Spud free Saturday evening links.

by | Jul 22, 2023 | Daily Links | 148 comments

Just as you had to deal with Brett in the morning, you’re stuck with me for the evening.

Do you need a guest speaker to build your brand?  I’ve got the guy girl.

I’m pretty sure I’ve got an idea for a defense in this case.

I thought this wasn’t a problem anymore, since the people who couldn’t pay the fares were just victimized and oppressed.

I do the same thing.  For the same reason.  I knew there was a reason I liked Alton.

Just because I’m tired of explaining this to people.  Regardless, they shouldn’t be boiled.

I’m not sure why I have to worry.  I pay for my own services, because I’m an adult.

For those who are worried about that last one, maybe they should have started working younger.

Who wants to go for a run?

I suppose I should include at least one drink recipe, so let’s go with a simple one.

The Ferrari

1 part Campari
1 part Fernet Branca

Either pour into a shot glass, or pour into a shaker with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

I suppose I should provide a music link or two.  The first one is one that’s been running through my head quite a bit recently for reasons, don’t listen to the lyrics if you want to think it’s a happy song.  Perhaps this song will be more to the tastes of the general people here.

I suppose that I can put the Zoom link in my own post without going off topic.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

148 Comments

  1. Dr. Fronkensteen

    Of course a proper Old Fashioned is made with Brandy.

    • rhywun

      Q: Should a dive bar proprietor be expected to know how to cook a proper Old Fashioned? I’d guess the percentage of establishments I’ve visited over the years where I expect it to be around 10%.

      • Nephilium

        I would say no. Dive bars would generally be beer, shot, and two part drink places (gin and tonic, scotch and soda, rum and coke, etc.) in my mind.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        Back in my dive bar days, when a person would come in and ask for something weird or complicated, the first thing out of the bartenders mouth would be “East cost or west coast pour?” which would fuck up the person who, invariably was trying to show of, and give the person behind the stick time to look it up when they went to serve someone else while the douche was stuttering.

      • Swiss Servator

        Tonight, I had a surprisingly good Old Fashioned at a local branch of a major franchise chain restaurant.

      • l0b0t

        Go out to Long Beach, LI and try Shine’s. Five bar that has been open for more than century. The owner was even incarcerated for refusing to stop selling drinks during Prohibition. They will do you right every time.

      • l0b0t

        Or sometimes “dive bar.”

      • KSuellington

        Yes, they absolutely fucking should be able to make an old fashioned, that is not a complicated drink, it’s not like your asking for a mojito. That is basic. If they can’t stir bourbon, bitters, and a spoonful of sugar and pour it over some ice cubes and toss in a cherry they are not a bar.

      • slumbrew

        I’ve been plenty of places that have fucked up a Manhattan, which is even simpler.

      • KSuellington

        I can believe it. Manhattans and old fashioneds are my cocktail jam. Rye or bourbon, either is fine. No muddling or anything like that. Just add the booze and bitters in a shaker, stir, and pour over ice or up. Really any full bar should be able to make those two and a martini, but simple can be hard I guess.

      • rhywun

        I really want to splurge for one of those some day.

        But not in a cocktail mood in recent months. I’m drinking like a college student lately.

      • KSuellington

        When you get back to drinking Manhattans and Old Fashioneds a good cherry really pulls the drink together.

    • hayeksplosives

      I went to a favorite local bar of mine here and there was a new bartender.

      I ordered a Manhattan, my cocktail of choice, and he served me an Old Fashioned.

      WT in the actual F??

      • UnCivilServant

        Is there some other poor sod who ordered an Old Fashioned and got a Manhattan?

  2. Sean

    That bitch ain’t seen spicy yet. Send her my way.

    • Chafed

      Why do you want to be sued?

      • Sean

        Don’t kink shame me.

    • hayeksplosives

      Lolz

  3. Ted S.

    For those who are worried about that last one, maybe they should have started working younger.

    From the article:

    More states are pushing to follow. In Wisconsin, legislators are seeking to lower the alcohol service age from 18 to 14, and Idaho lawmakers want to lower it from 19 to 17.

    Those 14-year-old Sconnies could probably drink the writer under the table.

    • Fourscore

      13 year olds will get a phony ID card that says they’re 14.

    • rhywun

      That article was so in awe of government regulation I couldn’t finish it.

