1,371 thoughts on “Mellow Scrolled

  1. Crap joke for a lazy Sunday:

    A husband in his back yard is trying to fly a kite. He throws the kite up in the air, the wind catches it for a few seconds, then it comes crashing back down to the earth. He tries this a few more times with no success.All the while, his wife is watching from the kitchen window I muttering to herself how men need to be told how to do everything.She opens the window and yells to her husband, “You need a piece of tail! The man turns with a confused look on his face and says, “Make up your mind. Last night you told me to go fly a kite. “

  2. “As we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”

    — Eugene Cernan, last person to walk on another world, 42 years ago today

    -nicked from Robert J Sawyer on FB.

  3. So tonight I bought the ebook version of ‘The Quiet Earth’, the book the film was based on.

    Judging from the plot summaries on Wikipedia the film has a better ending.

  4. Yesterday, when I went to clear the bed for the night, Pidge was face down with his head jammed into the pillow. First I asked hubby if Pidge was bad or something. Hubby said no, he just wasn’t paying attention. Hubby and I had to have a talk about his treatment of (stuffed) animals.

  5. Wow, the spammers are getting smarter and smarter. I just got an email from my cable provider saying my payment didn’t go through and could I please update my info. Funny thing is, my cable payment does come out around this time. I was smart enough to NOT click on the link provided but it was good enough to make me wonder. I then contacted my cable provider personally and found everything was fine. A less cautious person could easily be fooled.

    I have since forwarded the message to my cable provider and they are looking into it.

  6. Oh yeah, to those whom I gave audio books to, please don’t listen to City of Demons. I realized I put the wrong file on your flash drive. Really, there is a better version out there somewhere. Now I just have to find it…

  7. 🙁
    My dad is back in the hospital.
    That spot on his brain that was bleeding after he fell off the roof … started bleeding again.
    Apparently last Friday he was dizzy and had problems standing. He didn’t tell anyone that at the time.
    Currently waiting for him to get a CT scan.

    Anyone with positive thoughts to spare … could use a few.

  8. TEB!!!!!!!

    Your DPSS Package arrived at its destination today, per ME!

    You are so thoughtful! Jack, Wee Peeps, and I will devour the Canadian candy goodies. My wrapped gift will wait to reveal itself ’til Christmas morning. Ugh. (If Jack can hold out, so can I!)

  9. The local news lady had a case of the giggles. I guess tomorrow marks the third anniversary of Kim Jung Il’s death. They were discussing some of the things he was suppose to have done, including walking at three weeks old and getting 11 holes in one he very first time he played golf. I don’t think I’ve seen our noon news person so giggly

  10. I binging on Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. Season 1, while this nasty sinus infection tries to get the upper hand on me.

    The series only started getting “watchable” aroun episode 10. Now, I like it.

  11. So the nurse in the NICU told me it is “touch and go” for my dad.
    They need to cut into his skull to relieve the pressure from the bleeding … but because he had been on blood thinners they are having to wait for that to get out of his system before they can do the surgery.
    They have some sort of test they do to check his clotting ability and this morning it was just above a 2.something and they needed it below 1.4
    As of 3 hours ago it had gotten to 1.4
    They were testing again at 5pm – don’t know the results yet. Thye had originally scheduled his surgery for tomorrow morning but the nurse thought he was degenerating pretty quick from the pressure that was building. So the surgery needs to be sooner than later.
    Seems to be a race against time.

  12. So happy to see all the positive Deadpan Secret Santa news coming in! 🙂

    I came to share mine, too. EssBee, thank you for the Death Star ice cube (er, ice sphere) mold! It will definitely see some use over the summer. :happy:

  13. Update –
    Things look much better today than yesterday.
    My dad’s surgery went well last night. He is doing pretty good this morning but due to confusion with the drugs and the poking around in his brain, they have had to restrain him to keep him from removing medical stuff. Given he is very claustrophobic, this isn’t helping.
    That aside, now we just wait to see how he recovers.

    Thanks for all the well wishes. 🙂

  14. So I’m sitting in A+E waiting blood tests results after collapsing at work.

    I’m not holding out hope for a conclusion since they had no idea why it happened the last time.

  15. I have been writing random categories for ATW9K over the past few years.

    This week, for Show # 156, however I have written the entire show worth of trivia, so check it out!

    http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/atw9k/

    A bit of crosspost from Facebook, my apologies, but I’m trying to dash out of the house and just spotted it had dropped…

    Ugh, I said “dropped”

  16. I may be late to this party but just in case it hasn’t been brought up –

    Here is a ranking of every episode of every Star Trek, ever. 695 Star Trek episodes -from The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and The Animated Series.
    http://www.playboy.com/articles/star-trek-episode-guide-part-one

    Yes, it is an article the playboy site. So if that is blocked where you are, you’ll have to be creative.
    I think I agree with his #1 on the list.

