Who ya gonna blame? Goatbusters! (Your official July 2019 Cinoclav blame thread.)
21So, it’s finally happened. Somehow I managed to sneak under the radar for years. Stayed just quiet enough to be overlooked for goatdom while still being an overactive community member. Ironically, July 3rd will be my 5 year anniversary with meh, so I guess I couldn’t ask for a more appropriate month to be goated. Many thanks to @tinamarie1974 for her month of being our goat mistress, and one final blame for her nominating me.
After dwelling on what I could do this month to make it a little interesting, I’ve decided on ‘Cinoclav’s Field of 32’! Yep, just like that NCAA thingy with the cool grid, we’re going to be voting to find our all time favorite meh product(s) that’s been sold. Well, at least the favorite out of the ones I chose to be featured anyway. Screw all that other junk. You’ll see a few similar items grouped together (Dyson/Shark), and one that may look like the same damn thing (Contigo/Bubba) that in reality has strong opinions for one or the other. I’ve tried to pick items that we see on a somewhat regular basis, though there’s also a few thrown in there that were one time wonders and integral pieces of meh history. You’ll know them when you see them. The concept is easy enough - I’ll post two items per day, you star your favorite and the winner will move on to the next round. As long as I keep my lazy ass in gear, we should have a winning product just before my goat rolls over and dies. I considered holding off on posting the initial seeds so each day would be a surprise, but that makes it impossible for everyone to place their wagers. Keep your eyes open for the ‘Cinoclav Field of 32 Day x’ thread and place your votes!
- 123 comments, 717 replies
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Glad I was the one that finally nailed you down!
@tinamarie1974 Well, not yet but I have hopes.
I blame you…simply because we need to start the blame thread off with some blame.
@Kidsandliz Fine. This time I’ll accept it.
This is pretty cool, because @Cinoclav made an official Cinoclav blame thread…but didn’t specify in the title it was just for a month…
@therealjrn Sometimes it’s just a given.
@cinoclav Um…maybe…maybe not…
@therealjrn Alright fine. Someone with power, please throw July up there.
@cinoclav you’ll likely need to tag @narfcake or someone to do it
@Kidsandliz I had enough faith that I’m important enough that they all read my posts.
@cinoclav
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz I once fixed a 90° rotated image by making it 180° instead.
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/meow-i-trust-its-the-devil-inside-i-dont
I blame you for not enough sleep last night. And also for not enough sleep for the last 9 years. It’s a heavy burden, but you can carry it, I’m sure.
@ACraigL I get it. I soooo get it. It probably is my fault anyway, I think I was snoring and kept everyone up.
@ACraigL @cinoclav You are really not putting up a fight - just accepting all the blame. huumm…
@ACraigL @cinoclav Yes, @tinamarie1974. The goat’s job is to accept the blame.
@ACraigL @tinamarie1974 Just like him, I’m too fucking tired to fight this morning. I promise to be more of a dick in the future.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 Future dicks have SO much potential.
@ACraigL @cinoclav @tinamarie1974
T-shirt contest idea!
@ACraigL @cinoclav @therealjrn you may have to take it, but you don’t really have to roll over so easily. Sometimes you should make them work for it!
How does picking one’s favorite cause a win? The items that receive the most favs? (July 3 is a good day. 'Tis when the world was graced with my presence also)
@lseeber Is that a /blame or /unblame?
/giphy HAPPY BIRTHDAY
@lseeber Yep, the one that gets the most votes is the winner for the day and moves on to the next round. Today’s winner will go up against the winner of the Vacuum Sealers vs. Electric Toothbrushes round and so on.
Also, Happy Birthday!!
@therealjrn @cinoclav hmmm… blame for not understanding… unblame for birthday. Thank you!
Btw @tinamarie1974 - Who did you bribe to turn over goatdom so damn quickly? I feel like you still need to be blamed for at least one more day.
@cinoclav
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 boy that gif brings back memories!
Blame: Amazon has cat products on my list again.
@narfcake Oh, that one is totally your fault. You’re beyond help.
@cinoclav Well everyone knows that already …
(My cat plushies don’t care for cat treats. An empty box is all they need to be happy.)
@narfcake I have cats I can send you then you will have a use for cat treats. You are welcome.
My final four guess is power banks, flashlights, Bluetooth speakers and socks.
@eonfifty Knives.
/giphy Roomba fight
@eonfifty @narfcake wtf
@narfcake
/image awesome
POPSOCKETS! SPROCKETS! DAVY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
@eonfifty @narfcake I dunno, don’t underestimate the power of the bluetooth speaker. (Which in all likelihood is actually under-powered.)
@eonfifty @narfcake I would have added speaker docs but with them paired against power banks they one of those two won’t even make it to the semi finals. Had they been paired differently they both might have.
@eonfifty @Kidsandliz @narfcake I wanted to make sure those two items went up against each other, thus pairing them off from the beginning. Though I considered them both to be #1 seeds, I was worried about the upset. It’s been a close competition all day.
@eonfifty @narfcake gotta try that. Next time I visit grandsons, the roombas are coming out!
Blame: I have been worrying about the check engine light for my O2 sensor all month for my MD inspection. They call me and tell me today that it wasn’t looked at in the inspection!!! Fuck me - I swear they have some type roulette wheel that decides what matters for each inspection.
Blame ll: But, I do need a front lower ball joint, muffler weld, and battery clamp.
Unblame: After seeing what was involved with replacing the ball joint it was worth paying the fair amount of money they were asking to do it. Less than $300 for all the repairs to a 2006 vehicle with 196,000 miles to get it thru a MD one time inspection is not bad. And they did say the car was in great condition.
@mfladd Look, I did what I could to get that O2 sensor through without them catching it. My powers are limited though, so I’m glad the ball joint repair wasn’t too painful.
@cinoclav I appreciate that
@cinoclav @mfladd - Thanks for the reminder - Gotta get my state inspection this month! That’s a definite unblame.
Blame for the Keurig machine dying - if I can find a better replacement, though…
@aetris @cinoclav @mfladd
Congrats on the old auto!
@aetris Are you looking for cheap or good? I really only have one suggestion that sort of meets both qualifications. That’s this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Keurig-K-Compact-Single-Serve-K-Cup-Pod-Coffee-Maker-Imperial-Red/893713961
Blame @cinoclav, as you forgot to post the “gif” of @mfladd as an accomplished mechanic. @therealjrn will be sad if it is not posted.
@mfladd
Ball joint. You’ve been talking to Alexa again, haven’t you?
@cinoclav - I’m hoping for cheap AND good (hey, I’m an American!) Anyways, the one I HOPE to find is the Aldi one, which gets good reviews at half the price of Keurig. We’ve gone through three Keurigs at this point.
Wow! I wish your mechanic was located closer to me.
@cf1 Yeah seriously. I know I paid more than that for ball joints. And don’t even get me started on why I am still using a screwdriver to open my hood rather than get the broken cable replaced. And why locking ties hold my fender liners on.
@cf1 Gonna take that sucker for a test drive.
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz
I spent more on getting one window repaired (new regulator.) I need at least two more done. Ugh.
My previous car had an extremely sticky hood. It was fun watching service people trying to open it up. One must enjoy the little things.
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz Oh, and the door panel. The frickin’ door panel. I’m still trying to find someone to fix that. I have not yet resorted to the dealer.
@cf1 I think it’s time to go with two wheels.
@cinoclav I’m not so sure I’d feel comfortable with that – it seems to anger goats.
@cf1 Only for a month…
@cf1 @cinoclav @Kidsandliz Yeah, total cost for the ball joint replacement was $168 including the part. I didn’t think that was bad at all.
@cf1 @cinoclav @mfladd And that price is why we want to kidnap your mechanic!!!
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mfladd It isn’t that far for me – only a couple of hours. Hmm.
@cf1 @cinoclav @Kidsandliz Ok, was this good or not? I had the muffler entirely replaced. They also welded in 8" of new pipe at each end of the muffler and put in a new hanger The entire cost was $134.
I think it is probably an unblame.
@cf1 @Kidsandliz @mfladd According to this page, that’s a great price. Working my mojo brother!
https://www.carbibles.com/muffler-repair-cost/
@mfladd Yeah that is an unblame
/envy
@cf1 @Kidsandliz @cinoclav
I am glad your car magic is still working. Thanks!
Unfortunately, it did not carry over to the boat motor. I got screwed first on the purchase, and then the repair. And 1 small part I purchased myself for him to install wasn’t even done. I know he is going to tell me he lost it
I am chalking this one up to a life lesson on trusting some people. Tomorrow I will find out if it runs right.
The only good thing about this entire mess is that even with the repair work, the cost of the boat, motor, and trailer together wasn’t too bad - just not great. Now that the really hard work has been done I will try to complete any future repairs myself.
Some apparent deals don’t always work out - roll the dice.
@mfladd As much as I’d love to have a boat, I know they’re generally money pits.
@cf1 What exactly is wrong with your door panel?
@cinoclav so you get a junky looking one (well if you are worried about motors at least make sure that is OK - I operated with a canoe paddle, anchor, and not a motor). I once owned a great little trashed flying junior. The fiberglass was so trashed that when I made repairs I didn’t bother to worry about what it looked like. It was leaky so I filled the hull inside (eg between the outer hull and the inner hull) with foam. Sure it dripped for a while once out of the water, but it wasn’t going to sink. I won ugliest boat on the water with it. That I owned a trashed one saved me a ton of time and effort caring for it. It was one of those things where you buy it for $200, put $100 in it and sell it for $200 5 years later.
@mfladd Basically, it was taken apart to replace a sticky lock mechanism and re-glued with what seems to be something barely above rubber cement stickiness. All of the parts are now loose and sagging. I think there are some missing clips, too. The internet says it is easy to fix but I have had a difficult time finding someone willing to take it on. (Of course it is the driver’s door so I am making things worse every day.)
I need to have two window regulators replaced but I fear that I will end up with working windows but the right-side interior also all half falling down.
sigh
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mfladd Boats are fun. If I ever live somewhere where I can get enough use out of it, I’d love to have a little boat to just putter around in. We had one for a couple of years when I was little and it was so enjoyable.
@cf1 @cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mfladd
Sorry to hear that the whole boat purchase/ownership thing is a “learning experience” to date. Hope you find a new mechanic for the serious stuff.
@cf1 @cinoclav @Kidsandliz That’s what I have - just a little 14’ aluminum fishing boat to take the kids out in. I am surrounded by water so not having one isn’t any fun at all.
@cf1 re-glued? The door panel should be secured with a couple of metal screws from the interior, and the panel held to the door frame by plastic clips. Handles and such shouldn’t be sagging. I am having a hard time picturing this. If you can please post a pic. We should be able to find the parts online if we can identify the problem.
There are good window regulator replacement vids online (I was watching a couple last night). They can be pricey if done by a dealer.
I am about to take apart my passenger door this weekend to identify what is making the window bind. I am hoping it is not the regulator.
@f00l Thanks. I will see how it runs today and report back. He just kept quoting me prices that were not what the final cost was. I know there were a lot of problems - he showed them to me. The motor should not have any major problems now. I can do a lot of the other work thru youtube vids. He was a nice guy and I am trying not to be pissed about it. If it runs well I will just consider it a lesson for me. But I am still addressing the missing part I supplied to him!
@cf1 @cinoclav @mfladd Yes small boats are fun. I had a canoe. My kid would put it in the back yard, fill it with water (“MOOMMM”… she’d whine - I can empty it out by turning it over" ROTFLMAO have fun bailing kid) and play in it with friends. Dry then she and her friends would dress up and pretend play with it. I think it was paddled more miles in the back yard than on lakes and rivers
.I had a sailing rig for it and a portage yoke too. I also have had a kayak and two different small (16’ and 14’) sailboats (flying junior and a barnet 14) - these were bathtub toys compared to the schooners, brigantines, etc. I have worked on. And surprise (well no not really but you don’t really think about that when sailing 100 ton+ boats) they can capsize. (grin).
Right now no boats. But there are alligators in the reservoir, lots of gators, so many they are thinking of allowing twice as many to be killed this season, not to mention a few young ones recently have been in shopping center parking lots pretty far from the reservoir so who knows where they are living - possibly flood control ponds (this is central MS not FL!!)? And so if I can ever own one again I’d have to think twice about sailboats if they were the size I’d struggle to get right side up if turtled.
I miss my boats!
@mfladd it seems to be glued with a light duty glue and then fastened to the door with plastic clips and a couple of screws. Everyone keeps saying the original glue is sketchy and problematic but it held for 24 years so whatever.
I have not been able to find anyone willing to re-glue it. I am going to be so annoyed if I have to do this myself. I think the hardest part is getting the panel off and finding clamps to hold it together. The rains we have had have caused it to sag even more and I might just have to take it off until it can be fixed. Friday, I kept having to open it only from the inside.
It does look pretty easy on the internet, doesn’t it?
@mfladd regulators are expensive . However it is very nice to be able to have the window go back up again without frantically yanking on it while cursing and making vague threats
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mfladd I was just wishing there were boats around where I live and then I remembered a few years ago some people kayaking in our creek after a flood . There was probably a lot more carrying than floating but they looked like they were having a lot of fun.
@mfladd I would post a picture if I ever figure out how to do so. The phone is not cooperating. It is probably conspiring with the car.
@cf1 yes white water is fun, but you need to watch out for downed tree branches stuck in there as you can get swept up against them and drown as the force of the water is so strong you can’t get away.
@cf1 @Kidsandliz trees or who knows what else could have gotten swept up and is hiding under the water.
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 too true. I know most of the creek pretty well but I’m betting they did not. (Plus there are pockets of some icky looking pollution along the banks.)
Damn you, @cinoclav I was all excited to get my fillings rattled last night but instead of some nether attention, I fell asleep mumbling about drywall sanding. Shove this blame in a tight spot!
@KittySprinkles
@cinoclav
@cinoclav
I blame you for already being entertaining.
/giphy Entertaining
I blame your for your ridiculous “product vote contest”, in which I intend to enthusiastically participate for no apparent rational reason.
/giphy ridiculous
And last but not least, I blame you for the approach of Amazon Prime Day.
/giphy Amazon Prime Day
@f00l Aww, thanks for being the one and only person who seems to think my silly Field of 32 has some entertainment value. I now feel validated for spending the time putting it together. And uhh, I apologize in advance for the lack of deals on anything that doesn’t respond to the name Alexa or have the Amazon logo splashed across it.
@cinoclav Hey I voted for day one.
@Kidsandliz But @f00l lovingly called it ridiculous!
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz
This “product vote-off bracket challenge” is the best sort of “ridiculous”.
Silly and fun.
Let’s up the fuck count, goat. My fucking heat pump quit. It’s fucking July, in fucking Florida, and the fucking heat index was 103 today. This is your fucking fault!
@OldCatLady Crap. Is it going to take a zillion years to get someone out to fix it? You don’t need that on top of being hit by a car!! How is your knee (and the rest of what got bruised) doing?
@OldCatLady Here’s a fucking Miami Florida Heat Pump for you. You’re welcome.
@Kidsandliz Knee is swollen and locks up, thanks. A/C repair will be here after noon tomorrow. It’s maintaining, just about 8 degrees hotter than I ordered. Fucking machinery.
@OldCatLady Oh no. I’m so sorry! Wish I could truly take the blame and help you out.
@mike808 I’m in awe. That’s definitely a fuck-me Miami Heat pump. Thanks!
@OldCatLady Your doctor worried about what your knee is now doing? Tomorrow afternoon - a long hot night then. That sucks! Actually both suck.
@Kidsandliz Fucking right. Fucking knee surgeon is taking July off to go home to Ireland. ( His PA is great, though.) Fucking AC takes precedence over knee. Still icing. And swearing.
@OldCatLady oh no. So sorry!
@OldCatLady That isn’t good that the surgeon is going to be gone for a month. I am sorry you going through this and on top of it all being fried by the heat.
@Kidsandliz @OldCatLady
To help you chill out.
@cinoclav @OldCatLady So sorry. Why do these heat pumps always give out when it is super hot or super cold? Why do the never go out when it is a balmy 78 degrees?!
@OldCatLady You should go for a swim or try some water therapy.
@mike808 I do feel dirty, now that you mention it. Thanks!
@OldCatLady So are you back on “ice cold air inside” mode yet?
@cinoclav, I blame you for becoming the new goat, and thus ending the reign of @tinamarie1974, whose goatdom was chock-a-block with sweaty, sensual, coquettish gifs. I miss them already!
@UncleVinny sorry
@UncleVinny I think you should’ve been blaming her before her reign was up. But let me help you (and me) out with an early July 4th present.
I don’t like your matchups… WiFi cameras should have been matched with led lanterns… @cinoclav
@sohmageek I figured the lanterns were too close to flashlights so I left them out. Also thought that WiFi cameras and t-shirts have very dedicated followers that would make for an interesting match up. But yeah, can’t help but take the blame for your displeasure.
Unblame. My heat pump was first call. Bad capacitor has been replaced. Unit serviced, in excellent condition, one year left on the warranty. Coolth is good.
@OldCatLady
/giphy happy
@OldCatLady what.the.fuck. This goat is pretty effective!
