Welcome to No Facilities Bar and Grill. We have a full bar and our favorite bartender is behind it today. We also have an interesting Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt from Linda G. Hill to battle with as we work our way through the weekend.
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘oop.’ Find a word with the ‘oop’ sound in it and use it in your post. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, I’d give you an ‘oop’ word you’ve never heard before.
“Dan, what on earth are you wearing?”
“It’s a vest, David, why?”
“I know it’s a vest. I’m curious about the logo. I’m used to you wearing Pittsburgh team gear, Pirates, Penguins and Steelers, but what the heck is ‘OOPSLA’ – is that a band?”
“Haha, not, definitely not a band.”
“Then what is it, Dan?”
“Before you guys head down that rabbit hole, can I get you a beverage to enjoy on the way?”
“I would like some John Howell’s Bourbon, Cheryl, but what makes you think we’re heading down a rabbit hole?”
“Before I answer that, are you buying Dan a Corona?”
“Sure, but what am I missing?”
“You’ll find out. But just remember, you asked, and remember who you asked.”
“Now I’m worried. Dan, what is OOPSLA?”
“It’s an acronym, David.”
“For?????”
“OOPSLA was the name of a conference I used to go to every year. A conference on Object-Oriented Programming Systems Languages and Applications.”
“Oh, my good gravy, what have I done?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you David. Here’s your bourbon, your seltzer, your ice and Dan’s beer. I gotta run.”
“Cheryl, you’re not going to leave me here with him, are you?”
“Fortunately, the Jack’s Abbey Lager keg kicked earlier. I really need to change that puppy.”
“At the risk of losing my sanity, Dan, what exactly does object-oriented mean?”
“It refers to computer programs that are developed in languages that support a programming paradigm based on the concept of ‘objects’, which can contain data and code.”
“Stop – please for the love of all things holy, stop!”
“You did ask, David.”
“I know, but I really don’t want to know any more than what you just said. I mean, anytime I hear the word ‘paradigm,’ I know I’m in the wrong conversation.”
“See, in Object-oriented terms, you’re a ‘David object.’ I sent the word ‘paradigm’ to your ‘conversation’ method and you returned ‘nil’ – i.e. nothing, not interested, a null value.”
“Yes, Dan. Yes, I did exactly that. Now, can we exit this program?”
“Of course, David. I wouldn’t want to bore you with the way I made my living for the twenty-five years before I retired.”
“That’s good, Dan. Because, even though I know you’re expecting me to have some sympathy and say, ‘oh go ahead and explain,’ I really don’t have any sympathy and if you start to explain, I’m going to be sick.”
“Understood.”
“Now, Dan, keeping in mind that we reached this understanding, why are you wearing the vest?”
“I like it. It’s perfect for this time of year.”
“As would a vest by, oh, say, The North Face, or LL Bean be.”
“Yeah, but everybody has one of those. Not too many people have an OOPSLA vest.”
“I’ll grant you that. You’re the only person I know who has one.”
“Two.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have two. I have this one and a lighter weight fleece version from OOPSLA Two-Thousand Four in Vancouver.”
“This one is from Seattle. Was OOPSLA a Pacific Northwest thing?”
“Well, the company that created the conference is in Portland, but I went to OOPSLAs in San Diego, Portland, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Anahiem…”
“Stop! I get it, all everywhere. Is the conference still a thing?”
“Not by itself. OOPSLA is now a track within the SPLASH Conference.”
“You boys ready for another round, maybe some food?”
“Yes, Cheryl. I think I need another round. I’m about to ask what SPLASH means.”
“You are a glutton for punishment today, David.”
“I promise not to go on about it, but SPLASH stands for Systems, Programming, Languages, and Applications: Software for Humanity.”
“How nice for humanity, Dan. Thank you for not going on about it.”
“How ‘bout a pizza to go with that bourbon?”
“Excellent idea, Cheryl. Large, onions, green peppers and sausage.”
“Large? You guys usually split a small pie.”
“Dan does have one redeeming quality, Cheryl, he doesn’t talk with his mouth full.”
No Facilities 
I’ll skip the OOPSLA and the SPLASH but take a piece of the pie because I’m back to not getting your posts. I can’t ‘follow’ because I get the message that I’m already following, and I’ve checked my reader and all looks normal. :-( Your blooming plants are way ahead of ours so thanks for sharing.
