Ron Klain may not care about your opinion, but we do!
Can we get your input on the 2022 Pets of Balloon Juice Calendar?
Cafe Press has raised the cost of printing the calendars, so we are looking at the sale price of the calendar. Would the difference between $25 and $27 for each calendar make a difference in your decision whether to buy a calendar?
Also, if you haven’t contacted me yet, please send an email to watergirl or to pet-calendar (at balloon-juice.com) and let me know the name of the pets you want to have in the calendar. The sooner you do that, the sooner we will know whether there will be one calendar or two.
I thought last year’s calendar was especially nice because with two calendars, each pet got more calendar space. Feel free to weigh in on that, too.
Also, the Washington Post doesn’t have even one story today about the two bills, unless you count one more breathless story about the senator from Arizona. No, not the good one. I saw at least one at the NYT, but the media really doesn’t seem to be talking about this at all today. Does that mean we’re close? Because really, who would want to read about it if the horserace appears to be over, or close to it?
Update: Rules for the cat.
TMinSJ
I’m fine with $27 per calendar, I’ll still buy 4 (one for each of the family pets I submit).
I did like having bigger pictures in the 2021 calendar.
Thanks for putting this together every year! My family now expects it as one of their x-mas gifts.
Fair Economist
$25 vs $27? I don’t care.
zhena gogolia
I’ll buy two no matter what.
What’s this about Ron Klain?
SiubhanDuinne
It’s not a huge difference, and I’ll buy in any case — but psychologically, I have to say $27 feels a lot higher than $25! One of those odd mental manipulations, I guess.
ETA: I like having two calendars.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Just that Ron Klain never calls any of us to ask what we think he/they should be doing. There was some joking about that in a thread last week.
NotMax
I understand Manchin dug in his heels and will not agree to a penny over $25.50.
//
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne:
That’s what I thought! That’s why we’re asking you guys to weigh in.
WaterGirl
@NotMax:
Really? I heard that he didn’t want us to include the months of February and November – I’ve heard it’s because he has family investments in March and December, but I don’t know for sure.
NotMax
Would it be out of line to ask $27 for the first and $25 for any additional?
jeffreyw
Can we pay more?
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: If we wanted to be insulting, we could set the price at $25.99.
Marketing people apparently think we’re so stupid that we look at $25.99 and think $25! But $26 is way too high! :-)
Baud
I blame Biden.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Wait, Klain doesn’t call you guys?
WaterGirl
@NotMax: @jeffreyw:
Sadly, neither of those works with Cafe Press. We wanted to offer Calendar A + Calendar B combo last year, but that wasn’t possible.
So I think a thing costs what it costs, and that’s it.
If you wanted to pay more, you would have to donate directly (referencing balloon juice, of course)
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Ha ha, yes, that’s long been the psychology underlying “$—.99” pricing.
WaterGirl
@Baud: No, dammit! Can you believe it??
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Sent 4 pet names, with photos.
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
Speaking of paying more — thank you for getting rid of whatever ad was causing all the slowdown and automatic reload problems. Things are much better! But does BJ need to put up the thermometer for a day or so to offset that lost ad revenue? Please let us know.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Lucky. That guy won’t stop bugging me about my auto insurance.
NotMax
Hm. That number 27 pops up again.
Coincidence?
:)
Dorothy A. Winsor
I blogged about my publisher today. They’re UK based and are a registered social enterprise. I’d never seen that phrase before and explain it in the blog. It turns out they’re a BJ kind of place.
SixStringFanatic
I also buy 4 calendars, one for each family member who contributes pictures, and I also will not be dissuaded by an additional $2 per. I also also liked two calendars with bigger pics in each one although, tbh, I thought calendar A had a cuter cover pic (my critters were in calendar B) but how often do you look at the cover? I would bet I saw more of that cover looking at the pic online than people who actually had that version. (Please don’t take this to mean that I think both calendars should have the same pic. I do not.)
