Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

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

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

“Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.”

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

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

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: Who’s Having More Fun?

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233Comments

  2. 2.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Costa prize-winner Bart van Es on why he had to tell his family’s Holocaust story

    ‘I must tell you a secret,” Lien de Jong’s mother said to her gently one day. “You are going to stay somewhere else for a while.” It was August 1942 in occupied Holland and De Jong was eight years old. The family was Jewish, but not observant. She would never see her parents again; they were murdered in Auschwitz six months later. She was sent to live with a non-Jewish family, the Van Eses, the first in a series of temporary homes in the Netherlands’ wartime underground network.

    Bart van Es is a Dutch-born English literature professor at Oxford University, who usually “writes scholarly books and articles on Shakespeare and Renaissance poetry”. He is also the grandson of Jans and Henk van Es, who, as part of the Dutch resistance, sheltered Jewish children such as Lien de Jong during the occupation. His account of her extraordinary, harrowing story of loss, survival and love, The Cut Out Girl, has just won the Costa Book of the Year award.

    It’s a great story and now on my list but this stuck out to me:

    Today, she says, she is happy “with my friends and children and grandchildren”. She loves Amsterdam, where she lives, and enjoys being part of its cultural life. “I hope very much that my story can help when we are talking about children who are in a terrible situation these days, without parents or without family, going from one country to another,” she says.

    On the day of the Dutch publication of the book, which also happened to be De Jong’s 85th birthday, they appeared on a TV chatshow. The discussion centered on two Armenian children who were due to be deported back “home” in two days, despite having spent their whole lives with Dutch foster parents and speaking only Dutch. “It was really shocking that the government was saying: ‘We are going to send these children back,’” says Van Es. The following day a decision was made to allow the children to stay. “I had at least the right to speak,” she says, modestly denying Van Es’s reports that people on Twitter were saying DeJong had done more than those in parliament to help. The book sold out in the Netherlands the next day.

  8. 8.

    sukabi

    Have they given up the pretense that Mulvaney is CoS then?

    So Numbnuts is wandering around the WH giving “tours” to his friends, rage tweeting and watching TV, with the occasional meeting thrown in that he likely derails and wanders out of.

  13. 13.

    oldster

    Time for tort reform!

    Libertarian Tribble Gets Ass Kicked, Wins $500,000 Suit.

    Now that’s a fribblous lawsuit.

  16. 16.

    geg6

    Well, another day at home because campus is closed. It’s currently -5 here.

    And rikyrah, I have photos of the pups in their sweaters on my FB page. They look so cute.

  17. 17.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @rikyrah: Our low yesterday was -4, the high 4. Wasn’t all that bad because the wind died down quite a bit. Then in the early eve, the snow began. Maybe 2 inches total. Right now about 0. Gonna go all the way up to 32 today but no sun. A perfect day for smoking a couple of hams I’ve had in a maple cure for the past week. Gonna have to go out and start the fire pretty soon here. So no Blechs on that score.

    Tomorrow we are looking at 47. Which means the snow will melt and the top half inch of dirt will thaw and walking on it will be dancing with death. Definitely Blech all around then.

    Sunday and Monday the highs will be in the 60s Blechblechblech blechblech blech. Way too soon for that kind of warmth.

  19. 19.

    Raven

    Our tenant told me that the hardwood floor in the bedroom is “rotted” at the exterior wall. I went under the house and I’m seeing signs of moisture, white stuff one the floorboards, near the wall. When I first bought the house 15 years ago there was a problem with the sill on the front. The house has a concrete porch that runs the entire width of the house. I supported that part of the floor with a treated 4×4 and concrete block. We’re only breaking even on the house right now and don’t have a big reserve fund for repairs. What do you think my alternatives are?

  24. 24.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Gallows humor inna pinch ‘minds me of a little vignette. Gotta buddy in Fla. who was fishing with a friend of his in the surf offa Sanibel, caught him a stingray. In the process of removing the hook, ray darted its poison tip into Jack’s calf.

    As Jack was hopping around like a one-legged shit-kicker, howling and blinded by pain, my buddy Tom helpfully offered to pee on his wound.

    (Iodine, don’cha know. EMT Tom I likes to call him.)

  25. 25.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven: More seriously, I am unsure of the source of your difficulty. The white stuff is just mold and yes indicative of moisture but not necessarily rot. Is the porch roofed? Is it sloped back towards the house?

    Also, Is this a rake wall (gabled end of house) or a support wall? Is there a subfloor underneath the floor boards? What condition are the floor joists in?

    Also, What type of wood is the flooring made of?

  26. 26.

    Mary G

    More rain here on the left coast tomorrow and Saturday and a flash flood watch in effect. Nothing like y’alls situation, though. Glad you are all safe.

  28. 28.

    satby

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?!
    -19 here right now with a wind chill of -36. Normally I take the dogs out as soon as I wake up, but I’m having a coffee while I strategize how to take them out individually in case I have to carry them back in. Their paws get cold fast and this gang doesn’t wear paw booties.
    Everything closed, day 2.

  30. 30.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: This problem is on the side of the house and there is no porch. Rake wall no subfloor and heart pine. I’ll have to go back and look at the joists. The roof in new but our previous tenant used to say there was some moisture on that exterior wall but it’s not visible.

  33. 33.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    Philly is still getting only the mild edge of what the rest of you jackals are experiencing. 4 degrees right now, and it will be back up to 12 (double digits, yay!) tomorrow morning.

    Dog’s tootsies didn’t freeze to the yard, and water didn’t freeze in the pipes overnight, so it’s a good day.

    And I’m not a huge astronomy buff but I do love a cold clear winter sky. The moon was looking pretty spectacular in between what I think were Venus and Jupiter, all in a row. Cell phone camera really didn’t do it justice.

