Small Talk: Chili's

[Too Late Kev]

I wouldn't mind seeing Godzilla, but I'm not sure I will. It depends on whether it's okay for the kids (haven't checked at all). I probably wouldn't see the X-Men movie because I haven't seen much of the others. But I will keep my eye out for the amaze-balls trailer; I do like a good trailer. :)

 

It's spring, but the pollen hasn't hit yet, so I guess that's about the best time in spring. I'm not looking forward to the pollen -- sneezing, headaches, that damned yellow dust everywhere, and the question, "Should we just leave every door and window shut to avoid it as much as possible?"

 

King of Birds, go ahead and post on TWoP if you want to!

Edited May 15, 2014 by Too Late Kev

[King of Birds]

Cheesecake pops?  Why would I want one of those? Sorry you took THAT for the team, Stewed.

----------

 

I'm not sure I'm fully ready, but here is my attempt to start "Jetpacks: A Promise Unfulfilled" which should probably be noted, may be an on-going series.

 

Now, I might freak out the Millenials, but ... let's go back to 1962, shall we?  I'm not even born, and THE JETSON'S makes its debut.  His boy Elroy... daughter Judy... and George and Jane all fly in their own separate ships. George's ship folds up so he can carry it as a briefcase!  Sure. It's a cartoon.  Sure. It takes place in 2062 (100 years from its debut).  Now, I didn't even probably start watching this show until the 70s. But everyone had their own flying device.

 

Fast forward 50 years. There is this, a Top 50 invention from 2010, but it's for first-responders and that ilk.  There is even this quote about the Martin jetpack: The Martin Jetpack is a small semi-backpack helicopter, not a jetpack.  So there's that.

 

You're probably thinking: What's the big dealio, King of Birds? So you can't fly over the SoCal freeways.  Well, look at all these other inventions from the 1960s, and how prevalent they are in our lives: Lasers!  Etch-a-sketch!  Silicone implants! (aka Chemistry for Better Living™)  The WonderBra, CDs, Kevlar, and the Radarange!

 

One of my earliest recollections in my life, was the July 20 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.  It was on tv. I ran outside to look up at the moon, because of course, I wanted to see them on the moon. Ah, to be a 4 year old who had the thought of being His Boy Elroy in a jetpack by the time the YEAR 2000 came 'round.  And here we are in 2014.  The Wright Bros. flew on December 17, 1903 and we had a man on the moon 66 years later.  Am I really nuts thinking, when I was ten, that jetpacks wouldn't happen?

[LiberryLady]

Am I really nuts thinking, when I was ten, that jetpacks wouldn't happen?

 

Well, you're nuts, but not about jetpacks.

 

Y'know what I think is funny?  We all thought we would have picture-phones by now, but instead what are we doing?  Texting.  Typing words on a tiny screen.  Who da thunk it?

[King of Birds]

I'm throwing this out to all of you:  I need a new purpose in life.  Any ideas?  I'll be judging on practicability (that's a word, right?) and creativity.

 

ETA: replies from bethbox shall be ignored.

Edited May 21, 2014 by King of Birds

[frenchtoast]

Maybe your new purpose in life would be to make a jet-pack?

[LiberryLady]

I need a new purpose in life.  Any ideas?

 

The guys I see doing this usually seem pretty happy.

[possibilities]

I think this is the new jetpack:

[King of Birds]

That is pretty cool. But it in no way is "the new jetpack." How can it be when we still have no jetpacks?   I know, you're being all sly there possibilities. Good try.

 

Okay so anyone who was on twop and here at previously, watches tv. Not sure if you've seen those ads for Farmers Only.com? Probably. I think I need to start up JetpacksOnly.com - right?

 

Best to all on this Memorial Day.

[Too Late Kev]

Why do you need a new purpose, King of Birds? What was wrong with your old purpose? If that was, "Get an actual functioning jetpack," you haven't done it yet. Was it something else?

 

I don't worry a whole lot about purpose; I just try to get through the days with all of us alive and relatively unscathed.

[King of Birds]

stewedsquash- That could be cool. Unless ... you know, it leads to the robot revolution. We'll need jetpacks to fight the robots.

 

And going up the thread a bit, I forgot to click on frenchtoast's link about building a jetpack, but just did. I would need more than two 2-liter bottles to get this body mass jetting off the ground. That's all I'm sayin'.

 

Also, as I type all this, I'm upset that when I type jetpack it gives me the red dots under the word, AS IF JETPACK IS NOT A REAL WORD.  And I go "Pffft" to the idea we need a dash in the word. PFFFFFT!!!!!    <--- yes, multiple exclamation points.