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I figured no one would care much about OOPSLA, but I couldn’t pass up what might be my only chance to use it. Things are definitely blooming. I’ll save you a slice 😊
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OOPSLA may not be the name of a band, but it certainly should. Most excellent photo of the toll collector… and of course thank you for bunny munching violets. If that doesn’t scream spring nothing will.
😉
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The little beggar waits in front of the door. It’s a good thing I carry “tokens”. The bunny has been accommodating Rivergirl.
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That’s so cute. I’m dreadfully jealous.
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Regarding your Pittsburgh team gear collection: there are sites that sell Steagles T-shirts. I don’t know what the 1943 merged team’s colors were, but Tees are available in black and gold, or green and white.
I’m assuming you’d go with the former color combo.
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That’s funny. Yeah, I’d go with black and gold.
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Ha ha ha! That was brilliant! If I had a vest that said OOPSLA I would definitely wear it. I think that is a very cool name.
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Hahaha – I knew I could count on you ;-)
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Am I really the first to point out that Cheryl forgot the cherries and nobody noticed? Or were the cherries simply unspoken? Hey, it may be the light, but Smokey looks a bit brindled in today’s photos. Or is it tortoiseshell? I know dogs are brindle and cats are tortoiseshell, but what are squirrels who are a blend of black and red/brown? I’m just full of questions today, aren’t I?
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One of the black squirrels has a brown belly. As if he wasn’t cute enough. As for the cherries, I think you’re right. Cheryl forgot them. She must have been in a hurry to get away from the explanation. If I could edit, I would, but Linda say no can do. We’ll have to work that in next week.
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Poor David, but in your defense, he did ask. Beautiful spring flowers, Smokey, the American flag, and a helicopter make for a great photo gallery. Happy weekend, Dan.
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Thanks Jennie. David is his own worst enemy. But, I give him credit for being curious.
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Well said!
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I always wondered who picked out the clothing give-a-ways for conferences. It seems whoever was in charge of the ones you attended knew their stuff. I loved the picture of the pizza. That crust looked to die for sure. The close-up of Smokey was terrific too. It looks like spring is on its way.
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The vests were not giveaways, but the price was very reasonable. Their tee shirts were also pretty good. I miss that conference. It was always a good program and a good time. Smokey and Mrs Smokey are pretty good at collecting tolls.
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I’ll bet they learned from the best.
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Lovely photo of Mumu
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
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Thanks Cheryl.
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Oh, Dan, you know I love your nostalgic IT posts. I attended my fair share of conferences throughout my career, but my focus was definitely different than yours. No OOPSLA for me! Great visit to the bar though. Your photos are especially vibrant today. Looks like your area has definitely greened up.
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Thanks Maggie. I learned so much at this conference and I met some amazing people over the years. I’m happy to still be wearing these vests.
Spring is on cruise control now, despite the occasional snow shower.
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Great photos and story, Dan. I especially loved the photo of the Chinook. When they fly over our area, I’m usually too late to capture a good photo. It’s wonderful to see the photos of spring around your home. Have a great weekend. 🌷🌼🌷
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As you can imagine, I heard the Chinook coming for quite some time. Maddie and I were walking so I stopped and let her sniff all the stuff she wanted to sniff.
I hope you have a great weekend.
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And I thought that OOPSLA was a comedy act your were in that included lots of pratfalls. Now that you are no longer working, Dan, you don’t have too many chances to be this geeky–I am glad that you were able to take advantage of the opportunity. I loved Smokey’s pose, but I think MiMi stole my heart–great portraits of both of them.
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OOPSLA doesn’t come up very often, Mike. I was happy to get this prompt.
I think MiMi and Smokey are competing for cutest critter. MiMi appreciates your vote 🙂
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Cool learning about OOPSLA and SPLASH. Acronyms are like another language. We’ve got boatloads of them.
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Oh my goodness, I can only imagine. If I’m correct, even the name is an acronym 😏
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Lol. Yes!!
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Ha! How many people would have had that acronym handy? Not even the other people who went to the conference, I’ll bet. That tickled me, Dan. Great use of the prompt. MiMi’s portrait is absolutely adorable. Hugs on the wing!
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Hahaha – yeah, I figured I’d have this one all yo myself, Teagan. But I was thrilled to be able to use it.
MiMi appreciates your support. She doesn’t want to be out-cuted by Smokey.
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Dan, I was sure OOPSLA was a Greek word meaning, “I slipped on a stuffed grape leaf.”
