
Tacticslion |

captain yesterday wrote:Off to get Chinese food, might squeeze a bit of Starfinder out of tonight.captain yesterday wrote:I only go to grocery stores with multiple exits.These just prove you have a charmed life!
In actuality, there are multiple exits. Three in fact! It's just that two of them lead to the exact same spot and are constantly clogged with irritated people who got snookered into taking them, because they look like they go to a reasonable exit. The other one requires snaking across the entire stripmall and through a weirdly snaky (and speed-bump-laden) area to get to a light that allows you to immediately turn to stop at a light, and is constantly clogged by the people who remembered there is only one real exit to go anywhere you want and are thus now stuck at two poorly synched lights and excessive traffic.
I forget how unreasonable the parking lot really is when I haven't been there for a little while.
I should clarify - this is not my normal grocery store. And it's not always that bad by any means. It just seems like someone did not plan on it ever having the traffic it has or something. I have a different one that I use more often with multiple reasonable exits (for which we are all grateful).

Tacticslion |
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doctor_wu wrote:John Napier 698 wrote:I just installed Inkscape, and with it, created my first PDF.I can make play by post maps in inkscape. I don't usually make pdfs with it. I have used LaTeX to make pdfs in the past but that is an arcane art.
I hate how people think sparkle now with vampire. Escorites now those are proper sparkle fairies.
I wrote my dissertation in LaTeX. (Started in plain TeX, but after a while I finally decided to stop being so ornery and go for the gusto.)
So I'll admit - while I understand what's being said, my unfamiliarity with the program and its name makes me envision a poor NobodysHome dressed in an Andy Serkis latex suit as a slave to cruel masters doctors to finish his dissertation, while the other two of you dress like Trinity from the Matrix films for the purpose of making PDFs.
No wonder NH likes baggy chef pants! Take that, establishment~!!

Tacticslion |

gran rey de los mono wrote:For the record, I think the whole sparkle in sunlight thing is ridiculous too. Just not sure it's the most out there.You just have to know the science.
SCIENCE TRIUMPHS AGAIN!

Vidmaster7 |
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Including things like these...
That reminded me we found a twilight trivial pursuit (similar to trivial pursuit anyways it didn't have that name on it) at a thrift stop for a buck and thought we would pick it up as a gag gift. We tried it once literally none of us could guess the oddly specific questions about the movie(one specific movie to like apparently there was one of these games per movie.). The really odd thing was the game pieces were these lace pastel hearts. so freaking odd.

Tacticslion |
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I don't even understand the lamb thing. But that was quite the horror show sissyl.
The lamb thing is pretty clearly mocking Twilight.
It also seems the underwear is explicitly a parody - it's meant to be mocking as well and is not a real product (according to the comments down below).
Most of them weren't really that horrific. The writer of the piece was exaggerating (and/or harping on weirdly specific things, repeatedly) for effect.
A few were truly... disturbing, though.
I... cannot fathom the womb thing. That's... that's just... why...?
Seems like it shouldn't be a thing, but... I don't know.

Tacticslion |
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The shadow over your bed thing was pretty strange.
Oh, all of them were at the least strange (and none in my particular interest group), but few of them were really disturbing.
Certainly the shadow thing requires more... unusual individuals to be happy about, but it's not really "disturbing" - it looks like something some Tweens might like and isn't particularly disgusting or more disturbing than a revealing wall scroll that's relatively common among anime fanboys - I mean, I wouldn't want one, but I wouldn't want most of the stuff on that list.
I don't like Twilight - I find the ideas and execution pretty blech, from every exposure I've ever had - but I think that the exaggerated "everything is awful" has reached an over-saturation point to where things about it are being criticized just because it's associated with a popular (and widely panned) series. So... like most marketing stuff that no one cares about.

Scintillae |
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It's not just that Twilight is popular. It's that it's popular while championing some pretty disturbing ideas like stalking as romance, casual racism, etc.
And then you stack on the stupid product tie-ins. Like this! If you're using frickin' Twilight as your barometer of vocabulary, no wonder our test scores flounder...

Limeylongears |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |

Including things like these...
Aaaaiiiii. The giant emo vamp shadow you could fix to your wardrobe door was the worst. That and the felt womb, but the former wasn't commercially available (I hope)
Mind you, the '50 Shades' spin-offs got pretty silly, too.
'Mmm! Bondage themed fabric softener, with pictures of little handcuffs on the bottle? DON'T MIND IF I DO!'
NB: I didn't.

