Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

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

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

“Let’s not pretend [Trump] wants to engage in high-minded discourse.”

Bad news for Ron DeSantis is great news for America.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

Bark louder, little dog.

We’re not going back!

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

You are here: Home / Open Threads / So I Made Up This Whole Story In My Head (Open Thread)

So I Made Up This Whole Story In My Head (Open Thread)

by | 250 Comments

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For a couple of years now, I have been listening to the Popehat podcast “All the President’s Lawyers”.   Josh Barro asks Popehat questions about legal issues and Ken White answers them.

Just a few days ago they announced with no warning that this was the last episode of their podcast.  The title was “The end of the road, for now”, which pretty much let the cat out of the bag.  I waited to listen to the episode for a few days, but in the meantime I had made up this story in my head.

Josh Barro had tweeted something awful – I think it was racist but it might have been sexist.  At this point there is so much to be outraged about that sometimes the details fall out of my ears while I am sleeping.  In any case, I made up this whole story in my head about how Popehat was outraged and offended by Josh Barro’s ignorant and awful tweet so he was ending their joint venture.

I waited a few days to listen to the episode.  They started every show with “Hello Ken” with a lilting “Hello Josh” in return, but this time, in the final episode, Ken’s “Hello Josh” had a different note, less warm, less friendly, more stilted.

Aha!  I was right!  Popehat is dropping Josh for having shown his true colors!

Except that I was terribly wrong.  Yes, they were ending this particular venture together but they are planning to start a new one, so I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Do you guys ever tell yourself stories, certain that you are right about someone else’s intentions or motivations, only to discover that you are completely full of it?

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

250Comments

  1. 1.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    This is why I avoid podcasts and stick to a unifying sites like Pornhub.

  3. 3.

    japa21

    I tell myself stories about my own intentions and find out I am completely full of it. I don’t have time to figure out other people’s intentions.

  5. 5.

    pat

    So I sat down to my computer and heard what sounded like…an OWL.  Listened for a couple of hoots, then went to the door and opened it and my goodness there were TWO great horned owls hooting in my trees.

    Heh.  I will count them in my yard count for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count tomorrow (called the guy in charge, let him him hear them, and agree that it’s close enough to count them

    Hey, any chance they eat house sparrows? That would be cool….

  6. 6.

    WaterGirl

    @japa21: For some reason, what you wrote reminded me of my sister.  She will say something and if it doesn’t get the response she hoped for she announces that she is kidding.  Not saying that you do that, of course.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    Do you guys ever tell yourself stories, certain that you are right about someone else’s intentions or motivations, only to discover that you are completely full of it?

    I do that with my own intentions and motivations all the time.

  10. 10.

    Almost Retired

    @WaterGirl: I have been doing that since childhood, when I wasted hours speculating about what REALLY happened to the first Darren on “Bewitched.”. Turns out he had back problems or something and the schedule was too physically taxing.   My theories were way better.

  12. 12.

    japa21

    @WaterGirl: Me kid?  Moi?  Never in a million years.  Probably not, anyway.  Well, maybe…sometimes.

    My wife, however, would tell a different story.

    And I could never consider myself better than you.

    BTW, sometimes there are whole posts here where all everybody is doing is creating stories about other peoples’ intentions.

  14. 14.

    pat

    @WaterGirl:

    Audubon Christmas Bird Count happens once a year around the 18th of December.  If we find an unusual bird a few days before or after, we can count it.

    I saw a PELICAN on Monday but when I went back on Wednesday, the first day I could count it, it has headed south.

    Darn, too bad.

    We used to be able to get together after the count for a pot luck and to crow (heh) about the unusual birds we had found.  This is the second year that the pot luck has been cancelled.  Darn…

  15. 15.

    lurker

    Yes.  Make up scenarios about what could happen, tell myself stories about what is going on around me … most of the time I am either somewhat wrong or way off.  Once in a while I am pretty close.  Sometimes it is better than expected, other times worse.

     

    Really better to just find out what is actually going on.  The phrase about how a coward dies a thousand deaths and the brave only die once was clearly written about someone who lacked imagination…

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    @japa21:

    BTW, sometimes there are whole posts here where all everybody is doing is creating stories about other peoples’ intentions.

    Okay, that made me laugh.  That is so true.

