Just a reminder that there really is not much you can do to control what is going on around you. There just isn’t. So basically, my advice to everyone is to wash your hands a lot, avoid large crowds, and don’t look at your 401k if you have one. Try to focus on the things you can do- like working to elect local Democrats, being good to the people around you, and focusing on the things that make your life and those around you better. Personally, I spent a couple hours yesterday getting my seedlings started (the first run- I will start a second bunch in 2-3 weeks). The world is not ending, so just keep on keeping on.
Speaking of moving on, I have mentioned that I play World of Warcraft a bunch of times. I am playing Classic, which is basically a reboot of the version that was out in 2004-2006 before expansions, and I am playing with the same core of people I played with back then. About 15 of us stayed in touch through the years, and we got the band back together and merged with a couple of other guilds in similar situations. My parents don’t understand this, of course “You play with 40 people online every Tuesday and Thursday,” to which I respond- “Yes. Think of it as book club or bridge club, but believe it or not, dorkier.” I mean, it’s basically like any online community, much like here- we may not meet in person, but we are a community and we know each other and establish lifelong friendships.
Two of the members of the guild back then were only 14- one a young lady and one a young fellow. We stayed in touch with them, and it was fun watching them become adults. Both are 28 and 29, and the olds in the guild all are very happy with how our children turned out.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, long story short, one of the “kids,” who plays by the name of Lyn, lost her dog two weeks ago to an aggressive cancer. She got Ollie, a border collie/lab mix, right before I got Lily, and she just loved him to bits. He died from an extremely aggressive cancer that went from diagnosis to death. It was horrible. I did feel fortunate that I had gone through a cancer diagnosis with Lily, as I was able to help talk her through some of the tests, what to expect, what she can do, etc., but that is cold comfort when faced with what is just an awful situation.
After Ollie died, I was hopeful she would quickly adopt, but I did not want to push her. I had a feeling, though, that she would be like me and Tunch and it would only be a matter of days before she was out finding her Steve. And I was right!
This weekend she met and picked up a 2-3 year old rescue named Hazel (OMG I JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS NAME) who had been adopted out and returned twice, and I am pleased to report there will not be a third return, as Hazel is a VERY GOOD DOG. And a looker to boot:
Isn’t she just fabulous? I am so happy for her, and I guess it is a good message for us all in these dark times. It may seem like everything is going or has gone to hell, but life will go on, with or without you. You can only control whether you decide to focus on the positive and be part of the good, or dwell on the bad and give up. I would urge you to do the former, and focus on the things that really matter.
BTW- speaking of very good dogs, here is Lily, sleeping on a pile of clothes on the chair behind me, two years from her March 2018 cancer diagnosis:
I will never forget how you all, unsolicited, sent me a ton of money to cover her initial hospital visits and gave me the financial ability to get through the initial sticker shock of 18 months of chemo bills and basically saved my dogs life.
Elizabelle
Welcome, Hazel. And always a good day to see Lily.
Especially on a day when the markets are turbulent.
WereBear
Let’s all rescue each other. Somewhat regardless of species :)
trollhattan
Aww, Hazel is lovely. Nice diversion indeed for that mean Monday following time change.
Lily’s diagnosis was two years ago? Yikes! She’s clearly a Good Girl. You go, Lily!
MazeDancer
Excellent advice, John.
Please keep us posted on the seedlings. It is supposed to be better to plant seeds on a new moon, as the waxing does something to them. But never seen anyone experiment as you will be inadvertently doing.
Hazel is perfect.
As is Lily.
Nicole
Good post, Cole, and much needed today. Thanks.
PaulWartenberg
Hazel a good puppy!
As a MMO gamer meself, getting back into the underground return of City of Heroes, I know how tight-knit a group of gamers can get. Speaking of which, if you’re on the CoH Homecoming server every Tuesday night 9PM EDT is still TANKER TUESDAY. ;-)
Aleta
Lily. Beautiful dog. No better name. Same for Hazel.
Especially glad about Hazel making it out for good after those returns.
Fair Economist
It’s always wonderful to see the good things we get from love.
Yutsano
OMG BORDER COLLIE PUPPER!!!
burnspbesq
Even with the shit hitting the fan, I’m way better prepared for retirement than the average American, so I’m saying little prayers of thanksgiving for Mom and Pops having set my siblings and me up so well.
And no matter how bad this recession looks now, history tells us that recessions triggered by exogenous shocks tend to be relatively short and followed by a decent recovery. As long as we get rid of Trump, we should be fine.
RedDirtGirl
As a future rescue dog mom, I love all these stories. I am currently looking after a friend’s dog and having such a good time.
