1,078 thoughts on “Natural 20 Scroll”

  11. Yotes fans. I hope you get a chance to go see Alex Tanguay while he’s there. While he’s a far cry of what he used to be he’s still a joy to watch. I know Jack still has fond memories of him….

    In all seriousness do it. What a great guy. And a ledgendary Av

    • I do hope Boedker reaches his true potential in Colorado, and that – if the Avs get in – he can give them a solid playoff run. He was usually disappointing and streaky here in AZ. Since the Yotes and in build mode, I was hoping they’d deal Boedker for someone to help build for the future.

      … Not… a former star at the end of his career. Let’s hope Tanguay finds what he’s lost and can help Doan add some veteran leadership to a talented young Yotes team that should absolutely be a contender next year.

    • As a geek, I feel like I should be excited by this, but I find myself less interested in tinkering with stuff like this anymore. One of those things to add to the list when I’m retired and the kids are out of the house.

    • Speaking of Dark Sides, happy 43rd anniversary to Dark Side of the Moon. As the old man said:

      There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it’s all dark.

  24. Morning Pan

    Something’s been bugging me. You know the poem, As I was going to St. Ives?
    Why does everybody say the answer is one? Nowhere in it does it say the men were going in opposite direction. When you think about it, a lone person (the poet) would travel faster than someone with a bunch of wives and cats. Maybe they were going in the same direction. The poet caught up to the man and they started chatting as they were were both walking together for a short while.
    With this in mind, I postulate the real answer to this poem is (7*7*7)+2 which is 345.

    … or 9 people. Not sure how the cats are really counted. Also, I didn’t include the sacks as that would be just weird. :sideways:

    As I was going to St. Ives
    I met a man with seven wives
    Each wife had seven cats
    Each cat had seven kits.
    Kits, cats, sacks, and wives
    How many were going to St. Ives

  28. Today’s movie is Hellions.
    The PVR write up: A teen faces a night of terror when malevolent trick or treaters come knocking at her door.

    Because, who doesn’t need a Halloween tale on March 2nd

  86. I can’t decide if I liked this movie or not. I’ll give it extra marks for being different from the usual fare, though.

  91. Anyone else here have Annual Compliance Modules to complete for their job? Also, they affect your job performance review (ie pay raise).

    These modules suck every year.

    • For months, I’ve been seeing lots of gripes about the gender of the team. I’d assume those people are unimpressed with the new trailer for that reason.

      Me, I think it’s a good cast, and an all-female team is a great way to reboot (or continue?) the franchise. Unfortunately, I’m unimpressed with the new trailer for the lack of real laughs or new ideas.

      • I did feel that way about the new Star Wars trailer, but the film was much better than what I was expecting it to be from the trailer.

    • JF: United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas

      If this book was a film it would be directed by Werner Herzog and not Chris Columbus.

  109. I wonder if in some deep dark cellar, Steven Speilberg has a version of this film with all the cigarettes edited it out..

  147. Speaking of free games, I sunk a good hour+ into playing Star Realms on the tablet last night. The physical game is much more fun, but this is a decent intro to the game.

  150. Hi.

    So its time for honest conversation and not just because of Mr. Whiskey. This has been a long time coming and only now do I feel strong and safe enough to say it.

    I love my kids. You all with children know how much they mean to you. Those of you who have lost children know how much that affects every single future decision and announcement as well. It is therefore with a humble heart that I say my 5th child (including my angel baby TJ) will be arriving on this earth on the first week of June.

    i am FUCKING stoked, tho I have no idea how this happened. I guess Im the one shot king. HA! Barf…

    This is the reason I am very sketchy about being able to make the wedding. That plus an ill time car wreck have sapped the time and money. With all luck the pregnancy will go smoothly and Ill have the cash to come out.

    Why am I writing this? Case I respect most of you. And youre fam. And god bless the USA and fuck Trump in his butt. Thank you

  169. So some of the more conservative peeps on my FB news feed are getting their nickers in the twist over Obama choosing SXSW over Nancy Reagan’s funeral.

