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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Later Night Open Thread

Later Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  April 4, 20142:12 am| 53 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Stream of Consciousness

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Here is a picture of the man as we work our way through GoT to get ready for season 4:

theman

Yes, I know he is fat and I fully expect Ronnie Roo to yell at me, but you really just can not appreciate how big of a cat he is- he’s the longest and broadest cat I have ever known. He’s prolly 3-4 lbs overweight, but overall, he is just the biggest most glamorous cat ever.

His fur is so much different from Tunch. When you put your hands in deep into Tunch’s fur, with his pudgy body and smaller frame and really short, but thick hair, it was like sticking your hand into a bunch of cotton balls. But with Steve, when you stick your hand and pet him, it is like petting muscular silk. It’s so weird- his fur is silky smooth, but his build is so much more muscular and sinewy and his bone structure is just massive. His shoulders and haunches are just massive compared to any other cat I have ever known. Oh, and the snoring.

Since Shawn has moved in, I have also discovered that I am a shitty fixer-upper. On a daily basis, I get asked- “Why didn’t you fix this? You have the tools and the parts,” and the only response I have is “I’d probably hurt myself and I guess I didn’t really notice it was broken. It wasn’t on a computer screen or on a book or on my tv or a pet and it did not get in the way of cooking.”

On the other hand, I am apparently the best cook he has ever met, so there is that, and we have really accomplished so much on the house. He notices shit, we fix it.

Self discovery. Sometimes it really sucks. On the other hand, I am the happiest I have been in years. So nice having a friend around who looks at things differently. Someone actually asked if it would be trouble with us living together under one roof, and we both laughed, because we lived together in a room the size of my kitchen with two bunks, a desk, and two wall lockers, and didn’t kill each other, so I figger we will be ok in a big house with our own rooms and bathrooms.

Ahh, well, done rambling. Have a big day tomorrow checking out cars I won’t buy.

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53Comments

  1. 1.

    Felonius Monk

    April 4, 2014 at 2:17 am

    Buy the Subaru, dammit. Get your shit together and be done with it.

    Besides, Steve looks like he’s ready for a road trip.

  2. 2.

    Hilfy

    April 4, 2014 at 2:28 am

    It makes my heart glad to hear you so content and happy. May the FSM bless you and Steve, Shawn and the girls.

  3. 3.

    theotherwa

    April 4, 2014 at 2:50 am

    JC, you’re happy. This is a little weird, but it’s a good weird. Enjoy the nice things in your life, there are quite a few. :)

  4. 4.

    jenn

    April 4, 2014 at 3:01 am

    Friends are Good! :)

  5. 5.

    Amir Khalid

    April 4, 2014 at 3:06 am

    I used to get John Cornyn ads pestering me to vote for him for Senator in Texas. Now I get an ad from the Australian Electoral Commission bugging me to vote in this year’s Senate election in Western Australia.

    I am Malaysian. I have never even visited Texas, and do not live or vote there. I have not visited Western Australia in over 30 years, and do not live or vote there either. We do have a Senate in Kuala Lumpur, vaguely analogous to the British House of Lords; but Malaysian Senators are appointed, not elected, and no one has the faintest idea who they are or what they do.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    April 4, 2014 at 3:15 am

    Looks as if you have fulfilled your wish expressed some time ago to adopt a human.

    Mazel tov.

  7. 7.

    Villago Delenda Est

    April 4, 2014 at 3:29 am

    Maine Coons run large, in my experience. So I don’t think Steve is that far off the baseline.

    Not that you could see the baseline under him, mind you…

  8. 8.

    NotMax

    April 4, 2014 at 3:59 am

    (repeating, as originally meant to post in freshest thread)

    Well, that was fast.

    We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better.

    Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He’s made this decision for Mozilla and our community. Source

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    April 4, 2014 at 4:03 am

    Glad things are working out for you. Great to have friends near and pets to spoil. I’ve always found that looking after others distracts me from my own sorrows.

    I may join you in the car not-buying enterprise soon. My 13-year-old Beetle lost 1st gear and the a/c, and now it has developed a small leak in the sunroof.

    I could fix it, or I could sell it and get another used car. Approximate budget: $5k. I’m leaning towards a different car, mostly for the adventure in it, even though I realize I’d likely be swapping one set of problems for another, equally vexing set…

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    April 4, 2014 at 4:39 am

    @Betty Cracker

    Time was the Florida used car market in certain areas was flooded with price-slashed upscale, low mileage cars as seniors shuffled off this mortal coil.

    No idea if that still holds true.

  11. 11.

    Betty Cracker

    April 4, 2014 at 4:44 am

    @NotMax: That remains the case. Lots of low mileage, cream puff Buicks and Caddies if you know where to look.

