Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history. Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) in height and weighed 439 lb (199 kg) at his death at age 22.
So... wine drinkers of the Bay Area, if you need some wine, contact me, I have way too much of the stuff. 2020 has been an insane year with restaurants closed, and I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to how many of this great deals I was scoring, and now I have 50 cases of wine be shipped to me.
So, I need to create some room I've got Cab, Cote du Rhone, Chianti, Pinot Noir, Cornas... All for what I paid for them - and they were all great deals.
It was fairly clear yesterday from a number of responses that an all mobile DBD was not ideal and would not work for those who took time to respond. Not sure what the point is of reposting it again today.
I guess I won't be going to the inauguration. You can see the west front of the Capitol from the nearby observation deck so maybe I'll wander down there.
The entire National Mall will be closed for Inauguration Day, only accessible by media and security personnel, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues.
The extraordinary closure is the latest in a series of security measures to harden the city against the type of violence that rocked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Local and federal officials had already established a downtown security zone and called up more than 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the presidential swearing in on Jan. 20.
The move is significant because the Mall has been the traditional site where much of the general public has gathered to view the inauguration at the Capitol in person and on large jumbotrons.
“That means no one will be able to get into the Mall,” one of the officials said. “I would think about it as if you are going to watch, you are not going to be able to see anything. You would maybe be able to see the top of the Capitol.”
Washington area officials have warned the public to stay away from the District in the week leading up to the inauguration as right-wing groups plan armed protests on Sunday and Inauguration Day, and threats of violence have surfaced on social media.
Metro said Wednesday it will close 13 rail stations within the downtown security perimeter and alter bus routes in the area. Airbnb also announced it would cancel and block reservations in the D.C. area in the days leading up to the inauguration.
I was under the impression that most of the events were going to be virtual anyhow. Eight years ago I volunteered at the inauguration parade. The trick for that as a non-ticketed attendee was apparently to show up super late because we were basically checking tickets for 5-6 hours and then just let everyone in (once they got past the security check point) to fill the space.
I've got a metal card with the numbers printed on the back, and it's so much nicer than the plastic ones. Apparently the metal cards are much more common in Canada. Last time we were in Montreal the missus paid for a meal with a plastic card and the waiter picked it up, gave the card a concerned look, tapped it a couple times against the table, and asked "Are you sure this thing has money in it?"
A house down the street has about 3-4 trucks from Tesla Energy in their driveway. I guess they're getting the solar panels. I wonder if it would be worth it to get panels and a battery. It does kinda sound cool. I wonder if I could charge up a Model 3 with a battery charged by solar.
Probably they are doing a grid intertie solar. So you use pge as your battery. The only draw back (other than paperwork) is that during a power outtage, the whole system shuts off (in order not to back flow power to whatever needs repair).
It should work. My sister in law has a Chevrolet Bolt and she had a carport built with solar panels on it that keeps the car charged and redirects energy into the house when the car is not charging. If that works in south Jersey, I imagine it would work well in CA.
In Northern CA, if I am correct, when you install solar panels, if you don't take yourself off of the grid completely, you are just part of PG&E's solar farm, and all electricity you generate just goes back onto the grid in return for which you are paid credits which are applied to the PG&E grid energy you continue to use. I thought it was only excess energy you were generating that was send to the grid, but a neighbor of mine with Tesla says you could be getting all of your electricity from your next door neighbor's solar installation for all you know. And the batteries are only valuable in a power outage, but they will not work without a 60Hz cycle signal from PG&E, so many folks also have to get a small inverter generator to send the 60Hz cycle to the Tesla inverter so it will accept power from the powerwall to be used in the house during a blackout. This may be an older installation, though, so hopefully they've fixed this stupid scenario.
With that many trucks, they're probably getting the roof? I'd want to wait a few more years to see how they perform, but I would consider the roof if I were building a new house. I think it's a great, attractive way to get your solar. I HATE panels.
