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phdhorn

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  1. Actually they do it every year (maybe there's an old thread, don't care), but this year because it's 10 years since little army suit daddy died, they're making it 11 days - all for mourning the little pervert. Kind of like David St. Hubbins' amp goes to 11. Plus, not even just laughing, you can't smile. Oh man would it be a fun "dare ya" game! Granted, it'll be a real strain to keep from laughing over there, life is so awesome. You get arrested and probably disappear into a work camp until you kick it. Even if a relative dies, you let 'em rot until the 11 days are over. But actually, I kinda dig in a perverse way the Little Dik's ability to control everyone's behavior. These guys think out of the box. https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/no-laughing-no-drinking-and-no-shopping-in-north-korea-for-11-days-heres-why/ar-AARUq09
  2. Look man, Jesus was almost certainly born in late fall or mid spring, so the average daytime temperature in Nazareth in April is about 74°, and in September about 79°, so it's right on the money for the true Sprint of Christmas. What's this 40's-50's wishlist shit? Buncha Druids or Norsemen on this thread. Edit: And yeah, he grew up (not was born) in Nazareth, duh, but hey, Bethlehem is even warmer (well, considering we're not exactly sure which Bethlehem it was, more or less this is true). Merry convertible-top-down Christmas, one and all. (If Tiny Tim didn't live in freaking cold, sooty London, he probably would have survived and grown up to be an MMA star or something).
  3. My favorite thing in the series so far besides what I listed above is Tim McGraw. I said to wife, "you know what I like about Tim McGraw in this series?" and she shot right back - "he doesn't overact?" Exactly what I had in mind. He does a brilliant job of "man of few words" without being the moody, aloof quasi-hero stereotype (thanks a lot, Clint!). He seems human and even a bit unsure of his plans but presses on - very realistic Old West (I studied it), and his role is played magnificently. If he doesn't scoop up some brass for this role, it'd be a shame. He's unbelievably good. Elliott is always great but I wish his role wasn't so manic depressive, however it's not unrealistic because obviously he's had tragedy (like oh, about 96% of people in the "real" Old West). But I'll allow it. Isabel May is up and down (although some of the plot events written for her are kinda cheesy), and of course everyone you've ever seen in Old West photos are ugly and dirty, so unfortunately she and Faith Hill can't help but being hotties, but wife and I both said that through no fault of their own, they seem hard to grasp... but yeah, Hollywood and appeal and all... Anyway, it's pretty good. Hope it doesn't Fonzie the Shark out of appeal, but seems like they have a lot of big guns working on it, so there's hope!
  4. Appreciated. I saw about 2 episodes from about season 2 and it was pretty good; acting and plot. In both of these series, I'm meh on Old West type of shit (nothing will ever, ever replace the Leone triptik in my opinion) and it's hard to avoid tired stereotypes (even in these) but the acting, props and cinematography can go a long way (I mean if you can't film beautiful landscapes out west, you suck as a camera specialist). I did catch Ep. 1 of 1883 last night after the missus went to bed, and it was pretty engaging. BBT was about as good as he's ever been in a western. His "revenge shooting" (nospoiler) scene and especially his last line after it was giggly epically good. I'll stick with 1883 for now, it's about a B+ to me, plenty good enough to keep going.
  5. Watching Ep. 2 (my first) w/ the wife, who loves it. 15 mins. in it's a little slow like 90% of TV series, but the acting is good, cinematography is nice, and we'll see, fully expect it to be good. Might be the first series in awhile I get beyond 2 episodes before giving up (then I suppose I'll have to catch up on Yellowstone, as this is apparently a prequel).
  6. (Sarcasm meter/not-in-loop joke?) Anyway apparently no gunz, just hammerz to jewelery casez. The thieves in Austin are very polite and obey gun laws.
  7. See if you can bargain down to get it without strings. Should come in around $550 then.
  8. Daddy Jim Bob got primaried in the Arkansas state rep race, he only got 15%. I guess his kids really must be in conflict with him, otherwise their votes alone would be enough to give him a landslide win.
  9. I stopped watching it in early November (see my post above). Wife kept watching it and assured me it kept sucking trash big time. One of my recent medical bills was stunningly engaging by comparison.
