I’ve only got a few minutes with wifi — having limited access to the internet is maddening for a guy with a serious web addiction — so I’m hastily putting up a new thread, since you overfilled the last TET.
(Episode CCCXVI: Now I’m going to Australia!.)
Thanks, Cassandra Caligaria! Did you see the size of that thing? And believe it or not, there is a MUCH larger one down at the creek (which is, I imagine, why that one decided to check out our pond!)
You poor deprived thing!
Now a lot of what passed for steak and kidney pie is poor, with very little meat, and almost no kidney. The best ratio is 2 parts beef shin to 1 part kidney (normally pig’s) with a generous amount of gravy (which may or may not have been made using beer).
Steak and kidney pudding is even better, replacing the shortcrust pastry with suet pastry and filling being cooked inside the pudding for several hours in a steamer.
Woot, fresh thread. Thanks, PZ!
Reposting:
um, idk what your problem is, but I love to eat butts.
Word.
Matt: Making the gravy using beer is my favorite technique with meat pies. It makes them very ‘hearty’.
Plus you then have an excellent reason to drink some of the same beer when you eat the pie.
P.Z.! Thanks for posting the text of your talk! It was wonderful!!
The SO makes steak and kidney any time I am away for a few days.
The cat likes it.
hoggling atm
Comment by macroeconomics blocked. [unkill][show comment]
The Sailor linked to this story in the previous chapter of The Endless Thread.
As we all know Breitbart’s sting operation wherein he paid a man and woman to pose as a pimp and prostitute in order to trap ACORN employees into illegal actions was a total bust. That is, the employees reported the pair to the police, and the video that was so beloved of Fox News and other right-wing commentators was edited in a misleading way.
ACORN was seriously damaged by the video, so in that sense it was successful. But in-depth reporting on the right-wing scam subsequently proved Breitbart to be a liar with no ethics whatsoever.
Now it turns out that the deal was even more shady that we previously realized.
Breitbart screwed the female half of the team out of her promised money.
And what do you want to bet that Fox News doesn’t cover this aspect of the story well?
I should have made it clear in the previous comment that Juan Carlos Vera, the former Acorn employee, has filed a lawsuit. It was the depositions from this lawsuit that revealed the $120,000 Breitbart has promised the supposed independent “citizen-journalist” James O’Keefe and his pseudo-prostitute co-star.
Wonkette broke this story. It’s Wonkette’s exclusive.
Taibbi:
That’s the status quo. Caveat emptor.
Casual racism is noted.
Oh, please. “The entire U.S. stock market”? It’s a tiny corner thereof.
“stones” is gendered language. The rest is hearsay and speculation.
—
It’s a shitty bill, I’ll agree. But Taibbi is spinning it so hard you could use it as a gyroscope.
Ms. Daisy, never fear! I have found more such daggers here, although I’m not sure how fully functional they are. Amazon probably has a selection as well.
Lynna, that is just infuriating! >;-( Another thing I hope bloggers write furiously about. Voter suppression is a real problem and yet this garbage happened! They succeeded in destroying acorn! UGHHH!!!
Yep. And Fox News watchers will never hear about it.
I just got reminded, on a snake forum of all places, just how oblivious the religious can be.
One young person not far from me posted that they would like to foster a snake for a year, to get experience with them but not to keep as they are going to college next year. A wise decision on their part, I feel, and nice to see a teen know that college time is not a good time to get a pet.
And then someone else posted this gem:
“I was placed into the foster care system at 15-years-old after years of abuse, and was put into the home of a wonderful woman that continues to love me well. My Mom introduced me Christianity, and a year after moving in I came to know the Lord. My walk with Christ has been amazing, and He has shown me the beauty of my adoption as His daughter.
Fast-forward 14 years, I am now married (9 years) with three biological children, and we are starting the adoption process. Our marriage is solid (not perfect but definitely stable), my references are strong, and many decisions we have made point to our commitment to God and family.”
I called them on it, but no reply as of yet.
Steve Benson’s cartoon featuring Ann Romney feeling the pain of mothers who have to work outside the home:
http://i.azcentral.com/i/2/1/9/PHP4F8A1EEA8C912.jpg
And yet again, I am pissed off at all of the polite liberal who complained about how mean many of were when Breitbart died. He was unprincipled opportunist in life. His death did not change what he did.
Yes, it is true that he had family and friends who mourned, as they should. But as far as I am concerned, he did so much to make life miserable for so many.
And this is yet an other bit that shows what a miserable human he was.
rowanvt, what in the fuckety fuck does that have to do with snakes? Ohhhhh, the fostering? For realz?
Honestly, these folks are seriously detached from reality.
@29, Caine-
Buggar all if I know! I have religious relatives and I still don’t know what word triggered the track-jumping of the conversation half the time.
@29? Oh man am I brain dead today. I blame the day old kitten I’m trying to save the life of.
rowanvt:
Aaaw, good luck. I’ve had to do that more than once.
Good luck with the kitten, rowant.
I really only know how to make one complicated food. But that’s okay. Yay, rice and bean and vegetable and cheese burritos! Still delicious!
Damn, rowanVt – sorry
C’mon, they’re just filters. I mean, would you eat a cigarrette butt? Those are just filters, right?
Oh. Right.
Actually, I have yet to find any organ meat that I can eat.
Curiously, a copy of the Encyclpedia Global fell through a time hole. I looked up the entry and there, under the heading People With More Money than Sense, I read this:
================
THIS THREAD
================
I thought that had been banned as a war crime.
Depends if they are a cig butt or Wife’s butt.
Voter suppression and voter fraud don’t count if it is being done by a conservative.
Thanks heaps for posting your talk PZ.
It was very well appreciated, an excellent first thing read for Monday.
That is all. As you were.
So a bunch of Occupy folks turned out to counterprotest the Massachusetts Tea Party’s Patriots Day rally — attended by rabid homophobes Scott Lively, Brian Camenker of “Mass Resistance,” and the Boston Herald‘s Don Feder.
From what I gather from this article and various tweets, the Boston Police, one cop in particular, singled out anti-homophobia protestors for arrests and for brutality, including choking:
http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/31167233@N08/7081645987/sizes/m/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31167233@N08/6935589986/in/set-72157629461002076/
http://m.flickr.com/photos/31167233@N08/7081653181/lightbox/
From Twitter: “You know what’s sick? In a long face off between homophobic #TeaParty bigots & pro-queer protesters, the most violence came from #BPD.”
Oh, and if you’re a woman earning a paycheck, Newsweek thinks you’re a big fucking joke. /spit
OMFGs, Ms. Daisy, my eyes! I cannot unsee that magazine cover. spit spit spit blargh!
Yipe! That’s… gah, I have no words.
WHAT! THE! FUCK!
Sailor, I cannot say that I care what a Catholic skopesperson has to say about charity seeing their less then stellar record on the subject.
rowanVT:
Best of luck to you. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around, but you’ve just made it onto my “good people” list.)
When I was in my late teens, my mom found a tiny, tiny (maybe a couple of weeks old. Maybe) kitten behind the garage. He was starved half to death, covered with fleas and ticks, and had infections in both eyes. Actually, “infection” doesn’t do it justice– his eyes were swollen shut and leaking milky discharge. It was awful. The vet didn’t think he’d survive.
Anyway, my mom and my sister fed him through an eye dropper, got rid of the fleas and ticks, and applied cream directly on to his eyeballs*. It took months, but he finally pulled though.
Today, he’s a 22 pound monstrosity who seems to think that he’s a dog. (I’m not kidding– he joins my mom’s dogs when they bark at the mail carrier.)
*Arghghgh!
How the fuck did they get that cover past any kind of editorial process?
Ms Daisy,
As if we didn’t already know, this just proves that Newsweek is a big fucking joke. *spits*
I sincerely hope this is Newsweek’s death knell.
We have an arrogant assclam in today’s Why I Am An Atheist thread. Be prepared for extreme misogyny. It is as bad as that “spit” Newsweek cover.
Nifty and Janine: One more reason to not patronize the mainstream media.
And in addition to the gross misogyny revealed in the stupid assumption that feminist = earns a paycheck = is into BDSM = is a submissive, end of story, consider all the extremely important stories that did not make it onto Newsweek‘s cover, because its corporate owners like it that way.
Janine, I see that Philo has blown his load and is now going to sleep off his refractory period before he begins hoggling again on that thread. I’ll see if I can check in tomorrow… I’m not even up to creative insults right now.
Oh, and about the BPD brutality toward GLBT protestors: Already, some authoritarian moron is defending it. To quote a friend of mine, the country wouldn’t be “broke” if our lawmakers didn’t keep letting the vulture class siphon it out of our pockets — which is why people are protesting.
Janine,
Ugh, I’ve been following that thread on-and-off all day, and I can’t say I’m surprised that ph*l* went totally off the deep end*.
On the other hand, goddamn, I love so many people here so much. Everyone that has fought back has been totally awesome.
*Not that the claim that woman aren’t that oppressed by religion wasn’t incredibly disgusting.
Dang, finally get back to the computer, and the fuckwit Philo turns tail and goes away while I’m eating dinner at the keyboard. Took out my frustrations out on the alfredo.
Daisy:
*blinks*
:resists impulse to smash head into wall:
Roof done. Fuck that thing.
Just got back from getting stitches at the ER having cut myself on a razor blade while trimming roofing. Blood for days.
This weekend never happened.
Dr. Audley
re: behemoth rescued cat
No good deed ever goes unpunished.
Jesus H. Christ. That Newsweek cover is just the living end. What. The. Fuck!!???
Earlier today I got into a flame war with a condecending idiot who claimed that atheist lack a sense of humor. See, we are too busy reacting to child raping priest. But he, with his agnostic view, is much more balanced.
I hate people like him.
Christ, Josh. Glad that’s all done with. I hope you’re consoling yourself with alcohol right now.
Oh, I am Daisy.
chigau:
I would agree, but he’s an enormous (in every sense of the word) sweetheart. He’s the type of cat that just wants to curl up in your lap and puuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrr.
Carlie, you know this article you linked in the Sunday Sacrilege thread? I was grossed out… until I came to this photo.
/sings “♬ I’m your little Jaffa cake ♫” … from my bunk
:(
*USB hugs*
Josh: Oh, that sounds bad.
Josh:
Four shots of Johnny Walker Black Label are now pouring into your computer. Place a mug under the USB port.
And cyberhugs. Sounds like a tough weekend.
Buck up, though. Tomorrow is Monday for all you calendarists.
Sorry, Josh, I missed what you said. Stitches?
This is a time you could use a fake spouse to help comfort you at home.
Janine
We may not have a sense of humour but we have a hymn.
Ms. Daisy, that is the truth. Years ago we used to subscribe to Newsweek – we still get renewal cards. I don;t think so, Newsweek!
Nerd, love it when you lay into the trolls! Actually, I second Dr Audley – the regular commentariat here is awesome. On days when the news makes me want to curl up and hide, I open up Pharyngula and get a shot of spit and vinegar. I haven’t been a frequent commenter, but I have been a faithful reader for about a year – you all really made a difference to me, and I bet you make a difference for many other “lurkers”.
OH and Audley – I had a kitten who thought she was a dog, too! It must have something to do with how young your kitten was when you found her. She probably learned behaviors by copying your dogs. Our cat even went outside like the dog (no kitty litter for her 15 year lifetime) – even scratching at the door when she needed to go out! :) Such a sweet cat (and the dog was so patient with her when she was a kitten!)
Josh, stitches??? I’m teleporting a small vial of eight-day-old grog. Use wise by diluting it well, and having your bed handy.
This is why XKCD exists.
Also, lock him in a room with Phido, preferably underwater.
Josh, argh! So glad the roof is done – fuck that indeed! Sorry about the cut – dang! Second the recommendations of copious portions of alcohol to drown your sorrows.
Ogvorbis, what day is it tomorrow, again? ;-)
nifty:
Oh, no doubt. My mom’s Australian shepherd helped care for the kitten– when he was well enough to mingle with the other pets, the shepherd would groom him and protect him from the other animals and share her bed with him. It was all very sweet.
They still snuggle together sometimes and they eat out of the same food bowl every night. They are the cutest pair ever.
Josh:
Argh!
Just think of it this way, the more blood you lost, the faster you’ll get drunk, right? ;)
We’re probably going to re-shingle the roof this year.
The SO (who used to be a roofer) is NOT NOT NOT going to do it.
We WILL hire young, spry persons.
SO can stand on the ground and wave xier cane.
In the Ogvorbisverse, it is Saturday. Why? Are you another of those calendarist oppressors?
I do not remember the day of a day long party on campus because I donated a pint of blood the day before. Usually, I know my limits and do not pass it. Not that day.
Thanks for all the virtual alcohol, hugs, and spousal companionship! It’s the blood thinners that make an already bad clean razor cut awful. Thank goodness for awesome neighbor families who give first aid, banana bread, and a ride to the ER and wait for you for four hours. I heart my neighborhood so much.
Hi Josh, sorry to hear you had a bad weekend !
The other thing I learned this weekend is that I’m useless debating religious zombies. Whether it was the Muslims or the various Christians, all I can do is stare in wonderment at their broken brains and the noises coming out of their mouths. While Aron Ra or PZ can stand there and challenge them on anything from embryology to Exodus, I just look at them as some weird specimens with broken thinking circuits. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to being exposed to them. I was really surprised about that. Now off to work, that should be fun.
Heya Rorschach! Wished I could have joined you and everyone at GAC.
Funny, I just left the ER and you’re going back:)
The weekend is becoming acceptable now that I have super awesome stitches in my finger and wine on the table.
I paid rent on Friday! Yay! I’ve felt so much better since then. I’ve been just applying for more jobs and reading all weekend.
Ty all =)
rorschach
If you are still doing ER, I wish you nothing but superficial sports injuries all shift long.
(wait. would that be a bad thing?)
Jebus, Josh. I’ve been on my roof to clean the gutters and that was quite enough without having to re-roof (or slicing myself open).
Link to RNC ‘women’s’ blog
Just_a_Lurker – check your email!
Working as intended!
Ogvorbis, not at all – days of the week are irrelevant in the niftyuniverse, but I do like to keep up with the various calendars of others (or uncalendars, as the case may be). ;-D
Just a Lurker, so happy you are feeling better!
Sailor, I just. cannot. click. on a link to the RNC blog – good lord, what if they think they’ve got INTEREST from women! UGH!
http://freethoughtblogs.com/almostdiamonds/2012/04/14/supporting-rape-crisis-centers/
Emphasis mine. Squeee….
More bullfrog for dinner, this time with mushrooms and rice.
On top of that, I found two healthy adult northern redlegged frogs during my hunt. Needless to say, these were released unharmed. It’s an encouraging sign.
TLC: Wild mushrooms perchance?
You talk of bullfrogs, TLC (I remember you cooked some up the other day, too! You rock!) – I am listening to the whirrirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring trebling of American Toads tonight. Usually we don’t hear them calling until May, but the early warm spring seems to have moved things forward. Dang, I wish I had gotten in the pond today for the cleanup! Now I won’t want to remove debris because for sure there will be eggs strings I won’t want to disturb.
I mean well, but I stink at being a steward of creation! Bah!
Here is the disgusting FrankenFinger.
oooh Josh
good one!
I usually go for the tips.
NiftyAtheist: I love toads. We have a population of western toads out here, and every year during the post-metamorphosis migration, volunteers direct traffic away from the road they cross.
I’ve always found something personable and ‘friendly’ about toads. Just my human perceptions, yeah, but still. I also find them adorable in their mild ugliness.
I was trying to do my German homework (this quarter I am being very good about not ignoring my German, mostly because I got so scared at the end of last quarter (for no reason because I got an A anyway)) and part of it involved listening to someone read a text in German. So I listened to it once, didn’t catch much of it, listened to it again with the text in front of me, and AWESOMELY, now I can’t read anything without the obnoxious “I am reading something to you” voice in my head!
I have decided I can’t tolerate being read to when the text is in front of me. In English I read too fast, in German I read too slowly. I’m forever going “YES I KNOW PLEASE CATCH UP FUCK” or going “Wait… where are you? No! Now I have to skip all this!”
And I’d have been better to do so. In college I sliced my right thumbnail down to the bone cutting/editing a 16mm work print of my thesis film on a Steenbeck to sync it to my soundtrack. Didn’t hurt a bit and the ER docs had me fixed up and out the door in less than 2 hours.
Today sucked a lot more. It’s hard to get the right angle with a needle to sew up a cut like mine on the side of a finger. The nurse was awesome and did a great job. Thank fuck for local anesthetics. Though they hurt like hell going in.
Funny SNL skit making fun of Game of Throne’s gratuitous nudity: http://gawker.com/5902076/snl-explains-the-nudity-in-game-of-thrones
@Cassandra
That reminds me of when I took German in high school, and I had to do the listening test. I was like “wait, what?!” It is amazing how much of a gibberish languages sound when we don’t know any of it.
I ♥ comparing scars!
I was once hit by a piece of athletic equipment on my upper lip.
Messy, jagged, awful, bloody.
The SO took me to the ER.
The hate-stares from the Nurses were terrifying.
The Doctor was delighted with yet another athletic injury.
@various awesome people:
Thanks for the well wishes for the kitten. He’s a premie and the working hypothesis is that something startled his mom while she was transporting her kittens, and she dropped him onto the asphalt and bolted.
He’s in pretty dire shape. The tumble caused one of his ears to be half torn off, and his feet and tail tip are burned. He’s on oral and topical antibiotics + probiotics to help keep his gut flora in balance. He does have hematuria (we’re hoping from the heat/burns and not incipient DIC) but his pee is becoming less colored with each meal, so we’re cautiously hopeful. He got a whopping 3cc of subcutaneous fluids (50 gram kitten!) and he’s now taking to the bottle with enthusiasm, though he tends to fall asleep mid suckle because he just has no reserves.
My sister-in-law is taking care of him now, and will be doing hourly feedings until the dehydration is taken care of. As I said, we’re cautiously hopeful with how much he has improved, but kittens keel over if you so much as blink at them hard that we’re not going to hold our breath.
C’mon little kitten! Live!
Everyone likes comparing scars! Me too! (How do I get the little heart symbol?)
I’ve never had an injury that I needed stitches for. I tend to get small, stupid injuries. Since my skin scars very easily, I have a lot of small, stupid scars with weird stories behind them.
The best:
-hitting my head on the climbing wall at summer camp, with both feet on the ground and no intention of climbing the wall
-hitting myself in the chin with the arm of a miniature catapult I built for physics class
-accidentally stabbing myself in the palm with a miniature Christmas tree
I get the tendency for stupid injuries from my dad. His best: a two-inch scar on his forehead from when he had a nightmare about being chased by a rabid coyote and fell out of bed.
I’m dreading the day I get an injury bad enough to go to the ER and I have to explain whatever stupid thing I was doing when I injured myself.
Oh, rowan, make that kitten live! I’m all sniffly and teary just thinking about it. Little baby!
