Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

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

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Everybody saw this coming.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Roe isn’t about choice, it’s about freedom.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Thursday Night Open Thread

Thursday Night Open Thread

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I’ve been remiss on pet pics lately, so here are two. First, I changed the sheets and duvet cover today, and once again, I no more than left the room, came back, and someone had made herself comfortable. Can you spot Lily:

dogbedlily

I never get to break in clean sheets anymore. Here’s a picture of Lily and Thurston chilling on the fat man’s lap:

tweedledeeanddum

This is a no politics open thread.

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    Sean

    We had a dog who used to unmake the bed all the time.
    Me: I thought you said you made the bed this morning.
    She: I did.
    Me: Maybe you think you did and you didn’t (note: Never say this).
    …

  2. 2.

    lollipopguild

    No politics? Why that is extremely political! Love the animals and you can always show more pictures of them. I never get tired of seeing them.

  5. 5.

    satby

    Good, I’m off politics for the duration.

    My mom continues to hold her own, even slight improvement with a medication change. After a roller coaster week, the girls and I are leaving on schedule for the road trip to go see her. We’ll drive down with only a sleep stop, the scenic touring will have to wait till we drive home.

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    I am carrying out one of my wifely duties by sitting in the living room with the cats so they’ll leave G alone while he does a grad school conference call. If I try to go into the other room, they freak out and start scratching on the door of the den.

  11. 11.

    LAO

    I had the strangest dog (a rescue Doberman). Sweetest dog but she had been starved before her rescue. So she never believed, until the day she died, that there would be a next meal. I got her when I was a junior in college and we had 3 housemates. Garbo, the dog, would steal loaves of bread and hide them throughout the house. It took sometime for us to figure out she was stealing bread because there were 4 of us humans.
    One night, I got into bed and there were 3 bags of bread hidden. Under my pillow, at the bottom of my bed and one really old one that had slip behind the bed.

    I could never break her of this habit. We just stopped leaving food out where she could get it.

  16. 16.

    Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)

    We’ve been having loads of fun for the last three weeks doing everything we can think of to get rid of lice. Our three year old’s school keeps sending her home. The eight year old is all right. School hasn’t sent her home, even though we’ve found more of them on her than on her little sister. My wife and I haven’t yet had any, so that makes us happy. We’re also deeply thankful that lice won’t feed off dogs, so we don’t have to worry about that. Now, if we could keep him from eating Play Doh, doll heads and anything else he can get his teeth on…

  18. 18.

    Mnemosyne

    Since we’re critiquing John’s sleeping habits, how does he manage to cram himself, three dogs, and a Maine Coon onto a twin bed? Even when I was single I always had a full-size mattress since every cat I’ve ever owned has insisted on sleeping sideways.

  19. 19.

    Kropadope

    Managed to turn my friend who was planning on voting for Trump to a leans Hillary today.

    ETA: I’m sorry, I didn’t notice the no politics thing til after I posted.

  20. 20.

    Keith P.

    I used to have a cat who would not let me make the bed. As soon as he heard the sheets, he ran in, jumped under them, and made me make the bed over him, comforter and all. My current pair likes the bed, but doesn’t think bedmaking is funtime.

  21. 21.

    pseudonymous in nc

    1st April is the Worst Day On The Internet, and I think there’s probably a very good doctorate in explaining why, and I suspect it’s because april-foolishness doesn’t work at internet scale with internet-speed replies. You can do an April Fool to millions of people in a newspaper or on TV if you don’t have instant responses, but in an environment where it’s very easy to get the wrong end of the stick and start shaking it rapidly, you can’t do something deliberately silly any more.

  25. 25.

    Davebo

    I’ve loved all my dogs. I’ve spoiled all my dogs.

    But I “almost” never let them on the bed and they all knew better. They would never dream of it without the occasional and very rare invitation.

    Now one did chew up the linoleum floor in the kitchen. I was pretty pissed by my wife was ecstatic as she soon had the Brazilian cherry floor she always wanted.

  27. 27.

