• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Everybody saw this coming.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

In my day, never was longer.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

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

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

All hail the time of the bunny!

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

We will not go back.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

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

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / I Had A Day

I Had A Day

by Major Major Major Major|  August 29, 201811:48 pm| 108 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

I had a long and weird day. Objectively, it went pretty well for me. There was a barely-avoided panic attack in the middle, though. That kind of colored my opinion of this whole getting-out-of-bed scheme.

Anyway, I had a meeting in an office where this was on the desk:

Take a closer look: It seems that somebody ran a circuit board through the Google nightmare-generating AI, with ‘dog’ turned up to 11.  I couldn’t stop staring at it.

It is also an approximate representation of my mind this evening, after the day that I had. Hopefully your day went better! Open thread, because we are due for one.

UPDATE: I made one of a Samwise picture for you all:

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Nobody Expected Such A Great Negotiation
Next Post: Thursday Morning Open Thread: Go for the Gusto! »

Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    August 29, 2018 at 11:52 pm

    That graphic makes one want to go back in time and kill the inventors of Photoshop before they unleashed their unholy terror upon the world.

  2. 2.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 29, 2018 at 11:56 pm

    @dmsilev: Photoshop is wonderful.

  3. 3.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 29, 2018 at 11:57 pm

    He apparently said this to Lindsey Graham….

    Eliana Johnson @ elianayjohnson
    Trump is berating Sessions to “any Senator who will listen.” Hates his Southern accent, says he “talks like he has marbles in his mouth” —

    though I noticed way back when he was an impeachment manager, Lindsey’s accent comes and goes according to the schtick he’s working

  4. 4.

    dmsilev

    August 29, 2018 at 11:59 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: And yet, he doesn’t dare to fire Sessions.

    I’m beginning to think that perhaps The Apprentice might have had some elements of fiction to it.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    August 30, 2018 at 12:00 am

    Probably top notch at fetching files.

    In other news,

    1) Dramatique. ‘I quit!’ French environment minister resigns on live radio

    2) Only off by $1,999,992. OOPS! Lab says 13 pounds of white powder seized is sugar, not fentanyl

  6. 6.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:02 am

    (Note that I just added a Samwise pic up top, run through the nightmare generator and turned into some sort of …snail?)

  7. 7.

    Ohio Mom

    August 30, 2018 at 12:02 am

    I can tell summer is ending: I’ve seen a couple of monarchs flying south; the annual cicadas are buzzing, buzzing, buzzing; the birds are quieter in the mornings (I guess they’re all talked out by this time of year); the crickets are chirping; the sun is setting earlier.

    I wish I could enjoy all this for what it is but I hate, hate, hate winter. I don’t like being reminded I’m going to have to endure another one.

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    August 30, 2018 at 12:07 am

    Starry Starry PCB. My life is now complete.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    August 30, 2018 at 12:07 am

    @NotMax

    One more item that’s been awaiting a less weighty thread.

    13 years? Court threw the (cook)book at him.

    A Los Angeles man who consistently dined and dashed while on dates faces up to 13 years in prison.
    [snip]
    Dubbed the “dine-and-dash dater,” Gonzales is alleged to have repeatedly gone out for drinks and dinner with women, and mysteriously disappeared just before the bill arrived leaving the women to pay. Prosecutors say that he defrauded women of more than US $950. Source

  10. 10.

    Steve in the ATL

    August 30, 2018 at 12:11 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: those aren’t marbles in Lindsey’s mouth…,

  11. 11.

    rikyrah

    August 30, 2018 at 12:11 am

    ReclaimingMyTime (@MonieTalks_1) Tweeted:
    I just hope folks notice a pattern with Andrew Gillum, Stacey Abrams, Randall Woodfin.

    Each of these politicians built their own careers as young Southern Democrats, all endorsed HRC in 2016 while Sanders claiming Southern black votes distort reality. That history matters. https://twitter.com/MonieTalks_1/status/1034773938327498753?s=17

  12. 12.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:13 am

    @NotMax:

    Dubbed the “dine-and-dash dater,”

    Any time I see a ‘named’ criminal like this I think of the Seinfeld where Kramer’s talking about how the cops are having a hard time naming the new neighborhood serial killer, and he suggests “Son of Dad.”

  13. 13.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 30, 2018 at 12:15 am

    That’s just weird, and a very mean thing to do to the elegant Samwise.