  36. 36.

    raven

    @satby: Yea, it’s little, 900 sq ft but we got a good deal on it and did a great deal of work restoring the bead board ceiling, plaster and hvac. We like the folks living there but we are just breaking even and the last time we raised the rent to $750 our escrow increased the next month wiping out our tiny profit!

    It was a mill house back in the day and, while it looks like a duplex with the tow front doors, it’s not.

  37. 37.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven: OK the porch is roofed, where do the storms come from?

    It’s a support wall, which means that to replace the flooring (if it is in fact rotting) You will have to jack up the wall.

    Another question: Is the mold/rotting localized or along a length of the wall?

    ETA: looking more closely at the pic I see the house has no gutters. That is the source of your water problem.

  38. 38.

    Immanentize

    @raven: I had something like that (white powder and stain on boards at wall) on my house in San Antonio (pier beam construction, lathe and plaster walls, long leaf yellow pine floors). I thought it was totally rot or termites. Ended up it was just moisture from air conditioned inside hitting hot muggy outside over time which caused dusty mold. I sprayed with bleach occasionally and that was that. I hope yours is as easy!

  39. 39.

    raven

    @NotMax: All the houses in this neighborhood have additions built on with bathrooms, the outhouses are gone but not forgotten. I guess that’s why the damn sewer line ran right behind the houses before the city had to move ours.

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Also that’s a hip roof. All 4 exterior walls are support walls

    eta tho the side walls are not carrying as much weight as the front and back walls are.

  44. 44.

    RAVEN

    @OzarkHillbilly: Jacking it up is what I think and am afraid of and, yes, I bet the lack of gutters is the source. I think the moisture is the length of the house but I couldn’t see it because of a HVAC ductwork, I’ll go under when it warms up.

  45. 45.

    satby

    Finished my first cup of coffee and the dogs are snoring again.
    No one wants to go outside ?
    Going to try to hold off until it’s more light, even though it will be a couple degrees colder by then. I just want to be able to see what they’re doing better.

  47. 47.

    Immanentize

    2 degrees here north of Boston. But it will get up into the teens today. Like Ozark, warming all week until we reach the 50s next Monday and Tuesday.

  48. 48.

    NotMax

    @OzarkHillbilly

    One thing which occurs to this addled mind is to get hold of the longest level one can and check the floors inside the house as whether they have become noticeably off where the bubble should be.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven:

    while it looks like a duplex with the tow front doors,

    Ways back when it was common for a house to have 2 front doors. A lot of the older homes in this neck of the woods still do. I forget the reason for it.

  50. 50.

    CliosFanboy

    7 degrees F in the northern VA burbs of DC. Arlington schools opening 2 hours late because of the cold.

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly:. 2 doors for air flow. In San Antonio, a lot of the old houses had two doors and a lot, like mine, had transoms over ever door inside and out.

  53. 53.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Quick! To the store for TP, steaks, white bread and milk!

    Those were always the empty shelves when we lived in the DC area, every time there was a “blizzard” scare. I could never figure out what people planned to be doing with those particular ingredients if they were actually frozen in for a couple days. OK, I guess I know what they planned to do with the TP, but why was it suddenly an emergency you needed to stock up for?

  55. 55.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @RAVEN: Jacking up the walls is not as hard as one might think, but there are certain structural questions that need answering before one begins.

    Just had another thought: The duct work runs the length? Does it make contact with the flooring? Is it insulated? Because it sure as shit is going to sweat when the AC runs if it isn’t..

  57. 57.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Morning, Bill. Get the impression you are well versed in the celestial, hope you’ll forgive it if I got this wrong.

    Curious: Do you have some familiarity with telescopes? (No worries if it’s notta query you can/wanna pursue, just asking onna flier, really.)

    Reason I ask: like to get something somewhat compact (for storage on the boat) that’d allow me to star- n planet-gaze on them rare occasions when, up here in our marine rain forest, it ain’t raining like a cow pissing onna flat rock. It *does* happen! And when it does, apart from the moisture in the air, it can be awe-inspiring.

    When it’sa clear summer sky and the northern lights is out and/or the stars are numberless, sure be nice to have something w/a decent optical range. Might even get to see one a them not asteroids but comets with their magnificent rasta hair.

    If any a that lands in your wheelhouse, just to give some parameters, expect would be willing to spend up to 500 bone, but sure would like to skate under a coupla hunnerd.

    Any recommendations?

  60. 60.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Unfortunately that is often meaningless in older homes. They all have done some settling over the years. If the flooring is rotting the thing to check is for “puckering” of it along the wall, and poking it with a nail of knife.

  66. 66.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @poleaxedbyboatwork: For a boat? Probably something relatively cheep and not very high in magnification. Boats move, so an equatorial tracker probably wouldn’t work, you’d need an equatorial tracker to view anything at a high magnification, cause once you find what you want to look it, it moves. As an example, if I’m shooting the moon with a 200mm lens without compensating for the earth’s movement, I can see the moon move across my camera’s screen.

    ETA: I reread your comment, you just want to store it on the boat, but view on land. I’d still get something relatively inexpensive at least to start out. No equatorial mount, just a decent refracting telescope.

  68. 68.

    CliosFanboy

    @NotMax: Harding used to be the dumbest man we ever had as president
    The came trump
    Coolidge the laziest
    Then came trump
    Nixon was the most dishonest,
    Then came trump
    The most racist? Nixon*
    Then came trump
    Grant, Harding, and Nixon had the most corrupt administrations
    Then came trump
    Andrew Johnson used to be the worst for siding with the country’s enemies
    Then came trump
    The only record trump has not broken is biggest drunkard. Pierce still owns that one.

    *Nixon was easily as bad on race, maybe even worse than Wilson, plus he was a religious bigot. WW was not

  69. 69.

    debbie

    It’s about -5 here but is supposed to go down to -12 later this morning. One good thing about yesterday is that the sun was warm enough to melt about an inch of snow off my car. Nice not to have to scrape that off whenever it gets around to warming up enough to drive anywhere.

