1,027 thoughts on “A Grand

  1. I’m never quite sure how I feel about tax refunds. On the one hand, it’s nice to get a chunk of money once a year. However, it also means too much tax is being taking from our pay cheques so, if a little less was taken from our pay cheques, we’d have that money to spend right now instead of waiting a year.
    It’s a conundrum.

  2. I love it when Scientists get pissy with one another.
    According to an article in a recent Scientific American –
    Apparently there has been a battle between those who say the “randomized controlled trial” (in which a random sorting leads to only some subjects getting the real intervention being tested) is the ONLY true way to prove effectiveness VS. those who say that you don’t need RCT to make reasonable conclusions about certain effects of certain actions.
    To back up their point of view, in 2003 supporters of the later group published a paper in the British Medical Journal entitled, ā€œParachute Use to Prevent Death and Major Trauma Related to Gravitational Challenge: Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials.ā€
    In which they said results of parachute use was CLEARLY observable and the paper went on to suggest “We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine should organize and participated in a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.”

    OOOOoooooooo! Major NERD BURN there!

    Not to be outdone though (because NERDS), proponents of RCT from Harvard, the University of Michigan and U.C.L.A. joined with skydivers to publish a paper where they did JUST THAT!

    “The team enlisted and randomized 23 volunteers. Twelve participants wore parachutes while the other 11 donned backpacks that contained no parachutes. All 23 leapt from either a plane or a helicopter. The jumpers were assessed shortly after hitting the ground for death or major trauma, and most were reevaluated 30 days later.”

    HA! Take that!!! Wait … what!?!
    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/volunteers-jumped-with-or-without-a-parachute-to-gauge-its-effectiveness/

  3. This would only make sense if you’ve read “Gotham Academy” but now I can imagine Maps from Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs being sung by Olive.

    • Around here that would be a lazy man’s “Nacho’s”. Only it is usually made with Tostedos (or similur pre-packaged chip) covered in cheese and heated in anything from a toaster oven to a microwave oven. What ever is convenant.

  4. Itā€™s snowing. I have to go into town today. Iā€™m trying to decide if I want to cancel my appointments in favour of not going out on the roads

      • Am I still allowed to like the music of MJ ?
        I was never an MJ “fan”. It was/is not him I liked (or really cared anything about one way or another), it was some of his music.
        So am I still allowed to like the music if it turns out he was a monster?

        He’s dead so it’s not like he’s benefiting in any way from me listening to one of his tunes. Any MJ music I liked enough to buy was bought years ago and even before the latest allegations I was never likely to spend money on anything else MJ related.
        The tunes I like don’t push any agendas or take any political stances. If someone who had been born yesterday and had no idea who he was heard one of his tunes and didn’t know the name of the artist … would it be ok if THAT person liked it?
        I am conflicted.

        • I fully believe in separating art from artist. I love the Roman Polanski movies I’ve seen, but he’s an unrepentant monster.

          I haven’t seen Leaving Neverland, but I think those questions ahave lingered around him for decades now.

  5. So The new Spiderman film is subtitled Far from Home.

    So we have an English guy playing an American in a film set partly in England, so heā€™s actually not that far from home.

    That some fucked up shit right there…

  6. After 11 years of movies led by male heroes, with only 2 female hero characters I can think of, only 1 with actual powers, I really feel like Marvel are cramming their leftist agenda down our throats with Captain Marvel.

    (In the theater now!)

  7. Just came out of theatre. Film had too many strong female characters and too many people of color also on strong leads. When will the left stop this male white privilege bashing??!!!!

    (I enjoyed Captain Marvel!!!! That is all.)

  8. So there were Charmed reruns on the TV during the 30 seconds I was in the break room with no sound or subtitles and I think it might be my favorite show of all time thank you.

  9. I think tomorrow will be a good day for a pbp.
    If anybody has suggestions on how they want it done, I may be open to that.

  10. Finished Umbrella Academy on Netflix. I only read the first 6 of the comics, which is basically covered in the miniseries.

    Lotta differences. I enjoyed a lot of things about the show, but there were a few characters and one big subplot that I kinda hated. Overall good though! Was season 2 confirmed?

  11. Crap joke for the day;

    A man goes into the pub with a newt on his shoulder.
    “What do you call him?” asks the barman.
    “Tiny” answers the man.
    “Why Tiny? the barman responds.
    “Because he’s my-newt”, says the man.

  12. Moning Pan

    We too watched and enjoyed umbrella academy. There better be a second season since they didn’t really finish anything in the first.

  13. Alright, I’m back in the house. So, I expect much more tomfoolery and carrying-on around here. Y’all have been slacking.

    Florida was fun with my daughter’s band group. Another one of those “lasts” that I’m going through this year with her.

  14. Van!!!!! I am so deeply sorry to hear this, as I was hoping for a different outcome.

    We are all with you in spirit. Big hug!

  15. Ok Pan, itā€™s movie time

    Todayā€™s movie is First Born
    A young couple fights supernatural foes in an attempt to save their daughter from the dark and mysterious forces that follow her every move

    Animal poetry?

  16. Well Im glad
    To hear of an owl being eaten vs a human eating another human

    (Did ai follow the interpretation correctly)

    Well done DJ Bunny on this PBP Animal style.

    Mmmmmmmm, animal fries

  17. So here I am, a middle-aged man sitting alone in the bleachers while the girls skate, and I realize my fly is open.

    How do I fix this without approaching Aqualung levels of creepy?

