While soonerwife and soonerkids go visit soonersister and her family over in the gated redneck heaven on the other side of town, wherein all of soonersister’s redneck neighbors will set off their own private fireworks display, I’ll be spending the day at home, with my dog and a pair of headphones on and some movies on Netflix.
I don’t do fireworks anymore, you see.
You may or may not see me tomorrow. Here’s a picture of my dog, fresh from the groomer in her patriotic hair bows.
KyCole
I tried to comment on the last thread which informed me that my e-mail was not recognized. Anyhoo, here goes again. Swimming with the daughters, grandbaby and friend at the lake/pool. Then we’re going to grill at an as yet undecided location. My ex wants to attend and will judge the home, whether it is mine or my daughter’s. Fireworks sort of suck, since my dog thinks it must be STORMING!
BGinCHI
I notice how you were careful not to show your countertops in that photo.
But I think I see a Himalayan salt shaker in the reflection of the poodle’s eye.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
stay sane dude, and nice dagger.
JCJ
I might try grilling some hot dogs tomorrow like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyieI2bxyIk
ETA: Oops, just saw that was posted in an earlier thread. Sorry!
Mnemosyne
G has to emergency fly to Chicago tomorrow to see his terminally ill father, so I’ll be alone on the Fourth for the first time in at least 10 years. I’m seriously considering putting my bike on the back of the car and riding on the beach after I drop him off at LAX. But beach + Fourth of July usually means MASSIVELY crowded, so I haven’t made up my mind yet.
BGinCHI
@Mnemosyne: Go down to San Onofre. Big and not as crowded. Plus occasional nudity.
Narcissus
I’m going to try to avoid the family get-together and see if I can’t manage to spend the 4th dozing in a comfy chair while the Twilight Zone marathon plays.
SIA
Awww. Who’s a cute puppeh!!??
Villago Delenda Est
You’ve done enough fireworks for several lifetimes, sergeant.
I’m fully supportive.
MikeJ
Just rubbed some ribs, put ’em in the fridge. Tomorrow I will cook them at the ‘rents place, and will probably go to Brown’s Point to watch the F-22s flyover Commencement Bay while the ribs cook.
I also made a Jamie Oliver Limoncello/raspberry trifle (he called it a tiramisu, but uhm, no).
Omnes Omnibus
SG, service related? I had a VN vet battalion commander when I was a 2LT who couldn’t do fireworks either. He said he once tossed himself out of a boat into a lake when fireworks went off.
Mnemosyne
@BGinCHI:
That’s a wee bit far to go on a holiday — it’s not the getting there, exactly, it’s the 70 miles of battling my way back to the Valley.
I may go up to Leo Carrillo State Park, though. I love me some tide pools.
robertdsc-PowerBook
Curious, SoonerGrunt, what do you think of war video games (Modern Warfare 3 et al) and the like?
BGinCHI
@Mnemosyne: I hear you. Thought maybe traffic might be light. I know: insane.
Alphonse de la Guerre Victoriouse Pour La Liberte et La France
Pretty darn frenchy-looking dog you got there. Papers, please…
Mnemosyne
@BGinCHI:
I might be tempted if it was a Friday holiday since coming back the same night would mean I would miss traffic. But a one-day midweek holiday in the greater LA area? Night. Mare.
Donut
Soonergrunt: stay well, man. Hope your days and nights during this time of year go by quickly and as easily as possible.
Omnes Omnibus
Oh, yeah, I will listen to this song over and over again.
MikeJ
@Omnes Omnibus: Never got to see them together. I did see John Doe opening(!) for Guided By Voices once. No matter how much I lurve GBV, I thought that was just wrong.
piratedan
dropping youngest off with the aunt and then driving across the rockies again to sleep the sleep of the road weary. I might get online later and read some threads, virtually fish and watch some fireworks on the telly. Also too, listen to some songs that remind me of my younger self and cause an acceptable amount of navel gazing introspection.
