Glibertarians.com 2019 Archive

Category: Fun

  • The Night Shift for October 5, 2019

    What can I say; I kvetched, and my fellow late-nighters stepped up and gave me a confidence boost.  Well, you get more of what you reward.  And you rewarded me—good and hard…  I posted last week’s submission so early on, that I forgot what was even in it.  I guess I shot my wad rather quickly on that one.  (This is where you make me feel extra-special by reassuring me that it happens to everyone at some point or another)  OK; time to jump into the brackish stock pond that is The Night Shift comments.  Caution– this may get a little weird:

     

    First, seductive weirdness.  Hey, ladies….

    Oh, right!!  My bread-and-butter weirdness.

    Artsy-fartsy weirdness.  This is because of a comment I made a couple of weeks ago, and is based on an old inside joke that…you know, never mind.

    Segue weirdness.   Yeah, I coulda gone with just “city weirdness”, or, “Pac North West”.  But, that IS a good segue.

    Gee…other doktors doctors just went all in on cloning.  That’s one hell of a grudge.  I’ve no wish to start up the great Glibs Abortion Debate of 2019, pt.4XXXX.  This, though…was pure vileness.  Weirdness doesn’t do this story justice.  Good riddance to bad rubbish.

    I mentioned Moon Knight in the post’s blurb.  (Yes, I know I mentioned someone from the Tick, too—just stick with me.)  I was never a comic book reader.  In my youth, I was curious about the ones that various friends were reading, so I got lots of info about various characters, and was somewhat up on who did what to whom.  So, I am interested in hearing from glibs who did/do read them.  Which Franchise(s)?  Any particular characters you love, or, hate?  Any good stories from comic book stores/fellow comic readers?  What about your takes on franchises made into TV shows/Movies?  Nerd it up, ya….ya….weirdos!

    “Why, yes, Mr. O’Rourke—I am familiar with National Lampoon.  Why do you ask?”  Not meant to be a pearl-clutch, here.  The guy is simply a putz, and plays it to the hilt.

    Sex Panther:  A Primer  Heheheheheh…he said “Beaver”.

    Weirdness confession:  I am a fan of Fortean subjects.  If you don’t know who he is, you should read up on him (weirdness alert: I’m not linking, just because).  While I’m no devotee to these ideas, or, anything like that, there are various subjects that get lumped into “Fortean Phenomena” that have held my interest over the years.  I used to get books on UFOs and cryptids when I was a kid.  I even got a pen pal in fourth (?) grade, who lived in Inverness, just so I could ask him if he’d ever seen Nessie.  The little smart-ass denied it, then turned it around and asked me if I’d ever seen Bigfoot!  Peasant…Didn’t he know that the correct term is “Sasquatch”?  Really, I’m more interested in what people find in investigating the claims that get made in these cases.  Regale us with tales of your encounters with High Strangeness No, not “strange”.   Well…maybe.

    A bit of 80’s nighttime rock?  If you don’t like the 80’s….I can’t think of a weird enough way to finish that sentence.

  • The Awesome Adventures of Secret Nazi President!!!11!!1!!! Vol 34: Climate strange; Civil War

  • TDS: Another Crossword

    Undaunted by the evident lack of enthusiasm for my last puzzle I like great men before me endeavor to persevere so here’s a new puzzle, feel free to ignore the clever theme answers and tear in to the grammar errors or just plain wrong cluing*. Most importantly have fun!!!

     

    or if you prefer a PDF                            TDS-puzzle

     

    If you need to cheat some help          TDS-solution

     

    Lastly you can go here and work an interactive version. The Password is “Pode$ta”

     

     

    *Don Escaped Texeas beta tested this one and made a few good suggestions (one of which I even listened to) so all those errors are on him.

  • The Night Shift for September 28, 2019

    After my last post, I’m a little gun-shy:  Most of you ingrates fine, upstanding glibs seemed to be feeling it (I said most), and things just started to peter out early.  The action was a little light that night, admittedly, regardless of my smoothest moves.  Oh, well—it’s that time:

    Aww, yeah…

    Gotta rely on my patented moves, here.

