Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Democrats are back in array!

Not all heroes wear capes.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. keep building.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

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Mid Afternoon Open Thread

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I’m streaming the Navy-South Alabama football game for my Father-in-law through my phone to my TV.  He was an offensive lineman at the Naval Academy 1958-1962.  The rest of the family is shopping, and I’ve got the Christmas lights up.  Soonerwife, Soonerdaughter, and Grandma are out shopping right now.  Soonerson has a job at Best Buy, which he got home from last night at 2:30AM, and just left for a few minutes ago.  He’s working 4-midnight tonight.

When we cooked Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, we used the convection feature on our oven, and the 22-lb bird took 2 hours.  It came out juicy and tender.  We had 12 people here yesterday.  You’ll NEVER guess what we had for lunch today.

What have you all got going on today?

Reader Interactions

199Comments

  3. 3.

    Mustang Bobby

    Taking the leftovers to an annual leftover party tonight; call it a fancy potluck.

    My latest one-act play has been selected for the New Theatre’s Miami 1-Acts winter festival in December. This makes the third time in a row they’ve selected one of my works. Looks like I’ve got this playwriting thing figured out.

  4. 4.

    Mnemosyne

    I did a smidge of online Black Friday shopping and really should get out of my pajamas at some point today. My one ambition for today is to sort through my remaining clothes to decide what I want to keep and what to give away since I have WAY too many clothes right now.

  6. 6.

    raven

    @Mustang Bobby: Yea, it’s tough what they are doing to the charter boats with all these restrictions. The guys I fished with for a bout 4 years quit coming because you can’t keep anything of size. I paid $150 plus a nice tip for the deckhands for 5 hours and about 3 lbs of filets. I knew what to expect but it can be hard to justify.

  7. 7.

    Yatsuno

    @Mustang Bobby: WOOT! Congrats on the success!

    This day has been more or less a total waste. I’m getting zero responses to e-mails & have talked to exactly three taxpayers. Us being open right now is a total waste of time.

  10. 10.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @raven: I confess that I envy you the time on the water and at the beach.

    @Mustang Bobby: Yippee!! A congratulatory lunch on my tab next time you’re in town to see your folks.

  12. 12.

    Steeplejack

    Just got back from bro’ man’s house. Got there a little after 1:00 to hang out with the family—including newly adopted baby girl V., as well as aged mother and RWNJ brother from Las Vegas—but people started slipping into holiday siestas, and I decided to leave when I was the last person awake, alone in the family room with RWNJ brother snoring on the couch. I can go back later if people rouse themselves; it’s only about a 15-minute drive, not onerous.

    Thanksgiving dinner went very well yesterday. Excellent meal, 12 people, no politics discussed. Seven-week-old baby is a great focusing tool to keep multiple people busy and distracted from pointless bullshit.

  13. 13.

    raven

    @aimai: Yep, one really has to not do that kind of calculation if possible. The thing that worries me is that it is going to drive the boats out of business.

  14. 14.

    FlyingToaster

    I forced WarriorGirl to take down the last of the Halloween decorations and then we drove out to the storage space and traded them for XMas/Hanukkah decorations. We attempted to find a chocolate advent calendar at the party store, but they were out (we were one of two customers there). So was the grocery. Then on the way in the house WG turned off her ears and started grabbing things and got sent to her room for a nap.

    Off to CVS tonight, where I’m pretty sure they still have the calendars. The girl wants her chocolate fix.

    @soonergrunt:

    You’ll NEVER guess what we had for lunch today.

    Okay, I’ll take a stab. Whale pizza?

  15. 15.

    Tree With Water

    To think, your father in-law just missed the Staubach era but lived to witness the Vietnam War era (and from a front row seat). Talk about a streak of tough luck.

  16. 16.

    dmsilev

    Some headline writer at TPM probably won an office pool or something with this:

    “Masturbating Passenger Causes Premature Landing For Virgin Flight”

  17. 17.

    Corner Stone

    Making home made whipped cream to top a chocolate pie. Going to zest a little lime and orange onto it.
    Yes, chocolate pie is my favorite. No matter what Cleek’s filter tells you.

    Every single person in my family was sick this year except for me and my child. So I made every dish, main and side, plus dessert that I felt like I wanted.
    I’m kind of a bad ass.

  19. 19.

    lamh36

    Been surfing the web all morning since I woke up. Then settled in for a Golden Girls marathon and eating the last bit of left over gumbo my uncle made yesterday.

    So wait, UK didn’t have Black Friday sales (I mean they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving anyway) so I guess this weekend they did.

    Ya’ll please check out the pic attached the article. This woman is holding on to this box for dear life!!!!

    I just can’t stop LMBAO!

    https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/538445574883004416

  21. 21.

    TaMara (BHF)

    Took the niece to see Big Hero 6 while her parents napped (her mom is a nurse and worked overnight Thanksgiving eve and Thanksgiving). Good movie, great company. Pizza for dinner.

  22. 22.

    Linnaeus

    It’s rainy here in the Emerald City (big surprise, I know), so today is a good day for me to catch up on work I haven’t been able to do this week. Lots of reading of archival material from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.

  24. 24.

