Comments

  1. blf says

    Two months, three traps, and several piles of mouse poop later… we still can’t find the little fucker.

    Return to orbit and nuke it. Several times, just to make sure.

    (Of course, the mouse will join you on the orbital return flight. It’ll probably even be happy to push the LAUNCH MISSILES button.)

  2. bassmike says

    Hekuni Cat sadly I have no medication to blame, only my malfunctioning brain.

    Welcome Alain van der Eyken ! Enjoy the lounge. I’ll either be in the pillow fort punching soft furnishings with Anne or wielding the sledgehammer outside.

  3. birgerjohansson says

    Book:
    Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep?: A Neuroscientific View of the Zombie Brain http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-Dream-Undead-Sheep-Neuroscientific/dp/0691157286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1416583824&sr=1-1&keywords=Do+Zombies+Dream+of+Undead+Sheep%3F%3A
    “When someone turns into a zombie, she can see you, but she can’t see the *you* that makes *you* unique. All she can see is lunch.
    This is because of “acquired prosopagnosia”, a real condition in which individuals cannot recognize familiar people from their faces. The book further localize the abnormity to a defect in the fusiform gyrus of the cerebral cortex.”

  4. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    A thousand years ago, the devil’s son lost a bet with an angel and was forced to spend the next millennium playing jolly old St. Nick (Bill Goldberg) and handing out presents to children every Christmas. Now, the thousand-year wager is over, and Santa wants revenge. He soon begins making up for lost time by going on a murderous spree.

    You know, I don’t think *this* Santa is fit to be Jesus´bodyguard.

    Really? Sounds like a perfect fit to me.

  5. says

    The president of Gambia has signed a bill into law that calls for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts, the latest African country to codify harsh penalties for the gay community. […]

    Such bad news. Another African country acting like it is being run by fundie bigots from the USA.

    Amnesty International recently reported that Gambian security forces are torturing people arrested in raids, threatening them with rape and pressuring them to confess to homosexual acts. […]

    http://bigstory.ap.org/article/902a743c017b4496a738abfd4c92aa11/gambia-leader-approves-law-jailing-gays-life

  6. JAL: Snark, Sarcasm & Bitterness says

    Oh, I just got an email about this game from Humble Bundle (it’s on minor sale there for awhile), Never Alone. It looks awesome and I love puzzle games plus diversity so I’d thought it’d be perfect for sharing here.

  7. says

    Strange enough, my family did not find that Golden Retriever video as hilarios as I did.
    That’s probably because they never doggy-sat a Cocker Spaniel who upon smelling cake ran away and jumped on the table to eat it…
    I will send it to my sister, she will understand

  8. says

    In more Bill Cosby news:
    Talk Show host Wendy Williams opens up about an unforgettable encounter with the rapist fucknuggett.

    Williams told her studio audience Thursday that in 1990 Bill Cosby called up 98.7 KissFM radio station in New York City and demanded they fire her after discussing his rape allegations live on-air.

    Williams said she “dished the dirt” on Cosby, reading comments he made regarding sexual accusations against him in The National Enquirer.

    “My own boss turned on me like a wild pit bull, called me in his office in the middle of… the morning broadcast and Cosby is on the speaker phone. Cosby dressed me down and called me everything but a daughter of God.”

    He sure doesn’t want the media talking about the allegations.

  9. toska says

    JAL
    I bought Never Alone and played it last night! It was a really fun, cute game. It’s easy enough that kids can play it, and there were zero problematic themes that I noticed.

  10. says

    Deeply ‘rupt. *hugs* all ’round, thanks for the good wishes. We met the landlord today, he likes us, but we’re apparently third in line currently, which sucks; the place is great. We’re hoping that if we get our application forms and such in promptly we’ll get a leg up. i really hope we get this place.

  11. rq says

    Dalillama
    Woo, setting out another jar of thumbs on your behalf! And crossing those extra few tentacles!!
    *hugs*

  12. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Crossed tentacles for Dalillama.

    It’s must be fish Friday, and it is time to toss the fish (salmon filet) into the oven for the Redhead’s dinner. I just wish she would eat her lunch earlier than 3:30 PM. Makes me tired and and not energetic enough to be cranky by the end of the week.

  13. Morgan!? the Slithy Tove says

    Dalillama,
    I hope, hope, hope this works out for you.
    Here is a thought……. I know your funds are tight, but what if you offered to pay rent slightly more than what they are asking, and maybe give them a permanent discount at your Etsy shop? This would let them know how serious you are about the place.
    Capitalism at work…

  14. Jackie the social justice WIZZARD!!! says

    I don’t say it enough, but Horde, you are the wind beneath my wings.

  15. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    Jackie,

    Thank you for all the very valuable comments you made in latest threads regarding abuse and rape. Many more thanks for the work you mention you and your husband do in meat-life.

  16. rq says

    Yers, that’s right, rq. Sticking your finger into the stream of freshly boiled water is the best way to check if it is boiled. Indirect verification is for weaklings.

  17. toska says

    Seconding Beatrice.
    Jackie, your comments today (and well, all the other days too) have been amazing. Thanks.

  18. blf says

    Sticking your finger into the stream of freshly boiled water is the best way to check if it is boiled.

    Makes sense. It is, after all, how the dreaded Latvian potatoe ah… (what’s the collective noun for potatoe? Latvian?) are cooked.

  19. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    I don’t have any peach frozen yogurt because I didn’t buy any. It’s Saad’s fault!

  20. rq says

    Saad must be hoarding all the frozen peaches for the yoghurt, because all I got was some lousy plain unfrozen yoghurt. I mean really!!!

  21. blf says

    It’s Saad’s fault!

    I’m all for this! For instance, it explains why I haves a bad cold, there’s something smelling up the refrigerator, and is clearly the reason I spotted a pea the other day. (And the pea is probably growling it’s the reason I got away.)

  22. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    blf,
    No, I think that’s actually Rebecca Watson’s fault. Especially the pea.

  23. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,

    Tough question. I’m expecting to face it one of these days too (started watching the franchise with best friend).

    If it’s just for the movie, I’d say no. Download it and don’t give the stealing bastards money.
    If it’s for the company… that’s the tough one.

  24. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    … and there I was assuming you have similar issues as me and are not just asking whether the film as any good.

    To clarify: my issue is with splitting this last part into two movies. For you?

  25. rq says

    Beatrice
    No, I wasn’t asking whether the film was any good. :) I’m wary about the ‘going out’ part. Not because it would be bad, mind you. But because I feel guilty for some reason, even though I would still be home at a decent hour, ready to wake up tomorrow morning and clean house before the family returns in the afternoon.
    And then yes, that extended franchise part…
    I read the books and really liked them, and I like what they did with the first two movies (more or less faithful, and I do believe Jennifer Lawrence was a more appropriate skin shade in the second movie, but maybe that’s just me, and also the start of the second movie made me cry, which is usually a good sign). I want to see the third installment(s), and I have a chance to go with a colleague for the company. Which is the nice part.
    I’m just checking with Husband if he wants to see it on the big screen too (because there’s that aspect, too, sometimes I just want the immersion effect of a giant screen and super-loud surround-sound), but he wasn’t thrilled with the second movie. So we’ll see.