There are roof tiles with embedded solar panels. So you don't have a structure on your roof for solar, the roof does it. then also all the wiring is under the roof out of the weather. So if the tiles panels are good, it should last a long time.
I recently had a fantastic beer from Heavy Seas (out of Baltimore), their 25th anniversary ale. It's a rich, caramelly ale with that smooth, sweet texture you get from barrel-aged beers. It's definitely a sip-for-about-3-hours beer because its abv is 15%, although it disguises the abv very well.
Heavy Seas had a restaurant not far from me that was a go to place when I had out of town company. Unfortunately it closed maybe a year and a half ago.
not sure how much reach it has but Fireman's 4 out of Blanco is a really solid beer to pair with BBQ. Back in school my fave was Shiner but a) it got bought by a distributor and is watered down piss now and b) its gotten a much bigger reach now
When I was living in Philly, it was the only East Coast city where you can get Pliny the Younger because one of the local bar knew the Russian River brewers. I even waited in snow one year for 2+ hours for it (and had it under more reasonable circumstances another time). To be honest, I can't quite taste the difference between it and Pliny the Elder (other than the Younger had higher alcohol content) which is much more readily available (and one of my favorites), so I thought the Pliny the Younger was bit overhyped.
Peabody Heights in Baltimore - only their web store is up to date, but I'm a fan of the Old Oriole Park Bohemian, Mr. Trash Wheel's Lost Python Ale, Thirstay, and the Prof Trash Wheel Blinded Me Wit Science. They do a great job of brewing beers that are interesting without hitting you over the head. https://www.peabodyheightsbrewery.com/beers/
White Street Brewing. Super local brewery in Wake Forest, NC. They specialize in doing really good version of old-world beers, like Kolsch Pilsner and a Scottish ale.
I'm somehow the tallest in my immediate family, I'm at 5' 7 and 3/4" just slightly taller than my dad at 5' 7 and maybe 1/2". Both of my grandmothers are short and my maternal grandfather was 5' 6" or 5' 7". My paternal grandfather passed away so early (when my dad was a kid) that no one really knew how tall he was (but probably not very tall).
I think one of my mother's uncles was 6'4", her father was 6'3". Lots of folks in the 5'11" to 6'1" range. Most of the women are 5'6"-5'9" on my mothers side.
I have a few cousins on my mothers' side that are a few inches taller (a taller than average family), but at 6' I *may* be the tallest person on my fathers' side of the family ever. (Dad was ~ 5'6" in his prime.) By several inches the tallest in my house.
My brother at 6'6. I'm 6'2 and I generally don't think of myself as being that tall. My closest friend is 6'8 and in high school a lot of the people I hung out with were around 6'2 as well.
My dad was 6' 1". My mom declared early on to me that if reached 6' measured at a doctors office by 20 yrs old, I would get $100.00. Never made it. Topped out at 5-11 & 3/4" and found out she told the nurses, at each physical, to "measure height precisely" to nearest 1/4 inch and call her.
My dad was 6' at some point & I think my brother is 5' 11". In my house at 5'7" I TOWER over everyone else. My wife is 5' and the girls are both 5'2"-ish although the 16 y.o. is maybe 1/2" taller than her older sister, which caused a crisis.
Can relate to that crisis. When my daughter was closing in on passing up her mother, and finally towered over her by several fractions of an inch, it was some of the more interesting moments ever in the family.
FET: When I lived in Singapore, we'd play pick-up basketball against Philippino commercial sailors. I lived out my fantasy of being a dominant rebounding center.
Most on my mom's side are in the 5'10" to 6' range (even the women), but the tallest is my uncle who is around 6'3". My wife's family is either very tall (she has a 7'1" cousin) or very short (a great grandfather was 5'3").
