Comments

  1. ImaginesABeach says

    WMD Kitty – more information about wheelchair cushion repair: An different expert says that if it’s a cushion that you pump up, the bike tube repair would probably work. If it’s a cushion where you open a valve and it autofills (like a camping sleeping mat), you can try the bike tube repair but not to expect to be able to repair it yourself. And if the damage is to the exterior but doesn’t impact the air pillow(s), a tent repair kit may do the trick.

  2. portia says

    Re: the gay rights chart. It seems like adoption is the thing that almost every state is progressive on. Is it practical necessity? There are just so many kids that needs parents, so do the godbots suspend or rationalize their bigotry for pragmatic reasons? The southeast portion in particular is striking in that regard.

  4. dianne says

    she thinks that women should be required to “learn the consequences” before they have an abortion, and at least know the stages of pregnancy before they terminate.

    I think that any person who wishes to have a say in the outcome of another person’s pregnancy should be required to answer the following questions:

    1. What percentage of fertilized eggs fail to implant?
    2. Which is more dangerous: completing a pregnancy or planning to fly on 9/11/01?
    3. What cancer is associated with abortion and is the association positive or negative (that is, does the rate of this cancer go up or down if one has had an abortion)?
    4. What are the emotional consequences of placing a child for adoption and how frequently do they occur?
    5. What is the safest way to treat fetal demise of twin A? Please respond with reference both to the pregnant woman and the surviving twin.
    6. A woman in the second trimester of pregnancy has a hemoglobin of 10.9 (normal for a woman age 18-45 is 11.5-13 in the reference lab). Is she anemic?
    7. What percentage of the mitochondrial DNA of the fetus is derived from the father?
    8. If a single egg is fertilized, how many babies will be born? What if two are fertilized? (Assume, in both cases, natural fertilization and no technological interference with or augmentation of the pregnancy.)
    9. Patient is 19 weeks pregnant and now has an acute headache, BP of 201/110, 3+ proteinuria, and AST/ALT>5000. What treatment is needed and what is the expected outcome?
    10. Which is the most dangerous method of birth control for a 25 year old: Smoking and taking hormonal contraceptives, barrier protection, abortion, or no birth control?

    I’m guessing that there’s not a “pro-lifer” out there who could answer all these relatively simple questions about pregnancy.

  5. says

    Josh,

    Nice simple fish fry recipe. I like to mix in some corn flour into the all-purpose, but that’s just me. And letting the coating “set” for 30-40 is absolutely the key to getting the coating to come out crispy rather than slightly soggy/doughy. Makes me want to fry something tonight… deep-fried rice and beans?

  6. broboxley OT says

    #498 Portia pattern forming rapidly is a trait in many animals. A horse galloping along a path often freaks out at a bent broken stick in the path. Horse is thinking “!!!SNAKE!!” human is thinking “STUPID FUCKING HORSE!”

    Patterns form around infants who can rapidly identify mom and others close as opposed to strangers. As one grows older the world is quickly divided into family/strangers nice/mean and other similar groupings. Race falls into that condition as uknown others.

    Example, my then 3yo and I were in Anchorage for AFN(Alaska Federation of Natives)convention many years ago so the organizers thought to book an arena and invite Indians from all over the US to come to Anchorage for a PowWow. After enthusiastically enjoying the traditional dancers I noticed my son trying to get my attention.
    “Dad, I’m scared!”
    why
    “I’m scared of all the Indians”
    thats when I broke the bad news to him.

    So pattern matching and outliers is a basis for prejuidice but its only after you rate in experience, teaching by friends and relatives and exposure to others that it can either bloom or die.

  7. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Joe–yeah, I shoulda remembered that about corn meal. Adding that or breadcrumbs gives a nice texture. The same technique is good for all fried food. When I learned about the air-drying my fried chicken improved immeasurably.

    If you got tortillas you could fill them and fry them up for chimis maybe?

  9. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    There was buttermilk up there? Did not realize that.

    In any case, it was really fuckin’ good.

  10. says

    Josh, I’m refusing to cook tonight. Instead, I’m drinking my dinner and boiling up some pasta for my wife. I’ve got a can of minced clams that I guess I can make some sort of sauce out of? Actually… *runs to the kitchen*… I’ve got a jar of alfredo sauce that a can of clams could accidentally fall into?

  12. portia says

    @dianne – I told her that I don’t think any woman goes in for an abortion not knowing that she’s ending a pregnancy which might become a baby…seeing as how that’s the whole damn point. She insisted that no, women don’t know. Your list is good, may I save it for future reference?

    broboxley – Poor kid, his mind was blown, wasn’t it? Thanks for the explanation. Yours makes much more sense to me. She also tried to tell me that it’s wrong to be prejudiced against Republicans, as her husband is, because that’s a prejudice. I explained that I can make several rational inferences about a person based on, say, their belief that the Civil Rights Act should be repealed. The discussion was obviously a clusterfuck.

  14. ImaginesABeach says

    broboxley – yes the Norse were in Hudson Bay. However, that’s quite a distance from central Minnesota.

  16. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    I need to go grocery shopping. At present, I have a tiny amount of half-spoiled milk, 3 slices of cheese, the heel of a loaf of bread, 4 hot dogs, and some fruit that’s getting squishy. And a shitton of tea.

  17. portia says

    And a shitton of tea.

    My pantry inventory always ends exactly that way. (And usually the rest of it is similar…)

  18. dianne says

    Rey:
    1. 50-85%, depending on the study.
    2. Completing a pregnancy is about 4x more dangerous than planning to fly on 9/11/01. Actually taking off is probably more dangerous, but haven’t found the numbers. (Also, numbers for an average risk pregnancy in the US.)
    3. Uterine cancer. The risk decreases slightly in women who have had abortions.
    4. Depression, increased risk of suicide, increased somatization, and worsening of pre-existing medical or psychiatric problems. There is no evidence that these problems ever clear up throughout the affected person’s lifetime. Data is scant, almost as if people think women who place their children for adoption aren’t worth considering further.
    5. D and X aka “partial birth abortion”. Inserting a sharp object as in D and E has an increased risk of perforating the second amniotic sac and any form of labor, induced or spontaneous, of course, is dangerous to the living twin. Waiting is likely to cause necrosis of the dead fetus which is obviously dangerous for both the mother and the living fetus. Delivery could be an option if it’s very late in the pregnancy.
    6. Nope, not a bit, it’s supposed to do that.
    7. None whatsoever.
    8. It depends. Probably 0-2 in each case, though more could result in scenario 2. In scenario 1, the egg might fail early. It might twin. In scenario 2, one or both might fail, one or both might twin, and they might merge to create a single chimeric embryo.
    9. The diagnosis is HELLP syndrome and pre-eclampsia and abortion is the safest-and only-way to treat it. It resolves completely after abortion (or delivery if it occurs later in the pregnancy) and the patient is expected to recover fully and retain fertility. If it is treated in time. If treatment is withheld, liver damage or failure, seizures, kidney failure, brain damage, and death are all strong possibilities.
    10. No birth control at all. Pregnancy is more dangerous to a young woman than smoking and taking the pill. Smoking is not recommended at any age, however, and in a woman over 40 smoking and taking the pill becomes more dangerous than pregnancy. The pill without smoking is still considered safe as long as there are no hypercoaguable states involved.

  19. dianne says

    Portia, thanks. Sure, feel free to save it and/or steal it for arguments with antis. I’ve often felt that people who oppose abortion, despite their talk about “the facts” and “biology” don’t understand what’s going on with pregnancy.

  21. says

    Josh:
    I am a little too stubborn to be kept in bed by psych meds adjustments, but I do allow myself a great deal of leeway in expectation of accomplishment or lack thereof. I hate being jerked around by arbitrary changes in my neurophysiology, but sometimes it is wise just to curl up in a little ball until whatever is attempting to re-regulate itself succeeds.

    That said, for the rest of the lounge:

    This may be a bit dense with metaphor and metonymy for some of the scientific tastes here, but I am proud of myself for finishing a section of my autobiography while bouncing around from one cognitive state to another quite uncontrollably, so I am spamming the internet with links to it: undia.gnosed.net

    It might be useful to know that I personally don’t think that empirical support is necessary for autobiography to be meaningful, but if a writer is polite they might at least attempt to figure some sort of literary double for their phenomonenological experiences in what they write.

    I am not sure whether I am a polite writer but I do try to be interesting.

    There are also some autobiographical pieces in my book, which I decided to give away electronically for free at one last ditch dot com after reading Cory Doctorow’s rationale for doing so. It is nothing like Cory Doctorow, though, so don’t let that citation get you excited. More along the lines of Lyn Hejinian or Rae Armantrout, if those names mean anything to you. If not, just consider it a commission of random poetry.

