Patterico's Pontifications

12/31/2014

Happy New Year’s Eve!

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:37 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year’s Eve tonight! And a safe one – especially if you’re on the road or indulging in adult beverages. A number of time zones represented at Patterico’s, so I’m not sure who will greet the new year first (perhaps Sammy Finkleman and Millhouse). Regardless, it’s been a real pleasure being a hostess here this past almost-a-year. If you need anything, just holler.

…yes, daley, I’m getting that beer for you right now. Gimme a break!

–Dana

53 Responses to “Happy New Year’s Eve!”

  1. Hello and have a fun night!

    Dana (8e74ce)

  2. 1:12 left before the new year. Time to head out to spend time with friends. Happy New Year. Goodnight.

    NJRob (904e37)

  3. Eastern Time Zone here. Happy New Year to you all.

    kishnevi (a5d1b9)

  4. But of course, kish, I forgot you’re on the east side of the country, too. Have a good one.

    Dana (8e74ce)

  5. If confetti does not fall out of your underwear tomorrow, you did not party hard enough.

    Happy New Year, everybody!

    nk (dbc370)

  6. Dana don’t forget the sammich. Only 2 more years of TFG. I wish everyone the best for the New Year.

    Gazzer (c44509)

  7. Cancun wishes you a great 2015

    JD (cf960d)

  8. I hope you’re all having a wonder-filled holiday season, and the best of New Years.

    htom (4ca1fa)

  9. Dana – Don’t forget the frosted mug, honey bunch.

    Happy New Year!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9)

  10. I’m staying home tonight. My dad always referred to New Year’s Eve as “amateur’s hour,” and P.J. O’Rourke once called it “the Special Olympics of inebriation.” Besides, there’s a Three Stooges marathon on IFC tonight, and they’re featuring the old ones with Curley, not Shemp or Curley Joe. Going to get up early tomorrow to watch the Michigan State-Baylor game.

    Happy New Year everyone.

    JVW (60ca93)

  11. I watched the stooges marathon, it was like old times.
    HNY Pattericons

    mg (31009b)

  12. May you and yours have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year, Pattericonoclasts !

    Alastor (2e7f9f)

  13. I’m not sure who will greet the new year first

    I woke up just before midnight, and heard some people evidently maybe watching television,plus firecrackers after that, which go off not too far away. So i did get it in time, even though I almost missed it.

    Sammy Finkleman and Millhouse

    We are both in the Eastern time zone, but maybe not the only ones.

    BTW, you spelled both “names” wrong.

    There might be someone, mostly a lurker, in Europe, or traveling.

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  14. I found out last night that there are also (legal) fireworks on Coney Island, in additon to the main New York one at Times Square.

    They announced there would be a charitable partner (starting) this year: The International Rescue Committee.

    http://www.rescue.org/blog/here%E2%80%99s-humanity-irc-will-count-down-2015-times-square

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  15. It got really cold yesterday and the night before, after having been unseasonably warm. (but it was OK yesterday during daylight hours)

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  16. Flu season here I worked Eve’s eve then in @ 7AM to stand in on a very busy eight. In bed by 9PM.

    God bless.

    DNF (e46777)

  17. There’s a sweater or sweatshirt out by the curb, where the tavern’s patrons park, but that’s it. They must have kept the rest of their clothes on until they got in the car. It was a little chilly.

    Happy New Year, DNF!

    nk (dbc370)

  18. In New York, it is now illegal to pose for a picture with a lion, tiger, or other big cat. I blame this picture. http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/content/uploads/sites/3/2014/07/putin-obama.jpg

    nk (dbc370)

  19. Guess what Banks all over the world hate Americans.

    Too much paperwork.

    Also stores hate Americans and their wacky credit cards.

    SarahW (267b14)

  20. 17. Love you, man.

    DNF (e46777)

  21. I know I am but one small voice in the wilderness crying about a relatively inconsequential thing,
    but I long for the days when an older man sitting in a nursing home (like my father) (any nursing home) could watch on TV (any TV) the major college bowl games.

    Either that or there should be free passes and transportation to the local eating/drinking establishment that has ESPN.

