Mid-Morning Art Thread

Lunatics
Odd Nerdrum

Posted by: CBD at 09:25 AM | Comments (360) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Morning Report 10/21/24

hope you all had a nice weekend. Computer still in the shop for repair.

Open thread.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at 06:15 AM | Comments (551) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 21 October 2024

Top Story

• Can an AI lie its way past safety checks to release? (Tech Crunch)
  
  Given how much of a dumpster fire chatbots are, what does it matter?
  
  
  
• Dumpster fires are cool now anyway. (The Register)
  
  Thanks Baidu.
  
  
  
• Can you just turn the damn things off? (The New York Times)
  
  Well yes, but actually no.
  
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (66) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Overnight Open Thread (10/13/24)The TXMoMe 2024 Was Absolutely Fabulous Edition

*****

The 9th Annual TXMoMe was an absolute fantastic event. As always Cow Horse Queen, Rancher Bob and Ben Had went over and above for their guests, we Morons who attended.

The weather was fantastic. The food was even better. And no one can complain about about rifle and handgun ranges?!?!?!

The Fabulous and I really enjoyed our time at the MoMe. It was great to see our old friends and to meet new. If you haven't attended this affair you really should.

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 10:01 PM | Comments (452) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gun Thread: Post TXMoMe Discussion and Analysis Edition!

Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!

Holy Shitballs! What a party! These MoMe's just keep getting better and better, and a wonderful good time was had by all! Actually, I am writing this from the airport in Washington on my way to the MoMe, but I can safely say based on years of MoMe'n that it's going to be an amazing success! Great people, great food, more great people, lots 'o shooting, ok enough of the people, and perfect weather. As the title indicates, please use this as a thread for discussing your TXMoMe experience as well as the usual guns 'n stuff. It's going to be a slightly content-lite Gun Thread this evening as it's time for me to bring my seat back and tray table to its full and upright position.

With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?

Posted by: Weasel at 07:00 PM | Comments (350) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Food Thread: That Pork Is Seared Into My Memory!

That's a nice chunk of a Berkshire pork loin. I bought it because they had very nicely left a lot of fat on it, and as you all know...or should...fat is flavor!

But I didn't feel like Sous Viding it or grilling it (I know...I know...I am pathetic), but plan 3C was a quick sear in a heavy pan, followed by a roast in a medium oven (300 degrees). After that? All bets were off, but in between searing it and taking it out of the oven I figured I could think of something.

So why did I sear it? The nonsense about sealing in the juices is just that: bubbe meise (an old wives tale, in Yiddish). But it does add flavor and crispiness and it is undeniably lovely. It also firms the meat a bit, and that seems to help cook evenly. Maybe.

Anyway, I did it. And scoring it allowed me to get salt deep into the meat a lot more quickly than my usual 24 hour dry brine. Yes...this was a last-minute decision.

So I pulled it after about 20 minutes, then put a glaze of Dijon Mustard and brown sugar on it. That's my go-to for pork. 10 more minutes and it looked pretty good!

Yeah. It worked out well, although I cheated and put the broiler on for a minute or so. I call it a success, and will play around with seasoning next time.

Posted by: CBD at 04:00 PM | Comments (263) | Trackbacks (Suck)

First-World Problems...

Nope...I'm turning the world upside down. That is a glorious and unexpected delight! Usually I walk into hotel rooms and the thermostat is set at some ungodly temperature that starts with a 7. Awful. Miserable. This shall not stand!

As all right-thinking Americans know, the best temperature for sleeping is cold. Very cold. Hang meat for aging cold.

But for some reason, hotels seem to think that their guests are best served by walking into their rooms and confusing them with the sauna. But not this hotel! I walked into my room and it was a crisp 63 degrees, and who am I to change that!

I might have been a bit chilly!

[Don't worry; the regularly scheduled First-World Problem will return next week.]

Posted by: CBD at 02:00 PM | Comments (251) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Death Of Yahya Sinwar And The Prospects For Peace

Short answer...There are no realistic paths to peace.

A series of very difficult decisions lies ahead for Israel. Any rational understanding of the Arab/Muslim world yields a basic truth; they respect and fear power, and they have contempt for weakness and vacillation. The events of the last 30 years since the Oslo Accords has been depressing series of Israeli military successes that were immediately undermined by the willful ignorance of the Arab psyche on the part of the Israeli political class. The assumption that terrorist groups can be moderated by giving them political power and the cachet of a seat at the United Nations is arrant stupidity. The world's record on reformation of terrorists is not impressive. And when one adds the rabid hatred of Jews and Israel being inculcated into every Gazan and West Bank Arab from infancy, and the prospects for a benign Jeffersonian democracy on the shores of the Jordan River and the Mediterranean become murky at best.

