I was bored. pic.twitter.com/bVoC0hyNzC
— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) March 27, 2020
“Focused, relentless, tasting nothing”
— Laurie Canter (@LaurieCanter) March 27, 2020
It was the 'get on with it' that did it for me. Insistent with an edge of anger.
— Tony Hooper (@Anthoop) March 27, 2020
I’d need to have more on their biographies and current form for my commentary notes.
— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) March 27, 2020
Only sporting event for next three months – I was grateful for the work.
— Andrew Cotter (@MrAndrewCotter) March 27, 2020
— Dandy Dan (@DandyDanDan) March 27, 2020
My sister in Ireland brought her dog to the beach and introduced him to sea foam for the first time. pic.twitter.com/iFn0RVzMaa
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) March 27, 2020
A year ago Mabel couldn't use her back legs at all, and used a little wheelchair to get around.
She's been making amazing progress, but still hasn't been able to tackle stairs.
Until today! pic.twitter.com/PjzPVXD18i
— Linda Bloomfield (@LindaBxx) March 27, 2020
For the yoga enthusiasts:
@darth Is this how all dogs lounge while watching Netflix? pic.twitter.com/JsVk9mPONq
— Charles LaCalle (@charleslacalle) March 27, 2020
debbie
“Relentless, tasting nothing.” ?
John Revolta
Yay Mabel!
raven
I touch may face because it ITCHES!!!
NotMax
Ancillary, but kind of in the neighborhood of the topic (I’ll repeat it when we get to the dedicated Things To Do threads).
“Best” is in the eye of the beholder, and skipping past the party games subsection probably a wise choice just now.
The Best Beginner Board Games for Adults
The Best Board Games
NotMax
Shall also drop this in here for those who sew. Seems a reputable site (happy to be corrected on that if needs be). Pattern for home-sewn masks.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@NotMax:
I feel like we should all learn
lgerard
For those suffering from Acute Baseball Withdrawal Syndrome MLB.com has the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons available for free in either full or condensed versions.
https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Just click on the October 30, 2019 date for a drop down calendar to toggle through.
I’m off to my happy place
22 minutes of Pete Alonso homeruns
NotMax
@Jim, Foolish Literalist
Was gonna save it for a more lighthearted thread but what the heck (not recommending as any sort of panacea).
In a real pinch, there’s this.
;)
Martin
Esports still going on. I have no idea why F1 hasn’t just replicated the races online. Give us the audio chat as well. That would be amazing.
My favorite esport is Dota2. I got into it a number of years ago when I was researching whether we should establish esports as a scholarship sport (we did). A lot of them don’t quite land for me, but Dota2 is IMO the best overall implementation.
Dota is based on Warcraft 3. It’s a 5×5 MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena). There’s a fixed square map that every game is played on – it doesn’t change except periodically through version changes, so you get to know the map very well. There is a base in 2 opposing corners of the map. Cutting diagonally across from the other two corners is a river which divides the map into two visually distinct regions to make spectating easier. One team plays the dire region, and one the radiant region. The map has 3 distinct lanes, paths that go from one base across the river to the other base.
A match starts with a draft. There’s 100+ heroes in the game, all with different skills and characteristics – these are not minor variations, they are drastically different. Each team takes turns banning heroes and choosing heroes until they each have 5 heroes selected. One a hero is banned or selected it can’t be chosen again. The 5 players then choose which hero they’re playing.
In each base is a structure called the ‘ancient’ and the goal is to destroy the opposing team’s ancient. Protecting the ancient are the 5 heroes, but also a series of towers along each of the 3 lanes that attack opposing units as well as towers in the base itself. Additionally, there are 3 pairs of barracks in each base that regularly release creeps. These are relatively weak units that automatically march toward the opposing base along the lanes.
The player’s task is to support the creeps in attacking the opposing base, taking objectives like helping destroy enemy towers, and attacking enemy heroes. Along the way heroes level up and gain new skills (unique to each hero) and strength. They can buy items with gold to augment their skills. The game involves picking off individual heroes that get caught out, team fights which are 5 on 5, and strategies that involve taking map objectives quickly.