Frog with rice seems to be a winner. Much more delicious than my last recipe.
A.R: No, unfortunately these were store bought mushrooms. I always keep my eye out for oyster mushroom patches, but they aren’t so easy to find around here.
♥
& hearts ;
get rid of the spaces
—
hoping for tiny kitty to have a future as a 10kg purrmonster
rowanvt: I hope the little fellow makes it. I always love hearing stories about beloved pets whose lives started out like your kitten… they all seem to grow up to be very loyal and attached to the humans who care for them.
Diabetic Sophie Kitteh is blood-glucose-fickle. Down from 124 to 71 in an hour, with just .25 units glargine. It’s going to be a long, long night.
BG 62. Giving sugar syrup with wet cat food.
Hang in there, Sophie!
Soph’s eating the wet food I impregnated with warm chicken broth and corn syrup. Cross your fingers her blood sugar rises.
Best wishes for the kitties. From a distance, of course. *cough, wheeze*
Josh, is it possible to get less-concentrated insulin for Sophie, so that it’s easier to give small doses? I have no idea if that actually exists, but maybe it would help.
Nutmeg:
No, all insulin is what it is. The dose depends on how finely one can draw ml out of the vial into a needle. I’m pretty good at it, but with cats it’s hard as we’re talking gradations of less than one ml in some cases.
It matters more when you’re tapering a cat off insulin (some, like Sophie, do go into remission with glargine and diet changes). The doses get finer and finer.
Phew. 91, then 129 15 mins later. Would rather she has BG slightly too high then go to bed while she was falling into hypoglycemia.
Good morning
It’s fucking snowing!
Will spring actually really come this year and when will I be able to put my wintercoat away?
Josh
Urgh, my sympathies.
Hope it heals quickly.
Steak and kidney pie
How about this: you can have all the steak and the kidney and I take the pie?
Liver is OK if added in small amounts, like in French Paté or traditional “Leberknödel”.
working mums
Without my little job I’d have jumped out of the window long ago. And not because of the money.
I love my little critters, and there’s nothing like getting a big fat hug from them, but adults actually need other adults, it’s good to have some recognition and I am fully aware that the kids get older.
One day they’ll leave the house and that day I don’t want to be left with no fucking sense in my life anymore
scars
My left thumb has a big one. 4 yo me was wielding a knife when we did potato stamps. It was only when my sister wondered why we suddenly had red paint that I would admit my mistake…
More sociobiology
“Why are action stars more likely to be Republican?” http://phys.org/news/2012-04-action-stars-republican.html
Hmmmpfff…I wonder if there simply is a kind of macho subculture that includes both pumping iron and thinking Rambo Reagan was cool.
Good news, Iron Sky -the film with the evil Space Nazis- has lived up to expectations (I haven’t seen it myself yet). And MTV has started with new episodes of Beavis and-Butt-head, for my cerebral improvement.
Josh, sorry to hear of your injury. Wish I were still in VT, I could have done your roofing for you. I’m quite the talented roofer, actually. Not really fazed by heights.
I’ve been having a bit of fun with Rakjumar the wanker. Also I’ve written blog posts! Am currently working on one about Taslima Nasreen, patriarchy, consent, and other things. Trying to keep it short (yeah right).
*hugs* to all!
The Caine Signal!
I finally had the means and ways, and adopted three rescue ratty ladies last week. Utter paroxysms of joy. They’re such characters. We’re all getting to know each other slowly. I just thought I’d share :D
In no particular order:
1) Josh, Virtual Husband of Enduring Loveliness,
Which finger? I hope it’s not, you know, “our” finger. Either way, I am sending a series of soothing balms and alcoholic beverages via your USB port as we speak. Don’t mix them up, the balm ruins the taste of the Double Strength Rum Bastard* I sent you.
2) Steak and Kidney Pudding:
It’s good. There is a pub not too far from me run/owned by Heston Blumenthal (google him, it’s worth it), where they do the best steak and kidney pudding I have ever had. It is sublime.
3) I am no longer threadrupt. Merry Monday Y’all!
Louis
* A cocktail of my own invention. Contains swearing in the name because it causes swearing upon consumption. No one drinking it has ever managed to not swear afterwards. Some found simple tasks like being upright and breathing a mite troublesome, but in true rugby player fashion we called them names and wrote things on their private parts. I am not proud of this. Okay, I’m proud of some of it.
Take one pint glass. Add 2 cubes of ice, 2 bruised wedges of lime, one raw egg for nutrition, one can of Special Brew (330mL), a strong shake of Tabasco sauce or similar, and one large shot of white rum. Take one bottle of dark rum, preferably the darkest, most alcoholic rum you can get your hands on, and add precisely 400mL of Dark rum to the glass. Drink. Rapidly.
Some pedants will note that this is >780mL in a 568mL glass. They are correct. One drinks as one pours the dark rum. A most efficacious beverage.
I AM NOT AN ALCOHOLIC! I just have a very chequered past!
Apropos of not the thread:
Does anyone else here follow Gwynne Dyer? He is a Canadian journalist that writes about global politics, with his writing coloured by his vast historical and political knowledge. I became a fan back in the early ’80s when the CBC carried his mini-series historical documentary War. He has been writing quite often regarding Climate Change and has a large number of interviews with pertinent people in that area on his site that were preparation for his book on the subject.
I bring up his name since I tend to read his articles in tandem with FtB and thought some folks here might be interested.
Main site is http://www.GwynneDyer.com
One of the few articles he has done regarding religion:
http://www.straight.com/article-566496/vancouver/gwynne-dyer-unpacking-false-equation-religion-equals-morality-great-britain
Louis,
Your glass is sub-optimally sized
Good morning everyone.
I had a lovely Saturday with my parents. We went to a couple museums, played Settlers of Catan, and ate at the Thai restaurant. Only a few little “fundie” remarks from them, but nothing too blatant or anything of that sort. Enjoyed it, and hope we’ll be able to do things like that in the future.
This week is going to be the maddening “cleaning” phase of my apartment move. I’ve gotta vacuum all the rugs, clean off all the surfaces, and start to collect the needed boxes for the move next month. It’s gonna be horrible fun :\
Happy Saturday!
Scars:
My knee has the map for both the Red Line and the Green Line from the MBTA.
I fell out of a moving car onto my face when we lived in California. A park ranger drove Mom and I to the ER in Lone Pine, CA (over two mountain ranges). When we got there, the ER doctor looked at my upper lip and said, “Ohh. That’s a nasty scrape.”
Mom told him to start cleaning it. He did. It went down to the bone and needed about 30 stitches (which is one reason I like my mustachios.
And the last time I got drunk I tried to open a window which had been painted shut. I still have the scars on my hand to remind me why too much alcohol is not good for me.
When preparing for a move, visiting your local liquor store is a very good idea. Not only can you get some tasty over-the-counter central nervous system depressants, but wine and liquor boxes are a perfect size for moving. Especially for packing books.
Ooo, scar stories?
My only “had to go to the ER for stitches” story was while out doing fieldwork. I had taken my spouse as a field assistant, and we were on the last day, which was our only day of being by ourselves before going home, where we had left our children with my parents for the first time since they’d been born. So basically, it was our first date in two years. I was taking a shower at the hotel to get cleaned up and ready to go out for dinner, realized I had left the washcloth on the towel rack, reached out to get it, and… slipped on the floor of the ridiculously slippery tub, fell and hit my mouth on the top edge of the toilet tank on the way down. So I was dripping wet and bleeding profusely onto the white hotel towels, and had no idea where the local hospital was. Got dried off enough and dressed, found out the desk clerk had no idea where it was either (really?). Drove around town for awhile looking for anywhere open (Sunday night, nobody was), finally found a restaurant with people there and asked for directions and found one. The ER doc said it would only be a couple of stitches on the outside of my lip and “usually nobody needs stitches on the inside because the soft tissue there heals by itself”, then looked in and decided that needed five or six stitches too. So that was our great date.
@obvorbis
You remind me of the time I had to go and rescue my father (little role reversal there) when he had too much to drink at a neighbours house. I drove 15 minutes, loaded him into my car & drove him 3 houses to his home….
Fortunately it was a short trip,because it meant he only had time to vomit down the side of my car once on the way.
Fortunately the window was down already, so the hose pipe was sufficient to clean it.
@Ogvorbis:
Ehe, probably a decent idea. I do need to get some liquor. I had some Jamison and Ginger Ale at a pub in Boston that was pretty darn good, and I need to get some rum too.
Scars
I have three scars – probably will have a fourth when the cut on my finger heals.
The first is a little scar on the side of my eye from when I was a kid in Germany. I think we were playing hide and seek or something and I hid under the sink in the bathroom, my parents called us to dinner and I stood up too quickly and SMACK, cut right on the side of the eye and now I have a scar there.
The second is a massive pock mark scar on my cheek, looks like a big ole divot out of my face.
The third is a scar on the top of my head, hard to see for all the hair. I was at my parents house (a split-level) and I had just gotten enough money to buy a PS2. My brother was gonna drive me to the store and I would pick it out and he was gonna buy me some games for my birthday. I was excited and hopped off the stairs on the bottom floor and cracked my skull on the second floor (there’s a bit over the stairs where the upper floor is.) Didn’t notice I was bleeding until I got to the car and rubbed my hand through my hair. My mum got a little butterfly closure, I passed out, it was cool.
And now I’ll have the fourth scar (or a chunk out of my finger) from slamming it in the door here at work :D
Had a real wildlife night tonight. Saw a tawny frog mouth sitting on the power lines outside the house, and a bushy tailed possum walking along them
@Katherine
Ouch!
Catnip,
No no, that’s the perfect size. It’s better in a half pint glass, but that gets messy.
Louis
So to work properly, the drinker must begin imbibition of the drinkee during the pouring and mixing process.
Given the order of the ingredients, and the fact that gravity will cause the liquids to fall down, I presume you begin the drinking activity via a straw or similar device.
My question is (Just Asking a Question?) how do you prevent drinker from getting the straw embroiled in egg yolk, and thus failing to satisfactorily imbibe beverage due to a clogged pipe?
Oh, I do have one on my knee that resulted from me trying to run around in a circle very fast on a crumbling asphalt playground in first grade. And one on my inner elbow from accidentally wrapping it around a just turned off blowtorch when I was about 9, but that one comes in handy because the skin is very thin there and it marks a good entry point for blood draw needles.
Catnip,
ZOMG JUST ASKING QUESTIONS!!!!!!!11111111!!!!!
As the Special Brew is “delicately” added to the glass (with moderate swirling) which mixes the egg nicely. One then adds the other ingredients (except the dark rum), puts the glass to one’s lips, and using a suitable vessel, adds the runs from the top of the glass. It does work. Honest.
If you’ve read Porterhouse Blue, you’ll know what a Dog’s Nose is. Same principle.
Louis
God, our society is so fucked up: Brides to be using feeding tubes through the nose to lose weight rapidly.
OK, I’m not going to count the scars on my knees. They are one big fat scar. There are the ones on my left-hand knuckles.
My cousin lent me his bike and didn’t tell me he’d disconnected the brakes. So I drove down our road (quite steep) towards the busy main road. When I tried to break, acceleration continued. I made the split-second decision to crash the bike (and myself) into the last house before the junction.
After I finished with him, my cousin looked worse and he never dared to complain about the state of the bike.
I was a lucky kid, never broke anything except in Judo (which taught me how to fall. Probably worth the broken clavicula) and never needed any stiches.
The only ones I ever needed are in a rather delicate area and I’m unable to tell if there’s a scar ;)
In my opinion, proper kids’ knees aren’t allowed to heal fully between April and October.
Also, I have a bad cold. But I managed to finish a long blog-post on Delusions of Gender and Cinderella ate my daughter.
Louis,
I’m gonna have to try that one now…
I’ll send you the bill for the replacement liver, if that’s ok?
Catnip,
Good on ya. I have spare livers available through the USB port. Don’t worry, I always have a stock on ice.
Louis
Blog and comments re-opened. Pretty pointless to keep it shut if everyone and their dog is linking to it anyway. I’ll be taking it easy tho. Thanks for your advice, PZ.
Janine mentioned some civil-rights history over in Sunday Sacrilege:
So my sniffing about yielded some interesting articles in the context of a racist justice system, something very much on my mind wrt the Trayvon Martin case.
http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2009/12/tribute-to-fred-hampton-mark-clark-of.html
http://nabnyc.blogspot.com/2009/12/december-4-1969-murder-of-fred-hampton.html
—
Any of you who actually know history willing to suggest some resources? This stuff is really underrepresented in Google.
Re Newsweek cover link @31: never, never, never going to buy a Newsweek magazine, nor visit their stinking website again. Money talks. My money walks.
…
via Brayton: GODDAMN.
Quote source: http://www.inquisitr.com/211740/u-s-judges-admit-to-jailing-children-for-money/
Brayton’s post: http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/04/16/pa-judges-plead-guilty-to-selling-child-prisoners/
Regarding Josh’s stitches, Wife #1 here. Please dear, rest your injured parts on the soft pillows of my bosom. Elevation.
May you have cold drinks on hot days, and hot drinks on cold days.
Oh hey, and tomorrow April 17 is not only income tax day, but Equal Pay Day – the date representing how far into 2012 USian women have to work to match what men earned in 2011.
At the National Women’s Law Center: a blog carnival, Facebook campaign, support for the Paycheck Fairness Act now in Congress, and Fact Sheets on Equal Pay Day and raising the tipped sub-minimum wage for restaurant workers.
http://www.nwlc.org/our-issues/employment/equal-pay
(yes, I may have Activism-ADD. <_< )
Oh, scars! Anyone dropped a flat while landing a bunnyhop? Yeah, sharp pedals designed to grip rubber soles also want to grip shins. I do the dance, I bleed, I add another to my network of scars.
Josh, your finger doesn’t look as bad as I imagined. Still, a cut that long would’ve bled plenty even without blood thinners.
Eeep.
Scar muster: Starting with the most recent first, I’ve got a long red vertical scar on my lower back from disc surgery; a white, jellyfish-shaped scar on my knee from taking a fall down a flight of theatre stairs with lights on the edges; a chicken pox scar on my right wrist; and of course a vaccination scar.
Rowanvt, good luck with the kitten!
Gilliel, that was an interesting blog post. I remember hearing the same stupid shit when I was expecting my second daughter – and when I was expecting my third child and got the “maybe THIS time you’ll get your boy!”, I was so angry inside. I told everyone I was certain I was having another girl and was thrilled – even though I had no idea what my baby’s gender was and had never cared to know . I am angry about what that says of culture (of humanity, really) and I am angry that the way that kind of casual misogyny makes an expectant mom feel so angry and conflicted – because if she is hoping for a boy, she feels guilty, and if she is angry about peoples’ expectations that she is hoping for a boy, she then feels guilty if/when a son does come along.
I heard Cordelia Fine being interviewed on NPR some time ago (I might even say nearly two years ago?) and I was riveted. I thought at the time that I ought to run out and buy her book at once – but then I got caught up in other things (sick relatives) and it slipped off my radar. I think I will look for it and the Gender Delusion book you also mentioned today!
Sally Strange, thanks for mentioning your blogpost. I agree that the issue of consent is one which even people who seem to “get” gender power dynamics sometimes still do not get!
Sending sympathy to various people for injuries/colds.
Hope the kitties are both doing well this morning (Sophie and the foundling)!
Charlie Brooker mocks the people who are losing their shit over GLBT options for game characters.
And that’s just the opening salvo. Read the whole thing (put down any food or drink first).
Pteryxx, that is chilling – I wasn’t up on the full history of that part of Chicago history (I was a child in Eastern Canada at the time) although I had a vaguest sense of what went down. Your post makes me want to know more and find more writing about it, too.
Dianne Rehm had an interesting show this morning about the Trayvon Martin murder. I was listening to it with my teenage sons as we drove to school. Hearing the retired police officer talk about how African American parents have to talk to their kids about handling racial profiling while I watched my 16 year old sons walk into school, I started to cry for Trayvon and his parents. OMFGs, that young man was a kid like my boys – should be going to school this morning. :( Fuck.
niftyatheist: That’s about how I felt standing at the NAACP-organized Trayvon rally I went to, as one of so few white-looking people you could count us on one hand. The speakers referred to history I’d never heard of and read a long list of LOCAL names of black people killed by police – friends and family of folks who were standing in the crowd with me.
No wonder there were only a half-dozen black students in that college class of 1000 I was in way back when.
Was this the show?
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-16/racial-profiling-america
(warning, the comments are… ewwww)
Hey, and this comment:
and here it is:
http://www.suno.edu/Campus_Police/docs/lawyou.pdf
Happy news! Chamomile the kitten lived through the night! His hematuria has resolved, and he’s stronger and more vigorous. We’ve upgraded from cautiously hopeful to hopeful! *happy dance* The veterinarians at work will be so happy to hear that.
The various ways we go about collecting scars are funny in their spectrum. I have at least three scars from differing sandwich making sessions yet only one from the car accident my family and I got into only 3 weeks into moving to America from N. Ireland. Maybe I should avoid kitchens more than I avoid driving?
Here’s hoping the feline younglings all pull through, it’s good to know we have some superheros posting in TET. A huge thanks for the recipes, scar stories, anger at Newsweek and the healing power of virtual booze for Josh’s finger. I needed the distraction from my co-workers talking about “spooky ghost tours.” It’s troubling, they own cars AND guns these people.
As most of you have heard by now, Andrew Love, a member of the Memphis Horns, just died.
Some songs.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa(Sad Song)-Otis Redding
Hold On (I’m Comin’)-Sam & Dave
Let’s Stay Together-Al Greene
Notnin’ But A Woman-Robert Cray Band
Great job, Rowan.
J_A_L, Yay! for the rent being paid. That’s fantastic. :)
Emrysmyrrdin:
Eeeeeeeeeeeee! How exciting! What are you going to name them (or do they already have names)? Also, pics. Need pics.
If Esme is any kind of yardstick, the gals are highly active and prone to serious troublemaking. Climbing is a favoured activity and they can climb. It’s kinda like having teeny tiny monkeys. :D
We will not be silenced by faggots!
The Tea Party wants to turn the US into Uganda.
seconding the call for rattie pics! There can never be too many rattie pics.
—
niftyatheist, thanks for mentioning the Diane Rehm show – there’s an extremely good previous episode with lots of history and a full transcript here:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-03-26/trayvon-martin-and-race-relations-america/transcript
Janine: Any chance that the misconduct of the police there will be noticed because it was a black officer and a tea party protester?
rowanvt
yay! for kitty Chamomile
Too darn awesome: via Lousy Canuck’s “Everything is permitted except female Assassins” article, this broader commentary from Cheyenne on Queereka:
http://queereka.com/2012/04/09/everything-is-permitted/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/16/florida-fire-captain-trayvon-died-because-of-shtbag-welfare-dependent-parents/
From the Sunday Sacrilege thread:
More history, this time from Cheyenne’s Queereka article (how did I not know this stuff?!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson
Er, I’m responding to Illuminata in the Sandra Goodick WIAAA thread, but I figured I should ask meta-questions here rather than derail the ongoing dismemberment of philo’s wankifying.
