Story Fridayday November 16, 2018

[Story Fridayday November 16, 2018]

On 11/16/2018 at 7:11 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

So a couple of kids can think up a better story than what the big studios actually produce?

Is anyone surprised?

Not surprised that they can come up with a story that they like much better than the studio's.  They are only two individuals, who seem to hve a lot in common when it comes to imagination.  The studio has to try to please a lot more people than that.  And honsetly, I think they do a pretty good job of producing stuff that's enjoyable to watch.  They wade through the slush pile so we don't have to, and if you've ever talked to an editor or publisher about the slush pile, you know how absolutely horrid 99% of it is.  Anything that makes it on the screen has to be in the top 1% on a number of peoples' lists.

[Story Wednesday November 14, 2018]

Seems like it's about time for a visit from Will and Gil, so we can find out how "the not-change" is affecting them.

[This Day In History]

14 minutes ago, Don Edwards said:

There are also only a few places between Seattle and Vancouver BC where one is clearly not in an urban area. Or, maybe I should say, twenty years ago there were only a few such places - there are probably even fewer now.

So there could plausibly be a single megalopolis incorporating both metropolitan areas.

My personal headcanon is that in the version of reality where Immortals exist, the border between the USA and Canada is slightly further to the north in that area, so the unnamed city is actually Vancouver, Washington. (That other, dinky Vancouver in our version of Washington just had to pick a different name.)

[This Day In History]

Hmm, the link for Seacouver didn't link.  Sorry for the double post, but trying to edit that in would be a nightmare.

[This Day In History]

On 11/8/2018 at 11:16 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

08 November

1605 – Robert Catesby, ringleader of the Gunpowder Plotters, is killed.  Catesby may have been the ringleader and among the first executed, but the first Guy arrested is the name that lives on in infamous song and story.

I'll have to remember, next Nov 5, to wish people a happy Robert Catesby Day.

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1972 – HBO launches its programming, with the broadcast of the 1971 movie Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda.  Good news for those who enjoy watching the same movie twenty or more times in a given month, a year or more after its initial theatrical release.

Don't forget the porn.  There was no internet back then, it was either seedy little shops with a fence around the parking lot so people can't see whose car is parked there, or watching the late-night naked people on cable.

On 11/11/2018 at 1:16 PM, Illjwamh said:

On November 11 in History:

 

1620 - The Mayflower Compact is signed in Provincetown Harbor by a bunch of people seeking the religious freedom to impose their religions practices on everyone who lives in or near their settlement.

 

1634 – Irish parliament, under pressure from an Anglican bishop, outlaws buggery. Yes, that term encompasses more than just anal sex. No, don't google it.

 

1869 – The Aboriginal Protection Act in Australia gives the government control over where aboriginal people can live, what jobs they can have, how much they can be paid, whom they can marry, and what will happen to their children.You know, to protect them.

 

1889 – Washington becomes a state, ensuring that anyone who does not live in either it or the national capital will never be certain which one a speaker is talking about. They were going to call it Columbia, but that’s already the name of the federal district, so it was deemed too confusing. No, really.

(Hmm, not letting me separate these like it usually would.  Weird.)

Defining "religious freedom" as "freedom to control which religions are acceptable and which ones aren't" or "freedom to promote my religion while still oppressing other religions we don't like" is still a thing for many Conservatives today.

Didn't try googling, but the Wikipedia article wasn't bad.  Nothing I'd never heard of before, just a much broader umbrella than I'd thought.

Sounds like the Australians were doing something similar to what America has done, especially the "what will happen to their children" part.  There's a reason the official definition of "genocide" includes preventing children from being raised in and taught their culture and language.

For many, many years, the symbol for America was a female figure named Columbia.  Any place you now see Uncle Sam, picture seeing a woman there instead.  It still kinda amazes me how quickly and completely she went from being a symbol of our nation we were proud of and named many places after, to being pretty much forgotten.

On 11/11/2018 at 3:35 PM, Don Edwards said:

Also: the southernmost significant city in Washington is Vancouver. The southernmost significant city directly north of Washington is Vancouver.

I prefer Seacouver.

On 11/12/2018 at 11:00 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

12 November

1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached Sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident.  The explosives expert in charge ordered twenty cases  of dynamite.  Another expert insisted they only needed twenty sticks.  In the analysis of Wikipedia, "The dynamiting of this whale carcass did not go as planned."

