True Geek Confessions

@Mavyn Some of the vintage ones have awesome illustrations and pictures. The best are the weird Jello recipies. Spam, olives, and lime green jello? WTF?

@The_Baron The old jello flavors are awesome. Tomato cilantro jello! Or, hello, aspics. Mmmm...meat jello!

@Mavyn I love them too. I also like old mixed drink recipe books. Some are delightful and some have mighty inappropriate names.

@Mavyn My mother insists on keeping two ancient packages of celery flavored Jello in the kitchen cabinet. It amuses her every time she looks at them.

@The_Baron @mossygreen http://www.jellogallery.org For your next vacation !

@ceagee In the spirit of true geek confessions, there's a good chance my next vacation will be to Appleton, WI to visit the Houdini AND the Edna Ferber exhibits at the local history museum. But the Jello museum is going on the list.

@mossygreen Well when you make it to Jello, give a holler and wear your Meh shirt. It's just down the road, I'll show up w/ my Meh shirt on too.

@mossygreen I was born in Appleton - there is also the first hydro-electric power plant there (for homes) ... I can't recall the name - homestead (?) museum or something?

@Mavyn We have one of the older Joy of Cooking volumes that includes skinning and preparing wild game and chickens. Haven't used that info yet, but who knows.

@duodec That's awesome! It's been a while since I've skinned anything, but i grew up helping butcher game...rabbits, deer, cows and chickens mostly.

@Mavyn My "Joy" tells me that all bear except black bear is edible and bear cub needs about 2 1/2 hours cooking. It also has illustrations on how to skin a squirrel and rabbit.

@Mavyn Meat Jell-o? That would be day-old gravy.

@tomvarela Day old gravy is way lower protein. ;) Aspic is...odd. Gluey.

@duodec We have an old family cook book out that when they talk about making baked beans part of the instructions read: "pick out all the foreign matter". Then it later says to boil them until all the liquid was gone. My uncle then said, "That's how they got all dried out! No wonder I hated them." The editorial comments in there from my grandmother are pretty entertaining too.

@Kidsandliz I remember picking stones from dried beans when I was a kid. Whenever I make beans I still push through them with my finger looking for stones and broken beans. I find lots of broken beans but never any stones any more.

@Mavyn - I've been collecting midcentury or older cookbooks for a few years. Started when i inherited my OCD grandma's recipe pamphlet collection. Mostly stick to sponsored recipe booklets (jello, calumet, lard council, etc), but have a LOT with technicolor photos of vert unappetizing foodstuffs.

@ceagee I work every day in the "Home of Jello" and have for the past 4 years, but have never been to the museum. Oh and I geek out over tools and power equipment of kinds, but the older hand tools are my favorites. It's amazing to me how well some of them lasted and how well some still work...

@carl669 I was too busy staring at that sweet array of brown bags, but now I'm picturing creepy mustachioed dudes leering at those two ladies from off camera. They're gonna offer to help "bag the groceries."

@carl669 No. But I thought the thread was "True Greek Confessions".

@editorkid Those '83 Texas shows are probably the least bootlegged stretch of Clash touring, but this page has two (Wichita Falls and San Antonio): http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/100s-really-258-of-bootlegs-by-the-clash-all-the-new-links-mediafire-152016.html Not sure if Ely is present on the recordings, but it's worth a shot!

@editorkid Looks like he also toured Europe/UK with them in '79, I guess... anyway, if you know what shows you're looking for, that page is the best extant archive.

@JasonToon Pardon my French, but... woot. You, sir, have earned your pay today. Oddly, there are tons of photos, one of my favorites being this, but like you say, so few tapes. Weird. Thanks again...

@JasonToon OMG they played Wichita Falls? what a trip. saw them much in NYC, once at some crazy midtown dancehall, once on 14th street, i think a few other times. one year in NYC i managed to see a double bill of Talking Heads/B52s i think close to 10 times. good years for music.

@f00l Reason #567 I was born too late. :(

@The_Baron I was in a surplus electronics store with a colleague, and he managed to find a device with his own QC stamp on it for a company he had worked for 10 years earlier.

@editorkid Is your name Tommy?

@jsh139 And who are you? Who, who? Who who?

@editorkid I am the egg man, I am the egg man... err, wait, wrong band.

@editorkid My first job ever, one of my jobs was to cover the "board" when the regular receptionist/operator went on break.

@lisaviolet Very cool, although I hope seeing this didn't bring back horrible memories for you. If I had bought it, I'd probably be all "holy crap we gotta Skype so you can teach me how to use it."

@editorkid Oh, I loved it! I liked it way better than working in the billing department sending out invoices. I started work at that company in '72. Long time ago.

@lisaviolet @editorkid My first job right out of high school, was long distance telephone operator. Back in the good old days when you made person to person calls. They were always interesting and you'd be amazed at what lengths we’d go to to make a connections. One I will always remember wad a mother in Maryland who wanted to talk to her son at Fort Benning, Ga. He was due to ship out to Vietnam. It took a lot of time and a lot of calling but I tracked that kid down at his barracks and got him on the phone. It was 1968 and I still wonder how the guy made out.

@KDemo That's just weird. ;-)

@BillLehecka that light up stadium replica is awesome

@Kevin Danbury Mint. They have a whole assortment you could buy. http://www.danburymint.com/sports/cat/-Stadium-Replicas-Sports_1-112.aspx Doesn't look like they have the lighted ones in stock right now... But I love their stadium replicas.

@BillLehecka Whose testicle? Also it's kinda gross that you have a collection of testicles.

@BillLehecka And now I'm following you on Flickr. Big mistake, buddy. BTW, I have very little of interest that's public on Flickr, so basically I just stalk other people there.

