Sooo, person below me

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Mr. Plumbean

I too like to sleep out under the jokes that fly over my head. I like hiking but prefer to sleep in a building with hot water and so forth.

PBM did you ever get somewhere with no unnatural light and *really* see the stars? It's kind of amazing.

My brother lives in rural Vermont, with dark skies. I'd been trying to see the North America nebula for years, unsuccessfully, and the first night I stayed at his house when he moved there, I could see it without a telescope.

PBM: Any 'stellar' experiences to also share?

[mjmlabs]

Nope. [Hey, I gave y'all two weeks to come up with something, c'mon.]

PBM, whatcha drinking right now?

[C2H5OH]

Peach brandy

PBM: And you?

[Mr. Plumbean]

Earl Grey tea.

PBM who mows the lawn in October?

[thorny locust]

Me, if it's going to get done. October's usually the last round for the season; though one year I had a patch of overgrown lawn I hadn't gotten to that I mowed in December.

PBM, do you live where the lawn's done growing by mid-September?

[Jaglavak]

I just did the last mowing of the year, so nope.

PBM, Do you have an elm, and if not why not?

[stormie]

I have no elm, and I have no aim. I cannot aim for an elm.

PBM, do you have a qualm?

[What Exit?]

I have a few qualms, But as expected they are kind of vague.

PBM, Do you decorate for Halloween?

[Senpai]

I do now that I have my own space! it's not much, but I got some cute little bits and bobs here and there. I'm more of a baking kind of person for Halloween.



PBM, What is your favorite costume you've worn for Halloween?

[Mr. Plumbean]

Jesse Ventura (body suit and feather boas, etc.) He was governor at the time.

PBM good question, let's keep it going.

[Jaglavak]

A tattered old hobo costume with horns and a tail. I was a bum steer.

PBM, Did you know that slow breathing can improve a variety of health conditions including hypertension, stress, anxiety, chronic pain, and even help protect against Alzheimers?

[Metal Years]

No, but I do now, thanks for posting the link.

How long do you think Mike Johnson (R-Douchebagville) will last in his new gig as House Speaker?

[Mr. Plumbean]

Oh, I don't see him being canned. The GOP has to appear all happy and unified. Also there is no longer a such thing as a moderate Republican, they are all in on destroying democracy, making Trump a Forever King, and pass legislation to control sexual and reproductive autonomy. The conflict of previous weeks was only about who is friends with whom.

[၍ᙡᗩᙢᙢᙦᖇᗠᗩᙢᒞ]

PBM -- Are the political and world situations so nerve-wracking that you might forget to pose a question for PBM when you post in the PBM thread?

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by ၍ᙡᗩᙢᙢᙦᖇᗠᗩᙢᒞ

PBM -- Are the political and world situations so nerve-wracking that you might forget to pose a question for PBM when you post in the PBM thread?

Yes, yes indeed.

PBM, What distracts you from the current news cycle?

[3acres]

I find making goofy pictures with an AI text to image generator is a fun distraction.

PBM - have you done anything with any of the art, chat, or whatever AI's?

[Mr. Plumbean]

I messed it with it for a while and wasted a weekend on image tools using their free trials. Then got bored with it. I have AI fatigue since both of my professional worlds are always yapping about it (in education it's about cheating, in publishing it's about aggregate plagiarism and anxiety about being replaced).

PBM are you handing out candy this year for Halloween?

[What Exit?]

Planning to, have to pick it up real soon too. We're decorated. No idea how many kids will show up though.

PBM: Are you decorated for Halloween?

[Tripler]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

PBM: Are you decorated for Halloween?

Nope. But next year I'm breaking out the ghillie suit to 'decorate' the front porch with my presence.

Halloowen doesn't really do much for me anymore since commercialism seems to have blurred the lines between holidays together, especially since this is my busiest time of year at work. Don't get me wrong, I do celebrate a personally-important holiday here and there, but I just don't have the bandwidth to be in sustained festival mode for a combined Hallo-Turkey-XMas-Year Day.

Tripler
PBM: Which holiday are important to you?

[Jaglavak]

I love the wintertime holidays with the good cheer and the frosty weather. And 4th of July is when I get to see the fam.

PBM, Are you high maintenance?

[stormie]

I am now. These plates need rotated, balanced, oiled and set every year.

PBM, In emoticons, how thrilled are you that Ratty is better and posting? Any of these fill the bill?

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by stormie

I am now. These plates need rotated, balanced, oiled and set every year.

PBM, In emoticons, how thrilled are you that Ratty is better and posting? Any of these fill the bill?