WereBear
In case this works:
https://twitter.com/WayofCats/status/1236732680429076483?s=20
or click on it for some kitty smiles from yesterday. A study in compare and contrast.
ant
so we’ve got to put our cat down this week.
not looking forward to that. Hyperthyroid has got him real thin, now his kidneys are failing, plus real bad arthritis.
16 years old.
We can’t bear to watch him stumble around anymore.
ziggy
Awww, Hazel looks like a lovely dog, and I bet she is smart as heck! I can’t imagine why she was returned twice?
Cheryl Rofer
Thanks, John. I love herding dogs and, if I ever got a dog, that’s the kind I would get.
burnspbesq
@ant:
so sorry for your loss.
zhena gogolia
Thanks for this. We are adopting two cats on Monday, and I was having cold feet because one of them has medical issues, and if we both get sick we have no one who can take care of them. But my husband and I talked it over and decided we can’t abandon these cats — they have nowhere else to go. We’ll just cope with whatever happens.
zhena gogolia
@ant:
I’m very sorry. Our “new” cat (coming Monday) has thyroid issues, so I don’t think he’ll be with us for a lot of years, but we’ll do our best.
CaseyL
Ooh, Hazel is adorable. So sweet that she settled in fast enough to do that “loll backwards on the sofa” sprawl. And the beauty mark on her right leg!
And Lily, the Best of Good Girls. With the prettiest, daintiest feet in Dogdom.
Today is my first day of working from home, and it’s time for me to get off BJ and sign into the network. Wish me luck!
OzarkHillbilly
Speaking of nice rescue stories, I’ll repost this one from the AM thread: Dog finds home after nearly six years in Kansas City shelter
Dupe1970
@PaulWartenberg: I’ve been thinking of rejoining. How hard is it to get things configured? I am not sure I have any of my old install files or character save files.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Here’s a diversion. I blogged about online resources for finding an agent, a publisher, or a place to submit short stories.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@ant – so sorry. It always hurts, even and maybe especially when they have had a long and happy life. I had to do the same last Spring for my 17 year old Minnie. Virtual hugs if you want them.
BruceFromOhio
Such good dogs!
And such lucky humans!
May we all find our Hazels and Lily’s, in whatever shape and size.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
There is a ritual in our house. Max the Mighty Hunter brings me a toy and announces his arrival. His littermate Miles and resident giant Pixel join him at the stairs for treats. Max insists on trying to catch the treats out of the air. Miles must chase them across the house; he ignores treats dropped in front of him. Pixel sits on the other side of the stair landing from Miles and leaps on anything that bounces close.
Maysie and Loki have learned that loud praise for Max means that they’re supposed to come running. After all, that’s what the others do. They will occasionally chase a treat that bounces down the stairs. They haven’t quite figured out that they’re supposed to eat these things after they play with them.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@PaulWartenberg: Which shard?
RedDirtGirl
@ant: I’m so sorry.
germy
MoxieM
Yay for Hazel! and Yay for Lily!
(Hazel was my Gran’s name–I named one of my Newfs after her sister Maisie.)
Maisie’s real name was Maude, and they had another sister called Binkie, whose real name was Blanche. The three sisters were Hazie, Maisie, and Binkie. I could name a lifetime of dogs after that family–there were nine (!) kids in the Canadian maritimes.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Also, good God. The stock market has suspended trading.
kindness
How do you return an adopted pup? I can’t imagine doing that. To me or the dog
I guess I’ve been charmed with the kids that have come into my life. Blessed be.
H.E.Wolf
Thank you, everyone, for all the wonderful animal photos and stories.
And thank you John for the first part of the post, too. Much appreciated.
trollhattan
@germy: Super clever.
NotMax
@Dorothy A. Winsor
So much winning.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@ant: Hugs. I had to say goodbye to my 18-year old Midnight at the end of January. It hurts, but know you are doing the best thing you can for your kitty.
Marcopolo
Thanks for this post. And as someone who lost a beautiful dog to an aggressive cancer: fuck cancer.
White & Gold Purgatorian
Gardening is therapy. We had 3 sunny days in a row and yesterday afternoon I set out 6 tomato plants and a few more lettuce seedlings. A week earlier we planted the first lettuce seedlings, plus radish and pea seeds. Yesterday those seeds were beginning to produce little sprouts. We are in for at least 10 days of very mild temperatures — and more rain — so I’m hopeful freezing temps are behind us for this year. Digging, planting, weeding and so forth is such a great distraction from all the crap going on in the world. My mom will be 92 this week and the coronavirus just scares the hell out of me. Her only remaining sister is 86, currently hospitalized and headed to a rehab facility when she leaves there, my sister is in her 70s, father in law and his wife are upper 80s. So many of those I love and respect are high risk, planting a garden feels like an expression of hope in time of trouble.
