Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

He really is that stupid.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Our messy unity will be our strength.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

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

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

When we show up, we win.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

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

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Open Thread – None Of Today’s News

Open Thread – None Of Today’s News

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I don’t have any photos to prove it, but Ric and Zooey are going out every morning on the leash. They love checking out the yard, even if they have to drag a human along. It’s demanding enough to keep up with them that there’s no way I can take pictures. Zooey slipped off the vest this morning, partly because I kept holding the leash taut. At other times, I’ve let the leash go, and he always heads for the house. He did this time, too, and stopped at the top of the driveway to allow me to pick him up and take him into the house.

Here’s the picture that will probably go in the Christmas letter.

 

At Elizabelle’s request (and mine – I was thinking of something like this too), this is an open thread for talk about pets, garden, crafts, recipes, music, or anything that isn’t today’s news.

Reader Interactions

216Comments

  1. 1.

    Elizabelle

    Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cheryl.

    Fine looking kitties. With or without vests. Maybe we can use this thread to put up some non-shooter or Trump stories (although they’re OK too) and keep Tom Petty in our hearts.

    ETA: hearts, not “thoughts and prayers.” Fuck those. I think they’re all diverted to the latest victims of all too preventable violence. Except not in the exceptional US of A. No sirree.

  5. 5.

    MomSense

    I’ve been obsessively working on a knitting project. I had the idea a while ago and finally bought the yarn and started trying to work out the design. I feel like a little kid with a new box of crayons. All weekend I was staying up sooo late just to work one more row.

    The founders of the yarn company have just retired. During the Cold War they traveled to the Soviet Union making friends with craftspeople and farmers. They brought wool back to the states where it was blended with US sourced wool to make incredible yarn.

    the peace fleece story

  9. 9.

    CaseyL

    Craft news: I’m setting up a studio in my house to do fused glass. I’ve been into fused glass pretty intensely over the past year, working with an artist in her studio. But I can only get over there about once per week, and if I really want to seriously pursue this, I really need to have more studio time than that. So I finally cleared out the spare bedroom – got rid of an elliptical that had been gathering dust for lo these many years – and set up a work table, a kiln table, and a space for the glass supplies.

    I ordered a kiln about a week ago, and it should get here by mid-November. The shipping weight is given as 125 pounds, so getting it upstairs should be interesting!

    Very excited about being able to do glass all the time. I’m taking extended time off from my day job because it’s just too damn stressful. So I’m also engaged in rethinking the whole job thing. At the moment, I’m considering making way less money for a more congenial day job. Trouble is figuring out just what that would be…

  11. 11.

    MomSense

    @CaseyL:

    I’m happy you are going to be able to work with glass more. Hope you will share some of your creations with us.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Ricccc. Anddd Zooeeeyyyy. Are bbbbotthhhhhhh ggvgorrrrgfeeeeeous

    Tucccck. I have. No idea. What’s. Ggggoinggg on with. Myyy ipadddd. Tyyypingggg.

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I am not. Ddddrrunk. Myyyy ipadddd is going very bbberrrrrsetrrrk.

    BBBBBERRRRSERTK

    Bbbbbberrrrrserrrrk

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    Recipes: I’m in my annual mode of researching and testing chocolate cake recipes (practice for Thanksgiving; I use my coworkers as guinea pigs, and hence am quite popular this time of year). Anyway, I made this last week and it was pretty good. Anyone have any suggestions for others to try? Should serve 12-16 and preferably only take a couple of hours max of prep time (lots of other cooking to do at the same time).

  20. 20.

    Elizabelle

    @CaseyL: Fused glass. Don’t know anything about that. What a fun thing to learn more about.

    I love sea glass/beach glass. It’s treasure. Still remember that day, when Alain told us what beloved and missed Green Not Green’s name really was — Carol — and being at a beach above Barcelona, with soothing green mediterranean water and then finding all manner of green sea glass. I have really thought about sending the sea glass to Carol’s sister, because the whole day was dedicated to her. I was floating in the green, cool and refreshing water, thinking of her. Gone too soon.

    The Mediterranean is clear enough to see the rocks and sea glass at your feet. I love Spain, and what I have seen of Europe.

  21. 21.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @LAO: ZOMG, she’s so cute! Her head is showing her pibble lineage and her body is so beagle. Happy belated gotcha day Maggie.

    Ric and Zooey are lovely, and no doubt enjoying their outdoor adventures. And Samwise is indeed regal.

    I’m sure many Juicers have seen this, but for any who haven’t, it’s very cool. I can’t find the original, but it’s easy enough to watch from the link.

  23. 23.

    MomSense

    @LAO:

    Maggie is adorable and I love the pup IG accounts. Mine is mostly the dog and crafty or garden things.

