Here’s a bird to look at to shake off the negativity of the shit-show thread downstairs:
Snapped this pic this morning when I saw the limpkin hunting snails in the shallow water. It’s hard to see, but it has an apple snail in its beak, which is about to be breakfast. Tough old world!
Open thread!
Baud
The bird kind of looks like Bernie. #NoRespite
hells littlest angel
A snail without garlic butter? Tough old world, indeed.
prostratedragon
Someone put up a new thread. The first two comments have saturated this one.
Nicole
Pretty bird!
I learned today that when you order something from eBay for the first time in years, eBay is so excited that it sends you a “Welcome Back!” email. That’s weird. Leave me alone, eBay. Just because I needed something doesn’t mean we’re getting back together.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: It’s not red faced enough. #NoRespite
hells littlest angel
@Nicole: But we thought you’d be interested in some items related to your recent purchase!
Morzer
I dunno, man. Can that bird really win the South Carolina primary?
JPL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: If Baud doesn’t be careful, that bird will poke his eyes out.
Morzer
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Bernie’s more of a purple-faced Socialist millionaire.
hells littlest angel
@Baud: The bird has better posture.
mrmoshpotato
Does not go through narrow openings sideways.
Baud
@JPL: I’m more worried about Betty Cracker.
Nicole
Oh god, you’re right. I bet I get daily emails from them for the next 2 years.
Steeplejack (phone)
Respite basketball moment.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@hells littlest angel: Related…someone needs to clue in Bernie on how to use a microphone. Hint: you don’t put it right next to your mouth.
trollhattan
The kid got a kind of hint from Wellesley yesterday that she maybe possibly could sorta be accepted for fall. Just not officially, but would you care to come visit? It would seem colleges play a recruitment dance prior to their official announcement dates in order to not lose students to other offers already on the table. Which she presently has so this is going to be a STRESSFUL month. For everybody.
You’d be proud–one of her main motivators for applying: Hillary went there.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Nicole: Safe bet.
LuciaMia
@hells littlest angel: My very first thought! LOL
trollhattan
@Nicole:
I stopped ebaying cold turkey and have to say I don’t miss it. Used the spouse’s account so they can’t even pester me.
Buying–not so bad. Selling just sucks.
Morzer
If you really want to be cheered up – apparently the test that the US authorities use to identify coronavirus is… sub-optimal.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Fahrenthold/status/1232735993712840713
donnah
Thanks, Betty!
I think this is one of your best photos to date. I like how you captured the bird in motion, which isn’t always easy.
We’re getting a modest snowfall here in SW Ohio, but the ground wasn’t frozen and it’s likely to be gone by tomorrow. Still, it’s a pretty, fluffy snow and we haven’t had much this winter.
randy khan
Nature red in tooth and claw.
Nicole
@?BillinGlendaleCA: And I bet all the ads will be for things very similar to what I just bought. I do not understand the follow-up ads for what someone JUST purchased. It’s like they don’t want you to sell you something else so much as they want to trigger a case of buyer’s remorse.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Nicole: Amazon does the same thing, waste of bandwidth.
Nicole
@trollhattan: I loved eBay about… oh, 15 years ago. And I’m happy with this purchase- I have a jacket on which I’ve sewn patches from places I’ve been to and I got it in my head I wanted one from where my family vacationed when I was a child, and eBay had a lovely vintage one I bought- but seriously, eBay, lay off. It was a transaction; it’s over. Don’t keep contacting me; it makes you seem desperate.
Ben Cisco
@Baud: Great – now I’ve got people wondering why I’m at my desk howling like a hyena – thanks Baud!
Nicole
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh God, yeah. Amazon is THE WORST.
Well, so is my credit card company, which I guess has launched their own shopping thing, because now, every time I buy something I get a, “YOU MAYBE COULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS CHEAPER SOMEWHERE ELSE IF YOU’D CHECKED WITH US FIRST” email from them. Oh my god, leave me alone so I can go back to rage tweeting.
satby
@trollhattan: nice!
