Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Sat Feb 29, 2020 4:40 pm**

News story on CNN about a missing teen's remains found inside a lion enclosure. In the video the zoo spokesman talks and the first thing out of his mouth is not "We're so sorry for the family" or "He was a good worker"..no the first thing is "There is no negligence on the administrations part"...shitty world...shitty world.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 3:29 pm**

Looked at Wendy's breakfast menu. The food looks really good. It also looks really over priced. I predict failure. I know I cant afford that stuff.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:56 pm**

Mmmmm, magnesium citrate. So much better than food!

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:09 pm**

Random question for random randomness. People talk about cravings. I do not grok this craving. How does a craving manifest?

I just want to understand how you people work.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:20 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:09 pm Random question for random randomness. People talk about cravings. I do not grok this craving. How does a craving manifest?

I just want to understand how you people work.

Really? I envy you. You never lay in bed and then need a glass a water? Or worse a bit of food? You never sit there and suddenly think "OMG, a... would be perfect right now" I used to say "Hi, I'm coop, have you met me?" but not any more. I get cravings all of the time. Smokes, a beer, pizza, a brownie, eggs, a hot chocolate, chili, fried chicken, that spinach artichoke dip from Costco, a new video game, get in the car and go somewhere. I'm ruled by appetites.

It manifests as a passing through from nowhere that doesn't leave. Like waking with a song in your head. It eventually distracts you from other things and keeps you from your proper focus on those other things.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:29 pm**

Seriously never a thing. General hunger and thirst are obviously a thing, but never a specific or urgent need.

If it makes you feel any better and now that I am thinking about it maybe it won't, but I also am not sure what "horny" feels like.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:45 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:29 pm Seriously never a thing. General hunger and thirst are obviously a thing, but never a specific or urgent need.

If it makes you feel any better and now that I am thinking about it maybe it won't, but I also am not sure what "horny" feels like.

Cravings aren't urgent, they're gnawing. Like when someone tells you "don't touch your face" and now that's what you're stuck think about and paying particular attention.

What are your rituals? What happens when you don't perform them? Like say do you brush your teeth every morning? What happens if you go a morning without brushing your teeth? Does that fact hang out in your head all day long? Before going Tesla did you have a particular level you filled your gas tank? What happens when gas run lower than that? Ever not remember if you closed the garage door? Do you just let it go? Cravings are like all that. What about a video game you want to get back to for just one more turn or task?

I'm 3+ years without a cigarette and that addiction to every thing about smoking still manifests nearly every day. People who crave things, I think are particularly vulnerable to smoking addiction and have a particularly hard time stopping. It's why I never let myself become a daily drinker.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:55 pm**

Video games are probably the closest you are going to get me. I can be downright obsessive with games, but only something super special really drives me to distraction. Maybe after Everquest nearly ended my marriage I figured out how to temper those urges. One Saturday a month and every Tuesday evening we have a no video games rule and I am cool with that, I mean other than the fact that I can get bored if nobody wants to play a board game.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:59 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:55 pm Video games are probably the closest you are going to get me. I can be downright obsessive with games, but only something super special really drives me to distraction. Maybe after Everquest nearly ended my marriage I figured out how to temper those urges. One Saturday a month and every Tuesday evening we have a no video games rule and I am cool with that, I mean other than the fact that I can get bored if nobody wants to play a board game.

Cravings are a tiny version of video game compulsion. You get something in your head. Anything. A philly cheesesteak. A philly cheesesteak from Gabe's. Then it just sits there and distracts you until something bigger comes along and knocks it off the perch or you satisfy the craving. Like trying to capture and safely land an asteroid on Kerbal.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:04 pm**

LordMortis wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:59 pm
coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:55 pm Video games are probably the closest you are going to get me. I can be downright obsessive with games, but only something super special really drives me to distraction. Maybe after Everquest nearly ended my marriage I figured out how to temper those urges. One Saturday a month and every Tuesday evening we have a no video games rule and I am cool with that, I mean other than the fact that I can get bored if nobody wants to play a board game.
Cravings are a tiny version of video game compulsion. You get something in your head. Anything. A philly cheesesteak. A philly cheesesteak from Gabe's. Then it just sits there and distracts you until something bigger comes along and knocks it off the perch or you satisfy the craving. Like trying to capture and safely land an asteroid on Kerbal.

Maybe it helps that I largely see food as just sustenance and not particularly interesting in any specific form.

Now landing an asteroid is a whole other thing!

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:04 pm**

Thought of the day: Bruce Lee would be 80 years old.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:05 pm**

Daehawk wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:04 pm Thought of the day: Bruce Lee would be 80 years old.

