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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

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

Bark louder, little dog.

This fight is for everything.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

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

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

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

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

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Tuesday Night Open Thread

Tuesday Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  August 17, 202110:50 pm| 114 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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I wish I had something entertaining to say but in the span of 24 hours my laptop died, my dishwasher died, and I can not friend the pressure regulator on my pressure cooker, so I am going to have do all this shit the old fashioned way. I am officially over watching and doomscrolling about Afghanistan. There is nothing I can do and nothing to be learned from the loudmouths. I put in an application to house Afghan refugees, and have not heard back, and I will do some research and try to reach out again tomorrow.

Other than that, there is nothing I can do and I am done screaming into the void.

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Reader Interactions

114Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    August 17, 2021 at 10:59 pm

    Cole, I have said it before, but it bears repeating.

    You are good people.?

    Really good people.?

  2. 2.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    August 17, 2021 at 11:00 pm

    I am officially over watching and doomscrolling about Afghanistan. There is nothing I can do and nothing to be learned from the loudmouths.

    Me too

    I put in an application to house Afghan refugees, and have not heard back, and I will do some research and try to reach out again tomorrow.

    you’re a better person than I, but I will donate

    Other than that, there is nothing I can do and I am done screaming into the void.

    me too, and done listening to others emote from air conditioned TV studios

  3. 3.

    ronno2018

    August 17, 2021 at 11:01 pm

    dude stay safe and i hope your pressure cooker does not blow up!

  4. 4.

    FlyingToaster

    August 17, 2021 at 11:04 pm

    I’m with you. There’s no point in letting that abyss get an eyeball on me.

    Right now I’m worrying about coyotes and storrowings.
    .

  5. 5.

    jonas

    August 17, 2021 at 11:05 pm

    I put in an application to house Afghan refugees,

    Wow! If that ends up working out for you, definitely get a donation drive going either for cash or clothes or books or whatever they need.

  6. 6.

    Steeplejack

    August 17, 2021 at 11:07 pm

    @Cole:

    Sounds about right. I have dropped my Internet consumption about 80% because of the sheer volume of idiocy about Afghanistan spraying from all directions. Even the animal videos are suspect.

    On the positive side, at the grocery yesterday I bought a bag of Tostitos Scoops that turned out to have an unbelievably high percentage of pristine chips. Yee-haw.

  7. 7.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 17, 2021 at 11:07 pm

    An excellent thread by a Pakistani academic about Deobandi Islam, the philosophy that animates the Taliban.

  8. 8.

    dww44

    August 17, 2021 at 11:11 pm

    Cole, our dishwasher needs replacing because the water pump in it (Kenmore 3 1/2 years old) stopped pumping water.  Part wasn’t readily available so researched and found a black fronted Bosch at a very good medium price.  Highly rated.  Home Depot’s third party deliverer and installer failed to show after canceling the first appointment on July 29 and were a complete no show on August 10.  We cancelled that and now can find NOTHING in black.  If you have stainless steel you can find something but there is a severe lack of supply because of the supply chain disruptions which don’t look to be fixed until sometime in 2022.

    Then this morning at 5 a.m. we had sirens going off all over town and the whole area was under tornado watches and then warnings.  Rain wrapped tornadoes embedded in the thunderstorms being dropped on us by TS Fred.  The storm caused my 94 year old friend’s alarm system to go off and she had no idea what her pass code was.  It was driving her sitters crazy and it took forever for me to convince them to please disable that thing.  They finally relented and gave me the emergency code to disable.  So, technology can be a real bear sometimes.  Good on you for taking in some refugees.  As was said up above, you are indeed a good person.

  9. 9.

    Kay

    August 17, 2021 at 11:14 pm

    For reasons she still doesn’t quite understand, Burk, a 47-year-old former Gilbert school board member, aspiring lawyer and Republican activist, was plucked out of political obscurity and placed at the center of a national campaign to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential victory. For weeks, a heavily armed security team, sent by Trump’s disgraced and pardoned former national security advisor Michael Flynn, lived at her house, allegedly protecting her while stoking her conspiracies and fears.
    But nine months after the election, with no great revelation, no smoking gun pointing to the massive fraud the former president claimed, one of Arizona’s biggest Stop the Steal proponents is having second thoughts.
    Her story of how she got tangled in (and is now trying to find her way out of) the web of lies that surround the 2020 election offers a window into how Trump’s campaign of disinformation came together, and how it’s slowly unraveling
    So when we stumbled upon a series of emails Burk sent to election officials and the Attorney General’s Office declaring she no longer believed many of the conspiracies she helped spread, and she thought she was “lied to and duped” by a network of people with “financial and ulterior motives as well as a specific plan and agenda,” we were… let’s go with dumbfounded.
    “You wanna talk about what a fool I am?” she said when we called
    .

