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My children learned to gesture before they spoke more than Dadada or momma. For example, they would hold both hands up when they wanted to be picked up.

It is a fascinating subject. I am always fascinated by public speakers and what they do with their hands while speaking. There are differences when standing behind a lectern and when standing free of anything. Watch a news presenter when they are standing in front of a green screen. You can see them fighting to… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 1:02 PM on November 30, 2023

I have seen 177 of the pre Jerry death Grateful Dead and about 40 derivative (Further, Dead and Corporate,...) The Dead shows were from 1977 on. All over the country (and Canada) although most were east coast shows. I saw the Allman Brothers 24 times. DMB about 30, Phish 17 (over half during the msg baker's dozen residency. Saw Stills and Young at Nassau Coliseum as one of the first shows. Saw CSN and Tom Petty. I have seen Hot Tuna and Jorma a dozen times. Rolling Stones 10 times. Saw Bruce in… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:17 AM on October 25, 2023

I would add to my above lists that what made a lot of shows good, bad, so so, or even great was not only the band, the sound, the seats, but also the friends I was with. Some were roadtrips and some were semi local, but the hang before hand and the bars or hotel afterwards always added to the show experience. Drive two days to see 3 nights of the Dead and I can assure you part of the great time was being in the car with good friends.

I also left out one of the amazing… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:54 PM on October 25, 2023

It is interesting in that it seems to me that both parties are fracturing. The Republicans are doing it publicly in real-time while the Democrats are slow walking their fracture sped up by the Hamas attack on Israel.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 8:30 AM on October 25, 2023

Melted butter should be on the list and in the top 10.

Really. Try it.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:50 PM on October 22, 2023

Saw the headline and thought this was about some old FM radio station that used old news clips to save money.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:03 PM on October 18, 2023

This minority of sisters who sued sound a lot like the right wing republicans that threw congress into turmoil by ousting McCarthy and refusing to vote for Scalise. Both are out of step with reality.

Here is what was not made clear. I do not know how it works in a sorority voting for new members, but in my fraternity, it only took one or in a rare case two no or blackball votes to not get invited. These 8 sisters who are suing, did they vote yes initially to let… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:58 PM on October 17, 2023

it says in the article that the sisters were required to put their email addresses in when they voted so they all said yes to avoid being rightfully accused of bigotry.

So put your email address in. It is supposed to be a secret vote? If they voted in person, it would be a roll call vote I assume. Bigots should not be allowed to hide behind a veil of anonymity.

So now they made it worse by suing? They did… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 1:36 PM on October 17, 2023

My, at the time, two teenage boys wanted me to bring home 100 McNuggets one day after work. They explained that they were going to have a McNugget eating contest. Like a good father (oops) I agreed to buy at least 100 of those things. (Turns out, when you order 5 20 packs they give you A LOT of packages of sauce. Straight up 10 minutes who could eat more. I have it on video. My older son, one who is in the military and works out 3x a day, he had more capacity but quit after 31. My younger… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:18 PM on October 16, 2023

!

Awesome.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:10 PM on October 13, 2023

Newsom should appoint himself and then he can run for President as he clearly is already.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:29 AM on September 29, 2023

The Buffalo Fire Department seems pretty good at burning money. You'd think they would be decent at putting the fire out. My first question is who audits the BFD's books? The auditor should have made at least a footnote saying there were one or more employees out on paid administrative leave also noting that, in at least one case, for multiple years.

When a teacher is taken out of a classroom but not fired, they put them in a rubber room so to speak and make them at… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 2:16 AM on September 18, 2023

All I had as a kid was a park with a jungle gym and 3 swings, two of which were either broken or taken by the older kids. Oh, a seesaw and one of those things you spin until either you fall off or puke. Those were the days!

This makes me happy too.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:28 AM on August 23, 2023

I hope the other giraffes don't discriminate against them. Or is that only humans who discriminate against other humans that don't look like them?

Something about leopards and changing spots...
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:24 AM on August 23, 2023

In the last three years, I have aided 5 cyclists who have been hit or had their bike damaged. I drive a big ass pickup truck. I sometimes feel like the HELP trucks on the highway. I have given these 5 cyclists lifts for them and their damaged bikes either to home, to health care or just a safe place to regroup. I learned a healthy fear of hitting cyclists and motorcycles when I was in driver's ed some 40+ years ago and when I owned an unregistered and unreliable shit ass motorcycle in… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 5:18 PM on August 17, 2023

I had an Animal House like college experience. I learned early that "Sorry officer, fraternity prank" could go a long way. We had the fraternity rolls down to all girls schools for mixers, open house band parties with 10 kegs, a file cabinet with 100s of old tests, etc. By my fourth year, my major involvement with the fraternity was intramural basketball and flag football. At 21, I was too old to keep up with the partying or too old to want to.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 7:04 AM on August 16, 2023

I think, back in the day, in Salem, they had billboards (signs on trees?) that read, "Witches ARE real".
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 6:37 AM on August 16, 2023

My F-150 has a 25 gallon tank. I wanted the 36 gallon tank option, but for reasons was unable to get that option in a timely manner. I also track my mpg per tank and since inception. I know how many miles I should get out of a tank of gas.

