Random randomness

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jun 15, 2017 12:15 pm

Speaking of Predator, one of the helicopter crew members at the end is the actor that was inside the Predator suit - Kevin Peter Hall - the guy that replaced Jean-Claude Van Damme.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:27 am

If I has any talent at all and could combine it with any sort of independent motivation to do something I would write an allegory about high availability electronic communication work environments and how it is draining the life out of us in parasitic or perhaps vampiric fashion.

The best thing about vacations and weekends. No IM, no texting, no email. I often go so far as to say no Internet. I'm on the edge of losing that.

How cool would it be to have a job where you just sort of work on projects and if someone wanted to interrupt your work, they would have to make the effort to physically come over to disturb you?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 4:48 pm

BBC

A US woman is suing a casino that told her the slot machine displaying a $43m (£34m) jackpot was faulty and offered a steak dinner instead, reports say.

Katrina Bookman took a selfie showing the machine saying "printing cash ticket $42,949,672.76" at the Resorts World Casino in New York last August.

But she was escorted out and was told the next day she could have only $2.25 (£1.76).

Something seems a bit off.

Spoiler:

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:11 pm

I don't know about New York, but in Nevada a win isn't a win until it is verified. This happened from time to time. A free steak dinner is about what we would have offered, too.

I also remember someone winning Megabucks (the largest progressive jackpot at the time I was out there.) Surveillance showed that their kid had come over to get some money for the arcade, and they had let the kid pull the handle on the winning spin. Win voided. Huge jackpots are checked very, very closely.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:07 pm

The machine has a user agreement that you agree to when you play and can be viewed at any time. The max payout on that machine is $6k.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:35 pm

It's good to own the legislature.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 10:22 pm

So we just had a tornado roll through here and we were watching the live radar feed and they zoomed in on the "hardest hit" area and I said, "oh shit, that's right on top of Doug's house."

So I called my friend and sure enough, the tornado pretty much destroyed most of his home. Thankfully, everybody is OK with the only injury being one of his kids getting scratched up a bit when their kitchen window exploded.

This was a brand new construction home that they just moved into last month. Fortunately, since they didn't sell their previous house yet, he and his family can move back into that home while his new one gets rebuilt.

Worst thing that happened in our neighborhood was the power flickering a couple of times. So we got pretty lucky. Reports are that there are 60,000+ homes without power right now.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:22 pm

LordMortis wrote:If I has any talent at all and could combine it with any sort of independent motivation to do something I would write an allegory about high availability electronic communication work environments and how it is draining the life out of us in parasitic or perhaps vampiric fashion.

The best thing about vacations and weekends. No IM, no texting, no email. I often go so far as to say no Internet. I'm on the edge of losing that.

How cool would it be to have a job where you just sort of work on projects and if someone wanted to interrupt your work, they would have to make the effort to physically come over to disturb you?

I dunno. At least for me, I love connected work. Instead of being chained to a desk for 8 hours or more, I now have the freedom to do my work how I see fit. I can work on a project at home for three hours in the morning, go into the office for awhile for meetings, take my kid to taekwondo and work from my laptop or take a customer call on my cell during my commute. I can't imagine going back to a traditional 8-5 job.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:27 pm

Brian wrote:So we just had a tornado roll through here and we were watching the live radar feed and they zoomed in on the "hardest hit" area and I said, "oh shit, that's right on top of Doug's house."

So I called my friend and sure enough, the tornado pretty much destroyed most of his home. Thankfully, everybody is OK with the only injury being one of his kids getting scratched up a bit when their kitchen window exploded.

This was a brand new construction home that they just moved into last month. Fortunately, since they didn't sell their previous house yet, he and his family can move back into that home while his new one gets rebuilt.

Worst thing that happened in our neighborhood was the power flickering a couple of times. So we got pretty lucky. Reports are that there are 60,000+ homes without power right now.

Damn. Is that the Doug we just met last night?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:52 pm

Dammit!!!

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:37 am

Blackhawk wrote:
Damn. Is that the Doug we just met last night?