[Pixel]

Is it gone? I just went by TWOP and the forums say they are temporarily down, but I'm thinking this is the end. I thought we had until the 31st, though.

[Glory]

I was able to get there, Pixel. 

[King of Birds]

It's weird though, twop seems so dead and slow already. I checked it out this morning. Hardly any posts. And people post "I'm so verklempt" type of things.  And I'm doubting anyone archived Chili's. (No offense to Luke's pad)  It does blow majorly, but I'm amazed it's still there. I've been tempted to post some insightful lovely (rambling ranting) thoughts but I just can't .... HEY.  Anyone go see XMEN Days of Future Past?  We need Kitty Pride to take ... who... how 'bout Cindy McLennan back in time to change the course of history! So TWOP can survive! I mean, it's like a mutant thing, right?  Who's with me? Somebody kidnap Ellen Page and let's get this thing rolling!

[possibilities]

In the TWoP thread for questions and concerns about the site closing, someone posted a script for quick and easy archiving of threads. i cna't figure out how to make it wokr, but quite a few people seem to be saying it's easy to do. I think archiving Chilis and latter day Luke's would be awesome, if anyone can pull it off.

 

Google is making a driverless car (no steering wheel, brake, or accelerator pedal).

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/05/27/316486989/google-is-becoming-a-car-manufacturer?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140528&utm_campaign=dailydigest&utm_term=nprnews

It's land-based and only goes 25mph, so no competition for jetpacks. But I think if driverless cars are a thing, can jetpacks be far behind? Would you settle for giant mechanical strap on wings with a motorized flapping function?

 

As far as the "Farmers Only" commercials go, I find them embarrassing. But the concept isn't bad. I read an article somewhere about a speed dating set up where people meet at a farm and instead of sitting at tables they meet at a garden and pull weeds together. This is my ideal first date! Rural people really are different....

[King of Birds]

I'm still in my forties. Yet my inbox gets spammed with "Meet SENIOR singles."  No AARP yet, but today, just now?   BURIAL INSURANCE.  F this crap.

[LiberryLady]

No AARP yet

 

 

Just a warning, Birdy, but that AARP application comes in the mail as an evil fiftieth birthday present.

[Setlist]

No AARP yet, but today, just now?   BURIAL INSURANCE.  F this crap.

 

Sigh. I've gotten this crap in the (actual) mail since I was 15. Even though I've moved a billion times, the AARP, Time Magazine Senior Subscriptions, Hearing Aid mailers, donation requests from organizations I've never heard of (with crappy complimentary calendars), and yes - funeral coverage for my loved ones to bury me with no debt - seem to find me. It's super annoying. And it's one of the reasons why I'm so bad with checking my mail, especially since I pay my actual bills online.

 

Blerg.

[Glory]

In the TWoP thread for questions and concerns about the site closing, someone posted a script for quick and easy archiving of threads. i cna't figure out how to make it wokr, but quite a few people seem to be saying it's easy to do. I think archiving Chilis and latter day Luke's would be awesome, if anyone can pull it off.

 

 

I'll give it a shot. 

 

ETA: It looks like it's working so I'll leave it to run. Anyone want me to try to nab anything else for them? I'm going to try to grab the Watercooler as well. 

 

EDIT2: Here is a zipped archive of Watercooler. Chili's is over a thousand pages so it's taking a while. This was only about 200. You can't view it in drive, that I'm aware of. You'll have to download, unzip and then view the HTML files on your computer. 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0aigzcLUCADSHNqbXlpOG1KUlk/edit?usp=sharing

Edited May 30, 2014 by Glory

[LiberryLady]

Has anyone else been checking into TWoP all day today?  Sigh... The Gilmore Girls fandom is back at Luke's.  It makes me sad we couldn't have all gathered one more time in Chili's.

[frenchtoast]

Yeah, but we have this Chili's. And it's the people that make it, not the location. Mostly.

 

I don't have any more rum, thanks to Mr. Toast, so I'm drinking some pink champagne. I'm rapidly running out of booze in my house.

[LiberryLady]

Fuck it, I went and posted in the Office thread.  What are they going to do, ban me for going off-topic?

[Pixel]

It's gone. I was just in the Tori Spelling thread and poof! RIP TWOP. I have to admit, I had a mild anxiety reaction. I thought maybe they'd forget and leave the forums indefinitely.

[LiberryLady]

Pixel, it came back. Not gone yet.

[King of Birds]

Somebody forgot Zombieland Rule #2 over there at Invision, I guess.

