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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by John Cole|  August 6, 20144:31 pm| 134 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Not sure what happened to everyone.

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Previous Post: « More Shitty Cops in NYC
Next Post: Wednesday Evening Open Thread: A Modest Proposal »

Reader Interactions

134Comments

  1. 1.

    gbear

    August 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    I blame Obama.

  2. 2.

    Tom Traubert

    August 6, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Raptured.

  3. 3.

    Olivia

    August 6, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Rapture…we’re the only ones left.

  4. 4.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    All kidnapped by Open Carry Texas. They will be held until King Obummer abdicates.

  5. 5.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    Shhh, I’m hunting wabbitsmustard.

  6. 6.

    Southern Beale

    August 6, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    Preparing for my LAST CLASS tomorrow. Last for about 4 weeks. Next one starts up on Sept. 8. Still, it feels like I’m gonna be freeeeeeeeee……….

    Hey me and the mister are doing a Chicago-Wisconsin trip. Wisconsin because visiting Taliesin has long been on my bucket list. It may require an overnight stay in Madison. Haven’t been to Madison in about 30 years, anyone have any recommendations for fun things to do there? Cool clubs or anything? All I remember about Madison was that it was a big college town.

  7. 7.

    Howard Beale IV

    August 6, 2014 at 4:44 pm

    During the last two weeks I’ve suffered two tonic-clonic seizures.

  8. 8.

    Paul W.

    August 6, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    I think they’re still trying to decide if BnB is somehow the greatest lie ever sold to mankind by libertarians or something. I dunno, some people are really uncomfortable with any grey areas in the economy. Even those that are only a few years old.

  9. 9.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    Hodor! bait at LGM.

  10. 10.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    So my really annoying first world problem of the day.

    Need to pay kid’s first month’s rent and security deposit for his new digs in London. Property management company sends me all the information I need to initiate a UK domestic wire transfer. No SWIFT code, and no IBAN number.

    Fellas, didn’t my strange accent tip you off that I’m not a Brit, and would need the info to send an international wire?

    Facepalm.

  11. 11.

    gbear

    August 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    @Southern Beale: Throwing up on the curb is a big thing in Madison from what I remember.

  12. 12.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    @Southern Beale: Omnes is your man on that question.

    Great pubs around the downtown. Excellent local beer and food generally.

    Though also large population of Cheeseheads.

  13. 13.

    w3ski

    August 6, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    ” People don’t come here anymore, it’s too crowded”.
    Welcome home John, bless yore ornery big heart.

  14. 14.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    @Trollhattan:

    Holy moly. Not even BiP can top that.

  15. 15.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    @burnspbesq: Just send cash in a white envelope.

    What else can I help you with?

  16. 16.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    @burnspbesq:
    Bless his heart if he won’t try.

    Somebody should steal the ctrl, C and V keys from his keyboard.

  17. 17.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 6, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    My problem is a damn mouse that keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in Win 7. I’ve scoured Google for answers, and tried many of the “fixes” offered, but the problem will not go away.

    Going to try a “repair” off the original Win 7 disc next. See if that fixes it. Annoying as all hell.

  18. 18.

    Helmut Monotreme

    August 6, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    Welcome to my home. I live in Fitchburg, just outside of Madison, and prior to that, lived in Madison for 10 years. It is a big college town, and is probably so to an even greater extent than when you last visited. When are you visiting? a great local weekly, “The Isthmus” has a website at The Isthmus that can clue you in to one of our many summer neighborhood festivals, and theater productions. Start there. The Great Dane and the Ale Asylum are two excellent local brewpubs… and without knowing more about what you like I’m at a loss for what to suggest.

  19. 19.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    @Trollhattan:

    What’s the temp up there today, 112? One good thing about the kid transferring, I don’t have to make the I-5 run to Seattle in August any more.

  20. 20.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    @burnspbesq: Boy, no kidding. The Nation is seriously fucking up on this particular topic.

  21. 21.

