davidd’s A DOLL A DAY 2022

[davidd]

19 November - A Doll A Day 2022:

How Many Smart Dolls Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb?

"Look, pal, you'd better not be be angling for one of

those kinky anime-style 'fan service' upskirt pix!"

"Light bulb replaced! And ha! Still no 'fan service'!

Better luck next time! An' there better not BE a 'next time!'"

[Alliecat]

It's a... head...?
Funny I read this while waiting for a fruit fly to chill in the freezer, and thought, "I could use Arachnid Mr Freeze right now"... to help feed the new little Venus Flytrap I got. The bugs are supposed to be alive but the little plant's a bit slow on the uptake and they kept escaping. I wonder if it's ever eaten a bug before, prior to being stuck in a plastic package. I had one when I was a teen and it eventually bloomed, which was fun.
Anyway, I also, as you know, sympathize with the accumulation of not-really-necessary "stuff".

[davidd]

Funny I read this while waiting for a fruit fly to chill in the freezer....

Okay... that was a real head-scratcher! My first impression was that you are taking your Glorious Leader's Great Reset demands to heart and shifting your diet to weeds and bugs. Then I read the rest of the sentence and it made more sense.

More sense to a point. Where do you get the fruit flies... in Canada... in the winter? Have you been raising those, too? Laying the groundwork for a carnivorous plant nursery?

Once in a great while I see Venus Flytraps for sale in the greenhouse section while shopping, and I'm always tempted. I haven't had one since I was a little kid, when the one we had didn't last very long. I don't know that I would have the facilities to properly care for one, though, when it came to managing temperature and humidity.

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20 November - A Doll A Day 2022:

20 November - "Ermm... This Kinda Stuff Usually Isn't My Job!"

Yeah, but she fit in the available space. I'm sure everything will be fine. It's only 110 volts.

[Alliecat]

I love her cheerful face.  What is she fixing....?

My first impression was that you are taking your Glorious Leader's Great Reset demands to heart and shifting your diet to weeds and bugs. Then I read the rest of the sentence and it made more sense.

LOL right.  Freeze dried cricket crunchies?  Did you hear they had cricket hotdogs & some other sort of bugburgers at this year's Calgary Stampede?
I DO, actually, eat weeds -- dandelion greens & purslane add some green & vitamins to a stir fry...    But bugs are a NO.
The fruit flies seem to have come out of the latest batch of potting soil from Home Hardware.  It was actually really awful, I had to stick fly strips in several pots when I repotted the bamboo palm & a couple others.  When I potted a fern outside & opened the bag there was a swarm of them that came out. 
I guess the odd one might come in with produce but mostly it's the soil.  So there are a few still kicking around the house.
It always reminds me of biology class where we learned about how the Theory of Spontaneous Generation was disproven... I always think, "whoever said it wasn't true never had house plants" -- I swear the bugs come out of nowhere!!!   

Flytraps just need to be kept moist and have bright light.

[davidd]

I love her cheerful face.  What is she fixing....?


Did you hear they had cricket hotdogs & some other sort of bugburgers at this year's Calgary Stampede?
I DO, actually, eat weeds -- dandelion greens & purslane add some green & vitamins to a stir fry...  

This project was to take down a patio light that was wired in to the wall.

I had not heard about the cricket dogs, but the news does not surprise me. Is the plan to turn the once vast cattle ranching Canadian prairies in to cricket and grasshopper farms?

Cattle ranching is a year-round operation, even in Canada. I don't see many grasshoppers in the winter. Imagine the energy requirements for all those climate-controlled bug farms that will need to be constructed. How "green" is that going to be?

I was thinking about "eating weeds" this summer, and how misguided the idea is. As I looked around my yard and the surrounding hillsides in arid Utah, I found myself thinking how difficult life would have been as a "hunter-gatherer." There's not much there to gather. And not all "weeds" are edible. Wild grasses are, for the most part, not edible, or the edible portions comprise only a small part of the plant. Many weeds are thorny or woody. Weeds require considerable processing to extract the edible portions. Only a select variety of weeds are edible for humans, and they are usually not common weeds. Weeds would need to be "farmed" in order to provide adequate food resources for even a relatively limited number of people.

Which is, historically, exactly how agriculture arose.

Wheat and other grains, and vegetable crops, are farmed for human use because they are more efficient uses of resources than simply growing weeds. More of the crop is edible. There is less waste. Over time, selective breeding has made food crops even more efficient.

