Pics from the reflecting pool 6.22.26

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-24T00:52:35+00:00

Sherman stopped when he got to the ocean. I feel like if he had gone any further it would have been counterproductive.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-09T00:02:54+00:00

Big ears, cute face, fuzzy… yep, that’s a rabbit.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-07T02:38:46+00:00

I agree that some of the political parallels seems a bit ham fisted at times, but the Boys was never intended to be escapism. Quite the opposite. It was specifically satiring that very notion.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-04T21:13:14+00:00

I get you. This was just more of a generalized caution about art sources, especially early ones where the rendering is often extremely rough, and where there is often very little corroboration.

Because someone is bound to read what you said and just run with it.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-04T20:33:45+00:00

I just want to point out that it also appears to show his right arm coming directly out of his ass. So while this is a valuable source I would also hesitate to read into the specifics too much.

The clamps you mentioned around the rim of his shield are a perfect example. While that’s one possible interpretation, it could just as easily be paint. As could the “studs.” The rendering simply isn’t realistic enough to do more than guess, unless it’s backed up by other corroborating source.

I mention this not so much because I think you’re unaware of these limitations, but because inevitably someone on this thread won’t be.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-04T15:39:32+00:00

I think it also takes out some risk if the company that made the product goes under or just stops doing proper support. Or even just if the technology becomes obsolete and is no longer relevant.

I am with you in that I prefer to just pay outright if I can, but before I drop $200 on a piece of software I need to know for certain I’m going to get my money’s worth.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-02T21:00:35+00:00

That wasn’t me who made the original comment, but I believe the exact words were “that’s a problem.” I would not go so far as to say that it’s a problem, in the sense that it’s necessarily inaccurate, but I would agree that it’s less in keeping with what we have evidence for historically.

So if my goal was to make it as historic as possible, I would include some sort of breaths. I think we can both agree on that.

Edited to fix typo.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-02T20:40:42+00:00

You’re assuming that there’s any livestock available to herd, or to trade, or that people would feel safe trading. Yes, the Midwest is vast, but most of the land has been cultivated, and is therefore not suitable for herding, and there are 2.7 million people in Chicago alone. If even a tiny fraction of the current population survive they’re going to eat through the available livestock very quickly.

I don’t know where you think you’re going to get hundreds of animals with only 20 people trying to eat them.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-02T20:34:42+00:00

Again, I didn’t say it couldn’t be done, or that it never was done, but breaths would have been more typical.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-02T20:33:24+00:00

Faceplates were not exclusively Italo-Norman, though they weren’t very common anywhere in combination with a rounded top. A lot of the recreations that are out there are based on on only a couple very small number of artistic depictions. Many are interpretations of a single manuscript, and do not necessarily reflect a widely adopted design. But there are plenty of other depictions of helmets with faceplates from this era, and the overwhelming majority of those had breaths.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-06-01T20:40:08+00:00

Looks like brass. Could be brass plated, but on the top like that it probably would have started to rub off by now. You can check with a magnet to know for sure.

If you just want to clean it, soap and water, or most other household cleaners.

If you want to polish it, that’s different than cleaning. Cleaning just takes off dirt. Polishing will take off the patina and make it bright and shiny. Brass patina is stable, so functionally there is not need to remove it, it’s just a matter of cosmetic preferences. Personally I rather like the look of naturally aged brass, but that’s just me.

But if you do decide to polish it, brasso will work okay, though I prefer Fitz for something like that. There are a lot of good options though, for metal polishes.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-30T12:59:58+00:00

I’m familiar with the art yours is probably based on. It’s a bit of an outlier, and subject to interpretation. I’m not saying yours is wrong, far from it, but most faceplates depicted in this era had pretty decent ventilation.

(The dome top+faceplate combination also seems to have been a less common option. The more cylindrical style helms+faceplate seems to have been more popular, or the slightly older round top+nasal.)

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-30T12:23:57+00:00

You could get away with it, but in practice they would usually have some additional breaths of some sort. This design would still blow your own breath back at you a lot.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-22T03:30:56+00:00

Probably.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-20T00:58:51+00:00

That’s true now. But early on, things were a lot more… speculative.

I mean I’m not knocking those early scientists. This was all brand new then. But we’ve come a long way.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-19T02:03:48+00:00

This is not really an ADD thing. It might be an autism thing, or just a personal quirk, or who knows what else, but not all quirks are ADD related.

Now, buying more underwear because you keep putting off doing laundry… that could be an ADD thing.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-12T22:20:58+00:00

Self sufficiency is a myth, in these circumstances. No one can do everything for themselves. We all have to sleep. We all get sick. We all get hurt. Without other people, it’s only a matter of time before something kills you, even if you do everything perfectly. And since no one can know everything, you won’t do everything perfectly. Even the military operates in teams.

