Spooky Scary Octgoatber (October 2021 Scapegoat Blame Thread)
11We’ve had just about all the Haikus we can take around here. I’d blame @replicacobra for bringing that whole situation up, but they caught enough of that through September so it’s time to shift the blame once again and start pointing fingers in another direction.
This month the race was quite close, with a back and forth in the final hours. Seems everyone gave Walter the bird though, so we ended up with a more traditional two-way race that was only resolved in the last hour to leave @werehatrack to blame for all things big and small over the next 31 days. Who better than a Therianthrope anyway?
Consider this month cursed and lay the blame for it all on @werehatrack for not losing more spectacularly.
- 21 comments, 99 replies
- Comment
@Walterbird
Blame it on me, Walter. Anything that I wholeheartedly support tends to fail, unless it doesn’t. It is a Great Tradition! But worry not, there is always November and December, and more months after that. Though whether you would want to be the Goat during Turkey Month is not something I will speculate upon.
Unblame-our son who is a computer tech got a job at one the top ten defense contractors in the US about 8 months ago. He had already moved from one sector to another based on his performance at his initial sector. Last week he got a call and was asked if the wanted to be the tech person for the Chairman/CEO/President of the company at a substantial increase in pay.
@Felton10
Cool! And I hope that @Walterbird gets a little credit for the IT excellence also.
@f00l @Felton10 @Walterbird
obviously he was a victim of good parenting!
@chienfou @f00l @Walterbird I agree, but also it could be from when we locked him in the basement with his Apple llc and his first game-Sierra Online’s “The Black Cauldron”.
Unblame for my loss, or win?
/8ball Did I win?
You may rely on it
Got it in one
OH NO YOU KILLED HIM
MY NAME GOAT’S FLOPPED UPSIDE DOWN
HE WAS INNOCENT
@replicacobra
I see that the curse worked. Mwah-ha-ha! 5 7 5! Is that a kuhai? [capers away chortling dementedly]
Unblame
@Kidsandliz ❤
@Kidsandliz Beautiful !
@Kidsandliz
Excellent.
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack @tinmarie1974
“Cat-o-flage”
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @werehatrack who is this tinmarie1974 you guys are talking to? Sounds like a cheap knock off of the original
/giphy giggle.
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
oops… I missed your A!
@chienfou @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
Is she related to this guy?
/image wizard of oz tin man
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @werehatrack ooohhhh you left out my scarlet letter!!!
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @werehatrack that is exactly what I thought of, maybe I am the tinlady!!
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack Naah, you’re golden!
@chienfou @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @werehatrack awe shucks, thanks
/giphy blushing
Hey @werehatrack
Why am I so sleepy now
Why would you do this?
@replicacobra
Sleep, dream in haiku, and wake unaccountably uneasy so that you have an excuse to shift any residual blame to me. Then take two naps and don’t call me Shirley. (There will be a certain amount of surreal and/or nonsequiturish stuff going on, as has long been my idiom. Grapefruit!)
@replicacobra
And yes, I noticed
That you inverted the syl
lable structure there.
(Never say that I won’t go to excessive lengths to stretch a pointless gag past its elastic limits.)
@replicacobra @werehatrack
Ok, Surely!
Unblame-came back from the dentist today and got the surprise of my life. My son and daughter had flown in from the DC area to celebrate my 75th birthday on Saturday. My wife said they had been planning this for months. I was oblivious to it all.
@Felton10 Hey, that’s terrific!!!
Unblame!
It is time for Spooky Toots!
@mike808
@ExtraMedium Wow, the programming over at Disney+ is getting WEIRD.
@ExtraMedium @ircon96
Actually it started out weird - “Skeleton Dance” was made in 1929.
@ExtraMedium @Kyeh Yeah, i figured… I seem to recall a lot of out there stuff, even from relatively mainstream fare like Fantasia, too! Disney’s always been an eclectic bunch!
@ExtraMedium @ircon96 Actually I like the early stuff better; now it seems like all the plots are pretty similar and all the female characters have the same annoying little faces with the pert nose, giant eyes, and quizzical eyebrows!
