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Weekend Open Thread

by Ex-PH2••68

 

Weekend Open Thread has commenced!  The photo is a finely rolled cigar resting comfortably above its natural habitat.  The Tones of amber and wisps of oak remind us that we should all take time to enjoy life and celebrate friendships.  May your weekend be filled with those you love.

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68 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. First, enjoy the weekend everyone.

    Second, if you can’t enjoy the weekend, pretend that you can.

    Third, if first and second do not apply, enjoy a 10 year old single malt scotch.

    2. Yes, but I had a dragonfly up there, a symbol of renewal, and some person R&Rd it with cigars. I guess cigars are okay, considering that I’ve sent several of them to someone.

    3. Congrats Jon, May you enjoy the weekend! I prefer some nice dark Jamican Rum! I should get my pathology results on Tuesday and I am hoping to get the cast off my leg on Monday, So I should have a great week next week! I hope you all have a great weekend!

        1. Thanks Ex, I’ll let you know how it turns out? Right now I am waiting for the AC repairmen to show up as my AC took a dump last night, so I have had a hot miserable day and night. I’m hoping to have a cool room to sleep in tonight??

          1. Good luck, Willy. Please do keep us posted on how things progress.
            And, I hope your AC guy showed up.

    1. I might as well go straight for the Scotch, the miserable prick that I am.
      Congrats Jon!

  4. BOO!!!
    Bitches.
    Sorry, I was actually focusing on work for once and not beating the shit outta my F5 key.

    1. ChipNASA did have time to form the Unofficial Wall of Colonel Potterisms, which is greatly appreciated.

      1. For which I’ll post them again if anyone missed them from the other thread.
        I have probably seen all 256 episodes at *least 5 if not 10-12 times each.

        Just for that, you’re getting the Unofficial Wall of Colonel Potterisms

        – “horse hockey!”
        – “mule fritters!”
        – “monkey muffins!”
        – “buffalo bagels!”
        – “buffalo chips!”
        – “pigeon pellets!”
        – “pony pucks!”
        – “beaver biscuits!”
        – “cow cookies!”
        – “bull cookies!”
        – “pig feathers!”
        – “road apples!”
        – “hot sausage!”
        – “hot mustard!”
        – “jumpin’ jodphurs!”
        – “sufferin’ saddlesoap!”
        – “sufferin’ sheepdip!”
        – “shiverin’ shinbones!”
        – “holy hemostat!”
        – “busload of bushwah!”
        – “sweet limburger…”
        – “sweet Nefertiti…”
        – “Geeze Louise!”
        – “Great Gatsby!”
        – “Great Caesar’s Ghost…”
        – “Great Mother McCree…”
        – “What in Hanna’s Hell…”
        – “Where in the name of Carrie’s Corset…”
        – “What in the name of Sweet Fanny Adams…”
        – “What in the name of Marco ‘BLESSED’ Polo…”
        – “What in the name of Samuel Hill…”
        – “What in the name of Great Caesar’s Salad…”
        – “What in the name of George Armstrong Custer…”

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3mfBPM2cQI

        1. Chip, that is by far my favorite show, I watch the reruns every night. I wish Netflix would post the finale episode, I would really love to see it again?

          1. That show was from a long bygone era when most of the primary actors on the show had served and understood something about the military. I always found it amusing that Jamie Farr, McLean Stevenson and most of the swamp crew served but Harry Morgan never did.

            1. Interestingly, a couple of them (Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, and Wayne Rodgers all turned out to be pretty leftist… and the author of the original book (don’t recall his name) was actually very unhappy with the leftist turn the show took (largely due to the aforementioned actors) His book was intended to show the irreverent humor and other ways that MASH staff coped with the horrors they faced in such an environment, he had never meant it to be used to advance anti-military or anti-war agendas..

  10. Not really caring where I am in the queue. Rooting for 1600 so I can enjoy a cigar and several Yuengling’s.. Have a great weekend all!

    1. (I normally am out of the lab by 12:00 Noon, and don’t get to play. Today I’m babysitting our battery-backup maintenance company. At least I got into the top 20!)

