The mister doesn’t like those metal, conical tomato plant support thingies; they aren’t tall enough to support his plants, he says. So he built the Tomato Twin Towers:
It might work out. What are y’all up to this evening?
Reader Interactions
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Baud
Tired more than usual tonight.
SP
I heard that pipe and fittings are good for building vegetable supports. Cheaper than the flimsy stakes you can buy.
raven
Hoops.
I make our cages out of this. You cut the wire with bolt cutters, turn it into a cylinder and cut the cross bars on the bottom to make stakes to drive in the ground.
trollhattan
Looks like a frame cap from “Apocalypse Now.”
But do agree, the cages are perhaps a third of the size they need to be. And wimpy.
chopper
you can always make your own tough-ass cages by bending around cattle panel material in a ring. you can stack rings to go higher. use hog rings to connect everything and you’re golden.
shell
Looks a bit like something from the ‘Blair Witch Project.’ Could just be the fading evening light.
Betty Cracker
Our towers are built from bamboo, which, as you can perhaps see, is an incredibly abundant resource here.
Germy Shoemangler
On March 13, Madrid became a no-kill city, making the euthanasia of stray or abandoned animals illegal. That means all animals—even homeless ones—are free to live their lives.
tybee
i’ve got to come up with a design that foils the skwirls and the damned wood rats from devouring all the maters. they ate most of the peppers and eggplants, too. hate to use poison but…
gogol's wife
I’m sampling some “Hammer noir” on TCM, but probably going to switch to Father Brown after half an hour. I don’t think noir is the Hammer strong suit.
Violet
The Mister is right. Normal tomato cages aren’t nearly big enough. I have some of these. They’re expensive but they’re worth it. They fold flat when you don’t need them so they take up less space. Plus you can buy extenders for extra height. Two widths available depending on how wide your tomatoes are. I love them.
JPL
@efgoldman: When will the snow be gone, to allow her to plant those beautiful veggies.
smintheus
We stake tomatoes up fairly high with bamboo as well, which can work well except that bamboo can retain disease spores.
shell
You’re talking tomato plants. Up here in Chris Christie-land they’re saying we could possible get more snow Friday night. I mean, Fuck!
OzarkHillbilly
Amid Climate Change Woes, South Florida Official Threatens To SecedeReally? Become the 51st state so that in a hundred years we can go back to 50 states?
jl
Looks like the Crackers grow their veggies on some hammock they have to canoe into.
Though maybe BC herself rides in on the back of croc. Yayhoo!!
I expect to see a pic of the Swambeast looming out of the miss soon.
BTW, hoe do he Crackers keep the swampbeasts from eating them tamaters?
OzarkHillbilly
@Germy Shoemangler: For how long? Reality bites. Jus’ sayin’…
Germy Shoemangler
NEW YORK — A grand manor will close its doors to millions of weekly guests after “Downton Abbey” concludes next year.
Producers of the popular British period drama on Thursday confirmed it will end after its sixth season, scheduled to air in the United States in early 2016. The series, which airs earlier in the U.K., will have its finale on Christmas Day, 2015.
“Our feeling is that it’s good to quit while you’re ahead,” executive producer Gareth Neame said during a conference call. “We feel the show is in incredibly strong shape, the scripts that we’re working on for the upcoming season are fantastic, and the show is so popular globally. But the danger with this sort of thing is to let it go on forever.”
gbear
I just got off the phone with a very polite man from the USPS accounting help desk.
I had ordered a jacked directly from Carhartt and when it arrived I found out it was too small so I sent it back to their Kentucky warehouse and I purchased mailing insurance as Carhartt recommended.
Because I bought insurance, I was given a tracking number so I got to see that the package went out for delivery IN THE WRONG FUCKING TOWN, and was marked as delivered (It got delivered to a town with a 42431 zip code instead of the 42413 zip at the Carhartt facility. I filed an insurance claim on Monday.
