As Christmas approaches, here's your weekly Free Thread
July 10, 2023 7:26 AM Subscribe
In only eight weeks time, Christmas puddings, mince pies and other seasonal foods, plus cards and wrapping paper, will start to fill the supermarket shelves. Christmas spirit? It's never too early as Boston hope to do better than last year, Fakenham reveal their plans, sensible people have completed shopping, and the Christmas birth is anticipated. Some tree advice and potato advice. So throw a log on the fire, put on your wooliest jumper, pour yourself a glass of mulled wine and type into the freethread, or Free Thread, or #FreeThread, for this week. Bonus: some pleasant Holst.
You joke, but my family already started the "where are we spending Christmas this year" conversation a couple of weeks ago. There are ten siblings in my generation though, so...
posted by EllaEm at 7:47 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by EllaEm at 7:47 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Of the three pubs in this area, as of today two of them are taking Christmas meal bookings.
posted by Wordshore at 8:01 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 8:01 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
This Christmas, I am not making the food. So there will probably be no Christmas dinner. Too bad. And I'm definitely not washing dishes for anybody but myself (and my cats). I made these plans December 26, 2022.
posted by JanetLand at 8:22 AM on July 10, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by JanetLand at 8:22 AM on July 10, 2023 [16 favorites]
Of the three pubs in this area, as of today two of them are taking Christmas meal bookings.
For 2024.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
For 2024.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
...About a month ago now, I met a dude at a free concert in the city and there were sparks. And then when I got home and got the mail, one of the mailings was a notice from my landlord management company with a threat of eviction for "not having renewed your lease." ....Except we had. I spent a week getting to the bottom of things with the landlord (the denoument - they'd sent us TWO leases, at two different times, and we'd signed the wrong one - which was cheaper than the other one). It took a few days to sort things out - and the landlord was extremely apologetic, but firm that we DID have to sign the higher lease. But what softened the blow was that the day after they confirmed we were all set, and were NOT going to be evicted, I bumped into the dude again.
Have spent the past couple weeks trying to flirt with the dude online and waiting on the rent payment coupon for our first month with the new lease terms. (They slip a bill under our door on the 1st business day of the month with a payment coupon.) The dude was being awfully quiet and the rent bill was late; I checked in and they said they'd had a delay because of the holiday. Okay, fine.
Then on Saturday I woke up to a message from the dude replying to my chatty "how's things" message - he was gushing about how he'd met someone else unexpectedly and was all excited. But....what softened the blow there was: that day the landlord finally handed out the rent bills - and ours was for the amount of the CHEAPER lease renewal.
....Now, the practical side of me is pretty sure that this is a computer glitch, and that in a month or two I'll see a rent bill with an "adjustment" for the undercharge (I sent them a little extra this month for safety's sake and to soften that blow). But a part of me is chalking it up to the universe deciding that I was only allowed to have either a new boyfriend, or cheaper rent; not both.
And these days, if I'm only able to have one, the cheaper rent is the one I'd pick anyway, so there you are.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on July 10, 2023 [17 favorites]
Have spent the past couple weeks trying to flirt with the dude online and waiting on the rent payment coupon for our first month with the new lease terms. (They slip a bill under our door on the 1st business day of the month with a payment coupon.) The dude was being awfully quiet and the rent bill was late; I checked in and they said they'd had a delay because of the holiday. Okay, fine.
Then on Saturday I woke up to a message from the dude replying to my chatty "how's things" message - he was gushing about how he'd met someone else unexpectedly and was all excited. But....what softened the blow there was: that day the landlord finally handed out the rent bills - and ours was for the amount of the CHEAPER lease renewal.
....Now, the practical side of me is pretty sure that this is a computer glitch, and that in a month or two I'll see a rent bill with an "adjustment" for the undercharge (I sent them a little extra this month for safety's sake and to soften that blow). But a part of me is chalking it up to the universe deciding that I was only allowed to have either a new boyfriend, or cheaper rent; not both.
And these days, if I'm only able to have one, the cheaper rent is the one I'd pick anyway, so there you are.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:25 AM on July 10, 2023 [17 favorites]
The days are getting shorter.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:30 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:30 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
Ok so it turns out if you've equipped Barbed Nails and the Ninefold Arrow rings, and you're a level 200 Magick Archer with a dragonforged Blackwing Bow, and you've got the Wyrmking's Ring and the Sorcerer's augment Articulacy, you can stunlock Daimon's final form by repeatedly shooting Ninefold arrow in his stupid dragon face and he can't do anything about it except hover there and twitch. Demon's Periapts do make the "fight" go faster. Bring stamina recovery items (a dozen large mushrooms or so). This is probably the easiest takedown of Daimon in the game because you don't have to buy blast arrows, you can stand dozens of meters away, and you barely have to aim.
I just wanted to tell someone, and I wasn't going to log into Fandom or Reddit or any of the other Dragon's Dogma forums to say it.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:40 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I just wanted to tell someone, and I wasn't going to log into Fandom or Reddit or any of the other Dragon's Dogma forums to say it.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:40 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
my family already started the "where are we spending Christmas this year" conversation
Will any sufficiently big family, this is reasonable. When a Christmas gathering might involve travel planning, time-off, school schedules, budgeting and not to mention tip-toeing around fraught relationships, divorces, child-custody, in-laws, etc, etc, then it really helps to set the plan early enough. Us? We have our next 12 years worth pretty much planned out.
posted by rh at 8:43 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Will any sufficiently big family, this is reasonable. When a Christmas gathering might involve travel planning, time-off, school schedules, budgeting and not to mention tip-toeing around fraught relationships, divorces, child-custody, in-laws, etc, etc, then it really helps to set the plan early enough. Us? We have our next 12 years worth pretty much planned out.
posted by rh at 8:43 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
In only eight weeks time, Christmas puddings, mince pies and other seasonal foods, plus cards and wrapping paper, will start to fill the supermarket shelves.
oh, shut up
posted by pyramid termite at 9:00 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
oh, shut up
posted by pyramid termite at 9:00 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
I was sitting by the campfire at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach on Saturday night when I heard an unfamiliar bird call directly above me. It was dark, so I never saw it, but it was a Chuck Will's Widow, a lifer for me. They are nocturnal, so most people who check it off the life list only heard it. E-bird has it marked as rare for Virginia Beach at this time of year.
posted by COD at 9:08 AM on July 10, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by COD at 9:08 AM on July 10, 2023 [12 favorites]
my toddler asked me to recite A Visit from St. Nicholas at breakfast this morning; we have never stopped celebrating christmas -_-
posted by dismas at 9:09 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by dismas at 9:09 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
I AM SO MAD ABOUT THAT URI GELLER SLOPPY BLOWJOB PUFF PIECE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:13 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:13 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
There was a goth girl sitting on top of the family Jeep in this year's Fourth of July parade in my town. The last few years have seen a LOT of water-balloons and squirt guns -- going both ways -- and the poor girl was soaked.
She was delighted.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:15 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
She was delighted.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:15 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
a tangent, apologies: Early today there was a FPP about improving your house's curb appeal. I closed out, came back and the post was gone before I could read it. If the OP is here, please MeMail me any links -- we're preparing to sell our house in early 2024 and need any help we can get escaping Florida. Thanks.
posted by martin q blank at 9:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 9:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
On Saturday I went to see the beloved Irish band The Saw Doctors in Boston. Three other college friends converged, and we had a great time.
