IFLA: The “Take a Breather” Edition of the Horoscope for the Week of May 26

This week the skies are taking a break from all the doom and gloom to go off to a Signs and Portents convention.  As such there are no alignments.  Not a one.

The regular progression progresses regularly. Welcome Gemini!  And also to you Gemini. You two get the standard good luck package of the Sun in conjunction with Mercury.  Taurus is horning in on your deluxe trifecta by cowing Venus into submission, so you won’t get it this year.  On the flip side, it’s good romantic news for gay men and BBWs.  Mars in Cancer brings general crabbiness and belligerence, but that’s offset by the moon in Aquarius keeping things relaxing.  The retrograde Jovians keep doing their thing, but no worse than last week.  Recommended activity:   drinking at the beach and/or manatee watching, though you will encounter an asshole committing crimes (or at least violations of the civil code) while doing so.

While the skies may be easing off on the hostilities, the cards aren’t. I’m not seeing a clear event indicator, but plenty of reversed and skewed both to power cards and swords.  The only Major Arcana not reversed?  Judgment.  Oh and in case you’re wondering why there is a Judgment and a Justice, “Judgment” is a shortened version of “The Last Judgment.”

Gemini:  Page of Swords, reversed – a weaselly bastard working against you, being unprepared, sickness.

Cancer:  Judgment – Great change, renewal

Leo:  King of Swords – Command, authority, hard power

Virgo:  5 of Coins, reversed – Disorder, chaos, ruin, profligacy

Libra:  Ace of Swords, reversed – Pyrrhic victory, defeat, crazed ex

Scorpio:  Knight of Wands, reversed –  Rupture, division, interruption, discord

Sagittarius:  Knight of Swords – Skill, bravery, wrath, enmity, destruction, ruin,war, resistance, opposition, defense

Capricorn:  The Fool, reversed – Negligence, apathy, carelessness, vanity

Aquarius:  9 of Swords, reversed – imprisonment, doubt, shame, reasonable fear

Pisces:  5 of Swords – Degradation, reversal, infamy, loss, dishonor, destruction

Aries:  Ace of Cups, reversed – False heart, mutation, instability, revolution

Taurus:  7 of Wands, reversed – Perplexity, embarrassment, anxiety

 

 

Comments

286 responses to “IFLA: The “Take a Breather” Edition of the Horoscope for the Week of May 26”

  1. Tres Cool

    I meant to ask if the stars last week predicted your meeting with UCS?

    1. Not Adahn

      No that had been on the calendar for over a month.

  2. Yusef drives a Kia

    Virgo: 5 of Coins, reversed – Disorder, chaos, ruin, profligacy
    Thanksu, Sup Tres coffee in the air

    1. Tres Cool

      I have the same forecast, Yufus

      Im saving my Tall Cans till this evening

      1. westernsloper

        It’s a long weekend you are supposed to have Tall Cans all day. It’s a rule.

        1. MikeS

          I’m on it!

        2. egould310

          Just poured a bourbon and branch water. Why not? The Doyers game start in a few minutes anyways.

          Cheers, Glibs!

  3. KSuellington

    “Sagittarius: Knight of Swords – Skill, bravery, wrath, enmity, destruction, ruin,war, resistance, opposition, defense”

    So, you’re telling me it’s gonna be a typical week?

    1. Cacciatore

      Sounds about right for me, too.

  4. kinnath

    Pisces: 5 of Swords – Degradation, reversal, infamy, loss, dishonor, destruction

    So, a good day to brew then?

  5. mikey

    Virgo: 5 of Coins, reversed – Disorder, chaos, ruin, profligacy

    Good Times, then?

    1. AlmightyJB

      I prefer boring and uneventful. I can make that work.

      1. Suthenboy

        ^this guy gets it^

        Boring is highly underrated.
        Excitement = tears and an empty wallet

  6. Suthenboy

    “Rupture, division, interruption, discord”

    Well, I am a bug.

    *skitters across floor, disappears under baseboard*

  7. Sensei

    Libra: Ace of Swords, reversed – Pyrrhic victory, defeat, crazed ex

    Well, Crunchyroll made FLCL Alternative and FLCL Progressive available this holiday weekend. So it kind of works…

    I didn’t love the original FLCL initially, but it did grow on me to the point where I’m rather fond of it. Once again it had lots of untranslatable stuff that I only realized later.

  8. Spudalicious

    “Crazed ex”

    Any idea which one?

  9. Not Adahn

    I am way behind on my having fun today — off to Wal Mart to buy ammo.

    1. westernsloper

      I was just at Walmart and bought jalepenos for a batch of candied japs to go with todays pulled pork. As well as this summers pool. $48 this year. That is $4 over last year. No inflation my ass.

      1. Fourscore

        Why not, everyone else is doing it.

        1. Not Adahn

          While I have no scorn for yokeltarians, I do not personally consider myself one.

          However, I walked out of Walmart with bread, beans, beef and bullets.

          1. westernsloper

            I walked out of Walmart with bread, beans, beef and bullets.

            For not being a yokeltarian, you sure shop like one.

      2. candied japs

        Is that racist? That sounds like it’s racist.

        1. Spudalicious

          Would you prefer candied Nipponese?

          1. Well, it’s more PC, right?

  10. westernsloper

    It seems the stars are not aligned with the cards for Gemini. Or maybe I don’t understand this science.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    Just remember- A Pyrrhic victory is still a victory.

  12. Not Adahn

    Also, an update on the Sig engraving — the engraver remounted the sights perfectly. So, good job to him. He’s applying for an FFL so you’ll be able to send him serialized parts in the future.

  13. Suthenboy

    last link on previous thread, Oregon robbery

    HS: I worked at a gas station. It was just a little glass booth and ten pumps. I had a little sliding window. I sat on a stool in front of the window and register and took money. Easy job, got to talk to everyone in town.
    When I would sit on the stool and look to my right there was a bullet hole exactly even with my eyes through the plate glass about one and half feet away. Directly behind me there was a bullet hole about six feet away even with my chest. Two clerks previous to me were shot to death because A) they were not armed and B) they refused to hand over the cash.
    One day my boss noticed that I was wearing a pistol. He gave me a stern speech on the company’s no-weapons policy.

    “If this pistol leaves here, so do I. It aint up for discussion”

    He shuffled his feet, mumbled a bit then said. “Let’s pretend this didn’t happen. Don’t say anything and I won’t either.”