    Mustang Bobby

    August 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    Just back from a tour of downtown Cincinnati as seen through the windows of my sister’s car. (Dad’s got a walker so doing it on foot was problematic.) It has turned into a really nice place since the last time I saw it, which was 1984 or so. And we happened upon the rally for marriage equality going on at Fountain Square, so we all hollered YAY!

    I for one can’t wait for the Rapture. All those annoying Jesus-shouters will be gone and we can sell their stuff on E-bay.

  22. 22.

    chopper

    August 6, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    @Howard Beale IV:

    Yikes. A few more and you qualify to call yourself Grandmaster Mal.

  23. 23.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 6, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    @burnspbesq: You know, that’s pretty amazing that they didn’t pick up the accent, because when I was visiting Singapore, I sat at a table with some absolutely lovely people from Australia who immediately identified my accent as “American”…and generic American at that (PNW English is pretty close to your standard TV Newsanchor/Johnny Carson flat midwestern English.).

    Perhaps if you threw in a few “gnalies” and “fer sures” in there they’d pick up on the California.

  24. 24.

    gbear

    August 6, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    @Southern Beale: If you’re near the capitol at lunchtime you could go inside and join in singing some protest songs. I think that’s still a thing – kind of Madison’s version of Moral Mondays.

  25. 25.

    bago

    August 6, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    The site redesign no longer crashes my mobile browser.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 5:03 pm

    @Paul W.:

    I’m really uncomfortable with tenants being illegally evicted so their landlords can put the apartments up on AirBNB. YMMV, of course.

  27. 27.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I was actually a subscriber for a few years in the 1990s. Can’t remember why I thought that was a good idea.

  28. 28.

    J.

    August 6, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    Damn, left behind again.

    In other news, I say this glass is half empty. My husband says it’s half full. Thoughts?

  29. 29.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    @burnspbesq:
    We caught a break and have had three cloudy days in a row! Yesterday it didn’t crack 80, which must be close to the record low, high temp (there’s probably a less-odd way to express that).

    Last Friday OTOH–a scintellating 107, capping more than a week of triple digits. Smokey, too, from the myriad fires.

  30. 30.

    Calouste

    August 6, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Fellas, didn’t my strange accent tip you off that I’m not a Brit,

    It probably tipped them off that you’re a septic, but there are loads of foreigners living in London more or less permanently, so it doesn’t particularly tip them off that you do not have a UK bank account.

    Any way, I though that a high flying tax attorney like yourself wouldn’t have any trouble with finding out the IBAN number once you have the information for a domestic transfer. It’s not exactly rocket surgery.

  31. 31.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    I don’t speak SoCal except for effect. I’m pretty generic unless I have booze in me, at which point my native Joisey emerges. I’m also conversant (used to be fluent) in Suthrun.

  32. 32.

    Violet

    August 6, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Fellas, didn’t my strange accent tip you off that I’m not a Brit, and would need the info to send an international wire?

    No because London is an international city and a significant percentage of people have non-British accents. That doesn’t mean they don’t have English bank accounts. Did you specifically tell them you needed to do an international wire transfer?

  33. 33.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    LGM site won’t load. What the hell?

  34. 34.

    Calouste

    August 6, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    @J.:

    Give it to me and your glass will be completely empty.

  35. 35.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    @Calouste:

    A search of SWIFT returned codes for all of their bank’s special-purpose subsidiaries, but nothing for the bank itself.

  36. 36.

    dmsilev

    August 6, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    @J.: An engineer would say that the glass is oversized for the necessary load.

  37. 37.

    dmsilev

    August 6, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    @BGinCHI: It’s been wonky most of today. I had some luck just hitting ‘refresh’ two or three times.

  38. 38.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    Getting ready for our annual trip to Chicago. As G keeps pointing out, it should be slightly less shitty than it has been the past couple of years since we don’t have a funeral, memorial, or post-mortem housecleaning to do. But the family feud between my brother and my stepmother continues, and I’m really at my fucking wits’ end at this point. Advice for the future: if a family member is worried that you may be stealing money from her, don’t transfer money from her account into your account. I don’t give a shit if it was perfectly legal to do it. It looks bad, you fucking idiot.

