Made it back from the People’s Republic of Madison, and had a very joyous reunion with the three little pigs. Steve was overflowing with happiness to see me, and has been all over me like white on rice since I walked through the door- really digging having a Maine Coon. Time to cook a little dinner, unpack, and get ready for the Stillers v. Giants at 7:30.
I’d write more but Steve is committing felony assault on my hands as I type and sitting on my mouse, so it is kind of tough to post right now.
Also, what Mistermix said.
TaMara (BHF)
Nothing like being missed, is there. Welcome back. Be kind to yourself.
cathyx
Welcome back.
aimai
Sitting on your mouse? Oh Be-Have!
Kristine
It was great to meet you!
Violet
Glad you got home safe, John. Isn’t it great to be missed!
max
Time to cook a little dinner, unpack, and get ready for the Stillers v. Giants at 7:30.
NO CNN!
max
[‘Your mother.’]
gogol's wife
I hope the mistermix thread doesn’t get rehashed. Life is too short.
IowaOldLady
Glad you made it home, John. Sounds like a good evening in store.
SiubhanDuinne
How nice that your Three Little Pigs don’t give you the silent treatment when you return from Elsewhere. Welcome home indeed!
JPL
We expect pictures. I’m sure Steve will understand that some things if life are more important.
srv
Enough on Snowjob, how about something on the Republican-Obama drone lovefest:
Thank you Freedom Jesus some Real Americans want to do something about it:
Perhaps the NRA can find a way into this.
dance around in your bones
Nice to be home with your three munchkins, no?
It’s been a wild week at BJ, hope the Stillers win just for you. I have no dog in that fight (gasp! not a football fan! though I’ll watch with others who explain all the arcane details to me :)
Plus (not to be insensitive) – the beer.
eemom
Because God forbid a single joyous pet-centered post on a Saturday evening should slip through unscathed by trollery.
Yer hilarious, Cole.
BillinGlendaleCA
@eemom: Nope, can’t have that; wouldn’t be prudent.
Steeplejack
Sort of half watching John Singleton’s Four Brothers while waiting for Giants-Steelers to start, and I’m reminded that it’s a pretty tight little B-movie. Much better than the two stars (out of four) the on-screen guide is giving it.
Maybe this is Mark Wahlberg’s niche. Shooter is also a movie with modest goals that succeeds very well.
The Pale Scot
Am I allowed a little smack talk?
Why Your Team Sucks 2013: Pittsburgh Steelers
Go BIG BLUE!
And No damn injuries pleaz.
Baud
I can’t get into preseason in any sport. I don’t even get people who go to spring training.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Foodfight with word salad
It’s almost cute that she still thinks “going rogue” is a thing. And the show she said this on is called, appropriately enough, “Cashin’ In’
JPL
I’m still working on flagstone. Monday there is a person coming to finish up 300 sq. ft. at a reasonable price. He came recommended and from what I researched, he does good work. Unfortunately, he wants cash only, since he pays thirty percent of his income in federal taxes. Of course, I mentioned wow, that is great and I wished I earned more than 250,000 a year. Then he spoke about those who had food stamps, and wore $300.00 sneakers and I said don’t go there, cuz the clothes closet I work for you can get nice items at pennies on the dollar. At that point, I said we are on the same page cuz it really bothers me that Walmart employees in our state are the biggest users of the Chip program and food stamps. It’s like shopping their and adding to the Waltons pocket. At this point, I’m not sure that I want him to show up. Did you know that food stamp folk drive BMW’s … ugh
Amir Khalid
@srv:
Tsk, tsk. Have these people not heard of surveillance satellites?
Also too, does the drone licence apply to any kid’s RC model plane/helicopter?
Litlebritdifrnt
@JPL: @JPL:
I really do not know why the Wal Mart thing does not get more coverage. There was a study about a month ago that said that Wal Mart costs the state (or Fed Govt) $900,000 per store a year due to food stamps, medicaid etc. The Waltons are sucking money out of the government coffers at a surprising rate and pocketing it.
Baud
@JPL:
I’ve dealt with that, wingnuts who do good work. It’s irritating.
eemom
Why is it football already? Not even Labor Day.
/uneasy recollection of something called “preseason”
BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: I’m sure Google Earth would cause great outrage with these folk.
SiubhanDuinne
@eemom:
I KNOW, right?? And some of the kidz are already back in school!!
It’s just wrong.
