Saturday Night Off-season Open Thread 16: The Euro Has Started!!

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Germany scored 6 goals in their opening match against Scotland on Friday. Charitably, one counted for Scotland, so that was a 5-1 thrashing, giving Germany its biggest ever victory in the European Championships and Scotland its biggest loss

Today’s games were Hungary v Switzerland, Spain v Croatia, and Italy v Albania. Switzerland took care of business 3-1 as did Spain 3-0. For some reason, I tipped the Spain-Croatia game as a tie. Boy was I wrong! Albania surprised early with the fastest goal ever in the Euros thanks to the biggest Italian boner since Rocco Siffredi. However, Italy reacted as defending champs should and got two quick goals within the first 20 minutes. It ended 2-1.

I tell you what, we’re not lacking goals in this Euro! The Ghost Of TWBS grumbles angrily, “Just wait.”

I watched the Fox coverage on Friday in the office and again on Friday night at home. Some impressions:

Jules Breach is not only a nice piece of eye candy, she’s pretty knowledgeable about the game. She’s worked her way up the British media and I’m guessing this tournament will catapult her career forwards.

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The virtual set (real set in LA) was pretty impressive. There’s an article here telling you the behind the scenes stuff, but it looked really cool during the pregame shows and halftime.

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I should be a commentator. Watching the Germany game with my parents, they showed a box advertising the Italy-Albania game and both my parents thought Albania was in for a five goal rout. I said, “Nah, this is Italy. It will be a 2-0 rout.”

Later, watching the post-game show, the pundits asked Giorgio Chiellini, former Italy legend, how many goals Italy would score on Albania. He replied, ” No, no. That’s not us. 1-0 or 2-0.”

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The Hungary-Switzerland game this morning was not carried on any Fox network. There are five games in this Euro 2024 that will be carried exclusively on FuboTV on their Fubo Sports channel. Today’s was one of them.

I have seen several games in the Fubo Sports channel and, I have to tell you, it’s actually pretty cool. They get the world feed and they have no commercials so during halftime you get repeated replays from multiple angles with no inane commentary from empty talking heads.

The announcers are English and do a very good job. Overall, I would recommend the Fubo Sports channel and Fubo TV in general!

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Golf Update

As I alluded to in last week’s post, my Club Championship tournament was not the best. I was cold. My shoes, socks, and feet were wet. I started off well on both days and then finished badly. I’ll take it as a learning experience and move on.

The one thing that saved the whole weekend was that I got a birdie on a Par 3 when I hit the ball to within 2 feet and 1/2 inch from the center of the cup. That was good enough for both a Closest To The Pin and a Skin which meant I earned some points and won some money. I am now in 8th place in the overall standings.

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Fitness Update

I finished my sixth round of Iron Curtain training. That means I’ve been working out non-stop for six months now! I got a Personal Best on Deadlift at 330 pounds. I also got a Personal Best on Squats at 295 pounds. I’ll try for a personal best on Bench tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

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As a quick reminder, the full Summer of Soccer schedule is below:

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Your weekly Psych gif:

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Your weekly hot girl pic:

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Your weekly music video:

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It’s all soccer nowadays. Enjoy the evening!

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ballsofsteelandfury
Balls somehow lost his bio and didn't realize it. He's now scrambling to write something clever and failing. He likes butts, boobs, most things that start with the letter B, and writing in the Second Person. Geelong, Toluca, Barcelona, and Steelers, in that order.
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Brick Meathook
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

It’s hard to explain the whole connection between Winter’s Tale and The Whole of the Moon (particularly because I am intoxicated) but um you see the thing is um this is a really fucking good tune and also the book was spectacular as well and I suppose would be even more amazing if I had ever lived in New York

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBW8Vnp8BzU

Dunstan

Makin’ love in the afternoon
With Cecilia, up in my bedroom
I get up to wash my face
When I come back to bed, someone’s taken my place

Look, I don’t mean to slut-shame, but that’s kind of fucked up, Cecilia.

ArmedandHammered

True, but to have her cheat and then he is happy they get back together. He is a simp and wuss.

Dunstan

The 60s were a fucked up time

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

THESE SIXTIES I CALL THEM ME BECAUSE THEY ARE/WERE FUCKED UP.

Dunstan

Other assholes of classic rock:

Jim Croce’s “best old ex-friend Ray,” who ran off with his girlfriend in “Operator”

Fuck Ray, and fuck her. That bitch always claimed that she hated Ray.

Brick Meathook

R. Lee Ermey may be the the “gold standard” of boot camp drill instructors (in cinema usually the USMC because they are the most theatrical) but here’s the great Darren McGavin as a USMC recruit instructor in San Diego in the Vietnam era.

https://youtu.be/21Ffff44CSU?si=sW1AO_meXRtQp3aB&t=104

2Pack

Saw this in high school. Good story.