    I think she’s the first one to publicly admit it.

  10. 10.

    VeniceRiley

    August 17, 2021 at 11:15 pm

    You are aces. And house and appliance repair is like a never ending story. Right now, my shower head is cracked and leaking. My window gutter needs a clean out. I accidentally almost pulled the towel rack clean off. The bathroom sink slow drains and the mechanism to stop it is borked. This isn’t even my house I rent. The AC is fucked ….
    Im still luckier than your random  refugee or immigrant.

  11. 11.

    schrodingers_cat

    August 17, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    @rikyrah: Agreed.

  12. 12.

    Scout211

    August 17, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    Over here in California, we have ourselves yet another big fire. This one, the Caldor Fire  is about 60 miles northeast of where we live. The local news reports are saying it is now 30,000 acres with zero containment.

    The winds have picked up so we had blue sky and sunshine for the first time in about a week (due to the smoke choking out the sun) only to see ginormous plumes of smoke billowing from the Caldor fire against the blue sky

    And with the winds, we have now red flag fire weather fire conditions.  PG&E plans to shut off power to 51,000 customers in 17 counties starting tonight. https://www.kcra.com/article/pge-customers-psps-outages/37333287

    We have one less candidate for Governor on the recall ballot since Doug Ose dropped out due to a heart attack over the weekend. BallotTrax let us know our ballots have been mailed.

    We are kind of focused on local issues right now, not on the Taliban.  So I get why you are over the doomscrolling Mr.Cole.

  13. 13.

    Kent

    August 17, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    @dww44: I have had super good luck with Appliance Parts Pros for finding replacement appliance parts.  They also have a wealth of instructional videos for how to install them yourself.

    https://www.appliancepartspros.com/

  14. 14.

    topclimber

    August 17, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    What do you think of the commenters who bad-mouthed He-Man in the last thread?

    This is probably a better avenue for your outrage right now.

  15. 15.

    Ohio Mom

    August 17, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    Now I am imagining the memoir the Afghani tween ending up in Bethany, West Virgina will write once he/she reaches adulthood.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    August 17, 2021 at 11:18 pm

    Lesson learned. Always hand wash your laptop.

    ;)

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:18 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I’m glad you’re here; have been hoping for a thread where we were both commenting at the same time.

    I expect you’ve already seen this WaPo piece, but in case it passed you by I wanted to be sure you had a chance to read it.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/16/india-modi-muslims-journalists-dissent-democracy-rana-ayyub/

  18. 18.

    Jackie

    August 17, 2021 at 11:21 pm

    Cole, you are aces! I’m in for donating.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    August 17, 2021 at 11:22 pm

    @Ohio Mom

    Afghan, not Afghani.

    We’ve managed to wean ourselves off saying The Ukraine, we can do this too.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:24 pm

    I can not friend the pressure regulator on my pressure cooker

    Honestly not sure if this is a simple typo/autocorrect, or if it’s some new thing the kids are saying these days, or if Facebook has bought up all the pressure cookers and now requires everyone to choose from a variety of emojis and actions in order to use their kitchen equipment.

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:25 pm

    Also, where the fuck is Mister Frog?

  22. 22.

    Ohio Mom

    August 17, 2021 at 11:25 pm

    @NotMax:

    Noted. Thanks.

  23. 23.

    Percysowner

    August 17, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    If you want a respite from anything political, I recommend this video.  The guy made a replica of Howl’s Moving Castle from mostly junk. It’s really interesting and a great way to recycle. It will give you an hour just to admire the artistry and ingenuity of the guy.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    @NotMax:

    A day or two ago, someone referred quite casually to “The Argentine.”

  25. 25.

    Ohio Mom

    August 17, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    (Duplicate)

  26. 26.

    NotMax

    August 17, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne

    If I could friend my Instant Pot, I would.

    ;)

  27. 27.

    Ken

    August 17, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Possibly on the dead laptop?

  28. 28.

    Jerzy Russian

    August 17, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    @Kay:   That linked article is nucking futs, possibly the nucking futtiest one of the year.

