Useless Conversation

[Merusk]

Any idea which part of town they'll be using?

Not yet. It was only just announced that they were coming to Ohio a few days ago, when Michigan decided to freeze their movie film tax credit. 

[Bunk]

Being sued by GettyImages for allegedly using one of their images without a license on a website. I bought the image in good faith from iStockphoto and the source image is not the one they're claiming it is - but it does look like both images were taken at the same time as the foreground content is identical but the background is different.

The fuckers want £900! 

Went through this recently with a customer over a picture she gave us to use in a banner ad a few years ago. We always tell them that no, you can't just grab an image off of GIS. 

I think they were asking her for $1100?

[RhyssaFireheart]

So when's the best time to ever prune back a bush?  I have one in the backyard that probably should have been trimmed back last year but I was lazy, so now it's looking a bit large and scraggly.  It's not a flowering bush of any type, in fact I don't even know what kind it is other than deciduous (argh! sp?).  I pruned it back hard a few years ago because it was starting to reach the power lines running to the house so I know that won't kill it, I'm just not sure if trimming it back now will cause any problems.

[rattran]

I trim all the trees and bushes around this time every year, hasn't seemed to do any harm yet. I trimmed the hell out of one of the mulberry trees last year and it's even bushier this year. So have at it, I think it's prime bushwacking time in northern Illinois.

[Sky]

So when's the best time to ever prune back a bush? 

Depends on the bush and your location. Check with your local cooperative extension. I got some good infos about apple trees from ours, honeycrisp is ideal for cold winter climates, and gets sweeter the colder the winter, apparently!

[ghost]

I obviously haven't been in the country enough.  What the fuck is a "local cooperative extension"?

[Yegolev]

It's a holding pen for busybodies who put out newsletters.  They also assist farmers and possibly other unfortunates.

Edit for actual information.  I did a search and there is, as expected, a local extension from UGA which I could avail myself of: http://www.ugaextension.com/paulding/anr/testingservices.html

[Sky]

We'll see who's unfortunate when I'm eating ripe Honeycrisp apples from my backyard! 

[Lantyssa]

You mean eating the venison that's been fattened up on honeycrisps.

[Ironwood]

Yay for Eurovision hotties.

[ghost]

Saw two sets of truckticles on the way home today.  That got me thinking of the possibility of getting a truckgina for my truck.  I wonder how that would fly?

[Selby]

I wonder how that would fly?

I've seen truck boobs in my neighborhood...

[Soln]

I'm thinking of getting an iPhone4 -- any concerns?  and any preference of carrier?

[ghost]

You used to not be able to multitask with Verizon, not sure if it is still that way.  Also, the screen is really expensive to replace relative to the 3GS, and I don't think there is a huge upgrade in performance.

[ghost]

So anyone ever been to a NASCAR race?   

[rattran]

I hate you, and your gladiator movies.

[K9]

This is why you should probably buy the rights to the .org address in your name.

For comparison here's the .com version 

[Ironwood]

Win.

 

[Merusk]

So anyone ever been to a NASCAR race?   

No, but I know plenty of people who have and a few who are regulars at Daytona.  What do you need to know, I can ask them.

[Cyrrex]

You used to not be able to multitask with Verizon, not sure if it is still that way.  Also, the screen is really expensive to replace relative to the 3GS, and I don't think there is a huge upgrade in performance.

It's a good deal quicker to open/close apps and for general browsing.  Main advantage of the iphone 4 is really the screen, though.  It is waaaaaaay improved over the 3GS.

[RhyssaFireheart]

So anyone ever been to a NASCAR race?   

Well, yes but not in a long while.  The husband is a regular at the Brickyard 400 at Indy though.  What's up?

--------------------------

Fucking Chicagoland weather.  It was 90 fucking degrees yesterday.  And it'll be in the high 80s today.  Is it really so difficult to actually have spring once in a while before heading straight into summer?

[ghost]

So anyone ever been to a NASCAR race?   

No, but I know plenty of people who have and a few who are regulars at Daytona.  What do you need to know, I can ask them.

Nothing particularly technical.  I'm just considering getting tickets to the Texas race in November.  I've never been to a race and have always thought it would be something I'd like to do at least once.  I've been to just about everything else professional.  I just wanted to know if anyone had gone and had fun (or not).  Also how loud is it?  

[RhyssaFireheart]

Earplugs or a headset is pretty much a given, IMO, but then again the husband and I have scanners and tend to listen to team feeds and/or the behind-the-scenes TV feed.  That's actually really interesting, tbh.

The husband loves going - he's had season tickets to the Indy 500 for 25+ years now and the Brickyard 400 since it started.  I went to one of the Brickyard races with him and started to doze off because I was more used to watching open wheel (aka faster) racing at that track.  But that's just me and he won't let me forget the sleeping at the track thing.

I'd say if you have the chance, go.  It really is a cool experience and seeing the race in person just brings home how fast and close the cars are that you really can't get watching it on TV.  You just tend to lose the replays and track info that TV gives you, but simply taping the race to skim through later takes care of that.

[Cyrrex]

Fucking Chicagoland weather.  It was 90 fucking degrees yesterday.  And it'll be in the high 80s today.  Is it really so difficult to actually have spring once in a while before heading straight into summer?