@spacezorro NERD! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

@spacezorro Next time we have an exchange, I'll have to send you my copy of Deductive Logic, Third Edition then.

I'm ok with being a nerd... it pays really good.

@dashcloud I was reading a Boolean algebra book the other day and someone commented that if they are going to call it math it should at least have one number :-)

@dashcloud Who would part with a deductive logic book? Or maybe you have another? Everyone needs a book about deductive logic--especially if it includes, as mine does, a list of logical fallacies. Mine is like this:

@dashcloud - Got this a couple of years ago at WOOT for $19.99. Probably sadly WAY outdated by now, but there isn't a single one of my old videos it hasn't been successful at yet: http://www.amazon.com/VuPoint-Solutions-Digital-Video-Converter/dp/B001FXBZR8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421877567&sr=8-2&keywords=VuPoint+Digital+Video+Converter

@f00l I have a couple suitcase sized testers. A Hickok dynamic mutual conductance tube tester model 6000, and a TripletT model 3490 transistor analyzer.

@xarous no embarrassment and no shame! Embrace who you are.

@xarous @JonT Damn right! The only thing to be ashamed of is letting shame keep you from doing what you dig.

@xarous Are you throwing around that "Registered Thespian" term again? Show off :P Also, how did you not mention your Dr Who love affair?

@xarous @JonT I mean, unless what you dig is, like, dogfighting or taking upskirt photos or something.

@JasonToon yeah, then you should totally embrace the shame and let it keep you from doing what you dig.

@Thumperchick Figured I didn't want to gush on the Whovian in me and the love of James Hance's art.

@xarous I would have totally loved to have seen Watchmen with a committed Rorschach. Though I'm pretty sure I couldn't have stopped being creeped out. Which I suppose is part of the awesome. It would be even cooler if your mask morphed. Tell me it did.

@joelmw I wish I had the technology to have it morph, but alas it didn't and I guess this month it's your fault.

@xarous Dang.

oh... and pumpkin spice anything :P

@katylava I currently have a trunk full of the Michael's photo boxes... I really need a container for my containers.

@Thumperchick I'm so glad to have found a kindred spirit... there are not many people in this world who would understand the desire for a container for containers.

@katylava From my twitter feed:

@katylava What?! The container store is SO satisfying.

@somf69 Do you store your porn in your lunchboxes?

@somf69 @Thumperchick maybe he buys vintage lunchboxes with vintage porn on them?

@JonT @Thumperchick @ somf69 Vintage lunchlady porn? I have a collection of playing cards, including one with nekkid ladies. And a small collection of random lunchboxes.

@somf69 Stay away from vintage playgrounds.

@HELLOALICE My daughter is a bit obsessed with nail polish....like 50 bottles (at 16) and daily changes to nail color. Never heard of stamping plates...

@HELLOALICE This is a good setting for me to say that when I was a custodian working my way through college, I almost started a pubic hair collection. Because, damn, when you're cleaning toilets, they are all over the place. I never did. I know it sounds gross. I'm grossed out typing it.

@joelmw I don't think there is a good setting for you to ever say that…

@HELLOALICE I have a couple of hundred bottles of nail polish, and quite a few packets of the little stickers for nails. I will go months sometimes without polishing my nails and still buy polish. I am just crazy about the colors. I don't think any other form of paint comes is such a myriad of colors, shades and finishes. I do use them for other craft purposes, though. Enamel is tough stuff, and nail polish will stick to almost any surface.

@HELLOALICE Cat whiskers??? As mini paint brushes for your nails?

@JonT Perhaps relatively? Or perhaps you're right. I would never have touched the things with ungloved hands. I never acted upon it. It was just one of those things that after so much exposure, I was like, damn, someone should collect these things. And then of course I wondered about what varieties there might be and what they might mean, etc. Just a thing going on in my head as a way of coping with the fact that I was cleaning so many toilets. Actually, it wasn't long before I was in charge and I always had other folks cleaning toilets--and it's really not such a bad job, I was just tired off it and other custodial arts required my expertise.

@HELLOALICE i also collect nail polish and i an so geeky, i have a google doc of all of my polish. i had over 200, but i'm back to around 150 polishes. i gifted around 75 polishes to my friend's daughter. currently obsessed wiht holo, multichromes, zoya brand and ilnp brands.

@HELLOALICE I used to love doing my nails, but I started picking at the polish once it was on my nails with my teeth, ending up peeling it off and my nails got really weak. I had to stop putting polish on them. sad I love looking at fun nail art.

@Kidsandliz No! I just collect them. It's....... it's really fun and exciting, actually. They don't shed them very often, and you have to keep an eye out for them or they get swept up, etc. I have about 30, I think. I keep them in a jar. I guess I should do something with them.

@vampje I started a google doc, including a "color" swatch. But ultimately it's easier and more satisfying to look in person. I have them all on my mantle, which is the perfect size/shape for them!

@vampje I'm so into Zoya, but they're expensive. I've bought from them twice, one was a BOGO dream box, which still comes out to $5/bottle (egads) and one was a Black Friday sale two years ago, which came out to more like $2.5/bottle or something. Generally I don't buy polish if it's over $3/bottle, but I look out for sales and I love Sinful Colors. Sadly, because of my price-shyness, I have very few holos. :(

@HELLOALICE it's all about the stalking, zoya frequently has sales or special bundle deals that makes their polishes reasonably priced. i use my google doc to reference before buying so i dont by more of the same color.

@HELLOALICE Where do you live, I've got lots of geeky friends who need gfs... Although you have to promise to stay away from the hubby.

@Gurkie Haha! Buffalo, NY, but I'm planning on relocating to wherever-I-can-get-a-job. What's the job market near you?