JPL
@Litlebritdifrnt: @Baud: Truth be know, if he as good as the recommendations, I’d have him lay sod and build my pergola but not with cash. I’d rather do those things myself. I have a tree guy that I pay more because he has a staff and the lowest paid person earns ten dollars a hour. Unfortunately, I’m sorta desperate to get the flagstone done. Maybe I’ll write a comment on Craigslist and mention how nice it is but have cash because he doesn’t like checks. Of course, he might not show up after what I said. haha
Steeplejack
@Baud:
There’s absolutely nothing else on that I want to watch—i.e., have on in the background—until (maybe) the Larry David movie Clear History at 9:00 on HBO. As an elderly white shut-in I am required to have my TV on all the time, but I won’t watch Fox News, PBS doo-wop reunions or Murder, She Wrote.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: My neighbor goes back to school on Monday. Grandparents and special friends day is the last week in August so he already asked me. He is in second grade and told me that when I’m ready, he’ll help me train a new pup.
PurpleGirl
@JPL:
Did you know that food stamp folk drive BMW’s …
While I think you meant this as snark, yes, it is possible for someone driving a BMW to get food stamps. Food stamps not only go by income but also assets. It is possible, although a long shot, that the person driving the BMW bought it when they were working and making a very good salary but now they’ve lost that job, have spent down their savings, and now has very little in terms of assets. And they can get food stamps.
Oh, and welcome home John. Enjoy the Steelers games, enjoy the piglets and pictures or videos of Steve using the cat tree.
Yatsuno
@JPL: Make a 1099 and send it to him, especially if it’s over $400. Then report it to Social Security. A lot of these guys think they get away with cash only because most homeowners don’t know how to do this. Fortunately there are instructions on the IRS website.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Steeplejack: Well, CSPAN BookTV is offering an “In Depth” interview with Ben Carson, and highlight’s of last week’s Eagle Forum (as in Phyllis Schlafly) that they covered last weekend.
Litlebritdifrnt
@PurpleGirl:
I do not think any of these people have watched “Top Gear” recently where the guys prove show after show that you can buy some very nice used cars for little to nothing. Of course keeping them running could be a problem but there is no reason whatsoever that someone who qualified for food stamps couldn’t be driving a BMW.
JPL
@Yatsuno: How do I do this? It’s right at $400.00 but he might bring a helper.
PurpleGirl
@Steeplejack: Do you have cable? Do you get MeTV? Star Trek is shown at 9 PM on Saturdays and tonight it’s Space Seed…. KHAN! (Okay, Kirk doesn’t say that in this show, but it the original Khan story.)
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: Oh, that is sweet.
Steeplejack
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Thanks, I appreciate it. Really.
Actually, I may go back to Four Brothers on TNT, even though it is riddled with commercials. Will take a while for the DVR to spool up a protective buffer.
PurpleGirl
@Litlebritdifrnt: Yup, from the outside we don’t know and can’t know the whole story.
geg6
Got the Stillers on my idiot box, potatoes baking and an organic local chicken (with garlic, EVOO, lemon and lime slices under the skin, fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs from my deck herb garden on top) on the grill and some zucchini from our garden sliced and just about ready to join them. The best kind of summer dinner: fresh from our gardens, few to no dirty pans, light on the fat and calories and full of flavor. A nice bottle of chilled Reisling and a banana cream pie top it all off. Yummy! Tomorrow, it’s swordfish!
And Cole, I wish you all the best with your goal of sobriety. I’m just glad you came to your realization on your own. Hope you don’t become one of those judgmental recovering alcoholics though. You’ll have to pry my wine from my cold dead hands. Food, for me, would never be the same without it. And my real addiction is the food. ;-)
Roger Moore
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Shorter Governor Salad Shooter:
Don’t talk about him! Talk about meeeeee!
I am not a kook
So now both mistermix and Cole are pushing a black and white you’re either with us or against us narrative. Paint all the people going “hold on a minute, let’s be sure we know what we’re talking about” as “dead-enders” and “minimizers”. Keep pushing those emo buttons and sponsor the trolls. I’m checking into my timeshare at Galt’s Gulch for a couple of months or else I’ll start velvet painting kardashians, whatever they are. Good luck, stay safe and healthy everybody. Sorry for the GBCW, as I’ve never done one before, although kos did remove my account by my private request once. Don’t turn into a cult meanwhile. I watched it happen at FDL backintheday.
Also too, I really need to stop wasting my time here and get some real paying work done. Same difference. Ciao.
