Octopus Overlords

dbt1949 wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:09 am He's not British.

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:14 am

dbt1949 wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:09 am He's not British.

He's very British. English, to be precise.

James Bond, however, is Scottish.

IIRC, Bond's father was Scottish and his mother was Swiss. If we allow that Bond is primarily of Scottish descent, that still means that it is technically correct (the best kind of correct) to characterize him as British since Scotland is part of Great Britain whether the Scots like it or not.

Which is why I distinguished British from English.

dbt1949 wrote: Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:09 am He's not British.

oh contraire mon frere

I'm late.

Speaking of accents ("ACTING!!"), I recently learned something about Portuguese.

My boss is from Portugal, and I was present when he met with some visiting scholars from Brazil. It was interesting to see that they all two or three times dropped into English to clarify a phrase or idea: apparently Brazilian Portuguese and the version now spoken in Portugal are more different than standard American and British English.

Or maybe the best comparison is like someone from California talking to someone from far-north rural Scotland, though both in English.

(On a related note, I once took two years of Spanish back-to-back with the same teacher. When I tried to order fluently in a Mexican restaurant, the waiter asked "Why do you have a Cuban accent?")

Watched a Michael J Fox pepsi commerical from 1985 and at the end it said the old slogan "Pepsi, the choice of a new generation".....I thought about it and I was the new generation back then but I never liked Pepsi.

Weird..i was the new generation now im not and its it strange. As my usual feeling on time and age.

I wish I could remember my elementary school lunchbox. My wife remembered her's..The Waltons. She still had the thermos..which i still have now. Im younger than her and I cant remember mine. I think it was either Superman or some Star Wars one. I know it was the metal ones of the 70s and early 80s before the junky plastic ones. Came with the thermos inside. Looking at them online trying to jog me memory there was SO many cool ones. I really like that black one with X-Wing on it.

No telling the worth or collectability of them now. I know my brother tracked down one like his..a Hop Along Cassidy one.

I never had a lunch box as a kid. We never lived more than about 2 blocks from whatever school I went to, and at one point literally across the street, so I always went home for lunch.

My lunchbox had something about outer space and going to the moon.

I had a bit of a sheltered childhood and remember bringing a Mickey Mouse head lunch pail to the first day of 3rd grade at a new school.

It did not go well. And possibly set the tone for the rest of my life.

first lunchbox in first grade was definitely The Empire Strikes back - might have been the only one i ever had

(i do remember my brother getting a Sport Billy at some point)

I'm vaguely thinking that mine was The Dukes of Hazzard. Maybe.

I had a red plastic snoopy box for a time in elementary school. At time time it felt good not to brown bag it.

I don't recall ever having a lunch box. By high school I did have a phobia towards cafeterias so I brown bagged it each day.

By the way, a local news story mentioned that in the Orlando, FL area, the average price of a wedding is now $30,000 . That's about $29,750 more than my wife and I spent.

The lunchboxes nearly every kid had over here were stainless steel lunchboxes designed for mine workers seeing as our town is a mining town. Very durable and tough.

By Junior High I'd quit eating lunch at school. From then through the end of high school I just skipped that particular meal. That was prime reading time (and later, hanging out time) that I wasn't going to spend surrounded by the most obnoxious kids in the school.

Yeah, I remember quitting lunch by the first yeah of high school. That was best spent wandering the halls pretending very hard to be cool.

I thought I was pretty cool with my Batman lunch box (Adam West, duh) until the paradigm shifted and brown bags marked lunch boxes as little kid stuff.

I could never skip lunch. Got free lunch and I was absolutely starving by lunch. I remember being in the class before lunch and my stomach so loud others would look. I had to sit and grab my stomach to try and stifle it. I could have ate two lunches. I used to want an extra slice of pizza SO bad but had no money.

So I guess in a way it helped prepare me for now.

Sudy wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2023 9:14 pm Yeah, I remember quitting lunch by the first yeah of high school. That was best spent wandering the halls pretending very hard to be cool.

For me it was hating the teenage social bullshit that clogged every cafeteria. From the cliques to the bullies to the noise to the "you can't sit here" crap, I just got sick of it (and trying to understand it as an undiagnosed autistic kid wasn't exactly a minor undertaking.) I'd usually just go find a peaceful spot outside or down some hall, sit down, and read. I learned more during lunch than I did in most of my classes.

During my last two years I actually had a couple of those, whatsits - friends. Most of them skipped, too, so we'd all just hang out.

I couldn't wait to got outside and play ball.

I dont recall having a lunch room problem or cant sit here. I think the only group I wasn't friends with were the jocks. They were egotistical roid bound assholes for the most part.

I was friends with the nerds, the geeks, the rock n rollers, the biker like ones, and the total losers lol. I usually sat with my nerdier friends and smart folk. I can remember being jealous of this one perhaps gay guy that always sat with a bunch of girls.

The Wonder Twins’ 10th birthday party was yesterday. We decided to simply stage a big water fight in the backyard.

In case you’re wondering, it takes 5 minutes and 28 seconds for twenty 10-year-olds to go through 950 water balloons.

Water fights are super fun for the kids, but it really is amazing just how fast they can make what you thought was a huge amount of balloons disappear...and then they come back to you begging for more. At least those quick-fill balloon sets exist now.

Daehawk wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2023 10:30 pmI was friends with the nerds, the geeks, the rock n rollers, the biker like ones, and the total losers

Hehe sluts.

