[Lounge #371]
This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. Aren’t baby Tasmanian Devils adorable?
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
September 28th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Because it was at the end of the last one, I just want to re-share this delightful gem (sorry, I mean “athelstone”) of whacky people on the internet making cool stuff.
http://anglish.wikia.com/wiki/Earthfrod
chigau (違わない):
September 28th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
bad potcullis. bad.
—-
trinioler #294 last thread (page 2)
I’m not on Facebook but I like you, anyway♥.
—
portia
Get one of those cheap stick-on name-tags;
“Hi! I’m Portia Lastname!
(I am a valuable member of this office!”
next day
“Hi! I’m Portia Lastname!
(We met yesterday!”
—-
OK.
Maybe not.
cicely:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:16 pm
Cute little devil.
:)
-
lexie:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Damn it, beaten to the cute little devil remark. However, it definitely sounds devilish.
marella:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
Poor little thing, his future is a bit iffy these days. There’s a hideous contagious cancer killing them all.
ednaz:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:45 pm
I am caught up!
Caine and Audley – Thank You for sharing your artwork with us. So impressive!
Improbable Joe – Happy Birthday! I left a case of beer for you in the fridge.
JAL – Thank You for ranting for me. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.
I also left several bottles of rum – Chigau, you must share – and a pitcher of sangria for anyone who wants some.
Question for The Horde: It often seems like the conversation is over or played out (?) when I’m able to post. Do I post anyway or just read?
I love learning here. : )
Amphiox:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:48 pm
An interesting case of an infectious disease evolving from a mammal (somatic cell line, too).
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 28th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
@Ednaz
Asked and answered earlier.
chigau (違わない):
September 28th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
ednaz
Thanks for the rum.
Read and post, even if the conversation seems played-out.
We, The Horde™, cover the Planet.
Someone will respond.
(probably)
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Oh, Oh. Free giveaway for J.K. Rowling’s new book Casual Vacancy. *fingers crossed*
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Ednaz:
Eh, weekends tend to be slow, it’s not you. :D Post away!
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:57 pm
Never had sangria and would love to try!
And your welcome about the ranting. It’s so helpful, isn’t it? I’m usually thanking others here for that same thing. They do it so much better and I’m usually too late to the party.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 12:12 am
Sangria
in a large bowl or glass jar, pour
a bottle of wine
add
fruit (fresh, frozen or tinned)
leave it sit for a few hours
drink the fluid and eat the fruit
(if you use tinned fruit, reserve the liquid. it’s a bit tooo sweet)
—-
keep the children away
the fruit is yummy and they’ll get drunk
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 29th, 2012 at 12:13 am
Everyone who has Netflix. Great bit of cheese/drama depending on your millage of it. Patrick Stewart in the series The 11th Hour.
Let me explain why you should watch it, it has Patrick Stewart basically telling people to shit in one hand and pray in the other and report back which fills up first…FOR SCIENCE.
Hekuni Cat, MQG:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:33 am
Caine – Your pillow is gorgeous. Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays/times of year. That you can hand-sew a pillow in
leaves me virtually speechless with the exception of saying: You are amazing. (I know I’m repeating myself.)
Thank you for the cultural background of turtles. This is one of the things I truly love about Pharyngula. I’m always learning something new and fascinating.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:42 am
I’m hoping Ariaflame and Tigger the Wing will both make it to cocktails this arvo: mini Pharyngula meetup!
ednaz:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:49 am
Cool.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:57 am
I just thought of something that I should have realized awhile ago.
I can check out GameStop to see what I can get for my ps3 games.
Not much point in hanging on to ps3 games with no ps3. Besides, once Roomie moves out the games are worthless again to me since he’ll take his ps3 obviously. So I’m going to see what I can get for them.
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:00 am
ednaz:
IMO, post away. There are often multiple conversations going and we all have certain perspectives to offer a given topic, so if you’re interested, please chime in.
****
I’ve never been to tvtropes. How much fun is it?
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 29th, 2012 at 1:00 am
@JAL
Gamestop?
Why bother. You would probably get a fairer price listing them to people here or around where you live and seeing what people will pay.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:00 am
@Tony: tvtropes is scary evil brain crack.
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 29th, 2012 at 1:01 am
@Tony
it is not fun. It is mesmerizing
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:02 am
Hekuni Cat, thank you. The sleep pillows go fast because they are small (7″ x 7″) and only 3 sides need stitching. I have enough of everything for one more, would you like one? If so, send me an e-mail letting me know where to send it.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:03 am
Really, Ing?
It’s Skyrim and Oblivion so I’d think most people have them don’t they? And it’d have to sell for pretty cheap to buy off some other person, wouldn’t it?
I mean hell, if anyone here wants them I’m game. I can send them and they are in perfect condition. Never even got to play Oblivion, it’s still in the wrapper FFS and kept Skryrim cared for religiously.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 1:03 am
Tony
tvtropes is a bottomlessmultidimentionalpit.
you keeps clicking links until 4 hours later you has no idea what was the original question.
Enjoy!
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:04 am
Tony:
I expect it depends on just how into TV you are. At best, I find it mildly interesting.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:07 am
I get into TVTropes because of books. It’s so useful. And yes, you just keep clicking and clicking and clicking…
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:16 am
I’ve been avoiding it for a while, but you can easily get sucked in, waste hours on it, acquire a frustrating habit of instinctively evaluating your own writing in terms of the tropes, and wind up wanting to break a whole cabinet of dishes once you have more than a glancing encounter with their absolute, idiotic insistence on either maintaining a careful, balanced neutrality between fire brigades and fires, or refusing to even discuss certain subjects (mainly the applicability of trope concepts to real life situations) for fear of offending the handful of people who make the reaction to Mohammed cartoons seem balanced and rational.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 1:16 am
The other day because we had some found-money and the bills are paid, we Went Out To Eat.
Greek.
It was expensive ($65 for two, one beer each).
But the food was Ambrosia and the service was the best I’ve experienced in 20 years.
He served and picked-up plates like it was choreographed, without intruding.
He got a big tip.
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:28 am
Azkyroth @28:
Is there something you’d like to tell us?
Do you and tvtropes have a thing? I don’t want to get in the way :)
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:35 am
chigau:
I should be safe from the multidimensional pit. I’m sharing tvtropes with Veronica Mars.
thecheekytakahe:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:41 am
The Matrix is on the TV. I like it – it’s a fun action movie, but it has such heavy handed Christian allegory. I mean – the third movie was entirely about Neo=Jesus. Even the red pill speech is basically identical to a bunch of missionary’s witnessing spiels.
Also – when I saw the Tasmanian Devil, the first thing I thought of was Alesmith’s Horny Devil. Pretty good belgian ale. I’d rather have an imperial stout. Also –
TAKAHE!
I’ve seen this bird before. He apparently likes stealing tourist’s lunches.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 1:42 am
Tony
yer toast
see ya in a few days
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:56 am
Chester is seriously into lavender. Agnes prefers hops.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 2:00 am
I’m for bed.
It’s supposed to be quite cold tonight.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:01 am
Caine – I am very glad to hear that Chester has such good taste. He likes tea and lavender, such a perfect rat.
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 29th, 2012 at 2:13 am
@Tony
No they’re right. TV Tropes being crowd sourced is offensively committed to “Neutral” non-offensiveness. To give a perspective Crowning Moment of Awesome included the Catholic Church in WWII as a real world example.
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
September 29th, 2012 at 2:17 am
TV Tropes also seems horrendously confused on what is and isn’t a straw political.
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:18 am
Lexie:
He is a class act, that one. :D
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:22 am
Is the tea drinking, tea which you have given him or stealing from your cup when you’re not looking?
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:33 am
Lexie:
I give them tea, they have a dedicated tea dish, but Chester, along with the rest of them, happily helps themselves out of my cup, whether I’m looking or not. For some reason, they all seem to think it’s better out of my cup.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:46 am
Yes of course, don’t all pets want to steal the human food.
My dog has plenty of easily accessible water bowls but for some reason my water glass on my bedside table is the best water available, I’m not sure if she’s just too lazy to walk to the kitchen, or if she knows it’s mine and wants to steal it or what. I also seem to have agreed to giving up part of every carrot I every want to eat.
Crudely Wrott:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:47 am
Ooo. A menacingly lovely picture of a dirling whervish.
Looks just like mine. Such little dirlings!
Abba deet, abba deet, that’s fall, olks.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:47 am
Oops that should read ever want to eat rather than every want to eat.
Crudely Wrott:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:03 am
My guess, lexie, is that not only does your water glass carry your scent, which your dog identifies with because she identifies with you, pack mentality, don’ch know, but if she spends much time in your bedroom the glass is closer than her water bowl in the kitchen and possibly the toilet. Dogs are like people that way.
Were she living with me I’d take her preference as a compliment as well as a gesture of solidarity. I’d also experiment with a water bowl for her near the bed. Just to see, you know.
Pro tip: puppies are happier when they get raised with kitties. Really, they are. The familiarity and habituation brings out the tolerance and kindness in the them and they grow into well adjusted critters. So do their humans. It brings out the egalitarianism in all three species and is a delight to all.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:34 am
Good morning.
My former favorite bookstore had a discount on everything this morning so I decided to pay it a visit after a long time (I’ve been doing my shopping at another place lately).
Ugh.
I mostly read books in English because why read a crappy translation when I can get the original and it’s cheaper, so this is about the section of books in English.
Popular science? Gone down the black hole. A couple of books left, but they put them on the same shelf as religion. And there’s much more religion there than science. Besides, a book about evolution sitting between astrology and something about Mormons is just bizarre.
The whole section is bizarre. “how to make money by selling useless books about getting rich” next to sport next to erotica next to philosophy next to history (which consists almost entirely of books about Hitler).
And I could never figure out why they don’t just put erotica with the rest of fiction. Like, next to the freaking romance novels. Or are they afraid that the kind of people who buy pink monstrosities will need fainting couches if they see LGBT erotica or BDSM?
Strange place.
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:35 am
Alright, six sleep pillows made today. Time to relax then catch some sleep.
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:23 am
Before they eliminated THAT Real-Life Example section too, the Knight Templar article (TL;DR: people who take a “good” idea and pursue it to the point of being objectively evil) had, alongside such luminaries as Torquemada, an entry whining about tone in the “Social Justice Movement.”
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:26 am
(Actually, at this point, TV Tropes has bent over backwards so far to please the least reasonable people in the room that I really couldn’t recommended it anymore even with the caveats about timewasting.)
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:29 am
On a tangentially related note: is it feasible to mistake anything else for fresh thyme?
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:32 am
I’ve never run into a problem with TVTropes. Did I just not notice, or have I not been to anything problematic yet?
Huh.
I appreciate the information.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
September 29th, 2012 at 5:36 am
Portia
Seems to be a WordPress problem.
+++
Hmmm, I love lavender. It has an instant soothing effect on me. I often drop some essence onto my warm-pack monster.
Which reminds me that I wanted to make lots of neck-warm-packs for the family for christmas.
+++
Argh, have you ever tried to communicate mental health problems with somebody who has fortunately never had a taste of them?
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 5:41 am
Yes. Last week.
I ended up complaining about it here.
Since it made me decide not to ever broach that topic with my best friend again (and haven’t even talked to her since then), I can’t say anything uplifting.
Argh, indeed.
hyperdeath:
September 29th, 2012 at 5:43 am
I notice that due to Edwin Kagin’s recent posts, the cancer is spreading into his comments section. Scented Nectar, N_J, hannanibal, PG, and other malignant cells have already made an appearance.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:25 am
I’ve debated whether to post this or not, but it’s a follow up to one of my first posts about my personal life on Pharyngula and you were all so helpful then that I think I’ve decided to give anyone interested an update. A couple of months ago I posted that some of my school friends and I were having a girls night in when one of them brought up that she supported gay marriage much to the displeasure of several others one in particular. I joined in on the side in favour of gay marriage and was reasonably passionate, in the end despite the large number of studies I cited she just dismissed me by saying that she didn’t believe in statistics. I believe I was perfectly civil, and in an attempt to preserve the friendship I kept asking just to drop it, agree to disagree but she wouldn’t drop it and in the end I and others basically had to beg to move the topic on since it was totally obvious it wasn’t going anywhere at least that night. Then I asked what I should do and was I a horrible person by continuing to see them. Anyway it may transpire that they don’t want to see me, as they have just posted photos of them at the show, an event to which I was not invited. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it. I am sad to lose them even though, I have recently felt very awkward with them, particularly when I have almost let it slip that I’m an atheist or that I think I am attracted to women and men. Prehaps this is the easiest way, I now don’t face to face their scorn or disgust or any other unpleasant reactions by coming out to them and I don’t have to keep feeling awkward. Anyway thanks to everyone who gave me advice back then and who made me feel better at the time.
StevoR:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:25 am
Thought some may like to know that last week I finally finished reading the Iran : Empire of the Mind book on Persian / Iranian history that was recommended on a long ago thread here.
Thanks, it was certainly fascinating and informative.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:31 am
Beatrice, I read what you wrote last time about your friend and don’t think I said it then but firstly *hugs* if you want them. The stigma around mental illness really irritates me, as in likely to get me hopping mad, it is a medical illness not a personal failure damn it. Hopefully I will see this change over the years but at the moment it means I have to keep a lot of my personal and my family problems totally secret (I suppose not have to but I choose to because getting it off my chest is less helpful than the boat load of crap you get by mentioning mental illness). Any *hug* or chocolate if you want them.
StevoR:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:38 am
Couple of things stumbled upon online which some may find interesting here :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGcFZvoubXU
Save The Last Great Telescope youtube – One the Green Bank Telescope (GBT)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-27/arctic-sea-ice-maps-before-after-1984-2012/4283418
Dramatic illustration graphic here for Arctic sea ice loss.
How much worse have things gotten there!
But a sort of counter – see :
http://www.stonekettle.com/2012/09/the-good-old-days.html
For how much better things have become in other regards.
Labour day Monday here in Oz I think – & the Stonekettle station blog author Jim Wright has been on a bit of a roll lately with a lot of excellent posts recently which are also well worth reading.
StevoR:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:42 am
But a sort of counter …
Oh & Planet America – Aussie ABC TV’s great show on US politics – has called the election for Obama too.
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 29th, 2012 at 6:51 am
Lexie, I just posted some shots of Chester slaughtering a straw.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 7:07 am
lexie,
Thanks for the *hugs* and right back at you.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 7:29 am
Awwww, Chester is so cute. Is he being well behaved?
Pteryxx:
September 29th, 2012 at 7:40 am
nitpick… Caine, if it’s not too much trouble, could you insert image placeholders for your pictures on Rattitude? It’d be much easier (for me) to load them by individual click.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:01 am
Connecticut teacher mistakenly kills son after neighbor reports robber
The possibly life saving answer would be to: What the fucking hell was going through that man’s head and why isn’t anyone wondering that instead of about a teenager sneaking home at night?
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:03 am
lexie @55
Time will help things along by picking your genuine friends for you. The problem with school ‘friends’ is they still think in terms of cliques, not with honest connection, or at least it is rare that they don’t think that way. I have noticed in the people around me that those that have a high number of friends don’t even have one or two particular stable friendships. Those that have a small assortment of friends connect on a much deeper and personal level and for a long time. I think the key to finding what you’re looking for is to remember that quality trumps quantity anytime. It helps if you ‘put yourself out there’ in the avenues that are most likely to let you meet the kind of people that are really going to be your friends. You know best where those people are likely to be, they are the places where you find more of the people interesting and engage your mind to participate, rather than be a spectator.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:14 am
Good morning! Great way to start the morning too… Sleepy Time Snuggle Buddy making that weird “Eeeeerrrrrgg” noise in my ear, followed by Ginger pouncing over me to attack the cat, and dropping all 38 pounds of dog right on my lower back.
Support and chocolate and bacon and terrorist fist jabs to everyone who needs them. I’m going to try to find brunch before it is full-on lunch time.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:17 am
My school ‘friends’ definitely do think in terms of cliques, but I think that the bigger problem with us ever forming a deep connection is that I met them at a conservative Christian school, coming from a conservative family and they did too. At the time I made friends with them I already had doubts about the whole religion thing but was desperately trying to ignore them and become sure in my faith, which resulted in me being even more religious. I still think that we did once have a decent friendship when I agreed with them on these issues but I escaped from that (well am escaping) but they are still in there and this definitely poses a strain on things as I now disagree with them on almost everything, which is hardly the basis of a brilliant friendship. Even the one who is more liberal (she’s the one in favour of gay marriage) is still deeply religious and I don’t know if even she would accept my atheism.
I have never had a lot of friends, I would hate it, I would have to be much more sociable than I would ever want to be. I am trying to make new and better friendships, but am struggling in that endeavour, partly just due to my own reluctance to trust people. I have three friends from uni, I have a much better friendship with them but I’m still not sure.
jose:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:24 am
I was reading Gould’s The Flamingo’s Smile and it kicks off like this:
“In the Medieval glass of Canterbury Cathedral, an angel appears to the sleeping wise men and warns them to go straight home, and not return to Herod. Below, the corresponding event from the Old Testament teaches the faithful that each moment of Jesus’ life replays a piece of the past and that God has put meaning into time – Lot turns round and his wife becomes a pillar of salt … the common theme of both incidents: Don’t look back.”
(emphasis mine)
I’ve never heard of that. Each moment of Jesus’ life corresponds to an Old Testament passage? Is that mainstream Catholicism? I know Jesus is meant to fulfill prophecies (he won’t shut up about fulfilling “what is written”), but only prophecies, nothing more. Gould is taking this a step further to include all of the old testament, it would seem.
If this is indeed common knowledge, is there a cross-reference table somewhere so we can check out which passages correspond to which?
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:26 am
lexie,
I certainly agree with McC2lhu about quality over quantity. I would just add a little something.
Sometimes you might have a person or people in your life who are not quite friends and yet not just acquaintances. People with whom you won’t discuss anything too personal, but you might call them for an evening out occasionally.
It’s perfectly fine to have “not quite friends” in your life, if you are capable of dealing with that kind of relationship.
opposablethumbs:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:33 am
lexie, I’m sorry these “friends” are turning out not to be. That’s always hard; I hope they weren’t too big a presence in your life, and that the worthwhile ones – like the person who spoke in favour of sanity and fairness wrt marriage in the first place – stay good friends to you.
And yes, as pointed out above, I hope you meet plenty more decent people through other activities/interests/in other ways; people with whom you can be yourself and who will value you for who you are.
Hugs if I may and if you want ‘em.
“I don’t believe in statistics” – translation, in this case, “la la la ::fingers firmly in ears:: I refuse to acknowledge evidence or even reality”. argh.
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:41 am
lexie:
Beatrice is right, especially with where you find yourself at the moment. You may have to settle for these ‘almost friends’ for the time being. Since religious issues are going to be a point of contention that casts you as the ‘other’ in the group, it may be that you have to have to have a lot more superficial conversation, remembering that politics and religion are always the back-breakers in mixed-philosophy situations.
Always keep in mind that you are still in school. Once you are shoved out into the rat race, you will (hopefully) have more time to explore your interests. It’s at these places, and as a more experienced and confident person, that you will meet people that are far more likely to really click. Think of the almost friends as the Scotch Tape that holds your social sanity together until you find the Krazy Glue and duct tape kind of friends that will inevitably present themselves at art galleries, or book clubs, or skepticons, or the like when you are out of the clique neighborhoods, especially the church-dominated ones that you have decided (I almost typed deicide-ed, which would be pretty accurate too) no longer fit what you believe to be true or worthy of your time.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Thanks for the hugs opposable thumbs. One of them was a fairly big presence in my life, in fact she was the closest friend I had and the friendship I have had for the longest (11 years and I’m 23). I agree that that’s why she’s (different person to who’s described above) doing it, but it’s so infuriating, I can try and engage someone rationally but excluding bashing my head against a brick wall I have no response to that.
.
I agree with you all about the quality vs quantity thing. I have never had many friends, I don’t even have many “not quite friends”, hell I probably don’t even have many vague acquaintances. I just struggle making quality friends, and I suppose part of the problem is that I struggle trusting people.
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:56 am
McC2lhu, thanks for that I think that Beatrice is probably right, and the way you put it kind of solidified it for me.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:04 am
lexie,
Not saying that you have to still associate with them (especially if their views are too awful for you to deal with), just that you don’t have to feel guilty if you do.
(I’m not sure I was clear about that before)
I have trust issues too. Yeah, that makes life and friendships difficult.
I haven’t read all that much from you yet, but from what I have, it seems we have very similar personalities.
Although, I can be quite an asshole and I’m not sure we’re all that similar in that aspect. ;)
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:11 am
Beatrice, I agree with you on the us probably being similar thing. I haven’t found you to be an asshole, not sure if all this assholery (can I make that a word? please?) happens on [thunderdome] which I normally don’t read or if you mean against the trolls?
Nutmeg:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:14 am
*hugs* and *tea* for lexie. I’m sorry that your friends seem to be pulling away from you.
There are only two of my old Christian friends that I still see now, and I told both of them about my loss of faith as it was happening, because they weren’t the judgmental type. Those friendships still work because we decided that our shared history and friendship was more important than our differences, and we don’t talk too much about politics or religion. Even so, it’s a less open friendship than I have with my more like-minded friends.
I drifted away from my high school friends when they became the party crowd in 12th grade, and I didn’t make more close friends until the end of undergrad, when I connected with the other students suffering through honours theses. I fit in more with my university friends than I ever did with another group. So I second the recommendations to look for groups of people you have things in common with, and see what happens.
I also struggle trusting people, and I’ve found that a smallish group of friends, as opposed to one-on-one situations, works well for me. It doesn’t get too intense too fast, so you can get to know people for a long time before all the major sharing of secrets occurs. After a while, the one-on-one stuff becomes natural and more comfortable. YMMV.
A. R:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Fucking Catlicks: Yet another sexual abuse scandal”.
ftfkdad:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:26 am
She-Devil is having to read Paradise Lost and taking some stick from her Dad. She probably needs some love. http://www.godlessteens.com
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:31 am
Thanks for the tea and hugs Nutmeg (tea is wonderful, so are hugs)
Thanks for the tip on small groups. I’m hoping that I’ll find friends with more and more in common as I get more and more open about my beliefs and I suppose me generally.
ShowMetheData:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Just spotted an ad on FTB for Mech Warrior Online
Battling Giant Mech Robots – so deadly and them battling plucks at my RRRRR, Crush, Destroy instincts.
Socio-gen, something something...:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Previous thread -
Portia @ 797:
Oh, the name game! I think in every conversation I had with people I don’t know well (back home), the first ten minutes was spent chasing family connections — So, are you related to the [names] in [town]? No, that’s a different branch. My family is from [this town]. Oh, X and Y and Z? Yes, Z was my father. Oh, such a good man! Yep, very well respected in town. (and then silently to myself: who was an alcoholic asshole who didn’t want to see me or his grandchildren for 10 years after I divorced and only changed his mind when he went into hospice, and only because he wanted to give me his dying lecture on how evil and filled with sin I was.)
I do the good ‘ol gal routine and the “being away didn’t change me” thing too. Since I’ve picked up the Minnesota “ohh” accent, I compensate at home by talking a bit faster and dropping g’s (singin’, dancin’, etc.) One thing that really bugged me was that, other than my kids and one sister, not one person wanted to hear what I’d been doing. It was as if they were trying to ignore it and pretend I hadn’t left. If I did bring up things I was studying or activities I got involved in, they all commented on how “radical” being away made me.
And yes, the busybodies know everything and they only share with other people. Not you. Because that would ruin the show.
—
Audley @ 800:
Oh the hat!! And the socks! And the sweater! And the hat!!!
Patricia: The cute, it overwhelms!!
—
New thread -
Ing:
Patrick Stewart! *adds 11th Hour to my queue*
—
Caine:
My nieces and nephews were like that as toddlers/pre-schoolers. They liked tea, but my cup was always better — even when poured out of the same pot.
—
Beatrice:
Ugh! That kind of disorganization in a bookstore would drive me up the wall.
Of course, I’m the kind of person whose bookshelves are organized in a sensible pattern — textbooks by subject area, non-fiction grouped by theme (biography, science, etc) and fiction grouped by genre (mystery, romance), divided into sub-genres (historical, paranormal, etc) and yes, the erotica lives next to my romance novels, sub-divided by genre. And…I alphabetize.
My bookshelves, however, are the only organized space in my apartment.
—
Giliell:
Yes. It has never gone well.
—
Beatrice:
Sweet Cheebus! I just…what the fuck?! I hope the NRA is happy to know that yet another homeowner successfully defended his home….against his own relative.
I am so sick of this John Wayne attitude that keeps killing innocent people. You know what my home protection is? An aluminum bat. Because I am a heck of a better baseball player than I am a shooter.
—
lexie
As hard as it is when friends move on in a different direction, it’s harder (on you) to keep hiding yourself and your opinions in order to keep them. Pre-divorce, most of my friends were from my church. Post-divorce, I lost all but one — some right away, some after awhile because I was no longer the same person. It was tough to make new ones because of my social anxiety. I’m also pretty reserved, so it takes me a long time to get comfortable sharing my inner thoughts.
But, if you do the things you love and go out to support the causes you believe in (as/when you’re able to do so), you will meet and make new friends. It’s sometimes a little bit easier because you already have a shared connection to build on. It takes time though, and as others have said, it’s perfectly fine to keep not-quite-friends so that you have people to do things with. I mostly have people I’m “friendly with” but who aren’t the people I’d be comfortable calling at 2am to take me to the ER.
Also, internet friends ARE real friends, too. I have four women I’ve been friends with for almost 12 years now, whom I ‘met’ on a single moms listserv. We’ve never met in person (though we keep planning to), but know everything about each other, helped each other through bad times, laughed and cheered through the good, and they have been the best — and at times, the only — source of support I had. And they’re the only friends I didn’t lose daily contact with by moving 1300 miles.
*hugs* and *chocolates*
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:07 am
lexie,
Maybe that part of me didn’t have many chances to emerge here on Pharyngula (except maybe when talking to trolls, in which case it’s an asset instead of a fault), but I can be unreasonably assholish to people in meatlife.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:22 am
In the previous chapter of the [Lounge] someone asked for a link to prove that problems with voter fraud were more widespread than, say, a few folks being stupid.
In-person voter fraud can’t be proven with links to reliable sources because they all back up the conclusion that there is .0000 to .00025% in-person voter fraud. This is the kind of fraud Republicans are trying to stop when state legislatures pass laws requiring new forms of ID. They took a non-existent problem and created a solution that negatively impacts mostly Obama voters.
You can find some voter fraud in the realm of absentee ballots.
You can also find voter fraud in the voter-registration efforts of Republicans, and I think this was our subject in the last thread. And I think this was the fraud that was questioned, perhaps being only a few lazy people submitting made-up names. This problem is widening. The more info that comes out, the more we see it is not just a few people, but a way of doing business. And, yes, there is link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49213312#.UGcQfhxkjRw
The same company that perpetrated the fraud in Florida was paid to do voter registration for Republicans in all the other swing states. I don’t know if they’ve been kicked out of those other states as well.
In addition to voter registration fraud, Republicans are committing phone bank fraud, though perhaps this is only a result of stupid volunteers, and not an organized effort.
http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2012-09-27-0#.UGcQ_BxkjRx
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:27 am
This is quote of the week for me:
Obama wants to get rid of Medicare, AND he’s a socialist? He wants you to be dependent on government, AND he’s going to take away your government benefits? Republicans REALLY ARE THIS FUCKING STUPID, AND THEY ARE HALF OF THE FUCKING COUNTRY!
…I need a beer.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:28 am
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, Illinois says he is not going to tell you how to vote, and then he tells you that if you back the Democratic Party you may be putting your eternal salvation at risk.
Video of Bishop Paprocki being an asshat and spouting poppycock:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/09/29/14150715-this-week-in-god
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:34 am
More on religious leaders weighing in on the presidential race, while simultaneously covering their asses in see-through equivocations:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-whether-obama-antichrist-its-too-early-say
That’s right Bryan Fischer, head of the American Family Association, allows that it is “too early to say” if Obama is the Antichrist or now, but that Satan is always grooming false leaders.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Indecent proposals from the nutbags in the U.S. House of Representatives have come fast and furious this year …. while real work is ignored.
Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn) proposed a resolution that ““reaffirms the importance of religion in the lives of United States citizens.” The resolution is offensive to non-christian religions, and extremely offensive to those of us that support church-state separation. And, of course, contains multiple
inaccuracieslies.Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Well this really, really, really surprises me. For reals. Not.
The ancient papyrus, written in Egyptian Coptic, that supposedly showed Jesus mentioning his “wife” turned out to be a fake, a forgery.
http://news.yahoo.com/gospel-jesus-wife-fragment-fake-vatican-says-121133725.html
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:52 am
Ah, this was also expected, but dreaded: the 13-year-old girl who was raped on the campus of a 17,000-member Tulsa megachurch was not the only victim.
The article lists the other purported episodes of abuse and of failing to report child abuse.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:55 am
So this beer and burger place I’ve been too posted this on their facebook status today
Confused I looked up fractured soul retrieval…
Did you know that
how very interesting.
I’m going to go hit myself in the hand with a hammer now.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:59 am
Rachel Maddow brings us up to date on the latest efforts to end access to abortion in America. Women had better wake the fuck up and vote Republican governors and Republican legislators at the state level OUT.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#49220085
Republicans have passed new rules that are designed to make it economically difficult or impossible to open a women’s health clinic that also offers abortion services, or to continue to operate an existing clinic that offers abortion services. They are closing clinics with red tape that does not apply to any other kind of health clinic. And they are bragging about ending abortion in their states.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:06 am
Soul retrieval?
Good thing Voldemort didn’t have access to that doctor. With his soul and sanity intact, he could have been invincible.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:19 am
This is a follow-up to my post @83.
Remember the video of the young woman registering only Republican voters in Colorado Springs? She claimed to be working for the El Paso County Clerk. That turned out to be wrong.
Several news sources have pointed out that it is not illegal in Colorado to pre-screen people one is trying to register for voting. However, the lie about who you work for, coupled with the fact that some of Strategic’s leaders in Colorado had ordered business cards withe county GOP logo, and you definitely have an unethical operation.
Republicans are trying to get the video taken down because it claims the young woman was doing something illegal, when she wasn’t. I think the underhandedness is proven and that’s reason enough to make the video available to the public.
The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdk55dLsFhc
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Rev BDC:
Some of the people in my area who manage to make their slow and painful way out of the mormon church turn to alternative medicine, to new age gobbledygook, and to other esoteric pursuits. As a result, we are fairly swimming in “clinics” offering this crap, including clinics that advertise on TV as being able to help children with medical conditions.
Hammer time.
birgerjohansson:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:28 am
When I try to scroll down the Pharyngula threads, I don’t get past the Friday cephalopod.
No link to flip to older “pages”.
Bug or new design omitting old stuff?
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:38 am
PZ had posted a BBC video of a cuttlefish in the OP that caused the loading to hang on some computers, right at the video. He supposedly fixed that with a more friendly video.
birgerjohansson:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:56 am
‘Star Trek’ ‘Gangnam Style’ Parody Sung Almost Entirely In Klingon (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/28/star-trek-gangnam-style-klingon-video_n_1922781.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news
— — — — —
Nerd of Redhead
Thanks, will try again.
Lynna, OM:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
In the category of “Uniquely American Entertainment,” this year we have lots of Tea Party candidate ads. This one is for Kentucky congressional hopeful Andrew Beacham.
Coverage from Mother Jones.
Scroll down to view the video (warning—contains extremely graphic images).
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Yes. Money quote: “Well, if you can’t take medicine for it then it’s a choice!” >.>
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Rev
Don’t be one of the 15%.
Hammering will fracture your soul in this lifetime.
(hand or head?)
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
My morning so far
Cut my finger and also cut my ankle
with the same knife
30 mins apart from each other
My dog brought me a dead possum
And my nosy neighbor made a point of stopping by to ask my why I had a big lighting setup on my back deck last night at 9:30 taking pictures while grilling.
um
reboot please
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Would you say this quote comes from a socialist or anti-socialist?
jose:
September 29th, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Beatrice,
I’d say it fits socialism. It’s about granting everybody a foundation so we can live with basic dignity no matter what. If you break your leg, if you grow a tumor, if your company goes bankrupt… socialism would like for nobody to be less than they could have been or would have wanted to be due to circumstances outside their control.
Socio-gen, something something...:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Lynna @ 91:
And people around me wonder why I am so “militant” when it comes to fighting for abortion and reproductive rights… I’m so sick of having to explain to people over and over and over and over again that preserving Roe means nothing — less than nothing — if more and more of these onerous and punitive restrictions are imposed. As Maddow said, it’s a right on paper only.
It horrifies me how quickly we are returning to the pre-Roe days. I’ve heard from a couple of people online who are setting up or planning “Jane” networks in their states because access is becoming so limited that legal abortion, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists unless you have time, money, and the ability to travel.
I don’t know if anyone is involved in doing this in my area (naturally, it’s not something you can Google for contacts) but I keep my ears open in case, so that I can offer whatever help I might provide.
—
Beatrice:
I’m guessing an anti-socialist, but one who doesn’t realize he’s describing socialism.
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Huh, I must have been unreasonably angered by this one then. I read it differently.
(statement made by our president, and we generally consider ourselves a social state)
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Thanks, jose. You gave a much more reasonable explanation than what was going through my head.
My reading was totally off the mark, and I should have realized that sooner.
I’ll just go make myself a cup of tea to make the brain start working again.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Beatrice,
Statement made by our traditionally conservative president, you mean? He’s a creep and an asshole, and only “good” by comparison with his opponents.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Good evening
We approved of the wonderful weather today and took the kids to the Zoo. I think that I can probably illustrate my own “animals of the world ” book :)
lexie
I’m sorry about your friends. I think I was about your age when I noticed that my BFF (since 1st grade!) was an emotional vampire who would call me when she was unhappy but who didn’t care much if I was in distress. It was hard. It was especially hard since I had only “got her back” 3 years before or so when she managed to escape an abusive relationship. But the people who are my friends now are different. They actually care. They’re family.
re: mental health
It didn’t go bad, but it was complicated. Mr. wants to understand, only I’m talking about things he has never encountered. The fact that doing simple stuff like writing a silly email to people who are actually nice causes my physical pain is just completely not understandable for him.