My sister, a biologist and professor of anatomy and physiology, once got called out to the site of a deceased whale.  A whole bunch of different scientists and grad students all wanted to do various tests or get various samples as part of their varied research.  There is, of course, a time factor involved, regarding how long specimens will be useful, or indeed, even collectible without self-contained breathing gear or complete anosmia.  It then becomes more and more urgent to find a way to remove a few hundred tons of rotting flesh.  From what I've heard, the goal in Oregon wasn't to "destroy" the whale, but rather to break it up into more manageable-sized pieces.  Where they went wrong was in underestimating just howfar all those pieces would be flung by the explosion.

On 11/16/2018 at 3:25 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

16 November

1272 – While travelling during the Ninth Crusade, Prince Edward becomes King of England upon Henry III of England's death, but he will not return to England for nearly two years to assume the throne.  Because a futile and symbolic military action is far more important that actually administrating a country.

Eh, a whole big country usually needs some version of a bureaucracy to administer it, and that can keep rolling along without the supposed guy in charge.  Sometimes (often?) things work better without him.

On 11/16/2018 at 3:25 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1491 – An auto-da-fé, held in the Brasero de la Dehesa outside of Ávila, concludes the case of the Holy Child of La Guardia with the public execution of several Jewish and converso suspects.  So the heretics are tortured and humiliated until their guilty souls are purified, and then they are killed so that they can not sin again.

Kill them now so they can't sin in the future?  As the lesbian said to the guy who told her she just hadn't had sex with the right man yet, "Well, you know, that could work for you, too!"

On 11/16/2018 at 3:25 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1974 – The Arecibo message is broadcast from the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico. It was aimed at the current location of the globular star cluster Messier 13 some 25,000 light years away. The message will reach empty space by the time it finally arrives since the cluster will have changed position.  So we did call.   Is it our fault no one will  be home when the message arrives?

Huh.  Usually, space scientists plan ahead better than that.  Then again, maybe the person in charge of aiming was someone who didn't really want to announce our presence too loudly.....

On 11/16/2018 at 3:25 PM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1990 – Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It's True album. Session musicians had provided all the vocals.  You would think that an organization that called itself the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences might have enough technical expertise to detect a fraud before handing out the highest award.

I always wondered why they didn't just give the award to whoever it was that *did* sing the song.  Someone sang it, so if it's a Grammy-worthy performance, why should what they look like or under what terms they performed change that fact?  Let the anonymous "session musicians" come forward and be recognized!

On 11/17/2018 at 7:42 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

17 November

1933 – The United States recognizes the Soviet Union.  And we thought the US was doing badly on geography.  Next semester, we'll see if the US can identify Brazil on a map of South America.

We don't actually do too badly.

On 11/17/2018 at 7:42 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1938 – The legend lives on from the Canadians on down of the singer they call Gordon Lightfoot...

You just better include Stan Rogers's birthday, too!

On 11/17/2018 at 7:42 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1968 – Heidi Bowl.  Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.  To keep it simple, sports now preempt everything else.

Except not always.  When Star Trek: The Next Generation did their season-ending cliffhanger "The Best of Both Worlds", at the start if the next season, we nerds kicked the Bears fans who wanted to watch the big game out of the TV lounge of our dorm.  We had them beat in numbers, and in sheer determination to find out what the heck happened after Commander Riker ordered Worf to fire on Captain Picard!

On 11/17/2018 at 7:42 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1978 – No amount of retcons, special editions, or other lies can change this fact.  The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS and CTV, receiving negative reception from critics, fans, and even Star Wars creator George Lucas.  Strong with the Force Bea Arthur is.

I have seen it.  I have also seen Highlander II.  They are about on the same level of quality.

Yes, brain cells died.  But only the weak ones!

On 11/21/2018 at 8:48 AM, Illjwamh said:

On Nov. 21 in History:

164 BCE - Judas Maccabeus restores the Temple in Jerusalem, which essentially becomes the first Chanukkah, as everyone knows from the myriad TV specials and nauseatingly prevalent marketing saturation tactics that take place every year.

What, no comment about how the restored Temple will surely stand for all time?

On 11/21/2018 at 8:48 AM, Illjwamh said:

1877 - Thomas Edison reveals his invention of the phonograph, which can both record and play back sound. People in the music industry rail against it, saying it will destroy their livelihoods because no one will want to attend live performances anymore. No, really.

And yet movie theaters still get cranky if you try to record the movie you're watching.

(I actually did record a couple of movies in the theater, years ago.  On audio cassette.  They were something to listen to while running.  They were also the only movies I went to see in the theater more than once.  I think I saw one of them five times.  Yeah, that recording sure cut into their profits, yeah....)

