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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Evening Open Thread: Virtual Waifu

Friday Evening Open Thread: Virtual Waifu

by Anne Laurie|  December 16, 20164:44 pm| 308 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Riveted By The Sociological Significance Of It All

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According to Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing:

I thought it was a trailer for a movie, but this is a real product. It’s advertised as a virtual wife for men who live alone.

Gatebox is a holographic home “robot” in the vein of Siri or Alexa. It’s basically a 3D cosplay character that says nice things to you and can be programmed to automate your home. It comes pre-installed with a character named Azuma Kikari. She’s 20 years old, likes donuts, and dislikes insects. She says her role is “healing character supporting living alone. I always try my best to serve my husband.”…

Yeah, I assume there will be a porn version available, if there isn’t already.

I feel about these ‘virtual assistants’ the way I feel about RealDolls: Anybody who’s willing to pay for one is probably better off with ‘her’ than otherwise, bless their hearts. And even if this becomes a fad, at least we won’t have to worry about setting up rescue shelters for cosplay characters abandoned like last year’s chic purse puppy or exotic pet!

***********

Apart from the latest in lifestyle gifts, what’s on the agenda as we start the weekend?

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Reader Interactions

308Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    December 16, 2016 at 4:47 pm

    This was a dispiriting Friday.

  2. 2.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    100% relevant https://thefpl.us/episode/17

  3. 3.

    Skepticat

    December 16, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    Is anyone else having trouble accessing sites, specifically a number of liberal blogs?

  4. 4.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    The agenda: watching football on a Friday for once (JMU plays North Dakota State tonight at 7pm), picking out my next book to read (just finished “Nutshell”…enh), plotting my Sunday cooking (past due for some chicken chili), and…probably picking up some McDonald’s coupons and a book of stamps on the way home, too. ;)

  5. 5.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    @Skepticat: Disqus is borked on Wonkette.com

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    Doesn’t the scientist on Archer have one of these?

  7. 7.

    RobertDSC-Mac Mini

    December 16, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Cute commercial. Not my speed but I liked how it works.

  8. 8.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 4:54 pm

    Gatebox sounds like Amazon Echo but cooler, I’ll wait for the porn version.

  9. 9.

    wmd

    December 16, 2016 at 4:56 pm

    Asimov had one of his robots realize his creator was lonely and sexually unfulfilled, and in the spirit of the 1st law decided this was harmful to a human, so the robot had to act to fix the problem.

    I’m forgetting the story; it’s definitely in the I, Robot omnibus. One of the Susan Calvin stories IIRC… I looked it up : “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and it is in “The Rest of the Robots” collection.

  10. 10.

    Pogonip

    December 16, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    If they can program her to scrub toilets, cook, and do bookkeeping, I’m in.

  11. 11.

    SatanicPanic

    December 16, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    @EBT: Disqus has been bad all day.

  12. 12.

    Pogonip

    December 16, 2016 at 5:00 pm

    @Skepticat: Balloon Juice was stuck earlier, but it seems OK now.

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    December 16, 2016 at 5:01 pm

    @Skepticat: SSDD for me.

  14. 14.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    @SatanicPanic: How can you tell really? Most places with disqus have like 5 comments a year.

  15. 15.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 5:05 pm

    And he signed it. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/mccrory-signs-bill-stripping-power-roy-cooper

    I am serious, we need to barge in and arrest all the NC GOP people who voted for this.

  16. 16.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 5:05 pm

    @wmd: In the Asimov story, the human was a woman, the robot presented as male, and the sex was not overt.

  17. 17.

    Skepticat

    December 16, 2016 at 5:06 pm

    At the moment, this is one of the very few sites I can access that has what I consider sensible people. Am I being too paranoid to wonder about a DOS attack on liberals in general?

  18. 18.

    trollhattan

    December 16, 2016 at 5:07 pm

    From the HolyFvckingShyte you can’t make this stuff file, Rih Santorum is concerned about the Rex Tillerson nomination, because climate change. What? you may well ask, Rih is concerned about climate change? Yes, but not in the way it may first seem.

    Former Sen. Rick Santorum says he has “concerns” about ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, over the issue of climate change. Mr. Santorum said Mr. Tillerson was an “unorthodox” pick and that he’d withhold judgment until he found out more about him. “But there are some concerns I have about some of the positions he’s taken on issues like climate change, and Russia and others,” Mr. Santorum, a former 2016 GOP presidential candidate, told WABC radio’s Rita Cosby this week.

    “Well, Exxon has been … let’s just say, involved in the climate change discussion, accepting the alarmist view of climate change, and suggesting things like carbon taxes and the like,” he said.

    Mr. Santorum did say Mr. Trump has picked probably as conservative a Cabinet as any Republican since former President Ronald Reagan.

    “Had he put someone like he did at EPA with Scott Pruitt, then, you know, that to me is a great pick, because it’s consistent with what he was talking about in the campaign. Tillerson raises questions,” he said.

    Mr. Santorum said he’s less concerned about Mr. Tillerson’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin than he is about the climate change issue.

    Correct, ladies and germs, Exxon is in bed with Big Climate, stealing your fetuses. When scribbling my short list “Republicans worse than Trump” Rih has a permanent spot at or near the top. A sociopath who makes other sociopaths jealous.

  19. 19.

    SatanicPanic

    December 16, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    @EBT: I have a channel on the main site and couldn’t access it most of the day.

  20. 20.

    Bill

    December 16, 2016 at 5:09 pm

    Reminds me of this.

    From Archer.

  21. 21.

    PsiFighter37

    December 16, 2016 at 5:12 pm

    @trollhattan: Little Ricky is still a fucking moron. Surprise surprise.

    @EBT: Cooper and the incoming AG (who is also a Democrat) should be taking the GOP to court already. It is blatantly trying to turn control of the executive branch over to the legislature.

    It’s not terribly surprising, though – had Hillary own and the GOP retained Congress, they would have never approved anything she sent their way. The modern GOP is political nihilism on fucking steroids.

  22. 22.

    trollhattan

    December 16, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    For your viewing and perhaps using pleasure–Donmojis.

  23. 23.

    rikyrah

    December 16, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    I thought it was a trailer for a movie, but this is a real product. It’s advertised as a virtual wife for men who live alone.

    Gatebox is a holographic home “robot” in the vein of Siri or Alexa. It’s basically a 3D cosplay character that says nice things to you and can be programmed to automate your home.

    This kind of stuff freaks me out.

  24. 24.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    @wmd:

    Asimov had one of his robots realize his creator was lonely and sexually unfulfilled, and in the spirit of the 1st law decided this was harmful to a human, so the robot had to act to fix the problem.

    It amuses and annoys me that some people think that Asimov’s Robot Laws is, could be, or should be, a real thing. For example, a robot cannot harm a human. Meanwhile, in the real world, there is a debate over whether a self-driving car should kill the passenger or people in the street should it need to decide a worst-case scenario.

    I’m forgetting the story; it’s definitely in the I, Robot omnibus. One of the Susan Calvin stories IIRC… I looked it up : “Satisfaction Guaranteed” and it is in “The Rest of the Robots” collection.

    OTOH, thanks very much for this. When I first took up SF, I was drawn to robot and time travel stories. I still remember one of the first tv shows I watched that dealt with human/robot interaction, the wonderful Twilight Zone episode “The Lonely,” featuring Jack Warden and Jean Marsh.

  25. 25.

    TriassicSands

    December 16, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    Another way to elevate the status of women to full equality.

    I always try my best to serve my husband.”…

    Yikes! How sexist can you be?

    Is there a male version for women living alone? If so, I imagine he pretends to go to work all day, while his wife stays home and does the housework. Naturally, he will be programmed to cheat on his wife, since she will undoubtedly not live up to his expectation. How the bills will get paid is a bit of a dilemma.

    This is unbelievably sad. And disturbing. Another great leap forward in the quest for female equality.

  26. 26.

