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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

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

Celebrate the fucking wins.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

This blog will pay for itself.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

He really is that stupid.

Giving up is unforgivable.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

The press swings at every pitch, we don’t have to.

When I was faster i was always behind.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Spoutible Sneak Peek

Open Thread: Spoutible Sneak Peek

by WaterGirl|  January 11, 20234:15 pm| 206 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Open thread.

Spoutible Sneak Peek (below) and link to survey (even further below).

Spoutible Sneak Peek

Email message with the update, and link to the survey.

We designed Spoutible to be familiar, and it should be easy to navigate for most people migrating from Twitter. But don’t be mistaken; Spoutible isn’t just another Twitter alternative or clone. We have read your comments and suggestions and implemented many of the top-requested features.

We are building Spoutible for the community, and Spoutible can’t be successful without an active community.

So please take a moment to answer our latest survey and help us make Spoutible better:  Survey Link

We will publish the results on Monday.

I’ve been working all day.  What did I miss?

Open thread.  (But I repeat myself.)

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Reader Interactions

206Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:20 pm

    One of the questions was hard to answer.  How does one choose between “less harassment” and “less disinformation” ?????

  2. 2.

    BenCisco 🇺🇸🎖️🖥️♦️

    January 11, 2023 at 4:28 pm

    Indeed.

  3. 3.

    RedDirtGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:29 pm

    I just pre-registered. I haven’t migrated over to any other platform yet. Mastodon confused me. We’ll see.

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    January 11, 2023 at 4:29 pm

    Afternoon.

     

    Anyone watching the National Treasure -like limited series on Disney Plus?

    I am really enjoying it.

  5. 5.

    SpaceUnit

    January 11, 2023 at 4:30 pm

    If they intend to compete with Twitter they’ll need to have both harassment and disinformation.

  6. 6.

    Scout211

    January 11, 2023 at 4:32 pm

    Reposting from downstairs, Barbara Lee is planning to run for Senate.

    CNN — 
    Rep. Barbara Lee of California told her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus during a closed-door meeting Wednesday that she plans to run for the Senate, multiple sources told CNN.

    This comes a day after Rep. Katie Porter of California announced a 2024 Senate bid, launching her campaign for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat in what could be a crowded Democratic primary.

    One source close to Lee told CNN she has no intention of announcing her run right now amid the storms in California, as well as out of respect for Feinstein, but she plans to run. Politico first reported Lee’s comments to the CBC at a closed-door meeting.

  7. 7.

    zhena gogolia

    January 11, 2023 at 4:34 pm

    Nice version of These Boots Are Made for Walking

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBSdIi6xy_U

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 11, 2023 at 4:41 pm

    @WaterGirl: Very carefully?

  9. 9.

    JWR

    January 11, 2023 at 4:43 pm

    “What did I miss?”

    I left this at the end of the last, almost dead thread. Via NBC:

    WASHINGTON — Aides to President Joe Biden have discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.

    Thanks for the new thread!

  10. 10.

    Suzanne

    January 11, 2023 at 4:44 pm

    I am exhausted today. I apparently did not win the Mega Millions yesterday. Damn.

  11. 11.

    Jess

    January 11, 2023 at 4:45 pm

    @WaterGirl: Weird. Why would those be opposing choices? I would go with less disinformation, because we CAN handle the truth.

  12. 12.

    David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch

    January 11, 2023 at 4:46 pm

    J. Robert Oppenheimer Cleared of ‘Black Mark’ After 68 Years

    The physicist and architect of the American atomic bomb was stripped of his security clearance in 1954 after what is now called a flawed investigation.

    “I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” said Kai Bird, co-author with Martin J. Sherwin of “American Prometheus,” a 2005 biography of Oppenheimer that won the Pulitzer Prize.

    “History matters and what was done to Oppenheimer in 1954 was a travesty, a black mark on the honor of the nation,” Mr. Bird said. “Students of American history will now be able to read the last chapter and see that what was done to Oppenheimer in that kangaroo court proceeding was not the last word.”

    Alex Wellerstein, historian of nuclear weapons, a professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology

    It completely surprised me.

    I knew that they had this requested. I knew that various administrations had thought about this. But it was surprising, because the easiest thing for a bureaucrat to do is not do anything, right? There was no great public outcry or demand for this. There are ways you could imagine this being spun by enemies of the current political administration.

    There’s not a lot of obvious need or gain. It’s just sort of a righting of historical wrongs, which, unfortunately, is not usually a priority. So, yes, I was surprised. It’d be much easier for them to do nothing on this than to do something. And them having done this is them sticking their neck out a bit.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:48 pm

    @SpaceUnit: hahaha

    I assume that they assume that all of the choices in that question are important.  My guess is that they are looking for cues for how to prioritize as they roll it out.

  14. 14.

    BR

    January 11, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    I think the strength of Mastodon is that it’s open and not run by one company. It’s always tempting to join some new platform that says it’s going to give you the best of what Twitter had without the worst, but I doubt that’s possible. Most likely Spoutible, like Post and others popping up, will deliver neither.I’m finding Mastodon to be excellent, and I think a lot of confusion comes from people being told that there’s some complex step where you have to pick a server. Don’t worry about that: just go to the main server and sign up:

    https://mastodon.social

    And then to figure out who you want to follow at first, just browse the explore tab to start things off and follow anyone and everyone who seems even vaguely interesting, and then they will lead you to new folks over time.

  15. 15.

    Scout211

    January 11, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    That emergency alert that woke us up at 3:40 am yesterday with a tornado warning was scary. We had a strong thunderstorm and gale force winds but no tornado. It turns out, that cell did produce a tornado after it passed over our area. Link

    Then at 4:10 a.m., a brief EF-1 tornado touched down near a small reservoir and Hogan Dam Road about six miles northeast of Milton and tore a 50-yard-wide path through trees for about 0.4 miles.

    So in California we now have rain, snow, gale-force and hurricane-force winds, bomb cyclones, floods, mudslides, sink holes,  power outages, at least 17 deaths and now a tornado.

  16. 16.

    Ken

    January 11, 2023 at 4:51 pm

    Wait, did I miss something?  Is Balloon Juice migrating to Spoutible?

    (This is how rumors start…)

  17. 17.

    fancycwabs

    January 11, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @rikyrah: I’ve been watching it–it’s fine? I don’t recall the movies it’s only tangentially related to having quite so much exposition, but admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.

    Also, if Nick Cage doesn’t make a cameo I’m going to be very disappointed.

  18. 18.

    SpaceUnit

    January 11, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I’d never heard of Spoutible.  Is it just now rolling out?

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That’s a good one!

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    @Jess: That’s the one I chose, too.  But I was wishing they would at least let you pick your top 2.

  21. 21.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    @Jess:

    Why would those be opposing choices?

    They aren’t opposing choices, just that you’re only allowed to choose one option.

