what happens when you summon the prince of darkness pic.twitter.com/XI7L0I1JnB
— cats being weird little guys (@weirdlilguys) October 12, 2023
Note to any confused voters:@JoeBiden just stood on a @UAW picket line to help get a big raise for auto workers from Ford.
House Republicans just elected a Speaker who wants to slash Social Security and Medicare from our seniors.
Hope this helps. pic.twitter.com/D6uoqzsmaZ
— Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) October 26, 2023
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said third-quarter growth data show the US economy is doing very well and that there is evidence of a soft landing https://t.co/IKONuBVDFt
— Bloomberg (@business) October 26, 2023
JUST IN: US GDP soared to a blockbuster 4.9% in Q3. That’s the highest since the end of 2021 and a big uptick from 2.1% in Q2.
Strong consumer spending and gov’t spending drove the growth.
Bottom line: No recession in sight. pic.twitter.com/xRmOFfqIBF
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) October 26, 2023
President Biden on new GDP report showing 4.9% growth: "I never believed we would need a recession to bring inflation down – and today we saw again that the American economy continues to grow even as inflation has come down." pic.twitter.com/f1t1uT7Z1q
— Joey Garrison (@joeygarrison) October 26, 2023
10/10. No notes.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 26, 2023
OzarkHillbilly
I blame Obama.
anon
Wait, so the white house x account replied to Doug?
Another Scott
Good morning and happy Friday.
Yes, we will.
I very much like our chances, but we cannot be complacent!
Cheers,
Scott.
Jackie
TIFG’s rallies are boring and MAGAt attendance is flagging. Or walking out early…
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-vanishing-act-why-trump-rallies-are-going-extinct
Another Scott
@anon: Yup.
They keep an eye on him – remember Biden cited him at Correspondents Dinner.
Yay Team!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Anne Laurie
@Another Scott: We knew him when!
OzarkHillbilly
@anon: Anybody who wants to know what tomorrow’s NYT front page will be, follows Doug.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
We have old friends here who have “made good” from humble beginnings, they own a lot of properties and restaurants (they own those properties as well).
All they do is bitch about how Denver’s minimum wage is killing their restaurant business (they’ve actually had 2 fail over the last 2 years and that after a dozen years of nothing but success). And yet they’re quiet about the successful, established ones that essentially print them money.
To the point that they’ve bought their 30-something daughter a $1.5m house in Basalt, their 30-year old son who just finally got a law degree and a job a $900K house in a western Denver burb and themselves a $1.2m house (which they’ve gutted and will probably drop $800K into “making it their own”) nearby.
But that minimum wage is just *killing* them. /s
gene108
DougJ’s hit the big time. Hope he remembers us little commenters when he was just a wee guest blogger.
MisterForkbeard
OT, but does anyone have any novel ideas for sleep aids? Normally I sleep badly but enough to get by (4-5 hours total with at least 3 wake-ups) but this last two weeks I’ve been travelling, got sick and traveled more. I think I had more than 3 hours once and tonight is looking like 30 minutes total.
It’s gotten to the point where I dread the night because it’s such a consistently miserable experience. So: any off the wall ideas? I’ve tried most of the normal ones.
Tony Jay
@anon:
Pffft. We were into it before it became all kewl and mainstream. I guess now we’ll have to go looking for the new edge. Thanks a lot, Brandon.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@MisterForkbeard:
Do you sleep with a mask on? I started doing that about 10 years ago and it made a world of difference.
Princess
@Jackie: and he’s hardly doing any rallies at all. I don’t think he’s got the energy and brain power. They pump him up with stuff before he does one and there’s only so many times a month his body and mind can take that.
Jeffg166
Of course the Dow dropped on the good economic news.
MisterForkbeard
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: Haven’t tried that one since I had covid last February. Like, a normal face mask?
I have a hard time breathing sometimes so I’m loathe to try it, but it’s worth a shot. Thank you.
Eunicecycle
@Jeffg166: that drives me crazy. I know it’s because Wall Street thinks the Feds will raise interest rates despite the other day saying they were pausing the rate increases. But I would think the MOTUs would love low inflation and unemployment and great GDP. I mean, isn’t that good news? What do they want?
Matt McIrvin
@MisterForkbeard: the only thing that worked for me was seeing a pulmonologist and getting a CPAP.
Geminid
@MisterForkbeard: You may have tried them already, but I have had success with antihistamine sleep aids. I usually take an ibuprophen “PM” type pill that has 25 mg of a antihistamine. Last week I picked some sleep aid tablets containing 50 mg. of diphenyhadramine HCI. Both help me go to sleep and sleep longer.
I’ve read that histamines stimulate brain activity, and antihistamines tend to calm the brain down.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Have you had a sleep study? You might learn what’s causing your poor sleep if you do.
Off the wall idea, magnesium oil helps me relax and sleep better. It’s available at a lot of places or online. I put it on but then wash it off once it’s soaked in. because it’s kind of gritty and can sting if you have any small cuts on your skin. It’s really a salt, not an oil.
Another Scott
@MisterForkbeard: That’s rough.
Everyone’s different, but a lot of carbs and lying down in a recliner will knock me out. I used to make a giant stack of pancakes on the weekend when I was in grad school. I wasn’t able to finish them because I would fall asleep…
(I don’t actually recommend that as a diet, but you might see how food affects your sleepiness.)
Also, if I have any caffeine after about noon, then I have lots of trouble getting tired before midnight (and sometimes before about 2 AM).
Finally, listen to your body. If you get sleepy at 8:30, don’t power through it, go to bed. It may take a few days, but it may help reset your clock. (My dad always went to bed around 8:30 because he would get up at 0400 or so.)
Sleep is important. Get it while you can – even if it’s a 20 minute nap during the day.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Eyeroller
@Eunicecycle: The stock market usually drops on news of wage gains. Cuts into profits.
MisterForkbeard
@Matt McIrvin: I did try seeing a doc about this – I did a bunch of tests and they came back as “nothing wrong”. Doc told me to try exercising more or less. I gave up.
frosty
@MisterForkbeard: No help from me except commiseration. My sleep patterns are doing the same, but not quite as drastically. I’ll bookmark this post.l to see if you get any answers.
BellyCat
The chart tracking income rate change is definitely worth pondering. While thrilled that the lowest incomes have risen dramatically, its surprising to see that income for mid and higher earners is essentially around 2015 levels. Woulda thunk those had risen a bit as well. Certainly explains the degree of MAGA grievance though.
trnc
I heard an NPR story about minority recreation centers in Chicago being converted to immigrant shelters for the 19,000 and growing number of people bussed from Texas. Biden seems to be getting most of the blame, but it’s hard to tell how much that’s inflated by NPR. At any rate, time for Biden to divert any federal money he can from Texas to Chicago to set up shelters and keep the rec centers open for the minority communities.
Kay
Went to a political event – David Pepper (former chair of the state party) was there and he thinks Issue 1 will pass, but it will be close:
He also thinks this might be a good upcoming issue for Democrats under the “democracy” category:
DeWine and state Republicans are seeking to take the powers of the (elected) state school board away and instead have GOP political appointees run education. Pepper paid for polling on it and he says 75% oppose it. It’s another power grab.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Go back to the doctor and request a sleep study. Also, ask specifically about sleep apnea.
mrmoshpotato
Nu uh! A Dumbocrat is currently Preznant!
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: I did! The sleep study told me I didn’t have any problems and they functionally had no suggestions.
@Another Scott: Yeah. I get tired around 8 or so but can’t go to sleep then – I have young kids, and my work sometimes has late night things I need to do, though that’s pretty rare these days.
I’ve tried Tylenol PM, Nyquil and other options. They make me sleep (sorta) but I literally always get nightmares – and then I can’t wake up from them due to the meds. Which is an entirely other type of awful.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: Why won’t Obama leeeeead?