  39. 39.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    Wily Indian camera crew tapes Hamas setting up a rocket launch.

    Great, now everybody is going to be suspicious of the portashades at our soccer matches. Please don’t tell the IDF.

  40. 40.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 6, 2014 at 5:11 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Stephen Cohen is proving himself to be a really world-class idiot.

  41. 41.

    Suffern ACE

    August 6, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    If we need to go and find the front pagers, can we invest in some of these for the search and rescue effort. I just think it would be kind of cool for the site to have a remote controlled insect rescue army. Much easier to maintain than a cat army.

  42. 42.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Great new Korean taco joint in my ‘hood.

    You want info? You getting into the city?

  43. 43.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 5:12 pm

    @dmsilev:
    A hydrologist would applaud the extra headspace for flood years.

  44. 44.

    MomSense

    August 6, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    @Howard Beale IV:

    I’m really sorry to hear about your seizures.

  45. 45.

    Amir Khalid

    August 6, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    I’m here. In fact, I’m here so much people are wondering just when I’m not here.

    @burnspbesq:
    Sometimes, Bob in Portland will turn to The Nation for precisely such pro-Russia, pro-Putin talking points as these, and then challenge us to distrust its liberal credentials. It’s a change from quoting Russia Today.

  46. 46.

    gbear

    August 6, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    @dmsilev: But the engineer would actually want the 2x overengineering factor. A developer would say that the space is being only 40% utilized.

  47. 47.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    You want info? You getting into the city?

    Sure! We will have a day in the city, but we’re still trying to decide what to do. We have a family tradition of having tea at the Drake in the afternoon, and we’ll probably try to hit a museum, but we still haven’t made up our minds.

    Because of family locations, we’re staying in Highland Park/Northbrook, so North Shore ideas (or Oak Park, where G’s family is) are also welcome.

  48. 48.

    MomSense

    August 6, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    @J.:

    Depends if you’re drinking or pouring.

  49. 49.

    Iowa Old Lady

    August 6, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    @Southern Beale: If you’re in Madison on Saturday, there’s a good farmer’s market around the capitol.

  50. 50.

    Elizabelle

    August 6, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    Maybe there was a limit to how much people wanted to talk about shitty cops?

    Loved that thread on Uber and Lyft this morning; still have to catch up on it.

  51. 51.

    MomSense

    August 6, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    BREAKING NEWS::

    Our betta fish almost jumped out of his fish bowl. I have never seen him do that before. If he had gone a few inches to the left he would have cleared the rim and fallen a loooong way to the floor. Cats are standing by tails swishing.

  52. 52.

    burnspbesq

    August 6, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    I’m not sure whether I find this horrifying or hilarious:

    Dahlia Lithwick and Austan Goolsbee were college debate partners.

  53. 53.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 6, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    @MomSense:

    Cats are standing by tails swishing.

    Thread won. Shut it down, and ship the Internets to MomSense, FedEx overnight.

  54. 54.

    J.

    August 6, 2014 at 5:23 pm

    @Calouste: LOL. :-)

  55. 55.

    J.

    August 6, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    @MomSense: My thinking precisely.

  56. 56.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 5:25 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Well, this is Andersonville, so it’s on the north side.

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/takos-koreanos-chicago-4

    It’s new so therefore only a few reviews. Bring cash. There are lots of other great places around here if you want to spend some time.

    HP and Northbrook are not my strong suit. You’d be better off using Urban Spoon. If you want a place down near the Art Institute, try The Gage at 24 S. Michigan. Damn good. Better than the silly Drake, but I get the tradition. West Loop has a ton of good spots as well.

    Enjoy your visit. And if you want coffee, head into Glencoe and try the Glencoe Roast Coffee shop on Vernon. If you do that on Saturday morning around 11 you will see me and a bunch of other guys in spandex, shattered from a long ride.

  57. 57.

    Jeffro

    August 6, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    @J.: 100% full – half full of drink, half full of air

  58. 58.