    John Cole

    Jesus. I forgot you all were forensic experts when it comes to photos.

    1.) I have four pillows. 2 are maroon and underneath the visible pillow, the other pillow is on the floor because Lily knocked it off.

    2.) It is a queen sized bed.

    3.) The down comforter just makes the mattress look like a hammock. It is firm and fine.

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    @pseudonymous in nc:

    Think Geek usually manages to pull it off, but they also once turned one of their April Fool’s prank products into a real one because people went nuts for it and (more importantly) Lucasfilm thought the idea of a Tauntaun sleeping bag was hilarious.

  38. 38.

    Mike J

    TBogg ‏@tbogg 3h3 hours ago
    The GOP is seriously considering Carly Fiorina to replace Reince at the RNC after the impending Nov apocalypse. See: “salting the earth”

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    We need a new blender since I still have someone’s mom’s blender that they gave me 20+ years ago. I have my eye on an Oster Versa, but does anyone else have a strong opinion? We would mostly be making smoothies and frozen drinks, but nothing really fancy.

  42. 42.

    Mnemosyne

    Whoa, did I just discover a new forbidden word? Blender.

    ETA: Nope, that wasn’t it. Does anyone have a strong opinion about the Oster Versa? Our current blender is 30 years old and can’t handle ice.

  43. 43.

    Mai.naem.mobile

    Since this is a no politics thread – Rupert Murdoch’s ex Wendy Deng is rumored to be dating Vladimir Putin. This was trending on the Tweeter machine earlier today.

  45. 45.

    Aleta

    The dog (9 yrs old and been here for 2) ran after a ball in the park today. First time ever. It took him a year to learn to track a rolling ball. I believe his brain just needed the chance to develop.

    He picked up the ball and took off for home, carried it 3 blocks, and only dropped it when he reached the corner where his new religion requires the ritual prayer to the fire hydrant.

    In the beginning he didn’t know how to dole out his urine, either. We thought that was great–he would just pee all at once and we could walk the rest of the way without stops. Then after about 5 months, his nervous system started to give directions to his bladder on how to write messages in urine.

  46. 46.

    ruemara

    I’m very excited. I managed to be fully caught up with my regular work today! I only have outstanding special projects to do!

    I also cleaned the back seat of car out. I feel very responsible and adult. And I have San Diego tickets.

  50. 50.

    Capri

    @James Franks: I was in a mall in Bellevue WA today and as I was drinking coffee noticed a huge line a floor above me. A bunch of the folks had fold-up chairs and other things that would suggest they had planned on waiting a long time. I was so curious I went up to see what they were waiting for – and there was a giant long line snaking through most of the mall all going into a Tesla store – certainly not a dealer, just a single car in a mall storefront. I thought it was extremely odd, but I guess it’s a very exciting event to many.

  55. 55.

    ? Martin

    @James Franks: People should be slightly cautious with Model 3 orders. The fed tax credit for EVs runs out once a manufacturer hits 200K vehicles. Tesla is pretty likely to hit that number either at the start of the Model 3 run, or shortly thereafter. The credit gets cut in half for 6 months, then in half again for 6 months. Anyone counting on that $7500 to get the cost where they are comfortable needs to keep a close eye out.

    Aside from that, I’m highly skeptical Tesla can hit their production targets, but they could easily prove me wrong on that. But first reports are very positive on the car.

  56. 56.

    Aleta

    @benw: It’s been an unexpected delight. A puppy mind in a big goofy body learning new movements. He’s a hilarious runner. I don’t think he even had a chance to run for many years on end. He’s turned out to be the best dog in the world.

  63. 63.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Sorry, I don’t have a useful blender opinion currently. Just wanted to say that because sometimes I ask a product-type question here and when no one at all answers I feel simultaneously snubbed and like I have committed an obscure social blunder.

  64. 64.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @ruemara: Your bear? I am intrigued. I suppose it would keep clowns away. Until it eats you. But then every plan has a flaw, and, in the end, you wouldn’t be eaten by clowns. So that is a win.

