The Daily Bear Dump is a community message board on Write for California. It’s a space for Cal fans to talk about Cal and pro sports, politics, or any other topic.
For today’s topic, let’s talk about camouflage. This is a copperhead, a poisonous snake that’s pretty common in the Southeast. This is why you stick to trails, tread heavily on trails, and wear long pants/high boots in snake country.
My frosh son has his last two finals today. Doesn't seem to be sweating it. Unlike his dad, will not hit frat row and Raleigh's afterwards. I am both proud and disappointed.
crashed on my bike last Thu, ended up in ER, surgery on collar bone over the weekend (2nd time) and now stuck on the couch for the next few weeks. there are some mildly sprained ligament that i also need to be careful with in the coming days.
on the other hand, i am still planning on getting back out there as soon as possible. there was nothing tricky or bad about the crash and could have happened to anyone. just a badly timed pothole that i could not avoid.
Yes good luck...with a bit of aging it seems like everything takes longer to heal. Also, one tends to ignore minor aches and pains that come with age at first, like a bit of knee pain, back pain, etc.
oddly, it was on a pretty normal road that i have ridden many times. i dont remember the actual crash but "these things happen" as far as i am concerned.
hopefully just a little more carefulness in the future to keep accidents to a minimum
I DO NOT! I have fax machine with plain paper, I still have a contractor who sends invoices that way, and for some bizarre reason, my EA needed to send docs with that because it was "too sensitive" to send pdf's over email.
One of the weirdest sights is to see German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock go off about being a driving force in having Germany switch its long-standing pacifist stance to support Ukraine with deadly weapons against Russians. She is the head of the German Green party and pioneered its party switch from being doves to hawks - arguing that defeating Russia will help Germany break its dependence on German natural gas and ultimately reduce the need for nuclear weapons. Politics is weird business.
Biden announces $40b package for Ukraine to be put to the House for a vote. Schumer weighing whether they can package the repeal of Title 42 - a Trump provision that allows US Border to block immigrants from claiming asylum at the border in the name of public safety vis-a-vis Covid
And, as I learned on Last Week Tonight yesterday, he'll oversee (i.e call off) the investigation into the $3.9b his family still owes that state.
I didn't realize how much of the Marcos family legacy had been scrubbed from the history books over there. It's a sad state of affairs and a chilling reminder of what happens when politicians get too involved with textbooks and revisionist history (hi Florida!).
I don't want to speak for Filipinos, since I am not one, but my Filipino friends have told me that one of the more infuriating things about their fellow citizens is there is a pervasive woe is me/we're doomed/whatever will be will be/god's will attitude - that applies to things like natural disasters, corrupt politicians, traffic in manila.
He's not a good fielder. I remember one instance back when the Dodgers played the Padres in the playoffs in 2020 during Covid. I think his "error" gave up the tying or winning run.
The San Francisco Giants stumbled something fierce last week, with a five-game losing streak during which time their offense was about as successful as I was that one time in college that I tried to play hacky sack drunk and blindfolded.
Well, it seems they’re back to their winning ways. They returned to the win column on Saturday. They stayed in the win column on Sunday. And they punctuated it on Monday against the Colorado Rockies, winning with the Giants blueprint: a deep offensive showing featuring contributions from unheralded players, and some dynamic pitching.
If you’re looking for some eloquent words regarding Carlos Rodón, I don’t have them. I have only five words: I’m glad he’s a Giant.
Great defense and timely pitching ended the Dodgers’ 16-game win streak against the Pirates, who beat Julio Urías and Los Angeles 5-1 on Monday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. It was the first victory for the Pirates over the Dodgers since June 6, 2018.
Just one run was scored in the first six innings of this game, none against Pittsburgh starter José Quintana, who walked four but struck out five and allowed only a pair of hits.
He also got helped by some great defense in the outfield. Left fielder Ben Gamel robbed Justin Turner of extra bases in the first inning, and center fielder Jake Marisnick did the same to Hanser Alberto in the fourth.
the longest, slowest, most painful Warrirors comeback for a 3-1 series lead
you had the sense that the Warrirors would eventually pull this out but they had plenty of chances to blow it. shooting percentage was woeful but at least there were plenty of FTs at the end.
The Grizz should've gone back to JJJ down low after Draymond got his 5th foul. I don't really recall them doing that after he did. That was a huge mistake in my opinion.
One person Warriors fans can thank is Dillion Brooks. That last 3 he took with lots of time on the shot clock was horrible.
