This Day In History

[This Day In History]

On 2/4/2019 at 10:52 PM, Illjwamh said:

960 - Coronation of Emperor Taizu of Song, beginning the Song dynasty that will rule China for over 300 years. If yesterday was the day the music died, is today the day it was born? ...I'll see myself out.

Check around for any prominent graffiti that translates to "Hello, Sweetie!"

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1789 - The U.S. Electoral College unanimously elects George Washington to the presidency. Well, that went off without a hitch. What an ingenious system we have devised.

What many people don't understand, or don't want to believe, is that the Founding Fathers were afraid of too much democracy.  It's the old saw about three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.  The Tyrrany of the Majority.  The Electoral College was meant to make the choice one step removed from the popular vote.  Instead of voting directly for a candidate, we are supposed to vote for someone we admire and trust and think will make a good choice, and then let them decide who to actually vote for.  The whole idea of a delegate promising to vote for one specific candidate and no one else is bringing the system back to the popular vote pretty much electing the winner directly, with a little bit of a slant in a couple of ways.  Far too much power in the hands of the uneducated masses.

I'm not sure how they would want things done if they were magically transported to the modern age, with its near-instant communication and fairly accurate polls, its sound-bite advertising and short attention spans.  The current literacy rate is so close to 100% that they probably would consider it universal, and television, radio, and internet enable everyone to have access to vast amounts of information, but also exposes everyone to vast amounts of misinformation, with very little education in how to judge which of it is accurate, whose arguments are full of fallacies and whose are to the point and logical, how to tell if claims are backed up by truth or were pulled from someone's nether regions.  There are plenty of books and videos out there about such things, but they get lost in the sea of crap.

Maybe they would think there should be no pledged delegates, and candidates should be forbidden from promising to vote for someone in particular.  Or maybe they would say, get rid of the Electoral College, the masses are smart enough and educated enough to make a much better decision than our masses would have been.  Maybe they'd think that low voter turn-out was a good thing, people who didn't care enough or feel they knew enough to vote selecting themselves out of the process (quite likely with the mindset and attitudes of their day and age), or maybe they'd say the countries with mandatory voting have the right idea and everyone should vote in every election (which would also require everyone having the chance to vote, with either guaranteed time off of work, or a wide variety of ways to vote available over a long enough period of time that everyone really would be guaranteed a chance.

It's an interesting intellectual exercise, but there's no real way to know, as scholars who have spent their whole careers studying the writings of the Founding Fathers disagree about what they would have thought or intended.

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1948 - Ceylon (Sri Lanka) becomes independent of the United Kingdom. Likely they plead their case with, "You let India and Pakistan do it!"

I'm now picturing a Scandinavia and the World comic with UK having a bunch of foster/adopted kids running around, some of them teenagers wanting their own car and telling England "You're not my real father!!!"

[NP Monday February 4, 2019]

Hooray for promise of the return of Q&A!  I wonder how the Q&A Crew have been since we last saw them?

[NP Friday February 1, 2019]

Maybe this is part of the test of the cave.  Will the one who has always wanted a better figure be willing to give back the luscious curves, or will she keep a little extra for herself when the time comes to rebalance back to normal?

[NP Friday February 1, 2019]

I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find a woman badly in need of a breast reduction, but unable to afford it or too afraid of surgery.  Only question is, can you make an exchange and then un-link without undoung the exchange?  Or would you have to pick one person, and then carefully stash the scales somewhere they won't ever get jostled or knocked over?

[Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019]

16 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

And there's so much evidence that he's wrong, beginning with the quite-old "heart" symbol... which looks very little like a heart, which is okay because if you see someone's heart they probably aren't a good romantic prospect... but does bear a strong resemblance to the rear view of a bent-over human female in prime mating condition.

So every post on this message board has a little bent-over butt in its lower right corner, and if you like what you see you express your approval by tapping that?

[This Day In History]

On 1/31/2019 at 0:36 AM, Illjwamh said:

On January 30 in history:

1835 - Andrew Jackson survives an assassination attempt by self-styled King Richard III of England (actually a local D.C. painter Richard Lawrence). Both his would-be killer's pistols misfired, and the president proceeded to beat the living hell out of his assailant with his hickory cane until a crowd including Davy Crockett pulled him off. I can't make this stuff up.

Ah, see, I knew for Norton I to be Emperor, there would have to be at least one or two other monarchs for him to  rule over!

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1969 - The Beatles play a concert on top of Apple Records, which is broken up by police. Police who, one can only guess, hate fun.

Was the later U2 version really shut down too, or was that just a tribute to the Beatles?  I'm thinking tribute but it's been a while and the memories haven't been reinforced in a while.

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2003 - Richard Reid is sentenced to life in prison for the crime of making everyone have to take their shoes off at airport security.