    Let the gnashing and wailing of teeth begin…

  178. Crap joke for the day:

    A little old lady , well into her eighties, slowly
    enters the front door of a sex shop. Obviously very unstable on her feet, she wobbles the few feet across the store to the counter. Finally arriving at the counter and grabbing it for support, stuttering
    she asks the sales clerk, “Dooo youuuu have
    dilllldosss?”
    The clerk, politely trying not to burst out laughing,
    replies, “Yes we do have dildos. Actually we carry many different models.”
    The old woman then asks: “Doooo youuuu carrryy aaa pppinkk onnee, tttenn inchessss lllong aaandd aabboutt
    ttwoo inchesss ththiickk…aaand rrunns by bbaatteries?”
    The clerk responds, “Yes we do..”
    “Dddooo yyoouu kknnnooww hhhoww ttooo ttturrrnn iittt
    offff?”

    • Agree with him or not, he articulates his case with civility and intelligent, non-partisan points. He’d never fit in at Fox. I absolutely support Bernie’s vision, but most of Kasparov’s cautions should stay in the conversation.

      Good link, Van. Even if it is about billiards.

    • He makes some really good points and he makes some bold assertions without cross examination. I wouldn’t consider Eisenhower era America socialist by any means, but with a top tax rate of 90 percent America was considered to be in its height of innovation.

  186. I’ve been instructed to read the book, “Basic Rconomics” by Thomas Sowell. If I read it and I still want to vote for someone other than Trump, then my coworker will give me $100.

        • Agreed. The Sowell book is good, but there is no correlation between it’s contents and anything that Trump has demonstrably done.

          • The consensus amongst the majority of my co-workers (surgeons, perfusionists, anesthesiologists, nurses) is that Trump
            trumps Hilary.

            They will take the “showboater for shock-value” over the pathological liar-crook.

            I have one co-worker who is supporting Bernie, only because she has lived in Denmark and has experienced his vision of politics there.

          • There are so many logical fallacies in their stance… I wouldn’t even know where to begin to deconstruct them. (e.g.: Trump is not a pathological liar and a crook??)

            These are obviously people with intelligence and rational thought on some level. I can only assume they’re caught in the zeitgeist of 30 years of Hillary-bashing and numbskull celebrity Trump has enjoyed as “real-life Robocop movie villain”, from a certain segment of the populace.

  203. Anyway… Finally took the young uns to see the final Hunger Games flick.

    I know it’s been said umpteen times: this is seriously grim stuff for YA.

    • Interesting. I guess the Wikipedia writer’s are probably correct. Since a slide rule has scales with indicated position marks along it, I would have thought it was still digital.

      I can see where nomographs would be analog computation, but man they are awful to work with.

  232. So it seems that Tiff and I picked a tough year for everyone to travel to a wedding. . . .

    We will continue to update and ask and hope because it’s important to us, and because we’re trying to plan – – but please don’t feel guilt tripped. We get it. But please also know that you matter a lot and we want you there for our big day!

  234. RIP Larry Drake. 66 years too young

    Dr. Giggles and Darkman were instrumental in my youth.

    “I abhor violence, especially when it doesn’t make me money.”

    An absolute icon of genre TV character bits.

  244. So that moment of realisation when you’ve waited decades for VR and realise your eyesight is no longer upto snuff to use VR…that.

  254. I’ve somehow never hear David Gilmour’s 1978 solo album until now, through the magic of Youtube. I’m digging it! Sounds like the posr-Roger Pink Floyd stuff (which would make sense).

  255. As much disappointment I had with s3 of Vikings I have equal amounts joy and love for s4. This is why I fell for it in the first place

  257. Also, “The Americans” is off to a promising start for Season 4. Though, the “coming this season” bit at the end sure seems like they are going to wrap up the story this year.

    There is also an official podcast for the show that posts about a day after each episode airs. The ones for Season 3 were most excellent.

