Octopus Overlords

as someone who still purchases compact discs via mailorder (collectable and otherwise), it annoys me to no end that sellers think that one can throw a bunch of CDs in jewel cases into a padded envelope and expect them all to miraculously arrive undamaged.

Why those discs are not able to be damaged



Then again the Library of Congress finds that CDs need preserving now or they could be gone.

I'm flying home on Wednesday this week, which is usually better. Upgrades are about 50/50.

Thurs or Fri...forget about it.

There are worse ways to spend a weekend than flying "home" (in the ancestral home sense, I guess, given that here is home for me now) for a family gathering over the weekend, meeting a 1-month-old member of said family, and discovering that he has the same birthday as you.

I've been taking good care of that day for a long time, kiddo, but it's yours now.

I'm heading home in two weeks... Home as in my family in Texas, to attend my sister's wedding.

I always think of home as where I live, not where I grew up.
Maybe because I grew up in southern California and it has changed so much.
And I have no kin there.

My little dog is worrying me a bit today and I have an appointment early tomorrow morning I have to be at so he will be alone. He ate so thats all good and he barks and stuff. All normal. But he feels a little warm and acts a bit off. Not much. Just enough to worry me. Took his temp and it is 102.0. Thats fine. Dogs run 99.5 - 102.5 but he is at the top side. I wish we'd taken his temp off and on since getting him so Id have a baseline but we didn't. Maybe this is his normal or maybe 100.0 is is. Not sure. He has a tendency to pick up stuff on the kitchen floor and I saw him do it yesterday. Should just be a food particle as I vacuum every week or so. But it was along the cabinet edge and I dont pay that close attention to that.

Thats all Id need is to lose my little friend. All I got left. Going to keep an eye on it. If it gets higher Ill give him 1/4 a baby aspirin. If that doesn't help then its the vet for us. Like I said he barks, eats and drinks, and runs around with his tail up but he acts 'off' some too. And that stuff I gotta go to town for tomorrow will now worry me to no end.

I know it's a senseless death and a horrible crime, but ever since I heard the name "Nipsey Hussle" I can't stop chuckling over the pun.

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:43 pm I know it's a senseless death and a horrible crime, but ever since I heard the name "Nipsey Hussle" I can't stop chuckling over the pun.

When I first heard this on the radio I thought WTF, Nipsey Russell was still alive?

AWS260 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2019 1:12 pm

AWS260 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 10:18 am Stop the presses -- the 2019 Name of the Year bracket has been revealed!

At first glance, I see lots of strong contenders, but no obvious bulldozer. I'm particularly impressed by Pope Thrower, Deicide Huxtable, Candy Button Disco, and Ecclesiastical Denzel Washington.

Make your voice heard. First round voting open now.

A couple of the contests are neck-and-neck: Vinay Pimplé vs. Ionosphere Torres and Truman Peyote vs. Storm Duck.

The next bracket is up. Not quite as strong as the last one, although it includes the delectable Deicide Huxtable.

Goodnight world. If tomorrow is unfortunate enough to arrive then what happens during the day will determine if I and our little Buster and big Gus have any future.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:01 pm Goodnight world. If tomorrow is unfortunate enough to arrive then what happens during the day will determine if I and our little Buster and big Gus have any future.

Stay strong Daehawk. I know this sound cliche and may not mean much, but you’ve got support from your OO family.

I can’t even imagine the hell you’re going through, but know that this random group of internet strangers are here for you.

xwraith wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:14 pm

He missed his opportunity to use the tie fighter scream in the last few seconds when we watch the white drone fly back to the Carrier.

Reminds me of the BoS in Fallout 4.

What I don't follow behind this whole drone-delivery idea is just that it seems most people order things that have a weight that would (I would think) preclude 'drone' delivery.
So, they will only deliver the super light stuff? That doesn't seem like it's worth the effort if you also have vans driving around delivering all the heavy stuff too. Perhaps I just don't know the numbers.