    I stayed there until the end of summer. I liked that guy and I liked that job. I hated leaving there.

    1. westernsloper

      There is a kerfuffle around here right now because a nearby county operates a facility where alcohol is served. One person complained that concealed carry is allowed on these premises when said alcohol is being served. It is illegal to drink while carrying and I don’t know anybody who would do it but one person who is afraid of guns has the county commissioners all flustered. This is where I wish local politicians would have the balls to tell a citizen, who is most likely a new arrival, “to just not go there if they are that afraid of guns. Other citizens rights will not be infringed due to their irrational fear.”

      1. Suthenboy

        One person is whining. You can whine too. See if you can round up some other like minds.

        Email the council a copy of this: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/us/colorado-lawmaker-concedes-defeat-in-recall-over-gun-law.html

        1. westernsloper

          Oh by a huge majority people in that county as well as the neighboring counties would agree with me. We have a lot of transplants ran off the front range due to cost of living as well as California and the pacific north west moving in though. Things are changing and not for the good. I am often thinking about where I will move.

          1. Gustave Lytton

            I’m sorry WS. Too many of these types wandering about complaining about the hobgoblins in their minds. I wish these fuckers would just take one of those plastic bags, the ones they want to ban completely, and do the world a favor by wrapping it around their head for ~200 seconds.

          2. Tundra

            A buddy of mine is in Bend, OR. He said that it used to be a complete 180 from the West side of the state, but that prog-creep is happening there, too.

            Wyoming, maybe?

          3. westernsloper

            Too cold and windy. I am thinking lower latitudes.

          4. Spudalicious

            Bend has become proggyland.

          5. Alaska, baby. Great hunting and fishing, no hot weather, A+ state on guns, legal pot. I’m angling to start a Glibs compound up there.

          6. westernsloper

            No hot weather is putting it mildly. Too far north. No pool season.

          7. Rhywun

            It’s 86 today and low humidity and I’m already feeling sluggish. I wish I could hibernate until September or so and skip what’s coming soon.

          8. 57 degrees and raining here in NorCal today, both completely unseasonal. We should be about 80 with no rain in the forecast until November.

            Perhaps global Climate Crisis™ is having an inverse effect on the Bay Area? The warmer the planet gets, the cooler and wetter we will get?

          9. blackjack

            Same shitty weather here in socal. It’s usually 70-85 from April until September here. Doggamn climate change. The sea looks a little bit higher too, maybe 1 or 2 centimeters.

          10. Suthenboy

            Well, you know what I am going to suggest as a destination.

          11. westernsloper

            Straight to hell?

          12. Suthenboy

            Do they have alligators, excellent fishing, open carry and shall issue in hell?
            Try hanging around Louisiana for a while before you make a decision. It has a tendency to grow on y ou. We could use more like you around here.

          13. westernsloper

            Louisiana is on the short list believe it or not.

      2. Fatty Bolger

        So stupid. Aren’t you more likely to be accidentally shot by a cop than a CCL holder?

        1. Suthenboy

          6X more likely.

    1. Survived by his wife of 65 years, Cherry.

    2. CPRM

      Much sorrow will be rended in these parts.

      1. MikeS

        And much beer consumed.

        I mean, not because Bart died, just because it’s Wisconsin.

    3. Fourscore

      Bart was an Air Force brat, I met his father in 1959, Sgt Maj of small AF base in Pforzhiem, Germany. He had a picture of Bart on his desk, in the air throwing a pass.
      Father was also a good guy

  14. westernsloper

    As for candied japs and pulled pork:

    Roll of crescent rolls out of your grocers refrigerated section.
    Pulled pork from your long weekend.
    Candied Japs.

    Unroll crescent rolls and separate.
    Place as much pulled pork as possible and still be able to roll them.
    Top with about a T of candied japs.
    Roll each one up.
    Bake.

    Great for breakfast on the go.

  15. MikeS

    Pisces: 5 of Swords – Degradation, reversal, infamy, loss, dishonor, destruction

    So…you’re saying I shouldn’t start any wars this week?

    1. blackjack

      Capricorn:  The Fool, reversed – Negligence, apathy, carelessness, vanity

      You sound like you have it worse then me, but I don’t really care.

      1. Spudalicious

        Do you think that level of vanity is fair?

  16. MikeS

    As such there are no alignments. Not a one.

    Is this common? Does the lack of alignments have any significance?

    1. Sounds like he needs to call a chiropractor. It’s as sciencey as astrology.

      1. MikeS

        I was just being polite.

  17. Tundra

    Leo: King of Swords – Command, authority, hard power

    Fuck yeah!

    *declares war on Wisconsin*

    1. Suthenboy

      You are supposed to declare war on a place that has something you want. What? Are you a cheese freak?

      1. To be fair, Minnesodans are jealous of Wisconsin.

        1. blackjack

          +1 hossenpepper incorporated

        2. MikeS

          North Dakota offers moral support if you promise to sell New Glarus in the border towns after you conquer them.

          1. Tundra

            Woot! Our first strategic partner!

            Just send us your toughest roughnecks with alcohol problems. We need shock troops.

          2. MikeS

            *assembles the Frac’ing Force*

        1. Suthenboy

          Ok….honestly….me too.

          *joins Tundra’s army*

    2. CPRM

      And your army stops immediately when they see how cheap and easy all the booze is, after all you light weights pass out we’ll paint you green and gold.

      1. Tundra

        Bah. Our commander of MNSCONCOM is a fucking Pope, dude. You guys are curds.

        1. MikeS

          “We’re on a mission from God”

          1. Cool link, bro.

          2. Tundra

            And a Canadian girlfriend?

          3. To be fair, that was the pope I was expecting.

          4. CPRM

            Also, the Jack’s Links guys appear to be friends of STEVE SMITH, so watch your backside!

  18. BEAM’s not a team player

    OT: This is very sad.

    1. Suthenboy

      I could have gone all day without reading that.

      I hate that. I usually don’t tell anyone but on the few occasions when I have I get the ‘thank you’ bit. I usually tell them “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t.

      Do you have any children? Do you love them?”

      1. Fourscore

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8

        I’m still bitter about VN.

        1. Suthenboy

          I try to zone out on news from the ME.I get so angry I can hardly see straight.

          I have yet to have one nitwit tell me what we have gotten or expect to get out of that shithole.