@ExtraMedium @Kyeh So true, I’m sure Walt would be spinning like a NASCAR axle if he could see some of what the corporate goons have done to his empire over the decades! Lol
My suggestion for @ExtraMedium
@Walterbird
@Walterbird I’m already locked in a cage. How do you think I ended up here with this loveable bunch of weirdos?
Without further ado, I’m blaming our newly-birthed goat @werehatrack for one day into Meh’s October calendar, and we are still without candy corn, speaker docks, or pocket knives being offered. Though we have gotten fake Apple watches, virtual apple pies, and copious amounts of wishful thinking about the fall season.
Now, awaiting explanations/acceptance from The Goat, I exit, with further adieu.
@phendrick
Oh, dieu, where to start? The shipments of October regalia are stuck on a boat near Galveston, all my fault. I grovel accordingly. But fear not, the gnomes of Bentonville are doing their best to cram tawdry substitutes into their atores even as I respond. But the flux capacitors will remain on backorder, alas.
Congratulations @werehatrack!!
@njfan
Err, thanks, I guess? Ir’s all so… new.
There is now a hymn for The Goat.
It’s in its own post.
Yes, it’s entirely my fault.
Well, the tune’s not.
And take my word for it, you do not want to hear me sing it.
Probably not Irk, either.
Blame: My family decided it was a good idea to go apple picking yesterday. It was not raining when we left, but there was a good chance in the forecast.
I decided to tag along because my niece asked me.
Long story short, after being dropped in the middle of the orchard it started raining HARD, really, really hard. I did have an umbrella, but ended up pretty wet anyway. Also, I may not have picked the best pair of shoes (ahem, flip flops) and ended up slipping in either rotten apple or mud or both. Twisted my newly healed ankle, and now my foot is swollen and wrapped.
Good news is I do not think it is broken, bad news I am having to stay off it.
@tinamarie1974
I apologize for the faulty gravity in that location; clearly it pulled you off-balance at just the wrong time. I shall request that the cat in charge of gravity there be reassigned to duties elsewhere.
@tinamarie1974 @werehatrack The big problem is that gravity works all the time not just when you want it to.
Hope your ankle is not messed up too much.
@tinamarie1974 Oh NO! Bummer! I hope you’re back on both feet soon.
@Kyeh thanks!
@tinamarie1974 And let’s skip the flip-flops altogether - for the foreseeable future.
Not appropriate footwear during recovery period.
@compunaut I know, sigh. I do have some new Birkenstocks in the mail. Will be switching to them.
FWIW my dad reminds me EVERY time I talk to him
@tinamarie1974 Well, I am a dad, but don’t mean to sound like YOUR dad
Just want what’s best for those legs.
@compunaut lol, all good! I could tell it was concern coming from a good place! And you are both right.
I don’t tend to make the best footwear choices, but my shoes are always cute. Guess I need to be more careful at least for a little while…
@compunaut @tinamarie1974
Yep, flip flops (aka ‘thongs’ when I was younger) can be deadly! I vividly remember laying myself out in our basement in STL when I stepped in some water on that polished concrete surface.
Get better soon…
BTW, did you get any apples? The Instapot makes a great applesauce…
@chienfou @compunaut I only grabbed seven apples not sure if that is enough to make sauce? Mostly green - I like the less sweet ones
@compunaut @tinamarie1974 I mean I believe you’ve shared some of your “shoes” before. They appear to offer very sturdy support if worn correctly. I think the issue would be getting them on and off.
The inflatable boot works much better there.
Maybe a little less support than das boot but more than zero?
@compunaut @tinamarie1974 @unksol
I guess you missed the Merb’s Bionic Apples a week ago at Dierbergs. Way safer than DIY.
