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The [Disco Chives] Misplaced Parrot Complaint Thread

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  • AgitatedRiotAgitatedRiot Posts: 4,396

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    AgitatedRiot said:

    So Bullet met the dog next door when he jumped into his yard—a 6-foot privacy fence—almost in a single bound. He caught the lattice at the top and climbed the rest of the way.

    oh I hope this wasn't in a bad way crying 

    Just a giant Puffy Tail 

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 6

    Gorgeous Graphics:  I've been watching the AppleTV series "Foundation".  I'm half-way through the 2nd season.  The graphics are fantastic, but this ain't Azimov's "Foundation". frown The first episode was tolerably close to the book, but the rest of the first season diverges wildly (i.e. no hope of getting back to canon) from the book.  Yeah, it's a captivating story (if you can piece together all the scattered thread lines), with great graphics and tolerable acting, but it's more of a "Flash Gordon's Girlfriend Conquers the Universe" glossy comicbook.frown  Having read the original book only confuses things.sad

    I can understand why it was produced this way.  The original series of Azimov short-stories that form the "Foundation" book  were thoughtful essays on the functions, forces, and motions of society, governments, and religions, over a thousand years, each era of the stories handled by people of the era following Hari Seldon's original plan (as long as it held up).  Not suspended animation or miraculous re-appearance of the original characters leaping to each new era, putting out fires that had been disrupting "the plan".  In the orignal book, Hari died early in the story, period.  No mystery murder, no resurection, no god-like behavior.  And no impossibly coincidental chases across space and time in suspended animation (if you can even imagine such a thingsurprise). And in the original book there were NO battles described, they were mentioned but were always remote events, points in history. But in the TV series, I'm sure the studios made it this way to keep the same actors on screen for the whole series.  Also, the production is, I'm sure, massively expensive, so the story must be reshaped to appeal to enough low-attention viewers.  Need girls, guns, & guts to keep the series coming back for the required number of seasons (8 from what I last heard), to do the whole story arch.indecision  But what will be left of the story arch, is anybody's guess.broken heart

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,668

    LeatherGryphon said:

    Need girls, guns, & guts to keep the series coming back for the required number of seasons (8 from what I last heard), to do the whole story arch.indecision  But what will be left of the story arch, is anybody's guess.broken heart

    Well, at least girls and guts. You could always use knives or fists instead of guns. But maybe have them all and let the audience vote for which of those options the girl should use. Text messaging fees may apply. 

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,962

    something very weird that comes up in many stories is reading of wills

    I don't know anyone who went to a reading of a will, in fact when my Auntie in her nighties died a few years back, the first I learnt that she even left me something was when the check from the lawyer came in the mail.

    None of my family were wealthy though even my mother actually had less than me and I am poor, so there wasn't any great fortunes left to anyone.

    So maybe it's just really rich people.

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365

    Complaint:  My cellphone died this morning.  Or more accurately, it froze.  It had this sort of half-booted splash screen on its face this morning, not responding to any buttons or vocal prompting (i.e. swearing).  After some trouble and panic, I finally was able to force it to shut off and reboot completely.  Whew!  I didn't realize how tied into the thing I had gotten myself.  indecision

  • PerttiAPerttiA Posts: 9,914

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    something very weird that comes up in many stories is reading of wills

    I don't know anyone who went to a reading of a will, in fact when my Auntie in her nighties died a few years back, the first I learnt that she even left me something was when the check from the lawyer came in the mail.

    None of my family were wealthy though even my mother actually had less than me and I am poor, so there wasn't any great fortunes left to anyone.

    So maybe it's just really rich people.

    Auntie in her nighties?... cheeky

  • AgitatedRiotAgitatedRiot Posts: 4,396
    edited March 6

    LeatherGryphon said:

    Complaint:  My cellphone died this morning.  Or more accurately, it froze.  It had this sort of half-booted splash screen on its face this morning, not responding to any buttons or vocal prompting (i.e. swearing).  After some trouble and panic, I finally was able to force it to shut off and reboot completely.  Whew!  I didn't realize how tied into the thing I had gotten myself.  indecision

    It's hard to leave the whole world behind when you lose a cell phone. Or it blacks out. I just bought an S24 because I lost contact with the world while driving with my S9.