…
What would happen if us non-females back off responding to trolls who’ve shown this particular form of misogyny, and just let women do most of the responding? (Specifically here where there’s a big support population? In spaces with less of an equality posse, obviously this would NOT go well. Same with the woman-attacking type of misogynist troll.) Is that a good idea, y’all?
@ Nutmeg #90, is it awful of me to have laughed so hard at those injury descriptions? I’m so sorry! I bet they were horrible and painful, but you made them sound so funny (especially the bit about inheriting the trait from your dad).
@ TLC, #92 and around, I’ve only ever eaten frog when invited to dinner one time in (well it had to be) France. I knew someone who was living mostly on shoplifted food at the time, and he said shoplifting luxury items in posh shops worked better on the whole – and that if you were going to run the risk of getting caught, it might as well be for frogs’ legs and quails’ eggs as for staples …
All fingers crossed for rowanVT and Josh in re kittehs (and because Josh presumably can’t cross his own fingers comfortably at the moment (sends Nice Cup Of Tea))
My earliest scar requiring stitches was a hatchet chop to the foot when I was six. A few years later I chopped my shinbone open while trying to ‘hollow out’ a log (stupid me, didn’t know the difference between an axe and an adze at the time.)
Learning to carve produced many scars that SHOULD have been stitched, but I just duct taped them and resumed carving when most of the bloodflow stopped.
The only bones I ever broke were both on my right hand. One was my pinky, fractured by running into a table by accident, and the other is a hand bone, fractured on my brother’s face in a stupid pointless and shameful fistfight that should never have happened. The good news is that afterwards we swore to each other we’d never physically fight again.
In other news, our elderly golden retriever just got back from the vet. We now know why she’s been limping so much. Cancer in her elbow. Apparently the vet explained it as ‘the same thing Terry Fox had’. It looks like the bill for all those good years is starting to come due. If she was younger, she’d have it amputated. But she’s not.
There is a charge for the eyeing of my scars…
I’ve got quite a few. Even discounting the ones from my childhood bout with concomitant staph infection and chicken pox, learning to ride a bike on gravel was pretty lucrative for scar production. And then my chefly ways hacked my hands up a bit (some might argue it’s my reckless, clumsy ways, but that’s really neither here nor there).
I’m threadrupt. I spent the last week finalizing the Project That Would Not Die™, so I’m not up on what’s been going down with the cool kids.
I’m not in very high spirits today. So I figured I’d hang out with y’all and try to perk myself back up.
Never had stitches. Possibly broke my nose once when I was little, but we didn’t go to the doctor because of reasons. Scars: My knees are all scarred up presumably from being a really clumsy little kid. My hand has a scar from a pizza pan, and my elbow has a big scar from when I fell down a hill on my bike in summer gym class in seventh grade. (I took it so I wouldn’t have to take gym during the school year.) Yep, that was fun times. I was going downhill, hit a patch of gravel, swerved to avoid a car which by the way didn’t even stop, and skidded for a long way while no longer being on top of my bike. I was pissed, too. When people gathered around I was throwing things, swearing, and cleaning myself up with my water bottle. But I was all ripped up, so they took me to the doctor and called my mom, and when she got there I was laughing hysterically while they were cleaning gravel out of my arm. I don’t remember what was so funny but it did really freak her out. I had to sit out from a lot of gym class activities for a while (which was more than okay with me) and walk around partially mummified. No stitches, though.
Oh, so we’re talking about scars now?
Let’s see. I’m going to start at my feet and go up.
On the sole of my right foot, there is a jagged scar about 2 inches long going from just behind the big toe and going towards the outside of the foot. This is from stepping on a Christmas ornament hook when I was sixteen. They’re not really scars as such, but the two outside toes on each foot are all misshapen. Between the four toes I have a history of 7 fractures, occurring over the past 25 years. They are crooked and are at odd angles. The skin between the toes is also heavily scarred, due to my need to keep trimming the callouses that form there.
On the front of my right shin, there are scars and embedded gravel from the spill from a bicycle when I was twelve.
On the back of both knees are long scars that are parallel with the ground. A dog wrapped its leash around my legs then took off running.
Just below and behind my right hip joint, there’s a long, curving scar. It’s about 4 or 5 inches long. I sat on a pair of scissors (point up) when I was five (12 stitches). Puberty, when it came, caused it to stretch all over the place.
There is a small, near-invisible scar on my chest just below my sternum. This is from a cardiac needle. In other news, I had to get a shot in the heart when I was fourteen.
My upper chest is covered with small puckered burn scars, from the time my blender exploded three years ago. There is also a surgical scar at the base of my throat, where my thyroid was removed five years ago.
On the base of my chin is a tiny, almost gone scar from when I fell out of a tree in kindergarten and landed on my chin (6 stitches). Internally, there is also a ridge where my collarbone healed after the same fall.
My hands and forearms are liberally decorated with scars from various kitchen and laboratory accidents. Most are burn scars.
On my left hand is a scar where an IV was ripped out when I was fourteen by the attending surgeon. This ripping was immediately followed by the aforementioned cardiac shot (of epinephrine).
____
Morgan got into the baggie of catnip that came with her new scratcher on Friday evening. She only calmed down this morning.
An employee at the plant store on Sunday tried to sell me catnip seeds. I said, “I have a cat.” He replied, “Perfect!” I said, “NO.”
____
I have been enraged to discover that my prescription drug insurance does not cover my medicine. None of the brand names, none of the generic formulations. NONE. Fortunately, a local pharmacy has one of the generics on their “$10 for 90 days” list. Hopefully my body likes that generic! $90 for 30 days is something that I can technically afford, but I really don’t want to pay that.
TLC, I’m so sorry about your golden.
Pretty much this.
Haven’t had one of THOSE for a while.
Panic attacks really, really suck. Inexplicable ones even more so.
Basically my mind and body were like “you don’t have any reason for this, but we’re gonna make you have a panic attack! Enjoy :D”
And I was like D: and ran out of the office to get some air and a smoothie.
opposable thumbs:
Not at all! That was why I told the stories. And none of the injuries were more than about a 2 on the pain scale, they were just ridiculous ways to get scars.
My “best” injury didn’t produce a scar. I managed to run as fast as I could into a brick wall while playing hide-and-go-seek tag. (I was 16 at the time, and I was pretty embarrassed to have to explain that I got injured playing a kids’ game. People’s usual response: “Were you drunk?” Nope, it was at a church youth group event.) It caused all sorts of inflammation in my knee and weakened my vastus medius (I think – biped anatomy confuses me) so that the kneecap moved around too much. I did physio, but the knee still aches at night sometimes.
Hugs and kisses to all of the boo boos across the species spectrum. I haz a sad for so many of y’all right now.
—————————–
Pteryxx:
I don’t comment much, but if someone sends up a signal, I’ll make sure I don’t. I think it is a good idea.
Ughhh.
Oh my god that happens? *horrified*
Oh, I forgot about the scars from IVs. I’ve only had to have IVs a few times. But I guess that whole serious dehydration thing makes them a motherfucker to get in. So I haz scars on both hands.
Thanks, Ms Daisy Cutter.
My own emotions are mixed. Golden Retrievers are a breed notorious for getting cancer, and for her to only now start getting it at a really advanced age after 13-14 good long years is still incredibly lucky.
She’s gonna be on narcotic pain meds for the rest of her life. I’m OK with that, I just hope it doesn’t mess with her mind or anything.
I hate those most of all :( *hugs hugs hugs*
*hugs also to TLC and gentle hugs to his dogdog* I’m sorry :( Poor lady.
My scars are too numerous to describe on an iPad. Suffice to say that
a: I grew up as a cowboy (yes, including youth rodeo)
b: I have a thing for knives, axes, and swords
c: I’m a blacksmith
And most importantly, I’m clumsy.
Luckily, none on my face are obvious.
CC:
Yeah, pretty much. Hurt like hell.
Incidentally, all you dog owners: if your bitch is in heat, PLEASE be careful when you take her for walks! >_<
If you put something hot in it and not enough room a the top, yes. PV=nRT applies here as well.
That is actually a pretty funny story, really. So, my blender explodes. Cue mess that is downright epic. The stuff was everywhere, including the ceiling. So, I cleaned my entire kitchen. Then I took a shower. Then I carefully dressed the burns (2nd degree, skin peeled off within minutes).
Then I said, “TEA DAMMIT!”
Unfortunately, when I cleaned my stove the pilot lights had gone out (as they are designed to do when you take the burner apart).
I was out of matches. I don’t smoke, so I don’t own a lighter.
So, I got dressed (with whatever was on hand, probably was horribly mis-matched) and walked to the corner store. I go in, buy matches. The clerk asks me in that ask-every-customer-to-be-polite way how my day has been. I lost it. Out came the whole story.
The clerk just stared, put my change on the desk, and stood there mutely until I left. She watched me leave very intently.
@CC:
*hug* Thanks.
@TLC:
:( *hug*
What a bunch of Igors we are.
TLC, I’m so sorry about your dog. I hope you can make her comfortable and give her a good finale to her life.
Has your vet prescribed pain medication for her? If not, meloxicam is a good drug for mild pain control, and tramadol for more heavy-duty stuff. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, but never give a dog ibuprofen.
*hugs*
Ye Olde Blacksmith: My most recent stitches came from accidentally swording myself in the left thumb with my short sword ( http://tinypic.com/r/xqe5ut/5 ).
I was holding it in my hand and thought I felt a wasp in my hair. I was a bit drunk and I panicked and flailed a little. My brother says he could hear the meaty ‘THUNK’ where the sword hit. Lots of stitches.
Thanks, CC. She will probably be getting lots of hugs and affection over the next while. We were debating leaving her behind for our last camping trip, but we’re all glad we brought her now, despite how physically taxing it was for her.
She refused to be left behind, and we have her mental and emotional health to consider too. I have a feeling that from this point on, however long she lives depends greatly on how much she wants to live.
I’m not sure what she’s been prescribed, Nutmeg, but yeah. Pain meds. We were slipping her occasional half aspirin pills on the camping trip, but at that point we still thought it was simple arthritis.
I used to climb trees and I was a bike messenger for years. That means that I fell out of a few trees and that I have been hit a few times. I have scars that I have no idea how they happened.
Scars: One above my left eye from a dog bite when I was three, one on my right middle finger from a shark bite, one on my right ring finger from a drill bit dropping on it from three floors up, one of my left wrist from a puncture wound involving one of those horrid “gut hook” things, and one on my left leg from an impalement by a shard of glass.
So sorry about your dog, TLC. Here’s hoping that her end is a peaceful and painless one.
Janine:
I have a scar that’s about 2 inches long on the back of my left wrist. I’ve had it as long as I remember, but I don’t know how I got it.
All my scars are either from me scratching myself to bleeding due to eczema, or burns I got while cooking. Turns out burns is a worse kind of pain than getting sliced or hit. Except if you fall and land on your coccyx. So far nothing has beaten the pain from that.
OOH, coccyx! I slipped on ice and bruised mine a few winters ago.
THE PAIN
A.R: Gut hooks as in those knives for slicing open a fresh kill without puncturing guts?
I found them quite effective, myself, though nothing I couldn’t have done with a normal sharp knife and two fingers.
I have to ask, how do you puncture yourself on something that’s specifically designed NOT to puncture certain things?
Also, a shark bite?
Thanks Esteleth.
TLC:
That looks like a gladius. Very cool. The worst sword scar I have was self inflicted. I had just finished building one of my very first short swords. Forged, hardened, tempered, sharpened all by hand. I had no sheath for it yet so wrapped it in paper towel. For “safety”. A friend wanted to look at it so I grabbed it by what I “thought” was it’s spine and pulled.
You see where this is going…
I cut across my palm down to the bones so cleanly that it didn’t actually start to hurt for about 15 minutes.
I dubbed that blade “Traitor”.
TLC: sorry to hear about your dog. My heart goes to you both.
Just for shits and giggles.
I Write The Songs-Dayglo Abortions
And now I’m off to make a sheep costume for daughter. Her first school play. *squeeeeeeeeee*
I just hope I can actually hand sew a good costume. Needle and thread is not exactly my medium.
I have a scar on my chin, the result of getting hit (accidentally) with a golf club one day before my tenth birthday. A real golf club, not a toy. An iron, actually.
Wham.
I bled all over my Bart Starr jersey.
I’m already afraid of so many kitchen appliances!
Okay, not “so many.” Three. The microwave and the stove and the industrial cake mixer.
TLC: One does it with a very special skill that only very clumsy people have. And the shark bite was from a very angry blue shark in the North Atlantic that thought my gloved hand was a fish.
feralboy: That sounds painful. I’ve been whacked on the head with a driver before (one of the new 460’s, not a genuine wood), and that was bad enough.
CC, the trick with blenders is to not overfill them.
I really only got injured by that incident because the contents were hot enough to burn me.
Oh, and the garbage disposal. My friend reminded me.
@Ye Olde
Ouch… Holy crap. The pain after the 15 minutes must have been horrible.
Most of my scars are from Xacto knives and a models hobby as a kid. I’ve never actually broken a bone or been checked into an emergency room. Yay me.
The only interesting “scar” I have takes a bit of explanation at the doctor’s office. See, I have this pale white circle, about the size of a quarter, with a dark spot in the center (maybe a quarter-inch across). Doctors always think it’s cancer and start freaking out. One thought it was some weird rare kind of mole and wanted to drag everyone in to see it.
When I was about 6, I was walking home (to my grandma’s house) from the school bus stop. There were two boys who lived down the street and who I played with a fair bit, but they were the “tended to get into trouble” types. One had apparently found a large-ish stick and had been whittling it away into a sharp point the whole day in school without anyone noticing.
For some reason, while showing it to his brother, one of them decided to throw it. did I mention they were walking behind me? I think they were aiming for my backback, which was over my right shoulder, but they missed and hit my back instead. At the time, I just felt this sharp poke between my shoulder blades and kind of wiggled the muscles. There was a thunk, and I looked down to see the stick on the ground. I picked it up, turned to them with a, “Is this yours?” look. They were both white with fright and took off running.
I just shrugged, put my backpack over the both shoulders, and walked the rest of the block home. My grandma said hi, we talked a little about school, and as I took off my backpack and turned to put it on the ground, she gasped. Apparently my shirt was pretty well soaked with blood.
The “spear” had punched through my shirt into my back. She had me lie on my stomach and did some first-aid type stuff, but it didn’t hurt and it stopped bleeding shortly so we didn’t go to the doctor. I’m not sure she even told my mom.
Chigau:
That’s pronounced EYE-gor.
Ibyea:
I did that more than 2 weeks ago. On the edge of a concrete step. It still hurts.
Sciatica was worse. Much, much worse. So was the tooth that required a root canal. Though it wasn’t as bad as sciatica. The bruised tailbone has required a lot of NSAIDs but no opiates.
I think I have to make amends for my last music link.
Superstar-Sonic Youth
@Esteleth
Yeah, I have always wondered why the coccyx hurts so much when injured. It is absolutely excruciating.
Feralboy:
I don’t know if this is true for anyone else, but when I accidentally gouge myself and get blood all over the place, which happens at least several times a year (I’m wicked coordinated), I’m a lot more pissed at any ruination of nice clothing than I am at yet another gash in my hand that will heal eventually.
@Daisy Cutter
See, that is one aspect that I hate about the fact that I am a fleshy organic thingy. The fact that the worst pain in the world is so much worse than the coccyx fall thingy. I can’t imagine it, but the fact that it exists amazes me. Seriously, is there even an adaptive need to crank the pain level so high? Another evidence that we weren’t so intelligently designed. :)
Great news! One of my favorite singers will be releasing her first solo album in over a decade. Kelly Hogan has been busy: along with Neko Case, she was part of Jakob Dylan’s most recent album as third leg; collaborating with Scott Ligon (Now a member of the revamped NRBQ.) as well as singing back up on Neko Case’s albums and being part of her touring band.
We Can’t Have Nice Things
She makes it seem so easy.
The golf club incident wasn’t terribly painful beyond the initial impact. There was a lot of blood, though, and being poor we decided to skip the stitches and hold the wound together with a band-aid.
Somehow it worked, although I had to avoid looking up for the next week or so.
The worst pain I’ve experienced (so far) was back spasms back in the year 2000. The best description of that pain is that it’s like being hung by a meathook in the back, and the hook is attached to a bungee cord on which you bounce up and down very slowly.
.
I don’t think I will ever get used to typing the words “back in the year 2000.”
For some reason I mostly got hurt in ways that didn’t scar. The worst physical pain I’ve ever experienced, though, was when I lunged from a kneeling position over my own splayed left shin (hockey goaltending) and blew out my MCL. The pain was so bad that my vision actually whited out for several seconds mid-play. Following up on that, sciatica was bad, and having a partly torn muscle in my lower back was so bad that I ended up going to the ER for shots to unlock myself from a contorted crouch, but that was because of it being unrelenting for a day and night. Blowing out my knee was worse for sheer intensity.
I just have a scar on the sole of my foot from stepping on a broken bottle while swimming, miscellaneous nicks from falls and animal teeth, and some embedded pencil leads from being stabbed (mostly) by other kids.
Back to covers of songs from the seventies.
Delta Dawn-Kelly Hogan & The Drive-By Truckers
Bad Time-Jayhawks
niftyatheist
Glad you liked my post.
Yes, those comments really got me.
I had actual worries about that kid, she has a birth defect (thankfully it will most likely never affect her but we couldn’t know until she was actually out) and people were treating her second X chromosome as being a defect?
WTF?
I know that for my own grandpa I was “only another girl”, but I had thought that in those 30 years since then things would have changed.
There won’t be a #3 for me, so people need to come to term that yes, my husband’s Y-chromosome will be lost for the future. I mean, he’s still got two cousins to carry that burden.
rowanvt
Yay for kitten!
scars again
Urgh, my left elbow pit looks like a junkie’s. But really I only donated plasma for years. Oh, and there’s a little scar half hidden in my eybrow where I met the radiator on my way down after I managed to trip over my own trousers while wearing them…
Ooh, pain stories! I have one:
My worst pain experience was in hospital. I’d had an appendectomy and contracted a staph infection during the surgery (unbeknownst to all, of course). I went back to the hospital with a delirious fever three days later, and they kept me under observation. Finally, after a day and a half, my wound reopened and gunk came flooding out. In order to expose the bacteria to oxygen, they had to fully re-open the wound, but for some reason the surgical residents were reluctant to open it all the way. So, every couple of days, a new resident would take a look, declare that the infection wasn’t clearing up fast enough, and get in there and cut a few more stitches.