  21. 21.

    pat

    The is a breeding bird survey in May. Our local organization doesn’t take part in that, but I did it where I used to live and we would drive through the countryside counting red-ringed blackbirds.

  22. 22.

    Annie

    Happy to report that my Pets of Balloon Juice calendar arrived in today’s mail. It will be put on the wall in my home office on New Year’s Eve. Thank you Watergirl and all the volunteers who put it together!

  24. 24.

    quakerinabasement

    I learned through hard experience that I’m almost always wrong when I guess at other people’s motivations.

    My only win? “If a guy says he’s not hitting on you, he is.”

  26. 26.

    pat

    More about the CBC, I count in the city and I can more or less give a count of pigeons of 2000, but I do attempt to see that many and not just make it up.

    The best CBC I did was when the hackberry trees in the Catholic cemetery were full of berries and I counted 300 robins and 200 starlings.  It was amazing.

  30. 30.

    Dan B

    Decades ago I spent a lot of time imagining bad scenarios and worrying about people’s thoughts and feelings.  Then it dawned on me things usually worked out and my concerns were not doing me any good.  So much better!

  31. 31.

    Ken

    Huh. 30 comments in, and no-one has said “When I make up stories about other peoples’ motivations, I assume the worst, and have never been wrong.” I guess my stories about the motivations of the Balloon Juice commentariat are wrong.

  33. 33.

    pat

    @WaterGirl:

    You learn to look at a group and think, 5,10, 20… anyway, the organizer came to check on my count and we agreed.  It is a bit tricky but when you’ve got that many, you learn how to group them, that’s the best I can say about it.

    Mallards on the Mississippi, pigeons on the rooftops, house sparrows at feeders in the city, and the occasional Cooper’s Hawk lurking in the brush next to the feeders.  Always something to look forward to.

    Oh, and there is a Belted Kingfisher in my area.  Yay.  And the chance of catching sight of the Peregrine Falcon.

  36. 36.

    There go two miscreants

    @WaterGirl:  We have a wild turkey count here in Maryland (during the summer, not at Xmas) and this year there were so many in our neighborhood that the only way I could count them was to take video & freeze frames — they move around so much even though not flying!

  43. 43.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl: I do not view myself as better (or worse) than anyone in this regard, I’m just wired differently, I guess. I look at actions, not intentions.

  44. 44.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Hollywood completely missed the boat on that in the (rancid) Bewitched movie.

    Could have slightly redeemed it by casting Affleck for the first half and Damon for the second.

    :)

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @Ken: I did note that no one answered my question about that.  No one here ever looks at porn, I guess. //

    We grew up with Flash Gordon on TV, so when Flesh Gordon came out, my sister and I went to see it with her husband and my boyfriend.

    I did not know that there was an R version of it and an X-rated version.  My first clue was when they handed us little towels as we walked into the theater.  (shudder!)  I don’t remember much of the movie except that in one scene someone said “they have Dale” and my boyfriend said loudly “everybody’s had Dale”.  That and the towel are my only memories of that movie.

  47. 47.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    it’s a free porn site with almost every flavour of porn, from clips to full movies, with links to various sites from sex workers sites, through “hook up sites” to pay per view streaming sites.

    Recently they have purged their site of thousands of video’s that allegedly violate their age/consent policies and seriously updated their verification policies and procedures.

  50. 50.

    WaterGirl

    @Almost Retired: Ha!  Maybe I’m wrong, but I mostly think of porn as a guy thing, it holds no interest for me.  I am kind of curious about the “hub” part of the name, that’s why I wondered if it’s literally some kind of hub or if it just means “get your porn here”.

    Inquiring minds and all that.

  51. 51.

    Sure Lurkalot

    I recently reconnected with a friend after 3 decades. We had a nice lunch outdoors and planned to get together afterwards. I texted some ideas followed by no response. I was sure I had said something that bothered her and she was ghosting me. About two weeks later, she got in touch to get together again. We’ve since gone on a couple of outdoor trips with her 2 year old granddaughter which have been sweetness and light in these troubled times. I’m glad my radar was faulty.

  53. 53.

    Cameron

    The idea of faulty mindreading reminds me of a conversation many years ago when I was asked what my social anxiety felt like.  I had to think a minute, and my response was that I was convinced that everybody around me, including total strangers, was constantly judging me and that I was always guilty.  Of what, I had/have no idea.

  56. 56.