I had read they added some security near the VPs residence so I went by this morning. The property has long been surrounded by an about ten foot high wrought iron fence (no spikes on top) set back about fifteen feet from the sidewalk. Along the one main street (Wisconsin Ave) they've added concrete barriers and chain link fencing on the edge of the sidewalk. But I was able to freely run up a side street along the property and got only nods from a Secret Service officer and a MP at a side entrance.
Bears cut it to 9 about 3 mins into the 2nd half and then Colorado hit about 59 straight buckets....Cal is lost on D. Things snowballed quickly and it became the laugher that Vegas expected.
Not much new to be taken from this, other than the fact that Mark Fox may not even be able to coach these kids to a passable defense. Lars Thiemann is not a D1 basketball player.
So... wine drinkers of the Bay Area, if you need some wine, contact me, I have way too much of the stuff. 2020 has been an insane year with restaurants closed, and I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to how many of this great deals I was scoring, and now I have 50 cases of wine be shipped to me.
So, I need to create some room I've got Cab, Cote du Rhone, Chianti, Pinot Noir, Cornas... All for what I paid for them - and they were all great deals.
I never thought I'd live to see the day Cugel said he had too much wine!
Neither did I! Blame Covid.
Dropping this in here again!
https://flick.group/writeforcalifornia
No
Dont have to respond to every single thing man. if you don't want to be constructive just move on.
It was fairly clear yesterday from a number of responses that an all mobile DBD was not ideal and would not work for those who took time to respond. Not sure what the point is of reposting it again today.
Earthquake!
Where?
3.8 in Concord, CA
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?currentFeatureId=nc73510910&extent=20.46819,-137.19727&extent=52.74959,-52.82227
I didn't feel a thing.
I felt it! You can report it here https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/tellus
Shook our building in Berkeley but wife in Orinda didn't feel it.
Are you working in Berkeley now? She's probably running around chasing the boys. I'm just sitting at my desk trying to work.
I am! My office is right across the street from People's Park. And yes, she said C was shaking the house anyway so no chance they would feel it.
Can you you run across the street to the park and get me some crack? I'm all out at home. Thanks in advance
It was just a quick shake for less than 1 second. It wasn't one of the slow rolling ones.
I guess I won't be going to the inauguration. You can see the west front of the Capitol from the nearby observation deck so maybe I'll wander down there.
The entire National Mall will be closed for Inauguration Day, only accessible by media and security personnel, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues.
The extraordinary closure is the latest in a series of security measures to harden the city against the type of violence that rocked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Local and federal officials had already established a downtown security zone and called up more than 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the presidential swearing in on Jan. 20.
The move is significant because the Mall has been the traditional site where much of the general public has gathered to view the inauguration at the Capitol in person and on large jumbotrons.
“That means no one will be able to get into the Mall,” one of the officials said. “I would think about it as if you are going to watch, you are not going to be able to see anything. You would maybe be able to see the top of the Capitol.”
Washington area officials have warned the public to stay away from the District in the week leading up to the inauguration as right-wing groups plan armed protests on Sunday and Inauguration Day, and threats of violence have surfaced on social media.
Metro said Wednesday it will close 13 rail stations within the downtown security perimeter and alter bus routes in the area. Airbnb also announced it would cancel and block reservations in the D.C. area in the days leading up to the inauguration.
I wasn't planning to go due to covid, but this is a sad development.
I was under the impression that most of the events were going to be virtual anyhow. Eight years ago I volunteered at the inauguration parade. The trick for that as a non-ticketed attendee was apparently to show up super late because we were basically checking tickets for 5-6 hours and then just let everyone in (once they got past the security check point) to fill the space.
Listening to radio news while eating lunch the NPS is saying the decision hasn't been made yet. We'll see.
This will let someone claim they had more attendance at inauguration than someone else.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Trump can't tweet that kind of claims anymore.
Understandable, but this is a very sad development. We were there for both Clinton's and Obama's first inauguration.
