[S17.E14: New Groom, Who Dis?]

10 hours ago, Meraji said:

That was Orion's sister and mother, I believe. 

Oh shit, you're right.  I still get those two confused, despite their very different "journeys" not to mention the fact that they don't really look all that much alike.

Thanks for correcting me, because I was wondering why they weren't there. 

3 hours ago, Starlight925 said:

Emily's extensions are the kind you buy on Amazon and clip in yourself.

I know zero about extensions.  Do you unclip them to get them out?  Remember at the honeymoon the guy had to use scissors to hack out whatever she had in there?

2 hours ago, Katie111 said:

[Chloe]'s too old but I almost feel like she would have been a good match for Austin. 

Hey now.  Chloe's 39 and Austin's 31.  Just a data point--I was 41 and Mr. Outlier was 31 when we met and the usual societal pressures gave me pause, but it's worked out great--25 years together so far. 

It's funny because I'd had long-term relationships where the man I was dating was 10 years older than I was, and nobody batted an eye.  The age difference came up only with respect to obvious generational differences, like music, or cultural touchstones like the man having to deal with the Vietnam draft while my peers didn't. 

But reverse it, and it's a suddenly a non-starter, period.  If there's no biological imperative relating to a woman bearing children, I can't think of any reason a man being 10 years older than his woman partner should be any different from a woman being 10 years older than her man partner.  But boy does the taboo persist.

[Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic]

On 1/25/2024 at 10:12 AM, shapeshifter said:

Hard plastic?

That's acrylic.  They also make silicone ones that are softer.

But I meant how much of it protrudes from your ear canal?  Here are some examples:

https://greatlakesearmold.com/earmolds/earmolds-styles/

In my ear that has the mold, I finally figured out I have to have a full shell mold, which completely fills the concha (bowl-shaped part of your ear) and it has to be acrylic (hard) because my ears wiggle a lot when talking and eating.  A hard mold that butts up against the perimeter of that bowl stays in place.

It looks like this (this is a hearing aid, while mine is just a mold with a wire that goes to the actual hearing aid behind my ear):

My first one ever was an in-the-canal (ITC), the kind you can barely see.  But it worked its way out constantly and drove me crazy.  And it would get sore because it has to be kind of tight in the canal to stay in as well as to prevent feedback; my full shell one doesn't have to be as tight in the canal because my outer ear keeps it in place and the shell keeps amplified sound from escaping and causing feedback.

[S17.E14: New Groom, Who Dis?]

10 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

[Michael] said his father died when he was 14 but I don't remember him saying anything else about the rest of his family.

His mother and sister were at his first wedding.  His sister was wearing a tuxedo with a loose tie and looked fantastic.

[S17.E14: New Groom, Who Dis?]

11 hours ago, Yeah No said:

If he's that pissed off all the time and unhappy with his wife WTF is he still doing there?  He can leave any time but he doesn't. 

Yesterday I was watching the episode where they stat their lives together (ha!) in Denver (I didn't know if I'd seen it before--that's how much of an impression this season is leaving on me) and there was a scene of Brennan and Emily sitting on the couch talking to Cal.  Brennan was very clear in saying he didn't have any romantic feelings toward Emily, and said he hadn't even during the honeymoon, but added that was a hectic time and who knows what's going on, but that's over and he's still not feeling romantic feelings for her. 

Of course Cal started in on convincing him that the feelings could grow, and searching for nuggets to base that on.  I hate it when he does that because feelings are feelings and you can't convince yourself to have them.  You can change your mind and develop them, but I can't believe it would ever happen just because someone is hectoring you to do it.

Cal just doesn't seem to understand that for some people, compromise comes after attachment, after developing something strong enough to be willing to compromise to save what you have.  And being matched by these experts only rarely is an instantaneously strong basis to rival what happens after people date for a while.

Anyway, Brennan's been clear for a long time he's not feeling it with Emily; what he's refusing to say in front of cameras is why he's not feeling it.  (I haven't paid enough attention to know or even draw an inference that he's told her in private.) 

So why doesn't he leave?  I don't know.  Maybe they're really leaning on him because the couples are dropping like flies.  Maybe he thinks "I signed a contract and I'm going to fulfill it to the best of my ability."

