Final Friday Afternoon Links of July

by | Jul 31, 2026 | Cocktails, Daily Links, I Am Lame | 88 comments

As July wraps up, and summer starts closing out, Oktoberfest season looms. But enough about what distracts me, let’s get to some links to distract you.

The first to second transition was smooth, the less said about NWOD, the better, but even I was shocked to see they’re up to SIXTH edition.

This is one hell of a drop.

I gave you Jungle Birds a couple weeks back, today I present an upgrade.

I’m pretty sure they downplayed his alcohol consumption.

Ah… the mystique of the Orient.

How much of an annoyance do you have to be to get SCONNIES to pull your brewery license?

Allow me to remind you… McCarthy was right.

Yep, unless there was a subpoena, why should I need to protect my data?

Those evil, wily, twisted Republicans! Using *checks notes* their own words against them!

This is why you should fear Amish-sign.

Pretty sure this will get slapped down like all the other motions.

With that, let’s get to some drinks, and get into the weekend. In honor of Spud’s wife, I present:

The Satan’s Whiskers

  • 2 part (0.5 oz) gin
  • 2 part (0.5 oz) sweet vermouth
  • 2 part (0.5 oz) dry vermouth
  • 1 part (0.25 oz) Grand Marnier [straight]/Orange Curacao [curled]
  • 2 part (0.5 oz) orange juice
  • 3 dashes orange bitters

This is one of my favorite cocktails. It’s not just the name, although that helps. It’s a pre-Prohibition cocktail with orange juice, which is not a common juice in cocktails. It’s not as consistent in flavor as lemon or lime juice, and few bars want to deal with the hassle of acidifying/sweetening orange juice every day. The drink is also fiddly to make, with 6 ingredients, all being small pours. To make the drink, add the ingredients (including one of the Grand Marnier or curacao) into a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and combined, and strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish this drink with an orange twist.

With that, I hope you go into the weekend, and find what you’re looking for.

About The Author

Nephilium

Nephilium

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

88 Comments

      • Pat

        I understand it, but don’t participate because I’m asocial. Young people not wanting to get drunk, mingle, and go forth and multiply is probably a sign of something or other.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Cultural suicide, Pat.

      • R.J.

        You need to go with a friend group. I used to be into it. I live on drink specials, and all that.

    • Sean

      “ Gen X drinks more intentionally “.

      I resemble that remark.

    • rhywun

      Yeah… I pretty much stopped doing bars when my circle all went their own ways… and stopped looking to hook up. Not in chance in hell I would got to a bar on my own nowadays.

      • slumbrew

        Does sitting at the bar for dinner count? Because I’m definitely going to be doing that while my wife is away (not looking to hook up, I just like bar-dining when solo).

      • Sensei

        If I’m by myself that’s what I do.

        However, only when I’m away from home.

      • slumbrew

        I won’t make myself steak tartar at home… (although I probably should)

      • rhywun

        lol Even away from home I drink in my hotel room.

        I might have a problem.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I will go spend a few hours in a brewpub, sometimes with food, sometimes without. I just want to be around people who are not my wife, not necessarily to talk or anything.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I know a local brewery/cocktail bar here now has bingo every Sunday afternoon. Then again, virtual bars, ’cause everything they do has to be moderated by their phones, probably does suck as a scene, what with METOO getting in the way of girls drinking past their inhibitions.

      Also, my son, solidly millenial, loves bar culture.

  1. UnCivilServant

    Wait, Last Friday of July?

    Not Sysadmin Appreciation Day?

    Why does nobody ever remember Sysadmin Appreciation Day?

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      That is SAD, sir.

  2. slumbrew

    I’ll also go off topic immediately, with a repeat:

    Hey party people!

    It’s the last day of the month, which means Slumbrew has tokens to burn before the pool resets at midnight (UTC).

    New Monocle feature, ‘Rewrite X to Nitter’.

    Off by default, can choose multiple Nitter instances, if more than one selected it’ll grab one at random.

    If you’re already pointed at the development branch, you’ll get it automatically, otherwise:

    https://gitlab.com/glibertarians/forumProject/-/raw/development/monocle.user.js?ref_type=heads

    I’ll poke at it some more with my various browsers and release to the master branch if all looks good.

    Let me know if you try it / have issues.

    • Pat

      Unsure if it would be helpful, but the source code for the Lib Redirect extension is available on github and may be useful for reference.

      • slumbrew

        I saw some similar things but figured anyone savvy enough to do that can add them; it was easy enough w/ Nitter based on the regex they shared on https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Extensions

        If there’s great demand I can incorporate other services; the only real advantage of re-implementing the logic in Monocle is that it should work on all the things that Monocle does (whereas extensions may not).