    Feathers

    December 16, 2016 at 5:18 pm

    Actually, with the ADHD/depression/anxiety horror show going strong, this could actually be useful. Not cutesy anime chick, but kindhearted best friend recommending what coat to wear, what you need to put in your purse, that you should be in the shower already, offering encouragement when texted…. But women would probably want it to be useful, so that would never be developed.

    On a serious note, this is a commodification of how a generation of young men (yeah, not all men, but enough) have been raised without the desire or capacity to interact with actual human beings. Women have as well, but we hate on them, rather than building new technologies to celebrate their flaws and perpetuate them.

  27. 27.

    Roger Moore

    December 16, 2016 at 5:19 pm

    @rikyrah:

    This kind of stuff freaks me out.

    Living in the future isn’t all two way wrist TVs and self-driving cars.

  28. 28.

    phantomist

    December 16, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    Yahoo Finance headline comes through once again.
    (this was the top story for several hours.)

    “Trump is enlisting the rich to help the downtrodden.”

  29. 29.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    @divF:

    In the Asimov story, the human was a woman, the robot presented as male,

    This sounds so weird. What, the robot stuck his robot dick out?

  30. 30.

    bystander

    December 16, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    We got the Amazon Echo. We keep calling it “Alexis” to which it does not respond. Memories of The First Mrs. Carrington, I guess.

    I tried to watch President Obama’s press conference. Really, I tried. It was like watching President Morgan Freeman wishing everyone Godspeed right before the first meteor strikes begin.

  31. 31.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    America is going to be so ready for a virtual president by the time 2020 rolls around.

    Baud! 2020!: I always try my best to serve my people!

  32. 32.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    @Brachiator: IIRC, the robot took on the attributes of a 50’s male romantic movie star, without any ruttiness (think Rock Hudson).

    Male tropes in films of the period communicated clear gender roles, without anyone displaying their genitalia.

    ETA: “Presented as” was a gesture to acknowledging that Asimov’s robots early on really don’t have reproductive organs. By Caves of Steel, Daneel Olivaw could completely pass at least as far as external appearance was concerned.

  33. 33.

    charluckles

    December 16, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    LTE today about a redo of the election. Sounds pie in the sky, but what prevents it? I am going to start shouting my head off regardless, if the election was truly the will of the American people, why not redo it?

  34. 34.

    bystander

    December 16, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    @Brachiator:

    This sounds so weird. What, the robot stuck his robot dick out?

    Phillip K. Dick’s little known short story, “Do Androids Dream of Vagina Dentata?”

  35. 35.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    @TriassicSands:

    Is there a male version for women living alone?

    Sure, why not?

    @Feathers:

    Actually, with the ADHD/depression/anxiety horror show going strong, this could actually be useful. Not cutesy anime chick

    Cutesy anime chick might be just as useful as any other version that could be envisioned.

    …. But women would probably want it to be useful, so that would never be developed.

    Who says that women would want it to be useful? And why would some woman friendly model, frivolous or utilitarian never be developed? In Japan, there are all manner of comfort devices for men, women and children, including an innocuous pillow in the shape of a man’s torso with an arm to wrap around a woman and make her feel .. loved? appreciated?

    And never forget that one of the first electric comfort devices designed exclusively for women was the vibrator. I would bet good money that Gigolo Joe 3.0 is just around the same corner as Ms Sexbot 2000.

  36. 36.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    @PsiFighter37: I won’t be happy with anything less than tumbrels.

  37. 37.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 5:40 pm

    @bystander: Guhhh.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    “Returned for refund because the boobs dial only goes up to 10.”

    /crystal ball

  39. 39.

    Elmo

    December 16, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    We bought a cheapish robot vacuum from iLife, and we’ve been running it two or three times a day to deal with the shedding 160 lb Anatolian Shepherd. Best $150 I ever spent and I’m already scoping out the more expensive versions with possibly bigger catch basins – the poor wee thing gets filled up in no time!

  40. 40.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    I’m concerned about the TBogg unit not happening downstairs. Let’s all pile in and talk about cats for a few minutes.

  41. 41.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    OK. Watched the video and teared up a little. She’s so sweet.

  42. 42.

    Mart

    December 16, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    You climb in the Gatebox tube and it is just like Woody Allen’s Orgasmatron in “Sleeper”.

  43. 43.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 16, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    @Brachiator:

    the wonderful Twilight Zone episode “The Lonely,” featuring Jack Warden and Jean Marsh.

    The same Jean Marsh who developed and starred in the original Upstairs, Downstairs?

  44. 44.

    raven

    December 16, 2016 at 5:51 pm

    @Elmo: We bought one a couple of weeks ago and were really thankful Amazon gave us our money back. We have an old house with thresholds at each doorway, lots of rugs and some uneven surfaces. It didn’t do well at all.

  45. 45.

    ruemara

    December 16, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    @Skepticat: No. Always remember, just because you think they’re out to get you, doesn’t mean they aren’t.

  46. 46.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    @Baud: I preferred: “Fuck You!, Baud!2020!”.

  47. 47.

    debbie

    December 16, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    Are the garters necessary?

  48. 48.

    Mart

    December 16, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: TBogg – you looking for this: http://www.rawstory.com/author/tomboggioni/ ?

  49. 49.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I figure I need different messages for different constituencies.

  50. 50.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    @debbie: I’m pretty sure all the virtual clothing on that device is optional.

  51. 51.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    @Mart: a “TBogg Unit” is 500 comments.

  52. 52.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 6:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    The same Jean Marsh who developed and starred in the original Upstairs, Downstairs?

    Yep

    A really touching episode. Might be available on Hulu, Vimeo, etc.

  53. 53.

    Mike in NCk

    December 16, 2016 at 6:03 pm

    An excellent British series called “Humans” was shown on AMC last year, and I think it will return for a second season in February. Basically set in the near future in London where menial work like babysitting, house cleaning, etc. are performed by androids. Then things go wrong with some of the robots.

  54. 54.

    RSA

    December 16, 2016 at 6:04 pm

    @raven:

    We have an old house with thresholds at each doorway, lots of rugs and some uneven surfaces. It didn’t do well at all.

    Years ago I bought a Roomba, and it always seemed to get stuck in the least convenient places from which I could retrieve it. Progress in robotics is slow in some ways.

  55. 55.

    Mart

    December 16, 2016 at 6:05 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I feel so stupid.

  56. 56.

    Cacti

    December 16, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    I’m going to post some spoilers from the “new” Star Wars film:

    The evil Empire is secretly building a super weapon.

    A plucky band of rebels aims to steal the design data and get it to Princess Leia Organa, the scion of the royal family of Alderaan.

    They succeed.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    @Mike in NCk:

    An excellent British series called “Humans” was shown on AMC last year, and I think it will return for a second season in February. Basically set in the near future in London where menial work like babysitting, house cleaning, etc. are performed by androids. Then things go wrong with some of the robots.

    I second your recommendation of “Humans.” Excellent show.

    And if for some reason you have not seen the movies already, rent “Her” and “Ex Machina.”

  58. 58.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 16, 2016 at 6:07 pm

    @Brachiator:

    I’ll look for it, thanks. Would have thought I had seen every TZ episode over the years (many of them multiple times) but I don’t remember this one from the description. Maybe when I see it I’ll remember.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    December 16, 2016 at 6:09 pm

    Ugh.

    Hundreds of US gymnasts have come forward to say they were sexually abused by adults in the sport. A nine-month investigation by the Indianapolis Star finds 368 gymnasts allege abuse over 20 years, by at least 100 coaches, gym owners and others. The allegations come amid claims that the US body that governs gymnastics did not do enough to prevent the assaults.

    But USA Gymnastics says it is “proud of the work it has done to address and guard against child sexual abuse”.
    Olympics.

    The newspaper writes that gym owners and athletes were reluctant to come forward with their allegations for fear that they would attract negative attention and lose potentially lucrative sponsorships.

  60. 60.

