Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

In after Baud. Damn.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

I have other things to bitch about but those will have to wait.

In my day, never was longer.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Cancel the cowardly Times and Post and set up an equivalent monthly donation to ProPublica.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Wednesday Evening Respite Open Thread

Wednesday Evening Respite Open Thread

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(Thanks Humboldt Blue, also Old Dan and Little Ann)

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56Comments

  1. 1.

    Roger Moore

    The owl is really interesting.  Apparently, the same adaptations that allow owls to be silent when flying also prevent their feathers from being waterproof.  I assume they have some ability to shed water- they wouldn’t survive if they couldn’t hunt in a light rain- but they are much more susceptible to getting wet than most birds.

    The only other kind of bird I know of that doesn’t have waterproof feathers are cormorants.  They avoid waterproofing because it makes it easier to dive after fish.  That’s why you’ll see the classic pose of a cormorant sitting on a rock with its wings spread; it’s drying its feathers after diving so it can fly again.

  2. 2.

    Van Buren

    New graffiti found at my school today. Someone, a talented artist by elementary school standards, drew (in sharpie) a penis. Above it, the word”choose”. Below it, “dick”.  And now, I have questions…

  5. 5.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    respite? the thought of that cat’s arm in the fridge door is gonna keep me up for days….

  6. 6.

    kalakal

    @Roger Moore: Anhingas have non waterproof feathers as well, helps them swim faster underwater. They do exactly the same pose as Cormorants

  7. 7.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    The Yankees pre-game on YES had the blue jays fan, the 9 year old kid, and Aaron Judge meet in the dugout earlier.  Very touching.  Go Yankees!

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    Cat pic reminds me of video the spouse found–somebody had to close the bedroom door to keep the cat out at night and in revenge, the little bastard learned how to reach under and snap the spring-type doorstop to make a praaaaaang sound. Video shows the disembodied arm sneaking in and doing just that.

  9. 9.

    Evap

    I just gave a final exam and, once it’s graded, will be done with teaching until late August!  I’m celebrating with a tasty brew and thinking about all the travel I have planned for the summer.

  12. 12.

    Freemark

    Anyone else seen the Three Mile Island documentary on Netflix. I’ve lived 5 miles from there my entire life and can see it from my living room. It certainly cements that nuclear power is a non-viable future option in the US. Not because nuclear power with better designs can’t be safe. But that business with nuclear power can’t be safe.

  14. 14.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    respite? the thought of that cat’s arm in the fridge door is gonna keep me up for days….

    One of our cats does that fairly frequently. No injuries yet, and we’ve gotten used to watching for him when we close the door.

  20. 20.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    @trollhattan:

    OK, where is this masterpiece of asshole cat behavior? It reminds me of “middle daughter’s cat” which has now lived with us the last two years….

  22. 22.

    Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg

    Oh, and on another note, seems like the assholes who sold us this house and left their awful pool table behind had placed a layer of basement carpet atop a layer of basement carpet that had been glued to the floor. Final tally on junk and carpet removal (plus pool table demo and haul out) will be $2500.

    Am I now day drinking? Yes….

  24. 24.

    Uncle Cosmo

    Anyone who’s been lying awake at night over the chances of nuclear use in Ukraine would do well to check out this video from an Australian historian who styles himself as “Perun”: Calling Russia’s nuclear bluff – Russian nuclear doctrine & the Ukraine war.  The author calls his video “reverse clickbait,” designed not to rile viewers up but to reduce their stress levels. First 5 minutes is the TL;DR version, but I found the whole 50 minutes informative and well thought out.

  25. 25.

    Betty

    @Freemark: I lived in tbe area from the 70s to the 90s and always worried that the humans involved were likely to goof up. And they did.

  27. 27.

    Ohio Mom

    @Deputinize Eurasia from the Kuriles to St Petersburg: Yeah, the people we bought this house from did some stupid things. Like adding a new layer of bathroom floor tiles on top of the first layer.

    The second layer is cracking because it’s not laying on a flat surface and it’s going to cost twice as much to remove as a single layer would. Of course that’s assuming we would have cause to remove the original layer if it hadn’t been buried.

    Or how about when they removed a vertical beam in the basement, I assume because it was in the middle of the rec room. That we then had to pay to replace.

    I could go on.

  30. 30.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Harsh but valid PSA from Stonekettle:

    Twitter: I’ve been showing up to vote for 20 years, Man!

    Good for you. What do you want, a cookie? That’s your DUTY, Citizen. The absolute bare goddamn minimum you can do to maintain the Republic. You don’t get a fucking parade for it. The reward is NOT-fascism. That’s it.