When I talked to the polite man today, he said that I’d provided really excellent backing documentation but warned me that USPS may DENY THE CLAIM BECAUSE THE TRACKING SHOWED THAT THE PACKAGE HAD BEEN DELIVERED. When I pointed out that they’d delivered it to THE WRONG FUCKING TOWN, he agreed that I had a pretty strong case, but he’s seen USPS deny claims for this reason before. He was basically warning me and gently suggesting that I not give up and keep on appealing the claim. When asked, he said this process could last up to three months without any guarantee that I’d ever get the fucking $110 back for the coat that was FUCKING DELIVERED TO THE WRONG FUCKING PERSON IN THE WRONG FUCKING TOWN. How goddamned stupid are KY USPS workers?
Tree With Water
@trollhattan: You beat to the punch, except I was thinking Deer Hunter. Squint at the right angle, and you can almost see DeNiro and Walken..
jl
@efgoldman: How do you know? Aren’t you from squonk territory?
Germy Shoemangler
@OzarkHillbilly: I hope this act of kindness is reinforced with many other acts of kindness…
max
So he built the Tomato Twin Towers:
Can’t for the inevitable ‘the Tomato Twin Towers got droned by ISIS’ post. ;>~
max
[‘They droned my tomatoes and I all I got was this crappy sauce.’]
OzarkHillbilly
@efgoldman: Sorry, you missed the point: Southern Florida wants to become the 51st state because northern Florida doesn’t even want to acknowledge the fact that in 50 years S Florida will be a tidal basin, ergo, uninhabitable. At which time…..
raven
Lookin all like Cross Creek and shit.
Steeplejack
Just finished up watching (well, background semi-watching) The Case of the Stuttering Bishop on TCM. A Perry Mason movie from 1937. Did a spit-take a while ago when Mason addressed the district attorney as “Mr. Burjer” (soft g). I thought I misheard it, but then later the trial judge and even Della Street did the same thing. WTF? This was the last of six Perry Mason movies from Warner Brothers, and I don’t remember that from the other ones I’ve seen.
So, yeah, I have absolutely nothing going on. Thinking about ordering a pizza for dinner. Haven’t done that in a while.
Oh, yeah, and I am getting into the pre-trip jitters before flying to Las Vegas Saturday night. Family visit, not gaming. My jitters are not about the trip, but whenever I go out of town I suddenly start fretting about chores and projects that I have been blithely ignoring for weeks or months. Go figure.
I have a meet and greet tomorrow evening with the woman who is going to look in on the housecat each day while I’m away, and I need to get a set of keys made for her. I’ll do that tomorrow morning, but that’s really the only critical thing I need to do before leaving.
OzarkHillbilly
@Germy Shoemangler: I would like to be so kind when Cidiots dump their unwanted pets on my land (highway). Unfortunately, that isn’t so kind.
OzarkHillbilly
@efgoldman: Aaaaaahhhhh…. my meter must be off. Sorry.
raven
@efgoldman:
Bending Over a Stove
JPL
@raven: I purchased the colorful ones from the home depot.
Did you see that the discrimination bill was tabled? It probably will not be brought up for a vote.
raven
@JPL: Colorful concrete reinforcement mesh?
Oh, here? My friends are all freaking out about the education bil.
Litlebritdifrnt
Every year I plant my tomatoes and put out those conical cages ever hopeful that they will work. Every year my tomatoes inevitably grow to six feet and then flop over their cages and start shedding maters all over the place. The only creatures who delight at this are the Carolina Box Tortoises who basically live in my vegetable garden and gorge on fallen maters all summer. I think your hubby has the right idea Betty.
lamh36
Man, I still haven’t edited my videos from the Stevie Wonder Concert this past Tuesday.
I’ve been trying to edit them after work, but just too darn tired to stay up too much later than usual. I think I’m getting old…jeez.
Anyway, I also too tired tonight to do anymore editing, so I’m surfing the net and watching some tv while eating some chinese takeout.
I’m off work tomorrow so I figure I’d just edit the videos tomorrow.
Ohe well, right now I’m watching Pierce Brosonan in Goldeneye. For some reason I’ve been watching Bond pics. Apparently one of the cable movie nets is having a #BondCollection movie month. So last weekend I watched Skyfall. I mean, I own all the Craig Bond movies on BluRay, yet I still watched the movie on tv.