          Give me five minutes with Max Boot, John Bolton…etc. They get an ass whipping, a rifle and go straight into the shit.

          1. Fourscore

            In 1991 I called BS on Bush Senior’s escapades.Hey man, its not like VN, that was a jungle, this is a desert, we’ll be in and out with a W on our side. I mentioned that the other team lives there, they think they own the place. 28 and counting.

            “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”

    2. Tres Cool

      Whoa.

    3. MikeS

      This tweet sums it up:

      “This is one of the most heartbreaking threads I’ve ever read.”

    4. westernsloper

      Damn

    5. Main thing I gather from that is how wonderful socialized medicine is. Those soldiers get the best care available from the VA.

  19. Timeloose

    Boy the Virgos’ are getting it good and hard this week.

  20. Fatty Bolger

    Hate makes a comeback in the Pacific Northwest

    More SLPC driven bullshit, of course. At least people in the comments are pointing it out.

    1. Considering that the “progressives” are the party of hate, I have to disagree with the use of the word “comeback”.

    2. “White nationalism has been on the rise across the U.S”

      Still waiting to see solid data on this. And, even if true, not sure what the race hustlers expected to happen when white people are singled out as uniquely evil. Seems pretty likely they’d band together in the same way the progs have encouraged other ethnic groups.

      1. Rhywun

        They should be cheering it on. That is their goal, after all.

    3. Gustave Lytton

      Austrian far-right activist who was investigated for ties to the suspected New Zealand mosque gunman

      I zoned out after that line.

    4. mikey

      Last time the SPLC came up I went to their site and at random picked a hate group – America’s Promise Ministries which in mentioned in the article.
      I did a little research (like 15 min) and found it was the brain fart of a self-declared minister in Sand Point, ID. It’s been going downhill for years.

      According to the SPLC:

      “Though attendance at its services rarely exceeds 40 congregants, America’s Promise Ministries continues to have a widespread impact in the Identity world through its publishing business. Its summertime family retreats, held in locations from Florida to New Mexico, are popular events in the Christian Identity world, drawing pastors and adherents from throughout the United States”

      Publishing business – a Web 1.0 site with a shit ton of .pdf screeds you can download for less than a buck.
      Summertime family retreats – Only evidence I could find was a video of the retreat in 1983. It had 161 views – two of them mine.

      We should all be living in fear yessir.

      Click here if you’re brave enough.
      https://www.americaspromiseministries.org/

      1. mikey

        The guy has some pretty racist views, but reverse the colors and they’re not as bad as what’s commonplace coming from average college professors and students.

        1. Rhywun

          Yeah, the NYC school system is pushing more hate than these people. So they think whitey is special. BFD.

      2. Rhywun

        They even have a newsletter you can sign up for.

        1. mikey

          Yep. real “influencers” they are.

    5. Rhywun

      Never change, Yahoo (Finance?!).

  21. Spudalicious

    Hmm. I’m sitting at a bar drinking again. I may have to look into this one of these days.

    1. MikeS

      Haha. Like the new avatar. Poor guy. Hope he’s progressing well.

      1. Cone of shame.

      2. Spudalicious

        He’s doing great. And the backs of my legs have bruises.

  22. “Ace of Swords, reversed – Pyrrhic victory, defeat, crazed ex”

    WTF? Why does Libra keep getting shit on?

    1. Not Adahn

      Fate has never been portrayed as a kindly buxom woman.

      1. Suthenboy

        Nope.
        Mother Nature is one mean-ass bitch. As my Grandaddy said “She is so mean the Devil wouldn’t hire her to haul people to hell.”

      2. My life has pretty much been built around kindly buxom women. I guess that explains a lot.

  23. Suthenboy

    Interesting story.

    Recently I stopped at a gas station deli. I was hungry. I examined the food to see what looked most safe. They had some giant tater-tots. Unremarkable looking but probably safe.

    Holy crap. Those things were incredibly delicious. Bacon, cheddar and chives. Typical factory food from US Foods and I can’t find them anywhere else for sale.

    I suppose I will be making my own.

    1. CPRM

      Well, if you REALLY liked them.

      1. Suthenboy

        Thank you. Geez. 65 bucks?

        The store said they would order me a case for half of that, but I was thinking of going Westernsloper’s route. learning how to perfect them could be as rewarding as the eating.

        1. egould310

          Oh yeah. Learn to make it yourself. The wife and I will go hard at certain foods we really like, but can’t always have access to. I make a deep dish pizza that is exactly like Lou Malnati’s. My Skyline chili is pretty much Skyline chili (maybe even better, though). Homemade tots just the way you like them would be so rewarding.

          Speaking of tots; here are Tater Totz covering Os Mutantes’ “Bat Macumba”.
          https://youtu.be/0s7I8-zcaq4

          1. Tres Cool

            Skyline be ill af.
            And contrary to what many people say, Camp Washington > Skyline > Gold Star

          2. Fatty Bolger

            If you mean it makes you ill, I agree.

    2. westernsloper

      Perfecting the homemade gourmet tater tot is a culinary road I have not traveled yet but it is always in my head. I am thinking dehydrated hash browns and instant mash would be the way to go. Ratio, I am not sure of.

    3. MikeS

      For those in NoDak/Minny, Lucky’s 13 has amazing stuffed tater tots. Also, very good stuffed burgers.

  24. Bottom shelf scotch and sprite is a pretty killer combination.

    1. Not Adahn

      When I went to a Vietnamese wedding, every table at the reception dinner had a bottle of brandy and a carafe of Sprite.

    2. blackjack

      Not as good as top shelf scotch with a scotch mixer, I’m guessing.

      1. slumbrew

        or single malt, hold the mixer.

        1. blackjack

          Yeah, I could have phrased that more…neatly.

          1. westernsloper

            Straight up example of poor phrasing right there.

          2. This thread is on the rocks.

          3. Spudalicious

            This is a pour excuse for a chat room.

          4. egould310

            Jigger please!

          5. Gustave Lytton

            You guys are really giving Switzy the finger. Make that two.

          6. MikeS

            You guys have really raised the bar with this pun thread.

          7. Rebel Scum

            *squints menacingly*

          8. You guys are really giving Switzy the finger. Make that two.

            Would that be served with a Swisszle Stick?

          9. Tres Cool

            I think a more appropriate term would be jee-groe.

