(via NYMag)
.
Speaking of which, Eric Wemple at the Washington Post, in his words, “reported that “Playbook” author Mike Allen of Politico showed a discernible pattern of writing favorable blurbs about advertisers.” In response to which, Mike Allen’s pimp editor-in-chief complained to Howie Kurtz:
… Given the success of it, it did grow to become something that was highly coveted by advertisers. So it’s sponsored, but in tone, in substance, in the type of items: Who’s in, who’s out? That’s never changed a lick, not once, in seven years. So the idea — and it really wasn’t an argument what I read; it was more of a suggestion, insinuation, innuendo in a really unfair way — that the product is somehow compromised by advertisers was a) not supported and b) horribly, horribly unfair to what really is one of the most transparent journalistic products in the city. Anyone can read it any given day and sort of take their best guess as to why this is in there, why it’s not, who Mike had lunch with, who was giving him this, who he had dinner with, who was feeding him that. Totally transparent. I feel very, very strongly, if I could just say this about Mike Allen. I’ve known him for 23 of the 27 years he’s been in the news business. Some people like “Playbook,” some people don’t like “Playbook.” But no one has ever in those 27 years — not once, not ever — questioned his journalistic ethics. So I think as somebody did in this instance, was quite irresponsible in my view…
Translation from the (wounded) Weaselspeak: Sure, the ‘right’ people have long known that Mike will be their friend in exchange for money. But to call him a whore in public — that’s just hurtful!”
***********
Off to have a nice dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, with plans to be home before the drunks get loose on the roads. What’s on the agenda, celebratory or otherwise?
chopper
Daughters fifth birthday tomorrow, so getting some stuff ready for a weekend party.
raven
Still bathing in the glow of the Illini OT win over the hated Hoosiers. Goin to the local BBQ and then maybe to a bondfire gig for a while.
TheBladeItselfIncites
True enough, if you exclude the section of the American people possessed of cognitive function.
Aji
Oh, come on. Weasels are honorable about what they do (kind of like scorpions that way), and they actually serve a useful function in the ecosystem. Mike Allen and his associates, notsomuch.
Tonight? Got the old grill back out. Getting into the 40s in the daytime, which is absurd and frankly dangerous for next year’s water levels, but it is what it is.
gogol's wife
Why do we have to have fireworks at New Year’s Eve? It drives me crazy. It’s bad enough that July 4 now extends from June 1 to August 31.
Get off my lawn. Happily staying home tonight. Going to a friend’s for tamales tomorrow.
Litlebritdiftrnt
Essentially became unemployed today, my boss cut my hours to 20 a week, because he can’t stop paying $400 for a dinner out, but whatever, his paralegal should be able to live on $268 a week right?
lamh36
New Year New Me…part 1! Time to get my finances together. No frivolous spending this next year if I can help it. To that end…I cut off my cable, I’m only gonna have basic…no more upper channels! No more VH1Soul, no more TVONE, no more BET. Gonna have to watch local channels only, or online television. Oh well, I mostly watch regular network tv anyway. I’ll have to catch all the other stuff on the interweb. Of course I couldn’t get rid of my high speed internet…oh hell naw…lol
I spend the majority of my time on the internet anyway, even when I’m watching tv. Also too, I’m saving $89 a month by doing only basic! I’ll just go back to reading more!
It’s only been 30 minutes since the upper channels went off, and I’m already feening…lol.
I’m sooo mad I can’t be in NOLA for New Year’s Eve. I really wanted to ring it in for the first time since 2005.
But I volunteered to work NYD and now I”m regretting it. Oh well, Holiday pay is always good. Especially since I’m trying to enhance my finances this year.
Anoniminous
Crab appetizer is made and in the fridge; the duck is in the oven, the sauce (cherries, cinnamon, allspice, white pepper, brandy, and duck fat – eventually) is ready to go; the dessert is made; the white wine and champagne is chilling; the Zin is coming to room temperature; the table is set; the music is chosen.
So … hey! … we’re in good shape and I’m sitting on my butt before the final push, screwing around on BJ.
Baud
@Litlebritdiftrnt:
That sucks. Do you have options?
eric
@chopper: daughter’s ninth bday on the 2nd, party to follow on the weekend. much lego playing and mario kart tonight so glad not going anywhere. peace to all
Aji
@gogol’s wife: I’d be happy with just fireworks. We get morons shooting their guns in the frickin’ air.
JGabriel
Anne Laurie @ Top:
We’re so sorry, we meant to say “escort”. “Whore” just popped out of our mouths. Must have been one them Freudian thigamajigs.
Bill E Pilgrim
This is really pretty hilarious. Harris seems to think the only thing that makes it hackery is if you try to hide it. Just because you can cross-check who bought Mike Allen lunch and/or bought expensive ads in Politico against who then gets favorable coverage in Politico (“That’s exactly what we did!” Wemple writes in response) doesn’t mean it’s not hackery.
It’s like saying that the prostitutes in Amsterdam who sit in windows aren’t really prostitutes, because it’s all out in the open. Sorry John Harris, that just means it’s legalized prostitution.
SiubhanDuinne
@chopper:
Cool! Happy birthday to chopperdaughter!
