Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

Books are my comfort food!

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

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

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Republicans in disarray!

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

People are weird.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

SCOTUS: It’s not “bribery” unless it comes from the Bribery region of France. Otherwise, it’s merely “sparkling malfeasance”.

Fight them, without becoming them!

After dobbs, women are no longer free.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / First Friday Morning 2016 Open Thread

First Friday Morning 2016 Open Thread

by | 300 Comments

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calvin and hobbes wing nye resolutions

(Bill Watterson via GoComics.com)

Soo…. apart from resolutions (if any), what’s on the agenda for the start of the year — or at least the weekend?

Reader Interactions

300Comments

  4. 4.

    dogwood

    I’m turning 62 this month. It’s a lot like turning 18. Eighteen’s a good age, but you’re still 3 years from “real” adulthood. Sixty two is fine, but your still a presidential election and a midterm short of a Medicare card.

  5. 5.

    TheMightyTrowel

    Gearing up to paint the bathroom over the weekend. Just bought a house in august and it came with a bright pumpkin orange bathroom so I’m changing that.

  6. 6.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @TheMightyTrowel: My landlord renovated my bathroom(quite badly) last January(just in time to f-up my birthday) and painted it OR green. It made me want to start cutting myself. He said I could repaint it, it’s much better now(brownish off-white with bluish off-white accents).

  7. 7.

    TheMightyTrowel

    @BillinGlendaleCA: is amazing how awful a wrong colour room can make you feel! I’m just painting it white as an interim – someone in the next 18 months we’re going to rip it all out and start over. The ray of the house is awesome but the bathroom needs work.

    Also exciting: ate the first of this summer’s zucchinis for dinner. ?

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    So I got up this morning, and sat right back down. Somewhere in my darkened bedroom was an evil little fucker with an ice pick and every time I tried to put weight on my left leg he would stick that sucker in just below the knee cap and wiggle it around. Either that or my left knee was jealous of all the attention my right ankle and foot have been getting for the last month and decided to go on strike. I’d pull a Ronald Reagan on it but good replacement knees are hard to find just now. Not that that stopped St Ronnie.

  9. 9.

    Betty Cracker

    I’m about to depart for the piney woods for camping, canoeing and occasional football-watching with relatives. But I woke up with the sniffles, damn it all! Not sure if it’s the beginnings of a cold or some random allergy. I feel fine except for irritated sinuses and a runny nose. Need to figure it out before I visit my grandma. She’s in good health for a very old lady, but I wouldn’t want to pass along a cold.

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    1:45 a.m. First time 5 minutes have gone by without fireworks sounds since 3 this afternoon. The cottage was actually shaking on its piers at one point from the big booms.

    If past years are any guide, though, will still be getting fireworks noise after sunset for the next 2 or 3 nights.

  13. 13.

    dogwood

    In Ecuador the New Years custom is to build an ano viejo. You build a stuffed dummy that represents something bad from the year and then burn it. I remember in 2005, George W Bush masks selling like hot cakes all over the city.

  20. 20.

    dogwood

    I also remember distinctly that after tens of thousands of people burned W in effigy, the Quito paper on New Years Day included a glossy magazine insert of the 20 or 30 most important people to watch for in 2006. Barack Obama was featured in that magazine.

  32. 32.

    magurakurin

    @dogwood: If you want to go to a place where the fireworks never stop, go to Valencia during Las Fallas around the 19th of March. Crazy fireworks. Crazy. For days on end. And then they burn all their festival decorations in the streets on the last day. It’s batshit insane.

  33. 33.

    OzarkHillbilly

    In the Pleasant Valley neighborhood, Rick Eckert’s home was about 75 yards from the nearest visible grass. He moved there in 1994, one year after the Great Flood.

    “I figured, ‘What the heck? I’ll be dead and gone before it happens again,’” Eckert said.

    We never learn.

  36. 36.

    Mustang Bobby

    My mug shot from this morning. (Heh. Made you look.)

    So, do you say “Twenty-sixteen” or “Two thousand sixteen”?

    I was in bed by 10:30; the artillery in the neighborhood was subdued. But at 1:02 I was awakened by a text from my ex to wish me a HNY, so we exchanged greetings — he was up bingeing in “Downton Abbey,” and then he called and we talked for an hour. Finally dropped off to sleep around 3:30. Now I’m up and have to start getting ready to help some friends with their open house this afternoon. But it’s only Friday, and I don’t have to be at work until Monday.

  39. 39.

    Rashi

    Anyone see The Big Short? While it started well and had some moments I found it pretty dull. Knowing the basics of the story probably didn’t help but somehow I’m not surprised I got bored by a movie centered around financial instruments.

  42. 42.

    magurakurin

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Well, I’ve never been to Burning Man, but I imagine it isn’t like that. They have two days of parades in which the women and girls from all the surrounding villages and neighborhoods in Valencia wear traditional dress and march through the streets carrying flowers. Then, all the flowers are assembled to build a huge Virgin Mary made of flowers. There are block parties all over the city on nearly every block and there are food stalls and stands everywhere selling paella and awesome grilled meats of every variety. People wander around tossing firecrackers and M-80’s with no regard for anyone’s safety. There are huge fireworks displays every night and the city is filled with falleras, which are these giant wood and paper mache puppet displays of every imaginable sort. These things are torched on the last night. It’s a very crazy festival and it goes on for days. We were there for the last three days this March.

  44. 44.

    magurakurin

    @OzarkHillbilly: That’s not surprising the cultures are similar. Both places speak a version of Catalan. We visited Mallorca after Las Fallas. It was very beautiful, too. I love Spain.

  48. 48.

    MattF

    Some amusement this morning from the NYT– an article on the New York Public Library’s erotica collection.

    It reminds me that the Yale Library had a similar collection for which the catalog numbers were preceded by the Greek letter φ. Pronounce it out loud and you’ll get the joke. Also Yale had two copies of Psychopathia Sexualis, one of which was permanently checked out to the Athletics Department.

  49. 49.

    Raven

    It’s still in the upper 40’s and cloudy. I stayed at the bonfire until 1am but my wife was having a good time so I left her and the dog. We have a brunch you gig at noon and she was having a couple of friends over late afternoon. I just wrote them and asked if tomorrow might not be better. I’m probably in trouble but screw it.

  52. 52.

    Ultraviolet Thunder

    Gonna visit a friend I haven’t seen in a while today. He does not know this yet because I just decided this moment, but he will be glad to see me.
    2016 needs more friends in it.

  54. 54.

    geg6

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Ha! Funny, but I went to the eye doctor a couple of weeks ago and apparently I am looking at cataract surgery in the future (but not yet!). He advised me to wear my sunglasses (prescription) when driving at night to minimize the halo effect of headlights and street lights. No joke, it works.

  57. 57.

    MattF

    @geg6: Driving at night with cataracts is hard. You get those haloes, but you also get a general decrease in contrast perception. Sunglasses would improve the one and worsen the other, so be careful.

  59. 59.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @magurakurin: I haven’t had a chance to see much else as both times I’ve been was to spend time with her parents (they lived in Palma). I fell in love with Mallorca tho, especially the mountains and the Northwest coast: Valldemosa, Soller, Fornalutz, Sa Collabra, Alcudia, etc. One of the most memorable was Castell D’Allro. (pictures)

    Perched at an improbable, almost comical angle on a gigantic fist of rock, Castell d’Alaró is one of the most rewarding castle climbs on the island. The ruins are all that remain of the last redoubt of Christian warriors who could only be starved out by Muslim conquerors around 911, eight years after the latter had invaded the island. The views, from Palma to Badia de Alcúdia, are something special.