          10. Spudalicious

            They sell the best weed.

          11. Tres Cool

            DIdnt even take me half a second:
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HgYANNbzHo

    3. Yusef drives a Kia

      Absolut with squirt soda, easy Greyhounds

      1. CPRM

        If you’re going vodka, vanilla vodka with orange soda tastes like a creamsicle.

      2. Spudalicious

        If you’re squirting soda, you might want to get that checked out.

        1. Chicks are more likely to swallow that way.

          1. Spudalicious

            Fair point.

          2. Suthenboy

            Depends on where the squirting originates.

          3. Spudalicious

            Yet another fair point.

  25. Rhywun

    Steam is downloading a game here at literally 1 byte/sec. The one squirrel on duty must be hungover or something.

    1. Rebel Scum

      I hate having to run games through Steam. But it does save all progress in the event of a crash or needing to reinstall.

    2. Perhaps this Steam will download faster for you.

      1. Rhywun

        “Sign in to confirm your age” – lolwut

        1. Yeah, it’s actually a pretty racy video for the 80’s.
          Sideboob on a black hooker, and Peter Gabriel with nothing on but a g-string.

    3. humans can read the hexidecimal values faster than one byte per second.

  26. MikeS

    Doe anyone have any idea how the hell I can listen to a Twins game on the internet? I am even willing to pay for Gameday Audio, but if I am reading the blackout restrictions correctly, almost every game will be blacked out. But I can’t listen to a stream of any of the radio stations that carry the Twins, because MLB won’t let them do that because they want me to buy Gameday Audio.

    What the fuck is going on here?

    And no; an actual radio is not a good option because I can’t get the station that carries the Twins in my steel shop.

    1. westernsloper

      Outdoor antenna for radio? Or sit in the driveway.

      1. MikeS

        Probably what I’ll have to do.

      2. Gustave Lytton

        Or receiver outside and speaker wire to speaker inside?

      3. blackjack

        I saw Apocalypse Now at the 5 points drive-in in Oxnard . My brother and I hopped the fence with a case of beer and a transistor radio, clipped the antenna wire to it and viola. Didn’t even have to ride in a trunk.

    2. CPRM

      Radio stations can’t stream MLB at all, unless they are an affiliate with a contract (IE Fox Sports, and then only what ever game is on the national broadcast.) You could stream the video though and listen.

      1. MikeS

        No…that’s the thing. I am in the blackout area.

        1. MikeS

          I can’t stream the local stations because of what you said, but I can’t even pay MLB to stream through their service, because I’m in the stupid blackout area.

      2. CPRM

        you can stream the tv coverage at 720pstream.me/minnesota-twins-live-stream I don’t vouch for the safety of the site nor it’s legality, just found it wih a quick search.

        1. Rhywun

          Yeah, Twitter for all its other uselessness will probably point out a bunch of iffy streams. I’ve never had any problem with them.

        2. MikeS

          I’ve been trying to stay away from sketchy sites like that, but I’ll give it a try. Actually, I’d prefer an audio only link to cut down on bandwidth usage.

          The main thing is this shouldn’t be so fucking hard. It’s current year. I am willing to pay for an audio-only stream. It shouldn’t be this hard.

          1. CPRM

            Like I said, audio only is going to be harder to find, because no one is allowed to stream the audio, so video is the way you have to go because ain’t no one running audio out of their radio to stream over the internet, but a lot of people got their TVs running into their pc.

          2. MikeS

            Gotcha. I guess I just need a big, outdoor FM antennae.

        3. MikeS

          That is working, thanks CPRM. Still searching for an audio only option if anyone has any ideas.

          I’ve found Tune-In, but apparently that turns to a pay service after the introductory week or month or what ever it is.

          1. Yusef drives a Kia

            I use tune in and never paid a dime

    3. Suthenboy

      No one listens to sports on the radio. That went the way of oil lamps, black powder and crank handle washing machines. Every time you tune in to that you encourage the stations to cut off Mark Levin for LSU bouncy ball. Stop that. Just stop it.

      1. MikeS

        Haha. Sorry, Suthen’. I guess I’m old-fashioned.

      2. Tres Cool

        Grandpa Tres would drive Grandma crazy when the reds were on. Before the 7-second delay, he would drag his chair in front of the (console) TV that took up most of the room, even though I was maybe a 25″ screen. He would assemble a TV tray, small cooler with cold Goebel, and his perpetually over-flowing ash-tray. And then, out to the garage to get his 100′ blaze-orange extension cord. He only needed about 10′ of it to reach the TV tray which is where he laid his Realistic AM transistor radio, with the 120V transformer that was 2/3 the size of the shitty radio. Then with the Reds on TV, he turned off the volume, and listened to play-by-play on 700 WLW, through one of those 1970s ear-buds.

        1. Spudalicious

          The house my parents bought in ’72 had an antenna with a motor on it. There was a box next to the tv that had a dial on it. I had never seen my dad that giddy before.

          1. Tres Cool

            Yup. Grandparents had that too, with channel numbers in pencil in their respective places on the dial

          2. Suthenboy

            Same here….after years of having kids taking turns going out and manually turn the antenna while e everyone else inside yelled “Stop! No, go back…there….no…go the other way!” Until we got some half-assed snowy image. The worst was when the audio was out. You can sorta follow a show with just audio but if the audio goes out….

          3. cyto

            It really is hard to explain to people who were not alive before cable. The picture quality for most of us was….. well, by today’s standards it was way below unwatchable.

            You’d be watching your favorite show and the top half of the picture would suddenly slide to the right in a waving motion, black bars and snow pressing into the already fuzzy and indistinct picture. Even in the best of circumstances the picture wasn’t what you’d call good today.

          4. Spudalicious

            “We control the vertical, we control the horizontal.”

          5. blackjack

            Yup. We used to only watch tv for about 2 hours on Saturday mornings. Except when you were home sick from school. Most of the programming was decades old. At midnight, a flag would pop up and they’d play the national anthem and then just stop. Something with an indian head and some arrows until morning. There were only 3-4 channels at any given time. Weather could shut the whole thing down. Good times.

          6. Fourscore

            “You’d be watching your favorite show and the top half of the picture would suddenly slide to the right in a waving motion, black bars and snow pressing into the already fuzzy and indistinct picture.”