  260. Okay, I’m trying to remember the name of a film, probably Disney, where three crooks are trying to get to a aeroplane to escape the country. A mini submarine is involved, and a large Salami gets gets fired from the sub at a coastguard ship.

    They get away at the end but have to dump the money to lighten the plane.

    Probably from the 70’s.

    Any ideas?

  268. Morning Pan

    Hubby seems to have hurt his eye so, instead of working like I should be, I’m sitting in a doctors office waiting on him

    Poor hubby

      • I haven’t finished the game. I’ve been meaning to replay it. I think you’d enjoy the comics, even if it leaves you hanging. Did you know Weta Workshop did the 3D compositing for the series? It looks pretty cool.

        • Nope.

          i remember flicking through some issues in a little comic book store in Aldershot when I visited my sister.

          It looked interesting.

    • Hair metal had become a parody of itself that is true, but as brilliant as “Nevermind” was it inspired a large amount of drek.

      • As any perfect and paradigm bending album does. Its really true. For every Soundgarden’s ‘Badmotorfinger’ (which Ill argue nearly superseded Nevermind) there’s Candlebox. For every Seaweed’s ‘Four’ there’s Days of the New

  283. As I feared, Dawn of Justice is getting semi-shat upon by critics. It simply looks a MESS of shoehorned in characters and unnecessary villains. You know what else it seems to suffer from (IMO)? Unlike the Marvel films I can SEE the CHARACTERS the actors are portraying. Its the exact opposite for this film. All I see are the ACTORS. That’s a problem. And I remind you i REALLY liked Man of Steel, so no DC hatred just to hate here. The DC film universe may be in trouble. That being said of course Ill see it… right after I see Star Wars 5 more times and Deadpool.

    • I’ll be seeing it for sure. From what I’ve read, the advanced ticket sales are so high, that if for some reason no one bought tickets, it’d still would have made enough money to warrant a sequel.

    • I saw “Man of Steel” a few weeks ago and I enjoyed it. As I recall, it got very mixed critical response, so I’m expecting more of the same with the new movie.

      • Agree. But at least Man of Steel stuck true to one hero vs one villain (yes I’m counting it as one villain). This new one.. I can’t count the amount of characters in it. It makes Spiderman 3 look subtle.

        • So very true. But you know what? Anything that gets us a real Wonder Woman movie is worth it in my book. I thought the trailer for WW looked promising.

  287. The reboots of the Marvel Star Wars and Darth Vader comic titles have become must reads. Theyre really impressive in both story and art. I’m still an Image guy by far, but these two titles are lots of fun

  290. I’ve been up for three hours. Hubby, still asleep. I have a feeling one of us will be going to bed sooner than the other this evening before the long weekend

  294. Crap joke for the day:

    Mick walks into Paddy’s barn and catches him dancing naked and wanking in front of a tractor.
    Mick says ‘fucking hell Paddy, what ya doing?’
    Paddy says ‘well me and Mary haven’t been getting on in the bedroom lately and the therapist recommended I do something sexy to attractor.

  297. Looks like Batman V Superman has a 44 rating amoungst critics but a 71 rating with average users. Considering how much I liked MoS, Watchmen and 300 I am still hopeful.

  302. The fact of the matter is that DC is still trying to get film versions of their anchor heroes right while Marvel is like “Oh look guys, here’s Ant-Man, Black Panther, Gaurdians of the Galaxy, and a bunch of other B comic heroes.” That’s impressive

    • Maybe the day is coming when something doesn’t have to be dark and grim for us to accept it as cool. Maybe DC will figure how that Batman is their only A-list character where a dark tone is appropriate.
      After all, The Flash tv series works– and it’s not constantly bleak.

  304. So what I learnt this week from a folk music podcast:

    What the Mason-Dixon Line was and what Mark Knoffler was singing about on a certain song.

  309. Watched Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday on Netflix last night. I was pretty good. Mostly the same thing as the other Pee-Wee movies. Definitely some laugh out loud moments.