  26. 26.

    CaseyL

    @LAO: What a cutie! Can almost smell the puppy breath, just looking at her. So funny to see the pittie head on the beagle body.

  27. 27.

    JMG

    What a wonderful photograph. My happy news is I’m headed to the Cape for at least two weeks, my last two weeks of golf before wrist surgery (to remove hardware from previous surgery). I know golf is a retrograde activity, but I’ve loved it all my life. Not gonna change now.

  28. 28.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @LAO: he’s as goofy as ever. I told the shelter trainer that there’s a new issue with the gentle leader – we don’t put it on fast enough! Nobody saw that one coming. I think he needs an instagram, though he might include other critters also too.

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Quickly from the phone to say that I’m fine and am not stroking out but my iPad has been going berserk recently and now it seems to be affecting the keyboard.

  38. 38.

    Gravenstone

    Asking about music? I tossed this out in another thread a few days back, but will trot it out again because it’s a new favorite. The fourth album from Black Country Communion came out a couple of weeks ago, and it’s fantastic (if that musical genre is to your taste). Give it a browse and see if you might agree.

  40. 40.

    Elizabelle

    Louis Armstrong used to sign his letters “Red Beans and Ricely Yours.” I learned that in Rima and Richard Collin’s wonderful New Orleans cookbook. Told you about them when we were discussing donut recipes and Paramus. They have a foolproof beignets recipe.

    NPR: The Culinary Habits of Louis Armstrong

    And a 1977 WaPost story: Red Beans and Ricely Yours

    Now that President Carter has made the White House safe for Gumbo, the next logical step in raising the Southern soul food consciousness of the nation is the Red Beaning of America.

    Red beans and rice, that cassoulet of the Louisiana bayous, has languished too long in the gustatorial shadow of such Southern culinary cliches as fried chicken and sweet potato pie. It is far too rich and versatile a dish to leave to the bean-mad cults of fur trappers, debutantes, bartenders, levee inspectors, cotton brokers, sugar barons and others who range across the marshy flatlands at the Mississippi’s mouth.

    In Louisiana red beans are almost a religion.

    …. Louis Armstrong, who made the entire world aware of New Orleans’ jazz, used to sign letters “Red beans and ricely yours.”

    Red beans are often confused by the uninitiated with the black beans and rice of Latin America, which aren’t the same thing at all. Black beans, as splendid as they are, are usually a side dish. Red beans and rice, with maybe a salad, a beer and some French bread, are usually the whole enchilada.

    Ken Ringle. People used to write better, assuming a longer attention span.

  41. 41.

    Repatriated

    @SiubhanDuinne: turn the screen off, clean it with glass cleaner (carefully, avoid getting liquid into the speaker or the gap around the main front button), dry thoroughly, and try again. If that doesn’t fix it, restart.

    That’s all I’ve got.

  43. 43.

    Elizabelle

    @LAO: Maggie is gorgeous. Gets stubbornness from both sides of the lineage.

    ETA: For being a Southern dog: is she Magnolia?

  45. 45.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    So we went to Mexico after all. Rained and rained and rained some more yesterday and today in Playa del Carmen (Saturday was nice). Playa was, quite frankly, annoying as shit – it’s a boom burg, nobody is from there, and everybody is either trying to hustle you into their restaurant or shop OR tip grubbing – all of it aggressive. Made our way back to my favorite town (Puerto Morelos) and wondered why we went to Playa, even for free. Here in this village, there are no hustles – nobody shouts at you to buy useless shit you don’t need.

    About the only thing I’d use Playa for is a jumping off point for Cozumel dives – I found a dive shop there I really like. Owner was honest about conditions yesterday, his equipment was immaculate and he had endeavored to learn our qualifications and experience to create what would have been a lovely dive day (you don’t want a long boat ride in 1.5 meter seas, heavy rains and 10-15 mph wind – plus, boating after a dive in those conditions is a recipe for misery and injury).

    So we got over to this place, the sun came out, nobody was hawking anything.

    Had some great ceviche this afternoon – mixto is my thing (octopus, fish, shrimp). Been drinking beer with a shot of reposado. We had a delightful beach afternoon at a beach bar where they were playing Petty.

    Tonight, we walked from the beach bar to the square, got to see a fisherman arguing with both municipal and state cops over his catch, had lionfish carpaccio, wood-fired seafood risotto and grilled Panela cheese with house made pesto (the Countess had wood-fired shrimp tacos and a wood-fired chaya pizza). Followed it up with a Nutella and cheese marquesita. Now laying in bed, stuffed like ticks – we did bring back boxes of leftovers.