  71. 71.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Some of those make sense, others not so much. As with so many things, one size (explanation) does not fit all.

    Our house has 2 front doors and no hallway.

  72. 72.

    oatler.

    I grew up in northern IIinois and one thing I learned was: in case of blizzard, buy milk, flour, sugar and butter. No one knew what to do with all that but we by god knew how to play Little House on the Prairie.

  73. 73.

    Immanentize

    @JPL: I was in King William. It was a “double shotgun.”. Hallway down the center, two straight rows of rrooms. Really high ceilings — like 10 feet. Such a lovely little place.

  74. 74.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Tx. for comeback. When fishing offshore on the outside in the summers, unless it’s 25+knots, generally at day’s-end like to heave-to w/staysail backed and reefed mizzen, rudder hard-over in bear-up position so ya, bouncy (but 50 degrees off the wind, so comfortable if acclimated n that’s one’s cuppa gumbo).

    But actually was thinking telescope for nights at anchorage in some protected cove. Some really lovely spots in southeast AK, course, (unlike most of West Coast of Lower48, lotta places to hide) and viewing would be quite stable most nights.

    Here’s typical example. Crawfish Inlet

    (Boats you see in vid are purse seiners, which ain’t what I do, but you get the point. As we likes to say — our own mordant double-entendre take on the profitability and prospects of our pursuit — ain’t no net in trolling.)

    But I take your point. Still, a cheap telescope’d still be a (worthwhile) step up from binocs, wouldn’t it?

  75. 75.

    NotMax

    @CliosFanboy

    McKinley was the most pliable by the 1%.
    Then came Trump.
    Reagan was the biggest all around ass.
    Than came Trump.

    biggest drunkard. Pierce still owns that one.

    W. H. Harrison was known to regularly knock back a jug or three. Had he lived, Pierce might not have the ‘honor.’

    ;)

  76. 76.

    Honus

    @OzarkHillbilly: if the floor joists are Ok and supported by s block wall I don’t see any reason to jack up and support the exterior just to replace some flooring. Pull the flooring up and replace it. If the joist are mostly solid and just the tops are soft you can sister new joists to the soft ones. You need to find the source of the moisture though. I agree that it’s probably either the lack of gutters or the a/c duct sweating condensation.

  77. 77.

    CliosFanboy

    and my wife called, power is out at our house….. this is why I stocked up on canned goods so we can eat without opening the fridge. (gas stove, so can light it with a match)

  79. 79.

    OldDave

    @poleaxedbyboatwork:

    asking about telescopes

    I’m not Bill, but I’m going to mention an alternative to a telescope – a good pair of binoculars. I used to have a pair of 11x80s that were a handful, but excellent for looking at things like the belt of Orion, the Pleiades, that sort of “about the size of the Moon” dark sky objects. Here you’re looking for not so much as the magnification (the 11x) but the size of the objective glass – the larger the better ability to gather light (and the harder to hold after a while).

    For telescopes – Dobsonian mount reflectors are supposed to be good for looking up, but those don’t have a tracking mount. It’s a tradeoff between the size of the optics and the expense of the mount. With a Dobson the money goes toward the optics.

    Hopefully Bill will show up. I’m just an occasional amateur sky watcher with zero skills.

    ETA: Bill showed up while I was typing and running errands.

  80. 80.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Honus:

    if the floor joists are Ok and supported by s block wall I don’t see any reason to jack up and support the exterior just to replace some flooring

    It depends on the extent of the rot.

  83. 83.

    Thoughtful David

    I noticed that Trump stopped doing things right after he got owned by Pelosi and Schumer back in early December. I’m sure it’s some sort of narcissistic pyschodrama, where he’s not going to play if he’s not the winner.
    Of course, he hasn’t been winning much for quite a while, but was able to convince himself that he was. Now he can’t even do that.
    Sad.

  85. 85.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    @OldDave:

    Ya, cool, tx. As I think on’t, if the tradeoffs betwixt a cheapish telescope and some bang-on binocs are at all close, I prolly oughtta opt for binocs. For one thing, I could use a good set. (I got four pairs of mediocre to poor binoculars am giving the stink-eye to in the wheelhouse now, and fact is, I use ’em alla time for manifold reasons. And as someone once said: If you can’t treat yerself, who can you treat?)

    Appreciate the insight!

  87. 87.

    poleaxedbyboatwork

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    Exposing my ignorance here (which ain’t nothing new), but did not realize they were that sensitve to movement.

    Thanks much for insights, appreciate.

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    Okay, 87 comments here. Just for sh*ts and grins, went and refreshed the front page, which after that is showing 78 comments on this thread.

  94. 94.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    W. H. Harrison was known to regularly knock back a jug or three.

    “A jug or three”? Hell, I heard he used to tip a canoe back. That’s gotta be, like, 20 kegs-worth.

  96. 96.

    cintibud

    @poleaxedbyboatwork: Something to consider might be a good pair of 10×50 binoculars. These are about the largest binocs that one can easily hold with your hands. Great for general sky sightseeing, such as marveling at the Milky Way but not so good for detail work. Definitely not something to take pictures with but that’s a bigger job. Perhaps one could be found that could be used with a tripod for the times you may want to focus on something in particular.

    10X50 means the magnification is 10x and the objective lenses (the big lenses) are 50 mm in diamater – about 2 inches. The larger the objective lens, the more light it collects. Most refracting telescopes have an objective lens of 50-60 mm. The regular standard for binoculars is 7×35 while compact ones have an objective lens less than 30 mm.

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    @Thoughtful David:

    I noticed that Trump stopped doing things right after he got owned by Pelosi and Schumer back in early December. I’m sure it’s some sort of narcissistic pyschodrama, where he’s not going to play if he’s not the winner.