  14. Watching Roseanne’s interview from last night. I enjoyed her show (especially the revival), but did not enjoy her off-screen antics (her anthem performance, running for president as a socialist with Cindy Sheehan!, et. al.). She is really coming off as a bit batty here. I think she’s got some issues. She’s all over the place, both emotionally and her thought processes.

    1. I just saw a clip from Hannity’s interview where she said she does not suffer from multiple personality disorder,

      She enjoys it.

      …

      -That- explains much.

  16. WOO-HOO, alive, upright & kicking!

    Question for any and all of you out there.

    The Honor Flight program was started a number of years back to honor WWII vets. If I remember correctly, the vet had to have served in one of the combat theaters to qualify.

    As the number of WWII vets declined, the Honor Flight was then extended to Korean & Viet Nam vets that had served in country.

    In Oshkosh, where the EAA Adventure is in full swing this week, there is an Honor Flight that will take off from the airport, fly to DC and then return back to the Oshkosh EAA Convention grounds.

    A retired Army buddy of mine told me two days ago, that his neighbor who served in the Navy and was a Viet Nam “ERA” vet (was just stationed here in the States), was going to be on that flight. Not as a volunteer guardian or helper, but as a vet being honored.

    I did some research last night, it seems like the the Honor Flights have somewhat changed their criteria and now allow “ERA” vets to take the flight. There is conflicting information on this subject, depending on what website you go to.

    Does anyone know when or why this changed from
    “in theater/in country” to now include “ERA” vets?

    Personally I feel it should just be for “in country/in theater vets” as the program was originally set up for.

    Have a great weekend, fellow Dickweeds.

    http://www.oldgloryhonorflight.org/

    http://www.honorflightcolumbus.org/vietnam-era-veterans-eligible.html

    http://www.oldgloryhonorflight.org/apply-now/wartime-veteran/

    1. Don’t really care right now. Maybe later, but not for a while.

      There was a clue in the pic. Appropriate. Very appropriate.

  17. I came in the house a little while ago and opened Facebook to find the post of posts, then found the same here. To say I am dazed is an understatement. I am deeply saddened that his life with us has come to an end, but hope that when things settle down that the blog can continue, if for no other reason than to show the assholes of the world that Jonn is going to be around foreflippingever.

    1. 100%

      The image on this weekend open thread is perfect for today, by the way.

      I’ll be raising a glass.

    2. Same here…wrote my post in the weekend thread wishing everyone a great weekend and did a client call…then came back to see TSO’s post and just got all wet in my eyes….

      Never met the man, never met any of you here but I feel a strong bond with our shared words and experiences that was long missed before finding this blog a few years back…

      Sad day indeed.

  18. Present. The colors will be at half-staff at D’s Cantina this weekend. Prayers will be sent, and Jameson’s consumed.

  19. May God Bless Jonn and his family during this very sad time. I found this site a while back thanks to my good brother. Jonn did so much to expose these phonies and I will always love him for all the work he put into his mission. God Bless you Jonn, You have definetly earned your place in Heaven. I only wish I could have met you in person. I feel a great hole in my heart, Jonn, you will always be missed and never replaced.

  20. In an all-day newspaper seminar with banquet tonight … I read the sad news on a break, and really am saddened. I will post Did You Know…? later.

  21. If anyone in the Hartford CT area wants to meet up for food and/or drink(sss) this weekend to remember…
    Hit me up on this message.

  22. I’ve always believed that in times like these, the best thing those of us left behind can do is carry on as normally as possible. I owe Jonn a huge debt of thanks for allowing me to post my silly weekly column here; this week’s is dedicated to him.