Yes to the first, No to the second question. The appropriate emoticon is this one: , guarding your ankles, and avoiding really bad puns.

PBM: Does Ratty deserve her own tiny violin Emoji??? I think she does. @Rebo, please, make it so!

[Rebo]

Here you go!

@Rat Diva

[Rat Diva]

Woohoo! My very own kabonger emoji, just in time for the new megapoll! ::glomphugs Rebo and stormie, for welcoming me back with happy emoticons::

[Mr. Plumbean]

I am glad to see Ratty is back on board, so to speak.

PBM have you ever played pickleball?

[What Exit?]

I have not.

PBM: Have you ever gone bowling?

[Senpai]

Of course! It's been a minute, though.

PBM, did you ever play on a sports team at all?

[JackieLikesVariety]

never

PBM is it Your Friday?

ETA: does everyone know how people who don't work M-F will say it's their Monday or whatever?

[Metal Years]

I first encountered someone saying that about six years ago and have since heard it from a few other people. I don't like it.

It got down to 31°F here the other night. Has the temperature yet gotten to or below freezing where you are?

[၍ᙡᗩᙢᙢᙦᖇᗠᗩᙢᒞ]

Wow! I honeymooned here in the Winter of '93-'94 and a bit of hail made me think "The weather here might be tolerable!" But checking the NOAA data for CNX airport, I see that -- by coincidence? -- 5-Jan-1994 was the coldest day in the five decades of its records with a Low of 37.4°F.

Where we used to live, near Nakhon Nowhere, there were only 19 days during March-April-May of 2016 with High temperatures below 100°F. This heat spell included 22 consecutive days in April with Highs above 107°F, and another such 12 consecutive days in May. I almost bragged about it: "Hey! Wouldn't you like to live in a location so exotic we got 22 consecutive days above 107°F!!"

But now I see that the weather station at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport reported 57 days this year with temperatures above 111°F. All 57 of these days were hotter than ANY day ever recorded in Thailand. During this summer Phoenix had 55 consecutive days above 108°F.



PBM: Is Phoenix an exotic location?

[Jaglavak]

Hah! I suppose it could be, in the same way as the fourth pit of hades. But the best feature of Phoenix is that its far away.

PBM, Do you ever dream of hocking it all and setting out for the freedom of the open road, just you and your hardtail chopper?

[What Exit?]

No, that's crazy talk. But once upon time, I wanted to take several months off and explore the country in a conversion van. Just myself and my new bride. Instead we did the sensible thing and now I'm too old to enjoy such a trip the same way.

PBM: Did you ever drive cross country?

[Senpai]

I have not. Does Half-Cross Country count? :B

I would love to be able to do something like that, but alas, it would be pretty difficult for me. There are a bunch of places I'd like to check out, though, and hopefully someday I can do just that! Might have to be by plane, though.

PBM, do you enjoy flying or despise it?

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by Senpai

I have not. Does Half-Cross Country count? :B

I would love to be able to do something like that, but alas, it would be pretty difficult for me. There are a bunch of places I'd like to check out, though, and hopefully someday I can do just that! Might have to be by plane, though.

PBM, do you enjoy flying or despise it?

I'm of two minds on that one. I paid a few (90) bucks to fly on one of these, I don't remember which one, but it was the most frightening 12 minutes in the air I've ever done. My mother flew on one when she was a kid. I will gladly do it again. Next Year. Or maybe a year later. It depends when my adrenal glands recover.

A few years ago, I rode an airliner down to my brother's INT'NL airport, and when that rough ride down was done, I said to my seat-mate "Cheated death yet again!" She was shocked at that. Yeah, when you're prepared for death, you tend to say things you shouldn't have.

Flying is fun. If your adrenal glands can handle it.

PBM: Same question...?

[silenus]

Dad was an Air Force Instructor Pilot and owned his own plane, so I've been flying since forever. I enjoy flying. I DO NOT enjoy getting on an commercial airplane. If I fly anywhere these days, it's only where Jet Suite et al fly. I'm too fucking old and cantankerous to handle modern stack 'em and pack 'em airlines.

Hell, I was flying in helicopters before I could walk.


PBM - same question.

[What Exit?]

I don't like flying. Commercial air flight is a form of minor torture these days. Additionally a breeding ground for COVID and the like. Actually, I haven't flown since 2019, holy crap.

PBM: where have you been across an ocean?

[၍ᙡᗩᙢᙢᙦᖇᗠᗩᙢᒞ]

It's been about 16 years since I was in an airplane, but I flew around the world twice back in the 1980's. Both trips were counter-clockwise so my day count is off by two. I used to joke to myself that I needed two clockwise circumnavigations to restore my clock, but such travel is increasingly unlikely for me.