  22. 22.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 11, 2023 at 4:55 pm

    Vox ran a story the gist of which was “users are fleeing Mastodon, Elon Musk is gonna win” and it seemed a bit overblown to say the least. The point of Mastodon wasn’t really to be the Twitter replacement, of course.

  23. 23.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:56 pm

    @BR:

    I think the strength of Mastodon is that it’s open and not run by one company.

    That’s a double-edged sword.  It’s a strength and potentially a clusterfuck.  There’s just no telling.  Which it is will totally depend on the people who run the individual instances.  And perhaps it will be some of both.

    Most likely Spoutible, like Post and others popping up, with deliver neither.

    Wondering if you have a magic 8-ball or perhaps you’re a time traveler.  :-)   Seems odd to dismiss something like this as a failure before you’ve even seen it.

  24. 24.

    BR

    January 11, 2023 at 4:59 pm

    @WaterGirl: ​

    Oh, I’m speculating, of course. But Post is already showing signs of this — I’m hearing way fewer people enjoying or even trying Post and way fewer folks posting links to it. And I’m just finding personally that there are a lot of Balloon Juice aligned conversations happening over among Mastodon users. To each their own of course.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 4:59 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Seems odd to dismiss something like this as a failure before you’ve even seen it.

    Reminds me of my early dating years.

  26. 26.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 4:59 pm

    @Scout211: I was about to make a joke about the universe making a statement about the lost House seats in CA, but that’s just too much stuff to even joke about.

    And you didn’t even mention earthquakes!

  27. 27.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:00 pm

    @Matt McIrvin: Hasn’t Elon been making less news recently?

  28. 28.

    MattF

    January 11, 2023 at 5:01 pm

    So… who’s behind Spoutible? Where is the money coming from?

    I’ve shifted a chunk of my ‘social media’ time to Mastodon, after figuring out how to do the various Twittery things. Some shift of subject matter as well, since the server I’ve signed onto (mathstodon.xyz) favors mathematical subjects. Mastodon’s decentralized structure means everything is somewhat more complicated.

  29. 29.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:02 pm

    @SpaceUnit: Yes, it’s being developed by the Bot Sentinel guy.  He announced in early December (?) that they would be rolling it out at some point in January, and they have been putting out surveys asking for input.

    I think this might be the 3rd survey I’ve seen.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:03 pm

    @Roger Moore: @Jess:

    I didn’t read the question / comment from Jess closely enough, Thanks for clarifying.

    There were something like 6 or 7 options to choose from as the MOST IMPORTANT THING.  I just mentioned those two because to me they were both top choices, and necessary.

  31. 31.

    pacem appellant

    January 11, 2023 at 5:04 pm

    I like my Mastodon community. FOSS and non-corporate owned sit well with me.

  32. 32.

    Layer8Problem

    January 11, 2023 at 5:05 pm

    @Baud:  I haven’t been hearing as many brain-dead pronouncements from him.  Perhaps he’s been given a good talking to by the Tesla board and shareholders and his birdsite creditors overseas.

  33. 33.

    Scout211

    January 11, 2023 at 5:06 pm

    @WaterGirl: ha! I was actually talking about what is happening in California right now in this never-ending weather pattern. It feels like 40 days and 40 nights . . .

  34. 34.

    Old School

    January 11, 2023 at 5:06 pm

    @fancycwabs:

    Also, if Nick Cage doesn’t make a cameo I’m going to be very disappointed.

    He’s not going to be in the first season.  I read that the producers hope to get at least a cameo in a second season.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:07 pm

    @MattF: Christopher Bouzy is creating Spoutify.

    Twitter: @cbouzy

    He asked for $5 donations, in December, I think, from folks who were interested in the possibility of Spoutify.

  36. 36.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:15 pm

    I am a late adopter of social media, still on Twitter and am reviving my old blog. I never join Farce Book and the only other social media I use is Pinterest as inspiration for my home, fashion and art. My boards are private.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:16 pm

    I was not a Twitter user, but have been waiting to see if people moved to any particular alternative before thinking about signing on.  Sounds like the jury is still out.

  38. 38.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    @Scout211: Politico’s article on Lee’s heads up to the Congressional Black Caucus said that Adam Schiff also  intends to run for that Senate seat. A 3-way race between Porter, Lee and Schiff will be interesting. It’s a jungle primary so there will be other Republicans as well as more Democrats. The three Democratic Reps could be the big three, though.

    I wonder if Republican David Valadeo will enter the Senate race. He might as well; Valadeo represents a purple district and the 2024 election may be an extintion event for purple district Republicans.

    Valadeo is one of only two Republican Impeachers to win reelection. The other is Newhouse (WA). Four retired and four lost primaries.

  39. 39.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:18 pm

    @Baud: Same here except for the Twitter user part.

  40. 40.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:19 pm

    @Geminid: It will be funny if White Board Wendy (h/t Black Twitter) comes 3rd or doesn’t finish in the top 3.

    Then I think she will be headed to MSNBC to duel with the Fox White Board wielder, Karl Rove.

  41. 41.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 11, 2023 at 5:20 pm

    @David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: ​
    My very tenuous connection to Oppenheimer is that one of my favorite professors was a grad student of his. Joe Weinberg hated the academic physics establishment, and the way I heard it was that it had to do with how Oppenheimer was treated.​

    Edit: Just googled him. Might have been more than that, it appears Weinberg himself ran afoul of the House Unamerican Activities Committee and lost his position as a result.​

  42. 42.

    Righteous Hazard

    January 11, 2023 at 5:23 pm

    No matter how decent a dude Bouzy is, I am done with trusting single individuals when so much is at stake. Zuck and Dumbass Bitcoin Jack (and his ‘singular trusted solution’ Musk) have permanently cured me of that.

    YMMV, and if Bouzy’s Spoutible is anyone’s offramp out of Musk’s cursed exploitation engine, that is great. For me, Mastodon ain’t perfect, but the math nerd server (mathstodon.xyz) I landed on seems alright, and the minute the mods tip even the slightest bit shitheel, I’ll just move to a different server, and take my account with me.

  43. 43.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:24 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: That’s pretty cool any relation to Steven Weinberg?

  44. 44.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    January 11, 2023 at 5:26 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: ​ Not as far as I know.

  45. 45.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 5:27 pm

    I just scheduled a knee replacement surgery!  In March!

    I know it will not be fun, but I am looking forward to the day when the simple act of walking does not cause me pain…and I can enjoy all sorts of things like museums, fabric shopping at Missouri Star Quilting, staying at a quilt show for more than 30 minutes…you get the drift.

    My doctor also has to remove a mass behind my bad knee, composed of encapsulated synovial fluid.  The best way I can describe what THAT looks like on an X-ray is, well, have you ever seen one of those squishy stress balls that looks like it has thousands of tiny balls surrounded by a viscous fluid inside it?  That’s what the mass looks like.  Big ol’ lump.  Not very attractive.

    I’ve had way too much people interaction today.  I was charming as hell, but my “charming” bucket is empty.  Oh, and I got jury duty notice – to start during the six week rehab…hmmm…

  46. 46.