@jrwofuga and of course you collect things in Georgia Red.

I love purple.

@JonT who doesn't?

@jrwofuga Guess we do have a common interest- I have lots of strange-but-true books of facts & stories (including a number of Ripley's and one ancient one).

@dashcloud share one.

@jrwofuga funky, freaky facts most people don't know, and Ripley's Believe it or Not series 15-18. In case you were asking for a fact, here's one from the Ripley's book holder: A cemetary on Langwater Farm in Massachusetts- with each grave marked by a bronze tombstone- is exclusively for prize cattle.

@dashcloud i play a decent amount of pub trivia. At least once a week. Stupid trivial facts are like crack cocaine.

What planet has the shortest day? Who was the last US president to own slaves? Who has the second most points in NBA history?

Stuff like that.

@jrwofuga So I like going to Boomer Jack's and playing their stupid trivia thing. I don't really know that much (and don't really geek out on studying the trivia like some friends of mine), but I always end up doing well and do, as it turns out, have my head full of shit that serves me in those situations. I like to think that I know important stuff that's simply undervalued by others and I've been meaning to ask if you think that all of the "useless" information that you have crammed in your head is actually "trivia" or do you think it means something? Or do you make it mean something? Inquiring minds and all that. And, yes, I'm quite serious. Mostly at least.

@joelmw first, i'm a trivia snob and don't like playing on the little computers or some place where people are constantly on their phones cheating. . . secondly, i have a pretty good memory and play with some people that i genuinely enjoy their company, so we play and eat for free a decent amount of the time because of the winnings. . . So my head is full of random crap that I find interesting that most people might find completely stupid and useless, but I just like random facts. I enjoy learning new things, no matter how stupid. And FINALLY, i love the moment where you've been thinking about something that you KNOW you remember or have seen in the past but can't quite put your finger on and then all of a sudden "SNAP", it pops into the front of your mind. love that.

@joelmw so basically joel, I challenge you to trivia at Boomer Jack's.

@jrwofuga I'm willing to admit that you'd probably kick my ass. But it might be fun anyway.

@joelmw Never know.

@jrwofuga Maybe I'll post my score the next time I play. You can trust that I'm not cheating, even though Georgia red isn't my favorite color. It's actually a nice color, fwiw. ;-)

I like purple.

@joelmw you accidentally wrote "a" instead of "the" and left the -est off "nice". . . Deal. I'll post my 20 questions from Sunday. Let the games begin.

@jrwofuga

@joelmw nice should have been nicest. . . .and i'm going to post the 20 questions from the trivia game play after Super Bowl sunday. . you can see how well you'd do.

@jrwofuga The bad thing for some of us, at that "SNAP" moment, we shout it out, much to the befuddlement of those around us.

@lisaviolet the guy who hosts the trivia where i play would. go. ballistic. if and when answers are shouted. It's quite a scene.

@jrwofuga Yeah, I was responding to the second part. I'm somewhat fearful that you'll make a fool of me and then I'll feel obligated to say something superlative about Georgia red. I look forward to seeing the questions. :-)

@jrwofuga @lisaviolet Back when my daughter was young, we'd all watch Wheel of Fortune. I established (or at least tried to establish) a protocol for announcing that one has the answer. Even less successfully, I attempted a general moratorium (with mutual agreed suspension thereof) on shouting out letters. I hate when I'm working something out and someone shouts out the solution.

@jrwofuga @lisaviolet Blurt out the answer one more time, motherfucker!

@joelmw It's not like we win every time. We don't get all of them. You've got 2 weeks to study anyway.

@joelmw someone looking over your shoulder as you do the crossword. . . does that bother you? i'm going to say "probably". .

@jrwofuga @joelmw Oh, I don't shout it out when I start to wonder about it. I shout it out hours or days later when the "SNAP" hits. (Sometimes it takes a while to surface.) If it's a contest, I never shout out the answer. I just sit and smile knowingly. I'm not an obvious showoff.

@jrwofuga I will not be studying. And I will be cramming my head full of what is probably more rightly called "trivia" instead, in the meantime, just as a part of the natural course of things. The crossword: yes, yes it does.

@joelmw 1. 3 players with 500 HR never led their league in HRs for a season. . name one.
2. England - Who rode through Coventry naked on a horse?
3. Anime - Goku befreinds Bulma at the beginning of what anime series?
4. Murder - Nathuram Godsey is infamous for murdering whom?
6. First and last name of the Bills kicker who missed the FG that lost the Super Bowl against the Giants
7. Lyrics - According to the Presidents of the United States, who "slipped on a kiss and fell/tumbled into love"?
8. Fruit - In the west, the fruit that was supposedly eaten in the Garden of Eden is portrayed as an apple. . what fruit is it portrayed as in the Near East?
9. TV - what city is the setting for "Breaking Bad"?

10. Which Norse god is missing his right arm? Hod. . . Balder. . . .Odin. . . Tyr. . . Some other one

11. What unlikely college's mascot is the "Golden Hurricane"?
12. Varieties. . .Challa. . .Naan. . . Brioche. . . these are all varieties or types of what?
13. Fruit - Only fruit with the seeds on the outside?
14. Oscar - Latest sports based movie to win Best Picture?
16. Boxer known as "Sweet Pea"
17. Geeks - In the Magic the gathering series, what color card is "Chaos"?
18. Classic TV - Sally Feild played the title character for what 67-70 ABC show?
19. Pres - What president was the last to earn a college letter for sports?

20. plus or minus of one. . how old was Alexander the Great when he gained power in Macedonia?

#10 and #20 are questions you bid points on. . . get it right you get the points, miss it, you lose half your bid.