    On the first trip, we got lucky and hooked up with some local cavers and got to do some stuff on the wild side too. On both trips I took off on my own a couple times, just went wandering by bus and foot with no particular goal except to see what might surprise me. Cool place.

    The next time we go we’ll spend some time on the mainland, I think she has in mind Andalusia, Valencia, and Catalonia.

  60. 60.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I screwed up my right ankle this summer and was limping and taking stairs like a baby for about 10 weeks. I couldn’t believe how many ways my left leg found to make me miserable. The best was a couple muscle spasms in my quadriceps.

    Maybe you should try being less mobile for a while.

  63. 63.

    Phylllis

    Ham & cheese quiche in the oven for midday, mainly because I’m going to try Ina Garten’s boston butt recipe, which takes pretty much all day in the oven. Already swapped out the calendar (thanx State newspaper for the freebie this morning). Fireworks were pretty low key around here last night, likely due to the rain. I’m sure they’ll make up for it today and tomorrow.

    Happy New Year to all y’all.

  64. 64.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    Finally got Win10 upgraded on the second Compute stick, now i just need to setup grub for the second boot to KUbuntu.

    ETA: This was really a PITA.

  68. 68.

    geg6

    @MattF:

    So far, no problems. Not having contrast problems, but the halos were driving me nuts and frightening me enough that I’ve drastically cut back my night driving. But I have to do it sometimes, mainly for work. The sunglasses have made a huge difference. I would never have guessed.

  71. 71.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Elizabelle: I saw the Rose Parade live 36 years ago when I was in college(young and foolish), but I’ve been to the after parade showing of the floats. That’s really quite a sight, much better than the parade.

  72. 72.

    Satby

    Happy New Year again to the day shift. The girls wanted to do some fireworks for midnight, but I wouldn’t let them get anything explosive, so we had a couple of nice fountains, some Roman candles in the ground, and long sparklers. It was 20 degrees out so the display was shortened because they were cold and tired. They had fun though, and then we all went to bed. My teenagers don’t even party like teenagers. I was relieved, because I was beat.

  73. 73.

    dogwood

    @geg6:
    Same experience here. I’ve always had shitty vision ,but very healthy eyes. Found out last week I’ve got a cataract forming. All good things must end.

  76. 76.

    Satby

    @dogwood: I’m very nearsighted, have been my whole life though it’s lessened now that presbyopia balances the worst of it off. 20 years ago my eye doctor told me when I developed cataracts I could look forward to perfect vision with implants, so I’m kind of wishing I would develop them faster. Last eye doctor visit she said it still was years away. My mom had her surgery in her late 70s, that’s probably when I will finally need it.

  78. 78.

    Schlemazel

    @geg6:
    I was born with cataracts (yes, seriously) that doctors told me were very colorful. I found those yellow lenses helped a lot. Had the surgery 18-20 years ago & it was a miracle being able to see well, better than I have in many years.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Same thing with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I went one year, hated it. Then we started going over to the part of the West Side where they inflate all the balloons the night before. Much more fun.

  80. 80.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @debbie: There was quite a bit of the boozy stuff consumed the night before, it was quite cold for us natives.

  81. 81.

    magurakurin

    @OzarkHillbilly: Sounds good. We went to Soller and Valldemosa from Palma. It is a very nice place. This year we are going back to visit Lisbon, though. We went there two years ago, but it was a bit rainy and cold. We are going back in May in hopes that it will be warmer and sunnier. Portugal is a really nice country, too.

  83. 83.

    magurakurin

    @OzarkHillbilly: It’s definitely not Spain, though. Very different culture. And the language is very different, too. The people are super friendly though. Lisbon is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. An Iberian San Francisco. There bridge was even made by the same bridge builders. And all the hills and colorful buildings. The pastel de nata pastries they have everywhere are wonderful, too.

  84. 84.

    Schlemazel

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    I suppose its the allure of the big event seen for years on TV but I think it might be fun to see the Rose parade ans well as Macy’s Thanksgiving one. But they are such a big deal I think the crowds would make them a pain. If I were 20 NYE at Time Square might be fun but there is no way I’d go to it now.

    Since the floats are the most interesting part I think that the after party would be better.

  85. 85.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @magurakurin:

    It’s definitely not Spain, though. Very different culture. And the language is very different, too. The people are super friendly though.

    That IS different. ;-) My wife is not at all fond of Madrilians. Says they all think they are better than every one else. My limited experience says she’s not far off.

  86. 86.

    Riley's Enabler

    Fireworks here in the Texas suburbs…all damn night (get off my lawn) but the critters didn’t fuss much. Going to work on being a better friend this year; the past couple of years have been a cocoon of single-parenting and my focus was too inward. Lots of work to be done. Houston managed to elect another Democratic mayor, so there is hope. Happy 2016!

  89. 89.

    Satby

    And can I just mention a sincere thanks to all the Juice denizens and lurkers for the continued support of my little gang of rescues through my Etsy shop? It really helped this year to have that supplement; often it was the unexpected sale that saved me from overdrafting and got food in the bowls right when I needed it. You people rock.

  91. 91.

    MattF

    Oh, and, btw, Harold Meyerson, one of the last (if not the very last) openly left-of-center regular op-ed columnists at the WaPo, has been fired. Yes, not bought out, or retired, or whatevered, but fired.

  92. 92.

    gogol's wife

    I saw the New Year in by coughing, tossing, and turning. At least there were no fireworks. Too cold, I guess.

  93. 93.

    Nunca El Jefe

    @geg6: if they’re sunglasses of reasonable quality, it’s likely the polarized lenses that are doing the work for you. It makes me wonder if you could get the same reduction in halos from those 3d glasses you get at the movies. They are much less tinted than regular sunglasses. Just a thought.

  96. 96.

    magurakurin

    @OzarkHillbilly: Well, She is from Mallorca which is basically a different country from Madrid. Spain really isn’t one place. It is many different places and each place thinks they are the best. My experience in Spain, which is limited to about a total of 6 weeks there in various regions, has taught me that if you are in Andalusia, you need to say the ham in Andalusia is the best. And if in Madrid, then ham from Madrid is best. If in Valencia then ham from Valencia, if in Castille y Leon then….and so on. I really only every ran into one true asshole in Spain, the manager of a restaurant in Salamanca. Everyone else was pretty damn nice, but definitely proud of their city and region. There seems to be a lot of friction between regions though. One young guy at our hotel in Salamanca chatted me up for a long time one night. He wanted to practice his English. He confessed to me how jagged he gets when people ask him where to see flamenco in Salamanca. I said to him, “do you tell them to go to Granada?” He gave me a big laugh and was really happy that I was aware enough to know why it pissed him off. It’s an interesting place Spain. That civil war must have been horrible, though.

    Portugal is way more laid back though and they really appreciate if you try to speak Portuguese even though many people speak English well. It seemed to me though that the Spanish and the Portuguese could communicate pretty well with each party speaking their own language. But the Portuguese don’t seem really happy with gringos speaking Spanish to them. My Portuguese was pretty spanishy I think, but they seemed to appreciate very much my attempts. I started to get the hang of it a little bit by the end of the trip.