Indeed it is.

Update Edit: None of these are Doug's house but they are a block or so over from his so you can get an idea.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:01 am

hentzau wrote:Dammit!!!

Dammit because you missed out on the auction, or Dammit because of the price range?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:10 am

Max Peck wrote:
hentzau wrote:Dammit!!!

Dammit because you missed out on the auction, or Dammit because of the price range?

Dammit because of the price range. I'm probably going to still put in a bid, but I can't go much above the minimum bid. It would look great in my collection though! It's one of those things that if I don't get it now, I'll never see it again.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:45 am

Brian wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:
Damn. Is that the Doug we just met last night?
Indeed it is.

Update Edit: None of these are Doug's house but they are a block or so over from his so you can get an idea.

Wow. Really glad they are all okay. But that sucks big time.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:47 pm

Mmm-mmm-mmm... MRE Chocolate Pudding Dessert Powder never gets old. Literally!

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 7:20 pm

I love the way my Hefty garbage bags smell.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 7:23 pm

I just finished hosting a four-hour birthday party for eight 5th-graders, and now I long for the sweet release of death.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Sat Jun 17, 2017 11:43 pm

gbasden wrote:I dunno. At least for me, I love connected work. Instead of being chained to a desk for 8 hours or more, I now have the freedom to do my work how I see fit. I can work on a project at home for three hours in the morning, go into the office for awhile for meetings, take my kid to taekwondo and work from my laptop or take a customer call on my cell during my commute. I can't imagine going back to a traditional 8-5 job.

It's interesting, I used to work for a Telecom back in the day and they had an incredibly liberal flex policy. I had a USB headset that I kept with me, and whatever computer I plugged it into, all of my office calls got routed to that headset. I could work anywhere, on my own schedule. The result was working 10-12 hours a day. I started working when I got up (rather than starting when I got to work) and I stopped working when I would have gotten home (rather than when I would have left work). And I did extra work at night because I had a work thought and my work computer was 10 feet away.

At the time, I loved it and couldn't imagine going back to a rigid 9-5 schedule. Now that I've gone back to a rigid 8 hour day where I have to be at the office, I'm conflicted. It's certainly less flexible, but my work day doesn't begin until I sit down at my desk, and it ends the instant I walk out the door. Compartmentalizing work has its advantages too.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 10:50 am

Some moron last night this morning decided driving on the shoulder to bypass an accident is fun to try in 3:30 AM despite CHP order to stop, and got a bullet for his trouble. Now he's inconveniencing the rest of Bay Area by having the entire f***ing Bay Bridge blocked due to investigation. Good thing this is a Sunday. If this was a weekday there'd be pandemonium.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:28 am

So Alyssa Milano is broke.

She should have run off with me when she had the chance.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 11:59 am

RunningMn9 wrote: At the time, I loved it and couldn't imagine going back to a rigid 9-5 schedule. Now that I've gone back to a rigid 8 hour day where I have to be at the office, I'm conflicted. It's certainly less flexible, but my work day doesn't begin until I sit down at my desk, and it ends the instant I walk out the door. Compartmentalizing work has its advantages too.

Of course, working at home is exactly the opposite of that. You're never truly off unless your computer and your phone are off, and then you're worrying about what you're missing.

More and more companies are going to unlimited vacation days. For one thing, employees tend to take fewer days off if they don't have a defined number because they need to feel (or at least appear) indispensable...and because they still need to ask for their supervisor's OK. Mainly, though, the employer saves a lot of money by not paying separated employees for unused time off...at the same time that they get to pitch "unlimited vacation!" to prospective hires.