    And yes, I hate it when they split the last part into two movies. Because your point in doing that? Stupid. If it’s to add more explosions, not going for it. If you want to add nuance, learn to do so in less time, because just adding nuance for nuance’s sake makes movies booooorinnnnng.
    (Splitting one book into three movies is even worse, but it’s an opinionated sliding scale, here.)

  26. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,

    Great, now you’ll make me encourage you to go see the movie, contrary to my principles regarding money-grabbers! :)

    Seriously, don’t feel guilty. You deserve to enjoy yourself. You’re a responsible person, going out sometimes isn’t going to negate that, it’s something you need to do. It’s not all about work and cleaning and doing useful things for others. You have to do things for yourself, and really… it’s a movie evening. Not even a whole day relaxing.

  27. rq says

    Beatrice
    Heh, thanks. I’ll let you know if it’s worth sacrificing once values.
    So yes, I will go, since Husband has no particular interest in the movie.
    “Not even a whole day relaxing” – you say that like it would be a bad thing. ;) (Don’t worry, I know what you mean… and yes, that too.)

  28. says

    rq @28, I loved the black ballerina and her partner posing for the Swan Lake promo photo. Totally beautiful.

    Hunger Games is lightweight fare as far as entertainment goes, but one doesn’t always want a heavy, adult dose of entertainment. The big screen and surround sound in movie theaters tends to give me a headache. I think maybe I live too quiet a life to be comfortable with that much input pitched just below the pain level.

  29. blf says

    You deserve to enjoy yourself.

    She does! For instance, she sticks her hand in boiling water, and is chased all the way across Canada by a choir. Not many people get to do either, let alone all three. Besides, there are zombie potatoes lurking in her backyard should things ever get dull (although opening the door will also let in the horses…).

  30. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,
    Definitely not a bad thing. What would I give for a whole day just doing nothing.

  31. rq says

    Lynna
    I can’t take movie theatres often, but every now and then I kind of have a craving for it – like sometimes I crave chips or whipped cream or other things unhealthy.
    Also, yesterday I went to see a rather depressing local film at a small local cultural centre slash movie theater, so the Hunger Games (even though installment 3 gets depressing and war-like) should feel like light fare by comparison. :)

    Beatrice
    If my brain would let me take a full day off, that would be great. Sometimes I think the problem is less the opportunity but the mindset. :P

    blf
    Uh… thanks, I think?

  32. Saad says

    Beatrice, rq and blf,

    Are you trying to take away my peach frozen yogurt? How dare you! I’m entitled to it, not you. =P

    P.S. Think logically.

  33. chigau (違う) says

    I want a “Think Logically” t-shirt.
    Better, “Go Away and Learn to Think Logically”.
    or maybe “Go Away”.

  34. rq says

    chigau
    ‘Go away’. Definitely ‘Go away’. I’d need at least three, so I could wear one all the time.

  35. rq says

    Besides, Saad, it’s not like you earned that peach frozen yoghurt, so there’s no reason to enjoy it.

  36. rq says

    Actually, on second thought, I think I’m just going to start a campaign for Tony to ban all peach frozen yoghurt from the bar, period. Maybe even the entire Lounge. IF I CAN’T HAVE ANY, NO ONE WILL!!!

  37. carlie says

    But because I feel guilty for some reason, even though I would still be home at a decent hour, ready to wake up tomorrow morning and clean house before the family returns in the afternoon.

    danger danger red flag danger

    GO TO THE MOVIE. I am BEGGING YOU TO GO TO THE MOVIE.

    Ok, melodrama over, but seriously. Go. I know that feeling. That feeling can grow and consume you and take over everything if you don’t slap it down, hard. I am speaking from years of dissatisfaction and a crisis point of thinking everything in my life was wrong and most of a year of therapy here. When you let yourself think you should always be taking care of everyone else, that’s a spiral that leads straight to the bowels of hell. You are your own person and you are worth a few hours on your own and everyone will survive in your absence and it’s good for them to see what they’re missing and most importantly it’s important for your kids to see that you’re not just mom, you’re a person with your own life and interests and that being a parent doesn’t mean giving up everything you enjoy. Go see the movie. Go see a movie once a month. LET YOUR MOCKINGJAY WINGS FLY FREE.. ahem, sorry, melodrama again. GO SEE THE MOVIE AND EVEN GET POPCORN AND A SODA. NOT THE SMALL ONE, THE BIG ONE. AND ALSO MAYBE CANDY.

  38. rq says

    OMG carlie you made me laugh. And then my brain went ‘But I went out yesterday!’ and then I thought about what’s waiting for me at home right now (a cold furnace, two cats, and Ferguson updates – and the Lounge, of course). But yes, I’m going to go to the movie. But I think I’ll get the nachos with the horrible cheese sauce, because I CAN.
    So I’m off to the kīno. :)

  39. opposablethumbs says

    carlie I <3 you so godsdamn much right now. Words cannot express how much. No, more than that.

  40. says

    Oh, Texas, you have taken such small and inadequate steps to move your school textbooks into compliance with reality — and at the same time you left Moses in there as a figure that influenced the U.S. Constitution. [head, meet desk]

    […] some problematic material had been removed from the proposed textbooks, including climate denial and “offensive cartoons comparing beneficiaries of affirmative action to space aliens,” [Dafuq!? What were those cartoons doing in there in the first place?] but that references to Moses as an influence on the Constitution and the Old Testament as the root of democracy remained.

    Right Wing Watch link.

    No, the Old Testament is not the root of democracy.

    There are other problems as well:

    The Texas Tribune adds that the group’s last-minute request also included downplaying the environmental impact of coal mining and noting in a chapter about colonization that Native Americans already discriminated against and oppressed each other:

    […] Among its objections: A passage on coal mining should say it has “minimal effect on the environment”; a chapter on Spanish colonization of Latin America should point out the “continuous discrimination and oppression practiced by the native American peoples on each other”; and a statement that Shariah law requires religious tolerance of non-Muslims should be removed. […]

    The group was formed by retired Lt. Col. Roy White, a Tea Party activist who also leads the Bexar County Chapter of ACT! for America, an organization dedicated to fighting extremist Islam. Its founder, Brigitte Gabriel, is known for her views that Muslims in the United States pose a danger to national security.[…]

    http://www.texastribune.org/2014/11/18/xx/

  41. says

    rq,

    I’m glad you decided to go out and have fun. You do so deserve nice things! I know exactly how you feel about not deserving it – been there, done that, bought the cat-hair-covered T-shirt…

    carlie, you are awesome and wise.

    [refills basket of hugs for everyone, also tea and chocolate supplies]

  42. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,

    Latvian : kīno
    Croatian : kino

    … I apparently have no life because this fascinates me way too much right now.

  43. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,
    Oh, and have fun at the kīno. I’m back from visiting my best friend who I mentioned today regarding Hunger Games – we’ve decided to go see the third movie in a couple of weeks. So much for my principles. :)

  44. Morgan!? the Slithy Tove says

    Dalillama, that is very shitty. So much for the possibility of “benevolent” capitalism. Predators all the way down. I’m so sorry.

