Those crazy Swedes, bustin’ into song over the weirdest things…like “it’s all the gays’ fault”.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Those crazy Swedes, bustin’ into song over the weirdest things…like “it’s all the gays’ fault”.
Ooops. onion girl, not Audley, posted the list on PET. My bad.
Quodlibet:
AfterBite! That’s what that stuff is called. Yup, I have a small tube and I’ve been using it.
I had no idea that the wedding this past weekend was going to be outside, so I was totally unprepared– no sunblock, no bug spray, no anti-itch stuff, etc. If I had known, I would have ditched the cute little clutch purse for something more practical. ;)
Katrina:
Unless I’ve taken to being proactive in my mod duties while I’m in a allergy med induced fog, I think it was Oniongirl who posted the list of unknowns. :)
Very careful *hugs* for Audley. I hate mosquitoes (nasssty little flying dirty hypodermic needles), but they pale in comparison with chiggers, each one burning with the Evil of a thousand horses. I don’t in general approve of driving species to extinction, but for them, I’d make an exception, if only I could think of a way to accomplish it.
–
Audley, yeah I caught that after posting. That’s what I get for trying to follow TET from my itty-bitty netbook.
Once upon a time, they offered Benadryl in tubes like your ammonia stuff. It worked much better and didn’t smell like litterbox. I haven’t seen it around lately, but that’s something else to keep an eye out for. Ah, look for the “Benadryl Itch Relief Stick” and you may find it.
Analysis of Obama’s policies: “If only the Czar knew”
http://www.tinyrevolution.com/mt/archives/003535.html
Thanks, guys.
My itchies are starting to feel better, so hopefully I won’t freak myself out anymore. We’ll see, I guess.
Today I’m all all drugged up on antihistamines for actual allergies rather than bites. We’ve had red air quality alerts all week and my normal daily meds haven’t been keeping up.
I may have to look into this AfterBite stuff to keep around the house. I don’t react horribly to all types of bites, but when I do, it’s utter misery.
A couple years ago, we got an infestation of bed bugs and….*shudder* It was gradual at first, probably because only a few managed to find their way into the house. For ages, we couldn’t find any evidence of them (they were hiding in the wall paneling when we humans were active and awake because they’re evil little bastards). I’d look and look, and figured we must have had a spider hatching or something. Set out spider traps, etc.
As time went on, I was getting more and more bites as they multiplied, and husband got a few more as well. It was so painful and irritating that I literally began dreading going to sleep.
It wasn’t until one weekend when we were staying up late that I spotted one coming out of the wall to devour my tender flesh. I don’t think I slept that night; we stripped a sorts of linens and washed them in super hot water, put the feet of bed in square paint cups, wiped all the wooden bedroom furniture down with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Thankfully one pass by an exterminator took care of them, but memories of months of bites I was helpless to prevent are awful.
We had some glitches earlier — it looks like TechGuy was tweaking the theme code, giving my very own private copy. That’s a precursor to being able to dive in and screw it up without mangling everyone else’s site! Yay!
Quick question about TET: are people seeing performance problems as it gets bigger? Do I need to rethink the maximum size?
Also, there’s another option: I can paginate comments, so I could say, for instance, each page only holds 250 comments. Do people hate that idea?
I’ve not been having too much trouble with length so far, but I don’t mind the idea.
It is starting to take a fair bit of time to reload. Enough that it is getting on the annoying side.
It that would be easy to implement, and easy to revert back, it would be interesting to give it a try.
As long as it’s a LARGE number of comments, I haven’t got a problem. Wouldn’t that defeat the point of multiple TETs tho?
I kind of irrationally hate the idea of a paginated TET – but I’m not having reload issues.
I thought about this, and decided that PZ should still close the old TET and open a new one on occasions because the video he posts, and the comments he makes, when he does so are such fun.
OK, trying pagination now. It resets the comment numbers on each page, unfortunately. Let’s let it be and see how it works.
I’d still reset it when it’s getting close to 700, though — I think it’s good to shake it up a little and also put a new post on the front page.
Oh, and it is very, very easy to change it back. One click, it’s back to the old scheme.
The most important aspect of pagination is not comments per page, but how easy it is to jump from one page of comments to another. As a minimum, links to all other pages – not just the next page and the previous page – should appear at the top and bottom of every page.