@compunaut @mike808 @tinamarie1974 I think you and I are remembering very different pairs of boots. Not that heels handle better in a field
@compunaut @mike808 @unksol my vote was for Dierbergs to begin with, no one would listen. They never do
As far as my boots, they are generally more of the heeled variety
@compunaut @mike808 @tinamarie1974 lol I parsed the chain bad. I assume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dierbergs_Markets
@compunaut @mike808 @unksol lol, yeah Dierbergs is one of our local grocery stores. A little more expensive than a Kroger, Pick n Save type store, but not a high end either. Sits in the middle. They are nice and always have those hard to find and local company items
Unblame - I’ve achieved this momentous milestone:
@Kyeh
I got your back. Right behind you.
2638 meh button clicks
263 days in a row
longest streak: 263
@Kyeh I’d break it now so you aren’t held hostage to the meh button and it ends on a good number.
@Kidsandliz Hah, I hadn’t thought of that. Probably won’t.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
You can try for 720!
@Kidsandliz @mike808 Sure, why not!
@Kyeh I blew out at 408 in a row. Have made it into the low 300’s since then, but then oops. Blew it again. I have 13 days right now with 4729 clicks. I should stop at 13. That’s supposed to be
unlucky. Right?@Kidsandliz
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
so… how long did that take?
@chienfou @Kidsandliz
One orbit around the sun.
Blame:
Bought a Robot vacuum cleaner for the pool early Sept. Damn thing keeps getting hung up on the drain covers. Trying to take advantage of the 30 day return window, but can’t get them to answer my email with an RMA and return label. I tried the phone number but never got anyone to pick up during ‘office hours’. They did acknowledge my first email and offered an ‘optional wheel kit’ but I told them I just wanted to go ahead and return it. So far, no reply to that request. If I can’t get this settled in the next couple of days I will file a charge-back with the AMEX card I used, which I suspect will get them motivated…
@chienfou
Woe! It is with sincere regret that I state that your robots failure to cope with forseeable operational hazards is obviously entirely my fault. I should have sought to be employed by these people to make a better design. Or to slap their bean counters upside the head and tell them that no, we are not going to leave the essential features off in the name of a little extra profit. Scoundrels. Just remember, bodies buried less than 4 ft deep tend to be looted by scavengers that can dig. Sometimes knowing that can save you a little digging
@chienfou @werehatrack
How many attempts did it take for you to figure out the correct depth? I forget who has the murder shed on this list but you might want to tell her about your discovery.
@werehatrack @sillyheathen thanks to the contest thread I now know whom to tag (grin)
@chienfou @Kidsandliz
I shamelessly profit from the experiences of others at times. In this case, the “others” were friends seeking to dispose of feral hogs dispatched on their properties, for which there was not just a lack of demand from any conceivable possible consumer, but an active rejection of the idea of attempting any kind of salvage of the carcasses. (When even the large-cat people don’t want freshly killed hogs, and the local game processors all sternly advise against trying to go through that route, the backhoe is your friend.)
Unblame. I dare you to unsee this.
Bark Ghost Face at Walmart
Bonus points: Discover is 5% cash back.
@mike808
At WALMART! That’s kind of wonderful.
@mike808
Definitely would not fly in my neighborhood, though I know a few parties where it would. But I don’t get invited to those.
@mike808 @werehatrack I definitely don’t want to see it in my neighborhood either. I just like the fact that it’s being sold by Walmart.
@Kyeh @werehatrack @mossygreen
For External Use Only
@Kyeh @mike808 @mossygreen @werehatrack
maybe the ‘nose’ is in the wrong place??
PS especially like that it is listed as ‘mother’s day decorations’
@chienfou @mike808 @mossygreen @werehatrack
Also this is who’s supplying it:
Jingdong E-Commerce (Trade) Hong Kong Corporation
@chienfou @Kyeh @mike808 @werehatrack I’m honestly sorry that there aren’t any reviews.
@chienfou @Kyeh @mossygreen @werehatrack
There are over at Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0913G929X
There’s even a close-up picture of the nose by itself. However, Q&A reveals that the nose is quite small and fits in your hand.
Reviewers noted that with Amazon shipping, it came fast. Were Meh to sell these, it will take days to come.