Was she one of those New Year’s kids that held off until j. u. s. t. after midnight, and then got on all the local TV stations as “Choppertown’s New Year’s Baby”? One of my good friends was born NYD in 1940, and there were photos of her in all the local (Washington, DC) newspapers the next day.
SiubhanDuinne
@gogol’s wife:
I don’t understand it either. And it’s not as though these were beautiful fireworks displays, like 4th of July — it’s just a lot of random explody stuff. But I’ll put up with any number of fireworks if only we could figure out how to keep people from firing off their guns at midnight (and, in my experience, two or three hours thereafter).
Villago Delenda Est
Allen and VendeHei both represent the epitome of the Villager courtier mentality.
Which is why the vermin of the Village have priority on my tumbrel list, behind only the four living traitors who installed the deserting coward into the Oval Office.
Villago Delenda Est
@JGabriel:
EXPENSIVE escort. None of this $20 bucks a trick shit, no way!
Nicole
Having a few friends over (we have a preschooler so options are limited for us) to sing karaoke. Because we’re nerds.
I hate to bleg on New Year’s Eve, but if any of you have a few extra dollars, a friend of mine was injured in a horseback riding accident earlier this year that has resulted in long-term damage. She was wearing a helmet, but still suffered a serious concussion and has lost her job, due to being unable to be upright for more than 15 minutes at a time. She’s applying for long-term disability, but in the meantime is having a lot of trouble making ends meet. Here’s the link to the fund started for her:
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/nicole-buttis-support-fund/110369
In full disclosure, she is a conservative (I know, I know), but she really is a good egg and, as she grew up in foster care and is unmarried, she really has no support system other than her friends and (now former) coworkers.
Moderators, feel free to take this down if it’s inappropriate. I just feel terrible for her. As a physical therapist of mine once said, if you have your health, you have everything. I wish all of the balloon-juice community good health in 2014!
Baud
@Nicole:
Not the best night for that. See the two posts earlier today about the red state guy.
seaboogie
Just picked up a fresh crab, cracked and cleaned, at our local market (where everyone else was doing the same), a split of delicious Sonoma champagne, and going to make mayo from scratch with fresh local olive oil, egg and meyer lemons just off the tree. So relieved to bid 2013 farewell, and ready to embrace 2014 with all my heart and soul!
Cassidy
Working all day and night; my shift caught all the holidays. Maybe applying to a new dept after the new year. Currently working out and hoping people stay smart, at least until I’m done.
OzarkHillbilly
Doing…. nothing at all.@lamh36:
You can’t. You have to allow yourself something when you’ve earned it, and you will earn it, so I suggest you pick what it will be now so you can avoid that whole “going to the grocery store while hungry” thing.
Some friends of mine put a bid in on a place today not too far away. Don’t know if I should hope they get it or hope they don’t. It’s 45 acres of gently sloping land with 2 drainages, in a “better” school district, 1 barn that was built in the 1860’s, another in the 1960’s, the older part of the house was also built in the 1860’s but the newer part was built in the 1890’s, bathrooms were added in the 1960’s and the cats….. Well, they have been there for decades.
They asked what I am doing come March. I told them no matter how bad it is, I can fix it…. With a match. (no kidding, that is what I told them)
Really, on the one hand I am to old and broken down to work a real job so this could be my retirement plan. On the other hand, K & A have 2 beautiful daughters and a son to put through college.
What to do, what to do?
Schlemizel
We have always been home bound celebrators on amateur night. This is not the night to be out there driving even if you did not have a few.
We have some exquisite preserved meats, hard salami from Italy, Prosciutto, Mortadella with pistachios, hot capicolla and a couple of others along with some most excellent cheeses. A couple of bottles of wine and Frexnet Cordon Negro brut for the toast. A toasty fire to sit in front of and spoon.
gelfling545
My daughter brought me some braised beef she cooked in the new enameled cast iron dutch oven she got for Christmas, so I will mash a potato & that will be dinner with some sorts of veg. Then it’s time to get cooking for my sister’s birthday dinner tomorrow. I would (and should) have started before this but I watched some vintage Doctor Who (the Aztecs) on Netflix & napped on the couch for a bit. I need to start wrangling the sponge cake for the buche de Noel.
lamh36
Official White House photographer, Pete Souza has released his Year in Photos. Check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/sets/72157639230153304/
Litlebritdiftrnt
@Baud:
I can quit, or I can get a second job. Those are my options. I am hoping that the second job option is open to me. I am a highly respected paralegal in these parts. I am hoping that I am respected enough to be hired part time.
Pogonip
I am staying in and taking my antibiotic; I turned out to have bacterial bronchitis.
Whoever it was going through cable withdrawal: last year men digging to fix pipes accidentally cut through ours. By the time our schedule and the cable repairman’s coincided, we had noticed that nobody much missed it. Still don’t. So give it a week or so and you’ll probably feel better.
Baud
@Litlebritdiftrnt:
Why second job instead of new job?
p.a.
Lentil soup (new year’s good luck tradition among my Italian-American family), leftover quail with corn relish, salad. Bruins on radio, football on TV (this passes for multitasking for most American males). Maybe a snort of calvados later. I won’t see 11:30. To me new years day is just some b.s. day the dart hit. But here’s hoping for a happy, healthy new year to you all. And that the sanity party at least holds the Senate in November.