What I concluded, then, is that the wealthy elite are making these suggestions out of spite. Out of pure hate. They want the peons to suffer. They want to see us groveling before them. There is no other ex-planation. "Eating weeds" would require large-scale agricultural cultivation the same as any other agricultural product, only the farming would be less efficient and the end product would be less nutritious and less flavorful.

Even the weeds would need fertilizer. Weeds can't grow in depleted soil any more so than can other crops.

The whole concept is mean-spirited at the very least. Intentionally cruel is probably more accurate. Intentional cruelty with no large-scale benefits: I would go so far as to call it evil.

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21 November – A Doll A Day 2022:

21 November - Forgotten Finds

While looking through cupboards in the garage I ran across a couple of things I'd completely forgotten about, including this nifty Barbie & Ken Pirate Halloween set.

[Alliecat]

I haven't actually heard about any push to eat weeds.... I just know that there are things I can make use of by foraging around my yard, and I appreciate the things Mother Nature provides. It's fun to discover things you didn't think were edible, are. We have got too far away from natural sources of food. Everything comes from the grocery store and people don't know about the edibles right under their noses. Which reminds me I didn't get over to the marsh to grab some of those great big rose hips. I was gonna make rose hip jam again this year, finally. The one year we did it, it was SOOOOOOOO GOOD. But it was a hugely time-consuming 3-person job at the time.
I have heard of a couple of cricket farms under construction though.

Are those spaceship seats?

[davidd]

I haven't actually heard about any push to eat weeds.... 

Are those spaceship seats?

Eating bugs: https://thenewamerican.com/world-economi...te-change/

Eating more bugs (courtesy of IKEA):  https://medium.com/space10/the-fast-food...d17c02b42c

Eating weeds: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/w...te-change/

Yes, those are the first version spaceship seats I constructed last winter. I made a second set based on the first set this summer.

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22 November - A Doll A Day 2022:


22 November - Box o' Sharks

Well, it's not really a box of sharks, as there is only one shark in the box. It is a box of action figure ocean and diving related accessories that I purchased last winter via eBay and completely forgot about until I rediscovered it in a cupboard a few days ago. Finding the box inspired me to pick up where I left off on a "tropical diving shop" diorama, which is presently under construction.

As to the "eating weeds" article: I call nonsense, particularly on the "capturing carbon" claim. So-called weeds capture no more carbon than do cultivated crops. And once the weed is eaten and... let us say "biologically processed," that carbon is re-released in to the environment. If growing weeds captures more carbon than other plants, then why do the wealthy elite have carefully manicured, weed-free lawns? Let the weeds grow if you care so much about carbon emissions.

[Alliecat]

Huh. Must be the old browser, I don't see an article, just some pictures. (And that one they've labelled purslane -- ha! -- isn't.)
I hate those "carefully manicured" pesticided lawns. A neighbour we had in Ontario would've had a seizure if she saw the lawn here (well, before the grubs killed it) -- she used to prowl her yard with a little spray bottle of pesticide squirting all the dandelions

I'm looking forward to seeing the diorama. Have fun!

(...also: carrot greens!! )

[davidd]

Huh.  Must be the old browser, I don't see an article, just some pictures.  (And that one they've labelled purslane -- ha! -- isn't.)
I hate those "carefully manicured" pesticided lawns.  A neighbour we had in Ontario would've had a seizure if she saw the lawn here (well, before the grubs killed it) 

Purslane? A "weed," yet an article I found on eating purslane recommends eating "the cultivated form."

https://www.seedtopantry.com/2013/07/17/...s-as-food/

So what I said is totally correct - if we're going to eat weeds on a large scale then the weeds will need to be farmed.  

There's an article wedged in among the pictures, but it isn't much of an article, even though it is on the World Economic Forum website. 

A lawn full of grubs? So there's your bug farm, right there! Between the grubs and the fruit flies, your pantry is well stocked!

[davidd]

23 November - A Doll A Day 2022:


Tales from Banana River Surf & Dive – Episode 1

Inspired by recent posts on the One Sixth Figures forum:

Corniglia in Liguria by Ovy:  https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t...a-11-22-22

Origini dei Giganti Mutanti by Gubernatorfan:  https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t...ti-mutanti

[davidd]

24 November - A Doll A Day 2022:

24 November - Pic Without the Comix Captions

Seeing as how the little story above was spectacularly unpopular, I'll continue with another pic along the same lines.