Baud
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
I’m so sorry.
SixStringFanatic
@NotMax: Not if this turns out to be the last BJ Pet Calendar!
WaterGirl
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Yay!
WaterGirl
@Baud: Um, I think that but be a different Ron Klain.
WaterGirl
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I would not have expected that from a publisher. kudos to them, and lucky you.
Betty Cracker
I’ve been too busy today to follow news developments closely, but I am pleased to see that Facebook is still getting dragged.
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Heh. A quarter past nine in the morning here. I usually can’t muster the intestinal fortitude to deal with perusing the news until at least noon.
;)
Kristine
No diff between $25 and $27 for me. I like having two calendars.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Yes! Let’s give Facebook the Benghazi treatment – Facebook has surely caused more deaths than the 4 tragic Benghazi deaths that day.
emrys
All the cats have made it clear they want their calendar pictures, so I will definitely buy.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: I suppose Ron Klain does call you for your opinion, doesn’t he? Wise man.
When he does, be sure and remind him about Facebook.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Baud: LOL
@WaterGirl: They impress me. I wish I made more money for them.
Ksmiami
I will gladly buy 2 at 29 whatever the price is- it’s worth it to have a pet calendar that represents the best of society as opposed to the gop fascist pet calendar which only includes animals with small mustaches…
Jackmac
$27? No big deal. It’s a small price to pay to see so many much-loved critters (including my own) all in one place.
WaterGirl
@emrys:
K488
We’re fine with the new price!
rikyrah
@NotMax:
LOL
No, really…27?
LOL
Don’t mind the money,but, that number is now spooky
opiejeanne
@rikyrah: Was thinking the same.
geg6
@Betty Cracker:
Pretty much made my Monday, too.
As for any difference between $25 and $27, I say no difference to me. I just hope all my pets are in one calendar if there are two versions.
WaterGirl
@geg6: We took great pains last year to make sure that one person’s pets did not go into more than one calendar. So we’ve got you covered on that.
CaseyL
$2 is a mere bagatelle, and will not stop me from buying at least one calendar.
And I just adore the Rules for the Cat. Mine haven’t gone quite that far, but I can feel the ongoing capitulation in my very bones ?
PJ
@Baud: Thanks, Obama.
jimbales
geg6
@WaterGirl:
Perfect! Thanks!
steve g
Just go for $29.95, like all the retail stores would do. Less than 30 is less than 30.
Also do 2 for $58, so I can save some money!
tinare
Two dollars will not dissuade me from buying.
WaterGirl
Who is the “Mike” who uploaded the 3 pics of the wonderful Basset? I am not sure how to match that with someone in the spreadsheet. Mike, if you see this, please send me an email message. thanks!
WaterGirl
@steve g: I put myself through college working as a grocery store cashier.
Sunday evenings were always slow, so they would pull us off the register to help face the store. (move everything to the front so it looks full)
One Sunday we were working in Frozen and I found a frozen fly in the freezer case. I marked it 29 cents. A few minutes later, I found another one. I moved the second fly to hang out with the first fly and I changed the price to “2 for 29 cents”.
piratedan
WG, there was a pooch pic I submitted a couple of weeks ago for a discussion thread to your e-mail, can you just consider that my pet pic submission this year (unless I get motivated to send more)… it was the one with our dog up on the cat shelf.
Jeffro
I wish Ron Klain would call me. No wait, actually I don’t.
opiejeanne
@CaseyL: Points for using “a mere bagatelle”.
Quinerly
Noticed on the AM thread a lot of people poo pooing the Rolling Stone piece. Take a look at Heather Cox Richardson’s write up from late last night. She’s taking the reporter and article seriously. She has a great analysis/summary of it.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/
Gravenstone
@WaterGirl: The author should consider themselves fortunate to get the luxury of sleeping in until 0530. Mine have been known to tag team gnaw on my arms any time after 0400 if the bowl is empty (which is usually is since the boy is a glutton).
