On The Run

Things that make me go...

[fravery]

The Narrows

by jef bourgeau

[baelthazar]

As a Canadian, this speaks strongly to me. It has very "Group Of Sevem" vibes. Look them up, you'll thank me later.

FYI - I do love me some Lauren Harris. We had a smallish Lauren Harris in one of the elevator lobbies in the company office I worked in. I walked by this painting a couple of times a week and even stopped a few times (ok, more than a few), to bask in the light and gravitas it emanated.

Fast-forward to a few years later when I went on a canoe camping trip with a bunch of guys from work to Killarney Provincial Park. As we are paddling towards the portage at east end of O.S.A Lake (Ontario Society of Artists) and I looked to my right and there before me was inspiration of the painting that I had walked by and admired for years.

To say I had a "moment" would be an understatement.

Killarney is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It's a mixture of exposed red-rose granite and stark white quartz mountains that can take my breath away. On a few lakes, the mountain is so white you'd think it was snow covered, and on the other side it's a warm, speckled red.

[capybaralovers]

[musiicpix3l]

Yes yes i know love is love. But they are still killing CHILDREN. over this.

[why-i-love-comics]

DC Pride #1 - “Finding Batman” (2022)

written by Kevin Conroy art by J. Bone

[xenosaurus]

this may be my age showing but I am a passionate supporter of wires. earbuds? put a leash on those things. wireless keyboard? no, it needs to hold hands with the computer. the ps5 controller I forgot to charge has the staying power of a wealthy nonagenarian with a much younger wife and 14 life insurance policies, but the controller plugged into my pc? that baby will outlive my bloodline. my ethernet cable is like a son to me.

[baelthazar]

Keyboard - Wired Mouse - Wired Monitors - Wired Sound Interface - Wired Network Connection - Wired, twice.

Do you know what isn't wired on my PC? My headphones. Why? I've just about strangled myself more times than I can count by running the damn wire under my chair leg. Also, I can listen to my video feeds while doing chores around the house.

No, I don't listen to most podcasts. That would mean walking around with my phone in a pocket and sitting on it.

[baelthazar]

Welcome to Shared Lunch V2.0 - 005

Welcome to another Monday.

Today’s lunch is grilled cheese sandwiches and a choice of dill or sweet mixed pickles. I’m sure we have some olives in the fridge if you’d rather not do pickles.

BTW, I don’t touch the cauliflower in the mixed pickles, those are Rosie’s favourite. I will, however, eat any of the pearl onions in the jar, those are all mine.

I personally think cracked wheat bread is the best for grilled cheese. We use Maple Dale extra old cheddar cheese from two pound blocks in our house. If you are a cheese nut, I can recommend the various cheeses they make. They are between Belleville and Tweed on Hwy 37, and if you are in the area, I strongly suggest you drop by the plant storefront and pick up some. Yum!

As usual, Rosie will put the kettle on for tea. English Breakfast or Earl Grey are the usual, but I’m sure we have others in the cupboard if those aren’t your cup of tea (see what I did there?

Stay safe, remember your sunscreen and break out your pride flag in support of our friends of every orientation. Love is love.

[ororium-z]

Happy Pride!

[baelthazar]

Must reblog. It's tradition.

Have a safe and happy pride month, everyone.

[teaboot]

How people get nicknames:

Recipient of a third-degree burn in front of witnesses. IE, "I won't take that shit from a man dressed like a ghostbuster"= "Gostbuster" or "Buster"

A distinctive personal feature or quirk. IE, "Have you noticed how that new guy is always eating bell peppers?" = "Peppers", or "That chick has a massive forehead" = "Forehead".

An embarrassing thing you said or did. IE, "Did you seriously call Dale "Dad"?" = "Junior", "Baby boy", "Sport"

A game of name-mutation telephone. IE, "Donny Clyde" = "Bonnie 'n' Clyde" = "Bonnie" = "Bon-bon".

Irony. IE, calling a tall person "short stack" or a particularly dour person "sunshine".

A 'wrong place wrong time' one-off incident. IE, "He spilled oil on his pants and had to borrow a pair that were way too big and Jim saw him with the waistband pulled up to his nipples and called him 'Parachute'"

A batman-style origin story but not in a cool way: "One time she hit a deer with the company car and when she called the boss to tell her she was crying so hard we thought she was dying" = "Bambi"

The incredibly rare 'admiration' nickname, bourne only once a millennia under the light of the blood moon: "We saw him lift a truck once so now we call him 'iron man'"

+ How Nicknames Stick:

Your fate is determined by The Counsel

You hate it

It's accurate

[notsomeoneyouknow]

This reminds me of an article about how callsigns in movies are inaccurate because they're too cool. Generally your callsign in the military is like "Bepis" because you once pronounced "Pepsi" wrong.

[teaboot]

^^^

[marlynnofmany]

And if you do get a cool-sounding nickname, it's rarely for cool reasons. Source: I was briefly called Spike because my middle school volleyball coach was trying to encourage me to spike the ball more. (It didn't really work, but it was a nice thought.)

