Comments

  1. blf says

    The mildly deranged penguin rarely does slow. Or typical definitions of nice. She does take, though. Mostly cheese.

  2. glodson says

    I had a really rough night last night…. I’m still sorting out what happened. It was bad.

    Everything worked out, but not without a bit of stress.

  4. dianne says

    (Snark’s? Good restaurant name, that…)

    I’d be worried that the house specialty might be horse and peas stew.

  5. blf says

    One Hundred Years of Post-its®

    Will happen a bit over sixty years from now (c.2077).
    I imagine that by then they’ll either require batteries, or will have been reformulated to act as a Carbon sink, or will cover what remains of the planet to a depth of several metres.

  9. David Marjanović says

    *hugs for Cerberus*
    So far, you’re doing the best anyone could.

    *very careful gross hugs for Esteleth*

    *hugs, happiness tea and chocolate for Portia*

    And you sneak them out under your coat?
    :D :D :D
    “Leaving a fishy-smelling trail wherever he goes….”

    :-) The thought of a baby manatee clutched to my chest gives me cute overload. I don’t see why manatees would smell like fish, though.

    I’d really like to have a smoke
    but it’s -11°C out there
    I’ll pass.

    Oh, that reminds me: winter is coming back over here. Again. Monday morning it’ll be -10 °C!

    Nonono. Not the East-Zoo. It’s the Tierpark.

    West Zoo and East Zoo sound better than Zoologischer Garten and Tierpark, don’t you think? After all, that’s why the Tierpark was founded: because the original zoo ended up west of the wall.

    Shush! My 3 year old laptop might hear you!

    Hah. Mine is 6 years old.

    (It’s too slow for the modern age; making an antivirus update and looking for Windows updates takes half an hour every time I switch it on. I’ll buy a new one… The harddisk is fairly close to full, too, but otherwise it’s in a fine condition. Doesn’t even overheat.)

    I have spent some time at physorg.com battling AGW denialists at the comments sec tion. The same denialbots turn up again and again with the same old lies.

    Some of them are paid by stink tanks to infest the blogosphere, sow doubt, and teach the controversy.

    Or they should hire a better translator.

    It gets better. The page “Native land of Borjomi” looks like it’s translated from Russian.

    So just in the last week, in a volunteer ancillary position I’m in at work, I’ve had to not only put up with but actively be the causal agent in destroying not one, but two things I care deeply about that are relevant to and have a high impact on my actual paid job. That’s been fun.

    …? :-(

    How do you know your frozen lasagna contains horse-meat?
    The nutritional value is given in hors-power.

    Heh.

    Shows what a sheltered life I lead: learning German jokes in English through teh intarwebz.

    I’m always careful to tell people that I’m descended from the criminals, not the religious fanatics. Wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a Puritan.

    + 1

    David Marjanović, I do not think that you qualify as “Dave.”

    What with:

    (1) There are a few people (Americans of course) who do spontaneously call me “Dave”.
    (2) No nickname at all is generally used over here, because my name is too rare! *mad cackling* However, my nuclear family, one aunt, and one of my brother’s friends do use what amounts to a strict analog of “Dave”.
    (3) I’m the one who gets to decide when I qualify.

    My grandma uses a very different nickname. Nobody else uses any, but then, I know extremely few people.

    ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

    Link dump!

    I’m too tired to explain this right now, just read it.

    Ecce homo.

    You’ve all read of Y-chromosome Adam… turns out the sample size was too small: the male-line descendants of a very different man live in one village in Cameroon… and in South Carolina, unless Albert Perry was the last one there. Paper here.

    Conservation: big cats as flagship species for whole ecosystems.

  10. says

    Utah is #1 in ignominy … again.
    Provo-Orem area (just south of Salt Lake City) is, according to the Wall Street Journal, number one in the nation on the “worst paying cities for women” list. Women in “Happy Valley” make just 61% of what their male counterparts make.

    Recent stats reveal that 88.69% of the people in that area self-identify as mormon, as members of the LDS church.

    http://m.kutv.com/article?id=9236248&categoryid=343&election=&provider=

  11. rq says

    Just read a note about sleepwalking sexists on my Facebook that I would love to share here, unfortunately it hasn’t been made public-public. Worth a read.

  12. says

    More enlightened news from Utah: in the past, we’ve discussed that state’s propensity to pass utterly ridiculous and often self-defeating liquor laws, sometimes even passing laws that made it likely the state would rake in less money from liquor sales.

    Well, they are at it again.

    The Senate gave final passage Friday to a bill clarifying that Utah restaurant patrons may sip alcoholic beverages while looking at menus before actually ordering food.

    The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control recently created an uproar by issuing a wave of citations to restaurants saying such a practice was a violation of current state law. The agency later backed off the effort.

    After an outcry over citations, DABC’s director said there had been a misunderstanding about the directive and that customers were allowed to be served so long as they signaled an intent to order food. Even so, the warning has had a chilling effect on the industry. Restaurants such as Chili’s Grill & Bar in downtown Salt Lake City still will not serve alcoholic beverages until diners actually place an order….

    From the comments:

    Does it have to be sipping? Can’t one quaff, guzzle, chug or just plain old drink?

  13. says

    Step by tiny, painful step Utah is moving in the right direction when it comes to LGBT rights.

    … Gay civil-rights advocates praised Utah senators for passing through committee for the first time Thursday a bill that would prohibit discrimination at work or in housing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

    The bill, SB262, a measure that supporters have been working on the past five years, would offer statewide protections which are in place in just 17 municipalities, including Salt Lake City….

    That’s right, friends, if this bill it not passed and signed into law, it is legal in most of Utah to discriminate against LGBT persons when it comes to jobs or when it comes to letting them rent an apartment or buy a house.

    http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55970257-78/advance-bill-committee-gay.html.csp

    … several committee members and speakers expressed the view that homosexual acts are immoral and should be condemned by definition. …

    Although the bill passed its first hurdle Thursday, supporters admit it will be difficult getting it through the Senate and House, and having Gov. Gary Herbert sign it.

    “I’ve embraced the idea that local governments have found a way … to address it in their own communities,”Herbert said recently in an interview….

  15. glodson says

    This just odd.

    Many young people turned to drugs and immoral lifestyles; these youth became known as hippies. They went without bathing, wore dirty, ragged, unconventional clothing, and deliberately broke all codes of politeness or manners. Rock music played an important part in the hippie movement and had great influence over the hippies. Many of the rock musicians they followed belonged to Eastern religious cults or practiced Satan worship.

    Education in Louisiana.

  17. says

    We’ve been discussing of late the backlash against Orson Scott Card, mormon author of Ender’s Game, purveyor of poisonous politics, and now a wannabe writer for Superman comics.

    Journalist Steven Lloyd Wilson has picked up the story, and he brings up several new and interesting points.

    … Some comic book shops announced that they would not stock Superman after Card starts writing for it. And a couple of days ago, the artist on Superman quit, releasing a statement dancing around the issue, a thinly veiled non-statement in order to not burn bridges with what amounts his dream job. DC caved to pressure yesterday and announced that Card’s story had been scrapped.

    Now there’s a furor from the right, that this is a left wing witch hunt against people who disagree with their agenda, to economically punish those who don’t toe some political line. I disagree quite strongly. This is not some freedom of speech thing, not some despicable and childish refusal to engage with those who disagree politically. I would defend to the death Card’s right to speak his beliefs, but the hell if I have to stock it on my shelves if I’m the owner of a comic book store….

    … How do you reconcile the symbol of truth, justice, and the American way being written by someone who loudly proclaims a violent revolution to topple American democracy if the majority doesn’t agree with his opinions?

    And yet there are signs there even in Ender’s Game. I always found Peter to be the most fascinating character, the one that I related to so much more directly than Ender in my darkest moments. His monologue about the nihilism of the modern world still sticks with me…

    And in retrospect, it’s Peter who really announces what Card thinks about the way the world works. Peter’s the character who subverts the government, who takes over the world behind the scenes …The contempt for democracy, the loathing for the very idea that the people should make their own decisions about their futures, is staggering in Ender’s Game once noticed …

    I know it’s an overused cliché to make a point like this, but I think that Ender would hardly recognize who Card is today. Yet I think Peter would. I think Peter would recognize him as one of the sad, angry, and scared men who make it possible for the Peters of history to ascend their thrones.

    The comments section below this article is worth reading.

  19. tomh says

    @ #14

    There are 21 states plus Wash DC that ban employment discrimination against LGBT persons. Also, at least 185 cities and counties ban discrimination, there is a list here. Everywhere else it is legal to discriminate. That’s why it is so important to pass ENDA, to ban it on a national level.

  21. thumper1990 says

    @Glodson #15

    Education in Louisiana? Is that a typo? That paragraph is not what I’d call education.

  22. says

    birgerjohanssen

    I have spent some time at physorg.com battling AGW denialists at the comments sec tion. The same denialbots turn up again and again with the same old lies.

    I recall reading about someone who worte a script that identifies standard denier arguments and grabs the evidence to rebut them; if it finds a new one, it notifies him and he can update it.
    Katherine
    *hugs* That sucks

     
    So, I’m approved for unemployment. To the tune of about half my rent every month. So amazingly fucking helpful of them, I feel.

  25. rq says

    pharm scigrad
    If you want to play bingo, I can translate some comments for you on a Latvia narticle about how women drivers are safer drivers than men… With the appropriate commentary on women+technology and evo-psych (that is, men are ‘programmed biologically’ to be risk-takers, even when driving!).

  27. says

    OK
    Since my parents went to France this week we now have 18 bottles of Crèmant, 3 bricks of Bordeaux, 500 coffee pads and 25 20 bases for Flammkuchen. Life is good.

    Katherine
    Hugs for getting shit at job

    David M.
    Sure, you’re technically correct, but many people from east Berlin won’t look too kindly on that argument, because it makes the Tierpark eternally look like, you know, a poor substitute for the real Zoo. And they have always taken great pride in their Tierpark. As they should. When they thought up that concept most zoos were still “show as many animals on as little space as possible.”

  29. ChasCPeterson says

    I don’t see why manatees would smell like fish, though.

    On account of their natural habitat consists almost entirely of fish-pee. hth.

  30. UnknownEric is high on Mountain Dew. says

    They … deliberately broke all codes of politeness or manners.

    They never held doors open, they used the salad fork on the main course, and once I heard one of them say, “Poop.”

  32. Pteryxx says

    —

    More reason to hate on Monsanto:

    http://www.vice.com/read/your-clothes-are-making-indian-cotton-farmers-commit-suicide

    A Center for Human Rights and Global Justice report describes the root of the problem: At the turn of the millennium, Indian farmers who had been given access to a wider range of products after India’s market liberalization started buying genetically modified Bollgard Bt cotton seeds from the Gates Foundation-backed Monsanto corporation. The seeds were able to resist and kill the common American Bollworm cotton pest, making them an instant hit, with 85 percent of cotton grown in India being Monsanto-controlled Bt cotton by 2009.

    However, the seeds were expensive, and spiralling prices (coupled with planting restrictions from the multinationals selling the seeds) led to farmers approaching money lenders for hefty loans that eventually turned into unmanageable debt. Almost 300,000 cotton workers have committed suicide to date, some of them by drinking the same insecticides they were sold by multinationals.

  33. iiandyiiii says

    Shameless plug from a first time author (and occasional poster): My first novel, Sailor of the Skysea, has been published. It’s a fantasy adventure novel set in a fictional world with a lot in common with colonial America. As most traditional fantasy is to medieval Europe, my novel is to the Americas in the early 19th century. You can buy it on Amazon, as an ebook for $0.99 or as a paperback for $9.99. You can also take a look at my website.

    If you’re a fan of the genre, I hope you take a look- and if you like it, please leave a review on Amazon.com; my budget for marketing is essentially zero, so I’m heavily relying on online reviews and word of mouth. Thanks so much for reading my plug!

  34. says

    *hugs* for Katherine

    Personal Stuff

    It’s been one week now. One solid week of decent, even good, sleep, and no weird-ass “meaningful” dreams, either. (Aside from my normal weird-ass dreams, of course.)

    So either I’ve broken something new in brain, or I’ve inadvertently fixed something, and both possibilities are new and scary.

    Heh. I’m… actually quite frightened by a lot of things.

  39. bluentx says

    Personal rant to follow:

    A long time friend has posted this on FB:

    “Ok, y’all. I love each and every one of you to pieces, but I really am tired of the foul language and the over abundance of political posts. I see the news. I have a brain. I’m on facebook to relax and have fun, so please, limit the negative posts to me. I’m really not into that! Thanks!”

    I don’t know what she means by “the negative posts to me”. Am I not seeing something she does? I haven’t seen anything specifically directed to her that I would say is ‘negative’.

    And to dismiss politics like it has ‘no important meaning in IRL’ is just unbelievably shallow to me.

    I go on FB to share things I think are important- that others may not have heard about- as well as “to realx and have fun”.

    Am I overreacting? Too involved with FB (for FSM’s sake!)?

    Thoughts from The Horde are welcome…

  40. bluentx says

    Oh, and so far she’s gotten 6 positive comments (none against) and 30 ‘likes’!

  41. rq says

    bluentx
    I think it’s the misconception that everything on a newsfeed is directed at you. Maybe she is being targeted. Or she thinks Facebook still works in the old ‘wall’ way, where you only see things actually posted to you. Either way, if you’re not targeting her, I don’t think you should worry (unless you’re posting hateful things, hmmmm? (I know you’re not (RIGHT?)!!!)). Besides, Facebook isn’t a platform for her. It’s for everyone.
    I think she can go and…
    But I won’t be impolite. I’m going to bed.

  42. bluentx says

    rq:
    The only thing I’ve posted directly to her (that I can think of) was from YOU(!). Heh! Her nickname in school was Moose so I shared the ‘Moose Cleanse’ satire a few days ago. : )
    And got no comments…

  43. John Morales says

    Pteryxx:

    Almost 300,000 cotton workers have committed suicide to date, some of them by drinking the same insecticides they were sold by multinationals.

    That very large number seems highly implausible to me.

  44. JohnnieCanuck says

    South Dakota makes the news by passing a law allowing school districts to decide if they want to arm school teachers to protect kids from killers with guns.

    Anyone walking into a classroom is going to be at risk of being shot if they don’t know the password for the day or whatever. Armed teachers will have seconds to decide if someone just walking in is a threat, since they will be the very first person the assailant will need to kill.

    Wonderful atmosphere for learning. Learning fear and paranoia, for sure.

  46. Rob Grigjanis says

    John Morales @43: The article doesn’t mention that ‘to date’ means ‘from 1995 until 2012’. Link. I think the number is accurate, the causes more complicated, since Monsanto didn’t introduce Bt cotton to India until 2002. Link.

    There is much to hate Monsanto for. Not sure this in the long list.

  47. mildlymagnificent says

    alethea

    To persons dissing Oz in the previous thread: I’d much rather be descended from convicts than Puritans.

    Hah. Then you get the South Australians standing square and tall loudly proclaiming that their state was never a convict colony – it was all free settlers. So there. Nyah, nah, neener, neener.

    Until you do the genealogy thing and you find things far worse than convict ancestry. One of my forebears was an officer in the Rum Corps – far worse, unbelievably corrupt, nasty and entirely undesirable custodians of convicts transported to NSW.

  48. pharm scigrad says

    rq:
    Ooooh… Bingo! :) I see you’re off to bed though… maybe tomorrow then – Bingo raincheck?

    Feminist Bingo

    People of Color Bingo

    Sorry I missed you today. Big fustercluck with having to take a taxi to my surgeon’s office to get a prescription, then take the taxi to my pharmacist’s to drop off the script, then home. Then waiting around for my landlady to drive me back to pick up the script. It is quite fun to live far from family, be quite sick, and not be able to drive. Ah well, at least I will have the drugs I need – and apparently not give a single ROCKSTAR that I hurt anymore. Though my surgeon’s office is filled with a bunch of subprime second morgages with balloon payments if you ask me.

  49. bluentx says

    To persons dissing Oz in the previous thread: I’d much rather be descended from convicts than Puritans. A hearty thhppffftt to you!

    Though actually I am descended from coal miners, but whatevs.

    Convicts are so much more innterresting than Puritans, don’t you think? http://youtu.be/acfx4orazEk
    Personally, I’m descended from tomato products. Due to sketchy and dubious claims of genealogy* I just say I’m a ‘Heinz 57 variety’.
    –

    *Possibly related to Daniel Boone’s second wife (not the one depicted on the TV show), possibly related to (baseball player of old) Ty Cobb- who I understand was a classic jerk. A very stellar lineage don’t cha know.

  53. Esteleth, stupid fucking starchild Tolkien worshiping douche says

    So, I decided to search for my nym on the Slymepit. Found someone referring to me as this.

    Glorious!

  57. marilove says

    Oh, shit, I always seem to lurk here at the right time.

    Apparently they have been chatting about me in the slymepit. I had no idea. That was the first time I’ve ever even made my way over there (and probably my last because I honestly, really don’t have time to give their stupidity much thought).

    Anyyyyway, you learn something new every night!

  58. marilove says

    Oooh, Ed Gremmar. He got banned from here, too, right? Yeah, he keeps getting banned. He’s kind of really, really … not bright.

  60. marilove says

    Yeah he’s an asshole but honestly he’s just really dumb.

    And I lurk here sometimes… I just lack the time to really participate. My free time is usually spent catching up on Craig Ferguson and reading. :P

  61. pharm scigrad says

    chigau (違う) @52:
    If the stuff they had when I was young was *sparkling* I would have had a hella time just taking a little sip.

  64. marilove says

    Hopefully they are sleeping and/or enjoying their Friday nights. I should be doing homework. But I am watching Craig Ferguson. :P

  66. pharm scigrad says

    *waves at IJoe* Yeah, it’s been quiet most of the day. Some people signed off rather early as well it seems. I chalk that up to the whole weekend thing…
    Unless it’s because of the whole “take it slow” demand of our tenticled overlord. We have been filling up the Lounge rather quickly these days, though I wasn’t expecting a sloth bouncer. O.o

  67. chigau (違う) says

    IJoe
    The comments come in, the comments go out.
    You can’t explain that.
    ;)

  69. marilove says

    Man, I should have bought beer earlier!

    It is raining. Earlier while at the store, it was pouring! And it’s very cold out. Well, “very cold” for us in Phoenix. I am really enjoying this last bit of cold before it gets hot.

  72. cicely (No further comment.) says

    Blood and souls for the damned Easter Bunny!
    *grump*
    The St. Patrick’s Easter Egg festive cane display did not go off anything vaguely resembling as planned. It looked so much cooler in my mind’s eye.
     
    And now my neck hurts. And my head hurts. And my shoulders hurt. And my back hurts.
    All in service of a project that stubbornly resisted jelling.
    </whine>
    –
    Fans of The Producers? Here we have “Jonathon Ortloff Plays Springtime for Hitler”. (Hat tip: Do Gooder Press.
     