    Gene108

    At a Jiffy Lube getting my oil changed. So far, this week, in Cary / Raleigh I am the only car with NJ plates I have seen.

    My brother has a Subaru, which had a radiator hose and some hose in the transmission fail, which is about the same age and mileage as my Corolla.

    Hopefully no problems on my drive back to NJ tomorrow.

  28. 28.

    lamh36

    wow, so apparently some staff member of the TN GOP delegation, posted on her FB page about the Obama girls appearance at that silly turkey pardoning thing every President has done.

    The girls had the usual reactions that teens have towards a parent telling crappy jokes. It was interesting seeing just how normal their reactions were.

    “Dear Sasha and Malia Obama…I get your both in your awful teens, but you’re part of the First family…try showing a little class..”

    You can read the rest, but she basically also attempt to “slut shame” the girls on the shortness of their skirts..!!!

    Wow, the hatred of Obama is ridiculous…

    https://twitter.com/goldietaylor/status/538451579113050112

    ETA: Apparently, she’s Rep Fincher’s (TN08) Comms Director

  29. 29.

    raven

    @Michael Bersin: My dad lived in Phoenix for 25 years before he passed away. He became a Cats fan and absolutely hated ASU after their fans chanted “PLO< PLO" at Steve Kerr after they killed his dad.

  30. 30.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @FlyingToaster:

    Starbucks has chocolate advent calendars. I bought one to take as a hostess gift yesterday. They’re not cheap; however, they are infinitely reusable.

  31. 31.

    Mustang Bobby

    Thanks, everyone! It really feels good to have producers choose my work.

    I’ll post the dates of the performances when I know them so anyone in the Miami area can see it.

  32. 32.

    SWMBO

    @Botsplainer: My dog’s had the trots since Monday; it is part of a recurring pancreatitis, says the vet. Just charming, isn’t it?

    I just finished making the pies, dinner rolls & sides I’m taking to Mom’s house. Should have gotten them done earlier, but there is just something about cleaning up doggie poo over & over (plus wiping his ass, FUN TIMES) that did not make me eager to start cooking

    We had an aged dachshund that was diagnosed with pancreatitis over a year ago (he’s since crossed the bridge due to enlarged heart). My mother had been previously hospitalized three times for pancreatitis and I asked her if there was any way of alleviating the pain for him. She said “jello”. They gave it to her in the hospital and she said it was the most soothing thing in the world. I got Knox unflavored gelatin and a box of chicken broth (unsalted). The box has 4 envelopes and the box of broth has 4 cups. I used one cup of broth in a glass measuring cup and heated it in the microwave. Add the gelatin slowly (it foams up) dissolving it completely. Put in fridge and wait. The dog gets rehydrated and it doesn’t hurt his tummy. If you have trouble getting other food in him, add chicken (think fruit in jello). When we had to board him, I took his jello and broth. They let it set up in an ice cube tray to help monitor how much he got. Worked like a charm and he quit getting sick each time he ate it. This also works with cats with pancreatitis. A friend used chicken broth with mashed tuna.

    ETA This added my comments to cckids block quote. I don’t know how to fix it.

  33. 33.

    Mustang Bobby

    @lamh36:

    “Dear Sasha and Malia Obama…I get your both in your awful teens, but you’re part of the First family…try showing a little class..”

    I hope both girls let the shamer know that she doesn’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re” and therefore not worthy of giving a rat’s ass.

  35. 35.

    lamh36

    @Mustang Bobby: sorry, that was my own mistake…lol.

    She also essentially goes on to compare the daughters to bar hoppers because of the lengths of their skirts…smdh

    ETA: Seems she has deleted it from her FB page, but the internet never forgets…so she will continue to get dragged on Twitter

  36. 36.

    KG

    I’m enjoying the chaos that U.S. the Pac12 South. UCLA is losing to Stanford, and if that holds up that means the Territorial Cup winner plays Oregon for the Pac12 title. ASU and Arizona are tied at 21 at half time.

    Also, between the Ray Rice ruling and the CM Punk (yeah, I’m a wrestling fan) podcast, I’m looking forward to some epic podcasts this week. The Bill Simmons victory lap is going to be fun

  37. 37.

    KG

    @lamh36: I’m beginning to think that building a wall/fence when we kick the south out won’t be enough. Maybe we need a dome like on the simpsons movie?

  38. 38.

    scav

    a) abundent leftovers are nearly the point of the whole operation, especially as
    b) all the true nutters have usually left the scene and the onus of faux comradery has been lifted.

    lolling and practicing epub construction. Tea. Utter lack of shopping.

  40. 40.

    Mike E

    @Gene108:

    in Cary / Raleigh I am the only car with NJ plates I have seen.

    They’re a’comin, mebbe you’ll pass ’em on your trip back up…after all, the Univ of NJ at Durham is right close to here ;-)

  45. 45.

    beth

    @lamh36: Publically shaming teenagers on FB? Well bless her shriveled up, cold dead heart.

    Although it is fun to see how the girls have changed these past six years. They used to get all dressed up and even hold their dad’s hand. My daughter remarked that next year they’ll be in their pj’s, texting on their phones.