    West of the Rockies

    January 11, 2023 at 5:27 pm

    @rikyrah:

    I saw the preview.  It looked like it had great potential.  Thanks for the reminder.

  47. 47.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:28 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: There has been a “brushfire” war on Twitter since Porter’s announcement. I’m not sure the Porter fans understand why she is a polarizing figure among Democrats.

    I’ll be watching this race because I’m curious about California’s Democratic politics. They are very different from my own state’s, and not just because California is so much bigger. Jungle primaries are a factor but there seem to be others too.

  48. 48.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 5:28 pm

    @Scout211:

    It’s an all-purpose state.

  49. 49.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:30 pm

    @Geminid: Its the same demographic that went hard for Elizabeth Warren and was surprised that not everyone was into her like they were

    ETA: Black people haven’t forgotten the stunt she tried with Maxine Waters. And the Nina Turner endorsement

    There are stories about her ill-treating her staff especially the ones of the not so pale hues. But since there are horrors stories out there about many women legislators I don’t know how much credence I should give this.

  50. 50.

    Barbara

    January 11, 2023 at 5:32 pm

    @Geminid: I didn’t actually know that she was polarizing among Democrats — but I can definitely see how Schiff and Lee might be viewed as more credible candidates.  The number of higher profile (and frankly, great) candidates makes me think DiFi will not be re-elected, the only question being whether she will make that decision herself by choosing not to run.  Any of these three is an improvement over Kevin DeLeon, IMHO.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 11, 2023 at 5:32 pm

    @Quiltingfool: Some of us find that bucket has a hole in it, and seems always to be empty.

  52. 52.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 11, 2023 at 5:34 pm

    @Geminid:

    I’m not sure the Porter fans understand why she is a polarizing figure among Democrats.

    I about rolled my eyes out of my head when I saw the little stunt with the book, which seemed out of character, and I was kind of surprised how many other people seemed to view it the same way, especially here.

  53. 53.

    West of the Rockies

    January 11, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    @David 🌈☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch:

    I loved Kai Bird’s Oppy biography.   So glad for this news.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    @Barbara:

    I didn’t actually know that she was polarizing among Democrats

    In fairness, the number of Democrats who know who any of these people are is pretty low.

  55. 55.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:36 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The author of that book has used the n-word on Twitter among other things for his “humor”.

    Bad choice for a sitting Congress woman.

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:37 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: My friend Joan was a big Warren fan, and she sent Porter money yesterday. Joan is very excited by the prospect of Porter joining Warren in the Senate.

    I guess we are all entitled to our own heros. I think Joan will be disappointed, though.

  57. 57.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:38 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: I don’t know anything about the book or the author, but I’m not going to require any Dem to police what other people say on Twitter to ensure they aren’t being offensive.

  58. 58.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:38 pm

    @Baud: That’s where I’m at, too.  Waiting to see how things play out.

  59. 59.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:39 pm

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the next senator from the great state of California is someone we’ve never heard of.

  60. 60.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 5:39 pm

    Listening to Bobby Messano Why you looking back you ain’t going that way

  61. 61.

    patrick II

    January 11, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    Do they call comments at Spoutible ‘spouts’?

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 11, 2023 at 5:40 pm

    @Barbara:

    I didn’t actually know that she was polarizing among Democrats

    Between trying to do an end-run around Maxine Waters (to say nothing of a whole bunch of other backbench Dems) on her committee assignments to endorsing Nina Turner, one might very well conclude that the fawning responses she’s gotten from twitter and Lawrence O’Donnell for her white board skewed her perspective and led her to alienate some significant parts of the voters (and potentially donors) she’ll need. She certainly wouldn’t be the first Dem of the last few years to buy into their own very favorable, yet very narrow, press coverage

  63. 63.

    TriassicSands

    January 11, 2023 at 5:42 pm

    I’ve been working all day.  What did I miss? — WaterGirl

    What did you miss? Relaxing and having fun, maybe? You spend so much time helping to make B-J work, you deserve some serious downtime.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:42 pm

    @Geminid: I worry about the jungle primary in CA, hoping the likely 3-way vote split between the 3 bigger names in the House doesn’t mean we end up with a fucking Republican.

  65. 65.

    Ken

    January 11, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    As long as having three (or more) Democrats running in the jungle primary, doesn’t result in having two Republicans running  in the election

    EDIT: I see WaterGirl got there seconds before me. Ah well.

  66. 66.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    @Baud: There are several quotes in the book itself that are questionable.

  67. 67.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:43 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    @Ken:

    Hopefully, if the polling looks bad on that front, a low-polling Dem will drop out.

  68. 68.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 5:44 pm

    Xm 074 Bluesville John Lee Hooker No more doggin

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:44 pm

    @Barbara: Yesterday’s Politico article about Katie Porter’s announcement noted that it comes

    “before Feinstein announces her retirement- which is expected in the next couple months.”

    According to today’s Politico article, Barbara Lee met with Senator Feinstein recently to discuss their respective plans.

  70. 70.

    laura

    January 11, 2023 at 5:45 pm

    I’m interested in spoutible BECAUSE it will center black voices and this old white gal is here for it!

    Show pony is not my choice. No legislative record to run on, stunt-reading in the House last week, shivving Maxine Waters on behalf of Nina Turner- hard pass. And if she texts my with a money beg I’ll throw a chair.

  71. 71.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 5:47 pm

    Waiting for Mrs Kelly s dermatology appointment to finish. The clinic is only allowing patients in building. I’m in favor of this level of caution

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:47 pm

    @Ken: Honored to be in your company!

  73. 73.

    geg6

    January 11, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    RIP Jeff Beck, guitar god.

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    @Baud: I assume you can run in a primary for Senate without having to give up your seat in the House?

    Hoping that you only have to give up the seat in the House if you are the candidate in the General election.

  75. 75.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:49 pm

    @WaterGirl: I don’t think you have to give up your seat at all.  You might not be able to run for two seats simultaneously.

  76. 76.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 5:50 pm

    @Baud: Not at all?  You can be on the CA primary ballot for Rep and Senator?  I guess that only affects people in your district.

  77. 77.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:50 pm

    @Baud: Porter is somewhat of a celebrity now, with a state and national fan base among white (it seems), liberal Democrats. She’ll need to attract California voters outside this base to win that seat, though.

  78. 78.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 5:50 pm

    @Scout211: Well at least California fire danger is low

  79. 79.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 5:53 pm

    @WaterGirl: I thought you were asking if they had to resign.

     

    @Geminid: She’s more well-known than the average House Dem, but that’s not saying much.

  80. 80.

    Anoniminous

    January 11, 2023 at 5:53 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: ​
     
    City College was a supposed ‘hot bed’ of Communist indoctrination. Students and faculty were deemed guilty of being Communist agents until proven innocent.

  81. 81.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 5:53 pm

    @Kelly: Annoyingly this appointment would have been free in December when the deductible was met

  82. 82.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:53 pm

    @Geminid: @Baud: I got forwarded a clip with her and white board by a cousin in Delhi.