Josie
Thanks for the uplifting post, John, and for reminding us what a kind and supportive community we have here.
MisterForkbeard
@ant: I have an 18 year-old cat who’s had a hyperthyroid condition for about 8 years. She’s super thin right now, starting to slip a little.
I’m really worried for her, and I can sympathize with your loss. Hugs for you from my and my family.
Michael Cain
A border collie? Well, no more lazy days for Mr. Cole.
Punchy
The stock market tank is especially painful for the Republican base, many retired or nearing retirement. I can only imagine the shit Agent Orange is dreaming up to bolster the market….free ponies?
TaMara (HFG)
@ant: So very sorry to hear this. It sucks. No doubt about it. We’re here to support you, for sure.
I was up all night with my 16 yr old kitteh – she had a bout of pancreatitis. Difficult to watch, but since we started the CBD oil, they are much fewer and much shorter in duration. (and yes, this was after I was up the night before with Scout doing her best Linda Blair).
Hazel is STUNNING.
RobertB
I didn’t really need to see that I could play CoH again. So, thanks.
As for Classic WoW, I’m spoiled on newer MMO creature comforts now, like LFG, LFR, and there not being 500 miles between flight points. I know that WoW was pure comfort compared to CoH or FFXI when it came out, but now it would feel like misery for misery’s sake. Might as well play EQ or something to show I am the hardest of the hardcore hard.
zhena gogolia
@Punchy:
Once again, not all old people are in Trump’s base, not by a long shot. I really get sick of people reveling in other people’s pain.
joel hanes
If you’re still working and contributing to a 401(k), the next few months are likely to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime. You’re not an expert, and neither am I, and no one can really time the market, so don’t thrash your investments — but if you’re not already contributing the max, there will probably never be a better time to raise your contribution by a couple percentage points. The securities your contributions purchase at the end of the next couple periods are likely to be bargain-priced.
jeffreyw
Every little rescue helps. Mrs J sheltered this downy woodpecker that was dazed from a window strike, keeping it away from the cats until it managed to regain its wits.
glory b
@Marcopolo: The same happened to my doggy in July, at first we thought it was arthritis, it was an agressive bone cancer. I’mgetting teary-eyed as I write this.
I think I’ll get another on this spring, we live 2 blocks from Pittsburgh’s Animal Rescue League facility, the volunteers walk dogs in the neighborhood, it’s an adoption red carpet show!
Elizabelle
@ant: So sorry. You are doing your feline family member a real kindness with letting him go, but it is so hard.
mali muso
@joel hanes: This is what I am thinking. DH just got his annual company bonus and as always, we put some of it towards our mortgage and were preparing to sink another chunk into our toddler daughter’s college 529 plan. Seems like now would be a good time to make that investment, since she doesn’t need it for another 15 years.
Avalune
Awwww! Hazel is a doll. And border collies are so smart – that dog will keep your friend on her toes!
I took Bella with me for my cross training run yesterday (we’re doing this week long bike tour so I’ve been busy losing 38lbs and trying to actually be sort of fit) and she hadn’t been on a run since before Leto’s accident, so she was a bit rusty and when I realized I was making too good of a time and needed to loop back a little to finish how I wanted and turned her around she was like WHAT NOOOOOOOOOOO! Why are we going back! I’m old! I’m finished running now! WHHHHYYYYY.
She recovered quickly and was ready for a walk with Leto in no time – not fooling me dog!
Faithful Lurker
I’m coming out of Lurkerdom to ask a favor, please. Either last Friday, the 6th or on the 7th, someone posted a short video from the Achil Island Music Festival. It featured a story teller/fiddler. I was out of town in a hotel half asleep when I watched it, about 6 times. I want to show it to my Irish husband but can’t find it. Help, please
gvg
I was spending the morning trying to figure out how our office could work from home, then wondering about all the business losses. I stopped for a snack and saw mini hand sanitizer bottles with the candy. It occurred to me Purell is going to make out like bandits from this virus as long as their employees remain well. They didn’t cause the problem so thats OK. Wish I had stock on them though.
Gardening is my comfort. Trialing about 10 kinds of snapdragons this spring.
pat
@MisterForkbeard:
I took my Susy to Madison (Wisconsin) for a radioactive iodine treatment. Took care of her thyroid problems for many years.
geg6
@Yutsano:
My exact reaction. ;-)
germy
dm
I’m guessing the border collie got put up for adoption twice because the previous folks thought they could leave her home alone all day without her own WoW setup. Maybe Starcraft — border collies would be just the thing for a Zerg rush.
In other news, Preet Bharara has run plumb out of fucks:
https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/1236821983951761410
(if you end up on his status page, read the thread on the pinned tweet that starts out “Donald Trump is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on America”)
Punchy
A tad bit of a strawman, no? An observation that the GOP is largely old is not saying all olds are GOP. To observe this market greatly affects those nearing retirement is not reveling in anything. Tough crowd here.