Looks like Im going to the laundromat again this month. I actually found a washer AND dryer for sale on marketplace for $50....both are claimed to work but are pretty old . I could care less about age or looks but I have no way to get them here. No one really delivers and I have no truck or know anyone. So Im missing out on a great deal as everything else is like $150+ for just a washer. Ive seen like a Samsung for $200 that needs the tub replaced or another type that is $180 needs such n such. haha bs... I have a non working one already thanks.

I still think I could fix mine if i could just get it apart. That hub coupler is STILL stuck after a month of me prying on it. All videos show simply remove the bolt and lift it off....removed the bolt and its on there like steel. Ive busted my hand multiple times. Not sure what to do. I haven't called a repairman yet but may try that when my check comes in July.

Never knew how nice it was to have my own washer. Just toss what ya want in and done. Now Im forced to pack up the clothes and go out in the heat with no car AC to go to a laundry and use machines no telling what has been put in and then wait for an hour and a half nearly to wash and dry them then back in the heat and home. HATE IT.

If I cant get someone to come out and fix mine at a good price, fix it myself,, or get some used ones delivered my only 2 options left to me are either the laundromat until something changes or rent to own...which is a RIPOFF but may be my only option.

Using a laundromat because you can't afford a washer/dryer is yet another good example of how being poor is expensive. You end up spending more money in dribs and drabs, with nothing to show for it in the end.

I grate against the need to use a laundromat (the plumbing/wiring in my apartment couldn't handle even a small in-unit washer/dryer), so I routinely hand-wash my small stuff and only use the machines for bigger items where hand-washing is just stupidly impractical.

I use a Scrubba wash bag. It's meant for travel and hiking and such, but it works just as well if you're simply stubbornly thrifty and have plenty of time on your hands.

Brian wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 12:27 pm

Daehawk wrote: Sat Jun 24, 2023 10:30 pmI was friends with the nerds, the geeks, the rock n rollers, the biker like ones, and the total losers

Yeah, but the skaters, the hackers, the surfers, and the mods all hate his guts.

I would save so much money if I could get a washer and dryer. The problem is that I have nowhere to hook them up. If I had a spot, I'd find a way to pay for a set. They'd pay for themselves in a year and a half.

And yeah - if I were the only person with dirty clothes, I'd start hand-washing about 90% of what I use. I mostly wear T-shirts and denim or heavy cotton pants/shorts, so it isn't like I need to carefully manage washing settings. But with me and both kids still in the house (likely long-term), laundromats have to remain a thing. Which sucks, because I get to choose between one laundromat, and it isn't exactly the nicest in the world (I've lost more than one item of clothing to their bailing wire and chewing gum machines.)

Maybe it's time to go "old school"?


Home Depot has trucks you can rent by the hour.

No car AC, you could get by with one of these https://www.icybreeze.com/ would also be good as back up for home or bad weather.

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 1:41 pm I would save so much money if I could get a washer and dryer.

Hate to say it, but there are "tiny" washers on Temu... It's basically good for 1 or 2 shirts and some socks.

I've also seen like 1/2 sized washing machines on Amazon, complete with a spin dryer. Just need a garden hose, I think, and regular outlet.

With three adults? Probably not practical. And no offense, but I don't trust Temu. They may have a few good things, but I can't afford to buy on 'maybe it's one of the legitimate products.'

Thanks for the infos , Ill look at all that stuff.

I did wash my small amount of clothes last time but i couldn't wring them very well and the ywere still pretty waterlogged. Its hard to dry them and they can sour while trying. I have no outdoor line..just a small 3 or 4 item line on my back porch and assorted chairs, vacuums, and tables to hang them from in my kitchen and den.

I busted both my hands and wrists in a fall off a farm gate back in 2019 right after my wife died. I cant grip good and they hurt..wringing is impossible and hurts like heck.

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 3:10 pm With three adults? Probably not practical. And no offense, but I don't trust Temu. They may have a few good things, but I can't afford to buy on 'maybe it's one of the legitimate products.'

Probably not 3 adults. One person, maybe.

Daehawk wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 3:15 pm I busted both my hands and wrists in a fall off a farm gate back in 2019 right after my wife died. I cant grip good and they hurt..wringing is impossible and hurts like heck.

Not to build off of the 'old school' joke, but consider getting a clothes wringer if you go that route.

I need a 110 dryer. They seem hard to find as heck. Ive seen the ones that are a washer with a small dryer attached above them that are 110 and seldom a full'ish size dryer 110.

Cheapest hand use clothes wringer online runs like $250

Daehawk wrote: Sun Jun 25, 2023 3:15 pm Thanks for the infos , Ill look at all that stuff.

I did wash my small amount of clothes last time but i couldn't wring them very well and the ywere still pretty waterlogged. Its hard to dry them and they can sour while trying. I have no outdoor line..just a small 3 or 4 item line on my back porch and assorted chairs, vacuums, and tables to hang them from in my kitchen and den.

I busted both my hands and wrists in a fall off a farm gate back in 2019 right after my wife died. I cant grip good and they hurt..wringing is impossible and hurts like heck.

given the heat/sun in your part of the country, extending the outdoor clothes line (or even getting an indoor one) would be a good investment. especially then you could just focus on getting the washer for now, saving the drier for waaay later.

i hang all of my concert/band/novelty t-shirts and some of my pants up to dry indoors, as it saves the screen printing on the shirts and some of the pants are recommended 'gentle cycle' or 'line dry' anyways. and if the towels ever develop mildew smell, hanging them outside in the sun for a couple hours fixes that - sunlight is the best bacterial disinfectant.