Jimmy Carter's family assumed he had just days left when he went into hospice last February. But Carter had other ideas. "We thought it was going to be in that week that it was coming to the end," said Jason Carter. "And it’s just now been seven months." https://t.co/CbAPJ4FyXy
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) September 21, 2023
(Unpaywalled gift link)
Because there is still just too much news, here’s a collection of totally unrelated stories to start your morning.
With all due respect, this sounds like the premise for a kaiju movie…
The U.S. military is planning to establish in Japan a command post for its Space Force in the near future.
https://t.co/Yw1g7zPybW pic.twitter.com/5TvaspfegI— The Japan News (@The_Japan_News) September 15, 2023
I don’t *think* I shared this earlier, but it remains worth reading:
This is the single best piece I've seen about the Biden administration working to reduce administrative burdens that the public experiences. It is not flashy work, but if we want to see more effort to fix public services, we should praise it when it occurshttps://t.co/uMcMZSJG3U
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) September 16, 2023
Schadenfreude!
Sam Bankman-Fried's parents sued in new FTX claims https://t.co/heAyM9gtOr
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 19, 2023
A few days behind, but here’s a good brief report on why the UAW is striking:
Record profits should lead to a record contract for the workers who helped create them!
From Missouri to Michigan, @HouseDemocrats will stand with @UAW workers fighting for the pay and benefits they’ve earned. https://t.co/Za7moslOvQ
— Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) September 18, 2023
It seems like every day, the average House headline is like "MATT GAETZ THREATENS MCCARTHY OUSTER IF MONKEY HUNTING KEPT ILLEGAL" while the average Senate headline is "DICK DURBIN UPSET OVER SENATE BARBER'S HABITUAL TARDINESS" https://t.co/qZ43MTxJvy
— Lakshya Jain (@lxeagle17) September 21, 2023
As always: Sharing is caring!
Hunter Biden isn’t a threat to democracy but these 4 things are… pic.twitter.com/QKcnEnYKBG
— Maya May (@mayaonstage) September 14, 2023
Baud
Nice. People get overexcited about new policies and underexcited about implementation.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
I subscribed to the ‘neoliberal’ Washington Monthly for many years, and how laws were implemented once they were passed was something that Charles Peters, its founder, paid a lot of attention to.
Baud
@lowtechcyclist:
Plus, Republican are experts at creating hurdles for people to obtain government benefits. It’s good to have expertise in our side as well.
Ken
I think the word “historic” annoys me most about this headline, since it shows absolutely no knowledge of history. Thirty seconds with Google confirms that the UAW has had much longer, and much larger, strikes in the past.
Mind you, the framing that labor is “challenging” the the industry, like it’s some sort of external force instead of an integral part, is a close second.
Baud
@Ken:
Headline writers basically exaggerate and lie nowadays to get clicks.
Every Biden meeting with a foreign leader is described as “high stakes.”
NotMax
A random collection of flashmob orchestras to sip your morning coffee by.
The kids are all right in Taiwan and in New York
Hong Kong/a>
Spain
Sweden
Macedonia
Swingin’ in Denver
Matt McIrvin
Reduction in administrative burden is something people imagine they’ll get from “small-government” conservatives, but they don’t, because these people have Barry Goldwater’s attitude: “I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size.” If you think the existence of these programs is somehow a threat to liberty and they have to be eliminated, you’ll actually see a benefit in keeping them unpleasant and bad, because then voters will keep hating them and maybe associate using them with a stigma.
And privatizing these services usually doesn’t reduce the red tape involved in accessing them–quite the opposite. (Consider private health insurance.)
Ken
MONDAY: Senate re-introduces dress code.
TUESDAY: Sen. Fetterman shows up in full 18th-century garb, including knee britches, ruffled shirt, and powdered wig, and gives 30 minute speech lamenting the loosening of Senatorial dress standards.
WEDNESDAY: Sen. Manchin whines about loss of Senatorial decorum and tradition.
THURSDAY: Sen. Fetterman shows up in full 19th-century garb, including double-breasted knee-length coat and pantaloons, announces he is re-introducing a tradition of the Senate, and canes Sen. Manchin.
FRIDAY: Senatorial dress code relaxed again.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
You also see it with the IRS. Republicans don’t want it to work better because they want people to hate taxes, and they believe people will associate administrative burden with taxes.
Mousebumples
Good morning!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for postcards and music last night! We’ll be doing that again on Tuesday at 8pm blog time. 😊
Rusty
@Baud: Joe continues to be one the most effective recent presidents. It took me a while to figure it out, but effectiveness is one the most important qualities we should look for in a candidate. I for one will be happily checking the box for Joe and Kamala in just over a year.
Jeffro
@Ken: will the Thursday caning of Manchin be on pay-per-view?
Please?
Betty Cracker
It’s not lost on me that the two most prominent political figures lamenting the loosening of the senate dress code, Manchin and DeSantis, represent two of the worst-dressed states in the union.
Don’t get me wrong — I fully embrace Florida’s flip-flops, shorts and tees at the opera lifestyle. I am 100% supportive of West Virginia’s wear black overalls to the black lung funeral standard.
Just noting the irony.
Eunicecycle
@Jeffro: if we make it a regular thing we could erase the national debt.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Matt McIrvin: Reducing money to these services also means there are fewer employees to help people figure out what to do.
lowtechcyclist
Just FYI, yesterday some people were saying that @BasedMikeLee is a Xitter account parodying the U.S. Senator from Utah. According to this CNN article, citing this tweet from Lee’s official Senate account, it’s his personal Xitter account.
ETA: Pointing this out because Mike Lee says some really abhorrent things on his personal Xitter account.
narya
I think the UAW has done a great job of framing this whole strike–our employers, and, especially, the executives at the top, are making piles of money; none of this happens w/o our labor, so we want a piece of this. Sounds fair to me!