  29. 29.

    Comrade Colette

    August 17, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I was reading a 1950s novel that was set in “the Lebanon” or alternately “the High Lebanon.” That usage seems to have disappeared entirely in English, so there’s hope that we’ll continue to adjust to modern usage for other places and people.

  30. 30.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 17, 2021 at 11:30 pm

    Yeah, Afghan takes have been overwhelmingly dreadful.

  31. 31.

    dww44

    August 17, 2021 at 11:34 pm

    @Kent: Thanks for the info.  Will definitely look into it.

  32. 32.

    Delk

    August 17, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: a courting.

  33. 33.

    Benw

    August 17, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    It is on:

    Our school district FINALLY released preliminary guidance that all non-vaxxed adults and kids will be masked this year, and scheduled a BOE meeting for Monday the 23rd. The local anti-mask fascists have been hyper present at every BOE meeting in nearby districts, verbally and sometimes physically assaulting parents who advocate for safety with masks and vaccine requirements. I’m going to be there, hopefully as a barrier between the psychos and parents, just to try to get in the way between moms and the violent assholes.

  34. 34.

    Another Scott

    August 17, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    We lost the cap for a water tank for about 6 months. Found it under the broom.

    Check under the broom.

    Good luck!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  35. 35.

    Kay

    August 17, 2021 at 11:36 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    Isn’t it? Flynn’s criminal thugs lived in her house for 7 weeks.

    It was amazingly profitable, Stop The Steal. They raised millions and millions of dollars. And she’s left with a ruined life, a boatload of credit card debt and possible criminal charges on the fake shredded ballots scam.

  36. 36.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:36 pm

    @Comrade Colette:

    Never heard of “The Lebanon,” but I do see plenty of references to “The Levant.” I assume, but have not yet checked it out, that “Levant” and “Lebanon” are etymologically related.

  37. 37.

    Rocks

    August 17, 2021 at 11:37 pm

    John – I’m sorry to say it, but your plight reminds me of the dreadful country and western song “Patches”:

    Oh, I was only 13 when Pappy died, and Ma said “Patches, you’ve gotta be a man.”

    I worked mighty hard on the crops, but then the drought come, and the crops died, and Ma said “Patches, you’ve gotta be a man.”

    And then little Tansy come down with the whooping cough.  And then the floods came, and washed away the dead crops, and Ma said “Patches, I’m catching the next bus to New Orleans.  You’re on your own.”

    Honest to God, by the end of the song, I feel like saying “Dude, just tell me where you live so I don’t buy in your neighborhood!”  Let’s hope your song has a happier ending.

  38. 38.

    SiubhanDuinne

    August 17, 2021 at 11:37 pm

    @Delk:

    Sword and pistol by his side?

  39. 39.

    Delk

    August 17, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    Our dishwasher broke last month. Extended warranty to the rescue. Took two weeks.

  40. 40.

    Chetan Murthy

    August 17, 2021 at 11:38 pm

    @Kay: The article (to me) was a bit misleading.  It gave the impression that there’d be some big reveal where we learned exactly how and why she changed her mind.  But really didn’t happen.  At least, it wasn’t very obvious from the article.

  41. 41.

    Noskilz

    August 17, 2021 at 11:40 pm

    There have been a lot of really solid articles on the Afghanistan situation at the site.

    Sorry your appliances are flaking out. Best of luck with your  various projects.

  42. 42.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 17, 2021 at 11:40 pm

    The dish ran away with Cole’s pressure regulator.

  43. 43.

    Steeplejack

    August 17, 2021 at 11:42 pm

    @VeniceRiley:

    Shower head replacement: AquaDance! Under 20 bucks, no-brainer installation in minutes, life-changing water delivery. Do eet!

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 17, 2021 at 11:44 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    @Delk: CRAMBONE!

  45. 45.

    H.E.Wolf

    August 17, 2021 at 11:45 pm

    @rikyrah: ​

    @schrodingers_cat: ​
     Yes. What the two of you said. :)

  46. 46.

    H.E.Wolf

    August 17, 2021 at 11:46 pm

    Someone on a recent comments thread mentioned this:
    https://miles4migrants.org/about-us/

  47. 47.

    Jerzy Russian

    August 17, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    @Kay:    Flynn’s criminal thugs lived in her house for 7 weeks.

    They all had code names.  Lord Jesus Christ in a Crosswalk, you can’t make any of this up.