Consistent pagination would be better than the ad-hoc pagination you’ve done in the past.
I hope that means the old scheme is back in force because having multiple pages with the same numbers in the same comments is waaaaay too complex for my poor brain :D
PZ – the restarted page comments are kind of a problem, especially given that it doesn’t tell you what page you’re on, so I can’t say page 4 comment 114…
PZ, could we also have the option to “view on one page” if we have pagination?
I’m somewhat against the pagination too, probably out of nostalgia rather than any practical objection, however.
I didn’t notice any latency on the length, but there have been so many confounding factors (load testing this weekend, DSN, etc.) that I doubt we’ve had a real test of the thread length issue.
Entirely TET-bankrupt, as seems to be my constant condition these days, but I want to brag for a second: I was on this week’s Savage Love Podcast! You know the feedback calls Dan plays at the end of each episode? Mine was the first of those on this week’s ‘cast: I’m the guy saying a gay kid shouldn’t have to resort to insurance fraud (throwing his laptop into a lake and claiming it was stolen) to avoid having his mom find his porn stash.
Also, bankrupt or no, I see on my screen references to Audley, mosquitoes, and Benadryl… and can only offer careful air-hugs for whatever that combination of things might indicate.
Finally, this seems like a baby step in the right direction. They should start way earlier than 6th grade, of course, and screw the parental opt-out for birth control info, but still, the right direction, IMHO.
Yeah… pagination screws with comment numbers. So, unless the comment numbers can be driven server-side (instead of as a ), I think pagination’s going to be a nonstarter.
BTW, is it just me, or do these guys not look like Mike Meyers characters?
… and it ate my tag. I meant “(instead of as a <li>)”.
And in a scrambling attempt to reconcile the obvious “we believe in small government and states’ rights except when we don’t” contradiction, our friend Bryan Fischer of the SPLC hate group the American Family Association has taken a shot at rationalization.
Just as “the American people” is really code for “our-type-of-Christians who hate gay people, the poor, women, and minorities” it turns out that believing in state’s rights means that the majority of states can dictate to the minority with great self righteousness.
So, I come here after missing the last two threads and the first thing I see is a reference to mosquitoes. Someone else sharing my love-hate relationship with them? I absolutely hate them, but they (especially some nasty ones that leave giant purple bruises and scars on my legs that don’t seem to lose intensity for a week or two or more) seem to be quite in love with me. I swear, they sense me the moment I step into the garden. I just approached the hedge I was supposed to cut and I had three bites before even starting. My legs look like someone was testing biochemical weapons on them. Ugh, I hate mosquitoes.
PTI,
Our taxes pay for things, like healthcare, so just find a way across the border, it’s a good life.
___
Benjamin,
Site wouldn’t take me anywhere, but I gather you have a position so that is a hearty congratulations. Enjoy.
___
Mister Sleight of Hand,
That’s cool, I would imagine such lessons being fairly popular with those who can manage them. Teachers can be quite busy though, so try to keep it simple to learn.
I’m caught up to this subThread–but only this subThread. *sigh*
I’ve been having a major increase in pain the past few weeks, and it’s making everything more difficult. I’m having a lot of aphasia–the ‘brain fog’ part of fibro that is So Much Fun.
I’ve been using up all of my processing power at work, and I just haven’t been able to focus on reading/writing when I get home. (Lots of TV — I re-watched Torchwood & the entire span til present of Rizzoli & Isles (awesome!)).
So I may be scarce for a while until I get a bit more functional. *hugs*, chocolate, tea, etc to everyone!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
p.s. the preview at the bottom instead of a separate page is WONDERFUL!
Slignot:
GAHFLARFGLARBLE! Why whywhywhy?
Now I’m freaking out again. D:
Bill,
Thanks for the hugs!
PZ,
Boo to pagination! (I don’t like anything that disrupts the flow of things.)
Onion Girl,
That’s horrible. Rest as you can, we will see you when you can visit.