And maybe, reading what Suzeecat just posted, he's really wrestling with what the hell he's going to do if divorce really isn't an option for him, and just treading water. 

(And I agree that going on this show is a particularly stupid for someone who really believes in never getting a divorce.)

Actually, I think Brennan is ghosting her just like everybody else has, but he can't just cut off communication like they did.  Which makes it a LOT messier.

[Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I have an appointment Monday to possibly "shave it down"??? or redo the mold.

You have a mold?  Like an in-the-ear hearing aid?

Did you try an over-the-ear one before that was open fit, which are the most comfortable ones you can get, but you didn't like it because it conflicted with your glasses and your hair, and this time decided to try an in-the-ear one?

If you have an in-the-ear hearing aid, what kind of shell is it?  I'm gathering it's not the teeny ones that go all the way in the canal, but I'm not sure what you mean by "outer ear canal" where you say it rests. 

[Health and Wellness Chit-Chat: Your Primary Care Topic]

On 1/22/2024 at 4:06 PM, athousandclowns said:

One aide with most hearing loss uses slightly more power and it’s first to go but within little while the other side goes . 

One of my hearing aids uses batteries faster than the other because it has significantly more gain.  I counteract that by swapping the batteries every night, to even out the usage.

[S17.E13: Exploring Intimacy at an Altitude]

3 hours ago, Elizzikra said:

Eh - I don’t mind that he lives in a basement apartment. He could be trying to save money and while the apartment wasn’t grand, it wasn’t horrible either. Denver rentals are expensive!

And he lives in Boulder, where housing is even harder to find and is more expensive.

15 hours ago, Yeah No said:

My question, which has been my question all along, is why is Brennan believed when he talks about stuff she did off camera and she is not believed when she talks about stuff he did off camera? 

I absolutely 100% believe Emily's assertion that Brennan threw stuff at the wall in response to something she said, and have never even implied otherwise. 

What I'd like to know is what she said and what he threw.  She's refused to answer the former and the latter hasn't been presented to her as a question.  So there's nothing to believe or disbelieve there, bringing me back to 100% believing her assertion that Brennan threw stuff at the wall.  No disbelieving going on at all.

[GODZILLA Minus One (2023)]

 

[Why Grammar Matters: A Place To Discuss Matters Of Grammar]

I identify as a pedant when it comes to proper use of "disinterested."  I acknowledge we're losing that battle, but I was still surprised at this:

"So many movies are either mindless or completely disinterested with engaging the intellect of their audiences that 'Freud’s Last Session' offers a welcome bit of brain stimulation..."

https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/freuds-last-session-review-anthony-hopkins-1235771657/

As if "disinterested" isn't wrong enough, he says "disinterested with"?  Jesus.

[GODZILLA Minus One (2023)]

25 minutes ago, Raja said:

I didn't know that black and white relases was a thing. I  thought it was to pay further homage to the original Godzilla movie 

That's what I'd assume, although I'm just guessing that there's no over-arching pattern to doing black-and-white re-releases.  I've seen articles where the director said "The black-and-white images make Godzilla look very realistic and documentary-like, which leads to even more fear."

Nightmare Alley is another one that had a black-and-white re-release.  Here's an article about that one:

https://www.thewrap.com/nightmare-alley-black-and-white-version-explained-guillermo-del-toro-dan-laustsen/

ETA:  The black-and-white Godzilla is scheduled to run for only one week, so don't tarry, in case they really mean it.

 

[GODZILLA Minus One (2023)]

This is being re-released in a black-and-white version called Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color.  I'm a fan of black and white and I loved the color version, so I'll definitely go.  (I also saw the black-and-white re-release of Parasite)

[To Subscribe Or Not To Subscribe, That Is The Question: Paid Streaming Services]

On 1/13/2024 at 3:46 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I tried watching live TV on the Spectrum app on my Roku.  It starts on Channel 1 (the Spectrum proprietary local news channel), and there is no way to enter a different channel.  The Roku remote has no number pad.  So if I want to watch channel 82 (TCM) or 511 (HBO) or whatever, I'd have to scroll slowly to get to it.  I tried scrolling, and it was ridiculous. 

I have Spectrum on my Roku and have been fiddling with it to try figure out how it works.  As with all of this streaming shit, it's unnecessarily difficult.

