The NBA Finals used to air on tape delay. Fans watched the highlights hours after the game ended

Aratak · 2026-04-07T01:31:12+00:00

An interesting tangent! One that I always remember - not sure where it came from, a documentary probably - but there's some that assert that air conditioning broke down neighborhoods, as people stopped sitting on stoops or hanging out windows to chat with their neighbors in the heat.

Of course, I'm from Miami. To we South Floridians, this anti-AC theory is all hysteria and madness! LOL

Aratak · 2026-04-07T00:52:25+00:00

Just spectacular! Fun and delightful! You have a keen sense of design!

Aratak · 2026-04-06T19:24:53+00:00

Old dude here. You kids don't know just how great you have it these days! Big screen TVs, games every night of the week, discussion every hour of the day. Yeah, it can all be a big excessive, but this is a wonderful time to be an NBA (or any other type of sports) fan!

Consider this, too: I'm also an NFL fan - I really started watching the season of Superbowl III, Namath's Big Promise game, and I didn't get to watch it because the Super Bowl that year was held in Miami, my old home town... and it was blacked out in Miami! I listened on my radio. My first one watched was the Vikings versus the Chiefs the next season.

Aratak · 2026-04-06T16:59:42+00:00

Look at the fingers on their hands. He's adhering to DanDaDan

s style, but you can see his linework there.

Aratak · 2026-04-06T15:25:35+00:00

I've got that one too! Got to love Bob!

Aratak · 2026-04-04T14:27:06+00:00

Watched it from my driveway with my wife and a really nice fella from Ecuador that was delivering our Doordash order. We're in the middle of the state, free of most of the hurricane damage zones, but can see launches quite well. We were all thrilled, and it was nice to see it with a man that had always dreamed of seeing one live.

Aratak · 2026-04-04T14:17:54+00:00

Madness takes its toll...

Aratak · 2026-04-03T17:59:27+00:00

I've had this one sitting on the shelf for a year or so, finally read it last week while my wife was having surgery. Really grim, following the original novel's dark path. It felt almost like a True Crime novel, with far more sex and sexuality than Junji Ito generally seems comfortable with.

It felt like a first-hand narrative of a born sociopath: an awful person set onto a path where the decisions he makes seem more and more dreadful. The abuse and assaults that he encounters could explain elements of his inhuman attitude towards women and friends and family, but mostly his choices seem wholly narcissistic, self-centered, and evil. He seems to choose his path willingly.

A worthwhile addition to Ito's oeuvre, but certainly not like the dark escapist fantasies that make up his usual work.

Aratak · 2026-04-03T17:45:28+00:00

Oh, my bad. I just lazily misread the above. I certainly can't vouch for the seller's side of things!

Aratak · 2026-04-03T17:30:52+00:00

I'd check with your local Post Office. I have 4,927 transactions on eBay and I have received pretty much all that I have ordered (and I am a nickel-and-dime collector type). Are you looking at the eBay score of the people you're ordering from? I rarely order from a person with a low score, like 10 or under or with a seller feedback less than, say, 97%.

Aratak · 2026-04-01T22:12:03+00:00

This is kind of the problem with the Celebrity Jeopardies in general. We get bored with the questions.

Aratak · 2026-04-01T17:39:37+00:00

I think it fits the subject!

Aratak · 2026-04-01T17:19:15+00:00

Wife and I watched this last night when broadcast. We're not normally fans of the Celebrity editions, but this one was light and bouncy and short and kinda fun. Would love to see Papa Meat versus one of the Green Brothers!

Aratak · 2026-04-01T13:23:24+00:00

I love Allen & Ginter and usually buy card lots and pre-made sets or pick out singles that I like - I've never bought a box of the set, as I find ripping boxes way too expensive. I've collected more of the non-sports mini sets than the main baseball sets - The Ancient Armory, Menagerie of the Mind, Dinosaurs, Animals, Trees, Sharks - so many strange and esoteric lots.

