Octopus Overlords

Thanks. I used this before to plan a kayaking outing then couldn't find it again.

Had standby jury duty today, called last night, didn't have to go.

On Monday I had 4 training sessions scheduled, an hour each with an hour in between and an extra hour for lunch. So basically 9am-5pm. Instructor emailed today and said I'm the only one in all classes and asked if I would I be cool with eliminating breaks and getting done by 2pm or so. Hell yes!

It's the little things.

Hello flooded basement with no flood insurance. Fortunately it's not bad. Unfortunately, I'm not sure this weather is done.

We went to Long Island this weekend to prep my in-laws' small summer home to go on the market.

In the process of emptying the last little crevices, I came upon an ancient-looking rifle. At first I thought maybe it was just a squirrel gun or something (this place is way out in the rural part of LI), but closer inspection showed that it is in fact an 1864 Burnside cavalry carbine.

(stock photo:)


I doubt it's worth much, as half the wooden stock is broken off and the breech won't open, but it seems to be the real thing. When we got home, FIL told me, "Yeah, that was a gift from a friend." (He has dementia and can't tell me much more.)

Quite a find, though!

Kinda neat how Google Earth lets you see back to 1997. The quality is shit but at least its there. Google Maps goes back to 2007 at ground level. So two ways to see the past . Its helped me remember the name of a store we used to go to or see what a place looked like back when. I can see our home in 1997 before any land had to be sold to pay for bills. The garden is plowed but not yet planted. Really cool.

I don't know about how it was in the U.S, but in 1997 that data was not very detailed at all if even there in the first place, especially further north. It wasn't until Google started doing its Street View that we started getting better data. Everything before then was just undefined green blobs when it came to satellite data. If there's one thing Google has done that has benefit everyone, it's satellite data and street view leading to more defined maps with terrestial data for the whole world.

I believe that early on, Google just republished USGS satellite imagery. Now they use better quality satellites, plus special aircraft that give much better images.

I remembered that Dot, my wife's mother, scribbled her name in the wet concrete when the top kennels cement was poured. So I went up to find it. Had to scrape off years of dead leaves but there it was still. And best of all she added the year when she did it. It says DOT 88. So I know it was 1988 now when we did all that. Lord that was 20 years before she died in 2008 and she was 70 back in 88. Dub, her husband, died only 2 years before her at 90 in 2006 . 1988 31 years ago. I was 19. Still remember building the dividers with him like yesterday. Now they are rotted and fallen over.

o, my new range goes bad. It's only 2-3 months old. I had bought a warranty with it.
I call up the store and evidently they call up their repairman who calls me up and says they don't cover where I live. They tell me I should call up the manufacturer. I said no, I had purchased a warranty so I wouldn't have to. They said if I didn't like it to call back the store I bought it from.
I did. Now they are trying to find someone who will come out and fix it.
So I'm sitting here with smoke coming out my ears waiting for a phone call.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 7:23 pm

Me too, but re-reading with context made it clearer. In short, everything we do in the world decays and time moves relentlessly on.

I think one of the main ways I determine a dogs health is how much they eat or how hungry they are.
There are other ways of course but as long as they're eating good I'm happy.

I had a guy on a Segway come to my house tonight at dinner time and try to sell me on insect/pest control. Apparently he doesn't read OO and my identity is still safe.

Citroën Sabotaged Wartime Nazi Truck Production in a Simple and Brilliant Way.

https://jalopnik.com/citroen-sabotaged- ... 1836670685

So, when France was occupied by the Germans in 1940, major French factories like Citroën were forced to produce equipment for the Nazis. Citroën president Pierre-Jules Boulanger knew he couldn’t just refuse to produce anything, but he also knew there’s no way in hell he’s going to just roll over and build trucks for a bunch of filthy Nazis. Pierre had a plan.

And the Nazis fell for it - what a bunch of dipsticks!

If true, that... is awesome.

So whats a Xbox 360 good for these days? My wife used it every day for movie watching ...Hulu, Youtube, Netflix, Amazon. In fact a while back I checked the dvd tray and the last movie she watched was in it. I put it in it's case with her others. Now the 360 just sits there.

Isgrimnur wrote:Rutabaga.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:08 am So whats a Xbox 360 good for these days? My wife used it every day for movie watching ...Hulu, Youtube, Netflix, Amazon. In fact a while back I checked the dvd tray and the last movie she watched was in it. I put it in it's case with her others. Now the 360 just sits there.

You can also use it with special discs just to play games. Or so I've heard.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:08 am So whats a Xbox 360 good for these days? My wife used it every day for movie watching ...Hulu, Youtube, Netflix, Amazon. In fact a while back I checked the dvd tray and the last movie she watched was in it. I put it in it's case with her others. Now the 360 just sits there.

