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

Late Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  September 13, 201412:16 am| 108 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Did my annual office cleaning today in between other things, and man it sure is nice to have everything nice and clean. I had let my office get beyond clutter to the creeping filth stage, and at some point this afternoon I went to type something and my keyboard felt like a seven year old’s hand in August after eating an ice cream cone. At any rate, everything is nice and clean and bright and smells good, files have been filed, to do list has been updated, and so on.

Watched the Bill Maher two hour thing on HBO, which was fun, and now am watching Predator on Encore and playing a little Wasteland 2.

This has been in my head all day long:

What’s up, late night juicers? I had a nap before dinner and a cup of coffee afterwards, so I’m kind of screwed.

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Previous Post: « Pet Bleg – Emergency Medical Funds Needed
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Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    DaveInOz

    September 13, 2014 at 12:20 am

    Late-night juicers? It’s the middle of the day here!

  2. 2.

    Mike J

    September 13, 2014 at 12:22 am

    My student sailed over the log boom and out into the great, wide lake rather than in the nice protected area near the dock. I’m drinking beer and scotch and being a bit pleased that I didn’t touch the tiller once in two hours and we didn’t capsize. I try to let students make mistakes and then learn from them, but it’s a bit nerve racking.

  3. 3.

    Diana

    September 13, 2014 at 12:26 am

    All ye cat experts, come forth and answer me!
    Am fostering what looks like a half-breed Himalyan that was dumped at a neighbors door in a box (neighbor boards dogs, dumper may have thought it was an animal rescue). Neighbor begged me to foster the cat, knowing my cat died this past August.
    Well she’s here now and for the past two weeks seems to have settled in except tonight, right in front of me, she peed on my bag that I had set in a chair by a window. I’m thinking this is territorial, since I was watching, the chair was a chair my former cat sat on, and the window opens out into a yard where a neighbor’s unfixed tomcat occasionally gets into. All suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

  4. 4.

    Suffern ACE

    September 13, 2014 at 12:26 am

    Nothing is going on. Just the same old same old search for something to do.

    I came across the kitty anthem today. I guess it is something I could weaponize someday if you don’t behave.

  5. 5.

    BD of MN

    September 13, 2014 at 12:29 am

    I’m more bummed than I want to admit that I wasn’t able (or willing to pay exorbitant prices for) the Replacements homecoming show tomorrow in St. Paul. And seeing a clip of them on The Tonight Show last night really didn’t improve matters…

  6. 6.

    Comrade Mary

    September 13, 2014 at 12:31 am

    Great minds (and German genes) act alike! Le Guy helped me paint my new office last weekend, and we’ll finish up all the furniture moving tomorrow.

    I just need to spend an hour re-arranging what’s already in there — and maybe even throwing out some stuff — while doing something to distract me from the shit-stain that is Toronto politics.

  7. 7.

    mattH

    September 13, 2014 at 12:34 am

    Yes, you really are screwed ;-) Same boat here, working a late shift and won’t get off for an hour and a half, then have to take an hour or two of down time before I can sleep. Good thing I work pate tomorrow too

  8. 8.

    reality-based

    September 13, 2014 at 12:34 am

    so the disheartening thing about moving home to NoDak care for one’s elderly parent (which I did, and don’t regret) – is that my 91-year-old mother, while functioning in the 99th percentile of people her age, every so often, while I’m at work, decides to clean out the fridge of “all that strange stuff.”

    Now, since she would prefer to eat only eggs, toast, and yoghurt – menus are a daily struggle here – that severely limits MY food choices. And – sorry to be so humble – I am a pretty damn fine chef, with a palate acquired in 25 years of living and working in Silicon Valley and Europe.

    So today I came home, she had thrown away 1.) half a pound of genuine parmigiano Reggiano, 2. ) my treasured bottle of fish sauce for Thai and Vietnamese dishes, 3. ) some meyer lemons a friend sent from california 4. ) a half pound of genuine grade-A lox from Russ & Daughters in NYC (a present from another friend. ) & 5. My sourdough starter that I’ve had going for a couple of months, just starting to get good.

    (sigh.) I think I shall eat some Doritos and go to bed.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    September 13, 2014 at 12:37 am

    This Adrian Peterson thing gets worse by the hour.

    Wonder if the floodgates are about to open on NFL off-the-field violence?

  10. 10.