You're complaining ?!  I thought it was magical.  I want every damn day of the year to be just like that.

[Sky]

You mean eating the venison that's been fattened up on honeycrisps.

So anyone ever been to a NASCAR race?   

See if you can get pit passes. My dad used to race and sitting in the stands gets old fast imo. Walking around, watching the pit crews, hopping up on a trailer to watch for a while, the food is better, too :) I used to really like lurking behind the pit crews, though. The crowd knows someone just pitted, you know why and get to see the crews frantically troubleshooting the issue and some of the most amazing feats of mechanical repair done in a workmanlike fashion. Just a great experience, and it was a normal weekend growing up, heh.

[RhyssaFireheart]

I honestly don't mind the heat that much, unless it's humid as hell and the air is just sitting there not moving.  

I dislike going from nice spring-like 60ish to OMG90s in the space of a day.  Chicago weather needs some ritalin to keep it on an even keel.

And the lack of air moving in the house last night meant turning on the AC, since sweltering in the upstairs bedroom with no cross breeze sucked.  Even with all our ceiling fans turned on (actually, the bedroom fan is almost never turned off - gogo Hunter fans!) and the windows open the air just wasn't circulating and it was uncomfortable trying to sleep.

[Reg]

It's 52  and sunny here in beautiful Toronto and it's likely to stay like this for the rest of the month. May in Ontario makes the godawful winter worth enduring.

edit: metric conversion is hard

[ghost]

Isn't Chicago pretty humid, too?

[Sky]

Even with all our ceiling fans turned on (actually, the bedroom fan is almost never turned off - gogo Hunter fans!) and the windows open the air just wasn't circulating and it was uncomfortable trying to sleep.

Wasn't bad here, but I'm pissed at the spring weather already. Didn't get any good hard freezes to kill the bugs, and with all the rain it's going to be hellacious for skeeters this year. Can't open the bedroom window because a bevy of little tiny bugs took residence along the back of the house and some got on the cat - he's never itched before in 3 years. Not happy about it.

Just leaving the living room window open, little tiny flies are getting through the screen and flying around the lamps.

Another reason I love winter - no bugs.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Well, I think humidity is relative to each person.  I grew up in S. Illinois near St. Louis, so I'm used to higher humidity as part of summer and in comparison Chicagoland isn't as bad.  But my husband finds anything over about 80 degrees and 70% humidity intolerable, so I tend to freeze a lot in the summers from the AC.  *shrug*  I get used to the humidity pretty quickly when visiting my mom and she doesn't run the AC as often as we do.

Wasn't bad here, but I'm pissed at the spring weather already. Didn't get any good hard freezes to kill the bugs, and with all the rain it's going to be hellacious for skeeters this year. Can't open the bedroom window because a bevy of little tiny bugs took residence along the back of the house and some got on the cat - he's never itched before in 3 years. Not happy about it.

Just leaving the living room window open, little tiny flies are getting through the screen and flying around the lamps.

Another reason I love winter - no bugs.

Oh, those tiny little gnats - UGH!  I love love love having my windows open, especially in my office since I can hear the creek in the back, but those damn bugs at night   

Sorry about the kitty itching.  We just took the little cow to the groomers and I think he feels better with the remainder of his winter coat brushed out.  Now I need to vacuum up the second dog that's been growing under the bed from all the fur flying around.

[WayAbvPar]

Fuck anything above 80. And fuck 80 if it is humid at all.

[Morat20]

Fuck anything above 80. And fuck 80 if it is humid at all.

That's how I view it. Of course, I got born in the wrong damn city. You should see the shit I contemplate to keep my home cool, and yet not bankrupt me.

My dream house looks like a damn igloo with the insulation I'd want.

As it is, I'm trying to figure out where to plant trees to shade more my house, looking at solar powered roof fans (like passive vents, except the damn things have a solar cell and a powered fan that sucks attic heat out), and wondering if anyone in Houston does real Cool Roofs and whether they last through bad weather....

[Sky]

86 is my tolerance tipping point. If it's really humid or there's no relief (a cool night for sleeps) then it sinks to about 80. About the same in the winter, if the wood stove gets cranking over 85, I have to crack a window.

Contemplating central air, because the fiancee likes it. I'm mostly good until it hits the 90s, that's when the window unit goes in and it's a bit too small to really do the whole house. But I never had a/c (or cable) until ten years ago.

looking at solar powered roof fans (like passive vents, except the damn things have a solar cell and a powered fan that sucks attic heat out), and wondering if anyone in Houston does real Cool Roofs and whether they last through bad weather....

I really need to upgrade my attic crawlspace cooling, it gets ridiculously torrid up there in the summer. And I'm often up there running wires or something. Also thinking of adding a true walkway, the board I've been using for a couple years while ducking the strapping is torturous.

[ghost]

My tipping point is 70 degrees either way.  If it is higher it's too hot and lower it's too cold. 

[Sky]

I've not found my cold tolerance tipping point, so long as I'm active. I almost lost my toes when I was a teenager, but I wasn't cold enough to bitch about it. Just got stranded in the wrong boots.