A Journey of Discovery
Banality slouches just below the fold. As compensation, here is a piece of art that has completely different implications depending on the intended perspective.
1...replying "OK get it out." counts as elective surgery.
This is the kind of thing that activates that small part of me that said "gee, is electing Trump and blowing everything up really something to be avoided?"
This is not a "1st World Problem" per se. I mean, confounding healthcare with health insurance is, but stuff like this is "Do you get paid be stupid, or do you do it for free/are just bad at your job/your boss is the World Destroyer?"
Posted by: Ben at Sat Jul 15 14:11:41 2017 (B1bvu)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Jul 16 09:09:45 2017 (PiXy!)
3
In fairness to the hospital, the lady I spoke to there was suitably incredulous as to the procedure not being covered. According to her, the only other thing that it could be given the info she had would be if I had no insurance at all, which is not the case. Her theory (That at some point one of the doctors wrote something like "Paitent ELECTED to have procedure done." Got coded in as an elective procedure) seems likely. The fact that other doctor/dental/ER visits have been covered this year make it seem likely that this is either a coding error or an expansive view of the word "elective" is indeed in place.
Though I am not prepared to rule out Kobolds.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jul 16 13:10:09 2017 (KicmI)
4
At some point all surgery is elective unless you're brought in unconscious and bleeding out. But that's not what's meant by "elective surgery".
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Jul 16 21:50:22 2017 (PiXy!)
1
I find Isaac Arthur's YouTube videos to be entertaining and thought provoking. However, I think there's a much larger gap between "does not appear to violate the laws of physics" and "we know how to do this today" than he does.
Posted by: Siergen at Sat Jul 15 09:15:49 2017 (7W7BZ)
Is a peculiar word in that it is a term created by a particular social identity community specifically as a moniker for themselves and yet its definition is the near opposite of what they think it means as their identifying characteristic is not as involuntary as they assume.
2
Huh. Apposite for that troglodyte, "incel" semi-rhymes with a**h*le.
Posted by: Rick C at Mon Jul 10 23:44:18 2017 (ITnFO)
3
As distinguished from MGTOW, who COULD but don't want to.
Posted by: Mauser at Tue Jul 11 19:33:52 2017 (TYvUn)
4
I apply the same rule to these folk that I apply to the Tumblr SJW Vortex: whenever you describe yourself with a made-up identity term, I mentally replace it with "neurotic". Three neurotics in a row are replaced with "psychotic".
1
Which raises another question - did the original series make it to the US, or did you see the recent remake? And if the latter, is it any good?
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Jul 9 20:09:54 2017 (PiXy!)
2
The original series aired on several PBS stations in the early 80's including one in North Carolina...which is also how I got to see Dr. Who as a kid.
I have not seen the remake.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jul 9 20:27:34 2017 (KicmI)
3
Come to think of it, I think it also aired on Nickelodeon briefly in the mid 80's. VERY briefly IIRC.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jul 9 20:31:30 2017 (KicmI)
1
It seems to me that the injury happened at work even if the full extent of the damage was not clear until later. You should talk to someone about that.
2
Yup. You had a box fall on you from 8 feet and it drove you to the ground. Obviously the damage happened at work.
"if this had happened 20 minutes earlier, at work, I would have been covered"
Also, you have insurance that only works when you're at work? I've never heard of such a thing. Or were you talking about STD/LTD?
Posted by: Rick C at Thu Jul 6 12:27:46 2017 (ITnFO)
3
In Texas that would definitely be a workplace injury.
4
Actually, the knee has been giving me trouble for some weeks. When I went to the doctor on Monday he mentioned a cortisone shot. I asked him to try to get the appointment with the orthopedist on Friday since that will put me down for a day. However, as Thursday was a possibility I let my employer know that I might be absent Friday because of treatment for a knee injury.
This is pre-existing, not workmen's comp. The notion here is that since I decided to go to work injured I was technically working unsafe. That is an arguable point to be sure, but the whole 'falling down the stairs at home' part of the equation, which is what really bruised it badly, takes it right out of the running for WC.