  12. 12.

    Amir Khalid

    April 4, 2014 at 5:34 am

    A billy goat has had a romantic encounter with an ewe on a farm in County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland, resulting in the unexpected birth of a geep. So the BBC tells us.

  13. 13.

    raven

    April 4, 2014 at 5:46 am

    46th anniversary of the King assassination.

  14. 14.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 5:54 am

    @Amir Khalid: How can one not keep a geep?!

  15. 15.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:00 am

    Mitchell Baker @ Mozilla.org via NotMax:

    We didn’t act like you’d expect Mozilla to act. We didn’t move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We’re sorry. We must do better. Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO.

    I detect the beginnings of a new hero for the theocratic right-wing.

  16. 16.

    p.a.

    April 4, 2014 at 6:08 am

    re:repairs. I follow the advice I read long ago; the Ten Year Rule. If it’s not going to fall down and injure someone within the next 10 years, it’s fine.

  17. 17.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:14 am

    Amir Khalid @ 12:

    A billy goat has had a romantic encounter with an ewe on a farm in County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland, resulting in the unexpected birth of a geep

    He’s a handsome little bugger, for a geep – probably sterile though.

    Sheep belong to the genus Ovis and have 54 chromosomes, while goats belong to the genus Capra and have 60 chromosomes. … Hybrid male mammals are often sterile due to a phenomenon called Haldane’s rule.

  18. 18.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 4, 2014 at 6:22 am

    Oh, for fck’s sake, Joey Scarborough is carrying on about Harry Reid hurting the fee-fees of the Koch brothers, calling him “McCarthy-like.” STFU, you pompous arrogant ass.

  19. 19.

    raven

    April 4, 2014 at 6:22 am

    @Mustang Bobby: Off the fucking rails. What a douche.

  20. 20.

    Keith P

    April 4, 2014 at 6:27 am

    Since you’re not gonna buy it, test drive a Corvette.

  21. 21.

    sm*t cl*de

    April 4, 2014 at 6:27 am

    resulting in the unexpected birth of a geep.

    Alas, the word “shoat” was already taken.

  22. 22.

    raven

    April 4, 2014 at 6:31 am

    @Keith P: I bet there are tons of Vette dealers in Bug Tussle WVA

  23. 23.

    raven

    April 4, 2014 at 6:31 am

    dupe

  24. 24.

    Mustang Bobby

    April 4, 2014 at 6:33 am

    @sm*t cl*de: I wonder what kind of cheese you could make from geep’s milk.

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    April 4, 2014 at 6:37 am

    Happy for you, Shawn, and the piglets!

    Something to consider about Maine Coon’s is that they often develop hip problems so carrying extra weight can make it worse.

  26. 26.

    Schlemizel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:45 am

    @Mustang Bobby: @raven:

    I do wonder sometimes how the massingill brigade decides that early in the morning how to take up the exact wrong position on many of these issues. Sure, some of them are no-brainers (the issues, not the people – we know they are). But what makes them decide to full wingnut on this issue instead of a more reasonable sounding one? It must be stressful for the poor dears on the early shift. The clowns of FAUX and friends have it easy as I am sure they have memos outlining their morning thoughts and key talking points but how does Joey decide to fart out this drivel at 3AM?

  27. 27.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:48 am

    @Mustang Bobby:

    I wonder what kind of cheese you could make from geep’s milk.

    Cheep.

    (or Geeze – with a z to differentiate it from Geese)

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    April 4, 2014 at 6:54 am

    Schlemizel:

    I do wonder sometimes how the massingill brigade decides that early in the morning how to take up the exact wrong position on many of these issues. Sure, some of them are no-brainers (the issues, not the people – we know they are). But what makes them decide to full wingnut on this issue instead of a more reasonable sounding one?

    Re: Koch, I suspect it’s a pretty easy decision to make if you have no soul and a billionaire is paying you.

    Actually, that’s probably true for most of the massengill brigade’s bad positions.

  29. 29.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 6:57 am

    @Mustang Bobby: The magnificent fragility of some people. Can’t be put in jail, can’t be expected to experience fear without armed retaliation, can’t be mocked, can’t be disagreed with or even overtly differed from without cries of oppression and religious holocaust. GSD forbid they get looked at in showers in a state of manly undress. Poor tender dears.

    Karin Agness, founder of the conservative Network of Enlightened Women might have some useful advice though. “Rather than try to ban words like ‘bossy,’ let’s try to promote real leadership skills, like developing a thick skin,” she said.