  17. Crap joke for the day:

    Two campers are hiking in the woods when one is bitten on the rear end by a rattlesnake.”…I’ll go into town for a doctor,” the other says. He runs ten miles to a small town and finds the town’s only doctor, who is delivering a baby. “I can’t leave,” the doctor says. “But here’s what to do: take a knife, cut a little X where the bite is, suck out the poison, and spit it on the ground.” The guy runs back to his friend, who is in agony. “What did the doctor say?” the victim asks. “He says you’re gonna die.”

  18. JW: Ascension Pt3

    Well that was a but of an anti-climax, the ending did remind me of bester’s ‘Tyger1 Tyger’ where the viewer discovers what the girl can do.

  19. Catchup post.

    Van: You’re welcome! (re: Christmas card) I hope you feel better soon.

    ditto: I need to delete my backlog of emails on my oldest, catchall email account. It has recently gotten to OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAND!!!! (yes, really) (yes, I am a huge nerd) :silly: It’s my Yahoo! Mail account, and I’ve had it for at least 12 or 13 years, I believe.

    • Actually, now that I think about it, that’s 9.5k threads which is how gmail reports things. I used to keep all my mail on my computer, but I lost everything due to some serious crashes and bugs–it was a weird confluence of events. Anyway, at that time I decided to switch to gmail. I probably would have switched sooner, but it took me some time to convince myself that gmail was secure(ish) and would stick around.

      Now I’m fighting to get my mail client and gmail to work together in the way I want them. Sigh.

  20. JW : Legend of Korra Series finale

    Sad to see the this series go, but loved the ending.

    Hinting that the lead was bisexual in a series aimed at children..wow.

    • Hmm, that’s one that we lost track of. I know we finished the first season and part of the second. Definitely enjoyed it, but just failed to keep up at some point.

      Did the series get to finish its story like the original Avatar?

      • I never got to the end of the original Avatar, so I cannot say.

        Korra did come to a satisfying conclusion even with a baddy who give up far too easily at the end.

  21. I had forgotten how much of a pain it is changing the wifi password on my router, not for the act itself, but entering the new password on all the devices with wifi.

  22. We had a fun night last night with the Lo Pans! Killer Bunnies, Evil Baby Orphanage, and Chupacabra Dice (thanks Bunny) were played with glee.

    Lo, the Archiving Turntable works like a gem. Volume is seriously low, but that may be the age of the album.

    Jj – to an earlier question you asked, the tech LP loaned me allows me to break the MP3 file into tracks.

  23. Your crap joke for the day:

    An old man and woman were married for many years, even though they hated each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be heard deep into the night. The old man would shout, “When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!”Neighbors feared him. They believed he practiced black magic, because of the many strange occurrences that took place in their neighborhood. The old man liked the fact that he was feared. To everyone’s relief, he died of a heart attack when he was 68. His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went straight to the local bar and began to party as if there was no tomorrow.Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, “Aren’t you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back to haunt you for the rest of your life?” The wife put down her drink and said, “Let him dig. I had him buried upside down……”

  24. Your crap joke for the day:

    My misses is pissed of with me again.
    Last night while she was fast asleep, I gently removed her tampax and replaced it with a party popper leaving the string hanging out.
    I’m telling you, that woman has no sense of humour!

  25. My sister’s family said goodbye to their beloved Belle today. What a sweet and gentle soul. Even though she was my sister’s dog; my life was touched by Belle-y. I’m very sad today. I didnt get to say goodbye. 🙁

  26. So, my DPSS gift arrived today! Thank you to whomever sent it. It went under the tree to be opened on Christmas. 😀

    And T Cat pointed out I was a bit unfair: I had neglected to mention DPSS to her. She made it a point for me to remember for next year. 😀

  27. Seriously, are jJ’s dad’s and Vanamonde’s heads alright?
    Cuz I’m watching the Elmo Christmas special and I don’t think it can get much worse.

  28. So, Colorado people. Not sure how familiar you are with the Colorado Springs area. It seems that Phantom Canyon Brewing Company is about 10 minutes away from my son’s house and Trinity Brewing Company is about 17 minutes away. Ever heard of either of these? We want to go out and hang somewhere tonight.

  29. Yea.
    Just back from visiting my dad. He is having a good day today AND they’ve moved him out of the NICU!
    He was sharing some of the visions/dreams/other that he remembers from the time just before and after his surgery. wild

    tie-in: He took me to see a re-release of “2001” in the cinema when I was 12.

  30. I think Arianna Grande and Linkin Park are the only full albums from 2014 I’ve listened to. (Both were available free at one point from the Play store.)

    Thus, Hunting Party wins by default.

  31. Well nice to actually see Die Hard with the swearing not censored.

    The showing got off to a rocky start when the 20th Century Fox logo looked liked it had been up scaled from the VHS release (“are they using a DVD?” Was one snarky comment from the row behind me), but the quality of the rest of the film was fine.

    Marvellous..

  32. “Theres something dead wrapped around her aorta.” These are not the words you want to hear at 11:15pm on Christmas Eve Eve, after working all day and an additional 6hrs on-call.

  33. Why thank you Seagate. There is a firmware update for the two HD drives in my NAS enclosure.

    There is no indication what the new firmware fixes.