    Here’s hoping that this is not the least appropriate place to post links to my real being.

  27. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    dianne:
    Is there an online resource that lists (and refutes) the most common anti-choice arguments?

  33. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    \o/ Hoorays and confetti for kristinc’s friend!

    Here’s hoping the transplant goes well and your friend is soon on the road to health.

  36. cicely (Something Morbid & Darkly Humorous) says

    So, in October it’ll be all black tee shirts, blue towels, and sleeping with a nightcap on. I have those things. I think I can deal.
    –
    Giliell—I expect to have no problem dying my hair black for the stated purpose, i.e., getting it through October. I’ve dyed it black before (also for Halloween), just a couple of years ago (hmmm…possibly as much as 5 years; time is a difficult concept), and it stuck forever. It may or may not help that my natural hair color falls somewhere between “Medium Warm Brown”, and “Dark Brown”.
    –

    If I say “Rebecca Watson” three times while looking in a mirror, what happens?

    Your hair turns blue and everyone hates you on Twitter.

    *snort*

    *pause*

    Hey. Waitaminute. Is the blue reasonably durable? And can the color be safely black-dyed over?
    –

  37. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    Oh! And it seems I have forgotten to say this earlier:

    The A+ scribe has my blanket position to transcribe any and all of my statements made publicly.

  38. Beatrice says

    Late to the party. Doctor Who spoilers :
    Terng rcvfbqr, rkprcg sbe gur onovrf guvat.
    V xabj Nzl unf n znghevgl yriry bs n svir-lrne-byq, ohg V guvax rira fur jbhyqa’g unir qbar fbzrguvat nf fghcvq nf yrsg gur thl fur jnf znqyl va ybir jvgu orpnhfr fur pna’g shpxvat qvfphff gur snpg gung gurl jba’g or noyr gb unir nal puvyqera ohg gur tebja hc gung tbg fgbyra naq gura guebja onpx ng gurz (bx, gung jbhyq shpx hc n crefba).

    Vs Nzl naq Ebel’f graher raqf orpnhfr Nzl trgf gvzryl jvzryl pherq naq gura certanag, V jvyy abg or unccl.
    Gung jbhyq or n ernyyl ernyyl cerqvpgnoyr naq penccl raqvat.

    Lnl, sbe BmmvrQnyrx orpbzvat n arj pbzcnavba. Gung jbhyq or njrfbzr.

  40. says

    kristinc
    Yay for your friend. I hope that’s something that we won’t have to go through and the little one takes good care of her kidney.

    portia

    (She let slip that “if they want to be murderers after that, then fine!”) The conversation culminated in her screaming in my face “I HAD AN ABORTION” …I didn’t quite know what to do so I backed off the topic and apologized for pushing her buttons unintentionally or minimizing what for her was a negative experience.

    I’m making a wild guess here because I’ve seen this before: Miscarriage and problems to conceive later in life.
    Women who had completely guilt-free abortions earlier in life and are then haunted by the earlier abortion when they have reproductive problems later in life. They think that those problems are the punishment for not having taken the earlier chance. Apart from there being no vengefull bastard out there who does this, it’s also irrational to think that the pregnancy they terminated would have resulted in a healthy baby. Had I aborted my first pregnancy by week 8 I would never have known that it would fail anyway at week 10.

  43. says

    Let me compare thee to a racist stooge. Let me count the ways in which Texas right-wingers have attempted to suppress the voting rights of minorities.

    Texas may swing blue in 2016, thanks to changing demographics. Minority groups outnumber whites. About 55.2% of the residents are minorities, but more than two-thirds of the state’s legislature is white.

    This imbalance in the legislature makes it possible for white Republicans to get up to all kinds of nasty tricks. The white right wing is showing signs of being plenty worried already about the impending end of their reign.

    The rulings [several rulings by panels of federal court judges] detailed several examples of discriminatory practices in Texas:

    1….In the redistricting case, a panel of three federal judges found that Texas lawmakers had intentionally created districts that would weaken the influence of Latino voters, while appearing to satisfy the requirements of the Voting Rights Act.

    In drawing Texas’ 23rd congressional district, the judges found that “The mapdrawers consciously replaced many of the district’s active Hispanic voters with low-turnout Hispanic voters in an effort to strengthen the voting power of [Congressional District] 23′s Anglo citizens. In other words, they sought to reduce Hispanic voters’ ability to elect without making it look like anything in [Congressional District] 23 had changed.”
    …

    Judge Thomas B. Griffith, writing the unanimous opinion of the three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, called it “a deliberate, race-conscious method to manipulate not simply the Democratic vote but, more specifically, the Hispanic vote.”

    2. … In Texas, the judges observed, African Americans and Latinos were already underrepresented in Congress. Given the number of voting-age minority citizens in the state, Texas’s old maps should have had roughly 13 congressional seats that represent districts in which minorities have a strong voice, the judges calculated. Instead, Texas only had 10 such districts.

    Instead of narrowing this “representation gap” as the minority population grew, the legislature increased it.

    With four additional congressional seats, Texas should now have 14 districts in which minorities have the ability to elect their chosen representatives, the judges concluded. But the state’s new plan still included just 10 minority districts.

    3. Texas removed economic centers and district offices from African-American and Latino districts, while giving white Republicans perks….

    The redistricting opinion dwelled at length on “unchallenged evidence that the legislature removed the economic guts from Black ability districts.”

    4. …One common tactic of racial gerrymandering is “cracking” a minority community into different districts so it cannot elect a minority politician.

    Looking at a State Senate district in Fort Worth, the judges cited testimony that lawmakers reshaped the district in a way that “cracked the politically cohesive and geographically concentrated Latino and African American communities,” and placed those voters “in districts in which they have no opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.”…

    5. …A three-judge panel found last Thursday that Texas’ voter-ID law discriminates against minorities, since the costs of obtaining the required identification would place a greater burden on low-income Texans, who are more likely to be minorities than white.

    Whatever the Supreme Court’s response to Texas’ voter-ID law, Texans will not be required to present a photo ID to vote this November….

    As for the redistricting maps, Texas will use a set of interim maps drawn by federal judges in Texas. Those interim maps were part of a contentious battle that earlier went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    More detail here: http://www.salon.com/2012/09/04/five_ways_texas_discriminates_against_minority_voters/

  44. says

    I’m wanting to watch The Muppets, and my wife doesn’t. And I was a little bothered and I’m thinking about it, and I realize that my problem comes down to “Why doesn’t my wife love me enough to stop liking the things she likes, and start liking the things I like?”

    Shit… it is like the entire anti-atheism+ pushback right there.

  47. says

    A lovely compendium of Republican soothsayers holding forth on Obama’s plan to rescue the auto industry.

    Rep. John Boehner (R-OH): “Does anyone really believe that politicians and bureaucrats in Washington can successfully steer a multi-national corporation to economic viability?” [6/1/09]

    Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL): “It’s basically going to be a government-owned, government-run company…. It’s the road toward socialism.” [5/29/09]

    RNC Chairman Michael Steele: “No matter how much the President spins GM’s bankruptcy as good for the economy, it is nothing more than another government grab of a private company and another handout to the union cronies who helped bankroll his presidential campaign.” [6/1/2009]

    Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC): “Now the government has forced taxpayers to buy these failing companies without any plausible plan for profitability. Does anyone think the same government that plans to double the national debt in five years will turn GM around in the same time?” [6/2/09]

    Rep. Tom Price (R-GA): “Unfortunately, this is just another sad chapter in President Obama’s eager campaign to interject his administration in the private sector’s business dealings.” [6/2/09]

    Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX): The auto company rescues “have been the leading edge of the Obama administration’s war on capitalism.” [7/22/09]

    Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ): When government gets involved in a company, “the disaster that follows is predictable.” [7/22/09]

    And then there’s Mitt Romney’s statements, “… let Detroit go bankrupt,” and “kiss the American automotive industry goodbye” if Obama’s plan is implemented.

    They were all wrong, but they were wrong together. They stuck to their ideology. None of them has since said, “Hey, we were wrong.”

  48. Nick Gotts (formerly KG) says

    I’m reverting to use of my real name, as I’ve used it on Atheism+ forums (and my ex-employer can no longer be embarrassed by anything I say), but will keep the “(formerly KG)” for the time being.

  49. broboxley OT says

    Lynna #47 and the repo’s are complaining that the auto bailout was a gift to the unions when actually the bailout was on the backs of the unions.

  50. says

    Odd… it is almost as if the Republicans play to win, and have principles that they will stand behind and fight for. What an strange thing to see, because I vote Democrat and that party stands for nothing besides caving in and selling out its constituents without even getting something in return.

  51. says

    Bill O’Reilly insulted Sandra Fluke … again.