The whole thing about the dress code is ridiculous, not least because it’s my understanding that Fetterman remains in the cloakroom until it’s time to vote, then steps onto the floor, i.e., he’s not sitting in the senate in a hoodie. (Honestly, if he were doing that, I’d want him to change his shirt–plenty of people have to follow dress codes–but I also wouldn’t make a huge deal out of it. I realize I may be in the minority on this on our side, and I love Fetterman.) There’s also a lot of room between a hoodie and shorts and a full-on suit and tie. Again, NOT the most important thing.
narya
I was able to use the example of Jimmy Carter’s hospice last week when I started talking to my mom about it for my dad! We’re gonna be having more of those conversations in the next few weeks . . . I just want my dad to live the best version of what’s left of his life.
Jeffro
Regular canings, just of Manchin alone, would get us close!
My god…with Ted Cruz, I might consider liquidating my retirement funds.
Suzanne
@Rusty: I agree with you. It dawns on me that “effectiveness” is a really difficult thing to gauge in a campaign, though. It’s not “getting things done”, that isn’t the same thing, at least not at the core of what people mean when they use that phrase.
Suzanne
@Betty Cracker: I am also annoyed that Manchin seems hung up on the dress code, but none of the myriad other ways many of those assholes look bad. Like, take care of your skin. Whiten your teeth.
Another Scott
Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill, in Middle English
(via Mastodon/explore)
Cheers,
Scott.
satby
@NotMax: Thanks for those!
satby
@Another Scott: I like that version better.
sdhays
@Betty Cracker: Isn’t Susan Collins so upset she threatened to wear a bikini?
I just find it amazing that this is going to be the focus of the Senate the week before a government shutdown. Sure, it’s not the Senate’s fault the House Republicans prefer flinging poo to governing, but it’s pretty ridiculous that this what they’re going move their asses on.
Schumer should tell them if they think the Senate has time for this shit, he’ll just start scheduling round the clock votes to move military promotions.
H.E.Wolf
@Ken:
@Jeffro:
Fantasizing about watching people commit acts of extreme violence in the workplace? That’s sounds a lot like a Freedom Caucus member or a MAGA freak. Pretty bad company to keep, even rhetorically.
How about putting that anger to productive use and writing a few postcards on Tuesday? Make an actual difference in the political landscape! Lots of entry points here:
https://balloon-juice.com/2023/09/23/postcard-writing-party-music-thread/
lowtechcyclist
@narya:
My mom was in home hospice care for over a year, and while she was old, frail, and well into dementia, there was no indication that death was imminent when we put her in hospice care. It just gave us some extra help during that last year or so, and meant that we didn’t want any significant interventions to keep her alive when the time came that her body was ready to call it quits.
oldster
I’m happy that Bankman and Fried are getting sued.
I’ll be even happier when they get indicted.
gene108
Maybe the Senate should adopt a standard uniform? Or different uniforms for Senators based on seniority or committees they are on?
Like everyone in the Judiciary Committee wears a purple onesie, while the Chairman and Ranking Member get theirs with gold fringe and optional sequins to sparkle for the cameras.
Edit: I’m thinking Senate uniforms look like what 1960’s sci-fi though we’d wear in the distant future of 2023.
Frank Wilhoit
@Matt McIrvin:
…and that is where the messaging comes in, or needs to come in. It is all and only about accountability. No one hates government for any other reason than criminals hate police. Ground can be held by this means and it is therefore worth doing, but ultimately the revolt against accountability is a manifestation of the revolt against civilization, which is a manifestation of devolution.
OzarkHillbilly
@lowtechcyclist: When Ma made the decision to go into hospice, she lasted about 7 hours.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Ken: The world doesn’t love me enough for this to transpire in full.
kalakal
@gene108:
I think overalls like racing drivers with the logos of their funders. Same for the house and the Supreme Court
mrmoshpotato
eclare
@narya:
There was an article many years ago, I believe by Atul Gawande, about hospice. It was very good and noted that many people who enter hospice live longer than they otherwise would. Found it!
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/02/letting-go-2
Steeplejack
Disclosure: I have been fully engulfed in the Alexa Borg. This morning I took delivery of a second Echo Pop, which I have installed in my bedroom. It’s like a $40 clock/radio on steroids.
After using and liking the one in the living room, I realized that I could lie in bed in the morning and say, “Alexa, play MSNBC on SiriusXM.” I won’t need to get up, go to the living room, fire up some video screen and look at Joe Scarborough’s smug face and Mika’s pursed lips as Joe keeps interrupting her. I won’t even have to fiddle with a tablet or an iPad. Sheer luxury!
And I can listen to a host of radio stations from around the world, BBC, NHK, etc. And there are podcasts, music services, meditations, white noise and other stuff, of course.
Matt McIrvin
@Baud: And it works. There’s a reason that when you say “taxes” most Americans’ minds immediately go to the federal income tax–that’s the one they spend the most time personally dealing with instead of just seeing it appear as a line item on a receipt. And then they’ll resent “people who don’t pay any taxes”, meaning, any federal income tax (even though, if the real sticking point is filing, that’s illogical since many of these people still have to file).
narya
@eclare: Bookmarked!
@lowtechcyclist: My dad is mentally still there, but he is OVER IT. He turned 93 last week, and I think he’s just tired of all of it. When he was told a month or so that his bladder cancer has returned, he refused further treatment. I’ve already started talking to mom about how hospice would help her, as well as him, and I think it will happen (I’m heading to visit, and have already started the conversation w/ her and my brother). SIL works for a home health aide agency, so she’s also very familiar w/ the process in their particular area.
Eyeroller
@gene108: I suggest tunics and togas for the men. There was no direct equivalent for women, since women were not allowed in Roman public life, but they could wear a stola and palla.
mrmoshpotato
@Betty Cracker: Romeo, oh Romeo, where art thou flip-flops, swim trunks, and sunscreen?
Ohio Mom
People on hospice tend to live longer than people with similar prognoses who don’t. Turns out that reducing stress and pain is good for you, who could have guessed.
But usually you are kicked off of hospice if you are still alive after six months. I hope and suspect an exception is made for Carter
ETA: I see eclare has already said this.
