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Weekend Open Thread

by thebesig••67
Lago Bianco of Switzerland. Frozen lake with frozen bubbles. (Lucie Debelkova/Travel & Landscape Photography/flickr)

Lago Bianco (White Lake) of Switzerland. This lake is frozen, and what you see in the picture are frozen bubbles. Luci Debelkova, of Travel & Landscape Photography, took this shot right before it started snowing. Enjoy your weekend.

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Weekend Open Thread

Weekend Open Thread

Weekend Open Thread

67 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

    1. Rats of the Kong to My Man Chipster. Leave the bone laying around long enough and even a Blind Dog will find it. I left it alone trying to keep the bitchin’ and moanin’ down to a minimum. It wuz hard not to jump on that orphaned bone tho, went back to reading the space linky thingies you dropped on the other Thread. Some kool stuff. Closest I ever got be being a real rocket man was launching The Sergeant Missile out over the Sea from Crete. Or maybe taking a nap on top of the missile carrier while we were riding in that Aerial Box Car.

      What, no snacky stuff for your delightful d’weeds or the adorable deplorables? No refreshing beverages? Or even an unfield stripped butt picked up on a police call across Gunny’s Parade Ground? What kind of King of FIRST are you anyhow? Just another pretty face I guess. SMOOCHES!!!!!

      1. YA’ KNOW, every one of our beloved Armed Forces has its own balls:
        The US Army has its annual Army Balls,
        The US Navy has its annual Navy Balls,
        The US Air Force has its annual Air Force Balls,
        The United States Marine Corps has its annual Marine Balls,
        We now have a United States Space Force, so thus we now have, you guessed it, SPACE BALLS!!!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6vpkjL7sdg

  7. Hack Stone would have checked in sooner, but he was performing some personal hygiene activities, and he ran out of shampoo, so he adapted improvised and overcame utilizing Gorilla Glue to wash his pubes, and things did not turn out as planned.

    1. So glad I learned, a long time ago, not to have anything in my mouth when reading TAH, especially the WOT.

  8. The words in this headline are likely to get KoB a little overly excited, but here’s a Mad Libs like headline:

    Marjorie Taylor Greene had an affair with a polyamorous tantric sex guru:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9246917/Marjorie-Taylor-Green-openly-cheated-husband-men-gym.html

    At least, according to the Daily Mail, which isn’t exactly a first-rate source, but tends to be good at finding salacious stories.  

    In other news, Michael Taylor, former US Special Forces, is fighting imminent extradition to Japan for his role in smuggling Carlos Ghosn out of that country:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-taylor-peter-taylor-carlos-ghosn-extradition-japan/

    For background, here’s a Military Times article on Taylor, who has had a colorful career to say the least:

    https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2020/05/21/ex-green-beret-nabbed-in-nissan-execs-escape-has-lived-on-the-edge/

    1. Any idea how much he would charge to launch a rescue of Elaine Ricci? That placebo addiction rehab center has been brainwashing her.

      1. I think some stuff he’s done is fantastic, at least with the information we have – like rescuing the Californian woman’s kid from Beirut. Other things, like planting drugs in a client’s estranged wife, seems pretty poor form.

        Given the difference in danger in those assignments, I’m inclined to think he did what he felt was right – as in, with the planting drugs, he felt maybe the estranged wife deserved it? That is, she had drugs, but wasn’t caught with them, so this was simply rectifying a situation? If so, I can respect that, even while I think if the law catches up to you when planting shit, that’s the price you need to willingly pay.

        All in all, I’d like to know more, but I lean towards your position. I’d definitely like to know why both the Trump and Biden administrations haven’t blocked the extradition. I’m all for prosecuting fraud, but finance stuff like this where he didn’t screw over the little guy, he just (allegedly) bilked a company that already paid him over $140M of a few tens of millions more, and didn’t report it, doesn’t get me all worked up. So I’m pretty ambivalent on Taylor’s op to smuggle him out, except to say it was seemingly well-planned and executed.

    1. EXCELLENT! CZ is a well run company with good R&D and a good mix of old and new tech in pistols and rifles. Maybe they can drag Colt out of the doldrums.

    1. Tanks for the update TOW. Looking good. We’ve missed the updates/progress. Hope the relocation is going well for y’all.

      When dealing with small, intricate, aggravating things just imagine they’re a garter needing hooking/unhooking to a seamed stocking…or an unfamiliar bra…attached to a hottie wife. Oh…wait…you don’t have to imagine that! 😛

  11. So Chip made it FIRST this week! I hope you’re keeping score at home … Anyway, how’s about another trivia column?

    DID YOU KNOW…?
    Did a woman escape from serial killers because of who her father was?
    By Commissioner Wretched

    The second week of February is upon us, and a famous person in American history has a birthday this week.