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:07 am What I don't follow behind this whole drone-delivery idea is just that it seems most people order things that have a weight that would (I would think) preclude 'drone' delivery.
So, they will only deliver the super light stuff? That doesn't seem like it's worth the effort if you also have vans driving around delivering all the heavy stuff too. Perhaps I just don't know the numbers.

I suspect we just don't know the numbers. Amazon presumably does and is spending money looking into this. They seem to be very good at making money. Ergo, the amount of deliveries possible by drones is enough to make them enough money to invest in it.

Also depends how much you think a drone could deliver. I would bet the sweet spot is 15-20 lbs. I know almost all out deliveries are less than that.

Air Cargo World

A working prototype cargo drone unveiled today by Boeing marks the entry of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer into the unmanned electric air cargo air vehicle space. While analysts have predicted for some time now that drones are on course to transform the logistics sector, Boeing’s additional aerospace muscle represents a seismic shakeup of the industry, with the Chicago-based company now plowing its extensive technology and resources into developing this still incipient technology.

The drone is powered by an electric propulsion system and outfitted with eight counter-rotating propellers, allowing for vertical and horizontal flight. It measures 4.6 meters long, 5.5 meters wide and 1.2 meters tall, and weighs 339 kilograms.

David Neely of Boeing Research & Technology said that the drone would eventually be able to deliver up to 227 kilograms of cargo within a fifteen- to thirty-kilometer radius, adding that it could, “change the way we deliver goods.” Those specs position Boeing’s new drone in the last-mile delivery range, rather than long-distance cargo transport, where drones more closely resemble conventional aircraft.

In freedom units, that's a ~750lb drone delivering a ~500 lb payload up to 18 miles.

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:07 am What I don't follow behind this whole drone-delivery idea is just that it seems most people order things that have a weight that would (I would think) preclude 'drone' delivery.
So, they will only deliver the super light stuff? That doesn't seem like it's worth the effort if you also have vans driving around delivering all the heavy stuff too. Perhaps I just don't know the numbers.

Periodic small but fast orders are perfect for drone delivery. Lab samples between hospitals, clinics, and lab are perfect. Fixed endpoints and all that.

Consumer drone delivery is less viable, too many different endpoints. However, medicines, and light groceries, even restaurant food are good targets for drone delivery.

Regular mail order stuff are somewhat less suitable. Too many different shapes, weight, size, etc.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:22 am

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:01 pm Goodnight world. If tomorrow is unfortunate enough to arrive then what happens during the day will determine if I and our little Buster and big Gus have any future.

Stay strong Daehawk. I know this sound cliche and may not mean much, but you’ve got support from your OO family.

I can’t even imagine the hell you’re going through, but know that this random group of internet strangers are here for you.

All the worrying and waiting and lack of sleep last night and all I did was fill out some papers today and go back to waiting. Dangit.

Also I do not want to be under a giant drone when it fails wit ha 500 lb crate.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 1:22 pm Also I do not want to be under a giant drone when it fails wit ha 500 lb crate.

I would think that the group that does is pretty small. Same with airplanes, helicopters, rockets, etc.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:42 am
Consumer drone delivery is less viable, too many different endpoints.

I can imagine subdivisions, even neighborhoods setting up 'delivery areas' in a central location that they could register with Amazon (and presumably later, other companies) to take advantage of the tech. It could even be a selling point for realtors.

Or, say, lockers?

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:07 pm Or, say, lockers?

If I gotta go to the robot instead of the robot coming to me, who the hell is in charge of this future anyways??

Courtesy of Boingboing...

PreachersnSneakers Instagram feed: a not-so-subtle dig on megachurch preachers and their shoe fetish. Nobody's wearing anything that cost less than $200. Most wears collectibles like Air Jordans and stuff that can cost $500-800. One even sported a pair that goes as high as $3700

https://www.instagram.com/preachersnsneakers/

I think there's something wrong with my e-mail system.
I get more real e-mails than I do junk e-mails.

