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author

timeliness when meeting friends

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by SGBear

So, a casual work acquaintance invited me to lunch once (a rando lawyer at another firm). Location of lunch was a restaurant on the ground floor of his office building. It was a regular workday. I waited for him for 15 mins past appointed time, tried emailing/texting him but got no response. So being busy as usual I just left and grabbed a sandwich on my way back to my office. He claims he showed up right after I left and that I was being “a punk for ditching him”. IMO, being 15 mins late for a workday lunch in your own building is super lame. You guys agree?

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by Berkelium97

Being 15 minutes late for anything without notifying the other party is super lame.

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

Agree, especially on a lunch break, which presumably had a somewhat defined time window…5 minutes is the grace period without at least a heads up, IMO. Then calling you a punk takes some real gall.

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Lawyers.

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adding to the chorus...you were in the clear!

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they should have opened with profuse apologies!

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Completely agree

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Agree

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Agree.

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if you are not early, you are late!

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Used to be always early or on time. Now, the dogs usually make me late because the old girl needs a lot of help!

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Not good Bob

Apparently it's not unusual for people with anxiety / adhd to be really bad about leaving places and also estimating how much time it will really take to get somewhere. I've been known to check how long it will take to get somewhere using a maps app, add X minutes to that, and set myself an alarm so that I'll actually leave when I need to.

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and that's just for collecting carry out meals!

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If I am within 5 minutes of meeting time, I am good, especially if it is casual and involves no other time restrictions.

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That’s well within the parameters!

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I'm usually early. One of my great fears is making people wait.

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That's me, too.

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author

Same

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Where does “Jim Knowlton running a Men’s Basketball coaching search” rank on your list of great fears, OD? It’s pretty high on mine, up there with some real doozies.

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Don't hope for too much

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Jan 31, 2023·edited Jan 31, 2023

Given what we’ve seen from the borderline incompetent Army Colonel, I’m still not fully convinced we are not in line for a 5th year of Mark Fox…I’ll consider him gone only when I see it announced on WFC.

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leeks

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Shrimp and leek dumplings I had for lunch today was great

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I took two leeks at the grocery store the other day. And they made me pay for them.

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Potato leek soup is da bomb!

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author

Rolling Stones

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I have a ton of respect for them and what they‘ve meant to rock n roll, but I’ve never really been a fan.

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Oddly, I'm the same.

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author

Same here

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Same here

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And here.

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Sort of generic rock and roll. Don't really have any favorite songs of theirs.

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I wouldn't say I'm a "big fan," but I like them. It did help me to get into the deeper cuts on something like Exile on Main Street, which are just as consistently good as the hits.

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Exactly. The hits are great, but some of my faves are the lesser known tracks like Moonlight Mile, Sister Morphine, Fool to Cry, etc.

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Yeah, love Moonlight Mile.

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Sister Morphine is a classic!

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

I’m a huge fan, but do acknowledge the crowning achievement in Mick’s career may in fact be his turn as Vacindyk in Freejack…pure gold. Newellbany & I saw that flick senior year of HS out in Walnut Creek before the Creek went all Corporate!

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I saw them live once in the early 2000s and the (older) folks behind me kept asking me to sit down. Who sits down at a rock concert?

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My wife got the same treatment at a Paul McCartney concert (last one at Candlestick Park).

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

Older folks ;-)

I remember we witnessed a huge shouting match at the Carrier Dome for Cal/UNC in ‘97 when Cal fans near us stood the entire game and some Louisville fans behind them were pissed!

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in grad school we drove across the country in a caravan of pickups and vans and moving trucks w/ our expt many times. if you got to drive or be in the actual pickup truck that hauled the actual expt, you spend most of that time listening to the Rolling Stones w/ the guy in charge.

i was never a big fan before that, but now i have grown to appreciate the subtleties, in a good way.

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Developing a real affinity for Sister Morphine….

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author

trampoline

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We've had one for ten years, bought it for my kids when they were very young. It is the only item we bought them as young children that they still use to this day.

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author

hot tub

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author

Hot-tubbing in the snow is the best

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by SGBear

FET:

Years ago I went to Tahoe with the former Mrs and some of her work colleagues. We rented a huge cabin that had a hot tub. We managed to turn it on but couldn’t find any lights for the deck or for the hot tub. We got in, enjoyed ourselves, got drunk etc. The next day, some of us went up to the deck to clean up the empty bottles and cans and noticed the hot tub was bright green with algae.