  66. 66.

    hamletta

    @Mnemosyne: I have an Oster, and it’s a tank. Don’t know that particular model. Mine’s just a 16-speed Osterizer, and it mauls ice.

  69. 69.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @ruemara: I was so hoping for a real bear. Muzzy, my bear, “sent to live on a farm” when I about 10. Allergies. He could have just stayed in the room. I lost that argument.

  70. 70.

    Aleta

    @Steeplejack: I’ve been meaning to ask if you have a recommendation for speakers for a computer that would make music sound as beautiful as it is, and be tangible in the room. I didn’t take notes the last time this was discussed here.

    Going to bed soon, but I’d welcome ideas. They don’t have to work with a TV or games. I think getting better sound in the house would solve all my life’s problems.

  71. 71.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Aleta: Better sounding music doesn’t solve problems, but it makes them easier to bear. And that is a good thing in and of itself.

  73. 73.

    AnotherBruce

    So my turn to talk about my cat, Bonks. I inherited Bonks under very sad circumstances. His (Bonks) previous (very) lovely human passed away from cancer. It was a great comfort to her that I took Bonks in. I’m not claiming any sainthood in doing this, mainly because I miss her greatly. But also because Bonks is a very loving cat. When we wake up every morning is a celebration. Bonks loves to head butt (hence the name) and kiss and knead. I kiss him right back. Bonks is a lover, not a mean bone in his body. He likes homo sapiens and never hisses. If I have a big party he walks around and greets everybody. Of course, he’s a cat, and a very adept hunter. that comes with the territory. I really think that I have the best cat in the world. But I’m sure I’m not the only one.

  74. 74.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Yup. I have been thinking about getting a new microwave. The one I have is a $30 Target dorm-room special, but it meets my key criterion: it’s 19" wide, which is what I have available on my small kitchen’s limited counter space. (It’s an awkward little stretch between the refrigerator and the stove. Having the microwave there frees up the other, more useful space for food prep, etc.) I was looking at something else on Amazon yesterday and saw a glitzy Panasonic microwave that is 950 watts, 0.8 cubic feet and only 19¼" wide. Boing! Consumer lust.

    Currently dithering because I have a hard time getting rid of stuff that’s not actually broken. It’s like deciding to fire someone who is pretty bad at their job but is a semi-nice person and is not actually burning the place down.

  75. 75.

    normal liberal

    @Mnemosyne:
    Have you looked at Breville blenders? I don’t have their full-size blender (still using an ancient Hamilton Beech and a Breville stick blender), but I’ve got several of their small appliances and like them all.
    On the other hand, Amazon tells me that the Oster has an available milkshake blade, always a handy feature.

  76. 76.

    Aleta

    @AnotherBruce:

    If I have a big party he walks around and greets everybody.

    I really like those debonair host cats, and the ones who celebrate waking up. What a joy they are.

  77. 77.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Aleta: lol. More importantly, no one took Beau away. Beau was an English cocker spaniel who was horrible with other dogs. mean and vicious, but he was my dog. I won’t get another.

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    When I have something that’s still perfectly good but I want a new one, I give it away. I figure that someone will be thrilled to pay $10 for it at Out of the Closet.

    @normal liberal:

    I tried to link to the review at The Sweet Home, but something about the link made it vanish.

  79. 79.

    normal liberal

    @Mnemosyne:
    I’m off to check Sweethome, not that I need a new blender. This didn’t stop me from giving my house a new microwave for Christmas.

  80. 80.

    Mnemosyne

    I love my spouse dearly, but I just don’t have his high tolerance for bad 1970s TV. He’s in the other room watching reruns of “The White Shadow.”

  82. 82.

    Steeplejack

    @Aleta:

    Just so happens that recently, in my role as techno/audio consultant to friends and family, I recommended and installed (i.e., plugged in) these Creative GigaWorks T20 speakers ($80). They plug into your computer’s headphone/speaker jack but have their own power cord. They put out a lot of sound—easily filling a good-sized room—and have convenient front-panel controls (on one speaker) to adjust bass, treble and volume.