When I turn on Spectrum, sometimes it starts on Channel 1 and sometimes it starts on the last live channel I was watching.  I haven't figured out a pattern, but maybe it depends on how long it's been since I had it on, or maybe it depends on whether the last thing I watched was something on demand; if the last thing I watched was on demand, then it defaults to Channel 1 as the live channel.

Also, on the home screen, I get a list of previously viewed channels and can just click on that.  Of course sometimes I get the home screen when I turn on Spectrum, and sometimes it goes automatically to live TV.  Grrrrrr.  However, if it DOES go to live TV, I can hit that BACK arrow and get to the home screen with the previously viewed channels.

I'm annoyed by the lack of a number pad on the Roku remote, but the scrolling isn't all THAT slow, and it's a hell of a lot faster than the volume control on that thing.  Most of the channels I watch are in the lower range, like below 100 or so, except the CSPANs, which start at 225.  So scrolling isn't a huge deal for me.  What bothers me more than that is how on live TV now, there's a significant delay when you change the channel before the new channel comes in.  It's been that way for years, of course, but I recall the olden days when you tuned into a channel and it appeared instantaneously.

Also on Spectrum, I haven't figured out why there are two different channel numbers for a lot of the networks.  Like TCM is channel 64 and channel 631, and ESPN is Channel 52 and channel 301.  But CSPAN is only  channel 225.

A charitable view would be that it makes it possible to use their slow scrolling because you can be in a "range," but that's not the case because there's no pattern to the "sister" channels.  AMC is channel 63 and TCM is channel 64.  But the higher channel for AMC is 105 and the higher channel for TCM is 631.  That's not going to assist anyone in scrolling.

Finally, the captions are persistent on my Roku.  With DirecTV, if I hit the VOLUME button the captions would disappear briefly, but not with Roku.  And they cover up all the chyrons, so when I'm watching House Hunters I can't see all the stuff they put on the lower part of the screen, like the price of the house, the city they're in, who someone is, etc.  SOMETIMES I can go frame-by-frame and there might be a millisecond gap in the caption that allows me to see the chyron, but that's extremely time consuming and it doesn't always work.

 

[Anatomy of a Fall (2023)]

I don't remember if they were clear how he ended up on the ground.  I think they weren't, and there are people who don't like that kind of ambiguity.  I'm not one of them.  (I obviously don't care about the resolution if I can't remember it.)

[Anatomy of a Fall (2023)]

And?

[S17.E13: Exploring Intimacy at an Altitude]

14 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Emily may have made an innocuous comment but he interpreted it as an affront or a criticism. 

If she made an innocuous comment, then you'd think she'd want people to know what it was. 

I think it's a pretty big leap from someone accusing him of throwing unspecified things to concluding he did it to scare and intimidate her, never mind positing that he's a closet rage-aholic who gets to a point of boiling over inappropriately. 

 

[S17.E13: Exploring Intimacy at an Altitude]

17 hours ago, SummerDreams said:

To be honest I wouldn't care WHAT made him angry, the fact he reacted like that is enough for me to run away from him. It's like asking a woman who was raped "what were you wearing?". Doesn't matter.

I don't think it's the same.

He apparently didn't hit her, which would be an automatic "I don't care what she said, you don't hit her" for me.  But he threw stuff, and I would find it useful to know what kind of comment would lead a given person to do that.

And actually, I'd like to know what exactly he threw.  Pillows?  Her favorite stuffed animal?  Sure, that would still be alarming to me, but a lot less alarming than glasses or cast iron skillets.

[S17.E13: Exploring Intimacy at an Altitude]

4 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Emily gave a glossed over version of what happened with Brennan but declined to give specific facts or details. Despite that I wouldn't automatically assume it was because she was lying but perhaps for the same reason Brennan didn't want to get specific with facts or details about Emily's behavior either. 

She did give specific facts and details--Brennan got angry and threw things at the wall as a reaction to something she said.  What did she say that made him react like that?  She refused to say, and it's not because she's protecting Brennan.

[Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?]

1 hour ago, Mondrianyone said:

When you want to bounce the light back at the tailgater, you move the mirror to the right, so it's essentially angled straight back.

