Out of the Blue

Well, my mid-season praise of Westworld probably represented the high point of the series since season one. It definitely reverted a bit after that, but I stuck through it. The best parts of last night's season finale were probably the game references. Such as (spoilers hidden) Trevor from GTA's comical death and William calling out that sniper as a camper. We're not done with being done with things, as tonight is the series finale of Better Call Saul, which has been one of the best things on TV since its earliest moments. Though I feel like one of the most important moments of the series passed last week. Again hiding the spoilers, like just about everyone else watching the show, I've spent years worrying that Kim Wexler doesn't come up in Breaking Bad because she was going to die. One could argue here new life is a fate worse than death, but it was still a big relief to learn she survived (barring some bizarre turn of events tonight).

Obituary: Anne Heche Taken Off Life Support Sunday, Rep Confirms.

Finale Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Story

Science
Thanks Max.

Media

Follow-up

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39 Replies. 2 pages. Viewing page 1.
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39.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 17, 2022, 08:12
39.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 17, 2022, 08:12
Aug 17, 2022, 08:12
 
jdreyer wrote on Aug 16, 2022, 18:16:
IIRC, Prez used to have several dogs. I don't know if he could take care of them in his current state.
I thought about that, decided to go hopeful and think he had recovered sufficiently to do so.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
38.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 16, 2022, 18:16
38.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 16, 2022, 18:16
Aug 16, 2022, 18:16
 
Mr. Tact wrote on Aug 16, 2022, 07:23:

Prez, I'm glad you found something to lift your spirits. Maybe you should consider getting a dog?
IIRC, Prez used to have several dogs. I don't know if he could take care of them in his current state.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
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37.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 16, 2022, 12:13
PHJF
 
37.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 16, 2022, 12:13
Aug 16, 2022, 12:13
 PHJF
 
Just started reading Malazan after someone recommended it to me as there favorite books. He described it as labyrinthine and sprawling and difficult to read, so I’ve accepted the challenge. Dunno why it was never on my radar.
Steam + PSN: PHJF
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36.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 16, 2022, 10:10
36.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 16, 2022, 10:10
Aug 16, 2022, 10:10
 
I really enjoyed this season of Westworld, but God what a cliffhanger of an ending. We'd better get a season 4, and I hope they actually intend to wrap up the whole story line. Yeah, I too enjoyed the Easter Eggs. I am a little frustrated at some plot points though (spoilers): The Sublime is in no way secure. They clearly stated that the server farm was designed to last 100 years (and 23 years have already transpired). Not to mention any host or human could come along and wreck it. Another peeve is they made it seem like the city and the Hoover Dam (where the Sublime is located) are close to each other, but if that was New York, there's no way anyone is taking a boat from one to the other, or William is riding a horse between them and beating Hale who's in a giant flying drone. So is that supposed to be a fake New York the hosts built somewhere in the midwest? Okay, maybe I need to turn off the analytical mind..

This comment was edited on Aug 16, 2022, 10:45.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "
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35.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 16, 2022, 07:23
35.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 16, 2022, 07:23
Aug 16, 2022, 07:23
 
WannaLogAlready wrote on Aug 16, 2022, 03:05:
No health problems, retired with a state life long guaranteed pension equivalent to a manager salary with no taxes applying.
Money piles unused on the bank, so far -of course everything can change in a minute-.
Truly I lack for nothing. But ...
Life kind of drags at times.
For me it's a conditional thing, if it gets bad, then it's transfer all to my daughter and going bye bye with a contented smile, like getting into that so sweet bed when tired.
Is it an age thing ?. Or because of the sad times we live ?
Are we ever entirely satisfied, or just for moments ?
At least I'm never bored, thanks world for so much to do and enjoy.

Anyway hope the world gets better, I know so many people are trying.
Also you Prez, give Rosie some hugs for me
Sounds like you did even better than I did WLA. I don't have a pension, but as a single person who was mostly reasonable in my spending and saving, was fortunate enough to get a reasonably well paying job, when I was laid off at 53 I was pretty much able to continue on as I had at a reduced income level. I mean hell, I was putting something like 28k per year the last few years into the 401k and IRA, so income reduction wasn't really that much of an issue. But I completely agree, life drags. I totally admire people who are able to find something to fill their life with a purpose they find satisfying and fulfilling.

I feel bored a lot, but I've realized my personality is weird about it. I can be engrossed in a game for six hours straight, decide I should take a break, then 15 minutes later I'm sitting there feeling bored. Is that really boredom? Doesn't seem like it should be, but that's the feeling I get. I'm healthy despite being overweight. I don't fear death. If given a choice I wouldn't choose to die, but it will come whenever it does, and even if that were tomorrow, that's fine. I'm quickly approaching the end of my 60th year on this planet and I have no concerns about trying to live another 40. As the song says, I have regrets but too few to mention.

