7 21 (FREE) 56 74
August 7, 2023 9:18 AM Subscribe
The math around creating a fair and fun set of bingo cards is a lot more complicated than I thought. Anyway, here's your free thread for the week!
I threw away a couple pieces of trash that had been sitting in my studio for a couple weeks. Feeling pretty chuffed a bout that. (I take these triumphs, no matter how small, seriously.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:30 AM on August 7, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:30 AM on August 7, 2023 [8 favorites]
From the bingo article, "In the 1500s the number of unique cards was limited as randomization had to occur by hand." Now I know my perfect time travel job.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:36 AM on August 7, 2023
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:36 AM on August 7, 2023
I taught my 4-year old niece how to swim this summer! After a few weeks, she's moved from terrified and clingy in the water to "you don't need to hold me anymore," and "Look I can swim the whole pool." The final test was when she dumped off a raft in the deep end, didn't panic, and didn't need my intervention to just swim to the side. It took a lot of self control to not immediately grab her and instead just calmly talk her through heading for the side.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:40 AM on August 7, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:40 AM on August 7, 2023 [13 favorites]
TIL bingo's been around since the 1500s!
posted by trig at 9:41 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by trig at 9:41 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
I like these free threads a lot, whether I comment in them or not.
I comment in these free threads a lot, whether I like them or not. :D
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:45 AM on August 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
I comment in these free threads a lot, whether I like them or not. :D
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:45 AM on August 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
I cycled into work again today, despite being hungover.
posted by Gorgik at 9:48 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Gorgik at 9:48 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
just back from a lovely little camping trip in the Sierras. I think I must have 30 mosquito bites. now its all the laundry and unpacking, and wait what? I have to work??
posted by supermedusa at 9:50 AM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 9:50 AM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
I wrote in the last free thread earlier today with a cri-du-coeur about how New York's Labor department was going to be interrupting me at work with a silly and wholly unnecessary, but mandatory, "career counseling session". I tried to reschedule but the last notice I got was that they were going ahead for 10:30 today. I forwarded my landline (a VOIP) to my cell, gave my boss a heads-up this might go down (he was sympathetic and supportive) and have been waiting.
It's been two and a half hours since they were supposed to call and my phone hasn't rung. Nor have I gotten any email about how they tried to call me. Or an email about how they were rescheduling.
So basically the government stood me up.
I'm not far from the main Career Center office for Brooklyn. I have the afternoon off tomorrow, and I'm planning to just show up in person and say "look, can we just do this now, or you mark me off and be done with it?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:54 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's been two and a half hours since they were supposed to call and my phone hasn't rung. Nor have I gotten any email about how they tried to call me. Or an email about how they were rescheduling.
So basically the government stood me up.
I'm not far from the main Career Center office for Brooklyn. I have the afternoon off tomorrow, and I'm planning to just show up in person and say "look, can we just do this now, or you mark me off and be done with it?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:54 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well, my Gen Con trip went a lot better than my RAGBRAI trip last week; sitting indoors in air conditioning during the heat of summer is a lot more comfortable and less stressful than exercising outside at about the same time, who knew? Gen Con wasn't without its own drama, but my little corner of it (RPGs, mostly Starfinder but an intro to Marvel's new Multiverse RPG as well) generally went well, I got some nice merch, and the people watching was superb.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:28 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:28 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
My summer project has been teaching my 20-year-old son to drive. This has been an exercise in managing anxiety, not just his but mine as well. He got his learner's permit in May, and over the weeks he's gone from inching hesitantly around the subdivision to confidently driving in city traffic - the only thing he hasn't done yet is go on the interstate (95, which is very scary in South Florida.) But he's ready to take the road test and get his license, at which point I will no longer be responsible for chauffeuring him to his college classes. Terrifying, especially when I see what all the other fine Florida drivers are doing on the road every day, but wonderful at the same time.
posted by Daily Alice at 10:29 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Daily Alice at 10:29 AM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
a few months ago on a lark i made a bingo set of anime character tropes, of which this is an example card
posted by glonous keming at 10:57 AM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by glonous keming at 10:57 AM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Just packed my last child up and watched Ms. Windo drive him off to college. An emotional morning...
posted by Windopaene at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2023 [12 favorites]
This reminds me of how my gran always used to call bingo “housey-housey”. And, despite being very proper (aka stuck-up) and professing never to have been inside a bingo hall, knew all the number calls off by heart. Hmm. She contained multitudes, all right.
Similarly, how a terrible word bingo card generator I wrote for my partner's ESL classes always caused the same dude to win every week. I'm pretty sure the one I wrote in the late 90s in Perl worked correctly, and I suppose JavaScript's arrays worked differently and I didn't notice. It's still online somewhere, and I can almost guarantee (all ESL materials on the web are ripped off mercilessly) there are mirrors of it one several dodgy sites that still get the randomization wrong.
Saw Barbie on Friday. It was good. Those dance scenes, though ...
It's a long weekend here. We've done just the right amount of not very much. Got soaked at Port Union beach this morning: unexpected wave came in faster and further than we expected. Otherwise, I'm experimenting with transmitting poetry using an obsolete German telegraph protocol and marvelling at the super-cheap HX711 load cell chip, which does a lot of really clever analogue stuff for very little money. I guess that's how I roll?
posted by scruss at 11:45 AM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Similarly, how a terrible word bingo card generator I wrote for my partner's ESL classes always caused the same dude to win every week. I'm pretty sure the one I wrote in the late 90s in Perl worked correctly, and I suppose JavaScript's arrays worked differently and I didn't notice. It's still online somewhere, and I can almost guarantee (all ESL materials on the web are ripped off mercilessly) there are mirrors of it one several dodgy sites that still get the randomization wrong.
Saw Barbie on Friday. It was good. Those dance scenes, though ...
