Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Every day Vance writes another chapter in the book called “Worst VP Pick Ever”.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

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

In after Baud. Damn.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

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

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

Please don’t feed the bears.

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

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Fight them, without becoming them!

We won’t go back.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Motown is Joe-Town!

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Lily Cancer Update and Site Maintenance All In One Open Thread

Lily Cancer Update and Site Maintenance All In One Open Thread

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1.) Lily and I spent the day in Pittsburgh at the hospital getting her now monthly treatment, and the doctor is very pleased that her numbers and everything look fantastic, and we only have one more monthly treatment until we move on to every five weeks. Lily did have fleas, which surprised me, because I brushed her and bathed her and did not see any, but this means that if Lily has fleas then all of my dogs have flees, so I just spent the last hour wrangling three dogs and a cat to give them a pill each and then a separate preventative one- I guess last month’s frontline did not work. Lily has a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween bow and I will post a picture of it later because right now she is out in the back yard doing dog stuff.

Side note: Giving three dogs and a cat flea and tick meds shouldn’t take an hour and cause an aerobic sweat and leave me winded FER FUCKS SAKE ANIMALS WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER FOREVER WHERE IS THE CIRCLE OF TRUST YOU FUCKERS?

2.) I am soliciting quotes for a complete site rebuild and redesign so we can move to a new theme and get rid of this outdated theme that no longer really works with any of our plugins and is just a pain in the ass for all of you. It’s also not fair to Alain who has been duct taping and bubblegumming shit together for about a year and doing the tinkering on the live site because shit keeps breaking, which also is a pain in the ass for the users. I have a metric ton of RAM in my computer and unlimited bandwidth, so I don’t notice things like many of you do. I will also be doing a review of the ads and getting rid of some of them because there are just too many god damned ads and some of them don’t do anything and there is no point having them.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE THREAD FOR YOU TO START LISTING WHAT YOU WANT IN THE NEW DESIGN. WE ARE NOT THERE YET.

ALSO NOTE: We’re gonna just try to limp this motherfucker through the election and only then will we start to formulate a plan to move forward. I just want you to know that I have heard you and am working on it.

ONE MORE NOTE: THERE WILL NOT BE NESTED COMMENTS OR UP OR DOWN VOTING OF COMMENTS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE AS LONG AS I LIVE AND BREATHE ON THIS SHITTY LITTLE ROCK FLOATING AIMLESSLY AROUND THE UNIVERSE.

I LIED ONE MORE FINAL NOTE: I would like to add a writer or two and trim some of the less active writers from front page status. I am looking for people of color, LGBTQ, and women. We got enough straight white dudes.

3.) I am so fucking angry right now. Not at anything in particular, but actually everything in particular. I am so worked up about this fucking election and having mood swings and just literally hating on everything that crosses my path. I’m the human embodiment of sweaty dynamite on a bumpy wooden carriage in 100 degree heat. I’m flipping off yard signs of candidates I don’t like and I almost said FUCK IT GBCW and drove the Honda over a stretch of signs with several candidates I did not like. I am on edge. Yesterday I was convinced all is lost, today I was driving and remembered back to 2016 and I never saw a Hillary sign but everywhere I looked were signs for Fershee and Ihlenfeld and AJ Thomas and Fluharty and all the people in whom I am personally and emotionally invested and felt super positive.

I seriously think I need an ativan drip for the next two weeks.

Reader Interactions

242Comments

  4. 4.

    PhoenixRising

    Everything you’re describing is normal.

    I can commit to 1 post a week after the election, if you’d like to assign me to the LGBT beat & what Molly Ivins (rest in power) called wimmin & other ancillary matters. Also immigration law, parenting & cancer survivorship.

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    Great news about Lily!

    Frontline stopped working for us about 5 years ago.

    edit: Now I’ll go back and read the rest of what you wrote.

  9. 9.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    I’m flipping off yard signs of candidates I don’t like and I almost said FUCK IT GBCW and drove the Honda over a stretch of signs with several candidates I did not like.

    What an image….

  14. 14.

    geg6

    Oh, and sticky nyms would be nice. I know you don’t want suggestions, but that is driving me crazier than anything. And good on you for standing firm on nested comments. They suck donkey balls.

  17. 17.

    JPL

    I hate being the bearer of bad news, but that probably means you have fleas in your house also.

    I was feeling such angst this morning, that I need to retreat for a few days and watch Prime and Netflix. Not sure what to watch though.

  18. 18.

    dmsilev

    Another entry in the “how was _your_ day today?” file: I got an email a couple of hours ago from a colleague: “Do you know anything about the dead rat lying on the floor in the conference room?”. Well, I do now.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    I’m the human embodiment of sweaty dynamite on a bumpy wooden carriage in 100 degree heat.

    Cole, that right there is Betty Cracker level of writing, and there is no finer praise than that.

  21. 21.

    Raoul

    THERE WILL NOT BE NESTED COMMENTS OR UP OR DOWN VOTING OF COMMENTS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE AS LONG AS I LIVE AND BREATHE ON THIS SHITTY LITTLE ROCK FLOATING AIMLESSLY AROUND THE UNIVERSE.

    +1

  23. 23.

    dmsilev

    @schrodingers_cat: Hopefully not.

    I had a series of long chats with various students about not leaving food or scraps or anything out (Grad students are like teenagers, only with more book learning), and then some pointed messages to Facilities about how setting out traps is great and all, but could they please come by and check every once in a while just in case one of the traps actually fulfilled its destiny. Not really how I planned on spending the last couple of hours.

  24. 24.

    ruckus

    JC
    Went to the VA yesterday and spoke to a counselor. Between my health, which is currently not being taken care of at the VA, and my mood, which sounds maybe not quite as far out there as yours, but close, something needs to happen. And I don’t think I can grow a thicker skin any time soon.
    What I am wondering is, how many people are in a similar place?

