighbors in the development behind me shoot off fireworks on Saturday nights all summer long. But that doesn’t explain all of it, because when I was in the kitchen filling dog dishes I never heard the tow truck driver and the cop outside my house.
    Maybe I should have my hearing tested.

    If I don’t get anywhere with the town or the state highway department I’m thinking about applying for a permit for a 4 foot high 15 foot long section of Page fence along that section of the yard. My sister thinks it might make it hard to sell my house in the future, but I’ll “burn that bridge when I’m on it”, as one of my former bosses used to say.

  68. 68.

    Gravenstone

    @efgoldman: I make a point of keeping the same meal schedule, relative to sleep whatever shift I’m on. But I can see where bad habits could develop easily.

  72. 72.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major: scifi-fantasy really. “Magic” from another universe/multiverse gets involved.

    A biologically immortal dictator from 3000 years in the future is seeking to prevent the heat death of the universe. He fears death and wishes to keep humanity the same for all time (and under his control). It would be a one-off line, but I want to know the practical effects on a human body of matter decay (heat death) to flavor the story and provide the reader with the understanding of the antagonist’s urgency behind his motivation

  73. 73.

    raven

    @Baud:

    On Wednesday, Todd Evans discovered that the flight, which takes off from Oregon at 8:45 a.m. local time and lands in Atlanta at 4:29 p.m. perfectly follows the path of the eclipse for nearly the entire flight. He even double-checked his work using FlightAware and NASA’s eclipse data.

    He then shared his findings to Reddit saying, “Everyone on Delta Flight 2466 on August 21 gets a front seat to the eclipse, their flight path coincides with the eclipse path almost exactly.”

  79. 79.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: Speaking of travel, as I was driving up to my Milky Way location, I was thinking about driving to the CA State Capitol to take some pics. I’ve not been in the older portion of the building since 1975, before they gutted it and rebuilt it.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yeah, couldn’t remember if you had planned a trip. A lot of people have organized their entire summer around 2’30” or so of totality.

    I’m actually waiting until the night before August 21. If the weather prediction for the area is for clouds/overcast/rain, I’ll stay home. But if there’s anywhere along totality that promises clear skies, I’ll be there. SC, north GA, or even TN — all are easily driveable from where I live.

  89. 89.

    germy

    @efgoldman: I worked third shift for about five years. It messed up my sleep; I couldn’t sleep fully during the day; and I remember feeling my hands get numb at night from the sleep deprivation.

  90. 90.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @raven: Thanks! A nice change.

    I’ve been getting a lot done today. Next is cleaning up the kitchen floor of the remnants of the cats’ overnight kill. Also in progress: a post I promised a long time ago!

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    A biologically immortal dictator from 3000 years in the future is seeking to prevent the heat death of the universe. He fears death and wishes to keep humanity the same for all time (and under his control).

    I assume the title of your story is Baud! 2020! 5020!

    There, Baud. May I be your Official FTFY-er?

  98. 98.

    ArchTeryx

    @Mnemosyne: My ginger derp cat is just like that. He LOVES nibbling and nipping, but he’s very gentle with his teeth. (His claws, on the other paw, are another story).

  99. 99.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Depends on traffic, no? The predictions scare me.

    Yeah, but whichever direction I end up heading, I’ll allow 2x-3x longer than I normally would. Anything will get me closer to the path of totality than where I live (which is already at 98-point-something as it is). If traffic is as thick as all that, it won’t be a problem to just pull over onto a shoulder for the duration of the eclipse, then head on to the next exit, do a U, and head back to Atlanta. Que sera, sera.

  100. 100.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Baud: Trust me, you don’t want to be this guy. He’s removed free will from all humanity, has built an interstellar empire on the bones of alien species for more “living space”, mass produces “perfect” humans, and his definition of humanity does not include non-European whites.

  102. 102.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    To be honest, I’m concerned you’ll fix too many things for me.

    You make me sound like a vet. Or a mohel.

    No, please remember that FTFY can also mean “Fuck The Fucking Yankees.” I’m willing to pivot to that acronymic interpretation any time.

