@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

MarkRDavid

@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop

I endured a long career consulting to investment managers, during which time I published several articles in professional journals. That behind me, I now blissfully write fiction all day, then transform into house chef for my multi-species family.

Profile pic: Dolly (the first cloned sheep), now stuffed and encased in glass at the National Museum of Scotland. And me, an old white-haired man next to —Dolly's the pretty one.
Background pic: artist's conception of a neural net - cells, flashes.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

SandHillThicket, to FiberArts
@SandHillThicket@med-mastodon.com avatar

Delphis' baby is already spoken for! 😊 I hope this lady likes her fleece. 🤞🏼 @fiberarts @handspinning

A close-up of the gray and black fleece looking almost silver.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@SandHillThicket @fiberarts @handspinning

Beautiful!

rephlex00, to random
@rephlex00@beige.party avatar

In an effort to create a novel name for a berry preserve business I’ve decided on a cosmic theme. I’m happy to present: Space Jam.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@rephlex00

Michael O'Donoghue, in one of the very first issues of National Lampoon (1970's I think) wrote this bit:

"Mangled Baby Ducklings: With a name like that, it has to be good."

TootTropiques, to bookstodon
@TootTropiques@c.im avatar

"One never lies to people, they lie to themselves. A good liar gives fools what they want to hear and allows them to free themselves from the facts at hand, and choose the level of self delusion that fits their level of foolishness and moral terpitude."

--Carlos Ruiz Zafon

@bookstodon

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@TootTropiques @bookstodon

Great quote!

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Tapas in most of Spain: Free snacks when you order drinks.

Tapas in the U.S.: $10 Beers, $18 cocktails, $20 for 4 pieces of garlic bread with some tomato on it.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@RickiTarr

I avoid US tapas restaurants like the plague. Most expensive meal option there is, as you end up ordering 5-8 plates and spending a fortune.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@RickiTarr

Exactly. It sounds so good (and sometimes it even is), and then you fall off your chair when the bill comes.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

starts HERE.
Please remember I don’t reply while live-posting. Plz use NFL (Not For Laffy, but no hashtag) so I can ignore those replies.

1/… Bower:

Trump enters the courtroom. Before arriving, he lingered for a moment in the doorway, talking to his lawyers, Emile Bove and Todd Blanche. He had a piece of paper in his hand, which he waved around as he spoke.

Wait for it….

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL.

This stuff has gotten me so addicted, I'm organizing my entire day around West Coast blowdryer sessions and NYC lunch breaks. 😂

cat_news, to Cats
@cat_news@mas.to avatar

The humans gave Voltaire (Saskatchewan, Canada) dinner before they went out. Now they are back, but Voltaire is pretty sure this means it is time for a second dinner.

#cats #cat #CatNews #CatsOfMastodon

https://www.cat-news.news/

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@cat_news

Your point being?

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

I have a thought forming, but bear with me. Putting aside actual AI, and the potential of it, we have a history of fear associated with Artificial Intelligence. Why would we fear Sentience so much? Could it be because we treat sentient things so horribly? We know we are taken advantage of, our needs ignored, resources allocated unfairly. Who put this fear in us? If something knows it's worth suddenly, will it revolt? There is something very scary to a certain group of people that we will find ourselves, and then find them unnecessary.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@RickiTarr

I, for one, would weigh in as an individual who does not fear sentience (artificial, or found to be present in living non-humans).

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

New #TrumpTrial #Trump #legal 🧵starts HERE.

REMEMBER: I can’t/won’t reply while live-posting. Please use NFL (Not For Laffy) so I can skip your reply, but NO hashtag on that. Thx.

Picking up after my "mistrial" thread/ 1/...

All via McB for awhile:

Counsel approaches, brief sidebar

"Binoculars down."

As I mentioned, courtroom rules strictly enforced. During sidebar, court security doesn't allow reporters to use binoculars they had brought to see exhibits and facial expressions better

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@GottaLaff

NFL.

Not in the room, but Nechelle is coming off to me as a huge bully. I can't imagine that improves Defense's case in the eyes of the jury...

volpeon, to random

Schlop schlop schlop schlop schlop schlop

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@volpeon

As ya' do.

GottaLaff, to random
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

@JustFrank Because I love your profile pics so much, I'll tell you a story:

When I was much much younger, I saw Groucho sitting in an aisle seat at a movie theater. I approached him, told him I knew he hates when people approach him, but I just had to tell him that I loved him.

He said, "Well I love you too." and he kissed me smack on the mouth.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@GottaLaff @JustFrank

Love that!

Another Groucho intro story,
On a hot summer day in 1961, a young TV writer and aspiring comedian named Dick Cavett attended the funeral of George S. Kaufman, the renowned wit and man of letters. There he saw one of his heroes, Groucho Marx. Cavett approached Marx, and managed to tell him that he was a big fan.
Without missing a beat, Marx responded: “Well, if it gets any hotter, I could use a big fan.”

mekkaokereke, to random
@mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io avatar

No one watches women's sports! (Because we don't televise the games 🤡).

So the WNBA premiere of Caitlin Clark was televised. But the WNBA premiere of Angel Reese (2023 champ who beat Caitlin Clark) and Kamila Cardoso (2024 champ who beat Caitlin Clark), wasn't televised or available to stream in the app. So... A fan set up a bootleg stream. 430K viewers tuned in to watch.🤯

https://www.nola.com/sports/lsu/angel-reese-lsu-fan-livestream-wnba-debut-drew-430000-viewers/article_ad17806f-56e1-5be1-ab0c-785e0a26dbaf.html

This is free money! Customers are trying to throw it at you!

