Octopus Overlords

Is that from the book of La Quinta?

Two Corinthians walk into a bar...

Leather merchants?

Crokicurl

Take one curling rink, one crokinole board game, a bunch of old bleach jugs, mixed in with some old fence posts, and what have you got?

Crokicurl.

That's the name of the newest [2018] Canadian winter sport, and starting Saturday, thanks to the Acadia Recreation Complex on 90th Avenue S.E., Calgary is about to get a taste of it.

Sudy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:40 pm I promised myself I'd try to stop sharing dumb things people post on Facebook since it leads to a pit of darkness and frustration, but this one I can't help:

"Inspirational" story about Jesus comforting a little girl whose father killed her mother in a murder-suicide ends with:

66% of you won't post this, But remember what the bible say's [sic] "Deny me in front of your friends and i shall Deny you in front of my father". So re-post this, remember God saw you read this

What the fuck?? I mean, I'm a Christian and I have no issue in general with these cute folk tales people share... they're just not for me; they strike me as vapid. But that's the most horrible chain-letter-esque re-post guilt trip I've ever seen. Both in terms of the religious manipulation and grammar. So if I don't re-post this, my salvation is void? Why the hell is Deny the word they're making a point of capitalizing, and not Bible, I, or Father? This is the very worst kind of "God as Santa Claus" kind of elf-on-the-shelf thinking. If my mother had posted this, I would have to find a way to retroactively emancipate myself.

Ugh.

This sounds like a perfect example of modern Christianists writing their own Gospel and treating it as theologically and (especially) politically valid.

The notion "Deny me in front of your friends and I shall Deny you (etc)" is cribbed from Matthew 10:32-33, where Jesus says

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

There's absolutely nothing about domestic murder-suicide or marriage relations or anything else in context there. That's just total nonsense and misogyny.

But it *is* (reading on) one of the most famous passages where Jesus insists on absolute obedience to God vs family or tradition or anything else, which makes it ripe for political or culture-war appropriation.

It's been almost a year since I've had McDonald's. I know this because I used a gift card from last Christmas to buy lunch today. That Coke is going to be so good.

Phew! UPS truck stink! I had to follow behind one for a couple miles the other day and it was awful. It smelled like it ran on natural gas. Was like rotten eggs. Smelled just like the fork lifts did in a factory I worked in as a teenager. At lights when we'd start going again in intensified. Eww.

My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:04 pm My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

Congrats all around!

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:04 pm My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

Awesome! For both of you.

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:04 pm My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

Congratulations to your son (and to you as both a father and Scoutmaster)!

Nepotism at its finest.

But seriously, congrats to you both.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 12:06 am Nepotism at its finest.

when i started in Cub Scouts, my mom was den mother until i got into Webelos, then dad led that for a year. when i was in Boy Scouts, the Scoutmaster quit when his last son got Eagle, so then my dad took over until i got Eagle, then also quit.

Congratulations, that's been a lot of work for you both. Happy to see him succeed.

Fantastic news! Be proud of your son (and of yourself).

Apparently food is really important to people. On Facebook, I posted that people who order fries with their steaks are monsters. Everyone I know has replied, from family and friends to co-workers past and present, even a guy I've barely spoken to from a message board that's been defunct for 15 years.

Sudy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 8:59 am Apparently food is really important to people. On Facebook, I posted that people who order fries with their steaks are monsters. Everyone I know has replied, from family and friends to co-workers past and present, even a guy I've barely spoken to from a message board that's been defunct for 15 years.

Are you denigrating steak fries? If so, all you need is a mirror to see the true monster.

Sudy wrote:Apparently food is really important to people. On Facebook, I posted that people who order fries with their steaks are monsters. Everyone I know has replied, from family and friends to co-workers past and present, even a guy I've barely spoken to from a message board that's been defunct for 15 years.

Hey, they're actually steak frites!

And I suppose you put ketchup on your beluga caviar as well?

Re: steak-frites I might be more accepting were I actually dining in France or Belgium.

Sudy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 9:30 am And I suppose you put ketchup on your beluga caviar as well?

Italian White Truffles with French's mustard.

Hey, French's yellow is the most noble of plebeian sauces.

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:04 pm My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

Congrats. From the boards, I know you've invested a lot energy and passion in to this over the years.

Sudy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 8:59 am Apparently food is really important to people. On Facebook, I posted that people who order fries with their steaks are monsters. Everyone I know has replied, from family and friends to co-workers past and present, even a guy I've barely spoken to from a message board that's been defunct for 15 years.

