Random Thoughts Part 4 - Split Thread

[Astronuc]

Seems like there too much bad news these days. It's time for some good news.

This Couple Built a School in Africa for Their Honeymoon
https://www.yahoo.com/travel/forget-the-vacay-this-couple-built-a-school-in-109973870977.html

Taking their love of traveling and philanthropy to the next level, Mallory Foster and Zach Wendel asked their wedding guests for donations instead of gifts to help fund a school being built in Africa, where they planned to volunteer for their honeymoon.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I like magnets.

 

[zoki85]

I respect diamagnets

 

[zoobyshoe]

I celebrate paramagnets.

 

[zoobyshoe]

This new used PC I have has been offline for, perhaps, two years, I'm not sure, but I am becoming alarmed at the number of updates it seems to require each and every time I shut it off.

I shut it off earlier and it said 180 updates! I was maybe hoping they were small ones, but I got back an hour and a half later and it was only to 52.

Is this normal or is it some sort of virus that bogs you down with bogus updates?

 

[Borg]

This new used PC I have has been offline for, perhaps, two years, I'm not sure, but I am becoming alarmed at the number of updates it seems to require each and every time I shut it off.

I shut it off earlier and it said 180 updates! I was maybe hoping they were small ones, but I got back an hour and a half later and it was only to 52.

Is this normal or is it some sort of virus that bogs you down with bogus updates?

It doesn't sound bad for a computer that's been off for two years. You should be fine.

 

[zoobyshoe]

It doesn't sound bad for a computer that's been off for two years. You should be fine.

Would Windows really bog someone down by sending them that many updates all at once, even if they were legit? I mean, they are keeping people from using their computer for hours! That's not the first batch I've gotten. It seems to take a minimum of an hour each time.

 

[Borg]

You could turn off auto-update and then select the ones that you want. They're all selected by default so you would still have to unselect all of the ones that you wanted to delay. With auto-update off, you could also choose not to install anything until you're ready.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Would Windows really bog someone down by sending them that many updates all at once, even if they were legit? I mean, they are keeping people from using their computer for hours! That's not the first batch I've gotten. It seems to take a minimum of an hour each time.

I've recently installed Win7 on two machines after finally saying good-bye to WinXP - yes, the initial updates were about that humongous. Took about three hours and then again a couple to plow through them all. A total of maybe three-four lengthy updates is all there was to get up to speed with all the update backlog.

Just leave it to its devices when you leave the house or go to sleep.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I've recently installed Win7 on two machines after finally saying good-bye to WinXP - yes, the initial updates were about that humongous. Took about three hours and then again a couple to plow through them all. A total of maybe three-four lengthy updates is all there was to get up to speed with all the update backlog.

Just leave it to its devices when you leave the house or go to sleep.

This is good to know. I still find it hard to believe they would bog someone down for that long without any warning you and giving you the option of choosing how long you can afford to be bogged down per update session. Windows so sucks in so many ridiculous ways.

In the meantime, I did what Borg said and turned off automatic updates.

 

[WWGD]

Henry Winkler, aka (formerly, according to the add) the Fonz was at a local B&N advertising a recent book of his.
EDITe seems to have pulled of a 180, change from his show to his recent TV ads; he used to be a hip, worry-free guy in his TV show. Now he puts out ads for reverse mortgages, as a way of "securing your financial future", so much for worry-free. He also looked kind of
short, but looks like a nice, happy person overall, no pretension .

 

[zoobyshoe]

Henry Winkler, aka (formerly, according to the add) the Fonz was at a local B&N advertising a recent book of his.
He seems to have pulled of a 180, change from his show to his recent TV ads; he apparently used to be a hip, worry-free guy in his TV show. Now he puts out ads for reverse mortgages, as a way of "securing your home ownership", so much for worry-free. He also looked kind of
short, but looks like a nice, happy person overall, no pretension .

He's been in a lot of TV shows playing one off characters. I recall him playing a very weird character with a cockroach fetish on Law and Order (I think). That's really what actors want to do; change it up and explore their range. It's an artistic kiss of death to be so successful in one role that no one will ever think of you as anything else.

 

[WWGD]

I guess you're right, I may be focusing too much on his Fonz character. I have not seen him act in any other
movie nor tv show.

 

[Astronuc]

Future ideas in modern aviation - some still not giving up on supersonic travel
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30915666

 

[WWGD]

Wonder what would happen if unemployed FBI profilers became therapists. They could give a full diagnosis in one session and then
maybe just a month for a cure.

 

[blue_leaf77]

Anybody interested in making a secret organization, whose purpose is to prove that Earth is flat?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Anybody interested in making a secret organization, whose purpose is to prove that Earth is flat?

Sure. Our secret code word for "earth" will be "The Big Pancake."

Incidentally, I'm so happy this is just between us and our secret is secure.

 

[Astronuc]

With neighbors like this - Inside the Strange Fight Over Mark Zuckerberg's Bedroom
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/inside-the-strange-fight-over-mark-zuckerbergs-110573802039.html

 

[OmCheeto]

With neighbors like this - Inside the Strange Fight Over Mark Zuckerberg's Bedroom
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/inside-the-strange-fight-over-mark-zuckerbergs-110573802039.html

Wow. I thought I had bad neighbors.