  18. Morning Pan
    Hubby is going to be home later than usual tonight but not as late as his other late nights. Iā€™m so confused

  19. *Not directed at anyone here, but I just need to say it in a public place:

    OMG, you fucking failed hipster, you were posting fake-deep bullshit recently about how you’re so tired of the Marvel movies, while rattling off your faux-film-school snob list of lamentations for the state of modern cinema because of the Marvel movies, replete with some lip service nonsense about storytelling – – but now you’re professing love for the Captain Marvel movie? Get over yourself, you pretentious dimwit.

  20. Morning Pan
    It was a busy weekend so didn’t go shopping. Will have to sneak out later this morning to fill my larder.

        • Actually, what I did find interesting, to prove their theory, some did scientific experiments. The idea being, if a happened, the earth was flat, if b happened, the earth is round. In the experiments, b happened, showing the earth was round. In each case, instead of accepting the findings, they would find some way to brush it off as flawed and change the parameters. Thus showing they were less interested in using the scientific method, than in looking for confirmation biases

          • It’s on my watchlist. I’ve encountered a couple of “flat earthers” on Quora. They make a big deal about how fast the Earth is spinning at “1000 MILES PER HOUR!!!!!” Lots of all caps and exclamation points, trying for an emotional response. I always tell them to look at the hour hand of an analog clock. It’s “spinning” at twice the rate of the Earth.

  21. Crap joke for the day:

    This man is in the hospital for a series of tests. One of the last test has left his system upset. Upon making several false alarms to the bathroom he decided the latest was another. He completely filled his bed up with human waste and was embarrassed beyond anything he could possibly
    face. Losing his presence of mind, he jumped up, gathered up the bed sheets, and threw them out the hospital window. A drunk was walking by the hospital when the sheets landed on him. He started yelling, cussing and swinging his arms which drew the attention of the security guard.The security guard ask:”What’s going on?” To which the drunk replied: “I just beat the shit out of a ghost.”

  22. I had dinner with Mark Forman, the Brooklyn Bluesman in town from Taiwan.

    Dude hasnā€™t aged a bit. Still the same wisecracker from 2006.

    • I believe we have the weekend and destination finalized.

      I think we still need to figure out hotels/Air-BnB/etc.

      While I always encourage most discussions here instead of FB, that Facebook page is probably the best place to hammer out those details.

  23. I cleaned the washrooms.
    The tub was rather dusty.
    This just shows hubby and I are shower people more than bath people

  24. Just got back from a long walk. I’m glad the weather is nice again, even if it’s temporary. (they are predicting snow this weekend)

  25. Crap joke for the day:

    A Russian spy, a sexual predator and a fake billionaire walk into a bar.

    The bartender says:
    What can I get you, Mr. president??

    • At this moment it sounds as if we will never know what the findings were.
      He has packed the Supreme Court with his sycophants, the Republican controlled Senate has abdicated itā€™s authority and power to him.
      Our system of democratic government based on three equal, INDEPENDANT branches of government providing checks and balances on one another has by all appearances, fallen.
      Itā€™s not clear that the house can restore ā€œchecks and balancesā€ to the legislative branch by itself.

      So … yeh.

  26. U.S. Treasury Department: “We are announcing tougher sanctions on North Korea and the regime of Kim Jong Un.”

    Asshole assuming the current role of President: “Um. No umkay? I’m gonna, like, rescind them bigly”

    U.S Treasury Department: Blank stare. Slow turn around. Walks away

    • Right wing sheep: “It’s the art of the deal you stupid Libtards. He has a plan and he’s executing it to perfection. He CAN’T tell you what it is cause you Tardlibs will put it on the front of the NYT and ruin it!”*

      *paraphrased from actual comments

      • A year ago I read a quote that said the ā€œAdultsā€ in the Republican Party wouldnā€™t stand up against trump until he had done something so damaging to the country that it simply couldnā€™t be undone.
        At the time, even I thought that was a bit hyperbolic. Now I see it was an underestimation of what it would take to find those ā€œadultsā€.

  27. Since we are playing billiards, I read the following summary this morning.
    +++
    Justice Department policy is that the department does not indict a sitting executive.
    Justice Department policy is that the department does not reveal any ā€œderogatory informationā€ about someone not under indictment.
    The two things together would seem to guarantee that a report following all department guidelines would filter out all mention of Trump.

  28. In other news … I am spending quality time with my daughter. Which in this case means I am sitting at a table in a shopping mall in Denver while she, her room mate and her mother shop for under garments … or yoga stuff … or something.

  29. I can’t even tell you how fast I flew through Love, Death, and Robots. There is some great great stuff in there. Highly recommended

  30. The whole family went to see Amaluna under the Big Top today.

    Cirque always brings it! It was a fun show and Hollygirl made it, actually watched it, about 95% of the show before she got antsy enough to have to get down and walk.

  31. Crap joke for the day:

    Schick is walking down the boardwalk in Atlantic City, runs into a hooker,and he says, “How much?”She says, “Twenty bucks.”ā€¦He says, “All right.”They climb down under the boardwalk, and he bangs her. The next night, he runs into the same hooker, they go under the boardwalk, only this time while he’s banging her, she blasts two incredible farts. When they get done, he hands her twenty-FIVE dollars.She says, “What the extra five?”ā€¦He says, “That’s for blowing the sand off my balls.”