MisterForkbeard
@Kay: Neat! Always nice to hear good news.
I’m jealous whenever you talk about attending these kinds of events. It sounds like some combination of depressing and fascinating.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: I’ll add, if you live with anyone and if they sleep with you, take them with you to the doctor to give their take on things. And to be your advocate.
Another thing you can do is set up a camera and record yourself sleeping. Or trying to sleep. Or not sleeping. Then give that or highlights to the doctor. You can learn things. You might think you wake up needing to go to the bathroom, but actually you gasp for air.
Spanky
@MisterForkbeard: Pretty sure Comrade Scott meant a mask over your eyes, but I’ll add to the chorus about getting your md to prescribe a sleep study.
scribbler
@MisterForkbeard: Not sure but this commenter might have been referring to a sleep mask, which covers your eyes, not mouth and nose.
MisterForkbeard
@Yarrow: Good advice, thank you.
MisterForkbeard
@scribbler: Ah. I’ve tried that too. :(
Kristine
@MisterForkbeard: I’ve tried the sleep meditations on the Aura app twice in the last week and they worked. Both times I was wide awake at 1-2am
mrmoshpotato
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: It’s not even 7AM here. Way too early for eyes to go rolling out of heads. :)
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@MisterForkbeard:
A sleeping mask. It took a while to get used to wearing one. Amazon sells a ton of cheap ones that wear out fast but that would be an economical way to try some and see how it goes.
I have an older one that’s big and somewhat fuzzy–I use it for camping because it helps keep my face warm.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: If you have young kids they can go to bed early so you can go to bed by 8. My neighbor does that. Their whole house is dark and everyone is in bed by 8:30.
If you have a spouse or partner, enlist them to help you try going to bed at 8 for a week or so to see if it helps. They will be paying the price for you not sleeping so they may want to help. You can’t function over time if you cant’ sleep and it affects you and everyone around you.
Another Scott
@MisterForkbeard: It sounds like a stressful situation.
Are you a fan of light comedy or similar things? Finding ways to laugh and take your mind off the stress of daily life can help.
Tracey Ullman? Monty Python? Blackadder?
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Trivia Man
@MisterForkbeard: do you have white noise? We had a house guest recently and she requested a fan, just for the noise. She travels a lot and has found it a miracle cure for sleeping.
Also, too, ditto on naps if you can squeeze in 30 to 40 minutes someplace.
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊 😊
Jackie
@Princess: Yah, but Biden’s OLD! <rolling eyes>
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Spanky:
Heh heh, that’s what I meant.
Google:
Sleep Mask
for the massive amount of such masks on the market.
OzarkHillbilly
@MisterForkbeard: I currently takes 10 mg of Melatonin, a benadryl, and prescription trazadon (don’t know the mg and too lazy to go look). I sleep like a baby, waking up every hour or 2, but with that combo I can usually fall back to sleep. Night before last tho, I woke up at one and that was that.
My main issue is pain, so short of a morphine drip, this is probably the best I can do.
Geminid
@Jeffg166: I read that the reason the Dow has fallen in recent days is a series of disappointing earnings reports by companies that had led the Dow’s advances this year. The slide started a few days ago, and yesterday’s good GDP number may have been coincidental to it.
But I don’t follow this area much. I was just glad to see a silver lining in the stock market cloud: Tesla stock has dropped 15% in recent weeks, cutting a nominal $30 billion from Elon Musk’s net worth. The companies quarterly earnings were the poorest in two years, and Musk was said to be uncharacteristically gloomy on an investor’s call about this. One analyst said that Musk and investors better understand now that they are part of a “brutally competitive” industrial sector.
Kay
@MisterForkbeard:
I met a young man, probably mid twenties, who comes from a very rural area – a tiny little town that is mostly Catholic and extremely conservative. So small that his first grade class had only three students so was combined with the 2nd and 3rd grades. I was thinking “and still you somehow ended up in the Democratic Party and active enough that you attend state party functions”.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: Ok. Glad you had a sleep study done. Depending how long it’s been and how good the place was, it can help to do another. But it may not.
Did you see my suggestion for magnesium oil?
Also, if you aren’t familiar with the concept of “sleep hygiene” check it out. It can make a big difference.
Also, log what you eat and drink for a week to a month. See if you can find any correlation between that and good or bad sleep. Alcohol does not help sleep despite what people think.
trnc
Yes, that caught my eye, too, but that’s slowed wage growth for those percentiles, not wage drops, right?
ETA: I think Chart 2 here makes it a little clearer
Betty Cracker
Greetings from Not-Florida! I’m already exhausted because my friends dragged me along on an arduous hike yesterday to see a waterfall, and I SWAYER it was uphill both ways!
mrmoshpotato
@Betty Cracker: But no pictures of said waterfall? :(
MisterForkbeard
@Kay: Wow. My rural class had 12 kids in it, and that was LARGE – we were always combined with a grade above or below us.
That’s very cool.
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: Wow, that’s gorgeous. Glad you’re having a good trip.
Betty Cracker
@mrmoshpotato: Here you go!
OzarkHillbilly
Cool, I wish I had that superpower. I like to finish my nightmares. (I always know I am dreaming) As often as not I wake up before they are over.
Kathleen
Here in Ohio, early voting numbers in Hamilton County are high:
https://www.citybeat.com/news/with-abortion-and-weed-on-the-ballot-early-voting-numbers-are-huge
The ballot is huge because there are many City and State issues to vote on plus Cincinnati City Council election.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: Looks like the Southern Highlands. The nicest part of the Appalachians in my opinion. Not much flat walking though!
Kay
@MisterForkbeard:
I thought it was cool too, because that also meant he had the same teacher for three years. I bet little kids would like that – they mostly hate change.
mrmoshpotato
@Betty Cracker: That is a very nice waterfall.
Jeffro
way to go, Pitchbot!!
Honus
@Matt McIrvin: I agree that a sleep study and a CPAP may help. My wife noticed my sleep apnea about ten years ago and made me get checked. They prescribed a CPAP. At first I thought no way am I sleeping with this thing on my face and then my doctor said to yhink of it as a favor to my wife so my snoring wouldn’t keep her awake. Then after using it for a couple weeks I noticed how much better I felt from actually sleeping through the night and that I no longer needed a nap in the middle of the afternoon. Now I won’t sleep without it.
Another Scott
@trnc: I’m suspicious of that graph. It’s “real hourly wages” from a particular government survey. Does it include people who get a salary? The top earners aren’t hourly.
FRED at the St. Louis Fed has lots and lots of data that can be grabbed to prove almost any economic point. And they have series with wage and salary data.
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
OzarkHillbilly
@Betty Cracker: Sounds like you are enjoying yourself, and you still have the energy to complain. A winner all around.
Jeffro
“I’m tired of the GOP’s power grabs” on a t-shirt = instant millionaire.
BellyCat
@MisterForkbeard: Fellow sufferer here. Since you asked for unusual success strategies, here’s what has helped me fall asleep more quickly AND (maybe more importantly) fall back asleep more rapidly after frequent wake-ups — before my brain spins up and keeps me awake for hours in the middle of the night.
I wear one earbud (in the ear opposite the pillow) and listen to an audiobook. This works FAR better for me than “soothing music” because books feed my mind a specific narrative which override internal thoughts. Music does little to stem recurrent thinking.
Specifically, I use Apple’s AirPod Pros (expensive but worth it for me as the noise canceling function is remarkable, and they are small enough to even sleep on top of if I roll over) with aftermarket memory foam tips, which stay in better. I listen to the Complete works of Sherlock Holmes audiobook, over and over and over again from Apple books.