Nicole
@trollhattan: And sorry about the stress, but that’s great she’s got offers and that Wellesley is expressing interest. Options are stressful, but in the end, better to have them. I’m sure she’ll make the right choice.
Betty Cracker
@trollhattan: Wow, that’s fantastic!
Baud
@trollhattan: ?
Betty Cracker
@donnah: Thank you! I want to be Albatrossity when I grow up.
Haven’t seen snow since…1995 maybe? My husband refuses to go on vacation anywhere snowy (he grew up in Buffalo), but one of these days, I’ll strike out with the kid and/or my sister and see some snow again, damn it!
lurker dean
i noticed amazon is very low on hand sanitizer, many vendors sold out. i commented to my co-worker that it was nice to see people finally being proactive. he, no doubt correctly, observed that it was probably disaster vultures buying up the stock to later shaft their fellow americans. in my heart, i know he’s absolutely right. wtf.
Jeffro
RIP Clive Cussler.
Dang did I ever love his first half-dozen (maybe more?) books.
Domestic short hair tabby
@Betty- I was late to the am thread, but, as I said to Mr dsht, Bernie finally got some makeup on. Those red cheeks & pallor don’t disappear overnight.
Jay
JPL
@trollhattan: That’s wonderful and I have to admit that gave me chills.
mrmoshpotato
@Jeffro: May he and Jacques explore the heavens. RIP
JPL
FYI Workplace shooting in Milwaukee Molson/Coors plant Seven dead besides the shooter.. It probably won’t make the news cuz it is now commonplace.
Rob
That is the perfect photo for a cloudy day up here in DC.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
I wonder how that bird would react to a little man landing on his lectern.
mrmoshpotato
@Amir Khalid: Lunch?
WaterGirl
@Domestic short hair tabby: Looks at his hands and see how they compare to his face. HIs hands have been as red as beets in the debates.
trollhattan
Heartfelt thanks to all for your best wishes! It’s a surprisingly emotional year as we tick off a huge list of Last-Ofs and do our best in outlining the next chapter, which won’t go by script one bit, but it makes us feel like grownups to try.
Amir Khalid
Some football news. The Emirate of Manchester have defeated hosts Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the Champions League. Real now need to win their away tie by at least two goals to avoid going out on the away-goals rule. Meanwhile Olympique Lyonnaise beat Juventus 1-0; Juventus too will need to win their home tie by two goals.
Amir Khalid
@mrmoshpotato:
I don’t know how the bird’s campaign rally audience would react to that.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Badly.
The Dangerman
Trump doing a live news conference on Coronavirus?
It’s ASH Wednesday, not Asshole Wednesday.
This is going to be such a CF; he should stick to things he does well. Not sure what that would be but stick to it.
mrmoshpotato
@Amir Khalid: Blame everyone but the bird?
debbie
@satby:
I spend most of my time here catching up on old threads, and I want to commend you for your I-will-not-back-down posts over the past few days. It does no good to cheer you on 12 hours after the fact, but I am anyway!
debbie
@trollhattan:
Yes, congratulations! Being near Boston would also be a big win. It’s a great city to be in/near when you’re in college.
trollhattan
@The Dangerman:
A presser in which press people ask him unscripted questions*? Those always produce a lot of useful stuff.
*Except Fox, “Sir, question 3b from the list please, sir.”
Mike in Pasadena
The Dangerman
@trollhattan:
Poly still in the running (pardon the pun)?
ETA: Hmmm, I assumed track, not field. Doing the fasting thing today so brain functions impacted. If we start talking Trump and KFC, that might end quickly (although the closest KFC is Atascadero, so I might survive the temptation).
Mary G
Eric S.