    Josie

    August 6, 2014 at 5:26 pm

    @Elizabelle: Right? I was familiar with Air B&B from doing research for my son who needed a cheap place to sleep in L. A. for a month while he was working on some music, but I had never heard of Uber or Lyft. Very interesting discussion.

  59. 59.

    Howard Beale IV

    August 6, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    @MomSense: Ben a pain in tne arrse fer sure,

  60. 60.

    Ella in New Mexico

    August 6, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    Not sure what happened to everyone.

    Three glorious days alone with the hubby in Durango, Colorado.

    If I ever win the lottery, first thing I’ll do is go back there and buy a ranch in the foothills and open up the animal rescue sanctuary.

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    Added ’em both — thanks!

  62. 62.

    Yatsuno

    August 6, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    @Amir Khalid: I just wonder when you sleep! I mean, I know you’re retired and all, but MAN!

  63. 63.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    @MomSense:
    They’re BIG jumpers. You wouldn’t know it 99% of the time, since they’re usually just trying to look cool, but when the moment arrives–POP-ZOOM!

    Have seen aerials performed by a couple of my larger koi and holy crap, that always surprises me.

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    August 6, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    @burnspbesq:
    Dahlia Lithwick’s law journalism, along with Emily Bazelon’s, is almost the only thing left worth reading at Slate. Almost everything else now is trivial or silly or both.

    I remember that Austan Goolsbee works, or worked, for the Obama administration, but not in what post. His name seems unreal, like a too-clever Internet handle — you know, such as “Angelo Lansbury” or “Amanda Blow”.

  65. 65.

    Josie

    August 6, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    @Josie: In fact, since this is an open thread, I must brag on my baby boy. He got his first official album placement this week. An old boy band – O-town – is putting out a reunion album and they are using his song as pr for the album. It can be heard in full on their site.

    http://www.otownofficial.com/

    My son wrote and played the guitar parts on the song. I am so excited.

  66. 66.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    @Josie: And he’s still a baby?

    Going straight home and having a talk with my toddler about his goals and accomplishments.

  67. 67.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    @Amir Khalid:
    Every time Emily Bazelon appears on Colbert I fall in love with her. Am sure it’s becaue of her brain, but one never knows.

  68. 68.

    carlweese

    August 6, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    @Southern Beale:

    Do NOT stay at the Madison Motel 6!! I made that mistake while doing a lot of travel a couple years ago. Mostly, 6 delivers good value for low cost, but not that one.

  69. 69.

    dmsilev

    August 6, 2014 at 5:39 pm

    Latest trend in conservative “activism”

  70. 70.

    gene108

    August 6, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    @Paul W.:

    I think they’re still trying to decide if BnB is somehow the greatest lie ever sold to mankind by libertarians or something. I dunno, some people are really uncomfortable with any grey areas in the economy. Even those that are only a few years old.

    From reading the thread below, earlier today, I think two issues got conflated, with regards to Uber and AirBnB.

    Uber seems to be directly trying to undercut the current taxi cab regulatory regime, by allowing car owners to become taxi cab drivers. Part of Uber’s success is the that in many cities the tax cab regulations make citizens under serviced and cabbies underpaid, so Uber has the ability to meet pent up demand from both customers and taxi drivers.

    Seems like AirBnB, at some level, is a more sophisticated version of what people have been doing for a long time: Advertising places for people to rent on a short term basis, for vacations or conferences. As someone in the thread below stated, AirBnB put the old system on steroids and created some unforeseen issues, with regards to the scale at which short term renting could occur. It’s a peer-to-peer sort of sharing situation that was not possible before the internet. It’s the difference between using a tape to copy a friend’s album, back in the 1980’s, versus Napster circa 2003.

    I do not think lumping the in together as some sort of uniform libertarian hipster plot to undermine local government makes sense.

    They do not have the same end goals.

    Uber is trying to become a de-facto taxi cab service, without paying cities for that privilege.

    AirBnB is more of a peer-to-peer sharing service, which has created its own set of problems, because of the scale at which it has allowed peer-to-peer services to operate.

  71. 71.

    Suffern ACE

    August 6, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    @Southern Beale: the mustard museum in Middleton.