Brick Meathook
Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

I WENT HOME WITH A WAITRESS, THE WAY I ALWAYS DO…

miss you dude

Dunstan

Whether you’re talking about Warren Zevon or tWBS, I agree

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

Was drinkin’ soju and watchin’ Star Trek. Now I’m just drinkin’ soju and ROCKING THE FUCK OUT.

Dunstan

Advice from (another) great Canadian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvxxdZpMFHg

Dunstan

One of the interesting bar tips I got from someplace I don’t recall is to steep sweet vermouth in lapsang souchon tea leaves for a couple of days. The result is a super smoky aperitif. I recently made a batch (really just a small mason jar) to revisit a cocktail of mine called the Forest Fire, which is every smoky thing I could think of, but I just got home and decided to try it in a negroni since I needed something I could make quickly.

Anyway, my point is that this is really damn good. At least for me; other people probably would say it tastes like a negroni served in an ashtray, but fuck them.

Brick Meathook

Have any of you ever purchased a hooker on-line and she shows up with her mother and father and three of her children and you ask her family to please wait outside but none of them speak a word of English they are some kind of weird Eastern European thing and they’re not threatening me it’s as if they truly don’t understand the business contract we’ve entered into and they’re just standing there? Has this ever happened to you? Because they are all just standing by the door staring at me and I’m not quite sure what to do right now. I don’t want to shoot them unless I feel reasonably sure that I won’t face any legal burdens later on.

Horatio Cornblower

Forget the hooker and just get their family recipe for cured meats.

ArmedandHammered

You could do like Trump and just marry her, she and Melania could share stories about the disappointments they face daily.

Brick Meathook

I just made a pretty darn good steak & cheese sandwich on rye bread.

The real secret to a good steak & cheese is horseradish. You can make it strong or mild as you prefer, but it should be in there. Also brown, spicy, or dijon mustard, once again applied to your taste. There is no “right” way to it do and anyone who claims that is a fascist.

Mine was sliced Spencer steak, which is the west-coast name for rib-eye. Both terms are interchangeable. Plus get some decent Swiss cheese, it ain’t brain surgery. The rye bread I used was from Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles, the finest bread on this planet.

Another topping to consider is yellow mustard mixed 50/50 with mayonnaise. The Mormons in Idaho love this stuff. Despite being an Irish Catholic from the East Coast, mostly educated by Jews, I spent some young schooling time out in Idaho and the Mormons were very nice to me.

Doktor Zymm

Horseradish is a mighty fine radish. The best of radishes even.

Brick Meathook

So is wasabi.

yeah right

Yes on both accounts.

Horatio Cornblower

Watching UFC fights and one guy, named Cuamba, has been knocked down twice and keeps getting up.

Not sure why, but this seems familiar…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc

Horatio Cornblower

Cuamba’s down and back up a 3rd time. He’s doesn’t have much of a chin, but he’s got great recovery.

Which I’m not sure is a great long-term skill set for someone who’s job description includes “getting punched in the head a lot”

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

The Brick Hithouse.

Gumbygirl

He needs a whiskey drink, he needs a vodka drink. And the other ones, lager and cider?

Horatio Cornblower

He needs to go back to school and finish that HVAC certificate is what he needs to do.

Horatio Cornblower

My personal best at deadlift is 285. I did that only because my son hit 275 and I’m a competitive idiot. After lifting the 285, (and this was 2-3 years ago; I don’t even try deadlifting anymore), I told him “you get 286 and the record’s yours.”

He did. I then tried 315, got it about 1′ off the floor and had to make a decision about either putting it down or going for broke, and by “broke” I mean “my back.”

I put it down.

Horatio Cornblower

Somewhat related, I think the world record is something like 1,100 lbs., which is just something I can’t even fathom.

Horatio Cornblower
Doktor Zymm

Always trips me out when the bar is all bendy like that

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

If the bar ain’t bendin’, you’re pretendin’.

(Hugh Jackman taught me that)

Gumbygirl

I don’t understand how his testicles didn’t pop like balloons.

SonOfSpam

He’s a large man. A Mountain, if you will.

Brick Meathook

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Horatio Cornblower

Gotta love the complete adrenaline dump there.

Fronkenshteen

Gonna go to work for the rest of the night, and I’ll be here for the footy tomorrow, but I just wanted to anyone here tonight that’s not here then a relaxing and amusing Father’s Day! Also, Hi Gumby Girl! Sorry I’m so scarce lately. Hope you and Gumby are having a terrific weekend. This one always makes me think of you guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO8kKIT3bkM

2Pack

Yeah Happy Father’s day to all us Dad’s.

https://youtu.be/sRGjTr2v6P8?si=pWffQMls69If7ypK

Horatio Cornblower

My brother and I are taking my father out for pizza in New Haven tomorrow.

Since I’m a father and my brother isn’t I’m gonna make him pick up the tab.

