Damn This Same Picture Of Dave Coulier Ever Day Is Just The Best.

Vampire Horse 2: Vampire Horse and The Werewolf Bandit.

The adventures of Vampire Horse and the Vampire Cowboy continue…

Thanks for reading!

Read Vampire Horse.

Buy digital copies of my comics.

Toss money in my hat.

Networking/Knowing A Guy: A Guide

This is the autism website. Now, as an extension of the power of love and friendship, there are few things more useful than Knowing A Guy. Knowing A Guy means you have a support network. Knowing a plumber, or a tax accountant, or just that one dude that's really fucking good at finding the information you need when you're really overwhelmed, can be the difference between being able to pay rent and having a fun party with friends to fix your shit.

How does one end up Knowing A Guy? It's a skill you can develop called Networking and it is one of the foundations of society. Unfortunately making those connections with people is fucking hard and nobody makes a tutorial for it. So, here you go:

The golden rule is you scratch my back and I scratch yours

It is necessary for survival to seek out useful people

Great news! Everyone is useful in some form or fashion - including you! When given the opportunity to learn about someone, do it! Extroversion does not come naturally to some people and that's okay. Just take whatever falls in your lap.

Types of usefulness: trade skills, connections of their own, personality you jive with, pleasant to talk to, niche interest in shared hobby, security - the list is pretty much endless. I know a guy that lives in the metro area - no job, no major hobbies, inoffensively annoying to me personally, kinda ignorant, not attractive to me, but you know what? He knows how the fuck to get around the city by foot. My rural-raised ass APPRECIATES the guide.

Remember important information: general personality, background, skillset, likes and dislikes. You can find this information by making smalltalk about their life. There is no such thing as pointless conversation. (Yes, even the annoying smalltalk)

The more people you know, the higher the likelihood that one of them will be useful in a given situation - or will know someone who is.

It is overwhelming. In a given clique/community/workspace/whatever, there is A Guy Who Knows The Other Guys. This Guy is a shortcut. Find them. They're often elderly, extroverted, a little bit annoying, a secretary or in some otherwise forward-facing position. Look for people that are gossipy/talk about other people a lot but not in negative ways. If they constantly talk shit, they'll talk shit about you too. They're still useful but be careful with the information you share

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.

You do not have to like someone for them to be useful.*

If you have low self esteem, you're going to feel like you're using people. You're not. That's the devil talking. People like feeling valued and the connections you are making are the threads holding community together. Recognize people for their talents. It's only a problem when you're taking advantage of people

So: don't feel scummy about it. You're an animal. You have to claw out your right to survive and people will respect you more for it.

Luckily mutualism is the name of the game in the animal kingdom. Offer something back. The foundation of a Know A Guy relationship is Mutual Benefit

Sometimes that Mutual Benefit is just spreading news of the The Guy far and wide. My plumber friend is my actual friend and I love her to death, but I'm maintaining our backscratch relationship by pimping out her plumbing business to anyone that'll listen

Food is a good Mutual Benefit. People across cultures for all of human history have bonded over food. I have good success asking people for a favor and then offering to buy them lunch in return **

General compensation is also good. Offer a service in return and always do your best to offer financial compensation as appropriate. Having your plumber friend take a look at your drain: doable with a case of beer. Having your plumber friend redo the pipes in your entire house? You need to pay for that.

Being transactional is not necessarily a bad thing. I would advise against keeping an itemized list of things owed, but fish don't seek out cleaner shrimp just because they enjoy their company. Everyone gets something

Unfortunately being extroverted and generally personable is a huge benefit here, but that's the value of the Guy That Knows A Guy. There's someone out there that has consolidated All The Guys so you don't have to be the local expert. Always remember nobody can do everything and you don't need to master every skill

* This is the foundation of a functioning community. I have many acquaintances that I find incredibly annoying. They include doctors, welders, artists, social workers, lawyers, construction crew and random fuckers at the grocery store. I do not hang out with them. I do not have to in order to maintain a civil Know A Guy relationship. I can drop them useful tidbits and fuck right off so I don't have to spend any more time than necessary with them

** People may assume romantic intent. Be prepared for that. I generally denote that it's a friendly/work lunch by calling them bro at some point if they're my age. Otherwise my general demeanor is sufficient to show that I do this with everyone

Source: personal experience, mother's teachings of crime, booth vending and poverty

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on Oprah (1998)

Today I DMed a game for a group of friends in person for the first time in years, and it was so stinking amazing! They were all newbies, but seemed to really enjoy it. I have been running public dnd games for the last few years now, which I absolutely love, but there’s something so special about playing a game with a group of close friends, and the trust and interaction in those games.

I found a guide for a no tape, easy to unwrap wrapping tutorial to make Christmas a little more accessible, wish I just found it sooner

i firmly believe everything we learn about Chewie only makes his friendship with Han funnier

(kofi requests are open!)