Once again they took too many 3s to start the game. Though Memphis' D is much better without Ja. Although Steven Adams also makes a huge difference. Memphis did much better preventing getting into the lane and getting good looks. Makes me wonder if they'll push Ja to come back and play in game 5 or not.
I was only able to watch the 4th quarter and it turned out to be the only one worth watching. Hoping Kerr has a quick recovery after coming down with COVID.
The Oakland A’s defeated the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Monday at Comerica Park, ending a nine-game skid that dated back to last month.
]
Both clubs entered this series as cold as ice. They’d each lost 12 of their previous 14 games, and they’d each averaged a lowly 2.1 runs per contest during that stretch, with the Tigers sitting on their own five-game losing streak. But somebody had to win tonight, and the A’s came through.
I'm bad at this too, but for those who are interested, this person posts a similar photo each week on Twitter with the challenge #FindThatLizard: https://twitter.com/Afro_Herper
If you can't find it, the snake is in center of the picture. There are two lighter green fallen leaves on the right side of the picture; it is just to the left of the light green leaf near the center of the picture.
It rained most of the weekend (2 1/2 inches) and the marsh side of Roosevelt Island flooded from the Potomac. When I went for a walk yesterday afternoon I saw a couple snakes that aren't normally seen there. One was in the water and the other resting on a log sticking up out of the water.
I've been watching Young Rock and they've had old 80s wresters on the show. I think they've recently showed Jake the Snake last couple of weeks. I think I'm a few weeks behind on my shows so I haven't seen that one yet.
Better Call Saul continues to have way too much fun with its camera work this season. Case in point: last night's overhead shot of a car pulling into a garage followed by the camera moving with the garage door as it closes and coming to a rest where it perfectly frames the car's hatch, which is then opened and Mike climbs out.
Wife flew out yesterday. Said the airport concourse was 5% masked and about 25% masked on the plane. I went to the gym today and I was the only person with a mask (1%). I guess that Federal judge blocking CDC mask guideline really changed people's behavior.
I'm definitely wearing an N95 mask on the flight to/from Nashville. Will probably also wear a mask in general when going inside places there, like I try to here. So far I don't in the gym because I can't run well with it on. Though I usually go sometime after 6 so usually I don't have anyone running within 10 feet of me. I guess what I should probably do is wear it when I'm stretching and on the bike but take it off when I'm running.
Most people that wore a mask on the plane were wearing N95 masks. Makes sense because people who wear it even if not required are the people who are very careful.
We’ve been getting emails from the girls’ pediatric practice (one of the better local sources of public health information for us for the last 2 years) about how positive test rates are spiking again. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s tracking to people’s mask usage.
I went by the Russian Embassy on my run this morning. Someone had written in chalk on the driveway: How did Russian soldiers celebrate Mother's Day? By killing Ukrainian mothers.
Technically I still have a printer at my place, but it has not had any ink for years. This printer (which I think I kept because it also double as a scanner) is probably not going to make my next move.
I have found the public library to be a great place to help me print things....including random libraries in cities that I was only visiting (or passing through).
I've never owned a printer in my adult life, and I become belligerent when required to print something -- until I learned how easy it was to do so at any office supply store or the FedEx-Kinkos 5 minutes from my house. Now I'm only slightly hostile when required to print.
I've also experimented with various free trials of software to be able to sign a pdf electronically, which came in clutch when buying the house and later when refinancing.
CAL
My frosh son has his last two finals today. Doesn't seem to be sweating it. Unlike his dad, will not hit frat row and Raleigh's afterwards. I am both proud and disappointed.
Go Bears!!!
QE2 misses the opening of Parliament for the first time in 60 years, has the world's oldest (73) intern fill in for her.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/10/uk/prince-charles-first-queens-speech-intl/index.html
A couple of Whites caught together, but the lady killed herself, Wedding announced.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-marshals-evansville-investigating-escaped-182049231.html
Dumb clichés that sports announcers say
This guy is apparently the opposite.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/10/nats-minor-league-broadcaster/
"Team X deserved to win"
the team that wins is the one that deserves to win provided they follow the rules
"They need to step it up here if they want to win"
"They won because they wanted it more"
Mark Cuban's takedown of Skip Bayless over the "wanting it more" cliche is required viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYtFXydSo2g
Hadn’t seen that. Amazing.
the worst!
"That player is great at scoring the basketball"...as opposed to what else (assumes that basketball is being played)
“They’re just missing that little bit of quality” or the UK soccer commentator version of “they need to suck less.”
Gotta run the football and pass the football to win this here football game.
They came to play.
Ummm...Oh what a Bonanza!