The Vagrant Erudite |
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The Vagrant Erudite wrote:TriOmegaZero wrote:...and here I thought it was just Stephanie Meyer being a really s$*~ty writer.gran rey de los mono wrote:For the record, I think the whole sparkle in sunlight thing is ridiculous too. Just not sure it's the most out there.You just have to know the science.No no no that is still a thing.
I will say she wrote with her target audience in mind. Obviously it worked out ok for her. She probably made a pretty penny off of the books movies and merch.
I do not equate profitability with quality.
Profitability and quality are correlative, but correlation does not equate causation. It's churned out pulp garbage romance. Even people I know who enjoy romance novels have called it fluffy drivel.

NobodysHome |
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Yesterday was an interesting eye-opener about the changing cooking of our times.
I needed molasses.
2.5 gallons of molasses, to be precise.
When I was a kid, molasses was a staple sweetener: Gingerbread, popcorn balls, and many, many other baked goods that wanted that rich, earthy sweetness.
Nowadays, it's hard to find in larger than a 12-ounce bottle.
Costco trip: No molasses at all.
Andronico's: Nothing but 12-ounce bottles, but they pointed me towards TJ's and their "1 liter bottle"
Trader Joe's: Nothing but 15-ounce bottles, and that after being told by the first guy that they didn't have any at all. And enough dust on the bottles to know that it wasn't exactly a fast mover.
So 120 ounces purchased, 200 to go, and it looks like I'm going to have to empty Andronico's shelves of the stuff.
Don't people do Christmas baking any more? Doesn't most winter baking involve molasses?

captain yesterday |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Yesterday was an interesting eye-opener about the changing cooking of our times.
I needed molasses.
2.5 gallons of molasses, to be precise.When I was a kid, molasses was a staple sweetener: Gingerbread, popcorn balls, and many, many other baked goods that wanted that rich, earthy sweetness.
Nowadays, it's hard to find in larger than a 12-ounce bottle.Costco trip: No molasses at all.
Andronico's: Nothing but 12-ounce bottles, but they pointed me towards TJ's and their "1 liter bottle"
Trader Joe's: Nothing but 15-ounce bottles, and that after being told by the first guy that they didn't have any at all. And enough dust on the bottles to know that it wasn't exactly a fast mover.So 120 ounces purchased, 200 to go, and it looks like I'm going to have to empty Andronico's shelves of the stuff.
Don't people do Christmas baking any more? Doesn't most winter baking involve molasses?
I think it's just the times.
Anyone that's going to need a s#!*load of molasses is either going to get it catered or be a baker or caterer in which case they get it wholesale.
I am a bit surprised Costco didn't have it in bulk.

![]() |
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Just came back from watching Murder on the Orient express.
If I were Poirot - I'd still have the entire coach up for murder. But I'd tell them to plead diminished responsibility. The law is the law. Even if you had reason to do it - it is not in your place to murder because you have suffered a wrong and that person deserves killing.
An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind...
If everyone were to do vigilante justice, there the world would be in chaos.
And I do not think that vengeance brings peace...
Oddly I find that if you kill someone because he killed someone you cared about wrong(since killing the person won't bring the deceased back to life), but if you killed him to prevent him from killing others, it's fine...

John Napier 698 |
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NobodysHome wrote:doctor_wu wrote:John Napier 698 wrote:I just installed Inkscape, and with it, created my first PDF.I can make play by post maps in inkscape. I don't usually make pdfs with it. I have used LaTeX to make pdfs in the past but that is an arcane art.
I hate how people think sparkle now with vampire. Escorites now those are proper sparkle fairies.
I wrote my dissertation in LaTeX. (Started in plain TeX, but after a while I finally decided to stop being so ornery and go for the gusto.)
So I'll admit - while I understand what's being said, my unfamiliarity with the program and its name makes me envision a poor NobodysHome dressed in an Andy Serkis latex suit as a slave to cruel
mastersdoctors to finish his dissertation, while the other two of you dress like Trinity from the Matrix films for the purpose of making PDFs.No wonder NH likes baggy chef pants! Take that, establishment~!!
I'm mainly a Jeans and T-shirt / Sweatshirt person. I only wear the uniform (A.K.A the polyester prison) when I have to.