    You can not run the install the update if the drive is being used in a RAID configuration.

    The two drives are in a RAID configuration.

    So the only way to update would be to take a drive from the NAS, stick it in a PC, wiped it and do the update. Then put the drive back in the NAS and rebuild the RAID config from the other drive. Then do the same procedure for the other drive.

    Think I’ll pass.

  34. Curiouser and curiouser:

    In the UK, Fringe S1 on Netflix has the season finale (where Olivia meets William Bell) ilabelled as episode 20 and the episode before that (with the young woman coming back from the deAd) as episode 21.

  35. Well since it’s gone midnight over here, I shall wish you all a Merry Christmas.

    There is no public transport tomorrow, at some point I may hang around a bus stop to laugh and laugh and..

  36. Thank you Santa JfS!

    Though, I think you’ll be surprised. Santa’s elves put the wrong thing in the package, though the packing label said what you originally meant to sent me. I hope they charged you the right amount since what was in the box was a lot more expensive. It was a collector’s edition Dr. Who watch.

  37. I really liked I’m Only Joking and Come With Me Now by KONGOS but Lunatic dropped two years ago and I didn’t particularly care for the rest of the album.

  38. Trying to decide if I shall have a beer tonight.
    I have my ONLY indoor Track Meet of the year on Saturday.
    I have to be on the road that morning by 7am to get there in time for my event. As tired as I am, I am considering just laying low and getting to bed early tonight.

  39. Watched “Pee Wee’s Christmas Special” tonight on Netflicks.
    I had forgotten how wonderfully wrong that show was.
    It’s a kid’s show but everything is just ever-so-slightly off, that it make kind of creepy.

    Oh what fun!

  40. Your crap joke for Boxing day:

    A motorist, after being bogged down in a muddy road, paid a passing farmer five dollars to pull him out with his tractor.After he was back on dry ground he said to the farmer, “At those prices, I should think you would be pulling people out of the mud night and day.””Can’t”, replied the farmer. “At night I haul water for the hole.”

  41. It took way longer than expected for the Devils to scapegoat fire coach DeBoer. I hope team management gives the next coach some on-ice talent to work with. And I hope DeBoer lands another coaching job soon.

  42. Dr. Who Christmas specials was in that place between “okay” and “good”.
    One of the better efforts for this Doctor.

    The “Last Christmas” theme was rather poignant for me this year.

  43. So this morning listened to the final episode of the ‘Good Omens’ radio adaption.

    Enjoyable enough, but not very funny, something’s work better on the page.

    • Awesome! 🙂

      Today I found out that my church is having a Tamale Throwdown (a cook-off with different recipes and judging) on January 10th, as a fun way to prepare for our monthly meal for the homeless the following Wednesday.

    • I was under the impression that Wealth of Nations and Origins of the Species, while containing essential ideas, are essentially unreadable.

      Then again, there are sections of the bible that are unreadable, no matter the version. That whole genealogical section in particular.

      • He’s not proposing a list of books that make you seem smart. He also said that “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”

        I think he’s right.

      • I don’t have a problem with the list itself. It’s his explanation of what you will learn; particularly from reading The Bible. I’m an atheist as well, but I didn’t read the Bible “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.” If one is going to read the Bible as a non-Christian it should be to a: gain insight and understanding into what drives the Christian religion (e.g., a humanist perspective) or b: to have a full understanding of what the Bible teaches in order to have legitimate discussions with Christians that are trying to convert you. Neil is typically one of the better atheists when it comes to the “don’t be a jerk” movement (meaning don’t be a jerk by specifically belittling the beliefs of others as that just comes back to bite atheists in the long run by feeding their preconceived biases). It is OK to disagree with others beliefs all you want. Just don’t belittle them. He is one of the founders of the “don’t be a jerk” movement so I’m a bit disappointed to see him taking a jerk-ish stance towards the Bible. Upon a second reading, the rest of the list seems fine.

        • No, that’s not what he said at all. He didn’t say anything like what you imply. Again, he said “you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”

          He didn’t say you will be a better person for reading these books. He didn’t say that these books were drivers of “good”. He said you will get insight. You’ll understand history better. That is true. There are other books he could have put on the list, but the set he chose are good for this purpose.

          As for the bible in particular… knowing what is said in that book and how it has been twisted through the ages will provide you both insight and protection from zealots of all stripes. Nothing he said in that particular post disparaged the bible in the way you imply. And he certainly wasn’t being a jerk, in this particular case.

          • Yes, that is what he said at all. It is a quote from the link:

            1.) The Bible (eBook) – “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.”

            Unless the quotes on the link refer to someone other than Neil. He definitely said exactly what the quote I originally put said. That is what quotes are typically for. It is astoundingly uncharacteristic of him. That’s why I’m upset by it. I hope my wrath hasn’t been placed incorrectly with him.

          • The article is fairly unclear about it, but I’d also assume the statement is a quote from NDT.
            I don’t think it’s unfair to state that the Bible instructs people what to think and believe. Would it be be unfair to say that’s all it does and all it’s good for? Absolutely.