  10. Here's a good article that appeared today by no less than NPR detailing why the whole severe weather/climate scientific linkage is lacking. (P.S. I make it my habit to NOT EVER discuss political topics in the main weather threads - I ignore anything that pops up there - and if I do ever discuss it, it'll be in Daily Texan which WON'T have to be moved to CR. But the whole discussion usually quickly gets bogged down by shitheads who know nothing about it (which is okay) then just "think" it's this way or that and shit on others who don't. No fucking thanks. Take that shit to the pigsty). Anyway, this is a pretty good layman's article.... https://www.npr.org/2021/12/13/1063676832/the-exact-link-between-tornadoes-and-climate-change-is-hard-to-draw-heres-why Basically it says what I posted yesterday... just too much not known. This is the real answer, and if you see anyone quoted who says "definitely!" or "definitely not!" they're carrying some kind of agenda, period, and are likely to be funded by some political group to get results. (Hint: the best places to go are impartial (for the most part) orgs, like NWS, National Severe Storms Center, etc. - stay away from "Institute for Climactic Oopsie" or "Association for Climate Never Don't Ever Change".) Stick to (in general) impartial university or govt' sources). We don't know enough yet, how things directly contribute to changes in tornado strength, frequency, and geography. This doesn't mean it's not possible (see the last sentence in the article). But for now, the science doesn't prove it. The rest of the argument (not NPR's here, the general public/political one) after that is bullshit. Anyhow, here's an excerpt: This tornado storm was "only" one (again, the Edwardsville storm was the only other separate supercell (so far that we know) that produced a tornado - the rest of the line up and down didn't). But this "single" storm was awful, terrible, and although it "only" skimmed 1-2 towns, it hit Mayfield in almost the worst time and place, and the death toll was exceptionally higher. Tragic. Someone asked about donations - Here's an article listing most of them. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2021/12/11/how-help-mayfield-kentucky-communities-affected-tornadoes-fundraisers-donations/6477051001/
  11. Thanks, I'll take a pass. I don't post in there. It's a futile waste of time to me. I like this thread because it sticks to the science or hard news (so far). Hopefully it'll keep doing so.
  12. A few follow-ups to this FWIW, some related, some not directly (some of this subject to change as we learn more about this latest storm): - Looks like this was not a "tornado outbreak" but rather a "tornado family." What difference does it make? Not a lot to the poor souls in harm's way, but meteorologically, an "outbreak" is an event of multiple tornadoes spawned from different storms (supercells). This storm is looking pretty much like it's in the "tornado family" category, where one single storm can spawn multiple tornadoes, or retract and lower again. All of this apparently was one horrible, single supercell (the Edwardsville storm was a separate one, so the "outbreak" was - 2 - for this event). Anyway, this single storm regenerated itself over 200+ miles and threw down others - in the same storm. - Despite this tornado complex, 2021 follows a 5 year run where the # of U.S. tornadoes is down compared to average. 1,192 U.S. tornadoes this year sure doesn't sound like "down", but it is. And keep in mind over 93% of these tornadoes are EF1 or lower, a good bit also spawned out of hurricane landings. - "Unheard of in December" - not quite, though definitely rare. In 2019 an outbreak (multiple storms) across Southern LA, MS and AL spawned 40+ tornadoes. Why did you not know about this? Because "only" 3 people were killed - most of them were weaker and over non-inhabited land. But that was December 16-17, 2019. But winter tornadoes are not galactically rare. Big, destructive ones like this is rare for December, although not meteorological winter (Dec-Feb) in general. - The # of EF3 and stronger tornadoes between 1950 and today shows a downward turn of over 50%. - (Speaking of which, haven't caught up today, but original reports were that this tornado was "only" and EF3 but in the worst possible places for the most death/destruction. However, I think NWS is requesting structural engineers/officials, and when they do that, they have reason to believe this might be in the EF4 or 5 category. Should know in a day or so). - One current argument is whether there has been at least a partial shift from the Great Plains to the Southeast. Some say probably, others say no, either the area is expanding, or that they're better documented and hit a more densely populated Southeast so it seems like more. Under further study. But it seems that these Southeastern-shifting tornadoes are more destructive - is this true? The answer is maybe. Arguments for are that the terrain in the SE is hillier and the atmospheric conditions a little different than the drier Great Plains. This can contribute to strength (or take away from it). A second factor is that due to a closer proximity to the Gulf, these Southeastern tornadoes can last well into, or form during, the dark overnight hours. Arguments against include: night time tornadoes are more dangerous because you can't see them, because people are usually "sitting ducks" (i.e. asleep and oblivious to their approach), and/or they're hitting into denser, more populated areas - hence death/damage, but over all not a stronger tornado. Another argument against is that with everyone having video etc. handy, we are documenting far more tornadoes and storms than even 10 years ago. They might seem to be more but perhaps they're just being recorded more. Again, under study. This one didn't hit in the wee hours, but certainly when people were winding down for the day - and of course it took several hours to unfold over the length of time. In short, we don't know yet if the alley has shifted, grown larger, or is the same just better witnessed/documented, and in denser areas. Under study. - Finally, reliable tornado records only go back to about 1950. Before that, the record is sketchy at best. We just don't have much reliable info besides the ones that people saw and documented. This is why the previous point "only" goes back to 1950. It's when the Weather Service began to do stats. Add to this that we know only a bit about how tornadoes form, never mind their relationship to the frequency and severity of supercell and other storm complexes. In other words, "it's under study." Tornado and hurricane research with regards to climate is still very, very immature; the science is relatively young, and there's not a ton of long-term info to rely upon - yet.