Roger Moore
I’m planning on walking the Rose Parade route backward tonight; I live about 1 1/2 miles past the end. People are allowed to occupy the strip between the sidewalk and the street starting at 12 noon on New Year’s Eve, and it’s completely full shortly after. There’s exactly the kind of partying you’d expect for that many people hanging around waiting overnight for the parade. There’s always a ton of fun in Pasadena for New Year’s Eve.
MattF
‘Ethics’. What does that word mean, anyhow? Nobody can say, really. I mean, really really really. Of course not. Who knows? Right?
srv
Pretty much fireworks at the hardware store, Obama isn’t just taking their guns, he’s taken their incandescent light bulbs.
I’m going to have to stock up on my Verilux Natural Spectrum Neodymium bulbs in preparation for the Yellow Light Apocolypse.
OzarkHillbilly
@Nicole: Gave what I could. You don’t have to apologize for your friend being a conservative, she is a human being.
Pogonip
It is a good thing I had not taken 11/22/63 to the used book store. That’ll carry me through till I feel better. If anyone still cares, the first 300 pages or so of that book, in Derry, are very exciting. Just toss it aside when Mary Sue–Er, the hero–hits Texas. (Toss it lightly lest you squash a nearby chihuahua.)
JoyfulA
@Baud: She’s not paid full-time nearly enough for a respected paralegal.
Pogonip
@srv: Tell your conservative friends that if they’re really upset about the lightbulb thing, buy 3-ways. Those are the same as they’ve always been and will work just fine in a 1-way fixture, you just don’t get the 3-way effect.
Ruckus
Haven’t gone out on new drunks eve for 12-15 yrs. I’m not that old but when you’ve passed a few new years I think they lose a little of their glow. It’s just another day in paradise.
A Ghost To Most
Early to bed tonight, then up early tomorrow to knock an item off my bucket list; legally buying cannabis!
NotMax
1st of 2 cranberry-blueberry-raspberry pies in oven. Cuttin’ it close on timing, but think everything will be finished in time for tonight’s gathering.
Tommy
@Pogonip: Can you get bronchitis through the Internet? Went to the doctor this afternoon and what I have. So decided to stay in by myself instead of going to a party and getting everybody else sick. Bummer.
BTW: Anybody have experience ordering an expensive item on eBay and getting screwed? I’ve bought more than 200 things and never had a single problem. Not so much this time.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
True, most whores have limits, unlike Poltico.
Mustang Bobby
Staying home, avoiding drunks and artillery that is New Year’s Eve in Miami, watching “Bones,” eating Lindt truffles (present from my boss), and chatting with friends on Facebook. I’ll be asleep long before midnight.
I really need to get a life, but I think I’ll rent one first and see if I like it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Litlebritdiftrnt: Depending on which state you are in, you may be eligible for partial unemployment benefits. That’s cold comfort – I know – but worth checking into.
@Aji: Shooting into the air has never made any sense to me. I understand the appeal of a loud BANG! as well as any emotionally stunted guy, but, Jeebus, the bullets have to come down somewhere.
Schlemizel
@Litlebritdiftrnt:
Aw man that sucks. Are you tied to the job in a way that prevents you from telling them to drop dead? If not start looking, they don’t deserve you!
Reading further ( see you are planning options. Don’t know what makes you interested in another PT gig, is full-time para hard to find? Good luck & don’t let the bastards get you down.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Boeuf bourguignon is in the crockpot, crusty bread has been purchased — all I have to do is sauté the mushrooms about half an hour before it’s done, add those and the crispy bacon back to the pot, and warm up the bread.
Poor G is stuck at work until at least 7:00, so the least I could do was make dinner at home rather than dragging him back out.
PurpleGirl
Allowing myself one rum and coke this evening. Still not sure what I’m cooking for dinner.
Thank you for the Sydney firework clip. They do a great display.
rikyrah
pimp/editor-in chief….
LOL
Tommy
@srv: Amazing isn’t it. About five years ago at Lowes with my dad and they had four packs for like four bucks. Changed every light blub in my house. Dad wasn’t a big fan but they were kind of cheap so he did the same thing. Only one has burned out, which is on a timer on his porch and on like eight hours a day. He is now a raving fan.
Botsplainer
Drunk. Being supercool by hanging with the kids downtown, reservation for 5 courses with wine pairing.
Pogonip
@Tommy: I don’t know where you get it but this is the 3rd winter in a row and I don’t understand why I haven’t developed resistance. I hope we feel better soon.
PurpleGirl
@Litlebritdiftrnt: Sorry to hear that. For all their “smarts” lawyers can be dumb.
Tommy
@Pogonip: I almost never even get a cold, so I am something of a wimp when I do get sick. This isn’t a pleasant experience.
KyCole
Went to see Frozen with my 3-year-old granddaughter today. The huge scary snow monster with ice claws was fine. However, when the cute rock trolls came out she said “I have to get out of here”, and went to hide in the bathroom with her mother. I’m home with the dogs watching London Hospital on Amazon. Tomorrow I may or may not attend a New Years Day party. Happy New Year everyone.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: There are no full time jobs anymore cause ObamaCare. /wingnut
MikeJ
@Pogonip:
H1N1 for me. Haven’t had a temp under 38° since boxing day. And my legs ache.