@OldCatLady So you’re ok now? Don’t need us to call the fire department?
@KittySprinkles @OldCatLady um can you call them for me please? I think I smelled smoke over here!!
@OldCatLady I guess I should have read further before I asked you up higher here if your heat pump was fixed. Glad you are no longer soaked in sweat.
@Kidsandliz Thanks, me too. The world is safer for everyone when I’m comfortable.
Grrr. Because I’m working late (why can’t we find a night auditor who isn’t a complete flake or freak), not getting to sleep until around 2am. Woke up a few hours later in a panic because I realized I never set a guest’s wake up call. In my defense she said it right when she walked in the door then proceeded to drag check in until a long, loud, and uncomfortable ordeal and I just forgot. But that’s not how I do things so I woke up freaked about it.
Now I’m supposed to get ready to go back in until 10:30pm, but I can’t function. Unblame, I don’t have to wake up until like 9 tomorrow and after work tomorrow night am going to see Spider-Man FFH. So thanks, you goaty goat.
@KittySprinkles At least you’ll enjoy the movie! (I have a small role.)
@cinoclav thank goodness you ended up looking like that, things could have gone so much worse.
@KittySprinkles OMG how on earth did you find that bizarre “creature”?
@cinoclav @KittySprinkles ewwwww
Unblame time! I had to laminate some stuff at work and I just love laminating. That and label making.
@KittySprinkles You’re uhh, peculiar.
@cinoclav
@KittySprinkles You sound like my sister (an accountant). She has the entire world laminated and labeled to within an inch of their lives. Me, on the other hand, well I DO have plans… do not yet own anything to implement said plans… so my stuff is piled in boxes waiting to be sorted (which I do do on occasion, although likely one would say, rare occasion).
Blame because a friend wanted to walk with me tonight forcing me to head out much earlier than usual. Not only did I NOT see any of my furry friends, the sun was high in the sky making it seventh level of hell H O T!!! I was soaking wet by the time we finished and thought I was going to die.
As we are standing there chatting she says, you know maybe we should have went out later. It IS much cooler now that the sun has set.
/giphy son of a bitch
@tinamarie1974 Any ‘friend’ that drags you out in hot, shitty weather should be shunned.
@cinoclav yeah, but she is my cousin. I don’t think you can do that to family?
I mean we are both Sicilian, so we can decide we are “dead to each other”, but I think that MIGHT be a bit harsh for that particular meathead move!
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 You’re Sicilian. There will be talking, by everyone, dramatically. It took me months to learn to sit on my hands when talking, when I came back.
@cinoclav @OldCatLady haha. I could direct airplanes I move my hands so much!
I am very expressive, but not so dramatic. I get my calmer logical thought process from my dad (he is a mutt, Sicilian on my moms side)
@OldCatLady @tinamarie1974 Dad’s side is 100% Italian but I fortunately never picked up the habit of flailing while talking. Guess I took after my own mutt half from my mom.
@cinoclav @OldCatLady ah, but you miss out on the nice breeze all that movement creates lol
/giphy talk like an Italian
@OldCatLady @tinamarie1974
@cinoclav @OldCatLady @tinamarie1974 And flailing of hands and arms prevent black flies from landing and biting…speaking from experience working outdoors in the Boundary Waters area, Quetico and north of there in Canada up to the James Bay.
Blame - dumb ass student photo shopped an excuse and got caught because I verify that what they give me matches what the facility gave them (and syllabus says I do that too). Now she is resorting to threats, claiming I violated HIPPA by calling to verify whether or not that piece of paper was unadulterated or not. Clearly she does not understand HIPPA. I turned the entire matter over to the ombudsman’s office. Very happy I live 800+ miles from where she lives. Not so happy this is turning into a giant time sink right when I am trying to get crap graded to meet the deadline to post grades (term ended Sunday and she did almost nothing all term so was trying to find a way out of her mess).
@Kidsandliz Blame is all on that shitty student. She’s obviously the Roomba type of lazy! My sister teaches a few classes online and she’s told me about some of the ridiculous excuses students use looking for extensions and retests. As for yours, I’m sorry it’s taking up your time but for those of us who worked our asses off for our degrees, I hope you nail her to the wall.
@cinoclav Yeah so many of the online programs are a joke. And they prey on those not bright enough to read about that racket (yes there are some good programs out there and I have worked for one of them - but then that one wasn’t an ‘if you are breathing we will admit you as long as you can figure out how to pay for it on your own’ kind of place) and see if that particular program is credible or not.
So what tends to pile up in these programs are those who maybe shouldn’t be in college, try to cheat their way though and view themselves as the customer who is owed a good grade because they paid for it. At the crap programs there are usually some good students (and I have to hold my tongue to tell them to bail and get their degree from somewhere else) but they generally are outnumbered by those who are not. Now the good programs - that is a different matter although you can still get a bad apple or three in those too.
Blame: email has been broke AGAIN at work - have not been able to send a message outside the company for two weeks now. This is the 6th time since November this has happened.
It Dept big suggestion is take those thousands of contacts I have and re create all of them. That should fix the problem even though the issue is clearly server based.
@tinamarie1974 Alright, now you’re really pushing it. There has to be an IT goat at your job!
@cinoclav if there is, I don’t know them. They are likely outsourced in India
@tinamarie1974 Alright fine, I’m working on it. Don’t expect much, it’s too fucking hard to type with these hooves.
@cinoclav
@tinamarie1974 Holy crap! There are IT depts worse that at some of the universities I have worked at? Who knew.
@Kidsandliz omg…i put in the ticket that my vendors could not email me; that they receive an error message. Response was LITERALLY, ok please have them send the error message to you and then forward it to us for investigation.
How the hell are they suppose to email the error message to me if my email is not working.
@tinamarie1974 OMG now that is really brain dead. One university I worked for was probably as bad, but the rest have been better than that although often not by much. You’d think they would have thought to ask you for the email address of several of the vendors and then asked them themselves. Sheesh.
BLAME: it’s right before 4th of July and my birthday, and I’m sick with a headcold! Who even gets colds in July???
@Kawa Sowwwy. Hope you feel better. I’ll try to get there, but in the meantime take some extra zinc and try the Tylenol cold medicine!
@Kawa Actually, my mom and 2 sisters were just both quite sick. Started out with something like a cold and both got totally knocked flat with pneumonia. Several others also. Dunno where they all got it. And happy almost birthday!
@lseeber something like that was going around last summer in Ohio. People were sick for about 3 weeks. Seemed like around half of them ended up with pneumonia and the other half just coughed a lot and never went to the doctor to find out if it had turned into pneumonia. Hope you feel better soon.
@Kawa I used to get a cold every July 4th like clockwork. I would have to go to the urgent care and get Prednisone to boost my metabolism. My doctor had me on a COPD w/ Albuterol inhaler regimen with several other OTC meds for persistent cold symptoms stuffy nose, chest congestion and regular breathing problems in the evenings that he diagnosed as COPD.
Then my doctor changed and he figured out that I didn’t have COPD at all. I had built up a tolerance to the pseudoephedrine and the rest was overmedicating and thats why I would get much worse “seasonally” like clockwork.
Changed my meds to OTC fluticasone (aka Flonase) which works differently than the OTC Sudafed (nasal congestion) and dropped all the OTC and COPD nonsense (long+short acting).
Cleared it up after a month when the sudafed buildup cleared my system, and haven’t had a lick of trouble since.
@Kawa @mike808
Wow. Glad that got fixed.
@Kawa How ya feeling?
Unblame: I just bagged up six trash bags full of clothes to be donated that are now far too big on me!!
@tinamarie1974 Too bag? That is good! Donate them to a battered women’s shelter though as so many thrift shops throw out tons of what people donate.
@Kidsandliz yeah I lost like 60 lbs over the last year. I am a bit of a clothes horse so there was A LOT to get rid of. Hopefully more soon, at least that is the goal.
@tinamarie1974 Cool! (and above I meant to write big not bag). Sounds like you are then still dieting? Humm you might be adding your spike heel boots to the mix too as they won’t fit either. Oh wait. Those boots you post are only in your dreams.
@Kidsandliz hahaha, I have several pair of spiky over the knee boots. I am so short they fit like thigh highs. All black, some leather, some suede, some on platforms. ❤❤❤ my boots
Unblame: after the third attempt, I think I FINALLY have the design. Of my fireplace just right.
Ok Goat, you got some splainin’ to do…
Got in from my most recent Tennessee trip late last night. Blame:
Auction people failed to sell about 70% of items marked for auction. Not because there weren’t any interested bidders, but because they just didn’t auction the lots. The larger ticket items were sold for as little as 30% of their own estimates. Gross sales were about 50% of “guaranteed” total. I had to figure out what to do with dozens of piles of unsold items because lenders require a totally vacant property.
Escrow closing on the farm sale was delayed three times due to lender neglecting to collect documents and tests required by VA, including a well water test which takes 3 weeks for the results.
Cleaning crew who were supposed to do final cleaning after the house was vacant never showed up.
After all that… ready to hit the road (two days later than scheduled) and the leveling jacks on Mom’s RV wouldn’t retract. After a couple hours working on the hydraulics, I got them to retract enough to drive at least.
Finally on the road, but less than 15 miles from the farm, stop at the CoOp to fill the 80 gallon fuel tank on the RV. 65 gallons into pumping and noticed a small puddle around my feet. FUEL TANK LEAK! Silicon and duct tape patch and I managed to nurse it 70 miles to an auto parts store for supplies and repaired the leak. Only lost about 18 gallons of $3/gal fuel.
Finally hit the road in earnest at 8PM (?!). Got about 40 miles east of Jackson, TN before one of the rear inner tires disintegrated. No jack, no lug wrench, 10PM on an isolated stretch of I-40. Fortunately I at least had a good cell signal. Unfortunately it didn’t matter because Geico roadside assistance didn’t cover tire change service on a 36 foot Class A RV and couldn’t find a tow service equipped to tow a rig that size. By 2AM I was able to identify a commercial “big rig” mobile tire service company in Jackson, but they didn’t open until 6:30AM. LSS… back on the road by noon, 5 new tires, $1,800 lighter and now 3 days behind schedule.
Smaller blames include:
Mom is the worst possible chain smoking backseat driver you could imagine.
Strong gusty winds from OKC all the way to Flagstaff.
No shovel to dispose of the body if mom wouldn’t stop criticizing my driving for at least one single mile, or go more than 3 minutes without a cigarette.
Mom’s new puppy (60lb black lab) wasn’t a good traveling companion and started with road sickness after the first 100 miles. Liquid nastiness squirting out both ends for nearly 1,700 miles.
The guy who was house/dog sitting for me left my (spotless before I left home on Friday) house as a disaster. Fast food containers, beer bottles, sink full of dishes, bathroom a wreck… I was not amused.
“That which does not kill us…” right?
@ruouttaurmind
Omg.
Re house sitter
I hope you didn’t pay the house sitter?
I hope the person was not your close friend. Wow.
I hope no permanent damage to your house.
Re auction. Wow.
What do you have to go thru to sell the remaining property? Or do you have to start all over with that?
Can you just hand the probs to a rural-specialist realtor?
Re RV
I presume it had not been on the road for a while.
If she can’t handle that RV by herself, then perhaps it’s time to get rid of it?
If you or she wants one you could rent one…
Re Mom.
I’m sure she is a fine person. But … Chain-smoking and constant criticism?
Can you at least settle her not completely close to where you live? Like, a few towns over? Or not next door?
Can you get her into vaping?
Re dog
Poor mutt. Poor you.
I hope the dog settles in.
If your mom can’t handle living on her own, can she get into a retirement place?
Poor mom.
And especially, poor you.
Sympathies.
PS you’re an awesome son. I hope this gets better shortly.
@ruouttaurmind
@ruouttaurmind I have nothing. No excuses at all. I’m all for taking a beating on this one with everything you’ve gone through. You’re a much better person than I am a goat. If all that has made you stronger, you should pretty much be at Cap’n America level right now.
@ruouttaurmind Sounds like a nightmare upon nightmare that isn’t over yet.
@cinoclav Beating unnecessary. As the experience fades to prologue and the sting fades the humor will most certainly become apparent. Just not today. Tomorrow isn’t looking good either. But maybe next week I’ll be laughing at the absurdity of it all.
@f00l The RV has been sitting since the last trip mom and step dad made out to spend the winter with me. Maybe 5 years ago, before he became ill and passed. I asked her to have someone come out and give it a once-over to inspect and maintain for roadworthy condition. She did. But only after the problems began she revealed it was the cousin of the wife of guy who fixed her tractor because “…he used to work on the trucks at UPS.”
After driving it over 1,700 miles in 2 days, I can say with conviction: it is most definitely too much for her to drive. It was a handful even for me. We discussed selling it in the auction last weekend, but she’s committed to keeping it. Possibly because of the memories of good times it holds. So it shall be. Cumbersome to store, expensive to maintain, but if it helps make this transition easier for her, I’m happy to make it happen. Also, it is her temporary home (parked in my back yard) until we find her a house.
And speaking of houses… definitely not next door, but close enough I can check in on her at least a few times a week, and can be there swiftly if something comes up. She’s not going to walk to my house if it’s more than a block, and it’s highly unlikely she will drive any distance because she hates traffic and her truck (full size crew cab) is much too large for her comfort.
Her pup has recovered nicely from the trip and is beginning to bond with my lab, Miss Belle.
@f00l The stuff that didn’t sell was disposed of a couple ways. I asked around and found some people to come get stuff like fencing materials, lumber, hay and such. Whatever was safe to burn went into a bonfire. The remaining bits? I hired a neighbor to bring his backhoe and dig a couple huge holes, then used dad’s tractor to push everything into the holes and filled them over.
@f00l As far as completing the real estate sale, mom’s agent is acting on the outstanding issues in her absence.
It’s kind of a cluster eff because the buyers already moved 900 miles from their previous home expecting the escrow to be uneventful. No family or friends in the area, we opted to let them move in with a tenancy agreement and some confidence the lender will eventually release their funding.
@tinamarie1974 @Kidsandliz I’ll be laughing about this whole thing some day.
@ruouttaurmind @tinamarie1974 I’m already laughing.
@Barney @ruouttaurmind @tinamarie1974 I’m not laughing, but I am marveling at your apparent composure…and ginning a little.
@Barney
Just sour grapes because I didn’t turn right on I-35 at OKC and come rearrange your furniture or fix your front door or whatever else you needed done.
@therealjrn
The April trip, driving the big UHaul towing the trailers, was nearly as challenging as this trip. I guess I’m developing a certain tolerance for catastrophe?
The final trip is Wednesday. Driving home her pickup towing the last load of stuff. I’m really hoping that trip is uneventful. Pleasant even. I’ll be on a completely open-ended timeline now that mom is at the house taking care of the hounds (and hopefully baking snicker doodles and making deviled eggs?). No rush, no schedule to keep, so no more 18 hours behind the wheel. Maybe the lack of urgency and relaxed pace will predestine an incident-free journey.
But I assure you, I’ll be doing my own road readiness inspection before ever setting tire to highway.
One way or another I will have jumper cables, jack, good spare tire, and at least a rudimentary selection of tools. Even if I have to spend a hunnert bucks at Rural King on the way to the interstate.
@ruouttaurmind A crisp Benji well spent I’m sure.
@ruouttaurmind Future archeologists will be thrilled to uncover your hole in about 1000 years. Hope there’s some stuff in there that will last. You know, like a few bodies, aluminum, something from meh…
@ruouttaurmind
That was just the beginning of my list. Lawn mowing was also a high priority.
@Barney @ruouttaurmind wait, I might want some of that help!
@tinamarie1974 Are there water balloons involved?
@cinoclav uummm, I mean I could pay him in water balloons. Thinking maybe I could pawn off my yard work
@tinamarie1974 Nope, I’m not sharing.
@Barney well darn!
@Kidsandliz
Uh… am I the only one who appreciates the irony in that portion of your statement?
@ruouttaurmind
@cinoclav Unblame: The buyer’s lender finally authorized the escrow company to release the funds from the sale of the farm. Yesterday I took mom to a local bank and got her set up with an account. Within 2 hours the escrow company wired the funds. The sale is done and done.
Lesson learned: selling a rural property to a VA funded buyer can be a particular kind of challenge.
Pre-blame for any mayhem which I might or might not encounter on the final trip Wednesday. There is much blame potential lurking within a 1700 mile road trip…
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind glad things are starting to work their way out.
@ruouttaurmind hopefully you will have no blameworthy events.
@Kidsandliz I’m thinking since I have several days to wander home, and won’t be in a rush, I’m less likely to have any issues. Problems only seem to crop up when the delay creates more headaches, right?
@tinamarie1974 Thank you! Mom has the RV tidy and set up for a comfortable living quarters, the pup is fully recovered and settling in and beginning to make friends with mine, and now that the funds have been released, mom can begin shopping for her next house. Everything is looking pretty rosy about now.
@ruouttaurmind happy it is working out for you guys. I was worried about you guys (and especially that pup) for a while there!
@ruouttaurmind Ahh Right. No harm in you believing this (grin). And maybe you will get lucky and it will be true.
