Random randomness

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 8:49 pm

Oh, I know they do, and they usually offer (including at the D&D games), but I usually say no just so that there is no perception that I expect it of them.

Oh, and I've been out that way. I lived in that area for about eight months in '90.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:22 pm

I have been in the provider role and TheMix describes exactly what I felt too. If it wasn't worthwhile to me, I wouldn't ask. If I do feel like you're expecting (or worse, suggesting we do something you can't ever pay), I will stop asking.

If the other person initiates and you say "I really shouldn't" and they offer again, feel free to accept.

Besides, they might appreciate and see the value not only in your company but creating a fun space away from home. Or having something to do that's acceptable to their spouses. You are also likely better at painting than your friends or a million other little things. It doesn't take money to balance the scales.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:24 pm

For example, sexual favours have been a time honoured way of balancing the scales.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:26 pm

GreenGoo wrote:For example, sexual favours have been a time honoured way of balancing the scales.

certain individuals get cranky when I make jokes that I'd tell them if I wanted sexual returns on investment.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:58 pm

I'm a walking inconsistency, probably because I don't just don't have the social gene or something. When I could recuperate from drinking, a $50 round could happen several times with people "conveniently going to the bathroom when it was their round" or so the joke went and it wadn't nothing but a thing. It was just letting the night go and having a good time. And gift giving when you know it's appreciated on the other end selfishly feels good but for getting things, it makes me feel indebted and squrimy uncomfortable. Logically, I know it actually deprives the other guy of the pleasure of doing something nice just because and enjoying whatever it is we are doing of I am receiving but emotionally it makes me I feel like to get away and hold myself rocking in the corner by myself somewhere. My spidey sense tingles only my spidey sense is the exact opposite of hyper focus and awareness. It's a world in chaos and panic.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Jan 31, 2017 12:44 am

GreenGoo wrote:For example, sexual favours have been a time honoured way of balancing the scales.

The most frequent culprit is gay, but I'm not. Besides, he's a bottom so I couldn't really fake it...

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:25 pm

I just gave myself a crash course in the difference between River Song and River Tam.

Archaeology "What I do" memes... funny, but can't find a perfect one.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:13 pm

Zarathud wrote:I have been in the provider role and TheMix describes exactly what I felt too. If it wasn't worthwhile to me, I wouldn't ask. If I do feel like you're expecting (or worse, suggesting we do something you can't ever pay), I will stop asking.

If the other person initiates and you say "I really shouldn't" and they offer again, feel free to accept.

Besides, they might appreciate and see the value not only in your company but creating a fun space away from home. Or having something to do that's acceptable to their spouses. You are also likely better at painting than your friends or a million other little things. It doesn't take money to balance the scales.

The thing to remember is that, unless you're all at the same level of economic need, buying the drink (or the dinner or the concert tickets) *costs* much less to the wealthy party than to the poorer one.

One of my high school pals is a hugely successful lawyer. When our 20th reunion came around, he called me up and explained that he wanted me there and knew I couldn't afford the expense of travel and lodging, so he would pay for it. He flew me down (I lived 800 miles away) and paid all my expenses for the weekend, and we had an exquisite time.

Obviously this was an economically imbalanced situation, except he made it clear from the beginning that that was not an issue. And it really wasn't--what he spent on me was a day's income, and it repaid him in the feeling of generosity and making something happen. We had a decade's worth of fun, and I wasn't mooching because it was his invitation.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jan 31, 2017 10:20 pm

Holman wrote:
One of my high school pals is a hugely successful lawyer. When our 20th reunion came around, he called me up and explained that he wanted me there and knew I couldn't afford the expense of travel and lodging, so he would pay for it. He flew me down (I lived 800 miles away) and paid all my expenses for the weekend, and we had an exquisite time.

Obviously this was an economically imbalanced situation, except he made it clear from the beginning that that was not an issue. And it really wasn't--what he spent on me was a day's income, and it repaid him in the feeling of generosity and making something happen. We had a decade's worth of fun, and I wasn't mooching because it was his invitation.

I went out for beers and bar food with a lawyer friend of mine who was taking a year off work because he needed to make less money so he could screw over his ex-wife. Something about her getting a percentage of his income or something, I didn't understand the high finance details. He makes something on the order of a quarter million bucks a year.