John Napier 698 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
If you're using frickin' Twilight as your barometer of vocabulary, no wonder our test scores flounder...
Not I. When I was young, my vocabulary came from Tolkien, Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury, et all. Also, Popular Science Mechanics, Popular Science, Scientific American, Astronomy, and so on.
Edit: Forgot a magazine.

John Napier 698 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
It's not just that Twilight is popular. It's that it's popular while championing some pretty disturbing ideas like stalking as romance, casual racism, etc.
The primary reason that I stay away from the Young Adult trash novels. I sometimes look at the back covers and think WTF are these people thinking? Then I turn away in sheer disgust.

John Napier 698 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yesterday was an interesting eye-opener about the changing cooking of our times.
I needed molasses.
2.5 gallons of molasses, to be precise.When I was a kid, molasses was a staple sweetener: Gingerbread, popcorn balls, and many, many other baked goods that wanted that rich, earthy sweetness.
Nowadays, it's hard to find in larger than a 12-ounce bottle.Costco trip: No molasses at all.
Andronico's: Nothing but 12-ounce bottles, but they pointed me towards TJ's and their "1 liter bottle"
Trader Joe's: Nothing but 15-ounce bottles, and that after being told by the first guy that they didn't have any at all. And enough dust on the bottles to know that it wasn't exactly a fast mover.So 120 ounces purchased, 200 to go, and it looks like I'm going to have to empty Andronico's shelves of the stuff.
Don't people do Christmas baking any more? Doesn't most winter baking involve molasses?
It's because no-one bakes in large quantities at home, anymore. You might be better off ordering off the Internet well beforehand and storing it until needed.

NobodysHome |
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NobodysHome wrote:It's because no-one bakes in large quantities at home, anymore. You might be better off ordering off the Internet well beforehand and storing it until needed.Yesterday was an interesting eye-opener about the changing cooking of our times.
I needed molasses.
2.5 gallons of molasses, to be precise.When I was a kid, molasses was a staple sweetener: Gingerbread, popcorn balls, and many, many other baked goods that wanted that rich, earthy sweetness.
Nowadays, it's hard to find in larger than a 12-ounce bottle.Costco trip: No molasses at all.
Andronico's: Nothing but 12-ounce bottles, but they pointed me towards TJ's and their "1 liter bottle"
Trader Joe's: Nothing but 15-ounce bottles, and that after being told by the first guy that they didn't have any at all. And enough dust on the bottles to know that it wasn't exactly a fast mover.So 120 ounces purchased, 200 to go, and it looks like I'm going to have to empty Andronico's shelves of the stuff.
Don't people do Christmas baking any more? Doesn't most winter baking involve molasses?
Yeah, it's pretty funny -- we looked at Amazon yesterday and they had 1-gallon jugs for around $18, and they showed, "Free overnight shipping".
So of course I tried selecting it, and it said, "Will arrive December 6 or 7, shipping cost $17.95."
That sounds neither "overnight" nor "free" to me...

Freehold DM |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Yesterday was an interesting eye-opener about the changing cooking of our times.
I needed molasses.
2.5 gallons of molasses, to be precise.When I was a kid, molasses was a staple sweetener: Gingerbread, popcorn balls, and many, many other baked goods that wanted that rich, earthy sweetness.
Nowadays, it's hard to find in larger than a 12-ounce bottle.Costco trip: No molasses at all.
Andronico's: Nothing but 12-ounce bottles, but they pointed me towards TJ's and their "1 liter bottle"
Trader Joe's: Nothing but 15-ounce bottles, and that after being told by the first guy that they didn't have any at all. And enough dust on the bottles to know that it wasn't exactly a fast mover.So 120 ounces purchased, 200 to go, and it looks like I'm going to have to empty Andronico's shelves of the stuff.
Don't people do Christmas baking any more? Doesn't most winter baking involve molasses?
i have not worked with molasses directly in YEARS...Couldn't tell you where to find it in the supermarket today.

Freehold DM |
4 people marked this as a favorite. |

Scintillae wrote:It's not just that Twilight is popular. It's that it's popular while championing some pretty disturbing ideas like stalking as romance, casual racism, etc.The primary reason that I stay away from the Young Adulttrashnovels. I sometimes look at the back covers and think WTF are these people thinking? Then I turn away in sheer disgust.
they said the same things about fantasy novels. There are penny dreadfuls in all genres.