I have, however, done familial tech support and rebuilt a dead server, all while wearing sweatpants and napping every two hours.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore: I did the New Years Eve in Pasadena in college, 1980 i think. It is something that should be done once in a lifetime and only once.
NotMax
BTW, Happy Hogmanay to all.
Yatsuno
Annnnnd my keyboard is dead. Awesome since I can’t get a new one until next week.
daverave
Wifey and I going out to our favorite restaurant and traditional NYE dinner. Walking the 2 miles each way there, too, so that we can drink unlimited manhattans.
Tommy
@MikeJ:
You are a better person then myself. Heck my brother almost disowned me last year at this time when I showed his wife’s parents what I could do on my smart phone and they went and got two. He said it had taken him like three years to teach them to use their old ones.
We never thought knowing how a phone, DVR, and computer works would mean a life of tech support for family and friends :). We often note to each other we don’t know how some people can even get by living in the world we now live in.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Yatsuno: So how did you type that?
Omnes Omnibus
So, while I was at my parents’ place over Christmas, I saw an episode of Treme. Just the one and it was from the third season. Now I have to go find every episode. Why was I not told about this show before?
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
Lang may yer lum reek!!
Yatsuno
@BillinGlendaleCA: Ancient Chinese secret. Or on screen keyboard. One of the two.
The Pale Scot
What I may miss most most about not being in the metro area.
No more WBGO Rhythm Revue dance parties. It says a lot about the times economically that the NYE event is on Jan 2 instead of tonight.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s why you shoot them after you are drunk. Then you don’t have to put any thought into it. Not that they would/do when sober either but at least being a drunk gives them an excuse.
lamh36
@OzarkHillbilly: ugh…you’re right. I absolutely love Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. So I’m gonna put that on the list. I attempted to try today to get some of the things I love the most, but I’m giving up in the New Year for health reasons: Chinese food (the really full and rich in calorie kind), ice cream (I literally hate most of the low-fat variety of ice cream, I’d rather not eat any of it than actually eat it so it’s got to go), Coca Cola (my goal is to give up sodas completely and stick to water or tea).
I wasn’t able to find Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (I’m going with Dutch Chocolate instead), so I’ma have to add it to my “feenin’ for sugar” list
PurpleGirl
@Mustang Bobby:
Lindt truffles
Ah, those are very good. I hope the boss gave you a nice large amount of them.
Roger Moore
@srv:
Or you could try shopping for high CRI fluorescent or LED bulbs. They are out there and are worth looking for.
Pogonip
@Yatsuno: Do you think it would be possible to type a book-length manuscript with an on-screen keyboard without getting too uncomfortable?
Pogonip
Well, sick folks, let’s all settle in with a nice doorstop and get well. The January cold snap is predicted early next week for the Midwest; maybe the cold dry air will kill some germs.
burnspbesq
Be interesting to see how Aggies respond to being punched in the mouth by Duke.
Roger Moore
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Until I finally bought my own place, I could do it in style. My first apartment was one long block from the parade route and my second apartment was only half a block, so I could hang out on the street until I had enough. Then I would go home, sleep in a nice warm bed, have a leisurely breakfast, and still get to the parade route in time to watch the parade. The only way it could be better would be to have an upper story room on the parade route so you could watch it in your pajamas without anyone in the way.
FlyingToaster
We declined to be part of the Boston PoliceState™ First Night Family Fun Fest. Because of the PoliceState™ part. When they were announcing on every available venue (cable news, local tv news, radio) that they were going to “keep everyone safe” I decided I wanted no part of having them cavity-search WarriorGirl for contraband HelloKittys. Also, the previous organizers were driven out of business by the demands of the PoliceState™, so Mayor Mumbles put together the new version complete with “premium passes” on his way out the door.
And, unlike previous years, the local cable news channel didn’t show the Grand Procession. There’s a FirstNight2014 synopsis tomorrow at 7 am on the Boston City channel, which is not actually operational at the moment in H₂OTown.
Instead, we did crafts, HerrDoktor made chilli, and I played several games with WarriorGirl. We didn’t get to have a dance party because she’d turned on the iPod and forgotten to recharge it (again). Now she’s demanding to stay up later so she can still have a dance party instead of a bath. (Chants of “Shower, Shower” are droning in the background, eliciting screams of angst.)
FlyingToaster +¾
Tommy
@Pogonip: Do you mean like a touch screen monitor or a tablet/phone?
Yatsuno
@Pogonip: Possible? Yes. Advisable? Before I answer, tell me about your mother…
PurpleGirl
@Tommy: I have a friend who worked at IBM. He said he would help me with computer problems but I would have to learn some computer basics so I could ask good questions. I couldn’t just call him and say “It won’t turn on,” I would have to have thought through why it might not turn on, etc. As a result for a few years I was able to do some troubleshooting and even configure a system to be built for me. (I need to get back to learning what is current in computers, though.)
BillinGlendaleCA
@Yatsuno: I’m going with the former.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Litlebritdiftrnt:
Why a part-time job rather than a new full-time one? If you’re sufficiently respected, you should be able to network a little and go to another firm.
Don’t feel any loyalty to this jackass or his clients — he obviously doesn’t feel any loyalty towards you. If there are clients you feel guilty about leaving behind, tell them what your new firm’s name is when you quit and let them decide for themselves. ;-)
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@KyCole:
Maybe she’s a budding film critic and immediately realized that’s the weakest part of the movie.