    Mike J

    December 16, 2016 at 6:09 pm

    I like the fact that google’s virtual assistant isn’t explicitly a woman who you have do things for you. You address it as google, not Siri or Alexa or Cortana. There’s no comic book back story, just a device made by a big company and you ask it to do stuff.

  61. 61.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 6:13 pm

    @Baud: Now we know what to get you for Christmas.

    ETA: Speaking of Christmas, UPS never updated tracking to show my new tablet “Out for Delivery”, but it just arrived. UPS tracking sucks.

  62. 62.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    @Cacti:

    I’m going to post some spoilers from the “new” Star Wars film:

    Funny.

    But if you’ve seen the film, don’t even post a snark faux spoiler.

    Yeah, I’m that kind of fan.

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 6:15 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I’ll look for it, thanks. Would have thought I had seen every TZ episode over the years (many of them multiple times) but I don’t remember this one from the description. Maybe when I see it I’ll remember.

    Jack Warden is a criminal who has been exiled to serve out his sentence on an asteroid.

    He gets something to keep him company.

  64. 64.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 6:19 pm

    @Brachiator:

    It’s very similar to one of the stories in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, but I don’t know if Bradbury got any kind of story credit.

  65. 65.

    danielx

    December 16, 2016 at 6:20 pm

    Decisions, decisions…go downtown and see the lights, stay home and bake cookies*, go see some music?

    *If anybody has a recipe for chocolate orange rolled cookies, pls advise.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 6:22 pm

    @Mike in NCk

    Seek out the original Swedish series it was based on, “Real Humans” (Äkta människor). Top notch TV. The UK/US version pales in comparison in every way.

  67. 67.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 6:22 pm

    Ugh. Everyone else is having fun at our office potluck and I’m fending off a goddamned migraine. Stupid weather migraines.

  68. 68.

    Aleta

    December 16, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    I’m more worried about her. He didn’t even ask about her day.

  69. 69.

    cosima

    December 16, 2016 at 6:23 pm

    ‘Robopocalypse’ is an entertaining book about this. I read it 2 or 3 years ago, I think, and it rattled me a bit. Now I’m thinking a robot take-over of the world might not be such a bad thing.

    I’m re-reading ‘Altered Carbon’ right now, and the evil Meths (Methuselahs) are really resonating. T$%£p could be one. I was reading something online today (can’t recall what) and I made a little noise (not quite a gasp) and my daughter (11) said ‘Did T%$£p get assassinated?!’ She’s a good little liberal-in-training.

  70. 70.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 16, 2016 at 6:24 pm

    @Brachiator:

    But if you’ve seen the film, don’t even post a snark faux spoiler.

    James Earl Jones is Frodo Baggins’ father.

  71. 71.

    danielx

    December 16, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Well played.

  72. 72.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    @cosima: “Altered Carbon” = so good!

  73. 73.

    JPL

    December 16, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I just peaked downstairs and quickly decided that was not the thread for me.

  74. 74.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    Also, since this seems to be a sci-fi thread, several Kindle books by Fritz Leiber are FREE today.

  75. 75.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 6:27 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: What kind of tablet did you get?

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 6:35 pm

    For SF fans, “Colony” season 1 is now on Netflix. Nothing necessarily new or innovative, just well-produced and without any cringe-inducing bits.

  77. 77.

    Yarrow

    December 16, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    Can we have a Sci Fi story where someone goes back in time and convinces Trump that running for president would be dumb so he decides not to do it?

  78. 78.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    @Baud: Samsung Galaxy S2 in GOLD.

  79. 79.

    Gin & Tonic

    December 16, 2016 at 6:38 pm

    @NotMax: I remember a video game called “The Colony” way back in the dark ages.

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 6:41 pm

    @NotMax

    Addendum: Not to be confused with “The Colony” which is also on Netflix.

  81. 81.

    ? Martin

    December 16, 2016 at 6:41 pm

    @Elmo: Bought a Roomba 900 last year. Pretty expensive but covers the entire first floor. Works really, really well. Every morning it fires up and does its thing. If it can’t cover the whole floor on a charge, it heads home, recharges, and finishes up a little later. Wood floors and a corgi were resulting in a lot of housework and the roomba makes is so, so much easier.

    It’s nice you can control it from your phone, so you can cancel a cleaning or manually tell it to go, etc. Clean the bin out every other day on average.

  82. 82.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Also, since this seems to be a sci-fi thread, several Kindle books by Fritz Leiber are FREE today.

    Really?

    I’m there. Thanks

  83. 83.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Nice. I’ve been toying with getting a tablet.

  84. 84.

    ruemara

    December 16, 2016 at 6:46 pm

    @efgoldman: Were they hastily taped and bought from an old guy named Moses?

  85. 85.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 6:49 pm

    @efgoldman: All 15 commandments?

  86. 86.

    gene108

    December 16, 2016 at 6:53 pm

    @Feathers:

    On a serious note, this is a commodification of how a generation of young men (yeah, not all men, but enough) have been raised without the desire or capacity to interact with actual human beings. Women have as well, but we hate on them, rather than building new technologies to celebrate their flaws and perpetuate them.

    I think there has always been a certain number of people, who never enjoyed human interaction, but had no other choice in a number of areas.

    Now they have choices to get what they need without dealing with people.

  87. 87.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    @efgoldman

    “The Lord has given unto us these tablets … and a six-pack of refreshing beverage.” (clip for reference, although lacking the Moses dialogue)

  88. 88.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    @gene108: That’s why I’m here!

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    It’s available on Amazon Prime, I believe, if you have that.

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    @efgoldman

    True story told before, but what the hey.

    Back in high school we had to take a test which supposedly would end up listing the best careers for each student. Everyone had to meet with a guidance counselor to discuss the result. Came my turn and the guy said he had never before seen the result my test spit out.

    #1 career choice? Hermit.

  91. 91.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    @NotMax: Does that pay well?

  92. 92.

    rikyrah

    December 16, 2016 at 7:07 pm

    @Cacti:
    Spoiler!!????

  93. 93.

    rikyrah

    December 16, 2016 at 7:08 pm

    @Cacti:
    Was it a good movie? Worth buying a ticket?

  94. 94.

    Calming Influence

    December 16, 2016 at 7:10 pm

    “Honey, Azuka told me she doesn’t think you love me enough. I’m beginning to think she’s right. ….wait, what are you doing with that sushi knife?!? ……. Aiiiiii!!!!!…..[ gurrrgle guuuuuurrgle]”

    I have no idea whether there is such a thing as a “sushi knife”. Just go with it…

  95. 95.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    @efgoldman: Yes, but does he get hustled off airplanes from writing obscure symbols in some heathen script ?

    I’m looking forward to this happening to me tonight when I board.

  96. 96.

    West of the Rockies (been a while)

    December 16, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    @trollhattan:

    And what exactly is Santorum’s title anyway? Long ago/one term senator? Does anybody give a flying fig what he thinks?

  97. 97.

    Cacti

    December 16, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    @rikyrah:

    Was it a good movie? Worth buying a ticket?

    Haven’t actually seen it yet. Just being a wiseacre. :-)

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 7:13 pm

    @Baud

    Well enough, but only in singles.

    (rimshot)

  99. 99.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @Baud: Steep’s had one for a month or two, he seems to like his.

  100. 100.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @efgoldman: Half-Italian, one-eighth First Nations, so I’m at risk (the math econ guy they got was Italian).

    I’ll just post something here for OO if I get hustled off.

  101. 101.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    @West of the Rockies (been a while): Santorum’s title is Santorum.

  102. 102.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: since I have an Android phone, I was thinking of an iPad just so I can use both ecosystems. But they aren’t cheap.

  103. 103.

    father pussbucket

    December 16, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    @wmd:
    Pretty sure you’re thinking of “Liar!”

  104. 104.