It was definitely an older crowd (there was a Rascal scooter present!), and there wasn't nearly enough merch (they sold out when I was six people away from the table, dammit), but the new venue, MGM Music Hall, is very nice. The drinks were expensive, but that didn't stop many of the younger folks on the main floor from getting shithouse drunk and leaving empties all over (an older lady must have slipped: I saw her half-carried away, favoring one leg).
There was a saxophone and an electrified mandolin (both played by Anto Thistlethwaite), so you know it was fun. They played for over two hours, and at one point during the encore they segued from one of their songs to the entirety of "My Best Friend's Girl" by the Cars, then back to their own song. I was the only one of us with ear plugs, and I was very grateful for them: I still heard a roaring all day Sunday, and can't imagine how much worse it would have been without them.
That's all, just wanted to say that I had a good time with my friends, Dad-Dancing to old pop music.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:25 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
It was definitely an older crowd (there was a Rascal scooter present!), and there wasn't nearly enough merch (they sold out when I was six people away from the table, dammit), but the new venue, MGM Music Hall, is very nice. The drinks were expensive, but that didn't stop many of the younger folks on the main floor from getting shithouse drunk and leaving empties all over (an older lady must have slipped: I saw her half-carried away, favoring one leg).
There was a saxophone and an electrified mandolin (both played by Anto Thistlethwaite), so you know it was fun. They played for over two hours, and at one point during the encore they segued from one of their songs to the entirety of "My Best Friend's Girl" by the Cars, then back to their own song. I was the only one of us with ear plugs, and I was very grateful for them: I still heard a roaring all day Sunday, and can't imagine how much worse it would have been without them.
That's all, just wanted to say that I had a good time with my friends, Dad-Dancing to old pop music.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:25 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
Was just thinking this! This year the child and grandchild and son in law are due to go to the in laws for Christmas and I will be utterly alone (husband passed last year, cat died). I’m looking forward to it. Last Christmas no one came over because they were all sick. BUT maybe I’ll take a little trip. Somewhere warm. Or New York City? I generally loathe Christmas for many many good reasons, but I’m suddenly rather excited.
I’m feeling a touch over confident because I just finished a three month appliance wrangle in my kitchen without my husband’s help and everything WORKS.
posted by Peach at 9:29 AM on July 10, 2023 [15 favorites]
I’m feeling a touch over confident because I just finished a three month appliance wrangle in my kitchen without my husband’s help and everything WORKS.
posted by Peach at 9:29 AM on July 10, 2023 [15 favorites]
We are closing on a house in January, so I'm telling my mother, who still insists on sending me presents yearly, that a Home Depot gift card will be very appreciated this year. We've been renting for 7 years...I had forgotten how much extra you need beyond the closing costs to move in.
posted by COD at 9:38 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by COD at 9:38 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
My therapist just canceled (well, "not sure if I will be done with emergency dental session or not in time") for the fifth week in a row. I am beyond tired of her having Stuff Come Up (usually sudden medical) so dang much, but what can you do about it? Finding a replacement ain't easy these days, you can't help when your health goes bad, etc. But we can't ever reschedule for lots of reasons on her end, so the streak continues.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:40 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:40 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
The owls are still around; I was a little concerned that the fireworks would disturb them, but it didn't seem to. It probably helped that things got partially rained out. Here is a video that shows how *close* they are to my back porch.
(flickr sucks, sorry)
posted by Horkus at 9:52 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
(flickr sucks, sorry)
posted by Horkus at 9:52 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
Thanksgiving and Christmas are extra days to sleep in for me so that’s nice - not that I don’t sleep in every day. Before lockdown I would usually find a restaurant doing prix fixe for Thanksgiving and a hotel bar for Christmas but I’ve lost all reasonable thoughts of places in the last few years. More sleep for me!
posted by bendy at 9:54 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by bendy at 9:54 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Lentrohamsanin : I AM SO MAD ABOUT THAT URI GELLER SLOPPY BLOWJOB PUFF PIECE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES
FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE
I had missed that, thanks for sharing. He’s a magician who never broke kayfabe under any circumstance. His popularity was a bit before my time; I’m guessing that he was never introduced as an illusionist/magician/etc during all those tv appearances?
posted by dr_dank at 10:00 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE
I had missed that, thanks for sharing. He’s a magician who never broke kayfabe under any circumstance. His popularity was a bit before my time; I’m guessing that he was never introduced as an illusionist/magician/etc during all those tv appearances?
posted by dr_dank at 10:00 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was annoyed that the story implied multiple times that it was a fake trick but never actually said how it was done. Like, yes, we get it, the spoon bent, but how?
posted by bendy at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bendy at 10:02 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
the poor girl was soaked.
She was delighted.
That's a great way to cool down when you're stuck in a parade on a street with no shade on a hot July day...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
She was delighted.
That's a great way to cool down when you're stuck in a parade on a street with no shade on a hot July day...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Like, yes, we get it, the spoon bent, but how?
MAGIC
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
MAGIC
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Part of the point of the Geller piece was that it's fun not to know how the spoon is bent. Back in the 70s and 80s there was a ton of this kind of Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown Extruded Product, and if you were a kid at the time it was a total blast. It's why people still do Tarot readings or get weird crystals and incense. Wanting to know how Uri Geller bent his spoons is like wanting to know exactly what's going on in Twin Peaks; the conjecture and mystery and mood are the fun of it, and a concrete explanation wouldn't really make it more interesting.
posted by phooky at 10:24 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by phooky at 10:24 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
We've been having a groundhog visit us in the backyard! There's been some grassy patches we've let grow tall, and the local wildlife seems to enjoy it. The groundhog has been a nice surprise; didn't know we had them around here.
My sister-in-law is getting married this weekend. She's been handling the planning (and many other aspects) of the event herself, and some 100-odd people have RSVP'd. That's all I'll say about that for now.
Needed some cheap bookends for a reorganization project I've been planning for the past month, and discovered that Daiso's US branch has an online shop! Placed an order for bookends and many other small things last Wednesday, but have yet to get a shipping notice. Hope everything arrives in good shape.
Started Halo Infinite's campaign on PC this past Saturday and had a hell of a time getting it to run without crashing at a certain point. Finally figured things out, and it involved the most bog-standard solution: a clean install of the latest GeForce driver. Anyway, the game is decent. Never played Halo 5, but like a friend of mine had discovered, it seems I didn't miss out on much, story-wise.
Oh, and happy Bahamas Independence Day! And National Kitten Day! Those are the holidays that are the theme of this thread, right?
posted by May Kasahara at 10:30 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
My sister-in-law is getting married this weekend. She's been handling the planning (and many other aspects) of the event herself, and some 100-odd people have RSVP'd. That's all I'll say about that for now.
Needed some cheap bookends for a reorganization project I've been planning for the past month, and discovered that Daiso's US branch has an online shop! Placed an order for bookends and many other small things last Wednesday, but have yet to get a shipping notice. Hope everything arrives in good shape.
Started Halo Infinite's campaign on PC this past Saturday and had a hell of a time getting it to run without crashing at a certain point. Finally figured things out, and it involved the most bog-standard solution: a clean install of the latest GeForce driver. Anyway, the game is decent. Never played Halo 5, but like a friend of mine had discovered, it seems I didn't miss out on much, story-wise.
Oh, and happy Bahamas Independence Day! And National Kitten Day! Those are the holidays that are the theme of this thread, right?
posted by May Kasahara at 10:30 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Online Daiso?! Yes please!
posted by bendy at 10:39 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by bendy at 10:39 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
We got our first local cannabis store this weekend and I had nothing to do when they were opening, so I stood in line for way too long, hung out and collected swag with a crowd aged 21-99, and ultimately walked out with some surprisingly-good products (at unsurprisingly-high prices).