  25. 25.

    debbie

    @geg6:

    I have headphones at work and listen to NPR (the only station I can pick up) all day long to tune out the chaos around me. It’s all I can do not to shout out obscenities from time to time. However, when I’m driving home, the windows are up so I can call everyone, announcers and crappy drivers alike, regardless of their gender, fucking whores. So far, no one’s caught me.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: No, I’m not against that, if you are referring to “Recent Comments”.

    The “you bastard!” was for your writing “I’d like the comments feed back.” as comment #1 immediately after Cole wrote this:

    PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE THREAD FOR YOU TO START LISTING WHAT YOU WANT IN THE NEW DESIGN.

    Also, please note that I meant you bastard in the nicest possible way. :-)

  28. 28.

    MomSense

    I came home to a living room full of dog puke and she just had another round of puking. My mom swears that she hasn’t been giving the dog people food but she lies about this. My mom is now napping and watching tv and I’m scrubbing puke off of every soft surface in the living room.

    If I had a flea outbreak now I don’t know what I’d do. I feel for you, Cole. Glad Lily is doing well.

  29. 29.

    dmsilev

    It’s really kind of sad that years and years of development of web forum software has resulted in functionality that is somewhat below the level of what was standard for a Usenet client circa 1993 or so.

    Also, my lawn, get off it.

  30. 30.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    So with Cole’s mood swings, I guess the new version will have nested comments. (j/k)

    On a serious note, how about some front pagers west of the Rockies. I know AL’s nocturnal and handles late night, but it’d be nice to have a West Coast perspective.

  31. 31.

    evap

    I know what you mean about being edgy. Not quite as far gone as you are, but close. I don’t post all that much, but I read daily and I just wanted to say thank you, John, for this blog. I would be in a lot worse shape without it.

  32. 32.

    ruemara

    Hang in there, JC. We just focus on the work. Rage later, if we lose.

    Sitting at home with the mother of all sinus headaches and a care package of chicken broth & crackers, Looks like my week is fully shot to hell. But I got some filing done and now I’m going to check out some submissions I noticed via twitter. Just because my throat hurts and my teeth hurt doesn’t mean I should be idle. Now if my eyes would focus, that would be nice. Plus side, kitten pics!

  34. 34.

    MomSense

    Oh, theee are four or five dogs at my son’s office. One of them is a very young boxer who is especially energetic. Everyone accept my son is annoyed with him. I’m pretty sure this dog will end up going home with my son. My kid is really big and this dog lets him carry him around like an infant.

  36. 36.

    imonlylurking

    Our last flea treatment also failed.
    As soon as my fancy allergen-friendly vacuum bags get here, we’re going to try diatomaceous earth.

  37. 37.

    ruckus

    Fuck Chrome.
    I’m on an incognito tab and still getting those fucking taboola ads. They better be paying you a shit ton, because that’s how much they fucking annoy me.

  38. 38.

    MomSense

    @ruckus:

    I think the mess is affecting all of us. I’m doing ok but it takes a lot more effort than it used to. At the end of the day I’m completely exhausted.

    Anyone else have an underlying restless feeling all the time?

  39. 39.

    SiubhanDuinne

    1. YAY LILY!! BOO FLEAS!!

    2. Thank you for holding firm on the nested comments/upperdownvote front. We don’t need that shit in these parts.

    I love the regular contributions of lamh, rikyrah, and Ruemara, and would love to see any or all of them as front-pagers. Of course, i’d also be thrilled to see ABL/Imani back amongst us.

    I’m sure we have at least a few men of colour commenting, and maybe some of them could weigh in as front-pagers now and then. It would also be kind of neat to have someone far from the USA providing regular, informed commentary: Amir, VivaBrisVegas, and the Trowel all come to mind. I know there are others (lilbritdifrent and R-Jud for a UK perspective, for example).

    3. I hear ya. I voted this afternoon, and am really trying to stay as positive as possible, but it ain’t easy.

  46. 46.

    jeffreyw

    We used Frontline until it didn’t work anymore. Evolution in action! A new vet changed us to Credelio (lotilaner) and we are well pleased with the results. It’s a monthly pill.

  47. 47.

    Chacal Charles Calthrop

    @imonlylurking: anyone know anything about revolution? My vet gave it to me to put between my cat’s shoulderblades. As far as I know it’s working, but she’s a shorthair so not a lot of combing going on.

  49. 49.

    ruckus

    @MomSense:
    Yes but that’s been going on for me for over three years. Between the cancer and whatever the hell it is that Neuro says I don’t have, which is getting worse, that’s a normal day in Ruckus town.

  50. 50.

    debbie

    @MomSense:

    I think Ruemera, Lamh, and Rikyrah should collectively post as FPers. They could pick a subject and riff away, a kind of virtual dialog. I can’t remember where, but there was a column shared by several writers.

  51. 51.

    joel hanes

    @ruckus:

    how many people are in a similar place?

    I’ve been depressed and angry for two years, and deeply heartsick at the people I once thought decent who cheer for Trumpism. I’ve had to give up drinking, because it was making things worse.

    Helps to disconnect and go look at the real world for a while.
    Sunlight and wind in the trees and waves on a shore all still exist, and care little about Trump.
    Balm for the soul.

  52. 52.

    Another Scott

    @dmsilev: You saved me from posting my Rant #13234-B(2).

    Thanks.

    :-D

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (“Hang in there, everyone. 13 days to go!!”)

  55. 55.

    jeffreyw

    @JPL:

    I was feeling such angst this morning, that I need to retreat for a few days and watch Prime and Netflix. Not sure what to watch though.

    We just finished 12 eps of Deadwind, a Finnish police procedural. We enjoyed it. (On Netflix)

  56. 56.