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: I don’t really care about it, but I do believe that for most people how you dress influences how you feel and behave. If I were in charge in our office, people who work in my office would not be able to come to work looking like they’re ready to watch a football game on their couch. Hoodies are not appropriate attire for the front desk person. A nice T-shirt or polo shirt and a nice pair of jeans are fine, but not a sloppy hoodie and jeans with rips in them. That’s people’s first impression of the workplace, so that person should look professional. Heck, the city will buy people tops if they want them. Now fight me! 😅😅
lowtechcyclist
@OzarkHillbilly:
It varies considerably, of course. But what I’d point out to narya’s parents (and what I fully expect she’s telling them) is that hospice care doesn’t mean she’s pushing her dad out the final door. She just wants him to be comfortable and well taken care of in his last days, and be able to spend those days at home.
Steeplejack
@oldster:
I did a spit-take when I first read that Bankman-Fried’s mother is an ethics professor.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Eyeroller: How about the Senate members choose how to dress themselves because they’re fucking adults and voters choose whether that’s acceptable.
I say this as a person who would vote for someone who purposefully wore a toga om the Senate floor
@Steeplejack: You can violate something more thoroughly whwn you know the ins and outs.
mrmoshpotato
@Jeffro:
Sir, a rocket and the Sun have already laid claim to Shithead Ted, Canada’s Only Bitchass.
Jay, you guys can still take back your boy.
zhena gogolia
@Betty Cracker: I once had to stand in line for burgers at a Wheeling, WVa, restaurant. Let’s just say it wasn’t the Met Gala.
Another Scott
Bring back armor and manbags.
:-/
Meanwhile, restoring the expanded child tax credit is worth pushing. 65 page .pdf of the American Family Act.
Eyes on the prizes.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@oldster:
We party once they’re off to prison.
Another Scott
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Another supporter of Count Binface, I assume.
Cheers,
Scott.
Soprano2
We had a big storm here last night. No damage for us, but we did see some trees down when we were driving home last night. The power went out at least for a little bit because the microwave was blinking 00:00 when we got home. There was a report of a tornado north of us, but I don’t know if it touched the ground or not. We needed the rain, I just hate to get it like that. It was the first day of fall, but it stormed like it was spring.
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2:
Tuxedo T-shirts for all!
sab
@lowtechcyclist: Yes. We had hospice come in for Dad over a year ago, and he is still with us at 99. They come by to check on him on the nurse’s aide’s day off
ETA When we finally decided to get hospice for Mom she lasted about two days. We really, really should have had them in months earlier. We had a different primary care doctor for Dad and got better advice.
narya
@lowtechcyclist: I’ve used almost exactly those words–we’re not pushing dad off a cliff or something.
Hospice can be extended, especially for very old people with multiple conditions, like Carter and my dad.
Gotta go run a 5k and drink beer . . . but thank you all.
mrmoshpotato
Into a volcano, throw the volcano into the Sun, nuke the Sun from orbit.
OzarkHillbilly
@lowtechcyclist: Ma had been at death’s door for 4 months, spent 4 or 5 significant stays in ICU with even longer stays in rehab. Every time she went back into ICU she was in worse shape than the last time she’d gone into it and every time she came out of rehab she was weaker than the last time she’d come out of rehab.
On her last stint in ICU I just couldn’t watch anymore and remain silent. “Ma? Do you want to go home?”
“Sure, when I’m better.”
I replied, “But what if you don’t get any better?”
She got a deep thoughtful look on her face and said nothing more.
The next day when I came in to see her after work, she said, “I’m ready to go home.”
The next day she did.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: I mean, if he has good ideas and reasonable plans and background to implement them, sure.
mrmoshpotato
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Count Binface’s ideas? 😁
delphinium
@Another Scott: Cool-much preferred over the original version.
Another Scott
@mrmoshpotato: Half-price croissants!! Nationalize Adele!!
Cheers,
Scott.
lowtechcyclist
@narya:
Have a good run, and enjoy your beer! No cycling for me this weekend, even if it stops raining, the roads are just too wet here, thanks to Ophelia.
frosty
I love it!!
kalakal
Update on the library flood
Good news – damage to the collection was less severe than first appeared – we may have lost less than 20,000 items, quite possibly less than 10,000. All the art work & exhibitions were saved
The building was sealed and air pumped in at 130°f for a week and that seems to have really dried the place out. I hope the microfilm/fiche readers survived as they’re $15,000 each.
Personally I was lucky it didn’t happen 5 minutes earlier as I would have been directly below the point at which the sprinkler system burst and could well have been hit by the pipework that fell 40ft
The bad news: Damage is pretty extensive and we may not be allowed back for several weeks yet. My boss and I are holed up in a spare room at one of the branches with a load of scanners are are on a digitization and archival kick with stuff we rescued. As she put it regarding the department, “A & B know branch X so they can work there, C & D know branch Y so they’ll go there, you & I know nothing so we’ll hide at branch E”.
It’s all a bit disconcerting .
To add to the fun, on a personal level just had the garden fences replaced so the garden looks like a bomb site and at 8pm friday the hot water heater decided to develop a leak and the garage has a minor flood.
I fear for my tenuous grasp on sanity :-)
On a brighter note here’s a really cool image of time lapse star trails on some gigantic solar mirrors in the Gobi desert
Apod
frosty
@Steeplejack: I am holding out from the Borgs. However, Ms. F has made the first step on the slippery slope by getting a thingamajig that lets her turn on her nightstand light by saying “Alexa, turn on the bedroom light.” I continue to find my way by the dim light of my phone.
At some point we’ll have to go whole hog and get some kind of security system in the house for our road trips after our younger son has moved out. I haven’t started the research on those yet.
gene108
@Eyeroller:
Little rule l live by, Never trust a dude in a tunic.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: It would be an interesting Met Gala theme though.