Unlike traditional sports there are a few unique aspects to this kind of game. For one, the heroes are very distinct. There’s not that much difference between a quarterback and a wide receiver. The QB is better at throwing and the WR probably faster and better at catching, but they could reverse roles and not necessarily be terrible at it. In games like Dota, they’re completely different. Also, heroes routinely can enhance other teammates or weaken enemies. So, being close to another hero could make them stronger or faster, etc. Also, as heroes level up, the balance of the game changes. Some are weak in the beginning of the game and strong at the end, so you routinely see teams struggling and then coming back strong later on. The items you can buy adds to this as you can buy items that fill in weak areas and that too can turn the balance of a game. Finally, a good draft gets 5 heroes that support each other in ways that make them significantly stronger than they are individually. You have to execute well to achieve that, but that’s what pro athletes do.
The end result is a fantastically complex and nuanced sport, with strategy in drafting, map control, itemization, and differing tactics by each team throughout the match. Heroic plays are routine, as are come from behind wins. I’ve watched teams play defense for an hour just protecting one hero waiting for them to come online while the other team just cleaned up the map, only to see that hero hit their power spike and win the game. You get 100% offense games, with desperate rushes to strike the winning blow before the other team. And the players really are amazingly talented. Learning the nuances of 50-100 heroes, understanding the synergies between different heros (thousands of combinations) how heroes exploit weaknesses of others, play styles, item and talent builds, and just plain map awareness, reflexes, coordination, timing, knowing when to sacrifice, and so on.
A match lasts 40-80 minutes including the draft phase. 25-65 without it. Tournaments are often group phase like world cup, then an upper double elimination best of 3 bracket and a lower single elimination best of 3 bracket, with a best of 5 final.
Yutsano
I made chorizo potato hash. Doggos are best people.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@NotMax: That may be my new look
delk
I looked all over my house this morning for AAA batteries. Didn’t find any, bit did find an unopened bottle of Purell.
trollhattan
WoSo should be wrapping up in Europe and beginning in the States (Australia’s W League managed to hold their Grand Final this week, to an empty very large stadium). MLS and USL should be underway. HS and college track and field should be mid-season and at its highest level, ramping up to the US Olympics trials–same goes for myriad other Olympics sports.
Annnd…nuttin’.
BC in Illinois
What does the St Louis metro area do when it is incredibly bored?
I found out this morning. They go to Lone Elk Park. We had decided as a family (four households) to celebrate a family birthday by going to the Park, where we could visit — four cars pulled together for face-to-face chat, without letting the 7 g’kids run free. It turns out that the rest of the county had the same idea. There was an un-ending line of cars from the entrance, winding around the lakes, in and out of the bison area, all the way to the end.
It was a good visit. We saw the elk, the bison, and the geese (no big thrill); plus we got to listen to to the frogs (peepers?) and that seemed to be interesting to the youngest generation.
NotMax
Woo-hoo! External optical drive went belly up about a month ago. Spiffy (and better) replacement arrived yesterday. Fully back in the digital saddle again!
@Yutsano
Q: What do you get if you cross a chorizo with a potato?
A: I don’t know, but it’s damn tasty!
Yutsano
@NotMax: I chortled. Pretty sure the nap bug is about to overtake me.
geg6
Lovey lays like that last pup all the time. Flat on her back, legs up in the air. It’s hysterical.
Mnemosyne
I was getting ready to shower and change out of my pajamas (no, really!) but Charlotte decided that she needed to nap under the covers, and she has the sharp teeth and claws to enforce whatever her little kitty heart desires.
geg6
I’ve been cooking up a storm through this, which is enjoyable. Putting a turkey breast in the oven after rubbing under and over the skin a butter of 5T softened butter, a tablespoon of minced sage, one of minced thyme, 1 1/2 tablespoons minced rosemary, a teaspoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, salt and pepper. Going to make mashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus to go with. Pinot noir to drink. Should be good!