It's a long weekend here. We've done just the right amount of not very much. Got soaked at Port Union beach this morning: unexpected wave came in faster and further than we expected. Otherwise, I'm experimenting with transmitting poetry using an obsolete German telegraph protocol and marvelling at the super-cheap HX711 load cell chip, which does a lot of really clever analogue stuff for very little money. I guess that's how I roll?
posted by scruss at 11:45 AM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Last week we went to Wisconsin for my in-laws' 55th wedding anniversary; my father in law is in assisted living because of advancing dementia, which is getting tough to see -- he gets very anxious when we first arrive, which he doesn't know how to act on and, given his mental state, doesn't come out in a logical way, and ended up manifesting as complaints about his clothing. He needs easy-to-dress-himself clothes for various reasons, but all his life he was a suit-and-tie guy (even on weekends after he retired, he often had a jacket and tie on), and given his and my mother-in-law's financial situation a lot of his clothes are hand-me-downs, old shirts and sweatpants that belonged to his grandkids. Also, he said his shoes hurt, with mother-in-law confirmed he needed new shoes.
So, on the second day of our visit, just my wife and I took him shopping -- with Kohl's cash and coupons in hand, we found him some nice leather slip-on Skechers that fit his extra-wide feet ("they look like the shoes you'd see at the country club" was his positive feedback), and some khaki slacks-like pants with elastic waist (no buttons or zippers on the fly) that he liked the look of much better than his current sweatpants, and a number of polo shirts (the compromise of having a shirt with a collar but without buttons to do and undo) -- he was particularly pleased we let him pick out some real brand name shirts versus whatever was cheap. I think a big part of this was just him having agency, being able to decide for himself given how many things in his life are dictated to him by people he doesn't completely understand why they're in charge of him. He thanked us profusely, and it was worth what we still had to pay out of pocket after all the Kohl's couponing, and even if he doesn't remember why he bought the clothes I think he had a good day.
That same evening, my stepson, who lives with his dad near the in-laws, opened a line of communication: we hardly ever hear from him, which is very hard on his mom, so she was excited that he was planning on coming to the anniversary party -- and he was bringing his girlfriend (who we hadn't met) -- AND his girlfriend's family wanted to meet us! So, knowing literally nothing about this girlfriend or family, my wife and I planned and rehearsed how to not look like idiots when introducing ourselves to these people, being a couple with a very complicated lifestyles and both of us prone to babbling and oversharing when nervous. It went well, his girlfriend lives with her single mom and brother, they also have lived a complicated lifestyle which also included oversharing, and the girlfriend's mom has been a good quasi-step-mom to stepson given issues in his life, so everything went well.
Then, blessfully, the actual anniversary dinner went well despite conflicts we've had with other family members....and then we drove back home the next day. It was only four days but my wife has been describing it as the three weeks we spent in Wisconsin.
In other news: finished my first semester of college after 20 years away from school, "A"s in both my classes -- the next semester starts in 3 weeks, with one in-person class.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:11 PM on August 7, 2023 [19 favorites]
So, on the second day of our visit, just my wife and I took him shopping -- with Kohl's cash and coupons in hand, we found him some nice leather slip-on Skechers that fit his extra-wide feet ("they look like the shoes you'd see at the country club" was his positive feedback), and some khaki slacks-like pants with elastic waist (no buttons or zippers on the fly) that he liked the look of much better than his current sweatpants, and a number of polo shirts (the compromise of having a shirt with a collar but without buttons to do and undo) -- he was particularly pleased we let him pick out some real brand name shirts versus whatever was cheap. I think a big part of this was just him having agency, being able to decide for himself given how many things in his life are dictated to him by people he doesn't completely understand why they're in charge of him. He thanked us profusely, and it was worth what we still had to pay out of pocket after all the Kohl's couponing, and even if he doesn't remember why he bought the clothes I think he had a good day.
That same evening, my stepson, who lives with his dad near the in-laws, opened a line of communication: we hardly ever hear from him, which is very hard on his mom, so she was excited that he was planning on coming to the anniversary party -- and he was bringing his girlfriend (who we hadn't met) -- AND his girlfriend's family wanted to meet us! So, knowing literally nothing about this girlfriend or family, my wife and I planned and rehearsed how to not look like idiots when introducing ourselves to these people, being a couple with a very complicated lifestyles and both of us prone to babbling and oversharing when nervous. It went well, his girlfriend lives with her single mom and brother, they also have lived a complicated lifestyle which also included oversharing, and the girlfriend's mom has been a good quasi-step-mom to stepson given issues in his life, so everything went well.
Then, blessfully, the actual anniversary dinner went well despite conflicts we've had with other family members....and then we drove back home the next day. It was only four days but my wife has been describing it as the three weeks we spent in Wisconsin.
In other news: finished my first semester of college after 20 years away from school, "A"s in both my classes -- the next semester starts in 3 weeks, with one in-person class.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:11 PM on August 7, 2023 [19 favorites]
Recently I was looking to create some custom Bingo cards to use as postcards for my family.
I ganked this Clojure code to generate HTML Bingo cards.
posted by art.bikes at 12:12 PM on August 7, 2023
I ganked this Clojure code to generate HTML Bingo cards.
posted by art.bikes at 12:12 PM on August 7, 2023
I finally finished Ys on the Sega Master System on Friday. The final boss fight is tough but fair (unlike an earlier boss battle against a vampire which is tough and unfair) and took several days of attempts to get through. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It packs a lot into its small number of maps and locations -- I was surprised at how dense and efficient it is. Really well put together.