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Absolutely. The silent, still winter air in the mountains is best enjoyed from inside a vat of near-scalding water

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you also have to pair it w/ the part where you roll around in the snow for the hot-cold-hot effect.

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Yes, got to do this just yesterday as we received a good dusting up in the foothills yesterday.

One of my best memories related to this was a trip to the Eastern Sierras in the winter. We rented a motel with another family of close friends and ventured to nearby Travertine Hot Springs on the outskirts of the town of Bridgeport midday. We didn't leave the hot springs until about 2:30 a.m. that night. We just couldn't pull ourselves away. It was single digit temps by the time we left with snow on the ground. The hot springs rise above the valley floor so you have amazing views of the Eastern Sierras. Needless to say, we were completely pruned up after spending that much time in a hot spring. Amazingly, in the short drive back to the motel, my wet shorts froze to the bed of my truck.

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Coincidentally, just read in SF Gate that Bridgeport would hit a low of -20 tonight. Just looked up the NOAA forecast. The high is 18 today and low is -28 tonight.

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

The pleasure or satisfaction of the public onsen outweighs the awkwardness of being naked among other people including friends but I have not overcome going with a family member.

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i agree. i was a little not sure of myself at first, but the quiet beauty of a nice outdoor onsen is one of the best things in the world.

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My last several days in Taipei, I stayed in a hotel with public baths, and it was marvelous, but I also encouraged my mother to go at a separate time from me.

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Ha!

Yeah, I enjoy onsen (as much as a person not born into that culture can), and am fine doing it in Japan. Wouldn't do it here. I like the anonymity there. Even in Japan, going with friends and fam is a bit disconcerting. Last summer, family went. My wife, her sister, and mom went together. Ugh! I was with my bro-in-law. Was ok, but still I had to psych myself up prior.

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PRO

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author

They buttfumbled this just for Jets fans.

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PatBev shows ref that he is technically right, but gets a technical right away. Nice.

https://twitter.com/nbadaves/status/1619549356595486729

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This was an absolute masterpiece, up there with "ball don't lie"

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Totally! Well done, a classic of the ref roasting genre

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As a Kings fan, nothing brings me more pleasure than seeing Lakers and Laker's fans complain about reffing.

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author

Coulda woulda shoulda. Brock Purdy and the 49ers chances both go down the drain with an elbow injury in their first offensive series. Eagles win 31-7.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/35552634/philadelphia-eagles-rout-san-francisco-49ers-win-nfc-championship-game-advance-super-bowl

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As unlikely as it is to lose 2 QBs in the same game, don't most teams carry 3 QBs on their game day rosters? Seems like picking up a 6-yr veteran off their couch after JG went down would have been prudent. (Or the most recent other Mr. Irrelevant QB not presently on a roster...)

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Brock tore his ulnar ligament, gonna be out 6 months, just to inject even more intrigue into "who is the 49ers QB in 2023" space.

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radio talk shows suggest Tom Brady. No mention of Aaron Rodgers.

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Might prove to be handy to have Jimmy G on the roster...again.

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Won't it be closer to a year? Maybe that's more for pitchers than QBs.

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Depends on the severity/extent of damage. The hope is its repairable with surgery, vs complete replacement (Tommy John surgery) that pitchers usually need, which usually takes a year+.

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Go Birds

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That was just a big shrug. If you're the Niners, what can you do? You were already at your 3rd QB and then he gets hurt too and then the 4th guy also gets hurt.

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I didn’t understand why they just didn’t run a wildcat offense after Josh Johnson got injured.

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Did run it a little; McCaffrey took a snap. Also tried to get a Deebo Samual pass, off a sweep, but the play broke down and he wisely elected to not just chuck it up. But it wasn't likely to get them back in it.

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Top NFL defenses are going to be able to stop those plays if they know there's no threat from the standard passing game.

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They even said that the opponent would just stack the box and that's that. Responsibility

Especially since the Eagles' defense was already eating the 49ers' OL alive.

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And that was it; the Eagles are the best defense in the NFL not named "49ers", coupled with an excellent rushing offense that also shortened the chance for a miracle by a possession and a couple big chunks of field position.

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I guess, but at that point the game was plainly over so I'm not going to criticize any decisions. Maybe they would have lost 31-14 instead.