[LiberryLady]

KOB, I LIT-ERALLY just watched that movie last night.

 

ETA: Yep, it's definitely gone now. I rode it down in the Office thread.

Edited June 1, 2014 by LiberryLady

[frenchtoast]

I stayed until the SQL errors at 12:15 and crawled into bed. I shouldn't have stayed up because we're seeing X-Men at 9:30 this morning, but I had to. I did have two glasses of champagne. Also, a TWoPper from the Star Trek Meet Market set up a Facebook page and we were setting that up while TWoP was having its last hurrah. (I'm pretty sure hurrah is spelled right, what the heck spell check?)

 

So, I read somewhere that the 2011 Three Musketeers was actually a lot of fun and not as terrible as Rotten Tomatoes would have you believe. So, on Friday, I figured I'd give it a go and see if it's one of those movies like The A-Team--not great, but just fun to watch. Most of the actors got the point that it was just meant to be a little silly and scenery chewing was accepted (hi, Orlando Bloom). Some did not get the memo. Or they did and they just couldn't figure out what to do (hi Matthew Macfadyen) Also, if you show the planning session discussion intercut with the execution of the plan don't change it afterwards because that's just annoying. It's not the type of movie that can be too clever because then it's just annoying, as in, why did I just watch all that nonsense? The worst scene was with D'Artagnan and his father. Good lord, they did not get the get a bit silly memo.

 

As I'm watching this, I put myself in the mindset that I'd have to discuss it here and not TWoP. But then, I wouldn't know where to put it, so I came here. Also, I think Pixel saw this and liked it. I enjoyed it, and Milla Jovovich always makes me smile, but I don't know if I'll buy it.

[Pixel]

Actually, no. I had expressed interest in seeing it, but never did. I've made several attempts as it has been on the movie channels on several occasions, but always rapidly lost interest.

[frenchtoast]

If I ever see it in the $5 blu-ray bin in Wal-Mart (which is likely never because I deliberately avoid Wal-Mart) I'd pick it up. Some of it was a lot of fun, and Ray Stevenson and Orlando Bloom were having jolly time. But otherwise, not going to spend too much money on it. If only because I was fascinated by the pearl drop earring Stevenson's character (Porthos) was wearing. I just couldn't look away. Buckingham (Bloom) was rocking one, too. It was pretty awesome.

 

Also it had a steam punk flame thrower. Didn't know steam punk was 17th century, thought it was more 19th century, but whatever. Steam punk flame thrower. With bellows.

Edited June 1, 2014 by frenchtoast

[LiberryLady]

I went and saw X-Men this morning.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It was nice and action-y, but without those fights that go on for-ev-er, and there was a lot of tasty mens in it, too.  (Okay, I get the Fassbender looove now.  He was something to watch.) 

 

Though it cracks me up that James McAvoy plays Patrick Stewart in 1973; anyone who saw Patrick Stewart a scant eight years later in Excalibur knows the dude even now could have played his younger self.

[frenchtoast]

We saw it this morning, too! And I didn't have my normal cup o' joe figuring I could get one at the theater. Apparently the fryer for the fries and chicken fingers was up and running but not the coffee machine. Whaaa? It was a 9:30 AM show.

 

I enjoyed the heck out of the movie, but I've always loved the Charles/Erik relationship and this was just teeming with it. Fassbender was awesome, McAvoy was awesome even if he doesn't look like Patrick Stewart. Actually, the whole cast was terrific. Can't wait for the blu-ray release. Have you seen Fassbender in Jane Eyre, LL? Because damn!

[LiberryLady]

Have you seen Fassbender in Jane Eyre, LL? Because damn!

 

I did see Jane Eyre, but I probably spent the time complaining that Fassbender was too handsome to play Mr. Rochester. Because I'm the worst that way.

 

But let me once again sing the praises of the clothes of the seventies, as I did post-Argo.  People joke about it, but how freaking hot did that trio of men look in their low, tight jeans, snug button-up shirts, and leather jackets?  Stone cold foxes, every one of them.

[frenchtoast]

Oh, I said the same thing about Fassbender being way too good looking to play Rochester but so was Timothy Dalton and that's an excellent adaptation, too, despite that flaw. It's something I can get over pretty quickly.

 

And yes, they all looked great except for Quicksilver. I haaaated his jacket. But otherwise, it was normal clothes, not "fashion". My kids were not happy with the backside shot of Wolverine. I found nothing to complain about. But they all looked good. Very good. I like a beard on Shawn Ashmore, too.

[LiberryLady]

My kids were not happy with the backside shot of Wolverine.