 

[Astronuc]

Shameful school for shaming a normal 6-year old
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/mom-claims-school-fat-shamed-6-year-old-the-mother-110557012432.html

 

[zoobyshoe]

Better Call Saul: I am impressed how they make such a hapless guy so interesting to watch.

 

[JorisL]

First episode was bad. Second was better.

 

[Enigman]

I am going to go find a bed to jump up and down on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/b...etails-on-discovery-of-go-set-a-watchman.html
http://time.com/3700537/harper-lee-new-novel-cover/

 

[zoobyshoe]

I am going to go find a bed to jump up and down on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/b...etails-on-discovery-of-go-set-a-watchman.html
http://time.com/3700537/harper-lee-new-novel-cover/

Very interesting. But the article didn't make it completely clear to me why she is now allowing publication after decades of letting it sit.

 

[Psinter]

Shameful school for shaming a normal 6-year old
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/mom-claims-school-fat-shamed-6-year-old-the-mother-110557012432.html

Here, have some Valentine's Chocolate:

 

[OmCheeto]

Very interesting. But the article didn't make it completely clear to me why she is now allowing publication after decades of letting it sit.

Seems obvious to me. But then, I'm not you. And neither one of us, is her.

FEB. 3, 2015
Although written first, “Go Set a Watchman” is a continuation of the same story, with overlapping themes and characters. But Ms. Lee abandoned the manuscript after her editor, who was captivated by the flashbacks to Scout’s childhood, told her to write a new book from the young heroine’s perspective and to set it during her childhood.

“I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told,” Ms. Lee said in a statement released by her publisher.

I used to be somewhat of an "obedient" person, and I've yet to get started on my first novel. And we both seem to comprehend how slowly society changes.

IMHO, this was perfect timing.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Seems obvious to me. But then, I'm not you. And neither one of us, is her.
I used to be somewhat of an "obedient" person, and I've yet to get started on my first novel. And we both seem to comprehend how slowly society changes.

IMHO, this was perfect timing.

"Mockingbird" was a monster success, though, and it ought to have been clear to everyone, especially the editor, that any related book by her would be, at least, a financial success. However, it seems this author claimed for decades that she was content with the one hit, and there would be no more books. Something changed her mind recently about that. I'm not clear what it was.

 

[zoki85]

Hair turning white

 

[Bandersnatch]

On the rare occasion when somebody decides to follow me on PF I feel torn between an obligation to reciprocate the gesture by following the follower in return, and a common sense realisation that the two of us would then end up going in circles.

It's only when I think to myself: 'what would Jesus do?' that I can resolve the dissonance and continue gathering my apostles with gleeful megalomaniacal abandon. Once I hit a more intimidating number than four we'll march on some palace, somewhere.

 

[Ibix]

Once I hit a more intimidating number than four we'll march on some palace, somewhere.

I want to write the headline for that one.

POLICE: BANDERSNATCH'S BAND SNATCHES PALACE

 

[Astronuc]

Once in a while, there is some good news.

Target Teen Yasir Moore Returns to Store After Job Interview
https://gma.yahoo.com/target-teen-yasir-moore-returns-store-job-interview-180532244--abc-news-topstories.html

 

[OmCheeto]

"Mockingbird" was a monster success, though, and it ought to have been clear to everyone, especially the editor, that any related book by her would be, at least, a financial success. However, it seems this author claimed for decades that she was content with the one hit, and there would be no more books. Something changed her mind recently about that. I'm not clear what it was.

Here it is.

Ms. Lee said she had thought the draft of “Go Set a Watchman” had been lost or destroyed. Then last fall, Tonja Carter, her friend and lawyer, discovered the manuscript in a secure place where Ms. Lee keeps her archives, attached to an original typed manuscript of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” According to Ms. Lee’s publisher, Ms. Carter didn’t understand what she had stumbled on at first, until she realized that the passages weren’t from Ms. Lee’s first and only novel.
...
Scholars have long been aware that Harper Lee wrote an earlier manuscript, but many thought it was an early version of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” not a separate story that unfolds 20 years later.

It looks like my original analysis was completely wrong. I guess I should have read the whole article.

Fascinating story, behind the story.

Ms. Lee has occasionally addressed the question of why she never published another book after “To Kill A Mockingbird.” She has said she found the publicity surrounding “To Kill a Mockingbird” overwhelming and that she had said all she had to say in that single work.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Here it is.
It looks like my original analysis was completely wrong. I guess I should have read the whole article.

Fascinating story, behind the story.

OK. This is what I misread:

Ms. Lee said she had thought the draft of “Go Set a Watchman” had been lost or destroyed.

I came away thinking she knew it was around somewhere all along, but that others thought it was missing.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Tonight I saw what seemed at first to be a hummingbird drinking out of blossoms on a bush. I thought it was weird to see one at night, and went a little closer. I'm pretty sure it was actually some kind of moth - I could see distinct antennae - but it had all the flight characteristics of a humming bird. I suppose it might be a new kind of drone that runs on glucose, though.