    Post edited by AgitatedRiot on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,962
    edited March 7

    PerttiA said:

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    something very weird that comes up in many stories is reading of wills

    I don't know anyone who went to a reading of a will, in fact when my Auntie in her nighties died a few years back, the first I learnt that she even left me something was when the check from the lawyer came in the mail.

    None of my family were wealthy though even my mother actually had less than me and I am poor, so there wasn't any great fortunes left to anyone.

    So maybe it's just really rich people.

    Auntie in her nighties?... cheeky

    friggin autocorrect blush

    I posted from my iPad, 90's

    98yo if I recall

    oh and I originally did type cheque but for some reason thought Americanisng that was appropriate blush

    now thinking back was rather silly of me, I obstinately type colour etc even though some spellcheckers gasp 

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 7

    This looks familiar:  OK, I've finished the AppleTV series of "Foundation" (2 seasons, so far), and despite it not being Azimov's "Foundation", it is an engaging story.yes  A very complex, nay, overly complex, plot, but with excellent graphics, and some tid-bits of remaining philosophy from the book.  But as the series finished I realized what has been done to Azimov's masterpiece. They've turned it into a big budget "Dr. Who".  (*sigh*)  Fun to watch but all literary integrity, out-the-window.

    Query: Apparently, there will be a 3rd season.  So I'm taking bets on how many times Hari Seldon is going to come back to life in this version of a story loosely built on Azimov's "Foundation" (where he died just once, like normal people), before the plot arch is complete.angry

    Hari here, Hari there, Hari Hari everywhere. devil

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,099
    edited March 7

    I've always thought it strange that so few epic-scaled movies have been made from Azimov's classic Foundation books.  Will Smith's 'I, Robot' comes to mind as a big budget summer blockbuster, but few others. Given your review of the big budget Apple series, maybe it is just as well.  Meanwhile, how many Planet of the Apes movies, TV series, Saturday morning cartoons, and lunchboxes have there been inspired by Peter Boulle's 'Planet of the Apes'?  I like Planet of the Apes, but when Paul Williams is the only thing standing between civilization and an army of mutants arriving in a school bus...

     

    Complaint.  Had a tooth crack to the point that it is not practical to fix with a crown.  Had to be extracted.  Getting old sucks.

     

    Post edited by Diomede on
  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 7

    Diomede said:

    ...

     

    Complaint.  Had a tooth crack to the point that it is not practical to fix with a crown.  Had to be extracted.  Getting old sucks.

     

    Words of Wisdom:  Don't suck with a loose tooth. enlightened

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,962
    edited March 8

    D|S4.11 rocks yes

    glad I kept it, why have I been wasting my life rendering in later versions all this time

    the last one 4.22.0.16  REALLY sucks

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • ArtAngelArtAngel Posts: 1,619

    beregar said:

    Anyone else feels like living from a "paycheck to paycheck" even though they have a decent pay? I mean my income is quite a bit above average (for my country) and I still feel like all my money goes down the sink of "unavoidable living expenses" as of late.

    I'm currently in the "I want, WAH!" mood for a lot of stuff but I'm waiting for my paycheck - because I put most of the money from the previous one in reserve and will do the same for the next. For a good reason, too, as I'm hiring a contractor to replace the lower floor windows (3 in total) which cost like 3700€. This hopefully helps with the insane 450€-750€ monthly electricity bills that I've been "enjoying" this winter. The joys of owning an old house - and it's not even a big house! I mean I've got two air-source heat pumps but obviously those do very little when the temperature is -20 and below.

    I should have a pretty good idea where all the money goes, and I do! Because I budget and make plans! Hell, the car alone costs about 1500€/year in gas, mandatory taxes, mandatory insurance (I skipped the part the non-mandatory because my car is old, so if I crash it, I get nothing), mandatory check ups and so on. I pay more for the car just existing under my name than I do for driving it!

    Add the property taxes, home insurance, municipal waste bill, (very) small loan installments, water bills and the highly unpredictable electricity bills... and I'm like, what? Food prices have also gone up so much that 200€ no longer covers my monthly food and daily goods expenses (when averaged over a year).