  14. 14.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:18 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: You should see what subsequent generations of that image have yielded:

  15. 15.

    Steve in the ATL

    August 30, 2018 at 12:24 am

    @Major Major Major Major: they said “don’t take the brown acid” but did I listen?

  16. 16.

    danielx

    August 30, 2018 at 12:24 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Don’t ever do that again. As to that top illustration..new motherboard by Cthulhu!

    Don’t do that again, either.

  17. 17.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 30, 2018 at 12:25 am

    @dmsilev:

    I’m beginning to think that perhaps The Apprentice might have had some elements of fiction to it.

    You’re a sharp one.

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:26 am

    @Steve in the ATL: As wikipedia notes, “The cited resemblance of the imagery to LSD- and psilocybin-induced hallucinations is suggestive of a functional resemblance between artificial neural networks and particular layers of the visual cortex.”

  19. 19.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 30, 2018 at 12:27 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Oh my god

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 12:30 am

    @Steve in the ATL: It’s Sessions that the President says has marbles in his mouth. Which is funny because that isn’t the type of southern accent that Sessions has. Sessions has the effeminate, southern male who might be straight or might not be southern accent.

  21. 21.

    dmsilev

    August 30, 2018 at 12:30 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Years and years of formal education occasionally yields dividends.

  22. 22.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:31 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: It’s actually an interesting process. They train a neural network to identify something (e.g. dogs), then point it at a non-dog image and tell it to “enhance the parts that look like dogs.” You do that enough times, and you get a picture where everything is distorted to sort of look like a crazy person’s concept of a hallucinated dog.

  23. 23.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 12:32 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Greeaaattt…. nightmare fuel. Just what I needed when I’m on heavy drugs.

    I’ll be calling you at 3 a.m. when I’m still wide awake.

  24. 24.

    danielx

    August 30, 2018 at 12:33 am

    @dmsilev:

    …perhaps The Apprentice might have had some elements of fiction to it.

    …as with virtually every part of Trump’s hagiography. His entire schtick is based on selling himself as a – no, the dealmaker supreme. His dealmaking abilities are abysmal, unless you count his seeming impunity to the consequences of using other people’s money and not paying it back.

  25. 25.

    NotMax

    August 30, 2018 at 12:34 am

    @Steve in the ATL

    Trivia: Most people don’t remember that the problem with the brown acid wasn’t that it was adulterated; the problem was that it was too potently pure.

  26. 26.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 12:34 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    I love winter. The key is to stay active. There’s nothing better than snowshoeing around seeing the “stories in the snow”, sitting around a bonfire with friends, showing kids how to do really stupid stuff on a toboggan. Somedays, after a windstorm, the lake is clear of snow, and turns into a massive skating rink. When the snow is only a few inches deep, I love taking my iceboat down to the lake and showing the snowmobilers how slot effect on a couple of small sails results in 70mph.

  27. 27.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:37 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: Alright, I get it, I won’t share the newer generations.

    Sorry to hear you’re heavily drugged–hopefully it means everything is going according to plan.

    @NotMax: They probably don’t remember that because they took it!

  28. 28.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 30, 2018 at 12:37 am

    @Adam L Silverman: which, some might say, makes it odd that Lindsey Graham is his new Senate BFF. He’s also ragging on Sessions for not having a better academic pedigree

    If Sessions’ recusal was his original sin, Trump has come to resent him for other reasons, griping to aides and lawmakers that the attorney general doesn’t have the Ivy League pedigree the president prefers, that he can’t stand his Southern accent and that Sessions isn’t a capable defender of the president on television — in part because he “talks like he has marbles in his mouth,” the president has told aides.

    Lindsey went to South Carolina state schools, per wiki.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 12:38 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: How you feeling?

  30. 30.

    lgerard

    August 30, 2018 at 12:38 am

    @Adam L Silverman:

    That’s why they call Sessions the Dixie Pixie

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 12:40 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I have no sympathy for any of those people.

  32. 32.

    CaseyL

    August 30, 2018 at 12:41 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I kinda like the AI dreamscape stuff. They hit my brain in a funny way, like a little electrical shock.

    Reminds me of a series of paintings I saw in a window – lordy, it must be at least 40 years ago – five or six paintings of a cat, taken by an artist who was schizophrenic, as a wave of madness hit him. The first cat looked just fine. The next looked spikier around the fur and the background wasn’t quite right, but it was still recognizably a cat. Each painting was a few degrees more distorted than the last – near the end, it looked like a Van Gough, if Van Gough had done some bad acid.