So, given all your experiences that seems to have gone extremely well…
Audley/Patrica
Cuuuuuuuute
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Joe,
Wasn’t it just yesterday you commented that your handgun was from Croatia? :)
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Beatrice… yes, yes it was. I love me some Croatia! :)
Beatrice:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Yeah, the hint was “remember why you wrote that”.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Ummmm… No, drawing a… oh. I’m an idiot. Never mind.
Any good meatball recipes?
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
Ok the fermented hot sauce experiment begins
One fresno and one habanero.
Going to let them hang out there for a few hours then slap an airlock on one and leave the other as a free open ferment.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Rev. BDC: How did you rig up an airlock?
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Beatrice, my guess is the quote is from an anti-socialist. What I saw was essentially saying stop giving folks money to live on, and make them train for work to support themselves. But, where are the jobs? What happens here is that they do low level training at a school owned by a friend of the president, and once “trained” support benefits are dropped to ensure diligence in job hunting. Never mind the training was for a job market with a glut of better trained people. At least that’s what happens on this side of the pond.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Went down to the local homebrewing supply store and bought a couple from them.
Cut a hole in the lid of a mason jar matching the size of the airlock rubber stoppper. Added the airlock to that.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
One of these
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Rev. BDC,
OK, cool. I have a bunch of the 3-piece airlocks they list if you scroll down on your link. I have an extra rubber stopper too. I guess I just need Mason jars. :)
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
… or I could make hot sauce in 5-gallon buckets and/or carboys, since that’s what I have for home-brewing. :)
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Hello. Threadrupt. Fever. Aches (speaking of which, where the hell did that muscles come from?). No effluvia yet. I hate sickypoo.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Ogvorbis,
If it makes you feel less bad, a few weeks ago I sneezed hard and tore a muscle in my back that I didn’t even know existed.
cicely:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Tony, it is one of the finest time-sinks known to this woman. An entire afternoon can disappear into its black-hole-like grasp. Easy.
-
JAL, seconding Ing on the subject of GameStop. My DIL just gave them what she says will be the last of her game-resale business; they (at least locally) have changed up their policies, and didn’t hardly give her shit for her games.
-
lexie: *hugs*. Falling irreversibly out of step with friends is sad and un-fun, but it happens. Happens with family, too; even without my mentioning my atheism outright, one of my nieces, who is drifting ever more fundagelical, is picking up the widening gulf between us in opinions and outlook, just from FB posts, comments, likes and such. I think the kick-over point may have been when I commented to her “God is SO GOOD!!” post with, “Lightly grilled and with mustard”, while punchy from lack of sleep. She hasn’t posted anything directly to me since.
-
Sorry you’re sick, Ogvorbis. *sanitary hugs*
-
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Gamestop isn’t bad when you have a lot of money and you do a lot of turnover. If you buy more than a few games a month and trade as fast as you buy you can get better than 50% value back in trade-in. If you want cash you’re screwed, and if you need two months to finish a game you’re screwed.
opposablethumbs:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
Virtual, long-distance and hence non-contagious hugs to Ogvorbis, with (inevitably, but for really rlz) a Nice Cup of Tea. Sorry you’re crook, and hope you get better soon.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 29th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
*trebuchets Ogvorbis a small keg of “medicinal” grog*
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Hot rum toddy at your USB, Oggy.
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 29th, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Ogvorbis:
–Aren’t there some wonderful CAM products you can purchase to fix what ails you?
Perhaps you can use the widely proven method of Homeopathy to come up with a cure for your fever (using sweat?).
.
.
.
.
.
(the above was sarcasm)
Portia:
September 29th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Sorry for my late responses, it’s been a busy day.
cicely
Hug back atcha :)
Ha! I like it. I do need a secret identity…
Chigau
Hahaha Maybe I can work this in when there’s no clients around.
Giliell
Ah. Thanks.
Beatrice
I hate when close friends respond the way yours did. I have several friends that I have put on my “personal issues are off the table” list because they Just. Didn’t. Get It. And there’s no way to fix that except protect yourself from the hurt. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, I just want to say I understand.
Socio-gen
Wow. That sounds like my aunt. She hasn’t spoken to my mother (outside of my grandmother’s funeral) since my mom got a divorce. She learned over-piety from her father, my grandpa, and I feel about him as you do about your dad when people say how great he is. He’s not an alcoholic, but fuck he’s an asshole.
Yep. I always felt like they didn’t care because it made them feel inadequate for not having “adventures.” I feel petty even thinking that. I think life in the little town is great for those who are suited to it. But the denigration of big city life is pretty grating to me. There are literally people in Illinois who advocate for kicking Cook County out of the state. It was an old joke, now it’s actual proposed state legislation. I can’t grasp the myopia… Of course, living in the city, I resented the condescension to rural life. I had one friend who marveled that people still lived on farms. Or “how do people live way out there?!”
Ogvorbis Sorry you’re sick. I am a little bit too. I’ll share my herbal tea, if you like.
–
SO fixed my old washer like it was nothing, and so now he has a new free washer : ) And we had to move one less washer.
–
When my mom visits tomorrow she is bringing my 2 and 7 year old nieces with her! I am so thoroughly psyched to have them all here. They are bright and happy and brilliant and joyful and just….YAY.
–
I got some red potatoes from a local farmer friend for my planned stew to feed the kiddies. Mmmm. Yum. I had to make him take my money for them.
carlie:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Amy and Roooooooorrrrryyyyyy!!!!!!!!
Ok, I know, I won’t say any more.
Improbable Joe:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
carlie: Yeah! Amy & Rory!
Nutmeg:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
Shut up shut up shut up! I can’t find a reliable download for at least another hour!
Nutmeg:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
*goes and downloads something whether it’s real or not*
ednaz:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
lexie – Others have given you good advice, so I will send hugs and cookies.
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Should I care who is Amy & Rory?
ednaz:
September 29th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Socio-gen – I hear you. I’m so good at telling happy nice stories about family members who have caused me misery. It makes me sick. I’m sorry you get stuck doing the same. Sending hugs and cookies.
Therrin:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
It’s ok, they n—-mphfhhfhhhh!
ednaz:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Ogvorbis – I am sorry you are sick. Should I send one of my clones to wait on you ’til you get better?
Portia – I would offer to send one of my clones to you – but you Mom is already on the way. You can’t top that.
: )
Therrin:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Nutmeg, I recommend a six-letter URL. First two letters short-hand for easy, second two for television, a dot, then the country code of Italy. If you have usenet access, a poster with the nym teevee is usually the first copy to appear (I use ovafrnepu vasb(r13) to generate nzbs).
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Ogvorbis – :(, sorry you’re sick, chocolate? tea? biscuits?
Ednaz, thanks for hugs and cookies.
Echoes everyone else – Amy and Rory!!!!!
Nutmeg – enjoy the episode
Chigau – Amy and Rory are the current companions of the Doctor in Doctor Who.
ImaginesABeach:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Is it bad that I got myself all threadrupt because I had so much work at work this week that I couldn’t keep up?
chigau (違わない):
September 29th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
lexie #139
Thanks. I get that.
I first saw Dr. Who in the mid60s but haven’t really followed much since Tom Baker.
I’m still waiting on a female Doctor.
(I don’t care about canon, I’m still waiting. :) )
Nutmeg:
September 29th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Found a real one! :) Spoilers…
Hekuni Cat, MQG:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Caine:
Email sent. Thank you! ♥
lexie *hugs* and *chocolate*
Ogvorbis, I hope you feel better soon.
ibyea:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:21 pm
Was the new Who episode good?
Therrin:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I liked it more than the others so far this season (excepting maybe the first).
lexie:
September 29th, 2012 at 11:29 pm
Cigau, that would be awesome, cannon can change so I think that they could do it, but I don’t think they will.
I also liked the new episode, I’m liking this season much more than the last one.
Beatrice:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:52 am
Good morning
No, NO, NO shut up about Amy and Rory. I won’t be able to download the episode until tomorrow and that comment by Therrin made me finish that word they wrote (bad Therrin, no spoilers!) and now I have a theory and I have to wait until tomorrow!
Beatrice:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:53 am
… or actually that word Therrin didn’t finish, just wrote the first letter.
And I finished the sentence in my head. Why did I do that?
ibyea:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:03 am
@chigau
Actually, the episode “The Doctor’s Wife” from season 32 made a gender bender Time Lord regeneration possible. So it would not be against canon.
Therrin:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:11 am
Don’t worry, that wasn’t the important word. Promise.
Beatrice:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:21 am
Ok.
I still have that damn theory in my head, based on those glimpses from the new episode shown at the end of the last one. (although, technically, it’s followed by a second word and they together have the meaning that is relevant)I’ll just watch it tomorrow
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 30th, 2012 at 3:13 am
Threadrupt, but I just found out today that my favorite professor from community college died last spring. :(
carlie:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:30 am
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that, like everything else Moffat has done with this show, it was high on emotion during, and falls apart on fridge logic right after.
Beatrice:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:41 am
Like a grand logic fail at the end of last episode? I’m starting to get annoyed by these things.
I know a lot of things get a free pass in Doctor universe, but there is such a thing as too much.
Nevertheless, I’m excitedly waiting until I can watch this last episode tomorrow.
carlie:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:19 am
Beatrice – no, more like a bunch of little ones. Nothing so glaring as to upset the show while watching.
Pteryxx:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:20 am
Random interesting stuff via Boingboing:
Thomas Jefferson as a slaveowner:
http://boingboing.net/2012/09/29/thomas-jefferson-enthusiastic.html
Very long preview here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Little-Known-Dark-Side-of-Thomas-Jefferson-169780996.html?c=y&story=fullstory
——————————–
Completely different topic: why aren’t pacemaker users allowed to access their own medical data? From a TED talk:
http://boingboing.net/2012/09/28/why-cant-pacemaker-users-rea.html
————————
And a report about the almost complete lack of fact-checking of political ads by the local TV stations paid to run them:
http://boingboing.net/2012/09/28/tv-news-programs-ignore-false.html
Notable because, first, FCC regulations require full disclosure of the sources and rates paid for political ads, while the National Association of Broadcasters is suing over new requirements to make this information available online. Second, because while candidates may purchase ad time at the stations’ lowest rates, organizations such as SuperPACs pay full market rates, which increase with demand as elections approach.
Pteryxx:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:29 am
From the Jefferson excerpt, about the workings of Monticello:
…suddenly I’m reminded of the house-elves at Hogwarts. *shudder*
trinioler:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:09 am
How did the last episode fall apart? I just watched it so I’m curious. I know people said there were big plot holes, but I didn’t really see any.
trinioler:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:11 am
By which I refer to the “Year of the Slow Invasion” not the latest one.
Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:55 am
Blearg. Sick
Started as a (more) runny nose and congestion.
Now with hacking and productive coughing and tightness in the chest.
Dammit, I do not have time for this shit.
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:07 am
Saturday Night Live weighs in on the 47% video. I like the concept of the Obama anger translator.
NSFW.
YouTube link
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:37 am
Lexie, yes, Chester has been behaving. He’s generally well behaved, but he has his moments. It was thanks to Chester that I recently learned a new distress call. Chester was in the studio annex with me when I booted both Sam and Theo out. Not long after that, Chester went to where he last saw Same and Theo and let loose with a complex and long distress call. Very interesting.
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Caine, the image of rat buddies helping themselves to coffee made me laugh. Also, cute attack.
Here’s a Moment of Mormon Madness: Senator Harry Reid is a mormon, but he is also a Democrat and he doesn’t hold back in criticizing Mitt Romney. Some mormons are so hopped up about this that they are circulating a petition to have Harry Reid excommunicated.
Actual petition can be found here:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-for-the-excommunication-of-senator-harry
I think we should all sign it because it would be totally awesome if the LDS Church tried to excommunicate Harry Reid during an election season.
A lot of the petition dwells on the supposed lies Harry Reid tells. On that basis, they should excommunicate Mitt Romney first. He’s the more prolific liar.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:58 am
A few years back, I had walking pneumonia (well, actually they called it acute reactive lung disorder) and I tore three muscles in my back and cracked a rib by coughing too hard.
Cherry coke and a stuffed goat. Her name is Briar.
Thanks for the well wishes.
This morning, I have added an earache and the glands under my right jaw are now so swollen they feel like a bunch of grapes.
Bleah.
Need goats.
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:15 am
ednaz
I appreciate the thought…but you really can’t, you’re right. :D
ImaginesABeach
I suppose so, unless you really like your work. But it’s a quandary I can definitely sympathize with. I always wish I could keep up better. Or get commenting to work better on my phone.
Pteryxx
That is absolutely chilling. I might have to pick that book up though. Thanks for posting it.
Esteleth and Ogvorbis
Sending you hot tea and broth and *hugs* : (
Lynna, OM
Excellent idea! Delightfully diabolical of you. They are so…weird. I mean haven’t they noticed what a lying liar from Liartown Mitt Romney is? Oh, maybe they’re doing that “hear no evil” thing.
opposablethumbs:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:37 am
Tea and toast for Esteleth! And Vick’s VapoRub, and chicken soup (not both at once).
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:50 am
Lynna:
Glad it made you laugh. They’re shameless, they are.
chigau (違わない):
September 30th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Peanut butter and Vicks!
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:55 am
After years of exposure to mormonism, most of them, sadly, no longer have a functional bullshit detector.
However, I think the main point the petition unwittingly makes is that it is one thing to lie, but it is a different and more evil kettle of fish entirely to:
• point out that a member of the mormon aristocracy is not perfect
• to stand in the way of a mormon “rescue” of the government of the USA
• to recognize lies as lies if they are told by Mitt Romney
Only speech that makes mormons, especially Mitt Romney, look bad is put into the category of “lies.” Any lie told by Mitt Romney is automatically transformed by god into a special kind of faith-promoting truth. Alchemy of mormon lies.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
You could replace ‘moron’ with ‘GOP’ or ‘conservative’ and this would still be an absolutely accurate assessment.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Heh. That really was unintentional. ‘moron’ should really have been ‘mormon’. Not sure where the ‘m’ went. I’m going to go check a brown coloured bag of candy for those missing m’s. And m’s. And M&Ms.
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
If Mitt Romney is elected, his new mormon Ward in Washinton would the the Third Ward, pictured here by The Washington Post.
Note photos #2 and #3, which are especially good at illustrating the tens of members who attend services in a meeting house built to hold hundreds or more. This is typical of mormon meetings. This is typical of the all-show and little-substance behind the myth of “fastest growing religion.”
The accompanying text even buys into the mormon propaganda a bit:
If this is the “largest” it is sparsely, nay, pitifully populated.
Pteryxx:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
more random cool shit, Jezebel via Skepchick: Something GOOD happens on Reddit.
http://jezebel.com/5946643/reddit-users-attempt-to-shame-sikh-woman-get-righteously-schooled
————–
and an excerpt from Jessica Valenti’s new book “Why Have Kids”:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/not-wanting-kids-is-entirely-normal/262367/
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Ogvorbis, I thought you were just being funny : )
Lynna, thanks for that, it makes sense in the messed up way only Mormons can. I suppose in order to be a Mormon you necessarily have to suspend your bullshit meter. Wait, was that divisive? : P
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
I am trying very hard to avoid any insult that has a physical or medical root. Moron was, at one time, a description of a very specific level of mental retardation. Were I to try to describe the way that Mormonism actually makes Mormons look, to me, I would use a phrase like, “They have the brainpower of a sackful of hammers.” And, please note, that I am not saying or even trying to imply that Mormons, or any other religious, or political, group are actually lacking in cognitive powers. Merely that their belief system, in comparison to actual reality, can make them appear, to me, to have the brainpower of coffee can full of mismatched washers.
Beatrice:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
trinioler,
re: Doctor Who
(rot13 in case people haven’t seen second to last episode yet (Year of the Slow Invasion))
1. Nzl, Ebel naq Qbpgbe yrnir crbcyr gung unir orra gnxra ba gur fuvc jura vg oybjf hc
2. Crbcyr’f urnegf jrer fgnegrq ntnva ol gur frpbaq jnir bs phorf… Ohg gurl jrera’g jbexvat sbe dhvgr fbzr gvzr: Qbpgbe naq Nzl unq gb trg gb gur ubfcvgny naq gura Qbpgbe uryq n yratgul pbairefngvba jvgu gur fuvc’f vagresnpr. Gubfr crbcyr fubhyq unir frevbhf oenva qnzntr, abg gb zragvba gung n ybg bs gurz fubhyqa’g unir jbxra hc ng nyy
3. Gubfr gjb thlf gung jrer gnxvat crbcyr ner nyfb jrveq (jub? jung? jul?), ohg V’z jvyyvat gb gnxr gung jvgubhg zhpu dhrfgvba
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Good point, Ogvorbis. Thanks for the reminder. I should have given you more credit than that; you’re pretty conscious of that stuff.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 30th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Trin, thanks for the games! I’ve heard so much about Half Life 2 but never played it. If only I wasn’t so terrible with getting lost and finding out where to go. I’ve had the same problem since the first video game I’ve ever played. Oh, but it’s so fun. Especially when drinking and I get to laugh out how many times I’ve already died.
:D
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Well, not really. But I do admit my lapses.
Which happens frequently.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
September 30th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Get well soon, Ogvorbis!
+++
horse warning
I think I’ve created a terrible chimaera. I’m making a hobby-horse for the little one’s birthday and I have just created the duck-mouthed horse.
children story warning
Ha, today the little one spent the first day without a diaper AND pants on her butt without peeing into them.
OK, one time she peed into the bucket that usually holds her building blocks, but the toilet was occupied at that time so she figured out a different way.
Kind of supports my pet theory that you can save yourself a lot of nerves if you just accept that potty training is mostly nonsense, encourage your children and wait patiently until they simply do it themselves.
*looks forward to saving lots of money*
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
RollingStone takes a detailed look at Republican policies.
This is followed by a look at bills Republicans passed since 2010.
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Good news from California.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/09/30/california_bans_gay_conversion_therapy_for_minors.html
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Oh, I meant to post this as part of my comment @182:
Republicans want the right to torture their children.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 30th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Amen. Gov. Moonbeam strikes again.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 5:06 pm
Of course. They want their kids to make exactly the same decision dad made. Anything else would be anarchy. Anarchy! Children thinking, adults actually making decisions, cats sleeping with dogs! Anarchy!
Lynna, OM:
September 30th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
In other medical quackery news, Mitt Romney has decided to focus his campaign in Virginia on firing up lyme disease conspiracy theorists so that they’ll come to the polls and vote for him.
cm's changeable moniker:
September 30th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Congrats!
I forgot our 10th this year, but then, so did mrs cm.
If my parents hadn’t sent a card, we’d never have realised. :-/
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 30th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
The Redhead has been catching up on all the TV shows she missed (up to near the end of the 2011-2012 season), thanks to me making a bunch of DVD’s for her while she was in rehab. The portable DVD player she has been using also takes USB drives with MP4 format. But, [public information announcement] the format must be basic MP4, not H.264, and less than 640 pixels wide.[/public information announcement]. Found that out trying to get around a show that was nothing but green screen as a DVD, which started out as MKV (blueray) format.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
And I just pulled a muscle in my back from coughing.
Damn viruses.
Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google:
September 30th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
How is the Redhead doing, apart from catching up on her TV?
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
September 30th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
Nerd:
How is the Redhead doing? Is she continuing to improve?
A. Noyd:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Ann Druyan just delivered a deliciously uncivil verbal thrashing to someone on Tumblr for posting racist photos. (Warning: NSFW pics at 2nd link.)
In related news, up till last week I didn’t realize how it much of a “thing” it has become for hipsters to dress up in warpaint and NA adornments and take nude or semi-nude photos of themselves.
ibyea:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
“Could be” dangerous? That gay conversion therapy IS dangerous.
ibyea:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:53 pm
@Beatrice
Lrnu, gung erfbyhgvba gb Gur Cbjre bs Guerr vf yvxr purrfr. Zber ubyrf guna lbh pna pbhag. Ohg V fgvyy ybirq gur erfg bs gur rcvfbqr.
cicely:
September 30th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
*sniffle!*
-
Yes. Yes, you should.
*raucously blowing nose*
-
ibyea:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Amy and Rory… WHHYYYY!!!
trinioler:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
God. So sad. Well-done too.
But I think that episode was basically… a Nicholas Sparks movie set in the Who-verse.
Same chords, same sort of voice-over by the dead woman, hoping to offer some succour to the heart-broken man. Very maltzy, but damn.
Its used because it works.
Damn, damn, damn, damn!
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
September 30th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Hello, everyone!
Mostly [Lounge]rupt (I see a Doctor Who discussion going on, though!), but I thought that I’d inform you all that today is the beginning of my 36th week of pregnancy. In other words, DarkFetus will become DarkInfant in a month (or less).
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I’m so impatient and so excited!
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Audley – Yay!!!! Can practically count days instead of weeks now, huh? I’m excited for you.
chigau (違わない):
September 30th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Audley
Now, now, dear.
It won’t do to get so excited, in your delicate condition.
(eeeeeeeee!!!!)
ibyea:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
@Audley
Good luck!
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
September 30th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Thanks, Portia! I am actually counting the days… it’s like I’m a five year old waiting for Christmas.
I want a DarkFetus advent calendar.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
September 30th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Thanks chigau and ibyea!!
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Bah. The DF is almost here and the blanket I’m making is 2 inches wide.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
September 30th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Esteleth,
Scarf? ;)
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
Not long enough. I’ll keep working, though.
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 8:54 pm
I just put my two year old niece to bed. I sang until I was just about hoarse but I’m so happy : )
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:01 pm
The Redhead is still here, in good health. We had to wait to have a dental procedure done until she was off Warfarin, which stopped a month ago. The crown goes on tomorrow.
She still does some exercises from her wheelchair daily, but has slacked off on walking. The problem there is that she keeps trying to make me responsible for her walks, and I won’t allow that. She is responsible for getting herself ready, and I will assist as needed. As I proved last night, when I took her rest periods to burn 3 DVD’s, set out both our medicines for the next week, looked for foodstuff in the basement, started dinner, and looked up stuff on the computer while she took her rest breaks between short walks in the house. Not sure the lesson sunk in: she walks when ready, and I work around it during her rest breaks. I just can’t set aside a big chunk of time solely for her; multitasking is required.
ImaginesABeach:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
I keep looking at Rattitude and thinking how lucky Caine is that rats do not have opposable thumbs.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
We’re all lucky rats don’t have opposable thumbs. Otherwise, rats would rule the world! Haven’t you seen Pinky and The Brain?
:D
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 30th, 2012 at 9:50 pm
ImaginesABeach:
The lack does not slow them down any. If they did have thumbs, we’d have to cede the planet to them.
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Oh, JAL, when I get the sleep pillows sent off to you, I’ll include the atc of Chas II for Little One.
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:18 pm
Socio-gen @81:
I’ve never owned a gun. Heck, I’ve never held one (I am mildly curious. One day I wouldn’t mind trying out a firing range). Without sufficient training, I can’t imagine I would be able to wield a gun effectively. A baseball bat though? Hells yes.
That does make me wonder how many gun owners are properly trained in their use.
Have you found yourself wanting-consciously or subconsciously-to associate less with certain friends? After M died, I avoided a lot of contact with people for some time. At the same time as I withdrew socially, I became more attracted to the Atheist/Skeptic movement, as well as the concept of Freethought. Given my views on theism (I consider myself an anti-theist), knowing the views of some of my friends (believers of course), and knowing that I do want to talk about important issues amongst my friends, I can think of a few that I’ve pulled away from. In part that was due to conflicting beliefs and knowing how offended some of them would be knowing how I feel. Another part is/was a lack of knowledge on my part. I wouldn’t want to enter a friendly discussion or an argument with a friend, and not know my shit (or how to convey it properly).
****
RevBDC @90:
from your link:
I only have a few things the author needs to substantiate before I can read any further. Just this nagging question I have about this soul thingamabob and how one can know its reactions or how it can be healed.
Nothing big.
****
Where’s Ms. Daisy been lately? I know I’ve been quiet, but I’ve been trying to keep up with the Lounge (even started to check out the Thunderdome from time to time) and haven’t seen her lately.
****
Portia @128:
Secret Identities are so passe dahling. Really, look at Xena or Buffy (really, what kinda cockamamie {spelled that right on the first try-wow!} secret id does Buffy have when she’s showing her powers all over Sunndyale?).
How does
Portia, Warrior Princess
or
Portia the Vampire Slayer
or
Portia, Rhetorical Flayer of the Apologists (you even get a nifty P:RFA out of this one)
****
Facebook has emoticons for comments now?
Where’s the facepalm?
Markita Lynda—damn climate change!:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Nutmeg #311 last thread:
As the homophobic husband, if he remembers it, how well “The Odd Couple” reflects his experience of male roommates.
Portia:
September 30th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
I am persuaded, Tony. I don’t feel quite like I’ve earned that last one, but it’s my favorite! Maybe I’ll try harder to live up to it :) I do much better flaying in person than online. Which is counter to my aversion to confrontation, oddly. But you’re so right, a public persona is much better. I’ve been working on my self-marketing skills this week…
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:10 pm
Pteryxx @173:
Wow.
I’m speechless.
In a good way.
Thank you for sharing that story.
You ended that blockquote so diabolically. I just *had* to know what followed!
wow, and I’m caught up!
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
September 30th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Huh.
Niiiiiiice.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 4:06 am
So… I’ve seen the last Doctor episode. I’ve cried like a baby.
That part when they’re there and he wants to and then she too and then they both… cried my eyes out. And then again.
Now that it’s done, I don’t understand a couple of things.
(rot13)
Nyy gubfr natryf va Znaunggna tbg qrfgeblrq ol gur cnenqbk. Orpnhfr bs gur fnzr cnenqbk, Qbpgbe pna’g whfg cvpx hc Ebel naq Nzl. OHG ner Nzl naq Ebel rira gurer? Gur natryf tbg qrfgeblrq. N fheivibe tbg Ebel va gur raq, ohg rira vs vg frag uvz onpx gb gung cynpr… Gurer ner ab natryf gurer, rkprcg znlor n pbhcyr bs fheivibef. Fb Ebel naq Nzl ner serr gb yrnir. Yvxr, tb ba n fubeg gevc gb Ratynaq naq trg cvpxrq hc ol Qbpgbe gurer. Gurl boivbhfyl pna pbagnpg Zrybql, be engure fur pna pbagnpg gurz, fvapr Nzl trgf ure obbx choyvfurq.
Naq orfvqrf, Qbpgbe pna’g trg gb 1938 Znaunggna. Jung nobhg 1942, 3, 54… juvpurire?
Naq guvf jubyr “bapr lbh’ir frra lbhe shgher, lbh pna’g punatr vg” guvat. Vf guvf arj be unir V fbzrubj znantrq gb jngpu rirel Qbpgbe rcvfbqr fvapr ahzore 9 naq abg abgvpr gung (be sbetrg vg)?
birgerjohansson:
October 1st, 2012 at 4:23 am
Would it be possible to insert the genes for this stuff during IVF? If you had a car accident and the spleen got trashed, you could just grow a new one.
“Biologist discovers mammal with salamander-like regenerative abilities”: African spiny mouse http://phys.org/news/2012-09-biologist-mammal-salamander-like-regenerative-abilities.html
And some brain molecules are more susceptible to Alzheimers (turning into tangles). Let’s change those too.
And some birds have protection against cancer (except virsu-induced cancers). Let’s get those genes too.
— — — — —
“Jefferson the cruel slave owner” does not have a very nice ring to it. No wonder the stuff has been swept under the carpet.
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 1st, 2012 at 5:12 am
Eric Grenier* tells off the BC media for irresponsibly reporting polling data.
* – Canadian Nate Silver.
Moreso posting this so you all can read the comments and see the local conservative talking points. My favourite post is the one by Ryan:
Gotta love Othering. The rest of the post is just more uncited claims.
Or the one by Derek Andrew right below, trying to sound ‘reasonable’ until…
Red-baiting ahoy!
(And this is what passes for political discourse in my province…)
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:22 am
I dreamt last night that my boss and I want to the shooting range. I missed.
I also dreamt about the nameless girl. Not good. I’d rather dream about my boss.
Or more.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
That’s fantastic.
Now that would be cool.
Under each door? All the various indelicate things that happen to a woman’s body while she is carrying the parasite.
Sounds as if you are both learning whole new relationship patterns. I hope things work in every way.
Pteryxx:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:12 am
Via Deacon Duncan, a new study showing bias among scientists when identical resumes have male or female names:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/alethianworldview/2012/10/01/new-study-shows-measurable-bias-against-women-in-science
Original article in Inside Higher Ed, citing PNAS:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/21/study-offers-new-evidence-scientists-are-biased-against-women
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 7:25 am
Tony:
I don’t know why Daisy hasn’t been around FtB lately, but I have been getting emails from her pretty regularly, so she’s okay and everything. Would you like me to pass your email address on to her? (If so, shoot me an email– my addy can be found on my blog.)
Oggie:
Hee hee hee. Despite the fact that my husband and I were both late in our arrivals, the DF won’t be. Because she is breech and my docs are having a hell of a time turning her, I’m scheduled for a c-section on October 24*. Now, if she does flip before then, we’re gonna cancel the surgery and I’ll pop her out the ol’ fashioned way, but the longer she stays in this position, the less likely that’s going to be.
*I had debated whether or not to say anything about the ‘section in the [Lounge] since I am so sick and tired of arguing about my birth choices with people. But, whatever, this is more of a “just in case” measure and if anyone wants to criticize me or my docs, they are welcome to do so. I feel like I’m doing the right thing and that’s all that matters.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:41 am
Ms. Daisy Cutter commented on B&W yesterday.
—
Audley,
Exactly.
—
So sleepy.
Not really tired (I have nothing to be tired from), just sleepy.
trinioler:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:57 am
Beatrice:
rot13:
Gur Qbpgbe jnf shyy bs uhoevf bapr va gur arj trarengvba(Granag’f Qbpgbe) nobhg gur ehyrf bs gvzr. Ur orpnzr znavnpny, naq orag ernyvgl gb uvf qrfverf. Ur’q nyfb orra geniryyvat nybar, naq jnf pybfr gb uvf ertrarengvba gvzr. (Jngref bs Znef) Cneg bs gur vffhr vf gung ur jnagrq gb svtug gur qrngu cebcurpl gur Bbq unq znqr(ur xabpxf gjvpr) sbe uvf qrngu. Fb ur gubhtug vs ur pbhyq fnir Pncgnva Nqrynvqr ng yrnfg, gura gung zrnag ur pbhyq fnir uvzfrys. Ur’q nyernql frra gurve shgher. Ur xarj ubj vzcbegnag vg jnf.
Fb vg jnf cneg frysvfuarff, cneg qrfcrengvba, naq cneg rtb.
Ur’f yrnearq sebz gung nsgre gur zbeny qehoovat Pncgnva Nqrynvqr tnir uvz. “Jung tvirf lbh gur *evtug*?” juvpu chyyrq uvz hc fubeg.
Ur nyernql xarj gung gur ynjf bs gvzr jrer gung bapr lbh xabj lbhe shgher, vgf vzzhgnoyr. Ur gevrq gb punatr gurz, naq snvyrq.
Gur arj Qbpgbe, Zngg Fzvgu, unf orra irel vafvfgrag ba rafhevat nyy shgher xabjyrqtr vf npgrq ba. Gur Gvzr & Fcnpr fubeg fcrpvnyf, sbe rknzcyr.
Gur ceboyrz V guvax urer vf gung gur Qbpgbe gnxrf guvf xabjyrqtr sne gbb yvgrenyyl. Ur qbrfa’g frr ybbcubyrf jura ur abeznyyl jbhyq orpnhfr ur vf whfg *fb* greevsvrq bs zrffvat guvatf hc.
Fb ur’f frra gung gurl qvr va gur cnfg. Ur pna’g punatr gung. Be ng yrnfg ur *guvaxf* ur pna’g punatr gung. Nf bguref unir cbvagrq bhg, gurer ner boivbhf ybbcubyrf urer.
trinioler:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:00 am
More for Beatrice:
Gur bgure snpgbe vf gung gur Gvzr Ybeqf jrer hfvat rkgerzryl qnatrebhf gvzr jrncbaf qhevat gur Ynfg Gvzr Jne. Gurl jrer hfvat cnenqbk obzof naq fghss, naq gb fnir gur gvzrfgernz, ur unq gb ybpx obgu gur Qnyrxf naq gur Gvzr Ybeqf njnl.
Ur’f unq gb pbzzvg gur terngrfg pevzr naq terngrfg npg bs fnivat gur havirefr va bar oybj, gb fnir gur gvzr fgernz. Fb uvf eryngvbafuvc jvgu gvzr, cnenqbkrf, rgp, vf rkgerzryl pbzcyvpngrq.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 1st, 2012 at 9:28 am
The Small Fry was breech but we didn’t know it until after Mrs. Fishy’s waters broke. No chance of turning and after 24 hours labour wasn’t progressing so a c-section was the order of the day. I posted on-line to family and friends that if anyone dared to question our decision I would get them down and put the boots to them. Threats of violence are not cool, I knew that as I wrote it, but I couldn’t think of any other way express just how serious I was about not wanting to be second guessed. It worked, not a peep was heard. Well, not by me anyway. The privilege of being male and having a countenance that folks take seriously I suspect. I’ve never asked if Mrs. Fishy copped any flak over it. And given how upset she still is over the unexpected change in our birth plan I won’t be asking her anytime soon.
All that aside, I’d like to think that by this point anyone wandering into the lounge would understand that it’s your body and your choice.
On a happier note, I now have video of the Small Fry feeding grain to emus and ostriches. At one point I had her on my shoulders holding the bucket of grain and ostriches had no problem at all eating out of it. Awesome.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:30 am
*whine* I think I have pneumonia *whine*
What started as a cold has now moved down into my lungs, and so I’m hacking and coughing (productively, but it is clear), breathing is labored and semi-painful, and I’ve got a low-grade fever.
*pout*
Of course, if I’m right that this started as a cold, then it is probably viral. So no Z-pack for me.
