This is the lounge. You can discuss anything you want, but you will do it kindly. Classic mother and children on display today.
Status: Heavily Moderated; Previous thread
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Dr Pepper
Beginner. :P The title of Desk can be applied only to piles at least 6 months old. *pffft* Even if there’s no table underneath. For example, I have a Desk on the floor behind the computer table full of Very Important Documents. I’m pretty sure, at least.
In my last year of studies, there was a large Desk at the foot of my bed. I regularly perused the top, but there were some problems on occasions when I had to get to the old notes that made up the bottom of the Desk.
It works! It works! We have electrons!!1!
So for the next few hours, there may be tempoary interruptions to yer Internets service as we blow more dust out of the cables…
(You may wish to put your connection in a plastic bag to catch any stray dust, electrons, and perhaps even the missing logic.)
gratz, rq and blf!
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(more abortion talk that isn’t warm and fuzzy at all)
I agree… and that’s why “risk of death” in these anti-abortion regulations basically means “privileged enough to convince a bunch of gatekeepers in a timely manner” or in other words, a risk of death that Savita never reached.
Oh, I think a lot of them know perfectly well – “let women die, that is what they are for” – and the arguments are meant to gaslight people out of their compassion and self-preservation, just like “she was asking for it” arguments. But I vented about that earlier, so done now.
OH FFS. Even that damn word “germane” has a history. From Indiana in April:
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/04/02/supporting-pregnant-women-not-germane-to-abortion-bans-according-to-indiana-house/
Pteryxx
I’m trying to say some things about what you said but it’s just leading to more and more frustration and not coming out right.
Yeah.
and in more great news *hurk*
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/06/27/court-rules-hobby-lobby-can-be-considered-a-religious-person/
Like hell secularism has nothing to do with feminism.
Just one more. Sorry to be so depressing, y’all; I’m collecting evidence in preparation for round II of Texas Legislative Misogyny and there is a LOT of reason out there.
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(warning: discussion of birth injury)
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Guardian article from 2010
My mother’s pregnancy was almost too much of a burden for her already fragile hips, and she suffered quite a lot of pain until getting an artificial hip some ten years back.
Yeah, pregnancy can cause injuries, or worsen existing conditions.
I’m getting an ugly picture of a forced-birth culture, similar to rape culture, with everything from woo to natural-birth happywashing to erasing women’s agency and medical sexist bias. I started looking into the medical research for fistula repair, and now I’m outraged that many studies specifically *exclude* fistulae of obstetric origin. No way in hell is Crohn’s disease more common than pregnancy.
Just this week, my mom told me about going into labor with her first child. She said that the natural-childbirth books she read had said not to think of it as pain, just as “rushes.” Pain is a sign of fear, it only hurts because women are afraid, it said. So when she went into false labor, and it hurt, she assumed she wasn’t fearful or faithful enough and she wasn’t godly enough because it HURT. (Yeah, she was in a Jesus cult at the time).
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WHAT THE FUCK, I THOUGHT THE IDEA OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR CORPORATIONS WAS JUST TOO FUCKING RIDICULOUS TO COME TRUE. I am gobsmacked. I cannot believe this. SCOTUS better smack the fuck out of the Tenth Circuit…Jesus H. Christ (Which happens to be a cute movie on Netflix, watched it last night).
Wow, check out this tweet: here.
God, it gets so old and so tiring. Text: “Summer Camp isn’t just marshmallows and make outs. It’s the ultimate battle of the sexes.” Attached picture is a promo for “Summer Camp”, the new “reality show”, with the caption “Remember guys, women are the most dangerous game of all”. And this was a promoted tweet, so it showed up in people’s feeds whether they wanted it there or not.
All of Pteryxx’s news is really important, and I’m glad to have it posted here, but I’m going to just toss something in to maybe give us a smile.
Nancy Pelosi responds to Michele Bachmann’s DOMA thoughts with two words.
Beautiful.
Portia –
Back when I was in law school, I was living with a friend in a house rented from her father. Not a week went by that her father didn’t call in the middle of the day.
“Hi, ImaginesABeach, is Julie there?”
“No, she’s at work, like she is every day, Monday through Friday, 8 – 4:30.”
“Oh, well, while I have you on the line, I’ve got a great lawyer joke for you.”
Oi…don’t you love that? The originality, the nuance, the subtlety of lawyer joke and lawyer joke. The people who repeat them over and over and think they’re hilarious are the ones that actually do get on my nerves.
And that bottom of the ocean one kind of scares me, honestly…
Threadrupt.
Had a 9.5 hour train ride yesterday (well, we were off the train for three hours at Delaware Watergap).
Had an odd dream last night.
I was working with a palaeontologist to design an exhibit for a museum. And for some reason the entire reconstruction of a Therizinosaur was going to be made out of donuts using arak for glue. Do you have any idea how hard it is to create a tarsalmetatarsus out of donuts and liquor?
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Portia:
One of my lawyer friends collects lawyer jokes. When someone tells him one, he gives back five. It teaches people not to toss lawyer jokes his way. And is a moderately successful tactic.
I like that, Ogvorbis! I will have to try it. Usually I try to make a (pretty innocuous) joke an the expense of their profession, but I mean there are no journeyman stereotypes, for example, so it gets kind of difficult.
Oh, crap. I spent a post just riffing off a funny misspelling in the “last chance for soggy apes” thread.
I apologize to folks who were really wanting 500 substantive posts.
cross-posting from the “now the fun begins” thread:
The Family Research Council has responded to the SCOTUS rulings by starting a new campaign. Their slogan for the anti-gay campaign is “On our knees for America.” That’s got to be as good as “Tea Baggers” in the double entendre department.
The logo for the campaign looks like a man praying or like a man performing oral sex, or like a man praying before performing oral sex.
Logo can be viewed here:
http://americablog.com/2013/06/the-most-unfortunate-logo-and-slogan-in-the-history-of-american-politics.html
Soylent Green is people!
Yep, I just watched that movie for the first time. Of course, you people here had already ruined the end for me, so I thought I would share in case someone is more backwards than I am. *evil grin*
What is the best thing about a journeyman?
They leave.
How do you get a guitarist to turn down the amp?
Put sheet music in front of the guitarist.
How do you get a drummer off your porch?
Pay for the pizza.
How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?
About $20,000 worth.
What is the difference between a pediatric surgeon & a priest?
Never mind. Not going there.
How do you get a trumpeter to play mezzo forte?
Mark the music pianissimo.
What is the difference between a banjo and a Volkswagon Beetle?
You can tune the VW.
Spotted at Emily Lakdawalla’s blog at The Planetary Society: “A girl named Hope Johnson performing an homage to Tom Lehrer’s The Elements in song and ukelele, except instead of the elements, she’s singing the names of all the named moons in the solar system”: The Natural Satellites (Moon) Song.
The mildy deranged penguin thinks a better name for Ms Johnson’s song is The Orbiting Cheese Vaults.
Soo, I see I missed the interesting discussions and now we’re swapping bad jokes. Don’t make me translate the mushroom jokes that were hilarious when I was 14…
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re: pregnancy and abortion
Those laws, they’re just cruel. Hell, I live in a country that doesn’t have legal abortion for people who just becam pregnant when they didn’t want to (just illegal but unpunished abortion) and hell, not even folks over here are so cruel…
And damn, I know too many stories of pregnancies going awefully wrong unexpectedly. Too many stories of things that were thankfully minor problems but only because modern medicine could intervene in time. Too many stories of just pain and damage and everything.