While I like being in control of my day-to-day schedule, sometimes I yearn for the olden days of defined work time and actual paid time off.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:12 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:
gbasden wrote:I dunno. At least for me, I love connected work. Instead of being chained to a desk for 8 hours or more, I now have the freedom to do my work how I see fit. I can work on a project at home for three hours in the morning, go into the office for awhile for meetings, take my kid to taekwondo and work from my laptop or take a customer call on my cell during my commute. I can't imagine going back to a traditional 8-5 job.
It's interesting, I used to work for a Telecom back in the day and they had an incredibly liberal flex policy. I had a USB headset that I kept with me, and whatever computer I plugged it into, all of my office calls got routed to that headset. I could work anywhere, on my own schedule. The result was working 10-12 hours a day. I started working when I got up (rather than starting when I got to work) and I stopped working when I would have gotten home (rather than when I would have left work). And I did extra work at night because I had a work thought and my work computer was 10 feet away.

At the time, I loved it and couldn't imagine going back to a rigid 9-5 schedule. Now that I've gone back to a rigid 8 hour day where I have to be at the office, I'm conflicted. It's certainly less flexible, but my work day doesn't begin until I sit down at my desk, and it ends the instant I walk out the door. Compartmentalizing work has its advantages too.

I can definitely see that. I haven't had the leisure of a job that stopped at 5, though, with the demands of after hours IT work. I used to be chained to a desk, then expected to stay late to perform maintenance or deal with a crashed server. If I could be guaranteed I'd never have to work more than a strict 8-5 and I could always leave work at work I might feel differently. With the responsibilities I have I'd rather have the flexibility to get my work done when it's convenient for me. I was able to get a couple hours of work done when I had insomnia last night which means I can sleep in tomorrow morning.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:31 pm

Sumtimez I iz not So smartz.

At Walmart Im looking at the PineSol stuff. About $4. I notice their brand is $1. Same size. Well hellz to the yaz. Come home and open it up. Smells wonderful . Very strong. Pour into water. Where'd it go? Did I pour it? Yes I did. PineSol makes the water cloudy. You can see it. Nothing from this bargain stuff. Wait..I cant smell it either. No smell AT ALL when poured into water.

Lesson learned. Pay more.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Sun Jun 18, 2017 9:33 pm

Not worth its own thread but I started watching Genius on NatGeo with Geoffrey Rush. One episode in and it's pretty fantastic.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:43 am

San Francisco today hit a new high temp record... 88 f. Normally the city rarely go above 80. Right now I just soaked through my second T-shirt today. I live upstairs without much ventilation.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 2:34 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:Compartmentalizing work has its advantages too.

It's what I long for and what I strive for until such a time as working is no longer a requirement to live a life with the basic modern comforts of a reliable car, medical care, living on my own, a cell phone, internet, and cable.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:48 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:San Francisco today hit a new high temp record... 88 f. Normally the city rarely go above 80. Right now I just soaked through my second T-shirt today. I live upstairs without much ventilation.

Was going to order a fan off Amazon, ended up finding a fan in local Home Depot for cheaper, even when accounting for tax. (Lasko 3-speed 20 inch box fan, white, $18 + tax)

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 3:52 pm

According to VARIETY, Daniel Day-Lewis has announced that he is retiring from acting. He's 60 years old.

If true, it's really too bad. He's always had such an amazing talent, and surely he could continue to do great roles into a senior career. I hope there are no health problems behind this.

(Twitter is already joking that maybe he's just preparing for a role as an actor who retires from acting.)

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 4:04 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:
Kasey Chang wrote:San Francisco today hit a new high temp record... 88 f. Normally the city rarely go above 80. Right now I just soaked through my second T-shirt today. I live upstairs without much ventilation.
Was going to order a fan off Amazon, ended up finding a fan in local Home Depot for cheaper, even when accounting for tax. (Lasko 3-speed 20 inch box fan, white, $18 + tax)

those Laskos are garbage and they can barely stand on their own (you have to attach the plastic feet). i miss the heavy-duty box fans of yesteryear

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:08 pm

So what did they talk about?

...Its Nathan , Alan, and Morena

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:24 pm

I got a pedicure today. Only the second one I ever had. My toes and feet feel much better.
I've got so olde and fat I'm having a hard time doing my toe nails myself. So looks like I'll be having this done every month or two.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:35 am

There was a story getting spread around Facebook via Taiwan, rough translation follows:

I had been serious with my girlfriend for over a year, and had always talked about marriage. I thought it's time to talk about taking the next step.