  49. 49.

    raven

    @Elizabelle: When I went to the New Orleans School of Cooking 34 years ago I mentioned the Collins’ book and almost got thrown out of the joint. Chef Joe raged at how many live they had ruined with their reviews. I like the book but damn!!!

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    @SiubhanDuinne: Sorry your iPad is driving you batty, but may I commend you for returning to your very sensible (and short, dammit, short — albeit unpronounceable) name. That and the cats on a bed soothe me.

  53. 53.

    NotMax

    FYI: First Monday in October – what did the Supreme Court hear?

    And what’s already set to come? (emphasis added)

    Already scheduled are major test cases on a raft of controversial issues such as partisan gerrymandering, privacy in an age of technology, sports betting and much more, including a case that pits the right of a same-sex couple to buy a specially created wedding cake against the right of a cake creator and his bakery to refuse.

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently predicted the term will be “monumental.”
    [snip]
    The big political case of the term, so far, tests whether extreme partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional. In Gill v. Whitford, the state of Wisconsin denies that the Republican legislature engaged in extreme redrawing of legislative district lines to perpetuate the party’s power. It also argues that regardless of how partisan a gerrymander may be, the courts should stay out of such political questions. The case is to be argued this week. Source

  54. 54.

    Elizabelle

    @raven: Funny. It seems to be a well regarded cookbook. Were they ragging on the chefs, to excess? LOL.

    Plz give Lil Bit and Bohdi a hug from us.

  56. 56.

    Tim C.

    It took about seven years, but we had a major breakthrough between the cat and the kids. The cat finally finally realized how desperate my daughter (age 5) was to pet him and allowed her to get close enough. So much purring later all was well and she was covered in cat hair. A good thing from today.

  57. 57.

    Villago Delenda Est

    Her Serene Highness Princess Mocha is resting in a ball about 10 feet from me now after a busy day of interacting with neighbor cats. She has a little red spot on her nose.

  62. 62.

    Laura

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: The spouse and I honeymooned on Cozumel in 96. Spouse had worked as a commercial diver before we met and so he dove the reef for a week and we explored the sleepy island and were embarrassed nightly by the antics of too young, uncouth white privileged teens.
    Happy memories -thanks Compte!
    I hope that you return to peaceful quiet at home after the trevails that preceded your trip.

  63. 63.

    raven

    @Elizabelle:

    Collin’s work as a restaurant critic was not without controversy, however. If a restaurant received a favorable review, the restaurant owner was happy. If Collin gave an unfavorable review, restaurateurs complained, and one sent an angry letter to Collin’s publisher, Simon and Schuster.[34] Later, at a 1975 meeting of New Orleans restaurateurs, Collin’s reviews “were subject to protest…”,[27] and these restaurateurs launched “…accusations that he lacked objectivity and, worse, that his wife, Rima Collin (also a UNO professor), had a professional interest in seeing some restaurants better rated than others.”[27] Generally, however, Collin was complimentary about restaurants in New Orleans. In a 1975 interview, Collin discussed restaurants in France and in New Orleans. He asserted that “I think they’re equal. I miss New Orleans when in France, and miss France when I’m in Orleans.” In the same interview, when he was asked if New Orleans restaurants were in decline, Collin stated, “New Orleans restaurants are not on the decline. There’s as much good eating now as ever.”[35]

    In one instance, a review from Collin resulted in a lawsuit. A restaurant owner, Donald James Mashburn, sued Collin, the newspaper, and the publisher for defamation over a pointed review of his restaurant, Maison de Mashburn, which was located near Hammond, Louisiana. Collin’s inflammatory review appeared in the June 22, 1974 issue of the States-Item.

    Collin’s review began with a mixture of harsh criticism and compliments with an emphasis on the former:

    “T’aint Creole, t’aint Cajun, t’aint French, t’aint country American, t’aint good. There’s been a lot of fuss about this handsome new restaurant on the Covington-Hammond Rd. and more than the usual amount of letters telling me to try it. Mashburn’s is an impressively setout restaurant located on a large and beautiful estate, in a fine 1907 house, with all of the amenities of a good European country inn.
    I don’t know how much real talent in cooking is hidden under the melange of hideous sauces which make this food and the menu a travesty of pretentious amateurism but I find it all quite depressing. The line between genius and eccentricity is sometimes a thin one but at Mashburn’s it is not really in doubt for very long… “[32][36]

  65. 65.

    Laura

    @NotMax: The Janus case will destroy my career. Fuck Samuel Alito and his desire to overturn a 1977 case with a unanimous decision in order to destroy what is left of Unions in America.

  66. 66.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Elizabelle:

    Still ex.

    Eldest daughter and her high school friend are keeping her occupied. High school friend had her spend a couple of nights – her partner is a great guy and good part time musician (gets paying gigs), and works the line at a local Ford plant. I want errant daughter to see how working musicians keep things going, as an example. We could be over a hump, particularly if shithead continues to stay away.