    DID YOU KNOW…?
    Did Georgia Tech grant a degree in 1931 to a person who never existed?
    By Commissioner Wretched

    It’s the fourth week in July, and it’s hot.
    I mean, fry eggs on the sidewalk hot. Keep your car windows cracked open so your auto doesn’t become an oven hot. Earth has moved to within a few miles of the sun hot.
    I don’t know how you deal with the heat, and I’m a devotee of air conditioning, but I recently ran across the best story of how someone dealt with the temperatures of summer.
    In the summer of 1945, two men were sitting in a stiflingly hot office wishing they had a way to beat the heat. The men decided they’d “pool” (bad joke, I know) their respective talents at writing and composing, and create a song to take their minds off the scorching sun.
    The song they wrote has become the most-performed Christmas song of all time.
    “The Christmas Song” is the title of the song that the men – Mel Torme and Bob Wells – wrote. You probably know it better from its opening lyric, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” They never really intended for it to be a song, but that’s how it ended up.
    So if the heat is really getting to you, don’t just complain about it … write a Christmas song!
    Or write me an e-mail. I’m always at didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com and I always reply.
    On to some summer trivia!
    Did you know …
    … the ingredient list for Coca Cola has phosphoric acid in it, and you’re probably very glad it does? What do you mean, you didn’t even know it was in there? Well, it’s there for a very good reason – each 12-ounce can of Coke contains ten teaspoons of sugar, much more than your body can process at one time. The phosphoric acid cuts down on the sweetness of the drink, tricking your body into thinking there isn’t as much sugar in it as there is. (Sweet, isn’t it?)
    … Dr. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) never learned how to drive a car? He never really needed to, I suppose. There was always somebody willing to take him wherever he needed to go. (Looking at photos of the great scientist, I also believe nobody ever taught him how to comb his hair.)
    … Georgia Tech once awarded a degree to a man who never existed? When William Edgar Smith was admitted to the school in 1927, he was sent two enrollment forms. As a joke, Smith filled out the second form in the name of George P. Burdell and sent it in. The fictional Burdell had classes that mirrored Smith’s, and when Smith graduated in 1931, so did Burdell. Smith turned in slightly different assignments in Burdell’s name and even took tests twice, once for the made-up student. It worked – and since then, other students at other schools have kept the tradition alive, enrolling the fictional Burdell many times. He’s also served in the Air Force (not sure how that one came about), was listed on Tech’s basketball team, and has a store named after him in Georgia Tech’s student center. (And I did it the hard way! What’s wrong with me?)
    … a male platypus has venomous spurs on its hind feet? (I can understand. He’s so goofy-looking otherwise that he needs some kind of defense from the bullies of the animal world.)
    … if you drop a tarantula, its exoskeleton will shatter and it will die? (I doubt I will ever test that particular item in real life. I do not foresee me ever – ever – picking up a tarantula, much less dropping one. I don’t even like little spiders.)
    … the great scientist Dr. Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) had no idea what his IQ was? Dr. Hawking once said, “People who boast about their IQ are losers.” (Since I happen to know what mine is, I’ll just leave this item alone.)
    … Beauty and the Beast was the last Disney movie that had more hand-drawn animation than computer animation? (Can you spot which is which? I can’t. That means the hand-drawn stuff is good.)
    … England invaded Iceland during World War II? It was really pointless, as Iceland was completely neutral during the war. The only casualty of the invasion was a suicide en route to the island nation.
    … the state of Texas would be the world’s fifth-largest petroleum producer if it were an independent nation? Only 34 of Texas’ 254 counties have no known petroleum products within their boundaries. (That kind of explains why the show Dallas was set in Texas, doesn’t it?)
    … it’s against the law in the city of Eureka, Nevada, for men with mustaches to kiss women? (But I’ll bet it’s legal for women with mustaches to kiss men.)
    … water wheels to harness energy were invented by the Chinese? So was the iron plow. Both implements didn’t make it Europe until the 11th and 17th centuries, respectively. (So being Made in China was a good thing even then!)
    … a television viewer saved the life of a program host? Tarek El-Moussa (born 1981), host of the H&G Network show Flip or Flop, received an e-mail from a viewer who was a registered nurse. The nurse noticed that El-Moussa had an odd lump on his neck and she thought he needed to have it checked out. El-Moussa did, and learned he had thyroid cancer. He underwent surgery and radiation therapy which saved his life. El-Moussa met the nurse who saved his life on The Doctors on NBC in 2017. (I told you that watching television was good! Not as good as reading newspapers, maybe, but good nonetheless.)
    Now … you know!

