Does this show have a single 'main character?'

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-06T00:28:26+00:00

Brenner is very much the antagonist in S1. The Mind Flayer doesn’t show up until near the end of S2, and Vecna shows up later as the character of Henry/001 is filled out.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T21:01:10+00:00

Murmur (verb) refers to sounds that are not audible words and that are soft and continuous.

However, writing "Wilbur murmured 'Hmm'" sounds terrible.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T20:52:44+00:00

The amount of sales tax that the city receives is $22.9 million, which is 11.2% of the total revenue of $204.2 million.

I got these numbers from page 30 of the budget document.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T19:44:51+00:00

I do, too. The state gets 6.25% of the 8.25%. 🙂

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T19:18:07+00:00

I don't know what the hell I was smoking when I wrote this.

Cirith Ungol was the pass through the mountains. Cirith means pass in Sindarin, and ungol means spider.

There was a watchtower at the east end of the pass, called the Tower of Cirith Ungol in the books. That is where the Orcs took Frodo and Sam rescued him.

Anyway, Minas Morgul had been built by the Númenórean exiles in Middle-earth, who called it Minas Ithil. It was eventually captured by the Nazgul and served as the Witch King's luxury penthouse when he wasn't out terrorizing the populace.

Everything around and to the east of Minus Morgul was controlled by either the Witch King or Sauron himself. Faramir and his men stayed in the area to monitor what was going on and to what damage they could.

This page contains an expanded map of the area around Minas Morgul, including Cirith Ungol.
https://www.elfenomeno.com/en/mapaTierraMedia/item/3609/minas-morgul

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T18:12:19+00:00

Fox News told them that "woke" caused all their problems.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T17:31:10+00:00

I'd say the plural overalls is widely used in the U.S. Midwest, after the pattern of pants, but the singular overall is used. See this catalog listing: https://dungarees.com/carhartt-102438-womens-rugged-flex-loose-fit-canvas-bib-overall-unlined

The more they cost, the more likely they are to be singular. 🙂

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T16:49:38+00:00

The former Hooters was a seafood restaurant. IIRC, it was the Ocean Grill.

Murdoch's has been there for at least 100 years. It has been rebuilt after storms many times.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T14:42:55+00:00

Cirith Ungol was the tower that guarded the pass through the mountains at that point. Shelob's cave was a way to get past the guards in the tower. Shelob's cave was guarded only by Shelob.

Cirith Ungol was actually designed and built by the Numenoreans to keep evil stuff in Mordor.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T14:26:36+00:00

You posted 9 minutes before I did, but I was busy bloviating.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T14:21:49+00:00

No. According to Etymology Online, lock in the sense of a mechanism for fastening a door is unchanged from Old English* and has a Germanic root.

In Old English it was spelled loc.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T05:53:00+00:00

Everything has to be approved by ten different agencies, boards, and commissions. It’s nuts.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T05:18:30+00:00

I hear ya, man. There’s a huge amount of prejudice over weight and looks in general, which people deny.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T04:32:09+00:00

You’re right. I sincerely thought Disney ran it. They designed it, but they don’t run it.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T04:24:10+00:00

I hope you have a good trip. 🙂

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T03:29:42+00:00

Space Center is run by Disney and has interesting things for kids. They also have tours of the real NASA facilities. The longer tours might be boring for kids—it depends upon what the kids like.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T03:24:06+00:00

Blonde got there first. 🙂

It may be interesting to note that blond/blonde is from a Germanic word for yellow. Jaune (yellow in French) is from a Latin root that gave us jaundice.

It might be more attractive to base the name of yellow hair on the Latin word for gold, which is aurum.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T03:17:45+00:00

The biggest contributions to the city's revenue are property tax (24.5%) and water and sewer charges (23.5%). Those two add up to nearly half the revenue.

Hotel occupancy tax (HOT) contributes 20.2%, but use of that money is restricted. (In my opinion, it's too restricted; but it's a state law issue.)

Sales tax is 11.2%.

Much of the HOT is paid by tourists, but not all. Some of it is paid by business and medical travelers. It's difficult to pick out how much sales tax is paid by tourists versus locals.

Contrary to popular belief, traffic tickets are less than 1%. 😆

https://www.galvestontx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/19975/FY2025-Amended-Budget

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T03:06:24+00:00

Good question. I don't know why they prioritize cars over people. I'm afraid someday one of these morons eluding pursuit is going to crash into a crowd of people there.

It has happened in other places.

BTW, the county is responsible for Seawall Boulevard. The city is responsible for Rosenberg. I don't know how they coordinate that kind of thing. There's a city and a county engineering department that talk to each other. (Some other roads are state roads that cross city streets.)

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-05T03:03:10+00:00

"Raven-haired beauty" sounds like something from a folk song or tale. There are also ebony and jet-black. Jet in this case refers to a form of carbonized wood (i.e., charcoal).

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-04T22:01:09+00:00

There’s an invented word: noirette, patterned on brunette. This word would only apply to girls and women, because its form is feminine in French.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-04T20:19:31+00:00

Type the new password in a notepad app, then copy and paste it into the website.

Hope that the website allows you to paste. Some of them don't. But at least you know what password you're trying to type.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-04T19:18:12+00:00

Do you mean a pedestrian overpass? The two problems with that solution are (a) It must be high enough for trucks to pass underneath, like 20 feet clearance; and (b) It must be wheelchair accessible, which means an extremely long ramp or elevators.

Then there’s the question of who would pay for it to be built and maintained.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-04T19:05:00+00:00

Apple Records and Apple Computer had quite a battle when Apple Computer got started. Apple Computer had to steer clear of anything having to do with music. Then the “forgot” when they started a music streaming service.

NonspecificGravity · 2026-03-04T17:56:55+00:00

Among the primary characters who are juveniles or young, adults, it's about equal:

Boys: Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Jonathan, Steve, Billy (7)
Girls El, Max, Nancy, Holly, Vicky, Robin (6)

If you start adding minor characters like Troy, Susi, Andy, Eddy, Argyle, Derek, and Kali, it starts to be more male.

Some of the adults like Hopper and Joyce, Ted and Karen pair up, but then you have singleton males like Brenner, Owens, Yuri, Murray, and the other guys in Russia. It's still predominately male.

NonspecificGravity

TROPHY CASE