    When I checked last year the average monthly expense was 1670€ which means that I'm still firmly on the plus side of things BUT I dare not go on any sort of extravagant spending spree, or have some form frivolous (but fun) summer vacation trip abroard, or my savings go the way of the Dodo - and every other year there seems to be some huge money sink which taps severely into those savings. Usually related to the house. Can't also forget that the income about halves when I retire - assuming we have any sort of government supported retirement by the time it happens to me.

    I dunno how people with actual small income do it. I guess they find someone to share the expenses with?

    /Rant

    These days the monthly income is more than we can spend. And we have 12 recued feral cats, only one still truly feral, and have four dogs (3 passed away) and have about 200 birds we feed and house outside. The first week of March we paid 300+ a shot for 5 surgeries on cats. 2023 was far worse when it comes to vet bills. But once upon a time I ransacked the cushions for quarters, dug thru ditches for empty beer bottles to sell, and found ingenious ways to rob Peter to pay Paul. A while back, 40 years ago, as a single Mom, I saved enough to afford a townhouse rental with an empty basement. I invested my last dollars in some lumber, and built bedrooms in the basement (no youtube than for instructions back then, and I couldn't afford to hire anyone so I built it.). I rented rooms to college students to pay for my rent and gave breaks to those who babysat.. I continued finding and implementing ways to live rent free by buying rental properties with zero down. After I became a realtor I taught others how to rent/own for free. Maybe one day I'll write a book about it because today I live mortgage free. If I could do it as a single Mom anyone can.

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,668

    The past few days I've managed to go with only one cup of coffee. But today is day three, in the evening. And I really want a second cup of coffee.

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 9

    Diomede said:

    [...] snip

    Complaint.  Had a tooth crack to the point that it is not practical to fix with a crown.  Had to be extracted.  Getting old sucks.

     

     Crowns rate very high on the "IF" scale.  (Impress Factor)  However, they make poor dental tools.indecision  Better suited to the top of the head, not in the mouth.enlightened

    Non-complaint:  Yay, another day out of the cave.  Bus to the center of the city, breakfast at TimHortons, shopping at BigLots, and a good conversation with the Uber driver on the way home.  Doldrums abated for another week or two.smiley

    Complaint:  The Chinese restaurant that I liked to visit, is gone.sad  Also noticed during the bus ride that a long standing, locally memorable, old style motel, is also gone.  Just a pile of debris, soon to be something new.indecision

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,378
    Why torture yourself? Is it some kind of penance for doing something dreadful? If a little of what you like is nice, don't indulge to the point it's harmful, and then it'll do good to ye. Must admit many types of coffee are so spendy they'd pay for a week of tea for me, but not the sort of thing I'd ever try once (hating spending as much as coffee, like I do). Regards, Richard.
  • AgitatedRiotAgitatedRiot Posts: 4,396

    Why do all the best bakeries around have MJ dispensaries next door? All the good stuff is gone by the time I get up (good thing I know the Baker). Also, why am I seeing the movers who move my stuff walking out of the dispensary this week? I did like seeing them carrying my framed poster out of there.

  • protosyntheticprotosynthetic Posts: 109

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    something very weird that comes up in many stories is reading of wills

    I don't know anyone who went to a reading of a will...

    So maybe it's just really rich people.

     It's boring. So boring. If you've ever wondered what it felt like to have a forty-page contract with all its legalese read to you like a demented audiobook by the most bored man in existence, then by all means. My great grandpa shocked the entire family when they found out he was worth 1.8 million. The phrase [deceased name] "irrevocable living trust" burned itself into my soul because it was read out in full twice per paragraph.

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 9

    Close but no cigar:  I don't cook much but I do make a few pasta dishes, so I use a lot of tomato products.  A couple of days ago I ordered a flat (12 cans) of diced tomatoes from Amazon.  The package arrived today.  Yay!  But upon opening the box and after pulling out the enclosed, shrinkwrapped flat of cans, I discovered that they had sent me 12 cans of diced mangos.frown  I can see the guy in the warehouse now, spying the word "diced" and the ending of the next word "...os" and thought "close enough". cheeky  Perhaps if I complain nicely, they'll send me my 12 cans of diced tomatoes for free and not ask me to return the diced mangos.devil

    Although, I wonder what goulash made with mango sauce would taste like.laugh

    And what is even more curious, is that the (still shrink-wrapped) flat of diced mangoes, has a UPC bar-code sticker applied to it that says "Diced Tomatoes".  Perhaps the initial error was when the product initially arrived at the warehouse.  But someone, somewhere, dropped the ball.frown

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,962

    I love mango chutney which is sweet, spicey and savoury so anything is possible 

    This is how recipes are invented.

