Sudden Death nerdsholmferret 9/30 '26

What body of water is crossed by a 23-mile causeway between Mandeville and Metairie?

What is the highest of 8 taxonomic ranks, the lowest of which are genus and species?

What college football team defeated Stanford with "The Play", colliding with Stanford's celebrating band in the process?

What Egyptian god was judge of the dead and "First King of Egypt"?

MORE
9/30 5 Comments
Not looking things up –

Lake Pontchartrain

Kingdom

---

Osiris
Kate McDonnell
Two right, including the final one that I botched for us. If, like me, you learned KPCOFGS, that’s only 7. There’s a new level above those.
nerdsholmferret
You’re right, I did learn KPCOFGS, and hadn’t picked up on the new one.
Kate McDonnell
Oh my God. In third grade, I did a report that talked about the classifications that are now referred to as different domains. And I flunked. I feel vindicated.
Thomas Boutell
Cal (UC Berkeley) beat Stanford, their big and inexplicable rivalry.
rone
 

Which city were they visiting? Kate McDonnell 9/28 '26

A regular commenter on my Montreal news blog this week:

I work with tourists every day and it’s interesting to see what different people from different places notice about Montreal. Today I had three women from Vancouver who couldn’t believe how little homelessness there is in Montreal, whereas an older couple from a small city in Germany were aghast by the amount of homelessness we have. New Yorkers find the Metro to be pristine. The British can’t believe how many trees are on our residential streets. The Swiss find our streets to be extremely dirty, the Americans wonder how we keep them so clean. People from Melbourne love all the benches. One thing that most people seem to agree on is that Montreal is very vibrant, yet at the same time quiet and laid-back.

MORE
9/28 1 Comment
I often catch myself praising some magical attribute of a city I’m visiting only to realize Philadelphia has that exact thing and I just don’t see it anymore.
Thomas Boutell
 

Balanced breakfast Thomas Boutell 9/28 '26

A basket of jalapeño peppers alongside a bowl of oatmeal and beverages. The basket is huge.

It's been a marvelous year for jalapenos. Our tiny garden beside the driveway has been bursting with them.

Bottle of homemade sriracha, with a dark orange tone and a scrawled label reading T-Rox Sriracha 9/26

I've made two batches of sriracha so far. For those I used riper, redder jalapenos, but R. informed me it was time for the space to be given over to fall-friendly plantings. So it looks like'll be... making six bottles of green sriracha? What else does one do with so many jalapenos?

MORE
9/28 11 Comments
Does sriracha freeze?
Lindsay Harris Friel
Sriracha has a long shelf life when made well.
Thomas Boutell
Slice them up and use them fresh? That's kinda intense for some folks, but they're not ghost peppers.

Cook them into some stews! Good flavor spike without so much intensity. :)
Matt Lichtenwalner
Don't people halve them, stuff them, and roast them? And if you really like that, I bet you could freeze a bunch for snacks.
Anne Mollo
Yes! Mark and I did this many years ago for a party. Highly recommend.
Matt Lichtenwalner
The quantity is large. I think we will do many things, but in the end, the majority will wind up in sriracha or some other hot sauce recipe because that does call for a volume.

We are thinking about obtaining some smaller bottles at IKEA and giving them away at the neighborhood potluck under the name “crazy neighbor hot sauce.”

Thomas Boutell
Nice!
Matt Lichtenwalner
But also crazy!
nerdsholmferret
Just so.
Matt Lichtenwalner
Use to do something similar with my insane crop of tomatoes every year, and jars of homemade sauce. Neighbors remember!
Karen Kuhl
Sounds yummy!
Matt Lichtenwalner
 

Outstanding! Lindsay Harris Friel 9/27 '26

I'm so exhausted right now. Good news: Dream Job won for Outstanding Science Fiction and Best Editing. 

Me and AJ (one of the voice actors from Dream Job) with our heavy glass trophies. 

AJ and me accepting the award. 