    The “client” wanted “great sound” but didn’t want a separate subwoofer and/or a complicated setup, and I think these hit the sweet spot. If your needs are more spartan, the T12s ($50) would probably be good. (I haven’t listened to those.)

    Standard caveat: Audio is one those areas that inspires religious disputes (like Mac vs. PC, etc.), and I try to stay away from those. I’m not saying these are the absolute best speakers ever—I don’t think such a thing exists—but I would confidently recommend these to anyone looking for great sound from their computer in a small to medium-large room without spending a ton of money.

    ETA: The speakers have grilles that cover the somewhat intimidating “yellow eyeball” in the top picture on the Amazon page. (See middle picture.)

  83. 83.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    His videoconference ended up taking almost two hours, so this is his break time. Plus he’s not a night owl like me (he’s one of those dreaded Morning People) so nighttime is not a productive time for him.

    ETA: Sort of in defense of “The White Shadow,” a surprisingly large number of its acting alumni went into directing and writing — most notably Kevin Hooks. This is a big deal because it had a predominantly minority cast, so that means it gave a lot of minority directors and writers their first break.

  87. 87.

    Mnemosyne

    @Amir Khalid:

    Yep, that’s why it’s on. I couldn’t get past all of the “high school students” who were clearly in their mid-twenties.

  89. 89.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Mnemosyne: Dear god. I am running into night vs. morning person in my real life. I have actually gone to bed at 10pm one night this week…. Otoh, tonight, I seem to be trying to get that late night time back.

    We’ll make it work.

    ETA: My parents have it and have been more or less happily married for 52 years.

  90. 90.

    Mnemosyne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It’s not so bad as long as neither of you demands that the other person adapt to their schedule on a regular basis. If you’re an introvert (as both of us are), it guarantees some extra alone time at either end of the clock.

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Good point. That ties in with that currently hot decluttering book, Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I think you’re supposed to give your stuff a hearty handshake of appreciation and send it on to its next owner.

    I have one friend who I need to ask about the cheapo microwave, but if she doesn’t want it then probably I should donate it.

  92. 92.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    G loves that book and has been working his way through his clutter. I still need to read it, but I have to say that her method of folding t-shirts and standing them on end is frickin’ MAGIC. It’s amazing how well it works and how easy it makes it to find what you want.

  93. 93.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Okay, I do have a pretty high tolerance for bad ’70s TV—I’m like inoculated because I lived through it in real time—but The White Shadow is a something too far. My condolences.

    About a month ago I watched a batch of Barney Miller episodes on WeTV or MeTV or whatever, and, damn, they were slow-paced. Glacial!

  94. 94.

    Capri

    @Mnemosyne: I went to high school with Kevin Hooks. He was a few grades behind me, but everyone knew who he was because he had just appeared in a made for TV movie about a cat at Christmas. A nice, quiet kid.

  95. 95.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    We went to see a presentation about “The Knick” and when one of the doctors there said that he had been a consultant on “Emergency!” I knew that G was dying to buttonhole him afterwards and ask him all kinds of questions. He ended up being too shy to do it, though.

    “Emergency!” holds up pretty well, at least for the first few seasons. (Yes, we have the complete boxed set. Sigh.) I still like “Barney Miller,” but I think half the point of the show is that 90 percent of police work is sitting around waiting for something to happen.

  97. 97.

    John Cole

    In fact, I have the blender, the tea pot, the boiling vessel, the little convection oven, a waffle iron, and one other. They were all pricey, but I have not replaced a kitchen item in several years. I used to buy a blender every year.

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    @Capri:

    I swear, that’s what constantly amazes me about this place. There’s always somebody with firsthand knowledge of a specific topic. It’s a little eerie sometimes.

  99. 99.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @John Cole: Dude, my parents have a Sunbeam blender that they got about 50 years ago. It still works well: I expect to inherit it.