Soonergrunt
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah. I’m service connected on that. I accidentally bit my tongue during a mortar attack once, and now whenever I hear fireworks I get this overwhelming taste of copper in my mouth.
@robertdsc-PowerBook: My son plays them, and I can appreciate the technical achievement, and while I can tell the difference–pushing buttons on a controller is not the same as actually doing it in the real world–I just really lost interest in military FPS games after three combat tours. I play Left4Dead, Left4Dead2, both zombie apocalypse games, and therefore completely unreal and Team Fortress 2 (which is now free, by the way), which looks like a cartoon, and is loaded down with hilarious absurdity.
Little Boots
it’s a good year overall.
And Obama’s got this thing.
really.
Soonergrunt
@Donut: Thanks. It’s just another thing to deal with.
jnfr
Very cute puppeh!
Switched my email since apparently Salon plans to kill the Well before they go bankrupt themselves.
Fireworks banned throughout Colorado, even the official ones. Given the number of fires we’re fighting I think it’s a good idea. Though I did end up arguing a little with some libertarian type on my town’s police Facebook page, because he was quite mad that his freedom to burn up the rest of the state was being thuggishly suppressed.
Whatever. Bratwurst and Netflix it is.
Little Boots
“An error occured” Omnes. not the error of that song I always try to play for you. but an error.
TaMara (BHF)
SG@top, have a quiet and restful 4th. I’m thinking, since it’s midweek, I’ll just enjoy a quiet day off and skip the fireworks.
Your post reminded me though, of the year our quiet suburban neighborhood was besieged by SWAT and a barricaded man in the house a few doors down. It was July 3rd and by the time they were done, 5 houses had bullet holes and they’d shot off multiple cans of tear gas. There was no way in hell I wanted anything to do with fireworks that year.
Nothing really prepares you for that kind of event.
EDIT: Well nothing except 3 tours of duty, I bet.
Punchy
Driving ~10 ‘ers from Chicagy to KC with the wife and spawn. Please lord let them both sleep many of those hours so I can do my crossword puzzle and surf the net in peace….
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne: OT: Did you resolve your nursing home hunting issues? No one I knew was able to give any recommendations. Sorry.
Brachiator
@Soonergrunt:
Very nice bit of understatement. Have a good holiday.
And to all, Happy Fourth. As I mentioned in another thread, I will probably be doing some explanation/defense of health care reform at a couple of barbecues.
There will be fireworks.
Soonergrunt
@Punchy: You’re going to do crossword and net-surfing while driving? Or did I misunderestimate you?
Little Boots
Omnes what do you think of the whole … thing?
BD of MN
We’ve had a fun day, I woke up at 3:37 this morning when the power went out after a passing t-storm (my CPAP quit pushing air, so I’m quite sure of the exact moment electricity left us…), got home about 4pm to find out that the 22yo son had managed to turn off the living room window A/C unit at about 10am, and the two new rescue Great Pyrenees were really unhappy that it was 89° in the house. Took a bit of a nap with the dogs in the bedroom which was much cooler… Just got back from the grocery store with all the supplies for tomorrow’s festivities at the MIL’s house, which has functioning A/C (still 80° inside)… we’re doing a typical summer picnic, cooking everything outside (supposed to hit 100° here); burgers, sweet corn, potato salad, fruit salad, chips and dip, etc…
And the Pyr’s have been shedding like crazy, I’m pretty sure I could make a bigger dog than Soonergrunt’s with all the hair I’ve pulled out of them…
Mnemosyne
@Omnes Omnibus:
They found space at a hospice but, honestly, I’m skeptical that the transfer will be able to be done. It’s not a good sign when the patient starts having conversations with dead relatives.
PeakVT
Burlington put on its fireworks display tonight. Not sure why – perhaps because Thursday is a work day.