  45. rq says

    Dalillama
    *hugs*
    That is shitty. :( But also the kind of move you probably wouldn’t want from a potential landlord. :( I hope something as good and within your range comes along soooon!!!!

    Beatrice
    It was totally worth it.

    And yes, I licked out ALL THE CHEESE.

    And I love everyone.

  46. blf says

    ‘Go away’. Definitely ‘Go away’. I’d need at least three, so I could wear one all the time.

    No, no, no! If you had just one, and wrote it all the time, people would indeed, eventually, go away. Rather fast. And, given a bit more time, preemptively.

    (Does not work on horses or peas. Probably attracts the buggers.)

  47. blf says

    wear it, errrr… wore it all the time…

    Although, in time, it would become a viable writing surface.

  48. opposablethumbs says

    Shit, Dalaillama, I’m so sorry. I really really hope that either the effects of the neighbours-from-hell are somehow nullified (they either move or get some restrictions put on their antisocial behaviour or both) or that you find somewhere else. Damn.

    rq I am glad you ate all the cheese.

  49. blf says

    I licked out ALL THE CHEESE.

    You should take some lessons from the mildly deranged penguin. (You’d have to find her first, or else use a time-traveling machine, but, well, minor details…)

    That’s a very slow and awkward way to eat cheese. And dangerous in the case of Lancre Blue. She usually suggests just eating the cheese, container, and any attached cheesemonger. Sometimes the fastest way to do this is to eat the shop (but watch out for peas, horses, and other nefarious beasties). With a bit of practice you can do it without breaking stride, and hence minimize the cheeseless-time between shops.

  50. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Or would that just enrage her and bring about another apocalypse or three? What’s the plural of apocalypse anyway?

    Just how many “end of the worlds” are you considering living through?

  51. yazikus says

    Is there a special way to convey how ‘rupt I feel? And how just reading this second page in the Lounge has restored my faith in humanity? You are all awesome and I miss it in here!

    Dalillama, I hope the apt. situation fixes itself. I’m sorry that one did not work out!

    Jackie, you are awesome. Everyone else, you are too!

  52. Sili says

    If I were more inclined to be taken in by psychic bafflegap, I just encountered the perfect example:

    A coupla hours ago for reasons that now escape me I looked up “serenade” on the Pfft. That reminded me of Britten’s do. for tenor, horn and strings, so I queued that up on Youtube. But I didn’t get around to listening to it.

    And lo! What now plays on BBC Radio 3?!

    Explain that! Checkmate, Athiests!!

  53. blf says

    I wonder if one could make MLP-proof cheese? Horses’-milk cheese, perhaps, infused with peas and layered with Miracle Whip?

    Something other than British Industrial Cheddar? Which is not considered to be cheese by any known creature with a functioning digestive system, which probably explains why its rarely found outside of its native habitat.

    Let’s see… First, To be considered real cheese and thus at least worthy of a sniff by her awesomeness (whenever she turns up again), it should be hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness from a rare, and preferably LOUD, plant, gently petted, and shipped straight from the plantation, carried by carefully-trained butterflies, to — depending on the type — the cheese shop (for the young, bright, natural cheeses) or to the various hollow volcanic lairs and other secret places to to grow up and be massaged with rare herbs, rarer spices, and slood.

    Second, To be considered real real cheese, the plantation or garden and its cheese plants have to be from Atlantis, or one of the various ancient civilizations that mastered spaceflight and had the sense to leave. (It is rumoured British Industrial Cheddar was forged to build the hull of the starships. (Stonehenge was built as a warning to future generations to never, ever, try eating the stuff.))

    And third, real real real cheese is something the mildly deranged penguin eats, excluding incidentals, such as the surrounding cheese shop.

    So, building a really real cheese she won’t eat is, technically, unpossible, albeit counterfeit substances called “cheese” are known. And spat out at great velocity. (Hint: Stand aside when she spits it out, unless you want to become an planetary ring.)

    You’d have more luck taking a real cheese and doing something disgusting to it, like not feeding the mildly deranged penguin. Coating the cheese in Miracle Whip and hiding it inside a pea-stuffed horse (kept in a box made of British Industrial Cheddar just to be sure) might slow her down. Toxic contaminants like Miracle Whip take awhile to clean off.

  54. Portia (aka Smokey the Advocate) says

    Good morning.
    I’m a bit rupt
    Saw that Dadlillama lost out on that apartment. I’m really sorry, my friend :(

    It’s really rainy here this morning. Perfect morning to curl up in my recliner with a cuppa coffee and my near-finished knitting project (boot cuffs) and wearing my newly finished cowl for coziness, even though it’s not very cold outside. (The cowl is the product of the yarny birthday present I received.)

  55. says

    I’m sorry about the apartment, Dalillama. [hugs]

    Yes, it’s Sunday morning, it’s just after 6AM, and everybody else is sleeping in. I got up at 5:20 to feed the cats and couldn’t get back to sleep. Again. Why can’t I sleep late like the rest of the family? Whyyyyyyyy????? Grumble grumble so unfair…

  56. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    Anne,
    I was planing to “sleep in” this morning so I set the alarm for 8am, but forgot to turn off the other alarm that was set for half past 6.

  57. says

    Beatrice, [hugs] and sympathy.

    I can’t turn off the Patches alarm; if I’m not moving around by 4:50, which is when the weekday alarm goes off, she starts meowing plaintively at the bedroom door. If that doesn’t do the trick, she throws herself at the door, bang! Sometimes her alarm goes off early, like, at 4AM. I’m awake, I’m bored, come out and feed and play with me! Cats.

  58. rq says

    Tony
    What a right-up, especially the bit about getting shot – and the wound enhancing his physique. Seriously?
    :P Sad to hear him go.

  59. David Marjanović says

    Study identifies why re-educating torturers may not work http://phys.org/news/2014-11-re-educating-torturers.html

    From there:

    “In Wahl’s interviews of 33 officers, nearly all agreed that torture is the right thing to do in specific circumstances. Several even admitted to participating in torture. In contrast, every officer emphatically agreed that corruption is wrong, though according to statistics, the majority of officers engage in corrupt behavior during their service.

    The officers in Wahl’s study were each voluntarily participating in, or had graduated from, a human rights education program for which they were paying their own money. The program leads to a master’s degree in human rights.”

    *slow-motion facepalm with wide-open eyes*

  60. blf says

    I can’t turn off the Patches alarm; if I’m not moving around by 4:50… she starts meowing plaintively at the bedroom door. If that doesn’t do the trick, she throws herself at the door, bang!

    Nail the cat to a convenient ceiling someplace.

  61. David Marjanović says

    Gah, Dalillama. I didn’t know there were places with such a high asshole concentration. :-O

    Latvian : kīno
    Croatian : kino

    … I apparently have no life because this fascinates me way too much right now.

    German Kino, pronounced… kīno.

    Russian kino, stressed on the last syllable, because nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!

  62. blf says

    Ah, so if she has some useful claws, then you can just stick her to the ceiling (claw her to the ceiling?), no need for nails. Which is probably safer and easier than using a hammer (or, if the mildly deranged penguin were to do it, a trebuchet).

