Random Thoughts

[Fireball]

Me, listening to a song I never heard before by some obscure musician: Omg.... He's an artist. 

Listening to other songs by the same guy: ....Erm. Just the one song. He's a genius in that one song.

Lots of one-hit wonders out there.

Geckos are a most welcome house guest.

Having a cat and three dogs makes life a challenge here for a gecko who gets seen.  They are around, and if they are careful they are welcome to stay.  I found a little one scooting across the kitchen floor the other night sans tail.  I moved him to less populated territory.

We planted our front "yard" with drought-tolerant plants, and had many yards of wood chips put in (Oh, my aching back!) and use underground hoses with holes (drawing a blank on the actual name, a byproduct of waking up at 3+ AM). As a result, there are "bugs in the bark", and lizards all over the place. I like it, actually. Whenever I see one, I call out, "Run lizard, RUN!". Strangely enough, they aren't afraid of us, and in fact, my little Maltese dog was friends with some of them, as well as some of the finches that took dirt baths inches from her. Ever seen a lizard touch noses with a dog? That would be my sweet little Daisy dog.

Tomorrow is National Cheeseburger Day!  I'm not sure how I'll celebrate.  I'm more a hamburger person.

One of my son's friends and he went into a hamburger joint, where the #1 was a burger, #2 was a double burger, #3 was a cheeseburger, etc., and ordered a #3 without cheese.    Maybe pull the same scheme on the people you are potentially buying from tomorrow, as a joke? In my son's friend's case, the cashier simply pointed out that what he wanted was a #1. The guy really is a space cadet.

---

"Cheeseburger, hold the cheese", problem solved!

When I was stationed in Arizona there was a fast food place we would stop at frequently.  The man in my life at the time would stop and grab food on his way home.  For me he would order a cheeseburger, ketchup only.  More often than not I got a hamburger with ketchup.  Of course he was still upcharged for the cheese.

Oh, yeah. One time one of my sons and I went into a local Carl's Junior, and I asked for the Famous Star(?) with lettuce and tomato only, because I didn't want pickles (if so equipped) or any sauce. I got a lettuce and tomato sandwich, and when I brought it back to the counter asking, of course, "Where's the beef?", the gal got all defensive. i can understand it, sort of, because I did say, "lettuce and tomato only", but I still did ask for a hamburger. I've pretty much given up on fast food for health reasons anyway, but this kind of thing makes it a lot easier to avoid.

[arewethereyet]

Me, listening to a song I never heard before by some obscure musician: Omg.... He's an artist. 

Listening to other songs by the same guy: ....Erm. Just the one song. He's a genius in that one song.

Lots of one-hit wonders out there.

Having a cat and three dogs makes life a challenge here for a gecko who gets seen.  They are around, and if they are careful they are welcome to stay.  I found a little one scooting across the kitchen floor the other night sans tail.  I moved him to less populated territory.

We planted our front "yard" with drought-tolerant plants, and had many yards of wood chips put in (Oh, my aching back!) and use underground hoses with holes (drawing a blank on the actual name, a byproduct of waking up at 3+ AM). As a result, there are "bugs in the bark", and lizards all over the place. I like it, actually. Whenever I see one, I call out, "Run lizard, RUN!". Strangely enough, they aren't afraid of us, and in fact, my little Maltese dog was friends with some of them, as well as some of the finches that took dirt baths inches from her. Ever seen a lizard touch noses with a dog? That would be my sweet little Daisy dog.

Tomorrow is National Cheeseburger Day!  I'm not sure how I'll celebrate.  I'm more a hamburger person.

One of my son's friends and he went into a hamburger joint, where the #1 was a burger, #2 was a double burger, #3 was a cheeseburger, etc., and ordered a #3 without cheese.    Maybe pull the same scheme on the people you are potentially buying from tomorrow, as a joke? In my son's friend's case, the cashier simply pointed out that what he wanted was a #1. The guy really is a space cadet.

---

When I was stationed in Arizona there was a fast food place we would stop at frequently.  The man in my life at the time would stop and grab food on his way home.  For me he would order a cheeseburger, ketchup only.  More often than not I got a hamburger with ketchup.  Of course he was still upcharged for the cheese.