I made $7,000 last year. I was kind of hoping he'd offer to pick up the check, but nope, we split it down the middle. (sigh) I chose to think that he sees us as equals.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:22 pm

Kraken wrote:
Holman wrote:
One of my high school pals is a hugely successful lawyer. When our 20th reunion came around, he called me up and explained that he wanted me there and knew I couldn't afford the expense of travel and lodging, so he would pay for it. He flew me down (I lived 800 miles away) and paid all my expenses for the weekend, and we had an exquisite time.

Obviously this was an economically imbalanced situation, except he made it clear from the beginning that that was not an issue. And it really wasn't--what he spent on me was a day's income, and it repaid him in the feeling of generosity and making something happen. We had a decade's worth of fun, and I wasn't mooching because it was his invitation.
I went out for beers and bar food with a lawyer friend of mine who was taking a year off work because he needed to make less money so he could screw over his ex-wife. Something about her getting a percentage of his income or something, I didn't understand the high finance details. He makes something on the order of a quarter million bucks a year.

I made $7,000 last year. I was kind of hoping he'd offer to pick up the check, but nope, we split it down the middle. (sigh) I chose to think that he sees us as equals.

Alas, you overlooked the fact that he's a lawyer.

As Steven Wright aptly put it: 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:57 pm

I wonder if I should continue my prescriptions? I don't feel any different whether I do or not and they haven't extended my life so far...............

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:27 pm

dbt1949 wrote: they haven't extended my life so far...............

How do you know?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Feb 01, 2017 11:53 pm

Worst case scenario if you continue to take them: you die at the same time with less money in your estate.

Worst case scenario if you stop taking them: they were working and you die sooner, possibly in a more unpleasant manner.

Your call.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 10:05 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Worst case scenario if you continue to take them: you die at the same time with less money in your estate.

Worst case scenario if you stop taking them: they were working and you die sooner, possibly in a more unpleasant manner.

Your call.

It depends largely on how much he's enjoying his old age with his wife.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 10:55 am

Which is why it's his call.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:01 am

But we enjoy his wit - don't we get a vote?!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:16 am

Set up a poll for a non-binding referendum.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 11:18 am

stessier wrote:But we enjoy his wit - don't we get a vote?!

We can set up a script to post emoji responses from his account.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 4:05 pm

Blackhawk wrote:I went in for a routine follow-up with my oncologist today. Still no signs of the cancer. He did schedule me for some other tests for tomorrow, though, that make me nervous as hell, despite the fact that they're completely routine tests and not triggered by any signs or symptoms.

The first is a chest x-ray to check for cancer due to all of the radiation I received, which seriously ups my chances of getting a different cancer in the future. Since both of my parents died from lung cancer, this scares the crap out of me.

The second is a blood test for lipids and blood sugar. Perfectly routine at my age. I eat fairly well. I avoid red meat most of the time, I don't fry many foods, I don't add salt to anything, I eat a fair amount of fruits and vegetables, I don't eat much sugar (no soft drinks at all), and I pay attention to fiber intake. My blood pressure and heart rate have always been excellent. That said, I'm also seriously overweight and, being stuck in the house, pretty sedentary. (And then there's a 10-15% chance that my thyroid is just going to quit due to the radiation.)

I've made a real effort over the last couple of years to be healthier, but I'm always worried that I started too late, and unknown problems have already taken root. On the one hand, I'm really glad I'm getting the tests to ensure that there aren't any problems. On the other, though, I'm worried as hell that they'll find something.

The blood sugar test didn't happen, as my insurance refused it. The rest did. Chest x-rays are clear. My thyroid is fine. The only problem is that my cholesterol is a little high. HDL was OK (I don't have an number yet, as I'm still waiting for the paperwork), LDL 152, total 211. It isn't in the 'oh shit' range, but it is in the 'cut it out, dumbass' range.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:10 pm

From the Probably-Not-Actually-Ironic file:

A former Royal Canadian Mint employee has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing gold coins by concealing them in his rectum.

Leston Lawrence stole $127,116 (CA$165,451; £100,000) of gold in 22 cookie-sized pieces.

