It’s Sunday morning after the thaw.
MERCURY RETROGRADE. And literally nothing else.
So maybe a bit about the eclipse? I have to say I bought too much into the hype. Don’t get me wrong, it was extremely cool, but there was one thing that did not meet my expectations:
–The Darkness. There wasn’t really that much of it. I was expecting to see constellations, but the only things visible were Venus (Mercury was obscured by the sun) and Sirius. It didn’t get that cold, and the birds didn’t get confused. The 360-degree sunset was pretty cool though. And of course the corona + a very red Baily’s bead at the 6:30 – 7:00 was worth making the drive for. I was also not prepared about how for the naked eyeball the sun is either off or on, no transition between the two. And that was a freaking fast four minutes (not to brag, but I know what four minutes feels like).
This is why the inside of my car is filthy.
Aries: 7 of Coins reversed – something that seems satisfying/successful isn’t.
Taurus: 6 of Swords reversed – A boating accident, loss, but a good chance of it being a loss of troubles.
Gemini: Queen of Cups reversed – A distinguished woman but not trustworthy, perverse woman, vice, dishonor, depravity.
Cancer: Presents, gifts, gratification, management, judgement.
Leo: 8 of Swords – Bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny, sickness.
Virgo: Temperance – Economy, moderation, frugality, management, accommodation.Ā
Libra: 7 of Swords – Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance.Ā
Scorpio: Queen of Swords reversed – Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, bale, deceit.
Sagittarius: 9 of Coins reversed – Roguery, deception, voided project, bad faith.
Capricorn: King of Wands – Dark man, friendly, countryman, generally married, honest and conscientious.
Aquarius: Death reversed – Inertia, sleep, lethargy, petrifaction, somnambulism; hope destroyed.
Pisces: 6 of Wands – Success, great news, anticipation of good things, hope.
For Derpy and any other yoots, the summer of 1986 sounded like this:
A coworker of mine who lives in the country and has chickens told me that when the light diminished to “twilight,” her chickens marched into their coop. A few minutes later when it got light again, they marched right back out. š
“Why don’t I feel rested?”
“I don’t think I slep a wink last night.”
I hate that tossing and turning
Wow, flashback.
Yeah, and not the good kind.
Sagittarius: 9 of Coins reversed ā Roguery, deception, voided project, bad faith.
What about gloom and despair?
Those were the good times. My kids were little, Saturday night TV fare was silly but safe.
So the sec will be mediocre. I’ll take it!
*sex goddammit
Well, it might just take a sec, so . . . .
*guys be like…so?*
āWorked for me!ā
“*sex goddammit”
Better’n the alternative
Speaking of four minutes…
Like the moon, a real First is hollow. It allows the First to spin more rapidly so that it remain its attraction to the seconds.
There was a time when scientists long debated the form of Firsts. The debate is now settled. The Hollow First Theory is the only one that is accepted by The Firsters Guild of the West.
I have been told by a noble congressperson the moon is mostly gases.
I saw GTR live that summer. It was in a small musical theater, definitely not your typical rock show. The ambience was sometimes more like a string quartet performing. Had floor seats near the stage, so we sat very close. There was minimal lighting used, and they sat and played quite a bit of the time. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was a very cool experience.
So it begins.
Des Moines Police are concerned after the cityās first case linking 3D-printed guns to a crime
Decline and fall
A lot of young men are single, a study from the Pew Research Center found last year. More than 60% of men under 30 described themselves as unattached in a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center; Whitney referred to this analysis in her thinking. The aforementioned study also found the share of single men in the country looking to date or be in a relationship has declined since 2019, which Whitney alluded to, and emphasized that a portion of young, single men āhavenāt had sex in the past year and donāt seem to be bothered by it.ā More men are living at home with their parents, and for longer too. A 2016 report from the Pew Research Center found young men were more likely to live at home with mom and dad than a partner.