    Manyakitty

    @JPL:
    I found The Americans on Amazon and binged the whole thing in like two weeks. It was oddly relaxing.

  59. 59.

    eemom

    THERE WILL NOT BE NESTED COMMENTS OR UP OR DOWN VOTING OF COMMENTS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE AS LONG AS I LIVE AND BREATHE ON THIS SHITTY LITTLE ROCK FLOATING AIMLESSLY AROUND THE UNIVERSE.

    BlogLord be praised! Can I get a Hallelujah?

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: Can you see me raising my hand?

    I have been eating one square of dark chocolate with CBD oil nearly every day, and I can’t tell I’ve eaten anything but I am able to take a lot more in stride and I am more prone to laugh at things and smile again, like I used to.

    I first tried it to calm myself down before my root canal last month, and I liked that I felt more like younger, happier, lighter me. So now I eat a square every day.

  65. 65.

    Schlemazel

    @WaterGirl:
    I will admit I do not understand why JC told us this stuff & then added ‘don’t tell me stuff you want / don’t want’. He is literally asking for it before demanding he not get it. Does he not know us?

    EDIT, any person of color who saw ABLs reception would probably think twice about FP duties. it is a career not a hobby

  70. 70.

    Wapiti

    @debbie: I have the radio tuned to some Spanish language station. They play music and have some cheesy ads. I can’t understand more than 5 words in Spanish, so it’s just noise to me, but the ads still sound cheesy.

  72. 72.

    AliceBlue

    I use NexGard once a month for our two dogs. It’s a beef flavored treat and they both love it. It’s kind of pricey but it really works. Don’t know if they make a cat version.

  73. 73.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: Be careful.

    I heard about this on the radio last night…

    New Times Investigation: How Yavapai County Targets Cannabis Patients, CBD Oil:

    […]

    Through interviews, inquiries about the county’s practices, and a review of 90 court cases, a Phoenix New Times investigation reveals how prosecutors encourage police in the central Arizona county to hold a strict line on cannabis extracts. These tactics have resulted in injustices against cannabis patients and CBD consumers, who otherwise likely would not have been prosecuted. But defying the wishes of state voters on this subject has had an even wider impact, leading to the explosive appeals case now threatening patients and the state’s entire medical marijuana industry.

    For years, notorious marijuana prohibitionist Sheila Polk – now in her fifth term of office – has ordered strict enforcement of the state’s law against “resin extracted” from cannabis plants. Possessing cannabis extracts is a Class Four felony like fentanyl, and subject to harsher penalties than possessing marijuana flower, a lesser Class Six felony.

    Her office also routinely slaps medical-marijuana patients with the “narcotic” cannabis charge, even though cannabis extracts are the main ingredient in some of the most popular products in Arizona dispensaries, including THC vape pens, edibles, drinks, lotions, patches, shatter, wax, and hash oil.

    It was Polk’s office that busted Arizona medical marijuana patient Rodney Jones in 2014, charging him with felony cannabis resin for a thimble’s worth of hashish, and arguing that he wasn’t protected by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA).

    The State of Arizona v. Rodney Christopher Jones case now has the state’s entire medical-marijuana industry on edge.

    […]

    Grr….

    Things like this will keep happening if we don’t vote the monsters out.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  74. 74.

    Chet

    I just want to say that this post—the entire post, with its pet, politics, tech, and grumpy bits—is what I love about BJ and JC.

  75. 75.

    chris

    Is Bravecto available in the US? Works on fleas, ticks and heartworm. One treatment every three months and Bert thinks it’s a tasty treat. See also Comfortis for cats.

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: They sell it at the food coop, for god’s sake — it’s perfectly legal, or seems to be in Illinois, anyway. I don’t get how they can prosecute people like that.

  77. 77.

    JPL

    @MomSense: I really enjoyed that. The GA Governor’s debate starts at seven. After than I might try to watch A Place Called Home. Have you seen that?

  78. 78.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: We gave it to Lil Bit for a month and saw no change so we switched to Bohdi but I don’t know how we’d tell if it makes any difference. We took him in for his “wellne$$ exam Saturday and everything checks out. The vet said “how’s he doing”? “Well his hearing and vision are declining”. The vet, “well, he’s 105 years old”!!!

  81. 81.

    Josie

    I am so glad about the nested comments, John. I thought that from what others have written you might have changed your mind. It’s the little things, you know, that we need to make us happy. Those, and maybe a unicorn.

  82. 82.

    Ruviana

    I’ve been thinking the next two weeks up to election day are going to be intense. I feel the tension racheting up each day in a way that’s almost unbearable. Definitely worse than 2016 since we didn’t know what was ahead of us then. Now we know how much is depending on this election.

  84. 84.

    Another Scott

    @WaterGirl: It’s apparently an artifact of the way the law – Proposition 203 – was passed by referendum. While the intent was clear, there’s enough left unsaid in the law for monsters like Polk to do what she wants – as long as she’s in office.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  85. 85.

    JaySinWA

    @JPL:

    I might try to watch A Place Called Home.

    We watched that for the first few episodes, then it devolved into a bog standard soap opera.

  87. 87.

    Kathleen

    @MomSense: I’m exhausted most of the time and seem to be suffering more from allergies and stomach issues. I go to the Y every day to work out and work full time and my greatest desire after that and my errands and chores is to just curl up and veg. While I cherish my friends I am not big on socializing or going out.

    ETA So sorry you’re having to deal with mass doggie pukage.

  89. 89.

    Pogonip

    Cole, why don’t you invite submissions from readers on a particular topic, then post them by number, not name, and let readers vote on which they like the best? E. G. Topic “My Dog Has Fleas: Great Song Or Expensive Nuisance?” Prospect 1 gets 12 votes, prospect 2 35 votes, prospect 3 60 votes, so prospect 3 becomes the new front pager.