O. Felix Culpa
@zhena gogolia:
Good morning! Would it be ok if I asked a (an?) FPer for your email address? Or you’d be welcome to ask for mine. I have an utterly non-urgent question for you. :)
Betty Cracker
@Soprano2: I’m probably an outlier because I’m not only one of the millions of badly dressed Floridians but I have also worked from home full time since 2007. I know from lived experience that slovenly people can absolutely produce first-rate professional work! ;-)
I agree that how a person dresses affects how they feel and behave, but I think the effect is as individual as the person. There’s no one standard that works for all.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Fetterman’s mental health issues were exacerbated by the sudden need to get up every morning and put on a suit and tie. I’m being serious — for some of us, dressing up is deeply immiserating. I’ve tried to avoid jobs that require it all my life.
frosty
@narya: We knew my mom was OVER IT when she said “I don’t want to be here.” We tried to tell her that the continuing care facility she was in was really good and we didn’t have a room in the house we could move her into, etc. Her response:
“No, I mean Planet Earth.”
Dorothy A. Winsor
@kalakal: I’m glad the collection isn’t as damaged as you feared, but this still has to be stressful. Best of luck in the climb back to normalcy.
Another Scott
@kalakal: I’m glad it wasn’t worse. Water is horrible in the wrong places.
A few months ago we had a test valve on our building sprinkler system fail on the weekend. The fire department got notice from the alarm system, they came, but couldn’t find any problem. I got a notice that the alarm was going off but they couldn’t find out why, so I figured something was wrong and went in to check. Found a few inches of water on the floor above our offices, that accumulated in about 90 minutes, and water dripping down the building, into labs and offices, etc. Eventually the failed valve was found (behind a wall panel). The flood caused a million or so in damage to various pieces of equipment, but nothing was irreplaceable, fortunately.
A LOT of water can come through sprinkler systems in a short amount of time. It’s good we found the leak as quickly as we did…
:-(
Best of luck with the recovery!
Cheers,
Scott.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Another Scott: I can accept the bin, the program sounds a little silly.
gene108
@mrmoshpotato:
Not a good idea.
We don’t want another Space Godzilla
Betty Cracker
@kalakal: I missed the first news of it. May I ask which library?
frosty
@Soprano2: I agree. The picture I saw with Fetterman in hoodie, shorts, and sneakers next to senators in suits was embarrassing to see. I like the dude, but he’s not doing himself any favors.
John S.
I would say that all we need is for Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho to get elected president — but I think that technically already happened.
Another Scott
@frosty:
Meh.
Ted Cruz shows up to vote in basketball shorts.
It’s nothing.
Cheers,
Scott.
dmsilev
@mrmoshpotato: I’m assuming that it has something to do with either giant flying robots or kitting out the Yamato with a wave motion cannon.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Steeplejack:
Internet traditions compel me!
Sounds like a great plan for those episodes of mid-sleep period insomnia one gets, or for cold mornings in winter before the house heats up.
kalakal
@Betty Cracker: Clearwater Main, about 2 weeks ago.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2023/09/06/clearwater-main-library-closed-after-sprinkler-system-leak/
MattF
Did the ‘new iPhone’ drill yesterday. Upgrade software, transfer old stuff to new phone, erase old phone. Time consuming, but otherwise unremarkable. Nice new camera. Will go to Apple Store tomorrow for trade-in rebate.
dmsilev
@John S.:
That’s a terrible libel on the governing skills of President Camacho. When he was confronted with a crisis, he sought out the advice of the literal smartest man on Earth and then …actually listened and heeded that advice.
Soprano2
@Betty Cracker: I don’t have a problem with people who work at home dressing however they want. If you’re going to sit at the front desk in an office so you’re the first thing people see, you should look neat and professional, because you are their first impression of the employer. Again, I’m not in favor of requiring suits and heels, but just looking neat and well-groomed. I know the work can be stellar regardless of appearance, but people do get impressions based on appearance, and a sloppy appearance makes people think the work is sloppy too.
brendancalling
@Ken: I’d pay good money to see Fetterman give Manchin a good whack or two with a cane, and perhaps with something more solid. The only thing better would be to seal Manchin into an abandoned coal mine and leave him there.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Soprano2: The weather is never boring in Missouri. There may not be the extremes of Alaska and Arizona, but the range of possibilities is immense and highly changeable.
Another Scott
@narya: Have a good run, and beer!
Relatedly, … DW.com:
It includes a picture of her hoisting a beer. A pretty big beer. ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
brendancalling
@lowtechcyclist: i was supposed to run this weekend, stupid rain.
Another Scott
@kalakal: Thanks for the link…
Interesting bio:
Quite a combination…
Cheers,
Scott.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: I agree that people should be presentable at work. I just don’t think we need to be especially rigid about what counts as presentable.
Clean and well put together is the ideal for me. You can do that and include a hoodie.
ETA: Personally, a suit instills distrust in me.
Betty Cracker
@Soprano2: I agree people form impressions that way, but standards are evolving in a more permissive direction, and I think that’s a good thing. Viva la cochon! ;-)
Betty Cracker
@kalakal: Yikes — I missed that when the news broke.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone😊😊😊
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Another Scott
NASA Osirix Rex sample return live stream (starts 10AM ET):
The capsule is landing in Utah.
[It’s going – it looks like it is supposed to land at 10:54 AM ET or so.]
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@Soprano2: Advice a lot of lawyer give litigants: Dress nicely in court. Not dressing nicely shows disrespect. If you have a suit, wear it. Collared shirt and nice trousers or skirt, fine. If all you have is tee shirts and jeans, wear the nicest ones you have.
That being said and noting that I am probably one of the people on this blog who most likes and has an interest in “dressing well,” I am unconcerned about Fetterman’s style. He has a schtick. It is no better or worse than bolo ties or cowboy boots with a suit. So far, I don’t think I have seen him wearing a Windsor knot, so we are okay.
Scout211
Even though the co-conspirators who planned the insurrection have yet to be tried for their crimes, the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol are still being tried, convicted and sentenced.
Soprano2
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): That’s true. On November 11, 1911, the temps fell from 80º to 13º in one day!
Soprano2
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: You may be right, but I have yet to see it in my office. It looks sloppy to my eyes.
