Random Thoughts

[Beltway]

Gilligan's Island bucket hat.

Which is pretty much a standard boater's hat.

[LilianaUwU]

I can't decide which modern hat phenomenon I find the strangest.  About a decade ago there was something of a hipster craze amongst people my age which had chimney sweeper hats becoming fashionable.  A similar trend seems to be happening now with Millennials and the Gilligan's Island bucket hat.

A lot of shit nowadays is powered by irony. In the same vein, in GTA Online my cars are built/painted as obnoxiously as possible even though I would never do that IRL.

[TheCatalyst31]

I can't decide which modern hat phenomenon I find the strangest.  About a decade ago there was something of a hipster craze amongst people my age which had chimney sweeper hats becoming fashionable.  A similar trend seems to be happening now with Millennials and the Gilligan's Island bucket hat.

I'm guessing the average millennial hasn't seen enough Gilligan's Island to automatically associate bucket hats with it. I've only seen a handful of episodes, and even that was because my parents wanted to watch the old reruns.

[Max Rockatansky]

I can't decide which modern hat phenomenon I find the strangest.  About a decade ago there was something of a hipster craze amongst people my age which had chimney sweeper hats becoming fashionable.  A similar trend seems to be happening now with Millennials and the Gilligan's Island bucket hat.

I'm guessing the average millennial hasn't seen enough Gilligan's Island to automatically associate bucket hats with it. I've only seen a handful of episodes, and even that was because my parents wanted to watch the old reruns.

Probably not, but I've seen the entire show run multiple times (a favorite of my dad).  Gilligan's Island is the first thing that comes to mind when I see that style of hat outside of a lake.

[kphoger]

About a decade ago there was something of a hipster craze amongst people my age which had chimney sweeper hats becoming fashionable.

I think that was basically a hipster thing.

[Max Rockatansky]

About a decade ago there was something of a hipster craze amongst people my age which had chimney sweeper hats becoming fashionable.

I think that was basically a hipster thing.

My brother wore one once when we he went to the bar.  I asked him if he had black lung in front of a girl he was trying to hit on.  I never saw that hat ever again. 

[kenarmy]

- Someone has definitely discovered US Route 250 is a thing recently due to the celebrations...
- On the flip side, why hasn't there been like a celebration or something along the entire route of 250? What a let down.

[Molandfreak]

- Someone has definitely discovered US Route 250 is a thing recently due to the celebrations...
- On the flip side, why hasn't there been like a celebration or something along the entire route of 250? What a let down.

I expect great things out of Wichita in 150 years.

[kphoger]

I expect great things out of Wichita in 150 years.

Hope to see you here, then.

[Molandfreak]

I expect great things out of Wichita in 150 years.

Hope to see you here, then.

I'd just have to live to the ripe age of 181. Eat your heart out, Jeanne Calment.

[PColumbus73]

I expect great things out of Wichita in 150 years.

Hope to see you here, then.

I'd just have to live to the ripe age of 181. Eat your heart out, Jeanne Calment.

We always have 2051 / US 275 to look forward to.

[ZLoth]

Tell me if this story sounds like "If it were fictional, it would be unbelievable". And, trust me, it's absolute true.

On Friday, May 29th, my mother and I are up early for a quick weekend trip to Sacramento for a conference. Of course, my mother is procrastinating. At one point, she falls and hits her buttocks. It was dismissed as a minor injury, and when our ride comes, we rush to get out the door, drop the cat off at the pet hotel, and get to the airport. Flight leaves on time, and when we get to the hotel, she immediately retires to bed while I attend that evening's activities.

Saturday, May 30th - My mother is in pain, so at multiple points, I'm running from the conference to my hotel room to check on my mother and deliver meals and drinks, then back to the conference.

Sunday, May 31st - My mother is transported to the emergency room where she is fitted with a brace. Since I didn't know if she was staying overnight, several days, or discharged that day, I cancel our flight out from SMF to DFW and get a rental car. Turns out, same day discharge and I manage to book a flight for next day.

Monday, June 1st - We get to the airport, and prior to the expected 1:50 boarding, my mother goes to the bathroom. Since the assisted bathroom is occupied, my mother goes to the women's bathroom. I'm outside waiting... and get word that she fell in the bathroom. Sacramento Fire Department checks her out, she is OK, and we plan on traveling home. (At this point, we just want to get hooommmeeee). However, American Airlines announces that there is a mechanical issue, a part has to be flown in, and the new departure time... is 8 PM from the original 2:15 PM. American Airlines is working to get those with connecting flights through DFW rebooked, but for those who are flying directly to DFW, the next flight is 11:45 PM. We finally depart at 7:30 PM.

Tuesday, June 2nd - We arrive at DFW at 12:45 PM, picked up the luggage, and had to catch a cab home. As we took the ramp from eastbound I-635 to northbound US-75, we start hearing a blump, blump, Blump, BLUMP, BOOM! The entire side of the passenger-rear tire blew out. To make matters worse, the cab driver who barely spoke English has problems replacing the tire as the door that holds the spare donut was closed by a five sided nut. We did not get home until 3:15 AM (grumble) and I picked up the cat that morning.

Tuesday through Friday - Except for a doctor's appointment where we scheduled a MRI, my mother remained in bed. The cat disappears, and I can't find him in the house or outside.

Saturday, June 6th - My mother taken to the Emergency room where it was determined that she was dehydrated and had a fracture on her spine.

Sunday, June 7th - I spout our cat outside, and immediately bring him inside.