    ETA: This cousin used to be a journalist for the Times of India (India’s equivalent of the NYT). And was here on a state dept scholarship in the aughts for a semester. So not quite a normie Indian but still.

  83. 83.

    M31

    January 11, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    @Baud: Hasn’t Elon been making less news recently?

    just read on Twitter that the landlords of the Singapore offices of Twitter just marched everyone out of the buildings for nonpayment of rent

    lol

  84. 84.

    trollhattan

    January 11, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    @Scout211: Have we ticked Earthquake on the Disaster Bingo card yet?

    ETA at least CalFire has a chance to fix all their equipment.

  85. 85.

    Doc Sardonic

    January 11, 2023 at 5:56 pm

    @geg6: Damn…..meningitis from what I’ve read. Saw him not too long ago, put on a really good show. Guess I we’ll find out how the new pacemaker gets along with my Strats and tube amp tonight.

  86. 86.

    narya

    January 11, 2023 at 5:56 pm

    @geg6: Bummer. Only time I saw him live was when the Clapton road show thingy came to Chicago. Even in that abbreviated format, he was transcendent.

  87. 87.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:57 pm

    @Baud: Kevin McCarthy and his gang have taken over being the Daily Shit Show from Musk

  88. 88.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 5:58 pm

    I got my bivalent booster on Monday. It is kicking my ass. My arm is still sore.

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 5:59 pm

    @WaterGirl: I don’t think someone can run for both offices, but that is a matter of state law. You can in Virginia. As a practical matter, even if you can you could lose both primaries.

    That happened to Lee Carter in Virginia in 2021. He lost in the Governor primary- which was a certainty- but he also lost the Democratic primary for his House of Delegats seat. Now Carter’s grown a beard and he tweets about farming in Louisa County.

  90. 90.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 6:01 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Perhaps I should say I play “charming” fairly well.  Or maybe one could call it “friendly and witty.”  The friendly/witty bucket is also empty.

    My husband just bought a truck today – he’s out of town, so we had to FaceTime the process.  Yay technology, I don’t have to drive 3 hours one way to do the paperwork.

    The things I do for love.  I’m exhausted.  I really want someone to make me dinner, but the cat has indicated she Will.Not.Be.Doing.That.

  91. 91.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:02 pm

    @M31: Heh. Even if Twitter has stabilized in terms of the tech and content moderation issues, there is still the question of whether it can survive financially.

  92. 92.

    kalakal

    January 11, 2023 at 6:02 pm

    Crap. Jeff Beck’s died

    https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/12/legendary-rock-guitarist-jeff-beck-dies-aged-78?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

    ETA – geg6 has already put this news up

  93. 93.

    Narya

    January 11, 2023 at 6:04 pm

    @Quiltingfool: my mom gave me a quilting frame but I doubt I’ll ever use it. Know anyone who would want it?

  94. 94.

    Mallard Filmore

    January 11, 2023 at 6:06 pm

    @geg6:

    RIP Jeff Beck, guitar god.

    Also in the bad news department …

    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/11/2146696/-Michael-Flatley-Diagnosed-With-Aggressive-Form-of-Cancer

    Michael Flatley has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, has undergone surgery and is under the care of doctors. No other information on his condition has been released at this time.

    I simply cannot imagine this world without the presence of this brilliant and talented man, who brought Irish dance into the modern era with “Riverdance” in 1995.

  95. 95.

    WaterGirl

    January 11, 2023 at 6:06 pm

    @Baud: I guess what I’m asking is whether the House people who are Senate candidates can run for both the House and the Senate at the same time.

    Or if you run in the primary for Senate, are you unable to also run for your seat in the next House?

  96. 96.

    JWR

    January 11, 2023 at 6:06 pm

    @geg6:

    RIP Jeff Beck, guitar god.

    Oh sh*t! And only 76! Screw bacterial meningitis!

    I’ve always been a huge Jimmy Page acolyte, but for my money Beck was the most creative of the Beck, Clapton and Page triumvirate. (To be honest, aside from Disraeli Gears, I never cared much at all for EC.)

    But damn! May this god Rest In Peace. :(

  97. 97.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:09 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, I don’t know

    ETA: Even if they could, I doubt someone like Porter would want to, since she is in a tough district.

  98. 98.

    Delk

    January 11, 2023 at 6:09 pm

    Obligatory Beck. They are all bored until they are not…

  99. 99.

    moonbat

    January 11, 2023 at 6:14 pm

    Bouzy has been listening to potential users every step of the way. I think he is building a platform that looks enough like Twitter that it will be easy for people to switch. And because of his background with BotSentinel it is not going to be overrun by trolls and bots and with strict guardrails against disinformation and hate speech. He’s also made a commitment to hire a diverse group of men and women to run the company.

    If I remember correctly the equivalent of a Tweet will be a Spout and the equivalent of a retweet will be an echo. I’m looking forward to it. It’s about three weeks away from launching the beta. Folks who preregister will get first dibs on their user names.

  100. 100.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:16 pm

    @moonbat:

    If I remember correctly the equivalent of a Tweet will be a Spout

    I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than the mastadon “toot.”

    On my social media platform, posts will be called “discharges.”

  101. 101.

    moonbat

    January 11, 2023 at 6:19 pm

    @Baud: ​
      Would that be a watery discharge? In which case it would be darn close to a spout.

  102. 102.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 6:21 pm

    @Baud: Porter would have a good shot at reelection. Cook gives the California 47th CD a PVI of D+3. She won this time by about the same number, and 2024 should be a more favorable electorate for Democrats generally.

  103. 103.

    karen marie

    January 11, 2023 at 6:22 pm

    @WaterGirl:   I’m sorry – “spoutible”?  Are they fucking kidding with this bullshit?

  104. 104.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 11, 2023 at 6:22 pm

    @Quiltingfool: Well, I can’t recall anyone ever calling me “friendly.” I’m ok with that.

  105. 105.

    TaMara

    January 11, 2023 at 6:23 pm

    So sad about Jeff Beck. Guitar god

  106. 106.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 6:24 pm

    @Geminid:

    Politico’s article on Lee’s heads up to the Congressional Black Caucus said that Adam Schiff also  intends to run for that Senate seat. A 3-way race between Porter, Lee and Schiff will be interesting. It’s a jungle primary so there will be other Republicans as well as more Democrats.

    My gut feeling is that the Democrats will figure out something before the primary so they don’t have too many people running.  The more serious candidates who run, the greater the chance of splitting the vote and winding up with Republicans taking the two top spots, which would be a complete disaster.  Also, any House member will have to give up their shot at reelection, so they have a strong desire to make up their mind on which way to go in time to wind up on the right ballot.

  107. 107.

    Amir Khalid

    January 11, 2023 at 6:24 pm

    RIP Jeff Beck. Passed away suddenly at 78 of bacterial meningitis.