    OK—Gotta thank everyone who talked about lucid dreaming.  Haven’t had a chance to share the insights with the friend in question, but will do so ASAP.

    I recently asked about TPTB being IRL friends.  Without getting into more initials, I am interested in meeting “you people” in meat-space (What?? I’m trying to broaden my horizons or, some such crap).  Of course, I don’t really travel for business purposes, and, just getting up and going isn’t quite as easy as that, so, this is all theoretical at this stage.  Since it seems I’m in a bit of Glibertarian desert here in North Texas, which of you lot ever make it up this way, and are up for meeting?  What about where you live (not an official attempt to doxx you, unless you like this sort of thing)—do you entertain guests of a certain political/philosophical persuasion?  Raise your hand in the comments, if you’re feeling adventurous.

    To Catch a Predator!  What a crap-fest.  While I think I know what the overall attitude here is about this…situation, I am interested in reading your (yes, you) thoughts about it.   From what I can tell, it was the sting in Murphy, TX, which heralded the downfall.  Murphy is very close to where I work, and, former co-workers of mine, from my first agency, worked there just prior to it.  To the best of my knowledge, they had no take on the issue that I ever learned.

    Sum moar LE talk:  Most glibs who have commented on property crime investigation tend to snark that police have better things to do.  From my experience, this is actually very correct.  And, I think the reason why is the realization that stolen property, especially when resulting from a burglary, is usually hit-or-miss in whether it will be recovered.   When it comes to stolen property, the national LE databases have it broken down thusly:

    • Vehicles/boats (conveyances of just about every kind)
    • License Plates
    • Securities—financial instruments of various types
    • Guns
    • Articles

    “Articles” is the catch-all for any property that doesn’t have a specific database for it.  There are some rules that govern what can and can’t go in.  Fun fact:  Pets and livestock can be entered as stolen in the Articles file.  So, as you can imagine, this database is filled with all kinds of things.  Federal rules say that items entered into it are kept for the remainder of the year of entry +1 year.  For instance; if your stolen PlayStation gets entered into the database on January first of 2019, it will auto-purge on December 31, 2020.  That’s all the time allowed.  In my experience, agencies do not re-enter property into this database (I believe it is prohibited).  I can say that, at least in Texas, pawn shops have to provide info lists of all items they take in weekly, to their local police department.  That agency is supposed to check the list against stolen item reports.  This can be very helpful in recovering property.  However, it’s more than likely that, if you rely solely on the agency that took the report, you’re not likely to get the item(s) back.  This is going to be at least one reason why Joe Flatfoot is less than enthused about dealing with a home burglary that is really just a list of stolen property.  Of course, feel free to speculate on the other reasons for that apathy.

    Considering the feedback on ol’ Teddy; the only president from whom I consider shilling.  What??  I gotta give y’all some red meat/green veg every so often.

    You go, Beto!  OK, so maybe the source of the award isn’t all that.  Then again, snark is our life blood around here.

    No snark necessary.  I’m not sure how to do so, but, this guy deserves a lot of support and praise.  Just cleaning up messes can go a long way towards making life so much better.

    So, was it good for you?  Oh…  Well, gimme a week and I’ll be good to go again.  Be excellent to each other, ya rotten bastards.  (Not you.  Or, you…)

  • OverRated: The Week in College Football Polls

    Redemption Edition as Serious Play Begins

     

    As the season rounds the first corner, a few true scrums have been had, blemishes have arisen, and toldjasos have begun to fill the inboxes of alumni everywhere.  Most years have slow starts:  you can’t laugh at someone for losing until they at least put their season on the line and play a competent school.  So we have finally begun in earnest:  Week Four was most yummy and delivered even more yucks than I could have hoped for.