This morning, I was well enough to drive (with some difficulty) and went in to work to fill out an incident report. I also reiterated the safety concerns I had with a particular center violating policy loading reams of paper and mufflers on the top row of boxes in a trailer. If I need to be out for a week or more I'll get disability. This is not the 100% base pay plus 100% medical of WC but I've got my insurance and I'll get something. I am recovering though, more slowly than I'd like and I still have to go down the stairs backwards but I may be able to return to work as early as Monday.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jul 7 04:33:09 2017 (KicmI)
One might think that CNN would (after such a dreadful series of self inflicted credibility debacles) react to Trunp's crude but silly victory lap with a bit of good natured contrition.
CNN is staffed by aristocrats who dine upon free range pheasant and whose lips will never touch crow.
No. CNN tracked down the Trump fan who made the .gif and....
CNN's 'KFILE' publisher Andrew Kaczynski wrote the network would not be publishing the identity of the user "because he is a private citizen who has issued an extensive statement of apology, [that] showed his remorse."
"CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change," Kaczynski warned in his article.
Emphasis mine...obviously.
Lets see if we can...translate this.
Nice life you've got there...be a shame if someone were to uhh..doxx you and let all 'dem people in the black masks with the bike locks and the,uh, lettah openahs know where your family lives, where your kids go to school, and where you work. It'd just break our hears if your employer suddenly became the subject of a twitter mob and found employing a suddenly unpopular fellow like you....bad for business. But, hey...we gots an offer for youse...One ya can't refuse.
Meanwhile...
North Korea just fired off a missile that can hit Alaska. If it was a 2 stage missile, then a three stage version ought to be able to hit anywhere in the U.S.A.
Russia is up to no good.
China seems to be basing their foreign policy on the East India Company. (oh the endless ironies of life) and are a major strategic foe.
The various subsets of radical Islam seek to kill, convert or enslave us all.
M-13 and other gangs rampage across our country and kill our citizens.
None of those threaten our freedoms like the notion that our lives can be ruined by weaponized social media because we said something that a powerful person found offensive.
I don't know who this guy is other than that he apparently shitposts on Reddit.
There is a high probability that he is a douche.
That's not the issue.
Now, Trump's tweeting is cancer. It is an oozing zit upon the face of the presidency. Many of his tweets are ill considered stupid and counterproductive. While this was not one of those tweets in my opinion, opinions may vary on that point.
It doesn't matter, because that is not the issue.
This is...
A massive media conglomorate decided to hunt down a private citizen and destroy his life because he published a crude commentary ON THEIR MISBEHAVIOR. Furthermore, the implied threats they use, of censure, becoming unemployable and, (never directly expressed, but very much understood) extrajudicial violence and intimidation are not how we do things in a republic.
This sort of thing has been going on for at least 5 years....
...but it seems to be picking up speed now.
This is how totalitarian societies come about.
When people become to afraid to exercize free speech, free speech is dead.
CNN is a private corporation This cannot be fixed by legislation, as the ability to interfere editorially is exactly the power we don't want the government to have. Extortion is a possible existing charge of course, but such a prosecution might have worrisome precedents.
This needs to be met with public outcry. We as a society need to make it plain that this will not stand.
Whether we still, as a society possess the understanding of Civics to grasp the importance of this is unclear.
And I was all like..."Elf annoys the hell out of me. If she's the hook, screw this noise!"
Well.
Pete was right.
Elf Yamada is a gloriously whacked antagonist. I mean she is epically nutsoid in a most entertaining way. Now in any other show with someone like her that would be the alpha and omega of her characterization, but not in this show...
Elf is a remarkably successful young author. She's just bought a big house in Tokyo. (Admittedly it's run down, rumored to be haunted, being eaten by kudzu and in need of repairs....and next door to our Protagonists). She's also (apparently) put out for cosmetic surgery on her ears...because her pen name is Elf.
Yes. The cray-cray is strong with this one.
She's got that very quirky, borderline schizo eccentricity that brilliant people sometimes exhibit. That being established, there are a couple of really good scenes between her and our hero that give insight into both their characters and go into the difference between a professional and a fan. Despite her success, in terms of mindset she's basically a hobbyist at this writing thing, whereas Masamune, our protagonist is very much a professional. However, while Elf is arrogant and highly competitive she seems to be a genuinely nice person and, despite her bizarre quirks...
..she is unquestionably competent at what she does.
There was an amazing amount of character development and exposition in this episode, and all of it was superbly written.
I'm afraid I've gotta watch more of this delightful trainwreck.
1
Were this a VN, Elf would be Best End. I know we're supposed to see Sagari as that, but we get a yuuge Nice Boat vibe off her.
