Comrade Mary: if you see a slightly befuddled but adorable Vietnamese guy with a shaved head walking around town, please give him a hug. That’s my friend Vu and he’s up visiting. He’s the guy for whom I asked you regarding stuffs to do, though he seems to have occupied himself well.
Light pollution and the Perseids. Light pollution is not the most critical pollution issue by any measure, but it’s still something we should address, IMHO.
None whatsoever, other than that I think it will be great. I don’t try to guess what will happen because I’d be wrong 100% percent of the time.
8.
Betty Cracker
@PeakVT: I found last night’s display underwhelming. Saw a few streaks, but nothing like the spectacular views I’ve had in the past, and I’m in a small town. Of course, that could be due to factors other than light pollution, like the suffocating humidity.
9.
smintheus
Reagan’s protege William P. Clark died. He’s a reminder of the days of yore when Republicans stood for the proposition that if the President did something, that made it legal.
Clark was heavily involved in lobbying Reagan for pardons for Iran-Contra crooks North, Poindexter, and McFarlane. His private letter to Reagan was published by the WaPo; he argued iirc that the bums were just doing what the Prez ordered, and so they couldn’t be legitimately punished. He also was chiefly responsible for orchestrating the extensive lobbying campaign under Bush to pardon Clark’s buddy Cap Weinberger.
Oddly enough, his obits and the gushing tributes to his integrity among the usual right-wing suspects don’t even mention how “The Judge” worked to undermine the rule of law in this country. Lopez at The Corner is particularly atrocious.
@PeakVT:
One important point about light pollution is that it’s inefficient. Light that goes up into the sky is not illuminating its intended target, with the possible exception of those obnoxious people shining spotlights in the air for advertising who shouldn’t be allowed to do so in the first place. Better lighting design will let you get the light where you need it without lighting up stuff that you don’t want. We’ve apparently done something similar with radio already. Concentrating the radio on things we want it to go to- broadcasting to the ground rather than the sky- has massively reduced the amount we’re sending out into the cosmos, even as we’ve been using it more and more.
16.
Betty Cracker
@smintheus: That would make sense — the tarantula guy (Todd) is obviously a psycho, and it would be poetic justice for Walt to be done in by him since he kept him around after…the horrible thing he did [trying to avoid spoilers for those who are catching up]. Plus “Tod” = “death” in German, right?
17.
chopper
is this an open thread for dead-enders or is it for everyone?
18.
PeakVT
@Roger Moore: Yep. The IDA has a nice pamphlet that explains angles and efficiency and the like here. (PDF)
19.
smintheus
@Betty Cracker: Yes. I hadn’t even thought of the pun Todd/Tod. Another reason for suspecting this is that Walt is nothing if not hybristic. He ought to know that Todd is a whack job, but instead of either getting rid of him or keeping a close watch on him, he’s treating him as a mere pawn and being lulled by Todd’s self-effacing demeanor and grandious professions of integrity and loyalty.
20.
Mnemosyne
Back from our trip to visit family in Chicago. The memorial and surrounding events went smoothly and everyone was very complimentary, but we’re still waiting for my older brother to explain WTF is going on inside his head that he’s decided he has no responsibility towards taking care of our mom.
Waiting for my Fitbit Flex to finish charging so I can go to the grocery store and stock up for this week’s menus.
21.
Betty Cracker
@smintheus: Here’s my counter-intuitive prediction: Lydia ends up being the drug lord after Walt’s demise.
@Mnemosyne:
I didn’t give up my responsibility for my mom but after all the fights with my sister over mostly stupid shit that she believes I just could not go through it again after my dad, where I would end up having to make all the decisions anyway after all the aggravation. So I stepped back, even though everything was in my name. I signed all the papers as necessary but was involved as minimally as possible. All three of us were less stressed and the outcome was the same.
ETA The control freaks won again.
24.
Suffern ACE
Reading Salon’s Sara Scriber’s essay on the problems that Gen Xers have with not having midlife crises. Laughing at my generations thought leaders as usual. Oh noes! We skipped adulthood so now we can’t have an identity crises!
He claims he has an explanation that he’s TOTALLY going to give us. Soon. No, really.
