/showme a chart demonstrating my decrease in enjoyment of fireworks over time after my neighbor Kyle is still setting them off three weeks after the Fourth of July
/showme a chart demonstrating my decrease in enjoyment of fireworks over time after my neighbor Kyle is still setting them off three weeks after the Fourth of July except this time there’s some element of whimsy and visual appeal
It’s both. When my daughter was little and I lived in the city that allowed you to do it legally it was fun. Everybody was out doing it in front of their houses. Not in the backyard. Now that I’m older I don’t really give a rat’s ass
@Cerridwyn as I have had more kids they have been progressively more reckless and chaotic so I am very much over having consumer grade explosives around
@Cerridwyn@jouest Meh, consumer grade is boring - you should hear what my (teenage) buds and I did with an acetylene torch and garbage bags one 4th…
(Hint: the sheriff called about 9PM to say we should stop setting off dynamite - the neighbors were complaining.)
@Cerridwyn@jouest@macromeh My brother, in high school, made things that went bang, smoked, and at the ocean on a summer trip we blew up sand castles (he had enough sense to make long fuses and do it when adults weren’t around).
My parents encouraged his interest in chemistry not completely aware it was to make things that went bang and exploded, although when in college he was a chemistry major so buying that stuff did encourage that interest, never mind finding out the hard way that an aluminum pie tin can act as a catalyst for red phosphorus and whatever else that was in there that went bang in the basement big time blowing out the furnace pilot light.
Let’s just say I am sure the neighbors didn’t like the sound of what we lit in the church parking lot (we lived nextdoor to a church),
I agree with “both”. And around here, there’s the added bonus that if your neighbors have any reason to dislike you, they can gleefully sic the overenforcement squad on you with fines of $500-$2000 per firework. Yes, that’s potentially a separate fine for each individual firecracker, sparkler, Roman candle, bottle rocket, etc. And that’s regardless of whether any damage or injury was caused; those just add to the charges if present. (Yes, the laws are seldom enforced as written, because even the cops think they’re way too stupid-nasty. But they’re on the books, and ready to be deployed, particularly if you’re The Wrong Sort.)
@werehatrack you may have just connected some dots between my neighbors who do fireworks and who also called the cops about my backyard chickens a few years ago…
@jouest totally off topic to birthdays but on topic to chickens. So I helped a stranger with something Tuesday night who was selling back yard eggs from her car. She, very unexpectedly, gave me a dozen of different colored eggs from her chickens. She said she had washed them but done nothing else. Is there anything special I need to know about using back yard eggs vs store eggs? Or how long they last until they float?
@Kidsandliz washing them is the only thing to do. I can’t really speak to freshness because our family goes through them by the dozen so never had them sitting around for more than a day really. (also I didn’t actually wash them but technically you should…
@jouest@Kidsandliz@Star2236 eggs in Europe are sold unwashed. They are also considered unnecessary to refrigerate. Eggs in the United States are sold washed (and require refrigeration) because of the fact that the experience here has been that Americans are too fucking stupid to understand that that egg came out of a chicken’s butt through the same orifice that the chicken’s waste emerges from. Consequently, you get people here who would handle unwashed eggs and then proceed to make a salad without washing their hands first. Apparently, Europeans get a more practical education in food realities than we do.
@jouest@Kidsandliz@Star2236@werehatrack My wife grew up on a farm. We have some chickens and she stores the fresh eggs unwashed (in the unheated, attached garage in cooler months; in the pantry in warmer months). We wash them before use; she also washes the extra eggs that she sells to friends.
@jouest
I’ve had one blow up in my face but I was okay after. It was just a small bottle rocket. Someone dared me to light it pointing at a house and when I ran and turned around it had bounced off the house and turned right in my direction. I didn’t even have a chance to duck when I turned around.
@jouest
Yeah me too, it really could have been so much worse. I think I was 12. My dad caught me when I got home and gave me a lecture like you wouldn’t believe but after that I definitely learned my lesson with fireworks.
Around here, explosive menace because of the ever-present fire danger! At least we’re getting some light rain showers right now so that will help dampen things down, but I live between foothills full of dry vegetation, and a big city park where kids love to set off fireworks.