First credit card without embossed numerals
I've got a metal card with the numbers printed on the back, and it's so much nicer than the plastic ones. Apparently the metal cards are much more common in Canada. Last time we were in Montreal the missus paid for a meal with a plastic card and the waiter picked it up, gave the card a concerned look, tapped it a couple times against the table, and asked "Are you sure this thing has money in it?"
This one is still just plastic.
pleb
whhoooo aren't you fancy! :D
Tesla Energy
A house down the street has about 3-4 trucks from Tesla Energy in their driveway. I guess they're getting the solar panels. I wonder if it would be worth it to get panels and a battery. It does kinda sound cool. I wonder if I could charge up a Model 3 with a battery charged by solar.
Probably they are doing a grid intertie solar. So you use pge as your battery. The only draw back (other than paperwork) is that during a power outtage, the whole system shuts off (in order not to back flow power to whatever needs repair).
It should work. My sister in law has a Chevrolet Bolt and she had a carport built with solar panels on it that keeps the car charged and redirects energy into the house when the car is not charging. If that works in south Jersey, I imagine it would work well in CA.
Hmm...interesting. I'll have to remember this if I end up getting a Model 3 when the TSX goes.
In Northern CA, if I am correct, when you install solar panels, if you don't take yourself off of the grid completely, you are just part of PG&E's solar farm, and all electricity you generate just goes back onto the grid in return for which you are paid credits which are applied to the PG&E grid energy you continue to use. I thought it was only excess energy you were generating that was send to the grid, but a neighbor of mine with Tesla says you could be getting all of your electricity from your next door neighbor's solar installation for all you know. And the batteries are only valuable in a power outage, but they will not work without a 60Hz cycle signal from PG&E, so many folks also have to get a small inverter generator to send the 60Hz cycle to the Tesla inverter so it will accept power from the powerwall to be used in the house during a blackout. This may be an older installation, though, so hopefully they've fixed this stupid scenario.
With that many trucks, they're probably getting the roof? I'd want to wait a few more years to see how they perform, but I would consider the roof if I were building a new house. I think it's a great, attractive way to get your solar. I HATE panels.
I bet you don't appreciate the beauty of oil refineries at night either.
What?
There are roof tiles with embedded solar panels. So you don't have a structure on your roof for solar, the roof does it. then also all the wiring is under the roof out of the weather. So if the tiles panels are good, it should last a long time.
I'm not sure. They were working on the back side of the house, but it didn't look like they were ripping it out, just laying stuff on top.
https://solarmagazine.com/solar-roofs/solar-shingles/
A local (not national, not regional) beer that you enjoy
Hyper local, Ghost Town Brewing, a block away has some very good brews.
Sudwerk Brewed in Davis. Often can only get on tap or in kegs from the brewery. Though they have been expanding the bottled capacity.
I recently had a fantastic beer from Heavy Seas (out of Baltimore), their 25th anniversary ale. It's a rich, caramelly ale with that smooth, sweet texture you get from barrel-aged beers. It's definitely a sip-for-about-3-hours beer because its abv is 15%, although it disguises the abv very well.
https://www.brewbound.com/news/heavy-seas-announces-25th-anniversary-beer-and-virtual-celebration/
Heavy Seas had a restaurant not far from me that was a go to place when I had out of town company. Unfortunately it closed maybe a year and a half ago.
not sure how much reach it has but Fireman's 4 out of Blanco is a really solid beer to pair with BBQ. Back in school my fave was Shiner but a) it got bought by a distributor and is watered down piss now and b) its gotten a much bigger reach now
this local brewery Decadent Ales brews a lot of their beers w/ lactose.
makes for fun and interesting flavors like ...
Lemon Meringue Pie - Pale Ale brewed with Lemon and Marshmallow - 7.4% ABV
Some of the local breweries around me have been experimenting with lactose and it sometimes produces some really interesting flavors/textures.
So I can get drunk and shit myself? Sign me up.
Buoy Beer in Astoria OR: the Pale Ale and IPA are both very tasty.
