Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

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

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

This fight is for everything.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

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

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Elections aren’t won by handwringing, cowering, and/or bashing your own candidates.

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

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

There’s always a light at the end of the frog.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

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

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

White supremacy is terrorism.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

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

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Brief Site News

Brief Site News

by | 86 Comments

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Just a few updates you’ll be happy to hear about:

  1. I’ve made a few small tweaks the past day or two and the site renders faster, the sidebar is improved, and a few other related things.
  2. The theme update will hit early next week. I am working on it right now. It’s a major change in the theme version, so I’m taking the time to make a few more styling changes and tweaking things that have always driven me nuts.
  3. Slight sidebar redesign will come as part of that.
  4. An improved Quotes function, more like the previous theme’s. Next week, I’m going to open a thread for suggestions to add to the current list to keep it from getting stale; I’ve already added “Not all heroes wear capes”.
  5. Coming soon, with/right after the theme update: Comment instructions/tips, new and improved
  6. Coming with that: A built-in filter to block commenters you wish to ignore*. No more Greasemonkey script, browser limitations, etc. It will work on all browsers that support local storage, but the list from one machine won’t be on another, so you’ll need to maintain your pie list on each device on which you read comments. Major thanks to cleek and Major Major Major Major.
  7. A few other treats.

* this is known as a pie filter. It turns comments from a commenter into ravings about pie, but for you only.

Open thread, and do join in for tomorrow’s noon memorial post for greennotGreen. I will be using that thread as the final chapter in a pdf I’m building for her family. It’s your chance to put into words how she touched you, or to point to a post or comment that you feel is important to include in that set of memories.

 

ETA: forgot to add, also adding an image slider plugin that will work on both the desktop and mobile themes. The current sliders are desktop only, thus leaving mobile users missing something great. That will be after 1-7.

Reader Interactions

86Comments

  3. 3.

    different-church-lady

    Can we have a filter option that describes how much someone hates pie?

  4. 4.

    Mnemosyne

    “Not all heroes wear capes”.

    Ha! I have a t-shirt from Tee Fury with this on it. Featuring Edna Mode herself, of course.

    Thanks, Alain!

  7. 7.

    Alain the site fixer

    @different-church-lady: use the contact form and send me a few funny one-ten line text blocks about your preference for other than pie, just mention pie, and I’ll see if I can get it added! :) I have a preference for small tarts so not the biggest pie fan, but if it has to be pie, I prefer Swiss/French style: no top crust, just fruit, no heavy syrup. My current love is plum and apricot tarts. Wowzers is that combo good.

  8. 8.

    Mike J

    Can I throw in a request now? Howzabout: highlight part of comment, hit reply, selected text appears blockquoted in comment box after the reply text.

    I sent an implementation of this to somebody, but it was a few years ago so it probably wouldn’t work on today’s b-j. Still, it was pretty easy to do, just a few lines added to the code that handles the yus_replyto.

  10. 10.

    opiejeanne

    Possibly a dumb question, but will this work on my iMac? I could never get Cleek’s or Greasemonkey’s filters to work on them.

  11. 11.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Major Major Major Major: fixed, sorry.
    @opiejeanne: yes, it will be built into the site and your browser – no complications!
    @Yutsano: Pretty much, except no tops (and not all that fancy caloric glaze; I go for simple not sinful). The only pie I like a top on is my chicken pot pie, ideally Mrs. Budd’s.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    A built-in filter to block commenters you wish to ignore*.

    For the sake of our democracy, I hope there’s an exception for presidential candidates.

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    @debbie: Now that is something I could find myself interested in. Being able to auto filter out any mention of pandas would really enhance my quality of life commenting here.

  40. 40.

    Steeplejack

    @Gin & Tonic:

    *Public notice* If anyone has a copy of that New York Post issue, the Newseum will pay beaucoup dinero for it. It is high on their search list. I have this on good authority from my media insider, who has ties to the Newseum.