New York's adult-use cannabis rollout has been, and continues to be, a boondoggle of epic proportions, but it was nice to walk into a store and buy a vape that I can be pretty sure isn't made of poison (and it's live resin! great product).
This store (and, consequently, the county and town that permitted them) are going to be making money hand-over-fist for quite a while, I think, because the rest of the area has more-or-less banned cannabis businesses either by law or by zoning them out of viability, even though the state has issued a couple dozen licenses in the area.
Boondoggle might not even be the right word. Clusterfuck, maybe. Ever upward, indeed.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:43 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
New York's adult-use cannabis rollout has been, and continues to be, a boondoggle of epic proportions, but it was nice to walk into a store and buy a vape that I can be pretty sure isn't made of poison (and it's live resin! great product).
This store (and, consequently, the county and town that permitted them) are going to be making money hand-over-fist for quite a while, I think, because the rest of the area has more-or-less banned cannabis businesses either by law or by zoning them out of viability, even though the state has issued a couple dozen licenses in the area.
Boondoggle might not even be the right word. Clusterfuck, maybe. Ever upward, indeed.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:43 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
and if you were a kid at the time it was a total blast
I was a kid at the time and my tastes ran more toward The Official Warren Commission Report of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy for some reason. That’s why I never investigated the spoons.
posted by bendy at 10:45 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I was a kid at the time and my tastes ran more toward The Official Warren Commission Report of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy for some reason. That’s why I never investigated the spoons.
posted by bendy at 10:45 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
If I had a nickel for every time in the past few months I very briefly dated someone who then, later on, came out as trans and reached out to me to thank me for contributing to their own understanding of gender, I would have.. two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's a bit funny that it's happened twice in such a relatively short period of time.
posted by btfreek at 10:49 AM on July 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by btfreek at 10:49 AM on July 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
Btw, I always wanted to ask: what are the rules for free threads? Is it anything goes? E.g. Could I mention/ramble on about/ask for advice on personal projects in a free thread? Does asking this question make it a AskMe and am I therefore about to be zapped out of existan--
posted by EllaEm at 10:53 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by EllaEm at 10:53 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Is it anything goes?
I think it's nearly anything goes? As Mr Cortex scribed in the first one, back in January 2022:
"... a place on the front page to chatter about the stuff that there's no post for or that doesn't really feel like it needs a dedicated post ... we're hoping this sort of free thread can provide a home for a lot of the everything-else that folks might want to chat about or share small links to ... in here, aim for friendly chatter, wierd facts, obscure expertise, odd snippets of Internet Stuff, that sort of thing. Leave angry-making politics updates, doomscroll fodder, and hot-button stuff for elsewhere ..."
So asking a question seems to be okay, especially if it was chatfiltery and not suited to AskMe? I'd just stick it in here (though being aware that AskMe might be better for more formal replies, and more pairs of eyes seeing it).
posted by Wordshore at 11:04 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think it's nearly anything goes? As Mr Cortex scribed in the first one, back in January 2022:
"... a place on the front page to chatter about the stuff that there's no post for or that doesn't really feel like it needs a dedicated post ... we're hoping this sort of free thread can provide a home for a lot of the everything-else that folks might want to chat about or share small links to ... in here, aim for friendly chatter, wierd facts, obscure expertise, odd snippets of Internet Stuff, that sort of thing. Leave angry-making politics updates, doomscroll fodder, and hot-button stuff for elsewhere ..."
So asking a question seems to be okay, especially if it was chatfiltery and not suited to AskMe? I'd just stick it in here (though being aware that AskMe might be better for more formal replies, and more pairs of eyes seeing it).
posted by Wordshore at 11:04 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Here in Seattle, where we have had weed shops for a while...
I don't think they are a great business opportunity. Many have closed. There is just so much weed around, prices are ridiculously low.
Have a friend from Utah who came out to run an auction in southern oregon a few years back. And it was a disaster, as people were bidding like $2 for a pound or some nonsense. Which didn't fit with her, nor the growers, thoughts on how an auction was supposed to go...
posted by Windopaene at 11:04 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I don't think they are a great business opportunity. Many have closed. There is just so much weed around, prices are ridiculously low.
Have a friend from Utah who came out to run an auction in southern oregon a few years back. And it was a disaster, as people were bidding like $2 for a pound or some nonsense. Which didn't fit with her, nor the growers, thoughts on how an auction was supposed to go...
posted by Windopaene at 11:04 AM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
--ce? I mean, I could really use some guidance here and don't want to offend anyone.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:05 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:05 AM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
Oh, and happy Bahamas Independence Day! And National Kitten Day! Those are the holidays that are the theme of this thread, right?
Yes.
posted by Wordshore at 11:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yes.
posted by Wordshore at 11:07 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Still laughing about the squirrel that faked a crime scene.
posted by SPrintF at 11:13 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 11:13 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
Wanting to know how Uri Geller bent his spoons is like wanting to know exactly what's going on in Twin Peaks; the conjecture and mystery and mood are the fun of it, and a concrete explanation wouldn't really make it more interesting.
What? It's no secret that he was using plain old sleight-of-hand. He was/is a fraud and a charlatan parting fools from their money.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:17 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
What? It's no secret that he was using plain old sleight-of-hand. He was/is a fraud and a charlatan parting fools from their money.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:17 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Hello, for your Monday how about some faces, male faces, I have done over the years. The ongoing series title is The Leaders of Men, essentially about my response to certain people over the years, good or bad, that was strong enough for me to attempt a portrait.
It needs proper curation but here is a rough outline of where I am in the process.
Warning:
There are some pretty repellent people here, but as I say, for good or bad.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:21 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
It needs proper curation but here is a rough outline of where I am in the process.
Warning:
There are some pretty repellent people here, but as I say, for good or bad.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:21 AM on July 10, 2023 [8 favorites]
I don't think they are a great business opportunity.
A few/many years ago when pot was being legalized in more US states I posted a question about how to invest in pot since it was clearly going to rocket to the top. I found a place where it’s easy to invest a few bucks in various funds including a cannabis fund.
The cannabis fund is the biggest stinker. In maybe 3 years I have made like -750%.
posted by bendy at 11:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
A few/many years ago when pot was being legalized in more US states I posted a question about how to invest in pot since it was clearly going to rocket to the top. I found a place where it’s easy to invest a few bucks in various funds including a cannabis fund.
The cannabis fund is the biggest stinker. In maybe 3 years I have made like -750%.
posted by bendy at 11:23 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
how to invest in pot since it was clearly going to rocket to the top.
It was a real growth opportunity. A “grow-op”, if you will.
posted by notoriety public at 11:34 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
It was a real growth opportunity. A “grow-op”, if you will.
posted by notoriety public at 11:34 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
In only eight weeks time, Christmas puddings, mince pies and other seasonal foods, plus cards and wrapping paper, will start to fill the supermarket shelves.
straighttojailrightaway.gif
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:35 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
straighttojailrightaway.gif
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 11:35 AM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
Current hobbies include keeping the occasional eye on Icelandic volcano webcams - a collection here, though the first two seem to be pointing the same way - as I keep seeing news stories that one of them is imminently/may go pop.
posted by Wordshore at 11:46 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 11:46 AM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
I don't think they are a great business opportunity. Many have closed. There is just so much weed around, prices are ridiculously low.
