ptom

@ptom.net

1066 Followers 5415 Following

Happy technologist, physicist, and family man, with a penchant for VR and neuropsychology. Author of https://workingfrom.space

The "Mr. Gotcha" meme from Bors (dist. by Universal Uclick, 2016-09-13), consisting of 4 panels.

First: A casually dressed woman is shown seated against a brick wall, writing and posting from her phone: "Apple AirPods cost $159, but they can't pay taxes or decent wages to their Chinese factory workers." *POST*

Second: A man with slicked hair and a smug squinty expression, wearing orange shirt and tan cargo pants, makes "finger guns" pointing at the woman and says: "...you said on an iPhone. Heh. Gotcha."

Third: A well-dressed man is looking at an early model automobile, thinking aloud: "Cars should have seat belts!" The orange-short man is entering the frame horizontally from the right, raising a mocking fist and sporting a wry grin and stern eyebrows in apparent satisfaction, says, "Yet you bought one. Hypocrite much? Owned."

Fourth: In apparent feudal times, with a castle in the background, a gaunt peasant is hauling a bundle of sticks over one shoulder and states, "We should improve society somewhat." Mr. Orange Shirt is popping out of a stone well, wresting his arms on the edge of the well's wall with interlaced fingers and a gleeful wide-eyed expression of self-satisfaction, saying, "Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent."

Lisa Simpson, challenging a suited figure to justify their comment about "a certain percentage": "And what percent is that?"

Suit's response: "Zero. Zero's a percent."

$Dictionary screenshot: noun \'prat\ Definition British : a stupid or foolish person$

A short, gnarled desert pine tree with an exposed root system sits on the rim of a dramatic red canyon of steep walls and hoodoos, half covered in snow.

A canyon overlook into reddish sandy slopes and steep hoodoos, speckled with short desert pine trees. A hard horizon line separates a clear blue sky, and a stout pine tree sits in the right of the foreground on an elevated root system, the sand having eroded away between the individual stems.

A man sits behind an ornate desk, in front of an enormous wall portrait of himself in elaborate military dress. Two scientists in lab coats with clip boards stand just inside his door, and are telling him: "Sorry, your highness, but you're really not the dictator of Ithuvania, a small European republic. In fact, there *is* no Ithuvania: the hordes of admirers, the military parades, this office-- we faked it all as an experiment in human psychology. In fact, your highness, your real name is Edward Belcher, you're from Long Island, New York, and it's time to go home, Eddie."

An image from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, showing a man in the iconic red cardigan and necktie sitting on the steps of the front entryway to Mr. Roger's home. But instead of Fred Rogers, the head has been replaced with that of Gowron, Son of M'Rel, one time Chancellor of the Klingon Empire, with the character's notable wide-eyed piercing gaze. The image is captioned, "Glory to you... and your neighborhood."

Still scenes from The Princess Bride, the top depicting Prince Humperdinck and entourage, captioned: "Surrender!". Beneath, Westley and Buttercup (more bedraggled and at clear disadvantage) are captioned: "You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well. I accept."

Mobile screen grab of a weather app showing Bangor, 2° (F) with a high today of 18°. Currently Cloudy, and feels like -10°.

Satirical image of a lego "ICEBERG" kit.

Screen shot of NY Times news updates on a mobile phone, showing the deaths of Joe Ely (78), Robert Samuelson (79) and Anthony Geary (78) in rapid succession.

A classic Looney Tunes Wile E. Coyote cartoon character silhouette is embedded several inches deep in a small mound on a sandy beach. A bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds fills the top half of the image, and a large body of water is visible in between sand and clouds, largest to the right.

A screenshot from the United States Department of Agriculture website.

Across the very top, a small gray banner reads "An official website of the United States government Here's how you know", followed by a downward carat that will open an explanation of identifying characteristics of the website, but also apparently points to a large banner of white text on a brown background immediately below it.

That banner states;
"Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance."