And let us not forget the stalking horse of a Shia Arab Caliphate being vigorously promoted by Iran...without a doubt the world's foremost supporter of terrorism and Muslim intransigence. Iran is the head of the snake, and until the Mullahs are deposed from within by the people of Iran, or from without by the aggressive application of military power, the idea that the groups aligned against Israel will accept a peace -- cold or warm -- is a silly and naive talking point of the chattering classes.

Gaza must be taught that Israel is bigger, stronger, more technologically sophisticated, and will never stop until its borders and people are safe. That means an ongoing war against every bit of the Hamas insanity that remains. The death of Sinwar is a welcome victory, but he was not the creator of the death cult that consumes Gaza, and his demise will not end it. Gaza needs to learn to fear Israel more than it fears Hamas and its controllers in Tehran. They need to be beaten, and to see nothing on the horizon except misery until they give up the dream of the destruction of the state of Israel.

The situation in Lebanon is even more insane. There is an Iranian proxy army on the border of Israel, in direct contravention of the dictates of the United Nations. I know how shocking that is...that the UN was not only incapable of enforcing a simple requirement, but that they, at best, turned a blind eye to the rapid militarization of South Lebanon and, at worst, supported it!

Israel will have to push Hezbollah back beyond the Litani River, and create a demilitarized zone. That means the destruction of large swaths of Lebanon and the displacement of many people, some of whom are willing participants and some of whom are innocents.

But that is war. Innocents suffer...probably more than the armies. But it is an existential problem for Israel, and with an aggressive offensive against its enemies and a shift from accommodation to destruction, Israel can fight its last war for a very long time. But that means pushing back against the current stupidity amongst the political elites of the West that the genocidal behavior of Iran Hezbollah, the PLO/PA, and Hamas can be moderated.

It can't be. The negotiation would have to include the numbers of dead Israelis that are acceptable. The Israeli psyche seems to have changed...no longer will they accept some low level of genocidal behavior on their borders and in their cities and preschools and bus stops and supermarkets. That means war, but for once a war with a defined goal...the safety of Israel and the security of a secure border.

The strangest thing about the conspicuous lack of support for Israel's new-found focus is that the destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah and, ultimately, Iran will have profound salutary effects on the West. Yet the bien pensants in the capitals of Europe and, sadly, America have made their own calculations about an acceptable number of deaths of their citizens, and more chilling, the citizens of Israel.

They are good at that...sacrificing their own people on the altar of post-modern guilt and cultural ambiguity. But they are also sacrificing others...Israelis, and lots and lots of Gazans and Lebanese!

It seems as though Israel has had enough of that. Hopefully in the coming months the people of Gaza and Lebanon and Iran will also!

Posted by: CBD at 11:55 AM | Comments (322) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-20-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading (WARNING! Not Cover art is not for the squeamish!). Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants....

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

Prayers for safe travels for all Morons returning home from another fabulous TXMOME!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM | Comments (315) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 20 October 2024

Top Story

• Why are Instagram and Facebook searches for "Adam Driver Megalopolis" being blocked for CSAM? (The Verge)
  
  Because (a) "mega drive" is a code word used by very bad people, and (b) Facebook is dumb.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (172) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Overnight Open Thread (10/19/24)

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 10:00 PM | Comments (416) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Saturday Evening Movie Thread [10/17/2024]

Halloween

The Halloween franchise is a mess, a complete and total mess. It resets to one degree or another five separate times. It has a serious identity crisis from almost the beginning. It doesn't know what to do with its main draw, its central monster. Out of the three major slasher franchises of the 80s, it's the least cohesive and, arguably, the worst through that heyday. For all of the faults of Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street and their sequels, they at least understood what they were at a level that Halloween never did.

It started the best of them, though. John Carpenter's original is a wonderful example of Hitchcockian suspense updated to the late 70s milieu without feeling like an over-the-top homage like was de Palma's wont (not that I dislike de Palma's 70s output, or anything). Carpenter had a sense of cinematic craft that people like Steve Miner and Wes Craven were never able to get close to replicating. However, what Halloween started, it never defined, falling behind the curve when it came to the slasher genre almost immediately.

So, what to make of this franchise, run by a man who ended up having almost nothing else cinematically but this franchise, the producer Moustapha Akkad, and seemingly no idea how to run it? This franchise started by one of the premiere genre craftsmen of his time (Carpenter), given over to lesser talents for decades, resurrected in different forms over and over again, and finally given to the curious pair of an indie darling filmmaker (David Gordon Green) and comedian (Danny McBride)? Well, I see three main things that jump out at me. The first is the constant resets. The second is the dueling influences on the franchise's approach to horror. The third is the treatment of Michael Myers himself.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at 07:45 PM | Comments (147) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Hobby Thread - October 19, 2024 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread.