    Mike in dc

    December 16, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    25-30 years to build a human like brain the size of a small warehouse, and a body that moves like a human. 25-30 more years to shrink the brain down to fit in the body. 25-30 more years to make it broadly affordable and to act and look like us. So, 75 to 90 years to build our replacements. Maybe 120 if the goal is to make them better than we are.

  105. 105.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    @Baud: The S2 was $239 at Costco and included a “book cover”(actually a pretty nice cover).

  106. 106.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:21 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Androids are definitely less expensive.

  107. 107.

    Roger Moore

    December 16, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    @Brachiator:

    I would bet good money that Gigolo Joe 3.0 is just around the same corner as Ms Sexbot 2000.

    I think there was some kind of male sex doll featured on HBO’s Real Sex.

  108. 108.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:33 pm

    I Just watched the video for Virtual Home Robot. It’s really creepy. Also, I question the marketing of this – the guy comes across as completely pathetic.

  109. 109.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    @divF: SHUT UP THERES A MARKET!!!

  110. 110.

    JPL

    December 16, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    @divF: I felt the same way.. It is creepy.

  111. 111.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    @Baud: Oops, sorry.

    I also checked on the Obama speech thread below, seeing as they are well into super-TBogg territory. It only took me reading five or so comments to realize that it had gotten even more pointless and boring since I last checked around comment 350.

  112. 112.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 7:44 pm

    @divF: Pretty much.

    But NR finally showed up so now it’s dead, dead, dead.

  113. 113.

    Steve in the ATL

    December 16, 2016 at 7:45 pm

    @danielx:

    *If anybody has a recipe for chocolate orange rolled cookies, pls advise.

    Wish i could help, but all things orange are dead to me right now. If I die of scurvy I will do so with a smile on my face.

  114. 114.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:45 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Throw in something about Bernie and maybe we can get to 1000.

  115. 115.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 7:46 pm

    Be honest: who’s following #CatsJudgingKellyanne on Twitter?

    oh, ouch!

  116. 116.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:48 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yeah, NR was the tell for me as well.

  117. 117.

    JPL

    December 16, 2016 at 7:48 pm

    @Baud: No you be the puppet.. Don’t throw the major to the wolfs.

  118. 118.

    Brachiator

    December 16, 2016 at 7:49 pm

    @efgoldman:

    If Obama really had a time machine, Cantaloupe Caligula would have gone out a 40th-story window of his tower sometime in 2013.

    Dr Who and a couple of other shows have posited that so many people have tried to go back in time and kill Hitler that a crack team has been created to intercept pesky time travelers whenever they pop up in the time line.

    Trump is on the way to become a similar freakshow.

  119. 119.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    @JPL: I’m scared.

  120. 120.

    Pogonip

    December 16, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    @RSA: I hear Roombas make great cat toys. Every dog we ever had barked enthusiastically at a vacuum cleaner pushed by a person; I wonder how dogs feel about robotic vacuums?

  121. 121.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 7:50 pm

    @Baud: @divF: Hmmm, you know, NR didn’t show up until shortly after St. Bernard was name-checked.

    ETA: as ‘bernie’, not ‘sanders’. The google alert must be for ‘bernie’.

  122. 122.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Uh oh. Now he’ll be in this thread soon.

  123. 123.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: But now you’ve done it – he’s going to turn up on this thread.
    ETA: Jinx!

  124. 124.

    JPL

    December 16, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    @Baud: It’s a jungle out there.. be careful

  125. 125.

    Josie

    December 16, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    @? Martin:

    Wood floors and a corgi were resulting in a lot of housework

    My last dog was an akbash (similar to a pyr), and I thought she shed quite a bit. The current corgi, however, manufactures hair at an astounding rate. I have burned up two vacuums trying to keep up with it over the last couple of years. Does yours have a large capacity for storing hair before it needs to be emptied?

  126. 126.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    @divF:

    Yeah, I was in it real-time and checked out at about #345 for my mental health. Have been dozing and reading the new Harry Bosch novel. Much better!

  127. 127.

    Schlemazel

    December 16, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    @divF:
    I have been working all day with no time to check – thanks very much for letting me know not to go back & read earlier threads!

  128. 128.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:01 pm

    Bad new, Weekend Movie Clubbers: between last night’s tummy troubles and tonight’s migraine, I won’t have my essay up until Sunday. If you’re a procrastinator, this means you have one extra day to watch His Girl Friday, so get on that!

  129. 129.

    Schlemazel

    December 16, 2016 at 8:02 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    Great, now he will change it!

  130. 130.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 8:05 pm

    @Schlemazel: Bernie Bernie Bernie sanders sanders sanders!

  131. 131.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 8:10 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: @Baud: Maybe we could call that individual who triggers the arrival of that other individual “Carl”. Or “Fredo”. Or “Lenny”. Maybe Wilmer. I like Wilmer.

  132. 132.

    jake the antisoshul soshulist

    December 16, 2016 at 8:11 pm

    Female robots filling creepy male fantasies since Lester Del Rey’s “Helen O’Loy”. Not that there have not been those for women.

  133. 133.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 8:12 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: seconding Wilmer.

  134. 134.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    @Major Major Major Major:

    Let’s make it happen.

    Wilmer’s not even a Democrat!

  135. 135.

    Schlemazel

    December 16, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I almost expect a fright wig wearing Michael Keaton to show up

  136. 136.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    @JPL: No puppet! No puppet! You’re the puppet!

    That would look pretty good in yellow lettering on a red T-shirt with maybe a hammer and sickle in the upper corner ?

  137. 137.

    Schlemazel

    December 16, 2016 at 8:19 pm

    anyone looking for some happy news?
    http://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/it-looks-like-he-slipped-and-fell-when-he-was-out-hunting-reviled-lion-killer-falls-to-his-death/

    ‘It looks like he slipped and fell when he was out hunting’: Reviled lion killer falls to his death

  138. 138.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Finally! Twitter is good for something!

  139. 139.

    SiubhanDuinne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    @Schlemazel:

    I am a terrible person that I don’t feel even a little bit sad about this.

    Now what about that dentist who killed Cecil the Lion?

    Uday? Qusay? You payin’ attention?

  140. 140.

    rikyrah

    December 16, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    @Schlemazel:
    Oh well ??

  141. 141.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    @Schlemazel: He was pushed…by a lion.

  142. 142.

    RSA

    December 16, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    @Pogonip: Videos lead me to believe that this is the best use of Roombas. :-)

  143. 143.

    Elizabelle

    December 16, 2016 at 8:30 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone): I’m rereading the Bosch novels, in order, just cuz.

    Haven’t read the new one. Enjoy it!

  144. 144.

    Schlemazel

    December 16, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    @Baud:
    I was hoping it was something like that.

    I know it is wrong to feel joy at another humans death but given the joy he felt at the needless death of so many more worthy creatures that it must be OK

  145. 145.

    Roger Moore

    December 16, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    @Schlemazel:

    ‘It looks like he slipped and fell when he was out hunting’: Reviled lion killer falls to his death

    Yeah, he “slipped”.

  146. 146.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 8:32 pm

    @Baud: Don Jr. or Eric?

  147. 147.

    Elizabelle

    December 16, 2016 at 8:35 pm

    Heard a bit of the Obama presser while driving today.

    Made me sad. It’s like, the good captain is leaving the ship, which he carefully steered around all the icebergs and debris heaved into our path.

    Now we have this insane captain-elect, who doesn’t know anything about seamanship, because why would he need to know that? And the crew is creepy as shit.

    The captain-elect’s only virtue is that he is not a drunk.

    And our captain is getting ready to leave us with this insane posse. Assures us the selection process was fair.

    Not.

  148. 148.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    @Schlemazel: I don’t mind feeling joy at the animals saved.

  149. 149.

    Elizabelle

    December 16, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    @Schlemazel: Watch out, the link has picture of beautiful, dead large cats.

  150. 150.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    I wonder who called in sick that Chris Hayes is giving his whole show over to emo-bleater Michael Moore

  151. 151.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Is Wilmer one of the guests?

  152. 152.

