Weekend Open Thread
Welcome to the astronomical beginning of spring. It may not feel like it in some places, but we’re coming around. Enjoy your weekend!
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First.
First day of Spring as well. Have a great weekend, all!
CONG-RATS F B
You need to address the troops and give the Weekend Safety Brief.
Very well, I almost forgot: Stay out of the hospital, newspaper and jail. If you do end up in jail, establish dominance quickly.
Rats o’th Cong atcha’ FB!
Hmmm, early drop for the WOT. Enjoy!!!
Indeed
Third!!!
Top five, present and unaccountable as I once again award myself Honorary First!
((((OVER))))
WTF…WAY early….and I’m still in the office….had to look at the clock…..
Forest Bondurant you are teh winnar!!!
Fuck Heads….. (ᵔᗜᵔ)
Well top 5-10ish…whichever…..
Present and accounted for with a fresh 36-2903 reg hairdoo.
(35-10 for you old fuckers…)
Thank you, Sir. I’d give credit to the red hat software I found underneath a broken down Jaguar in Maryland, but I’ll attribute my “first” to luck this time. Have a great weekend!
Well, darn. Too late to the party for a FIRST, but I see Forest Bondurant achieved it, so huzzah to Forest! Meanwhile, in lieu of sitting on the throne for the week, I’ll drop some trivia and move along. Hope you enjoy!
DID YOU KNOW…?
Were Neanderthals really just brute cave men?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2026
Mark your calendars! This Friday, at 10:46 am Eastern Standard Time, spring begins!
It’s the vernal equinox, the time of the year when the duration of day and night are just about the same length (as close as they ever get, anyway) and we see the annual renewal of the world – in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway. Down below the Equator, things are heading toward winter.
Here’s hoping your spring goes exactly the way you want it to! For me, it always does, since the trivia flows nonstop. Enjoy!
Did you know …
… the brother of a notorious gangster was a Prohibition officer? While Chicago mob kingpin Al Capone (1899-1947) was keeping his city afloat in bootleg booze during Prohibition, his older brother James (1892-1952) was one of the top enforcement officers in the country. James Capone changed his name to Richard James Hart following World War I in an effort to distance himself from his Italian ancestry and from his notorious younger brother. He became an agent for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Nebraska in 1926, and later became a top Prohibition agent until Prohibition itself was repealed in 1933. Later in life, the elder Capone became a justice of the peace, even while his more famous younger sibling was serving time in Alcatraz for tax evasion. (Family ties, indeed.)
… packaged baby food is not the most nutritious baby food out there? It’s actually only about half as nutritious as an equivalent meal made from scratch at home. (Yeah, that packaged baby food pork chop is a real doozy.)
… the Nazis tried to teach dogs to talk and read? In 2011, it was revealed that the Nazis had tried to teach dogs to speak, read and spell – and even conducted experimental research in man-to-dog telepathy. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was a well-known dog lover, and he instructed that the research be undertaken hoping that dogs would learn to communicate with their SS masters. According to an article in the Daily Mail, some dogs were said to have been able to imitate the human voice, with one apparently able to say, “Mein Führer.” (I have a line here, but it would close the show.)
… opossums do more than just “play dead” when confronted with danger? Sure, we all know where the expression “playing possum” came from. But these remarkable little critters, when cornered, also can foam at the mouth voluntarily to try to convince the predator that it is toxic or sick. If that fails, they can also produce a fluid that smells almost as bad as a skunk’s spray. (Amazing little ones, aren’t they?)
… scientists now think Neanderthals were not really stupid cavemen? For a long time, people thought of our early human cousins as dumb brutes because their skeletal remains led to that belief. Neanderthals had ridges of bone above their eyes, they were short, and their bones gave the appearance of having supported very muscular bodies. But recent research has shown that Neanderthals – who disappeared about 30,000 years ago – had a more complex life than that of just brute cavemen. The tipoff was a burial site, which held a Neanderthal skeleton, some tools, and the remains of food and flowers. That indicated a belief in an afterlife – something that had to be communicated verbally, meaning Neanderthals had language and, presumably, intelligence.
… two major milestones in human history happened less than a century apart? In 1903, the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air machine took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, by the brothers Orville (1871-1948) and Wilbur Wright (1867-1912). Just 65½ years later, Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) stepped onto the surface of the Moon. (That, friends, is known as progress.)
… a popular comic strip was born out of office politics? Dilbert, the office-based comic strip created by Scott Adams (1957-2026), was originally based on the experiences he was having at his place of employment. It must not have been a great place to work for Adams; rather than fire him, his bosses gave him meaningless work in an effort to get him to quit. Adams used the meaningless work as a basis for the office in the strip. (It worked.)
… four future presidents attended the inauguration of the 16th President? On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was sworn into office as the 16th President of the United States. Attending the inauguration were future presidents Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), James A. Garfield (1831-1881), Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886), and Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), the 19th, 20th, 21st and 23rd Presidents, respectively. (A rather august grouping, no?)
… an improvement on the bicycle was invented in 1932? Called the cyclomer and invented in Paris, the new bike was designed to operate on land and water. It had hollow wheels and attached floats, but didn’t work as planned. The cyclomer wasn’t able to get any kind of good traction on land, and in the water it would float but wouldn’t move very well, no matter how hard you pedaled. (Well, nobody said it was a good improvement.)
… a future First Lady wanted to be an astronaut? In 1961, when she was fourteen, Hillary Rodham Clinton (born 1947) wrote to NASA and asked about how to become an astronaut. The space agency replied, “Girls cannot become astronauts,” and her dreams were dashed. (I’d say she more than made up for it.)