  97. 97.

    MattF

    @Nunca El Jefe: Um, why would the polarization matter? Polarized sunglasses reduce glare because the light in low-angle reflections tends to be horizontally polarized (via Brewster angle effects). How would that matter for cataracts?

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @Satby: I am having this same problem. :-( I don’t wear prescription glasses – just stronger and stronger cheaters. Is it possible to get untainted polarized lenses if you don’t wear prescription glasses?

  101. 101.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @magurakurin:

    Spain really isn’t one place.

    That’s for sure. As to people being nice… Felt like about 25% were among the rudest people I’ve ever had the displeasure of sharing this planet with, another 25% were just your avg assholes (kinda like me) and the last 50% were all nice enough.

    The civil war, it is amazing to me that all these years later you can still find buildings pockmarked by bullets and shells. My mother in law was born in prison during a bombing raid and her Republican father never came home. The war and the hungry years after affected her deeply and she became a food hoarder. IIRC they had 5 or 6 deep freezers stuffed with food when she died. A super sweet woman who made a mean, and astoundingly beautiful, paella.

  105. 105.

    Schlemazel

    @magurakurin: if you are in Andalusia, you need to say the ham in Andalusia is the best. And if in Madrid, then ham from Madrid is best. If in Valencia then ham from Valencia, if in Castille y Leon then….and so on.

    When I was a kid I got tasked with helping to ferry food from the commercial kitchen to the Festival of Nations booths. There were at least 4 groups selling apple strudel and each gave me a piece of theirs as a reward. I had to tell the Italians theirs was the best because it had almonds, and the Austrians theirs was the best because it had more cinnamon and the Germans theirs was the best because it had raisins. Each was good, very good really but I wouldn’t say one was better. Still, you have to tell them that as there is a lot of pride in local food.

  106. 106.

    Satby

    @WaterGirl: Well, I just looked it up and the consensus seems to be that anti-reflective coating, not polarizing, is what helps reduce some of the glare. A lot of sunglasses have that too. Safety glasses often have anti-reflective coating on the lenses, and you can get a cheap pair on Amazon for around $10. VERY utilitarian, but might do the trick. Some people swear by the yellow tinted glasses, but the effect seems to be more of a placebo, and any tint reduces light transmission in already dark circumstances. I already have anti-reflective coating on my glasses for the computer work, so I’m not sure how much more it’s helping since it’s my normal.

  111. 111.

    Satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: Mmm, paella! I loved being able to have that any time in Spain.
    Hoping the left knee is just asking for a rest today after bearing the weight for your right ankle. Sounds like watching football in a recliner would be a great way to while away today. Feel better soon.

  112. 112.

    Baud

    @Satby:

    You and WaterGirl were my two earliest supporters. When the history books note that 2016 was the Year of the Baud, I’ll owe it all to you.

    @Pogonip: You, ma’am, have a great attitude.

  114. 114.

    Satby

    @Baud: Well, I like your platform. But there’s some self-interest at play too, a cabinet position will be a massive job improvement over my current one ?

  115. 115.

    Pogonip

    For the first day of 2016 my plans include coughing, sniffling, applying Vicks liberally (in honor of Balloon Juice), slurping down chicken soup, and probably sleeping a lot. Happy fucking New Year. *grumble* *cough*

    I too have a cataract developing; go back to the eye dr next month so he can estimate how long it’ll be until I have to have it removed. I’m told these days it’s 15 minutes and you’re back to normal in a couple of days.

  116. 116.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Satby:

    Some people swear by the yellow tinted glasses, but the effect seems to be more of a placebo, and any tint reduces light transmission in already dark circumstances.

    Been wearing safety glasses half my life and I can say for certain that on a cloudy day the yellow tinted glasses increase contrast a significant amount over the clear. A big help when doing finish work. As to glare reduction –shrug– unlike my migrained wife I never really notice glare so I could not say.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: That made my day!

    Should I also resolve to watch all the Harry Potter movies? I had never seen even one, but there was a marathon of all the Harry Potter movies, and I think we watched #5 at Christmas.

    They aren’t available on Netflix, and I would hate to make a resolution that I can’t keep!
    :-)

  119. 119.

    CaseyL

    @magurakurin: I want to go see that so bad. A friend first told me about it ages ago, and had photos of the artwork. Hundreds of enormous elaborate, fanciful, beautiful paper mache sculptures are built for the festival, paraded around town, and then burnt at the end.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: I wonder if the yellow tint helps if your issue is contrast, but the anti-glare helps if your issue is glare.

    I may have to break down and actually get glasses this year instead of the cheaters – the ophthalmologist I went to when I started seeing the flashing last year was kind of horrified that I didn’t have glasses already because my vision is not at all what it used to be, which was better than 20-20.

  126. 126.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Satby: No, no football ’cause we don’t have TV. My recliner time is already maxed out as it drives me up the wall to sit and read any more than I do**. Pray for my wife’s continued indulgence because with out it she’ll probably shoot me.

    ** i am getting more and more short tempered and snappy. i don’t like it.

  127. 127.

    Satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: The yellow tint counters blue wavelength light and can improve contrast on cloudy days. (Full disclosure, never personally wore them, this is what they told me in optician training). So I would agree with you, but the effect at night with much less light in total was the question.

  128. 128.

    MattF

    @Pogonip: It’s easy surgery, but it’s not quite that easy. There’s pre-op and post-op medication that lasts from a few days before to several weeks after, and if you’re having both eyes done, there’s a few weeks where you’re essentially monocular. That said, recovery is basically overnight, and the success rate is 99%, so my free advice is do it sooner rather than later.

  129. 129.

    patrick II

    I know there are some camera bugs on this blog, so i am looking for some advice. I am looking at a sony a6000 mirrorless camera which has a good price right now at best buy. Any reviews/recommendations?

  133. 133.

    Botsplainer

    Here’s to a hopeful, happy new year. I enter this year in a spirit of progressing with this renewal of my marriage, a commitment to an active lifestyle, open communication, a sense of purpose and to quit stressing over every damn thing.

    Plus, I’m all in for crushing Donald Trump and the drooling whackjobs who grow aroused over his fascist utterances. May his ilk never be entrusted with power again.

    Go Baud 16!

  134. 134.

    p.a.

    1. Pre-date the next dozen checks 2016
    2. Set phone alarm reminder to predate checks
    3. Continue writing 2015 on checks

  135. 135.

    HRA

    Good morning! First big snowfall in progress here at the shores of Lake Erie near Buffalo, NY. We have 3 -5 inches on the ground so far. Happy 2016 to all!

  139. 139.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Satby:

    but the effect at night with much less light in total was the question.

    That’s why I was specific about cloudy days, just trying to explain (for those who did not know) exactly what it was the yellow lenses did, nothing more.

  140. 140.

    Schlemazel

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Drink heavily!

    Having been laid up for extended periods I can really feel your pain. After a while reading doesn’t cut it for sure. I watched a bunch of DVDs but it sounds like that is not gonna be an option for you. I figured out a couple of hobbies I could do sitting, you might want to think of something like that. I am not a fan of jigsaw puzzles but that would be better than divorce or viricide.

  142. 142.

    gogol's wife

    @Satby:

    Thank you.

    I wish Baud really were running.