I think part of the problem is that, like alcohol, a small number of users consume a majority of the product. The difference is that heavy drinkers mostly aren't making their own hooch or drinking moonshine. Heavy cannabis users are, by and large, either growing their own or buying black market products.
The glut of raw product is also a problem, but there's a world of difference between low-quality plant matter destined for extracts and top-shelf flower with bag appeal. That said, there are only so many $50 eighths and nano-infused seltzers you can sell to casual users.
I'm sure that the adult-use market will mature and eventually look like the alcohol market: you can buy a 30-rack of Busch Light or a handle of Popov, but you can also spend $150 on a bottle of malt whisky. In the meantime, yeah, I think a lot of growers, processors, and retailers are gonna go bust.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:48 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think part of the problem is that, like alcohol, a small number of users consume a majority of the product. The difference is that heavy drinkers mostly aren't making their own hooch or drinking moonshine. Heavy cannabis users are, by and large, either growing their own or buying black market products.
The glut of raw product is also a problem, but there's a world of difference between low-quality plant matter destined for extracts and top-shelf flower with bag appeal. That said, there are only so many $50 eighths and nano-infused seltzers you can sell to casual users.
I'm sure that the adult-use market will mature and eventually look like the alcohol market: you can buy a 30-rack of Busch Light or a handle of Popov, but you can also spend $150 on a bottle of malt whisky. In the meantime, yeah, I think a lot of growers, processors, and retailers are gonna go bust.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:48 AM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
FYI, Wordshore is not stalking you, they favorite every comment in the post.
posted by bendy at 11:58 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by bendy at 11:58 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Old favourite timelapse video of Eyjafjallajökull chundering away on May 1st and 2nd 2010, by Sean Stiegemeier and set to Kolniður by Jónsi.
posted by Wordshore at 11:59 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 11:59 AM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Cannabis products could make it if they could cross state lines. I used to buy $20 Kiva chocolate bars in California and they were perfect. If I could buy them in Oregon I could die happy but Kiva bars are made in California. If you limit your supply area to one US state you’ll never succeed - economies of scale. Sell $20 Kiva bars in 50 states and you have a very sustainable business.
posted by bendy at 12:15 PM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by bendy at 12:15 PM on July 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Today I have been soaked twice. Which was foreseeable since it always rains in torrents on the 10th of July, my daughter's birthday. Yesterday, I thought this year would be an exception, there have been two sunny days in her 30 years, and yesterday was warm and dry and sunny with a cloudless sky. But nope.
Now, I am really tired, somehow getting drenched is very exhausting, but I don't want to lie my wet hair on my pillow, so here I am. I do own a hairdryer, but one of the things that ended completely during lockdown was drying my hair, and cutting it, and coloring it. So now I have long, grey curly hair, like a witch.
Dinner was excellent: a classic Italian parmigiana and a very Danish cauliflower soufflé. And white bread that was really good for cleaning up the sauce off the plate. I forgot cheese in the soufflé, but it didn't matter because the parmigiana was very savory and cheesy.
posted by mumimor at 12:51 PM on July 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
Now, I am really tired, somehow getting drenched is very exhausting, but I don't want to lie my wet hair on my pillow, so here I am. I do own a hairdryer, but one of the things that ended completely during lockdown was drying my hair, and cutting it, and coloring it. So now I have long, grey curly hair, like a witch.
Dinner was excellent: a classic Italian parmigiana and a very Danish cauliflower soufflé. And white bread that was really good for cleaning up the sauce off the plate. I forgot cheese in the soufflé, but it didn't matter because the parmigiana was very savory and cheesy.
posted by mumimor at 12:51 PM on July 10, 2023 [9 favorites]
Recreational cannabis legalization came into effect in Maryland on July 1st, when all of the changes from the last state legislative session take effect.
My partner works on an Army base (when he's not remote) so when he was at the office in late June he saw a giant sign at the post entrance stating that federal law prohibits the use of pot. He had forgotten about the July 1 start for new state laws, so assumed some enlisted soldier must have done something particularly egregious with their pot use to merit such a large sign.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:08 PM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
My partner works on an Army base (when he's not remote) so when he was at the office in late June he saw a giant sign at the post entrance stating that federal law prohibits the use of pot. He had forgotten about the July 1 start for new state laws, so assumed some enlisted soldier must have done something particularly egregious with their pot use to merit such a large sign.
posted by the primroses were over at 1:08 PM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
I recently had to replace my sneakers, which were some unknown brand from a discount shoe store. Somehow I talked myself into buying a $200 pair of name-brand walking shoes - the reviews were very good and they were less good on cheaper shoes. They fit well and feel comfortable, but not markedly better my old pair; at this price I expected them to do my walking for me! I'm definitely feeling Buyer's Remorse.
In happier purchase news, I replaced my old leaky hummingbird feeders with a better, saucer-style feeders with a perch ring around the edge. I saw hummingbirds at the old feeders, but I think the new ones may be too new - I've had them up for a couple days but haven't noticed any visitors yet. I'm hoping they just need time to adjust to the change...
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:34 PM on July 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
In happier purchase news, I replaced my old leaky hummingbird feeders with a better, saucer-style feeders with a perch ring around the edge. I saw hummingbirds at the old feeders, but I think the new ones may be too new - I've had them up for a couple days but haven't noticed any visitors yet. I'm hoping they just need time to adjust to the change...
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:34 PM on July 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
When I had a hummingbird feeder in the SF Bay Area, I was surprised at how bossy and territorial hummingbirds are. I miss them so much!
Blueberries are ripe in central Sweden, which is to say some blueberries in the woods between where I live and the strip mall where I often buy groceries are ripe. I checked yesterday. It seems early in the season to me, but then things are heating up all over. So much so that I am writing this in my birthday suite because it is too damn hot to be wearing clothing. It's like Swedish apartments are (in general) fairly good at keeping residents warm in cold weather but suck at keeping us cool in summer. The buildings just soak up the heat and radiate the poor folks inside. When I was in Stockholm a few weeks ago, the 2nd floor apartment where I stayed was 10-degrees C warmer inside than outside in the evenings. It was impossible to sleep there and it's been impossible to sleep well here for the past two nights. Thus, my naked rant.
Congratulations to Peach for your appliance triumph, mumimor for your tasty dinner, and COD and Horkus for the bird action! Virtual hugs who all who want 'em. I am going to move my fan into the bedroom and hope for the best.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
Blueberries are ripe in central Sweden, which is to say some blueberries in the woods between where I live and the strip mall where I often buy groceries are ripe. I checked yesterday. It seems early in the season to me, but then things are heating up all over. So much so that I am writing this in my birthday suite because it is too damn hot to be wearing clothing. It's like Swedish apartments are (in general) fairly good at keeping residents warm in cold weather but suck at keeping us cool in summer. The buildings just soak up the heat and radiate the poor folks inside. When I was in Stockholm a few weeks ago, the 2nd floor apartment where I stayed was 10-degrees C warmer inside than outside in the evenings. It was impossible to sleep there and it's been impossible to sleep well here for the past two nights. Thus, my naked rant.
Congratulations to Peach for your appliance triumph, mumimor for your tasty dinner, and COD and Horkus for the bird action! Virtual hugs who all who want 'em. I am going to move my fan into the bedroom and hope for the best.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
On this morning's bike ride to work, I had to dodge an inattentive cyclist, and inattentive driver and two inattentive pedestrians. Thankfully the squirrel on the path was paying attention and scampered out of the way.