            Speaking for myself, I don’t think you were being an asshat at all, um, Asshat. 🙂

        • And to be clear, my statement that “how [The Bible] has been twisted through the ages will provide you both insight and protection from zealots of all stripes” is what Dr. Tyson really meant when he said “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself”. I base that on the context in which he framed the list. And given the history of how The Bible has been used in our history, I feel pretty confident in that interpretation.

          • Yeah, I didn’t take any of that list as condescending, just obvious.

            It seems like the same list that 95% of my old college profs would have given (except that hippy Professor who would have added “The Celestine Prophecy”).

          • Also to be clear, I’m not taking umbrage with you or trying to be particularly antagonistic. Just trying to get my point across. Well aware I can be a jackass in doing so and apologize if I am.

    • I’ve moved on from DAI. Missed most of the Bull stuff because of the way my party was set up. Not sure why he didn’t get together with Dorian in my game though, they were always together as part of my party.
      Probably won’t go back to it in the near future. 95 hours in a game is plenty.

      • And, while I’m not sure how it happened (didn’t hit the “heart” replies) I ended up romancing my least favourite character, Blackwall. I found him such a condescending bastard I was glad when he took off. I didn’t do any of the war table missions to look for him simply because I didn’t miss him.

  44. Morning Pan

    Just a quick hop in. Have a very busy week so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear much from me until next Monday.

    While we didn’t have a white Christmas, it seems we will have a white New Year. Currently -20C here in Bunnyland.

  45. Tamales!

    The winter crud has struck our house – today’s the last day of vacation – hack!

    We watched TMNT today – not bad! Now CW: Dr. Who S6E1 (have seen this, but not the entire season – rewatching and catching up).

    Bunny, this weather is for the birds!

  46. Update – favorite album of the year.
    I heard 2 cuts from “Queens of the Stone Age” played on my local public radio station last Friday night.
    I liked. Sorry Weird Al.
    Can I choose it as my favorite after only hearing 2 cuts?

    • I haven’t watched any of Avatar, but I followed along a bit. As soon as I heard how it ended, I expected something like this. Frankly, I’m surprised it took as long as it did.

  47. I really need to step up my game. I am rusty at school work and studying. My new job is kicking my ass and I suck!

    Who wants to whip me into shape?!

  48. So, it’s a bit sleepy, but I’m digging David Gilmour’s “On An Island.” I’d never heard the entire album before. “The Endless River” is ok too, but I think “Island” is better.

    • I’m going to give benefit of doubt to the PlayDoh folks. This appears to be a clueless, innocent mistake.
      If this is able to ruin Christmas, then I hope she never finds two ball ornaments dangling too close together on the tree.

      • This one burns me. It comes in a play-doh cake decorating kit. It has a plunger. They had to remove the plunger in order to pretend to see a penis.

        They’ve obviously never decorated cakes and that is the real tragedy.

  49. If I was pissed and started getting maudlin I would probably say it was great to meet you all again this year (and great to meet people for the first time) in a slurred voice and then I would fall asleep.

    But I’m not pissed, so that thought will not be spoken, but it was written.

  50. Speaking of maudlin, I seem to have woken up on that bus as well.
    End of the year and all.
    Wondering how I de-clutter my life.
    So much STUFF that I have collected and haven’t touched in years.
    I only held on to stuff that really meant something to me … but add enough decades of even, “selective collecting” and you get … STUFF.

    Anyone got a good strategy for dealing with this “STUFF”. :/

  51. I already shared this with Jack, but NYE at our place will consist of cold medicine and chicken noodle soup (already simmering).

    cough

    Happy New Year to all of you, loved ones!

  52. Wow.
    Just found out someone is mad at me because they’ve been sitting around waiting for 2 hours for me to go shopping with them. Only, they never TOLD me they want me to go shopping today or even that THEY were going to go shopping today.
    That’s my absolutely favorite way to be in trouble! Put me on your shit list for failing to do something you never told me about.

    Good thing that I woke up in a maudlin mood or this might have … well, fuck.
    :insert scowl here:

  53. Tonight I don’t have a party to go to, so I’ll quietly drink a toast to all of you. In my imagination we’re all ringing in the New Year together at one big party.

  54. I am not long for this night and certainly won’t make it til midnight. So I’ll wish everyone a great new year now before I disappear completely for the evening. Thanks to everyone on the deadpan list just for being the great group of people you all are.

    • I’m with this guy…well, not actually there. No, I better stop before this becomes “Spaceballs”

      The crud has claimed me as well. Since Van has already confirmed that 2015 is arriving on schedule, I can feel not guilty about sleeping through its arrival to Texas.

      Audi Lands Ein, y’all.

  55. …and your first crap joke for 2015:

    A nerd was walking on campus one day when his friend, another nerd, rode up on an incredible shiny new bicycle. The first nerd was stunned and asked, “Where did you get such a nice bike?” The second nerd replied, “Well, yesterday I was walking home minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up to me on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, ’Take what you want!’” The second nerd nodded approvingly and said, “Good choice. The clothes probably wouldn’t have fit.”