    “I’m just wondering when Sandra Fluke speaks at the Democratic convention, what they’re going to drop from the ceiling,” O’Reilly said, laughing, last Thursday night during Fox’s coverage of the Republican National Convention, later adding: “I’m just pointing out there’s only one reason this woman is speaking. One and one only.” O’Reilly didn’t specifically say condoms.

    Fluke responded:

    “I think it’s clearly offensive to see a bunch of guys sitting around laughing about dropping condoms on a woman,” Fluke said on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Monday. “Obviously, that’s offensive. But I try to just not pay attention to it, look past it and focus on the policies that I care about.”

    Video and other commentary here:
    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sandra-fluke-bill-oreillys-suggestion-that-the-dnc-drop-condoms-on-her-clearly-offensive/

  52. says

    Hello, everyone!
    My doctor’s visit went well– I’m healthy and DarkFetus is toddling along like she should. I did find out that she’s breach, though, which 1) isn’t that unusual in the 8th month and usually resolves itself by delivery and 2) is kind of disappointing because earlier in my pregnancy she was in the head down position. Ah well.

  53. says

    “I’m just pointing out there’s only one reason this woman is speaking. One and one only.”

    Wait, what does he imagine that one reason is? I mean it’s obviously very clear to him, and probably to people who think like him, but I’m scratching my head, not (fortunately) being prone to thinking like O’Reilly.

  54. says

    Audley,

    Yay for you and the DarkFetus! I’m assuming the current breach position is what happens when a soon-to-be person tries to figure out “sticking the flounce” for the first time, and will resolve itself in the next 12-14 weeks, give or take 10 weeks.

  55. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    This should fulfill our Lord and Master’s Monday Metazoan requirements for a few months.

    . . . no one wants to start a revolution . . .

    Well, if you want money from minds that hate, all I can tell you is brother, you have to wait!

    Your hair turns blue and everyone hates you on Twitter.

    Now, if you could go for a blue body with orange hair, we’d really have them on the run.

    Of course, you’d only be five inches tall and would speak with a Scot’s brogue, but . . . .

    Hey. Waitaminute. Is the blue reasonably durable? And can the color be safely black-dyed over?

    So Rebecca Watson is a mordant? Who knew?

    The A+ scribe has my blanket position to transcribe any and all of my statements made publicly.

    I agree to this statement.

    It means nothing since I have met none of you in meatspace, but, just in case . . . .

  56. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    will resolve itself in the next 12-14 weeks, give or take 10 weeks.

    Considering she is due in 4-5 weeks, that was really, really, really, really cruel.

    And funny.

  57. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    And I just ordered:

    “Patagonian Mesozoic Reptiles (Life of the Past)”
    Gasparini, Zulma

    and

    “The Armored Dinosaurs (Life of the Past)”
    Carpenter, Kenneth

    From (where else) Amazon.

  58. says

    One of the Wee Free Men, Og?

    You know… I was going to go deep and long for a minute, but then I saw Neil Patrick Harris in The Muppets and lost my train of thought. So I’ll go shallow and short instead (insert perversion here) and just say that it isn’t groupthink or hivemind that most of us get each others’ obscure references most of the time. There’s an unintentionally shared culture that created the emergent property of “community” around here. And that is pretty cool.

  59. says

    Considering she is due in 4-5 weeks, that was really, really, really, really cruel.

    And funny.

    Blame engineering school for my instinct to build in excessive margin of error… :)

  62. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    it isn’t groupthink or hivemind that most of us get each others’ obscure references most of the time. There’s an unintentionally shared culture that created the emergent property of “community” around here. And that is pretty cool.

    Nope. It really is gropethink! After all, we are all PZed’s sock puppets (though I (as a sockpuppet) fond it remarkable that He (that’s PZed, not helium) is able to change from PZ to PZed, from color to colour, humour to humor, and all the other optional spellings, while keeping them internally consistent. The Ogvorbis sockpuppet, for instance, though and USAnian, uses the Briticized spellings in most cases. How they fuck does he do that?

    =====

    Boy is currently making a peach and habanero hot sauce (even using peach vinegar). And my eyes are watering. And I’m in the living room (well, my sockpuppet me is, anyway).

    Seriously, PZed, how the fuck do you keep me, and all your other sockpuppets, straight?

  63. dianne says

    Eight weeks, but might go as much as 2 more before the OBs say enough’s enough and get darkfetus out by any means necessary. My pregnancy went 40 weeks 5 days. The last 5 were…long.

  66. says

    I guess it would have to be “gropethink” if The Peez has an appendage up inside each and every one of us, controlling our actions. Deep inside our rifts, so to speak.

  67. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    I guess it would have to be “gropethink” if The Peez has an appendage up inside each and every one of us, controlling our actions. Deep inside our rifts, so to speak.

    HAHAHAHAHAH!

    Ooo, daddy. . .sock-puppet it to me.

  70. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    Er, ‘gropethink’ should have been, of course, ‘groupthink’. All hail Tpyos, yadda, yadad, ydada.

    Mr Darkheart was three weeks late. My poor MiL.

    Boy was about two weeks early. But Wife went through 56 hours of induced labour. Not fun.

    Girl arrived on her due date. Contractions started at 11:00pm, we went to the hospital at 3:00am and Girl was born at 9:00am. Quite polite of her.

  71. John Morales says

    Ogvorbis:

    The A+ scribe has my blanket position to transcribe any and all of my statements made publicly.

    I agree to this statement.

    You agree Esteleth gives permission?

    (How could you not? It’s there in writing!)

  72. Ogvorbis: broken and cynical says

    You agree Esteleth gives permission?

    (How could you not? It’s there in writing!)

    No, I give A+scribe permission to transcribe any of my verbal communications (if I ever actually talk to any of you in real life, that is). I was being lazy and, as per normal, fucked it up. Sorry.

  73. says

    …

    Lots of job prospects for my wife, not so many actual jobs. This is getting frustrating. We’re at the point where the next thing is eviction AND losing our car with just two payments to go.

    On the other hand, I have 7 pounds of sausage in the freezer.

  74. portia says

    Joe

    Hope things get better soon. Whatcha planning for all that sausage?

    —
    Giliell

    I’m making a wild guess here because I’ve seen this before: Miscarriage and problems to conceive later in life.
    Women who had completely guilt-free abortions earlier in life and are then haunted by the earlier abortion when they have reproductive problems later in life. They think that those problems are the punishment for not having taken the earlier chance. Apart from there being no vengefull bastard out there who does this, it’s also irrational to think that the pregnancy they terminated would have resulted in a healthy baby. Had I aborted my first pregnancy by week 8 I would never have known that it would fail anyway at week 10.

    I bet that’s the case for a lot of women. I can’t imagine the psychological loops you would go in if you had those kinds of troubles with conception. This woman is in her early thirties and has a 17 month old child, her first. She said that she was 22 and her mother had pressured her into an abortion and she hadn’t known what she was really doing. So, I’m not sure if the delay in childbirth was due to conception issues or not, but it’s an interesting theory. I was gobsmacked that she was so freaking angry at me for advocating for bodily autonomy. I’ve never had anyone scream in my face during an abortion debate. Emotions can be volatile things, I suppose. Goodness knows I have a visceral reaction at the suggestion that I should be forced to give birth should I become pregnant…

    —

    On a lighter note, it was goodwill quarter day today! So much good stuff! So little money! Yay!

  76. says

    portia,

    Several pounds are going into a metric fuck-ton of my ultimate comfort food, cornbread stuffing with sausage and cheese. Some of it is going into a pasta bake, more for pancakes and eggs, some in beans and rice, and I guess I’ll freestyle the rest.

    Since I’m hoping my wife is going to “leave me” any day now, I get to eat the shit I prefer. Sausage is cheap and sort of awesome in a terrible kind of way.

  78. portia says

    That all sounds delicious. Good thing SO is making dinner as we speak, you’ve made me ravenous. One of my favorite ways to eat sausage is sausage gravy on mashed potatoes. As a bonus, it’s made of relatively cheap stuff.

  79. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    Um. I give blanket permission, not position.

    I do not know the A+ scribe well enough to consent to “blanket position,” whatever that is.

    So. Recasting: I give the A+ scribe blanket permission to transcribe any and all of my public statements.

  80. portia says

    Daaaang it I meant to make a dirty joke with my initial sausage inquiry, but it got lost in my preview. Consider it made.

  82. says

    portia,

    … No one can take this much sausage at once? I’ll dish it out 9 inches at a time all weekend long? My sausage is greasy and smells like raw pork?

  87. portia says

    … No one can take this much sausage at once? I’ll dish it out 9 inches at a time all weekend long? My sausage is greasy and smells like raw pork?

    Very good show. The last one made me wrinkle up my nose.