    Well, when you’re chosen by God (according to Jethrene), you can pretty much do — or not do — whatever you want.

  100. 100.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Kushner doesn’t want to be fired, so he doesn’t make him work.

    I think this is only part of the story. Jarvanka went to great effort to get Kelly out. If Trump sits on his ass and does nothing, they are effectively president. The way to test if this is true is if you start getting nutty ‘Why did you think this would work?’ plans from the White House, rather than the random ‘I felt like it at the time’ you get from Trump. Stuff like the counterproposal bill during the shutdown.

    @Thoughtful David:

    I’m sure it’s some sort of narcissistic pyschodrama, where he’s not going to play if he’s not the winner.

    There is undeniably a point here. The rest of Trump’s administration is going to be defined by how much he hates and fears Nancy Pelosi. That might mean ‘curls up in bed eating ice cream and watching Fox 24/7.’

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    (Ouch.)

    Yeah, you bettah!

    Just be glad I didn’t write “He used to Tyler one on.” That would have been a little too much.

  105. 105.

    SFAW

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    That might mean ‘curls up in bed eating ice cream and watching Fox 24/7.’

    If that translates to “nothing harmful being done by him, McConnell, or any other Rethug until 2021,” I think I might be OK with that. [Not that I think there’s any chance, of course.]

  107. 107.

    satby

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    The rest of Trump’s administration is going to be defined by how much he hates and fears Nancy Pelosi. That might mean ‘curls up in bed eating ice cream and watching Fox 24/7.’

    Well that might be the least damaging thing he can do.

  109. 109.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @satby: please share said instant pot site. I missed the original reference. Or forgot it. Can’t remember which. :)

  110. 110.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Time to go start the fire in the smoker. Currently 2 degrees. Oh boy ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy

  111. 111.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: Somebody mentioned yesterday that Cole’s twitter feed keeps up with new posts FWIW. It’s how I beat everyone else this AM.

  114. 114.

    Betty Cracker

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    The way to test if this is true is if you start getting nutty ‘Why did you think this would work?’ plans from the White House, rather than the random ‘I felt like it at the time’ you get from Trump.

    Makes sense. Another tell might be which flavors of foreign influence come to the fore in a given policy. Jarvanka are as exposed to foreign influence as the shit-stain himself, but they seem to tilt to the Middle East and Asia more than Russia.

  116. 116.

    NotMax

    Le sigh. Trying out a demo for a new game which has received rave reviews. Person I need to see to turn in the second quest (same person as for the first) is now nowhere to be seen, even after multiple attempts.

    Not the best stratagem for trying to build up a player base.

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @satby: @Raven: That really is a cute house. Do not burn that down!

    One of my bookkeeping clients had 7 rental houses and was losing money on all of them. The wisdom I shared with him then? You’re doing it wrong. :-)

    Is your rent too low?

  118. 118.

    Kay

    I got home from work yesterday and the furnace had quit because the outlet was covered in ice. It was 46 degrees in here and my youngest didn’t even notice- he was wearing shorts but wrapped in a quilt. I said “didn’t you notice it was cold?” He said “its cold out- I figured that was why”.
    Apparently that’s where gas vents so if it’s clogged the furnace quits so we don’t suffocate, which is what the plumber told me while telling me there is “no possible way” he could get there last night because he has 20 calls ahead of me. My middle son cleared the ice and then melted the ice inside with a blowdryer and I was afraid he was going to get electrocuted out there, but now the furnace works.
    This “cold snap” can end any time now. Please.

  120. 120.

    SFAW

    @WaterGirl:

    One of my bookkeeping clients had 7 rental houses and was losing money on all of them.

    Was the client taking a loss on each one, but hoping to make it up in volume?

  122. 122.

    katep

    @satby: Dogs hate booties. Get yourself some “Musher’s Secret”. A wax for their paws that stops those little ice balls from forming. I’ve been using the same jar for years, works beautifully.

  125. 125.

    ljdramone

    @poleaxedbyboatwork: I’m an amateur astronomer who also collects binoculars.

    I’d recommend giving this telescope a try. It’s $99 on both the Orion website and on amazon.com, so if it doesn’t work out you’re not out hundreds of dollars.

    This scope has a 100mm primary mirror (about 4″). It’s not going to give you Hubble Space Telescope-like views, but it’s small and easy to use, and 4″ of aperture will show you a lot of things you can’t see with the naked eye.

    100mm binoculars are going to be a lot more expensive and way too heavy to easily hold in your hands, so not much use on your boat.

  126. 126.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: A lot of you guys seems to be getting colder. We must be a day or two ahead, because starting right this minute, we are about to head into the getting warmer category. Thank goodness!

    We are at -9 right now, but will end up at 15 later today. We won’t see even zero again for the next 10 days. But I worry that going from -25 to +56 in the span of 3 days might kill a lot of plants, shrubs and trees. Unless the ground is frozen so hard that the ground won’t get above freezing before we head back into colder weather again.

    It’s the freezing-thawing, freezing-thawing cycle in winter that is such a killer.

  128. 128.

    WaterGirl

    @Bobby Thomson:

    …just trying to improve his favorables. They always rise when he shuts the fuck up.

    Just imagine being the staffer who has to tell Trump that his favorables rise when he shuts the fuck up.

    Perhaps I should pause for a minute and change that to “-ex staffer”.

  131. 131.

    Sab

    It’s minus 2 here. Normal very cold winter day.

    We stole my Dad’s cat from the neighbors about 9 years ago when the assholes made their adopted stray stay outside in weather like this when company visited. Cat pounded on our windows. We let him in and fed him. They called us up and shrieked. We asked prove he’s theirs.

    If you let your cat run loose, others can steal it. Or they can call animal control.