  33. 33.

    CaseyL

    August 30, 2018 at 12:43 am

    …painted by an artist, with photos taken of the paintings.

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 12:43 am

    @lgerard: There are things I do not want to know.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    August 30, 2018 at 12:49 am

    @Major Major Major Major

    Old (probably apocryphal) anecdote.

    The time: the early 1960s.
    The place: lab where the first demonstration of a revolutionary English-Russian computer translation program is being held.

    Head computer honcho asks for a volunteer to provide a test phrase. Prominent military person raises hand and suggests “out of sight, out of mind.”

    Punch tapes are punched appropriately and fed into the machine.

    “We’ll now let the computer translate it back and forth between languages over a dozen times in practically the blink of an eye! Ending in English,” exclaims the chief engineer.

    Lights flash impressively on the computer panels, typewriter attached to the computer comes to life and types out “invisible idiot.”

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 12:52 am

    @CaseyL: there’s a famous LSD drawing experiment like that http://www.openculture.com/2013/10/artist-draws-nine-portraits-on-lsd-during-1950s-research-experiment.html

  37. 37.

    Gin & Tonic

    August 30, 2018 at 12:57 am

    @NotMax: Maybe you’re thinking of this?

  38. 38.

    gene108

    August 30, 2018 at 1:06 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    Same here. I dread the days after the summer solstice, because it just means the days are getting shorter and winter is coming.

  39. 39.

    NotMax

    August 30, 2018 at 1:07 am

    @Gin & Tonic

    Those are some very recent citations.

    I first heard it at the time it supposedly took place.

  40. 40.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 1:07 am

    @Major Major Major Major: OK, the lady doth protest too much… I’m actually just on Tramadol and Tylenol, with an occasional seasoning of Celebrex and CBD pills.

    @Adam L Silverman: I’m OK. Months 2 and 3 are the hardest, since the nerves have woken up, and the scar contracture begins in earnest.

    The good news is that I heal quickly, but that’s not necessarily ideal for this particular surgery, since my body is trying to close what it thinks is a giant puncture wound. Hence the need to dilate 3x/day, and if it gets difficult, then you need to do it more frequently. Since each session takes at least an hour, it does shoot a good part of the day.

    Things are supposed get much easier starting in month 4, although I’ll still need to dilate 2x/day for another three months, and then daily through months 7 and 12. Meanwhile I just embrace the suck.

    (The way my surgeon does genital reassignment surgery is completely different than how it’s usually done in the States, and Dr. Suporn is very upfront that the recovery is twice as hard and twice as long. However, to me, the superior results are worth it — I’ve heard of GYNs who didn’t realize it was an after-market installation until they did the interior exam.)

  41. 41.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 1:10 am

    @NotMax: that joke’s probably as old as Babbage.

  42. 42.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 1:12 am

    @Adam L Silverman: Not sure if my reply is in moderation or whether WP simply ate it.

  43. 43.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 1:14 am

    @gene108: Agreed. In NorCal, it’s not the cold that’s the problems for me, it’s the comparatively shorter amount of daylight.

  44. 44.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 1:18 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: Let me look. I’ll dig it out one way or another.

  45. 45.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 1:18 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: does not appear to be in moderation ?

    ETA by which I apparently mean the opposite: found and freed.

  46. 46.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 1:22 am

    @Major Major Major Major: It was in the trash. You have to check that and the spam folder as stuff sort of randomly seems to go in each of them.

  47. 47.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 1:22 am

    OSCE SMM Ukraine
    @OSCE_SMM
    As observed by
    #OSCE
    SMM, EECP in govt-ctrl Novotroitske is temporarily closed as mines in the area started detonating due to wildfires

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    August 30, 2018 at 1:24 am

    The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction may be a little dated, but it is now online and free.

    http://www.openculture.com/2018/08/encyclopedia-science-fiction-17500-entries-things-sci-fi-now-free-online.html

  49. 49.

    dww44

    August 30, 2018 at 1:27 am

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist @Adam L Silverman: I’ve come to have a grudging respect for Sessions because of the unrelenting abuse he’s taken from Trump. He obviously very much wanted to be Attorney General and at this point he’s serving a greater good than himself. I believe he knows that. Plus as a lifelong Southerner I know his upbringing and his culture, albeit I do not agree with his politics.