...and would still kick all our asses.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:17 pm**

NPR

Flavor Flav, prototypical hype man of the legendary and socially forward rap group Public Enemy, has been, it would seem, let go.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by Public Enemy, which Flavor Flav and Chuck D co-founded in the early '80s, the group and another iteration of it, Public Enemy Radio, "will be moving forward without Flavor Flav." The statement went on to "thank him for his years of service." A trademark for Public Enemy is registered solely to Chuck D, under his given name, Carlton Ridenhour.
...
The firing arrived the same day as a performance by Public Enemy Radio — a group consisting of Chuck D, DJ Lord, Jahi and S1Ws — during a Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles. That scheduled performance prompted Flavor Flav to send a colorful cease-and-desist letter to the Sanders campaign over the appearance, claiming the campaign was using his likeness without permission.

After the Sanders rally, Chuck D claimed on Twitter that Flav had long declined to perform at unpaid events and that he began Public Enemy Radio in response to the refusal.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:42 pm**

I crave food. Any food. I have a fridge full of delicious food, but I'm having another magnesium citrate instead. This is Advanced Adulting.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:48 pm**

I hope everything comes out okay.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:03 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:42 pm I crave food. Any food. I have a fridge full of delicious food, but I'm having another magnesium citrate instead. This is Advanced Adulting.

The poop'n pill. The pill of poo. Pop it and drop it.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:48 pm**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:55 pm Video games are probably the closest you are going to get me. I can be downright obsessive with games, but only something super special really drives me to distraction. Maybe after Everquest nearly ended my marriage I figured out how to temper those urges. One Saturday a month and every Tuesday evening we have a no video games rule and I am cool with that, I mean other than the fact that I can get bored if nobody wants to play a board game.

Do you ever get into a mood where one particular game gets into your head? Where you find it, and the urge to play it intruding on other things to the point of distraction?

If you replace 'game' with 'cheeseburger', you'll have it.

Posted: **Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:43 pm**

Lately I've got obsessed with the American civil war and have been looking for a game to satisfy that urge.
Tied Civil War 2 but that is too much for me so I'll go with AEOGD American Civil War or one the the John Tiller series.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:15 am**

So my apartment management company just sent out an email last night informing all of its tenants of an exciting new "amenity". They're now offering free or discounted comcast internet to all residents. But wait, they're adding a 40 dollar a month "service bundle charge" to your rent each month that you have to pay even if you don't want that internet. That service bundle charge supposedly is also for water, trash and storage lockers too. All things that have been part of the regular rent for the last 16 years that I've been there.

Silly me, I always thought an amenity was something you got for free as a value add.

I sent them and email telling them I'd rather stick with RCN cable for my internet since they don't enforce a data cap AND they actually have decent customer support. I told them my job relied on it, although that's a little white lie.

Is this becoming standard practice now? Or is my management company just being greedy dicks and getting a kickback from comcast? I guess it could be both.

Also, are they legally allowed to force me to use only comcast?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:20 am**

I think they can force other providers from bringing cables to their structure.
You are free to pay for service though.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:28 am**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:09 pmRandom question for random randomness. People talk about cravings. I do not grok this craving. How does a craving manifest?

I would describe it as something akin to a magnetic pull.

Put a magnet on the table and a hunk of metal on the other side. Start sliding that magnet towards the metal. The moment it starts to pull gently against your grip, that's a modest craving. Get it closer and it becomes more intense, stronger craving. Let it touch the metal, satisfied craving - and sometimes it basically becomes inert with no magnetic pull anymore, but that may build back up with time.

I tend to crave certain foods and activities, and they roll around in my head in the background until it's satisfied.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:30 am**

In doing a little digging, I discovered two things:

1) This is some pretty shady shit. Apparently property managers sign deals with Comcast or other ISPs to force all the residents to become customers...or at the very least pay for those services via this "bundled services" bogus charge. Then they get a pretty substantial kickback.

2) They legally can't stop me from staying with RCN unless they, as Unagi points out, stop them from actually installing their stuff. Since I'm already an RCN user, I don't think they can can cut me off.

This sucks as I broke down and acquiesced into moving into the remodeled unit below me just a few weeks ago at a slightly higher monthly rate. I did look around at about 20 other apartments, but for the price I'm paying I'm getting a lot of space...even at the new place below me (same floor plan).

It's not that 40 bucks a month is going to break me. It's just that I hate this kind of shady crap.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:40 am**

Why do you hate Capitalism?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:55 am**

Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:40 am Why do you hate Capitalism?