So where does this all stem from? Mid-2000s video games, in Whitneyās mind. āYou have an ability to feel like youāre gaming with a group of friends or community, but youāre really just at home alone,ā she said. āAnd so the socialization of the young American male really started to break down significantly around that time.ā According to Whitney, as gaming went up, so did malaise, noting a ādespondency and rampant loneliness amongst young men,ā in a recent note her advisory group produced. The gaming explosion was driven by technological improvements and the growing popularity of gaming on an iPhone; and it coincided with a poor job market. Combined, these forces have created a cohort of young men who donāt know how to socialize, in her view. āGaming and social isolation are somewhat of a vicious cycle in which the lack of real social contact creates a sense of social unease, making real social contact much more uncomfortable,ā the note states.
But what about porn?
Yea, it’s the video games And all the onus is on the men. It’s the same old story.
Explain to me why no one is asking why women in the same age bracket are nearly half as likely to report being single. No one asks what behaviors are demonstrated by young women that may be toxic to young males. Larger societal trends in education and elsewhere that prioritize the needs and wants of women over men? That’s crazy talk. The problem is that the men have just detached because of video games or some failing on their part.
Women are infantilized. Their choices are never examined or scrutinized and if they aren’t getting what they want, it’s because they are being failed by those around them or held down by the patriarchy.
I just find it gulling that that there is no self-awareness or self-reflection on how changes among women and how society treats them are having detrimental effects overall on both genders.
If women and men have different views, it’s clearly the men’s views that are wrong.
I didn’t think you were married!
Lol. So true.
Also gaming, not the rise and domination of social media.
Price inflation as well. The barrier to entry wrt home ownership and automobiles is a lot higher.
How dare they stay at home instead of shacking up! Did we win the sexual revolution just to have these assholes not sleep around with everyone?
Alternately how dare they decide not to play a game (education, dating, marriage, divorce, etc.) that we have rigged in our favor!
What you did..I see it.
Lack of real social contact? Like forced socialization with assholes you don’t like? I remember those days.
Bitches be flakey assholes these days.
It certainly is puzzling that fewer men want to risk their career or educational prospects due to a woman regretting a drunken hookup and calling it sexual assault.
Wait, no it’s not.
None of that sounds at all healthy. But video games? Puh. lease. Thatās a symptom, not a cause. Iād look more at, yes, smartphones, spending your adolescence in an environment (school and college) that is rabidly hostile to males, social media, and porn (although I suspect porn is more a symptom than a cause, as well).
Yep, symptom. The cause is for debate of course but the things you listed along with public schools doing everything in their power to strike down a human male might be it.
Anyone who attributes young men playing video games to “iPhone games are increasing” is an idiot.
lolrite?
Arsenal go from ruthless to toothless. What a day for Man shitty.
Tell me about it. Dammit.
UCS – regarding your roadtrip cam…I was actually thinking about this a few years back but haven’t done a cross-country drive since then. I’m not sure a time-lapse is a good idea for the really beautiful areas (ie. Windriver Canyon, etc), but having a co-pilot that you can chat with, discuss books, movies, etc while driving – who can also aim the camera a little more in key locations/regions would be ideal. Just put together 6+ hour recordings and then upload them as background `noise vids on youtube (for monetization, etc). My main interest would be showing folks outside the US some of the scale of the great outdoors in the US, and the great interstate system, etc.
at the time, I thought a go-pro might be better than a normal dash cam, but I haven’t checked recently.
I road trip alone, so the background noise would be audiobooks – which are copyrighted by the people who made them.
I would not be able to carry on multiple 6+ hour conversations, especially not ones fit for public distrubtions.
Well, you could always mute or put public domain audio on in the background when you upload the vids. I just wouldn’t use time-lapse.
I just don’t see anyone sitting through 6+ hours of driving video. Over and over…
Somebody did a road trip video and captured a long day on the road. Bonus, It is set to a decent song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRzu1FFLUTI&list=RDGMEMYQNnkCeucvXPZmorerFbHg&start_radio=1
The Norwegians seem to enjoy Slow TV.
Hours of train rides, someone knitting, fireplaces, narrow boat cruises…..
