122 Comments

Apparently there's a lot of CC fraud going on these days.

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We haven't seen an uptick in fraud at all in our cards.

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@is that because the owners don't know they had cards open in their name?@

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Fake punt

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wow. that was a solid fake catch.

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The best part really was the UCLA kicker losing his shit when he realizes, knowing full well where he sent the kick, that his teammates are falling for it

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This one from Utah's absolute demolition of Oregon in 2015 is also pretty great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4JMFKVut44

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I remember that game.

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Best: I can't remember which game it was but Cal put in a trick play where the punter threw the ball high in the air as if he punted the ball. Gunners got blocked and PI was called. I am not sure if the rules have been changed to prevent this.

Runner-up: Jared Goff lining up as punter vs. Ohio State because he shared the same number as Leninger

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Cal tried this again at UCLA in 91 I think. If i remember it didn't work. Still won though. It was the Russell White flu game.

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Unhappy memories (although really this was a gift to the broader college football community)

https://twitter.com/sbnation/status/533298381871796224?s=21

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You know what? Not too soon.

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It is intrinsically wonderful

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It's certainly _something_

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Today in CV-19

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Putting this out there. When our State started phase 1 ReOpen, I immediately went and picked up my dry-cleaning so they don't go bankrupt holding my stuff.

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If only there was a technology that could do a better job...

https://twitter.com/AndySlater/status/1261048907880181761

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"Gone are the days when a single pair of pajamas would suffice. Now we need work pajamas, lounging pajamas, sleeping pajamas — or so sharp increases in online shopping for comfort items would suggest.

As the pandemic continues to keep most Americans at home more often than not, online sales are soaring, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index, which studies digital consumers."

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My wife bought me 3 pairs of pajamas pants for Xmas, which I thanked her for at the time and thought privately "like, when am I ever going to wear this many pajamas?".

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she was having a precient moment.

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MD begins its reopening today at 5:15pm. Indoor places (retail stores, churches) can open at 50% capacity as long as social distancing is enforced. Bars, restaurants, and gyms remain closed. Some of the harder-hit counties are opting not to reopen until they can get their caseloads under control.

I am in no hurry to go to any newly reopened stores. I'll continue to do what I can to support local businesses and restaurants, but I'm still avoiding going out.

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My work's "Back to Work" plan is supposed to start June 1 (if the Bay Area shelter-in-place order does, in fact, end on May 31), but my director pointed out that most of us HAVE been working. "It certainly doesn't feel like a vacation," he said in front of his zebra Zoom background.

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At least those whose' job doesn't require them to come back, a lot of jobs at the university won't come back for at least quite a while. Probably at least most of the summer. For one thing, the existing infrastructure won't safely accommodate everyone, since they ignored reasonable spacing and employed cubicle sharing previously, and have deficient HVAC/Climate controls in many places. The difference is those known problems have finally been transformed from "complaints" to real problems.

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Yeah, I don't expect to be back in the office until next year.

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I was on a mass email today that our customer (rhymes with Heff Dee Hay) will be on remote work until further notice. Rather at odds with what el presidente is saying

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“They’re running into death just like soldiers run into bullets, in a true sense,” Trump said of health-care workers in Pennsylvania. “It’s incredible to see. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”

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I’m with you on the “easing back into public life slowly” angle. I was doing a mental tally last night while cleaning up the kitchen and at this point the main difference in my routine spending is that we don’t get takeout, plus my wife and younger daughter are both down one training session a week (gym and fencing respectively). Otherwise it’s been pretty steady except for when we spend more in a good cause (getting meat and produce from Founding Farmers was a solid idea for example)

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From a retail perspective, the only thing I actively miss is book stores, and not finding a crowded supermarket stressful. I feel like I have likely broken a lifelong spending habit of buying things I don't really need, which will be great for my finances but shitty for the retailers of the greater Bay Area. I am longing to spend time in the park without worry about how close or not I am to someone else, and just to hang out with my friends. All in due time, I'd rather be safe than active at this point.

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The 17 y.o. had a "distanced" picnic with her friends this evening - the one with the largest lawn hosted, and they were able to spread out accordingly and appropriately. Definitely a positive for her.

The rest of the house would talk in the before times about how they all thought I could do with more outside interests but turns out I was well positioned for this moment in time 😂

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I've bought a few books online that I picked up curbside later but do miss just perusing the shelves and picking up something that looks like it might be interesting. Finally got into the 80s today so I had to work to find a local park area that was away from others so I could read for an hour or so. And amen to your last sentence.

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It will be good to have some options back, but I'm not rushing to get to the front of the pack on anything, and will be paying attention to any upturns in problems, not so much overall, but where they are occurring.

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I suspect - but obviously do not know - that is true for a lot of people.

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Not here in Montgomery county. I’ll be curious to see how long it takes before people are fussing

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"Masks are for pussies" really seems to have gained traction.

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I wonder such slogans and sovereign rights statements, if one investigates, would be found to have originated in Russia, or some such interesting source.

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Considering how quickly it's spreading through Russia, maybe.

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This is so lame...drives me nuts

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As long as they're cotton...gotta keep your pussy in good condition.

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What a scandal!

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When you have AEI fellows posting on Twitter about what is wrong with people who won’t wear masks, it’s a reminder that the yahoo wing of the right dominates the public square I think

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Black beans, pinto beans, or refried beans?

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Obviously, I'm going to choose black. #consistent

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pqtm

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not black.

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Pinto

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I like both black and pinto. I guess I usually opt for black, but no big deal either way.