We do live in sad times. And unfortunately, it seems likely things are going to get worse. Another reason I'm not particularly concerned about living another 40 years. Although I admit some morbid curiosity to seeing just how bad things will get -- like my comment the other day that seeing the "possible" mega-flood in California would be "interesting".

Prez, I'm glad you found something to lift your spirits. Maybe you should consider getting a dog?
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
34.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 16, 2022, 03:35
34.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 16, 2022, 03:35
Aug 16, 2022, 03:35
 
Mr. Tact wrote on Aug 16, 2022, 00:10:

Anyone you think is writing on Hamilton and Banks level is worth mentioning. I'll take a look at Neal Asher, that's a new name to me.

Which of Asher's series would you give a nod to as his best?

Edit: Oh wait... all of those "series" are part of the Poilty universe... so I assume those starting at the beginning. Hmm, the series are not published sequentially. What order should they be read in?

I read them in published date order, although I read the short story collections last. Oops, I forgot about them!

The first couple of books were a bit rough but he hits on a formula and it pays off in spades. Some of the best action scenes in written form. Highly addictive.

The author himself got feedback that many first-time readers started with the Transformation series (3 novels). They're pretty late in the Polity collection. Those readers got hooked and then read everything else.

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33.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 16, 2022, 03:32
Prez
 
33.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 16, 2022, 03:32
Aug 16, 2022, 03:32
 Prez
 
Also you Prez, give Rosie some hugs for me

I hug her about 100 times while I'm there so yours will be in there somewhere. I go see her today.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
32.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 16, 2022, 03:05
32.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 16, 2022, 03:05
Aug 16, 2022, 03:05
 
No health problems, retired with a state life long guaranteed pension equivalent to a manager salary with no taxes applying.
Money piles unused on the bank, so far -of course everything can change in a minute-.
Truly I lack for nothing. But ...
Life kind of drags at times.
For me it's a conditional thing, if it gets bad, then it's transfer all to my daughter and going bye bye with a contented smile, like getting into that so sweet bed when tired.
Is it an age thing ?. Or because of the sad times we live ?
Are we ever entirely satisfied, or just for moments ?
At least I'm never bored, thanks world for so much to do and enjoy.

Anyway hope the world gets better, I know so many people are trying.
Also you Prez, give Rosie some hugs for me
Avatar 58799
31.
 
Heinlein, Banks,
Aug 16, 2022, 02:30
31.
Heinlein, Banks, Aug 16, 2022, 02:30
Aug 16, 2022, 02:30
 
- The older Heinlein overlong novels get nonsensical and fixated on and relishing, rape, pedophilia and incest including mother f@cking.
(Time enough for love and other Lazarus Long novels, and novels with his mother as heroine, returning the favor, etc).

I'll never would read a book by him again, even the good ones because of enduring disgust and lost respect.
------

- Ian Banks, love his books so much, and his all powerful AI's, where intelligence equals empathy.

- But Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga - 16 books, 5 novellas- is my all time favorite bar none, the most joyful and compelling read in my life.
(Excluding Falling Free, not really part of the saga, that I didn't like, and the last book: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen that she wrote just for her female friends, best forgotten).
--------

Read thousands of scifi and fantasy -little since PC gaming, down to nothing since travel to work ended 5 years ago-.
Went systematically through libraries in my youth.
Have some 1000+ pocket books lining almost every wall in my apartment, double rows and piled, a moth's paradise.
Any day now will start going to the trash bin.
Ten of thousands in e-books including whole pulp fiction libraries, Weird Tales, Amazing, Analog, etc.
-Demonoid, mobilism.org, that famous ru site, etc- visited almost daily till a decade ago, forever gone since, what a time to live.

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30.
 
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies.
Aug 16, 2022, 00:41
Prez
 
30.
Re: Time to move beyond the anecdotes around animal-assisted therapies. Aug 16, 2022, 00:41
Aug 16, 2022, 00:41
 Prez
 
I don't have many good days anymore. Most are shit tbh. It was getting to where I didn't want to go to physical rehab anymore because I was getting more and more convinced it was useless, but more to the point I was drifting further into a dark place where I knew everything was hopeless. Then the owner brought in Rosie. Rosie was a nine-week old golden retriever puppy that he was going to train and certify as a therapy dog. I adored her and seeing her is currently my biggest excitement of the entire week. I love going to rehab now. Do all the research you guys think you need to - I know what works for me.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
Avatar 17185
29.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 16, 2022, 00:10
29.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 16, 2022, 00:10
Aug 16, 2022, 00:10
 
Rectal Prolapse wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 23:53:
I really enjoy Neal Asher's Polity SF series too. I've read Iain (M.) Banks (his regular fiction is great too, and his non-Culture novels), Peter F. Hamilton, etc. as well. Too many to count.
Anyone you think is writing on Hamilton and Banks level is worth mentioning. I'll take a look at Neal Asher, that's a new name to me.