  69. 69.

    Shana

    I’m making slow cooker lamb stock because I noticed I have a lot of lamb chop bones in the freezer, enough for a batch of stock. I usually use it to make Joy of Cooking’s Scotch Broth but I don’t have any actual lamb meat so I’m not sure what to do with it. FYI, we keep kosher and getting more lamb for soup tomorrow isn’t an easy thing to do. There might be enough meat left on the bones I’m using for a light bunch for soup. I think I may just use some ground chicken or turkey.

    Does the BJ collective have any suggestions?

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Lionfish risotto. Way to go! I acquired a lionfish cookbook a while back. Closing sale at the National Aquarium, in the Commerce Building in DC.

    Beautiful fish, but don’t belong in Florida/Gulf waters. Cook those suckers.

    Mediterranean Sea having a problem with jellyfish. People are trying to come up with jellyfish recipes. The Chinese, of course, have been eating them for centuries, but it would seem they will eat anything.

    FTF NY Times: Jellyfish Seek Italy’s Warming Seas. Can’t Beat ’Em? Eat ’Em.

    I was stung badly by a jellyfish the summer before last. In Nice. Very close to shore. I say, cuisine those suckers. But penguins are doing their part. Is there anything we don’t like about penguins?

    NY Times: Who’s Eating Jellyfish? Penguins, That’s Who

    … More than once, [the researchers] even observed penguins bypassing a swarm of krill [easy peasy meal for a penguin] to capture a jelly, suggesting there’s some other, unknown benefit in these gelatinous meals.

    One possible clue comes from the fact Dr. Thiebot and his collaborators only saw penguins eating carnivorous jellies, not herbivorous ones, like salps. It’s possible that the penguins are gaining nutrients from the food eaten by carnivorous jellies, which include crustaceans that are too small for the penguins to target themselves, Dr. Thiebot said.

    Another possibility is that the jellies contain particular elements, like collagen fibers or amino acids, that penguins need.

    Bring on the penguins. Eat up, little buddies.

  72. 72.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Baud:

    I admit to feeling a little guilty about the octopus – I love seeing them when diving, as they’re interesting and smart (I also feel the same way about grouper – they have great personalities). I won’t eat them at home, because I dislike hitting them like a harvest, although I’ll have a limited amount in tropical locations mainly because the catch is limited.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    @Shana

    Use some of the stock to prepare couscous and/or rice. Freeze the rest. (Spray an ice cube tray with Pam, fill with stock – voila, frozen stock cubes which can all be stored loose in a freezer bag).

  74. 74.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Elizabelle:

    I got a moon jelly up a swimsuit leg a few years back when boating after a dive. Yes, it stung me there, in part.

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I would believe you except that every app on my iPad is going intermittently wacky — FB, Kindle, BJ of course, other blogs, email, a whole bunch of word games and solitaire card games, newspapers, both free and fee — for the moment it appears things have calmed down, but could start up again any minute. Really weird.

  80. 80.

    Gin & Tonic

    Thankfully was away from all sources of news today. It was our wedding anniversary, so we went on a whale watching cruise. The subtext to that is we’ve had several false starts, so this has been kind of a running joke in the family for many years. Well, no more. The weather was spectacular, and the sightings were plentiful. Ate some seafood afterward, a couple of glasses of wine. Couldn’t get much better, and reminds me once again of the pleasures of being married to this woman.

  81. 81.

    Elizabelle

    @chris: Oh. I see. Imgur was including a roundup of “most viral images” at top right of your beautiful photo. “Fuck this particular person” was top of the recap. And it was not Trump.

    Your photo was wonderful. Where was it taken?

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Could be a problem similar to what I had when I first got my Asus Chromebook. Try going into the keyboard settings and lengthening the “delay before repeat” time. At least from what’s showing here, it looks like your keyboard is spraying out multiple letters on one keypress.

    Sorry I don’t know how to tell you to get to that setting on an iPad, but if you can’t do it somebody here probably can tell you.

  84. 84.

    BethanyAnne

    I adopted 2 cats from a shelter here in Houston 3 years ago, Clio and Louie. They have been wonderful. I follow our own Way of Cats’ blog, and Clio is a big fluffy Beta – very interested in telling you what has happened recently, and getting you to fix any problems in her life, like a lack of brushing. Pic here. Louie is a small ball of energy. When I got them, Special Pals, the shelter, told me that he would probably just hang out and chill. Ha! He wasn’t chill, he was *bored*. He’s an Alpha all the way – he wants his paw in everything that is going on in the apartment. If he doesn’t get some time with the Evil Red Dot every day, he starts to get twitchy. His pic is here. They are nominally brother and sister, but I have no real way of knowing. They do like to sleep on one another regularly.