    WaterGirl

    @Sure Lurkalot: Yeah, BG and I often touch base by text during Medium Cool the other week, and I sent him 3 or 4 texts and he never answered.

    I wasn’t sure what to think so I emailed him the next day.  It turns out that the most recent iOS update had removed either his email address or his phone number from “send and receive texts” lists so he wasn’t seeing my texts at all.

    Always best not to assume.

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    I’m going to make my Puerto Rican eggnog tomorrow:

    1 15-ounce cans coconut cream
    1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

    8 ounces of heavy cream or half-and-half (I substitute this for the condensed milk)
    2-3 splashes of milk
    1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
    1/2 cup Puerto Rican rum
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 or cinnamon sticks
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
 – used about half of that, then added more just before serving

    Mix all ingredients with a whisk or in a blender.

    Chill at least an hour (it gets better as it ages, so make a day or two ahead if possible).

    Drink carefully!

    I hope I don’t get in trouble for using rum from Barbados instead of Puerto Rico.

  63. 63.

    mrmoshpotato

    I tell myself that I’m out of beer and need to go on a beer run. Also, a wintry mix is forecast for after midnight, and it feels like a good time to clean up this place a bit.

  65. 65.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I haven’t thought of that, but I assume it would be similar.  Though I wonder if the ice cream would separate once melted?  I suppose it would depend on the type of ice cream and whether they whip it full of air and emulsifiers?

  66. 66.

    prostratedragon

    @WaterGirl:  [Studies ingredient list carefully] Egg nog?
    It does sound good. I’m going to try my hand at a traditional recipe like the one that someone here mentioned a few weeks ago —lots o’ booze. It will have only a week to age before Christmas, but that’s ok I guess, since various things including the covid resurgence have put paid to my original holiday plans. I’m going to try stashing some to check periodically on the benefit of extended aging.

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: You are getting snow?  We really haven’t had any at all yet.

    edit: I love snow, so… ever hopeful… I just went to Weather Underground.  Nope, no snow for us, just rain.  For me the one redeeming thing about winter is snow.

  68. 68.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Reminds me of Pina Coladas on the beach in Costa Rica made with fresh local coconuts.  Along with big bowls of either chicken soup, that looked suspiciously like iguana, or seafood soup with lots of shellfish and small crustaceans.  We walked the hot mile back to our resort feeling quite toasted from alcohol, sugar, coconut cream, and shadeless tropical heat.  Ahhhh!

  69. 69.

    NotMax

    Was going to risk aggravating this nagging pulled muscle in the back by doing some mowing today. Getting pretty shaggy in spots out there.

    But it rained for 15 minutes a short while ago, hard enough to have the decision snatched away by Mother Nature.

  74. 74.

    prostratedragon

    As to the original post, I spin conjectures, but don’t invest much in them unless I have to take some action without further information. This is because I’ve learned that different threads can run in parallel for long distances before taking a sudden and defining divergence. Or more succinctly, nobody knows nothing. An effect of my Congregationalist(*) upbringing is that I assume my own motives are never completely pure, so can’t convince even myself of any fictions there.

    ____
    (*) A good illustration of dramatic irony is a churchful of Congregationalists reciting together the Prayer of General Confession. And of the macabre.

  75. 75.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Very different in hilly Seattle with very few snowplows.  We do have a nearly hill less route to a grocery store but our street doesn’t get plowed for days.  I miss my little four wheel drive Toyota Tercel wagon that got through everything including a New Years party at my partner’s old huge house.  It was a scene transporting four drag queens up the hill the next day after sleeping the night on the floor and sofas in drag.

  76. 76.

    Rob

    @pat: That’s a nice Count Eve bird. I hope you hear them tomorrow. My wife and I are participating in the DC Christmas Count tomorrow morning. We probably won’t see or hear any owls. Hopefully a Bald Eagle will fly over, or we’ll discover a lingering warbler.

  82. 82.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: So… snow adjacent!  We haven’t even had that.

    I am good with rain if it’s warm and I am good with cold if there is snow, but cold and wet is a really awful combination.

    So I do not envy your “wintry mix”.

  84. 84.

    different-church-lady

    @WaterGirl: People talk about Jewish guilt, but nothing compares to Catholic guilt: “Jesus died for my sins. MY sins — mine in particular!”