      • C. Anacreon

        I tapped out at “rollback of protective child labor laws”

  4. Fourscore

    “Woman sues spicy Thai food restaurant over too-spicy, ‘unfit for human consumption’ dish”

    I’m a Minnesoda guy and even I know not to order a dish with a pepper (or two or three). I don’t need to add anything, I know, boring, but no law suits necessary.

    Even UCS eats exciting food compared to me.

    • Don escaped Texas

      Minnesoda guy

      no comprendo: no heat in Bell County ?

      • Fourscore

        I was only there 17 years, didn’t have time to get acclimated. I did eat a little Mex food but the standard American menu

      • Don escaped Texas

        I was only there 17 years

        #MeToo

        I was married to a TX redhead for 22 years, so I can take heat. When I arrived some salsa and some pico would overwhelm me; when I left I was 4 out of 5 at the Indian places.

        Repatriated to TN, I consider nothing here hot. I’m not the average Southerner (I hope), but I still enjoy some regional things immensely, pulled pork near the top of that chart. I always liked the sweeter sauces, but now I heat them up with hot sauce to get the best of both worlds. Before I never put pepper sauce on greens; now I always do.

    • UnCivilServant

      (-.-)

      And here I was complaining that the Pad Thai I got for lunch wasn’t spicy.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    NWS now says 99 degrees. I broke down and decided to see if the a/c in this decidedly non-palatial doublewide works. First time I have even tried to turn it on.

    Spoiler alert: it works better when you turn on the breaker marked “a/c”. We’ll see how well.

  6. Chafed

    That Darth Vader run is giving Goggins a stiffie.

  7. The Late P Brooks

    Do you need a guest speaker to build your brand? I’ve got the guy girl.

    Does it bring its own storybook?

  8. rhywun

    I thought this wasn’t a problem anymore

    Yeah, well, our “sanctuary city” sanctimony wasn’t a problem either – until the mayor shipped some flyers down to the border stating otherwise.

    And why our going “green” was going smashing until it wasn’t.

    It’s almost a pattern.

    • Chafed

      Manhattan Contrarian most vindicated.

      • rhywun

        Right?

        But will it cause any self-reflection.

  9. rhywun

    they shouldn’t be boiled

    It’s curious to hear the flavor described as “bitter”. That family of vegetables is not off-putting to me because “bitter”, it’s because they make me gag.

    • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

      One of the things I have learned while being married to a food lover, is that they do not understand that there are some things that some people just object to the general taste of. Like tomatos. I don’t care if they are store bought or home grown, they taste like ass. Same with egg plant. Ass. No dressing it up will change that. Brussle sprouts fall into that catagory for many people.

      • rhywun

        To be fair I haven’t eaten a sprout in decades but broccoli and cabbage still give me the same gag reflex they always did so I’m not in any hurry to try again.

      • Fourscore

        Tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage, fresh from the garden, all in the same salad. No Brussels sprouts, though.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    Hazard to navigation

    The Biden administration on Friday gave Texas a three-day deadline to enter in negotiations to remove its floating barriers in the Rio Grande or face legal action.

    In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and interim state Attorney General Angela Colmenero (R), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that the buoys installed to deter migrants from crossing the river violate a number of federal laws.

    The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza in a letter obtained by The Hill.

    According to the federal attorneys, the installation of buoys violated multiple provisions of the Rivers and Harbors act.

    Pretty soon they’ll put the EPA on him, and then he’ll be sorry.

    • Grumbletarian

      Those buoys wouldn’t be there if the federal government were carrying out its official duties, shitwhistle.

    • rhywun

      Governor Abbott’s dangerous and cruel actions

      Because the Democrats’ policy of encouraging human trafficking (the real kind) and dangerous desert and water journeys is not dangerous or cruel.

    • KK, Non-Man

      (one should probably read all the way to the bottom of articles)

      • Nephilium

        I knew I should have made a joke about someone asking for the link. 🙂

      • juris imprudent

        Does anyone have the Cal score?

      • rhywun

        They’re leading by four sausages.

      • R.J.

        Well said. I salute your flippant remark.

    • juris imprudent

      She’s got the crack in front instead of in back?

      • Lackadaisical

        That was too funny.

        Maybe the beer is working now.

    • rhywun

      Quiet you, it’s click-bait town.