Was she at least coaxed back to see the snow monster scene at the very end of the credits? It’s kind of adorable.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore: No, there was a group of us, and we did it traditional style: drunk on cheap champagne sleeping on the sidewalk. Some of the group did it the year before and drank Bronco Champagne which I was told tasted like horse piss. How they knew that, I did not ask.
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
Anybody else watching the hilarity ensuing in this Chick-Fil-A Bowl? Burnsie has to be beside himself with glee. Well, as gleeful as Burnsie gets.
ruemara
@Litlebritdiftrnt: This sucks balls. I’m sorry. Fingers crossed that something better comes into your life and soon.
I’m debugging code on JSBin for my class. I rather like this tool. That being said, I’m not dead, I’m single, why am I always in and working on NYE? There’s a failure somewhere here and I’d like to see the management on this and other flaws in existence.
Aji
@Yatsuno: Hey! How are you? I asked last night, but if you answered, I missed it. Are you mending appropriately? Do you need anything that can be provided long-distance?
Tommy
@PurpleGirl: My brother is about to disown me again cause I am going to get my mother a smart phone in the next week or so. I’ll pick up the phone and call my parents at least once a week, but most of our communication is to my father via text and emails. My brother almost 100% that way. And my mother doesn’t have an email address and their phone sucks, plus as my mom says he “hordes” it. She feels left out.
Plus my folks are retired and spend their time driving around the country to antique malls (don’t ask me why). When I showed her I could look up an item in the darn place on my phone and check the price she freaked out.
No clue how that will work out, but like to at least try.
KyCole
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): ooh@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Oh she came back shortly. There was still popcorn to be eaten. It’s funny how certain things scare her, but things we think are not frightening speak to her fears. The 3-year-old mind is an amazing thing.
Pogonip
@Tommy: Either one, I guess.
Higgs Boson's Mate
That’s an insult to whore everywhere; there are some things that whores just won’t do.
The Pale Scot
@PurpleGirl:
Really, no you don’t, unless you’re looking to do some complicated photo or film work. Get a refurbished mac or a google chrome book or a good smartphone and you’ll be fine.
Surf – Mail – Text – Picts; Unless it’s for work the minutia is a waste, IMHO anyway.
Baud
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
Ain’t that the truth.
BillinGlendaleCA
I just fed my girls and the yorkie pom just walked in after finishing her dinner and burped loudly.
PurpleGirl
@Tommy: Good luck with that (and I’m not being sarcastic). I’ve liked the hardware side of computers. My sister (10 years older than me) quit her job and working way early because she didn’t want to learn to use a computer.
Tommy
@The Pale Scot: I totally agree. I was late to table/smart phone game. One, I work out of my house and no longer have to travel for work. Two I work with technology and I have a “gaming” quality laptop and desktop, why get a tablet?
Well I am stunned how much I like my tablet/phone. How much I use them.
And I am a firm believer that if you just want to text, email, and surf the web they are all you need. Now if you need to write longer documents or use more advance programs, you might need more but if not you are jusing buying more of a computer then you need IMHO.
SectionH
About to bail from our “local” to head home before it gets intense out there. Escondido is notorious for traffic stops*, and while I’m not personally worried, I don’t need the aggravation of waiting in line.
When we get home, Mr S will be busy buying plane tickets until 10pm. Apparently we’re going to Alaska at least twice in 2014. No complaints: I thoroughly enjoyed our only visit there. Also too (well, gotta get that in), the trips will be next summer. Solstice in Anchorage might be pretty awesome.
Then we’ll open some Prosecco, and I’ll probably be back here on BJ. There are a lot worse ways to spend NYE.
*Our mayor is Joe Arpaio’s BFF, and it shows.
Yatsuno
@Aji: I graduated from the parallel bars to using a walker for ambulation practise today. Doc says I’m about right where he expecte whr me to be at this point. So I’m progressing good, but I’ll be in the wheelchair until my weight restriction comes off the left leg. Then things get serious. But I’m having terrible leg spasms that sometimes interfere with the PT plus my left quad is still intensely weak. So I’m on schedule to get out on the 6th so far. So that’s about where I am and thank you for asking!
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Since I know we have a lot of crafters here, I somehow stumbled across this:
George Lucas knitting at Starbucks
There are also pictures floating around of R. Lee Ermey knitting a sock on an airplane. With double-pointed needles, no less!
Now all I need are photos of Danny Trejo knitting or crocheting and my life will be complete.
PurpleGirl
@The Pale Scot: I do typing for some people who don’t like to type. I also edit and proof read as a type. I need to learn InDesign and have a computer it can run on.
Villago Delenda Est
@lamh36:
Cue Ed Henry being outraged that MCM photographers are being upstaged and denied photo opportunities.
Schlemizel
@efgoldman: absolutely! Its more fun to share!
Villago Delenda Est
@Pogonip:
Let’s hope so. An early end to the Scott Walker 2016 campaign would be welcome.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Aji:
I bet he wants a new pony. Maybe a white one. ;-)
@Tommy:
My mom and I text more than we talk — in fact, I just texted her a new picture of the cats. She loved her iPhone, but my brother switched her to an Android phone and she doesn’t like it nearly as much because now she can’t FaceTime with the grandkids.
