Still Frigid Friday Afternoon Links

by | Jan 23, 2026 | Cocktails, Daily Links, I Am Lame | 96 comments

The squirrels are trying to warm their nuts, but the lights are LED and won’t generate the heat they want.

I too frequently forget about my free Epic library.

What could possibly go wrong?

For me, the first game was short and did not have the promised depth of FO:NV.

[This link intentionally left blank]

I have questions.

I call them insufficient.

Pretty sure pungent has a clear definition.

How about we just leave?

Migratory birds my aching ass.

How about paying us back first?

It’s cold out, let’s pretend we’re somewhere warm.

This will end… poorly.

For this weeks drink, I’m going to go lazy but good. It’s one of the girlfriend’s favorites this time of year (although she doesn’t go this far with the hot chocolate).

Boozy Hot Chocolate

  • 2 ounces finely chopped/grated chocolate
  • 6 ounces heated milk
  • 2 ounces spirit

This is pretty easy to make. Heat up a mug by pouring some boiling water into it, and let it set (this could be a time to chop/grate the chocolate). Dump out the water, add the chocolate, and top with the heated milk. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, and then stir or whisk until combined. Add in the spirit and give a gentle stir to combine. The choice of spirit here can be anything from a schnapps, creme de cocoa, Irish cream, whis(e)y, or any of a number of liqueurs (Frangelico, Amaretto, or Drambuie jump out).

With that, the comments are yours, and I hope you get the weekend you desire.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

Nephilium is a geek of multiple types living in the vast suburban forests of Cleveland.

96 Comments

  1. Drake

    How about we just leave and take the nuclear weapons we loaned them with us before they do something really stupid?

    • R.J.

      Agreed. They should pay for their own defense, 100%.

    • ron73440

      I was unaware we had given Minneapolis nukes, but I like the idea.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        You think giving PopeJimbo the bomb was a good thing?

      • Aloysious

        His popeness drops bombs all the time.

  2. Rat on a train

    Prime Video orders ‘Fallout Shelter,’ an unscripted competition series inspired by the world of ‘Fallout’
    I look forward to people consuming radioactive food and water.

    • SDF-7

      “Crap…. crap never changes.”

    • Sean

      I just wanna see them fight rad scorpions.

      • Rat on a train

        release the deathclaws

    • rhywun

      There was a post-apocalyptic reality competition show around a decade ago. Don’t remember the name but one season filmed in some part of flooded out New Orleans. It was fun.

      But that was back when television I didn’t have to pay an extra fee for existed.

  3. SDF-7

    but the lights are LED and won’t generate the heat they want.

    They need to go look up their cousin Chet. His nuts are always roasting by an open fire.

  4. Rat on a train

    Tens of thousands of Americans are expected to participate in walkouts on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration, setting the stage for what future resistance could look like.
    I didn’t notice. I even went out Tuesday and everything appeared normal.

    • R.J.

      I didn’t see a damn thing. In fact it was really busy.

    • Drake

      The rest of us will be home because of snow and ice and won’t notice.

    • rhywun

      Anti-Trump protests in 2025 were largely peaceful, despite the president and some allies stoking fears of violence and insisting — without providing evidence — that protesters were paid.

      LOL

      There is reality, and then there is whatever upside-down fantasy Axios writers inhabit.

      But yeah, it seems like another totally grass-roots Summer of Love is coming but I have hope that they’ve sort of reached the limit of Americans who are willing to cosplay communist radical – and that regular America is not going to so readily put up with their shit this time around.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I think it largely depends on how much the Brave Resistance™️ interferes with Normie Life.

        This summer is going to be intentionally miserable. The best defense will be a strong economy if it can get going by then.

  5. SDF-7

    I too frequently forget about my free Epic library.

    I just never trusted Epic due to the Tencent / CCP ties. So dangle as much “free” crap in front of me as you want folks… I never made an account or graced their store / web page / whatnot knowingly or willingly. (What various games who added MP support using Epic libraries did via patches to stuff I bought on Steam over the years I don’t know though… and yes, I’m not thrilled about it since I don’t play MP or care about it anyway…)

    • Nephilium

      My copy of the Outer World was a free giveaway with my last PC build’s video card. I was interested in the game, but the code was only for Epic.

