Thanksgoating - Day one. Welcome to me.
27The Book of CapnJB – Chapter One.
Hi. I’m Josh. I like Pina-Coladas, but not getting caught in the rain.
I am honored to be recognized but I’d like you all to set your expectation bar very low.
November is a wonderful time to be thankful, and I’ve got so much to be thankful for, but life is also very busy. I’ll do my best to do whatever it is that I think I’m supposed to do. But again, set the expectations low.
So… I think that I get to steer this ship for a little while. My intention is to just share things I’m thankful for with you all this month. And I’ll invite you all to share anything you’d like to if you have a similar connection to whatever it is that I’m thankful for on any particular day. I’ll leave religion and politics out of this because internet discussions will likely not change your views or mine. I respect that.
There will be pictures and videos and youtube posts and a high probability of dad jokes. You might get one post a day, but I doubt it. I’ve been through some stuff recently and it’s really opened my eyes to how wonderful life is and how beautiful the world around us is. I’m learning how to appreciate it all again through a different lens. And it’s good for me to talk about it. I appreciate the free therapy for a month. This validates my VMP spend. I’ll be posting things from the mundane to the absurd. Come aboard, we’re expecting you.
So, to kick off day one, today I am thankful for this community.
I’m a big geek… I’ve been in IT for 25+ years. I think I landed here because in 2004 I got up one morning and before heading to work I checked woot.com and they were selling something called Bag of Crap II. I thought it sounded interesting, so I bought 3 at a dollar each and paid the $5 shipping. 6:30AM and not sold out yet… that was still a thing. I ended up with a pile of Priority Pucks, an iOmega camera bag and a digital watch that smelled like it had been in a warehouse fire and then dropped in gasoline. For $8 it was a win, and I became a daily visitor to that site. Things changed. We know that. It’s all good.
And then there’s Casemates. I was a Kickstarter there and although I can’t drink like I used to, I’ve bought more than 250 bottles from that site. There are probably lots of crossovers from this site to that one and the few discussions I’ve been in, the conversation has been great. I’ve gotten to know Scott and Jana Harvey and have a few signed bottles from them, and my wife and I have participated in a few of their private events, virtually. It’s a neat community. Although I’m still not sure why people split cases. When I buy a case of wine, that’s my wine. GTFO.
And then there is this place. It feels like that other place before the change. Makes me happy. My wife used to be in marketing and I saw all the hard work that went into writing copy. It must be precise. The copy writers here are brilliant. I salute you all. And there are so many random posts about something you’re not trying to sell. It’s refreshing and it’s fun. Everyone here seems to be open and honest for the most part. There is also very little drama which is amazing for a company with an internet facing server. I’ve mostly just been around to read a lot of posts, but I chime in from time to time. I try to leave my snark at the door. But with the things that I’ve dealt with in the past year, I will unabashedly speak about whatever is on my mind. Apologies for a deluge of thoughts at times, but I’m not sorry about it.
I think I’ve been around here for… 8 years? And I have enjoyed the frivolity. That’s a fun word. The times I have jumped into a conversation, I’ve been met with nothing but… gosh… I can’t find the word. Awesomeness is about as close I can find… but I don’t think it’s completely accurate. It’s better than that.
So, to sum up day one, thank you all for being super cool. Thank you for making me a goat. I will disappoint you and you will love it. Happy Goatvember!
The Josh. The goat. That guy who once stepped on a horseshoe crab and screamed like a little girl.
See you tomorrow.
(that was a lot of words)
- 10 comments, 24 replies
- Comment
This is gonna be fun, I’m in for the ride! I liked all of your words… didn’t feel like a lot as I was reading them, they are an easy read
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Completely agree with your take on the community here. It’s the only one I belong to and I love it so much
@llangley My only one too, at least actively (I use Pinterest as a bulletin board only and lurk on Instagram to see interesting things.) I didn’t know what to make of this forum the first time I checked it out, but it’s become an addiction.
So glad you’re happy to be our goat; it will be great to read what you have to say. What you’ve posted from time to time in the past has always been interesting and upbeat and often surprising. You’ve done/still do a lot of amazing things! Looking forward to hearing more about them!
What? A week before elections, and no politics nor religion? What, are we in some kind of internet time warp? Are Eisenhower and Stevenson politely running against each other from the grave? Is Sister June Cleaver standing behind you waiting to rap your knuckles with her pointer?