Blogging is happening live from a semi undisclosed location among Hordelings gathered in real life. Thanks to all for everything. You know who you are. If you are not here, you are missed.

We gave the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies(TM) a spin and it landed on a theme of hiking for this week. The theme of Europe last week had a few hints of hiking in the content an comments and the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) apparently thought that a dedicated hiking theme was in order for the Hobby Thread.

Are you a hiker? Where do you hike or have hiked? Do you have favorite places to hike? Some hikes get headlines because they are known for being difficult or lengthy. Other hikes are an opportunity to get out for a day and enjoy the great outdoors. Do you have stories of past hikes? Do you have bucket lists of places you would like to hike?

Content below to get the conversation started, but looking for Horde participation. This is not a competition, so do not worry if your hikes are not the fanciest, most exotic, most difficult, or lengthiest. If meaningful to you, it will be meaningful to the Horde. The content is also not a ranking or a best list.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:30 PM | Comments (134) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ace of Spades Pet Thread, October 19

* * *

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

Posted by: K.T. at 03:27 PM | Comments (70) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Oct. 19

Happy Autumn, everyone! We have a special treat today:

Kibbutz Ein Gedi is situated above the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel. About 60 years ago, the kibbutz began planting its botanical garden, which essentially covers the kibbutz’s open areas. From Wikipedia:

The kibbutz operates a 100 dunam (10 ha, 24.7 acre) botanical garden housing over 900 plant species from around the world. It is the only populated botanical garden in the world, with 500 residents. The garden joined the register of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International in 1994. The garden includes date palms and Arecaceae, tropical and desert flora.

Mrs. BD, myself, along with daughter and grand pups in tow, strolled the grounds last week. If I recall correctly, there are over 40 types of palm trees planted throughout the kibbutz.

Here are a few of the pics I took:

Regards from Jerusalem,

Biden’s Dog

Truly a remarkable place, considering that there are 500 people living in the kibbutz. I recognize some of the plants, but certainly not all of them. I read that it's hot there, and isolated, but there's a spring.

Posted by: K.T. at 01:22 PM | Comments (53) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Yes, the First Amendment Is On the Ballot

The quote posted is from an Essay by James Madison in the National Gazette, March 27, 1792. Here's another passage from the essay, followed by the link to the entire essay.

That is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where the property which a man has in his personal safety and personal liberty, is violated by arbitrary seizures of one class of citizens for the service of the rest.

founders.archive.gov

* * * * *

The Indispensable Man and the Indispensable Right

Posted by: K.T. at 11:00 AM | Comments (265) | Trackbacks (Suck)

The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival

Posted by: Misanthropic Humanitarian at 08:11 AM | Comments (389) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Daily Tech News 19 October 2024

Top Story

• Show me the man and I'll show you the fine: Terry Britain might be gone, but his replacement is no better and may be worse: The EU is now considering fining other companies Elon Musk is a shareholder of, for supposed crimes of Twitter. (MSN)
  
  And this is why when you are forced to choose between a company run by sociopathic leftists who bleed their customers dry but aren't actually killing people, and a government, you side with the company every time.
  
  Lesson learned. No matter how bad a government is, they can always get worse, and you can't just choose not to do business with them.
  
  

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM | Comments (132) | Trackbacks (Suck)

He Wasn't There Again Today, I Wish The ONT Would Go Away

Hello Horde! How's everyone doing tonight? However bad things get, at least (most of you) aren't Browns fans.

Posted by: WeirdDave at 10:00 PM | Comments (285) | Trackbacks (Suck)

Ice Cream Cafe

Sunset in New York City
Anthony distefano/@antsynth

Confuzzelating your dog.

Mother with her newborn quadruplets.

Horses coming home after a long day on the range.

Mother bird gives eagle a tougher fight than he was looking for when he tries to take her babies.

Might be fake. I give up trying to tell.

Shadow art at the beach.

Mike Tyson's unconventional dodging technique.

Cats in pursuit.

Dog is so happy that his person is back.

Sea lion enjoys the resort's amenities.

Little birds learning to plop into the water.

Dog wants to get in on a groundhog's digging fun.

The crow likes the dog, but can't stand the cat.

Human catapult.

Baby feeding a giraffe.

Doggo and baby have fun with balloons.

Going from stray to lapdog.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:20 PM | Comments (276) | Trackbacks (Suck)