    Rubio can’t really beat Hillary, right? I shouldn’t have read that New Yorker article about him. He’s bad, really bad.

  143. 143.

    Riley's Enabler

    @JPL: Murder. Death. Kill. Took the Riley for a yank this morning and bore witness to the PILES of firework trash left in the streets. Hope they enjoy cleaning that shit up with their hangovers. Might have to ring the HOA if it’s still out there in an hour….heh.

  144. 144.

    Schlemazel

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    It is either for the parade or this
    Weird Al

    Given my always sunny outlook I’d bet on the latter

    Oh, it’s Christmas at Ground Zero
    And if the radiation level’s okay
    I’ll go out with you and see the all new
    Mutations on New Year’s Day

  145. 145.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @patrick II: I’ve got a Sammy NX500, just looking at the specs; the Sony doesn’t seem to bad for the price. One thing it doesn’t have is 4K video, but that may not be important for you.

  149. 149.

    geg6

    @Nunca El Jefe:

    I actually have a pair of 3D glasses my BIL bought me when we saw SW the other night. But to drive, I need prescription glasses. I have a great pair of prescription RayBan Wayfarers at my eye doctor’s last year. I love them to death.

  152. 152.

    WereBear

    @OzarkHillbilly: And yet your knee is reminding you there’s only so much running around you can do, either.

    Think long term. Make some changes so you can adjust to it. Or it’s just going to keep tormenting you. And your wife!

  153. 153.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BillinGlendaleCA: A few months ago I was working up in STL and there was a chopper circling overhead. Thought they had finally found me. Imagine my relief when I realized it was just for the mass shooter on the loose and heading my way.

  154. 154.

    Randy P

    Good morning Balloon Juice!

    After discussions at Thanksgiving about pan-searing duck breast, my younger daughter (who among other things makes her own bread, starting with trapping and taming wild yeasties, and none of your dang new-fangled bread machines either) decided I need a cast iron skillet.

    It arrived as a late Christmas present this week, and I’m now reading up on the complicated rituals of the Cast Iron Skillet Religion, which are very complex, much more so than the rules of keeping Kosher or Halal, and in addition there are at least two major Cast Iron sects with different rituals and centuries of violent argument between them.

    Anyway, this morning’s first thing was to fry up some chicken Italian sausage in it, to hopefully help it on its way to the mystical “seasoning” process (although it was supposedly “pre-seasoned”, one of those mysterious religious rituals, I think involving several approved high priestesses and unspecified sacrifices). The sausage wasn’t as fatty as I thought it might be, and there was some sticking. But it did have a nice flavor.

    Tomorrow I guess I’m going to buy some Crisco, first time in my life, and engage in the “seasoning” ritual.

  156. 156.

    BD of MN

    @p.a.:

    1. Pre-date the next dozen checks 2016

    If I did that I’d have to scratch out 2016 on 3/4 of them *next* January 1st…

  157. 157.

    MattF

    @Randy P: The mystery of cast iron is profound enough– but… let me tell you, it pales in comparison to the continuing enigmas of stainless steel.

  158. 158.

    Schlemazel

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Years ago my dad called me up one night to tell me about the copter hovering around their neighborhood with a bright light. It sounded loud to me so I asked where he was, “Out in the yard watching it.” I could not convince him to get back in the damn house! I thought he could meet the guy they were looking for or they could mistake him for that guy, neither was a good result but he was insistent he wanted to see what was happening.

  159. 159.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Mustang Bobby: Two Thousand Sixteen would seem to be more common. I guess it’s residual muscle memory from “the year two thousand” hoopla, when we were all going to be killed by residual 2-digit years in computers somewhere.

    But in the previous century we didn’t say “Nineteen Hundred Seventy Six” or the like. Saying Two Thousand XY sounds pretentious to me. I assume it will become less common over time, but who knows.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  160. 160.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Randy P: I am of the Lodge Cast Irons (KILL THE HERETICS!!!!) Seasoning may be done with any oil but all acolytes make the mistake of thinking this is something one must only do in the beginning when it is in fact a life long pursuit for the perfect pan. My mother had a 16″ that was all but perfect (one of my sis’s stole it out from under me, when I find out which one I will steal it back and burn her sepulcher). I did get her Dutch oven tho and it is a thing of beauty.

  162. 162.

    geg6

    @Randy P:

    I adore my cast iron skillets!!!! Love, love, love!

    But don’t sweat the seasoning process. Despite the fetishists, it’s easy. Just be sure to always re-oil it after cleaning and don’t use dish soap to clean it. Just wash it in warm water and, if it has a lot of crustiness, some salt to scrub it. It will last forever and you will love it. It’s especially good for searing steaks/chops and finishing in the oven, making cornbread and making pineapple upside down cake.

  164. 164.

    Randy P

    @OzarkHillbilly: Heh. The schism I seem to have found is between “cast iron is indestructible, your grandmother’s 75-year-old cast-iron pan is doing just fine” and “the chemistry of cast iron is a delicate flower and if you do one thing wrong, you have ruined it beyond repair”. With, of course, minor sectarian differences within those two major sects, as with all religious wars.

    I see you are in the first group with your comment about “any oil”. Because at least one source promised eternal torment in Cast Iron Hell if I used vegetable oil. I have none of the approved products, which is why I figure I need to go buy Crisco.

    Another major sectarian difference seems to be over whether you can or can’t cook with water.

  168. 168.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Schlemazel: A buddy of mine spent a few years in Ralston NE when he was a kid (Air Force brat). They had a dog that was a very good hearted hell raising hound. Never once bit anyone but terrorized half the towns population with his over exuberance. Liked to hide under the bushes in front of their house and wait for kids to come riding up the street and then POUNCE.

    Anyway, one night their family was awakened by a bullhorn voice out in front of their house screaming their name “JONESY??? JONESY!!!! COME GET YER DOG JONESY!!!” When my buddy’s father opened the front door (with all 9 little Jonesy’s looking out the windows) they saw 2 cop cars puled up in front of their house with spotlights focused on their dog in between the cars and a shotgun pointed at his head.

    They got their dog, but there was no tether that could ever hold him.

  169. 169.

    geg6

    @MattF:

    These cast iron fetishists are crazy. I just use whatever oil I grab from the pantry. I take care of mine the way my mom did hers (sadly, my sister got hers when she passed). Hers are now over 60 years old and still perfect and perfectly seasoned.

  170. 170.

    Schlemazel

    @Randy P:
    Seasoning is not a thin layer of oil, it’s a thin layer of polymerized oil, a key distinction. A properly seasoned cast iron pan, one that has been oiled and heated repeatedly, has oil that has broken down into a plastic-like substance and bonded to the surface of the metal. This is what makes cast iron relativly non-stick, The material is no longer actually an oil so dish soap should not affect it.

    I know, I am going to burn in hell but this is the truth.

    EDIT: just make sure you heat and oil it after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

  172. 172.

    Ruckus

    @BillinGlendaleCA:
    I now live in old town Pasadena now and took a walk down Colorado last night. It wasn’t all that subdued but it also wasn’t as crazy as when I was a kid and we spent the night waiting for the parade. A lot fewer people on the route than I remember, some throwing things at the cars, water soaked tortillas being a favorite. Also saw an older VW bus that had be shortened, wheelbase looked to be about 5ft at most. Very well done job. At 8 am we had a flyover of some sort of military jet, rather low level and not at all near stall speed.

