A place to talk about random things....

[dualstow]

Does Egypt need to tear down the Great Pyramid since it’s a monument to slavery and oppression?

[Libertarian666]

Does Egypt need to tear down the Great Pyramid since it’s a monument to slavery and oppression?

Probably, if they want to appease the leftists.
I don't recommend that approach. Besides being craven, it just emboldens them.

[Libertarian666]

101959156_3128739157178842_5608187933910257808_n.jpg

That is a slight exaggeration of how the markets behave.

LOL. Tech, your dry humour is the best.

[Smith1776]

I'm definitely hearing of and seeing anti-asian sentiment here in Vancouver. I am hoping it does not persist. I know the recent riots and protests have been primarily of the BLM variety, but i'm hoping the general anti-racism sentiment will have a positive effect on racism against asians following COVID-19.

The Vancouver Police Department says there has been a 600 per cent increase in reports of hate crimes targeting the Asian community, whether they’re of Chinese, Korean or Japanese descent.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7033253/coro ... CnJyBeyWJA

[Mark Leavy]

It wasn't me...

A treasure chest hidden in the Rocky Mountains for a decade has finally been found

The Thrill of the Chase
Forrest Fenn

As I have gone alone in there

And with my treasures bold,

I can keep my secret where,

And hint of riches new and old.

Begin it where warm waters halt

And take it in the canyon down,

Not far, but too far to walk.

Put in below the home of Brown.

From there it's no place for the meek,

The end is ever drawing nigh;

There'll be no paddle up your creek,

Just heavy loads and water high.

If you've been wise and found the blaze,

Look quickly down, your quest to cease,

But tarry scant with marvel gaze,

Just take the chest and go in peace.

So why is it that I must go

And leave my trove for all to seek?

The answers I already know,

I've done it tired, and now I'm weak.

So hear me all and listen good,

Your effort will be worth the cold.

If you are brave and in the wood

I give you title to the gold.

[Libertarian666]

I'm definitely hearing of and seeing anti-asian sentiment here in Vancouver. I am hoping it does not persist. I know the recent riots and protests have been primarily of the BLM variety, but i'm hoping the general anti-racism sentiment will have a positive effect on racism against asians following COVID-19.

The Vancouver Police Department says there has been a 600 per cent increase in reports of hate crimes targeting the Asian community, whether they’re of Chinese, Korean or Japanese descent.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7033253/coro ... CnJyBeyWJA

I wish I could be optimistic about your situation, but to BLM and their fascist supporters, "racism" means "anti-black-racism". Racism against anyone else is not only allowed, but encouraged.

[dualstow]

It wasn't me...

A treasure chest hidden in the Rocky Mountains for a decade has finally been found

The Thrill of the Chase
Forrest Fenn

They stole your idea! You're going to have to hide yours someplace else.
With the clues in Firenze dialect.

[Mark Leavy]

It wasn't me...

A treasure chest hidden in the Rocky Mountains for a decade has finally been found

The Thrill of the Chase
Forrest Fenn

They stole your idea! You're going to have to hide yours someplace else.
With the clues in Firenze dialect.

Yeah. A bit of a bummer. My poor boy.

Now I'm going to have to try for something on the ocean floor. Mixed gas access only. With clues via a first edition of The Principia. It's not easy staying ahead of the curve. I hope he survives.

Mark

[Mark Leavy]

So what is real and not real these days? I've been living in a world for the last few weeks where there are no riots/protests and there is no pandemic and the locals du jour (Bismarck, as of today) made me eat two steaks whether I wanted to or not.

Menu.jpeg (89.8 KiB) Viewed 4713 times

Dinner.jpeg (121.13 KiB) Viewed 4713 times

I'm heading to Oregon in a few days and I would a appreciate some tips on how to blend in with the natives.
Mask or no Mask?
Eat at a bar or take out only?
I support your revolution or die scum, die?

Help me out here, I'm just hoping for a Pinot and some clam chowder and some great conversation.

Mark

[l82start]

bend has a lot of nice micro brewery's, not sure about blending its western OR so a mix of CA nuts and good old boys..

[Mark Leavy]

bend has a lot of nice micro brewery's, not sure about blending its western OR so a mix of CA nuts and good old boys..

That's a great recommendation. Thank you. I like Bend a lot. There's a very cool guy that I once worked with at Intel many years ago. He got tired of the corporate life in Portland and moved to Bend so that he could hike and ski and what not. Intel made him an offer he couldn't refuse and opened up a branch in Bend. They set up an office and made him the sole employee. Smart move. He was worth every dime.

I would travel to visit him every month or so. Worth every bit of road mile. Plus Bend.

EDIT:
Damn. I just checked. He's still there. I'll definitely stop in.
If you ever pass through, be polite and mention my name. Best day you'll ever have.

[l82start]

i get up there a couple times a year... the micro distillery in Tumelo, "Bendistillery" is worth a trip.. i did there taste testing one time on a visit.. someday i will take the tour...

(tumelo is next door to bend..)

[dualstow]

Mark, I’ve been meaning to ask:

I want what’s on Mark’s plate.

I'm switching it out. Ribeye, Niagara Falls, tonight.
That tomahawk makes a good picture, but it has painful memories.

A tomahawk is always $100, plus. I ordered that in Catania, Sicily while on a volcano trip with my gal. Medium rare - to make sure all of the fat was hot. Standard procedure: the kitchen will sear it on a blazing fire and then put it in a slow oven for a half an hour.

After almost an hour, I asked the waiter what was up.

Then a guy in a suit, who was clearly someone's nephew, brought my steak. It was obvious that they had forgotten about it - and had just left it in the oven. It was visibly inedible. Destroyed. Mutton meat.