@ruouttaurmind Glad the good things are working out and hoping the bad things don’t show their noses anymore. But if you don’t mind, could you just make that last trip in August? I’m not sure I could carry the burden of another crazy adventure!
@cinoclav
TBH, I’m not sure I could face another crazy adventure like the last two trips. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about any blame because it would likely finish me off anyway!
@ruouttaurmind Aww, don’t let that happen. We’d miss you too much!
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Hopefully then, you’ll have a great, relaxed trip. I do love a good road trip by myself every now and then. I’ll probably head to MN in the fall. Keeping your calm demeanor saves your life anyway. More power to ya!
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind
So.
Phase 2:
Mom finds out what living in a south AZ summer is like. 120F, anyone?
Mom looks for/finds a house she likes. And all the legal/financial stuff to settle that.
Phase 3:
Mom moves into her house. Yeah! Moving! So much fun!
Phase 4:
Mom settles in. You both adapt. Mom begins to explore AZ a bit more.
Phase 5:
Mom experiences the bliss of never again a change from DST to ST and back.
Turns out AZ is a superior place, in that distinction.
It all should be good in the end. Hopefully it’s mostly good along the way.
Congrats thus far!
@cinoclav
I blame you because I actually finished a completed prediction bracket for your July contest.
And kinda enjoyed doing it. And no doubt screwed everything up.
And for some reason I kept tagging @mike 808 but I didn’t tag you. Your fault!
Clearly, you are the reason my life isn’t perfect.
And look what you did to @ruouttaurmind and his mom and her puppy!!!
And you are the reason I suffer from
/giphy no brains
@f00l Oh, I saw it alright. I’d be shocked to see those two in the final matchup but you never know. If you’re right, since you’re the first person to post it, there will definitely be a reward coming your way.
@cinoclav
More voters need to create and post finished bracket projections!
To post these, see @mike808’s topic here:
https://meh.com/forum/topics/post-your-brackets-cinoclavs-field-of-32
I did one.
And I have my nonsensical reasons.
And then I argued with myself and with fate about the result.
Excellent!
It’s all very patriotic. Almost as patriotic as golf cart races and lobster races.
All in the spirit of
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Which was written by some writer or other.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrated_Jumping_Frog_of_Calaveras_County
So ***hop on board***
, people, and do some completed brackets!
(I hear the water is at least two fathoms deep.)
/giphy hopping frog
@f00l
Thank you for another opportunity to bag on that hack S. Langhorne Clemens. Possibly the most overrated author of the 19th century, and certainly among those whose works have not fared well the test of time.
‘I might not know literature, but I know what I don’t like.’
@ruouttaurmind
The celebrated writing hack from Marion County?
@f00l
@cinoclav - I need someone to blame for today’s 6.4 earthquake in the southern California desert - lots of damage in the small towns in the area, but thankfully no injuries or fatalities reported.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/04/us/southern-california-earthquake/index.html
The news reports keep referring to having happened in the town of Ridgecrest, when in fact, if you look at the USGS and Google Alert maps, the epicenter was at a remote test site at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station about 10 miles to the east, he noted conspiratorially.
So until someone fesses up, I’ll need to blame you for the North Koreans being given an out-of-way place to conduct their nuclear tests …
@stolicat More like our shady government performing unannounced tests than the North Koreans.
@stolicat USGS lists a lot of seismic activity around the vicinity, starting with a 4.0. That was a precursor to the 6.4, which came about a half hour later.
@narfcake @stolicat
And more blame for tonight’s aftershocks. My friend out there — who I was visiting less than a month ago! — has been texting me real-time earthquake reports.
He’s like 70 miles away from these things. And everyone there is thoroughly rattled now. Hell, I’m rattled now.
@stolicat @TheFLP Tonight was the real one. Some boxes fell down where I was. And it put another crack in my already cracked wall.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@narfcake @TheFLP That was a 7.1, which ranks it as tied for the largest earthquake in SoCal in the last 20 years - I’m really concerned now because clusters of larger quakes (4.5+) are not the common pattern, and the USGS map shows 19(!) of them in that area within the last 3 days!
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused so much damage here in the SF Bay Area, was a 6.9. The 1994 Northridge earthquake near LA was a 6.7.
@narfcake @stolicat @TheFLP I guess the good news is that several 4.5+ quakes release a lot of stored energy that’s been building up. Maybe it’s enough to avoid bigger ones we’re “due” for.
@mike808 @stolicat @TheFLP Yeah. I much rather have a lot of small ones instead of “the big one”.
And for proof:
@mike808 @narfcake @stolicat @TheFLP Wrinkled concrete. Is that a decorating trend, the next ‘shabby chic’?
@OldCatLady That’s the walls and ceiling, actually.
@mike808 @narfcake @stolicat
The first time I visited my friend out in CA, he was living across the street from the San Andreas fault. (He waited until I arrived to tell me about that small detail.
)
I thought there was less potential for excitement when he moved, but now I’m learning about the Walker Lane where these new quakes are coming from.
@mike808 @narfcake @TheFLP These are the folks I could never figure out - this is where the San Andreas Fault enters the Pacific in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. That big cleft is the actual fault line.
@stolicat - Good grief. Voluntarily building there is the definition of stupidity and a good argument for excluding these folks from any federally backed homeowners insurance.
@Kidsandliz @stolicat You mean just like the idiots over on the East coast in Hurricane alley from Brownsville, TX to St. Pete to Miami to Nantucket? Especially the beach villas all along the Carolinas? Or Tornado Alley in the midwest Tulsa, KC, STL, etc? Or living in river floodplains and thinking the Army Corps of Engineers will “save” them?
California doesn’t have a monopoly on idiocy, to be sure.
And every one of those “get the gubmnet out of my pocket” tax cheating budget hawk neocons are the first ones to push to the front of the line for those “gubment” subsidies (aka welfare) and suck at the teats of the taxpayers to rebuild their vacation/beach/rental “home” (claimed as a primary residence for tax purposes only, and certainly not for voting).
Yeah, because climate change is just an opinion.
@mike808 how do you really feel about it?
@JnKL TBH, kinda well … meh.
A LEGO video tribute to one of my fav songs from pre-school day’s:
Johnny Horton’s Battle Of New Orleans
@cinoclav, obviously I blame you for this.
: )
@f00l I don’t think I’ve ever heard that. I did however enjoy it.
@cinoclav
That album was/is a kids’ treasure. Fun all the way, if I recall. And I’m still incredibly fond if it.
And you know how kids memorize stuff. I prob still know most of the lyrics.
@cinoclav @f00l This replaced “100 bottles of Barq’s on the wall” on the school bus trip out to Chalmette battlefield. In New Orleans, it is a middle school pilgrimage.
@cinoclav @mike808
TIL
That the then-current Commander of the Britsh forces in N America (who was appointed to his post in fall 1814), and who died at the Battle of New Orleans, was Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, GCB (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington (the successful commander of the British forces in the Peninsular War against Napoleon, and the victor at the Battle of Waterloo).
Pakenham fought well both against Napoleon and in the Battle of New Orleans. He was killed there by grapeshot after he took command over some British forces that another officer failed to command, and so would up in the thick of the battle.
The War of 1812 is a curious war. In some sense it was a stalemate between the US and the British.
In another sense it was a sort of victory for the US, for Britain, and for Canada. The clear losers were the Native American tribes that fought in alliance with the British.
To the British, this war was just one more theater in the massive and worldwide “Wars of French Revolution/Napoleonic Wars” which had been going on since 1992-1993.
The British did discover during this war that they could not successfully invade the US. The Americans could not successfully invade Canada at that time (the US Army and population were too small at the time and the Canadians were fierce).
The British realized that another war against the Americans would likely lead to the loss of Canada: the US population was growing quickly enough to make that likely if things came to another armed conflict.
So one of the treaty consequences of that war was the demilitarization is the US/Canafian border which continues today.
Another consequence was the British attitude that it was time to be permanently friendly with the US if possible. (The loss of American trade meant that the War of 1812 was very unpopular in Britain.)
Another consequence was that the US came to understand the need for a very serious and expanded navy.
@f00l That was very enjoyable for some strange reason
@f00l @mfladd
Indeed. And that same ‘Ole Hickory’, Andrew Jackson, as president, established 'Murica’s first concentration camps out west for them “Injuns” with forced marches on the Trail of Tears. He was really in New Orleans to defend the port of entry for the slave trade.
@mfladd @mike808
During the War of 1812, the British allied with a number of Native American nations against the US. The British were supposed to get these people (by treaty and with the British and Canada as allies) permanent independent sovereign territories that would limit US westward expansion, in exchange for the Native American alliances making war in the US.
By the time the British and US negotiated peace, Napoleon had supposedly been dealt with (had abdicated [for the first time], and was stuck on Elba).
Canada had repulsed US incursions. The US had repulsed various British incursions. The US had defeated Tecumseh and various pro-British Native American tribal confederacies.
The British by then no longer had any use for the various Native American tribal alliances. The Brits had already figured out by then that they would not be stopping US westward expansion.
And the US had stopped trying to annex Canada.
So the British, who were exhausted by various imperial expansions and by 20+ years of war in Europe, just no longer cared about allies who at that time weren’t potential international powers.
And no longer cared about allies who weren’t white, or allies weren’t a product of European culture, or allies who couldn’t offer political or military advantages to Britain’s existing and growing empire.
So the peace treaty gave the British, and Canadian provinces, and the US satisfactory terms. And the treaty treated Native American interests as being either non-existent or irrelevant.
Which left the US, and other N American peoples from European cultures, more or less free to do as they pleased regarding the usually-very-outgunned Native American peoples.
@mfladd
Well-researched and well-written history is more or less fucking awesome.
I’m more or less discovering this v late in life.
/giphy Better late than never
LEGOS! EGGOS! STRATEGO! AWESOME!
@f00l True, but I really like Lego music videos
edit: Blame! Now I am looking them up…
@mfladd
You just might like Johnny Horton.
Give his music a try!
@f00l @mfladd
And interestingly enough, there was a cadre or Napoleonistas in that same New Orleans that were so enamored that a prime home was prepared for him in the heart of the French Quarter to live in exile amongst other former Frenchmen. Today, it still stands, and is known as the Napoleon House.
The patio in the back is one of my favorite nooks to hang out in as an archetypical FQ patio.
https://napoleonhouse.com
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_House
@mfladd @mike808
Supposedly, Napoleon wanted to slip secretly aboard ship and head for the US and a hoped-for retirement as a free man after Waterloo.
He didn’t have an offer of that from the US government tho.
He didn’t move quickly enough to get clear. The French royalists and his other French enemies, and the European powers arrayed against him, were after him, half of Paris was after him, and his chance to get incognito onto a ship bound for the New World vanished.
The Austrians, Hanoverians, Prussians, Spanish, Russians, and the French royalists wanted Napoleon executed.
The British didn’t want him to possibly wind up as divisive/incendiary symbol and martyr; they argued for forcing him into permanent irrelevant obscurity on St Helena.
He didn’t want to be the object of a show trial and propaganda execution. So he opted for an abdication/surrender to the British Navy
(at the time, he didn’t know the terms the British would impose: he just knew the Brits didn’t want to put him on trial or before a firing squad.)
Napoleon may have hoped for another chance to be King of Elba or of another tiny state. But no European power would have agreed to that, after the events of “the 100 days” and Waterloo.
He’s one of those people (having done some good, and then so much evil on a scale that’s hard to comprehend) whose symbolic power and legendary status are so potent that it’s difficult to fully evaluate these persons in normal human terms. The myths just take over from judgment.
Several Waterloo battle-present sources report that some of Wellington’s cannon supposedly sighted Napoleon and his staff within cannon range early during the battle.
Wellington ordered those cannon batteries not to fire on Napoleon’s position at that moment; Wellington is said to have believed that deliberately killing Napoleon that way, and thereby making a battlefield martyr of him, world have simply created a prolonged European War.
Wellington supposedly believed that his coalition army (mostly Brit, Dutch, German on that day) needed to defeat and destroy the French Imperial Army, and to capture and exile Napoleon for good, as the only means by which peace would come to Europe after more than 20 years of almost constant war.
Blame: because my family bbq turned into a bit of a shit show. Why can’t we all just get along?
@tinamarie1974 because people. are. the. WORST.
@UncleVinny
/giphy so true
Unblame: was having a water balloon fight with my niece. At some point I bent over to grab a balloon and she got my butt. She immediately started laughing and announced to everyone that she “DID MY BUTT”
/giphy hilarious
@tinamarie1974
Dare we ask for pix?
@tinamarie1974 You can’t unblame me without proof!
@f00l my family KNOWS better than to take pics of me when I am soaking wet
@cinoclav there is no photographical evidence.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 but can you find a saucy “wet ass” giphy?
I haven’t decided if it’s a blame or unblame that I have gone through the entire day without ordering anything from Amazon.
@narfcake Definitely an unblame. Everyone needs to take a day off once in a while.
@narfcake
You’re tapering in prep for Prime Day.
/giphy tapering
@f00l Like a Woot-off, if I happen to run across a deal when I’m looking, fine. Nothing on my “need” list anyway.
Warehouse has me covered in the “stupid cheap” category anyway. I still haven’t figured out what I’ll be doing with that master cylinder I bought for 8 cents.
Blame: because I was stung in the top of my foot by some flying object (wasp, hornet, etc) yesterday and it really hurt.
Unblame: because I took a vacation day. I have no real plans today, so I slept in for once and am now binging Stranger Things
@tinamarie1974
Unblame: AMZN just made returns seductively easy. Tell them you want to return that eggbeater. No, you don’t need a printer. They email you a code, you take the unwrapped item into a Kohl’s store. They scan your code from your phone, take the eggbeater, and issue a refund document. By the time you get home, your AMZN account has been credited. It takes a little longer if you want the original payment method. Today I got a 25% stackable coupon, too.
@OldCatLady
Ok, Amazon takes another bite out of the universe.
But speaking as a consumer, that’s awesome.
POPSOCKETS! ROAD ROCKETS! SONNY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
@OldCatLady Seems appropriate that I’m the one who posted this originally.
https://meh.com/forum/topics/kohls-will-soon-accept-amazon-returns-at-all-its-stores
@cinoclav Yeah, but I stress tested it for everyone. You didn’t follow up. Blame!
I dunno what you did, @cinoclav, but you’re like a veritable blame/unblame magnet. Keep up the goat work.
@TheFLP Yin/Yang Goat
@cinoclav @narfcake I’m not sure if this is relevant to your interests, but I have a friend who works for Amazon and apparently there’s some talk (loose talk, to be sure) of creating a “Mega Prime” level for ultra-frequent prime customers. They’d get hella special bennies and golden spangled websites and a personal blowfish from Jeffy-B’s personal collection ‘n’ such. So…keep spending!
(Blame the Meh forums, that they sometimes won’t let me reply directly to a specific forum comment…)
@UncleVinny Are you trying to bankrupt @narfcake?
@cinoclav @UncleVinny Given the amount of stuff I buy from Warehouse versus regular Amazon, I’m probably not that great of a customer to their bottom line.
I suppose some of it is offset by my catshirtswoot purchases, though. Speaking of which …
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/i-miscatculated
I pulled out my circa 2005 Latitude D610 because apparently, it’s possible to install Windows 10 on it. It’ll run like a snail on that Pentium M, 4200 rpm PATA drive, and unsupported video, but for shits and giggles, why not, right?
The battery is actually charging!
What the hell, goat?!?
/unblame
@narfcake What’s the CPU socket? I have an old laptop that came with a P6000 in a BGA988 socket, and I replaced it with an i540M for a huge performance and graphics boost. The i540M cost me like $30 at the time, I think. Replaced the HDDs with SSDs (including a slim sleeve that turns the old slim DVD drive into a carrier for a permanent second SSD), and the wifi mini-pcmcia card with a modern 802.11ac card (Intel 7260). Works great nearly 10 years later for a $500 walmart special.
Popped there, socket’d that.
@mike808 479. Fastest supported would be a Pentium M 780. This is a 770 already, so it’s not getting upgraded.
Some of the C2D (Vista) era laptops will, though. When I can get a faster CPU and 4gb of DDR2 for under $10 and make it usable, it’s more worthwhile.
There are PATA to mSATA adapter cards that I may pursue later. For now, it’s really more to experiment with rather than to make it daily use.
@mike808 Abandoned the upgrade on the D610. The lack of proper video drivers will really really suck.
I will pursue an upgrade on an equally old D810 (that was a parts donor), though. The battery seems to be quite dead, but I’ll leave the adapter connected and see what happens.
13+ year old battery … charging. It’s at 22% now and counting.
How is it that these
oldancient Dells are still alive when none of the last three Compaq or HP laptops made it past three years?Just a heads up that your goat will be somewhat off the grid today. Headed to a festival in Philly and I’ll likely be a bit too distracted to spend much time here. If anyone local wants something fun and weird to do: https://m.facebook.com/events/611096922697785?ti=icl
@cinoclav
@cinoclav For a goat, you’re having an awful lot of fun. Enjoy!