Punchy
@Soonergrunt: I have mastered the ability to hold the puzzle in 1 hand, pen in the other, and steer with my knee. And fill in blanks quickly. When that bores me, I read BJ and comment here. Again with my knee.
Little Boots
youtube is sad right now. but might be for the best.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Punchy:
Sounds very trenchant.
Little Boots
need better youtube.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne: I am really sorry. Good thoughts.
@Punchy: What hand do you use to flip off other drivers? Or are you too polite to do that?
Little Boots
liberals do not need to fall apart. we are, surprisingly, winning.
Punchy
@Omnes Omnibus: Why would I be flipping off others? Lolwut?
Little Boots
need music. youtube is fucked right now.
sfinny
Sooner, hope you have a quiet and enjoyable 4th with your seriously cute dog.
Omnes Omnibus
@Punchy: Sorry, I was projecting my own driving neuroses onto others.
Little Boots
oh well,
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
and your anger.
Hill Dweller
The economy still makes me nervous. Manufacturing, which was preventing Republican austerity from sending us back into a recession, is slowing down.
If it doesn’t pick up, every time Obama builds a bit of a lead, the jobs report is going to erase it. I suspect we’ll see that scenario play out in the next couple weeks, after the shitty jobs report is released Friday.
They’re doing a good job defining Willard now, but at some point they’re going to have to explain how state level austerity(almost entirely in Republican states) has hampered growth and helped maintain high unemployment.
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: You don’t know me. Fuck you and anyone who fucking says anything about my fucking anger issues. Okay?
Sorry. Nothing personal. I am okay now.
asiangrrlMN
Aw, adorable puppeh! And, what @Villago Delenda Est: said. Fuck fireworks.
@Omnes Omnibus: Dude. You’re killing me tonight!
Omnes Omnibus
As we enter this most American of holidays (at least in the CST zone), I offer this piece of Americana. And this which is simply brilliant and gorgeous.
Yutsano
PUPPEH!! Bischons FTW!
@asiangrrlMN: Hi hon. I’m having a very weird week. I may mess with my sobriety.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: Heh.
SG, enjoy your day with the dog and headphones. And of course, thanks.
Mayken
@Mnemosyne: Good thoughts to your husband and for the best outcome for his father. Hugs to you!
Omnes Omnibus
@asiangrrlMN: I thought about ending it with “Did I say that out loud?” but I went with the stripped down version.
mai naem
You know Obama would never let Bo wear patriotic ribbons.Oh, hell, no. The last time Bo was pictured after going to the groomers one ear had the Mooslim crescent and the other ear had a hammer and sickle one.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: ::hugs:: If you do, stay safe, hon.
@Mnemosyne: Just saw this. Hugs to you and your G in this difficult time.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Be careful and enjoy. Weird isn’t always bad, but you know that.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: I may or may not involve work Dawg. I haven’t seen him in like forever. Plus he wants to see the scar. :)
@Omnes Omnibus: Hey fuck you too buddy!
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Dude. WTF, man?
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Aaaaaaaah! That kind of weird. Go for it
!@Omnes Omnibus: It was perfect. I give you a ten for your delivery. P.S. I think Yutsy was riffing on your anger bit.
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Heh. I’m just being a snot. You can kick me later.
Mnemosyne
@asiangrrlMN:
Thanks. He was given six months to live two years ago, so we’ve already had far more time than we ever thought, but it’s never easy when the day finally arrives.
Yutsano
@Mnemosyne: Hugz. Just lost my uncle who had been slowly dying for years. It’s never easy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Promises, promises.
Jebediah, The Cornstarch of the Comment Threads
@Omnes Omnibus:
Thanks for that. Not to take anything away from the Alvins but that song is a good example of a cover being better than the original.
Yutsano
And on occasion people don’t suck.