            1948, Hwy B and G on Hiawatha Ava next to the VA Hospital. My friend’s dad owned the place and would let us kids watch the 14 inch B & W until the 5 PM crowd showed up. Loved the Mpls Millers.

          7. Tres Cool

            My Dad the Navy vet, would get drunk and watch ‘Victory at Sea’, broadcast from a low-power PBS station in Oxford, Oh.
            I dont think I ever saw one that the picture was wholly discernible.

          8. SandMan

            We had that when I was a kid, a tall directional antenna with the direction control box sitting on the TV. Broadcast stations were 50-100 miles away, in different directions, so it was necessary. But we all crapped our pants when lightening struck on afternoon and the control box blew up. TV was also nuked, but it went quietly.

          9. SandMan

            And I think we got 4 channels.

          10. Spudalicious

            Three networks and PBS.

          11. In Chicagoland it was three networks, PBS, WGN (Channel 9, which at least had every Cubs game live and several Krusty the Klown-style daily kids shows), and two UHF stations — one with a few White Sox games, a couple Krusties and Speed Racer, the other in Spanish and really grainy. So seven stations in all, six of which we watched, we had it pretty good. But my grandparents in downstate Illinois only got one channel, the CBS affiliate out of Champaign. They didn’t seem to care too much, since that channel had Lawrence Welk, which seemed to be the only show ever on in their house.

        2. Heh, so we’ll do that for Redskins games. We put the game on the TV and mute it, then put on the local DC ESPN station and listen to the commentary. It’s just way, way better. It’s mostly ex-Redskins doing the commentary along with a local radio guy. Plus Sonny Jurgensen has reached the age of not giving a fuck but is still sharp enough to speak intelligently about the game, so half the fun is listening for whatever wild shit he’s going to say.

      3. Suthenboy

        My step father would stand in the driveway half of the night with a beer in hand and listen to football on the car radio.
        Actually thinking of that brings back some fond memories.

    4. egould310

      Try the TuneIn radio app. https://tunein.com/

      The premium option should get you streaming mlb. I listen to the Doyers this way.

    5. Rebel Scum

      I use a vpn to get around ESPN+ blackouts.

      1. MikeS

        I was just wondering about that. I assume that MLB would use my billing address and not my IP address? Maybe not.

    6. Left Hand of Radar

      Mike, as far as I know, no RADIO is ever blacked out on Gameday. Probably because you’ll get the local commercials. I’ve had it for years and I think it’s a great deal. MLB.tv is where you get blackouts.

      1. MikeS

        OK, I was curious about that. In teh blackout FAQ they kept referring to MLB.tv, but they’d also say things like MLB.tv products, so I assumed that included Gameday Audio. if you weren’t getting blacked out right in the metro area, I sure won’t up here. I’m going to go sign up right now.

        Also, GO TWINS! Best record in all of baseball, and just swept the White Sox and outscored them 26-5 over three games. Boom!

        1. Left Hand of Radar

          Word, bro!

  27. Rebel Scum

    “imprisonment, doubt, shame, reasonable fear”

    I don’t wank it THAT often…

  28. westernsloper

    Japs simmering, pork butt out of the sous vide and in the smoker and I just opened one of these.

    1. Spudalicious

      Put those simmered asians and the pork butt in a tortilla. You can call it a UN burrito.

      1. ^^Today’s winner.

      2. westernsloper

        I have eaten many a pulled pork and candied jap taco. Damn good! If you top it with asiago and an asian slaw it is cultural appropriation taken to a new level.

  29. Bob Boberson

    https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/5/26/18637091/game-of-thrones-targaryen-restoration-daenerys

    Not sure if this hot take has been linked already. I for one hit GoT fatigue about 3 years ago but I think it’s funny how a silly show can once again expose the left for the Machievellians that they are.

    Short story; Daenarys was a butcher for the right reasons and those stupid rubes didn’t realize she was just doing what it takes to usher in Utopia.

    1. Rhywun

      I’m not following this much – lack of interest – but I was amused at all the woke feminists who got punk’d when Dany turned into a monster.

    2. Spudalicious

      Yeah, I made it through the first paragraph.

    3. Suthenboy

      As usual I missed the Utopia part. All I ever see are the mass graves.

    4. Suthenboy

      Oh shit. It is that half-wit Matthew Iglasias….and look….no comments allowed.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        No kidding. He’d wipe his ass with the Magna Carta because it was a compact with just the nobility and limited the power of the king (who would only use it for good and would uphold the common man against his nobility).

        1. Suthenboy

          I don’t get how that works. At what point does a person say to themselves “My goal in life is to be a bootlicking toady.” and then go all in?
          How does that happen? What kind of parents did this guy have?

          1. egould310

            Parents were bootlickers. Grandparents were bootlickers. Comes from a long line of bootlickers. Sad, really.

          2. Spudalicious

            Ah, the caste system.

          3. Suthenboy

            Commenter last night on the…Greg Guttfield? The Five?

            “The vast majority of humanity doesn’t long to be free. They long to be taken care of.”

          4. cyto

            I long to be free.

            But I do have a price. And if you meet that price, I will gladly wear a thong while I clean your pool.

          5. Suthenboy

            I have been tossing around the notion of putting up some writings from early America. I just finished an interesting newspaper article by Hamilton where he attempted to persuade people not to linch all of the loyalists who survived the revolution. One of his many mistakes.

          6. Spudalicious

            I agree.

            You could do an article just exploring the insult, “jack of all trades, master of none”. Something the colonists considered a badge of honor. I subscribe to that notion.

          7. Heroic Mulatto

            There’s a difference between a jack of all trades, and a polymath/Renaissance man.

            I like the Thai phrase better: “To know like a duck” – meaning that while a duck can fly, swim, and walk, it stinks at each of them.

          8. Not Adahn

            Maybe so but “good enough” is in fact good enough.

            “You know what you call a QC check that is almost failing? Passing.”

          9. Spudalicious

            From a former coworker, “anything better than passing is just showing off”.

          10. MikeS

            C’s get degrees.

          11. The phrase “gentleman’s C” has an etymology that’s somewhat unclear, but one thought is that it came from the notion that a gentleman spent his time at university building social connections and a reputation, not just learning academic subject matter. For some schmuck, getting an A in Calculus was important because he was going to have to go use that in a competitive job market. Academic expertise was still in a sense very much like being an expert in a trade; fine as far as it goes, but something below a gentleman. A grade of “C” represented competence; anything higher would imply an unhealthy fixation on scholarship to the detriment of social development. Again, that might be fine for a worker, but not for the upper class gentleman who would hire him.