WaterGirl
@Ken: I would pay good money to see that!
UncleEbeneezer
Well, after a few hours of thinking I was in the clear, the Covid/Flu shots are now kicking my ass. Woke up at 3 am feeling really warm and achey all over. Not the end of the world. Glad I got them. Etc. But looks like I won’t be in the “just a little tired” category that many people I know have reported.
UncleEbeneezer
@Scout211: If you follow ADL’s Mark Pitcavage, he has stories like this every day. DOJ is still constantly bringing these fuckwads in.
Ruviana
@kalakal: You do seem to have angered the water gods.
UncleEbeneezer
Last night we started Dark Winds on AppleTV. The series based on the Hillerman mystery, set in Navajo Nation. It’s pretty good so far. And is definitely getting us stoked for our Taos trip in December.
Also started watching The Supermodels, a documentary about Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. You don’t have to twist my arm to look at these gorgeous women for an hour, but in addition to the amazing photos and footage it’s a really interesting look at just how good they are and how much of a skill modeling actually is. The way they can be transformed into totally different people just based on styling and how they pose is incredibly impressive. It also has a lot of insights into just how exploitative the industry was back then, with all of them starting work at just 15-16. They all have stories about creepy dudes trying to groom them and their own family sometimes going along with it. Campbell also has a lot to say about what it was like to experience American racism, first-hand when she first moved to the States. All in all, a really good series. It really lets us get to see them as much more than just pretty faces/bodies. Highly recommended for anyone who loves fashion.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, … Science.org:
Neato.
Wikipedia – Kin Selection:
Nature is much, much richer than “you, personally, must reproduce and fight all rivals or you are a failure and humanity will die out!!”.
There are lots of lessons here!
Cheers,
Scott.
Miss Bianca
@kalakal: The well or the hot water heater or *something* – whatever it is – always waits till after hours on Friday to crap out, don’t it? It seems to be some kind of universal law of appliances.
Good-ish news about the library, tho – that helps balance things out.
RevRick
I liked Maya May’s twitter summary of the four threats to democracy:
DISTRACTIONS… DIVISIVE LEGISLATION… DISINFORMATION… DISENGAGEMENT
Just a sobering reminder that in 2020, Trump garnered the second highest popular vote total in any Presidential election.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: The Batman Telltale game has the Riddler in hooded formal outerwear, I think a blazer.
I want one. Green and purple wouldn’t be my first choice, though
ETA: Oh and I want a gold chain with a Windsor style tie as the pendant.
hueyplong
@RevRick: In light of population growth, imagine the magnitude of the Biden blowout if, say, Trump had only managed the fourth largest largest popular vote ever.
Betty Cracker
@Another Scott: The Scientology cult owns a hefty portion of Clearwater, so the beat pairing makes sense in the local context. ;-)
Cameron
@Another Scott: Not as odd as it seems. The Church has been trying to take over Clearwater for a while. ETA beaten to the punch!
Sure Lurkalot
@Soprano2:
That happened in Denver a week ago last Thursday. It started about 4, right when my DH left to drive our nephew to the airport for his 1st European adventure. His flight ended up delayed and he spent over 4 hours at the airport before his 9 hour flight to London. Then his flight to Spain was delayed too. The good news is he’s having a wonderful time. Travel is great but it’s a crapshoot.
OzarkHillbilly
@kalakal: When it rains, it pours.
Baud
@Another Scott:
Now that’s how you incel. Humans could learn a thing or two.
WaterGirl
@kalakal:
YES!
Someone with photoshop skills should do that for EVERY REPUBLICAN SENATOR. Make a poster.
In fact, once we had the images and logos for their “owners” we could make decks of cards. There aren’t quite 52 R Senators (thank god!) but the twos could be the R Supreme Court Justices and the two jokers could be Alito and Thomas.
Matt McIrvin
@RevRick: Democracy can’t do its job if the people can’t mentally connect cause and effect. And all of these things contribute to that.
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: Are we going to have to hire someone to check in on you and make sure you aren’t getting bed sores? :-)
Baud
@Steeplejack:
Sounds like you don’t need us anymore.
ETA: You might want to ask Alexa to play the movie WALL-E, if you’re interested in learning your fate.
WaterGirl
@OzarkHillbilly: You are a good son.
Adding that to good dad and grandpa. We have no data yet on “spouse” but I can make a pretty good guess. :-)
sab
@Steeplejack: Oh dear. My husband thinks a successful day in retirement is when nobody has to put on street clothes. Just lounging around all day in pjs.
OzarkHillbilly
@Another Scott: When in Germany…
Eunicecycle
@Ohio Mom: my dad was in hospice for 8 months. They will re-evaluate you at that time, but if the prognosis is still the same and you agree to no treatment, you stay on hospice.
karen marie
@Ken: If only!
Frankensteinbeck
@Baud:
I assure you that outside of eusocial insects (who could arguably be claimed that one swarm is one organism) humans are the reigning champions of individuals sacrificing their own reproductivity to increase the overall success of their genetic line.
TS
Jimmy Carter in the White House so fits the doctrine
We never knew what we had until it was gone
sab
@UncleEbeneezer: When my husband had his boutique we hired a former model as a salesperson, and she used to sashay around in the store just to show us how it’s done. They always remember that they are showing off the clothes, not themselves. So you notice the features, how it hangs and moves when you move, whether it has pockets, fun features, etc. It was quite interesting. And she was a sweetheart who got along with everyone.
Baud
@Frankensteinbeck:
I read that as Eurosocial insects and thought you were about to say something negative about the European social safety net.
Eunicecycle
@Omnes Omnibus: when I was a guardian ad litem I was helping a little boy who was placed with his grandma. I asked her to wear a dress to a court hearing and she said she didn’t have one. Nice pants? Nope. She wore jeans with a t-shirt that said “Girls just want to have fun.” She did get custody!
Matt McIrvin
OSIRIS-REX chute is open. Stream comments are divided between the people who say it’s fake and the people who say it’ll kill us all with a space virus.