      • slumbrew

        For anyone on the ‘development’ branch, I merged in a UI change that might be more impactful than the Nitter thing; in theory, it should keep the buttons from obscuring any text especially on smaller devices.

        Hopefully it does this without utterly screwing up the layout – initial testing looks good but we’ll see.

      • rhywun

        Downloaded. Will report. Thanks!

      • Sensei

        I downloaded the 12.2 you posted directly to my iPad.

        I’m not seeing anything different from a version I grabbed in March.

        I don’t think the iPad auto updates with the Userscripts safari extension I use.

      • rhywun

        You have to update manually from the extension page.

      • Sensei

        rhywun, thanks that is what I thought.

        However, since I downloaded the new version and forced closed the app and extension I’m still not seeing anything different from the older version.

      • slumbrew

        Sensei, with v4.12.2, you should see a new option for the Nitter integration:

        https://ibb.co/7dMzf75s

        Off by default.

    • Michael Malaise

      Tried migrating to Firefox to use Monocle (Chrome still no worky) but abandoned that after the import to Firefox wanted a passkey I had no idea existed let alone what it is.

      Why is everything designed to be such a fucking pain in the ass?

      • R.J.

        Passkey? This is odd. Firefox has never asked me for a passkey.

  3. slumbrew

    I was shocked to see they’re up to SIXTH edition.

    Never played the tabletop version but I quite enjoyed the video game they made so long ago.

    • UnCivilServant

      The people I knew who were in to that setting made it imprenetrable to get into the system and get your bearings.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        This comment works for either video game or table top RPG.

    • EvilSheldon

      I somewhat blame White Wolf/V:TM for the plague of histrionic attention-seekers currently infesting tabletop gaming.

    • rhywun

      After some research I have determined that I played a couple hours of video game #2 way back when and without being aware until now that there was an entire media universe around it and related franchises.

  4. The Other Kevin

    That drink sounds lovely.

    Hope you all had a good week. Mine has been chaotic and busy, with a few spots of craziness, but like you, I have just about made it to the weekend.

    There was a DJ in Chicago who used to say at 5pm on a Friday, “It is now, finally and irrevocably, WEEKEND LAND”.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    White knighting the SCIENCE

    Shame on Sen. Paul, and shame on his fellow GOP colleagues who would recharacterize the heroic actions of this public health leader who guided us through that time of uncertainty and rising death tolls.

    There were so many unknowns during the start of the pandemic that, as frontline physicians, it often felt like we were flying blind to keep our patients alive. Public health officials, like Dr. Fauci, kept us informed and up to date with the latest recommendations.

    They certainly didn’t get everything right (i.e., taking too long to advise masking and unclear lockdown guidance), but when the death rate is exponentially climbing, recommendations need to be quick and must change with the latest available evidence.

    This is obviously an authoritative voice; a man who knows of which he speaks.

    He just needs to wipe that stuff off his chin.

    • The Other Kevin

      Public health officials, like Dr. Fauci, kept us informed and up to date with the latest recommendations.

      The “latest recommendations”, which happened to follow Fauci’s predetermined agenda regardless of new information.

    • EvilSheldon

      So I don’t advocate for rounding up ‘public health’ advocates, dumping them into a large pit, and filling it in.

      At least, not yet.

    • Pat

      Shame on Sen. Paul, and shame on his fellow GOP colleagues who would recharacterize the heroic actions of this public health leader who guided us through that time of uncertainty and rising death tolls.

      What’s funny is that until he turned open the money taps full bore in the ’90s, Fauci was considered basically Hitler by the gay community for his panic-mongering and scientifically illiterate response to AIDS. The worthless cunt should have immolated on the white house lawn 40 years ago.

      • Tres Cool

        Fauci ruined bareback sex for me for a long time.
        Fuck that evil imp.

      • EvilSheldon

        I find that same general archetype to be true throughout the ‘public health’* industry – borderline hypochondriacs, dedicated attention seekers, couldn’t hack it as actual scientists but found their true calling in bean counting and luncheon speaking.

        * – ‘Public health’ always gets scare quotes.

    • rhywun

      taking too long to advise masking

      lolFFS fuck off

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I saw a… wheeze?… is that the plural for a group of masked? Anyway, I saw a gaggle of them the other day. I was all I could do not to stare at them and wait for the retard sounds to come from the leader. But I had no time to sight see freaks.

    • Michael Malaise

      It’s wild we new it was worse for elderly and tubbies and did really nothing to change course for everyone else.