ThresherK
I am reminded of when I moved out of a 2BR condo (with a landlady, a good friend) to an apartment with the woman who is now my wife.
Two months after I left I stopped by on a visit and was given a videotape I’d left behind. I brought it home and discovered it had a six-year-old Arena Football game I’d taped, played by two teams which had long stopped existing.
Of course I had no idea how the game ended, so I brought it home and watched it. Go Thunderbolts!
zhena gogolia
@Mnemosyne:
My weird reaction to “sheltering in place” is that I want to stay dressed as long as possible. When life was “normal,” I couldn’t wait to get into my nightgown.
Mary G
@geg6: I wish I lived near you. Everything you cook sounds delicious.
raven
We’re going to load the pups up and take a ride.
Sure Lurkalot
@NotMax: I made this one. Also a YouTube from JoAnn has much the same design. It’s quite large. I made a small one for myself. BTW, I haven’t used my sewing machine in decades! And I was never taught to use one as a kid. Many of the designs I’ve see would be easy peasy for anyone who is at all handy.
Van Buren
I know that this message does not need to be told to all y’all here, but cherish each day with your pets. I have a dog who seemed in perfect health yesterday, I woke up to him vomiting all over the place, and he has spent the day at the doggie hospital and the vet suspects liver cancer. I am crushed beyond all telling. I taught from home all week with him sleeping on my lap.
John Revolta
@geg6: And then squirms around? That’s what our Otis does. We call it the “Doggy Boogie Woogie”.
Sure Lurkalot
BTW, any update from the juicer whose wife went to urgent care? Was A Ghost etc…can’t recall the precise nym.
Sab
@NotMax: Thank you so much for that link.
Mnemosyne
@zhena gogolia:
I feel like I’m maintaining my usual Saturday routine of staying in my pjs for as long as humanly possible. ?
Amir Khalid
Music for these pandemic times: You’ll Never Walk Alone, Locked Up, Don’t Stand So Close To Me.
Mary G
I don’t know if anyone’s posted this here, but I hadn’t seen it til now:
Bill Arnold
For aspiring chefs (video, amazing):
CatFacts
@Van Buren: I’m so sorry. I lost my cat rather suddenly a few months ago, and it sucks. Especially sheltering in place without a pet.
NotMax
@zhena goglia
Each reacts in her/his own way. I’ve fallen into the habit of running the 24/7 Retro channel on Roku. Almost entirely old (mostly really old) TV. No choices, it’s a join in progress constant stream of a variety of programs, sometimes clumped into a theme. Calming diversion (and in its way a reminder of less parlous times) which doesn’t need close or even moderate attention. Ad supported but not too many of them. Can stretch out on the couch, shut the eyes and just listen. If I drowse off, nothing really missed. And yes, there are some few things that come around which even the most forgiving watcher will greet with “ugh, no thanks.”
Nicole
@Van Buren: I’m so sorry. Please keep us updated?
Bill Arnold
From good twitter:
Amir Khalid
@Van Buren:
Rough news. Peace and strength to you and your doggo.
Mnemosyne
@Van Buren:
I’m so sorry. I hope you can have as many pain-free days with your doggo as possible.
geg6
@Mary G:
Thank you! I really do love to cook. Not every day, mind you. But when I have time to do it, it really relaxes me.
trollhattan
@Van Buren:
:( So very sorry. And good advice on treasuring each day.
geg6
@John Revolta:
Nope, no squirming. Just laying with legs in the air. But a belly rub is always welcome.
oatler.
@Sure Lurkalot:
Maybe “A Ghost to Most”?
geg6
@Van Buren:
Oh, I’m so sorry! We came home to find our dear departed Otis in a puddle of blood one Halloween and it turned out to be a cancerous tumor that burst in his mouth. It’s horrible when it comes on you suddenly like that. Hoping for a good outcome for you doggo!
NotMax
@NotMax
Neglected to include the linky.