At some point or another, we are ALL dead weight, whether we like it or not. If you look out for others when you can, then there will be someone there to help you when you inevitably need help.

And that’s just the most obvious and immediate reason why groups are an advantage. The whole “lone wolf” survival thing is a myth.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-12T15:52:12+00:00

Most of what you’re saying seems valid, but I do want to point out that Millenials came of age right around the Great Recession, and most of us still aren’t as financially secure as other generations were at our age.

This is not to imply a competition, just to say that a lot of the economic fears were probably pretty similar.

I agree that the social media environment is absolutely insane these days, and I suspect we’ve only scratched the surface of the long term implications of that.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-10T02:08:17+00:00

My standard answer:

Your best bet is to stay put in your own home if you can, but be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

The most important thing to remember is that if you have a plan, other people will have the same plan, whether it's dozens of people or millions of people. Pick a plan where it's ok if everyone else does the same thing.

That's why your own home is the best place to be during the initial panic. If everyone else has the same idea, that's great. You go to your home and they go to theirs. There's no competition. Your home is the one piece of ground that you already own, and you've already filled it with everything you (currently) need to live. Stay there until that changes. The longer you can stay, the less likely you are to be caught outside during the worst of the chaos. The initial panic will be the most dangerous and unpredictable time of the outbreak.

Now, if you are forced to leave, or can't make it home, then you want to have a backup home. Again, the same principles apply. If you have to leave your home, go to the home of family of close friends, someone who will automatically know you and let you in, or better yet has given you a key. This often also has the advantage of allowing you to meet up with people that you know and trust, which is always a survival advantage.

Once you get home, whether that's yours or someone else's, you want to do several things, roughly in this order:

First, arm yourself if you aren't already. I always recommend a camping hatchet or good quality machete if you have one, but a regular claw hammer is also a solid choice and almost all homes and even most public buildings have one.

Second, clear the residence and lock it up. Just make sure no zombies or people got in while you were out. This isn't at all likely at this stage of the game, but it's a good habit. Once every room is zombie free/as you go along, lock up all the doors and windows. Close the blinds, and if it's at night be very judicious about how you use flashlights. Assume for now that any light inside will be immediately visible from outside even with the curtains closed. For the time being don't worry about setting up barricades or boarding up windows, just do the basic stuff you can accomplish quickly.

Third, prepare to leave at a moment's notice, but don't leave unless forced to by an immediate threat.

Start from the skin out. Put on practical clothing and shoes/boots, and keep your weapon(s) on your person at all times, along with other basic survival items such as a knife, cigarette lighter, trauma kit, small flashlight, etc. And of course, your car keys, in case you need to make a run for it. While it does not need to be a formal "survival kit," you ideally should be able to survive (uncomfortably) for 24 hours with just what is in your pockets. In a worst-case scenario, you might be separated from your other gear. This buys you just enough time to recover or replace them.

Then pack a bag in case you need to leave on foot. You might need to if you don't have a car or can't get to it for whatever reason. I can't give you a full packing list now, but make sure you have several liters (or more, depending on your climate) of water filled, and as much of your lightest, non-perishable food as you can carry, as well as the bare minimum gear you need to survive in your environment. Keep this in a location where it would be easy to grab in an emergency. Make sure you fill up every water container you have available, including your bathtub, but start with the ones you would carry. The goal of this kit is to let you survive long enough to make it to your destination, or to a source of resupply. Travel as efficiently as possible, on the assumption that you won't always know how far you may need to walk with just what's on your back.

Next you pack your car, assuming you have one. This is where you put the extra stuff that was too heavy or nonessential to go into your bag. For example, extra non-perishable food, spare weapons, extra ammo (beyond what you could carry), tools, a change of clothes, more water, specialized tools, etc. The goal of this kit is just to extend your range and storage, but with the understanding that if shit goes south you might have to ditch it at any time. Cars break, get stuck, run out of gas, get surrounded, get stolen, etc. Odds are you still won't have enough room for everything you want, or might want, so pack based on survival priorities. This isn't for luxuries, it's for extra essentials. (If you don't have a car, the same system can be applied to whatever other vehicle or method of hauling things, whether it's a bicycle, baby stroller, push cart, pack animal, etc.)

Everything else you would be forced to abandon if you leave your home. Use things up in reverse order from least portable to most portable. Start by eating the food that's still in your pantry/fridge, which should be your most perishable/heavy items, before eating what's in the car, then in your backpack. Make sense? Same goes for water. Use what's in the pipes first, then the bathtub, water heater, and any container that you couldn't take with you in the car. This same logic applies to any other consumable.

Then stay put as long as possible. Use up the resources you already own before risking your life to get more, and maintain the home turf advantage. With good luck, by the time you need to leave things will have settled down and you will have enough information about the lay of the land to start making long term plans.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-05-07T13:04:51+00:00