Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans in disarray!

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

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

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

We will not go quietly into the night; we will not vanish without a fight.

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

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

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

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

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

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

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Wednesday Night Open Thread

Wednesday Night Open Thread

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It appears I can take building an ark off my to do list, as the rain has finally subsided. Up next, a temperature drop and snow flurries. Maybe Arizona summers aren’t that bad after all?

At any rate, I am doing quite well, and stopped taking the as needed meds I was prescribed two years two weeks ago. Been busy with work, doing things around the house, and taking Callie for walks.

I wish I had more to say, but I am just pooped. I’ve stuck with my sleeping schedule I had out west and am going to bed shortly after sundown and getting up at the crack of dawn, so by this time at night I am spent. But a good tired.

The eclipse was today, right? I couldn’t tell a difference between the eclipse and the usual shitty weather around here.

Reader Interactions

74Comments

  4. 4.

    Tom Levenson

    @Old School: Yup. Spouse and I are going to be making a mad dash to VT in Monday a.m.’s wee hours (unless the heavens are unkind).

    Assuming we haven’t misjudged the traffic and the skies stay open and all that, it will be my third total eclipse. All of which were visible from the United States. (I was in Hawaii in 1991, Oregon in 2016.)

    Fingers X’d

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Maybe Arizona summers aren’t that bad after all?

    Up on the Navajo Res they aren’t bad at all. Can’t say much about the S, AZ mountain ranges but the S. New Mex mountain ranges are just fine in summer as well. YMMV.

  7. 7.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    Yeah, something with Garfield “Monday: Moon ate the Sun. I hate Monday”.

  13. 13.

    sab

    Cleveland is counting on a huge tourist boom for the eclipse, but we had floods this week, are expecting snow later, and hope the sun will come out on Monday.

    Meanwhile our governments told us to stay home because of hordes of tourists. So we don’t even get to enjoy our own once in a lifetime full eclipse.

    My spouse says I am misguided (“full of shit” were his actual words). Just because or government suggests we stay home doesn’t mean we have to.

  15. 15.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mike S: 31 straight days at or above 110 degrees.​

     Count me out. :)

    I spent 3 weeks in July, 3 summers in a row, on the University of NV – Las Vegas campus. The temperatures were very similar to AZ.

    In order to miss the worst of the heat, I was up every morning with the birds, all of whom were cooling their feet in the puddles left by the pre-dawn sprinkler system. I really, really wanted to join them.

  16. 16.

    sab

    @Mike S: But no humidity. It’s a dry heat. My Ohio mom remembering Texas summer used to stay “it’s still a hot heat.”

  17. 17.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Mike S:

    From June 30 -July 30, 2023, Phoenix experienced a record-breaking 31 straight days at or above 110 degrees.

    But it’s a dry heat! 🥵😱

  18. 18.

    mrmoshpotato

    @sab:

    Meanwhile our govrnments told us to stay home because of hordes of tourists. So we don’t even get to enjoy our own once in a lifetime full eclipse. 

    And you’re not even allowed to go outside?

  19. 19.

    Bill Arnold

    @Tom Levenson:
    My second. First was August 2017. This one can be a long day trip, but might also include a brief visit to northwestern Vermont (also on the path), to visit relatives who want visitors. Or Plattsburgh, NY, which has the virtue of being right off the Northway (I87).
    I restrict myself to one look per day at long-range forecasts.

  21. 21.

    Jackie

    Glad you and Callie are getting daily walks! Who enjoys them more – you or Callie? And do you wear your tie-dyed overalls?😉

  24. 24.

    BruceFromOhio

    @sab: The Women’s NCAA Basketball Final Four is in town this weekend as well. Monday is Opening Day for the Cleveland Guardians, as well as the alien invasion disguised as a cosmic event.

    This can mean only one thing: it’s gonna snow.

  25. 25.

    sab

    @mrmoshpotato: They are afraid we will all go to the local or especially the local national park and upset the tourists.

    I was intending to be in my own backyard, but husband and his sister say no, other plans. Fuck the dog and cats feelings.

  27. 27.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Just going to point out that elevation makes a big difference. Phoenix is nothing at all like the North Rim.

    Also, while I am going down to Arkansas for my 2nd full solar eclipse, if it wasn’t for all the old caving friends I will get to hang out with for the wkend, I wouldn’t bother.

    To me it is not some life changing event, just another mathematical/physics phenomenon up in the sky.

  30. 30.

    sab

    @BruceFromOhio: A lot of out-of-towners watching SNL who have laughed at Cleveland for 25 years will find out that it is a fun town, with a lot of good restaurants that you don’t have to book years in advance.

    Plus a great lake that looks like an ocean (also too the Orchestra and the Art Museum, but these crowds won’t care about those.

    Also a music scene. Plus the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.+

  31. 31.

    mrmoshpotato

    @sab:

    They are afraid we will all go to the local or especially the local national park and upset the tourists. 

