Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

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

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Shut up, hissy kitty!

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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

People identifying as christian while ignoring christ and his teachings is a strange thing indeed.

So many bastards, so little time.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

In my day, never was longer.

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

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Let there be snark.

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

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

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

White supremacy is terrorism.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

Tuesday Afternoon Open Thread

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So much appalling, depressing and embarrassing shit in the news today. I can’t bear to read it, watch it or even think about it. How about a lovely drawing of cedar waxwings — by Balloon Juice lurker global warm — instead?

The drawing is from a photo I shared last week of the waxwings in our bamboo stand. Beautiful job, global warm.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

165Comments

  5. 5.

    raven

    So I’m going to repost this!

    Dear Clarke Central Parents/Guardians,
    I am writing to inform you of an issue that we had today with our school intercom system. Around 11:30 the system began to play the song “What’s New Pussycat” throughout our entire school. The administration made repeated efforts to cease the music, but was unable to do so for approximately forty-five minutes.
    Due to our current social climate, some rumors began to spread that when the music stopped it would be followed by some type of school threat. Based on our investigation we know that this was not the intended purpose. After consulting with our district Plant Services Department and the vendor who installed our intercom system, it was determined that this was a prank. The individuals have been identified and processed via the CCSD Code of Conduct.
    Springtime is traditionally one where students choose to engage in senior pranks and other practical jokes. Please remind your child of the importance of school appropriate behaviors, especially as it can relate to school safety and the disruption of the learning environment.
    We continue to be vigilant regarding the safety of our students and we work closely with our CCSD police to ensure that proactive measures are in place.

  6. 6.

    dmsilev

    @raven: Sigh. The world we live in. In a sane world, that’d be a banal student prank, barely worthy of notice.

  11. 11.

    germy

    Comedy gold from Sarah’s dad.

    Had a colonoscopy today. My doctor was actually Russian. Now THAT is what I call RUSSIAN MEDDLING! They put me to sleep w/ same stuff Michael Jackon used. When I woke up, I MOON-walked right out of the hospital!— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) April 3, 2018

  13. 13.

    Betty Cracker

    @germy: Huckabee blocked me on Twitter when I responded to his criticism of the Obamas’ parenting skills with an inquiry about his psycho dog-killer son. So I miss out on gems like that.

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    @germy:

    Had a colonoscopy today. — Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) April 3, 2018

    So they failed to find any trace of Huck’s head?

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @raven

    The administration made repeated efforts to cease the music, but was unable to do so for approximately forty-five minutes.

    Unplugging it didn’t occur to anyone?

  17. 17.

    Brachiator

    I was looking over the nominations for the Hugo Awards. nice selection of movies, including Get Out, Thor: Ragnarok, The Shape of Water and Wonder Woman. In television, two episodes of the best show you may not have heard of were nominated. The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit,” and The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem.”

    The science fiction podcast Sword and Laser, hosted by two people I greatly admire, Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt, was nominated in the category of Best Fancast.

    I haven’t kept up with SF literature, so there are a ton of books, short stories and novellas that I am greatly curious about. Anyone know much about any of the other nominees?

  19. 19.

    trollhattan

    @germy:
    I sure wonder how that undoubtedly top-shelf healthcare was paid for. How many Arkansans can afford the same? Deprived, they’re missing one hellofan important preventive screening.

  22. 22.

    TenguPhule

    @Brachiator:

    two episodes of the best show you may not have heard of were nominated. The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit,” and The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem.”

    Someone’s trying to start a riot here.

  24. 24.

    Yarrow

    @raven: That is both sad (that the kids and everyone else start worrying about a threat to the school) and hilarious. The kids won’t forget that prank.

  25. 25.

    raven

    Dude said it was at Carl’s Jr. woman got shot 10 times. Or he was and it was right there.

  26. 26.