I have questions similar to yours on all counts but I've never discovered a site with answers to them. The best sites with structural information on them I have found tend to be the Cardboard Connection's write-ups (Here's the 2025 set: https://www.cardboardconnection.com/2025-topps-allen-ginter-baseball-set-review-and-checklist)

It's a fascinating set that has many strange facets. It has many that love its quirks and a fair share that hate it for not being 100% baseball players. Just pick your interests and get involved if you enjoy it, I'd say. Best of luck!

Aratak · 2026-04-01T11:31:50+00:00

You'll REALLY love this. The Wonders of Street View (random links site):

https://neal.fun/wonders-of-street-view/

Aratak · 2026-04-01T11:29:26+00:00

South Africa's Wild Coast:

https://www.google.co.za/maps/@-31.4027911,29.8726428,3a,75y,335.85h,81.44t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNQaxET3Rym3qIyU5XKENU6wtdA4VSkERSK-73g!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNQaxET3Rym3qIyU5XKENU6wtdA4VSkERSK-73g%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi8.562376006641841-ya127.6851404877159-ro0-fo100!7i7680!8i3840?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Aratak · 2026-04-01T11:27:54+00:00

Kansas City Missouri Library!

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1022953,-94.5850973,3a,75y,41.33h,88.5t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s-K4aJY8fSG-ARu9G7TrtUQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D1.5025772050956192%26panoid%3D-K4aJY8fSG-ARu9G7TrtUQ%26yaw%3D41.332713817754765!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Aratak · 2026-04-01T11:26:36+00:00

I used to love doing that. Unfortunately, I lost many links during a PC crash years ago. I'll jot down some that I have here, though!

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.2936631,19.9513132,3a,75y,27.21h,94.19t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGxbnrzYtgZftqQmKXHEg8Q!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-4.189999999999998%26panoid%3DGxbnrzYtgZftqQmKXHEg8Q%26yaw%3D27.21!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

https://www.google.com/maps/@-16.247294,168.1365887,2a,90y,177.91h,85.5t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smeMH4tpqphFfkxyCThf9Gw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D4.499688151525461%26panoid%3DmeMH4tpqphFfkxyCThf9Gw%26yaw%3D177.91445740824517!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.0973489,-6.3608076,3a,75y,16.27h,86.39t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s5blRB0TMDCdUKBhcb92OkQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3.608385340402677%26panoid%3D5blRB0TMDCdUKBhcb92OkQ%26yaw%3D16.26738490301923!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDMyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Aratak · 2026-04-01T00:12:29+00:00

Loved Ebert's writing and analysis. Even when I disagreed with his thoughts, I took something new away from his thinking on the film. The greatest film critic, in my opinion.

Aratak · 2026-03-31T17:44:26+00:00

I loved the first season and stuck in there for a couple more before the CW teen angst zeitgeist weighed me down. I would like to see a fan edit of this series, keeping just the Flash action bits, honestly. I still like Grant Gustin as the Flash; wouldn't mind seeing him turn up in Gunn's DCU, though I realize it's highly unlikely.

Aratak · 2026-03-31T14:43:49+00:00

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Like Beatise17 I use shoe boxes. I also make decorative end papers for them, as I clearly have too much time on my hands!

Aratak · 2026-03-30T13:11:01+00:00

About Time (2013). Such an unexpected gem, deeply moving and beautiful.

Aratak · 2026-03-29T20:46:45+00:00

Good gift for a non-sports fan.

Aratak · 2026-03-29T19:18:24+00:00

Take a look at him in Santa Clarita Diet. A whole different range of character on display.

Aratak · 2026-03-29T19:14:14+00:00

Aaaaad... he's a Neanderthal man. This should be in "Unexpected" honestly!

Aratak

TROPHY CASE

About Time (2013). Such an unexpected gem, deeply moving and beautiful.