And at least a couple of commedians quipped that it was a good thing he hadn't been an Underwear Bomber....little did they know!

20 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

On February 1 in History:

1329 - King John of Bohemia captures the fortress of Medvėgalis in the still pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He then baptizes all 6,000 defenders, who must surely be confused about why this strange foreign invader went through so much trouble just to give them a bath. Oh well, he's gone now; best get back to business. Those gods aren't going to worship themselves.

What a Scandal!

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1884 - The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published, covering words from A to Ant. ...We've got a long way to go.

Ah, yes, the dictionary that added "dalek" when I was a kid, providing more ammunition to my argument that Doctor Who is to England/UK what Superman is to America.  Everyone has a general idea what you mean if you say the word "kryptonite" don't they?

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2003 - The space shuttle Columbia comes apart during reentry, killing all aboard. I will continue my tradition of not making light of these types of incidents, though I'm not sure what it says about me that I still thought of some good ones.

It says you're human -- believe me, there were some pretty awful jokes going around after Challenger and Columbia both, just whispered and guiltily snickered at while groaning and wincing.  This was, of course, pre-social media; I shudder to think what posts and memes will result from the next tragedy.

 

They say we're young, and we don't know; we won't find out until we grow.

On February 2 in History...

[Things that make you worried.]

D'awww, what a cute pair they make!  Glad Baker is improving.  He looks happy and sassy in the picture.

[NP Monday January 28, 2019]

On 1/30/2019 at 7:38 PM, hkmaly said:

True. However, that can only be the FIRST campaign (for characters, not necessarily players). Well, TWO if the GM is really creative. If someone gets forced twice to be adventurer and survives, insisting it can't happen again so much there is no need to prepare borders with mental illness. (Sure, there are games where characters with mental illness are not only possible but likely, Call of Cthulhu for example, but generally it makes too unlikely they will be capable of function in the adventure itself).

Years ago, the hometown gaming convention did a Dungeon Masters' Workshop every year, and the guys who ran it always had the best stories to illustrate their points,  One guy told about how he'd taken a bunch of players who tended not to roleplay in favor of roll-playing, and he had each of them create a charscter who was a teenager, just leaving their family for the first time, be it to seek their fortune, escape a villain, search for enough gold or power to save their family, it varied.  But he had each of them do a one-on-one session with him before the actual game, in which they roleplayed saying goodbye to all their friends and family.  It really got them into character, and they followed those same characters through years of gaming and many levels.

An example of the DM's sense of humor -- to keep them from roll-playing, the DM kept their character sheets himself, so they didn't even know their stats at first.  One of the youngsters was a budding fighter, especially young and innocent.  During his prep session, at one point he nobly declared, "I have the strength of ten, because my heart is pure!"  The GM duly noted down the kid's STR as 10.  (He was an untrained kid, he grew and trained, so it didn't stay 10.)

 

The other thing your comment reminds me of is the current Team TARDIS, and most of the other Companions of the Doctor, who generally are completely unprepared when they have their first adventures.  Some of them become much more prepared over time, some less so.  Graham complained in an early episode about their having to leave a restaurant without lunch, with no plans of finding any anywhere else, which seemed to happen far too often.  A few episodes later, he offers a hungry girl a sandwich, as he's taken to carrying a couple around, knowing he'll inevitably need one.  :-)

[Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019]

On 1/30/2019 at 5:16 PM, hkmaly said:

I still think his concerns that TF gun has sideefects are if not well-founded at least legitimate. Sure, it seems that Tedd was always genderfluid and Elliot always gender-meh, but I'm also sure if the TF gun (or more exactly the CMD) made people more genderfluid Uryuoms would interpret it as feature.

Sarah, on the other hand, seems to feel that becoming a bisexual boy frequently has moved her further along the Kinsey Scale.  And I'm not so sure that Elliot hasn't evolved in his gender and orientation thanks to his frequent transformations.  Maybe everyone is really bi and fluid, and transforming helps them to realize this, but I hate absolutes and applying generalizations broadly.  Or, maybe they were both very different from their initial self-image all along, and transforming just helped them realize it....although come to think of it I'm not sure how different those two positions are.

On 1/30/2019 at 9:10 AM, The Old Hack said:

as well as Mr. Verres and his insistence that Tedd's genderfluidity isn't healthy for him... which has undermined Tedd's trust for him to the point where he is starting to keep secrets from him.

I don't think Edward thinks anything about Tedd's being genderfluid, because I doubt Edward has ever heard of that term.  Tedd only learned it a couple of weeks ago, and the younger generation tends to be much more savvy and accepting about gender and orientation issues and diversity than their parents.  Edward says he's worried that frequent transformations aren't good for Tedd, and I think that's all Edward sees -- his son playing around with transformations, far more frequently than any non-Uryuom has before, maybe even more frequently than many Uryuom!

