Here we are, less than two weeks until Christmas. At least here, it’s been colder and snowier than it has been for the past several years. This of course means it’s a crisis.
In local news, there’s a state Supreme Court case that could have some big implications for landlords and renters with dogs.
Screw the US EPA.
Can we stop burying old series out in the old Pet Semetary?
Some dead things should stay dead!
On the other hand… I’m slightly optimistic about this.
The Game Awards happened last night, awards were given, virtues were signaled, games and movies were announced.
There were funds to keep running it at a loss for a hundred years!
Even the early video game heroines were really guys.
PC Master Race has already won the console wars.
Disney is doing something they said for years they could not.
Every once in a while, a game publisher isn’t a dick.
Exactly like you and Hitler!
Because the government should be involved in this?
Off the top of my head, I’ve got all but two of them on my bar shelf.
I’ve been rewatching Mad Men, so let’s go classic for a drink, quick and simple.
Stinger
- 2 part (2 ounces) cognac
- 1 part (1 ounce) creme de menthe (for the love of all that is holy, use clear creme de menthe for this, not the green)
This recipe dates back to pre-prohibition times. One thing that sets it apart from most spirit only cocktails is that this one is designed to be shaken (to help dilute), and then served over crushed ice. There are lots of variants, usually with substitutions on the cognac side. This drink has remained a classic for a reason, if you’ve never had one, I recommend giving one a try (as long as you don’t have a hatred of mint).
With that, I hope you all enjoy your weekend, and stay warm out there.
BOOOO
WE WANT RJ
We get our fezes at the same place.
A little asteroid based gift shop in Alpha Centauri?
How did you know?
They do the best work.
I have determined that there are no feces in North San Francisco. Sad. STEVE SMITH is happy, he bet that I could not find any bum feces piles larger than his usual (approximately 1 1/2 feet across for the solid portion).
I have no desire to buy any of his NFTs so I must try harder! Heading South tomorrow.
“For me, the bottle that needs to disappear from bars and bar carts forever is crème de violette. It serves no purpose! There’s no good classic cocktails to use it in, and anyone that says they like an Aviation is lying.” —Adam Montgomerie
Apparently, the Limeys don’t like any gin cocktail that didn’t originate on their side of the pond.
This Montgomerie fellow probably drinks espresso “martinis” unironically.
The same guy probably is using St. Germain in everything.
Ironically, one of my favorite pre-show bars in central Florida has an off-menu drink called “April Showers,” which is just an Aviation with St-Germain replacing the maraschino liqueur. It’s delicious.
An espresso ‘martini’ is a Black Russian made with coffee-infused vodka (Van Gogh Double Espresso, or make your own). Fight me.
(It’s really pretty good.)
Remember when Starbucks made a coffee liquor?
It was the bomb.
The Marine Corps just had its 250th birthday — now let’s abolish it
Rather old argument, but watching Marines spew their propaganda about how great they are (they’re all special operator capable and riflemen!!11’2g35;’11) is pretty fun.
The Marines are going to be fine, if these kids are left in charge.
(P.S. — I love a good puppy story)
I was all set to snarl at whoever suggested I get rid of my Lillet Blanc, but upon reading..the dude actually makes a reasonable case. I may have to try and find Cap Corse or Kina L’Aero d’Or at our sad local ABC stores.
On the other hand, you can have my crème de violette when you pry the bottle out of my cold dead hands.
Yeah. I went into that article expecting it to be a bunch of snobsters naming some obscure bottle or ripping on regional low/middle shelf bottles.
Lillet is also one that needs to be stored in the fridge, same as vermouths (not directed at you, just the general you).
I’ve never had Lillet. Now I’m going to have to try. Thanks for the storage tip.
Can it be subbed out for cooking wine when it starts to go?
Tonio:
It’s a light, slightly sweet, fortified wine with some citrus and fruit notes. I’m partial to adding a splash to gin and tonics, or as a spritz.
If those flavors will work with what you’re adding it to, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it to cook with.
Lillet is also an essential ingredient in the Twentieth Century, which is absolutely delicious.