  53. 53.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    I am experiencing a distinct shortage of sorts. The gruntle situation isn’t much better. I have about three things I want to be working on on the novel (rearranging Part I; writing some new scenes for Part II; working out some other plot elements in Part II). I do mean “want” here; it’s not like I hate this. But I just can’t get myself going. I’ve got this light, floaty feeling like I’m drifting away, which is one of the signs of more acute depression.

    If I wasn’t feeling so apathetic this would bother me a lot.

  55. 55.

    Mike E

    @raven: Well, we have at least one non-turkey of a game this holiday weekend!

    Watching the Eagles thump Dallas doesn’t ever get boring, however.

  60. 60.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @beth:

    Too bad Malia’s not just a little bit older. There is a little pre-feminist princess-loving piece of me that would love to see a White House wedding, with POTUS walking down the aisle with his daughter and Barack and Michelle jointly “giving the bride away” (irony quotes deliberate) to make RWNJ heads asplode. Oh, and Sasha side-eyeing the proceedings from her vantage point as maid of honor.

  61. 61.

    Yatsuno

    @KG: True, Simmons does like to poke them in the eye when he can. It makes me more ill that Rice is more likely to get a job than Michael Sam is. I’m still looking at Pete Carroll tho.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    @raven: I use to see trigger fish for sale every once and awhile and it’s so sweet. I can’t believe you had to throw it back.

  65. 65.

    Mike E

    Who hired Eeyore for color on the Mizzou game? “That (5 yard) penalty is a killer!” They’re absolutely hurting themselves… TOUCHDOWN!
    Oops.

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    @Mike E:

    He certainly has been unlucky. “It’s crazy to go for the two-point conversion. It’s too risky. There’s plenty of time left. You’ve got to take the extra point and—oh, the two-pointer is successful! Tie game.”

  69. 69.

    Tenar Darell

    Went to MFA with some of the younger cousins. Saw the mummies and Watson and the Shark and more. I was also forcefully reminded that boys ten and under find naked dudes and boy babies funny because “giggle snort penises!” Hilarious. I’m still laughing thinking about them.

  71. 71.

    d58826

    Hell has officially frozen over. Over on CNN Nancy Grace has an interview in which she say’s she doesn’t believe the cop in the M. Brown case.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    @d58826:

    I have been watching various Law and Order franchise reruns lately (never watched the shows before), and they have a recurring character—Yancey something—who is such a perfect caricature of Nancy Grace and her whole shtick that at first I thought it was Nancy Grace doing a cameo. Hilarious.

  77. 77.

    KG

    @Yatsuno: I think Sam will get a chance somewhere. Rice was already breaking down and running back seems to be a very replaceable part these days. So, if I were to put money on it, I’d say Sam has a better chance of playing

  78. 78.

    d58826

    @Steeplejack: yea She is a trip. Normally I ignore her but the headline on CNN was such a ‘man bites dog’ story I had to click on it to see what she had to say. And it was a pretty strong critic of the cop Wilson. Nothing wishy washy both sides do it hedging.

  79. 79.

    ruemara

    been half-assed working on a blink timer for the face and I’m about dressed to run out and work off the food. Had some fantastic friendsgiving meals, including bbq rib or something or another ribbish and everyone tried to hand me platters of food.

    Has anyone ever paid for any of those premium job search sites? I’m wondering if I shouldn’t take advantage of the black friday deals on one or two, but I wonder if it’s also worth it.

  81. 81.

    Mike E

    @Steeplejack: She and Lou Dobbs had quite the cable lineup 1-2 punch for a while…he, burying various and sundry foreigners/others; she, digging them back up. Riveting.

  82. 82.

    Corner Stone

    @KG:

    So, if I were to put money on it, I’d say Sam has a better chance of playing

    I’ll take that bet. Domestic abuser v out gay athlete? Ray Rice has so much more value as a pure football player that you should be laying odds if you want to make this bet.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @raven:

    I had years of frustration when Mizzou was always number 3 in the Big Eight behind Oklahoma and Nebraska. I’m enjoying their success now, especially since everyone said they were going to get their asses kicked when they joined the SEC.

  90. 90.

    Steve in the ATL

    @ruemara: I haven’t paid for a job site, but know people who have. General consensus is not good, though it seems to vary by industry. I know one person, and one person only, who ever got a job offer using the Ladders.

  92. 92.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    I got on the Google and looked it up. The Law and Order: Criminal Intent character is Faith Yancy—a “botoxed TV shrew,” as one character called her. Faith Yancy—Nancy Grace. Get it? Hilarious. I found a few YouTube clips, but you have to sign in because of adult content, so screw it.

  93. 93.

    satby

    @ruemara: I paid for a couple of months on Ladders and it was a complete waste of time for me. Never had a single reply to any resumes I sent off postings from there. The free version seems not that much different so I never quite understood why I should pay, and after 2 months trial, I cancelled it.

  94. 94.

    KG

    @Corner Stone: apparently as many as 8 teams reached out to Sam earlier this month, so I could see him get an offer to attend a camp. He’s also apparently got an offer to play in the CFL. Rice is an old running back with a lot of miles and deteriorating skills. I think the idea of an out gay player being a distraction has been blown up.