            This was I think a bigger deal in England, where class distinctions were a much bigger deal, and where it was not unusual for people to be born to a class where they were mostly expected to keep up appearances and not blow the family inheritance. This was a system, bear in mind, that saw doctors as a sort of higher class of laborer, in contrast to how doctors or lawyers were and are viewed in the US.

      2. Chafed

        Definitely an adherent of Great Man Theory. Democracy, not so much unless his man is in charge.

    5. blackjack

      When I was a kid, you’d be called a whack-job if you tried tying modern politics into a fantasy dragon movie. Everyone would just tell you to STFU and enjoy the fucking movie. It’s fucking dragons and wizards (at least, I think?) for fuck’s sake.

  30. R C Dean

    “hard power”

    Giggity.

  31. Sean

    That cheese talk earlier got me all hot and bothered for cheese. Shout out to my favorite little cheese shop – http://thegrandfromage.com

    We picked up some Beemster XO, some Piave Vecchio, and some Gruyere AOP.

    1. Spudalicious

      Good choices. See if you can find a bottle of Pedro Jimenez sherry and pair it with the Beemster. PJ is a grape, not a brand.

      1. Sean

        Sounds too sweet for my tastes.

        1. Spudalicious

          That very well may be. PJ is to be taken in small doses but the combo is sublime.

    2. Rebel Scum

      Goodbye Sargento. Hello Fromage.

  32. cyto

    How do you write an article like this?

    There’s so much in here – an overall effort to swap “the intelligence and law enforcement communities were politicized during the prior administration – we are going to investigate this” into “we are politicizing the intelligence and law enforcement communities to attack our political enemies”, but so much more that you just have to read it. Maybe read it twice to really pick out the nuggets.

    “The most prominent of the C.I.A.’s sources of intelligence on Russia’s election interference was a person close to Mr. Putin who provided information about his involvement, former officials have said. The source turned over evidence for one of the last major intelligence conclusions that President Barack Obama made public before leaving office: that Mr. Putin himself was behind the Russia hack.
    ……

    John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director under Mr. Obama, would bring reports from the source directly to the White House, keeping them out of the president’s daily intelligence briefing for fear that the briefing document was too widely disseminated, according to the officials. Instead, he would place them in an envelope for Mr. Obama and a tiny circle of aides to read.”

    Sooo….. the guy who has been running around on TV making partisan attacks about the “Russia investigation” was personally hand-delivering “super sensitive” intelligence, directly from a close associate of Putin —- outside of the normal intelligence channels!

    And they write about this as if it is proof of how super-cereal it all is, and how really, really important it is that nobody ever look into any of this. Never. Because it might reveal a source…..

    Uh…. holy crap. Where to start??

    Let’s start at the end….. You guys – and by “you guys” I mean Brennan (who told you all of this) and all of you stooges who printed the story uncritically – just gave away enough information for Putin to hunt down your ‘source’ and execute him, supposing there actually is a source like the one you just described. Which is exactly the thing that you are claiming that Trump is going to do if he reveals anything about this information.

    But that isn’t even the biggest whopper. You just printed a story where the CIA director for Obama told you that he was secretly passing notes from Putin’s inner circle to Obama’s inner circle – outside of intelligence channels.

    Let that percolate for a second.

    Isn’t that exactly what you guys were so excited to have Mueller investigate about Trump? Isn’t that the “smoking gun” that proves collusion during the election? That one paragraph is a hundred times worse than anything that was even fantasized about the Trump campaign. Brennan says he had a secret source inside Putin’s inner circle – and he kept communications outside of the normal intelligence briefing so that only Obama and his hand picked inner circle knew about it.

    There may not be anything wrong with Brennan sneaking notes to Obama about what Putin is up to. It might even be the right way to handle it. But in the context of a panic about political campaign folks taking a meeting with a lawyer/lobbyist who is Russian but not a part of the government – a meeting that everyone agrees went nowhere – well, in the middle of that panic you’d think that you would at least have a moment’s pause when a directly comparable situation is brought to light.

    And that is just one little fact in a long article full of facts and observations that actually point in the exact opposite direction that the writer wants you to think they point. This article is full of them.

    1. Suthenboy

      We have said it a thousand times – “All projection all of the time” but that doesn’t really cover it, does it?

      Those motherfuckers are so slimy and crooked when they die we won’t have to dig a grave. We can just screw them in the ground.

    2. westernsloper

      I read that this morning and meant to link in the lynx. Just paragraphs in got me pissed off.

      Since the release of the Mueller report, the president has been trying to focus attention on his accusations that the F.B.I. and intelligence agencies spied on his campaign. The new order, former officials said, could be intended to give more ammunition to that effort.

      It is seriously disturbing that many media outlets are now spinning this as Trump attacking the “intelligence agencies” and not be bothered that they were used to interfere in a presidential campaign.

      If there is an informant close to Putin, I got ten bucks it is the ambassador from Russia. Ya the guy every swinging dick and non dick haver have had cocktails with in DC as they make the rounds in the cocktail party circuit. The same one used to set up Flynn. I think there is truth to the story the NYT published that it all, including Steele’s dossier may have been nothing but a misinformation campaign by the Russkies and the D’s due to their pettiness at losing an election bought it hook line and sinker. I am still not convinced Russia is the one who gave DNC emails to wikileaks.

      1. Fatty Bolger

        Nobody has even bothered to explain how outside hackers managed to get the emails three weeks after Crowdstrike had installed the latest and greatest in security software, and started monitoring the system 24/7 with actual people. How does that happen? Does that not make anybody curious?

    3. Gustave Lytton

      There may not be anything wrong with Brennan sneaking notes to Obama about what Putin is up to

      There’s a metric fuckload that’s wrong with it. Mainlining “intel” direct from the source to Obama without any sort of diligence or corroboration makes it suspect from the start, and that not even getting into how either the Russians or Brennan (who had a history of trouble with the truth) can falsify or manipulate the data. It also keeps potential key information from decision formulators and decision makers (the president doesn’t come with courses of action on his own, he relies on staff to give options).

    4. Fatty Bolger

      Looks like Seymour Hersh was right – it was a Brennan op. So was he also right about Seth Rich being the source of the “hacked” emails?