Anyway, watching Goldeneye and listening to Tina Turner singing the song for Goldeneye, written by Bond and The Edge, which I never really knew. It got me to thinking that of the post Connery & Moore Bond films, Tina Turner and Goldeneye has the most pleasing to the ear sound and “classic” Bond sexiness? The only other 2 I can remember Garbage and the last Adele song for “Skyfall”.
So I found myself wanting to rank the top 10 Bond Theme Songs. I found this handy, dandy list from WashPo (the some of the videos are no longer on youtube, but the ranking’s sound). I’d totally agree that Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger is definitely #1. I actually agree with the top 4 except I would have Duran Duran higher than Carly Simon..
Well now I’m in the mood to watch my Daniel Craig trilogy tonight or tomorrow maybe…
Anyway here’s the link:
10 best James Bond theme songs
ETA: Speaking on Goldeneye am I the only one who rolled my eyes at Famka Janssne and her “thighs of steel” that could crush a man…lol
Steeplejack
@gogol’s wife:
I’m a little behind on the DVR buffer, so Heat Wave is just starting. Will give it a go and record if necessary when I switch over to The Blacklist at 9:00. (That show is tanking, but James Spader keeps pulling me back in.) Backstrom being recorded for later viewing. And then at midnight it’s German night on MHz: Crime Scene Cleaner (black comedy) and Bukow and König (cops in Rostock). Everything on DVR so it can be watched or jettisoned.
ETA: Forgot about Archer. Going on the DVR at 10:00. It has been on an uptick lately.
gogol's wife
@Steeplejack:
I’ve watched the first 25 minutes and it’s actually pretty good. But I think my husband’s going to want his Father Brown.
JPL
@raven: A republican introduced a non discrimination amendment today….link
It’s interesting because the guy who introduced the bill said it wasn’t for discrimination but then had a fit because the amendment would gut the bill. Last night’s amendment introduced by a dem didn’t pass.
Germy Shoemangler
@lamh36: Sometimes I like Paul & Linda’s “Live And Let Die” and sometimes I don’t.
I liked the Skyfall theme. It sounded to me like a return to the bond theme roots.
Diamonds Are Forever. I still like hearing that one. Didn’t George Martin produce some of the early themes? He had a way with pianos.
Corner Stone
I’m enjoying the fudge outta this UNC v Wiscy bball contest.
Violet
@lamh36: Yeah, it’s “Goldfinger” and then it’s everything else. Nothing else is even close. I like some of the other songs but “Goldfinger” is the quintessential Bond theme song.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Hey Steepy, not to pry, but are you currently employed?
Germy Shoemangler
@lamh36: She also seemed to derive quite a bit of pleasure from machine gunning down groups of men.
raven
@Corner Stone: I got the PIP goin since they are both good.
Steeplejack
@efgoldman:
Heh, it’s electric, so not a problem. (Or just less of one?)
Hmm, now I’m wondering whether it matters whether a left-on stove is gas or electric. Gas feels worse, but who knows.
Corner Stone
“I’d like to bag it up.”
Corner Stone
Nice finish Wiscy.
Germy Shoemangler
@gbear: Somewhere there is someone slightly smaller than you strutting in front of their mirror with their new coat.
Maybe Carhartt could foot the bill for sending the wrong size?
Violet
So this is kind of interesting. Wonder what the implications will be, if any.
Corner Stone
@raven: I’m watching on a 15 yr old 32″ old school tube TV. So no PIP.
I feel silly.
Steeplejack
@gogol’s wife:
I keep telling you: DVR, baby. It’ll change your life. If you have cable now, it’s a no-brainer upgrade. They/you just swap your current cable box for a DVR cable box and you’re good to go. And very easy to use. Much less hassle than a VCR or even a DVD player.
Baud
Booman quoting Thinkprogress
Corner Stone
Coach Hunter is just a bad ass. Love that guy.
JPL
@Baud: I blame Obama.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Semi-employed, with a few software and writing/editing clients. Working from home, so no 9:00 to 5:00, which furthers the impression of slothful idleness.