One day some head honcho surgeon came by to do the rounds early in the AM. I recall he had his 8-year-old son in tow for some reason. He took a look at the wound, yelled at his residents, and decided he had to open the thing completely, that very moment. Brushing aside my request that he give me some Demerol and come back in half an hour, he asked for a scalpel. There wasn’t one on the unit—the surgical unit. (Albertans might recall this time as the height of King Ralph’s cuts to healthcare, and coincidentally, the exact same time that he was admitted to a private room for broken ribs sustained in a drunken fight with a hot tub, declaring his care during his ‘ordeal’ to be excellent.)
So, using his fingers to spread the wound as wide as possible and the shaft of a swab to hold the internal stitches taut, he ripped them open one by one with the sharp end of a syringe. Every word I wanted to say was unsuitable for his son’s ears, so I kept my mouth shut.
After an infection like that, they don’t resuture the wound, and so every morning for a month or so I had to remove the putrid gauze, rinse my stomach hole with water in the shower, give it a quick rerinse with sterile saline, and repack the wound. There’s supposed to be less scarring in such cases, but my skin sealed itself against my abdominal wall for some reason, and now I have this weird scar as if I were plastic and someone pressed a hot rod against my skin, welding it in place. I don’t mind the scar, but it pulls sometimes when I stretch.
Anyway, that whole time sucked. And it fucked me up for some time afterward, and I never wanted to leave the house, feeling all vulnerable and having a hole in me and whatnot.
Ooh, we’re still on scars? I have a few, but my favorite is on my right forearm. It’s from when I was dating this Russian guy, and we were helping a friend move some lumber and scrap metal out of her old house. We were both standing, holding a long piece of metal with very sharp metal, and I was like, “So, this is sharp, so let’s be careful to throw it at the same time so no one gets hurt. On three, okay? One. Two–” He threw the metal. I got a 2.5-inch slice on my arm. Fortunately it was shallow and healed quickly, without any stitches.
Needless to say, that relationship didn’t last very long.
Sorry for this, but Ms. Daisy pls. check your email. I’m bouts to burst.
So, scar story out of the way. Let me say:
*HUGS* to you, Katherine! I haven’t ever had a panic attack but I have felt panicked at times so I can sort of imagine.
*CHEERS* for the little kitten too! Actually, I know a woman whose cat got knocked and she’ll be looking for good homes for the offspring in a couple of months. She’s very very sorry she put off spaying her. But if you’re in the northeast and you want a kitten, let me know. I’d be happy to transport the bugger (within reason of course).
Someone please tell me this is real.
Me too! When people asked why I donated so often, I’d tell them I was addicted to making heroin jokes and needed the prop.
Oh and Sally? For rilz-I’ll put you up and feed and booze you and pay for your gas money if you wanna do my roofing next time!
Tired Of Being Alone-Texas
I also have a scar on my nose, the result of getting really, really drunk before, during, and after a gig back in 1982. I tried to walk home, had one of my many blackouts, and wound up at the wrong house making a big commotion. The home owner came out, tackled me from behind and the ground rose up and smacked me hard in the face, breaking my nose.
I was too drunk to feel it until the next day. It throbbed when I laid down, so I slept sitting up for the next week.
Interestingly, today is the 28th anniversary of the last time I drank alcohol. Twenty. Eight. Years.
And at no point did I “submit to a higher power.”
Me three.
The “Red Cells In The Sunset” joke never got old, either.
Scars? I’ve got one, which manifests as a pale hairless area on the front edge of the left shin. (Edge. Stupid Design.) I tried to jump onto a little concrete wall while digging for sauropod dinosaur eggs in
Eggs-Aix-en-Provence in 1997. Somehow I managed to completely misjudge my position or the height or whatever.Probably should have been stitched, but wasn’t. I suppose the skin attached itself to the bone while healing. (Edge of bone right under the skin. Stupid Design.)
It’s a bit like a war wound, except for the lack of fighting!
(The pun is by Christian Meyer, head of paleontology at the museum in Basel, Switzerland.)
================================
Anyway: How Harry Potter should have ended. Contains an ingenious reference to… something else entirely. :-)
Also How Resident Evil should have ended, How Return of the Jedi should have ended, and Jaws and Star Trek and Scream and Jurassic Park and Inception and many, many, many more! I spent hours today watching one after another!
Sorry to hear about the panic attack, Katherine. I had one that catapulted me into full blown obsessive rumination, and I was pretty functionally useless until prescribed some meds. Ativan worked particularly well for me, to the point where just knowing I had my pill bottle in case I had a panic attack was enough to get impending ones to subside.
This fits in with today’s theme.
Scarlover-Maria McKee
Live Is Sweet is one of my very favorite albums. It was so very different from Lone Justice and her solo albums, not that any of them sounded like the others. (I ignore that Top Gun song.) But she disappeared for years after this was released. Never understood why.
I &heats; everyone here that can actually count their scars.
I was a rambuncous little kid. I was also whoa clumsy. I fell out of trees, off my bike, while rollerskating, you name it, numerous times.
My favorites are the scar across my knuckles from falling off my bike while on a gravel covered hill* and the HUGE scar/dent on my right shin from tripping over the open dishwasher door. Seriously, I think I’m missing a chunk of my shin. It’s wicked gross.
*Favorite because it helps me distinguish right from left. Don’t laugh.
Crap. I ♥. Stupid phone.
Threadrupt. Did I miss anything really good?
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This month’s Feature Presentation: The Attack of the Return of the Revenge of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
My (probably unanswerable) question—which came first; the massive knotting of the back, shoulder, neck and arm muscles, thereby triggering the CT, or the the carpal tunnel somehow initiate the massive, etc.? And in either case, why did it cross the road?
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Josh, your roof had shingles? And bit you? Were its shots all up to date?
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*hug* for J_A_L. Best of luck job-hunting.
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rowanvt, I hope the baby cat makes it.
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And I hope that Sophie-cat’s sugar levels stabilise. When The Husband was diagnosed, the meds he was prescribed tended to over-shoot the mark and leave him hypogycemic; I was terrified that he’d crash in the night.
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Scars? The massive one on my left butt cheek is the ugliest, and covers the most surface area (it’s probably ugly on the inside, too, but who can tell?), but the one for the Hysterctomy With All The Trimmings™ is the longest (the “bikini cut” approach not having been possible). And I’ve got a barely-visible scar on the last segment of my left middle finder that has been there for always, as far as I’m concerned. I remember it already being a feature when I was 4, and I had no idea back then, where it came from.
The Husband has several scars from when a home-made “cannon” he and his friends had made blew up.
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Prize sentence from Ms. Daisy Cutter’s link @153:
“And they wouldn’t hear you anyway over the thunderous roar of dicks screaming for ever in their frightened mind’s ear.”
Oh, the mental imagery!
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*hug* for TLC. Sorry to hear about your dog. Unbearable to lose ’em, unbearable to live without ’em.
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*hugs* for Katherine. Panic attacks suck, and seldom make sense afterwords, at least in my experience.
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Ouch for ouch, I found that the pain from sciatica compares very favorably with childbirth; only it’s scored for a larger area, and lasts longer. For that matter, the most recent Completely Unnecessary Medical Drama reminded me very sharply (and brightly, and burningly, and grindingly) of sciatica, only transplanted onto the shoulder/arm/hand. Not recommended.
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*shudder*
Okay, Brownian. You win.
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A few weeks ago, I tried to cut celeriac (for the first time) with an inadequate knife. I hacked down hard on my left thumb. Bled more than usual. Still visible, but still healing.
Heh. Back to the future, when we had flying cars !! And jetpacks !!
*facepalm*
?
David, try “Red Sails In The Sunset”.
That sounds like a fine deal to me! I’m free most weekends plus Monday and Tuesday. Well, actually I have a job starting May 1, but that will still leave weekends free. Plus it’s only going to last 2-4 weeks (I’ll be entering your personal data for the IRS, pure evil).
Serious trading card addiction. I literally went from the plasma centre to the card dealer.
Except the time I went shopping for chritsmas presents instead, that was when I fainted in the bookstore…
There is an old song called “Red Sails In The Sunset.”
I suppose the joke has gotten old in the last 30 years.
Cicely,
If sciatica is comparable to childbirth, then I’m all set. I’ve been suffering with it for years and it’s only gotten worse with being preggers.
Caine, it’s a lot of fun so far! They’re an accidental pet shop litter that was taken in by the RSPCA. Cersei’s the biggest and most dumbo-ish of the three, with a round head and flat ears, a lovely dark cream. She’s very friendly and quite laid-back. Middlerat is Elvira; she’s a nipper and a grabber, greedy as hell and a cheeky little thief, always stealing food from the others and running away with it. She’s a – the mouse equivalent would be a pink-eyed white? She’s getting bigger by the day, she may outstrip Cersei. Bottomrat is Moosh; I kept her RSPCA name, it suited her. She’s a teeny piebald girl compared with her sisters, but she’s the most trouble, the instigator of most of the scuffles, she’s relentless. But very timid towards me so far.
Oh, there are a lot of scuffles! Neck nipping and chasing, arching and boxing; I’ve had to step back, remind myself that they’re not mice, and stay out of it while surreptitiously casting my eyes over them for actual injury. I’m getting used to it but they’re definitely more roughhouse than mice…!
I will get pictures when they stay still long enough!
I go off on tangents too easily.
When The Generals Talk-Midnight Oil
Weird how many scars are consistent from person to person. I have Giliell’s plasma scarring, a couple of David Marjanović’s shin thingies (one used to bleed every year, during the driest part of the winter) and a sheet metal slice à la SallyStrange along an instep from the days when I lived with my renovation-crazy sister and nephew.
Lost the nails off of both of my big toes in two separate incidents within six months of each other, both from lifting furniture and catching the tip of the nail on the way up.
And I’ve already shared the story of my “Will I be able to play the piano?” scar. It’s my favourite.
Another note about pain is that it’s very responsive to expectation, distraction, and fear. When my back went out, I was in a lot of pain, sure, but also immobilized and helpless – I had to yell for someone to find me in the middle of the night who could drag me to the ER. Blowing out my knee was worse *pain* but a completely different experience. Mostly I was annoyed at being on one foot for the last few minutes of the hockey game. Pain without fear was surprisingly easy to ignore.
I don’t understand the facepalm. I got the sense it wasn’t supposed to do that.
Oh, right. I forgot. We don’t get paid for blood donations in Canada.
I initially read that as “mice”. Apparently, nothing surprises me any more.
Brownian: Blood donations aren’t payed, but plasma donation is.
Where? In the US?
These scar discussions are reminding me of the opening to Muppet Christmas Carol.
I have a lot of small scars but none that are interesting to tell about. The only good scar story I have isn’t mine. In my underfunded high school journalism class we prepared the paper for print by carefully cutting out columns with an x-acto knife and rubber cementing them to another sheet of paper — I don’t know how unusual this is. Anyway, one guy (distracted by the movie we were watching while we worked) went to do what he thought was slapping the cap securely on his x-acto with the palm of his other hand. Yeah, you guessed it, the cap wasn’t on the thing at all, and instead he skewered himself right through the middle of his palm with it. It was pretty messy but he was famous on campus for months.
Mr Kristinc sliced his thumb open pretty good once by banging on the glass pane of a window to close it. Old glass, big strong hands, predictable results.
Yep, in the US blood donations legally cannot be recompensed with payment, but plasma donations can. Lots of students and minorities pack the waiting room at the donation center close to my campus. You get paid about $30 per donation, and I understand they keep a database to prevent double-dipping.
An old trick of the machine shop for when you cut yourself: superglue. Yup, it can be used to make a sort of stitch + bandaid. I’ve done it many many times. I would not recommend it for serious wounds, however.
In fact, I’m pretty sure it is actually a really bad idea to be putting epoxy on a wound so FOR THE RECORD, consult a physician before attempting.*
*That should cover my ass. :)
I tripped and fell down the stairs over a year ago. My legs got caught under me, and I slid down the hard-edged wooden steps on my shins. The bruises were extremely painful.
They’re also still visible. And they still hurt when pressed.
I wonder if they’ll ever go away.
*hugs* to all who need ’em. I can’t engage any deeper than that on the sad stuffs today. But I love all y’all.
And having the extra thumb makes buying gloves really hard.
Scars
I also have a nice scar on the iside of my thumb. I was trying to separate two frozen pork chops. Five stitches.
I have a scar on a knuckle from dicing carrots.
My knee has two long incisions, plus the holes from the a-scopes.
And a small scar on my left buttock from when I got shot.
There is a story behind that.
I also have a scar on my scrotum from the extremely sharp edge of a ski.
========
TLC:
Canine condolences.
And now I’m off to make a sheep costume for daughter. Her first school play. *squeeeeeeeeee*
You could dress her as a really religious person?
Brownian: Yeah, US. I’m not sure about Canada.
Tss, I wasn’t paid for plasma donation. I got compensation. Because blood and plasma are considered organs and selling and bying organs is illegal. But I got compensation for the time and pains I endured…
Very painful: Stepping on one of those: Duplo dog. It got stuck in my foot. Fortunately, those toys are very durable so the ears that was stuck in my foot didn’t break off. Bled like hell.
Very nasty: Strep infected mosquito-bite. Every tiny scratch on my body started to ooze pus and I was a bit delirious.
O_O
…How did you… I think I just felt the homunculus map on my brain curl up into a quivering ball. so to speak.
Superglue was initially developed as an emergency adhesive for combat wounds. At a forest fire, I saw an EMT use it to temporarily close a chainsaw wound to prevent exsanguination before evac. It is quite effective if you are not near a hospital.
And if you do cover your arse with it, do not sit down until it has hardened.
Anybody know why they don’t compensate whole blood donors? Is it because of the potential danger in double-dripping?
Fun fact: I once took a date to give blood.
On another occasion, I donated with a girl I was trying to impress (who erroneously but understandably had the impression that I was a playa), and the needle went interstitial. The draw was alright, but when the cells had been separated from the plasma and were being returned they started to flow straight into my arm. Watching the crook of my arm first disappear and then swell like a balloon, I called over a nurse, who hit the alarm, and general chaos reigned. When the dust had settled I had a needle in both arms and was being watched by a team of nurses. Meanwhile, the girl I was trying to impress finished her whole blood donation and walked over. “Are you alright?” All the pain melted in an instant when I realised the “good boy” points this was worth (I was young.) “Anything…for the orphans” is what I managed to sigh.
That resulted in one hell of a bruise for at least a couple of weeks.
Not paid in Canada (at least in Quebec), except if you participate in a research protocol. I have done so at my lab, gave me 60$ a pop for about 125mL, no drug to take -it was used to calibrate a mass spectrometer. In blood drives, they don’t pay.
Unless you count the cookies.
Brownian: I think the Red Cross/nonprofit monopoly on blood donation may be part of why it isn’t compensated in the US. Not sure though, go take that with 65mg of NaCl.
Yeah. I think the difference between blood and plasma donation is that with plasma, you spend roughly an hour and a half with a big fat needle sticking out of your arm. They take a unit of blood, then take it away and centrifuge the plasma out, then bring back the red cells and put them back in. Then repeat.
At least it was so in the early 1980’s. The bag you bled into was hooked to a gizmo and dropped down when it was full, at which point you called out “bag down!” After they returned your red cells, you would call out “bag dry.”
This led me to conceive an idea for a sitcom called Bag Down, the wild and wacky adventures and goings on at a plasma donor center. I had Sting in mind as a possible first guest donor.
Somehow, nothing ever came of the idea.
Hmm, in Germany depends.
The Red Cross gives you a sandwich, the big hospitals around 30€. And since those payments aren’t income (remember, you’re not getting paid) they are always popular with poor folks because they aren’t counted towards social security.
Hearing about all the accidents makes me want to kiss everyone’s boo-boos and make them better!
My funniest accident didn’t leave a permanent mark, thankfully. I was in college, and had one of those little wee half ironing boards with the two-inch legs that’s supposed to sit on a table. Except we didn’t have a table, so I used it on the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of it. You can see where this is going, right? Close to second-degree iron burn on my calf. Not just the tip or anything, no, this was enough of the iron to clearly show the outline of the iron and a couple of steam holes. It looked like an iron. It was the beginning of summer, in the midwest, in a place without air conditioning, so wearing pants instead of shorts was really not an option. Took almost 3 months for it to completely go away.
I ran face-first into a huge tree once. Like it wasn’t standing RIGHT THERE the whole time as I was running right at it or anything.
I do have a rather prominent scar on the back of my hand and no idea how it got there. I think it was something stupid like a burn scab that ripped off too soon.
Lots of countries have volunteer-only blood donations; in the US, plasma donation (which is more cumbersome and time-consuming at 3-4 hours, and can be repeated once or twice a week) has had a problem with poor folks donating too many times in succession and then fainting. I would guess that whole blood donation is more dangerous if done too often, since it takes a couple of months to recover.
I found a random paper on blood donation (from Greece) with a mention, my emphasis:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440532/
In the 2000s it all went automatically and you could just read something.
Actually, my blood in that tank was the only thing that kind of freaked me out.
I didn’t mind parting with stuff for the benefit of somebody else, but the idea that my actual living blood was in that tank there was weird.
Pain comes in so many different flavors and sizes they’re hard to compare. But I think mine was when I was about 10 and broke my radius and ulna in a fall off of a sundeck onto concrete. The good new is the arm (just above the wrist) kept my hip from fracturing.
The bad news is the fucking asshole doctors set it w/o meds. They’d wrap it up, wheel me down to radiology, and find out one or the other bone had slipped. Wheel me back, undo the plaster of paris, reset, 3 fucking times. I hate those fuckers to this day.
My Dad felt so bad, he didn’t know enough at the time that, like with Brownian, this isn’t how professionals do it.
(some) Fucking doctors are impervious to your pain. Nurses can be worse. I had one deliberately ‘explore’ my wound with a needle, sans meds, because she didn’t like long hairs. Fucking novacaine, how does that work!
I’m pretty sure that’s the case in the rest of Canada too, kemist. I used to volunteer with the Red Cross through their changeover to Canadian Blood Services, and I’ve given whole blood, plasma, and platelets. (I’ve been on the bone marrow registry since 1993, but I’ve never been matched.) I’ve never been compensated, though they used to have a program where they’d pay for a taxi from your home to the clinic to your home again, but they used little chits you’d give the driver.
I don’t know if they facilitate research studies though. The situation may be different in Quebec (it always is.)
I can’t so much as look at Cookies by George any more, thanks to the school term I spent as a volunteer supervisor at the clinic. Sweet times.
Without that parenthetical explanation of the abbreviation, that would be a very bizarre sentence. And yes, I am 12.
Magnets, the answer is always magnets.
Plasma: 40-70 minutes.
Platelets: 2-3 hours.
Another odd little memory from my plasma donation days was the short little Q & A they would do beforehand, while checking blood pressure. Every time I ever donated, they would ask if I was gay, if I had been to Haiti, and if I was a junkie. That pretty much constituted AIDS testing in 1983.