    ??‍? Martin

    Waiting to hear from friends at YouTube while our local police are investigating a gun threat at work. Hard to be productive like this.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    @Brachiator: The only work in that list I’ve read is one of the novels, The Stone Sky. Since Jemisin won Hugos for books 1 & 2 of that trilogy, I’m guessing she probably won’t win a third, but regardless it’s well worth reading. Definitely not a stand-alone book though; if you haven’t read the first two, do that before tackling #3.

  30. 30.

    The Moar You Know

    They put me to sleep w/ same stuff Michael Jackon used.

    @germy: Shame it didn’t have the same end result. Oh well.

  33. 33.

    gwangung

    @dmsilev: Enjoyed the Scalzi novel. The Leckie novel is very likely to be good.

    I have a few acquaintances in the prozine category.

    I don’t think anything by Alyssa Wong made it this year (I’ve read three stories by her and they were alll top of the line for me).

    The graphic novels are also top notch, with Monstress, Bitch Planet and Saga being very reliable good reads.

  34. 34.

    Schlemazel

    @raven:
    When I was a senior a couple hundred of us got together & set alarm clocks to go off at the same time. It worked. That afternoon there was a locker inspection & everyone that had a clock in their locker got an hour detention. Because of the number of people involved they chose to forgive the detention. Today I think we would all be doing 5 to 7 in Stillwater prison.

  35. 35.

    01Jack

    I was just thinking, earlier this morning, aren’t we about due for another shooter incident?

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Brachiator: Whoa, I’ve actually seen four of the nominated movies. (And enjoyed all of them, but… it’d be “Get Out” by a mile.)

    Several of the novels are on my “to read” list, but I haven’t read them yet. Falling behind.

  43. 43.

    Schlemazel

    @MomSense:
    GAWD I got dragged to one of his concerts and it was ridiculous. This was not Vegas but there were women throwing underwear and hotel keys on stage and when he did a number in the crowd it was a mob scene of grandmas grinding on him to the point I feared for his safety.

    I always found him to come off as kind of slimy & the show reinforced that as he emphasised & dragged out “pussy” until that song took 45 minutes.

  45. 45.

    Brachiator

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Whoa, I’ve actually seen four of the nominated movies. (And enjoyed all of them, but… it’d be “Get Out” by a mile.)

    Hmm. I’ve seen all the nominated movies, and agree that “Get Out” would easily be my choice for the Hugo. I was disappointed by “Blade Runner 2049,” which was beautiful and thought provoking in parts, but too long, and ultimately unnecessary.

  46. 46.

    Schlemazel

    @JaneSays:
    Dead by her own hand FWIW. I assume pretty good security so nobody just walks into the building so maybe an employee? I don’t see anything about other injuries though. As sad as suicide is I hope that is all this is & not a murder/suicide deal.

  48. 48.

    JaneSays

    @Schlemazel: The police just confirmed there were four victims who were shot, no indication that any were fatalities yet. Some unconfirmed speculation that the shooter was targeting her (possibly ex?) boyfriend.

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    @JaneSays: I’m just waiting for the NRA to claim that since the shooter took her own life, she was definitionally a good person with a gun who stopped a bad person with a gun.

  50. 50.

    Mandalay

    @Schlemazel: I knew someone who had interviewed him. Jones told her that his family had strong mining roots in South Wales, and after he had hit the big time he went back and visited old friends at a mining club. He found out later that he had been vilified for having lots of money and not buying anyone a drink, so on his next visit he bought drinks for everyone. After that he was dragged through the dirt for showing off his money, and trying to buy back his old friends.

    I have no feelings for him either way, but I did spare him a bit of sympathy over that.

  51. 51.

    TenguPhule

    @Mandalay:

    He found out later that he had been vilified for having lots of money and not buying anyone a drink, so on his next visit he bought drinks for everyone. After that he was dragged through the dirt for showing off his money, and trying to buy back his old friends.

    Crabs in a bucket!

  52. 52.

    debbie

    One day after a surprise snowstorm, I’m down in the basement listening to tornado sirens. Yeah, no climate extremes here!