  89. Socio-gen, something something... says

    Argh. Stupid banks that put stupid holds on my money. My financial aid overage went through at 8am, but the bank hasn’t released the money to my account yet. It just says “Deposit pending.”

    *sigh* I am sick of eating pasta without proper sauce!
    — —

    portia @ 498:
    It’s only been a week since classes started. By next month, I’ll have started slacking off. :)
    —
    kristinc:
    Great news! Congrats to your friend!!
    —
    Audley:
    Hopefully DF does the Hokey-Pokey and gets herself turned about.

    My mom went 3 weeks and 2 days over with one brother, and 3 weeks and 5 days with the other. That was in the way-back days, though — 1975 and ’79, respectively.
    —
    Improbable Joe:
    I hope things work out soon for you!

    Mmmm…sausage. I love sausage gravy over biscuits.

  91. says

    portia,

    Sausage something something make other bits wrinkle?

    … OK, I’m done. This is going to ruin my 5 pounds of stuffing tomorrow! I’m going to use a sliver of chicken fat from my stock to cook up onions, celery, and mushrooms. I’m going to cook the stuffing in my homemade chicken stock instead of water. I’m going to mix the whole thing with cooked country sausage, 3 or 4 cups of mozzarella, and a couple of eggs to bind the whole mess together.

    The only thing I can’t decide is whether to use a lighter chicken gravy close to the “biscuits and gravy” recipe, or to make a daker version that is like the KFC recipe but actually good.

  95. Esteleth, Who Knows How to Use Google says

    My fridge is no longer empty! \o/

    *snarfs down a sandwich and beer*

    Tomorrow is the Day of Back to Back Staff Meetings. Whee.

    Audley, glad to hear the DF is forming well.

    Did I ever tell you that I was born at 43 weeks? And my parents lived a 45-minute drive from the hospital I was born at (that’s in good conditions, and I was born in the middle of an ice storm when it was 20 below)?

  96. Socio-gen, something something... says

    Audley: Actually, the Hokey-Pokey may be what it feels like she’s doing for the next 8 weeks. :)

    It was both neat and terrifying the way my belly would just lurch and burble. Especially so for small kids.

    When I was preggers with the oldest, my baby brother was just 9. He saw my stomach doing the rolling-side-to-side thing and was just horrified.

    Oh my god, it’s moving!”
    Um, yeah. There a baby in there.
    “I know that! Why is it moving?!!”
    Because that’s what they do?
    “That is so gross! I thought they just laid there like an egg till you hatched! That is just disgusting. How do you even keep it in there?!”

  97. says

    Speaking of births and pregnancies and such… my parents apparently fucked like rabbits before I was born. My brother was born Thanksgiving week, and I was apparently conceived 3-5 weeks later. YEAH!

  99. Socio-gen, something something... says

    Joe:

    Two of my cousins are only 11 months apart because the second one was born two and a half weeks late. My aunt (who was only 20 at the time) went in for her postpartum checkup, and the doc said, “I thought I’d told you not to have sex until after you saw me today.”

    Horribly embarrassed, she asked, “HOW can you tell?!” and he replied, “Because I’m pretty sure you’re pregnant.”

    According to legend, she cried for two months straight after the test proved him right.

  101. portia says

    Joe – Ha! And everything sounds amazing. Now I think I need some sausage stuffing.

    BAZINGA.

  102. says

    Socio-gen,

    That’s just funny! I have to ask… Catholics? Because my parents were nominal Catholics and I think that explains things. They became less apparently Catholic because it was 2.5 years until my younger brother was born, and then my mother had a tubal ligation and that was that.

  104. says

    portia,

    Just so you know, the key to my chicken stock is that I roast a chicken, allow the pan drippings to get pretty close to burning, and then deglaze the roasting pan with the last of the previous batch of stock. The result is ridiculously rich and savory.

  106. Socio-gen, something something... says

    Audley: Yes….but it’s going to get much more interesting. It’s like the Alien is trying to get out.

    Joe: Nope, Mormons. He was a born one, she converted just before they married. Interestingly, there was a delay of 5 years between numbers 2 & 3….that just happened to coincide with my aunt drinking Pepsi again. LOL

  109. John Morales says

    [belated]

    Ogvorbis — hey, man!

    I noted you’d been ambiguous in your phrasing, but I was just being jocular and to your credit you took it with great aplomb, except for that needless apology.

    (Of course I knew what you meant, as would any reasonable person, but pedantry amuses me and you happened to cop it)

    Hope to see* you in one of the hangouts, sometime.

    —

    * Or your equivalent of a periodic table, anyway! ;)

  110. Socio-gen, something something... says

    Audley: It is ridiculously cool. If it weren’t for the stretch marks, I’ have loved to have video of it. I’m petite, so there were times when they could knock me off my stride just by switching positions.

  112. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Stacey Lihn’s speech on the DNC is far more heartfelt and moving than most of what I saw from the RNC. Her daughter has a congenital heart defect, and the Affordable Care Act has benefited her family immensely. To take it away would devastate them in so many ways. Yet Mitt wants to get rid of it.

  113. says

    How is that newest Silent Hill game?

    Mind you, I’ve only been watching as Misterc plays it, but from that viewpoint it’s pretty darn good so far. And for my money definitely the creepiest Silent Hill.

  114. portia says

    Tony, how precious are those little girls? My heart melted when the older one was trying to soothe the crying younger one.

  116. says

    Mind you, I’ve only been watching as Misterc plays it, but from that viewpoint it’s pretty darn good so far. And for my money definitely the creepiest Silent Hill.

    Thanks, and that works for me. The Silent Hill games have never had smooth controls or deep gameplay, and have always been about the atmosphere. If this one is really creepy, then I’m in!

  117. portia says

    Thanks for the chicken stock tips, Joe. I am not good at cooking meat because it sort of squicks me out. (Not that I don’t loooove eating it). But that sounds manageable.

    Somehow I miss the stray comment here and there, so if I don’t respond sometimes that’s why.

  119. says

    Hi everyone, from hot, humid Sao Paulo.

    Audley Z. Darkheart: My name is Legion, for we are many

    When you have a minute, could you look at the first Pharyngula podcast:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21DGazrEZlE#t=1h5m55s

    and see if you can remember what you said between “quote unquote Obamacare” and “Supreme Court”. It dropped out of the recording.

    Hotshoe: Have Siún Ní Dhuibhir on my mp3 (Brasil buses don’t generally show films, and some of the rides here are really, really long.) Lyrics

  122. says

    portia,

    Any time you need advice cooking meat, I’m here for that sort of thing. My roast chicken recipe is 400 degrees until you get bored, and keep adding water to the pan when the drippings start to dry out. Maybe not more than 4 hours, but anywhere from 3-4 is probably fine. If you’re afraid of drying out the white meat, flip the bird upside down. The fat from the back and thighs will drip down and marinate the breast meat. Plus it is easier to get at the chicken oysters… the best bit of the whole chicken.

  123. broboxley OT says

    Joe, stuffing makes me think of thanksgiving and STUFFING!

    cornbread
    buttload garlic diced fine
    1 white onion diced coarse
    1 green pepper diced fine
    1 can diced green chilis
    1 small can mandarin oranges
    1 cup diced clams
    3 chopped oysters
    1 lb mostly cooked italian hot sausage
    oregano basil rosemary and chopped cilantro to taste
    1 tablespoon key lime juice
    dice and fry turkey guts and add them into the mix
    stuff the bird all the way and slow cook that sucker

  124. says

    Nick:

    I’m reverting to use of my real name, as I’ve used it on Atheism+ forums (and my ex-employer can no longer be embarrassed by anything I say), but will keep the “(formerly KG)” for the time being.

    Aaaw darn. I have a fondness for Knock Goats. :D

  126. portia says

    Thanks for the tips, Joe! It’s good to have a Meat Mentor. (That’s your new title, btw). My mother is my go-to for cooking tips but we share the aversion to handling raw meat so she’s not much help there.

    Broboxley, that sounds tasty. Bookmarked in my recipe folder (as is Joe’s comment.)

  128. says

    Audley

    I’m not positive about exactly what I said, but it was along the lines of, “once again, this depends on what happens in the Supreme Court”.

    That fits perfectly with what you were saying. Thank you so much ;)

  129. John Morales says

    Improbable Joe:

    … the mandarin oranges and lime juice sound like a stroke of genius!

    More like a genius who has suffered a stroke.

    (That ain’t a good thing!)

  130. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    portia:
    I know. That almost brought me to tears.
    That real emotion appealed to me in ways Clint Eastwood’s ‘performance’ never could.

  131. says

    Kinda-sorta threadrupt.

    Eriktrips, I’m glad you’re beginning to come out of the withdrawal. Hang in there.