Steeplejack
@PurpleGirl:
I do get MeTV, which I mine for my Perry Mason fix and a few other things. I know this is heresy, but I’m not a big fan of the original Star Trek. But maybe an exception is in order for this iconic episode. Thanks for the tip.
(And it goes without saying that I have 300 hours of stuff on the DVR that I could watch, but that’s not the same as watching something “live.”)
Roger Moore
@JPL:
Clarified that for you.
Johnny Coelacanth
“Also, what Mistermix said.” Uh huh. Also, what Dick Cheney said.
Roger Moore
@BillinGlendaleCA:
No, that’s fine because it’s a private company, not the evil jackbooted thugs from the government. I always suspect it’s the DEA who these guys are really afraid of.
Violet
The antibiotics are still messing with me from a neurochemical standpoint. Thanks to everyone who mentioned the gut-serotonin relationship. I’m quite sure that’s what’s going on, but it’s challenging to live with. I can go from perfectly fine to a dark, dark place in about ten seconds. I think one negative thought and it can spiral.
It’s kind of interesting to live with. Challenging, for sure. Fortunately, I’m aware it’s medication-induced and I know it’s got a time limit (one more week), so it’s a little easier to manage because of that. Everyone around me has been made aware of what’s going on, so I’ve got support and understanding if I have a meltdown, which happened earlier today, but then I recovered and went to the gym.
Thanks again for the support and ideas as to what’s going on when I posted the other night.
Yatsuno
@JPL: This is a good instruction sheet. The form is available from the IRS website. It says $600 but you can do a 1099 for any amount. And make sure the state gets a copy too.
cathyx
I’m with those who think preseason is a waste of time to watch. It’s meaningless. It doesn’t show how good or bad any team is and it counts for nothing.
Roger Moore
@Yatsuno:
Win! Just watch out to make sure some mysterious person doesn’t vandalize your just completed work if you do so.
Yatsuno
@Violet: :: hug :: Hopefully this will take care of the issue. And make sure your doctor knows for the future as well.
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: I read your comment about your cousin when it was to late to comment. I’m so sorry and want to tell you, that I hope the rest of your relatives in Atlanta, live for a long, long time. Although we don’t see each other often, the idea that you might move elsewhere, is sad to me.
Steeplejack
@Yatsuno:
Don’t you need the guy’s SSN or business ID number? Could be a problem if this guy’s on the down low.
furlyfly
Haha…impossible to take ball juice people like Cole and mistermix seriously when then actually seem to buy into Greenwalds attention whoring hyperbole. Lol….idiots.
shelly
Trying to remember what movies I saw lined up tonight. ‘The Bad And The Beautiful’ on TCM
. And ‘Goodfellas’ somewhere. Encore?
The ‘Breaking Bad’ marathon was over yesterday. Dang.
AdamK
Hand the motherfucker a check and tell him to pay his damn share.
Violet
@Yatsuno: Thanks. I haven’t told the doctor yet. It took me awhile to figure it out and the doctor is a specialist with somewhat condensed office hours and is difficult to get in touch with. Plus, this is something I went looking to get tested for and requested the antibiotics myself, so I figure it’s my fault or issue to a certain extent. I’m hoping I don’t have to take them again.
lojasmo
@PurpleGirl:
There are also e30 BMW examples to be had for low four figures, and there are LOTS of used BMW vehicles for under $10K.
It’s just a brand, it doesn’t really mean much.
JPL
@Roger Moore: Since my son tells me that if I date at my age, there is a chance that he will arrive at my house and find me chopped into pieces, you might be right. BTW..I’m not at medicare age yet. Most likely what will happen is if he shows up, I pay him and he loses out on the sod and pergola.
No nim for this post
Since I started legally (state only) growing my own medicine a couple of years ago to relieve my effed up body, I had to adjust my well developed wariness of anything mj related.
I had a friend go to prison for 5 years in the 80’s for doing the same thing I’m doing (except smaller,legal sized scale on my part).
It was an adjustment for me to go to a store and buy lights, fertilizers and especially clones and cuttings in the open.The change in attitude from everyone is refreshing, from doctors to family members.
I have also spent a lot of time online learning how to do it, my only resource to learn how to it. It was very cool and freeing to be able to do it.
Now, I wonder if this overreaching surveillance and storage is going to come back to haunt people like me if winds change.
How much withdrawal from the online community for subjects like MMJ is going to happen?
gene108
@JPL:
What year? What condition?
I mean an old broken down poorly maintained Beamer could be within reach of the poor.