  56. Due to work and stuff, this was my first New Year’s all alone in quite a while. I don’t recommend it.

    So I watched Harlock: Space Pirate. It needed more hand-wavium.

  57. CW: Deep Space 9

    The episode where Sisko crosses the line to bring the Romulans in to the war with the Dominion

    This episode is one of the many examples of what made DS9 bloody great in the later seasons.

          • I think the criticism of the new Robocop was excessive. I enjoyed it for telling essentially the same story while updating the themes to be relevant to the present time, much as the original made its commentary on the 80’s

            Much better than that godawful Total Recall remake…

          • I maintain my no reboot, no reinvisioning, no reimagining policy when it comes to modern movies. I haven’t seen the new Willy Wonka, Robocop, Total Recall, Halloween, etc. And, I feel totally fine with not having those new memories forced into my head with the old ones.

          • Van that usually works for me too but even Kate in leather could barely get me thru the last Underworld film. And I love that crap as much as I love the crappy Resident Evil films. Which is a lot.

          • I watched the Marky Mark Planet of the Apes before I started my ban. Wish I hadn’t. I have not watched any of the other Planet of the Apes remakes. The only one to slip through the ban so far has been the newly redone Star Treks.

  58. Birdman was ummm interesting.

    Some of the punters muttering that it wasn’t a superhero film after it finished was funny though.

  59. I got myself all caught up on the Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. over the past week and a half. The show really kicked into “fun show” mode around half way through season 1. Season 2 started off good, petered out for me a bit around the 3-6th episode, but ended the Winter Finale strong enough to get me to keep watching, when it returns in March.

    I’m not sure what show Jack and I will watch next. Maybe Vikings! We are slowing making our way through True Detective. This show is a molasses-bowl-of-quicksand-mind-fuck. It’s a thought-provoking ride, for sure!

    Happy New Year, everyone!

  60. Hey Deadpan

    We Braved the 24 frikken below and are at hubby’s office as he prepares stuff for back to work tomorrow. The fact I was willing to go out in this silly weather to be with hubby makes me the awesome wife

  61. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but T Cat and I were watching both the new Cosmos and How We Got To Now. Sadly, we were a bit disappointed with Cosmos and felt that Tyson sometimes sacrificed clarity for… well a number of reasons. HWGTN, on the other hand, had clear technical explanations, but sacrificed some historical accuracy. And sometimes Johnson made inexplicable logic leaps. Both shows featured a number of historical figures that you likely never heard of. Overall, we enjoyed HWGTN more than Cosmos, but both were worth watching.

  62. We spent some ill time last week, while not watching football, coughing and watching a few fun things:

    American Horror Story – Freak Show – watched about 3 episodes. This series is one of our favorites, but this season (no spoilers) has been a disappointment so far, and a bit too scary to watch in the evenings for my family. Not sure if Sly B will continue with it, or if it’ll be one for me to finish solo.

    Dr. Who – we’ve been rewatching the new series for several months now, and are finally caught up to where we stopped watching due to loss of BBC America. We’re about 3/4 the way through Series 6, just finished “The Girl Who Waited,” which I contend is one of the best episodes of the entire run. In this rewatch, I like Rory more than I did the first go and Amy less. Matt Smith is m’eh. I’m not sure I like this “rule #1, The Dr. Lies” Dr. The writing sure took a dive when Russel T. left.

    Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries S2. LOVE THIS. We have 4-5 more episodes to go on this.

    • I suppose I should give Who another try. Rory was really the one that destroyed the show for me. That and the atrocious writing. Matt Smith was indeed meh. But Amy, like a certain Panthers quarterback, is so easy on the eyes…

      • Like Evangeline Lily’s character on Lost, Amy Pond is lovely to look at, but a horrible person. Rory is a little bit whiny, sure, but she takes his devotion to her completely for granted.

        I found Matt Smith to be fun and appropriately eccentric. Not my favorite Doctor, but he gets a B+.

        The writing was alwaysalways goofy, but Moffat should still be replaced.

        I used the word ‘but’ frequently in this post, but it was for points and counterpoints.

          • I was never that impressed with RTD penned episodes, the best ones were written by other writers. Moffat is getting slagged off, but under he RTD he wrote a bloody amazing episode called ‘Blink!’

          • I get what people are trying to say when the compare the RTD era with Moffat’s reign. But, I also think it’s a bit unfair. Comparing everything to the high-water mark so-to-speak makes everything look bad in comparison. That’s like saying all of Star Trek sucks because none of the other episodes are as good as “City On The Edge of Forever”.

            I know this is odd coming from me considering my stance on some shows, but I try not to have double-standards. All I can say is preferences and expectations are a killer duo. When shows fail in either or both respects, you can’t help but dislike them.

            In any case, I’ve enjoyed all of Dr. Who’s that I’ve watched. I’d say that Moffat’s era is no worse than some early pre-RTD seasons. There are great episodes and bad ones. For the most part, each season is fun. And I’d rather have Dr. Who around as it is than no Dr. Who at all.