[Alliecat]

Well, seeing as how there are like three of us here, and one of us hasn't been here for a couple days cos they had a crappy couple of days and no sleep...

Someone did a great job with the little custom doll. And the scorpion on the beach is funny.

I'm looking forward to seeing some pix of these gigantic crabs on your NICE WARM BEACH.

[davidd]

Well, seeing as how there are like three of us here, and one of us hasn't been here for a couple days cos they had a crappy couple of days and no sleep...

I'm looking forward to seeing some pix of these gigantic crabs on your NICE WARM BEACH.

At least one of us here rarely seems to get any sleep anymore and nearly always seems to have a crappy day. Perhaps one of us here needs to seriously consider a lifestyle change. Maybe get a high-paying job on a lobster boat or something.

The "nice warm beach" has not been particularly nice nor warm since those first two or three days after I arrived. The weather has been on the cool side (by southern US standards, anyway), rainy, damp, overcast, and windy.

Plus, there are the giant crabs to deal with. Probably has something to do with the occasional errant rocket carrying Top Secret Ex˚periments plunging in to the sea just offshore.

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25 November - A Doll A Day 2022:

Antoinette "Toni" Carter begins assembling a few holiday decorations in an attempt
to bring a festive seasonal spirit to the Banana River Surf & Dive Shop.

Toni was originally intended to become a regularly recurring photo-story cast member, but she has not seen the light of day since October 2020, over two years ago. Perhaps assigning her to the staff of the Surf & Dive shop will allow her the opportunity for a bit more screen time.

Some of you may be thinking, "Huh? Toni Carter? You mean this is a different one than the other ones? How can you tell?"

How can one tell, indeed! After all, don't all of these TBLeague (formerly Phicen) "seamless" action figures look almost identical, with blonde hair and big boobs an unrealistically curvaceous upper torso?

The answer to that would be: pretty much, yeah.

However, the general rule applies to nearly all doll collecting specialties. Pullip dolls all look alike: ginormous heads on skinny little hard plastic bodies, with slight variations in hair color. Dal dolls look even more alike: pouty faced big-head dolls on runty little hard plastic bodies. The eensive Integrity Toys Poppy Parker and Fashion Royalty dolls look still more alike: pinched snooty faces on cheap plastic bodies, with only their costumes and a slight variation in lip gloss colour to differentiate among them. And then there's Barbie, offering possibly the ultimate comingling of infinite diversity and identical sameness.

I swear, Sindy dolls all look alike! Or they did until Hasbro took over and turned Sindy in to Barbie.

Yet fans of each type can differentiate among individual dolls, often able to identify specific releases down to model and year.

I will admit, however, that keeping this particular doll in a plastic bag clearly labeled "TBLeague S26 body / TBLeague S34 head / Toni Carter" is helpful.


Body: TBLeague S26A
Head: from TBLeague S34
Clothing: assorted Barbie, Bratz, and miscellaneous

[Alliecat]

One of us couldn't buy a solid peaceful night's sleep in their own bed with a million dollars.  They do need a "lifestyle change" but they don't currently have anywhere to go 

The signs "sail bait" conjures an image of a sailing groupie.  Somebody like someone I know who would be all gushy and do just about anything for the chance to go on a boat. (not me, I mean, I love boats but the sail-bait gal is someone else   )
...sigh, nevermind, I'm tired, and have been sitting doing random internet stuff for an hour waiting on slow tech support.

Anyway, decorating the diorama will be fun! 
I'd take your "cool" & windy over "freezing" & windy.  Watch out for the mutant crabs though 

[davidd]

Somebody like someone I know who would be all gushy and do just about anything for the chance to go on a boat. (not me, I mean, I love boats but ....

Oh, no, not you, certainly not, I would never harbor such a thought!  

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26 November - A Doll A Day 2022:
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26 November - Gutter & Downspout Repairs

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"If The Jobs Keep Piling Up, I'll Need To Change Back To My Work Clothes!"

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For Alliecat - SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch as Seen from Ormond Beach, Florida

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Vapor Contrail Beginning to Form

The flame of the rocket is easier to see than these photos would suggest. They are not big or close, but they are apparent and fairly easy to see if one is looking in the right direction. They usually go up right above that telephone pole, which makes an easy visual reference. This launch was today, at 2:20pm eastern time.