  6. Evan from Evansville

    Poppy has a new album out. I’m sure others noticed this first. But it is the first time I’ve seen her referenced outside here, Poppy popping up Google news.

    Think about it.

    • SDF-7

      I’d be worried about never making it through a listen without drifting off.

      After all — Poppy’s will make them sleep…..

  7. kinnath

    I posted in the ded thred before I realized it was dead. So bringing it here.

    Most of them have spouses that work full time . . . . They have separate bank accounts, I don’t understand how that works if it is a true partnership.

    My wife and I have had three checking accounts since we graduated from college. It was a “recommendation” from some personal finance guru on an evening segment of the local news.

    She works full time. Her paycheck goes into her checking account.

    I work full time. My paycheck goes into my checking account.

    We both transfer the bulk of that paycheck into a joint account. All of our common expenses get paid from that account.

    The personal accounts allow us to engage it whatever hobbies we want without oversight from the other. I buy her presents from my account. And the reverse for her.

    It has worked out well for us.

    We are a couple . . coming up on our 50th anniversary. But we never gave up being individual people even when the kids were still at home.

    • Rat on a train

      My wife and I have separate accounts from before marriage. We added each other to the accounts but still deposit our paychecks into our old accounts. I added her to my credit card but haven’t been added to hers. She is careful in using my card. I pay the major bills out of my account. We each get control over the excess in our accounts.

    • ron73440

      We have always had the one account.

      Sometimes my wife will pay for things, so I get happy, but then she reminds me that it’s all the same wallet.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      We share the same account, but we see eye to eye on finances. My sister and her husband have separate accounts. She’s cheap, er, thrifty like me, but her husband blows his money on lots of stupid things. For them it’s probably best to have separate accounts.

    • creech

      Make sure having individual accounts doesn’t create a financial crisis if one of the account holders has an anvil fall on them and suddenly a large sum is tied up in inheritance issues.

      • kinnath

        The individual checking accounts are in the range of thousands of dollars. Nothing significant.

        Any big balances are in 401k accounts with named beneficiaries.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      We’ve had a joint account since we were in college and before we married. All of our money had always gone in that account for a long time. We now each have our own account that we use for our own endeavors. I didn’t get one of my own until I started buying and selling lots of music gear, and I didn’t want those funds being mixed together. It’s a self-contained gear churn.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        This is one of the reasons I like having my own system. I buy and sell a lot of guns, lathes, etc. and I don’t want that gumming up the works. And she does the same with her pottery collection and whatnot.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      This is pretty much what the wife and I do (I also have a business account), and we have 20 years in.

    • Evan from Evansville

      @Kinnath I caught that when it was ded and am happy I can thank ya here, and to all y’all. Certainly both are involved, but I wonder how much of these decisions are based on the personalities rather than the difficulty of figuring the finances.

  8. Lord Humungus

    Temps falling to -12F by next morning. Currently 1F (“feels like -8”). Yay Michigan.

    My 1961 bi-level house has the main living floor down in the ground floor. There is no basement. So the tiles in the kitchen sit on the foundation and have no insulation.

    It feels like walking on not-as-slippery ice. Yay Michigan Part 2.

    • kinnath

      We are a balmy -8 right now. Should only drop to -13 tonight. Better than last night.

      • Fourscore

        We’re a -14, forecast is for -30, again tomorrow morning.

        We’re trying to consolidate the financial end of things. I just found out my wife has an annuity that she forgot about and never mentioned it.
        Fortunately the interest just rolled over so we didn’t miss report it. It’ll show up in 2026 though.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      We’re not too cold (yet). It’s currently 22. But we’re about to be shit on with a lot more snow than this area is used to. Our forecast is 8-12”.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        And then it’s supposed to get a lot colder than we’re used to as well….

        Highs in single digits and lows well below 0.

  9. SDF-7

    For me, the first game was short and did not have the promised depth of FO:NV.

    Definitely wasn’t as deep as NV, no… I have it (the first) — and liked it well enough.. but when the second came out, I thought about it and realized I’d only played the first to completion once, didn’t really feel like doing so again and most of the companions just annoyed me. Since the second looked to be doubling down on a lot of the aspects of the first I didn’t care for as much — and since the whole “corporations of evil in SPAAACE!” wasn’t really all that funny or deep the first time (the actual main issue in that system was more interesting and I won’t spoil it in case someone wants to play it) plus it seemed extra stupid that a second fairly unrelated colony would have similar / ramped up feel and the *same* corps running around after that much time… I figured I’d just see what the reaction was.