*keeps pouting*
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 9:37 am
Thanks, FossilFishy. :)
I expect most of the [Lounge]rs to be cool with everything, but you never know. I’ve been criticized by friends that I never expected would second guess me. As it is, I haven’t even posted about this on facebook ‘cos I just don’t want to hear it.
(As it is, my Asshole Sister did take the opportunity to tell me that the breech presentation is my fault, my doc’s fault, the hospital’s fault (which I really don’t understand, since my doc has a private practice with admitting privileges to one of the hospitals in the area and I’ve only been to that hospital for blood work so far) and that I shouldn’t have scheduled the surgery in the first place.)
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:39 am
Audley
Hey, that’s two days late.
When I took my classes with #1 one the midwives also told us about their birth experiences. One of them was “He was breech, we had a c-section.” Greatly reassured me in those people.
+++
Squirrels are cute
+++
Esteleth
Get well soon
*pours tea with honey*
dianne:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:45 am
Esteleth, there is a possibility of a bacterial superinfection on top of a cold. Get it checked out, especially if you’re feeling short of breath.
Improbable Joe:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:50 am
Esteleth,
I’d get that looked at. Who knows what’s brewing in your lungs? Whatever it is, the sooner you start fighting it the quicker it will get beat.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:51 am
I have a doctor’s appointment in 3 hours. I’m going.
I’ve had pneumonia enough to recognize the symptoms.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 1st, 2012 at 9:56 am
Audley, the title Asshole is not sufficient for anyone who would say things like that to you. She’s your sister, you have titling rights, so I’ll keep my ideas for a better appellation to myself.
I wanted to mention how smart I think it is that you’ve been learning infant care now. If there was one thing I wish I’d done differently it would be to have stopped reading birthing books and started reading caring for an infant books much sooner before the due date. The learning curve was so steep in those first few weeks that all I could see was a vertical wall with the faint hint of vultures at the top.
My standout memory of one of those “Holy shit, I have no idea what I’m doing!” moments involved a yoga ball. In the early days Mrs. Fishy handled input and I for the most part handled output. So late night nappy changes were daddy/daughter affairs. Unfortunately, opening the velcro on the nappies was like ripping her skin off, or so you would believe by her cries. I kept a pair of ear plugs on the change table because her screams hit right in the frequencies where I have hearing damage, it hurt! Anyway, I wanted to calm the beast before taking her back to bed so I would rock her and walk around. This took a long time. Then I got the good idea to sit on the yoga ball and bounce a bit. It worked!
Unfortunately, the next time it didn’t work until I bounced a little higher, and the next, and the next. That escalation led me to be almost launching myself off the ball by the time I stopped using that technique. There I was, boing, boing, boing, thinking “Come on, quiet down, you like this.” and suddenly I realised that one slip and I was going launch the hub across the room. Oi.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 1st, 2012 at 9:58 am
Er, launch the bub that is. Though as a bike sorta person I did have hubs around too though they required a lot less attention.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:00 am
Esteleth, I hope you get well soon.
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:01 am
What a weekend. At some point, when I get time, I’ll share the drama but suffice to say, I may never ride the bus on Saturday again.
—
Audley:
*happy clapping* Not long now!
—
Tony:
Even with sufficient training, very few people can aim well enough to hit the broadside of a barn in an emotionally-charged situation.
I can shoot a variety of weapons and even spent some time on the range with my brother and sister-in-law this summer. But, in the heat of the moment, I doubt I’d have time to aim well enough to stop someone, and the risk of having a weapon taken from me is high.
I also know myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t be able to kill another person or live with myself if I did, except in the most extreme circumstances (to save a loved one, etc.)
I withdraw from people quite easily. Part of that is that I have a fear of rejection, so if I feel (or know) I can’t talk freely about certain things with someone, I’d rather just avoid them or keep them to acquaintance range. The other part is that, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve simply gotten tired of always being in the position of either having to agree to keep the peace or constantly defending myself when I’m not sure I know enough to do that well. Moving to Minnesota has been so good for me because there are far fewer people with whom I need to be silent and a lot more with whom I can discuss things without it turning into an argument that I’m not prepared for.
People with whom I have to interact because of an interest or particular cause we share that really matters to me are more difficult. Even though most know I’m an atheist and seem okay with that, I find myself limiting my conversation to the program and general topics (family, weather, etc.). In some cases, it’s less of a problem, like the women’s leadership development program I work with and love promoting and being part of. The coordinator is also an atheist, so the program itself and the planning meetings are decidedly secular.
—
Audley, again:
Absolutely!
—
Esteleth:
Feel better soon! *chicken soup and tea*
dianne:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:02 am
I had a c-section because the little one’s head was deflexed and so the labor was non-functional (apparently if the head’s not right, the cervix won’t dilate properly…I think.) Also, the c-section went from “now would be good, but let’s not hurry in the prep” to “right now, never mind the anesthesia” about the time I spiked a fever to 104 or 105. No, that’s not compatible with life if sustained more than transiently, in case you’re wondering. Having surgery with active proprioception is strange. Pain, fortunately, was well blocked either by pre-existing analgesics and the lidocaine that managed to squeeze in just pre-op (a good epidural is a thing of beauty) or possibly because I’d exhausted all available substance P earlier in labor and so my pain nerves had given up in disgust.
Anyway, when people criticize me for having a c-section, I mostly just apologize for wanting to live and have a living child. That usually ends the discussion.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:16 am
Fossil Fishy:
I won’t use a stronger label for my Asshole Sister because there’s genuinely something bothering her about her own pregnancy– she has some irrational fears that are manifesting in strange ways. So, in some ways I feel bad for her, but I’m also pretty pissed at her at the same time. Kind of an awkward position to be in. Needless to say, I don’t need her crap and tend to avoid her whenever possible*.
Did you know that all of my problems could have beeen solved by a visit to a chiropractor? Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaah…
*I told her about scheduling the c-section because I felt it would be best to tell her on my own terms and get it over and done with as opposeed to waiting for her to find out from a third party and dealing with her shit then.
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:16 am
I know we’ve discussed this before but what is it about pregnancy and child-birth that makes everyone an expert?
Richard Austin:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:21 am
So, friend of mine is trying to get his US passport renewed. IT expired a while ago.
Normally, you mail it in with some money and a form and get a new one in like 12 weeks. Simple. He did that, and got back a notice asking for additional information. He sent that in, and got another. And another.
At this point, he’s written his congressional representative and been told that he needs to supply medical, education, and religious (?) records. He’s now convinced The Government is trying to get his personal data to spy on him.
He’s also at least slightly convinced that part of the problem is that he listed me as his “emergency contact” (he was my roommate when he filled out the form at the beginning of the year, and I’m probably the most “stable” person he knows – along more than one axis). See, back in high school, I applied for the Coast Guard Academy and was turned down for medical reasons (yes, I failed a DODMERB; go me). Shortly after, I got seriously recruited by the CIA (mom was an IRS worker at the time, step-dad is ex-career military) for about 4 months, but I ended up turning them down (mostly because of college issues). He knew about this (we were friends at the time) and has always “joked” that I never really turned them down and am actually some kind of CIA hacker/spy. Apparently, he wasn’t entirely joking.
The flipside (which is totally incongruous with me being a government agent) is that he’s convinced The Government (I swear, you can hear the caps when he talks) is going to lock me in a room and interrogate me about his passport application.
He’s also a libertarian.
Yes, I’m glad he’s currently 1000 miles away and can only bug me by phone. *sigh*
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:22 am
Audley
I’m glad for you that you have a plan you are comfortable with. And I’m glad you got the sister-telling out of the way. It’s much harder for those kinds of jerks to give you guilt or talk about it nastily if you just get it out unapologetically.
Socio-gen
I do the same thing, I just withdraw from people pretty quickly if I feel ill at ease with them. I have recently acquired a knack for limiting topics with certain people, too. It makes life so much easier when they are people I have to deal with. If I can self-police, it also helps me feel more in control and secure. Huh…I just realized why people say I’m guarded.
chigau
Becuz wimmin can’t possible know what best for themselves! Even other women know better than that particular woman because, well, just because and if you reject The Behbeh Wisdom™ then you are just ROOD.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:27 am
I have not said a word about child birth because I know so little about it. Just watching my mother’s experience when I was growing up showed me that I cannot predict what will happen. She had one birth that went so “smoothly” (Calling a human birth “smooth”, snort.) that she delivered in the car on the way to the hospital while her last pregnancy damned near killed her and left her in the hospital for nearly three months.
I know just enough to know that I know shit. I will not add to the confusion by adding an ill formed opinion.
Please, not everybody is an expert.
Richard Austin:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:27 am
I think there are so many “experts” on childbirth because it’s so terrifying for a lot of people. To compensate, there’s all this woo that has been built up and passed down from generation to generation, so people have their own family/culture/community version of “the really real best way” and try to pass it on.
dianne:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:31 am
what is it about pregnancy and child-birth that makes everyone an expert?
Probably the same thing that makes everyone an expert on how to raise children, whether you should breast feed or not, whether you should go back to work or not-all without knowing much about your specific situation. In short, it affects women and women aren’t allowed private lives or to make their own decisions.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:32 am
Fair enough Auldey. I’d say that all of my interactions with my family are fraught with those sorts of contradictory emotions. Mind you, I’m not close with them.
Had a nice moment today, I told my grandmother-in-law that I thought chiropractic was bullshit and she agreed. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, I get along much better with family by marriage than I do with genetic relatives.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:45 am
Richard:
It’s not just the family woo, but there’s a ton of disinformation about pregnancy and childbirth right at our fingertips. Which is why they only advice I’d give to another pregnant woman is to stay the hell away from the internet and don’t be afraid to bug your doctors with every little question you have. That’s why you’re paying them, afterall.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:25 am
Audley:
I will never second guess the decisions made between doctor and patient (unless I am the patient). Having seen one difficult delivery (Wife was in labour for 62 hours before Boy finally showed up) and one ‘easy’ one (contractions started at midnight, water broke at 6:00am, Girl was born at 9:00 (and yes, it really was easy (for me, anyway (then again, I wasn’t the one passing an 8-pounder through a rather small orifice)))), I realize that, with all the variables, things can go wahooney-shaped real easily. Good luck with the C-section (if it remains needed, that it). But I do hope that the DarkFoetus realizes that arse over teakettle is the right way to be (in this case, anyway).
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:28 am
And just dealt with two Mormon missionaries. I told them, “No, thank you. I do not wish to discuss your religion. I am feeling really rational today and don’t want to fuck it up.” They looked confused, said thank you, offered me a copy of “The Book of Mormon” (I declined, saying I already have one), and left.
A. Noyd:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:40 am
Azkyroth (#217)
Yeah, there’s sexism there, but it’s also true that warbonnets are a guy-only thing in the Plains cultures they originate from. A cultural practice being sexist makes it fair game for criticism, not appropriation. Subversion should be conscious, not accidental, and the right to subversion belongs foremost to the people whose culture is being subverted. Also, hipsters tend to defend this shit by saying they’re “appreciating” the cultures they’re plundering—something clearly false if what they’re doing is offensive to people of that culture, no matter the reason behind the offense.
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:18 pm
A Moment of Mormon Madness aimed at missionaries. I don’t know if this is church-wide, but it certainly is widespread enough to ping the Cult! radar.
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,656965
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:30 pm
More on the seemingly insane Lyme Disease political flyer sent out by the Romney campaign:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/01/14170018-about-that-lyme-disease-mailing
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/09/29/930901/mitt-romneys-lyme-disease-mailers-dangerous/
Pteryxx:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Not good news, but important to know… more on the ascent of Greece’s Golden Dawn.
http://boingboing.net/2012/10/01/the-golden-dawn.html
Richard Austin:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:31 pm
So, here’s a question (and a bit of an intro):
At a bar on Saturday, a couple of friends got into a discussion on food and variety of cuisine. One is from rural Texas and, until a couple of years ago when he moved to California, had never had anything other than basic Italian, Mexican, Tex/Mex, and more “traditional” American stuff; he’s never eaten Indian, Thai, French, German, or any other kind of foods. Other grew up in NYC and went so far as to state it was a moral failing to eat the same cuisine (not just meal but cuisine – say, going out for Chinese) two nights in a row (exceptions were generously granted for leftovers).
Obviously there’s a huge amount of privilege in NYC-guy’s statement, but what he “defended” with was, “Don’t you think that it is important to be exposed to a wide variety of foods from different cultures?”
And I had to stop and think.
I’d probably say that variety itself isn’t an end but a means to an end: ensuring one can meet dietary requirements in a manner that is enjoyable. If one can do that without ever venturing beyond a single cuisine, I don’t see that as a problem. This was Texas-guy’s position: he liked what he liked, he was healthy, and he didn’t feel much interest in trying other foods.
NYC-guy was adamant, though, that this was a travesty, so I’m curious what others think.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Oggie:
Thanks for being supportive. :)
That’s the thing that gets me– besides reproductive health (everything from birth control and abortion to whether or not to have a c-section or vaginal birth), what other time do you get criticized for your medical choices? I mean for fuck’s sake, my granddad chose not to treat his prostrate cancer and no one even batted an eye at that, but I schedule a routine surgery and all of a sudden I’m wrong and my docs have pushed me into making a decision that’s bad for me and DarkFetus. *eyeroll*
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:36 pm
More on the Republican voter fraud scandal:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/01/14170881-rnc-voter-registration-efforts-halted-after-scandal
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-republicans-voter-fraud-florida-20120927,0,5472858.story
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Awkward. Romney invested in several Chinese firms that have been shown to be connected to or engaging in criminal activity.
Pteryxx:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:45 pm
For what it’s worth, while I wouldn’t get all moral-travesty about it, I do think it’s important to be exposed to other cultures’ foods, because food is so wrapped up in tradition, identity, and othering those scary others who eat weird gross things. I wonder whether your friend from Texas (who’s tried Italian and Mexican) has ever tried, say, pig’s feet or collard greens. Much closer to home. ;>
AJ Milne:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:48 pm
(Blinks…)
Y’know, with everything else going on in the world, I’m just relieved to see this one in here…
… seriously, it’s like showing up for a ‘Meet the Candidate’ thing, and instead of the first question being about where you stand on abortion or some damned thing, you get ‘Toilet paper… hang w/ opening in or out‘…
But actually kind of seriously:
I think, umm, yeah, with reference to your privilege observation, obviously, yeah, that is just a mite privileged. As: if you have the option for that kind of rage, you’re actually incredibly lucky. Bear that in mind. Forgive the ‘there are people starving in Africa’ trope, but, umm, there are people starving in Africa. And in the place I grew up, I don’t think there’s even a Tex Mex place, yet. There’s intermittently a Chinese place a few towns over… Has a way of going in and out of business. So if you live somewhere like that, I don’t think anyone’s got any business saying ‘Why haven’t you tried X?’ Howinhell are you going to try X if there just isn’t any for like a thousand kilometers? Same deal if you’re struggling to get by, and your only real option for such explorations is a restaurant. Any variety in food for some folk is a bit of a luxury. Commanding them as a moral imperative ‘thou shouldst try some Thai’ is probably just going to come across as a cruel joke. Like, sure, pal. And as long as we’re living in your fantasy world, I’ll take that two million dollar bottle of cognac to go with that…
… that said, if you have the option to explore other cultures, and you don’t, I’m likely to wonder if you’re not at least curious, and sure, that seems a little blinkered.
And that doesn’t stop at food. Art, religions, history, language, music of other cultures, there’s such variety. It’s a wide world, and the scary thing is, with modern communications and transportations, yes, you can get to the stuff you couldn’t before more easily, but that stuff is also getting ironed out and homogenized fast. So if you have time and the opportunity and money there’s an Ethiopian cuisine place in town and you’ve never been, seriously, yeah, why haven’t you? It is a bit of a travesty.
(/Full disclosure: I’ve never been to a live opera, and they have those here. I hereby declare myself hypocritical, and guilty.)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Richard:
I’m with Texas guy and I think that NYC guy sounds like a bit of an ass. I love trying all sorts of cuisine, but people should eat what they like and have the education to make healthy decisions for themselves.
For instance, one of my SiLs grew up in the suburbs of a major city. However, she was not exposed to a lot of variety and to this day, if it’s not Italian or American fare, she’s just not interested*. But who cares? She’s happy and healthy and the rest of the family is fine with eating Italian when we eat out.
*What does shock me (although I don’t think it’s a moral failing) is that she travels quite a bit now, but still won’t try the food. For instance, she went to Jamaica a couple of years back, but never left the all-inclusive hotel. If I were spending the money to travel but didn’t want to try the food, I’d travel around the US. *shrugs*
AJ Milne:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:50 pm
… umm, ‘that kind of range‘…
(/But I am in a rage to hear there exist people who haven’t tried Thai, absolutely. Mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!)
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Ex-mormons discuss Romney’s odd gait, body language, and other mannerisms:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,657037
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:52 pm
This is pretty insulting. I mean, “a moral failing”? This guy seems to have more privilege than he knows what to do with.
His “defense” would make sense if he were generally interested in other cultures (is he?). This way, he just sounds like one of those people who think eating in a Vietnamese restaurant makes them an expert on the culture.
It’s probably one of those things that can serve a good purpose of making someone more acquainted with other cultures, but it’s hardly the only or the best way. It’s barely a beginning. A one single little thing that is a part of experiencing other cultures. It’s certainly a perk of getting to know a different culture, at least if one is interested in trying new things.
While getting to know other cultures is a good thing, especially for people who live in places with a lot of cultures getting mixed, I wouldn’t put it in absolute terms like your NYC guy.
Variety is nice. Great. I like exploring when I cook. But that is solely a personal preference.
cicely:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Re Amy and Rory: (rot13)
Fb…vs Ebel snyyvat gb uvf qrngu vafgrnq bs qlvat nybar jnf na natry-qrfgeblvat cnenqbk, va jung jnl vf Nzl wbvavat uvz, fb ur qbrf abg qvr nybar, abg n cnenqbk?
Hayrff jr’er gnyxvat nobhg fvmrf naq qrterrf bs cnenqbk, naq gung guvf bar jnf ovt rabhtu gb nyybj bar natry gb fheivir naq fraq gurz onpx…ohg abg ovt rabhtu gb artngr gur jubyr guvat? Frrzf gb zr gung vg ovgrf vgf bja onpx….
-
*chicken soup* for Esteleth. And *hugs*, of course.
-
ImaginesABeach:
October 1st, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Richard – I live in the suburbs of St. Paul, Minnesota. And I’m solidly middle class. There are lots of restaurants around with cuisine from all over the world and I could certainly afford to dine out more than I do. That being said, my children have limited exposure to world cuisines because 1) I cook dinner 6 or 7 times each week because it’s cheaper, 2) if we piled into the car and drove to a restaurant, ordered dinner and dined out on an evening when I’ve worked, we wouldn’t be home until 7:30 which is cutting it close for homework and such, and 3) I have issues (texture, taste, etc) that make it really hard for me to try new foods. I’m pretty sure that I have failed as a parent in many ways, but I just don’t think this is one of those ways.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Audley,
I find that baffling too.
When I traveled to Florence, we mostly ate yogurts or cold salads from a supermarket and a sandwich occasionally (those were the best mozzarella &tomato sandwiches I ever had so I count them as trying Italian food). We were saving money.
But three times we had a proper lunch at a proper Italian restaurant (and I absolutely refused to order pizza). We tried some great stuff, had some Chianti and enjoyed delicious Italian cuisine.
That was one of the most important parts of the trip for me. I mean, if I had more money, I would have eaten in restaurants every day, trying all kinds of new things.
No matter how important seeing things is on a trip, tasting is right up there too.
Richard Austin:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:21 pm
I’m one of those people for whom food isn’t really important. I almost never get cravings for things, and I’m very unadventurous with meals if left to my own devices (though I’m being forced to try new things thanks to my CSA – that was most of the point in starting it). So, I wasn’t sure if my position was at all based in subconscious bias to that fact; y’all have reassured me that I’m not totally off-base.
And yes, NYC-guy does act like an ass about many things. I’m starting to get him to realize that his life, while it had it’s had its downsides, has been extremely privileged.
Anyway, thanks. And, any recipes you have for Thai kermit eggplants (which I got this week – took me a couple days to figure out what they were) would be appreciated :) Looks like it’s mostly curry, which I have yet to figure out.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Beatrice:
My SiL doesn’t necessarily see the sights, either, though. Like I said, she went to Jamaica and never left the hotel. She recently took a cruise that had several ports of call in Mexico and she hated it every time she left the ship* (and flat out refused to eat any of the food, even churros (which are one of my favorite things ever)). She also went to Paris recently and, although I don’t think she tried the more “exotic” (to an American palate) food, she did see the city.
Like I said, I don’t think that it’s a moral failing, I just think it’s weird to travel somewhere and not explore, you know?
*There were street vendors trying to sell their wares, OMG.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Oooh, pretty.
Sadly, this is the first time I hear of them, so I don’t know any recipes.
For eggplants generally, I like to fry them in batter.
There’s also Moroccan eggplant salad (there’s a version with and one without tomatoes). But again, I have no idea how it would taste with Thai kermit eggplants, just the regular purple kind.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Audley,
I don’t know how I missed that she never left the hotel! I somehow read it as never eaten out because of all-inclusive.
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:47 pm
I wouldn’t call it a moral failing, but certainly a waste of money.
And very very strange.
We walked for hours to see things around the city. And we weren’t very close to the city center so there was quite a walk just to get to the center. It was tiring* (August in Florence is hot as hell), but very rewarding.
*When I say tiring, I’m not joking. I lost 2kg in those 10 days from all the walking in the heat, and eating less thanks to the heat and liters of water I consumed.
carlie:
October 1st, 2012 at 1:48 pm
So is the blanket I’m making for my niece, who was born in July. oops.
Esteleth, I hope you’re ok.
Audley – honestly, it doesn’t matter how the baby arrives. Anyone who says differently is either trying to be defensive about their own choices, or just wants to assert superiority.
<blockquote? “Don’t you think that it is important to be exposed to a wide variety of foods from different cultures?”
I think it’s important to be exposed to a wide variety of cultures. How you decide to do that, though, is your own decision. In fact, you could come back at him with something about how trying different cuisines isn’t learning about other cultures so much as exploiting them simply to satisfy your own selfish hunger. After all, just eating food from a different culture is just a good thing for you – oh, I ate this new yummy food that I enjoyed. Learning about a culture, however, is figuring out another way to understand people’s viewpoints and lifestyles and motivations so that you can treat them better, which is better for everybody.
But I really don’t understand people who travel and then treat the cultures they visit as scary and to be avoided. Why travel, then?
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Beatrice,
I know, weird, right? But, hey, it’s her money.
As an aside, your trip to Italy reminds me of some of my family’s trips when I was growing up. We didn’t go abroad, but we would road trip it everywhere and while we didn’t eat out every day*, my parents did make sure that we got the opportunity to try the local food.
I remember when I was 9 years old or so on vacation, my family stopped at a restaurant in South Dakota that served bison burgers (this was long before bison meat was available in the supermakets in the northeast). I steadfastly refused to try it because we had seen bison earlier in the trip and they were the most awesome animals ever and I thought that my dad was awful for wanting to eat one.
*We had an RV and mom and dad would grill most nights.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 1:57 pm
Come to think of it, I still haven’t tried bison.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:00 pm
The doctor has spoken. It is viral.
*pout*
Beatrice:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:07 pm
I think one of the main reasons I’m trying to be food-adventurous is that my family has always been the exact opposite.
You wouldn’t believe the fairly common kinds of food we never ate because it just wasn’t a custom at our house (which mostly depended on what was customary food to my grandma).
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Esteleth
*hugs*
How do viruses feel about hot rum toddies?
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:08 pm
I am not sure what a hot rum toddy is, but I’m currently giving mine a screwdriver, which is going down smoothly.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Carlie,
Thank you. I feel like it’s a superiorty issue– having a c-section will mean that I’m not really going to go through labor and that I’m not womanly enough or some shit.
To be honest, while I have been criticized*, I’ve been amazed at the amount of support that I’ve gotten from friends and family. For every grumptopus, there’s been two friends supporting me. It’s rather nice. :)
*What the hell, people? She’s breech.
Nick Gotts (formerly KG):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Audley, I’ve been following your posts, although I haven’t commented much – I do hope all goes well.
I’m one more grateful beneficiary of the c-section, without which I’d almost certainly be without both my wife and my son.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Audley, I have eaten bison, beefalo, ostrich, emu, and llama (in addition to the “normal” meats). Bison is delicious. Tastes similar yet indescribably better somehow than beef.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Esteleth:
*long distance hugs!*
I second the hot alcohol suggestion (although for a viral infection, I’d be more likely to go with a traditional (whiskey) hot toddy and/or mulled wine).
ChasCPeterson:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:15 pm
hot toddy:
rum (can sub brandy or whiskey)
lemon juice
honey
boiling water
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Thanks, Nick. It’s heartbreaking to think that the women who are criticizing me* would dare criticize your wife, too.
And thanks, everyone, for letting me vent.
*In my case, it’s all women. Of the men I’ve told, they’ve either had stories about their mothers or partners, or they’ve been curious about the proceduce itself.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I am running low on OJ, so I may switch later to JD and Pepsi.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Chas:
Throw in a couple of cloves, too. Mmmmmmm.
(I am so ready for a drink.)
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I am not a fan of rum. But I may try one of those with whiskey.
kristinc, ~ringy dingy~:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:22 pm
One of my good friends had a birth experience that ended up with an emergency c-section for one reason or another. (A large part of that was probably that her abusive drunk partner at the time was there fucking things up and making a scene.) Anyway, the whole thing was very traumatic for her, and the upshot was that when she was pregnant with her second baby she didn’t even want to think about labor and vaginal birth, it was too triggering and scary for her.
So she found an OB who was completely cool with a planned c-section, and she ended up having a wonderful birth with her new, decent-human-being partner there, no fear for her, and everyone celebrating her new son.
I really think the most important thing is feeling safe, confident and supported in your labor and birth. I’m sure you’re going to have a great birth Audley :) Roll on the DarkInfant!
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Hot rum toddy
add boiling water to rum, honey and lemon.
sip slowly while inhaling the steam.
repeat as needed
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Late!
rum, whiskey, brandy
it’s all good.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 1st, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Yay, thank you kristin!
I think knowing about the problem and being able to plan for it ahead of time is what’s really been helpful to me. Even if I go into labor before the 24th, I know what to expect from my doctors and the medical staff– having to have an emergency c-section would probably be much more difficult for me mentally.
(It also helps that the RN who taught my Lamaze class included a video and a talk about c-sections with all of the live birth stuff, so I could have that discussion with my doctors and not be totally ignorant about the procedure.)
Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottle:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Ing: thx on the 11th hour suggestion. I love me some Patrick Stewart. I’ve ditched cable entirely now, in favor of netflix (and vudu). This popped up on my recommended queue, but I didn’t bookmark it. Will def do so now.
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Mmmm now I want a toddy. But it’s the middle of the day so I’ll settle for this hot tea.
Improbable Joe:
October 1st, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Bison? Bison?
I was in Oklahoma a couple of times in the 90s, and they had free-range bison. Pretty amazing.
cicely:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:30 pm
I’ve eaten swan and peacock, both in SCA contexts. They both struck me as being pretty meh.
-
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Oh, dear, oh dear. Billionaires are pissed off at President Obama.
How did someone that stupid become a billionaire? I suspect inheritance + criminality.
More details here: http://www.salon.com/2012/10/01/the_billionaire_obama_hate_club/
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Why I refuse to vote for Obama
Makes some good points but, sorry, not going to not-vote and sure as hell not going to vote for Mitt.
Lynna, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:43 pm
More lovely, traditional sexual demands from a
conservative,Republican, patriarchal nutbag who is also a Congressman:http://www.salon.com/2012/10/01/weird_news_allen_wests_domineering_sex_letter/
Okay, so sex play and role playing are fine, but what’s up with this “non-negotiable” bit?
Ichthyic:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:46 pm
It only took 3 years… but I finally got my NZ residency approved!
WOOT!
*happy dance*
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:52 pm
If you like whiskey but do not like rum, try some of the longer aged rums. They tend to move in the whiskey flavor profiles because of the barrel aging.
Ron Zacapa XO
El Dorado 15
Zaya Gran Reserva 12
Are all good and fairly easy to find.
But again this is coming from a guy with a blog named Pork n Whiskey so you can guess my usual choice.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Well, you come from a long line of people who successfully reproduced, so you’re clearly an expert on it the same way that coming from a long line of people who breathed makes you an expert on lungs.
I think it’s partly a swing to the other extreme missing the mark as widely again as those OB/Gyns did who considered women a necessary evil in childbirth.
Audley
Having had two spontaneous vaginal births without pain relief I can definetly see the perks of knowing when it’s going to happen and being able to plan ahead.
Actually, with #1 the last two weeks or so (one before and one after my due date) drove me up the wall because I was sick and tired of being pregnant and I didn’t know when anything was going to happen.
re: food
Being able to taste a wide range of foods is a fucking big privilege. It’s a wonderful thing if you have the money and logistics to do so (I think I could spend 4 weeks in Berlin dining out in various Indian and Asian restuarants.) Do so if you can. But stop being an ass to people who don’t have that luck. And eating some Somalian food doesn’t mean you’re able to find it on a map so stop claiming that it actually is something about culture (quite often you won’t learn anything about the culture surrounding that food anyway).
I had the big fortune that my parents were always very enthusiastic about food. When we were on holiday there would be at least one visit to a bar or restaurant to taste some of the local food. The rule was that you don’t have to eat it but you do have to taste it. I usually buy a cook-book wherever I go, even in Scotland.
My husband didn’t have that fortune. Neither could his parents afford to travel nor would they eagerly try something new (lasagne counts as exotic over there), but he kept an open mind about other food. Although I wouldn’t call it a moral failure I would say that he would be close-minded if he didn’t try new food now that he has the possibility. People only going abroad if they know the place serves Schnitzel are not really my kind of people.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:54 pm
He wants a blow up doll, not a wife.
Ichthyic:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:55 pm
How did someone that stupid become a billionaire?
happens all the time.
there were a great many really stupid megamoney types created in the 90s.
The ones I have met with directly made their initial money in real estate speculation (which takes zero brains, but also a very low ethical standard), and then magnified that through the massive bull markets that existed throughout much of that time (again, no brains involved – they paid others with brains to invest for them).
and.. voila! you end up with someone with hundreds of millions of dollars gained over about 15-20 years max, that never actually had to do much work for it, OR have any brains to accomplish this task.
but boy howdy, are they convinced they are the bees knees, and you should be listening to every word that comes out of their mouths.
Ichthyic:
October 1st, 2012 at 3:56 pm
….well, i should say “happened”, since it’s no longer so easy to get seed money in real estate speculation.
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Esteleth
If you don’t feel up to making toddies, there is always my favorite great-aunt’s cure for chest ailments:
Hang out in bed with a hot water bottle or heating pad, three or four good books, and a pot of tea. Every time you cough, take a sip from the whiskey bottle. Nap often. Every time you wake up from a nap, take a sip from the bottle. Find someone to bring you fresh tea and chicken soup every couple of hours. Add a splash of whiskey to the tea.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 1st, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Thanks hotshoe! I got your Pratchett books just now! I’m so excited.
dianne:
October 1st, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Re food: Trying food from different cultures is fun if you have time, interest, and access. For example, I discovered only in adulthood that I like Ethiopian and Indian food. But a moral failing? All I can say is, “Shut up, NYC dude, you’re embarrassing us.”
opposablethumbs:
October 1st, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Wow, FossilFishy, that is seriously awesome!
Audley, glad you’re set to ignore the griping of busybodies (and internet experts ;-D) and plan your plans to suit what you need. Especially glad that you have good support that you’re happy with, that matters more than a million armchair “experts” no matter how well-meaning some may be.
Esteleth, :(((( and take care. Clearly I’ll have to think more powerful chicken-soup thoughts in a westerly direction. Hope you are OK soon.
Ichthyic, congrats! That’s wonderful!
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 5:49 pm
I freely admit that one of many reasons that I wear cowboy hats is that a ten-gallon hat often creates comments and opportunities to meet people. Usually they are friendly and fun. Sometimes?
(WARNING: SEVERE NARCISSISTIC TL;DR AHEAD)
A few years ago:
While walking from the deli to the bakery, I noticed that I was being watched. A little girl was staring at me. Cute as a button: blond hair in braids over the top of her head, pink cheeks, Little House on the Prairie dress. Basically, a pre-pubescent prairie muffin. I caught myself stereotyping her and her father as right wing religious types. Bad (((Billy))).
She continued to stare at me as long as I was in view. I checked the sushi, but no veggie rolls for (((Girl))), so then to the checkout.
All my goods were on the belt, and, lo and behold, the little girl and her dad got in line behind me. I could hear her talking to her daddy.
“Is he, Daddy?” she asked. “Do you think he is? Huh? Do you?”
Daddy smiled. “Well, honey, you could be polite and ask him.”
“Okay.” She turned to me. “Excuse me, sir? Are you a cowboy?”
I smiled. There I stood in my faded jeans, wide leather belt with a turquoise and wood inlay belt buckle, a western-style shirt, straw Stetson, and a circle beard, so I could understand the question (that hat (well, that style of hat) has garnered some strange comments over the years). “No. I’m a ranger.”
Her face flushed. Her eyes goggled. Her jaw dropped. Then, in a voice dripping with awe, said, “Wow. I really . . . . Wow.”
Daddy came to her rescue. “Our whole family just loves Chuck Norris, so meeting a real ranger, well . . . .”
I kept my smile. Okay, so my stereotype was right on. “No. I’m a little different. I’m one of those liberal tree-hugging park rangers.” I didn’t even have to add that I’m an atheist to get a perfect reaction.
Daddy’s smile turned to a full-face frown. “Oh.” he said. Then he grabbed his little meadow muffin by the shoulder, turned her around, and the two of them went to a longer line. Behind a little old lady with a full cart and a large hand full of coupons.
I carefully removed my glasses and performed a perfect face palm.
============
This evening, I went up to the grocery store to pick up eggs and large city trash bags. And
I got into line behind an older man and a young boy. The little boy looked up at me, looked up at his dad, and said, “Daddy. It’s a cowboy.”