  94. 94.

    Kathleen

    @WaterGirl: Dumb question but is it chocolate that contains CBD oil or do you put the oil on the chocolate? I’ve been thinking about that CBD oil but it’s not legal in Ohio.

  96. 96.

    karen marie

    @JPL: Did anyone recommend – or have you already watched – Patriot, on Prime? I don’t usually go for anything where people are angry and hurt each other, but I really liked that show a lot. I am in love with Michael Dorman who, it turns out, is Australian (“Australia, Australia, Australia, we love you, amen!”) and has been acting for a fair amount of time. When I ran out of Patriot episodes, I watched a 2009 movie Dorman stars in called Prime Mover. It’s a bit sappy but the accents and Michael Dorman and the rest of the cast are great.

  97. 97.

    Pogonip

    @Wapiti: I understand more than 5 words in Spanish. They’re about the same as radio ads in English.

    Radio, especially commercials, is very helpful when learning a language. Lots of repetition.

  98. 98.

    JPL

    Kemp is stating his reputation on the secretary of state, and thanks to him I have security monitoring because the site was hacked. .
    Fire alarm just went off at GPB studios. hmm

  100. 100.

    WaterGirl

    @Kathleen: I buy a chocolate bar that is scored into 10 squares, that you break off. The oil is already in the chocolate. They also sell the CBD oil itself, which you can put in or on stuff.

  101. 101.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    What sorts of things do you normally seek out and tune in to watch? Also, looking for something requiring fairly rapt attention or something for which one can put the brain into neutral and just groove? Are subtitles a turn-off?

  103. 103.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: Right and the stuff we got is a oil that is undergoing clinical trials at Cornell. There have been tests showing that much CBD oil for dogs haz little, or no, cbd in it.

  106. 106.

    dimmsdale

    @JPL: May I humbly suggest “The Detectorists’? Quietly hilarious and warm-hearted comedy (Brit) about 2 guys with a metal-detecting hobby. Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Dame Diana Rigg and her daughter Rachel Stirling. It has never failed to leave me feeling benign toward the human race. And, very funny in a sly, understated way.

  109. 109.

    Ninedragonspot

    Am in Shanxi, China this week. Usually, the government lets foreign cell phones leap over the Great Chinese Firewall. This time Twitter is blocked even on my US phone. I’ll consider this a blessing-in-disguise and rely on BJ for all my election-related joy and woe.

  115. 115.

    CaseyL

    @chris: The US has a bunch of Rx flea stuff, and Bravecto is one of them. Trifexis is another. They have slightly different MOs: one kills existing fleas, and the other is preventative. Since they’re all Rx, you can only get them from a vet; and I assume vets only dispense them to clients.

    As for lingering depression and rage-fits, I have been in a personal psychological “State of Disrepair” ever since the election. I stay the hell away from TV news, radio news, and even newspapers, because (from comments here) it sounds like there’s maybe 10% of the Fourth Estate actually doing its job, with the other 90% doing the Dashboard Doggy impression they learned so well during the Bush II years. I keep up on what’s happening in the world via website and Twitter, never diving deep because I just can’t take it anymore.

    Today I sent off my first batch of postcards, which made me feel a good bit better. I’m planning to send out more.

  116. 116.

    NotMax

    Hah. Original ad running on the TV during an old Steve Allen show am half watching.

    Ad is for the all new 1960 Plymouth Valiant station wagon. Boy, that’s one pig dog ugly car.

  117. 117.

    Bill Arnold

    @Josie:

    I am so glad about the nested comments, John. I thought that from what others have written you might have changed your mind.

    No, he’s been pretty clear about it. That and the similarly strong commenter privacy policy.
    Such sites are rare.
    I do hope that the archives stay intact; they’re history of a sort. (I scrape them every once and a while because google now sucks but (a)grep works. :-)

  119. 119.

    oatler.

    @JPL: I tuned into that debate and within five seconds it was Kemp the Konfederate Kocksucker spewing lies.

  120. 120.

    Mnemosyne

    @ruemara:

    Take 2 Excedrin with a cup of coffee. Sinus headaches are easily confused with migraines and can even turn into migraines if you’re not careful.

    If you can’t have caffeine, call your doctor and ask for Imitrex (not sure if I spelled that right).

  121. 121.

    Dan B

    @Manyakitty: Birthed at Akron General and raised in Akron, Wadsworth (dueling Goldwater camps), and small town Arkansas. I understand your pain. If anyone posts from Arkansas, even Fayettville, or the little pro gay resort town, I understand their agony.

    As a Kinsey 6 gay man escape was the only viable option. Even our 10 per cent white neighborhood is more LGBTQ friendly than most of NE Ohio.

  123. 123.

    zhena gogolia

    I almost said FUCK IT GBCW and drove the Honda over a stretch of signs with several candidates I did not like.

    You sound like me. This is why my husband does most of the driving.

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL:

    I don’t know your tastes, but perhaps you would like River on Netflix. (Trailer here.) Great cast, good writing, gripping in a way that (I think) would take you out of the current political angst. And it’s only six episodes, so not a lifetime commitment.

  126. 126.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: that’s interesting; scamming folks is awful.

    My vet likes Imbue Botanicals canine comforts, or something close to that.

  127. 127.

    WaterGirl

    @CaseyL: My guys always threw up the Trifexis. Lots of other dogs did, also, so my vet doesn’t even carry that anymore. Tasted awful, apparently!

  128. 128.

    karen marie

    @dimmsdale: Oh, my word – I loved that show! I was really sorry it wasn’t continued, but that’s one of the nice thing about British series – they typically end leaving you wanting more instead of continuing so long you start to hate the series and the actors.