    I can’t believe that people say cats are aloof. I think that’s just owners not knowing how cats communicate. Mine come up and hang out with me so often. They want to be involved, just on their own terms, which seems fair. Yay, cat thread!

  88. 88.

    efgoldman

    Granddaughter (and her parents) went back to DC on Saturday. She is sweet and wonderful and we had a great time with her – and she attached herself to Grammy like a barnacle. We miss the hell out of her, but it’s nice to have our lives and our (pretty small) house back, too.
    They’ll be back for Thanksgiving, but SIL’s North Carolina family gets xmas this year. :::sob:::
    I think I’ve said before that 3-5 is what I always saw in my mind’s eye when I thought “grandchild.”
    “Granddaughter, what’s Grandpa’s job?”
    “To spoil me rotten.”

  89. 89.

    delk

    My husband is going to China for a couple of weeks which means Gav will be absolutely miserable waiting by the doorfor him to come home. He’ll start at 6 pm and every 20 minutes or so move closer and closer to the door.

  91. 91.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Elizabelle:

    In May, on the scuba liveaboard in the Coral Sea, bluebottles attached themselves to the tag lines that we were working across. First dive, I didn’t know what they were and thought they were some sort of colorful glass line ornaments. I wasn’t wearing gloves, and the little bastards stung like blazes.

    Wore gloves every dive after.

  95. 95.

    chris

    @Elizabelle: Thanks, it was a lucky shot with my phone in an untended part of what I like to think of as my garden. It’s a two mile walk from where I live in the backwoods of Nova Scotia.

  97. 97.

    NotMax

    Seemed there were more than a few here who appreciated Richard Feynman. Turns out some of his lectures on physics are available for perusal free online.

  107. 107.

    chris

    @Elizabelle: Those pics are two weeks old and September was really hot so the leaves are just getting started. There’s a splash of red in the upper right quadrant of the last pic, maples start early. I’ll go back to that spot on the river with the “real” camera this week.

  112. 112.

    Shana

    @amygdala: I like that idea better than freezing the stock. Now that the weather has a nip in the air here in the DC area, that’s more appropriate.

  115. 115.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @debbie:

    Three years almost? Or four? Honestly don’t recall. I know it was January but I have no notion what year it was.

  116. 116.

    Amir Khalid

    Tom Petty is not dead, although there has been no new information on his condition. He was found at home in cardiac arrest and taken to hospital; as of now, that seems to be as much anyone knows about him.

  118. 118.

    chris

    My cats, Steve over Pumpkin. Pumpkin is a dignified old lady who does not play with the riffraff. Steve thinks this is just wrong and keeps trying. The funniest is when he swings by and play bites her and then has to sit making faces while he tries to deal with the mouthful of cat fluff.

  121. 121.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    hmm…. Rachel Maddow, who I believe is six feet tall, is the shortest MSNBC prime time host

  122. 122.

    Feathers

    I cast on a sweater last week and am up to the sleeve cap on the first sleeve. I do the sleeves first to make sure the gauge an sizing is right. Very happily doing miles of stockinette. I blew out my knitting making four garter stitch Doctor Who scarves. My stockinette got all rowed out and I was miserable. Took a fantastic workshop with Patty Lyons and she fixed my technique and now I’m good to go.

    It’s an Amy Herzog custom fit. You take a tone of measurements, do a swatch to measure your gauge, and then the software calculates a pattern to your measurements. I’ve seen others that look great, I’ll let you know how it goes.

  125. 125.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Michelle Bachmann once tried to use American Girl at her campaign rallies

    Michele Bachmann, meet Tom Petty.
    He climbed out of the kudzu and boiling springs of rural north Florida. Petty has always looked like the guy who operates the Himalaya at the carnival, the one who is half-baked while pushing the throttle up to high when the siren comes on.
    Petty is skin and bones. Dentistry was not a priority. But the man knows how to put the jangle in a guitar, and when he was playing the sweltering bars around Gainesville in the mid-1970s, he personified swamp rock and cannabis and cold beer, because in rural Florida, what else was there? Back then, the local sheriffs looked the other way when Cessna planes full of marijuana landed in cow pastures.

  129. 129.

    efgoldman

    I don’t like franchise fast food.
    I know it’s all (without exception) bad for me.
    For some reason, tonight, every commercial for every crappy burger, chicken, or pizza placel is giving me a Pavlovian reaction. I want to get dressed, get in the car, and go from store to store pigging out.
    I’m not going to; inertia. sloth, and basic laziness always win out, but it’s a real craving.

  133. 133.

    Elizabelle

    @Amir Khalid: I know. I wish he could recover. Sounds like he was without oxygen for too long, but who knows.