    I’d’ve thought the job would call for more tentacles than that!
    –
    Alethea, that is indeed a tentacular scarf, within Portia’s re-definition of the word.
    :)
    –
    *hugs* for Kitty. New manager of group is an asshole.
    –
    blf: While you were away, rq was revealed as a minion of the Equine Conspiracy. Self revealed. In fact, down-right wallowing in said revelation. And degradation.
    –

    Several celebrity chefs have come forward, lauding the Wonders that are Horse-Meat (delicacy!Unholy Communion) but many in this country are historically and emotionally attached to their labour assistantsFell Masters,[…] Horses should remember to renew their passports in a timely manner.

    At first, I boggled at the thought that any country in the world would have diplomatic relations such that Horses (or other Demonspawn) would be able to acquire passports—but then I thought, “Well, duh, politicians and clergy!”, and it suddenly made sense.
    –

    I don’t think any peas or horses were involved.

    You never know for sure. Tricky things, horses and peas.

    And Horse-peas….
    –
    –
    New Thread!!!

  74. pharm scigrad says

    Heard a lot of tough news here this week, agreed. I’m hoping it’s a good thing the Lounge is quiet because it means people are out and about in meatspace, having a good time.

  76. says

    Hey cicely!

    I was going to say other things… but then YOU said St. Patrick’s and I remembered that I accidentally made pickles a few weeks ago, which made me wonder if I couldn’t intentionally make corned beef. Possibly corned horse, although I’m given to understand there’s a DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP RIFT there.

  77. says

    marilove, I guess it helps to be a mile up… altitude makes the air thin and the cold have a little extra bite to it. And rain/snow is pretty rare here compared to where I was previous. Florida and Virginia get a lot of rain, and the NC foothills can see a foot or more of snow in any single storm.

  79. says

    I went walkabout. Hey, it was sunny and reasonably warm (though I still bundled up), and dammit, I needed outsides!

    Going out again tomorrow, weather permitting.

    Yeah. I know. Me. Going outside. Willingly. Fuckin’ wild, man.

  81. cicely (No further comment.) says

    *hugs* for glodson.
    –

    I don’t see why manatees would smell like fish, though.

    Well, perhaps ranch-raised ones wouldn’t smell of fish. The free-range kind, though, spend all their time swimming in briney fish soup. They can’t help it.
    –
    WMDKitty: Still, an entire week of good, restful sleep is a thing of joy and beauty. Even if your subconscious is lurking in ambush. At least when it mugs you, you’ll be less worn down.
    –
    Never been to the Slymepit. No interest in going there. Probably not on their radar, anyways.
    –

  82. pharm scigrad says

    IJoe:
    Indeed. I’m housebound for a bit yet, so I will be around no doubt. Enjoy your show!
    ***********
    WMDKitty:
    That sounds lovely, outside and sun and all. It sounds like you’ve had a week of firsts and while I don’t know the backstory at all (nor is that any sort of thinly veiled attempt to ask for it), I’m very happy for you. Good stuff. ^^

  85. says

    Why oh why are some threads now displaying in the mobile format for me, and you can’t even change it at the bottom of the page clicking “show full page”? On the smartphone you get the full site, and on the Desktop randomly the mobile page. I know it’s been mentioned before, but it’s well and truly annoying.

  86. ajb47 says

    chigau @83

    “Is Target as evil as Walmart?”

    Having a friend who works for Target, it doesn’t seem so. Target seems to be much more in line with treating their workers better. As far as I can tell, Target is only as evil as the average evil corporation.

  89. ajb47 says

    @87

    No union. But my friend’s complaints about work are almost entirely about the managers of his store rather than how the corporation treats him. Whereas everything I’ve heard about Walmart is that the corporation treats the workers poorly.

  91. ajb47 says

    Improbable Joe @88

    Your description seems to cover all retail. I mean to say that there is a general experience for retail workers, and it is generally crappy, but some corporations are slightly better than others. And Walmart is near, if not at, the bottom.

  92. chigau (違う) says

    *sigh*
    Target Walmart etc blahblahblah
    I’m going to start knitting all of my clothes.

  93. ajb47 says

    rorshach @90

    That probably depends on the location of the store. Some municipalities have said that’s a no-no.

  94. says

    rorschach,

    To my knowledge, Target doesn’t sell guns. My local Walmart sells M4-style semi-auto assault rifles.

    **Possible trigger warning**

    … are we going to have another gun control argument? Because I’m currently reminded of when I was in the Marines, and we had 60 seconds to fire ten rounds into a stationary target at 200 yards, while changing magazines once. And we did all of our training in semi-auto, so all of the gun nuts who claim a distinction between civilian and military weapons based on semi-auto vs full-auto/3-round burst? Idiots.

    All of these mass shootings take place in close quarters. In semi-auto, Marines are expected to never miss at those ranges, since they expect us to hit things at 500 yards with the same weapon. I went to the range with a belt-fed fully automatic rifle and shot at pop-up and moving targets at ranges out to 250 yards, and came damned close to hitting one target for every three rounds I fired.

    Granted, I’m an outlier, I’m probably in the top 5% of shooters that the Marine Corps produced. But we always trained at far distances. With those weapons at close distances, I would more or less never miss. That’s a really damned good reason why you shouldn’t allow me or anyone else to have those weapons as civilians. As it is, we’ve all been really fucking lucky, because no one with my skill has ever been hooked up with any serious weaponry so far, and been deranged enough to use it. If that happened, we’d be hearing about casualties in the hundreds rather than the dozens.

    We need more gun control. Because there’s a bunch of shooters better that I ever was, and way less stable than I am, and if a few of them got together and could stockpile guns and ammo and could find the right vantage point, they could kill hundreds of people and probably live to kill again. We as in Americans have spent billions worried about terrorist threats, and never seem to consider the real threat that a few assholes with lots of guns and unlimited ammo pose to Anytown, USA.

  95. chigau (just call me chigau) says

    I can no longer focus both my eyes on the screen.
    So nighty-night, all.
    —
    IJoe
    Be careful.
    Gun-talk may warrant a move to The ‘dome.

  97. says

    Joe:
    I haven’t participated in many gun threads , but you are one of the most reasonable gun owners I ever known.
    ****
    Re: Target-
    I was told they cater to women more than men (a friend of mine used to be a manager at one)

    ****
    Re: quiet Lounge-
    My non stop motormouth ass was at work from 10 am til 11 pm. No time to socialize. You can tell the days I am off work by the number of posts in a 24 hour period.

  98. pharm scigrad says

    IJoe:
    That was… well, since my new med comes with a possible side effect of ceiling gremlins… hopefully only when conscious but who knows…
    *looks for a distraction from that TW dystopian actual fucking possible reality*
    How was Grimm?

  99. says

    PSG, Grimm was pretty good. There are smarter shows, but this one is emotionally engaging without being too soap-opera. I actually like the secondary characters more than the leads, so it keeps me coming back every week.

    Tony, you know how reasonable of a gun owner I am? As soon as I moved away from the neighborhood that drove me to buy a gun, I SOLD my gun. I live in a safe place, I don’t need a gun, I got it out of my house so that I don’t live with all of the risks.

    Paid for a third of the Official SpokesGuitar, so not a total loss either. :)

  101. mildlymagnificent says

    I am really enjoying this last bit of cold before it gets hot.

    I’m beginning to believe it’ll never be cold again. This “heatwave” doesn’t really count in the gasping OMG I can’t breathe catalogue of heatwaves – but it just goes on and on and on. It’s been below 25C for a couple of hours around 5 am a couple of times in the last week or so, most days get to 30 pretty early on and just hover in the low 30s without doing much spectacular getting over 35 or anything. They’re predicting 38 for Monday, the humidity was 40+ today ….. and it’s March! It seems like it will never end.

    /end rant

  102. marilove says

    Where are you?

    We’ll get warm here in Arizona, especially where I live, pretty soon. By late April it’ll probably hit 90F (32.2222222 C according to Google haha) and then after that it’s a steady climb to Really Fucking Hot and I Don’t Want to Think About It Right Now.

    This is where I was born, IN AUGUST:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Havasu_City,_Arizona

    Look at the weather chart. I remember that record high of 126F (52.2C). I grew up about 45 minutes south of there, in Parker, AZ. I moved to Phoenix to get away from the heat haha.

  103. marilove says

    Well, fuck, I looked at the 10-day forecast. Supposed to hit 90F (32.2C) on the 14th.

    I am so not ready!

    Well, at least I have a pool in my apartment complex, a very nice one.

    I really should be in bed right now.

  104. bluentx says

    Tony:
    I am such a reasonable gun owner that if I ever really need money I’ll just sell the shotgun I inherited from my Dad. May as well- the only time I touch it is when I clean the corner where it’s kept and it (the gun) hasn’t been cleaned since 2001 when my BIL (the WWII vet) was last here.
    Then there’s the antique in the garage (my grandfather’s maybe?). I guess I should take it to one of the local gun shops so they can tell me more about it. If I ever do want to sell either of them I should know more about them so I don’t get ripped off too badly :)

  106. blinncombs says

    Can anybody explain why there hasn’t been morr critical skeptical commentary on Sam Parnia’s new book? The interview on Fresh Air struck me as a little bit of science dressing up a rather strong claim for which no relevant evidence was presented. The book is currently 18 on the Times best sellers list, while no study data has been published to date. I dont feel uniquely qualified to speak on it, but it struck me as bad enough, and with enough visibility, to meeit some harsh criticism. What gives?

  107. bluentx says

    ..after that it’s a steady climb to Really Fucking Hot and I Don’t Want to Think About It Right Now.

    Ooo…do stick around, marilove. Soon (too soon) we’ll be able to have competitive Sweat-a-Thons! Yippee!

  109. marilove says

    During our summers it’s just fucking hot.

    Last summer or the summer before, I don’t know, they all blend together, we went something like of a month of it not getting below 90 degrees EVER. Even at night. Always (well) above 90 degrees. That is awful. I can handle the heat – I’m used to it – but that is just awful. It’s very, very hard on everything — your car, your air conditioning, everything. (The homeless population, too, and people who can’t afford air conditioning — most will have at least swamp coolers but some people have nothing.)

    Speaking of the heat and cars, our car batteries don’t last long here, and tires are constantly going bad. So annoying and expensive haha.

  111. marilove says

    At least it rains in Florida!

    I mean, I know it rained tonight, but but mostly it does not rain. I mean, desert, obviously, haha.

    Somewhat related, I’m taking an Arizona geography class right now and it’s really fascinating.

  113. bluentx says

    The drought of 2011 (and not much better now) killed most of my trees including pecans :( My lawn came back in 2012 as mostly goathead thorns and other crappy (if not painful) weeds. All that prayin’ Gov. Goodhair did really helped (NOT)!

  114. rq says

    Good morning!
    Improbable Joe – I signed off early to make an overnight large-file-transfer in case the computer fucks up again, otherwise I woulda been doing some work. ;) Thanks for caring and worrying (I know, probably not about me all that much, but still! You’re a good person.)

    pharm scigrad
    *sympathies* on the whole surgeon-public transpo-no near family situation, *hugs* if you’re into that kind of thing. We can do Bingo later today, I’ll pull up some nice things (and I’ll be “working” so that’s my cover and I’m sticking to it!).

  115. rq says

    bluentx
    I also had a friend nicknamed Moose in high school. Weird, heh!
    Kind of fell out of touch with her, but it seems to be a popular nickname (first she was Elk, then she became Moose but I forget why, and then she was Elkmoose (a new hybrid of our own creation)).

  117. pharm scigrad says

    ROCKSTARS marilove, the dudebro is strong in that one. I’d say Poe but… I almost think he means it true. It is frightening. Yeah, no doubt YouTube comments are disabled if that is even approaching the quality of the commentariat. *shudders*

  118. says

    Thankfully BoingBoing has many voices of reason counteracting the two dudebros.

    I know for fact the one that I will refer to as Gossip Man is not a Poe; I checked his comment history. Seriously, man, wtf.

  119. bluentx says

    Good Morning, Latvia!
    You’re probably right about the “it’s all about me” aspect of FB and my annoyance with my friends post.
    I just don’t ‘get’ the “Politics/social justice isn’t important to me” line (and I hear it pretty frequently). Fortunately, some of the ones who say that don’t vote at all. GOOD! (They would more than likely vote Rethuglican.)

  120. pharm scigrad says

    rq:
    Mornin’! I take hugs with much glee. Appreciate the sympathies, high costs to get it but at least it seems to be working. I will take that as I’ve got to get through another 80 hours of this misery and then hopefully all will be right with me again.
    Bingo later sounds lovely. Looking forward to it!

  121. bluentx says

    It’s never exactly lush around here (not West Texas but close) but the last couple of years even the native plants have had a hard time surviving the summers.

  123. bluentx says

    Was it you IJoe, talking mouse problems earlier? I’ve got an excess this year. Usually, one or two find their way in the house the first few weeks of cold weather. I’m now dealing with my FIFTH for this year! I hear the little bugger (right now) scurrying around the kitchen but it refuses to get trapped. The nerve of some rodents!

  124. pharm scigrad says

    At first I took it at face value, but then it got so outrageous I had to wonder… Poe? Especially when it devolved to the whole “wrong word” thing – because apparently this was all dudebro had left to contribute to the discussion. I wanted to ask who harshed his mellow and why he was projecting it on someone he doesn’t even know by making things up that are objectively verifiable. It all seemed so tiresome and… pointless.
    .
    Then again, it is nice to see a comment thread where the irrational were outnumbered by the well-reasoned.

  128. bluentx says

    And later in the above article:
    * Trigger Warning*

    In a videotaped promise to act, Sir Richard Branson relayed a recent, troubling anecdote from a humanitarian visit he made to Africa:

    “Yesterday I was at a clinic we run in Africa called Bhubezi Clinic and there were 40 women in the room. Somebody asked the women if any of them had been raped, and there was laughter amongst the women. We asked why they were laughing. The women said, ‘Ask the question: Has anybody in this room not been raped?’ Not one woman put up her hand.”

    I just want to cry.

  130. sundiver says

    I read the same article bluentx. I hope you didn’t read any of the comments. The ignorant shitstains were out in force. Seems like the MRAs were trying to outdo each other in misogynistic spew.

  131. bluentx says

    Thanks for the warning, sundiver. Think I’ll save the comments section for a time when I need to raise my blood pressure.

  132. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    You made me all smile-y. *hugs*
    Personally, I see the household stress as just household stress, which drives me up the wall some of the time, but at the moment it’s all part-n-parcel of a whole bunch of changes in my personal life. Things are only starting to settle now, with the next upheaval in late May, when I have to go back to work, which means a whole lot of scheduling and commuting and a whole new set of stresses related to the fact that I now live outside of the city but still have the same obligations at work (I have ideas to work around this, so it won’t be terrible, it’ll just be a lot of stress and working shit out for a while). I worry about the household stress, yes, and it depresses me much of the time, and I complain about it, but… I feel bad for complaining about it sometimes, you know? Because it’s only household stress. It’s stuff that gets communicated about and it’s things I can work around and work with and, hopefully with time and patience, work through (sooner would be awesome but people are what they are…). But thanks for worrying. :) Makes a lot of my blathering on here worthwhile.

    bluentx
    I think it was Dalillama with the mouse issues… :) Do you need a cat? We have a stray wandering through the backyard every now and then, but I don’t know how well it’ll fit through the USB.
    Nice article on Partick Stewart. I knew there was a reason I liked him (and not just the smooth voice and silky accent).

  133. Parrowing says

    Unfortunately I didn’t refresh the Lounge to read sundiver‘s comment until after I ventured into the comment section.

    *

    Thanks for all of the nice comments on the last Lounge. Sorry I didn’t respond, everything was just draining me at that moment and I needed to get away from the computer. You really are all such wonderful people. Again, thank you. There were a lot of people that I wanted to offer hugs to, but now I can’t remember who, so please extract the hug (or scritch) that suits you the best from this pile that I’m setting down over here.

    *

    I’m traveling to the US on Tuesday and Puerto Rico next Saturday. I am so nervous right now, I can’t even enjoy the fact that this is a vacation. And my internet will likely not be good while in Puerto Rico so I probably won’t be able to keep up with the Lounge. I know, I know, it’s vacation, but I like keeping up. And of course, my MRA bro will be going on the trip as well. O.o

  134. rq says

    Parrowing
    I didn’t bother with the comments. :/ Well, I read three, and realized I didn’t want to go on.
    I hope your trip to the US and Puerto Rico is a lot of fun, even with the MRA brother. :/ We’ll be here all along, in case you find an internet connection and some time to poke your head in the Lounge and say hi (or vent about MRAs in the family, whatever you need!).
    Holding some thumbs that he’ll behave and not spew hateful crap all over your vacation (what are the chances?). *hugs*

  135. says

    Weather forecast for the next 4 days here: 32C/90F, 33C/91F, 36C/97F, 37C/99F.
    That’s it, I’m moving back to Germany.

  137. sundiver says

    Bluentx, you reeeeally don’t want to read the bullshit spewed there unless you want your BP to blow your eardrums out. I posted a couple of rejoinders there and got the fuck out. MRA assholes can make me so misanthropic I wind up not talking to anyone for days outside of work. Not to mention the mushwits snivelling about how white men are victims of soooo much discrimination.

  138. sundiver says

    I saw that roschach. Dennis Rodman’s always been a bit, well, different. And I’m not even gonna try to wrap my head around that. Too weird.

  141. carlie says

    Parrowing, you can take heart in the fact that many of us are in the US, so our friendly vibes will be closer to you while you’re in the States. :)

  142. rq says

    I don’t know how I did that. Got into a conversation about opinions that are correct and incorrect (vis a vis racism, homophobia, misogyny…). Spiralled into questions about incest, child pornography and what should be the legal age of adulthood (12? 14? 18? <- This from the other, not from me. I had a reply for him, that I did!), and can laws be wrong if they’re governing the things two consenting adults do together without harming anyone? Argh. I should be working!

    pharm scigard
    If you’re around, I’ll pull out those Bingo cards, and I can pass along some comments! ;)

  144. says

    Good morning
    Long concerned parent musing to follow
    So, I also had a talk with #1’s kindergarten teachers about her starting school in summer. She’s been born 5 days after the cut off date and is a so-called “can-go” kid, which means that I could keep her in kindergarten for another year without anybody even asking “why”.
    She’s not very tall and very thin, so in a group setting she always looks younger than she is. Funny enough, when she’s alone she looks much older because her proportions are more like those of a 7-8 yo.
    But we signed her up for school and so we had this chat about her and her development and whether that’s the right decision or not.
    So, one thing is that she’s too damn clever for her own good. She’s not very keen on doing what she’s been told to do if it doesn’t coincide with what she wants to do anyway. They have these exercises where the kids are supposed to colour pictures the exact same way as in a mastersheet. And she’ll often try to colour them more to her liking. But when they ask her why she didn’t pick the red but the orange, or why she didn’t colour the ballons red, green, yellow, blue and orange, she’ll say something like “I didn’t see it” “I didn’t understand it” or “it confuses me.” Because people argue with you if you’Re just stubborn, but nobody can balme you for being stupid and the argument is over…
    But I doubt that this discipline problem would become any better if she’d totally bored in school because right now she’s already way ahead.
    The other thing is that she doesn’t have any friends except for her sister. And she never had. I’ve taken her to playgroups and stuff since she was a babe, and she always enjoyed it, and liked going, but she would always stand aside and rather watch the other kids. And of course I worried about this because it’s not exactly normal, but the thing is that she is happy that way and likes it that way. It’s not like other children don’t want to be her friend or reject her. It’s more like she’s not interested in playing with them. She can draw for hours and hours, invent stories while she draws, have whole imaginary worlds of her own. That’s her, that’s always been her. And I don’t think that this would change if you kept her in kindergarten for 5 more years.