  174. 174.

    Ruckus

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Visited Majorca in the early 70s as a stop on an uncle sam seagoing adventure. Had an outstanding time. Rented scooters, mine broke of course, towed back by my buddy using our belts. Good times. Also went to a ranch cookout of epic proportions, good food, fine wine, dancing. Even better time.
    I like Spain as well.

  175. 175.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Randy P: The main thing as mentioned by Werebear and geg6 is never use soap on it. Cast iron has pours that will soak up anything (hence the seasoning with oil works) including soap, which if you like soapy tasting food maybe that’s OK.

    My latest favorite use is baking bread in the dutch ovens (I have 3- Ma’s, an enameled one, and my camp fire one(has legs and an edged lid for holding coals on top)). Even tho I had done more than a little baking on camp fires I never thought of baking bread with them in my oven at home until I read a recipe specifically calling for it.

    DUH!!!

    Now I bake all my breads in them. No more water filled pans in the bottom of the oven for me.

  177. 177.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Spain sounds intriguing to me. We like to hike. I’ve tried to interest J in a visit to El Camino del Rey (6:30) but she’s not amused.

    ;-)

    Seriously, it would be great if that were a safe hike. It’s astounding.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  183. 183.

    Gin & Tonic

    @patrick II: That’s a pretty standard price for that combo. If you don’t want both lenses you can get it with the 16-50 only, for $548 at B&H.

    It’s a very good camera. I bought one for my wife for her traveling, since she wanted something more than a point-and-shoot, and she’s been very happy with it. You’re probably seeing it at that price now because its successor, the A6100 or A7000 is due to be released. You may want to wait a week until after the CES in Las Vegas and see what shakes out. If you still want to pull the trigger and the BB price has gone up, get it from B&H.

  184. 184.

    The Golux

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    …in the previous century we didn’t say “Nineteen Hundred Seventy Six” or the like.

    I’m gradually coming around to using “twenty-whatever”, but I’ll probably always use “two thousand-” for 2000-2009, because “twenty-oh-one” sounds odd in a way that “nineteen-oh-one” doesn’t, for some reason. (“Where were you on September 11, twenty-oh-one?”)

  186. 186.

    Amir Khalid

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    But in the previous century we didn’t say “Nineteen Hundred Seventy Six” or the like.

    Sometimes people did, especially in a formal context. “Nineteen hundred and seventy-six” is a correct way to say the number, and the “hundred and” part was commonly left out only for the sake of brevity.

  187. 187.

    MomSense

    I’m thoroughly cleaning the house today except for the older boys’ rooms and bathrooms. They went to a party last night so I am keeping my distance.

    Next project is to find a new job and hopefully move south to Massachusetts by next fall. Have some caring for parents challenges coming soon so it is going to be a very busy year.

    Hope all the juicers have a wonderful new year and that we can celebrate a Democratic landslide in November.

  191. 191.

    Pogonip

    @MattF: At least for right now, the other eye is OK and the cataract in the bad eye is about pinpoint size. The only symptom I have is being bothered by glare. So I may not need it fixed for quite some time, which is all right with me as science will march right along. I’m hoping that when fix-it time comes it’ll be even easier than it is now.

  192. 192.

    WaterGirl

    Baud, if you’re out there… I just caught up on last night’s NYE thread. Thurston absolutely looks like a doggie pimp. Perfect!

  193. 193.

    Princess

    We always use dish soap to wash our cast iron without any problems whatsoever. The key is drying it well afterwards. We heat it on the gas stove to dry it thoroughly.

  195. 195.

    MattF

    @Pogonip: The really big deal would be an ability to attach the lens muscles to an implanted lens. Although some new implantable lenses claim to do that, there are a slew of problematic questions– in particular, when you implant a ‘moving’ part, you are opening the door to all sorts of new things that can go wrong. Just ask all those folks with implanted knee or hip joints that stopped working after a few years.

  197. 197.

    p.a.

    I have 5, and not a Lodge in the bunch. (Ecrasez l’infame!) 3 from mom or maternal nonna; a Wagner, a no-name, and a ‘Taiwan’ (ecrasez etc.). 1 modern fajita-style, and a Wagner so small it must be an ashtray (it has 2 pour lips/cigarette rests), or for an individual egg. All work fine. I’ve avoided soap and used the salt scrub for years, but happy to read soap is OK. It works better.

    I’ll season 1st with Crisco, then with whatev veg oil after each cleaning.

  198. 198.

    Sebastian

    Here is a little chuckle for you folks

    I took a picture of a pig shaped carving board and posted it to Instagram with the caption that it resembles Trump and that I’ll name it THE DONALD.
    I taged it #donaldtrump and #pig and went to sleep only to wake up to a notification that it was liked by the Official Trump Campaign lol

    Here you go, have at it, comments are open for everyone lol
    THE DONALD

  199. 199.

    lurker dean

    @patrick II: Sony has really made a lot of progress in the mirrorless camera space. They are generally very well regarded in part because Sony makes excellent sensors that many other companies also use for their cameras. The only knocks on Sony are that they pump out bodies but are weak on their lens lineup (Sigma makes up some of the slack), and their cameras operate more like computers than how old school camera users would like. All that said, the a6000 should be a fine camera. That TOP and Jordan Steele have had nice words for the a6000 is a good endorsement for it.

    I’ve noticed that Best Buy has fantastic deals on both the Nikon D3200 and D3300 dslrs, with 18-55 and 55-200 vibration reduction lenses – if I were looking for my first dslr I’d jump on one of those. They are larger cameras than the Sony but would be better if the camera will be used for sports or fast moving little children. The mirrorless cameras have good autofocus, but still lag behind dslrs for action autofocus.

    Good luck, photography is fun.

  202. 202.

    Felonius Monk

    @WaterGirl:

    Baud, if you’re out there…

    I have the impression that Baud is always Out There!

    Somewhat like that St. Nick fella:

    He sees you when you’re sleeping
    He knows when you’re awake
    He knows if you’ve been bad or good ….

    The question is: Will 2016 be the Year of the Baud?

  203. 203.

    Amir Khalid

    @lurker dean #200:
    Clicking on “Reply” to your comment took me to the link. I’ve never seen anyone do that before.

  205. 205.

    PurpleGirl

    @efgoldman: See comment #9 — Betty says she was heading out (at 6:45 am) on a camping trip and would be seeing some games at relatives homes. So apparently no bowl game thread from her today. I feel your pain; even though I don’t watch football and know almost nothing about it, game threads are often interesting to read.

  207. 207.

    lurker dean

    @Amir Khalid: yeah, i have no idea what’s up. it’s the first time i’ve tried to use the link button, since i’ve read of issues not using it. and then the link didn’t show up at all in my followup post.

  208. 208.

    Germy

    @WereBear: Unfortunately, Wayne Rogers in his later years succumbed to RW wingnuttery, and was quite vocal about it. But sad to see him go.

    Happy New Year everybody.

  210. 210.

    goblue72

    @Germy: She likely died from complications related to her kidney disease. (I think she lost both kidneys several years ago and had a transplant.) Kidney disease was due to her hepatitis – she was a heroin addict for many years until going into rehab in the 1980s.

    None of this is to cast blame. Just that her death at an early age had some antecedents.