Dad looked back at me and then down at his son and said, “No. He’s probably one of those gas frackers who are out to destroy the state. They come up from Texas, destroy the land, take the money and run.”
The little boy said, “Oh.” Then he turned to me and stuck his tongue out.
“Actually,” I said, “I’m a National Park Ranger. Part of my job is to make sure that there are still wild places for your children.”
Dad glared at me and said, “You’re still an asshole,” turned his son by the shoulder to face away from me, and turned himself away.
Sorry, dad. Did I just teach your son not to judge a book by it’s cover? Or that dad can be wrong?
Anyway, some of my ‘cowboy hat chats’ are pure pleasure. And sometimes there are, as that dad pointed out, assholes,
Ichthyic:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:09 pm
“Our whole family just loves Chuck Norris, so meeting a real ranger, well . . . .”
ROFLMAO
callitrichid:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:35 pm
http://deepseanews.com/2012/10/octopus-steals-food-and-casually-wrestles-shark/
This octopus wins the bad ass of the day award.
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 6:49 pm
My visiting functioning alcohol stepdad bought a six pack and brought it to my house. I don’t have the courage to protest so I’m just gonna whine here if that’s ok. I hate when he drinks and I really really hate when I have to be around it but whenever I criticize it I am always the one who’s wrong and my mom just can’t handle the cognitive dissonance so she guilts me into silence without quite knowing what she’s doing. /whine over.
carlie:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Shark comes up and tries to take the food? Honey octopus don’t care. Honey octopus doesn’t give a shit. It just slaps the shit out of that shark and takes what it wants.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Ichthyic, congratulations!
Esteleth, not toooo much whisky/rum. You don’t want to get dehydrated and hungover on top of being sick. Moderation is good, though – alcohol is a cough suppressant and antiseptic, as well as being comforting.
I can see the point about moral failings IFF the foreign food-refusal is a matter of xenophobia. I’ve certainly seen that. People “jokingly” refusing to go to the local Vietnamese restaurant because they will be served dog or cat, or the place is dirty because foreign. Or if they’re rude about it, as with the cliched British tourist shoutily demanding egg and chips and none of your filthy foreign muck. In a local cafe in Spain. One of my uncles was like that.
But some people are plain neophobic when it comes to food, and that one isn’t anything to do with morals.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Portia:
That sucks. Cyber hugs?
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Thanks, Og. At least there’s no one else around to add the possibility of humiliation. (I am a champ of silver-lining-finding). I appreciate the hugs :)
Alethea, I totally agree with your analysis. And with basically everyone else who has weighed in on the food discussion. I will cop to some food neophobia myself. (Tiny black whole baby octopus on my plate? It was 2 years ago and I’m still getting teasing from SO about the look on my face when they set that plate in front of me. His go-to phrase when we are out to eat is “Wanna trade?”)
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:24 pm
My Bloke is a lot more neophobic that I am. I generally like to explore and am of the opinion that if you’ve never tried something you have NO grounds for sating you don’t like it. I do draw my own lines somewhere. Scorpion onna stick. Baleut.
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:32 pm
I agree with you for the most part. But I know myself well enough that if I don’t think I’ll like something, I give myself permission to go with a safe entree so as not to waste the dining out experience being unhappy with my food. And sometimes, you can just tell the texture is gonna be unpleasant (e.g. octopus for me). But, I did try one octopus head so I guess I’m hypocritical with my leniency for neophobics.
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Portia:
I’m sorry. *cyber-hug* I read a book many years ago in which the main character called his father’s drinking the elephant in the room that everyone was required to pretend was an ottoman.
I’ve forgotten everything else about the book, but that line has stuck with me because it perfectly described my family and the way they pretended my father was this wonderful Christian family man. And the way they turned on anyone who had the temerity to point and say, “That’s a goddamned elephant!”
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Thanks Socio-gen. The weird thing is, Mom knows it’s a problem. Several years ago, she stayed with her parents for a month as a last-ditch ultimatum style effort at fixing it. It was better…for a while. So, she hates it (she just muttered “shit” when she heard another can open in the kitchen) but she doesn’t know how to fix it and is just hurt when I get upset for that reason. I think it’s powerlessness that really makes her distraught when I object to some drunken assholic thing he’s done. And then, I start doubting I’m even being reasonable to be embarrassed/mortified/whatever because no one else is objecting, because they are all too polite and so what am I doing being so rude! Obviously, there’s a spiral here.
Thanks for the hugs and the understanding.
On another note of pretending people are nice when they’re not…you may appreciate this small-town anecdote. I got a phone call earlier from a lady who knows my grandfather. She invited me to Rotary, because she’s knows I’m a new business in town and I am Granddad’s granddaughter. So now, I have to go, for the exposure, and pretend with everyone else that he is a nice, decent, person. But I figure that I can capitalize on his facade seeing as how I have to put up with what’s behind it. It does bother me that he will be able to trumpet about how he has potentially helped my career. : /
Tony •Prom King of Sunnydale High•:
October 1st, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Richard:
NYC guy takes things a bit far. It’s nothing close to a moral failing.
I’ll admit to encouraging my friends to-occasionally-try out something new if we’re dining together (my parents raised me to at least try something once to know if I’ll like it or not-and I don’t judge anyone if they don’t do the same; I’ve kept to this for the most part; there are still items I wouldn’t knowingly consume). Or I’ll mention that I’ve tried something that I previously disliked, only to find that I adore it now (red onions, for instance; I never liked them growing up, but a few years ago, I decided to put them on my salads and now I love them). That allows the decision to be on their part. I can think of a few friends that don’t eat things (such as burgers, fish or hot dogs), but on the few occasions its come up, they’ve never offered any explanation other than “I just don’t like them”. The nagger in me has to stop quickly so I don’t pester them with further questions.
Improbable Joe:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Richard Austin,
I’m a big fan of a lot of different kinds of food, and I’m willing to try all sorts of stuff. But on the other hand, what other people eat is generally none of my business. It used to bother me more, but then I grew out of it. :) The only time it is ever an issue is if I’m out with someone who will order off of the kid’s menu rather than have some of the “non-American” food on the menu. Since that is pretty rare, no problems at all.
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Portia:
I so understand that. In our one heart-to-heart moment a few months after my father died, my mother was talking about his drinking and when I asked her why she let him hurt us (verbally and emotionally), she just shrugged and said, “What was I supposed to do?”
Part of me gets that, because I spent ten years in a marriage from hell where that was exactly my thought, “What am I supposed to do?” Because the church and my family had me so brain-washed that literally I didn’t know any other options existed, and I know it was exactly the same for her: you got married, you stayed married, and whatever happened you put up with because that’s your lot in life and absolutely no one will do anything to help you.
My inner child, on the other hand…she’d like to know why she wasn’t ever worth protecting.
Exactly. Everyone gets so good at pretending it’s an ottoman, that obviously the problem is you because no one else sees the elephant.
Of all the things I can’t forgive or forget, it’s that being raised in that house left me unable to trust my own judgment or to act on my own behalf for decades. And even now, when someone else causes a scene involving me, I’m humiliated because not only do I think I must have done something to cause it (otherwise it wouldn’t have happened) but I’m sure that’s what other people are thinking too. (Gosh, I have no idea why I might have social anxiety…)
For example: my drama this weekend. I’d gone to get groceries (a four-bus round trip) and was on my way home. I’m at the transit station on my last bus, which is getting ready to pull out. I sat down with one tote bag by my feet and the other on my lap. Just as I’m putting my earbuds in so I can listen to music for the whole 8 minutes it takes to get to my stop, this woman behind me stands up and reaches over the seat to slap my arm as hard as she can while screaming over and over, “I hate you fucking skinny bitches. You’re ruining my life!”
My reaction besides a scream of “WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?” was to burst into tears, my face bright red, and to be embarrassed that I’ve caused a scene.
Luckily, another passenger caught her arm before she could hit me again and he and the driver got her off the bus. The driver offered to call the police but I was just shaking and sobbing and telling him I just wanted to go home. (Because FSM forbid I make the bus late or that I bother the police who have more important things to do.)
Of course, once I got home I was PISSED and thought of everything I should have done — like yes, call the police, file a report, etc. But in that moment, all I wanted was to get out of there and not be stared at and judged by people who probably thought I did something or that I deserved it.
Because that’s what happened for years of my life: my father would cause a scene; what I saw happen, and what I was told (and required to believe) happened were always two different things. And if I didn’t see it that way, that was my fault. I was crazy or silly or being emotional.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Portia, on food I don’t think there’s anything incumbent on you to try new stuff all the time. If I’m feeling exploratory that’s cool; if not, whatever. Chinese meals with shared plates are good for experimenting, too – plenty of other stuff to eat if you don’t like the trial one.
As to the drunken stepdad I have no advice, only sympathies. Oh wait: one bit of advice – trust yourself! When other people are pretending it’s all OK, don’t get gaslighted.
ImaginesABeach:
October 1st, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I learned a new word – neophobia. Somehow it sounds much gentler than saying I’m really resistant to change. Around those with whom I spend time in meat space, I usually get away with just saying, “I have issues.”
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Socio-gen
This exactly. I have psychoanalyzed my mother to death (it helps that we are very close, and I understand her better than anyone). I get why she does what she does. I get that she has issues like everyone else. And yet, I still feel immensely betrayed and hurt sometimes. That kid inside me wants to know why mom couldn’t make it better.
YES! I have always thought maybe it was the homeschooling that made me feel anxious in social situations, but that feeling like there’s always a landmine in the next step you take? That’s from the home life. Even in very clear cut situations, I find a way I’m wrong. Roommate breaches the lease, well, I mean, I must have done something to make her want to move out so badly, what right do I have to tell her she can’t have her deposit back?
WHAT?!?!
Fucking hell, that’s insane! *hugs* for you after that shopping trip from hell (which sounds like it’s taxing without the criminal assault!)
Usually, I am being cruel by bringing up such a painful subject and putting mother in a position where she has to face her helplessness. My feelings are immediately waved away and it is about her feelings. Because she doesn’t know how else to deal with it.
On the bright side, he was not much more of an asshole than usual this evening. Mom and I did have to explain to him why it’s not ok to tell his 7 year old granddaughter that she will get “jumbo” if she keeps eating so much. SHE’S AN ENERGETIC FREAKING KID. FSM, I really think he thinks he’s helping.
Alethea
Oh good idea. I haven’t been to one of those places since a trip to San Francisco when I was nine. I was very confused and delighted by this strange new method of food service.
This was invaluable. Thank you. I have recognized gaslighting in other areas of my life, but somehow, I had this huge blindspot for the most drastic example of it in my life.
ImaginesABeach
I am terrible at change too. I try to remind myself that I adjust eventually, and like the changes after a while. It rarely works. Each new thing, and I am kicking and screaming. This latest move is 5 months old, and I’m just adjusting to the new house. It’s a personal record.
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:04 pm
If someone brought a six-pack to my house, expecting to drink it all himself, he’d be in for a surprise.
*hugs* for the non-drinkers in the forced presence of boozers
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
October 1st, 2012 at 10:04 pm
For those of interest 11th Hour has Patrick Stewart do a good cop bad cop….with Jesus as the other cop. It is awesome.
Portia:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Thanks, Chigau. I don’t not drink, I just don’t drink much or around the stepdad. (Plus he buys terrible beer, ha).
And now, you lovely people, I have to say goodnight. I have to get to Rotary Club breakfast meeting before court tomorrow. Early days are not my favorite, but once I’m up I like the morning sun on the river : )
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 1st, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Good night, all.
Tomorrow, Wife and I are taking my 91-year-old neighbor to the doctor. Which means I actually have to get out of bed tomorrow. Even though tomorrow is Sunday.
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Have y’all seen this?
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/10/01/around-ftb-5/comment-page-1/#comment-465231
follow the link at the link
thunk, Blob Alert!:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:23 pm
Wow. Hello all.
Excuse my absence; I’ve been dealing with metric tons of schoolwork. Bah me.
Good news is that I have more than a few people interested in my school secular group. Yayz.
Also, things have been mostly sorted out.
——-
I’m a very picky eater; started when I was three, though my family is forcefully pressuring me half the time to try something new.
Yeah, but… half the foods smell bad, and half of the remainder have the wrong texture. The rest I don’t want to have to deal with all these mixed flavors (yuck). So please don’t bother me if I’m having a loaf of bread straight.
Improbable Joe:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Resident Evil 6. That is all.
chigau (違わない):
October 1st, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Thunk
You have the loaf of bread, I’ll have the jar of peanut butter.
and an apple.
kristinc, ~ringy dingy~:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Hey, today I got back the poetry explication that gave me fits, and it turns out it was “outstanding”! Good thing too because I brought another one to turn in that was basically the same thing …
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:43 pm
I’ve done two of my four peer reviews for my Quantitative class and I just want aspirin and strong liquor. The English language is being tortured in ways that turn the stomach and horrify the mind.
How in the world do professors read dozens of these things a semester, hundreds a year, and not lose their minds or their will to live??
—
Portia:
Aside from the whole pain and fear part, it was just so…weird. I’m used to snotty comments about my weight, like being told to eat a donut or stop throwing up, but no one’s ever been so offended by my size that they needed to hit me. The only good news is that I didn’t bruise as badly as I expected, probably because I put a bag of frozen peas (don’t judge!) on it as soon as I got home.
Usually it’s not a bad trip, less than 3 hours altogether (and that’s counting 20-30 minutes checking out the new books and wandering the store because I can never remember which aisles have what). I actually look forward to the ride most weeks because it’s the one time when I don’t have to do anything else except listen to music. (I get sick if I try to read in a moving vehicle so even texting is out.)
—
chigau: Ohmylanta.
—
Bedtime for me as well. I have meeting at 9 with our leadership program’s coordinator to go over my funding proposal. Then, if it all looks good, I get to go to the Steering committee to beg for money to hold some alumnae events over the next year.
Nutmeg:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:46 pm
kristinc: Congrats! After reading your interpretation of “The Flea” a few days ago, I’m not surprised you got top marks. So, so perfect! I wish you could have turned that one in.
Socio-gen, something something...:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:47 pm
thunk:
Hello! Don’t you just hate how schoolwork interferes with Pharyngula time?
I just saw this weather video and was thinking of you.
—
kristinc:
Excellent!
—
Okay, now I’m really going to bed….really.
Patricia, OM:
October 1st, 2012 at 11:55 pm
Congrats Ichthyic!
Esteleth – When I have a horrid lung complaint I usually drink a lot of really hot chicken broth with garlic and ginger powder stirred into it. Sounds corny, but it helps.
Update on , it is now tiled, has a mere three foot swath of PINK PLASTIC TILE, and is primer white everywhere else. So I have a question – you New Yorkers – is 7’2″ long and 4’6″ wide, is this the size of the famous New York kitchen? (Your kitchen)
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:57 am
I loves me some cheese. Especially old, sharp cheddars and the like. I love me some bread. Especially fresh sourdoughs and just about anything with sesame seeds on a chewy crust. Put one of those cheeses between two pieces of one of those breads and I can’t eat it. There’s something about biting through soft stuff into slightly harder that turns my stomach. Yup, I eat like toddler: “Mom, MOM, my peas are touching my carrots! Whaaaaaa!”
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:05 am
Richard, NYC guy is an asshole. He’s not a little bit privileged, he’s oozing privilege. Sure, it’s grand to experience many cuisines, assuming one has the money and also lives in a place where many cuisines can be experienced. That said, what’s he’s doing is just another form of food policing and he ought to have that crap slapped out of him.
Anyone who manages to be so judgmental over food is someone I doubt I’d take the time with to find out if they had any redeeming characteristics.
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:07 am
Okay, packages. I have everything boxed up and ready to mail, these should go out tomorrow:
To Audley: baby quilt and two sleep pillows.
To JAL: two sleep pillows and the artist trading card of Chas II.
To Hekuni Cat: one sleep pillow.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:49 am
good morning, all
Heh. I don’t have a problem with sandwiches, but am the same about food touching on my plate.
Menyambal --- Sambal's Little Helper:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:58 am
Wow.
The boy cat was sleeping on the coffee table that I had my feet up on. It turned out he was also sleeping on the sticky flap of a padded envelope. He got up with the envelope sticking to his fur, and, somehow, a back-scratcher attached to him as well. He didn’t panic and run, and when I called to him, he even took a step toward me, and just waited for me to help him out.
I have never seen a cat do anything like that. I have seen many a cat have a fit for far less.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:10 am
Good morning
Ogvorbis
So, what that dad really taught his son was that it was OK to call a stranger who has done nothing besides standing behind him an asshole. Really, that’s the role model every parent strives to be.
Portia
Big hugs.
My mum is a not so fucntioning alcoholic and it took us all a long time to realize that. We ignored that the amount she drank was, although not healthy, problematic and we really didn’t make the connections between the alcohol and her break-downs.
When my sister and I finally said that no, the problem here isn’t her job, her marriage, us, her father’s dead but not, the fact that she’s an alcoholic, we were the bad ones. We were lying. We just wanted to put her in her place, stigmatize her and then treat her as a sick person. What hurt was that our dad played along. That he applied pressure to us, especially me to “support her” the way she claimed she needed to be supported (by everybody doing exactly what she wanted us to do, so nobody caused her any grief because if we did it was our fault.
Well, that was about 18 months ago. She still drinks and pretends that she doesn’t. My dad has realized what’s up and has withdrawn his “support”. And I’ve learned that the only thing I can do is set my own boundaries. I don’t care about being the bad girl anymore much. She can cry and beg and be angry and lie and blame me as much as she wants, the lever has broken.
Hmmm, I don’t. I think I understand pretty well why my mum did what she did (seperate issue from the alcohol). Although it left me scarred and hurt, I’m not really angry at her. I’m sad that there isn’t enough left of her to talk about it. You know, like when people are sad that they didn’t talk about something with somebody who died, only that she’s still walking and reathing.
Socia-Gen
Yes, it’s amazing how much we’ll often take before we say something. Don’t make a scene, really. Dunno how many black marks I’ve gotten from people repeatedly slamming their trolleys into my heels…
(((hugs)))
re: food
I despise some things and I’m always annoyed when people want me to try new ways with X. I fucking don’t want to eat the 375th ppreparation of tofu and eggplant with dill and estragon topped with some smelly cheese and celery. I. Don’t. Like. It.
And if you praise some exotic meat with “it’s like beef, only…” I’m out. I don’t want it.
And I will not say a word about the fact that you don’t want the tentacles and tiny octopuses. Except: Pass them over.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:28 am
When I fry calamari, I always have to stand guard over the tentacles. If I don’t, my dad just puts all of them on his own plate.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:56 am
Listening for the first time to Leonard Cohen’s new album Old Ideas. ♥
ednaz:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:00 am
Audley – I have been enjoying your updates of the Adventures of Audley and Darkfetus.
I am so glad to read that you are not taking any baloney from anyone. You know what’s right and that’s all that matters.
* hugs if you want them *
ednaz:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:08 am
dianne @ #238
Anyway, when people criticize me for having a c-section, I mostly just apologize for wanting to live and have a living child. That usually ends the discussion.
This. Is. Excellent.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:47 am
Argh
I just spent 2hrs at the dentist doing two root canals. Now I feel like somebody punched my jaw.
carlie:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:55 am
I put this same thing at Lousy Canuck, but I’m so gobsmacked by the incompetence I’ll drop it here for consideration as well.
Besides just the new Justin Vacula information, Edwina Rogers isn’t doing that great in her main job at SCA, either. According to this op-ed in the Washington Post, during a huge, designed to grab attention meeting on Capitol Hill, she said this:
“voodooism, etc.”
She could have talked about Buddhism, Hinduism, heck, when talking about how Jesusy everything is, even Judaism. You know, the religions with a lot of mainstream cred, the ones with millions of adherents in the US, the ones people don’t actively want to hurt? But no. She went for voodoo. Nice way to throw us right back into the stereotypical witch category, there. Heckuva job, Edwina. Heckuva job.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:09 am
voodooism
voodooism!?
*headdesk*
Although, really, the article is pretty poorly written too. It doesn’t say much about… well, anything. It sort of tries to take a stab at atheists, but it looks more like it took a handful of knives and threw them at some vague points in the mist.
But really, voodooism!?
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:42 am
So, my additional bloodworks came back. Everything except those liver values is nice and dandy, cholesterol and stuff. What are my chances that this might convince my doc that me being fat isn’t the problem of these liver values?
My current pet theory is that it may be the bad tooth that’s being taken care of at the moment. So, let’s see in three months…
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:03 am
Giliell,
You probably don’t walk enough.
/kidding
birgerjohansson:
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:43 am
Neophobia? Finally I have a word for what I am.
—- — — — —
I am glad that Leonard Cohen is still going strong
— — — — — — —
Scandinavia and the World: size matters http://satwcomic.com/size-matters
Weed Monkey:
October 2nd, 2012 at 7:22 am
birgerjohansson
Duuuude… (ok, just kidding)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 7:38 am
Caine:
Woo hoo!
Ednaz:
Thank you! *hugs back*
Joe:
Mr Darkheart has hinted that I will be receiving a package today (an early birthday prezzie). Want to bet that I’m getting RE6, too? :)
dianne:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:34 am
Gileill: Excuse my intrusion, but if you’re liver is having problems, has your doctor looked for other problems? Autoimmune hepatitis and hemochromatosis come to mind for an otherwise healthy young woman with liver issues. Sometimes people get search satisfaction having found one possible cause of a problem and forget that they may need to look further…
dianne:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:48 am
I beg your indulgence thread, a rant follows:
I’ve been trying to get a drug approved for a patient with lousy insurance. Not lousy because it doesn’t cover much but lousy because they put so many barriers to care up that patients end up having bad outcomes due to delays in treatment. So, I have the following to say to the CEOs of said companies…
May you contract a treatable illness only to find that you probably shouldn’t have used your own insurance no matter how bad it would look if you went with another company instead.
May you spend your next million lives as mosquitoes as you appear to enjoy the role of disease causing blood sucking parasite.
May Cthulu eat you last, only to find that your soul is so disgusting that it nauseates even an elder god and he vomit you back up and leave your half digested soul to wander the cosmos, a horror to all that meet it.
Your greed and stupidity would disgust the Koch brothers. Mass murderers use you as an example of immorality. If there were any justice in the world, the earth would have swallowed you by now!
…Yes, I would like to appeal this denial. No, I don’t care to have my rant critiqued. I don’t care how many better ones you’ve heard so far this morning.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:59 am
Dianne
The thing is, apart from that one value* being too high, she can’t find anything. We checked for Hepatitis twice, because a very recent infection might not show up on the bloodworks yet, did an ultrasound and so on. I cannot say I have liver-problems. Really, everything except that value is fine and dandy (except for the thyroid, but we know that). OTOH that same value is off the charts constantly in my sister and my dad, too.
Never heard hemochromatosis, but the Pffft of all knowledge says it’s iron-overload. I’m actually rather anemic and take iron supplement**. Does that mean I can’t have it
*Not speaking medical too well, she explained that there are three liver-values and that the one that is most easily disturbed by an infection and such is out of normal.
**Which got my hb back into normal range. Liver value was off when it was still in the “eat a steak” range.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:06 am
Background info on the SCA and Vacula, posted also at Stephanie’s.
A commenter over at JT’s pointed out that the phone recordings of the SCA’s decisionmaking conference calls are publicly available:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2012/10/petition-to-the-sca-on-justin-vacula/#comment-26132
Basically it looks like vetting by discussion only, which again might be enough for a con grunt position with oversight in place, but is insufficient vetting for a co-chair of a lobbying org.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:09 am
In no particular order:
kristinc, congrats on your poem thingy!
Giliell, cool that you are mostly healthy! Sorry about your teefs!
Dianne, fuck the insurance bastards!
Audley, I didn’t have money for RE6, so I went to the nearest Redbox and rented it at 12:05 in the morning!
Carlie, “voodoo” would explain the SCA’s recent conduct better than anything real or logical I can think of!
Socio-gen, don’t mix booze and aspirin. Both thin your blood, which could be bad juju.
Thunk, cool beans about school, sorry about your food issues… I feel bad for you just because that must make things a semi-constant struggle.
dianne:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:10 am
Never heard hemochromatosis
Oops. Sorry! Hemochromatosis is basically a condition where your body can’t stop absorbing iron when you’ve got too much. Instead it just keeps storing the iron in the liver where it eventually becomes toxic. It’s thought that a heterozygous state (mutation in one gene) may be helpful in “the wild” (i.e. preindustrial society) because it improves iron stores so that women recover faster after pregnancy related blood loss and therefore the gene has survived.
Probably a dumb question, but is your anemia definitely caused by iron deficiency? It’s not unknown for a primary care doctor to reflexively give iron to any young woman with anemia and if the anemia is caused by something else-for example, a mutation in the hemoglobin gene-you can end up anemic and iron overloaded. However, if I understand your description properly, you did respond well to iron so it’s unlikely that this is relevant to you.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:15 am
Pteryxx,
It figures that Staks “no worthy women atheists this year” Rosch would find a way to be involved in this debacle. The SCA is a fucking joke.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:17 am
…thanks Joe, I didn’t even catch that one.
AJ Milne:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:21 am
… oddly, I keep reading ‘SCA’ as ‘Society for Creative Anachronism’…
(/… come to think of it, is there a ‘Society for Chauvinist Anachronisms’?)
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:27 am
Joe, that’s a better catch than I realized… because there’s a problem with systemic misogyny and chilly climate, the recommendations of folks who work closely with a person can’t necessarily be trusted to capture their attitudes toward marginalized people. Obviously, if the person’s actions contribute to a chilly climate, they’ve selected for misogyny tolerance in their compatriots – and that’s who’s making the recommendations.
There have to be principles of vetting specifically for inclusiveness.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:32 am
dianne
Yes, the iron went well and my HB picked up again. Part of the Hashimoto thyroid thingy was that my cycle was very short, closer to three than four weeks with the heavy periods of a two times mother, so, no surprise there.
I could reasonably predict that I’d need to increase the Thyroxin when I went back to 3 weeks
chigau (違わない):
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:35 am
Aren’t you supposed to ‘second’ ‘nominations’?
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:54 am
Pteryxx,
Rosch and Vacula are both bloggers over on Loftus’s new “I hate not being in charge of FtB” blog network. That guy is the biggest whiner I’ve ever seen in my life, and now he’s got a whole network of whiners and misogynists to stroke his pathetic ego while solidifying their hatred of FtB.
Dhorvath, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:03 am
So my partner is doing a cancer fund raiser this month culminating in lopping her hair off, (It’s below shoulder length at the moment.) I know the shorter hair is really no imposition on her, but it’s quite striking how many people think it’s a big deal to cut her hair. Words like brave and phrases like I could never do that just seem hard for me to fathom. Of course, I have not heard a voice from those around me suggesting how I should look for most of my life, so my incredulity is largely an artifact of ignorance, I am just trying to get my head wrapped around it.
Still, I get the feeling the fund raiser works more because people fear radical change in hairstyle than because of sympathy for those who are forced to shed their hair in pursuit of life. My mother lost her hair during chemo and the last photo of her alive shows a striking cranium above her gaunt and so serious face. This is what we are hoping to eradicate.
chigau (違わない):
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:15 am
Dhorvath
Yay for your Partner.
Is her hair going for wigs?
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:20 am
Dhorvath,
Everyone asks me why I dyed my hair purple. I always put a note of incredulity in my response, “Why not?”
They don’t seem to accept that, that people can choose to do something just because and not need a rational, thought-out reason for it. Especially something as fucking trivial as hair color.
Dhorvath, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:22 am
Indeed, it has seen no dye, no iron, no perming products, etc.
Dhorvath, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:23 am
Trinioler, the no dye thing is a requirement for donating hair, not a knock on you. Timing is ever my bane.
Richard Austin:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:37 am
Dhorvath,
My department includes the self-image group at the hospital here. That’s where patients can go to quite literally get makeovers and wigs and prosthetics of all kinds during and after treatment. With that background, I wholly support, encourage, and thank you and your wife for the effort.
For a lot of people, “how I look in the mirror” is a huge factor in comfort and self-acceptance; yes, things like wigs or makeup could seem like “vanity items”, but they’re also ways to both normalize and help reclaim some sense of self after cancer and therapy have stripped away so much. Getting patients back to feeling like people, rather than like petri dishes, is extremely important to their quality of life.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:38 am
Joe:
Woo hoo, RedBox to the rescue!
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:47 am
Cast on another eggplant, they are really fun to make. Today I get to put some colored pain on the walls in the bathroom. This morning was a shock when I walked in there and it was bright white!
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:48 am
pain = paint.
Need more coffee.
carlie:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:10 am
Dhorvath – your partner isn’t donating to locks of love, are they? Not to throw rain on the parade, but they’ve been bashed for selling off most of the hair they receive, as well as charging patients who do get the wigs. There are several other options:
pantene great lengths
wigs for kids
children with hair loss
And there are others, I’m sure. Maybe all of them sell excess, but I’d suggest researching each organization before deciding which to donate to. Apologies if they already have.
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:13 am
Haha, no worries Dhorvath. :)
cicely:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:14 am
Me, too, except that, of course, there would be no peas on my plate. That’s what the windowsill is for.
The Husband doesn’t understand that I don’t want my food touching my other food; to him, since it’s going into the same stomach anyway, why can it possibly matter? In fact, he’ll *gulp* stir his food all together.
*shudder*
-
*hugs*. Also, *booze*; for later, if you’re on pain meds, for immediate consumption if not.
-
Me, too.
-
Why, I had this experience just last night! I went to a birthday dinner for a business-related acquaintance, and in the course of conversation mentioned to a gal I used to work with that I intend to dye part of my hair blue. She was horrified, and yes, incredulous. Then, when I told her that when my hair finishes graying to the point where bleach, and hair damage, aren’t an issue, I fully intend to dye the whole mess purple…she gaped. And said, “You’re not really?!?!?” I don’t think she believed me when I told her that yes, I do mean it.
-
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 am
All you picky eaters… I’d have felt really sorry for you in Boot Camp.
I guess the MREs are somewhat better now, but they were pretty sorry when I was at Parris Island all those long years ago. For the stews and spaghetti and such, we were usually instructed to cut off a corner and squeeze the mess directly into our mouths like the astronauts do. One day though… we were ordered to remove everything from the brown plastic bag the “food” came in, pass up the candy and matches, pocket the TP, and then dump EVERYTHING ELSE back into the plastic bag and chow down. That’s everything: salt, sugar, coffee, creamer, little bottle of Tabasco, crackers, and peanut butter if that’s what came with yours. I think I “lucked out” that day and got the ham slice.
Richard Austin:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 am
Not only do I keep my food separated out on my plate so that none of the separate portions are touching, but I also tend to eat it that way: one item at a time. Further, I usually eat things as they are served: if the sauce is on the side, I generally won’t use it.
You don’t know how many times I’ve gotten chicken nuggets of various fast-food brands and had to repeat multiple times “no sauce, thanks”.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 am
AUDLEY!!!
If you see this before you start playing Resident Evil 6, a quick word of warning: checkpoints are not auto-save points! You get constant checkpoints, but if you quit and come back the game can bump you back 20 minutes or more.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 am
If the sauce gets over the food, the food will become all soggy. Ew. I usually dip things into the sauce, but I like to do it on my own terms.
If I want it to be all together, I’m going to cook it that way and then it will be a different dish. If it’s been done separately, then that wasn’t done without reason.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:38 am
I’m not a picky eater. I will eat almost anything you put in front of me, but I like things to be separate on the plate. Otherwise, I’ll eat them, but I probably won’t find it as good as it could have been.
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:50 am
Sheesh, I made throw together gumbo last night for supper, and it sounds like none of you would have eaten any.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:57 am
Gumbo is meant to have things thrown in together, so I’d eat it. Or rather, try it, since I’ve never eaten gumbo before.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Patricia,
I’d have eaten it! I’m probably the least picky eater here. Not because of any superiority on my part, but because of how I was raised:
1) Eat what’s on your plate, or it will be on your plate for the next meal, and the next, until you DO eat it!
2) Free? You better take one for now, and one for later!
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Only things that aren’t part of the same dish aren’t supposed to touch on the plate. Like peas cooked separate from the carrot (shouldn’t touch!). If I throw them all together in a pan with some butter, that’s fine. Those are now parts of the same dish.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:06 pm
*sigh*
I’m now somewhat obsessively explaining this in detail. Stopping now.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:10 pm
[voice of Homer Simpson thinking of donuts]Gumbo….[/voice]
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Joe:
Gracias!
Why do I feeel like 5 was the same way?
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:11 pm
Beatrice – My gumbo is really mild. Okra, french green beans, pimentos, grilled corn cut off the cobs, caramelized red onion, garlic, garbanzo beans, beef broth, black eyed peas, diced canned tomatoes, light seasoning of Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning, celery seeds and two Italian sausages I had in the fridge.
Probably lacking shrimp and fish it’s more stew than gumbo, but in Oregon anything with okra is gumbo. *snort*
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I wanted to write that I have no idea how I would go about acquiring okra, but then I saw on wiki that there is apparently some production of okra in Croatia. Interesting, since I can’t even find our name for it.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Audley, I think RE 5 had checkpoints that were sometimes too far apart for comfort but they were always autosave points as well. RE6 has checkpoints close together, and I guess if you just get killed you go back to the last checkpoint. But if you shut the game off you might lose 30 minutes of progress… like I did when I rented the game at midnight and played until 1AM, and then had to redo most of the first 20 minutes of the game.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Beatrice, it is OK to describe your weird eating habits. I’ve got some weird but constantly shifting odd habits myself. Sometimes I eat a third of each thing on my plate at a time, working clockwise. Other times, I’ll eat all of one, then all of the next, and so on. If I’m eating a casserole, I’ll spread it across my plate and eat from one end of the plate to the other, with a pretty obvious line between the part I’ve eaten and the rest of it.
Patricia, if it has okra and tomatoes and the right spices, it is gumbo to me.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Ah, found it. Okra is called bamija here. I’m pretty sure my dad used to mention bamija being used in his family.
Hmm. New recipes…
cicely:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:31 pm
And if the food gets all soggy, I don’t want it any more.
