Useless Conversation

[Yegolev]

Which I laughed at. Because I recall seeing a video from the same guy, or one of his friends, or referencing him, talking about the unfairness and inequity of Copyright. About how information should be free and it was "wrong" that YouTube was taking-down content just because it referenced or used too much of some "big company's" I.P.

I assume this will be in your reaction video.

[Sky]

They had a couple funny seniors react videos but then I saw the massive glut of shit on their channel, ye gods. It's not that good a premise, guys.

[Merusk]

That's what I've seen from the actual content creators I watch. Who knows where Reddit may have gone with it.

Yeah it's morphed into something else entirely there. Lots of folks disgusted by the Fine Brothers, but the general attitude towards reactions was always terrible. So they started posting YouTubers who hate reaction vids entirely because they are stealing other people's content for them. Now it's onto some guy called SoFo who is a highly-motivated Freebooter.

The whole thing is just amusing as fuck coming from people who used to be just fine with piracy. (And in some cases are still actively practicing because I'm certain not all the images in their vids are self-produced or paid for from Stock Photo places.)

I assume this will be in your reaction video.

Naw. Reaction videos are the pop music of video land. 

[Teleku]

Decided to take a last minute trip with a friend to Istanbul for the three day weekend.  Hopefully Turkey doesn't start WW3 while I'm there, but I suppose being in Moscow wouldn't be much better in that situation.

Other than that, looking forward to it!

[Nebu]

Decided to take a last minute trip with a friend to Istanbul for the three day weekend.  Hopefully Turkey doesn't start WW3 while I'm there, but I suppose being in Moscow wouldn't be much better in that situation.

Other than that, looking forward to it!

I want your life.  Sounds amazing!

[Hammond]

Decided to take a last minute trip with a friend to Istanbul for the three day weekend.  Hopefully Turkey doesn't start WW3 while I'm there, but I suppose being in Moscow wouldn't be much better in that situation.

Other than that, looking forward to it!

My coworker is heading to Turkey next week for a few days then to Spain then to the Ukraine. He may or may not head to Moscow as well. He wasn't to worried about WW3 but then again this guy lived in Iran in the 70's so not much fazes him. He loves visiting Istanbul / Ankara but most of the time he visits towns in the south because of the agriculture.

[schild]

Annnnd off to Vegas for my birthday.

[Signe]

What will you do in Vegas for your birthday? 

[Sky]

Go on vacation, leave on probation.

[schild]

lose a buncha money and make my host buy me thousands of dollars in food?

[Signe]

Sounds like a good plan.  Happy birthday, old boy!

[Nebu]

Annnnd off to Vegas for my birthday.

Sounds like a great birthday.  Have fun!

[WayAbvPar]

Annnnd off to Vegas for my birthday.

Sounds like a great birthday.  Have fun!

This. Mine is in 10 days. Who wants to fund a Vegas trip?  

Happy birthday, much younger old man.

[Strazos]

Where do you end up staying in Vegas?

[Hawkbit]

My 40th is on the 27th. We're doing Oregon coast, keeping the transition into old age as mellow as possible.

[Soln]

Solid plan Hawkbit.  Beautiful area. 

[NowhereMan]

So my mum had a wonderful 70th birthday present of discovering her friend of almost 50 years was directly relaying anything she told her about a family dispute to her sister in-law (with whom we have the dispute). The whole thing is a hilarious soap-opera style family feud already, involving my dad's brother leaving everything to the woman he lived with for the last 10 years of his life (because he was pissed with most of his family for treating her and his deceased wife horribly) and previously mentioned sister and a brother disputing the will basically because they don't like the woman. We're friendly with her and offering moral support so we hear about the talk with the executor.

My mum had a phone call with her friend, who got a call on her landline. She hung up but managed to pocket dial immediately after so mum got to hear half the side of a conversation with my dad's sister about everything they'd just talked about and promising to find out stuff the next time they had coffee, etc. Not sure I've ever seen my mum so angry and hurt so me and the girlfriend are cooking her dinner tonight and getting some champagne. Hope none of you guys get such awesome birthday surprises!

[Sky]

Saw the recording of Benedict Cumberbatch doing Hamlet in a small theater yesterday. Highly recommend it if you can find a screen near you. There was only one showing, so we got lucky overhearing someone at work mention it.

[Signe]

Did you guys see the video of him doing Smaug?  It was very incredible.  Like him.  I should go find it and post it here but I don't feel like it.  :)

[MisterNoisy]

Had a near-miss by a tornado last night.  Lots of trees down, but thankfully no serious damage or injuries.  A town a little further north got hit way harder, but no deaths reported.

Scary stuff - the whole thing happened in the span of like 30 seconds.

[WayAbvPar]

I am forever thankful that I don't live in tornado country. I am fascinated by them and would love to see one from a safe distance, but I have no interest in hiding in my basement hoping my house stays in one piece.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Except that "tornado country" now seems to encompass most of the lower 48.

Glad you're okay, MisterNoisy!  Tornadoes are one of the few things that really freak me out lately.  Just terrified of one coming along and wrecking things around me.

[MisterNoisy]

Except that "tornado country" now seems to encompass most of the lower 48.

Glad you're okay, MisterNoisy!  Tornadoes are one of the few things that really freak me out lately.  Just terrified of one coming along and wrecking things around me.

Thanks - a few blocks west of where I live, a shopping center had the roof torn off - crazy stuff driving to work this morning.

[Hawkbit]

Yeah, very glad you're okay. My parents made it through an F-4 about six years ago in this outbreak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_5%E2%80%936,_2010_tornado_outbreak My dad said it sounded as if a freight train was directly above their heads for 30 seconds or so. Very little warning.