  145. rq says

    Giliell
    She sounds like a talented and imaginative young girl (and I mean that in a good way), who happens to be incredibly introverted. And too smart for her own good (I hope you can keep up as she gets older!).
    For what it’s worth, I hate the mastersheet-colouring exercises (yeah, we have those too!) because I prefer my children to pick their own colours (Eldest comes home with all kinds of colouring exercises in all the colours of the rainbow, and I love it).
    I also hate how it seems that these exercises seem to be used as some sort of indicator of intelligence in your case. Seriously? Picking the right colour is a matter of intelligence? Bah, I say (I know, I know, it’s the system there, but sitll I say Bah!).
    I hope her teacher was supportive of sending her to school, because her teacher should know enough about her to know how smart and intelligent she actually is. In the end, you’re the only one (well, you and Mr.) who can know if she’s really ready for school, and if you say she’s well past kindergarten, then she is! /supportivespeech

    (I didn’t have real friends until well into high school, I remember preparing for a birthday in grade 4 – when everyone was inviting 10 or more friends to parties – and I could only think of 4; I think in grade 6 I didn’t want to have much of a party at all, but since all my siblings always had parties, I had to think of someone! And, in my personal opinion, I’ve turned out mostly alright, although I haven’t yet managed to write that fantastic novel I’ve been meaning to.)

  146. chigau (just call me chigau) says

    Colouring to exactly match the master sheet is training in obedience.
    Which can be a good thing … probably.

  148. chigau (just call me chigau) says

    rq
    Exactly.
    Obedience is good if the school is burning down and you want everyone out safely.
    Not so good in so many other situations.

  149. rq says

    chigau
    You’re right.
    I just don’t like it when it’s applied to creative endeavours (and yes, colouring can be a very creative activity), even (especially?) for children.

  150. chigau (just call me chigau) says

    rq
    The process of being integrated in society involves years of being told what to do, how to do it, when to to it, etc.etc.etc.
    You’d think They™ would let the poor kiddies colour the fucking balloons however they want.

  151. says

    Arkansas takes “a sledgehammer to Roe.” We’ve seen lots of actions on the state level to make abortion unavailable. Chipping away at access to abortion is a tactic thrown aside by Arkansas legislators. They passed a bill that would effectively ban abortion. When their own governor refused to sign the bill because it was blatantly unconstitutional, the Arkansas legislators overrode the Governor’s veto.

    Best coverage: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/#51110013

  152. says

    Yeah, the colouring excercises are also about getting them to to something as instructed, something they have to be able to do in school, because yeah, if it’s time for maths you just can’t do arts because you like that better. But I think she can do it and learn it. She’s able to do as instructed in her ballet classes without problem (ok, she’ll use “thirsty” or “need to pee” (which is a fucking nuissance since you have to strip her to the bones) as excuses sometimes to get a break).
    I remember that I passionately hated colouring books or exercises, too. And she’s so far ahead when just drawing freely.
    Her teachers in kindergarten know that she’s smart, she’s the only kid who knows all days of the week and the months and she’s starting to multiply…
    We need to convince and prepare the schoolteachers for what’s to come.

  153. rq says

    chigau
    Exactly. If everything else is regulated, a bit of freedom would do them some good… One would assume. :/ Ehh, well. What do I know?

  156. rq says

    Giliell
    Multiply? Nice!
    Although, I think in a school situation, even if she attempts excuses for breaks, she’ll figure out that it’s a bit different than kindergarten. If she’s smart enough to multiply, she’ll be smart enough to know it’s time for maths (or art). Colouring differently is not not colouring; doing the difficult exercises first is not not doing maths (or doing them backwards or in any order of preference etc.).
    Then again, I do not know how stubborn she is about these things… ;)

  159. says

    Salem Witch Trials make a comeback in Missouri. Sort of. The Internet provides an entirely new way for Missouri Christians to let us know what they think of witches.

    The Salem Public Library, located in a small, predominantly Christian community in eastern Missouri, decided it’d be a good idea to block public access to websites related to Wicca on library computers. As Simon Brown explained, the ACLU filed suit, arguing that the library’s web filters “prevented access to sites such as the official webpage of the Wiccan Church; the Wikipedia entry for Wicca; Astrology.com; and the Encyclopedia on Death and Dying.”….

    Link.

  160. says

    Well. Ummm. I scarcely know what to say. Apparently we, the secularists, are the “American Taliban.”

    Just last week, Fischer declared, utterly without irony, that liberals are the modern-day Pharisees, And yesterday he followed that up with a declaration that not only are “secular fundamentalists” modern-day Pharisees, but they are also “the American Taliban”

    Video here: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-liberal-secular-fundamentalists-are-american-taliban

  161. says

    Some right-wing dunderheads are upset that President Obama appointed women to the Supreme Court, thus lowering the standards for Supreme Court Justices. Moreover, Sotomayor is a person of color, and appointing Justices that are not white is another lowering of standards. (Not kidding, most unfortunately.)

    But we’re not done.

    The Hispanic female Justice has right-wing dunderheads in a new tizzy because she supposedly “rudely” interrupted the great white hope, Justice Antonin Scalia:

    The topic of discussion on Sandy Rios’ American Family Radio program Wednesday was diversity among federal judicial nominees. … The voice of dissent… was that of the Committee for Justice’s Curt Levey, who told the Post that the White House was “lowering their standards” in nominating nonwhite judges. So naturally, Rios invited Levey on as a guest and explained to him why she disapproves of President Obama’s diverse judicial nominations.

    In particular, Rios disapproves of Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, respectively the third and fourth women ever to sit on the high court. Sotomayor and Kagan, Rios says, have been forgetting their place and behaving “rudely,” “interrupting” and “speaking inappropriately” to, of all people, Justice Antonin Scalia….

    In fact, while Scalia’s bombast provoked audible gasps in the hearing room, Sotomayor waited several minutes before calmly asking the attorney challenging the Voting Rights Act, “Do you think that the right to vote is a racial entitlement in Section 5?”…

    Link at Right Wing Watch.

    In my opinion, someone, or many someones, (preferably women of color), should have interrupted Scalia during his teenage years so that he would have an opportunity to drop some of his racial entitlement.

  162. says

    Thank you, Improbable Joe, @24 for cleaning up after me.

    In other news, I don’t know if this is good, bad, or just strange. One of the mormon General Authorities has sided with President Obama on the issue of immigration:

    President Barack Obama’s outline for immigration reform matches the values of the Mormon faith, according to Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the LDS Church’s governing First Presidency…
    .
    Uchtdorf joined 13 other faith leaders in a meeting with Obama on Frida…many Mormon politicians, including all of Utah’s members of Congress, have so far rejected [Obama’s proposals].

    In the Readers Comments section, several people have noted ulterior motives that leaders of the LDS church may have, and they have made some biting comments about the disparity between the church’s “compassion” stance and the right-wing politics supported by mormon legislators:

    The most important thing we need to do is keep them paying tithing.

    I pray we can find a way to keep foreign members paying tithing and out of the US. They might be our brothers and sisters but certainly no fit to be our neighbors.

    Clearly Brother Urchtdorf was influenced by Obama and the devil at the white house.

    The church sponsored Dieter and the process wasn’t “cumbersome” as he claims since it was all taking care by LD$ who paid for the visa. Without the church he wouldn’t have been able to obtain a “Working Visa” and come into the states as legal immigrant.

    Link.

  163. says

    Joanna Brooks, writing in Salon, provides some background and present-day details for the mormon church’s latest attempt to rewrite their racist history.

    The editing job ends up being yet another Moment of Mormon Madness in my opinion. They did a bad job of it, and failed (yet again) to really mitigate the problem. The racist history can no longer be covered up. A few edits within the supposedly sacred books isn’t going to cut it.

  164. rq says

    Sorry for having non-standard work hours.
    Sorry it’s so inconvenient for you to spend a bit more time with the kids so I can finish some work.
    So terribly sorry.

  165. says

    bluentx:
    WRT politics/social issues-When I was younger, I had zero interest in either. I voted, halfheartedly in the first couple of elections I was able to participate in. I did not care about news, no interest in current events, and knew precious little about politics.

    When I initially began typing this comment, I was going to say I do not know when my interest began.
    Then I realized that I do.

    The death of my best friend, M back in 2010.

    It is unnerving to think of anything good springing from his passing.
    I also don’t feel my social awareness is directly attributable to his passing. Rather, it was a result of the depression I went through. I withdrew from friends and pretty much stayed home all the time. I found myself online a lot more. I also found myself listening to the news (possibly as a way to stay connected to the outside world).
    I had already been an atheist (10+years at the time), but I never thought much about other harmful beliefs.
    One day I heard Michelle Bachmann spout off about the US being a christian nation and that piqued my interest in its truthiness. I suspected she was wrong, but that was out of gut instinct. I decided to actually try to find proof that she was wrong. It was meant to satisfy my curiosity and reaffirm that I was right.
    That search was initially difficult. I dropped out of college in 1997 so I never used the Internet to search for accurate information. I stumbled around finding site after site, some blogs here and there, but nothing firm enough to hang my hat on.
    After reaching out to my parents and a close friend, they gave me directions on how and where to search. That was helpful, to say the least.
    I found my initial doubt about Mrs Bachmann’s claim was well founded.

    Then, some sort of light clucked in my head.

    I started becoming interested in other claims, especially those related to health and well being. While I cannot say I did so completely, I began having doubts about much of what I thought I knew because I questioned how I got the information.
    In time I discovered the Skeptic’s Dictionary and Quackwatch. I also stumbled on Talk Origins and began to educate myself on matters of religion. At some point I happened upon Greta Christina’s blog and was blown away by post after post. The way she broke down her logic and reasoning was stunning and captivating. For months, I would click on random entries and read and absorb. As I did so, I realized I shared some important qualities in common with her and many of her commenters. Chief among them- atheism and progressive ideals.
    At some point I ventured out to the wider FtB network. I lurked around at Pharyngula for a while.
    I remember being shocked at the tone here. I, like many people had fallen for the tone over content argument. One of my first comments was taking a commenter to task over profanity. She (IIRC it was Aquaria) corrected me. I went back to lurking and found The Endless Thread. Like many lurkers here I was drawn to the friendly social climate here, but thought I would be barging in if I just started talking. In short time though, I joined in and they kept me around (I think it is because I pour liquor and have dazzling wit…).

    Pharyngula was the next phase in my “grow up and become more aware of the world” phase

    Especially with regard to feminism.

    Wow. That was A LOT longer than I initially intended. I was just wanting to comment on my path from disinterested, self centered youth to interested, progressively minded adult.
    I am not done on that path, of course. I never will be.
    The spark of social awareness has been fanned.
    My interest in politics has filled my parents with respect.
    The floodgates of my empathy have been ripped off.

    There is no turning back and even though I still miss my best friend, I think I have become a good person.

  166. rq says

    Tony
    You have definitely become a good person, but I think they keep you around here because your lights cluck (All Hail Tpyos!) and they wonder how you manage that. ;)
    *hugs* and thanks for sharing. You have once again confirmed (to me) that you are an amazing person and personality and I admire you.

  167. Beatrice says

    rq,

    Just so you know, I’m giving your husband the evil eye from afar.
    *dry martini* for you

  168. says

    Joe:
    May I join you in the “People who appreciate rq being here” line?

    ****
    rq:
    Sorry for the household frustrations.
    ::passes an assortment of bagels, canapes, beignets, croissants, and crepes to rq::
    ****
    Giliell:
    Your little one sounds awesome.
    She reminds of myself at that age. I was always content to do stuff on my own. To others, my lack of social interest might haveen worrying, but my arents knew I was happy.

    ****
    Parrowing:
    3 cheers for your vacation!
    May you relax and do everything you want and nothing you do not.

  169. rq says

    You’re a life-saver, Beatrice.
    I’ll take an assortment of canapes, Tony. This translating of European regulation related crap stuff is pretty exhausting.

    Eh. Of the kind that I think I’ll be finishing up in a spout of tears (small part frustration, large part mental exhaustion… because that’s how I roll!).
    Can I have seconds, Beatrice?

  171. Parrowing says

    Sorry that you’re being given a hard time, rq. Between Beatrice and I, there is a pair of evil eyes being sent thaddaway.
    *

    I second what rq said, Tony. You are a very good person.

  173. rq says

    Thanks, Beatrice.
    Tony, I’ll admit, while I love croissants (lovelovelove), I prefer the variety of canapes at the moment. My favourite ones that I remember from years ago were these pieces of Camembert with cranberry jam in a filo pastry pouch. *salivate* I just like canapes. *NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM*
    I’ll steal your croissants tomorrow. ;)

    Parrowing, when Husband starts smoking around the ears, I’ll let you both know. ;)

  174. says

    Good afternoon everyone!

    Parrowing, I went to Puerto Rico two years ago, spent a week in the MOST EXPENSIVE HOTEL I’VE EVER BEEN INSIDE OF, and it was really the most relaxed and refreshed I’ve ever been in my life. My wife and I did like 3 days of tourist stuff and four days of reading books on the balcony and sipping expensive booze.

    Let me find a picture… of the view!

  176. pharm scigrad says

    rq
    *hugs*
    My sleep is all messed up and damn if that new stuff didn’t make me sleep the sleep of the dead – for the first time in a week, so I’m not really complaining so much…
    *starts working on a blanket fort*

  178. pharm scigrad says

    Parrowing:
    Glad you’re feeling a bit better, and that you’re back. *grabs a hug outta the pile*
    .
    Tony:
    I enjoy reading about how people made their way here, or to the online skeptic community in general. It’s seldom what I expect, but usually that’s because it’s much more interesting and complicated, as people are wont to be.
    .
    Good afternoon Improbable Joe! The Caribbean is such lovely shades of blue, isn’t it? Beautiful.

  180. says

    You know, I’m probably never ever going to get to go the Puerto Rico again, so I’m glad we did it big. We planned it probably 8-9 months in advance and just kept saving money and making deposits and payments as we could, so that when the time came we actually had money to spend while we were there.

    It was all my wife’s thing, though. I would have spent half the money on a really expensive guitar and used the rest to vacation somewhere cheaper.

  181. rq says

    The pillows are for making a Great Pit of Feathers. Once it’s done, I’m climbing up on the closet and jumping in.

  182. Parrowing says

    Ooh, that is one nice view, iJoe! Alas, no hot tub on the terrace for me, but there are two near the pool!

    *

    Thank you pharm scigrad :)

    *

    Thanks for the relaxing vacation wishes, Tony!

    *

    This will be my third time to Puerto Rico, so all the tourist stuff is out of the way (minus the stuff I’m re-doing because my husband’s parents will be with us this time and the rain forest because the rain forest is cooooooool so why wouldn’t I go back?!) and I hope to get a lot of reading done!

  183. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    You and yer guee-tarrrs. ;)
    I (partially) understand, though. Except I have a thing for all musical instruments – They Shall Not Be Harmed; They Shall Be Treated with Respect and Dignity. Guitar-smashing and piano-chopping music videos are especially painful for me to watch.

  184. pharm scigrad says

    Pit of feathers?? That sounds like a leaf pile except WAY better! Let’s do it…

  185. says

    rq,

    Respect my guitar’s authoritah! *grins* One time I almost punched my brother for touching my guitar. He was dancing in front of a mirror with it. I’m still a little angry about it!

    Parrowing,

    We missed the rainforest, and then we missed a lot of other touristy stuff because Barack Obama showed up and a big chunk of Old San Juan was closed off.

  186. rq says

    Improbable Joe
    Damn that Obama, eh? ;)
    One day I will visit a rainforest and see a real, live parrot.

    *more fluffy and feathery pillows for pharm scigard*
    Let’s make this the Giantest Pit of Feathers ever (for once I will agree, No Horses Allowed – hooves have sharp edges, after all!).

  187. pharm scigrad says

    Giantest EVAR!!!
    Although I suppose you’re right, no sharp edges anywhere… but no squishy peas either, okay?
    *rips open pillow and gets slightly lost in feather cloud with rq*

  189. cicely (No further comment.) says

    *hugs* for everyone who needs or wants them…or who can’t out-run me. But in a totally non-coercive way.
    :)
    –
    Re Dennis Rodman: it’s “not much of a disguise”.
    :)
    –

    They might be our brothers and sisters but certainly no fit to be our neighbors.

    But are these “brothers and sisters” fit to use their bathrooms?
    –
    rq: Sounds as if your husband needs a quick kick to the shorts, both to get him offa his ass and help, and as an attitude adjustment (in the same way that you thump a malfunctioning bit of machinery).
    –
    My first real notice of Things Political was Watergate, which hit the fan just at the same time we moved from SoCA to Tulsa. Culture-shock city! And we were staying with my grandmother, in a suburb entirely inhabited (well, close enough!) by Old People, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. It sorta sticks out in my mind.
     
    Before that summer, I’d always just assumed that our President and Congresscritters were Loyal and Trustworthy Servants of the People. No, honest, I did! Yet another culture-shock.
    –

  190. rq says

    cicely
    At long last The Horse enlightened you to the True Nature of your Overloards (who are no doubt in cahoots with the Wondrous Beasts, although I don’t understand why they keep mucking about so…).

    To be fair, Husband isn’t sitting on his ass, it’s just that his chores are more important than my translating, so obviously the kids should be left in my work space, rather than used as Chaotic Elements downstairs.
    Meh.
    I won’t try to outrun you; I prefer the *hugs*.

  191. cicely (No further comment.) says

    rq I don’t for one moment doubt that Our Overlards are in cahoots with Them. Horse-minions, the lot of ’em.
    –

  192. pharm scigrad says

    Ooooh cicely hugs! I take hugs and give ’em back! :)
    Imma working on another blanket fort. rq and I are building the giantest feather pit if you’d like a soft place to land.