  129. 129.

    zhena gogolia

    @MomSense:

    I have the underlying feeling that I’M FUCKING SICK OF DONALD J. TRUMP AND EVERYONE ASSOCIATED WITH HIM AND I CAN’T STAND GETTING THESE WAPO ALERTS WITH EVERY EVIL THING HE AND HIS HENCHMEN ARE DOING EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY AND IF WE DON’T WIN THIS ELECTION I DON’T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ALL THE EVIL THINGS THEY’RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO

  130. 130.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: There is a growing body of anecdotal evidence supporting hemp as an effective treatment in both the animal and human sphere, but we wanted hard evidence about why it works, if it works and how it works. This led us to partner in a clinical trial with veterinarians at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The results of that study earned the overwhelming enthusiasm of the vets and the study’s dog owners. Seeing people moved to tears by their dogs’ return to more happy and active lives confirmed our belief that we can help pets live their best lives.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    @Bill Arnold: Some folks have been making jokes about it, assuming people know they are being sarcastic. So I can see why a person would have thought there had been a change of heart.

  134. 134.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    Give Fallet on Netflix a try. British-Swedish production, about 85% in English. Detective series but with a decidedly lighter touch.

    On A-Prime, Mamon (original title Mammon) is a pretty tasty and short Nordic noir. For something with several seasons, might give the Finnish crime series Easy Living a look-see. For a different sort of police drama, The Dog, a Ukrainian series. Formulaic as all get out but still a mostly entertaining ride.

  135. 135.

    Dan B

    @JPL: Do you mean ‘A Place to Call Home’, the Australian post-war series? If so we’re waiting for the next season. Some of the most engrossing television we’ve ever experienced.

  136. 136.

    Steeplejack

    @ruemara:

    LOL, that cat picture looks like an outtake from The Shining. “No, lose the cats; we’ll go with the Diane Arbus twins instead.”

  138. 138.

    Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ

    Oh, pick me, pick me!!!! Brief bio: I’m female, 48 years old, single mother of two (15 yr old daughter and 8 year old son) with a bachelors and masters in Criminal Justice. For the last 20 years I’ve been paying the bills as a computer programmer. For giggles, I’m a blogger and artist (my blog–https://drangedinaz.wordpress.com/, my art–http://www.designed-to-a-t.com/). I also contribute to Watchersonthewall.com under the alias Dame Pasty and have created Game of Thrones recap/review videos here-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4lNgNWPEZM_yozOHnaPRZQ. I am the proud owner of two very strange and very beloved cats.

    I can now haz writer position? kthxbai Seriously though, contact me. I’m interested if you’re interested.

  139. 139.

    Bill Arnold

    @Another Scott:

    These tactics have resulted in injustices against cannabis patients and CBD consumers

    WTF with the CDB ban? That’s like banning hemp fiber. I hate this country’s absurd drug laws.
    CBD does not appear to have any psychotropic (“high”) effects such as those caused by ?9-THC in marijuana, but may have anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic effects…In the United States, cannabidiol is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.[60] This means that production, distribution, and possession of CBD is illegal under federal law. In addition, in 2016 the Drug Enforcement Administration added “marijuana extracts” to the list of Schedule I drugs, which it defined as “an extract containing one or more cannabinoids that has been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis, other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant
    For reference, “Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration”.

    The UK has us beaten with their insane The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016[3],

    The law defines as a “psychoactive substance” anything which “by stimulating or depressing the person’s central nervous system … affects the person’s mental functioning or emotional state”. The law bans all such substances but exempts alcohol, tobacco or nicotine-based products, caffeine, food and drink, medicinal products and any drug that is already regulated under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.[5]

    (bold mine)

  140. 140.

    narya

    I’m avoiding nearly all news/media, except for Pierce, here, and Colbert, with the occasional dip into Quinn Cummings’ Twitter feed and Rude Pundit. Luckily, hockey season has started, which also helps. I’m in crunch mode, though, because the feds are coming for a three-day site visit, starting on election day, and I’m responsible for pulling it all together. So, no pressure or stress in MY life.

  141. 141.

    Luciamia

    Somebody mentioned the need to tune out…FXX Is showing Tree House of Horror Simpson episodes all this week.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: I just have misunderstood your previous comment – I thought you were saying they had tested the brand you are using and they found it didn’t contain CBD. Reading while cooking and eating apparently doesn’t increase my reading comprehension.

  144. 144.

    Gelfling 545

    @WaterGirl: I found both Frontline and Advantage stopped worling after a couple of years of use. Have used Bravecto for 3 years now for Flora. Seems to be working ok still.

  146. 146.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Mnemosyne: I answered your question about Newton, its streaming on Amazon Prime in the earlier thread.
    Speaking of movies, this recently released horror/fantasy/morality tale set in British India about greed is creating a lot of buzz. Tumbbad. Its based on the stories of Narayan Dharap. Tumbbad is a village in Konkan, on the west coast of India.
    According to Gandhi,

    There is enough for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed.

  147. 147.

    chris

    Another show, Secret City from Australia on Netflix. Started a little ho-hum but now I’m waiting for the second season.

  149. 149.

    piratedan

    well I gotta say that its even tough to sit back and watch TV these days with the attack ads everywhere… I mean I sat through three straight attack ads from Martha McSally where they talk about her votes to strengthen health care and how to categorize those votes otherwise is a lie… yet the vote in question allows insurance companies to determine what pre-existing conditions they can CHOOSE to cover… which is the exact damn opposite of strengthening the health care law and if I wasn’t a political junkie, who the fuck are you supposed to believe when dark money PACS can spring out of nowhere, throw some damn lies on the airwaves and we’re supposed to know better. My wife has banned me from watching Wheel Of Fortune until after the election because that’s where the motherlode of low information voters resides supposedly….. and its hard for her to solve the puzzles while I am cursing maniacally under my breath

  151. 151.