The 35-year-old, who was found guilty last November, was caught after he had successfully sold 17 of the gold pieces through Ottawa Gold Buyers.

Ontario Court Judge Peter Doody ordered Lawrence to pay a $145,900 fine.

I'd like to think the Judge Doody gets all the butt-related cases dumped on him.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:39 am

Is there some way to turn down CNNs giant pictures and headlines the number of videos running all at once?

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 1:40 am

i use the NoScript extension to block all the garbage from everyone

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:14 am

Ha ha! That was funny. After installing that now the only thing that shows up on CNN is the black bottom of the page!

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:26 pm

I've been working here for 7 months now and just realized that the employee restroom at one of the sites has a full body mirror positioned perfectly to watch yourself urinate from the side. I tend to watch what I'm doing to avoid making a mess, but found it very weird to happen to glance over and see myself standing in front of the toilet while I was doing my business. Who in the hell thought that was a good idea?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 12:28 pm

Where else are they going to hide the camera?

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 1:20 pm

They need to make it one of those carnival fun mirrors.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 5:40 pm

dbt1949 wrote:Ha ha! That was funny. After installing that now the only thing that shows up on CNN is the black bottom of the page!

you'll need to whitelist various domains (with the little S with a slash icon), starting with CNN.com. then start whitelisting various 'cloud' platforms until the site works properly again, but leave the advertising and tracking sites blocked.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 7:50 pm

hitbyambulance wrote:
dbt1949 wrote:Ha ha! That was funny. After installing that now the only thing that shows up on CNN is the black bottom of the page!
you'll need to whitelist various domains (with the little S with a slash icon), starting with CNN.com. then start whitelisting various 'cloud' platforms until the site works properly again, but leave the advertising and tracking sites blocked.

If you are going to main stream sites like CNN you are going to throw up when you see just how many different domains are presenting content. Trying to figure out which is acceptable and which isn't is a major chore.

That said, it works great for smaller sites.

A hint to get you started: anything marked CDN is a content delivery network. These are what normally provide any video that's on the site. If you allow CNN and still can't watch the video, try looking for something with both cnn and cdn in the name and allow that.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:22 am

All these new movies on the horizon and beyond. I wonder how many I'll live to see. Some are projected 7 years from now.
I'd hate to miss another X-men in a new and totally different universe movie.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:34 am

I haven't been to a concert since 1986 or 1987 and saw RATT. But both Alice Cooper and Bon Jovi will be near'ish me soon and I almost talked the wife into them until I saw ticket prices. UGH my God.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:08 am

Daehawk wrote:I haven't been to a concert since 1986 or 1987 and saw RATT.

Did Poison open?

If so, I saw that show TWICE in a ROW in the span of six weeks. I was a dopey kid...

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:40 am

I think they might have been the usual opening but for us we got Queensrÿche.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:18 pm

Man Id like to have this as a print. For some reason its missing R2 though and I cant abide that.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 5:30 pm

OO institutional memory question: what was The Battle of Fucktard Ridge?

I've seen the reference many times, but I believe I missed the events at the time. A search brings up a long thread that's probably fun to revisit but doesn't offer an obvious precis.

So what was the BoFR, and what were the stakes?

Did anyone win?

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:08 pm

Hell's Taco did a visual re-enactment of the events that led to this:

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... =5&t=19707

Sadly the re-enactment is lost

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... =5&t=19797

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:33 pm

...

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 8:45 pm

It's been so long I don't remember most of those people. I think half of them were either banned or moved on to whatever the name of the alt-00 site was.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Feb 04, 2017 9:29 pm

Just to irritate ILB:

reddit thread

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 12:19 am

LordMortis wrote:Sadly the re-enactment is lost

http://octopusoverlords.com/forum/viewt ... =5&t=19797

HT's re-enactment would have been the only thing making reliving those times worth it.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Feb 05, 2017 3:10 pm

Was bored so looked up that RATT concert. Jan 28 1987. I rode down with one group of friends and got a ride back with another somehow. It was really snowing and I had partaken of a weed at the event. Coming home was like warp speed. I have never forgotten that snow / warp effect. Too cool.

I need to find my shirt now from that show.