-
Agreed.
Peas are for the ratses, and carrots shouldn’t be cooked…but if they should, for some reason, find themselves on a plate together, then they definitely shouldn’t touch. You don’t want to get pea cooties all over your raw carrots.
-
carlie:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:36 pm
If we want to all feel weird about our food-eating habits, candy is a good topic, particularly the ones that come in layers:
Oreos
Kit-kats
Twix
peanut butter cups
Oreos – separate, scrape off white goo with teeth. Eat cookie pieces only if there is milk to dunk them in.
Twix eating – first nibble off the excess chocolate from the sides of the piece, the parts that are just covering the cookie. Then peel off the caramel topping and eat. Last, eat the cookie, which is now totally denuded. Repeat for other twix bar. (Kit-Kats are the same with removing the side chocolate, but then one can eat the entire bar or separate the strata and eat separately.)
Peanut butter cups – first nibble off the pointy bits all around. Then the side bits. Last, the peanut butter, with still a little chocolate disk on the top.
chigau (違わない):
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:38 pm
How do you eat yorkshire pudding without gravy?
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:44 pm
*looks at the ground*
I’ve never eaten Yorkshire pudding.
Why are you all looking at me like that?
My grandma hadn’t even heard of that kind of thing and mum mostly just made the same things she learned from grandma.
I’m still working through all the wonderful things I never ate before and Yorkshire pudding somehow slipped down the list.
….
ok, I forgot about it. I admit.
Jesus, you people are judgmental.
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:45 pm
Peas is for rats’s and Pats’s! :D
(must be the paint fumes…)
carlie:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Patricia – OPEN A WINDOW. NOW.
And then hand over the peas, and nobody gets hurt.
chigau (違わない):
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:54 pm
What do you do with the gravy if you don’t have yorkshire pudding?
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Beatrice:
Ever had popovers? They’re very similar.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:58 pm
How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Popovers… nope.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Beatrice:
Don’t feel bad. I’m not even fully sure what Yorkshire pudding is.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Audley, me neither. But I’m intrigued. I like popovers.
chigau (違わない):
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:11 pm
You all a making me sad.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:13 pm
So… like a pasty, then? The only popovers I’ve had are fruit filled.
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Okay, yorkshire puddings and popovers are similar in ratios and construction, but vary slightly in density and size.
Basically, you have a glob of dough, dropped into hot oil, where the water in the dough steams the dough into a long hollow cylinder, while the outside gets fried.
Fried outside, steamed inside. The defining characteristic is usually a huge single/multiple cell of air inside a popover/yorkshire pudding.
They’re made in muffin pans, so the muffin shape pushes the expansion up.
The puddings are more dense, and smaller. Popovers can be easily 6 inches tall, while puddings are usually 3 or less.
cicely:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:15 pm
This has never been an issue for me, since I’ve never met a yorkshire pudding. :)
To clarify, if a food is by nature squishy, like mashed potatoes, then there is no harm in putting gravy on it. If it is firm, but not squashy, like turkey, then gravy may be used. If it is meant to be crisp or crunchy, like anything battered and fried, then nevernevernevernevernever, except just before taking a bite.
-
Popovers? Like a Hot Pocket™? Surely not!
-
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:16 pm
As far as I know yorkshire pudding is roast drippings, eggs and flour. Maybe….
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:19 pm
How in the high holy hell did I get a goddamned fucking mosquito bite when it’s only 55-shitty-° outside right now?
*grumble*
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
My pumpkin-orange cookies just came out of the oven. Seasonally delicious. :)
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Yorkshire pudding.
opposablethumbs:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Now I want some gumbo … ::hungry::
However, within the hour I will (hopefully) be getting outside a plateful of dauphinois (a very non-orthodox dauphinois, involving not just the layers of thin potato slices but also bacon and finely shredded leeks, with cream and milk and lots of fresh rosemary and thyme, and when it’s all baked it will have cheese on top and be decorated with sautéed strips of sweet red pepper). I may be tempted to pig out just a bit … om nom nom. With salad, to distract us from the creaminess of the cream. ::hungry::
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:56 pm
There’s a recipe I use for Puddings, which make a good breakfast item combined with bacon and veggies mixed with the batter.
Keep in mind that the chemistry of Pudidngs/Popovers is highly dependent on local air pressure, so you will have to experiment.
Puddings:
1/3 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup skim milk
Salt
Ratio format: 1 parts flour: 1 parts milk: 3 eggs
Oil for the pan
Preheat the oven at 425f. Heat the pan in the oven.
Mix the milk with the egg. Really, really beat the egg. This is important. BEAT THE EGG A LOT.
Add in flour. More mixing, enough to absorb all the flour.
Pull out pan, add 1/4 cup|2 tblspoons of oil per muffin cup. Pour 1/4 cup of batter per cup until batter is gone.
Stick in the oven. Keep in mind this relies on the water flash-steaming so make sure the oven is opened quickly and smoothly both times.
Should be about 7-10 minutes. Will 2-3 popovers/puddings.
Oh and make sure its oil that can take 425f without burning(ie vegetable oil).
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 1:57 pm
I actually can’t remember how long the puddings will take, so uh… check often, but do not open the oven door. Check through the oven window.
Patricia, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:03 pm
The thing about that gumbo is the only work involved is chopping and caramelizing the onions and garlic. While thats going you can slide the sausages out of their casings (chop coarsely) and snap the green beans. After that it’s just dumping cans of veg, and frozen okra. Stir it about once an hour, that’s it.
This is funny, the men are up on the roof of the house swearing and joking, and I’m painting the bath and swearing.
kristinc, ~ringy dingy~:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I did not realize that Yorkshire puddings have so much similarity to Pannekuchen/dutch baby. I like savory pannekuchen (not sure that is even a real Thing, but I make it sometimes), so I should probably try my hand at a Yorkshire pudding at some point.
cicely: I hate Americanized “chinese” food where battered & fried bits of meat sit in a sauce in a steam tray until it’s all soggy. What is the point? Either serve it braised in sauce or batter & fry it so it’s crispy. Choose one!
A. R:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:42 pm
I found this taped on the laminar flow hood in the pre-PCR room:
I broke down laughing.
Lynna, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Mitt Romney is still touting Bain Capital as one of the big positives in his resumé. He has a list up on his website of companies he helped. The list includes Sealy.
Excerpt above is from Salon.
Nutmeg:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:53 pm
A.R: Definitely written by someone with lots of lab experience. I loved “in vitro as in silico”.
Our lab has a statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the gel-viewing apparatus. And accidentally leaving the thermocycler at 94C and frying all your DNA is referred to as “making a sacrifice to the PCR gods”.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I’m convinced that the reason I can’t bake things is because I have a shitty cheap oven. That’s what happens when you rent, your slumlord buys the cheapest appliances imaginable from the scratch and dent warehouse. So they don’t have an accurate thermostat, and don’t hold a consistent temperature, and nothing turns out right.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 2nd, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Good evening
thanks, cicely
Pain is mostly OK. Took some medication before going to work
re: food
I’m a messy eater. Mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and spinach become a huge chaos on my plate. As a child I loved to pour the juice from the beetroot-salad over my mashed potatoes and many things are just tossed together in a pan or pot.
I just had a nashi-pear, which isn’t messy eating, but something I love for the texture. As I’m allergic against apples I simply love having fruit you can chew.
Dhorvath, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Carlie,
Thanks for the heads up. We are actually tied into a larger fund raising effort focused on a bicycle tour called Cops for Cancer which takes place in the region every year. I am unsure of who ends up with hair, but do know there is a lot of media attention for this event and so would be surprised to hear it was anyone who has negative reputation regarding how they deal with donations. Still, worth a look.
Beatrice:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Joe,
Our oven is in a pretty sorry state too. It’s usually enough to put it on higher temperature and/or leave whatever longer inside.
Unfortunately, some things can never turn quite right that way (oven fries are never quite as crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside as they should be).
Couple of times I had an opportunity to make them in a proper oven… No comparison.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:09 pm
more random neatness via Boingboing – Maggie Koerthe-Baker interviews the MRI fish crew who won an Ig Nobel for this!
http://boingboing.net/2012/10/02/what-a-dead-fish-can-teach-you.html
Dhorvath, OM:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:09 pm
I like to eat. So even those things which I don’t like, I will eat. That said, I will pick peas out of fried rice, leave ‘em in the bottom of a stew bowl, or assiduously (that looks wrong.) make them avoid my mouth by whatever other options available. Nasty.
A. R:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Nutmeg: I suspect my PI (who just made a $1,000 dollar sacrifice) put it up. We have a bunch of pictures above the hood: Sts. Watson, Crick, and Franklin, and a PCR god made from lab junk. We also have a Sts. Beijerinck, and Hayflick near the tissue culture hoods (they make your cells and viruses grow), and Sts Mendel and Pauling near the gel hood (they make your gels run properly and protect you from EtBr).
AJ Milne:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:14 pm
Cooking. Yes…
Me and the offspring have been trying to make sour cream truffles, from a recipe my son brought home from a cooking course thing, for about a week now.
First attempt: very wrong. Wrong temperature. Filling wouldn’t even set. A candy thermometer is apparently mandatory.
Second attempt: fixing this, it almost came out right. But grueling, due to yet another minor error, and a bit of ambiguity in the recipe about what you do about a stage where the butter separates out. I want to mine this for comedy at greater length, but I’ll settle for: when chilled to a certain critical temperature, the filling came out so sticky this time it was a bit like some crazy slapstick routine involving supernaturally powerful glue sticking the actors intermittently to the ceiling, one plate bought it in pretty spectacular fashion largely due to the chaos this created, and in the general mayhem my effort at tempering chocolate fell apart when we blew past the last temperature check in trying to pry the now terrifyingly superadhesive filling off various things it really couldn’t stay stuck to indefinitely.
I’ve confirmed what our last error was, and will now be hoping the third time is the charm. Wish me luck. I’m going in.
(Puts on motorcycle helmet, enters kitchen…)
(/Oh… But on the bright side, that second batch which sorta mostly worked (we did get a few intact truffles, at the end of the day, despite everything) was insanely tasty. So: promising.)
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:16 pm
oo, Scicurious covered the dead fish study too:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/2012/09/25/ignobel-prize-in-neuroscience-the-dead-salmon-study/
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
If I don’t get out of this neighborhood soon, I’m going to lose my mind. Just lose my fucking mind. Screaming children, shouting adults, and now I have new neighbors who think it is appropriate to tie their barking dog to their back porch and just leave it there for who knows how long.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:22 pm
BEST RESULT (spoilers for the Scicurious article)
ALL THE THIS!
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:33 pm
Joe:
Two things about the oven: when you have like a disposable $40-50*, invest in an oven thermometer and a pizza stone. Leave the stone on the bottom every time you use the oven and it will even out hot and cold spots. You won’t have to use a thermometer every time you cook, just often enough to determine how “off” the oven is.
*One day soon! I have faith in you and BossNurse. :)
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Audley…
Cross your fingers that I’m out of the ghetto by the end of the year. BossNurse has an interview on Friday for a job she’s been working towards for about 4 weeks, they just bought her a round-trip plane ticket and booked her a hotel room to come visit them for a day… which to me sounds like a really good sign. Generally places don’t spring for $1000 worth of travel if they don’t want to hire you.
birgerjohansson:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Why moderate beliefs rarely prevail http://phys.org/news/2012-10-moderate-beliefs-rarely-prevail.html
So this is why USAians vote for teabaggers?
— — —
Solar cell consisting of a single molecule: Individual protein complex generates electric current http://phys.org/news/2012-10-solar-cell-molecule-individual-protein.html
A power source for “smart dust”!
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Joe, a tip for calibrating ovens:
Take an oven-proof glass bowl, and a 1/3rd cup of sugar(if you can spare it) and put it in the oven. Start at 250f. If it melts, your oven is hot by 45 degrees farenheit.
Raise the temperature by whatever gradient you like. Table sugar starts melting at 295f-300f. This will help you pinpoint how much “off” your oven is.
In addition, you can carry out the same experiment in different parts of the oven to get a feel for the convection flow of the oven. “Does this area heat faster than this side?” etc.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:05 pm
good luck, BossNurse of Joe.
—-
also via BB, a breast-cancer cluster in the military that may give research some answers. MoJo has best coverage:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/05/camp-lejeune-marines-breast-cancer-florence-williams
Includes photos of two of the male breast cancer survivors, Marines both, who appeared in the Art beCAUSE breast cancer calendar.
Also see:
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2012/10/offduty-how-you-can-give-breast-cancer-the-boot-100112w/
birgerjohansson:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Scandinavia and the World:
Drama Bear: http://satwcomic.com/drama-bear-returns
Big Fucking Alphabets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f488uJAQgmw
— — — — —
Improbable Joe,
Great! Good luck!
— — — —
Read the transcripts from “Mock The Movie” at Lousy Canuck on FtB.
The comments were waaay better than the films (reconstructed from memory):
Sound in vacuum. Is this Star Wars?
They left that alien piece of technology unguarded.
Oops, it turned into a robot.
They aim the shotgun carefully. Because shotguns are precision weapons.
Taking off the helmet in the alien base is a good idea. All aliens breathe Earth air.
Nice shot of the Moon. From the Moon.
You killed my spouse of the last 14000 years. So logically, I should want to have sex with you.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Pteryxx,
Some days that’s Boss(of Joe)Nurse… :)
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:16 pm
dang, all this wonderful writing on the internet. From the MoJo Marine breast cancer article:
Also there are *several* photos of male Marines from that breast-cancer calendar. I’m saving them to go alongside the women’s mastectomy photos.
cicely:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:18 pm
Joe, *tentacles crossed* for BossNurse’s employment prospects.
-
trinioler:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Also, good luck for BossNurse!
Keep in mind BigInternetCompanyB spent almost $1000 on me, to fly me four hours down to them, and I still didn’t get hired. Or at least they’re abysmally slow to contact me(its been three months now).
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Awesome! Thanks so much Caine!
I have news. We are taking in a cat. The owner is really sick and got kicked off of the Arizona Medicaid for some stupid reason. So the owner is going back to their home state to get help. She and my parent’s have looked to find a home for the kitty but haven’t found one. We talked to our landlord about it and everything. At the very least we are taking it in for a few days. My parent’s can’t keep it since they have a girl kitty and the homeless kitty is a boy.
We’ve looked up the information for pet food banks and all that. We don’t really want to turn over the kitty because of fears it might get put down. Little One has been over the owner’s house when we were getting stuff from there and loves the kitty. It’s all so heartbreaking.
Roomie is not pleased, even if I’m doing all the work for the kitty but at least we are going to find it a better home for it. I mean I want the kitty and Little One wants the kitty but really a pet is too much up keep for food and all that.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Joe:
Good luck to you and BossNurse!
(Still, keep the pizza stone advice in mind. No matter where you end up living, you could still get a shitty oven!)
There was a package waiting for me when I got home and it’s shaped suspiciously like an Xbox game. I wonder what it could be… .
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 4:45 pm
I’ll pass on the well-wishing to my wife when I talk to her next. The good news is that she has a temp job, and she’s been offered her choice of permanent jobs by the company she is temping for. We don’t have all of our eggs in one basket. The job she’s interviewing for is better than the one she has, and probably better than the jobs that company can offer her on a permanent basis. The good news is that it looks like she won’t be without a job no matter what happens, and we’ll probably be moving no matter what happens.
Pteryxx:
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:03 pm
JAL, good luck with the kitty, too. This might be helpful – advice on how to re-home pets directly instead of turning them over to the shelter networks. For instance, asking a local shelter if you can take your animal to one of their Adoption Days.
http://www.petfinder.com/journal/index.cgi?article=709
Some of the tips require money, such as spaying/neutering/shots, but y’know. Pharyngula and all that. *cough* Sorry if you already knew all this stuff.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Now I have Resident Evil 6. I’ll catch you all later!
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Goodbye Audley, see you in a few days!
I think I’m going to go play a little more.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 2nd, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Oh, no don’t be sorry Pteryxx! It’s great information. The boy kitty isn’t neutered so I’m looking online for free/low cost places right now. I’ll be calling around when mom gets home so I can use her landline and not use up all my minutes.
The boy kitty is a year old already and doesn’t have any shots either. =(
Of course, Step dad’s cat is 9 months or so and hasn’t been spayed yet. She was either too small and then they were going to take her in last month for the mobile free clinic that was near us at the time. She then went into heat! Terrible timing but she’s out of heat or almost out or something so we should get that taken care of soon too.
There’s lots of help around so it’s a matter of finding a place/time we can get to really. If worse come to worse, there’s this place that does refunds for people on AHCCCS who have paid for the spay/neuter. You just have to go to a list of vets on their list.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:32 pm
This may sound silly, but:
1. I am an adult woman with small feet.
2. I buy most of my footgear at Stride Rite, as their shoes are sturdy, comfortable, fit me well, and are easy on the pocketbook.
3. Stride Rite thus sends me ads about buying Disney Princess™ shoes for my daughter.
ARGH.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Esteleth,
Doesn’t sound silly. Sounds frustrating. My wife bought a child’s gift for a niece 6 years ago, and she still gets “girl gift” catalogs.
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 2nd, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Okay, I have downloaded the new Downton Abbey.
Back later.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 2nd, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Rant/Vent: (feel free to skip)
Steam is so evil! Just after I complain about no being able to play my Elder Scrolls games, they have an Elder Scrolls Collection on sale for 60 bucks. That’s such an awesome deal. Hell, Oblivion is only 10 bucks, so I’m thinking of selling my games so I can at least get that.
Ooooooh, I can go sell all my DVDs that I don’t even watch. I’m much more of a reader and TV watcher anyways. *rubs hands like an evil genius*
Also, my Roomie is so fucking irritating! I’m cleaning up. I’m always the one to clean up. He doesn’t even pick up his own shit. Seriously annoying. He rolls cigarettes with a machine and just leaves the tobacco that falls out lying on the table. There’s a fucking mound of it on our table right now. I go to try and clean it and he’s all “NO! Save that! Just in case!” So do it yourfuckingself, jackass. I’m trying to clean and he’s all “you’re not doing it right! Stop moving my things! You’re just doing it to go through my stuff aren’t you?”
Nope, I’m cleaning because the house is a mess. I’m tried of your junk just accumulating all up on the counter. Yeah, I know I do it too, but guess what? I’m cleaning up my crap too! I at least do it occasionally. He’s never done it. All he does is take out the trash every couple of days. That’s it. I do everything else. He complains about the tile floor being sticky, even though I just mopped it. Well, guess what douche? You can mop it too!
Whenever I try to talk to him about moving the furniture, or how to sort the closet space and where to put his clothes, where he wants to store his stuff, all he says is “Do what you want I don’t care.” Then he complains about what I do with it. I mean really dude? If you had an opinion or didn’t like my suggestion, say so! Now you want me to re-do everything because you decided to be a jackass? Fuck no.
Anyways, I’m trying to fucking clean now and I’ve hit a wall. I can’t vacuum because he’s a sleep. Yet I can’t do it later at night because he’s all “What about the neighbors?” Ugh. Our neighbors are morphine addicts who don’t notice anyways and it takes all of 10 minutes. Oh no wait, I now have to re-pick up all the stuff that’s on the floor again because you wouldn’t move for me to vacuum!
Look, I hate cleaning too. I get it. I really do but you know what? I still fucking do it. And sometimes I get in a cleaning mood and it would be really fucking awesome if I could fucking clean when that happens. But noooooooooooooooooo. I mean it’s going to be my ass anyways if CPS stops by and sees the house a mess. He doesn’t give a shit about anything. I get that he’s stressed out about his debt, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing but debt to deal with. I get that he’s the one working. I’m talking just pick up your own shit once in awhile. That’s all. Is that so hard? I mean yes, he’s paying all the bills but I’m not the maid. Especially not when I get shit for picking up, or get shit for not picking up. Even after I get a job again, he’ll still have to pay his share. Or I’ll just pay it all so he can save up to move out. But you know what, whatever happens he still needs to pick up all his tobacco and dirty sock and the shirts he throws in the corner and the pile of papers thrown under his desk.
UGH. I can’t win.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
JAL,
Two things:
1) Do you have a Paypal account? I can send you $10 for a game.
2) I feel like your roommate is my wife… sort of. I’m the one who does the cleaning, and it DOES get frustrating. Especially when the house is trashed and my wife says “well, I’m going to go through the baskets by the door and sort through the junk mail!” like she’s doing something. The junk mail in the baskets is NEATLY STACKED IN BASKETS WHICH MEANS IT ISN’T PART OF THE FUCKING MESS!!!!! *deep breaths*
A. R:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:32 pm
As in Series 3?
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Yes, A.R. The third episode aired last night in the UK. For no apparent reason, it is embargoed in the states until the spring, but dammit, I need me some Dowager Countess snark.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:56 pm
JAL – That sucks. I get it. SO is actually a pretty neat person. Messes bug him. Dirt bugs him. He cleans at least every weekend. Except the bathroom. I have cleaned it once for him (we don’t actually live together) in the year and a half he has lived there. Until two weeks ago, he hadn’t cleaned it. It was a disaster zone. Not in clutter, just layers of grime. I’m sure it will get bad again before he does it.
I feel you on the relationship catch-22s in more general terms, though. Like, I get in trouble if I’m direct about my feelings and ask (demand) that we have a talk about a problem. I also get shit if I’m passive aggressive because being direct was met with rejection and dismissal and “I’m having trouble empathizing right now.” Can’t win for losing. It’s really not fun. I’m sorry. I have hot tea to share, if it would calm nerves : / (No useful advice, sorry).
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Esteleth
Why do you need to commit class warfare against me, and people like me? Why dammit… WHY!!!
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Hi thread! And denizens thereof!
I got a new job so I haven’t had as much time sitting here in front of the computer so I haven’t been in a couple of weeks. I had something I wanted to tell you guys about. You might remember I started commenting here (been reading a long time) a few weeks back to ask about what books would be recommended for me to learn about evolution (many of your recommendations are on the way, thanks everyone). I went to a meeting of the local atheist group this past weekend where a local college professor gave a talk on evolution – mainly about the state of the evidence for evolution and giving answers to the common arguments against it. It didn’t teach me a whole lot about what evolution is or how it works, but gave me some tools for talking about it, and then yesterday I had this conversation with an acquaintance by email which I was pleased with (because usually I avoid confrontation so thoroughly, I would normally have let the comment slip by instead of answering it. So I was happy, although the person was completely undeterred…his response was really quite comical.
I was mainly happy that I stood up for myself when directly questioned, which I would not have done before. I don’t think I’ll make a habit of wasting my time on class A idiots like that one (he thinks we came from aliens, because he doesn’t like the word evolve and isn’t religious).
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:12 pm
deborahbell,
It is cool that you can recognize bad arguments and feel confident enough to go after them. Congrats on the new job, and on getting out there and interacting with your local group.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:14 pm
deborahbell, that’s awesome! Good for you and I’m glad you feel so good about calling out that crap. (My dad thinks we came from aliens too…but then aliens explains every mystery on the planet in his mind).
How’s the job going?
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:17 pm
HOLY FUCKING PILLOWPANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I decided to be a little shady with the online file sharing last month. I knew I had done a little extra bandwidth on my account. There’s no way I ever thought I had done 650+ GB in two weeks. Not even trying, not even working for it.
I’m out. No more shady shit for me.
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Joe and Portia Thanks! I have been feeling more and more a desire to be real and upfront and say what I am thinking.
The new job is repairing laptops, which is a huge change from selling cell phones (still technology related, but very different responsibilities). I’m still in training, but it seems really ridiculously easy – replace a part or two, put it back together, test and ship. I’m surprised at how easy it is really to take laptops apart – most computer people I’ve talked to seemed to think they were impossible to work on.
The job doesn’t pay very well, it’s mandatory overtime, the “health insurance” they offer is crappy and 100% paid by the employee (I’m going to get a better and cheaper plan on my own I think) and the company is losing the contract for the particular laptop brand sometime soon (the date keeps getting extended out, so not sure how long). But it’s a move into IT, sort of, and it gets me out of working with the public, and a more or less temporary job with no customer interaction is what I wanted for the next little while. Hopefully by the time the contract ends I have my Unix certification and can get something a lot better.
And the hours should keep my mind off the relationship that just ended, which I didn’t want to end. Given I’m still living in with him (haven’t had the money to do otherwise yet) I need the distraction.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Sounds like the job will do for now, I’m glad it’s passable and not miserable. Also great to have the distraction from the unfun home life. Is he still acting like best buds? I guess it would be hard to figure out what else to do in a situation where you have to be around each other all the time. That’s a really crappy way to have to deal with the split up. I’m sorry : (
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Ok, someone just sent this link to me. NSFW, but a really hilarious video. Even if it’s not real it’s funny.
http://videosift.com/video/A-Christian-TV-Show-Explains-The-Dangers-of-Getting-Dick
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:03 pm
deborahbell,
Repairing laptops with a contract from a brand is actually gravy compared to the alternative… repairing laptops without any official support. I dipped my oar into that world, and I wound up yanking my oar right back out after I’d done about $2000 bucks of free consulting. “Free” meaning assholes consulting with me to eliminate options and then turning to other people once I’d narrowed down the problem to a single source. I’d get paid a few bucks, and then the real profit went to someone else… so I just gave up.
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Portia Yes, he is. I didn’t realize I had told about that. But yeah, he is acting like best buds, being really nice. We never fought, and were getting along fine when he broke up with me, so it’s not as weird as it sounds I guess; I have some guesses about why he is behaving the way he is, but not sure which is right. One thought is that he had wanted to break up for a while (which is true) because he was unhappy in some unspecified way (he wouldn’t ever explain it to me), so perhaps he had been in his heart not feeling a relationship but just friends for a while and doesn’t really understand why things should be different now. Or there’s the idea that he wanted out of the pressure of being in a relationship, some pressure he was putting on himself or felt from cultural expectations or something, and wants to still be close emotionally because he liked that part. Or there’s the idea that he may be trying to kind of let me down easy, because he knows I suffered from depression before meeting him and he is afraid that I will not do well if we break up and break it off cold. Or maybe it’s a mix of several factors.
From my side it’s hard to move on, hard to get closure, hard to let go because I don’t want to and he’s making it fairly easy to hang on, and he doesn’t seem to get it on his own. I have thought about sitting down and talking to him about it, but I am both afraid to and just don’t want to. I’m afraid of his reaction to me telling him the way things are is not helpful for me. And I’m afraid of losing the comfort of being buddy buddy because I’m already struggling with sadness and stuff. So yeah, not sure what to do.
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Joe Oh I can imagine. It’s interesting how easily the tenured techs can diagnose a problem. And while I can’t ship a unit with a new system board without getting it signed off on by escalations (basically a tenured rep in the site with special responsibilities) but I can order all the system boards I want from parts to test the problem. It’s a weird system to me, but seems to work.
I think I like the actual work, but I don’t think I could live on the hourly rate at 40 hours a week. I would have to work about 50 hours a week to make what I was making in 30 hours at my sales job – but I am a happier person with this job, so it works for me. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining; I am glad I took it and think it will be a positive overall.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:28 pm
Aw thanks Joe for the offer! But really it’s okay. I should be focused on other things and hopefully Step Dad can find a buyer for my ps3 games to get some extra cash.
-
Portia,
Exactly! It’s so downright irritating. The end result is always he does nothing and I get shit for doing things. It’s damn tiring, makes me not want to do anything. Of course, then things get really dirty and I force myself to do it, starting the cycle over again. GRRR.
-
-
deborahbell,
Oh, ouch. I’m sorry. That sucks, really sucks. Our situation is a bit different but Roomie is also my ex. I have no advice. =(
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:37 pm
deborahbell, sorry I poked a sore spot. I’ve been there. It can be so hard to extract yourself, but hopefully you can eventually get some emotional clarity. I’ve been in that ex/bff situation and it’s always messy and confusing. It seems like he doesn’t know what he he wants, either. I totally understand not wanting to hold him accountable for his confusing actions, or confront him at all about it. If I were you, I wouldn’t feel guilty for coasting until you have a different living situation to go to. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and happy to get through the rough patch. (YMMV, I am no relationship expert, I don’t have the best track record, but this is what has gotten me out of tough situations in comparative well-being). Just go easy on yourself in general.
JAL – It’s really no fun to feel like you’re playing chicken with something like cleaning when messes and dirt bother you. And I totally get bugged by that stuff so I can’t imagine how obnoxious that is. Especially with the stress of a possible CPS visit hanging over your head. So frustrating that even that doesn’t motivate him to do something about it himself. I shake my fist on your behalf.
Improbable Joe:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:40 pm
deborahbell,
The worst of it was that I did a few of these jobs for a contractor friend of mine, and then the homeowner would cut us both out of the deal. What little money I made came mostly from my contractor buddy even though he didn’t get paid for my consulting either, just because he felt bad that his clients were cheating me.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:42 pm
(Also sorry, deborahbell, if my detail-recall is a little creepy. I just saw so many familiar elements in your situation that it stuck with me, I think).
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:45 pm
JAL Thanks.
Portia No, it was affirming to have you remember about the situation. I’m sorry if I spilled too much about it; the dilemma has been on my mind today. I’m really in a quandary.
My first instinct is to just coast for a while, like you said. See if he backs off on his own eventually. See what I think about things after I’ve had time to get more of an even keel emotionally.
Portia:
October 2nd, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Don’t be sorry. Spill all you need. I’m glad if what little I can do from here is helpful.
When you’re in an emotional quagmire like yours, it is easily all-consuming. When you’ve spent so much of your time and energy on a relationship, everything seems to connect back to it. If talking here can help you sort something out or even just let off some of the steam, please do. I know that “thinking out loud” can be immensely helpful.
I really hope that you can find a solution soon. Instincts are great things :) Glad you’re not gonna rush yourself.
I have to go to bed now, but I’ll be around if you wanna talk. Lemme know if you ever wanna email :)
deborahbell:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Portia I have to go to bed myself. New job starts early. :) Thanks again.
That’s it exactly.
A. R:
October 2nd, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Esteleth: Hmmm, I shall have to see if the eeeebilll technique I used to get Series 2 will still work…
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:25 am
Alethea H. “Crocoduck” Dundee
I am so, so sorry that I missed you, Ariaflame and the cocktails. It was bad enough spending the weekend in hospital without the added frustration of missing the party.
I’ll try to time my heart attack better next time. =^_^=
AJ Milne:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:48 am
I can proudly report truffle victory.
Wound up doing it myself in the middle of the night, but they are perfect, round, delicious, in flawlessly glossy tempered chocolate.
And now I must sleep.
(/And I’m laughing… But not really… At ‘playing chicken’ on cleaning. That’s what it is, all right. And about as funny as an ulcer, really, but I’m fucking laughing anyway. Ha. See? Laughing. Dammit.)
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:27 am
Playing chicken on cleaning is the perfect way to describe it too. I get all huffy at doing all the work, think he’ll do it if I just leave it but nope, he doesn’t.
It’s not like I’m a clean freak or anything. I’m a slob too but not the way he is. He’s the always lived at home at had his mom clean everything, and only cleaned his room when his mother’s nagging got to him. Then we moved in together. Oh joy. Apparently, my nagging does nothing since I’m not paying for everything like his mother did.
Now earlier I did all the vacuuming. I literally vacuumed every area in the house except for where he was sleeping. He kept looking at me, giving me the stink eye and then fell right back asleep. An hour or so after I’m done with vacuuming he wakes up. Little One gets back from Grandma’s House and is officially sick. She falls asleep where Roomie was sleeping and now I’m screwed. She’s waking up like every 20 minutes crying and just plain miserable. My poor baby. =(
When a little kid is sick and miserable, they make everyone sick and miserable.
But I did at least get Roomie talking about cleaning. The passive aggressive conversation between my mother and I in front of him but not including him topped off the passive aggressive vacuuming. He’s now at least promised to do the mopping and deal with his crap in his area.
Oh dear god, do I hope he finally follows through. It would be a lovely change of pace.
Now, he’s not all bad mind you but he knows this is an issue.
chigau (違わない):
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:42 am
I’m sorta caught-up but I really can’t keep up
(and I have re-started the “Computer” 4 times)
so:
*hugs* for everyone and
*may your bathrooms be clean*
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:54 am
Tigger_the_Wing,
*hugs*
opposablethumbs:
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:59 am
Tigger_the_Wing also hugs, and holy shit a heart attack?!?!? Well you’re typing, so I guess you’re home again? Hope you’re OK!
chigau (違わない):
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:10 am
(I’m sooo ‘thrupt)
*hugs* for tigger
—-
jeeeeeeeeezuz
my ear just *popped*
everything is LOUD
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:11 am
Good morning
Tigger
Argh what?
I hope you’re better now and everything went well. Virtual hugs and everything
AJ Milne
Share, please?
deborahbell
If you’re still a bit unsure about the basics, search Potholer 54 on youtube. He has a really great “made easy” series that covers the basics.
JAL
One of the greatest pitfalls is that adults will be reasonable people and you don’t have to argue details with them like with kids. I had this in Irland when I thought it would be no trouble if six people just cleaned up their own mess. We ended up with no plates because one guy just took his food to his room and left the plates there. And the American guy who just would ignore that there are no waste thingies in the sink so you can’t pour your scraps into it. And nobody except for me ever taking out the rubbish. When I stopped doing it it piled up until the kitches started to smell like a landfill.
So, I’d recommend fixed rules that are written down and put where everybody can see them.
Best wishes for the little one.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 4:57 am
You know how you know you are really bored? You go about washing all the windows and glass surfaces in the apartment just for the fun of it.
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:38 am
JAL hugs for LittleOne and a big Get Well Soon to all the poorly people.
Thanks for all the hugs! =^_^=
It was only a minor heart attack, but it was nevertheless disappointing because I had been feeling so well since the heart surgery on the 12th Sept (cardiac ablation to fix the arrhythmia) that I had felt able to start making plans for the first time in months. It was an unwelcome reminder that I’m not as able as I want to be and has put me right back in the wheelchair and dependent on others again. Blergh.
However, I recovered so quickly that the cardiologist sent me home two days later to rest and await an angiogram as an outpatient on the 12th Oct.