    Perhaps he took the bit of respect that I used to have for Lindsay Graham. That was all the half-hearted respect I had to share.

  50. 50.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 30, 2018 at 1:27 am

    @Jay: Hmmm, that’s one way to do mine clearance.

  51. 51.

    Adam L Silverman

    August 30, 2018 at 1:27 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: A “I’m a bit sore and uncomfortable, but doing well” would have sufficed.//

    Glad to hear things are going according to your plan and that of your doctor’s. We’ve been keep good thoughts for things to go as easily as possible for you.

  52. 52.

    Duane

    August 30, 2018 at 1:31 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I saw the dog right away. Psychedelic music plays.
    Led Zeppelin.

  53. 53.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 1:33 am

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    These arn’t WWII minefields, but newly installed fields on the border with Russia.

    In Germany they can’t even fight the wildfires with ground crews because it’s setting off WWII UXO.

    At least our fire crews don’t have those problems.

  54. 54.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 1:35 am

    @Duane: This Samwise picture is getting trippier and freakier each generation, but people will yell at me if I share it…

  55. 55.

    Tazj

    August 30, 2018 at 1:40 am

    @Ohio Mom: I’ve seen more monarchs lately and silly me didn’t even consider the fact that they were migrating now. One spring I was fortunate enough to see about 100 monarchs on my flowering pear tree.
    Yes, we’re getting closer to winter, which I don’t particularly love myself. I love fall like most people,but by the middle of January I’m done with winter.

  56. 56.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 1:42 am

    @Major Major Major Major and
    @Adam L Silverman: Thanks.

    And yes, I’m a bit sore and uncomfortable, but doing well.

    Balloon Juice: Come for the pets and politics, stay for the TMI… ?

  57. 57.

    Amir Khalid

    August 30, 2018 at 1:48 am

    @Major Major Major Major:
    All I see i a blank rectangle.

  58. 58.

    Mnemosyne

    August 30, 2018 at 1:49 am

    I go in for my knee surgery at 8:30 am on Friday. It turns out that someone at one of G’s two jobs also had a revision of a previous ACL repair and said that the actual surgery will probably take about 45 minutes, but the pre-op and post-op take way longer. This same person also has a very bad reaction to opiates and has started claiming to be allergic because the side effects are so bad. I think it’s too late now for me to try and claim that, though.

  59. 59.

    Mnemosyne

    August 30, 2018 at 1:54 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    I came up with a new metaphor for our respective surgeries! I feel like you remodeled your house back to the studs (heh, studs) and I’m complaining that my refrigerator broke and I have to get a new one.

    But one of my friends at work reminded me that there’s an emotional difference between an involuntary post-accident surgery and elective surgery, so that made me feel a little less whiny.

  60. 60.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 1:58 am

    @Amir Khalid: Yeah, looks like something is wrong with the image host.

  61. 61.

    John Revolta

    August 30, 2018 at 1:59 am

    @CaseyL: Schizophrenic cats!

    I remembered these too. I think I saw ’em in a Time-Life book my parents had.

  62. 62.

    Viva BrisVegas

    August 30, 2018 at 2:00 am

    @lgerard:

    “I hates those meeces to pieces!”

  63. 63.

    piratedan

    August 30, 2018 at 2:04 am

    not wanting to engage in topper or the like, my day was filled with stress and vet visits and worry today as our little monster dog Mochi (Shiba Inu-American Eskimo mix) got tagged by a rattlesnake that had/has somehow taken up residence in my front courtyard…. many hours and a dose of anti-venom later, our young canine is home, swollen and subdued, but thankfully home and recovering… and here I am rambling, too tired to sleep, going through my second adrenaline crash of the day it seems….

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    August 30, 2018 at 2:07 am

    @piratedan:
    Yikes. I hope Mochi recovers without incident.

  65. 65.

    Mary G

    August 30, 2018 at 2:07 am

    @Mnemosyne: All my surgeries went spectacularly well and improved my quality of life immeasurably, but I still dread the ones I need now. There’s something primal in me that fears letting someone cut into me on purpose, so I know how you feel.

    @Sister Golden Bear: I find the details of your procedure and recovery fascinating, so don’t let Adam’s squeamishness shut you up!