    When I was five years old we were saying our bedtime prayers to the crucifix in our room, and my mother told me, “Every time you lie the nails in Jesus go in a little deeper.” Like, I was put on earth to hurt Christ himself by being a failed human or something…

  86. 86.

    Gin & Tonic

    You want egg nog? Try this, the ultimate New England egg nog, courtesy of chef Matt Jennings. You can substitute good bourbon for the Japanese whiskey.

  93. 93.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: You could try Montana: -15, or Edmonton: -34.  Or just the Cascades.  They were completely white today with no wind to knock the snow off the trees.  Lovely and warmer than two states and a province to the east.

  99. 99.

    different-church-lady

    @Cameron:

    I was convinced that everybody around me, including total strangers, was constantly judging me and that I was always guilty.

    Both those things are true, but eventually you realize it’s no big deal.

  102. 102.

    Dan B

    @WaterGirl: Below zero, check.  Jet Sream is whacked.  It’s blowing right over Seattle and down to Phoenix then east over the upper peninsula of Michigan.  North of it It’s freezing.  South of it is warm.

  104. 104.

    pat

    @Rob:

    A warbler, huh?  I’m guessing you live a bit farther south than I do (western Wisconsin.)  Good luck!

    I expect to see several bald eagles along the Mississippi.  I really should get some of my photos organized into an OTR.

  106. 106.

    Another Scott

    ObOpenThread.  So the 20+ year old lock on our front door decided to shear off and isn’t made anymore (Kwikset Titan).  All 3 of our door have 9 window panes, so I installed double-sided lock deadbolts (all keyed alike).  I see that they’re illegal according to the Virginia building code unless they’re captive keys (and these aren’t – we just keep the key in the interior lock).

    I really, really don’t want to think about replacing the doors.  3M security film is an option.

    I also see that “bumping” can be used to quickly defeat most locks these days…

    We haven’t had breakins in this area and I don’t worry about them, but I don’t want to replace the locks again 5-10 years from now.  Wifi locks are out – I’m not insane.

    What would you do in this situation?  Just get the ubiquitous single-side deadbolts and hope for the best?  That plus the 3M film?  Captive keys?  Start over with new doors?  Something else?  Not worry about it because a bumper will get in in 15 seconds anyway??

    I figure I’ll be spending at least $500.  I prefer not to spend $5000, but…

    Thanks.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  112. 112.

    different-church-lady

    @Another Scott:

    Wifi locks are out – I’m not insane.

    But how else is the Amazon pizza delivery guy gonna get in your house whenever your smart fridge places an order for you?

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    @Another Scott: I don’t know what a double-sided lock deadbolt is or what “bumping” is, or “captive keys”, so I am no help at all.  If you don’t get a good answer here, maybe try the Garden Thread?  It seems like Ozark and raven and some other handy folks are often in that thread.

    I am going to have to look up bumping now.

  119. 119.

    different-church-lady

    @raven: No, I mean I wish I could quit being me. The booze is the least of my problems…

    (ETA: Then again, I suppose your answer still applies…)

  124. 124.

    pat

    @WaterGirl:

    Do  you have any idea how many photos I’ve got?  Sigh…

    I will get right on in.  I make a calendar for friends and family every year and every one has an eagle.  Maybe I’ll just go to those collections.  Yeah… then I just have to figure out how to do it. Can’t be that difficult, I did it once before, why not?

  128. 128.

    Ken

    @different-church-lady: But how else is the Amazon pizza delivery guy gonna get in your house whenever your smart fridge places an order for you?

    Using the housekey inside the fake rock next to the back door, of course.

  132. 132.

    Skepticat

    My early gift (though I know it may evaporate before long)—a three-judge panel on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled to reinstate Biden’s vaccination mandate for businesses with more than 100 workers. The divided court also dismissed the argument that OSHA exceeded its authority, writing that “OSHA has regulated workplace health and safety, including diseases, for decades.”

  133. 133.

    raven

    @Another Scott:
    Top 7 Bump Proof Lock Reviews

    • Schlage BE375 CAM 619 Electronic Deadbolt Lock. …
    • Master Lock DSO0615 Bump-Proof Single Cylinder Deadbolt. …
    • Lockey USA Digital M210 Mechanical Deadbolt Door Lock. …
    • Mul-T-Lock ‎008J-MD1–D Cronus Single Cylinder Deadbolt. …
    • The Lock Locker Bump-Proof Deadbolt Door Locker.
  136. 136.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    The only time that ever worked for me was in the iconic Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series. They had two Watsons (David Burke and Edward Hardwicke), and whichever one I’m looking at I cannot for the life of me remember the other one.