When I got a block away from my office, I pulled up to a stoplight, and while I was still braking, a bird pooped on my brake lever (which, I remind you, was in use and open). I don't know how the bird managed to hit such a tiny target. It took me about five minutes of scrubbing with wet paper towels to get all the gross chunky bits out of the mechanism.
posted by Gorgik at 1:44 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
When I got a block away from my office, I pulled up to a stoplight, and while I was still braking, a bird pooped on my brake lever (which, I remind you, was in use and open). I don't know how the bird managed to hit such a tiny target. It took me about five minutes of scrubbing with wet paper towels to get all the gross chunky bits out of the mechanism.
posted by Gorgik at 1:44 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
while I was still braking, a bird pooped on my brake lever (which, I remind you, was in use and open). I don't know how the bird managed to hit such a tiny target.
I was walking the dog a few months ago and she was very busily sniffing a stop sign on the corner. Above me were two pigeons sitting on each side of the telephone pole, one on each side of the corner. They both pooped, simultaneously, one on each of my shoulders. It was genuinely incredible.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:31 PM on July 10, 2023 [14 favorites]
I was walking the dog a few months ago and she was very busily sniffing a stop sign on the corner. Above me were two pigeons sitting on each side of the telephone pole, one on each side of the corner. They both pooped, simultaneously, one on each of my shoulders. It was genuinely incredible.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:31 PM on July 10, 2023 [14 favorites]
I used to buy $20 Kiva chocolate bars in California and they were perfect.
Kiva is the champ of the edibles market, IMHO. I enjoyed their Lost Farm gummies as a daily anxiolytic to remarkable effect. I felt so productive, sociable, and emotionally bright. Unfortunately, I recently relocated from CA to a heavy prohibition state, so that's my luck.
Along no doubt related lines, the cruelty and indifference of the world is really weighing on me today. I went out for a casual grocery run and saw an unhoused person staggering around the parking lot in the punishing 100°+ heat, with barely enough energy to ask passers-by for something to drink. He looked about an inch away from collapsing. I offered him some water, but he asked for milk, so I ran back in. I'm aware that $2 won't solve our structural problems, and it won't even help him survive tomorrow or the next day, but it was something I could do on a day when I needed to do something.
This weekend I unearthed the results of a psychiatric profile my mom had done on me when I was 10 after our dad remarried. It's terrifying how clearly it presaged so many of the problems I've been plagued with with over the course of my life. It was the '80s in a small Midwestern town, so I'm not sure if the available "solutions" would have been good for me, but gosh, I kinda wish it had been taken more seriously. I've done the best I can for having to improvise my own self-care over the last 30+ years, though.
posted by mykescipark at 3:00 PM on July 10, 2023 [10 favorites]
Kiva is the champ of the edibles market, IMHO. I enjoyed their Lost Farm gummies as a daily anxiolytic to remarkable effect. I felt so productive, sociable, and emotionally bright. Unfortunately, I recently relocated from CA to a heavy prohibition state, so that's my luck.
Along no doubt related lines, the cruelty and indifference of the world is really weighing on me today. I went out for a casual grocery run and saw an unhoused person staggering around the parking lot in the punishing 100°+ heat, with barely enough energy to ask passers-by for something to drink. He looked about an inch away from collapsing. I offered him some water, but he asked for milk, so I ran back in. I'm aware that $2 won't solve our structural problems, and it won't even help him survive tomorrow or the next day, but it was something I could do on a day when I needed to do something.
This weekend I unearthed the results of a psychiatric profile my mom had done on me when I was 10 after our dad remarried. It's terrifying how clearly it presaged so many of the problems I've been plagued with with over the course of my life. It was the '80s in a small Midwestern town, so I'm not sure if the available "solutions" would have been good for me, but gosh, I kinda wish it had been taken more seriously. I've done the best I can for having to improvise my own self-care over the last 30+ years, though.
posted by mykescipark at 3:00 PM on July 10, 2023 [10 favorites]
Every two weeks a group of NY growers I know get together for a “farmers’ market” of weed. Friendly producers, lots of tasties, unusual products, great prices, surprise freebies. Definitely more fun than a dispensary.
posted by kinnakeet at 3:36 PM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by kinnakeet at 3:36 PM on July 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
I've been soaked several times today, but I'm in VT. There's a local pond with an earth dam that's topping. Lots of neighbors went out to lay tarps to slow erosion and they built a new overflow channel. Now there's a 7000 ft^3/minute pump to bypass the dam.
We went out to help pond residents get boats and stuff out of the pond so they didn't come down and take out the dam.
I haven't been this wet with my clothes on for years.
posted by MtDewd at 4:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
We went out to help pond residents get boats and stuff out of the pond so they didn't come down and take out the dam.
I haven't been this wet with my clothes on for years.
posted by MtDewd at 4:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [6 favorites]
Awesome, thanks for the etiquette tips!
Ok so I've started doing my podcast again, where I interview people from different countries around the world and ask them about how voting works in their country, whether people really understand how their electoral system works, and honestly do they believe in democracy anymore or is everyone totally cynical and depressed.
During the first season I had good luck finding people to interview, I think because I was using a lot of my Latin American friends and former colleagues as subjects. But now I'm finding it more difficult to make connections with people from other continents. Does anyone have any advice? Alternatively, are you a regular person with opinions from somewhere other than the United States or the UK who'd like to chat with me and a buddy for an hour and a half?
posted by EllaEm at 5:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ok so I've started doing my podcast again, where I interview people from different countries around the world and ask them about how voting works in their country, whether people really understand how their electoral system works, and honestly do they believe in democracy anymore or is everyone totally cynical and depressed.
During the first season I had good luck finding people to interview, I think because I was using a lot of my Latin American friends and former colleagues as subjects. But now I'm finding it more difficult to make connections with people from other continents. Does anyone have any advice? Alternatively, are you a regular person with opinions from somewhere other than the United States or the UK who'd like to chat with me and a buddy for an hour and a half?
posted by EllaEm at 5:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've been poking at a decades-long friend trying to reconnect for a couple of years, not urgently, just maybe 3 or 4 times.
It's so wonderful when this works out :-) I hope you both have a lot of fun!
posted by EllaEm at 5:43 PM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's so wonderful when this works out :-) I hope you both have a lot of fun!
posted by EllaEm at 5:43 PM on July 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
In England there’s a national certification for music students with a hierarchy of grades and lots of rules. In the late 80s I was in a community music school and private lessons and an RAF band as a trumpet player and knew of The Associated Board of Royal Music Schools. I think the grades went up to 8 in the “practical” and “theory” categories. In order to progress beyond Grade 5 in practical you had to pass Grade 5 in theory. I wasn’t interested in theory and passed my Grade 5 practical by playing a much simpler version of the standard Trumpet Voluntary than this one.
And every time you or I hear Tubthumping we can relive that moment together.
posted by bendy at 6:30 PM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
And every time you or I hear Tubthumping we can relive that moment together.
posted by bendy at 6:30 PM on July 10, 2023 [7 favorites]
And every time you or I hear Tubthumping we can relive that moment together.
Mind. Blown.
posted by EllaEm at 8:38 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Mind. Blown.
posted by EllaEm at 8:38 PM on July 10, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ha! Apparently I've never listened all the way through. Until now.
posted by mpark at 10:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by mpark at 10:41 PM on July 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Mid-July and I made soup because it's raining again and rather chilly. Also, I had the remains of a rotisserie chicken. I want summer, with sunshine and swimming. Staying in and making soup is not summer. The tomato plants are doing pretty well, given the meager amount of sun, the nasturtiums are not. Peony and poppy flowers were washed out. The mozzies are plentiful. I need sun or at least not rain to clean out the older car and move in to the slightly newer car. And I want to go camping in the newer Prius, but not in the rain. There's been some flooding, nothing severe near me, and we aren't getting wildfire smoke or blistering heat, but summer is already so short.