Well, the plasma donation center at my campus says to allow 3-4 hours. I haven’t actually donated plasma myself (no proof of fixed address).
Hehe, we always got a short questionaire where you’d have to tick “no” every single time except two times hidden in the mass to make sure you were at least casually skimming them.
Ever had the milkshake plasma that occurs if you’ve eaten too much fat within a day or two of donating? Gross and humiliating. Vegans’ plasma can tend to green.
The only thing I could never get a handle on was holding blood or urine samples. There’s something about the temperature that freaks me out.
also, apparently the ethics of blood donation is kind of interesting. Another random paper:
Demanding pure motives for donation: the moral acceptability of blood donations by haemochromatosis patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15681668
Yep, men who have sex with men still can’t donate in the U.S. at least, even if they have documentation proving that they’re HIV negative.
No, I always produced the perfect pee-yellow. I think my record time was 36 minutes for 750ml (that was bleeding-time only, waiting, health check etc not included)
I’m several decades older than 12, and I still make that connection.
Perhaps they should bring back the old VD is for everybody commercial.
Here you can get good money for participating in research. Depending on the protocol you can get from 600$ to 1500$.
One of my mom’s friends does it 3-4 times a year. She’s not poor, she just gets money for traveling. And she gets yearly medical checks such as heart echographies and gynecological exams with no waiting and no expense.
Pteryxx: In the U.S. that may be the best way to get treatment for haemochromatosis patients with poor or no insurance. Quite depressing.
I admit I was sorely pressed not to just hand her a bible and be done with it.
Alas, she will be one of Bo-Peep’s sheep not god’s so a sewing I go.
————————–
Thank you, people, for those horrible images. I fear I shall not sleep a wink tonight :)
Might be different technology, or involve line-ups or something. When I donated plasma, it was a scheduled affair. I’d come in on Tuesday mornings just before school/work, and there’d be all the regular Tuesday morning donors. It was kind of fun. There’d be the one guy with his National Post, and the lawyer and carpenter who’d chat and whatnot…
I was a donor through the tainted blood scandal inquiry in Canada. You could track the news by the questions they’d add to the questionnaire. You’d go into a little room, and a nurse would ask you each question, every time: “‘Morning Delores. Let’s see, I still haven’t been born in Africa…”
Then the nurse would leave, and you had to affix a “Yes, use my blood” or “No, don’t use my blood” sticker so you’d have an out if you knew your blood wasn’t safe but had been pressured to go through the process.
I was in fundraising at the time, and once a year we’d hold a training for our walkathon volunteers in the park and feed them with KFC. The leftovers made their way to the office fridge, and eventually into me.
Blarrrarrrarrrarrrrghhhh!
You may recall I asked the Horde’s help last summer to find non-irritating sunscreen. I ended up with a 30 spf cream (eucerin) that had some chemical sunscreens which did not irritate me at the time, and a 50 spf cream (neutrogena baby) with only physical sunblocker ingredients. They both worked great for me all that summer and fall.
Well, this spring, the eucerin is getting warmer and stingier every time I put it on, and I think I’d better stop using it before it gets worse. But that’s not all. The only-physical-sunblock-ingredients neutrogena baby cream is also starting to feel warm on my cheeks. And I don’t know wtf to do. I really, really, really do not want to tan because I tan a strange yellowy color, plus the skin cancer that runs in my family and the whole wrinkles thing and argh. And I spend a lot of unavoidable time outdoors in daylight.
I don’t use a lot of other storebought face creams or moisturizers so I have a hard time triangulating what could be causing the problem but I suppose it could be a sensitivity to one of the inactive ingredients, something common to face creams. I doubt it is the zinc oxide that’s the problem because a)I reacted to “clear” non-zinc-oxide sunblocks and b) at least one of my face powders contains the stuff, no problem there. I can use pretty much any old cheap sunscreen on my neck and the rest of my body, it’s my face that’s the speshul speshul snowflake :/
If anyone knows about common sensitivities to inactive sunscreen ingredients, or super duper non-reactive extra gentle sunscreens that don’t cost $45 a tube, I will shower you with USB cookies and rum.
WTF!? My landlady sent my rent check back, in it’s original scrap paper covering*, with no note. and she hasn’t returned my calls.
I’ve lived here over 12 years, WTF!? What can this mean?
* I always wrap a bare check in tri-folded 8 x 11 notepaper. And I use used notepaper, because any office or lab generates a lot of it.
I never did plasma, but I did do platelet donation for awhile. The center I donated in got a one-arm machine so you could have one hand free instead of never being able to scratch your own nose oh my god, but it felt WEIRD. It would cycle between taking and giving back, so everything would be fine for a few minutes and then you’d hear this “click” and then feel this LURCH IN YOUR VEIN as it switched to pushback. The only thing I’ve ever had similar to that was the feeling of getting an epidural needle in. It’s not pain exactly, just your body going “oh no whatever is happening is wrong wrong wrong”.
Cicely:
So very true. That’s why I feel no shame or sense of ‘betrayal’ in saying there will be a new puppy someday, when the time is right. Our dog is not the jealous sort, and she wouldn’t want us to be sad for too long.
But what the hell is this? She’s still here. I’m sad, but I refuse to dwell too much on it. She certainly isn’t.
I’m not going to mourn a dog who’s still around, not yet at least.
Ye Olde Blacksmith: Thanks! I was going for a bit of a gladius look. The blade is based on a smatchet.
TLC: Quite a nice blade TLC. I’ve never had much use for something that large though…
Oh my god, this video slays me. It’s a parody on “We are young” called “We’re not young”. TW: there are two lines, one at the beginning and one at the end, that reference suicide, and at the very end a guy throws a doll that’s supposed to be a baby on the floor. But holy crap, does it encapsulate closing in on 40.
That’s why I stopped donating to the Red X back in the 80’s. Fuck those homophobes.
Ms Daisy Cutter, thanks: “The final scene …” provoked LOLs.
Ogvorbis: “At a forest fire, I saw an EMT …”
I think I just won a bet, but Google won’t find it for me. Evil Google!
Oh well. *waives bet*
Hello all. Threadrupt and exhausted here.
Highlights of last weekend for me: PZ, Geoffrey Robertson, Lawrence Krauss, and the Hitch tribute. Also many other good speakers, the fabulous catering, and catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones.
Lowlights: most of the comedians. I believe Kylie has a post planned on this. Stella Young was awesome. But Mikey Robbins seemed tired, ill-prepared and far less coherent than usual, and Ben Elton was quite off and trotted out some ancient and boring and sexist material. I half expected him to say “Now take my wife… please”. And Jim Jeffries wasn’t very funny, in the same way that most Poes of sexists, homophobes and warmongers are not funny.
I had a bit of a potter around Melbs on Monday. Decided against the aquarium ($35?? Seriously?) and went to stock up on Haig’s chocolates and go to the museum ($10, now we’re talking). But on the way, I got a call from the vet with bad news about elder cat Plummet’s blood tests. His kidney function is very bad now – he won’t make it to the end of the year. I got quite upset after the call, even though it was predictable. I spent the afternoon sitting in the gardens around the museum reading old detective novels instead of going in and looking around. He’s in at the vet this morning for some IV fluids ($500, eep!), which they say could give him as much as another 6 months, but could also have no lasting effect at all.
My deepest commiserations, Alethea.
Transcript for the Diane Rehm show niftyatheist mentioned earlier:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-16/racial-profiling-america/transcript
Aaargh! I expected Pat Benetar.
I am demonstrably no longer young.
[In my defense, though, I do know the parodied song. Hipster, me, eh?]
I’m so sorry, Alethea. If it’s any glimmer of hope, IV fluids can sometimes do wonders. My cat made it a year and a half past the point we thought she had not time left due to IV fluids every day or two (administered at home).
cm – I hate that song, because it is so obviously engineered in every way to be a popular song, and yet it works and it’s catchy and I can’t stop singing it and I hate myself for liking it because I know they’re making me like it on purpose.
But it does have Janelle Monae in it, and she’s my true fake celebrity crush forever.
:-o
Yeah.
Seriously?
The whole idea of plasma or platelet only donation seems really odd to me, but then, I’ve only ever donated whole blood (I didn’t know there was an alternative. Pretty sure it’s not done here)
The questions are an interesting history of blood born infections. You cannot donate in Australia if you lived in the UK for more than 6 months between ~1980 & 1996. (vCJD). I lived there for 5 months, so I get to donate.
Go figure
Janine – ooh, Kelly Hogan! As with Neko, I’m not crazy about all the songs she picks to cover (I’m really picky about melody), but I love her voice. Ever hear her cover of “Rubber Duckie”? It takes some real talent to make that song sexy. (Just ignore the video part, which is someone’s small grandson in the bath.)
Brownian: Fuck. All I can think to say is that that head surgeon isn’t fit to be practicing medicine. Obviously.
Pteryxx:
This has been my experience as well. Sciatica is terrifying not only because the pain is intense but because it’s random and you have no idea if it will ever stop on its own.
Ogvorbis:
I don’t have a scrotum and I made an unpleasant high-pitched sound when I read that.
Alethea, I’m terribly sorry about Plummet.
Platelet donation is fantastic because it’s used specifically for people with clotting problems (or research), and there are so few donors that you can be pretty sure that yours is going to a good cause and not expiring in a fridge somewhere. But it’s not for the faint of stamina. In addition to the 2-3 hours hooked up with one or two arms out of commission, during which time no you will not go to the bathroom no matter how much you need to, you can also experience calcium loss which makes your face go all numb and tingly. Then you have to call the attendant over to dump a few Tums in your mouth. But they do have comfy chairs. And you can bring your own movies.
Thanks for the kind thoughts. He’s a sweetheart of a cat, very affectionate, loves people. Recently he’s making trouble by trying to get into cars in the carpark across the road. (There’s an old school across the road, now repurposed to offices and art studios and such.) Last night we found him curled up on a chair in a driver education class. This car fixation is getting ridiculous…
Have I mentioned recently that I’m madly in love with you?
(/Red Sails in the Sunset and 10… 1 are two of my desert island disks.)
I believe that the whole blood donations are generally separated into various different parts, platelets, plasma, etc (I’m a little hazy on all the components).
The ARC advertising generally claim that each donation saves up to 7 lives. They also generally talk about only having several days supply at any given time (particularly before holiday periods). So I generally don’t worry about expiry.
We are only supposed to donate every 3 months. and it takes about 45 minutes. My company used to host the mobile blood bank 4 times a year, which was great, as you could donate without having to go anywhere & then return to work. They insist on you drinking lots & having eaten properly & having a rest time afterwards to eat and drink some more & to “take it easy” (As if Aussies need that advice!) afterwards.
I was at the grocery store today, and we ended up on the cereal aisle as we headed to checkout, where I saw a row of cereal boxes with Ezekial 4:9 on them. Every where you go, it’s the United States of Religion.
Cainr: And it’s disgusting cereal to boot.
As if Aussies need that advice!
FIFY.
I don’t get to give blood either; I grew up in the UK, now I live in the US so no donating for me. Best scar is on my elbow – came off my bike on the way to what should have been the first of 3 parties one night. Got to the first, freaked out the guests, and then went to casualty when it started to hurt. Got that cleaned up and was still able to get to party #3.
As with some others here, my best injury stories belong to other people. Like my friend D., who tripped and broke his arm, on the way to the pub, on his first night at Uni. That was probably 20+ years ago, and he still hasn’t lived it down…
Caine, I’ve seen their line of breads in Trader Joe’s and elsewhere for years now.
I’m tempted to call them up and ask them if they bake their bread on a fire made of human poo.
Daisy:
Never heard of ’em before today. I guess the bread is Genesis 1:29?
It’s “Food4Life”…do ya suppose you get a free Jesus with every box of cereal?
Alethea H. Claw – Several years back I had a Shar Pei dog that ended up with very bad kindeys, her doctor was able to show me how to do IV fluids at home, which added at least another year to her life. Of course with a cat you have a whole different attitude, but you could ask about it.
What in wholly hell is that green thing on the Food4Life website?
chigau: A sprout?
A. R
If it’s a sprout why does it have a bum on its head?
And what is that “sprouting” from the bum?
Ms. Daisy Cutter: The way I always heard it, God ordered him to mix human poo into the bread.
I’ve cooked with dried cowshit before, on the plains of Merritt. I actually enjoyed the flavor it gave to the meat and corn, and it burned for a long time (though smoky as hell).
I repeated the trick to make coffee on our hunting trip last fall.
However, would human poo have the right texture? Using burning herbivore turds to cook with kind of depends on the fact that dried herbivore feces are basically just a ball of finely shredded plant fiber held together in clumps.
Does human waste actually have enough fiber in it?
I know I could probably use a little more fiber in my diet…
chigau: Perhaps this is the true form of fundie xtains? Little green things with bums on their heads expelling plant like feces?
Chigau: That’s how it reproduces.
I think.
Ms. Daisy Cutter, that version of Rubber Duckie comes from a compilation album that was released a decade ago, The Bottle Let Me Down on the infamous alt country label, Bloodshot Records.
For the most part, the artists involved not not particularly kid friendly. Robbie Fulks. The Handsome Family. Do I need to say more?
It looks like they wanted to make a kids album that will not annoy adults.
A J Milne, Red Sails In The Sunset and 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 are also among my my very favorites. I said before, I had to love a band who had a singer who danced like Peter Garrett.
True christian = Bum Head …I like it.
chigau: Maybe it’s a string bean? Doesn’t look like any string bean I’ve seen, though.
——————————————-
Scar stories? OK:
I still have the scar on my right thigh/buttock from when I tried vaulting over a fence. Usually I vaulted on my left. Apparently that’s because my right side wasn’t up to the task. Did I mention the fence had a bit of loose wire sticking up at the top? End result: one torn pair of pants and a gash about 2.5 inches long. Superficial, but damn, when I saw it upon getting ready for class and washed it, it HURT.
The usual raised bumps of scar tissue from chickenpox: At least two on each arm and one on my right wrist, another on my stomach. I have a long scar on the back of my left leg from a shaving mishap: Finding that my usual razor was dull and getting rusty, I grabbed the nearest thing to hand, which was my dad’s double-edge razor. Off came a piece of skin and the blood started flowing. It stung like all get out when I cleansed the area. Talk about uncomfortable.
————————————————–
Condolences and hugs to owners of ailing pets.
————————————————–
Sailor: That is odd about the rent check. Has your landlady given any indication before now that something’s up?
@ me at 270
My landlady called me back and said she has no idea what I’m talking about IRT my rent check. But she was thinking of calling me because it’s so late.
And I tracked down the problem; I have essential tremors so I ask my colleagues to help me out with writing tasks*. And I did not notice that this colleague had reversed the address with the return address.
And I can’t mention it because they were just doing me a favor. I need to buy a bunch of address labels.
* writing tasks require fine motor skills, and while I can still rebuild a motor, I am can longer write a fine description of one.
Dang, hear of the troubles above, and mine seem minor. I’m thinking of continuing bootlegging illicit substances to the Redhead. First was hydrocortisone creem when she had the hives, and the pharmacy wasn’t responding quickly enough. Then generic claritin when she received a bunch of flowers she was allergic to, before the Dr.finally allowed it. Now, the most evil of all. Crushed red pepper for her food. Bwaahahahahaha. Next thing you know everybody might be demanding food with actual seasoning and flavor…
Nerd – I’ve missed much of whats gone on with the Redhead, could you e-mail me a fill in?
My 84 year old dad has been sick all winter, to make my story short. :(
Nerd
How is the Redhead doing?
Caine:
Yep. My sister-in-law eats that crap (the bread, anyway). Here’s a pro-tip: it makes shit-tastic french toast. Seriously, there’s no way not to burn that fucking shit.
Anyway, speaking of gluten-free, I had the dubious pleasure of eating some gluten-free chocolate cake yesterday. Never again.
In other news, we hit 95° in upstate New York on goddamn April 16. I have learned the hard way that it totally sucks to be hot and pregnant. I had to stick an ice pack down my shirt. :(
Sailor, have you looked into getting an address stamp? Something like this might be cheaper in the long run. You’d have to weigh the difficulty of pushing the stamper v. peeling labels, though.
Or for a higher price, pre-printed envelopes.
I’ve heard this from my mother…she gave birth to me when she was 17, fourth floor of the catlikker hospital (pre-airconditioning era), on the fourth of July, hotter than hell, and I was breech. That should tell you why I never made her a grandma!
Still, sympathies for the hot and pregnant state. It’s 63 degrees here, I’ll send some cooling breezes through your USB.
Sailor,
You’ve no doubt thought of it, but since you seem to type very well just fine, why not use your printer to address your envelopes ? It’s super easy in most word processing programs.
Nerd- I second the request for an update on the Redhead. Details, please. Caring and nosey people have been thinking about the two of you.
Sailor – Your printer might… oh, Josh beat me to it.
Audley – oh, I hear you. It sucks. Light breezy clothes you can flutter around to get some airflow are the best bet. And if you can, put your feet on icepacks. Does wonders.
Josh – no typing for you! Rest that finger. :)
Oh Carlie, it’s dreadful. My work life is all about writing/typing.Had to take off the dressing today just so I could get some goddamned work done (not to mention cook). It’s back on now with antibiotic ointment. And it’s slowing down my respectable typing speed and accuracy. Grrr.
It’s a gateway drug. I bet she had an illegal smile.
Ack, furry strawberries! Just went down to pick out some for a snack and found that one whole container has gray fuzz on the contents! Ew, and ew.
Time to hit the farmer’s market, or perhaps the big coop downtown.
Josh – it looked like it, that with the direction of the cut the pressure from banging on the fingertip like in typing would be about the most painful think one could do to it. :( I wish speech to text was a thing that actually worked.
Josh – It’s a shame you don’t live closer, I’d gladly haul you in meals that would make you fat & sassy. Simply cannot break the habit of cooking for “a threshing crew”.
Carlie:
I’ve already been warning everyone that this is going to be the summer of muumuus.
Sadly, I can’t wear that at work. We have cotton-blend polo-shirts* that we’re supposed to wear with jeans or khakis. I have 15 of those damned shirts and I’ve probably got a week tops before they don’t fit. I was pushing my luck today, believe me.
Bah. I don’t want to have to call my boss and be all, “heeeeey, I can’t comply with dress code anymore!” but I suppose I’m going to have to pretty soon.
*OMG, AWFUL IN THE HEAT!
Carlie:
It’s not fun, but the bandage getting in the way is worse than the very mild pain.
Patricia- Oh honey, yes. I would love to sidle up to your table. One fat and sassy meal, though, just one a week:) Cuz stupid fuckin’ heart.
Audley-You should totally be allowed to wear flowing maternity clothes. That shouldn’t even be an issue. That’s a “reasonable accommodation” and any employer that insisted on anything else is being a douche for no reason.
I spent like the entire second trimester of my first pregnancy (June-Aug) in the same sleeveless, flowing rayon dress. Black with purple flowers.