Of course, the Kina L’aéro D’Or may work just as well as Lillet. YMMV.
A Lillet on ice is a mighty fine aperitif, and I’m not usually much of a sweet/fruity drink guy. But it’s balanced well.
“Can we stop burying old series out in the old Pet Semetary?”
Sorry to disagree, but Mrs. TOK and I loved that show and have for years hoped for another season.
“Disney is doing something they said for years they could not.”
I have the original trilogy in a VHS box set. I’m not sure if they’re “original” original, or they have those enhanced explosions. I should revisit those.
I love the show as well, it was already continued through a comic book. Considering they left half the plotlines dangling at the end of the abbreviated second season, either they’re going to have to do a time jump and write a way out of it, or pick it up with everyone having aged over 15 years.
“or pick it up with everyone having aged over 15 years.”
But enough about Stranger Things.
Disney already made a sequel. Ned came back as Ronan the Accuser and tried to kill the Nova Corps.
The first season and half of Pushing Daisies was fucking brilliant. Then the writer’s strike happened. When the show came back, it was totally different and quite a disappointment.
It’s easier to rent in a building with no smoking than a building with no dogs. Or children.
Priorities, people.
I smoked and have a retarded pitbull puppy despite my lease.
How’s that going? Puppy, not smoking.
I’m on about the 4th “compromise” over the puppy. Just had a blow-up over him yesterday. The dog actually *did* show some aggression towards the other person and jump up at them, growling, hair on back standing up. Twice. I think my presence boosted his confidence to do that, but there’s been nothing since. I know it’s not a habit I want to encourage in him, but I couldn’t help but laugh. You act aggressively towards a young dog you get what you get. I’m fairly certain that if he had wanted to bite he would have been able to do so. That was about a month ago.
The dog instantly seemed to show, I don’t know, as close to “remorse” as a dog can for doing it.
Outside that, he’s really a pretty sweet dog. Loves people. But that relationship isn’t good for him.
I have no one who wanted to take him that I know and I refuse to put him in a shelter so I’m just weathering all the bullshit on both ends at the moment.
Some dead things should stay dead!
I don’t support murdering Uwe, just take away his ability to make films.
Artificial intelligence architects were named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” on Thursday.
Insidious development, or NVIDIA-us development?
“AI” is the “APIs” of current year. All the suits at work want us to throw it at everything whether it makes any sense or not.
My old boss who was fired a couple months ago says nobody is looking for any skills but AI now. I hope I can hold on to my job long enough for this stupidity to play itself out, or retire. Whichever comes first.
So, I should look for a job in Agile AI API Application Administration?
(Yes, I know it doesn’t fit all that well. I needed more alliteration)
Not bad for an older gal
I’m hoping this old guy has at least another good hockey season in him. I’m not as hot as she is, nor are my boobs as nice.
Schuss, you.
Keep on keeping on, TOK.
Besides my looks, I’m also not one of those rich moguls.
Stinger? Back in the day, when bars had $1 stingers and kamikazes, they made them with vodka and creme de menthe. Not sure I’ve ever had one with the cognac.
They probably would not have been a dollar. I was always more of the kamikazi fan at those places.
The green stuff?
There’s a great movie line where someone offers a luxe chick a cdm and she asks “Green?” then shudders and refuses.
What you get with the Valve’s Steam Machine is consistent hardware for game developers at 1080p. In that way it’s like a console.
Also, as a bonus, since it use an AMD GPU it incentivizes developers (and AMD) to optimize for that GPU as well Nvidia.
If you, like most gamers, are sick of Windows 11’s intrusive data mining and MSFT and Nvidia gouging it should it’s a wing since it should increase Steam OS and AMD GPU builds for homebuilt systems.
err… wing = win
I’m happy to see Steam make a second attempt at a SteamBox. I liked the concept, even though I didn’t really care for the original Steam Controller (I really dislike the massive circular touch pads).
With Steam getting a lot more *nix support because of SteamOS, I’m very interested in the price point for the machines when they come out. I may be able to make the jump to a *nix system for day to day use.