Baud
@Matt McIrvin:
Por qué no los dos?
Matt McIrvin
…And now it’s down, recovery teams rushing to the spot.
OzarkHillbilly
@Eunicecycle: That must have been my long lost twin sister.
Joey Maloney
You were beaten to this idea by about 50 years … by MAD Magazine.
Baud
@Eunicecycle:
Reminds me of My Cousin Vinny.
artem1s
@Ohio Mom:
“kicked off of hospice if you are still alive after six months”
If you are using medicare to pay there is a limit to how long you can stay in hospice. I’m sure the Carters will take care of their bill for whatever length of time they have left. And also provide additional philanthropic support.
dmsilev
@Matt McIrvin: No “aliens coming to bring us enlightenment”?
Sad.
Baud
@dmsilev:
What part of “It’s a cookbook” is ambiguous?
T-Bone
@Soprano2: shallow. Betty hit the nail on the head – when you’ve been suddenly disabled and you’re not sure you’re even the same person anymore, struggling into an unaccustomed suit and tie is soul-crushing. I WANT my Senator to be comfortable and confident, even if he shows up in a wifebeater and worn slippers! I speak from personal experience when I say “You’re lucky I’m here at all AND wearing clothes at the same time!” Get over it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: “I didn’t think they’d cook me!”
LiminalOwl
@kalakal: oof! Much sympathy re: the books, and I’m glad you weren’t hurt.
Nettoyeur
@Another Scott: Never been there but I have been told that Clearwater pretty much IS Scientology.
Yarrow
Jimmy Carter is a great man. I’m glad he’s getting to go out on his terms. The news today showed some video they said was from the Plains, GA Peanut Festival where Jimmy and Rosalyn rode in the parade in an SUV. The windows were down and in the video I could only see Rosalyn. He must be doing reasonably well to feel up to doing that.
Josie
@artem1s:
My mother (severe dementia) was on hospice, paid through Medicare, longer than a year. When the six month period was up, they shifted to a different provider.
kalakal
@Nettoyeur: There’s certainly a lot of them about. They own a lot of the downtown and various chunks around the city. Once you get away from downtown you don’t see them at all except the odd housing area. I don’t think they’ve made any inroads on Clearwater Beach which is where the real money is ( lot’s of very expensive tourist hotels) .
UncleEbeneezer
@sab: Yeah a couple designers and photographers talked about exactly this in the first episode. Also about the skill of these models to be able to do jumping or contorted poses while still making their faces look gorgeous. It really brings home how good the best models are at what they do. I had no idea that Naomi Campbell is like a professionally trained dancer too.
Betty
@Betty Cracker: On one of his posts, several commenters chimed in to say that they had started wearing casual clothes after their stroke. There may be a connection of some kind there.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I’ve worked/owned a business in industry that didn’t give a rat’s tuchus about a dress code and I’ve worked where I had to wear a uniform – professional sports and at times a tux – which is far cheaper than a good suit. I ask one question, does the dress code in any way elevate the outcome of the work at hand, or is it’s concept that it is made a more serious business because we have a dress code? Because I see that there are members of congress that are about as serious as 2 day old toast and the dress code is not changing that one bit.
tobie
For me, the jury is still out on Fetterman. He’s good at the clapback, the one-liner, and he’s got the whole working man shtyck down. Will he spearhead legislation protecting labor? Time will tell. He can put on a jacket and slacks when he goes to vote. I don’t care how he dresses in his office, and with everything else going on right now, it’s outrageous that Manchin thinks this is a worthwhile issue to spend time on.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Ruckus: I would go so far as to say the ones most committed to the dress code aren’t especially serious.
This goes double for Manchin, who decided to start this fight a week before we hit the deadline on a manufactured budget crisis.
tobie
@Betty: I don’t think his dress has anything to do with his stroke. Throughout the primary he wore a hoodie and shorts. He went to an event in PA during the primary where Biden was speaking and wore a hoodie and shorts. It’s his “brand,” and I say that with all the term implies. It may be genuine but it’s also how he marketed himself to voters.
Ruckus
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
Personally, a suit instills distrust in me.
When I was a boy, (seemingly 2 or 3 centuries ago…) we had a neighbor who was a circus clown. You’d of course not know that because he didn’t dress like that 24/7 but he was one of the most interesting people I’ve met in my life, he enjoyed going to work. Now I’ve enjoyed parts of the jobs I’ve had in my life, but there is a reason it’s called work. I do not recall this gentleman ever calling his job work. I can’t imaging doing what he did but he enjoyed it more than anyone I’ve ever known, both as a worker and as an employer/business owner. I’ve owned a bicycle shop and that was close because the concept of the store made people happy. It was still work.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@tobie: I once worked as a telemarketer. Literally all you had to do to be regarded as a manager and given a manager’s work profile was to show up in a button-up shirt and tie.
That was when I realized how laughably superficial work dress culture is.
People who put too much stock in a good suit are probably good marks for for well-dressed grifters and thieves. You know, businessmen.
mrmoshpotato
@gene108: Oh. Didn’t know.
Steeplejack
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio):
😹 Funny!
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl, @Baud:
This is my one concession to creeping automation, I swear! 🤞
Steeplejack
@sab:
I’m living the dream! No need to put on tactical gear (pants!) unless you’re going outside. T-shirt and shorts are acceptable loungewear for today’s gentleman. But I live alone. He should take your delicate sensibilities into account.
Scout211
LOL. My BIL, who had always been in sales for various firms over the years, was appalled that Mr. Scout wore shorts and tee shirts as a professor at the university. He recommended that Mr. Scout wear tweed jackets with elbow patches. Mr. Scout was, in turn, appalled at that suggestion. Fun times in the family. LOL
Business people are very different than university professors. Just saying.
Another Scott
@tobie:
But voting is about 0.1% of their day.
I remember watching C-SPAN years ago and seeing a Senate session for a vote. Ted Kennedy was walking fast with some aid or other senator, walked past the desk, yelled out his vote, then continued through the door without missing a step. Sure, there are examples of all the senators standing around for hours, waiting to see the final vote, but that’s really rare.