  194. rq says

    *muddles about in feathers*
    Looks like I’ll have to be off, though, pharm scigrad. It was fun! And relaxing, in a weird virtual way, to imagine part of myself lost in feathers while the rest of me translates.

    I always feel like a privileged ass when I complain.

    It’s late, and I’m going to bed. Good night to you all! Mind the pillows and watch for corners before diving into the Giant Pit of Feathers (No Peas Allowed (not even as popsicles *sideways glances in Portia’s direction, in case she’s lurking about)). :)

  195. birgerjohansson says

    I keep confusing Pueto Rico and Costa Rica. I keep them apart by remembering the South Park episode where Butter’s parents claimed he had been abducted by “some Puerto Rican guy”.
    —
    Pueto Rico has karst featues. The giant telescope dish is erected over a collapsed karst site (when they are that big, I doubt “sinkhole” is the appropriate name).
    — — —
    If Pueto Rico was to join Merka, it would offset a couple of congressmen from Dumbfuckistan and maybe create a majority of relative sanity. But I can understand if they are not enthusiastic.
    — — —
    Sweden had the final to the Swedish contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest this evening.
    Let’s just say it was underwhelming. The intersting parts were 1: a group of middle aged male singers who had entered the contest mainly as a spoof, and 2: Yohio, a singer that belongs to a Japanese subculture (he has a career in both countries) and looks like a manga character.
    — — — —
    My mother’s new glasses arrived. I pushed her wheelchair to the optician to make sure they fit, the day was sunny so it was OK (she is 85). Her memory is mostly shot, so she cannot learn to use bifocals, now she has two separate glasses. I attched two ugly (but big) signs with string, labelling them “TV glasses” and “reading glasses”, I hope she can learn to tell them apart without the signs.
    Old age sucks. I have been aware of this all my life, and it is probably the main reason I have never bought into the idea of divine guidance. The universe is just so utterly @$€ up.

  197. bluentx says

    rq: (Yeah, I know you said GN. Catch ya later!)

    Because it’s only household stress.

    Only she says…*hehehe* * hysterical laughter*
    Sorry, I’m alright- really I am…
    –
    Thanks for the offer of the stray USB-cat but I have cats (plural). They are either lazy, inept or didn’t get the ‘mouser gene’. Also, during the Great Goat Invasion I moved their feeding area (outdoor cats) to the opposite side of the house. This is also the opposite side from the kitchen. Perhaps since the cats now hang out further away from where the mice generally get in, maybe that has made the mice bolder and/or less likely to be detected by the cats Rodent Radar.
    –

    No Horses Allowed

    Okay, now you’re just suckin’ up to Cecily… :)
    *waves to Cecily *

  198. cicely (No further comment.) says

    *waving at bluentx*
    Disallowing Horses from the Feather Pit is just good sense—1) who wants to get Horseshit all in the pillows and underfoot, 2) the aforementioned Sharpness of Hooves, 3) it’s the smell (and there is such a thing), and 4) Their absence greatly reduces the chance of Demonic Possession.
     
    I refuse to have to deal with Demonic Possession outside the Game.
    –

  200. bluentx says

    Lynna:

    When their own governor refused to sign the bill because it was blatantly unconstitutional, the Arkansas legislators overrode the Governor’s veto.

    Okay, so much for the “Law-abiding/flag-waving/Amerika-lovers”, eh?
    –
    @ #161:
    Wait… someone named Rios thinks Sotomayor is “lowering the standards” on the Supreme Court.
    Excuse me while I turn the exhaust fan on. My Irony Meter is bleching smoke….

    And on being ‘rude’- if you recall, Sotomayor was also chastised (by the Right) during her confirmation hearings for using the word (*gasp*) empathy !
    –

  201. cicely (No further comment.) says

    “It’s ‘i’ before ‘e’
    When you spell ‘cicely’–
    The opposite way
    From if you’re spelling ‘neigh’.”
    :)
    –

  202. bluentx says

    The laundry won’t do itself

    If you ignore something long enough, I’ve been told it goes away…

    Laundry goes away but only with the help of a Heavy Duty trash bag…

  204. bluentx says

    Tony:
    So, Michelle Bachmann is good for something -besides a laugh?(We have her to thank for your political education.) And I thought she was just bad- especially for the frames of my glasses. I keep bending them out of shape when I forget to take them off before facepalming whenever MB opens her mouth.

    ..they kept me around (I think it is because I pour liquor and have dazzling wit…).

    There is that :) … and clucking…

    My interest in politics and my sense of social justice (tho I didn’t know the term at first) came decades apart. Real interest (paying attention) to politics started with the 1988 presidential campaign. Then-BF got me interested. We did voters registration drives (including at a Timbuk3 gig- Timbuk3 remember them?), went to the state Democratic convention (funny story there), and I proudly displayed my Jackson ’88 bumper sticker (seemed like a good choice at the time) at my 10 year HS reunion (boy, did tongues wag in this former Sundown town).

    I think my first awakening to ‘social justice’ came when I was about 8 years old. That’s when I realized my parents were racists (not KKK-ers just ignorant) :( I couldn’t (and have never been able to) understand why anyone would consider themselves superior to another because of skin color!!!???

  205. pharm scigrad says

    While I’m not sure about the demonic possession, cicely makes a good case for no horses in the Feather Pit. As to rq’s motivations… welp, can’t speak to that. I’m much to busy with the *feathers*…

  206. bluentx says

    birgerjohansson:

    Sweden had the final to the Swedish contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest this evening.Let’s just say it was underwhelming.

    Oh, did Sweden have Englebert Humperdinck sing their entry, too?
    Sorry, couldn’t resist…
    –
    I believe it was you,birgerjohansson, who recommended In The Red to me sometime back. If so, thanks! It’s on YouTube and was very entertaining. So topical.. so timely.. so 1998!?
    Guess it just goes to prove the old adage: The more things change, the more they stay the same.:)

  207. broboxley OT says

    threadrupt. Made it to fargo ND waving south at souks center in PZ’s general direction. Lots of free airconditioning, car made it. Any locals want to get coffee email me at williamoxley at netscape.net
    now to watch a hockey game

  209. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Dang, had a dog-pile of underwear/socks/shoes developing religious inclinations (becoming holey) at the same time. Remedied that today. Super thankful for internet orders, as it is difficult to travel very far away from home due to the Redhead needing commode breaks, especially after a second cup of coffee on the weekends.

    Tonight is planned over chili, guacamole, and cornbread. I feel my forehead sweating already…

  210. bluentx says

    … chili, guacamole, and cornbread.

    I can supply the USB Margaritas if you’re interested …:)

  211. bluentx says

    Oh, boy! It seems we’re having a hail storm! Maybe it’s a good thing that I haven’t yet yet fixed the broken window panes from the last time…

  212. bluentx says

    Scratch one yet. Why didn’t it show up until after ‘submit’? Mysteries…

  213. bluentx says

    Saturday night and I’m in The Lounge talking to myself. Ah, well..
    I’m prepping veggies for the big weekend cook/freeze marathon so…

    Kitchen Tip #666:

    Never seed/chop hot peppers without wearing gloves.

    I made the mistake once (that’s once) of saying to myself: “Self, I’m only chopping a couple of Jalapenos. Not enough to bother with the gloves.” Bad idea. Several hours later and even after several hand washings… I rubbed my eye……..
    “Ai-ya-yi!!!” I was in agony for two hours more…

    So, boys and girls. Repeat after me: peppers & gloves, peppers & gloves….

    ~This has been a PSA from Kitchen Survivalists International. Thank you.~

  214. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    I can supply the USB Margaritas if you’re interested

    The Redhead likes a Modelo Negra with her chili, served chilled.

    I’ll peck up the Redhead’s vague recipe and post it later.

  216. broboxley OT says

    One of the nice things about working remote from home one can cook the horrible smelling nassty stuff like mutton and kidneys and liver. Now just have to figure out where in fargo I can get any of these delicacies. The 2 grocery stores I checked didnt have any of the three. Want lamb chili slow cooked over a day.

  217. bluentx says

    Modelo Negra

    Huuummm….(Googles…) Will have to check that out sometime. Closest thing I have on hand now is Shiner Bock or Newcastle Brown Ale.

    And a pecked chili recipe sounds like a bookmark/cut & paste waiting to happen.

  218. broboxley OT says

    Also need to find decent chinese food, went to a chinese buffet, I could swear that all of the dishes were added goodies to lay choy canned stuff

  219. carlie says

    This was a conversation I had:

    Me: I don’t know why I’ve been making humming noises when I fall asleep the last couple of weeks. Stress? Sickness? Being overtired?

    Spouse: You’ve been doing that for the last 20 years or so.

    What? How can I have been doing this for decades and just now noticed? People are weird.

  220. bluentx says

    ..hot peppers and nose picking, sinus win!

    Only in Charlie Sheen’s World!
    Eating hot peppers and gaining sinus clearance is another story….

  221. bluentx says

    And from the They Just Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Usta department—

    Why is it that the last three wind-up timers I’ve bought have not worked for longer than a week after purchase?

    *grumble, grumble*

  222. says

    I just realized tonight? tomorrow? Daylight Saving or whatever. Sometimes it’s alright living in Arizona. Don’t have to do anything silly like change the time forward or backward. What is the point anymore, anyway?

  223. bluentx says

    DST…oh. yeah thanks for reminding me. 2 am (CST anyway) Sunday. Spring forward! Yee-ha!
    About all time change does for me is (in the Fall) make it so that I go to work in the dark (6pm) and come home in the dark (4 am). *sigh*

  224. says

    I didn’t realise until now that Lawrence Krauss of all people debated our old friend Hamza Tzortzis. And I certainly didn’t expect UC London to allow gender-segregated seating. What’s next Britain, women sit in the back of the bus?

  225. broboxley OT says

    oh shit, asked a hispanic lady staying at the motel if she knew of a decent mercado or carniceria and she shrugged and said CostWise…. I am truly fucked (or my Spanish was transliterated) so far no offal, mutton, or decent salsa verde unless I make my own… welcome to the great white north

  226. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    ‘rupt.

    Sleepy.

    Came in third at trivia. 14 year old girl was raising money for a semester in Australia. Very cool.

    S called me yesterday and left a very contrite voicemail about bailing on me this weekend and wanting to “talk about it.” That hasn’t happened in…um…maybe ever? That is, that he has initiated a conversation about him doing something jerky. At least when the punchline wasn’t “and we should break up.” Of course, we haven’t talked yet because I was busy at the time and then he’s busy busy busy with exactly what made him too busy for me this weekend. Whatever.

    Yesterday was possibly the craziest day I’ve ever had in my job and I rocked the whole day. Nothing went perfectly, but at the beginning of the day, I told myself I could handle whatever came my way, one way or another. I was proud of the accomplishments throughout the day (three court appearances, one of which was a trial in front of a notoriously abrasive judge, (yeah, he yelled at me (no, I didn’t panic! for once!)) and then a real estate closing that threatened to not happen) but mostly I was proud of staying on top emotionally. I kept calm, I managed the challenges, and I didn’t crumble into a puddle at any point in a flurry of self-doubt. Woot!

    Going back to catching up.

    Oh, remembered one thing I wanted to say, Parrowing, I’m glad you’re back. I was wondering, if not elevated to worried yet, about you. *hugs*

  227. Nerd of Redhead, Dances OM Trolls says

    Redhead’s vague chili recipe as dictated to me:
    Ingredients:

    1 lb ground beef, 75% lean. If higher grades are used, oil or shortening may be added for frying the meat/onion/garlic/jalapeno.
    3 large onions, diced
    1 head of garlic, diced
    2 jalapeño peppers, diced with seeds (ours run 3-4 inches long by an inch in diameter) recommend freezing for 30 minutes before dicing, and using gloves (I used disposable latex/vinyl) while dicing.
    1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
    1 28 oz can dark kidney beans
    1 28 oz can red kidney beans
    1 28 or 40 oz can chili beans (red kidney beans in chili sauce)
    Spices
    Soy sauce
    Worchester sauce
    Ground cumin
    Paprika
    Cayenne pepper
    Chili powder
    Red pepper flakes
    Black pepper
    White pepper
    Onion powder
    Garlic powder
    Allspice
    Cloves, ground
    Salt
    Salsa brava, hot

    In an 8 qt copper bottom pot, cook ground beef with onions, garlic, and jalapeños until onion and meat are cooked. Add the tomatoes with liquid, either cutting the tomatoes with the edge of a cooking spoon, or reducing their size in some fashion prior to addition. Add the spices to taste, which for the Salsa Brava (La Victoria brand) is 20 dollops (drops of thick material). Add the beans with liquid, and stir well to mix. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before serving. This is one of those dishes that matures on storage and reheating, so plan on planovers.

    We typically serve it with corn bread (Jiffy muffin mix) and/or guacamole.

    For “fire in the hole” enthusiasts, one or both jalapeños may be substituted with habaneros.

    Timing, about 30-45 minutes prep, 15 minutes sauté meat/onions/garlic/peppers, 30 minutes simmer. Oven preheated at start of prep, cornbread mixed and baked after simmer starts.

    My rating, a 5 minute head sweat….

  228. bluentx says

    Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire, Esquire:

    I kept calm, I managed the challenges, and I didn’t crumble into a puddle at any point in a flurry of self-doubt. Woot!

    Woot! indeed! Conga-rats!

    Hope you don’t mind I added a little something extra. :)

  231. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    Thanks bluentx! It’s good to see you by the way. I do love the word “esquire” but feel so pretentious using it, ha! I like your addition :)

    I also made a goodwill trip yesterday with friends, and one of them found this for me and even better, it’s never been played. :D :D :D Nerdy fun.

    I see you’re discussing how hot it is by you, bluentx, care to send me a few degrees?

  232. cicely (No further comment.) says

    bluentx: “Never have anything to do with peppers.” Gotcha!
    ;)
    –
    Portia: Crazily-rocking day is good!
    :)
    And it sounds as if, just possibly, S may be acquiring just a smidge of self-awareness?
    –

  233. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    Thanks cicely!
    It feels good to have a day where I feel like “I can do this lawyer thing! I’m not a kid pretending.”

    He seemed to have a moment of awareness, yes, that’s a good word for it. When he texted me he couldn’t come, all I answered was “understood.” So we’ll see if this is any kind of new development. At the moment, I feel as if even if he is so so sorry and uniquely so for this, there’s so much more built up. I feel emotionally bolstered by good social exposure with other friends and good self-confidence boosting from work stuff, that I feel strong enough to not be a doormat. At least not right now :)

    Oh, and *hugs* to you.
    (without peas, promise).

  234. chigau (just call me chigau) says

    Hiya.
    I don’t grok the concept of a ‘recipe’ for chili.
    *hugs* for all.
    good night

  236. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    (No Peas Allowed (not even as popsicles *sideways glances in Portia’s direction, in case she’s lurking about)). :)

    Oh, the peas never sneak in when you expect them. I think even cicely and I could agree on that.

  237. cicely (No further comment.) says

    That’s true; they lie in ambush, then sap you upside the tongue when you’re not looking.
    –

  238. bluentx says

    Portia:
    Temps are okay for now. Mid 60’s (F) now, high 70’s-low 80’s during the day but all too soon it will slide right past Spring into Bloody Hot! Every year it seems to get BH that much earlier.
    Last year we had a few days 99 (F) and above in April! How many days will we have this year of 105 and up in the summer? Can’t wait to find out!
    Three or four years ago it snowed 2-3 inches the day before Easter- but nahhh! climate change isn’t happening!

  239. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    That sounds lovely, bluentx. I’m praying desperately hoping that the storm we had this week will be the last significant snow we get. I’m so so ready for spring. So ready I can taste it.

    Don’t envy you the triple digits, but they’re not unheard of ’round these parts either, I s’pose. had lots of 90sF last summer.

  241. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    Oh, no, WMDKitty. What a bummer. I adore Mexican food, too. There’s just so much opportunity to overdose on cheeeeese.

  243. bluentx says

    There’s just so much opportunity to overdose on cheeeeese.

    and cilantro….

    *runs *

  245. says

    WMDKitty:
    Is that all Mexican, or certain kinds. For instance Tex Mex is great, but the emphasis on heavy meats and cheesesends me to the bathroom in short time.
    That is contrasted by Cali Mex-the style restaurant I work in now-where I don’t need to relieve myself quite so fast. I have to wonder if it is bc they use all fresh ingredients, nothing frozen or processed, and the emphasis is on bold flavor rather than excessive meats/cheese. The other thing I love is our salsa. Hands down the best I have ever had. Strong with the lime and cilantro though (some might find it soapy, I suppose). Perfectly blended, so there are few chunks, but not liquid. It is exactly the consistency I prefer. I have also fallen in love with our Chicken Tortilla Soup and our Pasole.

  246. says

    It’s a combination of “can’t digest dairy” and “can’t digest a lot of grease/fat” and “no tolerance for spicy”, so unless I’m ordering a freakin’ salad (in a Mexican restaurant?!) I’m gonna suffer.

    I’ll live.

  247. bluentx says

    Anyone else having trouble with refreshing? Is it about to go down again? Ah well we shall try to persevere…
    –
    Yes, there are different styles of Mexican food. Tex-Mex, Cali-Mex and some dishes I’ve had that (I am told) are from deeper in the interior of Mexico which I didn’t much care for (too bland).
    It’s like the language I suppose. Friends of mine who are fluent in Spanish (Mexican-American, born and raised in Tejas) can barely grok the Spanish from different regions inside Mexico. Different influences create different foods, dialects, customs, etc.

  250. bluentx says

    WMDKitty:

    You PNW-ers just can’t take it! I’m kidding, I’m kidding–but it does remind me of a story…

    In the mid-80’s I was working for Austin Parks and Recreation. We got a new Department Director–from Portland, OR.
    One day early in his tenure he came to our offices to take part in a retirement party for a long term employee. While waiting his turn to speechify he wandered over to the refreshment table and picked up this green item from a bowl. I and a couple of others saw this but before we could say anything he took a big bite out of it! Immediatly his eyebrows shot up, he loudly gasped for air and shot out of the room, across the hall to the water fountain.
    His quick exit was so noticable it stopped everything including the speech.
    “What happened?” “What’s going on?” most people were asking.
    “Mr. Jordan just discovered jalapenos,”somebody said.
    “He took a big ol’ bite!” “Is he OK?”
    A couple of supervisors went to check on him (he was gone quite a while). He could see everyone was trying hard not to laugh when he came back in the room. He shrugged, grinned and said, “I thought it was a pickle.”
    At least he had a sense of humor about it! He added the story to all his speeches for a while.