    Citizen_X

    December 16, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    @Cacti:

    They succeed.

    Many Bothans die getting the information.

  153. 153.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 8:46 pm

    @Baud: Wilmer is with MM like Clarence with George Bailey, like Harvey with Elwood P Dowd, like Tracy Lord with Macaulay Connor.

    Wait, that last one doesn’t work

  154. 154.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:50 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Let’s face it, the white people who run the MSM aren’t any happier about the prospective end to unthinking white male cultural dominance than the white “working class” that voted for Trump is. That’s one of the (many) reasons they worked so hard to trash Hillary’s campaign.

  155. 155.

    ThresherK

    December 16, 2016 at 8:51 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Okay you’ve basically summoned Mnemosyne with that post.

  156. 156.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:54 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I know people are probabky sick of me making this joke, but I think it still applies — I think Obama is feeling a lot like Ray Patterson right now. We as a country fucked up and are now screaming for him to save us from our own folly.

  157. 157.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 8:58 pm

    @ThresherK: I’m okay with that. I was hoping someone could think of a third, more apt Jimmy Stewart movie. Vertigo occurred to me, but I confess I don’t much like it.

  158. 158.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 8:58 pm

    @ThresherK:

    MUAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!

    I get so frustrated with that movie because there’s so much in it that’s good, and then those creepy parts just ruin it for me. Maybe I just need to make my own edit to take those scenes out so they’re not there to annoy me. ?

  159. 159.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:03 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence? Though the twist is that Stewart is the imaginary character.

  160. 160.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 16, 2016 at 9:04 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Did they treat Bill Clinton that badly? I was not following politics closely in the 90s.

  161. 161.

    gogol's wife

    December 16, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    OMG, yes. Ever heard of Whitewater? A totally fabricated “scandal” that took up oceans of New York Times ink.

  162. 162.

    Mary G

    December 16, 2016 at 9:07 pm

    If anyone in CA49 is free Tuesday, go see Doug Applegate in action and jeer Darrell Issa.

    Dear Mary,

    As you know, Monday is the day the Electoral College will vote on the presidency. And while we’ll all be watching them with great interest, we know we cannot wait until after the inauguration to let the new administration know where we stand.

    Please join me on Tuesday, December 20th at 10:00 am for a press conference and rally in support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) at the office of Congressman Darrell Issa, 1800 Thibodo Road in Vista. We will be hearing from elected officials, leaders in organized labor, and regular folks who support this important reform in the way we provide every American with access to quality, affordable health care.

    I am having a time-sensitive Rituxan I.V. that morning, or I’d be there with bells on.

  163. 163.

    gogol's wife

    December 16, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Although even so, I would say they’ve treated Obama much worse, given his excellence. I’m not that big a fan of Clinton’s, although of course he was vastly better than any Republican president of my lifetime.

  164. 164.

    gogol's wife

    December 16, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    How can anybody not like Vertigo?

  165. 165.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 9:12 pm

    @ThresherK: the important thing is who he didn’t summon by using Wilmer’s birth name.

  166. 166.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    Yep, it was fake scandal after fake scandal.

    My “favorite” was probably Travelgate, where the Clintons tried to fire the head of the White House travel office because he was caught embezzling funds and the press corps threw a hissy fit because the guy always knew what their booking preferences were. They eventually pressured the Clintons into reinstating the guy after he agreed to pay back what he stole.

    The MSM has hated the Clintons with a passion for almost 30 years now.

  167. 167.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 16, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    @gogol’s wife: Yep Whitewater, Monica, yada yada. I was alive just not following it minute by minute.

  168. 168.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    They’re all acting as if Congress functions. It doesn’t. They won’t get anything done on the hacking, and Trump sure as shit isn’t going to do anything.

    And who would investigate anyway? The FBI? The same FBI who interfered in the election and planted pro-Trump propaganda in the NYTimes?

    The part that I find most alarming is not just Trump- it’s Trump AND the US House. The Russian government wanted Republicans to win House races. That doesn’t even fit with what we’ve been told- that Putin has some vendetta against Clinton. Graham said he was hacked, too. So we don’t even know about the Senate? Or was it just anyone who could possibly be an opponent of Donald Trump? How can Congress possibly investigate this? They’re part of it.

  169. 169.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:17 pm

    @gogol’s wife:

    Ah, yes, Whitewater, the “scandal” where the Clintons got cheated out of their investment with a bunch of other marks, and then the con man ran to the press to claim that the Clintons were in on the scheme so he could get a better plea bargain.

    The MSM loves themselves a con man. See also Ahmed Chalabi.

  170. 170.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    @Kay:

    I can’t quite figure out if Congressional Republicans are too stupid to know that the Russians have blackmail material on all of them, are already being actively blackmailed, or a little of both.

    I suspect they didn’t even have to blackmail Paul Ryan. They just offered him his heart’s desire of ending Social Security and Medicare, and he sold us out in a heartbeat.

  171. 171.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 9:23 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I suspect they didn’t even have to blackmail Paul Ryan. They just offered him his heart’s desire of ending Social Security and Medicare, and he sold us out in a heartbeat.

    This is basically my opinion on Greenwald if you change some nouns.

  172. 172.

    danielx

    December 16, 2016 at 9:25 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    You provoked a truly terrible image – Donald Trump as Captain Queeg.

  173. 173.

    Corner Stone

    December 16, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    @Kay:

    The part that I find most alarming is not just Trump- it’s Trump AND the US House. The Russian government wanted Republicans to win House races. That doesn’t even fit with what we’ve been told- that Putin has some vendetta against Clinton.

    Who is going to save us then, Kay?

  174. 174.

    debbie

    December 16, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    It started before that. Remember that 60 Minutes interview? You’d have thought Mike Wallace had sat down with Satan and Satan-She.

  175. 175.

    ThresherK

    December 16, 2016 at 9:27 pm

    @gogol’s wife: I like Vertigo plenty. (And Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety, too.)

    But my favorite Hitchcock is a dark horse; Shadow of a Doubt.

  176. 176.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 9:27 pm

    What is the incentive for anyone in the Trump Administration to investigate this? They won’t. Any mention of it embarrasses and discredits Trump. The same Congressional Republicans who capitulated every step of the way to Donald Trump are now going to conduct a real investigation that will discredit and embarrass him? We all know that won’t happen.

    Who, exactly, are we relying on to investigate this? Donald Trump’s appointees will be investigating whether Donald Trump’s campaign worked with the Russian government to harm Clinton? I mean, come on.

  177. 177.

    Hill Dweller

    December 16, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    I’d love to know what motivated the FBI to change their tune on the Russians. Was the decision made willingly? Why now?

  178. 178.

    BlueDWarrior

    December 16, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    In a lot of communities, there is a phrase “[I] can show them better than [I] can tell them.” The universe used HRC and the President to tell the collective us about Trump and how he and his fellow travelers would be catastrophically dangerous. We didn’t listen, so now we have to be shown how dangerous they are.

  179. 179.

    Corner Stone

    December 16, 2016 at 9:31 pm

    @Kay:

    Who, exactly, are we relying on to investigate this? Donald Trump’s appointees will be investigating whether Donald Trump’s campaign worked with the Russian government to harm Clinton? I mean, come on.

    Who is going to save us then, Kay?

  180. 180.

    schrodinger's cat

    December 16, 2016 at 9:32 pm

    @Corner Stone: We are doomed, we have been since 11/9.

  181. 181.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:32 pm

    Totally random bleg: I’m thinking of getting an electric diffuser for essential oils. Anything I should know before I just buy a bestselling one off Amazon?

  182. 182.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    @danielx: Could be worse, could be the nude trump with a tiny penis painting.

  183. 183.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I always read series in order, if possible. I binge-read the Bosch series about six years ago (up to that date) and have continued. I’m about a third of the way into this one, and it’s pretty good so far.