Which of Asher's series would you give a nod to as his best?

Edit: Oh wait... all of those "series" are part of the Poilty universe... so I assume those starting at the beginning. Hmm, the series are not published sequentially. What order should they be read in?

This comment was edited on Aug 16, 2022, 00:21.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
28.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 23:53
28.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 23:53
Aug 15, 2022, 23:53
 
I really enjoy Neal Asher's Polity SF series too. I've read Iain (M.) Banks (his regular fiction is great too, and his non-Culture novels), Peter F. Hamilton, etc. as well. Too many to count.
Avatar 58068
27.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 23:37
27.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 23:37
Aug 15, 2022, 23:37
 
afka Rossini wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 15:56:
jdreyer wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 15:46:
Speaking of Heinlein, I'm working through CJ Cherryh's Foreigner. The novel starts out well, but gets bogged down with the main character Bren. I get what she's going for, but man is it a slog. About half way through. Does it get better, or should I bail and start reading Vernor Vinge instead?

It's been a couple of decades since I read the Foreigner books so I don't remember them well enough other than I enjoyed at least the first two or three. It's also been a while since I read Vernor Vinge, but A Fire Upon the Deep I recall being amazing. Have you read any Iain M. Banks yet?
No not yet. Figured I'd hit Vinge, Bujold, and Leckie first, since I already have them.
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
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26.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 23:00
Kxmode
 
26.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 23:00
Aug 15, 2022, 23:00
 Kxmode
 
Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 22:17:
1badmf wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 21:01:
but if i don't have a lawn how can i tell those damn whippersnappers to get off it?!?!?

Just stand in the driveway and yell. It will have the same effect.
And also, don't forget to wear your best "Kiss the Cook" apron.

Alternatively, can you hire kids to stand in the driveway with you and yell at the roof?
"...and in stonks, Fizzy Squeezy Stocklebocks leaped over Droopy Whoopy Bondfluffs, hitting 300-gigglebits to their 150-snorebucks. Meanwhile, in Whimsyland's market, the pancakes reached parity with pogo sticks."
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25.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 22:52
25.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 22:52
Aug 15, 2022, 22:52
 
Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 22:17:
1badmf wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 21:01:
but if i don't have a lawn how can i tell those damn whippersnappers to get off it?!?!?

Just stand in the driveway and yell. It will have the same effect.

The roof! Get +1 to yell.
Avatar 14675
24.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 22:17
24.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 22:17
Aug 15, 2022, 22:17
 
1badmf wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 21:01:
but if i don't have a lawn how can i tell those damn whippersnappers to get off it?!?!?

Just stand in the driveway and yell. It will have the same effect.
"Just take a look around you, what do you see? Pain, suffering, and misery." -Black Sabbath, Killing Yourself to Live.

“Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains” -Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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23.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 21:33
23.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 21:33
Aug 15, 2022, 21:33
 
jdreyer wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 15:46:
Does it get better, or should I bail and start reading Vernor Vinge instead?

Vernor Vinge is excellent.
Avatar 14675
22.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 21:01
22.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 21:01
Aug 15, 2022, 21:01
 
Beamer wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 18:41:
Kxmode wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 17:17:
With this thread dominated by lawn discussions, have we reached peak old man status?

That would be the lawn maintenance discussion.

The lawn removal or replacement discussion is heavily driven by millennials and GenZ

but if i don't have a lawn how can i tell those damn whippersnappers to get off it?!?!?
21.
 
Re: OotB: Wrapping up
Aug 15, 2022, 19:56
21.
Re: OotB: Wrapping up Aug 15, 2022, 19:56
Aug 15, 2022, 19:56
 

Beamer wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 18:49:

More people more aware of environmental impacts and less willing to be utterly wasteful at the expense of the planet, and lately, their direct communities.

They're also driving the native plant movement, and paying attention to the health of the native insect population in our yards. Basically, trying to have a healthy ecosystem over a green lawn
Several folks out here in the northern tip of the Chihuahuan Desert have zeroscaped, xeriscape or a mix with drought tolerant native grasses and plants.
Very little upkeep required and they look great.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
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20.
 
Re: Get off my lawn!
Aug 15, 2022, 19:50
20.
Re: Get off my lawn! Aug 15, 2022, 19:50
Aug 15, 2022, 19:50
 
MeanJim wrote on Aug 15, 2022, 19:42:
As for alternatives to grass, I don't know if there is any city/county law that regulate what you can or can't have in your lawn.
Assuming no HOA, this is usually covered by municipal rules/law and it varies widely from town to town, some times even neighborhood to neighborhood.

Maybe I was just brain washed as a youngster but I do like grass. That said, yes -- the lawns in arid area are insane. If I lived in such a place I would not have grass. However where I am, I have a lawn but I don't water it. It generally dries out some at the height of the summer but overall the rainfall is enough to maintain it. *shrug*
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
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