  98. 98.

    lamh36

    Wait, try NOT to roll your eyes, but the GOP staffer who posted that screed to her FB telling the Obama daughters to “show some class”…apparently deleted the post from her FB, but now she’s claiming her FB was hacked!

    I guess claiming that your account is hacked it the thing to do rather than take your lumps do to your stupidity.

  100. 100.

    Corner Stone

    @KG: I don’t think he’s a distraction at all. That’s a bullshit excuse used by bigots.
    But on pure football utility, Rice will see the field before Sam.
    They can reach out all they want. One position defensive players < a guy who can still rip off offensive yards chunks at a time.

  101. 101.

    Bjacques

    Trying to talk a friend into buying a gold ’65 4-speed ‘Cuda. She doesn’t need much convincing.

    Turkey postponed until Sunday. We’re expats.

  103. 103.

    lamh36

    Police Gunned Down A 12-Year-Old And Somehow Local News Decided To Run This Story

    …UPDATE: 11/28 — After receiving criticism for their original story on Rice’s father, the Northeast Ohio Media Group added an update to “give insight into the motivation to investigate the parents’ background,” claiming that “People from across the region have been asking whether Rice grew up around violence.” Chris Quinn, vice president of content for the Northeast Ohio Media Group, then defended the decision to run the story in a column published Thursday.

    One way to stop police from killing any more 12-year-olds might be to understand the forces that lead children to undertake behavior that could put them in the sights of police guns.
    So our reporters at NEOMG have been looking into Tamir’s background, to see if he lived a life exposed to violence that could explain why it might be normal for him to randomly aim what looks like a real gun in a public place. They have pursued tips about his life from Cleveland to Strongsville and continue to investigate.

    …

  106. 106.

    Mike in NC

    About 20 years ago I paid some job placement agency to market my resume in the Boston/NH area. Complete waste of money.

  107. 107.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    Here’s my advice if you get a callback from a recruiter at the Giant Evil or another entertainment company: glom onto that person even if the phone interview doesn’t turn into an in-person interview. They can give you a lot of advice about how their company likes to see resumes, what buzzwords they like you to use, etc. if they like you from the phone interview.

    Also, I was able to get resume-updating advice from Career Journeys through my undergrad alma mater for $99. It might be worth getting some professional advice to make sure your resume is in the most current format — right now, most companies don’t want your “Objective,” they want a “Profile” describing your qualifications. That’s something I would have been clueless about without the advice from the resume lady, and it did seem to help as far as getting more responses.

  110. 110.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Mnemosyne: Jesus. How many jobs are there where keeping up with the latest way to format your resume is a relevant skill? Do employers understand that when they do this, they are selecting for a set of skills that only rarely will match those needed?

  111. 111.

    Mnemosyne

    @lamh36:

    As far as I can tell, the story is still being reported in Great Britain (BBC and Guardian) as Police Kill Child With Replica Gun and the reaction seems to be wondering how in the hell we in the US could let something like that happen.

    Only in the US is the press working to come up with reasons why a 12-year-old child was responsible for his own shooting by police.

  112. 112.

    debbie

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    It doesn’t happen that often. Companies now want to know how you could help them (profile) than reading about your dreams (objectives). It’s not a relevant skill, other than presenting yourself as an ideal candidate.

  113. 113.

    Suzanne

    I have a Bachelor’s degree from UA and a Master’s degree from ASU, but I don’t care who wins this game.

    We did our big Thanksgiving meal today. I am in a total turkey coma. We rocked it. Everything was delicious.

    Christmas lights tomorrow. Maybe a bowel movement of significance, as well.

  114. 114.

    Mike E

    @Corner Stone: Also, an actual starter with “schemes” experience vs a rookie w/o any meaningful snaps in actual game play…no contest.

    Also, Rice will probably play before Sam officially* is allowed to break through a cultural barrier. Sadly.

    *no doubt others have played without “coming out”

  116. 116.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    It is, unfortunately, an employer’s market right now, and has been for a while. There are so many qualified people applying that they can afford to drop off a lot of resumes for not being properly formatted. In my case, I hadn’t had to submit a resume for anything in almost 10 years, so it was definitely worth getting some advice on how to update it.

    On another note, it may be worth it for you to get up and take a walk for at least 20 minutes, or do some indoor exercise if you have a bike/equipment. Just walking up and down the hallways or stairs at your apartment building may help. It’s a cliche, but exercise has been shown to help alleviate depression.

  117. 117.

    Schlemazel

    @ruemara:
    Not sure what your skill set is but I posted a resume to Monster years ago & am still being hit by headhunters regularly. Linkedin is also a source for endless emails looking for help (BTW – both are also the source for far too many pyramid or BS franchising spam messages). I wouldn’t pay someone but you have to judge that for yourself. If you have all this stuff already & are not getting good leads it might not be terrible.

    The other thing you can do is send your resume to headhunting agencies. Though they really love the contract slots because they make a bunch more money things have been getting better recently with longer contracts & more contract-to-hire gigs.

    Good luck

  118. 118.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @debbie: Yes, but as businesses go through fads on how they want a resume formatted, it means that they are putting a heavy weight in the hiring process on a skill that isn’t relevant to the jobs they’re hiring for.