  33. Spudalicious

    Today’s head on the desk moment. Lyndsey “hey, y’all” Graham wants Trump to initiate military action in Venezuala to send a message to the rest of the world. Proggy’s gotta prog.

    It’s a good thing I don’t need to get things done on the weekend. This is the second day in a row that I’ve got a nice little buzz by 2pm.

    1. Yusef drives a Kia

      Finally get to drink some Ice cold Cobraaaaaa
      Tall cans in the Air!

      1. Tres Cool

        I got half an hour or so….and then in limited quantity.
        Damn cookouts…

      2. Spudalicious

        The ironic thing is that I’ll be running around, getting stuff done on Memorial Day.

    2. Akira

      Graham wants Trump to initiate military action in Venezuela to send a message to the rest of the world. Proggy’s gotta prog.

      I would never support foreign interventionism like that, but I’m just curious as to how it would go.

      As far as I know, religious fanaticism and centuries-old tribal conflicts are not driving forces in Venezuelan politics like they were in the Middle East. There could be a guerrilla warfare problem like there was in Vietnam, but do you think a lot of Venezuelans will be willing to fight for the old regime after living under it all this time, eating dogs and wiping their ass with… Whatever?

      1. Suthenboy

        There is plenty of tribalism there and they hate our guts. It would go just like it has gone everywhere else. It would be a huge mistake.
        Latin American countries have very collectivist societies. They don’t want the socialists run out. They are just convinced they have the wrong ones.

        We should stay the fuck out of there. Nothing good will come of it.

        1. Spudalicious

          ^^^^ I think the military leaders would give up Maduro so that they could maintain their grip on power. In ten years, same old, same old.

        2. blackjack

          Yeah, it don’t really matter how it would go. We could easily flatten and then take Canada, hell the french parts would prolly surrender right off the bat. That doesn’t mean we should. Just because a nation reaches the end of other people’s money, there’s no reason to attack it. Winability is no justification.

          1. *looks around*

            There’s not lot here to take.

          2. blackjack

            Donuts and hockey equipment.

          3. MikeS

            And poutine.

          4. Spudalicious

            Flannel. Don’t forget the flannel.

          5. Suthenboy

            Maple syrup. Yummm. I want it all.

          6. MikeS

            Minnesota and Michigan make some damn fine maple syrup as well.

          7. Not Adahn

            Apparently maple seeds must be tasty too, considering the way the squirrels and chipmunks are fighting over them today.

      2. Spudalicious

        I think the Cuban military that is propping up the regime would bail and the Venezuelan military would serve up Maduro on a silver platter because they remember what happened in Iraq.

        1. Rhywun

          Russia and China are knee-deep in that pie, too. It will just be proxy war, round MCMLXIX.

          1. Spudalicious

            Yep. China wouldn’t get involved. They’re just there to protect their investment, playing the long game, and we would allow that as a deal to keep them on the sidelines. Putin would walk away after causing mischief for us and just move to the next opportunity.

          2. Suthenboy

            Their investment. Hehehehehehe.
            Hey China, how is that going?

          3. Spudalicious

            China now owns the largest port of the west coast of Africa because Nigeria defaulted on their loans. They also now own one in Sri Lanka. China is after Venezuala’s oil industry, guaranteed.

          4. Akira

            Nigeria defaulted on their loans.

            Well what do you expect when the sons of deposed princes are always giving out seven-figure sums of cash to Americans in exchange for a small transfer fee?

    3. Lyndsey “hey, y’all” Graham

      Instead of that, we could call him George “Goober” Lindsey Graham.

  34. Not Adahn

    First stoppage on the Sig P365. It was after the 41st round of Winchester USA Forged 115gr, a failure to extract. The case was sealed so nice and tight I had to lean on it against the edge of a table. So I’ve learned cheap brass = OK, cheap steel = NOK.

    The CZ ate all of the rest of them. I may keep buying it just for that pistol.

    Also, some of you actual good shooters: how are you supposed to shoot 1-handed? I’ve found that by adopting a horrible looking technique that I can hit a 3″ target at 7 yards 80+% of the time with either hand. My shooting has gone from “please don’t practice in the same county as me please” to “Actually pretty good for a 12 year old” (I shot the NRA Expert qualification yesterday.) There is a club “fun shoot” at their shooting gallery tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes.

    1. Spudalicious

      My Springfield LWCO does not like remanufactured ammo one bit. But it runs flawlessly with new ammo.

      Given the arthritis in my hands, standing in front of the target would be the safest place to be if I’m shooting one handed.

    2. blackjack

      I shoot wheel guns. Never had a failure to extract . I have had a few snubbies that were useless after 5 yards. Those are guns to bring to knife fights. I’ve actually fired them and never saw where the bullet went.

    3. Suthenboy

      Bisect the angle between the thumb and pointer finger. Draw a line straight down. your forearm to the tip of your elbow. You want the gun to be aligned with that. That prevents you from pulling the gun to the side (right or left) when you pull the trigger.
      Make sure you wear hearing protection to reduce flinching. Bring 1000 rounds to the range twice per week. Burn through every damned one. Go slow. Sight carefully, squeeze slow. Pay special attention to the centering of the front sight in the rear sight.

      Three months and you will be able to put ten rounds through the ten ring at 25 yards. Putting a bullet on the spot of your choosing will be as second nature as breathing. Keep in mind you are seeing all of this in two dimensions. There is no difference between hitting a one in spot at seven yards and hitting a 12 inch spot at 200. It is about keeping the sights on the target until the hammer falls.

      1. Not Adahn

        That’s the way I started, also I was standing sideways to the target. Then I noticed that I was always shooting off-center toward the direction of my chest. So I squared up, and the scores improved greatly, at least for my strong side. The weak side was pretty trash, partially because I only put the LOK grips on the strong side. Compensating for trying to keep a 3 lb gun steady with not-great grips I found that bending the elbow and pulling the gun up in front of my face gave me scores better than shooting with the strong side. So I went to the bent arm on that one.

        1. blackjack

          That’s wild. I can’t shoot a handgun without locking my elbow and extending my arm all the way. I can’t even see the sights if they’re closer than that.

          1. Not Adahn

            It’s not right in front of my face, but it’s definitely a bit higher and closer to the centerline of my body than you would get with a straight arm.