On 11/21/2018 at 8:48 AM, Illjwamh said:

1979 - The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad is attacked and set on fire, killing four Americans. This is treated as a national tragedy and collectively mourned, rather than taking the sensible option of sensationalizing it into a media circus that drags out for over a year with the aim of politically smearing a government official who was not present and only marginally involved at best.

Well, despite all those investigations, they hadn't found anything she actually did to villainize her for.  What else could they do?  Invent things out of wholecloth?  They certainly couldn't demonize her for doing something a whole bunch of them had also done....

On 11/21/2018 at 8:48 AM, Illjwamh said:

1985 - Carly Rae Jepson is born, in spite of the efforts of numerous time travelers from 2012 who are tired of hearing that damn song every bloody place they go.

I had to look up which song she's known for.  I tend to think of this when I hear it.  "Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad...."

On 11/27/2018 at 8:55 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

27 November

1810 – The Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by Theodore Hook in the City of Westminster, London.  Kids, if you think you're being clever by calling for pizza delivery to a neighbor, realize that it has already been done.  Not only done, but done on a far bigger scale than you could ever hope to accomplish.

Wow!  Thank you for sharing that one.  Sort of a great-uncle of the Flash Mob, too.

On 11/27/2018 at 8:55 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1945 – CARE (then the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) was founded to a send CARE Packages of food relief to Europe after World War II.  It seems the cookies my mom sent me in college may have been in mislabeled packages.

Another cool one to learn the background of!

On 11/27/2018 at 8:55 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1955 – Birth of Bill Nye, (the Science Guy) American engineer, educator, and television host.  His first diaper includes a bow tie.

He got it from Senator Paul Simon, and later passed it on to Matt Smith.

On 11/27/2018 at 8:55 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1968 – Penny Ann Early became the first woman to play major professional basketball, for the Kentucky Colonels in an ABA game against the Los Angeles Stars.  She is also one of the first women licensed a jockey for Para mutual horse races.  Setting aside the question of gender in athletics, isn't there usually a significant difference in size between jockeys and basketball players?

Smallest professional basketball player ever.  If you can count sitting in the bench, then being put in to make one play and then being put back on the bench, to be playing professionally,  It was really a stunt to call attention to the way she was being treated as a professional jockey.  She got a standing ovation, whether for her courage, her cause, or her miniskirt is hard to say.

More importantly, did she end up with the nickname Penny Annie, and if not, why didn't someone up the ante?

On 11/27/2018 at 8:55 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1973 – Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States Senate votes 92–3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On December 6, the House will confirm him 387–35).  You don't need to run an expensive campaign to reach the White House.  You only need a majority of your friends and colleagues in the Congress to agree that you would be a better replacement for Nixon than Spiro Agnew.

Only person so far to have served as both Vice President and President without being elected to either office.

On 11/27/2018 at 3:58 PM, Scotty said:

Well the NBA did have Muggsy Bogues, who probably could have done both sports as well.

Shortest in the NBA, and at 5' 3" he's tied with Penny for shortest pro ever, but he's not the smallest, she weighed at least twenty pounds less.  :-)

On 11/29/2018 at 7:37 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

29 November

Nope, you missed it.  1949 -- Stan Rogers is born.  Barrett's Privateers steer The Mary Ellen Carter through the Northwest Passage during a White Squall, from Fogarty's Cove to Make And Break Harbor (The Idiot thought it would take Forty-Five Years!).

On 11/29/2018 at 7:37 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1877 – Thomas Edison demonstrates his phono, phono, phono, phono, phono *SCRATCH*   phonograph for the first time.

Reminds me of the Beloit College Mindset List, sent to all their professors to remind them of all the things they need to keep in mind regarding the incoming freshman class.  Here's the first one, which I saw at the pre-Web time because my sister actually went there.  "They have never owner a record player.  The phrase "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them."

On 11/29/2018 at 7:37 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1972 – Co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell releases Pong, the first commercially successful video game, at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California.  What happened to all the quarters I used to own?

I remember playing Pong on our TV at home.  It was fun.

 

Thank you so much for keeping this going, it's been fun catching up!

[What Are You Ingesting?]

On 11/23/2018 at 0:08 PM, mlooney said:

I take 1 and half teaspoons of sugar in my black tea, along with a splash of milk. Been doing that for about 20 years or more. Why have I been forgetting to put the sugar in today? I've had 4 teas, two of which I forgot to sugar. Sorta starting to worry me.