    One thing about binge-reading is that it can be like a speeded-up time-lapse film—you know, flower blooming and then wilting all in a minute. One thing I noticed about the Bosch novels up through the ’90s was how much time Harry spent looking for a phone so he could call in, get messages, hear back from someone, etc. It was like a big deal that just became a hilarious detail to me. And then sometime after 2000—boom!—cell phone. (He still does spend a lot of time dicking around on his phone.)

  184. 184.

    BlueDWarrior

    December 16, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    @Corner Stone: no one in the short term

    PBO and HRC tried to tell us not to stick the fork into the electrical socket. We did it anyway.

    Now we are just hoping to get to emergency care before we hit the point of no return.

  185. 185.

    raven

    December 16, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    There’s nothing left for me to do but cry

    Ooo, oo-ooo, ooo, oo-ooo, ooo, oo-ooo
    Stuff up the cracks, turn on the gas
    I’m gonna take my life

  186. 186.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    @BlueDWarrior: HRC is our political Jesus — she lost for our sins.

  187. 187.

    sigaba

    December 16, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    Linked Youtube is officially the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.

  188. 188.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Do you mean you are buying a vaporizer? Because https://arizer.com/extreme-q/ comes with the extra doodads for potpourri and oils as well. But buy it from amazon during a sale for 130 not from the site for 200+.

  189. 189.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    I somehow always manage to read a series backwards (especially if it’s a series that’s already over). No idea why, but I’ve been pretty consistent about it since I was a teenager.

  190. 190.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    No one. No one is going to save us. We’re relying on the hope that there are some ethical individuals in career positions in the US government, unless they all get fired and replaced with Trump loyalists by the new administration.

  191. 191.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:42 pm

    @EBT:

    I guess so? Honestly, I was just going to start with one of these little doohickeys and see if I actually use it enough to get a nicer one.

    It would basically be a scented candle that the cats could not burn their whiskers off on. Because they’ve done that before. Plus open flames and ADHD do not mix well.

  192. 192.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 9:42 pm

    @ThresherK

    The Trouble with Harry.

  193. 193.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    @Kay: There’s Mr. Meteor.

  194. 194.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 9:45 pm

    @NotMax:

    For people who like serial killer movies, Frenzy is much better than its reputation. I think people were actually shocked that Hitchcock made a genuinely disturbing modern horror movie, not just a jokey one.

  195. 195.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 9:47 pm

    Prior thread stuck at 599.

  196. 196.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    @Baud: Just let it die.

  197. 197.

    Corner Stone

    December 16, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    @Kay: I…I…I was assured we were all expecting President Obama to save us. Are you saying that’s now not going to happen?!

  198. 198.

    EBT

    December 16, 2016 at 9:49 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Oh, then you probably would not want this, it’s stable but not cat proof at all. And if you aren’t using any weed with it then it might be overkill for *just* essential oils and potpourri. I mean I have used mine a bunch daily for the last four years so it doesn’t fall apart or anything so it does have that going for it.

  199. 199.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 9:50 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Some good citizen rounded it out.

  200. 200.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    @Baud: Charming.

  201. 201.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    I know I sound like a broken record, but given the federal reality, wouldn’t it make the most sense to just focus on states? I get it, I really do, the Democratic devotion to federal civil rights protections but that seems like a dead end, quite frankly as far as Congress or Trump political appointees. At least at the state level we could act aggressively to protect elections- basic voting rights- and voting rights lawsuits would go directly to federal courts, not the Trump Administration per se.

  202. 202.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 9:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    :: shudder ::

  203. 203.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    Stop being sarcastic. I never “get that” and you know I don’t :)

  204. 204.

    raven

    December 16, 2016 at 9:55 pm

    @Kay: Don’t worry, you ain’t the only broken record here. I’ll check in the morning for snappy responses.

  205. 205.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    December 16, 2016 at 9:56 pm

    @NotMax: Ooh good one. Didn’t that have the scandalous double bed?

  206. 206.

    BlueDWarrior

    December 16, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    @Kay: I think it has to be a two track process ultimately. Just as we can’t expect the Feds to save us every time a state does something stupid or wrong, we can’t fool ourselves into thinking we can turn certain deep blue states into ideological fortresses.

  207. 207.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    For people who like serial killer movies

    Include me out.

    Not Hitch, but recently saw Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, which would not normally be in my sphere of interest. Grisly as it is, does a more than creditable job of sending up teenage slasher flick tropes. A B movie that doesn’t aspire to be anything more. Would link to the trailer except it gives away WAY too much.

  208. 208.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    @EBT:

    Yeah, with this crowd I probably should have been more specific that it would be for essential oils that smell pretty, not a vaporizer for pot. ☺️

  209. 209.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    @NotMax:

    If you liked that, you might like Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods. It’s a very interesting and different take on slasher films that doesn’t go where you expect at all.

  210. 210.

    J R in WV

    December 16, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Breathing atmosphere with oil in it is really hazardous to your pulmonary health. People have died from excess oil in their SCUBA tanks.

    Don’t do it!

  211. 211.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 10:05 pm

    In other news a school bus driver left a three year old in a school bus for 2 and a half hours in the “bus barn” because he fell asleep on the way home and the bus driver didn’t check the seats.

    It was 2 degrees here today, but he’s okay. He didn’t even wake up until they all went clomping onto the bus looking for him :)

  212. 212.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    @efgoldman: BBs.

  213. 213.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    Shall make a note to give it a peek, however have a plethora of problems with Whedon’s output.

  214. 214.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:07 pm

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    I don’t mean to do it. It just happens. I pick up a book that sounds interesting and find out later that it’s the last in a series.

    G and I have been having a running debate over fiction series. He HATES series — he wants a one-and-done book, but it seems like everyone is producing a series these days even if the story doesn’t support it. I’ve been trying to explain that a romance series features different characters who were often minor characters in a previous book that have a whole new story, but I’m not sure it computes. It’s more similar to a mystery series than a sci-fi one.

  215. 215.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:10 pm

    @NotMax:

    FWIW, it’s more similar in tone to, say, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” than his superhero movies.

    ETA: I keep meaning to watch the Shakespeare movie he made in his backyard, because I think his Beatrice and Benedick are perfectly cast in those roles.

  216. 216.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:11 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    Poe, Dickens, Hawthorne, Dreiser, Howells, Hemingway (etc.) not out of print. Yet.

  217. 217.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    @Kay: @Kay: In other news a school bus driver left a three year old in a school bus for 2 and a half hours in the “bus barn” because he fell asleep on the way home and the bus driver didn’t check the seats.

    as a childless, how is a driver the only adult on a bus with three year olds? where was the kid supposed to get off the bus where no one was waiting and didn’t notice when s/he didn’t get off?

  218. 218.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:13 pm

    @NotMax:

    This is a man who has a complete set of Dickens on his shelf and has read all of them at least once. He’s definitely not unversed in classic literature. He’s a (future) librarian, for goshsakes!

  219. 219.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    @Kay: Wow. That’s young. Luckily he was asleep.

  220. 220.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:14 pm

    I’m back! On the plane home from DC, that is – they didn’t haul me off the flight for bizarre mathematical notation.

  221. 221.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I’m with G. Prefer the one and done.

  222. 222.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    @J R in WV:

    ?? It seems to mostly be a humidifier with some pretty smells added. I haven’t seen anything about them being harmful, though I do have (mild) asthma.

  223. 223.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:15 pm

    @divF: Welcome home.

  224. 224.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    @divF: I was on tenterhooks.

  225. 225.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:16 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    That’s not a plus in my book.

    Have never seen any of his superhero movies, and in no rush to change that.

  226. 226.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Kinky.

  227. 227.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    @NotMax:

    Well, we already know that you and I have very divergent taste in movies, so watch at your own risk. I thought it was an interesting take on it.

  228. 228.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    Sorry@Baud: Thank you.

    @Omnes Omnibus: You missed out on that fat fee for getting me out of scientist jail. But given the new administration, you will have many other opportunities, no doubt.