Honestly, at least half the time when the TV is on, its just background at the Casa Dean anyway, so that all makes perfect sense.
I’m in a bit of a quandry.
I got the hardcover and paperback data for Prince of the North Tower uploaded with only the expected issues.
The eBook version is giving me a heck of a time. (That’s usually the easy one) Amazon stopped accepting reflowable mobi files (which is what I previously used), and vomits whenever it tried to parse the epubs I make. I did my formatting in InDesign so I could get those nice and easy Hardcopy uploads, so I don’t have an easy word processor version which might go in as a .doc or .docx. The html version I gave it lost my page breaks.
Do I abandon the page breaks or break open an new LibreOffice document to get the formatting into another format it takes?
Fuuuuu……
The file I uploaded was an old version. It doesn’t have any of the content edits, and I’ve got to go and move the updates to InDesign from the working copy.
EPUBs produced from InDesign are highly problematic.
I had to update all the content to the latest version, so I created a docx from the appropriate souce material
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Amazon raised the costs of their end without telling me, so I’ve had to raise price all my books so I actually make any money off of sales.
hope destroyed
I guess I’ll need a new hope.
Han shot first.
Han shot only.
In the 2027 anniversary remake of A New Hope, Han will be strung up for failing to recognize Greedo’s immigration status and the new protected class befallen upon him by the Empire.
Ahem, trHANs!
Which is what happens when you shoot first and shoot well.
petrifaction
Enough about my morning wood.
Nice dog videos.
Bad news, violent chagrin, crisis, censure, power in trammels, conflict, calumny, sickness.
Not just sufficiently shitty, but accurate too.
Alas, last day of vacation. One way to end it is a right proper ass-fucking from FedGov in tax payments.
Taxes filed. Fuckin-a
I did mine last Monday.
Got my refunds last week.
“It’s my money and I want it now!”
+ JG Wentworth
Ya no shit. You’d think the favored class of FedGov worker would be living high on the hog…oh ya, I work in the field, not DC.
I filed mine a few weeks ago. Then got an updated W-2 from my former employer on account of they fucked up the accounting on my deferred comp, to my 5 figure sorrow (the punch line – they cranked up the income I have to recognize, but blew the deadline for making a tax distribution to cover the extra taxes).
Damned if I can get TurboTax to do an amended return. Oh well, after the 15th Iāll give them a call; Iāve got lots of time before my amended return is due.
As ever, Americans get far less government than they pay for, and far more government than they need. I wish I could remember who said that first.
WTF? Did they distribute to you instead rolling it over?
Deferred comp plan, locked up except for tax distributions until Iām 65. They blew the deadline for those, so Iām on my own to cover the extra tax. If they had done it right the first time, I could have pulled enough from the plan to cover I t.
We had a penalty. Which was my fault for not withholding enough. Iāll be hearing about this from Mrs. RBS until one of us dies.
Yeah, Iām concerned that I will catch a penalty on my amendment on account of it will jack up the check I need(ed) by about 300%. If it does, Iām going after my former employer to reimburse me. If they had got it right the first time, I would have withheld enough that I would be close to break even.
I keep crossing my fingers that I don’t have to make any changes to my W4, which I’ve kept the same for years. The form was changed in 2020, supposedly to make your withholding more accurate, but I’ve heard from multiple coworkers (who started with us after the change) that they turned out not to have enough withheld. I suspect they filled out the form (online on our payroll processor’s site, which is apparently more a Q&A process than allowing you to specify the exact number of exemptions, extra $$ withheld, etc.) the way they had at their previous job, and, of course, didn’t pay attention to what was on their pay stubs every two weeks.
My company switched systems and the new one matches State withholding elections to federal ones, both allowances and additional dollar amounts. š
That sounds…less than ideal. š
Yeah…not getting what the fuck that means…
Just submitted my post on the Tactical Medicine class I took last week.
Yāall need to up your contribution game. Just at random and completely off the top of my head:
I would love to see a post on KKās learnings and experiences from the RV life.