  32. With the wifi outage at home tonight, it is Star Trek (2009) on DVD for this pixie at bedtime.

    Ahhhh an oldie but a goodie

    :goodnight light flares:

    • This makes me sad.
      I have always enjoyed his stuff.
      The (English) Beat and General Public were among the bands whose music I never owned but every time I heard their music it got me really pumped.

    • Interesting article. Basically, it is a breakdown of how senses can share information to create a richer cognitive reality. What is missing, and the article admits this as well, is that is a model of how information is processed, but not for how information is experienced. In other words, we could make a computer react in a human way to stimulus, but we still don’t know how to make the computer “experience” the stimulus.

  33. Nothing like discovering a bug in a game that the developer has not bothered to fix in any release of the game on various systems.

    Looking at you Bomber Crew team

  34. Look I know this is hockey deep cuts, but low seeded American International University beating #1 St. Cloud State in the first round of the NCAA tourney is astounding. It was the first tourney game in their history

  35. Hey KC Pannites!

    Are any of you attending the Panet Comic Con tbis weekens? If you are, HMU.

    MY FAVORITE ARTIST HAS A BOOTH THERE.

    • The NHL hockey games on the Sega Genesis were a big deal. PRobably haven’t aged all that well, but they changed everything.

      Other than that – – Master of Monsters had my all-time favorite video game music.

  36. Ah their farmers market. Where customer service ranges from aggressive sales pitch for a $12 jar of something to cranky indifference.

  37. So Netflix’s “The Dirt” movie about Motley Crue is fun. It focuses more on the drama and debauchery than the music – – but then, I suppose it is called “The Dirt,” and not “A Thoughtful Contemplation on the Deeper Meaning of ‘Girl Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away).'”

  38. Aquaman is a bad, bad movie. Not enjoyable dumb cheese like Venom. Just a crap movie. There are occasional cool images that make no sense, but it’s just awful. I’m not sure if it’s worse than Suicide Squad, but it’s easily worse than any other DC flick.

    The score literally goes “Dun dun dunnnnn” for the bad guy when he says or does evil shit. And he looks like Eminem.

    Every one-on-one fight is Tekken.

    I get that Jason Momoa is pretty, but this guy has no business in any leading role.

    • I’m so glad that I don’t seem alone in my opinion of Aquaman then. The special effects were atrocious and I had to stop the film and laugh for about 5 minutes straight when I saw the octopus playing drums. I get that it was an easter egg for a comic book character, but it was still too stupid to exist in the movie.

    • On the other side of the coin (if you haven’t seen it):
      I’ve somehow gotten a reputation for being a cranky movie critic. And Matt Zoller Seitz, who left AVClub to be chief hipster at rogerebert.com, called it revolutionary, and talked about how progressive it is with its male and female roles – – and even cited scenes where they talked it out instead of fighting. . . . I have no idea how he saw that in this turd. I think he was watching an old episode of the Superfriends cartoon and got confused.

    • People loved it and it made a shit ton of money. The sequel is in the works. Expect much much more in the future of your favorite underwater hero…

  39. Morning Pan
    Hubby still has some time off. Me, I’m putting in a bit of work today. Then tomorrow, it’s off to the zoo.

  40. Hott punk show tonite with Essbee… Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers. Small club! Early show for us oldies! Doin’ it up!!!

    • I’d posted this before finishing it – – but I must come back and say, wow. This article really nails it. Required reading.

  41. So watched the first episode of the new Twlight Zone.

    Yeah, nicely done but rather predicatble and left me with an overwhelming feel of ‘well it was ok’.

    • The original is one of the most brilliant TV shows of all time, but even that run had plenty of dud episodes.

      Many attempts have been made to recreate that template in the years since, including a couple of actual Twilight Zone reboots. Many were pretty good, but none were major successes (Tales from the Crypt? Black Mirror?).

      I hope Jordan Peele figures out how to really make this blow up.

  42. I just learned that Matt Mango’s brother* wants to use one of our old songs, “The Land of Broken Hearts,” in his wedding. Which just tickles me to no end.

    The only problem is that all of the wedding guests will surely be distracted by the amazing lead guitar melody, and won’t be able to focus on anything else.

    *actual brother or from another mother wasn’t specified.

  43. My Boo is on holidays in Japan right now. Judging by the pictures she’s posting, she’s having way too much fun. I might be a little jealous

  44. Well, hubby and I just had an interesting event.

    We were going to get hubby’s new glasses. Suddenly, a vehicle, going the other direction, crosses three lanes of highway in front of us, goes into the ditch, rolls his vehicle, and ends up upside down in water. While we called 911, he had to be pulled from the vehicle, and then, because he was unresponsive, first aid had to be administered until EMS arrived. EMS managed to revive him, although he was still unconscious when they loaded him up in the ambulance.
    Hubby and I had to stick around and give police statements.
    We figure he was in distress before he crossed the highway because he didn’t even slow down all the way to the ditch.
    It could have actually been a lot worse. He did cross three lanes of highway at 110k, and didn’t hit any other vehicles on the way.

    We went to get glasses and ended up having an adventure. Let’s never do that again.

  45. Morning Pan
    We didn’t make it to the zoo on Tuesday so we are going this morning instead. We are also picking up my new glasses on the way home. Hubby and I agree, getting my glasses better be less interesting than getting his was yesterday.

    • I get that the article is tongue in cheek, but Ross is the hero of “Friends”, the rest of the cast are antagonists. That would explain the conflicts. The advice at the end is spot on though.