  251. says

    Good morning
    Talk about laundry not doing itself…

    But funny that you should talk about chili, because yesterday I went to a friend’s brithday and he always serves chili on his birthday. It was spicy, the way I like it (slightly painful), the way it’s too hot fro Mr. and way too hot for the kids. At least I thought. #1 took a bite and then tool my offer to add just ketchup and butter to her rice. The little one ate one serving with butter and ketchup and then she decided to go for the adventure and ate two more serving with a bit of “spicy sauce”. She drank a full litre of water to go with it.
    They also had great fun with the cats, and at least one of the cats had great fun with them…

    +++

    It’s like the language I suppose. Friends of mine who are fluent in Spanish (Mexican-American, born and raised in Tejas) can barely grok the Spanish from different regions inside Mexico. Different influences create different foods, dialects, customs, etc.

    Not exactly when talking about Spanish. Spanish is interestingly fairly homogenous all over the world, at least much more homogenous than you’d expect with a language that is spoken by such a large number of people in such a large area. But the two big groups you can make out in Lating America are the Highlands versus the Lowlands. There they have two very different developments. While in the costal regions the vowels are stable, the consonants change a lot while it’s the other way ’round for the mountain and interior regions. Which means that they sometimes end up with 2 versions of a word that are understandable against the standard pronounciation, but that seem to have nothing to do with each other when you only know the other variety

  254. mildlymagnificent says

    Oh goody. Forecasters tell us that the next two nights will have minimum temperatures below 25C.

    But there’s always a catch. The day time maxima will be 37 and 38 (over 100F for those still using the old money). It may never rain again.

  256. says

    Speaking of weather:
    Where can I move to that has no earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, typhoons, hurricanes, droughts, or volcanic activity—has mild winters (forever defined as nothing below 45 F otherwise known as, wear a jacket, not a parka) and summer highs in the 80s (with looooow humidity).
    If possible, I need this place to have no churches or other temples of worship…

  257. bluentx says

    I am hopeless. IRL I use Fahrenheit. At work I use Celsius. Even arter all these years I still can’t do the conversions in my head. Is there a temperature-dyslexia-syndrome or something? Okay, no, I’m just hopeless…

  259. bluentx says

    One of my cats has a foot fetish…well, actually a shoe fetish. Everytime I step outside the door he has to bite my toes all the way to the feeding area. But if I’m barefoot he bites once or twice (Ouch!) and quits.
    What do my bare toes stink or is he just into leather? BDSM kitty!*

    *Not to be confused with WMDKitty.

  261. zhuge says

    I haven’t posted on a lounge thread before, so I hope I am not violating any protocols :0

    I’ve been conflicted about my username for some time. I tend to use the names of strategists from Romance of the Three Kingdoms as my usernames on different websites(Nerdy? Me?) but it occurs to me I might be giving off the impression that privileged white me is Chinese and so might be doing some appropriation. I figure if I am conflicted about it I should just change it, but I figured it would be worth asking the regulars what they think! (And also how I can go about changing my name haha.)

    I figure if I change it, I’ll take my Daily Kos name of HumeanSkeptic which more or less encapsulates what I am. :)

  263. Lofty says

    zhuge
    Protocols in the lounge? There aint none except be considerate of your guests.
    .
    bluentx
    Both our cats loooove shoes, preferably empty. They stick their heads right in and sniff hard. Must be a smell bonding thing.

  264. bluentx says

    Mandatory gun ownership…

    *raises hand*

    “Uh, what about that ‘less government intervention’ thing?”

  265. says

    Zhuge:
    No protocol here, though there are a few rules. Being kind is a biggie here. This is a social thread open to all. Despite what many people think, you are not intruding by commenting. We often have multiple conversations going at any time, and commenters from across the globe respond as they see fit. If you seek a more detailed explanation of the policies, I suggest checking out the commenting rules link in the sidebar.

    With that out of the way, welcome!

  266. Beatrice says

    *waves at zhuge*

    If you want to change your name, your current name on top of the comment window (Logged in as [zhuge]) leads you to your profile. You can change your nickname there.

    For changing that random picture beside your name, use Gravatar. It’s linked to your email address, so you have to use the same email address you use here.

  268. rq says

    Good morning afternoon!

    re: spicy foods.
    I like them, in limited amounts, and haven’t ever observed a negative reaction on my organism, but then, I really do limit myself.
    So I always thought I knew the meaning of “spicy” and “a little bit”.
    Until I visited a friend in university, whose father was from Pakistan. Through the course of the evening, it turned out he was a bit of a practical joker, which gave me some warning, when, somehow or other, I ended up on the wrong side of a bowl of something green and chutney-like, with him telling me to try some and handing me a spoon. Sometimes, I read faces just fine, so instead of the spoon, I dipped a tine of my fork into the sauce and… well, let’s just say it was enough to light my tongue on fire. After several glasses of milk, the feeling became manageable, but I could not imagine the pain had I taken a whole spoonful. I don’t remember how I got my (mild) revenge, but I know I did, mostly through some very direct and sassy commentary. Not as satisfying, but it had to do.

    Portia
    *sparkles!confetti!trumpets!* for both the good (yet stressful) day, and also for having enough social exposure to put away the doormat costume for a while. I hope it holds. I also hope that S’ self-awareness does not die an unnatural death, and that it is a new leaf and not a ploy to return to your good books (and thus return you to doormat status…).
    This is a day for you to remember next time you have doubts about going to a social/professional event alone – proof that you can do it, and do it well!!

    Tony
    I think the place you’re looking for is The Commune, possibly in this location in France, as suggested by carlie a few days ago. France has a nice climate, a nice anti-religious vibe, some language snobbery that Can Be Overcome, and the south of France might be just what you’re looking for in the winter.
    Also, the French like to eat Horses. Just… you know, so you know. ;)
    +++

    What with the time change, I think all you USAnians are an hour closer to me! Hooray for temporal proximity!

  269. rq says

    Oh and hello, zhuge!

    bluentx
    Don’t be silly – mandatory gun ownership isn’t the government being a meddling, intrusive entity, it’s the government providing you with rights!!!
    Or something. I lost my logic on that train of thought, and it’s well over the cliff…

  272. Ogvorbis says

    Good morning.

    Nice rape apologists over on that there thread.

    Happy Monday.

    Wife and I went to a casino yesterday. We went in and used the bathroom (this is about 100 miles away) and went to an ATM to pull out our budgeted fun money. And the machine spit out five times what we requested — ten $100 bills rather than ten $20 bills. So Wife and I immediately reported it to security. They took our name and phone number and we haven’t heard a word from them. We have the money stashed because they will, most likely, want it back. I wonder how many got money from that machine and just pocketed it an walked away?

  273. Ogvorbis says

    Reading back over the missed thread, sorry about that, iJoe. I completely and totally misread your response. I know that as one gets older, certain frequencies become less audible. Is it possible that with age I am becoming tone deaf to sarcasm?

  274. Parrowing says

    Hi!

    *

    bluentx:

    Oh, did Sweden have Englebert Humperdinck sing their entry, too?
    Sorry, couldn’t resist…

    I mean really, what were they thinking with that one?!

    *

    Thank you, Portia. Not that I want to worry anyone, but it does feel nice to think that someone would notice if I wasn’t here. I didn’t want to leave for my vacation without having commented, just in case I don’t get the chance to while I’m away.

    Yay for your great work day, yay for coming in third at trivia, and yay for feeling strong enough to not be a doormat! I hope that whatever S says, you are able to hold on to that feeling!

    *

    Thank you, rq, for sharing that video. I agree, that was very beautiful, and it rekindles my interest in doing performance art one day. It angers me that after having read only two YouTube comments on the video, I can tell that there are people who must be calling her frivolous or selfish and others who feel that this moment somehow ruined the art. One of the things that makes performance art so special sometimes is that it can’t really be ruined, and certainly not by something like this. At least, that tends to be how I feel about it. Sorry for going off on a little rant :).

    *

    Would it strike you as unbearably sanctimonious if, every time a discussion of any current TV show came up, a certain person would not hesitate to remind everyone that xe does not have a TV and is so freakin’ happy to have no idea what everyone else is talking about? (For example, by, say, commenting on someone’s FB thread about Melodifestivalen to say “Who needs TV when you can live stream the events through 30 different friends commenting on FB?”)

  275. Amblebury says

    Can I second Dr. Bunsen’s request to take aim and fire at that horrendous article he posted? Universities were supposed to be progressive last time I checked. First Glasgow, then this…it seems dissing feminism has become the new way to appear cool. If appearing cool to douchecanoes is your thing, that is.

    This is for Reasons.

  276. broboxley OT says

    hmm I have a collection of spice bottles, ghost pepper, scorpion peppers, and for a very mild flavor, ta
    basco. Reminds me of when my nephew thought he would have some fun at my expense and passed me a jar of Sambal Oelek which I started spooning into my soup. He got alarmed and stated he didnt want me to die. I replied that next time I made hot wings he would have to sit with his Uncle Bruce (notorious non spice eater)

  277. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Parrowing,

    Yes, people with no TV can get annoying if they lord it over others as if that makes them so much better than all the sheeple.

    Since I don’t really watch tv (except for a cooking show and a documentary on Saturdays), hit me over the head with a cluebat if I ever get all hoch about it.

  278. Parrowing says

    I’ve never seen anyone here act like that and certainly not you, Beatrice. Just to be clear, I definitely don’t care at all if someone doesn’t have a TV for whatever reason or doesn’t watch much of it and it also doesn’t bother me for that person to tell me about it. It’s just that this one person seems to look for opportunities to bring it up and doesn’t ever waste a chance to act smug about it. Xe is also the same person I know who believes in astrology, past Earths, ear candling, zen coaching, homeopathy, and all sorts of other “fun” stuff. Which somehow makes the TV thing worse, to me.

  279. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Parrowing,

    Yes, I got what you were saying because we had a couple of people like that at the uni.
    It sound like yours would enjoy watching History Channel if it weren’t so much beneath him/her.

  280. says

    Hey everyone. I know it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you, but I just wanted to tell you all something important.

    Last night my boyfriend got a call from up north telling him that his father had just passed away. They are pretty sure that he died of a heart attack and that it was relatively quick. We had just talked to him a few days ago and he was totally fine, so obviously the boyfriend, his brother (who lives with us), and I were shocked and upset. I have never seen him look so bewildered since I’ve known him. The boyfriend is 28, and his brother is 26, and they just lost their dad. It still doesn’t feel real to me.

    So, what I wanted to ask all of you is, please, go find the people that you care about, be they friends, lovers, family, chosen family, or pets, and let them know that you love them. Don’t wait. I know it sounds cheesy, but you never know how much time you have.

  281. says

    Lynna @12:

    Is it worse than this:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajb47/8170796736/in/set-72157631970434901

    I admit, your quotes from the story make it look just as ugly in Utah. Those politicians didn’t run on fixing the economy, did they? Because delaying giving patrons a beer until they order some sort of food seems to be bad for the economy — or at least *not* helping the economy.

    I think the sale/control of liquor in Utah is worse because Utah legislators also require the new restaurants include a Zion Curtain, a wall that separates drink preparation from those ordering drinks. The idea is that the poor innocents who are not evil drinkers of alcohol will at least be spared the sight of alcoholic drinks being mixed.

    Utah is worse because their restrictive licensing laws prevent growth in the restaurant/bar industry.

    They also have a liquor control board that can restrict the sale of, for example, Vodka. The state of Idaho is the same way, and for the same reason: mormons run the show. If they don’t like you, or don’t like the name on your bottle, they can keep you from selling your wares in their state. Five Wives vodka story. The restrictions are irrational and unpredictable, but pro LDS.

  282. opposablethumbs says

    blogofmyself, I’m so sorry for all of you – it must be one hell of a shock. And I know from experience (both parents) that you are absolutely right, and I tell my kids how much I love them all the time.

    I hope that your boyfriend and his family get through this, and that you are (get to be) OK too.

    .
    .
    Trying to keep up with the thread, but can’t really – so I just want to throw a few hugs out there, by way of an affectionate thank-you, because you all continue to enrich me with your smartness and your erudition and your compassion. Assorted Yays for Portia and rq and Parrowing and Giliell and Tony and – well, for the Horde, really.

    zhuge, some people (like Tony, say) like to add descriptive or creative tags to go with their nyms and then vary them according to mood and circumstance (such as the latest insults which which fundies and pitters have attempted to cause upset). As long as the main part of your nym remains stable, this is not regarded as morphing or sockpuppeting or anything because obviously you’re not trying to make it look like you’re someone else. So you could always keep zhuge and add something to hint where you’re coming from with that choice. Also, welcome to the Lounge!

  284. says

    blogofmyself:
    I am incredibly sorry to hear that. You, your BF, and his brother have my sympathies.

    ****
    Opposablethumbs:
    Good to read you again.

    ****
    Random query-
    Will mornings exist in the Commune?
    They are evil.
    Not quite in the way that peas are evil.
    More like horses. You know–adorable, pettable, pea-poopingly evil.

  285. says

    Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail
    How HSBC hooked up with drug traffickers and terrorists. And got away with it

    Matt Taibbi’s article for Rolling Stone brings up some unbelievable facts related to the banking industry. I saw part of Elizabeth Warren’s questioning of regulators who were supposed to watchdog the bankers, and I must say that the regulators seemed surprisingly unconcerned.

    Excerpts from Taibbi’s article:

    … the U.S. Justice Department granted a total walk to executives of the British-based bank HSBC for the largest drug-and-terrorism money-laundering case ever. Yes, they issued a fine – $1.9 billion, or about five weeks’ profit – but they didn’t extract so much as one dollar or one day in jail from any individual, despite a decade of stupefying abuses.

    People may have outrage fatigue about Wall Street, and more stories about billionaire greedheads getting away with more stealing often cease to amaze. But the HSBC case went miles beyond the usual paper-pushing, keypad-punching­ sort-of crime, committed by geeks in ties, normally associated­ with Wall Street. In this case, the bank literally got away with murder – well, aiding and abetting it, anyway.

    For at least half a decade, the storied British colonial banking power helped to wash hundreds of millions of dollars for drug mobs, including Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, suspected in tens of thousands of murders just in the past 10 years – people so totally evil, jokes former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, that “they make the guys on Wall Street look good.” The bank also moved money for organizations linked to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, and for Russian gangsters; helped countries like Iran, the Sudan and North Korea evade sanctions; and, in between helping murderers and terrorists and rogue states, aided countless common tax cheats in hiding their cash.

    “They violated every goddamn law in the book,” says Jack Blum, an attorney and former Senate investigator who headed a major bribery investigation against Lockheed in the 1970s that led to the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “They took every imaginable form of illegal and illicit business.”…

    Nobody went to jail.

    Cushy deals were subsequently given to other big banks, and walks were given to other bigtime criminals, including Swiss bank UBS.

    The head honchos at HSBC were financing what Bin Laden called “the golden chain.”

    Translation: We know the guy’s on a terrorist list, but his accounts are in a place the Americans can’t search, so screw them.

  286. says

    One more choice text excerpt from Matt Taibbi’s article in Rolling Stone:

    At HSBC, the bank did more than avert its eyes to a few shady transactions. It repeatedly defied government orders as it made a conscious, years-long effort to completely stop discriminating between illegitimate and legitimate money. And when it somehow talked the U.S. government into crafting a settlement over these offenses with the lunatic aim of preserving the bank’s license, it succeeded, finally, in making crime mainstream.

    See comment #285 for more, and for link.

  287. says

    BTW, if you are an honest banker looking for tips on ways to become dishonest and therefore rake in more cash, Matt Taibbi’s article includes enough detail that you could use it as a tip sheet:

    “It is anticipated that Iran will become a source of increasing income for the group going forward,” the memo says, “and if we are to achieve this goal we must adopt a positive stance when encountering difficulties.”

    The “positive stance” included a technique called “stripping,” in which foreign subsidiaries like HSBC Middle East or HSBC Europe would remove references to Iran in wire transactions to and from the United States, often putting themselves in place of the actual client name to avoid triggering OFAC alerts. (In other words, the transaction would have HBME listed on one end, instead of an Iranian client.)

    Oh. I see. So that’s how you do it. Nifty.

  288. says

    Hi folks. I haven’t been at computers much these few days, and I haven’t got the oomph to post rally or say much, but I’m still around. Also, I can’t seem to sleep more than 4-5 hrs a night anymore, which isn’t helping my energy levels, I’m sure. *hugs* for them as wants them.

  289. says

    Speaking up for gender equality is a human rights issue and I appreciate when men do so:

    http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-more-power-for-women-will-benefit-everyone-822924-Mar2013/
    Gender equality is key to battling social problems

    This may sound like an absurd idea, cooked up by out-of-touch academics in a leafy university town somewhere on the US east coast. But evidence shows that we could make significant advances in the fight against poverty simply by giving more power to women.

    If women farmers had the same access to land, tools, seeds and credit as men, they could grow enough extra food to feed more than 100 million of the world’s people.

    If girls were allowed to finish secondary school alongside boys, we could drastically reduce hunger. According to a report this week from the UN, a 43 per cent reduction in hunger in developing countries can be attributed to progress in educating women.

  291. says

    I do not usually wade into the comments, but I did post a couple of responses to the above article. Some of the comments are supportive, but as you can imagine, there is pushback against gender equality from many others. One commenter even said the article was an attack on men!
    ****
    Dalillama:
    Very true my friend.

  294. pharm scigrad says

    Lynna, OM:
    This is the main reason that the Senate race Warren won was important to the US and the world at large, moreso than just the people of Massachusetts, especially considering the views of former Senator Scott Brown (pro-Wall Street, anti-regulation).
    .
    blogofmyself, writer of papers
    My sympathies. *hugs* if you take ’em.
    .
    *waves to zhuge* Hello and welcome to the Lounge!

  296. says

    (I blame PZ for my Irish focused comments today)

    Ireland needs to revise its Constitution.
    From wikipedia:
    ” Status of women

    The Constitution guarantees women the right to vote and to nationality and citizenship on an equal basis with men. However, it also contains a provision that was objected to by women’s organisations at the time of its enactment in 1937. Article 41.2 states:

    1° […] the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.

    2° The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.
    Article 41.2.1° could, however, be viewed in the context of the 1930s, and some point out that it is not coercive and that there is no constitutional obligation for women to stay in the home. Indeed, some have argued that the provision highlights the value of the unremunerated role that women in the home contribute to society.”

    Gender essentialism inscribed into their Constitution??!!

  297. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Star Wars IV: A New Hope on tv tonight!
    Finally something good to watch. Mum’s been watching the first trilogy for the last three weekends. I’m not a fan of those.

  298. pharm scigrad says

    So, if I’m reading this right Tony!, Ireland thinks that a woman working outside her home but hiring domestic help/spliting domestic tasks with her spouse/having a stay-at-home spouse fails to support the State in such a way such that the common good is achieved? I don’t speak legalese (at all), but that seems rather… draconian.