@jouest@Kyeh When I used to be in the parade of sail in NYC on the 4th (Class C tall ship 100 ton) they set off the fireworks July 4th from the mouth of the river from tug boats so mostly stuff landed in the water, although once something landed in our sails due to the wind (crew were stationed in aloft to deal with it which gave us a better view). We watched the July 3 fireworks once anchored by the statue of liberty with an unobstructed view of the fireworks set off near there - again from the water. Much safer than setting them off on land.
I saw on TV the NYC fireworks yesterday. They were spectacular!! I don’t think the ones I saw when I worked on boats were as nice as the show last night.
The local ones here were pretty pitfull - watched one from a bridge going over the highway near the on ramp. Had a pretty unobstructed view of that. It was done by 9:20 so came home (all of 3 blocks) and turned on the TV and saw the Macy one in NYC. I sure wish I had been working on a boat this year. To see it in person rather than on a 24" TV would have been fantastic.
@jouest@Kidsandliz Well, that would be the coolest way possible to see them, I think - lucky you!
The park nearby did have a bunch of amateurs setting off fireworks last night, but they were pretty good about it, didn’t go on past midnight. I decided to relax because the police know about that situation since they do it every year (illegally) and it’s better than having them set them off in the foothills. I stood outside and watched for a bit; they had some really big professional-looking ones
/showme a chart demonstrating my decrease in enjoyment of fireworks over time after my neighbor Kyle is still setting them off three weeks after the Fourth of July
/showme a chart demonstrating my decrease in enjoyment of fireworks over time after my neighbor Kyle is still setting them off three weeks after the Fourth of July except this time there’s some element of whimsy and visual appeal
@mediocrebot now we’re talking.
Not much reaction from my dog, really. (But then, he is deaf.)
@macromeh your dog would love my Star Spangled Banner rendition
@jouest Sing it with a calm expression and relaxed posture and he would be fine. (He is pretty good at interpreting body language)
@macromeh can confirm (had a deaf dog)
It’s both. When my daughter was little and I lived in the city that allowed you to do it legally it was fun. Everybody was out doing it in front of their houses. Not in the backyard. Now that I’m older I don’t really give a rat’s ass
@Cerridwyn as I have had more kids they have been progressively more reckless and chaotic so I am very much over having consumer grade explosives around
@Cerridwyn @jouest Meh, consumer grade is boring - you should hear what my (teenage) buds and I did with an acetylene torch and garbage bags one 4th…
(Hint: the sheriff called about 9PM to say we should stop setting off dynamite - the neighbors were complaining.)
@Cerridwyn @jouest @macromeh My brother, in high school, made things that went bang, smoked, and at the ocean on a summer trip we blew up sand castles (he had enough sense to make long fuses and do it when adults weren’t around).
My parents encouraged his interest in chemistry not completely aware it was to make things that went bang and exploded, although when in college he was a chemistry major so buying that stuff did encourage that interest, never mind finding out the hard way that an aluminum pie tin can act as a catalyst for red phosphorus and whatever else that was in there that went bang in the basement big time blowing out the furnace pilot light.
Let’s just say I am sure the neighbors didn’t like the sound of what we lit in the church parking lot (we lived nextdoor to a church),
I agree with “both”. And around here, there’s the added bonus that if your neighbors have any reason to dislike you, they can gleefully sic the overenforcement squad on you with fines of $500-$2000 per firework. Yes, that’s potentially a separate fine for each individual firecracker, sparkler, Roman candle, bottle rocket, etc. And that’s regardless of whether any damage or injury was caused; those just add to the charges if present. (Yes, the laws are seldom enforced as written, because even the cops think they’re way too stupid-nasty. But they’re on the books, and ready to be deployed, particularly if you’re The Wrong Sort.)
@werehatrack you may have just connected some dots between my neighbors who do fireworks and who also called the cops about my backyard chickens a few years ago…
@jouest totally off topic to birthdays but on topic to chickens. So I helped a stranger with something Tuesday night who was selling back yard eggs from her car. She, very unexpectedly, gave me a dozen of different colored eggs from her chickens. She said she had washed them but done nothing else. Is there anything special I need to know about using back yard eggs vs store eggs? Or how long they last until they float?