Mr. Sleight of Hand, this bloke is interested in some ideas compatible with yours I think – he’s not a magician, though (he’s a physics teacher (a very good one!)) – so I imagine he may have thought about some comparable problems and had some relevant experience:
(btw the preview
sayspromises me that this just shows up as a link, not embedded – I really hope I don’t screw this up … )http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_6x7OS_Nlg
I think he’s contactable via here:
http://alomshaha.com/
I’ve been watching the economy turn into a gooey pile of fear and recrimination, which has meant spending much more time on financial news sites than is my norm or wont, and I have an observation:
On these sites, some idjit trader will merely voice his opinion and it will be reported as news! No evidence. No analysis. An opinion pulled directly from an alternative orifice is suddenly plastered all over the front page of a prestigious financial website!
It kind of explains a couple of things:
1)Why markets are so damned volatile and emotion driven.
2)Why business/glibertarian types seem to just assume that their unsupported opinion is worth even two stinking turds.
I feel like fricking Jane Goodall watching the fricking chimps.
I looked it up.
We don’t have chiggers here :)
—–
Take care, onion girl.
——
On another topic Miyazaki Hayao is a genius.
ARIDS:
The key thing that most people don’t get about the stock market is that most of it is gambling. It some cases they may be pretty safe bets, but you’re still wagering, in effect, on whether or not the perceived value of a company (regardless of its actual value) will rise or fall (depending on the nature of your investment).
I’ve actually taken classes on options trading and the exchanges in general, and yes, you’re right: one trader’s opinion can become fact in a shockingly easy way. IIRC, last year some guy at a mutual fund left a digit off a sell order for millions of shares and, when combined with automated systems, tanked a company’s stock value in a matter of minutes.
Lucky for me, all my retirement investment is tied up in this shit. </sarcasm>
PS Mr Sleight of Hand – I love your idea, btw!
Re pagination – noooo! Easy for me to say because I’m not particularly having reloading problems, but I would hate not to be able to find a comment that someone else is referring back to – which we wouldn’t be able to do across multiple pages so well, if the screen doesn’t tell us which page we’re on?
If someone just gives a comment number, you can do a “find on this page” and that’s much easier. Any way round this?
Or have an option “show all on one page” so we can choose, that would be nice!
Careful and pain-free *hugs* for onion girl. I’m sorry that you’re having “So Much Fun”; here’s hoping for less “Fun” in your immediate future. Take care of yourself for us, y’hear?
–
Test Only
I really HATE pagination.
PZ:
I’ve seen problems every time it approaches 400 comments. It takes a long time to reload and tends to hang.
Hate the idea. I don’t like the comment numbers being screwed up and how is this really a solution? What’s going to happen when a front page thread goes to a 1,000 comments? Isn’t the main point that the server should be able to cope?
That’s kind of funny, I was just thinking how much less issue this thread is giving me than on the old site. Not that I oppose changes if they help others get on here, just that I haven’t been having any.
Me:
Not enough tea yet…I meant shouldn’t the server be able to cope with monster threads which are all one thread/page? I seriously don’t like pagination.
QFT
OK, I turned pagination off, sorta. It now kicks in when a thread reaches 800 comments, and I should be resetting TET before it gets that far, so it’s more like an emergency overflow condition.
theophontes:
I’ve participated in similar things which is where I got the idea from. Also I like that the kids, if working in groups, will not only get to learn a neat trick but teach it to other kids. Which, hopefully, spreads the joy of learning around.
Dhorvath, OM:
Don’t I know it! My girlfriend is a teacher so I know first hand (well I guess second hand but anyway) how crazy busy they can be. The goal is to make them easy to learn/perform without them being too simple/obvious to figure out. A little challenge, for the students, is good but too much for the teacher means they’ll never touch the thing.
opposablethumbs:
Sweet! Thank-you so much for that. I’ll try and get in touch with him. And I love physics!
Thanks again for all the replies everyone!
Is it just me, or did PET suddenly go down?
Huh.
And was about to chime in anti-pagination but it seems it’s already taken care of.
Nevermind. Fb was busy messing things up again, apparently.
Benjamin Geiger @445, Thx for replying. The Warren Sande book looks interesting! (It’s on Amazon with “Look inside” enabled.) I’ve submitted an interlibrary loan request for it. Can’t hurt to learn some Python. . .
Now what?
Oh, so pretty!