Ignoring signs you are getting old ...
crashed on my bike last Thu, ended up in ER, surgery on collar bone over the weekend (2nd time) and now stuck on the couch for the next few weeks. there are some mildly sprained ligament that i also need to be careful with in the coming days.
on the other hand, i am still planning on getting back out there as soon as possible. there was nothing tricky or bad about the crash and could have happened to anyone. just a badly timed pothole that i could not avoid.
still hoping to ride in France this summer ..
Good luck with the recovery. Collar bone injuries are never fun.
Yes good luck...with a bit of aging it seems like everything takes longer to heal. Also, one tends to ignore minor aches and pains that come with age at first, like a bit of knee pain, back pain, etc.
Sorry to hear this. Sounds like no part of this has to do with getting old, except maybe the recovery time. Was this on pavement?
oddly, it was on a pretty normal road that i have ridden many times. i dont remember the actual crash but "these things happen" as far as i am concerned.
hopefully just a little more carefulness in the future to keep accidents to a minimum
The need to buy a printer for your house.
BUSINESS!
I bet you have a fax machine as well, with thermal paper.
I DO NOT! I have fax machine with plain paper, I still have a contractor who sends invoices that way, and for some bizarre reason, my EA needed to send docs with that because it was "too sensitive" to send pdf's over email.
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
Biden criticizes Sen. Rick Scott's (R-FL) plan to raise taxes on everyone but the rich. Scott's response...
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1524035479687020546
all his disney wrangingly is going to cost the state another 100mil in taxes that disney used to pay but now won't have to.
No MAGA voter or conservative will care about this.
One of the weirdest sights is to see German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock go off about being a driving force in having Germany switch its long-standing pacifist stance to support Ukraine with deadly weapons against Russians. She is the head of the German Green party and pioneered its party switch from being doves to hawks - arguing that defeating Russia will help Germany break its dependence on German natural gas and ultimately reduce the need for nuclear weapons. Politics is weird business.
Biden announces $40b package for Ukraine to be put to the House for a vote. Schumer weighing whether they can package the repeal of Title 42 - a Trump provision that allows US Border to block immigrants from claiming asylum at the border in the name of public safety vis-a-vis Covid
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-biden-eastern-europe-congress-3bb64d255cfef354947bf10be33b99a4
I miss ONE antifa meeting and apparently I missed the payscale announcement. Thanks for nothing, Soros.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1523839477982113795
Free Soros merch!
who do I see in HR about my missing checks?
Florida has passed a law requiring 45 minutes of teaching how bad communism is on Nov 7. https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2022/05/09/desantis-signs-legislation-proclaiming-nov-7-as-victims-of-communism-day/
I assume he’s going to be leading commemorations at the former work camps in Florida left from the Great Leap Forward
Not our democracy, but someone else's - Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appears to have won the Philippines presidential election in a landslide victory.
Son of the formerly deposed dictator
And, as I learned on Last Week Tonight yesterday, he'll oversee (i.e call off) the investigation into the $3.9b his family still owes that state.
I didn't realize how much of the Marcos family legacy had been scrubbed from the history books over there. It's a sad state of affairs and a chilling reminder of what happens when politicians get too involved with textbooks and revisionist history (hi Florida!).
I don't want to speak for Filipinos, since I am not one, but my Filipino friends have told me that one of the more infuriating things about their fellow citizens is there is a pervasive woe is me/we're doomed/whatever will be will be/god's will attitude - that applies to things like natural disasters, corrupt politicians, traffic in manila.
PRO
Patrick Marleau retires.
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/patrick-marleau-nhl-hockey-retirement-san-jose-sharks
Behold! Four-time Golden Glove winner Eric Hosmer. The more times you watch it, the worse it gets.
https://twitter.com/talkingfriars/status/1523871369888694272
He's not a good fielder. I remember one instance back when the Dodgers played the Padres in the playoffs in 2020 during Covid. I think his "error" gave up the tying or winning run.
There are fan mancaves and then there's this guy
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1522782933450477570
Celtics beat the Bucks thanks to its offensive juggernaut... Al Horford?
https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=401433613
The Giants are back on track, and still lovable
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2022/5/9/23064822/giants-rockies-recap-carlos-rodon-maurio-dubon
The San Francisco Giants stumbled something fierce last week, with a five-game losing streak during which time their offense was about as successful as I was that one time in college that I tried to play hacky sack drunk and blindfolded.
Well, it seems they’re back to their winning ways. They returned to the win column on Saturday. They stayed in the win column on Sunday. And they punctuated it on Monday against the Colorado Rockies, winning with the Giants blueprint: a deep offensive showing featuring contributions from unheralded players, and some dynamic pitching.