+++
re: food
The most annoying thing I find is that often the person who wants to tell you how to eat “better” has already decided that they know your life better than you do, that your reasons are only justifications and that whatever sacrifices there would be you should be willing to make them…
Speaking of abortion bills, (following up on Giliell’s post @529), Ohio has found yet another way to ignore women’s rights. Governor Kasich has until 11:59 PM tonight to block or allow several anti-abortion measures that Republicans snuck into the Ohio budget at the last minute, leaving no time for legislators to discuss the amendments and no time for the public to discuss the amendments.
As Rachel Maddow noted, (and as far as I know, she was the only major new anchor to note this provision in the bill), Ohio legislators also included a requirement that for a rape crisis center to receive state funds, that center had to comply with what was effectively a gag order. Ohio Republicans specified the type of counseling that rape victims can get, that is, the State intervened to specify the instructions that victims receive. For example, victims may NOT be told that they can get an abortion.
Crip Dyke, #524,
But the lightbulb really has to WANT to change.
Louis
From the reviews on Amazon of the shoes Wendy Davis wore during her epic filibuster of anti-abortion legislation that Texas Republicans were itching to pass:
I think the tiniest text says: “Trust us. Trust us. Trust us. Repeat.”
Context.
hehehehe I love the jokes, I will stock them away for future use.
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and to give some giggles back: http://americablog.com/2013/06/the-most-unfortunate-logo-and-slogan-in-the-history-of-american-politics.html
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Went to one of the most serious accidents I’ve ever seen this afternoon. Three cars an a semi between two barricades on a giant bridge. No casualties, thank goodness. On the way back from the call, the assistant chief leaned around in his seat and told me I did a good job, and did everything I should have done taking care of patients. Maybe I’m not a moron!*
*And here’s something to remember in my self-affirmations to combat the stereotype threat seeping in. (Thanks to everyone who reminded me of the term).
Caught up with this page.
Pelosi’s 2 words: awesome.
Religious freedom for corporations: Jesus Hubbard Christ!
I’m the one with the funny squint.
Good night to all!
I had some bad jokes, but it’s a bad idea to start on that this late. ;)
I think I accidentally managed to haggle.
Through a quite convoluted and somewhat boring route, we ended up bed shopping for Child 1 today. After a bunch of stores, we ended up going back to the one he liked best, with a mattress set price that was $20 over the next competitor. I asked if we could avoid the freebie options (delivery or frame or pad) to get a discount, and he said it didn’t work that way. I asked if he could match the other price, and he said that the other bed wasn’t quite a match for quality, but he could match it if we had it in writing, which we didn’t. He asked the price again and I checked my notes and realized I had told him wrong, and the actual price was $20 less, not the $25 less I had asked for in the first place, and told him that. Then I just stared at my kid on the bed for awhile thinking about whether I wanted to go ahead and buy that one or not, and all of a sudden he said “Ok, I guess I can match that price IF you pick it up yourself.” Oh, thanks! I think he thought I was trying to wait him out, when really I was just trying to figure out if there were any other negotiations I could try. :D So it’s a little bit, but it’s just enough to make me mentally feel that I did well. I guess the moral is if you’re trying to save money, being confused might make you look like a hardass.
Speaking of mentally feeling well, I’m going to check out for a few days. The news is all so overwhelmingly rotten, and there is some shit about to hit the fan that is going to suck all the energy out of me. (no medical problems or job loss, just mentally and social-skill exhausting stuff). Please don’t think I’m ignoring anybody!
Nice job carlie :)
Be well, take care of yourself, hope to see you soon.
*fluffy hugs for carlie*
*happiness tea*
*sweet chai*
*calming manatees*
*chocolate*
Here’s one.
The KGB trains a Soviet spy for use in America. Xe memorises all the intricate details of the American way of life, and is eventually deployed there.
A CIA agent, feeling suspicious, invites the other spy to some tea. They drink, and the Soviet pokes the spoon in xir eye.
“Aha, you’re a Soviet spy!” “How did you know?” “Because you forgot to take out the spoon.”
As a result, the KGB trains another spy, the same as before. Xe also eventually sits down to tea with the CIA agent, this time remembering to take out the spoon.
“Aha, you’re another Soviet spy!”, said the CIA operative. “How did you know?” “You winked.”
I see the new blogs have been added to the current frontpage despite previous claims from months ago of a new layout “any day now”. Seriously, stop relying on that thibeault guy and hire someone.
Well, in that particular case, I feel that it was deliberately-cultivated, politically-motivated “damage control” ignorance. The Ministry needed to have it seen that they were Doing Something, the Black family is well known for its Dark Wizards, and Bob’s…some relative of yours.
I get the impression that the Wizarding World is not much for R&D. How hard would it be to devise some sort of earpiece or something, that would make it possible to tell whether or not what you were hearing was a lie? Maybe the lies are shifted into chipmunk voices, or something. Then, just issue them to the judges and juries voting on the case, and once again you are related to Bob.
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Hekuni Cat: NP. Not your fault that The Best Healthcare System In The World sucks major ass.
In my depressed moments, I’m pretty sure that that is what’s gonna get me, in the end. In my more depressed moments, the MRSA comes back and takes me out.
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Nerd: View with Extreme Suspicion. Possibly inform the hospital that they have a security breach.
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Well, fuck.
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Cheers, *booze&fireworks*, and a packet of *cheese*, arriving separately.
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For carlie, a CARE package full of *hugs* and *chocolate* and *kittens*. Use as needed.
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Oh, yes, and I forgot this.
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FUCK!
Just got in a car accident.
The other driver and passenger, as well as myself are ok. I was tired, it was raining, and I could not stop in time.
Oh yeah, I have no auto insurance.
And I live in Florida.
Fuck me.
Ohmygods Tony I’m so sorry. I’m glad you’re physically okay but the stress, oh the stress. : (
Oh, shit Tony, I’m sorry. Glad you weren’t injured on top of it at least. *hugs*
“Effectively they succeeded in banning a product only guilty of tasting like shit, which can’t be grounds for a full-on ban, because if it were, then the world would be free from the tyranny of canned peas.” The very last sentence from this Cracked article.
Words To Live By.
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Shit, Tony, that’s not good.
:(
Glad you and the other participants are all okay, but damn….
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If I sit in the doorway to my room, I can get wifi.
If I sit on my bed with the door propped open, I can get the wifi.
I’m really sorry, Tony.
Thanks ya’ll.
The police officer was a nice guy. I told him I have no insurance, but he issued me a ticket for the infraction and one for no proof of insurance, rather than ‘driving without insurance’.
Thankfully E was able to pick me up. As we got home, I started wondering if it would be worth fixing my car. I have a 2005 Mazda 3. Fully paid with @95K. The damage was on the drivers side. The car suffered a good bit of damage, though I was able to drive the car off the road for @ 200 feet with no noticeable impact on driving. Still, a ten year old vehicle with body damage like that…? The flipside is with all the outstanding debt I have accrued, any loan is out of the question.
Did I mention I work on the beach, which is 30-45 minutes from home? Cabbies are going to make money off me for a longtime.
That sucks, Tony. Glad you’re ok!
Are there no carshare programs in Florida? Here in the godless Bay Area (so glad to be back!) there’re drivers who are quite happy to have non-drivers pay slightly more than their fair share of gas in exchange for transportation. Saves them money, you get a ride, no cabbies involved.
On another note, Pride was a lot of fun, even if the Atheist/Humanist group marching was second to last. :)
Dang, was making the Redhead’s bed (pillows and pillow cases are time consuming) while she was watching last week’s episode of Hot in Cleveland. In comes William Shatner playing a mobster and overacting the part. Then comes in Shirley Jones playing his mother and overacting the part. Nothing like old pro’s doing comedy straight by overacting. Priceless…
Tony, if state law says you can’t drive the car with the damage sustained, time to bail on it. Otherwise, get the major dent semi-removed and continue to drive it.
And Tony, the “wisdom” here in the Chiwaukee are is that if you want to push/bluff your way into traffic, don’t push the beater, but the new expensive car. When I drove a 15+ year old Plymouth TC3 with dents, the traffic avoided me like the plague, and always went behind. Nobody tried to bluff me. Dents are the equivalent of “don’t mess with me”.
I learned this today when a spiffy red sports car tried to wedge its way in front of the fire engine as we returned from the call. The Lt who was driving said “The shiny ones always yield.” And yield he did, with a cranky face. }:)
I mean honestly though, what did expect out of something as unfriendly to fast maneuvers as an engine carrying 1500 gallons of water.
Tony: Glad you lucked out with the police officer.
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Portia
Also, the government vehicle always yields except with lights/sirens going, trying to avoid deep pocket lawsuits.
I always yield to fire/EMT/police. Especially after the local EMT’s had the Redhead at the hospital and the hospital had her in the CAT scan within 15 minutes after my 911 call. Didn’t help, but not their fault. Their (both the EMT’s and the hospital) professionalism cannot be questioned. They did the best with the hand they had to deal with. As I am doing now.
A physics lesson?
:)
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Nerd:
I’m glad that Redhead at least received quality care. And of course, she still is.
cicely:
^_^ Probably.
(I really liked the temporary spelling of your nym that allowed me to think-pronounce it properly :))
Today we had a visit from someone who does jewelry repair. He had already cast her soldered wedding band in a wax mold, enlarging it in the process (her left side was affected by her stroke), and now she wants her other rings to fit he left hand. Since her stroke, it appears her ring size has gone up by two US sizes on all fingers. Her fortieth anniversary present is getting her rings to fit her again so she feels properly married. As if she ever had any reason to doubt….
For better or worse, in sickness and in health, you are certainly living up to your vows, and then some. Hats off to you.
Huhwhut?
;)
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I’m giggling like a dork over here; now I will have something very phonetic to picture.
Indeed! Extra ice cream ration for Nerd!
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Downstairs neighbors usually have loud moany sex. Makes me feel awkward. I mention this as context for the fact that they have apparently gotten an exceedingly squeaky new bed. /whine.
At least they’re not the upstairs neighbors?
Ha, I suppose that’s true. Vents go both ways though :)
Ha, I meant the sound would travel up or down regardless of where they were in proximity to me, but I realized it looks like I intend auditory carnal revenge. Too bad I’m too self-conscious for that haha
rq – Congratulations!
carlie – *hugs and chocolate*
Tony – I’m very happy you and the others are all right. And *hugs*
Nerd:
♥ *hugs*
I turned 51 today. In and of itself, I had a good birthday playing video games with my husband and snuggling with our cat.
It’s the other stuff that has made it a difficult week. I just learned need to maintain a low cholesterol diet as well as a gluten free* one, which has made eating rather boring while I try to sort it all out. I need to see an opthamologist because my eyes are very dry and not tracking quite right. And my doctor definitely wants me to have that colonoscopy this year. She even put my husband on my case about it. I think my warranty has expired.
But the kicker has been my mother’s rapid deterioration. She’s 87. Her birthday card to me revealed everything I feared about her condition. She says her brain and her hands are at odds, which was quite evident from the envelope, and emphasized by her last sentence, “Things are getting worse.” And when I spoke to her today, she didn’t know it was my birthday. I will be talking with one of my sisters tomorrow to consider what all needs to be done. Fuck.
Thank you all for being here, for listening, and for all the support the Horde so readily provides.
*That portion of the equation has been my lot for the last two years. I miss bread, but I like being able to think clearly much, much more.
Since it’s not really consistent with PZ’s rules, from the Soggy Ape thread:
Maybe we went through a Kinky Ape stage in our evolution?
good morning!
carlie, Tony, Hekuni Cat,
*hugs*
Happy Birthday and *hugs*, Hekuni Cat!!
*hugs* for Tony, and sorry about the car. :(
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I think I’m just not going to check my email today. [/professional embarassment]
rq,
Heh, I promised to check my work email regularly these three days (vacation until Thursday) since I was offline whole last week, but I reaaally want to ignore it too. Really, I started working there like yesterday (6 month ago, actually), there is no way I am so terribly important something would collapse without my interference.
Congratulations to Croatia for becoming the newest EU Member State. Welcome to the fold!
Slovenian message was along the lines of “Congrats, we hope you aren’t going to be too disappointed.”
Beatrice
Yeah. But I guess I’ll have to check sometime in the afternoon. I’m scared to.
Beatrice
Oh, those Slovenians, such jokers. You’ll loooove it. Just like Latvia loves it!
I keep looking at this and trying to figure out whether it was sarcasm or not.
Especially since stereotype of Slovenians here is that they are humorless bores. (That’s not true for an average citizen. But their TV shows really are that boring. Even the supposedly funny ones try so hard it’s sad.)
… I was not aware of such stereotypes concerning Slovenians. Sorry for the confusion.
That comment should still read with quite a lot of sarcasm.
Ah, thanks for the explanation. The enthusiasm sounded like a bit too much, but I wasn’t sure, with all the euphoria in the media (we’re entering the Golden Age blah blah).
Well, Ohio’s temporarily taken the lead over Texas in the race to the depths:
Gag rules on rape crisis centers, funding diverted to crisis pregnancy lie-to-women centers, and abortion clinics forced to make agreements with private (probably religious) non-public hospitals.
But at least Kasich couldn’t gloat to reporters about it. That’s a start.
HuffPo link
Cleveland Plain Dealer link
Yes, welcome Croatia! Although it does seem bizarre that states are still queing up to join, when there seems a reasonable chance the whole ramshackle, undemocratic contraption will fall apart sometime this decade.
I’m just hoping € goes to hell before we get the approval to adopt it. At least we would avoid some of the nuisance.
Beatrice
Ugh. I wish the same for you, looks like we’ll be getting the euro next year sometime, since everyone’s all YesYesYes about it, even though there’s nothing particularly wrong with our own currency. Supposedly switching to the euro will relieve a lot of debt-related stuff, but I have doubts about it.
So I went on my date last night with the lovely woman from my physical therapist’s office.
It was awesome. She and I have so many things in common. She’s a little older than I anticipated but not by much (I pegged her as early-to-mid thirties and she’s later-thirties.) She’s very pretty, she’s funny, she’s smart, she appreciates my wry sense of humor, and she is really a cool woman (also a total geek! Yay!)
I’m not sure if she’s religious, but she’s not a Christian – which is cool. She’s a science nerd. Didn’t talk about politics since we were chatting about each other more. As far as my trans stuff goes, I’m not too worried about it since TBH I haven’t even thought about it for a few months. I’m far more gender-fluid than I am any static “gender.” I’m not at all bothered by my body except those rare times.
So, I’ll figure out what to do with that over a little while. I’m not going to purge, but I might just pack things away for now.
Katherine
That’s some exciting good news! I’m glad you had a good time.
Hoping for the best!
Hekuni Cat:
Big big hugs, I’m so sorry you’re going through that with your mom.
And happy birthday!
Kat:
That’s so fun! Hooray!
Why would I not wake up with a proto-migraine on a day when I have a trial? Why not? : /
Congrats on a good date, Katherine!
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I didn’t know an octopus shrinks that much when cooked.
…
I think we’ll have some eggs for lunch today.
Katherine, that’s sooo great!!!
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Tony, that sucks *hugs*
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Fucking Perry.
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Went to Cousins wedding Saturday night. Drove there Saturday morning, 6 frigging hours. Drove back yesterday, 6 frigging hours. I can haz sleep naow?
Wedding was nice, too much god-bothering for my tastes, but the reception at least had an open bar.
If Aunts behaviors were anything to go by they are as annoyed by my Dad’s girlfriend as I am. They even went so far as to ask about my mom in front of both of them during brunch yesterday. This Madeleine inordinately happy.
Madeline? Autocorrect, I don’t understand you, sometimes. That should read, “made me”.
Portia
Hope the proto-migraine recedes with coffee/heat/pressure/[other preventative measure], and that your trial goes well! *hugs*
It won’t fall apart. The EU has a well-established modus operandi: slide straight toward total catastrophe, finally notice what you’re doing, negotiate for 56 hours straight, agree on the utter bare minimum of what needs to be done to alter course by enough degrees (not one more) to avoid the crash, implement that at the last minute, sigh with relief, rinse, repeat.
There’ll be several more scary moments, but nothing will fall apart. It’s too important to let it.
In the longer run, I’m optimistic. Several famous people who are now in the European Parliament or who were formerly in other EU institutions regularly make noises about the democracy deficit.
Well, first of all, the costs and uncertainties of exchanging currencies will fall away with all of Euroland. A major pain in the ass disappears for individual travelers, and the effects on the economy are hard to overstate.
Secondly, the smaller a currency, the riskier its life. George Soros, to pick the extreme example, once speculated against the £ and singlehandedly brought it to its knees. That’s… at least harder with the €.
Thirdly, the lats is a lie, just like the Danish crown: it’s a series of € coins and banknotes in non-decimal denominations. Nothing changes outside of psychology (well, and the end of money exchange for individual travelers).
The latest in Texas: today is the first day of the second special session. SB5 has been re-filed with identical text in the House; it is now HB2.
Details of the rally scheduled at the capitol in Austin today: Source
Rick Perry called a special session, and a conference broke out. Thanks to Stand with Texas Women on Facebook and the #feministarmy.
How to help if you’re not in Texas, or can’t reach Austin: Source
– Rallies in Dallas and Houston this evening
– Take training in voter registration or nonviolent protest (the troopers will be cracking down on protesters and witnesses this time; at least, on the abortion-rights ones.)
– Buy “Stand with Texas Women” or “Come and Take It” uterus logo shirts which will fund Planned Parenthood or other groups including Wendy Davis’s campaign.
– Sign petitions to the White House or the Texas Attorney General to investigate the procedural shenanigans last Tuesday night.
– Change your profile pics to something orange. Suggested images on the site.
And keep the pressure on Ohio with hashtag #StandWithOhio, send calls and articles to your own representatives wherever you may be (including outside the US; reproductive rights are a human rights issue according to the UN.), ask about local rallies in your area in support of abortion rights, and be ready. Your chance will come.
NYT via Salon, analysis of the high cost of giving birth in the US: the most expensive in the world.
Katherine: Yay for a good date!
*restocks hug truck*
Yay for Katherine!
So true… so true.
Check out what’s near the end of #2: “and next thing you know, The Man is cracking down on Four Loko like it was a televised nipple slip out to destroy the fabric of society.” *cackle*
Please explain. Remember, I have no experience in such matters. :-)
Did everyone know that the woman who illustrates Girls with Slingshots also has an illustrated review blog for sex toys called “Oh Joy Sex Toy”? (NSFW, obviously)
It’s adorable.
DDMFM:
Breath Control
(Seriously, all my posts are going to be depressing for a while, feel free to skip.)
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Via commenters at Shakes, Ohio isn’t even finished yet. An even worse anti-abortion bill has been introduced in their House, HB200.
NARAL Ohio continues to fight anti-abortion provisions in court; consider donating to them.
Sorry to have disturbed everyone by looking under the mormon dogma covers for a view of real-life, somewhat twisted, mormon sex. No, wait. I’m not sorry. If you lift up the covers and find some kind of rot hiding there, sunlight may be the cure.
Also, I think it’s helpful to know that even mormons find it hard to comply with LDS dogma.
On another subject, Republicans have been busy restricting, at both the state and federal level, women’s rights. The harvest they reap from all this sowing of ignorance is fewer votes from women, and fewer women serving as Republicans in political office. Realizing they have a problem, but being too blinkered to fix it, they put one of their few Republican women in charge of a recruitment effort called “Project GROW” (Growing Republican Opportunities for Women).
So, who is in charge, nominally? Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Ms. Blackburn’s qualifications include:
– opposing pay-equity measures for women
– voting against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
– voting against the Paycheck Fairness Act
– leading the fight to protect women and babies from dangerous late-term abortions (as she puts it)
– co-sponsoring legislation to repeal the Obamacare definition of a 30-hour week as full-time employment
sponsoring several efforts to chip away at Planned Parenthood
Also, she is only nominally in charge, as Republican men who make up most of the RNC made clear when they wrote this: “We need to be a party that allows talented women to rise to the top.” Emphasis mine.
“Note: We are told the Onion AV Club made this point last year. We promise we didn’t steal it, and take it as sign of a growing consensus that Paul Verhoeven is in fact a time traveler.“
Whoops. The bit about mormon sex should have been posted in the mormon flow chart thread.
Ah, that. Thanks.
*hugs* for Hekuni Cat, with a side order of *moar hugs*. I’m so sorry about your mother.
And happy birthday!
*cake*, which being entirely non-material, contains just as much gluten and cholesterol as you’d like.
–
Hurray! You are overdue for some Good Times.
–
Portia: Death to the Proto-Migraine! Free Booze! Give Us Liberty & Give Us Chocolate!
Also, I hope the trial will have gone well.
:)
–
I saw that, and *snortled*.
:)
–
Hillary Clinton will be 69 years old in 2016. Republicans have decided that portraying her as an old woman is the way to go when it comes to pre-defeating her so-far-unannounced run for the presidency.
Some Republican old men like Mitch McConnell have taken up the age cudgel:
I would just like to point out that Hillary Clinton is effective on Twitter, and Mitch McConnell is not.
Fuck employers asking for salary history. Since I’m technically not even receiving a salary but financial aid, I don’t know whether to enter this into the questionnaire or not, and if I do, how the hell will it look if my yearly “salary” is about as much as something they might pay for a couple of months.
Argh grrr
Hekuni Cat
*hugs* That sucks. L has a seriously restricted diet too, so there might be some advice on that front if you have questions.
Portia
Best wishes on that migraine
Katherine
That’s great to hear. Best of luck on its continuation
Pteryxx
These people just fill me with an incoherent rage.
@Beatrice
Can you put in what you feel you should be making? You wouldn’t want to sell yourself short. That is super shitty though.
yazikus,
It’s an optional field, so I decided to leave it empty, and just fill in the one that asks about what I expect to earn. I have no idea if they take it as a negative if someone doesn’t fill in the current salary question. Wouldn’t want to disqualify myself with something silly (now that I’ve changed my CV into showing my actual date of employment, not the one 1 year into the future *headdesk*).
“Oh ups, I’m a bit scatterbrained” probably isn’t a good employment reference :P
Beatrice,
I think job hunting is the worst. Having to sell yourself, present yourself, to random people judging you. Ugh. All the best wishes in your hunt.
–
To all those with excellent suggestions regarding food/food insecurity, thank you! I just caught up on the thread today and really appreciate all of the insight offered. I feel much better prepared, and am armed with lots of excellent resources.
Lynna, OM:
Saint Ronnie was 69 years, 349 days old when he first took the oath of office. The testudinal McConnell is no spring hatchling himself.
Obama was too young (among other disqualifications), Hillary’s too old. Is there a Goldilocks Democrat that the GOP might consider qualified to challenge their shoe-in for 2016?
Wait… do they even have a viable candidate for 2016?
Sorry all, that last post of Lysander’s was me, I wasn’t paying attention to the google login.
Right. I’ve created either a
gluttonyculinary masterpiece, Dr Frankenstein’s nightmare, or a pea repellent. Fresh shrimp, some leftover spicysaucesoup from sometime in the last few centuries containing various anonymous and forgotten ingredients, MUSHROOMS!, onions, and coconut milk and vin. Everything but the shrimp is simmering whilst I babble away here…The vin is a winner, Chateau Singleyrac Moelleux (Cotes de Bergerac), 2011. Spicy but very drinkable. Half the fecking bottle’s already gone. Not sure if the cook or the concoction got the most…
It was one of those where the fecking cork refused to leave the bottle. This is rarely a problem — I know a certain penguin…
She quickly openned it using a novel and restrained (for her) technique. No nuclear bombs, light sabers, pile drivers, or peas were involved. She simply explained to the wine that if it didn’t get the bloody cork out of the way just what it was she would do. The cork, of course, overhead, screamed and ran away, unscrewing itself so fast from the bottle that it cause several sonic booms.
And here I thought it was just some of the locals setting off fireworks.
;)
–
Hillary Clinton will be 69 years old in 2016.
Average life expectancy for a woman in the US is over 80 years. As far as I know, Clinton is healthy as long as she keeps up her DVT prophylaxis. There’s no reason why she couldn’t serve her 2 terms and have some retirement time left.
Hugs to Tony.
Happy birthday, Hekuni Cat.
Great news, Katherine. Hope things fly.
For dinner this evening:
Part of a pork shoulder roast, rubbed with smoked salt, herbs de Provence, and thyme, and slow cooking at 250F for as long as it takes. Will be serving it with pan fried potatoes (in our house they are called spuddies) and green beans sauted in olive oil with garlic and onions.
========
Wife and I were out today taking our 91-year old neighbor to the doctors. I saw THIS (well, this is USAToday, I don’t remember what paper I saw it in). Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed in the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona. I’ve worked with this crew at fires. I’ve talked to them. Don’t know any of their names, but I know them. Putting their lives on the line for about $20k a year — seasonals, most of them get no benefits.
And I am on the call out list now. No UTFs for my position out there right now, but it’ll happen soon.
Shit.
Ogvorbis, stay as safe as possible. I remember the fires in Texas the last several years. Firefighters aren’t paid anywhere near enough for risking their lives for the rest of us.
Thanks for doing something that I am far too chickenshit to do.
Ogvorbis, I saw that story in The Grauniad — yes, it made the international news — earlier today and immediately thought of you, wondering if you knew any of the people. (I was highly confident you weren’t involved because you were posting yesterday.)
Feck. Perhaps not the most appropriate thing to say, but a lot more meaningful than the usual “I’m so sorry…”.
Ogvorbis: I saw that, and thought of you…and thought that firefighters are definitely underpaid. And no benefits? That is made of clear-quill, weapons-grade, concentrated Suck.
:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
–
Ogvorbis, take care of your self. I heard the news on local radio, and I was hoping I’d get back soon enough (or someone else would) to post it so you wouldn’t have to. If and when you’re called, know that lots of us care about you here.
Ogvorbis
I saw that article and thought of you immediately. Definitely intense levels of suckage there.
I’m on the call out list but am still at home. I expect to be mobilized within the next week.
Most of the federal wild land fire fighters are hired as seasonals. These are not career positions. Usually GS 4 or GS 5 (pay table here plus locality adjustment (3% to 20%)). Seasonal government employees are not career or career-conditional which means no retirement, no health insurance (other than for on-the-job injuries (or death)), no career ladder, and no guarantee that they will be hired back next year. They are guaranteed 13 pay periods of employment which, conveniently, means that they are not eligible for unemployment benefits during the off season (unless the hiring unit can stretch it to 14 pay periods). Scary.
One reason for underpaying wild land fire fighters is to reduce the incentive for starting fires. No, not kidding.
Shit, Ogvorbis, I don’t know what to say, just… be safe.
One reason for underpaying wild land fire fighters is to reduce the incentive for starting fires.
Um…what? How is that supposed to work? Do you get paid by the fire or something?
Adding my condolences to the pile. It completely sucks that firefighters are underpaid. And, at a guess, underprotected: I’ve never seen a job where people were underpaid yet got the latest equipment to work with. If it gets too dangerous, refuse to go? Please?
Ogvorbis,
*hugs* Take care.
I’m sorry about your colleagues.
Ogvorbis,
I thought of you as well. I saw it on Al Jazeera this morning. I’m so sorry.
Boy and I are currently splitting a bottle of Korendunk Pater Dubel Ale. Very good.
In the old days (pre-1960), when there was a large fire, the feds hired locals to be hand crews (type 2 teams, not the hot shots). They deliberately kept the pay low so that there would be no financial incentive to start fires. This has continued to the present day. The more fires, the more overtime.
Overhead (like me) tend to get paid more even though we are doing less. I earned more at three forest fires last year than these guys did for the whole season. Mostly because I get paid the same rate as at my home unit.
Oh shit, Ogvorbis, stay safe!!
*hugs* for Dalillama and co., and also for Beatrice. I dread the day when I will have to start handing out CVs again. I’m having premonitory feelings of impending… something.
+++
I suppose I can’t force my long-unseen siblings to visit me while they’re in-country for their very short whiles. It just fucking sucks that I seem to be so low on their priority list (I know, the whole sister-with-children-and-family thing usually falls well below the obligatory party-all-night task-assignments on the list – and I will admit that there’s a small part of jealousy playing into this right now – I just wish there wasn’t so much gloating about it on Facebook).
Or maybe I’m just inclined to take everything personally today.
Hillary Clinton is at the top of her game intellectually. That’s what I care about.
rq, *hugs* for you too
No siblings here so no personal experience, but it sounds to me like you’re justified to feel resentful
Oh and David, I like having lats for the sake of having lats. What with the memories of the USSR and what being tied to the rouble meant to this country, there’s quite a bit of hesitation to join up with the euro. I don’t doubt that it will be implemented, and all poverty shall be eliminated, and everyone will dance for joy in the streets, and corruption (and bribes) in government will magically disappear, and all the employed will receive wages according to their positions and jobs…
Well, I’m certain about the first part of that.
At any rate, that’s neither here nor there.
For what it’s worth, I owned a 500-Latu note for a short while. But some debt got paid off (I took a photo, though), so the honour was very short-lived.
Updates on the Texas legislature’s two-step anti-abortion shenanigans.
One wonders what the Republicans hope to accomplish with all the delays. Defusing the opposition?
cicely
They’ve been around for a very long time…
Thanks, Beatrice. Just experiencing small feelings of rejection, which I’m sure will pass. It just seems like everyone has so many better things to be doing than visiting me. On the other hand, there’s a lot going on in the country (and it’s hard to compete with a traditional song-and-dance festival that’s on the UNESCO list of heritage events or watchamacallits). *shrug* Geh.
Of course, the prices will get adjusted upwards (since euro is a bit stronger than lat), but salaries will stay the same.
Since euro is quite a bit stronger than kuna (usually about 7,50 kunas for 1 euro), I’m afraid that our prices will get rounded up even more. Same thing happened in Slovenia, and their standard is not all that much higher than ours.
I mean weaker, euro to lat, not stronger.
Beatrice, if you should feel that you need a sibling to resent, I have a sister I could let you have, real cheap. Just say the word.
–
rq, I saw that, and immediately thought of you.
Then I went out and re-traced all the Circles of Protection around my house.
–
cicely,
Thanks for the offer, but I was always more in the market for a sibling to spend some quality time with, share problems and laughs, seek advice, that kind of stuff. But I appreciate your… generosity.
I’m glad papers are finally reporting the really important things about our joining the EU – what women politicians and politicians’ wives were wearing during the celebration yesterday.
Defenestration is more the thugs’s style.
Beatrice: The Bureau of Labor Statistics has regional average salaries by job type and seniority that can be quite valuable when discussing salary.
http://bls.gov/ncs/
Beatrice, if I had a spare sibling in those specs, I’d be willing to go halfsies. Unfortunately, I only have the one, and I’m selfish.
If you are in the market for a nephew, on the other hand, I have 4 on-hand who are
superfluous to requirementsavailable for free(and worth every penny); still better terms on a package deal.:)
–
mouthyb,
Thanks, but I doubt I can really compare US and European salaries, and especially Croatian salaries.
—-
cicely,
I would feel bad about separating them, and there really isn’t enough space for all 4 of them. What a shame, but that’s life.
Beatrice: Ah! I’m sorry for the assumption. If I knew the local language, I’d google the information for you to see if there was an analogous database or publications somewhere.
mouthyb,
I googled, but couldn’t find anything. I made a guess from what I know about salaries of people in similar companies/job types/levels.
Awesome woman, great loss alert.
Also, she made a mean beef stroganoff.
@Lynna
Oh, no. It’s not that. It’s that the idjits in their outrage called an immediate special session for the next business day, b/c this is about
posturing before the voters!saving lives! And yet, when they realized that that put it into the same week asCanada DayJuly 4th, they absolutely had to postpone.A water-skiing vacationPatriotism comes first, don’tcha know?[the management would like to apologize for the rank snarkiness in the original version of the above comment. Per our editing policies, a record of the original wording has been preserved. Please do not try to parse without a joint Comedy/Political History PhD.]
Realistically? IMHO, they hope the buzz will die down so the national spotlight comes off their reprehensibility. And, possibly, it gives the right-to-lifers time to arrange and fund more astroturfing.
But really they expect a couple of days’ delay to cause all those silly wimminz to rethink their lives and decide they didn’t want abortion access after all. Natch.
Been absent for a few days (I think it was a few days, anyway) so I’m
a bithorribly ‘rupt, but I think there’s some good Giliell school-for-#1 news to be glad about, and some really shitty car-impact-related news to commiserate with Tony about (that’s a real scunner. I’m so sorry)..
I’ve tried to dip in to the Lounge from time to time (yay for Portia‘s Ongoing Awesomeness as a firefighter, btw) … I, um, well, I missed you. Oh, you had jokes! How do you know when the lead singer has arrived? They’re the one hanging around outside, trying to decide when to come in.
.
Joining in with the Keep-Ogvorbis-Safe wishes. I’m another one who saw that news (on TV in the UK) and immediately thought of you.
.
Happy you had a good date, Katherine! And sorry your siblings are gallivanting with callous abandon, rq.
.
It’s pretty much confirmed that DaughterSpawn has got her sandwich year work placement sorted at last – stop me if I havered on about this already, but she gets to be (I think) an ultra-junior bottle-washer (i.e. undergraduate lab assistant) in an incredibly cool neuroscience lab in Spain for ten months, starting in the autumn. No wages, but she goes on getting the UK student loan plus a small grant to live on. And the lab is practically on the beach! And she’ll be sharing a flat in a cool if somewhat ramshackle neighbourhood. She’s extremely happy about it, as she thinks neuroscience is the thing she wants to do more of and this is a great opportunity to make sure if she’s right. I’m sure it won’t all be sunshine and roses (actually quite a lot of it will be sunshine. Winter temperatures average the same as our spring or autumn) but I’m really happy for her. OMDog, it was her first day in kindergarten only yesterday and now she’s going to juniorly assist with cool experiments in Furrin’ Parts!!!!! Yay!
actually that’s a good point – it meant Perry *spit* could make his big announcement dissing Wendy Davis and the #feministarmy’s accomplishment DURING the National Right-to-Life convention and ride on the coattails of her rising star.
Og:
Be safe.
I took a wildland fire training class last year…I opted not to take the pack test to get on the call list. You are a brave person than I. Stay safe.
—
Well, today is proof that there’s always a case you can’t win, but there’s never a case you can’t lose.
Who wants a USB-double shot?
I’ll probably go with ice cream, since the headache went vaguely dormant during the day and has now returned. S is going to come make me dinner, after having listened to me vent about my loss at the trial. Extra frustrating because I was doing it for free, because I really believed in it. Maybe someday I won’t take professional matters personally. I guess that would be when I stop caring.
In my closing, I was really tempted to go this route.
Shiiiiit. I saw the news about the arizona fire and had a bad feeling about Og, so stopped back by to check in for news. Good luck, Oggie. We’re all counting on you to come back with stories about a greenhorn who got the fire foam mixed up with the Reddi Whip on his dessert and such. :(
Shit, I heard about the Hotshot crew in Arizona dying. Double shit that Ogvorbis knew and respected them.
Keep safe, but if you do feel threatened, use the communicator tebucheted into your back yard, and let us know of your situation. We can have you out of there in the time it takes to say “beam me up Scotty”.
No bravery involved. I’m overhead. My biggest hazard is falling asleep at the wheel or meeting up with a pissed off pot farmer trying to get to his plantation. No real dangers. No way would I (Or, with my knee, could I) go on the fire line.
Now going into a burning house? That’s true bravery.
Y’know, I’m starting to think that, much like ‘broken is broken’ and there’s no point comparing each others’ traumas with a yardstick, ‘bravery is bravery’ in whatever form, whether it involves facing a fire, calling out a friend, or admitting to oneself that it’s time to ask for help.
I admire you, Oggie. Call it whatever term you wish. ♥
So, why did Republicans call a vacation of the special session today? Might have something to do with this:
Image link
via Shakes.
You may not be front line, but you get an awful lot closer than any of us do. And you keep people from getting themselves hurt. That, my friend, is admirable in any number of ways, whether you think it is or not.
What I do is important. But its jsut a job.
Ogvorbis:
*hugs*
—
A more senior lawyer told me he got an unfavorable ruling on nearly identical issues from this same judge. I am much less upset about my own performance (not that I could think of something I actually did wrong). Oh, and the judge is a Republican, to boot.
anyone need to be more ragey today? Check out Cracked:
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/5-creative-new-ways-businesses-are-screwing-over-employees/
Also 7-11 importing immigrants and keeping them in company housing, Wal-mart hiring only temps and using them to drive down full-time workers’ hours, Goodwill paying disabled employees far below minimum wage (and it’s also legal to farm out disabled workers to for-profit companies…)
Cracked, continuing the tradition of America getting its news from comedy sites! woot
‘rupt
I’ll fucking catch up fucking later.
My fucking feet fucking hurt.
Every fucking year I fucking forget what it’s fucking like to share fucking living space with fucking drillers.
They’re mostly quite pleasant people but they are fucking vocabulary fucking challanged.
That one is around us. Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. And it is illegal. But the company is now offering direct deposit or cheques. Which doesn’t help the employees of 15 McDonalds.
Just took the garbage out.
I hate maggots.
http://www.cracked.com/article_17103_5-ways-your-brain-messing-with-your-head.html
Whoa.
*hugs* and commiserations for Portia.
You’ll get ’em the next time.
–
chigau: Fucking sorry about your fucking feet and the fucking drillers.
Fuck.
–
Thanks cicely. It did a nice job of stocking up my kyriarchy-fueled rage reserves…of course those are never very low. (Thanks a lot, GOP!)
Ha! It’s just occurred to me—the Potterverse doesn’t seem to feature religion in any way (unless you count the existence of Christmas, which has ripped off other cultural features to the point of being, arguably, a generic holiday). Perhaps, in the Wizarding World, “virgin births” are dismayingly commonplace, and the natural assumption is that somebody Confunded poor Mary after having Imperiused her into compliance. .
It goes without saying that if Mary was a Muggle, she’d have no reason to suspect she’d been done dirty.
–
Jesus, of course, would be a perfectly ordinary (if possibly untutored) Wizard—walking on water, water to wine, curing leprosy, “raising” the dead….
–
I’m getting a speech about “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! use it for motivation!” on my facebook status that vaguely alludes to losing my trial. I want to scream. Sometimes, a loss can just be a fucking loss, and I don’t need to be told how to feel about it by a dood. I don’t need to be told how to feel.
Rarg.
Rev. BDC might, or might not, be interested. Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel was doing a show (bizarre foods) about the South Carolina low country, including Charleston.
*rageflail* my aunt is a saint. Gods she hasn’t deserved a millionth of what I just gound out shes been through.
/can’t give details, but Jesus fucking Christ, *rageflail*
Ground out should be found out.
Rawnaeris,
*hugs* for you
hugs to Rawnaeris.
Non-condescending condolences to Portia.
heading to bed.
The scenery in Corsica is amazing. And the roads they were racing on? Yikes.
Thanks, Ogvorbis. :)
Night!
Portia
I hate the “Doesn’t kill you= stronger” meme. Hate it with a passion that I usually reserve for folks who proffer karma as some sort of consolation for getting handed the shitty end of the stick.
No, Nietzsche misquotind douchecanoe’s, it was the accumulation of small setbacks and near-misses that made me not want to continue. Sometimes that which does not kill you leaves a wound, a vulnerability, that gets hit again before it has a chance to heal. Bite, bite, bite, bite, death by degrees is no less fatal.
Rawnaeris
It ain’t a just world we live in. Hugs and chocolate and booze should you so desire.
Vive La Tour!
Is it wrong of me that I should so enjoy watching other people suffer on a bike for hours at a time?
*hugs* for Rawneris, portia and anyone else in need.
Kat – I’m glad your date went so well!
Ogvorbis – Keep safe. *hugs*
Beatrice – Good luck with your CV and other paperwork.
rq – *hugs*
Portia – I’m sorry your case didn’t go your way.
Rawnaeris – *hugs and chocolate* for you and your aunt.
Hey folks…
I gots nothing heavy. Does anyone want to say hello to me? Saying hello back would be swell.
Yooooooo Joe!
Still fighting the ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world?
(How badly did I just date myself there? And how many remember the cartoon?)
****
Katherine:
I am elated that your date went swimmingly.
May you have more to come!
****
Soooo, cab ride is $36.75 one way from my home to my job.
Oh yeah, and we lost one more bartender and one is out for a week. Guess who gets to work 10 am til close tonight through Sunday…
Heya, iJoe!
*passes back out in the shade*
Hey, Joe, where you going with that flower in your hand? (Any other Zappa fans out there?
Tony
Shit. Hopefully you’ll at least get some good money during that time.
Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?* ;)
Except for the Soggy Ape thread, it’s quiet, too quiet, around here at the moment.
I thought of you a couple of days ago. *Speaking of Hendrix, I was cleaning out a bunch of boxes in prep for the big move into the new house and I found my wah pedal. Now I just have to figure out how to use it without resorting to cliches.
Dammit!! Missed the joke by two minutes. [Glares at Dalillama]
Technically, Hendrix is a different joke, although I did consider going with that one.
Crip Dyke @650:
What an amazing woman. Mrs Hack had a positive impact on the world around her. Would that we all do the same.
I also appreciate that her skills and accomplishments were the focus of the article.
REAL AMERICAN HERO, G.I. JOE IS THERE! (g.i. joooooooooe…) And knowing is half the battle! Hey Tony! Sorry you have to work the long hours… in a shitty plus side, the extra hours pay for the cab rides? I know it is bullshit, but on the other hand you could be broke and have your hours cut instead?
Hey WMDKitty, try to land on a soft surface!
Howdy Dalillama, Zappa hurts my brain. Can we go with Hendrix instead?
Also, congrats Kat for your first date. I’ve been kind of lurking lately and totally pulling for you!
FossilFishy, you know what I use my wah pedal for? I engage it for some solos and just leave it most of the way down. When you’re not working it up and down, it just makes your lead tone really stand out in the mix in a way that I like.
FossilFishy @680:
I second the disdain for that stupid phrase (and any other [is ‘truism’ what I’m looking for here?]). It feels too much like trying to make reality cater to our desires. Sometimes I want to scream when people offer these [or is it ‘platitudes’?].
No, sometimes it does not ‘all work out in the end’.
No, people do not ‘get whats coming to you’.
Please do not tell me ‘if you stop searching you will find someone’.
Yah Joe, it really is just a very specific tone control. The only time I used it substantively in a song I slowly depressed over the whole tune to make the tone more strident as the emotional build happened. I’d like to figure out if I can use it more actively and yet subtly enough that I won’t sound like a 70’s porn soundtrack.
I do think it will be useful in a preset sort of way when using the ebow. That thing really accents the highs so clipping them a bit with wah might make sense.
FossilFishy, isn’t the ebow sort of another “envelope filter” effect like a wah? I’ve never used one, but the sound seems similar to me?
Holy translation problems Batman!
We’re going to need the Universal Translator back home in the Batcave if we’re gonna follow IJoe and FossilFishy :)
(Not making fun or criticizing. I’m glad you two have this stuff to talk about. Here on the ‘outside’ it seems like another language.)
Sorry Tony…
Part of the problem is that other people who speak our language are… horrible? Lots of “SPEND LOTS OF MONEY!! YOU MUST SPEND LOTS OF MONEY!!!!11111!!!ONE!!!” sort of stuff.
Nope, or at least not as I understand those two things. The Ebow is a magnetic oscillation device used to excite the string without plucking it, so named because you can get violin bow-like effects with it. I’ve found that it takes a lot of practice to use it effectively, though there’s plenty of videos on youtube that show people doing amazing things with one.
I do like it a lot though. The ability to sustain a note indefinitely and to even swell the volume of that note over time is something that the guitar really lacks.
FossilFishy:
Yeah, OK… would something like a Fernandes Sustainer have a similar effect? Because I’m barely competent on guitar as it is, adding something in one of my hands would wreck me!
Oh yes indeedy. Perhaps I’m misreading this, but I’ve run into a lot of guitar gearheads that will talk at length about their hardware without ever once referencing what it’s good for musically. They just want to talk about how cutting edge it is and how much it cost.
Yup Joe. As far as I can gather it works exactly the same was as the sustainer, just in a hand-held unit. The advantage of that free-floatingness (is too a word!) is that you can manipulate just how excited the string is by moving it towards and away from the string and you can manipulate the tone by where on the string it is.
Well, I definitely woke up more depressed than how I went to sleep.
+++
Only the lonely by Stephen Fry.
Slow food: detrimental to feminism?
And those of you who can, please vote (Jā -> Balsot -> find SONORE and use your Facebook (or Twitter) wisely). Thanks in advance.
Oh yes indeedy, INDEEDY!
Other gearheads who have owned probably 50K worth of gear, and unhappy with all of it. Not sure what was wrong with any of their gear, and they get offended when you ask what specifically they are looking for.
I’m really sorry to hear that rq.
Hey rq, sorry you’re not feeling better.
Some gearheads I knew had a sound in their head that they were trying to achieve in real life. Those folks I kinda felt sorry for because it was likely that that sound wasn’t possible.
There’s a story about Canadian Classical pianist Glenn Gould. He was practicing piano while his mother vacuumed the room and that was the pinnacle of music for him (or words to that effect) because now his fingers were producing the notes in his head rather than those of the piano.
rq
Sorry to hear that. hopefully today is better.
Song featuring both an Ebow and an auto-wah….of course it’s Radiohead, who else?
rq,
Oh, Stephen Fry’s article made me cry a little bit.
*hugs*, I hope your day gets better
So… iJoe, FossilFishy…
What would you recommend to someone who wants to learn to shred, but whose musical “experience” is limited to vaguely tapping out “Three Blind Mice” once, and only for a class?
(I do own an ocarina, but I end up startling myself every time I try to play it. Yes, my startle reflex is what you might call “impressive”…)
FossilFishy…
I’m going to tell you two stories. One that I know directly, and one that was relayed to me by a second party that I can’t confirm.
The first story is a tale of a guitarist I knew mostly from online a few years ago. He had AMAZING tone, the sort of tone people dream of and spend tons of money to get. He also had the chops to show off the tone… an amazing player with an amazing rig. Think the best version of your favorite Eric Johnson song. The problem was that his sound was dependant on a specific combination of amplifiers and effects, and he was too afraid to move any of his gear from its specific spot to ever play outside of his basement. He used to play at local bars, but as his tone got better his willingness to leave the house decreased. Last I heard, he’s sounding really good, but he won’t leave the house and he hasn’t got the right recording gear yet so he can’t let anyone else hear either!
The second was in response to my story. A guy I know was watching a band play at a local venue. The lead guitar player spent the entire night facing away from the audience. He was messing with his amp and his pedals, and ignored the band and the crowd the whole night. At the end of the gig, on the last song, the other guitar player launched into a completely epic solo that floored everyone watching. Towards the end of the solo, the lead guitar player left his gear alone for the first time all night and walked up to the other guitar player and said something to him. After the set was over, some of the band went to the bar to get a drink. The guy I know went up to the second guitar player and asked what the lead guitarist said to him during that last awesome solo, that dragged him away from his gear for the only time all night.
The guy told my buddy…
“He came over to tell me that my guitar was a little bit out of tune, one of the strings went a little bit flat.”
WMDKitty
Advice to shred? “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” is a good start. You find a teacher, and you practice slow and learn good habits, and then you pick up the tempo.
I’ve been wasting a ton of years, because I’m self-taught, just unlearning bad habits.
My sympathies and best wishes, Ogvorbis. Am I right in thinking that if 19 firefighters had been killed in a terrorist attack, Obama would have cut short his visit to Africa, and there would have been 24-hour coverage on all channels?
My sympathies to Portia also – but you’re right, Portia: it’s because you care passionately about what you’re doing, that it really hurts to lose a case.
True, but will even a healthy woman in her* 70s have the stamina and resilience of someone in their 40s or 50s? How much greater is the chance of a health crisis affecting their term? Besides, isn’t it rather worrying that the Democrats are clustering round a figure who has been prominent in national politics (initially as Bill’s wife, admittedly, but known even then to have political ambitions of her own) for over 20 years? Where are the new ideas that are so obviously necessary, not just in the interests of the Democratic Party, but of the USA and the world? Are they likely to come from such an establishment figure as Clinton?
*Of course a woman in her 70s has a better chance of being in robust health than a man of the same age.
Hi folks
Yesterday I learned that in times before, being a minority was a disadvantage. Now not really. Why? Because people can laugh at white male characters, but not at black, or gay, or female characters (oh RLY?)
And that’s apparently the thing that matters…
Tony
Hugs
beatrice
Welcome to the
BorgEU+++
The Euro is madness for smaller countries exactly because of that. Before, Spain and Italy usually devalued their currencies, made goods and services cheap and could thereby push their economies. If you want to know who profits from the Euro just look where it’s headquarters are…
Yay for Katherine
+++
Wow, so just losing your kidneys doesn’t cut it, I guess.
Oh, and “death would result” probably 100% sure. 50% risk (meaning that one in two women dies) doesn’t cut it. And since they firmly believe in miracles, god could always work one, so there’s never a 100% chance anyway…
Ogvorbis
*hugs*
I was thinking of you when I heard it in the news (yes, their death was on the German news)
rq
I know what you mean.
I’m at the moment a bit grudgy against BIL who’s holding a “Thank You Barbecue” for the helpers at his vernisage. Well, he scheduled it for next Saturday, the day after his niece’s birthday, the obvious day for her birthday party…
*hugs*
opposablethumbs
Yay for daughterspawn. And really, those stay abroads are something everybody able to do should do. Because you never learn that much again n life.
Very interesting article. And yes, one of the damned if you do, damned if you don’t situations for women. You cannot make your food all from scratch and still run a career and a family. But heavens know how people look at you for buying the convenience food. And I’m still privileged because I have stuff like a car and a freezer, allowing me to shop frozen stuff and big amounts and have a larder.
Joe
I often think that speed is a sign of mediocricy. Well, don’t play the guitar, but I noticed in sewing: you start slow and bad. You become a bit better and you increase speed and then you only become faster but not much better because you don’t take the time to do things right.
OMG waffles!
Also I get to go visit my parents tonight for the entire rest of the week. Shall be fun, and I can finally answer the stupid “so have you got a girlfriend” question my grandmother ALWAYS. ASKS. ME.
NEW THREAD.