 

Hee!  The LiberryLord poked me and whispered, "Something for you!!"

[MichelleAK]

I saw X-Men yesterday, and also really liked it.  I saw it on the RPX screen, but not in 3D.  I really liked the way the Quicksilver scenes were done, especially in the kitchen.  I also thought the other action sequences were good, without being annoyingly long as they can sometimes get (*cough* Iron Man 3/the Hobbit movies *cough*).  My favorite bits, though, were the interactions between Charles/Eric, both in the past and in the future. 

 

Warning: end of movie spoiler:  

I do wonder whether Wolverine got his adamantium claws and skeleton, though, since that was Mystique posing as Stryker who plucked him out of the Potomac.

 

 

[LiberryLady]

My favorite bits, though, were the interactions between Charles/Eric, both in the past and in the future.

 

I love their real-life adorable friendship.

[Pixel]

Didn't know steam punk was 17th century, thought it was more 19th century, but whatever. Steam punk flame thrower. With bellows.

 

I am a huge fan of all things Steampunk. The nice thing about it (and also frustrating for those who need rules to adhere to) is that there's not any sort of hard and fast rule about what century or time period you have to stick to.  The renaissance faire in our area is loaded with more Steampunk styles in the shops than anything else, and I'm pretty sure Steampunk has absolutely nothing to do with the renaissance. 

 

I must say that having this place to settle into makes the sting of losing TWOP a little less sharp.  It appears the rules are a little more lax here in terms of off topic/on topic, etc., so that might be a nice change.  It appears (so far) that most people are adhering to using understandable language and mostly proper english.

 

Personal update. I'm posting it here because I'm hoping it will make me a tiny bit accountable.  It has been a little more than a year since my disc was replaced in my neck.  Although the surgery went well and I feel great, I had stopped exercising about a month before the surgery due to the muscle spasming in my arm and neck. All that is gone now, but so is my momentum. I am not exaggerating when I say I went from the best shape of my life (I am 5'9" and weighed 181 lbs, was a size 10, and was working out every day and looked awesome), to the worst shape of my life.  In a year.  I am now still the same height (come on, people, I'm 46, not 86) but weight 210 and am a size 14-16.  I am, needless to say, disappointed and disgusted with myself.

 

Tomorrow starts Weight Watchers, and forcing myself to do some sort of workout every day.  This cannot stand!

[LiberryLady]

I hear you, Pixel. I was doing great with jogging, had lost a nice bit of weight, but school got me out of my routine.  It's summer vacation now, so no excuses, right?  Well, booo, I've been having these dizzy spells that make it tough to jog in the heat.  So I'm once more sitting on my booty.

[frenchtoast]

I'll join you with the exercise, Pixel. I had lost weight last summer and I gave up after the dog passed and school started and then it just slipped away. I will start tomorrow morning and either pop in my dvd or get on the elliptical. 15 minutes at least. Solidarity!

[Pixel]

Whoo hoo! Exercise buddies!

 

I have never been a runner. I tried a few times for about two weeks, but it's just not for me. I wanted to like it because it's a great way to shape up fast, but I just can't. I prefer elliptical and resistance training, and they work, just not as quickly.

 

ETA:  Dizzy spells? That's not good. I hope it's just the heat and not something serious!

 

I love their real-life adorable friendship.

 

They are just the cutest ever. It makes me wish Patrick Stewart was gay and they were an actual couple, because they are adorable together.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Pixel

[LiberryLady]

I am TERRIBLE at exercising inside.  Hate it.  But, I'll try getting outside for walks.  I'll take along water -- maybe that will keep me from getting all spinny?  (I sound like Lucille Two from Arrested Development.)

[possibilities]

I'll take along water -- maybe that will keep me from getting all spinny?

Watch your electrolytes, too. I've had some really shocking dizzy spells from low sodium and potassium.

[LiberryLady]

I hope it's just the heat and not something serious!

 

My oncologist thinks it might be the stupid Tamoxifen, so she gave me the go ahead to go off it for a month, and see what happens.  But possibilities, I wonder if there's something to what you're saying, too.  I've been trying to exercise in the morning, before breakfast, so maybe I'm low on some stuff?

I must say that having this place to settle into makes the sting of losing TWOP a little less sharp.

 

I will admit to being pretty verklempt, last night.  It's nice y'all are here today.

[Pixel]

Make sure you eat a little something too, LiberryLady. After everything you've been through your blood sugar could be getting low if you're walking without a little snack beforehand.  

