Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - February 18, 2026 [TRex]

Good evening Horde. The time has come for very random mid-week shenanigans of the post-cafe overnight variety.

Welcome to the Wednesday night ONT which means another edition of overnight fun and games. Pull up a chair and sit a spell. Good will offerings of amusing puns are happily accepted. Pants are optional. Be nice to your fellow commenters and AoS contributors. Happy Ash Wednesday.

[Top photo: Muckross Abbey Yew tree, Loncarphotography]

More about Muckross Abbey:

Muckross Abbey (Mainistir Locha Leinand Mainistir Mhucrois) was founded in 1448 by the Observantine faction of the Franciscan Order, with the political support and financial patronage of the Gaelic Irish Chieftain Donal Mac Mór Mac Chartaigh (Donal McCarthy Mor).

Though known as "Muckross Abbey" the building was in fact a "Friary" not an Abbey. Abbeys, like the nearby monastery on Innisfallen Island, were built for the monks to live in, in isolation from society, leading a secluded contemplative life of prayer. However the Franciscan Friars living in this friary would regularly have travelled to nearby towns to preach to the local people and lived as a "mendicant order" having their food and supplies donated to them by local people, including the powerful McCarthy Clan.

Adjoining the North side of the church there is a cloister where the friars would have walked in meditative prayer. Today, a yew tree still stands at the centre; this is thought to be one of the oldest in Ireland, as it is likely up to 400 years old. In 1756, one of the first tourists to Killarney, the Englishman Charles Smith, wrote that it was one of the tallest yew trees he had ever seen: "Its spreading branches, like a great umbrella, overshadow the niches of the great cloister." (Unsurprisingly there is a great wealth of folklore still surviving about the tree and supernatural harm that strikes down anyone who interferes with it.)

Muckross Friary was sacked by the English forces of Elizabeth I during the Desmond Rebellions of the late 16th century. In 1652 a unit of Cromwell's New Model Army, under the command of an English General named Edmond Ludlow, raided the friary and removed its roof to render it uninhabitable. A number of the Franciscans were killed in this attack, the survivors fled to France as refugees, and the buildings were left abandoned.

Anyone been there?

Are you in the market for an F-4 Phantom?

This restoration project costs $950,000 and would require another million or so to finish the job. Once finished, it would be the "only flight capable Phantom that can be owned, operated, and flown by a private individual/organization."

F4H-1F s/n 145310 was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1959 as the 11th pre-production Phantom. It was part of Operation Sageburner which set the low-altitude speed record at 902 mph at 125 feet as part of the U.S. Navy's 50th Anniversary of Naval Aviation in 1961.

Click the photo for the full listing. The same site has a flyable Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk for $5.5m if you're more into choppers.

This is not a food thread, but thought you would be interested in the latest legal news on chicken wings.

Remember this story from March 2023? Man sues Buffalo Wild Wings, claims "boneless" wings are just chicken nuggets

Yesterday, a judge finally ruled against the plaintiff:

What's in a name? If we called a wing by any other name, would it smell as sweet? The plaintiff, Aimen Halim, says no. The defendant, Buffalo Wild Wings ("BWW"), sells a product it calls "boneless wings," which are essentially chicken nuggets: pieces of chicken breast meat, deep-fried and tossed in whatever sauce or dry seasoning the customer wants. Halim, apparently, found this confusing. He claims that he thought boneless wings were real chicken wings with the bones removed. He says BWW's product should be called something different, something like "chicken poppers." Halim sued BWW over his confusion, but his complaint has no meat on its bones. Halim does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are deceived by boneless wings, so he has failed to state a plausible claim for relief.

Shockingly, the judge did not dismiss the case outright. The plaintiff has until March 20 to amend his complaint.

Carrying on with the chicken theme...

Man Busted For Spicy Chicken Domestic Battery

During a Valentine's Day quarrel about infidelity, a man allegedly struck his female companion in the head with a thrown "Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich," according to Florida police who arrested the suspect for domestic battery.

Investigators say Theodore Anderson, 27, and the victim were having dinner in their home Saturday evening when they began to argue.

The defendant, cops charge, "threw a Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich, striking the victim on the head with it." Anderson then tossed a "styrofoam cup of blue Powerade," which left the woman soaked in sports drink.

When officers arrived at the St. Petersburg residence, they reported spotting the Chick-fil-A delicacy "broken apart in the living room where the incident occurred." The sandwich was not collected as evidence.

He seems nice. Hope she makes a life change. What a waste of a chicken sandwich...

The Pittsburgh police scanner keeps giving. Thank you people of Pittsburgh!

The warmer weather in Pittsburgh is inspiring a...love for nature.

Smokey and the Bandit for the big ONT finish:

Written correspondence can be sent to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Are you lurking ?? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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