I’d love to not have to buy an Nvidia GPU. I’d either buy or build a NUC or integrated GPU mini-itx for my sadly mandatory Windows build for compatibility.
But my daily driver would be SteamOS for web, day to day use and gaming.
My main issue is with MSFT and it’s increasing ensh*tification of everything Windows.
You guys just wait till they reboot Firefly and make The Alliance the good guys.
They had the best of intentions.
So did the reavers.
The Reavers are just misunderstood. And Inara is really trans.
The end result of that would likely be me, spending my declining years in prison.
I picked up some Deschutes Red Chair NWPA the other day. Good stuff. It’s seasonal, I believe. I hadn’t had any for a long time.
Totally agree on anything Dekuyper or Arrow, at least if you’re in a swanky, fez-wearing, type of place.
I’ll admit to buying premade simple syrup, but am scrupulous to avoid anything other than 100% cane sugar.
Rose’s “Lime Juice” is right out.
Tequila should all be 100% de Agave, pendejos, but there is room for Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo.
I will always have a bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice, based on Raymond Chandler:
Yes. A proper one is made with simple, lime juice, and gin. There are some cocktails that I prefer to go to the well instead of the top shelf. I feel the same way with Palomas, I do not want grapefruit juice, simple syrup, and soda water, I want it topped with grapefruit pop.
Dammit. Chandler and Hammett are sacred names to me.
Yeah, as a home cocktail maker (I’m not a bartender, I don’t work at a bar, and I absolutely fucking refuse to use ‘mixologist’), I’m not going to be making all the various juices, syrups, and infusions that I might use once or twice in a given month. Simple syrup is certainly easy and quick, as is Grenadine, but my experiments with Oregat syrup were less than satisfying, compared to the commercial stuff from Liber & Co. and El Guapo. Balance in all things.
And have you ever tried to make a Paloma with Anejo tequila? Not a great plan.
What a waste of Anejo; that’s sipping tequila. Ppl are often surprised to learn there is such a thing.
I’m a big fan of Stirrings mixers. Their Paloma is legit though I generally use it with Prosecco.
It was all I had on hand at the time. I’ve since learned to never be without a bottle of Siente Leguas Blanco.
Mad Men was tiresome. Beats you about the head with The Bad Old Days. I’d watch The Apartment if I wanted that.
/ducks
It’s a bunch of bad people making terrible decisions that come back to bite them in the ass. What’s not to like about watching that?
I don’t interpret it as preachy, but rather an unflinching view of the world of my early childhood. For me it’s nostalgic.
Well researched, I grant, but I prefer The Dick Van Dyke Show (happy 100th birthday tomorrow! Mary Poppins will be on TCM).
So you too enjoyed seeing Mary Tyler Moore in a rocket cone bra?
I don’t recall anything like that on MTM. I know Carl Reiner reminisced about notes re buttock-cupping capri pants.
I just saw that the guy who made the Dick Van Dyke documentary said that he has made a ton of docs on celebrities and DvD was the only one where he couldn’t find a single person that didn’t have a positive impression of working with him.
You do know that Dick Van Dyke is a stage name, right? I guess he thought it was more marketable than his birthname: Penis van Lesbian.
(This is an actual joke that the 1992 Libertarian candidate for president, Andre Moreau, told in a radio interview.)
Plus, the old bearded guy who is head of the agency quotes Ayn Rand and has Dreams of the Fisherman’s Wife in his office. What’s not to like?
“Yet Another Friday Afternoon Links Post”
You’re supposed to save that kind of talk for mid-January the earliest.
Man up
“Testosterone is still regulated as if it were a dangerous, performance-enhancing drug from the athletic doping scandals of the 1980s. And because of this outdated classification, many physicians fear prescribing it or even screening for it,” said Dr. Helen Bernie, an associate professor of urology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, who was one of the panelists.
Testosterone crisis.
This nicely dovetails with the Indiana University football team finally recruiting players with testosterone coursing through them after sucking for 150 years.
Go Boilers!