@Omnes Omnibus: Family member dies and no Dawg for two weeks. And now he’s even further and busier. I’m entitled to get weird methinks.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jebediah, The Cornstarch of the Comment Threads: It is Exene’s harmonies that really make the song work when X does it. I like the album version best, but I could not find it on YouTube. Going from “You” to “Fourth of July: is just a fantastic 1-2 musical punch.
NotMax
Full day of shopping on the 4th.
Cooking a dinner for 12 or so this coming Saturday (not at my place, so cook in advance and bring it over to reheat).
Turkey breasts stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and parmesan (though toying with the concept of maybe substituting provolone for the parmesan), big pot of curried eggplant (making that on Wed. night or Thursday, as it tastes better after a couple of days in the fridge), and roasted green beans tossed with sun-dried tomatoes and feta.
All the host has to do is make a cooker full of rice at his house (the eggplant cooks in a tomato base, so it is extra-yummy over rice).
Yutsano
@NotMax:
I highly encourage this behaviour. But I submit provolone and reggiano harmonize famously with each other.
asiangrrlMN
@Mnemosyne: No, it never is. ::more hugs::
@Yutsano: Hugs to you, too, Yutsy. My condolences on your loss.
ETA: Thanks for the link. I needed a boost. Yeah, people sometimes don’t suck.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yutsano: Okay. That justifies weird. But you should understand that a hangnail or lack of hangnail or whatever justifies weirdness in my view. As far as Dawgs go (I recommend stay far from those people as they are all known degenerates – ask any of the other services and they will tell you), separations come with the territory. You have to expect them; it doesn’t make it pleasant….
Yutsano
@Omnes Omnibus: Ask my father. It will be the only way he’ll disown me again. But he was a career Navy man. He knows more about Marines than I do.
My day at work was weird too. I mostly cleaned up after other peoples’ messes. It gets highly annoying.
Jebediah, The Cornstarch of the Comment Threads
@Omnes Omnibus:
I do like hearing those two sing together. I read a review once that referred to their harmonizing as “fractured” or some other denigrating term and thought “well fie and pshaw!” cuz their harmonies make me very happy whether they are technically perfect or not.
JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left
__
__
On Today’s NYT Op-Ed page:
Imagine President Obama seeing that, imagine him thinking, “Yeah, that’s what I need: book recommendations from Ross Fucking Douthat. Asshats.”
.
asiangrrlMN, Wielder of the Rusty Pitchfork™
@JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left: More like, “Ross who?”
Yutsano
@JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left: About as trite and pointless as I expected. What the hell was I thinking reading that dreck?
asiangrrlMN
@JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left: More like, “Ross Douwhat?”
JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left
@Yutsano: I’ve no idea what you were thinking, I didn’t even read it. Just saw the description on the Op-Ed page and thought it provided a rich target for mocking based on the concept alone.
@asiangrrlMN: Hah. I did consider calling him “Ross Douchehat”, but it would have taken people out of the joke, because it doesn’t really seem like Obama’s style of mocking. He’s more dry and sarcastic.
.
Anne Laurie
You’re a good man, Soonergrunt. And your seriously adorable dog agrees that fireworks are overrated.
This afternoon our ex-feral cat Toby made it perfectly clear that making it to her nominal 19th birthday at the end of the month was no longer of interest to her. The other two cats and three dogs are doing their best, but there’s a hole in the household right now.
Anne Laurie
@asiangrrlMN: If Young Fogey Ross’s name isn’t prononunced Doubt-that… it should be.
Yutsano
@JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left: I’m occasionally more open-minded than I should be. And all Scorpios are slightly masochistic. I think it’s in the DSR-IV.
asiangrrlMN
@JGabriel, Statist Minded Ideologue of the Left: Agreed. PBO never would never be that crass, but I would. Fuck Ross Douthat with a rusty pitchfork™ eleven-billionty ways of Sunday.
suzanne
@MikeJ: Another GvB fan! I’ve been a HUGE fan since I was sixteen, and I finally saw them live last year in Brooklyn. Just about died of happiness.