Neither round-the-world trip was premeditated. Twice I found myself in Europe, probably at the bidding of a certain bald Hungarian, and then, mission accomplished, went to an airport. Would I rather return to California or go to Thailand? I checked my suitcase, found some traveler's cheques left over, and opted for the Land of Smiles!



PBM: Where in the world have you visited once or less, but visiting (or re-visiting) is high on your "bucket list"?

[Mr. Plumbean]

I want to go to the Pyrenees and see cave art. Most of those places are now closed to the public now. I have been through them on a train as a kid but not really seen anything.

PBM what is the longest train trip you've taken?

[What Exit?]

A little over 4 hours in all. Only Red Bank NJ to Beacon NY to spend a week on the Clearwater as a volunteer crew member. I jogged from Penn Station to Grand Central with a seabag on my back to make the connection. Apparently just over 100 miles.

PBM: What's the longest trip you took by boat or ship?

[C2H5OH]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

A little over 4 hours in all. Only Red Bank NJ to Beacon NY to spend a week on the Clearwater as a volunteer crew member. I jogged from Penn Station to Grand Central with a seabag on my back to make the connection. Apparently just over 100 miles.

PBM: What's the longest trip you took by boat or ship?

From Bermuda to Norfolk Va, aboard an aircraft carrier.

PBM: What's the biggest ship/boat, by displacement, you ever rode on that you didn't have to pay for (and paying for includes exchanging your labor, even if paid, so as guest of the boat owner counts, but as crew or customer doesn't) for the privilege?

[၍ᙡᗩᙢᙢᙦᖇᗠᗩᙢᒞ]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

PBM: What's the longest trip you took by boat or ship?

Not much, but the high-speed boat from Hongkong to Macau. If measured by time, instead of distance, a couple of other trips would be longer.

Macao was big in blackjack/etc back in the 1970's, and by now -- Is it bigger than Las Vegas?

Did you guys read about the big bank swindle decade or two ago? The blackhats had Bangladesh central bank's computer completely root-jacked! Along with various other hacks and clevernesses, this was enough to direct money from the central bank's account in New York to private accounts in the Philippines. Immediately after these transfers (and in the middle of the Chinese New Year Festival!), the amount was withdrawn in cash. The bank was led to understand that this cash was needed to bankroll some very big high-rollers from China. (I dunno. Even if the magnate intended only to lose $100,000 or so, he might want to put $10 million on the table, just to show he had it.) The cash was soon on an airplane to Macao. The final destination of the billion dollars was North Korea. (They tried for $10 billion but the bad boys had bad luck: their account name (Jupiter?) happened to match a different "Jupiter" in a terrorist list, thus automatic delaying the transaction for human scrutiny after the weekend in New York.)


PBM: Had you heard of that bank swindle, North Korea stealing about a billion dollars from Bangladesh?

[Jaglavak]

I do recall that one. The Chinese new year thing was fiendishly clever.

PBM, Must you?

[thorny locust]

Yes. I must.

PBM, do any of the rooms in your house/apartment/yurt/whatever smell musty?

[Tripler]

Originally Posted by thorny locust

PBM, do any of the rooms in your house/apartment/yurt/whatever smell musty?

Nope. Iusually air things out often enough. That, and my mobile dusters* tend to help move things and air enought around.

* My cats, who must simply investigate every . . . open . . . door. . . .

Tripler
PBM, my house was built in 1951. How about yours?

[thorny locust]

1894.

PBM, same question.

[C2H5OH]

1870. It was a farmhouse, and got added onto in the 1890s. Nothing in this house was built square. I always have to cut repair materials at some kind of angle. Hanging pictures or whatever so they at least look even is also fun...

PBM: How square is your house.

[thorny locust]

Not very. I think it was when it was built; but it's settled unevenly since then. And is still at it -- we just had to re-shim a couple of doors to get them working right, and they worked fine 30 years ago.

PBM, do you know what size a two-by-four used to be?

[Tripler]

Originally Posted by thorny locust

PBM, do you know what size a two-by-four used to be?

No, but if memory serves, actual measurement is 1-3/4" by 3-3/4".

Tripler
PBM: Why'd it change?

[Jaglavak]

Because the lumber industry managed to convince the feds that a 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 planed smooth board is as strong as a 2 x 4 rough sawn board. Thus getting 20% more boards per tree but charging just as much.

PBM, Is there any industry that is not trying to chisel you to death?

[Mr. Plumbean]

The chisel industry?

PBM On a scale of 0 (nice) to 10 (naughty) what was your year like? Asking for a bearded friend.