Apparently, Ford (and all/other?) sends the warnings about getting to empty and you are empty when the tank is drained of 23 gallons not 25
Because I was traveling rurally in unfamiliar area, I have driven 44 miles AFTER… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:10 PM on August 12, 2023

Adams reminds me of the old Joe Namath (a great NYer) line, "I can't wait until tomorrow because I get better looking everyday."

Top ten self promoter.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 11:23 PM on August 11, 2023

Is there any place I can see what the studios are offering and what the union(s) are asking for? I know one of the issues is residuals on streaming. (I think). Also, is the contract expired or is the union seeking to renegotiate?

The music industry learned to live in a streaming world, I don't see why the studios and writers can't. While I don't think that unions are always right, this seems like a pretty obvious and fair ask that they get paid for streams.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:27 AM on August 11, 2023

Thanks drewbage1847 for the info. Seems reasonable to me.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 11:23 AM on August 11, 2023

Depending on where I am (on the stairs racing down or already in the car), the "Watch the closing doors" announcement is either the saddest thing bc I have to wait for the next train or the happiest because I made it.

Growing up in NY in the 70s and 80s, everyone had an imitation of Marv Albert the Knicks and Rangers announcer back in the day. For those of us growing up on Long Island, we all had imitations of the Long Island Railroad announcement,… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:57 AM on August 11, 2023

This is so far over my head, I have but one question. Is there any practical issues I need to concern myself with at this time?
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 4:00 PM on August 10, 2023

Works for me. It is a link to archive.is
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:57 AM on August 9, 2023

It was many years ago, but I was on a blind date. Things were going well. I was drinking beer. She was drinking scotch, one rock on the side. So I am trying to keep up with her. Comes down to having to chug my beer. I am not sure she even noticed we were in a drinking contest. Anyway, I without saying anything, chug my beer between bites of food. I feel a burp coming on. I suppress it. It is getting painful. I jump up, say excuse me and run to the door of the restaurant on Clark… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:46 PM on August 8, 2023

Looks like the SEC will absorb some ACC teams. Florida State is making noises about leaving the ACC. ACC TV contract goes until 2037. I think it will cost FSU $124 million to get out of the ACC. The ACC (my conference) is primarily a basketball conference with the exception of FSU, Clemson and to some extent VPI.

With the NIL and the transfer portal, these teams are now essentially professionals. I am not saying that is good or bad, but I do think it needs to be… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:48 PM on August 4, 2023

Excellent post btw.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:48 PM on August 4, 2023

Editorial Calling for Congress to step in and stop the madness.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:37 PM on August 4, 2023

Did they test the smell of napalm? I hear it smells like victory in the mornings.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:10 AM on August 4, 2023

My grandparents had these. Problem was we were never allowed to watch TV at their house bc we were visiting and should be spending time talking and interacting with grandma and grandpa. But, we used to push the buttons just for the sound and the spring like action.

Then, when we first got cable TV, Cablevision, we had a box with 3 rows and about 25 buttons across. Long wire we could pull all over the room. Then to the infrared and battery remotes. Now, I lost the remote… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:48 PM on July 30, 2023

My great aunt, rest her soul, lived to be 98. When me and the kids would visit her near the end of her life, she would insist we go to the CF. She would get the same thing every time, take a few bites, have it wrapped to go and have free food (I always paid) for a month at the rate she ate. She would also take the rolls if there were any, extra packets of sugar, and lots of napkins. She wasn't broke or anything, just frugal. This is the same person that lived in the same studio apartment… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:25 PM on July 28, 2023

I am old enough to have been a legal drinker at 18 which in NY in the 70s meant if you could walk up to the bar and say beer and then show your brother's altered paper license then you were served. My HS friends and I were regulars at the age of 16 at a local old man's bar.

Schlitz, Schmidts, Schaeffer, Miller High Life ponies, Utica Club, etc were our beers of choice. Why? Price. Low price with little taste but the same 5% alcohol content.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:05 PM on July 25, 2023

Huge Yankees fan and my favorite player of all time is Thurman Munson. I always felt that while it may have made no difference, a rule is a rule. Change the rule in the off season if it makes no sense. Certainly there were not a lot of players with the pine tar more than 18" up the bat. I also always felt that when George Brett (a deserved HOF player) came running out flailing and attacking the umpire, that that was a pivotal moment in bad entitled athlete behavior. He got away with it, was… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 11:28 PM on July 24, 2023

Somebody or something is goofing on us.

When I was in college many many pulses ago, my roommate and I were bored and decided to see what would happen if we dropped a lacrosse ball (loud thud) on the floor (cement with tile over it) exactly every 5 minutes. We wanted to see if the guy downstairs from us noticed. It took about 45 minutes (10 drops) for someone to come upstairs and bang on our door screaming to stop it. I bravely opened the door. He was not happy but… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:07 PM on July 21, 2023

Seems like this thread is in desperate need of a tl/dr, so:

It is not 22 minutes on the dot. That's the average, but there's a wide error bar on that (close to 7 minutes). Sometimes, such a period even passes entirely with no bursts...