Oh, yeah. One time one of my sons and I went into a local Carl's Junior, and I asked for the Famous Star(?) with lettuce and tomato only, because I didn't want pickles (if so equipped) or any sauce. I got a lettuce and tomato sandwich, and when I brought it back to the counter asking, of course, "Where's the beef?", the gal got all defensive. i can understand it, sort of, because I did say, "lettuce and tomato only", but I still did ask for a hamburger. I've pretty much given up on fast food for health reasons anyway, but this kind of thing makes it a lot easier to avoid.

Bold mine - soaker hose?

We have some around the house to try to keep the foundation from shifting. They are a thing here that I hadn't heard of before.

[Fireball]

Lots of one-hit wonders out there.
We planted our front "yard" with drought-tolerant plants, and had many yards of wood chips put in (Oh, my aching back!) and use underground hoses with holes (drawing a blank on the actual name, a byproduct of waking up at 3+ AM). As a result, there are "bugs in the bark", and lizards all over the place. I like it, actually. Whenever I see one, I call out, "Run lizard, RUN!". Strangely enough, they aren't afraid of us, and in fact, my little Maltese dog was friends with some of them, as well as some of the finches that took dirt baths inches from her. Ever seen a lizard touch noses with a dog? That would be my sweet little Daisy dog.
One of my son's friends and he went into a hamburger joint, where the #1 was a burger, #2 was a double burger, #3 was a cheeseburger, etc., and ordered a #3 without cheese.    Maybe pull the same scheme on the people you are potentially buying from tomorrow, as a joke? In my son's friend's case, the cashier simply pointed out that what he wanted was a #1. The guy really is a space cadet.

---

Oh, yeah. One time one of my sons and I went into a local Carl's Junior, and I asked for the Famous Star(?) with lettuce and tomato only, because I didn't want pickles (if so equipped) or any sauce. I got a lettuce and tomato sandwich, and when I brought it back to the counter asking, of course, "Where's the beef?", the gal got all defensive. i can understand it, sort of, because I did say, "lettuce and tomato only", but I still did ask for a hamburger. I've pretty much given up on fast food for health reasons anyway, but this kind of thing makes it a lot easier to avoid.

Bold mine - soaker hose?

We have some around the house to try to keep the foundation from shifting.  They are a thing here that I hadn't heard of before.

Yeah, that's it. How the hell does that keep the foundation from shifting!?

[arewethereyet]

Bold mine - soaker hose?

We have some around the house to try to keep the foundation from shifting.  They are a thing here that I hadn't heard of before.

Yeah, that's it. How the hell does that keep the foundation from shifting!?

The ground here shifts and draws away from the foundation if it's not kept wet. Even then it's not guaranteed. We have had piers put under part of the house but need to do more as the house is shifting and twisting.

The soil here is strange to me. I grew up on Iowa soil that is better than any potting soil mixture you can purchase. Then spent years on sand stripped with red clay in SC. Now I am on gummy black claylike soil that is moving all the time. A couple weeks with no rain and the splits in the yard can be pretty big...it's the weirdest stuff. Trying to drive a shovel into the soil is next to impossible but when it's wet it's a nightmare to get off your shoes or, worse yet, dog paws.

[Angrboda]

The Unconventional Weapon Against Future Wildfires: Goats

Lani Malmberg travels the American West with a few hundred goats, which eat the tall brush and grasses that power wildfires.

[Angrboda]

Every Speech that Supreme Court Justices Have Given for the Past Few Weeks, If You Replaced ‘Is the Supreme Court Becoming Increasingly Partisan and Losing Its Credibility as an Institution?’ With ‘Does the Supreme Court Have a Rodent Problem?’