I started this about one year ago. I’m getting the best sleep I’ve had in ten years and feeling much better during the days. If I need a nap, I try and take one. Even if 10-20 minutes. I tell my seven year old that I need to “rest my eyes” and forbid him from disturbing me! 😂
If I have caffeine in the afternoon, I can count on trouble at night. I also got an Amazfit smartwatch recently (Amazon sale for $50) and the sleep tracking data is super interesting, especially if you enable the REM tracking.
Wishing you ANY kind of success. Sleep deprivation is the pits… especially with kiddos.
Kathleen
@Kay: Thanks for reminding me. There is a Blue Ohio meeting today. I’m not a David Pepper fan but Blue Ohio is doing great work. I need to register.
Percysowner
@MisterForkbeard: I find listening to podcasts at a low volume helps me fall asleep. There are some meant to help you sleep and some that just have soothing podcasters.
Jackie
@mrmoshpotato: I want to see it, too! A waterfall cascading uphill must be amazing!
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: You know your Appalachians! I like this part of the chain too. I get frequent nosebleeds and feel vaguely dizzy and queasy while driving on steep roads, but it is very pretty.
Kay
Pepper’s big focus is the anti democratic nature of the GOP and how that battle has to be fought in statehouses. He thinks Ds focus too much on Trump when it’s clear that this is much bigger than Trump. He thinks Ds can win on “democracy” state level too – he points to the win in Ohio in August, voters rejecting a GOP power grab.
His basic premise (shared by a lot of people on BJ, I know) is that Republicans know their proposals are unpopular so they rig the game to get and stay in power. He says Johnson (new speaker) is the perfect example of this. Johnson has never been in a competitive race. His entire career he has run basically unopposed because his districts were created by the GOP to keep him in power.
Central Planning
@MisterForkbeard: I’m told there are gummies that will help with sleep. I bought some a few days ago. Waiting for tonight or tomorrow to try one.
Sanjeevs
@MisterForkbeard: I had breathing/sleep problems and turned out the problem was a nasal polyp. Maybe worth checking next time you’re at the doctor.
Kay
@Kathleen:
He’s kind of fun. Like, a maniac. He’s very smart (and quick!) and he speaks so rapidly I feel a little overwhelmed talking to him. I love obsessives. Sympathize :)
mrmoshpotato
@Jackie: See 55.
Jeffro
Good point (similar to ones made here, many times) by Jamelle Bouie of the NYT: quit thinking the fever’s going to break
BellyCat
@trnc: Not sure Chart 2 in your link answers this question as it addresses costs, not realized income?
Ohio Mom
@MisterForkbeard: I was going to ask if you’ve tried consulting with your doctor because if you are having trouble breathing at night maybe a sleep study is in order, but I see several others have beat me to it.
Sleep apnea specifically can be very dangerous.
Take care of yourself, we need you!
Soprano2
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: I don’t know anyone here who is paying people who aren’t servers the MO minimum wage, which is $12.00/hr. The server wage is half of that, but they make most of their money in tips. My lowest paid cook makes $14/hr. If it’s the minimum everyone has to pay, you adjust your prices to it, because it’s a level playing field. When our new menu comes out, prices are going up quite a bit because they’ve been too low (I finally have managers who agree with me that our prices have been too low! You have to figure in fixed costs, not just the cost of goods, sheesh……). They’re just mad that wages went up for their lowest-paid employees
To be fair, during Covid the quickly-raising wages did cause problems, since you couldn’t immediately adjust your prices to catch up. I heard an interview with one restaurant owner who said he did away with paper menus, and went to internet-only, so that he could quickly adjust his prices
ETA – I’m going to vent a little here. It’s been an extremely sucky week on the pub front. Found out my previous “manager” hadn’t paid our sales taxes since January! That was not a fun check to write, because we incurred penalties. To say I’m livid about it is an understatement. If I saw her now, I’m afraid I’d just start yelling uncontrollably. We always emphasized to her that it was important to pay the taxes on time every month. Second, we found out one of our servers has obviously been stealing from us by voiding cash tickets and pocketing the money. It’s so obvious – her voids are much, much higher than anyone else’s, and as soon as my new managers started at the beginning of October and instituted good controls on that hers dropped to almost zero. From over $1,000/mo to $81.00 in October, that seems pretty damn obvious to me. Her excuses were all over the map and didn’t make sense – the manager wouldn’t help me, I couldn’t figure out the system (she’s worked for us since last November!), etc. Plus, how did she get so great all of a sudden? It was quite a gut punch to find out my former “manager” wasn’t paying any attention at all to this stuff. I was too trusting, I feel like such an idiot. I think she’s an honest person, she was just over her head and pretty much gave up but didn’t tell me.
Kristine
@Betty Cracker: lovely photo 💕
Hills. Love them.
BellyCat
@Another Scott: Agreed about the hourly nature of initial graph. One reasonable explanation is that the top percentage of hourly earners (which is likely still lower to middle income earners above minimum wage — such as many trades) has not improved much despite improvements to minimum wage earners? This might make more sense.
rikyrah
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Yes..that. minimum wage 🧐🧐🧐
PAM Dirac
@Central Planning:
I did try one that was touted for calming and relaxing. I took it late afternoon and when it kicked in I just felt dull and stupid and it was annoying, but when it was time for bed, I slept very soundly and woke up feeling very refreshed and not a trace of hangover. Next time I’ll take it shortly before bedtime. I’ll also note that I live and Maryland and the THC edible market seems to be pretty well regulated so you have a real good chance of knowing exactly what you are getting and being able to reproducibly get the effect you want.
PaulWartenberg
Dean Phillips is primarying Joe Biden when 95 percent of Democrats asked him not to.
And his campaign slogan is “Make America Affordable Again”???
HIS RALLY CRY IS GONNA BE “MAAA”????????
/massive headdesking
Ohio Mom
@MisterForkbeard: Oh. I might consider switching doctors. Or at least insisting on being referred to a sleep specialist.
After my ophthalmologist retired, I asked around for suggestions and settled on one eye doctor. Something started going wonky and I was seeing double sometimes. He insisted there was nothing wrong, as did the next two eye doctors. Finally I landed at a cornea specialist who said, Oh yeah, I see some MDF dystrophy (bumps on the cornea) on your left eye, come back Friday afternoon and I’ll laser them off.
Sometimes you have to be a squeaky wheel.
Burnspbesq
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
But your friends couldn’t afford Greenwood Village, and it’s all Biden’s fault.
Jeffro
Qasim Rashid, Dem candidate for Congress:
snoey
@PAM Dirac: Remember that the THC in edibles has to go through the liver and be converted to another cannabinoid before it hits the bloodstream. Different peoples livers are different and your mileage will vary. It takes about 2 hours for them to really work for me. Other people require vastly different doses for the same effect. Start slow and find out what, if anything, works for you.
Kathleen
@Kay: I agree with Pepper on this and appreciate his efforts to get Dems on the ballot all over the state.
Fun facts – did you know his father was CEO of Procter and Gamble and his mother is a huge Hillary supporter? When Hillary made campaign stop in Cincy in 2016 Francie Pepper, huge donor and prominent Democrat, was getting chairs for people who required seating. She sounds like a cool lady. His father was popular CEO at P&G and in the community.
OzarkHillbilly
@PaulWartenberg: I just want to know how much the GOP paid him for this stunt.
Yarrow
@MisterForkbeard: This is not good. Seriously, this sort of treatment by the medical profession is why a lot of people “do their own research.” Because when there’s something wrong, and they tell you there’s nothing wrong, you’re on your own. So you start asking friends and family for their thoughts. And you look online. Sometimes it can help and other times you end up in crazyland.