    Also, if you go to Talesian, you could try to squeeze in the house on the rock, which is close by. It’s kind of like what frank Lloyd wright might have done if he actually were whimsical.

  72. 72.

    Josie

    August 6, 2014 at 5:41 pm

    @BGinCHI: No, actually he is 30, but he is my youngest and will always be my baby. He hates when I say that.

  73. 73.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 5:42 pm

    @Josie: I assume there is cheek-pinching involved.

  74. 74.

    Josie

    August 6, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    @BGinCHI: No, I wouldn’t dare. He has his limits.

  75. 75.

    dmsilev

    August 6, 2014 at 5:45 pm

    @BGinCHI: Toddler accomplishments? My nephew (same age as your son) recently figured out how to open “baby-proof” child gates. Not really sure if that’s something we should be celebrating…

  76. 76.

    MomSense

    August 6, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    @Trollhattan:

    So I might have missed all of previous aerial performances?? Wow, maybe I should get a bigger bowl.

    @Josie:

    Fantastic!! Congratulations to mom and baby!

  77. 77.

    Jay C

    August 6, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    @Amir Khalid:

    It’s a change from quoting Russia Today.

    Not much of one, though.

  78. 78.

    gogol's wife

    August 6, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    You were already offering your toddler for heavy-duty snow removal this past winter, so I think he’s pretty advanced.

    Our new garage is now almost framed. I’m relieved that it doesn’t look too huge. Now if there are three feet of snow, at least our cars won’t be under it.

  79. 79.

    thruppence

    August 6, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    @BGinCHI: A little late, but you can google “lawyersgunsmoney” and then load a recently cached version from the search results.

  80. 80.

    Goblue72

    August 6, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    @Mnemosyne: that’s pretty egregious. On other hand, as a former San Franciscan, the voters of SF has done this to themselves by their NIMBY refusal to build anything clue to enough housing units over the last 30 plus years.

  81. 81.

    Josie

    August 6, 2014 at 5:50 pm

    @MomSense: Thanks

  82. 82.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @gene108:

    I think someone in the other thread compared AirBNB to eBay, which has some validity: it was originally set up so people could make a few bucks selling some of their excess junk and now has big companies cashing in to sell things directly to consumers. As I said above, my main problem with AirBNB (other than the tax issue, which should be relatively easily solved) is that it’s loosely regulated enough that it’s allowing shenanigans by landlords who decide that running a tax-free hotel is more profitable than running apartments. There definitely needs to be some tightening up/modernizing of hotel laws, especially in SF.

  83. 83.

    gelfling545

    August 6, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: You might want to read this to prepare”

    How to Profit from the Coming Rapture

  84. 84.

    the Conster

    August 6, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    Just read about bedbugs being found on NYC subway cars. That worries me more than Ebola.

  85. 85.

    Citizen_X

    August 6, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    the mustard museum in Middleton.

    For god’s sake, don’t send Cole there. It’ll be set off some sort of supernova-collapse phenomenon.

  86. 86.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @Southern Beale: One night in Madison? There are a variety of options. Many, many, many bars. Quite a few good restaurants. Are you into local color? Let me know what you wnat to see and I can maybe make some suggestions. However, if you are planning on staying in Madison because it is the closest city with housing, there are actually some nice places in Spring Green itself and you could possibly take in a play at APT.

  87. 87.

    Corner Stone

    August 6, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    @Calouste:

    @burnspbesq:

    Fellas, didn’t my strange accent tip you off that I’m not a Brit,

    It probably tipped them off that you’re a septic,

    One of the more awesomely correct auto correct actions in some time.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    @Corner Stone: That wasn’t autocorrect. That was rhyming slang.

  89. 89.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    @gogol’s wife: Please do not say the “s” word again.

  90. 90.

    Corner Stone

    August 6, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Gooo onnn…
    Drop that shit!

  91. 91.

    BGinCHI

    August 6, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Nice town, and love APT. Good suggestion.

  92. 92.

    Corner Stone

    August 6, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    @BGinCHI: Do you mean snow? What’s wrong with snow? We haven’t had snow here in a long, long time. Years away from having snow here.