  299. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    Totally threadrupt

    Sticking foot back into water here. Have since had a move that is still chaotic and partner has gotten a job which is making things easier for us. What’s going on folks?

  300. says

    pharm scigrad:
    Draconian to say the least.
    I lost the link, but as I was reading various articles in the above Irish paper, I did stumble upon an article talking about how that clause in the Irish Constitution will be amended to be more gender inclusive (apparently the government decided in 2/13 to make some changes; gee you are only _almost_ a century late)
    ****
    Ing:
    Good to see you!

  302. pharm scigrad says

    Yeah Tony, that would be an improvement, though I’m not totally sold on the whole clause thing to begin with, but to each hir own I suppose.
    .
    *waves* Hi Ing! Yay for jobs that make things easier!

  303. David Marjanović says

    Imagine, winter came back yesterday. It’s been snowing almost all the time, and there are now easily 10 cm of snow! ^_^ *huge heap of sterile Internet hugs* *mountain-flower honey*

    I wonder if the spring flowers are surviving it. Several already came out. Did we finally switch off the Gulf Stream?

    Tell Paul Ryan that he won’t replace Medicare by vouchers.

    CREDO Action wants You The People of the United States to “pledge, if necessary, to join others in my community, and engage in acts of dignified, peaceful civil disobedience that could result in my arrest in order to send the message to President Obama and his administration that they must reject the Keystone XL pipeline.”

    It’s not just the rum.
    http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2587
    I’ll stop now.

    Being ill, I just read all from 2555 to 2587.

    So, I decided to search for my nym on the Slymepit. Found someone referring to me as this.

    Glorious!

    ♥ ♥ ♥

    *lots of hugs for chigau*

    I moved to Phoenix to get away from the heat haha.

    Wow.

    Obligatory result of spending years in Wikipedia:

    “Converted deverbal nouns include chʼéʼétiin “exit, doorway” and Hoozdo “Phoenix, Arizona” — when used as verbs chʼéʼétiin may be translated into English as “something has a path horizontally out” and hoozdo as ‘place/space is hot’.”

    Can anybody explain why there hasn’t been morr critical skeptical commentary on Sam Parnia’s new book?

    What book?

    Elkmoose (a new hybrid of our own creation)

    That’s what you think !!

    http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-7-2013/pope-and-change

    Not bad… not bad at all :-)

    Ooooh cicely hugs!

    Seconded ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

    The giant telescope dish is erected over a collapsed karst site (when they are that big, I doubt “sinkhole” is the appropriate name)

    Dolina? (Literally “valley”.)

    Wait… someone named Rios thinks Sotomayor is “lowering the standards” on the Supreme Court.
    Excuse me while I turn the exhaust fan on. My Irony Meter is bleching smoke….

    Also, where might the name Antonin Scalia possibly come from?

    “It’s ‘i’ before ‘e’
    When you spell ‘cicely’–
    The opposite way
    From if you’re spelling ‘neigh’.”
    :)

    *pounce* *hug* ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^

    For David M. – These are the Daves I know.

    + 1

    That Bruce dude, though, looks like a Jason.

    Me: I don’t know why I’ve been making humming noises when I fall asleep the last couple of weeks. Stress? Sickness? Being overtired?

    Spouse: You’ve been doing that for the last 20 years or so.

    o_O

    O_o

    France has a nice climate, […] and the south of France might be just what you’re looking for in the winter

    Not so fast! The farther south you get in France, the worse the winters get on the occasion that you do have a winter, because down south there’s no heating anywhere! And of course no insulation on the buildings.

    There was something incredibly beautiful about this.

    …

    …I couldn’t sit that far away from a table. That part is almost physically uncomfortable to watch.

    Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail
    How HSBC hooked up with drug traffickers and terrorists. And got away with it

    Hooraaaaaaay. I’m too sick and tired to go all HULK SMASH now…

    Does Jar Jar Binks not bring happy thoughts?

    *quietly strangles Tony in the background*

  304. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    Want to comment and respond. Have migraine. Hugs all around.

    arrgguffpphhmmmf

  305. Ogvorbis says

    Sigh.

    I just had an argument with a visitor. Over closing time. This time of year we close at 4:00pm. We just changed to Daylight Savings Time — put the clocks an hour forward. He insisted that it was only 2:55, not 3:55 and he had an hour to visit the sight. Not fun.

  306. says

    David M:
    An anti-Jar Jar-ist. I see. I have your number now.
    Meesa say yousa naughty boy.
    ****
    Whoa.
    Stop.
    Hold the presses.
    This just in from of office of Shoopy affairs:
    GOP official speaks in favor of gender equality.

    ” SCHMIDT: I think in any organization where women are not at the table, where it is skewed male in today’s day and age, that’s an organization that’s deficient. That’s an organization that’s going to have problems. It’s one of the problems we have structurally in the Republican Party. We don’t have enough women at the table. But any company, any organization in today’s day and age that doesn’t give equal opportunity to women, that doesn’t advance women to the table, is going to be an organization that has difficulty competing.

    http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/10/1696781/women-republicans/?mobile=wp”

    Did the four horsemen show up? Apocalypse indeed! Next you know, cicely will be seen on horseback snacking on.canned peas

  307. rq says

    *quietly strangles Tony in the background*

    Yeah, me too.
    (Obviously the stag-moose was not a real animal, David. So there. No, I will not produce evidence.)

    Quick, someone, I need something cheerfully uplifting.

  309. pharm scigrad says

    Sending emergency rations of tea and cookies to you Portia, just get those USBs open… *hugs*

  310. Portia, Feminist Snarker Extraordinaire says

    Ports are open, thanks rq and psg.

    I feel like my body forces me to slow down and rest this way. At least today all i had to do was laundry and cleaning. Still kind of miserable, but at least I don’t feel guilty for laying around.

    Thanks again.

  312. rq says

    Thanks, pharm scigrad, that did the trick! (That’s an oldie but a goodie, hadn’t seen it in ages!)

  313. pharm scigrad says

    Glad to help… though I’m wading into the Hannity thread at the moment and may have to play it myself when I come back up for air… ><

  314. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    There is no Jar Jar Binks. In fact, there are no I-III Star Wars movies. It’s really unfortunate that Lucas never managed to make them, despite his plans.

  315. cicely says

    Speaking of weather:
    Where can I move to that has no earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, typhoons, hurricanes, droughts, or volcanic activity—has mild winters (forever defined as nothing below 45 F otherwise known as, wear a jacket, not a parka) and summer highs in the 80s (with looooow humidity).

    That would be the Land of Your Imagination.
    –
    Hi, zhuge; welcome in!
    –

    Mandatory gun ownership…

    *raises hand*

    “Uh, what about that ‘less government intervention’ thing?”

    Totally not a problem, so long as you keep your gun in your bedroom. They are all about having more government intervention in your bedroom.
    –

    I didn’t want to leave for my vacation without having commented, just in case I don’t get the chance to while I’m away.

    As a World-Championship-Quality worrier, I appreciate this! It’s not required of you—after all, you don’t answer to us, or anything—but abrupt silence following evident distress is…worrisome.
    –

    Would it strike you as unbearably sanctimonious if, every time a discussion of any current TV show came up, a certain person would not hesitate to remind everyone that xe does not have a TV and is so freakin’ happy to have no idea what everyone else is talking about?

    Snobbery isn’t pleasant, whatever it’s being attached to.
     
    I guess I should more accurately say, being the recipient of snobbery isn’t pleasant; I’m sure the snob gets some gratification from it, or they wouldn’t do it.
    –
    blogofmyself: Glad to see you back, sad for the circumstances. Please accept this large parcel of condolences for distribution as you see fit.
    I generally try to keep the hug-meters well topped up. Which reminds me….
    *hugs* for everyone!
    (Exchangeable for *scritches*, *warm hand shakes*, and other less-exuberant forms of display at the recipient’s request. No taxes or surcharges. Void where prohibited by law.)
    –
    Tony: I agree with you, mornings are evil! I just haven’t found any way to prevent them.
     
    Monday mornings were, of course, invented by the Horses, and are thus exponentially more Evil than other mornings.
    –

  316. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    A Monday morning is going to happen tomorrow. Ew.

  319. Nick Gotts (formerly KG) says

    I blame PZ for my Irish focused comments today – Tony, the Queer Shoop

    Talking of Ireland and PZ, I’ve got my ticket for Empowering Women Through Secularism in Dublin. Hope to see some of you there! Dublin’s one of my favourite cities – and the green postboxes add a nice surreal touch (their natural colour being, of course, red).

  320. cicely ( all around!) says

    *hugs* for Dalillama. “Short of sleep” is a good approximation for “dragged backwards through a knothole”. Sorry you are being dragged.

    –
    Ing!!!
    *pouncehug*
    Hurrah for employment for partner!
    –

    Does Jar Jar Binks not bring happy thoughts?

    Only if you are a flamethrower salesman.
     
    Or enthusiast.
    –
    *pouncehugback* for David.
    :) :) :)
    –
    Extra *gentle hugs&analgesics* to the Unwell.
    –

    Next you know, cicely will be seen on horseback snacking on.canned peas

    Tony!: I don’t know what you’re taking/smoking/drinking, but you have obviously exceeded the Recommended Dosage, and are on the verge of some potentially life-threatening hallucinations. Time to come back down.
    –

    Quick, someone, I need something cheerfully uplifting.

    Here you go, rq.
    –

  323. birgerjohansson says

    bluentx,
    So, “In the Red” is on YouTube? Thank you for letting me know. :-)
    BTW is your nym a reference to Blue Ant, the company in William Gibson’s last two novels? Beware of Hubertus Bigend, that guy is practically a Bond villain (a private Ekranoplan, for chrissake!)

    — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

    TRIGGER WARNING

    “Soldaten” http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soldaten-Fighting-Killing-Secret-Second/dp/1849839484/ref=la_B001K1NQF4_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362951270&sr=1-1
    The banality of evil revisited through intercepted conversations between German POWs showing the cruelties of WWII through the everyday conversations between soldiers. From casually mentioning gang-raping Ukrainan women to detailed accounts of massacres witnessed by the soldiers.

  324. SteveV says

    Speaking of weather:
    Where can I move to that has no earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, typhoons, hurricanes, droughts, or volcanic activity—has mild winters (forever defined as nothing below 45 F otherwise known as, wear a jacket, not a parka) and summer highs in the 80s (with looooow humidity).

    Here

  327. Parrowing says

    Hugs and candy canes for having an up and down day, rq

    *

    I’m so scared of traveling. I really hope I’m able to sleep tonight.

  328. rq says

    Lynna @326
    Heh, that song makes me think of Improbable Joe. Mostly because household chores get passed up in favour of guitar-playing. ;)
    Very uplifting, thanks. Nice work, Eric Clapton!!

  329. rq says

    Parrowing
    If it helps, think of yourself as always within the Lounge, with the world simply shifting around you to your new location. So really, you’re not going anywhere. ;) *hugs*

  330. bluentx says

    There was something incredibly beautiful about this.

    Darn it, rq! Got something in my eye again. Must be allergies.

    –
    birgerjohansson:
    re: In The Red:
    Search for -In The Red BBC. It’s in three parts.

    And on the nym:
    It’s just a general reference to political affiliation/emotional state.
    Had to Google William Gibson :)
    Another name goes on the book wish list. So many books, so little time…. Plus all the Linkys to check out here…

  331. rq says

    bluentx
    What with all the early flowers blooming, I’m not too surprised. ;) Pollen season is a hassle.

  332. rq says

    Ooh and bluentx if you’re going to try William Gibson, I recommend starting at his very beginning with Neuromancer. His collection of short stories >a href-“http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burning-Chrome-William-Gibson/dp/0006480438/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362956277&sr=1-1”>Burning Chrome was also impressive, esp. the title story. (This is my opinion.)

  334. bluentx says

    Thanks for the recommendations. Now I just need to take early retirement to catch up on all the suggestions on The List(TM).

  336. rq says

    I’m going to retire right now. To bed, though.
    I’ve had enough of EU regulations and their analysis and doing it in two languages in my head.

    Also, sometimes my government is a bunch of shitheads because they can’t be bothered to be kind to foreigners seeking asylum. But that’s neither here nor there.

    Good night!

  337. pharm scigrad says

    Sometimes you can explain why something is good and sometimes you just sit and listen and know and that’s enough. Wow. Thanks for the link, Lynna, OM.

  341. broboxley OT says

    been in Fargo for a full day and night. Can you say boom town? Also son and I noticed that there is zero police presence. Finally saw a policecar today. The driver was coming out of a liquor store. Also note that there is a liquor store on every corner (45th and 13th roughly for those that know fargo.)

  342. bluentx says

    ..liquor store on every corner..

    “Get’s darn cold in Fargo,don’t cha know…” /close Marge Gunderson voice

  343. bluentx says

    Jeez! Guess that storm we had last night was worse than I thought! A little hail on my side of town (west) but just went on FB and saw pictures from east side! Wind damage (tornado ?) to our only ‘supermarket’ (small town). I’ll take a look on my way to work tomorrow- almost dark now.

  344. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    Wow… sometimes it’s a bit appalling to leave the Lounge for comment threads infested with vemon and spite – especially when straw never did a thing to hurt anyone.
    PS: Thanks to whoever it was who mentioned how to adjust the moniker…

  346. bluentx says

    sometimes it’s a bit appalling to leave the Lounge for comment threads infested with vemon and spite

    Agreed. Just ‘lost'(where’d it go?!) a long rant (before I was ready to submit) that covered that topic (except this was about FB*).

    Shorter version: Thank You Lounge Lizards/Pharyngulites/FtBers
    for keeping me (relatively) sane. Without you I would need heavier drugs than I am currently perscribed.
    –
    *Yes, my my middle name is Glutton For Punishment. Why do you ask?

  347. cicely ( all around!) says

    Red pandas are almost as cute as kittens. And certain invertibrates.
    –

  348. Portia, Whimpering Puddle of Migraine says

    Now I can’t keep anything down. Who wants to bring me gatorade? *whimper*

  350. bluentx says

    Who wants to bring me gatorade? *whimper*

    Weather fluctuations (especially in your part of the country) may interfere with USB transport, so I’m planning a personal delivery. Should I back up to the front or rear entrance?*

    *Wait… did that sound weird?!

    *hugs*

  351. Portia, Whimpering Puddle of Migraine says

    Ha! Well there’s no stairs at the front door, so that would probably work.

  352. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    :(
    I would sign up for gatorade delivery as well, but they won’t let me operate heavy machinery yet… lucky me, the laptop only weighs 3kg!

  355. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    Where can I move to that has no earthquakes, tornadoes, blizzards, typhoons, hurricanes, droughts, or volcanic activity—has mild winters (forever defined as nothing below 45 F otherwise known as, wear a jacket, not a parka) and summer highs in the 80s (with looooow humidity).

    I would suggest the California central valley except around here people start wearing parkas when it gets below 45 C and terminal histrionics set in at about 60 F.

    Bonus: Since all the fucking indoor thermostats are set to “Bessemer Process” there are presumably some steelworker types around ;)

  357. rq says

    Portia
    I can bring you gatorade, but by the time I get there, I don’t know if it’ll be of any use to you. (But, since it doesn’t spoil, I suppose that’s not a problem.)

    WMDKitty
    I can’t send you a spoon (though I wish I could – I steal tea and coffee spoons from formal events, seminars and the like, so I have a collection, only a few are alike!), but may I offer *scritches* instead?

  358. says

    *side-eyes Gracie* Yeah… not like I was planning on sleeping in the bed or anything, you just go right ahead and take the whole damn thing up…

    Gaaah, I can’t be mad at her. She’s just too cute. Even when she’s being a PITA.

  359. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    And here it is, Monday morning.
    I wanna stay hoooome. *whinge*

  361. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    Monday morning is bad. That I can understand.
    But fear of being drunk? That’s just silly… ;)

  362. glodson says

    It is just something I don’t do often anymore. Not like a few years ago when I would just be hitting my stride right about now.

    I don’t have much to do the next week, and a few things lead me to believe that drinking a lot was a really good idea. We shall see if this plan will remain a good idea in the morning.

  364. glodson says

    Apparently, I’m not drunk enough. I’m getting caught up in the The Difference Between Us and Them thread. Some idiots still aren’t making any sense despite an advanced state inebriation.

  365. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    Oh my glodson, I’ve never woke up thinking it was a good idea. That’s just not what morning are for. I hope it’s at least not a bad one in retrospect. *passes the aspirin and water*
    As usual, rq, you make a good point…

  366. glodson says

    PSG, this all depends on how lucky I am. If the little girl decides to sleep in, I’m golden. If not, tomorrow might be rough. But hey, that’s a bridge I’ll burn tomorrow.

  367. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    OOoooooh… that thread. Yeah. I had a mini-stroke over there earlier, not a drop to drink, and I don’t think the pain meds had a thing to do with how unintelligible some of the drivel was.
    Here’s hoping for everyone’s sake she sleeps in then. ;)

  368. blf says

    Target Walmart etc blahblahblah
    I’m going to start knitting all of my clothes.

    Simpler and cheaper to avoid the stuff all together.
    Grow a layer of fur or feathers for a bit of style.

  369. rq says

    glodson
    Keeping some fingers crossed for small children sleeping in tomorrow. As Murphy would have it, though, she’ll probably be up about an hour earlier than usual. ;) Good luck with that!

  370. blf says

    Why is it that the last three wind-up timers I’ve bought have not worked for longer than a week after purchase?

    The clew is in the added emboldening. They often need to be rewound more than once a week… </snark>

    Which reminds me, I understand USAlienstan is now on Anti-Winter Time. The mildly deranged penguin points out this must be due to Global Warming. Hot things move faster. The Earth is heating up and so is spinning faster. Hence, days start sooner, so the start date of Anti-Winter Time keeps happening earlier and earlier.

  372. bluentx says

    ..USAlienstan is now on Anti-Winter Time.

    If it’s now Anti-Winter Time why is it 20 degrees colder than yesterday at this time?

  374. blf says

    If it’s now Anti-Winter Time why is it 20 degrees colder than yesterday at this time?

    ‘Cuz its an hour earlier and the Sun is still sleepy.

    ‘Cuz the Earth’s bearings haven’t been oiled in millennia and so can’t handle the higher rate of spin. They are probably about to seize up, being all covered in rust from Mr Noah’s clogged drain.

    ‘Cuz yer probably using the fake and false doctrine of Fahrenheit, instead of the one true Celsuis.

    ‘Cur yer in Ozralia or somewhere else in the wrong hemisphere?

    ‘Cuz yer thermometer is upside-down.

  376. rq says

    blf
    That’s a lot of reasons. Can you please stick to one or two of the more reasonable ones and provide some Evidence that, for example, my thermometer may be upside-down?

  378. bluentx says

    Borked that!
    A sign it’s almost time to be a responsible adult (Heh!) and go to bed.