      2. AlmightyJB

        “Draw a line straight down. your forearm to the tip of your elbow. You want the gun to be aligned with that.”

        That’s what I’ve always heard. My issue with that is with a large grip like for a double stack and a long trigger pull I don’t feel like I get enough finger on the trigger with that grip. Not an issue with a 1911 or less than full size.

        1. Suthenboy

          That has always been an issue with me as well.

          Best fitting, feeling and shooting gun for me ever: 6″ K frame Smith and Wesson chambered in either 22lr or .357.
          On par with that – single stack 1911 in 10mm or 45acp. I can shoot those with crazy accuracy….or used to could. I am a bit rusty, creaky and old now. The 22 especially because ammo is cheaper and you can get in a lot more practice.

          I spent enough rounds through a 3″ J frame 38 Smith that I could hit center body at 50 yards more times than not but I haven’t carried that in years.

          1. Not Adahn

            I’m having to unlearn a lot of things from my martial arts training. There, literally everything had the same body mechanics — punch, sword, tonfa, sai, it was always the same. You want your knuckles in line with your forearm. Doing that makes you shoot to the inside. The M( was probably the clearest indicator of that.

          2. AlmightyJB

            I have an old S&W .38 I shoot really well. The shallow in-frame rear sight is rough on my old eyes now days though. Dont shoot it that often any more because of that.

    4. Sean

      Fyi, I think I got an email that Sig will be offering 15 rd extended mags for the 365.

      1. Sean

        Err…nm. I forgot – NY.

        1. Not Adahn

          Yup.

          1. Don’t want to be a new test case for the SAFE Act?

          2. Not Adahn

            Yanno, I might just do that in the following way:

            My Sig/CZ gun shop is a “Blue” gun shop, specializing in selling the goodies to the King’s Men. As such they may have cultivated a lackidasical attitude towards what is legal.

            When they sell ARs to tax cattle, they use this. Which hasn’t actually been shown to be legal in NY. My Ruger/S&W gun shop won’t sell it because they don’t want to be liable.

            I’m thinking about having a lower shipped to the Blue Shop and having them install one.

          3. Sean

            You have my sympathy. I can’t even.

  35. I was so eager to get out of Gatineau that I left the hotel by six. I made it to Sudbury by one in the afternoon. other than a town layout where nieghborhoods were uncerimoniously grafted to highways in manners purpose built to clog intersections, I’ve not run into any real issues with the place. Got to the Poutinerie, had the Hamfest Poutine, then took the Dynamic Earth Mine tour. So far, best time in Canada.

    Everyone on the tour got to take a chunk of ore when we left. So I have a five pound rock containing about 5% recoverable metals just sitting on the floor in the back of my car. I’ll wash it off and see if any of the chalcopyrite shows up.

    1. MikeS

      Sounds like fun. It’s really cool they let you take some ore. The wife and I are rock collectors. Everywhere we go we come back with many pounds of rocks. On more than one occasion we’ve returned with 100+ pounds. One trip to South Dakota I estimated it was 400+ pounds

      1. It’s easier for short people, because part of the tour is a recreation of a late 19th century mine, so the passages are a bit low. But yeah, I’d recommend it for anyone interested in mines, minerology, or industry. The content isn’t advanced, as it’s an all-ages tour, but if you go in knowing that, it’s great fun.

      2. Sean

        I like rocks, minerals, geodes, etc. But…hundreds of lbs? ?

        1. That’s not very much given the density of most minerals.

        2. MikeS

          What UCS says, but also, many aren’t what most people would call “collector” rocks. Just large specimens of rocks types we don’t have at home (which is practically all of them). They come with us and get incorporated into my wife’s flower beds as edging, or focal points if large enough.

          1. Suthenboy

            *Gets out crystal ball. Looks 1000 years into the future*

            I see a future archeologist puzzling over why so many types of minerals not naturally occurring in the area are strewn about the preserved ruins of a primitive house. Assumes earth worship. His colleague disagrees and is adamant it was aliens.

          2. blackjack

            I’m not gonna say it was aliens, but it’s landscape related, so it was illegal aliens.

          3. MikeS

            Ha-ha! My wife and I joke about the same thing every time we bring home new “treasure”.

            “We’ve found rock native to the upper peninsula of what used to be called “Michigan” 450 miles to the west. Obviously the ancient people considered these common stones to be very important religious artifacts.”

          4. Akira

            There was a little area of dirt outside my old apartment, and after four years of me living there, the dirt had been almost completely replaced with a mixture of BBQ ash, beer bottle caps, and chicken/pork bones.

            My friends and I still joke about what future archaeologists will deduce from that.

    2. Gustave Lytton

      Don’t forget to declare when you return to U-S-A-!land. Also, while you were gone, Trump declared sumo America’s sport.

      1. We’re fat enough for it.

      2. blackjack

        Be careful, “I dropped some rocks on the carpet of my car” means something totally different around here.

        1. One Ore Sample, 5 pounds, 5% recoverable metals.

          1. Rhywun

            “That’s a nice rock you have there.”

            *smash smash smash*

          2. Which is lierally step 2 in extracting the metals.

      3. Suthenboy

        You have to declare rocks?
        Oh, I get it. He is stealing Canada.

    3. Not Adahn

      Did you see the Great Sept of Ottawa?

      1. No. I was suffering from toxic exposure to foreign languages, and failed to do much of anything.

        Though I did find myself in an IGA where I remembered to grab a 750mL bottle of Maple Syrup.

        1. Not Adahn

          A shame, Gatineau:Ottawa::Troy:Albany

          Also Ottawa is an Anglophone city.

          1. So you’re saying Gatineau is a slightly shittier shithole which exists mainly as a bedroom community for government workers now that the government has driven the industry away?

          2. Not Adahn

            Pretty much. It’s where the servant caste of Ottawa makes it’s homes since they can’t afford the real city.

            Ottawa proper is a much smaller, much cleaner version of DC, with vastly better views, what with being built on a hill instead of a swamp.

        2. Gustave Lytton

          I hope it was Vermont maple syrup.

          Grade B > Grade A.

          1. I have no intention of ever opening the bottle.

    4. Looking through my camra’s memory card, the mine shots are as bad as I expected, the lighting down there doesn’t really cooperate with the camera.

      But I have some gorgeous landscape shots of the Adirondaks I took on my way between Saratoga Springs and Potsdam.