    Week Four Most OverRated Football Program Results

    1           Utah, most obviously overrated, lost to unrated USC

    2          Cal survived a trip to Ole Miss

    3          Iowa was consumed by one of those marching band scandals

    4          Washington State handled winless UCLA

    5          Florida filleted hopeless Tennessee

    5          Notre Dame scored one whole touchdown that wasn’t a gift from Georgia

    5          UCF was outsmarted, outworked, and eventually edged at Pitt

    5          Georgia made the biggest statement of the year over Notre Dame

    9          Clemson destroyed former directional school Charlotte

    9          Oklahoma was idle

    11        Oregon had few problems with Stanford

    11        Auburn managed a capable Texas A&M on the road

    11        Boise State shot down Air Force

    14        Texas awoke and survived Oklahoma State in Austin

     

    So, we now mount that trophy on the wall as our #1 biggest takedown of the year, the largest pelt taken, the silliest ranking debunked:  Utah.  Notre Dame sold off although they lost to a highly ranked Georgia, but that’s the way it is with tulip bulb mania.

    In other news,UCF lost at Pitt (our interesting team from last week) and moves from my miss column to my hit parade; I had said they seemed to be doing okay, but, suddenly, my initial disgust was proven right.  Michigan was humiliated by Wisconsin, so I’m also overturning my earlier miss on them.  Washington State is completely unranked now, so I’m moving them to my win column as well.

    Off my radar, newly ranked TCU promptly lost to cross-Plex rival SMU, but I had recorded no opinion on either heretofore.  In summation, we add four pelts to the wall, at least a couple of which are fine specimens.

    Next week conference play now begins in all earnestness, and we’ll see who survives the grind and who is forged in fire.  Here’s my latest ranking of puff toads.

     

    Newest Week N + 1 Most OverRated Football Programs

     

    1          Cal could barely hang with terrible Ole Miss; they are the newest king of hype

    2          Iowa was recently added to the list but yet to disappoint

    2          Virginia joins our list; this fever shall pass

    4          Boise St just isn’t proving anything this year

    5          Florida has yet to be disrobed

    6          Clemson must run the table since they’re ranked numero uno

    6          Georgia has made the best statement against being overrated

    8          Texas has a comfy few weeks until the Red River rivalry resumes

    8          Auburn is barely overrated if at all

    10        Oregon is living up to the hype and might well not be overrated

    11        Oklahoma is solid and might well not be overrated at all

     

    So how has our year gone so far?

    Year to Date Hides on the Wall Ratings

    1          Utah lost to an unrated USC

    2          Stanford was revealed by USC

    2          Syracuse was unranked after Maryland

    2          UCF was edged by unranked Pitt

    5          Iowa State was dethroned before their decent showing against Iowa

    5          Michigan State fell out of the ratings, so I was right after all

    7          Texas probably over-paid for losing to titan LSU

    7          Texas A&M probably over-paid for losing to titans Clemson and Auburn

    9         Washington St is now unranked after becoming lowly UCLA’s first win

    9          Florida was ranked down after silly pre-season enthusiasm (but are back up now!)

    11        Michigan was blown out by Wisconsin

     

    Year to Date It-Would-Seem Blown Calls Because They’re Doing Okay

    1          LSU

    2          UCF is now a skin on the wall after Pitt

    3          Michigan no longer a blown call because Wisconsin

    4          Washington State no longer a blown call because UCLA

     

    So closes another week.

    links to older opinions:               2019-09-22              2019-09-13              2019-09-06

     

     

    Disclosure of sources of bias:  your writer has attended the University of Tennessee, Memphis State and the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers College . . . and he sleeps with an alumna of Georgia whose parents met at Washington State . . . and his son went to Houston . . . and he never met anyone from TCU he didn’t like . . . and he irrationally hates Notre Dame, UCF, Clemson, and Notre Dame.

     

  • THE CONTINUING AWESOME ADVENTURES OF SECRET NAZI PRESIDENT!!11!1! – Vol 38: ….And the walrus you swam in on.