  132. 132.

    bemused

    @satby:

    One of our kids has an Instant Pot which he likes a lot. I use my slow cooker a lot but the IP meals take a lot less time. I wasn’t sure I wanted another kitchen appliance which would require reorganizing storage space but couldn’t pass up good deal before Christmas. I finally got to play with it after the holidays and have made chicken vegetable soup and a beef pot roast which turned out well.
    I’veen checking out IP recipe books but none so far seem a good fit. My kid hasn’t found a recipe book he would buy either, just searches online as I have been doing but that takes a lot of time. Favorite instant pot sites with IP users here would be much appreciated.
    I look IP recipe books at local target but almost half were Keto recipes. I didn’t know what Keto diet was and was shocked at how much fatty food is in that “diet” plan.

  134. 134.

    WaterGirl

    @SFAW: haha. No, he just wasn’t good with details. They had never added up the total rental expenses and compared that to total rental income. We turned a lot of things around, lickety split, after I came on board. The family had previously kept their own books, on paper.

  137. 137.

    raven

    @ljdramone: My dad was in the assault on Corregidor and a signalman.machine gunner on a LCP(R). They got stranded on the beach under Japanese gunfire and one of the paratroopers they were landing got hit. Dad gave him first aid and slung his binocs and flowing stock carbine over his head. When they finally had to run for safety he though he was being hit until he realized it was the rifle and binoculars hitting his chest I have those binoculars hanging on the wall.

  139. 139.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Kay:

    I said “didn’t you notice it was cold?” He said “its cold out- I figured that was why”.

    Children, why again do we have them? Oh yeah, grandchildren.

  146. 146.

    Ken

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: According to my parents, sixty years ago a blizzard meant that stores might not get deliveries for a week, so everyone stocked up. I assume nowadays it’s partly habit, partly not wanting to have to go out.

    Come to think, I’m surprised our just-in-time delivery systems are resilient to blizzards. Or are they…?

  149. 149.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: She’s been there for about 5 years and a couple of years back we refi’d for a retirement purchase and the mortgage went up considerably. It took us a long time to even raise it to where we were breaking even and we just don’t want to do it again. Her and her knucklehead live-in boyfriend are probably going to look elsewhere pretty soon so we’ll just hand and raise it when the leave.

  150. 150.

    NotMax

    @bemused

    If it might be of any help, there a three IP recipes sites have found worthy of bookmarking, for both range of foods and tutorials. Not that any of the dozens of others out there are necessarily minor, just have personally found some wanting in site design and/or intriguing variety. Most recent of the three is cited above. The other two: Site 1 – Site 2 .

    Perhaps one day TaMara can work up a dedicated Instant Pot post into which we can all contribute this kind of info in one handy place.

  154. 154.

    rikyrah

    I am inside-, but I just checked the commuter rail site to see how bad it was.There are three train stations that carry people into downtown. While two stations have delays, they completely shut down one station- no trains running. Damn…all those commuters out of luck.?

  156. 156.

    raven

    @NotMax: Right now she’s planning her trip to UK (she arrives the day of the Brexit thang) and I don’t think that will fly!

  159. 159.

    Betty Cracker

    @Sab: I stole a puppy from a neighbor and gave her to my mom many years ago. The neighbors never let the pup in the house — she lived in their backyard without shelter during horrendous thunderstorms, was fed only scraps and was left without water when it was 99 F in the summer, etc. (My sister reported them to animal control, but nothing was done.)

    One evening, I came home from work, and the puppy had escaped the neighbor’s yard and was in my driveway. I damn near ran over her, she was so small, but luckily I saw her. So I just opened the car door, scooped her up, backed out of my driveway and took her to my mom’s house about five miles away. She lived to be 17 years old and was adored and spoiled rotten for the rest of her life.

  160. 160.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    When it’s 30 out its 65 in the house, so when its -30 its 45 in the house. This was the thinking.
    I pulled out a ratty old overgrown yew that was placed in front of that pipe and vent to hide it, and I think the giant shrub was probably protecting it enough that it didn’t ice over. I should have left it there.

  161. 161.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: No good deed goes unpunished. But now that you know, you can buy some lovely bush or shrub to put in its place.

  162. 162.

    raven

    @Betty Cracker: My ex and I took Mr Big from our moron neighbors about a year before we split. He came in at about 135 lbs and was a spectacular doggie. About two years after the divorce he snapped his leg in half and had to have intense care of the rods the put in. She was in no shaped to take care of him so the Princess and I took him. She was in a clinical depression and it was impacting him as well. We had just gotten Raven and within 24 hours Mr Big totally transformed as Raven pestered him made him fell like a pup. When Mr Big recovered my ex was in better shape so we gave him back. About 5 years later she and he new hubby moved and couldn’t take him so, once again, we took him. We had him for about 6 months, just long enough to fall back in love with him, when he up and died. . . .after 20 years we still grieve. (JJW, Mr Bojangles)

  164. 164.

    Gelfling 545

    @rikyrah: Same here. We are at the projected high of 5F with about 18 in. of snow. At least the sun is out today. Pretty much everything is closed. It’s supposed to be 50F by Monday.

  166. 166.

    bemused

    @NotMax:

    Thx, the photos look good, what I’ve been looking for, and will check the sites out.

    @satby:

    I’ll try a few Indian recipes in time but I tend fall for cookbooks and I have too many on my shelf now that I don’t use enough, trying to curb my addiction. Goal for myself: don’t browse cookbooks when hungry. I found IP recipe on Food Network, Salmon with Garlic Potatoes and Greens that I printed out to try.

  167. 167.

    CliosFanboy

    @NotMax: I think Pierce gets all around ass still. Told his wuife he would not run, then did. Plus he was a “Doughface” (a northerner who supported slavery)

  168. 168.