 

I walk a mile every day at lunch at work. There's a nice path around the independent living subdivision behind my office, and it's exactly a mile and a quarter, but that's not nearly enough for me. I need to be working it, Biggest Loser style. Well, maybe not that severe, but an hour a day of resistance and/or cardio at a bare minimum. Maybe eating less garbage and processed food too.

Edited June 2, 2014 by Pixel

[LiberryLady]

Maybe eating less garbage and processed food too.

 

Yeah, I'm trying to cut back on my sugar.  I had started putting sugar in my morning chai, and found out that wooooo!  It turned me into a sugar beast who couldn't stop thinking of sugar all. day. long. By switching to half-and-half in the morning, no sugar, I didn't have that sugarsugarsugarsugar voice in my head so much.

[Pixel]

That's so true-the more you eat, the more you crave it.

[Glory]

I just bought a fitbit to help me with my exercise goals. I gained about 13 pounds in the last year - mostly "happy" pounds in that we moved into our new house and I just was so happy being a homebody I cooked and cooked and cooked. Plus, the awful winter did not help.

 

So, now I'm trying to lose that weight and then another 10 pounds on top of that. Fitbit syncs with MFP and so far, so good. It's really helping me see just how little I move during the day with my desk job. On an average day, I'm lucky if I hit 5,000 steps and they want you to hit 10k. That means I need to be moving twice as much as I normally do. 

 

Crazy!

[King of Birds]

Do you have a dog Glory? I find that helped with the 10k steps a day, if you're into that. I only got my fitbit about two weeks ago, so I don't know an "average" quite yet - work days I've been around 9-10k, weekends I'm easily 11-12k.
 

That's so true-the more you ___ , the more you crave it.

Fixed Pixel's reply.

 

Going back - I forgot to reply to this:
 

Would you settle for giant mechanical strap on wings with a motorized flapping function?

 

I found this video. I'm not sure this is as cool as a jetpack. (Truth: it most definitely is NOT as cool, but I'm being nice)

 

I believe this is The Week That I Finally Try Cakepops.

[Glory]

I have a dog, but he's not a good walker. He's a French Bulldog with a trick knee. It's more trouble than it's worth to take him for a walk.

 

I've only had my fitbit since last week, but I wouldn't doubt that I get so few steps. Today it's nearly 1pm here and I'm only at about 2200 steps. 

 

Guts told me today that he wants to go for a long walk tonight so if the weather holds up that's what we'll do. 

[frenchtoast]

I am TERRIBLE at exercising inside.  Hate it.  But, I'll try getting outside for walks.  I'll take along water -- maybe that will keep me from getting all spinny?  (I sound like Lucille Two from Arrested Development.)

 

I'm the exact opposite--I hate doing stuff outside. Popping in my Jillian Michael's DVD or a tv show and hopping on the elliptical, that I can do.

 

Make sure you eat a little something too, LiberryLady. After everything you've been through your blood sugar could be getting low if you're walking without a little snack beforehand.  

 

I walk a mile every day at lunch at work. There's a nice path around the independent living subdivision behind my office, and it's exactly a mile and a quarter, but that's not nearly enough for me. I need to be working it, Biggest Loser style. Well, maybe not that severe, but an hour a day of resistance and/or cardio at a bare minimum. Maybe eating less garbage and processed food too.

 

 

I have a dog, but he's not a good walker. He's a French Bulldog with a trick knee. It's more trouble than it's worth to take him for a walk.

 

I've only had my fitbit since last week, but I wouldn't doubt that I get so few steps. Today it's nearly 1pm here and I'm only at about 2200 steps. 

 

Guts told me today that he wants to go for a long walk tonight so if the weather holds up that's what we'll do. 

I'm going to try to get Mr. Toast to walk with crostini on these nice evenings. He's gained so much weight and he has bad family history of kidney and heart disease. Hopefully it will help his mood too. I find after getting in the groove I feel better, my mood is better, I sleep better. It's getting there that's difficult.

 

An hour sounds like a lot to start with Pixel. As the song goes, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. I'm starting at 5'3" 148 size 12--14. I want to get to 130, size 8-10 again.

[MichelleAK]

I'm the exact opposite--I hate doing stuff outside. Popping in my Jillian Michael's DVD or a tv show and hopping on the elliptical, that I can do.

 

 

I'm generally the same, exchanging a treadmill for the elliptical (which hurts my knees).  Part of it is, of course, due to weather issues up here.  I don't mind walking outside in the summer when it's nice, but I'm not going to do my walk outside in the cold or the rain.  Plus, the gym is just up the street, so it's a lot easier to exercise there, and watch TV/listen to podcasts while doing so.  Plus, they have massage chairs!