JPL
How do these folks know who is using food stamps? Is it a neon card so it sparkles that those behind can tell?
I’m serious, I thought it was debit card and if you can recognize it, you are to darn close.
gene108
@JPL:
I know someone, who went to work for the IRS.
One thing she pointed out to me is a lot of the folks, who get audited are Schedule C filers (sole proprietors), because they try to get as much in cash as possible and show as little income as possible.
The IRS looks to see if they are living beyond their reported income. If you’re showing 30k in gross income, but live in a neighborhood where owning a home on 30k is almost impossible the IRS can decide to audit you based on that.
EDIT: Because of the federal mortgage interest deduction the IRS can tell, who owns versus who rents.
RandomMonster
Also, what Mistermix said.
Tribalist.
Yatsuno
@Steeplejack: I highly doubt he has an EIN if he’s demanding cash only. And she can certainly demand his SSN before he starts work since this also has consequences for her. It’s even better if you tell them why you want it, the bluster gets amazing.
My mom writes 1099s for the ranch all the time. And fortunately they’re rather simple to compose.
@gene108: Mortgage interest. Sends up a big red flag all the time for me. No one ever thinks their bank will end up selling them out to the IRS.
Violet
This is interesting. It’s from something called the Carville-Greenberg Memo (James Carville and Stan Greenberg):
There are various bullet points including:
Interesting.
gene108
@Yatsuno:
Depending on the state there maybe sales/use tax implications, i.e. he should be charging you sales tax but probably won’t because it’s a cash payment.
Singing Truth to Power
John, glad you came to Madison, glad you are home safe. Be good to yourself. Here’s a sampling of what you missed here:
Woman arrested for tapping her foot at Capitol. Really. http://protectwisconsin.tumblr.com/post/57731962780/a-woman-is-arrested-for-tapping-her-foot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hKADZPzbguY
Wisconsin may be sane again someday.
Steeplejack
@Yatsuno:
Does your mom get a lot of pushback and/or gunplay from contractors who are “taxed enough already”?
Anton Sirius
@Steeplejack:
Nah, he can and has soared higher. Wahlberg doesn’t have a huge range, but anyone whose career includes both Boogie Nights and The Other Guys is alright in my book.
JPL
@Yatsuno: If he shows up, it sounds like I’m not liable unless it is more than $600.00..
SIA
@Violet: I saw that poll yesterday. Hope it’s a definite trend and the older-than-me olds are starting to catch on. They’re a big part of the reason the pubs have managed to keep getting elected.
Yatsuno
@Steeplejack: She’s pretty conservative herself, but she also tells them play by the rules or there’s the door. And she’s not afraid of contractor shopping if it comes to that. Her farrier is pretty honest though, and she hasn’t needed to hire a trainer in awhile.
@JPL: It might actually be more an issue with the state than the feds for you. It’s still a smart idea to cover your butt though. And since he’s required to file a return if he gets $400 or more, you can just say you’re doing him a favour come next filing season.
Roger Moore
@Violet:
If the GOP loses seniors, they’re completely finished. Are there any groups other than the extremely wealthy and the Klan that the Republicans aren’t pissing off?
kideni
Welcome home, John. It was delightful to finally meet you, and thank you for getting all of us together. I’m glad you got to hang out with the Vets for Peace – I know several from the local chapter, and they are such a great group of people doing really important work.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@JPL: Unfortunately, he wants cash only, since he pays thirty percent of his income in federal taxes.
This made curious, so I googled average effective tax rate, this article says it’s 11%, and 25% for incomes over $1 million. And this gem is why I love America
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: Oh, thank you, both for your sympathy and for your nice comment about my staying in Atlanta. I have absolutely no plans to move elsewhere right now, and am just about to sign a new lease, so it’ll be at least another, what, 14-15 months at minimum. With just the two women left, I’m not sure what’s going to happen — Ed’s widow is in her 80s and while her general health is good, I can’t help thinking that having her son and now her husband die in a nine-month period has to be devastating for anyone, let alone an octogenarian. The daughter is nearly 60 and has a number of health issues. Whichever one of them goes first, it is going to be awful for the one left behind. I’m only a third cousin once removed but I’ve become very close to the family and care about what happens to them. But anyhow, no plans to move away any time soon (for me).
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
That’s dumb on multiple levels.