      • R.J.

        No joke.
        She claims she set a personal best on a race course. What if her personal best is 5 minutes slower than a blind man? No indication of her success in her chosen fields…
        I need to shut up. Click bait town.

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘– men say I don’t belong in construction but I don’t care’

      It is her fucked up lips and attention whorin’.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    It’s business 101, people!

    The backlash started with one commemorative can of beer.

    Bud Light sent the can to Mulvaney to mark a milestone in her transition. She mentioned and showed the gift briefly in a sponsored video she posted to social media in early April as part of Bud Light’s March Madness advertising.

    It’s easy to see why Bud Light would have wanted to partner with someone like Mulvaney.

    Big brands, particularly those that have been around for years, need to constantly tweak their images to stay relevant to young consumers, and working with social media influencers is one way to do it. Mulvaney has 10.7 million followers on TikTok, and another 2 million on Instagram.

    To stay fresh, many companies have turned to more inclusive marketing in particular. Partnering with a young, popular trans woman could help a brand like Bud Light reach a more youthful demographic. According to a Gallup poll from last year, about 21% of adults born between 1997 and 2003 identify as LGBTQ.

    Fucking stupid snowflake hillbillies.

    • rhywun

      According to a Gallup poll from last year, about 21% of adults born between 1997 and 2003 identify as LGBTQ.

      OMG the current trendy thing is popular!!

      • slumbrew

        My very old friends shared that their youngest (18ish) has decided they’re now female and has a new name.

        Nobody can just be gay anymore, I guess.

        (Spoiler: he’s really just gay, I’m sure. Him declaring “I’m gay” would have been the least surprising announcement ever)

      • Don escaped Texas

        Nobody can just be gay anymore

        I’ve never walked in those shoes, but I thought now was the best time

        of course, local mileage may vary, and kids don’t see things the way us grizzled warriors do

        I’m thrilled that the world is nothing like the lynch-em-and-bury-them-in-a-levee world of my childhood. I would guess that even amongst the backward fucks I’m related to, fully half don’t care about race or orientation.

      • rhywun

        Of course he’s really just gay. But gay is boring and not progressive so now it has to be something more edgy and transgressive.

      • slumbrew

        We’re in agreement.

        I hope he gets his head right and doesn’t head down a medical path.

      • rhywun

        I’m about 2/3 of the way to believing that the current rush to trans is just a resurgence of “homophobia”. Better to try to pass as a heterosexual than be a faggot, right? The thing people don’t see is that “passing” is extremely, like for 99% of ’em, impossible.

      • slumbrew

        I think you’re on to something there. “I’m not gay, I’m really a woman” has some fucked-up logic to it, I guess.

        In this case, his parents are about the nicest people I know. Dad is a devout Catholic but I know he’d be accepting of a gay son. Being another middle-class, gay white dude isn’t that special these days, I guess.

      • KK, Non-Man

        Iran used to do a lot of sex changes so that dudes could fuck other dudes without getting arrested and executed.

        Seems the leftists here want to do the same.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    The milquetoast statement angered people on both sides: those who thought Bud Light owed them an apology, and trans rights advocates who wanted a stronger defense of the at-risk community.

    At risk community? Were Bud Light drinkers hunting transvestites for sport?

    • rhywun

      They’re at-risk of suiciding if we don’t render them infertile or turn their penises inside-out. Try to keep up.

  13. Shpip

    1 part Campari
    1 part Fernet Branca

    Who would actually order this? It sounds like the type of thing a couple of giggling dudebro frat boys would order for an unsuspecting pledge on his first trip to the local college bar.

    • rhywun

      I have a buddy who is into snooty bars where this would not be out of place but yeah that is not really my scene. The local college bar isn’t going to know what either of those ingredients is. (And I don’t know WTF the second one is.)

      • Shpip

        Fernet-Branca is like Jägermeister without the sugar. Acceptable chilled as a digestivo if you’re into that sort of thing.

        For some odd reason, Argentinians love the stuff mixed with Coca-Cola. Fernet con coca is practically the national drink.

      • C. Anacreon

        Funny, my wife was in Argentina recently, and when reading the links above a minute ago, I asked her if she knew what Fernet Branca was.She said, “oh yeah, it’s a digestive, everyone in Argentina is drinking it mixed with Coke.”