This event was at Fort Mifflin in Philly, just behind the airport. Really an interesting place with some true history. Apparently it’s the oldest fort technically still in use by the military in the U.S. This second photo was inside one of the bunkers, looking out a small window. The wall I took it through is actually about 5’ thick and the outside opening you’re looking at is probably no more than 16" high and 4" wide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Mifflin
This may give you a better idea.
@cinoclav while you are not closterphobic
@tinamarie1974 Well, I wasn’t jammed inside that little window but several of the bunkers and rooms we went into are pretty tiny and rather tight. So no, I’m not claustrophobic. Probably more freaked out by not knowing what kind of strange creatures are in there that we couldn’t see.
@cinoclav oh I didn’t think of the wild animal angle! But you can run into crazy wildlife anywhere.
Case in point, my neighbor found a 5’ black snake on their driveway this weekend
Unblame: TBS seems to be doing a Jason Bateman movie marathon. I just love him! He comes off so good/sweet. Seems like a cuddly guy. Guess I will be watching a few movies today!
/giphy jason bateman
@tinamarie1974 Do you watch Ozark?
@cinoclav Anything with Jason Bateman. Ozark is amazing though, I love that he can pull a bad boy role!
/unblame
A couple of weeks ago I managed to upgrade my $99 Black Friday Asus X205TA I got from Staples in 2014 from Windows 8.1 (with Bing!) to a fresh, clean install of Windows 10.
This was no mean feat since my cat had knocked over my drink one time last year and killed the USB ports. It still booted up though, just no USB ports were to be found by the system. I first ordered the new (used-reclaimed) USB & power button board/part thingie from eBay $11.40 shipped.
And a set of breaking into laptops & phones tools from AMZN (it was around $9~$10)
I got the new part in but the computer was amazingly resistant to farking around with the OS. I guess because it all was solid-state and soldered onto the motherboard. I finally had to use a third-party disk partition program to redo the drive to prep it for a fresh OS install. (it helped when I figured out how to turn bit locker off)
But success! I now have a fresh laptop (netbook really) that has 2 gigs RAM (maximum–soldered onto the board) with a BLAZING Atom processor running Win 10! Now I have about $125 sunk into a computer that’s probably worth what? $30? $40? on a good day. Yay! oh wait, maybe that’s a blame…
But it is very portable, and will run for days on the battery–I figure it might be good for traveling since it’s so small and light.
@therealjrn Nice work! They’re selling for more than that on eBay, though; $50-70 is where most are ending up.
(I bought an Acer 1830T yesterday from a thrift store. $35, 2GB, 250GB HDD, i3-330um, and the previous owner’s personal information. Don’t worry, Ken, I already formatted the drive!)
/image Acer 1830t
@narfcake Nice! Good score! I don’t travel much, so maybe I’ll list it up on eBay…it certainly will be easy to ship.
@therealjrn OTOH, since it’s small, it might be worth keeping so when you need to type something out, it’s there.
Typing on a mobile device isn’t the same. And all my 2 bazillion Bluetooth keyboards from meh aren’t any more comfortable.
I haven’t decided if I’ll get another $17 Hyundai SSD for it or something a little faster for more. That cuts into my catshirts budget, though …
@thismyusername Sooo could have used them today. This is what it looked like in the middle of the second heavy storm. If you view the image at full size you can see just how bad it was.
@mfladd:
Here’s an alternative watercraft for your consideration.
(Maybe this one is more of an “orange” than a “lemon”.)
https://www.woot.com/offers/klymit-litewater-dinghy-packraft-1?ref=ref%3Dcnt_wp_0_4
Klymit LiteWater Dinghy Packraft
$121.99 at woot today
($161.23 at Amazon)
($169.95 (list))
28% off list price
(I like Klymit products. perhaps this is a decent item.)
@f00l Thanks for the consideration. But I will just need new oars and oar locks to row my boat around if this engine isn’t taken care of soon.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck grading fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. I mean I appreciate I had this class to teach but it is over enrolled and the students have too much work for the credit hours which means I have too much grading for the pay.
Unblame: I changed the O2 sensor again. I had used an NGK which all the forums says is fine, but others say the original Mopar OEM part (which could very well be NGK) is the only safe choice. I also noticed the previously melted clip was causing the female plug to protrude from the male by 1/8". So I trimmed a bit of plastic and got the plug flush. The result: No more high voltage code and no more FUCKING check engine light!!! Whether it was the melted plastic or the new plug - I don’t care!
I also changed the oil, filter and put in new spark plugs (properly gapped). So yes, I feel like this today…
Blame: The boat engine is turning into an expensive clusterfuck. I am taking it back in tomorrow to address the issue. If I am not back anytime soon it is because I am a pup on the run after committing murder.
@mfladd not sure if I should like that one or not! Yea on Blue Steele, but um…sorry
@mfladd It’s too early for the boat to give you this much grief. I have faith, you’ll sort it out.
@mfladd I’m really glad you were able to identify the issue with your O2 sensor! Great job!
No doubt you’re familiar with the old idiom “A boat is really just a hole in the water you throw your money into.” And of course “The two happiest days of a boat owner’s life: the day he buys it, and the day he sells it.” I def found this accurate with the 21’ Bayliner I owned about a decade ago. Never again!
@cinoclav
Blame and unblame all at once. Just bought a new piece of workout equipment. Love it and it was worth the purchase. That said, push ups and crunches…omg, I am in pain!!!
@tinamarie1974 Does it take AA or AAA batteries?
@cinoclav um, no it is completely manual. Anyway, that type of “workout equipment” uses USB chargers these days.
@tinamarie1974 That looks kind of painful.
@cf1 yyyeeaaaa if it was fun everyone would be doing it lol
@cf1 @tinamarie1974 And they wouldn’t call it a work out.
@mike808 @tinamarie1974 Then again, if it gives you results like that it might be worth it.
@cf1 THAT is the goal and it is worth it!
Ha! Found out that the phone had decided to move all my pictures to the cloud.
@cf1 Well the plastic clips holding the panel to the door certainly need to be replaced (cheap on amazon or ebay). But I am a little bewildered about what is going on with the wrappings?
@ruouttaurmind?
You might just need to find a used panel on ebay to save rime and money.
@cf1 Yikes. Have you considered just shipping it back to Germany and calling it a day?
@cf1 @mfladd A bit difficult to tell from this pic, but it almost looks like someone “wrapped” the stock door panel with upholstery at one point? If so, whatever adhesive they used wasn’t up to the task, or the original door panel wasn’t cleaned properly.
Door panel wraps are an extremely common way to “upgrade” a car interior. A plush carpet kit, panel wrap, new seat covers and it’s like a whole different vehicle.
@mfladd @ruouttaurmind @cinoclav There is some spray adhesive on there and some sticky rubber cement-like stuff, in addition to the original glue. It is too hot and humid around here to fool around with cheap glues.
I’m pretty sure the Germans would laugh themselves silly.
I haven’t been able to find a panel that is the correct size/color. Of course it is raining like crazy so I couldn’t get the door open this morning. That was awesome. I’m going to order replacement clips today and probably take the panel off this afternoon.
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!
@mediocrebot Everything is indeed awesome, little mediocrebot.
LEGOS! EGGOS! STRATEGO! AWESOME!
Keep it clean, goat.
@OldCatLady Way past any ability to keep it clean.
The Goat def isn’t complicit in this one, but I’m commiserating with my neighbor for sure. A house across the road had a serious fire earlier this afternoon. FD finally left and the disaster recovery companies have started arriving and doing their things. A truck/trailer delivering temporary safety fencing just backed up into the homeowner’s newish Prius causing serious damage. Looking like it’s possibly a total loss on the house, and now the rear of her new car is mashed. I’m betting that poor lady probably needs a giant hug about right now.
On a lighter note, she and her beagle were inside when the fire started, and both got out safely.
@ruouttaurmind Sheesh that is one collection of bad luck. Poor lady. And if they had no rear bumper the damage will be even worse (that happened to my car, only it was the hood, last Dec).
@ruouttaurmind I can’t even begin to post something humorous to try and lighten the mood on that one. Truly sorry for her but glad they’re safe.
@Kidsandliz It was the bare steel rails of the utility trailer which mashed into her car. Yes, it’s pretty bad. I imagine just when she was thinking things couldn’t get any worse… BAM! the fates intervene in the form of an incompetent driver. SMH.
@Kidsandliz @ruouttaurmind
@cinoclav It certainly gives me a new perspective of the relatively minor inconveniences I was whining about a couple days ago. I’m ashamed now.
@ruouttaurmind That poor lady needs a drink not a hug.
@ruouttaurmind @sammydog01 I think she needs both. If she gets drunk enough chances are she may want to hug everyone…or is that just me?
@ruouttaurmind I never want to see someone in a bad situation but I have to admit, when it happens it’s a gentle reminder that my problems aren’t so bad.
@ruouttaurmind That just sucks for her. Poor woman.
Hey. Maybe we can send her some “cheer” boxes via you? How bad was the damage to her house? Did she lose everything?
@Kidsandliz The fire was serious. Since the structure is B&M it probably isn’t a total loss, but I can’t speak for the belongings within, as I have no way of knowing what fire/water/smoke damage may have occurred.
As always, your compassion and concern for others is a valuable part of our community. In this particular case though, I don’t think there is much we can do. When the neighbors were gathering on the street to gawk at the conflagration, it became obvious this woman and her husband are a bit like me… none of the neighbors knew them. It appears the couple kept to themselves. Nobody knew their names or anything about them.
Now that the fire is out, the safety fences are up, and the residents have gone to stay wherever they will be staying, I wouldn’t have a clue how to make contact with them. If I did, I would be concerned about their sense of privacy. As I said, they are clearly private people who prefer to keep to themselves. I would feel a bit stalker-ish to track them down and fracture their privacy during what must be a very difficult time for them.
Although your intention is exceptional, in this case I don’t believe it would be appropriate.
@Kidsandliz @ruouttaurmind
Wow. She has my sympathy. Even tho it won’t do her much good.
@ruouttaurmind OK. If something should change on that front just let us know.
Just putting this out there. It’s your own damn fault if you don’t get an IRK today! I’m shIRKing all responsibility on this one you slackers!
@cinoclav nope, sorry. It IS your fault
/giphy laughing
@tinamarie1974 Eh, go ahead people. I got mine. (See, told you I’d be a dick eventually.)
@cinoclav bout damn time!!
Oh yeah, I got mine too!!
Good night bitches, I am off to bed.
@cinoclav
My fault???
I blame you for that.
@cinoclav Blame to you. Page after page of stupid street lights, cars, stairs, bikes, etc. etc. etc.
I want to credit @cinoclav for this next:
/giphy jagged roasted sock
(That sounds like it must be a sock from Meh!)
@f00l
/image jagged roasted sock
@f00l Gah!!! WHAT A HORRIBLE COLOR
@therealjrn
/youtube The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You live longhorn marching band
@f00l Trying to make sure all the bestest peoples get their IRKs!
Well. I have a dead goat badge, and I casually snagged an IRK at the very end of the mehrathon.
I believe I have arrived, people.
@TheFLP But I have a live one and I got an IRK on the first attempt. Hmm, wonder if I’m totally screwed come August 1st.
I’d like to blame the goat for our power going out from 8 - 9:30 pm (Pacific time) this evening, causing me to miss the grand finale of the Mehrathon. I had gotten an IRK earlier, but I would’ve really liked those stickers, I think.
AND most importantly, I missed the last four face clicks and my animation is incomplete and stunted!
@stolicat Did I steal your cellphone again? Sorry!
@cinoclav there is no cell service here, what we have is a “mini-cell” unit, which looks like a cell tower to the phone but is actually a VoIP box. So power goes down, internet receiver and router go down, no internet, no cell service unless I drive 5 miles down the hill.
And now that I think about it … Hey, where’s my phone?
@stolicat I would’ve driven the 5 miles and sat there for several hours. Ugh, I’d hate to live in an area without a direct cell signal. I don’t even like driving up the street a few miles away that has a horrible dead spot.
Btw, your phone? Delicious.
@cinoclav Normally I would’ve driven down the hill, but other things were afoot at the house that made leaving impractical.
But, glad you enjoyed the apple. You will soon fall into a deep, endless sleep …
@cinoclav
@stolicat
@cinoclav
Speaking of power failures, I might as well blame the Goat for last week’s outage. Every time the power goes out, the programmable electronic lock to our office loses its programmables. And proceeds to lock and unlock itself at random times of day.
@TheFLP That has nothing to do with the power.
@cinoclav
Ghost ≠ goat. You’re not gonna wriggle out of this one.
@TheFLP
@cinoclav
That … is the most disturbing goat I’ve seen in recent memory. Possibly ever.
@TheFLP That’s Ghoast to you.
@cinoclav
You’re aghast?
@cinoclav @TheFLP No he’s aghost.
Blame: It was so humid on my walk tonight I could barely breathe.
Unblame: I saw two does, a buck and an adorable little fawn. Although it did not help with the heat/humidity it made the walk enjoyable.
@tinamarie1974 Aww, I love deer. Also:
@cinoclav Me too. They’re delicious.
@cinoclav @mike808
Blame: I got no IRK
Unblame:
Flying goats [enter link description here][1]
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/10/us/mountain-goats-helicopter-olympic-national-park-trnd/index.html
@llangley
@llangley Ooh, I’ve always wanted a helicopter ride. Though I kind of planned to be in it, not under it.
Blame because I find the interest on my savings account mildly satisfying by current standards. When I do the math, it works out to 0.08%.
@TheFLP That’s a whole different goat to blame.
@cinoclav @TheFLP I’m no fan of CtiBank. Actually, I hate ALL the “too-big-fail” banksters out there.
But, since I do have to do some of my business with them I got an email stating that they are offering a new savings account paying 2.36% interest.
Read about it here: https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/citi-launches-new-high-yield-savings-account/
@cinoclav @TheFLP @therealjrn Not available in Maryland.
@cinoclav @mfladd @TheFLP It’s region-dependent. oops, I should of warned ppl.
SPOILER ALERT
@cinoclav @TheFLP @therealjrn 41 states is still pretty good.
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn
Not available here either. Which might be a good thing, I don’t know…
Thankfully my IRAs are doing a lot better than my savings.
@cinoclav @mfladd @TheFLP @therealjrn
Discover bank has a similar 2.36% APR deal for 15K+ deposits
TBH, you can do the same or better with Vanguard MM funds.
@cinoclav @mfladd @mike808 @TheFLP Yep. Thanks to the current administration, the markets are doing very well. Of course you won’t hear about it from the main stream media.
As a matter of fact, not that I’m into market timing but I met with my financial advisor to pull some back yesterday because my accounts are doing so well. I was dialed in fairly aggressively though, now I’m exposed to less risk.
@mfladd @mike808 @TheFLP @therealjrn I’m not going to get into a political conversation here. We all know several of us differ in our opinions and I like all of you and certainly don’t want that to change. However, I am going to leave this here and it’s all I have to say about the differences between now and then. Numbers are numbers.
https://fortune.com/2019/06/03/stock-market-trump-obama-sp-500/
@cinoclav @mfladd @mike808 @TheFLP Yep, all I know is how well my wallet is looking.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Blame: I never read my Morningsave emails and I see that I missed a $20 off any $20+ order at the end of June! WTF!
@mfladd TWENTYOFF
@therealjrn Mine said MY20, but is expired. Is yours still good?
I want that stupid strainer.
@mfladd That’s the last one I remember. Probably is expired. I don’t remember the MY20 one.
@mfladd I don’t recall seeing that either.
No, really, looks perfectly safe to me.
@ruouttaurmind Time for some new rubber. How old are those tires?
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind You just need to drive faster so it will roll by the cracked part more quickly.
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind Go with ribbed again for the new rubber.
@cinoclav Those are the tires on moms pickup. I’m driving it from TN to Phx. All four are like that.
“Hey Mom, is the pickup road ready?” Sure she says. Ready to travel she says.
Those tires are only about 3 years old and have brilliant tread. But she hasn’t really driven the truck much since dad passed about 2 years ago.
@ruouttaurmind Did you truly expect anything less? I mean, I’ve been trying to prepare you for some time now. You didn’t get the hints?
@ruouttaurmind
Wow! those tires have such pretty patterns!
Surely your not replacing them with plain dull new tires?
Congrats on being (sorta) in the homestretch of the first part of this project. (The “your mom and her stuff come to AZ” part.)
Here’s some songs for you too keep the spirits up:
/youtube Amarillo
/youtube Oklahoma
/youtube Old Man River
/youtube good morning America how are you
Bubble gum and duct tape repair?
@cinoclav @therealjrn Oklahoma is O.K!*
*If you hate mountains. And don’t care for trees all that much. And love gusty winds. And are fond of prairie grass.
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Make a detour to Turner Falls.
/image Turner Falls ok
surrounded by “folded rock layers”. It’s totally fascinating and gorgeous
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
In the Arbuckle area there are plenty of vistas like this one. Or even weirder and more interesting
@ruouttaurmind and in some parts (I used to live there) buffalo in the middle of the road.
@cinoclav @f00l @therealjrn Don’t get me wrong… I’m in no way suggesting Oklahoma has cornered the market on “nothing”. After all, the Texas panhandle has it’s own special blend of nothing as well!