Single-panel "Far Side" comic, by Gary Larson. A man in a striped shirt is seated, looking out of an airplane window in-flight (a classic "V" formation of birds is shown in the distance, set among the clouds). His right hand is on the armrest, with an array of controls such as "Volume", "Channel", an apparent light switch and flight attendant call button, and a prominent switch labeled "Wings Stay On" / "Wings Fall Off", currently in the "On" position. The text beneath the comic panel reads, "Fumbling for his recline button, Ted unwittingly instigates a disaster."

A ghoulish green witch, dripping wet with swamp water and showing knobby skin and knuckles, think black hair? And claws several inches long. Pictured against a large dead tree. Still photo of the "Meg Mucklebones" character from the film Legend, as played by actor Robert Picardo.

An AI generated image showing a bronze memorial plaque on a rough cement plinth, with a brick sidewalk and white-and-black painted sidewalk in the background. The plaque reads: "THE BLACK SIDEWALK" in prominent letters, accompanied by smaller text reading "Former site of the Pulse Nightclub Memorial Sidewalk, now a symbol of marginalized oppression," dated "August 25, 2025"

A small, hearty desert pine bush stands on a mass of tangled roots exposed to the air. It is perched on the rim overlooking a colorful sedimentary canyon filled with slots, switchbacks, hoodoos, and other drought-tolerant greenery. Deep blue sky is the background for the top third of the image.

A commemorative plaque on a rough cement plinth. The bronze plaque is titled "The Black Sidewalk", with sub text: "Former site of the Pulse Nightclub Memorial sidewalk, now a symbol of marginalized oppression. August 25, 2025." In the background, out of focus, is a public street and crosswalk. The image is AI generated.

A pie chart labeled "How Introverts Make Friends", showing two values. The first, a small yellow triangular portion of the graph in yellow comprising approximately 10% of the circle, is labeled "Cats count as friends." The remainder, shaded in a light mint color, is labeled "an extrovert found them, liked them, and adopted them."

An elderly man stands defiantly against a blurred backdrop of other people, captioned with three text: "There are always men like you." Still frame from "The Avengers", during an exchange in which Loki has made a crowd kneel in fear and subjugation and this lone person stands in opposition, saying, "not to men like you." Loki responded, "There are no men like me," leading to this response: "There are always men like you."

Scriptural citation from the King James version of the New Testament, citing Matthew 25:42-45:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Simpsons video clip of two characters, Ms. Elizabeth Hoover and Dr. Julius Hibbert, discuss a nude painting of C. Montgomery Burns made by Marge Simpson. Ms Hoover's comment to Dr. Hibbert is, "He's bad, but he'll die. So I like it."

General Jack D. Ripper, from "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb", smoking a cigar, rants about "Precious bodily fluids", citing as uncorroborated evidence, "Have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?"

His character is noted for philosophies based on his personal assessment of "vitality" around sex and the exchange of bodily fluids, and becoming increasingly tired after intimacy an indicator of impurity he blamed on fluoridated water and other tenuous conspiracy ideas.

An animated gif clip from "An American Tail", with the film's antagonist Warren T. Rat (who has just been unmasked as a small cat, having previously pretended to be a rat in order the gain the trust of the immigrant mouse community in order to con them), yelling to an assembled audience of mice: "Who are you going to trust, me or your own eyes?"

A still image from Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" shows Emperor Kuzko standing on the left, arms folded and pouting. A large soldier adorned with ceremonial paint is on the right, leaning down toward the center to say "I'm sorry, but you've thrown off the emperor's groove" to a small, frail old man with a cane and an epic pointy hat. The old man is labeled "Al Green".

A still image from Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove" shows Emperor Kuzko standing on the left, arms folded and pouting. A large soldier adorned with ceremonial paint is on the right, leaning down toward the center to say "I'm sorry, but you've thrown off the emperor's groove" to a small, frail old man with a cane and an epic pointy hat. The old man is labeled "Al Green".

Comic book Captain America is framed against a stark black and white background looks sternly toward the viewer while saying, "Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.
"This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.
"When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world--'No, you move.'"