Posted by: Clayton Barnett at Sun Jul 2 14:22:37 2017 (ug1Mc)
2
Honestly, if they really go with the little sister I'll puke.
He should pursue the girl running the bookstore.
Elf is awesome, but there is SO much exuberant eccentricity there that I'd be afraid any relationship would end in tears, or blood, or molassess or somesuch.
OTOH it would not be a boring path to ruin.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jul 2 17:08:35 2017 (KicmI)
3
I agree about Elf: she's a handful ("stop drooling!" my wife yells) and with an Alpha male would make a fantastic wife.
With a Beta, the guy will be in slippers & an apron in a week while Elf's out banging the 'next big thing' in light novel world.
Bookstore girl? Ten quatloos that's a dude wearing a girl skinsuit.
Posted by: Clayton Barnett at Sun Jul 2 19:26:32 2017 (ug1Mc)
4
OK That's last bit is a theory which had not occured to me.
It still doesn't.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jul 2 19:57:23 2017 (KicmI)
5
Disrespecting my Bookstore-chan? Coffee and pistols at dawn, Clayton.
6
I don't have as good a gathering to discuss it, but here's a bit of fanon, about Elf's comrade, Muramasa:
I think her name must be Hana, because she probably was naive enough to sign her first letter with her real name.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Mon Jul 3 21:24:51 2017 (pjL8P)
Now They Don't Even LET You Read it
With the change from wildcats to mountain ranges comes a new and clever way to ensure that there is no doubt as to whether the customer has actually signed off on whatever conditions Apple might have.
Click ">HERE to embigify.
Of course after clicking agree I wanted to read the thing to see if I'd signed away a kidney, a portion of my liver, or was now changing careers to be a non-compensated pivoting blade propulsor operator on some Apple Exec's eco-friendly yacht.
This is H.S. Olympias, but the principle is the same.
1
It's there. You just have to select "About this Mac" from the Apple menu, switch to the Support tab, click on "Important Information...", and then select "Software License Agreement", and a PDF will pop up. Just look for the sign on the door that says "Beware of the Leopard".
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Jul 2 04:18:40 2017 (tgyIO)
This was totally unexpected. I'm not sure, but I think this is just a one-off. However, there are indications that they are setting up for more episodes.
1
That's odd; my Google image search had gettimages.pt as the #6 result (not the version on gettyimages.com, oddly enough). Credits go to the Bettman Archive, and Getty wants $575 to license it, but the listed date of January 1, 1900 should put it out of copyright.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 30 16:28:04 2017 (JkjJR)
2
That is peculiar.
Google bubble perhaps?
I normally use Epic as my browser, but google disallows image searches via Epic so I did it in Opera (which I almost never use for anything) and this is the first page...
There was a Bettaman/Corbis credit on the Daily Mail article, but that isn't the artist.
$575.00 huh?
According to the wikipedia article Corbis owns the Bettamann archive and Corbis doesn't do the licensing gig anymore.
How is Getty involved?
Given that in this context its a relevant example commentary on a specifc weird search result, it might actually be fair use. OTOH, being painted in 1900 would put it in the public domain. OTGH January first is a suspicious date.
Perhaps Pixy can make a call. Otherwise I'll just delete the post.
Why is life so complicated?
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 30 20:21:25 2017 (KicmI)
3
What do you get if you click on "Medium" right next to the thumbnail?
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 30 23:36:54 2017 (tgyIO)
Take a photo of the screen. Draw a monocle and a moustache on the heffalump. Take a photo of that, send it back in time by Weeping Angel Parcel Service (WAPS!), and use it to sue the Daily Mail for infringement. (They're used to it.)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Fri Jun 30 23:38:04 2017 (PiXy!)
What do you get if you click on "Medium" right next to the thumbnail?
1: An angry medium with a bruised cuticle.
2: Slapped.
3: One excuse amongst the many for why no spirits were contacted that doesn't actually involve special pleading.
4: No refund.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Jul 1 05:28:51 2017 (KicmI)
6
Or this...
I see there is a Getty stamp on one of them now, but the others had nothing or the Bettaman/Corbin stamp or nothing at all.
Does this jive with what you're seeing?
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Jul 1 05:34:21 2017 (KicmI)
That was remarkably satisfying despite the fact that I really would like to see more of this show.
Although, Alice and Zoroku is rather schizo in tone, the series leverages this trait quite well..