@jrwofuga I'm just back. I'll confess that I was tempted to google some of this shit, but here I go in all of my mediocrity . . . (next message, and I promise, no cheating)

@jrwofuga
1. Joe Dimaggio (yeah, I suck at the sports trivia)
2. Lady Godiva
3. Yeah, no fucking clue (hereafter, because it'll happen again: NFC)
4. NFC
5. There is no 5. Do I get credit for that?
7. Gene Simmons
8. Pomegranate
9. Albuquerque
10. Odin
11. Miami of Ohio
12. bread
13. strawberry
14. 42
15. Hmmm, again, no 15.
16. NFC
17. black
18. The Flying Nun
19. Gerald Ford
20. 13

Okay, I confess, that I did google the spellings of ABQ and pomegranate (the latter of which I had correct and I was off one letter on the former). How badly do I suck?

@joelmw 1. Gary Sheffield, Rafael Palmero, Frank Thomas. . . . 2. Lady Godiva . . . . 3. Dragonball . . . . .4. Gandhi . . . There is no 5 because it's a music category and well, i couldn't hum the songs. . . . 6. Scott Norwood . . . . 7. Lump.. . . 8. Pomegranate . . . .9. Albuquerque . . . . . .10.. Tyr . . . . 11. Tulsa. . . . 12. Breads . . . . .13. Strawberry . . . . . . 14. Million Dollar Baby . . . .. 15. music again. . . .16. Pernell Whitaker. . . . . . 17. Red . . . . . 18. The Flying Nun. . . . . 19. George H W Bush . . . . . 20. 20 years old.

@jrwofuga I'm gonna issue an obligatory dispute on #19. It was probably for shuffleboard or some shit like that. ;-) I'll give myself credit for knowing the ones I knew. But no credit for guessing poorly on the others.

@joelmw baseball at Yale.

The trivia isn't easy. No apologies.

@StrangerDanger My wife doesn't understand why I have Legos.

Though there are definitely people who are way bigger "flashaholics" than myself. Photography and coffee actually rank higher on my level of interest but those are a little more mainstream than flashlights.

@DigMe My keychain flashlight is a Muyshondt Aeon. People get very confused when I drop or misplace my keys and the only thing I care about is the flashlight…

@brhfl Nice. My pocket light is an Eagletac D25C XM-L2 in neutral. I love the bang-for-buck, rear clicky and the ability to go moonlight or eye-searing with the twist of the head.

@DigMe I could be dangerous if I let myself go. I only have a couple of dozen, and won't spend big money. O-Light T10-2008 EDC, some Fenix keychain lights, a drawer full of C and D Maglights in different colors, and my old Ash Flash Searchlight Lantern from Von Tobels in Las Vegas in the early '70s that still works.

@duodec Yeah, man.. I have to restrain myself too. I try to only keep lights that have an active purpose but I still have some that don't really get used. The two most expensive lights I have were won in contests . I usually try to keep my lights around $50 or less.

@DigMe I love flashlights. I don't indulge myself often though.

@DigMe My sister has never seen a flashlight she didn't wish to own. She will be ready when the power grid goes out forever. Her husband has stated that a man can never have too many screwdrivers.

@DigMe Best deal; a few years ago Sams Club sold a bunch of Vector POB HID lanterns for ~$40 via their auction site. "Bright-bright!"

@duodec my best deals were - Fenix TK30 free in a giveaway at cpfmarketplace and a fully custom made incandescent light I won at thehighroad.net. So not really deals exactly but better than deals! :)

@Frenesi I got some from my grandma I kind of want to try and make some of the clothes but I dont want to mess up the patterns!

@Lotsofgoats That is a damn fine keyboard.

@lisaviolet film or digital?

@lisaviolet I apparently caught the same bug - cameras and lenses, one of my hobbies. Although occasionally, you find yourself as Irk says, "in the right place at the right time" and you can make a few bucks off the right camera or lens. I hunt them at every garage sale and flea market I come across (along with a few other items). Both film and digital. Sometimes people will just give them away, like the DVX100a someone handed me the other day. SCORE!

@Pavlov I have a camera tree where I hang all of my cameras. I've got my dad's film cameras, a couple of Canons and a Mamiya, the kind that the top pops up and you look down to see the viewfinder. He had a little photography business and when he passed away, mom gave me all of his camera stuff. Lenses, cameras, I have a shelf in the freezer with unused film. On Woot I bought many cheap cameras. I've got Pixmax cameras, a Barbie video cam, lots of little carabiner cameras (I give those to kids).

I love taking pictures, I take pictures of everything. My crafts, cats, on our walks, our trips to disneyland and I put some of them up in my weblog (journal.lisaviolet.com) and more in my photo gallery. I got a bunch of graphic and video software. We used to have annual meets at Disneyland and everyone would send me their photos and I'd put together DVDs with slideshows and videos.

@lisaviolet That's very cool. I inherited a few old cameras from my dad when he died in '76 (my favorite is a Stereo Realist) and have added a few old or unusual ones since then myself. I just finished my first roll of Tri-X in 35 years using the pinhole camera I got on Kickstarter (http://ondu.si) and can't wait to see what I got! Planning to look at your site at lunchtime.

@lisaviolet The camera tree sounds really nice. I'll check out the site!

@lisaviolet Nice work! I dated a woman who wintered outside San Diego and recognized it as soon as I saw it. The shots of sun and sky were the highlight for me. My portfolio site is at pixelsbybob.com if you're curious.

@lisaviolet Starred for the Mamiya TLR. What a great system that was…

@editorkid Thanks! I like your photos, I love looking at photos. Very nice.