NA could do a deep dive on the plumbing and wiring of shooting competitions.
Neph could do something on making mead.
The Bro could give us his views on sports (I gather he follows and is knowledgeable about something along those lines).
All yāall have something you could write up. It could hardly be easier. I draft in Word, and then copy and paste into WordPress, stick in links (which WordPress makes easy), throw down a few pics, badabing, done. Iām a freak of nature, I know, but I think I spent no more than 90 minutes on my Tactical Medicine post.
Not bagging on you, NA, for not doing your part (seeing as you do a weekly), just something that I think would be interesting.
I will start on it. A lot of the process is black boxed for me, and it’s EXTREMELY dull. There is so. Much. Math.
I’m curious to see how Putrid Meat’s remodeling job turned out, from a year or two ago. Someone else recently was doing a remodel as well.
Yeah, I have something on my vacation from last month stewing.
And isn’t it kinnath who does mead?
I believe you are correct, sir.
Neph could do another taste-off. The one he did on rye was first-rate.
Kinnath excels at making mead. His refreshments are a highlight of HH and he generously shares.
Can confirm. š
I did the rye tastings, tyvm. Also “A Tasting of Talkskers” and a comparison of the three sub $100/bottle Japanese whiskies that were ay my LLS.
yes. In terms of sheer volume, I primarily make mead followed by sour ales followed by cider followed by wine.
Neph makes booze. I think his focus is beer, but he does mead on occasion as I recall.
Sounds like a couple-three posts at least.
Honestly, I would say we get at least 4 or 5 comments a week that are within shouting distance of being full-blown posts. You want a community, you have to invest in it (which I admittedly struggle with in meatspace)
Or maybe itās time for this community to die a natural death. Dunno. Iff so, so be it, but Iāll be sad to see it go.
I’ve done wine, mead, cider, and beer posts in the past. I had two in the not too distant past looking at a beer recipe from the 1500s.
I will find something new and hopefully relevant to post soon.
Mmm… sour ales.
(makes Homer salivating face)
You must be jonesing to hear about the last Steel Panther show I attended.
I’d be interested in the details, like, do you bring extra panties to throw at the band or just use the ones you’re wearing?
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Lexxi is gone so no point in tossing mine.
Now that’s how you send off a coworker.
Arbiter of truth anf good judgement
However, Stephanopoulos continued to press Sununu on whether he will be swayed on his support for Trump based on whether the former president is convicted, pointing out a previous comment Sununu made about the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
“You said, ‘It is clear that President Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection,'” Stephanopoulos said. “Your words were very, very clear on January 11th, 2021. You said that President Trump’s rhetoric and actions contributed to the insurrection. That doesn’t make any sense to me, governor.”
Fuck off, you sanctimonious twat.
I think that Sununu and Stephaopolous are equally deserving of that āFuck offā.
Agreed.
Yes.
I still think Sununu has national ambitions, but has had to adjust whatever it is he’s planning. Possibly he’s hoping that people forget his Lil Rona Bullshit. There are still more than a few Republicans in NH pissed at him about his Lil Rona Bullshit. They only voted for him for governor in 2020 and 2022 because they hated his opponent more than him.
Wouldn’t that have made him a viable Senate candidate in 2024?
“Yāall need to up your contribution game.”
Who wants to hear about the exciting world of stack-testing and environmental compliance ?
I can regale you all with stories of setting up DNSSEC in a split-view zone. The thrill of managing Zone Signing Keys and Key Signing Keys, the excitement of updating DS records at the Registry, the drama of key rotations…
Wait, where are you all going? Come back!…
Do you have any key signing zones where the zone keys and key keys get signed ?
Well, the KSK is used to sign the ZSK but some wild men forgo that and just use a single CSK!
Bind actually uses that as the default Key and Signing Policy but, I dunno, man – I guess I’m just a traditionalist; it does mean I have to specify a custom KASP but that’s probably a good idea anyway. Plus you need to do that anyway if you’re using a HSM.