If you’re looking for some eloquent words regarding Carlos Rodón, I don’t have them. I have only five words: I’m glad he’s a Giant.
Pirates hit their way past Dodgers to end 16-game streak
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/5/9/23064461/dodgers-pirates-hits-julio-urias-jose-quintana
Great defense and timely pitching ended the Dodgers’ 16-game win streak against the Pirates, who beat Julio Urías and Los Angeles 5-1 on Monday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. It was the first victory for the Pirates over the Dodgers since June 6, 2018.
Just one run was scored in the first six innings of this game, none against Pittsburgh starter José Quintana, who walked four but struck out five and allowed only a pair of hits.
He also got helped by some great defense in the outfield. Left fielder Ben Gamel robbed Justin Turner of extra bases in the first inning, and center fielder Jake Marisnick did the same to Hanser Alberto in the fourth.
This was literally the first win by a Pittsburgh starter this season
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33889466/jose-quintana-becomes-first-pittsburgh-pirates-starter-collect-win-season-ending-record-drought-majors
the longest, slowest, most painful Warrirors comeback for a 3-1 series lead
you had the sense that the Warrirors would eventually pull this out but they had plenty of chances to blow it. shooting percentage was woeful but at least there were plenty of FTs at the end.
Mike Brown now has a 12-0 playoff record as interim head coach for the Dubs
The Grizz should've gone back to JJJ down low after Draymond got his 5th foul. I don't really recall them doing that after he did. That was a huge mistake in my opinion.
The Grizzlies made a lot of befuddling decisions down the stretch. I guess young teams do this stuff.
One person Warriors fans can thank is Dillion Brooks. That last 3 he took with lots of time on the shot clock was horrible.
Once again they took too many 3s to start the game. Though Memphis' D is much better without Ja. Although Steven Adams also makes a huge difference. Memphis did much better preventing getting into the lane and getting good looks. Makes me wonder if they'll push Ja to come back and play in game 5 or not.
A graphic said Dubs were 0-15 on 3s when I headed off to bed.
2-20 in the 1st half; they played like shit.
Yeah, the Memphis D was good, but they also missed plenty of open looks. Similar to Game 2.
Steph had kind of a rough night but he came through when it counted.
I was only able to watch the 4th quarter and it turned out to be the only one worth watching. Hoping Kerr has a quick recovery after coming down with COVID.
Turned on mlb tv while doing some house cleaning. Weird to see A's as home team in Detroit.
yeah, it's one of (fortunately only a few) quirks after the regular season was delayed by a week due to the lockout
Is it a makeup for a game they missed in Oak? And I guess they added onto a game regularly scheduled in Det?
A's knock off hapless Tigers 2-0 behind Paul Blackburn and a decent bullpen performance. Thus endeth the losing streak.
Game #29: A’s snap skid with 2-0 win over Tigers
https://www.athleticsnation.com/2022/5/9/23064656/game-29-oakland-as-detroit-tigers-score-result
The losing streak is over!
The Oakland A’s defeated the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Monday at Comerica Park, ending a nine-game skid that dated back to last month.
]
Both clubs entered this series as cold as ice. They’d each lost 12 of their previous 14 games, and they’d each averaged a lowly 2.1 runs per contest during that stretch, with the Tigers sitting on their own five-game losing streak. But somebody had to win tonight, and the A’s came through.
Elsewhere in college
College coaches, leaders share candid thoughts on future of NIL: 'We all feel like there's no rules'
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-coaches-leaders-share-candid-thoughts-on-future-of-nil-we-all-feel-like-theres-no-rules/
Camouflage
No joke, I cannot find the snake in the picture. I am partially colorblind so this may have something to do with it though.
Still haven't found it either!
I'm bad at this too, but for those who are interested, this person posts a similar photo each week on Twitter with the challenge #FindThatLizard: https://twitter.com/Afro_Herper
Cool way to learn!
I finally found it...there's a solo leaf just NE of the center of the photo. there are a few "s" turns of the snake to the left of that leaf
Snake
If you can't find it, the snake is in center of the picture. There are two lighter green fallen leaves on the right side of the picture; it is just to the left of the light green leaf near the center of the picture.
I had to look up a picture of a copperhead in order to see it, but once I did, it was easy.
Now I see it, that is some damn good camouflage
Couldn't see it. Sort of an optical illusion then.
I still couldn't find it, I don't think it is there. SGBear is testing us.
I'd be dead. Probably would've stepped right on it. I still don't see it, even tried crossing my eyes.
oh now I see it. Zooming in helped. brown triangles.