    And the reaction wasn’t great… might look into it on sale… might not. Just kind of “meh” towards it now.

  10. DEG

    I make boozy hot chocolate by making hot chocolate from a packet and dumping Gran Marnier in it.

    That’s also why the idea that tiki drinks must contain alcohol, or that nonalcoholic versions are somehow inauthentic, doesn’t hold up under even slight scrutiny. Alcohol was never the magic trick. The magic was the illusion. The commitment. The willingness to let yourself believe that crushed ice, citrus and a ridiculous garnish could temporarily rearrange the world. Tiki is about creating a pocket of unreality where stress dissolves somewhere between the glass and the first sip. Nothing is real. Everything is real. The drink doesn’t need to intoxicate you chemically if it can send your brain to a far-off magic land where everything is beautiful.

    I’m scratching my head here. I think it needs booze.

    • Nephilium

      That’s the girlfriend’s method too… but with creme de cocoa, peppermint schnapps, or Baileys.

      • R.J.

        Gran Marnier or other orange liqueur is fantastic in hot chocolate.

      • Nephilium

        R.J.

        This is one of the girlfriend’s favorite additions. I have recently heard of a Banana Boulavardier, and the person who mentioned it was kind enough to let me know the base spirit (which is a French banana liqueur made with Brazilian bananas). If I manage to find that here in Ohio, I think the girlfriend may have a new favorite. My initial thought would be to do a cocoa infused Campari to line up with it, but I need to taste it first and see how sweet the base spirit is.

    • Shpip

      I think it needs booze.

      I’m with you. Stupefying (or stupidifying) amounts of rum are required.*

      *Although my favorite cocktail from my semi-regular tiki bar uses jalapeno-infused vodka. Scroll down here about halfway to learn about the “Tiger ***ker”

    • EvilSheldon

      Seriously. 60’s exotica just looks cheap and tacky if you’re not viewing it through a boozy filter.

      • rhywun

        And some of us regard twaddle like “The magic was the illusion” with the thinly-veiled contempt it deserves.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      You mean I can’t just pull out my Penn and Tell ‘er, and I need to use some “magic” potion?

  11. SDF-7

    Pretty sure pungent has a clear definition.

    I suspect “assholes” does too… and to quote Sloopy — pretty sure I hate everyone involved in that article.

    • kinnath

      I have been known to nuke curry in the shared microwave. Never had any complaints.

      • ron73440

        There is a difference between what you call curry and what they call curry?

        I’ve had Indian curry in Afghanistan and I like it, but it was definitely more pungent tan what I’ve had before.

      • Rat on a train

        Try some durian fish curry.

      • kinnath

        On some occasions, it’s leftovers from the Indian restaurant we like to frequent.

      • ron73440

        Try some durian fish curry.

        I will usually try any food, the one exeption I’e encountered was natto.

        My father in law was eating it after work and I thought his feet were unusually stinky that day, and then he offered me the natto and I realized that’s what I was smelling.

        Durian fish curry sounds worse.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Mmm, palak paneer. My only complaint would be if they didn’t offer me a bite.

      • R.J.

        I think that couple had other irritating habits that kept people from liking them.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Our friends from down the street complain about the cooking smells from their Indian neighbors. The smell of Indian food really seems to bother some people.

      • Fourscore

        Yeah, it’s like checking into an Indian owned motel at dinner time. Seems like there’s always a vacancy though.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        The food smells fine. It’s when you’re a culture that eats curry for every meal and actively eschews the use of deodorant. Curry leeches out through sweat. It can be disgusting.

        I don’t mind the smell of Indian food. But the smell of Indians who haven’t adopted western hygiene is bad, and those people should be shamed.

      • rhywun

        I’ve known a few. You’re not wrong.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I briefly had an Indian housemate. I remember he ate only unseasoned rice and lentils. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      It’s nice to see them integrating into our culture by filing a lawsuit.

      • rhywun

        And learning the right lessons on how to succeed from a lefty college.

  12. Shpip

    The law enforcement leaders also said federal agents don’t seem to be coordinating their work across the metro

    Gee, I wonder why that is. Probably the same reason that the Pentagon doesn’t alert top Democrats on Capitol Hill twenty-four hours before an airstrike.