Pliny the Younger IPA, Russian River Brewing, 10.25% alcohol content
https://russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-younger-release/
When I was living in Philly, it was the only East Coast city where you can get Pliny the Younger because one of the local bar knew the Russian River brewers. I even waited in snow one year for 2+ hours for it (and had it under more reasonable circumstances another time). To be honest, I can't quite taste the difference between it and Pliny the Elder (other than the Younger had higher alcohol content) which is much more readily available (and one of my favorites), so I thought the Pliny the Younger was bit overhyped.
Peabody Heights in Baltimore - only their web store is up to date, but I'm a fan of the Old Oriole Park Bohemian, Mr. Trash Wheel's Lost Python Ale, Thirstay, and the Prof Trash Wheel Blinded Me Wit Science. They do a great job of brewing beers that are interesting without hitting you over the head. https://www.peabodyheightsbrewery.com/beers/
Mr. Trash Wheel's Lost Python Ale was a good one. And it had a great can design and amusing backstory behind the name: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/peabody-heights-brewery-creates-beer-mr-trash-wheel/
Seven Locks Brewery - https://www.7locksbrewing.com/on-tap/ - I like their "Surrender Dorothy" Rye IPA and Grubby Thicket brown ale.
explanation of the very local "surrender Dorothy" joke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrender_Dorothy
White Street Brewing. Super local brewery in Wake Forest, NC. They specialize in doing really good version of old-world beers, like Kolsch Pilsner and a Scottish ale.
Well, United Kingdom, you've had a good run...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9142755/Raven-Tower-London-feared-died.html
that's it, it's time for Scotland to fail on their own two feet again. Did I write fail? I meant fall. Or land. Or something.
This home for sale makes every room feel like home. Your own personal homeroom.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2140-Riley-Creek-Rd-Normandy-TN-37360/125691303_zpid/
Indoor basketball court!!
Looks like a great compound for running a small cult.
Tallest in your family
I'm somehow the tallest in my immediate family, I'm at 5' 7 and 3/4" just slightly taller than my dad at 5' 7 and maybe 1/2". Both of my grandmothers are short and my maternal grandfather was 5' 6" or 5' 7". My paternal grandfather passed away so early (when my dad was a kid) that no one really knew how tall he was (but probably not very tall).
I think one of my mother's uncles was 6'4", her father was 6'3". Lots of folks in the 5'11" to 6'1" range. Most of the women are 5'6"-5'9" on my mothers side.
It's probably me at this point. I'm 6'3". I did have an uncle who I think was slightly taller, but he died a few years ago.
My dad and one of my brothers are both 6'2". My mom's 5'4", I'm 5'6", other brother is around 5'10" I suppose.
I guess my dad at 6'2", none of the grandparents or uncles were taller.
I have a few cousins on my mothers' side that are a few inches taller (a taller than average family), but at 6' I *may* be the tallest person on my fathers' side of the family ever. (Dad was ~ 5'6" in his prime.) By several inches the tallest in my house.
My brother at 6'6. I'm 6'2 and I generally don't think of myself as being that tall. My closest friend is 6'8 and in high school a lot of the people I hung out with were around 6'2 as well.
me by a mile. I am 6'1.5. My parents were 5'8 and 5'5 and my grandparents were 6'1, 4'11, 5'3 and 5'0. I lucked out getting the south Texas genes
My dad was 6' 1". My mom declared early on to me that if reached 6' measured at a doctors office by 20 yrs old, I would get $100.00. Never made it. Topped out at 5-11 & 3/4" and found out she told the nurses, at each physical, to "measure height precisely" to nearest 1/4 inch and call her.
My dad was 6' at some point & I think my brother is 5' 11". In my house at 5'7" I TOWER over everyone else. My wife is 5' and the girls are both 5'2"-ish although the 16 y.o. is maybe 1/2" taller than her older sister, which caused a crisis.