MattF
OT, I guess. Everyone knows that ‘The Far Side’ comics are now appearing daily, right? And every now and then, a themed collection appears on the website. The newest one is Don’t Ask.
ant
thanks for the good wishes everyone.
we’re really going to miss this this particular cat. A very cuddly and verbal orange tabby.
Betty Cracker
A swirl of things (political, economic, family stuff, etc.) was really getting me down, so thank you for posting this. It’s exactly what I needed to hear at this moment.
@Faithful Lurker: My weak Google fu yielded nothing; I hope a more skilled practitioner comes along who is able to help you.
Kristine
@kindness: The folks who adopted Gaby ahead of me brought her back the next day because she always wanted to go outside and they lived in an apartment complex without a fenced area. Sometimes you don’t know things won’t work until you try.
When I say “always wanted to go outside,” I mean that even now, almost 12 years later, Gaby would live outside at all times save periods of blistering heat/polar vortices. Lucky for me I have a fenced backyard.
She had been left at the front door of the vet’s office earlier that week. Maybe four different households in one week went by so fast that the changes didn’t have time to stress her out. She adapted pretty darn quickly.
Marcopolo
So this thread seems like a good place to do one last shout out for Kratu, the rescue dog who had his own way of running the Crufts Agility competition.
This year was Kratu’s third and final appearance at the competition. His consistency over the years has been remarkable.
This year’s competition:
His performance in 2019
His inaugural performance in 2018
Guarenteed to bring a smile to your face & tear to your eye!
bluehill
Not sure if I saw this here or elsewhere, but more dog cuteness
https://twitter.com/MSterling27/status/1236662952905801729
Humdog
We are dreading a potential cancer diagnosis for our Peanut. Tests come back soon. I swear I knew it back in October, but the vet didn’t find it at the time. Peanut is a very reluctant patient, so we have to keep that in mind in calculating how hard to fight. She is only just nine.
My husband says “that’s it for me and dogs, it is too hard to lose them”. When I reply that the pain of loss is a small proportion compared to the love and fun she has given, right now I just get a glare.
WereBear
@ant: I am sorry. It’s never easy.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: We’re fucking doomed.
Gin & Tonic
@gvg:
Overheard but too lazy to verify, they’re privately-held.
WereBear
That is a big factor, and good on you for considering it. Especially for cats.
MattF
It took me a moment or three to get the point of ‘The Wind’ video in Cole’s Twitter feed, but I get it now. Brilliant.
Faithful Lurker
@Betty Cracker: Thanks for looking. My GoogleFu isn’t up to the task either. Maybe it will show up again one day or maybe I imagined the whole thing. Thanks again.
Baud
@Gin & Tonic:
Best time to invest in the market is the Wednesday after election day (hopefully).
Gravenstone
@MazeDancer: The presumed effect of moon phase on germination has been the topic of more than a few science fair projects that I recall from the dark ages of time.
MisterForkbeard
@pat: We thought about this, but I think it’d mean she’d have a very restricted diet. My daughters sneak food to her all the time, so I’m a little wary of that approach.
It might be the right way to go, though. We’ve been handling it through medication, which works just fine. But I’m still worried about her.
Chyron HR
@germy:
“Daddy crashed the economy so that you could do the BUY LOW! Stop being so ungrateful, you peasants!”
Gravenstone
@PaulWartenberg: I sometimes miss my frost build tank, the Goalie! Yeah, not the most imaginative of nyms, but he was fun.
West of the Rockies
So nice to have such a thread. With a few of them lately, I begin to hear a Stuka dive bomb siren accompanying the comments.
Miss Bianca
Aww, so sweet. Happy endings and beginnings!
On a personal note, I just bit the bullet and did an animal adoption of my own.
After 2 + years of looking, and a couple of leases, finally found my forever horse.
She’s an off-track Thoroughbred mare, six years old. She’s like the Hedy LaMarr of horses – gorgeous as all get out, and whip-smart into the bargain. I got her from Elite Equine Rescue, a rescue group here in CO that focuses on sport horses – retired show horses, race horses, and polo ponies, and a kinder, more dedicated group of ladies I have yet to meet. I have been following their group for a year, and when this girl came along, I just knew I had to go see her.
I just completed her adoption fee processing yesterday, after a couple of sleepless “what am I *thinking*” interludes in the middle of the night. As in, “both my jobs depend on a business model where people have to be free to congregate, there’s this corona virus scare, are you *nuts* to be committing to this right now?”