    You’re in our hearts, Tom Petty.

  140. 140.

    Sab

    @Feathers: I’missed impressed. Sleeves first is a useful idea. Trying to psych myself to start the sweater I promised my spouse three years ago. Knitting isn’t like riding a bicycle. You do forget how to do the trickier stuff.

  141. 141.

    Mnemosyne

    @chris:

    I don’t feel like reposting the whole story here, but when I was in Lake Arrowhead (CA) a couple of weeks ago, I turned around in the woods to find a bobcat trotting along behind me. Sadly, I did not get a picture, because I didn’t want him to feel threatened.

  143. 143.

    randy khan

    On the cat front, our recently radioactive kitty* is lying next to me on the sofa, alternating between washing and napping, in the spot where my wife’s lap usually is, except that my wife is in upstate New York tonight.

    *She was treated for hyperthyroid with an Iodine-131 injection three weeks ago. We had to wash our hands after touching her until just a few days ago.

  144. 144.

    Sab

    @Feathers: I’m impressed. Sleeves first is a useful idea. Trying to psych myself to start the sweater I promised my spouse three years ago. Knitting isn’t like riding a bicycle. You do forget how to do the trickier stuff.

  145. 145.

    efgoldman

    @Cheryl Rofer:

    I have been self-medicating with chocolate today.

    I like my chocolate (always dark), but my real ought to know better but on the other hand my kidneys are already fried, is salty.

  153. 153.

    Corner Stone

    After a few hundred viewings of the commercial, I still have yet to see why Aaron Rodgers needs to buy a new truck?

  156. 156.

    burnspbesq

    @Elizabelle:

    Hardly anyone touched a Rickenbacker 12-string for at least a 10-year period after Younger than Yesterday, so when Petty brought one out of mothballs it sounded fresh and new to folks for whom the Byrds were their parents’ music.

  157. 157.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Omnes Omnibus: restless spirits trapped between worlds? People that just didn’t want to go? A convenient label we attach to a certain class of angel or demon so we don’t have to think too hard about the true nature of things? Taking all bets! I also offer ‘fake/none of the above’ but the odds are pretty lame.

  158. 158.

    burnspbesq

    If Petty’s last credit turns out to be producing Chris Hillman’s new album, that’s a hell of a way to go out. A great, great record.

  169. 169.

    randy khan

    @Corner Stone:

    I just looked at it on YouTube. In the first two seconds, you can see a drone that’s lying on the windshield that it’s smashed. If you’re not watching the commercial closely from the start (which I wasn’t when I saw it on TV) it’s unlikely you’d see it.

  170. 170.

    randy khan

    I know that the rule is that you do the point after try following every touchdown except in overtime, but it seems pretty stupid to require it when the leading team scores on the last play of the game.

  171. 171.

    Corner Stone

    @randy khan: It always looks like they are trying to say some large animal smashed the rear quarter panel. But it looks fine. I am always baffled why he needs a new truck.

    ETA Ok, I just watched it on YouTube and you are right. He has a windshield issue with some weird spaghetti drone.

  172. 172.

    Czanne

    @CaseyL: if we could get 5 feet long, 150 pounds of wide format printer & stand up 4 flights including 3 switchback landings… you’ll be fine. Your kiln sounds really fun.

    I have cranked out the fabric for 3.5 sweaters and want to finish up the sleeves for the last one tomorrow. Then I can put away the knitting machine and pull out the sewing machines.

    Also, I have finished the extended preview for my series. It’s available for free and it’s not a big commitment as series go; novella territory. Just ping me at my linked site. It’s female protagonist epic fantasy about a coup and the resultant civil war. The world building DNA is about 1/3 West Wing, 1/3 Westeros(or Novgorod or Charlemagne), and 1/3 Republic to Imperial Rome.

  173. 173.

    Mnemosyne

    @Feathers:
    @MomSense:

    Funny Amy Herzog story: I took a class with her at my local Vogue Knitting conference that was one of her Knit to Fit classes, so she brought along a ton of example sweaters. The AC in the conference center was SO FRICKIN’ COLD that she distributed sweaters for everyone to wear during the class. In Los Angeles. In August.

  174. 174.

    Suzanne

    @CaseyL: I have some questions about glass kilns. Do you have to have the electrician come in to put in the higher voltage outlet? 208 or 240? How big are they? What about venting or a hood?

  175. 175.

    Mnemosyne

    @Czanne:

    I’ve been vaguely considering a knitting machine because of my carpal tunnel problems, but they seem like a lot of work to get right. Apparently quite a few big-name knitters (like Ysolda Teague) use them to do the tedious stockinette parts of their fancy yoked sweaters.

  177. 177.