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Okay, boxed set of Emergency! is a cry for help. I couldn’t get into that show because I developed an early aversion to trapped/emergency shows watching Lassie as a small kid. That fucking Timmy should have been locked in his room. He couldn’t go out of the house without falling down a well or getting pinned under a substantial but not life-threatening tree.

    I did occasionally watch Emergency! for a glimpse of Julie London, who my dad had a crush on in her ’50s smoky-voiced singer phase, and—later, in reruns—Bobby Troup (London’s husband), who was some sort of original hip cat and had a couple of memorable turns as a beatnik/hipster on Perry Mason (which is my guilty obsession). Hell, he wrote “Route 66.”

  101. 101.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    Julie London’s presence in “Emergency!” seems to be proof that Jack Webb was the world’s best ex-husband, since he employed both her and his replacement (Troup).

    Though G and I did crack up watching the pilot where London’s character is described as being in her mid-30s. I don’t think they tried that a second time.

  102. 102.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Heh. I was going to mention that my brother inherited/stole my mother’s old Sunbeam hand mixer, which is frighteningly powerful and fills his kitchen with the smell of ozone whenever it is deployed.

  104. 104.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mnemosyne:
    My then-teenage sister had a big crush on Randolph Mantooth, the native American actor who played an EMT/fireman on Emergency!.

  105. 105.

    Steeplejack

    @Amir Khalid:

    I forgot to mention above that I think he’s got a great name. Just needs a slightly better forename, like Dane Mantooth. That would be awesome.

  106. 106.

    normal liberal

    @John Cole:
    My Breville stick blender is part of a set with a food processor bowl and an adjustable slicing blade that produces the thinnest sliced vegetables ever seen in my kitchen. Plus all the parts can go into the dishwasher.
    Still, with each new Breville appliance I get the feeling that my KitchenAid mixer feels betrayed.

  111. 111.

    Denali

    Best name I every came across was a boy in my husband’s Scout troop named Lance Merrit.

  114. 114.

    Aleta

    @Steeplejack: thanks, really appreciate that. I thought of asking you since the music you sometimes post is high on harmonics and other mood-altering qualities. Encompassing beautiful sound is what I’m after.

  115. 115.

    J R in WV

    @Steeplejack:

    We inherited MRs J’s mom’s Sunbeam Stand mixer. Mrs was making christmas cookies one winter, called for a very stiff dough to make fruit/nut bars, and suddenly the Sunbeam, which had to be 60 y o at least, gave up a shower of sparks from the rear vents, smoked briefly but pungently, and died forever.

    So now we have a 750 watt Kitchenaid that will grind a deer into freezer bags in nothing flat.

    Best recent kitchen purchase has been a Hamilton Beach immersion blender which turns a glass full of milk and ice cream into a milkshake in noting flat. Also good for making soup into bisque.

    =====================================================================

    Pets! Love ’em. Our most recent rescue is Alice, from the “pound” which is a local no-kill county shelter, and they were getting close to capacity so we went to make a donation and save a critter. Alice was 9 months old and good with kids and cats, according to her tag. When I took her for the mandatory walk on leash out behind the shelter, which is a very nice place, grounds like a park! when we reached the end of the pavement, she stopped and lowered herself to sniff what was obviously to her a new thing.

    The next day we picked her up and when we got home the solitary dog Happy was so glad to see a new dog!

    And Alice, who got named a couple weeks later because she was a blond who fell down the rabbithole into doggy wonderland, didn’t know how to run and jump. We realized she had never been out, and was likely kept in a crate nearly all the time, she had no hip muscles and couldn’t climb the rocks around the house at first.

    Then she disappeared into the deep woods for about 36 hours – we were frantic and drove all the way around the mountain counterclockwise, stopping at houses and driving up long farm driveways to ask if anyone had seen a white lab. No luck, but she found her way home about dusk that evening. Never been out of our immediate hollow since!

    She loves to jump on the bed if one of us takes a nap, and lies very quiet against whoever. I always wish we had bought a King when we bought the fancy woodwork so there would be room for the dogs on the corners. The cats often sleep down on the corners at night. all day too, you know how cats are, primary occupation is sleeping!

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