Thanks Josh, carlie, Patricia, (and the rest of you thinking it but you don’t jump in, folks like me;-)
My printer belongs to my Uni, like this laptop does, and my motherfuckinghotashellsuper computers at work.
It’s OK to use electrons & photons, but they frown on actual materials. So I would have to buy a printer, and since I use them so rarely, it’s cheaper to have labels printed, (or 2 stamps made), than to buy another printer and see the ink go dry … again.
And seriously folks, essential tremors aren’t THAT big a deal for me or most other people. I can type just fine. I won’t be joining a knitting class soon, but I can still sail, and do most things I’ve ever done. I can actually pick my guitar faster than I ever have, just don’t change the tempo;-)
Oh, Audley, don’t give up on gluten-free chocolate cake! Look for a proper flourless chocolate cake instead; the kind that’s made with eggs and almond meal. Here’s one: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7244/flourless+chocolate+cake
And if anybody wants to know more about the horrible comic at GAC, there’s a stoush at Ophelia’s place featuring denizens of the slime pit for your troll-squishing pleasure.
Josh:
Yeah yeah yeah, I know. It’s not like I even work in the same state as my management, so there’s a lot I can get away with, even if they do act like douches. But, my bet is that they’ll provide me with larger sized shirts to accommodate my girth. And those shirts suck.
Anyway, the first step is getting said maternity clothes. I haven’t really started gaining weight or “showing” ’til now. It’s a little weird to look in the mirror and realize, “holy shit, I look pregnant!”
Alethea:
I have no reason to eat anything gluten-free* or spend the money on almond flour. So, yeah, I’ll sick to regular chocolate cake.
*My sister-in-law is GF because gluten isn’t “right” for her “type” *eyeroll* and that’s why we had it this weekend.
Josh – Yeah, your heart would love me like it would Julia Child/Granny Clampett fare. Butter n’ pork belly. *wink*
Progress is by mm, not m or even cm as we would like, but progress none-the-less. They do have her tripedal with a hemi-walker, with what they call”maximum assistance” during therapy. Although sometimes the max part of the assistance isn’t fully there while she completes the rounds, and appears to be decreasing with time as she gets stronger. Although, as a fellow rehab patient claimed, it is painful to watch her struggle along (I’ve not seen her in physical therapy, which concentrates on the leg/walking, but the Redhead agrees with that assessment). It will be a long process. I’m in patient mode, and just trying to support her so she can concentrate rehab.
Wow! My county is white.
I went to the county seat for jury duty call-up, and out of the 60 or so people in the room, all were white except two. Neither of those two were African-American (one was Korean and the other was Mexican, I guessed).
This is in southwest Missouri, in a county next to the city of Springfield, so it isn’t like, rural. But it is awfully white.
In the
category – It’s just been announced in my household, that my bathroom needs a serious upgrade, if not a full remodel.
Isn’t that the same thing as a quest through Mordor?
And why for goodness sake would a house built in 1952, with a cute little pink tiled bathroom, with indoor plumbing need anythang better’n that! *snort*
Say, was it just me, or was today hot for April?
Now officially very happy! I just found out I won an auction for a late 15th century manuscript Babble. Only paid $150 US for it to boot. Always wanted one of those.
Patricia,
Thank you for the cooling breezes! We’re still in the 80s here, so they are very much appreciated. :)
I’m reading Neal Stephenson’s REAMDE.
It’s a special 7-day-book my library offers for (sorta) new releases. No renewal.
But it’s over 1000 pages. I’ll do my best, but damn!
Well, the European Union is doomed: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/opinion/krugman-europes-economic-suicide.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
A.R, congratulations. I was wandering around a bookstore today, that had a huge religious section. There was some tempting stuff, but no 15th century manuscripts–I am jealous.
(There was a very high bookshelf with a rolling ladder in one room. I climbed that sucker just for the jollies.)
Nerd – Thanks for the update! Please give the Redhead my best knitterly wishes.
Audley – It’s gonna get down to 33 degrees tonight, so leave your USB open. ;)
It’s hot as shit here in Vermont. I’m still sitting in the air-conditioned downstairs. If it doesn’t dip down to at least 65 I’m hauling the air mattress out and putting it on the dining room floor.
Menyambal: I love antique bookstores. In fact, my favorite has several such ladders. Nothing can quite replace the smell of thousands of old books. Anyway, manuscript Babbles are beautiful works of art, but I do wonder if some of the Monks laboring over them, who presumably knew very well every word of the book were atheists, considering the non-religious motivations for entering, and staying in an Abbey at the time, and the known deconverting capabilities of the act of reading the Babble.
Okay, I got my answer. It’s not just me.
What? I’d say that’s pretty damn rural.
Definitely not just you, ibyea. No AC or fan for me tonight, but I’m sure that could change.
Wow, sympathies to all you folk suffering in the heat. It runs in the triple digits here in Oregon in July & August, but right now it’s still see your breath chilly in the early morning.
If we’re still on scars… I have a vertical wrinkle between my eyebrows which is a scar from when I was four. My mom and sister and I were coming home from grocery shopping, and I was attempting to pull open the heavy steel door for my mother.
I got knocked backward by the force from a man pushing the door open from the inside, whacking me in the face. Blood everywhere.
My mother: “Stop crying, you’re making the man feel bad.”
Bleh.
@TLC: sounds like you’re good to that dog. *Hugs*
@rowanvt: lots of luck with the wee kitteh.
Nerd of Redhead alert – Sunday Sacrilege: Sacking the City of God thread #544 scifi calls you out.
He’s getting a drubbing, but you might want to look in for a chuckle. Bid was at moron, I’ve raised to fuckwit…
I’d say that a county over from Springfield would be fairly rural, and it’s also southern Missouri. Somebody I know who went to Missouri State says Springfield has lynchings in its history.
I ran suddenly in front of my sister, who was swinging, at the playground when I was a toddler. She kicked me in the lip and busted it open. I’m told I had a gnarly scar for quite a while, although now it’s disappeared into the general bumps and fleshiness of my lip. Whoop, no, I tell a lie: I can find it if I stretch my lip out.
@Audley: oh. Flaky relatives. That’s annoying. But if you do have the funds and the time, that style of cake is fabulous and well worth eating even if you don’t have any medical reason. You can grind blanched almonds in a food processor; in fact it’s better to do that if your supermarket turnover on almond meal is slow.
I am just popping in to say that Greg Laden has descended into the basement of my opinion zone over his post about the drunk murderer. I’ve never read any of his Lucid Writing on the Congo™ but I doubt I’ll be giving him blog hits after this. Homicide charges and definitions are wildly emotionally charged, but when I realized that Laden was actually complaining that the guy only got convicted of “various wrongdoings”, when he got convicted of second degree murder was enough to turn me Waltonesque.
Chamomile has made it through the day. His burns are improving, but we’re pretty sure he’s gonna lose the end of his tail.
And a peecture that my sister-in-law took of him. This is his good side.
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/7207/chamomiles.jpg
Hi Mattir! How’s knittin?
Help somebody – I’ve forgotten how to do the TM, trade mark thingy. Is it [sup]TM[/sup] ? But with ? I can’t get it to work.
It hit 27* here today. Or so said my thermometer. On April 16.
That’s a bit hot for me. And between that and the 26 (!) I experienced at Tremblant in the middle of March (!) I begin to fear my kind may soon be extinct. Me and the polar bears.
Also, I’ve a small, pale scar directly beneath my left nostril from an ill-advised dive into very shallow water. Realized my jeopardy mid-arc, somehow bent the laws of physics just enough to pull up at the last second and escape with only that, as opposed to the broken neck. The scar is due to the scraping I got as I plowed across the sand and gravel of the bottom with my face**… same pebble (presumably) also notched my nose, but that didn’t scar. Odd how it scarred at all where it did; it really didn’t look substantial at the time.
But, again, considering it’s not a broken neck, I’m pretty okay with it.
(*/That’s 80 in degrees Mediaeval.)
(**/Kids. Don’t try this at home. I’m
a professionalreally stupid.)Hey all,
Scars? Too many to list individually: burns, IV, surgical, vax, accidental cuts, intentional cuts (inflicted on me), all kinds of stitches, never been hit by gunfire, just a few close calls. Mental scars? yeah, lots of those (not just from catholic upbringing). Not too many broken bones. Damn that sounds whiny, I’m mostly intact though. Proudest of my vasectomy scars, both of’em (please don’t ask) after I spawned two kids with the rude-wife.
Dr. Audley Z. Darkheart, Congrats! I remember rude-wife being miserable through third trimester in July/August southwestern VA heat. Hope cool breezes and comfortable clothes come your way.
Josh, Sorry about your roofing ordeal, been there, done that, empathize completely.
Best wishes to all with health problems or pets with health problems.
Been reading Jenny Lawson’s (thebloggess.com) book “Let’s pretend this never happened” That’s some funny stuff so far. She’s awesomely deranged!
Waaay too lit to type anymore. G’night
rowanvt:
You’ve reduced me to blubbery tears. Poor, poor little Chamomile! I just want to sit up with him all night and hold him to my chest and feed him little drops of milk and kiss him when he cries.
Damn you, I’m crying even harder now:)
The trademark thing is <sup>™</sup> (™).
(/Also, hey, look, the scar is just visible in my blog headshot.)
& trade ; = ™. Just close up all the spaces.
Knitting is good – I picked up a “knit your own nativity” book at Books-a-Million (gah – I hate their evangelical weirdness, but there’s no other bookstore within 25 miles) and am planning on some knitting projects depicting the Rape of Dinah, or the Binding of Isaac, or the Death of the Firstborn, or the Cursing of the Out-of-Season Fig Tree… I’ve been spinning up a storm and have even been teaching spinning at a local yarn store – I should probably dig out Patricia’s address and ship her some yarn for use in her debauchery.
I am astonishingly grateful for Pharyngula today – SonSpawn’s been posting on the FB group with his dyslexic foneticul spelling and the Horde is just talking with him about tractors (he took a two-day course on tractor operation and maintenance at a local organic farm) and the computer he built with kaessa. I’ve seen some pretty awful treatment of people with dyslexia-related spelling issues on the internet, even when it’s totally obvious that the person in question is intelligent and insightful, and it’s wonderful to see the community respond differently.
Other than that, I’m working more hours at my naturalist job, dealing with human and animal health issues (middle aged adult humans and elderly rabbits and cats, and apparently our ball python has a respiratory infection, because he’s wheezing – we’re off to the exotics vet tomorrow morning), and being irritated by the normal array of fundamentalist, tea party, and 1%er douchebaggery. I’ll be at Women in Secularism with DaughterSpawn, and maybe SonSpawn as well (some part of me is wondering if he had something else that weekend).
Chamomile is so tiny! And adorable! Josh, can I cuddle him and kiss him and feed him after you?
&trade, Patricia, with a ; after. I have a question for you actually. I have a friend who is trying to cope with a close-knit fundie family. Shouldn’t go into much detail at this particular moment, I guess, since I’d rather let him talk about it here himself if he’s going to, but he is living away from them for the first time and is having a rough time. I doubt he’d have time or inclination for read blogs on the subject, but aside from Libby Anne, do you happen to have any reading recommendations for me that would help me be a more usefully supportive friend about this? I know this general area is something you’ve got experience with. I mean, obviously I’m trying to listen and ask questions and things, but I really feel like I have no basis whatsoever to relate on this.
You have to ask rowanvt:) Although when I’m done with him there may not be much left. I have a strange desire to put little baby kitties’ heads in my mouth. No, I don’t want to eat them for real, but the cute is so overwhelming I just wanna eat them up. Hard to explain.
It’s just ™
<sup> tags aren’t needed because it’s already a superscript character, and they don’t work for comments at FTB anyway.
It’s a whole thing! Wasn’t it here where people were eating andor mooshing their dogs and stuff? It would have been a long time ago… *goes off googling* Hahaha it was more than a year ago. And I was the one who was mooshing things.
@Josh, 361-
I tend to “nibble” the ears of my foster kittens once they get a little older. Just little kisses along the edges of the ears. The other techs tend to look at me funny. :P
And anyway, you’d have to fight with my brother and sister-in-law for holding/feeding/snuggling/nibbling privileges. My plan is to take my new camera over there tomorrow and get some really nice pics of the little beast.
Thanks for the ™ I’m needing it for my Formerly Truest Christian ™ title on another thread.
Mattir, I’m having trouble watching my 84 year old dad struggle with months long illnesses and old age. Your biblically themed knitting makes me smile. *wink*
AJ Milne, thanks, I almost missed that ; in the &trade ;.
OK. So I had some oil heating up for deep frying fish pieces for fish tacos. I discovered a fly had deep fried itself in there. A quandary: I fished the fly out. Now do I use the oil? Surely there’s nothing in the oil that can actually hurt me. . it’s all a disgust thing. Part of me chafes at wasting it and says “get the fuck over it; it’s a first world problem. Use the oil.” Another part of me is squicked.
What to do?
rowanvt:
They clearly don’t know what’s up, because ears are perfect for little affectionate nibbles. They’re my favorite parts of my Mink and Sophie. Mink sleeps next to my head/chest at night and when we do snuggle-time its all about kissy-kissy with her warm little ears.
Mattir@358, I just had to refresh one last time before signing off. I work part time at a Book-a-Million. Yeah, definitely got some “evangelical weirdness” going on, right wing nuttiness too, but we do have some good stuff (Dawkins, Hitchens, maybe even PZ’s book when it comes out(I saw it listed for August)) and it helps pay the orthodontist bills.
Going to bed now, really , I swear! (and if you know me, you’ll know I swear all the time)
Damn keyboard, have to keep correcting stuff, only types what I hit, not what I want…
it’s a tiny little fly in a big batch of oil, correct? Therefore using the oil may give you fly-based superpowers, because homeopathy.
>_>
Dive in head-first into squickitude (but not literally, unless the oil has cooled). Do you suppose that fish was an herbivore?
Well, this county serves as a bedroom county for Springfield, and has two towns over 10,000. There’s counties around here with nothing but trees.
I’ve a scar in one eyebrow where my brother whacked me with a cap pistol when I was four. I bled all over my mom’s best dress, which fortunately was reddish brown. She kept the dress for years, and could still see the stain, barely.
Many other scars, including a set, one on each side of one bicep that looks like I was run through the arm with a sword. I can’t recall where I got either of those.
I’m thinking extinction therapy. As follows:
1) Collect several more dead flies. I expect rarely-cleaned lighting diffusers would prove especially excellent sources.
2) Roll lightly-buttered dead flies in bread crumbs…
AJ, that’s the fuckin’ best! I was running similar grotesque fantasies through my own head.
So yeah. I’m totally gonna make the fish tacos with the fly-adulterated oil. I’d be a complete shit-ninny if I threw it out. That’s just too precious.
Pterryx: I’m now Jeff Goldblum, fwiw.
and now I’m thinking, if Josh DOES toss the fly-adulterated oil, maybe it’d be useful for anointing roads against zombie invasion?
When I fry fish, I use a giant cast-iron frying pan, and I’m generally cooking over a fire, 30 river miles away from the nearest sink. That pan is about 7 years old and rarely gets scrubbed with anything more than sand. If flies were the worst thing that had been in there, I’d be surprised.
I aten’t dead yet. Use the oil. You’ll feel badass.
(Besides, flies are tasty protein.)
See, but I’m not tossing it. I’m eatin’ from it baby. Yeah.
Re #373 (cackles…)
(But wait! There’s more!)
4) Invite company.
‘Saaaayyyy… What are these tasty little crispy thingies you’re garnishing the tacos with? Mini onion Bhaji bits or somethin’?’
‘Yes. Yes. That’s exactly what those are.’
Nutmeg, I love my cast iron as much as you clearly love yours!
I’m not prissy about food and fastidious cleanliness, really. Most of it’s bullshit. If a piece of meat or veg falls on the floor it gets picked up, rinsed (if necessary) and put right back in the dish.
I just have an overwhelming disgust reaction for house flies. They’re so. . . UCK.
Cipher – If he is away from his fundie family for the first time, and is yet to come out as an atheist (?) he is at the most tender moments of his life. I felt like marrow, my faith was the bone that protected me from the world and sin, god had my back. Discovering that that isn’t true was devastating. I was heartbroken, and felt betrayed, like I had been cheated on by a beloved spouse. I would treat your friend like he just found out his wife had cheated, and his family was blaming him. Lots of support, helping him see why the lies about religion are just lies, and if you remember what relief and freedom comes from that, sharing will help.
I’m here if he needs me, it ain’t easy.
I think I know exactly what you mean; I feel the same way about the chins of baby humans (when they’re, y’know, clean and not covered with drool or food or spitup). I had an embarrassing habit of “munching” on both my babies’ chins. Usually to uncontrollable giggles from both of us.
Chamomile is so friggin’ cute! In he absence of anything productive to do for hir I am wishing very hard for hir to get big and strong and happy.
Whee, I just finished the first draft of my first college paper ever. I think it’s a good one. Now I don’t have to worry about it again for another week, which definitely beats the freaking out I was doing before.
Kristin, I get it. I munched the hell out of my baby brother and sister’s little chins, and fingers, and piggies, and cheeks, and tummies (which are made for blowing raspberries into). One just can’t help one’s self.
Where’s Sally? She eats blackflies.
@ Josh
Definitely use.
But on the subject of flies: It seems the little fruit flies have got into Phoeniciatjes Lair. I fished them out, but She has been smelling evil ever since. Luckily I have found some of Her Mother, Phoenicia, tucked away in the freezer and have started a new batch from scratch. The rocky path we worshipers have chosen to tread is often not an easy one.
Re your finger: I hope it is healing well.
The fish is delicious. Must be the extra Fly Flavor™.
Theo- Ooh, poor Phoenicia! You must rescue her.
Actually, I must rescue her, too. She has languished in my fridge for more than a fortnight without a tribute (of flour).
Josh – If you can eat FISH in tacos *shudder*, then you sure as shit can man up to one little ol’ fly.
Fish tacos…I reel back to the fainting couch. Ew.
Patricia, they’re feckin’ awesome. Crispy fish, pico de gallo, crema, crisp greens, fresh corn tortillas. . .mmmmmm.
Scars:
I have a bunch of scars currently on my hand and every other part of my body from itching my bites from bed bugs too much. My lower legs and lower back are particulary bad.
I have a chunk of foot missing on the bottom of my heel. I was running with my neighbors when I was about 6 down a large hill in our backyard. Stepped on a barbie brush. I remember stepping on it and the next I remember is having my neighbors mom trying to take out the piece of barbie brush stuck in it. I have no idea if they got it out or not.
My right elbow is completely a different color for when I was running around one of those round grills in the backyard and ran into it.
My left knee is a totally different color scar as well when I was sitting on the counter making cookies with my grandma. An entire pot of coffee spilled on my knee. I distinctly remember lying down with cool towels on my knee for days. At least a second degree burn I think but we didn’t go to the hospital so I could be wrong.
