I’ve been feeling kind of out of sorts for the past couple of days, so I don’t have much to say, but it looks like we could use an open thread.
I updated the OS on my mac, and I like some changes, but hate some of the others. Where is Steve Jobs when you need him? I kind of think the folks at Apple have forgotten their origins, and it’s pissing me off. Hideous fonts, everything looks cold and unfriendly like a Microsoft product. They even made all their interestingly shaped icons in the sidebar into squares!
I guess I could mention that someone suggested that it might be nice to have a different photo in the sidebar every day to help remind us that there’s still beauty in the world. So I’ll try that for awhile and see how it goes. I’ll be using photos that have been sent in as part of On the Road posts. If you click on it, you get a full-sized image.
War for Ukraine Day 1,044: Russia Strategically Uses False Alarms To Terrorize & Attempt To Demoralize the Ukranians
HeleninEire
I am counting down. On January 29th 2026 my pension and my SS will be enough to cover all my expenses. Just sticking it out.
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: Wow, congratulations! Except I think you might be leaving the US once your get your pension? I don’t know why that seems sad to me – it’s not like I get to see you in real life now and won’t get to if you move back to Ireland.
MagdaInBlack
@HeleninEire: Congratulations. I’m waiting impatiently for my SS confirmation letter…or whatever it is they send.
Ohio Mom
@HeleninEire: That is tantalizing close. A mere year.
JoyceH
Has anyone else experienced this? I find myself getting angry at any media indication that the news is treating the upcoming Trump administration like an ordinary administration. Saw a headline about Melania Trump wearing a wrap Versace dress to the Mar A Lago NYE party and just felt enraged!
WaterGirl
I have been catching up on TV shows that I’ve had on Tivo for forever. I just have about an hour left of Slow Horses – it’s my treadmill show and the 23 episodes have gone by so fast that now I have to find another treadmill show by the end of tomorrow.
Oh, and every day this week has felt like Sunday. Just guessing that by the time Sunday really comes, it won’t feel like Sunday and I’ll forget to put up Medium Cool.
Suzanne
@HeleninEire: Ooooh congrats! Hang in there, baby!
zhena gogolia
@JoyceH: This is why I am not reading any news. I can’t take it. I don’t want to know a single thing about any of those creeps.
WaterGirl
@JoyceH: I am mostly tuning out the news. I feel like there’s a runaway train heading for us, and for the moment I am studiously looking away.
Suzanne
I am finding it so difficult to keep up with my running plan. The cold and snow and bonkers wind is making it rough out there.
WaterGirl
I updated my phone iOS, too, and am having a love-hate relationship with that, too. The new version of the fitbit app is now hideous, the only redeeming quality there is that it at least shows the battery % on the app at all times, so no more checking my steps halfway through the day and seeing zero, or 110.
But it had the audacity today to tell me that I’ve “had lower activity levels lately”. Am I the only person who says fuck you to their phone?
eemom
Tomorrow will be an interesting day in the, uh, “People’s” House.
O how sweet it will be if Johnson gets fucked after trump endorsed him.
Elizabelle
Am enjoying the photo by Janie M today — it’s beautiful and reminds one of impressionism. Please do select a changing photo for the sidebar — we could use them!
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: It’s just a plan, and the weather will get better soon. Only 6 weeks or so until that 60-degree day in February that allows me to truly believe that spring will indeed come.
kalakal
I have between 11 and 16 months till I retire. if I was 11 months older it would be 11 months but English SS was raised to 67 from 65 and I’m 11 months younger than the change age*. Hence I need to build up a cushion**
* I will actually get it at 66 and 6 months
** Not waiting till 67, just judging how big a gap I can go on works pension and IRA
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: It really is a gorgeous photo; I’ve clicked on it several times today.
edit: I may make an exception on Jan 20 and put up a static image of the dumpster fire gif in that spot.
WaterGirl
@kalakal: Won’t you miss the library?
lowtechcyclist
@JoyceH:
The WaPo has an op-ed that I won’t bother to link to, but the header is “Biden faltered on bird flu. Here’s how Trump can course-correct.”
Yeah, suuuuure: if RFK Jr has his way, the ‘course correction’ would be a recommendation for us all to eat more organic foods. But there they are, normalizing him as if he were just a normal pre-2015 Republican, extremely conservative but not yet insane.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Love it! And reminds me: got to get up to DC soon to see the big Impressionism exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. It closes in maybe 3 weeks.
Do not want to be anywhere near DC for The Felon’s festivities.