    Haha!  Why would any of the locals do that when you can go anytime of the year?

  32. 32.

    lowtechcyclist

    It appears I can take building an ark off my to do list, as the rain has finally subsided. Up next, a temperature drop and snow flurries. Maybe Arizona summers aren’t that bad after all?

    C’mon, John, sing along with John Denver:

    Hey, it’s good to be back home again
    Sometimes this old farm feels like a long-lost friend
    Yes, and hey, it’s good to be back home again

    Country roads, take me home
    To the place I belong
    West Virginia, Mountain Mama
    Take me home, country roads

    :d&r:

    ETA: As a palate cleanser, here’s my favorite Doonesbury strip about John Denver.

  33. 33.

    ljdramone

    @sab: Cleveland is in the path of totality, so you can just go outside at about 3:13 pm on Monday and be in the moon’s shadow.  It will be dark, and you may be able to see twilight all 360° around the horizon.

    Wife and I are going to be on the shore of Lake Erie about halfway between Cleveland and Erie PA.  This will be my third solar eclipse.  First was when I was 9 years old in March 1970 (near Wallops Island, VA) and second was August 2017 (Madras, OR).

  36. 36.

    Redshift

    @Bill Arnold: This will be my second, first was in 74 (I think) but that was in the days before eclipse glasses, so I only saw a pinhole projection.

    I have arrangements to go to Texas, but of course that’s not looking great right now. I have until Friday to decide whether to go somewhere else. (I have people I could stay with in Vermont or Indianapolis, so the lack of hotel wouldn’t be a problem.)

    I restrict myself to one look per day at long-range forecasts.

    WaPo has a cloud cover forecast that’s useful, since the regular forecasts aren’t really good for that. Bonus, it only updates once a day, so you’re not tempted to obsess over it.

  37. 37.

    KrackenJack

    I’m coincidentally going to be meeting up with a friend in Austin early on Monday to go wandering around New Mexico for a week. Forecast looks like more clouds than sun. We’ll see.

  39. 39.

    sab

    @ljdramone: My boss ordered eclipse glasses so everyone can go up on the roof. But I will be 35 miles south at my sister in laws when I want to be home in the yard. Our yard is better than hers. Hers is urban and tiny.

  40. 40.

    Brachiator

    A couple of questions for Apple device people.

    Anyone using these Apple Silicon MacBooks? M1 through M3 MacBooks.

    Is the battery life as good as advertised?

    Anybody using Parallels to run Windows?

  41. 41.

    lowtechcyclist

    @MagdaInBlack:

    The heart of rock ‘n’ roll is in Cleveland.” per Huey Lewis 🙂

    And in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and a bunch of other places I can’t remember off the top of my head.

  44. 44.

    sab

    @lowtechcyclist: Possibly Memphis?

    Akron Ohio had a great music scene for years, because back in the day our clubs were not segregated. National acts coming to perform in Cleveland could come down to Akron and be welcome in an inclusive atmosphere. Their friends could come and watch them . Other performers could come and watch them. Mixed race attendance and nobody had a problem with it. My very white inlaws spent their courting youth in these clubs.

  45. 45.

    lowtechcyclist

    @ljdramone:

    This will be my third solar eclipse.  First was when I was 9 years old in March 1970 (near Wallops Island, VA)

    Up in northern Virginia, it was just a partial eclipse. I remember being mildly disappointed.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    I have friends and family in Texas and Oklahoma who may enjoy the solar eclipse, whether permitting.

    I will be observing the partial eclipse. Looking forward to it.

  50. 50.

    rikyrah

     

    It’s always been Putin helping the Orange Menace.
    Like we didn’t already know this.
    That I am seeing this on TikTok, and not every news channel…
    Yet another reason why the MSM is useless.

    They can’t be bothered to do their phucking jobs and connect all the dots?🤬🤬🤬

    https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLBfg6rs/

  51. 51.

    Betty Cracker

    Partly cloudy is the forecast here Monday, so I may or may not see the partial eclipse we’ll have in FL. In 2017, I had fancy glasses and all, but my favorite view was looking at the shadow through a colander over cardboard. Low tech but way cool!

  52. 52.

    Jackie

    I don’t know how seriously to take this:

    “President Joe Biden’s campaign officials have been in private talks with Nebraska Democrats after Republicans in the state began pushing for changes that could close off one of the president’s clearest paths to reelection,” Politico reports.

    “The campaign has declined to comment on that push, which would turn Nebraska into a winner-take-all state in presidential elections, as opposed to one that allocates a portion of its Electoral College votes based on results in individual congressional districts.”

    “But the private outreach, confirmed by two people familiar with it and granted anonymity to speak freely, suggests that the Democratic Party — from the president on down — has begun to take more seriously the possibility of the legislation, known as LB 764, passing.”