Thanks for turning pagination off, PZ! You’re the best squiddly overlord!
A propos nothing in particular, now that we have a non-science blog version again, can we get the pirate speak pharyngula back?
Arrr!
Why the hell can I post here and get a server message FtB https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/
https://proxy.freethought.online/pharyngula/2011/08/10/there-arent-many-presidential-candidates-one-can-say-this-about/
that says:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘<' in /home/newfreet/public_html/wp-content/plugins/ftb/ftb.php on line 148
&
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '<' in /home/newfreet/public_html/wp-content/plugins/ftb/ftb.php on line 148
WTF!?
I’m gonna take a wild guess that PZ has got the reins again and he just giddyupped the horse in the wrong direction. Temporarily.
So when the Overlord makes CSS changes it overrides all my pretty formatting?
humpf.
I can’t speak to pagination, as I’m clueless as to what it would entail.
But…PLEASE could someone fix the code tags above the comment box for those of us who learned to type rather than key?
Or at least a line of instruction? I don’t speak HTML. :(
As long as we’re wishing for things again, is there any way to get rid of the “says” after everyone’s ‘nym? It’s kind of Captain Obvious, no?
someone tell me when we’re back to ‘normal’ (heh, heh;-) and don’t have to include .css and hosts files anymore.
Comment numbers! Better separation of comments! Woot!
–
I’m now seeing comment numbers with Explorer at work (where I can’t mess with css stuff), but it seems to be dropping the first digit, so it goes 01 to 99, then 00, 01…
Do we have comic sans back yet?
Evidently not.
Well, crap, maybe one of you code whizzes could invent “Comic Troll” or something. *shrugs*
No. Not all of it.
reposted from serindipitydog upthread on getting rid of the says.
I just added:
.says {display:none}
to my user css file and all the says: become pleasingly blank. Hopefully, nothing important has the says class :D
Okay, the .css changes are in progress. I’ve got comment numbers in IE, so I’m going to stick it out here (in IE) and submit myself fully to the will of the OCE.
Or something.
We can close the books on the original ScienceBlogs-based Thread Everlasting.
The tale o’ the tape:
Episodes: CCXXIX (229)
Comments: 181779 (according to my count)
Start: 2/24/09, 10:28 pm
End: 8/03/11, 9:41 pm
Duration: 889.97 d (includes 15.05 d vacation)
Gross commenting rate: 204.25 comments/d
So far here at FTB:
3 episodes, 1917 comments (@#560, this subThread), 2.94 d, 651 comments/d
Crap, I’ve been trying to post a link to “Challenging the Precious Pharyngula”, and I’ll be damned if I can get it to show up here. *snort*
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/07/challenging_the_precious_phary048291.html
Did that work?
wait, no, that’s not right.
Correction:
So far here at FTB:
3 episodes, 1917 comments (@#560, this subThread), 6.79 d, 282 comments/d
yeah
Holy crap… You guys see this yet?
Broad Spectrum Antiviral Therapeutic
Tested against:
Rhinovirus 1B, 2, 14, 30
Theiler’s encephalomyelitis
Dengue type 2
Influenza H1N1 A/PR/8/34 and A/WS/33
Tacaribe
Amapari
Guama Be An 277 and Br 12590
Reovirus 3
Adenovirus 5
Murine adenovirus
This could be pretty danged huge…
Wow!
Lookit!
Numbers and color and contrast and each comment has its own little space.
It all seems so familiar, somehow.
Don’t we have the Very Nicest Poopyhead Evah?
Thank you PZ.
*sorta glad I didn’t mess with my local files since the changes show right up with no troubles at all*
Okay, so the “says” in the author line really annoys the shit out of me. I know someone posted how to get rid of it, but damned if I can find it now (and there’s no way I will be able to figure it out for myself).
A little help?
Good lord, it looks like I missed it twice:
Tethys:
Thank you!
Yes. Lose “says”.
It’s already implied by the time one reads the commenters nym anyway.
We got plenty redundancy here. ;^> Happily.
OK so now how can I change it to ‘sez’?
re pagination; it has another side-effect:
I recently commented on the “But why do you believe in Gawd?” thread, with an inline link included using relative address (eg.