*****Boring Bits*****
I had an angiogram in June 2007 and was diagnosed with Prinzmetal’s Angina (aka unstable angina, aka coronary artery spasm). I was told at the time (by the arsehole of a cardiologist I was seeing in Adelaide) that the coronary arteries were perfectly clear and as long as I took the nitrates there’d be no danger of a heart attack. (Funny, because I’d already had one).
I have a really awesome cardiologist here in Canberra but she’s on leave yet, miracle of miracles, the guy I saw at the hospital was equally awesome. He looked into my history and came up with a different story. It appears that narrowing of my coronary arteries was in fact detected in that first angiogram; 20% narrowing at rest, increasing to 80% during a spasm.
Awesome Hospital Guy said that, given my history of high cholesterol, it was certainly within the bounds of possibility that the narrowing could have got worse in the last five years and a mere 50% increase in narrowing (from 20% to 30%) would lead to 90% narrowing during a spasm and hence the increased angina pain and minor heart attack (troponin level of 0.04, whatever that means – I must look it up when I finish typing this!).
The reason AHG wants me to undergo another angiogram is that he wants to see what’s going on, and (I hope!) do something about it; because if the base narrowing doubles, then the blockage during a spasm would be 100% – major heart attack time.
*****/Boring Bits*****
So that explains why I’ve failed to keep up with the [Lounge], sorry!
But I did see the beautiful clothes Patricia made for DarkFetus, gorgeous! You are so talented!
birgerjohansson:
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:56 am
Miscellaneous news links:
— — — —
New hope for taming triple-negative breast cancer http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-triple-negative-breast-cancer.html
— — — —
Study reveals *multiple* mechanisms may play role in Alzheimer’s http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-reveals-multiple-mechanisms-role-alzheimer.html
— — — —
Anti-flu proteins work as designed, researchers confirm http://phys.org/news/2012-10-anti-flu-proteins.html
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:57 am
o.O
I’m so sorry Tigger! I totally missed the whole heart attack mention and went to get what rest I could while Little One was sleeping.
I’m glad you’ve recovered so quickly and I hope they figure it all out so you don’t have to go through that again.
Thanks for the hugs for Little One. Thankfully, no chance for you to get sick through the ‘tubes from her.
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:08 am
No chance of infection? Yay! Cyber-hugs are the best! =^_^=
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:35 am
Hi Tigger! Glad you are OK.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:51 am
Giliell
Do you know if it’s true that in Germany, unemployment services require the unemployed to go there every week and submit papers that show they were applying for jobs? And if they aren’t looking for work hard enough (minimum of 5 applications every week- seriously, at some point there is nowhere to apply anymore), they get kicked out?
Because, it looks like this will be a new “thing” here soon, and morons are of course saying it’s because of EU, and Austria and Germany have it like that.
Every shit they come up with is always “according to the standards of European Union”.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:54 am
Some weeks I send much more than 5 applications, but there are parts of the year when there is nothing to apply for.
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:04 am
HI Alethea! I really am sorry I missed your birthday. I was really looking forward to it. How did it go?
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:09 am
Beatrice , the employment situation in Europe is why we’re still in Australia. While hubby remains employed here, we simply cannot afford to go home even if my heart didn’t keep doing stupid shit to keep me on the ‘Do Not Fly’ list.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:15 am
Tigger:
Holy crap! It’s good to hear that you’re home– here’s some *hugs*, *rose tea*, and *Frosted Mini Wheats*
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:21 am
beatrice
Uhm, no.
You have to show up there every once in a while and you have to prove you’re looking for a job. I don’t know the actual numbers but you get our expenses covered for a certain number.
So, no, that’s not true. There’s a grain of truth to it, but inly so far.
I’m off now but I can tell more tonight if you want to.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:27 am
Thanks, Giliell.
No need for you to bother further with this. I was already pretty sure our services were lying, but I wanted to check just in case someone told the truth, for once.
opposablethumbs:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:43 am
http://www.allout.org/en/actions/ukraine_gag
Petition from the AllOut campaign, just in case anyone hasn’t seen this:
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 am
Good morning, Horde!
A couple of rants, if I could:
On Resident Evil 6: I’m enjoying the hell out of it– in fact, I was super tempted to take a sick day today, so I could just spend the day in front of the teevee. I haven’t gotten very far yet, but that’s because I tried all three scenarios before choosing which one I was going to play first. Anyway, I haven’t run into the problems I was warned about (wonky camera and terrible dialog), but we’ll see how long that lasts.
On my Asshole Sister: My dad was helping her paint and fix the ceiling in one of the bedrooms of her house. Apparently, she brought up the fact that DarkFetus is breech and I’m scheduled for a c-section at the end of the month. Dad responded by saying that when Mom had a breech pregnancy, she was uncomfortable and in pain all of the time (much moreso than her other pregnancies), and he felt bad for me ‘cos it isn’t easy. Asshole Sister told him that there’s nothing uncomfortable about a breech presentation and that I should really stop whining* when I don’t have any problems. *eyeroll*
*Nevermind that I haven’t been, but let’s not let facts get in the way of misplaced anger.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:03 am
Someone should really point out to your asshole sister that she just called your mom a whinging liar.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:14 am
Beatrice,
You know, I wonder if Dad did do that– I know that he’s pissed at her now. I also know that he pointed out that this is Asshole Sister’s first pregnancy, so she has no frame of reference, whereas Mom does.
It’s like she’s trying to piss off as many family members as possible before she has her baby. It’s weird.
(Bonus fun: I received an invite to he baby shower at the end of the month. I have no freaking idea what I’m going to do– it’s three days before my c-section and holy shit, do I ever not want to go.)
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:17 am
deborahbell @471:
You owe me a new keyboard, sinuses, and a glass of root beer.
Improbable Joe:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:24 am
You go to bed for a couple of hours, you wake up, and Tigger has a heart attack. Weird.
Glad you’re OK though, seriously.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:29 am
Audley,
Her baby shower or of someone who possibly didn’t know when you had your c-section scheduled?
I’m not really sure what etiquette says for this kind of thing, but I would guess scheduling a baby shower three days before her sister’s c-section date is a bit… impolite. One could even call it assholish.
dianne:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:38 am
troponin level of 0.04, whatever that means
Troponin is made by the heart and more or less only the heart so when heart muscle is damaged, the amount of it in the blood rises. It can go up from any form of damage to the heart, i.e. if you were in a car crash and had compression to the chest it would increase, but the usual reason is a heart attack. It’s especially useful because it goes up quickly after a heart attack so shows what’s going on soon enough to do something useful to limit the damage. 0.01 is the usual upper limit of normal*, so 0.04 is high but not ludicrously high. Major heart attacks usually lead to troponins of 0.1 or higher. An actual cardiologist might have more details and/or up to date info.
*Lab dependent. Do not rely on exact values given here.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:39 am
Beatrice:
Asshole sister’s baby shower.
If she had, say, reserved a room in a restaurant, I wouldn’t think anything of the timing. I scheduled the ‘section late last week and lord knows around here you need to make any sort of restaurant/banquet hall reservations 2 to 3 months in advance. But, no, it’s in her house and she’s throwing herself the shower the weekend before my surgery. (Did I mention that I live upstairs?) So, yeah, it’s pretty apparent to me that she really doesn’t care if I show up or not.
*sigh*
Pteryxx:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:44 am
Yeeps Tigger-the-wing! *carefully offers hugs to your cardiac organ*
–
Beatrice: I don’t recall whether you’re in the US, but I have a friend who gave up on food stamp benefits here because the requirements (to prove you’re looking for work and not a lazy freeloading undeserving piece of scum) are so onerous.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:45 am
Audley,
I’m sorry your sister is such an asshole. *hugs*
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:48 am
Ptreyxx,
I’m European.
I don’t even really get anything useful from the unemployment services, except that a proof that I’m registered allows me to buy my public transport ticket a bit cheaper. Service itself does nothing for me.
I have an adviser who is supposed to help me find a job.
She hasn’t called me a single time yet.
AJ Milne:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:53 am
Damn, Tigger. Best, take care of yourself, y’know…
Much lighter note (at kid’s dentist thing waiting… copying out of notes, so on, on phone, may be slightly scattered…)
Re ‘share’: I probably can’t safely ship these. Sour cream, y’know. Probably not the safest thing, even with all the sugar, which, sure, may preserve it…
But: here’s the recipe. I guess also mebbe for the wiki:
3 cups yellow sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
You’ll also need around 3 cups dipping chocolate. See notes below.
Mix sugar and cream and heat in a medium pot on stove top to 240 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla, let stand until butter is melted. Pour out onto cold slab. The butter will separate from the syrup when you pour it out. When lukewarm, work with a paddle, working butter back into syrup, and spoon into a bowl.
Cool in refrigerator until you can form into balls. Form into 3/4 inch balls, and cool again briefly, until cool enough for dipping.
Dip in dipping chocolate. Cool until solid. Store cool. Warming a bit before serving should bring out the flavour more.
Notes:
I just use a carefully cleaned marble counter top for my ‘cold slab’. Probably, in a pinch, you could also use a large cookie sheet.
The syrup spits like crazy when it gets hot. I stir it fairly regularly to avoid burning; don’t strictly know if that’s necessary yet. But if you do: an oven mitt for your stirring hand is mandatory. The stuff is like candied napalm near the end of the deal, and does take a while to get across that last ten degrees, since it’s boiling, by then. I have some lovely burns from spitting sugar mix from the first time I tried it, until I grabbed a mitt.
Also, you’ll need a candy thermometer, to have proper precision around 240 degrees.
I used tempered chocolate for the dipping chocolate. This is a bit of a job, too, and you’ll need a chocolate thermometer (different than a candy thermometer–it’s sensitive lower, especially around 80 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit) and a double boiler to get it right. There’s lots of videos, tutorials on the web, for how you do this, if you haven’t, and want to try it, though. Apparently an easier approach now is to use something called compound chocolate, if available, which you just melt and use, but most people also don’t find it as tasty.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:08 am
Oh damn Audley. Asshole Sister is such an asshole. Sorry you have to deal with that.
–
Funny me complaining about my Roomie’s lack of cleaning, now that Little One is sick he’s been pure awesome and sweet as fuck.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:11 am
Thanks, Beatrice and JAL.
*snuggles* for the Little One. I hope she feels better soon.
dianne:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:13 am
JAL, I’m sorry to hear that the little one is sick! Hope she feels better soon!
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:17 am
Thanks everyone, I will make sure to pass it all on to Little One. She’s doing much better since she’s got some sleep, medicine and juice in her, that’s for sure.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:21 am
Asshole Sister update! No, she doesn’t expect me to attend her baby shower. Color me shocked.
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:34 am
Todd “legitimate rape” Akin (Republican member of the House Science Committee, has more to say on the subject of abortion:
Video and additional analysis here:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/03/14199524-akin-flunked-biology-101
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:36 am
Jeez, Audley, what an asshole she is. But it does have to be nice to totally off the hook, right? (I usually loathe baby showers, so that could just be me).
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:42 am
Ok, everything else he said is bullshit too, but this one:
leaves me completely baffled. How can a woman who isn’t pregnant abort? What does the doctor take out?
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:43 am
So, a privileged white guy complains about being given less time to speak than his female opponent during a debate. What are the facts? The privileged white guy was actually granted about 10% more time to speak than his opponent.
Link.
dianne:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:57 am
giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant
Maybe some sort of garbled reference to “menstrual extraction”?
Improbable Joe:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:14 am
How do you give abortions to women who aren’t actually pregnant? Are there abortion gift cards or something?
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:17 am
This article, “A poor prognostication record, by Steve Benen is interesting.
One of the many ways to choose one’s candidates, or Party affiliation, is to look at the record for predicting the outcomes of various policies once they are implemented. Even when one concedes that there are gray areas when judging outcomes, it is clear that Republican policymakers fail when it comes to foreseeing the results of policies. One would think that their frontal lobes never matured, hence their skill or even interest in judging the consequences of their actions is lacking.
The article goes on to document failures of prognostication on social issues as well.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:39 am
Portia:
If I wasn’t a petty person, sure. I’m going to make an appearance, drop off a gift, and look FABULOUSLY pregnant while doing so*. That way she can’t whine about how awful I am to her, but I’m also not putting myself in a potentially hurtful situation for any length of time.
Lynna:
Maybe Tood Akin thinks doctors can perform abortions on men? That might explain why he’s so freaked out about it.
*Provided, of course, that the DF doesn’t decide to show up early.
opposablethumbs:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Get-well snuggles to Little One, JAL – hope she’s feeling better.
Tod Akin is bizarre as well as vile.
I have no experience of baby showers (either attending or hosting), Audley, but it certainly sounds like you have by far the best plan there!
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:24 pm
I don’t think that’s petty, Audley. I have totally done things just to head off grief later. And popping in and out sounds like a great solution.
{rant ahead, skip at your discretion}
SO works so much that he has almost no leisure time, which causes obvious problems for me. He has a free evening tonight, so I asked if we could watch the debate together. (He is into politics too, and pretty liberal). He says no, because he wants to go to a bar and make friends with people to build a client base. In other words, when he has time for R&R (read: time to hang out with me) he finds a way to make it about work. I want to pull my hair out.
{rant over, carry on}
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Tigger – Yikes! I hope you get better soon and am glad you have support around you.
JAL – somehow I missed that Little One is sick, but I’m glad the medicine and juice are making her feel better :)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Portia:
The petty part is that I intend to look more FABULOUS! than my asshole sister, just to show her up.
I’m actually very comfortable with how I look right now– I look like I’m in my 9th month of pregnancy (believe me), but my hair and skin are better than they’ve ever been and I’ve found some pretty dresses that accentuate my pregnant shape*. I’m feeling very confident and I think it shows.
*In other words, my boobs and belly look OMG amazing.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:38 pm
You go gurrrrl :D
Sounds to me like it’s more “living well is the best revenge” than pettiness. :)
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:39 pm
There’s officially an argument on one of my reviews because of I called out the religion pushing slut shaming Mother Teresa praising Christian Twilight book.
It’s so funny. My review is now at the top because all the comments. Smart move!
Yes, say I have an agenda, an arbitrary point of view and am straw manning the book. UGH. Reviews are subjective, you know?
Bleh. Whatever. It was a shitty read for me and I’m not changing my review.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:42 pm
JAL,
OK, now I want to read that review. If you’re not uncomfortable with us knowing your nym there, can you link the review?
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I’m okay with you guys knowing but I don’t want to have my accounts publicly linked so email me and I’ll give you the info.
It’s jals(dot)snark(dot)tentacles(at)gmail.com
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Oh crap! I forgot you can’t see the comments if you aren’t a member of the site, but you’ll be able to read my review.
Now if they talked about what a shitty writer I am or something, I could see that but seriously “vulgar language”? LOL
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
At first, I typed your address as jals.dot.snark
I think I got it right after that.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 12:59 pm
LOL XD I still screw up that email from time to time. I’m not sure why.
I’d love to get your thoughts on the review when you’re done. It’s rather lengthy because I hated the book so so much.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:02 pm
JAL,
Thanks! I love reading reviews of shitty books.
I’m slavishly following Jennifer Armintrout’s reviews of 50 Shades of Grey and sequels. (here)
chigau (違わない):
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Audley
If DF was right-side-up, I would suggest you go to AS’s baby shower and go into labor.
(I know. But it would be funny.)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Chigau:
You have no idea how much Asshole Sister would whine! I can hear her now: “Audley always has to be the center of attention!”
cicely:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Awesomeness!
-
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Good evening
beatrice
Yeah, I mean, it’s not like spying and harassing unemployed people and welfare recipients wasn’t popular here, but seriously, they would have to hire like 10 times the personel they have now to make everybody show up once a week.
Audley
Sounds like asshole sister is mightily afraid. You know, breech has to be just a variation of normal, no problem, totally workable without a c-section, pain-free etc.
But yeah, show her that it’s totally awesome :)
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:31 pm
JAL,
Cool review. You write clearly. And you were very polite in your critique, a “fuck” or two in such a long piece of text is hardly worth dragging the fainting couch closer.
I found it funny that you mentioned heavy handed foreshadowing, and other reviews were talking about suspense and curve balls.
The author is so deep in church and blessings and church that it’s really not difficult to believe she wrote a whole book with a religious agenda.
I’m now sad that it wasn’t a review of something I’ve read. Discussing books with you would be brilliant, I think.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Giliell:
Ooooh, I hadn’t thought of that. Asshole Sister knows that her fetus isn’t breech*, but that could change at any time (DF was the right way ’round until the 8th month or so). She probably wln’t want to admit that, you know, it kind of sucks.
*She has an ultrasound twice a month. No, I don’t get it, either– as far as anyone is aware, she and the fetus are both healthy.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Aw thanks!
I know I totally don’t understand how no one else saw it coming.
I actually wrote out a list of thing that made me realize what was going to happen but it was too long to put in the review! Seriously, it wouldn’t all fit due to word limits.
I really should have read the author’s background before but it was a giveaway and the book blurb looked fine enough. Man, finding out that it was Christian came quick but it was irritating. Once I realized that is was Christian is when I was like “OHHHH this is what’s going to happen I bet”. Yep, and I was right.
And a commenter criticized me for having an agenda in my review when the author had an agenda for pushing Christianity in the book. That commenter also told me I didn’t know anything about Christianity. LOL
Yeah, right. They got so defensive it was funny.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
I got so excited to talk about it I forgot to add there that I’d totally love to discuss books with you too. Loving that link for the reviews on 50 Shades of Grey.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Giliell,
Yeah, it sounds ridiculous. I would have completely dismissed the whole thing, but it was the person in charge of employment services that gave that statement (or at least papers attributed it to her).
I guess it will just be another case of people in power speaking without thinking.
Although, with all the delightful changes to employment services this last year… I’m sure something useless and inconvenient will come out of this.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Oohhhh, Jennifer has had issues with Goodreads too. Ah ha! It’s not just me.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:48 pm
JAL,
The writer is already on the sequel to Shades of Grey, so it will probably take some digging if you ever try to read all from the beginning. It seems that she forgets to put the same tag on every post.
I started when she was finishing up the first book and spent two nights reading, drinking lots of tea, and trying not to chortle too loudly.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Oh that makes sense. At least the first 25 recaps are on one handy dandy page for me. I just saw the words “Goodreads good squad” and was like whaaaa? Apparently, there are lots of problems with backlash of giving bad reviews there.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 1:59 pm
The first post is on this page: http://jenniferarmintrout.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-04-24T06:00:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=41&by-date=false
The surest way to get all the chapter is to check every page from then on. Most posts are those chapter reviews.
—-
And now I notice those big letters at the top saying Click right here for all the recaps and delicious controversy. *stupid*
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Audley
Well, i would have slept with the ultrasound on my belly. I paid for ultrasound every visit with #1, the doc did it anyway with the little one and then I already had more appointments than anybody could take with her anyway because of the kidney-shortage.
So, don’t judge her for that.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:11 pm
I now want to read 50 Shames of Earl Grey so hard.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Giliell:
It’s part of a pattern of worrying behavior– she’s obsessing about everything that could possibly go wrong. At first, it ultrasounds to check for was spina bifida, then she was convinced there was an arrhythmia in the placenta, then a hole in her fetus’ diaphragm, and the latest has been a problem with the blood flow to the brain*. She has also shelled out thousands of dollars for testing for genetic disorders that have no risk factors from either side of the family.
Like I said, as far as I know, there has been zero indication that there’s anything wrong with her or her fetus and at this point her behavior is getting weird.
*These are all standard problems to check for, but they are easily ruled out during the fifth month “anatomy” ultrasound. She has had multiple checking for the same disorders.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Audley
Yes, that really sounds like she’svery, very afraid.
I mean, I was, too, but I didn’t shame other pregnant women for it.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Giliell:
We all handle our pregnancies differently and I understand (especially depending on your history) being afraid. But to use your own fear as an excuse to be an asshole to everyone around you is pretty disgusting.
I mean, I get it. She’s jealous of me. I’ve had a relatively easy time of it and she hasn’t. All indications are that DarkFetus and I are doin’ just fine and that’s gotta sting if you’re sitting around worried that your baby is going to be born with an underdeveloped brain or whatever. But, she’s started alienating everyone else in the family too, for no goddamn reason whatsoever.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 2:59 pm
OMG
gunpowder mint tea
*is in heaven*
The scent from that box could wake the dead.
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:12 pm
The Koch brothers are buying the Arkansas state legislature:
Link.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:17 pm
Omg. Omg. Omg.
I’m getting the Elder Scrolls Collection pack!
Best. Day. Ever.
Also, part of the best day ever, the kitty has arrived! Though I did find out that the family is planning on returning in 4-6 months to Arizona and get their pets back. So it’s really a kitty sitting job. Which mean since the owner doesn’t want his cat fixed, we can’t get it fixed. They did say they would pay for cat food and litter during that time. However, if they don’t return the cat becomes ours.
The kitty is currently hiding out and shedding like crazy due to the upheaval. He’s gorgeous. Dark brown and light brown stripped cat with big, beautiful green eyes. He was plenty friendly and chill until he came inside and realized he wasn’t going to be leaving with his owner.
Beatrice:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Yay!
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:21 pm
JAL:
*confetti!*
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Speaking of buying politicians and political offices:
From The Daily Beast.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:35 pm
JAL
Yay!
So, I hope you can enjoy a prolonged kitty-sitting.
Audley
Yeah, I admit I’m a bit jealous of you, because I had a total of 6 weeks of happy pregnancy and then it was over. And I freaked out all the time with #1 (and my wonderful mother telling me I was probably harming the fetus by worrying too much). I could have relaxed more with the little one until that stubborn mule decided to have only one kidney so I actually had a reason to freak out, but as you say, that’s no excuse for being an asshole to everybody else and especially other pregnant women who are luckier than you are.
Lynna, OM:
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Anti-vaxers are paying a price in Utah, as are other innocent bystanders. Utah now has the worst epidemic of whooping cough in 60 years, with 851 cases of pertussis.
Link.
“It should have been eradicated by now,” Pruitt said, “but there’s still a group of people out there that don’t immunize so it keeps it brewing at a low level.”
From the comments:
Improbable Joe:
October 3rd, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Well…
My wife found out that her current interim job ends in the middle of November. So, after that? Still sort of up in the air. We’re fingers crossed for Albuquerque, I guess?
deborahbell:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Giliell
Thanks!
Beatrice (497)
I was under the impression that at least most places in the US had such restrictions on unemployment. I’ve heard of people applying to jobs with unreasonable schedule limitations or giving bad interviews when they are on unemployment and don’t want to really get a job (this was years ago, before the recession, when a person might want to do something else for a while and sit on unemployment for a month or two). They would do this in order to fill the requirement of applying for jobs without actually being in danger of getting one.
I recently was looking for a job, and there were tons that I applied for; although my skills and experience had me applying for a lot of low level jobs that don’t pay well and are still extremely picky due to the availability of labor right now.
McC2lhu
Er..on the way! :)
Portia
The best baby shower I ever went to was some friends of my ex-boyfriend (while we were dating). The shower was attended by both sexes more or less equally and was basically a big barbecue outside in their back yard. They had games that were fun for everyone, including at one point something that involved my BF doing a bit of a break dance routine, which was shocking to me, because he doesn’t often show the ‘hood he grew up in.
Joe
Here’s hoping! I hope you guys get something wonderful just where you want to live!
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Hugs to Audley. Chin up, and all. Some friends of mine did have a similar baby shower to deborahbell’s story – a perfectly harmless party with presents. I imagine Asshole Sister’s will be nothing like that.
Re the current talking point: I imagine it’s possible to do a D&C on a non-pregnant woman. And if she had a false positive pregnancy test, it might even be labelled “abortion”. But really, I don’t think the moron has a clue what he’s talking about, so why are we trying to make sense of it for him? It’s random abuse.
Tigger, I’m sorry you couldn’t make it to the party to meet Ariaflame. It was a nice time with drinks & chat, and my amazing Frida Kahlo frock was duly appreciated. All went well, except we had some excitement at the end when a guest passed out. We called the ambos, and they decided he was just drunk. He was fine next day, but will see his doc – perhaps drug interactions. Perils of boozing while getting old, eh?
Josh, Official SpokesGay:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:13 pm
SEATTLE MADONNA FANS! I have one ticket left to her show tonight at Key Arena I need to get rid off. Floor, about 10 rows back from catwalk. Went last night and had front row. . .amazing. If you want it email me at spokesgay at gmail. I’ll be at Key Arena a little before eight to sell three others.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:38 pm
Ok. If you live in the Norfolk, VA area or are traveling through and you like beer you must go to The Birch Bar
Now
Tigger_the_Wing:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Alethea, sounds like a great party, except for the one poor chap. I hope he’s OK. “Perils of boozing while getting old, eh?” errr… in my case, that would be ‘perils of boozing’ full stop. I have always been incapable of staying conscious with alcohol. I once passed out on the fumes from a broken bottle of wine! (Very embarrassing – I was working at a supermarket checkout at the time!)
Thanks, Horde, for all the good thoughts. I love you lot!
Update – I’ve been getting more angina since yesterday evening. The GP has managed to fit me in for this afternoon at 14:40; four hours from now) so please keep your tentacles crossed for me!
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Tigger:
Megacyberhugs. Sounds scary. Tentacles are crossed.
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Anti-vaxers are paying a price in Utah, as are other innocent bystanders. Utah now has the worst epidemic of whooping cough in 60 years, with 851 cases of pertussis.
same thing happening here in NZ.
directly traceable to a single family who refused to vaccinate their kids before taking them to Thailand.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Good luck, Tigger!
What I mean by “the perils of boozing while getting old” is that your metabolism changes, and you are more likely to be on medications. So you can be taken by surprise at a level that used to be just fine – but is no longer so. It’s the change that’s the danger.
Improbable Joe:
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Rev. BigDumbChimp,
Seems sort of late to start driving to a bar…
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Next time then…
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:31 pm
Obama is making too much sense… And IMHO “losing” this debate
strange gods before me ॐ:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:48 pm
“If you’re 54 or 55 you might want to listen.”
I think he’s doing fine. I do wish he had said more in his intro, but I don’t think that’s a dealbreaker.
StevoR:
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:51 pm
Some folks here may be interested in pharngyulating this poll :
http://ninemsn.com.au
***
Would Mitt Romney make a good US president?
Yes = 2,230
No = 10,522
***
Although it probably hardly needs the help!
PS. Ninemsn polls are changed daily so be quick.
cicely:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:07 pm
Except that it isn’t random abuse, but carefully-targeted abuse, to appeal to a particular share of the voting public that is all too common here in Missouri: the smugly ignorant demographic. Not only do them abortionists abortionify evil and ignorant pregnant wimmen, they take advantage of non-pregnant ones, too—for money, and ’cause that’s extra evil, that you cain’t even rationalize as “necessary”.
-
All tentacles crossed for Tigger_the_Wing. Best of luck and Science-Based Medicine!
-
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Threadrupt and flat out at work.
Just faxed the release for the first payment to the builders! We could have actual, real, not at all imaginary construction by the end of next week! [wonders if he has enough booze and/or chocolate to get through the stress of having a house built]
Also my fundy brother is now on Facebook. His 16 year old daughter finally convinced him to allow her to join. The next day he posted this:
I’m tempted to ask him why he didn’t do such a thing for his son when he signed up for Facebook a couple of years ago, but I already know the answer to that.
For the sake of my niece I’m going to try and put off the inevitable as long as I can. It will do her good to interact with an ethical atheist like me, but I’m pretty sure this is going to end badly.
ednaz:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:11 pm
dianne@ #359
I bow to The Master.
Beatrice@ #41
I’m slavishly following Jennifer Armintrout’s reviews of 50 Shades of Grey and sequels.
Thank You for the link. I laughed so hard my Hoodlum asked ‘What’s going on over there?’
Bwaahahaha! (saved it in my favorites)
Audley, If I may ask, what exactly was the crime you committed against your A Sister?
Was it being born?
Joe, Fingers are crossed.
Tigger_the_Wing, Sending very gentle hugs and crossing tentacles.
Markita Lynda—damn climate change!:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Tigger_the-Wing, I’m glad you’re OK. Get all better soon.
The only way to handle housecleaning is to talk about it, agree on a frequency, and do it at the agreed time. You get to nag the other person if they skip their turn.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Religious tolerance dog whistle
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:18 pm
deborahbell, that sounds like a baby shower I could get on board with. If I ever have one, it will be like that.
I haven’t thrown anything at the tv just yet. I’m pretty proud of myself.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:20 pm
I applaud Romney not blurting out whatever the expression on his face says he’s wanting to scream at the President right now.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Jesus Lehrer is horrible tonight.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:21 pm
It looks like the effort is causing him physical pain.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:23 pm
It’s like a giant constipated grin of forced compliance and wilting willpower.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Standardized testing? That’s what was bursting to get out of his flapping gums?
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Jim Lehrer is furthering the cause of the GOP cutting PBS funding.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Or increasing it.
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:29 pm
You think? I thought he was awful. Stepping all over everything.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Oh, no, Lehrer was abysmal. But if they had more money they could hire better people :)
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:33 pm
Ahhh… Point taken.
machintelligence:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Was anyone else watching on YouTube? It appears that their feed blew up about 10 seconds into Romney’s closing speech. WTF
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:40 pm
No, I was watching abc for the debate, and now msnbc for wonking.
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Jim Lehrer is furthering the cause of the GOP cutting PBS funding.
there’s still fed funding for PBS at all?
given that they’ve been cutting it with every administration since Reagan, I figured there was nothing left.
maybe it’s always a percent cut, so you never can actually say funding is “0″?
Esteleth, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:44 pm
I don’t know who won this debate, but I know who lost: Lehrer. Damn, that was painful.
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:52 pm
http://www.twitter.com/silentjimlehrer
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Yeah that was a missed opportunity.
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Cicely, yes of course you’re right. I meant random *content*, any mud flung will do; but absolutely not a random target or random reason.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:30 pm
All of the tentacles are crossed for Tigger.
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:34 pm
What?
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Salman Rushdie is fascinating. Can’t wait to pick up his new book.
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:46 pm
show of hands for those that think that Romney’s comment about liking Big Bird will inevitably lead to a parody using the old Sir Mix a Lot song?
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:48 pm
…I even think I can predict the name of it:
“Baby got Feathers!”
Rev. BigDumbChimp:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:53 pm
I like big beaks and I cannot lie
Portia:
October 3rd, 2012 at 10:54 pm
You other Randroids can’t deny.
strange gods before me ॐ:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:15 pm
When a Muppet walks in with an itty bitty marginal tax rate
And a Laffer curve to obfuscate
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:28 pm
That chair’s HUNG!
strange gods before me ॐ:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:31 pm
The math would take too long
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Hint, it ryhmes with zinger
thunk, Blob Alert!:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Bah.
Note that I still can’t vote for anybody, not that it’d make a difference in my state.
At least I won’t be represented by a tea-fuckwit anymore.
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:57 pm
I like big beaks and I cannot lie…
like everything under the sun, someone has already been there, done that.
Ichthyic:
October 3rd, 2012 at 11:59 pm
That chair’s HUNG!
I saw what you did there.
chigau (違わない):
October 4th, 2012 at 12:12 am
fuckfuckfuckfuckityfuckfuck
Edmontonians
http://www.greenwoods.com/index.php
fuck
chigau (違わない):
October 4th, 2012 at 12:17 am
fuck
Ichthyic:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:36 am
bummer.
hate it when good indie bookshops close. nothing good ever replaces them :(
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:33 am
Oh god, discussing abortion with a devil’s advocate (who claims not to be one, but keeps insisting there are moral issues with abortion) at Feministe. Why do I do this to myself!?
cooofffffeeeeeeee
*wanders off, zombie-like, to the kitchen*
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:35 am
Good morning
Tentacles crossed for Tigger and bossnurse
So, today I have a meeting with the last department at college so after that I’ll know what I’m up against and can make a timetable and I’m already scared shitless…
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 1:45 am
Chigau, the insider scuttlebutt suggests that the closure had as much to do with internal motivations and personal politics as it did with any kind of patronage issues. Pure hearsay of course, so take it for what it’s worth, but I do have direct knowledge that the Greenwoods corp was always rife with conflicts between the siblings in charge so it’s not too far fetched.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 1:54 am
Gilielle, my first big “Oh Shit!” moment as an undergrad* came when I got my course list. I glanced down it and saw that I was signed up for choir.
“But I don’t sing.” I said with rising panic.
“That’s okay.” says the secretary, “You have to have an ensemble credit and you don’t play an orchestral instrument so you have to be in the choir. Don’t worry, it’s graded on attendance.”
My relief was pretty sweet until looked at the schedule. Choir was Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8;30AM.
“Oh shit!”
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:00 am
*Never made it to being a grad student.
chigau (悲しい):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:00 am
FossilFishy
don’t care
my fuckfuckfuck is purely selfish
Greenwoods is closing and another Chapters is coming right up.
Audreys is soooo far away.
—
On the other paw, maybe the siblings will just have a cage-match and the survivors will re-open on Tuesday.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:13 am
Fair enough chigau. At the consumer level it really doesn’t matter why. But also keep in mind that this leaves a big gap in the market. If they really didn’t close because of falling sales or the like then there’s every chance that Audrey’s could open a southside location, or someone else could step into that niche.
Heh, cage match, my money would be on Gail.
chigau (悲しい):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:33 am
FossilFishy
I don’t have your insider info but Laurie has always kinda scared me. ;)
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:47 am
I have a bias. Dealt with Gail from time to time, Laurie, not so much. Mind you, either way I have friends who would pay serious coin to watch them in a real life Thunderdome. :)
There’s something about owning a small business that either attracts scary people or possibly creates them. I put off being in that position for years after I had the skills to do it for that very reason. Mind you, it could be confirmation bias on my part that I believe that. I wonder if anyone has done a study?
chigau (悲しい):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:54 am
I think succeeding in (for example) an independent bookstore in the face of (for example) Chapters, would take a HULK SMASH kinda personality.
and lots of back-up (people helping).
chigau (悲しい):
October 4th, 2012 at 3:16 am
and as I go to my rest:
SuperStore has some Xmas stuff on shelves,
the current temperature is 0°C (32°F),
my kitchen tap is still dripping and
my kitteh is FAT.