    Betty Cracker

    @raven: That sucks! This platform is so borked. Does your story involve a crime, as mine did? I was thinking of putting up a thread about crimes you don’t regret committing! :)

    ETA: Mr. Big is gorgeous in that photo!

  169. 169.

    Kay

    Tom Bonier
    ‏Verified account
    @tbonier
    2h2 hours ago
    More Tom Bonier Retweeted The View
    Since Schultz has such an issue with people getting things for “free”, perhaps the TV networks should stop giving him so much free airtime.

    Also- maybe when he attacks all the plans of the Democrats who had the courage to actually announce and reveal plans, maybe they could ask him what his plans are.

    It is ridiculous that he gets this huge free forum to attack other people while offering nothing but platitudes himself.

    This is EXACTLY what they did with Trump. They’re doing this again? Really? TRY SOMETHING NEW. Anything. Just give some other approach a shot. This recipe- massive free air time while holding the celebrity candidate to a much lower standard than the real candidates gave us Trump. Political media is a billion dollar industry. They can’t come up with a single new approach, to anything? They’re forced to repeat the same mistakes over and over?

  178. 178.

    Sab

    @Betty Cracker: @satby: Glad jackaldom doesn’t consider me a sociopath. Even if you did I would still have taken him in anyway.

    The couple I took him from were very cool lefty social progressives, but the wife grew up in apartments in Manhattan and never had pets and doesn’t want them. The husband loves pets. Aside from our guy we stole, they currently have a replacement cat with an untreated eye infection (his littermate died mysteriously about five years ago), and a couple of terriers who run around loose. They leave town for a month every summer, leaving their pets in the care of random students housesitting (he teaches art at local university.) I have fed their cat for three summers, since no one else seemed to be doing it.

    My last confrontation with them was when their terriers shredded the shoulder of a local raccoon, which crawled over to hide in our yard, and their guys followed barking. I ran them off with an attack broom and called their answering machine to scream in outrage.

    Not all assholes are RWNJs

  180. 180.

    Kay

    @WaterGirl:

    I was planning on putting a little dogwood there. I love dogwoods.
    They don’t do that well here- the common one- the cornus florida -has disease problems and it’s a little too cold for them and that’s the variety I like- but I wanted to try one- again.
    But I’ll put a big tough evergreen shrub in there. The dogwood’s probably a heart breaker anyway.

  182. 182.

    Immanentize

    @satby:
    So funny! The Immp told me, when we were driving from the train station last night, that he was going to go all in on Marie Kondo. Some joke at school, some reply, blah blah blah…. I just thought it was funny. But, sure enough, he decided we would watch her show last night because he is planning on being the premier Kondo expert. He is all in.

    So we watched three episodes. As much couples counseling as tidying…. But then the Immp went up to his room and discarded everything that sparked no joy. And he organized….

    How can I not love Marie Kondo?

  183. 183.

    Elizabelle

    Didn’t read, but I like this headline from a WaPost opinion piece:

    Howard Schultz is this year’s Ben Carson

    Formerly respected professional who has since proven to be batshit crazy? Check.

    Should have left well enough alone and stayed within his own subculture? Check.

  185. 185.

    satby

    @Immanentize: I like (though I don’t practice) her approach of appreciation for all our possessions. I didn’t realize it has grown out of her previous life as a Shinto priestess.

  189. 189.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    We should ask that Schultz release his tax returns. We don’t know anything about him and he’s dominating our political debate with his access to unlimited tv time. They need to pay something to get this status and they refuse to run for lower offices first.

    I don’t have any problem with Bloomberg running. He’s too far right for me but he actually put himself out there and got elected and he has a public record we can look at- he’s not claiming the special protected status of Mr. Schultz. Like Trump, Schultz thinks the norms and rules don’t apply to him. He gets to be the official critic of people who actually take risk and offer things. That’s not fair.

  191. 191.

    Betty Cracker

    @Elizabelle: She was a black and brown dachshund-chihuahua mix, and my mom named her Zoey. The first time I saw her in my driveway, I thought she was a shoe, so I said she should be named Shoey!

  193. 193.

    Kay

    @Sab:

    I have oak trees so I have squirrels and squirrels chew a neat ring around dogwood starts and girdle them. There are plants I love so I won’t give up on them. Sweet peas. It’s too cold for them coming up here and then too hot for them when they’re up so I get like 31 flowers out of 100 seeds :)

    I’m not wholly delusional. I love live oaks but I don’t try them. Has to be just frustratingly out of reach.

  194. 194.

    Ceci n est pas mon nyn

    @Immanentize: Yeah but what about the books?

    We’re sort of Kondo-izing in our house, but it’s the Reformed Kondo cult, not Orthodox.

  195. 195.

    Sab

    @Immanentize: That’s one family’s approach. My niece is from a career military family (moved a lot) with a japanese grandmother. Lovely girl, but we don’t let her near anything we treasure because she throws everything out every year.

    The rest of us, on the other hand, hoard stuff and pass on unused hoarded stuff for generations.

    There probably is a middle ground if only we could be bothered to find it.

    I am sort of a hoarder. Every time I finally throw something out, about six months later I think “I could wear that shirt tonight if only I still owned it.”

    Best solution for us is just don’t buy stuff, or accept unwanted gifts (note to sister: you have already given me six lovely teapots. Why do you think I need another?)1

  198. 198.

    Immanentize

    OK. I’m going to try my Schulz comment again —

    When Schulz says he grew up in “the projects” he wants you to picture warehouses for poor black folks, filled with drugs and crime or on fire like Watts. That is NOT where he actually grew up. His family moved into the Bayview Apartments in Brooklyn in 1956. Yes, they were “projects” in the sense that they were a government subsidized building project in the Canarsie area of Brooklyn. But in 1956, they were brand new, state of the art apartments. For most people, moving into the Bayview Apartments was a big step up in their lives.

