efaardvark

Yes, proper placement and intensity was often part of the art of the whack. Someone untutored in the art could shake a malfunctioning device, kick it, beat it up all day without "fixing" it. Finally in desperation one would have to call maintenance. The guy from maintenance would come up, take a look at the symptoms, maybe ask a few questions, then give it the right <thwack> in the right place and there you go, instant fix. Guess that's why he was paid the big bucks.

Good luck! There's a bunch of weird sh..tuff going on out there these days, economically speaking. I don't think anyone really knows how the next decade or so is going to play out but you could do worse than meeting it on your own terms.

I beg to differ. Back then the rationale for the whack had a valid backing in physics. Now with everything being low-voltage silicon components wave-soldered onto circuit boards it's just tradition. Probably also a bit of exasperated venting. I'll admit that part hasn't changed.

So we're back to violence towards recalcitrant consumer electronics?

What do you call it when a cat wins first place at a dog show? It’s a cat-has-trophy! Did you hear about the casino restaurant that feeds its cows cannabis? Yeah, some gamblers prefer high steaks.

… is a dim star in the Northern Crown that periodically explodes as a nova. It last exploded in 1946. It’s about to do it again. https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2024/02/27/view-nova-explosion-new-star-in-northern-crown/

They say that no two people see color the exact same way, so really, color is just a pigment of your imagination. What did the buffalo say to his son who was leaving for college? Bison.

Why couldn’t the pony sing in the choir? He was a little horse.

Found a lion "wandering around" just at the edge of my town in C:S. He growled at me when I got close. Nice kitty!

I'm addicted to brake fluid, but it's OK because I can stop at any time. I can't stand Russian dolls. They're so full of themselves.

What do gamers and musicians have in common? Their fans are super noisy.

Not really feeling a lot of the newer stuff so I'm re-watching some of my older memorables. Today's binge was Shinrei Tantei Yakumo. I like the end theme, "Missing You". The show's not bad either.

Browsing around on Steam & found The Crust. Looks to be a builder game but space-based. Might be something I could get into. Not yet released but something I'll keep my eye on.

What is it with deckbuilder games on steam these days? (aka "roguelike", eg. Slay the Spire.) Seems like suddenly I'm seeing a new one every time I browse Steam. If I search for "roguelike" I get 11,000 hits. (Which is kinda annoying if I'm trying to find old-school Rogue-like games such as the original Rogue, Angband, Moria, etc.) Are they really that popular? Somebody must have figured out how to make money with them.

Did some exploration of a large cold ocean biome. Not ready to tackle that yet.. .. but I did find a geode perfectly placed at the bottom of the ocean. If you find one like this, strip off the basalt, calcite, and uncracked amethyst, and just leave the cracked blocks for the amethyst clusters to grow on. That makes harvesting the shards super easy, especially if you have a high-efficiency pick and/or the aqua affinity buff.

Could be Ore Monogatari. Except for the magic bit. He douses himself with water and saves his friends from a building that's on fire but it's a romcom so no magic. One of the earlier episodes like 4 or 5 IIRC. Do you have a character description or two or more of the plot? Might help narrow it down.

Tabi no Yukue (Loved the new anime's opening scene. Hope the rest lives up to it.)

I got my tax return. Does that count?

Ashita Kuru Hi (aka "Kobato's song") Yume to hazakura

Started on Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji. Was kind of expecting / hoping for it to be something like Hiiro no Kakera but from what I've seen so far I think it actually is somewhere along a line between that and Kamisama Hajimemashita. Far enough from both to stand on its own however. On ep4 right now and will probably finish it.

You going to be there Monday for the eclipse? Chicago is not quite in the path of totality but at ~95% and a 2pm maximum it's close enough for a decent viewing experience. Weather permitting of course.

I have an eclipse joke... but it gets kind of dark. Why are so many people talking about the eclipse? Probably because it's significance is astronomical. Why did the moon feel guilty after the solar eclipse? It thought it might have thrown some shade! How does the man in the moon cut his hair? Eclipse it.

What did the biologist wear to impress her date? Designer genes.