おやすみなさい
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:22 am
Natalie Reed hasn’t posted anything for a while. Does anyone know if she’s ok?
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:28 am
for ->in
John Morales:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:53 am
Remains of Mayan queen found in Guatemala
strange gods before me ॐ:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:09 am
Both are cromulent.
I don’t know the answer to your question, though.
Nick Gotts (formerly KG):
October 4th, 2012 at 4:25 am
Tentacles crossed for Tigger_the_Wing!
carlie:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:41 am
I’d like to see one debate moderated by someone who actually knows how to do it. There are national debate competitions, so there have to be moderators who are good at it somewhere.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:23 am
There and back again.
Driving was no fun, I tell you. Heavy autumn rain with heavy autumn winds and in addition, when Mr. changed the tires yesterday he mixed up left and right so now I’m especially ill-equipped for a wet Autobahn.
But I got my credits. Funny enough, now everybody is keen on giving me credits for the stuff I did in Ireland when they were very reluctant to give me any credit back then when I came back from Ireland.
beatrice
AFAIK she’s still dealing with lots of personal crap and has moved house but is planning to write again soon. I’ve seen her around on FtB.
FossilFishy
Choir? That’s nice.
My “oh shit” problem is based on anxiety and mental health issues. It’s actually the thing I tried explain to my husband: I have real problems going there. It makes me physically sick. And that’s after a whole year of therapy.
In his normal fucntioning world you are lazy for a day, get a bad conscience and do it the next day. In my world I don’t get something done one day, get a bad conscience so bad that the only way to deal with it is to ban the whole thought*, not get it done in another three weeks and then break down at the thought of doing it.
The fact that everybody there is perfectly nice doesn’t change things any more than knowing how harmful smoking is makes you a non-smoker.
I can do it now but it’s hard. It costs me. Right now I’m exhausted as if I’d walked the 30 miles instead of driving, while for the innocent observer all that happened was me waiting for twenty minutes and the wonderful lady checking my old records, looking for equivalents and printing out a sheet for the central register.
*Before I started therapy I had carefully hidden everything that said college. I changed radio-stations when the mentioned the college or even a traffic jam on the road that goes past the college.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 7:20 am
Ednaz:
That’s actually kind of funny– she’s four years older than I am and our birthdays are 2 days apart (mine’s Oct 14 and hers is the 16). To this day she still complains about the horror of having our Dad bring cupcakes into her pre-school class for her birthday when Mom was still in the hospital with me. I ruined her birthday.
But, seriously, I really don’t know exactly what has brought on this current bout of assholishness (I mean, she’s always been a bit of an asshole, but this is more extreme than I’ve ever seen). If I had to guess, I’d say that she feels that it’s totes unfair that 1) I became pregnant before she did and 2) I’m having a much easier time mentally handling the stress of being pregnant. So, she tries to make herself feel better (and remember, she’s really frightened that something’s going to go wrong) by making me feel worse. She also probably doesn’t understand why I’m not stressing over every little thing and why instead of obsessing over what ifs, I just call my docs when a question comes up.
trinioler:
October 4th, 2012 at 7:30 am
Poor Jim Lehrer.
In any reasonable world, the newspapers and news channels and journalists would all be talking about how much Romney lied in this debate.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 7:33 am
You know that’s why I hate G.W. Bush: It’s not so much that he killed innocent Iraqis in Desert Storm, he had to do it on my birthday!
Really, I can understand how a 4 yo is totally upset about this. A 30something woman should have grown out of it.
I mean, my sister should hate me for having been constantly in her room when her boyfriend was there… Somehow she managed not only to get older but to grow up, too.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 7:44 am
Oh Giliell, I’m so sorry. I went for the flip and the trivial when you were talking about serious matters. The stupid thing is I stared to write a post about just how difficult my life was at that time and then pulled myself up short and went for the lame humour. I’ve been trying to be of a misery monkey here so all I’ll say is that i have at least a little uncerstanding of what you’re talking about. And then I’ll just leave these hugs and chocolates and booze and the complete set of Bach’s Lute Suites in all their serene and calming glory over here on the end table should you have any use for them.
FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker):
October 4th, 2012 at 7:50 am
Please add this lost and lonely word ‘less’ to the above. Cheers.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 7:51 am
TL;DR: More whining about my Asshole Sister.
As an addendum:
At the beginning of my pregnancy, Asshole Sister was giving me “advice” that was all sorts of misinformation– sleeping on your back will cause miscarriage/stillbirth, if you have swollen ankles you should immediately be put on bed rest, “showing” early means that you’re gaining too much weight too fast, etc. I have no doubts that she thought the information she had was factual and she would use it to criticize me for being too fat/swollen/not caring enough for my “baby”. It didn’t matter how often I explained to her that my docs were happy with my progress* and they always have taken the time to talk to me and answer all of my questions, they were wrong and I was wrong.
But the closer I get to the delivery (I’m in my 9th month, she’s just started her 3rd trimester), the weirder things are getting. She’s either outright lying to me (and my family) or she’s deluding herself. I mean, why else would she say that it’s not uncomfortable to have a breech presentation (when she has no experience with it), or why would she lie to me about having watched a c-section (she has no idea what a modern ‘section entails), or why would she tell me that a freaking chiropactor would have prevented all of my problems (she’s not seeing a chiropractor)? It’s getting fucking bizarre.
*Seriously, how often do you go to a doctor’s appointment and they tell you to keep doing what you’re doing? It feels good, believe me.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 7:56 am
Giliell:
Remember, my sister is an asshole. Shit doesn’t die with her.
trinioler:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:16 am
Audley:
Wow.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 8:24 am
Trinioler:
Yeah.
Sorry about the tl;dr whining. I just don’t have anyone else to talk to about this (my parents are worried about Asshole Sister’s mental health, so they think I should “be gentle with her”. I also don’t want to drown my husband in it and I don’t want to drag my other sisters into the conflict). I’m avoiding her the best I can, but every time I see her, she has to get in at least one little dig and it’s super frustrating.
trinioler:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Hey, thats what everyone uses this space for. We all need someone to listen; here there’s always someone who will listen. :)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 8:31 am
Trinioler:
*hugs!* Thanks. :)
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:32 am
New “employer” update: I cracked wise yesterday about wearing a name tag so he’ll remember my name (which he’s been doing pretty well since he had to put it on a contract). He called me a smartass and laughed it off. Success!
On the downside, he said a bunch of transphobic, homophobic, and vaguely racist stuff yesterday. But he calls himself a Democrat, so maybe there’s hope for him?
Audley, I have a cousin like that. I can’t complain about her to anyone but my mom. She gets in a jab whenever she feels threatened. Which is often, because she’s super insecure. It’s grating and hard to figure out how to deal with.
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
October 4th, 2012 at 8:33 am
according to Twitter Reed is fine health wise but going through a depressive period
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 8:33 am
Portia:
Yep, that’s it exactly. Fear and insecurity.
*sigh* I’m not sure there is too much we can do, you know?
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:36 am
Yep, can’t control other people’s behavior, and all that. I’ve found that if I try not to push her buttons (by, ya know, being happy/satisfied with my life) then she is less likely to lash out. But that’s obviously an unreliable method. I’ve also started apologizing when I’m totally not at fault, just to make her less guarded against me. I once said something about having an inferiority complex, and she was totally amazed. Like she thinks I’m invincible and when I show I’m not, it makes her less threatened. I dunno. It’s unfixable in the long run, obviously. Can’t change em, can only survive their manipulative tactics.
trinioler:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Audley:
I did nothing but say wow. *abashed* Not sure what you’re saying thanks for xd.
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:52 am
Re: abortions performed on women who are not pregnant, apparently it’s a thing:
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 8:55 am
Portia:
It totally frustrates Asshole Sister to see me happy and confident because everything is a competition* and that means she’s losing. So, showing some insecurity doesn’t help me out, either, because that means that she’s winning and she will take the oppurtunity to either 1) criticize whatever I’m doing** or 2) try to rub her “success” in my face.
She’s an asshole. And whatever the older sister equivalent to a “mansplainer” is.
*Pregnancy, work, life in general, you name it.
**Yep, I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t. If I’m confident, I’m doin it rong. If I’m unsure of myself, I’m also doin it rong.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Trinioler:
The hugs were for understanding my need to vent. :)
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:58 am
Oh that’s awful. Like she’s looking for a weak spot to exploit. Can’t win for losing with that kind of asshole. All you can do is let off the steam here, it seems like. On the upside, since she’s showing her colors to the rest of the family, you come off smelling like a rose : ) Except they’re giving her a pass, it sounds like. Man, you’re right, there’s no winning. : P
blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:09 am
Apparently the possibly-sentient tunneling cider has taken up residence under Sri Lanka to watch the Cricket World Twenty20 championships.
This proves it is sentient.
And stupid… The English men’s team is quite capable of losing on their own without influenced by mysterious fumes. They have a coach for Losing in Previously Unknown Manners, whom they obviously pay a great of attention to.
The English women‘s team, of course, is showing their usual competence and have just reached the finals…
────────────────────────────
Just discovered that William Webb Ellis, the probably legendary “inventor” of Rugby, is buried here in South France.
────────────────────────────
(Now back to explaining to people that before claiming Programme X works on System Y, you should test that X can even be installed on Y …)
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 9:12 am
Portia:
I’m not upset (anymore) that they’re giving her a “pass”– there are legitimate reasons to worry about her mental health that have nothing to do with her assholishness.
And, to her credit, Mom has started collecting information about different mental health resources, so when she and Dad do sit down and talk to Asshole Sister about her worrying behaviors, it won’t seem like they’re criticizing her, but it will be clear that they’re trying to help. Hopefully.
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:14 am
Well that definitely sounds like progress. Both for you managing to not let the “pass” get to you, and for parents taking constructive steps. That’s good. In the meantime, don’t be sorry for venting : )
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 9:19 am
Thanks, Portia! *hugs!*
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:27 am
My mom just left yesterday with my two nieces. My 7 year old niece accidentally left behind two bottles of “homeopathic tablets” that her mother had sent along. Gag. One of them claims to treat “bedwetting, bedwetting with nightmares, and involuntary urination day or night.”
…
Sigh.
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:28 am
No problem, Audley :) Hugs back. I only just now made my way over to your blog to admire Patricia’s handiwork. Very very cute! And looks deliciously soft.
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:31 am
Homeopathy bit aside, that kind of incompetently written description should be a clear indicator that something’s off with the medication.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 9:37 am
Portia:
Homeopathy for bed wetters? Don’t most kids simply grow out of it?
Sheesh.
A few months back, my SiL gave me some homeopathic cream that was specifically for “nerve pain” (I’ve been having problems with my sciatic nerve). *eyeroll*
Patricia’s gifts to DarkFetus are in a long line of awesome gifts from teh Horde (not all of which made it to my blog– I’ll have to post the blanket and booties that Maureen Brian made). So many talented people!
But, really, the eggplant hat freaking kills me. :D
Therrin:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Audley,
My brother being four years older helped us get along better, we were often at different stages and never really conflicted over attention/toys/privileges, unlike my two (older) half-brothers who were 2 years apart. Maybe she’s upset she didn’t get to go first.
blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:41 am
Double-headed battle-axe. Sharp double-headed battle-axe.
(Another adult-training advice from the Mildly Deranged Penguin Clinics, dedicated to
making as much money as fast as possibleundoing the damage done by peas.)blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:47 am
Since homeopathetic stuff is just water, do you really want to give some to a bed-wetter to control the bed-wetting?
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Audley, yeah…I don’t know. I mean I guess I’d get tired of washing the sheets every other day too, but if the homeopathy was going to work, it would have worked a while ago.
Did you laugh when she gave you the cream?
The Combative Cousin is very into homeopathy as well. She got really upset with me when I asked her to explain the mechanism by which it supposedly works. She’s a nursing student, it shouldn’t totally out of her grasp…
Therrin, my four-years-older sister and I fought like wolverines growing up. But I always thought I should be older and do everything she got to do.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 9:52 am
Therrin:
My Little Sister and I are 7 years apart in age and we’ve always been really close, for much the same reasons as you and your brother got along. There was just nothing to have conflict about, you know? (Also, I’m incredibly proud of the young woman that she has become– I did not have my shit together in my early 20s, but Little Sister is living the life she wants and she’s happy. It’s freaking awesome.)
Asshole Sister has always created conflict among us, though. She and Eldest Sister are only 2 years apart in age and they’ve never gotten along. She’s always been critical of me and she’s always treated Little Sister like LS is stupid. This is a pattern of behavior that’s always been there, but it seems to be exacerbated by the stress of pregnancy.
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:02 am
Audley and Portia:
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that shit. It’s exhausting. In my case it was only a relatively short blip in my relationship with my sister, but it was devastating at the time. She was repeating some very nasty and destructive boundary-busting attitudes and behaviors of our (long-divorced) parents. At the time, I had been in therapy for a while and was learning, if haltingly in fits and starts, to draw and enforce healthy boundaries for myself. As a direct result of this process, I began keeping my mom at more of an emotional distance (e.g. only communicating by e-mail, keeping answers about my personal life vague, and keeping professional successes to myself), and I had ceased all communications with my father entirely (after explaining that “this behavior is unacceptable and hurtful, please stop doing it” more times than I can even count).
My sister pronounced I was being selfish — and you know what? maybe I was, for once — by not letting our parents shit all over me. It got ugly: I was going to end up lonely and alone throughout life if I didn’t accept my family’s abuse. (“I’m actually okay with that. It’s better than being stuck interacting with assholes.”) How dare you criticize her? That woman would do anything for you! (“Well, except be kind or even minimally respectful — and we can obviously forget about supportive.”) You’re the asshole here, you don’t realize it but you’ve been over-therapized. (“Wut?”) I feel sorry for you! (“Don’t. I’m good.”) But in a year or two my sister had come full circle and started on the same journey I did. A dozen years on, she is one of my best friends, and now expresses tremendous admiration for me, seeing my actions as not the easy and selfish thing to do, but painful, difficult and brave. She has adopted some of my tactics and coping strategies with our mom, and is thisclose to finally telling our dad to fuck. right. off.
I still have to point out unacceptable crap with my mom from time to time and say clearly and directly “please stop doing that, it’s upsetting me.” Lifelong habits die hard, and she herself was raised in an abusive home, so there’s that. If she persists, I extricate myself immediately. (I try to remember to do so with a smile, though I don’t always succeed.) But little by little, by being consistent she’s gotten much better over the years, to the point where we can for the most part genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
It was an astonishing revelation to me that it is 100% up to me how I will be treated: get with the program, or GTFO. How your family members would respond to your defining and defending your own boundaries with respect to their shitty behavior depends on a lot of things of course, like how self-aware and introspective they are (my sister: very. my mom: a little bit. my dad: not.)
TL;DR: Maybe you can indeed change them. It won’t be easy, it won’t be quick, and it will have to start and end with you.
Just my $.02.
Huge hugs, if you want them.
Nutmeg:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:03 am
It is snowing. Fuck.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Portia:
There are big kid diapers out there, specifically for bed wetters. Maybe someone should tell your sister.
I didn’t laugh when SiL gave me the cream ‘cos I didn’t know what it was at first. The packaging is very deceptive– it looks like legit pain relief cream– and I couldn’t tell what it was until I read the back of the tube and saw in tiny, tiny print: “This homeopathic medicine is safe and effective and follows FDA Guidelines in Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States”. (Hey, hey, turns out I still had that shit in my purse! If anyone’s wondering, the brand name is Topricin.) It’s almost like they were trying to hide the fact that there’s no active ingredients. Imagine that.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:12 am
FossilFishy
Don’t worry.
I don’t expect everybody to keep track with my life.
Audley
Good luck with that, but I would prepare them for a very hostile reaction. The stigma of mental health issues makes many people lash out a lot, especially if they really need help.
+++
What is it made of? Dilluted soiled sheets?
We have something against that, too: they’Re called diapers.
Makes total homeopathic sense: Like cures like
+++
Well, sister and I are very close and she rocks. She’s ve
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Again because of accidentially hitting “submit”:
Well, sister and I are very close and she rocks. She’s very supportive. But she steals my money if she can. Because her husband is a loser artist.
+++
BTW neo-hippies are strange people. There’s a girl in #1′s ballet class. So far the only thing they seem to consistently shun is adequate footwear.
Richard Austin:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:16 am
Can I just comment on the apparent silliness in trying to treat kids who are wetting the bed by giving them more water?
Richard Austin:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:19 am
… and, BLF beat me too it. That’s what I get for not refreshing fast enough.
/me blames the peas
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 10:19 am
Iris:
Wow. I really admire you and your sister for being able to do what’s right for you– that’s incredibly difficult.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that Asshole Sister will probably always be an asshole* to me. I realize this means that I’m going to have to maintain a lot of distance between us and, while that hurts, it’s something I’m going to have to do for my own peace of mind and to keep my family relationships healthy. It sucks because we did have a pretty decent (if not superficial (we were drinking buddies)) relationship before the pregnancies and I’m sad to see that end.
*There’s no way in hell I’m not going to be criticized for my parenting or the fact that I’m not planning to go back to work or whatever comes to her mind after DarkFetus is born.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 10:23 am
Giliell:
Mom knows that talking to Asshole Sister about her worries probably isn’t going to work, but I think that she feels like she has to do something to try to help.
blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:27 am
Ah good, that gives me a change of getting some before the mildly deranged penguin drinks it all up…
────────────────────────────
Tried some retsina for the first time ever the other night. Interesting stuff, I can see why some people compare it to drinking turpentine.
────────────────────────────
The forty-foot high killer model doesn’t need opposable thumbs. Unless you like being stepped on, that is…
────────────────────────────
It’s quite good. Very lean and tasty. Just make sure the bison is dead before you bite it — the mildly deranged penguin found that out the hard way… (Think the scene in Sleeper with the mildly deranged penguin playing the part of the nose, and the bison playing the part of the steamroller.)
────────────────────────────
Peas should touch nothing — not even the plate. Only thing to touch peas is the concrete-lined hazardous waste drum as they are rocketed into the Sun.
────────────────────────────
Ramrod.
blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:31 am
Quote-mining Nutmeg, “It is snowing fuck.”
Copulating snow? Pornographic weather? NSFW precipitation?
I suppose that’s one way to get people to pay more attention to climate change…
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Audley:
Thanks for the kudos — it was (and still is sometimes) very difficult. I guess it boils down to, exactly as you said, maintaining a safe distance for yourself, because your own peace of mind can and must come first. Anyone who disagrees with that priority and claims to love you… doesn’t. I’m very glad you have a safe place here to vent.
Of course not. As you pointed out upthread it doesn’t even matter what you do, you will be criticized. FWIW I found this to be an effective retort to hurtful and/or wildly inappropriate criticism: “Gosh, it sure is a good thing I don’t value your opinion about this in the slightest. Otherwise, what you just said would be, you know, hurtful.” (Add winks, smiles or eyerolls, to taste.)
Also: what are these “healthy family relationships” you speak of? I can haz sum nao plz? ;)
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Er, Johnson rods do exist. They vary the valve timing on a steam locomotive — adjusting valve lap and cutoff even to the point of making the single-stroke engine go into reverse. They don’t exist on automobiles — unless it is steam powered. So if your mechanic tells you your Stanley Steamer needs a new Johnson rod, or Johnson bar, he or she may be right.
Sorry. Steamnerding.
=
blf:
Cricket? Is that even a sport?
=
I’ll have you know, I made an excellent beef stew, with assorted fingerling potatoes, onions, tomatoes, garlic, roasted red pepper and peas. Absolutely delicious. Thpppppt!
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:49 am
Seconded. :(
Portia:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:55 am
It *does* make homeopathic sense to treat bedwetting with lots of water! But these are tablets. I don’t know how it translates into tablet form, but if it made sense, it wouldn’t be homeopathy.
…
…It just occurred to me to wonder if there’s urine in the tablets. Like tiny tiny particles of it. Grossss.
What’s funny is Older Niece had stopped wetting the bed when she was five, then her little sister was born and it started again. *shrug*
Iris, I’m really glad you and your sister have both made those strides with your parents. Good thing she has you for support as she makes the tough transition into healthy boundary setting.
I feel like I have recently made good strides figuring out how to deal with the Cousin. Now and then the old sense of rivalry or oneupsmanship flares up and I make a snide jab but usually I can get past it and try to remember that you can’t expect people to live up to your standards all the time. Creating space has been really helpful too, as you say. I have gotten better at guarding myself.
The thing I really can’t get over, among all the other things that I probably can, is her callousness last year. She didn’t vaccinate her daughter, which I never said a word to her about. My problem was when her then 4 year old daughter got pertussis. Cousin knew or should have known it was pertussis. My SiL and brother also didn’t vaccinate their daughters, but at least they homeschool…anyway, Cousin exposed those girls to pertussis. The Little Niece was a year and a half old. At that age, it can be deadly, from what I’ve read. I really struggle to get past her selfish need to go on the family vacation that put that baby’s life in danger (I know, I know, her parents did too by not vaccinating, but this is WAY more direct than that). And Cousin still fawns over the Little Niece as though she *didn’t* do such a horrible thing. It really gets under my skin.
Phew. Been holding that in for a while.
Giliell Meant to say sorry you’re having a rough time lately. *hugs* and glad you’re close to your sister but wtf stealing? : [
Ogvorbis Share, please? That sounds awesome.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Audley
It’s hard to accept that when it’s your mum, I guess it’s even harder when it’s your child.
But maybe if the day comes it will make it easier for her to know that her family is supportive and not kicking her for having mental health issues.
And you’Re going to be criticised for your parenting choices 24/7. People who don’t know you or your child the least will feel totally competent in telling you what to do.
What I love the most are the micro-agressions like my mum does them. If the kids want something and I say “No, because of…” and they go to their grandma she’ll not say yes, but she’ll say “no, because your mum said so”. So, I’m the bad one. It undermines my authority and competence while seeming totally supportive.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 10:58 am
Hee hee hee. “Johnson rod”. *snort!*
blf:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:00 am
Why ruin what does otherwise sound delicious? You got a thing against your stewpot or something…? Probably it’s because yer mother snorts Post-it notes, and yer father is leaky toothpaste tube.
AJ Milne:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:00 am
I read that as ‘It’s snowing. (Therefore, I am instructing everyone now to) Fuck.’
Firstly: I don’t understand how it follows. Secondly…
Listen, if it’s all the same with the cruise director, if it’s snowing, for the first damned time since that awful, premature end to the miserable season that was last year, I’m way more interested in going boarding. Everyone else: feel free to fuck.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Portia:
Beef Stew
Cut up 1 to 1.5 pounds of chuck into bite-sized pieces. Toss the meat in
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon smokes salt
1 Tablespoon white pepper
shake of the excess, and brown the beef over high heat in some canola oil. Let the beef drain of excess oil and toss it in the crockpot.
Add
1 18-ounce can of whole Roma tomatoes (unseasoned), each tomato roughly quartered
1 pound of assorted fingerling potatoes, cut in 1/2 or 1/3 depending on size
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, charred over a burner and sweated in a plastic bag and then skinned and roughly chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled, heated in a dry skillet until just starting to char, and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 Tablespoon smoked salt
1 small can of chicken broth
enough red wine so that the contents of the crockpot are covered by 1/2 inch or so.
Cook over medium or low crockpot heat until the potatoes are cooked through but still al dente.
Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and adjust seasonings.
Serve with some crusty bread and a good pale ale.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:06 am
Worse than that. My mother was an art therapist and my father is an ex-marine geologist park ranger.
Sarahface, who is trying to break the lurking habit:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:19 am
Hello all! I have finally gone to uni (actually, I’ve been here for several days at this point…)
Had fun and games trying to get internet here, but that’s all sorted now.
Fresher’s Week is so much fun, although I haven’t been out much (then again, I dislike clubbing, so. I might go out at some point, though, so that I can say that I’ve been to the worst nightclub in Europe. [There's somewhere that I'm unlikely to stay for more than about an hour or so.])
Made friends, been adopted by the corridor above, have a 5 minute walk to the dining hall up a (really) steep hill while everyone else in my college has two minutes, if that, downhill, mostly indoors. Still, I get a nice room next term :)
Signed up on the mailing lists for so many clubs and societies at the uni fair, I have no chance of going to all of them. And there’s still the college fair to go. I’ll have to figure out which ones are the ones I *really* want to do…
-
I have yet to read the thread, so *hugs*, good wishes, and conga rats to all as want or need them.
And now, I think I might collapse and have a nap. Or maybe go for dinner. Or… I don’t know.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:39 am
I would have sworn I can posted the happy not-getting-evicted news here.
That’s how you know things have gotten tough… when not getting evicted is the high point of your week.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Joe:
Yay for not getting evicted!
Are you still playing RE6?
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:46 am
Okay, so does anyone here have any experience with Kickstarter?
The reason I ask: I’m looking for ways to fund a project, tentatively titled cicely can haz wheelz? (where “wheelz” could be anything from a used, but heavy-dutier wheelchair than the one I’ve got, to the Hoverchair 10000 with built-in forcefields and dual-mounted lasers of my wildest fantasies; but I digress), that don’t involve out-right Begging For Bucks. I’ve got a sorta self-interlacy octopus that may (but may not; I lack judgement where my stuff is concerned) be tee-shirtable. One of my SCA friends who has (very disappointing) experience of selling tee shirts on the Web suggested I try Kickstarter, instead. The impression I got was that Kickstarter was not so much to get strangers to chip in on ones vehicles/furniture/battle platforms, as to fund artistic endeavors, so I’m not sure this would even be an appropriate use of the medium. And the process sounds…intimidating, though it’s also true that I am easily intimidated, and it may be more do-able than my panic reaction thinks. Facts? Opinions? Airborne tomatoes?
-
Audley: *hugs* and *chocolate*. Sounds as if AS is doing all kinds of panicky projecting.
-
My two years younger sister and I get along pretty well, actually, and especially considering the differences in our outlooks on life—probably something to do with our defensive alliance against our mother. Eight years younger sister and I, on the other hand, are not speaking.
-
Huzzah!
Anyone who’s tried it is unlikely to knock it.
-
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:50 am
Audley… I’m trying to play RE6? I’m just not loving it yet. Which campaign are you playing?
Oh and we managed to make a car payment, so maybe the Mustang won’t get repossessed with less than $1000 owed on it. We’re still behind, but we’ll have it paid off by the end of the month.
Good luck with Asshole Sister. At least you still have a relationship. I haven’t spoken to Asshole Brother in must be 4-5 years now. Early 2008, I guess? Money was tight for Xmas that year, and I didn’t manage to send his kid a present so he called and started scolding me… I hung up on him, and have never spoken to him again.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 11:58 am
cicely,
I don’t know how Kickstarter works, but if you can just get people to donate generally I’m starting up an Official SpokesGuitar project! Also, how much to wheelchairs actually cost? Do I even want to know?
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Joe:
I tried all three campaigns before I settled on playing Leon’s– it feels more like the earlier games, you know*? (Although I do like that Chris has evolved from being a total sad sack in RE5 to an angry drunk.) I’m pretty happy with the changes to the control scheme, especially the usefulness of the melee combat and finally being able to back up with a gun drawn. I’m not so thrilled with the inventory** at the moment, but I’ll adjust to it, I’m sure.
I’m also not past the first chapter yet ‘cos I didn’t get a chamce to play last night. We went out to by behbeh things, then as soon as we got home, Mr Darkheart parked in front of Borderlands 2. *shakes fist!*
We’ll see if I maintain any sort of relationship with Asshole Sister. At this point, I’m not sure if it’s worth it.
Cicely:
Thanks!
Rose tea?
*And Jake’s was difficult as all fucking shit.
**I’m super duper picky about game inventories, like to the point where a poorly designed inventory can completely ruin a game for me.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Audley,
The inventory system kind of sucks. I don’t like the weapons/items scrolling or the Y-button inventory access, or that as far as I know you have to quit the game to spend skill points. But at least you can back up while shooting. :)
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
Joe,
Pricing depends on what you’re lookin’ at, and I was planning to keep it all very fluid. A used wheelychair from ReStore, like the one that is starting to shimmy in a worrying kinda way and that I own right now, cost me something like $75…but the problem with that is, it doesn’t come with a Tonnage Rating, and I suspect that Current Wheelchair is not now, nor ever has been, up to my weight; hence, its impending break-down. Its predecessor was also used, cost me $150-ish (plus gas to drive to Branson and fetch it), and died at last year’s Skepticon; I (again) suspect weight as the chief problem, exacerbated by the terrain (and I am so hoping they get a different site, this year!). New-off-the-Web heavy-duty chairs look to start at about $345, and from there, the sky’s the limit. Mobility scooters are, of course, much pricier; and I suspect that no amount of tee shirt sales would finance the necessary R&D for the Hoverchair 100000.
-
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Audley:
Yes, thank you! Slice of honey saffron quiche?
-
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Joe:
Haven’t actually tried to spend skill points yet. Hell, I don’t even know if I have enough to do anything with! The Y button inventory access is fine, it’s the fucking scrolling that’s driving me batty.
Cicely:
*Homer drool!*
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Yeah, cicely… youse is on your own for the $2500 off-road mobility scooter.
You clearly need a 9000 XDT Custom… it says “custom” and has an “X” AND a big number in the name. Clearly that makes it the best on the market, right?
opposablethumbs:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Conga Rats!!!! To Audley for coping womanfully with Asshole Sister. To Sarahface for surviving freshers’ week (yay!). And to Improbable Joe for coping with the hideous imminent threat of eviction and NOT getting evicted. {{{Hugs}} to cicely and hope that Hordely advice on wheel financing is forthcoming.
I had an interesting discussion recently with my extra-dearly beloved sibling (well, one of them. I have more than one. But with this one in particular I’ve been close all my life) about euthanasia and assisted suicide. And not-at-all coincidentally found out the same day that their new SO is a committed xtian. Now my sib is – I think – unlikely to actually break the habit of a lifetime and start adopting religious beliefs, but they’re certainly starting to talk like they’re going to be Seriously Advocating Great Respect for People’s Deeply-Held Religious Convictions any day now … I haz a depress :(
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Though it unaccountably has no lasers….
With a name like that, it oughta have lasers.
-
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Shit, we can mount lasers on ANYTHING. The question is, do you want a nice chair with a chintzy pointer-style laser, or a cheap chair with a 1000mW laser that can blind people and burn shit.
The choice… is yours! *mad laughter*
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
October 4th, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Anyone see new Red Dwarf?
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
But Joe…I want the nice chair and the heavy-combat laser!
And perhaps a few missiles.
Affordably.
“Dare to want it all!!!”
-
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Shouldn’t that be: Vertically Challenged Communist?
If wheelchairs were weapons for the military, they’d be able to do anything.
Of course, they would start at around $1.9 million per, but still!
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Portia:
Thanks for the kind words. Jeezus that anti-vax shit makes me RAGESOB. I don’t know whether or how I’d be able to navigate that particular minefield.
cicely:
It oughta have sharks with freakin’ laser beams strapped to their heads!
[/Austin Powers]
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Jeez Cicely, you want it all and you want other people to pay for it too… I can respect that! You might want to call Tony Stark for the mini-missiles though.
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Wheelchair + shark tank = AWESOME.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Well, yeah, Joe. But I’m willing to offer them tee shirts in exchange.
Tee shirts!
-
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Richard Austin @179:
Everyone knows by now it’s always Peas Watson’s fault.
trinioler:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:45 pm
cicely: check out IndieGoGo. My understanding is IndieGoGo can be used for charitable fundraisers like yours, but Kickstarter can’t be.
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
I thought everything was Rebecca Watson’s fault. Did I miss a memo?
carlie:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
So, does it ever stop feeling like a direct kick in the gut when teachers remind you your child isn’t like all the other children? Because I kind of don’t think it does.
I’m gonna just curl up in the corner for awhile. Completely unrelated.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
trinioler: IndieGoGo. Gotcha! Thanks!
-
opposablethumbs:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Fuck, carlie. No, I guess it doesn’t. We’ve been so, so lucky in that Spawn#2 has gradually over the years come up with workarounds that mostly work enough so that everyone can almost ignore his problems lately … but they haven’t gone away. So, would it be OK if I just send you on over this extra large package of hugs?
carlie:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Audley – I’m sorry your sister is acting so rotten. But it sounds like a lifelong trait, not something she could even change now if she felt like it. When you see everyone as an adversary or competition for your own attention, you treat everybody like crap.
I have no idea how sibling relationships work – I have three brothers, but I’ve never really been around any of them for any length of time as an adult who pays attention to relationships. My older younger brother is 7 years younger, so he was mostly just something like a gnat toddling around my self-centered TEEN ANGST. And the other two were born after I left the house, so.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:21 pm
carlie, I’m sorry that your kid has assclowns for teachers.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
My bias tape isn’t biased enough /crafter complaint
carlie
No, probably not.
(((hugs)))
Joe
Congratulations. Hope the job and the car and everything works out
cicely
I’d totally get a t-shirt from you. Only you don’t want a laser, you want tentacles!
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
I wanted to complain here about losing friends, but then I got a message from a friend/acquaintance saying that she gave birth to a boy yesterday, by c-section.
Coincidence or god’s sign that I shouldn’t whinge (yes, everything is about me [just kidding])?
In any case, YAY! *confetti*
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Carlie:
Thanks. Yeah, she always has been an asshole and I don’t expect that to change, it’s just that she’s hit a high point in her blatent assholitude, you know?
Boo to Boy’s teachers! What the hell, they’ve never dealt with a diverse population of kids before?
opposablethumbs:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
Eugene Delgaudio has been naughty again, it seems.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19804286
Apparently he nicked a photo posted on the internet by a gay couple celebrating their engagement and used it without permission (obviously) for an anti-gay marriage campaign. And the couple are suing.
birgerjohansson:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
I have finally found the proper anthem for the People’s Republic of Pharyngulia!
Everyone has heard the first few notes, but few have listened to the whole three minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tx5N67I8Do
Sadly this instrumental version lacks text, but we can make some up. I was thinking that “trample”, “crush” or “enslave” might feature prominently. For chorus I am suggesting “and melt their continents to slag!”.
— — — — — — — —
“Anyone see new Red Dwarf?”