@editorkid Stereo Realists are fun!
My camera collection is pretty extensive - from small (Minox IIIs) to large (Linhof Technikardan). My favorite are the old screwmount Leicas, but my most oft-carried are Contax Ts. Haven't felt the creative motivation in a while though, so I've been on a bit of a hiatus. Going to try to force myself to break that soon. Some photos.

@brhfl Really nice work. I love your depth of field and you've got a good eye for composition. I like the urban/nature mix, too. Thanks for the link. Hope you get back out there soon.

@rockblossom That's awesome. I happened into IT work in 1991, as a tape jockey (cartridges and reels) at a large data center full of different IBMs, Tandems etc. As I progressed, we had to learn how to switch the emergency backup systems for the glycol cooling.

@Skylord123 I don't acually collect old computers, but I have about 5 dead ones laying around. I just can't bring myself to throw them out, escpecially my beloved Sony Viao. I loved that computer and it worked hard for me for a dozen years till its power supply failed.

@Alien88 That sounds like it would take up some space!

@brhfl @Alien88

@walarney What a lovely image to make me hunt for my dunce cap after interpreting that as 'washing machines.' This… makes much more sense!

@brhfl @walarney Actually, I do mean Washing Machines! And yes, it takes up a lot of space! Here's just one picture of one portion of the collection (the one at my house).

@Alien88 Yeah, after I posted the response to @walarney I realized, wait a second - you don't restore that kind of washer! My brain wasn't ready for this conversation. Everybody here has lovely washers, regardless of meaning!

@brhfl Actually car folks do restore the other kinf of washers when there's no choice. Clean up and replate so it looks 100% correct.

@duodec Oh, I give up!

@Alien88 OMG, this is so fucked up. But awesome at the same time. Awesomely fucked up. Fuckedly awesome.

@joelmw I've learned way more about washers, dryers, and the proper way to do laundry than I ever thought I'd need to know!

@Alien88 OMG, I only got rid of the one on the left a few of years ago. Bought it in '71, one repair until it just wasn't getting clothes clean in 2012.

@pooflady it's an interesting machine. That one actually needs to be repaired still, but almost every collector has a 1-18 because they're pretty unique. I'm still trying to track down a Maytag 906 or 806 set in turquoise!

@Alien88 so, all of those exceptt he on one hte left is hooked up and useable? what a useful collection, your own laundromat!

@vampje Yep, all except the one on the left are hooked up. The one on the left has actually been moved out of that room and another machine is there (hooked up). He has many more at his mom's house, and more at his house. I don't recall how many he's at right now; somewhere around 20 that are hooked up and working!

@Alien88 that is a collection i never would have thought of, but cool and useful. i'll be right over with my laundry :P

@vampje For the most part, only he's allowed to use them, lol! It's interesting though, some of them are better at clothing, some are better at making towels really fluffy, some of them are interesting. Almost all of them are rigged so you can watch them wash and see the different wash action, how often it turns over clothing, etc.

I love purple.

@mikebrown2509 I loved stratomatic baseball back in the day!

@joelmw Sounds like you are a born rapper who missed his calling.

@joelmw I am similar. I obsessively count the number of letters in the words I see printed. It started young while driving in the car with my parents, reading and counting the letters on a street sign, and progressed from there.

@KyleCleveland @moondrake I do a little of that. It's funny that when someone reminds me of a way things are organized, I end up fixating on it for a while. I think I'm an empathic obsessive.

@joelmw I used to do that with song lyrics. I'm so happy I stopped; it got in the way of enjoying the music.

@joelmw Beautiful description of a beautiful tool. Wholeheartedly agree about variety - when a writer starts mixing it up for the sake of mixing it up, failure is inevitable. It's easy to alienate a reader, far more difficult to engage them. If one is to pull out words from the depths of the thesaurus, there should be purpose. Forcing your reader to look up a word should be enlightening and rewarding, never frustrating. When I've learned a new word in the process of trying to find the perfect fit, or even if I'm merely attempting to use a word I'm knowledgeable of but not proficient with, I like to know everything about it that I can. In comes another favorite reference book - my beloved Oxford Etymology dictionary. I would use that thing as a pillow if it weren't so hard.

@brhfl I need a better etymology dictionary. And thank you for being a fellow devotee (and of course for your kind words). I am a spiritual person who does not say this lightly, but my experience with words is often a deeply spiritual experience. And of course my more traditionally spiritual experience is very verbal--though, perhaps ironically, also very much about the ineffable and silence and the pursuit of wordless apprehension of the numinous.

@joelmw Don't bash me, but I'm amazed that someone so articulate and fascinated with words use 'profs' so liberally. Always thought people substituted 'profs' because of lack of or deficient vocabulary. Well, you're different!

@YahSah15 Profanity, colloquialism, txtspk et al. are just different languages and different dimensions of language. The word fuck is one of my favorites. There are few like it. Strike that: there's none quite like it.

@YahSah15 And I'm pretty sure that that idea that those of us who use profanity liberally have limited vocabularies has been debunked. My most intelligent and articulate friends are also the ones who use profanity most frequently.

@YahSah15 But for whatever it's worth I have other intelligent, caring and lovely friends who eschew some of the words I use freely here. And in other contexts I'm more than willing to curb my enthusiasm for vulgarity.

@YahSah15 This is an awesome movie, btw. And while it includes free-speaking "fuck"-advocates, it's also sprinkled with counterpoints from detractors, among whom is Pat Boone, who, I have to say, I self-deprecating and delightful.

@joelmw Well, that's telling me! Isn't it? As i said, don't bash me! :) Thanks, but won't watch it. Not my taste.

@YahSah15 I didn't mean to bash, just responding. I totally get that folks have various objections. I just wanted to explain a little of where I was coming from. Sorry if I came across bash-y. Truly.