Over the weekend I started on Miracle Warriors, and I'm enjoying it so far. Also received the copy of Ultima IV I ordered a few weeks ago. I'm in the US, and I don't think it was ever released here, so I got it from a seller in the UK. I had a good chuckle when I tested the cartridge and found the first save game was named BOLLOCKS.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:36 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Over the weekend I started on Miracle Warriors, and I'm enjoying it so far. Also received the copy of Ultima IV I ordered a few weeks ago. I'm in the US, and I don't think it was ever released here, so I got it from a seller in the UK. I had a good chuckle when I tested the cartridge and found the first save game was named BOLLOCKS.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 12:36 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
I got to visit with friends from a lifetime ago, yesterday, and was informed that video footage my one friend took where I approached him as a homeless person, wearing my lifeguard uniform, and asked him to move along from a bench.. well, he has a movie ready and that bit is in there and so many other bits.. some people have passed on, we have all aged 20+ years, and I can't wait to rent the community theatre and have a big movie night to watch this with folks. Which brings me to Abehammerb Lincoln's comment, and that feeling when you see a person become confident in the water, what a flashback to when I taught swimming lessons. I still run into grown-ass adults who inform me they've kept their swimming report card with the comments I made as the instructor.. I will never forget a colleague who had a terrible habit of scribbling comments on the last day of lessons, often still dripping from having leaped out of the pool, it was atrocious, e.g. "Nice boobs!" where he meant to write "Nice bobs!" (any instructor will remember the importance of bobbing exercises for younger learners, to get used to exhaling underwater etc. Yeah, imagine that comment on a 6-year old's report card.
A weekend packed with things to digest, got to visit my nephew's partner and their little guy when we all went out for fancy drinks and appetizers at the historically prominent Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton (pro-tip: the patio overlooking the North Saskatchewan River is open to the public on Fridays/Saturdays). In Alberta, we enjoy a long weekend for Heritage Day (today), and the Heritage Days Festival launched on Saturday so we strolled around together, sisters and nephew and his partner and other nephew's partner and the little guy in a stroller. It's all about food, really, and tons of people. They had to relocate the festival from a beautiful park to (basically) an expanse of parking lots due to work in the park this summer, but hopefully it moves back in 2024.
Last thing (who am I, loquacious??) but my church is probably closing this year. I've mentioned this a few times, it has been looming, and I don't see it not happening. Not sure we will make it to Christmas in fact. The United Church of Canada is the only church I'd consider attending and it's the one that is contracting the fastest. I think a lot of people who might attend are just happy to not be religious. I get it, that's kind of me, but it's still tough.
posted by elkevelvet at 12:52 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
A weekend packed with things to digest, got to visit my nephew's partner and their little guy when we all went out for fancy drinks and appetizers at the historically prominent Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton (pro-tip: the patio overlooking the North Saskatchewan River is open to the public on Fridays/Saturdays). In Alberta, we enjoy a long weekend for Heritage Day (today), and the Heritage Days Festival launched on Saturday so we strolled around together, sisters and nephew and his partner and other nephew's partner and the little guy in a stroller. It's all about food, really, and tons of people. They had to relocate the festival from a beautiful park to (basically) an expanse of parking lots due to work in the park this summer, but hopefully it moves back in 2024.
Last thing (who am I, loquacious??) but my church is probably closing this year. I've mentioned this a few times, it has been looming, and I don't see it not happening. Not sure we will make it to Christmas in fact. The United Church of Canada is the only church I'd consider attending and it's the one that is contracting the fastest. I think a lot of people who might attend are just happy to not be religious. I get it, that's kind of me, but it's still tough.
posted by elkevelvet at 12:52 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Interesting; we were just discussing the combinatorics of bingo cards a couple of weeks ago (my daughter is about to start college as a math major. More to it than one would think!
posted by TedW at 12:54 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 12:54 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'll refrain from talking about my shit again, but boy howdy did it go straight into "how much more fucked up can this turn, oh that much more fucked up" this weekend.
My brain and my heart has given up fighting (temporarily) and instead just staring at the trainwreck together.
posted by porpoise at 12:56 PM on August 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
My brain and my heart has given up fighting (temporarily) and instead just staring at the trainwreck together.
posted by porpoise at 12:56 PM on August 7, 2023 [4 favorites]
It continues to be HOT hot here, probably where you are too.
We had dinner with my wife's parents at a great Indian Restaurant here in town, which is nice as the other Indian place was good but has quickly faltered.
I've been deep diving into the world of hi-end Class-D home audio amplifiers and I'm very intrigued as the tech has progressed quickly.
Last week we launched my project at work, as a contractor I hope now that the rubber meets the road they finally offer me the full time gig.
posted by djseafood at 1:00 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
We had dinner with my wife's parents at a great Indian Restaurant here in town, which is nice as the other Indian place was good but has quickly faltered.
I've been deep diving into the world of hi-end Class-D home audio amplifiers and I'm very intrigued as the tech has progressed quickly.
Last week we launched my project at work, as a contractor I hope now that the rubber meets the road they finally offer me the full time gig.
posted by djseafood at 1:00 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Slept through my alarm for two solid hours this morning, and now I can’t get the iOS 'Apex' theme out of my head.
posted by jamjam at 1:12 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 1:12 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
In my new job as a valet, I've driven a $250,000 Porsche 911 Sport Classic (extremely stiff suspension); held the door for Ryan Lizza and Olivia Nuzzi (extremely attractive), and Amy Klobuchar and retinue (almost didn't notice); watched two people OD; and figured out the implicit punchline to Fukuyama's End of History... The Aristocrats!
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 1:18 PM on August 7, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 1:18 PM on August 7, 2023 [7 favorites]
My bingo story is that one of the bars here in Portland used to have a cash prize bingo. My friends and I figured out that a few of the balls were missing or had nearly illegible markings and so were miscalled. Over a couple weeks we tracked which numbers were called, and made a killing for the next few months by choosing cards - they had a set of secondhand slidey-hole cards from an Elks lodge in Iowa - that didn't have those numbers.... until I bragged about it too loud a few times.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 1:25 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 1:25 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm doing the Seattle Summer Books Bingo, as I do every year, but this year I feel like I'm struggling more than usual to get my reading done. And yes, I'm typing this instead of reading, but it's not like this is my first year reading MeFi.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:36 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:36 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
My mom had her post-op appointment today, vertebrae C3-C7 are healing well and are aligned but she has to continue to wear her neck collar for another 6 weeks.