  66. 66.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:10 am

    @Mnemosyne:

    But one of my friends at work reminded me that there’s an emotional difference between an involuntary post-accident surgery and elective surgery, so that made me feel a little less whiny.

    Absolutely! I ruptured my quad tendon years ago and had to have surgery to repaired, so I totally get that difference.

    The recovery from this and my prior surgeries aren’t/weren’t fun, but I had signed up for them.

    BTW, you should at least talk to the doctors about your previous bad reactions. They might be able to come up with some alternatives — after my facial surgery, the surgeon in Buenos Aires gave me a high-powered prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, that was effective as a painkiller (it provides analgesia at the opioid level). It’s not as commonly used in the States because it’s hard on the body, so it can only be used for five days. And/or they might prescribe some anti-nausea drugs that might provide some relief. Won’t know unless you ask.

  67. 67.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 2:11 am

    @John Revolta: wow, that’s kind of sad though.

  68. 68.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 2:11 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    In the mid 90’s, a well liked Senior Manager took a year long medical leave from the Company.

    2 months before “he” came back, HR started a whole bunch of manditory sessions for all employee’s, explaining the whole Canadian process, and how to react when she returned.

    It went very well.

  69. 69.

    piratedan

    August 30, 2018 at 2:12 am

    @Amir Khalid: the vets seems to think so, he’s young, in good health and we got him in for treatment quickly, but all the same, just like with your human kids, your worry, fret and cry…

  70. 70.

    joel hanes

    August 30, 2018 at 2:12 am

    @Jay:

    my iceboat

    DN ?
    Knight ?
    E-skeeter ?

  71. 71.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 2:14 am

    @piratedan: glad Mochi is well. Cute name!

  72. 72.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:17 am

    @piratedan: Yikes! I hope Mochi has speedy and full recovery.

    @Mary G: If you want the full TMI details, check out my blog, linked to from my nym. There, I’ve not really held anything back. If you think Adam is squeamish now…

  73. 73.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:19 am

    @Jay: Glad to hear that. The world was a far less friendly place for folks like me back in the 1990s. I’m not sure I would’ve had the strength to transition back then.

  74. 74.

    lahke

    August 30, 2018 at 2:20 am

    Hi, anyone know if the Boston Meetup is still on for Saturday night?

  75. 75.

    Mnemosyne

    August 30, 2018 at 2:26 am

    @Mary G:

    Anesthesia freaks me out, and I always worry I won’t wake up afterwards. Of course, as both G and I have said, if that’s what happens, it will be his worst day, not mine, since I’ll sleep through the whole thing.

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    I have told the doctor and nurses pretty vehemently about my previous bad reactions, so hopefully they’re taking me seriously and aren’t just blowing me off because I’m a boring middle-aged woman who’s being hysterical.? Apparently the issue is that my body processes opiates very quickly, so I go into withdrawal almost immediately and end up constantly playing catch-up. I’m probably going to try the alarm trick to keep up with it.

  76. 76.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 2:28 am

    @joel hanes:

    DN

  77. 77.

    frosty

    August 30, 2018 at 2:30 am

    @Ohio Mom:

    I wish I could enjoy all this for what it is but I hate, hate, hate winter. I don’t like being reminded I’m going to have to endure another one.

    It’s definitely late summer light, critter noises, and this week, heat and humidity. My company has let me take leave without pay to bail south in February. I sign a paper saying I understand my job might not be there when I get back. Boss sez “Don’t sweat it.” Wife (retired) sez “That would be great!!”

  78. 78.

    John Revolta

    August 30, 2018 at 2:34 am

    @Major Major Major Major: I just did some reading and it turns out the schizophrenia angle was concocted after the fact………………..after Wain’s death a doctor took some of his paintings and arranged them in a fake “sequence” to show his “mental deterioration”.
    Wain had some issues, possibly Asperger’s, but it wasn’t as bad as it was made to look.

  79. 79.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 2:35 am

    @John Revolta: well that’s quite a relief.

  80. 80.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 2:41 am

    @John Revolta: from his wiki bio:

    Wain was born with a cleft lip and the doctor gave his parents the orders that he should not be sent to school or taught until he was ten years old.

    Wtf?

  81. 81.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 2:43 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    We “suffered” through the “tech crunch” of the late ’80’s. Basically YVR went from 10 “tech” companies to 400 in about 3 years.