  48. 48.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 17, 2021 at 11:53 pm

    @Scout211:

    We have one less candidate for Governor on the recall ballot since Doug Ose dropped out due to a heart attack over the weekend. 

    So being a slapdick is hazardous to your health.

  49. 49.

    StringOnAStick

    August 17, 2021 at 11:54 pm

    Spent the weekend and Monday with a couple I thought we are good friends with, only to hear they want genocide for homeless because he thinks it’s a lifestyle choice, then a tricky way of implying they like us but hate our liberalism and don’t want to hear it anymore or they won’t want to spend anymore time with us.  After the word “libtard” got used, I decided I wasn’t going to be interested in spending any more time with them.  They had huge trouble with inner city homeless crime and have moved into a very nice custom house in a small town and it looks like IGMFU in steroids.  So disappointing.

  50. 50.

    Tazj

    August 17, 2021 at 11:57 pm

    @Benw: I have to attend a parent’s meeting for fall sports indoors this Saturday and I will be wearing a mask. Things haven’t been crazy here yet but it has crossed my mind that there might be some anti-maskers there. I’ve seen a few Unmask our Children yard signs.One never knows now.

    I’ve had a few appliance woes and house repairs myself in the past few weeks. First the basement had some water issues starting with a day where a thunderstorm stalled and we lost power. Of course the sump pump went out but then the hydraulic pump broke in half. It was fun bailing water by flashlight and then finding out we needed costly repairs to the basement. Then the touchpad to my microwave stopped working and now the whole door must be replaced and they can’t get the parts for a month.

    My Fitbit watch also quit. This is the 3rd one in less than 2 years. I don’t know if anyone else has had one that has lasted a long time. I liked how you could monitor your sleep and I found I need to be nagged to exercise regularly.

  51. 51.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 17, 2021 at 11:59 pm

    @Jerzy Russian:

    They all had code names. Lord Jesus Christ in a Crosswalk, you can’t make any of this up. 

    Who was Trump-humping fascist shitstain #5?

  52. 52.

    Chacal Charles Caltrop

    August 18, 2021 at 12:00 am

    I think the Afghan situation is going to blow up in the Taliban’s face.

    All the rich guys who own Western media and luv their tax cuts need some bad optics for the Biden admin but in fact the Taliban are taking over a country that’s had access to cell phones, western media, a lot of American money, and a neighboring newly industrialized China for twenty years. Moreover, the place is going to get hit with the Delta COVID if it hasn’t already.

    The Taliban remember taking over from the Soviets. They’re remembering being the liberators.

    However, they’re about to discover what it’s like to run cities full of people who really hate them (& most of whom have cell phones to record embarrassing videos), consider them to be failing in the face of a virus, and who only need to catch a bus to an atheistic China-controlled territory to see a modern country that sells lots of consumer goods.

    in other words, things are not going to go as the Taliban have planned. So take heart.

  53. 53.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 12:01 am

    @StringOnAStick: Did you consider slapping him into the Sun?

  54. 54.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 18, 2021 at 12:02 am

    The Little League Softball World Series title game is tomorrow, so that’s a good thing.

    Chesterfield, Virginia came back from a 5-1 deficit with a monster 6-run fourth inning to defeat Texas and advance to meet Muskogee, Oklahoma tomorrow at 5 p.m. EST/2 p.m. PST.

    Good fun, and girls cry just as much as boys.

  55. 55.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 12:04 am

    I’m amazed that no one has noticed, but Thurston took the pressure regulator and buried it under the willow. It hurt his ears.

  56. 56.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 12:05 am

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Good fun, and girls cry just as much as boys. 

    So what you’re saying is that you watch Little League to see disappointed children?

  57. 57.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 12:06 am

    @Chacal Charles Caltrop: Times have definitely changed:

    A handful of Afghan women protest in Kabul today against Taliban rule

    pic.twitter.com/mbROQWyWjT— Alfons López Tena (@alfonslopeztena) August 17, 2021

    So brave.

  58. 58.

    Anya

    August 18, 2021 at 12:07 am

    By accident I came across Michael Cohen’s Mea Culpa podcast. Out of curiosity, I checked his guests. Turns out he has a weird collection of guests. I don’t get it. Why are these people going on Michael Cohen’s podcast?

  59. 59.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 12:07 am

    @Mary G: No no.  The willow broke into the house and stole the regulator.

    How, you ask.  Well, it’s easy when it’s too close to the house!

  60. 60.