Another purchaser noted that it shrank in cold weather, but grabbing it by the base with your hands and blowing on it made it swell up again.
@mike808
ISWYDT
I blame because this
Does not belong in the floor. It belongs here
I’m not happy about this because it is the 70 year old buffet my grampa bought my grandma after he came back from WW2. Hopefully it will glue back up with some titebond after sanding off the decades old glue. Is unfortunate the side bit split instead of just the glue failing.
@unksol
Much shame.
I suspect from your announced plans that you likely have the skills and clamps to make the repair, though splits in wood can become maddeningly resistant to rejoining at times. I’ve had to do some judicious scraping followed by application of a bonding filler a couple of times.
@werehatrack I welcome any suggestions. I definitely don’t want to make it worse. The top tab is on the door just hidden by the trim split that went with it. Was just opening it and the door was in my hand.
I bet I won’t get a good bond if I can’t sand the old glue out of the pocket
@unksol @werehatrack
Is there a cabinetmaker or furniture repair / restoration craftsman nearby that can help?
Sure, I can replace the head gasket on my car’s engine, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned the value of hiring a professional who does that for a living. Less mistakes and risk of damage to my car, possibly catastrophic.
Just a thought. I don’t know how much the piece is worth to know if the cost of a cabinetmaker is even feasible, or whether you are a DIY-til-I-die kind of guy and have the dremels, chisels, clamps, etc and the time to do the work properly with the quality of results you’re looking for.
@unksol
Yes, definitely sand off the old glue, being careful not to get into the facings of the wood where the glue was applied. Clamping the joint afterwards is absolutely crucial. Without good clamping the glue just will not hold. The split in the wood is going to be the key. If it’s a clean one without splinters, you’ve got an excellent shot at having a seamless and exceptionally strong repair that may even be completely invisible. It happens sometimes. If you can clamp the joint dry and see no gaps, just sand off that old glue where it’s present, apply the Titebond, and clamp it. Decent furniture clamps can be had at Harbor Freight if you don’t already have them. The ones with the fat aluminum rails are definitely worth having in any event. You will find that they have uses over and over again.
@werehatrack I have clamps. It’s a very clean along the grain split so that tiny bit that went with that top tab should bond well. The tabs clearly have glue on the sides and the frame was glued to the hinge piece at the surface. and the ends of the tabs have glue that clearly never met the end of their pocket. Center panel is free floating. I think just lightly sanding off the glue and using a modern one should be fine.
I have the table that came with it that we all ate Sunday dinner and Christmas and Thanksgiving around and I’m told they butchered animals on it. Well before I was alive. I assume a cutting board was involved The black walnut veneer has some chunks missing at sides and ends. It’s just sentimental value you know
@mike808 it really should be a simple glue up and it’s not valuable to anyone but family.
I’ve only ever let a shop work on my car once cause I was in the parking lot and I could push it over there myself and I lived in an apartment and… Axel snapped. I could have replaced it in the parking lot if they would have let me meh. Pep boys got that one.
Some day I’ll get worn out and buy a new car. Hopefully electric but for now I’ve got the tools and knowledge. And Google/YouTube although actual shop manuals would be nice online
@unksol
For getting glue out of recesses, I scrape the cavity with a wood chisel. If I must, I drill through the joint and add a dowel.
@werehatrack bothered to get the hinge off today and it’s worse than I thought because the bottom pocket had a very thin base and it split from the bottom halfway up the front of it. Will have to paint/flow some glue in there and clamp that to set before trying to fit the door back on. If that doesn’t bond might be SOL. Oh well.
Don’t really want to explain I was just opening the door to get catnip and it fell off lol
@unksol
I’d be really tempted to pin the top and bottom rails to the side by drilling and driving in a pair of 3/16" dowels to stiffen the joint permanently. It’s not like that door is likely to have a ton of stress on it. And given that the hinge mounting edge isn’t visible, even with the door open, the ends of the dowels don’t even need to be finished to match, just sanded flat. I think you can keep this in service for a long time to come. I sure would.