    Full of advice they are. Apparently all that is needed to solve both society’s and Republican Party problems is for women to drop sticks and get married pronto. All problems solved. See here. Juxtaposition of positions? vocalizations? is amusing. (Don’t all people smash large cudgels into things when expressing amusement?!)

  30. 30.

    Schlemizel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:01 am

    @JGabriel:
    Well that certainly would be the default but Joey had to make a decision, was he going full Kochsucker on this or take the more reasonable appearing ‘free speech is good, this is not going to be horrible’ line that many in the GOP are pretending is true. I would think he would want to at least pretend to be normal.

  31. 31.

    OzarkHillbilly

    April 4, 2014 at 7:05 am

    5 inches of rain the past 2 days, thunderstorms, hail, high winds, tornado watches, flash floods, practically Biblical but all seems OK around here. Drove thru about a half mile of water coming home last night on 185. Only reason I did was I had 4 cars and a semi in front of me. None of them disappeared so I figured the chances were pretty good the road would still be there when I drove over it. MODOT’s website says the road is still there this morn so I guess I won’t need the 30 mile detour after all. People aren’t so lucky over on N in Crawford Co. It is under water in 3 different locations and a piece of H is just plain gone.

    Spring in the Ozarks! Most people check the weather, around here we check the roads.

  32. 32.

    danielx

    April 4, 2014 at 7:08 am

    Out of pure curiosity, I looked up the Koch Brothers net worth this morning…each of them is worth roughly $40 billion dollars. As a further exercise, a couple of calculations revealed that either one of these individuals could spend five million dollars a day buying politicians for approximately the next twenty-two years.

    It really is difficult for the average person to comprehend what a personal fortune of $40 billion dollars actually means. Makes me wonder why they don’t do something else with their money, like enjoying spending it on private islands, Ferraris, hookers and blow.

    Although, now that I think of it these guys are Republicans, so it’s possible they do have more interesting hobbies than their exterior appearances would lead one to believe.

    Edit: Annnnnd…wait for it…here comes David Fucking Brooks, right on cue, proclaiming that “…the Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision strengthens democracy by enabling the parties to take back power from major donors.” Another alternate reality raises its demented head…

  33. 33.

    Hawes

    April 4, 2014 at 7:08 am

    I’m glad John found a decent fellow to settle down with.

    Actually, when I think about it, it seems more like a West By God Virginia version of The Odd Couple.

  34. 34.

    Schlemizel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:14 am

    @scav:
    A) I hate you for suckering me into reading a Dana Milbank column. Not this one was bad but cheese I hate that guy!

    Of course the goopers are right! The nation would be so much better off if all women got married & stayed home to raise kids. Unemployment would go way down without all those extra girls in the work force, kids would always have a mom at home during the day (think of the day care money saved!!). If getting pregnant meant getting married immediately there go abortions to zero! Why, there is just nothing that wouldn’t be better if you girls would just accept your role in the world.

    I am practicing for my shot on Morning Shmoe

  35. 35.

    Hillary Rettig

    April 4, 2014 at 7:19 am

    Living alone is overrated. It’s good to have your space, but after a while it gets lonely. When I was single, I much prefer living with roommates. We didn’t really socialize or cook or anything together, although it would sometimes happen spontaneously, but it was nice to have someone to interact with for at least a few minutes a day.

  36. 36.

    Schlemizel

    April 4, 2014 at 7:23 am

    @Hillary Rettig:
    Having done the work from home gigs a few time I’d say that is very true. It can be very pleasant not having to put up with office mates but it after a while I find I really do like to have interaction with other humans sometimes

  37. 37.

    scav

    April 4, 2014 at 7:29 am

    @Schlemizel: Mea super-sizamus maxima venti culpa on the redirect! For your gig, you forgot the all important detail that all wimminz simply luv the housework and long to return to it full time, or at least as full-time as can be managed around the manly needs nurturing. Inhale enough dust-bunnies and windex and suddenly voting straight-ticket republican just as hubby dictates is the icing on one’s already perfect cupcake I gather.

  38. 38.

    OzarkHillbilly

    April 4, 2014 at 7:41 am

    The Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry has seen the light, I mean money, and is now lobbying the state legislature to expand Medicaid to cover the 300,000 uninsured Missourians who have fallen into the gap. Former Gov and Senator Kit Bond has also seen the light, I mean money, and is their lead lobbyist.

    “He said he asks them to consider the price of inaction, including “how much money would come to Missouri that does not come here, how many health providers lose their jobs, how many needy people wind up in the emergency room to get primary care, which will drive up the cost of insurance that pays for the hospitals’ cost.”

    Money really does talk and sh!t really does walk (the halls of the MO state capital), but I’m not holding my breath. These people are really stupid.

  39. 39.