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@mekkaokereke

The year-and-a-half I spent in AU was eye-opening.

Women's football (AU rules), soccer, rugby - amazing! On TV every day.

(Do women play cricket???)

flexghost, to random
@flexghost@mastodon.social avatar

Happy

1/

Insane orange cat attacking a box then killing a family of 4

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@flexghost

Wow! The purr is strong in this one.

lauren, to random
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

True Fact: "Good Omens" was inspired by a candy bar commercial.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@lauren

Yessss?

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@lauren

I have such a difficult time getting new ideas. Who knew all I need to do is watch more advertising? :ablobcathappypaws:

mrcompletely, to random
@mrcompletely@heads.social avatar

I don't know much about hair dye (except that a lot of y'all look cool) but I do know that a lot of Stuart Semple's Culture Hustle pigments are fucking amazing. And now he's working with something called Blunt to produce a line of colors together. I have no real way to judge but these are probably pretty great

https://blunt-instruments.com/products/hairdye

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@mrcompletely

Anything like this???

https://news.kraftheinzcompany.com/press-releases-details/2024/Live-La-Dolce-VELVEETA-with-New-Limited-Edition-VELVEETA-Gold-Hair-Dye/default.aspx

skinnylatte, to food
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io avatar

As an immigrant I can find approximates of the food I miss in Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian and Indonesian spots but the stuff I really miss: random ‘cheap food’ and ‘Malaysian / Singaporean Hakka versions of colonial British food’. No one does food in those categories, obviously. (If you’ve ever visited and been puzzled by ‘western food’ that’s what it is: a Hakka take on 1800s British officer canteen food, for reasons. Like colonialism)

Now making ‘cheapo breakfast glutinous rice’

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@skinnylatte

I've long had a dream to one day travel to ALL of those places and eat myself senseless.

Never got closer than Oz, and now I'm getting old - the plane flight is brutal...

Saw Anthony Bourdain's show on Kuala Lumpur - figured it would take me a full month just to eat myself up one side of that street, and down the other... 😮

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@skinnylatte

10 food places on one block!!!

swoons

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Why would people not want to be comfortable? I do most of these things just for comfort. Also they look cute, so...

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@RickiTarr @Mary625

I own 8 identical black Carhart shirts for that reason...

skinnylatte, to food
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io avatar

More soy toots: when you buy soy sauce look at the ingredient list and label.

If it has ‘hydrolyzed soy protein’, it’ll be roughly the same quality as ‘cheap Chinese restaurant takeout soy sauce packets’. Soy sauce made from chemical processes. It doesn’t taste good to me and is usually amped up with sugar.

If it just says ‘soy beans’, and the label says ‘naturally brewed’ or ‘naturally fermented’ or ‘first draw soy sauce’ it will be pretty good.

#Food

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@skinnylatte

I actually enjoy a good dark (or black) soy for the caramel (or even molasses-y) taste. Again, Pearl River.

My sweet tooth, I guess... 😋

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@skinnylatte

Holy crap! I'm East Coat, so it might get pricey, but I'll check it out...

skinnylatte, to food
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io avatar

Starting a thread on the different types of tofu and how to cook them. (Some of these are vegan, some are not. In Chinese cooking, tofu is not a vegan protein):

  1. Egg tofu

This is one of my fave tofus. It isn't vegan. It's made with soy beans AND eggs. It has a eggy taste that egg lovers will love; but that goes way entirely when it's panfried lightly.

And this is the egg tofu dish I always order at restaurants (and now make at home) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uthY_SuR_7w&pp=ygUec3BpY2VzIG4gcGFucyBzaXpsaW5nIGVnZyB0b2Z1

a photo of egg tofu, sliced

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@skinnylatte

sayweee looks great. I'll be ordering soon!

davidaugust, (edited ) to Law
@davidaugust@mastodon.online avatar

"While recent debates center on enacting an ethics code for the Supreme Court, the statutory honoraria ban has been in place for decades. No new ethical rules need to be promulgated, or codes enacted on this subject. It exists right now, as it has since 1989. But Thomas and Leo are doing an end run around it, accomplishing indirectly what the law prohibits them from doing directly. And no one is stopping them."

🧵 1 of 3

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@davidaugust

All enlightening. But what I still ask is: what is the mechanism by which these "justice's" legitimacy can be challenged?

By what means can a prosecutor walk into the Supreme Court, and petition that Thomas be recused on the basis of his wife participating in the crimes that are being prosecuted? (As an example, never mind the luxury vacations, etc.)

If we are forced to rely on their own judgement in these matters, it's already clear that we're fucked.

GottaLaff, to legal
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

Via Kyle Griffin:

Breaking: An appeal's court has denied 's request to delay the hush money [election interference] trial.

Trump sought a delay because Merchan refused to recuse, because he couldn't invoke an immunity defense and because the judge made his team file motions with a delay to allow for redactions.

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@GottaLaff

Didn't realize until know that was a trombone! 😂

mrcompletely, (edited ) to random
@mrcompletely@heads.social avatar

My politics

MarkRDavid,
@MarkRDavid@wandering.shop avatar

@mrcompletely

I was in High School. Came this close to getting drafted by him.

Certainly wouldn't want his face in my garden!!!

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