Spanish Moss
I love this picture idea. I check BJ several times a day and I have appreciated that lovely photo every one of them. Thanks WaterGirl!
Heidi Mom
I love the new photo feature already!
kalakal
@WaterGirl: Oh yes I will. I’ll keep up my lecture programs and will do those for fun & profit. I’d actually be quite happy to do my job part time but they don’t really do part time. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do before I get too decrepit
Ohio Mom
The sun was out today — Cincinnati can be quite gloomy in the winter, so today was a treat.
I got a good haircut — actually the same haircut I’ve been getting for the past twenty-odd years with the same hairdresser, who long ago came to terms that there was no creativity to exercise with me in the chair.
Ohio Son’s H/PC (home/personal care) staff was tremendously helpful today. Won’t get into the details, that’s Ohio Son’s story to tell, not mine. I could have hugged her but didn’t think that appropriate.
Here’s hoping tomorrow brings WaterGirl a glimmer or two (Glimmer being one of those passing moments when you are overcome with a feeling of joy or serenity, a feeling that everything is just right).
Suzanne
@WaterGirl:
Oh lord no.
HeleninEire
@WaterGirl: Well. Let’s see. I may be going back. But I am am being cautious. I left the first time in 2016. I came back for many reasons. The largest was because I knew I needed to take care of my Dad. Once he’s gone… not sure. Also I missed NY.
Ohio Mom
@zhena gogolia: That is my approach as well. I’ve seen this movie once before and that was enough. I will keep track of larger trends but newsy bits about this administration, No.
HeleninEire
@Ohio Mom: Yeah. I am so not trying to do it now for only a fraction of my pension. I won’t but…
HeleninEire
@Suzanne: I will. I will. Come visit!
Poe Larity.
Y’all need to read this techbro lament after making $60M
https://vinay.sh/i-am-rich-and-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-my-life/
So he went to DOGE. He says they’re doing all their planning via Signal, so FOIA-free.
kalakal
@Ohio Mom:
Michael Palin wrote what is perhaps the best description of those moments when you feel complete
Michael Palin – contentment
UncleEbeneezer
@Spanish Moss: It’s also a great idea because it might attract more people to check out the OTR posts. They can be easy to miss if you aren’t checking them regularly.
Timill
@HeleninEire: Just set some milestones. For example, once you make it to 2/19/25, you’ll only have 11 more months and 10 more days till you’re out…
frosty
@HeleninEire: Congratulations. At the end of January it will be five years since I retired. Here’s two things:
1 I recommend retirement! Don’t stay at your job because you need someplace to go or something to do.
2 I can’t believe how lazy I’ve become!
frosty
@Suzanne: Yes, cold, snow, and wind make it hard to go outside to run. But do it now, because the next 10 days are going to be bitter cold!
WaterGirl
@kalakal: Maybe they’ll make an exception and let you do part-time, if you are up for that when the time comes.
HeleninEire
@Timill: Yep. In my job my most busy time is every quarter. Reporting deadlines. So many reports!! And those deadlines; I have only FOUR more deadlines till I retire.
Percysowner
It was a sad day today. My oldest foster cat had to be euthanized. He started acting off a week or so ago, coming when I put out canned food, but needing it brought to him. Then he stopped parking himself on my lap, which he normally did every day. I called the rescue and the vet who runs it was ill and not in until Monday. They were hoping it was just pancreatitis, which they could treat, but eventually said it was cancer and it was time to let go. I didn’t even have him a year, but he was a really good boy. I hope he is having a great time over the Rainbow Bridge. I still have the other two rescues who seem fine. One of them has gotten shy again, and I’m hoping it’s just that he’s adjusting to not having his buddy around.
WaterGirl
@HeleninEire: You may just be a person with two homes! :-)
HeleninEire
@frosty: Lazy is good. I am the most lazy person you know. And then when I retire…I will be the most lazy person on earth.
HeleninEire
@WaterGirl: Yes. I consider myself so lucky. I have two homes and two families.
WaterGirl
@Percysowner: I am so sorry.
Someone might read that and think, oh, he only had the cat for a year.
But I remember when I got my cocker spaniel decades ago – when I took her to the vet a day or two after I brought her home, they discovered some health issue, and when I called the place I had gotten her from they said “you can bring her back”.
And I’m thinking, are you fucking kidding me? I already love her, I’m not going to return her like new shirt that had a flaw in it. Ugh.
My heart goes out to you. I’m glad you still have the other kitties, you can all comfort each other.
Ohio Mom
@HeleninEire: I didn’t fully appreciate when old people complained about being on a fixed income until it happened to us.