    Liquid

    September 13, 2014 at 12:39 am

    This kind of safety-garbage is crap! When I was a kid it was “watch out for that collapsed mine.”

  11. 11.

    Suffern ACE

    September 13, 2014 at 12:40 am

    Apparently the northern lights are supposed to be grand this weekend as far south as Kansas. Any of you night owls care to take a look outside and report back?

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 12:42 am

    @Diana:

    You need Feliway, probably both the spray bottle and the diffuser. Use the spray bottle on anything you don’t want her to pee on (couches, chairs, places your previous cat liked to hang out, etc.) The plug-in goes into the wall and helps keep her calm.

    I’m not sure what they put in the stuff, exactly, but it does seem to do its job of convincing the cat that they’ve already marked that spot with their own scent, so they don’t feel compelled to mark it again by peeing on it.

    Also, make sure your new girl is spayed ASAP if she isn’t already — both male and female cats will do territorial spraying.

  13. 13.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 12:43 am

    Bill Maher

    I take it you didn’t watch Bill school Charlie Rose earlier about how all Muslims are bad?

    “No, that’s not true. Not true,” Maher proclaimed. “Vast numbers of Christians do not believe that if you leave the Christian religion you should be killed for it. Vast numbers of Christians do not treat women as second class citizens. Vast numbers of Christians do not believe if you draw a picture of Jesus Christ you should get killed for it.”

    When Rose asked Maher how he knows that “vast majorities of Muslims” actually “condone violence,” he said many Muslims “shout it.” He also cited a Pew poll conducted in Egypt previously that showed more than 80 percent of Muslims believe stoning is an appropriate punishment for adultery.

    “So, to claim that this religion is like other religions is just naive and plain wrong. It is not like other religions,” Maher added.

    Derp.

    Speaking of dicks, Putin is sure a funny one:

    Russia is planning to move part of its cosmonaut training programme to occupied Crimea, potentially forcing the US and Europe into a diplomatic tight spot over the future of the International Space Station (ISS).

    The state-owned news agency Itar-Tass has announced that splashdown survival training could soon be shifted from Moscow’s outskirts to the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Any such move would pose a dilemma for Nasa and the European Space Agency, which rely on the Russian government to ferry their astronauts to and from the ISS.

    Awkward, Major Tom.

  14. 14.

    ruemara

    September 13, 2014 at 12:43 am

    @reality-based: I would have pulled that back out of the garbage and locked the damned fridge door if Mamma couldn’t comprehend to not touch my fricking food.

    My day was spectacular. I have no evidence to support that, but let’s go with it. Because otherwise, it was suckfest.

  15. 15.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 12:45 am

    Also, too, can fabric seat cushions be dry cleaned of cat hair?

    Or do I just toss them?

  16. 16.

    Dog On Porch

    September 13, 2014 at 12:45 am

    It’s funny you mention cleaning. My place has been on the verge for a week or so of becoming a Funky Town. So just today I began a weekend long project to get it together; to again feel comfortable welcoming any one in who drops by for a friendly visit. Because frankly, at the moment I’d be embarrassed to let anyone in.

  17. 17.

    reality-based

    September 13, 2014 at 12:47 am

    @Suffern ACE:

    well, I’m only 30 miles south of the Canadian Border here in NoDak – and I don’t see nuthin – might go drive out of town a little, I LOVE the aurora –

  18. 18.

    Suffern ACE

    September 13, 2014 at 12:47 am

    @srv: why would you want to do that? Painters tape works just fine.

  19. 19.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 12:48 am

    @trollhattan:

    There was a really interesting (if depressing) study that was done recently where they had parents who use corporal punishment self-report how often they used it, but also placed voice recorders in the homes. It turned out that parents who use corporal punishment do it way more often than they think — most parents said they only did it once in a while, but it turned out many of them were doing it every day.

    And, sadly, there are going to be parents who agree with Peterson’s actions. Mostly, but not all of them, conservative Christians.

  20. 20.

    PurpleGirl

    September 13, 2014 at 12:49 am

    @reality-based: In light of what was thrown out, I think a bag of Doritos for dinner sounds fine to me. (Sorry you lost all the great sounding stuff.)

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 12:50 am

    @srv:

    I have a feeling that Maher couldn’t tell you the largest majority Muslim country even if you gave him three tries. Hint to Bill: it’s not in the Middle East.

  22. 22.