There is a new version of Red Dwarf? (drools)
“I want the nice chair and the heavy-combat laser!”
I want the one with the tungsten missiles.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Some merriment for today:
Just got an email from my boss saying
That about made my week.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
*big hug*
Tentacles with lasers!
Octolasers!!!
What I may do is, here in a few days when I’ve sorta cleaned up my drawing, put up a linky to it, and see if it even looks viable to a…less biased (against)…audience.
(“No judgement”, remember?)
-
chigau (悲しい):
October 4th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
[hush][hide comment] ????
[hush] ??‽
srsly?
birgerjohansson:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Improbable Joe,
Isn’t there an Eighties song by The B52′s about hot dogs and Albuquerque? May you and your wife be successful hot dogs.
Beatrice:
October 4th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
hushfile
hm
Sounds more like something a mafia boss would have than a killfile. I mean, he doesn’t want to be too obvious.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
birgerjohansson, That’s the weirdest thing anyone has said to me all the live long day.
Aren’t you the zombie book person? Just checking, because I have giant stack of zombie books.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Ha! Feedback! That’s the word I wanted!
-
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
:D
-
birgerjohansson:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Yes!
BTW have you read the “Newsflesh” trilogy by Mira Grant?
And J. L. Bourne will publish his third novel in November.
—- — — —
As I have mentioned, Templesmith’s “Wormwood” trilogy of graphic novels is much recommended.
The protagonist is a very cool demon who uses animated dead bodies as vehicles, so I suppose they are zombies, of sorts.
And in the third novel we finally learn the truth about Elvis.
— — — —
The next “culture” SF novel by Iain Banks will be published in a couple of days. So will the next new SF novel by Neal Asher.
Benedict Jacka -praised by none other than Jim Butcher- has published his third novel a few weeks ago, and it lived up to expectations.
carlie:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Oh no, it’s not that they’re being assholes. He’s an Aspie, and has been having some frustration problems in class. Nothing that can’t be easily handled, but I don’t see a lot of other kids his age these days, so it’s easy to forget that yeah, his behavior is noticeably different than the norm.
carlie:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
It’s just sometimes I get to not think about it, and then sometimes it comes crashing down when I don’t expect it. I know that’s easier than dealing with issues all the time, it just kind of blindsides me sometimes and I’m not braced for it.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:28 pm
birgerjohansson,
CALM DOWN!!! :)
I’ve read the Mira Grant books, I’ve got Day By Day Armageddon queued up behind a stack of Jonathan Maberry books.
I need to get caught up with Jim Butcher… I’m several Dresden books behind at this point. And I’m sure someone will be along shortly to insult me for not having gotten around to any of the Iain Banks stuff.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 4th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Hey everyone!
Congrats and hugs to everyone as needed.
The kitty, Tiger is doing great. He’s out and roaming and eating and everything. He’s playing all up in our clothes in the closet. He’s the sweetest thing, loves to get petted, brushed and give snuggles. He’s been great with the Little One especially since mom’s cat Salem trained her already. :D
We got Little One’s report cared today! She’s going exceedingly well in everything. She just writes her Z, J, and q backwards. She also always skips 13 and 14 when counting. When she counts to 100 she has trouble with the transitions, like 39 to 40, she’ll say four 10 for example. However, they are working on just getting 1-10 so even her problems are farther ahead than the class. She’s also so well behaved in school so she’s consistently getting high colors and rewards for that.
Playing Skyrim again is so fucking awesome. I just have to adjust to not being able to see as far in the distance like on the ps3.
Oh and also, there’s another woman leaving the complex. We are getting several things from her, like a dvd player, a big TV and a twin bed with a frame. We also have a crock pot! I just need to so shopping so we can get that thing cooking. Our house is starting to look all house like and stuff. I have books on bookshelves! :D
Everything is going so well, I feel this strange sensation. Oh that’s smiling and feeling happy. It’s been so long.
:D
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
beatrice
yay for friend and babyboy
++++
It’s a horse.
You’ve been warned.
Finished the head for the little one’s hobby horse.
It probably likes peas.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
JAL, glad to see things are looking up for you! Smiling and being happy are good things! Congrats on Little One being so smart too!
Richard Austin:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
… Just popping in to say I fully support the BattleTech Wheelchair concept. Screw the douches who won’t put up ramps: we’ve got JUMP JETS.
Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
JAL:
Your Little One is so awesome! *high fives* for both of you.
In other news:
The Darkheart Duckie Quilt has arrived.
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
I can’t even put into words how incredibly beautiful it is. Go look at Caine’s blog and multiply the awesomeness of that picture by a thousand.
(If anyone else is getting pillows, head’s up: they smell fantastic.)
Now a small grumble: my stupid mail carrier won’t leave small packages in my mail box (for instance, the shirts and rattle that Giliell sent to me would have fit with no problem), but a big ol’ box? Suuuuuure, buddy. Leave it unsecured on the stoop in the rain. That’s obviously totes okay.
*AUDLEY SMASH!*
Richard Austin:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
First Female Marines Take Combat Leadership Test
That last sentence… unless the “physical requirement” is having a penis, the sentence either needs to be qualified or substantiated.
Anyway, progress.
dysomniak, darwinian socialist:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Delurking to say that
actually sounds quite promising! It means she understands how the decimal system works, which is something I’ve had trouble explaining to adult computer nerds when trying to teach them binary, octal, and hex. Congratulations on the brainyspawn!
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 4th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
Omg I hate that! I live in an apartment complex and the mail-person left a book that could have easily fit in my mailbox next to my door. In an apartment complex. I was so pissed. I get paranoid that people are going to steal stuff if I leave and randomly get a package. I mean the mailbox thingy has BIG empty boxes that need keys specifically for packages that can’t fit in the box and the book could have definitely fit in that as well. Grrr.
YAY for the awesome quilt and great smelling pillows!
-
-
Thanks everyone! I mean get happy about things and moments, it’s just a overhanging depression in the back of my mind all the time. And looking around my apartment was so depressing, pathetic and sad. But today? Today I’m just deliriously happy and enjoying it. I fell all hopeful and shit for the first time in a long time. The only thing that could make it better is if I got hired again.
*crosses fingers*
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
*AUDLEY SMASH!* is the name of my next post-post-post-post-prog-punk-pickle band.
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
I suspect it has more to do with muscular strength (things like carrying capacity), where there IS a legitimate disparity between women and men for comparable levels of physical fitness…so even if gender prejudice were removed, if you have to, say, carry a simulated wounded soldier at some point in the course, more men than women would be expected to pass. That has fuck-all to do with banning them a priori though, and I suspect the importance of that aspect has been played up to rationalize it.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
It’s actually a classic MRA catch 22:
If physical requirements are lowered for women it shows that they’re getting jobs handed to them over more-qualified guys.
If they aren’t it shows that society just wants men to die and safe precious women.
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:42 pm
….or that, yes.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Hold on… let me step in here a minute on the women Marines going through infantry school. Neck-deep in Marine Corps mud is something I know a little bit about. *grins*
The truth is, women had(have?) it easier in the Marine Corps on a whole lot of levels, starting with lower physical fitness standards. But, there’s a whole lot of overlap between the men and women, and most Marines male and female are above average in physical fitness anyways. It is true that women in general can’t match the physical achievement of men, but why does the “in general” have any bearing on specific people? I consistently scored between 280-290 out of 300 total points on the Marine Physical Fitness Test, even after I broke my ankle in a couple of places… and there were women who could easily outrun me. Easily. There were women who could lift more, walk a heavy pack for longer, kick my ass hand-to-hand, out-shoot me, whatever. And I’d sure as hell would have preferred to have one of them watching my back than one of the people who skated by with the minimum the way so very many people did.
UnknownEric:
October 4th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
One of my wife’s students wrote in a paper about a “microgasm of society.”
Gives a new meaning to “un petite mort,” no?
Pteryxx:
October 4th, 2012 at 6:12 pm
just skimming by… I’ll just leave this here. (h/t BB)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/babymantis/20-creative-wheelchair-costume-ideas-for-halloween-1opu
thunk, Blob Alert!:
October 4th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Birgerjohannson:
Wasn’t there already one?
well given we have that and no flag :p…
Also, hello. Been absent lately.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
I’m… wow, depressed. Sold my Strat last month, the dude who bought it from me has it listed back on Craigslist. So pissed off.
Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls:
October 4th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Here’s a headline the anti-choice fuckwits hate:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/10/04/free-birth-control-access-can-reduce-abortion-rate-by-more-than-half/
Nothing the the truth to upset presuppositional fuckwittery…
irisvanderpluym:
October 4th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
Justin Vacula resigns leadership position with Secular Coalition for America
Click the link for a superb specimen of whiny, self-serving not-pology. SPOILER ALERT: everything’s your fault because you’re all a bunch of
bulliesmeanies! Thanks a lot for RUINING SECULARISM, people.Audley Z. Darkheart (liar and scoundrel):
October 4th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
JAL:
If my mail carrier left small packages out like that, I’d prolly flip my shit. As it is, they leave the “sorry we missed you!” notes in my mailbox, instead of the packages that will fit in the mailbox and then I have to go to the post office to pick them up. Big shit apparently gets left out front, in the elements, easy pickins for whoever walks by.
Tethys:
October 4th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Just had a visit from two Mormon boys on their mission.
I had a lot of fun planting all sorts of seeds of doubt into their sheltered little minds.
I do hope it blooms.
Nepenthe:
October 4th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Why oh why do I bother arguing with fatheists, “nice” atheists, and “spiritual but not religious” people? It’s like slamming one’s finger in the car door, but you can’t buy yourself ice cream afterward.
Probably the same reason I can’t eat just one potato chip.
*sigh*
@Tethys 261
That sounds fun. Reminds me that my JW “friends” haven’t called lately. It would be a bit odd to call them, wouldn’t it?
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 7:54 pm
I just had a terrible moment… I decided to play guitar, because why the fuck not? And it sounded like something was broken inside my amp, my 21 year old amp that cost me $300 because I can’t afford anything better and sure can’t afford to repair or replace this one.
It turns out I’m an idiot. My shitty last guitar that I didn’t have to sell or pawn for grocery money because it isn’t worth anything, it runs on 9V batteries. Batteries go bad and make the whole thing sound shitty. I have a couple of extra 9V batteries laying around that I bought when they were on sale. I replaced a battery, everything is fixed. Yay!
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Sounds like plenty of good news.
Joe, can you buy back your strat, maybe? If bossnurse’s shiny new income permits.
I have crap family. Hardly any relatives who I’m on more than vague acquaintance terms, and my mother and sister are so lost in their own folie a deux that there’s no communicating with them. My Mum can talk at me for hours without asking me anything about myself, or hearing anything that I (interrupt to) say, and then treat it as my fault that she doesn’t know much about me. My sister is snippy and backbiting when she (rarely) talks to me. I live in the wrong place. I have the wrong pets. Both sustain a veneer of family caring, which I’m pretty sure is for their self-images’ sakes.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Alethea, part of what pisses me off is that he’s asking $800 for it. I only paid $850 for it new, and sold it to him for $500. And shiny new income needs to get my Les Paul back from the pawn shop by the 14th. I don’t have the money for both.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
JAL, congrats for Little One, and sympathetic delirious rejoicing for your increased home-ness.
:)
-
Duckie quilt continues to be made of Awesome.
-
Wheelychair costumes for the WIN.
-
:( :( :(
See, now, if I had the Hoverchair 10000, I’d go after his ass. With lasers.
-
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Joe@253: more or less my point.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Azkyroth, great minds think alike… and so do we. :)
Cicely, maybe lasers AND tentacles? And can you take out my neighbors, on principle?
Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine":
October 4th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
@cicely
I’m imagining you as Rygal from Farscape now
Alethea H. "Crocoduck" Dundee:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Damn, Joe, that sucks. Maybe he won’t sell it at that price.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
… and I’m calling Animal Control tomorrow on my brand new neighbors. They tied their dog up outside Tuesday, and it more or less stays tied up all day every day without food or water, and against city ordinance. It doesn’t help that the moment I step outside my back door, all I can smell is their dog’s shit, or that their dog barks for 30-40 minutes at a time all day long.
I’ve tried to talk to them, and all I get is attitude. So I’m calling the city. Great.
Ichthyic:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
I’ve tried to talk to them, and all I get is attitude. So I’m calling the city. Great.
I had the same thing happen to me when I lived in Santa Cruz.
next door neighbor agreed to take care of ex’s dog for 2 weeks.
a year later….
large German Shepard barking constantly every day, obviously scared and uncomfortable.
I tried talking with him, but it was obvious he felt guilted by his ex into keeping the dog, and would do nothing about the situation.
I called the SPCA, and they did come out to talk to him about it, and he did end up forcing the ex to take back the dog.
so, think positive thoughts; most cities are pretty understanding and helpful about this kind of thing, though it might take a week or two for them to act on your complaint.
cicely:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Yes, indeed! Octolasers! Ask for ‘em by name!
-
I miss Farscape….
*sigh*
-
ImaginesABeach:
October 4th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
threadrupt and not going to catch up before bed.
cicely – before you invest in a mobility device, make sure you talk to someone at a reputable DME supply place, not one that advertises on national television. Even if you intend to look for one on craig’s list or ebay, talk to someone who knows about them and NOT someone at a company that advertises on national television. If you e-mail me at camandpete AT the yahoo place, I will check with the midwest DME trade association and get you a company to talk to. Missouri and Minnesota suppliers are in the same association and the association likes to be nice to me. Mobility devices can be as costly as cars (although you certainly don’t need the $50,000 kind) and there are things you should know.
ImaginesABeach:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Also, cicely, there was a (now discontinued) scooter with, I believe 4 wheel drive, called the “Wrangler” that would be perfect for mounting the Octolasers.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:32 pm
… and now the cops are here. Awesome!
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Double dose from the Harperbots today.
First, Rob Anders MP buys into transphobic bullshit.
Then, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews uses austerity as an excuse for blatant religious favouritism.
Improbable Joe:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
… and now I can never sleep again. Thank goodness I’m renting and moving soon.
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
Also, Horde:
I have two local papers and four letters to send off.
One of the letters is a general criticism of my MP for supporting Motion 312 (fetal personhood) and a note that sex education in my city is, as far as I know (and I graduated in 2009) woefully inadequate.
One is a poem in response to this piece of dreck.
One is a rebuttal of this pro-life bullshit.
And the last one is a letter asking why I don’t see rainbow stickers in the front windows of stores here like I see in Vancouver to show support for the LGBT community.
Would it be bad for me to send these all at once?
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 4th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Gack. Forgot to note, the second letter was published in both local papers. So I can send the rebuttal to either.
Hekuni Cat, MQG:
October 5th, 2012 at 12:40 am
Esteleth, Portia, Socio-gen – *hugs*
Ichthyic, congratulations!
Audley and Tigger_the_Wing – *hugs*
Ogvorbis, you’re a very good neighbor.
Caine, thank you so very much for my Halloween sleep pillow. It is beautiful. Thank you, too, for the small portrait of Artemis (artist trading card?). That was totally unexpected and very welcome indeed. ♥ ♥ ♥
cicely, I miss Farscape too, and I would gladly by a tee shirt from you or anything else that would help with acquiring a new wheelchair for you. I concur that the new model must have lasers if at all possible. They would be useful in such a variety of circumstances.
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 5th, 2012 at 1:41 am
Speaking of packages, I got Caine’s package today! The pillows smell awesome and the trading card of Chas is gorgeous. Did you make that card yourself? It’s beautiful.
Little One promptly put a pillow on each side of her face and inhaled deeply. She is now sleeping with both of them. It’s just too cute to be mad at currently. Plus anything that gets her to sleep while sick is awesome in my book.
Also, you know that nice lady who’s moving and giving us her old stuff? She gave us an old, as in from the ’90s old, computer, which Little One gets to use for games! The monitor is so huge it leaves practically no room on the table for the keyboard and mouse. It’s so funny.
Today just kept getting better and better. :D
Guess where they left the package? In the package box. The package box is big enough to fit two of those boxes in there but it’s not good enough for my book? Pffffffft. Makes no sense whatsoever and there’s four different boxes to use for packages too.
Josh, Official SpokesGay:
October 5th, 2012 at 1:43 am
Hello, Horde—I’m Lounge-rupt and have little chance of recovering after being away on vacation.
Did I see that Tigger the Wing is having heart problems and angina again? Honorary gran, please check in!
I spent a fabulous day with Ophelia Benson in Seattle—she’s even more rockin’ than I was expecting (and I already thought she rocked).
Spent several days with my Best Gay Friends Forever hanging out, eating, catching up. We converged on Seattle to stay at BFF Number One’s house and see Madonna. We’d already bought good floor seats, but at the last minute we decided to spring for tix to the show the day before. Gurl. We got front row seats for four of us. For less than we paid for the worse seats. Yes, I was within three feet of the queen (really; we could have touched her. She looked right at BFF Number 3 and smiled with those electric blue eyes). I’m ready to die a happy fag. Amazing show. And we were able to sell our next-night tickets and recoup at least half our investment. I’m not a business-woman: I’m a business, woman!
Hugs to all who want or need them.:)
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 5th, 2012 at 1:56 am
Oh Joe, I’m so sorry to hear about your guitar. I can’t believe that dude is doing that. That really sucks.
chigau (悲しい):
October 5th, 2012 at 2:16 am
Josh
I am somewhat jealous. (I can’t handle that kind of music ‘experience’. But it sounds like it was fun.)
(What do you think of [hush] vs [kill]?)
Josh, Official SpokesGay:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:21 am
Hush vs. kill? No comprende.
chigau (悲しい):
October 5th, 2012 at 2:26 am
Josh
The latest auto-update of the Greasemonkey FtBkillfile has changed
[kill] [hide comment]
to
[hush] [hide comment]
on my browser.
Cute, neh?
ednaz:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:30 am
Audley – I am so sorry for what your A Sister is putting you through. Sending hugs your way.
I am glad you are protecting yourself from her.
My Middle Sister and I are not pregnant, but everything else you wrote describes her perfectly. Fear and insecurity. She cannot stand to see me happy. Even though she and her husband are better off financially, My Hoodlum and I are happier.
My Middle Sister and Brother have been cruel for as long as I can remember. My Eldest Sister is not. Go figure.
Long story short – I understand. You can vent to me anytime.
blf:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Fanged vampire parrots!
The mildly deranged penguin is sooooo jealous. No word on what cheeses they ate. Supposedly veterinarian — the MUSHROOMS! 200 Myo must have been especially fierce.
ednaz:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:37 am
Portia – Big hugs for when you have to deal with your Cousin.
Irisvanderpluym – It takes a lot of courage to protect yourself from your family. I am glad you stand up for yourself. Sending you big hugs.
ednaz:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:40 am
Irisvanderpluym@ #156 – Thanks for the story and the links. We were wondering about that.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:56 am
HI there
Josh
Glad you had a good vacation and lots of fun.
So, went to the second hand to buy trousers for #1 who’s grown like a weed over summer. 4 trousers, 2 skirts, 1 cap and since they had sold our old baby-bed and tub in the meantime, I got a whomping 50ct back :)
And I had a nice example of hypocrisy in action. While I was there a woman came in with clothes from her children. Because they were good stuff, and maybe somebody would be glad to get such good stuff second hand and yadda-yadda, you know, the charitable middle-class stance of “I’m not trying to make some money here, it’s for the poor people who can’t afford to buy good stuff new”.
Until she heard that their sizes range up to her daughter’S current size. Suddenly it was cool to buy second hand.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:09 am
I’m just crying.
It’s so frustrating. I’m really trying to get my shit back together, get back to college, get that fucking degree and yes, there are two more lectures/seminars I have to do scheduled in the evening. 18:30 to 20:00.
I wrote the guy an e-mail to ask whether it will be at a different time next year because what the fuck am I supposed to do? Bring the kids to class, serve them dinner there and read them a good-night story there?
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:12 am
-sigh- discussing incentivizing voting with tax credits/a straight government check and someone comes in and starts going on about how that will cost A BILLION DOLLARS!!!! and besides it just won’t work anyway because they think it won’t.
So, I point out that 1) a billion dollars is insignificant in terms of the federal budget, less than one percent and 2) they don’t have any evidence to back up their claim as to why the incentive wouldn’t work.
Their response was first to come up with some completely ridiculous proposal to build longboard track. Then they kept throwing around BILLION! and then BILLIONS! of dollars!, then for some reason said that lots of people around the world live on less than a dollar a day because that’s somehow supposed to “put things into perspective”. So, I reiterated what they needed to cover, aaaand…
HOW THE FUCK DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT? “You won’t respond to my derails, therefore YOU’RE being dishonest!” … that’s like…the ultimate silencing tactic. I don’t understand how to respond to that other than “what the fuck? That’s pure projection, you haven’t established anything and you have the audacity to accuse me of insincerity? Fuck off.”
Beatrice:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:30 am
Giliell,
So much for family friendly university. I’m sorry you are encountering so many obstacles.
*hugs*
JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:43 am
Oh, Giliell, that’s terrible! That’s so fucked up that they would do that. They apparently didn’t think about the people with families, or that work at night or anything. That university doesn’t sound at all family friendly at all.
I’m so sorry. =(
Setár, genderqueer Elf-Sheriff of Atheism+:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:49 am
Erg. Giliell, that is epic epic suck. -kittens-
ImaginesABeach:
October 5th, 2012 at 6:15 am
Giliell, my guess is that they scheduled it at that time for working adults, not parents. And if they thought about parents at all, they assume the child will be taken care of by the non-school parent. I’m not saying it’s classism exactly, but it does ignore the fact that lots of people work evenings or nights.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 5th, 2012 at 6:22 am
Thanks everybody
*snuggels chocolate, eats kitten*
Ooops o.O
Just for the fun of it I clicked on the “family-friendly University” icon. Oh, they do know that the problem exists. They link you to:
-the university daycare that’s even 2 hours shorter than the one I have plus 15% more expensive
-a short-term child-care service which is on the medical campus which is in another city. And I doubt that they’re open till 8:30…
On the plus side the guy who does the Sociolinguistics lecture has replied promptly that I don’t have to do the tutorial which collides with another lecture. It is “very much advised” that I go there but not obligatory. Let’s see if I can get somebody who goes there to help me out with notes.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 5th, 2012 at 6:47 am
Imagines a beach
Well, I guess that leaves single parents out, too. And I have a big idea what parental “status” most regular student mothers have. I mean, for all that counts on matters of childcare, I’m a single mum, too.
blf:
October 5th, 2012 at 7:52 am
Newspapers in UK and US give climate sceptics most column inches:
Beatrice:
October 5th, 2012 at 7:53 am
Fuck religion:
Paralyzed bank manager terminally ill with brain cancer fights for her right to die
McC2lhu saw what you did there.:
October 5th, 2012 at 8:20 am
Josh @283:
/me re-kerns the font on your résumé to left-justify the HKFG and adds in FRBW (Front Row Business, Woman) to your numerous titles.
blf:
October 5th, 2012 at 8:32 am
Stag chases man up tree in London park (video).
Seems quite tame compared to the mildly deranged penguin. Or the fanged vampire parrots. A forty-foot high killer rat would, however, sort out stag, treed long pig, and tree with one small step.
Portia:
October 5th, 2012 at 8:53 am
Hekuni Cat and ednaz
Thanks for the hugs : )
Giliell
That’s totally preposterous. Sorry you have to jump through such hoops.
Beatrice
Fuck religion, indeed. That’s just heartbreaking. Ridiculous that a conscious adult can have her perfectly legal wishes stymied by her parents and their superstition. Sick that they’d rather see her suffer so much.
carlie:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:10 am
It’s not even a right to die case, really – it’s a competency/autonomy case. The lawyer needs to hit long and hard on the implications of taking someone who has been found medically competent to make their own decisions and removing that right from them.
Pteryxx:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:15 am
random: 68,000 Texans no longer have to prove they’re not dead before they can vote.
from: http://boingboing.net/2012/10/05/68000-texans-no-longer-have-t.html
referencing: http://www.loweringthebar.net/2012/10/texas-settles-with-previously-dead-voters.html
—
Well timed along with this:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/10/05/florida-downsizes-its-voter-purge/
Caine, Divisitrix du mal:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:28 am
Hekuni Cat:
You’re welcome and yes,that’s an atc. It can be removed from the card frame.
JAL:
Glad you like them. Yes, I did both of the atcs, the one in the card and the one of Chas. One of these days, I’ll get back to painting again.
I’ll just drop a pile of hugses for everyone, I’m taking more meds so I can ignore my badly broken toe and get some sleep. G’morning all.
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:37 am
Crossed tentacles and what-not, my wife is at her interview in New Mexico!
If she gets this job, it could be the start of something hugely good for us, for the first time in a long time.
blf:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Dropping things whilst zonked out on drugs suggests you’ll break more toes.
Portia:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:45 am
Good point.
Caine
Hope you feel better : (
Joe
Sending all the luck bossnurse’s way!
–
*scoops up my portion of the various piles of hugs that are laying around the [Lounge] and scurries off to do something productive*
irisvanderpluym:
October 5th, 2012 at 9:58 am
Don’t these Right-to-
LifeSuffering people always hinge their B.S. on “until natural death”? The poor woman is being kept alive artificially — how could it be “suicide” to allow her to die naturally?Wait, what the fuck am I thinking? That these people are in any way rational or consistent? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?
*seeks more coffee*
@ednaz: thanks for the hugs, and words of support.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:00 am
Hush
blf:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Yoda worm brings Star Wars to the deep sea:
That last bit is terribly insulting to slime, mold, slime-mold, and beetles. and indeed all life, fossilized life, and rocks. And undeservingly flattering to the thugs.
───────────────────────────────────
Speaking of
beetlesbeatles… The Beatles in charts and infographics.trinioler:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Janine, when you say Hush, I think of the classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode… sorry.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Have fun with this pile of witless pablum.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:41 am
The question about Jacoby should not have been gumbied.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:43 am
That was just my way of making a silly joke about the change in the killfile, trinioler. Also, any excuse to link to a cover by Killdozer.
Lynna, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:45 am
If anyone had any doubt about the the prejudiced nature of Supreme Court Justice Scalia, you can now lay that doubt to rest.
The old, robed dude says outlawing “homosexual sodomy” is a no-brainer.
carlie:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:45 am
I love you for that reference. That’s awesome.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Old news about that calcified jackass, Lynna. Remember, years ago, he said this.
Yes, I do think that Scalia is a wannabe theocrat.
Lynna, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:08 am
Janie @321, I like the “calcified jackass” description for Scalia. I’ll steal that and use it, with your permission.
Speaking of jackasses, remember the coal mine owner who ordered his employees to attend a Romney rally, and to stand behind Romney to provide photo/video ops? Well, that guy, Robert Murray, turns out to be far worse than we knew.
This is one of those Republicans who hates unions, but who forces his employees to attend Republican functions, without pay, and who keeps track of which employees donate to the Republicans of his choice.
Maddow Link.
The New Republic link. More detail in this article.
birgerjohansson:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:09 am
Improbable Joe,
I finally found the musical link between Albuquerque and hot dogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T6e3GJCjow
It was Prefab Sprout, not The B52′s.
While you might not become “the king of rock’n roll”, at least I hope you will be as comfortable as the couple near the pool, as you finally get some financial security. And eat a hot dog while you’re at it.
I have not yet worked out the symbolism of the bipedal frog waiter. Capek wrote a novel about amphibians with issues, maybe you had better be careful with them.
— — — — —
In some countries you can be dead and remain chief of state. Maybe the Texas voter restrictions was intended to prevent a North Korean takeover?
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:10 am
Feel free to use it, Lynna. I am just pleased that some one liked it.
broboxley OT:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:22 am
threadrupt and apologies if this is a repeat
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/05/162342562/scientists-use-stem-cells-to-create-eggs-in-mice
Now that will drive the fundies nuts.
Hekuni Cat, MQG:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:22 am
Caine – Ouch! I sympathize and empathize regarding your broken toe. I broke my right big toe a few years back. I hope you heal quickly. *hugs* and *chocolate*
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:29 am
birgerjohansson, I guess I’ll at least need a shinier suit and big sunglasses! :) Albuquerque isn’t even in that song to rhyme with anything, is it?
I’m already looking at houses. We’re going to suck it up and get used to driving longer distances to work/school, because we don’t ever want to have to live in the ghetto again. I’d rather drive further and live in a gated community.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Prefab Sprout…
Steve McQueen is one of my very favorite albums. Time to indulge.
Johnny Johnny
Faron Young Live
Horsin’ Around
When Love Breaks Down
Nearly thirty years on and the damned album still gives me goosebumps.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 11:44 am
Heh. Charles Pierce has some fun with the witless pile of pablum I linked to in #316.
Pteryxx:
October 5th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Co-creator of Daily Show launches “Lady Parts Justice”:
Rest of rant and video link via BB:
http://boingboing.net/2012/10/05/lizz-winstead-co-creator-of-d.html
dysomniak, darwinian socialist:
October 5th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
cicely:
October 5th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
ImaginesABeach: I’ll be in touch. :)
and
*sigh*
I’m late to the party, as usual!
-
Josh!
*pouncehug*
-
*hugs* for Giliell, and *tea*.
-
Sleep well, Caine.
Dream of mischievous ratties.
:)
-
Joe, my tentacles are cramping from all the crossing they’re doing on your behalf.
:)
-
Me, too. One of their best.
-
Amphiox:
October 5th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
re Janine @321;
Hey, if state execution for capital crime was good enough for your god, surely that blessing should be available to all.
Giliell, Approved Straight Chorus:
October 5th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Good evening
Thank you everybody for the support
Do you want a piece of autumn-fritata in return (potatoes, pumpkin and mushrooms)? I always greatly underestimate the amount of food vegetables turn out to be…
+++
Something nice: Two weeks ago I started reading #1 a real book for the first time. So far they would usually get a short kiddie-book for a good night story, taking turns of choosing it. For a while their “window” overlapped, but I think that now it’s time for #1 to move on. We’re reading “The Wizard of the Emerald City”, which is a adaptation from the Wizard of Oz by a Soviet author. Book is one of mine and much loved (I’ve read the original. This one’s better)
Beatrice:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
Anyone here avoids carbohydrates? What do you eat for breakfast?
A friend will come over in the morning and I have no idea what I can offer that won’t be a problem.
(Yes, I should have informed myself earlier, but I’ve been angry with her so I was sulking.)
((and really, one breakfast with bread won’t kill her. She’s avoiding carbs because of acne, nothing else))
Patricia, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Beatrice – How about scrambled eggs? Or if you’re really pissed at her sour kraut should get the point across. *smiles innocently*
Beatrice:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Mmm, scrambled eggs, maybe with peppers.
Good idea, Patricia. Thanks!
Personally, I can’t imagine eating scrambled eggs without bread. Another weird eating habit, I guess.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Lies straight from the Pits Of Hell, motherfuckers!
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Well, good news and deferred news.
Good news is, my wife was offered the job!
Deferred news is, we have no idea what the pay or relocation package are yet. The recruiter and HR will negotiate that next week.
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
When fake historians meet!
My black an empty heart is almost warmed up by the joy of this news.
Patricia, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Huzzah for you Joe!
Beatrice – If I wanted to jazz up the eggs, adding some of those jarred pimentos and shredded cheddar or feta really makes eggs say Bazinga!
kristinc, ~ringy dingy~:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:03 pm
From the article about mouse!eggs:
Yeah, but having 19 little soldiers for Christ, that’s not cheapening anything or treating life as a manufacturing proposition. *eyeroll*
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
…my wife is really kind of a completely incredible human being. :)
Janine: Hallucinating Liar:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Kristinc, those quivering parents are allowing god to play god. That is alright.
Patricia, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
This afternoon I’m getting my pre-convention haircut, then Naughty Marvin and I are going to choose our outfits. The newsletter said all 850 tickets were sold out. I’m starting to get excited already!
dianne:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Do you want a piece of autumn-fritata in return (potatoes, pumpkin and mushrooms)?
I haven’t been around and therefore haven’t been any help and therefore don’t deserve it in the least but…Yes, I want some! Yum! If you have some left over after the actual deserving people get theirs, please send it via the tubes…
Beatrice:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Joe,
Congrats to your wife!
I hope the pay and everything else will be something that will get you into a nice neighborhood.
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Beatrice,
I’ve already been combing some online house rental sites, and the rents are pretty reasonable compared to here. I’m in a 100 year old house in the ghetto paying $1200 a month here, I’ve seen ads for new housesin gated communities for under $1100.
Improbable Joe:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
I should probably mention the important part of this at some point: the building my wife will be working at is a GOOD BUILDING! You know, the opposite of the broken buildings she’s been working at, and there’s a much smaller chance of BossNurse being assaulted by a homeless schizophrenic person.
Lynna, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:34 pm
This a follow up to my post @319 in which Supreme Court Justice Scalia is quoted as saying that it would be easy for the court to outlaw “homosexual sodomy.”
“As president, Mitt will nominate judges in the mold of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito.” — from Mitt Romney’s official website.
cicely:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
Wonderful news, Joe!
*confetti&fireworks*
-
Lynna, OM:
October 5th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Here are some excerpts from the latest edition of Chronicling Mitt’s Mendacity. Within Steve Benen’s list, here, there are more links to information that establishes that the lies are lies.
opposablethumbs:
October 5th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Great news, Joe – congrats to BossNurse!
I’m a bit behind on my reading, but I think some major study-related hugs should be heading Giliell’s way.
Hugs and kittens QS to everyone else, as and when appropriate.
Ogvorbis: broken and cynical:
October 5th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
Come on, you already know the answer. With these people, everything is just like sex. Once you stick the tube in . . . .
dianne:
October 5th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
Yay for bossnurse and Joe!
dianne:
October 5th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
68,000 Texans no longer have to prove they’re not dead before they can vote.
How do you prove you’re not dead? Is animation enough or do you also have to demonstrate a complete lack of interest in sucking the blood or eating the brains of the person asking the question? Is eating the brains of someone who would question whether someone who walked up to them and said, “Hi. I’m X, date of birth XXX, SS# XXX” is dead or not redundant?
Azkyroth, Former Growing Toaster Oven:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I’ll settle for the recipe. :D
PZ Myers:
October 5th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
NEW THREAD.