PurpleGirl
@Yatsuno: Back in the 1980s I had an accountant tell me that using the Schedule C was a red flag to the IRS. But he said if you keep your deductions in line with what you say you’re making in income, it won’t be a problem. So instead of claiming the whole Con Ed bill and the whole phone bill, we broke it down to a third of a third of the bills. (Three room apartment, typing work done in part of one room, phone shared with personal use… a ninth seemed to work.)
lamh36
hey John Cole if ur still here, didn’t you like that show Unforgettable with Poppy Montgomery? Well it’s back on CBS right now on Sundays I believe with new episodes. So far there have been 2 episodes
Belafon
Luckily, John brought up MM’s article, which I didn’t get to participate in, but I’m going to for this:
What’s the point of elections if I can’t believe that it’s better to have Obama in the White House, and in charge of things like the NSA, than any Republican, and especially Cheney (any of them)? I also happen to believe that there are some people I would trust to watch my kids, and some people I don’t let in my house around them, like the Cheneys.
Ripley
Good lord, what are the odds?
planetjanet
In Pittsburgh for a rugby tournament, my present challenge is figuring out how to eat a Primanti Brothers pastrami sandwich.
Steeplejack
@lamh36:
The one new episode I saw seemed worse to me. (It was the one where she went undercover on the heist and the bad dude threw away her tracer.) I watched some episodes last season and wasn’t really taken by the show, but I thought it had potential. This new episode just seemed kind of lame. Didn’t even make that much use of her “superpower.”
What I have been watching is reruns of Person of Interest. I know you’re with me on that. Can’t wait for the new season to start. They’ve got some good subplots percolating: Fusco’s problems with H.R., the crazy Root chick, the semi-crazy assassin (good casting of that woman from the lame lawyer/arbitration show), the political fixer (Zoe), etc.
And I think Elementary improved rapidly, even though I initially hated the ripoff premise, and I’m looking forward to that.
Suzanne
Oh, God. Football. And like THAT, this blog becomes dramatically less fun for four months of the year.
I need to buy some new running shoes. My Nikes are old and I’ve had a second baby since buying them, so they are too snug. Once I run for about a mile, my toes start falling asleep. Any recommendations? I need moderate arch support and lots of shock absorption at the heel.
Violet
@Suzanne: My recommendation is to go to a good running store and get fitted. Bring in your old ones so they can see how you run, but that may be different now since it’s been awhile and you’ve had a baby. Nothing substitutes for experienced sales people fitting the shoes to your feet.
Hal
@Belafon: I understand the NSA issues and criticisms/concerns people have but to me Obama is still light years better than W/Cheney or any other Republican.
Jennifer
@JPL: As close as I can figure it, some .045% of every dollar spent at Wal Mart ends up in the pocket of a Walton heir. Doesn’t sound like all that much, but when you consider that it’s probably not unusual in many money-strapped households that everything that gets purchased gets purchased at Wal Mart (food, clothing, household items, eyeglasses, you name it), there are a shitload of families out there that are spending $10K per year or more at their local Shitshow Mart. And each of them are depositing $500 per year into the Walton’s pockets. Maybe if people were asked if they really thought the Waltons need 2 or 3% or whatever of their annual income, plus some additional amount paid in taxes to support their employees, it might hit home a bit harder.
burnspbesq
@John Cole:
Well, then, fuck you too. You two ignorant asses deserve each other.
Redshirt
@Suzanne: 1. Get properly fitted. Could you have wide feet? 2. While padding is great, don’t run on your heels. Concentrate on running on the balls of your feet as much as you can. It will be much harder at first, but quite quickly your body will thank you.
Steeplejack
@Jennifer:
Five hundred dollars is 5% of $10,000, so did you mean $5, which would be closer to 0.045%, or did you mean for your 0.045% to be 4.5%?
Interesting stat, either way; just want to make sure I get it right.
raven
@JPL: It’s pretty easy, the Georgia card has a big ass peach on it. I have to say it is not easy to force myself not to wonder. I KNOW you don’t know anything about how or why folks have them but the food stamps and newer cars are hard not to notice.
Jennifer
AN EDIT FUNCTION would be nice!
Sorry for the math error; apparently I was using McMegan’s calculator.
The proper numbers are: Wal Mart’s profit margin is about 3.5% & annual profits are around $16 billion. Over 2 billion of that, or 1/8th, or some 12.5% of profit, goes to the Waltons. So instead it’s $350 out of every $10,000 spent goes to profit; of that amount, the Waltons get around $42.