    So check your hoarder uncle’s house!

  44. 44.

    Alain the site fixer

    @opiejeanne: the first rule of pie filter is we don’t threaten to use, or boast of using, it on others. Let’s be nice – no need to use a benefit as a cudgel.

  45. 45.

    Alain the site fixer

    @Major Major Major Major: It was a natural extension of the other local data storage functionality we’ve planned. I expect this will increase overall happiness of the readership, not to mention the commenters. We forget how many more readers there are than commenters.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    @Alain the site fixer:

    I think we’re still working out the etiquette. IMO, it’s only polite to tell someone that you will no longer be responding to them, whether or not you add the words “pie filter” to that notification.

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I’ve made a few small tweaks the past day or two and the site renders faster

    Like lard?

  60. 60.

    Roger Moore

    @Alain the site fixer:

    the first rule of pie filter is we don’t threaten to use, or boast of using, it on others.

    I thought the first rule of pie filter is “you do not talk about pie filter”. The second rule of pie filter is “you do not talk about pie filter”.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    I made southern cobbler today with cherries from my sour cherry tree. It’s not pie, but it sure is good. (If I say so myself.)

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @Alain the site fixer: It’s very fun! This is the year 3 and it’s the first year that I’ve gotten a ton of cherries. It’s hard to make something when you only get about a dozen. :-)

    I’m trying to figure out what to pair the sour cherries with so I can make popsicles.

  66. 66.

    NotMax

    Pie, cake or brownies, you’re still not a-gonna entice me to enable Javascript.

    Tweaking seems to be approaching Outer Limits territory.   “We control the horizontal. We control the vertical.”   Not there yet, but getting measurably closer.

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    @Alain the site fixer: I was kinda wondering about a dream-cycle kind of thing, only with cherries instead of orange. Maybe some kind of cherries & cream kind of thing. A little almond might be good in that.

  73. 73.

    J R in WV

    Alain,

    I like pie, but it has to be the right pie. Sour cherry pie is for sure on the list!!! The best pie is pecan pie, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream beside it. I’ve never cared for apple pie, unless … well, just no. Pumpkin Pie is only really useful as a carrier of whipped cream.

    We used to keep a dairy cow, who got milked every day, obviously. We had milk coming out our ears! And cream, and cheese and yogurt and…. a lot of whipped cream for some pies, and desserts. Cherry pie is best with lattice tops. Is that OK with you Alain?

    Betty, your chicken is fulfilling the need of the other chickens to hear a rooster call at break of say. If you have a flock of chickens, you need a rooster, for the sake of the chickens!!! (This may not be real folklore, but it IS true folklore!). If you think of it, chickens don’t all individually need a rooster, but as a flock, without a rooster, who will run out in front to be taken by the weasels???

    Oh, wait, is this the wrong thread? I’m sorry, I got all taken by the chicken pot pie….

  74. 74.

    phein55

    Alain,

    I’ve hesitated to bring this up, since you have bigger fish to fry, and I’m sure this is the wrong thread, but since I’ve got an internet connection now, here goes:

    The blogroll select list used to support a context menu so that you could open up new sites in a new tab. Now, if you leave BJ via that dropdown list, you have to leave the site.

    Can the dropdown list be defaulted to opening in a new tab, perhaps?

    Thanks,

    Old guy with arthur-itis and iffy back-button control

    PS: Cinnamon pie, h’mmmmm

  77. 77.

    opiejeanne

    @WaterGirl: Your cherries are already ripe? Ours will probably be ripe a few days after we leave on vacation, the way the weather is right now.
    OTOH, I made strawberry jam with the extra strawberries today. We’ve been eating them for a week and I’m going to have to start freezing the excess for later use, but they are really good. None of this fake ripe stuff they’re trying to sell us in the grocery store, the ones that are red outside and white inside. Ours are red straight through.

  78. 78.