Buzz kill
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:37 PM on July 22, 2023

Maybe this is too obvious, and sometimes I don't get the subtle hint, but I forge on with a dad joke anyway. Did you hear about the constipated mathematician? He worked it out with a pencil.

(or is the joke implied in the post title?)

The explainer video REALLY helped!
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 4:42 PM on July 22, 2023

Roosevelt Field mall was my mall. Graduated from a nearby HS in the very late 70s. The hours I spent in the Record World and the World Imports and in the food court and all over the mall are hours spent trying to grow up. Loved the place.

Sadly, the name Roosevelt Field is because it was an airport or air strip. Lindbergh took off from there when he flew across the Atlantic. I know somewhere at the mall is a plaque commemorating the event.

Oh, I… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 8:51 PM on July 6, 2023

I would go to war to protect my pancakes. That is not a revolutionary idea. Besides the IHOP is the International House of Pancakes which sounds like it is bridging the gap between the British and the colonists that may or may not have died so we could one day have strip malls, Costco and, yes, pancakes.


I live relatively close to Fishkill. My kids have played in those early morning weekend soccer tournaments where the fall temperature is 39 degrees and… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 8:41 PM on July 6, 2023

I am in the camp (rare?) that thinks these competitive eaters are great athletes. Joey Chestnut is one of the greatest athletes of all time. All my family, friends and kids know I think this way. From noon until two when the contest went off, I was getting texts that essentially said, Let Joey Eat! The NY Post erroneously reported for about an hour it was canceled.

As Joey ages, it clearly is that he is not the eater he was 5 years ago. He is married now. Life focus… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 8:05 PM on July 4, 2023

I celebrated the 20th anniversary of my 39th birthday.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 6:26 AM on July 3, 2023

To me, a lot of the first cost, the acquisition cost, can be looked at (justified as?) as a type of insurance. The Moby Dick book for a dollar is a good example. I don't know if I will ever read it, but I am willing to pay a dollar to ensure it is there at the very moment I do decide to read it.

Insurance itself is one of those products you buy but hope to never use.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 8:29 AM on June 29, 2023

The CIA mixed LSD and sex at this SF brothel...

I would expect nothing less of the CIA.

Fuckers.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 2:17 PM on June 25, 2023

No, denile's in Egypt; (proper) Guinness is made in Ireland; the US is on it's own.

Favorited on Father's Day.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 6:17 PM on June 18, 2023

Team headphones here. I like the subtitles, but they annoy my gf, so I bluetooth headphone while she listens to the speaker and asks me what they said.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:05 AM on June 13, 2023

.

Let the sunshine...

I have a friend who is about 5 years younger than Treat who is a dead ringer (no pun intended) for Treat. He used to get "recognized" in airports and out in public semi regularly. After some years, he hated it. He would try to tell the people he was not Treat but often they would think he was covering for himself as Treat. A few times he signed autographs rather than argue. One of those times he was not… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:57 AM on June 13, 2023

To each their own. Who am I to complain when I eat peanut butter and mustard sammies?

But, when I eat pizza, I am a NYer and each a regular slice or three or pepperoni. I certainly do not take pizza recommendations from the WaPo.
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 9:43 AM on June 8, 2023

When I had my trading firm, we would order lunch everyday for the traders and staff since they could not often leave their desks. We also kept the refrigerator stocked with soda, water, seltzer, etc. One day, the SEC auditors were in our office doing a routine audit. I went in to say hello to them. They were all brown bagging it. Mostly drinking water out of plastic cups from the tap. I explained that there were free drinks in the refrigerator, help themselves. These were junior level… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 12:10 PM on June 6, 2023

About 20 years ago I was out to dinner in NYC with 5 guys who played D1 hockey. Good players for BC, Minnesota, etc. Anyway after several adult beverages (or more) the conversation turned to who influenced hockey the most.

Naturally, one guy argued for the Great One, one guy argued for Gordie Howe (longitivity), another for Bobby Hull, one for Stan Mikita and the first curved stick. Even though I am a Rangers fan through and through, I argued for Bobby Orr for changing… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 10:23 PM on May 25, 2023

theodolite, loved your episodes! Congratulations. Can't wait to see you in the Tournament. I thought it unfair that they put you against Ben another champion that had mysterious travel issues (Covid?) so had to delay his return. I guess that was somewhat random and the (un)luck of the draw. I initially thought Ben got a raw deal with his last game, but rules is rules. His answer was not correct. It wasn't a case of a spelling error on the correct answer but rather he spelled the wrong… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 11:37 AM on May 25, 2023

I think any discussion of the music business should include some of the rantings from Bob Lefsetz. He is a prolific writer, sometimes a bloviator, but has a good handle on what is what. See his archive. Been writing the blog since 2005. His readership is large and diverse. Often his "mailbag" posts have responses from the artists, often name artists, themselves. He has been at it for a long while. He is in his 60s so he reminiscences about the good old days and when music was… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 11:15 AM on May 23, 2023