    1. Agreed, Jonn said that to me once in a very backwards way … not wanting to say it out right.

      I am sitting here thinking of Jonn, sipping on whiskey from the Taconic Distillary.

      He would approve of me sitting in this thought, and of the spirit I have chosen.

    2. Agreed, Jonn said that to me once in a very backwards way … not wanting to say it out right.

      I am sitting here thinking of Jonn, sipping on whiskey from the Taconic Distillary.

      He would approve of me sitting in this thought, and of the spirit I have chosen.

    3. You laugh, but when I was at GT, they had a George P. Burdell lookalike contest.

      My freshman year, a bookish young gent had it all but won until a female (rare in those days) of stunning good looks (even rarer still) took the stage in a trenchcoat and librarian glasses, then proceeded to doff said coat and reveal an amazing bikini clad body.

      Needless to say, the assembled engineers went wild, save for the gent who watched his victory ripped from his bookish hands.

      1. I can only imagine! The Burdell story is a pretty funny one, though …

        1. He’s still around.

          Last I heard, one enterprising group came up with a fake student ID and enrolled him.

          In EVERY SINGLE COURSE GT OFFERED.

      1. It’s my honor to do so, and – as you said – especially today. I hope Jonn got a smile from it in heaven.

    5. Thanks for the infor, Commisioner Wretched.

      Tonight’s Full Moon will also be a lunar eclipse, the longest total lunar eclipse of this century, but is (now was by this time) only visible in Asia, Africa and Europe. However, Mars and the Moon are now at full opposition of the Earth, so if you have a clear sky tonight, look for the Moon and Mars together in the night sky. Depending on where you are, the Moon may have mooved further ahead of Mars by now. Good astronomy show, though.

      1. We have decent weather in the Southeast; I’ll have to get out my 6-inch reflector and take a look.

      2. Just came back in after using my 8″SCT and camera…. going to try and see what the stacking software does with the pics of Venus, Jupiter, the Moon and Mars.

    6. That’s nothing. There is a proud but humble woman owned business formerly located in Bethesda that has a fictitious woman as President of the company.

  23. I did this last night for you, Jonn. Winter Soldier made me a fan and this will be “home” as long as it’s TAH. DefendUSA sends…Saranac, and a stogie fer ya. ox
    IMG_5905.jpg
    IMG_5907.jpg

  25. Thank you Ex-PH2 for getting the WOT out and helping to keep the blog going. I have seen the others working here also. The purpose of Jonn’s blog will sadly, never end. I am grateful to you and the others who will help our family continue. While it will never be the same without Jonn, it will continue due to you and many more who have stepped up. That I believe is what Jonn would have wanted. To see his work continued. Thank you all again.

  26. Sometimes you must make do with what you have, so at 6pm I cracked open a scavenged “Not Your Father’s Root Beer” and lit up a white peach cigarillo left by a friend over a year ago. Sitting on my side bridge with a cool breeze blowing just seemed appropriate. But I really don’t recommend that combination. Still, it worked.

    Toast complete.

  27. “The face of courage today is Air Force cadet and football player Bradley Kim.”

    Yes, Kim is the latest face of courage. Some will call him a hero, no doubt. And what selfless, courageous and heroic thing did he do for this applause? He said he is queer. Bwahahahahahahah. Congratulations, Kim. And before someone tells me that someone’s sexual preference doesn’t matter if they can blah, blah, blah, try telling it first to the look-at-me-I’m-gay-and-different-so-there crowd. It may not matter to you, but it sure as hell matters to them.

  28. “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.” Ruth Bader-Ginsburg

    Yeah, that makes sense. Because Stevens lived long enough to overstay his usefulness on the court, Ruth will too! One problem with that, of course, is that she must be assured that she has at least five more years in Depends to accomplish that goal and life isn’t a motel, with a pre-set check-out time.

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