There are some good console/360 exclusives that can be had cheap on the secondhand market - also it plays a lot of original Xbox games. See eBay and Half Price Books and Goodwill and whatnot. I got a Kinect for $5 so I can play various titles for that ... particular control scheme.

Rock Band Beatles

NCAA games.

Harry Potter games

Watched the very beginning of the movie Twister just now and it reminded of something thats bugged me since we saw it in theaters and the times at home after that.

Why does her dad go over and hold the storm shelter door instead of staying back with his family?. As we clearly see after the door and him are sucked out of the shelter the mom and Jo are fine lol. So silly.

As my wife would always tell me in these instances.....Because it was in the script....

Heading off to Boy Scout Camp for a week tomorrow. If I don't come back, just know that I loved you all. Well, most of you. Some of you, at the very least.

I thought they weren't boy scouts anymore. I thought they were LBQTRSTUVXYZ.

hentzau wrote: ↑Sat Jul 27, 2019 10:14 pm Heading off to Boy Scout Camp for a week tomorrow. If I don't come back, just know that I loved you all. Well, most of you. Some of you, at the very least.

Good luck, and enjoy the ham in everything!

Created special for hepcat:

The 1980s cult movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space, which (as its title suggests) follows aliens that take the form of scary clowns who terrorise a small town, is getting a terrifying series of maze attractions.

Universal's Orlando and Hollywood Resorts have announced a new event as part of their Halloween Horror Nights 2019 series, this year themed around the horror comedy.

The maze "will transport guests to the sleepy small town of Crescent Cove, taken over by a pack of murderous clown-like creatures".

So, lately I've gotten a plethora of spam emails making it past whatever filters Comcast uses plus my Outlook. Things that would normally have fallen firmly into the Junk folder on their own are now just showing up as if they were legit. Noticed that they all have something in common. Besides two embedded "pictures" that Outlook doesn't download, they all have the exact same message at the bottom:

Please think at the environment before printing this email. Please do not reply to this email. This is an advertisement. Thank You.

Ummm… please think "at" the environment? Not "of" or "Please consider the environment" which is all a search for that mangled phrase turns up... all of the legitimate variations on that along with the Think Before Printing people. Not having any luck finding that exact phrasing online, guess I'll create a rule for that in an email body to help bolster the spam blocking.

Google knows today's my birthday.
If there was any doubt in me that Google is spying on everybody this is the proof that they are.

At some point, you probably told them.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:49 am At some point, you probably told them.

Yep. They're not spying on people so much as they're passively collecting what's offered.

I'd like to offer them the sweat off my balls.

I have nothing to do with Google per se but of course my birthday is on numerous other sites.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:37 am Google knows today's my birthday.
If there was any doubt in me that Google is spying on everybody this is the proof that they are.

Today as I was leaving a store I pull up behind this woman in a suv just sitting there at the exit. She is way over to the left and theres no left turn unless you go at an angle down the wrong way. So I sit behind her a good minute and no movement at all and there is no one at all coming for her to be waiting. I decide she isn't leaving after all and pull up beside her on the right and start to pull out when OFF SHE GOES turning right...dumb bitch. She didn't even look to see me. She never did see me in fact. If I hadn't slammed my brakes on she would have hit me. As is she missed the front of my car by mere inches. ARGH!

Your fault for not laying on the horn as soon as it was clear she wasn't moving. Or for not immediately going around her on the right.

#chicagodriver

Getting olde is not like playing a game. You cannot hit esc and start it over again.

spotted at my local Fred Meyer:

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 3:18 pm Your fault for not laying on the horn as soon as it was clear she wasn't moving. Or for not immediately going around her on the right.

#chicagodriver

So, it's his fault for being civil and patient?

I run into this all the time, and it is annoying as hell. Another variant is the person who gets in their car, starts it, puts the car into reverse, and then sits there. Of course, the moment you tire of waiting for them to back out and decide to drive past is the moment they'll start to back up.

And if I go up to my car, start to put my groceries in, and someone is blocking traffic waiting for me to get in and move so they can park 30 feet closer, I'll sit there until they get bored.

If I'm standing behind you at the grocery store check out and you're talking on your phone and totally disinterested in the process, know that I'm killing you with my mind as you try to pay for your order (while still talking on the phone) and the credit card machine is rejecting your payment information (which you'd know if you were actually paying attention and not talking on your phone).

There really are days when I wish for a giant meteor. My faith in humanity overall is at an all-time low.