It's hard to believe she went from walking 10 miles a week in Jan 2022 to walking with a walker after chemo and covid in June, 2022.
Us kids had to take her car keys away in May 2023 due to memory issues, and then she fell June 14th which left her without the use of her arms. It may take a year for her to regain the use of her arms.
But back to the good - her x-ray looks great and she laughed today.
posted by Arctostaphylos at 2:25 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
It's hard to believe she went from walking 10 miles a week in Jan 2022 to walking with a walker after chemo and covid in June, 2022.
Us kids had to take her car keys away in May 2023 due to memory issues, and then she fell June 14th which left her without the use of her arms. It may take a year for her to regain the use of her arms.
But back to the good - her x-ray looks great and she laughed today.
posted by Arctostaphylos at 2:25 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Y'know, Wordshore, you're just reinforcing Metafilter's association with you and cheese!
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:47 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:47 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
You've never had what I've heard called "Wordshore Cheese"? I'm sure it's spelled something like Wordchestershoreshireshore but it's definitely not pronounced like that.
posted by hippybear at 2:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
seems to imply that the proper pronunciation of wordshore is "wuhdshuh"
posted by Baethan at 3:09 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Baethan at 3:09 PM on August 7, 2023 [2 favorites]
Goodness, Wordshore, I was wondering whether we’d have a cheese-themed post from you today, because I’ve had to give up the 3-4 pound weekly cheddar cheese habit I’ve had for the last 15+ years, devoted exclusively to eating a particular New Zealand grass fed variety, because I have apparently developed Eosinophelia Myalgia syndrome from the tryptophan which is unusually abundant in cheddar especially.
EMS is also my guess for what's wrong with Oliver Franklin-Wallis in this piece on chronic pain he wrote for The Guardian recently.
The pain in my forearms was worse than the pain in a severely broken leg I waited 3 days to seek medical attention for.
posted by jamjam at 3:46 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
EMS is also my guess for what's wrong with Oliver Franklin-Wallis in this piece on chronic pain he wrote for The Guardian recently.
The pain in my forearms was worse than the pain in a severely broken leg I waited 3 days to seek medical attention for.
posted by jamjam at 3:46 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Holy crap I am now up to four people who've reached out to set up job interviews with me.
....I....I'm not used to this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
....I....I'm not used to this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [6 favorites]
Half a pound of quality cheddar per day for 15+ years?!
I applaud your success in living the dream, and also your immortality. Whatever game of life you have played, you have won.
posted by Wordshore at 3:58 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
I applaud your success in living the dream, and also your immortality. Whatever game of life you have played, you have won.
posted by Wordshore at 3:58 PM on August 7, 2023 [3 favorites]
Keto? 10 imaginary Internet dollars on keto
Or just a rockstar lifestyle idk but I sure am starstruck
posted by Baethan at 4:01 PM on August 7, 2023
Or just a rockstar lifestyle idk but I sure am starstruck
posted by Baethan at 4:01 PM on August 7, 2023
That's a fair amount of cheese. Sounds like the good shit though...
Cheese is good stuff. Never knew it could fuck you up to that extent. Cholesterol and stuff sure, but this?
I hope your issues improve.
And now I may have to reconsider my diet, again...
posted by Windopaene at 9:18 PM on August 7, 2023
Cheese is good stuff. Never knew it could fuck you up to that extent. Cholesterol and stuff sure, but this?
I hope your issues improve.
And now I may have to reconsider my diet, again...
posted by Windopaene at 9:18 PM on August 7, 2023
In sad news from Italy.
You had one job. What the hell, Wordshore?
Half a pound of quality cheddar per day for 15+ years?!
On the other hand, you know you might be eating too much cheese if it makes Wordshore question your morality. Err, cheeseality.
posted by loquacious at 9:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
You had one job. What the hell, Wordshore?
Half a pound of quality cheddar per day for 15+ years?!
On the other hand, you know you might be eating too much cheese if it makes Wordshore question your morality. Err, cheeseality.
posted by loquacious at 9:51 PM on August 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
Half a pound of quality cheddar per day for 15+ years?!
Before that it was a year and a half of a very nice Canadian cheddar which nevertheless had a little bit too much of that crystalline deposit some cheddars get as they age, and before that it was 5 years of a wonderful Finnish Turunmaa which can only have been such a good deal because of a really prolonged fit of hiccups in exchange rates. I used to feel a bit guilty as I imagined Finnish cheese connoisseurs unable to enjoy their own delicious cheese because it was all gobbled up by unappreciative Americans who could get it for $2/lb., though I did in fact appreciate it
I switched from one to the next as the one I was eating disappeared from the shelves, but this time the relentless blows of Eosinophilia Myalgia have forced me to my knees, and I think I’m done.
posted by jamjam at 12:03 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Before that it was a year and a half of a very nice Canadian cheddar which nevertheless had a little bit too much of that crystalline deposit some cheddars get as they age, and before that it was 5 years of a wonderful Finnish Turunmaa which can only have been such a good deal because of a really prolonged fit of hiccups in exchange rates. I used to feel a bit guilty as I imagined Finnish cheese connoisseurs unable to enjoy their own delicious cheese because it was all gobbled up by unappreciative Americans who could get it for $2/lb., though I did in fact appreciate it
I switched from one to the next as the one I was eating disappeared from the shelves, but this time the relentless blows of Eosinophilia Myalgia have forced me to my knees, and I think I’m done.