I thought, “Really, isn’t that everyone on a fixed income? You have a job, it pays $X, isn’t that fixed?” No, it turns out it’s not the same at all.
My advice is, you won’t be all that sorry you waited a year but you might be very sorry you didn’t, for a very long time.
A year will likely fly by. At least once winter’s over.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Photo (or drawing) of MLK Jr on January 20.
HeleninEire
@Ohio Mom: Yes. Thank you. I will hang in there. The year will fly by.
Ohio Mom
@Percysowner: That foster cat had the nicest year ever because of you. Maybe you can take heart in that.
Scout211
WaterGirl, I love the photo on the sidebar on my iPad and the low bar on my phone. If it’s not too much work for you, it would be nice to keep it there.
Also too, did you update your Mac from a very old Mac OS version because I don’t see any big changes in Sequoia (15) as compared to Sonoma (14).
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: Sorry you’re feeling out of sorts. I say “fuck you” to my Apple Watch all the time- it’s a real little dictator.
What is it about the new Mac operating system that’s bothering you? I frankly haven’t noticed anything.
Hildebrand
@kalakal: That was delightful. Palin is such a gifted writer and documentarian.
zhena gogolia
@Ohio Mom:
Haha, “it me,” as the kids say, or at least used to a few minutes ago.
WaterGirl
@Ohio Mom:
What a nice thing to say.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: @FelonyGovt: Yes, I updated from an OLD version of the OS. I hate the most recent versions of office, so I had not been updating.
@Scout211: When you say you love the photo and want to keep it, I think you don’t mean keep that particular photo? But you love the idea of having a beautiful photo there? Do I have that right?
Scout211
@WaterGirl: Yes, you have that correct. Rotating photos at your convenience would be really nice.
Currants
Argh on the OS update. Why did they change the Finder window, and WTF did the do with Applications and Recents?! I want to reset to the previous version.
Gin & Tonic
Not a football fan, but have the Gator Bowl on as background noise, and there’s a shitload of empty seats. What’s up with that? And who or what is Taxslayer?
zhena gogolia
@Elizabelle: Yes, I thought that was a Monet at first glance.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: I also say Fuck You to my scale sometimes. If I’m feeling good and hoping the scale will tell me so, and then I’m up a pound or two, the scale gets a hearty fuck you.
WaterGirl
@Hildebrand: All I could think of was Sarah Palin. Does not compute! (I see now that it’s not that Palin.)
Scout211
@Currants: You can find Applications in the finder as well as documents and recent documents. That took a little getting used to but I like it. I never used the old finder but now that we are sort of forced to, I like it.
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Or maybe I’ll post a photo of my mom. I recently came across a lovely photo of her as a young woman. Her birthday is on Jan 20, and I remember an election when I was a child where she was VERY UNHAPPY that a person she hated was being sworn in on her birthday.
Our politics were most definitely not the same, but her feeling of disgust is something I can now understand.
WTFGhost
That’s actually a great idea, especially if you don’t have any nice outdoor spaces you can walk to.
One of the hard things about people who are facing despair is to recognize the *need* to take such steps, if you mood is telling you “no”. “Why bother?” You might ask, and it seems like a good question at the time. But you’ll look back on your despairing “why bother?” as a bad or low point, once your life is on track.
Look for some sappy good news, or kitten and puppy photos, or pretty pictures from nature, or otherwise. Participate in a hobby you’ve ignored. Exercise, if you stopped. Remember that, no matter the challenges, a happy, healthy, person is better able to handle the challenge than one who is depressed or despairing.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
My goal for 2025 is to lose 10 lbs and hit my target weight. It’s going well. January 2nd and I only have 15 lbs to go.
WaterGirl
@Jay: Looks like you have a math problem there. :-)
Old School
@WaterGirl:
Thomas Jefferson?
Joke! It’s a joke!
WTFGhost
@Old School: Oh, FFS, she was a YOUNG woman, so, it was probably George Wa… Imma walk off stage and run for the exit.
Eunicecycle
@WaterGirl: One of the passwords to an online account MIGHT be FuckYou plus a number because the site kept telling me that I was trying to change to a former password and I know I wasn’t.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
Jan. 20th is the MLK Jr holiday this year.
Just sayin’.
kalakal
@WaterGirl: I almost certainly could get part time as a Library Assistant a couple of days a week. Putting books in order is very zenlike. Gentle excercise, bringing order to a small part of the universe, no responsibility. I find it very relaxing for a few hours, don’t get to do it very often
coin operated
@Jay:
I LOL’d…because I’m in the exact same situation.