And the answer is, well, yes. But I’m nuts anyway, so I’ll deal with it. Fortunately, I am pretty sure my boss at the theater would let me board her with her horses in lieu of payment, if the theater has to shut down for any period. : )
She’s just that amazing. Sometimes you just know when the right one comes along, and you have to jump on and ride, no matter the circumstances.
Feathers
Here’s a super cute tiny dachshund and her 84 yo Nana: https://twitter.com/dodo/status/1236652896457871361?s=20
Sappy, but it’s that kind of day.
Border collie story. A friend and I used take the collie out for a drive through the nearby office parks. We’d find a flock of Canada Geese, let the dog see them, get excited, and then threw the door open for her to chase after them, sending them up into the air. The bonus was getting all sorts of good behavior from her boys with the promise that they would go goose hunting later.
eddie blake
hey guys. great post, cole.
we had two cats, hamilton who is five and linden who was eleven. she died very unexpectedly in in the middle of january, and my partner and i are wrecked. we were getting all sorts of advice to adopt right away, and the boy DOES seem very lonely and vocalizing much more. (though he always was a chatty cathy) thing is, like i said, we’re wrecked. totally still mourning our little girl.
totally sucks.
on the distraction front, any jackals xboxers?
Elizabelle
@Miss Bianca: That’s wonderful news. Pictures soon, please.
OTR, with a horse.
Elizabelle
@MattF: That is brilliant. Thank you for getting me to look.
rivers
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks, Dorothy. I’m just about ready to do an agent search for a novel and this is very helpful stuff.
Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ
Dammit, you made tear up at work John!!!
blackcatsrule
@eddie blake: If I may offer you some advice, having gone through the passing of several feline companions, both sudden and expected…you are going to feel bad for a long time. That’s a given. Nothing will make up for your loss. But if you adopt sooner rather than later, you are making a huge difference to a kitty in a shelter waiting for his forever home. And in this case also to your cat who has lost his friend and does sound like he would like another companion.
Ruckus
My neighbor’s have a long hair chihuahua named Hazel. Delightful pup. She had a stroke about a month ago but appears to have recovered almost fully. I’ve never seen a dog (or any other animal) quite this color before, a sort of old adobe brown, some reddishness. Nor a chihuahua with long hair. She likes me, which is a plus for a neighbor dog. There is another lady in the complex that has a short hair chihuahua named Oreo who is white/black/tan. A real character this one.
MazeDancer
@Gravenstone: What did the moon do?
@eddie blake: Go to the shelter and look. Pretty soon people will be afraid to go out and cats will start to stack up.
You might run out in tears. Or you might find another love of a lifetime. Ot two. A cutie who got overlooked when not a little kitten anymore. A bonded pair whose owner died. Can’t know til you look.
Feathers
@eddie blake: I had a friend who always had two cats. When one died, she’d start looking for another two weeks later, with the goal of adopting within a month. She said there was a river of cats and it flowed through her house. One cat left and another moved in. Sadly, the river doesn’t flow through my apartment now, but I hope to find a situation where it does again.
Leto
Hazel is such a cutie.
@Miss Bianca: like everyone else here: pictures!!! :)
MazeDancer
@ant:
Heartbreak is rough stuff. But a suffering kitty is worse.
Big props for doing the right thing by your baby.
eddie blake
@blackcatsrule:
thanks for the advice. also? linden was a black fuzzball with the yellowest eyes. so yeah. black cats rule.
we spoke with sean casey at sean casey animal rescue and he said that while hamilton was lonely and sad, he was missing linden specifically. he might be very put off by another cat just dropped in his space, and we took that into account. however, i will talk to my gf about the point you made about the shelter, and getting someone out sooner rather than later.
Mary G
Dog and cat videos are keeping me from going nuts these days. I can never find them again when I try to save them for respie threads, so I’m just throwing them in whenever I see a good one.
Hungry Joe
A few years ago, when our wonderful midnight-black cat Scully started going downhill very fast just a few weeks short of 20 years old, we made arrangements to take her to the vet the next day. After many sleepless hours dreading what I’d have to do, I found that she had died during the night. Sparing me that awful chore was her last gift.
eddie blake
guys. good advice all.
i’ll finagle my gf to take a walk to the shelter this weekend, if nyc hasn’t shut down by then.
cckids
Many industries probably will. At the grocery store I work in, our year-over-year sales are up 60-80%. That is unheard of.
Won’t last, of course. And I have to think that Amazon Fresh, SunBasket, Instacart and other food/meal delivery companies will make bank as well.
blackcatsrule
@eddie blake: You’re welcome. It is never easy but the sudden passings are by far the worst. I am coming up on the one year anniversary of my only non-black kitty passing away unexpectedly and I am still not over it. You are excellent cat parents for considering Hamilton’s needs! Best of luck to you all.
catclub
@WereBear: I seem to remember that Tunch was a ‘reluctant patient’ also. and had the orange tags on his file folder to prove it.
