Octopus Overlords

When I was a teenager I could buy either cheap mass-produced beer or stale imported beer. That didn't change until I discovered Sam Adams in the mid-80s, and then there was no going back.

How can a person classify a beer as bad when it is all subjective? Everybody has different tastes and one beer that someone dislikes is another ones favorite. You need to have numbers to really prove your point.

Kraken wrote:When I was a teenager I could buy either cheap mass-produced beer or stale imported beer. That didn't change until I discovered Sam Adams in the mid-80s, and then there was no going back.

I was introduced to Sam Adams beer by the college socialists — because he was the most revolutionary of the founders. I enjoyed liberating decent beer from the workers.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 10:01 pm Strong, dark ales for me, thanks!

Yes, this. Lagers suck, especially the mass market ones that could be mistaken for water.

Today is Twosday: 22/02/2022.

I read an article some time back about microbrewers and their favorite macro beers. These people, who are responsible for the complex, strong, dark, hoppy, whatever beers those of who style ourselves as beer snobs enjoy, talked with great respect about Bud, Miller, Coors, etc. A classic clean, crisp lager is more challenging to make than a lot of other beers (because other beers can hide their flaws more easily with stronger flavors or by claiming, "Um, we did that on purpose!"). Depending on what they were eating, these brewers would rave about the perfection of a crisp, cold Budweiser. These mass produced beers were not necessarily exciting, but they did the job they set out to do, they created a consistent and high quality (for the style) product, and the beers really hit the spot in the right circumstances.

The article really led me to reconsider my beer snobbery. These experts in the field who made the types of beers I usually enjoy could respect, appreciate, and enjoy these mass produced beers I had been too high-handed to consider. I'm still not likely to buy those types of beers outside of certain circumstances (a cold Old Style on a hot Wrigley afternoon is a great example), but I no longer look down on them the way I did before. They're more like the other types of beers I generally don't drink (light beers, session beers, hazy IPAs, fruity beers, etc.). They're out there. They're of varying quality. Other people enjoy them, and I don't get any benefit from bashing them or the people who enjoy them.

Except Budweiser. That's Cardinals beer.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 2:23 pm I saw a swatting live on Twitch just now. Apparently a half dozen vehicles full of fully armed cops showed up at the streamer's home, but luckily they didn't kick in the door and come in guns blazing, so nobody was physically injured. Her husband came on camera briefly to explain what was going on and was remarkably calm considering what was going down.

There are some dangerously sick fucks out there...

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't understand. What were they streaming that made the cops show up?

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:19 am How can a person classify a beer as bad when it is all subjective? Everybody has different tastes and one beer that someone dislikes is another ones favorite. You need to have numbers to really prove your point.

I classified them as 'blech' while giving my opinion. That doesn't mean that my opinion objective or universal, just that I find them blech.

I think no less of people whose opinion is different.

Throughout the pandemic, I've been reevaluating my old food and drink prejudices in order to broaden my takeout horizons. Some foods I used to shun or reflexively hate are back in my good graces. I'm open to reconsidering macrobrews as well, although the circumstances in which I would buy one are limited (such as the burger+beer special that I mentioned earlier). Maybe I will hate Bud, but as I haven't had one in probably 25 years it might be time to reconsider.

That said, I enjoy living in an age when beer is hyperlocal and super fresh. I buy local microbrews almost exclusively. If it was brewed more than 25 miles from home, it's an import. If it was canned more than a few weeks ago, it's old. Fortunately, I've favored IPAs almost exclusively for a very long time and the brewers are playing my tune.

Last week a clerk at the packie saw me browsing the craft beer coolers and offered help. I was looking for an old-school, piney, resinous west coast IPA of the sort that used to define the style. The pickings were very slim. He found two that sort of mostly fit the bill. Here on the East Coast, NEIPAs rule the coolers. I love 'em so that's fine, but even I like to change things up now and then.

I still have a 12-pack of "old, imported" Celebration Ale that evokes the classic IPA style, so there's that to fall back on.

Fardaza wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:44 am

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 2:23 pm I saw a swatting live on Twitch just now. Apparently a half dozen vehicles full of fully armed cops showed up at the streamer's home, but luckily they didn't kick in the door and come in guns blazing, so nobody was physically injured. Her husband came on camera briefly to explain what was going on and was remarkably calm considering what was going down.

There are some dangerously sick fucks out there...

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't understand. What were they streaming that made the cops show up?

It was a "Food and Drink" stream where they were preparing a meal. Since Monday was a holiday, the entire family (husband, wife and 5 kids) were home when it happened.

The cops showed up because some asshole submitted a false 911 report claiming a shooting incident at the streamer's home address, so they deployed a SWAT team (which is why this is referred to as "swatting" someone). The situation didn't escalate, but in at least one case that I know of the person on the receiving end of the "prank" ended up being shot and killed by the police. To me, swatting is attempted murder and if the police are able to track down the person behind it I hope they see some serious prison time.

Madmarcus wrote:Dark ales are great. IPAs are great. I want beers with strong flavors!