    A “convenient ceiling” is one where any noise won’t bother you (and that is Ok to shoot at it with a trebuchet, Big). Who it does bother, if anyone, deserves careful consideration. Dalillama’s downstairs unneighbors seems like a good choice, with the cat able to return the noise and poo with interest. Just make sure Dalillama is out if you use the trebuchet method.

    Yeah, making piratical suggestions for moar sleep is mean.
    (I meant to type “practical” but “piratical” seems so more more appropriate…)

  63. says

    I live in a community where it is hard to find port wine. (Mormon influence on liquor laws.) Suggestions for a substitute? I’m cooking some cornish game hens for a family dinner and the recipe calls for a port wine and fig preserve mixture.

    I bought some figs and am making my own preserves. Not really set up to make my own port wine.

  64. blf says

    I love reading wine labels. I bought the one that claims to drink well on its own.

    Do you ever buy any which are attached to bottles containing actual vin (whether or not the vin en bouteille has anything to do with the label is optional)?

  65. says

    blf, have you ever tried to put a cat somewhere she doesn’t want to go?

    And you are still being mean to one of my Resident Felines. Be careful, Mr Bolty is fully charged and I am just in the mood to smite someone. Which may make this morning’s major shopping expedition… interesting.

  66. blf says

    Suggestions for a substitute?

    Porto?
    Joking aside, Madeira should work (especially with cornish game hens). Some searching suggests sherry is also a decent substitute, albeit I never done that trick myself.

    Otherwise, is this a ruby, tawny, white, or some other style of port? (It’s unlikely to be vintage due to cost.) The flavours differ enough I’m unsure there is any single answer, excepting Maderia.

  67. says

    blf @81, that made me laugh out loud. Still giggling. Thanks.

    Weird stuff scientists do: a guy who has been going deaf since he his 20s, hacked his hearing aids so that he could hear Wi-Fi signals.

    […] As I approach Turnpike Lane tube station and descend to the underground platform, I catch the now familiar gurgle of the public Wi-Fi hub, as well as the staff network beside it. On board the train, these sounds fade into silence as we burrow into the tunnels leading to central London.

    With a grant from Nesta, the UK innovation charity, sound artist Daniel Jones and I built Phantom Terrains, an experimental tool for making Wi-Fi fields audible. […]

    Link.

  68. says

    Lynna @ 109

    I live in a community where it is hard to find port wine. (Mormon influence on liquor laws.) Suggestions for a substitute? I’m cooking some cornish game hens for a family dinner and the recipe calls for a port wine and fig preserve mixture.

    I bought some figs and am making my own preserves. Not really set up to make my own port wine.

    I just read that merlot, shiraz or chianti could be used as sweeter reds. I wonder if sweet vermouth could be used? In addition to blf’s suggestions of madeira or sherry.

  69. blf says

    [H]ave you ever tried to put a cat somewhere she doesn’t want to go?

    I know a certain penguin who does that routinely…

    Oh, and could you aim Mr Bolty just a bit to the left please, and back a few metres? I’ve a steak I’ll probably cook for dinner, and an incoming blast will do nicely. In fact, if you can wait a few minutes, I’ll see if the stotting drummer will stay put long enough to capture a few potatoes, to have as a side-dish.

  70. says

    Thanks for the wine suggestions, everyone. I’ll do some shopping tomorrow. You didn’t think I could buy wine on the Lard’s Day did you?

  71. blf says

    You have shops that are open on Mondays? What reckless extravagance!
    Here in (semi-)rural France, even on the South coast (despite the tourism), most shops are closed on Mondays. Making it rather important to visit the open-air market on Sunday mornings…

  72. says

    NPR did a story on the Airbus patent for a new plane that looks like something out of Star Trek.

    Sorry if this was already posted. I really liked the doughnut shaped seating in the center.

  73. Saad says

    Cop shoots and kills 12-year old who was holding a toy gun>

    The attorney for the family of the Cleveland youngster, who also was black, downplayed any possible racial connotations to the shooting.

    “This is not a black and white issue. This is a right and wrong issue,” attorney Tim Kucharski said.

    Police were summoned to the scene outside a recreation center by a 911 caller who said someone — possibly a juvenile — was pointing a gun at people.

    When officers arrived, the boy did not point the weapon at them or otherwise threaten them, Deputy Chief Ed Tomba of the Cleveland Division of Police told reporters early Sunday.

    But he did reach for the weapon, Tomba said.

    “The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands and he went into his waistband and pulled out the weapon,” he said.

  74. says

    rq @120, these excerpts from that article hit me hard:

    In the private sector, the emphasis on profit margins trumps public service and journalism every time […]

    […] there is a hostility to public institutions based on the belief that market economics are perfectly attuned to people’s needs and capable of delivering anything that people want — from news to transportation to health care. In that time, public institutions came under constant pressure to move out of the way and to let private enterprise, motivated by self-interest and disciplined to efficiency by the need to earn profits, run the system. […]

    All too true. On the other hand, some local and regional news outlets are still doing a good job. I like the way Rachel Maddow often highlights local journalists and their research. Washington Post link to article about Maddow praising local journalists.

    http://sharylattkisson.com/msnbcs-rachel-maddow-praises-attkissons-investigative-reporting

    That bit about profit margins trumping public service is, alas, being applied to the public school system in the USA as well. So-called charter schools in Louisiana are a good example.

  75. Saad says

    Bill Cosby on the allegations:

    I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn’t have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn’t have to go through that and shouldn’t answer to innuendos.

    LOL… “innuendos”… what a creepy rapist.

  76. rq says

    Saad
    Well, facts are only facts if they’re been through a court trial and have been confirmed by a jury and judge. Innocent until proven guilty, amirite? But when it comes down to believing one person in a position of power, or believing 16 different people with similar stories in positions of relative powerlessness, I know which way I’m leaning here.

  77. Saad says

    Yup, and it’s quite disturbing that he’s calling allegations (often with great detail) by specific women “innuendos”. Maybe he doesn’t realize it, but that doesn’t make his case any stronger at all.

  78. says

    Hullo

    rq
    I’m glad you had a nice evening. We had one, too, taking Mr.’s aunt and her husband out for dinner as a thank you for her doing our taxes.

    dalillama
    *big hugs*
    Can you try and film the fuckers?

    +++
    I’m annoyed.
    Scratch annoyed, I’m angry.
    My BIL is the most selfish person on earth. I know I complained about this before, sorry for repeating myself.
    My in-laws are somewhat poor. We already support them, paying my MIL for the ironing she does for us (guess who just brings his shirts for ironing, thank you mum, that’s your job), helping them out with the car (as they do with us), taking them out for dinner…
    They manage (as long as nothing breaks) but there’s no mony for any extras.
    Mr. and I had an idea: his parents’ birthdays are at the start of December and January, with christmas in between. We’d go for “BIG” present this time and buy them a one week holiday in Mallorca. Because they haven’t been on a holiday in 10 years and they won’t be able to afford one in the future.
    We asked Mr.’s brother if he’d like to participate. He told Mr. he’d need to think about it. Today he asked his mum if his dad would like a bottle of Calvados for his birthday.
    It’s not that he doesn’t have the money. He’s planning for holiday #4 this year, New Year’s Eve in Paris. But to spend some money on his parents, who always went without so he could have what he wanted and needed, who supprted him through college, who paid for private tutors so he made it to college in the first place? Who are always there for him, do anything for him? No, that’s clearly asking too much. 25 bucks, not more, or he may have to eat a sandwich in place of a 3 course dinner in a posh restaurant, heavens forbid!
    Fuck him. One day he’ll need help again and I’m not going to be the bigger person.