Marcopolo
Max von Sydow has passed at age 90.
I particularly liked him in the film “Pelle the Conqueror” (it is a bit grim but what do you expect from a Scandinavian film?). He also appeared in more general appeal works like GOT & “Star Wars:TFA”. He was also Jesus in the 60’s tentpole film “The Greatest Story Ever Told” & my father, bless his soul, really loved “The Immigrants”, though probably more for Liv Ullman than Sydow. I saw that movie way too many times.
Max Von Sydow: The Exorcist and The Seventh Seal actor dies aged 90
Max von Sydow: 10 essential films
MaryL
I’m not surprised that a border collie (and one that looks like she comes from working lines) was returned twice. They are absolutely amazing dogs, but are the definition of “need a job to do.” So glad Hazel has found a good home. Because, as I said, border collies are amazing and all dogs deserve a great home.
eddie blake
@MazeDancer:
yeah. the reason we adopted hamilton was that he was not a kitten. my gf was specifically looking for a kitten to raise, but i saw the lil guy at the bottom of a stack of bird cages and made a push for him. he was eight or nine months at the time and it looked like he was going to be passed over.
he trills like a bird as his primary means of communication and is a ridiculously vocal cat , which i take to be from his experience in birdland at SCAR.
i convinced my love that we were doing a mitzvah by rescuing the lil man, and now, of course, the two are inseparable.
WereBear
@eddie blake: We mourn, which has no real end because we will always miss them.
What we have are “slots” which is the number of cat spaces we have available. And then there’s “rooms” which is where they leave their unique paw print on our heart.
Which never leaves us.
So the two are not incompatible.
eachother
Thanks John Cole. Uplifting like a breeze borne feather.
mrmoshpotato
@gvg: Snapdragons will bite your nose. Be careful. :)
JMS
One of my 2 cats is named Hazel. I thought it suited her better than her shelter name “Snuggles” which made her sound like a mob boss. My husband doesn’t like the name so he calls her “girl cat” or worse, “girl Rudy” (our other cat is a male named Rudy)
trollhattan
@MaryL:
Yeah, they’re amazing dogs but not for everybody. They can also be “nippy.”
Hazel is obviously very relaxed in her new quarters, as evidenced by the inverted sleeping position. “Ahhhh, I’m home!”
PaulWartenberg
@Dupe1970:
There should be instruction on how to install and update CoH via a Tequila app.
https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/584-dredds-guide-to-loading-city-of-heroes/
Then look for @Witty Librarian
PaulWartenberg
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
you mean which server on Homecoming? Excelsior, usually.
mrmoshpotato
@dm: Good on Preet! All of that is true and had to be said.
WereBear
@catclub: Yes, he was your feline Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
eddie blake
@WereBear:
ty, bear. that’s a very nice way of looking at it.
mrmoshpotato
@MattF: Sometimes you just have to let art flow over you?
WereBear
@eddie blake: You are welcome. You’ll know the right one when both of you meet them. Good luck.
Sure Lurkalot
I once adopted two 8 week old sibling kittens. At first, I would bring myself to tears thinking about one dying and leaving the other destitute. One day when they were 12, the male started having seizures and in 24 hours he was gone. Not only did his sister not look for him, she became much more outgoing and lived her best 7 years ever. I know some pets are inseparable but not all!
A Ghost To Most
@germy: We were so convinced that T would Fuck everything up that in January 2017 we pulled the bulk of our retirement from stocks into a locked up 3% per year until 2021.
2008 slammed us. Won’t get fooled again.
Gravenstone
@MazeDancer: Can’t say that I recall. I just remember each year there would typically be 2-3 students at my tiny school who would do an experiment along those lines.
germy
@A Ghost To Most: Good thinking
A Ghost To Most
@MazeDancer: When Tunch died, I went to the shelter, and brought home the most disgruntled cat there. Maple loves me deeply, and has turned into 18 lbs of damn fine cat.
karensky
Although border collies are serious working dogs they are also seem to have a real sense of humor and when not working are very derpy.
it was so lovely to read about this rescue.
Yutsano
@A Ghost To Most: I could do the same thing to my TSP, but I have a feeling if I let things stand it will come back in a few months.
A Ghost To Most
@germy: My Fidelity guy at the time was a real Trumper, and thought we were passing up a real opportunity. We changed consultants.
Lacuna Synecdoche
Well, this is amusing:
Henry Olsen, right-wing opinion columnist and non-entity for WaPo, most famous for consistently prompting the questiion “Who?”, wrote on March 6:
WaPo’s March 9 Website Headline:
Yeah, Henry, that’s a real solid economy Trump createred there.