    Too late for today, but depending on the results from today, maybe I’ll have to give the Activities Director a call.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  22. I’m with you MD.

    mg (31009b)

  23. I’m looking into the possibility that with a tablet and an app one can see stuff on watchESPN, but the FAQ is too long and confusing, so I’ve emailed son #2, out skiing in Colorado.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  24. Does your father need around the clock nursing care, MD?

    nk (dbc370)

  25. MD in Philly,

    WatchESPN requires you to provide your TV provider (local cable company, Dish, AT&T, etc.) and then to log in with your account name and password with the TV provider. According to the WatchESPN FAQ, your Dad can log in under his home account or your account:

    I am an ESPN video subscriber with a participating TV provider, will I have access to the same networks on WatchESPN if I log in away from home?

    Yes. Once you log in to WatchESPN, click on any event with a blue “Watch Now” link and enter your credentials used for your TV service provider.

    There is more info at the link if you need it.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  26. Don’t you also need excellent broadband?

    I read that the high speed broadband in South Korea and many other places is DSL based, but becaus e telephone service in the United States is regulated utility, and utilities have to make DSL available to competitirs at a loss, DSL stays in the moribund state that it is. I am not I understand this, though:

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/holman-jenkins-a-faster-internet-in-2015-1419983912

    In countries that critics have liked to bash the U.S. with, fast Internet is DSL Internet. South Korea boasts the fastest average speeds in the world, 24.5 megabits per second, mostly delivered over copper phone lines.

    The U.S. started with the same 100-year-old phone technology that other countries did, yet DSL has withered on the vine in America. Telcos have been eager to offload their copper networks along with the burden of legacy regulation they carry—the companies haven’t been eager to invest in bringing Americans superfast DSL as seen in Europe and Asia.

    Why not? Beginning in the ’90s, U.S. regulators cast a DSL nuclear winter over the country, forcing phone companies to lease their lines at a loss to competitors—exactly the sort of common-carrier regulation Mr. Obama’s supporters now want extended over every Internet carrier in the name of net neutrality.

    What exactly did they do in South Korea that they are not doing here?

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  27. Yes, Sammy. thanks to all, and to my son who called.

    To review
    A person needs the following:
    1) a subscription to a cable service that carries ESPN, and the log in information to said service
    2) a device that connects to the internet, with an adequate speed internet connection (and adequate Wi-Fi if using wireless)
    3) (Here is where it gets a bit detailed) If you are using in the moment an internet service that does not carry ESPN, you can still log in to watchESPN using the info from your home account (that is how it gets paid for)
    There is no way to do a “pay-per-view” for a specific program at a specific time, or pay for a Watch ESPN app that gives you direct access, which is an option I would have thought.

    Nk, since my dad’s last “mini-stroke” before Thanksgiving he is no longer able to independently transfer from bed to wheelchair to commode and back again, and my mom has her own physical limitations that prevent her from being hands on assistance for such weight bearing tasks. He is still getting PT with the plan of finding a way to get him home and cared for their eventually. They were getting some help in the home before this, but only intermittent.

    It is Ohio, after all, and I am sure he will not be the only person who would like to watch the game in the lounge.
    If it doesn’t work for him to see the game and OSU wins, we have a week or so I guess to get the appropriate set up ready to go.

    BTW, Yosemite Sam’s “Great Horny Toads” did a number yesterday.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  28. My best to your Dad, MD. They’re my family’s Frogs, too, and it was a great game. I suspect they would have done a lot better against Alabama than the Buckeyes will, but I’m prejudiced.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  29. Unlike Baylor, TCU has a defense as well as an offense.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  30. That’s rough, MD. I could transfer when my entire left leg was still gone, my arms were fine, but I still needed the nurses to mother-hen me while I did it. And my father too after his hip replacement. All the best to him. And to you. I guess all you can do is keep his spirits up as best as you can.

    nk (dbc370)

  31. You might have a few shifts at his home, or maybe a live in (au pair?)

    Maybe also use someone who also works as a babysitter, or a nursing student.

    As for ESPN, maybe somebody could let you use their ESPN account. Surely somebody at the nursimng home has it.

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  32. My dad passed on the 27th.

    His eyes opened up at the end. He gave me a smile, then it was over.

    I wonder if he knew it was me.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  33. My condolences, papertiger.
    I would assume probably so.

