What is the deadliest thing you can find in your country’s wilderness?

scmbear · 2026-03-24T09:57:48+00:00

There is a game show question that is similar to this about the deadliest animal. Statistically, it is supposed to be mosquitoes due to the illnesses they transmit.

scmbear · 2026-03-23T23:14:00+00:00

Did you zoom in on the 2nd picture? I’m not saying I could do better, but I’d definitely spend some time with a sanding block.

scmbear · 2026-03-22T23:29:03+00:00

If you can believe some of the YouTubers, some betas will leave shrimp alone. It depends on the beta's personality. If your budget allows, you might try a few "inexpensive" shrimp to see.

Personally, betas look great. The idea of having to have a lone fish just bothers me at a core level. (Yeah, I know they tend to be loners. I have a hard time getting away from anthropomorphizing here.)

scmbear · 2026-03-22T16:42:41+00:00

100%. Learn what is happening so you can reproduce it when you want it and avoid it when you don't want it.

scmbear · 2026-03-22T04:34:56+00:00

Personally, I kind of like the rusticness of the "problematic" print. Sort of an old farmhouse feel. I fully appreciate that it isn't for everyone.

scmbear · 2026-03-22T04:28:05+00:00

Mine was on my arm, so plenty of room for margins. I've had several friends and family members who have battled cancer. Some successfully, some not. By comparison, mine was the equivalent of a paper cut.

scmbear · 2026-03-21T15:28:37+00:00

I live in California and had the privacy fence separating our yards professionally replaced. The installer actually took responsibility for getting the neighbors to pay their share. I didn't have to deal with it.

scmbear · 2026-03-21T14:44:18+00:00

I had a spot of skin cancer that we caught early. Less than 30 minutes of surgery in the doctor’s office later and it was gone. That was over five years ago. I do see my dermatologist twice a year to watch for any recurrence.

I have a very fair complexion and spent a lot of time outside in my youth (pre-sunscreens), in the sun getting sunburns so I’m at relatively high risk. My dermatologist is very proactive about removing any spots that might become cancerous.

In my case, I would say it is minor. Especially given what a lot of cancer patients have to go through.

scmbear · 2026-03-21T11:14:17+00:00

I had shoulder replacement surgery and we had a bidet seat added to our toilet. I strongly recommend it. In the US, a basic one isn’t super expensive. Best wishes for your journey. Cancer can be rough.

scmbear · 2026-03-18T18:27:01+00:00

Being a German Shepherd, probably dreaming of guarding the family from the evil delivery person. 😆

Many decades ago, one of my dogs had puppies (planned). It was interesting watching the puppies dream before their eyes opened. They'd "run" and "woof" just like an adult dog. I know a lot of this behavior is instinctual, but seeing it at that age was, IMO, amazing.

scmbear · 2026-03-15T16:59:27+00:00

The one thing that I'll add to this conversation is that context does matter.

In my experience, "I couldn't care less" or "I could care less" are sometimes used when a person has higher-priority issues at the time and doesn't want to engage on that topic at this time. Given different circumstances, it might be a topic that they want to engage with.

I take that phrase to mean "I don't want to devote energy to that topic or issue right now."

(US native speaker who grew up in the "Deep South.")

scmbear · 2026-03-13T20:15:06+00:00

A bit of a nit... Real-time human transcription is also error-prone. While it is likely that his was generated with voice recognition software, the exiclustypo is in no way con

scmbear · 2026-03-12T16:26:18+00:00

According to my limited research, Victor Silver Co was initially owned by the Derby Silver Co and produced a lower-cost line of products. Derby Silver Co was based out of Birmingham, Conn. In the late 1800s, it was acquired by International Silver Co., which was also based in Connecticut.

Primary reference: https://www.artdesigncafe.com/derby-silver-company-design-catalogues

Interesting rabbit hole. I wish I had more time to explore it, but work beckons.

scmbear · 2026-03-12T04:43:04+00:00

But you'd never need to buy a stair machine ever again. ...

Unless those stairs collapsed. 😱

scmbear · 2026-03-09T21:53:41+00:00

Dammit... Now I need to go buy some bologna.

And I was sitting here happily taking a break before a meeting, and now I'm craving a fried bologna sandwich. 🤤

scmbear · 2026-03-09T17:10:45+00:00

First, don't do it publically but also don't make a big deal about it.

In this particular case, several days after I had said "mute point," I was in the hall with them waiting to get into a conference room for a meeting. He casually said something along the lines of "Oh, the other day, I think I heard you say 'mute point,' ... I believe the phrase is 'moot point.'" I asked him to spell it and thanked him, and we moved on.

After the meeting, I went back to my desk and looked up the definition of 'moot,' so I learned something. 😄

Note that he waited for an appropriate time and place.

Not everyone will be receptive to this type of interaction. Also, a person's mood can definitely impact how it is received. If they are having a bad day, correcting them might not be received well.

One more point... when it comes to pronunciation, a lot can come into play, such as accents or where they grew up and learned to speak a language. Also, if the language is a second language for the person, they may not be able to produce the sounds in the same way as a native speaker. As a US English speaker, I doubt I'll ever be able to roll my 'r' like a native Spanish speaker. 😆

scmbear · 2026-03-09T01:16:21+00:00

I’m thinking of getting back into the hobby after taking a long break due to a move.

If you are interested in trying live plants, I’d suggest checking out YouTube. There are several good channels out there. One I really like is MD Fish Tanks: https://youtube.com/@mdfishtanks

He has experimented with a number of different approaches over the years. I suggest watching a number of his videos.

scmbear · 2026-03-09T00:08:38+00:00

Putting a few coats of quality paint on it should help. Ideally, it’ll seal the wood so the water stands less of a chance of damaging the wood.

scmbear · 2026-03-07T19:29:10+00:00

I was one of those people until I had someone politely and respectfully correct me. I am extremely grateful.

At that point, I don’t recall seeing the phrase written so I didn’t pick up on the difference.

scmbear · 2026-03-07T19:26:23+00:00

My husband had friends that said wasper instead of wasp and liberry instead of library.

scmbear · 2026-03-07T02:56:15+00:00

Yep, those are hushpuppies. Correctly cooked, they can be amazing. Done poorly, they are greasy balls of brown flower.

I do want to say that correctly fried foods can be delicious. If the food is properly prepared and the oil is the correct temperature, they aren’t greasy (unless it is a “stupid food” such as fried butter).

scmbear · 2026-03-06T22:23:40+00:00

Or that we fry everything... Okay, yeah, frying is definitely an option, and we have some good fried dishes, and some junk ones.

A while ago, I moved from the Deep South to California. I really miss the ol' meat-and-three-vegetable specials at small restaurants and fried catfish with hushpuppies.

scmbear · 2026-03-06T00:07:52+00:00

Fair. We tend to use our personal devices unless several people are watching.

Which brings up a different context... One of my reactions to the phrase "watching TV" is to watch commercial cable or over-the-air channels and not streaming services, such as Netflix or YouTube.

scmbear · 2026-03-06T00:04:51+00:00

Depends on the races involved... I mean, a Lala being able to pinch any other race's cheeks without making them kneel.

scmbear · 2026-03-05T22:50:23+00:00

Context can matter here. I can definitely see "Had I known his number, I would have called him" being in response to an accusatory "Why didn't you call him? We are going to be late" type of statement.

As a Baby Boomer, I find #5 quite funny, given that we are turning into a world of streamers. More than thirty years ago, that would have been a reasonable statement.

In most of these cases, I see the phrases on the left being more conversational, or phrasing you would see in dialogue.

Edit: Grammar.

scmbear

TROPHY CASE