    Mnemosyne

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I answered back in the other thread (unless you answered a second time? ?) This week is crazy until Sunday afternoon, but I may have time to watch it then since you liked it.

  152. 152.

    Dan B

    @JPL: Us gay guys who grew up post-war it feels very relevant to the many changes that roiled the English speaking world when we were toddlers. The ties and tensions between Jews, Italians and gay men in 40s and 50s Australia felt true. They’re linked to class and the place of women as well.

    We’ve been watching Westworld which seems like a sci-fi psychological entertainment with much less depth.

  153. 153.

    JPL

    The libertarian in the governor’s debate in GA keeps talking about industrial hemp. Can someone explain to me what that is?

  155. 155.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: Is that a movie about the book written by the guy from Boston? Can’t remember his name, but that book was dark with an upsetting subject matter, as I recall. Maybe this is different from that.

  157. 157.

    WaterGirl

    Poor Beto, with all these “first day for early voting” events, he seems to be losing his voice.

    He is the perfect example of why we need a younger person to be president. They just have more energy than people who are over 60.

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    TaMara asked if I could help keep this alive while she’s out of town.

    This is the last week of voting to see which Bunny groups get the hay donations. Top 5 organizations win; it looks to me like there are 6 that are seriously in the running at this point, and of course any of the others could surge at any time.

    The group TaMara is in contact with is COLORADO HOUSE RABBIT SOCIETY

    I have no idea if daily voting is allowed — I haven’t tried to vote more than once — but I imagine one could at least vote once from all their different devices. :-)

    http://oxbowanimalhealth.com/hay-giveback/

    You get to help bunnies and also give a boost to TaMara, who does so much for us. You don’t even need sign in; just go to the link and Vote! (please)

  161. 161.

    J R in WV

    GBCW indeed!

    Glad Lily is doing well. I hope the flea drugs work well for all, which one are you taking Cole?

    I too am short tempered, cursing, having trouble sleeping, I’ve started spending a lot of time on GoComics reading, well, the funnies>! It helps. And reading weird fiction on my tablet. And donating, which I have had to cut way back on. The fiction (SF strangeness mostly) leads to odd dreams, but distracts me from current events, which are making me overly hostile.

    If I lived in AZ — which I don’t — I would be pretty pissed at that prosecutor, imposing her thoughts and beliefs about legalized materials on people who mostly are suffering and seeking help. Outside the law. Juries should just not convict anyone she indicts!

    I want to apologize to most everyone here if I’m hostile in a strange way… I blame it all on Drumpf, so you should also too. Especially Scout, who just wanted an education tool for his election selection work, and whom I jumped on hard twice. Sorry, Scout. My bad. Really… ;-)!!

    We spent 5 hours in the car for a Dr appointment early this afternoon… afterwards we stopped at the Gyro place for huge sandwiches, they were good. Then the long drive home. Rural life has its great side, but then the downside is being a long way from the nearby town, let along the town you may need to visit.

    Take care, all. G’night.

  170. 170.

    Tracy Ratcliff

    @JPL: Marijuana and hemp are the same species, just different cultivars. Once specialized for buds, the other for fiber. It’s a typical libertarian “Republican that smokes weed” thing.

  171. 171.

    joel hanes

    @JPL:

    industrial hemp. Can someone explain to me what that is?

    You know that cauliflower and broccoli are different cultivars of the same plant, right ?

    Well, cannabis has multiple cultivars too.

    Some people like the plant for the mental effects of the resins in the female flowering tops.

    But historically, much of the cultivation has been for fiber and seeds.
    “Hemp” is the name for the fiber/seed cultivar; hemp plants don’t produce much of the flower resin, so are pretty close to useless for getting high.
    Hemp stalks produce a superb natural fiber, much longer and stronger than flax or cotton, much smoother than manila. In WWII, farmers in part of the US cultivated industrial quantities of help for fiber for rope (because trade with the Pacific sources of manila fiber was interrupted by the Japanese occupation). Some of the Founding Fathers ditto: there’s evidence that Jefferson and Washington grew hemp on their plantations.
    Hemp seed produces a useful oil, that can be made into soap or a biofuel, etc.
    The seeds are also a favorite of large seed-eating birds, and sterilized seeds have sometimes appeared in bird-seed mixtures.

    So the talk about “industrial hemp” is probably about developing industries around hemp fiber, seeds, and oil, and encouraging farmers to grow it.

  172. 172.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    Didn’t you just want to slap Brian Kemp into another dimension every time he referred to undocumented immigrants as “illegals”? Grrrrrrrrr.

    #TeamStacey #PeopleAreNotIllegalsDammit

  178. 178.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Irrelevant, perhaps, but now I’ve gone all gollywobbles in fear that Abrams-Kemp will be so close that fucking Libertarian will force them into a runoff. We’ve watched this before.

    Stacey needs to win substantially and indisputably.

  181. 181.

    NotMax

    @JPL

    Neglected to mention anything in the put your brain into neutral school.

    On Netflix, The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared is easygoing fun. Silly without being stupid. It’s actually a sequel and IMHO superior to the first one. Viewing the original, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared not a requirement, it’s referenced rarely and in passing.

  184. 184.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    I’m talking about the BBC miniseries River, not The River, which I think was a short-lived American series.

    It’s about a cop whose partner was killed and who maybe sees ghosts. Not exceptionally “dark” for the cop/​noir genre. And I took that into consideration when making the recommendation!

  186. 186.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Who wants to be big footed all the time?
    And why do I have to keep retyping my nym and email every fuxking rare post. I check the box.

  187. 187.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    Yeah, no, probably not. Still a good opportunity to see them in a debate setting.

    I believe there’s one more debate, on Sunday 04 Nov if I recall correctly.

  188. 188.

    Steeplejack

    @JPL, @NotMax:

    Mammon was good; I watched it on MHz.