I used to listen to KASP when I drove from Modesto to Gallup, NM !
Yes. I did CalPUC inspections of rooftop, commercial HVAC system for a while, and find the whole thing fascinating.
It seems mundane to you because you do it all the time, so it is mundane to you. Donāt underestimate how interesting it might be to people who havenāt ever encountered it. Who knows? If you sit down and think it through while doing a post, you might even find a new angle to it.
I can think of two or three posts Iāve done that were straight from my day-to-day. Now, granted, Iām an inherently charismatic and fascinating person (said no one whoās ever met me in person), but donāt underestimate the fascination of the unfamiliar.
My flippant comments about the intricacies of DNSSEC aside, I actually would be interested in reading about Tres’ job.
Any job that can kill you is interesting to lay people.
I want an article on how you hooked up after your divorce.
Take panoramic pics from the top.
Ya know, this stupid bint would be the 1st one to insist that “speech I dont agree with is H8 speech but I should say what I want.”
I likely agree with her endgame re: politicians, and I applaud her enthusiasm, I doubt I agree with her argument.
Anti-Israel protester sobs during arraignment after āmurder youā remark to California mayor, city council
Still always funny to see a lib (that works for a non-profit) in tears.
And as usual the overcharge. “Patel was arrested and charged with eight counts of threatening state officials and 10 counts of making threats with intent to terrorize.”
And naturally she’s such a flight risk they want $1m bail. Meanwhile far more truly violent and dangerous individuals are able to post far less.
Still she’d be all in if somebody else pulled the same stunt on something she didn’t like. It’s always fun when the libs see what happens when they get on the wrong side of the law.
I think this is typical for Bakersfield. She is overcharged but isn’t being singled out.
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While the Papaerback and Hardcover versions of Prince of the North Tower arestill under review The eBook version Is now available!
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š I have the wrong brand of e-reader.
… Didn’t you proofread the book?
She has a B&N Nook. Can’t buy from Amazon with a B&N device.
Send her an EPUB so she can sideload and then she can drop you a few bucks in your Paypal.
I am well aware of that.
She also did proofreading while the book was in draft stage. Helped with mistakes the spellchecker never finds.
She is trying to support you.
Well, yeah – and I HIGHLY recommend it! – but I’d still like a copy of the finished work with the cover art and publishing info and everything!
I can get you a copy in whichever format you’d prefer.
Decisions, decisions! š¤ I KNOW I’d like an EPUB for sure.
Check your email.
Got it! Thanks!
…and copied to Nook! šš
Purchased!
šš
I thought you were working on the sequel to the Edge of the Map book. This is something else entirely, I feel cheated and want to speak to the manager.
That book is in progress but isn’t near completiong.
Prince of the North Tower was sitting around completed, so I decided to bring it to market.
Be that as it may, I still want to speak to your supervisor and I am seriously considering canceling my subscription.
I am my supervisor.
There is a $2,000 cancellation fee, how would you like to pay that?
You sir, are about to receive a ‘very’ strongly worded email.
Am I the only one around here…?
No, I’m with you. I also ate my brussels sprouts right away as a kid, and then moved on to more enjoyable things on my plate.
I didn’t eat brussels sprouts (or liver) as a kid because my mother loved me.
She did, however, regularly make me eat green beans and beets…so I guess she didn’t love me THAT much. š Many’s the time I was the last one at the table, choking them down molecule by molecule.
That was my sister. I’d be off playing and she’d be starting miserably at gross food getting colder. I learned to choke down the stuff I hated first and then get rid of the taste with food I liked.
I always liked liver, even as a kid. No Brussels Sprouts but I’m a big fan of pickled beets and creamed green beans. Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage will soon be growing in my garden (with any kind of luck) and eaten fresh as Mama Gaia intended.
Creamed green beans sounds good. Do like BS. Liver and onions was a childhood staple but haven’t had it since.
My timing depends on the direction the funds move.
Nope. The weekend after Schwab released my 1099s.
I do mine early too.
Naw, did that last month.