@joelmw I was mad for writing when I was a teen. For Xmas I got a Roget’s and read it like a novel. I wrote thousands of pages of beginning novels, all long hand. In my 20’s husband bought me an electric typewriter, and I continued spending long nights starting novels that never went anywhere. When my husband was in Vietnam I wrote him every day, some times twice. I don’t know what made we quit so long ago. In my late 30’s one night I had an argument with my 2nd husband and burned all the boxes of the things I’d written. I’m in my 60’s now and the writing I loved is now a chore. Dunno why, I don’t even write very many family email letters. About 10 years ago I came across a box of stuff I wrote in the 70’s. It had missed the purge. I don’t recognize it. It’s really quite good. Wish I’d kept that talent exercised. It’s an effort to whip up something of any value now.

@Teripie From what I can tell you still have the talent. I've never really pursued writing the way I think I ought. One day I'll run out of time. I invest too much in comments on social media and the like. Oy.

@joelmw @teripie Funny, I was having this very conversation with a dining companion last night. We were talking about what we'd wanted to be when we "grew up" and how that contrasted with our actual destinations. As a teen I'd wanted to be a writer, and started several books and written short stories and poetry. But moving out at 17 and having to feed myself made me give up on that, and for various practical reasons my creative outlet has been art rather than writing for many years. I told him that I wished that the internet had been around when I was a teen, as I'd have been quite satisfied with sharing my work online, but at the time I had no outlet and gave up on it. Perhaps I'll dip my toes back into writing now that I am going to have some time on my hands. But having spent 30 years writing for business, turning on that creative narrative may be a challenge.

@joelmw Maybe because I need them under deadline, I hate them for the reason you love them. Don't make me guess the way your brain works, just give me the word I need before my boss reworks my performance review.

@editorkid Have you tried the Visual Thesaurus that I linked above? It's actually fairly efficient, even though it can be fun. I can appreciate where you're coming from--and my tendency to luxuriate over words is perhaps part of the reason that I'm not in the business, certainly a reason I didn't go into journalism. Though I feel with age that I'm learning to just spit words out with less care. And, indeed, to leave the editing to some other time or, I wish, some other person. A good editor is good to have around. But, yeah, I like them as an indulgence and probably indulge more than I should even when I'm ostensibly using them for practical purposes.

@joelmw I haven't, but I will. Shall. Whatever. Mostly I just use Word's synonym finder, which is rarely great but often helpful.

@moondrake I do this a little, but it sounds like I don't do it as much as you. I wish I were more like you in this respect.

@joelmw Your counting thing sounded familiar to me, it's what made me think of mentioning this. I don't count, but I also track a lot of speech patterns, often again that mirroring behavior, or cadences or drifts that reflect something else I heard that same day. Or an unusual word being used five times in a day from five different sources when I'd never heard it used before.

@moondrake I do that too! Do you associate days of the week with certain colors? Letters, too. Some I like, some I don't, but I have to use them all. Synesthesia.

@moondrake That part I definitely do too. :-)

@moondrake And you've reminded me of another maybe odd thing I do. Another comment from me. I know y'all are dying to see it. ;-)

@moondrake Yep!

@KDemo My numbers and letters are all visual. Arithmetic is pattern. I am not a geek, or geeklike, by any stretch of the imagination though.

@joelmw Fess up! I have trouble holding a conversation with someone with a strong accent or unusual speech pattern because I am too focused on following the unique rhythm of the speech and don't pay attention to the meaning of it. When I travel I like to sit someplace and just listen to the natives talk. One of my best experiences in Ireland was sitting in the airport behind a cluster of old men having some sort of spirited discussion in very thick brogue. Delightful.

@moondrake I have a similar fixation on other languages and on accents and dialects. On the speech patterns, it's a love-hate thing. I can't help picking up on other people's pet phrases and peculiar speech patterns. Sometimes those things are endearing to me and sometimes they are loathsome.

@moondrake So, really, the other thing doesn't deserve a whole big comment probably. I have a tendency to see meaning and echoes of archetype and allegory everywhere. Some of it is a function of my religious upbringing but part of it is, I think, just who I am. I used to be able to turn a 30 second commercial into an epic poem in my head, but now I mostly see that they take beautiful source material and just manipulate it in the most exploitive, least meaningful, most abominable way. Sometimes I can still see through the crass commercialism to something deep and rich, but it's hard not to be overtaken by cynicism. I absolutely detest car commercials. They are the worst at 1) not really talking about what they're selling and 2) using symbol and potentially admirable (though obviously, sometimes, not-so-admirable) human impulse and using it for mere manipulation. I truly hate them. Hate, hate, hate. And it doesn't help that the automobile is the perfect metaphor for so much of the rest of what's wrong with our society and with first world civilization as a whole.

@moondrake It amuses (though also somewhat saddens) me that we live in a world so rich in pattern and symbol and yet most are almost entirely oblivious--and mostly just puppets, driven by it though not at all recognizing who and what are pulling the strings.

@moondrake Okay, just one more thing. I have an intermittent interest in numerology (less so astrology)--more anthropologically and as creative material than actual belief. I've consoled myself many times while playing one or another card game by finding ways to reconfigure the numbers and letters into some kind of secret message for myself and the angels and demons dancing around me (and perhaps mostly or altogether arising from my head). ;-) That's probably enough weird from me for today. :-)

@joelmw I am a super competitive player and usually pretty hard to beat at any kind of board game. Usually when we sit down to play it's everyone against me and I still whip 'em. But when it comes to deck building card games where you have a very large pool of cards to select from, I become far more interested in the art on the cards, the flavor text, the way the cards relate to one another as clans or concepts, and how they work together, to focus on winning. I find playing with the cards more engaging than winning with the cards.

