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Let there be snark.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

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

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

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

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

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

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Late Afternoon / Evening Open Thread

Late Afternoon / Evening Open Thread

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image

Well, thank FSM the teen driver road trip concluded safely. Above is a photo from along the way. As you can see, there’s nothing much to endanger. Thanks for the advice and encouragement in the prior thread.

To celebrate our survival, I think I’ll make tacos (vegetarian and carnivore) and perhaps margaritas. I don’t know where everyone else is, so here’s an open thread to discuss your dinner plans or whatever.

PS: If you think the commenting function on WP sucks, try creating — or FSM forbid, editing — a post from a smartphone. Good Christ, what a sucky UX.

Reader Interactions

87Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    Since it’s 66 frikin degrees I’m baking a chicken to go with the butter beans and maters.

  2. 2.

    hildebrand

    Definitely a grill day: Bratwurst, kosher hot dogs, burgers, and turkey burgers w/Hatch chilis.

    Oh, and could someone please send us some rain? Thanks.

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    In which I (briefly) agree with George Effing Will.

    This 60th anniversary of the Clinical Center, the NIH’s beating heart, is inspiriting and depressing: Public health is being enhanced — rapidly, yet unnecessarily slowly — by NIH-supported research here, and in hundreds of institutions across the country, into new drugs, devices and treatments. Yet much research proposed by extraordinarily talented physicians and scientists cannot proceed because the required funding is prevented by the intentional irrationality by which the sequester is administered.

    In the private sector, where investors expect a quick turnaround, it is difficult to find dollars for a 10-year program. The public sector, however, with its different time horizon, can fund for the long term, thereby drawing young scientists into career trajectories and collaborations impossible elsewhere.

    Collins is haunted by knowledge that the flow of scientific talent cannot be turned on and off like a faucet. Unfortunately, recent government behavior has damaged the cause of basic science. It has blurred the distinction between fundamental research and technical refinements (often of 19th-century technologies — faster trains, better batteries, longer-lasting light bulbs). It has sown confusion about the difference between supporting scientific research and practicing industrial policy with subsidies — often incompetently and sometimes corruptly dispensed — for private corporations oriented to existing markets rather than unimagined applications.

    Alas, no George Effing Will column is allowed to wrap without reverting to form.

    And beginning with the indiscriminate and ineffective 2009 stimulus, government has incited indiscriminate hostility to public spending.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-the-sequester–a-public-health-hazard/2013/08/16/4bb96982-05ca-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html?hpid=z2

  5. 5.

    hildebrand

    Definitely a grill day: Bratwurst, kosher hot dogs, burgers, and turkey burgers w/Hatch chilis.

    Oh, and could someone please send us some rain? Thanks. I won’t ask for cooler temps – that doesn’t happen until November (maybe).

  7. 7.

    Mnemosyne

    Getting ready to head out and do the week’s grocery shopping — I’m still subscribing to Slender Kitchen’s weekly menus and have been pretty happy so far. She has a few little quirks, and her 4-person recipes don’t always scale down well (really, 1/6 of a cup?!), but it’s working for me.

  8. 8.

    hildebrand

    Sorry about the double post – my computer convinced me the first one didn’t go through. So, of course, I added a bit and tried again. That one didn’t seem to go through, either. And then they both showed up. Swell.

  10. 10.

    hildebrand

    @raven: We would love to take it from you. We thought this latest tropical wave might veer towards us, but no, it is going to dump even more rain on those places along the gulf that need it least.

  11. 11.

    JPL

    @raven: My hedges need trimming and the grass needs mowing but heck, it’s 65 and raining. We must sound like broken records. I have on a flannel shirt..

  12. 12.

    Amir Khalid

    @trollhattan:
    I suppose it would be too much to expect of Mister Bowtie, that he consider whence in the US government cometh the indiscriminate hostility towards public spending.

  15. 15.

    dmsilev

    @Mnemosyne:

    She has a few little quirks, and her 4-person recipes don’t always scale down well (really, 1/6 of a cup?!), but it’s working for me.

    1/6 of a cup is a bit under 3 tablespoons. 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp if something finicky that needs exact amounts. Or if it’s not particularly finicky, use a quarter-cup measure and eyeball 2/3s full.