(Remember, this was Sicily) Then the nephew says "Enjoy!". No sane person would have served that steak.
My response was. "Thank you. Just the way I like it." Then we paid up and skedaddelled quick time.

In retrospect, I should have said. "I would like to pay for this steak as a gift to the kitchen. May the chef enjoy every bite."
That would have been the Sicilian thing to do.


tomahawk.jpeg

Were you in a hurry, or is Sicily just the kind of place where it’s better to scram than to complain to the chef?

[Mark Leavy]

Mark, I’ve been meaning to ask:

I want what’s on Mark’s plate.

I'm switching it out. Ribeye, Niagara Falls, tonight.
That tomahawk makes a good picture, but it has painful memories.

A tomahawk is always $100, plus. I ordered that in Catania, Sicily while on a volcano trip with my gal. Medium rare - to make sure all of the fat was hot. Standard procedure: the kitchen will sear it on a blazing fire and then put it in a slow oven for a half an hour.

After almost an hour, I asked the waiter what was up.

Then a guy in a suit, who was clearly someone's nephew, brought my steak. It was obvious that they had forgotten about it - and had just left it in the oven. It was visibly inedible. Destroyed. Mutton meat.

(Remember, this was Sicily) Then the nephew says "Enjoy!". No sane person would have served that steak.
My response was. "Thank you. Just the way I like it." Then we paid up and skedaddelled quick time.

In retrospect, I should have said. "I would like to pay for this steak as a gift to the kitchen. May the chef enjoy every bite."
That would have been the Sicilian thing to do.


tomahawk.jpeg

Were you in a hurry, or is Sicily just the kind of place where it’s better to scram than to complain to the chef?

Sicily is a beautiful country filled with some of the most wonderful people you will meet. It is also very very poor and under a very heavy thumb of a weakening mafia. Many of the local restaurants carry the burden of employing someone's nephew.

My steak was very expensive and someone obviously screwed up. $150 would be a big f'ing deal if I sent it back to the kitchen. When a young guy in a suit that clearly knew nothing about food brought my steak out, I knew there was a problem brewing. Something I wanted no part of. So I paid up and left.

[dualstow]

Makes sense. You’ve got international street smarts.

[Mark Leavy]

I stopped in Chapel Hill, NC this evening. For the weekend.

UNC Chapel Hill is the center of the universe for computer vision. I've worked with these folks for decades, but have never been here before. What a beautiful town. I didn't realize it, but classes are starting back up on Monday - so the town is abuzz.

My hotel bar was full of parents that had just driven their kids into town. I talked to a couple from Long Island for quite awhile. The guy said that Manhattan is a ghost town. Brooklyn is starting to slowly pick up. He thinks that UNC will shut down within a month and he'll be making the drive again to pick up his daughter.

Everywhere I stop, the story is different. But there is serious trauma right now. Hotel and restaurant workers. Parents with school aged kids. Businesses trying to figure out where and when to allocate capital.

There is palpable tension in the air.

I expect sanity to break out at any time. But it could go the other way.

Mark

[dualstow]

I hope you keep a journal occasionally, Mark.

[Mark Leavy]

I drove through Vermont last week. You have to lock your car doors and sunroof or you will come back to find your seats filled with zucchini.

[Kriegsspiel]

You're crazy bud. Zucchini is awesome. I had some seeds but I never got around to planting them this year, regrettably.

[pp4me]

Out of sheer boredom I built a raised garden in my backyard so my wife could plant some vegetables and herbs only to find the first crop eaten by some animal that I assumed to be a squirrel though it may have been a rabbit or fruit rat.

So I bought this gizmo on Amazon for $42 which I would describe as an electronic scarecrow but they call it a "Ultrasonic Animal Repellent Outdoor,Solar Powered Waterproof Animal Repeller with Motion Sensor". Seems to be working so far with the second crop just starting to come in.



(Further Note: Made in China, of course).

[dualstow]

Why do people even grow zucchini? I hate zucchini....

Pug, you have a lot of posts lately that amount to why isn’t the world more like me?

[Kriegsspiel]

Usually, most people only like diversity when it applies to food. Pug has chosen a different path.

[dualstow]

Speaking of food, I was looking for info on acid/alkaline diets and I found a helpful 2013 post from Gumby. So, it’s all bullsht, right? Urine might be extra acidic after a steak, but homeostasis keeps the blood pH shipshape?

( just made an eye of round roast, and kombucha is a very low pH drink that I think I need to be careful about).

[Mark Leavy]

Speaking of food, I was looking for info on acid/alkaline diets and I found a helpful 2013 post from Gumby. So, it’s all bullsht, right? Urine might be extra acidic after a steak, but homeostasis keeps the blood pH shipshape?

( just made an eye of round roast, and kombucha is a very low pH drink that I think I need to be careful about).

Yep. And your dinner sounds awesome. Eat and drink up.

Edit: Oops. Pug beat me to it.

[vnatale]

Out of sheer boredom I built a raised garden in my backyard so my wife could plant some vegetables and herbs only to find the first crop eaten by some animal that I assumed to be a squirrel though it may have been a rabbit or fruit rat.

So I bought this gizmo on Amazon for $42 which I would describe as an electronic scarecrow but they call it a "Ultrasonic Animal Repellent Outdoor,Solar Powered Waterproof Animal Repeller with Motion Sensor". Seems to be working so far with the second crop just starting to come in.



(Further Note: Made in China, of course).

I was all set to buy this as there is a woodchuck or similar type animal taking out a lot of my crops. But there are a lot of poor reviews for the product. Way too many for me to buy it.

Vinny