  105. 105.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: My understanding is that it is not known yet whether protons decay. It’s a feature of some Grand Unification Theories, but nobody has ever observed even a single decay. A long half-life means that the probability of the event is very small for any one particle, but with enough particles, you stand a decent chance of observing the event at least once in a reasonable period of time.

    Here’s an article on one proton-decay experiment.

    BTW, Wikipedia isn’t really the best primary source for scientific information.

  106. 106.

    Baud

    @SiubhanDuinne: Well, I do need an Ivanka character in my administration whose job will be to look pretty and pretend to moderate my extremism. Are you comfortable leading delegations to foreign dignitaries?

  107. 107.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Baud: He’s a cross between Lex Luthor and Adolf Hitler. He’s about as evil as it gets. He was also a 1980s owner of a major corporatation at one point (is there anything more evil?) seeking to end the cold war with yet undefined mind control tech. In the story, a global nuclear war in 1983 sets him back a little ways

  108. 108.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I’m resigned to the fact that I’ll never see one.

    Nonsense. What are you doing April 8, 2024? It’s seven years off, plenty of time to put together an awesome mega BJ-meetup. I’ll bet there are still hotel rooms available.

    (I’m only half joking. That would be the COOLEST THING.)

  111. 111.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Weird food question for the BJ crowd: anybody ever hear of putting hot sauce on mango?

    Explanation: I was in New York yesterday, and bought a mango from a street vendor who was selling them peeled and sliced in ziploc bags. After my purchase, she asked if I wanted “spice” and pointed to a bunch of bottles of hot sauces and lemon juice. She seemed surprised when I said I didn’t need any.

    Is this a Caribbean thing or something? Or the latest foodie trend and I missed it because I’m not trendy enough?

  112. 112.

    opiejeanne

    @NeenerNeener: What is a Page fence?

    My house is on a corner lot facing on street A, set on the half of the lot farthest away from street B. We get people who come around the corner traveling south and lose control due to weather or alcohol, and hit our fence. Probably 10+ times in just under 8 years. We never hear it. No windows on the north side of the house and it’s always when we are asleep. They never come to the house to let us know or, heaven forbid, offer to pay for repairs.

  113. 113.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Well, I do need an Ivanka character in my administration whose job will be to look pretty and pretend to moderate my extremism. Are you comfortable leading delegations to foreign dignitaries?

    I’m totally qualified, as long as you aren’t too fussy about the “look pretty” and “moderate” stuff. In real life, I actually have escorted delegations to foreign dignitaries, so that part’s a gimme.

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: There is an amtrak train from Chicago to Carbondale, IL just for the eclipse. They provide glasses and everything. Goes up early morning, returns that night after the eclipse is over. Just read about it today when I was at the chicago train station.

  116. 116.

    Baud

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    as long as you aren’t too fussy about the “look pretty”

    That’s like the only thing I care about.

    And remember, I’ve seen your photo. You can’t fool me with false modesty.

  119. 119.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I was driving up to my Milky Way location

    The only Milky Way location I’m familiar with is the surface of Earth. Where are you in the Milky Way, what kind of car do you have that can drive there from here, and what sort of faster-than-light cellular carrier do you have?

  120. 120.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Baud:
    Much more evil. My villain is actually competent and doesn’t have to deal with dissension in his empire.

  121. 121.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: They are having a memorial for my buddy from Urbana who died. It’s Dec 22 so I’m probably not going to be able to make it.

    Oh yea, Mel’s daughter and her partner are moving back there and are going to live in the house.

  126. 126.

    NeenerNeener

    @germy: The back yard is fenced, the front is not. My house is set about 100 feet back from the road, so those *uckers have to be going reasonably fast to end up within 3 feet of my house when they finally stop. A section of chain link along the property line in front, about 10 feet back from the road, is what I’ll try to get if the town and/or state won’t put up guard rails, warning signs, rumble strips, etc.

  129. 129.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Only train I ever smoked pot on was the train to colorado when I was much younger. That was fun! Smoking pot with strangers in the men’s room is something you do in your teens and twenties, but I sure wouldn’t be doing it today!

  131. 131.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yeah, I figured it was something like that.

    I’ve never seen the Milky Way display. For one job, I had the opportunity to ride Navy ships a couple times at sea, and there were some cloudless nights where, from what I’d read, the display should have been spectacular. But I saw nothing.