WaterGirl
@piratedan: It’s an adorable pic, but it’s too low resolution. Do you have a higher resolution version of that picture?
That’s my long way of saying ‘no’. :-) Please send me an email with your pet’s name and I’ll add him to the spreadsheet and send you the upload link and instructions.
quick and dirty: look at the size of the file. If it’s not at least 500kb, the picture will have to be small in the calendar. Beth needs the pictures as high resolution as possible. Your pic is 37kb. :-(
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: There’s software that will take a low-res photo and make it higher res, Topaz Labs Gigapixel AI.
WaterGirl
@Gravenstone: Mr. Bear likes to pat my face if he thinks we are staying in bed too long. And by pat, I mean bat. Not mean at all, but not subtle. Last winter he decided to do that just as I was opening an eye, and he scratched my eye. Off to the eye doctor for me, in spite of the pandemic.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: It’s $99. Do you own the software? And are you volunteering to clean up the low res pics and send us the high res versions?
Thank you so much!!!!! :-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: Yes, I have a copy, I’d do a few of them, but not like hundreds. It’s pretty taxing on my 5 yo machine.
ETA: I purchased the Topaz suite(Gigapixel, Denoise, and Sharpen) years ago when it first came out.
Wolvesvalley
$27 per calendar is fine with me. Also a buyer of two of them. :-)
The Dangerman
Two dollars? TWO DOLLARS?! That’s a cup of coffee! Ok, a cup of shitty coffee, but I can load it up with cream and sugar and barely be able to tell.
Two dollars? TWO DOLLARS?! That’s half a gallon of gas. Ok, in my neighborhood, that’s a splash and dash. At least I don’t live in Big Sur (although if I lived in Big Sur, I’m probably not driving a lot).
27 is fine.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Most people are able to dig up a higher resolution photo, but we do have a few where people cannot.
We promise not to abuse your kind offer, only when someone absolutely cannot find a higher res version.
Thank you!
WaterGirl
@The Dangerman: Thanks for the laughs!
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Every cop and spy show I watch uses that tech.
WaterGirl
@Baud: I thought it was make-believe when I saw them use it on TV. “You can’t do that!”
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Higher resolution helps the facial recognition software get results back in the time it takes for the investigators to engage in witty banter.
cain
I do find it funny that all of us are all over Sinema and Manchin and making their lives hell. But we can’t seem to do that for all the GOP assholes out there who refuse to do anything. I mean wtf – why aren’t we outside fucking Collin’s office trying to get her to vote a bill that will bring money into the state. Where are the businesses who want their business to improve – I don’t fucking get it.
cain
@The Dangerman:
Just hope you paid the paper boy his two dollars. They will bring a horde with them.
ETA – OMG – I can actually edit a comment using the visual editor.. woot woot!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Wildlife photographers use Gigapixel quite a bit, it helps when you need to do a lot of cropping.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@cain: He just splashed some gas on him, same thing.
MisterForkbeard
@NotMax: And Sinema is demanding we print the calendars but without paying for them by charging for them. She remains open to other, unspecified funding methods and is “so serious you guys” about this effort.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Been meaning to inquire but always forget to.
IIRC you use Lightroom. Ever experimented with Darktable?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: I’ve never used Darktable, but I’ve used RAW Therapee. Lightroom has a big update coming out tomorrow. I’m excited!
piratedan
@WaterGirl:
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
alas, that one was taken on a phone and I’m unsure how to get a better one to you. I don’t mind a smaller version of this one being on the calendar, just thought it was too good not to share of our Mochi.
HeleninEire
I really don’t need another wall calendar. So I think I’ll make a direct contribution to MARC?? Is that the org that gets the profits? And I’ll do it in Tunch Cole’s name.
Although I do want to see the pictures. So conflicted! ?
