The next person to post in this thread...

[Elendil's Heir]

Nah, I'm good. Doesn't take me long to adjust to Daylight Savings.

TNP hates almonds.

[Jizzelbin]

WHAT?????? I want to hear from what sumbitch hates almonds!

TNP demands to know who hates almonds! (Well, granted, there are some environmentally sound reasons to take issue with the amount of water required and so forth....)

[Elendil's Heir]

Oh, I love 'em! But I just thought I'd ask if someone here didn't.

TNP particularly likes Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds.

[Jizzelbin]

Every day of the week and twice on Sunday, Cap'n!

TNP has been eating quite a bit of fast food (McDonald's, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell, whatever) recently for reasons.

[Elendil's Heir]

No, I haven't, actually. I like McDonald's, Wendy's and Taco Bell, but have never had Jack in the Box. My go-to guilty pleasure for fast food is actually Arby's. Eating there was a rare treat when I was a kid, and I still like it.

TNP could go for an Arby's Beef and Cheddar, curly fries and jamocha shake right about now.

[Jizzelbin]

Well, I just ate some microwave popcorn and am swilling done some (swill but acceptable) beer, so I'd pass on that right now. But, in principle, yeah!

An Arby's isn't on my regular route to and from work (well, I know there is one just a quick zag from my usual route, but I can't be bothered), but the last time I went into one, a few weeks ago, this jaw-droppingly beautiful young woman was at the window who had the most genuinely friendly smile and attitude I think I've ever seen. Wow. Cue Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen" indeed! At least I was discreetly seated in the car!

TNP should get off his or duff soon and put up some small bookshelves, with the aid of a good stud finder, a drill for pilot holes, and a screwdriver of some sort. Or something similar to that kind of useful tomfoolery.

[Elendil's Heir]

Yes, if we had any wall space, we could definitely do with more bookshelves around here. But I have no skills at household tomfoolery more complicated than changing a lightbulb.

TNP has at least three stacks of books in the room with him or her right now.

[Jizzelbin]

That's hilarious! Ha ha. So many stacks of books....ran out of bookshelf space years ago. And, no, I don't particularly like the sight of books...just what happens.

TNP would go so far as to say he or she actively dislikes looking at stacks of books, or their spines, or whatever. However, values having information at glance or an arm-reach away, which in his or her opinion is not possible with other digital alternatives.

[Elendil's Heir]

If I could have them all neatly arranged on shelves, that would be better, yes. But I wouldn't say I actively dislike the sight.

TNP is concerned about the implications of AI for humanity's future.

[Jizzelbin]

Well. Not really. Recent experiments have been a complete disaster, and even the happy little LLM-based toys are not all that impressive.

(I've not heard one respectable researcher say otherwise, nor anyone else in a paper in a professional, peer-reviewed journal).

TNP has pretty loose criteria for general AI, and even then finds it hilarious to look at the current face of A"I" without bursting into laughter.

[Elendil's Heir]

No, and although I'm not an alarmist, I am a bit worried. Computing power has been growing exponentially in recent years, and in a decade or two I wonder if humanity will be at risk from its own cybernetic creations.

TNP will be going to church today.

[Jizzelbin]

No, not today. I figure the cross, the St. Mary and St. Ignatius medallions (which I am not wearing....have the day off for a change), and the rosary hanging off the rear view mirror (on the car I'm not driving today) is fine. I have plenty to confess for, anyway, so failure to observe mass on days of obligation is just a minor grave sin to add to the pile.

TNP would not be worried about being interpolated while on the roads for having the rosary device hanging about the rearview mirror, since all police in the US are ethnic devout Catholics. The movies say.

[Elendil's Heir]

Well, sure - when has Hollywood ever lied to us, after all?!?

TNP has ended a sentence with three punctuation marks in the past week.

[Jizzelbin]

In writing???? Like, how many times, I say you? More than three is excessive, perhaps. but I could see annotating a very surprising move in, say, chess, in three. An extra exclamation point perhaps between brackets within parens.

The answer is probably 'yes," BTW. Probably.

TNP has met (or encountered) a judge in the past week who was extremely funny. And will explain "funny, how?" In his or her professional capacity, as in presiding over his or her court. Not just funny like a clown, or a Patch Adams: adept at his or her craft, but amusing within some professional limits.

[Elendil's Heir]

Well, I heard a judge not too long ago, when someone offhandedly said "That's cool," respond, "Justice and coolness, those are always my goals." I thought that was kind of funny.

TNP is listening to Christmas music this weekend.

[Jizzelbin]

What?

Lalala. I didn't hear that!

TNP is relatively unhappy when certain people aren't at work on any given day, because those people (he or she) give an extra bit of camaraderie.