samhexum

Maybe he's a space-aged robot. Gigantor, Gigantor, Gigantor. Gigantor the space aged robot, He is at your command. Gigantor the space aged robot, His power is in your hand. Bigger than big, taller than tall, Quicker than quick, stronger than strong. Ready to fight for right, against wrong. Gigantor, Gigantor, Gigantor. How many takes do you think they had to do before the 'instructor' could get through the whole thing without accidentally brushing his finger (slowly) against the model?

Nah, your glasses are dirty.

You know, speaking of whoppers, a clever vegetarian or vegan mega-hung escort could advertise that he offers a plant-based whopper with special sauce. Or if he's afraid of copyright infringement penalties, he could just say plant-based meat with cream filling.

I'm sure I'd prefer meat-based plants, but I've been curious to try some, especially since I've sent for several coupons for free items. Tonight I tried my first... INCOGMEATO (by Morningstar Farms) 'chicken' nuggets. Slightly spicy (for flavor, I guess), but edible and completely worth what I paid for it. I wouldn't ever buy them, though. I eat my nuggets plain, but these would probably better if I liked ketchup or a dipping sauce. I also have their 'burgers', as well as 'burgers' from LightLife to try, but they can be refrigerated or frozen for quite a while, so no rush. I have 2 more coupons, so maybe I'll see what other 'meat' products INCOGMEATO offers.

OPINION NY’s plastic-bag ban one more thing pushing COVID-slammed bodegas over cliff By Francisco Marte Bodegas across the five boroughs have been a lifeline for New Yorkers throughout the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns. But the economic and health effects of the crisis have taken a heavy toll on small food retailers — suffering compounded by the collapse of law and order in many of the neighborhoods we serve. Which makes it all the more enraging that we now have to deal with a plastic-bag ban — an unfunded mandate that epitomizes the state Legislature’s sheer decadence and beholdenness to the boutique causes of gentry progressives at a time when the working class and small business are facing unprecedented misery. Bodegeuros continue to courageously fulfill their roles as essential workers, manning the front lines in the city’s poorest neighborhoods and providing vital resources for the poorest Gothamites. But many of us are hanging by a thread, and some have been forced to shut their doors for good due to a lack of foot traffic. As incomes drop and sales decline, bodegas need help so they can survive this downturn and assist in the city’s economic recovery. There is one easy step Albany could take to make things at least a little eaiser on us: scrapping or, at least, pausing the ban on plastic bags, which legislators imposed last year without considering what it would mean for bodegas and other small retailers that often operate on razor-thin margins. When the ban was enacted, there was much discussion about its environmental benefits to the oceans. These are minor at best, as studies have found that the United States contributes less than 1 percent of the plastic litter in the world’s oceans. But never mind that: Albany all but ignored the pressure on retailers charged with implementing the ban and allocated few resources to assist them in that effort. Now, two months since the ban went into effect, those impacts are starting to become clear. And as we predicted, the news is not good. The state failed to think through whether there would be enough paper bags available to replace plastic, and whether the cost of this alternative would be too much for small businesses to bear — if they could manage to find paper at all. The sad reality is that regulatory enforcement always falls the hardest on the most vulnerable and least politically protected segments of an industry. As bodegas and other small, independent businesses are struggling with the constraints of this ill-conceived ban, environmental advocates are blindly advocating for full enforcement without recognizing the hardship that creates. One such advocate, who led the charge for the ban, has created her own “snitch squad” — based far from New York City in Bennington, Vt. — whose members are encouraged to inform on ban violators to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. State lawmakers also failed to consider the ban’s health impact on our store owners and employees. Reusable cloth bags must be regularly washed to ensure that they aren’t spreading germs, but research has shown that a majority of shoppers don’t actually follow that protocol. In the absence of adequate supply and the prohibitive cost, many of our stores continue to use plastic bags while a legal challenge to the ban moves through the courts. We don’t condone or encourage violating the law, but this is what happens when the impact of a bad law on the most vulnerable stores isn’t fully considered. That is why we support the effort by Assemblyman Victor Pichardo and his colleagues in the Assembly to place a two-year moratorium on the ban and institute in its place a five-cent fee on plastic. This would generate an estimated $500 million a year, providing the state with much-needed revenue at a time when it faces multibillion-dollar deficits as a result of the pandemic. But more important, it will give bodegas and other small businesses some breathing room and allow them to offer shoppers what they really want: options, including the ability to choose a product that offers peace of mind when it comes to protecting their health as the pandemic drags on. It is well past time for Albany to support independent retailers and remove impediments to their success, instead of loading them down with unrealistic and unfunded mandates that only make an already difficult situation worse. Francisco Marte is the secretary-treasurer of the Bodega and Small Business Association.