    I’ve concluded that I must have some sort of night vision deficiency that isn’t severe enough to interfere with anything important, driving for instance. The Milky Way isn’t the only evidence. When I was a kid and people used to point out Mars in the night sky, I could never see the red color they were talking about. It just looked like one more star, same color as all the others.

  134. 134.

    JPL

    @WaterGirl: Tried pot in college and didn’t like it, but the interesting part of the story is talking to my dad about it. He was in the navy and mentioned he had the same experience. My older brothers were a tad envious that my dad and I could share like that.

  136. 136.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: I thought it was interesting, but I haven’t gotten that far. 9 days with with sisters and nieces has left me exhausted. Are you interested? I would do it if you did! Strangers on a Train! No, not strangers at all. :-)

  137. 137.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    If I’m still with us,

    Well, that’s always the proviso. I rarely even bother to put it in these days. Assuming I am, I’ll be 82, and chances are someone else ought to do the driving. But who knows?

  138. 138.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    from an aircraft site:
    The speed at which the shadow of the Moon crosses the Earth varies according to time of day and latitude. However, 1500mph is a good starting point.
    Commercial airliners fly ~300mph so I suppose you could extend your time at totality a small amount but you are not keeping up with that, it will catch & pass you. Still a cool idea though

  141. 141.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: What the Milky Way looks like with the naked eye is like a cloud. It doesn’t have the color you see in my or anybody else’s pics. First, the camera can pick up more color and luminosity information than can the human eye and most photographers(myself included) change the white balance to accentuate the color in post.

  142. 142.

    MomSense

    @Baud:

    Given that I’m running your only superpac, I hope I will get a plum assignment in your administration.

  143. 143.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Hmmm. Could be. But there are very few photos of me that are the right combination of accurate and flattering.

  144. 144.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    I remember the photo. SD was sitting alongside another woman, I can’t remember who. In a NYC bar, may Even?

  146. 146.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MomSense:

    Given that I’m running your only superpac, I hope I will get a plum assignment in your administration.

    Ambassador to the Vatican?

  149. 149.

    geg6

    After this weekend, I’m making comfort food for dinner. A sort of linguini alfredo with shallots, bacon and grape tomatoes. Then settling in, I hope, to watch some of the very little CNN I watch, “The Nineties” and “The History of Comedy,” which show has been pretty excellent. Hopefully, nothing will happen for a few hours and they won’t be preempted.

  153. 153.

    Schlemazel

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:
    I went to an Indian bachelor party and one of the snacks was curried mango. It was one of the hottest things I have ever eaten. I noticed a couple of the guys breaking the seed pod open with their teeth & eating the seed. I tried that & could not feel my lips or tongue for 2 days!

    TLDR: Yes people put hot sause on mango, the hot/sweet thing is a nice combo if you don’t over do either

  154. 154.

    NotMax

    @Schlemazel

    Mentioned this here a while back.

    For armchair astronomers and nearly everyone else watching the skies during the total solar eclipse Aug. 21, it will all be over in 2½ minutes.

    But a team of NASA-funded scientists chasing the moon’s shadow in retrofitted WB-57F jet planes will experience the rare phenomenon for more than seven extraordinary minutes.

    A team led by Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., will follow the darkness of the eclipse across the United States in two of NASA’s research jets. The planes will take off from Houston and cross over Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee. Source

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Who died? I have been with family for about 9 days so haven’t been on BJ much.

    Holy shit, they are moving back to C-U? I did not see that coming. Wow.

  162. 162.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Not NYC, never been to a meetup there. Probably either Boston or Washington, D.C. (or Arlington, VA) if it was a big group. Have had several two- or three-person meetups in the ATL area, Memphis, Asheville, couple of places in New England, one or two other spots.

  166. 166.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: i almost made the same comment as Baud, except the wireless on the train is slower than dirt. I wonder if he saw the same photo as me. I didn’t see one from a meet up; I saw the one of the back of your head with an iPad. At some speech or talk or presentation. Does that sound familiar?

  169. 169.

    Schlemazel

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    I was very disappointed the first time I saw the milky way. It was just a smear across the sky and I was expecting the glittering points of light like your photographs. I assumed it was me not being in a good viewing place but reading that makes me understand. Thanks . . . I guess.