    Actually, there a number of great series available on MHz, if one wants to subscribe or even take the free trial. I think you can do it stand-alone or as a “channel” through Amazon Prime.

  194. 194.

    Dan B

    @joel hanes: Good summary!

    Hemp has been proposed for removing CO2 from the atmosphere because it produces a great volume / tonnage of biomass some if which could be used for biogas and some plowed under or allowed to lie fallow. It grows well in degraded soils and a range of environments. Needs research!

  195. 195.

    chris

    @joel hanes: There is also a small but noisy lobby for biodegradable hemp plastic. Imagine “organic” bags to carry stuff home from the farmer’s market. At least until the farmers all switch to growing hemp as a cash crop.

  205. 205.

    J R in WV

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:

    And why do I have to keep retyping my nym and email every fuxking rare post. I check the box.

    I suspect is is newly built into WordPress, the underlying software that B-J runs on, with many patches to customize it to be more like Cole wants it to be. You probably know that Europe has more stringent user protections than the US does. Recently the EU increased protections for users of the Internet.

    I suspect that a part of that EU change in security was a requirement to keep users from being logged in all the time. If you use B-J — commenting is the kind of use I mean — continuously, with an update every few minutes, you’re nym data will remain. But after a set period of time, 20 or 30 minutes, you time out according to these new requirements, and your login data is erased. As I say, this is my not-a-web-developer speculation, but it fits the circumstances.

    And even if it wasn’t a requirement of the new EU rules, if the developers of the original WordPress toolset thought it made them safer from responsibility — well there you go. Because no one wants to be responsible for stuff they aren’t really responsible for. Now I gotta type in my ‘nym data again.

  206. 206.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    You can vote once every 24 hours, and (I think) it keeps track of your IP address so you can’t vote from multiple devices.

  207. 207.

    kattails

    Well in my tiny New England town, Pop. 1907, we have formed a Democratic Committee (40 people) with a Facebook page, we’ve been canvassing every weekend, and will be working on postcards tomorrow afternoon to about 200 voters in town. I am amazed and proud of this bunch and it’s pushing me to live up to the group. I’ve also downloaded and printed postcards from the Postcard Patriots website as touted right here on BJ and will be sending those to California. Will be getting a lot of calligraphy practice in, which is fine, because it requires concentration to the exclusion of random negative thoughts.
    I’ve been arguing with a new crochet pattern to maybe make something for people who need warm stuff this winter and also made a batch of apple cider caramel sauce. I don’t have any meds available so have to go the old-fashioned route and just make sh*t and drink alcoholic beverages in moderation. You can’t drink as much when your hands are otherwise occupied.
    Seems to be keeping the monsters at bay. And of course a daily dose of BJ.
    I may, however, call Senator Sanders’ office and tell the poor soul who answers just what I think about his most recent rally.
    Love you all, hang in there.

  208. 208.

    smedley the uncertain

    @Gin & Tonic: @Will some one help me understand why nested comments are such an anathema. it is hard to follow the thread of an issue when jumping between isolated comments. obviously I’m missing the strategy of following a subject/thought line across tens of different comments. Other sites link comments to one subject/argument and it is easy to follow the line of ‘reasoning’.

  210. 210.

    Steeplejack

    @Luciamia:

    I bought one ticket for the Mega Millions tonight and one for the Powerball tomorrow. You cain’t win if you ain’t in!

    Mega looks like about $502 million in the Scrooge McDuck money bin (cash option after taxes). PBall about $195 million.

  212. 212.

    SC54HI

    @smedley the uncertain:

    @Will some one help me understand why nested comments are such an anathema.

    This. I get that (nearly) everyone here hates them but when you’re 6 hours behind the blog’s timezone, it can be really difficult to follow discussions & responses if there are more than a few dozen comments.

    I do agree though that up/down voting is neither needed nor desirable.

  213. 213.

    Jeffro

    @rikyrah:

    I have been in a rage since November 2016.
    It’s my new normal ?

    A rage, broken up only occasionally by bits of despair, and somewhat larger bits of elation. Let’s get this election done n’ won, and then I’m going to have to get serious about the self-care thingy. It’s just not healthy, not sleeping well for two years.

  214. 214.

    dimmsdale

    @NotMax: Oooooh, if only!! pretty sure there were only 3 seasons of Detectorists but I beg to be corrected. Also, if one has a decent-size public library system, as I do, a lot of dvd’s can be gotten there (as I do). The bonus of physical DVDs is the wealth of commentary, gag reels, ‘making-of’s’, etc.

  216. 216.

    Mary G

    @rikyrah: I hear that. The smallest thing can turn me into a fury. My cats hate flea medicine too, and one has a skin condition that makes her scratch herself nonstop. I bought a $54 collar from Europe on Amazon and she tore it off ten seconds after I wrestled her into it. The thought of trying to force a pill down their throats is terrifying. Wish they were more like Lily. I’m glad she’s recovering so well and able to be tapered off the chemo.

    This is encouraging, for day 1 of early Texas voting:

    1/ 689,613 Texans have already voted in the 30 counties where most registered voters in the state live.That turnout equals 34.3 percent of the total votes cast in those counties during the entire two-week early voting period in 2014.https://t.co/mneKCMK3NV#tx2018 #txsen pic.twitter.com/3mTWOtlqdT— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 24, 2018

    The numbers as compared to 2014 are YUGE and I find it doubtful that many people feel strongly enough about Ted Cruz to show up so early,

  217. 217.

    Shana

    @debbie: I routinely flip off the NRA headquarters when I drive past it, which happens regularly. I do, however, do it from below the level of my car window because I don’t want anyone driving around me to think it’s aimed at them.

  218. 218.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @WaterGirl: I think you’re thinking of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River, which Clint Eastwood adapted into a film in 2003. Quite a dark subject matter to that one indeed.