Agreed, as are good Stouts. But for pool/Beach days, a nice light lager is perfect.

dbt1949 wrote:When I was in the air force stationed in northern Maine we used to get this real cheap beer called
Narragansett beer. They were so bad we called them "Nasties", but we drank them all the time.

My only experience with nastygansett is from Stephen King novels!

Yep, it has become a popular way to troll streamers. Find out their details, call in a false hostage crisis (or whatever), then watch it unfold live on the stream. And yeah, a couple of people have died. One was really screwed up, and possibly led to a second death:

The incident began as an online dispute between Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill, regarding the video game Call of Duty: WWII. During the dispute, Viner threatened to have Gaskill swatted, and Gaskill responded by giving him a false address for his residence, one that was occupied by an uninvolved person, Andrew Finch. Viner then asked Tyler Barriss to make the required fraudulent call to initiate the swatting. Wichita Police responded to the address, and as Finch was exiting his house, police officer Justin Rapp fatally shot him.

[...]

Finch's 18-year-old niece Adelina died by suicide on January 11, 2019. Adelina was raised by Lisa and Andrew Finch after her own mother had died; she was 17 at the time of the shooting and witnessed her uncle's death. Lisa Finch blames Adelina's death on the events of December 28

Another caused the victim to die of a heart attack during the experience.

Part of the blame should lie on the police that shoot innocent people in their homes as well. It simply shouldn't happen.

Let's not get into that angle in this thread. Black and white statements like that on complex issues can be argued in R&P.

Sudy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:22 am I've been seeing a lot of holidays that way, recently. But I've come to realize that a lot of the chocolate that gets discounted really isn't worth eating. I'm even tired of Lindt balls.

I am currently enjoying a bar of this. Its amazing superfantastic delicious chocolate. I'm enjoying it slowing, a small bit every day, so it lasts for a while. Unlikely to be discounted, but worth every cent of the full price.


https://www.zotterusa.com/product/tiramisu/

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:40 am When I was a teenager I could buy either cheap mass-produced beer or stale imported beer. That didn't change until I discovered Sam Adams in the mid-80s, and then there was no going back.

SO you went with the cheap, shitty, mass produced beer. Good choice!

Slainte!

Jaymon wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:00 pm

Sudy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:22 am I've been seeing a lot of holidays that way, recently. But I've come to realize that a lot of the chocolate that gets discounted really isn't worth eating. I'm even tired of Lindt balls.

I am currently enjoying a bar of this. Its amazing superfantastic delicious chocolate. I'm enjoying it slowing, a small bit every day, so it lasts for a while. Unlikely to be discounted, but worth every cent of the full price.


https://www.zotterusa.com/product/tiramisu/

I'm in, definitely prefer quality over quantity. And it's difficult to find quality.

A nonny mouse wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:11 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 12:40 am When I was a teenager I could buy either cheap mass-produced beer or stale imported beer. That didn't change until I discovered Sam Adams in the mid-80s, and then there was no going back.

SO you went with the cheap, shitty, mass produced beer. Good choice!

Slainte!

Spoiler:

I quit drinking 11 years ago so I don't have a dog in this fight.

I don't drink Sams anymore, but it was revolutionary in its day as the first successful craft brewer in the East.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sat Feb 19, 2022 1:15 am Ordered it. 78 with tax.

And it's quite good. The dust bin opens two ways: the bottom drops open so any heavy comes right out. Then to clear the hair and whatnot you can twist the entire cup off. And I was surprised at the amount of crap it picked up. The "max power" setting was loud as heck, which is kinda surprising, but it's not a major hindrance as I don't use it very often. The problem is the static electricity as dust just coats the thing on the outside. But nothing a kleenex (tm) can't solve. No onboard holder for the accessories (fabric brush, crevice tool). There are two places on the wall mount, not that I have a way to mount it other than with 3M Command strips. But for 71 bucks? It's a darn good little vacuum.

Is the brush powered? I hate air powered ones as they never work. Mine is air powered on my Dirt Devil. POS wont spin if you use it...spins fine in just open air..useless hehe.

15 degrees out and it's a mixture of rain and sleet.
Rain?

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:58 pm Miller Highlife still my go to big-brewer domestic.

Canned or bottled? Oddly, for High Life, I don't much care for it out of a can, but out of a bottle? Bring it on.

I remember Miller having some kind of black bottle charcoal filtered in the mid 80s. Me and my friend...both about 15....got a 6 pack and went fishing. Didn't care for the taste but 2 bottles in on a hot day really made fishing more fun. Maybe it was Genuine Draft but that Im not sure is charcoal filtered.

R.I.P., Entertainment Weekly. One of the few magazines that I've subscribed to my entire adult life.

(I know that it's only the print edition closing, but that was the only way I ever read it.)

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:37 am Is the brush powered? I hate air powered ones as they never work. Mine is air powered on my Dirt Devil. POS wont spin if you use it...spins fine in just open air..useless hehe.

Yeah, it's powered, and has LED "headlights". It's got power leads on the side of the tube leading down to the brush.