I’ve completed my first (only?) day of congressional lobbying. Not much to it for me. My company’s lobbyist set up the meetings. I just needed a 2 minute pitch about the benefits of LIHEAP and an anecdote. It helped immensely that the Congress critters from NE Illinois are Democrats that support the program. Maybe I’ll be able to come back for LIHEAP Action Day again next year.
satby
@debbie: why thank you! ?
satby
@Eric S.: Thanks for that, it’s an important program.
mrmoshpotato
@Eric S.: And now you’re filthy rich? ?
mrmoshpotato
Eric S.
@JPL: the DNC is being held in Milwaukee. It could get some play.
jl
@Jay: ‘So, you know, great job, Project Veritas, you uncovered ABC for having an anti-left bias.’
So, Wright was suspended, from what I read in the news.
I don’t know why these news organizations have to be so stupid and chickenshit. Wright criticized Trump coverage as poor quality, both because too critical in some ways, not positive enough in other ways. That is Wright basically saying that he was concerned about accuracy and lack of bias in the coverage for a person he didn’t like.
What about Chris Matthews, for having a nervous breakdown, or obvious bias, or both, on air? One would think comparison of a sitting US Senator to a Nazi invasion would prompt some action, no matter how much I don’t want Sanders to win the nomination.
Sab
@satby: Your shampoo bars came yesterday. I really like the one I tried last night.
debbie
@mrmoshpotato:
Ha! Those clips were great, and I think I heard a bit of Jimmy Durante in there?
laura
@trollhattan: enjoy this exciting time as it is fleeting as rain in sacramento. I hope that she gets into the school she’s best suited for. You’ve raised a good’n and love when you post her accomplishments on the track and in the Democrat Party. I got to do a semester course in a Boston area University and it was such a great/completely different experience for this lifetime cali gal. Highlight of my academic life -great public transportation and winter weather without the mountain travel. So much to do and see along with studying. Best of luck in the choosing.
Eric S.
@mrmoshpotato: I have a couple meals and a couple beers I get to charge back to the company, but rich? Sadly not. But it’s my first time. Perhaps I’ll get better.
Jeffro
So I see the Ill Douche is tweeting his usual word salad of grievances, abuse, and lies as he prepares to address the nation heading into a potential national crisis…it’s all Democrats fault, don’t you know, and his closing the border somehow managed to keep us safe from the virus, don’t you know and on and on
stroke, stroke, STROKE
Yutsano
@trollhattan: Hey if I got into Sanford then she’s a shoo in! And what a great school for her to attend! I hope you two at least make the visit.
@Betty Cracker: We have this nice snow-covered mountain just outside of Seattle. And we have awesome meet-ups. I’mma just sayin’…
Also too: BIRB!!!
satby
@Sab: oh, great, thanks for letting me know!
Edit: after I was supposed to ship it I decided the lavender was too faint, so I remade that batch.?
The Dangerman
@Jeffro:
Works for me that if you wear a MAGA Hat, you can’t possibly wear a facemask.
chopper
@Jeffro:
makes sense. we all know the virus is trying desperately to cross over from mexico on foot and Wall(tm) is totes what’s stopping it.
Patricia Kayden
Disturbing. Rightwingers are awful everywhere.
zhena gogolia
@Eric S.:
Congratulations!
JPL
@Eric S.: The NYTimes just notified me an hour and forty five minutes later.
trollhattan
@The Dangerman:
Poly pitched a good pitch, and she really liked the environment so still in the running, as long as the offer doesn’t evaporate. The coaches get anxious to fill their squads.
She’s chuffed for track, which starts next month. Her training times are up so she may nab some PBs at meets if she can keep her ankles screwed together.
trollhattan
@laura:
Thanks and speaking of rain, good lord we’re going to have our 0.00-inch February, aren’t we? The backyard is bone dry and the other gardens are only moist because the drip has been running all month. Ugh!
My bro/her uncle is an MIT boy and lives in NH so she’d have somebody to visit and maybe help her network if she goes there.
laura
@trollhattan: I got a sunburn hate-weeding the backyard this weekend.
trollhattan
@laura:
:-)
Of course, is there any other kind?