Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

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

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Welcome to day five of every-bit-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-would-be.

Human rights are not a matter of opinion!

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Giving in to doom is how we fail to fight for ourselves & one another.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

“Alexa, change the president.”

Peak wingnut was a lie.

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

No one could have predicted…

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Morning Open Thread: Snippets

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Snippets

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(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…

I don’t *think* I shared this earlier, but it remains worth reading:

Schadenfreude!

A few days behind, but here’s a good brief report on why the UAW is striking:

As always: Sharing is caring!

Reader Interactions

198Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    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 occurs

    Nice. People get overexcited about new policies and underexcited about implementation.

  2. 2.

    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.

  4. 4.

    Ken

    America’s auto industry is facing a historic challenge as the United Auto Workers union enters day four of the strike.

    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.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    @Ken:

    Headline writers basically exaggerate and lie nowadays to get clicks.

    Every Biden meeting with a foreign leader is described as “high stakes.”

  7. 7.

    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.)

  8. 8.

    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.

  9. 9.

    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.

  10. 10.

    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. 😊

  11. 11.

    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.

  13. 13.

    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.

  17. 17.

    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.

  18. 18.

    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.

  19. 19.

    Jeffro

    @Eunicecycle: if we make it a regular thing we could erase the national debt.

    Regular canings, just of Manchin alone, would get us close!

    My god…with Ted Cruz, I might consider liquidating my retirement funds.

  20. 20.

    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.

  21. 21.

    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.

  25. 25.

    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.

  26. 26.

    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/

  27. 27.

    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.

  29. 29.

    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.

  30. 30.

    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.

  33. 33.

    kalakal

    @gene108:

    Maybe the Senate should adopt a standard uniform? Or different uniforms for Senators based on seniority or committees they are on

    I think overalls like racing drivers with the logos of their funders. Same for the house and the Supreme Court

  34. 34.

    mrmoshpotato

    The U.S. military is planning to establish in Japan a command post for its Space Force in the near future.

    1. Ridiculous.
    2. Fire Space Farce into deep space.
    3. Fire its orange blob creator into deep space then nuke his fat ass from orbit.  It’s the only way to be sure.
    4. Godzilla in SPAAAAAAACE!
  36. 36.

    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.

  37. 37.

    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).

  38. 38.

    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.

  39. 39.

    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.

  41. 41.

    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.

  42. 42.

    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! 😅😅

  43. 43.

    lowtechcyclist

    @OzarkHillbilly: ​

    When Ma made the decision to go into hospice, she lasted about 7 hours.

    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.​

  45. 45.

    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.

  46. 46.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Jeffro:

    My god…with Ted Cruz, I might consider liquidating my retirement funds. 

    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.

  49. 49.

    mrmoshpotato

    @oldster:

    I’m happy that Bankman and Fried are getting sued. I’ll be even happier when they get indicted.

    We party once they’re off to prison.

  51. 51.

    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.

  53. 53.

    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.

  54. 54.

    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.

  55. 55.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Steeplejack: I did a spit-take when I first read that Bankman-Fried’s mother is an ethics professor.

    Into a volcano, throw the volcano into the Sun, nuke the Sun from orbit.

  56. 56.

    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.

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    @narya:

    Gotta go run a 5k and drink beer . . . but thank you all.

    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.

  63. 63.

    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

  64. 64.

    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.

  67. 67.

    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. :)

  68. 68.

    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.

  69. 69.

    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.”

  71. 71.

    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.

  75. 75.

    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.

  76. 76.

    John S.

    @kalakal: I think overalls like racing drivers with the logos of their funders. Same for the house and the Supreme Court.

    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.

  81. 81.

    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.

  82. 82.

    dmsilev

    @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.

    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.

  83. 83.

    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.

  84. 84.

    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.

  85. 85.

    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.

  86. 86.

    Another Scott

    @narya: Have a good run, and beer!

    Relatedly, … DW.com:

    Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa broke the women’s marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, chopping off more than two minutes from the previous best to clock an official time of two hours 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

    It includes a picture of her hoisting a beer. A pretty big beer. ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Another Scott

    @kalakal: Thanks for the link…

    Interesting bio:

    Tracey McManus is a reporter covering Clearwater and the Church of Scientology.

    Quite a combination…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    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.

  90. 90.

    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! ;-)

  95. 95.

    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.

  96. 96.

    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.

    A New York man who punched a police officer and took a riot shield during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Friday.

    Jonathan Munafo, 36, is set to serve 33 months behind bars with 36 months of supervised release after pleading guilty in April to two felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and civil disorder.

    The day of the attack, Munafo cheered along with other rioters as they attempted to breach the Capitol in Washington, according to the Department of Justice.

    “He used two different poles to strike the window of a Capitol office approximately 13 times,” the DOJ said in a press release. “Munafo often looked back at the crowd, shouting, chanting, and attempting to rile up the other rioters.”

    Later that afternoon, Munafo punched a member of the Metropolitan Police Department twice before grabbing the officer’s shield.