Donald Trump

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:57 am**

What did Atlas hold on his shoulders when the world was flat?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:10 pm**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:57 am What did Atlas hold on his shoulders when the world was flat?

A sideways earth.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:20 pm**

Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:40 am Why do you hate Capitalism?

Why do you support monopolies?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:22 pm**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:57 am What did Atlas hold on his shoulders when the world was flat?

A discus?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:47 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:20 pm
Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:40 am Why do you hate Capitalism?
Why do you support monopolies?

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:39 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:30 am 1) This is some pretty shady shit. Apparently property managers sign deals with Comcast or other ISPs to force all the residents to become customers...or at the very least pay for those services via this "bundled services" bogus charge. Then they get a pretty substantial kickback.

Aren't mergers great? It will be great for consumers, they said.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:57 pm**

Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:47 pm
hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 12:20 pm
Jaymann wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:40 am Why do you hate Capitalism?
Why do you support monopolies?

That's an imposter! Rich Uncle Pennybags doesn't wear a monocle!

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:59 pm**

That's Rich Uncle Mandela!

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:10 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:30 am It's just that I hate this kind of shady crap.

consult with your local tenants union: http://www.tenant.org/

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:43 pm**

Excellent, thanks! I really do not have a good relationship with the current property manager. Up until he came on board about 3 years ago, I had a great one with all the previous property managers. But this one likes to be confrontational to the point of having a chip on his shoulder. Considering that I've never been late with the rent once in my entire 16 years in this building, you'd think he'd be a little nicer. But apparently that's not the case.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 4:54 pm**

Any time a company says it will be great for customers you can be assured its only great for the company.

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:10 pm**

Zarniwoop

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:53 pm**

First I lost Little Ceasar's #1. Now I'm losing KMart #1. Actually it closed years ago, but now it's getting torn down

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/ ... 931701002/

I can't see how an LA fitness will do well there, but hey what do I know. I didn't lament when KMart shut down. I was

when I went to look for House of Pets and it was gone.

Posted: **Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:21 am**

Food review - Krystal Catch Fish Sandwich

Verdict - no.

Grabbed 2 today hoping they would be as good as Krystal's old fish sandwich from 5 or 6 years ago. Sadly not the case at all. That sandwich then was perfect. SO good. This one not so much. Wont be buying them again.

OLD FISH SANDWICH - breaded fish filet, cheese, tartar sauce.

NEW FISH SANDWICH - hush puppy breading, no cheese, tartar sauce.

Ok Im not a fan of hush puppies. They are ok but I usually gave mine to my wife who loved them. This new one tastes more like a hush puppy than a fish sandwich. I dont care for that. Also they no longer put a piece of cheese on it. Lastly I cant even taste the tartar sauce. It has no flavor. I ended up putting a gob of french onion dip on them to eat them because its what I had in the fridge. Pretty good dip btw. Made these things edible.

I dont get why they switched to this hush puppy batter or left off the cheese. Everyone I know loved those original fish sandwiches back in the day. Why the hell they changed is a mystery. It sucks. Also as I recall those older ones were under a buck. I think .89 cents. These are $1.50.

Dont bother.

Old sandwich perfect 10
This thing 4.

Posted: **Wed Mar 04, 2020 2:21 am**

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:30 amThis sucks as I broke down and acquiesced into moving into the remodeled unit below me just a few weeks ago at a slightly higher monthly rate. I did look around at about 20 other apartments, but for the price I'm paying I'm getting a lot of space...even at the new place below me (same floor plan).

It's not that 40 bucks a month is going to break me. It's just that I hate this kind of shady crap.

Seems to me like this mandatory fee/service is something that's not part of your contract and not something you agreed to. You can refuse to pay, and break your lease over it. Of course, then you'd have to move further than downstairs.

Posted: **Wed Mar 04, 2020 11:00 am**

They're not enforcing it with current leases, but all new ones going forward will have it. It appears to be perfectly legal, just kind of crappy on their part. But apparently a lot of property management companies are signing deals with ISPs for kickbacks. Thankfully, it appears they can't force me to sign with Comcast. Since RCN is already wired for the place, I should be allowed to remain with them after I move. I guess I'll try to look at the bright side, maybe I can leverage this with RCN and get them to give me one of their special rates.

I think this year I'll stay there since they're going to pay for my moving expenses to transfer to the new unit. But this does give me an incentive to just bite the bullet and either get a condo finally, or just hunker down somewhere until I retire in about 8 years and move to Portugal.

Octopus Overlords

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