  229. 229.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:21 pm

    @divF:

    You missed out on that fat fee for getting me out of scientist jail.

    I might have done it pro bono. I guess we will never know.

  230. 230.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 10:22 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Yeah, that would have gotten to be some heavy lifting. I started with The Godwulf Manuscript in 1973 or ’74 and read that series avidly, but sometime in the ’80s—maybe around the time of the TV show—Parker’s quality went down as his output increased. There seems to be a breaking point, or a critical juncture, after about 10 books, at least with crime series.

    I just read Lee Child’s new Reacher book, Night School, which was a welcome return to form after a couple of awful books. Another series that was great for the first 10 books but has been uneven since.

  231. 231.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    @Mnemosyne: just walked past KitTea ???

  232. 232.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    @divF: There’s a lot of opportunity in creation science right now.

  233. 233.

    J R in WV

    December 16, 2016 at 10:24 pm

    @efgoldman: Sweet! Thanks!

  234. 234.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:26 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Librarians just need to be able to find the book, read them, no so much.

    /snark

  235. 235.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I still kind of wish I had paid my $25 and gone in to play with that tortoiseshell, because she was adorable. But Samwise was a more than acceptable substitute. ?

  236. 236.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Are you going to Florida?

  237. 237.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    @Baud: I wonder whether there will be an Office of Creation Science Policy in the White House.

  238. 238.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    @Baud: You know how kinky lawyers are; then again, engineers, there’s some stories.

  239. 239.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:28 pm

    @Mnemosyne

    As said, note made to check it out. It’s just that anything Whedon automatically comes with two strikes, one for being incredibly facile and one for being overtly predictable, for me.

  240. 240.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @Baud:

    Still don’t know. I gave the Devil Woman the dates and she hasn’t gotten back to me. I’m debating when to ask the teenager to nudge her.

  241. 241.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @divF: Probably within the Veep’s office.

  242. 242.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @divF: Sure, it’s replacing the current Science Policy Office.

  243. 243.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Good luck.

  244. 244.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:29 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    You know how kinky lawyers are

    I think that this notion is wildly off base.

  245. 245.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    What does he hate about series? In the crime genre, most novels are pretty much stand-alone; the “series” aspect is mostly in mise-en-scène, recurring characters, the detective’s particular style, etc.

    I could see the “series” thing being much more of a problem in science fiction, say, where writers tend to really get into the world-building thing and then just blat on and on. You get to the end of a novel and discover that it’s the first book in a trilogy that you now need to read just to find out how a bunch of crap turns out. Then later you find out the “trilogy” was really some Cheeto-stained wretch’s overlong masterpiece that the publisher decided to divide into smaller parts for reasons of economy and profit.

  246. 246.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Zappa’s Penguin in Bondage – for kinky engineers who really get into the paraphernalia of the thing.

  247. 247.

    Baud

    December 16, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I hope the kids refuse to attend the White House Science Fare.

    @Omnes Omnibus: Completely out of order.

  248. 248.

    sigaba

    December 16, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Hey have you seen Filmstruck yet? Cancelled my Hulu recently and replaced it with this.

  249. 249.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    December 16, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    Dear My Deplorable (not)Friends-
    He looks down on you as much, probably more, than I do. He used your incoherent rage and fear to win the election for his own ego, and now he’s going to cut my taxes and screw you and your children

    Joy Reid ‏@ JoyAnnReid 3m3 minutes ago
    Trump to his supporters tonight: “But now…you’re not nearly as vicious or violent because we won, right?”

    and he loves the poorly educated.

  250. 250.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:33 pm

    @Mnemosyne: but you could have had both!

  251. 251.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Heh, remember I know lots of lawyers.

    ETA: I guess I should mention that half my undergrad degree is in Systems Engineering.

  252. 252.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 10:34 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    “You know how >kinky lawyers< are” or “You know >how kinky< lawyers are”?

  253. 253.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: So do I. OTOH, I haven’t seen their browsing histories.

    @Steeplejack: Excellent question.

  254. 254.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    some Cheeto-stained wretch’s overlong masterpiece

    A great description. Let’s just sit and admire it for a moment.

  255. 255.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:38 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA: we had an old song we used to sing. here’s a version of the lyrics.

    In our version the last line was “the moral of the story is finally clear: never fuck an engineer!”

  256. 256.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:39 pm

    @Steeplejack

    There’s a reason we’ve never seen Horace Rumpole’s basement rumpus room.

    :)

  257. 257.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Did I play rugby with you? It was one of my team’s signature songs.

  258. 258.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    @Steeplejack: “You know >how kinky< lawyers are”

    ETA, OT: I installed Lightroom on this beast of a tablet, wow! I can do editing of RAW files from my camera.

  259. 259.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: more overlap between jocks and band kids than you’d like to admit.

  260. 260.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:42 pm

    @NotMax: Mansion flats have no basement rumpus rooms.

  261. 261.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:42 pm

    @divF:
    Terry Carr, the Ace paperback editor, used to joke that if the Bible had been published as science fiction, it would have had to be cut down to two volumes of twenty thousand words each; the Old Testament would have been retitled “Master of Chaos”, and the New Testament “The Thing with Three Souls”.

    (Damned edit didn’t work)

  262. 262.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    You get to the end of a novel and discover that it’s the first book in a trilogy that you now need to read just to find out how a bunch of crap turns out.

    Nailed it.

  263. 263.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:44 pm

    @divF: twenty thousand words? Has this paperback editor seen a sci-fi trade paperback?

    @Mnemosyne: In urban fantasy it usually becomes clear you’re reading one of these about halfway through.

  264. 264.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    than you’d like to admit

    ????

  265. 265.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    @BlueDWarrior:

    I think it has to be a two track process ultimately. Just as we can’t expect the Feds to save us every time a state does something stupid or wrong, we can’t fool ourselves into thinking we can turn certain deep blue states into ideological fortresses.

    Three-track: federal, state, and local/school boards. Have to focus on all of it, run good people in every race, hold officials accountable 365/7.

  266. 266.

    Botsplainer

    December 16, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    The eminence grise is Kushner. This is actually an important tale on things are done from a nuts and bolts campaign angle.

    Reach and Sinclair.

  267. 267.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus

    Dug out beneath the back garden, silly.

    ;)

  268. 268.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:45 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: They both play on the field?

  269. 269.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: perhaps I misremembered. Somebody was hating on marching bands earlier this week.

  270. 270.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    Oh and GO DUKES! Dethroned the mighty North Dakota State Bison tonight – on to Frisco, TX! (where in the hell is Frisco, TX?)

  271. 271.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    @Botsplainer:

    an important ale

    Sounds cool.

  272. 272.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Terry Carr was an editor at Ace during the heyday of the “Ace Doubles” in the 50’s and 60’s: two novels published in a single volume, back-to-back (“tête-bêche”) . Not like your bloated scientifiction of today.

  273. 273.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    @Botsplainer: I’m not at all surprised.

  274. 274.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I don’t hate them. I don’t get the appeal, but no hatred.

  275. 275.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    @Botsplainer: Someone’s going to have to make them (Sinclair, the Trump campaign, or both) pay for this…this is essentially a donation to the Trump campaign that went unreported.

    Then again by that standard, CNN should have to liquidate and donate the proceeds to the 99% who are about to take it in the shorts during the Putin/Trump administration.

  276. 276.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    @divF: as the author of something that will be around 100k words I resemble that remark!

  277. 277.

    Kay

    December 16, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Well, a lot of things went wrong. We have a public preschool- it’s in the K-8 building. The tiny kids who live in town go on a separate (small) bus but out in the country they ride with the bigger kids. Rural route kids are dropped at their individual houses and the parents have to come out and get the littlest ones or the driver won’t let them off. The parent wasn’t out there waiting and driver just blew by the house. We went to dinner with one of the officers who responded – they couldn’t find the driver- he had left work by the time the parent called the school- so the school called the police who then looked on the bus and he was asleep in the back.