Xin Xing, the world’s oldest panda and progenitor of dozens of new members of her endangered species, has died at 38. In human-age equivalent, the so-called “hero mother” of Chongqing Zoo in western China would have been about 130 years old. The announcement came Monday via social media, on the zoo’s WeChat page, nearly two weeks after the panda matriarch’s death — though the reason for delay remains unclear. The panda matriarch, whose name translates to “new star,” bore 36 of her own cubs during her long and fruitful life, many of whom now reside in countries such as the US, Canada and Japan. Xin Xing was born in the summer of 1982 at a protected panda sanctuary in Baoxing, Sichuan, and brought to Chongqing Zoo before she was a year old. Earlier this year, Xin Xing celebrated her 38th birthday in August with a party for zoogoers and “cake” made of her favorite treats, including bamboo shoots and fruit. At that time, her lifelong keeper, then 56-year-old Zhang Naicheng, told reporters for China Daily, “We spend so much time together, and she is like a family member to me.” “I want to continue looking after her and help her to live to at least 40 years old,” Zhang told iPandaNews.com last year. “We can grow old together, and make her the longest living panda.” Only one other panda, Jia Jia, who died in 2016 also at 38, has lived as long as Xin Xing. Xin Xing’s handlers began to notice lethargy and a loss of appetite in October, followed by labored breathing, imbalance and abdominal swelling. Medical experts from the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center and the First Affiliated Hospital of the Heavy Medical School came to tend to Xin Xing — to no avail. A post-mortem examination revealed she had died of multiple organ failure due to advanced aging. “The departure of the giant panda Xinxing makes us feel heartache, and we hereby inform friends from all walks of life who care about Xinxing,” the zoo said in their statement. There are fewer than 1,900 giant pandas left in the world, according to the World Wildlife Federation, most of which live in the temperate forests of southwest China.

It's one more.

Except that I can't stand or walk for more than a minute or two without terrible back and/or leg pain. (Sciatica and lumbar radiculopathy). I spend my life sitting down. And I've been an insomniac my whole life. My parents used to go to bed after the 11PM news & my sister and I would stay up to watch Carson. But thank you.

You must be a fun first date.

Thank you, but I'm thinking of trying the Trump Covid plan... one day my health problems will just disappear. It'll be like a miracle. In fact, I think I'm turning the corner right now.

United Healthcare has been emailing and calling me since June or July, bugging me to schedule an in-home wellness visit. They offered a gift card as a bribe. They started at $15, went to $25, then $50, then a few weeks ago they went to $75 and I caved. She was just here. It took an hour. My blood pressure was normal for years despite my weight, but has been steadily increasing the last few. Today it was 140/90. I've also graduated from pre-diabetic to diabetic. My A1C was 6.7 . I had a slight amount of glucose in my urine, but that was true the last time I had a physical about 3 years ago. (When she called last night she asked me to collect a sample-- thank God I save wonton soup containers.) And she left me a free 'thank you' gift-- a set of 3 square plastic food storage tubs. I have a few million of them already. The gift card is supposed to come in about 3 weeks. Now I need to make an appointment for a physical. She came with a bag that had so many different things in it. She changed her gloves at least 10 times, sanitized her gloved hands just about as often, and set up her own garbage bag to discard any used item... which she took when she left, of course. The timing worked well... I had 3 packages to return to Amazon, but am out of printer ink, so I asked if the UPS driver could bring me the shipping labels. It was from 3 different orders, so three different boxes and labels (they should enjoy the one item in the Walmart box). Anyhoo, I knew I'd have to interact with the driver so the right label went on the right box, so I was hoping he'd come before she did, or just after she left, so I wouldn't have to make her wait and also introduce another factor into the equation. He showed up 10 minutes after she left (while I was typing the second paragraph, in fact). Oh, United Healthcare sent me a well-at-home kit the other day with a thermometer, a dose of Tamiflu, and an at-home covid test (with a warning not to open until directed, as it has to be activated by a doctor). I'm also not supposed to open the Tamiflu until directed. There's a number to call for either if I start feeling symptoms. I was thinking of trying to start a diet after New Year's anyway. I guess the next 10 days will be a pigfest, as I've been stocking up on stuff in the event this covid wave gets totally out of hand here. Actually, given how much junk food I have, it might take until early-mid January to start.