    Suzanne

    @Mnemosyne: I have been learning how to knit. No one’s showing me how, I’m learning from books and web videos. Do you have any tips for keeping good counts of stitches?

  178. 178.

    Sab

    @Mnemosyne: I am distressed to read about your carpel tunnel. I have osteoarthritis in my hands and knitting has been amazing in loosening things up.

    Keep us posted (when Oo is sleeping) about how it goes if you get a knitting machine.

  179. 179.

    Another Scott

    @SiubhanDuinne: There may be some intermittent connections inside that open up after it gets hot. If so, you probably can’t do anything about it unless an Apple store (or similar) is willing to open it up.

    You can get a BlueTooth keyboard for just $20 or so that might let you extend the life – if the major issue is the on-screen keyboard. I got one for a Samsung tablet a couple of years ago and it was fine.

    Hope this helps. Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  180. 180.

    ET

    My Meezer Bean has decided he want to know about the “room” on the other side if the kitchen outside door. I had an emergency leash/harness left fromy last cat whom I couldn’t get it onto, so I tried. Bean sat still for the leash and walked outside. It wasn’t a stride but he went. We have out for several nights for our Evening Constitutional – some nights have been more successful than others. Sometimes he gets scared and wants back in but one night he yeowled when after being a mosquito buffet, I carried him back in. I have managed a few pictures though.

  181. 181.

    Mnemosyne

    @Suzanne:

    Honestly, especially when I was first starting out, I would re-count the number of stitches after every couple of rows or rounds just to make sure I hadn’t accidentally dropped or added any. I usually count 2 at a time, but people who are more math-minded than me can count 3 at a time (so 3, 6, 9, etc).

    The biggest noob mistakes to watch out for are dropped stitches, accidental yarnovers, and splitting the yarn so you end up with 2 stitches instead of 1. And, honestly, you will ALWAYS make mistakes like that, you’ll just make fewer and get better at fixing them. There’s a reason that “it’s not a mistake, it’s a design element!” is a popular catchphrase.

    ETA: Also, when you start doing things like lace or cables, stitch markers will be your best friends in the whole damn world for keeping track of the pattern. Start buying them now.

  183. 183.

    Brooklyn Dodger

    @LAO: Esme is too old for extended zoomies but does a pretty snappy play bow. The tips of her paws levitate. Right now she’s mixed in with lattes and meringues.

  184. 184.

    Sab

    @Mnemosyne: Yes stitch markers!
    My mother was an amazing knitter. I have an Aran Island style cardigan that she knit for me when I went off to college and she was empty nesting. I am still wearing it fifty years later. I couldn’t begin to do the weird cables. Every year I remove the leather buttons , hand wash it, and sew the buttons back on.

  185. 185.

    efgoldman

    @Sab:

    I am still wearing it fifty years later.

    mrs efg, not a knitter, made me a heavy, variegated crew neck pullover cable knit right around the time we were married, ~40 years ago. Unfortunately I don’t, and didn’t have that much occasion to wear it – it’s awfully heavy and warm – especially because i don’t stand outside waiting for as bus or train and haven’t for years.
    She made it just to see if she could. She started a couple other projects but never finished them.

  186. 186.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sab:

    Sorry, had a cat on my lap and couldn’t type. ? I’m actually pretty good with cables, but they really require you to keep track of your rows and stitches. You can’t just zoom along like you can with stockinette or ribbing.

  187. 187.

    Amir Khalid

    Woke up and checked the news again. So Tom Petty’s passed on after all. Damn. I loved The Waiting.

  188. 188.

    Sab

    @Mnemosyne: Hopefully someday you will persuade the cat to take dictation.I have gotten nowhere with mine, but I am hopeful about the tuxedo. The others not so much. They are compliant but they cannot read and don’t have opposable thumbs to write.

    The tuxedo has the same disabilities, but somehow I never thought that would slow him down. He can open catfood cans with his claws. Our rottweiler is terrified of him and he only weighs 15 pounds.

    I’ll keep plugging on the knitting. My current goal is Sox. Every idiot should be able to knit Sox, but I can’t, yet.

  189. 189.

    CaseyL

    @Suzanne: You can get a kiln that works on 120 (regular household) wiring, and that’s what I got. Those kilns tend to be smaller, but the one I bought has a decent sized interior chamber, 14 x 14 x 6. I’ll be putting it on a table – I think it comes with a stand, but I’m not sure if I also need to put something fireproof under the stand.

    The room the kiln is in should have good ventilation. I’ll fire it with the window open. I’m more concerned about ventilation in regards to working with powder frit (colored glass ground to powder) – so I’ll also put an exhaust fan in the window, and wear a mask while I’m working.