Kathleen
@Kay: He was on City Council, ran for mayor (and lost – I voted for his opponent) and served as Hamilton County Commissioner. I’ve only spoken with him briefly a couple of times. 21 years ago he was robbed at gunpoint and has written a book about it:
https://www.wlwt.com/article/former-cincinnati-councilman-book-abduction-experience/
ETA: He called out the duplicity and corruption of the Republicans during the map hearings in Cincinnati. He was relentless.
Yarrow
@Ohio Mom:
That’s a very nice thing for you to say.
Ken
Well, it is the Appalachians, where half the roadside attractions are “mystery houses” where gravity runs wild.
Ohio Mom
@Kay: DeWine’s insistence that reading instruction consist solely of phoenics and that such techniques as using context clues to figure out word meanings should be banned especially galls me. Where did he get his doctorate in education?
I can’t tell if he’s that stupid (he is) or if it this is some nefarious plot to keep poor kids illiterate (he is a Republican after all).
sab
@MisterForkbeard: You have probably tried this already, but husband started using breathe right nasal strips about six weeks ago, and the results have been striking.
WereBear
Question:
Are there any sane billionaires noting when the stock market does well? Are they still willing to upset this applecart to please the MAGA crowd?
I just want to know the megalomaniac ratio. I’ll settle for sixty/forty.
zhena gogolia
@anon: So cool!
WereBear
@Jackie: And you know tRump dreamed of rallies forever and ever, where he would be wheeled out Hannical Lecter style, because of a gag order which applies to all but his domiciles, and he rigs temporary “housing” in venues coast to coast.
Oh.
Well.
More of a Caligula than Ozymandias.
sab
@Ohio Mom: Yikes. Context clues is how I learned to read 65 years ago. Phonics is okay as a starter, but English isn’t very phonetic. My last name, common in Ohio, has three distinctly different pronunciations depending on which branch of the family.
WereBear
@MisterForkbeard: A sleep mask over your eyes blocks light. Don’t argue with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis and all the others who used sleep masks.
Beauty sleep!
Tons of different kinds. You can find one.
Cameron
@PaulWartenberg: Dean Phillips? I thought he was a b-movie actor from the 1950s.
MisterForkbeard
@BellyCat: Thank you! I do this too, often – set my phone to play an audio book and it does help me get to sleep initially. It doesn’t appear to help me get back to sleep after the inevitable wakeup, though
WereBear
@Yarrow: Or a footbath of Epsom salts, but I don’t have the patience LOL
OzarkHillbilly
Whenever I hear that, I know they just can’t figure it out. My mother had a blood clotting disorder. So do I, so does my sister, so did my brother. It’s genetic, but it’s not the known Factor 5 link.
I suspect medical science will eventually find this other link, tho I may be dead long before that day comes.
Yarrow
@WereBear: I don’t either. And then you have to empty the footbath and clean it and that’s a pain and wakes you up. Maybe a bath with epsom salts if you have time. Magnesium oil is so simple.
MisterForkbeard
@PAM Dirac: Someone literally offered me one of these two days ago and I had to turn them down. Not that it’s a real risk, but if I ever tested positive for THC I’d probably lose my job. Boo.
Posty
The problem with the Michael Tae Sweeney tweet is that while the data may look anecdotally good for the lowest wage earners, the problem is that fast wage growth still isn’t enough to make up for decades of lag (not to mention that when inflation goes down, the prices don’t follow, they just stop rising at such an alarming rate). Also, the housing market in some areas, it doesn’t matter if you have a wage increase or not, it will not cover the year-to-year increases in that single area (I should know, I was there, and literally lucked out of the situation … into the homeownership situation which as Cole knows, is also painful).
Good wage data is only a piece of the puzzle. I’m glad wages are improving. However, when we cheer this on as if we are succeeding, those who are still in the endless spin cycle down the toilet feel even more left behind. Maybe cheer this as the right path, with a long way to go. But the economy isn’t great for a lot of people. The number of people I know that have had to seek out a second job (at the higher wage) keeps growing, on a consistent basis. And it isn’t to create a nest egg, it is to just stay afloat.
Tony G
@Eyeroller: Yes. If only those peons would be willing to work for two cents per hour, as Ayn Rand intended. In addition to cutting into profits, when workers are paid decent wages they are less likely to be obedient to their masters, and that is never a good thing.
narya
@MisterForkbeard: I use the “10 percent happier” sleep meditations. I can give you a one-month guest pass if you haven’t tried that and want to. It really helped me unwind my mind–there’s even a couple for going back to sleep after waking and resting without sleeping.
Nelle
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: It is similar to noticing the huge trucks and SUV’s being driven by those whining about the price of gas. And the crowded parking lots of pricey restaurants. These are the loud people complaining.
But food banks are reporting climbing needs. We regularly drive by a neighborhood totally free, voluntarily supplied shed for people to pick up food. Its doors have been wide open all summer so when we went by at 3:45 yesterday, I could see it was bare, so I made a mental note to get some canned goods to leave today. When we drove past as we returned home at 5:30, it was stocked. Today, it will be empty again. I don’t know their plans for the winter (new this summer); hard freeze predicted for tonight.
Nelle
@MisterForkbeard: Are you traveling now? If at home, try our ritual of “sleepy milk.” A mug of milk warmed in the microwave with a spoon of honey and a bit of almond flavoring. I drink it and think of favorite elements of comfort from my childhood, my father’s voice singing a German lullaby, my mother’s smile (it would be her 108th birthday today), the way she chatted with birds at the birdfeeder out her window. Look forward to it as some quiet time with good memories.
WereBear
@MisterForkbeard: Here’s what I did to take my sleep from 2-4 to 8-10 hours a night.
FOOD. Read the book Ultra Processed People. That’s all you need to start cleaning up what part of what we eat which isn’t food. Pro Tip: You aren’t eating enough protein. You need to eat 30% more beans and rice to get the same amount of protein from the same portion from an animal source, for instance.
BECHAMBER. Block all light with blackout drapes or the far cheaper sleep mask. At sunset, use amber-lensed glasses to block the blue light. The Red Shift signals brains to go to sleep. I also have those screen changes set at sunrise/sunset for my devices, but I keep the lights low. If you can’t, blue-blockers are a must.
HORMONES. Not enough good fats means your body can’t make hormones, full stop. Also look into supplementing pregnenolone, a hormone precursor. As long as you aren’t taking external hormones, it’s safe.
Nourishment and habits. I’ve heard many accounts from people who shut off their router when they go to bed, and it helps. If you use your phone as an alarm put it on the other side of the room. Even if it is only psychological, physically disconnecting from these time sucks and reminders of responsibility seems to help many people. I read myself to into drowsy with a tablet on airplane mode, red light setting, low brightness.
Sleep is another country. Treat it well, and we will be well.
Ken
It could be one of those “Why pay, when he’s giving it away for free?” cases.
Matt McIrvin
@Yarrow: I also have a couple of friends who do have sleep apnea but just cannot get any benefit out of a CPAP–they could never get used to it and take the mask off in their sleep, just wake up with the mask removed. I think some people have sensory issues with these that just prevent them from being useful.
WereBear
@BellyCat: If I hadn’t nearly died from having a stress related illness during the Pandemic :) and rendered myself unemployable, I would still be terrified of the job market out there.
SO many layoffs in tech and creative fields, random upheavals, AI taking jobs away from writers, resumes no longer read by a human but scanned for secret keywords, and forty years of Republican scofflaw management to contend with.
I’m 44,000 words into my first book in a new cozy mystery series. I’ll go head to head with a techbro mentality. Elon Musk isn’t looking so good these days.
lowtechcyclist
@MisterForkbeard:
Depends on what your sleep problem is, of course. But if your problem is that your mind just won’t shut up and keeps on chattering, see if your doctor will prescribe Zaleplon for you. (Used to be sold under the brand name Sonata; now AIUI it’s strictly available under its generic name.)