MazeDancer
@A Ghost To Most:
Yay, Maple!
Somehow the cat you need finds you.
People night want to consider adding another fur baby to their home before quarantine. Visit a shelter, keep your heart open.
satby
@ant: You have him a good long life with lots of love and now are sparing him needless suffering. The last gift you can give him, as hard and unhappy it is for you. Know that you’re doing the right thing, and that thanks to you he had the best life a cat could ask for.
Condolences.
A Ghost To Most
@Yutsano: Probably wise at this point. I was staring retirement in the face at the time, and did a year later, so no time to recover. T was a bet we weren’t willing to take.
I feel your pain. 2008 was a punch in the gut for us.
MattF
@Lacuna Synecdoche: If the Trumpites insist on owning the next six months of economic chaos, we should let them.
MazeDancer
@eddie blake:
Aww…always the way.
May she at least agree to go look. Once you’re there, magic takes over.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Punchy: It’s a really sensitive issue with some of us, myself included, who are barely hanging on and rely on income from investments. So while it may feel satisfying to dance on the financial graves of Trump supporters, you may be dancing on your fellow jackals graves as well.
L&DinSLT
@Faithful Lurker: Perhaps You Tube – Achill Island & The Acoustic Yard Festival
Dorothy A. Winsor
@A Ghost To Most:
There’s a bank branch in my building and today the guy there told me that the COVID19 was overblown, and there were fewer deaths than from the flu, and a company in Texas had a cure anyway.
waspuppet
@A Ghost To Most: Yup. It took my wife and me about an hour to move everything out of stocks. It is not difficult.
Combined, we lost about $20K in the past three weeks. Yeah, I know historically it comes back up. Historically, we don’t have a president who’s a broke, senile game show host who doesn’t have this country in his top five. Besides, I’m tired of would-be Gordon Gekko bros telling me it’s my patriotic duty to root for the stock market to keep going up without regard for anything else because “That’s your retirement dude!”
Fck you. When I was a kid the stock market was something you could make some money in if you felt like basically having a second job. (Clears throat) SOME of us said making it the de facto retirement fund for the entire country had a downside. I refuse to participate.
Leto
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I agree: as much as I want to tie this around their neck, it’s around all of our necks. They’re going to bring us all down.
MisterForkbeard
It’s off-topic, but I was trying to figure out why I was so disappointed in BernieBro David Sirota and how generally fecking awful he is.
Turns out I was thinking of David Sedaris. Whoops. Now I can feel unconflicted about it. :)
germy
Miss Bianca
@Elizabelle:
@Leto:
I am the world’s worst photographer, but I will do my best to oblige! : )
And to all the suffering owners of kitties who have passed, I feel you. I still miss my feline companions – Queen Mab, a calico I raised from a kitten till when she passed at age 18, and the aptly-misnamed Angel, who came to me as a feral Maine Coon kitten and was a grumpy, aloof, yet oddly entertaining house mate till she ran off one night after I had moved to Crested Butte and was never seen again. I moved three times in the space of four or five years there, and I guess the last one was just one too many for her. Still think of her and wonder if she found someone else to take her in, or if a coyote got her. : (
randal m sexton
@john cole –
Off topic: I just talked to a Farmer who was going to set me up with some giant pumpkin seeds – and other seeds, and he says that there is a virus wiping out a lot of pepper plants, INCLUDING padron peppers. He has some seeds, which I will buy some of in the next week or two. I will buy extra and can mail them your way if you need.
Kelly
Today our fast growing kitten Martin realized how easy it is for him to jump onto the fascinating kitchen counters. For the first time we’re resorting to the spray bottle. However he kinda likes water so unless we mist him square in the face we don’t his attention. Yelling if we catch him in the act is effective. A dozen reprimands so far today.
My first stock crash was October 19th 1987. Rode them all out since. At first because I’d didn’t know what else to do, later because doing nothing worked out.
noname
@A Ghost To Most: Good for you and even better for Maple! PS I’m still chuckling over your comment from a few nights ago about Barcelona Barbie.
Frankensteinbeck
@PaulWartenberg:
It grieves me that my friend group I play games with has lost interest in the CoH revival servers. I love it. Hell, some of the characters in my supervillain books are my characters from way back in the day on CoH.
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Anyone see a pair of eyes roll by?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Miss Bianca:
I know some good photographers.
germy
@mrmoshpotato: It’s a plot.
Don’t you see?
It’s a plot.
/
schrodingers_cat
@Kelly: Tap him on his nose and give him a stern talking to. That helps with my boss cat. Apparently that’s how mama cats discipline their kittens.
germy
mrmoshpotato
@germy: No, I don’t. Kinda hard to see when your eyes roll out of your head. :)
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@ant:
@ant: Been there within the last couple years with our beloved Pudders (who my sister-in-law dubbed “cardboard kitty”, he was so thin in his last couple years. He since hooked us up with a couple of rescue kittens that have enriched our lives beyond words. I hope your current sorrow leads to an equally loving conclusion.