  • The Little Things

    I am fortunate to have been born in the United States where I was able to get an education that led to a career which affords me a comfortable lifestyle.  I have traveled to some beautiful countries, eaten some amazing meals and bought some fun toys.  However, I find the enjoyment that I receive from these expensive distractions are fleeting.  What I have found leads to the most consistent feelings of happiness is focusing on the little things.  Here are a few of my favorite things.

    Every morning, after I have crawled out of bed, I make a cup of coffee.  Not just any coffee, but coffee I have roasted myself. I place the kettle to boil, deposit the beans into the grinder and fetch my Glibs-branded coffee mug.  I listen for the water to steam and smell the beans as they grind, much like being near a waterfall, listening to the water crash off the rocks and smell the bouquet of nature.  A few minutes of quiet contemplation. Once the water has come to the proper temperature, I mix the grounds and water in my French press and begin my four-minute wait. The process in entirety takes ten minutes.  Ten minutes to myself, where I’m not concerned about the problems of the world or my own.  Broken from my quiet reflection by the timer’s alarm, I eagerly pour my magical creation into my cup and deeply breathe in my latest batch.  Did my roast yield mediocre results or the finest cup of coffee on earth?  That is the most exciting part.  Experiencing the results of your own craft.  Really tasting the coffee and noting the uniqueness of each batch.  Learning from my mistakes and reveling in my triumphs. I eschew quick coffee methods because I enjoy the ritual and its usually superior results.  After draining my cup, I move to the bathroom. 

    Before work, like many of you, I engage in a hygiene routine.  Brushing of teeth, showering of body, combing of hair and whatnot.  The one area I may differ in is shaving. Several years ago, I decided to buy a straight razor because I thought it was cool. Probably the influence of too many gangster and cowboy movies.   I am not one to waste space on useless baubles, so I decided to learn how to use the aforementioned straight razor.  I fill the sink with scalding water and douse my face.  I use my silver tip badger fur brush to whip up shaving cream in my little steel bowls.  I strop my razor on fine leather and listen to the blade sing. With razor sharp and water hot, I apply the rich lather to my face.  I will confess this, when shaving with a straight razor, your mind can be on no other task, or you will pay a blood price.  Scraping and contorting my face, I shear my face in the grain of the growth. Another application of lather and I reverse the process.  Rinsing, I inspect the results of my efforts and feel pride when no errant hairs are left or blood my blade.  A quick application of aftershave and a ritual that requires absolute attention is done. I dress and leave for work refreshed and focused.  

    Having done yeoman’s work commenting on Glibertarians, I usually arrive home before midnight.  I give my wife a hello kiss and a pat on the bottom, then steal away to the kitchen for my own heaven on earth: the liquor cabinet.  I enjoy trying new spirits, but rye whiskey is a common companion.  I take my crystal tumbler from its place and place two ice cubes inside.  I love the sound of ice clinking against the crystal.  The high tinkle contrasts perfectly with the dull thunk when I pull the stopper from the bottle of Whistle Pig.  The Pig mascot in his top hat looks approvingly at me as I pour myself two fingers of that golden brown elixir and retire to the sofa to unwind.  Swirling the glass to chill and dilute the whiskey, I deeply inhale the spicy sweet scent, recounting the day’s events.  The first sip lovingly burns my throat and warms my belly.  A pricey bottle to be sure, but well worth the expense. Another day finished.  Another ritual complete. 

    These are my half-hour rituals that give me joy and keeps me sane.  I spend money to enjoy quality whiskey, coffee and razors, but that small investment pays dividends that more than offset the cost.  In fact, your small things need not cost money at all.  You could take a morning walk, play with your pet, read to your children or any number of free activities.  The key to happiness is being mindful and present and really focusing on what makes you happy. I invite everyone to share their “Little Things” in the comments section.

     

  • Petroglyph

    Bullhead City AZ

    Ten days into a multi week layoff and I was getting really bored, and decided to do a diorama, with the barest needs, as I was staying at the Daughter’s house, and things can get messy.