  46. Ima jinx it but I finally finally finally get to see Ghost in Sep. Would have rather seen em a few years ago in a small venue but Ill take it

    #satanytheatricalmetal

    • That was indeed a long read. There is a lot of online hate for EA lately and I can’t say it isn’t undeserved. I’m not as likely to throw money at an unproven game anymore, I wait until there is enough user feedback to know it isn’t a turd. But I feel for the makers of video games. The process keeps getting more complex and corporate meddling just removes the heart of what could be really good compelling games. My hope is that in the future, A.I. will be able to assist in the art asset and programming issues. Then there won’t be so much heavy lifting to change ideas or mock out interesting ones for testing. I’ve never played any Dragon Age games beyond the first one. I wonder if there are any PS4 remasters.

  47. I learned on a stick and it was a lot of fun and my old 1993 Ford Probe was a blast for fast drives, but not so much for the stop and go of a daily commute.

    • I drive a stick shift like a boss …if I do say so myself šŸ˜€
      It is hard on the legs in bumper to bumper commuter traffic though.

    • I grew up on stick shift and kept stick shift into the mid 2000ā€™s. I love driving stick; except in So Cal.
      That sucked.

      I now have driven automatics for nearly 15 years. wowza.

      Once Sophie starts driving, I wish for her to practice on stick shift. But, I donā€™t think it will happen.

    • I drove a stick for a few months. I would compare that skill to my computer use skills. I can do it better than many people my age. But I wouldn’t say in any way shape or form that I can do it well.

  48. Ugh. I was just sitting down for a little snack; but then….

    The house is clean, the baby is napping and this Pixie wants to snack while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5. (Itā€™s best season.)

    I grabbed my Fritos Bean dip and bag of organic corn chips from Teader Joes. (Their version of Fritos.) took out the first chip, dipped it, and brought it to my awaiting mouth. To my surprise… a spicy, citrus-y taste. Not bad, just unexpected. I look at the Bean dip label – not hot bean dip. (Phew)

    Look at the corn chips bag and there it is:

    Trader Joes Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers
    with a Mexican-style Street Corn flavored seasoning.

    Meh. I wish it was just plain Fritos.

  49. As it turns out, April 5 is the grim anniversary of the deaths of both Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley.

    Cobain was 25 years ago today. I remember where I was when I heard.

    • I remember where I was when I heard both. I completely forgot it was on the same day. Layne was just a month-ish after my daughter, who I named after him, was born.

  50. So today I learned Iā€™m not going to get chucked out of the house.

    So that was a thing.

    So hereā€™s a crap joke:

    What’s the difference between a Genealogist and a Gynecologist?

    A Genealogist looks up your family tree, and a Gynecologist looks up your
    family bush.

    • I’ll be listening to this later for sure. Seems like there are a lot of “nu-metal” fans that aren’t happy about this review in the comments.

  51. I have to have some tests in a couple of weeks. As part of the tests, I have to be off my meds for the next two weeks. Let’s see how well that works.

  52. Trending in my Twitter feed.

    Ruin a movie by adding “in the ass” the the movie title.

    My contribution: “Strange Creatures and Where to Find Them”

  53. I see this is taking on a life of it’s own, so

    “The Search for Spock”
    “The Empire Strikes Back”
    “Iron Man”
    and, of course
    “Rogue One”

    • I have failed to put forth the hockey playoff predictions for this year. I don’t even know.

      San Jose in the West, Pittsburgh in the East.

      • I admit, I havenā€™t been following hockey much this year. Iā€™d have to look it up to see who else is playing besides Calgary and Colorado

        • It’s not gonna be much of a battle. Your team is amazing this year. My team went int a giant fuck mid-year and never recovered

  54. Morning Pan

    I was suppose to have breakfast with the boss today but we had enough snow that the highway between here and Calgary are rather slick. RCMP have said, if you donā€™t have to travel the highway, donā€™t, so I wonā€™t.

    • I don’t think this cocksore really made the product less great as it really is all Kevin Feige dotting the T’s and crossing the I’s. Still tho it sucks having this guy as chairman. What a fuckstick

    • It’s early yet.
      Not an uncommon business model. Suck you in with an introductory price. Then a year or so from now, jack up prices hoping that once they “have you” you will be too lazy (or addicted) to walk away.

    • While Apple TV isn’t even going to get a look from me, if I have to be honest about it, between Disney and Netflix – I’d probably drop Netflix and pick up Disney. I’m honestly trying to remember the last time I actually watched something on Netflix streaming. Since “House of Cards” collapse like, well a house of cards in its final season, I can’t think of anything that Netflix is producing anymore. Which, given their focus on original content, is not a good sign.

      • Hmm, just went browsing Netflix. Certainly “A Series of Unfortunate Events” was magnificent – but finished. “The Crown” was fantastic in its first two seasons, but I’m less enthusiastic that they’ll be able to keep the momentum going with a whole new cast with the time jump.

        • Most of my series streaming is done on Amazon. But this week Iā€™ve actually watched two films on Netflix. Earlier I watched ā€œTrain to Busanā€ (Korean zombie flick.) which was pretty good and then last night I watched ā€In Brugesā€ (a British gangster film of sorts. It too was good.
          … but yeah. More streaming services? Maybe not.