This “we should enforce the informal Senate dress code” is a distraction.
Cheers,
Scott.
CaseyL
@Matt McIrvin:
That’s how the Andromeda Strain got here, after all :)
Steeplejack
@frosty:
I did get one smart wall plug for an ambient-light lamp in the living room. It’s in a corner and the on-off switch is sort of inconvenient. But now I can say, “Alexa, turn on the corner lamp.” Also useful for when I come home to a dark apartment, because there is no overhead light in the living room. I can speak from the door.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: You’ll be laughing out of the other side of your mouth when your corner lamp kills you in your sleep.
Ken
@Another Scott: That works out to a five-minute mile. Or rather, 26 of them in a row.
Jager
@lowtechcyclist:
A friend’s Dad has late-stage Dementia. On the upside, he remembers the lyrics to his favorite songs, still conducts the classics when he hears them and he’s forgotten he was a heavy smoker, drinker, and ate too much. His doc says he’s healthier than he’s been in years.
tobie
@Another Scott: I agree it’s a distraction, and, as I said, I’m waiting to see what kind of senator Fetterman will be. I don’t know yet.
wjca
A dress code can “elevate the outcome of the work at hand” if the work at hand is making a good impression on the people you are interacting with. So, sales, appearing in court, etc. Essentially context dependent.
For Fetterman, it is important to make a good impression on his constituents; on his fellow senators, not so much. As he gains seniority, and is thus in a position to initiate stuff in the Senate, that may change. But for now….
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I managed to mostly do this over 60 yrs of working.
Another Scott
@tobie:
ProPublica – Fetterman has sponsored 16 bills thus far (he’s a co-sponsor on a hundred or so more).
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
Soprano2
@T-Bone: It may be shallow, but the problem is it’s true. We can’t help it, it’s subconscious. I don’t care what Fetterman wears, but it will shape perceptions of him, both positive and negative. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie to look professional, either.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: It may be subconscious, but it’s not universal. I wasn’t joking when I said suits enender mistrust in me.
A suit tells me in most contexts “this person wants my money and they’re willing to put on a slick presentation to get it.”
The other contexts are more “this individual is ‘the man’ and wants to wield power over me.
Ruckus
@wjca:
I’ve owned my own business. My father started it and I owned it longer than he did. If you see my comment at 165 you’ll see that I’ve owned 2 businesses. I find that there are businesses that think the dress code changes the work atmosphere but the reality is that a work atmosphere is made not by the dress code but by the people that work there. Now in a high end clothing store if you dressed like I did in my businesses, no one would likely purchase a thing or even shop there. But one of my businesses was in a very, very wealthy county in CA and I dressed in tee shirts and shorts and that didn’t stop anyone from coming in or purchasing because it was all about personal recreation. My other company was based upon the custom products we produced. No one was paying for a high class presentation but for the physical, custom products produced and most of those were mid to high 5 figure costs, some of those could run into 6 figure costs for companies that if I gave the names, most would recognize. Today many more would be into 6 figures. No one ever cared about the lack of a dress code, only that they got the product they paid for.
Alison Rose
@Ruckus: Yeah, around the Bay Area I never worked anywhere with a dress code beyond just “wear shoes and cover your naughty bits” basically, and it never had any impact on company culture or morale or whatever. To me, the idea that what people wear matters in that way is just a fiction society has been telling itself for centuries that for some reason, a lot of people are loath to give up. And IMO if you refuse to take someone seriously or show them respect because they’re wearing jeans or something, the problem is with you, not them or their clothing.
(The general “you”, not you specifically, Ruckus :) )
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Alison Rose: I actually agree that the manner of dress affects mood and work culture. Suits are associated with some of the most toxic work cultures in the most damaging industries.
Soprano2
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Including weddings and funerals? * sigh
Alison Rose
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: Heh, yeah. I’ve actually never worked anywhere that men regularly wore suits, and I’m glad about that. Slacks and dress shirts, yes, but that’s it.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: If I’m invited to a wedding for someone I care about and am asked to wear a suit, I will comply.
When I get married, I don’t want a piece of formal wear within a mile of the venue unless it is being used in a very creative way.
tobie
@Another Scott: Thanks. That’s great. It looks like the bulk of his bills concern agriculture. Given that SNAP is tied to agriculture, that’s important.
Ruckus
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation:
THIS. I believe, and always have that it is about the product, not the presentation. Sure the presentation is important but the actual work or product talks a lot louder than the presentation. If it doesn’t then one should walk away as fast as possible. Expensive packaging is about presentation of the product, not about the actual product.
Soprano2
@Alison Rose: OK, how many people on this blog make fun of how Krysten Sinema dresses, and go so far as to say it means she’s not serious about her job? That number is not zero. How serious would you think an attorney who appeared in court in a ragged t-shirt and torn jeans was? We can say it doesn’t matter, but it does. A person who sits at the front desk at a business or government office should not look like an unmade bed. I will die on that hill. It makes a bad impression on most people. I love to dress up; I don’t insist anyone else do it, but I do think people should dress appropriately for their job.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: I have called Kyrsten Sinema unserious many times. It was never about her manner of dress
ETA: Court is another place where I could be persuaded to wear a suit. And that’s entirely about the person wielding power over me who most likely would demand I dress in this way.
Soprano2
@Ruckus: Dress should be appropriate to the place of employment. That’s all I’m saying. I’m not saying everyone has to wear a suit, good God. I hate seeing baseball caps at weddings and funerals, but I guess that’s how people dress now.
Soprano2
@The Kropenhagen Interpretation: But that definitely influences how people see her. Don’t tell me it doesn’t.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: Yes, it influences how I see her. Similar to how her bisexuality influences how I see her.
They cause me disappointment because I want to like her because of how she dresses and her breaking barriers for queer folk. But I know better than to let superficial things like that cloud my judgment.