posted by jamjam at 12:03 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
At the local grocery store there's a sporadic rotation of cheeses so you can't reliably get any particular one when you want - they just kind of show up when they're available. There's something right and mete about this though, or at least I have enough cultural Protestantism in me to think the deprivation is not all bad. (Which is, in itself, a weird, good? thing to recognize - because is scarcity necessarily good? It think so, but at the same time, until the last hundred years or so, all of life was pretty damn seasonal - yes, some foods were available year-round but most were seasonal, so they were naturally scarce - but that's not what the whole-protestant scarcity-philia (I'm guessing there's a better word for this but in the moment I'm going with that) is getting at: and now it's a whole cultural/social/psych-philosophical pov that comes from a different world that we stick on our contemporary world and ... its like the way 'smart'-phones have fucked with us by exploiting our neuronal tendencies. This doesn't mean you should gorge yourself, that's not healthy, but praising scarcity/meagerness for its moral superiority is depraved in its own way.)
Get it while you can, is the point. That and, change is good. Like right now it's "Gute Laune Käse" which genuinely does put me in a good mood, but I'm ready for the return of "Deichgraf." What I really want to get a hold of is some "Oka." I was in the US last spring and in a pretty sophisticated metropolitan area and figured I could find some there (Oka is a 'hard' cheese from Quebec) but all these big super-everything grocery stores had a surprisingly limited selection. The lie of capitalism once again rearing its pretty, well coiffed, well spoken head.
Consolation prize, almost always available is a really acceptable 'aged' cheddar. That shit will heal your soul.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:51 AM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
Get it while you can, is the point. That and, change is good. Like right now it's "Gute Laune Käse" which genuinely does put me in a good mood, but I'm ready for the return of "Deichgraf." What I really want to get a hold of is some "Oka." I was in the US last spring and in a pretty sophisticated metropolitan area and figured I could find some there (Oka is a 'hard' cheese from Quebec) but all these big super-everything grocery stores had a surprisingly limited selection. The lie of capitalism once again rearing its pretty, well coiffed, well spoken head.
Consolation prize, almost always available is a really acceptable 'aged' cheddar. That shit will heal your soul.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:51 AM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
> I switched from one to the next as the one I was eating disappeared from the shelves
You say that so passively, as if you weren't single-handedly depleting our world's cheese supplies.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:18 AM on August 8, 2023 [13 favorites]
You say that so passively, as if you weren't single-handedly depleting our world's cheese supplies.
posted by The corpse in the library at 5:18 AM on August 8, 2023 [13 favorites]
all these big super-everything grocery stores had a surprisingly limited selection
Glad you said that, I was wondering if I was just very bad at looking at cheese or something, having never observed a seasonality to available cheeses!
Our nearby-enough grocery stores are Aldi (you get what you get and you don't get upset), big y (y so expensive), and stop&shop (they are Hip and With The Times and have the easiest form of scan as you go and also a giant monolithic Roomba that's allowed to wander the aisles as it pleases)
for fancy cheese, we gots fresh(ish) mozz and brie and small pricey quantities of the kinds you put in fondue.
in the utility cheese section, I favor Monterey Jack for hot chocolate.
Colombian hot chocolate is my favorite way to eat cheese. mostly I make a lazy American version with unsweetened cocoa powder and water, a teensy bit of sugar, and as many cubes of Monterey Jack as possible
posted by Baethan at 6:37 AM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Glad you said that, I was wondering if I was just very bad at looking at cheese or something, having never observed a seasonality to available cheeses!
Our nearby-enough grocery stores are Aldi (you get what you get and you don't get upset), big y (y so expensive), and stop&shop (they are Hip and With The Times and have the easiest form of scan as you go and also a giant monolithic Roomba that's allowed to wander the aisles as it pleases)
for fancy cheese, we gots fresh(ish) mozz and brie and small pricey quantities of the kinds you put in fondue.
in the utility cheese section, I favor Monterey Jack for hot chocolate.
Colombian hot chocolate is my favorite way to eat cheese. mostly I make a lazy American version with unsweetened cocoa powder and water, a teensy bit of sugar, and as many cubes of Monterey Jack as possible
posted by Baethan at 6:37 AM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
sporadic rotation of cheeses
My new sockpuppet name
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:28 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
My new sockpuppet name
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:28 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I ate other cheeses along the way, as well.
A dry Jack only slightly less hard than uncooked pasta and available only at a single deli in town was especially memorable, and I used to love a particularly pungent blue mashed up 1:1 with butter and spread on crackers, and rice cakes later after celiac disease knocked all the crackers out of my hands.
The best selection of cheeses I ever saw, far greater than those of the wimpy specialty 'cheese shoppes' that have occasionally made their brief appearances here, was at the Berkeley Co-op in the mid-70s.
posted by jamjam at 10:54 AM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
A dry Jack only slightly less hard than uncooked pasta and available only at a single deli in town was especially memorable, and I used to love a particularly pungent blue mashed up 1:1 with butter and spread on crackers, and rice cakes later after celiac disease knocked all the crackers out of my hands.
The best selection of cheeses I ever saw, far greater than those of the wimpy specialty 'cheese shoppes' that have occasionally made their brief appearances here, was at the Berkeley Co-op in the mid-70s.
posted by jamjam at 10:54 AM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
we got a gift box of Murray's Cheese a couple of years ago. And in it was Pyrenees Brebis a sheep milk cheese. I'm not a sheep-milk guy, but damn, it was good. Even have ordered it several times from them.
posted by Windopaene at 11:00 AM on August 8, 2023
posted by Windopaene at 11:00 AM on August 8, 2023
...So, I did two job hunting calls today on about 3 hours sleep - one session with my career coach, and an interview for what sounds like it would be a very, very good job. And I did all good and stuff.