For one thing, it has the benefit of being completely unpredictable.
One never knows if an episode is going to be action adventure..
...adventures in floristry...
...fast food appreciation...
....haute cuisine appreciation...
...fantasy horror...
...or merely an excuse to trot out a new action figure....
...whatever genre it's dabbling in, Alice and Zoroku manages to be consistently good.
This is every bit as much a deconstruction of Magical Girls as Maddokka Magica. In stark contrast to that series, A to Z is probably the most upbeat first contact and end of the world as we know it story I've ever encountered.
1
Sorry if I have to ruin the joke by explaining it. The "Twitter Ruined/Killed Animeblogging" thing is as old as the collapse of the old Singaporean AB.net, THAT, Saturnine, and RIUVA (was it 7 yeas ago now? wow). Meanwhile, Twitter itself was gotten killed a few times, each time stronger than before. GNUsocial was always hanging at the edges, which is where Author now. But it was marginal... Until suddenly, Pixiv stood up a Mastodon instance (called "Pawoo"). Hoo, boy. It was almost as good as Sad Puppies, only in Japanese. The lead picture is clickable and leads to Pawoo, where I link two cases of Anime Alzeimer, one everyone talked about recently, and Makoto of Kanon.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Fri Jun 30 11:22:08 2017 (pjL8P)
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Fri Jun 30 13:02:11 2017 (pjL8P)
4
It was entirely my fault.
Starved of time, energy and ideas, I decided, in lieu of actual content on my part, to link to people who were producing some.
Anyway...
It was an attempt at a joke (the sad girls thing).
I...
I realize that mastadons had a more southerly and temperate distribution than their more famous arctic cousins...
...so given the it was a clumsy analogy, but the intent wast was a reference to the old "Sad girls in snow" meme which is pretty much a dead meme...in part because...
...Twitter killed anime blogging.
Which, in context and in retrospect, is arguably recursive.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 30 15:42:27 2017 (KicmI)
1
Hehe! Now I have to check my hitlogs. Kinda buried by Sarah's Instalanche, then I was away for LibertyCon. I didn't announce it in the usual places yet. Still waiting for the Hitpiece places to discover it. (you know the one I mean.)
Posted by: Mauser at Wed Jul 5 00:36:36 2017 (TYvUn)
Hustler is not my cup of tea, so I'd missed this silly nothing-burger of a story from the earlier this month. It would normally warrant no comment, beyond, perhaps, this...
However, the fact that it WAS a story is the not only worrisome thing about it. There is a non-zero risk the company is taking by tweaking the very Jihadis on whose behalf the outrage is ostensibly expressed. That this angle was not covered at all in the linked articles, is, more than anything about this, truly "problematic".
Mashed Potatoes
The peculiar physics and myriad uses of Mashed Potatoes have not gotten sufficient attention in recent years. While the pulverized tubers are obviously a valuable source of calories, they have considerable potential in a variety of non-culinary applications. That this substance is useful for making scale models of Devils Tower has been understood for many years, but mashed potatoes can also be used for other artistic expressions as well, such as to create a representation of Kansas in winter on a table cloth, create a very passable facsimile of an iceberg in someone's tea and it has surprising utility as a hair volumizing agent. Its low density allows it to be propelled with surprising velocity by an arm with a reach of less than 9 inches and minimal strength. Despite the obviously low sectional density of spudfluff, the fluid dynamics of mashed potatoes in air is such that the aforementioned arm with a reach<9inches can send measurable quantities a surprising distance...into the dining room, down the hall and into a guest bedroom (this latter seems to have required some sort of bank shot, ballistic analysis is pending). Most remarkably all of this can be achieved in the approximately 3 seconds it takes to turn one's back on one's 11 month old nephew to get something out of a microwave.
I propose a study to examine these properties in greater detail and with attention paid to practical applications thereof. I will require $170,000.00, 450 Idaho potatoes and a trebuchet.
1
The Department of Agriculture does have a supply of Idaho potatoes which can be issued for research purposes. However, the Federal government does not have any military-surplus trebuchets available for issuance to grant recipients. If your study requires this equipment, the cost of purchasing/leasing it should have been included in your grant proposal.
For this reason, we must reject your proposal, despite the obvious usefulness of this line of inquiry.
Posted by: Siergen at Mon Jun 26 10:31:23 2017 (7W7BZ)
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!