  119. 119.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Mnemosyne: Yeah, but I’ve paid to have a professional redo my resume twice. In neither instance did it do any fucking good.

  120. 120.

    Steve from Antioch

    What’s going on today? Not watching wife beater concussion ball, that’s for damn sure.

  121. 121.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Mnemosyne:

    On another note, it may be worth it for you to get up and take a walk for at least 20 minutes, or do some indoor exercise if you have a bike/equipment. Just walking up and down the hallways or stairs at your apartment building may help. It’s a cliche, but exercise has been shown to help alleviate depression.

    Based upon lots of empirical testing, exercise makes no significant difference in how depressed I feel, either over the short term or the long term. I should do it anyway, but for completely different reasons.

  122. 122.

    henqiguai

    @Mnemosyne (#115):

    There are so many qualified people applying that they can afford to drop off a lot of resumes for not being properly formatted.

    And yet, this morning, I heard a news report wherein US industry is whining about the current 65,000 H1B visas are insufficient. There is such a shortage that the limit should be increased to something in the hundred (or three hundred) thousand range. Really?

  123. 123.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    I should just go home and go to bed. Maybe I’ll feel better when I wake up. And, if nothing else, it would make the cats happy.

  124. 124.

    henqiguai

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)(#118):

    Yeah, but I’ve paid to have a professional redo my resume twice.

    Complete waste of time and money. Been playing this job search game way too regularly in the past 10 years and I have actually asked other job seekers as well as recruiters about such things – universal condemnation. One of the more usual responses, by recruiters, is that they can actually identify a lot of ‘professionally’ written resumes; they are unimpressed.

    Your best bet is to pick up some hints from your particular industry professional associations’ (I use plural ’cause, QAEng, and I hit ASQ, IEEE, ACM) websites career pages. And ask some (serially) successful job searchers for hints and/or a critique. Worth the effort and there’s no embarrassment; it’s a shared ofttimes dire strait too many of us have been, or are, in.

  126. 126.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    I know. This is why I (and others) have been encouraging you to focus on your writing instead of continually getting discouraged with a job search. I know that at this exact moment that advice doesn’t feel like it’s paying off, but it really is.

    Go home, get some sleep, tell your brain to STFU with any negativity about your writing, and work on those edits.

  128. 128.

    Keith G

    @Corner Stone:

    I’m kind of a bad ass.

    Yes you are.

    As darkness shrouds the city, I am on the porch with a tablet completing a bit of shopping while listening to Ed Sheeran….and sipping some Cabernet. Downtown Houston is a remarkably non-humid 65 degrees — t shirt and jeans weather.

  129. 129.

    Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)

    @Mnemosyne:

    I know. This is why I (and others) have been encouraging you to focus on your writing instead of continually getting discouraged with a job search.

    I’ve been doing that a lot but unfortunately the chances of writing ever paying the bills is very slim and at the end of the day, I have to eat and pay a mortgage. With the world as it is designed, just dropping out of the job search isn’t an option.

  132. 132.

    Mnemosyne

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):

    I realize that it’s extremely hypocritical for me to be sitting here telling you to go work on your writing when I’m not working on my own writing, but I’ll just say that having your own project that you’ve been successful with will help you in other areas as well.

    I’ve been nagging ruemara for a while that she needs to look outside of the area where she’s living to find a decent job. I have no idea if I need to add you to that nag list as well, but if you don’t own property that would be hard to sell, it’s something worth considering.

  135. 135.

    Corner Stone

    @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): I have actually honestly tried to say things to you that are the truth re: job hunting.
    You just don’t want the advice you actually have asked for.
    I don’t want anyone to be without a job, or not making their way in this world. That’s bogus, and not about me at all. I’ve hired, or caused to be hired, more people in the past 10 years than I can count.
    I know what it takes to get it done. I cut through all the buzz words and all the troublemakers. Oh well. We’ve danced this dance before.

  138. 138.

    Corner Stone

    I’m about to make sauteed shrimp and scallops with jasmine rice and some fresh herbs, with a spicy chili dipping sauce.
    Good times.

  139. 139.

    debbie

    @Mnemosyne:

    I’m not good at keeping up with everything that goes on here. I knew you were working on writing, but not about your difficult job search. After the demise of my 15-year-old freelancing business, I had zero income for about 2 years, so I know all about being on the verge of panicking.

    I went to more than my fair share of interviews and look-sees. I finally found a job — not in an industry I’m interested in, but it’s a job and it’s paying my rent and bills and giving me affordable health insurance (after being uninsured for 15 years). I will say, having those worries out of my way has given me a chance to get back to drawing and writing. I don’t have enough time to do either as much as I’d like, but until I win the lottery, I’m fine with this.

    But you have to not give up.

  140. 140.

    Pogonip

    @Yatsuno: I never did understand why the gov’t (aside from the “essential” services) doesn’t close the day after Thanksgiving. It’s a waste of time to light a large base or Federal building for the ten or so people who decide to come in. (And of those ten, 8 are probably taking in-house annual leave and the 9th is working on his resume–leaving you, Yatsuno, the only poor slob in the entire government who was actually working today! A round of applause for Yatsuno!)

  141. 141.