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,668

    LeatherGryphon said:

    Close but no cigar:  I don't cook much but I do make a few pasta dishes, so I use a lot of tomato products.  A couple of days ago I ordeWe oncered a flat (12 cans) of diced tomatoes from Amazon.  The package arrived today.  Yay!  But upon opening the box and after pulling out the enclosed, shrinkwrapped flat of cans, I discovered that they had sent me 12 cans of diced mangos.frown  I can see the guy in the warehouse now, spying the word "diced" and the ending of the next word "...os" and thought "close enough". cheeky  Perhaps if I complain nicely, they'll send me my 12 cans of diced tomatoes for free and not ask me to return the diced mangos.devil

    Although, I wonder what goulash made with mango sauce would taste like.laugh

    And what is even more curious, is that the (still shrink-wrapped) flat of diced mangoes, has a UPC bar-code sticker applied to it that says "Diced Tomatoes".  Perhaps the initial error was when the product initially arrived at the warehouse.  But someone, somewhere, dropped the ball.frown

    We once ordered a... flat? ...of chicken and dumplings and they sent us chicken a-la king instead. We got to keep the chicken a-la king and they sent our chicken and dumplings too. I think you will score big because they're not big on returning perishable items. That's how we got to keep that container of... "chives". 

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,668

    richardandtracy said:

    Why torture yourself? Is it some kind of penance for doing something dreadful? If a little of what you like is nice, don't indulge to the point it's harmful, and then it'll do good to ye. Must admit many types of coffee are so spendy they'd pay for a week of tea for me, but not the sort of thing I'd ever try once (hating spending as much as coffee, like I do). Regards, Richard.

    The reason for this was because when I was naked and first started working, I was falling asleep on the job. And my handler told me I need coffee. For quite some time I would make it through a whole day on just half a cup of coffee with half a cup of cold water to cool it down enough for me to drink it immediately. You should have seen the looks I got from people watching me water down the coffee. Of course time went by and I found myself drinking up to three cups of coffee a day, and not feeling as energized as I once did with only half a cup. So I decided to try to get back to the way I was before by breaking the dependency on caffeine and maybe even trying sleep every now and then. So far it's been going well. Of course today is the fourth day, and once again I really want a second cup of coffee. But I may be able to do this because I managed to survive that one time I went through a whole season on nothing but Mountain Dew and then stopped cold turkey. It felt like the Death Turkey. Maybe that's where that came from.

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,365
    edited March 9

    NylonGirl said:

    LeatherGryphon said:

    Close but no cigar:  I don't cook much but I do make a few pasta dishes, so I use a lot of tomato products.  A couple of days ago I ordeWe oncered a flat (12 cans) of diced tomatoes from Amazon.  The package arrived today.  Yay!  But upon opening the box and after pulling out the enclosed, shrinkwrapped flat of cans, I discovered that they had sent me 12 cans of diced mangos.frown  I can see the guy in the warehouse now, spying the word "diced" and the ending of the next word "...os" and thought "close enough". cheeky  Perhaps if I complain nicely, they'll send me my 12 cans of diced tomatoes for free and not ask me to return the diced mangos.devil

    Although, I wonder what goulash made with mango sauce would taste like.laugh

    And what is even more curious, is that the (still shrink-wrapped) flat of diced mangoes, has a UPC bar-code sticker applied to it that says "Diced Tomatoes".  Perhaps the initial error was when the product initially arrived at the warehouse.  But someone, somewhere, dropped the ball.frown

    We once ordered a... flat? ...of chicken and dumplings and they sent us chicken a-la king instead. We got to keep the chicken a-la king and they sent our chicken and dumplings too. I think you will score big because they're not big on returning perishable items. That's how we got to keep that container of... "chives". 