#comment-6027).The link as published shows
http
://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/08/09/but-why-do-you-believe-in-gawd/comment-page-1/#comment-6027@Chas
.says {display:sez}
Way up there, earlier this afternoon, ARIDS said:
That’s always been the way financial types talk. They’re the Masters of the Universe and they know everything. Plus their shit doesn’t stink.
Incidentally, if anyone ever wants citations for the economic bleats I make, just ask. I’ll be happy to ignore accommodate you.
@ Crudely Wrott
I didn’t miss the part where PZ said he couldn’t mess with his site without messing up the other blogs. As soon as that got taken care of, the improvements are showing up.
So, what you said.
*We don’t sez, we writes*
Note to self: <s> doesn’t work here, must use <strike>.
Himself, the preview below the comment box works fine, too.
(No real excuse not to employ it, now)
Meanwhile, in the Careful What You Wish For Department, the new text format. Hmmm. I think the column might be too narrow for this size of text. And this two-line format for the poster and time stamp is ugly too. I am digging the alternating colors and comment numbers though.
Meta note: I am by no means keeping a close eye on these things, but after seeing PZ’s comments on the “So so true” thread, I had to compare comment totals on the two versions here and at Sb. Possibly for the first time, a thread here is beating the one at Sb.
I have returned, and performed cybernetic enhancements on myself, becoming Super Shala!
…
so Honest Hearts is pretty good so far
I think the correct term here is
oh face
Trying once again to comment. This is a test. This is just a test. Had this been an actual comment I would have written something profound.
Hi Brother Ogvorbis!
Now all you need is an avatar.
Hello, all. I actually was able to comment. Wow. I am like totally sussed.
And for those of you wondering what I look like, click here.
Hopefully I’ll be able to continue commenting (crosses fingers, throws salt over my shoulder, knocks wood).
Or (me without facial hair (and looking remarkably pissed off (why? no idea, this was years ago))) here.
Brother Ogvorbis
Are you the one on the left, holding the flag?
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re the tall one. -.-
Beat to the punch, I was going for the pinata though.
Hello! I’m having some weirdness with pharyngula at work, where some threads suddenly get caught in the filter and tagged as “adult” and blocked. TET and the Y chromosome were banned yesterday, but all the others were OK. I am quite puzzled because Ophelia’s long twatcuntbitch thread wasn’t blocked, so it can’t just be swearwords. (My excuse for pharynguling at work, btw, is pretty much this: http://xkcd.com/303/ – except not “compiling” but “waiting for SAS run to finish”.)
@Tigger & others with big bumpy swelled up insect bites – take an antihistamine! Also try SOOV – it’s got a topical anaesthetic, good for bites and sunburn. I am very lucky in that I react extremely mildly to Australian mosquitos, but I’ve had bad reactions in other places. Also bedbugs are the worst ever for me. Ghastly things.
@ Kamaka, #578,
Yeah. I had faith.
hee heeee
@Og:
I like your fanny pack.
Brother Ogv You met arne anderson? cool
Maybe some of the links within the thread itself are causing the snag. Was it this TET that didn’t work yesterday, or the previous edition?
Chigau:
I have to be able to register to get an avatar. And no, I am the uncute one.
Therrin:
Yeah. Tall and heavy, that’s me.
Dhorvath:
As part of the education program, one of the kids becomes a coal miner — I give the kid a sledge hammer and hold a steel drill bit and let the kid hammer it. And yes, I do have all my fingers.
*waves at super Shala!*
Yup. Old World Blues is better, though. :P
Brother Ogvorbis,
Have it be more realistic, bring in some coal dust to rub on their face and scatter a bucket of dead fish around the room.
@ Crudely Wrott
Ha! My take is that site appearance is going to keep changing for a couple of months. Why sweat it?
Brother Og – The lady in the red shirt thinks you’re hawt.
Are fannypacks a thing now? First, I saw a stunningly well dressed woman wearing one and now I hear that Ogvorbis rocks the ‘pack*, too. Can I get away with wearing one?
*Can’t see the pics very well, so I can’t really tell.
Also, Oggie, if you go to the Gravatar site http://en.gravatar.com (I think), the avatar you choose “follows” your email addy, so it should show up even if you don’t register.