    CaseyL

    August 18, 2021 at 12:08 am

    Appliances must have some way to communicate with one another and all start heading for the Appliance Graveyard at around the same time, because in the last 12 months I had to replace my fridge and my dishwasher.  Huh.

    And today I was finally able to tell Comcast/Xfinity to close my account.  T-Mobile has introduced its own ISP service, and I latched on immediately.  Got the new modem up and running, am blissfully online, and am no longer paying even the tiniest centavo to Fox News just by virtue of having cable.

    Here’s a maddening thing I discovered: I had been asking Comcast/Xfinity for **months** if they had an internet-only package; they kept saying no.  When I told them one of the reasons I was leaving was that I’d found an ISP that didn’t also force me to buy cable TV, they suddenly did offer me an internet-only plan.  Fancy that.

  61. 61.

    Rocks

    August 18, 2021 at 12:09 am

    @Chacal Charles Caltrop: Thank you!

  62. 62.

    Rocks

    August 18, 2021 at 12:09 am

    @Mary G: I am in awe of their courage.

  63. 63.

    HumboldtBlue

    August 18, 2021 at 12:13 am

    @mrmoshpotato: ​ Oh sweet mother of Satchel Paige you’re goddamn right I do!
    Nothing better than seeing an 11-year-old give up a single to left field that the left fielder then misses with the glove and chases the ball to the fence and while throwing to the cut-off man throws it six feet above his head where the ball rolls to the near dugout only for the third baseman to track it down and throw it over the head of the catcher while the loaded bases are cleared.
    The pitcher is crying, the left fielder is crying and the third baseman is mad, mad as hell and just barely holding back tears.
    Those tears are the answer to drastically lowered water tables in the Central Valley.​

  64. 64.

    Ruckus

    August 18, 2021 at 12:15 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I got a timeout on twitter and I believe I just going to let it go. I took a timeout here on my own here for a few days, one of the front pagers pissed me off a bit and so I stayed away for a time. Now I don’t bother with that one. But it’s mostly good people here and it’s worth a bit of pissy once in a while.

  65. 65.

    Chetan Murthy

    August 18, 2021 at 12:18 am

    @Chacal Charles Caltrop: I wish I could agree with you.  That is to say, that the points you make would be dispositive.  Sadly I don’t.  OTOH though, I do think you might be right:

    1. the Taliban have apparently banned the covid-19 vaccine.  Yes, imagine it.
    2. They remain a Pashtun militia, and that means that the rest of AFG will eventually get fed up with them, and there’ll be chaos and civil war.

    I think it’s worth remembering that 75% of the AFG population is rural, and I’d be willing to bet that their lives haven’t changed much at all from before the US invasion.

  66. 66.

    Kattails

    August 18, 2021 at 12:22 am

    Dear Cole, my Catholic friend told me to ask Saint Anthony to help find lost stuff. The request was phrased thusly: “Tony, Tony, look around, something’s lost and must be found.” (I am absolutely serious here.) (also I’m sure there is a more formal way to phrase this)

    Now it’s to the point of “hi St. A, it’s me again, sorry, where’s the ____ please and thank you”.

    On a different note A. A. Milne said “the nice thing about being absent-minded is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries”.

  67. 67.

    The Moar You Know

    August 18, 2021 at 12:22 am

    @Kay: that is the most deranged thing I have ever read in my life.

    what do you do when a large portion of the country’s gone mad?   It’s no longer an academic question.

  68. 68.

    russell

    August 18, 2021 at 12:26 am

    Cole, if you don’t mind sharing, how do you go about applying to sponsor Afghan refugees?

    Thanks man!

  69. 69.

    scav

    August 18, 2021 at 12:28 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: I think Levant is from the French verb lever: to rise, so it’s essentially the east end of the Mediterranean.  Magrib/Magreb is the west end, only they somehow went with the Arabic for setting sun place / west just to keep things confusing.  Or my TA was playing with my mind.

  70. 70.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 12:29 am

    @mrmoshpotato: I stand corrected, thanks.

  71. 71.

    Steeplejack

    August 18, 2021 at 12:31 am

    @Ruckus:

    Sometimes a break is good.

  72. 72.

    The Moar You Know

    August 18, 2021 at 12:31 am

    Shower head replacement: AquaDance! Under 20 bucks, no-brainer installation in minutes, life-changing water delivery. Do eet!

    @Steeplejack: Sadly, banned in CA.   They won’t ship here.

