Retired astronaut Mike Mullane talks about the Challenger failure quite extensively in his book Riding Rockets. If I recall correctly, there's speculation some of the crew survived the explosion and were killed by the impact with the ocean. He's an entertaining writer. The book is worth reading over his description of his preparations for an enema during his qualifying physical alone. The book is worth the read.
He’s also the real astronaut on The Big Bang Theory. “Hey Fruit Loops”. He’s an interesting dude, to say the least.
Anyone else ready for the polar vortex that's incoming? Here in Chicago we got 4-7 inches of snow overnight that created havoc on morning rush and an unexpected wave of lake effect snow dropped 2-3 inches during evening rush. Normally I would be cursing such snow but we found a used 2 stage snowblower and I love using that bad boy. As for the polar vortex, it is essentially going to be -20 to -50 F from tomorrow night through Thursday lunch. I don't know what there is to even do besides make comfort food and binge your favorite show. Anyone else in the vortex have any plans?
This is crazy. This week and next week are stupid cheap pricing for Televisions because of the Super Bowl. I bought basically this TV - same brand, same size, 1080p - for $1000 17 years ago. It wasn't a smart TV, but I thought I was getting a great deal. My parents were always "and you could get a movie ticket, popcorn and a soda for a quarter!" when I talk about how movie tickets and snacks are like $25. Now, that TV is 4K and it's $230. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshib...h-hdr-fire-tv-edition/6194907.p?skuId=6194907 That blows me away.
Yeah, I just checked out BB's sale prices, and there are a few refurbished 50" tv's on for $250 off (around $350), but nothing even close to that price for what it is.
Can you get TCL? They're only a few bucks more. I think the TCL and Vizio were reviewed as the best value. I have 36" (I think) TCL smart TV in one room that I got a few years ago. It's been rock solid. (Not 4K like the new ones) https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-lcd-led-tv/
The only bad thing, IMO, about the TCLs is that the remote is based on the Roku's remote. I guess it's not that big of a deal, but I like having numbers on the remote so that I can punch in a channel directly. The internal speakers aren't great either, but soundbars are cheap.
I haven't noticed the speaker issues, but I'm the opposite on the remote. I use my Dish remote for everything, except to watch Amazon or Netflix, and that simple remote makes it easy.
I returned my 55" TCL to Best Buy and ended up spending an extra $75 on a Sony. The TCL screen had so many issues with the quality of both the glass itself (multiple waves in the panel) as well as blotchy grey areas whenever solid colors were displayed. It had its moments of brilliance with HDR content, but overall, it was really bad for the majority of content and I'm happy I ended up with the Sony for a little more.
Holy fuck is it cold out. I only was outside for less than a minute to bring the trash can out to the curb and pretty sure I now have hypothermia. Right now, here at least, it's -2*F with a wind chill of -25*F (That's -18 and -31 to you metriticians). It's even worse up in the Chicago area, -17*F with a wind chill of -47*F.
We have a crisp high of -30 C tomorrow, if the wind doesn’t blow whatsoever. But we’re expecting high winds. Winter is fun: I love deadly weather, everything covered in salty filth with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
As someone who works from home, and occasionally gets ridiculed because of the fireplace in the background during video conference calls, I kind of like winter. Winter is a lot of fun when you can deal with it on your own terms. But yeah... today's a bit of a bitch.
But yeah... what the fuck is going on Sunday-Tuesday? We're going from -30 to +7 in a few days... which, for those of you measuring in Freedom Units, means it's above freezing and everything will be melting all over the place... only to freeze up and become ice the following day. Weather this year is fucked...
It is a crisp 46 degrees Fahrenheit right now headed to a high of 66 degrees this afternoon. I think I will take the motorcycle out for a ride. The hating may now begin.
-31 Freedom here this morning. On Saturday it's supposed to hit 34 above, I'll be walking around outside in a t-shirt.