[baelthazar]

I have helped out as staff at a bunch of Anime Cons (Otacon, Otakuthon, Katuscon, etc). I was working in Registration, organizing and managing the team managing lines in front of the kiosks.

A thing I learned years ago is that if you want to be seen in a crowd, wear something bright on your head. Of course, being a Canadian down in the US, I wore one of those stretchy, circular do-rags or Buff, with a red maple leaf design.

When the department head wanted to talk to me, he'd send someone out with a message to give to "Canada".

So, yeah, my call sign is "Canada". Boring.

I could tell you the call sign that @toastheaven earned, but that is their tale to tell.

And I hope they do, it's a good story.

---

Call Sign/Nickname rule: You can never give it to yourself, it must be earned and assigned by someone else. Usually, it's for something stupid you did, something you said or a personal trait (like "Red" for a red head). Once you have it, it's yours forever, and you can't change it.

[higgsbison]

happy glorious 25th of may

[whyactlikeahuman]

[quasikool]

#i literally crack up everytime #at least ten of the notes are from me

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[baelthazar]

Doom scrolling isn't good for you. I have to remind myself of this every now and then.

[sydrichie]

[baelthazar]

<raises hand> Yes, this is me.

I get the "why don't you answer your email/text/phone call" all the time, and when I do, it's often at the end of the day or sometimes a couple of days later.

I worked in IT as a Sysadmin and was tied to my phone for support. I was paid to answer the phone, had systems text alerts to it and monitored hardware from it.

When I retired, I turned off my ringer. I am no longer a slave to the cell phone. I tell folks, to leave a vmail message if I don't answer. Unknown number, someone not in my contacts list? Yeah, I'm not calling you unless you've left a message.

My phone is no longer a boss, but my servant now. I'll get to it when I get to it, when it's convenient for me, not the other way around.

[what-even-is-thiss]

I just had an argument with someone who was like “why would we settle for food stamps when we could have universal basic income?”

And it’s just like. People need food right now you know.

[what-even-is-thiss]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Hippie church moms donating quinoa chips to my local food bank have done more for me materially than any internet idealist ever has.

[baelthazar]

When folks ask what my favourite charity is, I'll tell them their local food bank. Cash is best because they can buy more in bulk, but that jar of peanut butter or box mac & cheese you donate could be the food that gets someone through the day or week.

Me? I'm blessed to be retired, have a decent pension and fairly simple wants and needs. I've set up a monthly cash donation to my local food bank. I'm sure I could do more, but for me, it's a simple, consistent, painless way to help out my fellow life travellers on the regular.

In the grand scheme of things, it's not much, but if we can all help our neighbours, we all become a better society. With many drops of rain, a mighty river flows.

Note... I refuse to donate via "would you like to round up your purchase to support ...". All this does is give big business a free "Charity" donation that they can claim on the backs of their customers, instead of from excessive corporate profits.

[baelthazar]

Welcome to Shared Lunch V2.0 - 004

Today it’s sort of homemade ramen.

Rosie (my long suffering wife) finds a lot of soups and especially the ramen noodle packets too salty, but she really wanted a chicken noodle soup for lunch, but there’s none in the pantry.

So, I guess, it’s time to get creative.

I picked up a package of plain ramen noodle pucks when I was out doing the grocery shopping. Plain noodles with lower sodium chicken broth instead of the packet of bouillon power and water as the base might work. I also add chopped veggies (green onion, celery, mushrooms, radishes, red and/or green peppers and garlic of some kind), and some leftover protein if you want. Add enough broth of choice to cover the noodles and extras, cover and put in the microwave.

I give it 3 minutes on high, stir to break up the noodle puck and mix around the veggies, give it another minute then add a raw egg on top and nuke for another minute.

When done, mix in the partially cooked egg, and garnish with whatever your heart tells you. Make sure to let it sit for a bit, because it’s going to be very hot right out of the microwave.

You now have a quick, filling and reasonably healthy meal in less than 10 minutes (including chopping time). Bon appétit!

As always, Rosie is just putting the kettle on, and you can have your choice of whatever tea (loose or bagged) we have on hand. A selection of cookies are available as well as a homemade bran muffin, if that’s your pleasure.

Stay safe, wash your hands and don’t be afraid to get creative with what you have in the cupboard. Store bought with additions from the fridge and pantry is perfectly acceptable in this house.

—-

For those that enjoyed this post, I’m going to start sharing more shared lunches in the future with everyone on Tumblr. I won’t be posting shared lunches daily, or even on a scheduled basis. Lunches will get posted as the time, mood, and food inspires me.

[catasters]

[baelthazar]

I hate to tell you but, that's not a cat.

Yes, I'm a slut for Studio Ghibli.

[bowelfly]

shrews are known above all else for their great mirth and even greater hubris. godspeed brother

[bowelfly]

exchanging pleasantries, some light abbey gossip, the usual