It's here.
https://www.tomorrowtides.com/snake-hidden-in-leaves-is-hard-to-find.html
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/04/25/16/3F980F2B00000578-4443692-If_you_weren_t_able_to_spot_it_Helen_pointed_out_where_the_snake-a-2_1493133399230.jpg
BOOOO!
Plissken
https://giphy.com/gifs/kurt-russell-escape-from-new-york-snake-plissken-l0IycSDCzNp4JvSFy/fullscreen
Our IM softball team at Cal: De grosen lange Hosenschlange
hate em
Gift idea for you. Now on sale!
https://www.mcsdino.com/products/giant-animatronic-black-snake-came-through-hole-in-ceiling-mab001-1
Never mind. This is way better.
https://onlydinosaurs.com/fancy-velociraptor-hidden-legs-costume/
$3500? wow.
. . .Plissken
It rained most of the weekend (2 1/2 inches) and the marsh side of Roosevelt Island flooded from the Potomac. When I went for a walk yesterday afternoon I saw a couple snakes that aren't normally seen there. One was in the water and the other resting on a log sticking up out of the water.
, Jake the
I've been watching Young Rock and they've had old 80s wresters on the show. I think they've recently showed Jake the Snake last couple of weeks. I think I'm a few weeks behind on my shows so I haven't seen that one yet.
DBD AV club
Better Call Saul continues to have way too much fun with its camera work this season. Case in point: last night's overhead shot of a car pulling into a garage followed by the camera moving with the garage door as it closes and coming to a rest where it perfectly frames the car's hatch, which is then opened and Mike climbs out.
Today in Covid
Wife flew out yesterday. Said the airport concourse was 5% masked and about 25% masked on the plane. I went to the gym today and I was the only person with a mask (1%). I guess that Federal judge blocking CDC mask guideline really changed people's behavior.
I flew last week SNA to ORD and ORD to LAX.
Pleasantly surprised that most people were wearing masks in the airport and on the plane. More than 50% for sure.
I'm definitely wearing an N95 mask on the flight to/from Nashville. Will probably also wear a mask in general when going inside places there, like I try to here. So far I don't in the gym because I can't run well with it on. Though I usually go sometime after 6 so usually I don't have anyone running within 10 feet of me. I guess what I should probably do is wear it when I'm stretching and on the bike but take it off when I'm running.
Most people that wore a mask on the plane were wearing N95 masks. Makes sense because people who wear it even if not required are the people who are very careful.
Yesterday, I saw a comment online along the lines of, "I thought it was safer, since they stopped requiring masks to fly." Interesting take!
Alot of people seem to think that. I have to remind them that is not the reason mask mandate was removed.
Arlington County cases and positivity rates at seasonal highs. Hospitalizations not affected yet. Mask wearing seems down except on public transit.
We’ve been getting emails from the girls’ pediatric practice (one of the better local sources of public health information for us for the last 2 years) about how positive test rates are spiking again. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s tracking to people’s mask usage.
I went by the Russian Embassy on my run this morning. Someone had written in chalk on the driveway: How did Russian soldiers celebrate Mother's Day? By killing Ukrainian mothers.
People these days, so many tenants do not have printers - I don't get it.
Technically I still have a printer at my place, but it has not had any ink for years. This printer (which I think I kept because it also double as a scanner) is probably not going to make my next move.
I have found the public library to be a great place to help me print things....including random libraries in cities that I was only visiting (or passing through).
With DocuSign and other similar services, I don’t see the need for one anymore.
I do use DocuSign, but I've always needed a working printer.
I’m with you Cugel. Occasionally I like to print things too. A working printing is a must in my house.
pqtm. I would love to see Cugel searching old DBDs.
https://c.tenor.com/H8bwNGoiurcAAAAC/the-brooke-of-knoledge-flipping-pages.gif
Hey now, some of us who are even older than Cugel still prefer to read the morning paper on paper.
🙄
I've never owned a printer in my adult life, and I become belligerent when required to print something -- until I learned how easy it was to do so at any office supply store or the FedEx-Kinkos 5 minutes from my house. Now I'm only slightly hostile when required to print.
I've also experimented with various free trials of software to be able to sign a pdf electronically, which came in clutch when buying the house and later when refinancing.
I haven't owned a printer since I was a student at Cal . . . 27 years ago
https://twitter.com/MohanadElshieky/status/1523745334090158082?s=20&t=WAuNkPShXlukrL7QteRyGw
Reading through the thread, it gets better (worse): this took place in Reno!
Oh man...