I also got to the bottom of what the mafloozy is going on with that ridiculous unemployment office call - they had "excused me" from my original appointment on Monday, but neglected to tell me that. They will "reach out to reschedule shortly", or I can just go to one of their centers and do it in person. I have Friday afternoon free so I may just do that and be done with it (everyone I've talked to who's actually had that lovely experience tells me that it is pretty ridiculous, but a necessary evil). I have another interview and a staffing-service call on Friday morning.
As for the rest of the day today, I just ran out for an emergency underwear purchase so I can avoid doing laundry until the weekend, and now that I am home I am going to hide under the bed. ....I am justifying this by reminding myself that the career coach, when she heard what I'd been up to for the past couple weeks, said "you're doing everything absolutely right".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:19 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
I also got to the bottom of what the mafloozy is going on with that ridiculous unemployment office call - they had "excused me" from my original appointment on Monday, but neglected to tell me that. They will "reach out to reschedule shortly", or I can just go to one of their centers and do it in person. I have Friday afternoon free so I may just do that and be done with it (everyone I've talked to who's actually had that lovely experience tells me that it is pretty ridiculous, but a necessary evil). I have another interview and a staffing-service call on Friday morning.
As for the rest of the day today, I just ran out for an emergency underwear purchase so I can avoid doing laundry until the weekend, and now that I am home I am going to hide under the bed. ....I am justifying this by reminding myself that the career coach, when she heard what I'd been up to for the past couple weeks, said "you're doing everything absolutely right".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:19 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
As expected, spouse was fired. His former employer took the unexpected and spectacularly petty step of also firing his direct manager. Official reason was “bad cultural fit”. Unofficial was the copious amount of documentation about spouse’s PIP that could be summarized as “what you are doing is bullshit”.
Spouse has been busy interviewing and has a verbal offer. Today, after several busy weeks, he found himself at loose ends and tried to start extended conversations with me everyone time I stepped foot outside my office. As I was trying to work, this did not go well for either one of us.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:06 PM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Spouse has been busy interviewing and has a verbal offer. Today, after several busy weeks, he found himself at loose ends and tried to start extended conversations with me everyone time I stepped foot outside my office. As I was trying to work, this did not go well for either one of us.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 3:06 PM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
My play went well over the weekend. Some people forgot lines on opening night (eek), but did great on Saturday when I knew more people in it. I may actually be mentioned in the lone review, whenever that comes out, nobody seems to know since all the local papers publish intermittently these days. I'd like to hope I get a good review, but heck if I know. I knew the previous two reviewers, but either one's on vacation or quit and the new one is either a guy or a girl--I've heard two different rumors entirely from two different directors--and either way it's a stranger and who the hell knows.
I took four days off from work, which was great, now I am tired and mildly fried again (just woke up and checked the time/alarm over and over and over and over and over and over again all night, except for when I dreamt about zombies chasing me) and it's only going to get worse this week. I'm so tired of "computer systems broken, everyone calls us" and I'm not even starting phone shifts about them until the end of the week.
My longtime therapist is officially Giving Me The Boot once she heard the new one objected to my seeing two at once, wouldn't do any more therapy talk, only "here's how we transition out" talk and hung up early. She was all ready to do our last session today, but since I'm in the office and was crying (and trying to hide that, and out of Kleenex), she said we could do the last one next week. Then I forgot that I'm going to have to answer the damn phones right before the last session and I'll be even more of a wreck than usual, so waiting to see if we can postpone it for a week.
Ugh. I know things have stalled out--which I frankly blame on me being difficult and not quite ever getting myself to do things more than any fault of hers, I'm an intractable pain in the ass and I can't even explain why I do that--but no, I wasn't ready to pull the plug today, right away, transition today right away! like everyone else is. Longtime therapist is all, "you better move on this NOW, now is the time," but...ugh, I'm just not sure on the new one yet and I didn't want to immediately commit and transition right off. They've decided that for me, I guess.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:31 PM on August 8, 2023 [7 favorites]
I took four days off from work, which was great, now I am tired and mildly fried again (just woke up and checked the time/alarm over and over and over and over and over and over again all night, except for when I dreamt about zombies chasing me) and it's only going to get worse this week. I'm so tired of "computer systems broken, everyone calls us" and I'm not even starting phone shifts about them until the end of the week.
My longtime therapist is officially Giving Me The Boot once she heard the new one objected to my seeing two at once, wouldn't do any more therapy talk, only "here's how we transition out" talk and hung up early. She was all ready to do our last session today, but since I'm in the office and was crying (and trying to hide that, and out of Kleenex), she said we could do the last one next week. Then I forgot that I'm going to have to answer the damn phones right before the last session and I'll be even more of a wreck than usual, so waiting to see if we can postpone it for a week.
Ugh. I know things have stalled out--which I frankly blame on me being difficult and not quite ever getting myself to do things more than any fault of hers, I'm an intractable pain in the ass and I can't even explain why I do that--but no, I wasn't ready to pull the plug today, right away, transition today right away! like everyone else is. Longtime therapist is all, "you better move on this NOW, now is the time," but...ugh, I'm just not sure on the new one yet and I didn't want to immediately commit and transition right off. They've decided that for me, I guess.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:31 PM on August 8, 2023 [7 favorites]
jenfullmoon: a lifetime or so ago, I directed a production of Prelude To A Kiss that was simultaneously the best reviewed and the worst attended show at the community theater at the time. Like, reviewers came in from over 200 miles away to see the show and gave utterly amazing write-ups of the production, but if we ever hit even 30% capacity on any night of our run, I'd be surprised. It was a weirdly humbling experience, as I was very proud of what I achieved and the actors all did amazing jobs and stood up proud about their work, but the play and the times and the tenor of the community in which it was playing didn't line up at the time.
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:37 PM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
I miss my beard.
