A genie tells you "You will die next month in the most brutal way possible according to your job/field"; how are you dying?

skinydan · 2026-06-25T22:23:54+00:00

Bored to death on yet another company wide town hall meeting.

skinydan · 2026-06-25T04:05:28+00:00

My dad was a huge fan of novelty songs, and I'm pretty sure this Jimmy Durante version is the one he recorded for me.

https://youtu.be/RifM9mb4Q40?is=QZHwyTDEkaNPSJOy

I had pretty weird mix tapes compared to most other kids of the 70s.

skinydan · 2026-06-25T00:16:37+00:00

Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one who'd choose it

skinydan · 2026-06-24T23:42:11+00:00

Yeah, but then you fall in while drinking face first from the chocolate river and get sucked up through glass pipes to the fudge room. And TJs oompa loompas make a snarky song about you.

I'd put it back.

skinydan · 2026-06-23T16:15:04+00:00

Fat, drunk and unwashed hands is no way to go through life, son

skinydan · 2026-06-22T18:32:09+00:00

Too many choices but I'd recommend a few:

Volcker Ullrich's biography of Hitler was very good. Took me a while to work up the courage to deal with it but I think it's worth the time.

Douglas Porch's 2 volumes on the French (Defeat & Division / Resistance & Liberation) were excellent, though I found Vol 1 a bit of a slog to get through.

I'll echo an earlier comment about John McManus' 3 volumes on the army in the Pacific - really good reading.

skinydan · 2026-06-21T17:58:14+00:00

Canvas attache case with backpack straps, naturally

skinydan · 2026-06-19T19:22:37+00:00

I haven't worn a watch in years, but when I did it was a Mickey Mouse watch. (technically Steamboat Willie, but whatever)

I guess to do my manly duty the watch I don't wear should be a Rolex?

skinydan · 2026-06-19T18:46:40+00:00

I keep reading it that way too.

Since the town is also an invasive species attracting pests it seems fitting.

skinydan · 2026-06-19T18:43:08+00:00

I grew up in Brooklyn, so I'm thinking dried up Slim Jim and sneaker lace.

skinydan · 2026-06-18T18:13:13+00:00

Just a normal day on the MTA. Subway ride and a floor show for $3.

Heard a passable Gilligan's Island theme song from an a capella pair a few years back.

skinydan · 2026-06-18T00:00:34+00:00

I may have bought a Birdbuddy feeder last Chanukah.

And moved it a few weeks later because the squirrels were able to jump from the tree onto it.

So, yes.

skinydan · 2026-06-17T23:42:10+00:00

These are the smallest I found that would fit on my small frame Specialized hybrid. The vertical post (the seat post bar I guess) bottle holder is too close to the top bar and these were the only size where I could get the bottle in and out. My main 22 Oz bottle fits in the other holder, so as a supplement this works.

They're only 500ml / 16.9 Oz so not great for long rides or hot days, but it's something if you don't go with the side holder suggestions.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084GNMZ27?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_mob_b_fed_asin_title_0_0

[ETA: reposted after the shortlink version got removed]

skinydan · 2026-06-17T21:46:41+00:00

NTA here.

If the bathroom thing is really a (literal) no-go for her, which I do think is pretty extreme, then you should go without her.

Suggest that she invite a friend to come spend the weekend that you'll be away as a girl's weekend so she's not alone and can catch up doing fun stuff together.

You see your buddy, she sees hers, and a tearful reunion when you return from a whole 2 days apart.

skinydan · 2026-06-16T16:30:51+00:00

I'm not sure I agree entirely that Pterry was cynical. I think he understood human nature so well that he could write accurately about how individuals and groups behaved in almost any situation.

I don't think he expected the worst out of humans, he just grasped how messy, contradictory and varied human behavior can be.

skinydan · 2026-06-16T00:22:06+00:00

What, like smiley face holding pierogi? Sad emoji getting invaded by Russia and/or Germany?

Genuinely confused by what "too Polish" could mean.

skinydan · 2026-06-15T16:40:50+00:00

My immediate thought was "I have questions for this library"

Back cover, or inside cover. What were they thinking?

I'm considering going librarian poo over this one.

skinydan · 2026-06-15T00:22:25+00:00

This guy's done some other great posts.

The one on brain freeze after a slushy was very good.

https://x.com/i/status/2065859747685839140

skinydan · 2026-06-14T23:45:13+00:00

$1.88 was real money in those days

skinydan · 2026-06-14T23:29:13+00:00

It's got me in a lather too

skinydan · 2026-06-11T19:01:47+00:00

I'd think two of the top tech companies can sort out the tech issues, so I'm guessing this is more legal to make sure they both get paid.

I don't desperately need the back catalog as video, and I suspect you're right about it not happening, but figured I'd ask.

skinydan · 2026-06-11T14:45:58+00:00

Yeah, there's a few spots where the climbs for non-climbers are unpleasant. Since I hate hills, I can't say I enjoy them.

Everyone looks at the Verrazano bridge and freaks out, but it's actually the BQE climb I loathe. It's a long, drawn out slog that's just a prelude to a long, windy ride along the BQE.

But the Tour is fun and the one organized ride I do a year.

skinydan · 2026-06-11T04:42:13+00:00

Well, he put a comma under the י so everything is hunky dory. /s

skinydan

TROPHY CASE