Unless you are a chick who wants to become a dude. Then go right ahead and start injecting it with a doctors permission slip.
gimme gimme gimme
before it’s too late
I has some good news yesterday. I’ll run out of scheduled PT visits at the end of December, so they decided to schedule a few more “just in case we need them”. So things are winding down. Meanwhile the concussion specialist told me I should get on the ice. No contact yet, but if there are any issues he wants me to be able to address them in PT. I was not expecting that.
No contact? So, he wants you to transition and join a women’s hockey team? These people will stop at nothing to push the trans agenda!
W00t!
My coach was pretty happy. He said they really missed me, and a lot of that is probably due to him taking my place at their last tournament, and playing all 45 minutes of three games.
Boldly into the future
“Our updated hardware platform, which includes our in-house 1600 sparse TOPS inference chip, will enable us to achieve dramatic progress in self-driving to ultimately deliver on our goal of delivering L4,” said Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “This represents an inflection point for the ownership experience – ultimately being able to give customers their time back when in the car.”
Drive the goddam car or stay home.
I know, I know, that horseless carriage has sailed.
I want self driving cars. There are a ton of people on the roads who have no interest in driving or even in paying attention. These are the people who will buy these things, and the robot will be a 1000x better driver.
On the downside, the government will eventually make these things mandatory.
Driverless cars are about 5% of the city traffic in SF at the moment. By and large I love them as they are far more predictable. I have noticed they are getting a bit testy. I’ve seen a couple of them honking at people (who did deserve the honk).
Government is going to have to let go of the idea of DUI charges for passengers in robotically piloted vehicles. That’s the killer app for those vehicles.
Then there’s the big brother factor. Remember the robo taxi in Between Planets.
Why? If they can arrest you for sleeping it off in your car because you have “control of the vehicle” they can get you for being in the back seat of a car drunk.
A buddy of mine bought a Tesla Cybertruck. He let me take it for a drive, and I have to admit that the self drive feature is pretty impressive. I don’t necessarily want it now, but as I get older it will help maintain independence and mobility.
Friday Funbags babe alert!
https://archive.is/IUXB2
The automaker also announced the creation of Autonomy+, which is a subscription for Rivian’s autonomous services that will be expanded continuously as the technology advances.
Autonomy+ will launch in early 2026 and be priced at $2,500 for a one-time purchase, or $49.99 per month.
“These features have the potential to make the roads safer, address customer demand and become veritable drivers for the business,” Rivian said in its announcement.
A Rivian in every pot.
There are a ton of people on the roads who have no interest in driving or even in paying attention.
Bring back chauffeurs.
It would be awesome if they styled new electric vehicles after cars from the 20’s and 30’s, and they came with chauffeurs. That would even lower unemployment.
Go back even farther where some jurisdictions required a flagman to preceed the car on foot. 0% unemployment overnight!
I am digging the Waymos in San Fran. So far they are quite capable, and I don’t have to talk to a stinky cab driver. I can even set the AC to the temperature I want before it arrives.
The are all electric Jaguars so I suspect maintenance is sky high.
No need for a human chauffeur.
A few days ago, Not The Bee had a video of three Waymos that encountered each other at the intersection of an alley and a dead-end street. The Waymos couldn’t determine how to navigate around each other, so they just sat there blocking traffic. Waymo had to send out a meatbag to take over, so don’t fire all the chauffeurs yet.
I want it topped with grapefruit pop.
Squirt?
That’s one of the easiest to get your hands on, I generally will step up to Fever Tree though.
I like FT. Their tonic is the only one I buy.
With vodka absolutely
For a Paloma? Jarritos.
Slapped in the face by reality’s dick
Europe will reverse its plan to ban sales of new combustion-engine vehicles by 2035, a senior European Parliament member confirmed Friday. With the official announcement slated for next week, that marks the end of a long, bitter dispute as to whether the European Union will follow the U.S. lead in rolling back emissions requirements, or charge ahead like China.
The debate over whether this is the right move, however, will rage on. Western manufacturers have been surprised and battered by slower-than-expected EV sales, collapsing market share in China and hurdles across the Atlantic in the U.S. These manufacturers have argued that forcing unprofitable EVs on consumers may worsen their financial positions and leave them globally uncompetitive. The EU has seemingly bought that argument.