Booger
@delk: Oh man! I just saw a tow truck drive by with a sign on it saying they replace AAA batteries! I don’t understand that business model, but whatever…I mean, there can’t be a lot of money in it, right?
bmoak
No sports? But we’ve still got Marbula One!. The penultimate race of the season is tomorrow afternoon.
CaseyL
@Van Buren: I am so sorry! Please keep us updated.
A Ghost to Most
@Sure Lurkalot: Wife apparently had that rarest of episodes for her, a bad migraine without a headache. It threw us off. Thanks.
In other signs of the apocalypse, my BIL drunk texted me, and then called, and we talked for an hour. I haven’t exchanged so much as a hello with him in 13 years. Weird.
jeffreyw
Bean soup with bacon. Of course there’s cornbread.
Josie
@geg6:
This sounds so good. Have a turkey breast in the fridge waiting to be cooked, and I am stealing your seasoning ideas. It was the only protein we could get on our grocery order. I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
Ann Marie
@Van Buren: I’m so sorry. I’ve lost three cats to cancer over the years. I hope it turns out to be something else that he can recover from quickly. Hugs to both of you.
@Van Buren:
debbie
@Mary G:
Seconded.
This morning, I found meat for the first time since the stupid hoarding began. Chicken thighs, but still meat.
zhena gogolia
@NotMax:
I only made it through about 20 minutes of Million Dollar Legs, I’m afraid. I used to think W. C. Fields was hilarious but for some reason now he leaves me completely cold.
zhena gogolia
@A Ghost to Most:
Oh, good news about the migraine. Not that migraines are fun, but . . . .
A Ghost to Most
For the heathens:
Jason Isbell does “Heathens” for PH’s birthday
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
It’s no It’s a Gift, that’s for darn sure. Very dated and paced at what seems like a glacial creep to modern eyes. Less Oakie and more Fields would have helped. Still, a snapshot of the travails of early sound films.
;)
NotMax
@zhena goglia</a.
Had forgotten about one bit of dialogue within the curiosity of a movie.
"All the women in Klopstokia are named Angela. And all the men are named George."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
:)
Zelma
@Van Buren:
So sorry. My pets are what keep me sane.
I just listened to the Philadelphia Orchestra’s concert that was played to an empty hall. Beethoven’s 5th and 6th. It was grand. I listened on Sirius. If you like Beethoven and can find it, it’s worth a listen. It almost made me feel good.
raven
@zhena gogolia: That’s why they call me Honest John. . .
mrmoshpotato
@Yutsano
Yes. Go on.
mrmoshpotato
@Mnemosyne: Is it possible to negotiate with a cat? Are you being held hostage?
raven
@Van Buren: Aw damn, there is never a good way or time.
Barbara
@Van Buren: I am so sorry.
NotMax
@raven
“I don’t mind a man holding five aces. But when I know what i dealt him….”
Miss Bianca
@Bill Arnold: : )
mrmoshpotato
@Bill Arnold:
Fixed.
Steeplejack
Out-of-work rugby announcer Nick Heath has a hilarious series at #LifeCommentary on Twitter.
Steeplejack
Sure Lurkalot
@A Ghost to Most: I hope she feels better soon, fellow front ranger!
Bill Arnold
@mrmoshpotato:
Yeah, the replies to that tweet are fairly negative. :-)
I’d at least sample it. That dish has many courses within it.
Jay
NotMax
@Steeplejack
At first misread that as “out-of-work ugly announcer.”
Steeplejack (phone)
@NotMax:
Easy mistake to make!
John Revolta
@debbie: Chicken thighs are not to be sniffed at! They’re a staple chez Revolta. The bone to meat ratio is better than drumsticks, and they’ve got way more flavor than breasts. Cheaper too.
NotMax
@John Revolta
So versatile. And none of that skinless, boneless folderol when it comes to thighs, please. Don’t want the skin? Discard it after the thigh has been cooked.
Gvg
<a href="#comment@Booger: if you aren’t joking, I think they mean they replace car batteries of people who have triple A policies. Not the small size batteries for toys.