Thanks for the idea--anything to annoy annoying drivers is a plus in my book.  But in my case it's not going to work because the car is so low, my rearview mirror points straight back into the tailgater's own lights, and if it's a pickup, probably not even that high.

[Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?]

1 hour ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I am such a wimp when it comes to driving in the snow.

Several years ago I was in the Chicago suburbs seeing movies in a theater all day.  When I got out, it was dark and it had unexpectedly (to me, anyway) snowed and was still snowing.  Oops.

I was driving Mr. Outlier's rear-wheel drive sports car with wide tires on the rear that were street tires but not made for weather (he likes to race around).  A more snow-unworthy car can hardly be imagined, but I'm a good, and confident, driver. 

It was a 20-mile drive on surface streets, and the beginning wasn't bad because there was enough traffic that the snow on the streets wasn't sticking.  But the final 8 miles was on a perfectly straight farm road through cornfields, which hadn't been recently plowed and the falling snow was covering any tracks that might have been left by a previous driver in either direction, so it was a challenge to know where the asphalt ended and the ditch on the side began.

So I'm driving along, not going fast, and not maintaining a steady speed, like you'd think I should, but the road isn't entirely flat and I need momentum to be able to get up the rises, so I'm having to calculate how fast to go down the downhill parts to be able to get up the uphill parts without spinning my tires.  It's a delicate balance, but I'm pretty good at it.

All is fine until a pickup comes up from behind me and gets right on my ass, with his headlights shining right in my eyes because I'm lower to the ground than he is.  And he stays on my fucking ass for miles, as my speed goes up and down.  Whyyyyyyy?

And not only that, this obviously ill-equipped sports car driving in the snow has Texas plates on it.  I have never understood how this moron didn't see this combination and think, "Jesus.  This is an accident waiting to happen; I need to stay as far away as possible.  I'll either pass them or drop behind, but it's a terrible idea to be anywhere near them when they start spinning."

We finally got to an intersection with a red light and I stopped and he came up around me and turned right, depriving me of the chance to ask him what good he thought would come from tailgating a Texan in a sports car in a snowstorm.

[House Hunters - General Discussion]

On 1/4/2024 at 3:33 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I've seen shared driveways go very bad.    All it takes to go wrong is for one homeowner to park in the driveway and block it, and the other person can't get out.  

You mean like how the HH Spencer parked in the driveway and blocked it, while dismissing Kevin's concerns about a shared driveway because he doesn't drive?  Sure, a shared driveway is no problem...if you're the asshole who blocks it.

Also, Kevin needs to work on his math.  He said over half of the first house had a garage door on the front of it.  Uh, more like a quarter.  Half of it was a nice patio, and the remaining quarter was brick with a window in it.

I've never been a fan of houses that are all garage on the front (once someone pointed it out to me), but this one didn't ping that irritation at all, and I think the garage was more nicely integrated into the facade than the one they picked.

[House Hunters - General Discussion]

On 12/29/2023 at 5:30 AM, BAForever said:

Carlito probably qualified as Tim's emotional support dog.

Emotional support dogs hold no special status similar to that mandated for service dogs, which are trained to perform a task directly related to a person's disability.

Service dogs are allowed wherever their owner is allowed, with very narrow exceptions (like perhaps a sterile operating room).  No business is ever required to allow emotional support animals, which are no different from pets when it comes to access to public accommodations.  If you see one at Home Depot, it's because Home Depot allows it to be in the store as a pet--no law requires them to allow it.  No law requires any business to allow any animal other than a service animal.

There is an exception for housing, though.  Under the Fair Housing Act, there are situations where a landlord may not refuse to rent to a person with a support animal if certain conditions are met.  This is broader than in other places of public accommodation, where service dogs have to be allowed and emotional support dogs don't.

On 1/6/2024 at 8:17 AM, laredhead said:

I've had both a wood burning only fireplace, and now have one that will burn wood, but has a gas starter, and gas logs.  Yes, you lose some of the wood smoke smell,

You say that like it's a bad thing.  When I was growing up, my mother used to put our jeans on stretchers and hang them on the brick above the fireplace to dry.  A teacher at my brother's junior high once asked him if he brought a barbecue sandwich with him to school every day.

[Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?]

35 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

Yep, Austin weather is crazy. My son lived there for 7 years.