  6. Sensei

    RE: Mystique of the Orient

    硬振湯盪

    Kou shin yoku yoku

    Reason 1,001 I’ll never be fluent. I couldn’t read the pronunciation or 3 of the 4 characters for any of that.

    硬 – hardness
    振 – shake
    湯 – hot water – this kanji I know, but this reading is completely non-standard
    盪 – melt – also non standard

  7. The Late P Brooks

    This kind of reaction led to misinformation and many not accepting the COVID-19 vaccines. A study estimated that from 2021 to 2022, more than 300,000 American deaths from the virus could have been prevented with improved vaccination rates.

    MURDERERS!

    • The Other Kevin

      The vaccines were 100% safe and effective, that’s why Fauci had people bury any talk of vaccine injuries or death, and the fact that they didn’t prevent transmission.

      • Pat

        that’s why Fauci had people bury any talk of vaccine injuries or death

        Including his own pulmonary infarction.

  8. rhywun

    vampirism as an analog to talk about exploitation and community and who gets to own culture

    Another cultural touchstone ruined by Donald and his minions.

  9. The Late P Brooks

    “I’ve noticed it’s the same people going up to the bar, and it’s always the older folks. The young people come in and go straight to the dance floor,” said Rob Kulathinal, an evolutionary geneticist in his 50s, about his experience going out in Philly. “On the plus side, it’s never been easier to get a drink.”

    There better be some drinking

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Two drink minimum. That is how you fix this.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    “Gen X: We straight up raised ourselves,” reads the caption on one popular internet meme, a photo of an unhelmeted child on a rickety-looking bicycle popping a wheelie.

    The good old days. We rode bicycles off the top of the boat house into the lake.

  11. Pat

    The Distilling Solutions arm of MGP Ingredients plummeted by 42% in the 2026 second quarter (Q2) as whiskey suffered a 59% drop.

    I’ve been doing my part.

    • Sean

      I’ve picked up a couple bottles recently.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Maybe having a whiskey named Penelope is hurting other brands in the stable?

  12. EvilSheldon

    The Cleveland Oktoberfest looks kinda awesome…

    • Nephilium

      I usually go for an MVP pass: 5 (but potentially unlimited) liters of beer, plastic mug to drink it all out of, full meal (schnitzel, German potato salad, sauerkraut, sausage, and braised cabbage… off the top of my head), admission, ‘private’ bathrooms (the air conditioned trailers), and a shot of Jaeger.

      There’s plenty of vendors, wiener dog races, food trucks, live music, and the glockenspiel.

      • PieInTheSky

        Think of the microplastics. Demand a glass mug.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Well, I am doing my part to support German culture by having a Bock-Büchsflinte as my next firearm purchase, plus drinking dopplebock.

      • Nephilium

        PieIntheSky:

        It’s in a dirt festival area with random rocks, ditches, and rivulets throughout. It would be littered with broken glass by the end of the first night, and not just due to people being… overserved. There’s also a craft beer hall, German wines, a sad excuse for a cocktail bar, several shot based bars, and have I mentioned the beer?

  13. The Late P Brooks

    A noisy whirlybird just flew over. It must have been a two blader; wop-wop-wop-wop.

      • Tres Cool

        He didnt add “greasy”.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        He would have said: Dago wop-wop-wop…

    • PieInTheSky

      I learned a new slang word i guess

    • Sean

      May have lost some pepper plants to it. 😱

      • PieInTheSky

        They were probably too mild anyway

  14. rhywun

    McCarthy was right

    My exact reaction when I saw it this morning.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Hard core

    Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a kidnapper who got out of a car and fatally shot an abducted victim in the trunk after a chase ended on a residential street in Chino Hills, authorities said.

    ——-

    In the footage, according to the Sheriff’s Department, a passenger gets out of the car with their arms in the air. The man who was driving also gets out, walks to the trunk of the vehicle, opens it, and shoots the kidnapping victim inside before deputies open fire.

    When deputies moved in, they discovered a man inside the trunk. Authorities say the victim was in his 60s and the suspects are 67.

    Mob hit gone sideways? One too many late night barking dog episodes?

    • EvilSheldon

      I rarely say this, but the cops could have been a bit quicker on the trigger there.

    • Tres Cool

      Look at the names….

    • Sensei

      Bonus

      A surveillance camera captured what happened after deputies pulled over a Nissan Altima with Oregon license plates overnight.

    • Sean

      California, don’t care.

    • PieInTheSky

      This would never happen in Europe.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Someone missed The Years of Lead.

    • Nephilium

      How’s the ice wine treating you?

      I’d go with Coteaux to start with, but saisons rank high among my favorite styles. Otherwise the Lager Estivale or the Blanche Beige.

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