  137. 137.

    Jay

    @Another Scott:

    locks are for keeping honest people out, or relatives you don’t like.

    Around here, they use chainsaws with concrete blades and just cut their way in in seconds.

    You can have a pretty door, historically accurate door, or a semi secure door, ( steel clad, steel frame, heavily anchored into the frames and lintles, semi bumpproof keyed deadbolts and handle locks), which if they really want to get in, only slows them down.

    Go with a good lockset and the 3M film, the film is more to “protect” the glass, so that if somebody does try to smash the pane, ( depending on how it’s mounted), you don’t have a gaping hole in your door, taped up with plastic until a glazer gets there.

  141. 141.

    StringOnAStick

    I think some people pick up emotional detail much more than others.  Let’s say you’re the child of emotionally abusive alcoholics (raises hand slowly, in case this is a trick); you learn to walk on eggshells constantly to avoid triggering the anger of mean daddy and mean mommy.  If I find I’m doing that with an adult friend, I used to spin all sorts of stories to myself to let them off the hook so I wouldn’t have to state my case and walk away.  I learned to stop doing that; if I think someone is being an emotional bully and you have my childhood (and adulthood) as your data set, you learn to pay attention when your brain is doing the “danger Will Robinson” dance.

  142. 142.

    TheflipPsyd

    @WaterGirl: I think a lot about people’s intentions and have been doing it since I was very young — tween or early teen. I’ve gotten better at it over the years, but I think that’s the psychological training.

    The reason I started is because I grew up in a dysfunctional family and figuring out people’s intentions was a survival skill. Before  training I tended to skew negative when thinking about someone’s intentions. After training, I realized that a good guess about someone else’s intentions should be based on how the actions benefit or protect them.

  143. 143.

    WaterGirl

    @StringOnAStick: Two alcoholics, both emotionally abusive.  You won the lottery there, didn’t you?  And by won, I mean didn’t win.  Sounds like you are doing well now, though.  That takes a lot of hard work, good for you.

  150. 150.

    StringOnAStick

    @WaterGirl: The poster right above yours said it best: if you come from that crap, figuring out peoples intentions is a survival skill and learning it before you learn to read is a given in dysfunctional families. I’ve spent enough on therapists over the years to buy a really nice car, and the most recent one is worth every penny.

  152. 152.

    TheflipPsyd

    @WaterGirl: Most definitely. I am the product of 2 narcissists, one of whom was an alcoholic as well. There’s  a great website called out of the fog. FOG stands for Fear Obligation and Guilt. These are the typical things used to control in a relationship. If you are raised in a family that uses them, it is much tougher to recognize and break the cycle  because that is the “norm” for all your relationships.

    Some of the most genuine, caring, empathic individuals I’ve ever met are products of these types of family relationships.

  156. 156.

    Jay

    @different-church-lady:

    concrete blades on a chainsaw cut steel reinforced concrete foundations and walls. They cut through steel clad wood core doors and frames like a hot knife through butter.

    With a cordless angle grinder, it takes about 30 seconds to cut a deadbolt off, then a second with a flat screwdriver to release the bolt.

  161. 161.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: Ha!  I bet every corner store carries batteries.

    We lived above our family-owned local neighborhood tavern when I was growing up.  More interesting than batteries, but definitely more second-hand smoke.

  167. 167.

    prostratedragon

    @WaterGirl: ​ In that scene the congregation are droning along, unaware of the drama of the couple in their midst who are looking around for evidence of their kidnapped son. The couple in their turn are hoping to use the group as camouflage.

  168. 168.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @WaterGirl: Haagen-Daz Caramel Cone.  Walgreens does not have a huge selection.

    @Gin & Tonic: Went to the Walgreens half a mile a way.  I would have been faster but the person in front of me was determining which things were on salem which she could buy with her HSA card, and which had to go on an different card.

  176. 176.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    My biggest takeaway from Catholicism was “my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault”. 

    And people wonder where catholic guilt comes from!

    So true!

  180. 180.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @oatler:

    What a dick. I saw a recent pic of Clapton and he now looks like Mitch McConnell holding a guitar.