My father really hated doctors and hospitals so I never really went. He was a construction/carpenter do it all types. I remember him putting a nail through his thumb and not going. Worse then that I remember him coming home with the back of his shirt completely bloody. He took a nail to the back of the head. He never went and I don’t remember if he took it out or not.
I’m so glad I never broke any bones or anything. The only time I went to the hospital was when I caught pneumonia. I remember lying on my grandma’s couch looking up at the two of them arguing. My grandmother insisted and took me herself. I stayed over a week at least.
None of this compares to the pain from childbirth though. I never got any drugs or anything during it. I was not happy. I wanted drugs so badly. =(
Plasma/Blood donations:
I’ve donated to several blood drives over the years. I’ve tried to donate plasma but it didn’t work out. The process here is ridiculous. I wanted to donated to get the $30 to pay for my phone bill. The place was full and they gave you a card to put the money on. It was all bullshit basically. There was an amount of money that had to stay on the card which was almost as much as what they gave you for a donation. I’m having a hard time remembering exact details but its terrible. Totally not worth it. Even if you are going because you want to donate it takes all day and is miserable.
TLC:
I’m sorry to hear about your Golden. My cousin had a Golden but it didn’t last nearly as long due to its medical issues. So sad what’s happened to the breed. =( I hope your doggy is happy and painless for the rest of its life.
Chamomile:
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Poor kitty. =( I’m glad she made it though and has people to take care of her and love her.
—
Hugs, comiserations, and congrats to all those I may have missed.
Mmmm, fish tacos. Better than blackflies. The ones at Penny Cluse (the tacos, that is) are quite good. I miss it. I just spotted a taco spot here today, near the campus. I got a bit of a tour as I was helping a new friend (who, as it turns out, graduated from the same high school) deliver some books for a “Books Not Bombs” drive.
Matt Dillahunty will be here this Saturday for a basic “God/not God” debate. I plan on going.
Must get up early tomorrow morning to see if I can make this stormwater internship thing really happen.
Just_a_Lurker!!!!:
Check your gmail girl.
WHAT!?
All y’all eat FISH on tacos?
What sort of heathens are you? Everybody knows tacos come in three flavors, beef, pork and tongue.
Liberal tacoists! *snort*
He was great at NTSCC this past Saturday. Really meta’d the pointless vacuity of our two smarmy god-believing philosowankers. Also, cuddly.
—
much love to people-of-animals, good news or bad.
Josh – This fish tacoist split is going to cause havoc between taco purists. Somebody may get grilled over it.
I didn’t see Jim Jeffries – and I don’t think misogyny would’ve gone down well. One of the best moments at the GAC was the crowd taking on the Islamic protesters, who were carrying placards calling for Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s execution, and stating Christopher Hitchens was burning in hell for all eternity, etc. Charming. Anyhow, the crowd of GAC attendees drowned them out by chanting, “Where are the women? Where are the women!” (I had asked that question earlier, and been told they were at home, where they should be.)
Alethea, you may/may not be interested to know my 12-year-old has deemed you to be ‘cool.’
Pteryxx – I wish Matt Dillahunty could come to Oregon, he’s my 2nd to PZ hero, with AronRa coming up fast on the outside. Those three can argue so cooly, while I just get all fundie for fundie pissed off and outraged. Like Phelps vs Phelps.
*shudders* First fish, then flies, then fish IN TACOS. It’s like a horror movie.
—
Once upon a time, my elementary school served “mermaid tacos.” This consisted of refried beans and tuna mushed in a taco shell. Possibly with cheese and lettuce. My primary diet at this time consisted of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, so as usual I didn’t touch that nonsense with a ten foot pole. I still get a little nauseous remembering that that existed though. Guh.
—
Thank you so much, Patricia. I can’t know, but my gut says you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’ve bookmarked your post to try to remember. I wish there were more I could say. I want him to meet you and everyone else here so much, because I know how much it can mean to find people who have gone through the same kinds of things as you have, but I feel like it would take an awful lot of prodding on my part that would probably better be left to later if at all. :/ As you pointed out, this is a vulnerable time.
Holy Shit! YAY! Thank you everyone!
There is now a spokesgay filter in my gmail since google likes to gobble yours up and hide them from me. =)
Janine, I’ve got a copy of The Bottle Let Me Down. Again, not every song floats my boat, but some of them are great. “The Fox” is terrific, for example.
Audley: I agree with Josh. If it’s not a reasonable accommodation to let a pregnant woman wear maternity clothing, I don’t know what is. I’m glad you can get away with a fair amount.
Nerd, I’m glad the Redhead is doing better, even if it’s coming along slowly.
RowanVT: Awwwwwww!!!!
Good to see you, Mattir.
Pteryxx:
HELP ME! HELP MEEEEE…..
Josh, see if the kittehz like deep-fried fly. Why waste protein? Also, you need to make me fish tacos someday. :D
Patricia: DEEP [SEA] RIFTS!!!
CC:
/retch
In other news, MOTHERFUCKING BLACK ANTS. In my kitchen. I passed out early because it’s hot here, too, with windows open and a box fan trained on me and Kitteh. Then my wee-hours insomnia roused me and I went downstairs about an hour ago to make a cup of warm milk with a shot in it.
I’d made hard-boiled eggs for dinner and I’d been so tired and overheated last night that I left the shells on the counter, on a towel. Well, that was s-m-r-t. Just behind where that towel was is my toaster, on top of which I keep plastic wrap and parchment paper (that is, when the toaster is cool and unplugged.) Big black ants were swarming all over the wraps.
I grabbed my can of Raid and went to town on them. Then I dumped all the wrap etc. into the garbage bin outside, and proceeded to clean up the poison and any traces of food on the countertop, toaster, and adjoining stove.
Josh recommended ant stakes to me the other day. I think I’ll be picking some up either before or after work, along with some of that gel that the little fuckers eat up and take back to the queen of their colony.
Back to bed and, hopefully, sleep now.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaa.
Night, Daisy!
Tori Amos, Personal Jesus. Her hair. I want her hair. (Spoiler alert: It wouldn’t look good on me.)
Good morning
rowanvt
Oww, cuuuute.
I’ve known several cats who lost their tails entirely. Bit clumsy but pretty happy critters.
Audley
My sympathies. If you work at a desk maybe you can smuggle a small bassin for cold water in?
scars
No scars but painfull as shit:
When I was a wee lass, we went for a holiday in Brittany and visited the menhir fields of Carnac. At that time, you could still just walk around there and even climb the things what I did. Or at least tried. I slipped and slid down the thing, abraising the skin of my arm. I mean, that hurt as hell alright, but not like what came afterwards.
My mum took me to a nearby farmhouse to ask if she could wash the wound with some water. The old woman there was very kind, led her to the sink and then took a bottle of calvados and poured it over my arm.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAA. Holy shit, it’s been years since someone quoted that to me. I heart you so fuckin’ much.
So yeah, I fried that fish up in the Fly Oil. Fish tacos were excellent. I’ll make you some next time we get together Ms. Daisy. They’re not only delicious but good for you too. . packed with veggies, whole grain corn tortilla, lots of spice. Mmmmmm.
Rowanvt: Ah yeah, no older than the kitten I pulled out of the shit-pit of the farm I used to work.
I’m told with one so young their chances improve with every day they make it.
“Church cock victory joy”: ‘it’s huge and majestic’ http://www.thelocal.se/40122/20120405/
No, it isn’t the Catholic Church this time.
Gilliel,
Sounds like a waste of good calvados. It would hae hurt a whole lot less if she’d poured some down your throat first. But being a child, that might have been problematical.
My latest scar
About 6 months ago, I tried to slice off the top of my LH middle finger, when trying to cut a potato.
I did a whirling dervish impression, thanks to the pain this tiny little cut caused & sprayed blood over the entire kitchen.
Some of it has resisted all my attempts to remove
Clamped thumb over end of finger holding the flap of flesh onto the end of my finger. Continued to finish cooking dinner for the children. After dinner (eaten single handed, given left hand out of action) now with a small hand towel wrapped around it, still with thumb as clamp.
Then drove kids & self to chemist shop to buy plastic stitch & dressings. Almost made shop assistant faint when she asked why I need it :-/
Drove home & applied stitch & dressing.
Now I have a nice, crescent shaped scar around the tip of my finger.
birgerjohansson, you owes me a new keyboard!
My favourite line:
“Having that personal connection to the cock was also something extra special,” he said.
Yes, people, I am 12
is there a hashtag for #IAm12 ? b/c there totally should be.
@ carlie #271
I beg to differ. I really, really beg to differ.
.
@ Alethea #277
:(((( for Plummet I hope the fluids help, though.
.
Oh for fsm’s sake I’m such a wimp. I’ve had to actually scroll past most of the scars-and-injuries, (horribly) fascinating though they are.
.
And ol’ rajkumar over on Sunday Sacrilege just got mushed in together with scars-and-injuries in my brain – I once had time slow down! Just for me, lucky me!
I was in the garage beneath the trapdoor opening in the ceiling, and my sibling up in the garage attic accidentally knocked a lot of sheets of plate glass off a chair and into the opening. They would have almost certainly sliced and killed me but for the fact that when I looked up and saw them falling towards my head they were falling in slooooow motion, as if through an extremely viscous fluid, and I suddenly had LOTS of time to get out of the way – even enough time to stop and think about which way to jump (hmm, this side is nearer but limited by the workbench, can I get far enough away. On the other hand that side leads to the doorway and out, but it’s waaay over there beyond the trapdoor …).
According to my sib, gazing down through the trapdoor in utter horror, I simply vanished instantly and rematerialised outside the garage door while this lovely frosted wave of glass shards splashed up off the floor and bounced off the walls.
(Of course rajkumar might not have noticed that time only slowed down in my brain, not in the universe. Meh.)
It’s the insomnia and situationally inappropriate emotions party and EVERYONE IS FUCKING INVITED!
Tsss, you have TWO clearly magical event, time stopping for you while you also mastered teleportation and you STILL deny god.
You were there ? Did you say hello ? Somehow Alathea managed to evade the other Pharyngulites all weekend.
Haven’t read it. I had a quick look at X blog the other day and could only think “he must be busy with other stuff”, it’s so devoid of any substance.
Oh, and someone must have pulled the lid off the slimepit, they’re all over B&W I note. Makes one sick.
opposablethumbs, adrenaline highs can do that.
(I get them now and then when riding the bike)
Giliell, you’re right!!!!!!!!!111!!!! How could I not have realised!! It was clearly a miracle!!elebenty!! (and nothing to do with instinctive behaviour honed over millennia of evolution allowing me to avoid danger while my conscious mind was still faffing about … I actually remember thinking that I’d better not take too long deciding which way to jump – but what if I decided to jump this way and it was the wrong decision, maybe I’d better jump that way, but on the other other hand … oh and isn’t this just like something in a film but oh dear I’d better remember this isn’t a film, I am actually here in the garage and the glass is actually falling and my goodness it does seem to be getting nearer … and nearer … etc. If my conscious mind had been the only thing at work, I’d’ve been shredded while I was still thinking about it)
They certainly can, JM! That was probably the most striking one I’ve ever had, though.
.
.
Off to run errands; read you later, esteemed Horde.
Amblebury, thanks, I was afraid we might have bored her terribly. Or maybe been seen as wankers since we were banging on about travel so much.
I did indeed meet Amblebury, and I was at the bar on Friday where PZ was. I just said hi to him, but had a nice chat with the Trophy Wife, who is indeed lovely. I wasn’t actively eluding anyone! Also I hung out a bit with Philip the former Pope Maledict, who wasn’t at GAC due to money issues.
I-I-I can’t believe it.
There’s a kiddie series on TV, it has a female protagonist and she does NOT wear pink!
And it’s cool.
Giliell – is it Legend of Korra? Because everyone should be watching Legend of Korra.
I have seen that fish tacos exist, but I still do not understand.
I adore nomming on cute babies. :)
Kitten update: Kitten has now been with us for 4 months, making her 7 months old. She still has no name, other than “kitty”. I think we have given up on naming. She is also large. I tried putting her on our scale and she clocked in at 9 1/2 pounds. Our previous cat never went above 8 and hovered around 6-7 her whole life, so “cats loving food” is a new thing for me. She was just “my” cat for awhile, but has finally started cuddling up to other members of the house occasionally. Still suckles herself a lot of the time, but it’s tapering off a bit. Her favorite toy is little rubber balls like the super bouncy balls you get from the quarter machine. Have tried taking her outside on a leash a few times, but she’s still very scared of outside.
In local news: Science fuels push for education rethink
Cats interacting with humans is very much a thing about feeling secure… It can take a year before they feel safe with all family members. Some individuals never get comfy with more than one or two of the family.
— — — — — — — — — —
Satirewire is back! http://www.satirewire.com/
Personally I like it more than The Onion.
DISNEY CHARACTERS CAN LEGALLY BE SHOT UNDER FLORIDA LAW http://www.satirewire.com/content1/?p=4092
CONSERVATIVE ROMNEY PICKS MODERATE ROMNEY FOR V.P. http://www.satirewire.com/content1/?p=4161
CHENEY’S HEART TO GET MEDAL FOR TRYING TO RID WORLD OF CHENEY http://www.satirewire.com/content1/?p=4142
carlie
No, it’s “Mona the Vampire”. I sadly discovered that the books haven’t made it into German :(
But thanks for the tip. Wiki says it will be on screen from August onwards here, but I’m not sure if the kids are already old enough for that.
+++++
But that would take the innocent little children out of the hands of their mommies and put them under control of the eeebil government, elebenty!!!!
If you ask me, I’d extend the current compulsory education to at least kindergarten from 3 years on. But that would mean you’d have to build enough of them and finance them.
Giliell,
Isn’t Mona the Vampire quite an old show already? I think I saw it on BBC years ago.
pentatoid
It is indeed, it’s from 2000
Only before now I didn’t have kids in target age group so I really didn’t heed what was going on on kids’ TV.
Now since I do have them I get more disgusted by the day.
Really, the stuff I found crap as a child like “Heidi” suddenly has become quality.
Even when I can appreciate the stories, it’s almost ALWAYS a boys only cast with the occasional girl thrown in.
My current hate object du jour is this crap
It doesn’t only ruin The Little Prince forever, it’s also really, really “a man’s world”. The Rose (only permanent female character) sits at home waiting for letters in which the little Prince tells her what adventures he and the fox (guy, of course) are having, usually saving a planet from the evil influence of the serpent (male, of course) who has managed to mislead on of the planet’s leaders (all male) into doing harm. There’s always a sidekick from that planet who is the occasional female character.
It makes me wanna puke.
So, yes, Mona the Vampire made my day
Super fucking creepy dream last night prompted this pretty awesome story I started to write. Will continue tomorrow and Thursday, for now – breakfast and work.
I’m still trying to keep up with most threads (TET less than others – no time), but I just don’t feel like I can contribute anything worthwhile lately.
I started working yesterday, doing a survey for the statistics department. I’m not much of a people person, so I’m pretty much freaked out about going to people’s houses. Nevertheless, yesterday went surprisingly well. They barely let me in and weren’t very happy about answering a ton of questions, but in the end we even chatted for a bit before I left. Apparently, I still have that “sweet little thing” I kinda had going on when I was younger.
I have me first interview for a real job on Thursday. I’m terribly scared and freaking out about already ruining my chances by saying something wrong on the phone this morning. And the panic hasn’t even settled in properly yet. Nervous!
Scars : Tiny scars on my fingers, due to my amazing knife wielding skills during cooking. A scar on my wrist left by hot oil. A little thing, but it gets all red and fresh-looking occasionally. The pipe connecting the backrest of my office chair to the seat slid out and I fell back on it about half a year ago, so I now have a perfect imprint of the end of that pipe on my back. Surprisingly, I have just one little scar on my knee. Considering how much time I spent with giant brown scabs on my knees, that could be used as a miraculous proof of god or at least some saint, protector of idiot children who think holding on the back of a bike and letting my friend drag me around a parking lot! on my roller blades is a good idea. It was a small parking lot and in one turning I had gained too much momentum and didn’t manage to hold on, falling and sliding away on my bare knees on the asphalt. It hurt nothing compared to the pain when my grandmother poured some alcoholic brown stuff (some natural remedy which supposedly helped wounds heal, but I’m pretty sure it was only good for disinfection) we used for wounds on me.
Oh, and there’s a little scar just on top of my right eyelid, just under the brow. There are two possible explanations for that one, my parents aren’t sure which of the accidents caused it. It could have been the one with the wheelbarrow or the one where I fell headfirst into the corner of the radiator.
Greetings TET, it’s been a while but I may be able to catch up a bit over the next few days while I am off work sick :D
Good luck with the job interview Beatrice. Just relax, be yourself & go in thinking only positive things. Sounds like woo, but it’s not. I’ve sabotaged myself in job interviews too many times by going in carrying all sorts of negativity & it wasn’t until I learned the discipline of only thinking good things about myself, my life, and my current employer, that I started to be successful at interviews.
Thanks for the head’s up. Naturally after I go to bed. I left a couple of posts that will educate the lurkers. Scifi is uneducatable, as its creobot mind appears closed.
I have lots of scars from bike falls on knees and elbows over the years, including breaking the left forearm. A couple from the lab when a large glass bottle broke while handling it. Sliced my hand open on some sheet metal from the stove during a repair that required stitches. Came close one time when the glass window in the back door shattered when I closed it hard, raining broken glass down on my back. Sliced my shirt, but not me. I replaced the glass with plastic.
I wonder where pelamun is. Anyone know?
Die, nightmares, die!
Ogvorbis: Again? Are there any treatment options available? (apologies if this has already been asked, but I’m constantly in a semi-threadrupt state.)
Josh:
♥
Nope, next time I owe you dinner, remember? Lasagna? :)
Pteryxx:
Totally. I don’t tweet so someone else will have to create it.
Carlie:
It’s… a kind of meat. In a taco? I suppose the confusion stems from the fact that Tex-Mex cooking doesn’t make that much use of seafood, but fish tacos are perfectly authentic.
Hello, Serendipitydawg. :)
Hell’s teeth, Og, that’s the pits. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with that, it sounds utterly horrible. {{hugs if that’s OK}}
Hello Ms Daisy Cutter.
Our tentacled overlord will no doubt be glad* that a bite from a cat put me in hospital on IV antibiotics for four days, but it gives me some time to try and catch up – it has become next to impossible with the internet block at work only allowing me to view Ftb for 30 mins at lunchtime.
What’s been happening lately?
*glad is probably the wrong word… it will confirm that cephalapods are superior to felines :D
Emrysmyrrdin, the girl ratties sound adorable! You might have to do forced socialization with Moosh (I had to do several sessions with Esme). Try shoulder rides when she gets stroppy, those worked wonders with Esme.
I’ve got to go track Rubin down, poor boy has a very swollen wrist. (He was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be and got his wrist caught between a stack of my canvases and the wall.) At least he takes his meds without fuss!