  93. 93.

    Roger Moore

    August 6, 2014 at 6:04 pm

    @chopper:
    You just have to be really careful about Darth Mal.

  94. 94.

    Amir Khalid

    August 6, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    @Corner Stone:
    That’s nothing. It hasn’t snowed in my town since the last ice age.

  95. 95.

    PurpleGirl

    August 6, 2014 at 6:14 pm

    @MomSense: I’ll bet the cats were standing by… “Come on, just a little to the left, that’s it almost. I can almost taste you.”

  96. 96.

    Amir Khalid

    August 6, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    Seen on Yahoo! News:
    A former Apple employee named Sam Sung is auctioning the last of his old business cards for charity. Mr Sung, who lives in Vancouver, is pledging the proceeds (minus eBay fees) to Children’s Wish, BC & Yukon.

  97. 97.

    JPL

    August 6, 2014 at 6:16 pm

    @Howard Beale IV: Take care. Is there any idea what caused them?

  98. 98.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    @gene108:

    I do not think lumping the in together as some sort of uniform libertarian hipster plot to undermine local government makes sense.

    In my city, public transportation is a mess and cab service is too damned expensive. My upstairs neighbor is 70 years old and living on a quite constraining fixed income. Our bus system is not a place for her to be at night and roundtrip cab fare to a usual destination for her would be $25.00. She has used Uber and is very happy with the service and the savings.

    Is she a hipster douche? (I know that that is not your impression, but it is for some.)

    Travel has become so very expensive and so many folks are being priced out of the existing market. That is why these other services are finding a grateful patronage. It seems that quite a few people here are not economically stressed like my neighbor, so they can criticize those who really are benefitted by such opportunities as Uber and AirBnB.

    They can criticize, but I don’t think they should.

  99. 99.

    mai naem mobile

    August 6, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    Trying to see if this will post.

  100. 100.

    MomSense

    August 6, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    @PurpleGirl:

    That is exactly the scene.

  101. 101.

    mai naem mobile

    August 6, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Anybody else have a problem loading the desktop site? Ive been having a problem since yesterday.

  102. 102.

    Trollhattan

    August 6, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    @MomSense:
    Recommend at least something across the top. They can and do “vanish.”

  103. 103.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    @BGinCHI:

    My mom just moved back to Illinois after spending the last 25 years of winters in Phoenix and swears that she’s going to have no trouble at all with adapting to winter again.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

  104. 104.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    @Keith G: And if the Uber car she is in gets in an accident and the drivers’ insurance company denies coverage because the driver was acting as an unlicensed taxi? I think these things could be valuable innovations, but there are a lot of things to be worked out.

  105. 105.

    dr. luba

    August 6, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    @burnspbesq: BiP has been turning up in the comments sections of numerous other sites. I keep running across him, defending Putin to the last and blaming the shoot down of the Malaysian airliner on those evil Ukrainians. Not sure if he is a paid troll or Putin’s useful idiot.

    Better over there than here, I suppose.

  106. 106.

    FlipYrWhig

    August 6, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Wait, so you can call an American “septic” because that makes you think “tank” which rhymes with “Yank”? Christ, I have no idea how those people understand each other.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    In the thread below, Elizabelle pointed out that things like Uber could be pretty useful in more rural areas where there isn’t enough business to support a full-time taxi service, but people could make a few bucks by doing it part-time.

    But, yeah, with the current lack of regulation, if there’s an accident, who pays?

  108. 108.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Spoken as if by a lawyer.

    Oh yes, by all means she would be better off staying home and not joining in the chance to freely socialize with others.

  109. 109.

    Ash Can

    August 6, 2014 at 6:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne: If you like good beer (and more good food), Hopleaf is close to the Korean taco place. Also, for the North Shore area, there’s a concentration of decent restaurants along “restaurant row” in Wheeling, including some in and near the Westin hotel. In addition, a trip to Ravinia is always a good idea. For Oak Park, I’ve heard great things about the Marion Street Cheese Market, and there are also a cluster of restaurants and bars just west along Madison in Forest Park. Have a great trip!