Aji
@Yatsuno: Yay! and Ick! So sorry to hear about the spasms, etc., but glad the doc is pleased with your progress. ice to hit a milestone on the last day of the year, innit?
Good new year’s wishes for a full and fast recovery, as pain-free as possible, hon.
Yatsuno
@BillinGlendaleCA:
You do NOT want to know how I read that…
Aji
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Oh, my. Well, once that left quad gets back into shape (along with everything else), maybe a ride or two would be helpful? I’m thinking on a non-white pony, though, onaccounta the white pony is spooked like really easily. Long time before anyone rides him, I think.
And happy new year, darlin’.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Villago Delenda Est: The Morning Joe crew was outraged as well.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Yatsuno: I have my guesses. EWWW!!!
danielx
@Villago Delenda Est:
Win.
Although it may get rid of more than that, they’re predicting a high of five above, FSM help us.
Making late dinner; large filets, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, etc etc. Since it may get loud later, I am in need of a little theme music by Mr. Landreth and Mr. Clapton.
JoyfulA
@SectionH: I did an Alaska cruise a couple of years ago. I was shivering on the Fourth of July because it was so cold.
Take a winter coat with you.
max
@Higgs Boson’s Mate:
You guys. Prostitutes give good value (you paid your money, you got laid), unlike Mike Allen. Please don’t insult the poor service workers by comparing them to scumbag like Allen.
max
[‘Not really joking.’]
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
@Yatsuno: Stick with it Yutsie. You’ll be back at full speed on both wheels in no time man.
Yatsuno
@Aji: This is a minor sore spot for me, as my mom sold my beautiful gurulla colt without checking with me! But any rides will happen on one of the Peruvians, since they all have smooth gaits so I won’t jostle too badly. Doc will have to clear all that as well, and he’s being really cautious about things right now.
@efgoldman: I have two different muscle relaxers that help a lot but don’t kill them entirely. Doc says they should fade away over time. I sure fucking hope so.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Aji:
For some reason, your pony story reminds me of the day a work friend of mine opened up her back door a few weeks after her elderly cat had died and found three (3) Ragdoll kittens sitting on the doorstep like, “Hi, we heard you had an opening for some new cats?” Apparently the Kitty Fairy had decided her family was worthy.
And Happy New Year to you and yours, too.
The Pale Scot
@PurpleGirl: I got off the Adobe merry-go-round some time ago. If your only doing text production and simple layout, I recommend you avoid the graphics-industrial-complex. There cheaper to free alternatives to InDesign.
10 Best Alternatives to Adobe InDesign
I can’t recommend any because I’m still using CS2. But the only reason to buy adobe is if you’re collaborating with someone who requires ID formatted docs. The time you waste figuring out to use the new functionality could be used designing. I think I did my best work with PS3, all the buttons are just 1 click ways to use the masks, selections and paths.
Tommy
@PurpleGirl: I have the entire Adobe Creative suite and InDesign is a beast of a program to learn IMHO. Eaiser clearly if you already understand the interface/tools Adobe uses, but still hard to learn, and I almost never have problems learning a new program. Often I want to throw things when using it. Just my two cents.
Tommy
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I am leaning to an Andorid phone cause that is what my brother and I have. But until I did the “reverse” switch to a Windows machine a few years ago I had been on Macs/Apple since 1986. I have no doubt the iPhone might be easier for her to learn/use.
Robert Sneddon
@The Pale Scot: Adobe sort-of gave away CS2 free recently — they shut down the authorisation servers for that version of the full Creative Suite package and made unlocked downloads available for the convenience of anyone still using it. Way behind the times, of course but it all still works.
Aji
@Yatsuno: Ack! I hope you, um, made your feelings clear. I would be beside myself. As to the riding, yes, sound plan. Besides, for ours, you’d have to come down here to do it. Neither of my boys is ready for riding yet, much less trailering for a lengthy road trip.
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): Awww. Except here, we didn’t, you know, have an opening, as it were. Over at the GOS, MB asked whether Miskwaki was writing messages in the dirt with his hoof, telling all the homeless horses to come here. I’m starting to think he was onto something there . . . .
The Pale Scot
@Robert Sneddon: I think that was for the PPC mac version, which was pretty white of them, since anyone who has a G4-5 has been using Adobe since ’98. It’s amazing how you can still run into a small shop running OS9 and using ATM until they have to pry it from the motherboard’s cold dead hands. I used a g3 with a personality card as my jukebox until the lack of wifi made it a hassle.
Tommy
@The Pale Scot: I STILL run my all black G4 Powerbook so I can play an older version of Civilization (which I think is the best). I mean heck, my Mac SE still runs, but no real use for it, although been thinking of just running Hypercard and hanging it under a cabinet in the kitchen to store recipes.
The Pale Scot
PS Ben and Jerry came out with butterscotch ice cream w’ butterscotch swirls, Yum.
Guess I’ll be watching the Mat Smith send off after the DVR records enough to skip the commercials.
Tommy
@The Pale Scot: No Who spoliers of course but enjoy. I watched Doctor Who as a kid on PBS, the one with the colorful scarf. Then nothing until my local cable provider picked up BBC America. So really just Matt Smith, who I thought was flat out amazing. Hate to see him go, but I miss Amy Pond more than anything :).