  278. 278.

    gogol's wife

    December 16, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    I love that film.

  279. 279.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    @divF

    For those who might wonder how that worked, one book was printed upside down in relation to the other.

  280. 280.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Awesome! I can’t even think of an application that I would use that would tax it. I will be more than happy if I can get Word, Outlook and Excel working on it comfortably enough (with a little Bluetooth keyboard) that I can leave my notebook computer at home when I go to Las Vegas for three weeks next month.

    I am going to get a 128GB microSD card for it when the Christmas hubbub dies down. Dunno what I need it for, but Daddy’s strictest rule is you can never have too much hardware!

  281. 281.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    Btw Franklin Graham is getting into it with Jake Tapper on Twitter…not sure if that qualifies as an ‘undercard matchup’ or ‘3rd opening act’…

  282. 282.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 10:54 pm

    @Jeffro: Cape Cod Summer League.

  283. 283.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 10:56 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Yes, but are you a Cheeto-stained wretch ?

  284. 284.

    debbie

    December 16, 2016 at 10:56 pm

    @Jeffro:

    The man who runs Sinclair has tinier fingers than Trump.

  285. 285.

    Steeplejack

    December 16, 2016 at 10:57 pm

    @NotMax:

    I still remember the first one I ever saw (and bought): Jack Vance’s The Dragon Masters backed with, eh, I can’t remember.

  286. 286.

    sukabi

    December 16, 2016 at 10:58 pm

    @Elizabelle: alcohol might not be his drug of choice, but with all his erratic behavior and sniffing….

  287. 287.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    Was hoping someone – anyone – would have picked up on the Rumpole reference above to point out that the nickname She Who Must Be Obeyed is subject to multiple interpretations.

  288. 288.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 16, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    @divF: hm, no, I’m not. And it’s not part of a series either, though I’d like to reuse several characters and do something Pratchett-esque with the setting.

    Incidentally, the setting is just a somewhat absurd modern world and also all the fish disappeared. There may also be wizards. Haven’t decided. But they’re not in this one.

  289. 289.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    @Steeplejack: The Five Gold Bands, also by Vance. I own that one.

    When I first arrived in Berkeley, you could get used Ace doubles for half the list price on the book. That was 17 cents for a D-series book – I bought multiple copies of Philip K. Dick’s Solary Lottery at that price.

    ETA: Backed with Leigh Brackett’s The Big Jump .

  290. 290.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    December 16, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    @Steeplejack: I have the 64gb card from the old Note8 that I’m using right now, and I’ve got a Logitech BT keyboard.

  291. 291.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I am one of those evil people who reads endings, so I usually catch that problem while still in the bookstore.

    Somebody needs to go wake Steeplejack up from his dead faint at that revelation. ?

  292. 292.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 11:00 pm

    oh ouch…Trump has been calling Evan McMullin “McMuffin”…naturally, McMullin is enjoying the shit out of needling Trump back:

    Evan McMullin ‏@Evan_McMullin 2m2 minutes ago
    .@realdonaldtrump, I hear Egg McMuffins taste a lot better than the steaks at the Trump Grill. True story?

  293. 293.

    NotMax

    December 16, 2016 at 11:02 pm

    @Steeplejack

    For 35¢, I’d wager.

  294. 294.

    Jeffro

    December 16, 2016 at 11:04 pm

    WOW…Boston Globe writer raises the “specter of treason” hanging over Donald Trump.

    I mean, wow…

  295. 295.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 11:06 pm

    @NotMax:

    Got it but thought it was a little too obvious.

  296. 296.

    divF

    December 16, 2016 at 11:07 pm

    @Steeplejack: No, that was an F-series book, which I seem to recall was already up to 60 cents (new).

    ETA: correction: the F-series books were 40 cents.

  297. 297.

    Feathers

    December 16, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I got watching Much Ado, but all the guys in very similar suits with basically the same hairstyle filmed in B&W, I lost track of who was who. And I was in the play in college! And have seen it performed at least three times. I was knitting, which was probably part of the problem, I changed flicks rather than stop knitting. Will catch again when full attention can be devoted. Made me realize how much work is done in traditionalShakespeare productions by all the brightly colored costumes.

    And on the essential oils. I like the candle ones. My ADHD + cat + flame trick is to put the candle and/or holder in a pie dish with water. My cat did not go for wet, so candle stayed safe. Flame goes out when it hits the water. Works for short squat candles, which is most scented candles.

  298. 298.

    Omnes Omnibus

    December 16, 2016 at 11:13 pm

    @Jeffro: That was a a mere Boston Globe writer. That was John Shattuck, former ACLU lawyer and Clinton era Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. People may want to give Bill shit about triangulation, but these are the kind of people he put in top jobs.

  299. 299.

    Mnemosyne

    December 16, 2016 at 11:21 pm

    @Feathers:

    I did a quick Google and they do not recommend essential oil diffusers for people with asthma, so I may be back to square one. Scented candles would cause the same problem of putting chemicals in the air that are potential asthma triggers. Phooey.

  300. 300.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    @NotMax:

    Yep, full retail.

  301. 301.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 16, 2016 at 11:28 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Not necessary. I will be house-, dog- and mom-sitting while my RWNJ brother goes on a motorcycle trip in South America. I love Vegas but can’t remember the last time I gambled there. Great restaurants, great climate, all the amenities. I always have a good time.

  302. 302.

    Anne Laurie

    December 16, 2016 at 11:34 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    twenty thousand words? Has this paperback editor seen a sci-fi trade paperback?

    Terry Carr was editing when the Old School Pulp Rules applied. Publishers assumed sci-fi readers were poverty-stricken, semi-literate gnerds who wanted read-in-one-sitting chunklets of disposable text that could also be used as emergency toilet paper.

    It was only after Terry Brooks’ Tolkien pastiche took off that the guys paying the authors/editors realized the “new” generation of sf readers preferred bulk over cheapest-possible-cover-price.

    (Back in the late 1960s, as paperback prices crept upwards, the “genre” publishers — sf, westerns & romance — were always the last to move from 35cents, to 60cents, to 75cents… )

  303. 303.

    Anne Laurie

    December 16, 2016 at 11:39 pm

    @NotMax:

    For those who might wonder how that worked, one book was printed upside down in relation to the other.

    And the combinations were extremely random — the only Phillip K. Dick book in my library is the back half of a Leigh Brackett sword & sorcery novel, IIRC.

  304. 304.

    cmorenc

    December 16, 2016 at 11:44 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Can we have a Sci Fi story where someone goes back in time and convinces Trump that running for president would be dumb so he decides not to do it?

    Yeah, but then the resulting alt-history produces president-elect Cruz. As bad as Trump will be, that’s about the only 2016 GOP Presidential candidate who would definitely have been worse, had he won.

  305. 305.

    Calming Influence

    December 16, 2016 at 11:59 pm

    @Schlemazel:

  306. 306.

    JAFD

    December 17, 2016 at 7:11 am

    Greetings from New Jersey, where the snow falls intermittently in the predawn.

    Should you be interested in reading SF short stories about computers ‘assisting’ in inter-human relations, checkout Terry Bisson’s 1991 __Press Ann_
    https://teacheraswriter.wikispaces.com/Press+Ann+by+Terry+Bisson
    and Naomi Kritzer’s Hugo-winning _Cat Pictures Please_
    http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_01_15/

    And you’ve all heard of the time the inventor demonstrated the robot quarterback to Bill Belichek, who watched the demo, looked it over, and said “This, too, shall pass”.

  307. 307.

    Aleta

    December 17, 2016 at 11:58 am

    @JAFD: Idoru came to mind after watching this. Since the 80s Japanese commercials sometimes appear in series as a developing story. I wonder if they’ll keep a story going with this actor’s character and pieces of his life.

  308. 308.

    The Lodger

    December 17, 2016 at 11:35 pm

    @Brachiator: “I call it ‘Steely Dan’; it’s very reliable. “

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