My monthly income was 45000 NTD (about 1500 USD, medium income in Taiwan), no debt, owns a car, lives in a house, have savings, even enough to put on a down payment for a house or condo.

Around New Years our family met at a restaurant, to get to know each other, so we won't be so awkward when my family would finally go to her family to arrange the marriage traditionally.

Ten days before the arrangement I went to talk to her mother, and told her I'll do what I can to make your daughter very happy, and you too, of course. But just to set the stage, what are her requirements she'll raise at the arrangement?

She discussed things with her family and came back with the demands:

* 12000 USD in primary dower (that's reverse of dowry), 6000 USD in secondary dower, 5000 USD in tertiary dower, and ZERO dowry (i.e. no rebate)
* Groom pays for ALL wedding costs, at least 30 tables, and bride side gets ALL gifts and any red envelopes left by guests
* After marriage, all of her income (about $820 USD) will NOT be contributed to his household but rather, to her family. All of her expenses are to come out of the husband's income

I was stunned, and I asked, "Wait, but how are we supposed to pay for a house if she doesn't contribute?"

My prospective mother-inlaw said, "Go ask your own family to contribute. Oh, and the house had to be in my daughter's name."

My jaw was probably on the floor, and I was about to say something when she also added, "These are simple demands. If you can't meet them, don't bother coming."

I had to control my temper as I went home, and told my family the bad news, as I relayed the demands. The mood in my house, along with the relatives who were to come with me to arrange the marriage, was quite dark.

Now I am just sad, as we are definitely not going.

(Those are pretty outrageous demands, basically encouraging them to elope...)

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:42 am

hitbyambulance wrote: those Laskos are garbage and they can barely stand on their own (you have to attach the plastic feet). i miss the heavy-duty box fans of yesteryear

Oh, I agree they are made by the lowest bidder out of cheap factories in China. They are quite light, not much substance.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:36 pm

Glad I can think for myself. Asian countries are strange on family im marriage. Someone like that Id leave out of everything. Tell momma to get her own sugar daddy.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:46 pm

And yet many people spend tens of thousands of dollars on their wedding because our culture expects it.

Cultural demands are a powerful thing and many people have trouble resisting or even wanting to resist.

Different cultures have different demands, and have different excesses. The mom demands seem to be clearly excessive in her own culture, let alone ours.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:09 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Today I finally made it into the optometrist. I was actually excited.

Turns out that the variation of Medicaid I'm on only covers emergency medical vision, not exams or glasses.

Good news and bad news.

The good news is that Medicaid covered the exam after all.

The bad news is that Medicaid covered the exam because it became a medical thing when they found cataracts.

The good news is that this means that the money I was repurposing for the exam can be spent to order the glasses online now, today.

The bad news is that I have cataracts. They are most likely a bonus side effect of all the radiation directed toward my head. I guess cataracts are my super power.

Oh, and that was the first time I've had my eyes dilated. It was like playing Oblivion all over again - everywhere the bloom!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:17 pm

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:21 pm

Ok what am I not seeing?

Biyobi · Post by **Biyobi** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:24 pm

Daehawk wrote:Ok what am I not seeing?

Bloom, with added bloom.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:46 pm

Blackhawk wrote:
Blackhawk wrote: Today I finally made it into the optometrist. I was actually excited.

Turns out that the variation of Medicaid I'm on only covers emergency medical vision, not exams or glasses.

Good news and bad news.

The good news is that Medicaid covered the exam after all.

The bad news is that Medicaid covered the exam because it became a medical thing when they found cataracts.

The good news is that this means that the money I was repurposing for the exam can be spent to order the glasses online now, today.

The bad news is that I have cataracts. They are most likely a bonus side effect of all the radiation directed toward my head. I guess cataracts are my super power.

Oh, and that was the first time I've had my eyes dilated. It was like playing Oblivion all over again - everywhere the bloom!

My wife's medicaid covers exams, glasses and cataract surgery. (except for $2)
Of course that's here in Arkansas.