vxbush 8/13/2021 5:56:22 AM

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lucius septimius 8/13/2021 7:04:42 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 1:

No one really knows.  Most of the explanations I've seen are after the fact.  One that does make sense to me is that it goes back to Norse mythology and the banquet that led to the death of Baldar.  The Germanic number system was base 12 (which is why English uses multiples of 4, 6, and 12 for measurement -- a legacy of the Danelaw) so 13 was "out of bounds" so to speak.  It also explains why in Spain and Italy Friday 13 doesn't carry the same significance. 

Beyond that, since the 19th century, various people have compiled lists of bad things that happened on Friday 13 to "prove" that the day is unlucky.  Of course such lists could be compiled good or ill for practically any day of the week/year.  My mom's birthday, as I like to remind her, is the anniversary of all sorts of awful things.

vxbush 8/13/2021 7:07:31 AM

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In #2 lucius septimius said: Beyond that, since the 19th century, various people have compiled lists of bad things that happened on Friday 13 to "prove" that the day is unlucky.  Of course such lists could be compiled good or ill for practically any day of the week/year.  My mom's birthday, as I like to remind her, is the anniversary of all sorts of awful things.

Yes, an example of selection bias if ever there was one. Thanks for the background on that. It does explain some of the oddness about how people think about 13. 

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:01:54 AM

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In #2 lucius septimius said: The Germanic number system was base 12

Did ancient Germans have twelve fingers?  Weird. 

buzzsawmonkey 8/13/2021 8:03:50 AM

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vxbush 8/13/2021 8:05:28 AM

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In #4 Occasional Reader said: Did ancient Germans have twelve fingers?  Weird. 

Ancient Mesopotamians had a number system that was base 60. 

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:06:53 AM

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buzzsawmonkey 8/13/2021 8:08:03 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 1:

I'd bet that the "Friday the 13th" phobia traces back to its being a combination of the unlucky-13 of being "thirteen at table," as in the Last Supper, and Good Friday being the day of the crucifixion. 

Meanwhile, let's not forget the turtle Churchy La Femme in "Pogo," who was seriously Friday-the-13th-phobic---so much so that he'd hide out if "Friday the 13th" fell on a Wednesday, or Tuesday, or any other day of the week.

doppelganglander 8/13/2021 8:35:15 AM

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Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:43:19 AM

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In #5 buzzsawmonkey said: Obama had his "Arab Spring"; Biden has his "Afghanistan Fall."

Even CNN (it was on in the gym, "don't judge"  yesterday was airing criticism of Biden on this, in the form of Peter Bergen,  See here for an article by him, which is quite scathing - and again, " this is CNN".  

But not to worry!  Jen Psaki has scolded the Taliban!  She declared: "'The Taliban also has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community.'"    Next, she'll probably sternly demand that the Taliban go to their rooms, and think about what they've done. 

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:44:02 AM

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In #6 vxbush said: Ancient Mesopotamians had a number system that was base 60. 

Well, that was because of the number of fingers/tentacles on the ancient astronauts.  Duh.

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:45:03 AM

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In #10 Occasional Reader said: (it was on in the gym, "don't judge" 

... ) 

JCM 8/13/2021 8:46:28 AM

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Equal Protection?

Not so much.

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 8:47:32 AM

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In #10 Occasional Reader said: But not to worry!  Jen Psaki has scolded the Taliban! 

And the EU have threatened the Taliban with "isolation", if they don't play nice!  No Cannes Film Festival invitation for you, Taliban!  Ha!  That'll show 'em. 

JCM 8/13/2021 8:55:45 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 14:

Isolation... we don't care what you do internally... just don't hurt us.

Kosh's Shadow 8/13/2021 9:01:26 AM

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Reply to JCM in 15:

Wait until Iran and the Taliban get together and the next hijacked airliners have nuclear weapons. (More likely with cargo aircraft)

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 9:14:48 AM

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In #16 Kosh's Shadow said: Wait until Iran and the Taliban get together and the next hijacked airliners have nuclear weapons. (More likely with cargo aircraft)

Well, if they do that, they WON'T get to go to Davos!  So there! 

JCM 8/13/2021 9:17:50 AM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 16:

That would be so easy.... scheduled cargo flight into JFK.... divert last minute over Manhattan declare an emergency, 5000 feet over Central Park.

vxbush 8/13/2021 9:27:31 AM

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In #18 JCM said: That would be so easy.... scheduled cargo flight into JFK.... divert last minute over Manhattan declare an emergency, 5000 feet over Central Park.

Sssshhh. Don't give them ideas!

Kosh's Shadow 8/13/2021 9:36:47 AM

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In #18 JCM said: scheduled cargo flight into JFK

Flight 911 from Islamabad

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 10:03:59 AM

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Leaked audio: DHS Mayorkas admits “ we are going to lose the border crisis“.  This, despite his public statements to the contrary.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mayorkas-were-going-to-lose-border-crisis-leaked-audio

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 10:13:34 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 21:

And leaving aside the lies, and the profoundly anti-American policy: anyone who has watched a spy movie set in modern times realizes “ these days anyone anywhere can be recording you at any time, so act accordingly“. This guy is head of DHS, and he never figured that out?

JCM 8/13/2021 10:14:12 AM

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This line in a local news story.....

Doctors are saying with a worst-case scenario, the delta variant will still be around when flu season hits. Doctors say we didn’t have a flu season last year due to masks, social distancing, and hand washing.