    I’d offer to write about issues sporadically from a non-binary / non-neurotypical perspective, but my past experience with blogging tells me up front that I will probably have weeks where I lack either time or inspiration to blog. That’s probably less of a problem for a group blog like this, though, and maybe having FP status here would motivate me to get off my ass and write more even when I feel like shit. Contact me if you’d be fine with the knowledge that I might not always be able to contribute consistently, John – my email should already be in the system, yes? Hopefully it won’t go to spam if you do. And I can provide links to a few longer comments I’ve written here when I’m not hallucinating from an antihistamine I’ve taken – hopefully tomorrow.

  222. 222.

    eemom

    @smedley the uncertain: @SC54HI:

    it can be really difficult to follow discussions & responses if there are more than a few dozen comments.

    It’s actually not that difficult if your browser, like most, has a “Find” feature. Use that with the names of the commenters engaging in the discussion of interest, or some other key word, and you can follow right along.

  223. 223.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @eemom: also, clicking a name in a reply (like eemom’s here) will take you back to the comment it’s replying to. Then you can (usually) use the back button to get back to where you were. HTH.

    There are pluses and minuses to threaded comments, and on the whole, I’m glad that BJ has linear comments and Lawyers, Guns & Money (the other blog I most frequently read) has threaded ones. Sometimes I’m just more in the mood for one or the other.

  224. 224.

    Doug R

    @WaterGirl:

    I have been eating one square of dark chocolate with CBD oil nearly every day, and I can’t tell I’ve eaten anything but I am able to take a lot more in stride and I am more prone to laugh at things and smile again, like I used to.

    I first tried it to calm myself down before my root canal last month, and I liked that I felt more like younger, happier, lighter me. So now I eat a square every day.

    Made the drive out to our province’s only cannabis store on Wednesday, we’ve been blazing so much our lighter went dry.
    Just figured out a fancy teacup is exactly the right shape to store our new water bubbler.

  225. 225.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:
    1960 Plymouth Valiant. My first car.
    You are correct it was one very ugly car. But, and it’s a big, firm, odd shaped but, it actually was a pretty good car for it’s day and type. I had friends with Ford Falcons and Chevy Corvairs, it’s main competitors, and the Valiant was better. Better of course being a relative word. It was not better looking, no doubt about that. But it ran better, stayed together better, and handled better. If you had any one of those today, or any 1960s car you would know that most any car sold in the US today is not just better but far better. OK, not the Smart Car. The only car that’s smarter than the people who bought one.

  226. 226.

    SC54HI

    @(((CassandraLeo))):

    clicking a name in a reply (like eemom’s here) will take you back to the comment it’s replying to. Then you can (usually) use the back button to get back to where you were. HTH.

    That is helpful — thank you.

  227. 227.

    NotMax

    @Ruckus

    Oh, I’ve driven or owned my share of 60s cars. The thing about the Valiant station wagon in the ad that really (no pun intended) stuck out is that the contrasting colored roof on the rear has a lip hanging out beyond the window and closed tailgate, something which people must have bumped their heads on often, not to mention funneling more of the exhaust inside if the rear window was open while driving.

  230. 230.

    Steeplejack

    @SC54HI:

    You can use this technique to go through a whole subthread of comments: click on the nyms being replied to to go up, then use the “back” function to come down the thread in chronological/​comment order.

    ETA: From this comment I can click on nyms to go up to comments 226, 223, 222, 212, 208 and 5 (G&T’s original quip). Then I can use the back function to come back down.

    That gives you basic “threaded” functionality in a non-threaded comment stream.

  231. 231.

    BruceFromOhio

    THERE WILL NOT BE NESTED COMMENTS OR UP OR DOWN VOTING OF COMMENTS AND THERE NEVER WILL BE AS LONG AS I LIVE AND BREATHE ON THIS SHITTY LITTLE ROCK FLOATING AIMLESSLY AROUND THE UNIVERSE.

    Got it. Glad to hear Lily is okay.

    @Baud: and a pony.
    Really want a pony.

  234. 234.

    lurker dean

    @ruckus: I was pretty down yesterday after seeing reports of high gop turnout – it’s depressing that there are so many shitty people out there. but i’ve somewhat snapped out of it after reading some comments on here and elsewhere of the never-ending fight black america has been in. it put things in context. in the meantime i’m writing more post cards. and enjoying our new philly comrade, gritty.

    https://twitter.com/FellowGritty

  236. 236.

    pinacacci

    Redesign the site I will never leave you as long as my computer allows me to lurk. Do whatever is necessary and I will hate the changes but accept them and try to not bitch. Please keep talking. Need your righteous anger.

  237. 237.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @SC54HI: No problem. I doubt it’s obvious to people who haven’t been reading the web for a long time. (20+ year denizen here.) Perhaps this is one thing that a site redesign could improve, though it’s probably a bit too early to speculate on that front.

  238. 238.

    LaNonna

    Thanks always for the site, it helps me realize how deep and wide the resistance is, a buffer against depression as we watch (and vote) from Italy.

  240. 240.

    Anne Laurie

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    On a serious note, how about some front pagers west of the Rockies. I know AL’s nocturnal and handles late night, but it’d be nice to have a West Coast perspective.

    Late addedum, but I would be *thrilled* to have more late-night front-pagers (hi, Major Major Major Major!) as “competition” after midnight Eastern time…

  241. 241.

    (((CassandraLeo)))

    @Anne Laurie: FWIW, while being a Floridian, I tend to keep West Coast hours anyway. My body clock is so skewed that I sometimes can’t sleep until nearly dawn. Odds are reasonably good that if given FP access I’d probably do most of my posts after midnight Eastern Time. That seems to be when I get most of my good writing done, especially if any of my comments here are any indication…

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