Not nearly as impressive as the $500 number, but I’ll be damned if I’d give it to them.
raven
They got the fucker:
CASCADE, Idaho — The man suspected of abducting 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and killing her mother and brother has been killed in Idaho and the teen has been found safe, San Diego Sheriff William D. Gore said Saturday.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
What Violet said. Find a good running store or triathlon shop and get fitted for shoes. There is some science to it but a lot fitting is knowledge learned by experience of the fitter. As a retired triathlon shop owner who has fit bicycles, wetsuits, bike and running shoes I will say that proper fitting works far better than friends recommendations. Unless that friend is a fitter or running coach.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Jennifer:
Exactly, why do people think that the taxpayers have to deposit money into the Walmart heirs personal bank accounts every year in the form of food stamps and medicaid? Can anyone explain that to me?
Redshirt
@Ruckus: I ran (run) a ton and had pretty continual foot issues, almost always on my left foot. I “lost” my left second toenail for a decade, for example (ingrown). Then one day, decades after I started running, I finally got properly sized and the guy’s like “wow, your feet are pretty wide”. All that time I was buying regular shoes, but getting them an extra size bigger, average width. I felt like such an idiot.
Coda: I got my left second toenail back. Yay!
Steeplejack
@raven:
A quite plausible scenario to allay your fears:
Your family is bumping along paycheck to paycheck. No real savings, but you’re making rent/mortgage, household expenses and the car payment. And you need a reliable car to get to your job.
Then you get fired. Very soon money is very tight, and you need to go on food stamps. Somebody says maybe you should sell the car, because you can’t afford it, but maybe you wouldn’t net very much after the note is paid, and then you’re still faced with the prospect of trying to buy a cheaper/crappier car. So maybe you keep the newer car that pisses people off and try to keep up with the note while you look for work and live the high life on the incredibly generous food stamp benefits. QED.
ETA: And who the fuck is following people to the parking lot to match food stamps with type of car driven?
raven
@Ruckus: Lot of that stuff seems to change over time, no? I had to go strictly to swimming 15 years ago but I found a Sacouny that worked and I stuck with it.
Ruckus
John Cole
The holder of all that is true and legal, Burnsy, has spoken. All hail the authoritarian lawyer. The only one with all the answers about every law ever written. Maybe the only one with total and absolute patronage to government truth and lawfulness.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven: Good.
raven
@Steeplejack: They are not fears. Unlike the purists I have a brain that wonders sometimes. I don’t really give a fuck when the robber barons are stealing left and right but I’m not going to kill myself for noticing.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: I should have started with the girl being ok.
Southern Beale
So this story was pretty fucking hilarious.
Redshirt
@raven: Exactly. Wondering is one thing. Passing judgement without knowing the full story is something else. Voting Republican is something else entirely, far worse. Though the two often go hand in hand.
Ruckus
@Redshirt:
My favorite story about fitting someone.
Fellow came in to see about a bike fit. Set him up and started warming him up. An obvious problem was his seat was way too low. I raised it about an inch which is a lot. Better. As we went through the fitting I kept raising the seat for a total of about 2 inches, which is huge. When we got done with the other small adjustments he told me his knee was no longer getting hot. What? He had a knee replacement and was overloading the bearing surface, with an OEM knee, blood flow cools it but not so much a replacement knee. His knee had been getting so hot it he said it felt like it was on fire.
Sports equipment needs to be fit to the individual for them to get the best out of the equipment.
raven
@Redshirt: My bride works in the WIC program so I hear the horror stories of the nasty fucking people that work IN the program and how they denigrate the clients.
raven
@Ruckus: I was watching this home improvement show this morning and they were talking about toilets that are “elevated”. If we ever get to build our addition I’m going for one of them!
raven
@Ruckus: I was watching this home improvement show this morning and they were talking about toilets that are “elevated”. If we ever get to build our addition I’m going for one of them!
Ruckus
@raven:
Yes.
Shoe models can change as much as every six months. As well as the person can change due to injuries or just aging. Some new things are much better, some are just changes for the person looking for the latest, greatest. A good shop will tell you that and show you why you should or don’t need to purchase new. But please understand that people are in business to make money and if they don’t they won’t be there next time you need them.
raven
@Ruckus: One of my best friends is in the business and I know what a struggle it is even in a running community like Knoxville. When I ran I went to Phidippides, Jeff Galloway’s place in Atlanta. Now it don’t matter.
http://www.phidippides.com/
Litlebritdifrnt
The Cicadas are hatching around here, the cats brought in a newly hatched one earlier today (poor things wings weren’t even fully formed, took it outside and let it breath) this evening they have brought in two fully hatched ones that I have rescued and taken outside. It is going to be a long season.