  108. 108.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    OT: A problematic Indian movie that distorts India’s history to fit the BJP narrative just won a Golden globe  yesterday.

  109. 109.

    moonbat

    January 11, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    @karen marie: ​
      They wanted Spout.com but someone had already camped out on the domain name and wanted $1 million to give it up. Bouzy wasn’t willing to pay that ransom so Spoutible it is.
    I’m so old I remember when everyone thought Tweet sounded stupid.

  110. 110.

    TaMara

    January 11, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    @karen marie: Yes, because Twitter and Tweet were so brilliant 🙄

  111. 111.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 11, 2023 at 6:29 pm

    @Baud: Yeah, I think he quieted down for a while and it did slow the exodus from Twitter; people figure they can live with it.

    I don’t know. I more or less left Twitter several months before this all happened so I was kind of viewing it as a spectator. It did drive me to get off my duff and get a Mastodon account, but for me, Mastodon is not functionally a replacement for Twitter so much as a replacement for the long-gone Google+. I don’t think I actually need a replacement for Twitter. Was doing bad things to my mind.

  112. 112.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:29 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    What was it about?

  113. 113.

    Redshift

    January 11, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Or if you run in the primary for Senate, are you unable to also run for your seat in the next House?

    I agree with Geminid, it’s definitely a matter of state law. (Though did you mean can or can’t in Virginia, G?)

    There was nothing preventing candidates from running for multiple offices simultaneously here in VA until a local perennial weirdo candidate, C.W. “Levi” Levy, successfully got on the primary ballot for five different offices. He wouldn’t have been able to serve effectively in more than one, but there was nothing preventing it, and after that the legislature changed the law.

  114. 114.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:30 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

     I don’t think I actually need a replacement for Twitter. Was doing bad things to my mind.

     
    And BJ doesn’t?!

  115. 115.

    VeniceRiley

    January 11, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    As a former Porter constituent and native Californian, I can say I would prefer a candidate with winning statewide experience.

    As for Spoutible, I give my whole social media endorsement to Chris Bouzy, who has been doing the hard work to expose Bot accounts amplifying bulship on social media for years

    PS waiting for POC endorsements for senator to back who the people who do the work back.

  116. 116.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 6:33 pm

    @VeniceRiley:

    None of the candidates being talked about have statewide experience.

  117. 117.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 11, 2023 at 6:33 pm

    @Geminid:

    and 2024 should be a more favorable electorate for Democrats generally.

    I agree (with the usual caveat about not counting chickens and events, dear boy, events!)

    I looked up the 18 margin and was surprised Feinstein only beat De Leon by about eight points. I remembered it being a blow out

  118. 118.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 6:34 pm

    @Baud: Set in British India, an over the top and simplistic spectacle with little relation to reality by the director of Bahubali (Think of movies like GWTW or Ben-Hur

    It is slick so the subtext goes over the head of many American reviewers. Who are all ga ga about the spectacle. I think the RSS has found its Riefenstahl.

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2023 at 6:34 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    Hands down most peculiar version.

  120. 120.

    karen marie

    January 11, 2023 at 6:36 pm

    @Righteous Hazard:   I’m having a fine time on Mastodon.  Feel free to take a look at who I follow (or even follow me, though I’m not hung up on that aspect, so no pressure) to see if there are any that interest you (I’ve got a bunch of “politics” people in the mix).  You can find me at “at axomamma at mastodon dot online.”

    For me, there are two things which have made my experience there the pleasure it is.  First is, go to “preferences” and choose “slow mode.”  It stops the wild refreshing that shoves new content in front of you at a whiplash rate.  The second is, use of lists.  I have one list that I use to segregate the people I’m interested in seeing on the regular.  I’ve seen others report that they’ve created multiple lists because they have multiple interests – whatever works for you.

    Other than missing many of the animal accounts I followed on twitter, I haven’t found mastodon wanting in terms of interesting and informative people to follow.  I’ve actually found many new (to me) accounts I hadn’t come across on twitter.

    If anyone wants an invite to make signup even easier, just click here.

  121. 121.

    Danielx

    January 11, 2023 at 6:36 pm

    Things going downhill – scheduled for two hours quality time with periodontist tomorrow and Jeff Beck died today.

  122. 122.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 6:37 pm

    @Roger Moore: Will there a real chance of Republicans taking both spots?

    I guess if polling shows this is a prospect the low polling Democrat will be pressured to drop out. The second-polling Republican would have to be pretty strong though.

  123. 123.

    karen marie

    January 11, 2023 at 6:37 pm

    @Geminid:   I did not know that Porter was “a polarizing figure among Democrats.”  Please do tell.

    @Baud: I’m pretty sure Barbara was referring to herself.  Like her, I had no idea that Porter was “polarizing.”

  124. 124.

    Danielx

    January 11, 2023 at 6:40 pm

    Jeff and Rod

  125. 125.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 6:42 pm

    Mrs Kelly s dermatology has stretched to 3 hours now. Ah, those innocent days of a healthy tan

  126. 126.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 11, 2023 at 6:42 pm

    @Quiltingfool: ​
     

    I’m exhausted. I really want someone to make me dinner, but the cat has indicated she Will.Not.Be.Doing.That.

    You probably didn’t want Mouse Tartare anyway.

  127. 127.

    karen marie

    January 11, 2023 at 6:43 pm

    @Baud:  Is Bouzy marketing this site to sixth graders?  I can’t even with this nonsense.

  128. 128.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2023 at 6:44 pm

    When does the state reach critical mass?

    Former Rep. Madison Cawthorn confirmed Friday he has moved to Florida. Source

  129. 129.

    Danielx

    January 11, 2023 at 6:46 pm

    @kalakal:

    As have others – taking this hard. Of course it may be that I’m in a mood anyway because of the whole periodontal thing tomorrow, but I don’t think so.

  130. 130.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 11, 2023 at 6:47 pm

    @JWR: ​
     

    And only 76! Screw bacterial meningitis!

    Nitpick: he’d have turned 79 in June.

    I think those of us who remember the British Invasion just have to get used to seeing our musical heroes pass on. They were largely WWII babies, which means they’re all either pushing 80, past 80, or have passed on.

  131. 131.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 6:48 pm

    @Baud:

    None of the candidates being talked about have statewide experience.

    Let’s go John Chiang! For non Californians, Chiang was state Controller and Treasurer, and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018.  I admit he’s a long shot for Senator, but I still have a big soft spot for him.

  132. 132.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 11, 2023 at 6:48 pm

    somebody’s gonna take this guy seriously, but in the meantime I chuckled

    Scott Charles @TheScottCharles 8h

    I haven’t slept a wink since learning that 87,000 IRS agents dressed in drag and high on rainbow fentanyl plan to replace our gas stoves with electric ranges smuggled into the country by Mexican cartels.

  133. 133.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 6:51 pm

    @karen marie: She is polarizing. If you do Twitter you can see for yourself. There should be stories about this on news sites before too long also.