I only take it once in a while, to break a streak of bad nights, but when I do have to take it, I can almost see my thoughts breaking up and fragmenting into tiny bits as I go to sleep. IME it’s good for about 4 hours of sleep, and no druggy hangover in the morning.
I gather it’s fairly tightly controlled, so my WAG is that it’s not the sort of thing you should take night after night. But knowing that you have something you can take if you’ve had two rotten nights and your third turns out to be headed that way as well, that does a lot to break the cycle of fear, or at least it did for me.
lowtechcyclist
@Eunicecycle:
Serfs.
Ohio Mom
@Matt McIrvin: Could be. Another factor is the straps/harness, some fit some heads better than others. I know someone with very fine straight hair who said the first set-up she used would slide down her hair.
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: Narrator: Betty is a flatlander.
Matt McIrvin
@Yarrow: Maybe he really doesn’t have sleep apnea and it’s something else. His mentions of occasional trouble breathing and wake-ups several times a night struck me as red flags for apnea, but that could be a false alarm.
For a while I had trouble with sleep apnea AND acid reflux at the same time, and one problem was that the reflux seemed better if I slept on my back but that triggered the apnea. I got both of them treated.
These days, with all that treated, it seems like the thing that makes the most difference is very simple–just getting to bed early enough. If I’m in around 10, I’m going to be better-rested the next day, unless something unusual is going on.
WereBear
@BellyCat: I listen to comedy podcasts in the day. Then repeat my favorites, over and over, for night.
Anyway
@Princess:
I don’t see how Dumpf ends up as the Rethug nom for 2024. LameStreamMedia can hide him for only so long. Low Energy doesn’t win elections!!!
WereBear
Also, there are binaural beats.
I have a whole library of apps called Brainwave that let me set certain moods. Must have earphones/buds.
Probably the weirdest thing I do. But it works.
kalakal
As it’s a lovely morning here I present a treat for all those sad characters like myself who can’t resist puns
https://www.thepoke.com/2023/10/27/punny-reactions-to-fishy-headline-are-brill/
Matt McIrvin
@Ohio Mom: I had to fiddle around with different sizes for a while, eventually settled on the combination of a “medium” frame with a “large” nose piece. I always thought of my head as big but it’s not big enough for the BIG-man headset; that one is too loose to maintain a good seal.
I use the kind of mask that just goes under your nose–for a while I assumed that I was too much of a mouthbreather for that to work, but it turns out that with positive pressure pushing air into my nose, it does.
And that makes it less cumbersome than it would otherwise be, though there’s the problem that when I’m in bed, sometimes people forget that even though my mouth is uncovered, I can’t really talk with the mask on (airflow through the head is all wrong).
WereBear
@PAM Dirac: That, too :)
Suzanne
@Honus:
Mr. Suzanne was similarly resistant to the CPAP until I told him that it was either that or get smothered in his sleep. Now he loves it.
I am normally a really good sleeper, but I occasionally have a hard time, and I find that stretching really, really helps. I have one of those bodies that snaps, crackles, and pops…. always have. If my joints are stiff, I can find it hard to be restful, and I will lay there in bed, flexing and pointing over and over and over.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@WereBear: I just downloaded the book. I make my own breakfast and lunch, but I order dinner from my building’s restaurants every night, since part of my monthly fee gives me a credit there. And I usually share the meal with Mr DAW because the meals are too big for us, which means I have to accommodate his tastes too. We’ll see.
WereBear
@Yarrow: Word.
Yarrow
@Matt McIrvin: A friend got the sleep apnea implant thing. They love it. Really works for them. The CPAP didn’t work for them either.
Yarrow
@Matt McIrvin: He may not have sleep apnea. We don’t know. But he came here to ask for suggestions because he’s not sleeping. That’s the “something that is wrong.” For a doctor to tell him “Just exercise more. Or less” isn’t great. He needs to sleep or a lot of other things will go wrong. A doctor should know that. He didn’t get help from the doctor. That’s why he’s here asking for suggestions.
Matt McIrvin
@Suzanne: The thing I miss a bit is that, as mentioned, when the CPAP is on and operating, I can’t talk (I can croak a few words out but it’s an uncomfortable experience–no extended conversation). Which means no conversation in bed while I’m trying to get to sleep. But the fact that it completely killed my apocalyptic snoring is a huge benefit to my wife.
lowtechcyclist
@Jeffro:
Hadn’t heard the more recent talk that the fever would break. The last time I heard that sort of talk was that 2008 was ‘Peak Wingnut’ and we all know how that turned out.
The GOP has been getting increasingly radical for four or five decades now. The pace at which it gets more extreme may have varied, but the movement has all been to the right, towards authoritarianism, towards the politics of hate and resentment, finding some people to blame, and trying to beat up on them. And letting the rich people who really do pull the strings convince them that the true ‘elites’ are college professors and government bureaucrats.
Jackie
@Anyway: Someone pointed out TIFG is the same age now as Biden was in 2020. Biden was deemed too old then, but look what he’s accomplished – which takes a lot of energy!
TIFG hasn’t the energy today that Biden had four years ago – and I dare say Biden STILL has much more energy today than TIFG has.
Why the MSM ignores this….🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Mike in NC
I did a sleep study several years ago and they told me the results were “inconclusive”. I had to pay $700 out of pocket. They wanted to repeat the sleep study and there was no way I’d agree to that. I take an OTC sleep aid that seems to work fine, and also got my primary care doctor to prescribe Trazodone. One of those works very well for me and its non-habit forming. Maybe they’ve improved how they conduct those sleep studies. I also have a ‘noise machine’ with sounds of rainfall, ocean surf, etc. and that also seems to help me to relax.
frosty
@Betty Cracker: Looks great! Are you going to post some leaf-peeper pics in OTR at WaterGirl’s request? We’re in SW Virginia and I’ve collected a few.
stacib
@trnc: It’s true, and it’s causing a lot of tension in the communities. People are really angry, but right now it seems to be mostly focused on Brandon Johnson, the “newly” elected mayor.
knally
@MisterForkbeard:
An off the wall suggestion: Sleeping through the night is a fairly modern convention (possibly due to the invention of electricity).
Before that people had two periods of sleep at night.
So they would go to bed, sleep for about 4 hours.
Wake up and pass the time in reading, prayer or whatever took their fancy.
Then go back to sleep again.
Here’s a picture I took at Brockhampton Manor with instructions from a mistress to a servant on night-time preparations.
Perhaps something to experiment with? Minus servant and hopefully chamber pots and bugs.
OGLiberal
I knew this already but when I look at that photo of Biden on the picket line and the auto workers behind him, it’s obvious why working-class white people, over time, decided that unions are bad and evil.
KSinMA
@MisterForkbeard: Have you tried reading the most boring book you can think of? Anything by Hegel works well for me.
mac
About 4-5 months ago I got a weighted blanket and I sleep so much better with it. It seems to help shut down my brain so I fall asleep faster.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@MisterForkbeard: An eye mask/light blocking mask can help (not a face/nose and mouth mask) My daughter uses all of these as she sufferers from anxiety: weighted eye mask, weighted blanket and white noise, the white noise that works from her is having the Amazon Echo play heavy rain thunderstorm sound but everyone is different.
laura
@MisterForkbeard: hot shower before bed- the cooling off triggers sleepiness. Benedryl might be helpful too. BBC 4 Shipping Report. Those are my tried and trues.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@knally: I’ve read that before and it’s an interesting idea. But I always get stuck on the question of what the average person (in the cave, or the wattle and daub hut, or the cottage) would have done for light. It’s probably true that some people would have always had trouble sleeping though.
prostratedragon
A quick guide to seeking sleep specialty help.