    I hope karma kicks him in the ass, hard.

  182. 182.

    mrmoshpotato

    @different-church-lady:

    But how else is the Amazon pizza delivery guy gonna get in your house whenever your smart fridge places an order for you? 

    LOL!

    “Honey!  Did you order a pizza?!”

    “I did, Dave.”

  184. 184.

    The Pale Scot

    I’ve been cackling so hard my neighbor called to ask what the fuck is so funny

    HBO Comedy Hour – An All-Star Toast to the Improv

    Billy Crystal, Richard Lewis, Martin Mull, Robin Williams, Paul Rodriguez, Robert Klein

    Billy and Robin haven’t been on yet, and I’m dying

    Paul comes on after Richard, starts doing his neurotic Jewish guy act in Spanish.

    You need a break from the grimality?

    They’re all using “that Reagan is driving me nuts!” as a segue, with Robin and Billy being the Greek Choir on the side

    No commercials so far

  187. 187.

    Another Scott

    Thanks Jay and everyone. Gotta do more searching and figuring. I appreciate the input.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  189. 189.

    Dan B

    @VeniceRiley: The Tercel had, in addition to the ability to dive over boulders (fantastic for accessing mountain trailheads) and ten inch deep ruts in snow, a high roof.  Did you know that is of great importance when transporting drag queens?

    But… It was not a glamorous chariot suitable for the station of Drag QUEEN!

  191. 191.

    The Pale Scot

    Do you guys ever tell yourself stories, certain that you are right about someone else’s intentions or motivations, only to discover that you are completely full of it?

    The thought fuc’em saves me a lot of time

  192. 192.

    NotMax

    @Dan B

    Trivia: One reason behind cloche hats becoming a popular item was because they shielded a woman’s hair from being mussed when riding in open top sedans.

    Speaking of drag queens, happen to catch the Russian link last night?

  194. 194.

    Dan B

    @VeniceRiley: Some of the drag queens took off from the party at midnight.  Platform heels postholing through ten inch deep snow!  Do NOT mess with drag queens!!

    Validated by Misty Dawn, Queen of queens at the Sandbox in Tacoma.  GI’s regularly made the mistake of messing with the fags.  The MP’s would scrape them off the sidewalk.  Stilettos are lethal.  Misty was also a sharp political activist.  Air kiss Misty, wherever you are.

  196. 196.

    frosty

    @Another Scott: We just installed an antique stained glass door for the front door, along with a new storm/screen door. I put in a Kwikset single side deadbolt and I’m getting a locksmith to make a key for the original hardware.

    If they want to smash the glass to get in they can come in either the front or the back. At some point you have to not worry about it.

    When the kids were in school and coming home while we were at work we eventually left the door unlocked all day because they kept losing their keys. Pretty safe neighborhood.

  197. 197.

    Jay

    @Dan B:

    Toyota makes a “stretch” Tercel for the South Asian taxi and limo market,

    would that be more appropriate to their “station”?

    A quick google search didn’t find any over the top North American examples,….

  198. 198.

    Jacel

    @WaterGirl: Probably the best switch of an actor playing a character was this one on the Burns and Allen TV show (starting around 8’30” into this episode.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSMOEQgmYzc

    I think there was another change of actor later on that show where a scene began with the past performer, George stopped the scene to introduce him to his replacement, who then continued the scene and the rest of the episode.

  200. 200.

    The Pale Scot

    Robin in a pose,

    “Look that Jimmy the Greek, how can he say such things?”

    “Give Gandhi 5 cocktails and he’ll be saying the same shit”

  201. 201.

    NotMax

    @Jacel

    Another actor switch (albeit unexplained within context of the show) was the husband on Mesozoic-era TV program The Goldbergs.

    Network demanded the original actor be ousted due to McCarthyite slurs. To her credit, power behind the show (and star) Gertude Berg, although having to agree to the change of personnel, kept the original actor on salary for the duration of the show’s run.

  203. 203.

    Fake Irishman

    @Skepticat:

    Here’s a judges bonus: so far the Senate has confirmed eight judges this week, with about a half dozen more on deck before they go home. It’s quietly been a very good year for Dems confirming judges. also, the ones they are confirming are very diverse: lots of women, lots of folks of color, lots of public defenders, civil rights specialists, LGBTQ folks, tribal law experts etc. Biden has really delivered in a big way and is setting the table for a gangbusters 2022.