Pogonip
@OzarkHillbilly: Yep, won’t last. As they multiply, if disease don’t get the poor critters, starvation wlll. We go through this every few years around here with deer.
gbear
@Germy Shoemangler:
That’s what I’m thinking. Pisses me off because I already have a Carhartt winter coat that’s nice and roomy so I bought the same size jacket. It was way too small. Now I’m feeling punchy about ordering one that fits when I haven’t gotten the money back for the returned one yet. Fucking expensive coat.
I did send an email to Carhartt telling them what happened and I got a reply basically saying “So sorry, but we haven’t received the return.’ They’re not going to do anything on my say-so.
jharp
I am going to use cattle panels this year. Been researching it for a few years.
Hope this link works.
https://www.google.com/search?q=tomato+cages+made+from+cattle+panels&biw=1280&bih=646&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=xacUVaTcL4jggwSyx4Mo&ved=0CB0QsAQ
Germy Shoemangler
@jharp: Didn’t Sarah Palin warn us about cattle panels?
schrodinger's cat
Tomato plants, we still have snow on the ground here.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: No, I just remember your break. Which seems like a while ago so I was wondering about what happened next.
I have quit a couple times now (since your move to freedom) and they keep saying No and giving me more work.
I keep fantasizing about pulling a Steepman, but I’m weak.
Germy Shoemangler
@gbear: You’re braver than I am buying clothes online. I don’t trust the size charts. My wife bought me two pairs of jeans. They are both labeled the same size, but two different brands. One pair fits great, plenty of room. The other pair I can’t even button, they’re so tight.
If I’m going to wear something, I need to try it on first.
But it sounds like Carhartt might have a problem with their size chart. Your other coat fit okay.
raven
@Corner Stone: I guess most of the new one’s don’t have it either. My big trinitron on the screen porch has it and so does my vizio. It’s tricky setting it up with vcr’s and the new box that you are supposed to have for each tv. I’m running one vcr as the tuner and have a splitter and lines running all over. I’m thinking about Dish with that Hopper dude when the renovation is done.
PurpleGirl
OT, to EFGoldman: You’re in R.I., right? How close are you to northeast CT, specifically Dayville, CT. Do you know if there are buses that go through that area? I’m involved with a cat shelter & rescue in Danielson. Cassie (the operator of the shelter) is planning a fundraiser at the Dayville Petco. She now brings cats/kittens to this Petco on weekends for adoption. I would love to visit the fundraising but I don’t drive. Any ideas you have for travel to the area are much appreciated.
Corner Stone
Anyone not watching this UNC Wiscy game is missing out.
Corner Stone
Buries the 3!
raven
@Corner Stone: These dolt’s don’t have a clue.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman:
For example, Land’s End men’s slacks over the last 3 years.
Thinner/lighter fabric and the pockets stick out like mouse ears. It’s garbage.
Corner Stone
Kaminsky looks like he doesn’t want the rock.
raven
@Corner Stone: I buy fleece lined Cabela’s two sizes too big for the winter time.
Eric S.
@Corner Stone: a good game. Wichita St vs. ND not so much. Maybe it’s just my bias that ND is by far and away the most hated school in the history of college sorts.
gbear
@efgoldman: I usually don’t buy clothes online, but I thought I’d be safe with the Carhartt jacket. I checked for a local store on the Carhartt website and they said no stores in my area carried the jacket. Buying anything is becoming more hassle than it’s worth.
raven
@gbear: Can’t you just take it back to the store?
PurpleGirl
@shell: Saying from NYC: Winter doesn’t end in NY until it snows on Easter in April.
It was usual for there to be snow on the Sunday of LunaCon, which for many years was held in March.
Germy Shoemangler
A controversial lobbyist who claimed that the chemical in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer was safe for humans refused to drink his own words when a French television journalist offered him a glass.
In a preview of an upcoming documentary on French TV, Dr. Patrick Moore tells a Canal+ interviewer that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, was not increasing the rate of cancer in Argentina.
“You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you,” Moore insists.
“You want to drink some?” the interviewer asks. “We have some here.”