I suspect that it’s that he wants to retire early and use his portion of the inheritance towards that, but you know what? He fucking has responsibilities that he can’t duck that easily.
I would go ahead and let him fuck things up except that I’m the alternate executor, so my fear is that he’s going to destroy the relationship with my mom and stepbrother, drag everything to court, lose, and then resign as executor so he can turn the whole bag of shit over to me to try and solve after he fucked everything up. For obvious reasons, I would like to avoid this probable outcome of his current actions.
26.
Ted & Hellen
Why do people bring their personal/family/friend issues into discussion threads on a political blog like this?
Do they have no one IRL that wants to talk to them?
Can they not exchange direct emails or chat with other commenters who wish to engage on these issues in a private online venue?
Do they not think it odd to discuss highly personal matters and take advice from people whom they know nothing about IRL?
What emotional needs are they meeting by ejaculating their private issues online in an inappropriate setting?
I’m having a discussion with my online friends, at least one of whom I’ve met IRL. Do you walk up to the tables of people at Starbucks and denounce them for having public conversations that you happen to be able to overhear?
If you don’t want to hear about my late father, then follow your own advice and scroll past my comments. No one’s forcing you to read them.
Why can’t you follow your own advice that you frequently force on other commenters and ignore comments that don’t interest you? That’s the only pertinent question here.
Comments are closed.
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tybee
http://thedailybanter.com/2013/08/the-top-nine-most-egregiously-inaccurate-nsa-stories-so-far/
Yatsuno
Comrade Mary: if you see a slightly befuddled but adorable Vietnamese guy with a shaved head walking around town, please give him a hug. That’s my friend Vu and he’s up visiting. He’s the guy for whom I asked you regarding stuffs to do, though he seems to have occupied himself well.
Dave C
Breaking Bad tonight, bitches!
WereBear
@Dave C: It’s great that the grand finale is tonight… which means I can start it, at last, on some Internet outlet.
My friends all started reccing when it was already halfway through. So I get to start from the beginning…
Betty Cracker
@Dave C: Yeah! Any predictions?
PeakVT
Light pollution and the Perseids. Light pollution is not the most critical pollution issue by any measure, but it’s still something we should address, IMHO.
Dave C
@Betty Cracker:
None whatsoever, other than that I think it will be great. I don’t try to guess what will happen because I’d be wrong 100% percent of the time.
Betty Cracker
@PeakVT: I found last night’s display underwhelming. Saw a few streaks, but nothing like the spectacular views I’ve had in the past, and I’m in a small town. Of course, that could be due to factors other than light pollution, like the suffocating humidity.
smintheus
Reagan’s protege William P. Clark died. He’s a reminder of the days of yore when Republicans stood for the proposition that if the President did something, that made it legal.
Clark was heavily involved in lobbying Reagan for pardons for Iran-Contra crooks North, Poindexter, and McFarlane. His private letter to Reagan was published by the WaPo; he argued iirc that the bums were just doing what the Prez ordered, and so they couldn’t be legitimately punished. He also was chiefly responsible for orchestrating the extensive lobbying campaign under Bush to pardon Clark’s buddy Cap Weinberger.
Oddly enough, his obits and the gushing tributes to his integrity among the usual right-wing suspects don’t even mention how “The Judge” worked to undermine the rule of law in this country. Lopez at The Corner is particularly atrocious.
Betty Cracker
@Dave C: Saw an interesting theory on Salon…
Bob In Portland
I don’t know if it’s last night’s absinthe or just the sinuses.
smintheus
Great op-ed by John Grisham, After Guantanamo, Another Injustice.
raven
@Betty Cracker: No shit, I got up at 4:30 and dragged my ass out to try to get some pix. No pix, not a glimpse.
smintheus
@Betty Cracker: I think Walt will be killed by the protege with the tarantula.
Roger Moore
@PeakVT:
One important point about light pollution is that it’s inefficient. Light that goes up into the sky is not illuminating its intended target, with the possible exception of those obnoxious people shining spotlights in the air for advertising who shouldn’t be allowed to do so in the first place. Better lighting design will let you get the light where you need it without lighting up stuff that you don’t want. We’ve apparently done something similar with radio already. Concentrating the radio on things we want it to go to- broadcasting to the ground rather than the sky- has massively reduced the amount we’re sending out into the cosmos, even as we’ve been using it more and more.