You know, it doesn't bother me in the slightest but I also realize I never order fries with steak either. It's always a baked or mashed potatoes. Usually it's a baked potato if it comes with one side mashed potatoes and corn if it come with two. Then I'm a real monster. While I don't want you to season my steak and I don't want any sort of sauce on my steak, I will have tendencies to cut the whole steak up in to bite sized morsels and then I will dip each bite of steak into the mashed potatoes and then dip the potato covered steak in to the corn... Unless I'm having a filet. Filets are sacred and to be enjoyed without mixing the other contents of the plate.

The most inconsistent thing about my steak/mashed potatoes/corn combo is that at most meals I compartmentalize my eating. It drive people around me nuts. I tend to finish the foods most sensitive to being eaten fresh first and work my way to the ones that hold. So fries as example. Fries approach inedible as they cool. So they are consumed in their entirety, like an appetizer before I eat anything else on a plate (or from a bag)I say most inconsistentbecause there are other foods I mix post preparation/serving, often hot breakfast foods, especially with eggs. I get/make eggs over easy and they get slathered on to everything else on the plate or things get dipped in the yolk/white combo, depending on the foods. Meats and bread are dipped in eggs. Eggs are spread over potatoes, etc...

I think it's all about textures as much as it is about mixing flavors. I don't know but food texture affect my eating. I mean tomatoes. I can't do tomatoes at all. Their not done, yet. That texture is practically gag inducing.

Sudy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 9:30 am And I suppose you put ketchup on your beluga caviar as well?

Pardon me. Do you have any Grey Poopin'?

Baked potato on a separate plate so that the various steak juices don't soak it.

I go back and forth between steak sauce (A1) and plain, and usually do both on a single steak, but the main thing is that they steak be hot, and not much more. I want the warm blood of my prey dripping down my chin.

I wouldn't dip a good steak in anything, but the dipping/mixing chicken/turkey/roast beef/pork roast into mashed potatoes, potentially along with corn and/or peas and gravy, is the only way to eat it as far as I'm concerned. Unless there's horseradish; then roast beef gets to do its own thing. And keep the cranberries, apple sauce, and mint jelly the f!#k away from my meat! Dessert's not till later.

Ive not seen a Tobuscus video in years now. Used to enjoy his work.

Frank and his parents. Prince would have been proud.

They must have been at his house.

hentzau wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:04 pm My son just passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review. And he was my first Eagle as Scoutmaster.

Congrats. That is a lot of work. And it does take a team to do it.

So WOW (My ISP) literally raised my rates $40 a month this year. I was finally getting ready to pull the plug on them when they sent me a new cable modem with a built in wifi router and upgraded my Internet from 10 down/2 up (I have only ever signed up for 2 down/2 up) to 100 down/10 up "for free" which I take to mean after jacking up my rates they discontinued my old package entirely. I suppose that was the one surprise thing they could have done, assuming this new tech and "free" package now also makes my Internet more reliable, that was going to keep me from canceling my service over the holiday break. They called this perfectly. After the break, if my Internet proves to be more reliable, my inertia will take over again and they will continue to rake me over the coals with their steady and consistent price increases.

Ya Charter 'upgraded' a few years back from whatever anyone had (I had 30 or 60) to 100 down. They had to give everyone a modem due to the standards to actually get that speed. Also I dont use my ISP's router wifi service because they charge $5 a month for it. Just use my own router.

Submitted my semester grades and brought in a nice Xmas tree, and now we're getting the first snow of the year (which might be a foot). Holidays are here!

My birthday is a week before Christmas, so for me the Birthday-Xmas-NewYear fortnight is its own thing.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 6:00 pm Ya Charter 'upgraded' a few years back from whatever anyone had (I had 30 or 60) to 100 down. They had to give everyone a modem due to the standards to actually get that speed. Also I dont use my ISP's router wifi service because they charge $5 a month for it. Just use my own router.

I had to fight to learn about what cable modems WOW would let me provide on my own. I eventually submit to the additional $5 a month. The crappy cable modem was part of why I was ready to cancel service. I am assuming it was a legacy device and I was beginning to be me a pain for them and it was easier to give me "free" service upgrades that just end up being rolled in to all of the price increases anyway. But again, it's was the perfect time for a pacifier. Less than two weeks later, the call to terminate my service would have come after the confirmation of my Comcast installation time/date. I'm not sure how long inertia will carry me. It will likely depend on the quality of the upgrade. That $140 a month bill is intollerable when the inferior Internet is going down several times a day and the modem needs to be reset several time in a long session. Oddly enough, if the quality of Internet improves, I'm still likely to finally turn off Cable but keep their Internet. Cable keeps me company but that bill is just insane and accounts for nearly 20% of my entire monthly spending. It's a hard pill to swallow.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 6:21 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 6:00 pm Ya Charter 'upgraded' a few years back from whatever anyone had (I had 30 or 60) to 100 down. They had to give everyone a modem due to the standards to actually get that speed. Also I dont use my ISP's router wifi service because they charge $5 a month for it. Just use my own router.