The high school I went to was destroyed and seven people died. Its so weird, three houses down from my parents was completely obliterated, nothing left but a concrete hole. However, my parents only had ~20k worth of siding and window damage. My dad said the weirdest part was how things ended up in random places, like a bicycle stuck halfway into a house or the guts of an Xbox controller in the yard.

Another weird thing was an old farmhouse that the tornado picked up, twisted 90 degrees and dropped it back on the foundation almost intact. It was still a complete demo because all the electrical and plumbing was shorn off, obviously. But it was almost safe and functional, except for pointing in a different direction.

Anyways, yeah - glad you're okay. Scary stuff.

[HaemishM]

You live in tornado country long enough, you kind of grow immune to them. I was in a tornado when I was 8 - it basically huffed and puffed directly over my school while I sat with head between my legs praying to God it didn't kill me. It didn't touch down though, at least not near me but you don't ever forget something like that sound. Freight train is absolutely right. Sky outside was darker than any night I've ever been in. From then on, though, I just can't get freaked out about the possibility of them happening. I watch the weather when it's possible, see the storm tracks and if the sirens go off I take what precautions I can - but it's one of those things that you just have to realize you have no control over the situation. My wife, who grew up in Connecticut and had never seen anything like it - freaks her the fuck out every time. She motherfucks me for how calm I am through the process.

[schild]

Where do you end up staying in Vegas?

Venetian, every time. Best food.

[Merusk]

Venetian is awesome. Glad my professional seminars are booked there for the next 4 years. When they do the Mandalay the food sucks and corporate makes me stay at the Luxor.

I am forever thankful that I don't live in tornado country. I am fascinated by them and would love to see one from a safe distance, but I have no interest in hiding in my basement hoping my house stays in one piece.

What Haem said about becoming immune to them. Ohio is no Great Plains/ Texas, though. I've only had to deal with three local (within 2 miles) to me in my 40 years in the OH/ KY/ IL portion of the Midwest. (Many more around me, though) Once you see the devastation of the first few you just go, "ok then." None of them have been F-4 or greater, though.

One thing about Tornadoes vs. other natural events like Volcanos and Earthquakes is it's much easier to prepare for them. If I lived in the Plains/ Texas I'd have an underground shelter and be done. Insurance would take care of any loss to property. The Western Threats you've just got to be lucky and I'm not that lucky.

[WayAbvPar]

Where do you end up staying in Vegas?

Venetian, every time. Best food.

The guy who owns the Venetian is a complete shithead or that is probably where I would stay too. I would lean to Wynn or Bellagio instead, or maybe Aria. Someplace with a robust poker room.

[HaemishM]

Southerners/Great Plains people look at tornadoes much like Californians do about earthquakes. You just get used to that shit and it's only the really bad ones that even cause a blip.

[Selby]

I am fascinated by them and would love to see one from a safe distance, but I have no interest in hiding in my basement hoping my house stays in one piece.

I saw one when I was 9 that nearly missed the house yet we went outside to watch it move across the sky. It's a very odd experience, raging storm and then everything goes quiet and calm, then that massive sound that's just not something you hear regularly. Watching how it moved, the news casts can't really capture it. It's almost like a religious experience.

But afterwards my storm preparedness mimics Haem's, you just kind of ignore it most of the time but definitely do not freak out about it. I check the radar patterns & see which direction the storm is moving & general shape of clouds if it's still daylight, then go about my day if it isn't heading my way. It's kind of one of those things that you'll know when things are going bad because it's so *different* than your standard raging thunderstorm.

[Engels]

My 40th is on the 27th. We're doing Oregon coast, keeping the transition into old age as mellow as possible.

Where on the coast? If you haven't settled on somewhere, may I recommend Manzanita? Its small and quaint, and close enough to Cannon Beach that you have excellent dining options. We stayed here and it was fabulous.

[01101010]

My girlfriend has an Aunt in Seaside I believe. She (gf) raves about it... but only for a visit.

[Hawkbit]

We booked at Pacific City/Kiwanda, south of Manzanita about 40min or so. The inn at Kiwanda is pretty nice, if a bit pricey.

That place in Manzanita looks nice though, thanks for the tip. We go to the coast at least 2-3 times a year, so always good to have another option. We've got the drive from Seattle down to just under five hours now, we go to Portland then take 26 to 6 and drive through Tillamook forest. We used to go through Astoria, which while very beautiful, adds about an hour to the drive.

We're thinking of buying on the northern Oregon coast in ~10 years to semi-retire to. Manzanita is one of the towns on my list to check as a place to settle down, so a stay at that inn is definitely going to happen.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[IainC]

Where do you end up staying in Vegas?

Venetian, every time. Best food.

The guy who owns the Venetian is a complete shithead or that is probably where I would stay too. I would lean to Wynn or Bellagio instead, or maybe Aria. Someplace with a robust poker room.

Bellagio is pretty nice, I stayed there the last time I was in LV. The best poker room I've found though is at the South Point. It's not on the strip but it's not a long way out of the centre. I was there in the days after a big rodeo championship and it was full of cowboys who were terrible at poker. I won enough to cover my airfare, my hotel and all the shopping I did there. Other than that, the next best poker rooms are probably downtown - Binions, Golden Nugget, etc.

[Strazos]

Where do you end up staying in Vegas?

Venetian, every time. Best food.

That's funny, because I harken to be in Vegas on the second half of a two week vacation. I'm staying at the Nobu in Caesar's again, though I'll probably start trying different places next time I'm here. The craps tapes were terrible this morning.