    There simply wasn’t the qualified workforce, so sucessful “tech companies” went overboard to hire, train and keep staff and it was very diverse. I went, along with half the Company, to my first Pride Parade, because a bunch of our guys and girls were on the floats. There was a core of employee’s that became “family”. Weddings, funerals, parties, housewarmings. Best working experience of my life. When Mo’s mother made him roti for lunch, she sent him to work with roti for me, and would phone me in the morning at work, so he couldn’t get away with eating them all. ( I helped them get a house). First handfasting, first Hindi wedding, first Newfie Houseparty, first raves, first Gay Weddings,

  82. 82.

    Fair Economist

    August 30, 2018 at 2:45 am

    @Mnemosyne: If you are expecting bad reactions to opiates, you can say so and the doctors will probably accommodate you. They don’t want people barfing in the recovery room.

  83. 83.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:46 am

    @Mnemosyne: The other thing you might do, is ask for lower dosage pills in higher amounts, if that’s possible.

    I talked this over with my nurse practitioner to allow myself more flexible in dosing. Right now I’m at the max, which per the prescription is two tablets every six hours. But in reality, I’m actually taking one tablet every three hours, so that the doses are staggered.

    In my case, I was previously taking one tablet every four hours, but the problem was that the pain relief not-so-gradually stopped after hour 3. So this way, with the staggered doses, it never fully wears off. (And later on I can experiment with going back to one every four hours, and then scaling back to one every six hours.) So that might help prevent withdrawal. Worse case, if you get a pill cutter, you could do this unofficially. The one catch is that the first time you take a “half dose” can be a bit painful until you are able to take the remaining half.

  84. 84.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:48 am

    @Jay: Nice!

  85. 85.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 2:50 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: I don’t know if this applies to painkillers but always make sure that the pills you’re cutting are cuttable! Just as a PSA.

    Alright, I’m off to bed.

  86. 86.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 2:56 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Oh definitely!

    Has to be tablets, not capsules, and won’t work for anything that’s marked as “long acting” since it’s the coating that causes it to dissolve over time.

    Or why it’s worth discussing with your doctor and see if they’ll write the prescription for half the strength, but twice the amount (if that’s doable). I.e. two pills at 50mg every timePeriod rather than one pill at 100mg every timePeriod.

  87. 87.

    John Revolta

    August 30, 2018 at 2:56 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Daaammmn

  88. 88.

    Major Major Major Major

    August 30, 2018 at 3:00 am

    @John Revolta: my reaction would totally be “fuck you all, I’m going to spend the rest of my life drawing cats” too.

  89. 89.

    Amir Khalid

    August 30, 2018 at 3:17 am

    An amusing story on the BBC site, from a few weeks ago: German police save man from baby squirrel terror

  90. 90.

    prostratedragon

    August 30, 2018 at 3:33 am

    Eerily prescient —try throwing “Tr—,” “2016 campaign,” and “Dubuque” into your search engine.

    “The Clown,” music by Charles Mingus and narration by Jean Shepherd

  91. 91.

    sukabi

    August 30, 2018 at 3:55 am

    @Mnemosyne: good luck with your surgery. Opioids are horrible for stopping / slowing your bowels. You’ll definitely want to follow orders for stool softeners, plenty of water and lots of fruits and veggies to keep you moving.

    That was the worst of it for me…couldn’t wait to stop taking them.?

  92. 92.

    Mel

    August 30, 2018 at 4:24 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Oh, no! Handsome Samwise looks slightly aardvarkian in his altered state. Photos of his usual dapper self needed, for a kitty sanity break stat!

    It was indeed a strange, unsettled day yesterday.

  93. 93.

    J R in WV

    August 30, 2018 at 4:30 am

    @Major Major Major Major:

    OK, my laptop knows me so well that it is refusing to display any image for this comment, just an empty white box shows after I reload the tab.

  94. 94.

    Jay

    August 30, 2018 at 4:51 am

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    I’m glad that despite the pain and the social “costs”, you have taken the choice to “be you”,

    And that the Jackal’s have offered you support.

    Love you.

  95. 95.

    MomSense

    August 30, 2018 at 5:29 am

    @Jay:

    The last couple of winters I haven’t been able to do much snowshoeing because we had so much ice. We kept getting storms with huge snowfall only to have it switch to freezing rain at the end. I miss snow.

    M4 sorry you had a weird, sort of bad day. Please don’t turn Samwise into a turtle with an aardvark nose again. He’s too handsome for that.