  55. 55.

    germy

    If you’re a friend in news, I know you are doing your job and appreciate you reaching out to check if I’m okay but the last thing I want to do is an interview right now. We are all shakin up.— Vadim Lavrusik (@Lavrusik) April 3, 2018

  57. 57.

    Mandalay

    @JaneSays:

    no indication that any were fatalities yet

    Zuckerberg General Hospital told NBC News that it had received three patients and was expecting more, while Stanford Medical Center said it was expecting four or five patients.

    (It’s an odd irony that the hospital was renamed “Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center” after their $75 million donation.)

  59. 59.

    JPL

    @debbie: Since I live in the south, I understand your concern. I don’t have a basement in this house, but the closet works. My previous mutt Ms. Moxie would head to the closet before me.

    be safe

  60. 60.

    Hungry Joe

    Daily outrages have worn my supply of epithets, expressions, and obscenities down to the quick, so I’m going to see if resurrecting some old ones works — at least long enough to give my current ones a breather. So far I’ve only tried three, and although I can’t tell yet if they have any effect, they sure are fun to say:

    “Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do.”
    “You’ve got ONE HELL OF A NERVE … [saying that, coming in here, etc.]”
    “You and who else’s army?”

  62. 62.

    Schlemazel

    @Mandalay:
    Never go home again, it can never turn out well. I remember Janis Joplin going to her school reunion, she assumed they would be impressed she was a big star. But, of course, they were not & just worked to make sure she was more miserable. You can’t win

  63. 63.

    TenguPhule

    A Supreme Court justice’s response to a recent ruling on a case involving police violence confirms the fears of Americans who believe that law enforcement continues to go unpunished when using excessive force.

    The court ruled Monday in favor of an Arizona police officer who shot a woman outside her home in Tucson in May 2010. Officer Andrew Kisela shot Amy Hughes four times after she emerged from her house holding a kitchen knife at her side and did not respond to commands to drop it.

    Hughes sued Kisela claiming the officer used excessive force, but the Supreme Court ruled this week that Kisela was entitled to qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that says police are immune from excessive force lawsuits as long as they don’t violate “clearly established” rights that a “reasonable person would have known,” The Post’s Drew Hawkins reported.

    In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said the ruling “sends an alarming signal to law enforcement officers and the public. It tells officers that they can shoot first and think later, and it tells the public that palpably unreasonable conduct will go unpunished.”

    Wapo.

  65. 65.

    Brachiator

    @01Jack:

    I was just thinking, earlier this morning, aren’t we about due for another shooter incident?

    One of our managers recently had to go through some kind of “active shooter” training. So far, the rest of staff have not been pulled into this.

  66. 66.

    MisterForkbeard

    Some qualified good news, for anyone following the whole thing with my nephew.

    Last night he txted me for a long time, saying among other things that he’d try to commit suicide if anyone tried to ‘push him” or “test him further”, which was mostly in reference to trying to put any kind of rules on him. There was a bunch of other seriously paranoid/schizo discussion, about the sickness of the world, how he was a secret soul created to fight for the world but fated not to be recognized or rewarded, and about the number of drones “flying around the perimeter, spying”.

    We were going to use his suicide threat to get him committed today, but one of his old high school friends was having a similar conversation with him where he made an even more definite suicide threat. She called the cops, who arrived at 5AM and caught him in the bathroom starting to cut himself. Having caught him in the act, he’s been involuntarily committed to a psych hospital and will be getting at least the early stages of the treatment he needs. We’ve also discovered that he actually still has insurance through his mother, so the hospital is incentivized to keep him for treatment rather than rushing out.

    We’re crossing our fingers. He was threateningly aggressive towards everyone as the cops were taking him away, but we’re hoping that once he’s level again things will sort of work out.

    EDIT: And I know no one here knows about it, but I’m reasonably close to San Bruno and we’re all perfectly fine here. No need to worry, not that you were. :)

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    @MisterForkbeard:

    He was threateningly aggressive towards everyone as the cops were taking him away, but we’re hoping that once he’s level again things will sort of work out.