  172. 172.

    WaterGirl

    @JPL: I can see why they would be envious. I had to quit smoking pot in college because it made me too stupid for a few days afterwards. I couldn’t think of a word I was looking for, etc.

  173. 173.

    opiejeanne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I was there in the 90s with a bunch of elementary kids. It’s nice. The Newell posts have grizzly bears carved into them. There was an office that was set aside, left with all the items of a previous occupant, old typewriter, lamps, desk, etc. Can’t remember whose office it was, a Democrat who served for many terms, I think. I checked and I think it was the office of the Secretary of State, from 1902. The name on the door was someone I recognized but I doubt I’d recognize the guy from 1902.

  174. 174.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Baud: Ah, a pano, that might explain it(that is photoshoped or using other stitching software like Autopano or PTGui). I’m a bit skeptical about getting that clear a shot with a 85mm lens though. I may have to try it with my 45mm f/1.8 lens next time.

  175. 175.

    Schlemazel

    @NotMax:
    I bet they are higher & faster than Delta can go

    But that would be very cool. When I worked for NASA there were 2 things I wanted to try, the vomit comet and the Shuttle landing trainer. It was a leer jet and in order to simulate the shuttle at landing it came in at full power. Those guys were crazy

  180. 180.

    rikyrah

    Hillary Clinton‏Verified account @HillaryClinton Aug 12

    My heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country.
    …
    But the incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets.
    …
    Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace, & corrosive to our values.
    …
    Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions.
    …
    We will not step backward. If this is not who we are as Americans, let’s prove it.

  183. 183.

    chris

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I really like your star pics and the extra work you do on them. Didn’t realise that LA
    is also part of the picture. How far do you have to go to get total darkness?

  184. 184.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @opiejeanne: When I was there in 1975, the inside was dark and dingy(too much cig smoke). The ripped out the interior of the building and reconstructed it on a steel frame(ala the White House in the late 40’s and early 50’s). I’ve got a really bad(sun glare) pic of the construction work.

  185. 185.

    cain

    @efgoldman:
    I lucked out, in college and for most of my 30s, I hardly ever drank.. we’re talking like once a month or something. Then when I hit my 40s I started to drink a lot more. Gosh, I wonder what was it that happened then.. oh yeah, a young black president got elected and I was reading a lot of balloon-juice. :-)

  190. 190.

    NotMax

    Pre-code movie on in background. Very early leading man role for Joel McCrea. It’s disconcerting when I turn around to glance at it, as the voice is right but he looks like a high school junior.

  192. 192.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: I know how you feel! I was going to be his Valerie Jarrett last time her ran, and now I’m in limbo just waiting to hear about 2020.

  198. 198.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Ok. He’s removed the ability to make one’s own choices and has imposed strict control over all human minds. The exact method I haven’t decided yet

  201. 201.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @schrodingers_cat:
    What I wanted to ask is what would the heat death of the universe be like to experience as a biologically immortal human being.

  204. 204.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    Next time I go on one of my Milky Way photoshoots, I should do a time lapse of the sun setting and the Milky Way appearing. Would be a bit of a challenge due to the different exposure values needed. Thinking it could be interesting.

  205. 205.

    sm*t cl*de

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:

    I read on wiki, when I discovered the Memory of Man Project, that tens of quadrillions of years from now, the matter that makes up the universe will start to break down. A major antagonist is a biologically immortal person who is seeking a way to prevent this future (extremely fearful of death, to the point of subverting the rights of others) by gaining reality warping powers from another universe.

    Have you encountered Freeman Dyson’s 1979 paper on long-term survival in an open-ended entropic universe?
    https://blog.regehr.org/extra_files/dyson.pdf
    Proton decay was still a theoretical possibility back then.

  208. 208.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    I hope Baud isn’t trying to rebrand himself and distancing himself from us 2016 hangovers. I’m thinking that if I bring the cash to his campaign I should stay on his good side.

    Baud 2020 is all about the Benjamins.