    Run into the same issue with some light bulbs I used to use and really like.  Might have them sent to my relatives in SC and have them send em here.

  73. 73.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 12:37 am

    Pundits suddenly quoting John Bolton as some sort of authority on what Biden oughta do…… should be rolled in molasses and fire ants and then lobbed via trebuchet over the minefield into North Korea.— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) August 17, 2021

    I’m not Ozzyman, but fuck yes, Jim. Fuck yes.

  74. 74.

    Juju

    August 18, 2021 at 12:40 am

    Rikyrah, as always, is right. Cole, you are really good people.
    I had a similar appliance, vehicle and household item suicide pact take place in April. The well started having issues and it turned out to be the tank, a timing belt in the car engine needed to be replaced, which was more expensive than I’d ever have guessed, the refrigerator died, the compressor in the HVAC died and I found out that to adopt another dog after my dear Gracie Lou unexpectedly died earlier in the month, I had to have a fenced in yard. That all happened from mid April to the end of April. My head still hurts and I’m still waiting for the fence. The rest has been taken care of, but it was a difficult period o time that has gone from one A month through the next A month. I hope it’s all done by the upcoming S month.  Wish me luck. I want a fence so I can get a dog.

  75. 75.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 12:41 am

    @HumboldtBlue: Oh. My. God.

    You are a hilarious, awful man! ?

  76. 76.

    Ruckus

    August 18, 2021 at 12:41 am

    @Jerzy Russian:

    It’s like they all fell out of airplanes and landed on their heads. The insanity doesn’t run deep, it’s taken over the entire damn rethuglican party.

  77. 77.

    JoyceH

    August 18, 2021 at 12:42 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: ​
     

    Never heard of “The Lebanon,” but I do see plenty of references to “The Levant.” I assume, but have not yet checked it out, that “Levant” and “Lebanon” are etymologically related.

    The Levant is an old, old term that refers to the east end of the Mediterranean. Basically the area along the shore, from Egypt up to Turkey. Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and parts of Iraq. Everyone from that area was considered ‘Levantine’.

    But Afghani is no longer a thing? Is that like Keev versus Kee-ehv?

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    August 18, 2021 at 12:44 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    Huh. Is it because they’re not “low-flow”?

    Comparable and California compliant for $29.

  79. 79.

    Gretchen

    August 18, 2021 at 12:45 am

    @Kattails: my friend was one of 7 children.  When one of the kids couldn’t find their shoes or whatever, 6 were ordered to look, and the 7th was directed to get on their knees to pray to St. Anthony.

  80. 80.

    Ruckus

    August 18, 2021 at 12:47 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    You don’t think a portion of the country has always been mad as a hatter?

    I do.

  81. 81.

    Steeplejack

    August 18, 2021 at 12:50 am

    @Steeplejack:

    My seeming obsession with shower heads is because I dithered for a long time and did a lot of research before replacing a truly dreadful basic shower head in my (rental) apartment. When I finally got the AquaDance I mentioned above it was ridonkulous what a game-changer it was. Best $20 I spent in a long time.

  82. 82.

    RaflW

    August 18, 2021 at 12:55 am

    @Percysowner: Wow. I didn’t watch all 50 minutes, but probably at least 20 mins dipping in and out. I cannot even imagine that level of work.

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    August 18, 2021 at 12:56 am

    @JoyceH:

    Afghani is the unit of currency. Everything else—the rugs, the dogs, the people—is Afghan.

  84. 84.

    Juju

    August 18, 2021 at 12:57 am

    @dww44: I have a black Bosch dishwasher. It’s great. I had to wait 15 days to get something called black stainless steel in the LG brand, which was the only remotely close black refrigerator I could find when my black refrigerator died in April. I’d call it dark gray and the delivery men, when they finally delivered the refrigerator got it into the house unscathed, but scratched it when they took the protective plastic wrap off. I had to decide if I wanted the trauma of another delivery, which took an hour and a half, or take a discount. I figured out how to hide the scratches and took a $400 discount. Thank goodness for black permanent magic markers, which blend very nicely in scratched black stainless steel.  When you need a black appliance and you find one, take it. They are apparently harder to come by with disrupted supply chains. Living 15 days without a refrigerator sucked. I had to buy a dorm fridge to store my milk for my coffee. I can’t live without that.  Do you know anyone who needs a slightly used dorm fridge?

  85. 85.