    Expect the worst, hope for the best.

  68. 68.

    eclare

    Good to hear, and I’m so glad he has insurance so hopefully the hospital will keep him as long as he needs. Thanks for checking in.

  69. 69.

    TenguPhule

    In an abrupt and startling reversal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nixed his own deal today with the United Nations to resettle tens of thousands of African migrants in Israel and other Western nations, caving in to nationalist critics who have demonized the migrants for taking over poor neighborhoods in Tel Aviv.

    The move leaves unresolved one of Israel’s most charged and divisive issues — what to do with the Africans who say they fled for their lives in search of sanctuary in the Jewish state.

    The about-face also opened Netanyahu to scathing assaults on his leadership, raising doubts about his ability to make controversial decisions on bigger issues in the future, including how he would respond to a peace plan promised by President Donald Trump.

    Netanyahu proudly announced the deal Monday in a nationally televised news conference, saying Israel had agreed to cancel a planned expulsion of tens of thousands of Africans that had been widely condemned both at home and among Jews around the world.

    Israeli leader nixes U.N. deal to resettle African migrants

    Trump is contagious, it seems.

  70. 70.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Brachiator: Get Out by a mile, I agree wholeheartedly.

    I can recommend a couple of threads at a fanzine/blog: a discussion of the finalists after the announcement and the year-long discussion of eligible works.

    To the recommendations above, I’ll add that anything by Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) is worth reading. If you haven’t read the Five Gods gooks by Lois Bujold (nominated in the Series category), run, do not walk, RUN and grab them. Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls may be the best things she’s ever written.

  74. 74.

    MisterForkbeard

    @TenguPhule: At this point, I don’t think he’s welcome back in anyone’s home even after he gets out of treatment and is back to being normal again. He’s just burned too many bridges and alarmed too many people.

    There’s a halfway house that will take him in for awhile, but I’m worried about his state of mind and ability to hold a job. I don’t think this is going to be “good” for awhile, though it will certainly be “better”. :(

  77. 77.

    Roger Moore

    @gwangung:

    The Leckie novel is very likely to be good.

    It was good, but not nearly as good as Ancillary Justice. It’s a follow-on to the Ancillary series, but set outside Radch space and dealing peripherally with the fallout from the events at the end of the series.

  79. 79.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    Thanks, it’s finished. The worst part was that I’d skipped lunch and so was very peckish.

  81. 81.

    Sister Golden Bear

    I don’t know about YouTube’s office layout, but if they’ve also bought into Silicon Valley’s fetish for “collaborative workspaces” – code for cramming people shoulder-to-shoulder along long tables — there was literally nowhere to hide.

    Yeah, I’m thinking about that this afternoon… (I’m not too far down the freeway from YouTube).

  82. 82.

    Schlemazel

    @MisterForkbeard:
    Glad he is getting help. Mental health issues are so painful for families asd the victims yet they get so little help from insurance and healthcare providers. Hopefully he will get the help he needs now & recover

  83. 83.

    zhena gogolia

    @Hungry Joe:

    I keep trying to adopt “bloody ‘ell” from Inspector Morse (as said by Lewis), but I just can’t seem to remember to use it.

  85. 85.

    tobie

    @TenguPhule: Gawd I’d love to see that self-righteous, entitled God-botherer Gorsuch walked out of the court in cuffs. This decision is bone-chilling.

  87. 87.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Sister Golden Bear: I’m almost certain youtube (owned by google) is into “collaborative workspaces”. They’re THE thing now, even though they’ve been empirically shown to decrease productivity and work satisfaction.

    I had an interview with Box a couple years back, where they were trying to sell me on their collaborative workspaces. They told me “When you just need some alone time, we have quiet booths! They’re sound-proofed, so you can go in there and scream as much as you want!”

    I don’t think they understood that they were making it worse. :P

  89. 89.