On 1/30/2019 at 10:04 PM, hkmaly said:

I think she was studying just as Noriko in past - in fact, Adrian might not been her teacher just in history - but stopped if not practicing at least training when Noriko left. Meaning, she might already be awakened, but she has much less spells than Noriko. Pandora said could have been equally powerful, that doesn't mean she isn't awakened, just that she's less powerful.

Agreed.  I could easily believe a storyline where Mamase has to save her daughter(s) from danger by using some sort of magic.  It would make for a great reveal, and I can almost see the look on Nanase's face!

[Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019]

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

there isn't really any difference between ignorance and transphobia when the message perceived is the same.

There's one big difference, the ignorant can learn.  The transphobic think they already know, and thus have to unlearn a lot before they can learn.

[This Day In History]

16 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

(I actually think it is unfair to compare Dan Quayle to a wet halfbrick. He has gotten more shit than he deserved. Much more. I do not really like him but mocking him because he has trouble spelling is just piss poor behavior.)

Yeah, I'd much rather see politicians attacked for their policies and prejudices, rather than for silly mistakes like believing a card handed to him by a teacher must have the correct spelling on it.  Their actual policies, mind you, not sound-bite strawmen.

[The Weather.]

1 hour ago, The Old Hack said:

One fellow made what I admit is a rather fascinating suggestion: that a cheap and low hanging fruit might be to paint every roof in the world white, increasing the world's albedo and thus slowing down the temperature increase. I have no idea of whether this might possibly work, does anyone know if this has been looked into?

Here's The Straight Dope on that idea....

[The Weather.]

Because the vast majority of scientists think nothing of the kind.  The current warming is much faster than normal cycles.  TOH already linked to the image I was going to suggest, perhaps more politely, that you look at to see what sort of difference we're talking about.

If you look at the really long-term patterns, we should actually have started entering another ice age by now, so maybe it's not all bad that human activity put that off for a bit, but if we overshoot the mark and get too warm, then changes in ocean currents are actually likely to tip us into that ice age.  We're on a knife's edge, trying to balance in the narrow band that will keep us in a livable climate.

If you look at all of the changes humanity has made to things like the albedo (how reflective the surface of the planet is), by turning vast areas into farmland, redirecting the flow of most of the water on or near the surface, and paving over huge areas with buildings and roads, as well as altering the makeup of the very atmosphere, it would be pretty silly to think we wouldn't be having some sort of impact on climate.

[The Weather.]

It was probably in someone's cupholder in their car.  I know I've forgotten drinks there.  But pointing that out kinda steps on the joke in an unfriendly way.

[This Day In History]

On 1/28/2019 at 4:42 AM, Illjwamh said:

On January 28 in History:

1393 - Charles VI of France nearly dies under what would no doubt have been tragically hilarious circumstances when several dancers' costumes caught fire at a masquerade ball he was attending.

 

3 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

I doubt the poor dancers would have been laughing. Or even thought that the situation was funny to begin with.

Indeed.  From the time women started having to wear skirts and cook over fires, to the time women no longer had to wear skirts around fireplaces, candles, wood-burning ovens, gas lamps, etc., burning to death was in a close race with childbirth for number one cause of death for women -- and given that it continued to be a hazard both before and after childbearing years, I think I believe the source that gave it the number one spot.

 

On 1/28/2019 at 4:42 AM, Illjwamh said:

On January 28 in History:

1986 - The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after liftoff, killing all aboard. I can't think of anything else to say that wouldn't make me feel like a jackass.

Thank you for your discretion.  I remember getting the news, during Language Arts (English) class in the South Attic classroom.  Our desks were in a circle, only maybe a dozen subfreshmen in the class.  Everyone not teaching or being taught had been in the library watching the launch of the much-hyped first teacher in space.  One of those teachers came up to our class to tell us what had happened.  I whispered "Oh my God" about a second before our teacher said the exact same thing, so that we overlapped.  Everything else was silence.  In hindsight, I feel for that poor teacher, having to spread such tragic news.

Our parents knew exactly where they were when they heard Kennedy had been assassinated.  This is what we remembered, indelibly burned into our brains.  Think 9/11 if you're too young to remember the Challenger.  And if you're too young to remember 9/11, I hope sincerely that you get to go a good long while before fate gives you a similar memory.

 

Well, what a cheery Day In History....hope only happy things happened on 1/29!

[Sketchbook Tuesday January 29, 2019 (Boisterous Rhoda and Sheepish Catalina)]

Certainly not their usual behaviors, but also not outside of what's possible while still being themselves.  I like it.

[NP Monday January 28, 2019]

3 hours ago, hkmaly said:

But hips don't lie!

But the cake does!

[Last Post Wins]

A sticky wick, at that?  Is the candle using something other than parafin?