Complete and utter bullshit. Just look up CLI (Covid Like Illness) at the CDC, they openly moved flu cases into the COVID category.

JCM 8/13/2021 10:29:26 AM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 21:

He also aid we need a "policy" to address the problem, then publicly blamed Trump.

Mayjerkoff wassis name is the problem.

Looking at policies for the border crisis is like shopping for insurance while your house burns.

We have the laws on the books, they just need to be acted upon and enforced.

Then blaming Trump when he's the one who threw out the welcome mat.

He's the type of jackoff tar and feathers where meant for.

vxbush 8/13/2021 10:55:22 AM

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In #23 JCM said: Complete and utter bullshit. Just look up CLI (Covid Like Illness) at the CDC, they openly moved flu cases into the COVID category.

And the COVID test still isn't able to distinguish between some flus and COVID, which is why that test is being discontinued at the end of December. 

lucius septimius 8/13/2021 11:39:22 AM

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In #9 doppelganglander said: Reading a 300-page operations manual is not helping. 

Let me guess -- written in Chinese and translated into English by someone who only speaks Zemiaki.

JCM 8/13/2021 11:46:22 AM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 26:

Reply to doppelganglander in 9:

One of my favorite operations manuals was for a large piece of 480V test equipment.

On the first page big warning.

SERVICING MUST BE CONDUCTED BY TWO TEAMS ONE OF WHICH KNOWS CPR.

We always wondered, what if the guy who knows CPR is the one that got electrocuted.

JCM 8/13/2021 11:49:26 AM

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Double standards?

Cuomo resigns the impeachment investigation ends.

Trump leaves office? They continue.

lucius septimius 8/13/2021 11:54:10 AM

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Reply to JCM in 28:

This is a triumph for the Red Queen Democrats.  Sentence first!!!

vxbush 8/13/2021 12:01:16 PM

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In #29 lucius septimius said: This is a triumph for the Red Queen Democrats.  Sentence first!!!

This.

Kosh's Shadow 8/13/2021 12:05:31 PM

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Reply to JCM in 27:

I remember reading an IBM service manual that defined "Caution" at the beginning. Standard definition.

I believe this was for a 1442 Card Read Punch (or Card Eat Crunch) that could both read and punch cards. Lots of moving parts.

Those manuals were for IBM techs only, mere mortals weren't even supposed to read them, never mind doing any maintenance.

buzzsawmonkey 8/13/2021 12:11:08 PM

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In #28 JCM said: Cuomo resigns the impeachment investigation ends.

I still think Cuomo will be reincarnated as Biden's Border Czar.

Kosh's Shadow 8/13/2021 12:35:56 PM

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In #32 buzzsawmonkey said: I still think Cuomo will be reincarnated as Biden's Border Czar.

He'll let cute women in if he gets to fondle them first.

doppelganglander 8/13/2021 1:23:42 PM

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Reply to lucius septimius in 26:

Surprisingly, it's in excellent English and easy to understand. It's just boring as hell.

In other news, I'm scheduled for a business trip the day after Labor Day. It's a short flight, but I am not looking forward to Covid theater. 

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 1:24:10 PM

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In #32 buzzsawmonkey said: I still think Cuomo will be reincarnated as Biden's Border Czar.

No time soon, at least.  Mario is too toxic.  

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 1:27:59 PM

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In #1 vxbush said: Can our history folks explain why the Friday the 13th is feared more than other days?

Oh, I forget to address this:

Because of the movie.

Next question? 

JCM 8/13/2021 1:40:50 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 31:

One my first things in the tech world was running a computer chip handler that fed chips into a tester then routed them to the appropriate storage for the test results.

It kept jamming. It had a four foot shelf of manuals, electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic systems. One night I got fed up with the jams and service techs were across the country.

I took the damn thing apart. I had manuals and parts spread out all over the floor. My boss comes in and is horrified.

I hold up a little pin, thing was bent and would jam. Straightened the pin out, put the thing back together. Ran for months until we shipped it to our factory.

Occasional Reader 8/13/2021 2:04:12 PM

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Kosh's Shadow 8/13/2021 2:08:48 PM

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Reply to vxbush in 1:

Why is Friday the 13th believed to be unlucky? A history of the superstition

Not that good an article, however

JCM 8/13/2021 2:11:11 PM

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Here's the facemark we should wear..

vxbush 8/13/2021 2:13:31 PM

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In #38 Occasional Reader said: We’re in the open air on a windy day. And yes, he is wearing a cloth facemask. Because of course.

In #34 doppelganglander said: I am not looking forward to Covid theater. 

I have a feeling the theater aspect is going to ramp up going forward as we move through the Greek letters mu, nu, omicron, etc. I literally went and looked up the variant list from the CDC because I was rather upset that gamma, eta, and theta got left out. Well, they were used, but I honestly think that (a) they didn't sound as significant as delta and lamda, and (b) not enough cases of those variants were detected, of course.

I haven't seen how the variants are detected. I'm not seeing any literature that lists the differences between the variants or the test kits that do the testing. It seems as if it's just the following: Oh, you've got COVID now? Then you have the delta or lamda variants. Not very scientific. Call me very suspicious.

buzzsawmonkey 8/13/2021 2:14:07 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 39:

I'd refer you to my #8 above, which comes to the same conclusion much more briefly and without the rodomontade.

JCM 8/13/2021 2:22:01 PM

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Reply to vxbush in 41:

Couple of links on variants.

There are enough variants to keep the theater running for years.