@joelmw I definitely agree with you that the auto is the icon for our self-destructive first world behaviors. But I do like watching car commercials as reflections of the zeitgeist. Maybe 15 years ago there was a whole slew of car commercials which had a woman driving with a dog in the front seat, clearly enjoying a life with just her car and her dog, no man required. Not too long before this there had been one that I hated, where a woman is recounting the tale of how she'd been out driving with her kids and the weather had turned bad and her husband wasn't there (in a clear, "no man to save us" tone) but their SUV had braved the elements. Still sort of the same idea, the SUV being sort of the surrogate for the husband but a much less empowering image than the later ones. Not too many years before that, car dealers would never have considered marketing cars to women, then suddenly women were the main target of the ads. Interesting reflection on a changing social dynamic..

@moondrake You're completely correct about the zeitgeist. I wish I weren't driven to nausea and/or rage. I may have to force myself through it.

@moondrake I remember when I bought my first brand new vehicle, it was a Chevy Luv. Back then a great sound system didn't come with the car, it was after market. I took it to a car stereo place and I remember when one of the guys who worked there told me that it wasn't common for a "girl" to have a truck. (I liked it because there wasn't room to have to haul everyone around.)

@Moose That's mean. And it reminds me of the Bad Blood episode of X-Files. You have to have seen the episode. I hoped to find a picture or clip of the specific scene, but couldn't, so I'm just sharing this funky video.

@Moose Are you also starting to feel like there are people in this thread who order from Meh just to see the bar codes on the boxes?

@MsELizardBeth I intentionally drive out of my way to avoid having my wife come within a block or two of Office Depot during operating hours. She has the same problem. I keep telling her that the first step is admitting she has a problem. Then she looks at me and says "Yeah, and as soon as I admit it, I'll divorce it". Then we go to Office Depot.

@MsELizardBeth Oh god me too! Just before schools start in the Fall I have to force myself to stay away from the school supply sales.

@Pavlov My husband brought me a pen sample with a stylus on the end yesterday. He must want some lovin'.

@Teripie My friends have joked that I went back to school so that I would have an excuse to buy notebooks.

@MsELizardBeth Yeah, a GOOD three ring binder from a garage sale will get me laid every time.

@Teripie @MsELizardBeth I guess this commercial really speaks to both of you then:

@MsELizardBeth Not obsessed, but I really do like office supplies, paper products in particular. I have quite a lot more spiral bound pads than I need. That's usually more about the art on front than the pad, though. I also have a bizarre affection for functional miniature versions of regular stuff, like the tiny scale versions of Tobasco sauce they put in MREs. I don't colllect them, I just squee over them.

@moondrake @Teripie @MsELizardBeth @dashcloud @Pavlov My first wife was--and into crafting and scrapbooking too. I like pens, paper, binder clips, cool gadgets and such. Needless to say, my second wife (the first passed) was a little overwhelmed when she moved in. She's claimed that we had enough post-its and pens and miscellaneous notebooks to supply a small country. We've reduced. I like having less--sort of. I know just have a few favorites. And I just ask that we always have pen and paper available (and I'll generally have a good pen handy).

@joelmw Your mention of favorites reminded me: I have about 20 gift bags that I like too well to give them away. So I use them to give gifts to my pets, or to have my pets give gifts to me, so I can set them out for the party, then put them back away in my hoard. A few of the Christmas bags end up under the tree with nothing but tissue paper in them so they can look pretty. Some of the art on commonplace things is so pretty or so cute or so funny that I want to keep it.

@moondrake Oh god those gift bags are a curse. When you recieve them you can't throw them away so you regift them. No one uses the attached tag so they are in constant circulation, or stuffed in a closet somewhere. In the future I think I'll take a Sharpie and wirte all over the outside, the name of the reciever. Then they can take them home and destroy them.

@Pavlov So, tell us about the qaulities of the dancers. Skanks? Beauties? What? I think deep down we all want to take a peek.

@Teripie Well, I can tell you this, from experience: In a club with 100 beautiful girls and two ugly ones, the ugly ones will make more than twice the money of the highest tipped beautiful one most any night of the week. But, in my eyes, they're all beautiful and they've got a hell of a lot more courage than I ever could muster . . . I'll pick up a rifle and stand a post and take a bullet for my country but damn if I'll get up in front of perfect strangers and take off my clothes. That takes a special kind of courage. Or neurosis. Actually, the crazy ones were always the fun ones . . . Okay, enough rambling. You'll just have to look for yourself and make up your own mind.

@Pavlov I admire the courage to say this. I've never been and will probably never, just so I can keep the perfect streak. Like @Teripie said, though, there is something intriguing about the places. My wife has all kinds of moves though and she keeps me more than entertained (and otherwise happy). Not judging. This to me is one of the most interesting confessions here.

@Pavlov I've only ever been to one once, but it was at the invitation of a lesbian friend, and I was all, "Whoa! Best get out of jail free card ever!" It was a lot of fun (the Admiral in Chicago, don't know if you've been or not and honestly don't know how it compares to any others). Everyone should go once.

@editorkid Ah, the Admiral Theater - yes, I've been. I LOVE the place, well thought through layout, good use of space, just the right amount of lighting, superb atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. One of the better managed clubs in the area. Good mix of girls on the weekends.