    MisterForkbeard

    @raven: We actually did something similar back in 2000/2001 at my high school. Basically, the PA circuit ran into the bathroom (for obvious reasons, as kids in the bathroom need to hear emergency announcements too).

    My friends and I discovered that the INPUT WIRE also ran through the room, and we were able to splice it and attach it to an MP3 player that we left on repeat and went to class. We played “Yum Yum Bumblebee Tuna” by Mephiskapheles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63nMcrwporQ) for about 50 minutes before someone figured out where it was happening. We were simultaneously applauded and reviled by the rest of the student body. :)

  90. 90.

    gbbalto

    @MisterForkbeard: Glad it’s under control at least for now. It sounded dangerous.
    Have a nephew whose bipolar suddenly manifested when he was about 20. Went off his meds several times, ending up anywhere from Montreal to Vancouver BC, getting locked in a psych ward not because he offered violence to himself and others, but because he talked crazy and his listeners called the cops. At least his parents kept hold of his passport!
    The psychiatrist told his parents that he would have to learn the hard way to stay on his meds; nobody else could make him. Eventually did and is doing well, in a support group in Van BC, where another uncle, an aunt, and a cousin his age live. He had burned a number of bridges careerwise and with friends. So far so good, he’s back in school.
    I truly hope for the best for your nephew. I hope that your family will at least keep in touch and be there for him. I know it’s a much darker situation than my nephew’s.

  91. 91.

    Roger Moore

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:

    Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls may be the best things she’s ever written.

    I think Curse of Chalion is my favorite of her books, but a lot of people seem to disagree and think Paladin of Souls is better. They’re both outstanding, and The Hallowed Hunt is also very good. I’m not quite as sold on the Penric and Desdemona series, which are interesting but seem much more like the stories are excuses for her to work out the mechanics of her world.

  93. 93.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Brachiator: Love the diversity among the nominees. I guess all that mad/sad puppy nonsense has dried up and withered away.

  94. 94.

    Fair Economist

    @MisterForkbeard: Good luck with your nephew. You and your family are in a tough situation.

    For a little bit of encouragement, it’s been found that early treatment seems to reduce the long-term severity of the disease. Nobody knows why at the moment but a thought is that treatment reduces the level of delusions/obsessions and that reduces the amount of “training” in said delusions/obsessions the brain gets.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    @EBT:
    I had a colonoscopy five months ago and they put me to sleep. They didn’t ask if I wanted to be put to sleep, that’s just what they do. I’ve had several procedures done from that rear ejection opening over the last twenty years and the colonoscopy was the only one that I got to slept through.

  97. 97.

    gbbalto

    @Ruckus: Same here, and I had to get a friend to drive me home afterwards each time (I knew I WAS FINE!!), no taxi allowed.
    @EBT – You will get to experience the fun yourself – the firehose flushing just for starters!

  100. 100.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Fair Economist: @gbbalto: @gbbalto: @MomSense: Thanks, everyone. Given his history of rejecting help, the main problem we’re going to have is if my nephew decides not to take his medication (if and when they figure out what he needs). It’s going to take him a long time to earn any kind of trust or affection back, but I’m crossing fingers he can do it, for his sake.

  103. 103.

    Chyron HR

    @chris:

    Hmm, interesting, so if the shooter is an American citizen does that mean we need to take action against American citizens as a group? Just checking.

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I wish the very best to your nephew. Can’t imagine what it’s like for you to go through that, especially at such a distance from him, but am thinking lovingly of you, as I’m sure most of us are. And your cherry on top is being in San Bruno. Glad you are safe. If you drink adult beverages, seems like tonight would be a good time to indulge. {{{{{Hugs}}}}}

  106. 106.

    Brachiator

    @Chyron HR:

    Hmm, interesting, so if the shooter is an American citizen does that mean we need to take action against American citizens as a group? Just checking.

    In Trumpland, if the shooter is an American citizen, she’s just crazy, nothing can be done, hey, don’t you love the Second Amendment.

    If the shooter is non American and Latino or Muslim, build a wall and keep them out. If the shooter is non American and other than Latino or Muslim, then it’s Obama’s fault, and we still need a wall.