    Adam Lang

    September 13, 2014 at 12:52 am

    Damn you, getting me all excited for WL2 and it’s still not out. You pre-release hipsters with all your teeth and all your hair, get off my lawn.

  23. 23.

    hildebrand

    September 13, 2014 at 12:53 am

    Finished watching Firefly, then watched Serenity. Still a crime the show never was given a chance to find its audience.

  24. 24.

    Liquid

    September 13, 2014 at 12:58 am

    @PurpleGirl: Those Tapatio Doritos are pretty damn good!

  25. 25.

    lamh36

    September 13, 2014 at 12:58 am

    Been catching up on some reading.

    African Americans have been saying all along that the legal system is rigged against victims and perpetrators when they are people of color.

    Next month, when/if the grand jury doesn’t charge Darren Wilson, thanks to the actions of Ferguson PD and now the STL Prosecuting DA, maybe people will start believing us.

    From Dana Milbank of all people…blah.

    Ferguson tragedy becoming a farce

    …October is when a grand jury is expected to decide whether to indict the white police officer, Darren Wilson, who killed an unarmed black teenager by firing at least six bullets into him. It’s a good bet the grand jurors won’t charge him, because all signs indicate that the St. Louis County prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, doesn’t want them to…

    The latest evidence that the fix is in came this week from The Post’s Kimberly Kindy and Carol Leonnig, who discovered that McCulloch’s office has declined so far to recommend any charges to the grand jury. Instead, McCulloch’s prosecutors handling the case are taking the highly unusual course of dumping all evidence on the jurors and leaving them to make sense of it.

    McCulloch’s office claims that this is a way to give more authority to the grand jurors, but it looks more like a way to avoid charging Wilson at all — and to use the grand jury as cover for the outrage that will ensue. It is often said that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich if a prosecutor asks it to. But the opposite is also true. A grand jury is less likely to deliver an indictment — even a much deserved one — if a prosecutor doesn’t ask for it…

  26. 26.

    reality-based

    September 13, 2014 at 12:59 am

    @ruemara: oh, I would have rescued it, I have NO pride when it comes to pricey cheese – but she deliberately timed the fridge cleaning/sack and pillage for right before the garbage pickup – “so all that stuff wouldn’t sit in the cans, cause a stink.”

    her logic is impeccable. Crazy-making, and crazy- but impeccable!

  27. 27.

    Belafon

    September 13, 2014 at 12:59 am

    @reality-based: Sounds like you need a fridge in a room with a key.

  28. 28.

    seaboogie

    September 13, 2014 at 1:00 am

    @reality-based: I think that your post must be one of the true definitions of “disheartening”. Okay – so get one of those mini fridges and put a padlock on it for your goodies. And maybe make Mom some risi e bisi with some new parm – Italian comfort food.

  29. 29.

    Howard Beale IV

    September 13, 2014 at 1:01 am

    @srv: Dry cleaning is a misnomer as the cleaning agent being used is a non-water-based solvent, and it’s more than likely that the fur will remain.

  30. 30.

    Diana

    September 13, 2014 at 1:01 am

    @Mnemosyne: thanks!!!

  31. 31.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 1:02 am

    @Suffern ACE: We have a stongly allergic one here. Presuming cats have been lounging on this for a year or so, is tape really going to purify it? Thx.

    @Mnemosyne: We go to war with the Charlie Rose that we have, not that we wished we had. Maher probably goes to Bali for hookers and blow.

    @Howard Beale IV: Thx

  32. 32.

    lamh36

    September 13, 2014 at 1:04 am

    Aside from “light” reading, right now, I’m watchin Golden Girls on Hallmark Channel and hopefully before the end of the weekend, I’ll be booking my hotels for my stay in Hawaii.

    I’m gettin really excited now. Since it’s only like 6-7 weeks away! All the latest news and such have made me really glad that I’ll be away in paradise while the midterms elections are going on. I know, they may be having elections in Hawaii also, but my goal the whole time till be to ignore as much of politics as possible!

    I’ve pretty much decided on where I want to stay, but just today,not thx to thinking too much on it, I’m already having thoughts of completely changing my itinerary.

    Blah, my goal is still to at least book my hotels by the end of this weekend.

  33. 33.

    NotMax

    September 13, 2014 at 1:08 am

    @lamh36

    You’ll get to experience the local phenomenon of roadside sign waving – clumps of people all over the place, waving hands and political signs at traffic.