    • Yeah, Iā€™m not sure what the haters were expecting of a movie about giant robots fighting. Iā€™m not saying itā€™s high-quality cinema, but itā€™s enjoyable dumb fun. As opposed to dumb dumb not-all-that fun. *cough Aquaman*.

      PR2 is definitely better than any Transformers movie Iā€™ve seen.

      • Sorry. I hated it. If I wanted to watch Power Rangers, I’d watch it. They took everything I found fun in the original movie, and threw it out, to make some stupid slap-stick crap around teen robot jocks. Why even call it Pacific Rim at that point?

        • I donā€™t disagree with a word of your criticism. And your brilliant ā€œRobot Joxā€ reference scores 10 million points for your house.

  55. All respect to Van, Ep 1 of the new Twilight Zone was fucking exquisite. Kumail Nanjiani was terrific. Really excited for this reboot.

    • As I said on FB, I loved loved loved all four volumes of his Book of the New Sun. Sad news indeed. In fairness, though, I tried to move on to the followup book, but couldn’t get into it.

      Also, with no disrespect meant to the dead, when I first met the Slice of Sci-Fi guys, they told me he was cranky and pretty unpleasant to interview.

      Anyway, I can’t recommend “Shadow of the Torturer” strongly enough. RIP

  56. People are talking up Black Summer in all the right ways, but it doesnā€™t seem like something Iā€™d enjoy at all. Might give it a shot.

  57. Today we vote for our premier. Similar to your governor, I think. Van, Iā€™m not sure what the equivalent is where you are.

  58. Todayā€™s movie is All Light Will End
    The tag line: it was her dream to become a writer. But it was her nightmares that inspired her stories

  59. Sometimes b movies are fun to watch to revel in their badness. Sometimes, b movies turn out to be gems. And sometimes, b movies are just plain bad

  60. The movieā€™s over.
    Iā€™m not sure how to review it. It was a slog. The acting was terrible. The police characters were a joke. Yet… it had some original ideas, which is refreshing to see.

    • A topic not really worthy of an entire article. Some things a really just not that complicated.

      “The niche fandom of “Steam Punk” became mainstream Pop’s flavor of the moment. Ran it’s course and now, mainstream pop has moved on to the next “thing”. That is how Pop culture works. Steam Punk has now been returned to it’s original, dedicated fan base with perhaps a little wider public awareness.”

      There. I’ve summed up the entire topic in a paragraph.

      • That does sum it up pretty succinctly.

        Another angle on this: we’ll see fewer Steampunk books on the bookstore shelves, as opportunist bandwagon-jumpers move on to the next trendy thing. I’m OK with that.

  61. I ranted on FaceBook. I almost never do that. If you follow me, youā€™ll find my (very infrequent) postings are pretty benign. Iā€™m not sure what came over me. Iā€™m keeping it up because I believe what I said but, admittedly I did consider taking it down, simply because I usually keep such things to myself and not make waves

    • I agree 100% with what you said there. I have muted or unfriended people for posting ugly things, but not because of the way they voted.

      And I don’t know the deep details in the Alberta election – – but in politics, voting money over conscience usually still doesn’t lead to more money.

  62. Did you know… if you have a sore back, rub some olive oil and epsom salt on that spot. It will immediately feel greasier and grittier than before.

    • Yeah this is been big news here. It was hard explaining to my 6 year old why he didn’t have school today and why it’s ok to go back tomorrow.
      Just takes one…

    • You know, here is the thing about my statement people didnā€™t seem to understand. I wasnā€™t removing MY FRIENDS. Yes, public pages seem to bring out the worse in people (and my rants apparently), but If someone was going to beat me up because of my (sexual, religious, or any other), leanings, I really doubt I would have them on my personal friends list.
      I realize this is different when you are a public figure and are open to everybody, this was just for me, personally.

      I realized why I never rant on FB. Thatā€™s the last Iā€™m going to say on the matter. Iā€™m done.

    • So if we can believe the Barr report –
      Collusion
      – MULTIPLE incidences of collusion with Russia but not the volume of evidence needed to INSURE a jury conviction.

      Obstruction
      1) DOJ rules do not allow the Special Counsel to indict a sitting president so Mueller didn’t charge trump with obstruction.
      2) Mueller listed more than a dozen instances of obstruction (at least 10 of which weren’t redacted) and specifically stated that charging him with obstruction was Congress’ job.

      That is what ‘exoneration” looks like to trump swamp.

      • I have seen his dimwit fans cheering this. I can only compare it to OJ fans, cheering because their obviously guilty hero will get away with his crimes.

  63. I bought a new toy quad copter a while back and never used it much.

    The back street was quiet tonight so I had a play with it with nobody around.

    Quiet restful buzzing it around the car park.

  64. Been reading ā€œWe Learn Nothingā€ by Tim Kreider. Funny, fun, resonant, insightful essays and memoirs.

    Kinda like David Sedaris, but more philosophical and not as laugh-out-loud funny.

  65. Crap joke for the day:

    Walmart installed a medical kiosk, for $10 and a urine sample, it would diagnose any condition. When my friend went with a sore elbow, the computer printout read “You have tennis elbow. Soak it in warm water and avoid heavy work for 2 weeks” Impressed, my friend wondered if he could fool the machine.
    He mixed tap water with dog crap, urine samples from his wife and daughter, and then pleasured himself into the mixture.
    When he put the sample into the machine the next day, the printout read: “1. Your tap water is too hard. Use softener. 2. Your dog has ringworm. Give it antibiotics. 3. Your daughter is on cocaine. Get her to rehab. 4. Your wife is expecting twins. Not yours. Get a lawyer. 5. If you keep playing with yourself, your fucking tennis elbow won’t get better!
    “Thank you for shopping at Walmart”

    • Thatā€™s actually pretty badass. Iā€™d never heard that he was working over that Holiday weekend, instead of just enjoying some downtime.