Sleep center finder. I suggest looking for the nearest big medical center “sleep facility” that you can manage.
Cameron
I’m probably late to the party, but I just read that the new SOTH is impeachment curious about President Biden. This coming year should be quite interesting.
Maxim
A note for everyone using an antihistamine as a sleep aid: the ones known as antocholinergics (which includes Benadryl) are associated with an increased risk of dementia. Experimenting with other options, if possible, might be beneficial.
@Posty: Yes, this is important. Inflation coming down does not equal prices coming down, and a lot of people are feeling the pain.
WereBear
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Do let me know what you think! And I will share a story about the book.
I upped my protein with premix shakes and it went well, until it didn’t. Grew suspicious of the sludge my hot versions left in my cup. Started making my own shakes with only whey protein.
Problem went away. I felt even better. We need MOAR protein as we age.
And when we look at the label and see protein… it might not be what our bodies recognize as protein.
WereBear
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Also, the author is a British scientist and seasoned presenter. The book is a fun read, full of puckish humor.
Eunicecycle
@mac: my daughter in law swears by her weighted blanket!
knally
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Perhaps I just have a dirty mind, but I concluded pretty quickly what people might be getting up to in the middle of the night with no light …
WereBear
@mac: Weighted blanket, yes! It’s late fall and it’s almost time.
In summer I find my body pillow suffices. Especially since one of my big cats usually drapes over me.
WereBear
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I believe they “got up to mischief.” Which doesn’t want that much light.
Chris T.
Nothing really works perfectly for me: I don’t sync up with the sun, so I have perpetual jet lag unless my internal clock Just Happens to coincide with the societal one. This has been true as far back as I can remember, going back to 3rd or 4th grade or so.
Meditation-y things do help me fall asleep if/when I’m otherwise too keyed-up (which is common).
Frankensteinbeck
@Anyway:
A total lack of viable competition does. Once DeSantis proved himself a pathetic wimp, everyone but Trump is an also-ran. The base doesn’t know who they are, and none of them are delivering the asshole racism red meat very well.
Suzanne
@Matt McIrvin:
And, via the transitive property, to you!
I was like, “If you want to stay married and/or alive, do it. No jury in the world would convict me.” LOL.
WereBear
Also, a warning about melatonin: it can suppress our own natural production, and possibly create “melatonin resistance,” landing us in a big non-kosher pickle.
The concept of hormone resistance doesn’t stop with insulin. I have cortisol resistance, which nearly killed me once, but after, I got very serious about solutions, and mine pleased my doctor. That’s still something I have to keep in mind.
When hormone resistance is managed, sleep is great.
Ohio Mom
@Matt McIrvin: “sometimes people forget that even though my mouth is uncovered, I can’t really talk with the mask on”
Ha! You just described me talking to masked-up Ohio Dad.
mrmoshpotato
@kalakal: Holy mackerel! They should be ashamed of themselves!
Ohio Mom
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Most nights, there’s at least some moon for light. And people had fires and candles.
Happy Jewish holidays —Sukkot, Purim, Passover — are always on full moons, the better to stay up late carousing.
I am also reminded of the ancient joke, The moon is more useful than the sun because it gives us light in the night when it’s dark, while the sun shines in the daytime when it’s already light.
WereBear
@Ohio Mom: I’ve been out late in remote country. Before electric light, a clear night gives an amazing amount of starlight, even with a new moon.
It’s an experience.
mrmoshpotato
@Matt McIrvin:
Trying to end the world with your snoring?
schrodingers_cat
@MisterForkbeard: Try do something relaxing before going to bed. Have you tried coloring?
You can start out with some printouts and even a ballpoint pen.
Johanna Basford has a free coloring book on her website that you can download.
WereBear
@mrmoshpotato: In sleep apnea, snoring ends YOU.
Kay
@Ohio Mom:
I think they’re putting the whole process behind closed doors because they know privatizing public education is unpopular.
People bitch about public schools constantly and there’s almost a cottage industry of elites who didn’t attend public schools but enjoy whole careers built around bashing them BUT public schools are reliably popular. Year after year, decade after decade, people support them and want to keep them. They’re actually amazingly resilient as an institution considering every Right wing dope bashes them and insists we have to throw the system in the trash.
They have gotten further with vouchers than they ever dreamed. They are now further along with privatization than Barry Goldwater ever proposed. That’s why they’re putting public education behind closed doors, in the purview of political appointees and out of the power of the (elected) school board. They know if the public figures out they intend to abolish public schools the public will kick them all out of office.
Ohio has dropped 15 places in national ranking of public schools since Republicans took over the state. They’ve been terrible for education.
artem1s
@MisterForkbeard:
My go to is Valerian. When I’m having jumpy legs or recurring thoughts, it takes just enough of an edge off so I can relax and go into a deeper sleep state. I prefer tinctures – a couple of eyedroppers right before I go to bed, or even in the middle of the night if I keep waking up from a light, non-sleep state. I always have a bottle in my fridge door, just in case I’m having a bad night. Just be warned that tinctures are usually alcohol based. I don’t really know how well the pill form works.
I’ve also found that taking a few minutes to stretch my hamstrings and doing deep breathing can work wonders on my level of anxiety at bedtime. Sounds like your anticipation of poor sleep is becoming a self-fulling loop. Anything you can do to break that cycle should help.
BellyCat
@MisterForkbeard: If I just play it without earbuds, I find it doesn’t work as well. Something about the earbud, with sound right in your ear, with noise canceling on, makes it more immersive. Also helps to listen to dame book repeatedly so you don’t have to obsessively pay attention so as to not miss anything or worry about where you left off. 😂
Might not work for you, but possibly worth a try?
I also use Afrin in one nasal passage, as I have some kind of blockage. My ENT doesn’t like this much and prescribed a bunch of different decongestants but they all just parched my nose and baked everything in. He finally gave in and said, “Well, if Afrin is what works for you to get better sleep, that’s probably ok. Just don’t take it during the day as well!” (Underlying issue is likely blockage that requires CAT scan and surgery so I’m fine with this for now.)
Kay
@Ohio Mom:
Thousands and thousands of words were written about how everyone was fed up with public schools after the pandemic and we all wanted to homeschool or go to private schools but the polling on public schools never budged. The whole narrative was entirely driven by NYTimes editorials and Substack writers. They were popular all thru the pandemic. They’re as popular now as they ever were. There’s been no change.
Ken
The sleep aid that makes your cats love you, what more can you ask?
BellyCat
@Posty: Adding to your good observations, if you’ve acquired high interest credit card debt and your credit score has gone down below 720, even if you’re making all payments you’re now caught in the vicious cycle of (even secured) loans to pay off credit card debt with absurdly high interest rates.
When people are down, capitalism likes to tie an anchor to them.
WereBear
@Ken: Sadly, it livens them up.
Ms. Deranged in AZ
@MisterForkbeard: I second BellyCat’s recommendation regarding podcasts as a sleep aid. Also, this may be really far out there but could you have undiagnosed ADHD? My sleep patterns have always been awful and I struggle to get my brain to stop going at hyperspeed, so once I was diagnosed and prescribed Adderall my sleep improved drastically. Good luck on this. I know how miserable it is.
BellyCat
@WereBear: As an architect, with a lot of creative/tech friends, I hear you. I’m now doing design/build and spend most of my days swinging a hammer rather driving a computer. To be physically tired at the end of a day of hard work feels better than being mentally exhausted pushing around digital matter. It’s also far more enjoyable working directly with clients as one is building and seeing real physical progress at the end of each day. Love it!