“I’d be happy to, actually,” Moore replies, adding, “Not really. But I know it wouldn’t hurt me.”
“If you say so, I have some,” the interviewer presses.
“I’m not stupid,” Moore declares.
“So, it’s dangerous?” the interviewer concludes.
But Moore claims that Roundup is so safe that “people try to commit suicide” by drinking it, and they “fail regularly.”
“Tell the truth, it’s dangerous,” the interviewer says.
“It’s not dangerous to humans,” Moore remarks. “No, it’s not.”
“So, are you ready to drink one glass?” the interviewer continues to press.
“No, I’m not an idiot,” Moore says defiantly. “Interview me about golden rice, that’s what I’m talking about.”
At that point, Moore declares that the “interview is finished.”
“That’s a good way to solve things,” the interviewer quips.
“Jerk!” Moore grumbles as he storms off the set.
Corner Stone
@gbear: Speaking of online:
The shut-in economy
raven
The plodding white boys are in trouble.
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Well, I can’t say my “break” was a noble thing. It was more like self-preservation. Working retail at Barnes & Noble was the worst fucking job I ever had in my life. When my dad died in the spring of 2011, I got a small inheritance that enabled me to quit that soul-crushing job (in November 2011), buy a car and pull myself out of dire poverty into the current genteel poverty. Not having the time and energy suck of working at B&N—with the just-in-time scheduling, management harassment and all the other bullshit—gave me more stability to pursue and schedule (and perform!) my freelance work, of which there is all too little. Hence “semi-employed.” I was going to say “semi-retired” in my previous message, but that gave me a twinge when I looked at it. But it’s probably true.
In my checkered career I worked for big companies, small companies and my own company, and I did freelance consulting and contract programming as well. All have their pros and cons. And you have to match everything up with your personal situation. You have a kid (kids?), so your situation is more complicated than mine. Here in our rooms in Threadkill Lane it’s just me and the housecat, and her requirements, while stringent, are pretty minimal.
raven
@Steeplejack: I fell into working from home 11 years ago. I want to work at least 2 more year and that would take me to 67. My boss and his boss are retiring in August and none of my group, all three of us, know what’s going to happen aside from the fact that our boss says we will have jobs. I’ve always been aware that my telecommuting could end any day but the longer this has gone on the less I think I could hack going into an office.
Corner Stone
@Steeplejack: Yes, I’m the sole income for myself and a child. So it gives me pause at 3:30 in the morning when I wake up and start mentally prioritizing bullshit.
But my house and car are paid for so our lives are minimal expenditures. I just remember being bone fucking poor my whole life, so the stress seems to be a guilty pleasure.
raven
dang
Corner Stone
Wiscy, what what?!
raven
@efgoldman: Raising your hand hasn’t been a rule for 25 years.
And Bo Ryan is an epic fucking crybaby.
gbear
@raven:
1. I bought it directly from Carhartt. They don’t have any stores (around here anyway). It’s not like I could take it back to a Fleet Farm store.
2. I don’t have it any more because USPS delivered it to the wrong place. I ran the two zip codes through Mapquest and they’re only 9 miles apart, but it doesn’t look like whoever got it sent it on to the Carhartt returns address.
Corner Stone
Why the hell isn’t Kaminsky posting up?
Steeplejack
@raven:
As I said above, I did freelance software consulting at various times, and I always liked working at home. Never had a “self-discipline” problem about getting down to work or separating work time from play time, which seems to be the thing a lot of people worry about. I usually found more time wasted in the office, where you’ve always got some cube jockey from down the hall stopping by to chat about the bullshit du jour. And when I was eyeballs deep in figuring out some gnarly database problem I hated the break in my concentration.
I don’t think I’ll ever see the inside of an office again. I would like to ramp up the freelance work somewhat, but, being 63 in high tech, I run into a fair amount of what looks a lot like ageism, hard as that is to believe, I know.
raven
@gbear: Sorry.