    The first time I fire it, I’ll likely be checking the room every five minutes to make sure nothing has burst into flames!

  194. 194.

    Gian

    one of the dead is a 20 year old lady who volunteered for the theater my daughter (age 8 loves)
    when we told her the young lady was shot, she asked “on purpose?”
    that young lady had more empathy and goodness than the entire trump family, yes including the excommunicated Tiffany

    Sorry lurk mode back on

  195. 195.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sab:

    Before you tackle socks, make a hat in the round using either a circular needle or double-pointed needles. A sock is just a hat for your foot, and every modern pattern will walk you through the heel part step-by-step.

    And if you really, really can’t get the hang of knitting in the round, there are people who knit socks flat. If you want to make socks with an argyle or other intarsia pattern, knitting flat is the only way that works.

  196. 196.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Suzanne: I always count stitches in groups of two and three: so two,five, seven, ten,twelve, etc. and I use tons of stitch markers, varying the colors so things are different and I have an idea as to which side I’m on. Locking stitch markers are good for keeping track of increase rows on sleeves or a sweater body – put a marker in on each increase row so I know what I’ve already done.

  197. 197.

    Texasboyshaun

    I picked up a couple of decent steaks for dinner. My sister cooked them with some mashed potatoes and mushrooms. After dinner all 3 of our dogs pinned me under a blanket on the couch. Tomorrow sis goes back for a 2nd epidural for pain (she’s got RA). But at least tonight we had a good end to a crappy Monday. Baby steps.

  198. 198.

    Major Major Major Major

    Man, what a weird and garbage day.

    But, well… Nothing else to do at work so I started making a bespoke site for my webcomic in the new framework I’m exploring, which was very educational; and I got some good video gaming in; and I drew a panel; and I read.

    Not a total loss. Time for a Psych before bed.

  199. 199.

    danielx

    Because thread needs kittehs and I just got around to downloading these…..Boris caught in a (wait for it) pas de chat while engaged with a new catnip mouse.

    They grow so fast.

  204. 204.

    Debbie(aussie)

    @CaseyL:
    You may miss this. I had no idea what fused glass was, googled and oh my, beautiful. I wish you well in your craft and could we please see the results. Would love to see pics of juicers craftiness. I have no ability on that forefront except as an appreciator.
    Suzanne are you still working with clay? And all the knitters. What a talented bunch, and wordsmiths besides ?

  205. 205.

    CarolDuhart2

    My Site. After a weekend of changing everything on the site to match the new domain, I wonder if people can’t find it anymore. I was getting a few visitors before. But what really stings is that I announced it elsewhere, and the comment was that it was a site of YouTube videos. But considering the sites that are nothing but a slideshow and ads (and comeon headlines). I think my site at least has content and a lame attempt at commentary.

  206. 206.

    Matt McIrvin

    A couple days after doubling the dose, our kitty Radka’s insulin shots seemed to suddenly start working. Excess drinking and peeing just stopped. Her energy’s back too, at least to a normal level for an aged cat, which makes her harder to catch for the shots. But I think I’m getting better at it, which probably is more comfortable for her.

  207. 207.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Corner Stone:

    Of greater urgency, what brainiac thought it would be a good idea for Samuel L. Jackson to butcher an Al Green song? Or sing at all?

  209. 209.

    barb 2

    @randy khan:

    My cat had that done last Nov (radiation treatment for malfunctioning thyroid). He didn’t develop all the symptoms, just hyper and demanding and loud. It was worth every penny. I’ve been ill, slowly getting better — and my cat is with me purring his heart out. We figured that it was cheaper to have the radiation treatment than the daily medications and blood work and travel to the Vet. He likes to be covered, he’s trained me to cover him — just like the Chihuahuas like to be covered. Could be because he lives with a Chihuahua?

    Anyone else have a cat that insists on having his own blankie?

  210. 210.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @CarolDuhart2:

    Just visited your site. It looks pretty interesting, but there are some problems with links not working: the Zodiac ones on the left and the “2017inauguration” one, for example. A problem with the address not being resolved correctly. Can’t really tell more on my phone.

  213. 213.

    bemused

    Our two all black, long-hair kitties look so sweet sleeping cuddled up together. I believe I have a photo of them sleeping head to head, their bodies forming a recognizable heart.

  214. 214.

    J R in WV

    @chris:

    Lynx, what the hell is the plural of this critters? Look at the feet on those cubs!!! They’re awfully skinny, maybe too many for mom to raise. Hope they do well. Awfully cute.

  215. 215.

    BethanyAnne

    @barb 2: My last 2 cats loved to be under covers. Cheyenne would sleep under the comforter during the day while I was at work. Suli loved when I would lay on the futon reading. She’d sneak up to a comfy place to cuddle between me and the blanket.

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