  209. 209.

    opiejeanne

    @raven: Barry Lyndon. I haven’t thought of that movie since college. at my senior recital I played a Handel Suite that was used in the movie and two of the younger students (I was 26) had just seen it and were sooo impressed that I used that piece. It had just been released, I didn’t see it until later, but they thought I was brilliant. Like I said, they were young guys.

  211. 211.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Lear. A leer jet is what Hugh Hefner owns.

    There needs to be a word for that feeling when you see a reference to somebody famous and you realize they’re still alive and you’re surprised because you thought they were already dead (alternatively, you learn they’ve just died and you’re surprised because you thought they had died a long time ago).

    That’s how I feel about High Hefner.

  215. 215.

    Fair Economist

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Nonsense. What are you doing April 8, 2024? It’s seven years off, plenty of time to put together an awesome mega BJ-meetup. I’ll bet there are still hotel rooms available.

    (I’m only half joking. That would be the COOLEST THING.)

    Sign me up! I’ll have to travel a long way anyway, so why not choose a place with great people?

  217. 217.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Yarrow:

    Yes, about a year and a half ago (late February 2016), with Dee Lorelei. We hoped to have eclare join us, but something interfered with that plan, can’t remember what. Next time!!

  218. 218.

    Fair Economist

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    I was in New York yesterday, and bought a mango from a street vendor who was selling them peeled and sliced in ziploc bags. After my purchase, she asked if I wanted “spice” and pointed to a bunch of bottles of hot sauces and lemon juice. She seemed surprised when I said I didn’t need any.

    Is this a Caribbean thing or something? Or the latest foodie trend and I missed it because I’m not trendy enough?

    Originally a Mexican thing, I think. Hispanic/Mexican stores around here sell all kind of dried fruits with hot spices or sauces, and occasionally I see fresh fruit that way too.

  220. 220.

    opiejeanne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I remember when it was so very dull and dingy. I was about 9 years old, so that would have been 1959. My only impression was the dullness, the linoleum tile floors and the creaking of the leather gunbelt of a state cop who greeted us. I think we were there a little late in the day so the place was deserted. It was summer so they could also have been on recess.

  221. 221.

    James Powell

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    My students – Latinos, mostly Mexican-American – put cayenne or hot sauce on mango, cantaloupe, and pretty much everything, but I don’t recall seeing them do it to oranges.

  223. 223.

    Another Scott

    @Schlemazel: I never saw it until I was out on Table Rock Lake around 1980. It was breathtaking. So very many stars. It was so bright, it was almost like daylight.

    Dunno what it’s like there now.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  230. 230.

    Viva BrisVegas

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Another question to ask is how can anything biological be immortal?

    You don’t have an infinite number of synapses, eventually you run out. Then what happens? I suspect it would look a lot like Alzheimers.

    Even if there was a way to reset your brain, would you still be the same person afterwards? Probably not.

    The answer would probably be to transfer your consciousness to an electronic substrate, but that is not immortality, it’s more like creating a twin.

    Of course you could still have a character who is afraid of the heat death of the universe. I know it worries me. But I don’t see how you can have a character that lives to see it.

    Anyway there are numerous ending for the universe that don’t require proton decay (if it exists). Like the Big Rip.

  231. 231.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Submitted for your approval, a shiny new coinage: viviphany.

    Oh, I quite like that!

    Not sure whether I ever mentioned: A long time ago (early 1980s), I was general manager of a small symphony orchestra which had been founded in 1899. Consequently, 1984 was its 85th anniversary year, and I was charged with coming up with some kind of branding for the season. I invented the term “octoquinquennial,” and actually contacted Paul Dickson — the author of countless books on word origins — to run it by him and, effectively, get his approval. Somewhere in a carton, I actually have a letter from him giving it the OK. Have always been quite ridiculously proud of that :-)

  232. 232.

    Fair Economist

    @Schlemazel: The Milky Way is much better looking in the summer, when you’re looking towards the core. Usually it’s pretty blah to to naked eye but I remember seeing it from a friend’s exurban house one summer – yowza, it was something! I could even get a weak sense of how huge the galaxy is.

  234. 234.

    Roger Moore

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:

    I guess what I should have asked was: what would it be like to experience the heat death of the universe

    Assuming some magical technology that exempts you from it, it would be unimaginably boring. The whole point is that the entire universe is run down to the point there’s nothing but blank nothingness, so there’s nothing interesting around to see or do.