  13. Maybe it's age, but man although A-B is my go-to CO resort, the last 2 times I had attacks of altitude sickness (which has only happened to me there). I guess because it's so damn high. Fortunately both happened on "get to" slopes, not on the steeps. But I spent something like 5 hours one day in the Ski Patrol clinic, barfing and wanting my life to end it hurt so bad. Got to the hotel, laid down for a few mins. and it was gone. Not sure I want to go to A-B again, at least unless I've been at altitude for awhile. NB: Getting old sucks.
  14. LOL, my tongue-in-cheek joke was interrupted by reality! Correct, boarders not allowed. But... I was kinda referring to something else in my millionairesses' quote.... oh well... lol! Edit for your other post: CB is a blast, and really not a bad place for kids. The ski school is known for teaching and most of all "killing time" for parents. Good people who can hang with the little ones. I took my 2 kids there when they were both under 10 and they loved it. There's a whole area (Prospect) that can handle middle-aged kids for one thing). Gunnison is kind of a sorta dead town, but good eating places. The only other thing I liked is that we stayed at the resort, which prevented tedious lugging of kids' shit and the half-hour car ride back to town (although we did a Gunnison stay one year, too). CB used to be pretty family-friendly with very reasonable on-slope lodging prices. Of course 10 years later and after a pandemic, I have no idea how they are now. (phd's little secret: I got a "mountain guide" (and not an instructor) and told him to take me to the stashes. He was psyched as he got to ski at a higher ability and we did the entire North Face and thigh-deep steeps most of the day. Anyway my secret is: North Face is (not so secretly) one of the coolest higher ability areas in the western U.S. The other secret is ask mountain guides if you can go there - most love it as they're usually great sliders, and even with the spring break relative crowds, you might speak up and cobble together a few adventurers to go there as a group - provided that that's your interest/ability... if not, they can usually tailor a few hours to whatever your liking is - use them!). Another thing although irrelevant to you... you don't have to go I-70 to get to CB. But that's another topic since you're covered.
  15. Or, because it used to smell like the family about 30 minutes after eating curry.
  16. Potpourri gleaned from various above: - Watched Beaver Creek FIS Men's Downhill on TV this weekend. "Snow" on the slope obviously canned. Absolutely zero snow around it, green/brown. Not sure I've ever seen that. - It's gonna take a lot of snows/cold to get Colorado skiable in December. La Niña portends to be better for Northern Rockies (WY, MT, and north into Canada). Not saying it won't snow a lot this year, but technically it's a crapshoot for Colorado in a fairly strong La Niña year, which this is. - Deer Valley - amusing stop for a day, but not for serious sliders. But they make you feel like a million bucks. They also grade the slopes super generously so all those millionairesses can brag that "I did the blacks". I think we're talking about ski/boarding there, perhaps not. - I'd try skis (if you're an "only" boarder" or vice-versa) only if you want to waste a day and fart around. Otherwise you won't enjoy it much at all. Trust me on this. While La Niña is only a guess as to weather effects, and certainly it could be a snowy year for Colorado and Central U.S., good bets during these types of years are sliding north of Cent. Colorado, and the Sierras (and any resort in SW Canada. If it snows like hell in Colo, good. But if not, you know why.
  17. I think the Indians would be a great name.
  18. She didn't make it, so it's a recovery. Sadly, both died.
  19. I'll give 'em a break. They saved Western civilization for 1400 years. None of us would be here in any way shape or form like we are today if they didn't. Besides, people like playing bingo.
  20. McNamara looks better than he has earlier in his career but he gets me nervous, he's the most inconsistent QB of most of the top 10 teams. I would be shocked if Michigan scored over 21 offensive points. For that reason I think Michigan is limited, and George is piss and going to play their asses off. Even though they choke every year, this when they might just make it. Bama beat the living shit out of them and they want revenge. Are they going to be the best game Georgia has played this year. And I'm kind of rooting for Michigan (as an alum).
  21. This is one of those years where it wouldn't bother me if the committee felt that no teams were good enough to qualify for the playoffs and just cancel them.
  22. Well, one thing to appreciate, Detroit will be their last memory of the free world! HA HA!
  23. You're not wrong here, that's him!
  24. But what about beating Kansas? That's now a major concern. And - gulp! - we play them on the road next year!!!!!!!!
  25. Just sayin'.
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