    Portia, while I cannot rebut your Ph.D.-having acquaintance with scientific evidence, she sounds like she’s (a) full of shit and (b) in need of working out some deep-seated issues.

    Josh:

    Fish Fry

    For heaven’s hake! :)

    BTW, panko breadcrumbs might provide yet a different appealing texture. Also, thanks for the compliments on my baking.

    “Global strategic maple syrup reserve”? Why not, since it’s a plant product, and all sorts of seeds are in reserve. I assume the reserve is so that, in case of a blight or something else that kills all the maple trees, the syrup can be reproduced.

    Kristin: Good for your friend.

    Audley: Glad everything’s fine.

    Joe:

    My sausage is greasy and smells like raw pork?

    With advertising like that, nobody’s going to want to buy that foreskin, dude.

    Anyway, in addition to the aforementioned baking, there has been cooking. I scored a gigantic zucchini in Maine on Sunday, and tonight I made baked stuffed zucchini, using grass-fed ground beef. I was struck as I was preparing it in the pan how it smelled a lot better than conventional beef, not as far along the path to spoilage. Since it’s $5 a pound, I’m considering sticking with it from now on and eating less ground beef, which I don’t eat much of anyway.

    I also baked thinly sliced red potatoes in thawed sour cream and a wee bit of butter, with crushed chopped garlic and chopped fresh rosemary. The texture might be a wee bit grainy due to the sour cream having been frozen, but I seldom buy milk (I don’t use it often enough so it goes bad), and waste not, want not.

    Oh, and Happiestsadist passed along this article about the Duggars being an actual cult. The home-study PDF that Michelle wrote on how to be a good li’l xtian wifebot claims that gawrd works through the husband’s decisions, whether they’re good or bad, so the wifebot should never, ever take matters into her own hands.

  132. portia says

    As soon as they came on stage, I turned to SO and said “political genius.” It’s astonishing how much better the Dems are doing so far at simple finesse. But it’s not over yet, I suppose.

  134. carlie says

    Hey, everybody.
    Did I miss a lot? I’ve been trying to peek in the last week but haven’t had much time. Spouse’s grandmother died Tuesday (not entirely unexpected, but kind of), and we had to do a marathon “let’s jump in the car Wednesday after work to get somewhere 20 hours’ worth of driving away by Friday morning for the funeral” kind of thing. Then stayed a couple of days, and just finished the whole drive back, just in time for the kids to have one day to recoup and start school Thursday. So much for getting them on a normal sleep schedule before they start. For some reason we were really worn out and had to do a hotel overnight both directions, which kind of stunk, especially when the manager at the first one told us it wasn’t his responsibility that the air conditioner in our room broke when we asked for a discount, after having checked in at midnight, the unit stopped working at 1am, and the kids were asleep so we couldn’t have changed rooms or had anyone try to fix it then. Also he said we hadn’t checked in when we said we did (huh? It’s in the system), and it wouldn’t matter if we wrote letters of complaint to anyone because he was the one in charge. So anyway. Back now.

    Trinioler, I hope I haven’t missed too many transcripts. Are the requests/signups all happening through the scribe website now?

  135. says

    Daisy,

    With advertising like that, nobody’s going to want to buy that foreskin, dude.

    And yet, there’s one in every crowd…

    Plus, and not for nothing, but I’m so desperate that I’d sell a testicle for $5000 if I could cash the check before 1 October. Need a kidney at wholesale prices?

  137. carlie says

    Also, I caught a little bit of the DNC talks in the car doing errands after we got back, and damn if I didn’t choke up a little. For all I’m annoyed with the party, they’re giving some good lip service. I even heard “nonbelievers” in a list-o-faith constituents.

  138. says

    Also Daisy, ever since the whole “pink slime” business, I don’t buy ground beef at all. I buy a cut of meat and have the store grind it for me in-house where I can see them do it.

  139. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    carlie:
    I’m so sorry to hear about SO’s grandmother.
    And a middle finger to the manager of that hotel.

  141. portia says

    Ms. Daisy Cutter

    while I cannot rebut your Ph.D.-having acquaintance with scientific evidence, she sounds like she’s (a) full of shit and (b) in need of working out some deep-seated issues.

    I agree about the issues, and I thank you for your verification of my bullshit-meter. (Also thank you for the verification of my belief that it’s “deep-seated” not “deep-seeded.”)She said she is in “abortion therapy” or something like that, and that she discovered that her anger issues were the result of the abortion regret. She seemed to want to shape an abortion policy that she thinks would have prevented her situation…as if a pamphlet showing that the fetus had a heartbeat would have fixed all the issues in her life. I had no words, because I wanted to avoid psychoanalyzing her on the spot.

    Carlie

    Sorry for your loss. Glad you all survived the intense trip.

  142. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Massachusetts Governor just said Democrats need to grow a backbone. It’s so great that someone said this! Finally.

  143. carlie says

    Thanks, Tony.
    Audley, did you hear the part about “Women are not a special interest group”? I was torn between yelling “Fuck yeah” and “Then fucking act like it”.

  144. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Audley:
    Interesting that the speakers are talking about the President more than themselves, eh?

  146. carlie says

    Thanks, portia. It’s a trip we’re used to, but we just made it a couple of months ago (which was good, we saw grandma then), and then spouse and one child had another long trip last month, so we’re kind of car-ed out.
    We splurged a little on the way back, due to the crappy experience at the first “let’s get the cheapest one we can” hotel, and stayed at a Comfort Suites we’ve stayed at before, so we knew it would be a good place even though it wasn’t the cheapest we could get. The children were shocked at the opulence of a hotel room that had not only beds, but also a sofabed couch and a minifridge. :D

  147. says

    Audley

    You’re welcome. (You’re really easy to transcribe, by the way). I was dithering over whether I’d contribute – Trinioler’s comment #219 on this thread was the tipping point.

    Caine – you’re comment re. my photos got me an extra 700 hits over a three days. And some interesting emails from some of the visitors to my site who want to go to Antarctica cheaply. (I have lots of penguin photos). Thank you.

    Anyone thinking of helping out on A+ scribe – be aware that when transcribing Brownian, it’s really, really, really hard to concentrate on what he’s saying when you’re actually thinking about what will happen if you ever get to the front of Teh Queue ;)

  150. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Ugh. The expectation of showing up to View(TM) the corpse after you’ve had a lifetime of interaction with/caring for the dead person. Spare me.

  152. says

    The good news is that none of you will ever have to transcribe me, ever ever NEVER. I have a face for radio, and a voice best suited for silent films. The combination means that it is rare that I will talk to ANYONE, let alone join in a podcast.

    … which makes me sad. I try to like myself, and I struggle with the fact that I’m hard to like in multiple formats.

  154. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Ugh.
    American exceptionalism combined with Texan exceptionalism from Mayor Julian Castro.
    I do like that he said “you can’t be pro business without being pro education”.

  155. carlie says

    Josh – it was definitely something we wanted to do, just that me being the One Who Moved So Far Away means we have rotten trade-offs sometimes. Like everyone else just waking up Friday and putting on nice clothes and driving 15 minutes to the funeral home, while we had to spend most of a week, about $800 in travel costs, and a lot of muscle aches to achieve the same result. But it was most probably the last time the entire family will be together like that, so we wanted to be there.

  156. portia says

    “Borrow money, if you have to, from your parents,” he said. Gee. Why didn’t I think of that?

    ZING.

  157. carlie says

    Audley – I did get to see my brother’s baby. Babies are so cute! And also cuddly. And they smell nice. And if that one is representative, they smile, yawn, and then fall asleep and stay quiet the whole time you’re there. ;)

  159. portia says

    I’m so dazzled by Mayor Castro’s beautiful smile that he could say just about anything right now and I woukdn’t notice.

    Seconded.

  160. ibyea says

    On DNC:
    Sorry, but I am not buying whatever inspirational BS Democrats are saying there. They always say nice and awesome things. Remember 2008? But until their actions can back up their words, I am not holding my breath. That said, I hope Obama wins.

  161. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Audley, portia:
    I can understand that.

    “instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone”

    I like it.

  162. says

    I’d just like to say, à propos of nothing much, that the ‘Eschaton 2012/Celebrate reason at the end of the world’ thing I keep seeing in the margin keeps reading to me as carrying a strong implication that it is Ottawa, in fact, that is at the end of the world, here–the date having little or nothing to do with it.

    And no, I shan’t be accepting at face value any assurances from the organizers that this wasn’t their intention. Assuming they’d even try claiming as much. I mean: as if, people. As if.)

    But no, I’m not insulted or nothin’, actually. Actually, I kinda take that as a compliment. Tho’ I guess people in places like, say, Alert might consider our claim to this honour a mite inflated.