Alison Rose
@Soprano2: I don’t know if I have ever snarked on her clothing, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her performance. Some of her clothing choices are ridiculous because it looks like a woman who is pretending to be a decade or more younger than she is. But it’s not like if she dressed more typically, suddenly we would all like her. Fetterman wearing shorts isn’t about trying to get attention. Sinema’s outfits often seem to be giving “I AM THE MAIN CHARACTER!!!” energy and it’s a little pathetic.
Also, there is a big difference between, say, nice jeans and a plain blouse and a “ragged t-shirt and torn jeans”. No one is saying it’s fine for people in every job to show up in potato sacks or Speedos or Emma Peel costumes. We’re just saying the idea that someone has to be wearing a suit or a skirt and blazer to be taken seriously is dumb and outdated.
Ruckus
@Alison Rose:
It used to be a way that showed you had money. All clothing was hand made, not mass produced in various sizes. Today it is all mass produced except possibly those multi thousand dollar dresses. Tuxedos are cheaper than suits – I know, I’ve owned both. And wore both maybe once or twice a year as I worked in professional sports and had to attend award banquets.
Alison Rose
@Soprano2: But those standards change all the time. It used to be considered necessary for men to always wear hats with their suits to work. How many men do that now? It used to be seen as inappropriate for women to wear pants, and I sure hope you don’t think we should bring that back. Politicians used to wear powdered wigs, women used to be shoved into corsets, etc etc. “Appropriate” is subjective and highly specific to time and era, and certainly to place. When I was in my 20s, I was in my goth era, and I’d go to work (at a shipping department, then my dad’s nonprofit office, then an insurance company, then a magazine) in knee high platform boots, striped tights, lots of velvet and lace, half a pound of black eyeliner, etc. A lot of people would deem that “inappropriate” but no one I worked for ever gave a shit and it never had any impact on coworkers, clients, etc. You cannot take your subjective opinions and declare them to be objective realities.
Elizabelle
@eclare: That’s a really good New Yorker article. Thank you.
Elizabelle
That article by Peter Fucking Baker is the only thing I read of his, for years, that I (a) finished and (b) did not wince my way through.
Jimmy Carter is beloved in a way that most people are not, and he certainly lived a good and useful life. Still is.
I really, really want him to survive Mitch McConnell. And know that he did.
Geminid
@Alison Rose: In 1961, John F. Kennedy went hatless at his Inauguration. This was considered an innovation at the time.
Alison Rose
@Geminid: That little ho.
Ruckus
@Soprano2:
I get what you are saying – but. That to me is like painting the office every year, the same exact paint and color so that it always looks exactly the same. And yes I’ve worked in an office building. I’ve also worked in machine shops and in a retail business. I have a picture of me in a suit. I was five. The only thing I see a dress code doing is keeping the slobs from looking quite so slobbish. It doesn’t make them any less slobbish, just that they look like it. I’ve seen meals presented as if I were a king and the same food presented on paper plates and eaten in the shade sitting on the lawn and they always taste the same no matter how they were presented. The person inside the clothes is the same person, in swim suit or tux, thousand dollar dress or shorts and a tee shirt. The clothing does not make the person and it often hides what one should really see. Is Fetterman a worse person because he doesn’t wear a suit? I don’t think so. I wear shorts and tee shirts because no one tells me how to dress and I couldn’t care less about a suit or going anywhere where I have to wear one.
Soprano2
@Alison Rose: But I never said that. I don’t believe that. Some in this thread are pretty close to saying it’s OK to come to work in an office in a Speedo because to care about such things shows you are shallow, all you should care about is competence.
T-Bone
@Soprano2: His bravery, courage, persistence, and honesty advocating vociferously for the disabled will leave a much better, longer-lasting, conscious impression than anything he could wear to appear “professional.” Like a mustache.
Soprano2
@Alison Rose: All I’m saying is that how you dress influences people’s beliefs about you, especially first impressions. One person on this thread proved it by saying they think people who wear suits are all shady people who are trying to separate them from their money. The person’s dress influences what the poster thinks of them! That’s exactly my argument.
Soprano2
@T-Bone: That’s also true. Eventually experience can overcome first impressions.
Alison Rose
@Soprano2: Okay, well, this is what I was responding to:
It’s a leap to go from “jeans” to “unmade bed”. And you have used the word appropriate many times, and that is subjective.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
@Soprano2: Look, I understand and respect that you like to dress up nicely and that, from your perspective, a suit provides you that.
I think where the conflict arises is that the suit is a cultural marker. Those who are wealthy and in-charge have traditionally had the nicest ones and they would tell the rest of us that to be taken seriously, we must dress according to their preferences.
Maybe it’s not fair for me to assign the responsibility to the suits, but I associate suits with Wall St. and car dealers and district management and Joe Fucking Manchin; people with money who are only interested in helping people with money.
Perhaps without people casting suspicion, eh hem, both ways, we could all coexist peacefully.
Alison Rose
@Soprano2: But it shouldn’t. This is getting close to the way white people judge Black people for wearing their hair naturally or in traditional styles. Judging someone for how they look is wrong, and just because people do it doesn’t mean we should kowtow to them.
Ruckus
@Soprano2:
First impressions are often bullshit. I was once talking to an asshole who made at least 20-30 times more a year than I did, and this person had someone walk up to him and ask for his autograph and his voice, mannerisms and personality changed instantly and as soon as he was done he turned back to berate me for another few minutes. I didn’t tell him this but my thought was, never ever need my help or my being nice in any way because of my job, which could absolutely influence how much money he earned. Pompous arrogance doesn’t need expensive clothing, it’s pompous arrogance all on it’s own, just like a custom made dress or several thousand dollar suit doesn’t eliminate being an asshole. It just means someone may have spent a lot of money to try to hide their assholiness.
Darkrose
@kalakal: Ouch! I’m so sorry.
We’ve been having issues with mold in the stacks. It’s probably related to the unusually wet winter; fortunately everything seems to be recoverable, and nothing from Archives & Special Collections has been affected. Hope you don’t lose too much and you can recover most of it.