  235. 235.

    Fair Economist

    @SiubhanDuinne: Here’s one map. Near Indianapolis would be the best for me since I have a bunch of cousins in Chicago, but open to anyplace cool. Mountains can sometimes let you see the shadow approach, although there’s not much mountainous on that path.

  236. 236.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Viva BrisVegas:

    Of course you could still have a character who is afraid of the heat death of the universe. I know it worries me. But I don’t see how you can have a character that lives to see it.

    He likely won’t, but wants to believe he will. On timescales we’re talking about, it’s doubtful even he last that long without some accidents. And anyway, he’s a very high functioning sociopath who craves power and control. Controlling reality itself would be bonus ie, becoming a god.

    : Another question to ask is how can anything biological be immortal?

    You don’t have an infinite number of synapses, eventually you run out. Then what happens? I suspect it would look a lot like Alzheimers.

    1. Haven’t thought that far, but might involve continuously replacing telomeres that are cleved, without getting cancer, somehow.

    2. Older memories would probably be gradually replaced with newer ones, eventually.

  238. 238.

    Fair Economist

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    That’s how I feel about High Hefner.

    Curse you to heck and back, stupid autocorrect spellcheck thingie.

    It’s been reading the thread and noticed the pot discussion! That’s scary!

  239. 239.

    NorthLeft12

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Here it is, in all its glory, the perfect example of white supremacist cluelessness;

    White nationalists aren’t all hateful; we just want to preserve what we have.”

    Which is every advantage possible for the best jobs, housing, schools, treatment by the law, etc., etc.

  240. 240.

    debbie

    MomSense

    Can’t reply because it’s part of your link, but that page was wonderful! Poor lambies! The finished yarns look really special.

  246. 246.

    sm*t cl*de

    @Roger Moore:

    Assuming some magical technology that exempts you from it, it would be unimaginably boring. The whole point is that the entire universe is run down to the point there’s nothing but blank nothingness

    Dyson’s argument is that in an indefinitely-expanding universe, there will always be energy gradients that can sustain computational activity — that is, consciousness, interactions with other consciousness. As the gradients diminish, consciousness can compensate by operating at a slower time scale.

  247. 247.

    Doug R

    @opiejeanne: I find you can’t go 70 between the grapevine and Stockton. It’s either 85 in the fast lane or 57 stuck behind a truck in the slow lane.

  249. 249.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    @raven: pics or gtfo! Seriously, at least stories. I ride that train from time to time, and would love to have someone else’s scandalous train memories to meditate on while traveling.

  250. 250.

    raven

    @The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion: Oh man it was 45 years ago! I lived in Champaign-Urbana but had lots of friends in C-Dale. The partying down there was much better than C-U in those days, it was on the route from the gulf up to Chicago and most of my peeps were involved one way or the other. I vaguely recall a trip where we were loaded down with reds and just raised hell all the way. When old man was in school at Illinois after WW2 the trains would run up to Chicago and they would be in boxcars and party like there was no tomorrow.

  251. 251.

    Miss Bianca

    @Major Major Major Major: The mills of social media grind lightning fast and very, very fine. This guy is going to be shredded wheat.

    Hey, dumbass – the KKK wore hoods for a *reason*. Even back in the day, out-and-proud violent racists had *some* sense of shame.

  252. 252.

    J R in WV

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    We’re going into western Kentucky, very rural area, and I will be trying to photograph the eclipse, although I don’t intend to not LOOK at it while it’s going on. we’ll have 2’40” of totality, so I should have the chance to take at least a couple of photos w/o filters during, and some with as it gets closer to totality.

    Weather permitting!!! It looks good so far, of course weather forecasts 8 days out aren’t the most bankable predictions in the world… Right now the 10 day forecast on Weather Underground calls for both the 20th and the 21st to be clear in that part of KY.

    I have a short tripod, I’m thinking about putting it on the car hood, the camera has a mobile view screen on the back, so I don’t have to be behind it to aim it.

    I plan to take it out and practice some, pointing at the sun with a filter, etc. See how it works out. Wish me luck! I’m pretty excited….

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