Try white tea, it tastes good all on its own so you won't need to hide the flavor by adding sugar or milk at all!  ;-)

[The Weather.]

So.  I and my work are in Cook County, just south of the border with Lake County.  Saturday, they're giving blizzard warnings for Sunday night for Lake but not Cook.  Sunday noon a little snow starts, turning to big wet flakes that turn into slush because the ground is still warm, which continues for a few hours -- a lot more snow in the air than actual accumulation because it keeps melting.  But, the forecast is for much colder weather starting Monday mid-day or so.  Meanwhile, all the snow in the air is getting blown around enough to be called a blizzard, even in Cook county by bedtime.

The animal hospital normally opens at 7am, with Doctor appointments starting at 8:30am.  Around 7:30am, I get a group text from the boss that the door locks are both frozen, front and back, and no one can get in, so don't hurry too much if you're still on your way.  Obviously mostly meant for people who are actually supposed to be there at that hour, so I continue preparations to head for work, while wishing I didn't have to.  I get outside much earlier than usual to clean all the snow off my car, and discover that my Court hasn't been plowed at all.  (I live in a townhouse complex, with a main road in a sort of a figure-8, and short little roads called Courts with three to five buildings each that attach to the main road.  I'm at the very end of my Court.)  Boss texts about 8am that she's gotten into the hospital (Yay!).

So, dog in car with heater on, clean off car, then shovel snow from around tires.  Still no plow, although I can hear a backing-up beep from somewhere out of sight now.  The snow is a few inches deep, and still has slush at the bottom that hasn't frozen yet.  This makes it very heavy to shovel, but at least it's not ice that can't be shoveled!  It's deep enough I could get stuck, but shallow enough I could go through it fine, and loose and warm enough I can shovel it easily.  It now being 8:30am, meaning I'm late, I decide to try it.  Back up out of my driveway into the Court okay, start going forward, get a few feet....get stuck.  So, I get out, shovel snow from around all four tires, get back in, drive forward ten feet, get stuck again.  Start-and-stop like this is clearly faster than trying to shovel a full clear path to the other end of the Court myself, plus a few other people have broken ground driving their vehicles out of their places up ahead, so I will likely be able to get out with maybe two or three more gos.

And finally, at 9am (half an hour after work was supposed to start), a little Jeep shows up, with a little bitty Jeep-sized plow on the front.  No wonder it's taking forever to plow our complex, if this is all that's plowing!  But, it's good that it's small and maneuverable, because that means it's able to plow fairly close next to me, then in front of me, and I only have to shovel away the ridge of snow that always forms at the edge of where a plow plows.  I'm finally able to drive over onto the little strip he'd plowed to my left and follow it to the central road, which is at least somewhat plowed although not very well.  The main roads to get to work are better, but still clearly more snowy than they will be later.  Luckily the road surface is still warm, so under all the snow is slush and pavement, not ice, and traction is pretty good.

Final arrival at work, 9:22am.  One of the receptionists who usually starts at 7am is only just arriving, too.  The boss has gone to the breakfast place next door and brought back pancakes, french toast, eggs, etc. for everyone.  The first appointment, with the other doctor on duty, is underway, but I haven't missed anything, as my first (non-cancelled) patient isn't until 10am.  So, it all worked out in the end, and I got a bit of exercise and break in routine.

Oh, and it looks like Mickey doesn't mind snow a bit, he goes charging out into it fearlessly!  Pippin always hated snow, so this is a nice change.  He had a little trouble getting close to the tree and balancing next to it, but figured things out in the end.  :-)

[Sketchbook Thursday November 1, 2018 - Tricksy d20]

I'd have preferred seeing George keep a George-ish size, just a feminine version, instead of giving her a skinny waist like that.  And maybe keep Tensaided his proper age, which is noticeably older than our protagonists.  I agree they don't look much like their male selves.  A bit disappointing, but then transformed characters are often unrecognizable as themselves.

[Sketchbook Oct 29 2018]

Reminds me of a scene where the bad guy thanks the superheroine for flying around above everyone while wearing a skirt....

[NP Friday November 2, 2018]

7 hours ago, Scotty said:

She asked if Sarah was a lefty or righty. How does Nanase expect Sarah to be able to bowl her?

Maybe it will next shrink her when Sarah approaches, only to have her grow back to full size as she rolls?  Or maybe it will make Sarah temporarily bigger?

[NP Wednesday October 31, 2018]

On 10/31/2018 at 0:09 AM, hkmaly said:

... or some sort of test to determine if you are worth entering ...