  16. 16.

    ranchandsyrup

    Helped my lovely wife with her nesting for little girl #2. Modified the crib. Put the updated bumpers back down. Put up some shelves for paintings and hung some art. Put together a lamp. Daughter “assisted” with tools and hardware. Some nice family time.

    Off to the dump. Our grill gave up the ghost and I’m gonna get a new one rather than repair. Going with Weber this time and I’m excited. Beer can chicken later.

  17. 17.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Betty, they call it a smartphone so you won’t feel stupid trying to do things like that on it.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    Today I was able to catch up on some TV show streaming and now I’m just glancing the news on the web.
    This is from TPM… Scott Brown is going to Iowa to see if there is interest in his “brand of leadership and Republicanism.”
    This is from NBC Sports
    So we’ll just start by telling you what Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow’s stat line was in Friday night’s preseason game: 1 completion in 7 attempts, for -1 yards, with 0 touchdowns, 1 interception and a 0.0 passer rating.
    After the game Tebow said “I feel like I’m improving every day and you know, growing and learning, and learning the offense. That’s what it’s about – every day trying to get a little better,”

    Are they sharing the same cup of tea? wtf

  19. 19.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Amir Khalid:

    This would require Mr. Bowtie to not be reflexively anti-D and pro-R, which is simply not in the cards.

    Also, the White House is occupied by blahs.

  20. 20.

    Jewish Steel

    Playing an outdoor show in a little while. I will say, “What we have in mind is breakfast in bed for 400 000.” Will anybody get it?

  21. 21.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Cod in parsley sauce with boiled new potatoes and mushy peas for me. I am eating as I type and damn it is good.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    @ranchandsyrup:

    Have a 20 YO Genesis I cannot seem to kill, so good choice. Although these days I use the Egg far more often. Because smoke.

    Also, too, for want of a hyphen I’m imagining you intimidating a fearful beer. Which I can get behind.

  24. 24.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Amir Khalid: The Iraq War was free, after all, but money spent in America, including $10 billion on the NIH at the insistence of then-Republican Arlen Specter, was wasted.

  25. 25.

    mclaren

    PS: If you think the commenting function on WP sucks, try creating — or FSM forbid, editing — a post from a smartphone. Good Christ, what a sucky UX.

    Smartphones and tablets are for content consumption, not content creation. It’s all part and parcel of the ongoing effort to turn the internet into a version of TV where people sit around passively and do nothing but watch and listen.

  26. 26.

    Suzanne

    I have to go dishwasher shopping. Mine is on it’s last legs. Considering that it’s the original that came with the house when it was built in 1988, that’s a pretty good run. Mr. Suzanne and I are hoping to find one that does some hardcore scrubbing and doesn’t sound like it’s trying to make us a margarita at the same time.

  27. 27.

    Arm The Homeless

    Well, it’s official I have been hired and will soon be working under supervision of Gov. Voldemort’s office here in Floriduh. It’s taken just a hair over two years of working as a part time “intern”, gathering a lot of useful experience and certifications. It’s been a slog, but it’s exciting to finally get a job in my field.

    Now comes finding a new phone which will work throughout the state, which means either Verizon or AT&T. I don’t relish the idea of spending $70+ for a damn electronic leash, but it’s a necessity. Anyone have experience using either in Floriduh that would like to offer some opinions?

  31. 31.

    Arm The Homeless

    @Suzanne: I love all the LG appliances I have ever used. They do end to have too much shiny plastic accents, but they seem to have good build quality and energy efficiency. Good luck with your search

  37. 37.

    eemom

    @ranchandsyrup:

    Helped my lovely wife with her nesting for little girl #2. Modified the crib.

    Ah, that reminds me of going into labor with my #2, which occurred while I was fixing up the crib. Tried to finish the job; barely made it to the hospital in time.

    There’s a particularly long red light in our neighborhood that to this day I can never stop at without recalling that harrowing ride.