PurpleGirl
@efgoldman: Thank you. It’s a place I can start to track down a way to get there. Cassie drives and doesn’t come from the area originally, so I’m not sure if she knows about transportation options. When I helped Cassie with the Adoption Expo in Hartford I went by Amtrak.
raven
@Steeplejack: I’m even more marginal. Working on the academic side of higher ed tech makes us real weirdo’s. I do know that our productivity was vastly improved when we got out of cube world. If they decide to send me back into an office setting I’ll have to learn something knew and I ought to be able to stretch that into half of the time I want to stick around.
The ageism doesn’t surprise me one bit.
gbear
@Corner Stone: Jesus. They live in San Francisco and don’t have time for a stroll? What a waste.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@Corner Stone: Yeah, I’ve stopped buying from Lands End, too. Poor quality, and the sizing is ridiculous. I made the mistake of ordering not one, but two, swimsuits from there. $60 apiece – and can barely can get into either of them, even though they’re supposedly two sizes larger than the ones I now wear very comfortably – and cost me much less.
Regarding puppies – we’re caring for our son’s new Shi Tzuh (sp?) for about ten days, and I’m worried about it. She’s just about the sweetest, best-behaved dog I’ve ever known, but she’s been with the family for less than a month, after being placed in the animal shelter when her elderly (female) owner died. She’s attached herself almost desperately to my daughter-in-law, and I’m worried that such separation will make her even more anxious. She likes me very much (and I like her), but will this cause problems for her and her new family later?
PurpleGirl
@Germy Shoemangler: This reminds me of the toxicity problem of polymer clay. Polymer clay is actually unbaked PVC. You and mold it, combine colors and change colors, etc. HOWEVER, you must not bake it in the oven you use for food. It may not be toxic is small amounts but when making a lot of items with the clay you should use latex gloves and wash your hands thoroughly during your work session. And bake it in a dedicated oven or toaster oven. The PVC does igve off some fumes as it it baked. They can build up in the oven. (Yes, I’ve worked with on small projects. I like using it but you have to careful to protect yourself.)
Corner Stone
@gbear:
I thought it was awesome that they are spending all this money paying working poors to run their errands so they can clear more time to work for their employer.
Not to spend with people they love, or go to a park or museum. They are depersonalizing every aspect of their life so they can keep working.
It reminds me of the cocaine commercial years ago.
Corner Stone
@The Fat Kate Middleton:
They used to be worth the money a few years ago. It’s weird.
The Fat Kate Middleton
@Corner Stone: It is weird. Is it because they’ve moved out of Wisconsin? Or am I misremembering that?
trollhattan
With March still on the calendar it’s weird to write this from the front porch with the sun setting at 78 degrees, hummingbirds at the feeder three feet away, roses and dogwood in full bloom. Holes are dug for the tomatoes and the starters have blossoms.
This note is reserved for the first week of May. In normal times.
Gin & Tonic
@PurpleGirl: Late response, so I don’t know if you’re still reading, but that area is pretty much the middle of nowhere from a transit perspective. On weekdays, I think if you get to Storrs (where UConn is) you can get a bus to Willimantic and then another from Willimantic to Danielson. But Dayville is really nowhere, and on weekends you’re SOL.
Tree With Water
@Germy Shoemangler: Ever hear of malathion? The following is taken from the obituary of a Californian republican who served as Governor Moonbeam’s chief of staff (way back when), and once drank a glass of the stuff to prove his point. Superfluous to note, they don’t grow republicans like him here in California anymore:
“..In 1967, Collins lost an arm and a leg in Vietnam, where he was serving as a Special Forces (Green Berets) captain. Afterward, he graduated from law school, passed the bar and worked as chief of staff for democratic Gov. Jerry Brown. When Brown appointed him director of the California Conservation Corps, Collins reinvigorated the organization, coining the motto, Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions. In 1981, while serving in that post, Collins called a press conference at which he drank a cup of malathion to prove to anxious corps members that they’d be safe working in a pesticide-treated environment.
Collins’ appeal&emdash;or notoriety&emdash;transcended party lines. In 1990, republican Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him director of the California Youth Authority. Soon Wilson asked him to run for the California Assembly, which he did, and he won. He held that office until his death from a heart attack in 1993..”.