  13. Lord Humungus

    Unimportant news from the Wasteland:

    1) The world’s slowest gave development update. I hate working with Meshy to generate 3D images. The best step I’ve found – so far – is to use Google’s ImageFX AI to make a “text to image” and then convert it to a 3D image using Meshy. Meshy’s Text-to-Image AI suckkkkkks. Even then the texturing is very hit-and-miss. Everything seems to come out with a smeary look or has too much of a metallic sheen.

    2) I got a new tube amp – a Sonic Frontiers SFS-50. It has a KT88 output tubes, a quad of 6DJ8/6922s for the front end, and a regulated front end and output tube screens. It’s a beast of an amp at 60 pounds for 50 watts of power. Now that’s efficiency.

    Looks like this: https://reverb.com/ca/item/42694999-sonic-frontiers-sfs-50-tube-power-amplifier-serviced-execllent

  14. Pash KKatel

    Big interview coming this Thursday. This is the absolute best prospect I have on the table at the moment. 🤞🤞🤞

    • R.J.

      I wish you all the best!

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Good luck. We’re all counting on you.

      • R.J.

        No pressure.

      • Pash KKatel

        Don’t call me Shirley

      • ron73440

        Is that what led to your drinking problem?

    • creech

      Let interviewer know you will hit the ground running. I always asked the interviewer something like “What’s most important task you want this job holder to accomplish this year?”. “Here’s where my talents/experience will enable me to tackle that.”

    • Pash KKatel

      I shall imbibe some things tonight. My adrenaline is firing on all cylinders

    • hayeksplosives

      We’re all rooting for you!

      I have a phone follow-up Wednesday with the head honcho at the place I flew to last week.

      I better get myself all ready for negotiations.

      And for the idea that it’s 5 degrees there right now…

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Knock it out of the park, KKK.

    • Evan from Evansville

      BOOM! Outstanding in all respects! Go there and kick ass!

  15. The Late P Brooks

    I started watching Fallout last night (straight into season 2 for some reason) it doesn’t make sense but it’s not completely awful. I’m still trying to remember what I have seen the girl in.

    • Nephilium

      Glad to have mislead you a bit then, although that is a fun one.

  16. rhywun

    I call them insufficient.

    But good government groups disagree. Good government groups!

  17. The Late P Brooks

    NYT: “Hundreds of Minnesota businesses on strike in protest against ICE”

    That’ll learn Trump.

    • rhywun

      Well, it’s stupid as fuck but if anything, it’s a handy way to identify shops I would absolutely never patronize again if I was unfortunate enough to live there.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Protest is just a reflexive reaction to something they don’t like.

      They never ask themselves “To what end?”.

      The point isn’t to bring about change. The point is to disrupt and destabilize. The point of a thing is what it does. It encapsulates the entirety of the left. Its entire point of existing now is to disrupt, and nothing else.

      • rhywun

        And not a little bit of LOOK AT ME!

    • creech

      Robert III Reich’s column today was calling for a two week total boycott of companies kowtowing to Trump. But only after “stocking up ” first. Such bravery!

  18. SarumanTheWoefullyIgnorant

    Very belated shout-out to Zwak – Happy Birthday! You’ll catch up to me in eleven years!

    Oh, wait . . .

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      We all want cake? 🎂

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I’m gaining on you!!

  19. Gdragon

    “Some people like to feed nuts to the squirrels. But if it makes you happy to feed squirrels to the nuts, who am I to say, ‘nuts to the squirrels?’ ?”

    • Tres Cool

      “sure I treat women like objects; sometimes I treat objects like….women”

  20. Evan from Evansville

    Odd upward swings goin’ ’round glibs.. I’ve got my first, legitimate and ‘serious’ interview on Monday with Lt. Gregory Norris of the IMPD Child Abuse Unit/Sex Offense Unit | Investigations Division.

    It’s for a transcriptionist, my first foray into that realm; I was thinking medical or other. Interesting curve ball, Life. I’m really not sure of how the office or flow of statements would ‘work,’ how they’ll get to me. Interview’s in person, but I know very little of where I’d work (office? WFH/ hybrid?) or really anything, other than the written tasks for the position. I’ve never been interviewed in an important building. Huh!

    Excitement, She Wrote! Special congrats to KKKatel!

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