  38. 38.

    ruemara

    I did two sections of my online driving course while falling asleep. Then, suddenly, the ex turned up to hang out a bit. Which is finally getting to me, since he has a key to get his things not pop in and out for random whims. To tired to be nice about it, so I shouted him down about learning to fucking call and ask instead of presuming, which is what friends do. And now I’m going to rest because I have no more focus for traffic school, 3D work, writing or tolerating humanity existing all up in my shit.

  39. 39.

    gelfling545

    I read Zealot last night (it is a fast read). Will mull it over for a bit & take a second look. The argument is interesting enough to merit another reading and is not so larded with the theological jargon as to make it impenetrable to a decently informed reader. It explores one of the many ideas about Jesus that has been kicking around for a long time in mainline denominations but I expect that the Evangelicals will want to burn him at the stake nonetheless. Definitely worth reading if you are interested in that kind of thing.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    @Suanne

    Any one you buy today will run much quieter than the old one. Friend recently replaced his, and the new one (Westinghouse? Or maybe Kenmore) is so quiet one can’t hear anything when it is running, even while standing right in front of it.

    Capacity, rack design and utility, and no ‘always on’ gewgaws (such as a clock or a light which shows it is plugged in) are things to look for.

  41. 41.

    gene108

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    So who is going to teach your daughter how to parallel park?

    Friends?

    My mom didn’t learn driving till we came to the U.S. and she’s never been good at parallel parking.

    I figured it out for myself.

    I may not be very pretty, when I do it, but I blame that on brother. He’s lived in NYC for many years now and when I visit, I’ve adjusted my parallel parking to fit into smaller spaces than is considered proper in the suburbs. I tend to cut my wheel harder than normal because there just isn’t space to wiggle into a spot otherwise.

  42. 42.

    ranchandsyrup

    @eemom: Harrowing ride indeed. Sounds like it all ended well and I’m glad for that. We were at pizza port for #1. We jokingly discuss going there again to hasten the labor.

  43. 43.

    ? Martin

    @Suzanne:

    Mr. Suzanne and I are hoping to find one that does some hardcore scrubbing and doesn’t sound like it’s trying to make us a margarita at the same time.

    Rule of thumb was that european dishwashers were quiet, US ones were noisy. The US ones include (effectively) a small garbage disposal in the drain to chop up any small bits that fall down. That was most of the source of the noise. European ones just have a little screen that you need to clean out every month or so. I think some of the domestic ones now go with the screen.

    We have a mid range+ Bosch (very highly recommended, btw) that you can’t tell if it’s running or not unless you stand right next to it. Not the cheapest, but we’ve lived in 3 different homes with 3 different dishwashers and Ms Martin would pretty much only use them at holidays because of the noise/hassle. She uses the Bosch every day.

    A tip I don’t hear often enough – bring a sample of your dishes when you shop for them. You’d be surprised how many people discover after installation that their dinner plates are too big and hit the top rack or their bowls are shaped such that they don’t fit well.

  44. 44.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    I’m deep into learning Dashboard Mode in WP at the moment. I’m finishing an article for publication and all teh stuff (text, pix, diagrams) has to be entered in via WP Dashboard.
    I had 9 days to do this project so of course I screwed around for 5 of them. I feel an all-nighter coming on.

  45. 45.

    JCT

    @trollhattan: Ummm, George, that stimulus included ARRA grants that kept many labs afloat. You fucking moron.

    While I personally think the implementation of the stimulus re: the NIH could have been better handled, it beats the disaster we are dealing with now.

    I don’t often agree with Francis Collins – but the sequester effects on the NIH is going to have long – lasting effects on many many programs.

  46. 46.

    srv

    To celebrate our survival, I think I’ll make tacos (vegetarian and carnivore) and perhaps margaritas.

    You’re making a margarita for the teen?

  49. 49.

    feebog

    Attended a lovely wedding last night at the Japanese Gardens on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Weather was perfect. The groom is an EMT and his buddies did a fly over in their red EMT copter. Nice venue, but the tables were spread around a sizable pond, which made actually seeing any pert of the reception a little difficult. Spent the night in Long Beach because we did not want to make the hour drive on the 405 on a Friday night after 5 hours of party time.