It's sunny this morning; soaking wet outside, but at least there's sun. Now it's all green and bright outside, to be enjoyed while it lasts.
posted by theora55 at 7:40 AM on July 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
It's sunny this morning; soaking wet outside, but at least there's sun. Now it's all green and bright outside, to be enjoyed while it lasts.
posted by theora55 at 7:40 AM on July 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Christmas in July?
How about Total Solar Eclipse in 2024?
We got to start organizing our meet up calendars for that:
Dallas, Texas,
Idabel, Oklahoma,
Little Rock, Arkansas,
Poplar Bluff, Missouri,
Paducah, Kentucky,
Evansville, Indiana,
Cleveland, Ohio,
Erie, Pennsylvania,
Buffalo, New York,
Burlington, Vermont
Lancaster, New Hampshire,
Caribou, Maine,
New Brunswick, CAN
and
Newfoundland, CAN members, among others, we're looking at you!
posted by y2karl at 9:05 AM on July 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
How about Total Solar Eclipse in 2024?
We got to start organizing our meet up calendars for that:
Dallas, Texas,
Idabel, Oklahoma,
Little Rock, Arkansas,
Poplar Bluff, Missouri,
Paducah, Kentucky,
Evansville, Indiana,
Cleveland, Ohio,
Erie, Pennsylvania,
Buffalo, New York,
Burlington, Vermont
Lancaster, New Hampshire,
Caribou, Maine,
New Brunswick, CAN
and
Newfoundland, CAN members, among others, we're looking at you!
posted by y2karl at 9:05 AM on July 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
Here in Buffamalo I'm already looking forward to the bright spot in the solid overcast getting real dark for a bit!
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:09 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:09 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
As a Seattle member, I am quite familiar with the concept.
posted by y2karl at 9:17 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 9:17 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I kind of hope for rain now and again because that means I don't have to water my garden plot. Although I think I've just finished off the last of the peas....I got a couple decent batches of both snap and snow peas out of my plot, all of them a gorgeous purple. I also harvested a bunch of purple string beans this weekend and am trying to figure out what to do with them.
...Yesterday I emailed the lease people at my building's management company to alert them to the rent bill being an undercharge. They have so far said nothing. My roommate and I discussed what to do if they undercharged us again, and we're having a small disagreement: my big fear is that this is a computer error that they'll catch in a few months and then slam us with a lump sum "additional charge" for the difference, so I wanted to start saving a bit extra aside as insurance in case they did that. My roommate, though, isn't quite as able to afford doing that - and his attitude is "look, it's their fuckup, and the least they can do is to work WITH us if that happens." I think we're going to split the difference - I'll save my own share since I can, and he won't; and my savings would actually help them TO be willing to work with us if they do slap us with a lump sum "correction" or whatever.
And even though the guy I was crushing on said he met someone else, I still am down to hang as an activity pal and reached out to him about gathering a crowd for a free screening of RRR next week. He answered almost IMMEDIATELY. So either he really was also seeing ME as more of an activity pal and got my vibe and was trying to ghost me, or things went south with the other lady, or whatever. ....I dunno, I don't care, it'll be what it is and I'll be with a big crowd of diverse people watching RRR and that's all that matters.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:38 AM on July 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
...Yesterday I emailed the lease people at my building's management company to alert them to the rent bill being an undercharge. They have so far said nothing. My roommate and I discussed what to do if they undercharged us again, and we're having a small disagreement: my big fear is that this is a computer error that they'll catch in a few months and then slam us with a lump sum "additional charge" for the difference, so I wanted to start saving a bit extra aside as insurance in case they did that. My roommate, though, isn't quite as able to afford doing that - and his attitude is "look, it's their fuckup, and the least they can do is to work WITH us if that happens." I think we're going to split the difference - I'll save my own share since I can, and he won't; and my savings would actually help them TO be willing to work with us if they do slap us with a lump sum "correction" or whatever.
And even though the guy I was crushing on said he met someone else, I still am down to hang as an activity pal and reached out to him about gathering a crowd for a free screening of RRR next week. He answered almost IMMEDIATELY. So either he really was also seeing ME as more of an activity pal and got my vibe and was trying to ghost me, or things went south with the other lady, or whatever. ....I dunno, I don't care, it'll be what it is and I'll be with a big crowd of diverse people watching RRR and that's all that matters.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:38 AM on July 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
How about Total Solar Eclipse in 2024?
I was planning on being in Rochester and taking in the Strong Museum on the weekend, but I have some friends who might go to Burlington instead, so ... maybe I'll wind up there. Either way I am pretty committed to taking the kid out of school on Monday and probably also Tuesday. It's an educational experience! And also very near my birthday, conveniently.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:00 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I was planning on being in Rochester and taking in the Strong Museum on the weekend, but I have some friends who might go to Burlington instead, so ... maybe I'll wind up there. Either way I am pretty committed to taking the kid out of school on Monday and probably also Tuesday. It's an educational experience! And also very near my birthday, conveniently.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:00 AM on July 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I also garden in containers in our courtyards and at this time of year that is a climax garden indeed.
posted by y2karl at 4:20 PM on July 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by y2karl at 4:20 PM on July 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ooooooh, a new and proper Godzilla film before the end of the year. I'll happily take that.
posted by Wordshore at 11:20 PM on July 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordshore at 11:20 PM on July 11, 2023 [1 favorite]
For the old computer nerds.... Ben Eater put the original Apple I ROM monitor on his breadboard 6502 computer: Running Apple 1 software on a breadboard computer (Wozmon) - YouTube. He then put out another video dissecting the 248 bytes of code: How Wozniak’s code for the Apple 1 works - YouTube. Be prepared for wizardry.
The Apple ROM monitor didn't change much with the Apple II or II+, it was the Franklin clones that had a cool assembler/disassembler in the ROM. I only did a little bit of work in the Apple ROM monitor, it was sorta a PITA.
Still, in 1987 at university there was a guy down the hall from me who was writing a TRON lightcycle game using only the Apple ROM monitor. He was pretty weird, he also copied every movie he rented and had milkcrates full of VHS tapes of everything, the floors secret movie rental store.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:18 AM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
The Apple ROM monitor didn't change much with the Apple II or II+, it was the Franklin clones that had a cool assembler/disassembler in the ROM. I only did a little bit of work in the Apple ROM monitor, it was sorta a PITA.
Still, in 1987 at university there was a guy down the hall from me who was writing a TRON lightcycle game using only the Apple ROM monitor. He was pretty weird, he also copied every movie he rented and had milkcrates full of VHS tapes of everything, the floors secret movie rental store.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:18 AM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
I haven't read the NYT article on Geller, because I haven't found a non-paywalled version and (if this article is any indication) it's not worth paying for. I did find this review of the article, which points out that a) James Randi exposed Geller for the fraud that he is decades ago, b) he's hurt people by lying to them, and c) that his "victory" is simply that he outlived Randi and no one else has taken up the cause of reminding people that Geller is a fraud and a charlatan.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:21 AM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:21 AM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Growing up, and well into my adult life, I never liked Randi much, because "I want to believe". But no one ever claimed his challenge, so I have gained more respect for him.
And still think there is something in Loch Ness.
But Geller was so just obviously bogus. A Magician...