Heh.  I think that's an entirely different test than one to see if you are worthy to enter the crypt.

[This Day In History]

Got some catching up to do!

On 9/30/2018 at 11:57 PM, Illjwamh said:

On October 1 in History:

1887 - Baluchistan is conquered by the British Empire. For the people of the region, it is one of the most significant days of their lives. For the British, it is Tuesday.

Oct 1, 1887 = Friday  ;-P

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1903 - The first game of the first modern World Series is played between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Americans (who will go on to win). The Americans would later change their name, and if you can't guess to what based on the fact that I've bothered to included this event in the first place, we're not friends anymore.

The Celtics?

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1960 - Nigeria attains independence from the United Kingdom. For the Nigerians, it is the most important day of their nation's modern history. For the U.K., it is Tuesday.

Another Friday.  Perhaps the expression needs modification?  ;-)

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1978 - Tuvalu gains independence from the U.K. Another Tuesday.

Whoops, maybe not, that's a Saturday....

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1982 - Epcot Center opens in Disney World. Still not happy enough.

My family went shortly after Epcot opened.  It seemed crowded then, but considering the very longest lines were a bit over an hour, and the wait time for a couple of Avatar rides on my last visit were closer to four hours than three, I guess it wasn't so bad then.

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1992 - Cartoon Network begins broadcasting. Nickelodeon scoffs at their pretension.

I remember when Nickelodeon was non-commercial.  And had an actual nickelodeon, being cranked by a mime, for their station IDs.  Nick cannot scoff at anyone else, ever.  A mime!

On 10/8/2018 at 11:46 AM, Illjwamh said:

On October 8 in History:

1871 - The Great Chicago Fire, perhaps the most famous fire in American history, begins. It is not, however, the largest or most deadly. That honor goes to the Peshtigo Fire, which by the way also begins today. Somebody has to do something about that damn cow!

There were some interesting theories going around for a while that Peshtigo, Chicago, and several other fires that same day were started by a meteor that broke up into pieces which landed across the midwest and started the fires.  Trouble is, meteorites don't generally start fires, they're cool by the time they land.

If it were London, it would be aliens.

On 10/10/2018 at 6:54 AM, Illjwamh said:

Okay, how the hell have I not done 10/10 yet?

On October 10 in History:

1957 - Manga artist Rumiko Takahashi is born. They thought she was a boy until someone splashed some cold water on her.

Isn't that usually the other way round, re cold water making things more or less prominent?  ;-)

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1967 - The Outer Space Treaty comes into effect. Among other things, it bans the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in Earth orbit or on the moon, as well as moon-based weapons testing or permanent moon bases. Supervillains everywhere are outraged.

No permanent bases in the moon?  Even if they're peaceful?  I think I'm a little outraged, too!

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1971 - London Bridge opens, but not in London. It has been transported and rebuilt block for block in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The nursery rhyme becomes a lot more cumbersome.

I remember driving past that on our big California trip!  That, we got to see, but not Meteor Crater??  Aw, c'mon, Dad!

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1973 - U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew, having been charged with tax evasion, resigns. "Why didn't he just pretend it didn't matter until everyone forgot about it?" asks...someone. I'm not going to say who.

Even the crooks had more integrity back then.  Or at least cared about that part of their image more.

On 10/11/2018 at 7:39 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

11 October

1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard.  The professional American Rocket Scientists finally get one right.

I just have to speak up on this one.  Those men and women got more right that most of us will ever get right or wrong in our lives.  People struggled and died to get them up there, and then on to the moon.  I'm with the xkcd guy on this one....they deserve our utmost respect.

On 10/17/2018 at 0:10 PM, Illjwamh said:

On October 17 in History:

1091 - A massive freaking tornado hits right in the middle of London. I dunno, this feels like a really sloppy cover-up for some wizard shenanigans.

It's London.  Wizards would be up in Scotland in their castle.  In London, it's aliens and Time Lords.

On 10/17/2018 at 0:10 PM, Illjwamh said:

1814 - Several vats burst, leading to a literal flood of beer in London. Now I'll make an obvious joke about it! Except eight people die, you monster.

People talk about "as slow as molasses" -- well, apparently, molasses can flood a city at 35 mph.  Killed 21, injured 150 in Boston.

On 10/17/2018 at 0:10 PM, Illjwamh said:

2018 - Canada, already one of the most chill, laid-back places on Earth, legalizes recreational marijuana use. Word is still out on whether they have achieved some sort of friendly Nirvana.