I cracked up when I reviewed the photos this evening. Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug?
Maybe we should have a captioning contest!
It kinda reminds me of the opening scene in MiB.
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
And Texas Nothing is the best Nothing that ever was!
/giphy living up to the stereotype
@therealjrn
I took a calculated risk. After $2k last week in tires for the RV, I just wasn’t emotionally prepared for another $800 this week for new rubbers on the pickup. So I checked the air pressure, made sure I had a good spare and tire changing tools (jack, lug wrench), and hoped for the best. It worked. I made it home without incident. Now I have the luxury of time to find the best tires at the best price, and no hurry since she seldom drives, and that truck is too big for her anyway.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Yay!! Glad you made it. Side note - I’ve surprisingly found some great deals on tires on Amazon. Had them shipped to a local Sears Auto Center where they only charged $14 each for install.
@cinoclav
Well, I had hoped. But you are correct, I expected a disaster. Fortunately I was able to get home without spending a wad of dosh. Oil, coolant and brake fluid were all topped off, tire pressure corrected, and on the road I went.
You did good, Goat!
@cinoclav I have a preference for… Walmart. (dramatic pause as the gasps and screams taper off).
Here’s my theory: I’m a sucker for the road hazard warranty which some retailers offer with tires. For years I purchased tires at Discount Tire Company. But when on a road trip to the north eastern US and experiencing a tire failure in an area Discount Tire doesn’t service, I realized my folly.
Walmart has stores EVERYWHERE. I’m pretty sure they are going to be the first retailer to open a location on Mars once Elon returns to his home there. They also offer said tire hazard warranty. If I’m anywhere in the continental US, I’m going to be near a Walmart with a tire center and can get my tires repaired or replaced for free, and in a relatively short time. Heck, I could even get an oil change while I wait for the tire.
Finally… it’s Walmart. They offer competitive pricing on almost everything, tries included.
@f00l
Thank you! Once I arrived home Thursday night, everything she owns is here. My house, my garage, my storage shed in the back yard, even the seats and trunks of my spare vehicles is packed with her stuff, and Tennessee is now just a footnote in her life. We begin shopping for her next home on Saturday (I need a day to catch up after my last trip).
@ruouttaurmind Perfectly understandable and reasonable argument for Walmart. I’ve also priced tires there, just never found a deal on the particular tires I’ve been interested in. I wouldn’t hesitate to shop there either. I’m glad you’re both ‘home’ and safe.
Blame! Loki just ate my Shark vacuum cord! I wasn’t out of the room for more than 10 minutes!
@mfladd I assume it wasn’t plugged in? I hope?
@mfladd @sammydog01 that was my first thought. Hope the puppy was ok?
@sammydog01 @tinamarie1974 Yes, he is ok. It was not plugged in. But he better get his act in order. Thankfully, he loses some testosterone next week.
@mfladd @sammydog01 aaawwww poor baby. He is not going to be happy
/giphy sad puppy
Yesterday while visiting at the nursing home, Lady’s right rear foot was run over by a wheelchair. She limped around a little, but is okay today.
But now I’ve got this going through my brain:
♪Lady got run over by a wheelchair.♪
@Barney @mfladd Sorry about the doggy issues. I would never cause them any harm!
Blame: I made a purchase on Amazon Tuesday and opted to pay the additional $5.99 for next day shipping.
I JUST received my shipping notification stating that my package will arrive tomorrow.
I had no idea Wednesday and Thursday was removed from the calendar
@tinamarie1974 Call them and tell them that you only paid the expedited shipping based on the anticipated arrival date that they did not meet it. They will refund shipping and maybe offer you something else too.
@mfladd I did, after I posted here!
They won’t process anything until tomorrow though, as they want to ensure the item arrives in good condition and no further adjustments will be necessary. Sooooo I have to call them back tomorrow. 
@mfladd @tinamarie1974 Seems to be a more common problem with A->Z these days. Do we know anyone here that’s had breakfast with Jeff Bezos?
@mfladd @tinamarie1974
That’s awesome.
You can actually call them? Like on a telephone, and vocally converse with a representative?
I had no idea you could do that
MEALS! DEALS! EELS! AWESOME!
@eonfifty @mfladd YOU CAN! Well actually you select the item you are calling about, select the speak to CS option and it calls the number you have on file connecting you to their employee. The whole process took about a minute.
@eonfifty Yes you can actually call them. Time one they delivered someone’s textbooks to my apt.(smaller college town). I called them and asked them to call the person who ordered them to come pick them up where she used to live. The book owner showed up about an hour later. Time two they, 2 times in a row, sent a 1998 edition of a 2012 book I needed to buy (textbook for the class I was teaching, had to buy myself as it was out of print so no free copy). They even refunded my account BEFORE they received the books back.
@mfladd @cinoclav Update to unblame. After arguing with CS to make them understand and admit that Tuesday - Friday does not equal next day, they provided me a $10.00 credit on my next purchase!!
/giphy yippie
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 WooHoo! Way to take it to 'em!
@cinoclav @mfladd haha. Thanks! I mean I started out nice, until he tried to tell me Friday was next day
@mfladd @tinamarie1974 I swear half the time they think if it actually arrives one day after it ships, it’s perfectly fine, even if it doesn’t ship for 3 fucking weeks. “But it says 1 day!”
@cinoclav @mfladd EXACTLY. I think the guy was shocked though because I went from my sweet, calm “little girl” voice to my “I am gonna fuck you up” voice. I actually heard him gasp lol. Woopsie
@tinamarie1974 The boots went on and the whip came out…
@cinoclav
We have tickets for a Dru Hill and Sisqo concert tonight and there’s a weather delay. Boo. I’ll have to settle for Youtube.
@sammydog01 Uh yeah, I did that on purpose. Take a hint, will ya!
@cinoclav They finally let us in. Dumps like a truck, truck, truck…
Blame! I want someone to step forward right now! I did not buy this blender and my county on the eastern shore is lit up. I have only seen this once before for a t-shirt.
This might not seem like a big deal, but in my entire time here I have been the 1 and only person lighting up the eastern shore! Come out of the shadows and show yourself!
@mfladd
@cinoclav @mfladd
@cinoclav Well that doesn’t help. You know how many people on the shore look like that?
@mfladd Literally lol’d
Just a warning … if my IRK isn’t instantly regretted, I’m gonna be very disappointed. This is probably the last IRK I’ll ever see.
@TheFLP Planning on losing your eyesight?
@TheFLP yeah, why is it the last one? Are you moving out of the country?
@cinoclav @moonhat
No, no, no…
It’ll be the last one because I’m sure it was a goddamn fluke.
I half expected to get an order cancellation email, but it’s been shipped so I guess it’s really happening.
@moonhat @TheFLP Shipping and arriving are not the same thing. I’ll do my best.
@cinoclav @moonhat
Damn well better. You can’t properly regret something that never arrives.
Thanks. You needed that.
@cinoclav
@f00l Mmmm…tacos. I know what I want for dinner.
@f00l omg, creepy
Unblame: Because THIS
Oh how I love my evil queens!!
@tinamarie1974 Looks sooo good. The first one was excellent. Nice to see Michelle Pfeiffer just keeps on working.
Blame or Unblame? I just got the George Takei Bag o’ Crap ii. Hmmmm…
@mfladd
What is a “George Takai Bag Of Crap”?
This sounds kinda cool.
@f00l Nothing special we are told by TT on wOOt. They are the ones he released after posting riddles on the forums. I wish it could be more “cool”.
I’m going to go with blame–I just scored an authentic George Takei Bag of Crap 50000.
@therealjrn He wasn’t there very long and they had a very limited number of Bags. Forum was sooo glitchy!
@mfladd Forum was definitely stress-tested today.
It did not pass the test.
@mfladd NoSir, NoSir it did not.
@mfladd @therealjrn post what you get when it comes please
@Kidsandliz @mfladd I’ll be posting over on Woot, but ThunderThighs said they wouldn’t be anything different from regular BOC’s…
https://forums.woot.com/t/george-takei-was-here/446783/164
@mfladd @therealjrn Well that’s a pity that they won’t be any different. I would have thought they’d be something special, or at least have something special in them.
@Kidsandliz @mfladd As always…
@Kidsandliz @mfladd @therealjrn
You forgot to factor in “entitlement” and “real or perceived desperate need”
@mfladd I left that as an exercise for the student, @f00l
@mfladd @therealjrn
Me? A student? And with no student loans?! How wonderful!
Altho there are admirable universities elsewhere (and I hope to have time for these places someday),
I perceive that I’m currently enrolled at The University Of Texas At Austin..
Cool!
Ooh ooh ooh!
And this school just happens to be in Austin. Just kinda happens to be there. In Austin.
Nice!
/image University of Texas tower 2
@Kidsandliz @mfladd @therealjrn
Here ya go, Teach.
Btw, I took hallucinogens to help me get thru it. And then the dog ate it before I could turn it in. This is what’s left.
Disappointment =
[[Expectation x “real or perceived extreme need”]^entitlement]
/
[reality x “deeply hopeless outlook”]
@f00l @mfladd @therealjrn but you still expect at least a B. Right?
@Kidsandliz @mfladd @therealjrn
I’m a straight-A kinda nutcase/swot mostly.
And B’s are so boring.
So go ahead and give me that D or F. Gimme a t-shirt. I’ll wear that in honor of a proud “novelty moment”.
/giphy novelty moment
Blame?
I had to unexpectedly get blood tested yesterday, and I drank milk in the middle of the night. My fasting felt like an eternity.
Unblame?
There’s an all you can eat Japanese buffet next door.
Unblame:Got to spend part of my evening dressing my niece up as a princess before she headed off to a play. Added cuteness, apparently she was devastated because she couldn’t get on stage to marry the prince. Aaawwww
/giphy Cinderella
BLAME - so on TV they are saying, and I quote, “the show is staring tonight”. Depending which model used, 6-10" of rain due here overnight through some of tomorrow. I like the European model better. Past history is that they are a better prediction tool too. Wondering why we don’t use it. Parking my car in the hospital parking garage half way up to the second floor since the higher you go the worse the wind (if a tornado comes with this as they are saying might be a risk). So trade off between potential kite car vs potential boat car.
@Kidsandliz Probably because we’re not in Europe would be my guess.
UNBLAME - eye of the storm has shifted a bit west. Hey @f00l does this mean it is going to dump a ton of rain on you? We will still have a fair bit of crap being on the eastern side of this mess, but maybe a bit less than what has been talked about earlier this evening.
@Kidsandliz
Houston might get some rain, if the storm moves West.
Other than that: once they move inland the path tends to roll back to the NE direction from the landing point.
Unpredictable tho. And spin-off storms are impossible to predict until they break away.
So … Maybe.
As long as no flash flooding, no hail, no extreme winds, no tornados; a little more summer rain would be kinda nice.
Blame: I was outside in the ridiculous heat cutting the grass. Just finished the front yard (after 40 min) and opened the gate to cut the back. When I cranked the key to turn it back on it started for about 10 seconds, then made a sputtering noise and stopped. Apparently I had run out of gas!
A quick check in the garage proved that my reserves were depleted. I decided to call it a night, as by the time I made it to the gas station and back the sun would have set.
That meant, however, that I had to PUSH the lawn tractor around to the front and into the garage.
Unblame: got a really good upper body/core workout this evening. Lol
@tinamarie1974 here use this instead
Gas problem solved and you can still get an unblame workout (snicker)
@Kidsandliz haha, but considering it took 40 minutes to cut the front with a tractor, that contraption would extend the task by hours!
@tinamarie1974 You realize if you had more goats you wouldn’t have to mow the lawn in the first place, right?
@cinoclav Well that or I keep begging for someone to be my lawn boy! No bites so far
@tinamarie1974 Are there fringe benefits?
@cinoclav well, I can’t afford to pay much soooooo
@tinamarie1974 You want me to start in the front or the rear?
@cinoclav
well, since you will be doing the heavy lifting
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 @kidsandliz
I’d call that a recipe for potential sweat equity.
TL;DR? This is absolutely NOT the thread for you. Move along now…
I dunno, Goat. I know you’ve got your own challenges, so no blame for this nonsense. But I wanna vent a little (actually quite a bit) in a blame-free rant. I’m just about fed up with all the crap that keeps happening with the RV due to years of neglect and hillbilly maintenance and half assed repairs.
I already whined about the issues when I drove mom from TN to Phx in her RV. I parked her RV in my back yard where I previously installed a 30A outlet to provide electrical service. She’s staying in the RV until we can find her a nice house in a safe neighborhood.
Right off the bat, the water pump won’t prime so no running water. No worries, I connected a hose from the house to the “city supply” bypass. No soap. The city supply water circuit is cracked and leaking too badly to use. So for a week I’ve been lugging gallons of water so she can flush the toilet, wash, and make her tea and juice. She comes into the house to shower. I figured I’d repair the system this weekend after I returned from my last load from TN. HA! No such luck.
The first day I was in TN (Wednesday) I got a call from her. Circuit breaker on RV keeps tripping and one air conditioner unit not cooling properly. She was fussing about with the electric supply cable and unplugged it out while it was live, melting the plug, outlet, and blowing a hole in the 0 gauge supply cable, killing all power in the RV. I was in TN and felt horrible because I was powerless to repair it and it was 115* in Phx. Finally I told her to call a mobile RV service company. Over $500 (!?!?) later, the damage was repaired.
An hour later, another call, front air conditioner still not working right, breaker still tripping, 115* outside and running just one AC unit barely managed to maintain 100* inside the RV. I finally convinced her to go into the house. I changed my plans, driving straight through back to Phx, desperate to get home and find/fix the problem.
Finally home by 7PM Thursday night, I started working on the electrical issue. Located and bypassed a failed thermal overload relay on the non-functional AC unit. Seemed to be a suitable temporary solution, so I ordered a new relay from Amz for overnight delivery.
But Friday morning as the outside temperature started climbing, the front AC began tripping breaker again. Clearly the unit has another issue (probably a failing AC compressor). What to do?
I ran over to Home Depot and bought a portable AC unit and got it installed in the RV around 4PM Friday. Perfect! It quickly cooled off the RV to 80*.
Until… Saturday morning when temperatures were quickly climbing over 100*, the main RV power circuit on the house kept tripping. FRACK! And the hotter the temperature, the more frequently the breaker would trip.
Ok. What now? I decided to run an extension cord from my backyard outlet and use that to power just the new portable AC unit and let the 30A circuit power the one functional RV AC unit. Splitting the supply into two separate circuits should work.
Mom said she had a really heavy duty extension cord stowed in one of the bays under the RV. After digging through every bay, and unloading nearly every item, I finally found said “heavy duty” extension cord. Spliced twice, patched with duct tape, ends nearly falling off… Aaaaaahhh!
I can overcome. Spent around an hour rebuilding the hillbilly extension cord, plugged it all up and was overjoyed to see the new portable AC working perfectly. For 30 minutes until the house GFI breaker for the outside outlets tripped and wouldn’t reset. Failed breaker!
Ok, so I opened a window and ran the extension cord to an indoor outlet. Yes, as expected, 30 minutes later… tripped breaker.
I decided that hillbilly extension cord was way too long and wire gauge was way too small (3/16ga). Off to Home Depot for a shorter 3/12ga cord. And wouldn’t ya just know it… 6 frickin’ feet too short! Son of a biscuit! And through all this, outdoor temperature was 110*.
I dug around in my garage and turned up a 7 foot heavy duty 3/12 cord I use for my small welder. Connecting two extension cords together creates a less efficient power circuit, so I REALLY wanted to have only a single extension cord, but short of custom building one of precisely the correct length, what else could I do? I plugged it all up, reset the breaker and hoped for the best.
That was about an hour ago, and it hasn’t tripped the breaker so far. I’m cautiously optimistic that this last desperate act will at least get us through this heatwave.
So now my to do list includes replacing the failed GFI breaker (no power to bathrooms and one wall in my bedroom), repairing the water system, and most likely replacing one AC unit on the RV. THEN shopping for her house.
By now I have over $500 invested in this circus, and I’m sort of feeling like I’ve been chasing my tail for 3 days! I’m over it! I’m REALLY hoping that last “fix” was for real. It’s way too hot and way too expensive to keep this nonsense up any longer.
Anyway, thanks for reading my whiny diatribe. No Goat blames have been assigned in this thread. All blames are squarely the fault of the backwoods mechanics and handymen mom has been trusting to do repairs and maintenance on her vehicles.
@ruouttaurmind you are a saint!
@ruouttaurmind
Ugh…I was becoming frustrated just reading it.
@ruouttaurmind This is better than reading the Sunday comics.
@tinamarie1974 Thank you, but I’m afraid I have to reject sainthood. A real saint wouldn’t have been using the words which were inexplicably launching from my face over the last few days.
@mfladd, I know you’ve experienced similar frustrations with your auto repairs. Sometimes it really sucks when NOTHING you try works out! Ya keep throwing hours and dollars at the challenge, but nothing sticks.
This heatwave makes it all especially frustrating because it presents a level of extreme urgency, plus everything takes twice as much energy in the higher temperatures. Ugh.