I’ve posted w/out being logged in and it showed my avatar. :)
Katharine Lorraine:
That’s no fanny pack. It’s me fanny.
broboxley:
Who is Arne Anderson?
Therrin:
The gauntlets I give the kid who is the fireman (locomotive fireman) are gloves that have been used for a couple of months and are thoroughly impregnated with grease and coal dust. That’s about as far as I can go.
Patricia:
I’ll take your word for it.
Audley:
That is not a fanny pack. That is either my fanny or a radio. Really.
@Kamaka
I learned the css trick because I couldn’t read the new TET and was having withdrawals.
also
says{display:writes}
Why not have it say whatever you want it to say?
Precisely, Kamaka. I knew that top people were at the fore so I didn’t worry; just waited. And, Lo!
I love it when things work thataway.
arne anderson
here
Broboxley:
And now I really do not understand. He freakin’ looks like me. So why would that mean I know him? Or am I being particularly dense right now?
And I managed to log in. And have an illegible gravatar. Will miraclewhips never cease?
And lost the gravatar. WTF?
@ Tethys
Umm, because
I don’t know howit’s more trouble than I want to engage in.3 days ago, I didn’t know how either. I had no idea what css was, and no clue on how to write code.
Now if I could just figure out these half tags above the comment box I will not feel like a total tech idjet.
*cuts a big ol’ fart in the middle of the awkward silence*
@ Crudely Wrott
Ed and PZ will get this right. I have faith.
Brother O
I never log in. It isn’t necessary yet.
Oggie:
Well, crap. I need fanny pack support, here!
@ Tethys
Oh, really? Good for you that you found your way.
I’m too busy with other things to even consider trying.
Crossposted:
Thanks for the new css PZ!
One request: can we please have ragged-right text? This justified text is awful to read. Thank you!
PZ —Would it be helpful to have someone count and collate the requests for style/functionality changes in The Complaints Department thread? If so, I volunteer to write up the requests along with the number of people who asked for them so you can prioritize. If you see this, lemme know and tell me when you’d like it so I can set myself a deadline.
Don’t care what anyone has to say, fanny packs are okay by me. Hate having stuff in my pockets dragging my pants down.
Hi
I never seem to get around to catching up with TET so I am just jumping in! It’s been awhile since I last sporadically commented so let me re-reintroduce myself. Even though I don’t comment a lot I feel like part of the community here and want to join in more. I have more in common with you folks than most of the people I know in meat-space.
Also – fannypacks?! They will always make me think of the sunburned tourist families in Disneyland who all wear matching tie-die t-shirts. And have leashes on their toddlers.
Hiya Ariel!
Never been a fan of fanny packs. They always look like one’s belt has swallowed a large rodent.
Though I did have one I took skiing with me. Had a nice insulated jug which held about a quart of hot chocolate (laced (of course) with some schnapps)).
I don’t understand why men won’t just carry a bag. I’ve carried a Man Purse for 20 years. European guys often carry over-the-shoulder messenger bags. Sometimes you need to take your shit with you, and seeing guys trying to cram everything into their pockets just makes them look silly.
Yeah, me too.
At first it was my 401(K) plan dying again. That isn’t a problem now. “It’s dead Jim.”
Mostly because if the economy craters again, Obama probably won’t be reelected. Historically when the economy tanks, the party in power loses. That is exactly how Obama got elected and how the Tea Party took over the House.
Right now, the next Presidency is the GOP’s to lose. If they could field a candidate that didn’t look like a Cthonic Undead Creature from beyond Formless Chaos, they will have it.
Unless the economy perks up, quite doubtful, say hello to president Bachmann, Perry, Huckabee, Romney, Pawlenty, or Palin.
And to figure out where the US economy is going and how to fix it. No one knows, least of all the economists, Wall Street, and traders.
1. The consensus is that we are in for a Japanese style lost decade. Which may well end up a lost generation.
2. I haven’t seen anything intelligent on how to fix the economy either. Obama did all the conventional things as did the fed reserve. It looks like no one knows how to fix it.
Ogvorbis,
It’s obvious why you look upset in the second picture. You’re wearing a drill sergeant hat and all those recruits are acting like a bunch of civilians.
@ Josh
yup, it’s my purse. I don’t call it that of course, but it functions the same.