K. Sorry if my answer came off a little snarky; I've just always disliked the whole Olympics dynamic (winter or summer). Besides, tall girls like Biles intimidate me. ?

Maybe not this one... https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/iron-crotch-kung-fu.161992/

In honor of this thread, that song should be sung Soprano or Falsetto.

REJOICE!!! It's the shortest day of the year! Embrace the darkness!!! and it's also the date referred to in the first post in this thread.

DUH! Because a homo was turned on by it. :rolleyes:

DEAR ABBY: I'm a truck driver who is on the road for weeks at a time. My girlfriend got a new job and is working every day. On the weekends she goes out to bars. I feel jealous because I'm working and even when I can get a weekend to be with her, she doesn't want to be intimate. Also she promises to call me but rarely does. Should I just end it? I've been married twice and thought we would be a couple and marry. I don't know what I should do. -- ON THE ROAD DEAR ON THE ROAD: Allow me to steer you in the right direction. You are apart from this woman weeks at a time, and when you do manage to be together, she isn't interested in intimacy. After promising to stay in closer touch with you, she fails to follow through. This should tell you that when you're out of sight, you're not on her mind. Take the hint. End the "romance" -- what little there is of it. Then thank your lucky stars she isn't your wife, and you're not heading to divorce court for a third time. lucky they don't have minimum IQ standards to be a trucker.

They don't tell you the most impressive thing, though. The guy in the teal wound up with a broken foot. ?

This all sounded so much better until I realized I had passed over the word 'on' in this sentence. ???

What about the pastrami?!?!? Just in time for Christmas, a Manny’s Deli superfan is treating 4,000 hungry strangers to corned beef sandwiches When Tom Sondag was growing up in the 1960s, back to school meant a trip to Chernin’s Shoes in the South Loop, where his parents bought the brown Oxfords he wore with his Catholic school uniform. Then, it was on to Manny’s deli for a much-anticipated treat: a steaming bowl of matzo ball soup. “I can remember the first time I tasted it,” Sondag said. “I loved it. I loved it.” Sixty years later, his enthusiasm for Chicago’s iconic Jewish deli hasn’t wavered. So when Sondag, who owns a suburban car dealership, was looking for ways to make Christmas better for his fellow Chicagoans during the COVID-19 pandemic, he didn’t have to look far. “I’m going to treat ‘em to Manny’s corned beef,” he said. Sondag, 67, ponied up for 1,000 corned beef sandwich kits, each with enough meat, rye bread and Manny’s mayonnaise-mustard to make four sandwiches, according to Manny’s owner Dan Raskin. Raskin, whose family has owned Manny’s for four generations, declined to say how much Sondag donated, but put the retail value of the food at $30,000. “It’s an amazing blessing, and we’re very grateful to have customers who not only want to support us, but want to support the community,” said Raskin. The sandwich kits will be distributed at St. Sabina Catholic Church on the South Side at noon Monday. The event is open to the public. The Rev. Michael Pfleger, senior pastor at St. Sabina, said that so many people are showing up for weekly distributions of 500 boxes of food, that the church consistently runs out. “I’ve never seen a greater need,” said Pfleger. Manny’s has experienced financial ups and downs during the pandemic, but the restaurant, owned by the same family since the 1940s, has benefited from a partnership with World Central Kitchen, which buys restaurant meals and distributes them to people in need. Manny’s has also expanded into suburban delivery. Pfleger said he had been trying to figure out how to get fresh meals for food giveaway recipients and was overjoyed when he learned of Sondag’s donation. “That’s what it’s all about: It’s about partnerships,” Pfleger said. “That’s how we’re going to get through this thing.” Sondag, of Wicker Park, recalled how his Catholic mother delighted in Manny’s authentic Jewish food and said it was great to be part of a “rainbow of people” working together to bring Christmas joy. “Whoever wants a pound of corned beef, c’mon by!” he said.