Jeffro
@cain: excellent point
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@cain:
Probably because it’s assumed that Republicans, even ones what like Collins (who am I kidding, she’s a hack too), won’t listen to us but Sinema and Manchin are perceived to be more persuadable
Baud
@cain:
The GOP refuseniks are a Borg like blob. Hard to single one out when they’re all equally guilty. But we should ixnay the rhetoric that Manchin and Sinems, however awful they may be, are on par with Republicans or Republicans themselves. (Assuming they don’t blow the whole thing up at the last minute.)
WaterGirl
@Baud: Perfect description.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@WaterGirl:
there’s a tik-tok video going around using facing to allege that we are about to run out of food. I’ve seen it used as a RW critique of Biden and here an apparently (?) sincere critique of captialism
sab
@SiubhanDuinne: Problem is@SiubhanDuinne: Multiples of 9 just feel bigger than multiples of 5 because 5 is a prime number.
sab
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I had no idea that all our pasta came from overseas. If things get dire I will buy Barilla. They cannot give their stuff away in my grocery. Ha ha.
WaterGirl
@piratedan: Was it taken on YOUR phone? On the iPhone if you want to send a picture by EMAIL (not text) you choose between Small, Medium, Large and ACTUAL SIZE.
I assume there’s something similar in Android.
Feel free to send that pic to me as an email attachment using ACTUAL SIZE.
If someone else sent you that pic from their phone, can you ask them to send you an ACTUAL SIZE original from their phone? And then you can send that to me as an email attachment.
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: It’s not MARC any longer. John Cole chose a new pet rescue last year.
I can check with John if you like to see if he is okay with us sending you the 12 pages electronically for the same $$, but you would need to make the donation to the new charity. It would be on the honor system.
But HeleninEire has a rep for being honorable, so I’m not too worried. :-)
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
As long as there’s people, there’s food.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yeah, they are doing so much better than we are, food-wise, in Russia. Why didn’t we think of that?
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I snorted when I watched that. You know how they say if all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail?
If you’re into conspiracy theories, everywhere you look there is a conspiracy.
HeleninEire
@WaterGirl:
No worries. Let me know what the new charity is and I’ll do both. Buy one and contribute.
Thanks for the kind words!
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: We’re going to have a post soon where we let everyone know how much we raised for them last year and what they were able to do with the $$ that they couldn’t have done without it.
I’ll throw a link in that post in case anyone wants to donate directly.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Baud:
I hate to say it took me a second to get that one lol
sab
I’ll send you an email. Ponyo went for surgery today. We didn’t get a photo before ( Grrr spouse) so she will be in her E collar. She’s tentatively okay waiting on pathology report. Her demon cat little brother is very upset. Racing back and forth between my chair and the front door where his dog sister went out. We accidentally left the elderly cocker outside in the rain for an hour.because Ponyo wasn’t here to supervise. My actual favorite cat StarScream is happy to see the pitbull/ demon cat pair disrupted because it interferes with his life a lot.
MomSense
@sab:
I missed the diagnosis. I hope it is good news and Ponyo will feel much better soonest.
The Dangerman
@cain: He’ll, if I don’t give the paper person a good Holiday present, I might get my paper the same day. Maybe. It’s gotten to the point that if I try to pass a couple of bucks to the panhandlers, they are asking me if everything is OK and if they can pass me some scratch to help ME out.
WaterGirl
Okay, so what I’m hearing is that a move to $27 is probably okay. And that you guys prefer the two calendars so you don’t have to use a magnifying glass to see your pet.
If that’s wrong, jump in! If that’s right, jump in. :-)
NotMax
@sab
Say it ain’t so for Spaghetti-Os.
:)
The birthplace of which is Wisconsin.
And can (in the most charitable sense) be a confection.
And get you arrested and thrown in the hoosegow.
.
WaterGirl
I have enough cookie dough in the fridge for 3 chocolate chip cookies. I’m tired today – is it wrong that I’m thinking of having grapes and cookies for dinner?