Monday, June 8th - I bring the cat to the vet where his liver levels are "through the roof". The cat is left at the vet for treatment.

Tuesday, June 9th - My mother has surgery on her spine. The entire surgical team is women... talk about girl power, and is successful.

Wednesday, June 10th - My mother is transferred to a rehab hospital for recovery and physical therapy.

Friday, June 12th - I get a call from the vet. After the cat appears to be recovering, he had passed away overnight. I tell my mother in person, and said that we should wait until things get better before getting another cat.

Saturday, June 20th - My mother is discharged and wants a cat.

Tuesday, June 23rd - In home health visits my mother, and the nurse knows someone who has an absolutely lovable rescure cat, but can't take of him.

Saturday, June 27th - I go pick up the cat, along with the paperwork that says that he is fixed and has the necessary shots. He is absolute lovable, and within three minutes of getting home, he is already using the cat litter box. The name goes from Fritzie to just Fritz.

Monday, June 29th - I take the cat to the vet along with the paperwork, and find out that the cat has ringworm which is treatable, but requires quarantining.

[Max Rockatansky]

That's a lot of "my mother." 

Also, FritzOwl has been a cat this entire time?  That explains so much.

[I-55]

That's a lot of "my mother." 

Also, FritzOwl has been a cat this entire time?  That explains so much.

Owls are cat software on bird hardware, so this tracks

[ZLoth]

That's a lot of "my mother."

Yeah. Being an adult caretaker is fun fun fun.

[ZLoth]

Some time ago, my mother and I had a conversation about having a pet and we came to an agreement. First off, no dog. As they say, dogs have text messaging while cats have voice mail. While I like most dogs, dog requires more care than my mother and I can provide at this time.

That leaves us with a cat. Cats are fairly self-reliant, but there are still some restrictions. The first is that a cat is a short-hair cat due to hair shedding issues. The second is that we only have a single cat to avoid fights unless it's a inseparable pair. The last part may be unusual, and that is NO KITTENS. Everyone loves kittens, but then cats change when they reach adulthood and, unfortunately, some are abandoned by their caretaker because they lost their cuteness. I would much rather adopt an housaebroken adult cat, even with their flaws.

Thoughts on my position? The cat we ended up adopting is a adorable ginger cat who is a rescue cat and is several months old.

[Max Rockatansky]

As they say, dogs have text messaging while cats have voice mail.

That's an expression I'm just seeing for the first time. 

I'm a dog owner and somehow I now currently have four.  All four of them spend the majority of their day either sleeping or hanging out in the yard.  Even when I wasn't married and lived far from family I never found any of my dogs to be much of a hassle.  I occasionally take my dogs hiking, road tripping and camping. 

When my mom had stage four lung cancer one of the few things that made her happy was hanging out with my Boxer Clarence. 

[kphoger]

That's an expression I'm just seeing for the first time.

Same here, although the Google A.I. results that it pulled from Instagram are a hilarious read.

[ZLoth]

As they say, dogs have text messaging while cats have voice mail.

That's an expression I'm just seeing for the first time.

The original expression was "Dogs have beepers/pagers while cats have answering machines", but obviously, that expression is out of date.

[Max Rockatansky]

As they say, dogs have text messaging while cats have voice mail.

That's an expression I'm just seeing for the first time.

The original expression was "Dogs have beepers/pagers while cats have answering machines", but obviously, that expression is out of date.

I never heard that one either.

[Rothman]

I am pet free.  I like playing with other people's pets, but I'll never get one for myself.  Too much of a pain when I go on vacation, which is frequently.

[Max Rockatansky]

I am pet free.  I like playing with other people's pets, but I'll never get one for myself.  Too much of a pain when I go on vacation, which is frequently.

When you have a lot of extended family that vacation problem tends to be easily solved.  We usually one of my wife's college-age nieces at the house and they usually watch our dogs.  My father in law likes having the dogs over also in Firebaugh since they keep him busy. 

On the flip side, I've found that it helps changing up what people the dogs interact with.  It keeps them socialized and better adapted to variations in routines. 

[Rothman]

I am pet free.  I like playing with other people's pets, but I'll never get one for myself.  Too much of a pain when I go on vacation, which is frequently.

When you have a lot of extended family that vacation problem tends to be easily solved.  We usually one of my wife's college-age nieces at the house and they usually watch our dogs.  My father in law likes having the dogs over also in Firebaugh since they keep him busy. 

On the flip side, I've found that it helps changing up what people the dogs interact with.  It keeps them socialized and better adapted to variations in routines. 

And I don't have to deal with finding a pet-sitter at all...

[Max Rockatansky]

I am pet free.  I like playing with other people's pets, but I'll never get one for myself.  Too much of a pain when I go on vacation, which is frequently.

When you have a lot of extended family that vacation problem tends to be easily solved.  We usually one of my wife's college-age nieces at the house and they usually watch our dogs.  My father in law likes having the dogs over also in Firebaugh since they keep him busy. 

On the flip side, I've found that it helps changing up what people the dogs interact with.  It keeps them socialized and better adapted to variations in routines. 

And I don't have to deal with finding a pet-sitter at all...

We have about a ten year supply of future Fresno State students that are all ready to be on dog-watch standby. We'll be down to two dogs at least by the time that cycle ends.   

[1995hoo]

The neighbors who took care of our cat, and for whom we took care of their cats, during vacations unfortunately moved away last year. So earlier this summer when we went to Florida we boarded her at a cat hotel in Alexandria. It worked out really well, but it's not the cheapest option. Thankfully that wasn't an issue for us. We were quite happy with them and would board her there again.