  32. 32.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    @Sure Lurkalot: I will never understand why anyone would waste so much time and energy responding to so many random assholes on Twitter.  All I can think of is walking down a NYC street and arguing with everyone.

  33. 33.

    LAO

    So, I was aggressively offline today working, what happened with Madison Cawthorn? And should I even care? I really despise that little neo-nazi.

  34. 34.

    Betsy

    Fresh new Cadison Mawthorn tape.  DO NOT GO LOOKING.  In which he evidently nekkid humps a cousin, with accessories. Warn everyone

  36. 36.

    NotMax

    Currently in the middle of overcast day four: rain for half an hour, clear up for half an hour, repeat. Added attraction of thunderstorms performing a variation on the same act overnight. Also unseasonably chilly (wintry mix of snow and ice on the peaks of the Big island — in May!).

    Somebody please nudge the needle on this record.

  37. 37.

    LAO

    @Betsy: I found the video  and watched it because there is something deeply wrong with me.  It’s almost certainly a republican hit job.

  38. 38.

    Starfish

    @Betsy: I have not gone looking for this video, but there were a lot of fake Trump and Clinton videos that circulated in the parts of the internet where things that cannot be corroborated live.

    Anyway, because of the creation of past fakes, I am just going to believe everything is fake unless there is a good reason not to.

  41. 41.

    Kattails

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: why do you consider that a waste? Jim Wright spent decades in the military and intelligence. He believes inthis country, has strong opinions about a number of issues, and isn’t afraid of a fight. Followers regularly ask him why he doesn’t block so many of his critical commenters (although he usually does at some point).

    The answer seems to be that either he doesn’t mind taking verbal flack, and/or it’s a lesson laid out to those of us who would not otherwise be exposed to this shit. But give him enormous credit, he has been going on endlessly about voting for years. Most pointedly to those who would say “oh, you can’t scare me about a SCOTUS vote, R v.W is settled law”.
    Can’t tell you the number of online comments I’ve seen today being just shocked about this opinion. I want to dope slap people.

  42. 42.

    Ohio Mom

    @prostratedragon: Oh, peace *is* unto them. They sold the house because they were moving to Florida.

    Sometime after, they came back to visit the family and friends they left behind. On an icy February weekend, in a brand new pickup truck. They slipped and skidded and crashed into I don’t know what, and eternal peace is now theirs.

    It’s all of a piece. The husband was a hotdog of a home owner, going past his skills on various house updates, and apparently he overestimated his driving in an ice storm capabilities too.

    Once when Ohio Dad was doing some yard work, he noticed a car parked across the street on our quiet cul-de-sac. The driver was sitting and staring at our house. He walked up and asked if he could be of help.

    It turned out the woman was the wife’s sister and she often came to stare at the house (like someone might visit a grave). She said she hoped we hadn’t changed too much inside, her sister had been very proud of how she decorated the place.

  44. 44.

    Suzanne

    I just gave Spawn the Younger the abortion talk, assured her that I would totally help her get one if she ever needs one, told her all about birth control and how it’s awesome, and assured her that her life is her own and that it is not her job to make babies for the state.

  45. 45.

    Mike in Pasadena

    He didnt even hestate to give the youth the ball. Wonderful to see. Generosity even in the age of TFG.

  46. 46.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @germy: where can it be seen? Dressler’s startled look when the blond says “I read a book” and dressler almost trips in Dinner at 8. A real professional.

  47. 47.

    Mike in Pasadena

    @Ohio Mom: you may need to have a plumber rreseat the toilet if you put down new tile to prevent leaking fro under neath. Donut may be needed under toilet. Good plumber can do it is thirty minutes. Should be well undeer 200 dollars. Youtube videos tell you the right order. I think its tile first and toilet seated on top of tile but i could be wrong.

  51. 51.

    Mike in Pasadena

    Godess bless you all. The abortion draft decision must be pinned on the rethuglicans, esp. Mcconnel who engineered stacking the court. Democratic states can help women get abortions when needed. Poor women will need help with travel. Who is good for that, Planned Parenthood?

  52. 52.

    Ohio Mom

    @Mike in Pasadena: Don’t worry, we know fixing the bathroom is beyond us. We’ll use the other bathroom, have the plumber disconnect the toilet, have someone else pull up the floor tiles, we’ll almost certainly need a new subfloor …

    The Juicer from Louisville with the long nym who is running for judge thinks $2,500 for his cleaned up basement hurts? Hold my crowbar…

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