Anne Laurie
@Aji: Any chance somebody with a horse they could no longer support might’ve heard about Miskwaki and thought, well, if they’ll feed *one* starving stray… ?
I’m probly being east-coast-centric. Here in Massachusetts, we get local tv reports every so often about generally well-meaning people who end up arrested for animal cruelty because they can no longer afford to feed their horses (ponies, llamas) and it’s so hard to find an animal shelter with room for ‘livestock’…
The Pale Scot
@Tommy: I used my FW800 for work ’til a year ago, I realized not having a modern Intel box was going to bite me on the ass sooner or later. The new stuff runs a hell of a lot cooler, which here in FL, is a thing.
And with an intel I can run Centurion: Defender of Rome, which I’m embarrassed to say, is still entertaining.
Tommy
@Anne Laurie:
I can imagine. Long story short I had a friend in Nothern Virginia. From Denmark. Parents super rich with houses all over the world. He lived at their place in Middleburg (horse country) with a stable.
I think it had stalls for 24 horses. He was 6’5, 240 and not an ounce of fat. He liked to talk about stabling horses to earn money, but short lived. Most back breaking work he’d ever done, and at the time he was a general contractor.
Aji
@Anne Laurie: Actually, now that you mention it, I suppose it’s entirely possible. Over the course of this year, we’ve had absolute horror stories abound WRT horses just turned loose by their owners because they couldn’t afford to feed them. Really ghastly stuff. And it’s not as though we’re not known for being suckers in that regard . . . .
Sadly, NM doesn’t have very good laws dealing with animal cruelty and neglect, so most people go unpunished for whatever horrors they inflict.
The Pale Scot
@Tommy: Cheers to Amelia Pond, she’ll always be my favorite police person. And you should make the effort to get the earlier episodes of the reboot, I’m sure DVD’s on Amazon are cheap. And IMHO, the Doctor rolls much better without commercials, (Bit) cough, cough.
SectionH
@PurpleGirl: If you have an older computer that works well, Pagemaker will do routine word processing and layout as well as InDesign. And if you’re passing the files along to a printer (I mean people who print, not hardware), their InDesign will read Pagemaker files just fine.
Tommy
@The Pale Scot: I got a huge bonus at work in 1997. I was an account service person and we were all on Windows machines. All the creative people on Macs (of course). I think I paid $4,700 for that G4 laptop. I got it at Comp USA of all places. Brought it into the office. A machine ahead of its time IMHO.
I recall the creative folks literally bowing down to it. And as I mentioned, it still works.
Anne Laurie
@gogol’s wife:
In case you were seriously asking: Here in Boston, at least, First Night was developed to give celebrants something else to do besides drink. Bostonians like big public fireworks shows, so as the full-city-party idea took off, the authorities basically announced “We’ll trade you a big old fireworks display at midnight if you agree to cut back on the public-intoxication, drunk-driving, gang-fighting, EMT-requiring displays”. It works pretty well, because the non-drinking partiers dilute the angry obnoxious drinkers (the police are authorized to bust ‘open containers’ but mostly they haven’t needed to, in recent memory).
To my knowledge, Boston proper never had a big shooting-guns-at-midnight problem, but I’ve read that both Worcester and Lowell picked up the Official First Night idea to help discourage accidental-discharge issues. (Worcester blamed the problem on Latin American immigrants and Lowell on Cambodian immigrants, which may or may not have been correct.) The same thing probably applies to other cities as well.
The Pale Scot
@Tommy: Mac G’s don’t die, they just move on to other tasks.
Mike in NC
@
: Good luck on finding a new job. In this horribly depressing state, I’m fortunate in being eligible for a military pension in a few months. Otherwise, every single place tells me that I’m overqualified (AKA over age 50).
Tommy
@SectionH: Agreed. I came from a high-end advertising background and thought you always needed the best of the best. I mean that is what I was taught.
But something like PageMaker is fine IMHO. Maybe even better now, cause if you outsource the printing to a digital press (like Printing for Less — who I use) they’ll take a high resolution PDF. Not even the original source file so what you create it in doesn’t really matter.
ruemara
You people. InDesign is easy. very easy. You just have to understand that all is containers and layers. And do not give anyone p’shop layouts. Fucking earth rotations will be screwed up by the eyerolls. I’d get CS2 and learn it well. Yo can export pdfs and conform to industry standards easier than most of the freeware. I’ve tried the freeware, Scribdus. It was annoying. Give me ID every time. Plus if you need to work in Pshop or Illustrator, the integration at the CS level is perfection. I do work in all the print and the video programs. As expensive as the entire suite can be, when you need to update an illustrator chart, update the after effects animation it’s in and then update the premiere edit you have it incorporated in, you realize how perfect it is. And if you want any help, I’ve taught Pagemaker and Quark.
Anne Laurie
@Litlebritdiftrnt: Well, you work for one man who knows (or should) exactly what you’re doing. So, if he only wants to pay you for 20 hours a week, make sure you document every friggin’ minute of that twenty hours — and tell him that you charge a ‘contractor’ cost-plus hourly rate for all overages. You can decide what that rate should be while you’re revising your CV to advertise your skills for extra part-time work elsewhere, until your current boss realizes he’s cutting off his nose or you find a fulltime gig elsewhere!