I’m one of those Felines > Cephalopods heretics, but I’m considering a conversion after the little shit woke me up at random intervals crying last night. That I feel well rested today amazes me.
Daisy, as I’ve said before, as annoying as cats can be while you’re trying to sleep, nothing fucks with your sleep more than waking up repeatedly because a rat has their nose jammed into your nostril.
I have tried multiple times to get treatment through work but, though I ‘present symptoms of PTSD’, I do not ‘have’ PTSD. Weird shit.
Thanks.
No, it’s “Mona the Vampire”. I sadly discovered that the books haven’t made it into German :(
Then wouldn’t this be a wonderful opportunity for your kids to learn more English? Skill in English might still be useful when they’re adults and ability to not be intimidated by a foreign language almost certainly will be.
Caine:
Heh.
And I once had a boss who owned a dog and complained of being woken up at 6 a.m. by a cold, wet nose in his armpit.
Og:
Is this a valid diagnosis, or is the insurance company trying to fuck you over to save money?
If you ask me, I’d extend the current compulsory education to at least kindergarten from 3 years on. But that would mean you’d have to build enough of them and finance them.
You’d also have to finance them and monitor them well enough to make sure that they are correcting rather than exacerbating the problems you’re worried about.
My primary school was overcrowded and underfunded, despite being in a relatively “good” neighborhood. I hated it. If I found out that every person in my year at my primary school was dead now… I’d be sorry. I’d be upset at the loss of life. I’d be worried that whatever killed them was coming for me next. But I wouldn’t be personally grieved. They’re at best random strangers to me and at worst people that I still dislike after so many years. My primary memories from grade school are of being bored and being bullied. I don’t keep in touch with anyone from that time period and I don’t want to.
So I worry about the extended schools becoming just more places where neglected kids are stored and left to abuse each other. If we want society to shape young kids’ brains and start them on the right path to a healthy adulthood we’ll have to pay for it-with both money and attention.
Sorry about the rather egotistical bits of the rant.
@ Giliell
Yannick Noah (the singer) is quite a character in his own right. He was highly successful as a tennis star, then sports administrator, then as singer (mainly reggae). IIRC he was not allowed to settle in Monte Carlo for being rich and famous while under the influence of being black.
Here is a better miniature planet video for you: Tout le bonheur du monde . (All the happyz of the world.)
***CUTE ALERT: May lead to overdose of teh cute. Do not watch while nibbling kittehzes ears. ***
So, this party is probably what’s going to run Alberta next:
Wildrose leader says climate science ‘not settled’
Danielle Smith says ‘we need to continue to monitor the debate’
I hate people so fucking much. Hate, hate, HATE.
Sorry, did I post the story about their ‘thoughts’ on climate change?
Silly me. That’s just them being stupid.
Thinking it’s unconscionable that marriage commissioners should have to swear in GLBT couples is what makes them evil, pieces of shit.
Ok seriously. Atheists need to do something about the Arab bashing. It is far too acceptable and the rhetoric far too extreme. I’m sick of it and have just lost my temper on it.
Actually beyond just Muslims, I think there actually are too many militant atheists now who do see it as Us vs Them. I can’t stand those assholes.
Here? That sort of thing usually gets called out on Pharyngula.
A couple of links from HappiestSadist:
A well-known GLBT activist in Halifax, Nova Scotia has been beaten to death.
Also, as a public school board in southern Ontario votes on whether to ban handouts of Gideon bibles, they’ve had to call in extra security due to “threats and hate mail” from loving, compassionate xtians. One correspondent blames the proposed ban on “a handful of non-Christian elected officials.”
@Brownian
No in general. Host on AE who I normally liked did defend Pat Condell which was a hair puller for me. When you actually go out and say “Muslims are such a problem I’m supporting the fascist party!” you forfeit the right to be just talking about the religion.
I know people whose families are either hurt or at risk in bombings in the Mid East. A friend of mine has family who were at serious risk in the Lebanon invasion. I know Egyptians and that. People supporting the war on terror or talking about bombing Iran upsets me because to me they are talking about killing people I know. I don’t know how to get that through to people that they are basically talking about premeditated mass murder.
I don’t know how to get that through to people that they are basically talking about premeditated mass murder.
Beats me. I’m not sure how people can be so enthusiastic about mass murder anyway. My first thought after seeing the WTC attacks was, “This bombing buildings stuff is BAD! It shouldn’t happen to anyone, anywhere.” As far as I can tell, the response of the average American was, “Cool! We’ve got to do some of that ourselves!”
I know I’m being unfair and a lot of people were just scared and angry and wanted revenge without thinking too hard about it. But come on, someone’s got to stop the madness and I don’t see why we should always expect it to be the other guy.
I understand. I work with two Persians (and an Egyptian), have a half-Persian friend, and have a friend who married a Persian who has much family back in Iran. (I sometimes forget that my experiences with multiculturalism isn’t as common as I’d like to think.)
Well, white people have varied thoughts and opinions on things. Everybody else is a faceless monolith.
But I confess I have the killy-ragey feelings inside me (cf my post about Wildrose Party.) When I was young, I tried to understand that deep down, everyone wants what’s best for them and those they love. But what some people think of as best for them and those they love just isn’t compatible with everyone else.
I’m trying to be honest, not flippant.
@Brownian
It feels like the white man’s burden the whole time. Oh we have to do something about Afghanistan/Iraq/Iran look how bad conditions are! And yet improving conditions never seem to be our priority.
What angered me about the US response to Sept 11th was that Bush had the opportunity to change the world for the better. Countries that were traditionally hostile to US policy (and still are) were openly sympathetic. Bush could have built on that good will if he had wanted to. He would have had the moral authority to force Israel and the Palestinians into a lasting settlement.
And then he went and fucked it up.
Ing:
Indeed.
I’m also tired of atheists, especially white Western ones, insisting that burqas must be banned, regardless of the consequences to women whose male relatives won’t let them leave the house without one. You’d think the last decade would have taught intelligent and observant people that the West is not the ultimate arbiter of how to fix the world’s problems, and that women’s bodies are not anyone’s to appropriate as political battlefields, but I guess not.
Why would he do that? He needs Israel to be at perma war for the Ends Times.
Matt:
You could hardly expect different from a born agin’ evangelist. There is no way, under any circumstance, that Shrub would have forged any sort settlement – that would be contrary to end times stuff.
And pretty much from my experience what you have to do to get Islam to move towards a more moderate form is to be nice to Muslims. Give them jobs and let them buy shoes and Ipods and complain about first world problems. Instead we want to put barriers of entry to Muslims, keep them from assimilating or joining our culture and economy. Yeah great, keep them far away from us so they only thing they know about us is that we’re the fucking bastards who want to keep them in a ghetto. Why if we keep them spiteful and hateful of us we can get them mad enough at us to justify just killing them all!
Ms. Daisy Cutter
I once woke up when my parent’s old cat climbed on my chest and started purring. She was one of those cats that simply can’t purr without drooling. (You can all see where this is going to…) So immediately as I opened my eyes and tried to figure out what’s going on, a big warm splash of cat saliva dropped on my eyeball. Yuck.
He did what some non-insignificant proportion of Americans wanted: he flexed nuts. Reasoning with people is what effeminate French-speakers (even those with actual war records) do.
I know the mindset well. I live among these stupid fucking cowboys.
Yeah, just when the world needed a leader willing to do what was right rather than what was popular, we happened to have Bush in the White House.
Ing:
Have you read Drunk with Blood: God’s Killings in the Bible, by Steve Wells? Because what you said? That’s God the Monster’s reasoning all throughout the bible.
Has anyone started printing “I miss Carter” bumperstickers yet? /snark.
I’m also tired of atheists, especially white Western ones, insisting that burqas must be banned, regardless of the consequences to women whose male relatives won’t let them leave the house without one.
I got into a bit of a squabble with Ophelia Benson over this one. Must admit I bowed out of the discussion early. My rule of thumb is that any position that restricts women’s options is not a feminist position. Therefore banning the burqa or the corset for that matter is not a feminist position. Changing the social assumptions of the society so that no woman (or man for that matter) is forced to wear the burqa or stay in the house forever is a feminist position, but even there there it’s hard for me to know how to attack the problem given that I know very little about Afghani or Saudi society. It might be completely the wrong fight at the wrong place or time.
Brownian
in other news
Today is the 30th anniversary of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Act,_1982
what is The Harper Government™ doing to commemorate this?
Morning Horde™!
Scars, I have ’em – no broken bones, luckily!
Would you all do me a favor and stop doing all of this intelligent discussing? I have had to stop and save links, snippets of ideas and so forth so many times just going throughout he last 50 or so posts! How can a woman get any work done around here when the ideas are just whooping at her too fast to keep up? (yes, I know I’m slow – but dang you are quick!)
Best wishes to kittens, the injured and a special warm wish to Ogvorbis because of the nightmares – that stinks. :(
I’m off to make coffee and start working – now don’t any of you move! I want to be able to catch up when I get back here!!
Funniest thing I’ve read all day so far: “The Randian majesty of sex.” (To which homosexuality is apparenty inimical.) It’s a miniature bowl of word salad.
“Randian” and “sex” in the same phrase, without the word “majesty,” are mind-boggling enough. At worst, I think rape (Howard Roark). At best, I think of some derpmeister who regards all romantic relationships as economic transactions, with every give and take to be aggressively negotiated, and is therefore about as good in bed as you’d expect.
I know the mindset well. I live among these stupid fucking cowboys.
Maybe the US and Canada need to do a little territory exchange: Alberta for Manhattan. The US would get more sparsely populated yahoo laden territory and Canada a significant boost to its population and tax base. If giving away the land seems too much, how about if we promise you can confiscate the Koch brothers’ assets as compensation?
I’m actually one of those people that was pro-burqa ban; but I can’t argue with the practicality of it. It’s fucking worse than useless and accomplishes none of it’s goals. It’s just another barrier to entry to keep Arabs out of our civilized neighborhood.
What they should do, if they want to ban anything is ban men FORCING women to wear burqas.
I don’t know. Proroguing Parliament and dismantling health care?
In the space setting I’m building there is a race of psuedorandians, and the fact that they do talk that way is pretty much the joke.
Ogvorbis, about the dreaming, I’ve found that white noise helps me. Not as much as I would like, but it does help. Dreaming is one reason for my hypnophobia.
If I have a recording of ocean waves playing continuously, it helps. The other noise that helps is a recording of rain combined with a metronome.
dianne, that would actually suit many of these yahoos just fine. They like to fancy themselves as astute businesspeople, and think the American Dream™ is there for the grabbing.
Brownian,
Ooooh ooooh we have a parliament doing that! Yay us….
….wait, that’s not a good thing.
Louis
P.S. Ing and others, totally with you on the “arab hating disguised as anti-islam” thing. There’s genuine anti-islam, and then there’s…well…you know.
Ing, when one of those pseudorandian men can’t get laid, does he rely on an invisible hand?
They like to fancy themselves as astute businesspeople, and think the American Dream™ is there for the grabbing.
Oh my dog, you mean they’d go for it. They’d be crushed in milliseconds and asking “do you want fries with that” before the week was out! Plus if the US lost Manhattan (or even worse, all of NYC), it would lose a significant amount of its tax base. The westerner “rugged individualists” who complain about taxes and welfare cheats are net tax recipients, the effete eastern cities are net donors. Sometimes I think we should just let them have their way and deal with the consequences…but the damage to innocent people would be too great.
In news from yesterday: (it’s in Finnish so I’ll paraphrase) The retail cooperative S Group (one of the two big ones) backed down from their decision to not equip the rooms in a hotel that is being built here in Jyväskylä with babbles provided by Gideons. At first the hotel manager quite reasonably explained it was a common trend, and providing only one holy book would be discriminatory. Then the shit storm started, and the decision was reversed.
I’m not aware of any threats, though. Just the general complaints and silly talk about godlessness. Especially by one asshole city councilman Juhani Starczewski (Christian Democrats).
Oh for those of us not lucky enough to reside in the Celtic parts of the UK.
Here in Wales we have our own politicians quite capable of fucking up health on their own. They do not need Lansley’s help!
I haven’t decided yet if they have explicit genders or not. It’s not a guarantee in my setting that even if they have two sexes they’ll be a concept of gender. The race that wears the warrior race hat for example is sexed but lacks gender because there’s little external dimorphism and resource investment for children is almost evenly split (they incubate eggs in quasi marsupial pouch organs in their throats and a mating pair splits a clutch)
Berlin would soon follow.
For David.
Matt,
You live in Wales? Whoa! What did you do?*
Louis
*Predictable joke is predictable.
I was escaping from a failed love affair with a sheep.
Matt,
I understand completely. Perfectly reasonable. Next time try a goat. They know how to keep a secret unlike those blabbermouth sheep.
The filthy little minxes.
Louis
Without a doubt.
I think it’s a linguistic problem, myself. Everybody knows that Alberta’s wealth comes from bitumen. Albertans mishear this word as “business acumen”.
To Wales?
Ing, it’d be interesting to see how Randian ideals play out in a race/species that’s sexed and gendered differently from our own, given that libertarianism depends heavily on other people’s, and especially women’s, undervalued labor.
I’m subverting the joke to avoid being mistaken for Jim Jeffries.
Ms. Daisy Cutter @ 454
What if the burqaed women are living in Western, secular countries like France? In the context of the French law banning burqas, I don’t want to see French muslim women turned into shut ins either. Nor do I want to tolerate muslim men forcing burqas on muslim spouses and daughters in France.
Ing @ 468
That is exactly what the French law does. The fine for women wearing a burqua is Euros 150. For men who force women to wear it, much bigger fine and up to 2 years in jail.
Linky
QED:
Then you penalize the people who force the women to wear the burqas — not the women themselves. The French law should eliminate the penalty against wearers, maintain the penalty against men who force women or girls to wear it, and also levy that penalty against women who force other women or girls to wear it (with mitigation of penalties in, say, the case of a mother forced by the father to dress the daughter in a burqa).
Wales is where John Barrowman spends a significant amount of time while filming. I think that’s reason enough to be there.
HOLY FUCK I DON’T EVEN.
Swedish culture minister cuts cake made to look like naked black woman, to celebrate a movement against female genital mutilation. The “artist” who made the cake also had their head through a hole in the table made to look like the head of the cake, and screamed every time a piece was cut. Culture minister claims it’s ok because the artist was black. Of course, it was also a man, who thought it was a “statement” to scream every time a piece of red-on-the-inside cake was cut from between the legs of the cake and OH MY GOD just writing it makes me want to take a shower.
Carlie quoth:
:sigh: My kind have a lot to answer for.
Swedish minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth’s participation in a “racist spectacle” in which she carved up a cake depicting a naked black woman has sparked outrage and prompted calls for the minister’s dismissal.
No matter what the intent was, this is horribly, horribly wrong.
Oh, Carlie already pointed that out. My bad.
I’m so happy – Greg Laden has scolded me for poor tone and advised me to “take it back a notch.” Apparently “shame on you” and the word “vengance” are over the line into no-no meanie land.
Snake just had a bad shed and had skin stuck in his nose that was making him wheeze/whistle. As for scars, I have a scar on my forehead from falling off the sliding board head first when I was 3 and landing on a piece of concrete slag. (The fact that my parents had concrete slag under there is emblematic of the care they took about child welfare.) Then the osteopath they took me to for stitches left a bunch of holly leaf in there, so it got totally infected and had to be reopened. I still remember looking through the surgical drape at the doctor. And some scars from carrying bags of broken sticks for kindling and falling, jabbing the sticks into the underside of my chin. My parents were real pieces of work – this happened multiple times, which means that my dad kept telling me to do it for him even after I got hurt the first time. Then I have the C-section scar, with some nerve damaged numb spots, which led to SonSpawn gleefully joking about mom having “dead zones” until I punched him in the shoulder.
Ogvorbis, hugs if you want them, and I still think you need to see an outside psychiatrist with significant experience in PTSD and forensics, not a tool of the system.
When I was a kid, I was eating spinach grown and frozen by my dad. Moved a bit aside and discovered a ginormous wolf spider frozen and steamed. Got in trouble for not eating the rest of my spinach. (My dad was quite an abusive asshole, actually.) I’m over the eating-bugs phobia, though, and prepare roasted mealworms with all of my summer camp kids. Every group has reported that cooking and eating bugs is simultaneously the hardest and the best part of camp, because they’re so grossed out and afraid of it and then they find that the mealworms are actually quite delicious and get to show off for their parents at the end of the week.
Caine @434: When you say forced socialisation, am I right in thinking that’s essentially ‘pick her up and don’t let her get down for a bit’?
.
I’m going a bit slowly as the cage is not in the same room as my free-range room (too big!) so I’m getting them used to hands (they’re fine now with hand-feeding, Cersei with being stroked, Elvira with being touched), then the runaround ball (Cersei jumps straight in, next is Elvira, etc.), then the bathroom free-ranging conveyed via runaround ball, then when they’ve crawled over me a few times in the bathroom and are happy with me, straight-to-shoulder from the cage itself.
.
It’s a bit convoluted (perhaps a bit too convoluted?) but if one is too nervy of me at first, jumps down, and gets to my dearest’s guitar collection, all three rats plus myself may be looking for somewhere else to live, ha! I’m obv a first time rat-keeper so I’m just a little nervous about carry-about and want to make reasonably sure they’re happy enough with me that they’re not going to jump away from me at an inopportune time…
.
So that’s my plan anyway, and hopefully that’ll be enough socialisation close-up for Moosh to relax a little. She’s quite calm tonight, didn’t snatch food and run.
.
Your poor boy. How on earth did he manage that? I’m imagining a rat on crutches now, with a little splint. Aw.
So when you say exactly what the law does you mean, partially while still missing the point?
If anything you should apply face visibility laws/restrictions for the secular reason of safety (can’t wear a ski mask in a bank). You do NOT target them because they are of a different culture, no matter how much we do want that culture to change. Bullying them will not help; and that’s exactly what the burqa bans are.
I say pesudoRandian since while there’s some of that the system is based also on Smith’s ideas because they’re not so stupid as to miss all the problems of libertarianism (education is publicly provided, and that’s pretty much all taxes are used for)
Their solution though is to use the undervalued labor of compromised aliens (from their POV). One of their “client” races is ‘uplifted’ by them from relative technological backwardsness and are given a chance to leave their planet and enjoy actual tech…in exchange for signing a work contract
Also on the burqa ban, Muslims are not idiots. Most can tell the difference between “Sorry these are just the rules and they have a practical reason” and “we are intentionally targeting you”. Some will still want special treatment, but it’s a big difference when you intentionally set the state as antagonistic towards them.
You know what they should do? Pass a law that says that if a man’s wife wears a burqa, so too must he.
I know, I know. My talents are wasted.
@Weed Monkey:
I’m glad you pointed it out too. The link that Carlie used wouldn’t let me load, just kept looping through an advertisement splash.