    (And yes, Trump and McConnell did a lot of damage, but still, this is something we should be celebrating)

  204. 204.

    Jay

    @Ken:

    ring linked portcullis,

    for a long time people thought they were to keep people out, in reality, they were designed to trap the “assault team”  in what was called the “murder hole”.

  209. 209.

    cain

    @Jay: ​

    I prefer xhamster. What’s interesting is that I prefer the 70s which actually has some kind of story.

    ETA: OMG! Thank you so mjuch, 209!!! I can’t believe it!!! OH SHIT.. this is amazing!!!

  210. 210.

    Steeplejack

    I had lunch with my brother today and firmed up my Christmas plans, i.e., none. Which is fine with me. Bro’ Man and husband are still intent on going to London on the 26th, and they’re keeping things low-key as they prepare for departure. So no entourage festivities at Sighthound Hall.

    I am quite content to lay in some good food and drink and bumble around my modest rooms in Threadkill Lane and continue my convalescence. Might be a good time to do some deep binge-watching.

  214. 214.

    Chris T.

    @WaterGirl:

    It is weird when they change out a character without saying anything… do they think we won’t notice???

    I didn’t notice, but then I have a touch of face blindness (prosopagnosdia).

  219. 219.

    Another Scott

    @frosty: Good points.  Thanks.

    I hate shopping – especially for stuff like this.  Will I be like the 5% that ends up with missing parts or too-long screws or things that don’t fit right?  Will it break in 5 years??

    Hmmm…

    Maybe I should get 3 of these.  Nice features, very strong, weird hard to copy keys.  Might be tough to retrofit though.  Hmm.  Made in Finland.  What’s this?!?  The seller is apparently someone in an apartment in Sofia, Bulgaria?  It might be hard to get support from them…  :-/

    Gotta keep looking…  ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  227. 227.

    Mary G

    My housemate hooked up cameras, from a small company not wired into Ring, and her husband stuck one into the front porch light where you can’t really see it and we got an excellent picture of the porch pirate who stole $40 worth of cough syrup and toiletries one night.

    What I really like is I can see and talk to the people who ring the bell from the comfort of my bed and say fuck off from there.

    Is anybody else experiencing a sharp drop in both quality of merchandise and customer service from Amazon? I have 48 cans of cat food; one cat won’t touch it or even go near the dish; the other cat eats a third of her half.

  228. 228.

    Mary G

    @Steeplejack: My plans exactly. I haven’t been on here to say I’m sorry you had to have surgery and especially down there. Glad to hear it’s improving.

  229. 229.

    NotMax

    @Mary G

    Thing most noticed of late is wide swings in the asking price for the same item. Daily, if not as it sometimes seems, hourly.

  230. 230.

    Jay

    @Another Scott:

    Box store, name brand. Good enough, replaceable in needed.

    1 year into the rental, the generic cheap brand, ( barely a brand), deadbolt jammed and crapped out. The builder saved $15 per condo times 100. Had to drill it out.

  231. 231.

    Jay

    I have been informed by SWMBO that Die Hard isn’t a Christmas Movie,

    It’s a Harry Potter Movie,

    Because Bruce Willis spends all night trying to avoid Alan Rickman in a tower all night,…..

  232. 232.

    NotMax

    @Mary G

    Unless it’s their house brand (or that of one of their subsidiaries) they can’t really be faulted for any difference in quality of what’s in the cans.

  234. 234.

    Bruce K in ATH-GR

    Different lands, different cultures, I suppose. When I took ownership of my apartment in Athens and had it renovated before moving in, I ended up with a security door with an integrated double-cylinder deadbolt. Same deal for the apartment my folks moved into when they came to Athens to retire, only their lock apparently also has some sort of electronic component integrated into the door key. (I leave a key hanging by my door so I can lock up at night, and unlock easily in the morning.)

    Of course, apartment doors are a very different proposition from house doors.

  238. 238.

    Ken

    @Steeplejack (phone): It seems that even the most prosaic topics have exotic rabbit holes down which one may dive.

    Dead thread, I’m sure, but I just have to link to this XKCD.

    Oh, and also to note that reading every response as if it were an answer to WaterGirl’s question about PornHub has some entertainment value. It’s sort of like the classic where you read your fortune cookie and add “in bed”.

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