Happy December 21st everyone! Hope you had some good breakfast.

huge carrot recall affecting the united states and canada due to shiga toxin-producing e. coli

november 16, 2024

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Grimmway Farms Recalls Organic Whole and Select Organic Baby Carrots That May Be in Consumers’ Homes Due to Potential E. coli Contamination

Grimmway Farms has issued a recall of select organic whole carrots and organic baby carrots that should no longer be in grocery stores but m

this recall may expand. see below for details.

Grimmway Farms has issued a recall of select organic whole carrots and organic baby carrots that should no longer be in grocery stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers. These products may have been contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) O121:H19. E. coli O121:H19 is a bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly people, and those with a weakened immune system. Some infections can cause severe bloody diarrhea conditions, such as a hemolytic uremic syndrome, or the development of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, and neurologic problems. Symptoms include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. The incubation period for E. coli O121:H19 in humans can range from 24 hours to as much as ten days. The average incubation period is 3 to 4 days.

The following recalled products were shipped directly to retail distribution centers nationwide in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada: - Organic whole carrots, which do not have a best-if-used-by date printed on the bag, but were available for purchase at retail stores from August 14 through October 23, 2024, - Organic baby carrots with best-if-used-by-dates ranging from September 11 through November 12, 2024. The recalled carrots should not be available for purchase in stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers.

(emphasis mine)

affected whole carrot brands and their bag sizes:

365 1Ib, 2lb, 5lb

Bunny Luv 1lb, 2lb, 5lb, 10lb, 25lb

Cal-Organic 1Ib, 2lb, 51b, 6lb, 10lb, 25lb

Compliments 2lb

Full Circle 1lb, 2lb, 5lb

Good & Gather 2lb

GreenWise 1Ib, 25lbs

Marketside 2lb

Nature's Promise 1Ib, 5lb

O-Organics 1lb, 2Ib, 5lb, 10lb

President's Choice 2lb

Simple Truth 1lb, 2lb, 5lb

Trader Joe's 1lb

Wegmans 1lb, 2lb, 5lb

Wholesome Pantry 1lb, 2lb, 5lb

affected baby (cut and peeled) carrot brands and their bag sizes:

365 12oz, 1lb, 2lb

Bunny Luv 1lb, 2lb, 3lb, 5lb

Cal-Organic 12oz, 1lb, 2lb, 2pk/2lbs

Compliments 1lb

Full Circle 1 lb

Good & Gather 12oz, 1lb

GreenWise 1lb

Grimmway Farms 25 lb bag

Kroger 2lb

LIDL 1lb

Marketside 12oz, 1lb, 2lb

Nature's Promise 1lb

O-Organics 12oz, 1lb, 2lb

President's Choice 1Ib, 2lb

Raley's 1lb

Simple Truth 1 Ib, 2lb

Sprouts 1 Ib, 2lb

Trader Joe's 1lb

Wegmans 12oz, 1lb, 2lb

Wholesome Pantry 1lb, 2lb

formatting on tumblr is difficult, please see the FDA outbreak investigation page for the affected ranges of best-by dates for baby carrots, and pictures of the affected carrots.

as of time of posting, the main FDA recall page and the CDC investigation page have an error and do not list Kroger or LIDL baby carrots, while the FDA outbreak investigation page does. I am assuming that this means they are part of the recall and that this error will probably be fixed soon.

the recalled carrots are thought to be associated with an E. coli O121:H19 outbreak. 39 illnesses, 15 hospitalizations, and one death have been linked to this outbreak so far.

as always, these numbers are expected to be lower than the true number of illnesses and deaths, and will likely rise. not everyone seeks medical attention, and even when all testing and reporting procedures go as smoothly as possible, it can take weeks to officially link an illness to an outbreak.

<em>E. coli</em> Infection (<em>Escherichia coli</em>)

E. coli Outbreak Linked to Organic Carrots

Page describes an outbreak of E. coli linked to organic carrots.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Outbreak Investigation

Do not eat or serve multiple brands of recalled bagged organic whole and baby carrots supplied by Grimmway Farms. FDA’s investigation is ong

noteworthy from the FDA investigation page:

FDA is working with the firm to determine the source of contamination and whether additional products are affected. This advisory will be updated as information becomes available.

in short, there is a possibility this contamination may affect more than just the recalled carrots. keep up to date with these pages to stay on top of this outbreak.

the recalled carrots are no longer on shelves. but if they are in your fridge or freezer, destroy or discard them and clean anything they may have touched.

do NOT eat these carrots! this strain of e. coli is dangerous and at least one person has died.

if you think you got sick in relation to this outbreak, please seek medical attention, even if just to get your illness officially associated with this outbreak.