:-)
Of course what I never got was women who carry these cavernous purses/shoulder bag type things and have the nerve to call them a “pocket book”. (okay mostly that was my mom and her friends, but I’ve heard others do the same.)
Actually, Obama had the right idea, but the rethugs and their “balanced budget/deficit reduction” bullshit wouldn’t let him do what was necessary for as long as was necessary. They are forcing a recession, and everybody and their brother should be calling them on it. First, get people back to work. Then, and only then, worry about the deficit, and do so by taxing the rich.
have the nerve to call them a “pocket book”. (okay mostly that was my mom and her friends, but I’ve heard others do the same.)
Hehe. My mom and her friends, too. I think it’s a generational thing. “Pocketbook” was popular in the 70s when I was little, and probably earlier, but I don’t hear it much anymore.
Oops, quote fail. The first para in my #627 was sandi’s words.
‘Tis:
Worse than civilians. I think they were a groups of engineers from PennState.
After repeated references to Firefly on TET and even on some other threads, I decided to give it a try. Now I need a quick bit of advice from the Firefly fans of the Pharyngulariat.
So far, I’ve watched the pilot plus the first two regular episodes together with my wife. Mrs. True generally enjoys the same things I do – we both like Eureka, for example – but she can’t stand horror movies.
(Minor spoiler alert)
The problem came with the second regular episode, “Bushwhacked.” The guy who became a Reaver really freaked her out. We watched it last night, and even today she doesn’t want to go into the basement by herself.
What do you all think? Should I just watch the rest of Firefly without her, or are there just specific episodes she should avoid? She really liked the pilot and the first regular episode, and she’d enjoy watching more as long as it doesn’t scare her too much.
A fanny pack is a critical component of my photo gear. With it, I can have an extra lens or three readily available, plus a flash, my lens cap, extra memory cards, a lens cloth, and a bottle of soda. And I don’t need to keep shrugging off my backpack or finding a clean place to set it down.
On the other hand, at school, I’ll generally be carrying a bag of some sort at all times. (One of the advantages of being a student or an IT professional: even men are expected to carry bags.)
I think the biggest criterion, no pun intended, for a ‘man bag’ is its size. If it’s not big enough to carry a laptop, it’s a manly-man no-no. In my case, my bag needs to be big enough to carry a laptop and books for at least four courses, and maybe even a camera.
PS: I think a messenger bag would probably be a good way to go, but I’m afraid I’m going to crush my laptop, especially with the multiple huge books. Suggestions?
@ Josh Spokesgay
But, but, it must all fit in the wallet!
A purse? Oh, the horror! I would rather carry my gay pr0n in a briefcase.
ButIsItTrue:
She might want to avoid the Big Damn Movie. It’s… intense.
@ josh
my “aunt” was the worst offender. Her ‘pocketbook’ at one time was a secondhand Pan-Am bag that seemed to have everything but the kitchen sink. Some of the more unusual items were limes in a big plastic bag cuz of course the bars didn’t have the kind she liked, and chopsticks, which seemed to have 101 uses ranging from fashion to cleaning.
Benjamin:
If you’re worried about the size of a bag and manly-man no-nos, you need to get over it. Seriously. Just get a soft leather briefcase with an over-the-shoulder strap and a separate compartment for the laptop. Any airport is full to the brim with men carrying these, and I take mine everywhere.
Kamaka:
I have so much pr0n I can’t take it with me. :)
Josh:
Actually, I think the conflict between “I need to carry a whole bunch of shit” and “I don’t want to carry anything that looks like a purse” is the impetus that led to the rise of the messenger bag.
Brother Ogv in your second picture, second man from right looks like Arne the last time I ran into him
Right! Bubba and I always called that “dad wallet.” He shoves everything in there, business cards, warranty cards, “important” receipts, and you name it. But money, coin and paper in his pants pockets.
Ariel:
Hey, I’m getting to the point in my life where a purse just isn’t cutting it anymore. I now carry a tote* for all of my crap.
Welcome in, by the way. :)
In other news, I think I’ve finally stopped freaking out about my bug bites. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep tonight.
*It’s a fashionable Marc Eckō bag, but honestly, it’s a tote bag.