Have you seen any Magicians? Their tricks will fuck you up. Watch Magic for Humans, or Penn & Teller, or Doug Henning, or just any of the other Magicians that are out there now. They are just amazingly good.
posted by Windopaene at 9:39 AM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
And still think there is something in Loch Ness.
But Geller was so just obviously bogus. A Magician...
Have you seen any Magicians? Their tricks will fuck you up. Watch Magic for Humans, or Penn & Teller, or Doug Henning, or just any of the other Magicians that are out there now. They are just amazingly good.
posted by Windopaene at 9:39 AM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
I haven't read the NYT article on Geller, because I haven't found a non-paywalled version
Halloween Jack: Geller article ungated. It’s pointless but there it is.
posted by bendy at 10:29 AM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
Halloween Jack: Geller article ungated. It’s pointless but there it is.
posted by bendy at 10:29 AM on July 12, 2023 [2 favorites]
hippybear, that’s awful
posted by bendy at 11:09 AM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by bendy at 11:09 AM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
And still think there is something in Loch Ness.
Oh, there definitely is.
it's called water
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:43 AM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh, there definitely is.
it's called water
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:43 AM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
I am not even zero surprised to hear that about the strike.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:16 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:16 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
And still think there is something in Loch Ness.
Oh, there definitely is.
it's called water
Surely there's a fish or two* in there as well.
*that haven't been eaten yet by Nessie
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Oh, there definitely is.
it's called water
Surely there's a fish or two* in there as well.
*that haven't been eaten yet by Nessie
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
One of our dogs is named Nessie.
She is not a monster. Our younger dog, Mab, queen of the fairies is.
We need to reconsider our naming choices perhaps...
posted by Windopaene at 4:11 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
She is not a monster. Our younger dog, Mab, queen of the fairies is.
We need to reconsider our naming choices perhaps...
posted by Windopaene at 4:11 PM on July 12, 2023 [4 favorites]
No it has not been...
She is the least well behaved dog I have ever been involved with.
But she is happy, and jumpy, and very soft, so...
posted by Windopaene at 6:51 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
She is the least well behaved dog I have ever been involved with.
But she is happy, and jumpy, and very soft, so...
posted by Windopaene at 6:51 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was originally going to have company this weekend, a friend of a friend who needed a place to temporarily decompress from the to-do of a wedding they were attending nearby. Thus I'd been feverishly catching up on long-overdue housekeeping in the public parts of my apartment. Then Thursday evening they let me know their plans had changed and they wouldn't be attending the wedding at all. Which is fine, I barely knew the person and was only doing it as a favor to my friend.
The point is, because of that threat of in-home entertaining I managed to complete a significant chunk of cleaning up, which lets me contemplate doing what's needed to finish the job in a less despairing frame of mind (and at a less frenzied pace). Then I'll see what energy I have left do the same for the less-public bits that are still In A State since I may have other company coming later this year who will need to use my spare room, which is currently...well, just awful.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:45 PM on July 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
The point is, because of that threat of in-home entertaining I managed to complete a significant chunk of cleaning up, which lets me contemplate doing what's needed to finish the job in a less despairing frame of mind (and at a less frenzied pace). Then I'll see what energy I have left do the same for the less-public bits that are still In A State since I may have other company coming later this year who will need to use my spare room, which is currently...well, just awful.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:45 PM on July 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Yes indeed. Or maybe I'll toss the spare mattress and turn it into my exercise space, which would let me remove the giant hulking dreadmill from the middle of my living room...
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:25 PM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:25 PM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been using it regularly. But I hate it, which tells me the infernal thing is doing me some good. >:(
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:31 PM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:31 PM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Fear (in this case, of decrepitude) is a great motivator.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:04 PM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:04 PM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have a happy story for this thread. Yesterday I was walking around the building while on break and found a kitten! After briefly trying to approach the kitten (s/he wasn't super thrilled), I went back inside, told all coworkers in the building (6) and then my boss decided she was going to rescue the kitten from the heat. So five of us went out there with a water dish and a blanket and spent like 20 minutes chasing the kitten through the bushes. I note that my boss had on a pretty casual shorts/shirt outfit but heels, and she gamely poked through the bushes in that. Very dirty bushes. However, the kitten managed to outwit all five of us and hide in some very thick bushes, so we gave up.
However, kitten was still mewing outside when boss decided to leave. She got the idea to hit Petco, and soon enough, she'd acquired a new kitty that way. S/he's been bathed/de-flea'd and she showed us adorable pics today. So yay rescue kitten!!!
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:09 PM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
However, kitten was still mewing outside when boss decided to leave. She got the idea to hit Petco, and soon enough, she'd acquired a new kitty that way. S/he's been bathed/de-flea'd and she showed us adorable pics today. So yay rescue kitten!!!
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:09 PM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sorry to tell you Greg_Ace, but decrepitude is coming. So FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!
But yeah, move it out of the living room. That's just... Awkward
posted by Windopaene at 10:17 PM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
But yeah, move it out of the living room. That's just... Awkward
posted by Windopaene at 10:17 PM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
I keep my dreadmill in my spare room/guest room/junk room during the summer half-year (as we say in Sweden), where I ignore it, then drag it back into the living room during the dark and gloomy months. Congrats to Greg_Ace and others who have cleaned however it happened. My place is squalor central. I'm not proud of it, quite the contrary. Luckily, my younger sister is coming to visit in 3 weeks so things will be outwardly tidy, however briefly, during her visit.
posted by Bella Donna at 2:37 AM on July 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Bella Donna at 2:37 AM on July 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Thursday I had to walk to a doctor’s appointment. It’s about twelve miles round trip. It was hot and there’s no shade along the path so I dressed light and put on sunscreen. When I got home I had a pretty good sunburn and figured I had sweat enough for the sunscreen to come off.
Today I have a follow up appointment and I’m currently getting ready when I noticed something.
This is not this.
Yep I used shave cream instead of sunscreen. Just saw the orange tube and didn’t read it. At least today I can use sunscreen and hopefully my burn won’t get worse.
posted by Tenuki at 12:47 PM on July 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Today I have a follow up appointment and I’m currently getting ready when I noticed something.
This is not this.
Yep I used shave cream instead of sunscreen. Just saw the orange tube and didn’t read it. At least today I can use sunscreen and hopefully my burn won’t get worse.
posted by Tenuki at 12:47 PM on July 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Went out on a ramble today in a Brooklyn neighborhood near me...at one point I stopped into an old-school ice cream fountain, and asked for a simple sundae - one scoop of the ice cream of my choice, with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry. I asked for mint chip and took my seat.
However, when they brought it to me, I took a couple bites and...it was regular chocolate chip. Oh well, I thought, taking a couple more bites, I guess it's okay, it's not that big a deal...but after a minute I decided that yes, I would indeed speak up. I flagged down the waitress and said I'd actually asked for mint chip, were they out of it?
"oh gosh, sorry," she said. "I'll make that again for you." And five minutes later she was back, with another sundae. I tasted it, and it was mint chip this time.
Then the waitress pointed at the chocolate chip dish and said, "So, the thing is we can't take this back....so, do you want us to pack it up to go? Or...?"
"Oh. Oh....uh...you know, I guess I'll eat them both right away then. Wow, thanks!" Yay, free ice cream!
....And now it's two hours later and my stomach is saying dude, why did you eat two sundaes......
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:05 PM on July 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
However, when they brought it to me, I took a couple bites and...it was regular chocolate chip. Oh well, I thought, taking a couple more bites, I guess it's okay, it's not that big a deal...but after a minute I decided that yes, I would indeed speak up. I flagged down the waitress and said I'd actually asked for mint chip, were they out of it?