  79. rq says

    Saad
    Yuh. Just read another pretty terrible piece on him, with a list of victims and description of the situations, and the one common thread is that they were all too afraid, for one reason or another, to come forward. Thank you, rape culture, for allowing a predator like that to remain at large for so long.

  80. says

    I have stingy relatives too. I also have generous relatives. The thing I find most difficult is to refrain from slipping into stinginess when interacting with the stingy relatives. I’m not comfortable with that trait, and don’t want it to be mine.

    I’ve had some success with just setting up limits. For example, I will only be taken advantage of in a serious way once or twice. After that, my strategy is total avoidance.

  81. says

    Signs that police forces in Utah need some serious retraining:

    In the past five years, more Utahns have been killed by police than by gang members.

    Or drug dealers. Or from child abuse. […]

    Who should you fear more? The police … as a citizen in Utah, you are right to fear the police, and/or in some cases your intimate partner.

    […]Through October, 45 people had been killed by law enforcement officers in Utah since 2010, accounting for 15 percent of all homicides during that period.

    A Salt Lake Tribune review of nearly 300 homicides, using media reports, state crime statistics, medical-examiner records and court records, shows that use of force by police is the second-most common circumstance under which Utahns kill each other, surpassed only by intimate partner violence. […]

    http://www.sltrib.com/news/1842489-155/killings-by-utah-police-outpacing-gang

  82. says

    Here are comments from readers of the Salt Lake Tribune article about police using deadly force in Utah (link in #130):

    This comes a day after I posted on another story that Utah’s number of police killings per year would be 3.7 if it met the national average. So our rate is three times higher than expected (for the past year, at least). Good reason to question if excessive force and use of guns is occurring.
    —————–
    It seems to me that police can kill at will with extremely low probability of being held responsible. The bar of justifiable police homicide is set awfully low. So far at least, the only consequence has been a little paid time off to go fishing. Not much of a deterrent.
    ———–
    Shaun Cowley’s murder dismissal just gave Utah cops the green light to kill Utah citizens. Time to rein in the police.
    ————
    The onus is on the person being arrested to stop trying to assault and
    kill police officers and the innocent public. … Why do some in society
    continue to insist the problem lies with police officers?

    Yep, Utah’s ultra conservative population also shows up in the comments.

  83. says

    I live in a part of the western USA where hunting is a big part of the culture. Most of the hunters I know hunt responsibly and legally, but there is increasing evidence of guides/hunters who are running illegal operations. Those illegal/unethical operations affect a disproportionately large population of game animals. Also, there are seriously icky and money-grubbing aspects.

    […] As part of his outfitting business, 56-year-old Loncarich would trap lions and bobcats prior to his clients’ hunts and hold them or injure them by “shooting the cats in the paws, stomach, and/or legs, or attaching leg-hold traps prior to the client arriving on scene,” the release states. […]

    Colorado wildlife officials reported that Loncarich’s group captured a mountain lion and put a radio-tracking collar on the animal. They used the tracking device to catch the animal a year later, eventually caging the cat at a house in Mack, Colo., where it was held for a week while Loncarich waited for a client to arrive from Missouri. The lion ultimately was transported on a snowmobile and released for the hunter.

    Fish and Wildlife Service investigators say Loncarich charged up to $7,500 for lion hunts. […]

    Many of Loncarich’s clients did not have tags or licenses for Utah and sneaked the illegally killed animals into Colorado using coded language during radio communication to keep from being caught. […]

    http://www.sltrib.com/news/1856042-155/colorado-poacher-sentenced-for-utah-big

    This cruelty and stupidity also destroys the ability of wildlife managers to use hunting as one of their management tools. It’s all kinds of screwed up.

  84. says

    birgerjohansson#96
    It appears to be less ‘won’t work’ and more ‘isn’t being done right’ with a side order of ‘wait, why are we trying to re-educate these assholes in the first place instead of firing their asses and hiring someone who’s less of a scumbag’. Also, I’ve got to wonder exactly how the writers of that article define their terms.

    Many human rights educators assume – incorrectly, as it turns out – that police and military officers in India who support the torture of suspects do so because they are either immoral or ignorant

    “The officers believe that providing equal protection to all people would undermine justice. In their minds, justice is served by harming or protecting people depending on who they are and what they have done,” Wahl said. “So they believe that it is wrong to torture the wrong people, but not that torture is wrong.”

    So, first it says the assumption that they’re immoral and/or ignorant is wrong, then it goes on to describe how they are ignorant (italics) and immoral (bold). The solution has to address that, and also to address the cultural background that sets people up to believe this shit (beliefs which are in no way limited to India; there are many police, and civilians, in the U.S. who’d agree wholeheartedly with the above. They need to be fired and blacklisted, frankly, not reeducated.
    Lynna

    I’ve had some success with just setting up limits. For example, I will only be taken advantage of in a serious way once or twice. After that, my strategy is total avoidance.

    Tit for Tat is the best strategy for iterated prisoner’s dilemmas, which is a concept with surprisingly broad application; here, it would imply ‘start out generous, but if they stiff you when the time comes, then the next time let them twist in the wind; in future, meet generosity with generosity and stinginess with stinginess.

  85. says

    On a happier note, I learned how to make a really pretty decoration for the upcoming holiday season* and it’s dead easy. All you need is your regular square notepads or origami paper. Fold the paper into a triangle twice, the cut three (or more) lines parallel to the hypothenusis. Unfold. Take the inner square points and glue them together to form a “tube” (I do so over a pencil). Flip around, take the next points, glue them together, turn around, repeat, so in the end you have something that looks a bit like a candlefalme. Make 6 of them, take the tips together and just staple or glue them together, done.

    No pics, my camera is finally broken.
    *Today is Dead Sunday in Germany and you must. not. put. up. your. decoration. before. it. is. over, which means I had to be done today mostly.

  86. says

    Tit for Tat is the best strategy for iterated prisoner’s dilemmas, which is a concept with surprisingly broad application; here, it would imply ‘start out generous, but if they stiff you when the time comes, then the next time let them twist in the wind; in future, meet generosity with generosity and stinginess with stinginess.

    I generally dislike “tit for tat” because it’s more like a payday loan than helping or being generous. I am entirely comfortable with some people needing to take more and/or being less able to give. Bit when somebody who got so much and who is more than able to give back simply keeps on taking (not from me, mind you), I get angry.

  87. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,

    Did you click the article before that interview? Ugh. Ghomeshi apologetics.

  88. rq says

    Beatrice
    I did not. And now I won’t. *retch* I just know that Joni Mitchell calls him extremely hostile in her own interview.