    I have 10 days of transcripts to read before I resume a hearing for another arbitrator. I’m on day three and it is slow going, but I need to get it done. I’m going to open a Corona and get at it.

  50. 50.

    feebog

    Attended a lovely wedding last night at the Japanese Gardens on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Weather was perfect. The groom is an EMT and his buddies did a fly over in their red EMT copter. Nice venue, but the tables were spread around a sizable pond, which made actually seeing any pert of the reception a little difficult. Spent the night in Long Beach because we did not want to make the hour drive on the 405 on a Friday night after 5 hours of party time.

    I have 10 days of transcripts to read before I resume a hearing for another arbitrator. I’m on day three and it is slow going, but I need to get it done. I’m going to open a Corona and get at it.

  51. 51.

    I Heart Breitbartbees

    The word for today is SQUEE! Imagine a tall guy with a baritone/bass voice saying that, and you’ll get the picture. However, I squee’d for the first time since my vocal register was appropriate for that, and that word didn’t even exist back then. I know I’m new here, but I couldn’t hold that in.

  52. 52.

    Betty Cracker

    @Arm The Homeless: Congrats! It pains me deeply to say this, but Verizon’s coverage is far superior to any other in Florida. I get bars in the most godforsaken swamps and towns imaginable. I can even get service out in the Gulf to a certain extent. My sister’s AT&T craps out far more often.

  53. 53.

    fuckwit

    WordPress + mobile browser = Trouble.

    Never worked right, probably never will.

    Congratulations on making it through driver ed. I have a few years before I’ll have to go through the same ordeal with mine.

  54. 54.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    Gather up all of his remaining stuff, put it in a box, put the box on the doorstep, and change the locks. Problem (hopefully) solved, for a while at least.

  55. 55.

    JPL

    @gelfling545: Had Fox news not made such asses of themselves, I would not of heard of the book. I read the recommendations and reviews then, added it to my wishlist. I haven’t downloaded it yet though.
    I just started reading the Unwinding.

  60. 60.

    fuckwit

    WordPress + mobile browser = Trouble.

    Never worked right, probably never will.

    Congratulations on making it through driver ed. I have a few years before I’ll have to go through the same ordeal with mine.

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    @feebog:

    My 13-year-old niece has developed an interest in Japanese gardens, so we’re going to take her to the one at the Huntington when her foot heals after surgery. I’m not sure if she’ll be more excited about the garden or the numerous dragonflies (she’s really big on insects right now).

  62. 62.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Suzanne: I think you’ll be very happy with a new dishwasher. We replaced ours about 10 years ago since the seal on the old one was shot. Given the cost of a new seal and effort to install, we thought it cheaper to replace it. It was much, much quieter and much more efective.

  63. 63.

    I Heart Breitbartbees

    With my baritone/bass voice and big and tall store shopping ass, I have one thing to say about today: SQUEE!!! I know you don’t know me, but I don’t squee. I haven’t squeed since I ceased to have the vocal range to do it properly, and the word “squee” didn’t even exist back then. Nevertheless, squee.

  65. 65.

    Betty Cracker

    @? Martin: Our dishwasher, which is less than a year old, is noisy as hell. It’s a Whirlpool and does a stellar job on the dishes. So I’m not complaining. But it’s loud. Could be our fault since we installed it as part of our kitchen renovation. There’s a 1/4-inch gap between the top of the unit and the counter. Maybe that’s why it’s loud? The mister hasn’t gotten around to remedying that yet.

  67. 67.

    geg6

    We’re having a real man’s meal tonight. T-bones, baked spuds (on the grill, of course) with sour cream and fresh chives, mushrooms and onions and garlic in white wine and butter, iceberg wedge with blue cheese crumbles and bacon and a lovely red blend we recently discovered, 14 Hands’ Hot to Trot. Dessert is pumpkin pudding cake with Bruster’s vanilla ice cream.

    One of our favorite movies is on the television machine tonight, Mama Mia. It’s corny as hell, but we find it thoroughly entertaining. It’s also a film we saw on one of our best ever date nights. So it should be a very good night.

  68. 68.

    eemom

    @ruemara:

    “I should have changed those stupid locks, I should have made you leave your key….”