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Depends on the application and source. Whole pinto beans are a must in a La Taqueria burrito, while refried beans work best with plate of enchiladas, but only black beans with a plate of Cuban lechon.

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They all have their places.

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Yes

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Black all the way

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Well you would say that

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Hey! I was an EOL back in the day, I don't have a type other than good looking.

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Does the L stand for... lover? Lothario?

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Equal Opportunity Lover - Cugel was always more interested in what was inside the ladies

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All I know is that Mrs Cugel is delightful

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Refried...in Gordo's pollo burrito

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Refried, unless you're going to put effort into infusing pinto beans with bacon or rosemary or something

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Black beans are under-appreciated. Refried beans in the taco ingredients are a standard.

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Something that you enjoyed, but will proactively never do again

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childbirth

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Marriage....too soon?

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I dunno. Ask your spouse.

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Grad school

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Weekend

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Beaches in LA are open again for activities, but the bad red tide is still lingering, so I'm waiting until Monday to surf again. Will be interesting to get back in the water.

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Is the red tide related to the bioluminescence, or is that separate?

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For this event, yes they are the same dinoflagellates creating both the red tide and bioluminescence across socal. But we have had one without the the other (both ways) in the past. Usually the bioluminescence is much more faint when I've seen it in our waters.

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Ooh ok. The photos and videos look AMAZING! (But I get that it can be dangerous.)

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I've swam/surfed in algal blooms before and it resulted in being congested for about a week, which probably is best to avoid right now. However if you ever get a chance to swim in bioluminescent water (esp ones not triggered by algal blooms), I highly recommend it. I've done it once at Catalina and it was like swimming in Fantasia.

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I've done it in Thailand.

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Going out for a ride on Saturday morning.

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i was out today for a short ride, but it was 80+ deg and felt good to ride in shorts for the first time all year here in the northeast.

the weekend should be good for 2 days of riding

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Hopefully you're talking about a bicycle

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Temps hit 80 today for the first time all year and it will be pleasant this weekend. I'll probably spend most of the weekend outside: biking, house/yard work, reading, etc.

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I would like to sit out and do some reading. Trying to think of somewhere I can go where there won't be a ton of people. Because of the nice weather and quarantine fatigue I think it's going to be pretty crowded out.

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Rain - so i'm not going to wake up for my group ride

I just watched the dosa episode of It's Alive so I'm going to create the batter tomorrow and then ferment it on Sunday

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Not Saturday!

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Oops, I confused you with TBB.

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All asians look alike.

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high 60s on Sat and mid 60s with rain on Sun. No plans other than getting some work done.

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Forecast is for a dry start, but significant rain late tomorrow into Sunday, so it might be a good weekend for a work project followed by a day off on a sunny day later. A lot of time to refill since one of the major baseball tournaments in the state scheduled for this weekend was cancelled like the rest of spring.

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originally looked gorgeous, now chance showers? hopefully spending lots of time outdoors

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OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY

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Moscow Mitch admits he was wrong about Obama not leaving a playbook. A mistake... riiiiiiiight.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/14/politics/mitch-mcconnell-obama-coronavirus-pandemic/index.html

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can anyone eli5 this hubbub about the Patriot Act renewal and computer search history stuff?

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“Eli5”?

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The acronym was new to me; we refer to the concept at ETM locally. (Explaining to managers.)

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Learn something new every day.

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Is it me or is Joe Biden's campaign really weak via online marketing?

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I don't think it's you.

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"YOU'VE BEEN SELECTED! Are you ready for my VP pick?!?!? Sign up and be the first to know about it!"

I've seen some iteration of that ad for about a month now.

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PRO

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Allegiant Stadium (Raiders' new stadium)

https://twitter.com/AmandaGuerraCBS/status/1260970160661413888

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I guess we don't need to be worried if the Stadium will be ready for the Cal/UNLV game...

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MLB: Limited Edition Upper Deck 2017 MVP baseball card

https://bit.ly/3cAi26d

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C. A. L. I. F-O-R. N-I-A. CALIFORNIA! CALIFORNIA!

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Califoooooooooornia!

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Some rumbling rumors that Cal may get a FB commit very soon.

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First base.

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What’s on SB

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(I haven't seen the latest B99 yet, no spoilers)

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d-honey defends her PhD this morning!

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When do you know if you pass?

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you usually find out on the spot. i brought choc chip cookies for my committee to have while they "deliberated" but in my case it was 100% just a formality.

i was told to keep it to 30 min and after 15 min i was given a 15 min warning.

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So No 1 should bring cookies when he has his. Got it.

I wonder if humanities PhD defenses are different than sciences.

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from what i have heard, it really varies a lot by school, dept and even advisor.

however, in the sciences there is generally more of a "system in place" as to what constitutes enough work for a phd. also, more people are usually involved in that you have collaborations or scientists working together. since there is typically grants and funding involved, the project and research is somewhat well vetted. of course in theoretical physics or math it can go astray a bit.

in the humanities, you often have a single student working w/ a single faculty member and no one else in the entire world has cares or has any idea what they are working on. if there is no funding involved, you can go off on a tangent that might not even be worthy of study. then when it comes time for your defense there are 3 other faculty members reviewing your work, often for the first time ever and there are definitely cases of it not going well.

my advice would be that you communicate w/ others early and often in a field like art history, so you have a good sense that you are doing something worthwhile.

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For us, you wouldn't schedule a defense unless you, your advisor, and your committee all agreed that you were ready to graduate.

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Yes good luck...can be a bit harrowing. I had one pseudo-heckler when I defended mine back in 2000.

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Good luck!

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Go Go d-honey!! Good Rodgers!

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Go D🍯

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