I had to fight to learn about what cable modems WOW would let me provide on my own. I eventually submit to the additional $5 a month. The crappy cable modem was part of why I was ready to cancel service. I am assuming it was a legacy device and I was beginning to be me a pain for them and it was easier to give me "free" service upgrades that just end up being rolled in to all of the price increases anyway. But again, it's was the perfect time for a pacifier. Less than two weeks later, the call to terminate my service would have come after the confirmation of my Comcast installation time/date. I'm not sure how long inertia will carry me. It will likely depend on the quality of the upgrade. That $140 a month bill is intollerable when the inferior Internet is going down several times a day and the modem needs to be reset several time in a long session. Oddly enough, if the quality of Internet improves, I'm still likely to finally turn off Cable but keep their Internet. Cable keeps me company but that bill is just insane and accounts for nearly 20% of my entire monthly spending. It's a hard pill to swallow.

i called my cable company and negotiated my bill (80 down/5 up) to $66/month for two years

also bought my own modem ($32 refurb from eBay, works just fine)

Back in early 2000s I think it was my ISP rented their modems for $5 a month. They also let you buy them. You simply paid the normal $5 monthly fee and after about 9 months you owned the modem and didn't pay any more. They would drop all support though. Was fine with me. But they would change things after a couple years and after buying the 2nd modem like this I refused to bother with the 3rd modem when it came time. Wasn't long after they made their modems free.

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:01 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 6:21 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 6:00 pm Ya Charter 'upgraded' a few years back from whatever anyone had (I had 30 or 60) to 100 down. They had to give everyone a modem due to the standards to actually get that speed. Also I dont use my ISP's router wifi service because they charge $5 a month for it. Just use my own router.

I had to fight to learn about what cable modems WOW would let me provide on my own. I eventually submit to the additional $5 a month. The crappy cable modem was part of why I was ready to cancel service. I am assuming it was a legacy device and I was beginning to be me a pain for them and it was easier to give me "free" service upgrades that just end up being rolled in to all of the price increases anyway. But again, it's was the perfect time for a pacifier. Less than two weeks later, the call to terminate my service would have come after the confirmation of my Comcast installation time/date. I'm not sure how long inertia will carry me. It will likely depend on the quality of the upgrade. That $140 a month bill is intollerable when the inferior Internet is going down several times a day and the modem needs to be reset several time in a long session. Oddly enough, if the quality of Internet improves, I'm still likely to finally turn off Cable but keep their Internet. Cable keeps me company but that bill is just insane and accounts for nearly 20% of my entire monthly spending. It's a hard pill to swallow.

i called my cable company and negotiated my bill (80 down/5 up) to $66/month for two years

also bought my own modem ($32 refurb from eBay, works just fine)

My ISP charges $40/mo for 100/10. It was a "limited time offer" with no expiration date that will probably be semi-permanent.

I tried replacing their router with my own and immediately ran into disconnects. It took a lot of tech support to figure out that Motorolas just don't work with their service. Since my old legacy modem still worked OK, I asked if I could just have it since I'd been paying them $7.50/mo for years. They wouldn't give it away but sold it to me for $15. It's probably the bottleneck in my setup, being an old DOCSYS 2.0 while all the cool kids have 3.1 now (is that a thing?), but after my previous attempt to upgrade was such a headache I'll live with it until I can't anymore.

My ISP is a ripoff even with a free modem.

100/10 is $69.99

They offered me a deal for 1 year... stay 100/10 and pay $56 a month I think it was . OR ....go to 400/20 for the same price I was paying. I took the speed increase. Im getting 456/23 .

But remember the next county over which is about 1 1/2 miles from me has a municipal broadband service through the local power company. They have 1000/1000 for $69.99. For funsies they offer 10,000/10,000 for $299.

I have known this ever since I studied the Enterprise blueprints as a kid. And it still feels weird.

hitbyambulance wrote: ↑Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:01 pm i called my cable company and negotiated my bill (80 down/5 up) to $66/month for two years

also bought my own modem ($32 refurb from eBay, works just fine)

WOW used to negotiate annually and I didn't mind. It became an annual ritual for me and well worth the effort, saving about $500 a year over having to look for another provider. Then one year their negotiations got silly. I could bring the price down $10 for two years but I'd be locked in a contract for two years without being shielded from rate hikes.