  89. Saad says

    Former NBC employee says Cosby arranged pay-offs for eight different women

    Frank Scotti, a 90-year-old ex-NBC employee, is the latest to go public with stories of Bill Cosby’s past.

    Scotti, who worked as a facilities manager for the Brooklyn NBC Studio where “Cosby Show” was filmed, told the New
    York Daily News that he arranged for monthly payments and more for eight women during “The Cosby Show’s” run from 1984-1992. He claimed some women would receive as much as $2,000 at a time.

    “He had everybody fooled,” Scotti said to the Daily News. “Nobody suspected.”

    Scotti provided copies of money orders to four women to the Daily News and said Cosby asked him to put his own name on them.

    “He was covering himself by having my name on it,” he said. “It was a coverup. I realized it later.”

  90. rq says

    So I spent about 4 hours today cleaning up the second floor, and then the kids came home – and it looks exactly the same as it did before. Except! Underneath it all, I know I vaccuumed. ;)

  91. says

    rq</b
    That's basically my Sunday ritual: I clean the flat, clean the floors, the I sit back and look at the floor for about 15 minutes, becasue then the kids come and it's the last I've seen of it until the next Sunday.
    You're in good company.

  92. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Dang, sometimes really hate “upgrades” for computers. The latest version of my back-up program works nicely with data files, but backing up a bootable partition? It hangs after hours, but if the write partition has been remounted, I can quit the program. I think I’ll look at earlier versions that were faster for the rest of my migrations (updating the HD farm for new computer). The Redhead, of course, is making my job harder without knowing it….*sigh*

  93. chigau (違う) says

    rq

    hmm
    Hire an archaeologist.
    Good idea!
    .
    .
    .
    Wait.
    I am an archaeologist!
    I wonder if I need a permit from the Gummint.

  94. says

    I once knew archaeologist here and when she told us about what she actually does, it was pretty disappointing.
    Basically, her job was to make people hate her (though that might be considered a perk). She lived and worked in one of those 1500 years old towns and whenever somebody wants to build something there they need to hire an archaeologist who, in the best case, stands around for a few days and doesn’t do shit, but who, in the worst case, will shout “stop that machine, everybody stand back!”.
    But she had fun stories to tell, like the time she got stopped by the police while transporting half a dozen of medieval cow and horse skeletons in her car.

  95. rq says

    Giliell
    re: your BIL
    I’ve got an uncle like that. He wanted his brother to pay him for changing a lightbulb.
    *hugs*
    Are you going to be able to give them the vacation anyway, or is this impossible without the BIL?

  96. rq says

    Giliell
    Oh, we have archaeologists like that here, too! They once shut down a fairly main street of a rather large town (for here) for about a year because the excavator had dug up a 17th century (or something) cemetery they’d lost. Had to do the whole historical examination before they could put in the new water pipes. Lots of love for the archaeologist! (Sadly, oftentimes, companies will not actually call anyone and will simply keep working if they dig up anything mysterious, in case it becomes an archaeological dig.)
    We also have bureaucratic archaeologists. They’re required for any renovations (actually, restoration) of any historical buildings, especially those marked as important cultural artifacts, and then they have to make sure that any restoration of the building occurs as specifically to the technologies of the age it was built as possible.

  97. birgerjohansson says

    From The Daily Mash:
    Schwarzenegger charging £800,000 to kill you then deliver a one-liner
    http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/celebrity/schwarzenegger-charging-800000-to-kill-you-then-deliver-a-one-liner-2014111792839
    ARNOLD Schwarzenegger fans are paying almost a million pounds to have him kill them then make a wry comment
    The film star is in the UK to do an interview with Jonathan Ross and carry out some mildly amusing killings.
    Businessman Norman Steele hired Schwarzenegger to hack off his left arm with a garden strimmer then say “He wasn’t very handy.”
    As he bled to death, Steele said: “That was the high point of my life.
    “Even my wife, who was strongly against the idea of my needless premature death, admits that this has been on a par with the bit in Predator where he skewers a guerrilla fighter to a wall then says ‘Stick around’.
    “And nothing in human history is better than that.”

  98. Nick Gotts says

    Tit for Tat is the best strategy for iterated prisoner’s dilemmas – Dallilama, Schmott Guy@134

    That’s a considerable simplification – I’d guess deriving from Axelrod, who ignored most prior work! In many circumstances, a more generous strategy works better. The literature is vast and highly multi-disciplinary; I wrote a by-no-means-complete 90-page review paper a decade ago (Gotts, N.M., Polhill, J.G. and Law, A.N.R. (2003). Agent-based simulation in the study of social dilemmas. Artificial Intelligence Review 19, 3-92), and there’s probably been as much again published since.

    On city archaeology, I’ve just moved to Turin (commenting sporadic until we get internet at the flat), where apparently the possibility of Roman relics delayed the building of the metro for 50 years. Finally got built for the 2006 winter Olympics. Whether any relics were discovered or destroyed in the process, I don’t know.

  99. David Marjanović says

    Former NBC employee says Cosby arranged pay-offs for eight different women

    Gah.

    The good news: “Ninita, our orphaned baby pygmy marmoset, gets a much loved toothbrush massage from her keeper. Ninita was born deaf, and abandoned by her parents. RSCF staff hand-reared her, and she is now doing well in an enclosure of her own with a handsome boyfriend.”

    The bad news: “‘It’s astonishing that, for such a high-profile, sensitive position, the Vatican wouldn’t want someone whose background is unassailable, in the sense that there shouldn’t even be questions raised’, said Philip F. Lawler, the editor of Catholic World News, who has been a forceful critic of the church’s neglect in handling the sex abuse crisis.”

  100. pensnest says

    Hi, people, long time no comment. But I have a little puzzle which I’m not equipped to solve, so… does anyone here do Latin? I don’t go to alt.callahans any more (not sure it even exists) so the Horde may be my best resource. Although if anyone has a suggestion for somewhere else I could try, I’d be most grateful.

    I’m writing a Secret Santa story which I would very much like to call ‘in porcino veritas’. Am I right in thinking that that translates as either ‘in pig, truth’ or ‘in pork, truth’? Either is fine. Er, would ‘porcinetto’ work as ‘little pig’?

    I would also love to name a magical pet emporium ‘in X veritas’ where X means something like ‘the animal kingdom’ or ‘animals’ or ‘pets’… can anyone offer me a suitable translation?

    Meanwhile, an offering for the Horde, or at least, for those of you who enjoy shrieking Ew! as much as I do. See the Velvet Worm here: http://wtfevolution.tumblr.com/post/103207500913/sure-evolution-could-have-given-the-velvet-worm

  101. Brony, Social Justice Cenobite says

    House cleaning today, and applying for two more jobs if I can find them.
    Today’s theme song. KoRn – Open Up

    A paper for everyone. I found it when preparing a response for a person of notoriety at Avicenna’s place. I wish I could get a copy, but it outlines important things even if I don’t have one. Over the years I’ve noticed a particular relationship between humor and fear, a relationship that made it easy to reject “it’s just a joke” with appropriate disgust of my own.Humor is meant to reduce fear and responses/alternatives to fear like anger, disgust, and sadness. It’s nice when science gives you an “I told you so”.