          • And he’s also responsible for turning the Angels from extremely scary and wonderful villains to cartoony nothings via season 5’s “A Time of Angels”

          • No but ditto there’s a difference between writing that doesnt compare to a high water mark and just shit writing in general. Season 5 was complete shit writing and that’s where I lost interest.

            This being said I now realize I lied to EssBee and havent seen any of season 6. So perhaps Ill give it a go. Unfortunately Ill have to re-watch season 5 to remember wtf is going on

          • Personally I feel the Angels should have been a one shot baddie like Sutekh in ‘The Pyramids of Mars’.

            They wrote themselves into a corner with later stories, it reminds me how later TNG stories reduced the menace of the Borg.

          • I agree with both of you, and note that I’m not saying that Moffat’s era has been good, only that I enjoy it still. The first season with Matt Smith (Series 5) was pretty uneven, though I will argue that “Vincent and The Doctor” was very good. It was my favorite episode of the season. The Pandorica episodes… meh. Series 6 was much better.

            BTW, I like Rory. 😛

          • Dammit, he is, isn’t he? I thought he looked familiar but I must have missed his Dr. Who listing when scrolling through IMDB.

            Yet, it’s so obvious after reading your post.

  63. I’ve just seen the dumbest video ever.

    They boil coca cola and coke zero.

    Coca cola leaves a sugary residue Coke zero doesn’t.

    No shit Sherlock!

  64. So, Tyche had a “Flash” Facebook contest to give some coupon codes for a free copy of our audio book Blightcross through Audible.com

    For reasons I’m not sure of, we didn’t give them all away so if you want a code, pop me a line and I’ll give you one along with instructions on how to redeem it.

  65. I have a Facebook friend who tags every one of his posts with at least seven hashtags. Why? WHY?!

    #stupid #thisdoesn’tmeananything #youlookdumb #boy #randomwords #idon’tevenlikehim

  66. Just so you guys see what I’m talking about, here’s a recent posts from this guy, who we’ll call Schmatt Schmontoya:

    I love seeing people blame the networks and not the provider for the outage of NBC with direct tv. Notice the mindless faux viewer has not caught on to this in terms of dish vs faux news? Right wingers are usually not that bright.
    ‪#‎foxnews‬ ‪#‎dish‬ ‪#‎dishnetwork‬ ‪#‎nbc‬ ‪#‎koaa‬ ‪#‎directv‬ ‪#‎cbs‬ ‪#‎abc‬

    • t is too bad Elise Stefanik got into office. I don’t know anything about her except that she is younger and youth in politics is what we need…but her party affiliation and the influence of such evil people like Paul Ryan makes her a waste before she even gets started.
      ‪#‎elisestefanik‬ ‪#‎fail‬ ‪#‎republican‬ ‪#‎toobad‬ ‪#‎stefanik‬

    • And this homophobic one (#whyamifriendswiththisguy):

      Come on rainbows fans you should have chanted for your team to lose so you and the rest of America coups enjoy the sea chickens on the road losing in the playoffs and s3 harbaugh to Michigan with a loss. Win/win for you and america! ‪#‎49ers‬ ‪#‎nfl‬ ‪#‎sanfrancisco‬

    • So the obvious asshat question is: considering your comment “#idon’tevenlikehim”, his duchebag political rants and his homophobic drivel, is there a good reason you haven’t simply unfriended the guy at this point? My super asshat powers tell me the answer will likely involve him being related in some form or other (family member or spouse of a family member).

  67. And reading this guy’s posts, I can see why my Republican friends think Lefties are douchebags. Ed, I find him repulsive too!

    #unfriended

  68. I just saw the best goalie performance Ive seen since I can remember. Semyon Varlamov with 54 saves in a 2-0 win in Chicago.

    As good as he was… that’s how bad the rest of the team was.

  69. I think Fox News tends to be a blight on humanity, but the folks blathering on about faux news tend to be just as bad. They lack the compassion necessary to have a conversation.

  70. In honor of Kenny Loggins’ (the King of 80’s soundtracks) birthday let’s start a fun and irrelevant list.

    Name your favorite Kenny Loggins song and what modern (or at least still active) band would you want to see cover it? Like so:

    I’m Alright – Motorhead

  71. In honor of Nicholas Cage’s (the King of Crazy) birthday let’s start a fun and irrelevant list.

    Name your favorite Nicholas Cage performance and what modern (or at least still alive) actor would you want to see play Nicholas Cage in a Nick Cage biopic? Like so:

    Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

    Christopher Walken

  72. Agent Carter has already achieved something Agents of SHIELD hasnt – Marvel movie quality

    I’m really impressed. And not just for…erm… two reasons

    • Anyway – – let’s hope ditto pops in today. He had an exciting idea for this year’s MMMmmmeetup, if folks can be free in the summer.

      • We’d be happy to put up people for the MMMmmmeetup. We are on the outskirts of the city, so people can even camp in our backyard. There’s lots of room and parking here. The airport is about 45 minutes away, but we’d be happy to pick people up.