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Subsequently also having the 4th string QB get knocked out of the game didn't help either. Not many football rosters at any level are constructed to lose 4 QBs and still be able to win at the championship level.

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Chiefs defeat the Bengals 23-20 in part due to a late hit by Joseph Ossai

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1619893298017046529

https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401438008

Mahomes wasn't injured, but Ossai was clearly devastated about the penalty

https://twitter.com/jessewashington/status/1619961416613756928

https://twitter.com/uSTADIUM/status/1620048073996255233

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Ugh, so lame when a penalty decides a game, even if the call was correct

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with 8 seconds left, the Chiefs could have tried a 59 yard field goal, or possibly a quick pass play to get down to 50 yards.

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author

How's your hearing?

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author

Fine when it was last tested a few years ago. I noticed a very faint ringing in my right ear a while back, but it's barely noticeable unless I'm in a quiet room and I think about it (which I am now that I've written this...)

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What?

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author

No thank you, I already have water. Thanks for asking though.

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Weirdly it is actually really good, I've been spending a lot of time playing and listening to vinyl, and finding what I love (and am not a fan) and listening to details. Lots of fun.

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Profound hearing loss in both ears.

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My wife is certain it's terrible. Everyone else seems to think it's fine.

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by SGBear

Is she trying to talk to you from another room?

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This can be filed under It's Funny Cause It's True...

My hearing is fine, except at high frequencies. I can't hear the dishwasher beeping when it's done.

Need to get an official hearing test...

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Noticing that I had lost most of my response to high-pitched sound is how I was motivated to take a hearing test, which confirmed that I had hearing loss.

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Constantly.

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I get a lot of that. I often respond with, "I can't hear you I'm in another room," to which she'll reply, "okay never mind." Marriage.

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author

JFC, it's like we all live in the same house. And bless you're heart if she stomps in saying "did you hear me?" and you say "no, you're two rooms away and the fan is running".

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"[muffled noises from the other side of the house]"

"What?"

"[more muffled noises with a few discernable words]"

Now begins the delicate calculus to determine which outcome will make her more annoyed: repeating herself yet again or if whatever unintelligible question/suggestion/comment goes ignored.

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I've pointed out to my wife more than once that if I'm doing the dishes and she's in another room or talking into the fridge or whatever, I can't hear her. She gets mad every time so I just don't answer until she's in the room. The difference between us is I have trouble with background noise and admit it, and her hearing is MUCH worse across the board than a couple of years ago, and she gets genuinely pissed if anyone points it out. Mostly because both daughters have also noted that my wife used to talk shit about her mother for doing the same thing (I am not dumb enough to point that out)

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I noticed the other night that a ticking noise that was bugging me while I was in bed suddenly disappeared when I flipped from my back to my side, so I'm guessing I need to get my left ear checked out! But in general, I am happy with the TV volume around 20.

Around the time I turned 50 I stopped being able to hear mosquitoes whine unless they were right near my face, which I consider to be a net positive of the aging process.

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Fine. My mom got hearing aids a couple of months ago.

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Solid…Dad’s tho is horrid!

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author

DBD AV CLUB

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Missus and I watched the first episode of Poker Face last night. We're in for the duration.

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I watched it as well last night. I really like it as well. May try to watch episode two tonight.

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it's on my list!

Watched E1 of Shrinking. Wasn't bad. Will see where it goes...

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It's good, and "bad" at the same time.

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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Fulton County DA all but confirms that an indictment of Trump is imminent

https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigation-georgia-prosecutor-0c62d7884f0150c93f5e555333ae23d2

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Manhattan DA is doing a Pecker check next week related to the Stormy Daniels hush-money saga

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/politics/david-pecker-prosecutors-trump/index.html

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ELSEWHERE IN COLLEGE

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Maryland starting safety decides to play lacrosse instead

https://twitter.com/DizzyDante/status/1619760262428635136

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go terps

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CAL

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Women's basketball team loses a heart breaker to Oregon Friday night, bounces back to beat OSU in a thriller on Sunday. Jayda Curry's streak of hitting a three is at 43 games, two short of the Pac 12 record. She tallied 21 on Sunday. https://calbears.com/news/2023/1/29/womens-basketball-cal-grinds-out-64-62-win-against-oregon-state.aspx

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In basketball, it has proven helpful at times to have a Curry doing Curry-esque things.

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Go Bears!!!

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The boys have quit. Mark Fox is a disaster.

