30.8.23

Taking the F line

b1-66er:
[Dream recorded 11:45 yesterday]

third sleep dream.
<I'm laying on my back in bed with my knees bent and crossed. Wearing boxer briefs and a long sleeve hunter orange poly shirt.

The room's a TINY bit bigger than IRL and considerably brighter (as if it was lit by a skylight or something.)

D4rw1n walks in! He's wearing a t-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes with no sox. 
He's NOT wearing glasses.
My shirt is casting a bit of an orange glow on the white walls of the room (as well as him).>

"Oh hey, D4rw1n! It's good to see you."
<He sits on the edge of the bed. There's no tellin' where this conversation's going to go.>

He speaks. "Hey. 
Why do you say you don't know anything?"

<Right into business here, I see.>
"Uh, I'm not aware that I do. Do I say that? It seems disingenuous if I do. I mean, I don't think of myself as 'The Smart Guy' or 'The dumb guy.' Not really."

<Two things jump to my mind immediately:
1. Is he confusing my impression of being self-smart with the fact that I'm under-read?
2. Why in the world would he come all the way here, from wherever the hell, to ask me that question?
The dream isn't anxiety producing at all. It just feels strange.>
[EOD]


D4rw1n <responding today>: Processing a b1-66er dream about me-- surprisingly daunting 

One thing that springs to mind is that when I worked at the NU library as a work study job (free photocopying of debate research materials saved me many thousands of $$$) my boss was a prim-looking older British lady who didn't look scary at all. But whenever somebody would express an opinion she'd say 

"but dear, you don't know fuck-all about it

Ms. D4 loves that story. So nowadays whenever Ms. D or I feel we've gotten out on a limb in an argument, one of us will say, "well, I know what I know, and I know what I don't know. And I don't know fuck-all"

29.8.23

Who's laughing now?

b1-66er: The title describes this as him being a madman. 
It's the opposite.
https://youtu.be/TqZpi8zAqe0 

entropyD: You're right. Nothing crazy about him. We are his joke.

26.8.23

K-fax

Special K: Negative review of The Flash movie. "It's a deteriorating rest stop on the road to nowhere."

25.8.23

Reflections on Life's Pond

Special K: <NYT link resulting in this screenshot>

D4rw1n: Pictures L-R: Elliot Carver, Peter Griffin, Dr. Douglas Powers, and Mark Brunell 

24.8.23

Spread 'em fatty!

b1-66er: "What's Inside a Butter Cow? It's Not Just Butter."

D4rw1n: I either need no butter cattle, or nothing but butter inside a butter cow. There is no in between for me

STAND CLEAR OF THE BUS!

Major Math: This is kinda neat...
<Pic>
That is gate 7 at ACY airport. Went through security here (no line whatsoever) and get on the secure bus which drops off at an airport gate at PHI inside security.

[Pic ©2023 Unairy systems.
All rights reserved
Used by permission]

Aliens & Animals

The Dear Hunter: This has been around for weeks. Interesting structure 
<rumaria sumaria pic>
Frog
<pic>


[Pix ©2023 Like Michigan - BUT IN SPACE, Ltd.
All rights reserved, used by permission.]

23.8.23

The crest, fallen

b1-66er: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66599733

D4rw1n: That is on-brand for Putin 

b1: I should not laugh at that comment.
Is taking everyone else with him an "okay¹" thing?
I bet Mr. Pri wishes he'd just gone ahead and "rolled 'em on in," now.


¹ for whatever that means

22.8.23

5 year-old Zen moment

The Accomplice: I like overcast when there are shapes in the clouds.

21.8.23

Decopalypse

Special K: "'There is no way in or out of Palm Springs,' the city's mayor said."

b1-66er: That would be a great tagline for a horror movie set in an art deco tour of PS.

20.8.23

Vertices-and-lines-upuncture

b1-66er: https://youtu.be/zQo_S3yNa2w

Major Math: Math is boring 

b1: I couldn't agree more.
That's why my degree is in applied mathematics.

MM: False
I was being sarcastic 
Applied math is boring

b1: Yell that into your coin slot and see what happens.

MM: <graphic>

19.8.23

Tarp time

b1-66er: "Hurricane Hilary, Now a Category 3 Storm, Nears Mexico and California"
It must be getting close to Election Time.

Special K: I think she'll be doing some canvassing in LV tomorrow night. 

18.8.23

Charge it to my MI Card

The Dear Hunter: <pic>
[...]
This is a cat tail on account of you won't be seeing any other ones today where u live.

Pic © 2023 Wet Temptations
All right reserved
Used by permission

16.8.23

Time to wine

b1-66er: Trivium of the moment:
China is the largest grape producer in the world.

b1-67er: I did not know that.

66: Surprised the hell out of me.
Technically, grapes are considered to be berries
(Which I also did not know.)