    Oh. And also: I’ll almost certainly be going. Meaning I won’t actually be on a ski hill in the Laurentians that weekend, even tho’ my standard/favoured one is very likely to be open by then. Pretty wacky. I’m not even sure this is really me writing this. Seems that much out of character. Anyway: hope to see people there.

  168. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Uh oh.
    I can hear the right wing haters now.
    Mrs. Obama just took the stage “Look at her bare arms!”

  172. portia says

    No problem. It’s one of my favorites in arguments. They also have a G-rated version, I think. The link should be at the bottom of the page.

  173. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Audley:
    I didn’t start watching at the beginning, but I *really* *really* liked Duval Patrick’s speech.

  176. cicely (Something Morbid & Darkly Humorous) says

    My doctor’s visit went well– I’m healthy and DarkFetus is toddling along like she should.

    Yay, and yay!
    –

    It means nothing since I have met none of you in meatspace, but, just in case . . . .

    But I have hopes, Bro Og.

    One day….
    :)
    –

    There’s an unintentionally shared culture that created the emergent property of “community” around here. And that is pretty cool.

    It is cool. And so are my D&D and SCA groups…who “get” the same references.

    At last, I am one of the “cool kids”! (For given values of “cool” and “kids”.)

    :D
    –

    […](though I (as a sockpuppet) fond it remarkable that He (that’s PZed, not helium) is able to change from PZ to PZed, from color to colour,[…]

    It’s the chromatophores.
    –

    I guess it would have to be “gropethink” if The Peez has an appendage up inside each and every one of us, controlling our actions. Deep inside our rifts, so to speak.

    And that would be the tentacles.
    –
    Youngest Brother went nearly a month into over-time, and debuted at over 11 pounds. And was born with the loveliest, thickest black hair…which all promptly fell out, to be replaced with taffy-blond. The Darkness returned at puberty.
    –
    carlie, *hugs* and commiserations.
    –

    Massachusetts Governor just said Democrats need to grow a backbone. It’s so great that someone said this! Finally.

    In-fuckin’-deed!
    –

    I try to like myself, and I struggle with the fact that I’m hard to like in multiple formats.

    You type-up well, though.
    ;)
    –

  177. thunk, circumzenithal arc says

    I guess I’m in a pissy mood today.

    The problem is that I can’t sleep when things are loud/bright.

    But roommate is quite allergic to stuff outdoors, and refuses to let windows be open at any time (I understand partially). But in addition to there being no fresh air for me, the quite loud AC needs to be turned on.

    As a partial result of that, I got very little sleep last night.

    Add to that that we have very different mess tolerances, and it doesn’t seem very good. end vent.

  179. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    I like how Michelle just casually mentioned her husbands support for gay marriage. She didn’t use it as a talking point. She didn’t make a big deal out of it. It *shouldn’t* be an issue. It should be obvious that people should be able to love who they want to love and marry who they want to marry.

  180. says

    Carlie, I’m sorry about your SO’s grandmother. Make sure to leave appropriate reviews of that hotel on Yelp, Trip Advisor, etc.

    Portia, if you ever are forced to continue that conversation with your acquaintance, direct her to I’m Not Sorry. She does not get to legislate policy based on her own psychological issues.

    Tony:

    American exceptionalism combined with Texan exceptionalism from Mayor Julian Castro.

    Well, Texas is certainly exceptional…

    Ibyea: Pretty much. While President Hopey-Changey would be better than Mittens, I’m so over that dewey-eyed feel-good nice-middle-class-liberal bullshit, and I have better things to do than watch Blue Dogs circle-jerk one another while they whisper sweet economic-justice nothings, literally nothings, in our ears.

    Regarding http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/ – yeah, that’s nice. Half of those things shouldn’t even be things that a president gets a cookie for. Our expectations have sunk disgustingly low. Anyone who wants a reality check should click on #DNCBlackout and #OccupyDNC.

  181. portia says

    Ms. Daisy! That’s exactly the website I was going to tell her about had I gotten a word in edgewise! I do think I got the point in that her situation is not everyone’s situation. Not sure she believed me.

    Reading your twitter links.

  182. portia says

    I feel I should add, Ms. Daisy Cutter, that I am not under the illusion that the Dems are the answer, or even close to ideal. I do subscribe to the personal policy of using my vote for the lesser of the evils, though.

  183. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Dammit, I just posted this in the Justicar thread by accident.
    Does PZ delete posts if requested (especially if they’re obviously not relevant to the thread)?

    Ok, now I’m nearly in tears. Michelle is moving me.
    It may all be empty speech. It may lead nowhere.

    But it speaks to the hope I have that things can get better for so many people.
    (and I love how she shows that she and her husband support family values).

  184. says

    Portia, fair enough. I’m in a “purple state” and I am pulling the lever for Obama for the same reason you are. Let’s just say I have a serious hate-on for Twoo Beweeving Obamabots. I can see that URL being circulated right now to convince fence-sitters, but the site just… smells of eleven-billion dimensional chess, you know?

  187. portia says

    Yeah, I suppose I get what you mean. My rationale is along the lines of…drone strikes are terrible horrible war crimes, but they will not decrease with a Romney Administration. General welfare, on the other hand, will. We’re on the same page I think. As long as I’m allowed to swoon over his twinkly smile, just a bit.

    Audley, how come? Because he’s making me a little mad saying they shouldn’t be talking about “social issues.” (Which is a term I hate).

  188. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Ms. Daisy:
    I’m not a Twitter follower, but I checked out that #DNCBlackout. Can’t argue with a damn thing anyone said there.
    For my part, I do know that several of the emotional appeals at the DNC worked on me. At the same time, I do know that this *is* the lesser of two evils.

  189. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    portia:
    I agree.
    To not talk about social issues is ridiculous. These issues affect the people being governed and are massively important to many of us. I’m glad to not have heard much from him.

  190. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    I found Michelle moving too, Tony. She made me tear up.

    But my better judgment tells me to get over the theater. Barack Obama is the lesser of two evils and that’s all he is. He’s not a hero to the descamisados. He’s not a “fierce advocate” for LGBT rights. He’s not a threat to the oligarchic economic machine that owns us.

    He’s just the least-bad choice. Own up to it.

  191. says

    Portia,
    Dude, I’ve hated him for years. He’s the “reasonable” conservative columnist that always gets trotted out when some center-lefties want an “opposing viewpoint”. BARF.

    And I’m sorry, but the Dems HAD to talk about social issues– how would it look if they ignored all of the Republican attacks on their base?

  192. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Ah babies. I’d never held an infant before my daughter was born. My attitude ranged from, “Get that thing away from me.” to “No, I won’t hold your baby, what if I drop it?” After she was born I saw things a bit differently:

    The wonder that radiates from babies is not all encompassing; it’s strictly line-of-sight. It’s not all powerful; those who can only see the banality of humanity, and I’ve got to admit that 6.6+ billion is pretty banal, are completely unaffected. But for everyone else it’s magical. Strangers on public transit smile, they let their commuter guard down and pull silly faces. It’s not just little girls and women, I’ve seen teenage boys and crusty old curmudgeons transform.

    This effect is already diminishing. She’s only 10 months old and is starting to look like a little girl rather than an infant. I suppose it’s inevitable, it’s happened to all of us.

    The wonder that is life, the incredible gob-smacking unlikeliness of it is most evident in babies, pouring out of them in an invisible nimbus. As they get older it pulls in, one has to move closer and closer to feel its heat. Little babies grow larger too, filling up the space where once we stood and basked.

    We’re surrounded by adults, faceless masses, utterly banal, but they were all radiant babies once and the wonder is still there somewhere.

    Have you seen it?

  194. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    David Brooks can go to hell. And so can simpering-Catholic-toady-faux-liberal-foil-who-sucks-Vatican-asshole EJ Dionne. And so can National Public Radio for subjecting us to their vacuous mutual reach-around every Friday evening presented under the guise of He Said/He Said.

  195. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Josh:
    No argument my friend.
    ****
    I find myself really liking Will.I.Am.

  196. portia says

    The DNCblackout tag is pretty damning. The one about how if felons could vote, the death penalty issue would be solved pretty quickly. I’ve been harping lately about the ban on felon voting, but I hadn’t thought about that angle yet. And it makes the death penalty that much more sickening.

    Tony: Agreed. It means a lot to me to hear unapologetic defense of my bodily autonomy. And even from a strategic POV, it makes sense for Dems to talk about the social issues, especially when it’s at the forefront, and the GOP hates it. The GOP wishes the conversation would stay in the areas where they can make up statistics and fool people about the economic realities.

  197. says

    I agreed with all of you about the politics.

    Can any of you suggest new music for me to listen to? I’m a metal-head but I can also appreciate Pink Floyd and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

  198. portia says

    Audley – noted. I had known nothing about him, so I was curious. Sounds like I hate him, too. Sweet dreams!