Dream Job should be available wherever fine podcasts are distributed. 



MORE
9/27 14 Comments
Outstanding indeed! Congratulations!
Anne Mollo
Thank you! Now I should go outside so I can be outstanding in my field.

Or, yard.
Lindsay Harris Friel
HA! (I'm tickled.)
Karen Kuhl
Excellent!
rone
Thank you!
Lindsay Harris Friel
CONGRATS!

Paul Lord
Thank you!

Lindsay Harris Friel
Yay - that's fantastic! Look forward to listening soon, and your timing couldn't be better. I'm headed back out on the road to collect once again. ie - no more admin for a while, so I'll need ALL THE CONTENT to keep myself from boredom's door. Quality content goes to the top of the pile! :)
Matt Lichtenwalner
Thank you! Don’t listen to the first part of the first episode while driving. It’s intentionally soothing.
Lindsay Harris Friel
Noted!
Matt Lichtenwalner
Congratulations, that's great news!
Chris Herdt
Thank you!
Lindsay Harris Friel
Major congrats to you, my dear! This is most excellent. ❤️
Karen Kuhl
Thank you!
Lindsay Harris Friel
 

A first time for everything Kate McDonnell 9/27 '26

In a neighbourhood fruiterie yesterday a woman asked me to reach her down a can of drink from the top shelf in a cooler. She wasn’t tiny and not apparently disabled, but I’m only 5’2” myself. However, I was easily able to reach the thing she wanted. 

She laughed when I observed this was the first time anyone had ever asked me for that kind of help. It was unexpected.

MORE
9/27
 

PSA Thomas Boutell 9/24 '26

You gotta go out if you wanna git up with the get-down.

MORE
9/24 2 Comments
git: 'up' is not a git command. See 'git --help'.
rone
"git down, git down / git down, git down"

"ackshully github is down git is a distributed—"

[slappity slap slap]
Thomas Boutell
 
 

A Fresh Start nerdsholmferret 9/23 '26

In contrast to the semi-finals, this time we were out of the money in fourth place before the final question.  We still had a chance, though, and somehow won the game based on our knowledge of Banking.

What is the loudest land animal audible to humans, at approximately 140 decibels?

What is the only currently independent nation that is also a grand duchy?

What U.S. battleship had the most battle stars, serving in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Lebanon?

What investment bank, founded as a dry-goods store in Alabama, caused the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history?

MORE
9/23 5 Comments
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The loudest land animal is my cat at 6 in the morning.
Kate McDonnell
1. Houser at a karaoke bar.

2. The Grand Duchy of Fenwick.

3. The USS Longevity

4. Goldman Sacks.
Shelle Klein Houser
Goldman Sachs was saved from their liquidity crisis in 2008 by about $20 billion in investments from various sources, including the U.S. government.
nerdsholmferret
Was it Lehman Brothers or Bear Stearns? I'll guess Lehman Brothers, that sounds more like a 'Bama dry goods store.
Chris Herdt
Yep! JP Morgan Chase bought Bear Stearns at a big discount after it was bailed out by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
nerdsholmferret
 

I know it’s corny... Kate McDonnell 9/22 '26


but I like plants with multicoloured leaves. These are a couple of the coleus plants I bought for a pittance at the market in June and they've thrived – but in a few weeks they’ll be dead. They’re not native plants – the first hint of overnight frost will do for them.

MORE
9/22 4 Comments
They're doomed! DOOMED!
Thomas Boutell
So bright! Can you possibly overwinter them inside?
Anne Mollo
I bring some plants inside as fall progresses and have them under grow lights all winter, so that my home office feels pleasingly like a conservatory through the winter. LED grow lights use a tiny amount of current and the full spectrum light is probably good for me too. Win win.

Some plants do better with this than others. I saved one of the strongest coleus plants from last season – not shown in the photo – and it's still alive in a pot outside. But coleus in general don't thrive inside. All plants get a bit wan and leggy over the winter but coleus take it harder than the others I bring in (a lemon geranium, a bay laurel, and any number of aloe plants which keep duplicating like very slow tribbles).