    Corner Stone

    @Keith G:

    As darkness shrouds the city, I am on the porch with a tablet

    My son and I made a homemade chocolate pie, crust and all, and topped it with a fresh whipped cream. Lime and orange zest dusting.
    After playing basketball for a couple hours earlier in this beautiful weather.
    Life in H-Town is fucking good, friend.

  142. 142.

    Pogonip

    @Mustang Bobby: While I don’t approve of insulting kids, I must point out that the doofus may have fallen victim to auto-correct. So he may be a half-literate doofus.

  143. 143.

    Corner Stone

    @Mike E:

    Also, an actual starter with “schemes” experience vs a rookie w/o any meaningful snaps in actual game play…no contest.

    Ray Rice is so much more valuable to any pure football roster that it is not even worth calculating.
    Now. Will he be on a roster any time soon? No idea.
    But he will absolutely be on an NFL field taking real game time snaps before Michael Sam is. That is just the way it is.

  144. 144.

    jake the antisoshul soshulist

    My Hilltoppers knocked off unbeaten Marshall today. 67-66 on overtime.
    Yes, football not basketball. WKU has a great offense. The defense is terrible, but did have four interceptions. It is their first win over a ranked team since they have been in FBS.

  145. 145.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    Thanks, but luckily I’m actually in a pretty good position — I currently have a job (unlike a lot of people), I’m just trying to get to one that offers some advancement. I can definitely empathize a lot better now, though. I’ve only been applying internally to my company, to job titles that are parallel to mine, and out of about 10-15 resumes, I’ve gotten (2) callbacks and (1) interview. For an internal transfer!

  146. 146.

    Suzanne

    @Steeplejack: That looks awesome. Thanks for the response.

    I ended up making this recipe from Slate, and everyone seemed to like it a lot. The meringue tasted awesome. But maybe I just will never love a sweet preparation of sweet potatoes. The best I’ve ever done is “pretty good”, but then again, the best I’ve ever HAD was “pretty good”.

  148. 148.

    drkrick

    The ’62 Army-Navy game was the first football game I have any memory of watching (Dad had been enlisted Navy in the ’50’s), so I probably saw him play even if I didn’t know what the heck was going on.

  149. 149.

    Suzanne

    On the resume front, I’m not sure if it’s just my industry, but I HAAAAAATE when people do their resumes in the Microsoft Word template, or in Times new Roman or Arial. Come the fuck on. It should be an attractive and beautiful graphic object, with subtle color, and nice paper if you’re sending a paper copy. I can always tell when someone fails to put any effort into the visual communication of their resume, and it always reflects badly, I think.

  150. 150.

    Pogonip

    @Suzanne: The last time I wrote a resume, about 10 years ago, it had to be read by a computer system called Resumix that scanned for key words. So the sentences were not elegant as they had key words stuffed in everywhere. Of course the inevitable happened–someone in the personnel office began selling the list of key words–so now they’re back to having to read the resumes themselves. Que barbaridad!

  152. 152.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    That recipe looks interesting, although I’m a little skeptical of the meringue; it has a “marshmallow envy” whiff about it. But I’ll take your word for it.

    I do think that baking the sweet potatoes in their skins leaves you with more flavor than boiling does. And I think that if you cut the sugar a bit in that Southern Living recipe (as I intend to do next time) you could get pretty close to a non-sweet preparation of sweet potatoes that would still please the traditionalists.

  153. 153.

    Mike J

    @Suzanne: I’d rather hire people who have better things to do than dick around with fonts. They can write it in crayon if they know what they’re doing.

    Of course I’ve only ever hired techies, not designers.

  154. 154.

    Suzanne

    @Pogonip: Even crappy writing can be beautifully set, though. I’ve done a number of my friend’s resumes for them, and I won’t write them at all. But you can make an attractive piece of graphic design that stands out from a sea of hideousness, and it communicates so much to an employer. Not just that you can do a task, but that you know that the presentation matters!

  155. 155.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman: He’s 27. RB’s don’t start going south, usually, until after 30.
    He has a few legs left in him. Tell me the Colts don’t want him. Tell me 8 other NFL teams can’t use a guy that runs like he can.

  156. 156.

    geg6

    Anti-Thanksgiving here: spaghetti and meatballs with salad for dinner with a lovely on-sale bottle of Dreaming Tree Crush by Dave Matthews’ winery. Really nice red blend, very mellow. And watching the Pens. Good ending to the holiday.

  157. 157.

    Suzanne

    @efgoldman: You can do a beautiful resume in black text on white paper, though I always recommend Garamond or Centaur instead of Times New Roman, and Helvetica instead of Arial.

    I have an all black-and-white version of my resume, but it still looks graphically lovely.

  158. 158.

    Pogonip

    If anybody’s applying to DOD, “customer” is a keyword that works for every job. Which is really stupid since DOD doesn’t have customers. (“Special today! We’ll drop THREE bombs for the price of TWO!”)

  160. 160.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @lamh36: I’m too busy cackling to roll my eyes. You can’t cure stupid. Or mean, and that chick is bone mean, and stone stupid.

  162. 162.