Gumbygirl

Awww thanks! Glad you are doing well, we miss you when you’re not around!

blaxabbath

Took the kid bowling today (Boyz Weekend 2024, as it is) and beat his ass like 124 to 86.

He can do whatever he wants tomorrow. I’m fucking TAKING Fathers Day.

Horatio Cornblower

I just ordered my wife and I custom bowling shirts, so we can show up in style the one time a year we go bowling.

Yes, I may have had a few beers and a high-octane margarita before ordering them, what of it?

Gumbygirl

Here’s a nice outfit for Lowratio

3_HF_Court-jesters-real_3.jpg
Horatio Cornblower

They didn’t carry his size.

Yes, we are considering a discrimination suit.

Brocky

You know, if I had a nickle for every time a team failed to successful wrap up a best of seven series by the fourth game, despite having a three game lead, in this week… I’d have two nickles

Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice

Senor Weaselo

Doof’s De-eliminator-ator worked like a charm!

Horatio Cornblower

If I had a nickel for every girl I had sex with in high school I’d need to ask someone if I could borrow .05.

Once again, the debate club, cross-country team, and D&D after-school club are not exactly flies-to-honey to the women-folk.

Doktor Zymm

How do you have -1 sex?

Horatio Cornblower

You ever spend 4 years in an all-boys high school, Doc?

Doktor Zymm

I suspect that would work out differently for high school me than it did for high school you

Horatio Cornblower

I’ll wager a dime you’d have more nickels than I did.

Doktor Zymm

Being the only girl in an all-boys school would tend to make that easier

Doktor Zymm

Windows is forcing me to ‘upgrade’ to 11, so I’ll get to spend an hour or so sometime soon turning off all the new ‘helpful’ features and trying to find where they hid all the useful menus. I miss 3.1

ArmedandHammered

Yeah, I hate it. So far I have been able to not upgrade my other computers and it came installed on my gaming laptop. Steam runs and that is all I care about.

blaxabbath

I’d Linux still the best?

Doktor Zymm

The downside there is the inability to run Civ

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

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blaxabbath

I hired a networks company and they’re making their first on-boarding visit to my shops next week. It’s like, thank goodness our industry doesn’t care about post-’95 skills/technology, else we’d been fucked long ago. Instead, I’m just glad to have someone component in IT and just the relief of knowing I’ll be able to be like, “Call Network Studs I don’t know” makes me think thay it just all might be okay…

Brick Meathook

This rig (in one form or another) has been making Hollywood feature film VFX for well over 20 years. This current MacBook Pro laptop was put into service 5 days ago, purchased used off eBay for a total of US$640.54. I never buy new computers, cars, or cameras. Each computer does about 6 years of duty.

32GB memory, 52TB total storage (all active drives are backed up every 24 hours).

This is a nuclear powered fighting ship right here. Smoke ’em if ya got ’em.

https://ibb.co/LCdCkQL
https://ibb.co/x5c6DHW

herodotus450

2 TB of Frankie (presumably Muniz) sizzle reels!?

Brick Meathook

The late great Frankie (2000-2011):

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Dunstan

Frankie says relax

2Pack

Yeah you and me both.
On the work computer I have no say so. But on the home one, I hold off on upgrading as long as I can. Let’s them work out all of the new roll out bugs off of others people’s frustrated complaining so I get a well patched version.

herodotus450

Windows 11 Initial release date: October 5, 2021

Doktor Zymm

It’s not even a matter of patching for me, I’m apparently not anyone’s targeted audience. Whatever they add is never built for me, and they always make it harder to change or disable features that don’t work for me, which is most of them.

litre_cola

What do you want to do for Father’s Day litre?

7 am Oranje futbol
10 am Danish futbol, mmmm danishes.
1 pm MITRRRROOOOO futbol
3 pm CPL futbol Cavs in BC Dick town for their tilt.
6 pm sleep.

King Hippo

Even with moderate AK usage, that would indeed be a good day.

SonOfSpam

He just might fuck around and get a triple double

King Hippo

dat’s wut dat ninja jus’ DO

blaxabbath

My wife left me.with the boy since Thursday. We just finished bowling.

ArmedandHammered

Do you employ a spin when you bowl the kid down the lane or just a heads first with arms wide approach? It does have to be head first or the kid will be injured when the gate comes down.

blaxabbath

Grip it and rip it.

Rikki-Tikki-Deadly

But enough about Bob Kraft’s instructions at the massage parlor…

SonOfSpam

I also originally tipped Spain-Croatia as a tie, then looked at it again last night and thought “Well that’s stupid” and changed to Spain. Was stunned to see it not end in a tie, because that’s always what happens.

SonOfSpam

Oh I don’t plan on staying there.

litre_cola

Last place! Last place!

Horatio Cornblower

I think I did the same, but am not positive since my strategy is to immediately forget my picks after making them.