They're ahead if us on so many things....

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

Just for some context, today's ma birfday.

On Oct. 18 in History:

629 - Dagobert I is crowned king of the Franks. Naturally, he still must answer to an incompetent, pointy-haired Pope.

I thought of Dagobah, myself.  Not as easy a joke, though.

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

1867 - Alaska is purchased for the U.S. from Russia at a price of $7.2 million. In 1867 dollars, that's like the equivalent of Zeus's diamond-encrusted golden testicles. Everyone thought it was a worthless purchase and William Seward, who oversaw the deal, would never live it down. No, really. Because even though gold and oil and down-to-earth folksy hockey-moms were later found in abundance, he would die nearly five years to the day (Oct. 10) later and never got to see any of that. He may have lucked out on that last one.

Ah, yes, Seward's Folly, one of two such deals, the other being the Louisiana Purchase.

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

1898 - The United States takes Puerto Rico from Spain. Because we feel like it. If the pattern holds, this means Sarah Palin 2.0, now in Latina form, has already been born.

Bite your tongue!  (Or whatever the typing equivalent is)

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

1922 - The BBC is founded, which among other things eventually leads to the creation of both Dr. Who and Monty Python. And there was much rejoicing.

Yay Downton Abbey!  Yay Sherlock!

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

1929 - I won't bore you with the details, but long story short: The Supreme Court of Canada is overruled and it is determined that women are, in fact, considered "persons" under Canadian law. What were they considered before? Given Canada's national animal, I'm trying REALLY hard not to make the obvious joke. You're welcome.

Too late, you already made it.  But you'd be surprised how the law defines things -- there are a lot of laws which refer to "animal" in such a way that it doesn't include, say, birds or lizards.

On 10/18/2018 at 8:41 AM, Illjwamh said:

1983 - The first human being to live to the age of 150 is born. Interestingly, that is also his I/Q. Rumor has it he is also very witty and charming.

First so far as you know, anyway.  ;-)

On 10/20/2018 at 3:09 PM, Illjwamh said:

On October 20 in History:

1720 - Pirate Calico Jack Rackham is captured by the royal navy. He is notable for having not one but two famous female pirates in his crew, and for being one of the chief inspirations for Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. It is unknown whether infusing him with Keith Richards made him more or less eccentric.

"Ah, Jack, if ye'd fought like a man, ye needn't be hanged like a dog!"  Mary Reade and Anne Bonney went above to fight while the men were all cowering and/or drunk down below.

On 10/23/2018 at 0:56 PM, Don Edwards said:

Is guaca-mole made with avogadros?

There's a guacamole for sale at Trader Joe's called "Avocado's Number"!

On 10/27/2018 at 7:03 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

27 October

1795 – The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S.  That seems to be a practical solution.  Unless, of course...

1810 – United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.  Well, so much for that treaty.

Should've asked the natives whether to trust our treaties.

On 10/27/2018 at 7:03 AM, Pharaoh RutinTutin said:

1914 – The British lose their first battleship of World War I: The British super-dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious (23,400 tons) is sunk off Tory Island, north-west of Ireland, by a minefield laid by the armed German merchant-cruiser Berlin. The loss was kept an official secret in Britain until 14 November 1918 (three days after the end of the war). The sinking was witnessed and photographed by passengers on RMS Olympic.

The Olympic, of course, being the sister ship to the Titanic.  Guess it's better to witness a sinking than to participate.

 

[Things That Make You Happy]

New doggie!  Mickey is eight or nine years old, and his original owners had to give him up because he had bladder stones and they couldn't afford the surgery to remove them.  He went from the Anti-Cruelty Society to another rescue, to Young At Heart, a place that specializes in older pets.  And thus to me!  He has to be on a prescription diet so he doesn't make more stones, but as a vet, I can at least get that at cost, so it's not as much of a burden as it would be for most other owners (that was a stumbling block to getting adopted at least a couple of times).  He's sweet, and energetic, and loves walks, and is very snuggly and loves everyone.  He is a bit shy of other dogs, but not in a biting aggressive way, just a moving-away way; and now that he's settled in he tends to bark at new people or opening doors a bit, but not to a point it's a problem.  I feel very, very lucky to have gotten such a great dog!

(He's also one of the reasons I haven't been on as much for a bit, but we're settling into a routine now and despite going on more walks, which also makes me happy, I think I'll be keeping up with the boards better now!)