    Really a bit of a hazard as it does distract drivers from the road.

  34. 34.

    Yatsuno

    September 13, 2014 at 1:18 am

    @Mnemosyne: OOH! OOH! I KNOW THIS ONE!!!

  35. 35.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:24 am

    bill maher was annoying as all fuck tonight. it was a perfect example of everything annoying as all fuck about washington.

  36. 36.

    cckids

    September 13, 2014 at 1:27 am

    @reality-based: Oh, man, that hurts. I thought my evening was going badly. I opened my freezer, & a nice bottle of Casamigos tequila fell out & broke. So I had glass and tequila all over the place + no tequila at end of the mess. Dammit.

  37. 37.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:28 am

    john, you surprise me. you get this, sometimes.

  38. 38.

    Mike J

    September 13, 2014 at 1:30 am

    @Little Boots:

    it was a perfect example of everything annoying as all fuck about washington.

    He had tourists who don’t know how to use the metro farecard machines blocking people from getting where they’re going?

  39. 39.

    cckids

    September 13, 2014 at 1:31 am

    @srv: Bill Maher is insane on the subject of Islam. He just cannot seem to put any rational thought into trying to understand the religion or the people.

  40. 40.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:33 am

    @Mike J:

    he had a panel that would have done meet the press proud.

    what a missed opportunity.

  41. 41.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:35 am

    I’m so irritated, because I like bill maher so much. I really do, and I get so pissed when he blows it.

  42. 42.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:36 am

    can this be omnes’ fault? can it?

  43. 43.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 1:43 am

    You people better keep an eye on the status of your local FEMA camp

    09/12/2014 Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: LAKE) today announced the global availability of its protective apparel for use in handling the Ebola virus.
    …
    “Lakeland stands ready to join the fight against the spread of Ebola,” said Christopher J. Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lakeland Industries. “We understand the difficulty of getting appropriate products through a procurement system that in times of crisis favors availability over specification, and we hope our added capacity will help alleviate that problem. With the U.S. State Department alone putting out a bid for 160,000 suits, we encourage all protective apparel companies to increase their manufacturing capacity for sealed seam garments so that our industry can do its part in addressing this threat to global health.

  44. 44.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:43 am

    it is friday, goddammit.

  45. 45.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:44 am

    this used to be the blog that wasn’t pathetic after dark. damn.

  46. 46.

    Suffern ACE

    September 13, 2014 at 1:47 am

    Dumpling porn

  47. 47.

    Mike E

    September 13, 2014 at 1:49 am

    @srv: Shark. Navigator. Brush tool. My van has never gotten this clean, and it was originally my sister’s dog wagon, too.

  48. 48.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:49 am

    can’t begin to say:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn1BapsppXM

  49. 49.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 1:50 am

    2nd Freedom Aid to Ukraine departs.

    No word on when Willie Nelson will be joining the convoy.

  50. 50.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 1:50 am

    @srv:

    You probably need to have it steam-cleaned. You can rent one of those carpet-cleaning thingys from the grocery store or you can call a professional upholstery cleaner.

  51. 51.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:53 am

    needs more omnes.

  52. 52.

    Tim in SF

    September 13, 2014 at 1:54 am

    Hey John Cole, you might give this a try:

    http://lifehacker.com/306029/reboot-your-brain-with-a-caffeine-nap

    I used to do this all the time back in my college days.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 1:56 am

    @Little Boots:

    Jacy and I can bring the talk about our upcoming bowel prep to this thread if you think it needs some livening up. Your call. ;-)

  54. 54.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 1:57 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    it needs honesty. what do you think? is this an honest blog right now?

  55. 55.

    srv

    September 13, 2014 at 2:00 am

    @Mike E: I will look at my budget.

    @Mnemosyne: That’s a good idea.

    @Tim in SF: I was thinking John should do a cat cafe

  56. 56.

    Suzanne

    September 13, 2014 at 2:01 am

    I have pottery class on Friday nights, but the arts center had an open house, so I ended up giving wheel throwing demos all night. Some dude hit on me while I was making a gift for my husband. Awkward.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    September 13, 2014 at 2:02 am

    @Little Boots:

    Honesty?

    I can’t help it, I am very prosaic when it comes to making musical puns.

  58. 58.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 2:05 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    fair enough.

    although I am right, always, as you will acknowledge.

    but that is nice.

