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Gorfram

@Gorfram@beige.party

Curmudgeoness & Bluestocking. Politics indigo, language ultraviolet. Adrift upon the cryptic tides of life. Likes to use big words & play at being all intellectual. Retired engineer. Mostly harmless.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

The Quakers don't quake anymore and maybe they should bring back the quaking I think.

Gorfram ,
@Gorfram@beige.party avatar

@futurebird Quakers still exist, & still get up to various Quake-ey things. I was raised in the Friends Meeting, and used to Quake quite a bit (before being overtaken by …reasons).
If you look at the more peaceful forefronts of the Social Justice Wars, you’re bound to find someone out there Quaking away.

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

Is this a creepy idea for a school assignment or a cool idea?

Make Your Own Doomsday Library

You are going to live in space, or in a bunker and you will only have the materials you can assemble on a 1GB hard drive. Make a list of the books and materials you would bring and assemble your emergency library.

Optional: Create a device for reading your library that will last as long as possible.

It's an interesting exercise and might even be useful.

Gorfram ,
@Gorfram@beige.party avatar

@futurebird In the novel “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress,” some Chinese youths get sent to the countryside for “Re- education” during the Cultural Revolution; & wind up sharing a small suitcaseful of illicit Western novels. It got me wondering which novels of mine would be “suitcase-worthy;” & I assembled a small cache of books to hide under my bed in the unlikely event the Cultural Revolution came to Salem, Oregon, circa 2003. It was a really cool way…

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

I decided to find out if any progress had been made on the science behind why some ants are attracted to electrical fields. After filtering out exterminators (it's so demoralizing to search for information on creatures you love and find nothing but people who know nothing about them boasting about how they will kill them all) I found what looked like a blog. But, who the heck is "James Brown"? Never heard of the dude. Maybe he could be my new friend if he likes ants enough to blog about them!

Gorfram ,
@Gorfram@beige.party avatar

@futurebird The hardest-working man in show business?

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Hrs b4 meeting w/his about his , a leading candidate for went on a bizarre rant about .

Sharks, claimed, were attacking more than usual (not true) & posed a new risk bc boats were being required to use batteries (not true), which cause them to sink bc they’re too heavy (really, really not true—the world’s heaviest cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, stays afloat bc of laws of despite weighing >550M lbs).

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/06/trump-shark-rant/678666/

Gorfram ,
@Gorfram@beige.party avatar

@Nonilex Amusement-wise, this is a breathtaking trifecta of the products of worm-eaten brain fluff.
Meet-your-new-authoritarian-dictator-wise, this has turned my stomach into a lump of lead- like the battery of a boat that, having forgotten about Archimedes’ principle, is sinking straight into the mouth of a freshly-frizzled shark.

DemocracyMattersALot , to random
@DemocracyMattersALot@mstdn.social avatar

My dad wouldn’t accept a cab ride from a consultant.

I returned a fruit basket from a vendor we were already doing business with.

People CAN have scruples. How about a fucking Supreme Court justice can’t accept ANY gift, including those that are de minimis?!?

Gorfram ,
@Gorfram@beige.party avatar

@DemocracyMattersALot @nycCatHerder I used to make a huge show of bringing forth my wallet and practically waving my money in the air when I scrupulously paid for my own lunch at shitty food courts while dining with contractors. To let them pay for my mediocre Chinese-style rice bowl (or whatever) could have been more than my job was worth.

kimlockhartga , to bookstodon group
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

Book Challenge: Choose 20 books that greatly influenced you. One book per day, for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Book One: @bookstodon

The cover of Daytripper is, well, kind of trippy. A man sits on a park bench, with a dog in front of him. Pretty normal so far, right? Except we can see his thoughts, which are presented in watercolor splashes of imagination. There is the precarious love he shares with an adventurous woman, represented by them both standing up in a boat. There is an image of a great modern city. And there us his trusty typewriter. Sure, he uses it for his newspaper job, but he writes about life and death; it's impossible to think about the beginning and the end without considering all the chapters of one's own life, and about what it all means.
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    • Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @kimlockhartga @bookstodon This is absolutely one of my favorite books ever.

    LRRRonEarth , to random
    @LRRRonEarth@beige.party avatar

    HUMANS ARE PRETTY GOOD, BUT EWOK MEAT? UNBELIEVABLE.

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @LRRRonEarth @coyoty But, but… grammar. It needs to be either:
    “We so ewok,” or
    “I o ewok.”

    loren , to random
    @loren@flipping.rocks avatar

    do the birds know we love them?

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @loren I have relayed your request to my cat.

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    I want to puke.

    Via Roger Parloff:

    Belatedly noticing that 's lawyers, in motions, have begun referring to his presidency as "President Trump's first term."

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @GottaLaff Ick.

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    I wonder who the first person was who figured out they could send a message home to their family... when they were on a long journey by taking some of the pigeons they raised with them and letting them go?

    I bet the first message was just the bird itself. "When I get to the mountains I will release Lisa, when I reach the amber fields I will release Ahmed."

    But then they learned to give the birds little parcels to carry.

    Maybe the birds were raised for meat, or as pets... or both.