  211. 211.

    dmsilev

    It’s just January first, but I’d like to nominate this as the most pathetic news-blurb of the year:

    Jeb Bush’s 6-Step Plan to Salvage His Campaign

    Rivals are counting him out, but allies hope a long-shot plan that includes staying on the attack, avoiding embarrassment and wooing Senator Lindsey Graham will win him the nomination.

    (NYT blurb for this story).

  212. 212.

    Germy

    @goblue72: And Wayne Rogers died from pneumonia. It still kills people. I mistakenly thought that was one of the 20th-century scourges that’d been wiped out by modern medicine.

  217. 217.

    PurpleGirl

    @Germy: You can have pneumonia and not know it. It can come on after a cold or by itself. If you have damage to your rib cage, that can lead to it. Doctors no longer tape someone’s chest for a bruised rib — that keeps the rib cage from moving and that can damage the lungs and lead to pneumonia. Only rib injuries that get something close to taping is a broken rib.

  222. 222.

    Ruckus

    @Germy:
    If you are old, if you are old and weaker than average, if they don’t get to it in time.
    Not having had it in the past I don’t have first hand exp but I’m told it takes quite a toll and a while to recover from. That’s why the above list. And it not only gets the olds but many of us don’t have the extra health resources to fight it off.
    Lots of things can still kill you, we just know better how to better the odds now.

  223. 223.

    Mnemosyne

    I’m doing what I like to do every New Year’s Day — sit in my pajamas watching a DVR’d, commercial-free version of the Rose Parade while drinking a mimosa. I’ve never been able to think of something else I’d rather do.

  224. 224.

    Ruviana

    There are vaccines for pneumonia recommended for the over-60 cohort. If that’s you, get one. And remember, we are running out of effective antibiotics. And with that, happy new year!

  225. 225.

    Germy

    @Anoniminous:

    JEB! strategy: keep doing what they were doing and expect a different result.

    Every time I see some dirt on a GOP candidate (Rubio’s BIL, etc.) I think “Bush’s team is busy digging”

  226. 226.

    PurpleGirl

    @Germy: It can be one of those silent diseases. I had a pneumonia vaccine two years ago. I was told about the chest taping when I fell and bruised by chest muscles 20 years ago and the pain got worse as time went on. I finally went to the doctor, had an X-ray and and he explained about the link they found between taping the chest and pneumonia.

  227. 227.

    debbie

    @Ruckus:

    I had walking (ie, mild) pneumonia in late September. I’m still coughing like crazy, but at least it doesn’t feel like I’ve got a hernia in my side anymore.

  228. 228.

    Ruckus

    @Germy:
    Yeah, consulting one loser by another loser, that’s the plan! Maybe if he understood to do everything exactly the opposite it might work. But so far he’s shown exactly nothing that would indicate that he understands that. Or anything else for that matter. Family destiny can be a pretty big anchor and his is monumentally bad.

  230. 230.

    goblue72

    @debbie: I had walking pneumonia a few years back. The worst part lasted well over a month. The recovery took months. Like you, I was coughing for a long time after returning back to work. Wound up throwing out my back from all the coughing.

  231. 231.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @dmsilev: Jeb Bush’s 6-Step Plan to Salvage His Campaign
    Rivals are counting him out, but allies hope a long-shot plan that includes staying on the attack, avoiding embarrassment and wooing Senator Lindsey Graham will win him the nomination.

    Trouble is, Jeb! rarely embarrasses himself more than when he goes on the attack. It’s not being savaged by a dead sheep (which I imagine would be very unpleasant), it’s being bleated at by a neutered sheep that’s out of shape and half senile.

    And I think the coveted Lindsey McCain endorsement, which I suspect could sway dozens of primary voters and half the cast of Morning Joe, is being won over by the fatuous blowhardery of Chris Christie.

  232. 232.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:
    That doesn’t sound at all like fun.
    I’ve had a hernia and while it was pretty weird to look at it didn’t hurt at all. But it wasn’t strangulated. The first thing they told me about the wait to get it fixed was that if it started to hurt in the least to call 911, don’t pass go, etc, etc. Actually the worst part was recovering from the surgery.

  233. 233.

    Germy

    I wonder what it is like to die from pneumonia. I remember Kurt Vonnegut calling it the “old person’s friend” because all you know is that you are sleepy, and then you are carried off. But I’m not sure I believe that. Kurt was wrong now and then, as was his son, the mega-vitamin doc.

  234. 234.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:
    That’s a tip that most of the conservative side of the aisle could shut the hell up about. Besides everything else of course.

  235. 235.

    raven

    @Ruckus: My doc says I have 3 hernia’s and should get them fixed. They don’t bother me at all and I have a lot of work to do on this house so I’m putting it off.

  236. 236.

    Anoniminous

    @Germy:

    That is the Bush Machine MO for sure, for sure.

    The WaPo has been inflating Cruz’s chances for a while now. I don’t know why & I don’t see him getting the nomination.

  237. 237.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: Good god, I’ve missed that. Does he really? Like a mass card, or the little statue old people used to put on their dashboard?

  238. 238.

    Germy

    Maria Bamford is one of my favorite comedians. She said her mother became morbidly religious, so Maria would call her and leave messages from “the baby Jesus” and they are funny as hell (not at all mean). Maria would also imitate her mother replying to the Baby Jesus messages.

  239. 239.

    Ruckus

    @Germy:
    Maybe if you are old enough that daylight surprises you then it’s possible. But just listen to the survivors in the last few comments to understand that he was wrong.

  240. 240.

    Ruckus

    @raven:
    My surgery schedule was just over 6 months off when diagnosed. Which wasn’t all that difficult to do, I could see it rather easily. Just don’t forget what the docs told me, 911 is your friend if anything hurts in the least.

  241. 241.

    debbie

    @goblue72:

    Wound up throwing out my back from all the coughing.

    That was my biggest worry since my back is so lousy. I was coughing pretty much non-stop for at least 8 weeks. Delsym couldn’t even touch it.

    I was able to work from home the whole time, which was a lucky break. I didn’t have to worry about covering my mouth and could use my hands to support my back.

    @Ruckus:

    My brother had a hernia when he was about 10 years old. It’ll still pop out, but he just pushes it back in. Whenever he tells me about it, I get a little woozy.

  244. 244.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    @Germy: Penumonia was listed as the cause of death for my 90 year old MIL.

    She was a tiny little thing who developed Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. One of the side-effects of those, and her advanced age, was that she breathed very shallowly and had a very quiet voice (except when she had nightmares and would emit a hugely loud blood-curdling scream). It was very hard for her to cough. Lungs are dark and moist and warm. One can easily imagine that bacteria loves it in there, especially if the air is stagnant and doesn’t get changed very well…

    CO2 builds up in the blood as respiration weakens (and kidneys begin to fail) so she was very sleepy in her last few days. She died very peacefully.

    There are many worse ways to go, but we should work harder to prevent and cure pneumonia in the elderly. It’s also the leading cause of death worldwide for children under 5.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  245. 245.

    debbie

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Literally in his pocket.

    He was interviewed on NPR on Thursday:

    What has sustained you these last few months?

    JEB BUSH: Well, I’ve got – I’m not going to stand up and pull them out, but I have a little Jesus in my pocket that I carry with me and some rosary beads. And first and foremost, what sustains me is my faith.

    Here’s the transcript and audio, if you can bear it.