I guess I’ll just have to keep MSNBC and FoxNews going on my two TVs, facing each other. Otherwise it’s dull around here, except when my dog goes outside and encounters a scavenging possum.
@phendrick You are officially my vice-goat.
@phendrick And I must know… Is it pronounced P_Hendrick or Fendrick. Enquiring minds want to know.
@capnjb Just like in phthisis.
@phendrick Perphect!
@capnjb To be a little more forthcoming, it is actually a combination of my first name initial and my last name. (Since I’m retired math prof, just think of me as Pythagoras; Wikipedia has a nice picture of him wearing his Scottish tam.)
That’s the user name I was assigned when email was first a thing for us, so I’ve continued to use it. Later, most new users got first.last, but I was grandfathered.
To be verbose and tangential, while in the Air Force, a joker gave me the nickname “Elrod”. Do a search.
And, since it is now the good part of baseball season, fans of the pastime can find an interesting account of one particular game at https://www.nytimes.com/1970/10/11/archives/umpire-disputed-knocked-down-in-play-at-plate-he-calls-reds-carbo.html?_r=0
A lot of well-known names in that story.
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BTW, which vices am I to be in charge of?
@phendrick A math prof on a tangent. Who’d of thunk?
@phendrick And since I’ve made you my vice-goat I need you to settle an argument I had with my 9th grade math teacher in 1986.
I argued that a line segment was larger than a line. (I was a smart ass). My argument was that since a line was an infinite number of points and a line segment was an infinite number of points between two end points it had an infinite number of points plus the two end points. I know lines are one dimensional and points only have location, not dimension, but it seemed to me that infinity plus two was larger than infinity. He kept saying they they were both infinite and I’d just keep saying ‘plus two’. I got kicked out of class that day
@capnjb @phendrick
Very Nice! I love it!
@capnjb @phendrick After trying to determine the pronunciation of “phthisis” I resorted to memes.
/8ball do memes always have the answer?
Yes definitely
@capnjb
[Reasoning given below (*), but I’ll give non-math types a chance to bail beforehand.]
(*) --------- mind-numbing math talk follows-------
[You might have figured this out since, but in case other Mehtizens are dying for enlightenment, I’ll drone on …]
Your fallacious assumption was that “infinity” was a “number” and as such behaved according to usual arithmetic rules. NO and NO. E.g., let Z represent the set of integers and 2Z represent the set of their multiples by 2 (i.e., the “even” integers). Both of these sets are “infinite” in size, but there’s not an actual number to go with that. And (as math people like to phrase it) they are in 1-1 correspondence, meaning for each # in Z there is a corresponding # in 2Z and vice-versa, implying that both sets are the same “size”; we use the word “cardinality” because it has more letters. On the other hand, every # in 2Z is also in Z, so 2Z is only “half” of Z, and there are just as many #s in Z that are NOT in 2Z. Then ∞+∞=∞? So, by your logic and usual rules of arithmetic, 2+∞ > ∞ = ∞+∞ implies 2>∞ ? (!)
It gets worse. There are two categories of “real” numbers (that ignores the “imaginary” ones. See WikiP for a refresher), the “rational” numbers (known to the mathematically-disinclined as “fractions”) which are ratios of integers and those which are not rational, called the “irrationals”.
The following assertions have all been logically “proven”:
(1) Pick two arbitrary rational numbers. Between these two in comparative value are an infinite number of irrationals. For instance, if x is a positive integer >1, then 1/x is a number between 0 and 1, such as 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, … . The square roots of 1/4, 1/9, 1/16, 1/25, … are rational, but the square roots of the rest (which is most of them) are irrational.
(2) Pick two arbitrary irrational numbers. Between these two in comparative value are an infinite number of rationals.
So, an infinite number of both types. But these numbers can NOT be put into 1-1 correspondence. In fact, each rational number can be associated with an infinite number of irrationals that have not been associated with any other rational number.
In short, the infinitude of the irrationals is of higher order than that of the rationals.
Let me say now, this was not my favorite part of math. It tended to give me a headache. And I have barely touched on the consequences of all this. But there was still plenty of math left over for me to enjoy.
Why Z above? Because. Germans. It comes from the German word for integers. And they published first.
I do miss teaching math. Any questions?
@capnjb @xobzoo
It’s easy; just ignore the “ph” in front. And with those initials, I can say I have been ignored a lot.
Loved your image! I’ve had a long day (involved removing a tree from the hood and cab of my truck), and that atoned. (I might have enjoyed the exertion when I was much younger.)