    My father’s situation has been a bit unusual in that if you test his muscle groups individually he remains relatively strong, some areas even near normal, but he has problems initiating and coordinating movement and maintaining balance.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  34. papertiger,

    My sympathies. It’s a tough time of year to lose a loved one. Any time is, of course, but in my experience there’s something about it being during the holidays. God comfort you.

    Dana (3761c2)

  35. Sammy @ 13,

    My apologies for mispelling your name. I’m not at my computer to be able to correct, but will when I can. With that, happy new year to you.

    Dana (3761c2)

  36. My condolences too, papertiger.

    nk (dbc370)

  37. Papertiger, I’m pretty sure your father knew it was you. There is often grace in those last moments. I’m sorry for your loss.

    My brother’s wife passed away on Christmas Eve five years ago. So I spend quite a bit of time with him on the telephone during this time of year, and have my kids amuse him.

    Best wishes to all.

    Simon Jester (0f95a2)

  38. Today, I’m supposed to sift through photo albums for a display at the funeral.
    Doesn’t sound so hard.
    This one little thing… for Dad.

    Thank you for the condolences. Thank you. And I’m sorry for dumping my sorrows on you in a happy thread [or ever really]. It’s just I think of you all as friends.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  39. My condolences, papertiger. I lost my father 2 years ago this December.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  40. papertiger,

    I’m sorry for your heartache and your loss. I had a similar experience when my Mom died — she smiled and seemed happier right before death. Later, health care workers told me this isn’t unusual. I don’t know if it was her body’s way of letting her have one more moment with us or if it was her soul anticipating the next step but, either way, it made it easier to let her go. She suffered a lot and we feel she’s in a better place.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  41. And it’s good for you to tell us because we are your friends.

    DRJ (a83b8b)

  42. Condolences, papertiger.
    He smiled because it was you.

    mg (31009b)

  43. mr. tiger don’t for a second think he’s gone they’re never ever gone, your parents

    happyfeet (831175)

  44. Not dumping, sharing, and glad you did.

    MD in Philly (f9371b)

  45. what a blessing though, that you were there at the end

    happyfeet (831175)

  46. @ MD in Philly ; One of the things I did with Dad while he was non-ambulatory. Using the google street view I “walked” him through his old neighborhood in Eureka. So he could see what had changed and what hadn’t. He really enjoyed that.

    My condolences Col.

    Thank you all again.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  47. That’s a wonderful thing to be able to do for your dad, papertiger, especially as a number of older people are not on great terms with technology, as well as no longer able to travel to their old homes for a look-see in person. How neat to have these advances to be able to do something meaningful with it for someone like your dad.

    (I need to do that for my elderly mother. She is at war with technology and furious that “Mr. Google” has seen fit to put her name and date of birth on the Internet without her explicit permission. She keeps asking for his address so she can write him a letter telling him to take it down immediately…)

    Dana (8e74ce)

  48. “Mr. Google”

    love it

    happyfeet (831175)

  49. 1600 AMPHITHEATRE PKWY
    MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94043

    nk (dbc370)

  50. Hello

    You have a nice blog here! My name is Samuel Gonzalez and I run The Last Tradition. I’ve been doing it since 2009 and I’m pretty dedicated to what I do. I’m always looking for other good blogs to service my readers and yours fits the bill. Check out my blog and if you like what you see I hope you add me to your blog roll. I’ll do the same for you. Hope to hear from you soon!

    http://www.thelasttradition.com/

    Samuel Gonzalez (624613)

  51. Mr. Google’s first name isn’t Barney.

    Sammy Finkelman (6ee5be)

  52. Yea, I’m going to put in a claim on the whole “first to the new year” thing – being something like 21 hours ahead of our hosts (NZ Daylight savings time here). 🙂

    scrubone (c3104f)

  53. Just what the doctor ordered:

    http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/01/espn-is-the-heart-of-the-cable-bundle-and-now-you-can-watch-it-without-cable/384228/

    A new product from Dish makes ESPN and a handful of other channels available over the Internet for $20.

    …On Monday, ESPN announced that it’s teaming up with Dish to offer a new Web-only product, Sling TV, that will allow viewers to stream a small bundle of channels including ESPN for just $20. The worldwide leader in sports joins HBO and CBS (including Showtime) in giving cord-cutters a way to watch their channels without buying the full cable package.

    Sammy Finkelman (d22d64)


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