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @futurebird Maybe it was someone who was trying to humanely get rid of a troublesome pigeon.
    “I carried that stupid bird over the mountains and beyond the amber fields, and even tied a small rock to its leg; but still the damned thing beat me home:”

    luckytran , to random
    @luckytran@med-mastodon.com avatar

    Gonna be real hard to build trust in public health if the media keeps doing stuff like this:

    The Guardian Long Covid ‘Alarming’ rise in Americans with long Covid symptoms CDC data shows nearly 18m people could be living with long Covid even as health agency relaxes isolation recommendations Melody Schreiber Fri 15 Mar 2024 07.00 EDT

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @luckytran As I understand it, long covid is a lot like the flu- except it’s all day every day for the rest of your life.

    ElleGray , to random
    @ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

    cocaine bears sounds a lot of fun and it's inspiring some hilarious concepts (lsd spider, cialis snake), but how about a feel-good one where a bunch of squirrels are prescribed adderall and can focus enough to get into university and eventually work for nasa

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @ElleGray SQUI-I-R-R-E-LS IN SP-A-CE

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    NYC needs a cryptid. Why can't we have a cool sneaky creature that people keep seeing? Maybe it steals lobster rolls or something. It's gotta fly obviously and run over rooftops.

    And it makes cellphones loose signal and electronics go haywire.

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @futurebird Has Pica been stealing lobster rolls again?

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @futurebird Hmm.. cryptids seem mostly to inhabit places that people don’t- deep forests, high mountains fathomless lochs, etc. Maybe all the cryptids left when the city got too crowded; & are living in suburban New Jersey or Connecticut or somewhere.

    *or maybe Coney Island? I hear nobody goes there anymore…

    alexpsmith , to random
    @alexpsmith@beige.party avatar

    Tonight's Insomnia: Being Kept Awake by Trivial Enigmas edition

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @alexpsmith @TheBreadmonkey @RolloTreadway I figure it’s a natural selection-type thing: everybody ate the mushrooms; those who didn’t die went on to create civilization & stuff.

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    A rich weirdo wants you to do some difficult but rewarding task. You’ll get paid more than you would demand, enough to sweep all other engagements aside. But it’s all a little crazy and unnerving. Exactly what you always really wanted to do yet that is exactly the problem— the horror of it. Of course you can’t say no.

    For you what is this task?
    (I’ve observed this is generally a great inciting incident for a story— this is shameless mining!)

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @futurebird Travel the world in a well-appointed camper van; finding interesting people & places & writing about them.

    Or, especially if absurdly long lifespan is part of the scenario, spend a year each living and working in all the countries on earth. (This would take about 200 years.)

    Or, if philanthropy is allowed, travel the world building toilets, waste treatment facilities, & potable water systems.

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    All the people who answered the poll saying they want a "strong leader" are invited to have me as that strong leader.

    Under my care and rule we will begin with logic. Then move on to mathematics, and then the sciences. You will learn. You will journal daily. You will use effective language and "When you do X it makes me feel Y" statements.

    You will spend an hour each day drawing and contemplating your assigned insect.

    It will be very therapeutic and strict and "strong"

    $1800 per month.

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @futurebird Sold! Do you take BadPunCoin?

    TheBreadmonkey , to random
    @TheBreadmonkey@beige.party avatar

    I must stop getting cross on the Internet

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @RolloTreadway @TheBreadmonkey I need @HCBunny in this thread

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    OMFG. I'd never heard it before either, Robbie.

    Via Emptywheel:

    This is actually one of Roger Stone's favorite slurs against women. He has used it against me at least once.

    "#Trump told her: 'See you next Tuesday' – a phrase that is often used as a derogatory euphemism directed at women." https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/politics/roberta-kaplan-donald-trump-deposition-maralago/index.html

    As for #RogerStone, here's what he tweeted to me in 2014, among other things::

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @philip_cardella @GottaLaff I’m having brain trouble today: is that the same dapper cartoon villain Roger Stone whose avatar is a grittily processed photo of someone taller & more muscular than himself with a tattoo of (Richard Nixon?) on his back?

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    “The Republican Party has pulled the plug on their upcoming "Freedom Fest" event after , who was set to headline the gathering, ditched it to attend to legal matters in court.”
    https://www.rawstory.com/trump-freedom-fest-court/

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @GottaLaff “Freedom Fest Festers”

    GottaLaff , to random
    @GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

    👀 Via Anna Bower: 1/...

    I reviewed Nathan Wade’s unsealed divorce filings—including documents labeled “sensitive,” which are not available online.

    Here’s what I found

    Aside from the credit card statements filed last week, the docs do not appear to provide additional evidence of a relationship between & Nathan Wade.

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @GottaLaff "not even Trump" 🤣 🤣 🤣
    You're quite right- that's a very low bar, and they haven't met it.

    futurebird , to random
    @futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

    Suppose you have a satellite phone and excellent GPS— is it reasonable to avoid large bad storms and big ships in a sailboat? Let’s say you are pretty good at sailing. Would you need something bigger than 20’ to confidently avoid danger beyond your keel dappling around on the open ocean. (and you can provision and stay out of port for a month no problem.) No time tables but several places you want to get to eventually.

    (it seems possible to me but ima harbor and sound baby)

    Gorfram ,
    @Gorfram@beige.party avatar

    @scrottie @riley @futurebird Back when my recreational reading centered around sailing disaster stories, I read a couple accounts where the ability of the sailboat to pop back up was sort of the problem. Sailboats capsized & righted, rolled completely over, or- in one case/ “end-for-ended,” rolling bow over stern rather than side-over-side.
    The sailors didn’t die, and their boat was afloat and upright; but the boat was usually pretty badly damaged.
    */

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