    Kattails

    August 18, 2021 at 12:57 am

    @Gretchen: Oh that’s a picture!  I was raised Lutheran (didn’t take) but I’ll take help wherever it comes from.

  86. 86.

    NotMax

    August 18, 2021 at 1:00 am

    @mrmoshpotato

    What, no Hambone?

    :)

  87. 87.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 1:03 am

    @The Moar You Know: Went through that with my bathroom remodel. housemate would send me a faucet and I’d say “You can’t buy it here, remember?” She never did.

    CA only allows flow of 1.2 gallons a minute and most of the other states 1.8 – 2 something. I TFG rambled on about it in his later rallies but was too incoherent to make sense about it, just babbling about trinkles of water.

  88. 88.

    Comrade Colette

    August 18, 2021 at 1:07 am

    @Steeplejack:

    Everything else—the rugs, the dogs, the people—is Afghan.

    You forgot the Whigs.

  89. 89.

    NotMax

    August 18, 2021 at 1:07 am

    @Mary G

    What, a Republican admitting trickle down doesn’t work? I iz gobsmacked.

    //

  90. 90.

    NotMax

    August 18, 2021 at 1:10 am

    @Comrade Colette

    Oldie but a goody.

    :)

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    August 18, 2021 at 1:12 am

    @Comrade Colette:

    Touché.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    August 18, 2021 at 1:15 am

    @Scout211:

    That one’s close. Calder Fire is south of CA-50 at Pollock Pines, not far from Jenkenson Reservoir. The feds say it’s 6,500 acres, hopefully not 30k. For now it appears headed south; hopefully it doesn’t reverse and head towards the reservoir and Highway 50

  93. 93.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 1:15 am

    @NotMax: Thanks,  I did not know that.

    @Mary G: And my brain has gone to mush and remembered the CA water rules wrong. 1.8 is our max, not 1.2.
    I’m putting myself to bed, but before I go, this thread of Irish people insulting clothing is very funny.

    Props to anyone who tries to be fashionable in ireland i wore a red beret once in waterford and someone called me super mario— lady of sophistication (@janky_jane) August 15, 2021

  94. 94.

    Morzer

    August 18, 2021 at 1:16 am

    You’re a good person, Cole. I have doubts that any Afghan refugees are going to end up in Seoul, but if they do, I shall follow your example as best I can.  Mind you, I’ve never succeeded in friending a pressure regulator either, so we’ll just have to see how it goes. May the Force and Mr. Frog be with you.

  95. 95.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 1:21 am

    @NotMax: Hamboning

  96. 96.

    NotMax

    August 18, 2021 at 1:30 am

    Ooh, just noticed Little Mosque on the Prairie is on the free with minimal ad breaks Tubi streaming service (all six seasons). Curious if its good natured, slightly cockeyed gentle brand of Canadian humor holds up.

    As an aside, confoozled by someone in charge at Tubi including The Prisoner among its listings for comedy.

  97. 97.

    trollhattan

    August 18, 2021 at 1:35 am

    @Mary G:

    Most of the flow-restricted plumbing fixtures I’ve encountered have the restrictor somewhere it can be removed. Just sayin’.

    When we were doing our addition I spent FAR too much time shopping sales at fancy schmancy appliance, hardware, plumbing supply, etc. places and stumbled across some pretty sweet deals. This is how we ended up with Dornbracht showerheads in both bathrooms for what today would be a bout 1/20 of retail. Swear they weigh two pounds each.

    This is not helpful in the least, but just saying there are a gazillion options and if one has good pressure and flow, then complicated showerheads are great. With poor flow a lot of the massage stuff won’t work and a more typical showerhead might be better.

  98. 98.

    trollhattan

    August 18, 2021 at 1:41 am

    Oh goodie, here come the Republicans.

    “Recall candidate John Cox interrupted at debate with court order to pay ad agency $100,000”
    “Kevin Faulconer blasts California recall rival Larry Elder over past comments on women”
    “Republicans in Gavin Newsom recall say they’d end California COVID vaccine
    requirements”
    “Republican Doug Ose drops out of Newsom recall race for governor, citing heart attack”
    Just kill me now. Oh, our ballots arrived today. Hooray for our >$!00 million waste of fucking time.

  99. 99.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    August 18, 2021 at 2:10 am

    Like most of America, I’ve been too busy preparing for the NFL fantasy league draft to watch the news.