The Matrix movie is 20 years old.

Grabbed this from Blues News.

There's buzz in the news lately about The Matrix, as the influential sci-fi movie just turned 20. For perspective, at the time of the movie's release 20 year-old movies in the genre included Alien, Mad Max, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That is even more startling to note, as that means those three movies all turn 40 this year. I see some discussion of whether The Matrix holds up, which surprises me, because I think most of us took it for an instant classic. It has been several years since I last re-watched it, however, so this is an excuse to revisit it. And I will do so, because as a wise mouse once said, "to deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human."

_ell crap! My doubleyou doesn't _ork. I think it fell on the floor and one of the dogs ate it.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:18 am _ell crap! My doubleyou doesn't _ork. I think it fell on the floor and one of the dogs ate it.

Two vees or not two vees? That is the question.

(VVell, as you can see, two vees makes a reasonable approximation of a W)

I want a Volksvvagan.

Headlines at Yahoo nevvs,

The 5 Best Sex Positions That Give You Access to Your Partner’s Balls

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:04 am Headlines at Yahoo nevvs,

The 5 Best Sex Positions That Give You Access to Your Partner’s Balls

It's taken them this long to come up with 4 more positions since hackers grabbed Yahoo by the balls?

Now known as Yeehaw news.

Im posting this here because I really dont want to put my wife's stroke and death post back on the front page. That may sound mean to some but I just dont think I can see it there again. If it bothers too many Ill ask my post be moved or deleted.

Today was the first day Ive cried from happiness since the day my wife improved so much before she passed. I dreamed of Donna. Ive not had much in the way of dreams since her death. If I do dream I don't remember them them. I even know I had one of her before but cant recall it. This one was clear as day.

I got woken up at 8am by the phone but went back to sleep. I dreamed Donna was sitting at the foot of the bed. She was wearing a bright white t-shirt gown that came to her knees. And she was sitting there smiling at me. I told her I loved her and she told me she loves me back. I gave her a hug. A great hug. In my dream it hit me that I knew she was gone now these 3 months but here she was not a spirit but whole. She was so happy. She seemed younger. She was perfectly healthy. Wow hard to type this out. Anyways I quit dreaming of her for a minute IN the dream and realized this.

Next we were walking to the kitchen. She told me she made me a card. As I picked it up off the table I told her I had made her one too in the hospital but she didn't get to see it. She told me she has seen it and smiled. Next we were sitting on the couch. That white shirt positively glowing. She was so beautiful. I asked her "Why did they tell me you had died?" and she hugged me and smiled real big and started to chuckle.....and the phone woke me up again. Damn that phone!

It was so real. She looked so happy and perfect. To get those hugs and a kiss was what Id been asking and praying for..but in a different way....but I got them. It seemed more than a dream. Most will scoff at that. To each their own.

One last 'not a dream' thing. A week or two ago I noticed the clocks were at 11:11. Ive noticed these number for decades...4:44 2:22...Donna and me took it as a sign of good fortune. So when I saw them a couple weeks ago I told Donna let me catch the clocks at 12:12 and Ill know its you. I need a sign Ill actually recognize. I am never around the clocks at noon time usually. Today after the dream ended I lay in bed from 10 onward hoping to sleep again and revisit her in my dream. Didn't get back to sleep so gave up and got up. I grabbed the tablet to charge it and it said 12:12. I ran to the kitchen and both clocks were on 12:12.

So I think..and I take it as more than a dream. I know she is well. I know she is happy. So I cried a happy one today. Every day since her death Ive cried. But today was a good reason.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Glad to read you had such a great dream!

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:17 pm wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Did you fix your keyboard or break down and buy a new one?

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:17 pm wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

It's got a "W" for Wendy!

I found where the dogs hid it.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2019 5:29 pm I found where the dogs hid it.

Did everything come out all (w)right?