"oh gosh, sorry," she said. "I'll make that again for you." And five minutes later she was back, with another sundae. I tasted it, and it was mint chip this time.
Then the waitress pointed at the chocolate chip dish and said, "So, the thing is we can't take this back....so, do you want us to pack it up to go? Or...?"
"Oh. Oh....uh...you know, I guess I'll eat them both right away then. Wow, thanks!" Yay, free ice cream!
....And now it's two hours later and my stomach is saying dude, why did you eat two sundaes......
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:05 PM on July 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sorry to tell you Greg_Ace, but decrepitude is coming.
Oh, you don't have to tell me. But the longer I can stave it off/move it closer to the day of my death, the happier I'll be.
But yeah, move it out of the living room. That's just... Awkward
Meh - I'm an old fart who lives alone; "awkward" isn't so much of a factor. Try embarrassing me some other way.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on July 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, you don't have to tell me. But the longer I can stave it off/move it closer to the day of my death, the happier I'll be.
But yeah, move it out of the living room. That's just... Awkward
Meh - I'm an old fart who lives alone; "awkward" isn't so much of a factor. Try embarrassing me some other way.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:31 PM on July 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Try embarrassing me some other way.
Just in case, I suppose I should mention that I took Windopaene's comment in good humor.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:42 PM on July 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just in case, I suppose I should mention that I took Windopaene's comment in good humor.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:42 PM on July 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
Good morning!
It's going to be raining on and off all day today, so I only have "life maintenance" stuff planned - cleaning, laundry, and suchlike.
One of the things on the docket is a lengthy stint in the kitchen. The CSA haul came yesterday, and we are in All Zucchini All The Time season; I got a zucchini and two summer squash yesterday, and already had a two zucchini and a summer squash at home. And about two pounds of cucumbers. And a pound of snow peas. And....
Fortunately I also have a whole lot of recipes that use exactly those things; I usually wait to do my grocery planning until I've gotten the CSA stuff, and then I do some meal planning and pick things that use up the most in one go. It keeps the fridge from getting overstuffed, and it keeps my grocery bills low; this week the grocery bill was under $15 and was only six items. ...But by the end of the day I should have a couple of salads pre-made for me to pull bag lunches from, as well as the makings of a week of "throw it together" dinners. And - I will also have a quart of blueberry frozen yogurt in the freezer; my roommate's long-distance lady is visiting us and is a frozen yogurt fan, and the absolute glut of blueberries I got from the CSA will all be going into that. I may even start that when I hear them wake up downstairs, and then get a zucchini and corn frittata going as a sort of brunch option for the house (they may just go out for a bagel, in which case it's all for me, yay).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's going to be raining on and off all day today, so I only have "life maintenance" stuff planned - cleaning, laundry, and suchlike.
One of the things on the docket is a lengthy stint in the kitchen. The CSA haul came yesterday, and we are in All Zucchini All The Time season; I got a zucchini and two summer squash yesterday, and already had a two zucchini and a summer squash at home. And about two pounds of cucumbers. And a pound of snow peas. And....
Fortunately I also have a whole lot of recipes that use exactly those things; I usually wait to do my grocery planning until I've gotten the CSA stuff, and then I do some meal planning and pick things that use up the most in one go. It keeps the fridge from getting overstuffed, and it keeps my grocery bills low; this week the grocery bill was under $15 and was only six items. ...But by the end of the day I should have a couple of salads pre-made for me to pull bag lunches from, as well as the makings of a week of "throw it together" dinners. And - I will also have a quart of blueberry frozen yogurt in the freezer; my roommate's long-distance lady is visiting us and is a frozen yogurt fan, and the absolute glut of blueberries I got from the CSA will all be going into that. I may even start that when I hear them wake up downstairs, and then get a zucchini and corn frittata going as a sort of brunch option for the house (they may just go out for a bagel, in which case it's all for me, yay).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:46 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Handy home-maker tip. If your tea/coffee mugs are still stained after coming out of the dishwasher, next time toss a capful of bleach in as pre-wash instead of whatever you're using now. Magic!
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:22 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:22 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Y'all. Y'ALL.
You want to make this. It's a sort of crustless-quiche vibe, but without milk; just four eggs, 3 kinds of summer veg (zucchini, corn and mushrooms) and cheese.
The recipe as written calls for you to bake it in a pie pan, but I used an 8x8 square pan and it fit perfectly, as well as being way easier to cut up for leftover storage. I had exactly enough partially-used baggies of shredded cheese to make up what I needed; so there's a mix of Swiss, Gouda, and "six-cheese Italian blend", and it all works. It also used up a zucchini in my fridge that was the size of Delaware; I just used a cup of frozen corn instead of trying to strip two cobs, but when I start getting sweet corn in the CSA I'll definitely be revisiting this. The hardest part was chopping the onion (I have a mandoline and sliced the zucchini that way). You could also probably play with the different vegetables.
It's perfect for a late home brunchy thing, and will also be perfect for brown-bag fodder for my lunches this week.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:44 AM on July 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
You want to make this. It's a sort of crustless-quiche vibe, but without milk; just four eggs, 3 kinds of summer veg (zucchini, corn and mushrooms) and cheese.
The recipe as written calls for you to bake it in a pie pan, but I used an 8x8 square pan and it fit perfectly, as well as being way easier to cut up for leftover storage. I had exactly enough partially-used baggies of shredded cheese to make up what I needed; so there's a mix of Swiss, Gouda, and "six-cheese Italian blend", and it all works. It also used up a zucchini in my fridge that was the size of Delaware; I just used a cup of frozen corn instead of trying to strip two cobs, but when I start getting sweet corn in the CSA I'll definitely be revisiting this. The hardest part was chopping the onion (I have a mandoline and sliced the zucchini that way). You could also probably play with the different vegetables.
It's perfect for a late home brunchy thing, and will also be perfect for brown-bag fodder for my lunches this week.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:44 AM on July 16, 2023 [4 favorites]
a lengthy stint in the kitchen
And if you've ever had a stint in your kitchen, you know how painful that can be!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:02 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
And if you've ever had a stint in your kitchen, you know how painful that can be!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:02 AM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Empress, that looks delicious. Maybe I should try and make it tomorrow for a picnic basket. We are not going on a delightful expedition into the woods, but on a long drive across the country, and I always get ill from the food on the ferry. AND, I have all the ingredients and need to use them up for the picnic so they don't go bad while we are away.
The only challenge is that I'll have to get up early, but I'm really tired now, so maybe I can go to bed soon.
Apart from the long drive in (not normal) tropical climate, I look forward to a holiday with both my kids, their spouses and the grandkids. It is usually so hard to coordinate, but we are doing it, and we have near no plans, other than spending time together and eating well.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 PM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
The only challenge is that I'll have to get up early, but I'm really tired now, so maybe I can go to bed soon.
Apart from the long drive in (not normal) tropical climate, I look forward to a holiday with both my kids, their spouses and the grandkids. It is usually so hard to coordinate, but we are doing it, and we have near no plans, other than spending time together and eating well.
posted by mumimor at 12:16 PM on July 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Now on the ferry, I made the pie as a frittata instead, and it is delicious, but the seating is so chaotic, we have sort of given up on eating a proper meal. It'll be an easy supper instead. Thanks for the tip!
posted by mumimor at 4:49 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 4:49 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by Jacqueline at 7:36 AM on July 10, 2023 [11 favorites]