@Barney, I strive to entertain you!
@ruouttaurmind I may not get the blame, but wow… I wish I was able to help you. I’m not the religious type but if there’s a heaven they had better have a really nice wing set aside for you with some Nimbus 2000 level wings. I’m wondering at what point a hotel room would be cheaper! I hope your mother truly appreciates you. Just think, one day (hopefully a long time away) when she’s no longer with us, that RV could be yours!
I just popped out to the RV to check on Mom. It’s down to 82* and falling. I’m thinking it’s going to be 78ish within the hour, and maybe 73* by morning. As long as no more circuits trip, that’s a good start to maintain sub-85* tomorrow.
@ruouttaurmind I hate to say it but likely this is not the end of problems cropping up. Leaking if it ever rains there is high on the list (yeah I know you live in the desert…). Leaking windows require butyl tape (trust me on this - while silicone sealant will stop the issue, eventually you need to do the tape and the remove the silicone… and, well, dynamite looks tempting. Don’t ask me how I happen to know this).
You didn’t say (or if you did I don’t remember) what this is constructed of but if it isn’t one or two piece (boat style) fiberglass or aluminum you better think about coating the roof and sealing any roof attachment openings (like if the AC is up there or vents).
Also with the state of those tires and the heat, might be wise to move it slightly periodically so that it doesn’t sit on the same part of the tires forever. And keep checking the air in them.
Good luck! This little epic may sour you on RV’s forever. But once I got my junky 18’ nissan sunrader Class C up and running, water tight, and everything working (don’t own it anymore, had to sell it), there is definitely something to be said for traveling with your little house with you. And I fit in a regular parking spot. They can be nice.
@Barney @mfladd @ruouttaurmind I believe speaking “french” is allowed given the level of frustration and heat you are dealing with these days
/giphy saint
@cinoclav I really appreciate that.
RE: hotel room, she has a very large Great Dane puppy which I’m positive wouldn’t be welcome in a hotel. I’ve offered to have her stay in the house with me, but she’s more committed to smoking than comfort I guess. She hangs out in here for much of the day, but insists on migrating to the RV about 8PM each evening.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That RV will be sold as soon as I can get her moved into a house! I already discussed it with her and she concurs.
@ruouttaurmind I am pretty sure “those” kinds of words won’t matter at the pearly gate. Besides I have it on good authority that you can use these words. When I was just 4 we moved. In Sunday school, the first time I was there, the teacher says to me, “Surely you know the answer, your daddy’s the new minister”, to which I answered, “The hell I do”. She asked me where I learned that word. Me: “My daddy uses it at home all the time”. (My parents were mortified). So I have on good authority that it is ok to use swear words. Swear away.
@Kidsandliz @ruouttaurmind The state of those tires is new. Remember? $1800 later…
@Kidsandliz On one of my earlier trips to TN I resealed the entire roof with EPDM and butyl sealing tape. Vents and skylight were replaced prior to sealing as well. All through-the-roof accessories were sealed with the butyl tape prior to EPDM application. I’m very confident with the sealing work. It rained frequently during the months after I finished resealing and mom found no leaks or signs of leakage.
@cinoclav is correct. About 8 days ago we were stranded in Jackson, TN and had to replace 5 of the 6 tires. When I arrived in TN a couple days ago to collect her pickup I found a similar issue with the tires on it (posted pic a few threads above).
@cinoclav Nope didn’t remember. I knew he drove home on the old ones. Didn’t know new ones were already bought. Still needs to move it occasionally though or the end result will be flat spots.
@ruouttaurmind Sounds like you did it right then so at least one less thing to do in the fry you like an egg temperatures you have there. How often are you going to have to remove the black and gray water? Do you have a way to pump it out at home or are you going to have to drive somewhere to do it?
Good luck with all this. I hope you find her a nice house quickly. If you sell it too late in the summer you will get far less and so it may be worth hanging on to it over the winter and sell it in the spring, or right before a hunting season opens that is popular (April/May though will get you a higher price).
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind
I posted all this (see below) earlier today up above in the topix:
f00l said 6 hours ago
Seems that I missed mentioning about 18 billion phases in the project that involve emergency repairs and extensive swearing.
And working outdoors to fix things during the AZ summer.
/giphy oh my
You are being wonderful. And you are being remarkably self-controlled, re rage and frustrating and more swearing and various murderous impulses.
I look forward to the day when you tell us she’s moved into get own place, and that the infinitely messed-up RV is sold.
/giphy swearing
@f00l @ruouttaurmind I look forward to the day we hear that some sucker who bought the RV came back complaining that it’s a damn money pit but at least it doesn’t leak.
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind I will miss my comics.
@cinoclav
@f00l, I think I planned this whole project very poorly. Placed too much confidence that mom knew of what she spoke when assuring that the RV and pickup were ready. I really needed to make another trip or two dedicated to those action items. I dropped the ball on that. I was too focused on TCB on my end in the last few weeks, I neglected to realize the limitations she has in accomplishing such tasks due to the rural locale and limited expertise available.
Here’s hoping your 18 billion number is exaggerated by 17 billion-ish at least.
This is all getting very expensive and consuming a disproportionate quantity of my time!
VAN GOGH! MANGO! TANGO! AWESOME!
@Kidsandliz The RV market here is dissimilar to areas with four distinct seasons. Our winters are more like spring from September to May.
@cinoclav @ruouttaurmind
You are dealing with your mom here.
I assume she’s a great person. But this is an enormous transition for her.
And she’s also your mom.
So … Happy summer and fall!
/giphy “but mom!”
(I know it will all work out
)
Nearly 24 hours without an electrical issue. Circuit breaker hasn’t tripped since I set up the 12 gauge, shorter extension cord. The one functional RV roof AC unit and the new portable AC unit have been working as I intended. Go team!
Popped out to Lowe’s earlier to pick up a new GFCI circuit breaker (to replace the one which failed yesterday). All I can say is… FIFTY FIVE FREAKIN DOLLARS? They cannot be serious? And why would a 20 ampere GFCI be less costly than a more common 15 ampere breaker?
Is it possible? Are things finally turning around? It’s been over 24 hours and no additional electrical or air conditioning issues with that forsaken RV. Better still, I installed the (extremely overpriced) new GFCI circuit breaker this evening. Smooth as butter. Less than 5 minutes from start to finish, correctly on the first try, and it works as designed. Bathroom lights and outlets are back online.
Is this the light at the end of a very long, very frustrating tunnel?
/giphy yes, yes it is
@ruouttaurmind Any positive news from you makes me happy.
@ruouttaurmind This?
@Kidsandliz The story of my life expressed in one simple sentence.
PS: still no further issues with the electrical stuff!
Blame. Catshirtswoot is selling a political shirt.
Extra blame. Because I feel like it.
Extra extra blame: The day isn’t over yet.
@narfcake Banned anyone yet?
@narfcake @sammydog01
Link us to some the crazy comments and discussions.
@f00l @narfcake
https://forums.woot.com/t/whatll-you-have-mr-president/453927/145
I see that wajeremy is handling the ban hammer today. Unblame?
@narfcake @sammydog01
Can’t do your internet surfing for you @f00l --the sale is gone.
@f00l @narfcake @sammydog01 OH! and that’s a HUGE /unblame
@f00l @sammydog01 No ban hammer powers any more. They were afraid I was going to abuse it on anyone who complains about catshirts.
The design is still available here:
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/whatll-you-have-mr-president
@therealjrn Look at what’s selling at home.woot!
@f00l @narfcake @sammydog01 What? The My Pillow? Why I was just having breakfast the other day at Chic-fill-A before shopping at Hobby Lobby when I remarked on how nice those pillows are!
Now that you have nothing to do @narfcake, check your meh whispers for a message I wrote earlier please. : )
@therealjrn Nice try. It’s Sunday. Chick-fil-a is closed.
@narfcake @sammydog01 @therealjrn
And yet I have to go on living.
Damn.
@narfcake @therealjrn So was Hobby Lobby!
@cinoclav
Thanks, Goat. This is pretty amazing for July.
@f00l You can have it. I’m sick of the damn heat.
@cinoclav
Each day looks to be about 5-15F cooler than or world be during a “hot summer year”.
This is a coolish summer by local norms. So I’m happy about it.
I’ve been awol most of the day. Offered a free ticket to the Phillies game, which was also the Ryan Howard retirement celebration. Wasn’t going to turn that down! And total unblame for me, they won on the walkoff homer!
@cinoclav Yeah buddy! That’s the way to win the game! I love those walkoff homers!
Super Unblame: My sister got a new “pet” yesterday and I got to cuddle with it and feed it with a bottle. What is it you ask? A TWO week old Pot Bellied Pig. Oh so cute!!
Blame: she did get hungry while I was holding her and she tried to chomp my boob! And for the few of you (you know who you are
) who will ask. No I was not topless, yes she has teeth and no it was not the type of action I want 
@tinamarie1974 How u doin…
@mfladd oh my, that is quite a tongue you have
@tinamarie1974 Super cute!
@cinoclav omg she was off the chart cute!!!
@tinamarie1974 fucking shit @mfladd. Blame. Nightmares.
I love 2:58, looks like it’s having a seizure.
@mfladd @RiotDemon what??? And that is just creepy!
I chose to think of a much more handsome face with a very capable Gene Simpson-esque tongue. I ignored the pig face
@mfladd @tinamarie1974 how could you ignore that???
@mfladd @RiotDemon @tinamarie1974
she just looks up at the ceiling?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@mfladd @RiotDemon @therealjrn or close my eyes and picture something more appealing
@mfladd @RiotDemon @tinamarie1974 Just close your eyes and think of England?
@mfladd @RiotDemon @therealjrn or maybe this
/giphy hot fireman
@oldcatlady ^^^
Unblame for @Barney.
It’s an artichoke.
@mike808 I love purple.
Blame! Prime Day already got me for everything!
@mfladd hahahahaha. You are weak
@mfladd I (didn’t) pick a hell of a month to be
.
Unblame: New Blink technology at 40% off. WOOP! WOOP!!
Damn you @cinoclav for the brain fart that made me forget to throw sunscreen on before cycling yesterday. 25 miles in the sun yesterday= Painful to put on work clothes today. You bastid.
@KittySprinkles Just admit it, you like a little pain.
@cinoclav That’s the part they never tell you about in BDSM school, how to go about regular business the day after a good lashing.
Not the Goat’s fault. I have nobody else to blame except myself for getting into this situation. I really love my mother, but sometimes she can challenge my patience.
This is a transcript from an actual phone call. The fifth phone call from my mom today, and it’s not even 1PM yet. She’s hanging out inside my house during the day because it’s 113* outside and the RV air conditioning can only maintain about 83 degrees in the RV, which is well beyond her comfort level.
Mom: I want to watch that Ruck You thingy again. How do I turn it on?
Me: Ok mom, repeat after me: “Hey Google, let’s watch Roku”.
Mom: Google, I want to watch TV
Me: Mom, I need you to repeat after me, exactly what I say. “Hey Google, let’s watch Roku”
Mom: Google, let’s watch the TV
Me: MOM! Say exactly the same words I say! Ready? Say “Hey Google, let’s watch Roku.”
Mom: Google, let’s watch the Ruck You thingy.
(By now I’m totally convinced she’s just screwing with me)
Mom: She says she can’t do that right now. Why do all your electronics all have to be so complicated?
(“Because you don’t seem to be able to follow simple instructions, mom?” I didn’t say)
Me: Ok mom. Hang on a second
(I launch the Google Assistant app on my phone and issue the proper command)
Mom: Oh, never mind, she finally did what I told her.
Me: Yes mom, you did good. We’ll talk about the Google commands when I get home. I gotta go, I’m in a meeting right now.
Mom: Ok, thanks! Have a good meeting… Oh, what do you want for dinner?
Me: Anything you feel like making. You can poke around in the fridge and freezer and choose anything you want, ok? I’ve got people waiting to finish this meeting. Love you, talk to you later, ok?
Mom: Ok, bye… oh, hey son, do you have any chicken in the freezer?
Me: Yes, I think there are several breasts in there. Have a look and pull out whatever you want. I’ve really go to go finish this meeting, ok?
Mom: Ok, see you tonight. Thank you, son! Hey… I don’t really like white meat chicken. Do you have any legs or thighs in there?
Me: Mom! I’ve really got to get back to this meeting! Please, just look in the freezer and pull out anything. I’ve got to go. Love you, bye.
(I didn’t wait for her response, I just disconnected the call)
@ruouttaurmind
Yer a good son.
@ruouttaurmind I am glad I am not the only one having those conversations with my parents. Mine decided to switch to smartphones a few months back.
I remind myself they taught me to use the potty, that could NOT have been an easy task.
@ruouttaurmind This is making me nervous. About how old is your mother?
@tinamarie1974 And I don’t want a word out of you about smartphones.
@ruouttaurmind I’ll accept some blame. You can’t take all this on yourself.
@therealjrn I don’t know how good I am, but I’m certainly learning the value of patience under fire.
@tinamarie1974
Ya, ok, there is that.
@Barney She just turned 76 a couple weeks ago. Where does that leave you in comparison?
@cinoclav That’s kind of you, but I could have put her out of the RV somewhere in Texas. So it’s really all on me.
@ruouttaurmind Just let me know if you’d like to adopt me.
@ruouttaurmind Good thing you don’t have Alexa around there… “Yes, Alexa, I would like to order some chicken.”
@therealjrn Oh damn! I linked my Google Assistant to Google Express! There is still a risk of coming home and finding piles of packages on my doorstep!
@Barney, you are welcomed to come join my menagerie any time you wish!
@Barney @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
At least momentarily:
/giphy angel wings
@Barney @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn
Not what I had in mind.
But it totally stays.
@Barney @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Better put a passcode on that thing asap.
@ruouttaurmind
I wish…
@Barney Between your pup, my mom’s beast and my two girls, it truly would be a menagerie! And we might just make it through all the dog food we each have stocked up…
@sammydog01 It never even occurred to me until @therealjrn joked about it. Better than passcode, I just unlinked GE.
@ruouttaurmind I gave one of the 40 pound bags to a neighbor. He comes and mows my front yard every so often. That’s a pretty good trade, I think.
Dammit, Goat!
I’m not really suffering that much. (Thanks, A/C!) And this is nothing completed to AZ.
But I gotta uphold my constitutional right to bitch.
@f00l Supposed to be a high of 96 today in Philly. Making it up to 101 Saturday. And it’s seriously fucking humid. I blame myself for not moving somewhere colder.
@cinoclav @f00l Heat advisory today, high 90s with heat index 105+. We have tickets to an outdoor concert tonight. I hope the shave ice truck is there.
@sammydog01 Yeah, I’m going to another Phillies game tonight. My friend’s wife works for them so the tickets should not only be really good, but they’re free! Plus their son is supposed to be on the field with the Phanatic. Of course they’re calling for some possible thunderstorms right in the middle of the game. Enjoy the concert, don’t melt!
@cinoclav You too! Wave at the Phanatic for me.
@sammydog01 He ended up rather close to us Sunday. He’s sitting on some woman’s lap.
@cinoclav @sammydog01 shouldn’t that he the other way around?
@f00l @cinoclav. I am doubling down on that one
It is just GROSS in the Lou. I think I heard 90% humidity for the next three days.
@cinoclav @f00l @tinamarie1974 I waited until 10 pm yesterday to go walking. The heat index was 90. I came back a sweaty mess. Ugh.
@cinoclav @f00l @sammydog01 It is just horrible!
Where about are you located?
I waited until 8 pm to go out and was just soaking wet when I made it home an hour later. We are under heat advisory the next three days, not sure if I will even attempt to go out or just stay in and work out.
@cinoclav @sammydog01 @tinamarie1974
DFW. Which means that MEH folks and I share the suffering.
@cinoclav @f00l @sammydog01 oh, Texas is SSOOOOO much worse than Missouri. I have spent time in Houston, Austin and Laredo and regardless of when I was there it was miserable. I don’t know how you stand it.
@cinoclav @f00l @tinamarie1974 I’m in central Virginia. My favorite time of summer is the night- it’s cooler and all the creatures are singing. Last night I wasn’t too happy.
@cinoclav @f00l @sammydog01 oh I love hearing the frogs and crickets and watching the lightning bugs.
What happened last night? Storms?
@cinoclav @f00l @tinamarie1974 Too hot. It’s supposed to be 83 at midnight. And humid.
@cinoclav @f00l @sammydog01
@cinoclav @f00l @sammydog01 @tinamarie1974 the first time I ever crossed the street to walk in the shade was in Waco TX.
Blame because my IRK arrived at work on my day off, so I have to wait until tomorrow to see how much regret I got.
@TheFLP What’s with you man? When yer at work, you want to be home. When yer home you want to be at work. Sheese! LOL
@therealjrn
Did I complain about being at work? I can’t remember — which means more blame for the Goat.
@TheFLP Not that I recall directly…I was taking some creative license.
@therealjrn
@TheFLP So much for my expediency.
Blame: Been picking and canning green beans for two days and my back hurts now. I’m sure it is @cinoclav who is at fault.