It saddens me we are losing all our print magazines. I ONLY love reading paper mags. I dont like any stories of them online.

pr0ner wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 12:22 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:58 pm Miller Highlife still my go to big-brewer domestic.

Canned or bottled? Oddly, for High Life, I don't much care for it out of a can, but out of a bottle? Bring it on.

Agreed

Had a cute 20 something flirty girl flirt with me today. I was totally out of my element. Its like I was 16 again and tongue tied. Lol. Hows that for random.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 2:44 pm

Needs black pepper.

There are so many different styles of music out there. Does rock and roll even exist anymore?
Now a days country is rock and roll with country lyrics.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 24, 2022 2:10 am There are so many different styles of music out there. Does rock and roll even exist anymore?

Did it ever? There were always many, many genres of rock. They just didn't play most of them on the radio. Hell, just listing the styles of rock that were around 40 or 50 years ago would probably take a post in and of itself. Now the internet has given us access to all of them at once, which makes it harder to figure out what's what. The same is true of country, rap, electronic music, and every other genre.

I'm sure if you gave a few examples of what you like, OOers could point you in the right direction.

Charlize Theron 'Didn't Feel Safe' on Mad Max Set With Tom Hardy

Hardy apparently responded by “charging up to her” demanding: “What did you say to me?” Goellnicht noted that Hardy was “quite aggressive” and that Theron “really felt threatened.” At this point, Theron demanded protection on set.

“It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand, and there was a sense that maybe sending a woman producer down could maybe equalise some of it, because I didn’t feel safe,” she explained. However, producer Denise Di Novi was ultimately barred from set herself.

The hell?

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The parents of actor Alicia Witt who were found dead in their Massachusetts home in December died of exposure to the cold, according to the state medical examiner’s office.

The cause of death for Robert Witt, 87, and Diane Witt, 75, was “probable cardiac dysrhythmia” due to the cold, according to death certificates issued Wednesday, The Telegram & Gazette reported.

The Witts were found in their rundown Worcester home on Dec. 20 by police after Witt asked a relative to check on them because she hadn’t heard from them in several days.

Police said at the time the home’s heating system was not working.

Witt said in a social media post last month that she had repeatedly offered her parents help, but was always turned down. She called her parents “fiercely stubborn” and said she had no idea they were without heat.

Sad to be so stubborn you die.

Physics doesn't care about ego.

I don't have a Netflix sub anymore, so I didn't know or care about The Tinder Swindler. TL/DR; Simon Leviev wasn't born with that name, but he legally changed his name to be the same of a Israeli diamond mogul's son. The documentary alleged that he swindled millions from multiple women who believed he was the diamond mogul, lent him money to "get him out of trouble. Then he left them in debt.

Well, Simon Leviev decided to take up his notoriety and talked to Inside Edition, claiming the documentary made him look like a monster, and he's not that. He claimed he never said anything untrue, and he's not feeling sorry for things he never did. He's now got an agent and claimed someone has optioned the rights to make a movie about his side of the story, and he's apparently got a pretty famous supermodel girlfriend Kate Konlin.

What's really weird is some folks in the "manosphere" decided to idolize him as a hero, calling it "retribution" for the way women can con men but rarely get punished, but when man con women he gets a movie made about him.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Feb 24, 2022 1:22 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 24, 2022 2:10 am There are so many different styles of music out there. Does rock and roll even exist anymore?

Did it ever? There were always many, many genres of rock. They just didn't play most of them on the radio. Hell, just listing the styles of rock that were around 40 or 50 years ago would probably take a post in and of itself. Now the internet has given us access to all of them at once, which makes it harder to figure out what's what. The same is true of country, rap, electronic music, and every other genre.

I'm sure if you gave a few examples of what you like, OOers could point you in the right direction.

It's true that when I was young there were a lot of music types, however in those days they all competed in the Top 40 (pop music). We had Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, CW stars, jazz, comedy, whatever kind Barbra Streisand sang, musicals from Broadway.
Now they've divided it up into different styles and I don't see (or hear) much in the way of rock and roll.

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Thu Feb 24, 2022 9:21 pm I don't have a Netflix sub anymore, so I didn't know or care about The Tinder Swindler. TL/DR; Simon Leviev wasn't born with that name, but he legally changed his name to be the same of a Israeli diamond mogul's son. The documentary alleged that he swindled millions from multiple women who believed he was the diamond mogul, lent him money to "get him out of trouble. Then he left them in debt.

Well, Simon Leviev decided to take up his notoriety and talked to Inside Edition, claiming the documentary made him look like a monster, and he's not that. He claimed he never said anything untrue, and he's not feeling sorry for things he never did. He's now got an agent and claimed someone has optioned the rights to make a movie about his side of the story, and he's apparently got a pretty famous supermodel girlfriend Kate Konlin.

What's really weird is some folks in the "manosphere" decided to idolize him as a hero, calling it "retribution" for the way women can con men but rarely get punished, but when man con women he gets a movie made about him.