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Depends entirely of what color grapes.
:)
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Green.
Yutsano
@WaterGirl: You’re an adult. You do you here I say. Just don’t blame me for any consequences.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Nope. I’ve had red wine and chocolate chip cookies for dinner before. It’s good.
debbie
Rules for the Cat runs a close second to Instructions for How to Give a Cat a Pill.
sab
Of Course cats are on the counter. Otherwise the dogs would eat their food.
They don’t like vinegar wash on the kitchen counters. Just saying. Windex and ammonia make them turf spray, Vinegar is just icky.
eclare
@WaterGirl: To paraphrase, if having cookies for dinner is wrong, I don’t want to be right.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Hell, just eat the dough, once it defrosts.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I think you should keep it at $25 but reduce the number of days.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Define wrong. On a scale that includes genocide or one that uses Mayo sandwiches?
Quinerly
@MomSense: l love red wine and the dark chocolate that has flecks of red chile peppers. Sometimes l even dust a little more Chimayo Chile on the chocolate. ??️?
Yum.
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Has anyone been able to determine if Lightroom has cut into Photoshop’s profits? Just curious.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WaterGirl: Sound lovely. Maybe with a glass of wine
CaseyL
@WaterGirl: Lordy, lordy, the “meals” I’ve had when there wasn’t much in the fridge and I had to be creative with some very odd odds and ends, or I was in an I WANT SWEETS FOR DINNER mood.
I live alone, which is why I get away with doing stuff like chowing down on raw hazelnuts and dark chocolate for “supper” without an outraged partner hyperventilating nearby.
SiubhanDuinne
@sab:
I know, right? And if ever I see something priced at $45, my head explodes.
eclare
@debbie: That is brilliant! For one particularly defiant cat that my parents had, it took three of us: one to hold the cat by the scruff several feet off the floor, one to force the jaws open, and one to put the pill in the cat’s mouth and close it.
And more than once we later found the pill coughed up.
MomSense
@Quinerly:
Yes! Favorite combo.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: Lightroom and Photoshop are on the same monthly subscription plans, so no. I pay $10/month for both
ETA: They’ve both from Adobe.
WaterGirl
@debbie: Oh my god, I had never seen that before. I laughed so hard.
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I’m surprised to be honest. If Lightroom is as goo as it sounds, why pay hundreds more for Photoshop?
debbie
@WaterGirl:
I pull it out every now and then, and I laugh as hard as when I read it the first time!
WaterGirl
@Baud: Brilliant! All months now have 28 days.
Problem solved!
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Mayo-level.
Citizen Alan
@cain:
I think we’re just resigned to the fact that the GQP is a fascist white-supremacist death cult. Protesting their offices is likely to be as productive as a German Jew in 1932 hoping to persuade them to renounce antisemitism. Protesting a politician is pointless when the politician’s support comes from a base whose approval is conditional on how much contempt they show for protesters on the other side.
JoyceH
@sab:
When I was a little girl, we visited my married sister, and I thought it was SO gross that they fed their cat on the countertop. Then — I got a dog. And totally understood.
My kitchen has a sort of ‘peninsula’ between the kitchen and the dining room and that’s where the cats eat, and they pretty much stay on their side.
sab
Of Course cats are on the counter. Otherwise the dogs would eat their food.
They don’t like vinegar wash on the kitchen counters. Just saying. Windex and ammonia make them turf spray, Vinegar is just icky.
@MomSense: We don’ have the diagnosis. Mast cell tumor but don’t know if benign, or slightly malignant , or catastrophic. Usual scary world in cancer outients life. There is an issue here, docs haven’ t figured it out yet.