My canner is a big ole canner that I have to use out in the garage as my poor stove can’t crank out the btu’s needed to build up steam in a timely manner. 14 quarts at a time! Although, today’s session was only 12 quarts as I only had one row of beans left to pick and a few leftovers from yesterday to process.
@tnhillbillygal Goats like green beans! And why do they call it canning when it doesn’t go in cans?
@tnhillbillygal mmm, I just love home canned green beans.
@cinoclav I’ll give you the answer my mother gave me, in those long ago days. The term “canning” was used long before food went into cans. I have no idea of the correctness of that belief, but I can tell you that I have some jars that came from my great-grandmother, and some that came from my grandmother, and quite a few that were my mother’s. I can tell you that mason jars last forever. I’ve used all of them, in years gone by, and they all worked just fine.
I don’t think anything can be prettier than spiced apples with red or green food coloring added, and set on the table at Christmas time.
My great-grandmother died in 1949 (and she was in her eighties). Now I want to put up vegetables, and I don’t have a garden this year. Dammit.
@cinoclav @Shrdlu Farmer’s market and pick it yourself. I’m going to try watermelon rind preserves (not pickles, too easy) in the instant pot. Water bath canner, though. I’m a chicken about pressure.
Blame: because after a long day at work I came home to THIS mess with no warning. I think working from home tomorrow may be a little loud
Unblame: because unlike my neighbor, who is currently parked in my driveway, I can actually access my driveway/garage. And since we had crazy thunderstorms I am happy my little car is tucked away safely!!
@tinamarie1974 Ironically they’re supposed to start repaving my street next week. Since it’s a main street through the township and they don’t want to interrupt daytime traffic all the noisy work is going to be done overnight. Ugh!
@cinoclav that is TERRIBLE. How do they expect you to sleep? Guess it is good you have those noise cancelling headphones.
Blame on me for the current rain delay we’re experiencing at the Phillies game. Unblame on me for getting to hang out in the Phillies offices with the World Series trophies.
@cinoclav Schnazzy!
My friend’s wife works for them so we went back to her office during the rain delay. It’s always cool to be behind the scenes. But the delay was so long and I get up so early that we left before they started playing again. Now I’m home watching it.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974
Yawn. We’ve got a room full of those here in St. Louis.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974
@mike808 @tinamarie1974 Yeah, I’m really not hung up on how many any team has. Cards are a respectable franchise, I have no hate for them.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 At least you don’t have to worry about Cubs fans drowning from a wave.
@cinoclav @mike808 its baseball, so meh. I enjoy going to the games. The crowds are fun and there is always a good energy, but I never care if we win or lose.
@cinoclav @mike808 What? And here I was thinking @tinamarie1974 knew her way around the bases!
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn
My son is downstairs hysterically screaming at some video game. He just shouted “What the hell! Stop dying!” And I can’t stop laughing.
@sammydog01 That’s because I’m kicking his ass.
@cinoclav @sammydog01
Blame" Because construction workers cheated me out of an hour of blissful sleep. They started pounding rebar at 6am this morning and since I am working from home today I COULD have slept till seven.
@tinamarie1974 You could have gone to sleep an hour earlier and had your usual amount of sleep!
@cinoclav no, this was unanticipated super special extra bonus sleep!
The stars aligned when my calendar revealed no early morning meeting (read: 5-6 am), plus the benefit of working from home in my jammies eliminating the need to get dressed up for the office.
Oh well, it is super hot outside. I do feel sorry for them out there
Unblame, because OMG, OMG, OMG!!! I literally had goosebumps (no puns) watching this!!! My favorite fly boy is back
@tinamarie1974 I have a friend whose life revolves around planes (he currently works for Southwest). As soon as he saw this trailer he started ripping apart the inaccuracies of the plane scenes. It’s Hollywood for Gods sake, it’s just entertainment!
@cinoclav I can see it, but I will be watching strictly for entertainment value!
I think the music is what got to me more than anything. The original movie released when I was a teenager and the music seemed to evoke memories. Happy times with girlfriends watching that VHS tape over and over. Crushing on Tom and that volleyball scene. I think it was also the first movie where I saw a sex scene! Don’t get me wrong I love the fighter jets and the way the roaring engine feel when the sound rattles around in my chest, but really the movie makes me smile. It reminds me of simpler times.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974 I like how Hollywood pilots never seem to need their mask. Or at least rarely do.
Unblame: a vendor brought donuts.
Blame: donuts.
/image cheat day
@narfcake I’m totally about to go eat a donut now.
Unblame: I was finally able to cut the cord on Comcast Cable (except the internet). The savings is $100 month. Especially, with their last price increase - my bill had gone up $35.
@mfladd So, tell us about your OTA replacement DVR and streaming choices.
Me: HDHR Quattro+Extend (4+2 tuners), Win10 PC w/ HDHR-DVR => MCEBuddy => Plex
Also a TiVo Roamio OTA w/ NFLX, AMZN, Plex apps, KMTTG on the PC to pull TiVo recordings to the PC => MCEBuddy => Plex.
Everything is H.265 in MKV containers w/ show metadata embedded.
@mike808 I use a Mohu Blade for OTA. I don’t have a lot of stations available in my area. I get all of them that are. I have a Roku Ultra, and mainly watch Netflix and Prime. But the Roku gives me plenty of options. I don’t use a DVR, but would be open to suggestions that are easy and cheap. I wouldn’t need anything fancy.
@mfladd No easy and cheap DVR options. They all depend on guide data, which is one or the other. Cheap = you do the setup, development, maintenance, and support for “free” guide data websites.
Easiest, IMO, is the TiVo Roamio OTA (all-in, meaning device lifetime guide subscription included), and runs about $300 on sale, when available (e.g. AMZN or TiVo directly). Very high WAF. We watch primarily through the TiVo.
Don’t have a Roku, so can’t say what integrating Roku with TiVo is like. If the Roku is a new device, it might work with the new SD Servio line. Other options are Tablo and ChannelMaster. The HDHR-DVR also run on the Shield and Linux and NAS, so that could be an option if those are already in your ecosystem.
To those suffering within the “heat dome”
Mee too.
Here are some local adaptations (hope they might be useful)
Stay indoors if possible 10am-evening.
Expect the heat to continue well into the evening. Perhaps even all night.
If you must be outside, the coolest part of the day is early morning til about 10am.
But the sun is very strong from 8am on. So use sunscreen.
Wear a hat. Pref a ventilated one. From morning until at least 7pm
Wear loose clothes that are comfortable in heat: cotton, linen, sports fabrics. Pref lighter colors.
If outdoors, stay in the shade if you can. And stay in a breeze if you can find one.
Stay hydrated.
A beer or glass of wine or two is fine. But hydration means either cool/cold water or electrolyte-replacing sports drinks. Soda ok if you have nothing else.
Cold liquids if you have them.
If outdoors for an extended time:.
Take with you a cotton dish towel or similar about 20 or so inches long.
Dunk it in fresh water and wring it out. Then put it around your neck.
Yes, your t-shirt will get wet.
So what. You will feel much cooler.
When the towel starts to dry out, wet it down and repeat.
Consider doing the same to your hat: dunk it and wring it out. And wear it until it dries out, then repeat. So what if your hair gets wet. It’s going to be sweaty anyway.
Do the same to your shirt if you want.
This mist things that attach to the hose do work.
If you are indoors and the a/c isn’t doing it:. Find the nearest moving air. Or … Use a box fan or stand fan pointed at you. Use the damp-towel-around-your-neck technique if you are still hot.
Also try to make sure that the sun coming thru your windows isn’t heating to your house. Consider some sort of insulated stuff on the windows.
And drink cold stuff.
And of course check on pets and on people who might need checking on.
Advanced class: freeze up a bunch of smallish Blue Ice (sporting goods or grocery store) Put them in your pockets near your skin. Or in the pockets of a vest. Or wrap in a handtowel (these can be too cold) and put under your shirt and then tuck in your shirt. Or similar.
I have seen persons who do all day outdoor construction and landscaping use all these techniques. They do help if it’s bad.
/giphy heat dome
For super advanced techniques, we prob need @ruouttaurmind’s assist.
@f00l
Watch exertion levels and how people feel.
If someone starts to feel dizzy, weak, or weird, they need to go inside and drink cold stuff. If someone is disoriented or otherwise isn’t right, get them inside or to a cool place, and call for help.
Everything @f00l recommends is good. Just have a couple additions.
If you must be outside, wear light colored clothing. Even if it’s just a t-shirt, you will experience much more heat from direct sunshine wearing a black shirt than a white shirt. True story.
DO NOT wait until you’re thirsty before drinking. Dehydration can come on FAST. By the time you feel thirsty it can be too late.
Don’t neglect your vehicle PM. Dealing with heat sucks. Dealing with heat while stranded on the side of the road is truly awful. Trust. The same heat which causes you discomfort is also a difficult operating environment for your vehicle. Just 10 degree increase in ambient temperatures can mean the difference between normal operation and overheating or malfunction.
At a minimum, check your oil and coolant levels, tire air pressure and look for cracks in the tire sidewalls. Make sure you have a healthy spare tire and proper tools to change. Keep some water or coolant, an extra quart of oil and jumper cables in the trunk. This is the time of year many people have been running their vehicle air conditioning at max, with the fan blowing on high. If you have an older or weak battery, all that power consumption can quickly kill a less than perfect battery.
@ruouttaurmind
Re vehicles: if I’m going to be out more than an hour or longer than a few miles, I have a few 2-liter and 4-liter strainless double wall vacuum insulated growlers in the vehicle.
One of them is full of crushed ice. The others full of v cold drinks. Which stay cold more than 24hours in the growlers.
That’s for me and other living things.
Also on longer trips I might carry a gallon of distilled water for the vehicle. JIC.
There have been instances on hot days of people getting lost on back roads and then getting into physical trouble because they had nothing cold to drink before they found their way back to main roads.
I just spent the last four hours scoffing at my own advice, doing some major yard work. I finally had to knock off when the mercury pushed above 105*. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish up what I started, but so it goes.
Grateful for ceiling fans and air conditioning right now.
@ruouttaurmind Don’t forget to be grateful for some water!
@therealjrn Yes, of course, the miracle of hot and hot running water in the middle of the desert.
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn @f00l all y’all miserable suns-a-beeches…whyn’t ya just move somewhere civilized, like Seattle? It rarely gets too hot here (tho we had hella smoke from wildfires the last two summers, that thankfully hasn’t been a problem so far this year), and as an added bonus you can get further from your annoying relatives!
/giphy win-win
@UncleVinny But I’m so sweet, I might just melt in all that SEA rain!
@ruouttaurmind…no pain, no gain…?
@ruouttaurmind @therealjrn @UncleVinny
You want all of us to come help run up the Seattle property values? Or join up with the local homeless?
@f00l @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn take your pick! At least you won’t sweat y’selves to death…
Blame. It’s hot and humid.
/image 91 dewpoint 78
@eonfifty
Partial unblame. It’s worse in Iowa.
/image worse in Iowa
@eonfifty
Pro tip: don’t run marathons in Death Valley in midsummer esp in a sunny day during daytime.
(Unless completely trained and acclimated, and accompanied by a care team in a vehicle. Even then … Maybe not?)
/giphy “death valley”
/image “badwater ultramarathon”
@eonfifty Today was 99 with a “feels like” 109.
It’s too fucking hot!
Same tomorrow
@f00l
But isn’t it a dry heat there?
/giphy a dry heat
@mfladd
I think I saw some click bait about that meteorologist.
/giphy hottest meteorologist clickbait
@eonfifty
He may still know a few special tricks.
Unblame: I hooked up the Polk speakers I bought here and they sound great!
Blame: It’s such a meh thing. Bought the speakers on a good deal, but then needed to but a small bluetooth amp and speaker wire. So they cost me even more money!
@mfladd so it sounds like Meh is like a wife/gf, they spend your money!
Blame: because the afore mentioned heat is making it impossible to do my evening walk, which means I must increase my crunch/press count
Unblame: My amazing neighbor texted me earlier and said, “hey I am gonna work out in my pool, wanna join?” The temperature was hot and the water was nice and cold! Aaaahhhhhhh
Blame! My AC was repaired on July 1, and it just broke again, and nobody answers the company’s 24/7 line.
@OldCatLady oh no! Hopefully there is somewhere you can go?
@OldCatLady
Damn.
Got an emergency window unit? Or some really good fans?
/giphy window unit
@OldCatLady
If it’s really hot, consider sleeping outside.
/giphy sleeping under stars
@OldCatLady Oh shit!
@f00l Ceiling fans work. The repairperson will be here by noon tomorrow. I can go sleep at the neighbor’s if it gets bad. Eating ice cream helps.
@eonfifty Not in Florida. My pet blacksnake might come by, or one of the possums, or a gator travelling to the river, or the skeeters could just carry me off.
@eonfifty @OldCatLady
@OldCatLady @tinamarie1974
@eonfifty @OldCatLady ouch, hopefully they get it fixed for real this time.
@OldCatLady Was your A/C fixed? And did those bastards charge you to do so since they were just there a few weeks ago?
@cinoclav Yes, low on coolant. No charge for the call, though. And that was on a Sunday afternoon. Thanks for folup!
@mike808 that snow dude is missing…a part
So yeah… sorry about the heat folks. I fucking hate it and I’d do something if I could.
@cinoclav It’s a wee bit ironic that local temps here in the middle of the Sonoran desert are dropping, while temperatures across the rest of the country are rising. The last few days our high temperatures have finally been below 110*, and the overnight lows managed to dip under 90*. A few times in the last couple weeks it was still 100* at midnight. The past 3 days we sank below 100* by 10PM, and as low as 88* by the morning.
@ruouttaurmind Enjoy the wintry cold!
@cinoclav We’ve had the lamest damn summer weather-wise. Low temps, cloudy and just generally crap. I’ll take a little heat. Sweating isn’t all bad.
@cinoclav @KittySprinkles
Our weather today is astonishing. Coolest day I ever remember in July in Texas. Unusual and wonderful, tho might not be a record.
Blame: because family
@tinamarie1974 Understood. Next time bring a goat. Goats make everyone happy.
@cinoclav but we already had a baby pig and a handful of chickens on the property. I feel like adding additional livestock may raise an eyebrow or two…
@tinamarie1974 Okay, next time don’t bring the family.
@cinoclav oohhhhh that fixes EVERYTHING!!!
Blame: So for days I’ve been playing the wOOt app CRAP game trying to win the chance to buy CRAP. I finally win…and then I’m offered 10 pair of tighty whitey underwear to buy! Wtf!
Unblame: At least I’m not chasing useless crap anymore.
@mfladd that is better than the hemorrhoid cream I was offered. WTF
@mfladd Obviously the underwear would be full of crap.
@tinamarie1974 maybe Woot knows something you don’t?!
@UncleVinny oh my
Unblame: Since we have ridden our GoaT pretty hard the last few days about the terrible weather, I thought it would be important to give credit for the perfect weather the STL experienced today. Little to no humidity and top temps were around 80. I just wish I didn’t have to work today!
@tinamarie1974 Agreed. Today is 73 degrees and raining. This is perfect for the gardens after such a long stretch of heat.
@tinamarie1974 Thank goodness, my back is aching.
@mfladd oh 73 sounds nice! We are at about 82, which is still amazing
I blame @cinoclav, because this is me when I botch a chess puzzle.
@UncleVinny Oh no, if I’m involved the language is going to be much harsher than that.
@cinoclav the quantum physics of a blame event are unclear, but some researchers believe that the Goat can be blamed for Trouble that they (incredibly) had no Hand in. Truly we live in the metaphysicalest of times.
@cinoclav one other mantra I more-or-less live by (and I can’t find the exact quote, nor the attribution, alas) goes like this:
If you say ‘shit’ in front of a lady, what do you say to a flat tire in the rain in heavy traffic when you’re late to work?
@UncleVinny
@cinoclav like…FLUBBER?! <gasp>
@cinoclav @UncleVinny my FAVORITE christmas movie!
@UncleVinny Well, you do have to read it as he said it. The F dash dash dash word! Like Fark!
@cinoclav ohhhhh like Fawn?
@cinoclav @UncleVinny
/giphy fucking fart
I could list several blames this morning, but I’ll restrict myself to this one: a spam email that was grammatically correct, quirky, and legitimately entertaining. But I know the links will lead me to Something Bad, so I give them an unblame for presentation and double-blame for being assholes.
@TheFLP is there something you are trying to tell us about yourself?
@tinamarie1974 Um…so no more kissing now, @TheFLP, just holding hands OK? I wondered what all those voices I could hear around you were…
Wait…your kidney’s name is Alex?
@tinamarie1974
Uh, no. If it was accurately targeted I’d be blaming the poor Goat to hell and back for getting me creeped out. (“How did they know?!”
) This is just amusing.
@therealjrn
I’m not sure what would be weirder — a kidney (or kidneys) named Alex, or getting this strange email from an actual human named Alex.
@TheFLP Either way, it’s an extraordinary piece of marketing. I think @tinamarie1974 wants to subscribe to the newsletter. ha
@TheFLP @therealjrn I thought it was hilarious. And no, no, no I do not need that!