  96. 96.

    daryljfontaine

    August 30, 2018 at 5:31 am

    Some good cat-related nightmare fuel for the jackals:

    Run the Jewels – Meowpurrdy (Trigger warning: cyriak)

    D

  97. 97.

    satby

    August 30, 2018 at 5:41 am

    @Mnemosyne: I am allergic to opiates and they ignored me the last time I had surgery, so I woke up hooked up to the IV morphine drip. And the doctors had also written an order for some sort of injectable Benadryl for when I reacted. Which was nuts, so as soon as I realized the IV was in I pulled it out and refused to let them put it back in. That was almost 15 years ago, they’re more cognizant about opiate allergy now.

  98. 98.

    satby

    August 30, 2018 at 5:44 am

    @piratedan: Good luck for a full and swift recovery to Mochi and you! That had to be scary.

  99. 99.

    satby

    August 30, 2018 at 5:46 am

    @Sister Golden Bear: it’s taken you a great deal of strength to transition now, if you ask me! Continued good wishes on your recovery.

  100. 100.

    evodevo

    August 30, 2018 at 6:40 am

    @Ohio Mom: I agree wholeheartedly. I am looking at the woodshed, trying to psych myself up to start cleaning it up for ….woodcutting season ….NOOOOOOO!!!

  101. 101.

    evodevo

    August 30, 2018 at 6:59 am

    @piratedan: Dogs are naturally resistant to rattlesnake venom, and often recover without ill effects. That said, it depends on the brand of snake, the part of the body bitten, the size of the dog (larger dogs are very resistant), etc. Deer and pack rats are also resistant. Has to do with having the proper liver enzymes to deactivate the venom, which humans DON’T have.

  102. 102.

    Matt

    August 30, 2018 at 8:50 am

    Somebody made Deep Dream watch all the Bob Ross and this is what happened:

    https://vimeo.com/211758157

    The part where the tree he’s painting turns into six kinds of bugs simultaneously is bizarre.

  103. 103.

    father pusbucket

    August 30, 2018 at 8:53 am

    I see Trump behind one of the hoses.

  104. 104.

    Miss Bianca

    August 30, 2018 at 10:11 am

    @piratedan: oh, no! Glad that the anti-venom helped! I had one of those scares with Luna a few weeks ago – no bites, fortunately, but not for lack of trying on her part – standing there yipping at the creature when she is supposed to be giving it a wide berth because expensive *avoidance training*, hello!

  105. 105.

    Bill Arnold

    August 30, 2018 at 11:38 am

    @Amir Khalid:
    I had to unblock scripts from imgur.com to see that image.

  106. 106.

    Sister Golden Bear

    August 30, 2018 at 1:33 pm

    @Jay and @satby: Thank you!

  107. 107.

    BruceJ

    August 30, 2018 at 11:45 pm

    Looks a littlelke Robert Tinney’s BYTE magazine covers I used to have a Tee shirt with his ‘Software Piracy’ cover. Hell I used ot have that copy of BYTE…

  108. 108.

    Julia Grey

    August 31, 2018 at 7:07 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Lindsey went to South Carolina state schools, per wiki.

    What you have to understand about South Carolina is that for the purpose of political attractiveness, a degree from Clemson or USC is a BETTER degree than one from those suspect Northern schools like Harvard or Yale.

    (And actually Clemson and USC are pretty damn good educational institutions. One of those paradoxical things about South Carolina, where you’d expect everything to always be a a tad-bit behind the curve. When it comes to things that serve the ELITE here, the cream is skimmed and handed to them in a gold-rimmed dish.)

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

If This Doesn't Make You Feel Better, Then Nothing Will
Image by WG’s niece (6/16/25)

Recent Comments

  • Rusty on Qualified Good News Open Thread: A Court Win for NIH Grant Funding (Jun 17, 2025 @ 4:09am)
  • David_C on Qualified Good News Open Thread: A Court Win for NIH Grant Funding (Jun 17, 2025 @ 4:02am)
  • Jay on Monday Evening Open Sportsball Thread (Jun 17, 2025 @ 3:59am)
  • Viva BrisVegas on Monday Evening Open Sportsball Thread (Jun 17, 2025 @ 3:50am)
  • Jay on Monday Evening Open Sportsball Thread (Jun 17, 2025 @ 3:40am)

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
No Kings Protests June 14 2025

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!