Tommy
@Mike in NC: So sad to hear. I lost my job in the dot com thing, even thought I didn’t work in that industry. I was in my mid-30s. I went to interview after interview and believe it or not I was told I was too old. I know, hard to believe. But one lady was so honest, why pay me $100,000 when she could hire 3-4 other people with a year of experience for the same and work them to death.
I was like experience. That I know what I am doing and you won’t have to look over my shoulder.
She said that wasn’t enough. So I started to work for myself …..
One other thought. I did work and now directly work in technology. I hear all these horror stories about people your age that can’t find jobs. I find this stunning. I’d hire somebody your age just to help mentor my younger tech staff.
UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anne Laurie
@Aji: Yeah, whenever I’m feeling stressed about what our rescue dogs & cats cost, I remember what my Midwestern friends paid to board their horses!
Some of the tv ‘abuse’ stories I’ve seen, people just couldn’t find anyone to take their animals off their hands, or were afraid if they asked for help they’d lose animals they loved (howevermuch that love didn’t make up for underfeeding/neglect). But in at least one instance, the local animal shelter was said to have ‘insisted’ that the owners be arrested, because then the police would have to pay boarding costs that the shelter couldn’t afford unassisted. More horror stories from the Great Recession…
Mike in NC
@FlyingToaster:
Mike in NC
This First Night bullshit was always a way just to squeeze more money from the rubes, no matter where I lived.
SectionH
@Aji: I’d like to see a place where there are animal cruelty laws which have actual teeth and are enforced. I’m sure in many horse cruelty cases in central Kentucky, the people didn’t start out to starve their horses, but I guess somehow things fell apart. That’s the kind interpretation anyway. It’s not just in this economy that marginal enterprises have problems. Sigh. I didn’t go look at the early picture of your beautiful pinto, because, well, yeah, unfortunately I can imagine. Bless you for doing what you can.
Aji
@Anne Laurie: Yeah, those stories break my heart. When someone just needs a little help to be able to keep their animals and can’t get it – and worse, when they wind up arrested. [Sigh] this year, it’s been the opposite dynamic around here. We actually do have horse rescues and other options in the area, and there is one national org that, as I understand it, will take/place ANY horse in ANY state. But people haven’t even been trying – just abandoning them, turning them out to starve/die of thirst/get hit by semis and die horrible, slow, painful deaths. [Yeah, there was a really bad one of those a few months ago.]
@SectionH: Like I said, we’re suckers, but at least we know it. :-D The pinto was days away from death, at best. This one isn’t quite so bad off – for one thing, he seems to have had better care at some point in his life, leading, e.g., to better hoof health, etc. – but he’s still just all bones. And clearly been abused, too, like the pinto.
SectionH
@ruemara: I didn’t think it was a question of easy for Purple Girl, it was a question of $$, and what can still work for what she needs to do, which admittedly I was guessing at.
I was so far behind in CS upgrades that I just bought CS6. Had to, no upgrade discount from CS2. Yes, the price did make me faint. But it’s the last version Adobe is going to ever let you actually download on your own machine. After that, it’s all the cloud and $40 a month for the first 6 months and then it’s whatever they want to charge you. So I said, Fuck It. I will eventually stop actually earning income from my graphics work, and paying $$ to Adobe then will be Srsly annoying, if I can afford it at all. If I own this version of the software, I will be veryvery happy with it for as long as I’m likely to be able to use a computer.
PurpleGirl
@ruemara: I mentioned InDesign in the first place. I’m using a netbook running WinXP. I looked up InDesign at Adobe’s site and the newest one won’t run on my system. I had a early version of Pagemakers from my last job but lost the key code. What I’m able to do right now is make PDFs for printers. I’d like to do a better job of layout, though beyond I can do in WordPerfect or Word. (I worked as a Production Editor many years ago for Academic Press and then Marcel Dekker in science texts.) I have limited money to invest in new hardware right now.
SectionH
@PurpleGirl: If you can manage any layout whatsoever in Word, you have my respect AND sympathy.
JGabriel
@Villago Delenda Est:
Is Mike Allen really worth more than a $20 lunch? I mean, honestly, I’m skeptical that he’s even worth that much.
The Pale Scot
@PurpleGirl: Expense vs potential income is the the thing. You sound like you don’t have a lot of old hardware to stick together. I’m always annoyed having to buy new software just interact with customers. Your cheapest path may be to buy cheap hardware and software and work around the problems. My admittedly mac centric solution would be to get aPPC G4-5 and load a supposedly obsolete CS2 on it. Convert your files to adjustable PDF files.
Setting up a PPC mac with the necessary software is cheap, just can’t access all the internet’s dohickies, you’ll have to use an alternate browser, Firefox 10.4
It’s all about expense vs income. Good for you your customers aren’t dicks.
ruemara
@PurpleGirl: Then I heartily recommend the free download of CS2. I loaded it up on my windows kicking around machine and can start things here, copy them to the nas and refine things on the workhorse mac upstairs.
I also extend my respect and sympathy to you for working in Word. Where I work, people rave over Publisher. The fact that I can do more in ID goes right over their heads, since no one has any experience with anything besides Word or Publisher. It’s very funny. Can you get Pub cheaply? It might solve things.
@SectionH: You and I are on the same page with that CC thing. I wish I could jump to CS6 and then give them the middle finger, but CS3 is still working for me.