    Trumpland is a very strange, but simple-minded place.

  107. 107.

    Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism

    @Ruckus: I’d rather be asleep.

    @Patricia Kayden: We changed the nominating rules to make it harder to game the nominations. The Puppies declared victory and moved on. It was only a matter of time before the Gamergate element among them got bored, anyway, and they never had the numbers without that.

  108. 108.

    ruemara

    @gwangung: I’ve been recommending Monstress to a ton of people. It’s so good.

    @MisterForkbeard: Sending love & light. I hope your nephew finds the right meds & therapy that helps him be stable. No one should have to go through it, but, some do. And strength to you and yours. Glad you’re not in the middle of the San Bruno mess. I’m still trying to find out what happened but the folks I know work at either Twitter or Google main. Fingers crossed that it’s an incident and not an INCIDENT.

  109. 109.

    debbie

    @MomSense:

    A Tom Jones concert (which I’ve never seen) sounds a lot like the male strip club a bunch of us went to in Palm Beach many years ago. Very skeevy.

  110. 110.

    SgrAstar

    @MisterForkbeard: Dear MisterForkbeard, I know how stressful it is to have a young relative committed- it’s awful, even though the alternative (no commitment) can be much worse. Our family has been through this, and I want you to know that it really helped. Our guy has totally righted his ship. The hospital was amazing and so constructive for him. Best of luck to all of you.

  112. 112.

    Haroldo

    @MisterForkbeard: Mr. Forkbeard. My condolences. We’ve been at wit’s end with my step-daughter with respect to her borderline personality personality disorder / opioid addiction over the last 10 or so years. I wish you (and him, especially) luck and success with treatment. And then with the bridge rebuilding.

  113. 113.

    Jay

    @rikyrah:

    And he’s Sir Tom Jones now. The best parts of him on The Voice, was “The Welsh Mafia” jokes, he cornered the market on Welsh and Scottish singers, ( he even knew one Welsh Girl’s Gran)

    And the name dropping. Over the year’s he worked with almost “everbody”.

  114. 114.

    trollhattan

    @Ruckus:
    I had one and they didn’t put me completely under but gave me something to make me not gripe about the bus they were driving around my colon.

    Good times.

    The prep is worse, it must be said.

  115. 115.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I just got back from voting in WI’s spring election. One supreme court justice, several judges, county supervisors, and school board. I voted as the Dane County Dem website suggested. I spoke to the chief poll worker who said that expect turn out in Madison to be over 50% – pretty good for an off-year spring election.

  117. 117.

    Gravenstone

    @MisterForkbeard: That’s of course a terrible situation with your nephew. But it is indeed fortunate that he’s in the earliest steps of getting the help he needs. Hopefully it benefits him.

  118. 118.

    Cermet

    @MisterForkbeard: Hope he recovers – pressure in college can be terrible. So sorry; in my daughter’s dorm, two people committed suicide during one year (and in the school for that same year, a prof and grad student also – their acts were unrelated.) College can be a very hard time with the pressures of doing well, making one’s “future”, and paying for it all. The first year – the adjustment factor and work load can be the toughest time, too.

  119. 119.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @MisterForkbeard: Ain’t it funny how the executives/managers touting the benefits of open-space work environments never have to actually work in them…. //cynicism font

    We’re in the middle of remodeling our two buildings, so one building is under construction and we’re doubled up in the other. Told my manager that I’d be working from home for the next couple months so that I could actually get something done. Unfortunately that’s not really feasible because I actually do need to be in the office. Sigh.

  120. 120.

    schrodingers_cat

    @rikyrah: @Yarrow: Can I just say that I love you both. You keep the focus on R misdeeds.
    BTW I am going to my first D meeting next week, its going to be held in the police and fire station. Then later this month or in early May my first town meeting. We vote the town budget. The Town Selectman is my friend’s BIL. Then jury duty this June.