Tacticslion |
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It's not just that Twilight is popular. It's that it's popular while championing some pretty disturbing ideas like stalking as romance, casual racism, etc.
Oh, as noted, I find it bech - I don't like it.
That isn't the problem.
It's just that "This particular merchandise is disgusting!" feels hollow when the merchandise is literally the same for other popular media (again, including creepily suggestive "romance" and concepts). I don't like the stuff and find none of it worthwhile.
... but I'd buy a Firefly board game.
And then you stack on the stupid product tie-ins. Like this! If you're using frickin' Twilight as your barometer of vocabulary, no wonder our test scores flounder...
... and this doesn't bother me at all. This is pretty explicitly taking advantage of the current popularity to find a way to reach those who'd otherwise close themselves off from such self-improvement; the hope, then, becomes once they are more familiar with other "more difficult"* terminology, they will become more comfortable with it, and thus open themselves up to newer, better experiences with other more edifying written works, thereby allowing a method of exiting from the Twihole** they've found themselves in.
Basically, I don't have a problem, because it's a method of helping Twilight fans to find some sort of stepping stone to erudition and higher reading, exposing them to new experiences.
* Look, let's all be honest: I know that (to us) it seems, to our way of thinking, that it should be blindingly obvious. It is not. Ignorance is not the same as stupidity.
** CARP, NOW I'M DOING IT... but it is accurate.

NobodysHome |
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But not every genre has something so vile as an ancient stalker as the love interest, which Twilight has. Certainly, fantasy has its fair share of offputting heroes, Thomas Covenant comes to mind for fantasy, but he at least isn't portrayed as a male ideal...
Hey, utterly vile, dislikable male love interests are not restricted to modern writing.

Scintillae |
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Sissyl wrote:But not every genre has something so vile as an ancient stalker as the love interest, which Twilight has. Certainly, fantasy has its fair share of offputting heroes, Thomas Covenant comes to mind for fantasy, but he at least isn't portrayed as a male ideal...Hey, utterly vile, dislikable male love interests are not restricted to modern writing.

Limeylongears |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

John Napier 698 wrote:they said the same things about fantasy novels. There are penny dreadfuls in all genres.Scintillae wrote:It's not just that Twilight is popular. It's that it's popular while championing some pretty disturbing ideas like stalking as romance, casual racism, etc.The primary reason that I stay away from the Young Adulttrashnovels. I sometimes look at the back covers and think WTF are these people thinking? Then I turn away in sheer disgust.
I don't read many contemporary YA novels (Fighting Fantasy books probably don't count), but I do read alotalot of trash, especially trashy Sword & Sorcery. When you really get down to the dregs, that has some of the worst role models available outside of specialist lonely gentleman's private-time literature (and there is a certain amount of crossover *cough*johnnorman *cough*)

Sissyl |
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Hey, why you hatin' on Norm??? :)
If we call the Gor novels fantasy, which is a big if. The typical trashy fantasy romance has the hero rescue the love interest, deserve her love by his courage and prowess. Agreed, it's silly and stupid, but even that is better than "I am an ancient vampire, and I chase after teenage girls because I can. I really like watching them sleep, and feel very protective of them, and eventually I marry one of them, make her pregnant, and turn her into an undead monster like myself..."

NobodysHome |
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NH, You might want to try Samirimis Imports, 2990 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110. A Google search for molasses suppliers turned this up. Good luck.
I appreciate it, but they're 25 blocks from my wife's office, and driving in to the city isn't in the cards (I'm 15 miles and across a bridge, which means about an hour drive each way.)
My local store has enough... it's just all in 12-ounce bottles...

NobodysHome |
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Gods, this week is teaching me quickly why my manager considers me her "best" employee.
For 2 weeks now she's been announcing at team meeting, e-mailing, and posting on our department's status page:
So yesterday morning I got an IM from one of my teammates. "Hey, NobodysHome! I'm starting testing on your labs right now, but they're not where I found them before. Where can I find them?"
I had to reply:
#1: You are NOT my tester!
#2: You do NOT have a machine!
#3: You might have just seriously screwed someone else up by running my OLD labs on a random machine
Please cease and desist
So I notified my manager that the message wasn't getting across, so in team meeting today she emphasized: "We DO NOT HAVE MACHINES TODAY!"
Right after team meeting I got an e-mail from one of my real testers: "Hey, NobodysHome! Since you'll be out for a bit tomorrow, I thought I'd start testing today. Where are your labs? What machine can I use?"
Doesn't ANYONE in the department LISTEN?!?!?
Grr...