@joelmw You're better off keeping your perfect streak. I primarily don't go in for the eye-candy (I'm jaded and it takes a LOT to turn my eye) and as I said, I haven't had a dance from an entertainer in over ten years - I do have a odd fascination with the manner in which a club is laid out, decorated, lit, managed, their policies, if they pass the bucket for the "jukebox" or if they have a DJ, etc. - as I said, all from the days when I was active as a manager in the club scene while attending college. I am always intrigued to see how one club does it better (or worse). And, I guess I am always looking to recapture a bit of my youth. I'm pushing 50 now with a ten year old son. Having a ten year old (and one with his own set of challenges) at my age will instantly add another ten years (at least it feels like it). I enjoy the escape, if only for a short while. And when I do see a beautiful woman that catches my eye, my wife gets the benefit when I come home. But, as with you, my wife has the best moves for me as yours does for you - so no need to mess with a good thing. I mean, I'm dumb, but I ain't stoopid.

@Pavlov One of the things I liked about the place was that -- at least on my one visit -- there were lots of couples enjoying it. And although I don't live in its neighborhood, I've heard lots of good things about the management contributing to the area, down to helping local seniors keep their sidewalks clear when it snows. So I'm glad my one experience was at a place pretty well regarded by both the industry and the community.

@editorkid Twenty years ago it was rare for single women or couples to even ATTEMPT to visit a club, let alone if they would have actually been allowed past the doorman. Now days, couples and single females (or groups of single females) make up to 30 to 40% of a lot of clubs door. Other things have changed a lot too - some for the better, some for the worse. I don't necessarily like the way many things have changed for the youth of today. For instance, fellatio is almost as common as a handshake. It used to mean something, and a lot of times it meant more than intercourse to the right woman. Now . . . well, things have changed.

Note to self: Go to parties with @Pavlov, watch who he shakes hands with

@editorkid You're just angling to up your strip club count.

@Pavlov What is this shaking of the hand you speak of?

Ahem. Anyway, I've only ever been in the context of shooting their advertisements. Which is a fairly surreal experience, very calm and quiet when you're conducting that sort of business there. Also, this taught me that porn stars (the old, retired-ish sort who strip clubs like to hire to spokes) are the most professional people you'll encounter in low-budget video production.

@brhfl I didn't say anything about shaking hands, @editorkid did. I do know what he meant, but I'll leave it for him to explain. Although, I must say he'd be better off watching who shakes my hand then who I shake hands with . . . IRL, in certain circles, I guess I'm known from coast to coast like butter and toast. Hooah.

@Pavlov @editorkid said that in response to you saying "fellatio is almost as common as a handshake." I, too, was responding to that. And while I was kidding, because I found that line memorable and humorous, I wouldn't be surprised if that balance was skewing the other way… 

@brhfl Ah . . . got it. Well, sometimes shit just whirls by my head so fast it sucks the snot out of my nose and turns my hair green. Anyway, now I guess there are two (completely divergent) ways the comment may be taken . . . I'll do better keeping up after another beer.

@Pavlov Cheers!

@Pavlov I just wanted to clarify publicly (before it gets me couch duty for a month) that the reason I don't take a dance on the road is because they are JUST THAT GOOD AT HOME. (Wife read the post).

@Pavlov When I was in my 20s I went to a BUNCH of strip clubs. I was good friends with this awesome couple who were way into them. I'm so glad I got a chance to see what it's really like inside. We went to all kinds, from the dingy, bargain basement type to a high-class fancy joint. I even went to one of the 100% nude ones once. My friend always insisted on buying lap dances for me and his wife, so I've been blessed with that experience too (and it was AWESOME). I agree with @Pavlov, those ladies have courage.

@Groovymarlin Groovy!

@kamajo Jonny Lightning! Major Matt Mason!

@Thumperchick That (with your name) made me think of Dune and sandworms, and another kind of thumper.

@ABitterWoman See, you like creepy things. :-)

@joelmw LOL! Love that image.

@ABitterWoman I'll be honest, when I first saw Donnie Darko, I was home alone late at night. The first several minutes of the movie were creepy scary. But I'm quite fond of the movie now. And of Frank. Maybe that's part of where I'm coming from on the "creepy" thing. That's generally my experience anyway: things that are creepy are at least interesting. And some are cool. :-)

@joelmw Oddly enough, I've never seen it. I should be ashamed, and also watch it later.

@ABitterWoman No reason for shame, but it is worth watching. The sequels, not so much.

@cercopithecoid Love that show. What's your favorite episode? Hard to pick, I know.

@ABitterWoman I guess they represent for me a kind of modern Aesop's fables, they were always so incredibly moral. Overall, I think the "Bewitchin' Pool" episode is my favorite, but my favorite line is in "A stop at Willoughby" namely "my miserable, tragic error to marry a man whose big dream in life is to be Huckleberry Finn."

@cercopithecoid Also like the show a lot- have watched numerous hours from the SyFy marathon they do every year, and at other points. I really liked the Jeopardy Room, and the one where the guy gets advice from totally-not-Hitler.

@cercopithecoid Good to meet you here, fellow Zone flyer! I always have my inspirations for new projects while I binge-watching this show.

@techdeviant The first (and only) time I had room service I was amazed by the tiny ketchup bottles. I brought one home on the plane (had to throw out the rest of my shampoo so it would fit in my quart-sized bag) and now it sits on a shelf in my kitchen!

My son calls them Oompa-Loompa ketchup.

@Bogie So how do you get to be nobility (or at least not commoners)?

@dashcloud That is a bit more difficult to answer than you might think. Most of it depends on the type of faire youre attending. In larger faires, you audition with a casting director for the position. In smaller faires where they aren't as structured, if you fit the part, you're often welcomed to join in and play. Both of these, though, require you to have appropirate clothing. The definition of "appropriate" depends on the faire. I actually started a blog to answer that question: http://idahorennies.blogspot.com/ . Though I've been lazy recently.

@Gurkie we just donated about 50 beanie babies to goodwill.... ...

@meh
I like purple.
I like cats.