    Suzanne

    @Mike J: I work in a client-service field, and I meet people all the time that make the “it should be my skills, not my presentation!” argument. They want to wear jeans or miniskirts to client meetings, and don’t take the time to proofread. And it never goes well for them in the end. Presentation matters. Clothes matter, personal appearance matters, and your visual identity (resume, cover letter, business cards, etc) all matter, too.

  163. 163.

    geg6

    And now on to the pumpkin pie I was too full to eat last night. My very favorite dessert of all time. I could eat it every day.

  164. 164.

    Violet

    @Suzanne: I didn’t have the chance to reply to your question about sweet potatoes, but here’s what I did when I got the sweet potato assignment for this year’s gathering:

    Peeled, chopped and boiled the sweet potatoes. When soft, drain and mash with butter and a bit of salt. Spread in casserole dish. Top with honey glazed pecans I got from a local store. You could make them, but I didn’t bother. Put the whole thing in the oven to keep warm–about 225 or so, I think but I wasn’t in charge of the temp. The pecans’ coating kind of melted into the top of the sweet potatoes and the pecans themselves became crispier. It’s super easy and really good. The hostess told me they were the best sweet potatoes she’s ever had, so that’s a win!

    The advantage is, the sweet potatoes themselves aren’t sweetened with anything so if you don’t want the sweet part you don’t have to eat it. Those that do can have the topping.

    I’m sure you could roast the sweet potatoes and then mash if you wanted to do it that way–would end up with a slightly deeper flavor.

  165. 165.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    @lamh36: If only there were a group that had the web skills to resurrect all the racist, hateful posts that she deleted.

    @debbie: I always thought “objective” was an idiotic way to begin a resume. I never understood the point, and always told people to skip it, some of whom actually did.

  167. 167.

    Suzanne

    @Violet: That also sounds awesome.

    I just always love sweet potatoes in a savory preparation. With cayenne and cinnamon, usually, but no sugar. So delicious. The overly-sweet dishes I’ve had are so ehhhhh.

  169. 169.

    Violet

    @Suzanne: Sweet potato pie is a thing, so they work well as a very sweet dish. I don’t like that as a side though. If you want it that sweet, go with the pie.

    I also love them mashed with chipotle. I was thinking that if you absolutely had to have the marshmallows, then you could mash with chopped chipotle peppers in adobo and and then do a toasted marshmallow topping–use the culinary torch or broiler to brown them before serving. You’d get some hot and sweet and that might work.

    Also, too, designer marshmallows are a thing at the moment, so you could add some fancy marshmallows to mix it up.

  170. 170.

    Mnemosyne

    @efgoldman:
    @Suzanne:

    It all depends on the industry. I’m trying to transfer to a job that would still be admin assistant/secretarial, but would also have some creative aspects. I’m trying to walk that fine line between “efficient” and “creative.”

    I can’t remember what fonts I used, but none of them were Times New Roman. Everything’s sent electronically as a PDF these days anyway.

  171. 171.

    Mnemosyne

    @Big R:

    I used to write headlines, so I usually cut those copy editors a break. It can be a pain in the ass to try and fit what you want to say into the available space, especially if it has an M or a W in it.

  172. 172.

    Suzanne

    @Violet: I’m not sure if you saw my comment yesterday. Last year, I opened my pretentious cakehole and offended some of my, um, uh, well, my friends with crappy taste in food. I mocked their sweet potatoes with marshmallows as being food for children and those with the palates thereof. So I accepted a bet to make some sweet potatoes with marshmallows, but to try to find a classy, not gross, “elevated” way to do it. I ended up making something with meringue instead of marshmallows, which was better. I really just do not think marshmallows are anything an adult with any degree of self-respect should eat, except on a s’more (and only while camping) or in cocoa. Efgoldman thinks they are also acceptable in creme form on a hot fudge sundae, but I disagree.

  173. 173.

    Violet

    @Suzanne: Yeah, I saw your comment, which is why I thought the issue was finding how to use marshmallows in the recipe in a grown up way, not like a kid’s side dish. I think using the culinary torch to crisp them might work–you could add a brown sugar topping and use the torch to crisp that up, like with a creme brulee.

    I’m not a marshmallow fan either. Tried the “artisanal marshmallows” when they were being sampled somewhere and yuck. Weird flavors. Did not like.

  174. 174.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    Jeez, now I feel like a ’tard, because my hatred of marshmallows is so intense that I subliminally skipped over “with marshmallows” in your original post. As Emily Litella used to say, never mind.

  176. 176.

    Violet

    @Suzanne: Forgot to add, I also don’t like them in cocoa. Why ruin a perfectly good mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows? Yuck.

    @efgoldman: No to the ice cream topping either! They’re good in s’mores. And I like rice krispie treats–they’re useful in that.

  181. 181.

    Mike J

    There’s a reason the Times used Times New Roman. It’s a good, solid, reliable typeface. I don’t need any exciting typefaces in CVs.

  182. 182.

    Schlemazel

    @Pogonip:
    Maybe my favorite line from Major League

    “He leads the league in all offensive categories including most nose hairs! Honestly, when this guys sneezes he looks like a party favor.”

  183. 183.

    Suzanne

    @Mike J: Times New Roman is actually relatively difficult to read over large bodies of text, because of its vertical counter and high contrast in the thick and thin strokes. Garamond is much easier and uses less ink, as well, so it gives your page a “lighter” feel.