… the Great Wall of China was once considered a source for building materials? During the period of the “Great Cultural Revolution” from 1966 to 1978, the Communist Party labeled the Great Wall a sign of despotism. People were urged to remove bricks from it to use in their farms and homes. (History? Who needs it?)
Now … you know!
Interesting on those four future Presidents. What were their jobs at the time of the Lincoln inauguration that they were all there at that same time?
(Another trivial subject to research and report on)
Remember NY Gov. Hochul back in 2022?
How well did that age, Kath?
Desperate Hochul begs wealthy New Yorkers to come back — as Mamdani pressures her to hike their taxes
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/desperate-hochul-begs-wealthy-new-yorkers-to-come-back-as-mamdani-pressures-her-to-hike-their-taxes/ar-AA1YVVRh
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” -Lady Margaret Thatcher
And I’ve seen separate reports that Norway, Massachusetts, and of course Cali-fornicate have all seen a drop in tax revenues as the wealthy decided they’d go somewhere where they won’t be taxed to fund (D)emon-rat
scamscharity projects.They take “How stupid can you be?” as a personal challenge.
Washington state will be next.
She is not a bright person.
There’s an emoji for that:
Hack Stone was too busy this week planning the surprise event for Psul of The Ballsack. He thinks it was a surprise birthday party to commemorate the 71st anniversary of his mother blessing the world with his magnanimous presence, but it was really an intervention. And a shoutout to all of you who contributed to his birthday gift. That $4.13 gift certificate at the Bethesda Goodwill will go a long way to helping get some home furnishings for that 1980’s vintage Jaguar. Yet another year has passed with Psul waiting for Phil Monkress to arrive with the rug from the Reston office and a paycheck for hos “Off the books” work conducted on Phil’s behalf.
I’m sorry but your tidbits never get old and like 9/11….I’ll never forget……now where are those red hot pliers…..?!?!
Still waiting for his “assassination” teams to show up 🤣🤣
To Jonn’s disappointment.
I’m still waiting for him to come up I-95, especially since I no longer live anywhere near there.
Did he buy something for the Jag, or did he treat himself to another suit?
((((OVER))))
First! day of Spring.
Don’t forget to set your clock one day ahead.
Have an extra beer to make up the loss
And it’s Friday so there’s that too.
And the predicted high temperature for my area is 75 degrees. Hey, SFC D, the same high is expected for Driggs.
A lot different high temperature from 47 years ago when the wife and I were honeymooning in Edgemont, SD. and I was out with the neighboring rancher pulling calves. /s
I use that Theraworx spray for pulling cramps from
my calfs when they wake me up at night. Stuff works good.
Yup, they should still be ass deep in snow. The grass in the city park is starting to green up. Take a look:
https://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/cams-conditions/webcams
The only job I disliked more than pulling calves was pulling lambs.
Had a kid try to come out without the feet going first. At night when I was asleep.
It was dead when I got up, and my neighbor and I couldn’t pull it.
Had to call in late to work, and the boss was answering the phone. He told me he had been wondering what excuses he’d hear for being late…
The large animal vet got the kid out and saved the mother.
I did enough work on cattle and sheep ranches in my yute to learn that I definitely did not want to do that for a living. Didn’t mind joining in when all the local ranches joined together at branding time, but there are easier ways to lose money.
Learned something; didn’t know sheep were born feet first. We didn’t do cows and sheep much, but we did lose a sow that way (blockage) and had to carry a cat to the vet with a stuck, dead kitten.
FIRST TWENTY ITH
Presently present. Off to read the comments to see what I missed.
Here.
As an aide for those who may face prostate cancer at some point, I offer this:
Most of you know, I chose radiation over surgery. As with any radiation therapy there is a risk of damage to the surrounding tissue. Often the patient heals from it and nothing adverse occurs.
In my case I developed a condition where the small blood vessels in the rectum grow closer to the surface, where they are easily damaged and therefore blood can appear in the stool.
This was confirmed at my colonoscopy Monday.
The Dr. said that trying to fix that could result in more damage, and as long as I’m not getting anemic things should be fine.
If you are considering radiation for prostate cancer, this is something to be aware of.
Of course, the other options also have consequences that can be unpleasant. I would probably still choose the radiation, although my friends have chosen surgery.
YMMV, but intel may be valuable.
I had radiation for prostate cancer after my PSA’s started creeping up about a year after removal. It was surprisingly easy with absolutely no side effects. Now, the side effects from the Lupron I got along with radiation were terrible. Hot flashes and your brain just goes to shit. Wife and I were having the same conversation 4 times in 10 minutes. I have a newfound respect for menopausal women and dementia patients.
Side effects are no fun, but better than dying of cancer.
Had a favorite professor that had an aggressive form back in the 1970s. I think he made it 3 years.
Absolutely! I’ve won twice, testicular cancer in ‘92, prostate in ‘17. Radiation was a lot different in ‘92, much stronger and far less precise. Side effects were noticeable (minor nausea, loss of appetite) but were gone by lunchtime.
I have several friends that did the radioactive seeds strategically placed in the prostate. They were cured by that treatment with no bad results.
Bullitt movie film locations San Francisco.
Then and now. 1968-2023.
https://youtu.be/MDAYM6RUDbk
So basically, no improvements.
I saw San Fransicko in 1977 and again in 1993, I don’t think it’s improved at all.
And you posted this, why?
Not spring here. Still snow in the yard and trees (not leaves) falling. Weekend activities consist of cutting up said trees and branches off the phone/cable line.
Supposed to get up to 74 degrees here in Minnesota.
I’ll take it.