    The apartments were put in place like many around the New York City region, to help baby booming, post-WWII, working class families really get a toe hold in an upwardly mobile economy. When such projects began in the early 50’s, they were the modernist height of good urban planning and design. It took two decades to fully cut down that vision….

    So no, young Howie was not raised in poverty and squalor. His family was part of the striving class and places like Bayview were exactly the kind of government lift that he would now seemingly deny others. And he is using our current understanding of the word “projects” to suggest a completely false image of his childhood.

    I didn’t care one wit about him before, but now I am rather starting to hate Mr. Schulz. He is a shonda for the goyim. Shonda Schulz is not a bad nickname.

  200. 200.

    Kay

    Matthew Yglesias
    ‏Verified account
    @mattyglesias
    1h1 hour ago
    More
    If the people who control television news had ended up worse off personally as a result of 2016, that would have given them a reason to change their approach.
    But they ended up much better off instead, so….

    So we get ridiculously skewed and unfair standards, where a single US House member like AOC is held to a MUCH higher bar than the billionaire philosopher-king they’re shoving down our collective throat.

    It’s rational! It’s just bad. For us.

  201. 201.

    rikyrah

    @Immanentize:
    Plus, didn’t he also lie about paying for college?
    Didn’t someone here point out that when he went to school, it was free, or damn near free??

    Am I wrong to believe that those projects were Whites Only when Howard lived there?

  202. 202.

    Ken

    @Elizabelle: Enough of a victim of Dunning-Kruger to accept a Cabinet position for housing, after turning down the Cabinet position for healthcare because he didn’t know enough about it? Unchecked, so far.

    (Possibly Schulz is auditioning for a role in the Trump administration?)

  204. 204.

    The Moar You Know

    I just took the dog out. It’s 17 degrees below zero. She instantly began eating lumps of snow.

    @PST: As a fellow dog owner, it is a source of constant amazement to me how these creatures ever survived in the wild.

  205. 205.

    Sab

    @Kay: We added a new room about five years ago off the kitchen. The contractor tore out the old siding where the room was to be attached, of course, but didn’t add new insulation. So of course the first cold spell our kitchen pipes froze. After that, we plugged in one of those little oil-filled plug-in electric radiators next to the wall against the kitchen sink. We keep it running on low all winter. Seems really wasteful, but the pipes don’t freeze.

    Couple of years ago we put in some rhododendrons next to the room. They grew massively and are really crowded together. We should have believed the nursery about how close to plant them. My sister who used to be a botanist says not to worry. Rhododendrons in the wild grow in “rhododendron hells” and seem to be fine. Meanwhile we get seasonal flowers and lots of evergreen shrubbery against the house.

  206. 206.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    That is NOT where he actually grew up. His family moved into the Bayview Apartments in Brooklyn in 1956. Yes, they were “projects” in the sense that they were a government subsidized building project in the Canarsie area of Brooklyn. But in 1956, they were brand new, state of the art apartments. For most people, moving into the Bayview Apartments was a big step up in their lives.
    The apartments were put in place like many around the New York City region, to help baby booming, post-WWII, working class families really get a toe hold in an upwardly mobile economy. When such projects began in the early 50’s, they were the modernist height of good urban planning and design. It took two decades to fully cut down that vision….

    The struggling young people in urban areas with crazy-high housing costs he’s scolding are going to tell him they’ll take that deal- they’ll take the deal he got. They should get subsidized housing too. He should have to explain why he thinks they shouldn’t.

    They should ask JUST for his deal. Subsidized housing and subsidized tuition. See what he says. They’ll have to be the ones asking, if they can somehow get close to him. He’s getting a complete pass otherwise.

    I think they will. They’re fractious and cranky in a good way.

  209. 209.

    Immanentize

    @rikyrah:
    I’m looking into the race breakdown. Probably not in Brooklyn, but I know a similar project in the Bronx, Co-op City had a very large Jewish population when it opened in ’73, but has changed to primarily black and Hispanic today.

    But yes, his story about college is kinda odd too — unexamined and clearly embellished.

  210. 210.

    germy

    Scoop: Trump interviewed Heidi Cruz for a job this week.

    Cruz, wife of Ted Cruz, met in Oval with Trump about the World Bank post.

    Trump is picking someone else, though.

    Cruz formerly worked for the National Security Council, Treasury Department, Goldman Sachs.

    — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) January 31, 2019

  211. 211.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    Well, it is what it is and they’re going to promote him the same way they promoted Trump so Democrats will just have to come up with a counter. It’s not 2016. They know the game now and they’ve been doing smart things, adjusting to the new normal.

    We’re all going to have to change, as much as I hate change, personally :)

    We have to do this differently. We know there’s the “celebrity” (lower) standard and the pol (higher) standard and we have 2 years to figure out how to win on a field tipped towards celebrities.

  212. 212.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize:

    Howard Schultz is reminding me of Paul Ryan. And not in a good way.

    LOL. Talk about overblown reputations that don’t bear much scrutiny.

  213. 213.

    Ken

    @Sab:

    There probably is a middle ground if only we could be bothered to find it.

    IIRC, in traditional Apache culture after a person died, they burned down his house with all his possessions inside it. After having gone through the house-cleanout for three sets of grandparents and a couple of aunts, I see some merit in that.

  215. 215.

    ThresherK

    @rikyrah: Schultz, from NYC, passed on going to any SUNY or NYC public college, back when they were tuition-free, and ended up at Northern Michigan U.

    There is more to it, depending on which one of his tales is true, about his playing (or nearly playing) football in college.

  216. 216.

    Elizabelle

    @Ken: Hmmmm. Was that to spur someone at life’s end to give away his/her possessions?

    It sounds so wasteful. Was it to avoid stress over material goods from the decedent?

    I have an elderly friend who is so proud of herself for “deathproofing”, ie. not having too, too much for her kids to go through eventually.

  219. 219.