        T Cat and I would also be very happy to make breakfast and lunch here to save on your expenses. We’ve hosted parties of over 30 people so we are pretty experienced in feeding a large crowd of people. 😀

        There are a number of nearby hotels that are pretty affordable. We also have some friends that would also be happy to help, though I know the stranger factor is an issue for some.

        Dates are probably not an issue just yet, but I agree that getting it on the Calendar soon would be a good idea.

        As an FYI–I’m not sure if it is an issue for some–but May is probably the month with the most tornado warnings for us. That’s unlikely to be a problem over a weekend, but it is something to keep in mind.

          • There’s no definitive start and end; it really depends on weather conditions and the severity of the thunderstorms. The worst part is typically the end of April to mid-May. After that, the odds of a bad storm go down pretty quickly.

            July and August can get really hot here: 100 with humidity. April can be nice, June would be best, followed by September.

        • While I cannot put up people at my place, my best friend has also offered her place. I will be staying there as shuttle driver and chef if anyone would like. There are at least three bedrooms and plenty of space there as well.

          • They are good people and occasionally have listened to Deadpan, at least a little. 😀 The house is about 30 minutes from here.

            We have a bedroom with a queen bed, and an office where I can put an air mattress. The rest of the house is fairly open. Sleeping on the couch, or in the dinning room or living room isn’t an issue if you don’t mind our two cats. The basement is unfinished: I’m not sure anyone would want to stay down there. And there is the camp-in-the-backyard option as well.

          • Oh, and I was gently reminded that I have a massive family reunion Memorial Day weekend, so it might be best for me to avoid that weekend in May

  73. Of the dates mentioned above, June would be my first choice (completely clear calendar at the moment), followed by May(only one weekend filled so far), then July (1 weekend filled so far)

    Now, must brave the cold and get a fuse for my stove

  74. Well, I plugged in the new fuse and it still doesn’t work. The stove and oven still works, it’s just the plug where I like to plug in my slow cooker that’s stopped, so I won’t be getting a new stove soon. It’s just a little annoying.

  75. So, I shall certainly come to KC if the dates work out this year. But, looking at travel plans, I’m pretty much out of pocket from June 15th through July 13th with a big vacation and shuttling the kiddos to/from summer camp.

    But, if that time frame works best for the rest of the group, then go for it. This summer just happens to be a busy one for me, so you guys may finally get to take a break from me 🙂

    • The weekend of June 27th is booked for us. We are fine with the other weekends, though earlier in June would be better.

      One other thing: we are planning some home renovations over the next year. We can definitely host this year, though next year we’ll probably have the basement finished which would give us lots more usable space.

  76. KC for the Mmmmetup looks good for me, and I would like to try to make it this year (as I should have enough airline miles to get a free ticket). The rub for me is always that work travel pops up often and last minute. Once a date is set I’ll try to see what I can swing. Only thing out of bounds for me is the weekend of June 6 as that is my anniversary.

  77. I need someone taller than myself or hubby. I sprayed some cleaner on the ceiling of my washroom and the instructions say to dab it off with a dry cloth.

    I may have to improvise and wrap a cloth around a broom.

    Off to experiment!

  78. I know it is early to talk about this, but for the KC MMMmmmeetup we really need to go out for BBQ. It’s the best in the country imo. 🙂 The choice is really between KC Joe’s (formerly Oklahoma Joe’s) and Jack Stack. The latter is my favorite and has the best all round BBQ, but the first is a little cheaper and my #2 place.

    There’s lots to do and see here. Plus T Cat and I can give you a personal tour of our art museum, if you are interested.

    Just food for thought, though I know we are also happy just to hang out, especially in the backyard. Bocce anyone? 😀

    • I was going to tentatively propose 6/4-6/8 for the KC MMmmmmmeetup but noting some of the comments…. How does mid-May look for people? Honestly, the chances of tornados are pretty slim. I am excited and have plenty of ideas for both activities and rest times that ditto, Tcat and our friends will have to discuss further.

      I’ve already looked up, US Daddy’s day is 6/21.

      I couldn’t remember if the big wedding was in 2015 or 2016. I didn’t want KC to outshine the wedding. 😉

      There are vineries and of course Boulevard Brewery here that give tours. There’s also one of a kind stuff for history buffs and sports fans.

    • Sounds good ditto. I agree, I like Jack Stack the best. Ironically I never tried Oklahoma Joes. For cheaper, I really like R.J.’s off Lamar and Johnson Drive, though it’s more of a dinner than a restaurant. As an idea for an event to attend, Renfest runs from Sept. 5th through Oct. 18th, but we’ll have fun no matter what date we set.

      • I agree, the dates depend on you, Van, and Jack.

        I can start putting together an agenda once we figure out when things are going to happen. As Cynful pointed out, there’s lots to do here. Based on past experience, we won’t have action packed days. 🙂 Having options is nice though.