 

[zoki85]

Why do they call her MILF and she doesn't have kids?

 

[lisab]

Tonight I saw what seemed at first to be a hummingbird drinking out of blossoms on a bush. I thought it was weird to see one at night, and went a little closer. I'm pretty sure it was actually some kind of moth - I could see distinct antennae - but it had all the flight characteristics of a humming bird. I suppose it might be a new kind of drone that runs on glucose, though.

Aren't most bees we see basically drones that run on glucose (sucrose and fructose, as well)?

 

[dlgoff]

Pretty moths

 

[zoobyshoe]

Aren't most bees we see basically drones that run on glucose (sucrose and fructose, as well)?

I would say they were, yes.

Seeing digoff's post gave me the idea of simply googling "hummingbird moth." And there it was.

Pretty moths

Stunning! For my money, moths beat butterflies for beauty.

 

[Psinter]

I like hanging out in the forest because it looks so pretty. :)

Any forests in the US or Canada that comes to mind that might be an interesting visit? I like humid places. Lots of amphibians which I find marvelous. :)

 

[OmCheeto]

It's a beautiful day.

:)

 

[edward]

Tonight I saw what seemed at first to be a hummingbird drinking out of blossoms on a bush. I thought it was weird to see one at night, and went a little closer. I'm pretty sure it was actually some kind of moth - I could see distinct antennae - but it had all the flight characteristics of a humming bird. I suppose it might be a new kind of drone that runs on glucose, though.

There is a humming bird moth that is usually out in the daytime. Then there is the hummingbird hawk moth that is nocturnal. I saw both last summer and was confused as all H!. In Az we also have a nectar bat that is the ugliest thing that I have ever seen. The bats get the nectar by licking it. It didn't take them long to learn how to bump into my hummingbird feeders so that the nectar runs down the outside where they can get at it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth#mediaviewer/File:Macrogl_Stellat.jpg

 

[dlgoff]

Stunning! For my money, moths beat butterflies for beauty.

When I was a child, my father had a taxidermist friend who set up the universities natural history museum, but his love was collecting butterflies and moths. He taught us how to bate for moths around this area then mount them. One would be surprised by what comes out at night. Here a Google image search on moths of Kansas. What a great learning experience that was for me; not to mention "time with dad".

 

[zoobyshoe]

There is a humming bird moth that is usually out in the daytime. Then there is the hummingbird hawk moth that is nocturnal. I saw both last summer and was confused as all H!. In Az we also have a nectar bat that is the ugliest thing that I have ever seen. The bats get the nectar by licking it. It didn't take them long to learn how to bump into my hummingbird feeders so that the nectar runs down the outside where they can get at it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird_hawk-moth#mediaviewer/File:Macrogl_Stellat.jpg

That must be what I saw, then. I've lived here going on 30 years and had never seen one before. Likewise, I have not seen any bats here at all, but there could be plenty around that simply avoid the city.

It's crazy that two such distinct things could end up so resembling each other. Your average moth is a pretty clumsy flyer. This thing was equal in flying skill to the most co-ordinated of all birds. I'd say it was better than any bee I've seen.

 

[zoobyshoe]

When I was a child, my father had a taxidermist friend who set up the universities natural history museum, but his love was collecting butterflies and moths. He taught us how to bate for moths around this area then mount them. One would be surprised by what comes out at night. Here a Google image search on moths of Kansas. What a great learning experience that was for me; not to mention "time with dad".

Kansas has some great moths.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

Now I understand what a "crackpot" is. :D

 

[lisab]

I like hanging out in the forest because it looks so pretty. :)

Any forests in the US or Canada that comes to mind that might be an interesting visit? I like humid places. Lots of amphibians which I find marvelous. :)

Consider the Hoh Rainforest, on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoh_Rainforest

Google photos of it - it's spectacular!

Or the Everglades in Florida, but I've never been there so I can't speak of it directly.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I thought I had some chamomile tea.

 

[Lisa!]

Please sign this petition if you care about sick people:
http://accessourmedicine.com/

 

[Enigman]

Please sign this petition if you care about sick people:
http://accessourmedicine.com/

Done. Now where is the petition for people who care about zoobie's chamomile?

 

[WWGD]

This new used PC I have has been offline for, perhaps, two years, I'm not sure, but I am becoming alarmed at the number of updates it seems to require each and every time I shut it off.

I shut it off earlier and it said 180 updates! I was maybe hoping they were small ones, but I got back an hour and a half later and it was only to 52.

Is this normal or is it some sort of virus that bogs you down with bogus updates?

In case you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed that Gates & Co. do not much care about the customer's ease of use, Windows having a virtual monopoly. Specially the contempt is seen in the constant change of interface. Imagine the same thing happened with , say, cars, so that every time a new model rolled out , everything would be in a different place. The steering wheel may be on the roof, some of the screen controls in the back seat, window switches on the floor, etc.