I don't have much of an immune system these days, so I had to shave it off back when the pandemic began.
I was fifteen years old when I first grew it. I've shaved it off a few times since then, of course, mostly when I was going through something awful and needed a change. But it's always come back. I don't look like me without it.
I'm still masking, because death or long-term disability bad, but I've had it with my lack of facial hair. It's been a while since I shaved, so before I went out this morning I took the clippers to my face carefully, and carved out a healthy pair of mutton chops, with a big enough gap between them to fit an N95 comfortably.
I look like an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean. Or Firefly. With the mask on I look like someone in a Mad Max/Bladerunner dystopia milieu, probably driving a cab. I look vaguely fictional, and it makes me deeply happy. It's not quite me, but it's a lot better. And I'm getting a good seal on my mask, so yay!
Now I need to find a semi-fictional hat.
posted by MrVisible at 6:39 PM on August 8, 2023 [7 favorites]
I don't have much of an immune system these days, so I had to shave it off back when the pandemic began.
I was fifteen years old when I first grew it. I've shaved it off a few times since then, of course, mostly when I was going through something awful and needed a change. But it's always come back. I don't look like me without it.
I'm still masking, because death or long-term disability bad, but I've had it with my lack of facial hair. It's been a while since I shaved, so before I went out this morning I took the clippers to my face carefully, and carved out a healthy pair of mutton chops, with a big enough gap between them to fit an N95 comfortably.
I look like an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean. Or Firefly. With the mask on I look like someone in a Mad Max/Bladerunner dystopia milieu, probably driving a cab. I look vaguely fictional, and it makes me deeply happy. It's not quite me, but it's a lot better. And I'm getting a good seal on my mask, so yay!
Now I need to find a semi-fictional hat.
posted by MrVisible at 6:39 PM on August 8, 2023 [7 favorites]
Oh, this theater's small and in a small town. I think we maybe get 35-50 at the max. I was told it was around 40-45 first night, more the second night but I never heard a total. Theater here hasn't pandemic recovered, you do what you can.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I, too, enjoy the free threads, even though I don't always post in them.
I have mentioned that I am struggling with my job. Now that I am talking more and more to actual customers, I see that the job is becoming more and more untenable. I do not want to start looking again.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:16 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
I have mentioned that I am struggling with my job. Now that I am talking more and more to actual customers, I see that the job is becoming more and more untenable. I do not want to start looking again.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:16 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
I am SO FULL. I mentioned last week that I was going to try to start baking bread, after a life of avoiding that particular type of cooking. On Sunday I started a batch of Adam Ragusea's "pizza bread" dough, on the premise that it's a simple and forgiving place to start. I split that into 4 containers and put them in the fridge. It's only been 3 days but I got impatient. I used my 14" cast iron pan for a "steel" for now*, since the pizza stone I bought online hasn't arrived yet. The result: My first attempt was definitely not perfect, but dear lord it was so good anyway! I drizzled a little more olive oil on top of a couple pieces just to try it out...it was so tasty I had a few more pieces...then a few more...and ended up finishing the whole thing! I think I'm full enough that I can let the remaining containers rest for 6 or 7 days - as Adam recommends/prefers - before baking them (and hoping the pizza stone will have arrived by then).
* I had to scrape off some burnt bits after baking the bread, and the pan now needs reseasoning, so I won't be doing that again.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:40 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
* I had to scrape off some burnt bits after baking the bread, and the pan now needs reseasoning, so I won't be doing that again.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:40 PM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
Well, shit - the job I interviewed for yesterday, where I'd have been managing an acting studio's office, is going to keep looking. I didn't have quite as much experience with initiating process improvements as other candidates, they said.
Fair enough - it was a reach, and I've got another interview somewhere else on Friday anyway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:13 AM on August 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
Fair enough - it was a reach, and I've got another interview somewhere else on Friday anyway.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:13 AM on August 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
Last night I took a couple of really beautiful pictures during a dream. When I woke up afterward I honestly felt disappointed when I realized those pics wouldn't be on my actual camera! The ones that got away...
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:31 AM on August 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:31 AM on August 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm a bit of an emotional wreck right now. I just got back from driving eldest daughter to her first term at university. It's all good, it's just me being sappy. I kept it very well together while getting her stuff into the dorm, and the goodbyes with me and her mother. But I just went up to put some of her stuff into her empty room, and I totally lost it.
So now I'm sniffling here, considering a bit of snacking for comfort. Maybe an extended petting session with the dog. Maybe I'll annoy her brothers with some extended hugs. So I feel ya, Windopaene.
posted by Harald74 at 8:54 AM on August 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
So now I'm sniffling here, considering a bit of snacking for comfort. Maybe an extended petting session with the dog. Maybe I'll annoy her brothers with some extended hugs. So I feel ya, Windopaene.
posted by Harald74 at 8:54 AM on August 10, 2023 [5 favorites]
You spelled my name right!
Wait until it is your last child. What do we do now?
I have been losing it for several days. But that is our job as parents.
posted by Windopaene at 9:11 AM on August 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
Wait until it is your last child. What do we do now?
I have been losing it for several days. But that is our job as parents.
posted by Windopaene at 9:11 AM on August 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
All through the magic of cut'n'paste!
I just realized that the youngest moving out will probably just about kill me... I've also pinpointed what makes me most emotional about the situation, it's not witnessing her being anxious or stressed about the whole process, that I can deal with. It's looking into her eyes and also seeing the excitement and hope there. It's so beautiful! I hope life will treat you well, kiddo!
(And I feel a bit sorry for losing the day-to-day with this awesome person that I helped raise, but that 's just me being selfish. She's 1,5 hours away, we'll see her often enough. And she's great at texting.)
posted by Harald74 at 9:46 AM on August 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
I just realized that the youngest moving out will probably just about kill me... I've also pinpointed what makes me most emotional about the situation, it's not witnessing her being anxious or stressed about the whole process, that I can deal with. It's looking into her eyes and also seeing the excitement and hope there. It's so beautiful! I hope life will treat you well, kiddo!