I usually do mine on April 14 but I did them weeks ago this year.
Doing it that way this year. I’ve gotten off the OS upgrade bandwagon and found the usual tax prep software won’t run for me. Also, made more last year and anticipating writing a larger check.
I routinely do them in February. This year I got swamped with preparing for vacation, going in vacation, and then recovering from vacation. At that point, I was pretty blasƩ about getting them done, and I just forgot about them until a week ago.
I start them early, but generally never finish/file until late as I usually owe money.
I usually owe the feds a little, and get a little back from the state. Usually a small net positive, so I usually file as early as I can.
This year, it bit me in the ass. Well, Iāve been following the Stoic posts, so Iām not having a stroke over it. Taxes are like the weather – they are what they are. Waddayagonnado? Bury your assets deep into a trust, move to a foreign country, shift the trust assets there, and tell the IRS to go fuck itself? I mean, hypothetically.
Relevant to telling the IRS to fuck itself..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gJN0sfMFcP8
Waiting for the last day… on Wednesday.
Nope. As soon as all the forms are in, taxes are the next weekend.
I’m in Chicago for a conference. Went to dinner at an Italian restaurant in downtown. Their front window had a tiny sign of a gun with a line through it. I’m starting to understand their problem.
Don’t you feel safer? The sign is right there! No criminal would ignore such a sign.
That’s what I was thinking! Then the drugs wore off.
Too many carbs in Italian food? Is that what you meant?
https://youtu.be/452XjnaHr1A?si=ceyAeBDOiCgcxzEF
Tiny gun sign – they prohibit mouse guns?
Oh, shit! It’s a retractable leash. Get the heretic!
Taxes are done and filed. Raped by the feds, money back from the state. But only because of the kicker law*.
* if income tax revenues excede estimated (planned) forecasted amounts, the excess must be returned to taxpayers. Of course this has been unpopular with the legislature and the parasites feeding off the state and they’ve been trying to curb and eliminate it for years. And it’s one of the few brakes on the out of control drunken sailor spending that this state has engaged in.
Now the liquor can be consumed.
Underpayment but more than last year so penalty is waived. Phew, I guess.
The IRS kicked the underpayment penalty rate to 8%. Funny how that one agency acknowledges inflation and higher rates.
Ugh. Monday morning.
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OIRE6iw-ws4
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suh’ fam
whats goody
Well, the Paperback and Hardcover editions of Prince of the North Tower became available overnight.
Congrats!
Author Author!
So what’s up with you?
Good morning, homey, U, and Sean!
I bet I hate the government more than all of you.
Wait, you hate the government more than we hate the government, or you hate the government more than you hate us?
We’re more likable than the Government.
Isnāt government just the expression of what our society decides to do together? Now get with the program or weāll debank you.
I started Fallout. I only played 1&2, but what kind of noob do you have to be to not be able to ice a ghoul when you’ve got a suit of power armor?
The attitude of the show is faithful to the game (at least those I played). I especially like the vault dweller headed out into the world armed only with a tranq gun.
I seem to recall most vault dwellers going out with a 10mm pistol rather than a syringer.
You’re right, but it was more the “level 1 character woefully unarmed relative to what’s in the vault armory.”
I understand the ghoul was wearing plot armor.
The problem with an ironic game and trying to make a dramatic story out of it is you wind up with this uber-hardcore BoS that somehow has an incompetent, undisciplined, cowardly knight. Who promoted that douche?
Probably Elder Maxon. I mean, he was just handing out unearned promotions when I met the guy.
Im okay with the show but man there are some shots where the director is obviously up their own ass. Glad the whole “Im naive but fuck like a bunny” doesn’t go on. I will say if I do a playthrough of Fallout now after watching the show, my view will be completely different since they answered a question that was always vague.
What they mean by the great reset.
Basically, a 85% reduction in your standard of living across the board.
Now that we have a full house here
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!
Morning.
Good morning, 4(20)!
Good morning!
Iāve got a flush
Because, you know, āmorning ablutionsā, heh, heh.
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