I agree that John Doe opening is bizarre, though. I ran into Exene Cervenka once when I lived in Tucson, and she was just so nice.
asiangrrlMN
@Anne Laurie: I read it as Do-that, but I like Doubt-that much better!
SiubhanDuinne
@Anne Laurie:
I’m so sorry about Toby, Anne Laurie. Yes, it’s amazing what a big hole they leave, no matter how long they’ve been around.
Arclite
@Soonergrunt:
It’s funny, I would have thought soldiers and vets would be like SG: not wanting to go near games like Modern Warfare and Battlefield. But apparently they are very popular among soldiers, which doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like being a baker then going home and playing baking games.
Raven
Dead for an hour and a half. Where’s the overseas folks?
Raven
@Raven: Two hours!
NotMax
Raven, you still around?
Raven
@NotMax: Yea, the bakery doesn’t open til 7!
NotMax
Just wanted to wish you a good trip. Been a bit blustery and rainy on Maui the past few days, but that’s supposed to taper off next week.
geg6
Gotta stuff a zillion deviled eggs this morning before heading to my sister’s for the niece’s graduation party. Gonna be 92F again today, but they have a pool so that’s where I plan to spend the day. With a beer in hand.
Baud
Cute puppy!
Happy I-Day! Any day off work is a good day in my book.
Notmax
Winds due to shift to coming from the east next week, which blows the vog (volcanic smog) over from the Big Island, so if you or spousal unit are allergy-sensitive, bring medication.
PPOG Penguin
Since it’s an open thread: BBC reports discovery in Germany of rare copy of 16th-century Waldseemueller map known as “the birth certificate of America.” Wingnuts gleefully point out that entire continent is wrong shape, challenge authenticity; Orly Taitz demands vault copy, sues in Texas to have America removed from planet.
bemused
I am a bit surprised that people didn’t get into a major hot dog forum in the thread below. Skin on or skinless, beef or other, best/favorite brands and so on. I rarely eat a hot dog because what is offered at picnics are usually don’t look very appealing but will sometimes make an exception for the 4th or other summer festivities. I suppose I must be a hot dog snob.
I better feed the kitties. One is deliberately messing with all the computer cords, then jumping into my chair from behind and playing with my hair. She knows exactly what she is doing and so do I. Smart little brats.
tjmn
@NotMax:
That sounds fantastic and extra yummy. BJ needs to publish a commentator’s cook book.
The Ancient Randonneur
Looks like those socia1ist heathens in Europe found something interesting:
Just more proof that Europeans are nothing but a bunch of elitists! The government funds basic research and look what happens: NAWLIDGE!
Careful with those sparklers tonight. I don’t want anyone from the commentariat getting a boo boo and ending up in front of one of Obama’s death panels.
jeffreyw
Spiral cut dogs? Nonsense! Curly dogs for the win!!
Raven
@NotMax: Whoa, thanks! The wedding is next Thursday so we’ll hope for the best. I also worry about high winds for the extreme fishing trip I have booked.
Raven
@jeffreyw: Dawg you got it goin on.
Steeplejack
Just got back from dropping off bro’ man and his partner at Reagan National for a 10-day trip out west. Came back to their house, where I have been hanging out lately, because I still have no power at the man-cave after the big storm Friday night.
Plus I need to find a new place to live by August 1, and all the storm disruption in NoVa has, uh, disrupted my search (which was not going that well anyway). Going out with a friend later this morning to look at a small apartment complex he really, really likes and which I’m pretty sure is really, really too expensive for me. But I’m hoping it will kick-start the search again.
Shorter: no plans for the holiday.
NotMax
@Raven
Best place to check for the general weather on Maui is on these 2 pages from the same site:
http://www.hawaiiweathertoday.com/maui.php
http://www.hawaiiweathertoday.com/glenns-daily-weather-narrative/
You’ll be staying in Kihei area, IIRC, which is almost always dry and hot.