@Kidsandliz washing them is the only thing to do. I can’t really speak to freshness because our family goes through them by the dozen so never had them sitting around for more than a day really. (also I didn’t actually wash them but technically you should…
@jouest Thanks for the info.
@jouest Huh, to the best of my knowledge, none of our chickens have ever exploded.
@jouest @Kidsandliz
I was just reading this and my boyfriend was cooking farm eggs for breakfast, he didn’t wash them before he cracked them.
@jouest @Kidsandliz @Star2236 eggs in Europe are sold unwashed. They are also considered unnecessary to refrigerate. Eggs in the United States are sold washed (and require refrigeration) because of the fact that the experience here has been that Americans are too fucking stupid to understand that that egg came out of a chicken’s butt through the same orifice that the chicken’s waste emerges from. Consequently, you get people here who would handle unwashed eggs and then proceed to make a salad without washing their hands first. Apparently, Europeans get a more practical education in food realities than we do.
@jouest @Kidsandliz @Star2236 @werehatrack My wife grew up on a farm. We have some chickens and she stores the fresh eggs unwashed (in the unheated, attached garage in cooler months; in the pantry in warmer months). We wash them before use; she also washes the extra eggs that she sells to friends.
sidenote: those pop-up stands should do a thing like ink for irk except it’s free fireworks if you’ve lost a finger to an amateur fireworks explosion
@jouest
I’ve had one blow up in my face but I was okay after. It was just a small bottle rocket. Someone dared me to light it pointing at a house and when I ran and turned around it had bounced off the house and turned right in my direction. I didn’t even have a chance to duck when I turned around.
@Star2236 this makes me uncomfortable just thinking about, I hate it so much…glad you have a face though.
@jouest
Yeah me too, it really could have been so much worse. I think I was 12. My dad caught me when I got home and gave me a lecture like you wouldn’t believe but after that I definitely learned my lesson with fireworks.
Around here, explosive menace because of the ever-present fire danger!
At least we’re getting some light rain showers right now so that will help dampen things down, but I live between foothills full of dry vegetation, and a big city park where kids love to set off fireworks. 
@Kyeh ooh true, adding in the possibility of burning down a measurable percentage of the country make me like this even less.
@jouest @Kyeh When I used to be in the parade of sail in NYC on the 4th (Class C tall ship 100 ton) they set off the fireworks July 4th from the mouth of the river from tug boats so mostly stuff landed in the water, although once something landed in our sails due to the wind (crew were stationed in aloft to deal with it which gave us a better view). We watched the July 3 fireworks once anchored by the statue of liberty with an unobstructed view of the fireworks set off near there - again from the water. Much safer than setting them off on land.
I saw on TV the NYC fireworks yesterday. They were spectacular!! I don’t think the ones I saw when I worked on boats were as nice as the show last night.
The local ones here were pretty pitfull - watched one from a bridge going over the highway near the on ramp. Had a pretty unobstructed view of that. It was done by 9:20 so came home (all of 3 blocks) and turned on the TV and saw the Macy one in NYC. I sure wish I had been working on a boat this year. To see it in person rather than on a 24" TV would have been fantastic.
@jouest @Kidsandliz Well, that would be the coolest way possible to see them, I think - lucky you!
The park nearby did have a bunch of amateurs setting off fireworks last night, but they were pretty good about it, didn’t go on past midnight. I decided to relax because the police know about that situation since they do it every year (illegally) and it’s better than having them set them off in the foothills. I stood outside and watched for a bit; they had some really big professional-looking ones
@Kyeh https://www.nola.com/news/gulf_coast/deer-island-fire-biloxi-ms/article_f69d98e8-4f3e-4ae1-8ebf-8e488a46914b.html
local island set ablaze by city fireworks for 2nd year
@nasman6 At least it’s uninhabited, but wow.
@Kyeh @nasman6 Setting things alight with fireworks is OK when the city does it.
Yeah to drone lazer shows! No smoke or bang just a light show usually set to music!
@jkawaguchi yeah those are neat