     Yep, it seems they can't be bothered with trying to return heavy food shipments.  Just easier/cheaper to send a replacement.  I was afraid I'd have to prove I had received the wrong product so I took photos of the still wrapped cans, showing all the UPC codes & shipping labels.  But when I went on the Amazon store site to air my problem, it was all just three or four click and my replacement was on the way.  I couldn't even find a way to write even a short phrase to describe the problem.  Just clicked the "Received Wrong Item" button and "ta-da" satisfaction.  However, it remains to be seen, in the Amazon warehouse, if there is a whole shelf of diced mangos incorrectly computer identified as diced tomatos, and I get another flat of mangos.surprise  I tried to tell them, but I couldn't get the "Phone Us" mechanism to work and the "Chat" mechanism didn't present a writable text field, just menu buttons.frown

    And yes, I think "flat" is the term for 12 cans of something arranged 3x4 on a single carboard bottom with a one-inch lip.  Whereas a "case" would typically be 24 cans arranged as two layers(3x4x2) of cans in a complete cardboard box.   Grocery workers, please correct me if wrong or different.indecision

    On Mangos:  Mangos are something I didn't have as a kid.  And probably not even until I was well into adulthood.  Meh, they're OK, but the taste is off-putting for me until I get used to it, and the slimey texture too.  I'd eventually get through the 12 cans of mangos, but I really don't want double that amount.no  Same opinion of Avocados.  Never could see what people like about avocados.

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • DanaTADanaTA Posts: 13,146

    I read today that in Iceland they're going to try to drill into a magma chamber, to possibly gain huge benefit from thermal energy.  Have they learned nothing from the 1965 movie Crack in the World?  laugh

  • DanaTADanaTA Posts: 13,146

    Also, there is a push for what is called "embodied AI".  Making a robot with artificial intelligence.  They say that AI will never reach its full potential unless this happens.  So...Terminator, anyone?

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,668

    With Daylight Savings Time, it's already our future... where LeatherGryphon has now received 45 flats of mangoes, three cases of chicken a-la king, and a bottle of maybe green onions (well it's definitely green); and they swear the next shipment should resolve the issue. And the Terminator is telling Sarah Connor he came from the future to kill her but it turns out the whole thing was a story made up by the AI. And I'm at the point that I may lick the home theater wiring if I don't get a second cup of coffee. Everything is fine.

  • beregarberegar Posts: 269

    protosynthetic said:

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    something very weird that comes up in many stories is reading of wills

    I don't know anyone who went to a reading of a will...

    So maybe it's just really rich people.

     It's boring. So boring. If you've ever wondered what it felt like to have a forty-page contract with all its legalese read to you like a demented audiobook by the most bored man in existence, then by all means. My great grandpa shocked the entire family when they found out he was worth 1.8 million. The phrase [deceased name] "irrevocable living trust" burned itself into my soul because it was read out in full twice per paragraph.

    For a part of that 1.8 million I'd be happy to sit entire day listening the most bored and boring man ever drone over that stuff. Heck make it a week and I'll do it (...as long as I get some sleep in between)!

  • beregarberegar Posts: 269
    edited March 10

    AgitatedRiot said:

    Why do all the best bakeries around have MJ dispensaries next door? All the good stuff is gone by the time I get up (good thing I know the Baker). Also, why am I seeing the movers who move my stuff walking out of the dispensary this week? I did like seeing them carrying my framed poster out of there.

    What is a MJ dispensary? Is it like one of those vending machines from which you get M&Ms and other candy... though I'm not sure why anyone would prefer one over baked goods or why they would draw people to a bakery in the first place?

    Edit: though I don't think people fit in one... let alone multiple people. Hmm...

    Post edited by beregar on
  • beregarberegar Posts: 269

    LeatherGryphon said:

    On Mangos:  Mangos are something I didn't have as a kid.  And probably not even until I was well into adulthood.  Meh, they're OK, but the taste is off-putting for me until I get used to it, and the slimey texture too.  I'd eventually get through the 12 cans of mangos, but I really don't want double that amount.no  Same opinion of Avocados.  Never could see what people like about avocados.

    Make Mango Jelly out of them! Easy and gets rid off the slimy texture by replacing it with... uh... a gelatinous one...

  • GordigGordig Posts: 9,647

    AgitatedRiot said:

    Why do all the best bakeries around have MJ dispensaries next door? 

    Believe me, both business in this situation know exactly what they're doing.

This discussion has been closed.