Nukular Biskits
@NotMax:
Well, I can guaran-damn-tee you that MS Governor Tate Reeves probably won’t be acknowledging it:
Gov. Reeves Proclaims Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi
coin operated
mrs coin started collecting SS in December, after being furloughed during COVID, and it is welcome. I still have 7-8 years to go before I become the worthless layabout I have been dreaming about.
Gretchen
I got an iPhone 16 and it doesn’t connect well to my car radio – podcasts cut out about every third word, making them unlistenable. The only way to get them to play is to turn the car on, turn the Bluetooth off on the phone, and let it reconnect. If a I’m running several short errands I have to do this at every stop. Annoying. Anyone else have this problem?
coin operated
@Gretchen: Have you rebooted. No…seriously…iOS updates occasionally mess up the bluetooth connections. Go to Bluetooth settings and ‘forget’ your device, do a cold shutdown and restart, and try again. Has solved a few of my iPhone bluetooth issues with the bluetooth dongle I have on my motorcycle
frosty
@kalakal: That’s not a bad way to work in retirement.
Nukular Biskits
@Gretchen:
I’m not impressed with Apple technology, although, admittedly, they have introduced a lot of concepts.
Ms. Biskits uses her speakerphone on her iPhone and it regularly clips her voice to where I only get every 2nd or 3rd word. A setting issue, perhaps, but she’s never had the same complaint from me using my Android.
Scout211
@Gretchen: I don’t have an iPhone 16 but when I updated my iPhone 13 to iOS 18+, I had to reset the connection to CarPlay by going to Blue Tooth and clicking on “Forget this Device” and then start over to reconnect.
ETA: or what coin operated said.
ETA2: Also some of my settings had to be reset on apps like Maps.
Suzanne
@Percysowner: Hugs to you. I’m so sorry.
different-church-lady
I’m looking at a thing that says “TaxSlayer Gator Bowl” and I’m thinking, “Yeah, I’m done with sports.”
eclare
@Percysowner:
I’m so sorry.
Gretchen
@coin operated: thank you. I’ll try that.
Gretchen
@Nukular Biskits: Thank you. I’ll try that.
I’ve never had an issue with the speakerphone, but most of the people I talk to also have iPhones.
One annoyance is that I get messages on my iPad from other iPhones, but since my husband and daughter have androids, when they’re involved in the family group chat, it only goes to the phone, not the iPad.
Jackie
@WaterGirl:
I’m peering through with one eye squinting through my fingers. I can’t help but having to see the train coming, hoping I can duck in time… while knowing better.
Buggrit
@WaterGirl: What I say is, “don’t judge me! “
NotMax
@Gretchen
Can you connect it with a cable? Wired connection always trounces Bluetooth.
YY_Sima Qian
There is drama in Seoul today, as the South Korean authorities attempts to arrest (former?) President Yoon. Amazingly enough, a surprising number of parliamentarians from his party, as well as right wing supporters among the population, have answered his call to “defeat pro-Communist conspirators” & “defend democracy”, & tried to fight the impeachment & the arrest. The Presidential Security Detail & the Capital Defense Command that guard the residents are also not cooperating w/ the arresting officers, trying to delay the [hopefully] inevitable. Goes to show the deep political divisions & animosity in the South Korean polity.
BTW, security for the presidential residence used to be provided by the police, but in 2022 Yoon shifted responsibility to the South Korean Army’s Capital Defense Command, the person overseeing the move later became Defense Minister & the central figure in the autofolge attempt. So, Yoon’s authoritarian plans have been long running, which the South Korean Left saw clearly. Ironic, as Yoon hosted the 3rd Summit for Democracy in Mar. 2024, which has been a pet project of Biden’s throughout his term (to little discernible effect).
jackmac
After reading WaterGirl’s unenthusiastic assessment of the new Mac OS update I don’t want to upgrade my Macs. Unfortunately, the updates are necessary for smooth operation but there are still some things — like an elegant looking OS — should not be changed. If I wanted a Microsoft look, I’d go buy a crappy PC.
Scout211
@Gretchen: You can set your iPhone messages to forward all your text messages to your iPad. Go to your Message settings on your iPhone and turn on Text Message Forwarding and then choose the device (iPad or Mac) that you want the message to be forwarded to.
Gretchen
@Scout211: thank you! I didn’t know that.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Percysowner:
As fellow animal nuts, we like to share in the joy as well as the sorrow of having these creatures in our lives for an ever so brief period. Losing them is never easy and it never gets easier.