  66. Shazzzzaaaaaaaam was excellent. Far and away the best DCU film from start to finish. But goddam…thats some dark and violent shit for a film that really wants to be a kids film at heart. There were MULTIPLE families with young one in the theater and I can’t help but think that they’re all scarred now from a few of those scenes. That being said it was a PG-13 movie so they knew the risks.

    • Wow. Definitely worth a read.

      Control software written by people who don’t know the operating environment. It didn’t do the basic thing that a pilot does … check ALL the readings (including just looking out the window) before deciding to take drastic evasive action. One wonder’s how much more of this will be showing up in other newly, computer controlled areas.

      “Indeed, not letting the pilot regain control by pulling back on the column was an explicit design decision. Because if the pilots could pull up the nose when MCAS said it should go down, why have MCAS at all?
      <>
      Like someone with narcissistic personality disorder, MCAS gaslights the pilots. And it turns out badly for everyone. ā€œRaise the nose, HAL.ā€ ā€œIā€™m sorry, Dave, Iā€™m afraid I canā€™t do that.ā€
      <>
      The people who wrote the code for the original MCAS system were obviously terribly far out of their league and did not know it. How can they can implement a software fix, much less give us any comfort that the rest of the flight management software is reliable?”

  67. Recent Mangan household TV:

    We did watch that Love Death + Robots show. I think Rhett called out the Heavy Metal parallel, which a was spot-on comparison. A few of the episodes were excellent. A lot of creativity and top-notch animation, but a lot of it also felt like the work of 12-year-olds who think excessive gore or f-bombs or boobies make them edgy and grown-up.

    Also GoT and struggling through The Deuce, while we have HBO. It’s good, but super slow, and I feel like a need a tetanus shot just watching.

    Maybe we’ll try out The Leftovers or Deadwood.

    • … because the pool of Commodore users is so large that this will severely bite into Nintendo’s sales for this 34 year old game.
      It could have caused sales of that version of the game to go from “not available” to “We still aren’t selling it”.

      • Not the point. They are required to protect their copyright otherwise, in certain cases, they can lose their rights to the product.

  68. I’m thinking of taking a Facebook break. No really this time!

    Now is probably a good time for it, since the next 10 days will be treacherous with Avengers spoilers. .

    • Caveat: I will continue to post updates at MetalAsylum.net’s FB page once per day, so I’ll probably check in at the Deadpan FB page at that time too. But the main feed will be ignored. Deadpan will be my only only social media! Like 2006, baby!

          • My decision is a personal one, not a political one – – though I can’t deny that FB politics are a real problem. It’s not a boycott, and I may jump back into feed-scrolling again in a month or two. And as I said, I’ll still use it for communication and if I have something to promote.

  69. Ok I was talking to a friend who lives in Ohio who was rather bemused over how my house is heated.

    She had never heard of a gas boiler, heating water that is pumped around the house to radiators that warm the rooms up and supply hot water to the taps on demand.

    To her the water heater was only used to heat water and a separate furnace was used to heat air that is pumped around her home and released into rooms via vents.

    So Iā€™m left wondering which system is more energy efficient?

  70. Of the 8 series in the first round, Iā€™d have predicted 7 of them wrong. And that one I got right (SJS over VGK) was settled almost by an act of God.

  71. Hubby and I bought a new vacuum this weekend. Before we made the purchase, we did our research on line find one that would suit us. Do you know how many ads for vacuums are now showing up in my feeds? *sigh*

  72. The weather person just said we are going to get as much as 13cm of snow over the weekend. Iā€™m so glad I took the winter tires off the cars

  73. Morning Pan

    This weekend is the Calgary Comic Expo. One of our authors is giving a couple of talks there. Sheā€™s offered to help man the table. That means I donā€™t have to. Huzzah!

  74. One of hubbyā€™s student teachers brought in gourmet cupcakes yesterday. My wonderful man save some and brought them home for me. :happy:

  75. Hey! HEYY!!

    Do you guys want to set up an Endgame spoilers page here? Or maybe do we want to make a FB group instead?

    (wiseass responses go below)

  76. Currently in Rapid City SD for the RMAC Track & Field Championship.

    Terrible weather for an outdoor event.

    Yesterday I went to Mt. Rushmore, then the Crazy Horse Monument project and then to Wyoming so I could cross that off my list.

  77. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is leaving Netflix on the 1st, so I rewatched it for the first time since renting the DVD from Blockbuster.

    Definitely a thought-provoking movie. Iā€™d forgotten almost everything about (no funny intended).