        Still, if people are interested–and I know not everyone is into beer like Ralph–we should book a Boulevard tour as soon as possible.
        http://www.boulevard.com/brewery/brewery-tours/

        • Scattered thoughts:

          I’ll check with Desert Pixie on our available dates this summer.

          I’d be interested in a Boulevard Tour.

          If we’re in KC, we must do BBQ.

          I’m not above camping, but I’d prefer to sleep indoors.

          The gaming has been fun at the past few MMMmmmeetups.

          Tornado: mid 16th century (denoting a violent thunderstorm of the tropical Atlantic Ocean): perhaps an alteration of Spanish tronada ‘thunderstorm’ (from tronar ‘to thunder’) by association with Spanish tornar ‘to turn.’

          • Option for a cookout…. possibly…. I’m thinking a little Local Pig too. But that can be decided way later. Also for consideration Bier Station…. Again, thinking I’m ahead of everyone here.

  79. So we’re talking Kansas City, Mo?
    The “just outside of St. Louis” Kansas City?
    The currently “18 Degrees Fahrenheit” Kansas City?

    That could be do-able.

    Re: Tornados
    “Duck and cover” is always more fun with friends.

  80. Just watched Book of Life. I could have done without the Moulin Rouge style use of contemporary songs in a classical setting. But, as one would expect with Guillermo del Toro producing, it was visually stunning. There was also some descent character growth above and beyond the typical children’s movie stock messages.

  81. I think I may have just done something silly. Me of the tiny bladder just had a large slurpee (or the Mac’s equivalent of one)I’m doing on of our live interviews in 40 minutes. Let’s see if I can manage to not cut the interview short.

  82. There is something extra special about being sick on a Saturday night and having to bow out on a date.
    🙁
    I may go get a burger and a bottle of Jim Beam and curl up in front of Netflix.

  83. Currently I am having Tea and biscuits to improve my mood.

    Okay, it’s not proper tea. Just a bag of Celestial Seasons raspberry tea and they aren’t proper biscuits. They are homemade peanut butter cookies but I am hoping that it is the spirit of the thing.

    • Faced with the choice of proper biscuits and peanut butter cookies to improve mood, I would go with the cookies every time. Good choice.

  84. Ok, if I’ve worked it out correctly , I will be off the following weekends:

    16th and 17th May
    20th and 21st June
    11th and 12th July

    It’s easier for me to get a week off than 2 weeks off, so if I’m off the weekend I need only need to take a week off so I’m more likely to be able to go.

  85. Your crap joke for a lazy Sunday:

    A man goes to see the Rabbi. “Rabbi, something terrible is happening and I have to talk to you about it. The Rabbi asked, “What’s wrong?” the man replied, “My wife is poisoning me.” The Rabbi, very surprised by this, asks, “How can that be?” The man then pleads, “I’m telling you, I’m certain she’s poisoning me. What should I do?” The Rabbi then offers, “Tell you what. Let me talk to her, I’ll see what I can find out and I’ll let you know.” A week later, the Rabbi calls the man and says, “I spoke to her on the phone for three hours. You want my advice? The man said, “Yes” and the Rabbi replies, “Take the poison.”

  86. Adding my thoughts to the KC chat:

    Any of the three weekends Vanamonde mentioned would work fine for me.

    I plan on driving down to KC so that I can play chauffeur, and staying at a hotel.

    The three things I would like to do the most during the MMMMMMeetup are, in this order: another tabletop gaming session, KC BBQ, and the personal tour of the art museum. I would be up for a Boulevard tour, too, or just about any other sightseeing. But yeah, definitely want to do more gaming. :happy:

  87. I think we need a new page. . . .
    So heads up, everyone – – I got some excellent BTiLC audio from Ed. If you;d lke to have something BTiLC-related in the episode with him, then I’d advise you to act quickly – or contact me soon. This week.

  88. Did someone say MMMMmmmmeetup?

    Traveling this year is unlikely due to budgetary concerns, but if you all select a time frame, I’ll certainly do my best to comply.

    Notably – were I able to finance this adventure, Summer break is more feasible than attempting travel while the kids are in school and I’m leading scouts. Or at least, it gives me better flight options.

    Driving 18 hours is obviously impossible as I would be exhausted and can’t be away from the kids that long. Alternatively, I’d have to bring the kids – which would be the least expensive option, but would limit my ability to have adult-only time.

    So – my point being – plan this without my input, choose your dates, and I’ll do my best to attend.

  89. Morning Pan

    Today’s spam mail first line is very short: “Please matt sat on”

    I never open my spam mail so I never see more than the first line.

  90. I have no major conflicting commitments or big trips planned this year, so I can also roll with whatever date the group picks.

    Jack – Yes, I do still have BTiLC thoughts on a piece of paper on my desk. I’ll be sure to get them recorded as soon as I can, hopefully tonight.

  91. RE: Mmmmeeetup 2015, I think the later we go into the Fall, the less likely I’ll be able to budget that AND Jackanny Spring/Summer 2016. Any way we can revisit scheduling the Mmmmeetup for May/June?

Leave a Reply to Nomad Scry Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *