Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

We’re not going back!

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Consistently wrong since 2002

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Let there be snark.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

And so it is for the politically and morally bankrupt Kevin McCarthy.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Open Thread

Reader Interactions

130Comments

  1. 1.

    gbear

    My Furminator arrived in the mail today. I took a couple of swipes at one of the cats and couldn’t believe what happened (other than the cat running away). I hope they get used to it.

  2. 2.

    Krista

    Awww…soft ‘n’ fuzzy puppy. That bottom photo of the kitty is cute, but it looks like it may have been interrupted while cleaning its grundle.

  3. 3.

    Zifnab

    Urge to kill fading… fading… fading… … … gone.

    One day we’re going to find out that Lolcats is just the latest government iteration of "fluoride in the drinking water."

  4. 4.

    schrodinger's cat

    Yay we can has kittehs and a puppeh!
    BTW where is Tunch? In other cat related news, I have just ordered the furminator based on the glowing reviews here.

  5. 5.

    Laura W

    OMIGOD!
    LOOKIT THAT PUPPY!
    That is THE CUTEST PUPPY PHOTO EVER!
    Whoever sent that in must be just AWESOME.

  7. 7.

    Church Lady

    The cat in the top photo makes Tunch look sweet. I don’t think I’d turn my back on this one.

  9. 9.

    jlo

    What is wrong with the puppy? There would be no posing for pictures next to a biscuit in my house.

  10. 10.

    Krista

    That’s your puppy, isn’t it, Laura W?

    On a side note, am I completely hallucinatory, but in the sidebar ad for the PJ Media American Tea Wank, does the ship look strangely like a Lego pirate ship? Every time I look at the ad, I expect to see tiny little Lego pirates balancing from the rigging or rowing the little lifeboat.

  13. 13.

    BDeevDad

    Is the new domestic partnership initiative in California, politics? They are starting to collect signatures.

    The measure would replace the term "marriage" with "domestic partnership" throughout California law, but preserve the rights provided in marriage, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said Tuesday.

  14. 14.

    Laura W

    @Krista: No, while I can totally understand you thinking that because of the awesome part and all, Krista…it’s not my puppy.

  17. 17.

    Brick Oven Bill

    I have been allowed back into the house and BBC America is on the TV, I dare not turn it off. There is an outright, and I believe fraudulent, story on. These guys are saying that manmade CO2 is causing the seas to become acidic. We have previously discussed two unreliable sources of scientific data: Columbia University and Rush Limbaugh.

    Columbia claims that man-made CO2 is 5.5% of the total, IIRC, and Rush Limbaugh claims 0.5%. A more reputable source, Wikipedia, agrees with Rush. So, who knows the true number, perhaps 2%. But none of this matters.

    We learned it as CO2 + O = CO3 = Carbonic Acid;

    Wikipedia says CO2 + H20 = H2CO3 = Carbonic Acid

    Carbonic acid is so unstable that, even in a raindrop, it only exists on the surface of the raindrop. So the acidity of a raindrop varies. It is acidic on the outside and non-acidic on the inside, think of an M&M. The acidic part is the colorful candy. The non-acidic part is the chocolate.

    So it is ridiculous for the global warming types, er, down with the West types, to claim that CO2 is making the oceans acidic. This did not stop the BBC from filming two guys underwater taking pH readings over a pipe with air bubbling out of it.

  18. 18.

    JenJen

    @Brick Oven Bill: Don’t you have a blog already? I see a link and everything.

    By the way, y’all, Hardball is about to start again… do not miss the Tweety/Ari Fleischer segment right at the beginning. Golden. Jaw-dropping asshattery.

  20. 20.

    Der Bruno

    The pup shouldn’t be on the couch. I know, they all do it, be taking a photo would seem to endorse such behavior.

  21. 21.

    Josh Hueco

    I’m waiting for John to post photos of the squirrel heads BOB keeps in his freezer…or maybe not.

  22. 22.

    geg6

    I’d like to introduce myself, a long time lurker and finally brave enough commenter. I know John will like me. I’m a native of Steeler country.:)

  23. 23.

    Laura W

    @AhabTExpropriator: Oh the indignity of a harness for a lifelong, roam-about-freely stray.
    That was just for the very brief "fostering" period. As soon as I adopted her the harness started gathering dust.

    She now has to tolerate the indignity of the Purrfect Fence Enclosure prison system in our back yard, but I do let her out to run free a bit when the dawg and I return from our morning walks.

  24. 24.

    Warren Terra

    @Just Some Fuckhead
    Sorry – the picture is slightly out of focus, and the puppy looks so adorably fuzzy that I couldn’t resist the weak pun. I certainly didn’t mean to cause actual offense.

  25. 25.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @Warren Terra: I thought you might be going for the pun but when commenting it’s always better to overreact first and then dial it back some later if ya have to.

  28. 28.

    Indylib

    @Josh Hueco:

    I’m waiting for John to post photos of the squirrel heads BOB keeps in his freezer

    I think the squirrels are in BOB’s head.

  29. 29.

    Comrade Stuck

    @Warren Terra:

    Don’t give fuckhead an inch, he’ll take several meters. Fuzzy is Fuzzy but the puppy is lovely.

    And Jenjen – agreed on Aussie sheps. Border Collies are up there too.

  31. 31.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    My kittehs do that, they are such sluts, I mean really, Tigger (who looks JUST like the Kitteh in the third pic) will immediately throw himself on his back and beg to be tummy rubbed the minute you enter his presence. I am of course a willing slave.

  36. 36.

    Brick Oven Bill

    I maintain three websites JenJen, on this one I have archived the words of a brilliant Jew whose words I first read in college, and have read every year or so in the past, and read more frequently, now that I have set up this website. The first entry is about energy, the second is philosophical, the third has to do with leadership, and it closes with a feel-good entry from a different person.

    The second is being used as a writing tool for a future book about these interesting times. I am not sure if it works. Could I ask you or anybody else a favor? Would you please click on my blue name above and tell me if it links correctly?

    The third is top-secret because it is business-related and I will only share it with TattooSydney if he leaves an email address on the second website and promises to keep and never reveal my secret. There are times when I think that it is possible that politics may ever so slightly influence government funding and permitting efforts.

  37. 37.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Comrade Stuck:

    Puppies are always lovely, doesn’t matter how ugly they are, they are like human babies, "awwwww he is so beautiful" looking at the ugliest baby in christendom.

  38. 38.

    JenJen

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Could I ask you or anybody else a favor? Would you please click on my blue name above and tell me if it links correctly?

    DIY.

    Thanks for your thesis on the many sites you maintain, but I think you missed my point. No big whoop. It happens.

  39. 39.

    Laura W

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Happy Birthday!
    Why are you here?
    Of course, I was here for mine, watching Frontline’s Meltdown thing.
    So that can be rhetorical if you like.

  42. 42.

    AhabTDefenestrator

    @Laura W: Momo was raised as an indoor from birth, and actually disliked being out of doors. The car just didn’t bother here that much, although she was talking the whole time.
    She adjusted pretty well to the harness, although she will only ever have to wear it when we go to the vet.

  44. 44.

    Indylib

    OK – what the hell is up with my ability to do an external link?

    John, is this because I tried this in a "no more politics" thread?

  45. 45.

    AnotherBruce

    Ahhhh, kitty and puppy pictures, I’m feeling better already. It’s been a long day, I think I’ll just throw a capitalist on the fire, sit back and relax.

  49. 49.

    Comrade Darkness

    Open thread, but with a no politics rule?

    Are dirty bombs politics?

    Maybe this was posted but I totally missed it. We should all thank Amber and her fine handling of a Colt 45 ehem Peacemaker.

    Oh, and print some posters featuring this guy’s mug for why we need the estate tax. A big one.

  51. 51.

    J.

    @JenJen: That Australian Shepherd is AMAZING. A dog that fetches beer and likes football?! Sign me up!

    @AhabTExpropriator: Momo is GORGEOUS. Made me miss my Siamese kitties.

    @Notorious P.A.T.: I know! It cracks me up every time I watch, though the pic of the hamster in a jacket on the wheel, from the Discovery.com article, is also great (albeit fuzzy).

    Btw, my cat, Felix, has been sitting in my lap as I typed this and just started to lick his privates. Nice. Which means he will fall asleep by the time I’ve finished typing. Men.

  52. 52.

    Tiparillo

    Anyone see stupid pet tricks on Letterman last night – the dog that played dead cracked me – and Letterman – up.

  53. 53.

    Krista

    Welcome, geg6! Always glad to see someone de-lurking. Sorry none of these other rude bastards responded to you.

    On another note, if any of you fellow Canucks are watching "The Week the Women Went", pay close attention tonight to the first 3 minutes. The cute guy in the black t-shirt, helping with the sandstone monument? That’s my husband in his TV cameo debut! :)

  58. 58.

    JenJen

    @J.: My Aussies are amazing, but I’ve never been able to get the "fetch a beer" trick down. Trust me, I tried and tried and tried. :-(

    However, one of my Aussies will sit patiently with a piece of scrumptious grilled steak balanced on his nose, until I tell him he can eat it. I need to YouTube it, it’s his most impressive trick by far.

  59. 59.

    AhabTDefenestrator

    @J.: The vet told me that the name for her particular patterning is "tabby point," since she is mixed.

    And she does have the tabby patterning, only with the Siamese partial-albinism.

  60. 60.

    Laura W

    @AhabTDefenestrator:

    Fleischer looks terrible. He is turning into Edward James Olmos.

    Perfect!
    When I said he was "so ugly" in previous thread when it was airing live for the first time, 5pm EST, that is exactly what I meant to say.
    But didn’t say. Because I wasn’t bright enough to make the connection, because I was reeling from his OBAMA INHERITED A WORLD WITHOUT SADDAM HUSSEIN IN IT! assertion.

    Plus, I was blinded by his Olmosity.

  61. 61.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    I’m traveling on business all this week, and this is the second hotel in a row w/no MSNBC, so I’m reduced to choosing between Lou Dobbs and Fox. At this point, I’d settle for reruns of Big Redneck Wedding.

  62. 62.

    JenJen

    Still an open thread, right? Cool, because I was just reading Jack and Suzy Welch’s advice about how to be nice to HR when you’re laid off, over at Tina Brown’s crappy site.

    And all I could think of while reading it was, "Isn’t everyone in America totally skeezed out by this couple?"

  63. 63.

    garyb50

    If there was a god Ari Fleischer would die in a fire live on TV. But then, so would GWB… & Cheney. Ok, there is no god.

    I hate my cat. This afternoon, in a 2 hour period, she made me let her out & let her in 20 times. And I have to let her in because she claws the putty out of the kitchen window until I let her in.

  64. 64.

    Roger Moore

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    As somebody with a degree in chemistry, I can assure you that you need a quick chemistry refresher course. The correct equation is CO2 + H2O = H2CO3, as found in Wikipedia. And carbonic acid is unstable only in that it can readily go in or out of solution as the partial pressure of CO2 over it changes. So when you unscrew the cap on a bottle of carbonated water, most of the CO2 comes out of solution in the form of bubbles.

    The problem with the ocean is the flip side of that. As the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases, more and more will dissolve in the oceans. That has a good side- CO2 that’s dissolved in the ocean doesn’t act as a greenhouse gas- and a bad side- CO2 that’s dissolved in the ocean makes the water more acidic and unhealthy for some sea life.

  68. 68.

    big woo

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Would you please click on my blue name above and tell me if it links correctly?

    Not only does it link correctly, the snozzleberries taste like snozzleberries.

    Great job, BOB.

  70. 70.

    AhabTDefenestrator

    Ontologically: A perfect being would necessarily find Ari Fleischer so offensive as to make him expire publicly, slowly, and painfully.
    Therefore, no such perfect being exists.

  71. 71.

    Dennis-SGMM

    @geg6:
    Okay, Krista’s comment @53 has motivated me to a proper Balloon Juice welcome:
    geg6, fuck you.

    Welcome aboard!

  72. 72.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @garyb50: Was it Heinlein that said a cat is a thing that is always on the wrong side of a closed door?

    I have two cats that do the same thing all evening. And of course they miss each other by about ten minutes every time. God forbid they should coordinate their schedules so one can go out while the other comes in.

    Did I mention how much I fucking hate cats?

  73. 73.

    geg6

    Thanks but no big deal about hellos. I’m sure I’ll be rude myself at some point. What I love about this place is the no coddling or mincing words thing you have going on. I’ve been accused of having such traits myself. That said, I have no pets but do my SO’s two rescued dogs, Henry and Otis, count?

  75. 75.

    AhabTDefenestrator

    That said, I have no pets

    Couldn’t you get a fish? Or at least a houseplant?

    I mean good god man, at least try! We have standards to keep up here!

    Nah, actually, I lied, we don’t have any standards. Sorry.

  76. 76.

    Comrade Darkness

    @geg6: That said, I have no pets but do my SO’s two rescued dogs, Henry and Otis, count?

    Only if you post embarrassing pics of them. Preferably dressed as crustacea.

  77. 77.

    garyb50

    Comrade Darkness, you’re right. But the door is a fake metal pressed panel door with a fake etched glass window above. We bought the house without Acorn affiliation & even though I was a carpenter most of my adult life I have reservations about cutting the hole though I have all the tools to do so. If I put in the cat door it would involve silicone caulk and/or some other sealant I don’t trust.

  78. 78.

    Wile E. Quixote

    @Comrade Darkness

    Are dirty bombs politics?

    He wouldn’t have been able to make much of a dirty bomb, not with uranium-238 and thorium-232. Depleted uranium is just that, it’s depleted, the U-235, the stuff that’s useful for making bombs and powering reactors has been removed from it leaving uranium-238, which is a nasty toxic heavy metal but no nastier and no more toxic than lead or mercury. If you search around on eBay you can sometimes find old FiestaWare that was made with a ranium glaze, it’s beautiful stuff. Thorium-232 is a stable isotope of thorium with a half life of 14 billion years, it’s the element that makes the mantles in gas lanterns glow so brightly. Uranium-238 has a half life of 4.46 billion years, yes, these elements are radioactive, but barely so, if you used them to make a bomb it wouldn’t be any worse than a bomb made with lead or mercury.

  79. 79.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Roger Moore; As someone who has managed corrosion based from many sources in a seawater environment, I recall that we were taught that this was a highly unstable acid, and that the acid quickly disassociated back to CO2 gas and water. It is possible that we were taught wrong, but I doubt it. I could also have a memory issue.

    I am not arguing that CO2 gas cannot be contained within the ocean, just that H2CO3 or CO3, or whatever we choose to label the acid, cannot exist for long enough to affect the acidity of the places where the fish swim. Maybe the top few feet if it is splashy or the top few inches if it is calm.

    I will be lazy and refer to Wikipedia, which seems to agree with my recollections, and am as always open to better information:

    “It has since been shown, by theoretical calculations, that the presence of even a single molecule of water causes carbonic acid to revert to carbon dioxide and water fairly quickly. Pure carbonic acid is predicted to be stable in the gas phase, in the absence of water, with a calculated half-life of 180,000 years.”

    This is why I thought it was unethical for the BBC to pass CO2 bubbles through the water, take the pH in the bubbles, and then tell us we are acidifying the oceans and killing the fish.

  82. 82.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    a href="#comment-1174740">Laura W:

    Well Dh has a whole Middle School Band Festival Thing going on so he is gone (staying overnight down there), I took the afternoon off and spent it in blissful solitude in my veggie garden where I planted the rest of my produce. (Just the sound of the birds singing like CRAZY, it was wonderful) this morning I woke to a veritable display of presents, a dish garden from dh, a complete DVD set of Robin of Sherwood (from DH’s teacher friend) and a Redneck birthday card apparently made by one of his students during the rehearsal…. I say redneck because it was basically construction paper and duct tape, anything that involves duct tape has to be redneck. My boss and his girlfriend bought me a bottle of very expensive wine and a necklace. Life is good. My mother by default (cause she forgot to leave me a present) bought me a solar, bird feeder, bird bath, you name it it does it thingy….. which I ordered and she paid for. All in all it is good to be 49, however get back to me in a year when I will be positively suicidal at turning 50.

  85. 85.

    geg6

    Dennis-SGGM: (Damn, posting on the Crackberry). Henry is an old sweetie. And an attention slut. And is eerily human but with better hearing than human males. Otis is a teenager with ADHD. They are one of the main attractions of my SO, I must admit. He’s a great guy but a guy with such puppehs is the awesome.

  86. 86.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Thanks for looking Big Woo, those three policemen still have me a little spooked. These guys were not local and the guy out of uniform was in the passenger seat, indicating seniority.

    I am glad that the InterBama is allowing me to transmit.

  87. 87.

    That One - Cain

    @geg6:

    I’d like to introduce myself, a long time lurker and finally brave enough commenter. I know John will like me. I’m a native of Steeler country.:)

    Welcome, and don’t forget to feed BoB on the way out.

    cain

  88. 88.

    That One - Cain

    @Krista:

    Welcome, geg6! Always glad to see someone de-lurking. Sorry none of these other rude bastards responded to you.

    Hey I did.. I just didn’t get to your message. Besides I never introduced myself, I just jumped right in.

    cain

  90. 90.

    The Populist

    Still an open thread, right? Cool, because I was just reading Jack and Suzy Welch’s advice about how to be nice to HR when you’re laid off, over at Tina Brown’s crappy site.

    This guy’s myth as one of the titans of corporate America is a joke. If he were still CEO’ing, he’d be so exposed.

  91. 91.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    @Laura W:
    My son was at some jamband festival last summer and there was Joan Osborne, singing with Phil Lesh IIRC. Not my cup of tea, but I admire her for doing what she wants to do.

    Are you a Gillian Welch fan? If not, you probably should be. And never but never miss a chance to see her and David Rawlings live.

  92. 92.

    Laura W

    @geg6:

    An attention slut. A teenager with ADHD

    Congratulations!
    Those are the only two prerequisites for commenting here.
    Welcome!

  93. 93.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Dweebe could dig holes under a fence that would actually defy belief. I mean really, when we put up the fence we did the whole "lay down the chicken wire either side of the fence under the ground thing" Well Dweebe would begin digging by the fence and hit the chicken wire and then move back a bit, then hit the chicken wire and move back a bit, until she got to the bit that was beyond the chicken wire, at which point she would start digging, she would then dig down, and then dig along under the chicken wire, at which point she would hit a tree root (natch in our forest location), at which point she would dig down, under the tree root, and then along, under the chicken wire until OUT to FREEDOM! Truly, her holes to freedom were begging to be used as a POW film set, all it required was a couple of gas lamps and some uniforms. At which point she would trot across the road and lay in the neighbor’s driveway, because (and you have to understand the entire doggy thought here), her JOB her MISSION was to protect the homestead, a job that she could not do from the backyard, nope the ONLY WAY she could protect the homestead was to sit in the driveway of the house across the street because THEN and only then could she see the nasty attackers before they attacked, ONLY THEN could she be ready. She was so consistent, and I miss her so much.

  94. 94.

    Laura W

    @Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon): Oh no. Did I confuse you with someone else? Aren’t you the one who linked to Osborne singing St. Teresa, stating that if you could only look at her (and maybe not hear her?) you’d be OK?
    Shit. Friday was so many sleeps ago…

  95. 95.

    geg6

    Cain, I jumped in earlier, but thought I’d make it official since we got an open thread. But back to pets…I’d like to brag on Henry. He’s the only Lab I’ve ever known who isn’t a fat ass tub of lard in his old age. He’s rather svelte, in fact, unlike some cats I’ve seen, for instance.

  96. 96.

    Mike in NC

    All in all it is good to be 49, however get back to me in a year when I will be positively suicidal at turning 50.

    Happy birthday, LBF. Yeah, turning 50 — or 40 — can be traumatic. I was depressed for the entire (birth)day but got over it pretty fast. Life’s too short to get hung up on stupid stuff…

  97. 97.

    Incertus

    From a paper I’m currently "grading": "In 1960, doctors came up with the technology to extract amniocentesis from pregnant women." Fuck my life.

  98. 98.

    Betsy

    @That One – Cain:

    Welcome, and don’t forget to feed BoB on the way out.

    That one took me a few visits to figure out. I don’t know that I’m enough of a regular to have standing to welcome you, but I’m going to do so nevertheless, and in the spirit of the site, anyone who doesn’t like it can fuck off. Welcome, geg6!

  99. 99.

    Betsy

    @Incertus: A friend of mine (I swear to the disproven god that I’m not making this up) had a student explain to her that he didn’t like a particular class because it about culture, and he wanted to "study important things, like politics and men."

  101. 101.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    @Laura W: You’re not confused. I said that listening to her was OK, but listening while watching was much better.

  104. 104.

    Incertus

    @Betsy: Yeah, that’s not even very surprising. When you teach first and second year college students, you stop being amazed at who gets into school pretty quickly.

  105. 105.

    Comrade Darkness

    @Wile E. Quixote: Most of my wonderment of it is the interesting lack of mainstream press coverage. Especially given how sordid it all is.

    If it were a novel, I’d expect the story to reveal that the fbi paid off the wife to off the hubby.

  107. 107.

    Montysano (All Hail Marx & Lennon)

    @JenJen: I’ve been an avid live music fan for 40+ years, and she and D. Rawlings was truly one of the best shows ever, just amazing chemistry. The trouble is that, lately, they do shows only rarely.

    Gillian and Dave

  109. 109.

    Krista

    Hey I did.. I just didn’t get to your message. Besides I never introduced myself, I just jumped right in.

    My land, but you’re easy to tease, Cain. :)

  110. 110.

    Church Lady

    @Litlebritdifrnt: Turning 40 just about killed me, but don’t worry – 50 goes down easy. After 45, I started having a hard time remembering my exact age. I kept adding a year. I guess the shellshock of turning 40 takes care of everything else coming down the pike. Next week I’ll be 51 and I don’t think it will feel any different than 50 did, or 49 for that matter.

  112. 112.

    The Disgruntled Chemist

    Brick Oven Bill:

    I am not arguing that CO2 gas cannot be contained within the ocean, just that H2CO3 or CO3, or whatever we choose to label the acid, cannot exist for long enough to affect the acidity of the places where the fish swim.

    You are wrong.

    I will be lazy and refer to Wikipedia, which seems to agree with my recollections

    From the Wikipedia article for carbonic acid: "Carbon dioxide dissolved in water is in equilibrium with carbonic acid." Look, all you need to do is check out the table in the section labeled "pH and composition of a carbonic acid solution". The important fact: as the pressure of carbon dioxide over the solution goes up, the pH goes down (that is, the solution gets more acidic). Keep in mind that even a small change in pH can pretty drastically fuck up living things.

  113. 113.

    Betsy

    @Incertus: And that is why "guess what a student wrote on this paper/exam" is always such a fun game for grad students. :) My boyfriend once had a student call the Seneca Falls folks "man-haters" on a paper, lol.

  114. 114.

    passerby

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    I will be positively suicidal at turning 50.

    I passed the half century mark a year or so ago and I can’t recommend it enough.

    One of the best things for me over the past few years was finally not giving a damn of what others expect from me or what they think and I came to realize that I was tired of working my ass off even if the salary was good.

    I jumped out of the hamster wheel. I quit a stale career and have been living on less and enjoying life more.

    So don’t sweat your 50 Litlebrit. And Happy 49.

    Furminator update: Spring shedding has begun in earnest and I’m glad to have the furminator this season.

    There’s nothing more annoying than getting a cat hair stuck at the back of my mouth. Gargling doesn’t always do the trick. I’ve also tried chewing gum but without success.

    So, I’ve started wiping kitty down with a damp cloth, like a tack rag, to round up the fine, fly-around hairs after I brush him.

    And I find I have to use the vacuum more often. oy.

  117. 117.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Thank you Disgruntled Chemist. I know now that the raindrop analogy does not translate to the ocean depths. We were only concerned about shallow depths which would explain my ignorance on the pressure factor.

    Constituents of air: Nitrogen 78.08%, Oxygen 20.95%, Argon 0.93%, Carbon Dioxide 0.03%. So if we contribute some where between 1 and 5% of that 0.03%, we are talking about carbon emissions at a baseline of 0.0003% and 0.0015% of the earth’s atmosphere. And if we were to modify our habits, say by 10%, this change would modify between 0.00003% and 0.00015% of the earth’s atmosphere.

    How does this small of a change in the earth’s atmosphere effect the partial pressure of carbon dioxide at depth? Wikipedia refers to a ‘pure’ Carbonic Acid solution at pressure. I am skeptical that the small magnitudes we are talking about would have a large effect on acidity.

    Wouldn’t dissolved gases be concentrated at shallow depths, counteracting the pressure factor?

  118. 118.

    Wile E. Quixote

    @Comrade Darkness

    If it were a novel, I’d expect the story to reveal that the fbi paid off the wife to off the hubby.

    That would be good, but it would be even better if the FBI agent who paid her off was black, and jewish (think Sammy Davis, c’mon, he can’t be the only black jew), oh, and they were lovers.

    I was introduced to PBR and V-8 last Saturday and I really like it. It quenches your thirst. Of course I’m also the guy who drank colaweizens (the only way to make a hefeweizen taste good) whenever he could when he lived in Germany, so perhaps I shouldn’t be trusted.

  120. 120.

    Brick Oven Bill

    Dissolved Oxygen vs. Depth here. At 20 meters (~2 atmospheres), the gas concentrations are half of what they are at the surface. At 60 meters, they are 20%, and negligible below 120 meters.

    I’m very skeptical that minute changes in atmospheric CO2 are going to have any significant effect on ocean acidity. Those BBC swimmers were probably deep to take advantage of the pressure effect, and were introducing CO2 bubbles because very little dissolved CO2 existed in the water they were swimming in.

  121. 121.

    Comrade Mary, Would-Be Minion Of Bad Horse

    @Krista:

    I saw him!! (I think). There were two cute guys in black t-shirts, one near the monument wall and one spreading the sand/gravel base for the paving. Which was he?

  122. 122.

    gnomedad

    We all need to thank B.O. Bill for pointing out basic facts about chemistry that all the people who study this stuff for a living have overlooked.

  125. 125.

    Tattoosydney

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    The third is top-secret because it is business-related and I will only share it with TattooSydney if he leaves an email address on the second website and promises to keep and never reveal my secret. There are times when I think that it is possible that politics may ever so slightly influence government funding and permitting efforts.

    I am now very very scared. I am not sure if I am able to deal with this awesome responsibility.

  126. 126.

    gwangung

    @gnomedad:

    We all need to thank B.O. Bill for pointing out basic facts about chemistry that all the people who study this stuff for a living have overlooked.

    Perfect description of wingnuts these days.

  127. 127.

    Gravenstone

    As a chemist, watching BOB prattle on mindlessly about things (apparently) far beyond his ken makes me want to stab my eyes out. Please … please make the bad man stop.

  128. 128.

    J. Michael Neal

    Happy birthday, LBF. Yeah, turning 50—or 40—can be traumatic.

    Try turning 40 after being unemployed for three years and needing to start all over in a new industry because the last one caused a nervous breakdown.

    Yeah, the prospective employers are just beating down my door.

  130. 130.

    Comrade Nikolita

    @passerby:

    I should get one of those. As of now, I just have a couple of brushes.

    My cats are a DSH and a DMH, and they’re both shedding. I can’t wait until spring and summer are here so the fur will stop flying all the time. I think I need to vaccum more.

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