    Alain the site fixer

    @phein55: I’m glad you spoke up! So – no BS – I’m trying to find a better way, but for now it’s an issue because of the prominence of the IOS operating system and the power of default settings. iPhones and iPads use the Safari browser by default and it blocks pop-ups by default. And so if I enable pop-ups, I get tons of reports of a bug when in fact it’s not a bug, it’s a setting side-effect.

    So, I’m actively looking for a better solution – I was this afternoon, not for the first time, hours before you asked. So I hope to get a good solution working. It was a shock to find the original announcement from the WordPress folks about support for the Blogroll stuff disappearing, from like 2007. So I know we’re somewhat old school, but I didn’t realize I was continuing a 10-year-old-deprecated practice! But fear not, if we needed to resurrect Balloon Juice over FidoNet, I’d be front and center in making it work, so I know I’ll find the right solution, I just don’t have it yet.

  79. 79.

    Alain the site fixer

    @J R in WV: A good chicken pot pie is proof that heaven is full of good food. There are so many, almost countless, foods that I enjoy, but a good chicken pot pie is better than almost anything, (Singaporean) chili crab excepted.

    Lattice on a pie is/can be a thing of beauty, but not a requirement – I do love many simple, unadorned desserts while being ambivalent at best about heavily-decorated desserts. A small plate of berries and fresh cream beats pretty much anything baked or fried, but then again, although I love chocolate and other sweets as a snack, I rarely eat dessert or treats after a meal. I can’t wait to see folks’ reactions to your pictures and diary tomorrow. Just amazing, I hope I got the pix in close-enough relation to the words. And I can’t wait for the next two installments.

  81. 81.

    Alain the site fixer

    @opiejeanne: I wish I wasn’t living in the suburbs full of covenants and fertilizer overdoses and had neighbors who grew in abundance. I really got into having cheap/free 20 pounds of concord grapes, tomatoes, peaches, pickles, jalapenos, etc. to work with for canning. I wish I had a large family to can for as an annual ritual, but I end up doing a big batch every few years and enjoying the fruits of my labor in the meantime.This summer I’ll be replenishing my stores, and that will be fun, just different without knowing my producers and their land – this will be my first in Virginia since moving back from Colorado end of 2014. Already I know that the peaches and jalapenos will be nothing like I grew to expect. That’s even more true this year, with so much of the peach crop from Georgia and South Carolina being toast because of late winter storms.

    ETA: Palisades peaches (Colorado) are divine. Jalapenos from the Pueblo area are just insanely good – spicy, flavorful, deep body. I miss Colorado produce pretty much every day.

  83. 83.

    Aleta

    @Alain the site fixer: A food coop here does a bulk buy (people advance order by the pound) of peaches for example from New Jersey. Once a year for each out of state fruit. The peach run (drive down and back) is done by the guy who really cares about his peaches and has located a quality supplier. People who can and freeze peaches order from him, and there’s a minimum order size that friends divide up after it comes.

  84. 84.

    opiejeanne

    @Alain the site fixer: I can hardly look at a peach or nectarine that I didn’t grow, and I can’t grow them where I live in Western Washington. Just north of us, maybe 50 miles, there is a banana belt and people grow very nice fruit in their yards .I miss California for the gardening climate, but the compensation is that I can grow cherries here, as well as a decent collection of plants that would be at home in an English cottage garden.
    My previous garden in Anaheim had soil and climate that you could stick a rake handle in the ground and it would grow, as long as you watered it. We grew such wonderful tomatoes there, and peppers. Here the tomatoes ripen very late, just before winter, and we can’t set fruit on peppers worth a darn.

  85. 85.

    2liberal

    re : Pie Filter

    Please, I DO NOT WANT TO READ PIE RELATED COMMENTS, just block out the offenders. If you only have the opiton for pie commments, you start reading teh comment only to realize it is a waste of time.

  86. 86.

    2liberal

    @2liberal:

    also please have an option to block responses to trolls, I am currently using Troll-b-gone and it is fantastic.

Comments are closed.