    I’ve seen speculation (from Nebraska Dems) that should it get signed into law, it’ll be too late to change for this year’s election.

    Of course TIFG’s pushing this hard  – and wants to done asap.

  55. 55.

    lowtechcyclist

    @sab:

    DC, San Antone and the Liberty Town, Boston and Baton Rouge
    Tulsa, Austin, Oklahoma City Seattle, San Francisco, too

    Also New York and L.A. which the song leads off with, and Cleveland and Detroit thrown in at the end almost as an afterthought.

  57. 57.

    citizen dave

    Nebraska has a whopping 5 electoral college votes.  This amount should not be material in this election.  That said, eliminating the EC should be priority #1, IMHO; followed closely by SCOTUS terms of 18 years, with  one ending/one starting every two years, along with an end to Senate fuckery about who the President chooses.

    Sorry for the politics though.  I’m remembering the 1970s eclipse and pinhole viewer, etc…

  60. 60.

    NotMax

    Blimp-eye view of the 1925 eclipse over NYC.

    Also too,

    >A final anecdote regarding the 1925 eclipse in New York City involved a rather unusual court case that was tried in a courtroom on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (Harlem) on the same day as the eclipse. It seems that on the night before the eclipse, three men were arrested and thrown in jail for apparently causing a ruckus thanks to the fact that they were drunk.

    According to The New York Times, “. . . they had come to their plight through overdoing a liquid celebration held as a preliminary to watching the eclipse.”

    The three men were brought before City Magistrate Richard F. McKiniry on the same afternoon following the eclipse.

    “You were in jail this morning when the eclipse took place?” inquired Judge McKiniry.
    “We were,” the three replied.
    “Well, I think you have been sufficiently punished,” Judge McKiniry said. “Discharged.”
    Source

  61. 61.

    lowtechcyclist

    @citizen dave:

    Nebraska has a whopping 5 electoral college votes.  This amount should not be material in this election.

    There are scenarios where that Omaha CD could make the difference between 270-268 and a 269 tie.

    Stoopid Electoral College.

    ETA: For example, if you go to 270towin.com and assume that everything any shade of blue on the map will be won by Biden, and then he also wins PA, MI, and WI, but nothing else, he’s got exactly 270 EVs. But one of them is that Omaha CD.

  62. 62.

    Ohio Mom

    @Ohio Mom: That’s all wrong, the time on tne chart is Greenwitch time, subtract 4: eclipse starts at around 2, reaches totality  at 3:15, ends around 4.

    My bad.

  63. 63.

    danielx

    They are advertising camping, concerts, and every other damned thing in Indianapolis, all for a three minute event. Though if I remember the partial eclipse I saw once, the sky will begin to darken before the totality occurs.

    The weirdest part I remember is feeling the temperature drop – a none-too-subtle reminder of what a narrow comfort zone we all reside.

  64. 64.

    Lyrebird

    @lowtechcyclist: …Detroit thrown in at the end almost as an afterthought.

    Aw, I dunno, the way they shout “DETROIT! … Mm, heart of rock ‘n roll…” has always sounded more like “best for last” to me.

  67. 67.

    Brachiator

    Watching the April 8 Solar Eclipse

    NASA’s interactive Eclipse Explorer Map will allow users to track the total solar eclipse in real time on April 8 as it moves across North America. Use the tool ahead of time to search by zip code or city for eclipse timing, get real-time weather updates, percent of eclipse coverage, and even a corona prediction for locations in the path of totality.

  70. 70.

    cain

    @sab:

    I would make sure you take toiletries. When we had our solar eclipse in Oregon – people were stuck in traffic for 6+ hours. So make you pick a point where you can avoid the conversations otherwise make sure you plan to be stuck in a car

  71. 71.

    Brachiator

    NY Post headline

    California’s $20 fast food minimum wage balloons menu prices — with some chains increasing costs by nearly $2

    First of all, $2 is not that much.

    Also, they used a photo of the menu at In n Out Burger to illustrate the point.

    Average In-N-Out Burger Associate hourly pay in California is approximately $19.66, which is 27% above the national average.

  72. 72.

    frosty

    @sab: We are leaving for Findlay State Park (Ohio) on Saturday. This will be my 2nd Total, we were in Nashville at a TN State Park for the one in 2017. They charged us double for a campsite that weekend. Ohio didn’t get the message, just the regular rate.
    I’m hoping for clear skies but I’ll take what we get. I didn’t want to fly to Dallas … which apparently has more chance of clouds than New England. Go figure.​
     

    ETA Yes, I agree with the other commenters: screw the government’s traffic warnings. Get somewhere where you can see it. The difference between total and partial is the same as the difference between lightning and a lightning but (h/t Mark Twain).

  73. 73.

    Paul in KY

    @Martin: I’ve seen them twice. 1st time not so good (IMO). 2nd time was much better. I like the guitarist much better than the drummer.

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