    “The second punch from Munafo appears to have caused the officer’s head to snap back,” the press release said. “Munafo then took the officer’s riot shield and slunk away into the crowd, leaving the officer without a shield and vulnerable to attacks from other rioters.”

  100. 100.

    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.

  103. 103.

    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.

  104. 104.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … Science.org:

    When Ryo Minemizu, a professional underwater photographer, posted photos of an elegant ladybug-size flittering creature off Okinawa, Japan, in 2018, biologists were baffled. It wasn’t a worm, a mollusk, or a crustacean. What was it? No one knew.

    One of those intrigued was Igor Adameyko, a developmental neurobiologist at the Medical University of Vienna. (A fellow enthusiast of marine biology, he spotted the pictures on Instagram, where he has his own account dedicated to marine zooplankton.) Adameyko asked Minemizu whether he had taken a specimen, and, if so, whether he might share it. Not long after, a package arrived at the Karolinska Institute, where Adameyko also works.

    […]

    What’s interesting about this new digenean parasite is that the larvae cooperate using two different forms. The DNA confirmed that both the sailors and tiny passengers inside the hemisphere belong to the same species. These passengers, it seems, act as the infectious agents, waiting to infiltrate the gills or intestines of a fish that swallows them. The sailors, meanwhile, do the hard work of moving the blob through the water—but in sacrifice their own opportunities to reproduce.

    This phenomenon, in which one member of a species forgoes its own chance to reproduce so that another can, is called kin selection. And this, says Robert Poulin, a parasitologist at the University of Otago who was not involved, is “a really cool case of kin selection pushed to the extreme.”

    Scientists have studied the phenomenon in other kinds of trematode parasites while they are living inside their hosts. The “remarkable” new study shows that this division of labor happens in free-living larval forms as well, says Ryan Hechinger, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “This finding highlights that trematodes are unique among all animal life.”

    […]

    Neato.

    Wikipedia – Kin Selection:

    Kin selection can lead to the evolution of altruistic behaviour.

    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.

  105. 105.

    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.

  106. 106.

    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.

  107. 107.

    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.

  108. 108.

    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.

  111. 111.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Soprano2:

    It was the first day of fall, but it stormed like it was spring.

    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.

  113. 113.

    Baud

    @Another Scott:

    This phenomenon, in which one member of a species forgoes its own chance to reproduce so that another can, is called kin selection.

     
    Now that’s how you incel. Humans could learn a thing or two.

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    @kalakal:

    I think overalls like racing drivers with the logos of their funders. Same for the house and the Supreme Court.

    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.

  115. 115.

    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.

  121. 121.

    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.

  123. 123.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Baud:

    Humans could learn a thing or two.

    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.

  125. 125.

    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.

  127. 127.

    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!

  128. 128.

    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.

  132. 132.

    Joey Maloney

    @kalakal: I think overalls like racing drivers with the logos of their funders. Same for the house and the Supreme Court

    You were beaten to this idea by about 50 years … by MAD Magazine.

  134. 134.

    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.

  137. 137.

    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.

  141. 141.

    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.

  142. 142.

    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.

  143. 143.

    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) .

  144. 144.

    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.

  145. 145.

    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.

  146. 146.

    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.

  147. 147.

    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.

  148. 148.

    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.

  149. 149.

    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.

  150. 150.

    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.

  151. 151.

    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.

  155. 155.

    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.

  156. 156.

    Scout211

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: People who put too much stock in a good suit are probably good marks for for well-dressed grifters and thieves.   You know, businessmen.

    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.

  157. 157.

    Another Scott

    @tobie:

    He can put on a jacket and slacks when he goes to vote. I don’t care how he dresses in his office, …

    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.

  159. 159.

    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.

  162. 162.

    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.

  164. 164.

    wjca

    @Ruckus:  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?

    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….

  165. 165.

    Ruckus

    @Betty Cracker:

    I managed to mostly do this over 60 yrs of working.

    1. Do a job that gets one dirty. Easiest.
    2. Do a job that there is no one to tell you that you are dressing wrong. See #1
    3. If 2 fails, get another job. See #1 and 2
    4. If all else fails – own your own company. This is the best but is a tad more difficult overall but in the long run can be more satisfying.
  167. 167.

    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.

  168. 168.

    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.

  169. 169.

    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.

  170. 170.

    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 :) )

  171. 171.

    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.

  174. 174.

    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.

  176. 176.

    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.

  177. 177.

    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.

  178. 178.

    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.

  179. 179.

    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.

  181. 181.

    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.

  182. 182.

    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.

  183. 183.

    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.

  184. 184.

    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.

  186. 186.

    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.

  189. 189.

    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.

  190. 190.

    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.

  191. 191.

    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.

  192. 192.

    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.

  194. 194.

    Alison Rose

    @Soprano2: Okay, well, this is what I was responding to:

    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.

    It’s a leap to go from “jeans” to “unmade bed”. And you have used the word appropriate many times, and that is subjective.

  195. 195.

    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.

  196. 196.

    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.

  197. 197.

    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.

  198. 198.

    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.

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