WereBear
Also, Mr Forkbeard mentioned small children, so I hope this is a time limited problem :)
BruceFromOhio
It would be cool if the Nobel Prize peeps could create a subcategory in journalism for DougJ. The Pitchbot really is a national treasure.
BellyCat
@WereBear: That’s fun!
Scout211
@MisterForkbeard:
Very late to this thread, but have you cut back on caffeine and alcohol? Caffeine of any type after noon gives me the middle of the night insomnia.
I used to use a white noise machine in my office for privacy and to block out extraneous noises from the hallways and offices next to mine. When my SIL was having trouble sleeping I gave him a white noise machine and he was hooked. He started taking it with him to every business trip and he slept much better.
This is similar to the original that I used forever in my office and my daughter and SIL still use. But if you look at all the options now available on Amazon, there are many now that are controlled by blue tooth and can be programmed. Simple white noise is the most effective (IMHO) but some people do respond to nature noises. They have always seemed too brain stimulating to me, but YYMV.
I hope you get some good answers. The jackals here have given you a long list of options to try.
artem1s
@Kay: Issue 1 will pass. But I think LaRose ‘fixed’ the language so the GOP could challenge it at the federal level – just like their anti same sex marriage constitutional amendment was overturned via Obergefell. The forced birthers have been out in droves at townhalls and on social media claiming the amendment would make ‘partial-birth abortions’ legal again. And of course ‘choice’ means toddlers can undergo sex changes without their parent’s consent. It’s 1980’s fundy hysteria all over again. They are planning on Amy Covid and the rest of the Christian White Nationalist on SCOTUS.
BellyCat
Seconded. My S.O. is a geriatric doc. She’s SERIOUSLY opposed to these meds for this exact reason. She’s convinced of the data and real life patient experience correlates perfectly — including psychotic breaks.
WereBear
@Scout211: I love nature noises! But watch out for that babbling brook.
ellenr
@MisterForkbeard: Low thyroid leads to insomnia. Really. This is simple to check and correct. It’s a weird kind – that switch you feel when you’re falling asleep just doesn’t happen. Not the tossing and turning and worrying or pain-filled kind.
Kay
@artem1s:
I hope it passes. We’ve been working on it. I’m a little concerned about the youths. They are genuinely upset about Israel/Palestine. Whether we think they should be upset doesn’t matter – they really seem to be frantic about it.
Kay
@artem1s:
I hope it passes. We’ve been working on it. I’m a little concerned about the youths. They are genuinely upset about Israel/Palestine. Whether we think they should be upset doesn’t matter – they really seem to be frantic about it.
Paul in KY
@Kay: Maybe the poor devil got a good dose of ‘Catholicism’ and that got him to wise up & come to the Dark Brandon Side ™.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Very pretty!
Paul in KY
@Soprano2: You fired the server, I assume. The manager has to go as well (for not doing her job).
Another Scott
@KSinMA: Another good suggestion!
Hans Kung – Does God Exist? did it for me. Up to that point, it was one of the few books I never finished.
Cheers,
Scott.
prostratedragon
Adam Klasfeld:
Ohio Mom
@Kay: Maybe the Hamas-Israeli war is restimulating long buried 9/11 memories they acquired as toddlers.
sab
@Kay: My husband was talking to a local Carholic priest and he said St.Vincent’s, Catholic School in Akron, where my husband went (and also LeBron James) now has one wealthy parent paying full tuition. Everyone else is using state funded vouchers. To a parochial school. This has my husband and me both frothing at the mouth.
ETA: Our public school system is about to have to increase the school levies partly to offset the decreased funding from the state to the public schools.
My granddaughter is auristic and the parochial schools have no interest in educator her, ans she is thriving in public school.
Miss Bianca
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: yep. I can always tell when my otherwise “liberal” acquaintance come from money or unexamined privilege – when they pull out the “nobody wants to work anymore” card. To which I always pull out the “you mean, nobody wants to work anymore for shit wages and shittier conditions – DON’T YOU?” card from the bottom of the deck.
Miss Bianca
@MisterForkbeard: Melatonin? CBN gummies?
zhena gogolia
@Ohio Mom: they always find some excuse not to vote
sab
@Ohio Mom: I think that is very likely.
Scout211
@Scout211: One more thing to check when you have insomnia:
If you are taking any daily medications, look them up for side effects that interfere with sleep. Even if difficulty sleeping is a rare side effect, it still may be affecting you.
After checking with your healthcare provider, you can experiment with taking the medication at different times during the day to see if that improves your insomnia.
Sure Lurkalot
@BellyCat:
OMG! I do this exact same thing. I tried CBT for sleep and it was so analytical (and I’m uber analytical, that’s why I tried therapy). I listen to Great Courses…usually history. 30 minute lectures play continuously on Audible. Much cheaper than therapy.
montanareddog
@BellyCat:
Debt peonage is their end goal.
Scout211
LOL. What’s that saying? Oh yeah, every accusation is a confession.
sab
@artem1s: My impression from handing out sample ballots at early voting is that No on 1 is being really pushed hard by conservative churches, both Catholic and evangelical.
Geminid
@Ohio Mom: For some younger people, this may be the most publicized war of their lives. There’s been a lot of turmoil and bloodshed in Syria, Yemen and other places over the past ten years but it never got much attention here. So this war can be a real shock for people.
Anoniminous
@sab:
English orthography was more-or-less fixed by the first person to bring a printing press to London: William Caxton in 1476. His knowledge of English was shaky and the people working for him were Belgium Dutch and knew even less. Example, the silent “h” following a “g” in English spelling is there because Dutch words, at the time, had a pronounced “h” so we get ‘ghost’ due to the Dutch ‘gheest.’
trollhattan
@Another Scott:
So great.
I wonder ff that Jersey gal they brought on board to work on media is who has kept their game so on point. Can’t recall her name but samples of her pre WH work were epic.
They’re quite good at this, while L’Orange just SHRIEKS and foams at the mouth. Nobody “handles” that guy.
Barbara
@Kay: Making life worse for yourself without doing a thing to improve the situation in Palestine doesn’t sound like a good trade off. I hope they realize that their own freedom from repressive government is also important, and does not preclude them one bit from continuing to try to shift the dynamic in the Middle East.
artem1s
@Ohio Mom:
It’s a money grab. Back when he was Voinovich’s AG, they got a waiver to initiate the first voucher system in NEO. The PR pitch was to give poor kids a chance to go to better schools because their public schools had such crappy testing scores. The reality was they wrote the laws to benefit the area’s (mostly Catholic) parochial schools. Voinovich’s brother, the CEO of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese was the architect of the language. A study conducted later showed that 80+% of the voucher recipients never had any public school experience. Those vouchers when out of the public school’s pockets and directly to supplement students who were already enrolled in parochial schools. There was never an intent to open up doors to a better eduction to students who were in underperforming schools. And the 20% of students who used vouchers to move to a charter or private school got hosed because grifters like David Brennan of White Hat Management and Betsy DeVos used the voucher money stolen from public schools to enrich themselves (it’s estimated Brennan’s company alone channelled $1B of public school funds into his pocket). DeWine and his grifter friends are just diverting the last of the funds into failing charter schools and to the Ohio Catholic Diocese – which continues to cover up Anthony Pilla and Mike DeWine’s involvement in paying off the families of children who were abused by pedophile priests. The Diocese and private school advocates are robbing Ohio taxpayers so they can enrich themselves and their cronies.
raven
We bought our house from a cat lady who had a similar door for her kitty. She saved the blank and our friend painted Raven on it!