    Just kidding, I’m actually focusing on issues far more important, namely lesbian soccer drama on TikTok (video)

  100. 100.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    August 18, 2021 at 2:16 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I’ve smoked some righteous Afghani in the past. :)

  101. 101.

    NotoriousJRT

    August 18, 2021 at 2:25 am

    @jonas: I sign on to this.  Cole is a good soul.

  102. 102.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    August 18, 2021 at 2:46 am

    @trollhattan: I’m warming to the idea of not voting on the second question after voting no on the recall.

  103. 103.

    GoBlueInOak

    August 18, 2021 at 2:50 am

    @Steeplejack:  Yes, because it’s 40% more wasteful at 2.5 gpm
    than the upper limit on shower heads allowed in CA. Much like our energy efficiency standards in CA, we far exceed the wasteful levels the rest of the country stupidly allows. Which is how we’ve continued to grow in CA while driving down our energy consumption per capita.

    Cuz, you know, the world is on effing fire and we are quite literally running out of water.

    PS People who remove flow restrictors in CA should have their water shut off. We’re in the middle of a multi year mega drought. Get with fricking program.

  104. 104.

    Argiope

    August 18, 2021 at 3:19 am

    @Tazj: contact the company for the FitBit.  If it’s within a year they used to replace it free.

  105. 105.

    Mary G

    August 18, 2021 at 4:38 am

    Should’ve kept Adam, assholes

    U.S.'s two-decade effort to build a democratic society in its mold in Afghanistan was doomed virtually from the start by a galling failure to understand the country and a willful disregard for local realities, according to scathing new report. https://t.co/hCz9P4Dk5p— ABC News (@ABC) August 18, 2021

  106. 106.

    lurker

    August 18, 2021 at 4:59 am

    Good on you for applying to host people.

    Fixing appliances… part of living in a house… or at least owning one.  Did some work on copper piping once.  Sweating in solder to connect joints with a little handheld torch.  Got someone in to do some work on the piping in the same area later and they had a look at my work.  They were not impressed.  Much of this stuff can be done on your own, but do the research and think it through multiple times, even if it takes longer.

    The void says it misses you… needy little thing… it says it took the pressure regulator and has it with the mustard.

  107. 107.

    mrmoshpotato

    August 18, 2021 at 5:06 am

    @Mary G: Glad there’s a new report to tell us what was fucking obvious 20 years ago!  Good on ya, ya slapdicks!

  108. 108.

    Spanky

    August 18, 2021 at 6:22 am

    Is this blog still kicking?

    Testing, testing …

  109. 109.

    ZeeLizzee

    August 18, 2021 at 7:43 am

    Does anyone have a link to sign up for hosting Afghan refugees? Cole?

  110. 110.

    HinTN

    August 18, 2021 at 8:15 am

    @Steeplejack: “Oil rubbed”??? FFS

  111. 111.

    Danton

    August 18, 2021 at 9:47 am

    Is there an organization’s website I can call up to learn more about housing Afghan refugees?

  112. 112.

    dww44

    August 18, 2021 at 1:46 pm

    @Juju:

    Yep, the only 4 places where one can buy a big appliance are Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy and there’s a Sears Hometown Appliance store .  I like dealing with the latter because the delivery/install is normally much faster.  But their offering is incredibly thin right now for all but especially for black ones.  particularly dishwashers.

    We’re just gonna back off for now and hope the supply chain disruption begins to mend.  I actually went online with Lowe’s and found a black Kitchen Aid that could be ordered but delivery was expected in June 2022.

    We will mug along until we can’t with the one where the water doesn’t reach the top  3rd rack at all and not much better on the 2nd upper rack.  At least it actually works.

  113. 113.

    Elizabelle

    August 18, 2021 at 1:58 pm

    @Rocks:  Patches.  LOL re your take on it.  I have listened to that one a few times meself.

    We could do a thread one of these years: the most whack country and western songs.  Could be fun.

  114. 114.

    Juju

    August 18, 2021 at 2:34 pm

    @dww44: I got the refrigerator at Lowes. Fifteen days was actually five days early, which was a nice surprise.  My parents had a dishwasher years ago that sort of rearranged the dirt rather than wash the dishes. The house was going on the market and the dishwasher was copertone, as were the rest of the appliances, which at the time was being phased out for good reason. Instead of trying to find a new dishwasher my mom decided to use the dishwasher as a dishrack with a door.  I became the dishwasher and I did use the dishwasher as a drying rack. My brother was the unloader.  It worked well as a dish rack.

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