  59. 59.

    Little Boots

    September 13, 2014 at 2:14 am

    not sure why, but I think we need Pink Floyd:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NavVfpp-1L4

  60. 60.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 2:24 am

    @Suzanne:

    Some dude hit on me while I was making a gift for my husband. Awkward.

    Humblebrag!

  61. 61.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 2:30 am

    @Mnemosyne: All ready for the fasting/prep?

  62. 62.

    Suzanne

    September 13, 2014 at 2:35 am

    @Steeplejack: Is that a humblebrag? It was weird.

  63. 63.

    Yatsuno

    September 13, 2014 at 2:39 am

    Nope. Not regretting it.

  64. 64.

    Origuy

    September 13, 2014 at 2:42 am

    @reality-based: Do you have room for another refrigerator? One you can lock? I’m guessing your mother is trying to hold onto control of her surroundings and having strange food in her refrigerator indicates to her that she doesn’t have as much control as she’s used to.

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 2:48 am

    Just got in from dinner and conversation with my old college friend, followed by a trip to the grocery store to get a sack of dog food and some other odds and ends to get me through my last weekend in Las Vegas.

    Got an e-mail from RWNJ brother saying that he lost the power cable to his laptop, which subsequently died (he was writing from a hotel computer), so he’s flying blind until he arrives back here around noon on Sunday. (He previously informed me that he lost his cell phone, too, so that’s out.) At least I know his flight number, so I’ll probably park at the airport and meet him at baggage claim. Better than orbiting around the passenger pickup lanes in his giant Ford F-250 for who knows how long.

    I guess the shorter is that I’m glad that he survived three weeks of motorcycling in Peru and Bolivia without getting killed or kidnapped by guerrillas. One of his fellow bikers hit a rock, took a header over the front of the bike and broke three ribs and a clavicle. Had to be trucked nine hours back to Lima for medical care. Good times.

    It’ll be interesting to see the aftermath of this trip. It was so far out of his (tiny) comfort zone that I can’t believe that it won’t have a big effect on him. Not looking for any “road to Damascus” conversion, but at least it blasted him out of his bubble for a while.

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 3:00 am

    @reality-based:

    I feel for you. One of the things I have done out here in Las Vegas is “check on” my mom, a high-functioning 84-year-old. She’s almost completely self-sufficient—basically just needs a daily phone call from someone—but she fell and hurt her back the week before I came out here, and in dealing with getting that taken care of I could see problems down the road. She doesn’t like doctors, is not a good patient and doesn’t want to think about any possible lack of capacity or autonomy. So there will some difficult conversations ahead.

    ETA: My family lived in Minot when I was in college. I visited there a lot and liked it.

  67. 67.

    sfHeath

    September 13, 2014 at 3:06 am

    I learned this week that I’ve been downsized out of a four-year management job I had hoped to hold for decades. I have until January before I am actually unemployed. I think my work here has proven me enough that, should the budget improve or one of my senior colleagues decide to move on, I’m probably in line for an offer to return. But in the meantime, as the primary breadwinner… big scramble for tough-to-find work.

    The really sucky thing is that I had my in-laws move here with my family so we could take care of them; promised them this would be their last move ever, and they purchased the two-residence property so my wife and I could rent from them. And just this year, their health is really failing; my FIL has had a really rough time of various nursing homes and foster homes since falling and breaking his shoulder last spring. My MIL has also taken some scary falls last month, so now we’re trying out home health care because both of them can share the cost. But there’s questions as to how much the insurance will pay for, and the home health agency refused to give their daily rate when they learned FIL has been in a nursing home; so MIL is paying an exorbitant hourly rate instead.

    In order to allow the health care worker to get at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, so the agency sees they can give us 24-hour care at the daily rate, I’m pulling a middle-shift must-be-awake to take care of FIL should he wake tonight. Tomorrow I’ve got a nine-hour day at my regular work, I’m hoping my wife can handle the morning with our daughter so I can sleep until it’s time to go in to the office. Tomorrow night is probably a repeat of tonight, and on Sunday, though I have more potential sleep time, I have a more difficult management shift at work.

    This week, I heard somebody quote John Lennon: “It’ll be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end.” Holding on to this as my mantra right now.

    Thanks for the open thread, Cole. Really love the blog, and have for years.

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 3:23 am

    @sfHeath:

    My thoughts are with you. Hope you land on your feet and find a new job.