  110. 110.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    @Keith G:

    Oh yes, by all means she would be better off staying home and not joining in the chance to freely socialize with others.

    And when she breaks her leg when the driver gets into an accident and the insurance company refuses to pay, how social is she going to be able to be?

    Shit happens. One of the commenters here (aimai? Shortstop?) was in a very serious taxi accident a few years ago that left her hospitalized, and that was paid for by the taxi’s insurance. What does your friend do if the driver’s insurance company says, Sorry, she ain’t covered?

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 6:29 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:

    Wait, so you can call an American “septic” because that makes you think “tank” which rhymes with “Yank”?

    The first person who called me that was a Tasmanian, so I just complimented him on how well his surgeon hid the scars from removing his second head.* We then had several beers.

    *Apparently, in Australia, Tasmanians are commonly considered in-bred to the point of birth defects.

    @Keith G:

    Oh yes, by all means she would be better off staying home and not joining in the chance to freely socialize with others.

    I didn’t say that, did I?

  112. 112.

    FlipYrWhig

    August 6, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): That guy sounds like a real snipe, which makes you think “hunt,” which in turn [bloody hell, my nose!]

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 6:33 pm

    @Ash Can:

    Thanks!

    And as long as I’m making requests, if anyone knows a nice gentleman in his 30s in the Oak Park area who would like to meet another nice gentleman in his 30s, drop me a line at my website. My brother-in-law isn’t getting any younger, and we think it’s about time for him to meet a nice boy and settle down now that you all in Illinois have gotten the marriage equality thing straightened out. :-)

  114. 114.

    joel hanes

    August 6, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    @carlweese:

    My experiences at Motel 6 have led me to the rule of thumb: NEVER stay at a Motel 6 anywhere.

    Econolodge just isn’t that much more expensive, and the difference in quality of experience is significant.

  115. 115.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 6:36 pm

    @Mnemosyne: So let me give you her mailing address so you (part of a couple who can take annual trips to a major city) can write a letter to her (someone who has to scrimp to pay her utility bills and rent) admonishing her for her risky behavior and telling her how much better her life would be if she acted the way you think she should.

  116. 116.

    Roger Moore

    August 6, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    @Keith G:
    It is a serious potential problem. Fortunately, it’s one that is solvable; the companies just need to provide insurance for their drivers. Actually, as I understand it, Uber already does cover drivers who are actually carrying a fare. The problem is that they don’t cover drivers who are going to pick up a fare or are circling around waiting for one, even though those people are really doing stuff for Uber. I fully understand why companies don’t want to comply with existing regulations and are fighting kicking and screaming each step of the way, but I’m not moved by their arguments.

  117. 117.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 6:41 pm

    @Keith G: I don’t think anyone was criticizing your neighbor for using an option available to her. Pointing out that the option has several downsides that need to be addressed regarding Uber isn’t a criticism of users. You are doing the equivalent of saying “How dare you criticize my neighbor for taking a job at the Triangle Shirtwaist company? She needs a job,” when people point out that the place might be dangerous.

  118. 118.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I know you did not say that literally (used correctly), but that sure is what the next step seemed to include. To be poor (or poor adjacent) is to live daily with risks that many here at Balloon-Juice have either forgotten about or have never experienced.

    So yeah, maybe the Uber-mobile will get in an accident.

    Maybe this woman will be assaulted waiting for a bus.

    Shitty stuff happens all the time.

    In my mind, the maybe an accident scenario is a bit better than the maybe an assault one.

    YMMV.

  119. 119.

    Mnemosyne

    August 6, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    @Keith G:

    Actually, what I think she (and you) should do is lobby your city and/or state to make sure that the drivers are covered by insurance and have the right license to carry passengers — Uber and Lyft just made a deal with the state of Virginia to do that. It probably won’t happen, because Texas, but at least you’ll feel like you did something to protect her in case of an accident rather than thrashing around complaining about me and my privilege.

  120. 120.