If there’s anything that might be arranged here to make your stay easier, give a holler.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
I replied to your cancer question in the other thread.
jeffreyw
@Raven: Good luck with the fish! Er… break a leg?
Pat
Not sure if you guys saw this yesterday, but Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder VETOED the Repub legislature’s Voter Suppression bills. Glad to know Snyder has a ounce of sanity in him.
http://patinleftfield.com/gov-snyder-vetoes-voter-suppression-bills
Flying Squirrel Girl
Here in Costa Rica you can buy fireworks directly from the fireworks factory, at low low prices. So that’s what me and my friends did. The truck delivering said fireworks purchase met us on the side of the road where we exchanged money for some of the largest fireworks I have ever seen up close. A couple of these things have fuses that are 3 feet long! So this afternoon it is horseshoes and cooking out on the grill, and after dusk we head down to the beach for the show.
The closest hospital is about an hour away on very shitty roads.Soonergrunt
@Arclite: Well, before I had my fill of real world immersive 3D experience with haptic feedback, I played the shit out of them. Some guys still get something out of them. Different strokes and all that.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Soonergrunt:
We run L4D, L4D2, HL2DM, Garry’s Mod and TF2 dedicated servers. We run bots on our TF2 server (7 per team, one dropped per join) and birthday mode is always on because it’s hilarious seeing a Wyoming license plate or a trike wheel come flying out of your ass when gibbed. The server is set to stay at 14 players (total) until all bots are dropped, then to a max of 18 players. Maps are set to three rounds per with a 35 minute map limit, with the current rotation set to DeGroot (medieval) every other map. Traffic varies but we get people from the Asian/Pacific area, Russia, Australia, Canada, Norway and just about everywhere, even though we are set to west coast.
Our TF2 server is Slackers Slagfest! and though I play it a lot it’s mostly late at night and in the early AM (PST). I used to run the server without bots but the traffic was poor. Adding bots keeps the server fairly busy and that’s why I put it up!
Anyway, Happy Fourth to all and if you are lucky enough to be blowing crap up, watch your fingers! :)
Soonergrunt
This is interesting. Paul Campos of Lawyers, Guns, and Money blog asserts in a recent Salon.com article that Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority of the dissent in NFIB v. Sebelius (the ACA suit.)
Raven
@Steeplejack: Thanks. After they bailed on the birthday dinner the princess took the ice cream cake and flowers over. The patient was in the rack but she and the hubby had a good chat.
Raven
@NotMax: Thanks, I most worried about overplanning what with the big family gathering. What do you know about the Die Hard? Captain Fuzzy appears to be the only native captain and they are pretty clear that his trips are not for lightweights. My other question is about Haleakala, after reading I am leaning toward sunset as opposed to the zoo at sunrise?
jeffreyw
Gah, went out to roast some coffee and my roaster is dead.
Baud
@Soonergrunt:
Someone should do one of those language analysis on the dissent, like the kind they use to figure out whether Shakespeare really wrote his plays.
shortstop
Good morning. I’ve had about 16 minutes of sleep. The rest of the night was spent holding a thoroughly panicky dog. People who set off an arsenal of fireworks in the schoolyard behind my house, I despise you with the intensity of a thousand suns. I’m not so cruel as to hope you blew off fingers, but I admit I’m rooting for powder burns.
THE
Congratulations to CERN on the discovery of the Higgs boson.
Baud
@THE:
It’s exciting, but it’s premature to say they’ve definitively discovered the Higgs.
NotMax
@Raven
All I know about Capt. Fuzzy is second- or third-hand: that he has his own ingrained way of doing things on his boat. Not a negative, mind you.