Justice Stephen G. Breyer: Hi. Thank you for coming to the speech. I hated how the majority of the court all brought mice to work last week and released them from their sleeves. They should not have done that. It was wrong. I am mad any time I see a mouse, which keeps happening more and more in the court where I work. I know a lot of you say, “The Supreme Court has a rodent problem,” but — I don’t think so. I would hate it if we had a rodent problem. Every mouse is regrettable, but I don’t think one or two or even seven individual mice or, on occasion, a vole, translates to a rodent problem.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett: A lot of people think the Supreme Court has a rodent problem. A lot of people see a pack of mice running around the highest court in the land and climbing up people’s robes and doing what looks like fun mouse parkour, and they say, “That looks like a problem.” I don’t think it’s a problem, though. I think, “Those are some pretty talented mice!”

Justice Clarence Thomas: It would be very sad if the Supreme Court were filled with mice all the time, mice who made such a continual racket with their feasting and carousing and carrying-on that it was impossible for us to hear the arguments that were being made in front of us and we had to simply decide them based on our priors. But that is not happening, obviously.

Justice Barrett: There is a difference between having a rodent problem and individual justices bringing their mice with them to work every day and releasing them into the courtroom. You may look at the situation and say, “If the courtroom is always full of mice, what is the difference, exactly?” but I think there is a big difference. One is a problem; the other is a philosophy. [Releases a mouse from her sleeve.] Have fun out there today, Matthias.

Justice Thomas: A rodent problem is institutional. It would destroy us. I will not let that happen, and neither will the capybara I am bringing to work in a fancy little collar so he looks like he is also a justice.

Justice Barrett: I have been asked whether it is relevant that before my lifetime confirmation, I was handpicked by the Mus Musculus Society, an organization dedicated to finding the people most likely to introduce rodents into their workplaces. And as I said during my confirmation hearing, no, it is not relevant. Do I love mice? Yes. Do I bring mice with me to the courtroom when I am deciding things? Often. But a rodent problem? Never. My mice are trained.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor: If you would like to know my opinion, please read my strongly worded dissent, which has coincidentally had several small bites taken out of it by what is obviously a mouse.

Justice Thomas: You may ask why so many of us are making speeches right now insisting that the court does not have a rodent problem. Well, we are all making these speeches coincidentally.

Justice Barrett: [Releasing six more mice.] We did not coordinate about these speeches; it just seems like everyone wants to ask about the rodent thing, and we’re happy to answer about it.

Justice Breyer: Please stop asking about the mice as though there is a problem. Now one more mouse … that might be a problem.

(New York Times)

[Quoted In Full]

[Angrboda]

Chances are, you’re not wearing enough sunscreen—and if that’s the case, you’re not alone. A 2014 study showed that most folks typically use a quarter to half as much sunscreen as they should be using to meet the advertised sun protection factor (SPF). To get the full protection of the SPF listed on the bottle, you need to use 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin. This amounts to about a shot glass’s worth, or 1 ounce, of sunscreen for the average-size adult’s near-naked body.

Stop Using So Much Dish Soap (And Other Portion Size Advice)

Good to know.

[zwanzig]

On the exmo forums today, laughing over the latest temple renderings for temples scheduled to break ground in 2022. Because they're blocky, boring, and ugly. Then I went looking at pictures of other lds temples and realized with very few exceptions, they ALL are ugly in that same sterile, square way. They always have been. I just never realized it until I got a chance to look again.

[Rev. Rye]

Somehow, I'm actually getting interested in seeing Jungle Cruise. Why? This little factoid I found on Wikipedia:

Did you know...
[...]

... that to animate conquistadors in Jungle Cruise, frogs were recorded in a Costa Rican forest?

And this immediately brought one thing to mind:





Because when I think back to things that I expect Disney to reference in a family film, somehow, a Jodorowsky film is at the bottom of the list, but they made it happen.

Also, apparently, this guy's the villain:




Although somehow, I doubt that Edgar Ramirez is going to hold a candle to Klaus Kinski.

How long before it gets knocked off Premier Access and straight into regular streaming? Edit: I looked and it's apparently November 12. A bit of a long wait, but I guess it'll have to do, because like Hell am I going to spend $30 on a license to stream it.

[Angrboda]

Kinski was great in Aguirre. It doesn't even bother me that his voice was dubbed.