    Baud

    April 4, 2014 at 7:44 am

    Jenna Bush is interviewing her dad about his painting.

    Can’t wait till she asks him about the Senate torture report.

  40. 40.

    Glocksman

    April 4, 2014 at 7:46 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    There’s an old joke that says the average age of a Buick owner is between 70 and deceased.
    That may not hold true in China, but here in the US it did to the point that my 72 year old father bought a 2014 Camaro SS instead of a Buick.

    He paid cash.
    Something I wish I could do. :)

  41. 41.

    WereBear

    April 4, 2014 at 7:50 am

    @Amir Khalid: I have not visited Western Australia in over 30 years

    But apparently they remember, Amir.

    Lots of bad horror movies start this way…

  42. 42.

    WereBear

    April 4, 2014 at 7:53 am

    @Betty Cracker: I’m like, Ack how can you get around without first gear, and I remember… Florida.

    My driveway is like a 30 degree angle.

  43. 43.

    Abo gato

    April 4, 2014 at 7:56 am

    @Mustang Bobby: I was watching it while on a treadmill at the gym. I thought, Oh fuck you, you ignorant twit. Except that I said it out loud, and kinda loudly, judging from the looks of consternation from the people on both sides of me. Well, it still applies. Joe fucking Scarborough can bite me.

  44. 44.

    HeartlandLiberal

    April 4, 2014 at 7:56 am

    I not in an earlier diary your remarks about seating comfort in cars you are looking at.

    In all your car shopping, have you ever sat in a Volvo? As far as I am concerned, they make the best, most ergonomic, comfortable seats of any maker. You should consider a used Volvo. My wife just does not want to give up her Volvo 850, mainly because of the seats. Since we are both retired, there is not a whole lot of justification for buying a newer model as our second car, primarily for her personal use when going places alone. So we just keep the 850 going. Heck, it only has 80,000 miles or so on it.

  45. 45.

    WereBear

    April 4, 2014 at 8:05 am

    And stop making fun of Steve, people! Maine Coons have big bones. My own vet was eyeballing RJ at three years old but then he examined him and exclaimed, “Not a bit of this is fat!”

    The camera adds pounds!

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    April 4, 2014 at 8:51 am

    @HeartlandLiberal: That’s barely broken in for a Volvo! I had a 1987 240 sedan (I acquired it in the early 90s) that had a quarter-million miles on it when I gave it to my mom, who put scads more miles on it before she traded it in for something else down the line. Wonderful car, and very comfortable, as you noted. The only downside is they’re expensive to fix when they break down, but they break down so rarely that even that’s a wash.

  47. 47.

    RoonieRoo

    April 4, 2014 at 9:14 am

    I will make you a promise Cole. I will not yell at you for Steve being overweight if you do one very simple thing for me. I want you to take Steve to the vet, get him weighed and ask your vet for an honest assessment of Steve’s weight. They will usually give you a number from 1 to 10 and that will tell you exactly where he is at. Pictures can lie and make cats with long fur look fatter than they are. So, get a real number from your vet and no more yelling from me.

  48. 48.

    kc

    April 4, 2014 at 10:25 am

    What a fine cat.

  49. 49.

    BubbaDave

    April 4, 2014 at 10:29 am

    @RoonieRoo:

    What Ronnie says. Speaking as someone who has had to give daily insulin injections to a cat– you do NOT want Steve to develop the diabeetus, and managing his weight is a part of that process.

    Don’t make us tell Shawn on you.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne

    April 4, 2014 at 11:00 am

    If you haven’t switched Steve to a grain-free food yet, do it now. I can’t find WereBear’s spreadsheet right now (maybe she’ll pop in with it) but a few good brands are Wellness, Weruva, and Blue Buffalo. Our three get Blue Buffalo Wilderness and don’t have a weight problem. (Well, Charlotte needs to lose about a pound, but that’s because she’s more food-oriented than the other two.) For wet food, I give them a mix, but again it’s grain-free and from brands like Wellness and BFF (Best Feline Friends).

  51. 51.

    Felonius Monk

    April 4, 2014 at 11:24 am

    @JGabriel:

    (or Geeze – with a z to differentiate it from Geese)

    I think you can only call it “Geeze” when it’s made from the milk of an elderly Geep.

  52. 52.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    April 4, 2014 at 12:20 pm

    I feel like Shawn has stolen our bliss.

  53. 53.

    singing truth to power

    April 4, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    I agree with Mnemosyne about grain-free food. Got a 12 week old kitten last fall who was on Royal Canin – his poop smelled like something very toxic. It would almost drive you outside. I switched him to grain-free Costco premium salmon and sweet potato, and it made all the difference, practically overnight. And man, is his coat shiny –

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