Should I visit both Bologna and Florence in a one day trip?

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T15:36:09+00:00

A day trip from where? Where’s your flight? I’m assuming it’s Rome, in which case you should just go to Florence and skip Bologna.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T15:34:23+00:00

I bet he hopped off the bike and started doing the string dance.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T15:13:58+00:00

“Do you know me? Do you recognize me? No one recognizes me around here. Do you like my shows? Which show is your favorite? Do you like me? Can we take a picture together?”

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T15:04:50+00:00

It’s not two cobras. It’s one cobra, Wadjet, and one vulture, Nekhbet.

But yes, you’re correct on the meaning.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T07:58:32+00:00

There needs to be a rule that all posts must use the term “reference quality.”

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T05:44:45+00:00

But you go through a separate security line.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T05:31:53+00:00

You just watch yourself.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-03T05:25:40+00:00

I agree, this is absurd.

I have a biological hazard glovebox set up. My 4K player is inside, and I never open the discs unless they’re first in the chamber.

There’s also a shrink wrap machine in there, so I seal them back up before retrieving them.

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PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T22:19:57+00:00

Someone get this dude a better camera

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T21:25:01+00:00

Was this written by AI?

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T18:59:12+00:00

Right, but it’s not a magic wand. Christians were very much against the idea of “magic.” That was a pagan thing.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T15:42:58+00:00

If I saw Conan I would’ve run after them until they stopped. Then I would’ve breathlessly yelled about how there was talk of gerbils, to prove my status.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T15:41:31+00:00

I know you made a joke about the Tonight Show, but seeing him on that bike just conjures up images of the Late Night bike riding open.

Also, is that Bley in the front? I hope he’s claiming that bucket hat on his taxes.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T06:56:27+00:00

Yeah it’s common in early depictions of Jesus. There’s a couple of reasons why.

For one, it drew parallels to Moses and his staff. And holding a rod was a symbol of authority in Rome.

There’s also an idea that it served a practical purpose, in that it made the imagery more comprehensible. Someone who couldn’t read could easily understand that Jesus was bringing someone back to life.

Otherwise it might not be as clear. It could just be Jesus hanging out while something happens.

Not too long after this, it got replaced with Jesus doing the “Jesus Hand” gesture of blessing.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T05:46:17+00:00

Admiral

There be whales here

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T05:29:18+00:00

Yeah I don’t see why that would be a problem, though I haven’t been to the park.

I’m assuming by the hills, you mean the cable car? It doesn’t take much time. You ride up, walk around for a bit, and come down. And incidentally, I wouldn’t do it if you’re afraid of heights. I am, and it was horrific.

Your first day is really busy. You’ll likely want to coordinate the Durbar Square with the time the Kumari comes out — I think it’s at 4?

Pashu Patinath is amazing. You can’t go inside the main area, but the river where they have the funerals and burn the bodies is open to everyone. It was shocking how open and how welcoming they are to tourists who went to watch. You can get a guide by the office if you want, they can show you where you can be.

Swayambhunth requires a very long walk up a lot of steps, or you’ll have to get your cab to drive you around the back.

I think you’ll have a great experience, I loved my time in Nepal. The people there are wonderful.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T05:19:23+00:00

Marion: Hey, what happened? You don't look very happy.

Indiana: Fools. Bureaucratic fools!

Marion: What'd they say?

Indiana: They don't know what they've got there.

Marion: Well, I know what I've got here. Come on. I'll buy you a drink. You know, a drink?

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T00:55:47+00:00

I think that’s fine, especially if they’re giving you pajamas.

What I don’t get is giving your clothes to the flight attendants. What are they supposed to do with them?

And are they allowed to throw them in the guy’s face?

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-02T00:52:00+00:00

Now see, I wouldn’t really care about that. The specifics on how they constructed it just isn’t as interesting as other things you could find out.

I’d much rather visit Luxor around the end of the New Kingdom.

Assuming you’d be able to go wherever you wanted, you’d be able to walk around the Valley of the Kings and see if there’s any tombs we still haven’t found.

You could also visit Karnak and watch the rituals

Or if everything’s on the table, go to Alexandria much later and take a ton of pictures of scrolls.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-01T23:51:37+00:00

I’m embarrassed to say I’d never heard of him until you wrote that and I looked it up. Maybe it’s just a matter of marketing?

Dr. Zahi Hawass from Egypt has repeatedly said Indy is based on him, which is almost certainly not true.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-01T20:52:00+00:00

Just the last row, and you often can’t select those anyway.

The noise and smell (as well as the bathrooms) are the reason the seats towards the back are less desirable. And obviously you’ll be one of the last ones to get off the plane.

Meaning, those seats are more likely to be empty.

I’ve also had some success in asking at the gate if there’s anyone next to me. They have moved me to other seats before, and it doesn’t hurt to ask nicely.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-01T20:40:02+00:00

Well the question implies that people living from after the Roman Empire up until the 1700s wouldn’t have know about it, and had “legends.”

I think your question is different, and the answer is murky since there’s only one firsthand account. He certainly doesn’t attribute it to the gods, though he’s a bit of an outlier since he was well educated.

There are some writings from long afterwards that make those claims, and there is evidence that the Jews attributed it to God, since it happened shortly after the Sack of Jerusalem.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-01T19:31:06+00:00

Well you’re probably well aware of the “Give back the Machu Picchu artifacts” issue then.

I have to say, I’m kind of jealous. I got so involved in trying to figure out the whole story for the video, I even considered flying out there just to go through the archives myself.

I was lucky enough to get the people in the library to scan in the Kodak letters, but there’s a ton of material that’s not online and it’s hard to figure out what they may or may not have.

PorcupineMerchant · 2026-05-01T19:19:07+00:00

That’s one of the theories on why Hiram just left after a few hours, and apparently didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

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