    Jaded older me wants to shout at Jim Carreyā€™s character, ā€œStay away from that crazy bitch!ā€ and ā€œVaccines donā€™t cause autism!ā€

  78. Endgame…It made a little bit of cash didn’t it? Broke some records I hear… #showdisneythemoney

    Largest Thursday Previews: $60 million

    Widest Opening: 4,662 theaters

    Largest Friday, Opening Day and Single Day: $156.7 million

    Largest Saturday: $109 million

    Largest Sunday: $84.3 million

    Domestic Opening Weekend: $350 million

    #1 Movie Market Share: 90%

    Highest Per Theater Average (Wide Opening): $75,075 / 4,662 theaters

    Largest April Opening, Spring Opening, PG-13 Opening and 3-Day Gross: $350m

    Biggest Weekend Overall (Top 12 Gross): $389 million

    Fastest to $100 Million: 1 Day

    Fastest to $150 Million: 1 Day

    Fastest to $200 Million: 2 Days

    Fastest to $250 Million: 3 Days

    Fastest to $300 Million: 3 Days

    Fastest to $350 Million: 3 Days

    International Opening Weekend: $859 million

    Worldwide Opening Weekend: $1.2 billion

    Global 3D Opening Record: ~$540 million

    Global IMAX Opening Record: $91.5 million

  79. Morning Pan
    The weekendā€™s snow is melting nicely. Although, they are saying we will get more snow later in the week, just not quite as much

  80. Meanwhile in Florida… I have decided not to take my walk-during-lunch exercise today as it will already be 80 degrees by 11am and I’ve found that I can’t do a 3 mile walk in higher than 78 degree weather. Guess its the stationary bike in front of the TV tonight to shed a few calories.

  81. I don’t quite understand the title of the link, but if you’re concerned about GoT spoilers – – fake or real – – then scroll on ahead and come back to this link later.

    GoT SPOILER WARNING

    ####################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################

    https://www.vulture.com/2019/04/game-of-thrones-who-died-night-king-death.html

    • GOT SPOILER WARNING:

      ######################################################
      ######################################################
      ######################################################

      Oddly enough I feel like that kind of thing was needed. The whole damn 1 hour 22 minute episode was a battle that takes place at night with most people dressed more-or-less the same and shots changing extremely quickly. It was really hard to follow. And the deaths listed in this link are only the ones that were most obvious. I think we’re all waiting for next week to see who shows up and who didn’t make it from some of the quicker scenes.

      • GOT SPOILERS???

        ##########################$$$$$$$$$$$$###############%%%%%%
        ###################$$$$$$$$$$%%%%%%%%&&&&&&&&&&&
        @@@@@@@@@@@@#########################$$$###########

        I agree. In fact, I don’t think it went far enough.

    • ******************************
      SPOILER Warging….

      *********

      I must confess, I was really surprised that everyone who gathered around the fire in the previous episode survived the battle. I thought at least two of them were going to fall.

      House Mormont most certainly went down fighting, though.

    • “As we introduce such machines into complex adaptive systems such as the economy, the environment or health, I see them augmenting, not replacing, individual humans”

      That’s nice, but it doesn’t seem to me that he backed this idea up in any fashion. Certainly, there will be people interacting with AI to enhance the quality and quantity of work that can be done. At a certain level of AI competence and individual data collecting ability the AI wouldn’t need a “handler”. Not that AI will have any “ambitions”, but people higher up the chain could replace people on the lower end more and more.

      • Well yeah, automation is already replacing workers at cash registers and on assembly lines. I think he was thinking more about people who make decisions and write code as part of their dayjobs. AI’s ability to intercede there remains to be seen.

        I think the article overall is a counterpunch to Singularity dogma, which preaches of an AI god coming to take over our reality and see to all of our needs. This is definitely a more believable take on future machine intelligence.

        • I agree on all points. I don’t think we need to be afraid of a “singularity” and I do think that AI is needed to usher in the next set of breakthroughs. But I also don’t think that culture / government is ready for the big disruption AI will cause. Ultimately we will adapt, but expect big growing pains.

          • #truth I think one of the biggest growing pains will be large minorities clinging to the past ways of doing things.

  82. I enjoy coming into the office on a work-from-home day to cover a training session to be told when I get there, “Oh, the session is over.”

  83. I spent the last days pottering around the Isle of Mull.

    Beautiful scenery and sleeping in a converted hut (not quite glamping), itā€™s been an experience.

  84. Definitely a silent day around here, but hey – – I’ve talked individually to a coupla you guys about maybe doing another Palooza. . . Would anyone be up for such a thing?

    If so, I had a few ideas:
    A: Just watch something together and talk about it on a Deadpan Comments page.
    B: Do something like “The Andromeda Strain” or “Outbreak” (something disease-related) and do an old-school Deadpan-style Palooza with audio and skits and whatnot for my work podcast.
    C: Some other method I haven’t thought of.
    D: I realize we could do a truly old-school Palooza and release actual Deadpan audio, but I’m not feelin’ it – – unless there’s a unanimous outcry for it.

    I suppose I’ll post on the Deadpan FB page too, but I’d prefer to get the discussion rolling here. What do you think, sirs and madams?

    • Super super super sad. The only one of the core group I ever met. A soft-spoken, gracious, polite, giant man. My childhood would have been just that much different without him in that role.

  85. I referenced Suicidal Tendencies in a meeting yesterday, and no one had any idea what I was talkling about. After three tortuous seconds of dead silence, one guy said, “great band.”

    I sent him a message afterwards, thanking him for being the one person who got my joke.

  86. Apparently, the Endgame producers have declared that the spoilers moratorium ends Monday. Weā€™re off to see it today! But weā€™ll keep the spoilers in their appropriate place until enough time has gone by.

  87. Ok, itā€™s nowhere near the train wreck that BSGā€™s final seasons were. . . Itā€™s still an exciting story. . . but by the 7, has the writing on this show gotten sloppy.