@werehatrack that sounds like a reasonable idea. Have to look at it after work. Those tabs are really thin and I’m not sure I’m that precise. Might need to hire that out
Just for the record, I was busy elsewhere yesterday, and didn’t even try to log in to Facebook.
@werehatrack
WTH, one more attempt wouldn’t have changed things!
@chienfou @werehatrack Looks like they did a face palm throwing the book at the problem.
ps I didn’t log in yesterday either so if it weren’t for the news I never would have known.
@werehatrack why would you try and log your face in a book?
Lodge it sure. Ok.
Blame: I’m trying to declutter, and found these forgotten in a tote bag hanging behind a bedroom door.
Unblame: I can use them next year, woohoo!
I do still like wall calendars, and they’re not as easy to find anymore (I paid $1.00 for each of these.)
@Kyeh
Our local DollarTree still has them each year. BUT, you are already set for the upcoming
1216 months!BTW, wasn’t a bag from an IRK was it?
@Kyeh
My deceased partner had been engaged in a very-long-term project to collect enough Lord of the Rings calendars that she could have one for any year configuration that came up. It was among the many thing left unfinished. But the collected calendars found a home with a friend who wanted them for much the same reason.
@chienfou No, they were both in a bag from the Target dollar section, which is where I got the calendars too. I only started getting Irk bags in 2019.
@werehatrack I’m sorry about your partner. But I’m glad the calendars found a good home.
@Kyeh @werehatrack
Not surprised… since getting the ones for normal years would be tough but not impossible (takes 10 years to repeat). Getting the 7 for the leap years would be VERY difficult as it takes 28 yrs to repeat. miss one and your are back at the 28 yr cycle before it comes around again!
@chienfou @Kyeh
She had acquired 2002 through 2018, which actually gave alternates for a couple of the normal years, and had collected 4 of the 7 leaps. Toward last, they were getting hard to find as LoTR, and she’d had to switch to The Hobbit at least once. I haven’t checked to see if completion would have been possible between the two.
I visited New Zealand in December 2019, a year after she died. Seeing the Hobbiton set without her was… hard. I’d originally intended to have my iPod along with the score selections queued up, but forgot it on that morning. In retrospect, that was fortunate. I’d have completely lost my composure with the music as background, since she adored it even more than I do.
@Kyeh @werehatrack
Truly a fitting memorial!
@chienfou @werehatrack
Bittersweet, but lovely.
In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.
BLAME - the kid called me. Was mad I couldn’t force the IRS to act faster to release her monthly “kid” money from the stimulus people get for having kids. At the end of the conversation I asked, “Aren’t you going to wish me Happy Birthday?”. She told me she didn’t even know when my birthday was. Umm 5 days after yours? She blew off her OB apt that was today too (baby due at the end of the month and will likely come early as she has had on and off early labor). I reminded her of the existence of calendars and reminders in her phone. Sigh. Grump grump grump.
@Kidsandliz
Well, I’m sorry you have a neglectful daughter, but I hope your kitties are being sweet to you today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh
/giphy Happy Birthday
@Kidsandliz
Happy personal new year! Incendiate the fiber-cored wax cylinders atop the thermocongealed emulsion of pulverized botanical reproductive units, saccharides, avian ovule extract, and assorted oleates! Bask in the performance of the arcane incantations!
@werehatrack Sorry no cake this year so no candles to play with. My sister makes cakes and decorates them really well. I am going to steal what you wrote when I make her birthday card (her’s is next week). Guess we know what my parents were doing deep in the northern midwest winters LOL.
@Kyeh Thanks. My campus kitty has wanted in my lap all day. So there’s that. (grin).
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 Hmm… that reminds me of the cards that show a photo of the earth with that kind of candle action as a reference to one’s ancient age. The one I gave to my mom I think was captioned “the view of your birthday cake from the moon”. She found it funny.
Yankees lost and the Red Sox won. @werehatrack was the reason why.
@njfan
Yeppers. But neither of them will get past the
traitorsDodgers.