    Yes, Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, turns 212 years old on February 12th.

    Honest, Abe, you don’t look a day over 150.

    Lincoln’s importance in American history cannot be questioned. Did he always make the right decisions? Of course not. Who does? I certainly don’t. Every day I mess something up.

    Usually by getting out of bed in the morning.

    But Abe did his best at a trying time, and so do I. His best saved a nation; my best serves up trivia! Let’s enjoy that serving right now.

    Did you know …

    … a jellyfish can shoot out its stingers faster than a gun fires bullets? The uncoiling of the stingers is one of the fastest acts in nature. (And one of the most painful, if anecdotal evidence is to be believed.)

    … a town in Chile has never had rainfall? The town of Calama, in the Atacama Desert, has never recorded rainfall. (I suppose the weather forecaster on television there has a very easy job.)

    … the lollipop was invented by the Romans? They created treats of nuts covered in honey, placed them on sticks, and gave them to children – and each other. (But how many licks did it take to get to the center? The world may never know.)

    … you’re probably reading signs like “Ye Olde Towne Hall” wrong? The “y” in “ye” is supposed to be pronounced like a “th.” That sound does not exist in Latin, so in Roman-occupied Britain the people used a rune called “thorn” to represent the “th” sound. The rune looked a lot like the modern letter “y.” And when the printing press came into general use, the nearest character from the Roman alphabet that fit the thorn was “y.” So that sign should be pronounced, “The Old Town Hall.” (And yat’s ye truy.)

    … Americans walk the least of all the industrialized nations in the world? The average American (whoever that is) takes 5,117 steps per day. By contrast, your average Japanese person takes 7,168 steps; the average Swiss, 9,650; and the average Australian has the first place award, taking 9,695 steps per day. (And we take most of those steps walking to or from our automobiles. Oh, taxi!)

    … a woman escaped two serial killers because of who her father was? In 1977, the “Hillside Stranglers” terrorized Los Angeles. Kenneth Bianchi (born 1951) and his cousin Angelo Buono (1934-2002) between them killed ten women, with Bianchi killing an additional two. Posing as undercover police officers (which was their basic modus operandi), the two approached a young woman that year with the intent of abducting her and adding her to their total. They let her go, however, after learning who her father was. Catharine Lorre Baker (1953-1985), the intended victim, was the daughter of horror film star Peter Lorre (1904-1964), and as the two men were fans of Lorre, they let his daughter go. They discovered her identity when, pretending to be “officers,” they asked to see her identification. For her part, Catharine did not realize what could have happened to her until after the two men were arrested, she saw their photos on the news, and found out who the two men really were.

    … it is against the law in Minnesota to tease a skunk? (You can follow the law, or you can find out for yourself the hard way why teasing a skunk is a bad idea.)

    … when it was first described to zoologists, the platypus was thought to be a hoax? In 1799, British artist and scientist George Shaw (1751-1813) returned from a voyage to Australia, or New Holland as it was then called. He brought back with him drawings, descriptions, and some preserved specimens of several animals unique to the continent, among them the platypus. Most of his fellow scientists thought Shaw was making the animal up, believing he had sewn different body parts together in an effort to play a practical joke. Shaw himself noted that it was impossible not to doubt the actual existence of such a bizarre animal. (The platypus – the Frankenstein of the animal world!)

    … swimmers should avoid wearing yellow or orange in waters where sharks are known to be? Sharks have very good eyesight, and according to scientists, they find the colors yellow and orange irritating for some reason. (Not only that, an orange bathing suit is a real fashion faux pas.)

    … you may have a pet ratel? Oh, don’t be worried that you’re running afoul of wildlife laws or anything – a ratel is simply a honey badger. (Of course, that may beg the question – What’s a honey badger?)

    … children spend more time watching television than almost any other activity? The only activity they spend more time on is sleep. (And many of them dream about watching television; does that count?)

    … you could very well be a victim of lachanophobia? Whoa, slow down. Don’t hurry off to your favorite family physician … lachanophobia is simply a fear of vegetables. Additional trivia note: You could also have fructophobia, but that would mean you were afraid of fruit. (What if you’re afraid of tomatoes?)

    … doctors in ancient times had bizarre notions of where moods come from? Back in the old, old days, doctors thought happiness was controlled by the heart, anger came from the liver, and fear came from the kidneys. (Well, we know that *something* comes from the kidneys, anyway!)

    Now … you know!

      1. I often wondered if the orange flight suits really helped when looking for plane crash survivors. Any thoughts?

        1. Would latchonphobia be a fear of marriage? Or ticks?

          Another fine job CW! We look forward to next week!

  12. Watching it snow at the AO… when it’s over they’ll be at least a foot of the white stuff on the ground.

  13. Got shot #2 of the Moderna vaccine Wednesday. Competent medical authority (MRS D) recommended (directed) that I take Thursday off. As always, she was right. Fever and chills in the morning, no energy all day. Running at about 90% power today. No other adverse affects, no new appendages growing. I do have a strange craving for brains, however.