[Video Game Discussion 4]

Just to show how cutting-edge a gamer I am, I just started playing Pokemon GO.  I didn't have a cell that could handle it until recently.  Gives me a second reason to do more walking (see Happy thread for the first!) and I'm slowly learning how to play.

[Shipping News]

On 10/1/2018 at 11:39 PM, Don Edwards said:

There's another comic (I won't name it because they're rerunning it and I try to avoid posting spoilers) where a character who is bi- and extremely-sexual ends up more or less hitched to a character who is homoromantic and asexual. Every so often they go out together with the mutual intent of getting the first of these two hooked up for a one-night stand.

Sounds like a lot of kinky/vanilla marriages -- the kinky member usually has some sort out outlet, be it a steady Dom/me or a series of one-time encounters, so that the vanilla partner doesn't have to participate.  Sometimes there are rules, such as no sexual contact, but not always.

On 10/1/2018 at 2:36 PM, Tom Sewell said:

Justin isn't attracted to women; this is the reason he broke Melissa's heart.

You make it sound like Justin did something to her.  They had one attempted encounter, and Justin never deliberately led her on or made any promises that would have matched the fantasy expectations she apparently had built up in her head.  Melissa is the one who built up everything in her head with too little basis.  It was a bad match, but neither one did anything to the other.

On 10/2/2018 at 0:19 AM, ijuin said:

....essentially, if one guy is involved with multiple girls (or one girl with multiple guys, or any combination where the number of males and females in the relationship are unequal), then it unbalances the number of people of either sex available for other relationships....

Individuals don't generally think about such things when developing relationships, nor when sneaking in a quick mating while their partner's usual mate isn't looking.  It happens all the time in nature.  Biologists refer to "sneaky fuckers" (or more polite versions in more formal settings), often males who look like females so they can get to a more masculine male's girl(s) without being driven away.  The female is usually a willing participant in the deception.  That means both sides are being poly in their mating habits -- males seek out extra females to mate with, and females attract extra males to mate with.  We're finding that even animals we used to think of as mating for life, actually can "get a divorce" or sneak around on each other while still acting like lifemates towards each other.

Quote

Basically, in any society where a parent passes property and hereditary titles/rank/privileges to their children AND where blood-related children get priority over adopted children, it becomes vital to know WHICH children are blood-related. In other words, unless you are assuming that all of a woman's children are from her husband, then you need some means of telling which are his and which are not.

Not really.  As well as other methods of passing along property and wealth, many cultures see genetic relatedness as only one factor in choosing an heir, and not really all that important a factor.  In Japan, it's quite common for a business owner getting close to retirement to choose an heir, someone experienced and capable of running the company but a generation younger, and adopt that person so that they can inherit the business instead of having to buy it or be given it as a gift and owe far more taxes etc. than if it were "kept within the family."

[EGS Strip Slaying]

On 10/10/2018 at 5:43 PM, JustBecauseICantDraw said:

Part sheep eh? We're gonna need cheerleadra for this one ...

http://www.tomsmithonline.com/freestuff/oddio/SF01_Sheep_Marketing_Ploy_128.mp3

 

[Pin-up Mon Oct. 15 | Sketchbook Tue Oct. 16, 2018 – Adorable Angry Raven]

On 10/16/2018 at 4:52 PM, hkmaly said:

And Columbus DID discovered America, he just wasn't first one (that would be natives) nor first one from Europe (that would be Leif Erikson). He didn't know it's there so it still counts as discovery.

 

On 10/17/2018 at 5:47 PM, ChronosCat said:

He also didn't realize he'd "discovered" anything; he thought for sure he was in "the Indies".

....because he thought everyone else, from the Ancient Greeks on up to the then-present day, had all somehow gotten the math wrong, and that the world was actually several thousand miles diameter smaller than we knew darn well it was.  If there hadn't been s big honkin' continent in the way, his crews would have dies of hunger and thirst as their supplies would never have lasted far enough to reach India etc., given he'd only planned and supplied for the much shorter distance to the Indies that he was expecting thanks to his bad math.

Also, he never actually set foot on said continent, so really he only discovered some islands.

[Sketchbook Thursday October 4, 2018 (George Finally Notices)]

On 10/4/2018 at 2:17 AM, ijuin said:

Who has a five-hour bladder anyway?

Wow, is that really that unusual?

[Sketchbook Tuesday October 2, 2018 (Double - Totally Two Different People)]

I'm gonna guess the one that can fly is Elliot, although I'm not ruling out it being Nanase, carrying Ellen....

Great job with the expressions on their faces!