        I guess she was telling the truth.

      • rhywun

        Now I want to try it.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    But in the past, politicians generally stayed out of the fray. Now, it “feels that we are moving into a new phase… where politicians are getting much more involved,” Daniel Korschun, associate professor of marketing at Drexel University, previously told CNN. And political interference is “mobilizing consumers in a way that they might not have mobilized otherwise,” Korschun said.

    AB InBev is not the only company being targeted by right-wing politicians. Republicans have recently increased their political attacks on transgender people, creating “a terrifying environment for trans people and for LGBTQ people at large,” Erin Reed, a transgender legislative analyst and researcher, previously told CNN. Republicans believe the strategy will ignite their base, but it did not help much at polls in 2022.

    Politicians never jumped in front of a parade before. But now they’re ginning up lynch mobs.

    • Ted S.

      And lefties have *never* targeted companies.

      • R.J.

        Indeed.

        BTW, The Uninvited is on Svengoolie tonight. Exciting!

      • Ted S.

        Supposedly it was a big hit among lesbians when it was originally released.

    • Chafed

      That’s some balanced reporting. Gives you real insight into former Bud Light drinkers who dropped the brand.

  15. The Bearded Hobbit

    Granddaughter is getting ready to leave for college and I thought that I would send her a laptop for school. She has an iPhone so I figured I’d get her some sort of Mac and maybe they would talk to each other. I dunno, I don’t do Macs.

    I can’t afford a $2000 computer but Amazon has some refurbs for under $500. Again, not a Mac guy, so what should I look for?

    • R.J.

      Woof. One moment.

      So I checked. The macbook airs prior to the M1 chip are going for roughly $520. That’s plenty good. Those things last a long time. They will be supported for a long while yet. The M1 chip os great, but prices are around $750.

    • rhywun

      In my experience the only thing a Mac does in combination with an iPhone that Windows does not seem to be able to do (I haven’t researched it much) is hooking up the Messages (chap) app between both platforms. Otherwise you can sync most anything else though the Windows side tends to be clunkier.

      • rhywun

        “chat”, even

      • Ted S.

        You want to message a chap, don’t you.

      • rhywun

        Yes, I would love to massage a chap… what?

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Good to know, thanks.

        Back in the day, when I was doing network administration, Macs were well-known for their plug-an-play and that basically any Apple product was instantly recognized by all other Apple products.

        My current laptop is an HP that I bought from Walmart for about $300. If there is no real advantage to the Mac I might just send her one of those.

      • Don escaped Texas

        My first desk tower was $2,400 circa 1993. Now I go through laptops like underwear. I’m a klutz and nowhere near as careful as I was in my poor days, so I drop or drown a laptop pretty much every other year, four years at the most. I get the cheapest thing that can run Excel because that’s all I care about, no gaming upgrades or any of that.

      • UnCivilServant

        I don’t buy laptops very often because I find the form factor clunky.

        I do have one for travel so that I can write and hop on Glibs. But for the most part I incrementally upgrade my gaming desktop.

      • Mojeaux

        I can run a laptop till it dies and then some if I can fiddle with it a little bit.

        My husband demands I upgrade whenever the last version of Windows stops being supported, and even then I resist. I’m on my 3rd laptop in 20 years.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        This describes me, also. The things are disposable, especially with the speed of upgrades and size reduction. Not Excel, but InDesign for me, as I had a small advertising business for a while.

      • Mojeaux

        I don’t ise InDesign, but I do use Photoshop and Illustrator, and I do everything I can to stay out of Adobe’s subscription clutches.

      • rhywun

        I don’t think there’s any real advantage BUT I’m not college-aged girl so my “app” needs are probably different.

        There are so many other trade offs anyway.

        If she is at all interested in video games, go Windows.

        If she’s going into computer science, a Mac has certain advantages.

      • rhywun

        Also of note is that a Mac can run Windows but not vice versa.

      • UnCivilServant

        If I need to run BSD, I’ll dust off some old hardware and install it without the Mac visuals.

      • rhywun

        *remembers the dance of installing proper GNU tools on top of the BSD stuff*

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Her big deal is art (she is a magnificent artist) which, traditionally, was the Mac realm.

        My needs are like Don, run Excel and I’m happy.

        This is first year for her; I’ll look for something simple and she can upgrade, if she wants, in a couple of years.