  199. Rev. BigDumbChimp says

    With so many good shows losing it around season 5, Breaking Bad continues to deliver.

    This season had a few rough moments starting out, but damn.

  200. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Andrew Sullivan:

    11 pm. Stunning, brilliant, moving, passionate and right. Flawless. That was a speech a presidential nominee would be proud to have given.

    Eat my asshole raw you dumb, fawning celebrity chaser. You’re a big part of what’s wrong with our political and cultural discourse.

    Here: Suck on my sneakers and tell everyone how stylish they are.

    Douchebag.

  202. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    FossilFishy:

    “No, I won’t hold your baby, what if I drop it?”

    The few times I’ve had the opportunity to hold an infant (I think I’ve had the chance twice…maybe), the above was my reaction. I was scared. I remember it was back in the late 90s and a coworker brought her newborn to work and asked if I wanted to hold the little one. I was sooooooooo nervous. In fact, I sat down in a booth and was pretty much motionless. Time felt like it had come to a standstill. I was overwhelmed with fear (that I would somehow break the baby) and joy (it was just so amazing that this little one was just inside of my friend a few weeks prior).
    I haven’t had the chance to hold an infant since then, but I like to think I wouldn’t freeze up or be so afraid that I’d break them.
    There’s another incident involving children that really stands out in my mind.
    It was the same restaurant as above (maybe closer to Y2K), and involved another woman and her son. IIRC, her name was Ashly but damn if I can remember her son’s name (I hate that). I *do* remember her son was maybe 4 or 5 years old and he took a liking to me. I recall several times I’d scoop him up and hold him horizontal to the floor. He would extend his arms like he was flying and we’d move swiftly through the restaurant (during the slow mid-day period). He loved being able to ‘fly’ around. I loved being able to share that with him. To this day, I’m not sure which one of us had more fun doing that.
    I think both of those incidents cemented my desire to have children.

  203. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    And if any of you are sitting here wiping tears away about how Michelle Obama obliquely (and without direct language) acknowledged your right to bodily autonomy or your right to “love” who you want to love:

    Get over yourselves.

    Are you really that easy to please? Are you really that goddamned senile that you can’t remember what Obama promised before his campaign, and how badly he fucked it up when he got into office?

    Do you have any limits to how badly you’ll be played before you stop groveling thanks to someone who doesn’t deserve it?

  205. portia says

    Josh: For myself, I was referencing an earlier speaker who spoke quite directly about a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy. Jeez. I was lounging.

  206. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    And, no. I’m not saying it’s a foolish choice to vote for Obama. I’m going to vote for him. The alternative is too hellish to contemplate.

    But if you allow yourself to get caught up in this melodramatic weepery you’re an idiot. Stop tripping over yourself to throw laurels to a guy who (barely) does the minimum to acknowledge your humanity, your right to bodily determination, your right to exist as a queer person with full rights of citizenship.

    Stop fucking saying “thank you, Sir” for shit you should be DEMANDING.

    Raise your goddamned expectations.

  207. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Sorry, Portia, if you’re unintended collateral damage in this conversation.

    But I’m not sorry, and I did mean it. People should be a fuck load angrier and louder than they are.

  209. says

    Rev. BDC

    Gov’t Mule is definitely in my wheelhouse. Just look over there on the right-hand side where my picky-thang is, and tell me that me and Warren Haynes aren’t in the same clubhouse. :)

  210. says

    Josh,

    I think you might needs to tone it down for the Lounge, and I totally agree with you. Obama and the national Democratic Party are the lesser of two evils, but that just means that they are still evil. Yes, better to vote for the guy who will kick you instead of the guy who will stab you, but don’t pretend that the guy kicking you is a good person because he hasn’t yet pulled out a knife.

  211. portia says

    On another note, anyone with kids, I need your advice. How do you handle it when your kids’ friends are disrespectful or rude? I’m really trying not to dislike the neighbor’s 12 year old, but it seems like it’s his mission to make it happen.

  212. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Sigh. Sorry. This is the Lounge, as Joe points out. I’ll move my vitriol to Thunderdome. Let me know when Ms. Turner arrives:)

  213. says

    SallyStrange taught me how to row in a canoe properly.

    I’m trying to get caught up–truth is, it’s never going to happen–but I had to correct this! PADDLE. One paddles a canoe. You know, with paddles? Rowing is, as the name would suggest, for rowboats. With oars.

    But Josh did great! He’s actually got good upper body strength–must be from all that engine tinkering.

  215. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    PADDLE. One paddles a canoe. You know, with paddles?

    Pfffft. Whatevah. It was hard work and you know I broke a nail, gurl:))

  217. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Tony, how about some No Means No?

    Live ferocity.

    Best comment: “Green Day is to punk what McDonalds is to Cuisine.. NMN on the other hand is fucking bacon! Best EVER!”

    Album version for comparison.

  218. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    He’s actually got good upper body strength</blockquote.

    Boo-yah, haterz. You know you want these guns.

  220. ibyea says

    @Josh
    Exactly. Which is why I am not watching DNC. Whatever they say don’t matter. They always say awesome things while action wise, they always do the least amount possible, or being completely regressive (seriously, Tim Geitner in the executive branch!).

  221. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    TLC:
    Long time no see!
    I was just wondering about you a few days ago :)

  222. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Apologies, it was Joe that wanted some music suggestions.

    Tony: I still wear my 5 year old like a hat and stumble around the kitchen. She laughs and laughs and say “I’m NOT a hat Daddy. I’m NOT! Put me DOWN!” And as soon as I do she holds up her arms to me and says “Again!” It’s such a stupid little thing and it brings her, and me such joy. This is the upside to parenting.

  223. says

    Josh, I wasn’t trying to bust your balls or anything… I just like the relaxed atmosphere here and I’d be happy to add a couple of “fuck yeah! fuck those asshats!” over in the Thunderdome.

  224. John Morales says

    portia:

    How do you handle it when your kids’ friends are disrespectful or rude?

    Duh. They are neophytes, and I let them know it.

    (Not that I am a breeder, but I have friends who are)

  225. portia says

    Ha. I forgot to mention I’m looking for a strategy that doesn’t end in the shrill neighbor lady taking out her frustration on me.

  226. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Tony: I still wear my 5 year old like a hat and stumble around the kitchen. She laughs and laughs and say “I’m NOT a hat Daddy. I’m NOT! Put me DOWN!” And as soon as I do she holds up her arms to me and says “Again!”

    Heheh. . it’s so cute, isn’t it?

    I play a game with my (oh shit, now almost five years old!) nephew Jamie. I made this up when my brother, Curt, was a toddler. Curt was the most adorable Butter-Ball little thing. I would come up to him on my hands and knees going “Grrrr. . om-nom-nom-nom!” and chew on his belly.

    When he squealed and pulled away I’d chastise him for not understanding that he was my “dinner” and it was unbecoming for a meal to try to escape. “Dinner-behave yourself!” Then more belly noms.

    I pulled this with Jamie last Christmas. He screeched and squealed and laughed and nommed me back until he got tired of it. With a very put-out look he said, “Uncle Josh! I’m not food. I’m just Jamie. Stop.”

  227. says

    portia,

    I have completely useless advice! Wear a gun on your hip, and have the cops on speed-dial. The whole neighborhood is way more polite that way, not just the children.

  228. portia says

    Joe, advice that makes me laugh aloud is never useless. I just have a pirate sword, though, will that do?

  229. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    That’s too funny Josh. I’m still managing to get in a good belly raspberry now and then too. I’ve got a rule though, if she says “Stop it.” I stop, no questions and let her initiate any continuation. It’s never too soon to start teaching her that it’s her body and within safety and health limits (“No honey, I do have to look at your knee to see if it’s bleeding”) she’s in charge of it.

  230. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    portia:
    At first glance, I read that as:
    “I just have a private sword…”

    :)

  232. portia says

    Fossilfishy

    I’ve got a rule though, if she says “Stop it.” I stop, no questions and let her initiate any continuation. It’s never too soon to start teaching her that it’s her body

    Exactly. With the little ones in my life, “stop” is the magic word to make the tickling stop. Sadly, SO’s littlest didn’t expect me to actually listen when he said it. He seems pleased that he can start and stop the tickling. (SO respects boundaries, but other family members are not so good at treating the kids like people).

    Tony

    Ha!

  234. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    That’s too funny Josh. I’m still managing to get in a good belly raspberry now and then too. I’ve got a rule though, if she says “Stop it.” I stop, no questions and let her initiate any continuation.

    Oh, same here, FossilFishy. The minute they say “stop,” one stops. Kids are not just “kids,” they’re people with a right to their own bodies and their own boundaries. It’s especially important to respect those since they’re so vulnerable.