    This habit of his has gotten a fair amount of coverage, judging by the Google hits.

  246. 246.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:
    My brother had a hernia when he was about 10 years old. It’ll still pop out, but he just pushes it back in. Whenever he tells me about it, I get a little woozy.

    Same here. OK maybe not woozy, it really is weird though.

  247. 247.

    Ruckus

    @Anoniminous:
    Really though, “What an idiot” is only additionally confirmed by this. We all knew it long ago. ¿jeb? may be the only one who doesn’t know. Of course being an idiot……..

  248. 248.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Mustang Bobby: The rulers of contemporary civilization say 1111110000, pronounced “on-on-on-on-on-on-off-off-off-off-off” which can be sung to the tune of Jingle Bells.

    Remember, there are 10 types of people in this world–those who understand binary & those who don’t.

    St’asny novy rok to all & sundry.

  249. 249.

    PurpleGirl

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Two years ago, I was at the hospital clinic for a regular check-up and the nurse asked if I’d like to have a pneumonia vaccine. Why not? I have nothing against vaccines per se and I knew pneumonia is particularly bad. Having hit my 60s, I watch for stuff like that, so I had the vaccine.

  253. 253.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @debbie: Oy, that kind of treacle makes me nauseous, but I think this is worse.

    BUSH: I would argue that Donald Trump is in fact a creature of Barack Obama. But for Barack Obama, Donald Trump’s effect would not be nearly as strong as it is. We’re living in a divided country right now, and we need political leaders, rather than continuing to divide us as both President Obama and Donald Trump do, to unite us.

    Inskeep blew a chance at making news by not asking exactly how Obama divides us. Jeb is slow and the chance for a full Palin was high (Cruz, as a contrast, probably has an answer all ready that is complete nonsense, but would be given with great confidence). But I’m afraid this has become an accepted and acceptable talking point among Villagers.

  258. 258.

    Ruckus

    @MattF:
    Everything else is his fault.
    He is one magic man he is, makes lies appear out of the mouths of idiots and makes racists have apoplexy.

  260. 260.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @Randy P: You are in luck. Everyone here who knows and loves cast iron man can help you. But you don’t wantadvice from me as I can deseason a cast iron pan boiling in a vat of peanut oil, simply by looking at it.

  262. 262.

    J R in WV

    @patrick II:

    This review likes the Sony pretty well:

    Sony Review

    I think you might want to look hard at lenses to use with the camera. I shoot with a Panasonic Lumix, which has a Leica lens that kicks ass. Some Sony cameras come with Zeiss lenses which are the high end for Sony. I think it was smart for both Sony and Panasonic to go with German lens technology for their high end cameras, it’s hard to beat the experience of those lens grinders, just as it’s hard to beat the Japanese for designing hi-tech electronics.

    But it will do what you want for taking pictures, that’s for sure.

    ETA: should have scanned comments, I’ve duplicated other’s info. Oops.

  263. 263.

    gene108

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Inskeep blew a chance at making news by not asking exactly how Obama divides us. Jeb is slow and the chance for a full Palin was high (Cruz, as a contrast, probably has an answer all ready that is complete nonsense, but would be given with great confidence). But I’m afraid this has become an accepted and acceptable talking point among Villagers.

    Obama is divisive.

    If he’d just signed off on the Republican agenda, none of the bitter partisan politics would have had to happen over the last 7 years.

    His insistence on fighting the Republicans has caused the problems we have with politics today.

    And Donald J. Trump’s candidacy is very much a creation of Obama’s bitter partisan fighting. If he did not stall the Republican agenda, Republican voters would have more confidence their leaders in Washington, DC could implement the necessary pro-growth, pro-family agenda America needs. But Republicans in Washington, DC have failed to stand-up to Obama, therefore Republican voters are seeking an outsider, who who has some backbone and won’t give into the politically correct Liberal Media soundbite culture that is strangling free speech in America.

    *******************************

    @I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet:

    I had pneumonia, when I was three. It was awful. I also hated the doctor, my aunt – who was taking care of me during the day, as my mom just got a full-time job – took me too.

    *****************************

    Anybody have any suggestions on ways to get extra storage?

    I have a two bedroom condo. The master bedroom, which I use, has a medium sized walk-in closet, with some pre-installed shelving.

    I’ve been using it for clothing and various other things I’ve accumulated over time.

    I was thinking a starting point would be a chest of drawers, so the shelves in the closet can be freed up of clothes.

    I probably need to throw some things away too, in-order to declutter, but I’m wondering if there are other storage solutions out there, so I know where to keep my remaining stuff.

    EDIT: I’ve sort of turned the second bedroom into an auxiliary closet and I want to get it cleared out, as much s possible, so it is bedroom and not a bedroom / Gene108’s dumping ground.

  266. 266.

    muddy

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I had words with a guy at work a few weeks ago who loves Trump and is freaking out because Obamacare is evil, and it’s terrible that everyone has the exact same salary, why should anyone try, socialism is bad, etc. ??? After I told him how I felt about that and where I stood, he kept coming back over to my area to say more things along this line. Why do the RWNJ always think they will convince you? My political beliefs were formed before this twerp was alive, FFS.

    Anyway, he keeps insisting that the president is “divisive”. This is apparently the dog-whistle nowadays? I asked what he specifically did that was so divisive, aside from standing up there with his black face on?

    He did not have specifics. The next time he came back to my area to inform me of his opinion, he says to me that the problem in this country is that the black people just want to kill white people all the time, and that’s all they talk about. Eyes probably bugging out, I said it must be Opposites Day, and then I told him that this talk was done right then and forever. I actually felt sick to my stomach it was so bizarre. Just do your work and leave me alone! I was trying to get back to task while boggling, and…

    ..after a few minutes he came back another time and started the shit again! I walked straight off and reported him and said I preferred not to work with him again and why. He got shoved off to the shitty area upstairs and I was put in charge of the good area downstairs. I hope he took a lesson from that, or from the fact that no one sits with him at lunch now.

    Not supposed to say that shit out loud dude. Who does that at work? He was really determined to end up oppressed I guess.

  267. 267.

    Mnemosyne

    @Shell:

    I’ll have to see where it’s being rebroadcast around here — it was one of my dad’s favorite NYE/NYD traditions.

  268. 268.

    Mnemosyne

    @gene108:

    Declutter first, then start thinking about how to store what’s left. The popular organizing book right now is “The Everyday Magic of Tidying Up,” and it really is pretty good. Her whole philosophy is to only keep things you love and get rid of things that make you feel guilty, no matter how expensive they were.

  269. 269.

    Suzanne

    @muddy: My boss says something similar—that Obama has made us more divided and racist. I have thus far held out from saying that he’s only riled up the racists, not created new ones. I might say that next time he says it. I counter much of his douchey shit, but I get tired.

  270. 270.

    p.a.

    Obama is divisive. All non-Webbite/Millerite Dems are. They divide people into normals and assholes. It’s actually a public service; although disconcerting to see how many assholes are really out there.

    Also too, I don’t have cable and espn bogarts virtually every bowl game. Fuckers.

  271. 271.

    Baud

    @muddy:
    @Suzanne: @p.a.:

    The correct response is that the Republicans had their chance in 2009 to work with this president and they declined. Now it’s a battle until one side prevails.

  273. 273.

    p.a.