Jinchi
@waspuppet: The trick is that the Gordon Gekko’s are hoping to sell you their shares. Can’t sell if nobody’s buying.
Gin & Tonic
@randal m sexton:
Giant pumpkin growing is quite a thing here in some corners of New England. Guy who lives pretty close to me was routinely growing ~2,000 pounders (I think he’s retired.)
geg6
In good news, all of the campus directors have been meeting most of the day in a Zoom meeting with all the other PSU campuses and the President and Provost. We’re on spring break this week and it is probable that students will be told not to come back. They are trying to figure out how to make all the classes online (not that difficult since they do so many online classes in normal circumstances) and how to get all the rest of us access to work from home. I will love that, despite the reasons for it.
Just for an idea of the magnitude, that’s about 100,000 students and about 20,000 employees across 24 campuses all over the Commonwealth.
JPL
Well they just shut all Fulton Cty schools tomorrow for cleaning. I assume they will reopen on Wednesday except for the one that the school official who tested positive is at. that’s big btw
Miss Bianca
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Oh, so you’re volunteering for a trip to Colorado for a glamor-horse photo shoot? ; )
Added benefit, we are a Dark Skies community, so a lot of good Milky Way photos are possible as well!
mrmoshpotato
@germy: Diversion. Also a diversion from wankerific Congresstrash.
Immanentize
@geg6: At my son’s future school, Rice University (Go Owls!) they cancelled classes this week — a week before their spring break — with the stated possibility that classes for the rest of the semester might be on-line. This week was cancelled so that professors can make plans regarding methods other than F2F learning.
Faithful Lurker
@L&DinSLT: Thanks for looking for me. I tried that too, it’s the schedule but not the guy I’m looking for. The very short video was filmed by someone who takes their kids there every year. It’s just a portion of this story being told by a fiddler, he say fock and a 9 year old girl tells him to watch his mouth. Then things take off in a spectacularly Irish way.
mrmoshpotato
@Gin & Tonic: Now that is a great pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
Avalune
@Immanentize: I’ve heard some rumors that our school may close the week of spring break (instead of just Thur Fri). We’ve apparently got 5 confirmed cases in our county right now.
Immanentize
@Avalune: Sheesh! 5 confirmed? We have none. Rice had ONE — a PhD student who was always quarantined when returned from travel. I think Stanford had 2 confirmed cases and closed. Like Martin said, I think the industry standard is now 1 student or 1 teacher and you close the classrooms.
ETA — Oh, closer read of your comment — 5 in your county, not your school. Nevermind!
Avalune
@Immanentize: There have been a couple schools shut down for extensive cleaning or something in this area but nothing major yet. But out of all the cases in PA 2/3 are here in my county.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Miss Bianca: I go as far as my Prius will take me in a day, gotta feed the girls in the evening.
Steeplejack (phone)
@germy:
scribbler
@eddie blake:
Although it’s a very sad time, maybe now is also the time for your gf to get her kitty to raise.
Mel
Hazel is lovely. There’s a lot of wisdom and hope in her pretty brown eyes.
And Lily- oh, Lily! She is the princess. I wonder if she has any idea how many people adore her, and how her photos brighten the day?
J R in WV
@catclub:
We had a big ole white tom cat, with red spots, 20 pounds, no fat. As he aged, he didn’t moderate his behavior and killed and ate a rabbit one day while we were at work. The rabbit did not pass, so we made a trip to a different vet who was open on the weekend.
When wife went to pick up Ralph,, they asked her to come back to pick him up. She saw the “Bites” sticker on his cage, why they asked her to pick him up, when they opened his cage, he leaped into her arms, knew she was there to rescue him. He did not appreciate the enemas which saved his life by breaking up the blockage the rabbit caused.
BUT, that was his last rabbit, so he learned from that horrible experience. Ralph died around 1 am one night while laying beside his food dish, a sudden attack of one sort or another. HE was a great cat. And wonderously, just a few weeks later I found a young white tom with red spots at the local hardware store on the way to work. Stopped to pick him up and take him home.
My condolences to everyone who has recently lost a beloved companion critter!! It is so hard to take them in for that last appointment. But it is also one of the greatest gifts we can give them after they loved us for so long.
John Cole
@randal m sexton: That would be great!
ziggy
@Ruckus: That’s odd–I know a long-haired chihuahua named Hazel. Brown all over. It was at the daycare my dog went to, which shut down. Very sweet, quiet dog, but I don’t think you live anywhere near me!