I know as humans we’re wired somehow to believe in an afterlife so I always imagine our pets are out there somewhere, either waiting for us or floating along supported by the love we gave them during their lifetime.
And the loving memories we carry with us until we’re gone.
Thanks for sharing.
Percysowner
@WaterGirl: In recent years I have tried to get senior cats and dogs. I do it knowing they will break my heart sooner than the young ones, but they are so hard to place and they need a warm lap and good food and lots of love. Plus, I’m a senior and I don’t want to get a young one that my kids will either have to take, or find a new home for. I still have the 2 other senior fosters that came with my guy. They were a bonded trio. I’ll love them for as long as they are here. That’s all I can do.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Percysowner:
The “all” in ‘all’ is not inconsequential. We’re fellow fosterers, it’s incredible, heartbreaking and rewarding all at once.
You’re giving them a life free from fear, hunger and pain. Again, thank you for sharing.
NotMax
Procrastinated more than long enough. Just finished one of my least favorite kitchen jobs, sponging up the water and assorted yuckiness that collects and pools on the floor of the fridge beneath the crisper drawers.
Extra martini deserved for yours truly later tonight.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax:
Why wait? It’s cocktail hour already.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
Can hold out until after sundown. Short nap in order after the exertion (got maybe three hours sleep overnight).
:)
Kristine
Janie M’s photo looks like an Impressionist painting.
Bupalos
There’s still beauty in the world, and in fact the overall material and political situation on the globe has almost never been better.
We’re trying to make things better from the position of “by far the best they’ve ever been.” And we’re in a phase where things are regressing a bit. Because history hates straight lines. And there are some physical limits we’re bumping into.
But take a minute to realize that historically speaking it’s an incredibly privileged position. We’re the 1%. And in 40 years, who knows, maybe things get even better after this little hiccup.
BeautifulPlumage
I received my 2025 calendar on 12/27 and it’s great. Thank you for all the work you do to put it together!
tobie
I only have so much bandwidth for understanding all the complicated aspects of the modern life, but I know enough to know that the 6th circuit panel striking down net neutrality is an ominous development. The 3 Republican appointees justified the decision based on SCOTUS’s ruling in the Chevron case that regulatory authority belongs to the courts, not to the federal agencies with experts in any given area. John Roberts strikes again. Damn.
Jackie
@tobie: I saw that and shut down the news for tonight. There’ll be plenty of more bad news that can wait for tomorrow. Every time I venture to sneak a peek… this is the award.
Leto
@tobie: Here’s what an example of this will look like, courtesy of Portugal. Hope everyone stashed away some extra money for this.
Kayla Rudbek
@Elizabelle: Mr. Rudbek and I are going to be out of the country for the inauguration.
Kayla Rudbek
@HeleninEire:
@frosty: but are you too lazy to fail?
different-church-lady
@Leto: Snopes strikes again:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/portugal-net-neutrality/
Ain’t saying this isn’t a bad thing about to happen, but this particular example is false.
different-church-lady
@frosty:
What about if I need to continue to have a way to pay for housing and food?
Cowgirl in the Sandi
Thanks for the picture Watergirl and Janie M. It’s lovely and I’ve enjoyed looking at it all day.
eclare
It’s hard to believe that’s a photo. As someone noted, it looks like a Monet.
JanieM
Thanks to everyone who commented on the picture, and to WaterGirl for posting it. I’m tickled that it reminds people of the Impressionists, because they’re my favorite painters. On my one very quick visit to Amsterdam in 2008, it was the Van Gogh Museum I chose to visit. A screenshot of five Monet paintings of Rouen Cathedral is tacked to the wall next to my desk — Steve from Mendocino pointed that series out to me when I was having doubts about taking pictures of the same scenes over and over again. (Most of my art education is coming late in life. As an unexpected side benefit, it helps keep me grounded in these scary times.)
ETA: I take the pictures, Steve does the editing. Credit to the collaboration.
NotMax
@NotMax
That’s much better. Rested and ready to guzzle. Now to muse on what will be for din-din.
;)
Ramalama
@Percysowner: wow. You are a gem for loving an older animal.
Barry
@lowtechcyclist: “The WaPo has an op-ed that I won’t bother to link to, but the header is “Biden faltered on bird flu. Here’s how Trump can course-correct.””
They are laying the groundwork for blaming Biden for Trump.
Ruckus
@WaterGirl:
Can’t recall saying to my phone but there are plenty of other things/people that deserve it….. And sometimes get it. (As an old fart I find that getting along is less stressful and less dangerous. And that some of us have a rather flat, low and slow learning curve on occasion)