  121. 121.

    efgoldman

    @Ruckus:

    I had a colonoscopy five months ago and they put me to sleep.

    They always give me “conscious sedation”, but me being me, it puts me to sleep.

  122. 122.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Given his history of rejecting help, the main problem we’re going to have is if my nephew decides not to take his medication (if and when they figure out what he needs).

    Yeah. That’s scary. I’ve heard or read too often of someone who took the right meds, they worked as intended, so the person then thought/decided “Hey, I’ve never felt better, whyever would I want to take a pill when I already feel so great?” Looking in from the outside, it seems like one of the most insidious challenges.

  123. 123.

    Gravenstone

    @Omnes Omnibus: Also voted. Think the weather here might be slowing things a bit (although it’s not that bad). Usually in the 700s by the time I roll in after work. This time not quite 500, so maybe 20% slower. Here’s hoping.

  126. 126.

    ruemara

    @schrodingers_cat: That’s great! These local decisions are so important and people don’t even know who makes them.

    @SiubhanDuinne: I touch base with my housemate on that. That’s half of why he’s here. We focus on how good he feels and how he’s enjoying being able to sleep regularly, have a normal appetite and stay focused on his tasks. It’s made a huge difference and he reminds himself that it’s the meds and him, not just him having a good set of months. So far, so good. We fight, but he acknowledges I keep him honest that this is just part of his life path, much like low sodium and blood pressure meds all day is mine.

  127. 127.

    Ohio Mom

    @MisterForkbeard: Whew! What a fortunate set of circumstances, the phone call to just the right person, decent police officers showing up at the critical moment, insurance coverage rediscovered…

    Here’s hoping your nephew gets a smart doctor and they are able to make good progress toward getting Nephew’s feet back on the ground.

    Life sure can turn on a dime.

  129. 129.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @japa21: The only state-wide race is the supreme court one. Also, guns and the NRA were a big part of the campaign. Screnock got a lot of support from the NRA.

  130. 130.

    Schlemazel

    @japa21:
    The Supreme COurt one is interesting but I don’t know if it is indicative of anything in particular. It pits a Walker friendly Koch sucker against a decent human being supported by the Dems.

  132. 132.

    Llelldorin

    On my way home from work. Given work in my case is YouTube, I appreciate the birds.

  133. 133.

    Llelldorin

    And yes, we’re very into collaborative workspaces. Given that our basic business model is serving cat videos and not being a fucking military fortress, it usually makes a lot of sense.

  134. 134.

    Llelldorin

    (To be clear—I work across the street from the shooting, not in the same building. I saw nothing, and my team and I are all safe.)

  135. 135.

    glaukopis

    @MisterForkbeard: I sincerely hope this is the beginning of good news for you and your family, including your nephew. A similar situation in our family this year ended very badly, and the family will never be the same.

  144. 144.

    Steve in the ATL

    Good news on the you tube shooting. It’s all better now:

    In a tweet, President Trump offered his “thoughts and prayers”

  145. 145.

    Schlemazel

    Posted the Moron in Chief’s comments about the house with no name. The first comments were “That can’t be true.” and “He didn’t really say that did he?”

    I commented that he did claim that STDs were his Vietnam and

    Symptoms of Tertiary Syphilis include:
    General_paresis
    Typical symptoms include loss of social inhibitions, asocial behavior, gradual impairment of judgment, concentration and short-term memory, euphoria, mania, depression, or apathy. Subtle shivering and minor defects in speech
    Demetial
    Symptoms include memory difficulty, word-finding problems (anomia) and problems with planning and organizational skills

  146. 146.

    Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)

    One more reason to admire one of the Parkland kids. They’ve apparently been told to carry transparent backpacks so no one can bring a weapon in. Girls complained their tampons would be visible. Cameron Kasky volunteered to carry them too. He tweeted about choosing between light and heavy and commented that those things are expensive.

  148. 148.

    Roger Moore

    @Llelldorin:

    And yes, we’re very into collaborative workspaces. Given that our basic business model is serving cat videos and not being a fucking military fortress, it usually makes a lot of sense.