    @ Dalillama
    Fuck. I hope you can find a solution. Hugs if they are helpful. I’m seconding Morgan‘s response at 66. I hope you or circumstance finds a way to hold your neighbors responsible.

    @ Anne 77

    Hrm, I wonder if one could make MLP-proof cheese?

    That is unpossible
    111

    blf, have you ever tried to put a cat somewhere she doesn’t want to go?

    In related news took three cats to the vet and am thinking of ways to get a stray to the vet that we want to find a home for.

  102. David Marjanović says

    Can everybody see this?

    Am I right in thinking that that translates as either ‘in pig, truth’ or ‘in pork, truth’?

    English is the only language with unrelated words for “pig” and “pork”. Everywhere else you can only say “pig meat”, derive an adjective or something from it, or use “pig” for short.

    I’m not sure how that was handled in Latin. There were even two words for pig, sus and porcus, and I don’t know how they were used (even the Latin Wikipedia uses them interchangeably), though it seems to me that sus is “more classical” somehow. (Porcus must have specifically meant “young pig” at some point before classical antiquity.)

    Anyway, those would give you in sui veritas, in sue veritas and in porco veritas to choose from.

    Er, would ‘porcinetto’ work as ‘little pig’?

    In Italian maybe.

    You can try porculus (diminutive of porcus) and porcellus (double diminutive) – in the ablative: in porculo/porcello veritas.

  103. David Marjanović says

    Oh, I overlooked this:

    I would also love to name a magical pet emporium ‘in X veritas’ where X means something like ‘the animal kingdom’ or ‘animals’ or ‘pets’… can anyone offer me a suitable translation?

    Very simple: in animalibus veritas.

    At that point, though, it’s not funny anymore. It’s an ex-joke. It’s pining for the fjords! :-)

  104. cicely says

    Post ‘ruption *hugs*, congratulations, and commiserations where wanted/needed. I’m just gonna do a fast-and-dirty search for my ‘nym, by way of catch-up—because I’m just lazy that way—but first:
    Barbie Fucks It Up Again
    (by way of The Bloggess)

    Hekuni Cat:
    *return-return pouncehug…this time, blackberry!*
    Attempts at non-violent conflict resolution having resoundingly failed, Ellemir has promised that if Chaotic Stoopid Barbarian calls up something evilly-deific, the very first thing she’s gonna do—even before attempting a hasty escape—will be to shoot him so hard, it’ll leave arrow-marks on his soul. Additionally, she’s going to use him as a trip-trap, since apparently he doesn’t mind being poisoned, breathing acid, getting multiply-perforated, etc. With a little luck, this Nuisance will soon be Abated. One way or another.
     
    Up until The Husband’s mage character got killed out (inadvisably-lassoed dragon), our favorite tactic was to have someone yank the doors open—after a thorough trap-check, of course!—then have him lob a Fireball into the room, closely followed by as many arrows as Ellemir could get off, into whatever was still standing.
    It was Super-Effective.
    :) :) :)

  105. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    It’s Monday. Haven’t we decided to ditch those?

    … I’m so tired already. This 8 hours per day courses are fucking hard. My head hurts and my throat hurts and I’m starting to lose my shit when adults behave like adolescents.

  106. blf says

    It’s Monday. Haven’t we decided to ditch those?

    We’ve been unable to find any HazMat or toxic waste specialists willing to work with the stuff, and no-one has any idea (as far as I know) how to safely dispose of one once you manage to dislodge it from the calendar. Apparently, Mondays are even more dangerous than peas.

  107. says

    [hugs to everyone who wants them]

    Elder Daughter and I went out and ran errands in the howling Santa Anas. Seriously, they are howling right now. Also I made a shiny thing – it looks sort of like this: http://www.isabellacatalog.com/p/Crystal-Cascade-Rainbow-Maker, but since I made mine from things I had in the hoard, it cost a lot less, and is better made. I think I’ll hang it in the west window of my little studio with the other window shinies, and maybe take it down to put on the Solstice tree when we get one next month.

  108. says

    A heads up for the Canadian regulars. The December issue of The Walrus magazine has a cover story about the increasing militarisation of police forces in Canada. The article concludes that it’s not as heavy as in the US, but that it’s still something we should be concerned with.

  109. pensnest says

    David Marjanovic at #158 and #159

    Thank you! I think any variation on ‘sus’ would be harder to relate to, so porcus it is—and if it particularly means a young pig, so much the better. In porco veritas is just what I need! I had a feeling porcinetto was a little too modern.

    As is ‘in animalibus veritas’ – and the real joke is the pig on a stick, but this will do very nicely for a motto. Many thanks!

    I chose German rather than Latin, a long time ago, and though it has probably been more useful, I do wish I’d done a bit of Latin, just for such times as these.

  110. rq says

    Beatrice
    *hugs* and *Icelandic lichen losenges*
    I’m sorry you still have so much of that ahead of you, but trust me when I say I know what it’s like when adults behave like adolescents (there was this choir…). No trips to any particularly slippery slopes in the future for the bunch, eh?
    Can you give them time-outs? You should give them time-outs and withhold treats (like lunch) until they behave. Or bribe them with early release (is that possible?). Yeah, I’m just talking off the top of my head, sorry for useless advice.
    *hugs*

  111. toska says

    Gun-toting idiot accidentally kills herself while endangering others. This gun was apparently bought in preparation of civil unrest in Ferguson. The article conveniently leaves out the race of the idiots. I’m fairly sure they are white people who bought a gun because they are scared of all of those black people demanding justice, but the article was ambiguous enough that at least one commenter thinks they are protesters who bought a gun for violent protests.
    http://wgntv.com/2014/11/24/woman-saying-were-ready-for-ferguson-accidentally-shoots-self-in-head-dies/

  112. says

    Ahhh, got some nice crafting done with the kids. I just love chrsms. I’m going to celebrate the heck out of it.

    rq
    We’ll do it anyway. We still have the tax return. But yeah, Mr. talked to his brother again and no, since he doesn’t understand that they’re always broke (I admit that I sometimes don’t understand that either) and therefore doesn’t see the need to give them anything nice.
    Apparently they’re not deserving poor *puke*

  113. rq says

    toska
    She was white and she happened to be one of the protestors. Why she thought she needed a gun, I don’t know.

  114. rq says

    Giliell
    That is a terrible mindset. Especially as they’re the parents. Not deserving? Jesus H Christ, they raised him, shouldn’t that be enough?
    What an asshole. A stingy asshole.

  115. rq says

    Also, timgueguen, there doesn’t happen to be an online version of that article, no? Would be nice to put up alongside everything else on the ‘Later This Morning’ thread.

  116. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    rq,

    I already use finishing early as bribe material. :)
    It’s just about 10-15 minutes because we have to finish the material, but it’s 15 minutes I look forward to.

  117. cicely says

    Beatrice:

    It’s Monday. Haven’t we decided to ditch those?

    I know I have.
    Unfortunately, Monday is not in agreement with this decision.
     
    I’m sorry about the readolescents.
    Perhaps, one day, Science will find a cure.

    Anne:

    Also I made a shiny thing –

    Pretty shiny thing!