By the way, if anyone else here has tried to grow coleus, there’s one trick to keeping them lush like the ones in the photo: pinch off any incipient flowers. Once they really flower, the plants lose their mojo. Flower spikes are much less showy than the leaves, so you have to look out for them.
Kate McDonnell
That's true, things get scraggly in the winter. I've had some geraniums for... 3 years now? They generally look pretty ugly all winter but perk up once I put them outside and cut them back in the late spring.

This year, I'm experimenting with overwintering a potted hibiscus. I mean, why not. I also have a zone 4 hibiscus planted in the garden; we'll see if it survives.
Anne Mollo
 

Argh! nerdsholmferret 9/19 '26

In honor of Talk Like A Pirate Day, "Argh!"  We were in qualifying position at 2nd place before the final pair of questions, which ruined us.

Who was the pirate born Edward Teach?

With what unit of distance does Han Solo measure his success at the Kessel Run?

Which of these is not one of 6 mysterious numbers in the series "Lost"?  4, 8, 17, 42

What percentage of U.S. households use GLP medications?

Who is the patron saint of Armenia and hopeless causes?

What actress was jailed multiple times starting in 2007 due to a DUI, and in 2011 was arrested for shoplifting jewelry?

In The Shawshank Redemption, how much did Andy steal from the Warden?

From what city does a "scouser" hail?

For what NFL running back is the NCAA FCS (1-AA) most outstanding offensive player award named?

What luxury brand was originally the Swallow Sidecar Company and more recently used the slogan "Copy Nothing"?

What 5 U.S. states are in the Eastern Time Zone and also one other time zone?

What soda brand is named after a word for indigestion?

What plant, also called "thunderwood" is Toxicodendron vernix?

Which of these has never been awarded the FIFA "Golden Boot" for most goals in the World Cup?  Pélé, Ronaldo, Müller, Kane?

What is the NFL team record number for most sacks in a season?

What did John Logie Baird invent?

What 7,100-pound statue, expressing optimism, was mysteriously dropped outside the New York Stock Exchange in 1989?

What is the only U.S. National Park centered on a manmade structure?

What are the Italian names for the following pastas?  "little worms", "ridged", "small wheels"?

What animals did the Australian Army fight in 1932?

What Tom Cruise movie had the tagline "Live. Die. Repeat." ?

What "baritenor" was born in 1979 in Mansfield, Missouri?

In what chronological order did the following occur?  Oxford University, Aztec Empire, Magna Carta?

What U.S. state was the home of the most losing presidential nominees?

MORE
9/19 20 Comments
2. parsec

5. Saint Jude

6. Winona Ryder

8. Liverpool
Kate McDonnell
Winona was my first thought for shoplifting, but that was 2001, and we got the correct answer from another team member.
nerdsholmferret
According to Wikipedia, "The Armenian Apostolic Church honors [Jude] Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. According to Google AI, "The primary patron saints of Armenia are Saint Gregory the Illuminator and Saint Gregory of Narek."

I used to work for a small newspaper publishing company that did classified ads for a number of (now defunct) weekly papers. People often ran ads saying "Thanks to Saint Jude for prayers answered with promise to publish" or similar. No other saints got anything close to the same agate lines.
Kate McDonnell
“Edward Teach, sometimes known as Captain Blackbeard, when you come to die, may your body be wracked between this world, and the next, always to be alone. May this curse hold fast and true, may you be held forevermore in limbo, until such time as there be found in you, most wicked of all villains (maniacal laughter) some spark of human goodness.” -Blackbeard’s Ghost, 1968, starring Sir Peter Ustinov and Elsa Lanchester, directed by Robert Stevenson.
Lindsay Harris Friel
Directed by Robert "not that one" Stevenson.