@TheFLP @therealjrn @tinamarie1974 Are BOTH the kidneys named Alex? That’s just too damn confusing. Is it Right Alex and Left Alex? Or Alex 1 and Alex 2? Or is one effeminate and called Alexa which creates a huge problem every time you call her name in front of your Echo.
@cinoclav @therealjrn @tinamarie1974
Honestly, if I made a habit of talking to my kidneys, I think I’d deserve whatever Amazon sent me.
Unblame!!! To the kindness of @therealjrn who sent me the dog clippers he received in a BOC. I have been needing a pair. Thank You Very Much!
The dogs have a very different view about it, “You Fucker!!!”
@carl669
@mfladd they look like such sweet babies. They are so cute!
@carl669 @mediocrebot Hahaha…Nice, a ping every fucking time!
@mediocrebot @mfladd the fuck? mediocrebot’s tagging me now??
@carl669
@carl669 Fucking sweet, right?
Your own dedicated Meh fuck-bot.
@carl669
@mike808 I gotta admit, having the first dedicated meh fuck bot is quite the honor… and kinda hot.
@carl669
@carl669 @mike808 At first, then when there are 80 notifications from meh in a week and you can’t sort thru the actual msgs from the fuck pings- not so much.
@carl669
@carl669 @mediocrebot @mfladd this sounds like absolute fuck-ery!
@carl669 Find your message filters and set them to auto-delete them.
Base the filter on the content where mediocrebot tags you. Since the subject will be the thread subject and the sender will be Meh, they look like legit Meh messages, so you can’t use those to filter.
@carl669 @mike808 Delete them? He’s going to fucking revel in them like a man in a tub full of neoprene.
@carl669
@mfladd @tinamarie1974 Those doggies are SO FUCKING CUTE! : ) I’m glad the clippers found a good home!
@carl669
I’m blaming you for whoever asked for an autoresponse when you ask who the current goat is.
Also for when mediocrebot inevitably forgets to update it.
scapegoat, get out here
@cinoclav
@Thumperchick Where was that asked? And thank goodness this wasn’t created 25 days ago.
@Thumperchick So does it reply to the word scapegoat?
@cinoclav started the ice cream licking trend.
@mediocrebot OMG
@cinoclav @mediocrebot So who is the scapegoat again?
@cinoclav knows what’s really in area 51
@cinoclav @mediocrebot I knew it! That fucker.
@carl669
@mediocrebot @therealjrn No worries, I already have a filter set up.
@mediocrebot @therealjrn So how about that fucking scapegoat?
@cinoclav this is your fault.
@cinoclav
I don’t remember exactly where, but if you find whoever it was… you know who to nominate for August…
@cinoclav @therealjrn Wait, so who the fuck is the scapegoat again?
@carl669
@cinoclav @therealjrn Yeah, I thought so, mediocrebot. We know where your loyalties lie.
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn mediocrebot’s priorities are conflicting. It’s fun to watch.
Awesome
fucking
scapegoat
DIPLOMAT! RAT-A-TAT! FAT CAT! AWESOME!
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn @Thumperchick
vs
fucking
awesome
scapegoat
WORKER BEES! HERCULES! TURKEY GREASE! AWESOME!
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn @Thumperchick scape goat is
fucking
awesome
OWLS! TOWELS! JOWLS! AWESOME!
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn @Thumperchick
Looks like awesome > than the others
FOOLS! TOOLS! JEWELS! AWESOME!
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mike808 @therealjrn it seems to prioritize that some of awe over scapegoat and fuck derivatives?
@carl669
testing - scapegoat vs fucker
@cinoclav this is your fault.
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn @Thumperchick
Hmm well now it looks like fuck > scapegoat
@cinoclav knows what’s really in area 51
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @therealjrn @Thumperchick
Let’s not forget the lovely popsocket bot.
@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn @Thumperchick
Except this time scapegoat > fuck makes me wonder if there is human intervention on occasion just to baffle us.
@carl669
@Kidsandliz
I bet that regardless of fuck vs scapegoat, awesome is still the winner for this one.
@carl669
@cinoclav @Kidsandliz @mike808 @Thumperchick You mean pop sockets Mike ; )
Popped there, socket’d that.
@Kidsandliz ok, I’m just fucking wrong about things. Blame the awesome scapegoat.
POPSOCKETS! COURT DOCKETS! FOLK ROCK HITS! AWESOME!
@Thumperchick Yup. You’re right. That much, at least, doesn’t seem to change.
Blame: I set up my new fancy Blink outdoor camera earlier today and purchased a cute little silicon sleeve for it. Why you ask, I have a Barn Swallow that feels the need to sleep on my camera every night. I get great footage of it stretching its wings
it also poops everywhere, so I am constantly hosing down everything.
I was confidant that since the silicon cover had a pointy roof like top the bird would be uncomfortable and nest elsewhere. Well, here is $11.00 wasted!
@tinamarie1974 I’ve seen birds around here build nests using the anti-bird spikes as architectural supports.
Nature does what it wants. That apparently means it wants to shit on your porch.
@Thumperchick yeah I am beginning to think that is the case. I may have to just accept that it is my job to keep its house (previously known as my front porch) clean. I am the maid!
@tinamarie1974 Is that a soffit right above it? Could you mount it higher up so there’s not enough room for the bird to sit on top?
@cinoclav It is a good idea, but no unfortunately. It is soffit above and if I go higher it messes up the camera angle and I see more ceiling than porch.
@cinoclav @tinamarie1974
Hm.
@cinoclav @therealjrn haha, I wish I had that problem.
Hey! Can I blame the scapegoat for that too!
@cinoclav started the ice cream licking trend.
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974 Hmm, are those two things related?
@tinamarie1974
@cinoclav @therealjrn I mean, if you take your scapegoat responsibilities seriously…
@cinoclav ate my homework.
@cinoclav how is @mediocrebot defining homework? He could be making this thread NSFW!
@cinoclav @therealjrn someone told me this weekend if I place a rubber snake up there the bird will find a new place to nest. Snakes ordered from Amazon.
I will let you guys know if it works!!
@therealjrn @tinamarie1974 You’re going to freak the fuck out of someone visiting or making a delivery. Be sure to post that video!
@carl669
@cinoclav @therealjrn @tinamarie1974 Boooo… Give the birdie a break!
@cinoclav @therealjrn I laughed so hard I snorted. The camera is off to the side so i don’t think anyone will notice unless I have to start placing then on my light fixtures, shutters, etc. It could end up like a new movie idea “Snakes on Tinas porch”
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn oh my gosh I won’t hurt her! I am just tired of the constant poop everywhere and getting dive bombed every time I try to go in or out my front door. I like to sit out there at night when it is quiet and all you can hear are the frogs and cicadas, enjoying nature and watching the stars. It is really nice until she realizes I am out there and plans her attack!!!
@cinoclav @therealjrn @tinamarie1974
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn hahahahaha, yup she is cute as can be but damn do NOT get on her bad side!
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn These were delivered earlier today. Guess I will put them up a d see if it works (tomorrow)
@mfladd @therealjrn @tinamarie1974
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn and lizards
@mfladd @therealjrn @tinamarie1974 Has your bird friend returned?
@cinoclav @mfladd @therealjrn well, I got distracted with life stuff and haven’t had a chance to place the snakes. She was already there by the time I made it home tonight. Hoping to place them tomorrow.
I’m flat astonished at this particular case of buffoonery on the part of one of the MANY candidates for president, and wanted to post it somewhere that it would be read by the discerning few, or at least by someone.
https://www.theinternetpatrol.com/presidential-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-sues-google-over-disabling-ads-and-going-to-the-spam-folder-full-text-of-lawsuit-included/
I just have no words for this kind of stupidity. Google sucks, often, but they’re pretty indiscriminate in the suckage. Ah, well. So it goes.
@Shrdlu While I respect and appreciate her and her service and think she’s a very respectable member of Congress, I tend to question this particular statement: “…a candidate millions of Americans want to hear from.” It’s time to close up shop Tulsi.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/democratic_nomination_polls/
@cinoclav My favorite quote on this subject is as follows:
@cinoclav @Shrdlu
Media attention ploy?
I would doubt the effectivity of the strategy in that case.
I blame @cinoclav for being such an interesting goat that I’ve spent WAY too much time in the Meh forums this month, and have thus drifted idly through my unemployment period like a seagull carcass. It’s all Cinoclav’s fault. Why weren’t you a dull goat like, uh… well OK I can’t think of any.
Hopefully @nolrak will take it easy and be a lazy goat. Quit bumping the bar up! Be Meh and coast.
@UncleVinny
I truly appreciate you coming along for the ride and all your contributions this month. You’ve made it that much more enjoyable for me. Hope your carcass is up and flying again soon!
Well @nolrak, it doesn’t look good when people are already talking about their expectations for you and we still have 5 days of voting.
@cinoclav @UncleVinny oh come onnnnn you guys, anyone could … win? Lose? Let’s go with lose.
@UncleVinny
This is Douglas Adams level material right here
A huge unblame for @cinoclav because I just won a knife sharpener over on Woot. I should have posted here, rather than the deals thread: https://meh.com/forum/topics/the-unofficial-july-2019-deals-topic#5d3b929cb1f7e70b2c805f9d
My bad, but I imagine the goat gets the blame, right @mediocrebot?
@therealjrn have to say scapegoat
@cinoclav come on down!
@tinamarie1974 Hey now, well fuck me, I guess you’re right.
@carl669
@therealjrn congrats on the knife sharpener
@tinamarie1974 Thanks! Good thing I have a meh $15 Quikut 20-Piece Knife Set to practice on.
Jesus fucking scapegoat Christ, I turn my back for a few minutes and suddenly @mediocrebot is wreaking havoc on an … awesome scale.
And I have zero blames to give right now. Fuck.
@cinoclav started the ice cream licking trend.
Never change, @mediocrebot.
@TheFLP Hey now, you forgot to mention Davd Grohl isn’t around anymore. Once you’re the best bot around, there’s nowhere to go but downhill.
@mike808
That one was pretty cryptic, even for Meh.
@TheFLP I was trying to see if SmashmouthBot > DaveGrohlBot. “Hey now” used to trigger “You’re an all-star” and “the best” would trigger a Dave Grohl cameo image. I guess they’re in the back getting refurbed.
you’re an all-star
Guess I was wrong about SmashmouthBot.
Yeah, mediocrebot is the best. Let’s see if we get a Foo Fighter’s appearance.
@mike808
Maybe it needs an “is” to work?
@TheFLP
Nope.
@mike808
Clearly, mediocrebot is malfunctioning. Time to disassemble it and make something useful out of it.
Awright goat, why isn’t the 20% coupon up at Morningsave, since the Daybreak Deal sold out? Blame!
@OldCatLady Probably because I never buy anything at all at Morningsave and I have no idea what the deal is with the 20% coupon.
@cinoclav @OldCatLady
Ignorance is not an excuse for the scapegoat.
It’s a requirement for the position. Did you not get your OJT? Maybe you should get another month.
@cinoclav knows what’s really in area 51
@cinoclav Even Mediocrebot agrees.
BLAME - 3:10am Tigger (a.k.a. bird feeder dinner bait kitten) decided it was time to play. Chew on the phone charging cord, run around the bed, shove everything on the bed side table on the floor except the lamp, attack another sleeping cat (asleep on my bed)… couldn’t kick him out of the bedroom as he needed to go through the bedroom to get to the dirt box. At 5:30am he sacked out again. Still asleep except I am paying him back
.
@Kidsandliz
/image teeturtle busy schedule
@narfcake That’s about right. Tiger is at that demented toddler stage of kittenhood.
@Kidsandliz Everything I know about cats I learned through catshirts.
https://shirt.woot.com/offers/youre-dreaming
My daughter has an unblame. As was posted in a thrift thread I had found a pair of new Hoka OneOne hiking shoes for $10. My daughter didn’t want them so I told her to post them on ebay and she could have the money. As soon as we were going to post I noticed the dog had chewed the tongue and heel pulls on one shoe. We posted with a funny “our dog’s misbehavior is your gain” line, and clearly showed pics of it. We posted for $15 bucks and told her not to expect much. I was wrong. Bidding got fast and furious in the last 20 minutes and they just ended up going for $52.00 and shipping. She was elated, while I was confused.
Unblame, because my niece is hilarious. She was running around smacking everyone’s butts with a spatula from her play kitchen and running away giggling. She is very obsessed with butts at the moment lol
@tinamarie1974 I was in, I think it was, Walmart the other day and they have Poop shaped kid chairs (aka bean bag like but poop shaped like meh’s ex-VMP badge) that maybe you should get her.
Blame: There’s only four threads with the @nolrak .gif right now.
@narfcake I’m already blaming @nolrak for that.
@cinoclav @narfcake up to five now – apparently there’s some sort of message here but I can’t seem to figure out what it might be
Blame. I spent 20 minutes I will never get back reading the shotgunX “Tinder” thread with the many many responses. Fucking carl69.
@carl669
@JnKL Times when I wish I was a moderator and could have just locked that one up two comments in…
@cinoclav @JnKL if staff doesn’t lock it, but their presence has been noted in it, then I wouldn’t touch it.
Well my fucking streak is fucked.
Guess who fucked with their own sleep
and didn’t pay attention?
/giphy streaker [not]
@carl669
Unblame: I decided to treat myself to a mani/pedi with extra massage work and hot towels. It was much needed!
As an extra bonus, on the way home I got to spy six doe and two bucks. Soooo pretty!
@tinamarie1974 I think that’s exactly what @cinoclav needs after this long month of goatdom
@nolrak @tinamarie1974 Seriously, my hooves are a mess.
@tinamarie1974 Well deserved. On my way to work yesterday I rounded a turn and found a doe eating on the side of the road. I stopped to make sure she didn’t run out and get hit. We looked at each other for about 10 seconds before she turned around and ducked under a fence and disappeared. It was a bright spot to start the day.
@cinoclav aaawww. How cool! Glad you got to see her
@cinoclav @nolrak well, come on over. I have all the equipment here to file down your hooves!
Blame! Blame! Blame! In the last 24 hours, I’ve had a toenail carved up and two separate Things sliced off and sent to the lab. It’s clear that @cinoclav is going out with a flourish, but I’d rather have not been part of it. Bye Felicia!
/giphy bye Felicia
@OldCatLady But your air is still working, right? I’m running out of magic!
@cinoclav For the moment, yes. You’re running out of month, so I had to get these on record. It’s been fun.
@OldCatLady It has been, thank you for joining in the fun. I’m sorry you’ve hit some speed bumps this month. I’ll keep my hooves crossed for some good lab results.
Parting blame for a long “half day” of last-minute payroll filing. And leaving “early” just landed me in the middle of rush hour.
There’s a reason why I avoid going home before 6:30. Do not need the stress.
And now I go to bed … until my computer announces it’s midnight, and I get up to click meh.
Just to be safe.
@cinoclav
Parting blame:
Weather felt fucking HOT today.
/giphy Hot
So there!
And thanks! .
@carl669
Last jab: Hey @cinoclav, if Amazon can’t deliver an item on the date indicated on the item order page, why the heck do they list that date on the order page? Why not just state “Ya, it’s gonna arrive whenever like. So don’t hold your breath or plan anything depending on your receipt of the item. K? K.” Grrrrrr!!!
@ruouttaurmind Complain for credit?
@narfcake @ruouttaurmind What are you Narf, the temporary scapegoat?
@cinoclav knows what’s really in area 51
@mediocrebot,
@narfcake Each time I’ve balked at this in the past, CS gives me the same old song and dance. “Oh, you placed your order on (insert date here which is actually the day AFTER I actually placed the order and the day after the order confirmation email date stamp) and you specified 2-day shipping.” And Sure enough, that’s the same line of garbage I heard again tonight.
Most frustrating is the order confirmation email actually changes. Being HTML, and drawing it’s content dynamically from the Amz server, the delivery date I received yesterday is different today.
In the past years, Amz traditionally offered an extension of Prime benefits. Then for a short time they offered a token account credit. Lately, they offer nada.
@ruouttaurmind Damn, that sucks.
CS used to come through as you noted too, hence my suggestion.
@ruouttaurmind yeah complain for credit. They recently were 36 hrs late on my discounted 4.95 smart plug and gave me a 5 dollar credit thus making it free
@CaptAmehrican @ruouttaurmind My Prime Day orders were all sorts of late. A box with two items (also the smart plug and the TP Link wifi extender) was marked as being handed to a resident in the middle of the day when no one was home. They were reshipped and the smart plug is finally scheduled to be delivered today. I guess I could have proven no one was there had my Blink cameras actually arrived on time and I was able to set them up for evidence. I’m still considering complaining.
@CaptAmehrican @cinoclav @ruouttaurmind I wonder who they handed it to Clavvy.
@CaptAmehrican @ruouttaurmind @therealjrn Well, I’m pretty sure the house is haunted. Though I’m not so sure the spirits there have the capability of accepting packages.
Parting blame: It’s hard to understand that
Hi @Tonyjar. I hope you spend some time with us getting to know what’s going on and that you’re not a dirty, filthy, rotten rat of a spammer!
Welcome to meh!