11 more games and counting…

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Have they quit? I haven't watched them since Colorado (live) and Stanford (TV) since I don't have Pac12 Network. Have seen the scores, tho.

What's GoBears49(?) saying these days?

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3 straight non-competitive blowouts, including to 2 squads low in the standings.

Fox is a disaster class.

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not denying the Fox aspect, but wondering about the "boys have quit".

seemed that the silver lining (if that's the right phrase here) was that the team was still trying.

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

Listless, disinterested and lacking energy.

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well, at least I got to see one game this year :-/

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Nowhere to go but up!

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We had cold rain come through overnight that had the snow level drop below 4,500ft, meaning the San Gabriels above La Canada and Pasadena got a nice dusting. I haven't seen this since Jan 2020 and it's one of my favorite views for the LA basin

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

The title topic: if it has a wikipedia page it must be real. (NSFW)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soaking_(sexual_practice)

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I'm not saying Mormons are Jewish but this is a rabinnical commitment to religious loophole litigation. I respect the chutzpah of these goyim.

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Having spent two weeks on the BYU campus back in the day, this is 100% plausible. No personal experience with this specific topic, but for all 'fun' activities that went against church doctrine, the kids went to extraordinary lengths to find every loophole, bend every rule. Human nature triumphs.

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Hahahhh oh man this made my day. The concept of your buddy jumping up and down on the mattress for you really caps it off.

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This is the first thing I thought of when I saw the title. Mormons and soaking.

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Comet

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

Managed to see comet c/2022 e3 (ztf) last night through my new scope, a Celestron 102mm XLT. Since it last passed by Earth 55,000 years ago (roughly the last time Cal was in a Rose Bowl), it's return is pretty interesting. Had a greenish tint, elliptical with hints of a faint tadpole-like tail.

Live map: Berkeley perspective (you can change location to wherever you are)

https://theskylive.com/planetarium?obj=c2022e3

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We really peaked in the Pleistocene!

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One of the better all purpose cleaners on the market.

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023Liked by SGBear

(sung to the tune of the Colonel Bogey March; more famously known as the whistled tune from The Bridge on the River Kwai)

Comet - it takes like gasoline!

Comet - it makes your teeth turn green!

Comet - it takes like vomit!

So get some Comet and vomit today!

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author

I remember taking the Prof Alan Dundes class which basically studied how you and I know this limerick with exactly the same lyrics spreading purely by oral history. Then again, I think we grew up in the same area.

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I took Dundes' class (Spring 1989), but he didn't get into "limericks" (altho this isn't a limerick, right? Not the right number of lines or rhyme scheme...says a listener of Wait, Wait)

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It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that kids all over the US know those lyrics and tune.

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My 7-yo daughter last month was singing:

Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg

Batmobile lost a wheel, commissioner broke his leg

Good to know that it's still in heavy rotation 50 years later ;-)

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Jan 30, 2023Liked by SGBear

Um, Joker got away!

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That's another oldie but goodie.

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it's the first time I've seen them and I moved here when I was 11, not sure what to make of that. When I was in elementary school we would have sung the "Hitler he's only got one ball" version, and while you could reasonably make a comment about British people being unable to let go of the way, it was less than 35 years since VE Day at the time.

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author

Wow, this just unlocked some long-dormant memory of singing this in elementary school

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I knew it as

Comet -- it makes your mouth turn green

Comet -- it tastes like gasoline

Comet -- it makes you vomit!

So get come Comet and vomit today

Perhaps this was the Peninsula version.

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i was the target of this song quite often in grade school as a way for people to make fun of me.

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Wow. Seems rather rude of them.

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Jan 30, 2023·edited Jan 30, 2023

@HSB: why is that?

not related to kid song parodies, but when I was in like 3rd grade, a girl in class would say this to me (my 'maiden' name was Broadhurst)

Broadhurst (arms spread wide)

Skinnyhurst (hand close together)

Pattyhurst (hands doing the outline of 8 that people do when miming an attractive woman)

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i forger we are screen names only .. and we havent all hung out since 6th grade (like HAG and I).

first name = Amit ... so you can imagine all the vomit, comet, amit related elementary and middle school hazing ...

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joy! sorry to hear that...

at least it wasn't racial.

I have a co-worker who's last name is Duty, and he had his share of name-jokes based off that...but at least they weren't racist (he's African-american)

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Highly recommended by Josephine the Plumber.

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