    1. Go to Berkeley…lots of unused brains there.

      Heck, they won’t even know their brain is gone.

      LOL

      2. Got mine today at Stanford. Sure hope I don’t react like SFC D did …..

        And I’m happy to stay away from Berkeley!

    2. To start their day on the right foot, Zombies enjoy a bowl of Kellogg’s Raisin Brain Cereal. Each box contains two scoops of brains.

    3. Still waiting on the Borg to contact me to schedule the first shot. They tried to schedule me to go about 50 miles beyond my area of operation, so I told them I’d wait til they could schedule me at the hospital with is exactly 3.2 miles from my place of residence to the front door of said hospital.
      That was 3 weeks ago, now they claim to be waiting of further shipments of the vaccines.

    4. Ex-PH2 will be happy to hear the Tacoma Washington area received 5 inches of snow last night with 5 more projected for tonight. Our first snow of the season! Monday we’re back to the mid to upper 40’s.

      Get my 2nd Pfizer shot Sunday morning @10:15 via the Army Medical Center weekend vaccine appointments. RN family friend recommended I take Ibuprofen before shot.

      I’ll start shoveling early so I won’t be sweaty tomorrow like I am now from shoveling the driveway for an hour and a half. I also hope the county eventually plows the road out of here because it’s uphill. They don’t use salt on the roads around here, just some beet juice mixture because it’s better for the “environment”.

  14. Present and unaccountable.

    Trying to prep the GB AO for prolonged freezing temps. NWS is now predicting 5’F for Monday evening – and highs below 32 for 2,3 days straight.

    We may actually get another instance of Pond GB freezing over. Happened once about 10 years ago. Along with some good snowfall. If the ice brings the lines down, I may have to pull out the old propane space heater so the troops can take refuge in the old home place. At least we have it still!

    Tried to help Airborne Son get some medical paperwork to his 1st Sgt. so she knows not to schedule him for duty this coming weekend.
    Why the hail the Army insists on using only Microsoft browsers is beyond me. And only a Windows OS will run the CAC card properly for them. That makes it take 2 hours rather than 20 minutes. (Yes, the Preacher did cuss a bit during that.)

    Other than that, and staying semi-reclusive due to Favorite Daughter testing positive for the Wuhan virus for the past 10 days, not much going in the GB Compound.

    Praying you all have a great weekend. And praying our country makes it through the Cluster Schmuck that is going on in The Swamp.

  16. Who would believe it? How can it be?

    A local from these parts went to D.C. on January 6,
    and ended up on the big screen,
    with his face and blue Hershey Christian Academy sweatshirt,
    in the U.S. Senate (the SAME U.S. Senate)
    as a part of the Impeachment Managers’ case in the
    2021 Senate Impeachment Trial.

    Worse, the Impeachment Manager put him on freeze frame.

    Leo Brent Bozell IV is the son of
    MRC head and Fox talk guest Brent Bozell (III).

    Others around Leo Bozell have been arrested and charged, but
    Leo still walks, as of today, even though he’s been spotted on
    5 videos inside the Capitol, and the Senate balcony and floor.

    Lesson for the kids….
    If you’re going to go places or do things you shouldn’t do,
    don’t wear local school, company, or organization logo gear.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVHwgNh11Ys

    1. 25 years ago, when I moved to my present city,
      not far from Harrisburg,
      a large downtown business building (former car dealership)
      with sidewalk access basement steps
      had a large sign with a down arrow pointing down the steps, to
      Point Man Ministries.

      Hence, the cynic is me comments today.

      No, it didn’t last that long after my arrival in town.
      And, it didn’t end well for Point Man Ministries.

    1. I haven’t seen this one. I’ll watch it shortly, the How Ridiculous guys are awesome and fun.

      1. You left off “win.”

        I am pleased the Rinos and the D-rats didn’t have the votes to call witnesses next week and drag out this Kabuki theater Orange Man Bad show trial for another week. Plus, they would have had trouble tracking down all the Antifastanis behind the Capitol mobbing (aka fake “insurrection”).

        1. I was kind of hoping they’d drag it out. The longer they were tied up with this BS, the harder it would be to pass any of the terrible legislation O’Biden’s cooking up.

          1. Agreed. As I think either Mark Twain or Will Rodgers once put it: “No man’s liberty or wallet is safe when Congress is in session.”

  22. JUST a shameless last-minute plug here, but YOU can help sponsor some poor Millennial who has struggles through seven years of college to get a four year Degree in something like Gender Studies, Underwater Basket Weaving or Lesbian Dance therapy, CALL NOW:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ezs2QbuFTQ

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