Thanks, Benjamin.
if it doesnt fit in a wallet a plastic shopping bag works fine. I quite often use a redneck wallet when my regular gets worn. That is a sandwich size ziplock. That usually embarrasses whomever I am with that a new wallet magically appears after a couple of weeks.
Josh:
I cite the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy book, page 179:
I paid $3 for the book at Goodwill. Best $3 I’ve ever spent.
I bet you’re right, Benjamin.
Hehe. The book really has good advice, and it’s not just gimmicky? That’s cool.
broboxley:
I used to do that occasionally. Now, I’ve upgraded to the $0.50 reusable “canvas” bags Walmart sells at the register. They’re fairly sturdy, last for quite a while, can be washed a few times if needed, and if they do crap out, oh well, you’re out half a buck.
Most people caught that. The conventional Keynesian wisdom is:
1. Government is supposed to spend during a recession to stimulate the economy.
2. The federal reserve is supposed to lower interest rates and expand the money supply.
We did all that. Interest rates are at zero. The FR did two rounds of quantitative easing which expands the money supply.
It helped but not enough. We are 0.8% growth for 2011 and the economy really needs at least 3% annualized. There doesn’t seem to be a credible plan B.
The Tea Partiers were just nuts. They wanted to cut spending drastically. Most spending is social security, medicare, medicaid, and the military. They do have a point that our deficits and national debt are too large and growing rapidly. The worst time to fix those is in the middle of a recession.
FWIW, I did find some interesting stats. There is a very high correlation between high taxes and well off societies. Eight of the wealthiest societies are also in the top 15 in taxes. The US comes in at 15th in taxes and near the bottom of the top 15 in well being.
Josh:
Oh, a lot of it is gimmicky. But there’s more than $3 worth of good advice in it.
@ Josh
Have you have dealt with this in your will?
Kamaka:
Clever boy; that was funny. But I actually have—my best friend will have sole access to my digital devices and their passwords. He may enjoy my perversions as he sees fit so long as no one else knows about them.
Have no fear, Audley; cicely is here! I use a fanny pack (often turned around as more of a pouchy pack) when I’m going to be somewhere where I particularly don’t want to heave around the Full Purse. Hang fashionability! Fashion is what people say it is!
And my fanny, also, is packed (now that the Divot has filled in); I have my own, built-in bustle. :)
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Hi, Ariel from Canada, and welcome in. Or back in. Whichever.
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No prob! Just get (or paint) one with scales and make a snake of it.
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The Husband does, and has for at least 20 years. He needs it to carry his tools and techtoys with him wherever he goes. Oh, yes; and also his wallet.
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We refer to it as his Man Bag. *snicker*
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ButIsItTrue, IMO “Bushwhacked” is far and away the creepiest episode. Some parts of Serenity could be a problem.
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As for firefly advice; Reavers are only in a few episodes, they have distinctive foreboding music, and they are fictional.
In the words of Jayne-“He was a lot bigger when I couldn’t see him.”
Try “Objects In Space”. No Reavers in that one.
Cicely:
Thank you! Now I just have to convince Mr Darkheart that fanny packs are okay. :)
A wink and a nod at six thirteen.
Hmmm. . . .Pharyngula is starting to feel a little bit more like “home” now, which is nice. I was disoriented for a while. Yes, this place and Teh Horde are quite important to me.
Clearly you lot have NO idea how funny this fannypack concept is to a non-USAnian. No, not the object, the name.
LOL. Literally.
Josh, sure, recommendations are welcome. It might be a while before I can implement them, though.
Also, NEW THREAD!
I’m jumping the gun a little bit because I’m feeling feverish and achy and I have to catch a plane to Norway tomorrow, so I think I need a good night’s sleep. I’m afraid I might be kinda messed up this weekend, which is not good.
I finally just started carrying a purse this year. I say it’s because of getting diligent about carrying the epi-pen around, but it is convenient. The sad thing is that after I bought it, I realized it’s almost exactly the same as the one my mom uses.
I have one purse by this person. I LOVE it, but it turned out to have a shorter strap than I’m used to so it isn’t really comfortable to carry around as a shoulder bag (and the strap is too long to be a handbag), so I only carry it when I’m really wanting to show off. :)