@phendrick Ok… I appreciate you spending WAY too much time on that response, and I will now sleep better at night and can probably let that grudge match go.
I hope your math adrenalin is back to a manageable level. Heh. I did a cursory read of your great response but I’m running (well, walking) out the door at the moment so I will give it further review when time permits. Geeze… and now I’m going to need your thoughts on time (and likely how it’s affected by gravity). We’ve got all month, I’ll get a white board. 
@capnjb @phendrick
Well, Wiktionary says the F/PH of phthisis is optional, and apparently it’s also confused on T/TH. /shrug
(but as you may have already guessed, I was really just using that as a lead-in excuse to post the picture)
Btw, I liked your math talk:
Having a math degree myself, I know that isn’t the literal reason for it, or at least not the only reason for it, but I sure like that explanation.
It’s a fun way to introduce it to others, giving them permission to not get bogged down in terminology.
@phendrick As for clearing a tree off your truck, are you sure it wasn’t just a heavy cat? Maybe it put the tree there when it left to keep its seat warm.
@xobzoo I’m pretty sure it was a tree.
@phendrick Yikes! Yes, that does look convincingly tree-like.
@phendrick @xobzoo that blue one I think is a Saturn SL. If an SL (not an SL1 or SL2) and the transmission has not broke it’s roll pin. And the engine does not have a rod knock. Is replace that in a second. Heck id have bought it and put my manual transmission and computer in depending on the damage.
@phendrick haha if you know June Cleaver and Eisenhower, then you’re my age,
).
( and btw, I listen to old time radio on my tablet every nite! the app TuneIn has every type of old stories
@capnjb @phendrick
. Thanks for the belly laugh on that
@capnjb I may be a day late ( and a dollar short), but----- " thank you for your service". I never forget you all.
" while in the Air Force"
@capnjb @phendrick
Congrats on your goatdom @capnjb. I am sure you will exceed expectations. I’m looking forward to the ride
I’m excited to follow along.
@UpbeatDuck
Hi! haven’t seen you around since the Christmas exchange!
Ah . . . meh.
Just kidding!
Great intro, welcome aboard (8 years ago)!!
What a great post. I agree with @llangley; it was a long post but didn’t feel like one, and it was refreshingly well written, something that has become increasingly rare elsewhere.
I’m going to contribute by saying I too am grateful for the Meh community. I knew it’s an oasis of civility and friendliness, but I didn’t <b know b> until this thread. When I’ve asked what others might consider a stupid question, I’ve gotten helpful replies. Any snark was limited to gentle teasing.
I don’t hang out here as much as I probably should. The problem is that I usually check Meh before I get ready for work to make sure I keep my streak going and see what the meh face will be that day. That doesn’t give me a lot of time to cruise the forum, and by the time work is over, I’ve had my fill of computers and internet.
Well this has turned into a long post, too. I’ll just say thanks for the fun times.
@lisagd I get that !
Welcome to the Goat club! I have really enjoyed this forum as well. Making new friends and reconnecting with old.
Ahoy cap’n
Welcome to the (soon to be upside-down) goat club. You are in good company.
You have already exceeded expectations with a post that contains more words/info/thoughts/well-wishes etc than some of our goats managed in their entire ‘reign’.
As others have stated, I am also a ‘one site’ poster. This is the only forum I follow/participate in, and over time I have made some tangential connections with people that I shared lived-in communities with, common career paths etc, etc. This is by and large a good group of folks, and I have been pleased to be associated with this site over the 7+ years I have been here (after a shift from that other site). I feel the VMP cost is my small contribution to keeping this ship afloat.
I look forward to reading your musings as time allows… both yours to post and mine to read/reply. I’ll try to keep my snark/sarcastic (sometimes failed) humor in check!
TL:DR welcome…
Ok, “Josh” ( you said it, I didn’t stalk you
), I did a quick search, as I really wanted to read more of your creativity ( and heart), and I wondered why I was seeing #12…I was yearning for more ( like - 1,2,3,4,… you get the picture, ).
So, Yay, I found you!
Am now looking forward to catching up!
And btw, I can only think that since you mentioned the horseshoe crab, that you must be a Jersey boy, hahahaha.
Well, I don’t know if you will see my first reply to you, ( will they notify you? …and, will they notify me? I’m kinda an amateur avid techie nerd [ long story why] so I hope so) , which was goatgiving #12, today; I hope so.
)
Take care, stay safe, be well, keep creating, keep thanking…
" me" ( for now, until I find a way to state who privately