    I’m not sure what your “Please do tell” means. It may be a challenge from a Porter adherent. I know my friend Joan is very touchy about Porter criticism.

    This is nothing I particularly want to argue about, but I can dig up a short,  representative anti-Porter view that Catherine Prendergast retweeted this morning if you want.

  134. 134.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 6:52 pm

    @Geminid:

    Will there a real chance of Republicans taking both spots?

    Things could get wild if too many Democrats run.  If there are just a couple of Republicans and a bunch of Democrats, the Democrats could split their vote too many ways and let the Republicans slip onto the ballot.  I don’t think that’s likely, but mostly because the Democrats are much better organized here and are more likely to keep their slate to a decent size.  If they fail at that, though, all bets are off.

  135. 135.

    The Thin Black Duke

    January 11, 2023 at 6:53 pm

    @karen marie: So I guess you won’t be paying it a visit, huh?

  136. 136.

    Elizabelle

    January 11, 2023 at 6:54 pm

    @Danielx: That was really good.  Thank you.

    Rod Stewart is one sharp dressed man.

  137. 137.

    cain

    January 11, 2023 at 6:56 pm

    @WaterGirl: You can apply that to anything, right? Ultimately, it sorts itself out and there will be a small group of “good ones”.

    You could move to sproutible until it goes off the deep end and you’ll be moving again – it took what 14 years for this to die? Meh. I’ll stick to the open source/community edition – in a world where my privacy is constantly up for sale and being profited off of I’m going to with my fellow humans and honestly Mastodon has been more lovely than twitter ever was.

  138. 138.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 6:57 pm

    Here comes Mrs Kelly with a big bandage on her forehead

  139. 139.

    cain

    January 11, 2023 at 6:59 pm

    @geg6: oh no!! Goddam it… this year is sucking already.

  140. 140.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 7:01 pm

    @Roger Moore: This potential problem may resolve itself. This time next year, if one of the 3 Democratic Reps is trailing badly, they could bail and concentrate on reelection to their House seat.

    I’m not sure the Republicans have two dynamic candidates. David Valadeo might appeal to Independents, though. I think California may have more Independents than Republicans now..

  141. 141.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 7:03 pm

    @Narya: For hand quilting?  No, not offhand.  I do have a frame for hand quilting, but the joints in my hands protest!  Lol!

    Nowadays, it seems like lots of quilters are doing machine quilting – either on sewing machines, or the big quilting machines (like I have).  There is an art to doing good hand quilting.  The Amish and Mennonite ladies are quite good – 10 to 12 stitches per inch, which is TINY stitches.  I thought I did well to do 6 per inch.

  142. 142.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2023 at 7:04 pm

    For those across the pond, an FYI courtesy of BBC.

    Royal Mail tells people not to send post abroad due to ‘cyber incident’ Source

  143. 143.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 11, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    @cain: So far, I don’t really care for Mastodon.  Then again, I am not an early adopter so I probably woke invest the time to navigate it until I see whether or not it is the place where everyone ends up.  Spoutible actually sounds plausible to me.  But I don’t want grab the next Betamax.

  144. 144.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    The Yardbirds, “Heart Full of Soul” (live).

  145. 145.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 7:05 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Stern, honest and forthright?  I like that!

  146. 146.

    JWR

    January 11, 2023 at 7:07 pm

    Beck does the Beatles:

    Jeff Beck – A Day In The Life (Live at Ronnie Scott’s)

    ETA @lowtechcyclist:

    Nitpick: he’d have turned 79 in June.

    I blame the error on my very out of date eyeglass prescription.

  147. 147.

    Scout211

    January 11, 2023 at 7:10 pm

    Oh my. Arkansas Governor Sanders hit the ground running.

    Within hours of being sworn in as the new governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order Tuesday banning the term “Latinx” from official use in the state government.
     
    It is one of the first, if not the first, executive order of its kind, Tabitha Bonilla, an associate professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, told NBC News.
     
    It was one of seven orders signed by Sanders, a Republican, right after taking the oath. The other ones focused on prohibiting Arkansas schools from teaching critical race theory, budgeting and spending as well as other government affairs.

  148. 148.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 11, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    I just got to make a “helicopters aren’t laughing” joke on Twitter.  We’ll see how broad this blog’s reach actually is.

  149. 149.

    Steeplejack

    January 11, 2023 at 7:12 pm

    The Yardbirds, “Shapes of Things.”

  150. 150.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 7:13 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Well, I’m not sure she is a mouser.  She gives her little stuffed fish hell, and she spent about 15 minutes playing with a pencil she found on the floor.  She does enjoy knocking things off the dresser.  I watched her knock a small pocket knife to the floor, and it went under the dresser.  She hopped down and carefully fished out the knife.  Good thing, that meant I didn’t have to hear my husband complain that he lost another pocket knife!

  151. 151.

    Geminid

    January 11, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    @Scout211: Sarah’s behind the times. Now it’s “Latine.”

  152. 152.

    Sister Golden Bear

    January 11, 2023 at 7:15 pm

    @Kelly: Unfortunately not necessarily. We’ve had years where California had lots of rain in December and January — and then the rains just (more or less) stopped. It actually made the fire danger worse because we had greater than usual vegetation growth* and then the earlier end to the rain resulted in drier than normal vegetation later in the year.

    *The winter wet season is CA’s natural growing season followed by a months long dry season that literally doesn’t have rain in the non-mountain areas from late spring through last fall.

  153. 153.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 11, 2023 at 7:16 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I am all superficial charm and good hair.

  154. 154.

    kalakal

    January 11, 2023 at 7:16 pm

    Beck, Bogert & Appice

    https://youtu.be/cxN-frB1UbI

  155. 155.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 7:18 pm

    @Geminid:

    Maybe she’s ahead of the times.

  156. 156.

    Brachiator

    January 11, 2023 at 7:21 pm

    @Geminid:

    I think California may have more Independents than Republicans now..

    Yep. From a 2018 study:

    Independent voters are now the second-largest voting bloc in California.

    As of the June 2018 primary, the share of California voters registered as independents, also known as “decline to state” or “no party preference” voters, was 25.5%—surpassing the number of registered Republicans in the state for the first time. The share of registered independents has increased more than twofold since the November 1994 gubernatorial election (10.3%). Over the same period, the percentage of voters affiliated with each major party has fallen: Republicans from 37.2% to 25.1%, and Democrats from 49% to 44.4%.

    But Independent voters lean toward the Democrats.

    A plurality of independents lean toward the Democratic Party.

    Our surveys over the past year indicate that more independents who are likely to vote lean toward the Democratic than toward the Republican Party (43% to 29%), while 28% lean toward neither party.

  157. 157.

    satby

    January 11, 2023 at 7:23 pm

    @karen marie: so, you’re on mastodon anyway, which is a site I signed up for and bailed on the same day. Different strokes for different folks.

  158. 158.

    TriassicSands

    January 11, 2023 at 7:30 pm

    @Baud:

    I have no interest in Twitter/Mastodon/etc. but if everyone waits to sign up that seems like it will kind of defeat the purpose of  waiting.