67: I suppose they are. Considering how many grapes are grown in California...I've never heard a peep about Chinese grapes.
We must be crushing them!

15.8.23

Looking in the mirror at Life's Buffet

b1-66er: Fast Living and Foreign Dealings: An F.B.I. Spy Hunter's Rise and Fall https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/14/nyregion/fbi-mcgonigal-oligarch-nyc.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

D4rw1n: Pretty dramatic 

b1: It's weird to see his late-career-decay like that.
Don't you fricken do that.

D4: Not likely but thanks for the warning 
I've got a fairly high functioning wife and a friend group to call bullshit if I start decaying 
And lots and lots of psychoanalysis 

b1: All of which sit at about the same level of importance on The Life Gameboard...
Which is to say, "lots of importance."

D4: Yes, taken together, a pretty secure safety net

b1: You need it.
They don't keep whales secure with a guppy screen.
The thing I saw/see the most in The Valley are people getting overconfident.
That's what killed Steve Jobs.

D4: Also, I am mildly insecure, slightly introverted, and easily shamed. So not going out on a lot of long limbs

b1: Right.
(I still find the insecurity side of you surprising.
From my side? I don't see it. 
At all.)

D4: Yes it is somewhat managed by a combination of ambition, people-pleasing, competitiveness, and public speaking training

b1: I like that answer.
Is this conversation KTXT-able, or is it too personal? 
(My defining/deciding mind can't tell...
It's the classic fascinating ideas v 'intimate details' problem.)

D4: It's on the border, but it's perfectly fine with me. Thanks for asking.

b1: Okay.
I'm going to think about it today and will let you know my decision.
I think personal struggle is probably the most interesting battle everyone eventually has to face (think: addiction, big efforts [like climbing Everest], aging, disease).
It's where the soft rubber of the human spirit hits the hard road of reality...
... And it's easier for most people not to think about it at all.
(Or if they do, it's almost impossible  to think about the concepts broadly, and so objectively.)
Here's a piece furthering what we were talking about earlier today...

11.8.23

Bon TXTage

b1-66er: WARNING: If any of the Math Military have aneurysms, this is the article that's likely to make them burst...

Major Math:  ​👍​ to " https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gam… " 

b1: OH THANK GOD.
You're still alive.

MM: For now

b1: Hey.
We're all playing the long game and losing...
... But we understood that when we entered The Carnival.

MM: I'm winning. I truly enjoy the gambling world. I'm fully aware that I am being charged, but I get booze, hotels, some privileges, flights (Borgata is flying us out for free next week...just a $50 admin fee that they give back in free play; direct flight, ground, hotel, and $200 in free play for nothing)

b1: You are winning.

MM: If we lose $1,000, we are easily ahead on that given air and hotel prices, not to mention that you literally can't fly to AC from Columbus. 
(On commercial)
<lizard poker pic>

b1: That's funny.

The Accomplice: I love the perks world. Hotels.com just changed their system after giving us many free rooms over the years. Now they'll give us nickel and dime credits on the fly, I think? I'm in their highest tier, and waiting to see what happens
MArchie (grad-school friend) and I embark this afternoon in Vancouver... Looking forward to Alaska! 
Royal Caribbean perks are funny at this middle tier... I think(!) we can have robes for free to use on the ship... if we ask?!?...

b1: The Accomplice was high enough up the hotels chain that she's the only person I've ever seen referred to as
My leige
... In corporate correspondence.

TA: .... And in my next cruise or two, I'll earn... A PIN

b1: On the Princess line I believe that's what's referred to as 
The Grovel Tier

TA: That takes me back to the pre-Title IX days, when the high school girls earned a "GAA" brooch (girls athletic association). After Title IX, (mid-high school for me), we started earning letters.

b1: I'll buy you a sweater when you get back if your feathers are still ruffled.
You will have to say 'please' of course.

TA: Maybe you can bring me a robe... IF I ASK.

b1: That's funny.
Your mood is perfectly set for this voyage.

TA: I'm all over it! I haven't found an ice carving display yet, but I'm set on digging out the film choices, naturalist lectures, and happy hours. Tonight's entertainment is a comedian.
Massage pre-booked for 3pm, before the ship sails.¹


¹ This is the most cruise aware TXT the KTXT staff has ever seen.

10.8.23

Just WHY DO YOU still wear your letter jacket?

Special K: My new favorite baseball trivium: "4 pitchers, and 4 pitchers only, have played in the majors after attending Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton CA, and now all 4 have thrown an MLB no-hitter. "

Observation class 099

The Dear Hunter: Find the butter fly
<pic>

Picture © 2023 Swallowed Tail Prods
used by permission
all rights reserved

6.8.23

4.8.23

Look! An aonyx bracelet!!

b1-66er: !!

Dear Hunter: Angry Otter....  yeah... I bet their business end could hurt. 

b1-67er: That's got to be like fighting a greased pig.