  88. Girl, you’ll be a woman soon..
    Iloveyousomuchcan’tcountallthewaysI’vediedforyougirlandalltheycansayis
    “He’s not your kind”

    #urgeoverkillftw

    • Industry rule number 4,080, record company people are shadyyyyyyy.

      Except this wasn’t record company people, this was supposed to be a hip and progressive-minded way to give power back to the artists.

  89. Crap joke for the day:

    A farmer was milking his cow. He was just starting to get a good rhythm going when a bug flew into the barn and started circling his head. Suddenly, the bug flew into the cow’s ear. The farmer didn’t think much about it until the bug squirted out into his bucket. It went in one ear and out the udder.

  90. Crap joke for the day:

    Fred and Mary got married.
    But they can’t afford a honeymoon, so they go back to Fred’s parent’s home for their first night together. In the morning, Johnny, Fred’s little brother, gets up and has his breakfast.
    As he is going out of the door to go to school, he asks his mom if Fred and Mary are up yet.
    She replies, “No”.
    Johnny asks, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “I don’t want to hear what you think! Just go to school.”
    Johnny comes home for lunch and asks his mom, “Are Fred and Mary up yet?”
    She replies, “No.”
    Johnny says, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “Never mind what you think! Eat your lunch and go back to school.”
    After school, Johnny comes home and asks again, “Are Fred and Mary up yet?”
    His mom says “No.”
    He asks, “Do you know what I think?”
    His mom replies, “Ok, ok, tell me what you think!!!”

    He says: “Last night Fred came to my room for the Vaseline and I think I gave him my airplane glue.”

    • I do like HBOs reply though:

      ā€œThe latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea,ā€

    • People are blowing this out of proportion. It happens *all the time* in movies and shows. It’s not a sign of sloppiness. It was just a mistake.

      I like to think that someone’s mug just happens to look like a Starbucks cup. šŸ˜‰

      • OK yes, this is a meaningless gaffe. I didn’t notice it while watching, and if I had, it would have bothered me far less than some of the fleet-sized plot holes did. . . .

        I was already concerned though, that the current season has felt sloppy and rushed. This kinda thing doesn’t help that concern.

        • Exactly. I didn’t notice it either, though obviously lots of other people did. What is bothersome is that people who are paid to do this didn’t. And it’s not like we’re living in 1984 – that could have been easily fixed digitally.
          But, since the writers confirmed that they didn’t have Jon interact with Ghost before sending him away to save the CGI budget, I can see them having noticed it and deciding to spend it on a couple of more buckets of dragon blood instead.

  91. Today’s school shooting in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch took place at the school where a good friend/co-worker’s wife teaches. He received a text today from his wife while the shooting was happening and I’ve never seen a face like the one he made in my entire life. Luckily, everything has been sorted out and she’s safe at home now but needless to say the family is shook. I can’t imagine what he and their kids were going through while waiting to hear from her and more importantly I can’t imagine what SHE went through and is still going through.

    I don’t post this as a “look at me” post. Far from. I post this because in this country, in this age, in this atmosphere, it’s not a matter of IF you’ll know someone involved in a school shooting but WHEN you’ll know someone involved. The only IF left is IF it will involve someone in your immediate family.

    But it’s cool though. As long as we have guns god and gold here we’re livin’ the freedom dream! Am I right! Let it ring! Long and loud and clear!

    The saddest thing is that if the numbers hold up of 8 wounded and 1 dead then it will be considered a mild school shooting. It’s a great story that the 8 were only hurt! How feel-good! THIS is what constitutes good news. That “only” 8 were hurt and 1 died. This…. this is what constitutes good news.

    Welcome to the land of milk and bullshit.

    • I’d never attribute vanity to anyone making a post like this.

      Jesus Christ, I don’t know what it’s going to take to break the lethargy of this country’s people to demand a government that fucking works in our best interest.

      • Ive been thinking on this and I donā€™t see things changing until it begins to DIRECTLY impact politicians and the 1%.
        If there comes a day when the troubled individual who has decided to go out in a very public blaze of death, starts to realize that the public has started to harden and ā€œtune outā€ of school shootings. That choosing to kill a lot of humans that have no direct power to change ANYTHING will get them less TV time then attacking the rich and powerful.
        A corporate board room isnā€™t anymore harder to shoot ones way into than a High School. A state legislature would not be that much harder if you werenā€™t planning on surviving anyway.
        Most politicianā€™s residences are not protected from a suicide attack.
        This.
        When the hopeless and the hatefilled start to realize THIS and make THOSE folks their target. I think we would eventually start to see some action.

        Til then, it will continue to be at least one a week

    • I just canā€™t even wrap my head around this.

      Nevermind all of the consequences the lawmakers havenā€™t really thought through yet, letā€™s just sit and focus on the main issue here – a human beingā€™s rights. Her right to choose her political larty. Her right to choose exercise her voting right. Her right to free speech. And her god damned right to her own body.

      Illegal starting at six weeks!!!?!!!! Only women who *want* to become pregnant know they are pregnant at six weeks. Rarely does a woman know that early that she is pregnant.

      Imprisonment?
      Death penalty?

      I just cant.

      I never want to step foot in the state of Georgia.

  92. Today we put out the open call for submissions for a pirate cat anthology we’re doing.
    I admit, I’m more into some books we put out than others. This one I think will be fun.

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