  69. 69.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 3:37 am

    @Steeplejack: Did you abandon the photo/slide digitizing project? After swearing on a stack of Bibles, Korans and Torahs that there were no more negatives (even though I had scanned them 10 years ago on my old scanner); my wife found the 10 rolls of negatives from our first trip to Korea in 1989. I took a break from scanning slides(dating from the mid 50’s to the early 80’s), and scanned those negatives. I’m back to scanning slides; right now, the Boy Scout National Jamboree in 1973.

  70. 70.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 3:45 am

    Here’s a pic from the newly found negatives:

    Kyungbokgung in Seoul

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 4:12 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Yeah, unfortunately I had to skip the digitizing project. I spent a huge amount of time over the last three weeks accompanying my mother to doctor’s appointments, X-ray, etc., calling about appointments, etc., hand-holding my mother and then withdrawing when she got tired and cranky. So there ended up not being much quiet time at her house to set up and go through the pictures. Next time, I hope.

    Cool picture of Korea. How old is that?

    ETA: Oops, 1989, I guess?

  72. 72.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 4:38 am

    @Steeplejack: Yup, 1989. We went there after our engagement to meet her father. She hadn’t seen him since her divorce and I wasn’t(and still not) Korean. It wasn’t a pleasant first night. After that, things went well.

    ETA: I hope you were able to read my short intro to photo/film scanning. I may send a link to it to my step-daughter, she was asking about scanning film.

  73. 73.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 4:40 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Wonderful pic. I come from a family of photo bugs back many generations and my father has scanned in I don’t know how many thousands of photos. But I have to admit I am pissed off at him. He seems to enjoy scanning them in, but takes NO time to name (much less add tags or anything else) to the photos, so when he drops off like 10 DVDs of pics I often have no idea what and/or who I am looking at. I’ve tried to explain this to the man, but he doesn’t seem to grasp that when he is no longer here, without that data it will be lost to time!

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    September 13, 2014 at 4:46 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    I saw it, bookmarked it and made notes from your comments and those of other people. I’ll be good to go when I get around to it.

  75. 75.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 4:46 am

    @Tommy: I’m tagging all these, including geotagging. The problem is that unless you’re using a PC the tags won’t show up. My Samsung won’t show the tags that I set on my PC.

  76. 76.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:00 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: No I know. But he is using a PC. He doesn’t even change the file name. So they are like dca1234562.jpg. Not very helpful in trying to figure out what I am looking at :). Don’t get me wrong, it is a total pain and takes a ton of time to rename and add tags to the photos, but IMHO if you are going to do it, do it right.

    Also as I mentioned above, he is the ONLY person that knows what we are looking at with those pics.

    Hard to pick a favorite of all of them. But this one keeps popping to the top for me:

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/webranding/7215324774/

    My great grandfather tooling around NYC in 1911. He lived in Southern Illinois which is where I live now and my family has lived since the 1870s, but went to NYC to “earn his fortune.” Happy part of the story, he actually did in a matter of two years. Or at least found contacts to bankroll a construction business in southern Illinois. I still from time to time drive across a bridge his company built for the state.

    Pretty neat actually …..

  77. 77.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:07 am

    @Tommy: Oh what I like about the pic. The suit on the bike. The hat. Classic. Heck he even has clips on his pants leg so they won’t get caught in the chain. I am an avid cyclist. I love my VW Passat, but in my little rural town I am more often on my Cannondale when I am tooling around. This morning when I go to the last Farmer’s Market of the year and stopping by the hardware store, sure I could drive. But I’ll be on my mountain bike.

    Plus, look how serious he is ….

  78. 78.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:10 am

    @Tommy: I think my great-grandfather passed away shortly before my father was born, so no pictures of him. I know very little about him, except he owned a lumber business in Nashville. I have very few pics of my grandfathers. I’ve got maybe 2 of my mom’s father and a few of my dad’s father, mostly when he was in his 70’s and 80’s. I’ve got one that I scanned the other day with me, my dad and his father(we all share the same name).

  79. 79.

    Nikolita

    September 13, 2014 at 5:14 am

    Good morning!
    It is 2:15am here (PST) and I am at work. 3 hours to go, then I can go home and pass out.