    On another note, WP appears to be losing what little mind it has.

  69. 69.

    geg6

    We’re having a real man’s meal tonight. T-bones, baked spuds (on the grill, of course) with sour cream and fresh chives, mushrooms and onions and garlic in white wine and butter, iceberg wedge with blue cheese crumbles and bacon and a lovely red blend we recently discovered, 14 Hands’ Hot to Trot. Dessert is pumpkin pudding cake with Bruster’s vanilla ice cream.

    One of our favorite movies is on the television machine tonight, Mama Mia. It’s corny as hell, but we find it thoroughly entertaining. It’s also a film we saw on one of our best ever date nights. So it should be a very good night.

  70. 70.

    Arm The Homeless

    @Betty Cracker: @jenn:

    Thanks, it’s quite a nice belated birthday gift, especially now that both the SO and I are gainfully employed and won’t take to subsist almost exclusively on 15 iterations of rice and beans.

    Betty, yeah, I figured as much. I have a dumb phone with Verizon right now and have only run into a few places it didn’t get service, but I only pay about $40 a month. Now the question is whether to buy the phone outright to avoid Verizon’s bloatware, or get a cheap(er) handset. I want an Android phone, maybe the Nexus 4, but I am not married to any manufacturer in particular. First world problems, indeed.

  71. 71.

    RSA

    @hildebrand:

    Oh, and could someone please send us some rain?

    I got yer rain right here in NC; unfortunately, it doesn’t travel well. 71 degrees in the middle of August. I’m still going to throw some fish on the grill later this evening, but I’ll get wet doing it.

  72. 72.

    gogol's wife

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Oh, yes, somebody sent me that. So cute. He looks my dear departed William of Orange, a/k/a Willy (found on Orange Street in New Haven). Also known as Christoph Willibald von Ungluck.

  74. 74.

    Redshift

    @? Martin: We have a Magic Chef dishwasher that’s now more than 20 years old. The previous owners of the house picked it because it was supposed to be quiet, and it’s one of the few things they really did right. It actually gets things clean, and you can have a conversation in the kitchen when it’s running (and it’s barely noticeable anywhere else in the house.)

  75. 75.

    Calming Influence

    Betty, I presume that’s a picture of the field your teen drove into as they were texting?

  77. 77.

    dmsilev

    Via Wonkette, I think we may have finally boiled Wingnut down to its essential core:

    I am Spartacus because Benghazi.

    Read the whole thing if you’re bored, but it really does end up coming down to that one sublime sentence.

  78. 78.

    PsiFighter37

    At Big Island Brewing Company is Waimea, about to give their beer sampler a try. Woohoo!

  79. 79.

    trollhattan

    Our 15 YO Miele dishwasher soldiers on, silently. Don’t know the new models but it’s a pretty amazing appliance, if appliances can be amazing (it neither blends nor heats food items ala Thermomix). Built-in water softener means about a tablespoon of powder per load.

  81. 81.

    ruemara

    I was watching a featured animation from the social media outlet of the animation software I use and I realized that even my fairly scrubby holiday animation was leaps and bounds over this. Yet, they have 5k hits and I have maybe 15. I need to drink more.

  83. 83.

    Jebediah

    My big plans – roust Chucky (and myself) to go for a run and continue trying to adjust to life without Otto. I think that is going to take a while.

  85. 85.

    tybee

    weather has sure been weird. i was on the west coast of georgia thursday and friday with low humidity, highs in the low 70’s and lows in the mid 60’s. back home on the coast today and it’s rainy, in the 80’s and muggy as hell.

  87. 87.

    Scotty Anonymous

    @ranchandsyrup:

    I have one. It’s good for lots of things, smoking for one. The directions that come with are useless for most purposes. You can’t plank fish. You can’t use a basket of anything, because the grill surface is so deep into the egg.

    It’s great for smoking. But you can get regular grills with added fireboxes that are also great for smoking, and which do everything else well too.

    Mine was a gift, so I’m grateful and happy to smoke stuff in it. Steaks, too. Those little pork tenderloins do great, 45-60 minutes, pink from the smoke, great. You gotta baste the heck outa them, tho, every 10 minutes.

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