My dad was a pathologist for his whole career. I understand that there is pressure and concern on both sides. Results aren’t slow because they don’t care. Results are slow because they want to get it right, and will consult up the tiers of experts if need be.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@debbie: You don’t, Adobe no longer sells them as standalone packages, they’re only available on a subscription basis. So Adobe gets paid $10/month for both Lightroom and Photoshop and don’t care if you use one or the other.
cain
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Yeah, but they are all about businesses, you’d think that would move them – but then again we are talking about a group of nutters who absolutely must show govt must fail even if it takes the country down with them.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The only thing the new masking feature in Lightroom will mean is you might make a few less trips to Photoshop for edits, but Adobe doesn’t care since they still get their $10.
sab
@eclare: YES! We only have two humans. My late aunt, who was an actual saint by her utter kindliness, told one cat that if you aren’t well when these pills are gone7, then you are done for. I was shocked at the time. Now I completely understand.
My best cat hates having pills but puts up with them. My worst cat would disembowell me if only he were bigger.
Quinerly
@MomSense: ❤️
frosty
@debbie: That was really funny. Dogs can be so difficult.
MomSense
@debbie:
Ha!
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl:
You are fine by either scale.
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Thanks. Clearly, it’s been a while since I’ve dealt with Adobe!
debbie
@frosty:
Dogs are so easily fooled. Hide the pill in a bit of cheese, and then avoid the looks of recrimination afterward.
eclare
@sab: Still keeping good thoughts for your little pittie girl.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@debbie: Yeah, you don’t keep dogs to do higher mathematics for you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Dogs have faith in their humans.
WaterGirl
@debbie: I always give mine a bit of the cheese or pill pockets first – with nothing in it – yum!
Then for the second helping I hide the pill and they are so excited for it that I’m not sure they chew.
No recrimination! :-)
burnspbesq
@cain:
What don’t you get? Trying to change Republican minds is a waste of time.
sab
Your headline about Ron Klaim wants me to curl up in a little ball and cry, becauae other better people are handling this.
They may be ( of course) better but they can’t do it all.
I care about my school board, and my next Senator (Ohio.)
emrys
@WaterGirl: some meds can be compounded into a liquid if that is easier.
Carol Van Natta
I like the 2-calendar option, and I will buy both at $27 each. Someday I will get my act together to send photos of the Benevolent Feline Overlords in time to get them in the calendars.
Kattails
Comment #11, retailers thinking we’re dumb with the “$25.99” bit. Well, back in the day, when people used actual cash, the __.99 was to insure that the cashier had to open the till to make change. Much easier for the cashier to pocket cash if they’re straight bills and then void out the item. Especially true in stores where people are only buying one or two things. It’s a leftover; problem is, nowadays everyone is in a hurry and just says “put the pennies in the jar”.
Calendar–hope I can manage a couple of decent cat pics and would like to buy one at least. At that point the $2 difference would not matter.
cain
@Baud:
Indeed, there are way better than any Republican.
WaterGirl
@sab: Oh, no! Why did that make you want to curl up into a ball?
I love Ron Klain. I was just being silly, stating that Ron Klain isn’t calling us up to ask our opinions.
WaterGirl
@Carol Van Natta: You could send me email right now and I could get them in the spreadsheet, then you have 8 days to get your photos in. :-)
Danielx
Rules for the cat: do whatever you want, but if you fail to use the cat box you are gloves.
eachother
Cats laying with dogs. What’s next? Biblical rains?
I’ll buy two.
Carol Van Natta
@WaterGirl:
Why, thank you! I sent you a note at the pet-calendar email address. The Benevolent Feline Overlords will be pleased. Either that, or they’ll hide for the next 8 days. One never knows with Overlords.
eachother
“2 for 29 cents. “
I threw out $2 worth of dried, crisp window sill product yesterday.
shirk
Just emailed my pet names. Cost doesn’t affect my purchasing decision. Bigger pet pictures are better!
Joey Maloney
Thread long dead, I suppose, but an extra $2 will not affect my purchasing decision for the calendar.
WaterGirl
@Joey Maloney: My threads are never dead, I always check back in on them for at least a day!