“Next Tuesday, the European Commission will be putting forward a clear proposal to abolish the ban on combustion engines,” Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest party in the European Parliament, said at a press conference in Heidelberg, Germany, per Reuters. He put the onus on customers to buy efficient products, rather than expecting manufacturers to build products customers reportedly don’t want.
What a tragic turn of events. It’s almost as if the grimy proles don’t care what the Top Men think.
Huzzah!
At the very least it’s nice to see the Climate Change agenda showing cracks, even amongst those who’ve pushed hardest for it (like the EU).
I’d argue that’s a simplistic and short-sighted view of the situation; the rise of Tesla, BYD and others proves that people absolutely do want the hassle-free ownership experience and simplicity of an EV. They just won’t pay a major premium for it, and Western automakers’ supply chain focus on gas cars has made it hard for them to offer competitive EVs at comparable prices.
Of course.
People were happy to buy EVs when FedGov was paying huge chunks of the bill directly to consumers rebates, etc, and while FedGov was shoveling money at manufacturers to build them.
Then we saw the results of that in the form of cars being stuck in cold weather, massive fires you can’t really extinguish, etc. So people stopped buying them. Only true believers or big city dwellers buy them anymore.
So, value and price are not the same.
I had a bottle of sloe gin that sat in my liquor cabinet forever.
Liquor.com had a couple of articles along the lines of “What the %!@#$! do I do with this?” for the bottles that get picked up for one drink and languish.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had a bottle of sloe gin in my possession, I think I’ve only heard it ordered a couple of times at bars.
A sloe gin fizz sounded like a good idea. I made one and decided I never needed another. I think a decade later I tossed it out.
Sloe gin fizz was popular c.1970. Once was enough.
robc/creech:
The sloe gin fizz is the only drink I know off the top of my head that uses sloe gin.
Most prefer fast gin?
I remember seeing people drink sloe gin mixed with OJ back in the mid 70’s. Also Southern Comfort + OJ. And sloe gin, Southern Comfort and OJ all mixed together.
Getting ready to go watch this show….
https://youtu.be/vQgKMRlUO6I?si=UhqK4BnKRaXR_eut
So, before I new I was going to have car troulbe, I ordered a new 3D printer, which cost a bit more than my previous filament printer… okay almost 5x as much. With default slicer settings, it has very nice surface finish. I’m testing a much more complicated print, which will run all night.
What brand?
Prusa.
I ordered a CoreONE, but they rolled out the CoreONE+ version (minor revision) and sent that instead.
Good choice. Partially assembled or fully?
I had to put the LCD and the filter pack on, but it was otherwise pre-assembled.
I also got an MMU, but haven’t tried putting that on, there’s a lot of surgery involved on the printer side to connect it.
Then we saw the results of that in the form of cars being stuck in cold weather, massive fires you can’t really extinguish, etc. So people stopped buying them. Only true believers or big city dwellers buy them anymore.
I want to see an honest number of the early adopters who got rid of their EVs and replaced them with Combustion cars.
Nobody has honest numbers yet. Lots of people are perfectly fine with them, and may hold onto them for years. I think seven years out from the California rule being revoked is when you will see a problem. It’s hard to sell a car that can barely go 1/3 of the original range and needs $10,000+ in new batteries.
The “(he/him)” in the author bio on that Samus article is a nice touch…. I can’t wait for the tedious nonsense to fade away.
Someone else gets it.
Yes?
/every Democrat
This is obviously another talking point aimed at “taking down Trump”.
Neph – I had some good cognac this year for December. I will send you a picture. It mellowed after I opened it and let it sit for a week.
Pushing Dasies.
Brian Fuller is from my
Local area. My wife thinks his mother is a sweetheart.
Little Betty, just dies according to my wife this year. “I watch all of Brian’s shows. In the daytime with the lights on.”
Me thinks ye are on thee wrong thread.
I spelled his name wrong.
Bryan.
You can always tell how they are going to turn out when you spell Brian with a Y.