  235. says

    portia, If you just have a sword I would add a can of pepper spray and make sure your phone is at the ready.

    I carry a gun around this neighborhood, because it makes a bit of sense based on the crime statistics. But one time as a joke to screw around with my wife I strapped on ALL THE WEAPONS! So I carried four extra 16-round magazines filled with hollowpoints, plus my three fixed-blade fighting knives, two spring-assist opening pocket knives, plus the $260 “switchblade” automatic tactical knife… and just to put it all over the top I slid the oversized katana into my belt. Hey, I’m short and not interested in fair play, I’ll take the extra 2″ worth of reach!

  236. portia says

    I bounce my 2 year old niece on my knees and she squeals. And demands “Moh, moh, do it sum moh!” I love it.

  237. John Morales says

    Improbable Joe: “An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” — RAH.

    —

    (Me, I’m armed with wits)

  238. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    portia: I would handle it the same way I would handle it with my own child. I’d rather show my child that the rules for their behaviour are important enough to apply them universally than keeping the peace with a neighbour. Mind you, I recognise that that’s an easy piece of advice to give from the outside.

  239. says

    A song I wrote, sung to the tune of “Itsy Bitsy Spider”:

    The bouncy bouncy baby was bouncing on the bed
    The bouncy bouncy baby fell down and bumped her head (oh no!)
    But the bouncy bouncy baby got up to bounce again! (yaaay!)

    Accompanied by appropriate knee-bouncing, falling down, sad-faces, and returning to knee-bouncing with clapping and celebration, of course.

    Fun times with toddlers.

  240. says

    Can’t settle down. Waiting for the Tyl*n*l PM to kick in.
    Portia,
    I think you have it perfectly backwards– the GOP were the ones to bring up “social issues” in the first place. The focus on stripping women of their rights, fighting against marriage equality to the point of changing state constitutions, attacking science in the classroom, etc didn’t occur until after the Tea Baggers started taking office 2 years ago and it had nothing to do with the Democrats’ economic or social policies. Perhaps the Republican establishment doesn’t want to focus on the “social issues”, but that’s what they’re stuck with at the moment because they’ve let their party become a runaway train.

    Josh,
    Not really sure who you’re railing against– I don’t see any Obama sycophants here. Hell, you know I’m not voting for him, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to see the pomp and circumstance of the convention.

    Besides, I still think Gov Patrick gave a damned good speech.

  242. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    Joe Have you seen this? Knife vs. Gun.

    Sally: Oooh, I like it! I’m actively and consciously trying to enjoy these simple little games because she’s only going to be this age once. It will be just a blink of an eye before she’ll no longer want her Daddy to play with her.

    Right now we’re on a big Uno kick. When she gets one of the cards that forces another player to pick up 4 she can’t contain her delight. I’ve been trying to explain that she shouldn’t warn us, but I’m not trying too hard because her gloating followed by attempts at sly concealment are too cute.

  245. says

    Sally: Oooh, I like it! I’m actively and consciously trying to enjoy these simple little games because she’s only going to be this age once. It will be just a blink of an eye before she’ll no longer want her Daddy to play with her.

    Thanks to several years of making my living as a “professional allomother,” aka baby-sitter and pre-school teacher, I am a veritable fount of fun songs and games for toddlers.

    One of my favorites is singing the song “This train is bound for glory,” only substituting the local town name, or your kitchen, or wherever it is you’re going, for “glory,” and inserting children’s names for “this train”.

  246. says

    FossilFishy,

    Yeah, I’ve seen it. That’s why I have a tactical holster and keep a round in the chamber. No safety either, because the only safety I need is my finger off the trigger until I decide to shoot something. :)

    And it is a fucking shame about Jen McCreight… I guess we know who the REAL bullies are, don’t we?

  248. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    I just saw this wonderful gem of a comment at Greta’s (the A+ scribe thread):

    Greta,

    You are a heinous bitch.

    In fact – I am uploading a video tonight telling the whole world what a cunt you are.

    That’s from Naomi Chambers.
    http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2012/08/30/atheisms-first-project-a-scribe/#comment-93793
    WTF?
    What’s the context? I even checked back over the entire thread to see if she’d posted a comment and I missed it. Nope. Nothing. She literally dropped into the thread to say vile shit to Greta for *some* reason.

    I then made the mistake of clicking her nym and reading her blog:

    I think that Rebecca and Amy enjoy the negative attention they are getting. They love this crap the same way some women love getting slapped around. They love being attacked by people. They love being called names. They love the drama videos. They love banning people. They love re-tweeting nasty messages. They even love seeing these men fight for their honor. Just like that smug arsonists enjoys watching the building he torched go up in flames, these women love watching the blogosphere light up in flames.
    http://venturephilosophy.blogspot.com/2012/08/speaking-out-against-paranoia.html#more


    I
    Don’t
    Understand
    People
    Like
    This.

    She clearly employed some thought in writing her blog post, but she didn’t think *through* what she wrote. The rest of what she writes is just utter shit. It’s one big cry for everyone to STFU; to stop talking about things she doesn’t like. She dismisses the very real attacks made on Rebecca, Jen, and Greta.

    I just…I cannot grasp the world these PISSANTS* live in.

    *I’ve been waiting to use that.
    ****

    Oh, and why the fuck is Piers Morgan harping on the DNC speakers avoiding ‘God talk’?
    What a fuckwit.

  249. says

    I’ve got a rule though, if she says “Stop it.” I stop, no questions and let her initiate any continuation.

    That’s a family rule here too. We even come right out and call it the family safeword :)

  250. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    Oh, I’m not ready to see Jen driven off. You want a fight fuckers? Bring it. I’m not putting up with your shit and I know a whole lot of people who aren’t either. Come on. Let’s do it.

  251. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Ok, does anyone have glasses to break?
    Maybe a curio cabinet?
    Perhaps an abandoned building needs to be demolished?

    They fucking drove Jen off.
    I’m so fucking mad right now, I’m crying.
    I cannot believe that shit has happened.
    I cannot believe the misogynist, anti-feminist crowd has pushed her that far.
    These are the motherfuckers that we’re supposed to want to keep around?
    These are the people that we’re supposed to be worried about alienating?
    She did NOT deserve the treatment she received.
    She deserves applause.
    She deserves support.
    She deserves recognition for her hard work.

    I haven’t been this pissed off in a L.O.N.G. time.

  252. says

    I’m going to reiterate and expand on what I said over at Blag Hag:

    Jen McCreight didn’t fail us by deciding to stop participating in this clusterfuck. We failed her, by not making this a place where she could feel comfortable expressing herself. I don’t know what we could have done, but I know we didn’t do enough. This is on us, on all of us, because Jen is one of the best and somehow we didn’t manage to make a safe space for her. We failed. I know that I failed. I’m ashamed that I didn’t do much of anything to help when I was able to. And maybe I could never have done much, but all of us could have done a little more.

    You folks… you folks have saved me, when I was sure I was doomed. I’m still kind of doomed, and I would not be surprised if you folks came through and saved me again. And I’ve never done anything, I’m really not worth anything. Jen deserves more than me, and we all didn’t do enough for her.

  253. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    Hey Tony, I’ve been OK, lest anyone’s worried. Just distracted with PET and the (new) pharyngula IRC channel. Every time I start catching up on the lounge, I get distracted, and then get too far behind. So I skipped ahead this time.

    And now I see Jen is leaving the blogosphere. What are you suggesting, Josh?

  254. Tony •King of the Hellmouth• says

    Joe:
    I understand where you’re coming from, but I disagree.
    Jen got support from many of us. I don’t think it was a question of us not supporting her.
    I think it’s a case of these POS pissants attacking her *everywhere*. Perhaps it might have been bearable if it were *just* on Twitter. Or *just* on Blag Hag. Or *just* in email. But she got it *everywhere*.
    Those pieces of excrement.

    Hey Josh,
    My anger is cranked up to 12. Lead the way.

  255. Josh, Official SpokesGay says

    I’m suggesting concerted push-back. Public shaming. Un-censored vitriol against misogynist motherfuckers, harassers, and standers- by who tolerate it. Eviscerate them.

    #IstandByJen

  256. The Laughing Coyote (Canis Sativa) says

    I have to second what Tony said, Joe. What can we do against such a focused onslaught of reckless hate?

    I think Jadehawk might have something on that thread… we should redouble our efforts (says the guy who’s been slack as hell lately…)

  257. says

    I’m sad. Jen’s been one of my longtime favourites, and I was really hoping to meet her and give her $10-20 for beer because I think she’s amazing and deserves -something- to make up for the crap. Hell, I wanted to buy her beer long before Elevatorgate and all that crap.

    Now I just wish I could afford to export her a goddamn flat of Granville Island Brewing’s Brockton IPA, or Okanagan Spring Brewery’s Porter.