    The argument against “collaborative workspaces” isn’t security. It’s that people who aren’t actively collaborating get more work done when they have a distraction-free environment to work in. Cubicles are better than an open-plan workspace, and proper offices are better yet. If you have an office, you can always collaborate in person by going to one another’s office or booking a meeting room. If you work in an open-plan workspace and you need some peace and quiet to get your work done, you’re SOL. The justifications for open-plan offices have always struck me as rationalization for a less expensive layout rather than real well thought out reasoning.

  149. 149.

    ruemara

    @Roger Moore: I always felt they were justifying a dehumanizing surveiled atmosphere. I’m very sensitive to open workplans. I find them distracting, irritating and uncomfortable.

  151. 151.

    Gravenstone

    @Schlemazel: The Kochsucker apparently also had a history of blockading women’s health clinics in his wilder days. So yeah, deplorable human being in every respect.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the ATL:

    In a tweet, President Trump offered his “thoughts and prayers”

    Is it possible that even he doesn’t realize by now that the anodyne and vanilla “thoughts’n’prayers” has become a predictable joke-meme?

  155. 155.

    schrodingers_cat

    Guess what? Whory Woodruff of the Snooze Hour was pimping Roseanne, they did a segment on that called Roseanne in Trumpland, or something like that. I changed the channel.

  156. 156.

    Steve in the ATL

    @MisterForkbeard: good luck with that. He’s lucky to have people like you who care. I’ve suspected sonce he was a wee lad that my nephew is going to be a serial killer. He’s a freshman at Arizona State now do everything is on track for my prediction.

    @Sister Golden Bear: open workspaces seem to work well for small coding shops. It’s a train wreck in other environments.

  157. 157.

    Roger Moore

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Is it possible that even he doesn’t realize by now that the anodyne and vanilla “thoughts’n’prayers” has become a predictable joke-meme?

    I don’t know if it’s that, or that “thoughts and prayers” is now a dogwhistle for “Fuck you, snowflake! You’ll get nothing and like it.”

  159. 159.

    Aleta

    @MisterForkbeard: That’s good. If I understood you before, you might not be related to his grandparents, or have any input … But, I hope they have a mh counsellor available to them too (for their mental health (which suffers when living w someone having a break), and their safety, and to help with the uncertainty of decision-making if he returns. There’s an organization that helps families, I think it’s called NAMI or something similar. Others have recommended it highly.

    In my family’s experience, staying on the medication was exactly as you say, very important and at the same time, a big IF. It came up again and again over the years, maybe because the relative did not want to be flawed, impaired, less than perfect. And had always depended on their intelligence to fix problems. The stigma and shame was hard on the person, whose upbringing and some relatives believed in “willpower.” All that had to be worked on, to help w/staying on the meds. Obama’s ACA finally provided enough counseling to help with that.

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    @Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
    Don’t know how the colonoscopy would have been if awake but all but one of the other procedures I would have for sure rather been asleep. However that would have meant that I’d have had to be driven to the hospital and back and there always may be complications from anesthesia so I’d guess that some short term suffering may be better. My understanding is that if they find polyps during the procedure they remove them for biopsy. I’m thinking that may be the reason for the anesthesia.

  164. 164.

    Ruckus

    @trollhattan:
    As I said above I’ve had a few procedures through the same opening. All of them require “prep.” But the last one was the colonoscopy and the prep solution had changed to something that was, better. Didn’t taste like battery acid, did’t cause any discomfort of any type and seemed to work about 1000% better. I’m sure that it’s poisonous, or hideously expensive, or causes colon cancer or whatever so it will stop being used and they will be back to the old stuff.

  165. 165.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Aleta: I’m very hopeful that he can get the help he needs. And you’re right – he’s my brother’s wife’s nephew, so I don’t have any actual relation to him or to his grandparents, who he’s living with at the moment. Or at least, was until this morning when he was committed.

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