        Thanks to all for your responses.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, don’t worry about it so much. She’s got plenty of models ahead of her.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        If she is doing art, look for something that can run InDesign, programs* like that.

        *fuck using the term app. It is a damn program.

      • slumbrew

        I just turned one just like that (got a shiny new one).

        It’s still very capable, but it can’t run the newest Mac OS release (Ventura).

        I’d also be wary about the battery condition on one that old.

      • R.J.

        Yea. See above. That one is ten years old.

  16. R.J.

    Hobbit, here you go. Made in 2019, $520 bucks.

    Apple MacBook Air MVFK2LLA, 13 Inches 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB – Silver (Renewed) https://a.co/d/adZz6Da

    Decent deal. Fairly new and will update.

    • slumbrew

      👍👍👍

  17. slumbrew

    Sweet, SailGP on CBS Sports. I could watch those crazy foiling catamarans for hours.

    https://sailgp.com/

    • rhywun

      Roundball here. I’m so glad that Lionel! has arrived to suck all the air out of the room when it comes to talking about soccer.

      • slumbrew

        I saw a highlight of his first game and he promptly got a bullshit call on a dive on a non-foul. Reminded me what I hate about the game.

      • rhywun

        That match was not on cable but it’s all they were talking about during every spare second today.

        I watched two matches tonight and the reffing for this tournament is… interesting.

      • dbleagle

        If interesting means one step above AYSO ref skills. It is not international level. I think the key thing keeping the referee skills inconsistent and low is the world participation as refs. If the refs were from the handful of nations with “strong” women’s leagues then the skills would be up while diversity would be down. Pick what is important and FIFA has shown what is important to them.

      • rhywun

        Oh, the ladies’ WC reffing has been questionable too. I was talking about the current North American dude tournament.

        In any event I’m still torn on whether VAR has ruined the game or not. But I am leaning towards “yes”.

  18. Brochettaward

    I’ll be gone tomorrow. I need to protest outside the movie theaters showing Barbie.

    • R.J.

      Fantastic. Take pictures and write a post.

  19. Lackadaisical

    So, I’ve really cut down on my drinking but my tolerance is still too high.

    7 drinks and just nothing. 😢

    • UnCivilServant

      Have you checked the water content of your cups?

    • rhywun

      7 drinks is cutting down?!

      Dude.

      • Lackadaisical

        Hah! No, for months I’ve had no more than 2-3(usually 0 and sometimes 1). and figured I’d be plastered after 7 now.

      • Lackadaisical

        11… damn liver must be working overtime.

      • Lackadaisical

        I surrender. Damn, I’m too healthy?

    • Tundra

      Almost 30 years ago.

      Fuck man, we’re getting old.

      • Sean

        I *almost* bought my gf a birthday card this week that loudly proclaimed her turning 50. I decided nothing good could come from that and picked another one.

      • Tundra

        Smart.

        I don’t feel 55 until I go to hockey with dudes 20-30 years younger than me.

        Still, just glad to be here.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Kind of like Disc golf, I’m so old I’m a novelty,
        Covfefe!

      • Gender Traitor

        You’re wise beyond your ears.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, Sean and Tundra! (You’re up early, T! Welcome to pre-Lynx!)

      Tranquility Base is more like its name this morning. Yesterday morning it was more like Activity Proximity Base – someone just bought the old multi-family property diagonally behind our house (it’s a big old house that may or not be divvied into apartments plus a little four-unit at the back of the lot up against our next-door neighbor’s fence.) It’s been the “problem child” of the neighborhood in recent memory – apparently the previous owner was a contractor who cheated multiple clients AND owed tens of thousands in property taxes on this place. Anyway, the guy who bought it four days ago (per the county website) has dived in with gusto to give the place a major badly-needed rehab. Big yellow machines and everything! Happily, they haven’t gotten the early start they did yesterday.

      We’re also conveniently (or perilously) close to the Dayton airport – less than 15 minutes away – and it’s Air Show weekend. With any luck, TODAY the choppers and jets won’t start zooming around until after noon.

      • Sean

        😁

    • Ted S.

      Admit it, you want one.

      • Sean

        Think my insurance would cover it?

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, ‘bodru!

      barndominium

      I would buy that place just so I could tell people I lived in one of these! 😁