Kayla Rudbek
@MisterForkbeard: personally, I made a sleep playlist in iTunes, starting off with Brian Crain and proceeding with other instrumental and meditative albums. It’s probably to the point that if I start listening to that playlist, that I will fall asleep. I should try that tonight.
sab
@Anoniminous: That’s interesting.
steverinoCT
@Matt McIrvin: When I went for my sleep test, I *could not* keep the full face mask on: it was leaking all over. I went to a nasal mask, and then was recommended the Pilairo nasal pillow. It has a cushion that inflates and holds it softly in place, so that I use just a single strap behind my head. I have begun listening to music using earbuds to doze off, and then when time to turn over take them off. I tend to get up every 2 hours for the bathroom, but when am diligent with my insulin injections sleep better. I’ve tried several different sleep aids, but they don’t help.
Kayla Rudbek
@knally: yes, there was an evolutionary advantage to having some members of the tribe wake up in the middle of the night to watch for predators, and an evolutionary advantage to having someone who could take the night watch altogether.
Matt McIrvin
@steverinoCT: I did an at-home sleep test, with an apparatus including a couple of cannulas strapped to my nose and a pulse oximeter on my finger, which I found much more distracting and uncomfortable than the CPAP mask eventually would be. I remember almost not sleeping at all and wondering how they managed to get any data.
And I had to fight with the insurance company since they insisted that the results weren’t bad enough to justify a CPAP until the pulmonologist snapped back at them for a while.
Matt McIrvin
Books (including e-books) are better than doomscrolling for helping you sleep, since they’re not ringing an emergency terror signal in your head. I always feel a little guilty about it though, because I remember some old series of PSA essays by writers and other figures about reading, and one of them (Steve Allen, maybe? Or Kurt Vonnegut?) said never to read in bed, because when the book puts you to sleep you’ll blame the book and it will hurt your appreciation of it. But they were valuing book over sleep.
Sometimes I find that a good way to quiet my mind is, of all things, Duotrigordle, the Wordle-type game where you’re doing 32 Wordles at the same time. I’ll start doing that and just fall asleep halfway through.
Matt McIrvin
@Kay: Israel/Palestine may well be the thing that gets Trump reelected because Democrats are going to lose a huge chunk of our youth base over it just for following the default somewhat-pro-Israel position that American politicians always have… also a lot of crucial Muslim votes in swing places like Michigan. They won’t vote Republican, obviously, but they might stay home or do a third-party protest vote.
But I don’t know the solution–I mean, not having that position would probably lose us more votes. It’s just polarizing in a way that is a wedge more for the left than the right.
artem1s
@BellyCat:
Benadryl – I’ve always hated how Benadryl makes me feel. Now I know why I avoid it like the plague.
cain
@gene108:
Fixed. Doug would create new nyms and troll the commentariat. 😂
Soprano2
@artem1s: Here in MO they are claiming that the proposed amendments will make illegal things legal. They keep talking about the horrible doctor in PA, Gosnell, who was prosecuted for his crimes with his illegal abortion practice, and saying what he did would be legal! That’s of course not true at all, but it’s what they’re claiming. That, and they’re saying it would cost the state of MO $51 billion! Just insane stuff.
cain
@MisterForkbeard:
THC based sleep aids. If you live in legal cannabis land you could try that.
There is also this other thing that seems to work as well but it’s homeopathic based so it might go against your religion 😉
Soprano2
@Paul in KY: Oh yes, she was fired. The manager left the first week of October. That’s how we found it all – my new managers figured it out.
Matt McIrvin
@Maxim: I used to use Benadryl for just the worst two or three days of allergy season, when other drugs didn’t cut it. It’d help me sleep if nothing else, but I’d still feel terrible and narcotized the following day.
Using the CPAP has actually kept this from being so much of a problem. Actually can’t think of the last time I used Benadryl.
Soprano2
@Matt McIrvin: Believe it or not, I went to an acupuncturist and got a lot of relief for my allergy problem. I didn’t realize how drugged-up I felt when it was allergy season until I quit taking so much of that stuff. Now I take it maybe one or two days in a year. Problem is, when I do start having the itchy sniffles nothing else but the Benadryl-type meds will knock it out.
Miss Bianca
@Jeffro: QFT
Geminid
@Matt McIrvin: I don’t know how big a chunk of our youth base will defect over this war. It has clearly upset people, but some of the people whipping up resentment of President Biden’s approach are not Democrats themselves. They know it is a potentially serious wedge issue and will use every opportunity to drive the wedge in.
However, this war may not be such a big issue next year. I don’t think it will drag on past New Year’s, even if the most intense fighting in Gaza has yet to come. Rightly or wrongly, people tend to stop paying attention to this 56 (or 75) year-old conflict when it goes back to “normal,” and only 25 people a month are being killed.
Fighting flared up this Spring, with a rash of stabbings in Israel and Israeli raiding the West Bank just about every day and night for a while. But aside from when Israeli soldiers killed that poor Palestinian journalist I’m not sure the fighting got much attention. When this war ends in a ceasefire, people are gonna say, “This time it will be different!” but it usually isn’t.
Kay
@Matt McIrvin:
I sat with a younger member of our group last night, Grant, he’s in his mid twenties and a genuinely nice guy, and he just stiffened up when I asked him about it, like, OFFENDED that I would even expect him to explain his position. He’s upset. It’s been…more than I expected.
But, 2024 is a long way off and they seem to flit from issue to issue so maybe they’ll be calmer by then.
RevRick
@Eunicecycle: The stock market seems more concerned about Treasury interest rates. Why risk money on stocks when you can get a sure 5% on a ten-year T-bill?
RevRick
@WereBear: A lot of stock trading nowadays is done by big institutional investors like Fidelity and Vanguard. The wealth of billionaires is usually tied to the success of one company, I.e. Bill Gates, Microsoft or the Waltons to Walmart.
Eyeroller
@Anoniminous:
Most of English spelling weirdness is due to changes in pronunciation and the loss of certain sounds. In many or most cases, gh stands for a sound similar to what is represented by ch in German. (English “through,” German “durch.”) That sound has been lost in English but its representative persists. As another example, both consonants used to be pronounced in “kn” (knight) as they still are in German (the cognate there is Knecht). There was also a vowel pronunciation shift from about 1400-1700 so that words once spelled roughly phonetically became less so. On the other hand, the imported Continental type didn’t include thorn and eth, so those were both substituted with “th.” The bottom line is that English was once more phonetically spelled than it is now. But having a spelling that reflects English circa 1400 doesn’t make it easy to spell now. It’s not entirely unphonetic, but phonics gets you only so far and it’s well-established that fluent readers have mostly memorized the appearance of words. I have never understood the right-wing fixation on phonics. It should be included but cannot be the only method of teaching reading.
Paul in KY
@Soprano2: Running an eatery is a time consuming & frustrating job, at times. Sorry you got the criminal server. Looks like the new manager is a keeper (tho always ‘trust but verify’).
Paul in KY
@Eyeroller: Interesting. Thank you for the comment.
Matt McIrvin
@Kay: I mean, as an old guy my attitude toward this is kind of cynical: the US position, including among liberals, is more pro-Israeli than I would like, but there are understandable historical/geopolitical reasons for that, and it’s probably not gonna change any time soon. So I take the best I can get. But if I were 20 right now, I might feel differently.
Ruckus
@Jackie:
Anyone with at least one working eye and ear can see and hear that he’s lost everything but the hate and the stupid. And those aren’t going anywhere. Just so one might understand this is how a narcissistic jackass goes out. At some point the abilities will diminish even further and he’ll just be himself, the fifth stooge. And no I didn’t skip the fourth, he’s just not good enough for 4th place.
BellyCat
@Sure Lurkalot: Excellent!
Chloe's Mom
@MisterForkbeard: one thing I use that really helps is 5-HTP. It basically calm the brain so when I wake up at 2:00 a.m. my brain doesn’t start spinning on about whatever issue(s) I have to deal with in my waking hours. Good luck, I know the feeling.