[Video Game Discussion 4]

Last night, at a Mensa games event ( which usually means board games, card games, word games, trivia, and Werewolf), one of the guys brought a VR setup.  Goggles go over your eyes, headphones over your ears, and you hold a handle with a glowing tip in each hand.

And suddenly you're holding a blue lightsaber in your right hand, a red lightsaber in your left.  Boxes come flying towards you and you have to hit each box with the same-colored lightsaber, in the direction indicated by an arrow on the box.  When you hit a box, or when the lightsabers hit each other, you can feel the handle vibrate and see them spark.  And it's all synchronized with music, so you're swinging in synch with the beat and almost dancing.

I am in love.  Where is there an arcade with one of these?  How much is a Playstation 4 and the VR gear?

I didn't even start with my first try until about 11:30pm, and took turns with a few others until maybe 2:30am.  And then kept playing without interruption until almost 4am when most folks had gone to bed.  (It's an all-weekend event, so people were playing various stuff 24 hours, but I was only there Saturday night.)  It was a surprisingly good workout, and I enjoyed the electronic/techno music, which was a great match for the game.  I endorse this product and/or service!

[Things that make you worried.]

17 hours ago, ijuin said:

I know that the other items are bad for dogs and cats, but is the turkey bad for them or is that just because of the low-protein diet?

A pound of turkey would have been a bit much for this dog even withiut the liver issue, because he only weighed about ten pounds himself.  ;-P

17 hours ago, ijuin said:

On a similar topic, my cat (18 months old, neutered male) has taken a liking for french fries. Should I keep them from him or is it safe to let him eat them? He will eat 2-3 fries typically. I have noticed no anomalies in his stool from eating them . . .

Carbs aren't exactly health food for a cat, and proportionately three fries for him is a large pile of them for you.  Maybe break off the tip of one or two fries?  In my experience, pets get almost as much enjoyment from a small amount of treat as from a large amount, especially if the small amount is spread out among multiple pieces.  If I break a dog biscuit into six or eight pieces, and make the dog sit or otherwise earn each one, they get a lot more enjoyment than when one of the receptionists casually tosses the same dog a whole biscuit that they gulp down in half a second!

[Things that make you worried.]

Glad he's stable enough to send him home, even if it is for home nursing care!  Those esophagostomy tubes are very popular these days, they seem to help a lot of cats especially.  When I was in vet school, I saw a cat on my Oncology rotation with a tube through the abdominal wall that went right into the stomach, but apparently they don't do that nearly as much any more.  That cat was an odd case; usually the tube is taken out as soon as they're eating reliably on their own again, but that particular cat decided it meant he didn't have to bother eating any more, and he never wanted to eat more than a nibble or two since -- he'd had it in a full year!  Meds were very easy to give, just suspend them in water and squirt them in, then a bit of plain water to make sure it's all in the stomach.

(It's funny, you'd think cancer would be horrible to have to deal with every day, but I think the Oncology rotation was one of the happiest!  The staff werre great people, the clients were all devoted loving owners, and the pets were usually getting some extra time of a good quality of life being with their humans.)

[Things that make you worried.]

Eek!  My heartfelt sympathies.  My Pippin got into dark chocolate twice, xylitol gum once, and oatmeal raisin cookies once.  Oh, and an entire pound of turkey once, and this was the dog with the shunt on a low-protein diet.  A vet I know, her newly adopted dog ran out the front door and got hit by a car right in front of her.  It can happen to anyone!  The important thing is that she took good care of him and is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Pancreases are funny things, sometimes they go through bad stuff directly and are fine, sometimes you just look at them funny during surgery and they get inflamed.  The section of gut where the pancreas is may have gotten folded up and pinched the wrong way, or they may have needed to make an incision in a place they couldn't help but handle it.  I'm glad he's at a place he can get such good care, with ultrasound and 24-hour staff and all that.  I'll be sending good wishes his way in hopes it's not too bad and he recovers soon!

[What Are You Watching?]

Good clear sky here, just way too cold to stay out very long at a time.  Mickey got walked several times in quick succession, giving me several brief looks at different stages.  Very cool sight!

[Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)]

7 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

Something like that. The surgeon wore a lead suit to protect himself. He did it to the nerves along the left side of my lower back.

Sounds like the lead suit is because of the fluoroscopy used to guide needle placement -- that's sort of a continuous real-time x-ray.  We wear lead any time we take even one x-ray with us in the room, so I can understand them suiting up for a whole series, even if they're very focused (I'm guessing they are, like a dental or mammography image, rather than a big area like a chest rad).

[This Day In History]

16 hours ago, Illjwamh said:

1783 - Great Britain signs a peace treaty with a group of rebellious former colonies, officially recognizing their independence. Awesome! Wow!

The year, or even number, 1783, always makes me think of this scene:

I do love that movie!  Always watch the extended version, with Rachel's scenes, whenever possible. :-)