I know it is terrible of me because I have absolutely no idea who he is and have been bored to tears by anything and anyone Olympic-related for my whole life, other than liking how Mark Spitz looked in his Speedo and how Bruce Jenner looked in his little shorts (and later in his tight CHIPS uniform)... whatever became of him?

OPINION MacKenzie Scott’s donations have shamed the boys of tech — Bezos above all MacKenzie Scott has done it again. Having already donated $1.7 billion to charity by this past July — and announcing that she’s no longer using the last name of her ex-husband, Jeff Bezos — she declared that she has donated another $4.2 billion to 384 organizations in the last four months. While all the tech bros fight over colonizing space and California tax codes, banding together for the only thing they really care about — fending off anti-trust legislators — Scott makes them all look like stingy, greedy incels without a shred of compassion for those ruined by COVID-19. “This pandemic has been a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,” Scott wrote in a Medium post on Dec. 15. “Economic losses and health outcomes alike have been worse for women, for people of color, and for people living in poverty. Meanwhile, it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.” Billionaires who, with the exception of Bill Gates and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, have been relatively mum on this pandemic. Remember Elon Musk loudly inserting himself into the Thai cave rescue crisis, acting like a real-life Tony Stark? Why so quiet now? And where’s Mark Zuckerberg? He’s signaled political ambitions. Know what helps with that? Acts of generosity, compassion and humanity. That said, no one on the planet has profited more off this pandemic than Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (who not that long ago publicly humiliated Scott by carrying on an extramarital affair with his now-fiancée). Amazon has been the biggest beneficiary of the COVID-19 crisis so far and likely will be for some time to come, as brick-and-mortar retail crumbles and even older, tech-averse Americans turn to online shopping. A recent USA Today report ranked Bezos No. 1 among 30 billionaires made even more disgustingly wealthy by a virus that has claimed 1.65 million lives worldwide. By April 2020, just one month in, more Americans were unemployed — 14.7 percent — than had ever been recorded, according to a congressional report. Yet Bezos has remained awfully quiet on the economic devastation suffered by so many Americans. A survey conducted by The Washington Post (also owned by Bezos) in June reported that he, “the wealthiest man in the world with a fortune of $143 billion,” gave just $125 million to charity thus far in 2020. (An Amazon spokesperson told The Post that Bezos has given a total of $900 million to charity in the past year, including funds to fight climate change.) Either way, that’s less than one percent — the equivalent of rooting around in his sofa for loose change. Meanwhile, Bezos purchased David Geffen’s Beverly Hills estate for $165 million in February. The previous summer, he bought several New York apartments for $80 million, and in April it was reported that he bought yet another New York apartment for $16 million. During this pandemic, Bezos’ wealth spiked by $13 billion in just a single day in July. Amazon shares traded at $1,700 pre-lockdown. Now they’re at more than $3,000. All this while employees at Amazon fulfillment centers protested and begged for proper PPE and workplace safety conditions. Some, like New York City protester Christian Smalls, were fired. Amazon exec Tim Bray resigned in May, calling such firings “chickenshit” and writing in a blog post that “remaining an Amazon VP would have meant, in effect, signing off on actions I despised.” As The Guardian noted, Bezos is now worth more than Exxon Mobil, McDonald’s or Nike. Yet his ex-wife, who got $38 billion in the divorce, dwarfs him in charitable giving. “She’s responding with urgency to the current moment,” Chuck Collins, director of the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, told The New York Times. “You think of all these tech fortunes, they’re the great disrupters, but she’s disrupting the norms around billionaire philanthropy by moving quickly.” In her Medium post, Scott wrote of average Americans giving what they could — not just financially, but of themselves — to help others in need. “Our hopes are fed by others,” Scott wrote, encouraging those of us lucky enough to have jobs and homes and health to give what we can. “The hope you feed with your gift,” she concludes, “is likely to feed your own.” With her giving, Scott hasn’t just proved her beautiful holiday spirit. She’s proved what Scrooges her billionaire brethren — and especially her ex-husband — truly are.

You know Dexter was married to his sister from 2008-2011, right? I'd been a fan of Yvonne Strahovski's from CHUCK, so I was greatly attuned to her accent when she was on DEXTER, since she'd only dropped it once on CHUCK. She also did it only once on DEXTER, saying 'fort-yune' cookie.