    See #373

  379. rq says

    bluentx
    Being an adult means you don’t have to be responsible.
    I think.
    Or was it the other way around?
    Either way, I don’t think bed-time is a strictly responsible activity. Last time I tried to be responsible and go to bed during my shift, the results weren’t all that encouraging…

  380. bluentx says

    Don’t cha just hate it when you’re gettin’ a good snooze on and the boss walks in…

  381. rq says

    All the flailing and explanations about hours of sleep vs. productivity just didn’t go over well. :(
    Actually, I think I just jumped three feet out of my chair and looked extremely guilty while not looking directly in her eye as I clicked the mouse a few random times just to show how productive I was being.

  382. bluentx says

    Hopefully, it turned out better for you than my Most Dramatic Moment of Sleep Deprevation.
    Five weeks with an average 4 hours of sleep per night, on call 24/7, working 2 full- time shifts (water & wastewater plant), being cheated out of compensation for call-back hours…. I was a little upset and let the city manager know it. I was fired….. and he blamed me (on the front page of the local newspaper) when he resigned. Fun times!

  383. blf says

    I clicked the mouse a few random times just to show how productive I was being.

    Ah, so that explains the bottle of vintage port and the conga line of dancing lobsters than just came out of the USB connector.

  384. rq says

    blf
    If that’s what you got only now, the transfer was several years too slow and was missing a few inebriated blue aras… Can I have my port back, please? *butterflylashes*

  385. says

    HI folks
    I’m leaving a serious fat trigger warning for the difference-thread here.
    I think Dennis Strubbe is about the worst we ever had and that says something and I really want you to take care when you go there. I’m not even a survivor but that guy gets to my bones.

    +++
    Apart from that I will now dive into looking for sources of the things I know. That’s when I hate academics…

    +++
    *hugs&coke&bretzeln* for Portia

    +++
    *pouncehug* on Ing, deliverer of puppies and saviour of the day

  386. bluentx says

    Giliell:
    Was just about to send out my own SOS to any monitors lurking. Gak, Dennis S. is vile!
    I hope to FSM he’s not my cousin Dennis! Heh!

  387. rq says

    Which one’s the difference thread? I feel like I’m missing out on something. Although I got a taste of Strubbe on the Absurd Segregation thread, and don’t know how I feel about more of the same.

  388. opposablethumbs says

    OK, our latest shitbag (numerous threads) is just trolling now – not in the sense of writing things he doesn’t believe in (he does) but in the sense of being deliberately beyond the pale and crossing all the lines he can. Is it possible to request a commenter be banned for this? I suppose probably not … so is anyone up for a concerted killfiling? Just thought I’d ask.

    Off to do something better for my health (than seeing his drivel on the screen – especially in the rape thread) so I’ll check back later.

  389. rq says

    Never mind, I found it; didn’t quite put together the fact that it’s the same Hannity thread bluentx mentioned previously. All is well; now to see if I’ll stick with it to the end (not likely?).

  390. bluentx says

    rq:
    Comment #176 (you know where) is my favorite so far (tho I have skimmed -may have missed some doozies). I won’t quote here (wouldn’t want to pollute The Lounge) but egads does this person really believe what xe is spewing or is xe just on the payroll of a Right Wing or MRA ‘think’ tank?

  392. blf says

    [I]s xe [sic] just on the payroll of a Right Wing or MRA ‘think’ tank?

    Is there actually a nuthouse stoopid enough to pay someone to, or who does, write such things? Other than the Wacky Nutters Deluded, that is.

  393. rq says

    blf
    Short answer?
    Yes.
    Long answer?
    Probably. It wouldn’t surprise me, I’m ashamed to say.

    bluentx
    When I get to it, I will remember all warnings about the thread and the person, if I manage to get that far (and read the entire comment(s)). It’s kind of like watching a horror movie, you know? Or entering one of those ‘haunted’ houses. You know it’ll probably bad (and not necessarily in the good-bad way), you’ll probably jump a little bit or laugh unbelievably quite a lot, and there’s that giant sense of apprehension of What if this time it’s actually spooky? Except we already know the answer anyway, because yes, these horrible people really think those horrible things.
    *deepbreath*
    Diving in.

  396. bluentx says

    Okay! It’s REALLY past my (dead)time so… Goodnight All!

    *Damn! I use to be able to party all night, get no sleep, and go to work at 7 am. What happened?!*

  397. Ogvorbis says

    Abd a giid Tyesdat Nirbugb ti akk if tiy!

    [looks at screen. hits monitor. moves hands on keyboard.]

    And a good Tuesday morning to all of you!

    [much better]

    A Monday morning is going to happen tomorrow. Ew.

    Calendarist oppressor! The 10th was Monday and TODAY is Tuesday.

    I meant about Jar Jar Binks.

    I’m just wondering if future references to that character should carry some kind of a warning? Something?

    I’m getting rather bored of riding my emotional elevator today.

    Post day hugs to you.

    I

    Ai? Eye? You? Ewe?

    I think Dennis Strubbe is about the worst we ever had and that says something and I really want you to take care when you go there. I’m not even a survivor but that guy gets to my bones.

    He’s banned now. I did well. I didn’t trigger. I just got really, really, really, really, coldly, rationally angry.

  399. says

    Hey! I have 5 out of 15-20 pages of my paper done. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish within 20 pages, especially not with graphs…
    I think I’m entitled to lunch now…

    Ogvorbis
    I guess that’s good. This guy had me hugging my knees and shaking.

  401. bluentx says

    Advancing age will do that. ;)

    That’s what I get for refreshing ‘one more time’.

    GOOD NIGHT!….REALLY! :)

  402. Ogvorbis says

    Giliell

    I guess that’s good. This guy had me hugging my knees and shaking.

    That bullshit about his girlfriend makes me wish that there was some way to do something. But yeah, coherent rage at such a perfect example of lots of really bad things.

  403. Ogvorbis says

    *hugsback* and yay for progress?

    If I knew why I didn’t trigger there, but have triggered on other things, now that would be progress.

  404. blf says

    The Overlord is up early! Dennis Strubbe has been banned!

    What a horrible thing to have to wake up to. Most people just wake up to hangovers, alarm clocks, the mildly deranged penguin turning the bed upsidedown and jumping up and down on it, a lick from the dog or a fart from the cat, a full bladder, a bladder that emptied itself, the baby / rats / T. rex falling down the stairs again, the local Rock & Roll band practicing, and other minor annoyances. Poopyhead gets a misogynistic possibly-rapist troll.

  405. Ogvorbis says

    Poopyhead gets a misogynistic possibly-rapist troll.

    No “possible”. He admitted raping his girlfriend.

    Just toss the MDP a slice of American-style processed cheese food product. It’ll keep her quiet for a couple of days.

  406. blf says

    Just toss the MDP a slice of American-style processed cheese food product. It’ll keep her quiet for a couple of days.

    She runs away from that stuff — or British industrial “cheddar” — so fast she obtains relativistic velocities and ignites the Nitrogen in the atmosphere. And yes, it does take her a few days to slow down, albeit the complaints afterwards are so loud the pressure waves pummel the burnt-out remains of the Earth into a neutron star. It’s only then that she lets you know just how annoyed she is…

    And neither “American-style processed cheese” or “British industrial ‘cheddar'” should ever be called “food”.

  408. Ogvorbis says

    blf:

    I have that in my fridge. Also some apricot Stilton, some aged Asiago, a ball of buffalo mile mozzarella, and some Vermont cheddar. But I’m willing to share some of my American-style processed cheese food product. She can enjoy it with some potted meat product.

  409. rq says

    blf
    So the last time the MDP had some processed cheese offered her was… the Russian meteorite?

    You guys are totally spoiling the thread for me! I haven’t gotten to the really horrible bits yet – mostly because of children needing food and naptimes and stories and some role-play gaming playing with cars and dinosaurs, and of a certain translation taking more time than it should (but that’s me procrastinating on purpose).
    Then again, I’m going to be grateful and say Thanks for all those warnings, because it makes me feel a teensy bit emotionally prepared for what is to come. Terrible things, it seems… :/

  410. blf says

    Just found over at Bad Science is this, Hydrogen Rich Water Guidebook:

    I have concluded that there are two kinds of water: water that produces disease and water that prevents and cures disease. I must also make the following almost unbelievable point. From the dawn of the human race up to the present day, I think human beings have been acquainted with water that produces disease.

    This is because 99.99 percent of the water that actually exist on the earth is or was, in fact, nothing but this type of water. Thus, up until now, the human race has had to depend on “water that produces disease.” As a result, since the birth of humankind, human beings have suffered from disease.

    …

    Since 1985, I have been searching for the water that prevents and cures disease. During that time there were many detours, but I believe that very recently I have finally discovered what this is. In a nutshell, it is water that contains a large amount of hydrogen gas, which I have termed “Hydrogen-rich Water.”

    … Hydrogen Rich Water gets rid of active oxygen, which is considered to be the cause of all kinds of diseases.

    Probably also contains horse.

  411. opposablethumbs says

    Probably also contains horse.

    … or at least their by-products. In the form of a large amount of horse manure.

  412. says

    I swear this college administration is run by Monty Python.
    The saga continues. So, I just got a call from the person who’s responsible to sign me up under teh new systemand to put my credits in so far. Now, when I changed the course of study, the letter I got which approved of that said “and since we can’t place you in a semester in that new course, please write an application for having the progress controls suspended for you.”
    Which I did. When I handed in that stuff I asked again for how long that works or if I should apply for a part-time place since I just can’t manage the required number of classes anyway and also it makes no sense since there are 4 classes that I have to take one past the other and I don’t need that many credits left anymore so I could even get 30 in a term for 5 terms.
    Luckily I asked because I just got a call from the lady and she told me that no, you have to be placed in a semester, and no we can’t excempt you from the progress controls, yes that changed and no, we didn’t think it necessary to inform you of that….
    Well, I’m going there on Thursday anyway…

  413. blf says

    I swear this college administration is run by Monty Python.
    …
    Well, I’m going there on Thursday anyway.

    Vital equipment to take with you is a cage and an obviously dead parrot.

    Or a killer rabbit.

  414. dianne says

    Hydrogen rich water? Isn’t that another way of saying acid? H20+H+ should be an acidic solution.

    Or do they mean H2O+H2? That would be exciting in the presence of a source of ignition.

    And “gets rid of active oxygen”? That sounds rather fatal. Especially since doing so is likely a highly exothermic reaction in this situation.

    Yes, yes, I know. Why am I trying to make the woo make sense?

  415. blf says

    … it is water that contains a large amount of hydrogen gas …

    I didn’t bother reading the entire screed, but assuming there is any consistency, the above implies the rather exciting H2O+H2.

    (Can <sub> and <sup> be enabled, please?)

  416. dianne says

    Five weeks with an average 4 hours of sleep per night, on call 24/7, working 2 full- time shifts (water & wastewater plant)

    This sounds like a bad plan on so many different levels I can’t count them all. (Bad on your boss’s part, I mean, not on yours.)

    Abuse of employee, check. Putting sleep deprived person in charge of dangerous equipment, check. Prolonging the danger unnecessarily, check. Blaming the victim and whistleblower, check. I hope your boss never works in city planning again.

  417. Portia, Whimpering Puddle of Migraine says

    Thanks for the trigger warning and the hugs and treats, Giliell.

    Thanks for the smiles and laughs to wake up to generally, all of you.

    Ogvorbis. yay for not triggering! Here’s hoping a recognizable pattern shakes out and you can better predict what will be triggering.

    =============

    Headache’s still there (had a horrible no-good terrible night) but I feel like it will receded soon. Fingers crossed. Having the frozen pizza for breakfast that I made last night and was too nauseous to touch. Mmmm I feel like I’m in college.

  418. Matt Penfold says

    Hydrogen rich water ?

    Surely that would be heavy water ? And that most assuredly is not safe to drink.

  419. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    I didn’t bother reading the entire screed, but assuming there is any consistency, the above implies the rather exciting H2O+H2.

    Well, at least the stupidity should be self-limiting.

  420. Ing:Intellectual Terrorist "Starting Tonight, People will Whine" says

    the ing mind has reached a conclusion. The internet should be nuked for decontamination. People are AWFUL

  421. rq says

    [TRIGGER WARNING]

    Ogvorbis
    Can I venture an opinion (ok, I’m going to venture an opinion…) about the non-triggering with regard to Stubbe and the thread (if you’re trying to figure out what may or may not trigger you), now that I have read all of it? Maybe, what induced the righteous, cold anger (instead of the panic) was the fact that he confessed to being a rapist himself, thus providing you with an actual, tangible target, as opposed to the usual nameless, not-present Rapist?
    (Feel free to ignore me completely if/because I’m completely wrong.)
    /opinion

    [/TRIGGER WARNING]

  422. rq says

    Ing
    Just give them all fill the internet with the special, hydrogen-rich water linked to above, and apply a match.

  423. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Ing,

    Not just the internet. People are awful everywhere.

  424. blf says

    Just give them all fill the internet with the special, hydrogen-rich water linked to above, and apply a match.

    Match not required. The water (H2O) will short out some electronics somewhere, some of which will spark, and …

    The trick would be getting some of the stuff delivered to all the leaf nodes (endusers, the actual targets) before the inevitable sparks.

  425. dianne says

    The internet should be nuked for decontamination.

    Sadly, since the internet was invented to be a means of communication that would survive a nuclear war, it probably wouldn’t work. OTOH, if we can get Ken Starr to publish more presidential porn, that might take the internet down for long enough to scrub the filth off. (Or maybe not…there’s a lot more capacity in it now than there was in 1998 when the Starr report first took the internet down…)

  426. cicely ( all around!) says

    *moar hugs* for Portia.
    –

    c i c e ly = penance

    Hey, as long as cicely ≠ Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
     
    *re-reads comment; pauses*
     
    Sorry; make that ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
    :)
    –

    And here it is, Monday morning.

    And worse yet, Monday morning right after going to Daylight Saving Time.

    I wanna stay hoooome. *whinge*

    Me, toooooooooo. *whinging in harmony (& sympathy)*
    –

    But fear of being drunk? That’s just silly… ;)

    Not for this self-control freak. Letting the Internal Censor for Verbal Communications clock out and go home is a Bad Thing.
    –

    ‘Cuz the Earth’s bearings haven’t been oiled in millennia and so can’t handle the higher rate of spin. They are probably about to seize up, being all covered in rust from Mr Noah’s clogged drain.

    So, we’re all about to be abruptly flung off into the Void?
     
    Sounds about right for First Monday Morning of Daylight Saving Time.
    –

    Google Doodle today

    *smile*
    I know exactly where my towel is.
    –

    Probably also contains horse.

    … or at least their by-products. In the form of a large amount of horse manure.

    …the over-supply of which they use to fertilise their immense pea farm.
    –

  427. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    I have found a solution to our Monday troubles, cicely!
    We just switch from our to Ogvorbis’ calendar every Sunday at 23:59 and back on (his) Saturday at 23:59. That way you even get two Saturdays.

  428. glodson says

    He’s banned now. I did well. I didn’t trigger. I just got really, really, really, really, coldly, rationally angry.

    You did better than me. I just got angry reading that crap this morning. Nothing rational about it. I hope he was just lying to get a reaction in his posts, but I strongly doubt that hope.

    ….

    Good morning. I got lucky, the little girl slept in. Well, I figured she would. She had a late night yesterday, and stayed up quite late. Daylight Savings did a number on her sleep schedule, mostly because I didn’t think to adjust the clocks in the house.

  429. Azkyroth Drinked the Grammar Too :) says

    Things that amuse me: progressive cavity pumps mostly look like either gattling guns or plasma guns. O.o

  430. blf says

    … you even get two Saturdays.

    Much simpler: Use a modified groundhog loop to get seven Saturdays (or whatever). The modification is to ensure they are not the same Saturday every day.

    [W]e’re all about to be abruptly flung off into the Void?

    Sounds about right for First Monday Morning of Daylight Saving Time.

    One of the many disadvantages of the failure of the Great Mayan Calendar Collapse to actually collapse.

  431. cicely ( all around!) says

    We just switch from our to Ogvorbis’ calendar every Sunday at 23:59 and back on (his) Saturday at 23:59. That way you even get two Saturdays.

    Sounds, good, Beatrice!
    “Monday tomorrow, and Monday yesterday, but never Monday today.” I’ll bet someone could get elected, with a slogan like that.
    –

  433. Ogvorbis says

    You did better than me. I just got angry reading that crap this morning. Nothing rational about it. I hope he was just lying to get a reaction in his posts, but I strongly doubt that hope.

    I go through angry to the cold and rational angry. Which is my “Win at all costs and I don’t care who I hurt” mode. Which is bad.

    =======

    You are mocking the Wonders of the Ogvorcalendar. Today is Tuesday.

  434. blf says

    I’ll bet someone could get elected, with a slogan like that.

    Not on Monday.
    And the MDL (Monday Defense Legions) could cause problems.

  435. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Ogvorcalendar can help me eradicate Mondays. I would never mock it.

  436. Ogvorbis says

    Ogvorcalendar can help me eradicate Mondays. I would never mock it.

    Monday was yesterday so I didn’t even have a cushion day before nonsensical time change.

  438. Ogvorbis says

    rq (@421):

    Not sure. I laid into him the first time yesterday, before he had confessed to rape, so I’m not sure.

  439. Portia, Whimpering Puddle of Migraine says

    Glad you got to sleep in, glodson. : ) Hope you’re feeling alright.

    rq

    Portia
    *sparkles!confetti!trumpets!* for both the good (yet stressful) day, and also for having enough social exposure to put away the doormat costume for a while. I hope it holds. I also hope that S’ self-awareness does not die an unnatural death, and that it is a new leaf and not a ploy to return to your good books (and thus return you to doormat status…).
    This is a day for you to remember next time you have doubts about going to a social/professional event alone – proof that you can do it, and do it well!!

    Parrowing

    Yay for your great work day, yay for coming in third at trivia, and yay for feeling strong enough to not be a doormat! I hope that whatever S says, you are able to hold on to that feeling!
    *

    Thanks for the encouragement you two : )
    I just realized now that I’ve been trying to figure out what to say to him to make it clear I won’t be treated like this. It’s been so long that I haven’t been a doormat that I don’t know how to do it. : / (Jerk-friend called me a bad feminist for being a doormat at some point prior to the swift and sudden termination of our friendship. Sheesh he was such a jerk.)
    Blogofmyself
    So so sorry for your loss. *hugs* if you like them.

    Trigger Warning for Self Harm
    Yesterday was the nine-year anniversary of the death of my sixteen year old cousin. The best guess at his cause of death was self-strangulation in an effort to enhance a high. We still don’t know for sure but his mother found him in his bedroom in the morning.
    I know his mother appreciates a phone call and knowing that other people remember, I just feel…morbid, or something, calling on the anniversary of his death.