As far as Haleakala goes, the sunrise is absolutely spectacular. Sunset is gorgeous, but not nearly as feel-the-goosebumps-down-to-your-toes as sunrise. Plus there is the long, winding, moderately white knuckle drive down from the top to be negotiated in the dark if one goes for sunset. Do bring jackets or sweaters and long pants, as it is freaking cold at 10,000 feet at sunrise time.
Crowds can vary at the very summit, of course, (and I use a very, very loose definition of what constitutes a crowd) but there is plenty of space of wander around solo. Also, there are turn-offs and viewing spots just below the summit with views equally as spectacular but with fewer folks hanging out. July is not high tourist season, so not nearly so many camera bugs vying for that perfect shot.
Also, if you’re at all into ambling or hiking, after the sunrise and fortification with a brought-along Thermos of coffee or stimulant of your choice (no non-rest room amenities or vendors), you have as much time as you want after sunrise to explore, including looking at the rare Haleakala silversword, a truly alien-looking plant.
Yes, you do have to drive up the road in the dark (figure 2 hours, minimum, from sea level), but drivers tend to be more careful going up, and it is relatively easy to see a car a ways ahead to gauge where the curves are.
THE
@Baud:
I’d prefer to say, it’s almost certainly the Higgs, but it’s too early to say if it’s the Standard Model Higgs.
shortstop
@THE: Very exciting. I’m putting on TMBG’s “Particle Man” in celebration.
Alex S.
I want this to go viral. It explains why Romney insists that he left Bain Capital in Feb. 1999. After all, doing business with abortion clinics is something the right does not accept.
PeakVT
The Chinese are now creating ghost cities across the planet.
Jay C
Finally made it up to our country retreat in the Scenic Berkshires (TM): all three kittehs have been nothing but playful and affectionate with us: but whether it’s out of happiness or panic, we’re not sure.
Thank goodness our house is in a low-crime neighborhood: the only major glitches we found (after a 3+month hiatus) were that our (badly-concealed) spare key was missing, and the number-sign for the house at the road was gone – either utterly overgrown (I’ll have to buy a machete to check) or stolen?
I suppose I could drive around the area checking other houses with our number….
gogol's wife
A man after my own heart. Sounds similar to what I’ll be doing if you substitute cats for the sweet doggie.
PeakVT
When’s the funeral for supersymmetry?
ArchTeryx
Oh, I don’t know.
On the one hand, you’ve had enough fireworks to last a lifetime – mostly of the Class A kind, and probably way too often aimed at you.
On the other hand, not all fireworks go *boom* or make dogs miserable. I’m a fan of fountains, myself, and the family pooch used to be fascinated by them. (No ‘boom’, no scare). Generally much more of a fan of ‘artsy’ fireworks then things that just make loud noises and scare critters.
Soonergrunt
@Baud: Yeah. They could start at the point where the dissenting opinion becomes snotty and butthurt. Even money it’s Kennedy or Scalia.
gbear
When I think fireworks, I wind up thinking about this fire at a fireworks factory in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
ETA: Soonergrunt, don’t watch this.
Southern Beale
Dumbass winger on Twitter tried to tell me John Kerry’s medals were fake and he included a Snopes link with a hearty “fuck you and fuck John Kerry” but when I clicked on the link it was debunking his lie what an idiot.
They have gone off the deep end for sure, not even trying anymore.
Soonergrunt
@Southern Beale: And that stupid bastard votes.
Southern Beale
@Soonergrunt:
I’m not so sure he can figure out the new-fangled electronic voting machines. But no matter, my vote cancels his out.
Southern Beale
@gbear:
Zoning is BAD! It’s SOCIALIST! I’m sure the free hand of the market will take care of situations like this in NO time!
Bah.
Raven
@NotMax: Great information, thanks so much.
JCT
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks for this — one of my all-time favorite bands growing up in LA. So amazing in concert. I never drove up to Berkeley without playing “Los Angeles” at full blast as I headed up I-5. One of those songs that immediately transports me back 30 years…
I still have their original album on vinyl.