Betty Cracker
@smintheus: That would make sense — the tarantula guy (Todd) is obviously a psycho, and it would be poetic justice for Walt to be done in by him since he kept him around after…the horrible thing he did [trying to avoid spoilers for those who are catching up]. Plus “Tod” = “death” in German, right?
chopper
is this an open thread for dead-enders or is it for everyone?
PeakVT
@Roger Moore: Yep. The IDA has a nice pamphlet that explains angles and efficiency and the like here. (PDF)
smintheus
@Betty Cracker: Yes. I hadn’t even thought of the pun Todd/Tod. Another reason for suspecting this is that Walt is nothing if not hybristic. He ought to know that Todd is a whack job, but instead of either getting rid of him or keeping a close watch on him, he’s treating him as a mere pawn and being lulled by Todd’s self-effacing demeanor and grandious professions of integrity and loyalty.
Mnemosyne
Back from our trip to visit family in Chicago. The memorial and surrounding events went smoothly and everyone was very complimentary, but we’re still waiting for my older brother to explain WTF is going on inside his head that he’s decided he has no responsibility towards taking care of our mom.
Waiting for my Fitbit Flex to finish charging so I can go to the grocery store and stock up for this week’s menus.
Betty Cracker
@smintheus: Here’s my counter-intuitive prediction: Lydia ends up being the drug lord after Walt’s demise.
gogol's wife
@Mnemosyne:
He’ll never explain. Some people just decide this for themselves, and that’s it.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I didn’t give up my responsibility for my mom but after all the fights with my sister over mostly stupid shit that she believes I just could not go through it again after my dad, where I would end up having to make all the decisions anyway after all the aggravation. So I stepped back, even though everything was in my name. I signed all the papers as necessary but was involved as minimally as possible. All three of us were less stressed and the outcome was the same.
ETA The control freaks won again.
Suffern ACE
Reading Salon’s Sara Scriber’s essay on the problems that Gen Xers have with not having midlife crises. Laughing at my generations thought leaders as usual. Oh noes! We skipped adulthood so now we can’t have an identity crises!
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
He claims he has an explanation that he’s TOTALLY going to give us. Soon. No, really.
I suspect that it’s that he wants to retire early and use his portion of the inheritance towards that, but you know what? He fucking has responsibilities that he can’t duck that easily.
@Ruckus:
I would go ahead and let him fuck things up except that I’m the alternate executor, so my fear is that he’s going to destroy the relationship with my mom and stepbrother, drag everything to court, lose, and then resign as executor so he can turn the whole bag of shit over to me to try and solve after he fucked everything up. For obvious reasons, I would like to avoid this probable outcome of his current actions.
Ted & Hellen
Why do people bring their personal/family/friend issues into discussion threads on a political blog like this?
Do they have no one IRL that wants to talk to them?
Can they not exchange direct emails or chat with other commenters who wish to engage on these issues in a private online venue?
Do they not think it odd to discuss highly personal matters and take advice from people whom they know nothing about IRL?
What emotional needs are they meeting by ejaculating their private issues online in an inappropriate setting?
Are they emotional exhibitionists?
Oblivious nimrods?
Discuss.
gene108
@Suffern ACE:
LOL! I think we had our mid-life crisis at 30.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
And that’s exactly why I did what I did. Death in the family is bad enough, to make it ten time worse out of stupidity is…
Mnemosyne
@Ted & Hellen:
I’m having a discussion with my online friends, at least one of whom I’ve met IRL. Do you walk up to the tables of people at Starbucks and denounce them for having public conversations that you happen to be able to overhear?
If you don’t want to hear about my late father, then follow your own advice and scroll past my comments. No one’s forcing you to read them.
Ted & Hellen
@Mnemosyne:
You didn’t answer any of my pertinent questions.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Ted & Hellen:
Why can’t you follow your own advice that you frequently force on other commenters and ignore comments that don’t interest you? That’s the only pertinent question here.