    The Kit.

     

    Just about everything you need to build a basic landscape, it’s a great buy for the young ones, and and a nice add-on for us old guys/gals.

     

    I watched a video from Mel the terrain tutor, here’s one: https://youtu.be/uBiMry45qhM

    Mel Bose taught me just about everything I know, anyway….

     

    HaHa! it seems there is still a lot of work even though you are working with three colors, which is actually those colors plus black and white for tinting. Let’s begin with a basic wall, and throw some color on it.

     

    That brown is pretty weak, but let’s see what we can do.

     

    Better, let’s continue.

    The scenario: SW desert, USA , a known set of American Indian petroglyphs that can be accessed by canoe in the Spring, so Road Trip!

     

     

    Where is everyone? the model needed the canoes early but the very expensive people could wait til later, next we did some waterfalls and moss, tedious painting and waterworks, but the moss colored paint ended up as a complimentary color for the main wall, coup!

     

     

    After a lot of tricks and fun, I came up with this:

     

    And to add a bit of whitewater, and the finished product:

     

    I wasn’t happy at first, I never am, but painting and tweaking the idea, I usually come up with some thing nice, enjoy!

    PS: there are some petroglyphs, find em all!

    Gallery

    Wanna play?

    It’s pretty simple, and you can go from a window decoration to a full sized wargaming table with the same recipes, and even make money. 

    I’m going to do a dragon on a pile of gold next, and a duck pond, just because, try one!

    OH Yeah.

    Notice I don’t tell you how I do this? That’s for you, or Magic, whatever.

     

  • The Night Shift for September 21st, 2019

    OK, apes—listen up!  We’re at the weekend, again.  If you find that you aren’t, you need to check your chronometer and flux capacitor to figure out where when you’re supposed to be.  In trying to find my footing/style for these posts, I have come to the conclusion that they are, in part, a getting-to-know-you sort of thing.  So, If you are enjoying a hot, or cold, toddy while participating in my quest to find out more info on you jackanapes, while attempting to engage in some witty banter and probing discussions, you can consider yourself on a date, I guess.  We can go Dutch, but, I’m only gonna put out for a few of you.  So, let’s get to it:

    Well, if this is a date, we gotta start with date music:  Late-night style

    What is it about Ozymandias’ posts that get me to start writing up these posts, besides the lateness of said posts?  Such a good writer (if you’re not reading them, you are missing out, friend-o), about some serious stuff, considering everyone impacted in his tale-including fellow glibs who’ve served.  Salute to you all, from this Cadet Staff Sergeant.

    Hey, everyone:  The USN has seen some UFOs UAPs!  Yeah, it’s a Jazz Shaw piece, but, he’s not writing about cops, so you’re sorta safe.  Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what’s going on with this story?  I, personally, have no idea what to think of all this:  I’m fascinated that there’s a mystery to be solved, but, not convinced by an extra-terrestrial explanation.  I will say that I find it refreshing that there seems to be a more serious, and, “agnostic” approach to this by DoD than in the past.

    Wait—you weren’t planning on ordering the seafood, were you?

    What are your dreams?  No, seriously—what do you dream about?  A friend recently told me he is reading up on lucid dreaming (don’t you DARE link to Silent Lucidity), in the hopes of being able to accomplish it.  This is, apparently, due to (perceived) previous experience for him.  I haven’t looked into I; I’m pretty sure I’d just find the same things he has.  If you have any experience or info on the matter, I’d like to hear it.  And, yes:  I get the inherent danger of asking this group to talk about their subconsciouses.  I simply consider it a challenge.

    It seems that a gecko has taken a liking to one of the security cameras I view on my job.  He’s made an appearance every night this week, over the course of each shift, and doesn’t seem to be deterred by the plastic dome that covers the camera. Hey, little buddy!

    In Which Teddy Roosevelt Makes Men Everywhere Feel a Little Less Manly.  One helluva guy.  Too bad he was a politician.  Compare and contrast his life vs. Franklin’s—Go!