hahahaha
Shelle Klein Houser
Soda: Pepsi

Golden Boot: trap question; not sure if it was called the Golden Boot back in Pelé's day, and not clear which Ronaldo (Brazil's Ronaldo Nazario or Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo) or which Müller (Gerd or Thomas)

Statue: bull

Aussie opponents: emus

Cruise movie: Edge of Tomorrow

Chronological order: MC, OU, AE
rone
They did clarify that "Golden Boots" are recognized retroactively, and named Thomas Müller. They did not give two names for Ronaldo, apparently referring to Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.
nerdsholmferret
In that case, i think my answer will be Pelé.
rone
That was my wild guess based on the Surprising Fact Theory. Our German teammate narrowed it down to Pélé and his own incorrect guess of Kane.
nerdsholmferret
Kane earned his Golden Boot at the 2018 Cup when Germany was eliminated in the group stage by South Korea 😔
nerdsholmferret
We also submitted your guess for chronological order, and it killed us. I consistently gripe about "multiple choice" questions like this, ESPECIALLY on the "bet a ton of points" final question. It essentially randomizes the outcome of the entire game. I have less-defensible complaints about the losing nominees question, given that we are admittedly talking about trivia.
nerdsholmferret
I only saw the first few questions!

John Logie Baird invented TV, or at least an early attempt at it.

Little worms = vermicelli. Ridged is probably penne rigate. I think the wheels are rotelli? (My favourite one is eliche, Italian for helixes.)

Magna Carta, Oxford, Aztecs. The Aztecs are always later than you think.

Did the Aussies fight rabbits?
Kate McDonnell
They further explained that the "ridged" pasta is wide, which probably doesn't exclude penne, and maybe had some other descriptors which I don't recall. We did get that one right, though, with a single-word answer. The Australians do have a rabbit problem, but probably didn't attack them with machine guns in 1932.
nerdsholmferret
They attacked the emus with machine guns. I must have glossed over that question bc I have watched this video more than once. It's called The Emu War and it's hilarious.



https://youtu.be/BXpu6tbFCsI?si=Uw0NR8cJjJiU_0g5

Shelle Klein Houser
I'm sadly-comforted (commiserated?) that you and rone both concur with our wrong answer on chronology.
nerdsholmferret
I basically thought MC was a hundred years earlier and UO a hundred years later.
rone
Magna Carta was 1215.



Here's how I remember.



There's an old couple touring England. They stop at Runnymede. and they see the sign saying, "Magna Carta. 1215." The old man says to the old woman, "Damn it, Doris, it's 12:45. We just missed it."
Shelle Klein Houser
I am not looking at any comments above this one until I finish responding.



Who was the pirate born Edward Teach?



BLACKBEARD!



With what unit of distance does Han Solo measure his success at the Kessel Run?



parsec



Which of these is not one of 6 mysterious numbers in the series "Lost"? 4, 8, 17, 42



I forget but probably 42 because that's the answer.



Ok now we delete questions that I don't know answers to and answer ones I do.



Who is the patron saint of Armenia and hopeless causes?

St. Jude?



What actress was jailed multiple times starting in 2007 due to a DUI, and in 2011 was arrested for shoplifting jewelry?



Either Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan.



For what NFL running back is the NCAA FCS (1-AA) most outstanding offensive player award named?



Walter Peyton?



What soda brand is named after a word for indigestion?

Pepsi!



In what chronological order did the following occur? Oxford University, Aztec Empire, Magna Carta?



Aztec Empire, Magna Carta, Oxford University



What U.S. state was the home of the most losing presidential nominees?

New York?
Shelle Klein Houser
I also guessed 42 for the same reason, but no. Peyton and especially New York would have been good answers for us to know. Lindsay is correct. Magna Carta at 1215 is in the middle, but the other two are the wrong way around.
nerdsholmferret
Aztecs are so (relatively) recent! Learned something new.
Shelle Klein Houser
 
Previous Page Next Page