    If you are interested, why not sign up and see what happens. That will be one more nudge in that direction. You can always quit, right? Just a suggestion.

  159. 159.

    C Stars

    January 11, 2023 at 7:31 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Interesting to know. We started watching it but found it problematic and stopped after ten minutes. Mainly because of the violence (watching with our 9 year old). Seemed of course anti British/colonialist but did not realize the context in the present day.

  160. 160.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 7:32 pm

    Well, I’m active on Mastodon. Now what the hell do I do?

  161. 161.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    @TriassicSands:

    I’m not that interested.  I currently don’t do any social media. I met get interested if a site takes off.

  162. 162.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    January 11, 2023 at 7:33 pm

    @Danielx:

    RIP Jeff Beck

    One of the all-time greats!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLkLcnu_e_g

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MMye6isvLY

  163. 163.

    C Stars

    January 11, 2023 at 7:35 pm

    @Kelly:

    Well…she’s in good company I suppose.

     

    https://abcnews.go.com/US/lady-jill-biden-cancerous-lesion-removed-eye/story?id=96359708

     

    Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

  164. 164.

    prostratedragon

    January 11, 2023 at 7:35 pm

    @geg6: ​ My, my. Indeed!

  165. 165.

    JWR

    January 11, 2023 at 7:36 pm

    I figure I’ll try setting up a Mastodon account, if only to change the default light text, dark background theme. (Me hatesss it!)

  166. 166.

    JWR

    January 11, 2023 at 7:39 pm

    @Baud:

    I currently don’t do any social media.

    Okay, here’s what I don’t get: Isn’t participating in this here blurgh social media-ing?

  167. 167.

    Baud

    January 11, 2023 at 7:40 pm

    @JWR:

    Last I heard, blogs were not classified as social media.  But I don’t know.

  168. 168.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 7:41 pm

    @TriassicSands:

    If you are interested, why not sign up and see what happens. That will be one more nudge in that direction. You can always quit, right? Just a suggestion.

    Well put.  I understand the desire not to spend a bunch of time getting going in a new system that you’ll wind up abandoning, but it honestly isn’t that much work.  Meanwhile, by holding out, you wind up losing all the potential benefit you would get by using it while waiting for the perfect thing to show up.

  169. 169.

    C Stars

    January 11, 2023 at 7:42 pm

    @karen marie: Way back when Melon Husk first acquired twitter I made a counter social account. Just clicked on your link for mastodon, and the interface is completely the same but my sign in info doesn’t work? Arrgh

     

    ETA: Ah, never mind. I was looking at three separate tabs on my browser. I’m gonna go ahead and wait until one of these rises to the top. Joining counter social in retrospect seems naive. And I did it no less than three months ago…

  170. 170.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Now what the hell do I do?

    The hardest part is connecting with the people you want to connect with.  I think someone came up with a list of Balloon-Juice people who are on Mastodon, which might be a good place to start.  Of course it could also be a terrible place.  YMMV.

  171. 171.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 7:44 pm

    @JWR:

    I hate it too, and I just changed mine from dark to light.

    @Roger Moore:

    I’m currently copying and pasting names from twitter into Mastodon to see if they are active. Tedious.

  172. 172.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 7:45 pm

    @C Stars: It has little to do with the actual freedom struggle.

    Has any BJer watched it? It has got very gushy reviews in the US.

  173. 173.

    Brachiator

    January 11, 2023 at 7:46 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Yardbirds Heart Full of Soul live.

    Great performance. I remember hearing this as a kid, on the radio. Fast and tight.

  174. 174.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 11, 2023 at 7:50 pm

    @Baud: Twitter (pre-Musk) seemed to be trying to expose me to as many hot takes that would make me angry or anxious as possible, in a way that BJ doesn’t. Some people seem to be able to avoid that by carefully pruning their stream, but of course it’s not precise because Twitter’s recommendation heuristics had a mind of their own.

  175. 175.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 7:53 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I’m currently copying and pasting names from twitter into Mastodon to see if they are active. Tedious.

    For that, you could try something like Movetodon, which helps to automate the process.  It depends on people mentioning their Mastodon account in their Twitter profile, but it can help a lot.

  176. 176.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 7:58 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    This is ridiculous, my old desktop just crashed and along with it Mastodon and now it won’t let me log back in on my laptop.

  177. 177.

    C Stars

    January 11, 2023 at 8:00 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: I’m struggling too. I went ahead and joined and followed several folks, but when I tried to follow a rabbit person who I followed on Twitter, was told that account was on a different server and I’d have to sign in again. Then my login credentials didn’t work on that server. Sigh.

  178. 178.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    January 11, 2023 at 8:01 pm

    Jeff Beck with David Bowie

    Jean Genie, Round and Round

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwnmVialMI4

  179. 179.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 8:01 pm

    @C Stars:

    Then my login credentials didn’t work on that server.

    That’s exactly what I have run into.

  180. 180.

    zhena gogolia

    January 11, 2023 at 8:03 pm

    @NotMax: that’s funny

  181. 181.

    Kelly

    January 11, 2023 at 8:09 pm

    @C Stars: Moh’s surgery to remove basal cells. Yep, same thing.

  182. 182.

    Scout211

    January 11, 2023 at 8:12 pm

    @Kelly: Many in my family have had Mohs surgeries, some have had more  than one. It really does take a long time in the office.

  183. 183.

    prostratedragon

    January 11, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    Well if this don’t beat all! From WaPost:

    A wide-ranging subpoena sent to Trump campaign officials last month shows new areas of investigative interest as part of the Justice Department’s extensive Jan. 6 criminal probe, according to a copy reviewed by The Washington Post, and lawyers say a grand jury focused on the day’s events and related fundraising has increased its activities in recent months.

    The subpoena was received in early December, according to a former Trump campaign official who provided the document to The Post on the condition of anonymity because a criminal investigation is ongoing. The document seeks more than two dozen categories of information, and includes some questions that were not part of a series of similar subpoenas reviewed by The Post that were sent to several dozen people in September.

    My emphasis. I guess this is what happens when DOJ won’t do the leaking in a sufficiently timely manner.

  184. 184.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    That’s very helpful. Thank you.

  185. 185.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 8:26 pm

    @C Stars:

    The thing with multiple servers is the hardest part of Mastodon to adapt to when moving from Twitter, but once you get a decent handle on it, everything should work smoothly.  You only have an account on one server; that’s what makes it your server.  If you accidentally click on a link and get to a different server, it won’t match your settings, it will demand you log in, and nothing will work right.  You might actually want to change your visual settings from the default in some way just to make it easier to notice when you’ve moved to a different server.

    If you find someone on a different server who you want to follow, there are two ways of following them:

    1. Type their username (e.g. @VATVSLPR for me) into the search box and click search.  This will present you with a list of people matching that handle.  You can click on the name to see their profile or just click on the little person icon to the right to follow them.
    2. If you see a post by someone you want to follow, you can click on their avatar to see their profile.  Then you just have to click on the big “Follow” button.