[Story Friday October 26 2018]

I love Dan's commentary about whether to leave out the swearing or not.

I suspect Rhoda will be even less likely to get detention for her outburst than angry-Diane or angry-Susan would be.  She looks scary!

I do hope it's only temporary....although Rhoda going off on a long furious rant is appealing too....like  watching a kitten being fierce!

[NP Monday October 15, 2018]

 

On 10/16/2018 at 0:56 PM, Xenophon Hendrix said:

I love that drawing of Nanase.

Me too!  It's well worth making this a Sunday-newspaper-comic sized NP.

[NP Wednesday October 3, 2018]

Dan seems to favor mind-altering effects which can be counteracted at will.  I suspect Susan would be more reluctant to drink it if she were stuck with the effects until it wore off, than she would be if she could snap out of it if she had need to.

[NP Thursday September 27, 2018]

I make a distinction between conversational speech, such as dialog, and more formal speech meant to convey information; my writing usually reflects that distinction.  That said, my language tends to be a bit more formal in either one than most folks.

Eh, who cares?  As long as it doesn't bug anyone too much, it's just what feels right, y'know?

[Story: Wednesday October 23, 2018]

10 hours ago, showler said:

Actually, if Rhoda is still in the vicinity, I really REALLY want to see her reaction right now.

I suspect she will happily jump on board this 'ship.

10 hours ago, WR...S said:

I'm kinda more interested in the rest of the crowd.  I don't see Rhoda being all that jealous, especially since we've been told characterization in Goonmanji II is canon.  Meanwhile, we've got the whole school, by design, already staring.

Yeah, I'm kinda hoping the next panel is the girls breaking apart as they realize the whole cafeteria is applauding....

[Story Monday October 1, 2018]

On 10/2/2018 at 4:18 AM, Tom Sewell said:

 

 

Anyone else read the actual book Jurassic Park, instead of just watch the movie?  The company that made the park raised money by showing off a little elephant the size of a cat.

Or, of course, there's the minmoths in Girl Genius.

If you prefer real life, there's the dwarf mammoth...

On 10/2/2018 at 7:02 PM, ChronosCat said:

Well, I used the term "predestination paradox" but that wasn't really accurate; if you accept the idea that the timeline is unchanging there's nothing paradoxical about a causal loop. So there's nothing logically wrong with including them in a story (so long as the story/world doesn't also include instances of history being altered). I'm just tired of writers using them to show off how clever they are.

I love it when a writer comes up with a clever variation on this sort of thing.  What I'm tired of is writers who think they're being clever, but are really just repeating the same old, tired cliches of SF.

On 10/2/2018 at 8:20 PM, hkmaly said:

My problem with that is that I think it tend to makes unsatisfying stories. I mean, someone goes to the past, presumably because they have some reason for it ... and, due to this mechanism, they MUST fail. Sure, there are ways how to make it work - you can have multiple people with different motivation going to past, or you can have the hero find out that it was bad idea and it's better the way it was anyway  ... but that works for one-time story. I tend to see EGS as something where plot elements stays to be reused, but there is little motivation to try to travel into past multiple times if you already found it doesn't change anything on first run.

Someone already brought up the original The Terminator as an example of this type of story being well-done.  River Song's timeline might be considered anothe good example -- at least, the consistency with the first episode we saw her (spoilers omitted because people might be watching the series on Prime or DVD), which was maintained during the rest of her appearances.

On 10/3/2018 at 0:23 AM, ijuin said:

In other words, the "future" that you came from is the one that already stems from a past in which you had traveled back in time. You are not creating a "new" future--you are creating the very one that you came from.

Exactly.  Some people insist on referring to some sort of "original timeline" which was then altered by the time traveller, but there never was an alternate timeline with a proper stable time loop

On 10/3/2018 at 9:51 AM, Don Edwards said:

IMHO time travel probably must boil down to one of two things:

* predestination - everything, including what time travelers who aren't even born yet will do last week, is fixed, nobody has free will at all.

* many worlds - you don't change the past, you create (or perhaps merely travel down) a different branch in the probability tree of all things that could have happened.

A stable time loop doesn't mean there's no free will.  Kyle Reece chose to make a one-way trip to rescue Sarah Connor.  Sarah chose to take his hand and come with him.  The Doctor chose to answer River's distress call, and River chose to carry out her actions at the end of that first encounter.  Their actions are no more predestined as far as their choices go than what you did last week was.  They have free will, the time loop just shows some of the effects of the choices made before their causes.  People still have to take the actions, to make the choices involved.