  440. Ogvorbis says

    Yesterday was the nine-year anniversary of the death of my sixteen year old cousin.

    Hugs to you and the whole family.

  441. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    Lots of *hugs* to you Portia… I can’t quite imagine how you make that call, but I am sure it will mean a lot that you do.

  442. Portia, Whimpering Puddle of Migraine says

    Thank you, Oggie and PSG. I appreciate the hugs.

    I will probably work up the emotional…backbone to give her a call. She’s the very sweetest person, a real joy. So giving her a little joy or comfort or anything will be rewarding.

    here’s what came on my pandora, click at your own sad, sappy risk. Do love me some Norah Jones though.

    *hugs* back to you. And to everyone who’d like some. I’m not too sad at the moment, just feeling reflective.

  445. Portia, who never remembers to update her post-nym once she is no longer suffering quite so acutely says

    Thank you cicely. *bearhugs* to you.

    opposablethumbs, you brought a tear to my eye. Thanks for the kind words. Hugs back atcha.

    Sorry to the Lounge for bringing down the silly banter!
    This made me smile.

  446. glodson says

    Hugs Portia.

    I think we have a problem with forgiveness in our house. Last night, the little girl tore a few pages out of a notebook my wife was keeping. The little girl said sorry in such a sweet little voice. Then she said, “Mommy, I forgive you.”

    I am a bad parent because I laughed.

  448. rq says

    Portia
    *lots&lotsofhugs*

    Ogvorbis
    *shrug*
    It was a theory about the non-triggering aspect, as in – you can get angry for a multitude of reasons, but that one topic didn’t trigger you this time… Previous exposure, maybe? Who knows. Either way, hope you figure it out eventually!
    *hugs*?

    glodson
    :D I hope your wife was suitably and sufficiently penitent. ;)

  449. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    That, glodson, is precisely the sort of reason I am a horrible role model and/or enforcer of rules for all people young… the temptation to laugh is just too much for me to resist far too often.

  451. rq says

    As for Boogieman, I was hoping for some dance lessons from him, but I suppose it’s just not to be!
    (Is there a Boogerman, too, in addition to all the other B-men? Buggyman? Bugyman (what’s a bugy, or should I ask – how is one bugy?)? This is a path of questioning I had never before imagined.)

  452. Ogvorbis says

    *shrug*
    It was a theory about the non-triggering aspect, as in – you can get angry for a multitude of reasons, but that one topic didn’t trigger you this time… Previous exposure, maybe? Who knows. Either way, hope you figure it out eventually!
    *hugs*?

    Again, it could be. I don’t know. If I ever figure out why I am so screwed up, my life’s work will be complete.

    Damn.

    Now I wonder. Is there anyone else out there who feels like they are spending so much time dealing with failure, dealing with abuse, dealing with pain, dealing with the side-effects of life that life itself is passing by?

  453. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Well, I’m not dealing with abuse, but I’m wasting my life despairing over how I’m wasting my life.

  454. glodson says

    rq

    She offered a cookie to the little one. So I would say so.

    PSG

    Yea, I laugh too often. But it is hard not to, as she is such a sweet little girl. Last year, she was worried some guys working on a building would jump off because they wanted to play with her as we drove by. Not sure where she got that idea.

  455. Ogvorbis says

    Beatrice:

    Sorry. I need to remember not to share little bits like that. I didn’t mean to hit you with splash damage. I apologize.

  457. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    Oh yeah Ogvorbis, some days I feel like I’m so busy being sick I don’t have time to live my life. Well, between that and working to keep myself afloat, I definitely have little time or energy to enjoy the life. I have actively put off taking care of some conditions because I just don’t have the time and energy to be ill with so many things simulataneously, which seems to baffle the folks I have mentioned it to. “No, you must take care of ALL your problems right away,” they insist. Heh. With who’s spoons? What’s worse is I don’t have the joy for life as much as I once think I did… before.
    .
    I can’t say I haven’t wondered, in a darker moment or two, what my life might have been had I not had to spend so much of it *unwell* – and I’m not even that bad off on the scale of relative sickness, since I can still hold down a full-time job and all.

  458. Beatrice (looking for a happy thought) says

    Ogvorbis,

    No need to apologize. I just answered, with bitter honesty.

  459. rq says

    :o I have since discovered that the word bougie has very negative racist connotations.
    I apologize for putting it out there. :/ I think it’s time to focus back on the translating rather than running about trying to entertain myself. Sorry for being ignorant and insensitive!

  460. rq says

    Ogvorbis
    Considering during a usual day it seems like I get fuck-all of obviously productive work done, yeah, I mostly feel life is passing me by. Rather quickly, too, what with all kinds of friends and acquaintances posting all kinds of pictures about travelling to faraway lands and going to all kinds of expensive events… Yeah, I bet all kinds of life is passing me by.
    The whole raising-new-productive-members-of-society isn’t always much consolation, either, but on the relative scale of things… I can only complain in the ‘oooh superficially bad day’ way, since my life so far has been incredibly lucky in a lot of ways.
    So I feel like a privileged ass when I complain, but I can’t help doing it (sometimes – mostly I manage).

    I hope you’re having a good day, at least! Even with the confusion and questioning.

  461. Hekuni Cat, MQG says

    Threadrupt. Drops off a *huge pile of hugs and chocolate* – take/distribute as needed.

  462. PSG (pharmscigrad) says

    glodson: Well, they are normally supposed to be completely self-centered at a certain age, IIRC, which can be laughable adorable when not irritating. That’s an awesome thought though, and why I do like the kidrens… always thinking about something in a way I had not thunk before.

  465. Portia, who never remembers to update her post-nym once she is no longer suffering quite so acutely says

    That is pretty cute, glodson. Sounds as endearingly imperious as my almost-three year old niece.

    *snuggles in a lovely mountain of hugs*

    Hi Hekuni Cat!

  466. Ogvorbis says

    you can get angry for a multitude of reasons, but that one topic didn’t trigger you this time…

    Found one. Nice panic attack going right now. Have I mentioned that I hate this shit?

  468. Portia, who never remembers to update her post-nym once she is no longer suffering quite so acutely says

    *hugs* Oggie. : (

  471. cicely ( all around!) says

    *big hugs* for Ogvorbis.

    Have I mentioned that I hate this shit?

    Hmmm…let me think….
     
    Why, yes, I do believe I recollect something to that general effect! And, while I wouldn’t presume to speak for the Collective, I feel sure that there are others here who join me in helping you hate that shit.
    :)
    –

  472. cicely (Possibly Presumptious) says

    (That was meant to add a humorously-supportive vibe, combined with a general we-got-your-backness.)
    –

  474. Portia, who never remembers to update her post-nym once she is no longer suffering quite so acutely says

    *Raises tentacle in solidarity with Ogvorbis*

    *tacklehugs Hekuni Cat*
    :D

  475. says

    Do you harbor suspicions about some of the recent legislation that cuts funding to public schools while increasing state and federal dollars that go to charter or private schools, (or to manufacturers of laptops and tablets for schools)?

    Your suspicions are, once again confirmed. Billionaires see education as a big source of yet more green backs for the mountains of moola they cannot live without. Furthermore, education is the gift that keeps on giving to billionaires if you set the system up properly. After all, there are always more children coming along who need educational services.

    In this article about the forces “pushing for big changes they say will improve public schools” we find some details about who is labeling their money-making efforts with the orwellian title of “reform.”

    …the truth is that the largest funders of the “reform” movement are the opposite of disinterested altruists. They are cutthroat businesspeople making shrewd financial investments in a movement that is less about educating children than about helping “reform” funders hit paydirt….
    … the “reform” movement is really just a sophisticated business strategy.

    First, there was the Washington state ballot initiative expanding publicly subsidized, privately run charter schools. As the Seattle P-I reported at the time, the initiative was effectively underwritten by Amazon and Microsoft. This was part of the latter’s larger education “reform” push through the massive foundation of company founder Bill Gates.

    Yet, in most of the coverage of that ballot measure, just like in most of the coverage of Gates’ foundation work, there is no mention of the fact that both Amazon and Microsoft just so happen to be technology companies — that is, for-profit entities with their eyes on lucrative education technology contracts.

    Those contracts are much easier to land in privately run charter schools because such schools are often uninhibited by public schools’ procurement rules and standards requiring a demonstrable educational need for technology. That reality, no doubt, is part of why charter schools often spend so much more on “administration” and “business services” than do their public school counterparts. …

    … the Los Angeles Times reported that News America Inc. donated $250,000 to the “reform” slate. That’s the same News America that is the for-profit education technology arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. It is the same News America that was recently trumpeted in the New York Times for rolling out an expensive “tablet (that) will be targeted at middle-school children” — that is, if the company can convince the school board candidates it underwrites to divert money away from hiring teachers and into News America’s coffers. …

    More resources:
    Los Angeles Times.
    Seattle P.I.
    Washington Post

  476. says

    A Dad sensitive to his daughter’s needs hacked Donkey Kong so that Pauline could be the hero.
    http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/03/donkey-kong-pauline-hack/?cid=co6309434

    … Finally, one day after work, she asked to play Donkey Kong, only this time she raised a pretty innocent and simple question: “How can I play as the girl? I want to save Mario!” …

    Two nights after my daughter’s request, I was knee deep in the Donkey Kong ROM, trying to make sense of the graphics. If I was going to replace the sprites, I needed to go all in. I needed to reduce Pauline’s height – she is three tiles tall to Mario’s two, a throwback to when Donkey Kong was going to be a Popeye game. I managed to reduce her height by taking some liberty with her design. I kept the head and hair pretty much intact. But, without any sort of onion-skin animation tools, I was animating blind with only the Mario sprites as reference….

  477. says

    More crap to watch out for. Exploitation without consent, via web cam. Should women put a hood over their web cam?

    … The online community of RAT operators, “ratters,” Ars Technica notes, is almost exclusively male. They share the fruits of the computers they compromise — largely intimate images of women swiped from computer files or caught on webcam — on aboveground hacker forums. They call the women they spy on “slaves.” …

    http://www.salon.com/2013/03/11/how_hackers_spy_on_women_through_their_webcams/

  478. rq says

    Lynna @476
    That link made me smile really huge, and then it made me tear up (but it’s the onions, I tell you!). Thanks for that!
    Wish that could be part of the game as a rule.

  480. glodson says

    Lynna, that’s sweet. I wish I had the programming ability to do that. That’s a great story.

  482. says

    Good evening

    *hugs* to Portia

    And to rq. I know exactly how you’re feeling. Althogh I still feel kind of out of place in college it is so nice to have a life again. But yeah, I even get mightily jealous at my friends being able to roleplay once a week sometimes twice.

    +++

    Vital equipment to take with you is a cage and an obviously dead parrot.

    Or a killer rabbit.

    A long time ago, shortly after the dinosaurs died out, around the year 2000 I took the translations exam German-English. Please note the direction. From German to English. It was a text about Monty Python. The correct translation of the title was “The dead parrot beats its wings”. The text contained the word “obituary”, in German, of course. I don’t think that anybody taking that exam knew the term. When we were done and had our stuff handed in we asked the prof. what the English word was. Now that it was over he could tell us so we would at least learn a new word. Well, we’re still waiting for the answer…

  483. says

    <whine>
    I am just at my wits fucking end. The mice aren’t going away, and evey time L sees one he’s triggered into flashbacks of the mouse-infested trailer he lived in as a child and can barely go into the kitchen now. We haven’t got money for any solutions beyond the trap I was able to get the other day, which has had no result at all, nor does the dog seem to bother them any. This is on top of the shitty electric wiring that burns out our lightbulbs superfast, the crack in the bottom of the door that lets in the drafts, the rent we can’t afford, etc. Unfortunately, we also can’t afford to move. This is putting stress on everyone’s relationships too, which is not helping nayone’s stress levels. At least we’re talking about that part, though. WE talk about the rest too, but there’s fuckall we can really do about it. I don’t have any energy to do anything except (barely) read a book or the like. I have a numebr of projects I want to start, but many of them need resources I don’t have, and the rest need energy I can’t muster, because my brain is too focused on failing to get any damn money. I just have no idea what the fuck to do.
    </whine>

  484. Portia, just Portia says

    I’m so sorry, Dalillama. I wish there was more I could do than offer sympathies. I’m glad the three of you are communicating though, that’s not nothing. *hugs* and best wishes.

  487. says

    That Thread

    Oh. My. Ceiling Cat.

    I find myself wanting to go scratchy-bitey on that guy.

    I was raped by my abuser. According to that guy, what I experienced on a near-daily basis “wasn’t really rape”. Never mind that half the time, my “consent” was a move fully intended to get him off so he’d leave me the fuck alone, and not because I wanted to have sex. Never mind that he was (probably still is) twice my size and easily overpowered me the few times I did fight back. Never mind that I’m disabled. Never mind that when I did say “no”, he went ahead and did it anyway. The fact that I was in a relationship with my abuser — engaged to him, FFS! — and consented at one point in time… well, that just means I’m a lying bitch out for revenge, yeah?

    Fuck that.

    I’m off to take a nice long walk… roll… whatever… to clear my head.

  489. Lofty says

    Dalillama
    Stuff steel wool (teased open scourer pads) in any cracks and holes the mice can use for access. It hurts their widdle teeth. It’s the only thing that worked in the rental dump we lived in many years ago.
    .
    WMDKitty
    I will hug my kitty now as I hardly know you but hoping the thought makes it your way anyway.

  490. FossilFishy(Anti-Vulcanist, with a perchant for pachyderm punditry) says

    Threadrupt and hopeless with it.

    Trigger warning for lost loves, and regrets, and the melancholy beauty of people with a passionate history meeting again in an unforeseen future.

    I cried, but in private.

    The Artist is Present by Marina Abramovic; this is a moment when she really was fully present in an undeniable way.

    I don’t think I could have done that. Not the performance, nor stepping into it bearing the history between them that he carried. My generation shields itself with post-punk cynicisms and witticisms, or at least I do anyway. I get too close to displaying my true emotions in public like those two did and I spray out a cloud of ironic bullshit and disappear in the confusion. And I don’t believe for one fucking second that I’m the better for it.

  493. bluentx says

    dianne:

    Five weeks with an average 4 hours of sleep per night, on call 24/7, working 2 full- time shifts (water & wastewater plant)

    This sounds like a bad plan on so many different levels I can’t count them all.

    First phase of the Bad Plan was when they thought having just two people licensed to operate the wastewater plant was sufficient. That meant that when #1 operator ended up in the hospital (then at home recuperating), #2 operator (moi) was expected to spend day shift (including weekends) at ww plant then still report to the water plant for my usual evening shift.
    After I was fired, they then expected #1 to return to full time status immediately even though his doctors were telling him he needed a quadruple bypass!

    Praise Right To Work states and Anti-Unionism!

    @ #425:

    ..if we can get Ken Starr to publish more presidential porn..

    Do you mean US presidential or his own porn as president of Baylor University? :)
    –
    *waves at FossilFishy*

    Yeah, we’ve been passing the box of tissues around The Lounge due to that Art. *sniffle, sniffle*

  494. Portia, just Portia says

    Now that I think about it…

    MASSIVE TRIGGER WARNING
     
     
     
     
     
     

    I was sexually assaulted last weekend by someone who thought if he just pushed further and further and ignored my “NO”s that I’d cave. Because it had worked before, so why not now? When I got more adamant, so did he. He didn’t quit until I hit him across the head as hard as I could and scrambled out from under him. I stammered out “I was raped before, you know.” This lead to lots of “I would never do that, I’m so sorry that happened to you.” I should have said “You were about to do that, asshole.” But I was immediately horrified that the words had escaped my lips and tried to be “cool” about the whole thing. I know he didn’t learn anything from the experience (he continued to try to push my boundaries (no I don’t know why I didn’t order him to leave my hotel room)) but at least he feared further violence to his person so he stopped when I said stop.

    I don’t need condolences or anything about it, I just felt like getting it off my chest. Especially in light of the particular discussion. In the clip in the other thread, Zerlina Maxwell says “You’re requiring women to shoot someone they know, someone they trust.” And that’s probably the main problem (among many other) with saying women should just be armed. Based on statistics, they would have to fire on someone they can’t always even bring themselves to reject sexually. If a person is too reticent to even say “No, I don’t owe you an orgasm,” how likely are they to out-and-out mortally wound them! Honestly…

    Got off on a rant there. Anyway. I don’t know what my point was.

    END TRIGGER WARNING

  495. cicely (Possibly Presumptious) says

    A Dad sensitive to his daughter’s needs hacked Donkey Kong so that Pauline could be the hero.

    :)
    –
    *hugs for Dalillama…enough to share with L.
     
    We have a problem with squirrels (and now, raccoons) in the attic (and I can hear the little furry bastards right now, scratching away). The Husband is planning to install some sort of heavy metal (but not musical) mesh at their access points, to deny them access—he thinks Lowes has it—as soon as our tax refund comes in. Something of the sort, maybe, if you know where they’re getting in?
    –
    *head scritches & catnip* for WMDKitty.
    –
    FossilFishy!
    *pouncehug*
    –

    Got off on a rant there. Anyway. I don’t know what my point was.

    Whatever it was, it was well made.
    :)

    Based on statistics, they would have to fire on someone they can’t always even bring themselves to reject sexually. If a person is too reticent to even say “No, I don’t owe you an orgasm,” how likely are they to out-and-out mortally wound them! Honestly…

    I don’t believe I’ve seen this particular point brought up before. It wants…wider dispersal.
    –

  498. chigau (違う) says

    Portia #494
    Well.
    um
    Do you think he actually learned anything?
    Are you OK?
    —–
    FossilFishy
    *hugwave*
    —–
    Oggie
    *hugs*

  499. glodson says

    WMDKitty and Portia

    Big hugs, and some booze if you need it.

    …

    Based on statistics, they would have to fire on someone they can’t always even bring themselves to reject sexually. If a person is too reticent to even say “No, I don’t owe you an orgasm,” how likely are they to out-and-out mortally wound them! Honestly…

    Fuck these gun nuts, who care so much about justifying their need to be armed that they think in these terms. Maybe that’s not fair to gun nuts, as it could just be your run of the mill rape apologist who doesn’t want to closely examine what consent really means for fear of what it will mean about them. Assholes.

    On a lighter note, I managed not to puncture my foot with numerous shards of glass after I dropped the jelly jar.

    iJoe I have read that the new Tomb Raider is pretty good, like an open world Uncharted. I’ll have to check it out soon. Too many games. I think I’m going to try and download the HD remake of Okami tomorrow, if I can.

  500. chigau (違う) says

    I hate this time of the diurnal cycle.
    When the threads go dead, I can never tell if it’s my net book, my router, my server, Pharyngula, FtB,
    or
    the pods have got you all.