SIA
@Steeplejack: I seem to remember you like Brit mysteries. I’ve been watching a bunch of Poirot and Miss Marple movies on youtube that you can’t get in Amazon or Netflix. One that was quite good was The Blue Geranium.
And you’re NOT an elderly white shut-in!
Redshirt
@Ruckus: That must be a hard business to keep open. How can you compete against mega-sports stores or even just Wal-Mart?
I wear shoes forever, so I’m a bad customer.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
If/when it might be scheduled, catch the The City on the Edge of Forever episode of TOS.
Don’t get MeTV, so don’t know if they chop bits out or time-shift any of their shows to cram in ads and such.
Ruckus
@raven:
I used to know some other people in Atlanta that did proper fitting but even when you find a shop you have to find one that works for you.
My experience is that if it works for you, you will know very quickly and most likely the fitter will know before you do. I had a unbelievable running shoe fitter whose store didn’t sell the shoe I needed. And that’s exactly what he told me. I referred many of my customers to him when I didn’t carry the shoes they needed. It’s a wonderful experience to have a customer come back because you helped them instead of yourself to their wallet.
Yatsuno
@Southern Beale: Apparently your version of FYWP decided I was okay again but only after I completely disabled NoScript there.
cckids
@Steeplejack:
This. I call bullshit. Of course, you could take any of the scenarios described above as to why a person on food stamps might have a BMW. The truth probably is, like the “welfare queens & Cadillacs”, someone made it up to be a hatemongering asshat.
You know, a Republican.
At least once a week, Adlai Stevenson’s quote about Repubs runs through my head: “Not all Republicans are stupid, but most stupid people are Republicans”. You could add “hateful assholes” to the stupid part & it would still be true.
Mike D.
JC,
If you’re lookin’ for something to write about in the next few days, I’d be interested in your thoughts about the topic of this post, and maybe about the discussion in comments, and the experience versus affordability of flying these days.
raven
@Ruckus: Cool.
Keith G
Listening to Keith Richard’s Life. I love this book.
raven
Supposed to be clear after 2am, maybe I can get a picture of a meteor!
kc
Jesus, no kidding. Breathing down their necks to see how they pay, then following then to the parking lot … people need to get a fucking life.
Ruckus
@Redshirt:
There are two answers here.
1. I didn’t but I refuse to blame myself(idiot) for the economy being tanked just after I opened my store.
2. Service. Most of the big stores either sell crap or have no service. Or both. What they do – We have the shoes you see out front, tell us what you like and your size and we will see if we have that. Or, these are all the shoes we have. And that’s it.
The real problem is two fold. Many people don’t have enough money for the cost of personal service. And many people have no idea of what personal, professional service is.
NotMax
@SIA
Cute anecdote about Margaret Rutherford playing Miss Marple.
Story goes that as she was considered elderly at the time she was doing the first movie, the insurance rates for the production increased much more than anticipated and the producers needed to cut something from the budget to compensate.
Rutherford suggested they forgo any costuming budget for Miss Marple; she would just bring in outfits from home, as she already owned plenty of age-appropriate attire.
Supposedly that regimen continued throughout the years of all the other Miss Marple films she did afterwards.
raven
@kc: Fuck both of you. I go to a tiny goddam neighborhood grocery, buy my shit and walk out the motherfucking door.
Steeplejack
@SIA:
Thanks for the tip! Who’s the detective? From the title I presume Poirot. . . . Which would be wrong. I just looked on IMDB.
I am ambivalent about Miss Marple. I love the Joan Hickson episodes—she really captures the unflinching wisdom that is at the heart of the character—but the other two (I think there were two) are lightweights, especially the most recent one. Too cute, too perky and too “cozy mystery,” a subgenre that I don’t really like.
And I like Poirot. I can watch those for the jazzy Art Deco settings, if nothing else. Sometimes the plots are complete bullshit, but they are sturdy period pieces with good acting and fairly amazing production values (for the somewhat limited budget).
I wish somebody—anybody!—on Balloon Juice would catch on to Montalbano or some of the other European series shown on MHz (and available on DVD). Some really good stuff there.
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
Jesus Christ, I’ve seen all the original Star Trek episodes. I just don’t think it’s the be-all and end-all of science fiction TV or some gigantic cultural monolith of huge significance (except insofar as trekkers—trekkies?—perpetuate that).