(And I feel a bit sorry for losing the day-to-day with this awesome person that I helped raise, but that 's just me being selfish. She's 1,5 hours away, we'll see her often enough. And she's great at texting.)
posted by Harald74 at 9:46 AM on August 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Therapist drama continues. New one bailed on our session with only a few hours notice, old one said she can't reschedule to a day where I don't have to be on the phones, and I had to ask work to let me out of answering phones a half hour early so I'm not a total basket case JUST from phones right before the last session. I'm really not happy with and pretty uncomfortable with both of their behaviors, even if everyone says this is right and okay to be acting like this. I'm not feeling okay with any of this. I actually made an appointment with the work temporary therapist in between therapists (so no one can give me crap about double dipping). Honestly, I wish I could go with *that* therapist because we hit it right off, but clearly she's already got a job and it's only meant for temporary assistance.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:14 AM on August 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:14 AM on August 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
MetaGPT: Meta Programming for Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework
phew!
posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:37 AM on August 10, 2023
phew!
posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:37 AM on August 10, 2023
Just a serious note - if there are any Mefites affected by the fires in Maui, please stay safe.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:21 PM on August 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:21 PM on August 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
I managed to write my first automated test setup file, completely independent of any assistance from colleagues. It has loops and everything. I struggled with it all week, then something clicked in the last 90 minutes and I just got it.
I would call that an excellent end to the week.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:19 PM on August 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I would call that an excellent end to the week.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 1:19 PM on August 11, 2023 [2 favorites]
I find myself quite affected by the Maui wildfires 2500 miles away. What I heard Wednesday sounded like another Marshall Fire with extreme downslope winds pushing a grass fire into homes close enough together to conflagrate like a book of matches. Yesterday when the reported death toll went from six to 36 without even beginning to comb through ashes for human remains, I looked into the timeline of events for how that could have been and was horrified then enraged.
The Camp Fire evacuation was a shambles, with dispatchers telling callers the fire was much further away than it was, then panic and gridlock as residents realized fire was almost upon them and warnings had never come through. With all communications down, residents north of the fire went to bed thinking it had passed, only for it to come back from the other direction. This led to far more fatalities than any wildfire the US had seen in a century, which was studied in minute detail so it would never happen again. And now, less than five years later, it has been far exceeded.
With an ostensibly contained wildfire just upwind of dense development, the area was reopened to traffic in both directions. Then when high winds pushed the fire across the road, the adjoining subdivision was belatedly ordered to evacuate while others further downwind were instructed to shelter in place.
On Day 12 of the Camp Fire, I waited in the woods for the mandatory evacuation to be lifted here, nearly two miles outside the burn, listening to the military police checkpoint and patrols from several counties. On Day 4 of the Lahaina fire, authorities opened the through road unprepared for people walking into prohibited areas. This entire disaster, the destruction of a thousand homes and irreplaceable history, the staggering loss of life, stems from unconscionable incaution from authorities who should have known better.
I mourn.
posted by backwoods at 12:35 AM on August 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
The Camp Fire evacuation was a shambles, with dispatchers telling callers the fire was much further away than it was, then panic and gridlock as residents realized fire was almost upon them and warnings had never come through. With all communications down, residents north of the fire went to bed thinking it had passed, only for it to come back from the other direction. This led to far more fatalities than any wildfire the US had seen in a century, which was studied in minute detail so it would never happen again. And now, less than five years later, it has been far exceeded.
With an ostensibly contained wildfire just upwind of dense development, the area was reopened to traffic in both directions. Then when high winds pushed the fire across the road, the adjoining subdivision was belatedly ordered to evacuate while others further downwind were instructed to shelter in place.
On Day 12 of the Camp Fire, I waited in the woods for the mandatory evacuation to be lifted here, nearly two miles outside the burn, listening to the military police checkpoint and patrols from several counties. On Day 4 of the Lahaina fire, authorities opened the through road unprepared for people walking into prohibited areas. This entire disaster, the destruction of a thousand homes and irreplaceable history, the staggering loss of life, stems from unconscionable incaution from authorities who should have known better.
I mourn.
posted by backwoods at 12:35 AM on August 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
I hate to be a bummer in here, but….
My friend of 40 years, known among MeFites as The Correspondent on the Continent, died yesterday morning in Graz, Austria. He had some stomach trouble in early June. Wound up in the hospital after I insisted he see a doctor in mid-June. Was diagnosed with metastasized cancer in early July. He succumbed to his illness yesterday. I am told he was sedated and did not suffer.
His username was a joke between us. Even before he joined the site, I would mention him in my comments here as "My correspondent on The Continent." Usually referring back to our actual correspondence. Of which, the current incarnation began in 2014 and consists of more than 110,000 posts between us. Our last messages were August the 1st.
Fuck cancer.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:41 PM on August 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
My friend of 40 years, known among MeFites as The Correspondent on the Continent, died yesterday morning in Graz, Austria. He had some stomach trouble in early June. Wound up in the hospital after I insisted he see a doctor in mid-June. Was diagnosed with metastasized cancer in early July. He succumbed to his illness yesterday. I am told he was sedated and did not suffer.
His username was a joke between us. Even before he joined the site, I would mention him in my comments here as "My correspondent on The Continent." Usually referring back to our actual correspondence. Of which, the current incarnation began in 2014 and consists of more than 110,000 posts between us. Our last messages were August the 1st.
Fuck cancer.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:41 PM on August 13, 2023 [6 favorites]
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posted by fantabulous timewaster at 9:28 AM on August 7, 2023 [9 favorites]