    @Baud: If I were king my first act would be to privatize the TVA. “Here you go Mitch. No more subsidized power for you and your mouthbreathing brethren. Sorry Zandar but this is war.”

  274. 274.

    Anne Laurie

    @geg6:

    Not having contrast problems, but the halos were driving me nuts and frightening me enough that I’ve drastically cut back my night driving. But I have to do it sometimes, mainly for work. The sunglasses have made a huge difference. I would never have guessed.

    They sell yellow-tinted ‘night driving glasses’ in the old peoples’ catalogs. A pair of clip-ons sufficiently improved the Spousal Unit’s night driving comfort level that he ordered a prescription pair — and he’s been recommending them to all of our similarly AARP-demographic friends.

  275. 275.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne: It astonishes me that she’s become a zillionaire with that philosophy, since it is such a no-shit-Sherlock to me. But I hate clutter.

    I’ve taken the last week off of work, and I have purged and organized our clothes closet, the linen closet, the pantry, the kitchen gadget cupboard, the laundry room, and Spawn the Younger’s closet. I am not a pack rat, but my mom is, and Mr. Suzanne is just not into organized storage. But this is one arena in which I am very much my-way-or-the-highway.

  276. 276.

    debbie

    @muddy:

    Anyway, he keeps insisting that the president is “divisive”.

    Glenn Beck is fond of bemoaning how partisan the country’s become and laments how divided Americans are. Talk about a lack of self-awareness!

    He’ll then say we’ve got to stop labeling each other, and within a couple minutes, he’s right back to labeling everyone he disagrees with.

  277. 277.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Except that all they say is that the president failed to reach out to them. This pisses me off more than anything.

  278. 278.

    Baud

    @debbie: The point is not to convince the unconvincable. The point is to make clear that you are going to put 100% of the blame on the GOP. These people don’t respond to information. They respond to assertions of power.

    If they don’t want a “devisive” country, they need to work for it.

  281. 281.

    divF

    @Mnemosyne:
    I’ve had my coffee, so my next task is to take paper bags into the home office (shared with Madame), throw out all the loose paper, and shelve books.

    The big task comes in the next week or so, when they have us move offices at work. I am going to recycle several file cabinets full of paper copies of journal articles that are all available electronically. Also hand-drawn transparencies used in talks 20+ years ago.

    (Doing my part to get this thread to 300.)

    ETA: I am cleaning up my desk, Madame’s is already quite tidy TYVM.

  282. 282.

    muddy

    @debbie: Rubber, glue etc, so grown-up! The lack of self-awareness is remarkable. That’s the upsetting thing to me when it happens. Someone seems perfectly normal and then this stuff comes out of their face. It’s like they turn into a lizard in front of you.

  283. 283.

    WaterGirl

    @Ruckus: I had pneumonia 3 times in my early 20s, until we figured out that i am allergic to the active ingredient in a lot of anti-flea stuff.

    The last time I had it I had to stay home for 3 weeks and I was SO VERY TIRED. And it was months before I had enough breath to sing along with a certain song that was popular. So if pneumonia can do that to an otherwise healthy youngster, it can surely wreak havoc with someone who is not.

    Happily, I have not had pneumonia since then, but I do have a healthy respect for chemicals!

  289. 289.

    WaterGirl

    @gene108: I turned my third bedroom (the smallest one) into a closet room a few years ago and I have never regretted it. I designed it myself so everything is the right size for my stuff. All my clothes are in the closet room, along with sheets and towels and even some christmas stuff in pretty boxes on the top of the shelving unit.

    I use the closets in the other two bedrooms and the living room for things other than clothes. Bit by bit I got some basket units for the lower part of closet (maybe up to chest high and that helped me get everything organized. It all took money, of course, because I’m not handy enough to build stuff myself.

  290. 290.

    J R in WV

    @goblue72:

    Henson got septic shock, which can get you fast. Pneumonia can cause it, Mrs J was in ICU on a vent for 21 days from septic shock caused by pneumonia, no sign she had pneumonia until she got vague mentally from low blood oxygen. At the ER when they asked her birth date she answered 1913, and was instantly moved into treatment. But no coughing, hacking, nose blowing, nothing.

    I don’t recall if Henson started with pneumonia or some other infection.

  291. 291.

    WaterGirl

    @Mnemosyne: I completely agree with the “get rid of stuff before you start so you know what you really need to store.

    I just read the Japanese Art of tidying up – is that maybe the book you are talking about? I just googled the title you listed and it doesn’t come up on Amazon. I have to confess that I only got partway through the book and then I just did it my own way, but for 5 or 10 bucks, it was a good way to get a jump start.

    I was going through my stuff, wanting to give a ton of stuff to my good friend’s mom whose house burned down in the summer.

    The book had a good suggestion, which is to look at everything you own, and decide what you want to keep rather than what you want to give away. So I’m looking at my collection of big glass vases, maybe 10 or so. I was trying to figure out which ones to give to Tina’s mom, and I only came up with one. How hard is it to part with vases??? The next day, I remembered the “decide what to keep, not what to give away” principle. I looked at the 10 vases again, and suddenly it was a breeze to end up keeping only 3.

  293. 293.

    VFX Lurker

    @Mnemosyne:

    Declutter first, then start thinking about how to store what’s left. The popular organizing book right now is “The Everyday Magic of Tidying Up,” and it really is pretty good. Her whole philosophy is to only keep things you love and get rid of things that make you feel guilty, no matter how expensive they were.

    I’m in the middle of purging unnecessary items, myself. I’m about 25% through reading the Kondo book. So far, so good. In the past, I’ve read multiple books on decluttering (from Unclutter Your Life in One Week to It’s All Too Much), but the Kondo book tackles the problem from a different emotional angle.

    I am glad others on this thread have no need for the Kondo book, but I am definitely a recovering clutterbug.

  296. 296.

    WaterGirl

    Oh, I wasn’t talking about you and Betty. :-)

    All the front-pagers will soon be receiving their invitation to my upcoming class: “How to schedule a blog post – which can be helpful to the BJ ingrates for holidays, sporting events and other occasions”.

  298. 298.

    The Sailor

    Pneumonia is not a disease, it is a set of symptoms.
    The vaccine being referred to is for Streptococcus pneumoniae. A good idea if you fall within the guidelines.
    http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/pneumo/vacc-in-short.htm

    +++++++++++++++++
    The lens coatings/polarization for reducing halos or nighttime glare are very different. There is no way to add a tint, or especially polarization, to a lens w/o reducing the amount of light that reaches the retina. This is not optimal at night.
    There are anti-reflective coatings, typically thin polymer films that change the refractive index to enhance direct light and reject reflected light. A side effect of this is wavelength rejection, so probably see an optometrist.

    But what matters most is the subjective experience. If whatever method works the best for you, that’s the best for you.
    (I work in computer programming for retinal laser scanning, I work with these optics all the time, and low vision patients.)
    YMMV
    +++++++
    Happy new year to all the BJ community!

  299. 299.

    The Sailor

    It’s been over an hour, I have no idea why I’m stuck in purgatory, and awaiting moderation.
    Regardless, Happy new year to all the BJ community!

  300. 300.

    Steeplejack

    @The Sailor:

    FYWP currently does not like “naked” hyperlinks. You need to dress them up with the link button above the comment box to put them in the form:

    <a href="URL">Descriptive_Text</a>

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