    Pogonip

    August 6, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    @MomSense: Move him to one of those 2-gallon tanks with a lighted hood. Bettas don’t poop much, a weekly water change will do fine. We had one that lived 21/2 years this way.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    @Keith G: No, the next step in my mind is to fix the regulatory scheme to cover Uber. As noted above Virginia seems to be doing it.

    Just like the Triangle Shirtwaist worker, I fully expect that your neighbor will continue to use the program. And just like with the Triangle Shirtwaist worker, people are pointing the dangers so that society can take steps to reduce them.

  122. 122.

    PurpleGirl

    August 6, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne: NYC made a deal with Lyft involving insurance before permitting them to start service in all the boroughs. I don’t know the details of the deal, though.

  123. 123.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    @Mnemosyne: @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
    The city of Houston has flipped once again. By that I mean that in the early 80’s, the oil and commerce-based good old boys lost control of city hall. Bit by bit they have struggled to get it back and at this point, it seems like they have largely succeeded. Our current mayor may be a lesbian, but she is no social reformer. No attempt has been made to either slow the destruction of affordable housing stock or to at least find ways to encourage a more economically diverse center city.

    This is rather new, for most of the recent mayors took these issues to heart.

    I imagine that when these transportation issues are debated, the regulatory scheme that is finally approved will protect the established players – those who have already been around city hall and know how to make nice with politicians.

  124. 124.

    Keith G

    August 6, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Pointing out dangers is one thing, but some have sounded down right judgmental as they typed about those who used these services to avoid paying taxes. No, I am not saying that it was you, but I have been worked a bit raw as “better folk” seemed to pass judgment unto others in the previous thread on this topic.

    And while I understand your point (I loves me all sorts of safety regulations)……just between you and me….don’t you think that the repeated Triangle Shirtwaist disaster analogy is just a mite bit over the top? Locked doors. 146 dead. Some died jumping to escape flames.

    A little much?

  125. 125.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    @Keith G: You suggested that I thought she should become a shut-in. Was that a little much? If you want to rage at people about their comments on this topic, why don’t you aim your rage at someone who was being judgmental?

  126. 126.

    Bex

    August 6, 2014 at 8:00 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Hackney’s on Harms in Glenview has the world’s best burgers (ask for black bread instead of a bun) and onion rings. The fries are pretty good too. Street address 1241 Harms Road. http://www.hackneys.net/location/glenview-harms/

  127. 127.

    Ivan X

    August 6, 2014 at 8:23 pm

    I’m tired of being a west coast baseball team fan who is living on the east cost. Most of the games start after 10.

  128. 128.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    August 6, 2014 at 9:24 pm

    @BGinCHI: I’m still my Mom’s baby boy, and I’m almost 60.

  129. 129.

    2liberal

    August 6, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    My problem is a damn mouse that keeps disconnecting and reconnecting in Win 7. I’ve scoured Google for answers, and tried many of the “fixes” offered, but the problem will not go away.Going to try a “repair” off the original Win 7 disc next. See if that fixes it. Annoying as all hell.

    try a different mouse , in a different USB port

  130. 130.

    Southern Beale

    August 6, 2014 at 11:05 pm

    @Suffern ACE:

    Thanks we are planning to go to Taliesin actually. Mr. Beale wants to go to the House On The Rock so we’ll squeeze it in.

  131. 131.

    Southern Beale

    August 6, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):

    Thanks for the link, we’re going to Taliesin so we will probably stay in Spring Green after all. Originally we were going to fly in to Madison but it’s just too expensive.

  132. 132.

    Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)

    August 6, 2014 at 11:10 pm

    @Southern Beale: Give serious consideration to trying to get APT tickets. I am going to see The Doctor’s Dilemma there a week from Saturday.

  133. 133.

    Corner Stone

    August 6, 2014 at 11:52 pm

    @Comrade Scrutinizer: Good God. Aren’t you closer to being Moses’ baby boy at this point?

  134. 134.

    Manyakitty

    August 7, 2014 at 9:50 am

    @Amir Khalid: I agree, but always check on Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy. Super smart and very debunk-y.

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