    The other thing that took me a while to figure out when getting started is that your local server may not have a full profile for someone from a different server.  Suppose you search for someone who nobody on your server has linked to yet.  If you click on their avatar, you’ll get a very incomplete version of their profile.  You can follow this back to their home server and get the full profile, but then you’ll be on a different server and the links won’t work the same way because it won’t be able to connect them to your server.

    A good example of this is if you find a friend who’s on a different server.  You want to see who they’re following, since you figure a bunch of your mutual friends will be on the list.  If you look at the profile on your server, you will get few or even none of the people they’re following.  There will be a link that says something like “Browse More On The Original Profile” that will take you to their server.  You can then see their full follow list, but you can’t instantly follow any of their follows because it’s on another server.  It’s actually pretty frustrating.

  186. 186.

    kmax

    January 11, 2023 at 8:31 pm

    @Quiltingfool: get a medical exemption if possible.  Long hours of sitting during rehab can lead to a DVT.

  187. 187.

    Cheez Whiz

    January 11, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    @Baud: its gonna be a while. Twitter is popular because it’s popular, and Musk is going to have to up his game to drive more people away. Mastodon and Post will suffer because new users will try to force them to be Twitter, and that trick never works. A new service built to copy Twitter has a chance, but again Musk is going to have to up his game substantially to drive remaining users away.

  188. 188.

    VFX Lurker

    January 11, 2023 at 8:44 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    It has little to do with the actual freedom struggle.

    Has any BJer watched it? It has got very gushy reviews in the US.

    It was on my “to watch” list because of its ambitious use of VFX. The “Corridor Crew” channel on YouTube did a 21-minute overview of the film’s VFX highlights.

    If I do get a chance to watch it, I will keep your caveat in mind.

  189. 189.

    Matt McIrvin

    January 11, 2023 at 8:52 pm

    @Roger Moore: You can paste the FULL account name (e.g. @[email protected] ) into the search box on your home Mastodon instance, and that should, I believe, always give you a link to a version of the account you can follow, unless it’s actually blocked on your instance.

    This procedure is NOT AT ALL OBVIOUS and there surely has to be a better way to do it.

  190. 190.

    Roger Moore

    January 11, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    @Cheez Whiz: ​
     

    its gonna be a while.

    Sadly, eviction proceedings can take a while. But once Twitter is kicked out of its headquarters for nonpayment of rent- and yes, there is a lawsuit about this going on right now- I think they’ll have a hard time keeping the system running.

  191. 191.

    zeecube

    January 11, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Saw it on Netflix (I think) a few months ago.   3 hr movie.  British soldiers and evil spouses the baddies.  Lot’s of wtf-over-the-top action scenes.  Every now and then the action pauses for Bollywood dance scene.  Spectacular stunt work. And battle tigers!

  192. 192.

    NotMax

    January 11, 2023 at 9:08 pm

    @schrodingers_cat

    The Golden Globes are a curiosity unto themselves, what with no one being able to definitively pin down who constitutes the varied and fluid cast of voters.

    Boost for the egos of the recipients and their studios but of little import otherwise.

  193. 193.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 11, 2023 at 9:09 pm

    @Scout211: ​
     

    Banning the use of ‘Latinx’ first thing. Glad she’s dealing with the important stuff.

  194. 194.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 11, 2023 at 9:15 pm

    @NotMax: It has garnered excellent reviews from most prestige publications from the Atlantic to  the NYT. The regressive political subtext went straight over their head I think.

  195. 195.

    Rebel’s Dad

    January 11, 2023 at 9:23 pm

    @Scout211: The shade Ms. Lee threw in that last line is enough to cool me through an Arizona summer. I stan.

  196. 196.

    Rebel’s Dad

    January 11, 2023 at 9:27 pm

    @Quiltingfool: Mazel Tov! My father got both knees replaced a few years ago and he wishes he’d done it 10 years sooner. I pray you have a fantastic surgeon and a speedy recovery.

  197. 197.

    Rebel’s Dad

    January 11, 2023 at 9:29 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Maybe she’s courting the Latin@ vote (the ones that actually care about the whole Latinx/Latine thing.)

  198. 198.

    HumboldtBlue

    January 11, 2023 at 9:31 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I just followed you. Movetodon helped a bit as well, found 49 of the 1500 or so I follow on Twitter. Only Betty and De Perfesser Levenson from here, though. Also Edroso and Steve M are there.

  199. 199.

    Quiltingfool

    January 11, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    @kmax: Just because one is at the end of “official” rehab doesn’t mean you’re done with doing all the things you do during rehab.  The doc told me it takes a good while to get the healing, etc. completed.

    I haven’t done the online questionnaire, and I will be addressing the health issue!

  200. 200.

    KrackenJack

    January 11, 2023 at 10:10 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: There were like a dozen Republicans in that race and the state Democratic declined to endorse DiFi. Guess they knew something already. Porter seems to be listening to her stans. The timing of her announcement and immediate fundraising blast show poor judgement at best. In a race between Schiff and Lee, she is mincemeat. I trust the three of them to do the right thing in a jungle primary.

    The old white guys need to stand down for a while. The seat is not at risk and there are plenty of qualified non-white, non males.

  201. 201.

    kalakal

    January 11, 2023 at 10:22 pm

     

    @Quiltingfool: Mrs kalakal had a knee replacement about 11 months ago. It’s a fantastic improvement! No more pain, can walk easily etc etc. The rehab started about 4 hours after she got off the operating table and it is hard work. The main bit is the first few weeks, they’re really, really keen on you keeping the knee flexible while the wounds heal but full recovery takes a lot longer and yes keep going with the bends and stretches. Everyone I know who’s had it done says the same, tough at the the time but months down the line it’s wonderful. Just keep at it

  202. 202.

    kmax

    January 11, 2023 at 10:52 pm

    @Quiltingfool: best of luck to you.

    Mrs kmax had a total replacement a few years back (and a DVT).

    She worked her butt off in PT and has had a great outcome.

    Work hard on rehab.  It will be worth it

    You are from Missouri I think.   I can recommend a great physical therapist in Jeff City if that is your neighborhood.

  203. 203.

    GibberJack

    January 12, 2023 at 12:15 am

    @patrick II: Because “blows” is worse?

  204. 204.

    GibberJack

    January 12, 2023 at 12:19 am

    @JWR: Only?

    How long do you think most men live?

    eta: Most Zoomers have no idea who he is/was. If not for the man certainly for the legend it was time.

  205. 205.

    AlaskaReader

    January 12, 2023 at 2:35 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Nominated –

    I am all superficial charm and good hair.

  206. 206.

    NaijaGal

    January 12, 2023 at 2:41 am

    @schrodingers_cat: Yikes – I hadn’t heard that he was a bigot. He and I share a literary agent. We’re talking about “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” right (I know Porter read some other books as well during the 9000 rounds of voting for speaker)?

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