David’s last comment is hysterical. 🤗
Wouldja look at Mimi actually posing for the camera with her front paws placed so daintily in front of her. Definitely portrait quality photo.
Love the way Smokey has his front leg planted so you know he means business about collecting his toll. He’s too cute.
You look much more like spring than we do here. I’m jealous.
Last but not least, I think the sprinklers shot is terrific. By Jove, I think you’ve got it!
Ginger
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That’s the best guess on OOPSLA I’ve heard, Ginger. And I do like stuffed grape leaves, and I’m a klutz, so it’s possible.
Smokey, and Mrs. Smokey both mean business. They are serious about those peanuts. They are totally over being shy. They get do close that I worry that Maddie might snag one.
I’m glad you like the sprinkler shot. Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead. Nah, you know I can’t do that.
MiMi wants to hold onto her #1 cute spot.
I hope you have a great weekend.
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I love hearing what all the letters stand for. Our IT Department used to give classes on their ‘latest and greatest’ and when they threw out something like OOPSLA or SPLASH, of course, we in the audience, would all have to yell out our version of what it stood for. They we so not amused. We thought we were a riot!
The way cats hold their little paws…MiMi looks adorable. Have a great weekend, Dan.
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I do like Ginger’s take on it. We do take our acronyms seriously, but I’d have to laugh if you did that. IT folks need to lighten up.
MiMi is serious about being cute.
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I once worked on a project management system originally known as PMS until someone pointed out to my boss that we didn’t really want to associate our “brilliant easy to use” system with premenstrual agony.
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Ha! Sometimes, people need to step back and think.
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🤣 I laughed out loud reading this, “Dan does have one redeeming quality, Cheryl, he doesn’t talk with his mouth full.”
A brilliant dialogue today, Dan. The pizza looks yummy, and that field is so gloriously green! 💚 This is the season for that image that you have in your head.
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Thanks so much, Deborah. I had fun with this one. They actually had the lights on on the field for a night game yesterday. It felt so good. I’m looking forward to trying to capture that shot.
I hope you’re having a great weekend.
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Nothing exciting going on this week-end. We’ve had strong wind for a couple of days so I’m hanging close to home. I went out Friday before the wind kicked up looking for the owl and owlet, but they are gone! I looked, and looked for them nearby but, no joy.
I hope you’re having a good week-end too!
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Traveling to business conferences with strange acronyms… something I definitely don’t miss in retirement. Fortunately, you got some nice swag out of them. Oh, and on behalf of humanity, thanks for the software.
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Haha. They might take themselves a little too seriously, Janis. I don’t miss the travel, but I did always enjoy going to this conference. More for the people, but the content was excellent.
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Ooplsa is a fun word to say. And I like the word, paradigm, as long as it only has a few words with it in a sentence as in, we need a new paradigm, or paradigm shift. Yes: “Thanks for not using weed killer.”
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It is a fun word 🙂
I think the lack of weed killer (and the abundance of “weeds” is why the bunny likes our yard. We love watching it nibble.
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It looks like spring has definitely sprung in your neck of the woods! Hopefully, you won’t need a warm OOPSLA vest and I won’t need my Smithsonian fleece jacket much longer.
As for the IT stuff, well, it pretty much went over my head, much like algebra. ;-) I hope you’ve had a wonderful Saturday, Dan.
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We’re back in those days where you need a coat in the morning and a tee shirt in the afternoon. I like wearing that vest, and it only works for a week or two in the spring and then again in the fall.
I didn’t think anyone would follow the IT stuff today, Mary. Fortunately, David put a stop to it. I hope you’re having a good weekend.
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I like a man in a vest. Its kinda the goto thing around here. My brother wears one and I always think, whether its his greasy farmer one or his western night out one, he looks charming. I could go for some Pendleton.
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Maybe Linda will have a prompt that will let me use my Carhart work vest 😉 I hav a bunch of different vests. I don’t really have one for stepping out, hmmm.
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😂😂😂😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻This is so apt for me right now. My son, who we are staying with, as you may recall is a code writer, systems designer and IT guru in his own right. This kind of conversation is a common occurrence for him with us lay folk. It isn’t that I am not interested but more that I know my total right brained mind will turn itself off after the third new technical reference even though I long to be able to ‘get’ it all. But I know vests and memories keep us warm. All hail OOPSLA!
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That must be why you left David to fend for himself. IT guys can be a challenge, but we mean well.
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With hearts of gold.🙂
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