    It’s also the default for lots of software, and it looks….like you went with the default and put no thought into it at all. If you are good, you can make something very classy, easy to read and scan, and a statement of your attention to details and nuance. And just as importantly, something that stands out from everyone else who used Times New Roman and the Microsoft Word template. Remember, it’s not just showing that you have the requisite skills, it’s showing that you’re better than everyone else. The cherry on top, as it were.

  184. 184.

    Suzanne

    @Violet: I can tolerate one or two in cocoa, once they melt. I never add them of my own accord, but they don’t ruin the cocoa for me.

    Can’t do Rice Krispie treats. The weirdness of them is off-putting.

  186. 186.

    cckids

    @SWMBO: Thank you! I will try that. He had a decent Thanksgiving day, but overnight went downhill fast (bloody vomit & stools) & we were at the vet at 8 am this morning. She gave him some shots & he’s a bit better, but I will try the Jello, I’m more than desperate. He’s 15, and has been doing so well, we really want to pull him through this.

  187. 187.

    Mnemosyne

    @cckids:

    The Knox gelatin is super easy to make following the instructions on the package and firms up nicely in the refrigerator — I made some out of white grape juice before I had my colonoscopy. Good luck with the doggie!

  188. 188.

    Corner Stone

    @Pogonip: It’s not hard. If you’re old (experienced) then 2 pages max. If you can keep it tight to one page then do so. No buzz words. Nothing vague. If you can demonstrate how you either made someone money (revenue), or saved someone money (cost reduction), then use actual percentages or numbers. Put the most significant success at the top. The thing you think the job wants to see, not what you may be most proud of.
    I have tightened up resumes for a lot of my friends/their SO’s who are more junior. I’m always happy to help.

  189. 189.

    Debbie

    @geg6:

    I make crustless pumpkin pie year round in a soufflé dish @ 350 degrees for about 60 to 65 minutes. Sometimes the crust just gets in the way.

  191. 191.

    ruemara

    @Suzanne: If it’s attached as a Word doc, the font tends to be a substitution. So, if it’s not a pdf, you may have to cut some slack.

  192. 192.

    Steeplejack

    @Suzanne:

    I was going to let Mike J’s comment pass, but I’ll throw this in here: Times New Roman was designed for a very specific application: narrow “measure” (line width), small font size, cheap paper and cheap (bleeding) ink, speedy mass printing and an ephemeral end product—i.e., a daily newspaper of the 1930s. It worked fantastically well for that—example from 1938 here—but it really shouldn’t be the go-to choice for most modern applications. The fact that it is the default in Microsoft Word is yet another in the long list of sins for which Bill Gates and his minions will called to account.

  194. 194.

    Suzanne

    @ruemara: Yes, that’s true. So when I send my resume electronically, I always do a flattened PDF. I’ve never been asked for a Word file, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable sending an editable document, but is suppose if a Word doc is specifically requested, then you’ll have to go with that and hope for the best.

    @Steeplejack: YES. Times New Roman has it’s specific strengths, but there are many, MANY better choices in terms of readability, choices of weights and characters, ease of scanning, and yes, aesthetic value.

    It’s the difference between reading a mass-market paperback book you bought at the used book store, versus a well-designed hardcover with great paper and text that isn’t crammed together.

  196. 196.

    SWMBO

    @cckids: One of our other dachshunds years ago (early 97) had bloody stools starting on a Sunday night. By Monday morning, he was dehydrated and weak. Took him in for the full workup and he had sandspur stickers in his gut that was tearing as it went through. The vet told me to boil rice (in chicken broth) until it was pasty and put boiled chicken in it. Let it cool down and serve in small servings. He said the rice would help plug any “holes” and the chicken would help it heal. Must have been true because less than 24 hours after we started him on it, he was fine. It’s my default food for sick pets ever since. With pancreatitis, fat is the enemy. Use ground chicken (or turkey) with 10% fat or less to make it. Fat free (or as close as you can get it) broth is good. White rice is better than brown rice for pancreatitis. Not sure why but it worked for Gromit. Also, eggs are 7-8% fat and if you scramble them in the microwave without butter or oil, they love that. (you may have to put up with a little gas but hey, desperate times call for desperate sacrifices.) The less fat you give them (and it took a while to find a good one without beef or corn–he was allergic to that) the better he will feel. (I think Dick Van Patten and Nutro were the brands we found that fit the bill.) I also don’t buy Chinese made products. Let me know how it works for you. I have other ideas/suggestions.

  197. 197.

    Mnemosyne

    @SWMBO:

    If you don’t want Chinese-made products, don’t buy Natural Balance (Dick Van Patten’s brand). They killed one of my cats because they put melamine-laced rice from China in their dry cat food.

  198. 198.

    SWMBO

    @Mnemosyne: Since I’m still using Nutro, that’s the one I found in my local pet store. I think we used the DVP when we ran out of food when we were traveling. Still, it’s good to know. I gave up Chinese pet food years ago. Target has rawhides that the dogs love but we check their labels and I’ll buy made in Mexico but not China. Those bastards can eat it themselves.

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