  118. Beatrice, an amateur cynic looking for a happy thought says

    Giliell,

    This is probably (definitely) terrible advice, but if you’re a bit worried about money now that you and your husband will be paying for his parents’ holiday by yourselves, you can always save some on BIL’s Christmas gift. He deserves a dirty sock.

  119. rq says

    blf
    Those are the same articles I posted to the ‘Later This Morning’ thread earlier this morning. Nothiing new. I found one with photos of the woman, who was white, ostensibly arguing with police during a protest.

  120. blf says

    He deserves a dirty sock.

    Which he’ll apparently askinsist someone wash for free.

    A dead mouse is more appropriate, albeit that’s unfair to the mouse.

  121. rq says

    (I’m just mystified by this line here: “The accident caused the gun to go off and Becca Campbell accidentally pulled the trigger.”)

  122. Brony, Social Justice Cenobite says

    @ Beatrice
    Owch. What kind of classes? Best wishes on dealing with such adults.

    @ Giliell
    Good luck with the holidays. I’m trying to figure out what to do myself since I’m unemployed. Sorry about your relatives.

  123. says

    beatrice
    I’ll definitely economise on the home made truffles

    rq
    Yeah, it’s especially assholish when you consider that they did everything for him. They got him through school, even though German Gymnasium is expensive and paying for a private tutor when he had problems must have meant saving on the grocery bill. Everything so he could have it better. Everything so he could have a nice home (I guess it has never occurred to him that his mum doesn’t have a high pension because she only worked a few hours so he didn’t have to be a latchkey kid). This unfortunately turned him into an entitled brat while Mr. (who’s 11 years his senior) grew up with the idea that you should try to support the family.

    +++
    Anybody want a hot chocolate?
    It’s made with the really nice stuff: milk, coacoa powder, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, pink berries, sichuan pepper

  124. rq says

    Giliell
    He sounds like the ultimate ungrateful child we all hope we never will have. :(
    But yeah, he sounds a lot like my uncle. I don’t understand people like that, since they have it so good themselves, but they don’t see how much work from other people went into that. *sigh* Libertarians at heart, I suppose…
    I’ll try some of that hot chocolate, sounds intriguingly delicious!

  125. blf says

    Good: Making gravity-free espresso in space really is rocket science, “Specially designed ‘ISSpresso’ machine overcomes absence of gravity by firing pressurised water through capsule of coffee.”

    Bad 1: Hungarian police accused of victim-blaming in safety video, “Video depicts three friends on a night out and closes with slogan: ‘You are responsible’.”

    Bad 2: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: ‘women not equal to men’, “Turkish president also accuses feminists of not understanding special status attributed to mothers by Islam.”

  126. David Marjanović says

    1000 Germans (along with 5000 other Europeans, all adult) were asked if they’d ever had sex on the toilet of a plane. 18 % said yes. 21 % of those said they were caught.

    Petitions!

    Tell Target, Best Buy, and Kmart to keep the doors closed on Thanksgiving.

    To Sen. Mark Udall: “Enter the CIA torture report into the Congressional Record” – “The Senate Intelligence Committee’s ‘torture report’ is expected to detail shocking abuse of prisoners at the hands of the CIA during the Bush administration, and even possible CIA lying to Congress.

    But seven months after the Senate Intelligence Committee voted overwhelmingly to release the report to the American people, the White House is stonewalling Congress and demanding ‘redactions’—blacked-out sections and information—before making its contents public.

    But there’s a way around that—and before the end of the year, we have a rare chance to make it happen.”

    “In 1975, more than 65 percent of salaried workers earned overtime pay — today, just 11 percent do. That’s because the federal government has allowed the overtime threshold to erode to less than the poverty line for a family four. Earn more than $23,660 a year, and business owners can make you work unlimited overtime hours for no additional pay at all.

    President Obama can expand the ranks of workers eligible for overtime pay simply by instructing the Department of Labor to change the rules — immediately putting money into the pockets of millions of American workers.”

    Stand with Elizabeth Warren: No Wall Street bankers running Treasury

    Tell Congress: Pass a Bill – President Obama is challenging Congress to pass an immigration reform bill.”

    Welcome Senators Tester and Warren to Democratic Leadership” – yes, Warren is Elizabeth; Jon Tester represents Montana, meaning he knows how to win difficult elections, or so the DLC hopes.

  127. David Marjanović says

    *leaves bundle of fluffy hugs*

    pensnest, I didn’t choose German because that’s my native language already! ^_^ I’m quite happy I don’t need to learn it (anymore).

  128. toska says

    David Marjanović

    1000 Germans (along with 5000 other Europeans, all adult) were asked if they’d ever had sex on the toilet of a plane. 18 % said yes.

    o.O

    It certainly doesn’t seem like the most sanitary location, but I’m sure it’s an interesting way to meet new people. :P

  129. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    Oh, interesting side note: TVTropes’ “Damned by Faint Praise” entry’s Real Life subsection has an example link to the Pharyngula Wiki:

    The all-too common reply, “At least you’re honest” after someone expresses a morally repugnant opinion. Here’s an example.

    The Honest: Shows up and calls people cunts or whores etc and tells them to die in a rape fire. Their honesty is appreciated.

    Of course, given the obsessively Stupid Neutral nature of the moderation over there, I’m surprised that the implication that “calling people cunts or whore and telling them to die in a rape fire” isn’t “YMMV”ed…

  130. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    Oh, interesting side note: TVTropes’ “Damned by Faint Praise” entry’s Real Life subsection has an example link to the Pharyngula Wiki:

    The all-too common reply, “At least you’re honest” after someone expresses a morally repugnant opinion. Here’s an example.

    The Honest: Shows up and calls people c[u]nts or whores etc and tells them to die in a rape fire. Their honesty is appreciated.

    Of course, given the obsessively Stupid Neutral nature of the moderation over there, I’m surprised that the implication that “calling people c[u]nts or whore and telling them to die in a rape fire” isn’t “YMMV”ed…

  131. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    Err, the implication that this is a morally repugnant opinion isn’t “YMMV”ed, I mean.

  132. toska says

    “Atticus–” said Jem bleakly.He turned in the doorway.
    “What, son?”
    “How could they do it, how could they?”
    “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it — seems that only children weep.”

    They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again

    Weeping. . .

  133. carlie says

    So apparently, most shopping malls in the US have contracts with their tenants that state that the tenants have to be open for business when the malls are open. Now, malls are opening on Thanskgiving, and any stores who try to push back and say no are being fined.

  134. rq says

    carlie
    Too bad they can’t claim religious reasons and sue the malls back for discrimination. Something like The Church of Non-Shopping on Major Holidays. :P

  135. Saad says

    Eminem’s latest turd: a misogynistic “diss” (as the 42-year old millionaire would call it) about MMA fighter Ronda Rousey:

    I got a Magic Johnson
    It’s like a magic wand that allows me to not let a blonde arouse me
    If Ronda Rousey was on the couch with the condoms out
    Holding a thousand Magnums at once to pounce me
    I’ll laugh in response to how she dances and flaunts it around me
    Her flat little badonkadonk is bouncing around
    And all I see is Paulie Malignaggi, she’s slaughterhouse in a blouse