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This 9/11 post took a “Milkshake Duck” turn

Part 1 of a series of tweets by Bill Ellmore (@BillEllmore): I was booked on United Flight 93 on 9/11, 2001, flying nonstop from Newark NJ to San Francisco CA. Around midnight the night before, a coworker called me urging me to change my flight to fly into San Jose instead. This meant I had to give up my 1st class seat and move to a flight that left 20 minutes later (from the same gate) with a stopover in Denver. I was very reluctant but I did it. When I got to the airport, I watched people boarding flight 93 and I was upset that I was not leaving earlier, in my 1st class seat on a direct flight. I didn’t notice or care about the people as they were boarding, only myself. When I finally boarded my plane, we were 7 planes behind flight 93. When we were 3 plans away from we taking off, the pilot told us to look out the right side of the plane because it appeared the Twin Towers had been hit by a plane. I thought it might have been a small Cessna until I saw the second plane strike the other tower. We were grounded just before taking off. I changed that day. I now take every opportunity to get watch and if possible, get to know the people I’m boarding a plane with. I never hesitate to give up my seat for a later flight if requested. I’ve had two children since 9/11 and went to multiple mission trips to war torn countries. Every day I wake up breathing is another gift from God. Never forget 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
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Okay, so far so good…

Part 2 of a series of tweets by Bill Ellmore (@BillEllmore): The reason my coworker told me to change my flight was she took the same flight on 9/10 and the commute from San Francisco to Mountain View would make me late for my meeting whereas traveling from San Jose to Mountain View would be faster in the morning.
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All right…

Response tweet from Mark Davis (@MarkDavis8919): she saved your life with advice, which you followed. what ever happened to your coworker? Response from Bill Ellmore: Sad to say, I ultimately had to fire her for poor performance. It was difficult
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Wait…what?

Response tweet from “Sourdeath Sam” (@SourdeathSam): Bro coulda just said “she is working elsewhere now but I wish her well” Response from Bill Ellmore: Sorry for being honest
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I hope he extended her a little extra understanding for providing some life-saving advice, but there may have come a point where dismissing her (and ideally with a generous severance package) would have been fair.

Still, a response like the one “Sourdeath Sam” suggested would’ve been far better. Bill’s response to Sam’s suggestion is a poor excuse — “I’m just being honest” often really means “I’m a dickhead, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Milkshake duck?

Watercolor-and-ink Illustration of a duck drinking a milkshake through a straw.

The term milkshake duck is internet slang for something or someone that achieves internet stardom or “viral” status and public adoration and endearment, and then soon after, some terrible fact about them comes to light.

It comes from this classic tweet/post from The Site Formerly Known as Twitter:

Tweet by @pixelatedboat: The whole internet loves Milkshake Duck, a lovely duck that drinks milkshakes! *5 seconds later* We regret to inform you the duck is racist
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For more about milkshake ducks — including some examples — consult the Milkshake Duck entry of Know Your Meme.

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The More You Know...

Moses, too.

Categories
The More You Know...

Just a reminder, fellas…

“Robin” from “Stranger Things” at her ice cream shop job, holding up a sign that reads “Cooking and cleaning is a basic life skill, not a gender role.”
Categories
It Happened to Me Tampa Bay

I had no idea there were Michael Jackson-branded sewer pipes

A sewer pipe segment with the word “BAD” spray-painted on it.

Seen on Central Avenue in Seminole Heights during my daily bike ride.

Categories
Music Stranger than Fiction The Current Situation

Jimmy Buffett’s career wasn’t THAT long…

50 decades? That’s 500 years.
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I think whoever was assembling the “lower third” for CNN’s news segment on the late great Jimmy Buffett (RIP, you magnificent bastard and musical role model of mine) was trying to choose between saying that he’d played for over 50 years or 5 decades, settled on “50 years”, and forgot to change the final word.

Consider this another reminder to use processes and tools to double-check your work before you put it out into the world, especially if it’s a rush job.

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Florida It Happened to Me Tampa Bay The Current Situation

Hello no-eth my old friend…

I’ve already filled up our portable tanks for our generator with ethanol-free gasoline, in case the power goes out. The gas lines near me were only a little longer than usual, but that was at 10:30 a.m., which isn’t a terribly busy time. If you need gas for your car or generator, get it as soon as possible, because the crowds will get worse as the day progresses, and by tomorrow, all the gas stations are going to be like the old Mad Max movies.

This morning, ethanol-free gas was selling at the Wawa at Florida and Waters (which has 4 pumps that dispense it) for US$4.49 a gallon (CDN$1.62 per litre for my Canadian friends and family).

Gasoline has a limited lifetime — 3 to 6 months — and ethanol-infused gasoline lasts half as long. My typical approach is to stock up on eth-free gas in late August (a little before the hurricanes typically come) and, if I don’t use it in the generator, pour it into the car’s gas tank in December, after the end of hurricane season.

Categories
Florida Tampa Bay The Current Situation

Hurricane WATCH vs WARNING, explained with tacos

Taco watch vs. Taco warning: “Taco watch” features taco ingredients and the caption “The ingredients are in place for tacos to happen.” “Taco warning” features an assembled taco and the caption “We’re having tacos RIGHT NOW!”
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Once again, because a hurricane watch has been announced for Tampa Bay for Tropical Storm Idalia, the graphic above provides a quick explainer for the often-misunderstood terms hurricane watch and hurricane warning…but with tacos!

Simply put:

  • If the atmospheric conditions are ripe for a storm, tornado, or hurricane to occur, weather a services issue a watch. A watch basically says “It might happen; be on the lookout for it.”
  • If a storm, tornado, or hurricane has formed, weather services issue a warning. A warning basically says “It is happening; get to shelter NOW!”