  80. 80.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:20 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Sorry to hear that. My grandparents all lived long, long lives. My mother’s grandfather until 93. Here is maybe my favorite pic of the thousands I’ve looked through. My father and grandfather at a train station in Lawrenceville IL in 1953. They were going away to a Boy Scout event.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/webranding/5670716382/

    Notice what is going on there ….

    Photo bombing and having fun with pics is nothing new for all those “hipsters” out there, no matter what they think.

    BTW: There is a III at the end of my name as well. In fact there should be a IV. The first pic of my great grandfather in NYC I posted. Well he wasn’t given a middle name at birth. In NYC he felt he needed a middle inital to be a “respectable” business person and to put on a business card. So he just added an R. When my grandfather was born that became Richard.

  81. 81.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:29 am

    @Nikolita: Well that sucks, but at least you are making money :).

    I just got sick of laying in bed tossing and turning. Nothing I wanted to watch on Netflix, so I figured I’d get up. Post a couple comments here and work on learning a new WordPress plugin (just a software app basically) or two for a web development project I just started for an e-Commerce site.

  82. 82.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:31 am

    @Tommy: My dad’s father lived to be 82, however my father was born when my grandfather was 35 and I was born when my dad was 40.

    Boy Scout event? Right now I’m scanning pics from the 1973 Jamboree. There was a Jamboree in 1953, in Irvine(or as the kid says ERRRRVINE).

  83. 83.

    hitchhiker

    September 13, 2014 at 5:34 am

    @sfHeath, Jeebus on a pogo stick . . . sometimes it just feels like you’re getting slowly ground to dust. Hope like hell some things break your way, and soon.

    I’m writing from the Overlake Hospital ER in Bellevue WA. Spinal cord injured husband spiked a fever, which for him could mean dangerous shit going on that he can’t quite feel, so here we are.

    Been through a pair o’ nurses, 2 admins, and more than an hour waiting for an actual doc. I can hear the other patients being annoyed across the hall. Lots of beeping. Sterile pumped air. Mr. Hitchhiker kind of napping while I sit here reading blogs and trying not to go say something unforgivable to the whiner in the next room.

  84. 84.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:37 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: It wasn’t the National Jamboree. They were going to something in Urbana–Champaign, which of course is where the University of Illinois is located. Maybe a state event tied to the National event? I’ll have to ask him when I talk to him tomorrow.

  85. 85.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 5:41 am

    @Tommy: The Illini Union, summer 70.

  86. 86.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 5:43 am

    @raven: Yeah you posted that before. That is a fucking flat out wonderful pic. I hope you have blown it up to poster size and have it framed and hanging on your wall. I wish, I mean wish I had a pic half that wonderful of myself I could do the same with. But alas I don’t have anything even remotely close.

  87. 87.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:44 am

    @raven: Go Dawgs.

  88. 88.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 5:45 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Oh god, 10 more hours!

  89. 89.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 5:46 am

    Check out the Vols billboard!

  90. 90.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:47 am

    @raven: Yup, first the UW, IL game; and right afterwards(same station, FOX) UCLA, TX.

  91. 91.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:48 am

    @raven: LMAO, though more appropriate for U$C.

  92. 92.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 5:49 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I suspect we’ll get killed by the fake Dawgs but the game in Colombia is the game of the day!

  93. 93.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:51 am

    @raven: Don’t know, UW has a new coach and they’ve just squeaked by HI and Eastern WA.

  94. 94.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:52 am

    @Tommy: I’ve got a nice pic of me on the top of half dome. I haven’t rescanned it yet.

  95. 95.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    September 13, 2014 at 5:53 am

    @sfHeath: I’m sorry. That’s a lot to have on your plate. Taking care of oldsters is hard; it’s worse under scary financial circumstances. My wife’s parents lived with us about 6 years. We both work and had a couple of home heath aids shifts helping us over the final few years. When things were going well with them, it eventually settled into a reasonable routine (though it was never “normal” trying to sleep those years). But the worries about their health was always there, and the slow, creeping decline was always present.

    Even with the difficulty, it was so much better having them here than the few years earlier when they lived in their home in MA. We would visit them half-a-dozen times a year to help with chores, fix their computer and internet problems (“You mean I have to click “Ok” on those modal dialog boxes??”), make sure their bills were paid, etc., etc. There was the constant worry, and occasional calls that one had fallen…

    You did the right thing having your in-laws move. Best wishes that the financial aspects aren’t as difficult as you fear. Expect delays and arguments with the insurance companies over paperwork, etc. Don’t give up if they’re unreasonable.