Can relate to that crisis. When my daughter was closing in on passing up her mother, and finally towered over her by several fractions of an inch, it was some of the more interesting moments ever in the family.
my wife frequently told people that all she wanted was for the girls to be at least 5'2". Apparently that little bit extra makes all the difference.
My dad's nephew is I think around 6'1 or 6'2. No 3 is a little more than 6' I think and I was 5'10" (I think I've shrunk a little).
My dad and I were/are the tallest at 6' negative 0.5". Apart from my mother, no woman has been over 5'3" - most below 5'.
FET: When I lived in Singapore, we'd play pick-up basketball against Philippino commercial sailors. I lived out my fantasy of being a dominant rebounding center.
Most on my mom's side are in the 5'10" to 6' range (even the women), but the tallest is my uncle who is around 6'3". My wife's family is either very tall (she has a 7'1" cousin) or very short (a great grandfather was 5'3").
Me actually. I'm 6' 1" - my Dad was 5'10", so was my grandfather.
same. 6-1.
i attribute it to the hormones in the food in the US compared to all the relatives in India
Yes I agree with this as well.
Probably.
Elsewhere in college
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
I had read they added some security near the VPs residence so I went by this morning. The property has long been surrounded by an about ten foot high wrought iron fence (no spikes on top) set back about fifteen feet from the sidewalk. Along the one main street (Wisconsin Ave) they've added concrete barriers and chain link fencing on the edge of the sidewalk. But I was able to freely run up a side street along the property and got only nods from a Secret Service officer and a MP at a side entrance.
a little nerd humor
https://twitter.com/mountain_ghosts/status/1349510981806936065?s=21
guy who's currently deploying a schema migration to change the type of presidents.impeached from bool to int
I thought I was pretty nerdy but I don't get this.
bool is True/False.
but now that it is proven that you can get impeached more than once, we need an number to keep track of how many times you have been impeached
Ahah, thanks!
Rudy Giuliani supposedly disbarred
nah, he won't be. at worst he will be allowed to 'retire' and not practice any more without a formal finding and punishment.
WaPo: Trump has reportedly given orders to not pay Drunk Uncle Rudy
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/534192-trump-tells-aides-not-to-pay-giulianis-legal-fees-report
Just like the contractors who worked on the Taj Mahal
or most of his other businesses
NYT: Advisors dissuaded Trump from going to the House floor to defend himself during impeachment. Dang it.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status/1349552838804987904
jfc. while that might have been some solid theater, it would only have made it into a complete circus.
<<colbert eating popcorn.gif>>
Trump Impeachment, Attention turns to Senate:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/jan/14/donald-trump-impeachment-congress-senate-joe-biden-mitch-mcconnell-coronavirus-covid-live-updates
PRO
Urban Meyer to become the Jacksonville Jaguars' coach
https://twitter.com/i/events/1349737198183059458
Better there than USC or UCLA...
the SC ultras who thought that Meyer was the only possible path to victory are going to be in a right mood about this. 😂😂😂😂😂
I've heard Pete might become available again down the road a little ways.
CAL
Goff v. Rodgers confirmed
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1349803806167588870?s=20
Men's BB team playing the Buffs right now on Pac-12
what's the spread?
Buffs -15...they will cover.
and so they did
Nearly doubled it.
Bears cut it to 9 about 3 mins into the 2nd half and then Colorado hit about 59 straight buckets....Cal is lost on D. Things snowballed quickly and it became the laugher that Vegas expected.
Not much new to be taken from this, other than the fact that Mark Fox may not even be able to coach these kids to a passable defense. Lars Thiemann is not a D1 basketball player.
I'm going to guess we're losing...
I had forgotten it was an 11 AM start.
I guess the team can thank me for turning it on. 10-0 run in 90 seconds.
Of course juju...just gave up 2 3s
God our offense sets are so bad.
and something like a 20-0 run now.
Go Bears....
Andre the Giant talk about a tall man irrespective of his size.
Yao Ming
The tall guy with the metal teeth from the Bond films
Jaws!