    I can honestly say that this evening has turned out better than past dates.

    Alright:  I had planned on ending on that last link.  But, since we lost my man Eddie this week, I have to honor him with a very apropos link.  Be sure to sing along.

  • OverRated: The Week in College Football Polls

    While Indiana was getting reamed, nothing else happened in the NCAA!

    Few tilts have spoken to us at this point; conference play has only been hinted at, and, frankly, it’s still hot as hell and hard to believe anyone is padding up for scrimmage already.  That said, we have results from another week . . . but, sadly, no news whatsoever.

     

    Week Three Most OverRated Football Program Results

    1        Utah                annihilated who-knew-there-was-an Idaho State

    2        Florida             escaped a solid Kentucky with a fourth quarter resurgence

    3        Notre Dame     flexed their way past New Mexico

    4        Auburn            curb-stomped Joe Walsh (the rocker) alma mater Kent State

    5        Boise St           galloped past alphabet people’s studies heavyweight Portland State

    5        Oregon             mauled the Montana Grizzlies

    7        Texas               beat Rice for the 70th or 80th time

    8        Georgia           bravely blanked the Fighting Osteopaths of Arkansas State

    8        Clemson          took it to formerly over-rated Syracuse

    8        Oklahoma        handled winless UCLA

    So there’s just nothing in the way of take-downs to high five anyone over.

    Off topic:  Penn State almost got shown up at home by Pitt.

    Not rated and not worth mentioning:  The University of Tennessee bulldozed an University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but no copyrighting was attempted.  Reportedly, 1996 third round 49er draft pick Terrell Owens watched every snap over popcorn.

     

    So we await next Saturday’s scrums with few changes to the OverRated other than the odd addition.

     

    Week N + 1 Most OverRated Football Programs

    1          Utah           must run a gauntlet of 20-ish rated PAC8, 10, or 12 teams

    2          Cal             same as Utah, must endure hellish, SEC-like conference; welcome!

    3          Iowa          escaped the Cyclones; welcome to our list, latest national sweetheart

    4          Washington St re-enters the list; Houston was much tighter than the score shows

    5          Florida        may live up to their vaunted spot . . . but has not yet

    5          Notre Dame     must put up or shut up at Athens; somebody’s gotta lose that game

    5          UCF            might well run the tables and get to a very nice bowl

    5          Georgia       would be humiliated by a loss to the Irish ‘twixt the hedges

    9          Clemson      can only screw up; anything shy of perfection is unacceptable

    9          Oklahoma     is solid and should have a thoroughly nice season

    11        Oregon          PAC10 anybody as the best cage match this fall anywhere?

    11        Auburn          starts a grueling, PAC8-worthy loop through neighbors and cousins

    11        Boise St        can’t fail in the regular season unless they lay an egg somewhere

    14        Texas           has a comfy few weeks until the Red River rivalry resumes

    Year to Date Hides on the Wall Ratings

    1          Stanford          was revealed by USC

    2          Syracuse          was unranked after Maryland

    3          Iowa State       was dethroned before their decent showing against Iowa

    4          Texas               probably over-paid for losing to titan LSU

    4          Texas A&M    probably over-paid for losing to titan Clemson

    4          Florida             was ranked down after silly pre-season enthusiasm (but are back up now!)

    Year to Date It-Would-Seem Blown Calls Because They’re Doing Okay

    1          LSU

    2          UCF

    3          Michigan

    4          Washington State . . . but we get another bite at this apple !

     

    So closes another week.

     

    links to older opinions

    2019-09-13

    2019-09-06

     

    Disclosure of sources of bias:  your writer has attended the University of Tennessee, Memphis State and the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers College . . . and he sleeps with an alumna of Georgia whose parents met at Washington State . . . and his son went to Houston . . . and he never met anyone from TCU he didn’t like . . . and he irrationally hates Notre Dame, UCF, Clemson, and Notre Dame.