I lived there for about 25 years, and it's still been my "home base" while traveling fulltime for the last 20.  I remember usually getting one or two hard freezes a year, but not being followed by temperatures pushing 80 a few days later.  Then again, I was younger and I didn't really notice the weather that much--I just dealt with whatever it was, as young people do.

I used to make fun of old people talking about the weather, but now that I'm an old person myself, I get it.  It's interesting.

I spent last summer in the Chicago area and a friend who was broiling in Houston asked me if it was cooler where I was, since it's farther north.  I had to think about it, because usually northern latitudes ARE cooler that southern latitudes.  Or maybe that's just the average temperatures?  Because it gets hotter than hell in Chicago in the summer, and the humidity can rival Houston's.  But the season doesn't last as long as it does in Houston, and the winters obviously bring down the average temperature in Chicago a lot.

On 1/17/2024 at 9:24 PM, Annber03 said:

The weather forecast could be wrong about EVERYTHING else, no matter what they predict...

...but whenever they say it'll be windy, by god, it's windy :p. 

Sounds like someone who's never been skunked after driving to a windsurfing launch based on the forecast.  😀

[S31.E09: Cher, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Timothée Chalamet]

On 12/3/2023 at 8:18 AM, Orbert said:

Seeing Cher just made me sad.  Her face is so plastic that most of it doesn't move when she talks and it's stuck in a permanent sad look.

I find her hard to look at.

Quote

Tom and Julia were both great, but I like both of them and they can usually do no wrong in my eyes. 

Julia did especially right in her choice of a sweater and pants (except when it made her sweat 😀).  It's always bugged me how the men can just sit there but so many of the women wear outfits that don't allow that.  I'm watching the Emma Stone episode right now.  What the hell was she thinking?

Quote

I only know Timothée from Dune (part 1) but he seems pretty cool. 

I find him very appealing.  He's seems very mature for his years, while still seeing like a kid.  And I love his lankiness.

[Why Grammar Matters: A Place To Discuss Matters Of Grammar]

On 1/18/2024 at 2:07 PM, Browncoat said:

I am a biologist, and have always pronounced it zo-ology.  Zoo-ology would be the study of zoos.

I'm kind of a hybrid.  I took Zoology for Non-Majors at the University of Texas.  I always pronounced it zoe-ology, but also thought the class would be about animals.  It turned out to be one slide after another of chromosomes with a nick in them or something, and nothing about elephants or zebras.

The only thing I remember from that class is a condition called Cri du Chat, which makes afflicted people cry like a cat.  It was also the first French I ever learned.

And another Texas homophone I was just reminded of.  Hill and heel, which might be a double homophone?  I had a Jazzercise teacher who would say, when we were jumping, "Make sure your hills come all the way down."  While a rancher would be likely to say, "My property extends past those heels out there."

[S17.E13: Exploring Intimacy at an Altitude]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also, why is it so bad for Emily to push back on Keisha's questions but when Brennan refuses to talk about those things with the therapist there are apologies made for him like he just doesn't want to do it publicly or whatever?  

Brennan's refusing to talk at all is different from what Emily did on the aftershow.  Emily said Brennan got mad and threw things, and then said it was because of something she said.  So the host asked her what she said, and Emily refused to answer.  The host pressed, pointing out that Emily's presenting her version of what happened, and there are facts related to that version that viewers need to be able to have a fuller picture.  Emily refused to respond, apparently believing that her version shouldn't be challenged or even subject to any doubt.

Brennan is just saying nothing, instead of presenting a version of an event and getting pissy when somebody wants some more facts, especially facts that you've alluded to but not actually stated.

5 hours ago, Shauna said:

I would be massively pissed off at Emily if I were Becca.  To be vulnerable and think you could trust a friend, only to have said friend blab to the world your sex problems?  Unforgivable.

Then again, Becca barely even knows Emily, so maybe she should have called on an actual friend to be vulnerable with.  I'm sure the producers pressed her to talk to Emily about it, and I know they can be persuasive, but everything that she told this person she barely knows was uttered voluntarily. 

I liked the scene of two of the women out by the pool/hot tub, because I was watching the people behind them getting into the water and then disappearing (did he drown?!?) and then reappearing (whew!).  The fact that these shows let their editing hijinks be on such blatant display tells me they don't really care if they look sheisty.