    Elizabelle

    @Kay: I just want it to be noticeable that Starbucks sales are declining.

    It may take a while. Other excuses of late are shutdown (no extra $$ to spend), weather (can’t get out and about).

    But I want the MSM to see how consumers take to Schultz shooting his mouth off about how they should not have nice things. It’s not as obvious with broadcast ratings, but Starbucks sales decline could be sobering.

  220. 220.

    Ken

    @Elizabelle: Ghosts, actually, which were thought to cling to the house and possessions. The family would build a new house a good distance away from the old site.

  223. 223.

    WaterGirl

    @Kay: I love dogwoods, too, but the only one I had was a heartbreaker. Every year we would cut out the half of the branches that were dead — until we got to speculating what the half-life of a dogwood was. We finally took it out; it was the right thing to do, but it was also very sad.

  224. 224.

    Sab

    @Ken: Me too. Been there done that this summer. I have a hoard of nice stuff I don’t need but am reluctant to dump because its family and old and very nice and they couldn’t afford to buy stuff like it.

    What is the point of saving boxes and boxes of family pictures that no one never labeled and that no one can recognize?

    Found a shoebox of lovely demitasse cups (who uses those anymore?) labeled by my grandfather “grandmother”. Which one? He had two. Which cousins get dibs. Who should sign off if I pitch or sell it. Whole house has been that.

  225. 225.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @rikyrah: Paula White was 1 of 6 ministries Grassley (yes, that Grassley) asked for financial info because of complaints he/govt had gotten from donors who couldn’t find out how $$ was spent. He finally gave up because some just refused. Maybe claimed ‘separation of church and state’. :-(

    Joyce Meyers ministry gave the info. I think Benny Hinn did too.

    Kenneth Copeland, said to be richest televangelist, flat out refused.

    I think Paula White also refused.

    Is she part of the New Apostolic Reformation? A nasty group. IIRC it’s dominioist and pushes the idea that Christians should control the ‘7 pillars of society.’

  227. 227.

    J R in WV

    @Raven:

    @OzarkHillbilly: Would you burn this down!

    First suggestion, jack it up about 3 feet, lay an impervious membrane (60 mil roofing “rubber”) on the ground, put in a dehumidifier. Without looking at the wood, can’t really know what to do — there is an outfit in that produced a thin epoxy resin designed to treat mildly rotten boards in boats, it hardens just like all epoxies after being mixed, a low cost thing you could try without weeks of high-end carpenters or a contractor.

  228. 228.

    J R in WV

    @poleaxedbyboatwork:

    But I take your point. Still, a cheap telescope’d still be a (worthwhile) step up from binocs, wouldn’t it?

    Actually, really good binocs are in some ways better than small telescopes, as you get both eyes working. Of course, really good binocs aren’t a bit cheaper than a moderately expensive telescope.

    I had a lot of trouble using my inexpensive telescope, now I mostly use 10×50 Nikon binocs, exp for things like comets. You can even mount them on a tall tripod if you want.

    PS: Don’t get the $97 ones on Amazon, go for something in the mid three figures, at least 2-300. YOu get what you pay for!

  229. 229.

    Kay

    @Elizabelle:

    It may take a while

    I like their coffee- I just drink normal black coffee and to me the slightly bitter taste is the appeal- I also like McDonald’s coffee. I would say I would boycott but I only buy it on the interstate at rest stops, so maybe one cup a month. I won’t be able to take him down with my massive boycott :)

  230. 230.

    J R in WV

    @Betty Cracker:

    I stole a puppy from a neighbor and gave her to my mom many years ago.

    We adopted a small lab mix from our vet clinic. She had been there for 9 months recovering from heartworm, and the story was heroic, happy, and sad. She was stolen off a chain in a backyard where she was by turns neglected and abused.

    A neighbor who was also a client of our vet clinic stole her off that chain at 2 or 3 am because she couldn’t stand to witness the abuse and neglect.

    We asked the vet folks about adopting a pup as we have a large tract of forested hillside, surrounded by other vacant hillside, and it’s great for dogs to wander. They told us to come back in a couple of months.

    When we brought the pup home, she was about 3 years old, and was amazed and delighted by freedom, other dogs to be with, the hills with squirrels to chase, things to sniff. Chipmunks, too! This was 11 or 12 years ago. She was so happy!

    So Happy was what we named her, and she was certainly that all of her life. When she became subdued a month or so ago I took her to the vet, who saw that something was wrong, put her on an IV and antibiotics. When they closed Friday evening, she recommended I take her to the weekend ER clinic for more IV fluids.

    There they diagnosed her with blood loss into her abdomen, and we put Happy down. She only really suffered for 36 hours or so. There was a cancerous tumor in her abdomen that was bleeding out, she was already to frail for major surgery…

    So, heroism for the lady (a Muslim from the mid-eastern name) who rescued her late at night, happiness for well over a decade, and a little sadness at the end. But we all share that ending, after all. Best if that’s after a full and happy life!

    ETA 3 times to make things better!

  231. 231.

    ljdramone

    @raven: Wow, what a great relic to remember your dad by.

    The military binos in my collection are mostly Cold War-era, including an East German-made EDF 7×40 that I’m pretty sure is ex-Iraqi, a souvenir bringback by someone who was in Desert Storm.

    I don’t have any American WWII binos (yet), but now I’m gonna have to start looking for some on eBay.

  232. 232.

    Ladyraxterinok

    @Immanentize:
    There’s a recent article st LawyersGunsMoney about Scultz and college. Lots of history at the time contradicts his tale of college. Also seems he’s told at least 2 different stories about how he got his college education!

  233. 233.

    CaseyL

    @Raven: If you have ServePro out there, or a company like ServePro, they may be able to bring in giant drying fans and get the moisture out. However, the house won’t be habitable in the meantime. You might call and see what they can do.

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