And now what did you do TODAY?

[TMoney]

That is fucking awesome!

My grandfather was a navigator on one of those babies in the war.

[guzziguy]

50 minutes ago, Pars said:

Wow! A B24 (J?). How was it?

Yes, it's a B-24J from the Collings Foundation.  The ride was short (30 minutes) but fun.  I started in the radio operators position, just behind the cockpit.  After takeoff, I stepped up into the cockpit behind and between the pilot and co-pilot.  After a couple of minutes, I moved to the rear of the plane and spent the rest of the flight there.  By far the best viewing is from the open waist gunner windows.

12 minutes ago, TMoney said:

That is fucking awesome!

My grandfather was a navigator on one of those babies in the war.

My dad piloted B-24s during that time.  I've been meaning to take a ride in a B-24 in honor of my dad for a while but the cost always put me off.  This time I realized that I wasn't getting younger and did it.  I'm glad I did.

The "Wings of Freedom 2019 Tour" will go through NorCal starting May 15.  If you have any real interest, I highly recommend a flight.

[morphsci]

Did our Easter Sunday good deed by extricating a pelican from a bit of fishing line.

[guzziguy]

Well done!  1,000,000,000 karma points to the both of you.

[Voltron]

Excellent job!  My favorite part is when you casually put your shirt back on. Well done. 

[Augsburger]

8 hours ago, guzziguy said:

Flew in this! ??

Are you telling me you flew Southwest and that is all the equipment they now have available to fly?

[Augsburger]

It was a good day for fencing, gold is best medal of medals. Lance made five new friends and a good way to start the week as I will be taking Lance and Mary to LAX tomorrow morning at 4am for a flight to Boston to visit Boston and New York colleges. 

[EdipisReks1]

Dealt with what can only be charitably called a "piss explosion" coming from the ceiling of the cat's bathroom.  The plumbers have come and gone, and the bathroom is sealed up for the time being.  The cats seem to feel very betrayed.

[Dusty Chalk]

[EdipisReks1]

It looks like the toilet in the apartment above that bathroom overflowed many times over who-knows-how-long (get a plunger, Brandon!) , and it finally seeped through. It was foul.  Maintenance is good, here, so it'll be fixed soon, but shit: that was unexpected!

The cats have recovered. I'm sure they'll hate me again when the litter box goes back into their bathroom (they have a better bathroom than I do).

Edited April 23, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[Craig Sawyers]

Good grief - that is real nasty.

Our two don't use the litter tray. It is just there for feline emergencies when we are out for the day, and they are in. They far prefer various neighbours' flower and vegetable beds.

[EdipisReks1]

2 hours ago, Craig Sawyers said:

Good grief - that is real nasty.

Our two don't use the litter tray. It is just there for feline emergencies when we are out for the day, and they are in. They far prefer various neighbours' flower and vegetable beds.

My cats are indoor only (urban area), so that isn't an option. It wouldn't matter anyway: Silver, my more adventurous cat, once snuck behind me out the front door, and immediately turned around to go back into the apartment with a terrified look on her face.

Edited April 24, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[Dusty Chalk]

My cats are indoor only, too.  I laughed because my Bobby did a very similar thing.

[Craig Sawyers]

Schubert's Winterreise in Dorchester Abbey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester_Abbey  last night. Awesome setting. Tenor was this guy http://www.markpadmore.com/ and very good he was too.

[sorenb]

6 hours ago, Craig Sawyers said:

Schubert's Winterreise in Dorchester Abbey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester_Abbey  last night. Awesome setting. Tenor was this guy http://www.markpadmore.com/ and very good he was too.

Indeed a remarkable piece, and always good for a listen  ... reminds me of Pears/Britten Winterreise ... and the recent announcement from the Britten-Pears and Snape Malting foundations announcement of an "exciting and logical development": to merge and forget all about Peter Pears ... wonder if the next "logical" step will be announcing that Pears lured Britten into living with him against his will, and the foundation begins to twitt #metoo on behalf of Britten ...

[Craig Sawyers]

They can't airbrush Pears out of history - he was too much part of Britten's life, and a fine (if slightly quirky voiced) tenor. I picked up the vinyl of War Requiem that was recorded a couple of months after the premier at the new Coventry Cathedral. Same orchestra and soloists (including Pears) and conducted by Britten. From an estate sale - I swear it was never played, it is perfect. Cost the equivalent of $3 - a real find!

Schubert left such a splendid canon of work. And died at age 31. He crammed a whole lot of superb music into such a short life.

[jose]

5 hours ago, Craig Sawyers said:

Schubert left such a splendid canon of work. And died at age 31. He crammed a whole lot of superb music into such a short life. 

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And you have burned so very very brightly, Roy. ."

Dr Tyrrel to Roy  (Blade Runner) 

Edited April 28, 2019 by jose

[Craig Sawyers]

Great quote Jose.

Could equally applied to Mozart, who produced this lot of 600-odd pieces and died age 34 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

Many of them are somewhat formulaic, but the majority are sheer genius. He basically wrote to live - so he did weird things like write for the glass harmonium. He apparently worked out a complete piece of music in his head, and then just wrote it down on manuscript in perfect neat notation, no crossing out, no corrections. His widow Constanze lived by selling his manuscripts and performance rights, before she married the Danish Ambassador, and lived to the ripe old age of 80.

I believe Schubert died from syphillis - the same thing that drove Beethoven deaf.

[jose]

I agree with you. They were exceptional people and they were able to create that amount of works without a lot of technological means ... only paper, pen and his memory.

Although they died young, the life expectancy at that time was not as high as we thought (between 37 to 45 depending on the sources).

[EdipisReks1]

21 hours ago, jose said:

Although they died young, the life expectancy at that time was not as high as we thought (between 37 to 45 depending on the sources).

That is only the case if you include child mortality in overall average mortality rates.  Actual adult mortality age was a good bit higher.

Edited April 30, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[jose]

Yes, I agree with you but when you take the average life expectancy you do it at birth and including all age groups, race, sex and social status.

A segregation by groups would be more precise but more complex especially if we talk about periods of time before the twentieth century.

[EdipisReks1]

19 hours ago, jose said:

Yes, I agree with you but when you take the average life expectancy you do it at birth and including all age groups, race, sex and social status.
 

No, no you don't. I've studied this shit academically. At the doctoral level.  You don't do that. Context is king.

Edited May 1, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[naamanf]

21 minutes ago, EdipisReks1 said:

No, no you don't. I've studied this shit academically. At the doctoral level.  You don't do that. Context is king.

You have a PHD in life expectancy? Congrats!

[EdipisReks1]

9 minutes ago, naamanf said:

You have a PHD in life expectancy? Congrats!

My immortality plan has worked pretty well, so far. Any place Jose has a degree from, in this area, should take it away, if there is one. There isn't. He'd never have said that, if there was.

Do you wanna fight, Naaman?  You are way out of your league. 

Edited May 1, 2019 by EdipisReks1

[naamanf]

Are you on bath salts?