    Hang in there. You’ll get through it. :-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  96. 96.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 5:57 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Chris Peterson from Boise State. He’s a hell of a coach and Beckman is a dope.

  97. 97.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:58 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Here’s the old scan, low res, but…

    The way UP

    View from the top of Half Dome

  98. 98.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 5:59 am

    @raven: He’ll be a great coach at UW, but it’s his third game as coach.

  99. 99.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    September 13, 2014 at 5:59 am

    BBC’s Panorama show Putin’s Gamble (29:04) is quite good. (It was just on BBC TV in the USA.) Dunno how long it will stay on YouTube.

    BBC Link if you have a way to use their iPlayer.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  100. 100.

    raven

    September 13, 2014 at 6:00 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I’m fully aware.

  101. 101.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 6:05 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: The only remotely “cool” pics I have of myself are of me hiking or standing atop something. I guess generally speaking I am the person taking the pics, so honestly there are not so many of me around.

  102. 102.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 6:12 am

    @Tommy: I was pretty much the shutter bug of the house post jr high school. I had a darkroom and the whole setup. I’ve sort of rediscovered photography the past couple of years, though no chemicals involved now, all digital.

  103. 103.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 6:17 am

    Stupid question …. since people here usually know more about what I ask then I do :).

    I got one of those rapid infusion/flash chill kits to make tea. Also has a pitcher to make flavored water (why I really got it).

    Don’t drink much if any soda. Maybe one 64oz a month. But love stuff like Vitamin Water. I could afford it, but got an “ethical” issues with paying $1.87 for a bottle. I got a platter (already Cut) of pineapple and strawberries. Let them get really rip and tried it. Even after two days it had almost no taste. Then tried some frozen (I let them thaw of course) mix berries. Again nothing.

    The instructions say to use just normal filtered water. Should I try boiling the water? Mash up the fruit?

    I don’t expect it to have the flavor/strength of Vitamin Water, but at the flavor is so minimal (insert almost none) I am just wasting good fruit at this point.

    Any comments and/or suggestions on what I am doing wrong (and I assume it is in fact user error) would be VERY welcome.

  104. 104.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    September 13, 2014 at 6:17 am

    @hitchhiker: :-( Best wishes to him and you. Here’s hoping the fever breaks quickly and that he has a quick and full recovery. Hang in there.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    Tommy

    September 13, 2014 at 6:21 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I didn’t have a darkroom (it would have been cool to have one I must say) but learned to develop film in college (photo journalism class). I got pulled kicking and screaming from film to digital. Part of it was I running around with near professional grade Nikon gear and I was like WTF. I just paid a small fortune for this stuff. Now you want me to buy something else ….

    But now I look back I kind of laugh at myself. Of course I think there is still a place for film, but honestly since I am not a professional, digital is a god sent. Also a ton cheaper :). I shutter to think how much money I spent on film, and that doesn’t even factor in development costs.

  106. 106.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    September 13, 2014 at 6:56 am

    @Tommy: Scanning all this film(negative/slides) really highlights the advantages of digital. Shots that are out of focus, a finger in the field of view, heads cut off… These would have been re-shot at the time, at this point there’s not much that can be done. The camera I have now isn’t a DSLR, it’s a Samsung Galaxy Cam 2, but it does a really good job and lets me do pretty much what I can do with a DSLR(aperture, shutter speed). The only thing I can’t do is change the lens.

    There was a pretty long period between my OM-1 and my next pretty serious camera, about 25 years.

  107. 107.

    satby

    September 13, 2014 at 7:47 am

    @hitchhiker: @sfHeath:
    Watergirl messaged me on my Etsy site that her niece sometimes says “where’s that easy button?”. I replied that I’d settle for the “challenging but not impossible button”. If we all lived in the socialist hellhole that is most of Europe, we wouldn’t face abject poverty when we have a job loss; and we and our elderly relatives would not have to struggle almost completely alone to survive those last high maintenance years. What the hell is wrong with people in this country that they think that’s ok?

  108. 108.

    sfHeath

    September 13, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    @Steeplejack: @hitchhiker: @Scott:@Satby:

    Thanks, all, for listening. I'm keeping up such a positive attitude here, it's exhausting; I really needed someplace understanding to vent. I appreciate the sympathy. hitchhiker, hope the spouse is ok.

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