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
You like detective movies? How about the A&E Nero Wolf stories on DVD from netflix staring Tim Hutton as Archie?
I like the books and thought the movies were pretty well written.
raven
Look at this enormous fucking parking lot, you can see how you would have to FOLLOW someone. Assholes.
raven
Look at this enormous fucking parking lot, you can see how you would have to FOLLOW someone. Assholes.
kc
@raven:
I didn’t mean you specifically, unless you are one of those people.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Have mentioned it previously, but here’s a short preview trailer for Wild Boys.
Full episodes (13 of them) are available at a variety of places online, including, it looks like, YouTube.
Must be watched in sequence for fullest enjoyment.
Steeplejack
@raven:
And apparently notice what cars the food-stamp people are driving. At least that’s what you said. Sorry you got called on your bullshit. Xin loi, mofo. (Did I get that right?)
And if your wife works in the WIC program you should be even more embarrassed.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Certainly no slight intended; didn’t mean to suggest that TOS was new to you, just that perhaps a memory jog of a top episode’s title might be helpful.
Steeplejack
@Ruckus:
I thought those were pretty well done. And I was a big fan of the books. They started out pretty pulpy in the ’30s, but they got better and more complex as time went on. One of the last ones, in the ’70s (A Family Affair?), was a fairly complex meditation on Watergate and related issues and revealed one of the long-running series characters to be a traitor.
raven
@Steeplejack: Yea shithead, that’s what I said “THE FOODSTAMP PEOPLE”. I got your xin loi right here fucker.
SIA
@NotMax: I loved Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple, even though she definitely didn’t match Christie’s description of her. That’s a great story I hadn’t heard before! I wonder if that fabulous cape was her own?
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
Didn’t mean to foam at the mouth, but I said I’m not a big fan. And I admitted that is heresy. What more can I say?
I was a rabid reader of science fiction from about the age of eight or ten. I was in high school, but living overseas, when Star Trek first came on, so I didn’t see it until a bit later. I was just underwhelmed, and I didn’t particularly go for the idea that “OMG, it’s a miracle that it even got on TV at all!” Like that was supposed to excuse the cheesy acting and plywood sets and, all too often, the dumb-ass writing. Despite episodes (like the one you cited) that occasionally rose to the level that Twilight Zone hit much more frequently.
SIA
@Steeplejack: Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. Joan Hickson was good, very good, but over time I’ve come to see her as a little too cold/harsh for the character, and the cutesy one (can’t think of her name) as too hammy, and Mckenzie as too stolid and placid. Hickson was definitely the best, but after viewing the newer ones again I can appreciate them too. But then I like “cozy mysteries”. :).
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@SIA: I liked the reboot of Miss Marple they did a few years back, giving her a backstory of a lover-fiancee killed in WWI, but I didn’t like the later actress they brought in.
SIA
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I looked her up. Geraldine McEwan. I just re-watched Murder at the Vicarage which is the one i think you’re talking about. After seeing all of them I think McEwan is the better of the two new Miss Marples, though the writers badly shredded the story lines in several of her roles, like Ordeal by Innocence and The Sittaford Murder. Still, they’re fun!
Librarian
I wouldn’t put it past James O’Keefe or one of his imitators.
Steeplejack
@SIA:
Yeah, McKenzie is the “cute” one. I’ll watch them when they’re on, but I seethe a bit in the background. Last one I saw was either The Mirror Crack’d or Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (which was particularly stupid, which probably affected my impression of her). And she doesn’t look old enough to be Miss Marple! She’s like a frumpy forty-something.
But I’ll keep an eye peeled for The Blue Gardenia. Hope springs eternal, etc.
dww44
@JPL: If someone hasn’t already answered this, the link for the IRS and the 1099 Misc form with instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf
Note, a copy of the form can be printed but the copied form cannot be filed. You’ve got to call and request the form or go pick one up at your local IRS office, if you’ve one. Annually, as treasurer of an arts non-profit, I file 1099 Misc for our teachers who are “self-employed contractors”. Of course, your contractor has to be willing to supply his Social.
Suzanne
I’ll definitely go get professionally fitted. FEH. I was hoping to buy online, as I hate shopping.
People seem to swear by the Mizunos, but they are kind of expensive…..
Manyakitty
@shelly: I’m pretty sure there’s another Breaking Bad marathon today starting at 12:30 eastern.
Mary Brown
Feliney assault